See, Hear, Read: our experts pick the movie, music and book release of the month

See, Hear, Read: our experts pick the movie, music and book release of the month

They love it. We want it. Three red-hot releases

“This was a dark horse for the Best Picture Oscar this year. It’s a 9/11 film, but it takes a very unusual perspective on the effects of that day. A child finds a key his dead father left behind and has to figure out what it’s for. In his search, he meets others who have suffered similar losses. Stephen Daldry has a real knack for telling bittersweet stories that shun the usual Holly­wood happy ending. This one would make a great double bill with Daldry’s The Reader.”
—Ed Guca Owner of Movie Art Decor

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, (April 3)


“The Shins are one of those bands that go under a lot of people’s radars. James Mercer is a fantastic singer and songwriter. Broken Bells, his side project with Danger Mouse, is pretty good, but I think he’s been saving up all his best songs for this album. He assembled an entirely new band under the Shins name, and I gotta say, I don’t miss the other guys. It sounds like he has a British Invasion band backing him—the new songs are loud and bombastic.”
—Rob Butcher Staffer at Sonic Boom

Port of Morrow, The Shins (March 20)


“I was born too late to experience Expo 67 and always felt I’d missed out on something special. A friend of mine from Montreal who was there described it as Disney World for Canadians. I’ve been wanting to read a book about it for a long time, but I don’t think anyone’s written one in over two decades. Lownsbrough brings to life this pivotal point in our history.”
—Meredith Usher Staffer at TheatreBooks

The Best Place to Be: Expo 67 and Its Time, by John Lownsbrough (April 17)

(Images: Top courtesy of Warner Home Entertainment; middle courtesy of Columbia Records; bottom courtesy of McNally Robinson. Illustrations by Mia Overgaard. )