Weekend Shopping Guide 3/19/10: Crow vs Crow

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 FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)

I admit – besides just being a fan of the show and being delighted that another volume has arrived – I’m even more delighted by the release of the Mystery Science Theater Collection: Volume XVII (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 SRP) than usual because of the bonus features. Which feature, in particular? The “Crow vs. Crow” panel I put together and hosted at last year’s DragonCon, featuring Trace Beaulieu and Bill Corbett, is on this set. The films included in the set are The Crawling Eye (featuring a special introduction from Joel Hodgson), The Beatniks, The Final Sacrifice, and Blood Waters Of Dr. Z.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of wimpy flashlights. I want a flashlight that looks like it came right out of The X-Files… You know, with that wildly improbably beam that illuminated an entire wooded area with a powerful white light. Well, fantasy has become reality with the Icon High-Powered LED Flashlight ($34.99-$44.99). With 100 lumens of light and a pocket-able size, it’s the last flashlight you’ll want to own. The full size is dubbed “Rogue 2”, and it’s also available in a smaller size (called the Rogue 1)… You know, for the car. Or a leprechaun.

I had little expectation going in, but to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the new CG-animated adaptation of Tezuka Osamu’s Astro Boy (Summit, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP) is an understatement. In a nutshell, Astro Boy is the robot re-creation of the brilliant scientist Dr. Tenma’s son Toby, who is lost in a tragic accident. To say anymore about what actually happens in the film, which pulls no emotional punches, is to deny you the same pleasant surprise I had. See it. Bonus materials include a clutch of behind-the-scenes featurettes.

I wish Disney’s grand return to traditional animation hadn’t been a by-the-numbers princess film, but at least there’s enough fun and spirit in Princess And The Frog (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which puts a New Orleans spin on the classic tale of the cursed prince and his desire to find a princess to break said curse. And yes, it’s always great to have jazzy Randy Newman tunes to help things along. The 3-disc Blu-Ray set contains a massive clutch of behind-the-scenes featurettes, an audio commentary, deleted scenes, music videos, and more. The set also include a standard DVD edition of the film.

The 13th season of South Park (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP) isn’t one of their most memorable of recent years, but it did feature a few outstanding episodes – in particular the Roland Emmerich take-off “Pee”. While the new set doesn’t feature audio commentaries, it does add some deleted scenes and a featurette touring South Park Studios. A Blu-Ray edition ($57.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.

The second half of the film doesn’t live up to the first half, but The Hurt Locker (Summit, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP) certainly deserved the Oscar over Avatar, if only for that brilliantly crafted, nail-biting first half about an elite team of soldiers tasked with diffusing the bombs that are a constant danger in Iraq. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a behind-the-scenes documentary, and a still gallery.

While it’s not quite the revelation that some tried to make it out to be, Up In The Air (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is a solid film about a jet-setting businessman (George Clooney) whose job is to travel the globe letting the employees of various companies know they’ve been downsized. He’s a man without a home, seemingly happy with his transient, on-the-go life… But things go a bit awry when a pair of female wrenches are thrown into his perfect machine. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a music video, and more.

Well, The Fourth Kind (Universal, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$36.99 SRP) tries to be the alien abduction equivalent of Paranormal Activity, with a low-fi psychological unraveling and reenactment of “actual cases”. Does it succeed? Not really. It’s actually pretty funny, how earnest it is. As far as bonus materials go, you get deleted scenes.

Why, exactly, did USA decide to cancel Monk (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP)? Not only was the show still a joy to watch, but their schedule isn’t exactly packed to the gills with hits. So let us all mourn the loss with the complete 8th season set, featuring video commentary, cast & crew interviews, set tours, and a goodbye featurette.

It doesn’t take long into the second season of Breaking Bad (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP) to understand exactly why star Bryan Cranston deserved his Emmy, as his meth-making, terminally ill high school teacher feels himself boxed in from multiple sides, just as he’s finally earning the money he needs to make sure his family is taken care of when he’s gone. Bonus materials include featurettes, webisodes, interviews, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more.

Are you a teen or a middle-aged person desperate to fantasize with the unique ability to turn off the portions of your brain able to assess the quality of script or acting? Well, then the latest installment of the cinematic Twilight saga, New Moon (Summit, Rated PG-13, DVD-$32.99 SRP) is just the flick for you, as absolutely none of it feels like competent storytelling… But that doesn’t matter, right? Because everyone but the women take their shirts off! Yeah… That’s what it’s all about. That and werewolves. And sparkly vampires. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a 6-part behind-the-scenes documentary, band rehearsal footage, and music videos. A Blu-Ray edition ($34.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.

Explore the history behind the big screen with a pair of History Channel documentaries whose big-screen counterparts are apparent – The Real Wolfman (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) & Clash Of The Gods (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP). The first is a look at historic events that might have inspired the tale of a man who transforms into a beast, and the latter is a 3-disc set that connects mythic events to actual history. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.95 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.

Mill Creek returns with a clutch of fan favorite titles repackaged and offered at rock bottom prices. Their latest batch includes Silk Stalkings: The Complete First Season (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), Steve McQueen in Wanted: Dead Or Alive Season Two (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), The Commish: Season One (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), the 4-film Sonny Chiba Collection (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) – Legend Of The Eight Samurai, Ninja Wars, GI Samurai, Resurrection Of Golden Wolf – and Undead: The Vampire Collection (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), containing 20 films.

While watching Did You Hear About The Morgans? (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$34.95 SRP), I couldn’t help but be reminded of a far more enjoyable comedy about a pair of city slickers thrown into the Witness Protection Program and relocated to the sticks, My Blue Heaven. Maybe that’s because High Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker never really gel enough as either a couple or a comedy duo for my mind not to wander to better things. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes.

Bide the times until the next full season set with the single-disc collection Spongebob Squarepants: Spongebob’s Last Stand (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP), featuring the titular episode, plus six more. There’s also featurettes, karaoke music videos, and more.

Produced by the Wachoski Brothers, Ninja Assassin (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$28.98 SRP) is an entertaining, but entirely disposable, martial arts flick with a plot that doesn’t even stick in my head. If you want to just pop in an action movie and veg for a bit, this is for you. Bonus materials include a trio of featurettes and additional scenes. A Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) is also available, with the same bonus materials.

To dismiss Bandslam (Summit, Rated PG, DVD-$25.99 SRP) as a Disney Channel-esque bubblegum pop confection is to miss out on a genuinely fun, engaging, warts & all take of a trio of high schoolers set on making their mark at the country’s biggest musical competition. It’s a little bit Freaks & Geeks meets High School Musical. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and featurettes.

As part of their in-house plan to continue releasing shows that may not have the sales to go a more traditional big-box route, fans can now pick up the complete second seasons of both My Two Dads (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99) & the animated series Cops (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99).

John Krasinski takes David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (IFC Films, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) and adapts it into a film that’s brilliant in fits and starts, but can never maintain itself long enough for me to feel he actually accomplished a worthwhile adaptation – which is unfortunate, because this could have been his Short Cuts. Bonus materials include a featurette, interview with Krasinski, a TV spot, and the trailer.

When Sideshow announced that they’d begin producing premium format mixed-media figures based on iconic Disney characters, I had high hopes for the line. I’ve long been a fan of their premium format takes on Star Wars and Marvel characters, and was happy to find that my anticipation for the Disney line was rewarded with an incredible piece capturing the Evil Queen from Snow White ($299.99). With a run of only 300 for the exclusive edition (which nets you the raven perched on the skull topped book) and 600 for the non-exclusive, you’d better act fast to get this, and make sure to keep up on future editions to the line.

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