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…)
After Tim Burton’s abysmal take, I was quite leery of any new attempts to return to the Planet Of The Apes franchise. Well, I was pleasantly surprised that Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) manages to present an enjoyable take on the material as an origin story, bringing us back to the initial uprising of the apes led by a newly-intelligent (medical experiment!) chimp names Caesar (the always mo-cap impressive Andy Serkis). Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
Still looking for the perfect stand for your smartphone? Try the Milo Micro-suction Stand ($14.99). As you can probably guess, the curved stand keeps your phone (or mp3 player) in place via the awesome power of suction. Miraculous!
Remember when we were all mourning the cancellation of Futurama? Such a long time ago! And here we are two seasons into its revival with the release of Futurama: Volume 6 (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), featuring 13 brand new episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
A sequel was inevitable, so it should come as little surprise to you that Jack Black returns in Kung Fu Panda 2 (Dreamworks, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP), which finds Po and the Furious Five up against an all new villain. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
There are plenty of companies diving into their deep catalogues for Blu-Ray release, but the only studio that is consistently ace with every restoration project they undertake is Warner Bros. The latest to benefit from their incredible acumen is the Judy Garland romance Meet Me In St. Louis (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP), which is absolutely stunning. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, an introduction from Liza Minnelli, the Lux Radio Theater broadcast, and a music-only track.
I didn’t know what to expect from the remake of Fright Night (Touchstone, Rated R, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP), but I was pretty sure I would enjoy the performance of David Tennant as reluctant vampire hunter Peter Vincent. And you know what? I did enjoy his performance, and I enjoyed the movie as well, as perfect late-night weekend viewing, with plenty of dimensional scares to justify picking up the 3D version. Bonus materials include featurettes, outtakes, deleted scenes, and more.
There’s something about Velvet Goldmine (Lionsgate, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP) that very much feels like a late-90’s indie film, which it is, and a fine one at that. If you’ve not seen it, it’s a fictionalized look at the personalities and excesses of the glam era – not to name names, of course – starring Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Christian Bale. Bonus materials on this new Blu-Ray include an audio commentary and the theatrical trailer.
Shame it’s gone direct-to-DVD (not even Blu-Ray) here in the US, because Burke & Hare (IFC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) is a lovely little black comedy from director John Landis, starring Simon Pegg & Andy Serkis as the infamous pair who murdered to profit in the black market of medical cadavers in 19th century Edinburgh. Bonus materials include interviews, outtakes, and a featurette.
The main reason to check out Warrior (Lionsgate, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), about a haunted ex-Marine who attempts to pull the fragments of his life together and win an MMA tournament, is for the lead performance of Tom Hardy, who could make just about anything watchable. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
Now that we’ve moved beyond the still-wonderful episodes into the seasons I don’t really care about, the release of something like The Simpsons: The Fourteenth Season (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$59.99 SRP) don’t exactly have me excited. Still, even if the shows themselves are largely duds, there’s no denying that the team behind the show know how to load up a release, including entertaining audio commentaries on every episode, featurettes, deleted scenes, sketches, and more.
I don’t understand its appeal, but I know there are plenty of fans out there eager to pick up their very own copy of Archer: Season Two (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). The 2-disc set sports all 13 episodes, plus featurettes.
If you’re in the mood for a heartwarming tale of a dolphin with a prosthetic tail that just so happens to star Morgan Freeman in a role that isn’t the dolphin, then you might want to check out Dolphin Tale (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP), which is all of those things. Bonus materials include featurettes, an additional scene, and a gag reel.
It didn’t arrive in time to mention it in the holiday shopping guide, but now that you’re burdened with all of that holiday cash, now’s the time to pick up the latest in Hot Toys’ line of stunningly-accurate Marvel 12″-scale figures from the fine folks at Sideshow Collectibles. The latest is Steve Rogers himself – Captain America ($169.99) – as played by Chris Evans in the recent feature. I’d hazard to say you never seen a scale outfit recreation as detailed, accurate, and impressive as this, as every little texture and stitch, buckle and belt is perfect. And you know you need him standing next to your Iron Man and Thor, as you march towards a full line of Avengers.
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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