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…)
Bad is irrevocably broken in the 5th and final season of Breaking Bad (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$55.99 SRP), which manages to wrap things up in that all-to-rare occurrence – a satisfying ending, bringing the tragic tale of Walter White to a most fitting conclusion. Bonus features include audio commentaries, deleted/extended scenes, an alternate ending, featurettes, and a gag reel.
Try a touch of blacker than black comedy with a Ben Wheatley double feature of both Sightseers (IFC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) and A Field In England (Channel 4, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-£9.75 SRP), both of which are quirky little independent films that lose a bit of their impact if I try to explain them, so let’s just skip that and you go ahead and watch them.
Let the legendary singing cowboy croon you back to a simpler, singier time with the complete run of The Gene Autry Show (Flying A Pictures, Not Rated, DVD-$79.99 SRP). The 15-disc set contains all 91 episodes of Autry’s 1950-1955 series, plus a bonus disc containing 10 episodes from Autry’s Flying A Pictures Westerns.
The fine folks at Fox have opened up the vaults and released a clutch of much-requested titles in their high definition debut – John Wayne & Rock Hudson in The Undefeated (Fox, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn in The Desk Set (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), Tyone Power & Henry Fonda in Jesse James (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), Gene Tierney & Rex Harrison in The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), Clark Gable in Call Of The Wild (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), John Wayne in North To Alaska (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), and Tyrone Power & Maureen O’Hara in The Black Swan (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP). Bonus features 8include audio commentaries, trailers, and vintage newsreels.
The sequel is hitting theaters, so it should come as little surprise that a special edition of the original Anchorman (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP) is now available, featuring all of the bonus materials from the original DVD special edition – including commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers – but also the alternate Wake Up, Ron Burgundy version of the film.
In the mood for a thriller this weekend? How about one starring Hugh Jackman as a father whose daughter goes missing – and the only suspect of an investigation by a local detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) is released due to lack of evidence, leaving the distraught father with few options. That’s exactly the thriller you get with Prisoners (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP). Bonus materials include a pair of featurettes.
And speaking of Hugh Jackman, you can also fill your weekend with his latest turn as Marvel’s feral mutant in The Wolverine (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which manages the incredible easy feat of being a far sight better than the first Wolverine solo film even if it’s still on shaky ground. Bonus materials include featurettes and an alternate ending.
It’s sad to see the seventh and final season of Burn Notice (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), if only because it means we’ve now entered another period when Bruce Campbell is off our TV screens. Here’s hoping that’s rectified. Quickly. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurette, and a gag reel.
Still rolling along, though, is the animated misadventures of the Griffin clan with Family Guy: Volume Twelve (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), featuring 22 uncensored episodes plus audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a table read for the included 200th episode.
If Jackass were given a point system, you’d get Impractical Jokers (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) – a reality series about a group of friends who challenge each other to do incredibly foolish things in public. Really, really foolish things. Bonus features include audio commentaries and more.
If you watched the latest entry in the Fast & Furious franchise and walked away wishing it contained even more cars and action and cars and stuff, then you’ll want to snap up the Fast & Furious 6: Extended Edition (Universal, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), which lengthens the film with just that. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
I’m really not sure what to make of Gore Verbinski’s big screen take on The Lone Ranger (Walt Disney, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), and I’m not terribly sure Gore Verbinski knew, either, as it’s a very erratic affair that goes from high adventure to bafflingly somber tragedy in often incomprehensible ways. Which is a shame, because Armie Hammer has the makings of a great Lone Ranger, and Johnny Depp… Well, Johnny Depp, as usual, is in a film all his own. Bonus materials include featurettes, a deleted scene, and bloopers.
As I was with the first film, I am shocked to say that I found The Smurfs 2 (Sony, Rated PG, 3D Blu-Ray-$55.99 SRP) an entirely watchable film. And as with the first outing, the least watchable parts of it were any time it was mired in the real world, with Neil Patrick Harris (no slight to him). I still would much rather have seen a film entirely in the medieval world around Smurf village, with Hank Azaria’s Gargamel. Truly. Bonus materials include featurettes and deleted scenes.
An Angry Birds cartoon? Sure. Why not. And honestly, the 90+ minutes of Angry Birds Toons (Sony, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$26.99 SRP) found on their debut release are actually pretty enjoyable, and will certainly appeal to fans of the franchise. And they look gorgeous… Bu8t that’s what having a ton of money to spend will get you.
It’s no Tango & Cash, but what Pain & Gain (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) – starring Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, & Anthony Mackie as a trio of personal trainers get caught up on the wrong side of the law – manages to remind viewers is that director Michael Bay used to know how to make fun, funny action films that weren’t senseless bastardizations of licensed properties. The new Special Collector’s Edition adds nearly an hour of bonus features.
It’s the sheer ridiculousness that makes the celebration of The History of WWE: 50 Years Of Sports Entertainment (WWE, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP) such a fun and fascinating journey down memory lane, from its earliest regional origins to the current global phenomena, and all of the larger-than-life personalities that made the explosion possible.
It seems like forever since the last season was released, but the holidays bring the arrival of The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$59.99 SRP). No matter what you think of the quality of the 21 episodes contained in the set compared to the show’s golden age, the real draw of these sets continues to be the excellent, often freewheeling audio commentaries. Bonus materials also include featurettes, bonus episodes, sketches, and more.
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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