The young Irish actor Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later, Red Eye) lights up the screen in Neil Jordan's lyrical but shallow take on Patrick McCabe's novel about a 1960s wild child in search of the mother who deserted him. The role is a feast for an actor — hell, Kitten is a cross-dressing hooker — and Murphy digs into Breakfast with gusto. The lad believes Father Bernard (Liam Neeson), the priest who found baby Kitten on the doorstep of his church in Tyreelin, Ireland, is his real dad. Jordan keeps the pace as jaunty as the pop soundtrack until Kitten flounces off to London, hooks up with a gay magician named Bertie, nicely played by Stephen Rea, and ts learning some harsh truths. In substance and style, the movie is more than a few tears short of Jordan's The Crying Game. But Murphy is an actor to watch. Even in heels.

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."