THE LIST: DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores week of Jan. 5
DVDS
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" (PG) — In this 3-D animated romp, a wacky inventor (voiced by Bill Hader) invents a machine that converts water into food, triggering expected havoc.
And, speaking of 3-D, start your engines for “The Final Destination” (R), the fourth installment of this horror franchise, as yet another teen (Bobby Campo) tries to put the brakes on Death after his premonition of deadly disaster during a race car crash initially saves lives — lives the Grim Reaper intends to collect.
Topping today’s titles that never made it to local theaters: the acclaimed indie “Trucker” (R), about a long-haul driver (Michelle Monaghan) whose carefree cross-country existence is interrupted by the arrival of her estranged 11-year-old son. Nathan Fillion and Benjamin Bratt co-star. Also on the indie front, British agent (Ben Kingsley) recruits a Belfast hoodlum (Jim Sturgess) to infiltrate the IRA in “Fifty Dead Men Walking” (R), while John Leguizamo and Harvey Keitel headline “The Ministers” (R), about a New York cop who investigates a mysterious religious order in hopes of solving his father’s murder. And “Loren Cass” (not rated), a portrait of disaffected Florida teens, returns to Las Vegas following its debut a few years ago at the CineVegas film festival.
Heath Ledger’s final movie, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,” opens in theaters Friday. But his first U.S. movie, 1999’s teen charmer “10 Things I Hate About You” (PG-13) makes its Blu-Ray Disc debut and also returns in a two-disc special edition. Other Blu-Ray debuts range from the surfing documentary “Riding Giants” (PG-13) to the skateboarding documentary “Dogtown and Z-Boys” (PG-13), both from filmmaker Stacy Peralta.
Also on the documentary front, “Elvis Presley Gladiators” (G) focuses on the 1974 Elvis Karate Legacy Project, while “The Hip Hop Project” (PG) documents rapper/social worker Chris “Kazi” Rolle’s efforts to help at-risk teens produce a record. Also arriving: the three-part “Brava Italia” (not rated), which looks at life in contemporary Italy, a Blu-Ray Disc version of the IMAX space documentary “SolarMax” (not rated) and the PBS documentaries (all unrated) “A Death in Tehran,” “Mustang: Journey of Transformation, “Independent Lens: Between the Folds,” “American Experience: The 1930s” and “Frontline: The Warning.”
Elsewhere in the TV-to-DVD transfer file (not rated): “The Good Witch,” “Big Love: The Complete Third Season,” “Chuck: The Complete Second Season,” “The Philanthropist: The Complete Series” and “Kendra: The Complete First Season.”
CDS
Badly Drawn Boy, “Is There Nothing We Could Do? Music Inspired by the Motion Picture The Fattest Man in Britain”: He began as something of the English equivalent of sad-eyed singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, a man who often sang in but a whisper.
Since then, Badly Drawn Boy (aka Damon Gough) has broadened his sonic palate a bit, incorporating more brightly hued pop elements into his works.
His latest project is another soundtrack — he’s also scored 2002’s “About A Boy” — where he continues to draw outside the lines.
Also in stores: Findlay Brown, “Love Will Find You”; Ke$ha, “Animal”; Katharine McPhee, “Unbroken”; and Sugaree, “The American Dream.”
BOOKS
Liam moves into a small condominium only to wake the next day in the hospital with his head bandaged and no recollection of how he ended up there. He begins a quest to recover his lost memories, and his journey will lead him on an exploration of his past and to an unexpected future.
“Committed” by Elizabeth Gilbert also lands in bookstores this week. This sequel to “Eat, Pray, Love” tells the story of how she and the man she fell in love with end up coming to terms with the idea of marriage.
Also hitting shelves: “All Things at Once” by Mika Brzezinski; “Americans in Paris” by Charles Glass; “Baby, Let’s Play House: Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him” by Alanna Nash; “Impact” by Douglas Preston; “Iron River” by T. Jefferson Parker; “Remarkable Creatures” by Tracy Chevalier; “The Summer We Fell Apart” by Robin Antalek; “Thereby Hangs a Tail (Chet and Bernie Series No. 2)” by Spencer Quinn; and “Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny” by Suze Orman.
