Reviews

Topical Kurdish-American tales of pain and friendship

Golden boy Sam Mendes' less-than-feelgood follow-up to American Beauty suffered a critical backlash, but its daringly gloomy photography (by the late Conrad Hall) is often breathtaking. An unsmiling Tom Hanks' hitman-with-a-heart is underwritten, but a wrinkly Paul Newman still oozes charisma and Jude Law's credibly sinister. A surprisingly bleak, long dark night of the soul.

You might think there's not enough surviving live footage of The Yardbirds to fill a full-length DVD. And you'd be right, of course. But clips from half-a-dozen black-and-white TV shows are interspersed with retrospective interviews to create a compelling band history in which the comments of Jeff Beck are particularly candid. But the revelation is singer/harmonica player Keith Relf, who exudes charisma despite being surrounded by such future stars as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.

Disturbingly funny debut tackles life and death with the help of a giant rabbit

Lame comedy R&B, strictly for haters

Fine debuts from new alt.country queens

Capricious duets from two top players

BRMC buddy rides Britpop-fuelled rocket

Sheffield's ever-quirky modern dance troupe refine their chilly club choons

Collection of early work from German techno duo