Screen (DVD) The Ultimate Matrix Collection The ultimate Matrix – one in which the scripts for Reloaded and Revolutions have the snap and swagger of the first film – exists only in your mind. But this 10-DVD set makes a convincing case for the thematic unity of the entire franchise, from The Animatrix to Zion's architecture. The featurette "Return to Source," a gloss on the trilogy's intellectual precursors, is the philosophy survey of every undergrad's dreams, with authors like Ken Wilber weighing in on the wisdom of "unknowing." Another mini-doc brings thinkers like Wired contributing editor Steven Johnson to bear on the social tectonics underlying virtual life. There's a whiff of we-told-you-so about the Wachowskis' observations, some of which are confined to text files, but the inclusion of commentary by critics who didn't take the Red Pill ("Enough with the slow motion!") exhibits the wry humor that enabled the brothers to concoct a stinging metaphor for our spectacle-driven culture. – Steve Silberman
Screen (TV) Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex A big-budget prequel to a legendary sci-fi film? Sounds Phantom menacing. But Japanese studio Production I.G deftly adapts the anime classic into an absorbing TV series. Stand Alone Complex follows the movie's fallen hero, an android commando with a human soul, as she hunts bad guys. Director Kenji Kamiyama trades the original's headiness for faster, more accessible subplots and still gives us one of the smartest new shows on television. – Douglas McGray
Screen (In theaters) House of Flying Daggers Director Zhang Yimou brings together the most effective elements of his previous releases – the elegant swordplay of Hero and the emotionally taut storytelling of his Raise the Red Lantern – to produce a Hong Kong action flick that rises to the level of mythic battle between good and evil. Actor Ziyi Zhang is both delicate and fierce in her portrayal of a blind showgirl who's as adept at the Tang dynasty's version of exotic dancing as she is at murderously tossing the flying daggers of the title. – Beth Pinsker
Music Gwen Stefani Love, Angel, Music, Baby On her solo debut, No Doubt's singer packs enough punch to level an entire gang of pop princesses. "Harajuku Girl" out-Madonnas Madonna, while "What You Waiting For?" one-ups Kylie Minogue's seductive sizzle with a jolt of '80s synthtronica. Other standouts include "Rich Girl," in which Dr. Dre drops a hip hop beat on the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack, and "Bubble Pop Electric," a characteristically quirky duet with Outkast's Andre 3000. – Jolie Lash
Music U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb The title may suggest a political preach-fest, but U2 skips sloganeering in favor of old-fashioned love songs. After years of genre surfing, the band has arrived at a best-of-all-worlds blend: punchy dance grooves, acoustic meditations, and explosive rock riffs. Alongside trademark driving bass and reverb-drenched guitar, Bono's voice has a new raggedness that punctuates the vulnerability in numbers like "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own." – Tim Molloy
Music Psapp Tiger, My Friend Psapp recycles strange sounds into sugary electronic pop. Producer Carim Clasmann calls upon makeshift musical instruments like squeezable stuffed animals, broken toy keyboards, and kitchen utensils (he plays a mean egg slicer) to accent Galia Durant's insistent coos. The band adds tried-and-true art strategies, layering vocal arrangements and Stereolabesque odd-meter grooves to build dreamily beautiful atmospheres. – Piotr Orlov
Music DFA Compilation #2 Something funny has happened to the world's hipsters: They've learned how to dance. Blame it on neo-electro producers DFA, whose aggressive fusion of disco, guitars, and acid bass transforms angular indie bands like the Rapture and Black Dice into shameless rump shakers. The duo's new three-disc set is highlighted by a collaboration with punk-funk legend Liquid Liquid, which offers a direct link to the past that DFA so imaginatively mines. – Hua Hsu
Games (Cube, PS2) Viewtiful Joe 2 Beauty comes in many forms, but viewty came in only one – until now. Viewtiful Joe 2 picks up where the first game left off, dropping you into the sneakers of its adolescent superhero. The wickedly difficult sequel maintains the frantic fisticuffs, clever puzzles, and unique comic book-art style (think Jack Kirby meets Osamu Tezuka with lots of LSD), but adds two-player combat to the formula. – Evan Shamoon
Games (PS2, Xbox) The Bard's Tale This role-playing game puts forth some solid medieval action, but its main attraction is snarkiness. The Princess Bride's Cary Elwes provides the voice of the Bard, a loner whose primary quest is to sponge food and lodging off gullible townsfolk. When the Bard isn't arguing with the narrator, he's making fun of almost every RPG clich� in existence. Come for the challenge, stay for the comedy. – Dom Nguyen
Games (Nintendo DS) Super Mario 64 DS If you can't create a new legend, expanding on an old one is the next best thing. This launch title for the Nintendo DS handheld system is a perfect port of the game released with the Nintendo 64 in 1996 – perhaps the most influential and best-selling 3-D adventures ever. But this version adds a raft of minigames, three playable characters with distinctive abilities, and thrilling multiplayer modes that show off the device's wireless capabilities. – Steven Kent
Games (N-gage) Pathway to Glory The N-Gage phone has been a Waterloo for Nokia, with the lack of quality games hurting it as much as the design flaws that prompted a hasty rerelease. Pathway to Glory may help turn the tide. This engaging turn-based strategy title portrays key campaigns of World War II in vast, realistic environments, with extensive voice-overs. With Bluetooth, multiplayer modes, and graphics that approach console quality, this is the first good reason to take N-Gage seriously. – Justin Leeper
Print Shadow Cities Robert Neuwirth The number of people living in squatter communities around the world is expected to reach 2 billion in the next 25 years. Neuwirth gets the lowdown on the low life by becoming a resident of four of the most happening squatopolises: the thriving extralegal pockets of Istanbul, Mumbai, Nairobi, and Rio. His ghetto epiphanies include impeccable civility, self-organizing local governments, bustling economies, modest crime rates, and squatter millionaires. – Josh McHugh
Print Flavorpill This free email magazine is guaranteed to make you an instant member of the cultural cognoscenti. The weekly digital guide – with editions for Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London – offers local entertainment ideas handpicked by hipsters. Flavorpill editors cover the essentials like time and location of events, plus they throw in a piece of original art and a footnote about a fresh CD or Internet radio stream. It's like an HTML happy meal for your inbox. – Xeni Jardin
Print Stealing History Roger Atwood Atwood sees the antiquities market is a destructive extraction industry, obliterating the record of entire civilizations to satisfy the demand for rare artifacts. He sketches the illicit trade, from grave robbers digging up burial mounds at midnight to the dealers and collectors who pay for the goods. Even the most respected museums are implicated. If nothing is done, Atwood predicts that by 2050, the ancient world will be plundered and archaeologists will be out of work. – Stuart Luman
Print Dark Hero of the Information Age Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman Norbert Wiener, the cybernetics patriarch who prophesied the existence of intelligent machines in 1948, also studied Hinduism and believed his own intelligence was the result of reincarnation. Vivid accounts from his children and colleagues, which reveal bouts of depression and insecurity aggravated by a domineering father (and later, wife) shed light on Wiener's inner life. Reading about his traumatic experiences makes unpacking the mechanics of electronic computing even more worthwhile. – Terry Tang
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