Reviews

Laughably misguided sci-fi romance

No, not the dodgy '80s pop starlet but an even dodgier Heath Ledger vehicle which lasted, ooh, minutes in the cinema. Heath's a priest investigating a possible murder within the murky corridors of the Catholic Church, in a role which has Antonio-Banderasturned-this-down written all over it. Gothic horror ensues, but your stomach will churn for all the wrong reasons.

Takeshi Kitano delicately intertwines three stories of endless love, inspired by traditional Japanese puppet theatre. In the main strand, a young man returns to his spurned lover following her suicide attempt, and the two roam the country, bound together by a red rope. Intersecting stories concern a yakuza pining for the girl he deserted, and a reclusive, disfigured pop star, stalked by an obsessive fan. A strange, visually ravishing film, with Takeshi's meditative, minimalist style as hypnotic as ever.

Barefoot, chain-smoking and velvetvoiced, the Cape Verdean diva returns

Oddly English-sounding quirkadelica from Paris

Return of Ed Sanders' and Tuli Kupferberg's legendary punk-poets

Major label debut produced by Talking Head Jerry Harrison

First release on boutique imprint from synth-pop veteran behind "Pop Muzik"

Best known for their late-'60s hit "Only One Woman" and its identically arranged follow-up "The Walls Fall Down", the Marbles were driven by the sheet metal-bending larynx of Graham Bonnet and the prolific writing of the Gibb brothers, who are responsible for half of the tracks featured here.

Rollicking techno daftness from John Woo