Reviews

CSI: Season 3

The hugely popular crime series continues to thrive, with William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger and team solving heinous murders by looking very intensely through microscopes at bloodied strands of fibre while beautifully back-lit. That one trick's wearing a little thin, but the crash-bang camerawork, designer violence and Vegas vistas keep it shinily seductive.

The Fall – A Touch Sensitive: Live

Capturing the ramshackle chaos and converse musical tautness of new millennium Fall, this professionally filmed gig in Blackburn from September 2002 is a connoisseur's delight of old faves ("Mr Pharmacist") and recent classics ("Two Librans"). A great fan souvenir, blighted only by Mark E Smith's foolish decision to allow some leery Mancoid guest singer to ruin "Big New Prinz".

This Month In Americana

Hawaiian guitarist/pedal-steeler's expertly bottled Pacific breeze

Sluts Of Trust – We Are All Sluts Of Trust

Impressive bass-free post-hardcore debut

Throbbing Gristle – The Taste Of TG: A Beginner’s Guide To The Music Of Throbbing Gristle

Introduction to the work of recently reformed art/industrial/electronica collective

The Saddest Trip

Superbly packaged box set of all five Garcia solo discs, plus oodles of outtakes

Blind Flight

Worthy take on Keenan/McCarthy hostage crisis

Hidalgo

Man and horse in perfect harmony

Spy Kids 3D: Game Over

The third in Robert Rodriguez's winning series sees the plucky youngsters enter a maniacal video-game world to confront misunderstood supervillain Sylvester Stallone. Plot barely matters, though, as the movie exists only for Rodriguez to indulge in a rampant, sweetly senseless exercise in reviving retro-3D gimmickry. All in all, how Tron should have been.

S.W.A.T.

Predictably brash big-screen version of unremarkable '70s TV show, with Samuel L Jackson knocking a rogue SWAT team into shape and making unlikely heroes of them. There's more gunfire than dialogue, so Jackson isn't asked to do more than shout a lot, while Colin Farrell squints manfully and kills everyone in sight.
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