A look at DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores this week
"Stranger Than Fiction"
"The Watchman"
DVDS
"Stranger Than Fiction" (PG-13) Will Ferrell plays an IRS agent named Harold Crick, who has a problem. The problem is that there's this British woman's voice in his head narrating his life. She's a novelist (played by Emma Thompson), and she's writing a book about a character called Harold Crick -- and she's planning to kill him off in the last chapter. Thus reality and fiction must collide. Ferrell plays his role with far more restraint than you've seen him use in any other movie.
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Also available today: "A Good Year" (PG-13); "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny" (R); "The Heart of the Game" (PG-13); "Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid" (Unrated); "P.O.V. 20th Anniversary Collection" (Unrated); "Great Cars Collection" (Unrated); "The Return" (PG-13); "Secret Agent AKA Danger Man: The Complete Collection" (Unrated); "The Land Before Time: The Great Day of the Flyers" (Unrated); "Girlfriends: The Complete First Season" (Unrated); and "Da Vinci's Inquest Season One" (Unrated).
CDS
Dean Wareham and Britta Adams used to perform together in Luna, a svelte, whipsmart bunch whose tunes were evocative of late, lonely nights. Since that band called it a day in 2005, the two have focused on their own collaborations, resulting in their equally dreamy and dyspeptic sophomore LP, "Back Numbers," released under the name Dean & Britta. Pairing Wareham's free range guitar and literate tunes with Adams' breathy musings, the album is a welcome shoulder for distraught Luna fans to dry their tears on.
Also in stores: Maynard Ferguson, "M.F. Horn 4 & 5: Live at Jimmy's"; Viktor Krauss, "II"; Boz Scaggs, "Silk Degrees"; Patrick Simmons, "Arcade"; Nick Warren, "Paris."
BOOKS
Elvis Cole's sidekick, Joe Pike, takes center stage in Robert Crais' latest crime novel, "The Watchman." Pike is hired by the wealthy family of Larkin Conner Barkley, a federal witness in a case against a crime cartel. But an internal leak among the cops forces Pike to turn to Cole, the only man he can trust, for help.
Also out today, "Storm Runners" by T. Jefferson Parker; "Shopaholic and Baby" by Sophie Kinsella; "Innocent Traitor" by Alison Weir; "Women and Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny" by Suze Orman; and "The Art of Aging: A Doctor's Prescription for Well-Being" by Sherwin B. Nuland.
