SCREEN (DVD)
The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection
Unearth the fedora and the bullwhip. It's time to raid the ark, visit the temple, and wage the last crusade - again! Beautifully remastered, these DVDs show off the ingenuity of a pre-CG reliance on models, mattes, and miniatures for special f/x. Don't miss the four-disc set's animated storyboard of Raiders' spooky climax and Tom Selleck's screen test for the part of Indy. Thank God Harrison Ford was available to take the role. - Bill Desowitz
SCREEN (Theaters)
My Architect
When bricks and concrete spoke, Louis I. Kahn listened. Alas, the architect was more in touch with his materials than with his family. In this intimate documentary, Kahn's illegitimate son gets to know his dad by visiting some of his father's structures - including the Salk Institute - and contemporaries, such as Philip Johnson and I. M. Pei. What he ends up with is a film that gets to the heart of both the genius and the humanity of one of the 20th century's most important builders. - Beth Pinsker
MUSIC
Belle and Sebastian
Dear Catastrophe Waitress
The Scottish collective upholds its tradition of well-crafted pop songs designed for aging Smiths fans. Horns, strings, keys, and the odd bouncing Ping-Pong ball augment frontman Stuart Murdoch's reflections on fleeting summers, maligned waitresses, and bullied smart kids. Wry lines such as "Tony, you're a bit of a mess, melted Toblerone under your dress" make these jangly tunes the perfect antidote for those times when life throws you a wrench. - Stacy Osbaum
MUSIC
Plastikman
Closer
Richie Hawtin, the Plastik one, concocts harmonies that beguile and confound. On "Disconnect" and "Slow Poke (Twilight Zone Mix)," creepy strings and pitch-bent mechanical blurps and klangs - along with the first recording of Hawtin's voice - portend a dark tenor. The mood doesn't brighten until a steady beat coalesces from the ether on "Mind in Rewind" and "I Don't Know." Closer is almost enough to send you off the deep end, which is why Hawtin remains techno's biggest star. - Eric Demby
PRINT
Never Mind the Pollacks: A Rock 'n' Roll Novel
Neal Pollack
Pollack's satirical fable pays homage to the real-life drunks, junkies, and dropouts who make up the rock scene in America. His tale of two rival critics places him at the center of every important musical event of the past 50 years. The writing is funny, irreverent, and often ugly but ultimately affirms the power of popular music. Need more proof? Listen to the 12-song punk CD released to complement the book. - Jason Norvein Wachtelhausen
PRINT
Me++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City
William J. Mitchell
Mitchell is the dean of MIT's architecture school, but don't come here expecting to read about buildings. Me++ is a trip across the electronic landscape. Big idea: The "trial separation" of atoms (matter) and bits (information) is over, now that even toasters and dorms have digital powers. Geeks may pass over the potted explanations of buzzwords like Wi-Fi, but everyone will enjoy the great footnotes. - Spencer Reiss
GAMES (PS2)
Final Fantasy X-2
Square Enix has traded nerd appeal for sex appeal. Series fans' most favored femmes Yuna, Paine, and Rikku return to solve the mystery of Tidus' disappearance - only now they're dressed in skimpier outfits and carrying heavy weaponry. The sequel's battle system has also been streamlined, making for frenetic play rather than strategic fighting. And in a final flourish, the soundtrack features the upbeat vocals of songstress Kumi Koda. Girls, guns, and J-pop - it's the trendiest Final Fantasy yet! - Chris Kohler
GAMES (Cube|PC|PS2|XBox)
Worms 3D
Viciously addictive, endlessly playable, and awfully cute, the Worms series is back in eye-popping 3-D. The heavily armed annelids engage in no-rules cartoon carnage with weapons both traditional (shotguns, missiles) and bizarre (flying sheep, explosive bananas). Topographical battlegrounds are randomly generated, allowing for limitless strategy and replay value. Plus, every last bit of the earth can be annihilated to the point where there's nowhere left to stand, er, crawl. - Chris Hudak
PLAY
Planet Moby
Scratch-n-Sketch
What's On Your iPod?
You Chill, You Score
The Michael Crichton School of Science
The Big Tease
Life After Star Wars
Atlas of the Mind
Artists in Wonderland
Spray-On Silk Stockings
Happiness Is … a Highrise Museum
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