CULTURE JAMMING -- NOVEMBER 18

TOP PICK

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

(Rockstar)

Available for the DS for the past six months, this fun outing from the hit videogame series finally makes it to the PSP. And the results are every bit as time-sucking. This time around, you’re a member of the Chinese mob tracking down your dad’s killer and a missing sword. Best of all, there’s plenty of totally awesome carnage along the way.

CD

The Carpenters: 40/40

(A&M/UMe)

These soft-rock siblings got hipsters’ seal of approval in the ‘90s, when everyone from Sonic Youth to Sheryl Crow sang their praises and songs. This two-disc collection gathers 40 songs from their brief career (they recorded for only a dozen years). Some are unbelievably sappy; others ride hooks as big as their legacy.

CD/DVD

Duran Duran: Rio, Live at Hammersmith ’82

(Capitol/EMI)

The synth-pop dandies’ breakthrough 1982 album gets a two-CD “Special Limited Edition” release, complete with demos, B-sides and U.K. mixes. Even better is the HammersmithDVD, which gathers a previously unreleased 1982 concert, some TV performances and all of the groundbreaking music videos from Rio.

VIDEO

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

(Twentieth Century Fox)

The third movie in the hit CGI series about a trio of prehistoric buddies finally gets around to the real stars of the Jurassic Period: dinosaurs! It looks great on Blu-ray, especially the wide-open vista scenes. But the real fun is picking out the voices of Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Jane Lynch and Simon Pegg as old-school critters.

DVD

SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth or Square

(Nickelodeon/Paramount)

In the latest SpongeBob adventure (they call it a movie, but it’s really just an extended episode), the yellow sponge, Patrick, Sandy, et al., become trapped in Mr. Krabs’ freezer, leading to a bunch of flashbacks that never happened. It’s just an excuse to drop the characters into funny what-if? situations. Pink and Cee-Lo also sing a couple of songs.

--Michael Gallucci