THE LIST: DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores this week

DVDS

"The Kite Runner" (PG-13): Many obstacles loom on the perilous path from page to (sound)stage, and this hit-and-miss adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel stumbles over some of them while spinning its tale of an Afghan-born writer living in the United States ("United 93's" Khalid Abdalla) who returns to his homeland to redeem a childhood act of betrayal. But the exhilarating performances of young Zekiria Ebrahimi and Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, as devoted childhood pals, are as buoyant and exhilarating as the kites their characters fly.

Also out today: "Bonnie and Clyde: The Ultimate Collector's Edition" (Unrated); "Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains" (PG); "Lost Highway" (R); "The Mist" (R); "Noble House" (Unrated); "Party of Five: The Complete Third Season" (Unrated); "Taras Bulba" (PG-13); "Wings: The Sixth Season" (Unrated); and "Wristcutters: A Love Story" (R).

CDS

Gnarls Barkley, "The Odd Couple": "Run, children, run," Cee-Lo Green exhorts, and the youngins would do well to heed the man's advice: On Gnarls Barkley's latest single "Run," the beefy soul shouter sounds like a man with the ghosts of Otis Redding and Jim Morrison battling it out in his skull.

Following up their hit debut "St. Elsewhere," Green and co-hort/producer Danger Mouse have bumped up the release of their sophomore disc by three weeks. Just as fiery as their first record, "The Odd Couple" is another predictably off kilter mash-up of raw funk, sweaty garage rock and touches of hip-hop. Also in stores: The B-52's, "Funplex"; Cavalera Conspiracy, "Inflikted"; Counting Crows, "Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings"; Day 26, "Day 26"; Lil Wayne & Birdman, "Happy Father's Day"; Morrissey, "Greatest Hits"; Mike Oldfield, "Music of the Spheres"; Panic at the Disco, "Pretty. Odd"; RPWL, "The RPWL Experience"; Starfield, "I Will Go."

BOOKS

"Compulsion" by Jonathan Kellerman: The latest in the Alex Delaware series finds the psychologist along with LAPD detective Milo Sturgis investigating several murders linked by the killer's use of expensive vehicles.

Also hitting shelves: "Maps & Legends" by Michael Chabon; "Genghis: Lords of the Bow (Genghis Khan: Conqueror Series No. 2)" by Conn Iggulden; "The Open Road" by Pico Iyer; "Blue-Eyed Devil" by Lisa Kleypas; "Buckingham Palace Gardens" by Anne Perry; "Hollywood Crows: A Novel" by Joseph Wambaugh; and "Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories" by Tobias Wolff.