THE LIST: DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores week of July 27

DVDS
  “Clash of the Titans” (PG-13): In this high-tech revamp of the campy 1981 extravaganza, Perseus (“Avatar’s” Sam Worthington), the human son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), tries to prevent nasty Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and his underworld underlings from spreading evil to the heavens — and Earth.
  Moving from the mythic past to the sci-fi future, where human organs can be bought, sold and repossessed, “Repo Men” (R) focuses on a repo expert (Jude Law) who suffers cardiac arrest and gets a new heart, but can’t pay the bill — prompting his company to send his former partner (Forest Whitaker) after him. And “Kites” (not rated), which filmed in Southern Nevada in 2008, delivers a pulpy tale of star-crossed lovers on the lam: a Vegas scam artist (Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan) and his dancer soulmate (Mexico’s Barbara Mori).
  Turning to movies that never made it to local theaters, Ray Bradbury’s “Chrysalis” (PG-13) finds scientists attempting to sustain plant life underground — after World War III has destroyed Earth. Geena Davis plays a mother whose family is cursed by bad luck in the dark comedy “Accidents Happen” (R). Rival covert-ops teams go after each other in the spy spoof “Operation: Endgame” (R), featuring Zach Galifianakis, Rob Corddry, Ellen Barkin, Emilie de Ravin and Ving Rhames. And in the award-winning “Rain" (not rated), a Bahamian teen (Renel Brown) finds herself on her own after her grandmother dies and her mother turns out to be a drug-addled prostitute. On the foreign-language front, Isabelle Huppert headlines “Home” (not rated), about a family determined to stay in their isolated home — which isn’t so isolated when a highway opens a few yards away. The award-winning “The Secret of the Grain” (not rated) focuses on the highs and lows of a French-Arab family. The spurned first wife (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (Filippo Timi) inspires “Vincere” (R). And China’s award-winning “Ip Man” (R) casts Donnie Yen as the martial arts master who became Bruce Lee’s mentor. Leading today’s documentary list: “The Art of the Steal” (not rated), about the fight over a renowned private art collection’s future.
  Delving into the oldies vault (all unrated unless noted), it’s thriller time with William Holden as a tough cop investigating a kidnapping in 1950’s “Union Station,” while Charlton Heston makes his Hollywood debut as a vengeful gambler in 1950’s “Dark City,” which includes some vintage Vegas scenes. And Alan Ladd plays a postal inspector on a murder case in 1951’s “Appointment With Danger.” A young Jane Seymour, meanwhile, headlines 1970’s “The Only Way” (G), about Danish Jews trying to escape before the Nazis invade in 1940. And tuning in to TV transfers (all unrated unless otherwise noted), Tom Selleck returns in the TV-movie “Jesse Stone: No Remorse,” while David Suchet’s back as Agatha Christie sleuth Hercule Poirot in “Poirot: The Movie Collection, Set Five.” Also on tap: Las Vegas’ own “Pawn Stars: Season Two,” plus “Hunter: The Complete Series” (PG-13), “The Mothers-in-Law: The Complete Series,” “21 Jump Street: The Complete Series,” “Prime Time Crime: The Stephen J. Cannell Collection” (PG-13), “Sgt. Bilko: The Phil Silvers Show — The First Season,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Final Season,” “Stargate Universe SG-U: 1.5,” “The City: Season Two,” “Dog the Bounty Hunter: Crime is on the Run,” “Life After People: The Complete Season Two” and “Paranormal State: Season Two” (PG).

CDS
  Avenged Sevenfold, “Nightmare”: The title of their latest disc, "Nightmare,” is more than just heavy metal hyperbole.
  Having lost their drummer, The Rev (James Sullivan), to a drug overdose last December, SoCal hard rockers Avenged Sevenfold nearly called it a day before recruiting Dream Theater’s ace time keeper James Portnoy to soldier on with a new album and tour.
  And so while their hearts might be heavy, their tunes are even more so.
  Also in stores: The Robert Cray Band, “Cookin’ in Memphis (CD/DVD)”; Cut Chemist, “Sound of the Police”; Dru Hill, “InDRUpendence Day”; Fat Joe, “The Dark Side”; Tom Jones, “Praise & Blame”; Midnight Juggernauts, “The Crystal Axis”; and 36 Crazyfists, “Collisions and Castaways.”

BOOKS
  “Star Island” by Carl Hiaasen: Pop star Cherry Pye’s hard partying requires the need for an “undercover stunt double,” who portrays her whenever the singer is too blasted to make appearances. But when her double, Ann DeLusia, is kidnapped by a paparazzo, it will be up to all those living off of Cherry’s career to save Ann before the situation goes public.
  Also expected out this week is Gary Shteyngart’s dystopian “Super Sad True Love Story,” featuring 39-year-old Lenny Abramov, who still keeps a diary and reads books in a functionally illiterate, China-indebted America on the verge of collapse.
  Also hitting shelves: “Darius Jones” by Mary B. Morrison; “Demons and Druids (Daniel X Series No. 3)” by James Patterson and Adam Sadler; “Dragongirl” by Todd J. McCaffrey; “Jealousy, Vol. 3” by Lili St. Crow; “Mentor” by Tom Grimes; “The Reluctant Mage (The Fisherman’s Children Series, Book Two)” by Karen Miller; “Waking the Witch” by Kelley Armstrong; “The War That Came Early: West and East” by Harry Turtledove; and “Water Bound” by Christine Feehan.