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…

Straight from the Apatow factory comes the next in the line of his sweetly raunchy comedies, this time written Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Superbad (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$34.95 SRP) is like a cross between Losin’ It and Revenge Of The Nerds, it’s the tale of young friends Seth (Jonah Hill), Evan {Michael Cera) and Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who must score liquor for the big end of senior year party in order to finally score with women before heading off to college (i.e., they want to lose their virginity). The 2-disc unrated edition features bonus footage, plus an audio commentary, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, the original 2002 table read, audition footage, one-set diaries, outtakes, and more.

After 3-films and plenty of booty, the first of what I’m sure will be many trilogies starring Captain Jack Sparrow comes to a close with Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End (Walt Disney, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.99 SRP). While it lacks the verve of the first flick, it’s an enjoyable enough romp that truly lives up to its popcorn aspirations. The 2-disc special edition features featurettes, bloopers, deleted scenes, effects featurettes, and more.

There comes a point about halfway through Live Free Or Die Hard (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) that you begin to wonder why they even bothered tying it into the Die Hard mythos. Most of the down-to-earth “Why me?” gallows humor of the original film has been replaced by superhuman feats of Bruckheimer-esque action, and John McClane is more franchise than man. If you take it on its own merits, it’s an exciting-enough actioner about … Oh, whatever. The 2-disc unrated edition is the way to go (the PG-13 is just too watered-down painful), and it features an audio commentary, a making-of featurette, a music video, Kevin Smith interviewing Bruce Willis, and more.

It may be pure chick flick material, but Scarlett Johansson is worth the price of admission to The Nanny Diaries (Genius, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.95 SRP), who stars as a young college grad whose job as a nanny for a rich Manhattan family is made hellish by a domineering boss (Laura Linney) while she finds young love (Chris Evans) and learns to navigate the urban jungle. Bonus features include a pair of featurettes, bloopers, and the theatrical trailer.

Everything hits the fan in the fourth season of The Wire (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP), as a new druglord rises from the ashes of the Barksdale empire, while the police follow the money right up the political ladder. This is also the season that focused on the lives of four inner-city students in the heart of Baltimore, and the life-changing decisions they make. Bonus materials include 6 audio commentaries and a behind-the-scenes documentary.

Umbrella Entertainment in Australia has also released The Thames Shakespeare Collection (Umbrella, Not Rated, DVD-AU$39.99 SRP), featuring a quartet of classic Brit TV adaptations of the Bard’s finest, starring the likes of Ian McKellen, Patrick Magee, and Kenneth Branagh. The set contains MacBeth, King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, and Twelfth Night.

If you’ve been pining for the return of old school Cylons ever since the resurrection of Battlestar Galactica, then your prayers have been answered with the “prequel” movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), which fills in the story prior to the devastating attack of the Cylons that launched the series. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and more.

Like ice ages, the arrival of Will & Grace seasons come only after massive gaps of time. The penultimate 7th season (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP) has finally arrived, with the only real bonus feature of note being the blooper reel.

I am in no way going to claim that Spice World (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$14.94 SRP) is a good film. Not even in an ironic way. But a friend of mine whose opinion I otherwise respect has an emotional attachment to it, so I will not eviscerate it. But Zak, you know who you are. This new “special edition” is limited to a bonus performance (“Mama”) and the theatrical trailer.

Not nearly the disaster it’s been made out to be over the years, the new special edition of Hudson Hawk (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$19.94 SRP) – and time – allows for a much more kind reassessment of the flick. It’s Bruce Willis in full Bruno mode as a cat burglar, and it’s goofy fun. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and more.

Dick Van Dyke’s sleuthing doc returns in the 3rd season of Diagnosis Murder (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), as Mark Sloan proves just how far ahead of the curve he was in medically solving murders… But still behind Quincy. The 5-disc box set features all 18 episodes.

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

##

Comments: 1 Comment