We’re snugly into the dog days of July, the tireless Kimber’s on rare vacation, and this is her deputy Jason filling in. While many of the big blockbuster releases have come and gone, with a few yet to come, and while there’s certainly some high-octane action coming out this week (notably Angelina Jolie kicking some bad - or maybe good - guy butt in Salt), this is not a bad week to kick back, blast the A/C, and cast an eye to some works of smaller stature.

Who’s littler than the ne’er-do-wells who populate Todd Solondz’s world. With Life During Wartime, he revisits his 1998 film Happiness, however, with new actors portraying his neurotic trio of mismatched sisters.

Guide the outline of a small boy through an eerie world of shade on mysterious missions in the aptly named Limbo, one of the subtly cleverest concepts to hit the game world in years. If Limbo’s lack of canned music freaks you out too much, supplement it with the “latest” from Department of Eagles. Archive 2003-2006 is not the critically lauded duo’s new studio record, but captures the folksy indie rock band in primal moments (while offering a treat for Grizzly Bear fans as well).

Ok, the Scott Pilgrim finale is hardly small beans, but a guy’s gotta have a theme, no?

Fiction: Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Each end spawns a beginning and vice versa (so someone says…or must have said), and while Scott Pilgrim fans eagerly await the movie due in August(with Michael Cera - who else - as SP), Bryan Lee O’Malley’s epic comic series releases its final chapter this week. In Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, our unlikely hero faces not only Gideon Graves, his beloved Ramona’s lone unvanquished ex, but what to do about the disappearance of said beloved Ramona. How will the madness end? Who knows, but safe to say it will be another fun ride.

Also new in fiction books this week: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva, and more. See them all at Fiction New Releases.

Nonfiction: Mad Men Unbuttoned by Natasha Vargas-Cooper

AMC’s Mad Men has dominated water cooler talk of the past few years as much for the way it captures the spirit of a watershed time in history as for its performances and scripts (which are also spectacular, by the way). Natasha Vargas-Cooper’s Mad Men Unbuttoned is timed perfectly to help usher the fan (or the newbie) into the fourth season of the Emmy Award dominating program.

Vargas-Cooper expands her popular blog into a coffee table book that is more than mere companion piece, but a neat exploration of an era, as it thoroughly delves into everything from the (obvious) fashion to the (less obvious) literature of the time.

Also new in nonfiction books this week:The New Healthcare System by David Nather, The Artificial Ape by Timothy Taylor, and more. See them all at Nonfiction New Releases.

Movies in Theaters: Life During Wartime

If Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a somewhat unlikely source for a 2010 sequel and Wall Street a surprising choice, then Todd Solondz’s hyper-dark, ultra-controversial 1998 indie character study Happiness, with its collection of narcissists, sadists, masochists, one obscene phone caller, and one molester, would be some millions of miles off the radar. Yet, Life During Wartime is essentially Happiness 2, albeit with a new cast of actors in its key roles. Moreover, it may be the nebbishy director’s most exciting work since, well, Happiness.

Also new in theaters this week: Salt, Countdown to Zero, and more. See them all at Movies in Theaters.

Music: Archive 2003-2006 by Department of Eagles

While Department of Eagles may be one of the less discussed acts circling the Animal Collective universe, their softly sublime 2008 offering, In Ear Park, may be the most complete and enjoyable concoction to emerge from AC Land. While its title telegraphs that Archive 2003-2006 is not a new studio album, the record is far from an assortment of odds and ends, but instead a chronicle of an album deferred.

Some of these songs on Archive appeared on Grizzly Bear’s 2006 album Yellow House (the act shares member Daniel Rossen), some are raw recordings which had yet to see the light of day. While the album is certainly not perfectly smooth, it’s a sweet insight into one of the more intriguing acts working today in indie rock and stokes the fire for the pair‘s upcoming release.

Also new in music this week: Turning Lead Into Gold by the High Confessions, What Lasts by These United States, and more. See them all at Music New Releases.

New on DVD: The Runaways

Although the Runaways short-lived underground fame ran (sorry) its course long before MTV killed the radio star in 1981, there’s a certain logic to a music video director taking the helm of the Runaways biopic (and it’s more than the fact that Runaway Joan Jett’s 1982 single “I Love Rock & Roll” was one of the first songs the station helped make a smash hit). The Runaways cut quite the punk rock spectacle with their defiant teenage odes to vice, etc.

Writer/director Floria Sigismondi, in her debut stab at film may miss the occasional beat, but any flaws in her nifty biopic are mitigated by the typecast-breaking performances of leads Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart.

Also new on DVD this week: Cop Out, The Losers, and more. See them all at New on DVD.

Video Games: Limbo

Limbo’s name pretty well sums up the game. The opening screen reveals a boy in shadow, trapped in a universe of varying shades of grey. You are given little backstory, no map, no text, no carefully selected soundtrack: only ambient sounds and dim hints of a quest to find your lost sister.

The game has generated a quiet but distinct buzz among the gaming community with its dark thrills as the scene hovers from surreal to diabolical while you guide the lad around dangers which can lead to shockingly gruesome ends (note to anyone old enough for this to conjure up memories of Atari 2600’s peculiar Adventure: this ain’t that…and I‘ll meet you on the bocce courts at 7 on Tuesday).

Also new in video games this week: TrackMania, Little League World Series 2010, 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 Recently Released section.

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Tags: New Books | New Movies | New Music | new releases | New Video Games

With World Cup fever over for another four years, how ever will you fill your time? Luckily, pop culture moves into overdrive this week, ensuring that fans experiencing withdrawal will have plenty of ways to fill their time.

Of course, there’s the long-awaited release of Inception, Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to The Dark Knight. If indie comedies are more your speed, you can add Noah Baunbach’s darkly funny Greenberg to your Netflix queue or Amazon cart. Meanwhile, football fans can ease the wait ’til September with the release of the ramped up NCAA Football 11.

For all the hottest new releases and most exciting sitewide news, be sure to follow @GetGlue on Twitter.

Fiction: Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik

Jane Austen meets Anne McCaffrey meets Patrick O’Brian in this fantasy series from Naomi Novik. The author imagines the Napoleonic Wars similarly to how you might have learned in school, except that both sides have dragons to aid in their naval warfare. The series follows Temeraire, a Chinese-bred dragon who fights for the British, and his best friend and pilot, Captain Will Laurence.

Though I’d recommend starting with the first book in the series (His Majesty’s Dragon), this sixth entry — Tongues of Serpents — finds the devoted duo in exile for a supposed act of treason. Novik’s books have always been a fascinating combination of high seas action, character-driven fantasy, and period-appropriate comedy of manners, but this novel has a more serious approach than many of its predecessors.

Also new in fiction books this week: Blackest Night by Geoff Johns, Faithful Place by Tana French, and more. See them all at Fiction New Releases.

Nonfiction: The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

If your last interaction with the periodic table was the monotonous memorization of atomic weights and symbols back in 11th-grade chemistry, The Disappearing Spoon might change your perspective on the inherent coolness of this scientific wonder. Author Sam Kean adds interest to a number of the elements, telling stories that are almost too fascinating to be true.

Of course, famed scientist Marie Curie is in on the action, and Kean tells of how she made chemistry sexy — and morally dangerous, at least in the eyes of her colleagues’ wives. Other tales include the connection between cadmium and Godzilla and Lewis and Clark’s mercury-ridden trail across America. If only your science teacher had told you these stories…

Also new in nonfiction books this week: In a Heartbeat by Leigh Anne Tuohy, Four Fish by Paul Greenberg, and more. See them all at Nonfiction New Releases.

Movies in Theaters: Inception

No one could have made Inception but Christopher Nolan. From The Dark Knight to The Prestige, the director has experience helming films that bridge the gap between brain-bending and entertaining, and this latest, wholly original effort looks to be no exception. The film’s trailers have left movie nerds gasping and blogging with interest, and early reviews promise that the film won’t disappoint.

In his first collaboration with the filmmaker, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a talented thief. But unsurprisingly, Dom is no ordinary thief and Inception is no ordinary heist film. DiCaprio’s character steals secrets from people as they sleep by invading their dreams. If that bit of awesomeness wasn’t enough to draw you in (and who are you?), the film also stars Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, and Michael Caine.

Also new in theaters this week: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Kisses, and more. See them all at Movies in Theaters.

Music: Dark Night of the Soul by Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse

It’s no surprise that an album titled Dark Night of the Soul would be bleak, and it doesn’t disappoint from its first line: “Pain/I guess it’s a matter of sensation.” This collaboration between Sparklehorse, Danger Mouse, and filmmaker David Lynch adds another layer of depression and depth with the knowledge that Sparklehorse frontman Mark Linkous committed suicide in March. But for all its darkness, Dark Night of the Soul is also a strong album with occasional moments of joy and frequent help from a number of big names.

If the vocals sound familiar, it’s because the album features talents from Iggy Pop, James Mercer of The Shins (and Broken Bells collaborator with Danger Mouse), Nina Persson of The Cardigans, and more. Lynch himself even adds vocals to a few tracks, and his offerings are as dreamlike and weird as fans of the surreal director’s work would expect (check out that fantastically bizarre cover, left, to get a feel for the strangeness).

Also new in music this week: Korn III: Remember Who You Are by Korn, Maya by M.I.A., and more. See them all at Music New Releases.

New on DVD: Greenberg

Perhaps best enjoyed by residents of New York and Los Angeles — and those who like to make fun of them — Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg is a dark comedy about a New Yorker who feels hopelessly out of place in his short stay in Los Angeles. Truth be told, the beyond-awkward Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) would likely feel out of place anywhere, but the East Coast-West Coast dynamic adds another dimension to this fish-out-of-water dramedy from the writer-director behind The Squid and the Whale and Margot at the Wedding.

Those expecting Meet the Parents-like hilarity will likely be disappointed by the low-key script and Stiller’s matching, yet solid, performance as the title character. However, as painfully funny as the A-lister is, he’s upstaged by indie stalwart Greta Gerwig. As Greenberg’s love interest, she’s remarkably fresh and real, which helps audiences stay engaged.

Also new on DVD this week: The Bounty Hunter, Chloe, and more. See them all at New on DVD.

Video Games: NCAA Football 11

T-minus 51 days ’til the NCAA football season begins, or at least when it begins for this Ohio State Buckeyes fan. In the meantime, there’s NCAA Football 11, available for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, and iPhone.  If it seems like it won’t provide the full NCAA fan experience, don’t worry: you can even hear the voices of ESPN announcers Kirk Herbstreit and Brad Nessler as though they’ve been assigned to cover your game.

This new version also features a redesigned locomotion system, which allows on-screen movements to be even closer to the real thing. The addition of real assignment AI lets players coordinate their team’s offensive play like never before. Plus, gamers can choose any one of 120 NCAA teams to take on as their own. I plan on playing as the Michigan Wolverines — and intentionally losing.

Also new in video games this week: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky, DeathSpank, 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 Recently Released section.

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Tags: New Books | New Movies | New Music | new releases | New Video Games