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…)

If The Departed was Scorsese’s attempt to get a hold on Boston, Ben Affleck’s The Town (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) is a homegrown take on the intricate web of Goodfellas, right down to a heist that ultimately tears everyone apart. Sure, it’s a simplistic view of a remarkably good flick, but why don’t you give it a spin for yourself? Bonus materials include an audio commentary (on both the theatrical and extended cuts) and a clutch of featurettes.

Write all of those holiday gift thank you letters in the most beautiful and pretentious way possible with the Old Tyme Writing Set ($24.99). You get a feather, a wooden pen handle, seven interchangeable nibs, and a bottle of ink.

I greatly enjoyed the first Nanny McPhee movie, and hoped against hope that Emma Thompson would be able to maintain the same level of Poppins-esque whimsy, heart, and humor she captured so well. Thankfully, Nanny McPhee Returns (Universal, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP) more than maintains it, and is an equal standalone bit of fun in its own right, as McPhee tackles the unruly household situation in WWII Britain. Do check it out. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes.

Going in, I didn’t know quite what to expect from The Other Guys (Sony, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.95 SRP), but I was hoping it would be just another boring entry into the long line of buddy cop movies. Well, color me pleasantly surprised, because it managed to entertain me quite a bit with its story of bottom-tier NYPD partners – Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg – who get a shot at glory after the precincts top cops are die in the line of duty. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted/extended scenes, featurettes, a music video, gag reel, and more.

It’s always nice to see a new collection of Groucho material, even if it’s all culled from the public domain – that doesn’t mean it’s something I’ve seen. Groucho Marx: TV Classics (Synergy, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP) contains 16 You Bet Your Life episodes, a pair of Groucho-hosted episodes of The Hollywood Palace, and a few other miscellaneous bits and bobs.

If you want a prime example of exactly how NOT to capitalize on public knowledge of a pop culture fixture for a big screen relaunch, look no further than the lifeless, drab take on The A-Team (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which manages to suck every bit of likeability out of this ragtag group of ex-special forces attempting to clear their name. Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.

Fans who seemingly didn’t watch the poor-rated show when it was on can now partake of the final clutch of episodes via Caprica: Season 1.5 (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), including the still-unaired final few. Bonus features include commentaries, video blogs, deleted scenes, and featurettes.

If your kids liked Happy Feet and really want to see a movie about owls, then Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) is the film for you. You want to see good owls fight evil owls, right? Bonus materials include featurettes and galleries – and one bonus that makes picking up the disc worth it… A new Road Runner cartoon.

It’s with a bit of a whimper that the once-riveting 24 (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) came to a close in its 8th and final season, having long since become a hyper version of itself. The 6-disc set contains all 24 episodes, plus commentaries, featurettes, and deleted scenes.

I must admit, I do so love an old school, cat & mouse thriller of the kind that Hitchcock and Carol Reed would make, and that’s exactly the type of methodically taut pace found in The American (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), in which George Clooney plays a mercenary who can’t escape his past. Just watch the damn thing. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a featurette, and deleted scenes.

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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