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…)
While Disney has been slow in releasing their A-List animated films like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, they’ve been doing quite a bang up job of cranking out the rest of their animated features. Coming down the pike this week are a trio of recent films – The Emperor’s New Groove, Atlantis, & Lilo & Stitch (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP each). All 3 releases also sport their direct-to-video sequels – Kronk’s New Groove, Milo’s Return, and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch. The only disappointment is that the releases are devoid of the bonus materials featured in their deluxe special edition DVDs – save for a handful of featurettes and deleted scenes that supplement Atlantis – which means we’ll inevitable be getting another release of these in the future. Hope it’s the near future.
If I were still a kid, I would probably never leave the Doctor Who TARDIS play tent ($104.99). At 61″ tall and with an interior printed with the 11th Doctor’s control room, it’s every bit the tiny Time Lord fortress of solitude. So, yeah, head on over to Thinkgeek and pick one up. I may crawl into mine right now, in fact.
Lisa Kudrow returns as the dysfunctional online therapist Fiona Wallace in the complete second season of Web Therapy (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP), which manages to up the daft comedy even further with a star turn of patients that includes Lily Tomlin, Conan O’Brien, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and even Meryl Streep. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, a featurette, outtakes, and more.
I’ve always been fascinated to peek behind the curtain to see the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, so how about a clutch of tomes that do just that? You’ve got Sam Raimi’s recent journey to the world of L. Frank Baum in The Art Of Oz The Great & Powerful (Disney Editions, $40.00 SRP). Then there’s Tim Burton’s tale of a resurrected canine in Frankenweenie: The Visual Companion (Disney Editions, $50.00 SRP). If the adaptation of Max Brooks’s zombie infestation is more your style, then best pick up World War Z: The Art Of The Film (Titan Books, $19.95 SRP). And a last, get a better sense of the context of actual events that informed Steven Spielberg’s epic historical tale with Lincoln: A Cinematic And Historical Companion (Disney Editions, $45.00 SRP).
While the remake was all well and fine, nothing will match the power of Glenn Ford in the original 3:10 To Yuma (Criterion, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), which also just so happens to have gotten the premium high definition treatment from the fine folks at Criterion. Bonus features new interviews and their usual essay booklet.
After spending the first half of the 1970’s in fractured form, the original line-up of the Beach Boys came together, released an album, and were the spotlight of the television documentary Beach Boys: Good Vibrations Tour (Eagle Vision, Not Rated, DVD-$14.97 SRP), that combined concert footage, interviews, and filmed segments, and is now available for you to own and enjoy.
For a comics fan, there are few things in life more delightful than opening up a parcel from the fine folks at Twomorrows Publishing and finding a new clutch of wonderfully interesting tomes to dig into – the latest of which is the 2nd volume of The Best Of Alter Ego (Twomorrows, $19.95 SRP), Roy Thomas’s brilliant celebration of a bygone era, and Dan Spiegle: A Life In Comic Art (Twomorrows, $17.95 SRP), which spotlights the legendary artist.
Catch up with the slackers of TelAmeriCorp in the third season of Workaholics (Comedy Central, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$22.99 SRP), packed with 20 episodes of surprises, spying, roommates, and Jesus. Bone materials include commentary, alternate takes, featurettes, and bloopers.
I think the key takeaway of Stoker (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) is to never let a family member move in, as a grieving daughter and her mother (Nicole Kidman) are surprised by the arrival of an uncle (Matthew Goode) they never knew existed in this whip-wicked little mystery. Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, and galleries.
Eiljah Wood and Jason Gann return as a man and his dog in the complete second season of the still delightfully weird Wilfred (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). Bonus materials include deleted scenes, an exclusive short, featurettes, and a blooper reel.
Births, babies, and romance are all to be found in the second season of Call The Midwife (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP), all of the episodes on which include an additional 10 minutes of exclusive runtime not seen in the original broadcast. Bonus materials include cast & crew interviews.
From the writers of The Hangover comes the college version of a trio of friends getting lost in a night of bacchanalia in 21 & Over (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), when a straight-A student on the day before a critical interview gets an unexpected visit from a pair of old friends intent on celebrating his 21st birthday. Bonus materials include featurettes and a gag reel.
I can’t say that Jack The Giant Slayer (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) is a particularly good film, but it does at least try to be a rousing adventure yarn with a wink and a nudge, though never quite able to stick the landing despite game performances from Stanley Tucci and Ewan MacGregor. Bonus materials include an interactive guide with star Nicholas Hoult, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
Star-studded and with so much potential, sadly Movie 43 (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is just an obnoxious, crass, crude mess of a film… Which makes sense when you realize it’s from the mind of Peter Farrelly.
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
##
Beyond the broad strokes, the man that was Abraham Lincoln has largely been replaced by the myth, which has overshadowed the nuts and bolts politicking needed to govern during a time of immense turmoil. The human accomplishment is fully illuminated by Steven Spielberg’s most engaging film in years, as Daniel Day-Lewis brings 
In an age where the original Star Wars and Raiders Of The Lost Ark can look like brand new films, it’s odd to see just how much grain is present in the high definition release of 
There probably hasn’t been enough time to put the events in their proper context, but there’s no denying the power behind the methodology presented in the hunt for the world’s most wanted man in 
By today’s standards, 
It’s always wonderful to see classic noir films hit Blu-Ray, as the high definition really drives home the beautiful cinematography to be found in many, and that includes the new edition of Elia Kazan’s harrowing 
While not as sparklingly brilliant as Armando Iannucci’s The Thick Of It, his team’s take on the US political machine, 
Very few things in life are completely dependable, but danged if Shout Factory hasn’t proven just that with their continued (and regular) releases of the original riff-fest via 
Looking to increase your knowledge about a given pop culture topic? Then you’ll probably want to snap up a trio of titles newly releases by Applause books which provide a myriad of answers to frequently asked (and even infrequently asked) pop culture topics. First out of the gate in what I can only hope is an ongoing series are the 
It’s hard to top the 2003 editions of his films, but Criterion has been doing just that with another film from the Charlie Chaplin library, the latest being his controversial black comedy 
If you’ve yet to experience the quirky joy of the cases of country solicitor Peter Kingdom (Stephen Fry), rectify that oversight with the complete collection of 
Beloved and much-missed, the late legend Levon Helm was remembered with the appropriately powerful 
Howzabout a bit of a UK TV-on-DVD round-up for all of you Anglophiles out there? What’s odd is that our first UK release is actually the American version of a UK show, which makes its home video debut in the UK – MTV’s remake of 
Lego irreverence returns to a galaxy far, far away with 
The cases of Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Foyle make their way to DVD in 
The fundamental problem with 
The problem with 
The fine folks at Mill Creek continue to release a broad mix of titles and beyond reasonable prices, with new releases including TV titles like 
If for no other reason, watch the second season of 
Sure, it came in the wake of Pokemon madness, but every children’s series has a fanbase, and that includes one that will be thoroughly excited by the release of 
Based on the novels by Kerry Greenwood about a thoroughly modern Melbourne woman in the 1920’s who happens to be a lady detective, 
For your modern TV choices this week, how about the complete first season of 
Alan Silvestri supplied some of the most memorable scores of the 80’s – including those for the Back To The Future films – and he returns to score Dreamworks Animation’s new animation hit 
And speaking of soundtracks, this week’s soundtrack round-up includes Alex Heffes’ score for 
