Reviews

Nothing dates faster than camp, and here The Fifth Element (aka David LaChappelle does Blade Runner), barely six years old, is already fraying around its fluorescent edges. The plot is nonsensical (Gary Oldman's Zorg aiding giant ball of evil etc), the model work is ropey, and the production design very Munchkinland. Thankfully, Bruce Willis' taciturn hero and Milla Jovovich's super-femme still hold firm at the heart.

Solo album by big-in-US band leader

Unheralded Pennsylvanian trio conjure up more quiet magic

Delightful tribute to country womanhood

Live mini-album debut by widely-tipped young blues fans

Avant-ambient landmark

Lord Percival surveys his manor of song and declares it most fine

Horror classic remade for post-Scream teens

Murder and extortion in northern China

Never released theatrically in the UK, this operatic epic about a Korean peace delegation struggling to make it home from remotest China encompasses swordplay, romance, brooding landscapes and thousands of extras, yet doesn't quite add up to the crowd-pleaser it ought to be. Zhang Ziyi of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame is on hand as a princess who hooks up with the mostly Korean cast.