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…
While you can most certainly partake of the new, definitive collection majestically titled The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$69.99 SRP) in its feature-laden 5-disc edition featuring all 3 restored and remastered films and a bounty of bonus materials (including those contained on the original DVD box-set a few years back), you will be positively floored if you’re able to pick up the Blu-Ray edition of the same ($124.99 SRP), as the picture quality and sound put previous releases to shame, and you get all the same bonus features as the standard edition, but in high-def. Either way you go, you won’t regret double-dipping to add this to your collection.
If donning a helmet and having your voice changed into that of oh, say, Darth Vader or Optimus Prime is not your cup of tea – or if you just like tea and have a penchant for wearing long scarves – than you’re probably keen on picking up your very own Dalek Voice Changer Helmet ($89.99). Now, granted, the visual of just a helmet isn’t really as aesthetically sensible as a Vader or Prime helmet – after all, those do work as helmets, and the average human body is not shaped like a pepperpot – but who doesn’t want to spend time telling friends, family, and coworkers that they will be annihilated?
Getting a long-overdue top-to-bottom overhaul of it sound and picture, The Nightmare Before Christmas (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) has been re-released as a revamped 2-disc special edition, replete with a brand new commentary (with Tim Burton, Henry Selick, and Danny Elfman), a making-of documentary, deleted scenes, a storyboard-to-film comparison, the Frankenweenie and Vincent shorts, Burton’s original poem with Christopher Lee narration, trailers, and more. The Blu-Ray edition is simply gorgeous, and even sports an exclusive intro from Burton. Take that, standard-deffers.
It’s no Smile – really, what could be? – but Brian Wilson’s new California-centric concept album, That Lucky Old Sun (Capitol, $18.98 SRP) is still a beautiful composition, and even features some contributions from Wilson’s Smile lyricist, Van Dyke Parks. It’s well worth a spin.
After waking up from a coma, Samantha must try to figure out just who she is in the comedy series Samantha Who? (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP). Think of it as a light-hearted Regarding Henry. It helps that Samantha is played by the loveable Christina Applegate, who certainly deserves a hit series. The 2-disc complete first season set features all 15 episodes, plus audio commentary, deleted scenes, and an outtake reel.
Just for providing an in-depth interview with the gentleman who built a LEGO version of 2010‘s Odyssey and Leonov, I can heartily recommend picking up a copy of the first BrickJournal Compendium (Twomorrows, $39.95 SRP), which collects the first 3 issues of the magazine made not just for the adult LEGO building community, but for people like me that just like to see what they’re building, and how (including the Odyssey and the Leonov).
It’s election time, and if the whole process – and our government – is still a bit boggling, refresh and relearn how it all works with the School House Rock: Election Collection (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP), collecting 15 classic vignettes. You get everything from “I’m Just A Bill” to “The Great American Melting Pot”. Go! Learn!
It took me a bit to get into it, but it was when I realized that I’ve encountered everyday schlubs like Tae Kwon Do instructor Fred Simmons (Danny McBride) – a man whose life is falling apart, but is infused with a skewed, small-minded sense of honor and ego – that The Foot Fist Way (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$22.99 SRP) truly became the great comedy that everyone’s been raving about. McBride is a true star, and it’s good that Hollywood has embraced him. The DVD features an audio commentary, deleted/extended scenes, an alternate ending, and bloopers. The DVD is currently a Best Buy exclusive.
David E. Kelley had always been hit or miss for me, but what I loved about him was that he always maintained a sense of humor in the shows he produced which made other shows seem blasé by comparison. I’m disappointed that the 4th season of Boston Legal (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) is the show’s penultimate, because it’s been one of my favorite shows right from the launch, providing a brilliant vehicle for not only stars William Shatner and James Spader, but also the fantastic supporting cast. The 5-disc box-set features all 20 episodes, plus a featurette spotlighting all the cast changes the season brought.
I generally loathe sports movies, but Leatherheads (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is exactly that kind of goofy sports flick that manages to crack my armor. Essentially it’s Bull Durham set at the very beginnings of pro-football, pitting George Clooney against young whippersnapper John Krasinski. It’s not a great flick, but it’s certainly enjoyable. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a trio of featurettes, and a look at the visual effects.
As a child growing up in Northern Virginia, the go-to place for school field trips were the various Smithsonian museums in Washington, DC. I must have gone a few dozen times. That’s probably why I got a kick out of a pair of releases from the new “Smithsonian Networks” imprint – America’s Greatest Monuments & Stories From The Vaults (Infinity, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP each). Both are fun and informative, and make me long to head back to the Mall and partake of those treasures first-hand.
Programmed right next to my nephew’s favorite show – Spongebob Squarepants – and the inheritor of Drake & Josh‘s torch, I’ve seen plenty of the Miranda Cosgrove vehicle iCarly (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP). I mean, a TON. My nephew digs it, and I have to admit – it’s goofily enjoyable, with a nice ensemble and mostly witty storylines. The 2-disc first volume from Season 1 features 13 episodes plus a music video, interviews, and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
The seventeenth volume of Twomorrows’ stellar artist spotlight series Modern Masters turns its eye towards Lee Weeks (Twomorrows, $14.95 SRP), filled with the usual in-depth interview and copious amounts of rare and unpublished artwork and sketches.
I love a documentary that takes me someplace and manages to show a silver lining to even the darkest cloud, and such is the case of War Dance (Thinkfilm, Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98), which looks at the power of song to the teens of war-torn Uganda. It follows a group of kids from their refugee camp through they obstacles they must overcome to attend the Kampala Music Festival. It certainly makes something like American Idol look like an exercise in indulgent idiocy by comparison.
They’re not terribly good animated films, but they are available in high definition now – both Madagascar and Shrek The Third (Dreamworks, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP each). Madagascar features the exact same bonus materials as the standard edition, with the addition of a pop up trivia track, while Shrek adds a trivia track, picture-in-picture storyboards, and a new “World Of Shrek” featurette.
You know the various holidays are fast approaching when holiday-themed box sets start appearing on the scene, and one of the first down the pike is a 3-disc set from that high-pitched trio, Alvin & The Chipmunks. The Classic Holiday Gift Set (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$35.98 SRP) features A Chipmunk Christmas, Alvin’s Thanksgiving Celebration, and Trick Or Treason.
Maybe this is the point where it all went wrong. Nerd hero Simon Pegg – who we became fiercely loyal to in Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz – seems to have begun making movies just for the money lately. Before even his awkward decision to back hack JJ Abrams’ new Star Trek flick as a young Scotty, Pegg starred in the lackluster Brit-Comedy Run Fatboy Run (New Line, Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98 SRP) – a not terribly fat schlub who enters the London Marathon to win back his old girlfriend who he left pregnant 5 years prior. It’s all just… eh. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and outtakes.
Detective Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) and the crack Big Apple forensics team of CSI: New York (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$79.99 SRP) return for their fourth season with a 6-disc set featuring all 21 episodes, plus an audio commentary on the episode “Down The Rabbit Hole” and a quartet of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
The new Horatio Hornblower: Collector’s Edition (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP) is essentially a repackaging/re-release of the eight A&E C.S. Forester adaptations starring Ioan Gruffudd as Hornblower, with a clutch of bonus materials including an interview with Gruffudd, audio commentaries on Loyalty and Duty, a trio of bonus documentaries, and more.
I still don’t entirely understand the appeal of Two And A Half Men (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP), but I suppose it’s just one of those shows that acts as televised comfort food – there’s no envelope pushing in sight, and great-grandma will love its white noise comedy. The 4-disc fourth season set features all 24 episodes, plus a pair of commentaries, a featurette, and a gag reel.
It’s a Hallooweenie adventure for the Scooby Gang in the new direct-to-DVD movie Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), featuring the prerequisite amount of failed carnival magicians, Fairy Princesses, headless horsemen, and Scooby snacks. The disc also sports a featurette showing kids how to perform some simple magic tricks.
The second season of Brothers And Sisters (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP) is notable for one very special element – it had an episode guest-starring our very own Dana Snyder. Well, maybe not guest-starring – he was, however, cast in a small role in the background of an episode. Either way, it makes it worth getting. The 5-disc box set features all 12 episodes, plus audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, outtakes, and more.
There’s ice truckers and deep sea fisherman, so of course we’d eventually get a series focusing on loggers, cleverly titled Ax Men (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP). I think the title pretty much sums up the whole affair. The 4-disc set features all 14 first season episodes, plus additional footage.
There was a period when it seemed that every horror big screen horror “franchise” was getting its own TV anthology series – from Freddy’s Nightmares to, yes, Friday The 13th: The Series (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$54.99 SRP). The 6-disc box set features all 26 first season episodes filled with occasional terror, some mild horror, and a whole lot of schlocky goofiness. Bonus materials include the original network launch promos and the sales presentation.
The cult of High School Musical will be lining up, vacant-gazed, to snag the 2-disc “Dance Edition” of High School Musical 2 (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP). What exactly is a “Dance Edition”? Does it matter? Of course not! The swarm will envelop and devour it, and its featurettes, deleted scenes, videos, 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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Comments: 1 Comment
One Response to “Weekend Shopping Guide 9/26/08: An Offer You Can’t Refuse”Leave a Reply |
September 26th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
A DALEK HELMET!!!??? I just filled the cup and know what to get my wife for her birthday. No, not the damned cup you preverts!