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…)
Like Citizen Kane and Casablanca, the original King Kong (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP) is one of the many gems in the Warner Bros. library. While we don’t have our high definition Kane yet, the restoration and mastering done on this new Kong is simply breathtaking, and give me high hopes for their treatment of Welles’ legendary flick. Bonus features on this new edition include an audio commentary, a 7-part documentary, test footage with Ray Harryhausen commentary, the lost “Spider-Pit” sequence, a spotlight on producer Merian C. Cooper, and the theatrical trailer.
Most geeks love pizza. Most geeks love Star Trek. Well, the fine folks at Thinkgeek have realized both of these truths and constructed an item which melds the two together – the Star Trek Enterprise Pizza Cutter ($24.99). That’s right – you can now cut your Italian pie with the forward section of the USS Enterprise, fashioned in laser-etched stainless steel.
It’s quite depressing to realize, while re-watching the DVD of the brilliant second season of Party Down (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$29.97 SRP), that Starz cancelled the series, and this is the last we’ll see of the dysfunctional caterers. Bonus materials are limited to a promo and a gag reel, which is a shame.
It’s not as strong a comedic romp as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but the Aldous Snow spin-off Get Him To The Greek (Universal, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP) – about a junior record exec (Jonah Hill) tasked with delivering the off-the-wagon Snow to a concert at the titular theater – is an enjoyable vehicle for Russell Brand, and actually makes me look forward to his take on Arthur. Also, Colm Meaney plays Aldous’s father. More Colm Meaney, I say. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, alternate intro/ending, featurettes, deleted scenes, gag reels, and music performances.
It seems to be taking forever, but slowly but surely the US DVD releases are catching up with the new episodes, so picking up Top Gear 13 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) beings you that much closer. The 3-disc set contains all 7 episodes of the only car show that could make someone as apathetic about cars as I am a diehard fan. Bonus materials include additional footage and interviews.
The Warner Archive collection has been great about releasing some deep catalogue titles, but also some much-desired flicks that have limited commercial appeal because, to put it kindly, they weren’t that good. Of the fantastic deep catalogue material, we have something like The Robert Benchley Miniatures Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.95), which brings together all 30 of the brilliant, hilarious observational shorts that Benchley did for MGM from 1935-1944. On the not-so-good-but-people-still-want-it side, you’ve got the Chevy Chase/Carrie Fisher/Billy Barty little people comedy Under The Rainbow (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$19.95), the Peter Sellers/Brit Ekland bullfighting dud (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.95), and Paul Simon’s painfully boring (but with a great soundtrack) The BoboOne Trick Pony (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$19.95).
It’s not the Blu-Ray set that some of us were hoping for, but Secret Agent AKA Danger Man: The Complete Collection (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$99.95 SRP) is a comprehensive gathering of Patrick McGoohan’s pre-Prisoner spy series, containing all 86 episodes, including the two-part color finale.
While we’re all waiting for the release of the next full season set, let’s relive some of the finest adventures of South Park‘s most naïve little boy with A Little Box Of Butters (Comedy Central, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), which collects 13 remastered episodes (now in widescreen), plus a lost chapter of Butters’ “The Poop That Took A Pee”, a WWBD bracelet, an Inspector Butters badge, a necklace, and more.
If you’d like to see an absolutely superb performance by David Bowie, look no further than Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Criterion, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), wherein he plays a British officer held prisoner by the Japanese in World War II in a film that’s like a more intense, slightly erotic Bridge On The River Kwai. Now presented in high definition, bonus materials include a vintage featurette, a 1996 documentary, interviews, the trailer, and a booklet.
One would have hopes that the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Concerts (Time Life, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) held in 2009 to commemorate the museums birthday would have been an event to remember, but nothing seems to really click, from lackluster performances to a line-up that makes you miss those that couldn’t (or wouldn’t) be there all the more.
The 10th season of CSI (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$79.99 SRP) marks the arrival of Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Ray Langstrom, shaking up the calcification process that has been overtaking the show over the past few years. The 7-disc set includes audio commentaries, featurettes, and the crossover episodes with the Miami & New York CSIs.
Soundtrack fans have a trio of new titles to fill out their collections this week, courtesy of the fine folks at Silva Screen Records. The newest is Ben Affleck’s The Town, with music by Harry Gregson-Williams & David Buckley, followed by Brad Fiedel’s score for Terminator 2 and Paul Giovanni’s soundtrack to the original Wicker Man (Silva Screen Records, $16.98 SRP each).
I remember loving them as a kid, so I’m eager to show my nephews the animated adaptations of Beverly Cleary’s beloved stories included in the Ralph Mouse Collection (Scholastic, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP), because how could they not like a mouse riding a motorcycle?
After the abysmal eighth season, I had some hope that the bonus, ultimately final ninth season of Scrubs (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) might be a streamline return to the blend of comedy and drama that had attracted me to the show in its early, wonderful seasons. Sadly, the goofball, live action Family Guy antics continued, and the replacement cast, bolstered by some returning faces and a lingering Zach Braff, never really gelled into anything worth watching. A shame. Bonus features include featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers.
I’ve been less-than-impressed with the ever-changing visual style of the DC Universe direct-to-video animated films, but at least they’ve reversed a further negative in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) by having the good sense to reinstate Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly as the voices of the legendary superheroes (even if they still insisted on recasting Apocalypse). The story itself finds everyone fighting over a mysterious girl who crashes to Earth in a Kryptonian ship. If you guessed she’s to become Supergirl, you’d be right. Bonus materials include a look at the character of Darkseid, a Green Arrow short, a featurette on the New Gods, 4 bonus cartoons featuring Darkseid, and more.
It’s easy to look back at it as a piece of soul kitsch, but the one thing you can say about The Best Of Soul Train (Time Life, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) is that the show, over its 35 year history, did include an incredible array or performers, from Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield to James Brown and Aretha Franklin.
I fell out of love with Family Guy years ago, so I really haven’t been enthused enough to dip into its spin-off, The Cleveland Show (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), but for those who have and enjoyed it, you’ll want to pick up the first season set, featuring all 21 episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, a music video, a table read, and more.
Leaving box stores behind but not abandoning fans, Warners has shifted the second season of Falcon Crest (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$49.95) over to their on-demand Warner Archive Collection, so if you’re hooked and want to find out what happens next to the Channing wine dynasty, look no further than the 22 episodes on this 6-disc set.
Using CG recreations, both Battle 360 (History Channel , Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.95 SRP) & Patton 360: The Complete Season One (History Channel, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.95 SRP) take an in-depth, comprehensive, in-the-thick-of-it look at the battles that defined the second World War.
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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