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…
Hope is in the air that this isn’t the end, but the release of Futurama: Into The Wild Green Yonder (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) certainly marks the end of the currently greenlit batch of direct-to-DVD movies, and things definitely end with a bang. Evil tries to do evil things! Bender’s in love! Leela’s on the run! And the fate of the universe depends on Fry! As usual, the DVD is jam-packed with bonus features, including an audio commentary, an animatic, a behind-the-scenes documentary, a featurette on Penn Jillette’s acting technique, deleted scenes, 3-D models, and more. And for you high definition nerds, a Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features PLUS a video picture in picture commentary.
Over the years, I’ve hunted and hunted for a good set of portable laptop speakers that are a) actually portable, b) provide good sound, and c)don’t require any outside power supply (including batteries). My current favorite that matches all of those criteria is the B-Flex Hi-Fi USB speaker ($39.99 SRP), which attaches via the USB and is perched atop a an adjustable 6″ goose neck. Try it for yourself.
Fans of Disney animation – both its process and history – will want to tear into the lavish hardcover Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Archive Series – Story (Disney Editions, $50.00 SRP). What its rather longish title speaks to is a massive tome packed with glimpses into Disney’s animation art archive, with the focus being the artwork that was used in the development of both their short subjects and feature films – the artwork commonly known as “storyboards”. And it is wonderful.
As a complimentary volume to that, might I also suggest Disney Lost And Found (Disney Editions, $30.00 SRP), which takes a look at the development artwork for Disney films that were never produced. Some of it betrays the problems that sunk the productions, while a few point to projects that are still viable and will hopefully get a second chance (particularly My Peoples).
If anyone was wondering why Bryan Cranston won an Emmy for his role as a sad sack, trying to make ends meet chemistry teacher who gets diagnosed with terminal cancer and decides – to hell with it – to use his knowledge to make crystal meth with one of his former students, watch the first season of Breaking Bad (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) and you’ll know exactly why his wonderful performance earned the kudos. The 3-disc set features all 7 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, screen tests, deleted scenes, and an episode of AMC’s Shootout.
Every once in awhile, someone hits on an idea for a documentary where you just have to sit back and go, “Brilliant!” and then enjoy the heck out of it. Such is the case with American Scary: A Tribute To the Golden Age of Horror Hosts (Cinema Libre Studio, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP). As the title says, it’s a look at all of the local horror hosts that used to dominate the weekend and wee hours of local programming in the 60’s and 70’s, introducing mostly bottom shelf library chillers via often outlandish characters. We’re talking characters like Vampira, Svengoolie, Ghoulardi, and Sir Cecil Creepe – exactly the kind parodies so brilliantly in the form of SCTV‘s Count Floyd. The DVD features an audio commentary, the original pitch reel, bonus interviews, trailers, and more.
It’s a 50/50 proposition with kids shows (which, because of my nephews, I’ve been forced to watch a lot of these past few years). Either they’re really good, or they’re abysmal. One that manages to a fun half hour is The Mighty B!, which is co-created by Amy Poehler (who provides the voice of the titular feisty girl Bessie, using a voice fans of UCB will find familiar). The first Mighty B! release – We Got the Bee (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP) – is now available, featuring a behind-the-scenes featurette, an animatic, and a karaoke music video.
Years after the release of the first two seasons, Sony has decided to allay fears it had given up the ghost by releasing the third season of Just Shoot Me (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP). Although some may disparage it, it’s actually a series that I dug throughout the majority of its run, as sort of a NewsRadio-lite, with just enough well-written wackiness and strong characters (and actors) to keep me interested. The 3-disc set features all 25 episodes, but not a single David Spade commentary.
Another classic has made its way to high definition with a port of the deluxe special edition of William Friedkin’s French Connection (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), and the car chase looks even better in Blu-Ray. The 2-disc edition features audio commentaries, deleted scenes, interviews, featurettes, documentaries, and more. Also available is the lesser sequel, French Connection II (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), containing audio commentaries and a conversation with Gene Hackman.
I’m just this close to over the dopey, one note aww-shucksism of Michael Cera, but he manages to make it work for Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), which finds him playing the titular Nick who is brought together with Norah in a chance meeting one night that leads to an endless night of searching for a mythical secret show of a legendary band somewhere in New York City. If you bet “love blooms”, you’re not very clever, but you’re absolutely right. Bonus materials include outtakes, deleted scenes, a puppet show, a music video, and a Blu-Ray exclusive telestrator commentary.
There’s nothing like spending a Saturday afternoon kicking back and watching a 70’s car chase classic like Vanishing Point (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$34.98 SRP) in high definition – which is to say it’s damn fun. Besides that whole high-def experience, you get both the US and UK versions of the film, an interactive 1970 Dodge Challenger, an audio commentary, featurettes, TV spots, the theatrical trailer, and more.
Bring a little Hong Kong action to your weekend with Derek Yee’s Protégé (Genius, Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP), about a young cop infiltrating deep into a secret drug ring, working his way from the bottom to near top of the organization – but will he destroy it or inherit it? Bonus features include an audio commentary, interviews, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and the original theatrical trailer.
Want a nice primer of a few classic British series? Try The Spy Collection (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$99.95 SRP), which collects the first 13 episodes of Roger Moore in The Persuaders!, the first 15 episodes of The Champions, the first 26 episodes of Robert Vaughn in The Protectors, and 3 episodes of The Prisoner. Save for The Prisoner, the other series are essentially the already available first volumes of these respective shows, which means that if you dig it and want to pick up the rest, you can start with their second volumes.
Although it tries to be Porky’s, Risky Business, and American Pie for today’s kids hoping to sneak into an R-rated sex comedy, Sex Drive (Summit, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP) doesn’t quite pull itself together into anything more than just a reasonably enjoyable comic diversion about a guy that makes the decision to embark on an 800-mile road trip in order to lose his virginity. It’s paint-by-numbers. The 2-disc set features an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a profile of net smug-center & Michael Cera attachment Clark Duke.
With the new edition of the musical tearing up London’s West End, take a gander at the BBC’s recent dramatic take on Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), starring Timothy Spall as a decidedly downtrodden Fagin. The DVD also sports a behind-the-scenes featurette.
If you keen on a cheap thriller this weekend, then you’re probably thinking of something like The Haunting Of Molly Hartley (Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.99 SRP), about a high schooler who worries that her life may be coming apart due to the same psychosis which landed her mother in a mental ward, but the real truth is – You guessed it! – something much more sinister. Bonus materials include cast & crew interviews, and the theatrical trailer.
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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