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…
Even though I’ve read the entire story in its original run, I admit to waiting eagerly for the release of each new volume of Scholastic’s re-release of Jeff Smith’s Bone just to see it all in glorious color. We’re now down to the home stretch in the 9-volume series with the release of Volume 7: Ghost Circles (Graphix, Softcover-$9.99 SRP, Hardcover-$19.99 SRP). The story is heating up as the return of the evil Lord of the Locusts is imminent, and the Valley has been devastated by “ghost circles”. Will the Bone cousins and Thorn be able to save the valley? Check it out!
Dave Gorman has found other Dave Gormans, lived his life by the astrology page for a month, and went on a Googlewhack adventure. This time, though, he’s decided to tackle the United States – and see if it’s possible to cross the land of the free without stopping at a single chain restaurant, gas station, or hotel. Is it possible to make such a long journey while only patronizing Mom & Pop businesses? That’s the challenge Gorman faces in America Unchained (Channel 4, Not Rated, DVD-£19.99 SRP). Will he make it? Pick up the DVD and find out. Trust me – it’s worth it, if only for how engaging and thought-provoking Gorman makes it.
As calculated as it is, there’s still no denying the ability of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan to ingratiate themselves to a wary audience in You’ve Got Mail (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP). The newly remastered special edition features 2 new featurettes (now with Hanks and Ryan participation), an audio commentary, the HBO First Look special, an interactive New York map, a Carole King music video, and more.
Not content to turn in one stellar performance last year, Casey Affleck pulled off a twofer with his role as the titular coward in the historical drama The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP). Brad Pitt essays the role of James in a flick that never quite seems to gel, but features performances that make the whole affair worth seeing. I must ask, though, wither the bonus features?
They’ve been absent from the shelves for a few months due to printing problems, but the latest issues of both Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories ($7.99 SRP each) – issues 371 & 686, respectively. Both are worth snagging, but extra recommendation goes for Scrooge, which reprints the Carl Barks classic Scrooge vs. The Beagle Boys tale “How Green Was My Lettuce”.
Not since the golden age of television has a radio show made the successful transition to television, but such is the rare case with Ira Glass’s This American Life (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). Consider it a post-modern travelogue, as Glass travels the country finding ordinary folks and stories that are then brought together under a series of themes throughout the season. This set features all 6 first season episodes, plus audio commentary, and is currently a Borders store exclusive. Give it a spin.
It’s become almost cliché now – a Jodie Foster flick that casts her as an almost masculine action hero fiercely defending herself against a world out to get her and the ones she loves. In The Brave One (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$28.98 SRP), that formula is slightly warped as Foster stars as talk radio host Erica Bain, who – after her fiancé is murdered and she nearly loses her own life – sets off on a path of vengeance against those responsible. As a thriller, it’s entertaining enough, though by no means a classic in the genre – really, you see it just to watch Foster do her stuff. Bonus features include additional scenes and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Everything old is new again, which means it’s time for another edition of the modern comedy classic Groundhog Day (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$19.94 SRP). The film is exactly as you remember it (funny, natch), but the bonus features this go round include an audio commentary from director Harold Ramis, an interview with Ramis, a retrospective documentary, deleted scenes, and a spotlight on groundhogs.
Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (MGM/UA, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) gets a much-deserved special edition – complementing a very nice restoration. Bonus features include an audio commentary from producer and film historian Bruce Block, a documentary, and a spotlight on Jack Lemmon.
As an interviewer myself, I’m always keen to dive into how other interviewers tackle a subject, which is why I always love reading the series of tomes collecting interviews with various personalities that the University of Mississippi Press puts together. Their latest trio of must-haves are Stan Lee: Conversations, Akira Kurosawa: Interviews & Art Spiegelman: Conversations (University of Mississippi Press, $20.00 SRP each). If you’ve yet to pick up one of the many volumes they offer, there’s no time like the present.
The epitome of the Brit “kitchen-sink realism” school of realism, This Sporting Life (Criterion, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) gets the deluxe treatment from the fine folks at Criterion. The 2-disc edition sports a new high definition transfer, an audio commentary, interviews, documentaries, short films, the theatrical trailer, and more. Director Lindsay Anderson brings forth one of Richard Harris’s finest performances as a miner turned rugby player in bleak Yorkshire.
Inspiration for numerous jokes and references, the tale of a young American sentenced to a Turkish jail for attempting to smuggle hash out of the country, director Alan Parker’s Midnight Express (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$19.94 SRP) get s a new special edition featuring an audio commentary with Parker, a trio of retrospective featurettes, a photo gallery, and a copy of Parker’s personal production journal.
It’s not quite The Kids In The Hall, but there is plenty of humor to be found in The Whitest Kids U’ Know (IFC, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP), IFC’s new sketch comedy show. The 2-disc set features the complete 10 episode premiere season, plus commentaries, a WKUK featurette, and a sneak peek at season 2.
We’re now fully into the “every flick getting a special edition” territory when it comes to Disney’s animated films, and the latest to get the treatment is the marginal Aristocats (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), which features a Wonderful World of Disney excerpt (“The Great Cat Family”), a spotlight in the Sherman Brothers’ tunes for the film, a deleted scene, and a scrapbook.
In the wake of 9/11, it seemed a no-brainer that there’d be a show like Third Watch (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), which follows the police, fire, and paramedic services of New York that work the third shift. The complete first season set features all 22 episodes, plus a retrospective featurette and a gag reel.
The new 25th anniversary edition of that cross-dressing comedy classic Tootsie (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$19.94 SRP) – in addition to a new transfer – have managed to coax Dustin Hoffman and director Sydney Pollack into participating in a brand new retrospective featurette, which joins original screen test footage and deleted scenes in rounding out the new whiz bangery.
Long before his big-screen success, Clive Owen starred as scheming rogue Derek “Dex” Love in the Brit series Chancer (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP), the second series of which is now available. The 2-disc set features all 7 episodes, but sadly not a single bonus feature. At least the show itself is still as fresh and well-crafted as I remember it being.
Cate Blanchett returns to the film role that launched her career in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which finds the virgin queen in full control of the burgeoning British Empire leading towards the showdown with the Spanish Armada that would launch the titular golden age. Unfortunately, it’s a case of diminishing returns, as the film doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor even though the actors – including the returning Geoffrey Rush and Clive Owen – bring their A-game. Bonus features include a quartet of behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more.
Giving Warner Bros. and Paramount a run for their money, the Weinstein Brothers’ Genius Products has waded into the cinema classics on DVD field with their new “Miriam Collection” imprint, named after their mother. The first release is a 2-disc collector’s edition set of Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren’s El Cid (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP), sporting an audio commentary, vintage radio interviews, newly-produced making-of and retrospective featurettes, still galleries, and a trailer gallery. In addition, the set also includes a reproduction of both the original 1961 souvenir program and the El Cid comic book adaptation.
If it’s a film with even a modicum of class about it, Criterion has given it a special edition. Add Swedish filmmaker Alf Sjoberg’s Miss Julie (Criterion, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) to the list, as they’ve bestowed a sparkling restoration upon it, as well as a documentary, interviews, a video essay, the theatrical trailer, and a booklet of essays about the film.
Harm and Mac are reunited in the fifth season of JAG (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP) when Harm makes his return to the JAG office. The 7-disc set features all 25 episodes, plus a gag reel.
For all we know about British sitcoms, American knowledge of Canadian sitcoms is virtually nonexistent. If you want a solid introduction into overcoming that ignorance, try the complete collection of Slings & Arrows (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP), about an incredibly dysfunctional Shakespearean theatre troop, starring Paul Gross, Mrk McKinney, Don McKellar, Stephen Ouimette, and Martha Burns. It’s offbeat and funny, and this box set features all 3 seasons, plus bonus features including interviews, deleted/extended scenes, featurettes, on-set footage, bloopers, and more.
Cut that hair, fix that hare lip, and a little rhinoplasty, and Vincent wouldn’t have to live in the sewers. Since he’s so adverse to a little nip/tuck, we get Beauty & The Beast (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$50.99 SRP) – where Vincent (Ron Perlman) fell in ridiculously romantic love with the beautiful Catherine (Linda Hamilton). This love comes to an end with the third and final season – the 3-disc set of which features the last 11 episodes of a love that could only be destroyed by an apathetic network… and a too small, though dedicated, fanbase.
It’s another round of accidents and casualties in the fourth season of the 70’s classic Emergency! (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 5-disc set features all 22 rife with danger episodes, but there’s not a single bonus feature to be found.
Cartoon Network’s animated Legion Of Superheroes hits its 2nd volume (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), featuring another quartet of episodes that will inevitably be collected in a full season set – so consider this release geared towards those in need of instant gratification.
I’ve long been singing the praises of Medicom’s series of Vinyl Collectible Doll’s featuring the Disney characters from their old school pictures. Sadly, Medicom is a Japanese company, and the import costs for these buggers has always been ridiculously prohibitive. Enter knight in shining armor Sideshow Collectibles, who now have a US distribution deal with Medicom – and I’m beyond delighted. In addition to the stunning Tinkerbell ($44.99 SRP) you see below, they’ve also got both Mickey and Minnie Mouse as they appeared in the black & white Two-Gun Mickey ($37.99 SRP each). Look at those sculpts! The VCDs average between 6-8″, and they’re well worth snagging as quickly as you can.
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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