THE LIST: DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores week of March 2
DVDS
“2012” (PG-13): Master of disaster Roland Emmerich (“The Day After Tomorrow,” “Independence Day”) returns with another doomsday adventure, putting everyone on Earth on a collision course with oblivion — including a few plucky souls (led by writer John Cusack and scientist Chiwetel Ejiofor) who prove humanity’s resilience while faceless billions perish.
Maurice Sendak’s kid-lit classic “Where the Wild Things Are” (PG) arrives under the imaginative direction of “Being John Malkovich’s” Spike Jonze, as a mischievous 9-year-old (Max Records) acts out, then runs away to avoid the inevitable punishment, finding refuge with an assortment of squabbling monsters (voiced by, among others, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara and Chris Cooper). Paul Giamatti plays a demanding role — himself — in the offbeat comedy “Cold Souls” (PG-13), postponed from an earlier date. Master animator Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away,” “Princess Mononoke”) returns with “Ponyo” (G), a fanciful fable about a magical goldfish who’s washed ashore and picked up by a 5-year-old boy. Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Matt Damon and Tina Fey lead the vocal cast of this English-language version scripted by “E.T.’s” Melissa Mathison. (And if you haven’t discovered Miyazaki, there’s a chance to catch up with his fanciful world through new special editions of earlier G-rated favorites “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service.”)
With Tim Burton’s new “Alice in Wonderland” arriving in theaters Friday, it’s a veritable Alice-a-palooza on DVD, with new (unrated) editions of the 1933 all-star version (with Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle, Gary Cooper as the White Knight and W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty), a 1966 version with Peter Sellers and John Gielgud and a 2009 miniseries featuring Kathy Bates, Tim Curry and Harry Dean Stanton.
In our “Welcome to Las Vegas” file, Robin Wright Penn and Alan Arkin headline “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” (R), about a publisher’s wife, who suffers a nervous breakdown when her older husband decides to retire. Julianne Moore, Keanu Reeves, Maria Bello, Blake Lively and Winona Ryder co-star. “Napoleon Dynamite” director Jared Hess returns with the quirky “Gentlemen Broncos” (PG-13), about a home-schooled teen (Michael Angaro) dreaming of being a science-fiction writer. On the documentary front, “We Live in Public” (not rated) focuses on Internet pioneer Josh Harris, while French filmmaker Agnes Varda (“The Gleaners,” “Cleo From 5 to 7”) delivers a self-portrait in “The Beaches of Agnes” (not rated), touching on everything from the feminist movement to the birth of the French New Wave.
Tuning in to TV transfers, the 1979 John Carpenter-directed “Elvis” (PG), with Kurt Russell in the title role, rocks onto DVD, along with the swashbuckling ’70s “Masterpiece Theatre” favorite “Poldark, Series One” (not rated), starring Robin Ellis, a new “Masterpiece” adaptation of the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller “The 39 Steps” (not rated) with Rupert Penry-Jones (“MI-5”), plus Mark Consuelos and Chandra West in the Hallmark Channel heartwarmer “For the Love of Grace” (PG-13). And series arriving today (all unrated) include “Designing Women: Season Three,” “Have Gun Will Travel: Season Four, Vol. One” and “Matlock: The Complete Fourth Season.”
CDS
Peter Gabriel, “Scratch My Back”: On his first new album in seven years, Peter Gabriel satiates his appetite for deconstruction.
Taking a sledgehammer to tunes from David Bowie, Paul Simon, Radiohead, Arcade Fire and more, Gabriel reinterprets a variety of works in his own inimitable way.
You may have heard some of these songs before, but, at times, you’d hardly know it.
Also in stores: Athlete, “Black Swan”; Black 47, “Bankers and Gangsters”; Citizen Cope, “The Rainwater LP”; Jamie Cullum, “The Pursuit”; Groove Armada, “Black Light”; John Hiatt, “The Open Road”; Jason & The Scorchers, “Halcyon Times”; Shooter Jennings & Hierophant, “Black Ribbons”; Lifehouse, “Smoke & Mirrors”; Little Boots, “Hands”; Rogue Wave, “Permalight”; and Blake Shelton, “Hillbilly Bone (EP).”
BOOKS
“House Rules” by Jodi Picoult: Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s syndrome, might not be good at expressing himself, but he has a special gift for forensic analysis and uses it to help the police.
But when the police come to Jacob with questions after a murder, the boy’s behavior, tics and twitches associated with Asperger’s, causes suspicion to fall on him and his family.
Also expected out this week is the latest from Seth Grahame-Smith. This time around the author of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” turns his eye from Jane Austen to one of America’s most famous presidents with “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.”
Also hitting shelves this week: “The Boy with the Cuckoo-clock Heart” by Mathias Malzieu; “Circle of Greed: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Lawyer Who Brought Corporate America to Its Knees” by Carl Cannon; “Clint: A Retrospective” by Richard Schickel; “The Cross Gardener” by Jason F. Wright; “The Dream of Perpetual Motion” by Dexter Palmer; “False Mermaid” by Erin Hart; “Gonville: A Memoir” by Peter Birkenhead; “Hush” by Kate White; “Lift: Children. Turbulence. Life” by Kelly Corrigan; “Love Is the Best Medicine: What Two Dogs Taught One Veterinarian about Hope, Humility, and Everyday Miracles” by Nicholas Trout; “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” by Helen Simonson; “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness” by Mitt Romney; “Now Eat This!: 150 of America’s Favorite Comfort Foods, All Under 350 Calories” by Rocco DiSpirito; “One Good Dog” by Susan Wilson; “Our Lady of Immaculate Deception” by Nancy Martin; “Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices” by Mosab Hassan Yousef; and “Women, Food, and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything” by Geneen Roth.
