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…)

It’s a bit bloated and unwieldy, but I have to admit that I have quite a fondness for Richard Attenborough’s biopic Chaplin (Lionsgate, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), starring Robert Downey Jr as the Little Tramp – and his wonderful performance alone makes the film worth watching. Bonus materials include featurettes and a brief Chaplin home movie.

Got more kitchen utensils than space? Countertops and drawers at a premium? How brilliant is the Click n Cook ($34.99) modular spatula system, which features 5 various-sized spatulas and a detachable handle in a conveniently small stand that allows you to swap spatulas with a simple click (and save space!). Brilliant.

Those wonderful purveyors of fine comic appreciation over at Twomorrows have decided to focus on the creator of the landmark comic series Bone with Modern Masters Volume 25: Jeff Smith (Twomorrows, $15.95 SRP), which – like previous must-have volumes in the series – contains an in-depth, comprehensive interview with Smith, as well as dozens of pieces of art.

The animation isn’t the best, but what Hoodwinked (Weinstein Company, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP) lacks in visual flair it more than makes up for with a punchy script and catchy clutch of songs, all of which has found its way to high definition. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a music video.

It’s no Broadcast News, but Morning Glory (Paramount, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP) does have the fun of the 80s TV flick Switching Channels with a touch of Working Girl, as it revolves around a young woman’s attempt to wrangle a last place mess of a national morning show as its new executive producer. And, best of all, it features Harrison Ford in an all-too-rare comedic turn as a veteran newsman who becomes the new morning host opposite Diane Keaton. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a deleted scene.

Oh, Warner Archive. I do so love how you’re releasing every marginal and obscure Hanna-Barbera cartoon in your vast library. So thank you for the a release like the set containing the complete runs of both The Space Kidettes & Young Samson (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP). Yes. That’s right.

It’s not as well put together as the UK original, but there’s certainly some interesting genealogical twists and turns to be found in the 1st season of the US Who Do You Think You Are? (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP), which finds celebrities tracing their family trees. The first season features the ancestral explorations of Sarah Jessica Parker, Emmitt Smith, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Broderick, Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon, and Spike Lee.

It’s no Rocky, but there is a charm to The Fighter (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which stars Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale as a pair of pugilistic brothers who reunite for a title bout that could save their family and their community. Is redemption for both in the offing? What do you think? Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes.

Wrap up the second half of Batman: The Brave And The Bold‘s first season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) with the next 13 episodes full of action and good-natured crime-fighting absolutely loaded with gust stars, from Booster Gold to Aquaman.

I find Clint Eastwood’s films can be hit-or-miss for me, with every great flick like Unforgiven matched by a disappointing one like Gran Torino. His stab at the supernatural, Hereafter (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) is one of the latter, as I could never become invested in the touchy-feely tale of a man with a connection to the afterlife (Matt Damon) and a journalist (Cecile de France) seeking answers. The sole bonus is the documentary The Eastwood Factor, which looks at his career at Warners.

Hal-shark. Half-octopus. All schlock. Yeah, that pretty much sums up Roger Corman’s Sharktopus (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), and there’s really not much else that needs to be said about it. Just… Sharktopus.

Don’t have enough 12″ Star Wars figures filling your house yet? Well, Medicom (via those nifty nellies at Sideshow Collectibles) has released another addition to their Real Action Heroes line, this time featuring the intergalactic bounty hunter Boba Fett ($149.99) as he appeared before his untimely ingestion by the Sarlaac Pit in Return Of The Jedi. The details – from the tools in his pouches to this Wookie-braid trophies – are amazing, and the overall effect is pretty spot-on. Do you want this on your shelf? Yes, you want this on your shelf.

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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