The remaking and re-imagining of classic films and TV shows is often met with high expectations and harsh reviews. Despite this, I was really looking forward to A&E’s new horror-drama, Bates Motel. Something of a warped prequel to Psycho, the thriller places a young Norman Bates and his mother Norma in charge of a previously foreclosed motel in a contemporary setting. With the swoon-worthy Vera Farmiga (big sis to American Horror Story’s Violet, Taissa Farmiga) starring as the mother to the future sociopath (who is portrayed by creepy-yet-cute Freddie Highmore), I really thought it was going to be awesome. It wasn’t. Check out my full reaction in this week’s TV column. I know I should have lowered my expectations — prequels generally suck — but I was really pulling for this one. Sadly, I’ve felt more suspense in an episode of A&E’s Intervention that in this show where multiple people were murdered in the premiere. Dammit, Bates Motel, I was rooting for you! Popular restaurant recommendation site Urbanspoon recently listed the most buzzed about bar-n-grills across America and Cincinnati topped the list with seven restaurant-bar mentions — matched only by Chicago, New Orleans and St. Louis. The restaurants include A Tavola, Adriatico's Pizza, Bakersfield OTR, Nada, Senate, Taste of Belgium Bistro and Terry’s Turf Club. With Covington’s Wunderbar bringing the local count up to eight, it looks like Greater Cincinnati is the place to go for beers and bites! Usually when my mom shares with me something she found on the Internet, it’s either a pug photo shoot on YouTube or an MSN slideshow of inappropriate advertisements, but recently she sent me something even better. Check out this informational North Korean documentary footage of American life: Ah, America: Where there aren’t any birds, except for the ones we all ate yesterday. Just a reminder, next time you order your snow coffee, make sure to ask if it’s local. Thanks for the cake, North Korea! So the Catholics got a new pope last week. Remember: There’s always money in the Vatican! Usually when I hear “Satan” and “Obama” in the sentence, I quickly tune out whichever Fox News zombie or disgruntled family member is ranting, but this week the two were compared for a new reason. The History Channel’s incredibly factual miniseries The Bible obviously features the devil, an important supporting character from the original masterpiece, but some people are upset about the resemblance to our president. Check it out for yourself here. The Princess Bride is a classic, but what if little Fred Savage’s grandpa gave him another book instead? If the kid hated all that kissing in PB, I can only imagine what he’d think of GOT’s uh, adult scenes.Hey remember my American Horror Story Season Three guesses? AHS: Coven = confirmed. Witches! Squee!

The Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce today announced the winners of its annual Star Awards, which recognize organizations and individuals whose outstanding accomplishments contribute to the revitalization of its five distinct neighborhoods: Washington Park, Mohawk, Central, Pendleton and Findlay Market. This year’s award winners: Chairman’s Award: Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3cdc.org) Norma Petersen Award: Topic Design (www.topicdesign.com) New Business of the Year: A Tavola (1220 Vine St.; here’s a link to a recent CityBeat review of the modern and stylish pizza place.) Business of the Year: dojo gelato (Findlay Market, dojogelato.com) Non Profit Organization of the Year: Crossroad Health Center (crossroadhc.org) Individual Contribution: Leslie Cook, First Lutheran/OTR Learning Center (www.firstlutherancincy.org/learning_center.html) Special Recognition: Captain Douglas Wiesman, Cincinnati Police Recipients will be honored at the OTR Chamber’s annual meeting and luncheon March 20 at Music Hall.