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…
(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
Yes, I know I’m a little close to the material – but you know what? I’d still recommend you pick up a copy of Shootin’ The Sh*t with Kevin Smith: The Best of SModcast (Titan Books, $14.95 SRP). It may seem an odd proposition to read transcripts of the Kevin & Scott Mosier’s podcast, but the strength of the material means the comedy translates to the printed page quite nicely. Go. Buy it.
The miniaturization of video cameras is beginning to frighten me. This terror is completely overridden by the geek delight in holding a digital memory camera that’s only slightly larger than a chapstick tube. The camera I speak of is the Micro Camcorder Pro ($99.99), and it captures 640 x 480 x 25fps video onto a microSD card (a 2gb card is included), downloadable via USB. Sweet. And scary.
Sadly, we’ve now reached the limit of the currently produced episodes of The IT Crowd (MPI, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) with the release of the 3rd season – although, thankfully, creator Graham Linehan is hard at work writing the next batch. Still, the wait will be a long one, so it’s probably best to fill it re-watching the first three seasons again and again. Bonus features this go round include audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes.
I’ve seen the episodes a half-dozen times each (I often replayed them while working), but it’s the mark of a classic show that I’m looking forward to digging into the 3rd season set of 30 Rock (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Yes – I am. The 3-disc set contains all 22 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, a table read, deleted scenes, a gallery, outtakes, and more.
Yes, it really has been 100 episodes since the squarepanted sponge of Bikini Bottom first made his way onto our TV screens. How do I know this? Because there’s now an uber-deluxe box set titled Spongebob Squarepants: The First 100 Episodes (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$99.99 SRP), which is exactly that – 14 discs in a lucite holder, containing those titular episodes. Not only that, there’s also audio commentaries, featurettes, a music video, and even an in-depth, candid documentary on the show’s origin and evolution from the production team., It’s almost as good as getting the Krabby Patty formula.
They’ve been released what seems like a half-dozen times by at least three different companies, but this is the first time that Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection (Lionsgate, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) has been released in high definition. Not only that, but A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, and A Close Shave are joined by the newest short, A Matter Of Loaf And Death. Bonus features include audio commentaries and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Abrams is fast becoming a real juggernaut with their incredible Abrams ComicArts imprint, as they’ve been releasing some absolutely top-notch tomes that belong on your shelf. Like, now. First up is a loving, in-depth tribute to The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God Of Manga (Abrams Comic Arts, $40.00 SRP), which chronicles the life and output of the creator of Astro Boy, and a Japanese legend. The massive hardcover even comes with a bonus DVD featuring a documentary about Tezuka. Also available is Manga Kamishibai: The Art Of Japanese Paper Theater (Abrams ComicArts, $35.00 SRP), which illuminates the ancient art form that preceded Manga in the hearts of the Japanese people.
Much like Pineapple Express, those going into Observe & Report (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$28.98 SRP) expecting a simple-minded laugh-fest – a Paul Blart: Mall Cop, if you will – will certainly be surprised by just how much depth there is in the tale of mall security guard Ronnie Barnhart (Rogen). Which is not to say there aren’t laughs – there’s just a lot more than that, too. In what’s rapidly becoming a trend for Warners, all of the bonus features are reserved for the Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP), which amounts to a featurette, the “Forest Ridge Mall: Security Recruitment” video, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
Have I mentioned before just how much I’m enjoying Warner Bros.’ On-Demand DVD service at WarnerArchive.com? I have – numerous times – because it’s great to see a company find a way to make smaller catalogue titles available to fans when economic realities prevent a full-fledged commercial release. Case in point are a trio of new titles that have been added to the site – King Vidor’s Lightning Strikes Twice (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.95), Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, and Shirley MacLaine in Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$19.95) and the cult classic Penn & Teller Get Killed (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$19.95), which was actually directed by Arthur Penn.
Does anyone still watch Ugly Betty (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP)? Did the second season lose them all? Did this 3rd season outing bring any of them back? If it did, here’s the DVD set, with audio commentaries, featurettes, webisodes, deleted scenes, and bloopers.
Serial womanizer Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey finds his plans to bed a bridesmaid at his brother’s wedding is derailed by the supernatural guidance of his departed uncle (Michael Douglas), who originally instructed him on his boorish ways, to mend his ways and find true love (in the form of Jennifer Garner) in the tolerable rom-com Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past (New Line, Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.98 SRP). A Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) is also available, which seems to be where they put all of the bonus materials missing from the standard release – featurettes and deleted scenes.
Comedy Central may have killed their much-missed show, but at least there’s still live performances to keep The State alumni David Wain, Michael Showalter, & Michael Ian Black together, as you’ll see on Stella: Live In Boston (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$14.99 SRP), which finds the trio taking the stage in Fresno. Sorry – I mean Boston. In addition to the show itself, the DVD features a trio of Wainy Days webisodes, 3 Michael Showalter Showalter episodes, footage from the 2003 Fez performances, and an encore.
Despite further muddying already cloudy waters with divergent continuity, the biggest drawback of the axed Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) was that is was just, well, boring. I never found myself caring for the plight of mama Connor and son, and the Terminator out to protect them (Summer Glau). Check out the second (and final) season and see if you care. Bonus features include audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. A Blu-Ray edition ($79.98 SRP) is also available with identical bonus materials.
When his wife and child are murdered by a serial killer, a celebrity psychic renounces his conning past and devotes himself to using his observation and analysis skills to bring killers to justice in The Mentalist (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The 6-disc set contains all 23 first season episodes, plus featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
It may not be the best sitcom that ever came down the pike, but I still love me some Mr. Belvedere (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP). The 3rd season set contains all 22 episodes, plus a few cast commentaries thrown in for good measure.
It pretty much sums itself up in the title – Marvel: The Expanding Universe Wall Chart (Universe Publishing, $45.00 SRP) is a massive fold-out history of the equally massive Marvel Universe, illuminating not only the characters but also their shared history (what nerds call “continuity”).
When a killer begins copying the murders found in novelist Rick Castle’s stories, the author is enlisted by the NYPD to help bring the murderer to justice in Castle (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) – a collaboration he’s more than willing to milk for his next book. The 3-disc set features all 10 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, and bloopers.
Really, the only purpose that Ghost Whisperer (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$63.98 SRP) serves is to give steady work to Camryn Manheim and Jamie Kennedy. Beyond that, I’m not sure exactly what people see in it. But see something they do, as the fourth season is now available, containing featurettes and webisodes.
It seems Warners believes that audiences were simply dying for an origin prequel to their middling live action Scooby-Doo franchise, which means we know have Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$27.95 SRP). Yes, the gang gets together. For the first time. To solve a mystery. Bonus materials include featurettes, a music video, and a gag reel. A Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) is also available.
I can’t have been the only one not surprised that Brotherhood (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$42.99 SRP) didn’t make it past 3 seasons, as its story of family, politics, and organized crime never did seem to find its footing. The 2-disc set contains the final 8 episodes, and zero bonus features.
Oh, Disney Channel – why are your tween/teen comedies just so unrelentingly bland? It’s no wonder iCarly is kicking your ass in the ratings – one has only has to look at the episodes featured on the inaugural DVD release of the new Jonas Brothers sitcom Jonas (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) and see its tired writing and limp execution. If that weren’t enough of an example for you, look to what could – with another batch of shows – have been a really fun crossover, as a trio of Disney Channel sitcoms merge into Wizards On Deck With Hannah Montana (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). Sadly, it’s not that fun – just messy.
Already known for their stellar work, occasionally Sideshow Collectibles manages to even surpass themselves – and such is the case with their Iron Man Mark I Maquette ($399). Taken from Tony Stark’s rough-and-tumble, cave-cobbled armor from the beginning of Iron Man, the 1/4-scale maquette features detailed, accurate sculpting, and spot-on paint job, and even a chest light feature. And, if you get the Sideshow exclusive version, you get a swappable bonus head, which allows you to flip up the visor to reveal the sweaty visage of Robert Downey, Jr.’s Stark.
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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Patience has been rewarded for fans of Hayao Miyazaki, as his brilliant animated classic Spirited Away (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$36.99 SRP) finally makes its high definition debut, looking spectacular and featuring a bevy of bonus features, including featurettes, storyboards, trailers, TV spots, and an intro from John Lasseter.
A cult cult classic, Wet Hot American Summer (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP) finally gets a bit of the respect it deserves with its high definition debut via an extras-packed special edition, just in time for the forthcoming Netflix prequel series. Bonus features include a live reading, highlights from the 10th anniversary event, audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and more.
Leave it to Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman to do for the spy genre what they did for superheroes in X-Men: First Class by injecting a bit of vim and vigor into their adaptation of Kingsman: The Secret Service (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which reinvents Colin Firth as a kick-ass action hero. Bonus materials include behind-the-scenes featurettes and image galleries.
There’s a special kind of joy to be found when cracking open and becoming invested in a book a part of you knew always should have existed but finally does. We Don’t Need Roads: The Making Of The Back To The Future Trilogy (Plume, $17 SRP) is such a “FINALLY” book, as author Caseen Gaines interviews cast, crew, and filmmakers alike in a lovingly researched attempt at a definitive history, in which it most definitely succeeds.
Celebrate America’s birthday with the most comprehensive restoration and stunning presentation of a musical classic with the high definition debut of 1776 (Sony, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP). Re-instating nearly all of the once-excised material, and then some, the disc presents both a director’s cut of the film, as well as an extended cut. Bonus materials include an all-new audio commentary, deleted/alternate scenes with commentary, and screen tests.
Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy return with a brand new batch of short form hilarity with Rifftrax Shorts: Shorts Assemble! (Rifftrax, Not Rated, DVD-$9.95), featuring 10 new slices of fun with scary clowns, accidents, animals, nutrition, discipline, and more.
He still lives in a pineapple under the sea, but The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water (Paramount, Rated PG, 3D Blu-Ray-$52.99 SRP) finds our beloved Squarepants fighting a thieving pirate (Antonio Banderas) on dry land and in the 3rd dimension. It also features voice work from Matt Berry and Alan Carr, so deserves brownie points for excellent taste. Bonus materials include featurettes, storyboards, deleted scenes, sing-alongs, and more.
Every month brings a new clutch of iconic films given the high definition treatment by movie mavens at Criterion, with June’s must-have titles being Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King (Criterion, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP) and Bob Rafelson’s Five Easy Pieces (Criterion, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), featuring one of those legend-making Jack Nicholson roles (and a memorable diner scene). Bonus materials include audio commentaries, interviews, featurettes, and much more.
Over the past year, Paramount has been providing a boon to coompletionist fans of beloved TV shows by releasing complete series megasets from their rather deep catalogue of classics. The latest programs to get the uber-massive treatment are The Odd Couple (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) and Laverne & Shirley (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$79.99 SRP). Sadly, neither set brings any new bonus materials to the table, but they do carry over the pre-existing special features from the original individual season sets, including audio commentaries, intros, gag reels, and more.
Another month brings another sterling entry in Disney’s remastered and expanded Legacy Collection of soundtrack re-releases, with the latest being the film that out a creatively and financially shaky post-war Disney studio back in the black, 1950’s Cinderella (Walt Disney Records, $14.99 SRP). In addition to the original score, there’s also a second disc filled with demos and “Lost Chords” re-creations of deleted material, plus extensive liner notes.
I do enough traveling that I’m always drowning in cords and desperate to find the perfect combination of cords to streamline my terribly complicated existence. Thankfully, Thinkgeek has a pair of nifty items that have now made their way into my travel bag. First is the Trio Cable (Thinkgeek, $29.99), an all-in-one solution that features a trio of adapters – lightning, 30-pin, and micro USB – all connected to a single USB cord. And what if you have an iDevice and need some more distance? How about the 12-foot lightning connector Colossus Cord (Thinkgeek, $14.99).
Existing in the period between the departure of William Hanna & Joe Barbera and the short run from the legendary Chuck Jones, Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP) all 13 short subjects from this awkward, oft-maligned era. A bonus featurette with Deitch goes a long way to explain how ridiculously low budgets and other circumstances influenced his run.
Chris Vance returns as the titular high-octane deliveryman in the second season of The Transporter (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which finds Vance’s Frank Martin with plenty of trust issues as he attempts to deliver his high stakes cargo. Bonus materials include interviews, featurettes, and more.
Liam Neeson further cements his reputation as a man not to be trifled with in Run All Night (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$44.95 SRP), in which he stars as a fading mod hitman who finds his steps dogged by a relentless detective (Vincent D’Onofrio). Bonus materials include featurettes and deleted scenes.
Inspector Edmund Reid (Matthew Macfadyen) continues his struggle to tackle the seedy underworld of Edwardian Whitechapel in the 3rd season of Ripper Street (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), which launches in style with Reid and his team tacking a train heist.
Listen, I wouldn’t have pined for them, but both Tarsem Singh’s The Cell (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP) and Denzel Washington/Russell Crowe match-up Virtuosity (Warner Bros. Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP) are guilty pleasure catalogue titles that I” perfectly happy have made their high definition debut.Virtuosity is featureless, while The Cell contains commentaries, deleted scenes, a documentary, featurettes, and trailers.
The folks at Mill Creek open up the Columbia vaults for another batch of reasonably-priced catalogue releases, with James Mason & Helen Mirren in Age Of Consent (Mill Creek, Rated R, DVD-$9.98 SRP), Paul Muni in A Song To Remember (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP), the 2-disc Bulletproof: Tough Guys Of Action collection (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) – which sports Last Action Hero, Universal Soldier: The Return, The Russian Specialist, Into The Sun, The Stone Killer, Silent Rage, Shamus, & The Anderson Tapes – Dick Clark in Because They’re Young (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP), Samuel L. Jackson & Milla Jovovich in No Good Deed (Mill Creek, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$26.99 SRP), and Nicolas Cage & Tommy Lee Jones in Fire Birds (Mill Creek, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP).
Get your reality fix this weekend with a pair of powerful documentaries, the first of which is director Robert Kenner’s Merchants Of Doubt (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$38.99 SRP), which lifts the curtain of spin and reveals the pundits-for-hire that shape modern American discourse. The other Doc is Wim Wenders & Juliano Ribeiro Salgado’s The Salt Of The Earth (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$38.99 SRP), which follows photographer Sebastiao Salgado’s journey around the world working on a massive photographic project.
I was wholly unaware that Joan Rivers hosted her own syndicated daytime talk show in the late 60s out of New York City, so it was with keen interest that I dove into That Show with Joan Rivers (Film Chest, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), a 4-disc set that collects 29 episodes from the show’s 1st season. Guests in the set include Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, Vivian Vance, James Earl Jones, Lily Tomlin, and more.
Promoting the then-recent It’s Hard album, The Who: Live At Shea Stadium 1982 (Eagle Vision, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP) would be their last with drummer Kenney Jones and also their last major tour until 1989. It’s always nice to see a slice of music history from a band still very much a vital entity.
Finally getting a proper official release from the band’s archive, The Rolling Stones: The Marquee Club Live In 1971 (Eagle Vision, $29.98 SRP) is a 2-disc collection featuring a Blu-Ray video and audio presentation of their set, recorded at the legendary London club.
It’s a slight, toss-off little comedy, but Get Hard (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$44.95 SRP) works as well as it does because of the onscreen comedic commitment of stars Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell, the former playing a prison-wise mentor schooling convicted millionaire hedge fund manager Ferrell on how to survive an upcoming stint in San Quentin. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, featurettes, a gag reel, and more.
No one will ever mistake it for Citizen Kane, but there’s a certain affable charm to David Spade’s performance as the titular schlub searching for his parents in Joe Dirt (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), which makes its high definition debut.
Even though outside success means that the days of Adam, Blake, and Ders are probably numbered, enjoy the merry misadventures of Workaholics (Comedy Central, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP) in its fifth season. Two words: family funeral. Bonus materials include deleted/alternate scenes, outtakes, and more.
Mash together the world’s most famous cat & mouse combo with the globe-trotting adventurer Jonny Quest and you get the direct-to-video original feature Tom And Jerry: Spy Quest (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). I know, right? Who saw that coming? Bonus features include a clutch of shorts.
Keep the kiddies occupied over the long summer holidays with Nickelodeon’s 3-disc Bunch Of Play Dates (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP), which contains themed episodes from their clutch of toddler-centric favorites under the headers Dance To The Music, Rootin’ Tootin’ Wild West, and Once Upon A Rhyme.
