Punch Drunk DVDs

3. Your Highness
Get it? Your HIGHness? Har har. Consider Your Highness what happens when stoners get together for a Game of Throne marathon. David Gordon Green(Pineapple Express) has assembled the oddest assemblage of stars ever for this smoke filled medeivel spoof: James Franco, Danny McBride, and Natalie Portman chief among them. McBride and Franco play two royal princes, one an irresponsible clown, the other brave and stately. When one's fiance is kidnapped, the two go off on an epic quest to save her, along the way running into horny minotaurs, sexually depraved mages, and a hot warrior chick(Portman) who doesn't take kindly to their shenanigans. Has some big laughs that will likely be even funnier if you have a bong within reaching distance, but you'll likely be more entertained by thinking what it must've been like on the set.

2. Jumping the Broom
It's sad that Tyler Perry has such a stranglehold on the African-American corner of the movie market, because the way he handles serious issues is pure amateur hour. Every time another black filmmaker makes a movie dealing with familial strife, or tackles issues of class and economic disparity, they make Perry look even less refined. Such is the case with Jumping the Broom, the story of two lovebirds(Paula Patton and Laz Alonso) from totally different ends of the social spectrum. He's blue collar and steel mills, she's summer homes in Martha's Vineyard. When the two decide to get married, it becomes a fierce battle between the future mothers-in-law(Loretta Devine and a fearsome Angela Bassett) that threatens to destroy the happy occasion. While there are some sitcom elements that don't work(mostly involving Julie Bowen's "hip" white girl routine), I liked that the institution of marriage is framed as a spiritual and moral building block, and not just as a plot point.

1. Paul Those who feared some drop off for Nick Frost and Simon Pegg(Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) due to the absence of director pal Edgar Wright probably won't even notice the difference. Paul is probably just as nerd-centric, pop culture indulgent, and self referential as any of their previous films, if not moreso. Frost and Pegg both wrote and star in the comedy as a pair of Brit sci-fi geeks who go on a road trip to some of America's most famous hot spots for UFO sightings. That is until they literally crash into a legit alien creature, a wise-cracking extraterrestrial named Paul(voiced by Seth Rogen). Paul's been held captive for years, and enlists their help in getting back home. Of course the FBI(represented by Bill Hader) can't let this happen, and hilarity ensues. A great supporting cast, including Jane Lynch and Kristen Wiig, help fill in some of the film's rough patches. Rogen is on point as the foul mouthed alien, but there are moments where the jokes run a little dry. For a fan of science fiction movies, however, Paul will be like a cinematic wet dream, with no shortage of homages to some of the greats.

Other Notable Releases
Super, starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page
The Fox and the Hound/The Fox and the Hound II
Mars Needs Moms, featuring Seth Green and Joan Cusack
Fast Time at Ridgemont High(Blu-Ray), starring Sean Penn
M.A.S.K.: The Complete Series
Dazed and Confused(Blu-Ray)
Tactical Force, starring Stone Cold Steve Austin and Michael Jai White
Camp Hell, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Will Denton