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…)
Not even a guilty pleasure, I am utterly delighted that Brian de Palma’s quirky glam rock epic Phantom Of The Paradise (Shout Factory, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.93 SRP) has made its high definition debut in a special edition befitting its oddball genius. Did I mention that all of the tunes are by the mighty Paul Williams, at the top of his power as a songwriter? Well, there you go. Sold. Bonus materials include a new audio commentary, interviews, alternate takes, a song outtake, the theatrical trailer, TV & radio spots, and a still gallery.
If there’s one thing that the folks at Sideshow and Hot Toys prove again and again, it’s that you can’t have too many of a given character, whether it be 50 different armor variations of Iron Man, or the now half-dozen variations of The First Avenger, Captain America. The reason they get away with it, and why fans continue to snap them up, is because they continue to look absolutely fantastic. Case in point is the Golden Age Captain America from The Winter Soldier (Sideshow Collectibles, $209.99), which is essentially a variant of the WWII era outfit featured in the first film, improving and streamlining various design elements, most noticeably the welcome addition of the central read stripe on the front of his costume (yes, these kind of things matter). It may not be loaded with accessories outside of his shield and some additional hands, but hey – that’s enough for me.
It is with remarkable speed and wondrous diligence that the fine folks at Shout Factory have continued their clockwork releases of classic MST3K on DVD, which means we’re already to Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXX (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 SRP). That’s right – We’ve actually gotten 30 4-episode volumes of riffing, with the latest containing the final 1st season episode The Black Scorpion, the 5th season episode Outlaw, the 9th season episode The Projected Man, and the 10th season episode It Lives By Night. Bonus materials include a special preview of Trace Beaulieu’s forthcoming short film The Frank and a clutch of featurettes.
Considering they had to deal with two major cast departures, a major new addition to the cast, plus re-piloting the premise all while bringing show creator Dan Harmon back to the fold for a truncated half-season, it’s no terrible surprise that the fifth season of Community (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$35.99 SRP) is an uneven ride. By the end of its 13 episodes, it feels like everyone involved have got their sea legs back, which should make the 6th season on Yahoo a more sure-footed affair. On the bonus feature front, there’s a great little featurette on the animated GI Joe episode, outtakes, and a brilliant documentary looking at the writing process of the D&D episode and the fallout of said process.
Some elements of the film haven’t aged quite so well, but the directorial debut of screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, The Big Chill (Criterion, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP) still packs a powerful emotional punch, as a group of old friends coming together after years apart will always resonate. The new Criterion edition features a new high definition transfer, a new cast reunion, a new interview with Kasdan, a 1998 making-of documentary, deleted scenes, a trailer, and the usual quite fine Criterion essay booklet.
The fine folks over at Warner Bros. have put together another of their fantastic themed film collections, this time providing a nice 6-film overview to an Academy Award-winning legend with the Grace Kelly Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$34.96 SRP), featuring To Catch A Thief, The Country Girl, The Bridges At Toko-Ri, Dial M For Murder, High Society, and Mogambo, plus the exclusive documentary Princess Grace De Monaco: A Moment In Time. Brilliant.
Like cars? Like cars going really fast? Like Aaron Paul? Don’t need much else from a film? Then Need For Speed (Touchstone, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is the fast car film starring Aaron Paul for you, as Aaron Paul drives cars fast throughout. Bonus materials include an audio commentary , deleted scenes, and featurettes.
Off most people’s radar thanks to the overwhelming nature of Pixar and Dreamworks, Fox’s Rio 2 (Fox, Rated G, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP) proves to be a charming continuation of a surprisingly appealing debut, as Blu & Jewel take their three kids on a journey down the Amazon. Bonus materials include featurettes, a deleted scene, and a music video.
As disaster porn goes, Darren Aronofsky’s ponderous biblical ballyhoo Noah (Paramount, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) ranks right up there with the works of Roland Emmerich, with its equal balance between farcical heavy-handedness and memorably over-the-top visuals. Beyond that, it’s really not much to hang your hat on, but is perfect viewing for a lazy summer evening. Bonus materials include a trio of featurettes.
Their cleverness varies, but there is a basic level of fun to be had in LEGO Chima: Chi, Tribes, And Betrayals – Season One Part Two (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.97 SRP), which collects the next 10 episodes of the battle for the Chi.
Jude Law as a short-fused safecracker out to collect on a debt after a stint in prison is what makes Dom Hemingway (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$27.98 SRP) and enjoyably cracking affair that has quite a bit of the same verve as Sexy Beast. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, interviews, and featurettes.
Mark the 100th anniversary of the Great War with the 5-disc The War Zone Centennial Anniversary Series: WWI – The War To End All Wars (EagleVision, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which brings together a series of documentaries focusing on all aspects of the conflict.
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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I’m sure I’m not the only Turtle fan baffled that we have yet to see a Blu-Ray release of the show’s first season, but Nick is pretty clockwork with their single-disc releases, the latest of which is 
In the pre-Star Wars days of 1975, director Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to realize a ridiculously ambitious and deeply heady feature-film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic Dune, featuring the music of Pink Floyd and designed by the likes of H.R. Giger and Moebius. And it all fell apart in spectacular fashion. Now, the tale of this aborted film is presented in the brilliant documentary 
The banality of evil is certainly present in the smirking, small town bank president face of Donald Rumsfeld as he glibly defends his awful legacy in Errol Morris’s grimly compelling documentary 
It’s still not the equal of the beautifully executed Avatar, but there’s still plenty to recommend as its follow-up finds firm footing in 
New to high-def, there’s an old school charm to 1959’s 
It’s an overly-lavish spectacle that certainly befits its Vegas venue, but there’s no denying that 
Johnny Depp’s string of cinematic bad luck continues with the unfortunately inert sci-fi thriller 
The folks at Mill Creek should make a lot of guilty pleasure-seekers happy with their latest batch of Sony catalogue high definition releases, which brings to Blu 
Nickelodeon has a nifty little batch of releases sure to fill those seemingly endless summer days for the kids in your life, starting with a pair of releases from an old favorite – 
Far from an “Oh” face, much of Lars Von Trier’s 
When one of your chief blurbs comes from Telemundo, you know you’re in for a mindless bit of action fluff, and that’s exactly what the Arnold Schwarzenegger pic 
Michael McKean channels a bit of his Spinal Tap alter ego as a famous rocker helped in his search for a new band by Elmo and Abby in 
This week’s soundtrack round-up brings Michael Giacchino’s score for 
With not the least bit of hyperbole, Criterion’s new high definition remaster of the Beatles’ legendary feature debut, 
Fans knew it was only a matter of time before we could finally buy our own toy version of 
A few years back, it seemed a pretty unlikely notion that Paramount would invest the money necessary to completely remaster 
They were the first to commit to the idea, and Warner Bros. remains at the forefront of getting their deep catalogue titles out to the diehard fans of various properties via their Warner Archive, which has just dropped a slew of brand new discs. First and foremost, their Blu-Ray program has released the long-awaited John Milius masterpiece 
But it’s not just feature films in the offing, as the Warner Archive wraps up a classic series with the release of 
I’m still not entirely sure if I like 
Few series stand up terribly well decades after they first aired, but one that most certainly does is 
It doesn’t quite succeed in what it’s trying to do, but 
Shout Factory has become the last great hope for many TV series whose DVD releases were cut off short of completion, as they turn their benevolence towards Sipowicz and his new partner Danny Sorenson (Ricky Schroder) for the complete sixth season of 
When you watch 
Fans of Dora and her monkey sidekick will want to explore her latest DVD release, 
Further proving that everything is awesome, the awesome 
Seth MacFarlane relaunches Carl Sagan’s groundbreaking science program for a modern audience? The Family Guy guy? And it is great? Yes, the brand new 
More often than not, I find I’m left cold by the overly-precious affectations of Wes Anderson’s films, but there is much to love in the rather straightforward fable presented in 
There’s brilliant and there’s bizarre, and then there’s the brilliantly bizarre 
There’s something instantly enjoyable about the travel documentaries fronted by Monty Python’s Michael Palin. As the Python troupe frequently exploited, there’s a lovely everyman quality to Palin that makes him intrinsically endearing. It also doesn’t hurt that the folks capturing his travels make it all look so gosh darn beautiful, as it most certainly does in his latest, 
The most I can say about 
Long after his original series, Raymond Burr’s Perry Mason returned for a run of guest-star filled TV movies which found the world’s foremost crime-solving lawyer getting many a client out of a right pickle. The run of these can be had in the 3-volume Perry Mason Movie Collection – 
While it’s not nearly as good as the original 80s G1 animated series, 
If you’re younger than 30, you probably don’t recall that Sinbad was once a very funny stand-up comedian. Well, now you can find out just how he exists in my memory via his quite funny new stand-up special, 
There’s nothing like a monster teaching manners, except when those monsters are the ones teaching manners in 
The fine folks at Mill Creek have opened the floodgates of their classic Sony TV catalogue program, re-releasing a veritable ton of TV, including 
Plenty of shirts are discarded with prejudice in 
Howzabout a soundtrack round-up for this week? Now available for your listening pressure are Rolfe Kent’s score for 
Those gloriously wonderful folks at Shout Factory have rescued yet another beloved but neglected classic television show from the pits of neglect in the form of 
For Doctor Who fans, Mark Gatiss’s docudrama 
After quite a long wait, the fine folks at Criterion have given another quirky Wes Anderson curiosity a high definition upgrade with 
With a script from the Coen Brothers and a fun cast including Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, and Alan Rickman, it’s surprising that 
Hard to believe there was a time that Clint Eastwood was the star of a TV show – and one that ran for eight years, at that – but now you can witness the end of that era with the release of that eighth and final season of 
It was only a matter of time before a documentary was made about the life and career of Vincent Furnier, the preacher’s son better known to the world as Alice Cooper. 
There’s no denying that 
For anyone who doubted that we’d ever see the rest of it, Warners has released 
Catch up on the sixth and penultimate season of 
It’s become a go-to joke for a yokel paradise, but the story behind the Redneck Vegas, Branson, Missouri, makes for a fascinating story in the documentary 
Even though outside success means that the days of Adam, Blake, and Ders are probably numbered, enjoy the merry misadventures of 
Even though it comes before the other recently discovered 2nd Doctor adventure The Web Of Fear, 
My nephew has a birthday coming up, and his choice of party theme for this year is “Doctor Who”. But how best to properly theme a timelord-centered affair? Well, Thinkgeek has you covered when it comes to the treats, as you can make anything from ice to candy to cupcakes with their 
Far from the studio and theme parks that bear his name, The Walt Disney Family Museum – located at San Francisco’s Presidio – has been quietly celebrating the artistic legacy of that pioneering visionary through exhibits that span the breath of his life and accomplishments. While it may be a healthy trek to visit the museum in person, they’ve released a clutch of incredible books that any fan of animation, Disney, or just art in general should have on their shelf. Taken in tandem, two of the tomes – 
Now that it exists, it seems only natural that Hayley Campbell’s 
Fully remastered in high definition from the original film elements, John Wayne stars as the titular cattle baron in 
The best documentaries are the ones that present a topic you never knew you wanted to know more about until they present that topic to you and you think, “Gee, I really wanted to know more about this.” Case in point? The new documentary about the original queen of comedy, 
I would have loved a straightforward historical epic about the tragic volcanic end of 
For more years than I can recall, the amiable scholars at Twomorrows have been publishing a wide range of magazine and books chronicling every nook and cranny of the comics, creators, characters, and companies fans know and love. They’ve taken that love and scholarly approach to the next logical step, having launched a must-have document of four-color history in the 
With the fifth season of 
Dig into a pair of historical documentaries from the Smithsonian Channel with 
Get your DDB drama fix with a trio of new releases, including the ninth seasons of both the long-running cold case procedural 
It’s become cliché to call a Spike Jonze film “quirky”, but there’s a reason clichés become cliché, and his latest, 
Magnets and gyroscopes – two nerd tastes that taste great together, and that’s exactly the dynamic duo that’s combined in ball form with the 
It can be a dicey proposition fraught with peril, going back and revisiting past successes, but the triumphant trio of Mike, Bill, & Kevin manage it in true style with 
The most fascinating part of 
Yeah, it should come as no surprise that Kenny Powers as a suburban dad would not last for long, so the fourth and final season of 
Watching the documentary series 
Making a pledge to remain firmly entrenched in the swinging single life winds a trio of friends (Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan) into plenty of mildly amusing situations when the chief proponent of the vow, Jason (Efron), meets a girl (Imogen Poots) who he can’t get out of his mind in 
Fedor Bondarchuk’s 
The mystery series based on Craig Johnson’s best-selling 
Hey hey! It’s time for this week’s soundtrack round up! So what cinematic audio delights do we have available this go round? There’s John Ottman’s score for 
Certainly, there was a fair amount of trepidation that despite the success of the Kickstarter campaign, the big screen 
Since they were originally shot on film, it was only a matter of time and money before CBS decided to give classic sitcom fans a triple-header of high-def delight with the fully remastered Blu-Ray debuts of 
While it’s physically impossible to climb inside it, it is fun to finally get to fly your very own piece of Time Lord technology with the 
Carl Barks was a master of humor and economical storytelling, with an almost magical ability to present more narrative and comedy within a simple 10-page tale than most creators with 10 times the space. Once again, the gee-whizzers at Fantagraphics have released a must-have collection of classic Barks stories in their ever-growing Barks library with 
While you’re biding your time waiting for the next full season Blu-Ray release, snag the quick fix 
It feels like an impossible wait until the 3rd and final Hobbit film, but fill the time with a lovely new tome that delves into the backstory and creation behind the monstrous worm under the mountain – 
Waiting for the new film and want to binge on some classic thunder lizard action? Look no further than the high-def debut of not one, not two, but 8 classic Godzilla films presented as 4 double feature releases in The Toho Godzilla Collection. Fully remastered, the films include 
After the untimely death of E.C. Segar only a few years into the life of his immensely popular strip “Thimble Theater”, the strip and its breakout star, Popeye The Sailor, were guided by Segar assistant Bud Sagendorff for over 40 years. But in 1986, King Features Syndicate was faced with having to find a replacement for Sagendorff, and they turned to a seemingly unlikely candidate – Playboy and National Lampoon cartoonist Bobby London. But they couldn’t have found a better choice, as you’ll experience for yourself in 
There have been many books that purported to present the definitive history of the original Star Trek. Much like Roshomon, many presented a perspective on the show’s genesis. But we’ve finally got the overview that incorporates all of those memories plus original memos, documents, and interviews and places them in a comprehensive context – 
Coming fast and furious is an understatement when it comes to just how quickly the new direct-to-video animated DC Comics films have been hitting, as the latest comic book adaptation – 
Rescued from the mists of time, the classic newspaper strip adventures of the man of steel and the dark knight detective continue with 
It’s odd to think they’ve been around for two decades, but that’s exactly the anniversary that’s being celebrated with the lavish and massive 
In an age of ridiculous denial, Phillipe Squarzoni’s 
When you watch the virtually Shirley-less eighth and final season of 
Somehow, an entire decade has flown past, so do yourself a favor and celebrate the 10th anniversary of 
It’s certainly a long way from even the limited 80’s quality of G1 cartoon, but completionists will still want to pick up 
Not content with the arrival of a single much-requested title that would delight cinema aficionados no end, Universal has dipped into their vault for a double header of film noir classics with the high definition debut of both 
I still find her continued adherence to the Catholic faith incomprehensible in light of the emotional atrocity committed against her, but the tale and the performances (from Judi Dench and Steve Coogan) that bring the actual events to life in 
It’s sadly lacking in any bonus features whatsoever – usually a highlight of the BBC’s Who releases – but the fact that we have all but one of the formerly missing episodes after nearly 50 years is reason enough to pick up 
The fine folks at Rifftrax dig into their very first blaxploitation film with 
While it’s a marked improvement over the lackluster seasons that came before it, the fourth season of 
Considering the delightfully escapist Thurber story it’s based on, Ben Stiller’s take on 
It seems we haven’t gotten a full season set in ages, but there are still enough new episodes for another single-disc DVD collection – So we get 
Yes, you’ll laugh at 
They’re not quite Godzilla quality, but there’s a charm to be found in the turtle meat-filled 
The BBC does some of the finest nature documentaries around, and they’ve just dropped a whole clutch of beauty-filled discs – a one-two punch of the ursine persuasion in 
Yeah, casting Helena Bonham Carter as the bitter spinster Miss Havisham was a brilliant move in Mike Newell’s pretty decent adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 
Though Jack the Ripper may be gone, his memory still casts a long shadow for Inspector Reid and the residents of Whitechapel in the second season of 
Even if you have the previously release Ultimate Collection, if you’re a fan of Carol Burnett and her eponymous show, you’ll definitely want to pick up 
An Angry Birds cartoon? Sure. Why not. And honestly, the 90+ minutes of 
Fox expands their MOD Cinema Classics slate with a quartet of brand new releases from their immense vaults – 
You’d expect a series that revolves around the mystery of a murdered child found on the beach to be a somber affair, and 
While they’re not nearly as fun as the virtual world they inhabit, the 6″-tall 
I didn’t dislike the first Hobbit film, but it did suffer from a bloated sense of not much happening, as well as a decided lack of a dragon. 
If you were one of the many fans of the loose, freewheeling, overindulgent chucklefest that was the original film, it’s relatively safe to assume you’ll enjoy the return of much the same in 
There’s plenty to quibble with when it comes to the historical accuracy, but when viewed as a fuzzy drama in the vein of a classic Disney live action film, 
I wouldn’t say the Fanboys meets Evil Dead of 
Tick another Scorsese flick off the list, as 
When a warlord kills their master and banishes them, the titular samurai of 
Just when you think there can’t possible be any more Power Rangers series to be released on DVD, along comes 
Little girls are sure to devour the latest CG tale of Tinkerbell & friends, as 
It’s the Rocky vs Raging Bull fanfic you always never really thought about in 
You may not have really thought about it beyond their visceral appeal during your golden childhood, but 
It seems we were just celebrating the 25th anniversary of the denizens of the Satellite of Love, but here we are with the sheer delight of another brand new collection featuring Joel & Mike & The Bots from the fine folks at Shout Factory. 
While I don’t think it’s as brilliant as it’s massive box office take seems to suggest, I do think 
It’s not his best, but there’s an undeniable allure to Martin Scorsese’s latest stab at the Goodfellas formula of doomed yet despicably loveable criminals, 
As sketch comedy series go – and it’s not an easy form to be consistently good in – there’s much more gold than dross to be found in the 
While not as sparklingly brilliant as Armando Iannucci’s The Thick Of It, his team’s take on the US political machine, 
Following in the footsteps of the perfectly okay but not terribly much more than that Merlin comes the latest BBC stab at a genre fantasy, 
Idris Elba is just as incredible as you expect him to be playing the legendary South African freedom fighter in 
First loves and sexual awakening? Sounds like the perfect recipe for a foreign film sensation, and that’s exactly what you get with Abdellatif Kechiche’s 
Lucille Ball returned to prime time television twice after her legendary series I Love Lucy, and the third and final of these makes its it to DVD in toto with 
Wipe the memory of the horrid live action tale of Hal Jordan with the significantly more enjoyable 
Restored to the original broadcast length with vastly improved picture and sound, the first season of 
Mix Deliverance, Army Of Darkness, and Shaun Of The Dead and you get the loopy redneck zombie comedy 
While the movie itself is disposable fluff, Vince Vaughn proves yet again that he’s eminently watchable in 
Psychedelia is in full bloom in 
Bronies – Start counting your loose change so you can pick up 
The catalogue folks at Mill Creek have teamed up with TV Guide to release branded collections culling from the properties they manage into 2-disc episode themed releases under the TV Guide Spotlight banner. Hurtle back to Benson, Good Times, Diff’rent Strokes, and The Jeffersons with 
I’m not a big fan of horror and gore, but for aficionados of such entertainment, the DVD arrival of the complete 3 season run of Tales From The Darkside producer Richard P. Rubenstein’s anthology series 
Another week, another soundtrack round up! This week, we’ve got Marcelo Zarvos’s score to 
The wait between seasons seems longer and longer, but when you view the 8 episodes comprising 
It’s time for Matt Smith’s yuletide swan song as the 11th Doctor in 
Coming off a high water mark first season finale, the second season gets off to a running start with 
Shockingly, it’s taken this long for an official release of 
My overriding impression while watching Spike Lee’s 
I’ve never really sparked to the books or the first film, but having seen 
At least in this age of ridiculously grim and gritty superheroes coming out of Warner Bros., we still have the fun and funny bright spot collected in 
You can now watch the goofy Nazis in space flick 
Clint Eastwood returns to the role of foreman Rowdy Yates in the penultimate season of the show that launched the squinty-eyed legend, now available in 
Try to ignore some of the more sensationalized “history” found in the History Channel drama by exploring the actual facts in the BBC documentary 
No one did overblown Technicolor biblical epics like Cecil B. Demille, as you can see for yourself as another of his gets its high definition debut – because 
Though it presents a somewhat sanitized view of Nazi Germany, owing to its YA novel roots, 
Venture into the mystery and intrigue roaming the university halls of 
As one would expect, there’s ridiculous amounts of drama to be mined from the fashion world, so it should come as little surprise that the documentary 
Fans of big giant robots that transform into planes, trains, and automobiles will want to pick up a pair of brand new releases – 
For the toddler set, this week brings 
I could do without the touch of religious nonsense and the completely nonsensical science of it all, but even on the significantly smaller home screen 3D experience, Alfonso Cuaron’s 
While I enjoyed the first Thor film, I thought it was a lot of potential greatness that didn’t quite gel into an optimum piece, but certainly laid plenty of groundwork. 
Quietly brilliant, 
Take a psychedelic, mathematical trip with Finn and Jake in the high definition arrival of 
Long a charitable institution in the UK, 
The truth of the story may be in doubt, but the adapted true story of 
If you’re a fan of obscure and much-desired TV shows that economics have forced to be stranded in the vaults of various studios, then you definitely should be aware of what the fine folks at the Warner Archive have been doing for the past few years. They’ve been making those shows available on an MOD (Manufacture On Demand) basis that means fans have the option to get that which they covet, freed from the vaults. Case in point is the near-complete run of the series The FBI, which is like the Federal version of Dragnet, drawing from actual case files to craft stories around. Currently available are 
Ah, but as we saw with the latter part of The FBI, they don’t only do MOD for their cult titles. With the 
And last but not least, in a most welcome move, the Warner Archive has begun offering high definition Blu-Ray releases of their animated series. While we aren’t getting the likes of Batman: The Animated Series or Batman Beyond in the format yet, we are getting the more recent complete first season of 
But Warners isn’t the only studio mining their vaults for cinema fans. Fox has their MOD 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives, and they’ve just dropped 12 new titles. Now available are John Barrymore in 
Some truly beautiful design work goes into modern videogames, which is more than evident by the conceptual artwork that packs 
Best to ignore Zack Snyder’s gaudy film and its even gaudier sequel, and instead pick up the beautiful high definition debut of the original tale of Spartan heroics, 
And for one last nail in the coffin of Snyder’s folly, find out the real history behind the Spartan’s sacrifice in The History Channel’s 
No matter how outrageous the first season of 
Disappointed in how own son, the proprietor of a prestigious family vineyard finds a much better heir in the son of his dying estate manager in the French psychological thriller 
And howzabout a new soundtrack round-up for this week? Certainly! You’ve got Tony Morales’s score for 
Well, it’d be foolish to watch 
It’s been a long time coming, but my brilliant buddy Craig Shemin has compiled the ultimate guide to Jim Henson’s Muppety legacy with 
Sometimes the true stories are the most fascinating, and that’s particularly the case with 
If The Lego Movie left as much of an impression on you as it did me, you’ll probably want to pick up 
They say write what you know, and that’s certainly what actress and voice actor Lake Bell has done in her feature 
Insight Editions puts out some truly wonderful art books, and they’ve turned their magical eye towards a property long-deserving of a proper celebration with 
While I still have my reservations for the film, 
Little Clint Howard and a bear having adventures in the Florida Everglades? That should be the only reason you need to watch the second season of 
There’s a 3D feature film extravaganza on the way, but if you want to divorce the real history from the drama, The History Channel is releasing 
Twomorrows Publishing continues their tradition of wonderful artist spotlights with 
Edie Falco is still offering a cure for what ails you in the fifth season of 
Produced by Gene Autry and featuring plenty of familiar faces from oaters of the day, the western series 
This year, the Easter Bunny can load up his basket with a clutch of seasonal springtime DVD releases from Nickelodeon – 
Although the second season had its rough spot in the middle, the third season of 
Definitely near the top of the eagerly-awaited list, Disney has finally unveiled their high definition restoration of 
Just because the 50th anniversary has wrapped doesn’t mean that fans aren’t still getting treated to goodies from the vaults, as another Patrick Troughton 2nd Doctor adventure gets a special edition release in 
To say 
The House of York and the House of Lancaster vie for the throne of England in the historical miniseries 
While it’s not quite up to Pixar or even Dreamworks standards, 
While we’re marking time until the next full season Blu-Ray release, catch the next 16 episodes in 
The folks at Mill Creek continue to keep budget-conscious cinephiles in their thoughts with another batch of multi-film collections and television show re-releases, the latest of which include 
Most fear to tread in the footsteps of Hitchcock, but that didn’t stop to the BBC from making an enjoyable take on the tale of trainboard mystery, 
It’s been a few years, so evidently we’re due for a special Diamond Edition re-release of the musical 
It’s a shame that WB’s latest animated tale from the DC Comics universe, 
Best to forget the Lindsey Lohan of it all when you can instead see Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West as 
When a security expert is deceived and wrongfully imprisoned in the world’s foremost high security prison, he must recruit a fellow inmate in order to attempt a daring escape in, errr… 
Enjoy Shirley’s swan song, as the penultimate seventh season of 
Never would I have believed that Mike Tyson would one day do a one-man show on Broadway, but that’s exactly what 
That 
The second season of the modern relaunch of 
How about a soundtrack round up for this week? Certainly! You’ve got Patrick Doyle’s score to 
If you pare Jackass down to its bare essentials, it’s pretty much just Johnny Knoxville doing stupid things. And that’s pretty much the embarrassingly sublime simplicity of 
Now that Sherlock has wrapped, get your Benedict Cumberbatch fix from 
At a time when all of the other studios are opening up their vaults and releasing their deep catalogue titles, CBS has come up with a trio of their own starring some quite big names, starting with Dustin Hoffman in the quirky comedy 
Just in time for Mardis Gras comes the complete collection of HBO’s 
The fine folks at BBC Earth return with a new pair of visually stunning and informative nature documentaries – 
The rescue of a boatful of illegal immigrants forces a struggling island family off the coast of Sicily to make difficult decisions in the fascinating import 
Even though I’m not a fan of the sport, I’m a sucker for a well-made documentary, and 
And speaking of Formula 1 racing, that’s the subject of Ron Howard’s latest film, 
While the 60’s film is a much more romanticized take on the material, the recent miniseries take on 
If you’re keen to give a gift of a romantic flick-a-palooza, try the 7-film 
When it comes to kitchen sink filmmaking, the grandmaster of them all is Stanley Kramer’s larger than life comedy 
You could never do a show like 
After years in the wilderness, it’s nice to see Woody Allen continue his latter-day winning streak with his latest, 
I’m still not entirely sure if I like 
If you’re looking for a pair of fascinating documentaries this weekend, the Smithsonian Channel is serving up the unsung heroes of the space program with 
The fine folks at Mill Creek have a mighty batch of economy-priced TV collections for anyone hoping to dive in to some classic series on a budget, including 
Shout Factory has become the last great hope for many TV series whose DVD releases were cut off short of completion, as they turn their benevolence towards Sipowicz and Simone for the complete fifth season of 
Join Grover, Abby, and Elmo as they learns the ins and outs of sportsmanship in 
Disillusioned by the direction he sees professional wrestling headed, Steve Scarborough decides to take matters into his own hands and founds the Platinum Championship League, whose origins and development are chronicled in the documentary 
The second volume of the second season of History Channel’s 
The latest in the line of quickie joke-a-second pop culture lampoons has come down the pike in the form of 
All kudos, salutations, exaltations, hurrahs and huzzahs to Darrell Van Critters for assembling a long overdue and absolutely brilliant tribute and celebration of 
To say that 
After mainly focusing on shorts-based released for their DVD line – most likely due to ease of rights issues – the fine folks at Rifftrax have been increasing their feature-length releases, with a pair of brand new ones to ring in the new year. If you’re in the mood to extend your holiday celebrations, there’s the disturbing 
Fox has opened up their vaults again, going all the way back to the high definition debut of one of the very first Academy Award winners, 1929’s 
The surprise announcement that his younger brother is getting married sets off a chain reaction of bitterness and recrimination between the long-divorced but still very angry parents of Carter (Adam Scott), a man who is still caught in the emotional maelstrom of that dissolution in 
Watching Kevin Bacon be Kevin Bacon is the real reason to watch the spotty 
The perfect antidote to the grating US version is a dose of the original power trio in their latest season with 
By the time we get to the third season of 
If you’re in the mood for a prestige mystery that manages to maintain it’s edgy drama throughout, try 
As the new episodes have slowed to a trickle, the Spongebob machine keeps on rolling by introducing a character-centric collection – 
Just in time for the debut of the fifth season (naturally) comes the complete fourth season of 
It’s largely disposable entertainment, but 
Every once in awhile, The History Channel manages to set aside their godawful “reality” programming in favor of something truly enlightening and, dare I say, classy, like 
Get your final fix of the period police drama 
The supernatural Three’s Company that is the US remake of 
Only a handful of releases of the long-running BBC series remain with the release of 
When you can watch the story of a woman on the coast of Scotland who crafts fishing lures that are renowned the world over for both their efficacy and their beauty and be absolutely enthralled, THAT is the mark of the true power of a well-crafted documentary. So do give a spin to 
It’s a new year, so howzabout a new round-up of soundtracks currently available for your listening pleasure? We’ve got Howard Shore’s 
It’s been a long time coming, but fans can finally buy a high definition release of 
It’s no longer got the pleasant clunk that used to accompany the depression of its massive buttons – in fact, there are no moving parts anymore, just light-sensitive pads and a much thinner profile – but the fun and memory challenge of 
Mourn not the end of Futurama but instead celebrate it with the gift of your very own vinyl 
Navigate your own personal world of Minecraft with your very own pixilated 
If you want further proof that we live in a golden age of breathing new life into obscurities, I offer up the little known trivia nugget that the original Star Trek cast had their own newspaper comic strip. Did you know that? I didn’t know that. Launched to coincide with the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and intended to chronicle the crew’s second 5 year mission, you can now experience the complete run in a beautifully hardbound pair of volumes – 
While the original Popeye newspaper strips from creator E.C. Segar have been made available in collected form in recent years, it’s only now that the equally fun comic book adventures of the spinach-loving sailor – crafted by Segar’s successor, Bud Sagendorf – have been brought together in fine form by editor/designer Craig Yoe. So, yes, do get both 
It certainly seems to take quite a long time between Disney’s high definition releases from their animation catalogue, but when you look at the stunning, absolutely pristine restoration done for the release of 
It hasn’t always been a fun ride being a Harry Nilsson fan. For many years, much of his catalogue remained unavailable on CD, save staple albums like Nilsson Schmilsson and Son Of Schmilsson. Then, starting in the UK and Japan, more of his remaining albums began to see the light of day, often accompanied by the stray, very tantalizing bonus track of an unreleased tune, alternate take, or demo. I recall many long years of desperately hunting these rarities and scraps amongst other likeminded fans on the interwebs, & the accompanying joy of each new discovery… And then wondering why more people weren’t familiar with this wonderful artist. Better late than never, the fine folks at Sony Legacy, with Andrew Sandoval and Rob Santos, have put together the definitive box set of Harry’s 10-year tenure at RCA – 
Criminally unavailable on DVD in any proper and suitably loving presentation until now, the loveable chaps at Shout Factory have released 
And what better Jack Benny chaser is there than 
The art of animation reduced down to its most primal level is the magic to be found in 
Sadly out of circulation for nearly 15 years, there’s nothing that stirs up good memories of a much-missed television show quite like a beautifully produced book, which certainly applies to 
I’ve long beat the drum for the brilliance of 
Sure, the 3D conversion remains more of a gimmick than an artistic contribution to the film, but the effect works nicely in the high definition debut of 
What time is it? ADVENTURE TIME! And it most certainly is, considering you can now get both 
Wipe the dour, depressive, bland Zack Snyder Man of Steel from your mind with the vibrantly weird and wonderful superheroics collected in 
It’s somewhat hard to believe that it’s taken this long – 23 years after his untimely passing – that we’ve gotten a proper biography of Jim Henson. Well, not so odd when knows that an attempt was made in the 90s that was scuttled by the Henson family – but now, finally, author Brian Jay Jones has managed to pull together 
Due to its relatively low production budget, 
Close on the heels of the much awaited high-def debut of The Muppet Movie comes the release of my second favorite Muppet film – 
For the past few years, the folks at Abrams Comicarts have been putting out some wonderfully unique volumes, and have now turned their fine eye upon everyone’s favorite Belgian reporter for 
The new iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are all well and good – all well and very good, actually – but there’s something to be said for going back to the original comic book roots, the first 14 of which are collected in 
And while you’re exploring the classic Turtle lore, delve even further into the behind-the-scenes development and indie history of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s wildly successful creations with 
I’d say this is for the kids on your holiday list, but I think we all know that adults are just as much fans of the new animated version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the kiddies, and both will get a kick out of the new 
And on the figure side, snag the two 2-pack 
Now that we have the complete runs of Bloom County, Outland, Opus, and all of his wonderful children’s books, it’s rather fitting that the man behind the mirth get a comprehensive spotlight that combines the whole lot in 
Anyone who wants to know the (mostly true) history of Marvel Comics should give a read to Sean Howe’s 
A perfect companion piece to the Marvel book is PBS’s recent full-blown documentary 
It’s always a worry when Pixar revisits their past films for a sequel. Will this be the time it all falls apart and the bloom is finally off the rose? Happily, that’s not the case with 
It’s been a long, beautiful ride, but with 
And if you’re picking up the latest volume of Complete Peanuts, you should also be sure to welcome 
Join the Disney Ducks for a holiday classic crafted by the legendary Carl Barks with the latest volume of Fantagraphics dandy hardcover library collection of the Duck Man’s works, 
Having already collected his complete newspaper strip run in black and white form, we get the second and final volume of Floyd Gottfredson’s color Sundays with 
Just when you thought every last scrap of ephemera related to The Beatles had been seen in public in heavily documented form, along comes a monstrous volume like 
I had the chance to see the sumptuous 3D remastering of The Wizard Of Oz during its recent limited IMAX run, and was struck by just what a fun, feisty flick it remains. Perfect, then, that its 75th anniversary celebration also brings 
If you’ve ever wanted to take a journey into the fevered enthusiasms of a filmmaker, gird yourself for the boisterously bizarre bits to be found in 
If a high society holiday is more your cup of tea, catch up on the Crawley family and their servants with the limited edition 
Not only is 
It doesn’t really have much heart beyond a by-the-numbers tale of a seemingly impossible dream that winds up coming true (you know how it goes), but 
Allaying any fears that his genius may have dimmed in his advancing years, Bill Cosby sets the record straight with a sharp, snappy, and brilliant new comedy album – 
And speaking of stand-up, let’s not forget all of the wonderful stand-up DVDs coming out across the pond – 
Ah, but don’t stop there! Also available for gift-giving is the first season of Ricky Gervais’s lovably sincere 
The joy of diving through each and every one of the massive clutch of shows contained in the 25-disc 
As you would hope from a film with an extensive design process, Peter Jackson’s latest trip to Middle Earth gets the lavishly illustrated 
It is by no means a perfect device, but the fact that we live in a tech age where I can hold an android-based gaming device in my hands that allows me to play emulators and modern games to my heart’s content with a built-in deluxe controller and snappy Nvidia-based graphics is reason enough to dig the 
In the not-too-distant past – about a quarter-century ago – a little cow town puppet show made its debut on a cow town local TV station in a cow town named Minneapolis. Celebrate that cow town puppet show with the 
And while you’re celebrating the anniversary of MST3K, partake of the brand new shorts collection from alumni Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy with 
Did the Avengers movie leave you wanting to see the Hulk and Iron Man have an adventure together, you’ll get that in animated form with the feature 
While its sixth season tended to be an uneven season, even an uneven season of 
I unashamedly love 
In the 30 years since its theatrical release, I imagine that maybe a handful of those years have gone by without 
Also making its high definition holiday debut is the festive special from that silly old bear all stuffed with fluff – 
It’s hard to top the 2003 editions of his films, but Criterion has been doing just that with another film from the Charlie Chaplin library, the latest being Chaplin’s own beloved comedy 
Besides the film itself, each new Disney animated feature in recent years has come with a much-anticipated, lavishly illustrated “Art Of” book, which is why this year brings 
Bad is irrevocably broken in the 5th and final season of 
Try a touch of blacker than black comedy with a Ben Wheatley double feature of both 
Let the legendary singing cowboy croon you back to a simpler, singier time with the complete run of 
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 sequel is hitting theaters, so it should come as little surprise that a special edition of the original 
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 
And speaking of Hugh Jackman, you can also fill your weekend with his latest turn as Marvel’s feral mutant in 
It’s sad to see the seventh and final season of 
Still rolling along, though, is the animated misadventures of the Griffin clan with 
If Jackass were given a point system, you’d get 
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 
I’m really not sure what to make of Gore Verbinski’s big screen take on 
As I was with the first film, I am shocked to say that I found 
An Angry Birds cartoon? Sure. Why not. And honestly, the 90+ minutes of 
It’s no Tango & Cash, but what 
It’s the sheer ridiculousness that makes the celebration of 
It seems like forever since the last season was released, but the holidays bring the arrival of 
Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Nick Frost wrap up their Cornetto Trilogy in epic fashion with 
Here we are at the fully remastered high definition edition of 
It seems we’re in a golden age of witty, intelligent coming-of-age flicks, what with The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, The Way Way Back, and 
Just in time for the forthcoming holiday regeneration of the 11th Doctor into the 12th, the BBC brings fans back to the very first instance our favorite Time Lord changed his appearance with the 1st Doctor William Hartnell’s swan song story 
The best thing I can say about 
There are no direwolves or Steve Buscemi, but HBO’s 
The great thing about 
The highest praise I can give pure popcorn entertainment like 
For any fan of music and the seemingly magical craft that goes into producing hits, the documentary 
While much of the bloom has been taken off Woodward and Bernstein in the years since their massive scoop, there’s still something empowering about the mythologizing the duo get in 
Fox has dropped another one of their periodic nuggets of catalogue gold with the high definition arrival of Joanne Woodward’s tour de force as the troubled housewife suffering from multiple personality disorder in 
If you’ve ever wanted to see a grim, disheartening, and thoroughly dour take on Superman, then Zack Snyder’s drab 
Yes, yes – Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, and know there’s plenty of folksy charm to be had in the TV movie of Kenny Rogers 
Fans of the late, great Ernie Kovacs will want to pick up the straight-from-the-vaults-and-unseen-since-its-original-broadcast DVD debut of 
When Mother Goose has rhymer’s block, it’s up to Elmo to try and save the day in 
Kids can get their winter fix of Dora with 
Following up on the super-massive release of the complete classic era of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comes the equally super-massive 
There are still people winging about 3D TVs in the home being a novelty, but when that novelty can give me nifty nature documentaries like 
While I consider it to be the least of their efforts, I could still find something to like about Pixar’s Cars and its sequel, but there’s no charm to be found in the rather crass cash-in 
Spawned in the mid-90’s and based on a pulp comic book, 
Slowly but surely, Disney/Pixar has been revisiting their catalogue titles with snazzy new 3D versions, and the latest to get the treatment is the original 
Invite the legendary Carol Burnett over for the holidays via 
In the mood for a clever little romantic comedy? You know, the type perfected by the Brits? Then give a spin to 
The prehistoric beasties of the UK’s Primeval make their way to American shores in the US version 
Despite the unfortunate participation of Zack Snyder, I was pleasantly surprised by the documentary 
America’s favorite fat cat returns in 
I love how 
Are you a fan of rare archive films? And an Anglophile? If so, dig into the historical films collected in 
Every once in awhile, The History Channel puts out a few releases to remind people their programming used to be about more than garbage pickers and pawn shops. 
Considering it’s a Christopher Guest project in his improvisational style and it stars the eminently affable Chris O’Dowd, I had high hopes for 
Honestly, I can see why 
Another week, and other roundup of brand new soundtracks releases! This week, we’ve got selections of Richard Marvin’s scores from the first two seasons of 
The fine folks at Film Chest have released the first of their 
The fine folks at the Beeb present their own take on Hans Christian Andersen’s 
I already loved Paul Feig’s buddy-cop follow-up to Bridesmaids, but what makes 
While I don’t view it being as incredible as some of my fellow geeks, I can certainly roll with and dig the unabashed enthusiasm which Guillermo del Toro has infused in every giant monsters versus giant robots moment of 
Originally released last year, this holiday season gets to see the stop-motion musical extravaganza 
It’s got a marvelous ensemble cast and is celebrating its 10th anniversary, but there’s no shaking the feeling that 
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of 
I never really understood the massive appeal of Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary rock opera until I had a chance to see the 
CBS continues top open up their TV vaults to series long-requested and ones, honestly, I never saw coming. From the long-requested category comes the complete fourth season of 
The fine folks at Mill Creek continue to be your go-to destination for massive amounts of packaged catalogue titles at ridiculously low prices in their 12 and 8 film collections. So, let’s take a deep breath and see what their latest offerings are. We’ve got the 8-movie 
Ah, but it’s not just bargain-priced films that Mill Creek has been releasing – they’ve also brought their economy pricing to television, as well. First and foremost, you can pick up the entire 94-episode of run of Steve McQueen’s 
It’s remarkable that the geriatric cast of Roy Clarke’s 
Nickelodeon pulls together a handful of holiday adventures from a pair of their small tyke kiddie shows with 
Take a high definition tour of our national parks with 
Yes, it feels more like a series of sketches than the more unified narratives of Holy Grail and Life Of Brian, but I still enjoy Monty Python’s swan song, 
It wasn’t until I popped in the first disc of the Carol Burnett Show spin-off 
The title doesn’t lie – 
And speaking of true tales of creative people told with remarkable candor, 
While not as impressive as seeing it in its IMAX presentation, the 3D remastering and its accompanying restoration for the 75th anniversary edition of 
Perhaps the best praise I can give 
If there’s anything that 
Packed with 20 episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted sequences, and more, the 6th season of 
The new deluxe edition of 
This year’s classic Who-palooza continues with another pair of releases, including the DVD debut of the 4th Doctor Tom Baker story 
Eight seasons on, 
As bonkers as the first season was, 
A tale of adventure and revenge set in German East Africa pre-WWI and starring Lee Marvin, Roger Moore, and Ian Holm? Yes, I do believe I will give 
Kudos to 
It’s certainly nor Pixar or even Dreamworks quality, but there’s enough charm to 
If you’ve ever wanted to binge view Hollywood’s “classic” horror series about a children’s doll inhabited by the spirit of a killer, look no further than 
Con man Neal Caffrey’s alliance with FBI Agent Peter Burke is already on shaky ground when he ditches his tracking anklet and disappears as we delve into the fourth season of 
Keen on a proper British ghost story? Give a spin to 
Where most Star Wars material leaves me unfazed post-The Great Depression (The Prequels), I’ve looked forward to J.W. Rinzler’s exhaustive “Making Of” books for the depth of their information, but more so for their remarkable candor. And now the classic trilogy comes to an end with the entry that had perhaps the most fascinating development process, all of which is fully explored in 
Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that 
Awkwardly split in two and never really building a head of steam, the seventh season of 
As a longtime fan, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Dave Foley had begun doing standup. I’m even happier that his first special, 
After the overall “meh” of Iron Man 2, 
In years past, TV shows would rarely consider the afterlife of their run beyond a sale into syndication. The idea of a home video market for popular shows? Unheard of. With that in mind, music licensing deals were only ever made short term, which has left many a show in quite the deep financial pickle when the idea of bringing them to home video with their music intact. Years ago, the music was just changed to far cheaper tunes – leading to fan backlash. Eventually, though, companies decided to try and clear the hurdles – the first most famous example was Shout Factory’s Herculean handling of Freaks & Geeks. And now, the gents a Time Life have actually undertaken their own Herculean task and succeeded in clearing nearly all of the vintage songs (Dylan, Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, and more) contained in the beloved Vietnam War drama 
The heroes on the half shell return with a dozen new-to-DVD adventures in 
Every time you turn around there seems to be another edition, but we may finally have arrived at a definitive version with the 35th anniversary high definition release of John Carpenter’s 
Like most Dreamworks films save for How To Train Your Dragon, 
There are those that rail on the ability to watch 3D right in our homes as some kind of gimmick, and they’re right – it is a gimmick. But you know what? It’s still a nifty gimmick, and its presence in the home allows studios like Warner Bros. to release true-3D versions of classic 50’s films like the Vincent Price horror flick 
And while we’re talking vintage catalogue releases from Warners now available in high definition, also making its debut is King Vidor’s incredibly moving silent war film 
You know the merger between Marvel and Disney has been fully cemented when you finally get a mighty meeting like 
I used to really like the show, but there’s something about the 4th season of 
Scholastic is back with a bit of a treat for kids with their latest Storybook Treasures collection – 
The Second World War is over but the Cold War looms in 
Yes, Zooey Deschanel is still delightfully quirky in the second season of 
Nothing quite makes me miss the sublime farce of 3rd Rock From The Sun than a pale imitator like 
Nickelodeon makes holiday gift-giving even easier with their new “Holiday Gifts From Nickelodeon” sets – a trio of releases featuring DVDs of 
It’s never been much of a quality show, but it was always a consistent lowbrow laugher that had a shaky transitional year during its 9th season. But all is back on a somewhat even (for it) keel now that Ashton Kutcher cut his hair for the 10th season of 
If you ever wondered just what it would be like if a stoner got lost in a thought and decided to make a documentary about it, look no further than 
While the actual film was an unfortunate mess, one of the few highlights of DC’s latest direct-to-video animated feature was the score to 
And hey, how about a soundtrack round-up? This week, we’ve got Greg Edmonson’s score for