TOP PICK – BOOK
The Joker: A Visual History of the Clown Prince of Crime
(Universe)
Batman's arch nemesis is one of the all-time great comic-book villains. He's also one of the sickest. This terrific book chronicles the Joker's twisted path, from his first appearance in 1940 to Heath Ledger's brilliant take in The Dark Knight. It pulls together more than 200 photos from comics, TV shows, movies, and video games for a detailed look at the grinning bad guy.
DVD
Dressed to Kill
(Twentieth Century Fox)
Three years before he made Scarface, Brian De Palma directed this psychological thriller about a prostitute who witnesses a murder and then becomes the killer's next target. Michael Caine plays a psychiatrist with a secret. With a major nod to Psycho, it's De Palma's most Hitchockian movie and one of his most suspenseful. It makes its Blu-ray debut one year after its 30th anniversary.
VIDEO GAME
Kirby Mass Attack
(Nintendo)
Know what's better than Kirby? Ten Kirbys. In this new game for the DS, the little pink dude gets split into 10 parts. The goal is to get him back to his original self, but you'll have so much fun smashing through walls, beating up enemies, and exploring new worlds with all of them, you'll never want them to leave. Best of all, you can control all 10 at the same time for some major ass-kicking.
CD
Miles Davis Quintet – Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1
(Columbia/Legacy)
Miles' great mid-'60s quintet (featuring Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams) was a pretty tight combo when it recorded these Newport Jazz Festival in Europe concerts. The four-disc box includes three CDs and one DVD documenting stellar performances of classics like “'Round Midnight” and “On Green Dolphin Street” from Belgium, Denmark, and France.
DVD
Warner Archive '60s Scares
(Warner Archive)
Three new MOD movies (available at warnerarchive.com) focus on psychological thrillers from the early 1960s. The Couch and Hysteria twist around stories about, respectively, a serial killer and an amnesiac, but Black Zoo is the one you should put at the top of your list. Michael Gough (Alfred in Tim Burton's Batman) stars as a vengeful zookeeper who uses animals to do his dirty work. Beastly!
