Bad Santa
It may be long past Christmas, but that shouldn't affect your enjoyment of this comedy starring Billy Bob Thornton and Bernie Mac. It hardly follows the formula of traditional heartwarming holiday tales. Thornton plays a Santa who is also a depressed, alcoholic safecracker. There is an elf who's an angry dwarf fed up with helping Thornton out for eight years. That's the premise of this twisted work of comedy, which is definitely not for kids. Contains a heaping dose of vulgarity and lots of crude humor.

The Cooler
Here's a movie set in the unglamorous side of Las Vegas, but this one comes with a twist. It centers on the character Bernie Lootz, played by William H. Macy, who is known in gambling circles as a "cooler." That is, his luck is so bad, he's relied on by casino bosses to cool the lucky streaks of other gamblers. Lootz's bad luck is so contagious, he just has to brush up against a high rolling gambler for him to lose all his chips. The twist comes when Lootz falls in love and suddenly isn't so unlucky. Alec Baldwin, who plays the ruthless casino owner who employs Lootz, was nominated for an Academy Award for his unlikeable role.

Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World
This action/adventure flick is in the style of old films that transported you to another time and place and made you want to be a pirate. Starring Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey, the film is based on the sea-faring books by Patrick O'Brian. It centers on the world of the British navy around 1805, and includes impressive battle scenes at sea featuring cannons and hand-to-hand combat. O'Brian has written over 20 novels featuring Capt. Aubrey-here's hoping that means a sequel is in the works.