The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
As fantastic as their debut season was, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer not only surpassed, but ran laps around themselves in the second season of The Venture Bros. (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Picking up after the roadside death of Hank & Dean that ended Season 1 on a rather shocking note, the proverbial ground is hit in an equally proverbial running fashion, advancing the Monarch-Dr. Girlfriend-Phantom Limb love triangle, Orpheus’s search for a villain of his own, the boys’ first double date and a dangerous meeting with a mother figure, the future of Unterland, and much, much more. Pure comedy-adventure (comture?) gold. The 2-disc set features all 12 episodes, audio commentary on every episode from Jackson & Doc (plus a clutch of special guests), deleted scenes, and a special tour of the legendary orbiting AstroBase studios of those dynamic creative types.
It’s been years since Sony taunted fans of The Larry Sanders Show with the bare bones release of the complete first season, which was then followed up with… nothing. No second season, no third season – nothing but silence. While I’d still have a complete season-by-season release of the entire series, the 4-disc Not Just The Best Of The Larry Sanders Show (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP) is a nice little consolation prize, as it was personally supervised by Garry Shandling who – in addition to 23 handpicked episodes – has loaded it up with audio commentaries and personal interviews with cast and guest stars that are often remarkably candid (and sometimes a little raw in their emotion). There’s also a feature-length documentary on the making of the show and deleted scenes, but the real draw is Shandling’s personal touch – and my personal hope that this is merely a prelude to not only those full season sets, but also the release of It’s Garry Shandling’s Show.
Seeing as how TV Land and Nick At Nite’s definition of “TV Classics” now extends into the 90’s, and they have the unfortunate habit of editing the shows, it’s one of the happy joys of DVD that we can view a trio of Gary Marshall sitcom classics in their complete, unedited form again. It’s been a few years since the release of their respective first season sets, but we can now kill a few weeks worth of recreational viewing time with the sophomore seasons of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP each). There are no extras to be found, but each 4-disc set does sport some very nice transfers, considering the age (and how truly crappy those oft-run syndication prints have looked). Here’s hoping the wait for the third seasons is not nearly as long.
Hopefully you’ll be packing theaters this weekend, taking in Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright’s latest, Hot Fuzz. As soon as you exit the theater, you’ll want to make a beeline to your local CD emporium and snag yourself a copy of the soundtrack (Cherry Tree Records, $9.98 SRP), featuring The Fratellis, The Kinks, Supergrass, The Troggs, and more music to chase criminals with.
While it was certainly leaps and bounds better than the sucker punch that was the first Spider-Man flick, I still could not get into Spider-Man 2. Yes, Doc Ock was a much better on-screen realization than Guyver Goblin, and it’s always nice to see Spidey swinging through the urban landscape, but Tobey Maguire has proven to be a cold, dead fish of an actor in his portrayal of both Peter Parker and his web-slinging alter-ego. Still, I know there are those of you who can see past such things, and absolutely adore the flick – and you’ll be the ones snapping up Spider-Man 2.1 (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$19.94 SRP), an extended cut featuring additional footage (8 minutes, to be exact). The 2-disc set also features a new audio commentary (with producer Laura Ziskin and writer Alvin Sargent), an integrated video trivia track, a trio of new featurettes, and a sneak peek at Spider-Man 3.
The wacky, wonderful, beloved of Fred Hembeck denizens of Bikini Bottom return for another single-disc collection (the kind that tide you over – Get it? TIDE? – until the next season set). SpongeBob Squarepants: Friend Or Foe? (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP) contains the 2-part episode “Friend Or Foe,” plus an additional 6 adventures, as well as an uncut animatic for “Friend Or Foe” and a photo gallery.
Not having seen the stage production, I can’t compare how adept the stage-to-screen adaptation of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP) is, but taken on its own merits, it’s a real gem. While many are sure to undercut it by comparing it to flicks like The Dead Poets’ Society – particularly as both deal with charismatic teachers that energize their students – I give extra kudos to Richard Griffiths as the teacher who engages the eight intelligent-but-difficult students here. Griffiths is brilliant, and the film is, too. Bonus features include an audio commentary and a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Comperes Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship return for another round of dubbed insanity with the second season of MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (Magnolia, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP). The 2-disc set features another 13 episodes of sports challenges that only the Japanese could devise, reworked as only a group of smartass Americans can. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette, Kenny Blankenship’s Top 25 most painful eliminations of the season, and an original episode of Takeshi’s Castle.
At 3-discs, The Stanley Brothers: The Definitive Collection 1947-1966 (Time Life, $39.98 SRP) certainly lives up to its title, featuring 60 remastered tracks spanning their career. For fans of bluegrass and “mountain music”, it’s certainly worth picking up.
I find it interesting to note that the bulk of the pieces features in the new Larry King Live: The Greatest Interviews set (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) are with entertainers and not political or social figures, acknowledging my long-held belief that King – though amiable – is one of the softest, least-revelatory interviewers of any subjects that would be considered controversial or topical. Still, for the interviews of legendary entertainers and icons, this 3-disc set is worth a spin.
From out of the Filmation library comes a short-lived series that proved a headache for executives and lawyers at Columbia Pictures – the 1970’s live action Ghost Busters (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP). Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker star as the paranormal investigators Spenser and Tracy, and they’re aided by the super-smart gorilla Tracy (Bob Burns). Trust me – you’ve just got to see it. The 2-disc set features all 15 episodes, plus interviews, rare footage, galleries, easter eggs, and an episode of the animated Ghost Busters. The only drawback? BCI has used those goddamn abominable double-sided discs. Please, guys, don’t! You do great work – don’t present on these easily marred pieces of junk.
Much like Helen Mirren’s performance in The Queen, there was the fear that Forest Whitaker’s turn as the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) would be just a load of awards season bluster. Thankfully, like Mirren, the performance and the film itself stand up on DVD as more-than-deserving of the praise. Often overlooked but deserving of equal praise, though, is James McAvoy as Nicholas Garrigan, the dictator’s young, Scottish personal physician and the victim of living too close to Amin’s incredible wake. Bonus features include an in-depth documentary, deleted scenes with optional commentary, a featurette focusing on Whitaker’s performance, and the Fox Movie Channel special Casting Session – The Last King of Scotland.
Cabot Cove’s angel of death returns, as we rejoin Jessica Fletcher for the sixth season of globe-spanning mysteries in Murder, She Wrote (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Her guest stars this go round include Elliott Gould, Jerry Stiller, Shirley Jones, and Shirley Knight, and the 5-disc box set also includes interview with Angela Lansbury and the cast & crew, plus s Sleuth Channel featurette counting down TV’s top sleuths.
The BBC release another of their literary adaptation sets, this time focusing on the work of novelist George Eliot. The 5-disc George Eliot Collection (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) contains the adaptations of Eliot’s Middlemarch, The Mill On The Floss, Adam Bede, Silas Marner: The Weaver Of Raveloe, and Daniel Deronda. Bonus features include an featurette on Eliot, a reader’s guide for Middlemarch, and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery for Daniel Deronda.
Many will pop in writer/director John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus (ThinkFilm, Not Rated, DVD-$27.98 SRP) just for the titillation factor of its surprisingly frank, un-Hollywood depictions of sex, but those with a little more time on their hands and an open mind will actually watch the film for what it is – a surprisingly frank look at love, sex, culture, and human relationships today, all told through the lives of the diverse New Yorkers who find themselves at a crossroads in an underground bar named “Shortbus”. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more.
With eyes like stone and a demeanor like cracking ice, Judi Dench portrays an aged teacher wrapped in bitterness and a solitary life in Notes On A Scandal (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP). When a new teacher (Cate Blanchett) arrives at the school, Dench’s Barbara Covett feels she’s found a kindred spirit in the young Shelba Hart. However, all turns explosively sour when Covett discovers that the married Hart has been sleeping with a student – and she reacts with an almost Fatal Instinctian level of jealousy. Bonus features include an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, and webisodes.
Want a fun game for the weekend? Go through the first two seasons of George Lopez’s eponymous sitcom (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) and see if you can find any jokes pinched by Carlos Mencia. It’s fun! The 4-disc set contains all 28 episodes from those premiere seasons, plus a spotlight featurette on Lopez and a gag reel.
Near as I can tell, I think Smokin’ Aces (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) was trying to be a cross between Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie, with a little dash of Soderbergh. At the end of the day, though, this fast-paced tale of a Vegas illusionist-turned-mob-snitch who must outrun the bounty on his head is a bit too much of a catch-all to be successful. Kind of like Jon Favreau’s Made. Still, as a way to kill a Friday night, it’s a solid little flick. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, a stunts featurette, an alternate ending, outtakes, and more.
As a storytelling exercise, I’ve always enjoyed A&E’s Mysteries of the Bible series, which nicely summarizes and explores the tales contained in the world’s most popular novel. The 7-disc Mysteries of the Bible Collection (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$69.95 SRP) contains 22 episodes, plus episodes of Ancient Mysteries & History’s Mysteries focusing on the Ark, the Shroud of Turin, and the Holy Lance.
Go on a dark, macabre, and often grisly exploration of the slasher horror genre with the documentary Going To Pieces (ThinkFilm, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), which features interviews with genre luminaries with names like Carpenter, Craven, Savini, and Zombie, as well as gory clips aplenty. Bonus features include an audio commentary, bonus interviews, and more.
So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…
-Ken Plume
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