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…)
It’s always a worry when Pixar revisits their past films for a sequel. Will this be the time it all falls apart and the bloom is finally off the rose? Happily, that’s not the case with Monsters University (Walt Disney, Rated G, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP), which takes is back to their genesis of Mike and Sully’s friendship at the titular alma mater, and manages to be a snappy college comedy that evokes genre classics like Animal House and Back To School to enjoyable effect. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a clutch of featurettes, deleted scenes, and the theatrical short The Blue Umbrella.
Slowly but surely, Disney/Pixar has been revisiting their catalogue titles with snazzy new 3D versions, and the latest to get the treatment is the original Cars (Walt Disney, Rated G, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP). It’s certainly a film that benefits from the upgrade, particularly the various race scenes. This new edition ports over all of the bonus features from the previous Blu-Ray release, including an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and the short subjects One Man Band and Mater And The Ghostlight.
Invite the legendary Carol Burnett over for the holidays via The Carol Burnett Show: Christmas With Carol (Time Life, Not Rated, DVD-$12.95 SRP), which collects a handful of episodes and holiday sketches together into a cornucopia of comedy delights.
In the mood for a clever little romantic comedy? You know, the type perfected by the Brits? Then give a spin to I Give It A Year (Magnolia, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP), about a young couple in a marriage no one thinks will last. Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, interviews, and a gag reel.
The prehistoric beasties of the UK’s Primeval make their way to American shores in the US version Primeval: New World (E1, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), and you can now watch all 13 episodes of the short-lived series at your leisure. Bonus materials include a clutch of featurettes.
Despite the unfortunate participation of Zack Snyder, I was pleasantly surprised by the documentary Necessary Evil: Super-Villains Of DC Comics (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP), which takes an in-depth look at the baddies that define the DC superheroes. And it’s narrated by the great Christopher Lee, so it’s got that going for it, too.
America’s favorite fat cat returns in The Garfield Show: A Purr-fect Life (Vivendi, Not Rated, DVD-$14.93 SRP), which collects 6 episodes from the orange tabby’s new show, plus additional shorts. Now, if it only came with lasagna…
I love how The Conjuring (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) touts its tale of a pair of ghosthunters helping a family terrorized by a poltergeist as being “based on true events”, because… ghosts? Really? Besides that nonsense, the film itself is a snappy little thriller in the vein of, well, Poltergeist. Bonus materials include a trio of featurettes.
Are you a fan of rare archive films? And an Anglophile? If so, dig into the historical films collected in London’s East End: 1900s – 1970s, London’s War: During WWII, London Life In The 1930s, 50s, & 60s, and The Golden Age Of British Railways (BFS, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP each). Plenty of nifty sights to behold.
Every once in awhile, The History Channel puts out a few releases to remind people their programming used to be about more than garbage pickers and pawn shops. The JFK Collection (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) brings together 8 documentaries on all aspects of Kennedy, including his family members. Meanwhile, the high definition WWII Collection (History Channel, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) contains a trio of documentaries – WWII In HD, WWII In HD: The Air War, and WWII From Space.
Considering it’s a Christopher Guest project in his improvisational style and it stars the eminently affable Chris O’Dowd, I had high hopes for Family Tree (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Sadly, the resultant journey of O’Dowd’s character through his family’s unexpected history is a dull, draggy affair that never manages to find the transcendently sublime riffs that usually carry Guest’s humor along. A shame. Bonus materials include featurettes and additional scenes.
Honestly, I can see why RIPD (Universal, Rated PG-13, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.98 SRP) was a bit of a dud at the box office – It plays much better as a schlocky sci-fi flick to be watched on a cold winter night in the comfort of your own home. With Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds as a pair of deceased lawmen back on the mortal plane to defend it against destructive spirits who discover a scheme that could mean the end of all existence, it’s just the right kind of cheese. Bonus materials include alternate openings, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
Another week, and other roundup of brand new soundtracks releases! This week, we’ve got selections of Richard Marvin’s scores from the first two seasons of Grimm (La-La Land Records, $15.98), Steven Price’s score for Gravity (Watertower Music, $9.98 SRP), the 2-disc collector’s edition of Bear McCreary’s music for Da Vinci’s Demons (Sparks & Shadows, $8.99 SRP), the soundtrack album to the Paul Potts biopic One Chance (Sony, $10.99 SRP), Oscar Navarro’s score to La Mula (Moviescore Media, $7.99 SRP), and finally, we’ve got David Schwartz’s music and songs from Arrested Development (Varese Records, $11.88 SRP).
The fine folks at Film Chest have released the first of their Roger Corman’s Horror Classics Volume 1 (Film Chest, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), featuring A Bucket Of Blood, Dementia 13 & The Terror, all of which have been restored from 35mm film elements.
The fine folks at the Beeb present their own take on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), as a young woman must make a perilous journey deep into the domain of the titular queen to rescue a penniless urchin she had befriended before he was spirited away. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a featurette, and a Blue Peter program on Hans Christian Andersen.
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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