WATCHMEN: THE COMPLETE MOTION COMIC is one of the odder DVDs you’ll ever see. This is like watching a PowerPoint presentation of every frame of all 12 chapters of Watchmen complete with narration and music. And all this takes about 30 minutes per chapter. You can read Watchmen in far less time than watching six hours of this slide show. Included in this package is a voucher for $7.50 for the real Watchmen movie which opens Friday, March 6. This is for hardcore fans only. However, if you must have it, Best Buy has it on sale for $19.99 this week.

I think Thomas E. Ricks is the only one who knows what’s really going on in Iraq. His brilliant analysis, The Gamble, shows how the military finally abandoned their bankrupt “kill and capture” strategy and converted to a counterinsurgency approach with the Surge. Ricks believes we’re only halfway through our involvement in Iraq. We have at least six more years of counterinsurgency warfare ahead of us. Ricks shows us how the Army works and how a change in leadership to General David Petraeus avoided complete failure in Iraq. However, as a result of the Surge, we are now committed to fighting a “Long War” in Iraq that might last for decades. If you doubt that, just look at our military involvement in Korea: 50 years and counting. If you want to understand the Iraq War, Ricks will enlighten you.

Planet Stories has just published the third and final Erie John Stark adventure, The Reavers of Skaith. Last year, Planet Stories brought out the first two books in the series, The Ginger Star and The Hounds of Skaith. This edition includes a new Introduction by George Lucas who talks about working with Leigh Brackett on the script for The Empire Strikes Back. Leigh Brackett was a terrific writer and it’s wonderful to have her work available again.

Ross Thomas is better known for his classic Chinaman’s Chance and The Eighth Dwarf, but in 1981 he published The Mordida Man where he takes the political caper to a new level. The President’s brother, Bingo McKay, has been kidnapped. The President receives Bingo’s ear wrapped in a Gucci box. Clearly, this is job for “The Mordida Man,” Chubb Dunjee. “Mordida” means bribery in Spanish and Dunjee has to spread the money around to mount a rescue of the President’s brother. However, like most Ross Thomas novels, nothing is exactly what it seems. There’s plenty of suspense and intricate plotting in The Mordida Man. It’s astonishing that an author who won the Edgar for Best First Novel in 1967 for The Cold War Swap and another Edgar for Best Novel in 1985 for Briarpatch is out-of-print and nearly forgotten.

For a mere $14.99 you can have the new digitally remastered versions of Play Misty for Me, The Eiger Sanction, Coogan’s Bluff, and The Beguiled. Four movies for the price of one!

Okay, so I was wrong. The judges loved Hosea’s killer gumbo and hated Fabio’s too sweet drink. Fabio was sent packing and we’re left with Stefan the Super Cook, Hosea the Weakest Link, and surprising Carla, winner of last week’s competition and a new Toyota Venza. One of these three chefs will be crowned Top Chef tonight. I can’t believe the judges would pick Stefan with his arrogant attitude. Hosea is just too inconsistent. So I’m picking Carla to win the $100,000 grand prize.

I know I’m violating Patti Abbott’s “one author, one book” rule, but C. J. Sansom’s Sovereign was so good, I couldn’t resist reading the newest Matthew Shardlake mystery, Revelation. It takes place in 1543, after the surprising events of Sovereign. One of Shardlake’s friends is brutally murdered and dumped into a fountain. Shardlake investigates and learns that this murder is the third in a series of murders based on the murderer’s interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Once again, C. J. Sansom delivers a moving portrait of London on the verge of chaos with political conspiracies and religious violence. This is a historical mystery novel of the first rank. GRADE: A.

Sovereign is the third Matthew Shardlake mystery. It’s set in England in 1541. Henry VIII is on the throne and busy chopping people’s heads off. He decides to take a journey to York to pacify the rebellious locals. Shardlake, a lawyer, is recruited by Archbishop Cranmer to settle some petitions in York and to interview one of the captured York conspirators, Sir Edward Broderick. C. J. Sansom’s meticulous historical detail renders the majesty and the misery of a Royal visit. A murder is committed and Shardlake is drawn into the investigation. As Shardlake learns more about the conspiracy, he is attacked and nearly killed. Then three more attempts are made on his life. Not only is the plot suspenseful, the tension of the mystery is heightened by the historical context. If you enjoy historical mysteries, Sovereign should go to the top of your list. GRADE: A

THE READER deals in sadness. It starts as an affair between a woman who works as a ticket taker on the Berlin trains and a 15 year old boy who is half her age. Before making love, the woman–played by Kate Winslet–makes the boy read to her. The summer affair comes to an end and years later, the boy–played by David Kross–now a law student, attends a trial of Nazi prison camp guards. To his shock, he discovers his former lover is being tried. There are some moral questions, some awkward decisions, some missed opportunities, and an overwhelming sense of melancholy in this film. Ralph Fiennes is largely wasted. David Hare’s script likes to jump around annoying. I don’t think Kate Winslet will win an Oscar for this role. GRADE: B.