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…)
I know it should no longer impress me, because they’ve done it with each of their classic high definition releases, but Disney’s restoration of their newest Diamond Edition, Lady And The Tramp (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), is truly beautiful. Never has this film looked so sharp and vibrant, and it makes the wait for the remaining classic titles to hit Blu-Ray that much harder. Bonus materials include all of those featured on the previous DVD Platinum Edition, plus deleted scenes, a deleted song, a lovely featurette on Walt’s Disneyland apartment, and more.
Celebrate special events in aeronautic style with the incredibly easy to use (and quite beautiful) Sky Lanterns Mini Hot Air Balloon ($3.99). This simple paper hot air balloon features a small flame source under a paper balloon, which can soar up to a mile high. And it’s completely biodegradable.
Following up on his stellar turn in series 5, Murray Gold keeps the roll going with his music for Doctor Who: Series 6 (Silva Screen, $18.10 SRP). The 2-disc set contains cues from all 13 episodes, including his epic “Majestic Tale (Of A Madman In A Box)”. Ace.
It’s very much of the period, but there’s no denying that the chemistry between Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw as two star-crossed lovers is what made Love Story (Paramount, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$22.99 SRP) such a success way back in 1970, and it’s certainly worth revisiting over 40 years later in high definition. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a retrospective featurette.
Collecting together a trio of character-based live specials from earlier in his career, Steve Coogan Live (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP) is worth a spin if you’re only familiar with Coogan from his recent feature film work, or just Alan Partridge. Bonus materials include additional Australia highlights, animations, and Steve Coogan: The Inside Story.
If you’re in the mood for a brilliant little two-hander, Cormac McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP) stars Samuel L. Jackson as Black, a man who has just stopped White (Tommy Lee Jones) from committing suicide at the train station. Black takes White back to his apartment, where he proceeds to try and convert him to the faith… in something.
If there’s one overriding takeaway from the Harold & Kumar movies, is that they’re really not interested in anything much besides giving audiences a pleasant viewing experience. In that, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) doesn’t deviate too much, though it does find our pothead protagonists a few years older and separated, as Harold is married and living a big-money existence in the suburbs while Kumar… Well, Kumar is still Kumar, just a little older and sadder for it. Ah, but this is a holiday movie, so circumstances unite them both for a truly mad adventure that does, indeed, feature the return of Neil Patrick Harris. Of course. Bonus materials include deleted scenes and a pair of featurettes.
Lucas Cruikshank’s internet sensation Fred Figglehorn returns for another adventure in the spooky Fred 2: Night Of The Living Fred (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$16.98 SRP), which finds our high-pitched hero desperate to prove his replacement music teacher is actually a vampire. Bonus materials include a clutch of featurettes and videos.
In the mood for a small character drama this weekend? Give a spin to Fireflies In The Garden (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$30.99 SRP), which finds a Midwestern family rocked by an accident on the eve of the matriarch’s decades-delayed graduation from college, which she had set aside to raise her now-adult kids while her husband pursued a career that has put him on the track to become university president. The disc sports a making-of featurette.
Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson star in the charming little drama The Song Of Lunch (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), about a book editor (Rickman) who meets up with his former love (Thompson) for lunch, 15 years after their breakup. Quite a nice two-hander.
Tween girls will probably want to snap up the Disney Channel movie Geek Charming (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP), starring Modern Family‘s Sarah Hyland as a high school it girl rescued from humiliation by a film geek who decides to cast her in his documentary. Guess what? They fall in love and remake each other’s stereotypical expectations! Whoda thunk it? Bonus materials include 10 episodes of the series Shake It Up.
Having gained time travel abilities, the Daleks pursue the 1st Doctor and his companions in the 1965 story “The Chase”, eventually winding up on a jungle planet populated by Mechanoids sent decades prior to prepare the planet for human colonists that never arrived, who quickly take The Doctor and companions captive. Oh, and the Mechanoids and the Daleks don’t get along. You can now re-create that enmity with the Doctor Who: The Chase Collector’s Set (Underground Toys, $47.95), featuring a pair of classic silver Daleks facing off against the flame-wielding Mechanoid.
As a child of the early 80’s, I was a fan of just about any cartoon you can mention, both good and bad. Included in the bunch is the original, far superior run of GI Joe, which introduced a diabolical terrorist group bent on world domination named Cobra, with an iconic leader whose memorable voice and penchant for failure made him a favorite. Well, the fine folks at Sideshow have captured the iconic look of the one and only Cobra leader with their Cobra Commander Premium Format Figure . ($299) Standing regally evil with serpent scepter in hand and loaded pistol behind his back, you can display him with either his mirror-faced battle helmet or his hood via a pair of interchangeable heads. COOOBRAAAAAA!
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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