Overrated/Underrated

UNDERRATED

Trains: They’ve inspired music by Johnny Cash, Duke Ellington and the Yardbirds, yet for some reason California seems hellbent on keeping rail travel sidetracked. The proposed bullet train to San Francisco now won’t run until 2033 — if at all, thanks to high cost projections — and given all the in-fighting, it’ll take about as many years for the long-promised “subway to the sea” to happen. Luckily, there’s still plenty of room for all our cars on the freeway.

‘Senna’: Finding this film on DVD may be tricky (there are a few international versions floating around), but however you see this documentary about Formula One racing great Ayrton Senna it’s well worth your time. Even if you’re not a racing fan, getting to know this jaw-droppingly gifted Brazilian driver through a clever mix of first-person interviews and gripping race footage offers a range of emotions that goes beyond checkered flag-chasing adrenaline.

OVERRATED

‘Allen Gregory’: Even though there’s no denying the comedy chops of co-creator Jonah Hill and the other comedy heavyweights involved in the latest addition to Fox’s animated family, something about this show feels a little off. Maybe the 7-year-old title character is just the last straw in unlikable TV leads, or maybe it’s a post-”Entourage” weariness of industry-styled interpersonal cruelty, but this show needs to find a heart to match its potential, and fast.

Ryan Adams: Somewhere between 2010’s mostly ignored double album “III/IV” (recorded in 2007) and the recently released “Ashes and Fire,” some music fans fell back in love with this singer-songwriter with claims that it’s his best work since “Heartbreaker.” While that may be true, considering how inconsistent his work has been, it’s a little mysterious. This collection is a pleasant collection of breezy folk-pop, but it’s nothing you haven’t heard before.

— Chris Barton