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…)
Making a political satire with real bite that manages to retain its humor is quite a difficult task, but it’s accomplished with some real flair by In The Loop (MPI, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) which, in its tale about a low-level British politician’s unfortunate comments leading to a joint war effort alongside the US, is probably our generation’s Dr. Strangelove. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes, a TV spot, and the theatrical trailer.
My love for magnets, to anyone who’s been reading these shopping guides for any length of time, should be well known. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that my delight extends to the BuckyBalls Magnetic Building Spheres ($29.99) – 216 small magnetic balls that can be assembled into a myriad amount of shapes and structures. Fun fun FUN!
You want to see porn for history nerds? Look no further than WWII In HD (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP). As you can probably guess from the title, it’s hours and hours of archival, rarely seen color footage that has been fully remastered and converted to HD. Of course, if you want the full effect, you’ll want to pick up the Blu-Ray edition ($39.95 SRP). Both editions contain featurettes in the discovery and restoration of the footage in question.
It has nothing whatsoever to do with history except for some forced attempts at context, but The History Channel has fast become filled with reality series such as Pawn Stars (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP). I mean, don’t get me wrong – I enjoy Pawn Stars, which features the acquisitional acumen of the proprietors of the only family-run pawn shop in Las Vegas. The 2-disc set contains all 14 season one episodes, plus a pair of featurettes and additional footage.
It’s not as fresh as the debut season, but I was certainly still a fan of the 2nd, penultimate season of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), which maintained its goofball, manic energy quite nicely and was a lovely cross between Ferris Beuller’s Day Off and One Crazy Summer. Buy those two flicks, and this set. Bonus materials include a clutch of audio commentaries.
Adapting the Broadway musical for TV animation, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) arrives on DVD fully remastered, featuring the classic Clark Gesner songs (“Happiness” included), plus a bonus featurette on the history of the Gesner album and its evolution into a Broadway sensation before arriving on TV.
It’s not as mind-blowing as it is in its original IMAX presentation, but there’s still plenty of wonder to be had in the documentary Wild Ocean (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) – which, as you can guess, takes viewers beneath the waves.
Yes, we were probably overdue for a roller derby flick – and who’d have thought that it would come from director Drew Barrymore and be called Whip It (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), and star Ellen Page as a rough-and-tumble teen who make her mark in the vicious fast lane? Well, there you go. Bonus features include deleted scenes, an alternate opening, and a Fox Movie Channel featurette with the screenwriter.
The release of Jonathan Creek: Season 4 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) brings the original run of the Alan Davies as sleuthing magician series to a close, leaving only the recent Christmas special and upcoming Easter special. This 2-disc set contains all 6 episodes, plus video profiles, deleted scenes, and a music video.
It seems a few months too late, but a trio of documentaries on the Kennedy Assassination are hitting DVD from The History Channel – JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America & The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP each). The angle of both are pretty evident from the titles, but I find the latter to be more fascinating, as you rarely hear a detailed account about the events that unfolded afterward.
If you’re not willing to take the leap directly into their feature films (via the wonderful comprehensive box set released by Universal last year) or their TV show (which is getting a complete re-release in early 2010), get a quite good overview of Bud & Lou’s comedy with Legends Of Laughter: Abbott & Costello (Infinity, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). The 6-disc box set contains episodes of their radio show, bloopers, the Colgate Comedy Hours they hosted, a pair of their now public domain films, and more.
I think it’s a pretty clear sign that a barrel is being scraped when we get the Dorf: Super Fan Collection (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). Yes, it stars Tim Conway and yes, these were massive successes in the late-night VHS commercial days – but the joke does wear a bit thin. Over all 8 adventures of the half-size sportsman. The disc also sports audio commentary and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
It’s not up to the level of NYPD Blue & The Shield before it, but there is some merit in diving into Southland: The Complete First Season Uncensored (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which was largely ignored when it premiered on NBC (Remember that “network”?). It focus on a rookie cop’s attempts to make a dent in LA’s rough-and-tumble area alongside his veteran colleagues. The 2-disc set contains all seven episodes, plus a behind-the-scenes featurette.
When you have a title like Cowboys & Outlaws (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP), you can pretty much expect what this documentary series focuses on – those rugged working men and rogues of the old west. The 2-disc set combines dramatic reenactments with forensic evidence for one hell of a tale.
Sure to get attention for its Twilight connection, Little Ashes (E1, Rated R, DVD-$26.98 SRP) stars Robert Pattinson as a young Salvador Dali in 1922 Madrid, locked into a triangle of art and forbidden attraction with Luis Bunuel & Frederico Garcia Lorca. The disc also features cast/director interviews.
The team at MI-5 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) are tested when a former operative is released from 8 years in a Russian prison. Even though MI-5 Supremo Harry Pearce welcomes his good friend back into the fold, can he be trusted? The 7th season set contains audio commentaries, featurettes, and the UK trailer.
Let’s wrap thing up on the mountain as we bid farewell to America’s… ummm… family with The Waltons: Movie Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 30disc collection rounds up all 6 reunion movies.
As the Academy Awards approach like a freight train, studios are making sure to get some of their Oscar-bait catalogue titles released in high-def – which is why we get brand-new Blu-Ray editions of Keira Knightley in both Pride & Prejudice and Atonement (Universal, Rated PG/R, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP each). Prejudice contains an audio commentary, featurettes, and the HBO First Look, while Atonement brings an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a pair of featurettes.
A little bit Strange Days, a little bit Matrix, a little bit 13th Floor, and a little bit Avatar, the sad thing about Surrogates (Touchstone, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is that it’s just boring. It’s a shame, since its plot – about a near future period where humanity lives their lives in a virtual world and murder is a thing of the past, until events force an FBI agent to re-enter reality – could have been fun. Sadly, star Bruce Willis is on his usual autopilot, and the film suffers for it. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a music video.
The sketches are hit and miss, but it’s certainly worth giving a spin to The Whitest Kids U Know: The Complete Second Season (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). The 2-disc set contains audio commentaries, a best-of season 1 with cast intros, and a sneak peek at season 3.
Turn 8-Mile into a story about a breakdancing young girl, and you’ve got B-Girl (Screen Media Films, Rated PG-13, DVD-$24.98 SRP). It’s basically a love letter to the breakdancing world – be prepared for goofy, too-serious fun. Bonus materials include auditions, profiles, and bloopers.
I loathe the touch-feely soft-focus, marshmallowness of Touched By An Angel, but there’s not denying its struck a chord with many a middle-aged something or another, who are sure to want the newly-released pair of Touched By An Angel Inspiration Collections, Faith & Love (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each), both of which contain a quartet of episodes.
It’s a quickie, holiday themed release (Valentine’s Day, in case you’re wondering), but I’m sure fans will snap up I Heart Jonas (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP), which selects 7 episodes from the Jonas Brothers’ Disney Channel show, along with a Punk’d-esque featurette called “You’ve Just Been JoBro’d!” with Jordin Sparks.
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
##
There was a time when Disney’s in-house CG-animated future was looking downright bleak compared to Pixar (I’m looking at you, Chicken Little, but they’ve managed to find a modern voice and style and maturity in recent years, all culminating in Moana (Walt Disney, Rated PG, 3D Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), a powerful tale that feels new even while trading on the we-trod tropes of Disney’s past. Bonus points for a great collection of tunes and a positively stunningly rendered world (see it in 3D). Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, a deleted song, and more.
Charlie McDonnell is brilliant. I’d say that even if he weren’t my friend. My proof? His new book, Fun Science (Quadrille, $22.95 SRP), in which he manages to distill and infuse his absolute joy in science into a tome that acts as a handy primer for life, the universe, and everything. Science is awesome, and Charlie presets scores of reasons why. Get this book, and gift it to everyone you know. Hell, gift it to people you don’t know.
That creator Derek Waters has crafted a series that smuggles genuine lessons in history into a comedy show full of drunk people is why I’m terribly impressed that we’ve made it to a 4th season of Drunk History (Comedy Central, Not Rated, DVD-$22.98 SRP), because surely such a positive work can not long persist in the this world. Bonus features include an election special plus deleted/extended scenes.
It’s ostensibly a canonical all-ages novel taking place in the post-Return Of The Jedi era of Star Wars, but the must-read fun of Star Wars: Join The Resistance (Disney Lucasfilm Press, $12.99 SRP) is that it’s written by the team of Acker & Blacker, of Thrilling Adventure Hour fame, and their wry sensibility and crackerjack story sense permeate would could otherwise be pedestrian juvenile fare.
Golly, but I sure did have a lot of the stickers collected in the Star Wars: Topps Classic Sticker Book (Abrams, $12.95 SRP) plastered on every nook and cranny of my existence while growing up. Which is probably why this book – which collects 250 vintage stickers (actual stickers!) plus newly-produced ones for The Force Awakens – is such an evocative journey down memory lane. And boy, were those tickers hard to remove.
Like me, I’m sure you’ve been spending nearly every waking moment playing through Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. If you want to take a brief break and solve a puzzle of a different kind, try assembling the beautiful stained glass image in the Zelda: Windwaker Puzzle (Thinkgeek, $10.99). And THEN you can go back to playing.
While we wait for the television adaptation of his modern mythology American Gods, revel in Neil Gaiman’s spin on Norse Mythology (W.W. Norton, $25.95 SRP), in which he distills the legendary tales of gods and men and presents those timeless raw elements in a supremely engaging form.
I don’t care what it is – a film starring Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleason? I’ll watch it. Trespass Against Us (Lionsgate, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP) stars Fassbender as a reluctant criminal on the run from the law after a heist goes south, complicated by the fact that Gleason is Fassbender’s fearsome outlaw father-in-law.
Laika has a history of producing visually stunning stop-motion animated films, which is why devouring the behind-the-scenes tome from their latest – The Art Of Kubo And The Two Strings (Chronicle Books, $40 SRP) is such an utter treat. Chronicle knows how to put together a solid Art Of book, and this is a perfect entry in their ever-growing library.
The second volume of what I hope will be a continuing series, They Drew As They Pleased: The Hidden Art Of Disney’s Musical Years (Chronicle Books, $40 SRP) uncovers and presents dozens of pieces produced during the development process of Disney’s musical features in the 1940s by the studio’s concept artists. Truly beautiful and a marvelous insight into the creative process of a landmark period.
I daresay that the current – and soon to be ending – animated version of the heroes in a halfshell is the best. For proof, simply dive into the episodes contained in the latest collection from the show’s fourth season, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Shredder (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP) and experience a level of nuanced and mature storytelling and artistry that will be sorely missed when this show comes to a close next season.
As alternate history tales seem to be all the rage now, check out Resistance (Film Movement, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP), about an occupied Britain after D-Day was lost, and the inhabitants of a valley forced to collaborate with the occupying Germans when a harsh winter sets in.
I admit, I always enjoyed Vicki Lawrence’s Carol Burnett Show spin-off Mama’s Family when I used to watch it as a kid, and there’s no better primer than The Mama’s Family Favorites Collection (Time Life, Not Rated, DVD-$669.95 SRP), which brings together episodes from all 6 seasons, specially chosen by Lawrence.
It’s no surprise that they were able to craft a special volume of The Carol Burnett Show dedicated entirely to The Best Of Tim Conway (Time Life, Not Rated, DVD-$12.95 SRP) is of little surprise, as there is such a surfeit of material to choose from that it’s shocking there just a single disc. Now, here’s hoping we also get a “Best Of Harvey Korman” volume, as well.
Stressed? Want to color? Disney has a batch of new Art Of Coloring books, each featuring a 100 images, ready to calm you. The new batch features The Muppets, Tsum Tsum, the new live action Beauty And The Beast, and even The Golden Girls (Disney Editions, $15.99 SRP each).
For a kick ass lead character, look to Eve Thorogood in Wolf Creek (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), an American college student who decides to hunt down the serial killer who brutally murdered her family in the Australian outback. Bonus materials for the first season include a clutch of featurettes.