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…)
It’s goofy, it’s gory, its history is a mess, the acting is hammy, but I’ve got to admit – Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP) is a fun ride, and a call back to old-fashioned war movies of bygone years, with a healthy dose of Tarantino’s unique madness. The special edition contains a roundtable discussion, interviews, behind-the-scenes featurettes, extended/alternate scenes, Nation’s Pride (the film within the film), and (best of all) the original Inglorious Bastards.
Picking up where Albert Finney left off in The Gathering Storm, Brendan Gleason steps into the role of Winston Churchill in Into The Storm (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), which finds the British Prime Minster as wartime leader and at the height of his power and influence. Gleason is equally as powerful in the role, and I look forward to seeing him in the next installment. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a making-of featurette.
It’s a shame that Public Enemies (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$36.98 SRP) isn’t, well, a more interesting film, because Johnny Depp in a Michael Mann film about John Dillinger should have been a home run look at an American anti-hero. Sadly, no. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
You might not know this, but Jerry Lewis hosted an NBC variety show from 1967-69, featuring a bevy of guest stars. Now you can view 13 of the episodes from that run via the 2-disc Jerry Lewis Show Collection (Infinity, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP).
Rights issues have kept it in limbo seemingly forever, but all of that’s been ironed out enough to allow for the DVD release of Sita Sings The Blues (FilmKaravan, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). To try and sum up the melding of various art styles with American blues and torch songs is to risk doing it a disservice. Just give it a spin.
Melding environmentalism with action and intrigue, The Cove (Lionsgate, Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98 SRP) is a documentary shines a light on a unique challenge for our flittered friends without sacrificing cinematic bang. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a documentary, and the theatrical trailer.
Credit must go to writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait for delivering a Robin Williams vehicle that’s actually worth watching (they’re few and far between) in World’s Greatest Dad (Magnolia, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), a darkly comic tale of a man getting everything he wants – in the worst way possible. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, an audio commentary, and outtakes.
Formed after the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan and consisting of original members Doyle Bramhall II, Charlie Sexton, and Chris Layton, the Arcangels recently reunited to record the album Living In A Dream (Mark I Productions, $25.00), which gets a deluxe special edition release with a bonus concert DVD and a bonus CD with new studio tracks and a live track.
Take the sensibilities of Talladega Nights and transplant it to the dysfunctional misadventures of competitive car dealerships and you’ve got The Goods (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$22.99 SRP), which would be a much better experience if it weren’t for the fact that Used Cars did it 30 years ago, and much better. Still, it’s a decent flick, and worth a cold winter spin.
Due to the BBC’s insane tape policy, only 5 episodes of their Sherlock Holmes series survive, but all 5 are now available via The Sherlock Holmes Collection (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP), starring Peter Cushing as Homes – a character he first played in the Hammer Hound Of The Baskervilles. The set also features the Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective documentary.
I have not, nor have I ever been a fan of magician Criss Angel and his goth/emo David Blaine ways. Still, there are fans out there, and for them there’s the Criss Angel: Mindfreak Collector’s Edition (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$99.95 SRP), a 15-disc set containing all 5 seasons plus 6 new-to-DVD episodes, commentaries, featurettes, interactive illusions, additional scenes, and more.
Ang Lee’s directorial choices usually are more interesting than the films that result from them, and such is the case with his comedy inspired by the events surrounding the staging of 1969’s seminal festival in Taking Woodstock (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP). Maybe that’s because Demetri Martin is not terribly comfortable onscreen as Elliot Tiber, a local who played a pivotal role in making sure the event came off as planned, and wound up with a few life changes of his own. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a featurette.
Ironic that Disney’s Wizards Of Waverly Place: The Movie (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) can’t summon up half the magic of cross-cable rival iCarly, which is a shame considering star Selena Gomez seems desperate for better material than what she’s been given in this tepid feature-length special that plays like a magical Back To The Future. Bonus features include a batch of on location behind-the-scenes featurettes.
My mind is still reeling from the sonic assualt that is the soundtrack to Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (Rhino, $18.98 SRP). For every decent, classic-sounding Chipmunks track, there’s something ear-shatteringly awful as a tune in which the accelerated vocals are auto-tuned. Yes. You heard me.
I don’t know about you, but when I think Jerry Bruckheimer, I think of an elite team of hyper-intelligent, trained guinea pigs who go on secret missions to save the world. G-Force (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$44.98 SRP) is like a cross between The Rescuers and Mission Impossible, and veers wildly between goofy fun and laughable disaster. Kids will love it. The 3-disc set contains deleted scenes, featurettes, music videos, and the DVD version of the film.
The third season of The Tudors (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$42.99 SRP) finds Henry VIII’s life taking a decidedly more complicated turn, with his marriages to Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves, the downfall of Thomas Cromwell, and his relationship with Katherine Howard. The 3-disc set contains all 8 episodes, a timeline featurette, interviews, and the first 2 episodes of The United States Of Tara.
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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