21

Tomatometer: 35%

In 1993 a team of card counting M.I.T. students raked in casino dough with the power of math; in 2003, their experiences became a New York Times bestseller. This year, Hollywood added more sex, intrigue, and Kevin Spacey to the story -- courting controversy by changing real-life Asian American team members into Caucasians -- and a commercial, if not critical, hit was born.

Bonus Features:

Hold off on the 2-disc edition unless you really want the only extra feature: a digital copy of the film. Otherwise, check out the single-disc release for a commentary by director Robert Luketic and his producers, plus three featurettes on the film's production, its Las Vegas setting, and a lesson in card-counting by the cast.

Spaced: The Complete Series

Tomatometer: N/A

Before Shaun of the Dead, before Hot Fuzz and the Grind House trailer Don't, there was Spaced. The BBC launching pad for Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost ran for 14 episodes, all directed by Wright and co-written by Pegg and co-creator Jessica Hynes (nee Stephenson). (See previous page)

Bonus Features:

Fun extras like the Homage-O-Meter and the feature-length "Skip to the End Documentary" are great, but Wright and co. want to give you more than the average DVD. They've pulled in their closest celebrity friends to offer commentary tracks, including Quentin Tarantino, Patton Oswalt, Kevin Smith, Diablo Cody, Matt Stone, and Bill Hader. This is a must-own for any respectable pop culture junkie!

Robot Chicken: Star Wars

Tomatometer: N/A

Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich put their stop-motion spoofing skills to work on the biggest pop culture property in the galaxy in this very special episode. Learn things you never knew about the Star Wars mythology in this nerd-friendly collection of sketches (which include a commercial for Admiral Ackbar cereal and a Yo Momma fight between Luke Skywalker and Emperor Palpatine), made with the blessing of and a cameo by George Lucas himself.

Bonus Features:

With the entire Robot Chicken: Star Wars episode available to watch online, why would you buy the DVD? Well, for starters there's over an hour of extras, including commentary, deleted scenes, the Adult Swim TV promos, behind the scenes at animation meetings, and more. Plus, do you know how much nerd cred you get for having this on your DVD shelf?

Turn the River

Tomatometer: 75%

You know her best as a Thighmaster-owning Bond girl and a powerful member of the X-Men, but Famke Janssen is ready to show you her serious side. She stars in this indie drama as a hardened (but gorgeous) pool hustler scrambling to pull her life together and reclaim the son she gave up years ago.

Bonus Features:

A single featurette and commentary by actor-director Chris Eigeman (The Last Days of Disco, Gilmore Girls) accompany the film.

Masters of Horror Season Two

Tomatometer: N/A

While the individual films that comprise Masters of Horror: Season Two have been available individually, Anchor Bay is releasing the full 13-episode season in a limited edition set. A set shaped like a human skull! Whether or not the skull box will actually fit on your DVD shelf, this set, with films by the likes of Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Joe Dante, John Landis, and Tobe Hooper, is a must-have for fans of modern horror.

Bonus Features:

Each disc has its own set of commentaries, featurettes, galleries, and more.



'Til next week, happy viewing!