11/01 EW Recommends
Movies
FROM HELL Johnny Depp, Heather Graham (R) Serial killer Jack the Ripper lurks in London’s back alleys, slashing prostitutes and working to elude the opium-smoking inspector on his trail. A
GO TIGERS! Documentary (R) A town’s obsession with high school football in Ohio is chronicled in a moving look at the lives of the players and the people who love them. A
IRON MONKEY Donnie Yen, Yu Rong Guang (PG-13) Very limber martial artist fights greed and corruption with exquisite high-flying kicks, air assaults, and deathblows. B+
SERENDIPITY John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale (PG-13) A romantic comedy about a magical chance encounter between strangers, their separation, and the fate that brings them together again. A-
JOY RIDE Leelee Sobieski, Steve Zahn (R) Sudden gear changes and sharp turns drive this black comedy/thriller/car-chase flick. B+
MULHOLLAND DRIVE Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring (R) David Lynch’s tale of an amnesiac woman and the Hollywood actress who aids in piecing her life back together. B+
Books
COMIC BOOKS
I, PAPARAZZI Written by Pat McGreal; photos by Stephen John Phillips; digital art by Steven Parke (Vertigo Comics) In this beautiful nightmare of a fable, a sleazeball paparazzo unwillingly becomes a celebrity himself. A
FICTION
CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL Glen David Gold (Hyperion) A magician is swept up in a murder investigation in this novel set in 1920s San Francisco. A
FALLING ANGELS Tracy Chevalier (Dutton) From the best-selling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring comes a bewitching tale of the unlikely friendship between two turn-of-the-century London girls. A
THE PICKUP Nadine Gordimer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Cultures clash in the love affair between a privileged white South African and an illegal Arab immigrant. B+
NONFICTION
ISLAM: A SHORT HISTORY Karen Armstrong (Modern Library) Ex-nun Armstrong looks beyond the stereotypical face of Islam and explores the depths of the 1,400-year-old faith. A
MANHATTAN UNFURLED Matteo Pericoli (Random House) Pericoli’s foldout book is a doodling daydream of New York’s jagged, jeweled skyline. A
Q: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF QUINCY JONES Quincy Jones (Doubleday) From Michael Jackson’s Thriller to Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, Jones has always had the golden touch. This frank memoir shines. A-
Music
AEREOGRAMME A Story in White (Matador) The great Scots hide guitar snarls and feedback squalls behind moments of soulful yearning and fragile beauty. A-
LEONARD COHEN Ten New Songs (Columbia) With his charmingly hoarse whisper set to electronic pop, the 67-year-old songwriter-singer never sounded so sensual. A-
HERBIE HANCOCK Future 2 Future (Transparent Music) The keyboardist reenters the jazz-funk-electronica-world-beat atmosphere. B+
KEITH JARRETT Trio Inside Out (ECM) Pianist Jarrett, bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Jack DeJohnette are as comfortable delving into free jazz as they are caressing a time-honored standard. B+
JA RULE Pain Is Love (Murder Inc./Def Jam) Accompanied by old-school R&B, Rule takes on the consequences of thug life. B+
ELTON JOHN Songs From the West Coast (Mercury/Rocket) The absolutely fabulous one’s most nuanced and openhearted collection in years. A-
LE TIGRE Feminist Sweepstakes (Mr. Lady) These post-riot grrrls understand the subversive power of fun, and that even a simple, catchy tune can convey complex political truths. A-
JOHN MELLENCAMP Cuttin’ Heads (Columbia) Despite advancing age and declining commercial clout, Mellencamp’s sense of character, word choice, and candor keep progressing. B+
Internet
MOVIES
MULHOLLAND DRIVE(mulholland drive.com) This official movie site is full of Lynch’s standard cinematic accoutrements: monstrous drifters, doomed ingenues, and one corrupt little town. A-
MUSIC
GO-GO LIVE (gogolive.com) Shake, rattle, and roll to streams of radio and video from the finest of Washington, D.C.’s Go-Go scene. B+
NETCETERA
BOOK-A-MINUTE (rinkworks.com/bookaminute) Too lazy for CliffsNotes? Check out this compendium of book summaries. But the site isn’t ”responsible if you write a book report…and don’t get a good grade.” B+
JULIUS & FRIENDS (screenblast.com) Julius the monkey graces Paul Frank’s hip threads, but here he jumps to cartoon life on the Web, where he takes on post-kiddie topics like low-carb diets and gay dance parties. A
TELEVISION
THE DEADWOOD MYSTERIES (hbofamily.com/deadwood) A Twin Peaks for kids, this original Web series lets viewers piece together clues to a teenage girl’s small-town disappearance. A
GAME SHOW CENTRAL (gscentral. net) A shrine celebrating all things game show — from Plinko to Press Your Luck. A
Video & DVD
BLOOD SIMPLE (DIRECTOR’S CUT) Frances McDormand (R) One of the definitive triumphs of American independent films by the Coen brothers, this pulpy comic noir tells a story of betrayal and murder. A-
BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY Renee Zellweger (R) Based on Helen Fielding’s runaway best-seller, Zellweger plays a singleton in London who records her quirky romantic misadventures to great comic effect. B+
THE GODFATHER DVD COLLECTION Al Pacino (R) Director Francis Ford Coppola’s classic Mafia trilogy gets the full-on DVD treatment with this five-disc boxed set, which includes Coppola’s commentary tracks, previously deleted scenes, and an in-depth ”making of” docu. A
STAR WARS: EPISODE I — THE PHANTOM MENACE Ewan McGregor (PG) The kicker to Lucas’ two-disc set is the mind-blowing hour-long look behind the scenes culled from over 600 hours of candid footage. A
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL: SPECIAL EDITION John Cleese (PG) The Python troupe’s second feature comes loaded with zany extras like commentary by Terry Gilliam and general complaints and backbiting by Cleese, Eric Idle, and Michael Palin. A
NEW YORK Documentary (Unrated) Director Ric Burns’ seven-disc set chronicles the evolution of great Gotham, from the Dutch settlement in the early 17th century to present day, adding the local perspectives of New Yorkers like Martin Scorsese and Mayor Rudy Giuliani. A
NOTORIOUS Cary Grant (Unrated) Alfred Hitchcock’s 1946 romantic thriller starring Grant and Ingrid Bergman in a postwar spy ring. The DVD includes commentary tracks by film scholars who offer a balance of history and analysis. A
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS Animated (Unrated) Disney’s enchanting 1937 classic now comes with DVD extras: a 40-minute documentary, Barbra Streisand’s new version of ”Some Day My Prince Will Come,” and karaoke for the wee ones. A-