Erin and Paul examine two films about teenagers forced to compete in winner-take-all bloodsports, as the new blockbuster adaptation of Suzanne Collins' THE HUNGER GAMES faces off against the controversial Japanese exploitation classic BATTLE ROYALE. Katniss or Kitano: which will prevail?

Two movies about seemingly uptight bourgeois blondes who embark upon secret second careers as prostitutes go head to head as Luis Buñuel's Criterion-endorsed 1967 classic BELLE DE JOUR faces off against Ken Russell's berserko 1984 camp thriller CRIMES OF PASSION. Classy Catherine Deneuve or sleazy Kathleen Turner: which will prevail?

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's recently rediscovered 1973 sci-fi TV-movie WORLD ON A WIRE faces off against THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR, the big-budget 1999 Hollywood adaptation of the same classic source novel. Two different takes on virtual reality, one with videophones, the other with Vincent D'Onofrio: which will prevail? 

Last year's surprise hit about an estranged father and son who bond over their shared love of robot boxing, REAL STEEL, faces off against Steven Spielberg's very strange, very personal (and very long) 2001 Kubrick hand-me-down A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Robots programmed to fight, or robots programmed to love: who will prevail? Only Erin Fraser and Paul Matwychuk can decide.

Michael Shannon's visions of apocalyptic rainstorms in TAKE SHELTER face off against Helen Hunt's daredevil tornado obsessions in TWISTER. A marriage torn apart by extreme weather, or a marriage restored by extreme weather: which will prevail? Paul Matwychuk and Heather Noel find out the answer.

Zack Snyder's critically reviled fanboy wankoff SUCKER PUNCH faces off againt Julia Leigh's austere yet creepy sexual drama SLEEPING BEAUTY. Lobotomized Emily Browning or unconscious Emily Browning: which will prevail?

Seijun Suzuki's deliberately absurd 1966 yakuza thriller TOKYO DRIFTER faces off against Justin Lin's car-crazy east-meets-west threequel THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT. Souped-up cars versus souped-up melodrama: which film will prevail?

New episodes of DVD AFTERNOON have been pretty scarce lately, but there's a good reason for that: Heather and Paul have been making plans for a new podcast with a new title, a new format, and a new cohost. Listen up and find out all the details—as well as how to make sure that you don't miss a single episode when the new show goes live later this week.

Paul and Heather come roaring back from their Christmas vacation with a jumbo-sized look back at the cinematic offerings of 2011: their picks for the 10 best films of the year, as well as their top five "DVD discoveries," the most overrated and underrated of the year's releases, and the worst film of 2011. 0:00 — Intro/Top Five DVD Discoveries of 201124:37 — John Prine, "All The Best"25:42 — Best films of 2011 (#6-#10)1:03:45 — The Exciters, "Reaching For The Best"1:04:53 — Most overrated and underrated films of 2011/Worst film of 2011/Best films of 2011 (#1-#5)/Outro

Paul and Heather contend with sign-language-equipped chimpanzees and talking deer as they review James Marsh's heartbreaking documentary about a language experiment gone wrong, PROJECT NIM; and Tsui Hark's delirious murder mystery/martial arts extravaganza/costume epic DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME. Plus: Paul's mini-reviews of THE ARBOR and THE MILL AND THE CROSS, more fretting about end-of-the-year cinematic award-winners, and the usual roundup of notable upcoming DVDs and Blu-Ray releases.0:00 — Intro/THE ARBOR/THE MILL AND THE CROSS/Oscar season disappointment and bafflement16:22 — The Arbors, "I Can't Quit Her (For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her)"17:29 — PROJECT NIM33:56 — The Feelies, "Everybody's Got Something To Hide (Except Me And My Monkey)"34:59 — DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME46:55 — Fred Bongusto, "Un Detective"47:57 — Other noteworthy new DVDs and Blu-Rays/Outro