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…
There’s nothing more depressing than finishing a good novel. Perhaps the absolute was a bit much, I admit, but it is with a sense of disappointment that one finishes a good novel and must leave its world. I felt that sense of loss upon completing Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins, $17.99 SRP) – the wonderful tale of a boy named Bod, adopted by the dead in a small town graveyard after his family is murdered by a mysterious evil man named Jack. I shall not attempt to summarize if further (or any more poorly) except to say that you should seek the book out immediately and give it a read. I’ve read many a book in my day – fiction and non, biographies (both auto & non), textbooks… you name it. I’ve finally determined exactly what I enjoy about Neil Gaiman’s books, and that is the sense of magic in the stories he writes. It may not even be literal magic – though there’s plenty of that – it’s more a general sensibility that permeates his work.
He’s avoided taking the plunge into many a feature film (besides small roles in Stardust, For Your Consideration, & A Night At The Museum), so there must have been something special that Ricky Gervais saw in Ghost Town (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP) to finally sign up for the lead. After watching it, I can see why – it’s a nicely calculated move that allows him to have a plum part with a well-written script in a film that also has a broad appeal. In a nutshell, imagine if the lead in Ghost had been Whoopi Goldberg’s character – but instead of just hearing them, Gervais’s curmudgeonly dentist Dr. Pinkus can see and hear the departed after a brief “episode” during a routine colon examination. Ultimately, this does involve a love story and Greg Kinnear and a true heart, but the real joy is just watching Ricky be Ricky. Bonus features include an audio commentary with writer/director David Koepp & Gervais, and a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes. A Blu-Ray edition is also available ($39.99 SRP) with identical bonus features.
While it’s not exactly the continuing adventures that some fans have been clamoring for, JK Rowling dipped back into the Harry Potter universe to bring to life the magical book of fairy tales that played a role in the 7th and final Potter installment. The only catch was that she originally crafted those books as a clutch of handmade tomes distributed to those who had helped make the Potter series a reality, plus one edition that was sold at auction for charity. That edition sold to Amazon.com, and through many a winding path and all for charity, the general public can now get their own copy of The Tales Of Beedle The Bard (Scholastic, $12.99 SRP) with commentary from the late Albus Dumbledore. It’s a slight volume, but it is a fun little peek back into that world.
It was dismissed by many, but I got a kick out of Joel & Ethan Coen’s spy comedy Burn After Reading (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP), as it plays like a quirky cross between the plot twists of Fargo and the quirkiness of O Brother, Where Art Thou. Bottom line, it’s a nice character piece, and worth a second look. Bonus features include a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
I wasn’t sure, going in, whether or not I’d enjoy Pineapple Express (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$34.95 SRP). When all was said and done, though, I wound up digging it’s genre-melding ability to place a Judd Apatow pot and immature adult flick into an 80’s action flick that feels like Michael Mann meets John McTiernan. If you’ve been hesitant to give it a spin, give it a chance. The 2-disc special edition features an unrated cut of the film, an audio commentary, deleted/alternate scenes, making-of featurettes, raw footage, line-o-ramas, rehearsal footage, a table read, a gag reel, and more. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.95 SRP) with the same bonus features is also available.
It didn’t make much of a blip at the box office despite a strong showing on the festival circuit, but here’s hoping home video will give a second life to the made-for-cult status comedy Hamlet 2 (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which stars Steve Coogan as a not-terribly-talented actor turned high school drama teacher who devises a grand scheme to save the budget-axed drama program. That scheme? Engaging his blasé students and saving the program via his grand epiphany – a sequel to Hamlet that’s equal parts Shakespeare, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Doctor Who. Just watch the thing already. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, a sing along, and more.
John Hodgman has been hounding me to give it a second chance, and now that I have the penultimate Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.0 (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) in hand, I may very well go back and give the whole thing another try. For fans, the 4-disc set features the extended version of the TV movie Razor, featurettes, podcasts, deleted scenes, and video blogs.
It’s light, it’s frothy, but the real reason to watch The House Bunny (Sony, Rated PG-13, DVD-$39.95 SRP) is for the always-enjoyable comedic talents of star Anna Faris, here playing a Playmate who’s tossed out of the mansion and finds herself turning around a sorority filled with awkward girls. Think of it as some kind of bizarre Playboy’s Revenge Of The Nerds. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a music video, and more. A Blu-Ray edition is also available ($ SRP), sporting the same bonus materials.
Strip away some of the self-aware smarm of Juno and throw it on TV with Molly Ringwald playing the mother to the pregnant teen and you’ve essentially got the ABC family series The Secret Life Of The American Teenager (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP). The first season set features all 11 episodes, plus an on-set featurette.
Everybody’s favorite sociopath makes his Blu-Ray debut with Dexter: The First Season (Showtime, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$54.98 SRP). It’s essentially the same special edition set as the standard DVD release, except in high definition and featuring a clutch of BD-Live features, including featurettes, a Michael C. Hall podcast, the first episode of season 3, and episodes of United States Of Tara.
Less meets the eye in the second visually off-putting season of Transformers Animated (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), which took great characters and designs and turned them into graphic noise. I guess the kids today like it. The 2-disc set features a pair of audio commentaries, two animated shorts, and a photo gallery.
From Doctor Who companion to woman for hire, Billie Piper stars in Secret Diary Of A Call Girl (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) as the low-key Hannah, who by night transforms herself into London’s wildest and most successful high-priced female escort. The first season set features all 8 episodes, plus a featurette.
The students of Cyprus-Rhodes University are back in class for the second season of ABC Family’s Greek (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP). Will a Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach rock a few boats? Who knows? You will, if you watch the 12 episodes here, replete with audio commentaries, a flashback episode, a music video, and bloopers.
Known for his work on Battlestar Galactica, composer Bear McCreary has also been tackling the score for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (La-La Land Records, $17.99 SRP), the first CD of which is now available for your listening pleasure.
Soft-spoken Monika Hertwig has a horrible family legacy that she has spent her whole life trying to reconcile – that her father was the monstrous Nazi Officer Amon Goeth, commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp that was portrayed on screen in Schindler’s List. In attempting to come to terms with that legacy, she meets up with Helen Jonas, who lived as an enslaved servant under Goeth’s roof. This struggle – and the meeting of these two women – is chronicled in the fascinating documentary Inheritance (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP). Give it a spin.
Will the secret past of bellybutton-less Kyle finally be revealed in the second season of Kyle XY (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP)? Or who the equally enigmatic Jessi XX is? Or anything, really? Find out in the 23 episodes comprising the second season, featuring audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and an alternate ending.
Obnoxious sarcasm has a name – and a species – and it is Duckman (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Even all these years later, it still stands as a caustic, bitter pill of a show that’s also quite funny. The complete 3rd and 4th season set features all 48 episodes, plus video of the original pilot animatics, walk cycles, expressions, pencil tests, storyboards, and more.
From the Pang Brothers, Bangkok Dangerous (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$34.98 SRP) has the unfortunate luck to star Nicolas Cage as its lead, a hired assassin who tries to retire but finds himself being hunted himself. Sad that Cage has now become a parody of himself, and is largely unwatchable. The 2-disc edition features an alternate ending, featurettes, and the theatrical trailer.
No matter how much my Irish friend Brian sings its praises, I just don’t enjoy Frisky Dingo (Adult Swim, Not Rated, DVD-$19.97 SRP). It doesn’t strike my funny bone, and I accept that. Still, people like Brian will delight in the complete second season, featuring all 13 episodes, a political commercial and an Xtacles skit.
So you’ve got state of CGI and a bunch of theories about the hunting techniques of the dinosaurs. What do you do with all of this and get today’s audience to watch? Why, Jurassic Fight Club (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) – in which these theories are presented for various predators in full computer generated glory. The complete first season set features all 12 episodes, plus additional footage.
Showtime’s sudsy pseudo-historical drama The Tudors returns for a second season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$40.99 SRP), as King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Myers begins to hit the rocky relationship road that in many ways would define his reign. The 4-disc set features all 10 episodes, plus featurettes, galleries, and episodes of Californication and The United States Of Tara.
In many ways the Seventh Heaven of its day, the eighth season of The Waltons (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) finds America’s first family in turmoil as their son is reported MIA. Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom, as there are plenty of things like births, graduations, and so forth to brighten the day. The 3-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus a bonus retrospective special.
Seeking to recapture his Riddick heyday, Vin Diesel stars as the unfortunately named Toorop in the turgid sci-fi actioner Babylon AD (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) that plays like a futuristic cross between Transporter and The Bodyguard. The 2-disc set contains a clutch of featurettes, a digital graphic novel, and more. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.98 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.
Considering they cost next to nothing, I suppose the recent spate of parody movies really don’t need to make much at the theater and home video to be considered a massive success. It’s good that the threshold is so easily attainable, considering just how awful the latest, Disaster Movie (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is.
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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