On the radar

Don Delillo - "Point Omega" - Feb. 2

Don DeLillo, widely regarded as one of the most important novelists of his generation (and who just so happens to have been at Skidmore for a book reading last October), describes the inspiration for his new novel to The Wall Street Journal: "I began to wonder about how we see and what we see, and what we miss seeing when we're looking at things in a more conventional format… So I placed characters in the gallery and began from there." Sounds about right for an author who scholars and critics have described as one of the quintessential post-modernist writers. In a departure from DeLillo's recent, more subdued work, "Point Omega" deals with such weighty topics as Iraq War and the power of media to alter human's perception of the world. Although, as usual, his plot is far from linear and thus difficult to summarize, it revolves around Richard Elster, a military defense planner on the verge of retirement who agrees to be filmed for a documentary in the middle of the desert. Knowing DeLillo, this premise will serve a launching point for philosophical ruminations that are either ingenious or incomprehensible, depending on your capacity (or tolerance) for his kind of writing.

Massive Attack - "Heligoland" - Feb. 8

Critics' reaction to Bristol-based trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack's upcoming album, "Heligoland" is, well, mediocre. BBC Music describes "Heliogland" as "rich, textured and seductive." However, the general consensus is that Massive Attack has delivered a good, if not particularly groundbreaking album. According to "Slant Magazine," the boys - sorry, middle aged men - from Bristol "[reach] to rapidly into the bag of trademarked Massive Attack tricks." Nevertheless, fans should be happy to get their hands on the duo's first non-soundtrack LP of new material since 2003's "100th Window," which is reported to be remarkably consistent, not to mention packed with guest artists such as Blur's Damon Albarn, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adibimpe, Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, to name a few.

"From Paris with Love" - Starring John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Directed by Pierre Morel - Feb. 5

The French have been giving the Chinese quite a run for their money lately when it comes to stylized, blood-soaked action movies. Pierre Morel, who (coincidentally?) directed the original version of "District 13," another of this week's film releases, delivers a film in the style of John Woo. The premise: by-the-books, low-level CIA operative James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is paired with experienced maverick Charlie Wax (John Travolta) for a mission that more or less consists of blowing away numerous members of the Parisian underworld. Critics generally agree that, despite a rather thin plot (big surprise!), "From Paris With Love" delivers on its promise as a fast-paced action movie and, at a brisk 95 minutes, doesn't overstay its welcome.

Mass Effect 2 - Bioware, Xbox 360 & PC - Jan. 26

It's rare that the main draw of a video game is it's story, but that seems to be the case for Mass Effect 2, the second in a trilogy of sci-fi themed Action-RPGs for the PC and Xbox 360. Developed by Bioware, known for penning deep, engaging narratives that force the player to make ethical decisions that, to an extent, determine the outcome of the game, fans of role playing games will no doubt relish the opportunity to interact, via the games cutting edge conversation system, with the colorful caste of characters that inhabit the incredibly rich Mass Effect universe. However, there is also plenty of satisfying shooting at the player's disposal, as well as an array of crazy powers to dispatch enemies. Critics agree that Bioware has ironed out most of the flaws (lackluster shooting mechanics, occasional slowdown and a confusing interface, to name a few) present in the only slightly less superb first installment of the series. Mass Effect 2 has received a score 96 on Metacritic, a Web site- that averages together reviews from numerous online and print publications, the third best score for an Xbox 360 in the system's four year lifespan.