Inspired by Robert Heinlein's pulp classic and executive-produced by Paul Verhoeven, who made the big-screen version, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles is cutting-edge TV animation that's more for grown-ups than kids. The neat equipment, combat suits and weapons are as deadly as they are cool, and even though the extreme gore and violence of the movie has been toned down, the endless threat from all manner of nasty bugs is still pretty terrifying. Five roughly 20-minute episodes are spliced together into a movie-length feature, which makes for a satisfyingly lengthy story arc instead of the more usual self-contained individual episodes. Like all good war stories, at its heart Roughnecks celebrates that Band of Brothers-style bonding in extreme circumstances, which we viewers can only experience vicariously. --Mark Walker

A young man (Matt Damon) is a reformed gambler who must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks.

In 1987, almost 100 years after its first production, the romantic story of Cyrano de Bergerac found new life in a winsome film written by Steve Martin. Roxanne updates the tale with a smart 80s' spin, yet writer-star Martin stays close to the old-fashioned heart of the matter. He plays a small-town fireman named CD Bales, whose otherwise unremarkable existence is crowned by an amazingly long nose. He falls for the world's most beautiful astronomer (Daryl Hannah), but he is embarrassed by the size of his proboscis and prefers to stay on the sidelines. Like Cyrano, the shy CD instead helps a handsome friend (Rick Rossovich) woo the fair lady by providing flowery sentiments and soulful poetry. Not only does the story still work, but director Fred Schepisi captures a dreamy grace in his visual design for the film (some of which will be lost without the widescreen format). Set in Washington State, but filmed in the hilly ski resort of Nelson, British Columbia, the location seems like a fairy-tale town, nearly as unreal as Steve Martin's nose. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com