Just in time for the holidays, November brings a blockbuster release every week, starting with "Cars" and building up to "Superman Returns." Among the hidden gems here are "Friends: The Complete Series" and "Seinfeld: Season 7."

TUESDAY

"Cars": Pixar and Disney reteam in this animated movie about a hotshot rookie car driven to succeed but detoured in a sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. Voice talent includes Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Larry the Cable Guy and Bonnie Hunt.

"Little Man": Shawn Wayans plays a man so anxious to become a father that he mistakes a short, baby-faced criminal on the run for his newly adopted son. Marlon Wayans also stars.

"Shadowboxer": Cuba Gooding Jr. and Helen Mirren star in this violent drama about husband and wife assassins.

"Wordplay": Documentary on word-puzzle nerd and New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz.

Music: "loudQUIETloud: A Film About The Pixies"

Special: "Carousel: 50th Anniversary Edition"; "Cinema Paradiso: Limited Collector's Edition"; "Gary Cooper: The Signature Collection"; "The James Bond Ultimate Collection, Volume 1 & 2"; "The Marlon Brando Collection"; "Mutiny on the Bounty: Two-Disc Special Edition"; "The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection"; "The King and I: 50th Anniversary Edition"; "Transformers: The Movie -- 20th Anniversary Special Edition."

TV on DVD: "Ark II: The Complete Series"; "Beverly Hills, 90210," season 1; "HarveyToons: The Complete Collection"; "JAG," season 2; "M*A*S*H," season 11; "M*A*S*H: The Martinis & Medicine Collection"; "Melrose Place," season 1; "Police Squad! The Complete Series"; "The Sopranos: Season Six, Part 1"; "The West Wing," season 7 and "Complete"; "Ultraman: Series One, Volume Two."

NOV. 14

"The Da Vinci Code": Director Ron Howard, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and actor Tom Hanks tackle an adaptation of the Dan Brown page-turner about a murder at the Louvre that unravels a chain of sensational secrets.

"Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man": Documentary about the Canadian singer-songwriter, told through footage shot at a tribute at the Sydney Opera House, interviews and the subject's artwork, poetry and personal photos.

"Accepted": Rejected by eight legitimate colleges, Bartleby "B" Gaines (Justin Long) and his pals create a fake school, which soon attracts other misfits.

"John Tucker Must Die": When three popular girls from different cliques discover they've all been dating the school stud, they band together to exact revenge.

"Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)": The title means "Merry Christmas," and this Oscar nominee is about peace that breaks out on the battlefield in 1914.

"The Groomsmen": Edward Burns writes, directs and stars in a story about a guy stricken with the engagement jitters who invites his old gang to be the groomsmen at his impending marriage.

"Strangers With Candy": A prequel to the Comedy Central series, starring Amy Sedaris as a 47-year-old ex-con junkie who returns home after 32 years as a runaway. She decides to start her life over and re-enrolls in high school.

"49 Up": Michael Apted continues the documentary series that has followed the lives of a group of British people since they were 7.

"Who Killed the Electric Car?": Documentary chronicles the life and mysterious death of the GM EV1.

Special: "Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection"; "Bing Crosby: Screen Legend Collection"; "Forbidden Planet: 50th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition"; "King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition"; "The Green Mile: Special Edition"; "The Paul Newman Collection"; "Rock Hudson: Screen Legend Collection."

TV on DVD: "Adventures of Superman," seasons 5 & 6; "The Best of the Electric Company, Vol. 2"; "Black Books: The Complete First and Second Series"; "Columbo," seasons 6 and 7; "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," season 6; "Family Guy," Vol. 4; "Flavor of Love," season 2; "The Golden Girls," season 6; "Friends: The Complete Series"; "Home Improvement," season 5; "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," season 4; "Maniac Cop: Special Edition"; "NCIS," season 2; "Northern Exposure," season 5; "Quantum Leap," season 5; "Reba," season 4; "Six Feet Under: The Complete Series Gift Set."

NOV. 21

"Ice Age 2: The Meltdown": Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary once again speak for Manny, Sid and Diego as they realize the Ice Age is ending and they need to warn everyone about an impending flood.

"You, Me and Dupree": Newlyweds Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson invite an unemployed, homeless pal named Dupree (Owen Wilson) to stay with them. As the husband buries himself at work, Dupree starts charming the bride, her father (Michael Douglas) and neighbors, creating comic complications.

"An Inconvenient Truth": Former Vice President Al Gore's call to arms over the issue of global warming.

"Scoop": Woody Allen wrote, directed and co-stars in this comedy, also starring Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman and Ian McShane, about amateur sleuths on the trail of the Tarot Card Killer in England.

"Another Gay Movie": Writer-director Todd Stephens' pointedly raunchy spoof of "American Pie" and gay movies.

Special: "A Fish Called Wanda (2-Disc Collector's Edition)"; "Grand Theft Auto (Tricked Out Special Edition)."

Holiday: "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!: Deluxe Edition"; "Miracle on 34th Street Special Edition."

TV on DVD: "Alias," season 5 and "Complete"; "Boston Legal," season 2; "Da Ali G Show: Da Compleet Seereez"; "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist: Season 2"; "Family Affair," season 2; "Home Alone: Family Fun Edition"; "How I Met Your Mother," season 1; "Perry Mason," season 1; "Seinfeld," season 7; "So NoTORIous," season 1; "Star Trek: The Animated Series."

NOV. 28

"Superman Returns": Brandon Routh plays the man in tights, and Kate Bosworth is Lois Lane, the woman he loves but one who may have moved on with her life. Meanwhile, he must save the world from cataclysmic destruction.

"The Ant Bully": When a 10-year-old boy, new in town and tormented by a neighborhood bully, takes out his frustration on the anthill in his yard, the residents retaliate. The ants shrink him down to their size and sentence him to live in their colony, where he learns about friendship and courage.

"Clerks II": Kevin Smith rounds up the usual slackers, now facing their 30s and consequences of adulthood. Rosario Dawson joins Smith, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson.

"See No Evil": World Wrestling Entertainment star Kane stars as reclusive psychopath Jacob Goodnight.

Special: "The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection"; Special editions of "Superman" I, II and III; "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace"; "The Usual Suspects (Collector's Edition)."

TV on DVD: "7th Heaven," season 3; "Bones," season 1; "Criminal Minds," season 1; "Jamie Kennedy's Blowin' Up," season 1; "Joan of Arcadia," season 2; "St. Elsewhere," season 1; "Thundercats," season 2, Vol. 2; "Touched by an Angel," season 3, Vol. 2.

New this week

'Mission: Impossible: III' () : While Paramount's Sumner Redstone may be disavowing any knowledge of Tom Cruise, the sofa-hopping star's third go 'round with the "Mission: Impossible" movie franchise may be the best yet.

While it didn't meet box office expectations, the two-disc collector's edition DVD of "Mission: Impossible: III" ($39.99) will probably make up for it. There are even more stunts -- chases, building jumping and things blowing up -- than the first two with Tom terrific doing all his own stunts. That should satisfy the action fans.

But there's also a compelling plot with agent Ethan and his IMF team facing off against a psychotic arms dealer portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Not only do they have to save a fellow agent (Keri Russell) but they keep the psycho from taking his revenge out on Ethan's wife (Michelle Monaghan). Laurence Fishburne and Billy Crudup are Ethan's superiors.

For fans of all the behind the scenes extras, the DVD provides a cornucopia of features. See how they did the stunts, get a look inside the IMF team (Ving Rhames, Maggie Q and Jonathan Rhys Meyers), the music for the film, a Movie Fone Unscripted interview between Cruise and director JJ. Abrams.

A feature on the launching of the "M: I: III" across the globe shows Cruise as at least one of the hardest working guys in showbiz as he attends four premieres for the film in NYC in one day.

Monica Haynes, Post-Gazette staff writer

"Keeping Up With the Steins" (): A highly entertaining, not-so-kosher comedy about a dysfunctional Jewish family and a boy who ends up using his bar mitzvah for the unlikely purpose of actually becoming a man and reconciling his elders.

Special: "It's a Wonderful Life: 60th Anniversary Edition"; "The Martin & Lewis Collection: Volume 1."

TV on DVD: "Ghost Whisperer," season 1; "The Hitchhiker, Vol. 3"; "The Kids in the Hall," season 5; "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Vol. 2"; "Tales From the Crypt," season 5; "The Tarzan Collection, Vol. 2."

Star ratings are based on the Post-Gazette reviews during theatrical release.