In a small, obscure picture, a cast of unknowns, including eleven-year-old Scarlett Johansson, brings a quirky story to life. Two orphaned sisters are on the run, the older of whom is pregnant. With no idea of what to do about the impending birth, they kidnap a quiet spinster.

Grade: B-.

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DJ Ben Sowton welcomes guest Frédéric Messent in a lush mix of deep house that delivers a laid-back groove and a sophisticated ambience without getting overbearing with hard attitude. Messent’s session gets a little trudgy at times, but this wonderful double-disk set is still good for many spins.

Grade: B.

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A cast of unknowns and Michael Stipe star in this quiet, reflective, and oddly-named picture about the grandson of a railroad worker, who saves the Yosemite Valley Railroad from the scrap yard by buying and attempting to run it. The pace is glacial sometimes, but the acting is solid.

Grade: B.

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This beautifully-produced album by electronic group, Blue Six, shows off the stylings of the anchor live act on the Naked Music label, with extra remixes of the best songs. The style is laid-back, soulful jazzy deep house music and the vocalists that sing on these tracks are talented.

Grade: B+.

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Comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon star in this strange adaptation of an unfilmable novel. Done in mockumentary style that may lose some viewers, this short comedy follows a film crew as it disastrously attempts to do the impossible—adapt a nine-volume comedic novel into a feature-length film.

Grade: B-.

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DJ Gregory and Ben Sowton add another beautiful mix to the line-up of the Bargrooves compilations. This set is funky and full of Latin-tinged stompers with plenty of vocal tracks to keep it fresh. Many of the tracks on this set are by familiar artists of the genre.

Grade: A-.

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Herbie Mann, João Gilberto, and Antonio Carlos Jobim join forces on this relaxed set of gorgeous bossa nova standards. The solo work by Mann’s flute, the unique vocal stylings of Gilberto, a surprising vocal number by Mann, and the arrangements by Jobim all contribute to a beautiful half-hour vacation.

Grade: A-.

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Morena Baccarin, Brad Beyer, and a cast of unknowns star in this surprisingly entertaining film debut from writer / director Daniel Kay. The story centers around a group of struggling artists in New York, trying to start artistic careers. A strong script and good cast brings these endearing characters to life.

Grade: B.

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Om Records continues an excellent series of continuously mixed West Coast house sets, this time featuring Inland Knights and Olivier Desmet. The first disk, mixed by Inland Knights, features signature San Francisco track, some vocal and some instrumental. Desmet unleashes a set of house tracks next that keeps us grinning.

Grade: A.

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Dennis Hopper stars in this badly-produced Australian historical piece. The Irish bushranger Dan Morgan was a bush bandit in eighteenth-century Australia, apparently a legend down under. Sadly, this picture is ineptly acted, badly produced, trudgingly slow, and generally has the ambience of a low-budget film school project.

Grade: D-.

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