Latest DVDs, CDs, books: May 1
A look at some of the DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores this week:
DVDS
“New Year’s Eve” (PG-13): “Valentine’s Day” director Garry Marshall rounds up another all-star cast (this one led by Oscar winners Hilary Swank, Robert De Niro and Halle Berry, plus Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Biel, Sarah Jessica Parker, Katherine Heigl and Zac Efron) for another romantic comedy of intertwined lives, this one set (where else?) in New York the day of the big ball drop.
Las Vegas’ Gina Carano, meanwhile, plays a betrayed black ops agent in director Steven Soderbergh’s action-packed “Haywire” (R); Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and Ewan McGregor co-star. “Joyful Noise” (PG-13) features Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton as rival small-town divas who team up to lead their church choir to glory, while “High School Musical” goes Mormon in the comedy “Unitards” (PG).
Turning to movies that never played local theaters, Madonna directs “W.E.” (R), about the 1930s affair between Britain’s King Edward VIII (James D’Arcy) and American divorcee Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough ) – and a contemporary Wallis (Abbie Cornish) fascinated by their romance. And the mock documentary “And They’re Off” (PG-13) follows an on-the-skids horse trainer (Sean Astin) hoping to return to the winner’s circle.
Several all-time favorites, turn up among today’s Blu-ray Disc debuts, including “Men in Black II” (PG-13), which arrives just in time for the third installment’s May 25 theatrical release. Also on tap: Rock Hudson and Doris Day in “Pillow Talk” (not rated), Robert Redford as “Jeremiah Johnson” (PG) and Alicia Silverstone in “Clueless” (PG-13).
Topping today’s TV-to-DVD transfers (all unrated unless otherwise noted): Martin Scorsese’s HBO documentary “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” and the “Masterpiece Classic” adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” plus “Suits: Season One,” “Who Do You Think You Are: Season Two,” “Benson: The Complete Second Season,” “Covert Affairs: Season Two,” “Kojak: Season Four,” “The Virginian: The Complete Season Six,” “The Invisible Man: The Complete Series” and “Wagon Train: The Complete Season Four,” featuring former Tarzan – and current Las Vegan – Denny Miller as scout Duke Shannon.
CDS
Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”: The new Carrie Underwood record blows.
Hey, don’t get mad at us!
It says so right in the album title.
And we all know that like fellow great American patriot George Washington, Underwood never tells a lie.
Also in stores: B.o.B, “Strange Clouds”; Brian Jonestown Massacre, “Aufheben”; Dirty Dozen Brass Band, “20 Dozen”; Norah Jones, “… Little Broken Hearts”; Marilyn Manson, “Born Villain”; Marina and The Diamonds, “Electra Heart”; Pennywise, “All or Nothing”; Reptar, “Body Faucet”; Santigold, “Master of My Make-Believe”; and Rufus Wainwright, “Out of the Game.”
BOOKS
“Deadlocked” by Charlaine Harris: In the latest series installment, Sookie Stackhouse must clear her vampire husband’s name after a woman turns up dead on his front lawn.
Also this week, Ace Atkins continues Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series with “Lullaby,” in which a teenager asks Spenser to investigate her mother’s death.
Also hitting shelves: “Back and Deader Than Ever” by Lisi Harrison; “Bitterblue” by Kristin Cashore; “Black Dawn” by Rachel Caine; “Born of Silence” by Sherrilyn Kenyon; “Destined” by Aprilynne Pike; “The Fire Ascending” by Chris d’Lacey; “Insurgent” by Veronica Roth; “The Invaders” by John Flanagan; “Murder on Fifth Avenue” by Victoria Thompson; “The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 4” by Robert A. Caro; “Presumed Guilty” by Tess Gerritsen; “The Proposal” by Mary Balogh; “The Reverend’s Wife” by Kimberla Lawson Roby; “The Serpent’s Shadow” by Rick Riordan; “Skinnydipping” by Bethenny Frankel; and “The Uninvited Guests” by Sadie Jones.
