Latest DVDs, CDs, books: June 5
A look at some of the DVDs, CDs and books hitting stores this week:
DVDs
"John Carter" (PG-13): Well, that was quick. The would-be blockbuster, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' stories of a former Confederate soldier (Taylor Kitsch of "Friday Night Lights") thrust into a war on Mars, arrived in theaters March 9 - then promptly disappeared.
More successful was the action thriller "Safe House" (R), about a traitorous former CIA operative (Denzel Washington) who surfaces after a decade to turn himself in and the young agent (Ryan Reynolds) who must keep him alive long enough to be interrogated. Elsewhere, Dwayne Johnson takes over for Brendan Fraser in "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" (PG), co-starring "The Hunger Games' " Josh Hutcherson. Active-duty Navy SEALs take the lead in the high-octane action tale "Act of Valor" (R), and Gerard Butler and Michelle Monaghan star in "Machine Gun Preacher" (R), the true story of a former drug dealer who takes on East African warlords to save a group of children.
Topping today's TV-to-DVD transfers: "Breaking Bad: The Complete Fourth Season," "Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eighth Season," "Falling Skies: The Complete First Season," "Pretty Little Liars: The Complete Second Season," "Workaholics: Seasons 1 & 2," the USA dramas "Burn Notice: The Complete Fifth Season," "In Plain Sight: Season Four," "White Collar: Season Three," "Fairly Legal: Season One" and "Necessary Roughness: Season One," and the made-in-Vegas "Pawn Stars: Volume 4" and "The Ultimate Fighter Season 14."
CDs
The Hives, "Lex Hives"
Need to get into bikini or Speedo shape pronto?
Well, then, the new one from the Hives is your soundtrack to sweating off a few excess chins.
The latest rock-and-roll heart attack from these nattily-dressed Swedes is pretty much a physical fitness routine set to a beat.
Kiss those love handles goodbye, dudes.
Also in stores: The Beach Boys, "That's Why God Made the Radio:" Eric Benet, "The One;" Bobby Brown, "The Masterpiece;" BT, "Laptop Symphony;" Brandi Carlile, "Bear Creek;" Shawn Colvin, "All Fall Down;" Rodney Crowell, "Kin: The Songs of Mary Karr & Rodney Crowell;" Curren$y, "The Stoned Immaculate;" Alejandro Escovedo, "Big Station;" Fear Factory, "The Industrialist;" Bela Fleck & The Marcus Roberts Trio, "Across the Imaginary Divide;" Alan Jackson, "Thirty Miles West;" Liars, "WIXIW;" Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, "Jump Start;" Melvins Lite, "Freak Puke;" Rhett Miller, "The Dreamer;" The Chris Robinson Band, "Big Moon Ritual;" Patti Smith, "Banga;" Joe Walsh, "Analog Man;" Neil Young & Crazy Horse, "Americana."
BOOKS
"The Last Natural: Bryce Harper's Big Gamble in Sin City and the Greatest Amateur Season Ever" by Rob Miech: Sportswriter Miech follows the baseball phenom's last amateur season, right up to when the Las Vegan is drafted by and signs with the Washington Nationals.
On the fiction front, the kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl by vampires leads U.S. marshal and vampire hunter Anita Blake to a shocking discovery in "Kiss the Dead" by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Also hitting shelves this week: "America, You Sexy Bitch" by Meghan McCain and Michael Ian Black; "Eat and Run" by Scott Jurek; "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn; "The Honest Truth about Dishonesty" by Dan Ariely; "I Hate Everyone ... Starting with Me" by Joan Rivers; "Little Night" by Luanne Rice; "The Melting Sea" by Erin Hunter; "Mortal" by Ted Dekker; "Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Imperative" by Eric Van Lustbader; "Spring Fever" by Mary Kay Andrews; "Stunning" by Sara Shepard; "Summer Breeze" by Nancy Thayer; "Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told about the Economy Is Wrong" by Ed Conard; and "An Unmarked Grave" by Charles Todd.
