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…)
If you’d asked a fan a few years back if they’d ever see the notorious Sandy Frank episodes – episodes which Frank supposedly loathed – on DVD, they probably would have sighed and said “No. Probably not.” Well, never say never, because the Sandy Frank films begin their roll out in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXIV (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 SRP), which features Fugitive Alien, Fugitive Alien II, The Sword And The Dragon, and Samson Vs The Vampire Women, plus a clutch of featurettes… Including an interview with Sandy Frank himself.
How can you not like the simple, straightforward Air Strike Catapult ($14.99)? I mean, it’s a catapult. It flings little spongy spiky balls (it comes with six). It even flings them up to 40 feet. What more do you want from a little desktop catapult? WHAT MORE?!?
It’s not a great film, but the thing I love so much about Clue (Paramount, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$22.99 SRP) is that it’s just a fun film. And a large part of that is that the brilliant cast – Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Martin Mull, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Michael McKean, and Lesley Ann Warren – all came to play. And now it’s finally available in high definition.
As it’s Olympics time, it should come as no surprise that Warners has chosen this moment to release the long-awaited high definition debut of Chariots Of Fire (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) which, as you’ll remember, dealt with the story of two British Runners at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Bonus materials include a quartet of documentaries, an audio commentary, deleted scenes, screen tests, featurettes, and a soundtrack CD sampler.
While the 80’s were loaded with high school comedies, the 90’s seemed to roll out the high school reunion comedies, and while it’s no classic, I remember enjoying the straightforward fun of Romy And Michelle’s High School Reunion (Touchstone, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$20.00 SRP), which finds the titular oddballs (Lisa Kudrow & Mira Sorvino) desperate to prove themselves successful at their own 10yr gathering. Bonus features are limited to a vintage production featurette.
Journey back to a much simpler time when the late Whitney Houston could star in a wholesome flick like The Preacher’s Wife (Touchstone, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$20.00 SRP) opposite Denzel Washington – who plays an angel sent to repair Houston’s fractured marriage to her preacher husband. Bonus features are limited to a vintage production featurette.
And leapfrogging ahead, the BBC recently produced a story from the 1948 London games in Going For Gold (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$19.97 SRP), which costars Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith as one-half of a sculling team thrown together during the first games post-World War II.
When five juvenile delinquents doing community service are caught in a freak electrical storm and develop superpowers, you get Misfits (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) – a snarky cross between Skins and Buffy that delivers a much more enjoyable take on troubled teens with powers than the recent big screen Chronicle. Bonus materials include featurettes and cast interviews.
There’s definitely some Whedonverse DNA evident in Grimm (Universal, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$69.98 SRP) – enough so that the dark little series about a Slayer… sorry… Grimm descendent tasked with keeping the balance between the world and creatures of myth is a an enjoyably familiar watch. The first season set sports featurettes, deleted/extended scenes, audition tapes, and more.
The Schwarzenegger Total Recall (Lionsgate, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.99 SRP) really is a schlocky mess of a sci-fi flick only the demise of the 80’s could have cobbled. Still, it’s nice to see all of that cheese in high definition, and the ported commentary from Arnie is still a nonsensical gem.
Even more so than the godawful live action Cat In The Hat, you can’t get a more wrong-headed take on the brilliance of Dr. Seuss than the crass adaptation of The Lorax (Universal, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), which takes Seuss’s powerful tale of greed and the need for environmental consciousness and turns it into a cloying comedy full of mediocre songs a slapstick Lorax. Bonus materials include shorts, featurettes, a deleted scene, and more.
It’s been a few years, so it should come as no surprise that another new edition of Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs (MGM, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP) is getting a release – the second time in high definition, but the first time in a 25th anniversary edition. Bonus features are carried over from the previous release, including an audio commentary, featurettes, galleries, and a lovely tribute to John Candy.
While HBO is loaded with classy shows like Game Of Thrones and Veep, Cinemax gets to have a knock-down, dragout action series like Strike Back (Cinemax, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$59.96 SRP), where a duo of elite agents for a top secret intelligence agency travel the globe to track down an international terrorist and basically kick a lot of ass. Yeah. Bonus materials include audio commentaries on five episodes.
I never knew I wanted a figure of Britain’s legendary Prime Minister Winston Churchill, but if he were to be combined with a Dalek figure serving tea? Sold. And that’s exactly what you get with the Doctor Who: Victory Of The Daleks Collector’s Set (Underground Toys, $39.99 SRP), featuring the “Teatime” Ironside Dalek and Churchill (with swappable head, glasses, and crisis phones). You know you want this, too.
As a lifelong comics fan, I still have trouble buying Samuel L. Jackson as the character of Nick Fury – he’s certainly not my childhood Nick Fury – but it is cool seeing Samuel L. Jackson doing his thing in the Marvel superhero films. And you know what’s just as cool? Having an incredibly lifelike 12″ figure from the fine folks at Hot Toys of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury ($189.99), as seen in The Avengers. Yes, the head sculpt is the dead-on brilliance we’ve come to expect from Hot Toys, and the costume is exquisitely tailored. It’s also loaded with accessories – everything from his wristwatch and bluetooth earpiece to the briefcase containing the cosmic cube.
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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As brilliant as the first season was, the second season of Louis CK’s 
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While I can’t envision the art form returning, 
Every so often, a modern take on a classic property makes it work, and much like the equally successful Brady Bunch Movie before it, 
If you still miss the lovely character absurdities to be found in Dr. Katz, look no further than Lisa Kudrow’s 
While in many ways a by-the-numbers romantic comedy, what makes 
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 
Adding to Universal’s 100th anniversary celebrations is the high definition arrival of Oliver Stone’s 
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 
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 
The still-legendary and goofy fun – if not terribly good – sci-fi sexploitation film 
While I thought it would be the lesser of the two Snow White films to come down the pike, 
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 
