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…
As dense as a diamond and just as exquisite, the second volume of world knowledge written by the world’s FOREMOST EXPERT on ALL THAT IS KNOWABLE (if not factual) and the possessor of soft hands and a baby’s face (the former per our handshake, the latter per Ricky Gervais), John Hodgman, is now available for purchase from your favorite book emporium. More Information Than You Require (Dutton, $25.00 SRP) picks up where The Areas Of My Expertise left off – literally – and presents the reader (us) with learned knowings rare, surreal, useful, and useless, as well as 700 Mole Men (one of which bears a familiar name) and CHARTS! Lots and lots of CHARTS! How can you not want this book? THERE ARE CHARTS!
It may have an unfortunate name, but I can’t stop playing around with my Ball of Whacks ($29.99). It’s not really a puzzle, it’s not really a game – it’s just a fun, thought-provoking, creative diversion in the form of a geodesic ball comprised of 30 pyramidal pieces (with 180 internal rare earth magnets) that you can rearrange however you’d like. It’s fun.
How time flies. It was announced that the 6th volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$64.98 SRP) would be the last before the Looney Tunes collections morph into a new form, and they’ve certainly gone out with a bang. Literally, as it turns out, since most of the cartoons are those produced during World War II, many of which are rarely – if ever – seen on TV nowadays due to issues with ethnic stereotyping. The cartoons are presented here in their historical context, and the set is a must-have for animation aficionados. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, a spotlight on vocal legend Mel Blanc, 2 Looney tunes TV specials, rarities from the vaults, and more. As usual, for those just wanting to show cartoons to the kids without the bonus goodies, there’s the stripped down Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 6 (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP). And no, none of the controversial shorts are on the kid-friendly set.
There are some flaws here and there, but I was incredibly impressed with The Incredible Hulk (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.98 SRP). Whoda thunk that, oh, just being faithful to the character and its history would be the right way to go? WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT SUCH A BIZARRE NOTION WOULD BE TRUE? You know, besides intelligent people who aren’t Avi Arad or Tom Rothman. This flick erases the abysmal Ang Lee Hulk from memory, and sets a redo template I can only hope will soon be applied to Fox’s bastardized Fantastic Four and X-Men. The 3-disc special edition features an audio commentary, deleted scenes, making-of featurettes, and more.
As of fan of Kevin Smith’s live performances (captured in the two previous Evening With… sets), I find it quite a feat that his latest – Sold Out: A Threevening With Kevin Smith (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) – accomplishes the not-so-small feat of being even more enjoyable than what’s come before. Recorded on his birthday in his hometown of Red Bank, NJ, the Q&A/performance turned into a marathon session that’s been condensed down to a solid almost 4 hour cut. If that weren’t enough, the 2-disc set is loaded with over an hour of deleted scenes.
It was only a matter of time before the classic James Bond flicks made their high definition debut, and we’ve got a clutch of 6 to ring in the holiday season. You can whet your Blu-Ray Bond appetite with the fully restored Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, For Your Eyes Only, Live & Let Die, and Die Another Day (MGM, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP each). While all of the bonus features are basically those found on the previous standard DVD special edition sets, many of the documentaries have been remastered in high definition. By all means – fire up the player, pull over the ottoman, and have yourself a mini-marathon.
As the classic films are hitting Blu-Ray and Quantum Of Solace is about to hit theaters, Daniel Craig’s first turn as James Bond gets a radically updated spin with a 3-disc Collector’s Edition of Casino Royale (Sony, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.95 SRP). The new bonus features include a pair of commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, storyboard sequences, and more – in addition to the original releases special features. A Blu-Ray edition ($38.96 SRP) is also available, with the same bonus materials – you know, just so your Bond Blu-Ray shelf won’t be incomplete.
Ah, but that’s not the only version of Casino Royale in existence – the swinging 60’s version of Casino Royale (MGM/UA, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) gets a 40th anniversary edition with a new audio commentary, a making-of documentary, the original theatrical trailer, and a photo gallery.
Round out your big Bond weekend with the musical journey The Best Of Bond… James Bond (Capitol, $24.98 SRP) – the latest in a long line of compilations featuring the pop title tunes from the Bond series. This one ups the game by adding a previously unreleased version of the “James Bond Theme” by John Arnold, plus a bonus DVD featuring 6 music videos and a documentary on the Music of Bond.
Following up their circumnavigatory trip in Long Way Round, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman take to their bikes again for a more vertical trip in Long Way Down (EMI, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), which finds them traveling from Britain to Cape Town. Naturally, they encounter just as many obstacles as before – and many fascinating people and places. The 3-disc set features all 10 episodes, plus additional footage, a photo gallery, route maps, and a documentary about their first trip to Africa.
Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd was originally supposed to make it to high-definition earlier this year – but it was slotted for the now-deceased HD-DVD format. You can now get it in spiffy Blu-Ray (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), containing all the same bonus features as the standard release, but in HD.
It’s time to mark another TV show off the list, as the fifth and final season of The Incredible Hulk (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) makes its way to DVD. The 2-disc set features all seven episodes, plus a retrospective featurette with the creator Kenneth Johnson, and a gag reel.
It’s low budget and quirky, and that’s probably why I enjoyed Birds Of America (First Look, Rated R, DVD-$28.98 SRP), which focuses on a quirky family (Matthew Perry, Ginnifer Goodwin, & Ben Foster) and the stresses of sibling relations. Think of it as a more accessible Royal Tenenbaums. Give it a spin.
I have a good friend who has been eagerly anticipating the release of U2’s legendary live performance at the famous Red Rocks amphitheater… And he’s been waiting for years, and years, and years, as the release was bogged down in a seemingly unfixable legal kerfuffle. Well, something must have happened, because U2: Under A Blood Red Sky (Universal, $34.98 SRP) is finally available, featuring a DVD of the Red Rocks concert, as well as the live album. My friend can finally rest easy.
Though you would expect Neil Young’s film about the Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young “Freedom Of Speech Tour”, Déjà Vu (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$14.98 SRP), to be a nostalgia piece, it’s actually a poignant portrait of a band in search of relevance, and also confronting their age and dwindling vocal skills. The latter part of that assessment isn’t really addressed in the film, but it’s all I could think about while watching it. Thankfully, though, they aren’t as bad as CSN was during their recent Colbert Report appearance. Bonus features include music videos and the film’s trailer.
The Disney Channel can keep their creepy Jonas troika, as Nickelodeon sports the much wilder, crazier, and younger Naked Brothers Band (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), whose complete second season is now available. The 2-disc set features all 10 episodes, plus featurettes, music videos, and more.
New faces! More cat fights! More greed! The 80’s are still alive in the second volume of Dynasty: Season 3 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$35.98 SRP). The 3-disc set features all 12 episodes, and more than enough hair-pulling and snarkniness to fill your cup.
If Two And A Half Men is TV comfort food, then According To Jim (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) must be the box of Pizza Rolls you secretly microwave in the dead of night, and whose box you hide in the trash. And, like all secret shames, it persists to this day. You can, however, now own the complete first season on DVD. The 4-disc set features all 22 episodes, plus audio commentaries, interviews, featurettes, and a gag reel.
Well, when you’ve got a title like My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP), you pretty much know what to expect… Ponies. And Christmas. And minty-ness. And there’s also a My Little Pony holiday figurine. The perfect gift for my little cousin.
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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