THE LIST: DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores week of Feb. 3
DVDS
“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” (PG): In this sequel to the 2005 animated hit, the zany former denizens of the Central Park Zoo (voiced by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and David Schwimmer), accompanied by wacky lemur king Julian (“Borat’s” Sacha Baron Cohen), return to their roots when their plane crash-lands on the African savanna.
Shifting from animation to live action, “The Secret Life of Bees” (PG-13) takes us to 1964 South Carolina, where a 14-year-old (Dakota Fanning) and her devoted caregiver (Jennifer Hudson), fleeing the girl’s abusive father (Paul Bettany), find a haven with small-town sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo).
Two very different romantic couples, meanwhile, inspire very different comedies. In “Clerks” director Kevin Smith’s bawdy “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” (R), impoverished roomies (Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks) become porn entrepreneurs to flesh out their bottom line. And in “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” (PG-13), a high school musician (Michael Cera) and a humiliated heroine (Kat Dennings) share a wild night on the town.
Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman team up in “Bottle Shock” (PG-13), the fact-based tale of a snobbish wine shop owner and a struggling California winemaker who shake up the wine world. Teenthrob Jesse McCartney takes on the title role in “Keith” (not rated), a drama (from “Blue’s Clues” creator Todd Kessler) about a new kid in school who charms a popular high school senior (Elisabeth Harnois).
Leading movies that never played local theaters, Las Vegas’ Cerina Vincent headlines the romantic comedy “Everybody Wants to Be Italian” (R). The controversial “Hounddog” (R) stars “The Secret Life of Bees’ ” Dakota Fanning as a troubled teen in the 1950s South; David Morse, Robin Wright Penn and Piper Laurie co-star. The reality-TV/slasher spoof “Killer Movie” (R) features Leighton Meester, Jason London, Nestor Carbonell and Kaley Cuoco.
And, for the kids, “Space Buddies” (G), a follow-up to 2008’s “Snow Buddies,” in which the title puppies wander aboard a moon-bound commercial rocket.
On the documentary front, the power of song comes alive in “The Singing Revolution” (NR), which focuses on how Estonians expressed their resistance to Soviet rule after World War II through music, fueling a nonviolent rebellion. And “Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway” (not rated) captures the hit musical.
It’s also a good DVD day for fans of vintage Hollywood, with Turner Classic Movies “Greatest Films” collections (all unrated) serving up boxed sets devoted to Best Picture Oscar-winners (“Gigi” and “Casablanca” among them), Romantic Comedies (including “Bringing Up Baby,” “Adam’s Rib” and “Philadelphia Story”) and Romantic Dramas (featuring “East of Eden,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “A Streetcar Named Desire”). The “Natalie Wood Collection” (not rated), meanwhile, ranges from “Splendor in the Grass” to “Gypsy.”
Other oldies but goodies arriving on DVD include Albert Finney in the 1971 detective tale “Gumshoe” (PG) and Alec Guinness as a vacuum cleaner turned spy in 1960’s “Our Man in Havana” (not rated).
Tuning to TV transfers, the “Columbo: Mystery Movie Collection 1990” (not rated) returns Peter Falk to his signature TV role as the rumpled homicide cop.
Other TV titles (all unrated) arriving on DVD include “Becker: The Second Season,” “Bewitched: The Complete Seventh Season,” “Dave’s World: The Second Season,” “Night Court: The Complete Second Season” and “The Partridge Family: The Complete Fourth Season.”
CDS
Cannibal Corpse, “Evisceration Plague”: They trade in death, but they’ll never die.
In the extreme metal ranks, Cannibal Corpse, pictured at right, has become an institution — albeit a plasma-coated one.
You know exactly what you’re going to get with one of the band’s records: namely, increasingly technical, athletic and profane death metal primarily concerned with coming up with new ways for you to meet your demise.
This time, you can get “Skewered From Eye To Ear,” weather some “Scalding Hail” or drown in “A Cauldron of Hate” tended to by some “Priests of Sodom.”
So, gather ‘round the family and let the good times (and heads) roll.
Also in stores: Dierks Bentley, “Feel That Fire”; Bow Wow, “New Jack City, Part 2”; The Fray, “The Fray”; Heartless Bastards, “The Mountain”; Boney James, “Send One Your Love”; Ben Kweller, “Changing Horses”; The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, “Lonely Road”; The Von Bondies, “Love, Hate and Then There’s You”; Josh Wink, “When a Banana Was Just a Banana”; Wynonna, “Sing: Chapter 1”; and Young Dubliners, “Saints and Sinners.”
BOOKS
Another big book follows last week’s release of “The Associate” by John Grisham.
Up this week: “Run for Your Life” by James Patterson.
This latest thriller from the best-selling author centers around a serial killer who calls himself The Teacher and is murdering New York’s arrogant social elite. Detective Mike Bennett, under pressure from the media as well as his boss, is assigned the case. While some New Yorkers think the wealthy are getting what’s coming to them, Detective Bennett must piece the clues together and discover the secret pattern to The Teacher’s lessons.
“The Yankee Years” by Joe Torre also is expected out this week. Readers get a chance to peek inside the dugout as Torre and Tom Verducci reveal how, after taking over as manager of the New York Yankees in 1996, Torre united the team, won over the media and fans, and became one of the most successful managers in the game.
Also hitting shelves this week: “Captain Freedom: A Superhero’s Quest for Truth, Justice, and the Celebrity He So Richly Deserves” by Gregory Xavier Robillard; “An Irish Country Village” by Patrick Taylor; “True Colors” by Kristin Hannah; “Very Valentine” by Adriana Trigiani; and “The Fetch” by Laura Whitcomb.
