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…)
A decade ago, if you had asked me if I’d care a tinker’s whit for any merchandise based on Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars prequels, I would have laughed in your face and thought you a fool. But here we are, and here’s me genuinely caring about the Hot Toys release of a 1/6-scale Anakin Skywalker (Sideshow, $267), as portrayed by Hayden Christensen in Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. And the only reason I care if the tremendous amount of solid character rehabilitation that took place during the Clone Wars animated series, which managed to redeem all of the elements the prequels managed to fumble. This edition is the deluxe Toy Fair exclusive, featuring Anakin after he’s turned to the Dark Side, red-eyed and angry. It even has an impressive display option – the flying platform he fought on while dueling with Obi-Wan on the lava planet of Mustafar (so, of course, the lava on the base is impressively lit via LEDs). I can’t wait to have the prequel Obi-Wan in hand to take the display high ground.
It certainly took a while to grow on me, but by the fourth and final season of Star Wars: Rebels (Walt Disney, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$45.99 SRP), I came to love the mythology and ragtag group of characters lovingly woven into the larger Star Wars universe. Bonus materials include audio commentaries and featurettes.
Not only were the folks at Shout Factory able to finally get Disney to agree to let an outside company release one of their shows on home video, but they were also able to hit it out of the park with a stellar high definition release of Gravity Falls (Shout Factory, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$99.99 SRP), which is positively packed with bonus features. One can only hope this opens the door for Disney to turn over the release of The Muppet Show and their Disney Afternoon properties to Shout, as well.
Speaking of Gravity Falls, the story continues with EVEN MORE STORIES in creator Alex Hirsch’s graphic novel Gravity Falls: Lost Legends (Disney Press, $19.99 SRP). I won’t spoil the quartet of new adventures, so just hurry up and read it already.
While Shout Factory gets most of the attention for their catalogue releases, Mill Creek has been steadily ramping up their game with their access to the Sony library. The latest shows to get proper high definition debuts are complete collections of Masters Of Sex (Mill Creek, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$69.98 SRP) and Happy Endings (Mill Creek, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). Bonus materials on Masters Of Sex include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes, while Happy Endings gets interviews, parodies, deleted scenes, and outtakes.
I have to continue to give huge props to the folks at The Warner Archive for continuing to deep dive into their catalogue and serve up high definition releases of titles that may not have a wide appeal but make fans happy. Case in point is a quintet of recent releases, including the fun awful Supergirl (which even includes a bonus DVD of the extended Director’s Cut), Spencer Trace in Bad Day At Black Rock, the Blaxploitation classic Super Fly, John Huston’s The Life & Times Of Judge Roy Bean, and the still weird Village Of The Damned (Warner Bros., $21.99 SRP each).
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is about to make his television debut, so the timing is perfect for the 4k debut of the character’s feature films – The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear And Present Danger, The Sum Of All Fears, and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – all in the appropriately titled Jack Ryan Collection (Paramount, Rated PG/PG-13/R, 4K Blu-Ray-$69.99 SRP). As for bonus features, they all carry over from the previous Blu-Ray releases.
Ben Acker & Ben Blacker’s Star Wars: Join The Resistance trilogy concludes with Attack On Starkiller Base (Lucasfilm Press, $12.99 SRP), which finds Mattis Banz and the other members of J-Squadron attempting a daring rescue mission aboard a First Order ship and warn the Resistance about a deadly threat.
Are they lowbrow? Decidedly so. RIDICULOUSLY so. But I admit, there’s still plenty of guilty laughs to be had re-visiting the whole run of profoundly stupid stunts via the comprehensive Jackass: Complete Movie & TV Collection (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$16.99 SRP). Not only do you get the original television series, but also all 3 feature films and Bad Grandpa, plus the unrated versions – All in one box.
It came and went in theaters, but Melissa McCarthy’s Life Of The Party (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$22.99 SRP) – about a housewife who decides to attend college alongside her daughter after her husband leaves her – is a fun romp in the way many McCarthy flicks are. Is it brilliant? No. Is it enjoyable? Yes. Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
Yes, we’re already getting Halloween releases, and Nickelodeon has got kids covered with Spongebob Squarepants: The Legend Of Boo-kini Bottom (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which features the show’s spooky stop-motion special, and PAW Patrol: Halloween Heroes (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 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
##
