It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Ricky Gervais. From the original version of The Office to his uniquely hilarious turn hosting the Golden Globes this year to his incredibly funny podcasts with writing partner Stephen Merchant and round-headed friend Karl Pilkington, Gervais has proven to be a comedic master. His directorial debut The Invention of Lying hit DVD and Blu-ray this week and I was eager to get my hands on a copy to check out the special features.

The film is set in a world where humans haven’t evolved the gene to lie, so everyone is brutally honest. Out of nowhere, middle-class loser Mark Bellison (Gervais) suddenly discovers that he has the ability to say things that aren’t true and comedy ensues as he uses his newfound power to get money and stick it to people who wronged him. Along the way, he inadvertently creates religion and becomes an icon before learning that the one thing he really wants (Jennifer Garner) can’t be attained through lying. The film is funny, though the unbelievably stellar cast (including Rob Lowe, Louis C.K., Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambour and even appearances by Jason Bateman and Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a bit underutilized. It could have been the funniest movie of the year, but instead it was just another good comedy.

Thankfully, the special features on the DVD and Blu-ray make up for any of the film’s shortcomings. Most entertaining is “Meet Karl Pilkington”, a featurette originally produced for BBC’s The Culture Show, which introduces film audiences to the man Gervais has labeled a “little bald-headed Manc twat.” The featurette also gives a making-of look at a big deleted scene featuring Pilkington as a caveman and explaining the evolution of lying. In addition to this gem, the disc also contains outtakes, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and a series of video podcasts from Gervais and co-writer Matthew Robinson.

If you were waiting to check out the film, now is the time since you’ll get a slew of amazing features along with it. I’d recommend watching the film first, but feel free to dive right in to the even-funnier extras.

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If one of your favorite holiday traditions involves throwing rocks at trains then It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas might be just the Christmas special for you. The special, exclusively on DVD and Blu-ray, brings the same TV-MA humor that Sunny fans love to the holiday season as Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Sweet Dee and Frank relive their favorite Christmas traditions and try to understand the Christmas spirit.

The special gives us a glimpse into Christmas past for the Reynolds family as everyone’s favorite Grinch, Frank (Danny DeVito), gives fake-out gifts to Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson) just to mess with them. They vow to teach him a lesson of their own by using his former business partner to pull a Christmas Carol inspired series of stunts to teach him what a jerk of a father he’s been to them. At the same time, Mac (Rob McElhenney) tries to repent for his family’s past gift-thieving ways and Charlie (Charlie Day) struggles to come to terms with his mom’s rather unique Christmas tradition. Of course, because it’s Sunny we also get a very nude DeVito exploding out of a couch, Charlie biting Santa in the throat and an animated sequence featuring an elf with no pants.

Sadly, some of show’s regulars, like The Waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) Artemis (Artemis Pebdani) or Rickety Cricket (David Hornsby) are absent from the special and you can’t help but think how much funnier it would have been with a dose of those characters. Still, the animated sequence done in the classic tradition of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer is sure to please along with the sequences featuring a young Mac and Charlie.

For serious Sunny fans, the special is a must-have with making-of footage and a bizarre sing along that feels like a glimpse into the mind of a serial killer. Those new to the series would be better off picking up seasons 1 & 2 on DVD before diving into the Holidays with The Gang.

There’s no doubt that J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek was one of the biggest movies of the summer. The epic prequel hits stores Tuesday on DVD and Blu-ray, loaded with special features and extras that are sure to please diehard Trekkers and new fans alike.

The two-disc set includes the film and a commentary track with Abrams, executive producer Bryan Burk, producer Damon Lindelof and writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci as well as a digital copy of the film and a host of mini-features about the making of the film and the challenges of taking on a series with such a diehard fanbase.

The feature about the cast is particularly fun since all the actors expertly handled the daunting task of updating Star Trek’s beloved characters. Finding out how they arrived at Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as Kirk and Spock is interesting and hearing from other cast members, like Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin and Eric Bana about how they prepared to take on these roles provides another level for the film itself. Newcomers will enjoy seeing the cast of the film and hardcore fans will enjoy hearing comments from Leonard Nimoy and others associated with the original series.

Aside from the cast, one of the biggest factors that made the film so spectacular was special effects. When you see how many old-school tricks Abrams and Co. pulled, you’re amazed to learn that not every big budget blockbuster must depend entirely on a green screen. Many of the aliens were actors in makeup as opposed to completely digital creations and miniatures or camera shakes added layers to the film that gave everything a more authentic feel.

With such an epic film based on such a beloved series it would be easy for the DVD to become bloated with clips about every last detail of production, but thankfully, the DVD seems to contain just the right amount of special features. The first disc holds everything your average fan could want, while the second disc will appease more hardcore fans. So, weather you’re just a cadet or you’ve passed the Kobayashi Maru you’ll enjoy the Star Trek DVD and Blu-ray.

About a decade ago, I walked into the Circuit City in Boulder, Colorado to buy my very first DVD, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. Yesterday felt like a déjà vu as I went to Best Buy in Denver to buy my first ever Blu-ray, which just so happened to be the exact same movie.

Sure, no one’s been holding their breath to see South Park’s construction paper animation in glorious high definition and it’s doubtful that anyone needs 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound to fully enjoy “Uncle Fucker”, but the disc contains one thing that’s sure to make fans of Trey Parker and Matt Stone rejoice: a brand new commentary track.

Anyone who’s familiar with Parker and Stone’s work knows that they’re not exactly fans of director’s commentary tracks. The South Park series DVDs contain what the duo has dubbed “commentary minis”, meaning only about four or five minutes of commentary per show. Usually, these tracks begin with Parker and Stone talking about how much they hate recording commentary.

Still, they are responsible for the single greatest track of all time, the inebriated commentary on the DVD for Parker’s first film, Cannibal: The Musical. Does the commentary track on the new Bigger, Longer and Uncut Blu-ray rival the drunken hilarity of the Cannibal commentary? No, but it features guest appearances from members of the crew that will surely keep hardcore fans interested.

Hearing Parker and Stone discuss their Oscar® nomination, and subsequent drag appearance at the ceremony, is definitely interesting and they provide funny stories about fighting with Paramount and trying to combat the stupidity of the MPAA. Soon their longtime friend and producer Eric Stough (AKA Butters) comes in to help the guys when they simply can’t think of anything else to say about a project they worked on ten years ago. In addition to Stough, Adrien Beard, a producer and storyboard artist who voices Token on the show, also talks about the evolution of South Park’s animation. Executive producer Anne Garefino provides funny stories and info, and later the voice of Towelie, Vernon Chatman, and SNL’s Bill Hader join Parker and Stone on the track.

Unfortunately, the commentary track is the only real special feature on the disc. The only other item of note is a music video for the song “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” which Parker talks about in the commentary track. While it may not live up to the Cannibal commentary—and let’s face it, what could live up to that?—the track alone will make the Blu-ray worth the price for hardcore fans of Parker and Stone, though South Park lightweights would probably do better to check it out on Netflix.