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…)
He’s a genius and a swell guy, so of course I’m going to recommend Terry Gilliam’s “Pre-Posthumous Memoir” Gilliamesque (HarperDesign, $40 SRP), which reasonably accurate journey through his mostly-remembered life and career, packed with photographs and art culled from his archives. So, get it. It’s wonderful.
There have been plenty of Generation 1 (y’know, proper) Transformers toys released over the years, but it takes the miracle workers at Hot Toys to strip the been there, done that of it all by crafting their own take on the Autobot leader. Their Optimus Prime (Starscream Version) ($344.99) stands a foot tall, and looks exactly like you hope he would, with the added bonus of being incredibly articulated. The unique spin I mentioned earlier comes from the fact that this Optimus has just taken down Starscream with extreme prejudice, commandeering his wings and blasters and also claiming the head of his fallen foe. Because it’s Hot Toys, the figure also has a nifty light-up feature on not only his eyes, but also the Matrix of Leadership in his chest. Is this thing cool? Yes. Yes, it is.
And speaking of Sideshow Collectibles, photographer Daniel Picard has taken several of the figures they’ve released over the years and used them to create some absolutely magical photographs by dropping them into exquisitely crafted tableaus that run the gamut from funny to poignant. Those photographs have been collected together into a hardcover coffee table book, Figure Fantasy (Insight Editions, $125), which features a foreword from Simon Pegg and an afterword by Kevin Smith. The deluxe hardcover limited collectors edition, available exclusively from Sideshow.com, sports an attractive slipcase, and includes a card of authenticity signed by Picard, as well as three digitally signed and embossed fine art photo prints.
Disney’s slow trickle home video release of their high-profile animated films has always been painful for those of us who want to own everything right now, compounded by the fact that I’ve gone through this dance with VHS, DVD, and now Blu-Ray. After what seems forever and a day, another long-awaited diamond has made it out of the rough with the high-def arrival of Aladdin (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$40.99 SRP). In addition to the bonus materials found on the original DVD release, this Diamond edition adds a tribute to Robin Williams, Genie outtakes, featurettes, and more.
I had been hearing for months just how must-see wonderful the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy (Lionsgate, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP) was, and I began to fear that such glowing praise was setting me up for quite a bit of disappointment. Well, my fears were unfounded, because the flick really is wonderful, with both Paul Dano and John Cusack portraying, respectively, the 60s and Landry-influenced Wilson of the 80s with aplomb. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
Its spin-off has faded into the sunset, so it’s the perfect time to circle back and re-experience where it all began with Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Complete Series (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 16-disc set contains all 3 seasons (Books), plus a trio of bonus materials including audio commentaries, featurettes, animatics, and more.
Yeah, so, you’ve got a bunch of old NES and SNES cartridges lying around from your childhood, and you’d love to be able to play them, right? Of course you would! And how about making the ability to play portable, as well? That’s exactly what you get with the Retro Duo Portable NES/SNES Game System (Thinkgeek, $99.99), which not only allows you to play on the built-in screen, but also allows you to output the video to your TV screen. How cool is that? Now, dust off your copy of Bionic Commando and get gaming!
Not only has Shout Factory brought the long out-of-print and ridiculously priced on the secondary market Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume 1 (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$44.99 SRP) back into print, but they’ve also remastered the episodes (fixing a lot of quality issues found in the original Rhino release) and also loaded it with new bonus material, including featurettes, a Q&A with Trace and Frank, and theatrical trailers.
When most comic fans think of Donald Duck, they think of the comic book work of Carl Barks. The folks at IDW are looking to expand the appreciation of Donald’s comic adventures with the very first collection of Donald Duck: The Complete Newspaper Comics – 1938-1940 (IDW, $39.99 SRP). Featuring 750 consecutive strips by the great duck artist Al Taliaferro. It’s a beautiful addition to any library, and hopefully we’ll get the whole run.
And because Halloween is right around the corner, Fantagraphics has used that perfect timing to release volume 13 of their marvelous Carl Barks Library, Donald Duck: Trick Or Treat (Fantagraphics, $29.99 SRP), with its lead feature being the restored version of Barks’s adaptation of the witchy 1950s Duck cartoon. As usual, the volume is packed with additional stories and supporting essays, and continues to be a must-have for fans of Barks and the Disney ducks.
If you’re looking for a pretty darn perfect way to introduce a young kid to the wonderful wonders of Carl Barks’s Disney duck tales, Fantagraphics has hit upon a handy little reformatting style for some of his classic stories, presenting them in a 5×11 style that’s perfect for carting about. Joining the already available Donald Duck: Ghost Of The Grotto (Fantagraphics, $12.99 SRP) are The Golden Helmet (Fantagraphics, $12.99 SRP) and Sheriff Of Bullet Valley (Fantagraphics, $12.99 SRP). Get them all, and hopefully they’ll keep on putting them out!
While their cinematic universe is a drab, depressing antiheroic wasteland, the DC Comics television universe as been evolving into a lovely, interconnected, heroic bastion of enjoyable tales. While the third season of Arrow (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$60.10 SRP) doubled down and expanded into a comfortable rhythm, the real gem of the new season was the wonderfully nimble first season of The Flash (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$60.10 SRP), which is everything its dour cinematic cousin is not. Which is a very, very good thing. Bonus materials on the sets include featurettes, deleted scenes, commentary, and gag reels.
I desperately wanted to love Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). I love Brad Bird. I love the futurism of the past. I love Disney. But nothing quite seemed to gel into the perfect vision I had for this film, which is deeply ironic, given it’s flawed optimism and ultimately problematic message – which is, essentially, that most of us are not special, and never will be, but we have to believe in the exceptionalism of others in order to save us. So, yeah. Honestly, if this film had taken place entirely in the world Tomorrowland with the adventures of young boy genius Frank – you know, essentially the futuristic adventures of Hogarth Hughes – than I would have been giddy. Can I have that film? Bonus materials include deleted scenes, featurettes, and animated prequel short, and more.
The impending arrival of the new animated film on the big screen means we’re getting a deluge of books featuring and celebrating his creations, and one of the most beautiful is Chip Kidd’s Only What’s Necessary: Charles M. Schulz And The Art Of Peanuts (Abrams ComicArts, $40 SRP). Leave it to Kidd to craft another of his signature tomes packed with rare and beautifully shot and presented ephemera from across the strip” 50 year history, from bizarre merchandise to discarded strips.
A hearty thank you to the home video gurus at Warner Bros., who have used their mojo to shake loose and release a quartet of oft-requested catalogue titles from Paramount and get them in the hands of fans in glorious high-def. Those titles include the Harrison Ford building a barn vehicle Witness (Paramount/Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), Clint Eastwood’s Escape From Alcatraz (Paramount/Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), Nicolas Cage & Sam Rockwell in Matchstick Men (Paramount/Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), Matt Stone & Trey Parker’s marionation masterpiece Team America: World Police (Paramount/Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), Morgan Freeman in both Kiss The Girls (Paramount/Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP) & Along Came A Spider (Paramount/Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), Robert DeNiro & Ed Burns in 15 Minutes (Paramount/Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), and James Stewart & John Wayne in the classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Paramount/Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP).
Try and avoid the increasingly creaky Modern Family and instead focus your attention on the genuinely fresh and funny Fresh Off The Boat (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which manages to avoid culture clash tropes and instead focuses on what’s important – smart comedy well-performed. Bonus materials include a trivia track and a gag reel.
Yeah, I was certainly one of those fans who was deeply worried that the show wouldn’t be able to stick the landing at the end of its run, but the seven episodes of Mad Men: The Final Season Part 2 (Lionsgate, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.97 SRP) managed to pull it off, delivering not only a fitting bit of positive closure for the deeply flawed Don Draper, but also for most of the supporting characters as well. Bonus materials include audio commentaries and a handful of featurettes.
Biding time patiently for the next full season high-def release? Partake of Adventure Time: The Enchiridion (Cartoon Network, Not Rated, DVD-$19.82 SRP), collecting 16 episodes from the current season, every one of which is full of adventure to pass the time.
Knowing that his artists, who had been toiling away on Mickey Mouse shorts and Silly Symphonies, were not quite ready to tackle something as artistically ambitious as their first feature, Snow White, Walt Disney arranged for what essentially was an in-house art school, organized by Chouinard instructor Don Graham. Featuring lecturers like Frank Lloyd Wright and Alexander Woollcott, the long-filed and rarely seen notes from those presentations have been collected together with context and copious illustrations in Before Ever After: The Lost Lectures Of Walt Disney’s Animation Studio (Disney Editions, $40 SRP), and every one is a gem.
It’s the fall and a new season has begun, which means we also get the release of the previous season with the arrival of South Park: The Complete Eighteenth Season (Comedy Central, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). The 2-disc set contains all 10 episodes plus the regular batch of Matt & Trey mini-commentaries, deleted scenes, and #socialcommentary.
A zombie medical resident who works at the morgue, eats brains, and solves murders with the psychic information she gleans while eating those brains? From the guy who gave us Veronica Mars? Sure, I’ll watch that show. And you should watch the complete first season of iZombie (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), because it’s all of those things. Bonus materials include deleted scenes and a Comic-Con panel.
The Peanuts gang ventures into international territory in Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which is newly remastered for its 35th anniversary, and finds Charlie Brown and gang spending two weeks in France as exchange students. The disc also contains a newly-produced making-of featurette.
From the work of Bill Theiss on the original series through the work of Robert Blackman and Michael Kaplan on the modern shows and films, Star Trek: Costumes (Insight Editions, $60 SRP) is a comprehensive and lovingly-crafted celebration of the art and artistry that went into clothing the not-too-distant future. Packed with photos and design artwork, it’s a lovely tome for any fan.
Tell me 20 years ago, and I never would have believed you if you’d told me that Bobcat Goldthwait would turn out to be a filmmaker crafting some deeply fascinating films, the most recent of which, Call Me Lucky (MPI, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) is a documentary about his mentor, comedian Barry Crimmins. In it, Goldthwait presents a painfully inspiring portrait of a man who transformed his childhood abuse into a rage-filled stage persona and a nurturing relationship with the next generation of comedians, one of which was Bobcat himself. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a trailer.
As finales of NuWho go, the two-parter Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death In Heaven (BBC, Not Rated, 3D Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP) certainly wasn’t a high water mark, but it did give us a fully realized take on a female version of The Master, and watching Peter Capaldi continues to be a joy, even if the material he’s being given still isn’t quite clicking. But the real reason to pick up this release is that they’ve gone back and made it 3D, which we’ve only seen done with Who for the 50th anniversary special. So, for novelty alone, this disc is worth a spin.
As a film San Andreas (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, 3D Blu-Ray-$44.95 SRP) is just as much a disaster as the seismic catastrophe its plot hinges upon. But we don’t watch films like this for any other reason than it’s full-on disaster porn, with oodles of special effects of things breaking and exploding. Oh, and this one adds The Rock to that mix. And who doesn’t like The Rock? Even if his actions in this film are incredibly selfish and mightily unheroic. But still. THE ROCK. And all of that crumble boomy looks snazzy in 3D. Bonus materials include audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
There are enough dour and depressing aspects barnacled on to the Batman universe that sometimes it takes a bit of real world joy to brighten up the impact of the Dark Knight, and that’s what we get from the documentary Batkid Begins (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$28.98 SRP), about the town of San Francisco fulfilling the wish of a 5-yerar-old boy who had fought through Leukemia, and who just wanted to be the real Batman.
As much guff as Keanu Reeves has gotten for his acting and film choices over the years, his performance in Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho (Criterion, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), as one half a hustling duo alongside River Phoenix, is unassailable. And now Criterion has done a beautiful high-def restoration, packed with a documentary, interviews, featurettes, and more.
I know my nephews, huge fans, probably would have begged to see Regular Show: The Movie (Cartoon Network, Not Rated DVD-$14.98 SRP) in the theater if it had actually gotten a theatrical release, but it didn’t, so they’ll instead enjoy this feature-length adventure at home. Which is just as good, really. Certainly cheaper and more comfortable.
While they’ve been available as separate collections of episodes, all of those separate discs have now been brought together in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete First & Second Seasons (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). Nickelodeon’s modern take on the well-loved franchise is a truly beautiful series, which makes it that much more baffling that it can’t manage to get an equally nice high-definition release. Here’s hoping this is the first step towards that.
If you’re a fan of arthouse cinema – also known as, ya know, really good films that contain almost no CG, aliens, or superheroes – then the curated collection of 10 films put together by the award-winning team at Indiepix, running the gamut from comedy to drama to documentary, is right up your alley. The specially assembled lot includes Artois The Goat, Candyman: The David Klein Story, Evergreen, The DeVilles, All My Friends Are Funeral Singers, Frontrunner, The Axe In The Attic, Jack Taylor Of Beverly Hills, Shooting Stars, and Echotone (Indiepix, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP each).
Remember in the 1990s, when every year seemed to bring a new batch of Jackie Chan movies? Well, Warners aims tom remind you, with the high definition debut of a pair of those 90s Chan flicks – Jackie Chan’s First Strike (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$9.98 SRP) and Rumble In The Bronx (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$9.98 SRP).
What do you do when your main character left the male stripping world at the end of your first surprisingly successful film but you really, really want to make a sequel? You use the old “Getting the band back together for one last hurrah” trope, and that’s exactly what we get in Magic Mike XXL (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$44.95 SRP), which brings Mike back to what he does best when his former cohorts convince him to join them in a big finish at a competition in Myrtle Beach. Because, of course they did. Bonus materials include a pair of featurettes and an extended dance scene.
Just like the documentaries on World Wars I & II before it, there’s something undeniably fascinating in seeing history come to life merely by introducing color to what has always been black & white, and when it comes to photography, Blood & Glory: The Civil War In Color (History Channel, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) is about as far back as we can go. Bonus materials include additional interviews with historians and descendents.
We haven’t gotten a proper Christmas episode out of the current iteration of the characters, so we’ll have to go to the last series for a festive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Cowabunga Christmas (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$9.99 SRP). The disc sports a trio of episodes sure to put you in the holiday spirit.
A film like Skin Traffik (Alchemy, Rated R, DVD-$19.99 SRP) is exactly the kind of pulpy throwaway you’d find yourself watching at 3am on Cinemax. Starring Gary Daniels as a hitman out to liberate a woman under the control of a vicious pimp played by Mickey Rourke, it’s everything you’d expect from one of those late night action flicks.
When you’ve exhausted sequels, go back and make a prequel, which is just what Insidious: Chapter 3 (Sony, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP) does, as we go back to the time before the Lambert haunting to the tale of a young teen attempting to contact her dead mother and encountering more than she bargained for. Bonus materials include featurettes and deleted scenes.
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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While you’re counting the days that have comprised this massively long wait for the start of the 6th season, dive into the complete 5th season of 
Looking for an easier way to send countless texts to friends and family this holiday season in a much, much easier fashion? How about augmenting your iPhone with a 
Many (including me) celebrated the release of the Rhino DVD sets as a golden age for fans of the show, but Shout Factory has proved that those Rhino days were but pyrite compared to the torrent of Mystery Science Theater sets they’ve delivered over the past few years. Case in point, just months after all of the Gamera films, we get 
Watching the 4th, penultimate (and last full) season of 
I don’t want you to think that I didn’t enjoy 
For a unique home 3D experience that’s also quite educational, join Werner Herzog for a journey into the 
Oh, 
One of the great war films of all time gets a high definition release with 
In the documentary 
I am shocked to say that I found 
I’ve always thought that Colin Quinn was a pretty sharp comedian with a not terribly sharp delivery, but in his first stand-up special – 
Listen, I know that the John Milius Conan film has its flaws, but there’s an energy and grit that permeates every frame of that flick that’s simply not found in the too-slick, too-affected, too-boring modern 
If you’ve waited your whole life to see Jim Carrey cavort with penguins in an elegant New York apartment, then 
I kept hoping that 
Ben returns to take on the abounding extraterrestrial menaces in 
It’s been the requisite amount of time, so what do we get? Why, we get another season set of Spongebob! 
Things take a dark, unpredictable turn in the 5th and final season of 
If you’d like to fulfill your very special movie quota, check out 
For history buffs, the perfect companion to their recent WWII set is the equally fascinating/gripping 
It’s a bit bloated and unwieldy, but I have to admit that I have quite a fondness for Richard Attenborough’s biopic 
Got more kitchen utensils than space? Countertops and drawers at a premium? How brilliant is the 
Those wonderful purveyors of fine comic appreciation over at Twomorrows have decided to focus on the creator of the landmark comic series Bone with 
The animation isn’t the best, but what 
It’s no Broadcast News, but 
Oh, Warner Archive. I do so love how you’re releasing every marginal and obscure Hanna-Barbera cartoon in your vast library. So thank you for the a release like the set containing the complete runs of both 
It’s not as well put together as the UK original, but there’s certainly some interesting genealogical twists and turns to be found in the 1st season of the US 
It’s no Rocky, but there is a charm to 
Wrap up the second half of 
I find Clint Eastwood’s films can be hit-or-miss for me, with every great flick like Unforgiven matched by a disappointing one like Gran Torino. His stab at the supernatural, 
Hal-shark. Half-octopus. All schlock. Yeah, that pretty much sums up Roger Corman’s 
It’s the last of their live recordings from November’s run of shows in Los Angeles, but they’ve certainly saved the best till the end – Cinematic Titanic’s 
Want to be able to put your cellphone or Flip camera just about anywhere? Well, you pretty much can using the incredible gripping ability of the 
The latest in the line of must-have production art books from the fine folks at Pixar and Chronicle is, of course, 
Fans who have been wondering when Universal would finally bring their spiffy remastered edition of 
It’s been a long, long, LONG wait, but fans can now pick up the complete 3rd season of 
I’ve been a big fan of the Playing For Change music project since I first heard about it last year, as most people did, via the brilliant viral video of artists worldwide doing a jam session on “Stand By Me”. The latest release from the project is 
Now that the series has been released in its entirety, it’s only left to mop things up and release 
When all else in the world is uncertain, one can always rely on the complete, unadulterated, glorious crapfest that is 
Backfilling your TV series collection in HD is obviously the new thing to drain your wallet dry, and with that in mind I’m sure fans will be picking up 
I don’t know why last year seemed to bring out the post-apocalyptic flicks, but 
Really, the only reason for watching the otherwise toothless romantic comedy 
OD on animated sitcoms from Seth MacFarland by picking up not only the 8th volume of 
Harrison Ford as a reclusive medical researcher? Sure, I’ll buy that. Brendan Fraser as an idealistic dad desperate to find a cure for his children’s rare genetic disorder before it’s too late? Okay. Is Harrison Ford awake in 
It’s been awhile since his last comedy special, but Black is back with a new album – 
It doesn’t have quite the budget of Primordial, but 
I think it was during 
Leave it to that good ol’ golden retriever to make sure he gets in on the sports action with 
Really, the only thing that makes the fourth season of 
Adults (and even kids) have been eagerly awaiting the next installment from their trippy friends who dance around to music and stuff, and now they can pick up 
Always one of those inoffensive, rather forgettable WB shows, I could never bring myself to watch 
When I was a young college freshman near the end of my first (and only) disastrous year at NYU, I was able to arrange for a press ticket to a taping of 
For years and years and years, ever since I first saw one when I was a kid, I’ve wanted a book that opens up to reveal a cut-out hole. You know what I mean? The kind you could hide things in. Like a jewel. Or booze. Well, Thinkgeek now gives you that 
Another Pixar film in theaters means another eye-candy filled “Art Of” book, which is exactly what you get with 
Forged in the fire of the Writers Strike of 2008, released on the internet to rabid fan acclaim, and long available on that selfsame net, everyday people can now get a copy of Joss Whedon’s online musical, 
Much of the comedy in Eddie Murphy’s game-changing stand-up concert 
It’s pure popcorn, but I think 
Another great flick making its transition to high definition is the Civil War epic 
I must admit, 
June has become decidedly jazzy with a trio of deluxe Legacy Edition catalogue releases from Sony Music. First up is a 3-disc edition of Dave Brubeck’s 
Paramount isn’t the only one unleashing a tidal wave of Blu-Ray catalogue titles, as Universal dips into their extensive roster for a batch of their own, many of them must haves. So what does the batch consist of? 
I still can’t fathom what people saw in the three flicks currently comprising the 
Sergio Leone’s 
Over 20 years after its single season run, The Jetsons returned to television with brand new episodes, the first 21 of which are being released as 
The BBC’s nature documentarians can always be counted on to deliver stunning visuals, and that’s certainly the case with 
I can’t see William Conrad in the episodes features in 
The movie’s a dud, but it’s still fun to flip through both 
Though often a director, I always get a kick out of Kenneth Branagh, the actor, who is in fine form in the UK series 
Surprisingly, 
The folks at Sesame certainly are pushing Abby Cadabra, aren’t they? The latest team up with their little red cash cow is 
Nancy Botwin moves her mini pot empire south of the border in the fourth season of 
It’s not my cup of tea, but 
Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell star as a trio of simple farmhand brothers who goes up against the Nazis in 
In 
