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…)
It seems we were just celebrating the 25th anniversary of the denizens of the Satellite of Love, but here we are with the sheer delight of another brand new collection featuring Joel & Mike & The Bots from the fine folks at Shout Factory. Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume 29 (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 SRP) supports another quartet of episodes – the first season episode The Untamed Youth, Hercules And The Captive Youth, The Thing That Couldn’t Die, and the I can’t believe the actually got the rights and huzzah that they did Pumaman. Bonus materials include introductions and a spotlight on his “Riffing Myself” show from Joel Hodgson, featurettes, and trailers.
Her puddin’, the clown prince of crime, got his 12″ release a few months back from the fine folks at Sideshow Collectibles, but now the psychotic love of the Joker’s life arrives in the red & black form of Harley Quinn ($189.99). Looking every bit the cute killer fans going back to her debut in Batman: The Animated Series know and love, she comes with her comically oversized hammer, pop-gun, plenty of hands, a spare head, and much more. Now we just need the 1/6-scale Batman to fight the dastardly couple.
While I don’t think it’s as brilliant as it’s massive box office take seems to suggest, I do think Frozen (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$44.99 SRP) is definitely an enjoyable animated film that proves the House of Mouse has come along way from their awkward early CG days of Dinosaur and Chicken Little. I’m not entirely sure why the 3D version of the film hasn’t been released, but this special edition – featuring a making-of, music videos, deleted scenes, and the clever Mickey Mouse short “Get A Horse!” – will tide you over until the inevitable double-dip.
It’s not his best, but there’s an undeniable allure to Martin Scorsese’s latest stab at the Goodfellas formula of doomed yet despicably loveable criminals, The Wolf Of Wall Street (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which swaps mafiosos for stockbrokers. Bonus materials are limited to a featurette.
As sketch comedy series go – and it’s not an easy form to be consistently good in – there’s much more gold than dross to be found in the Key & Peele: Seasons 1 & 2 collection (Comedy Central, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP). The set sports audio commentaries, outtakes, an interview, and more from Luther (Obama’s Anger Translator). Make sure you get your binge in before the premiere of the third season.
While not as sparklingly brilliant as Armando Iannucci’s The Thick Of It, his team’s take on the US political machine, Veep (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP) remains a winning satire in its much more assured second season, deconstructing the politics of the junior power position of the Vice-Presidency (ably handled by the exquisite Julie Louis-Dreyfuss). Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
Following in the footsteps of the perfectly okay but not terribly much more than that Merlin comes the latest BBC stab at a genre fantasy, Atlantis (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), which finds our hero Jason washed up on the strange shores of that fabled island and dropped into myths and adventure. Bonus materials include featurettes and interviews.
Idris Elba is just as incredible as you expect him to be playing the legendary South African freedom fighter in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom (Anchor Bay, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which chronicles Mandela’s life from his start as a young political leader through his incarceration and finally his freedom and return to lead, and heal, his nation. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and featurettes.
First loves and sexual awakening? Sounds like the perfect recipe for a foreign film sensation, and that’s exactly what you get with Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is The Warmest Color (Criterion, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.95 SRP), about a high schooler that finds herself swept up in a passionate romance with a female twenty-something art student in a delicately rendered tale of fiery youth. Bonus materials include a trailer, a TV spot, and the usual in-depth Criterion essay.
Lucille Ball returned to prime time television twice after her legendary series I Love Lucy, and the third and final of these makes its it to DVD in toto with Here’s Lucy: The Complete Series (MPI, Not Rated, DVD-$ SRP), featuring all 6 seasons of the show that united her with her real life children as a widowed mother raising her teenage son & daughter while trying to run a talent agency. Bonus materials include episode intros, featurettes, interviews, PSAs, vintage ads, and more.
Wipe the memory of the horrid live action tale of Hal Jordan with the significantly more enjoyable Green Lantern: The Animated Series (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) which, while not reaching the lofty heights of the Batman or Superman animated outings, still manages to be a satisfyingly entertaining ride.
Restored to the original broadcast length with vastly improved picture and sound, the first season of Little House On The Prairie (Lionsgate, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$38.99 SRP) makes its high definition debut, featuring the pilot and all 24 episodes, plus a documentary and an original screen test.
Mix Deliverance, Army Of Darkness, and Shaun Of The Dead and you get the loopy redneck zombie comedy Buck Wild (Millennium Entertainment, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), that’s just as gonzo as you’d expect.
While the movie itself is disposable fluff, Vince Vaughn proves yet again that he’s eminently watchable in Delivery Man (Dreamworks, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$32.99 SRP), in which he stars as an underachiever who discovers he’s fathered over 500 children via donations he made 20 years prior. And then the affably cheeky journey towards adult responsibility ensues. Bonus materials include featurettes, bloopers, and a deleted scene.
Psychedelia is in full bloom in Wonderwall (Fabulous, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.97 SRP), a fascinating if mostly impenetrable relic of the late 60s about a love triangle, a magical world, and a memorable score from George Harrison. Bonus materials include featurettes, outtakes, and more.
Bronies – Start counting your loose change so you can pick up My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic – A Dash Of Awesome (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$14.93 SRP), the latest collection of the hugely popular pony-based cartoon, featuring 5 episodes plus a sing-along.
The catalogue folks at Mill Creek have teamed up with TV Guide to release branded collections culling from the properties they manage into 2-disc episode themed releases under the TV Guide Spotlight banner. Hurtle back to Benson, Good Times, Diff’rent Strokes, and The Jeffersons with TV Guide Spotlight: Groundbreaking Sitcoms Of The 70s (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP). You’ve got shows like 3rd Rock, The Nanny, and That 70’s Show on TV Guide Spotlight: Great Comedies Of The 90s (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP). TV Guide Spotlight: Leading Ladies Of Classic Comedy (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP) features the likes of Bewitched, I Dream Of Jeannie, Gidget, and Maude. Spin some old school law & order with SWAT, Charlie’s Angels, Starsky & Hutch, and Police Woman with TV Guide Spotlight: Cop Shows Of The 70s (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP). Or you can get The Get-Along Gang, Heathcliff, and The Littles on TV Guide Spotlight: Totally 80s Toons (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP). There’s more animation like Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego and COPS in TV Guide Spotlight: Super Action Animation (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP).
I’m not a big fan of horror and gore, but for aficionados of such entertainment, the DVD arrival of the complete 3 season run of Tales From The Darkside producer Richard P. Rubenstein’s anthology series Monsters (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP). Featuring a roll call of guest stars including everyone from Adrienne Barbeau and Linda Blair to Deborah Harry and Meat Loaf, it’s here for fans to ingest… Probably best to do so on an empty stomach, though.
Another week, another soundtrack round up! This week, we’ve got Marcelo Zarvos’s score to Face Of Love (Varese Sarabande, $11.49 SRP), Tony Morales & Edward Rogers’s The Bag Man (Lakeshore Records, $19.99 SRP), Stephen Endelman’s Rob The Mob (Lakeshore Records, $19.99 SRP), Rolfe Kent’s Bad Words (Back Lot Music, $8.99 SRP), John Powell’s Rio 2 (Sony, $10.00 SRP), Kyle Newmaster’s Something Wicked (Lakeshore Records, $9.99 SRP), David Holmes & Keefus Ciancia’s The Motel Life (Lakeshore Records, $18.95 SRP), Nathan Furst’s Need For Speed (Varese Sarabande, $16.84 SRP), Rachel Portman’s The Right Kind Of Wrong (Varese Sarabande, $16.98 SRP), the Newton Bros.’ Oculus (Varese Sarabande, $14.41 SRP), and the compilation full of classic movie scores Play It Again, Sam: The Classic Sound Of Hollywood (Sony, $18.70 SRP).
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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It’s not quite as consistent as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I certainly enjoyed 
Want to protect your oh-so-precious eyes from evil green lasers, all the while looking ridiculously stylish? Well, look no further than the 
Fans of the great Orson Welles will delight in this newly-restored edition of Omnibus, a television showcase featuring the arts, which in 1953 televised a production of 
Many have called the Coen Brothers’ 
History nerds (like me) will probably want to dive right in to 
After a massive wait, fans can finally wrap up the second season of 
Take a life-spanning love-affair and complicate it with a time-hopping lover who doesn’t know when he’ll disappear and when in his own timeline he’ll reappear, and you’ve got the unique relationship featured in 
Now that the full series has made its way to DVD, the single-disc themed releases are the focus, with 
Fox has bungled up the X-Men nicely, and Heroes has lost its way, but both can take a page from the series 
Featuring dozens of actors and musicians, 
He’s become a slab of a man, but you still get exactly what you expect from a Steven Seagal action flick in 
How about some catalogue titles coming to high-def this week? Fox and MGM back up the truck with a trio of modern classics – 
And since you’re always looking to upgrade those catalogue titles with spiffy new high-definition versions all shiny and bright, hitting Blu-Ray this week are the Richard Dawson classic 
One day, I’m sure a fascinating film about the life of landmark aviator Amelia Earhart will be made, Sadly, 
If you never got a chance to pick up the box sets a few years ago, your only chance to get their classic cartoons are though the single disc 
It’s one of the few recent successes in hour-long drama, and 
Just when the Sci-Fi Channel (I refuse to call it that other… thing) was getting too far up their own… yeah… they go and launch a new Stargate that manages to evoke the engaging fun of the original with 
I’ve been a fan of his going back to Action, but I’ve yet to find the same kind of pleasure in Jay Mohr’s formulaic sitcom 
Of course, you can never have too many adaptations of Jane Austen’s 
Not as noir-riffic as their take on Batman, Bruce Timm & Paul Dini still delivered a definitive version of the Man of Steel that trumps all but the original Donner film – and it can all be yours with 
If last year’s 20th anniversary set featuring the collectible Crow T. Robot figurine was anything to go by, I’d recommend snatching your copy of the limited edition 
It’s quite rare to encounter a new sitcom that I not only like, but swiftly fall in love with. Well, I can now add 
Get the bad taste of the US remake out of your mouth by re-watching the second (and final) season of the original UK 
I got exactly what I expected from 
Lionsgate has just dropped a boatload of their catalogue titles into the high definition arena, with one big highlight for me. There was a time when it seemed 
No, I will not say it’s a good film, but there’s a lot of goofy fun to be found – at least my young nephew did – during 
A truly groundbreaking comic performer and television innovator that should be required viewing for anyone claiming to have an affinity for comedy gets a nice introductory set via 
If you go into 
Packed to the hilt with guest stars like Steve McQueen and Walter Matthau and hosted by its titular master of suspense, 
Maybe one day someone will find the closet that the real Robert Rodriguez has been locked in for the past few years. In the meantime, the Pod-riguez is delivering tepid kiddie cinema like 
If I had my druthers (which I do), I’d like to ignore that Torchwood ever existed as a Doctor Who spin-off and focus entirely on 
Animation makes the transition to live action with the made-for-TV 
Pull out all of the teeth of the original and make the sense of “Gotta keep the franchise churning” palpable, and you’ve got the not-terribly-interesting 
It’s a little bit House, a little bit Chicago Hope, and a little bit Grey’s Anatomy – it’s 
The lawyer with the golden briefs returns with the second volume of it’s 3rd season – otherwise known as 
I’ve become quite tired of Michael Cera, so I was pleased that 
In the mood for a middling little horror flick that’s at least an improvement over channel surfing? Wondering whatever happened to Thora Birch & Brittany Murphy? Well, you’ll find them both in 
What happens when you team up two of the most pigmentally-challenged humans on Earth and give them superpowers? You get Jim Gaffigan & Conan O’Brien (voiced by Gaffigan) in 
Guy Ritchie has been a scattershot writer/director over the years, but the film that put him on the map – 
I know, it’s been some time since I’ve had a screening around these parts. Well, I am delighted to say that there are finally some that I will be able to invite all my readers in Arizona (the 1 of you) to attend.
It took me a while to get into 30 Rock.