Reviews

Pam Grier is a nurse turned vigilante, on a mission to avenge her strung-out kid sister by taking out the pushers, bad cops and corrupt politicians feeding off her neighbourhood. Hustling along to Roy Ayres' soundtrack, Jack Hill's 1973 movie is often grisly but treats its sex and violence with a surprising, and refreshing, matter-of-factness.

Remember the '80s, when Dan Aykroyd comedies were event movies? This 1988 stinker brings back plenty of bad memories, with Aykroyd playing a mental patient masquerading as a radio talk-show shrink. Not even co-stars Walter Matthau and Charles Grodin can wring a laugh from this wretched relic.

Sporadically entertaining rock piss-takes

Second album from Reading Krautrockers

Chicago-via-Kentucky multi-instrumentalist gets jiggy with the post-rock crowd

Metal box package for blues veterans' attempt to revive their illustrious past

New York weirdos make a strange, glorious noise

Early five-string outing from country-rock pioneer

Uncompromising tale of crime and punishment

Another self-regarding screenplay from Andrew (The Truman Show, Gattaca) Niccol, but Al Pacino is on hand to paper over the concept's cracks. A director whose prima donna (Winona Ryder) walks out, he simulates virtual actress S1mOne ("hmm, less Streep, more Bacall"), who becomes a global superstar. Could go further, but the comedy's smart and the acting, ironically, is great.