By the time you read this, we will know who the next President of the United States will be on 1/20/09. Maybe your candidate won, maybe he didn't. Maybe you'll be happy next year. Maybe you won't. Either way, things are going to change. But you know what never changes? Play All. We have something for McCain fans, Obama fans, and, yes, even Palin fans. Your candidate may have lost this week, but there's something to turn your frown upside down in this week's Play All. Take the Obama signs off your lawn or scrape the McCain bumper sticker off your car and hit Play All.

Hank and Mike
Studio: Magnolia
Starring: Thomas Michael, Paolo Mancini, Chris Klein, and Joe Mantegna
Features: The Making of Hank and Mike, The Evolution of Hank and Mike, The Hank and Mike Short Film, Deleted Scenes with Commentary, Extended Scenes, Alternate Ending with Commentary, Bloopers and Outtakes, Auditions, Filmmakers Commentary, Photo Gallery, Alternate Posters, Easter Eggs

"Pink, Annoyed, and Unemployed." Hank and Mike is a dirty comedy that riffs off movies like Office Space in its look at the tedium of jobs but it has quite a twist - the two title characters are Easter Bunnies. Grown men dressed in pink, furry suits who smoke, swear, and generally misbehave. The concept is funny. The execution is so-so. Hank and Mike are two blue-collar Easter Bunnies who get fired and try their hand at an assortment of odd jobs, failing at each. Fighting depression, debt and eventually each other, these two longtime pals set out on a mission to recapture their jobs, get the girl and settle the score. Hank and Mike is a low-budget comedy that has its moments but, ultimately, is a little less clever than it thinks. The film may be low budget but the DVD presentation is extensive. Check out that list of special features above. There are major blockbusters who don't get DVD releases with this many bells and whistles. Hank and Mike may be losers in the movie, but their DVD is an impressive winner.

Monster's Ball (Blu-Ray)
Studio: Lionsgate
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger, Sean Combs, Mos Def, and Peter Boyle
Features: Audio Commentary by Director Marc Forster & Academy Award-Nominated Writers Milo Addica & Will Rokos, Music for the Film, Deleted Scenes, Cast and Director Interviews, Behind the Scenes with Producer Lee Daniels, On the Set, Theatrical Trailer

Monster's Ball is an undeniably good movie, if mostly just for the two performances at its core, one of which, Halle Berry, won the Oscar for Best Actress. I find Monster's Ball a bit too oppressive in its bleakness but it features some excellent acting and will always hold a place in history for the soul-baring turn by Berry. But it's release on Blu-Ray is interesting. I remember one of the first DVDs I got as a gift was Saving Private Ryan. I returned it. It's one of the best movies of the last ten years but I find that I'm not likely to put in something so dark and depressing when I want to watch a movie I've already seen before. Similarly, I thought Monster's Ball was a good movie, but is it something you want to watch on a rainy Saturday afternoon? Or even on a sunny one? True aficionados of prime acting and Thornton and Berry fans may watch Monster's Ball repeatedly, but it's too depressing for me to do so. However, if you haven't seen the movie, Blu-Ray is the way to go. The video and audio on these Lionsgate re-releases (they've been steadily pulling catalog titles out of the vaults and putting them on Blu-Ray) is always an upgrade over the standard editions and the special features are more than adequate.

Popeye the Sailor: 1941-1943
Studio: Warner Brothers
Features: Commentaries and Popeye Popumentaries Featurettes with Animators, Historians, and Others Profiling Specific Cartoons, Characters, and Creators, Retrospective Documentary "Forging the Frame: The Roots of Animation, 1921-1930, Bonus Shorts from the Vaults

There is no better studio when it comes to archival, rare films and animation than Warner Brothers. The way they have handled the Looney Tunes and Popeye releases over the last few years has been remarkable and a model that all studios should follow with their catalog material. Think about it. The hardcore Bugs and Popeye fans would have picked up the DVDs of their favorite cartoon heroes even if they were just unceremoniously burned on to some DVDs with no remastering and no special features. But the Popeye the Sailor releases from Warner Brothers have been beautiful. Each set chronicles a few years of theatrical shorts. This version, volume three, encompasses 1941 to 1943 and includes 32 theatrical shorts on two discs. First-time-on-DVD, remastered, and with amazing special features. The three volumes of Popeye the Sailor would make an amazing Christmas gift for any classic animation fan in the family.

Red
Studio: Magnolia
Starring: Brian Cox, Tom Sizemore, Robert Englund, Amanda Plummer, and Kim Dickens
Features: Deleted Scenes, Interview with Brian Cox

"They Should Have Told the Truth." From Popeye to Tom Sizemore. Tommy's best part since his collapse under the weight of his own addictions is in Red, co-starring Brian Cox and co-directed by the great Lucky McKee (May, Masters of Horror). Lucky has an unusual and talented eye - falling more accurately into "Masters of Thriller" than horror. Cox stars as Avery, a reclusive older man whose best friend is his dog Red. When three teens kill Red without reason, Avery sets out for justice and redemption, attempting to follow the letter of the law. But when the law fails him, and the boys' father (Tom Sizemore) clearly defines right and wrong in his own way, Avery must avenge himself by any means. Cox and Sizemore are both consistently fascinating actors and McKee continues to intrigue me as a director. Red could be the under-the-radar, quality thriller hitting DVD this season that you didn't see coming. If just because I want Cox, Sizemore, and McKee to work more regularly - make sure to check out Red.

Return to Sleepaway Camp
Studio: Magnolia
Starring: Vincent Pastore, Jackie Tohn, Jonathan Tiersten, Paul DeAngelo, and Isaac Hayes
Features: Behind the Scenes, Interviews, Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery, "Return to Sleepaway Camp" Song

With movies like Prom Night and My Bloody Valentine being remade, when are they going to get to Sleepaway Camp? Instead of remaking the cheeseball classic, they've actually decided to make another sequel, straight from the '80s school of pounding a concept until it breaks. If you have a soft spot for Puppet Master sequels or Jason Goes to Manhattan then Return to Sleepaway Camp might be for you. It's been 20 years since Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (although there was a straight-to-video one in 2002) and 25 years since the original. A quarter-century after the first Sleepaway Camp, the director, Robert Hiltzik, returns to not just the franchise but filmmaking in general. His first movie in 25 years is Return to Sleepaway Camp. Weird. Featuring original characters, cast members, and one of the final performances of Isaac Hayes, Return to Sleepaway Camp is an interesting movie in that it kind of feels like a send-up, a parody of bad '80s movies, until you realize that it IS a bad '80s movie, just 20 years late.

Universal Soldier (Blu-Ray)
Studio: Lionsgate
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Ally Walker, Ed O'Ross, and Jerry Orbach
Features: Director, Writer, and Talent Commentary, Alternate Ending, "Guns, Genes, and Fighting Machines", "Tale of Two Titans", "Out of the Blu" Advanced Trivia Track

Luc Devreaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Sgt. Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) are two soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam and are brought back to life 25 years later for a secret government program. Known as "Unisols," they are genetically enhanced, unstoppable killing machines without memory, feelings, or free will. But when Devreaux's memory starts to return and he escapes the program, a superhuman chase across the country begins. Long before Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, Roland Emmerich was already directing over-the-top crap, just on a smaller scale. Universal Soldier is a mess, trying to use Van Damme and Lundgren like Ah-nuld was used in '80s classics like Commando and Predator. Van Damme was in his prime (and is actually kind of entertaining here) but Lundgren is awful and the movie hasn't held up well. It looks a lot older than its 16 years. Even in HD.

Spin City: Season One
Studio: Shout Factory
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Barry Bostwick, Richard Kind, Alan Ruck, Michael Boatman, and Connie Britton
Features: "The Spin", "Prime-Time Partners", Commentaries by Cast, Creators, and Crew

Shout Factory has been a wonderful DVD studio for underrated TV gems. Their collections for Sports Night, My-So-Called Life, and Freaks & Geeks are some of the best TV DVDs on the market. Now they've turned their focus to Spin City, a show that doesn't quite match those three in quality but still has a loyal fan base who will marvel at the treatment it gets in this first season set. If you're unfamiliar, Michael J. Fox plays Mike Flaherty, the Deputy Mayor of New York City, and the show focuses on his work with Mayor Randall Winston (Barry Bostwick) and the team around them. Spin City has a very strong ensemble including Connie Britton (who would go on to Friday Night Lights) and the great Richard Kind and Alan Ruck. It's been 12 years since Spin City debuted and the entire team, including Fox, looks back on the origin of the show in a great documentary called "The Spin". "Prime Time Partners" is a series of highlights from a seminar in October of '96 that includes creator Gary David Goldberg and Fox. Commentaries include Goldberg, Bill Lawrence, and Thomas Schlamme on "Pilot", Michael Boatman and Alexander Chaplin on "Pride and Prejudice", Fox and Alexander Chaplin on "Dog Day Afternoon", Kind and Ruck on "Gabby's Song", Boatman and Chaplin on "Kiss Me, Stupid", and Fox and Chaplin on "Hot in the City". Audio commentaries by Michael J. Fox? All fans need to pick up Spin City: Season One. Shout Factory has done it again.