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…)
While it’s not the much-desired fully-restored Blu-Ray editions fans have been clamoring for, Universal has released the original (best) Marx Brothers films as individual DVDs of The Cocoanuts, Duck Soup, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, and Horsefeathers (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP each) outside of the box set they were originally released in way back in 2004. So if you want to be able to watch them while we’re all waiting for the films to be treated to a loving restoration, go ahead and pick ’em up.
Who doesn’t want to snuggle with a soft and fluffy blob of sentient fat? Well, if you’re a Doctor Who fan, you can do just that with the Adipose Plush Toy ($19.99), a stuffed version of the cute creatures from the beginning of the 4th season of Nu-Who.
Though I always get it confused in my head with The Wind And The Lion, I’ve always had a fondness for Jon Huston’s ingratiatingly epic adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$25.99 SRP), which makes its high definition debut in stunning fashion, with beautiful video quality. It’s worth watching just for the interplay between stars Michael Caine, Sean Connery, and Christopher Plummer. Sadly, bonus materials are limited to a vintage featurette and the theatrical trailer, but it’s nice to have the film on Blu-Ray, regardless.
Like Sgt. Bilko and The Simpsons, the late comedian Bill Hicks is far more revered in the UK than he ever was in the US, and it’s with that reverence that the wish-it-was-better-done documentary American: The Bill Hicks Story (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), whose largely superficial fawning doesn’t quite capture who Bill was and why he was the way he was. At least the extensive bonus materials, including rare footage and performances, makes the set a must-have.
Everyone breaks down in the third season of Breaking Bad (Sony, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.95 SRP), as Bryan Cranston’s Walt faces a difficult decision while dealing with a broken marriage, a dangerously reckless partner, and a price on his head. Bonus materials include a trio of uncensored episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
Warners queues up another sterling high definition catalogue restoration with The Outlaw Josey Wales (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP), starring Clint Eastwood as the titular gunslinger on the lam after avenging his family’s brutal murder. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a trio of featurettes – 1 new and 2 vintage.
The great David Attenborough narrates another must-see nature documentary from the BBC, as their far-ranging cameras descend upon Madagascar (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP) for a 3-part exploration of the bizarre wildlife. Bonus materials include a pair of featurettes, one of which contains lemurs.
Another month, another massive dip into the catalogue for MGM, as they deliver a new batch titles in high definition for the first time – Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York (MGM, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), Angelina Jolie & Antonio Banderas in Original Sin (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), Mario Van Peebles in the western Posse (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), Gary Cooper & Burt Lancaster in Vera Cruz (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), the Quaid brothers in the Jesse James film The Long Riders (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), the hippy musical Hair (MGM, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), the Aussie drag classic The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), and Frank Oz’s wonderful Death At A Funeral (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP). Most of the discs, such as New York, New York and Death At A Funeral, sport audio commentaries, featurettes, and more.
I have to be honest with you – I’m not of the generation that became enamored with the man-child comedy stylings of Adam Sandler. That means I’m not the intended audience who will delight in the high-definition release Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison (Universal, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP each). While both discs feature deleted scenes and outtakes, only Billy Madison sports a commentary.
Re-create your own NBC Mystery Movie Night with the complete 3rd season of McMillan & Wife (VEI, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), featuring the sleuthing duo of Rock Hudson and Susan St. James. The 3-disc set contains the season’s four 90-minute and two 60-minute episodes.
The Warner Archive Collection dips back into the TV pool and pulls up another pair of releases that might not otherwise see the light of day – Part 1 of the first season of the classic 60’s procedural The FBI (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.95) and the complete second season of the much more recent cop drama Southland (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$24.95).
Warners has been releasing more and more of their obscure catalogue titles through the MOD Warner Archive, which is why it was a pleasant surprise to see 1933’s Night Flight (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) out on regular DVD. The film stars John & Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Robert Montgomery, and Myrna Loy in an adventure about a fateful journey to deliver much-needed medicine via biplane. Yup. Bonus features include a vintage short and cartoon.
Of all the recent original animated movies to come out of Warners DC Universe imprint, the one of actually enjoyed and didn’t cringe at is the one starring ol’ Hal Jordan himself, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP), which features a bang-up action arc starring the entire Green Lantern Corps and their most memorable adventures. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, a pair of bonus cartoons, and a sneak peek at Batman: Year One.
The beginning of the 3rd season of Leverage (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) finds the leader of our elite gang of thieves, Timothy Hutton’s Nate Ford, behind bars, and the team scheming to break him out. The 4-disc set contains all 16 episodes, plus audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a gag reel.
Oh, James Cameron. I know you only produced Sanctum (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), but your fingerprints are all over it. From the slight only-exists-to-provide-the-most-basic-skeleton-for-action story & characters to the excessive lingering shots that are only there to make the original 3-D theatrical experience a visual curiosity, it’s not much of a movie. Still, if you want to see a bunch of divers trying to escape from an underwater cave system, this is the film for you. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and featurettes.
Or you could spend this weekend plowing through Burn Notice: Season 4 (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) or White Collar: Season 2 (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$ SRP). Both sport audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and a clutch of featurettes.
If you’re sports-inclined, HBO has a pair of Blu-Ray releases that will delight Baseball fans – The documentary series When It Was A Game (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) and the Mantle/Maris dramatizatzation produced by Billy Crystal, 61* (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP). The latter features an audio commentary and featurettes.
I’m not a fan, but those who are will probably snap up the remastered 30th anniversary edition of the AC/DC: Let There Be Rock concert film (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$44.98 SRP). The box set also contains a 32-page book, a guitar pick, and 10 collector cards.
Animation fans are well aware of the pin-up sketches of women drawn by the legendary Disney animator Fred Moore – what came to be known as Fred Moore Girls. Well, the fine folks at Electric Tiki and Sideshow have taken one of the most iconic of these sketches and translated it into a 3-dimentionsal Fred Moore Girl maquette ($124.99), and the result is breathtaking – in more that one way. There are three separate editions, with the blonde “Vanilla” sitting at 500 pieces, the raven-haired “Licorice” at 350, and the ginger “Cinnamon” at only 50 pieces total. Get yours while you can.
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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