Now that I think about it, Mr. Videoport Jones and I should have spent this time talking about Thanksgiving movies and Thanksgiving specials from days past ... except who makes Thanksgiving specials and movies anymore?

Instead, since we all know how much time you'll be spending with family and friends over the next few days – and you can only drink so much – Videoport Jones is here with a few new picks to slip into the DVD player.

You can thank him later.

"Rescue Dawn"

Videoport Jones: "Werner Herzog splits his talents between making weird, fascinating documentaries and odd, intriguing features. In this one, he splits the difference, making a feature film about the life story about a guy about whom he's already made a documentary. That's branching out, I suppose. It's the story of Dieter Dengler, a German national who joined the U.S. Air Force, got shot down over Laos during Vietnam, and was a POW. Christian Bale and Steve Zahn star. I'm in."

Justin: "You almost always want to check out Herzog's films just to see the finished project from all the horror stories. The man's devotion to filmaking is legendary, as much for what's on screen and what his actors and crew have to say afterwards. Still, I'm likely to see anything Christian Bale is in, and am intrigued by the idea of Steve Zahn trying to get serious. I still think of him as the guy in 'That Thing You Do.' Then again, he is a Minnesota boy."

"Live Free or Die Hard"

VPJ: "Yeah, this is more like it! Ka-Blam! Pow! John McClane is back and balder and beefier than ever, beating up people until it all turns out okay."

JE:"I can honestly say there was nothing that drew me to this film other than my Y chromosome and fond memories of the earlier Die Hard movies. Also, I had free passes and made a deal with my lady that we could see this and later see 'Ratatouille.' I will say this, next to 'Superbad,' this is the most I've laughed in the theater recently. This movie's so damn American all they needed was Bruce Willis to crash a Chevy through the old stars and stripes. Actually, I think that happened."

"Hairspray"

VPJ: "The musical film of the Broadway musical of the John Waters 60's pastiche film about Baltimore teens, Rock 'n' Roll and bigotry. Does anyone else get the giggles thinking about John Waters having become mainstream beloved whilst never abandoning his spot as America's #1 purveyor of outrageous, sexually deviant sleaze. Seriously, all of the shiny, innocent musical fans who are going to use Hairspray as the gateway to Waters' mind-expandingly psychotic oeuvre ... it just makes me sooo happy."

JE: "You raise a good point, and one I think we've hit on before. But maybe someone should warn all the new fans before they start wandering into Waters past. Not everything has singing Christopher Walken and John Travolta in hilarious drag. In fact I think most of the characters in drag in his movie aren't going for 'hilarious drag.' What can he do next?"

"The Santa Clause 3"

VPJ: "Why does Tim Allen exist? And who keeps giving him work? And who thought that teaming him up with Martin Short wouldn't make people's heads explode? Or was that their plan all along?..."

JE: "The sad thing is that I like Martin Short, and I'm constantly stuck wondering what his career has come to. He's relegated to these ridiculous, cartoony roles. One has to wonder if today's producers watched too much SCTV and Ed Grimley was the only thing they took away from it. As for Tim Allen...I got nothing. I mean, does he have some files on experiments performed by the Disney company? 'Wild Hogs!' I did like him in 'Galaxy Quest' though."

"Ghosts of Cite Soleil"

VPJ:"Documentary about two brothers growing up in the titular Haitian ghetto, a place once described, in the United Nations, as the most dangerous place on earth. Please, no Detroit jokes ..."

JE: "We're looking for light-hearted holiday fare here Jonsey. Do you really expect people to learn after they've inhaled 7 pounds of food and spiced rum? You're bringing us all down with your insistence on spotlighting the world's problems."

"Killer of Sheep"

VPJ:"Videoport couldn't be more excited about the long-delayed DVD release of this once-lost 1977 film by pioneering black director Charles Burnett. Selected by the Library of Congress as one of the first 50 films to be archived in the National Registry in 1990, Burnett's nearly plotless study of a working class black family was out of circulation for 30 years before someone finally pulled his/her head out of her/his butt and restored it. Seen as a forerunner of filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, and David Gordon Green, Killer of Sheep is ahead of its time, uniquely American, and only at Videoport."

JE: "A film about a (at the time) modern, American middle class family trying to get by, dependent on a broken and angry patriarch? Sounds like classic storytelling. Looks like this is the 'You'll only find it at Videoport' selection of the week."

Finally, here's Jonsey's picks for a few more new releases and fresh goodies on the shelves of Videoport.

"Berlin Alexanderplatz" – "Be the first on your block to say you've watched all 15 and a half hours of this epic, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's massive German melodrama. You don't even have to watch it all to impress most people; you can just rent all five discs from the Criterion section, leave them out on your coffee table and make stuff up when you talk about it. They'll be too sheepish to question you. Plus, it's fun to say 'Berlin Alexanderplatz/ Rainer Werner Fassbinder' really fast."

"Doctor Who" – Season 3 – "For the tiny nerd in you; just pry him off and set him down in front of this new series with the hunky new Doctor."

"Zombie Town" – "Do you need to know anything more, really?"

Ah ... zombie town, what could possibly go wrong when your car runs out of gas there. Are there zombie schools?

Quick questions: Would Christian Bale and Steve Zahn hang out in real life, and if yes, would they enjoy frozen drinks together? Why do pointless action flicks work? Seriously, you know what you are going to get in most of them? Give your impression of a "Hairspray" The Musical fan renting one of John Waters earlier flicks. Tim Allen: why does he still work?

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