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…)
In the hallowed halls of cult films, there is most surely a lofty perch for John Carpenter’s unforgettable classic Escape From New York, starring Kurt Russell as one of cinema’s greatest antiheroes. Now, those collectible crack dealers at Sideshow have made an offer few could possible refuse by releasing a spot-on 12″ Snake Plissken (Sideshow, $ 159.99). From the lifelike sculpt of Kurt Russell and the exquisitely designed & tailored outfit – both his jacketed and t-shirted looks – right down to the snake tattooed on his stomach, it’s every fan’s dream. He also comes with every little accessory you’d expect, including tons of weapons, his wrist timer, president tracker, a cigarette, and more. Oh, and the Sideshow Exclusive version includes a bonus hand holding the Nuclear Fusion Information cassette tape. Now where’s my Jack Burton figure?
As a child, I must have watched Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) dozens of times on SelectaVision videodisc, and remained baffled as to why it never seemed to get a DVD release while every other Peanuts production seemed to be making its way into the modern age. Well, finally my long wait is over, and the remastered film looks fantastic in its original widescreen theatrical ratio.
Disney’s incredible series of fully remastered and expanded soundtrack special editions continues with the 4-disc Fantasia: The Legacy Collection (Walt Disney Records, $23.98 SRP), featuring both conductor Leopold Stokowski’s original score as well as the modern Irwin Kostal re-recording, plus bonus tracks of the aborted Clare de Lune sequence and Sterling Holloway reading both “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and “Peter & The Wolf”.
Overshadowed by splashier studio fare like Big Hero 6 and How To Train Your Dragon 2 in theaters, home video is the perfect second chance to experience the delightfully offbeat animated comedy Book Of Life (Fox, Rated PG, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP), about a young man who embarks on a hero’s journey into a trio of memorable worlds in order to reunite with his true love. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a brand new short, featurettes, and a music video.
The performance sparks you hope for when you hear that Robert Downey, Jr. is playing a big city lawyer who returns to his childhood hometown when his estranged father, a local judge played by Robert Duvall, is accused of murder are there in spades in the brisk The Judge (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP). Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
Catch up with Cartoon Network’s continuing winning streak of quirky animated kids fare with the inaugural DVD releases of Clarence, Uncle Grandpa, and Steven Universe (Cartoon Network, Not Rated, DVD-$14.47 SRP each). Both sport the first dozen episodes plus the original pilots.
I didn’t think it possible to release so many quality new-to-HD catalogue releases each month, but the folks at Olive consistently prove me wrong, as they drop a new clutch of beuts including Frank Capra’s A Hole In The Head (Olive Films, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), Paul Winfield & Cecily Tyson in the biopic King (Olive Films, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), Gregory Peck in the Korean War film Pork Chop Hill (Olive Films, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), David Duchovny & Minnie Driver in Return To Me (Olive Films, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), and Moms Mabley’s Amazing Grace (Olive Films, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP).
You take the good, you take the bad, you add ’em up and there you have The Facts Of Life: The Complete Series (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$199.99 SRP), a 26-disc mega collection of all 201 episodes of the uneven but firmly ensconced in the pop culture firmament 80s sitcom. Bonus materials include a new cast reunion, the episode of Diff’rent Strokes that acted as the backdoor pilot, and more.
While you’re waiting for the next full-season Blu-Ray collection, bide your time with the single-disc Regular Show: Mordecai Pack (Cartoon Network, Not Rated, DVD-$19.82 SRP), which collects 16 episodes of bizarre goodness.
Even a broken watch is correct twice a day, and such is the case with Keanu Reeves in John Wick (Summit, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), who fits the titular role of an ex-assassin who mercilessly pursues a group of young thugs who make the mistake of attacking him like a glove. So yeah. See it. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and featurettes.
It’s sad that the latest DC animated film, Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP), is saddled with such dark and dreary and preciously self-important material from the modern DC canon, as there’s plenty of talent and potential being thrown at this tale of Arthur Curry reclaiming the Atlantean throne as a deadly threat to the Justice League looms. Bonus materials include featurettes, cartoons, and a preview of the next animated adaptation, Batman vs. Robin.
Jeremy Renner stars as Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb in Kill The Messenger (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), the true-story of a Webb’s discovery of link between US intelligence agencies and Central American drug smugglers in which the CIA used cocaine profits to fund the Contra rebels. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and featurettes.
Hoping to expand with an aging audience, Dora explores adolescence in Dora And Friends (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), as she leaves Boots behind in favor of a quartet of human friends to go on adventures with, four of which are included in this inaugural release.
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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In an age where JJ Abrams’ abysmal take on Star Trek threatens to become the norm, it’s a delight to dip into the classic Trek-era stories crafted over the past couple of years by legendary comic writer/artist John Byrne, all of which have been collected together in the hefty hardcover 
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