THE LIST: DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores week of April 7

DVDS
  “Doubt” (PG-13): In 1960s New York, a strict nun who runs a Catholic school (Meryl Streep) and an innocent underling (Amy Adams) suspect their parish priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of molesting the school’s lone black student in writer-director John Patrick Shanley’s adaptation of his own Tony-winning drama. Streep, Adams and Hoffman all earned Oscar nominations, along with scene-stealing Viola Davis — and Shanley’s script. The week’s other recent releases hardly qualify as Oscar bait. Jim Carrey stars as “Yes Man” (PG-13), a comedy about a chronically depressed loan officer who accentuates the positive — by becoming a guy who can’t say no for an entire year. Fellow funnyman Adam Sandler, meanwhile, plays a hotel handyman whose life changes when the outlandish bedtime tales he tells his niece and nephew come true in the family-friendly “Bedtime Stories” (PG).
  Speaking of family-friendly, the computer-animated “The Tale of Despereaux” (G) focuses on a mighty (and mighty cute) mouse who prefers reading books to eating them, befriends a banished rat, falls in love with a lonely princess and rescues his kingdom.
  Rounding out today’s recent releases: “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (PG-13), a remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic about an extraterrestrial (Keanu Reeves) who comes to Earth, accompanied by his faithful robot companion Gort, to warn humanity of impending doom; and “Not Easily Broken” (PG-13), based on the novel by megachurch evangelist T.D. Jakes, about a troubled couple (Morris Chestnut, Taraji P. Henson) whose marriage is tested by a car accident and its aftermath.
  On the documentary front, the acclaimed “I.O.U.S.A.” (PG) explores the symptoms — and consequences — of America’s current financial meltdown, while “Blue Gold: World Water Wars” (not rated) focuses on the looming battle over the planet’s ever-shrinking water supply.
  Turning to titles that never played local theaters, a long-estranged relative helps a dysfunctional Chicago family become closer in “Uncle Nino” (PG), featuring Joe Mantegna and Anne Archer. And a late-night ride to the airport turns terrifying in “Shuttle” (R), while in the thriller “Donkey Punch” (R), things go terribly wrong for Brits vacationing in Spain.
  In today’s foreign-language file, “Live and Become” (not rated), which played the Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival a few years ago, focuses on an African mother who pretends her son is Jewish so he’ll have a new chance at life in Israel. And in another Israeli movie, “The Secrets” (R), two women are caught between old traditions and new possibilities.
  Animation fans have several treats in store, from “Disney Animation Collection” titles “Mickey and the Beanstalk,” “The Prince and the Pauper” and “The Three Little Pigs” to “Max Fleischer’s Superman: 1941-1942,” “My Friends Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too” and “Peanuts: Snoopy’s Reunion” (all unrated).
  Vintage Hollywood titles (all unrated) also turn up, including a 75th anniversary edition of Cecil B. DeMille’s “Cleopatra” (not rated), with Claudette Colbert in the title role, plus the 1938 musical “The Goldwyn Follies,” featuring George Gershwin’s final score and George Balanchine’s choreography. Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo star in 1948’s “A Song Is Born,” a musical remake of the Gary Cooper-Barbara Stanwyck comedy “Ball of Fire,” while Sonja Henie skates in 1945’s “It’s a Pleasure.” And the TCM “Doris Day Spotlight Collection” features five titles: the 1949 and 1951 all-star roundups “It’s a Great Feeling” and “Starlift,” plus 1950’s “Tea for Two,” 1952’s “April in Paris” and 1958’s “Tunnel of Love,” with Richard Widmark.
  From musicals we move to music — and showroom legend Tom Jones, who turns up in “This Is Tom Jones: What’s New Pussycat?” (not rated), with highlights of his 1969-71 TV show, alongside guests from the Bee Gees to George Carlin.
  Also on the TV front, “A Very English Marriage” (not rated) stars acting legends Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay as widowed World War II veterans trying to come to terms with the deaths of their wives — and their new life as roommates.
  “The Paper Chase: Season One” (G), an Emmy-winning series based on the Oscar-winning movie leads the lineup of series debuting on DVD, along with “Dynasty: Season Four, Vol. One” and “Beverly Hills 90210: Seventh Season” (both unrated).

CDS
  Neil Young, “Fork in the Road”: Neil Young has grown old, but the 63-year-old still pulses with the idealism of a college freshman convinced that his visage is the face of change.
  According to a story on Billboard.com, Young’s latest studio album, “Fork in the Road,” is inspired in part by a 1959 Lincoln Continental of his that runs on alternative energy sources.
  The ambitious disc revolves in part around the Lincvolt Project, which is a collaboration between Young and biodiesel engineer Johnathan Goodwin to create electric power systems for automobiles.
  Seriously, what’s your grandpa done lately? 
  Also in stores: Jason Aldean, “Wide Open”; Doves, “Kingdom of Rust”; Fat Joe, “Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2)”; Ben Folds, “Ben Folds Presents: University a Cappella!”; Junior Boys, “Begone Dull Care”; Lady Sovereign, “Jigsaw”; Duff McKagan’s Loaded, “Sick”; Bob Mould, “Life and Times”; Rascal Flatts, “Unstoppable”; and James Taylor, “Other Covers (EP).”

BOOKS
  “Just Take My Heart” by Mary Higgins Clark: In her new thriller, “Just Take My Heart,” Mary Higgins Clark weaves another tale of suspense.
  Emily Wallace is assigned to prosecute the case of Gregg Aldrich, a man accused of murdering his wife. During the trial, Emily begins to experience strange sensations, possibly linked to her heart transplant and the little-understood phenomenon of a donor’s traits and memories being transferred to the recipient.
  Emily’s unusual feelings aren’t the only thing driving “Just Take My Heart.” With possible murderers, career criminals and a neighbor with a violent past all around her, it’s only a matter of time before Emily’s life, too, becomes at risk.
  On the series front, Jim Butcher’s latest installment in the “Desden Files” is due out this week. “Turn Coat” is the 11th novel in the fantasy series featuring professional wizard and investigator Harry Dresden.
  Also hitting shelves: “Cursed (Regan Reilly Series No. 12)” by Carol Higgins Clark; “Song Is You: A Novel” by Arthur Phillips; “Fatally Flaky (Culinary Mystery Series No. 15)” by Diane Mott Davidson; “How It Ended: New and Collected Stories” by Jay McInerney; “In Praise of Stay At Home Moms” by Dr. Laura Schlessinger; “The Winner Stands Alone” by Paulo Coelho; “Borderline (Anna Pigeon, Book 15)” by Nevada Barr; “Wormwood (China Bayles, Book 17)" by Susan Wittig Albert; “Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi” by Geoff Dyer; “Everything Hurts” by Bill Scheft; “King of the Screwups” by K.L. Going; “Cashay” by Margaret McMullan; and “The Forgotten Garden” by Kate Morton.