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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