DVD | THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD
Alexander Korda / Criterion
It’s often surprising how certain films can feel fresh and modern, despite their relative age. A small number of anachronisms aside, The Thief of Baghdad is one such movie, even though it’s well over 60 years old. Korda’s endlessly enchanting tale was originally shot in glorious Technicolor, made even more vivid and vibrant through Criterion’s beautiful restoration; the colors seem nearly alive, lending a surreal storybook feel to the film’s expansive sets and elaborate costumes. Film buffs will love the inventive special effects, the stirring sound track, and Korda’s classic, workmanlike directorial style; the timeless tale and the sweeping action set pieces will captivate children of all ages. It’s a nice little break from the self-referential post-modern paradigm of our times, recalling a simpler era when men were men, women were women, and the bad guys always paid their dues.

DVD | THE DIARY OF THE DEAD
George Romero / The Weinstein Company
Romero’s fifth zombie flick is hardly his best, but it’s still heads-and-tails better than the rest of the gore-heavy schlock that Hollywood’s been peddling for the past few years. Think of this little film as a remake of his seminal Night of the Living Dead for the myspace crowd, a new type of zombie movie for a generation inundated with nonstop infonoise. It’s not as subtle as his previous works, but it’s still a lot of fun; no one brings zombies to life better than Romero, and he’s in fine form here.

CD | FLAVORS OF ENTANGLEMENT
Alanis Morissette / Warner Brothers
I’m going to totally kill my indie cred here, but I really like Alanis Morissette. Over the years, she evolved from her original super-angsty wrist-slitter schtick into a fine, sensitive songwriter with a solid sense of humor. (Seriously, you guys have seen her brilliant cover of “My Humps,” right?) Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m recommending this otherwise flat collection of folkish pop songs. But it’s worth a spin or two, if only to relive your teenage years when “You Oughta Know” totally rocked your world.

CD | ANYWHERE I LAY MY HEAD
Scarlett Johansson / Atco
Well, shit. I should have seen this coming after the Jesus and Scarlett Chain fiasco at Coachella, but seeing this disc in my mailbox still caught me off-guard. Here’s the long and the short: it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, Johansson sounds like an off-key skinned cat in heat, and David Sitek’s (TV on the Radio) production is superb. Little Miss Scarlett is also apparently screwing Ms. Morissette’s ex-beau. There might be some form of cosmic irony at play here, considering the concurrent release dates—doncha’ think?

CD | EL REY
The Wedding Present / Manifesto Records
Generally speaking, pseudo-reunions don’t go well—in my opinion, only Wire and Mission of Burma were able to rise from the grave to still sound as relevant as ever. David Gedge? Not so much. The Wedding Present are forever tied to a time when NME’s C86 comp was the first and last word in brilliant indie pop; Gedge is trying to recapture that magic two decades after the fact, and it just ends up sounding dated. It’s decent mid-90s Britpop, nothing more, nothing less. Keep moving, there’s nothing to see here.