Latest DVDs, CDs, books: Nov. 22
A look at some of the DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores this week:
DVDS
“Super 8” (PG-13): In 1979, a ragtag crew of kids filming a zombie movie gets unexpected “production value” when a freight train crash unleashes something — or some thing — on their unsuspecting Ohio town in this mash-up of producer Steven Spielberg’s greatest hits from “Star Trek” writer-director J.J. Abrams.
On a more serious note, “Sarah’s Key” (PG-13), set in 1942 Paris, focuses on a 10-year-old (Melusine Mayance) trying to save her little brother from the Nazis — while a contemporary Paris-based journalist (Kristen Scott Thomas) discovers her husband’s family may have rounded up French Jews during the Holocaust. And Dominic Cooper (“Captain America”) delivers a dual tour de force in “The Devil’s Double” (R), playing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s unhinged son Uday — and his reluctant body double. “Game of Thrones’ ” Jason Momoa flexes his pecs as the new “Conan the Barbarian” (R), while in “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World” (PG), a retired agent (Jessica Alba) recruits her stepkids to help vanquish a supervillain (Jeremy Piven).
And a host of Christmas-themed titles hit DVD this week, including Tyler Perry’s “A Madea Christmas: The Play” (PG-13), “Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special” (G) and the Blu-ray debut of “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” (G), featuring Las Vegas’ own Paige O’Hara as the voice of Belle.
CDS
Nickelback, “Here and Now”: Poor Nickelback.
Some people in Detroit are protesting the band’s inclusion in the halftime show of the Lions’ game on Thanksgiving because they think the band sucks.
Oh well.
These dudes can always dry their tears of frustration on C-notes as this is another assured chart topper from these middle-of-the-road Canucks.
Also in stores: Sara Bareilles, “Love Is Christmas”; Big Time Rush, “Elevate”; Mary J. Blige, “My Life II … The Journey Continues (Act I)”; Kate Bush, “50 Words For Snow”; Vanessa Carlton, “Hear the Bells”; Chris Cornell, “Songbook”; Daughtry, “Break the Spell”; Willie Nelson, “Remember Me, Vol. 1”; Rihanna, “Talk That Talk”; and Snow Patrol, “Fallen Empires.”
BOOKS
“Explosive Eighteen” by Janet Evanovich: Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum winds up in a world of trouble after her seatmate on a flight from Hawaii to Newark ends up dead in a garbage can.
Also this week, Richard Preston completes the work of the late Michael Crichton with “Micro,” in which a group of grad students must rely on their scientific knowledge for survival in the rain forest.
Also hitting shelves: “Being George Washington: The Indispensable Man, As You’ve Never Seen Him” by Glenn Beck; “Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as a Mother and Daughter” by Lisa Scottoline; “Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo” by Betty White; “Core of Conviction: My Story” by Michele Bachmann; “The Forgotten Warrior” by Erin Hunter; “The Future of Us” by Jay Asher; “The Impossible Dead” by Ian Rankin; “Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony: A Psychological Portrait” by Keith Ablow; “Lady Gaga” by Lady Gaga; “LBJ: The Mastermind of the JFK Assassination” by Phillip F. Nelson; “Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany” by Stephen Sondheim; and “Three-Day Town” by Margaret Maron.
