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…)
I’ve banged on about it for years, and I’ll continue to bang on about the absolute greatness of the British comedy panel show QI, which makes the discovery of interesting knowledge a hilarious affair. A few years back, they brought the immense database of general ignorance (little factoids the disprove much of what be believe to be true) to books, a pair of which have gotten a release in paperback – The revised & expanded Noticeably Stouter Book of General Ignorance (Faber & Faber, £7.99) and The QI Pocket Book Of Animals (Faber & Faber, £7.99). Also available is the audiobook edition of the original book, The Sound Of General Ignorance (Faber & Faber, £16.98). Get them all. Get them now.
There’s plenty of high-end goodies to be had over at Thinkgeek, but some of the best stuff id the reasonably-priced, highly-practical items. For example, I give you the Speaker/Headset Switching Hub ($6.99), which allows you to easily switch between your external PC speakers, your microphone, and your headphones – you know, for when you’ve got to take that Skype call on the fly and want to eliminate all of the fumbling around.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – as created by Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird – are celebrating their 25th anniversary. Yes – you heard me right. And to celebrate, all four feature films have been pulled together on high definition into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (New Line, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$84.99 SRP). The set contains all 4 flicks – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles In Time, and the CG TMNT – plus a beanie, character cars, a comic, and a sketch.
Hot on the heels of Role Models (which I enjoyed), Paul Rudd returns with I Love You, Man (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$29.99 SRP), another winning tale of arrested development and male bonding, as he plays a man who, as his wedding approaches, seeks to find a guy friend to be his best man. Who does he ultimately try for? Jason Segal. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted/extended scenes, featurettes, and a gag reel. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.
I’m a sucker for a 50’s monster flick, and it’s nice when a modern filmmaker tries to recreate that era – which is exactly what Alien Trespass (Image, Rated PG, DVD-$27.98 SRP) is. Eric McCormack stars as an astronomer possessed by an alien out to save our planet from a rogue alien on a rampage. Bonus features include featurettes, interviews, and trailers. A Blu-Ray edition ($35.98 SRP) is also available.
Right from the start, I was impressed with both the concept and visuals of Life After People (History Channel, Not Rated, Blu-Ray – $29.95 SRP) – which explores what would happen to the planet if man suddenly disappeared – but it’s even more fun to watch it in full high definition. Bonus features are limited to additional scenes.
Get over the idea that Zac Efron eventually grew up to be Matthew Perry, and 17 Again (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.98 SRP) is a nice little modern spin on Peggy Sue Got Married, which finds thirtysomething Mike O’Donnell (Perry), fresh from a divorce and with a life on the skids, gets presented with an opportunity to be the Mike he was at 17 (Efron), but with the rest of the world remaining in the present – which means he can now be a classmate to his own teenage kids. It’s a fun flick, with particular kudos to Thomas Lennon as Mike’s best friend. Sadly, no bonus features. A Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) is also available, which actually does have bonus features – a pair of featurettes and a trivia track.
From the raw gyrations that greeted viewers watching his 1956 debut, Elvis: The Ed Sullivan Show – The Classic Performances (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) collects 15 of Presley’s Sullivan Show appearances on one disc. Bonus materials include interviews, promos, and rare home movies.
Through a production quirk, the episodes featured in Super Friends: The Lost Episodes (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP) went unseen for over a decade. Now, these 24 episodes are collected onto DVD for your perusal. You know you want to see more Wonder Twins power activation. And Gleek.
While it doesn’t fully illuminate the poor decision-making skills that went into making such a horrid adaptation, G.I. JOE: The Rise Of Cobra Mission Dossier (Titan Books, $14.95 SRP) does at least touch on some of the blinkered behind-the-scenes thinking that delivered such a stillborn exercise. Oh, and there are plenty of photos, too.
Score aficionados should be on the lookout for Ben Foster’s soundtrack to Torchwood: Children Of Earth (Silva Screen Records, $16.98 SRP) and the City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra’s compilation of The Music Of Star Trek (Silva Screen Records, $16.98 SRP), which runs the gamut from the 60’s to the present.
The wife of a good friend of mine is a big fan of the porcine children’s book star Olivia (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP), whose animated adventures get their first DVD release with a disc containing a quartet of episodes plus a photo gallery.
Lionsgate has opened up the floodgates and released a trio of catalogue titles in high definition – one of which is a certified guilty… well, I hesitate to say “pleasure”. That one is Renny Harlin’s awkward pirate epic Cutthroat Island (Lionsgate, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), which contains an audio commentary from Harlin and an archival featurette. The other two flicks are Johnny Depp in Roman Polanski’s The Ninth Gate and Jean Claude Van Damme’s Replicant (Lionsgate, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP each).
There used to be a show named Project Runway (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$27.95 SRP), that suddenly disappeared amid behind-the-scenes disputes. It’s coming back on a different network, and that most recent, long ago season – the 5th – is now on DVD. The 4-disc set features extended episodes and a featurette.
I’ve heard that there are people who watch the updated version of the high school tribulations of those wacky West Beverly students on 90210 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). I am not one of them. I have no reason to be one of them. If you are one of them, you’ll probably want to pick up the complete first season, featuring all 23 episodes plus commentaries and a clutch of featurettes.
Over the past few years, Sideshow has been consistently releasing top-notch 12″ Star Wars figures – so good that they’ve virtually erased the painful memories of Hasbro’s off-model monstrosities of the past. If you think I speak in hyperbole, gawp in delight at the newly released 12″ Darth Vader ($124.99), presented as he appeared in the original film. Towering over other 12″-scale figures, Vader is spot-on – from his helmet sculpt down to the costume and materials used to pull it all off. And you certainly can’t pick up a Vader without also picking up a 12″ Stormtrooper ($89.99). Just take a look at the pics below and tell me you don’t want these gracing your shelf…
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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