Andy Kaufman: World Inter-Gender Wrestling Champ

If you pick this up expecting to see a comedy, you may be disappointed. As part of the comic routine that was his life, Andy Kaufman spent several years traveling the country challenging women to wrestle him. If they pinned him within three rounds, he would not only pay them $1000, but shave his head and take them as his wife. It’s enough to be a silly skit on Saturday Night live, but the fact that Kaufman took it to such extremes is much more fascinating than funny.

Marcus Welby Season 1

You might hesitate in checking out this box set given the fact that the series is more than 40 years old, but if you let that stop you, you would be missing out on some really fine television drama. Robert Young is the perfect curmudgeon as the general practitioner who cares more about his patients than himself, but the series really belongs to James Brolin (Mr. Barbra Streisand) as the hip young intern who tries to help bridge the generation gap between Welby’s ideals and the modern world of medicine.

Pride & Prejudice

Fifteen years ago, Colin Firth put on a top hat and velvet waistcoat and made women around the world swoon playing the egotistical (but irresistible) Mr. Darcy in this hugely popular BBC mini-series. Watching it now, it’s easy to understand why this adaptation of the Jane Austen classic launched his career (and set an impossibly high standard for all Darcy’s to follow). What’s especially nice this time around, though, is having a chance to see his co-star, the lovely Jennifer Ehle, create an even more memorable character for Darcy to play off, the prototype for all modern women, Elizabeth.

Severe Clear

Men have been making movies about war for as long as there have been movie cameras, but few of them even come close to capturing the madness and humanity the way director Kristian Fraga and star Marine First Lieutenant Mike Scotti do in this excellent documentary. The story follows Scotti and his fellow marines as they make the 2003 military invasion march across Iraq to capture Saddam Hussein, liberate the people and recover the weapons of mass destruction the soldiers (and the world) had been told the dictator was hiding. Whatever politics you may have had then, or have now, won’t matter as you watch Scotti and the Marines fight their way across the desert. Some of the images captured on video by the soldiers who were fighting will haunt you, but no more than the overall feeling you are left with that no matter what, you haven’t done enough to thank the men and women who were doing the fighting, whether you agree with the war or not.

Joan Armatrading/ Steppin Out

While the quality of the taping from this German television series leaves a lot to be desired, the music and the woman making it are still fascinating to watch. More than most pop performers, Armatrading had a true talent for connecting with her fans through her heartfelt lyrics and soulful voice. The selection of songs is impressive, showcasing her talent as a singer and a songwriter. The woman can really play guitar, too.

Formula 51

On the day he graduates from college with a degree in pharmacology, Elmo McElroy (Samuel L. Jackson) gets busted for smoking a celebratory joint and ends up in prison. He serves his time and gets out with a plan for a new designer drug that’s 51 times more powerful than cocaine, ecstasy and pot combined. Ha also has a plan for using his formula to swindle the local drug lord (Meatloaf) and make enough money to never have to work again. When the plan goes horribly wrong, Elmo joins forces with a Liverpool hood (Robert Carlyle) and his sexy assassin ex-girlfriend (Emily Mortimer) to keep the mob from smokin’ his ass. Directed by Ronny Yu (Bride of Chucky) the action is top-notch, but it's the comic chemistry between the three stars that makes the film so much damn fun to watch.

Trinity Blood

Beautiful enough to watch with the sound off, this epic anime series takes the battle between good and evil and turns it up to 11 by combining intricate plotting with insane action. It’s the story of light versus dark, vampires versus men, the Holy Church of Rome versus an evil arch enemy out to destroy the world, and it even has giant vampires who fight other giant vampires. It gets a bit overcomplicated at times, but it’s well worth following to the brilliant end.