Reviews

After the steamy funk of Boogie Nights and the Aimee Mann tearjerkers of Magnolia, PT Anderson's new film basks in heady strings and wonky harmoniums, scored by regular collaborator Jon Brion. It's deliberately dizzying and disorientating, and not always pleasurable. But the borrowing of Nilsson's "He Needs Me" from Altman's Popeye, sung with sugary desire by Shelley Duvall, is inspired. Waiting to interview Anderson in a hotel lobby recently, I congratulated Emily Watson on her singing of this. It's the only thing I've ever said to Emily Watson.

Radio-friendly Norwegian beat mavericks raised on R.E.M. and Teenage Fanclub

Double CD compendium from Mancunian Deee-lite

Seminal soul man, best known for "Ain't No Sunshine", "Lean On Me" and "Lovely Day", back in print

Frothy Spielberg caper wastes classy cast

Jackie Chan does James Bond

Gary Sinise directs John Steinbeck's fatalistic Depression-era fable of friendship and sacrifice with a reverence for the text and a painterly eye for period 1930s detail. Sinise also co-stars alongside Sherilyn Fenn and John Malkovich, who anchors this 1992 remake as mentally challenged gentle giant Lenny. A handsome American classic, even if the overrated Malky's twitchy mannerisms irritate as much as ever.

West Country power pop brothers gonna work it out

Babylon burns on reggae superstar's nu-roots stormer

Japanese prog band keep genre alive