Underrated/Overrated

Aubrey Plaza: Her name may sound a little like the setting for the next “Die Hard” movie, but ever since watching this comic actress steal scenes in Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” she’s become a face to watch. Her deader-than-deadpan delivery is a highlight on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” but seeing her smart, spot-on impersonation of Sarah Silverman’s shock comedy on YouTube shows she’s got more going on than just a dryly detached delivery.

Soundgarden: Given all Chris Cornell has done to make everyone forget he has one of the best voices in rock (ill-advised Timbaland collaboration, anyone?), maybe this band’s 2010 reunion was a cynical inevitability. But if any ‘90s throwback deserves a victory lap it’s Soundgarden, who often get overshadowed by Nirvana and Pearl Jam but may be the best hard rock band of that era. An upcoming live album from 1996 can’t get released fast enough.

The return of Avril Lavigne: The most comforting thing about the music industry’s parade of radio-ready pop stars is that eventually they fade away to allow for a new crop. Which is what’s missing in the return of this former “Sk8ter Boi”-chaser, whose weirdly manufactured take on teen rebellion once had a tomboy-ish charm but in her new video translates to rolling out of bed in lingerie, stealing a cab and hawking her clothing line. Growing up is such a drag.

The originality of ‘The Roommate’: Though its commercials were inescapable the past few weeks, no amount of advertising can change that this winter thriller is a college-aged version of 1992’s “Single White Female,” with Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh swapped out for “Friday Night Lights’” Minka Kelly and Leighton Meester from “Gossip Girl.” It might make for campy fun, but watching those TV shows surely offers more thrills than this rerun.

—Chris Barton