THE LIST: New DVDs, CDs and books for week of Oct. 14

DVDS
  “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (PG-13): Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) returns to derring-duty, reuniting with director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas for a thrill-a-minute romp, set in 1957, that finds our graying, globe-trotting archaeologist hero teaming with a rebellious teen (Shia LaBeouf) and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) to battle Soviet spies (led by Cate Blanchett) hot on the trail of a mystical Amazon artifact that may hold the key to life on earth — and beyond.
  For more historical adventure, the sweeping, Oscar-nominated epic “Mongol” (R) traces the rise of Genghis Khan (Japanese pop star Tadanobu Asano) from nomadic boy prince to conqueror — and founder of the 12th-century realm that became history’s largest contiguous empire. And another standout foreign-language title, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” (R), focuses on a Romanian college student’s harrowing efforts to help her roommate solve a life-or-death problem.
  And the political satire “War Inc.” (R), which never made it to local theaters, stars John Cusack as an international assassin who’s hired by a former U.S. vice president (Dan Aykroyd) — who’s now heading a private corporation occupying a Middle Eastern country — to assassinate an oil minister. Marisa Tomei, Hilary Duff, Ned Beatty, Ben Kingsley (and, of course, Cusack’s sister Joan) round out the starring cast.
  In today’s documentary file, “Standard Operating Procedure” (R) finds Oscar-winner Errol Morris (“The Fog of War”) exploring the abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces in Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison. And on a happier note, “Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History” (not rated) relives those thrilling days of yesteryear, when musicals lit up the silver screen.
  For the kids, the animated VeggieTales romp “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” (G) zaps Larry the Cucumber, Mr. Lunt and Pa Grape back in time for a swashbuckling adventure in which they help a brave princess rescue her brother. And PBS’ “Liberty’s Kids: Complete Series” (G) offers an animated adventure through the American Revolution, with Walter Cronkite providing the voice of Benjamin Franklin and Oscar-winners Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas and Whoopi Goldberg among the vocal cast.
  Tuning in to other TV transfers, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’s” eighth season (unrated) joins “Back to You: Season One,” “Rules of Engagement: The Complete Second Season,” “The Unit: The Complete Third Season” and — c’mon, get happy! — “The Partridge Family: The Complete Third Season.”

CDS
  Lucinda Williams, “Little Honey”: “I found the love I’ve been looking for,” Lucinda Williams sings on her latest disc, and really, it’s about time someone showed this terminally underrated songsmith some affection.
  Seriously, reason No. 10,649 to revile the country powers-that-be is that they waste endless amounts of cash pushing cerebellum-free hacks such as Carrie Underwood and practically ignore great, rootsy and real talents like Williams.
  No, she’s not a straight-up country crooner by any stretch.
  But her wizened, world-weary tunes are a much purer distillation of someone like, say, Hank Williams’ working class hymnals than anything Nashville has crapped out in the past two decades. 
  Also in stores: Nikka Costa, “Pebble to a Pearl”; Early Man, “The Circling Fin (EP)”; Gojira, “The Way of All Flesh”; Keane, “Perfect Symmetry”; Ray LaMontagne, “Gossip in the Grain”; Sixpence None the Richer, “The Dawn of Grace”; and Unearth, “The March.”

BOOKS
  “A Lion Among Men (Wicked Years Series No. 3)” by Gregory Maguire: The New York Times best-selling author known for his twists on fairy tales returns to the land of Oz, this time expanding on the story of the Cowardly Lion, introduced as a cub in “Wicked.”
  While war looms in Oz, the Cowardly Lion, whose name is Brrr, is in search of information from an oracle named Yackle about the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba Thropp. During his quest, Brrr discovers details of his own mysterious past.
  Also hitting shelves: “The Brass Verdict” by Michael Connelly; “Fire” by Katherine Neville; “I See You Everywhere” by Julia Glass; “Daily Readings from Become a Better You: 90 Devotions for Improving Your Life Every Day” by Joel Osteen; “Love Your Life: Living Happy, Healthy, and Whole” by Victoria Osteen; “Two to the Fifth (Xanth, Book 32)” by Piers Anthony; “Deadville” by Ron Koertge; “Catcall” by Linda Newbery; and “Captives” by Todd Hasak-Lowy.