Latest DVDs, CDs and books: Dec. 6, 2011

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

DVDS

"The Help" (PG-13): Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel, set in racially divided 1963 Mississippi, inspires an inspiring (if not always inspired) adaptation about the black maids (Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer) who cook the meals, clean the houses and raise the children of their white employers -- and the young writer (Emma Stone) who helps them tell their stories.

On the comedy front, you can take the guys out of Vegas, but you can't take the Vegas out of Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis), who travel to Thailand for Stu's wedding, only to wind up in the middle of more can't-remember misadventures in "The Hangover Part II" (R). "Mr. Popper's Penguins" (PG) transforms the swanky New York apartment -- and the life -- of the title developer (Jim Carrey). James Bond and Indiana Jones saddle up for "Cowboys & Aliens" (PG-13), as a mysterious stranger (Daniel Craig) teams with a ruthless rancher (Harrison Ford) to battle unidentified flying "demons" in 19th-century New Mexico. In the thriller "The Debt" (R), the past catches up with a trio of retired Israeli agents (Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds) who recall a 1960s mission to track down a notorious Nazi .

Leading today's TV-to-DVD transfers (all unrated): "Portlandia: Season One," "Big Love: The Complete Fifth Season," "Designing Women: The Complete Fifth Season," "The Lucy Show: The Official Fifth Season," "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Seventh Season," "Law & Order: The Ninth Year," "The Simpsons: The 14th Season," "Hart To Hart: Two Harts in Three-Quarter Time" and "The Tall Man: Complete Series."

CDS

Korn, "The Path of Totality": In the past, busting moves at Korn gigs largely equated to busting lips in the pit.

But on its latest disc, the band has teamed up with a slew of dubstep artists such as Skrillex, Feed Me, Kill the Noise, Noisia, Datsik and 12th Planet to merge its moody metal with hard-edged dance music.

The sound is different, but the end result will probably be the same: lots of pissed off people.

Also in stores: The Black Keys, "El Camino"; Chevelle, "Hats Off to the Bull"; The Cure, "Bestival Live 2011"; Digitalism, "Circles"; The Fall, "Ersatz G.B."; Dia Frampton, "Red"; Nils Lofgren, "Old School"; The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Magic of Youth"; Gary Numan, "Dead Son Rising"; The Roots, "undun"; Robin Thicke, "Love After War"; and T-Pain, "rEVOLVEr."

BOOKS

"Red Mist" by Patricia Cornwell: Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, looking into the death of former deputy chief Jack Fielding, heads to a women's prison where she interviews an inmate who says she has information on more than just Fielding's murder.

For young adults, James Patterson adds to his Witch and Wizard series with "The Fire," which finds siblings Whit and Wisty preparing to battle The One before he becomes all-powerful.

Also hitting shelves this week: "Clockwork Prince" by Cassandra Clare; "Death Comes to Pemberley" by P.D. James; "Egypt: The Book of Chaos" by Nick Drake; "The Forgotten Affairs of Youth" by Alexander McCall Smith; "A King's Ransom (The 39 Clues)" by Jude Watson; "One on One: Behind the Scenes with the Greats in the Game" by John Feinstein; "Ruthless (Pretty Little Liars)" by Sara Shepard; "Soft Target" by Stephen Hunter; "The Talk Show Murders: A Billy Blessing Novel" by Al Roker; "Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again" by Donald J. Trump; "Vigilante" by Stephen J. Cannell; and "We Got Him!: A Memoir of the Hunt and Capture of Saddam Hussein" by Steve Russell.