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 Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
Continuing the tradition begun with Monsters, Inc., we’re gifted with another beautiful collection of production artwork and designs for Pixar’s latest flick with The Art Of Wall-E (Chronicle Books, $40.00 SRP). Chronicle and Pixar have really set the standard for how to pull the volumes together, and their presentation is always top-notch. My only complaint is I wish it were at least twice as long.
Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of sci-fi (or Dick Tracy, or The Venture Bros.) surely must have dreamed of the day that mankind would finally develop the technology needed to realize the video watch. That’s right – the ability to watch incredibly sharp video on your wrist. And view pictures. And listen to MP3s. Well, the dream has been realized with the Stainless Steel Video Watch ($129.99). Featuring a 1.8″ screen and a whopping 8GB of memory, it’s an incredible piece of equipment that will get you feeling like a futuristic superspy in no time.
Though my favorite Billy Joel album remains the severely underrated Turnstiles (I spent an entire summer with a friend tooling around in his VW bug listening to “Summer, Highland Falls”), a close runner-up would be the album that saved Joel from being dumped by his label, and cemented him as an artist to be reckoned with – 1977’s The Stranger. In (belated) celebration of the album’s anniversary, we get the fully remastered 2-disc The Stranger: 30th Anniversary Edition (Sony Legacy, $49.98 SRP), featuring not only the original album, but also a never-before released live recording of Billy’s Carnegie Hall performance on June 3, 1977. As an extra bonus, the set also includes a bonus DVD featuring a newly-produced making-of documentary, original promotional films, and Billy’s 1978 concert for Britain’s Old Grey Whistle Test. Hopefully the rest of his early albums get the same kind of revisiting.
And while we’re on the topic of expanded revistings, I must mention the new deluxe editions of both the eponymous Elton John and my favorite Elton album, the country rock Tumbleweed Connection (Universal/Rocket, $29.98 SRP each). Both discs feature glittering remasters, but the real treat is the bonus discs, which contain rare demo tracks and period live performances. With these two sets and the previously released Captain Fantastic and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, all we’ve got left is Empty Sky, Madmen Across The Water, Honky Chateau, Rock Of The Westies, and Caribou to complete the classic, must-have Elton set, before his music morphed into pappy, forgettable shit in the 80’s and 90’s. Where are you, 70’s Elton? Come back from wherever you went.
Just when the summer doldrums were beginning to set in, I found out just why everyone has been fawning over Mad Men (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) – the AMC series about Madison Avenue ad execs in the early 60’s. The reason why everyone has flocked to it? Because it’s one hell of a great show. Check out the first season for yourself. The 4-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, and more. The first season is also available on Blu-Ray ($49.99 SRP), with identical bonus features.
While we still can’t the series itself on DVD, at least we can watch the camp glory that is the Adam West Batman: The Movie (Fox, Rated PG, Blu-Ray DVD-$39.98 SRP) in full-blown high definition Blu-Ray. The disc features the same bonus features as the standard DVD, including audio commentaries, featurettes, and more.
Even 20 years later, Heathers (Anchor Bay, Rated R, DVD-$19.97 SRP) holds up as a painfully funny snapshot of the awkward, cutthroat nature of high school. The new 20th anniversary edition of the film features a brand new transfer, but double dips from previous editions on an audio commentary, a retrospective featurette, a screenplay excerpt of the original ending, and the theatrical trailer. It does, however, feature one new retrospective featurette, “Return to Westerberg High”.
Any flick that’s smart enough to cast both Patton Oswalt and Mindy Cohn is – at the very least – worth a viewing. Written and directed by Daniel Waters (the writer of Heathers), Sex And Death 101 (Anchor Bay, Rated R, DVD-$29.97 SRP) is one of those pleasant surprise on home video discoveries that you wind up enjoying. It stars Simon Baker as a man who receives a mysterious e-mail that details everyone he’s had sex with – and everyone he’ll have sex with in the future. Unfortunately, it’s uncertain if his list ends in commitment – or something far worse, as there’s an equally mysterious femme fatale on the loose (Winona Ryder) that’s targeting men guilty of sex crimes against women. Bonus features include an audio commentary, a featurette, and a trailer. A Blu-Ray edition is also available (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$ SRP), featuring identical bonus materials to the standard edition.
From the director of the upcoming Pineapple Express comes a smart, gritty little indie flick about an escalating blood feud amongst a group of half brothers in the Arkansas back roads. In Shotgun Stories (Genius, Rated R, DVD-$24.95 SRP), the two sets of siblings – who knew different versions of their father, one a violent drunk and one a sober, middle-class man – come crashing together at their father’s funeral. The DVD features an audio commentary, an isolated score track, trailers, and more.
To be honest with you, the only reason I ever watched Evening Shade (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) was for the presence of the ever-delightful Charles Durning. Sure, the rest of the cast – Burt Reynolds, Marilu Henner, Michael Jeter, Hal Holbrook, and Ossie Davis – was enjoyable, but I was there for Durning. The 5-disc set features all 24 first season episodes, but not a single commentary, featurette, or interview with Durning. Damn.
If you’re in a pinch and need an entirely watchable, inoffensive romantic comedy to fill out a date with, look no further than Definitely, Maybe (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP). The cast alone – including Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Kline, Elizabeth Banks, and Rachel Weisz – makes it an interesting proposition, and the story about a father trying to explain to his daughter about the past loves of his life prior to her mother is a nicely awkward premise.
It’s certainly not a comedy classic, but there’s a goofy, almost 80’s quality about Drillbit Taylor (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP), which stars Owen Wilson as a slacker fists-for-hire who’s contracted by a trio of nerdy high schoolers to act as their on campus bodyguard. Its 80’s-like quality is probably due to the fact that it’s based on an idea by John Hughes, even though the script was brought to life by Seth Rogen and Kristofor Brown. The unrated DVD features additional footage, an audio commentary, deleted/extended scenes, and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Also available in Blu-Ray ($39.99 SRP).
I’m sure you’re just as shocked as I am that Walker, Texas Ranger (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP) made it to a fifth season. I guess there’s no discounting the durability of ludicrously goofy shows that take themselves far more seriously than the acting and writing permits. Anyway, here’s another 25 episodes sure to delight anyone with a penchant for unintended comedy.
If you’ve been missing the true-crime stories with a sly presentation that was City Confidential, then you want to check out the marriages gone sour stories recounted in Till Death Do Us Part (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$35.99 SRP). They key to enjoying the show is the witty, tongue-in-cheek presence of host John Waters. Yes, that John Waters. The 3-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus new introductions from waters and interviews.
Kyra Sedgwick is back as homicide investigator Brenda Johnson in the 3rd season of Closer (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), facing down the return of a dormant serial killer, a missing child, and the mysterious death of a Homeland Security official. The 4-disc set features all 14 episodes, plus unaired scenes, a featurette, and a gag reel.
Karl Malden and Michael Douglas are back on The Streets Of San Francisco (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) with the first volume of the second season. The 3 disc set features 11 episodes detailing the exploits of Lt. Mike Stone and Inspector Steve Keller as they face down convicts, robbers, and even an assassin. Yes. An assassin.
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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Oh no! Just when you thought it was safe to hang out at the Quick Stop…
ATLANTIC BEACH – Welcome to the summer of Danny McBride!
Jonathan Coulton on Jonathan Coulton: “In 2005 I left my day job writing software to pursue music full time. To keep myself busy I released a new song on this website every week for a year in a project called Thing a Week. A few of those songs became big internet hits (my folky cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back”, a funny video called “Flickr”, a song called “Code Monkey”), and I am now fortunate enough to make my living as a musician.
Paul and Storm are a comedy music duo, and they have been performing as a duo since 2004. Before that, they were one half of a cappella band Da Vinci’s Notebook for about 12 years. A Paul and Storm show is part music concert and part standup/improv comedy”βjust enough of both to fit neatly in neither category. They like to engage the audience, and are known to award snack cakes and/or other prizes for good (and sometimes bad) behavior. Their show would be PERFECT as a cable special, and would make lots of money for whichever brave channel decides to air them first.
Born in the fall of 2006 in the center of the two-man acoustic comedy rock scene, Columbus, Ohio, the self proclaimed Turner and Hooch of Rock and Roll, The Paul Frumpton Experience Featuring Larry – known more colloquially as Jeff Stormer and Jeremy Hoover – are best described as what happens when comedy, music, caffeine, and improv collide in a chocolaty, peanut buttery explosion of good times. Stormer and Hoover met as students of Ohio State University and have been performing for scraps of food and hobo nickels ever since. Jeremy and Jeff’s major influences include Bacon, Booster Gold & Blue Beetle’s irreverent banter, David Bowie’s crotch in Labyrinth, and a deep-seated love of go karts. Finally, we feel obliged to mention all the things that are off limits to the comedy duo… This list includes NOTHING.
Lex Friedman’s musical influences include artists like They Might Be Giants, Moxy Fruvous, “Weird Al” Yankovic, CAKE, Barenaked Ladies, Tom Lehrer, Ben Folds, and Michael Jackson. Lex has left a smattering of bizarre music videos on YouTube, which have been slowly overtaken by videos of his 18-month-old daughter Anya. He occasionally shares new songs on his blog. He currently appears both weekly and weakly as the host of the “Week in Douchebaggery” on Cracked.com. Lex, his aforementioned daughter Anya, his lovely wife Lauren, and his diabetic maltese Charlie all live together in New Jersey, and sincerely hope that you don’t hold that against them. He gives one of them two injections if insulin each day – guess which! Lex also wrote this sentence. To avoid appearing like a suck-up, Lex has neglected to mention other musical influences of his who may or may not be the Iron Chefs of this Song Fu competition. Let’s just say he happens to also love the musical stylings of a guy whose name rhymes with Shmonathan Shmoulton.
My Fu is stronger than you! I am Coleman Bear Saunders, or Cloakie to most. At the age of 25 I work with music everyday at my studio that I recently built. I produce, engineer and compose various genres of music with ninja like precision. I have been picking away at the guitar since the age of 7 after watching my Dad play Johnny Cash tunes in the wrong key while singing the wrong lyrics, although I do the same thing because that’s the way I was learnt, ya hear me boy? I live in Kentucky and the music scene isn’t the greatest, so I turn to the internet to pipeline my Fu to the masses for free. I’m getting tired of music these days, I want some more songs about Dragons and fucking! Songs that take you on a journey and let you experience a different world, like movies do. My dream is to compose and score music for video games, TV, and my ultimate goal, the big screen. This is why the Song Fu competition was made for me. All the challenges that the competition presents to me will be similar to the expectations of future employers. Good luck to all, and may the best Fu win.
Elaine Chao Finnell is a singer/songwriter from the San Francisco Bay Area. In her checkered musical past, she has been a choral singer, a pit musician, an a cappella vocalist, a vocal percussionist, a hip hop beatboxer, contemporary Christian worship musician, and a musical librettist. After leaving the a cappella world in 2001, Elaine shifted into the world of hip hop theater, touring with spoken word artist Aya de LeΓΒ³n, then going solo and performing in such venues as the Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco and at the Apollo Theater in New York City. She began writing music at the tender age of 17, co-authoring her first musical with Brian Allan Hobbs. Since then, she has written two full length musicals and two plays. She currently plays regularly at her church as a lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. While not in her musical pursuits, Elaine can be found in a cubicle at a major software company, at home with her engineer husband and their network of Macs, or studying martial arts at a local university.
The Deal: After 20+ years making music as a hobby, I recently wrote and recorded a song for my daughter. I got a little taste of mild success (hey, my mom liked it). So now I’m taking my music out of the closet, dusting it off, and seeing how it does in the sunshine. Who knew there was so much work in just attempting to do music for a living. I feel like I am opening a Subway franchise (Only opening a Subway franchise seems more fulfilling in a creative way).
Run At The Dog are high energy, rock/pop, category-sluts with multi-gendered vocals and intricate arrangements. They are like Abba meets Faith No More meets Mos Def meets the Mormon Tabernacle Choir meets Steely Dan. The songs of this Minneapolis 5-piece are always written right away, with no respect for the calculating mind. Audience members are unsure whether to dance, laugh, or panic.
Surely, you know who John Waters is.
WATERS: Yeah. I always wanted to be a commentator on Court TV, since my real life was Court TV before, because I used to go to trials all the time. So I was Court TV, only just in my personal life.
The crew of the Planet Express return in the 2nd of the 4 direct-to-DVD adventures that manage the rare feat of resurrecting a show with not only the same level of quality of the original run, but above and beyond it. 
If you were to transplant Grosse Point Blank to Belgium, you’d wind up with 
If I have one disappointment with the soundtrack album to Pixar’s 
I’ve spoken many times of my Anglophilia, and my fascination with the oftimes bizarre and eccentric history of England. With that in mind, it’s understandable that I dug right in to 
The History Channel’s dramatic recreations of classic wartime aerial combat makes their high-flying return with the complete second season of 
I don’t know why exactly it is that it seems the bulk of today’s kiddie flicks compare unfavorably to the classics of yesteryear. Maybe it’s that manufactured sheen that it all seems to have – CGI is a sterile tool, and it adds a cold, uninvolved feeling to modern children’s films. Case in point is 
If I had a time machine, somewhere on “to do” list would be to travel back just a few short years to when people like Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg proclaimed 2-D animation a dead artform and slap them over the head with a copy of the film 
I’m all for goofy, well-written fun in kids shows, and 
Genre-bending shows are always a gamble on network television, as viewers are usually slow on the uptake and executives are quick to lower the axe. Occasionally, one slips through the cracks and is given some legs – such as 
Despite the hokey kitsch value the success of the Broadway musical version has brought it, 
If you were to take that early 90’s HBO staple Dream On and transport it to Showtime and reinvent it as an edgy dramedy about a sex and drug addicted author (David Duchovny), you’d have 
If you were to ask Roland Emmerich to remake Caveman, the result would be 
Ignore that abysmal Roland Emmerich flick, and delve into the real pre-history with 
I find it hard to believe, but it was five years ago this month that I started writing “Comics in Context,”Β which was originally at IGN and has since moved here to Quick Stop Entertainment. From time to time I wonder how many people are out there reading this, and whether or not the effort of turning out over two hundred installments has been worth it. It doesn’t help that certain members of the comics blogosphere have described my online writings as “insane”Β or “crazy”Β because each is as long as, say, a magazine feature article. Then recently a colleague advised me that none of the critical essays I’ve done for this column could be taken seriously by cultural institutions, because they’ve been published on the newfangled Internet instead of in good old-fashioned books. (I may be a Luddite in many respects but I can already imagine Graduate Students of the Future reading this week’s column and reacting to this with shock and disbelief.)
CS: I would imagine there was a lot of background filming on these different athletes and you had smaller narratives within that too. As a person just looking at all these guys who are trying to compete to hopefully move on “β they’ve got the college barrier and the college barrier to the NBA barrier, when you were filming this getting to know some of these individual guys were any of them emotionally vulnerable in telling you something to the effect of, “I know the odds are really not in my favor but this is exactly what I want to do”?
YAUCH: It’s cool. It’s definitely cool to see the different styles of their games and the different ways that they blend or come up against each other. People like Brandon that loves to pass the ball you almost get the impression that he’d rather make an assist and score and guys like Beasley that just talks trash all the time to everybody on the court “β it’s definitely interesting to see their different games and see how they make shit happen. While they all have the crazy competitive drive, it comes out in different ways.
CS: How was it for you as a filmmaker? You didn’t have the luxury in your film “β the concert film you had a bunch of fans to make the film “β it was just you trying to make it happen.
CS: I’ve seen you in other interviews that you’ve said you were a fair weather fan of the Knicks and that you don’t really like to watch the NBA on TV, so why did something like this really grab you to say “I want to make a film about it”?
CS: Now, with the film being done, did you get everything you wanted to get out of this?
