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…)
I’ve spoken to a few of his contemporaries in the past, and all of them described the drive and determination related in Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story (Vivendi, Not Rated, DVD-$26.97 SRP), a documentary which uses the comedian’s build up to his most recent world tour to explore his life and comedy. It’s a brilliant, brilliant portrait of a brilliant comic mind. Bonus materials include additional footage and interviews.
Perfect for the dorm, office, or when you need some extra food and drink space during a party, the Deluxe Mini-Fridge ($99.99) from Thinkgeek is a nice, compact unit with a 20liter capacity (plenty of room for soda or snacks) that can act as either a fridge or a warmer. It’s also versatile, containing connections for either the home or car. Trick out your home office that way you’ve always dreamed… Because those trips to the kitchen are such a massive timewaster.
I think a combination of political burnout and Michael Moore burnout led to Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story (Anchor Bay, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) being largely overlooked when it hit theaters last year – which is a shame, because it’s one of Moore’s most power documentaries, taking aim squarely at a system that has fractured in recent years due to runaway abuse. Give the doc a spin and see for yourself. Bonus materials include additional scenes. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.98 SRP) is available, with identical bonus features.
It’s a knife edge when a film decides to present a character whose situation is so bleak that the audience could be sucked down the same well of despair, but Precious (Lionsgate, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) manages to present its titular heroine with enough of a silver lining that I was right there with her, rooting for her escape from her awful life. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, a deleted scene, and the audition tape for star Gabourey Sidibe.
I’ve seen dozens of them by now, but I’m such a sucker for documentaries about The Beatles, even if that documentary is about the crafting of Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles collaboration, Love, in All Together Now (Apple/Capitol, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). Bonus materials include quite substantial featurettes.
Remember when you could make a filthy rich oil man a crime-solving TV hero? If you doubt such a show ever existed, look no further than Matt Houston (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), where the title character uses said wealth to solve murders with the aid of his sexy lawyer sidekick. The first season set contains all 23 episodes, plus the original promos.
Cast Bruce Boxleitner as an undercover spy who circumstances team up with a somewhat ditsy suburban Washington housewife, and you’ve got a show that still stands up as a pretty fun little romp – Scarecrow & Mrs. King (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The first season set contains all 21 episodes, but not a single bonus feature. Come on, WB – give Bruce and Kate Jackson a call.
It was pretty much ignored in the theaters, but there’s a lot of fun to be had in the animated Planet 51 (Sony, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), which sets traditional alien films on their ears by landing an Earth astronaut in the suburban environment of a distant world. Bonus materials include a pair of featurettes, extended scenes, a music video montage, and more.
Sibling rivalries, iron fists, and a cinematic dynasty are explored in the fascinating portrait The Brothers Warner (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), told by their family and the stars who had dealings with their megalithic moviemaking machine.
Fans of Greek! I know you’re out there, because Greek: Chapter 4 (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) is hitting DVD, and if the college-based show’s made it four seasons, then someone’s watching it. The 3-disc set contains all 12 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, a music video, and bloopers.
It’s been awhile since I’ve mentioned Warners’ wonderful on-demand DVD service, The Warner Archive Collection, but I’ll do so now with a pair of newly-available titles, first and foremost of which is a release of all 24 theatrical shorts comprising the Believe It Or Not series ($19.95), hosted by Robert L. Ripley. The second is a very young Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, and Faye Dunaway in Arizona Dream ($15.95).
Rediscover a lost piece of comedy history – and a groundbreaking female comedian – with The Ultimate Goldbergs (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99), which collects all of the extant episodes of the 1950’s sitcom The Goldbergs, created by and starring Gertrude Berg. The 6-disc set contains all 71 episodes known to exist, plus 12 episodes of its radio predecessor, the pilot for Berg’s subsequent show, and an excerpt of a documentary about her.
Remember Wild Hogs? The middling, middle-aged empowerment road comedy with John Travolta & Tim Allen, amongst others? Well, Travolta’s back in what feels like the exact same film, Old Dogs (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$44.99 SRP), this time with Robin Williams in tow. Seth Green’s in it. That’s got to count for something, right? The set contains the standard DVD edition of the film, as well as an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers.
A comedy about professional plagiarism and revenge gone decidedly offbeat, Gentlemen Broncos (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) isn’t quite as clever or offbeat as it should be, and winds up feeling like the bastard child of Napoleon Dynamite & Rushmore. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes, outtakes, and more.
I think, by the time you get to the fourth season of Dog Whisperer (Screen Media, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), you pretty much know what you’re getting from Cesar Milan’s canine-help show. So, suffice it to say, this more of the same, in a 5-disc box set containing 17 episodes (including the 100th), unaired segments, and bloopers.
It’s a classic veteran cop saddled with a young partner scenario in the UK’s Dalziel & Pascoe (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), as the duo solve murders in a delightful chalk & cheese fashion. The 2-disc first season set contains 3 feature-length telemovies.
Miss Conan and want to make up old Late Night bits on your own? You can do just that by laughing along with the complete 7th season of Walker, Texas Ranger (Paramount, Not Rated, $49.99 SRP). It’s all the ludicrous Chuck Norris action you remember – heck, it’s 25 episodes worth!
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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