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…)
In what amounts to a summer comedy storm, a pair of brilliant catalogue titles make their high definition debut looking and sounding better than they ever have – Animal House & The Blues Brothers (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP each). Animal House contains both of the retrospective documentaries featured on the last DVD edition, while The Blues Brothers sports both the theatrical and extended cuts, plus a trio of documentaries. Both discs? Must-buys.
Over the years, the fine folks at Thinkgeek have done plenty of cool in-house products, but the one that evokes the most delightful gut response is the iCade ($99.99). As you can see, it’s a scaled-down vintage arcade cabinet for use with your iPad. Simply place your iPad in the screen area, and you can play vintage games with the bluetooth controls. Isn’t that grand?
For years there was doubt they could even be licensed for release, but there’s cause for much rejoicing because the entire 5-film giant turtle run is being released in the box set Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Volume XXI: MST3K vs. Gamera (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP), which comes packaged in a collectible tin and is loaded with bonus featurettes. You know you want this. Get it. Watch it. Love it.
While I could care less about the awful sequel Conan The Destroyer (Universal, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP), I am delighted beyond words that John Milius’s epic Conan The Barbarian (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP) has finally made its way into high definition, and you can instantly appreciated the upgraded audio and print. In addition to the pre-existing audio commentary and documentary, the first film also adds about 10 minutes of vintage EPK interviews not seen in 30 years.
I have to make a confession to you – as a child of the early 80’s, I collected Smurfs. I had a lot of Smurfs. I used to search high and low for certain Smurfs. I used to watch the cartoon. I was Smurfy. Well, now that Belgian artist Peyo’s little blue creations have hit the big screen, Abrams has released a lovely retrospective book, The World Of Smurfs (Abrams Image, $24.95 SRP). Inside you’ll fine plenty of information, illustrations, and ephemera from across their smurfy history.
It’s a middle ground between the sophistication of the original animated Batman, Superman, & Justice League and the more juvenile Teen Titans, but Young Justice (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) has enough of the classic Bruce Timm vibe to at least make it mostly interesting viewing. This volume collects the first 4 episodes of the first season.
As much as I enjoy Tracy Morgan as a comic performer on 30 Rock, the stand-up featured on his first stand-up special Tracy Morgan: Black & Blue (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$19.97 SRP) never quite reaches the level of funny, instead being carried largely on the idea that he can get a laugh trough sheer force. The DVD contains an additional 15 minutes of material not seen in the original special.
I enjoyed the small town eccentricity found in the first season of Eastbound And Down (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), but count me amongst those that felt the show lost its way as the second season found Danny McBride’s failed baseball player Kenny Powers south of the border trying to fashion a comeback out of a ragtag local team and unreasonable schemes. Bonus materials include commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes.
I could do without the revised director’s edition, but I am a fan of the original take of Donnie Darko (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), which is now on Blu-Ray via a new 4-disc collector’s set which features both cuts of the film, audio commentaries, production diaries, featurettes, and more.
I thought the first film was goofy fun perfect for kids of all ages, but there were diminishing returns as the series went on, even though all 3 of Robert Rodriguez’s original Spy Kids films are entirely watchable. Now, you can own Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2, and Spy Kids 3 (Lionsgate, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP each) in high definition, porting over much of the bonus materials from the previous DVD editions and adding some new featurettes as well.
He’s a little bit older and the threats are a little bit tougher, but you still pretty much get what you’ve come to expect from the franchise in Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: The Return Of Heatblast (Cartoon Network, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). This 2-disc set contains 10 episodes.
If you want to see a true comedy of awkwardness that far eclipsed the fictional show that brought it all about, watch as Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal travels to Russia in order to help adapt a local version of the show in the documentary Exporting Raymond (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$30.99 SRP). It’s a comedy of errors and cultural loggerheads both frustrating and funny. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and two episodes of both the US and Russian versions of the show so you can compare.
Many fans feel it was cancelled too soon, but perhaps they’ll be consoled re-watching the 4th and final season of Everwood (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), as the Abbots face a series of tribulations. Bonus materials include unaired scenes.
The little red furry one decides to change his name by adding a “J”, which your kids can see happen (and learn, too) in Sesame Street: Learning Letters With Elmo (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). Will “Jelmo” stick?
Now that the troubled yet promising series has wrapped, the entire five season run of Stargate Atlantis (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$199.99 SRP) has been collected into a box set, featuring extended episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, and much more. See, that takes some of the sting off of the cancellation, right? Right?
The fine folks at Underground Toys have released another pair of figure sets that are most definitely irresistible to diehard Doctor Who fans. The Time Monster set ($39.95) contains the Roger Delgado iteration of The Master, and his camouflaged TARDIS. The Time Warrior set ($69.99) contains a Sontaran soldier, Linx, his (rather large) spaceship, and the 3rd Doctor in his green coat. You know you want these. Now go and get them.
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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