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…)
Though the plot machinations don’t make a lick of sense if you think about them and it feels like more of a slog than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, there’s just enough bombast and verve to make Christopher Nolan’s button on his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP), a worthwhile spin as a film (and a ground-shaking home theater experience with a decent sound system). Bonus materials include a clutch of behind-the-scenes featurettes and a nice summation of Nolan’s franchise run.
Thinkgeek time! We all know the awkward impossibility of trying to get a pair of massive power bricks plugged into the same wall outlet. Well, accomplish that feat and charge a pair of USB devices to boot with the brilliant little Pivot Power Mini ($24.99), which opens up to accommodate those bricks. Neat, huh?
Flick by flick, Pixar is converting their entire catalogue to 3D, and you can strike another modern classic from the list as we get the 3D conversion (and its debut in high definition, to boot!) of Finding Nemo (Walt Disney, Rated G, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP) plus the welcome bonus of Up (Walt Disney, Rated PG, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP), which finally gets a 3D home video release to match its original theatrical presentation. As its CG, the conversion process for Finding Nemo is entirely organic, and freshens the film nicely (not that it needed it, but it’s a pleasant bonus to be able to see it this way). All of the bonus features from the original Blu-Ray releases have carried over for both titles, including commentaries, featurettes, shorts, and more. As with Disney’s previous deluxe editions, both 5-disc sets contain the 3D, standard Blu-Ray, and DVD versions of the films. Here’s hoping we get the final clutch of Pixar flicks – including The Incredibles, Wall-E, Ratatouille, and A Bug’s Life – are converted soon.
‘Tis the season to mock and riff with the residents of the Satellite of Love, as Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXV (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 SRP) arrives bearing another quartet of episodes many thought would never get a release, including season 1’s Robot Holocaust and Season 8’s debut Revenge Of The Creature. Also included are Kitten With A Whip and Operation Double 007 (retitled on the packaging as Operation Kid Brother), plus a pair of spotlight featurettes on Josh Weinstein & Bill Corbett, intros from Joel & Mike, and a look at Creature director Jack Arnold. Keep it up, Shout!
After a few years of less-than-appealing films, Steven Spielberg rebounded with the enjoyable chase flick Catch Me If You Can (Paramount, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$22.98 SRP), starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the true-life tale of con man Frank Abagnale’s cat & mouse game with the FBI agent (Tom Hanks) hot on his trail. Bonus materials include a clutch of featurettes and photo galleries.
Would you expect butter carving to be the root of all evil – from sex and blackmail to scandal and greed? Well, that’s just what it is in the enjoyably Midwestern-askew Butter (Anchor Bay, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), which finds a long-reining champion (Ty Burrell) asked to step down – a move unacceptable to his destructively social-climbing wife (Jennifer Garner), so she decides the enter the competition herself in order to reassert her family’s dominance. Her plans, however, are derailed when a 10-year-old prodigy enters the picture. So yeah… Butter carving. Bonus materials include deleted/extended scenes and a gag reel.
I don’t know if we’ve ever seen a synchronicity where both of Matt Groening’s animated ventures have seen home video releases on the same date, but we’ve got it with The Simpsons: Season 15 (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$59.99 SRP) and Futurama: Volume 7 (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), both of which are available in high definition with the usual compliment of bonus materials, including what remains some of the best audio commentaries you’ll find, plus featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
If you’ve never heard of one of Australia’s best-kept comedy secrets, dive into the character comedy of Chris Lilley’s We Can Be Heroes (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), wherein he plays all 6 contestants competing for the title Australian Of The Year. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes documentary, extended episodes, deleted scenes, and bloopers.
And spinning off from Lilley’s We Can Be Heroes is his arrival in the US with the series Angry Boys (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), which focuses on 6 new brilliantly-observed characters, from a former surfing champion to a Japanese mother. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, music videos, and bloopers.
Nothing says “Happy Holidays!” like the Francis Ford Coppola 5-Film Collection (Lionsgate, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which brings together in one package the recent high-definition masters of Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Apocalypse Now Redux, The Conversation, Tetro, and One From The Heart (which is exclusive to this set).
When a film comes along that’s just beautiful and unique and yes, magical, I hesitate to make it smaller by trying to describe it. Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is a film like that, and its young star, Quvenzhane Wallis, is perfect within that magical tale. Just watch it. Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, auditions, and a short film.
Every so often, a film comes along that’s unafraid of operating on a purely senior adult audience, hanging its drama – and comedy – on seasoned performers playing their actual age. Such is the case with Hope Springs (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP), which presents us with a calcified couple (Tommy Lee Jones & Meryl Streep) decades into their relationship who journey to a couples retreat in hopes that the counselor (Steve Carell) can help them rediscover what sparked them in the first place. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, alternate takes, featurettes, and a gag reel.
After a sojourn south of the border Danny McBride’s crude Kenny Powers comes almost full circle as he heads to Myrtle Beach, SC to try and resuscitate his baseball career in the 3rd season of Eastbound And Down (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP). Bonus materials include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and outtakes.
After the piecemeal releases, you can now pick up Power Rangers: Super Samurai (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) in its complete form, featuring all 20 episodes plus featurettes and a music video.
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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After Tim Burton’s abysmal take, I was quite leery of any new attempts to return to the Planet Of The Apes franchise. Well, I was pleasantly surprised that 
Still looking for the perfect stand for your smartphone? Try the 
Remember when we were all mourning the cancellation of Futurama? Such a long time ago! And here we are two seasons into its revival with the release of 
A sequel was inevitable, so it should come as little surprise to you that Jack Black returns in 
There are plenty of companies diving into their deep catalogues for Blu-Ray release, but the only studio that is consistently ace with every restoration project they undertake is Warner Bros. The latest to benefit from their incredible acumen is the Judy Garland romance 
I didn’t know what to expect from the remake of 
There’s something about 
Shame it’s gone direct-to-DVD (not even Blu-Ray) here in the US, because 
The main reason to check out 
Now that we’ve moved beyond the still-wonderful episodes into the seasons I don’t really care about, the release of something like 
I don’t understand its appeal, but I know there are plenty of fans out there eager to pick up their very own copy of 
If you’re in the mood for a heartwarming tale of a dolphin with a prosthetic tail that just so happens to star Morgan Freeman in a role that isn’t the dolphin, then you might want to check out 
Much has been made about 
You can never have too much Bender, so how can you not want the 9″ 
While you’re awaiting the next full season box set, satiate your thirst with the latest single disc release 
It’s always a delight to see a loving restoration of a Technicolor age film make its way to high definition, and 
You know what? I’m not even going to attempt to tell you what Patton Oswalt talks about in his newest album, 
The high definition Lionsgate releases of the Miramax catalogue are still coming fast and furious, with another clutch of titles to fill those gaps in your collection, including the toilet bowl cautionary tale 
Ken Burns turns his documentary lens towards America’s drunkest “sober” hour, 
I could hours watching Darren McGavin star as Mickey Spillane’s bareknuckle gumshoe Mike Hammer – which makes the release of 
Here we are, with the penultimate 11th season of the long-running 
Oh, Warner Archive collection. Yet again, you unleash a clutch of titles the only a very few would ever think to ask you about, but at least they are now available to all. First you’ve got Michael Gough siccing his big cats on people in 
Yeah. I really can’t stand 
Oh, Danny Devito. Sure, the rest of the cast is ace and the show is funny, but I’m only really watching the 6th season of 
Billie Piper has one last go as high-class escort Hannah “Belle” Baxter in the 3rd and final season of 
The 200th anniversary specials focusing on the American Civil War continue with the documentary 
Louis CK proves yet again why he’s one of the finest practitioners of stand-up today with 
I love desktop gadgets, if only because they provide a welcome – and inherently evil – distraction from actually getting down to the mounds of work at hand. So imagine my delight when I learned I could get a desktop item that not only provides a visual lure, but also a geeky one? That’s what you get with the 
I don’t think it’s his best, but there’s no denying the brutal power of Martin Scorsese’s 
Whoever thought to assemble a Rat Pack of female television comedy greats – Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick & Betty White – into a sitcom of their own should be given a promotion. In the meantime, you can pick up the complete first season of 
Sergio Leone’s epic 
Some doubted it would ever happen, but they were all proven wrong when 
The new year brings a pair of new classic Doctor Who releases from the seemingly bottomless catalogue, this time reaching all the way back to Patrick Troughton’s Doctor for 
Of all the companies with deep TV catalogues, Paramount/CBS has been the most consistent in releasing their titles, often sticking by and finishing runs while other companies left theirs by the wayside. All this is to say they’ve released another clutch of deep catalogue titles, including 
Continuing to fulfill its remit to release deep catalogue titles sure to make cinephiles happy, the Warner Archive just dropped 
The further we get away from it and the more I try and revisit it over the years, I find myself less and less impressed with Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning 
As cringeworthy as both the original Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm could be, the comedic situations of 
Another in The History Channel’s long line of “historical” series that have only the slightest of historical content to justify their claim that there’s historical content, 
I admit, after the departure of the original cast, my interest has declined from season to season of 
Ostensibly launched as a way of highlighting positive news stories, 
Sadly, the massive Looney Tunes: Golden Collections are a thing of the past, which leaves us with single disc releases 
We’re nearly at the end with the release of the penultimate fourteenth season of 
The comedy talent may be plentiful, but the quality of the sketches are just as scattershot as your average episode of Saturday Night Live in the first season of 
Originally released on DVD nearly a decade ago, the epic TV miniseries 
If you can get past some of their garbage shows about aliens and the end of the world, History does still manages to put out some real gems that should be seen, including the 5th season of their astronomical wonderfest, 
As it stars both Patrick Warburton and David Spade, I always hope that 
While 
Sadly, 
Ben 10 has moved beyond Alien Force with the first volume of 
The long drought of last year is but a distant memory as the new Cinematic Titanic releases roll out with great speed this new year, the latest being 
Moore Action Collectibles had a go at it a few years ago, but it wasn’t until Toynami took over the license that the Futurama action figure line really took off and became what fans always hoped for – mainly, filled with characters. If you’re completely oblivious to the existence of these figures, then thank Thinkgeek for collecting together a clutch of them and offering them as 
There’s an entire generation out there that never got to experience the golden years of a show called 
R. Lee Ermey returns with a brand new series – 
Where the Coen brothers fell down, a firing-on-all-cylinders Steven Soderberg delivers 
I think the title of his new DVD sums it up pretty well – 
Remember About Schmidt? Remember Jack Nicholson’s cross-country journey to reconnect with his daughter after his wife’s passing? Well, crank up the schmaltz factor and regress the script, and give the lead to Robert DeNiro and you’ve pretty much got 
It’s always interesting to find out about the people behind the names that have become nothing more than brands, and such is the case with the biopic 
I never thought I’d be interested in seeing the pressure and power struggles that went into making an issue of Vogue magazine, but like any good documentary, 
The film’s a mess but I love how the cover of the oddball 
Zombie Nazis. Does anything else really need to be said about the Nordic take on Evil Dead, 
Michael Palin turns in a memorable dramatic performance in the UK miniseries 
For those with very little patience, you can pick up and either re-watch or get caught up with the first half of 
Front and center, Edie Falco makes an indelible impression as the titular 
It’s not my cup of tea, but there’s no denying that 
Go back to the infancy of the Oscars with the 
Learn of the perils and impending issues of overfishing in the compelling documentary 
Those nifty score purveyors at La-La Land Records have delivered another trio of releases to keep soundtrack fans happy and penniless – Christopher Young’s score to 
Science! Can’t get enough of it. Also? Excited by it. The 4th season box set of 
I can only assume they’re a big hit north of the border, but I confess to being nonplussed by the titular comedy troupe helming the feature film 
Hope is in the air that this isn’t the end, but the release of 
Over the years, I’ve hunted and hunted for a good set of portable laptop speakers that are a) actually portable, b) provide good sound, and c)don’t require any outside power supply (including batteries). My current favorite that matches all of those criteria is the 
Fans of Disney animation – both its process and history – will want to tear into the lavish hardcover 
As a complimentary volume to that, might I also suggest 
If anyone was wondering why Bryan Cranston won an Emmy for his role as a sad sack, trying to make ends meet chemistry teacher who gets diagnosed with terminal cancer and decides – to hell with it – to use his knowledge to make crystal meth with one of his former students, watch the first season of 
Every once in awhile, someone hits on an idea for a documentary where you just have to sit back and go, “Brilliant!” and then enjoy the heck out of it. Such is the case with 
It’s a 50/50 proposition with kids shows (which, because of my nephews, I’ve been forced to watch a lot of these past few years). Either they’re really good, or they’re abysmal. One that manages to a fun half hour is The Mighty B!, which is co-created by Amy Poehler (who provides the voice of the titular feisty girl Bessie, using a voice fans of UCB will find familiar). The first Mighty B! release – 
Years after the release of the first two seasons, Sony has decided to allay fears it had given up the ghost by releasing the third season of 
Another classic has made its way to high definition with a port of the deluxe special edition of William Friedkin’s 
I’m just this close to over the dopey, one note aww-shucksism of Michael Cera, but he manages to make it work for 
There’s nothing like spending a Saturday afternoon kicking back and watching a 70’s car chase classic like 
Bring a little Hong Kong action to your weekend with Derek Yee’s 
Want a nice primer of a few classic British series? Try 
Although it tries to be Porky’s, Risky Business, and American Pie for today’s kids hoping to sneak into an R-rated sex comedy, 
With the new edition of the musical tearing up London’s West End, take a gander at the BBC’s recent dramatic take on Dickens’ classic 
If you keen on a cheap thriller this weekend, then you’re probably thinking of something like 
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.
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