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…
Though a rather nice Criterion edition of the flick has been on shelves for quite awhile, the new Life Of Brian: Immaculate Edition (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$ SRP) is worth your hard-earned shekels for the extra-spiffy remastered, high definition picture and sound. The two commentary tracks, five deleted scenes, and radio ads are ported over from the Criterion edition (sadly, the 1979 BBC documentary “The Pythons” did not make the transition}, while new additions include an audio reading of the script done before shooting began and an all-new retrospective documentary, “The Story Of Brian”.
A few years back, I reviewed the incredible limited edition release of Star Wars: Dressing A Galaxy, which featured a supplemental DVD, fabric swatches from the iconic costumes, and much more. Truly, I was impressed. Well, as much as that blew me away, I was gobsmacked by the limited edition of Sculpting A Galaxy: Inside Star Wars (Insight Editions, $395.00 SRP). Not only do you get the book itself – a comprehensive overview of the ILM model shop’s work on all 6 films, written by model and sculpture designer Lorne Peterson – but the limited set (only 3,000 produced) is also signed by Peterson. The true geek of it all, though, is the replica of the original Landspeeder model, Death Star pieces, and Millennium Falcon piece that are included in the set. Truly a nerdly delight, and an incredible set.
The first “important” film I ever saw, The Last Emperor (Criterion, Rated R, DVD-$59.95 SRP) still holds a very special place in my cinema viewing heart. I’m delighted that Criterion has decided to dive into a beautifully remastered special edition of director Bernardo Bertolucci’s tale of China’s final monarch with a sumptuous 4-disc special edition, loaded to the brim with both the theatrical and television versions of the film (with a commentary on the theatrical version), multiple in-depth documentaries on Bertolucci and the making of the film, interviews, an analysis of the history presented in the film, and a essay and interview filled booklet.
It’s not often that lightning strikes twice, but it certainly did for Bob Newhart. While the 70’s had him anchoring the legendary Bob Newhart Show, the 80’s found him with another hit on his hands, starring as the owner of a small Vermont Inn staffed by characters only slightly less eccentric than the local townspeople in Newhart (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 3-disc first season set features all 22 episodes, but sadly not a single bonus feature. Come on, people, bring Bob in while you can…
Oh, Robert Zemeckis… When did your ego become so goddamn infuriating? I know you’re desperate to prove… something or another… about your motion capture animation technique, and about how it allows you to, I dunno, achieve things you never could with live action. Well, if Beowulf (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is your proof of concept after the creepy Polar Express, then I think you’re in serious need of a slap across the face. Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary’s script is enjoyable, and the actors are clearly engaged, but the animation is about on par with videogame cutscenes, and nothing within it could not have been handled much more believably by live actors and special effects. The unrated edition features behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
One of the more iconic filmmakers to ever ply his trade gets a nice set of his flicks courtesy of the Stanley Kramer Film Collection (Sony, No Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP), which contains a 2-disc special edition of Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Ship Of Fools, The Member Of The Wedding, The Wild One, and The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T. All of the films sport bonus features, while the Dinner bonus disc features an introduction, retrospective featurettes, Kramer’s Thalberg Award acceptance speech at the 1962 Academy Awards, the 2007 Producers Guild “Stanley Kramer” Award presentation to Al Gore, and a photo gallery.
I feel so bad for Frank Oz. Here he is, one of the finest comedy directors of our age (I’m ignoring Stepford Wives as the work of a pod-Oz), and his latest – Death At A Funeral (MGM, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) – is pretty much sent straight to DVD. It’s a shame, because this very British farce is a very funny flick. Bonus features include an audio commentary from Oz, a second screenwriter/actors commentary, and a gag reel.
I still bear a great deal of resentment towards all of these new DC animated projects, since the insipid Sander Schwartz cancelled the wonderful Justice League Unlimited – slapping Bruce Timm across the face in the process – and brought these projects forward. The latest is Justice League: New Frontier (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$24.98 SRP), which is adapted from Darwyn Cooke’s graphic novels of the same name – a cold war version of the formation of the famous league. Packed with a subpar voice cast that makes me long for the perfectly cast versions of the DC icons from the old series, it’s an awkward flick that at least is better than the horrid Superman: Doomsday. The 2-disc special edition features a pair of audio commentaries, two behind-the-scenes documentaries, Justice League episodes, and more.
Every bit as comprehensive as you’d hope it would be, the 14-disc America At War (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$199.95 SRP) is a massive documentary series that charts American warfare from the Revolution to the war in Iraq – including everything from the Alamo to Korea and more.
Yes, I’ll admit to being one of those children of the late 70’s who spend the early 80’s watching The Smurfs (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP) on Saturday mornings, and who begged their parents for the Smurf figurines the rest of the week, desperate to create their own Smurf village. The Hanna-Barbera adaptation of Peyo’s still-appealing characters makes its DVD debut with a 2-disc first volume from season one, featuring 19 episodes, The Smurfs’ Springtime Special, and a music video. Frighteningly Smurfy.
As the aging criminal Des – who does no intend to go quietly into that good night – Sir David Jason is a still-spry, still funny guy in Rough Diamond (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP). Still scheming and acting as a slightly selfish latter-day Robin Hood, Jason and Des is a real treat. The complete first series in now available, which features text interviews with the cast.
I remember seeing 30 Days Of Night (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$28.95 SRP) in the theater and wondering – after the vampires have pretty much wiped out the Alaskan town during the titular winter period in their first night of feeding, leaving just a small handful of morons – that the 29 remaining days were terribly boring padding. On DVD viewing, my initial assessment holds true. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
I’m usually not a fan of pop star forays into classical music, but I did find myself enjoying Paul McCartney’s Ecce Cor Meum (EMI, Not Rated, DVD-$30.98 SRP), a live performance at the Royal Albert Hall of which is featured on a new DVD. The set also features a behind-the-scenes documentary about the creation of the piece.
It’s been a long while, but Comanche Moon (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) picks up the Lonesome Dove saga with a brand new miniseries focusing on young Texas Rangers Augustus McRae (Steve Zahn) and Woodrow F. Call (Karl Urban) as they face off against the Comanches, who defiantly intend to preserve their fast-disappearing territory and way of life. Bonus features include a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes, and featurette focusing on Comanche heritage.
Long an importer of our trashy prime time soaps, the Brits have been growing their own in recent years, and Hotel Babylon (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) certainly adheres to all of the common cliches of the form, this time revolving around the staff of a high class, high drama hotel. The 3-disc set features all 8 episodes, plus a commentary on the first episode and a making-of featurette.
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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Comments: 2 Comments
2 Responses to “Weekend Shopping Guide 2/29/08: Not The Messiah”Leave a Reply |
February 29th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Oh God, please!
You think Smurfs is better than The New Frontier?
The New Frontier was one of the better new films this past week!
If anything, it improved on the comic book by getting rid a lot of the extraneous sequences and cameos that plagued the comic. It FORCED the WB animation team to get to the point and actually develop a coherent plotline for the story!
If there was anything that really bugged me about Cooke’s original comic (other than the inexplicably pacifistic Hal Jordan who’s the only fighter pilot in the USAF that wouldn’t fire his guns — he would have been discharged long before the end of the Korean War in real life! Your politics betray common sense, Darywn!) it’s the fact that Cooke wasted an issue or two of the series sort of meandering around. You just didn’t know what the whole point of it was for a while.
JLU was ended on a high note before it became a parody of itself like just about anything else on TV that’s run more than five years. Even comments by Bruce Timm himself seem to indicate he wasn’t sad to see it end when it did. We should stop trying to put words in people’s mouths or wish things went on forever and ever.
Sometimes when we get our wishes, we get crap like the Star Wars prequels or the continuing adventures of Star Trek: The 24th Century! Uggghhhh….!
February 29th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Hmm. Have been considering Death at a Funeral – great trailer and all – but Stepford Wives holds the unusual distinction of being one of the only movies I’ve ever not been able to survive more than fifteen minutes of. Glad to hear it works.
And George-dude – the Smurfs are AWESOME. You ever read that graphic novel “King Smurf?” It’s half the reason I vote Democrat (the other half, well, three words: free cookies).