Artist: Fatboy Slim. Album: That Old Pair of Jeans – Single.
Artist: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Album: B.R.M.C.
Artist: Dragonette. Album: Galore.
Artist: The Submarines. Album: Honeysuckle Weeks.
Artist: Sara Bareilles. Album: Little Voice.
Much as Bruce Wayne knows what he must become by the time The Dark Knight has fully visited its devastation, so does director Christopher Nolan know what this summer blockbuster must be—bearing not just the usual comic book tent pole considerations, but also the burden of a talented actor's abbreviated legacy and the high standard set by Nolan's own Batman Begins: a riveting spectacle for the multiplexes, and an object lesson in morality for the masses. Does the movie occasionally gloss over contrivance and coincidence? Sure. Does any of that end up mattering in the face of a franchise behemoth executed with this much precision and skill, juggling shattering set pieces and intimate character arcs with complete assurance? Not even a little bit. The themes are operatic, the rising sense of panic and dread tidal in their force; and Heath Ledger unleashes his own tsunami as a Joker who's basically as stone-evil as a misbegotten creature can be and still have both feet rooted firmly, grimly to the ground. Grade: A
Artist: Wilco. Album: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
At this point the breadth and depth of Guillermo del Toro's raw talent are undeniable. He's been reliably elevating pulp to pop art since he left his mark on 2002's shoulda-been-forgettable Blade II. His ability to elicit wonder and joy via the sorts of set pieces that many of his peers increasingly execute on autopilot, and to continually present visual effects in ways that feel fresh and tactile in an era of impersonal, overblown spectacle (where "wonders tend never to cease," to borrow a phrase Owen Gleiberman once used to describe feature animation), are rare gifts. Hellboy II is packed with enough technical flourishes to nourish several summer blockbusters; indeed, the eye-popping density of some shots occasionally borders on the exhausting; however, it speaks to some achievement that the imagery frequently registers as gorgeous despite the director's proclivity for poop-creatures, vagina-dentata face-huggers, tumor babies and orifice anxiety. The inventiveness almost makes up for what is otherwise a routine story, affectionately if predictably plotted. Also predictable: del Toro's upcoming Hobbit adaptation is going to set a new standard for mainstream fantasy entertainment. Grade: B+
Artist: Tiga. Album: Sexor.
Artist: New Young Pony Club. Album: Fantastic Playroom.
Artist: Thomas Newman. Album: WALL∙E (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture).
Ratchet & Clank's first PlayStation Portable outing, Size Matters, was generally well-received but I found it perfunctory, glitchy and ultimately unplayable. In my experience, Secret Agent Clank, despite garnering more mixed reviews, is head and shoulders more surprising, inventive and enjoyable.