Just one review this week:

The Host

Nope, not the recent tween film. The Host (2006) is a about a giant semi-aquatic mutant creature terrorizing Korea. There's something for everyone in this modern take on the classic Kaiju (giant monster) movie: a freaky-looking creature, silly slapstick humor, a young girl in trouble, a slacker turned hero, some great action sequences, and some surprisingly grim and serious moments, too. So whether you're in the mood for something different, or (like me) you grew up with a healthy dose of Godzilla and Gamera on Saturday mornings, this is a fun watch. It even gets the Wifey Seal of Approval despite the subtitles :-)

Radiohead: Kid A

Kid A, released in 2000, is where Radiohead took another big in the "experimental" direction. From vocal manipulations to obscure electronic instruments to chaotic 3-part horn section improv, this one has it all. It also turns out that what I thought was a Theremin is actually an Ondes Martenot. This is by no means an obscure album (4 million copies sold worldwide!) but I'm always amazed and impressed by how widely appreciated these guys are.

Marwencol

You've never seen a documentary like this before. Marwencol is the story of Mark Hogancamp, who was brutally assaulted by five men and suffers serious brain damage including 9 days in a coma and little memory of his previous life. He takes refuge in his own back yard by creating a detailed scale model of a fictional town, Marwencol, set in WWII Germany. I don't want to give anything else away. Please do yourself a favor and just go watch this.

The Cardigans: First Band on the Moon

I won't even call this a guilty pleasure because it's too good for that. You probably remember The Cardigans for their kitschy pop hit from 1996: Lovefool. Give the whole album, First Band on the Moon, a listen with a good pair of headphones. They're a tight band and the layers of sound are truly colorful without sounding over-produced. On tunes like "Losers" and "Step On Me," Nina Persson delivers some surprisingly dark lyrics with her "girly" voice over a variety of guitar and synth timbres. And sorry old-school metalheads, but I LOVE their lounge/trip-hop cover of "Iron Man."

Comic books: Prophet

I'm hooked on this after reading about it on a geek-site and grabbing the first issue online. Prophet is a weird, trippy, biological tale of John Prophet, a cloned earthling who wakes up in the distant future on a mission to re-establish the Earth Empire. It turns out there are hundreds of Prophet-clones scattered throughout the galaxy and the writers have a field day with this, creating countless worlds for these Prophets to explore. The environments are usually "alive," quite literally in the sense that many of the worlds, buildings, and modes of transportation are creatures feeding off each other. Go check out issue 21 (first issue of the re-launch) at Comixoloy.com for free!

Ozomatli

I found Ozomatli this week when I was looking up Chali 2na, the rapper with the low voice in Jurassic 5. Ozomatli is a crazy mix of Latin, funk, hip-hop, etc. that has been around since 1995. I've just started listening to their eponymous album, and my frist impression is a big thumbs up: they mix genres very well and it's a head-bobbing good time. Definitely worth a listen, especially for Jurassic 5 fans.

Superman Family Adventures

In honor of Free Comic Book Day tomorrow here's a recommendation for parents looking for kid-friendly comic books (which are increasingly difficult to find!) Superman Family Adventures is wacky, well-written, and cute-without-making-me-want-to-vomit. The bad news is it's gonig out of print after only 12 issues, so grab it while you still can :-( But do keep an eye out for writer Art Baltazar's next book, "Aw Yeah Comics!"