Hi, this is Kimber with your new releases this week. The last week of February promises to be extraordinarily sunny in terms of releases. Instead of the usual leftovers from last year and duds dumped to avoid embarrassment in higher traffic months, pop culture lovers have a wealth of options, including a well-reviewed novel from a Booker Prize-winning author, a muscular contender for Oscar’s Best Foreign Language Film, and a video game that promises to consume your waking hours (and possibly your dreams) with its disturbing and engaging storyline.

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Fiction: The Infinities by John Banville

As in John Banville’s Booker Prize winner, The Sea, his newest novel is permeated by death. But rather than remain entrenched in the earthly realities of loss, The Infinities brings an interesting edge to the proceedings by introducing Greek gods to the mix. As its aging patriarch is dying, the Godley family surrounds his bed, and they, in turn, are surrounded by Zeus, Pan, and Hermes, disguised as average humans.

With advance praise placing The Infinities among Banville’s best, this promises to be far from average reading. Hermes serves as the story’s narrator, bringing the author’s celebrated prose to life and even adding humor to a novel that could’ve remained entirely dour.

Also new in fiction books this week: Split Image by Robert B. Parker, The Sable Quean by Brian Jacques, and more.  See them all at Fiction New Releases.

Nonfiction: You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story by Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn

You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story arrives just in time for wedding season and will serve as both encouragement and warning for those about to take the plunge (and those who already have). The authors have been married for 13 years and in show business for even longer, which explains the book’s blurbs from comedic giants such as Ben Stiller, Judd Apatow, and David Cross.

It may not be all fun and games as Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn get intensely personal about their marital struggles,  but it’s hard to deny that their senses of humor are intact, even while their marriage may not be so strong. When describing their experiences at couples therapy, Gurwitch writes, “There is a saying that’s bandied about a lot — would you rather be happy or would you rather be right? Right, of course! Being right is what makes me happy.”

Also new in nonfiction books this week: Seizing the White Space by Mark Johnson, Never Tell Our Business to Strangers by Jennifer Mascia, and more. See them all at Nonfiction New Releases.

Movies in Theaters: A Prophet

Avoiding all the elements that turn the uninitiated away from French films, A Prophet is a gritty gangster tale that should draw fans of Scarface and The Godfather. There’s plenty of thought-provoking drama here, but it’s punctuated by moments of violence and action.  Jacques Audiard’s picture about a criminal-turned-prisoner-turned-gang-leader earned a spot among the Oscars nominees for Best Foreign Language Film, and it’s as much a credit to the veteran director as to his fresh-faced star, Tahar Rahim.

Un Prophete picked up the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, bringing deserved attention — and a role in upcoming Hollywood film The Eagle of the Ninth — to Rahim. He’s in almost every scene, and his performance ranks with some of the best debuts in recent memory.

Also new in theaters this week: The Crazies, Cop Out, and more. See them all at Movies in Theaters.

Music: Work by Shout Out Louds

Indie pop purveyors Shout Out Louds are continuing Sweden’s decades-long tradition of of-the-moment music (see ABBA and The Hives) with their third album, Work. The fivesome should likely appeal to fans of Belle & Sebastian, The Shins, and their whistling countrymen Peter Bjorn and John. There’s even a New Wave influence in their sounds, and it’s not hard to hear echoes of The Cure’s Robert Smith in vocalist Adam Olenius.

With their two previous albums, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff and Our Ill Wills, Shout Out Louds have swayed between moments of energy and contemplation, and Work seems like no exception. The first two songs available off the album, “Fall Hard” and “Walls,” are both tough to turn off, but “Fall Hard” has been on constant repeat for me over the last week.

Also new in music this week: American VI by Johnny Cash, One-Armed Bandit by Jaga Jazzist, and more. See them all at Music New Releases.

New on DVD: The Informant!

How The Informant! — a fizzy comedy directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring A-lister Matt Damon — made only $33 million at the domestic box office may be a bigger mystery than anything that happens in the film. The normally handsome Damon may have been barely recognizable beneath a mustache, a bad toupee, and more than a few extra pounds, but that’s no excuse, people. Bostered by an excellent, perfectly retro score by Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant! deserves your attention –and that titular exclamation point — for its efforts.

Based on real-life events and Kurt Eichenwald’s book, The Informant! stars Damon as Mark Whitacre, a corporate VP who reveals his company’s corruption to the FBI with unexpected results. This comic thriller earns points for its surprises and lighthearted tone, as well as a delightfully unglamorous star turn by Damon and fine supporting work from Scott Bakula and The Soup host Joel McHale.

Also new on DVD this week: The September Issue, The Box, and more. See them all at New on DVD.

Video Games: Heavy Rain

Cinematic in its narrative, visual style, and emotional depth, Heavy Rain isn’t your typical action-driven shoot-’em-up. Instead, this release for PlayStation 3 is a moody thriller that places players in a disturbing situation: a young boy has been kidnapped by the Origami Killer, and they have just days to save him before he becomes another of the prolific killer’s victims. To add even more drama, the boy’s father — still devastated by the death of his other son — is one of your character options, and he has nothing else to lose.

Advance reviews indicate that Heavy Rain takes “interactive” to the next level. If your chosen character dies, it’s not game over (or on to life #2); you pick up the story of one of the other three people in the story, and your previous avatar’s death is worked into the story.

Also new in video games this week: Deadly Premonition, Sonic & Sega: All Stars Racing, and more. See them all at Video Game New Releases.

In addition to the newest releases, we also have the previous weeks’ movies, books, and more in our new Recently Released section.