Top Picks: Ruth Rendell's new mystery, 'Little Shop of Horrors' on Blu-ray, and more
Mr. Stay Puft Was here
Christopher Moloney, a "Ghostbusters" fan, noticed something about his daily New York route. "I have a very similar commute to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man," he says, referring to the movie's mushy antagonist that wreaks havoc in the city. Mr. Moloney found a still of the angry marshmallow, held it up in the exact location where Stay Puft stormed Manhattan, took a photo, and posted it online. That led to the creation of FILMography, a blog about his visits to movie locations (mostly in New York) where he holds up a black-and-white photo of a scene juxtaposed against a picture of the real-life scene in color, and snaps a nearly seamless image of the two. Check them out at philmfotos.tumblr.com.
Upstairs-Downstairs mystery
Leave it to the prolific Ruth Rendell to put her trademark spin on the upstairs-downstairs genre. In her new book, The St. Zita Society (Scribner, 257 pp.), she once again preys on pride, vanity, and greed in a story about the foibles and maneuverings of the so-called St. Zita Society, named, we're told, for the patron saint of servants. The members work in a seemingly quiet, posh London neighborhood, but, as any Rendell fan knows, self-created mayhem is sure to follow.
One really hungry plant
Fans of Audrey the man-eating plant, rejoice. Little Shop of Horrors arrives Oct. 9 on Blu-ray. This special edition has commentary by director Frank Oz on the theatrical version, with an introduction by Mr. Oz and a behind-the-scenes documentary. It also features a newly restored, 20-minute ending from the director's first cut, now in color.
Meet the candidates
PBS's "Frontline" kicks off its special election coverage Oct. 9 with The Choice 2012, a two-hour documentary on President Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney. The film goes beyond the known biographies with dozens of interviews and hundreds of hours of research on the candidates' hopes, their dreams, and their formative years – all through the eyes of friends, family, colleagues, and critics alike.
Entering the Matrix
In the 1999 movie "The Matrix," the fiercest action sequences employed a cinematic trick where time slowed down. Our hero, Neo, had such laserlike focus that his reflexes seemed to defy time. The new iPhone and iPad game Super Hexagon somehow tricks players into feeling the same way. This fast-twitch action game requires such intense concentration that 15-second matches feel as if they took a full minute. The result is exhausting, baffling, and – when played well – supremely satisfying.
Classic perfection
Khatia Buniatishvili, a Georgian pianist with a world-class technique that has been described as a "force of nature," has brought her love of Chopin to her second self-titled CD, Khatia Buniatishvili: Chopin. The disc contains five masterworks, including Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Ballade No. 4 in F minor, and Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor. The album was recorded with the Orchestre de Paris, under Paavo Järvi.
