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Media Mix

A Quick Take on New Releases for Sunday, July 2, 2006

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BASIC STORY

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WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

WHAT YOU WON'T

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The Devil and Miss Prym By Paulo Coelho HarperCollins $24.95

The best-selling author of "The Alchemist" crafts a parable about the effects of temptation (in this case, the offering of riches in exchange for a single murder) on the self-proclaimed "good" people living in a small European village.

"You needed to get to know me better: now you do. I am a man who walks the earth with a devil at his side." — A mysterious stranger explains his reasons for bringing ruin to the town

Coelho's keen sense of human nature will raise worthwhile questions for many readers about their own life decisions.

His spare writing style makes for disappointingly thin characters, so the principle question in the book — will they or won't they? — isn't as compelling as it should be. — Reviewed by Sara Cardace

A Disorder Peculiar to the Country By Ken Kalfus Ecco $24.95

A Brooklyn Heights couple in the midst of an epically bitter divorce experiences 9/11 through the lens of their own domestic terror campaigns. But wait, it's a comedy!

"Many wept, but most of their faces had gone as blank as the indifferent sky. Marshall went among them and headed for the bridge, nearly skipping." — Marshall Harriman mistakenly believes his soon-to-be-ex-wife was on United Flight 93

This is — despite Kalfus's skewering of the very notion — a heroic book, brimming with an almost evangelical need to let a satirical truth replace the fact-based fictions of some glowing obituaries.

Some may find the basic premise unsettling; several surrealistic twists toward the novel's close feel like the author exorcising his narrative demons, arguably at the reader's expense. — Adriana Leshko

American V: A Hundred Highways Johnny Cash Lost Highway $13.98

Recorded in the months between the death of his wife, June Carter Cash, and his own passing in September 2003, the final recording session of the Man in Black's storied life was with producer Rick Rubin.

"It should be a while / Before I see Doctor Death / So it would sure be nice / If I could get my breath." — "Like the 309" (the last song Cash wrote)

Whether he's covering Bruce Springsteen and Gordon Lightfoot or singing his own tunes, Cash's weathered baritone is as electrifying as it is haunting.

Sorry, naysayers: The "I-like-everything-except-country" defense simply does not apply to Cash. (Purists might balk at the fact that these recordings weren't completed until after his passing.) — Chris Richards

Detective Comics #821 By Paul Dini and J.H. Williams III DC Comics $2.99

When Gotham's high society becomes prey for a new predator, the Dark Knight has to make like one of the elite in order to flush out the culprit.

"I rarely get tired fighting muggers and madmen at this hour, but tonight all I want to do is go home and sleep." — Batman, bleary-eyed after one party too many

Dini, one of the creative forces behind Batman's award-winning animated incarnations in the '90s, finds a perfect complement in Williams's moody, inventive art.

The uninspired villain won't be joining Batman's classic Rogues Gallery, and the mystery's resolution feels too rushed. — Evan Narcisse

Flight, Vol. 3 Edited by Kazu Kibuishi Ballantine Books $24.95

The acclaimed anthology collects short stories from top talent in the fields of comics, animation and illustration.

"You think we just leap around, all nimbly-bimbly, sprinkling fairy dust hither and thither? That's no bloody fun.” — A fairy gives a naive girl a rude awakening in "Old Oak Trees"

The stories exhibit a dizzying array of styles and moods, from the tense adventure of "The Rescue" to the sardonic etchings of "Earl D."

While all of the entries look uniquely beautiful, some, like "Tea" and "Conquest," don't feel fully fleshed out. — E.N.

The Libertine Rated R The Weinstein Company $28.95

Johnny Depp plays the sybaritic, syphilitic Earl of Rochester, a 17th-century man of letters who defies King Charles II (John Malkovich) and falls for an actress (Samantha Morton).

"Allow me to be frank at the commencement. You will not like me. The gentlemen will be envious and the ladies will be repelled." — The Earl lets his audience know they're in for a very bumpy ride

The film does a fine job of capturing a depraved Restoration-era funk, and Depp manages to make a deep impression as a poet who only pretends to embrace life.

The film inevitably drags as it depicts the Earl's humorless descent into sickness; this is the kind of period film where people recite verse while fornicating. — Greg Zinman

The Matador Rated R The Weinstein Company $28.95

When a lonely assassin (Pierce Brosnan) and a down-on-his-luck businessman (Greg Kinnear) meet in a Mexico City bar, a problematic friendship ensues.

"I'm a big fan of the 'everybody's got to pee' theory of assassination." — Julian (Brosnan) fills in Danny (Kinnear) on thetricks of the trade

Even when it doesn't work, a buddy film about killing people is a refreshingly cynical idea; it's fun to see Brosnan turn his usually suave 007 persona on its ear.

Kinnear's naive, aw-shucks routine falls flat; the duo's deep bond is hardly more believable than the kind found in a garden-variety romantic comedy. — G.Z.

And 1 Streetball PS2, Xbox Rated Everyone 10+ Ubisoft $39.99

Play basketball as it's played on the streets, where the crowd is won over by grandstanding and embarrassing your opponents.

Choose full-or half-court games with as many players as you want — from one-on-one to a full-team matchup.

The soundtrack — a hip-hop mix tape courtesy of DJ Green Lantern — is the biggest draw.

The control scheme isn't just unnecessarily complicated, it's one of the most difficult of any sports game. — Christopher Healy

PHOTOS: Courtesy
Adapted from version orginally published in The Washington Post