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…)
You find out that an asteroid is going to hit the Earth, and the end as we know it is in 3 weeks. What do you do? That’s the premise behind the heartfelt dramedy Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), as an insurance salesman (Steve Carell) instantly abandoned by his wife when the announcement is made finds an unexpected kinship with a similarly broken young neighbor (Keira Knightly). Just give it a spin. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and outtakes.
Thinkgeek time, wizard-wannabes! No wizard sport cosplay is complete without a pair of Harry Potter Quidditch Goggles ($7.99 SRP), which strike a nice balance between looking authentic enough to the actual screen props while also being relatively inexpensive. And while we’re on the subject of cool, affordable Harry Potter merchandise, why not pick yourself up your very own light-up Harry Potter Wand ($19.99 SRP)? Or a beautiful replica – with display case! – of Hermione’s Time Turner ($49.99 SRP)? Or, if you’re in an evil but artistic mood, an accurately blank-page filled copy of Tom Riddle’s Diary ($39.99 SRP)? PLENTY of magic to go around.
It’s a growing trend to create books packed with reproductions of ephemera, and you can add the Harry Potter film franchise to that list with the re-release of Harry Potter Film Wizardry (Collins Design, $45.00 SRP) – newly revised and expanded to include the last two films in the series – which provides an overview of the tremendous amount of design work that went into the costuming, sets, props, and effects contained in the films, and includes reproductions of some of those props (like Harry’s acceptance letter, a Marauders Map, Yule Ball Ticket, and more). A perfect gift for the Potter fan on your list.
Supplement the original must-have collection with The Ernie Kovacs Collection: Volume 2 (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.93 SRP), which contains 8 more episodes from Kovacs’ morning show, 18 bonus sketches, a trio of episodes of his game show Take A Good Look, his rare TV pilot with co-star Buster Keaton, a rare interview, and a 2011 American Cinematheque panel. As a supplement if you order directly from them, Shout Factory is releasing Take A Good Look as a bonus disc, which brings together 7 episodes from Kovacs’ delightfully surreal panel quiz show, that’s very similar in spirit to Reeves & Mortimer’s equally dada Shooting Stars. Go get this.
Many, many, many years ago, Henry Beard and the late Doug Kenney of The Harvard Lampoon decided that the time was right to pen a scathing parody of JRR Tolkien’s massive, sprawling, often meandering epic trilogy, calling their effort Bored Of The Rings (Touchstone, $13.99 SRP). And it has just been re-released after many years out-of-print. And you should read it. Because it is pretty damn funny.
If you’ve ever been to a Disney theme park, you’ll know that nearly every single major attraction in the park – nearly since Disneyland first opened – has its very own promotional poster, which is very often a work of art unto itself. You can take a visual journey through these pieces in the oversized Poster Art Of The Disney Parks (Disney Editions, $40.00 SRP), which is a must-have not only for fans, but also aficionados of graphic design.
There have been many books prior, but The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey (Disney Editions, $60.00 SRP) is the first to take a comprehensive look at not only all 3 Toys Story films, but also the shorts and development that brought us up to the point of a viable feature-length computer animated film. With a foreword by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki and an afterword by John Lasseter, it’s a wonderful portrait of creation.
I still can’t quite find a way to sum up exactly what Magic Mike (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) is about. A heartwarming tale of a young, wayward kid (Alex Pettyfer) taken under the wing of an experienced, hack (Channing Tatum) with entrepreneurial dreams who decides the kid has the right stuff to be a star male stripper. Yeah – male strippers. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. And it’s all so, so awkward. Yeah, I’m shocked, too. Bonus materials include featurettes and extended dance scenes.
You’d think Disney would take a page from Dreamworks and bring back their pantheon of characters for holiday-themed specials, but instead they’ve left it all to the other Big D with releases like Dreamworks Spooky Stories (Dreamworks, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$25.98 SRP), featuring a pair of Shrek Halloween specials – Shrek’s Thrilling Tales & Scared Shrekeless – and Monsters Vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space.
I’m always delighted when an actual historical release manages to escape past the reality glut from The History Channel, which is why I enjoyed Disasters Deconstructed (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP), which takes a look at and explains some of history’s greatest architectural disasters, from the Hindenburg to the Titanic and more.
How about another trip to beautiful Fantasy Island (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$39.97 SRP), as the third season of the original series starring Ricardo Montalban, Herve Villechaize, and whatever guest stars could be marooned by the Love Boat hits DVD. The 6-disc set contains all 23 episodes, plus Bob Denver. Yes. That’s right. Gilligan on Fantasy Island.
Created by Blake Edwards and featuring an iconic theme from the great Henry Mancini, it’s quite groovy to be able to pick up the complete series of Peter Gunn (Timeless Media Group, Not Rated, DVD-$99.99 SRP). You get all 114 episodes featuring the suave detective solving the hardest cases in a nameless city that’s full of them. The set even contains a bonus CD featuring more of Mancini’s jazzy score.
It’s living in the shadow of the far more acclaimed Downton Abbey, but the BBC’s new take on Upstairs Downstairs (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.32 SRP) has reached a second season which takes the story up to just prior to Britain entering the Second World War, as tensions rise both outside and inside the house. Bonus materials include cast and crew interviews.
I still can’t fathom the appeal of the Tinkerbell-starring Disney Fairies line of direct-to-video films, but there must be enough of an audience if they continue to crank them out – the latest being the feature-length Secret Of The Wings (Walt Disney, Rated G, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP), which has the distinction of being the first presented in 3D. Bonus materials include an additional short and music videos.
We’re yet another step closer to completing the seemingly-infinite run of Roy Clarke’s Last Of The Summer Wine (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) with the release of the 1995 Vintage (season). The 2-disc set contains all 8 episodes, plus the 1995 special “The Man Who Nearly Knew Pavarotti”.
While Medicom has had a version of the fearsome bounty hunter as featured in Return Of The Jedi, the fine folks at Sideshow has taken it upon themselves to make a definitive version of the 12″ Boba Fett ($174.99) as we first encountered him in Empire Strikes Back. The usual high level of scale-costuming can be found here, from pouches and weapons to the original detailing of his jet pack and helmet. The figure also comes with a light-up base, styled in the architecture of Bespin’s carbonite freezing chamber.
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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With 
Rejoice, animation and comedy nerds! A new Futurama direct-to-DVD movie has arrived in the form of 
Though there’s quite a few clunkers in there, I still enjoy watching the films of Abbott & Costello. The first comedy routine I ever recognized as such – and love to this day – is “Who’s On First?”. Universal has brought together the entirety of the duo’s film output in 
Dreamworks has always had a hard time making an animated film that actually looks visually pleasing. The Shrek movies are a mess, Madagascar was slightly better, and Over The Hedge was a step in the right direction. The first film to actually look wonderful and provide a story to match has got to be 
Although I’m still a bit disappointed that they leapfrogged over the release of just the fourth and final season, at least we can have the complete run of Jim Henson’s classic series in 
I don’t necessarily want to live in the future presented in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, but I have to admit that they did have some pretty nifty gear to shelter themselves with on those endlessly rainy nights. Surely you remember the glowing umbrellas that everyone had, clutched in their downtrodden fists as they made their way through the grubby streets. Well, now you can own your very own 
The first film was lackluster, but things are definitely improved – if not great – in 
Paramount has dipped into their pool of classic films and pulled out a trio for remastered special editions they’re terming their “Centennial Collection”. Getting the blue ribbon treatment are 
I’m not entirely happy that studios continue to shaft fans who support their season-by-season releases of TV shows only to be confronted at the end with a comprehensive set that includes exclusive bonus material. The latest is the classic 
One of the things I love about just how much catalogue digging the studios have been doing for DVD is that they’re able and willing to put out niche releases that spotlight the work of directors who are not exactly household names, but whose work deserves a spotlight. Such is the case with the late 50’s Columbia westerns of director Budd Boetticher collected in the appropriately titled 
Get all three Jason Bourne films in one easy-to-grab package with the new 
It was slow going at first, but I stuck with 
The first volume was a nice little slice of catalogue holiday cheer, and Warners opens the vaults again for their 
For anyone that’s been holding off on snagging the classic UK sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo! – the follow-up from the creators of Are You Being Served set in occupied France during WWII and playing like a Franco version of Hogan’s Heroes – then now’s the time to get the whole lot in ‘
There are a ton of them in the various studios’ vaults, but Warners dips into theirs for a trio of World War II rah-rah flicks with their new 
One of the mainstays of my many sleepless nights glued to Nick At Nite in the late 80’s and early 90’s was I Dream Of Jeannie. It remains one of the great escapist sitcoms of the late 60’s, with humor that was timeless and certainly not terribly thought-provoking. It’s marshmallow fluff. If you’ve been passing up the season-by-season sets that have been released the past few years, now is the time to take the plunge and pick up 
I’m going to give you one reason – and one reason only – to pick up Cartoon Network’s 
I went into it expecting a complete and utter disaster. Imagine my surprise when I found the big screen 
Oh, George. You truly have gone insane. You should talk to someone about your pathological need to tear down what you’ve built – it’s really quite sad. Case in point – the CG animated feature pilot for 
It’s been 30 years since 
Another in the long (and appreciated) line of box sets collecting a selection of an actor’s filmography in one handy package, 
It may be low-grade genre fare, but there’s a certain exuberance about the Brit series 
Since MTV abandoned Unplugged and VH1 walked away from Storytellers, there’s a gap in the world for a show featuring great live performances from diverse and interesting artists. In the UK, that show is Live From Abbey Road. Want proof? Pick up a copy of 
The 
Though I think it’s been overly-maligned (and no, I am in no way saying it’s a good film), I can’t imagine anyone who would want a 2-disc extended edition of Kevin Costner’s bloated aquatic epic 
Though most of the episodes pale in comparison to the original run, who’d have thought that we’d cross the 100 episode mark of the continuing misadventures of the family Griffin? That landmark episode is contained in 
Big Green makes his holiday DVD debut with the release of last year’s network special 
It’s murder on the Transsiberian express as a group of passengers get swept up drug trafficking and deception on a train making the journey from Beijing to Moscow in 
The sophomore outing of Rod Serling’s post-Twilight Zone journey into the bizarre and unexpected arrives with Night Gallery: Season Two (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The 5-disc set features 61 stories, plus audio commentaries (some featuring director Guillermo Del Toro), promos, a gallery, and a retrospective featurette.