DVDs, CDs and Books – Aug. 16, 2011 | Movies

A look at some of the DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores this week:

DVDS

"Jane Eyre" (PG-13): Charlotte Bronte's oft-filmed literary classic gets another big-screen treatment, this time with Mia Wasikowska ("Alice in Wonderland") as the beleaguered title governess and Michael Fassbender ("X-Men: First Class") as her mysterious employer, Mr. Rochester.

Fassbender's "X-Men" co-star, James McAvoy, also turns up on DVD today, playing an idealistic attorney in "The Conspirator" (PG-13), director Robert Redford's historical drama about a widowed Confederate sympathizer (Robin Wright) accused of conspiring to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. A single lawyer (Ginnifer Goodwin) tries to overlook her attraction to her law-school crush, who's engaged to her best friend (Kate Hudson), in "Something Borrowed" (PG-13), while Paul Bettany tracks down the vampire varmints who kidnapped his niece in the post-apocalyptic "Priest" (PG-13).

Also on the recent-release front, "Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil" (PG) finds Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf investigating Hansel and Gretel's disappearance in an animated sequel. An embittered white cop (Michael Joiner) and his newly promoted black partner (Michael Higgenbottom), who's also a preacher, try to find common ground in "The Grace Card" (PG-13).

Turning to movies that never made it to local theaters, Kim Cattrall stars as a past-her-prime porn star in "Meet Monica Velour" (R), while photojournalists focus on violent post-apartheid South Africa in the fact-based "The Bang Bang Club" (R), with Ryan Phillippe , Malin Akerman and Taylor Kitsch. And Ed Harris plays an English teacher who teams an outcast with a cool student in "That's What I Am" (PG). Topping the Blu-ray Disc debuts: a limited-edition "Big Lebowski" (R). Leading the TV transfers: "Dexter: The Fifth Season" and "Spin City: Season Five" (both unrated).

CDS

Jeff Bridges, "Jeff Bridges": It's a record from The Dude -- or El Duderino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

That's right, Jeff Bridges, star of the greatest movie of all time, "The Big Lebowski," has cut a CD of earthy Americana with esteemed producer T-Bone Burnett.

Also in stores: Blue October, "Any Man in America"; The Bottle Rockets, "Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening With the Bottle Rockets"; Guy Clark, "Songs and Stories"; Jewel, "The Merry Goes 'Round"; Scream, "Scream's Complete Control Sessions"; and Sly Stone, "I'm Back! Family & Friends."

BOOKS

"The Omen Machine" by Terry Goodkind: The Southern Nevada author returns to his Sword of Truth series with his latest, in which a mysterious device that seems to tell the future poses a threat to Richard Rahl, Kahlan Amnell and their world.

Las Vegas' Penn Jillette offers his interpretation of the Ten Commandments in "God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales."

Also hitting shelves: "Coming Up for Air" by Patti Callahan Henry; "Dennis Hopper: The Wild Ride of a Hollywood Rebel" by Peter Winkler; "Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker" by Kevin Mitnick; "Legacy" by David L. Golemon; "The Sauvignon Secret" by Ellen Crosby; "Troublemaker: Let's Do What It Takes to Make America Great Again" by Christine O'Donnell; and "We Is Got Him: The Kidnapping that Changed America" by Carrie Hagen.