Like their previous Mendelssohn release on BIS (The Complete Concertos), the Amsterdam Sinfonietta under the baton of Lev Markiz returns for another SACD filled with more than four hours of Mendelssohn's music, this time, the complete string symphonies. Mendelssohn's 13 string symphonies were written between the incredibly young ages of 11 and 15. They are an incredibly revealing portrait of Mendelssohn's dramatic and rapid development from compositions reliant on imitation to a voice all his own. The Amsterdam Sinfonietta's performances of these early but by no means juvenile works are impeccably clean and vibrant, creating enough fresh interest from one symphony to the next to keep listeners rapt for the full duration of the album. Sound quality throughout the album is pristinely clear, with every note audible as if you're sitting amongst the musicians as they play.

Mozart was an avowed Freemason, and his connection to the order became integrated with his compositional output. In 1785 he composed the Maurerische Trauermusik (Masonic Funeral Music). It was written in honor of two deceased brethren - Franz, Count Esterhazy de Galantha and Georg August, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Mozart associated certain musical motifs with Masonic ideas. The rising interval of the major sixth and various rhythmic embodiments of Masonic ritual knocks were among the elements he used as musical symbols. Although the Requiem is not specifically Masonic in nature, there are aspects present including some of these musical motifs. This 1991 recording bears the signature of Jordi Savall's talent as a conductor - the intensity of emotion, clarity of structure and the emphasis on singing musical lines. This new multichannel re-mastering sheds new light on a true gem of the back catalog.

The Aviator is a 2004 American biographical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by John Logan, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It is the story of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, drawn largely upon numerous sources including a biography by Charles Higham. The film centers on Hughes' life from the late 1920s to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate while simultaneously growing more unstable due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Aviator was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning five, including one for actress Cate Blanchett.

Gangs of New York may achieve greatness with the passage of time. Mixed reviews were inevitable for a production this grand (and this troubled behind the scenes), but it's as distinguished as any of director Martin Scorsese's more celebrated New York stories. From its astonishing 1846 prologue to the city's infernal draft riots of 1863, the film aspires to erase the decorum of textbooks and chronicle 19th-century New York as a cauldron of street warfare.

As far as major-label debuts by underground bands go, Green is fairly uncompromising. While it displays a more powerful guitar sound on "Get Up," "Turn You Inside Out," and "Orange Crush," it also takes more detours than Document, whether it's the bizarrely affecting contemporary folk of "The Wrong Child" and "You Are the Everything," the bubblegum of "Stand" and "Pop Song 89," or the introspection of the lovely "Hairshirt" and "World Leader Pretend."

As far as major-label debuts by underground bands go, Green is fairly uncompromising. While it displays a more powerful guitar sound on "Get Up," "Turn You Inside Out," and "Orange Crush," it also takes more detours than Document, whether it's the bizarrely affecting contemporary folk of "The Wrong Child" and "You Are the Everything," the bubblegum of "Stand" and "Pop Song 89," or the introspection of the lovely "Hairshirt" and "World Leader Pretend."

Monster is indeed R.E.M.'s long-promised "rock" album; it just doesn't rock in the way one might expect. Instead of R.E.M.'s trademark anthemic bashers, Monster offers a set of murky sludge, powered by the heavily distorted and delayed guitar of Peter Buck. Michael Stipe's vocals have been pushed to the back of the mix, along with Bill Berry's drums, which accentuates the muscular pulse of Buck's chords. From the androgynous sleaze of "Crush With Eyeliner" to the subtle, Eastern-tinged menace of "You," most of the album sounds dense, dirty, and grimy, which makes the punchy guitars of "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and the warped soul of "Tongue" all the more distinctive.

Monster is indeed R.E.M.'s long-promised "rock" album; it just doesn't rock in the way one might expect. Instead of R.E.M.'s trademark anthemic bashers, Monster offers a set of murky sludge, powered by the heavily distorted and delayed guitar of Peter Buck. Michael Stipe's vocals have been pushed to the back of the mix, along with Bill Berry's drums, which accentuates the muscular pulse of Buck's chords. From the androgynous sleaze of "Crush With Eyeliner" to the subtle, Eastern-tinged menace of "You," most of the album sounds dense, dirty, and grimy, which makes the punchy guitars of "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and the warped soul of "Tongue" all the more distinctive.

A boy named George Jung grows up in a struggling family in the 1950's. His mother nags at her husband as he is trying to make a living for the family. It is finally revealed that George's father cannot make a living and the family goes bankrupt. George does not want the same thing to happen to him, and his friend Tuna, in the 1960's, suggests that he deal marijuana. He is a big hit in California in the 1960's, yet he goes to jail, where he finds out about the wonders of cocaine. As a result, when released, he gets rich by bringing cocaine to America. However, he soon pays the price.

Arturo Ripstein directs Foxtrot, a drama filmed in Mexico that borrows much material from The Rules of the Game. Wealthy European aristocrat Liviu (Peter O'Toole) and his wife, Julia (Charlotte Rampling) escape the harsh reality of WWII by vacationing on a tropical island. Due to unforeseen circumstances involving their ship, they end up stranded on the island along with their servants, Eusebio (Jorge Luke) and Larsen (Max Von Sydow).

Northfork is a 2003 film directed by Michael Polish and written by Michael and Mark Polish. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2003 and later received a limited release in the United States on July 11, 2003. The film stars James Woods, Nick Nolte, Daryl Hannah, Anthony Edwards and Peter Coyote. This is the brothers' third film collaboration, after Twin Falls Idaho (1999) and Jackpot (2001).

The year is 1935, and as the summer heat takes hold, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis watches her older sister, Cecilia, get undressed and go frolicking in the garden fountain on her family's country estate. The housekeeper's son, Robbie, a childhood friend and recent Cambridge graduate, also witnesses the innocent act. When Robbie and Cecilia subsequently cross a particularly sensitive boundary and the scheming Briony accuses Robbie of an unspeakable transgression for which the boy is wholly innocent, the repercussions of her unfounded claim threaten to affect all three for decades to come.

George Romero's 1978 follow-up to his classic Night of the Living Dead is quite terrifying and gory (those zombies do like the taste of living flesh). But in its own way, it is just as comically satiric as the first film in its take on contemporary values. This time, we follow the fortunes of four people who lock themselves inside a shopping mall to get away from the marauding dead and who then immerse themselves in unabashed consumerism, taking what they want from an array of clothing and jewelry shops, making gourmet meals, etc. It is Romero's take on Louis XVI in the modern world: keep the starving masses at bay and crank up the insulated indulgence. Still, this is a horror film when all is said and done, and even some of Romero's best visual jokes (a Hare Krishna turned blue-skinned zombie) can make you sweat.

Barenboim's Beethoven symphony cycle is the most emotionally complete, humane, and perfectly realized series of non-period instrument performances of this music to have appeared in decades. The best cycles of the past few years (Mackerras, Gielen, and Harnoncourt) have all belonged to the "authenticist" school to greater or lesser degree. Barenboim's achievement clearly demonstrates that a wonderful tradition is alive, vital, and still capable of renewal through intelligent understanding expressed in partnership with a like-minded orchestra, and above all, through supreme musicianship on the podium. His encounter with this music's generosity of spirit and deep passion will provoke, stimulate, challenge, and delight. - David Hurwitz

Rupert Pupkin is obsessed with becoming a comedy great. However, when he confronts his idol, talk show host Jerry Langford, with a plea to perform on the Jerry's show, he is only given the run-around. He does not give up, however, but persists in stalking Jerry until he gets what he wants. Eventually he must team up with his psychotic Langford-obsessed friend Masha to kidnap the talk show host in hopes of finally getting to perform his stand-up routine.