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…
(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
When I was a young college freshman near the end of my first (and only) disastrous year at NYU, I was able to arrange for a press ticket to a taping of The Dana Carvey Show (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP). And then they say me up front. Way up front. In fact, you can see me during Carvey’s monologue in the 7th episode, which was also the last aired. You’ll find that episode, plus an unaired 8th, in the long-awaited DVD release. The show was hit and miss, but it had an almost literal ton of up-and-coming talent, including Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, Robert Smigel, Louis CK, Charlie Kaufman, and Dino Stamatopoulos. The set also contains an interview with Carvey & Smigel, plus deleted scenes.
For years and years and years, ever since I first saw one when I was a kid, I’ve wanted a book that opens up to reveal a cut-out hole. You know what I mean? The kind you could hide things in. Like a jewel. Or booze. Well, Thinkgeek now gives you that Book Vault ($34.99). You absolutely, positively know that you want one. How can you not? It’s a friggin’ book vault!
Another Pixar film in theaters means another eye-candy filled “Art Of” book, which is exactly what you get with The Art Of Up (Chronicle Books, $40.00 SRP). As usual, the hardcover tome is packed to the rafters with production artwork, designs, interviews, and more.
Forged in the fire of the Writers Strike of 2008, released on the internet to rabid fan acclaim, and long available on that selfsame net, everyday people can now get a copy of Joss Whedon’s online musical, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (New Video, Not Rated, DVD-$14.99 SRP) wherever they’d like. Bonus features include a musical studio commentary, a standard commentary, making-of featurettes, and Evil League Of Evil application videos.
Much of the comedy in Eddie Murphy’s game-changing stand-up concert Delirious (Entertainment Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$29.97 SRP) has not aged well, and some of it is just uncomfortable. Still, if you can get past those bumps in the road, there’s still a fair amount to laugh at. The 2-disc 25th anniversary edition contains additional footage, a making-of featurette, and an interview with Murphy.
It’s pure popcorn, but I think Air Force One (Sony, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$28.95 SRP) is the last great Harrison Ford movie. From that point forward, a once winning movie star couldn’t pick a solid project to save his life, steadily devolving into a caricature of himself. Ignore all those future failures and instead relive this last great one in full high definition, which ports over the audio commentary from the standard DVD release.
Another great flick making its transition to high definition is the Civil War epic Glory (Sony, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$28.95 SRP), which benefits from the audio/visual upgrade. It was a fine film to begin with, but the battle scenes have certainly been plussed. Bonus features carried over from the standard edition include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and featurettes, with the addition of a Blu-Ray exclusive virtual Civil War battlefield map.
I must admit, Revolutionary Road (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is a good film, but a very difficult one to make it through… Perhaps because the young 50’s couple we’re following (a reunited Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet) are coming apart at the suburban seams. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a pair of featurettes. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) is also available, with identical features.
June has become decidedly jazzy with a trio of deluxe Legacy Edition catalogue releases from Sony Music. First up is a 3-disc edition of Dave Brubeck’s Time Out (Sony Legacy, $24.98 SRP), containing the original album, se second disc with 3 years worth of live performances, and a DVD with performance footage, and interview with Brubeck, and a photo gallery. Next up is Charles Mingus’s Mingus Ah Um (Sony Legacy, $24.98 SRP), with 2-discs containing the original album, alternate takes, and bonus tracks. Finally, it’s Miles Davis’s Sketches Of Spain (Sony Legacy, $24.98 SRP), with the album, alternate takes, and bonus tracks. Sweet, daddy. Sweet.
Paramount isn’t the only one unleashing a tidal wave of Blu-Ray catalogue titles, as Universal dips into their extensive roster for a batch of their own, many of them must haves. So what does the batch consist of? Field Of Dreams, Fletch, Inside Man, Spy Game, Children Of Men, Seabiscuit, Bruce Almighty, and Cinderella Man (Universal, Rated PG/PG-13/R, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP each). Bonus features are identical to the standard editions, so the A/V upgrade is the big bonus here.
I still can’t fathom what people saw in the three flicks currently comprising the X-Men Trilogy (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$79.98 SRP). They’re poorly written, badly acted, and in no way capture the source material. But people still saw them. In droves. And must have enjoyed them. No accounting for taste. For those that dug them, the trio – X-Men, X-Men 2, & X-Men: The Last Stand – are now available in a 9-disc Blu-Ray box set, porting over all of the bonus materials available in the standard editions.
Sergio Leone’s The Good The Bad And The Ugly (MGM/UA, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) made an icon out of Clint Eastwood, and it gets a spiffy high definition treatment that translates all the grit quite nicely. The bonus features are a direct port of the excellent special edition DVD from a few years back, including audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and the theatrical trailer.
Over 20 years after its single season run, The Jetsons returned to television with brand new episodes, the first 21 of which are being released as The Jetsons: Season 2 Volume 1 (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP). The 2-disc set also contains a featurette looking at the evolution of the series.
The BBC’s nature documentarians can always be counted on to deliver stunning visuals, and that’s certainly the case with Nature’s Most Amazing Events (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which is 2-discs packed with exactly what it says on the tin. A Blu-Ray edition ($34.98 SRP) is also available, which cranks everything up with even more impressive high definition.
I can’t see William Conrad in the episodes features in Cannon: Season 2 Volume 1 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.98 SRP) without thinking of all of the voice work he did on the Jay Ward cartoons of the 60’s, particularly Fractured Fairy Tales. The 3-disc set contains the first 12 episodes of season 2, plus episodic promos.
The movie’s a dud, but it’s still fun to flip through both Terminator Salvation: The Official Companion (Titan Books, $29.95 SRP) and its companion The Art Of Terminator Salvation (Titan Books, $35.00 SRP). Both are packed with plenty of photos, art, and info. Shame the movie couldn’t have been… you know… good.
Though often a director, I always get a kick out of Kenneth Branagh, the actor, who is in fine form in the UK series Wallander (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), in which he stars as the titular Swedish detective. The 2-disc set features a trio of episodes, plus featurettes and a Branagh interview.
Surprisingly, Fargo (MGM/UA, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) is still, I believe, the most successful, accessible Coen Brothers film. It’s not my personal favorite (hello, Hudsucker Proxy), but it is a quirky delight. And guess what? Now it’s available in high def, with an audio commentary, a featurette, and a trivia track.
The folks at Sesame certainly are pushing Abby Cadabra, aren’t they? The latest team up with their little red cash cow is Elmo And Abby’s Birthday Fun! (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$14.93 SRP), where the duo travel to Fairy Tale Land to celebrate Little Red Riding Hood’s birthday.
Nancy Botwin moves her mini pot empire south of the border in the fourth season of Weeds (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), and the trip to Mexico doesn’t exactly make things easier – or safer. The 3-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus commentaries, featurettes, and a gag reel.
It’s not my cup of tea, but Army Wives (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP) seems to have gotten traction with audiences in its second season, which arrives on a 5-disc set with featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers.
Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell star as a trio of simple farmhand brothers who goes up against the Nazis in Defiance (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP), a flick that was largely overlooked at the box office but makes for quite a good at-home watch. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a quartet of featurettes, and more. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.
In Direct Contact (First Look Studios, Rated R, DVD-$28.98 SRP), Dolph Lundgren stars as an ex US Special Forces soldier whose imprisonment in Russia is lifted if he agrees to undertake a daring rescue – only to find out it was all a ruse, and means he’s now a pursued man. A Blu-Ray edition ($29.98 SRP) is also available.
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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