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…)

You can take your high definition Beauty & The Best and Lion King – I’ve been patiently waiting to see Disney do another stem to stern remaster of one of their classic titles, and I’m happy to say that their refurbishment of Alice In Wonderland (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) looks absolutely stunning… I’d even go as far as to say “pristine”. The bonus features – including vintage TV specials, a deleted song, and pencil tests – are carried over from the original DVD release, with the exclusive addition of a Walt Disney introduction to the 1959 TV showing, reference footage introduced by Kathryn Beaumont, and a companion’s guide to Wonderland.

So, what if you’re a Doctor Who fans who wants any fannish material you own to be practical, as well? You get the Doctor Who: 11th Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver Screwdriver ($19.99), which houses an honest-to-gosh screwdriver within its diecast shell, featuring both phillips and flathead tips. See? Now you can be a DIY nerd.

It’s been years since I saw the film – probably since the director’s cut was released on DVD – but I still like Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (Dreamworks, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), even if it is too often sugar-coated and cute in its period nostalgia and reverence for the music of the era. The high-def Blu-Ray edition of the aforementioned Director’s Cut has finally been released, but only as a Best Buy exclusive, which features an intro & audio commentary from Crowe, featurettes, a music video, an interview with Lester Bangs, Crowe’s Rolling Stone articles, and more.

I found the film itself to be overlong and a bit plodding, but I can find no fault in Jamie Foxx’s performance as the legendary Ray Charles in Ray (Universal, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP), which makes its high definition debut with a special edition featuring all of the bonus materials from the original DVD release, including an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and an introduction from director Taylor Hackford.

Boy, it’s been years since the last season release, but out of the blue comes the complete fourth season of the only helicopter action show of the 80’s, Airwolf (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 5-disc set contains all 24 episodes.

In the past year, the Saturday Night Live: Best Of discs have been getting a refresher release, featuring additional bonus content like outtakes, dress rehearsal sketches, and just plain more regular sketches. The two newest additions to the refresher course are Saturday Night Live: The Best Of John Belushi & Saturday Night Live: The Best Of Chris Farley (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each).

In the 8th volume of MI-5 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), we find the team off to recover a kidnapped teammate after they thwarted Russia’s planned London attack, but as you might expect, things aren’t quite what they seem. Bonus materials include audio commentaries and a pair of featurettes.

While Warners has been a clear forerunner in releasing beautiful high definition special editions of their catalogue classics, but other studios are catching up, and Fox has done so with a pair of very nice releases in An Affair To Remember and All About Eve (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP each). Both films look and sound great, and both feature audio commentaries and a clutch of featurettes and documentaries.

Warner’s Archive Collection dips into the vaults and pulls up a collection that just so happens to coincide with the 100th birthday of its star, Ronald Reagan – the Brass Bancroft of the Secret Service Mysteries Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, $19.95), which contains a quartet of B-movies wherein Reagan’s Agent Bancroft thwarts spies and smugglers.

I’m not a fan or horror films, but I did enjoy the almost sublime terror that builds up within the vampire flick Let Me In (Anchor Bay, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which is due almost entirely to the performance of the preternatural Chloe Moretz (last seen in Kick Ass). Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and galleries.

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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