THE LIST

DVDS

"The Number 23" (R): Jim Carrey is a dogcatcher who becomes obsessed with the number 23 after reading a novel about a man obsessed with the number 23. Don't worry, you should be safe watching the DVD: It's unlikely to spark a similar obsession, because you'll probably doze off before the number can cast its spell on you (and before the various twists and turns play out to a "surprise" ending).

Also out today: "Renaissance" (R); "Exterminating Angels" (Unrated); "Frank Sinatra MGM Movie Legends Collection" (PG-13); "The Host" (R); "Zodiac" (R); "Nomad: The Warrior" (R); "Slow Burn" (R); "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" (R); "Baby Einstein: Discovering Shapes" (Unrated); "Land of the Giants: The Complete Series -- Limited Edition" (Unrated); "Benson: The Complete First Season" (Unrated); "Weeds: Season 2" (Unrated).

CDS

Prince, "Planet Earth" (Columbia): It's fitting that the first single from Prince's latest disc is titled "Guitar," because the man is one of the finest six-stringers of his generation, a funky, fiery player who brings the heat like a Las Vegas summer.

A predictably unpredictable, loose-fitting affair, "Planet Earth" never sits still long enough for listeners to get much of a bead on it.

But one of Prince's greatest assets is his unbounded impulsiveness, and this disc swings harder than a prizefighter.

Also in stores: Marc Anthony, "El Cantante"; Tammy Cochran, "Where I Am"; Peter Criss, "One for All"; Billy Ray Cyrus, "Home at Last"; The Doors, "Live in Boston 1970"; Paul Potts, "One Chance"; Soundtrack, "The Simpsons Movie: The Music"; Sum 41, "Underclass Hero"; Tegan & Sara, "The Con"; Various, "Healing the Divide: A Concert for Peace and Reconciliation."

BOOKS

"Ammunition" (St. Martin's Press): In the seventh entry in acclaimed Irish crime novelist Ken Bruen's Inspector Brant series, the London cop gets shot up by a hired gunman in a pub. Brant, who's anything but a lovable cop -- even his former partner, Inspector Roberts, wonders why someone didn't try to kill Brant earlier -- is undaunted and seeks revenge.

Also in stores: "The Secret Servant" (Putnam) by Daniel Silva; "Before" (Knopf) by Irini Spanidou; "Thunder Bay" (Atria) by William Kent Krueger; "The Complete Stories" (Pantheon) by David Malouf; "Thursday Next: First Among Sequels" (Viking) by Jasper Fforde; "Justice Denied" (William Morrow) by J.A. Jance; and "Psychic Children: Revealing the Intuitive Gifts and Hidden Abilities of Boys and Girls" (Dutton) by Sylvia Browne and Lindsay Harrison.