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James Franco does not take criticism of his work lightly. Currently starring in Of Mice and Men on Broadway, the actor was quite displeased with the review New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley gave the revival. Though Brantley’s assessment was not excessively negative – he even complimented Franco’s talent at one point — the actor posted an incensed response to the review on Instagram, calling the critic “a little bitch.” The post has since been deleted.

Brantley responded to the criticism much more diplomatically than Franco. “I like Franco’s work on film a lot, and he didn’t disgrace himself on stage,...

In an A.V. Club review of Bruce Springsteen’s latest album, Wrecking Ball, Steven Hyden describes one track as a “stump speech.” Chris Richards, writing in the Washington Post, says we’ve always looked to Springsteen to “embody our hopes, validate our values, articulate our angst” — which are, roughly speaking, “the same qualities we seem to look for in a president.” It’s true: Wrecking Ball’s sentiments are uncommonly focused and constitute a rather more robust platform for the nation’s spiritual renewal than those Chrysler commercials where Clint Eastwood lectures you about America being half over. So in the democratic spirit, it seems only fair to cut out the interpretive middle-manning, and condense and edit the album’s lyrics into one address you can judge for yourself.My fellow Americans, We’ve been traveling over rocky ground. Trudging through the dark in a world gone wrong. Forty...

Is joint album worth its weight in gold-plated packaging?

By Rob Markman

Jay-z and Kanye West

Photo: Johnny Nunez/ WireImage

Jay-z and Kanye West are no strangers to high-profile releases. As soloists, the two hip-hop titans have their fair shares of #1 LPs, smash singles, Grammys and gold and platinum plaques. So when it was time to drop their collaborative Watch the Throne, expectations were no doubt high.

From the first time fans heard the Lex Luger-produced "H.A.M." in January to the release of the Throne's current single "Otis" just a few weeks ago, the Watch the Throne hype machine has been in overdrive. As the clock ticked from Sunday night to Monday morning on the East Coast, the time for speculation was laid to rest. The album was finally released, the music devoured and critiques formed. Some complained of the album's layered sound and omnipresent money talk...

Chris Richards has claimed that he was turned away from the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ semi finals, because he scared David Hasselhoff when he offered to hypnotise him.

The magician initially wowed the judging panel, which also consists of Amanda Holden and Michael McIntyre, after he leapt of the stage and performed a whole range of impressive magic tricks right down at their judging tabel.

When asked what else he could do to better his act for the live shows, Chris told the panel: “I’ll hypnotise The Hoff.”

The former ‘Baywatch’ star then laughed: “I’ve been hypnotised for the past 16 years, baby.”

But despite Chris being one of the favourites, he has now been told he has not made it through to the live shows and he thinks the only explanation for his axing is because of his plans.

He told the Daily Star newspaper: “I think David was scared.

It must be the holiday season, because there are a load of high-profile albums coming out over the next few weeks, many of which are hitting the streets today. This week marks the unveiling of Kid Rock's Born Free, Bruce Springsteen's The Promise (a collection of previously-unheard demos and tracks from the Darkness on the Edge of Town era), Nelly's big comeback album 5.0 and "American Idol" winner Lee DeWyze's Live It Up. But perhaps the most talked-about release of the week is Rihanna's Loud. Coming hot on the heels of 2009's dark, moody Rated R, Loud finds Rihanna settling back into the club-friendly groove of her earlier releases and slathers irresistible melodies on top of futuristic production from StarGate, the Runners, Polow da Don and Tricky Stewart.

So far, Loud has been embraced by critics looking to evaluate Rihanna's career as a whole. "Loud is,...