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…
Confronted with the marketing campaign for The Riches (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), I was unsure if I even wanted to give the show a try. Here was American-accented Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver playing the parents of an American gypsy family who assume the identities of a wealthy couple after an auto accident leaves them dead. The series turned out to be well-written and engaging, and it’s a joy to see the Mallory family trying to keep their ruse alive in the face of not only their newly assumed community, but also the interference of their Traveler clan. The 4-disc box set features all 13 episodes, plus audio commentaries, webisodes, featurettes, and a gag reel.
He may have celebrated his half-century mark with a private soiree, but Elton John decided that his 60th birthday bash would be done in front of an audience, and celebrate his incredible catalogue in style. Elton 60: Live At Madison Square Garden (Universal Music, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) is a 2-disc affair featuring the entire concert, as well as rare archive performances. I’m no fan of the tepid synth schmaltz that smothered Elton in the 80’s and 90’s, but for fans of his classic 70’s catalogue of tunes like “Holiday Inn” and “Roy Rogers”, this concert is a welcome trip down memory lane – and to have the man himself still in powerful voice is like icing on the cake.
No matter how many things I enjoyed about the latest Potter adaptation, Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.99 SRP), I was quite annoyed by director David Yates’s breakneck pace throughout the film, which often undercuts any sense of drama or character establishment as we’re quickly pushed on to the next scene. It’s like being shoved through a museum. On the plus side, the kids are still on their arc of improvement as thespians, and the franchise continues to draw the cream of the British acting establishment – this time headed up by Imelda Staunton as the draconian Defense Against The Dark Arts professor Dolores Umbridge. The 2-disc special edition features include a look at the editing process, a video journal following the actress who plays Tonks, a look at the secrets of Harry Potter’s destiny that have been revealed in the films so far, and a clutch of deleted scenes.
After the bare bones release of just a few short months ago, David Fincher’s Zodiac (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP) returns with an expanded 2-disc director’s cut, featuring a pair of audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes documentary, a documentary on the Zodiac investigation itself, a featurette about the prime suspect in the case, and previsualizations.
The second season of Caroline Aherne’s amazing Britcom The Royle Family (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) gets to see the light of day in the USA, and we’re all the luckier for it, because it truly is both a beautifully written and acted series. In a nutshell, it takes place entirely within the living room of the titular lower-middle class family, and it is gold. Check it out.
As a semi-proud outcast myself, it’s always fun to see a flick that caters to the dejected, aimless, loveless outcasts of the world – and Eagle vs Shark (Miramax, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) certainly fits the bill. The 2 outcasts destined for outcast love are Lily & Jarrod, who meet at a fancy dress party with an “animal” theme. Again – outcast love. The special edition DVD features audio commentary, deleted scenes, a featurette, music video, and outtakes.
Maybe it was just charity concert fatigue, but by the time the Concert For Diana (Universal Music, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) rolled around, it carried such a tired, “been there, done that” feel that seemed to permeate the entire affair – right down to the performances themselves. Still, it’s packed with an impressive line-up – including Elton John, Tom Jones, Duran Duran, Lily Allen, Fergie, Kanye West, and… well… Ricky Gervais. The 2-disc set also contains the home movies seen throughout the concert, as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary.
Ian McShane’s be-mulleted antique dealer/sleuth Lovejoy (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) returns for the show’s second season of close calls and choice finds. The 3-disc set features all 11 episodes, plus both an interview and a retrospective piece with McShane himself, long before he called anyone a cocksucker in Deadwood. Good times.
Watching a remake is always a dangerous affair – made even more treacherous when the original flick is actually a classic. The classic remake in question is 3:10 To Yuma (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$29.95 SRP), which finds Russell Crowe assuming the role of outlaw Ben Wade, whose capture by Civil War vet Dan Evans (Christian Bale) sets in motion a chain of events when he’s asked to deliver the fugitive to the titular train at the titular time with Wade’s gang in hot pursuit. Thankfully, the remake delivers – and while it doesn’t outshine the original, it’s certainly no embarrassment. Bonus features include an audio commentary, making-of documentaries, and deleted scenes.
For far too long, Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) has been on a self-imposed exile from popular music, releasing the occasional religious-themed album but refraining from performing any of his classic catalogue or writing an album of new pop material. Thankfully, he’s reconsidered his stance and delivered a mighty fine concert live from London’s Porchester Hall, which can be found on the DVD Yusuf’s Café Session (Universal Music, Not Rated, DVD-$14.99 SRP). In addition to the concert itself (which also contains a few new tunes), the DVD features a first person documentary on his life and career, plus additional videos.
Unlike last year’s lackluster season of 24, the latest season of what’s pretty much the British equivalent, MI-5 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$79.98 SRP), is a rollercoaster of intrigue and thrills – starting off with a two-part episodes that finds Britain on the brink of anarchy and the cause may be within the government itself. The 5-disc 5th season set features all 10 episodes, plus a pair of audio commentaries, a “Guide To Series 5” featurette, and a sneak peek at series 6.
Rejoice in the DVD debut of the Wonder Twins Zan & Jayna and space monkey Gleek with the release of season one, volume one of The All New Super Friends Hour (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP). The 2-disc box set features 7 full episodes, plus a retrospective featurette and a spotlight on the guest stars. Wonder Twin Powers, activate!
Like King Of Queens and Everybody Loves Raymond before it, Two And A Half Men (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP) is an affably harmless sitcom that has no other aspiration than to provide about 20 minutes of disposable comedy – and I’m perfectly fine with that. The 2nd season set features all 24 episodes, plus a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes and a gag reel.
Celebrating the landmark album’s 30th anniversary, Bob Marley & The Wailers’ classic Exodus (Island, $13.98 SRP) gets an aural sprucing up. Sadly, there’s no bonus material to speak of, but for the audio quality alone this is a must-have.
After the full release of the complete first season in one set, Paramount has decided to split up the 2nd season set of Gunsmoke (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.99 SRP) into 2 volumes. Volume 1 features the first 20 episodes of that sophomore season, plus the original sponsor spots.
As much as I love Meat Loaf as a singer and a performer, I’ve got to admit that – for the past decade – his live performances have almost become someone doing a parody of his “style”. I don’t know if the increasingly wavering vocals – which were always in his performances, and used for emotion – were due to a weakening voice, as it’s recently come to pass that he’s had to cancel shows due to vocal chord problems, but the Meat Loaf of the 3 Bats Live concert DVD (Hip-O, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) was, to say the least, a disappointment. His timing on the songs culled from all 3 Bat Out Of Hell albums was all over the place, giving the concert the feel of bad karaoke. Occasionally, the old Meat would reappear – but then it seems like he’d be driven back into hell by this odd doppelganger. Come back Meat!
After a couple of one-off releases, Nickelodeon has dropped the complete first season of The Naked Brothers Band (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP). The 2-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus featurettes and music videos.
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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