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 been a few months, so that means another much-anticipated addition to the MSTie library with Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXIII (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 SRP). For this set, we’re back to the pair o’ Joel, pair o’ Mike ratio, all 4 being from the Comedy Central era. From the Joel Era, we have King Dinosaur and The Castle Of Fu Manchu, while the Mike Era delivers Last Of The Wild Horses & Codename: Diamondhead. The set is also packed with bonus featurettes, interviews, vintage promos, and trailers.

Sure, they’re a bit of a novelty, but for goofball geeks and kids, the Angry Birds Speakers ($49.99-$59.99) are actually pretty darn spiffy, allowing you to hook up your iPhone, iPod, or iPad and play music that sounds pretty good for the prize and size. You can choose from either a red or black bird, or get the evil helmeted pig.

I still don’t think we’ve gotten enough perspective on the events and repercussions of 9/11 to make a truly remarkable film about it, but Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) makes a decent go at it, brining the drama down to human level by focusing on the fallout to an 11-year-old boy who finds a key in the belongings of his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the Towers, and sets out to find the lock it opens. Treacle is kept at bay, and the story manages to be quite affecting. Bonus materials include a quartet of featurettes.

While James Cameron’s film has the edge in the effects and actual mechanics of the sinking, the far more accurate portrayal of the real people and events leading up to the disaster – and the exclusion of saccharine fiction – makes A Night To Remember (Criterion, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP) the so-far definitive cinematic take on the voyage of the RMS Titanic. The new Criterion release is a glorious high-def remaster, featuring an audio commentary, a making-of documentary, an archival survivor interview, and additional historical documentaries. A must-have.

I would have hoped it would have been better timed to be released alongside the big screen adventures, but at least we still get the second and final volume of the animated The Adventures Of Tintin (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$19.93 SRP) TV show from the early 90’s, which brings us up to the final Tintin story, Tintin And The Picaros.

I’m a big fan of the various documentaries that Top Gear co-presenter James May has done over the years, all of which contain an almost boyish enthusiasm for the various subjects at hand. He goes enjoyably DIY with the first series of James May’s Man Lab (BFS, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), tackling many a task with a very rah-rah approach. Fun!

Fifteen seasons of South Park (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$57.99 SRP)? I can’t believe it, either. After a shaky, often superficial first few seasons, the show has now grown into a very pointed, very funny satire that manages, through its record production schedule, to stay bleeding edge topical. In fact, that lightning fast process is detailed in the included documentary 6 Days To Air, which features alongside a clutch of mini-commentaries and deleted scenes.

Packed with the Hollywood luminaries that received their career start from him and chronicling his profitable existence as the King of the Quickie, Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel (Anchor Bay, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.97 SRP) is lovely new documentary about the one and only Roger Corman. Bonus materials include extended interviews and a special message from Roger.

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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