Wonder stuff

Crotchety improv from Chicago's avant-roots collective

Stunning one-man set as the eclectic troubadour of cool goes back to his folk-blues roots

The Wachowski brothers' kick-ass cyber-noir sequel bows to mainstream demands but still delivers

Fourth album proves crowning glory of Detroit duo's meteoric career to date

Dick Lester's faithful two-part version of Dumas' adventure tale has truly imaginative action sequences, a cracklingly witty screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser, swashbuckling heroes (Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay), OTT villains (Faye Dunaway, Christopher Lee), a fantastic supporting cast (everyone from Charlton Heston to Spike Milligan) and a visibly huge budget. Wonderful stuff.

Black metal from Norway

Brazenly preposterous Manhattan thriller follows clinical psychologist Michael Douglas as he tries desperately to extract the location of a stolen jewel from the mind of trauma patient Brittany Murphy to satisfy the demands of crazed kidnapper Sean Bean. Eminently ludicrous stuff, but wonderfully anchored by Douglas' trademark beleaguered male schtick.

Beguiling collection of sepia-tinged ephemera spanning 1993-2002 from LA songstress, sometime Creekdipper and full-time fairer half of Mark Olson