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…
(Also, please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
Like chocolate and peanut butter, Tim Minchin is one of those rare breed of stand-ups that have hit upon the sweet combination of comedy and music, and over the last few years he’s brought his nouveau-cabaret act to audiences that have explosively grown in size and loyalty in both Britain and his native Australia. He’s set his sights on the US next, so be the first on your block to be hip to a wonderful performer I can best describe as combining equal parts theatricality, musicianship, and glorious bombast. Minchin is the Meat Loaf of comedy. For an easy primer, pick up both his most recent DVD – So Fucking Rock (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-£15.99) – and his most recent CD, Ready For This? Live At The Queen Elizabeth Hall, London (£10), available directly from his website at www.TimMinchin.com.
Thinkgeek has just recently launched a brilliant new section on their website featuring a plethora of products aimed at proto-geeks from ages 0-10. I’ll be featuring a few items from there over the coming months, but I thought I’d start with one that the music lover in me can really get behind – called the Sweetpea 3, it’s essentially Baby’s First MP3 Player ($59.99). Coated in durable rubber, it features 3 large buttons, sports an idle auto-shutoff, and contains 1 gig of storage. It’s the perfect carry along for kiddies, and parents can pack it full of Sesame Street, Spongebob, and Fraggle Rock tunes. At least that’s what I’ll be doing for my nephews.
Humor in mainstream comics is a rarity, so it’s nice to be reminded of one of the genre’s truly funny classics with the Showcase release of Keith Giffen’s Ambush Bug (DC Comics, $16.99 SRP). Where else can you get nearly 500 pages of insane fun for such a low, low price these days? Exactly!
Someone described Skins (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) as the teenage years we all wish we had – full of sex, parties, and drama aplenty – but we more often, in reality, found ourselves at home with a book, or constantly wondering where exactly all of the drunken debauchery was taking place. That said, Skins certainly is gripping TV, even more so in its second season, now available on DVD here in the US. The 3-disc set features all 10 episodes, plus auditions, bonus stories, and the Christmas special.
Another month, and another batch of new-to-Blu-Ray catalogue releases have come down the pike from Paramount. The best on the list is probably Mean Girls (Paramount, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), which ports over the original release’s audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and bloopers. Next up is Happy Madison’s great outdoors comedy Strange Wilderness (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), featuring deleted scenes, featurettes, and the Comedy Central Reel Comedy special. Zach Braff stars in the rom-com The Last Kiss (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), with a pair of commentaries, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a music video. Last up is polar bears and walruses in the nature film Arctic Tale (Paramount, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), which contains featurettes and the theatrical trailer.
Erasure fans will be a half dozen kinds of giddy with the release of the Total Pop! Deluxe Box set (Rhino, $54.98 SRP). Not only does it contain 2 discs collecting 40 of their hits and most beloved tracks, but there’s also 3rd disc of just live tracks and a DVD featuring their numerous appearances on various BBC programs, including Top Of The Pops and Later with Jools Holland. Top notch.
The first documentary to take a look at the then fully-reborn Star Wars fan movement – you know, before actually seeing the prequels killed it all off – was A Galaxy Far Far Away (Cinevolve, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP), which is actually celebrating its 10th anniversary with a brand new special addition contains additional commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and more.
It’s not exactly a visual feast, but the BBC’s now-classic adaptation of Pride & Prejudice (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.95 SRP) – starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy – finds it’s way to high definition in a 2-disc special edition which ports over the featurettes found on the original special edition DVD release.
They’re trying to sell them as great films, but I think a better way to describe them is 80’s cable comfort food. Either way, the titles comprising “The Lost Collection” (Lionsgate, Rated PG/R, DVD-$14.98 SRP each) are Irreconcilable Differences, The Night Before, My Best Friend Is A Vampire, Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home, Repossessed, Hiding Out, Homer & Eddie, and Slaughter High.
Most of the classic MGM musicals library resides over at Warner Bros. – and they’ve been doing a fine job of releasing deluxe special editions of those titles – but there are a few that still remain with MGM, and a trio of them are getting a release – A Song Is Born, The Goldwyn Follies, & It’s A Pleasure! (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each).
Go behind the walls and delve into its past with the Smithsonian Channel’s China’s Forbidden City (Infinity, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP),which takes a look at the 500+ year history of Beijing’s architectural and political enigma.
Buy your ticket for the eighth and final season of Wings (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) and put another tick in the box on your “fully released on DVD” checklist. The 3-disc set features all 23 episodes of Sandpiper Air’s swan song.
Oh, science fiction. You’ve suffered so many slings and arrows as a genre in recent years, and some of those attacks have even been knife blades to the heart of true classics that have had the misfortune to be remade. In that latter category, I offer you the wretched, abysmal, baffling and dull remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still (Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.98 SRP), starring Keanu Reeves as the enigmatic alien Klatuu who decides Earth needs saving from itself through the use of intense boredom. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, galleries, and a making-of documentary. The Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) adds a bonus disc with the original – and far superior – film. Watch that instead.
And I know it’s not the holidays, but let’s wrap things up this week with a limited edition vinyl figure from Medicom that the fine folks at Sideshow have imported and made available here in the States – Santa Stitch & Scrump ($64.99). As always, the Medicom sculpts are dead-on to the source material, and the festive accoutrements will certainly make a fine display at the end of the year.
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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