THE LIST: DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores week of Nov. 3
DVDS
“The Taking of Pelham 123” (R): A New York subway dispatcher (Denzel Washington) matches wits with a hijacker (John Travolta) who vows to start slaughtering trapped passengers if $10 million isn’t delivered within the hour. Travolta and Washington have a blast as the cat-and-mouse adversaries in this Tony Scott-directed remake of the 1974 thriller.
Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sienna Miller and Dennis Quaid headline “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” (PG-13) as the elite G.I. Joe fighting force takes on a notorious arms dealer, while kids (led by “High School Musical’s” Ashley Tisdale) battle extraterrestrial invaders in “Aliens in the Attic” (PG). A nerdy valedictorian (Paul Rust) proclaims his love for the title high school hottie (“Hero’s” Hayden Panetierre) in “I Love You, Beth Cooper” (PG-13). In “The Narrows” (R), a Brooklyn photography student (Kevin Zegers) delivers packages for a mobster to pay college tuition — much to the chagrin of his father (Vincent D’Onofrio). Rounding out the week’s recent releases: the documentary “Food Inc.” (PG), a blistering indictment of giant food conglomerates.
Turning to titles that never made it to local theaters, Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham star in the romantic comedy “The Answer Man” (R), while “The Mentalist’s” Simon Baker joins Paz Vega in the mystery thriller “Not Forgotten” (R). And a washed-up boxer (John Leguizamo) struggles to find a job and an apartment for his family in the Christmas Eve drama “Where God Left His Shoes” (not rated).
Arriving on Blu-Ray: a 50th-anniversary edition of the Cary Grant-Alfred Hitchcock classic “North by Northwest,” James Stewart in Frank Capra’s beloved “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Tom Hanks as the Oscar-winning “Forrest Gump,” Alastair Sim as a world-class Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol,” lovelorn John Cusack in “Say Anything” and Criterion Collection editions of the art-house favorites “Howards End” and “Wings of Desire.” In our at-long-last department: “The Dead” (PG), director John Huston’s final movie, a haunting James Joyce adaptation starring daughter Anjelica Huston; the 1958 cop drama “The Lineup” (not rated), from “Dirty Harry” director Don Siegel, which is part of “Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. 1”; and “The Claudette Colbert Collection” (not rated), which casts the Oscar-winning actress opposite Gary Cooper (1938’s “Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife”) and Fred MacMurray (1943’s “No Time for Love,” 1947’s “The Egg and I”).
Topping today’s TV-to-DVD lineup (all unrated): Will Ferrell’s “You’re Welcome, America: A Final Night with George W. Bush,” “Merry Sitcom! Christmas Classics from TV’s Golden Age,” “The Rockford Files: Movie Collection, Vol. One,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars — The Complete Season One,” “Zorro: The Complete First Season,” “Here’s Lucy: Season Two,” “Spin City: Season Three,” “The Donna Reed Show: Season Three” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final TV Season.”
CDS
Slayer, “World Painted Blood”: Get a helmet, there’s a new Slayer record.
And man does this one hit hard.
Perhaps the band’s most seething, inspired effort since their classic 1990 LP “Seasons in the Abyss,” “World Painted Blood” is a bubbling cauldron of anger, hate and adrenaline.
Guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman spend the whole album lunging at one another, coming with some of their frenzied playing ever.
If you dig true heavy metal in any of its various permutations, this “Blood” is for you.
Also in stores: Andrea Bocelli, “My Christmas”; Julian Casablancas, “Phrazes For the Young”; Genitorturers, “Blackheart Revolution”; Kathy Griffin, “Suckin’ It for the Holidays”; and Say Anything, “Say Anything.”
BOOKS
The stories range from funny to poignant, featuring characters such as Gilbert, who roams the local retirement home in search of the assets of those who live there; Inez Graney and her two sons who take a road trip to visit another son who has been on death row for 11 years; and some of the boys from Ford County who head to Memphis to donate blood for an injured friend, but the trip takes longer than expected as they can’t pass up a beer store and later end up at a strip club.
Also expected out is J.D. Robb’s (author Nora Roberts) latest installment in her “In Death Series.” In “Kindred In Death,” homicide Detective Lt. Eve Dallas investigates the murder of Deena MacMasters, the 16-year-old daughter of police Capt. Jonah MacMasters. As the evidence begins to mount, so does the pressure on Dallas and her team.
Also hitting shelves: “The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama’s Historic Victory” by David Plouffe; “A Christmas Blizzard” by Garrison Keillor; "Death Masks (Dresden Files, Book 5)” by Jim Butcher; “Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia” by Christopher Paolini; “The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingsolver; “In Too Deep (39 Clues Series No. 6)” by Jude Watson; “It’s Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams and Increase in God’s Favor” by Joel Osteen; “No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War II” by Jeff Shaara; “One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity” by Debbie Macomber; “Our Choice” by Al Gore; “A Quilter’s Holiday: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel” by Jennifer Chiaverini; “Rachael Ray’s Book of Ten: More Than 300 Recipes to Cook Every Day” by Rachael Ray; “Rainwater” by Sandra Brown; and “The Widow and the Tree” by Sonny Brewer.
