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…
In a world with mediocre X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Spider-Man movies, I’ve come to have little expectation for enjoyment when it comes to flicks based on beloved Marvel Comics superheroes. When I heard Iron Man (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$39.99 SRP) was next on the adaptation list, I shrugged my shoulders and thought nothing more of it – fully expecting another piece of at best forgettable, at worst insulting crap. Imagine my surprise – nay, shock – when it turned out to be not only a faithful big screen realization, but an enjoyable experience. Kudos must go to director Jon Favreau, for having the sense (unlike some directors) to not try and impose his own bizarre visions on the character, and to star Robert Downey, Jr. – a better Tony Stark I could not have hoped for, and a performance that puts the somnambulant Tobey Maguire to shame. The standard DVD features a documentary on the history of the character, a 7-part making of the film, deleted/extended scenes, Downey’s screen test, and more. The quite snazzy looking Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP), however, contains these featurettes plus a “Hall Of Armor” virtual tour of Iron Man’s various suits.
When I was but a wee lad, one of my favorite things to muck around with was a handheld microscope that my parents had bought me at one of the many Smithsonian museums that line the National Mall (probably the Air & Space). I got all kinds of kicks looking coins, leaves, bugs, my own finger – anything you can think of. Unfortunately, it long ago succumbed to battery corrosion. Thinkgeek, though, has a newer version of that Pocket Microscope ($14.99), and guess what? It’s still cool.
The “Judd Apatow” brand of comedy has always been hit or miss with me, but when it does hit a sweet spot – as it does with Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$34.98 SRP) – it best exemplifies how many levels a good comedy can work on, from slapstick to true drama. Penned by and starring Freaks & Geeks alum Jason Segal, it’s the story of one schlubby man’s attempt to get over a break-up by traveling to Hawaii – and running right into his ex (Kristen Bell) and her new beau (Russell Brand). Will he find new love in Hawaii with a hotel staffer (Mila Kunis, who continues to grow as an actress the more I see her in)? What do you think? Be sure to pick up the 3-disc extended cut set, featuring an audio commentary, deleted scenes, video diaries, featurettes, a gag reel, and more.
The third season of My Name Is Earl (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) found Earl behind bars for the first half of the slightly truncated run, while the second half found him in a deep coma. I keep worrying that the show is going to jump the shark, as the absurd line the show walks is fraught with danger – thankfully, there’s no jumping this season. The 4-disc set features not a single audio commentary, but does contain a few deleted scenes, a pair of featurettes, and a gag reel.
I didn’t know if it would hold up after all these years, but I’m happy that LA Confidential (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$20.97 SRP). Released early on in the life cycle of the DVD, it’s now been revisited with a deluxe 2-disc special edition set, featuring an audio commentary, an isolated score track, a collection of newly-produced documentaries on the making of the film and its legacy, the pilot for the LA Confidential TV series, vintage cast/crew interviews, director Curtis Hanson’s Photo Pitch, and an interactive tour map. The Blu-Ray edition ($28.99 SRP) features the exact same bonus features as the standard edition, but both the standard and Blu-Ray editions also sport a bonus CD sampler with a clutch of tunes from the flick.
The fine folks at Sideshow Collectibles have launched their annual Spooktacular celebration, featuring giveaways, rebates, and surprises galore . What’s the first thing you should do? Head on over and pick up your official 2008 Spooktacular Readyness Kit ($18.50). The kit includes: One (1) Spooktacular 2008 “It Collects from Beyond!” T-Shirt (Size XL), One (1) “The Dead Interactive Graphical Account” Coaster, One (1) SideshowCollectibles.com Spooktacular 2008 Member Access Card, One (1) Spooktacular 2008 Spyglass Decoder, One (1) Pin-back Button featuring Mort the Zombie, One (1) Pin-back Button featuring our “Sleep is for the Weak” Spooktacular Motto, One (1) Sideshow Volume 10 Hard Bound Catalog, and One (1) SideshowCollectibles.com Gift Card worth $10-$50 toward select items.
Back in the early, dark ages of DVD, Aaron Sorkin’s Sports Night (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$69.99 SRP) was one of the first television shows to get a “full series” release. It was as bare bones as you can get – and it was a long, long time ago. Now, those wonderful people at Shout Factory have rectified things with a brand new, 10th anniversary edition that’s positively loaded with bonus features. The 8-disc set contains all 45 episodes, plus 8 audio commentaries, a retrospective documentary, a comparison between the actors and their on-screen counterparts, a conversation with Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, a look at how the show was made, and gag reels.
Alan Moore is a brilliant writer. He’s also an endearingly bizarre man who has hair like Cousin It and a demeanor like a British Rasputin. The man and his work are explored in the documentary The Mindscape Of Alan Moore (Disinformation, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP). Bonus materials include an audio commentary, additional interviews, a making-of featurette, and trailers.
It’s four seasons in and I still haven’t really given the mathematics meets crime-solving Numbers (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) the time of day, but kudos to the powers that be for keeping David Krumholtz, Judd Hirsch, and Rob Morrow employed. Kudos, I say. The 5-disc set features all 18 episodes, plus a quintet of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
It got off to a shaky, overly-prepared start that has begun hitting its groove in its current, second season, but there’s still much to enjoy in the first season of Lewis Black’s Root Of All Evil (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), which finds comedians fighting to get their assigned topics (everything from Weed vs Beer to Paris Hilton vs Dick Cheney) declared “the root of all evil”. The 2-disc set features all 8 episodes, plus a behind-the-scene featurette, interviews, and more.
Attempting another skewed genre take, Buck Henry followed up the hit Get Smart with an attempt to take on science fiction – and the result was the lackluster but interesting in its failure series Quark (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$19.94 SRP). You can judge for yourself with this set, which contains all 8 episodes starring Richard Benjamin as Adam Quark, the commander of a Sanitation Patrol Cruiser in the year 2222. You’ll even see some elements that are remarkably similar to both Hitchhiker’s Guide and Red Dwarf.
Lou Reed’s always run hot and cold for me – for every “Satellite Of Love”, “New York Conversation”, or “Walk On The Wild Side”, there’s… well… the rest of his catalogue. Still, I found myself enjoying Lou Reed: Berlin (Genius, Rated PG-13, DVD-$24.95 SRP), which finds Reed performing his 1973 album Berlin live in its entirety. Bonus features include a pair of featurettes and the theatrical trailer.
While it has no real contributions from the Beatles themselves, Magical Mystery Tour Memories (MVD, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) is a fun little documentary collecting reminiscences from those involved in the project besides the Fab Four – such as Victor Spinetti, Freda Kelly, Mike McCartney, Tony Barrow, and the great Neil Innes.
I have no clue whether Guy Ritchie’s new flick is worth a damn or not, but the soundtrack to Rock N Rolla (Hip-O, $13.98 SRP) is a fun little romp, filled with Lou Reed, The Hives, The Clash, War, Wanda Jackson, and more.
I’m not exactly sure what the criteria to be featured is anymore – probably just having appeared on a screen somewhere in something – but occasionally a fascinating conversation slips through on Inside The Actors Studio, and such is the case with their latest DVD release, Inside The Actors Studio: Robin Williams (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP).
Brothers Click & Clack of the long-running NPR automotive show Car Talk (actually brothers Tom & Ray Magliozzi) get an animated spin-off comedy made for PBS called Click & Clack: As The Wrench Turns (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). It’s amiable fun if you’re a fan of Car Talk.
Officers Malloy and Reed are back patrolling the streets of LA in the complete second season of Adam-12 (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP). Created by Jack Webb and spun off from Dragnet, it was practically the NYPD of its day. Without all the gratuitous ass shots. The 4-disc set features all 26 episodes, plus audio commentaries from actual LAPD officers, a gallery, a tour of Reed & Malloy’s training center, and a trivia track.
Where the hell is the time going? Has it really been 10 years since the teen comedy Can’t Hardly Wait (Sony, Rated PG-13, DVD-$19.94 SRP) was released? I guess so, ’cause there’s a new anniversary edition of the flick, containing a cast reunion commentary, the original DVD commentary, deleted scenes, a reunion featurette, a making-of featurette, and more.
When you’ve got something called Jewel: The Essential Live Songbook (Koch, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), you pretty much expect to get exactly what this is – a 2-disc set featuring Jewel performing live. And that’s what you get – two complete concerts, plus an interview with Jewel and a bonus video.
Jared Leto packs on the pounds to play Mark David Chapman – the nutjob who murdered John Lennon in early December 1980 – in Chapter 27 (Genius, Rated R, DVD-$19.95 SRP). The film itself wants to be the descent into madness that was Taxi Driver, but it never quite gets there – although not for lack of trying, particularly on Leto’s part. The sole bonus is a behind-the-scenes featurette.
If you thought that he was just “Great Balls Of Fire”, you’ve got a lot to learn about Jerry Lee Lewis- and you can learn more with Jerry Lee Lewis: Gold (Hip-O, $19.98 SRP). The 2-disc set features 36 remastered tracks, with a smattering of live performances, as well.
Spend the holidays with America’s first family of the 50’s with Ozzie & Harriet: Christmas With The Nelsons (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$9.99 SRP), which collects a quartet of seasonal episodes spanning from 1952 to 1957.
I guess Dora has decided to quit exploring – you know – REAL places and has instead decided to try and snag a piece of Disney’s largesse with the DVD premiere movie Dora Saves The Snow Princess (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). She rides a winged horse.
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: None
Leave a Reply |