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 can understand in a world where Bridesmaids has already come down the pike a comedy like Bachelorette (Anchor Bay, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) might seem redundant, but this tale of a group of high school friends (Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher) who are slammed back together for the wedding of their friend (Rebel Wilson) and proceed to make a disaster of the hours leading up to the ceremony proves itself worthy just by dint of being a funny romp with winning performances. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a featurette, and bloopers.
When I first saw Peter Jackson’s return to Middle Earth with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, 3D Blu-Ray-$44.95 SRP), I was disappointed in what a messy anticlimax it was, right down to the unresolved ending. But then, much like the same arc I took with the original Lord Of The Rings films, my opinion has softened and I’m becoming affectionate towards it, though I probably won’t really embrace it until the extended cut arrives later this year. For now, though, the theatrical cut is available, along with 2+ hours of the video featurettes released over the course of the production.
I was quite looking forward to the big screen adaptation of the legendary stage musical Les Miserables (Universal, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), and while in many ways it’s a suitably epic adaptation of an epic piece of stagecraft, it’s also baffling in some of its off-putting execution… In particular, how director Tom Hooper seems to shoot the entire thing in close-ups. Instead of focusing on the film, I found myself counting nose hairs – not exactly the experience I was hoping for. Still, it’s worth a spin, if only for the music, and its sheer bombast. Bonus materials include a handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes and an audio commentary.
A cult film in the best sense of the word, Timerider (Shout Factory, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.93 SRP) is a little 80’s ball of fun about champion off-road racer Lyle Swann (Fred Ward) who accidentally gets sent back 100 years into the past – The Old West, to be exact. When bandits steal his bike, he’s got only his wits, a lovely outlaw, and an Exxon map to try and get back to the present. Oh, Michael Nesmith – Why aren’t you still producing movies? Bonus materials include an audio commentary, interviews, and a storyboard gallery.
With his Oscar win for Lincoln still fresh in people’s minds, it’s not surprising that the BBC is dropping a pair of releases spotlighting Daniel Day-Lewis with the straightforwardly named Daniel Day Lewis Triple Feature (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) – featuring How Many Miles To Babylon, The Insurance Man, & Dangerous Corner – and the mini-series My Brother Jonathan (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP).
Shout Factory continues to be a savior for completionists hoping to get to the end of their TV show collections, with the release of The Hardy Boys: Season Three (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$24.97 SRP), Law & Order: Criminal Intent: The Final Year/11th Season (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.93 SRP), and MadTV: Season Two (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP). All praise to the fine folks at Shout – Heck, they even release nifty titles like Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$39.97 SRP).
Classic Doctor Who fans will probably want to check out the BBC’s 1986 production of Alice In Wonderland (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$14.97 SRP), as it’s written & directed by longtime Who writer Barry Letts, and produced by Terrance Dicks. Also being released is the 1973 BBC production of Alice Through The Looking Glass (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$14.97 SRP).
How about this week’s soundtrack round-up? First up, you’ve got Bear McCreary’s score for Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome (La-La Land Records, $19.98 SRP). Meanwhile, George Fenton scores the latest beautiful documentary from the BBC, Frozen Planet (Silva Screen Records, $14.99 SRP). Then there’s the Cliff Martinez score to the Robert Redord-starrer The Company You Keep (Sony Pictures Classics, $13.99 SRP). Finally, there’s the soundtrack to SOS Titanic (Silva Screen, $14.99 SRP), composed and conducted by Howard Blake.
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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