TOP PICK
Robot Chicken: Star Wars(Warner/Adult Swim)The stop-motion animation show's terrific spoof of the Star Wars universe finally arrives on DVD. Skits involve everybody from a smack-talking Boba Fett to Cantina casualty Ponda Baba. Even George Lucas gets in on the action. Best: a yo'-momma fight between Luke and the Emperor ("Your mother is so fat that Ben Kenobi said, 'That's no moon - that's yo' momma!'").
VIDEO GAME
Ninja Gaiden II (Microsoft)
A master ninja is on a quest to save the human race in this spectacularly bloody sword game for the Xbox 360. But you don't play Ninja Gaiden for the narrative; you play it to slice off as many limbs as possible. And the latest outing of this slash-and-dash fave features plenty of severed arms, legs and heads. Carnage at its most cathartic.
DVD
I Got the Feelin': James Brown in the '60s (Shout! Factory)
This three-disc set gathers the documentary The Night James Brown Saved Boston and a pair of shows from 1968. The movie is a captivating look at a concert Brown performed the night after Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in which Mr. Dynamite pretty much kept the city from going up in flames. The two concerts (originally TV broadcasts) feature the Hardest Working Man in Show Business earning his title.
CD
Billy Joel: The Stranger: 30th Anniversary Edition (Columbia/Legacy)
The Piano Man's breakthrough album gets the deluxe treatment with this lavish box, which includes the original album, a 1977 concert CD, and a DVD with performance clips. The extras put the era in perspective, but The Stranger — a make-or-break record for Joel, who had released four previous albums — stands as his most durable set of songs.
DVD
The Mummy: Deluxe Edition
The Mummy Returns: Deluxe Edition
The Mummy: Special Edition (Universal)
Just in time for Brendan Fraser's latest romp in the desert, these two-disc versions of 1999's series starter and 2001's sequel are packed with extras — including deleted scenes and special-effects primers. Be sure to check out the original 1932 Mummy, a genre classic oozing with style. The two-disc DVD features incisive commentary, trailers and a look at makeup artist Jack Pierce, who created tons of Universal monsters.
