OUT OF THE BLU

You don't have to like sports to enjoy Sean William Scott on skates, but you might need a strong stomach or at least a strong sense of the absurd for the toothsome space slugs of Spawn to have the desired effect. And romantics looking for something new will want to check out an overlooked boy-meets-girl with Ewan and Eva.

Goon (Magnet)

We can't seem to broach the subject of hockey comedies without at least mentioning Slap Shot (see?), but while this dramatized story of real-life minor leaguer Doug Smith might not be as iconic as that Newman/Hill classic, it is fun and even funny at times. But above all it has a lot of heart, embodied by a surprisingly affable Seann William Scott as the faux Doug, whose humility, enthusiasm and skilled fisticuffs help him further his career on the ice. Extras are plentiful, including audio commentary, interviews, BD-Live and more, most notably a branching option that allows us to click out of the movie to view behind-the-scenes pods. A perfect evening's viewing, especially on some night during the off-season when we're forlornly channel-flipping in search of puck.

The Deadly Spawn (MVD Visual/Elite Entertainment)

Fans of creature-centric horror will be eager to sink their teeth into this nano-budgeted '80s cult favorite. But despite the necessary corner-cutting (locations included the famous twin artists Greg & Tim Hildebrandt's home) the filmmakers managed to give us a convincingly gross monster: a hungry space parasite ready to dominate Earth one meal at a time. It's creepy, at times nasty, and certainly enjoyable, its charm undeniably old-school in today's world of rampant CGI, and reminiscent of better-known independent scarers such as Night of the Living Dead and Evil Dead.

This "Millennium Edition" Blu-ray is downright gorged with extras too, from a producer/editor commentary track to a host of vintage film and video clips, as well as sample pages from the upcoming Deadly Spawn comic book.

Perfect Sense (IFC Films)

Pop culture is currently obsessed with visions of a zombie apocalypse, but David Mackenzie's Sense gives us the world's first "sensory" apocalypse, whereby everyone around the world (including scientist Eva Green and chef Ewan McGregor) is afflicted by a strange epidemic that suddenly, if temporarily messes with people's senses and emotions. This outbreak provides quite the ironic backdrop as the general populace is danger of losing what makes them "human," just as the young lovers dive into a deeply felt new relationship, with continually unexpected results.

In its originality, this one tosses aside many conventions of the genre and so might not be for every viewer, but while it's not a Perfect movie, it does provide enough "What's going to happen next?" tension to keep us watching 'til the very end.