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…)
As brilliant as the first season was, the second season of Louis CK’s Louie (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) was even more so, plussing across the board with episodes that included Louie confronting Dane Cook, sleeping with Joan Rivers, and even traveling to Iraq. Just watch the damn thing already. Bonus materials include audio commentaries on select episodes.
On the go and want the itty bittiest little stylus you can get for your smartphone? Look no further than the teeny little MicroStylus Compact Capacitive Touch Stylus ($9.99), a little nub of a thing that works a charm and is storable in your device’s headphone jack.
While I can’t envision the art form returning, The Artist (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) is a beautifully evocative homage to the era of the silent film and the artists who made tem larger than life, even as sound came in and shook the very foundations of the industry. For once, the hype was accurate. Do see it. Bonus materials include featurettes and a blooper reel.
Every so often, a modern take on a classic property makes it work, and much like the equally successful Brady Bunch Movie before it, 21 Jump Street (Sony, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) makes that leap by planting tongue in cheek while walking a fine line between comedy and ridicule, aided and abetted by a grounded story and winning turns from Jonah Hill & Channing Tatum. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
If you still miss the lovely character absurdities to be found in Dr. Katz, look no further than Lisa Kudrow’s Web Therapy (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which stars Kudrow is an online therapist with little patience for her patients – who include the likes of Alan Cumming, Courtney Cox, Victor Garber, Jane Lynch, Steven Weber, Lily Tomlin, and more. The first season set contains audio commentaries, a featurette, outtakes, and a season 2 preview.
While in many ways a by-the-numbers romantic comedy, what makes Love Birds (Freestyle, Rated PG-13, DVD-$14.99 SRP) worth your valuable viewing time is that its leads are Rhys Darby and Sally Hawkins, both of whom elevate the material immensely. Bonus features include an audio commentary and a featurette.
It may be a frothy romantic comedy about a pair of famous Brits who set up a fake wedding to a fake bride to send paparazzi on a false trail while they have their real nuptials, but The Decoy Bride (IFC, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) gains a fair amount of goodwill just by casting David Tennant as the groom in this mad scheme. Bonus materials include a featurette, a deleted scene, and interviews.
Adding to Universal’s 100th anniversary celebrations is the high definition arrival of Oliver Stone’s Born On The 4th Of July (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP). Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a trio of featurettes.
Disney has been steadily increasing to a torrent the high-definition releases from their catalogue of titles, particularly those from Touchstone & Hollywood Pictures. That means this week brings the new-to-high-def release of Mel Gibson in Ransom (Touchstone, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$20.00 SRP), Madonna in Evita (Hollywood Pictures, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$26.50 SRP), and Christian Bale singing and dancing in Newsies (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$26.50 SRP). Bonus features include audio commentaries, featurettes, and more.
And speaking of Disney catalogue releases, they’ve brought out hi-def editions of a pair of their latter (and lesser) period animated films… In fact, many consider both Treasure Planet and particularly Home On The Range (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP each) to be the lackluster duds that marked the end of traditional animation at Disney in the early aughts. And yes, they are both awkward films to sit through, but certainly not abysmal. They’re no All Dogs Go To Heaven 3. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, bonus shorts, music videos, and more.
The still-legendary and goofy fun – if not terribly good – sci-fi sexploitation film Barbarella (Paramount, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) makes its debut in high definition, which means you can ogle Jane Fonda and try to comprehend the script in exquisite detail. Sadly, there are no bonus features to be found.
While I thought it would be the lesser of the two Snow White films to come down the pike, Mirror Mirror (Fox, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) if only because its simple reinterpretation of an evil queen (Julia Roberts) out to shove Snow White aside to win the hand of the Prince is far less pretentious and self-important than that whole Huntsman fiasco. Bonus materials include featurettes and deleted scenes.
Sideshow’s previously released premium figures pulled from the Disney animated pantheon – including Snow White‘s evil Queen, Maleficent, and Chernabog – have been nothing to shake a stick at, but by leaps and bounds, my favorite is the recently release Captain Hook ($324.99), from the classic Peter Pan. Not only does the sculpt capture Hook’s mad Ahab-esque obsession with killing Pan, but the fabric clothing accurately reflects its 2D inspiration. If that weren’t enough, the piece also comes with the secondary bane of Hook’s existence – the persistent Tick Tock Crocodile. And, if you’re able to pick up the Sideshow exclusive edition, definitely do so, as you get a swappable hook hand with Peter’s hat.
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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