Tom Cruise, Chris Colfer, Straight No Chaser and the Rink at Wade Oval are in Pop Ten

1. TAKING A SHOT

Fans of the Jack Reacher thriller novels are carping on the fact that their literary hero is 6-foot-5, but the man playing him on film, Tom Cruise, most definitely is not. Cruise has countered by pointing out that he's tall enough to drive fast and beat up people on-screen. In "Jack Reacher," an adaptation of Lee Child's 2005 novel "One Shot," drifter and former military police officer Reacher investigates a more-than-meets-the-eye sniper attack in Pittsburgh. Opens Friday.

2. NEW IN URBAN FANTASY

Harry Dresden, wizard-detective at the center of the "Dresden Files" series, is back in "Cold Days: A Novel of the Dresden Files." This 14th novel in the series finds that Dresden has become Mab the Winter Queen's newest assassin. $27.95, in stores.

3. FUN ON (REAL) ICE

Skate to holiday music at the Rink at Wade Oval in University Circle, which opens daily starting Monday through Monday, Dec. 31; weekend hours in January and February. This is the first year that the open-air rink has offered real ice instead of a polymer surface. Skating is free; skate rental is $3.

4. LOVE AND MARRIAGE

Pete and Debbie (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann), the bickering married couple in Judd Apatow's 2007 movie "Knocked Up," are still bickering in the new movie "This Is 40." This sorta-sequel about the strain of marriage and maturity was written, co-produced and directed by Apatow; his daughters play Pete and Debbie's children. In theaters Friday.

5. HALLELUJAH!

"Messiah" singalongs are a long-standing holiday tradition, but Severance Hall will host one for the first time in recent memory Monday. Join vocal soloists from Oberlin Conservatory and a chamber orchestra in Reinberger Chamber Hall for a Messiah Sing-Along hos! ted by the music-education organization Credo Chamber Music. 7 p.m., $15, $5 to rent a score.

6. TV WRAP-UPS

The gossip stops when "Gossip Girl" wraps six seasons with a two-hour finale starting at 8 p.m. Monday on WBNX Channel 55. The finale also serves as a springboard to the upcoming series "The Carrie Diaries," a prequel to "Sex and the City." And on Showtime, "Homeland" wraps its second season at 10 tonight with a finale that co-star Navid Negahban (Abu Nazir) promises "will make television history."

7. A CAPPELLA FELLAS

The 10-member vocal group Straight No Chaser performs at the State Theatre at PlayhouseSquare, at 3 and 7:30 p.m. today, $29.50-$46.50.

8. TURTLE POWER!

This week's hot toy of the season is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nickelodeon 2012 Secret Sewer Lair Playset, complete with floors that fall out, a zip line, spring-loaded missiles and more. Buy ninja turtles Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael separately, and let them explore the 42-inch playset from the sewers to the rooftop. $149.99 at Toys R Us.

9. TAMING 'LIGHTNING'

Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt on "Glee," is a published author. His new young-adult book, "Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal," follows an unpopular student who blackmails the popular kids into writing for his literary journal. $17.99, in stores.

10. FANTASY APP

Don't you hate it when you lose a bar bet because you couldn't name all of Lord Tywin's bannermen? Then you need the Official World of Ice and Fire app. It puts at your fingertips information on more than 540 ch! aracters ! and 380 places, and interactive world maps from the "Song of Ice and Fire" series of novels by George R.R. Martin. The popular HBO series "Game of Thrones" is based on these books. A limited, free version of the app is available for download for iPad, iPhone and Nook. There are infopacks for each of the five novels (99 cents to $1.99), or get all five for $4.99. Tinyurl.com/b4otubg.