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…)
While we’re all still eagerly awaiting the “any day” arrival of Rocket & Groot and the launch of the pre-orders for Drax, fans of those loveable intergalactic rogues the Guardians Of The Galaxy can snag a trio of fantastic figures to make the wait for a full set bearable. Not only can you get the team’s erstwhile leader, Star-Lord (Sideshow, $234, but you can pick up the green-skinned assassin Gamora (Sideshow, $199.99) and the Hot Toys take on the dancing fan-favorite Little Groot (Sideshow, $44.99). Star-Lord is the most feature-laden, coming with a light feature in his visored head, his trusty walkman and headphones, the infinity gem storage balls, and a swappable Chris Pratt head for all of your Parks And Recreation posing needs. Gamora has her long and short knives (for cutting!), and Groot features a trio of swappable heads and poseable arms. As we’ve come to expect from Hot Toys, the tailoring on the costuming is ridiculously exquisite, bordering on magical in their ability to pull off screen-accurate scaled reproductions. Just look at Star-Lord’s coat and Gamora’s leather togs.
The fine folks at Fantagraphics continue to do a stellar job presenting the works of the legendary Carl Barks for a brand new generation keen to discover the finest Disney Ducks comics ever created with the release of Donald Duck: The Pixilated Parrot (Fantagraphics, $29.99 SRP). Not only does this volume contain the titular tale, but its 200 pages are packed with long and short classics, plus the usual scholarly essays and context that makes these positively ducky. Yeah, I went there.
If they have to revisit Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP) on blu-ray, at least they did it the right way, by presenting it via a brand new 4k restoration that looks absolutely stunning, plus a brand-new star-studded documentary about what it’s like acting the criminal for Scorsese. The set also includes ad8itional featurettes and materials from previous releases, plus a 36-page photo book.
It should come as little surprise that the brilliant Timothy Spall is brilliant in Mike Leigh’s biopic about Britain’s revered, emotionally complicated painter J.M.W. Turner in Mr. Turner (Sony, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP). Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and a deleted scene.
They’re not the best films ever made, but there’s a Technicolor delight to be found in the 5 flicks which comprise Warners’ new Frank Sinatra Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$69.95 SRP). Presented in brilliantly restored high definition, the set includes Anchors Aweigh, On The Town, Guys And Dolls, Ocean’s 11, and Robin And The 7 Hoods. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, vintage cartoons, vintage featurettes (fans of Warners’ wonderful old school movie night DVDs will remember them), a Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson excerpt, trailers, and more.
I’ve been a big fan of MiniMates going back to their original larger-scale debut, so I was happy to hear that they’d picked up the license to produce Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles MiniMates (Diamond Select Toys, $5.99 SRP each) based on the hit Nickelodeon series. The first wave of blind-bagged figures includes all four turtles, Shredder, two foot soldiers, and a chase translucent Michaelangelo.
It’s quite a challenge to follow up such a powerful first season, but the second season of Broadchurch (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) is a solid sophomore effort, and that rests wholly on the shoulders of David Tennant and Olivia Colman and a compelling mystery. Bonus materials include featurettes, interviews, and deleted scenes.
No longer do we have to content ourselves with the lackluster standard definition piecemeal releases of the gloriously vibrant pop-pop animated Teen Titans Go (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), as the Warner Archive gifts fans a high definition release of the complete first season. Sadly, there’s not a single bonus feature, but at least it all looks great and I in one package.
I love diving into books where you spend every page thinking, “Finally! Someone put together an awesome book that I never knew I wanted until it existed!” Such is the case with Meet Mr. Product: Volume 1 and its companion Mr. Product: Volume 2 (Insight Editions, $17.99 SRP each), which combined are a visual encyclopedia of advertising characters spanning the bulk of the 20th century up until 1985, on everything from cereals to auto parts and from the Michelin Man to Charlie Tuna.
No one in their right mind would consider the latter-day Curly Joe features made by the Three Stooges to be the boys at their finest, but there is a charm and novelty to be found in The Three Stooges Triple Feature: Time Out For Rhythm/Rockin’ In The Rockies/Have Rocket Will Travel & The Three Stooges Triple Feature: The Three Stooges Around The World In A Daze/The Three Stooges Meet Hercules/The Outlaws Is Coming (Mill Creek, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP each). It’s nice to see them all get the high def treatment, and also nice that Rhythm and Rockies are both Curly Howard-era features.
S.H. Figuarts are known for their ridiculously poseable action figures with a level of near-miraculous articulation. Combine that with two Nintendo superstars and you’ve got must-have, shelf-ready figures of Mario (Thinkgeek, $18.74) and Link ($54.99). While Mario comes with a Super Mushroom, a block, and a gold coin, Link has his sword (with optional energy effect), shield, a swappable face, and a nifty stand allowing for even more dynamic posing. Woo-hoo!
Ryan Gosling’s writing & directing debut, Lost River (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) really is a mess of a film. Equal parts pretentious and baffling in its attempt to be a deep character piece about a mother’s attempt to hold her family and town together, but instead is a must-see-to-believe misfire with a great cast, including Christina Hendricks, Matt Smith, and Iain De Castecker.
As a longtime Marvel comics nerd who owned every issue of the original Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe, I mightily enjoyed the tech and geeky trivia packed into the official Haynes’ Marvel Vehicles: Owner’s Workshop Manual (Insight Editions, $29.95 SRP). Guided by S.H.I.E.L.D. head Nick Fury himself, it’s a peek inside everything from the helicarrier to the Green Goblin’s Goblin Glider. And yes, you even get the dune buggy Spider-Mobile.
Because they’re wonderful maniacs, Olive Films have dropped another clutch of catalogue titles new to high-def, including Abbott & Costello’s final film, Dance With Me, Henry (Olive Films, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), Jodi Foster’s directorial debut Little Man Tate (Olive Films, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), the 1990 version of Lord Of The Flies (Olive Films, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), Robert Townsend’s Hollywood Shuffle (Olive Films, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), Paul Newman & Robby Benson in Harry & Son (Olive Films, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), Nick Nolte & Judd Hirsch in Teachers (Olive Films, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), Pauley Shore’s opus Bio-Dome (Olive Films, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), Cooley High (Olive Films, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), Jessica Lange & Tommy Lee Jones in Blue Sky (Olive Films, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), and Chuck Norris & Lou Gossett in Firewalker (Olive Films, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP).
Twomorrows has taken their long out-of-print stellar biography of a comics legend and expanded it into a must-have deluxe edition with Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (Twomorrows, $39.95 SRP). The hardcover tome is not only a detailed overview of Eisner’s life, but is also packed with rare artwork and photographs.
This week’s toddler time titles from the folks at Nickelodeon include Wallykazam! (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), sporting four enchanted adventures, and Let’s Learn S.T.E.M. (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), featuring 6 educational playdates with Dora, Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi, and more.
For the Hal Lublins of the world, who would kindly be characterized as rabid wrestling fans, the WWE Ultimate Superstar Guide (DK, $16.99 SRP) is a fully illustrated handbook of wrestlers past and present, with full bios, trivia, stats, and more.
Sometimes, you’re just hankering for a mindless action flick, and that’s exactly the sort of popcorn cleanser you’ll get from The Marine 4: Moving Target (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), starring WWE superstar Mike “The Miz” Mizanin as the titular Marine, Jake Carter, whose private sector gig is to protect a high-value whistleblower against a team of mercs. Bonus materials include a trio of featurettes.
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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If you’ve been steadily dropping a not-insubstantial amount of money on the massive Ultimate Editions of the Harry Potter films on Blu-Ray, you know that you don’t yet have the big sets for the final two Deathly Hallows films. To those fans, the absolutely gigantic 
I plan on doing some international traveling in the near future, and everyone I talk to who has done the same has warned to remember a decent power converter. Thankfully, Thinkgeek now offers the perfect solution – the 
Universal’s 100th anniversary celebration has proved to be a remarkably wonderful year for getting highly desired catalogue titles released in high definition, and the streak keeps going with fully remastered editions of classics like 
How can you not love a film from the artsy brains at Aardman Animation? You can’t. Which is why you’ll love their latest – 
The first season was a somewhat shaky, often off-putting affair, but the second season of 
I admit, I was one of the naysayers who looked at ABC’s attempt to milk the Disney fairytale library for a soapy primetime drama that was equal parts Buffy and Dark Shadows as a sure-fire failure, but 
After a debut season that arrived with a bang, the second season of 
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When you’ve got a title for a documentary like 
It’s probably for the best that the 4th season of 
The live action film was an abysmal mess, but there’s some fun to be had in 
Criterion rolls out another pair of classy films with a classy treatment – Whit Stillman’s 
Adding to the rich history of the BBC’s exploration of pre-history is 
It’s potentially disastrous when the day after taking his first hit, the high school valedictorian learns that his school will be giving its students a drug test. With his scholarship on the line, what’s a panicky kid to do but hatch a plan to get his entire school high so everyone fails. 
And while you’re picking up the DVD, why not pick up Frederik Wiedmann’s score to 
Charlie’s dead and Alan and Jake soon find a naked millionaire played by Ashton Kutcher replacing him in the awkward 9th season of 
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Like Ron Perlman? And Katey Sagal? And bikers? Then the complete fourth season of 
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After the awful Muppets, I find watching Jason Segel’s gurning to be difficult to take, so it’s lucky that 
A trio of HBO sitcoms ending their runs get their home video release all at the same time – 
It has been on the decline for years, but it was clearly evident during 
R.L. Stine continues his mission to traumatize children, a mission you can experience via the first two volumes of his new anthology series airing on the Hub network, 
I’m not exactly sure why the Turtle costumes in Saban’s 
I didn’t think I would like the new TRON film. The original was a childhood favorite, even though it’s not a terribly good flick, and everything I’d seen and heard about the sequel gave me a massive feeling of “meh”. Well, the sequel, while flawed, is entirely watchable, at times even good, even if it suffers the same kind of story malaise that affected its predecessor. You can get both films via the 5-disc 
We’re entering into the rainy season as spring begins to dawn, and what better way to pass the time than constructing a pair of Harry Potter LEGO sets – the wonderful 
You know what doesn’t hold up? The original 
While it’s not the complete season sets fans have been hoping for, at least 
While I still prefer its more oddball sequel, there’s still much charm in the original 
If you’re still breaking in your 3-D TV or computer and desperate for content with which to do so, a pair of films made for 3-D IMAX theaters are available for your exhibition pleasure – 
Another of those “must-have” classic musicals has made its way into the high definition realm with the arrival of the 40th anniversary edition of 
The massive Roger Corman collection coming out of Shout Factory gets a pair of new releases that amount to 5 more films, the first of which is the triple feature 
If you thought you had the complete run of Abbott & Costello’s theatrical flicks after getting that big Universal set a few years back, best think again, as the Warner Archive Collection has released a clutch of films the boys made for them, including 
The most I can say about 
Making a political satire with real bite that manages to retain its humor is quite a difficult task, but it’s accomplished with some real flair by 
My love for magnets, to anyone who’s been reading these shopping guides for any length of time, should be well known. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that my delight extends to the 
You want to see porn for history nerds? Look no further than 
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It’s not as fresh as the debut season, but I was certainly still a fan of the 2nd, penultimate season of 
Adapting the Broadway musical for TV animation, 
It’s not as mind-blowing as it is in its original IMAX presentation, but there’s still plenty of wonder to be had in the documentary 
Yes, we were probably overdue for a roller derby flick – and who’d have thought that it would come from director Drew Barrymore and be called 
The release of 
It seems a few months too late, but a trio of documentaries on the Kennedy Assassination are hitting DVD from The History Channel – 
If you’re not willing to take the leap directly into their feature films (via the wonderful comprehensive box set released by Universal last year) or their TV show (which is getting a complete re-release in early 2010), get a quite good overview of Bud & Lou’s comedy with 
I think it’s a pretty clear sign that a barrel is being scraped when we get the 
It’s not up to the level of NYPD Blue & The Shield before it, but there is some merit in diving into 
When you have a title like 
Sure to get attention for its Twilight connection, 
The team at 
Let’s wrap thing up on the mountain as we bid farewell to America’s… ummm… family with 
As the Academy Awards approach like a freight train, studios are making sure to get some of their Oscar-bait catalogue titles released in high-def – which is why we get brand-new Blu-Ray editions of Keira Knightley in both 
A little bit Strange Days, a little bit Matrix, a little bit 13th Floor, and a little bit Avatar, the sad thing about 
The sketches are hit and miss, but it’s certainly worth giving a spin to 
Turn 8-Mile into a story about a breakdancing young girl, and you’ve got 
I loathe the touch-feely soft-focus, marshmallowness of Touched By An Angel, but there’s not denying its struck a chord with many a middle-aged something or another, who are sure to want the newly-released pair of Touched By An Angel Inspiration Collections, 
It’s a quickie, holiday themed release (Valentine’s Day, in case you’re wondering), but I’m sure fans will snap up 
With 
Rejoice, animation and comedy nerds! A new Futurama direct-to-DVD movie has arrived in the form of 
Though there’s quite a few clunkers in there, I still enjoy watching the films of Abbott & Costello. The first comedy routine I ever recognized as such – and love to this day – is “Who’s On First?”. Universal has brought together the entirety of the duo’s film output in 
Dreamworks has always had a hard time making an animated film that actually looks visually pleasing. The Shrek movies are a mess, Madagascar was slightly better, and Over The Hedge was a step in the right direction. The first film to actually look wonderful and provide a story to match has got to be 
Although I’m still a bit disappointed that they leapfrogged over the release of just the fourth and final season, at least we can have the complete run of Jim Henson’s classic series in 
I don’t necessarily want to live in the future presented in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, but I have to admit that they did have some pretty nifty gear to shelter themselves with on those endlessly rainy nights. Surely you remember the glowing umbrellas that everyone had, clutched in their downtrodden fists as they made their way through the grubby streets. Well, now you can own your very own 
The first film was lackluster, but things are definitely improved – if not great – in 
Paramount has dipped into their pool of classic films and pulled out a trio for remastered special editions they’re terming their “Centennial Collection”. Getting the blue ribbon treatment are 
I’m not entirely happy that studios continue to shaft fans who support their season-by-season releases of TV shows only to be confronted at the end with a comprehensive set that includes exclusive bonus material. The latest is the classic 
One of the things I love about just how much catalogue digging the studios have been doing for DVD is that they’re able and willing to put out niche releases that spotlight the work of directors who are not exactly household names, but whose work deserves a spotlight. Such is the case with the late 50’s Columbia westerns of director Budd Boetticher collected in the appropriately titled 
Get all three Jason Bourne films in one easy-to-grab package with the new 
It was slow going at first, but I stuck with 
The first volume was a nice little slice of catalogue holiday cheer, and Warners opens the vaults again for their 
For anyone that’s been holding off on snagging the classic UK sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo! – the follow-up from the creators of Are You Being Served set in occupied France during WWII and playing like a Franco version of Hogan’s Heroes – then now’s the time to get the whole lot in ‘
There are a ton of them in the various studios’ vaults, but Warners dips into theirs for a trio of World War II rah-rah flicks with their new 
One of the mainstays of my many sleepless nights glued to Nick At Nite in the late 80’s and early 90’s was I Dream Of Jeannie. It remains one of the great escapist sitcoms of the late 60’s, with humor that was timeless and certainly not terribly thought-provoking. It’s marshmallow fluff. If you’ve been passing up the season-by-season sets that have been released the past few years, now is the time to take the plunge and pick up 
I’m going to give you one reason – and one reason only – to pick up Cartoon Network’s 
I went into it expecting a complete and utter disaster. Imagine my surprise when I found the big screen 
Oh, George. You truly have gone insane. You should talk to someone about your pathological need to tear down what you’ve built – it’s really quite sad. Case in point – the CG animated feature pilot for 
It’s been 30 years since 
Another in the long (and appreciated) line of box sets collecting a selection of an actor’s filmography in one handy package, 
It may be low-grade genre fare, but there’s a certain exuberance about the Brit series 
Since MTV abandoned Unplugged and VH1 walked away from Storytellers, there’s a gap in the world for a show featuring great live performances from diverse and interesting artists. In the UK, that show is Live From Abbey Road. Want proof? Pick up a copy of 
The 
Though I think it’s been overly-maligned (and no, I am in no way saying it’s a good film), I can’t imagine anyone who would want a 2-disc extended edition of Kevin Costner’s bloated aquatic epic 
Though most of the episodes pale in comparison to the original run, who’d have thought that we’d cross the 100 episode mark of the continuing misadventures of the family Griffin? That landmark episode is contained in 
Big Green makes his holiday DVD debut with the release of last year’s network special 
It’s murder on the Transsiberian express as a group of passengers get swept up drug trafficking and deception on a train making the journey from Beijing to Moscow in 
The sophomore outing of Rod Serling’s post-Twilight Zone journey into the bizarre and unexpected arrives with Night Gallery: Season Two (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The 5-disc set features 61 stories, plus audio commentaries (some featuring director Guillermo Del Toro), promos, a gallery, and a retrospective featurette.