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 the bulk of Mel Brooks’ catalogue has been available in high definition, there’s been one title that’s been devastatingly absent – until now. The fine folks at Shout Factory have pulled out all the stops to give comedy fans a brilliant special edition of The Producers (Shout Factory, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.93 SRP), looking and sounding better than ever. Bonus materials include the documentary from the original DVD release, a brand new interview with Mel, the theatrical trailer, a sketch gallery, and a deleted scene.
Directed by a young John Landis and crafted by the even younger Zucker Brothers, Kentucky Fried Movie (Shout Factory, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.97 SRP) is the pop culture-skewering prototype that would eventually be fully realized in Airplane! and Police Squad, but there works as a still-funny collection of comedy sketches. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a feature-length interview with David & Jerry Zucker.
Those expecting a farce might be pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the comedy to be found in Admission (Universal, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), about an overworked Princeton admissions officer (Tina Fey) who thought she had her life well-structured but is thrown for a loop when a former classmate (Paul Rudd) brings a brilliant student to her attention. Bonus materials include a featurette.
Already a quirky little gem, Fred Armisen & Carrie Brownstein’s Portlandia: Season 3 (VSC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.95 SRP) is when the little indie sketch comedy that could gelled into a fully realized offbeat world, proving its staying power. Bonus materials include the winter special, a Portland tour, and a pair of deleted scenes.
While the original animated adaptation was never terribly great, nostalgia made me leery of the new animated reboot of the Ninja Turtles. Well, my fears have been wiped away by the fun, funny modern take which perfectly preserves all of the necessary elements to the Turtle mythos. Want proof? Look no further than the latest episode collection – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Enter Shredder (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). Would you believe Shredder is involved?
Taking the same sensibility once focused on Star Wars and applying it to the superheroes and villains of the DC universe? Sold. Luckily, that pre-sale was proven correct with the hilarious Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special (Adult Swim, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.89 SRP). At a too-short 22 minutes, luckily the release is padded out with commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers.
It’s not the equal of the beautifully executed Avatar, but there’s still plenty to recommend in the premiere volume of The Legend Of Korra: Book One – Air (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$35.98 SRP), which throws viewers into the future of the Avatar spirit which now exists within the titular teenage girl. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, animatics, and a bonus short.
A victim (Noomi Rapace) seeking retribution for a crime blackmails a professional killer (Colin Ferrell) into aiding her plan for revenge in the tense thriller Dead Man Down (Sony, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP). Bonus materials include a trio of featurettes.
Take a soaring high definition view of the northeast United States in the Smithsonian Channel’s Aerial America: New England Collection (Inception, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP), which takes a birds-eye view of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
This week’s TV release from Paramount bring one old and one new. For the new, we get the complete first season of Unforgettable (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), about a woman with an otherwise flawless memory who teams up with an NYPD detective to solve her one blind spot – the murder of her sister. The vintage TV release is the ninth and final season of Matlock (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), starring the great Andy Griffith.
Hot Toys’ already stellar work seems to consistently shine the most in their various representations of Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor. The latest is the suit featured in The Avengers – specifically the Iron Man Mark VII ($249.99). Exquisitely engineered and screen accurate in every detail, it features working LED lights in the eyes, palms, and chestplate, a separate Robert Downey Jr. head, 3 sets of swappable hands, and a full complement of swappable battle-damaged armor pieces. If you’ve yet to take the plunge and get your own, there” no better figure to start with. You won’t regret it.
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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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 
I think it largely disappeared from theaters, which is a shame, because 
Want a little bit of quick, cheap work area light with the convenience of USB? Then the 
If you enjoyed the Ricky Gervais podcast, the animated versions made from those recordings and presented as 
After a smattering of single-disc releases, the long-awaited second volume of 
When I first saw 
The fourth season of 
Like most Ron Howard films, I found 
It’s in re-watching it that I fully understood just how mannered and poor man’s Wes Anderson (which, really, should be left up to Wes Anderson) Sofia Coppola’s 
ABC Family’s 
Yeah, Family Guy‘s Star Wars parodies are largely inferior to Robot Chicken‘s, but that’s largely due to the former’s shoehorning of their characters into the roles, instead of being allowed to just play with the universe as it exists. Thankfully, they’ve come to an end with the 3rd and final installment, 
It’s a daunting proposition, revisiting a film that defined the 80’s with the simple phrase “Greed Is Good”, and I’m not entirely sure Oliver Stone succeeds with 
For fans eager for its release the wait for the complete high definition release of 
The idea of carrying on a TV series in comic book form – written by the showe’s creator and writers – is actually a pretty good idea. Sadly, 
The Warner Archive Collection certainly has been going full bore when it comes to their catalogue releases, and have ramped up things considerably on the animated side. I mean, I don’t think anyone ever expected they might one day be able to purchase a complete series set of Hanna-Barbera’s short-lived 
I’ve banged on about it for years, and I’ll continue to bang on about the absolute greatness of the British comedy panel show QI, which makes the discovery of interesting knowledge a hilarious affair. A few years back, they brought the immense database of general ignorance (little factoids the disprove much of what be believe to be true) to books, a pair of which have gotten a release in paperback – The revised & expanded 
There’s plenty of high-end goodies to be had over at Thinkgeek, but some of the best stuff id the reasonably-priced, highly-practical items. For example, I give you the 
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – as created by Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird – are celebrating their 25th anniversary. Yes – you heard me right. And to celebrate, all four feature films have been pulled together on high definition into the 
Hot on the heels of Role Models (which I enjoyed), Paul Rudd returns with 
I’m a sucker for a 50’s monster flick, and it’s nice when a modern filmmaker tries to recreate that era – which is exactly what 
Right from the start, I was impressed with both the concept and visuals of 
Get over the idea that Zac Efron eventually grew up to be Matthew Perry, and 
From the raw gyrations that greeted viewers watching his 1956 debut, 
Through a production quirk, the episodes featured in 
While it doesn’t fully illuminate the poor decision-making skills that went into making such a horrid adaptation, 
Score aficionados should be on the lookout for Ben Foster’s soundtrack to 
The wife of a good friend of mine is a big fan of the porcine children’s book star 
Lionsgate has opened up the floodgates and released a trio of catalogue titles in high definition – one of which is a certified guilty… well, I hesitate to say “pleasure”. That one is Renny Harlin’s awkward pirate epic 
There used to be a show named 
I’ve heard that there are people who watch the updated version of the high school tribulations of those wacky West Beverly students on 
Though there are many great episodes contained in the 14 that comprise the 12th(!) season of 
They’re completely impractical and a little bit silly, but that’s also what makes having your very own 
Combine the internet phenomena of LOLcats, the hobo resurgence fueled by humorist John Hodgman, and an incredible artist. What do you get? Adam Koford’s wonderfully witty 
One of my favorite Disney animated classics – and easily one of their darkest in content – is the tale of the little wooden boy 
Best known as one half of Tears For Fears, Curt Smith has come out with 
Oh, 
It’s a wafer-thin premise that could have fallen on its rear, but 
First off, Anne Hathaway’s Oscar nomination for 
For a true story that’s proven problematic to bring to the big screen over the past 20 years, writer Dustin Lance Black and director Gus Van Sant certainly accomplished the task with 
Putting much of US television to shame, one of those must-have, wonderful series comes together in one handy package with 
Disney contributed quite a one-two contribution to the “creepy kid” genre of films with their 70’s “classics” 
It’s a shame that 
You’ve seen the documentary, but it’s just as fun (especially for kids) to see the Scholastic Children’s book edition of 
The name is a misnomer, but it’s admirable that Hanna-Barbera tried to bring back their animated adventure series with an older, edgier 
If you want a dose of the denizens of Smurf village but the first season set was too intimidating, try the single-disc 
Brian Bonsall is in full gear as precocious son Andrew as we move quickly towards the end in season 5 of 
Edward Norton’s still-powerful turn as an altar boy accused of murder in 
Let’s get a little educational for a bit, with a clutch of titles from the fine folks at PBS. First up is the untold story of America’s immigrant hospital, 
I’m two viewngs into 
Directed by and starring William Shatner, 
The show is coming to a close, but the DVD releases are still playing catch up with the release of 
It was more affable than funny, but I admit to having seen the odd episode from the second season of 
It’s by no means a good flick, but as a piece of animation history, 
I really didn’t think I’d ever encounter a film as awkward as Life Is Beautiful again, but then came 
