DVDs, CDs and books – Nov. 1, 2011 | Movies

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

DVDS

"Cars 2" (G): While racing champ Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) hits the overseas racing circuit, his tow-truck pal Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), mistaken for a spy, finds himself up to his fenders in international intrigue in this sequel to Pixar Animation's 2006 "Cars."

On the live-action front, a suburban couple (Steve Carell, Julianne Moore) splits, while a smooth ladykiller (Ryan Gosling) falls for a feisty type (Emma Stone) resistant to his surefire moves in "Crazy, Stupid, Love" (PG-13). A destitute ex-veterinary student ("Twilight" heartthrob Robert Pattinson) falls in with a Depression-era circus, and falls for the show's married star (Reese Witherspoon), in "Water for Elephants" (PG-13). "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" (PG-13) focuses on friendship found and lost between two women (Gianna Jun, Li Bingbing) in 19th-century China -- and contemporary Shanghai. And the documentary "Tabloid" (R) recounts the stranger-than-fiction tale of a former beauty queen charged with following her Mormon boyfriend to Britain, kidnapping him and forcing him to serve as her sex slave.

Topping today's TV transfers (all unrated unless otherwise noted): a 30th-anniversary edition of "Brideshead Revisited" with Anthony Andrews and Jeremy Irons; "His Way," a documentary portrait of Hollywood (and Vegas) veteran Jerry Weintraub, plus the series "Victorious: Season One, Volume Two," "Californication: The Fourth Season," "Rawhide: The Fourth Season, Vol. Two," "Hell's Kitchen: Season Six Raw & Uncensored" and "Deadliest Catch: Season Seven" (PG).

CDS

Lou Reed & Metallica, "Lulu": Lou Reed and Metallica? Together? On the same record? Hmmm.

Some tastes just aren't meant to go together, you know, like whiskey-flavored cereal or something like that.

Seriously, dudes, we don't know whether to bang our heads or scratch them.

Also in stores: Justin Bieber, "Under the Mistletoe"; Susan Boyle, "Someone to Watch Over Me"; Girl in a Coma, "Exits & All the Rest"; Miranda Lambert, "Four the Record"; Megadeth, "Th1rt3en"; and Mike Patton, "Music from the Film and Inspired by the Book The Solitude of Prime Numbers (La Solitudine Dei Numeri Primi)."

BOOKS

"Out of Oz" by Gregory Maguire: The series that began with "Wicked" concludes with this installment that finds the Emerald City invading Munchkinland, Glinda on house arrest, the Cowardly Lion running from the law and Dorothy causing trouble -- again.

Also this week, David Baldacci introduces a new hero, military investigator John Puller, who discovers a possible conspiracy surrounding the slaughter of a family in "Zero Day."

Also hitting shelves: "Blue Nights" by Joan Didion; "Christmas Treasures" by Thomas Kinkade; "Crossed" by Ally Condie; "Diary of a Player: How My Musical Heroes Made a Guitar Man Out of Me" by Brad Paisley; "The Garner Files" by James Garner; "I Am Half-Sick of Shadows" by Alan Bradley; "Iron Man: My Journey through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath" by Tony Iommi; "Hotel Vendome" by Danielle Steel; "The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel" by Anthony Horowitz; "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)" by Mindy Kaling; "Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero" by Chris Matthews; "Kris Jenner ... And All Things Kardashian" by Kris Jenner; "Lost December" by Richard Paul Evans; "No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington" by Condoleezza Rice; "No Regrets" by Ace Frehley; "The Prince of Ravenscar" by Catherine Coulter; "Tiger's Voyage" by Colleen Houck; "The Time of Our Lives" by Tom Brokaw; and "The Wedding Quilt" by Jennifer Chiaverini.