Underrated / Overrated

“(500) Days of Summer”: Having been burned too many times by Hollywood’s romantic comedy machine, we resisted this quirky film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Now, after catching it on DVD, we realize first-time feature director Marc Webb showed a lot of heart in capturing a doomed relationship. Plus, its idealized vision of downtown L.A. shows us the city that could be.

FOR THE RECORD:
Fox reality series: The Overrated column in today’s Calendar section and a Critic’s Guide in today’s Calendar Part 2 mention the upcoming TV show “Our Little Genius.” After the sections went to print, Fox delayed the start of the program. No new date was given for its premiere. —

John Zorn’s “Dreamers” ensemble: Zorn isn’t a household name outside of those who first followed him as part of NYC’s wild punk-jazz scene of the ‘80s. But fans of all genres should find plenty to like on last year’s album “O’o,” which finds the prolific saxophonist setting aside his trademark supercharged squeals and honks for a warmly accessible blend of surf, jazz and lounge instrumentals. Dreamy.

Ke$ha: And 2010’s front-runner for artist we’re most eager to discuss in the past tense is this one-hit wonder in the making from the Valley. We’re not sure what bothers us more, the insufferable (and if you think about it, unpronounceable) dollar sign in the middle of this rapper’s name or that her queasy Auto-Tune party anthem “TiK ToK” sounds like it took 15 minutes to make and still went No. 1.

Children as reality contestants: Fox takes the unscripted TV party to a new level this week with “Our Little Genius,” a kid-focused game show whose concept has been making us cringe for weeks. It’s one thing for adults to be prime-time caricatures for our amusement, but unless this show offers the cheerfully slimy thrills of Nickelodeon’s “Double Dare,” we’re pulling our own Time Warner-styled boycott.