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…)
Sadly, you don’t get the 3-D experience of their recent theatrical re-release, but the high definition versions of Toy Story & Toy Story 2 (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP each) are still an eye-popping treat that look and sound really, really good on your massive HDTV. Many of the bonus features are ported over from the most recent DVD special editions, including audio commentaries, featurettes, and deleted scenes. There are also a fair number of new bonus features, including animated studio stories, a featurette on the Toy Story zoetrope, Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs, and sneak peeks at Toy Story 3. Are they worth it? Oh yes. Yes they are.
There have been diecast replicas made in the past, and while I miss the replacement of the stainless steel body for plastic, it is pretty damn cool to have a Back To The Future Delorean ($39.99) with full lights and sounds. Coming in at 1/15 scale, the lights glow a brilliant blue as you have the option of 10 different sounds – everything from the flux capacitor engaging to the gull-wing doors opening.
It’s Christmas at Easter as those nifty chaps at Rifftrax bring you a DVD release of their holiday Rifftrax Live! Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza! (Legend Films, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95). Filmed in San Diego and beamed to theaters around the country (and now viewable in your own home), it featured the riffing wonderment of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett tackling festive shorts with special guest star Weird Al Yankovic. Nice, right?
When Mr. Fox (George Clooney) takes his thieving ways a bit too far, the wrath of the local human farmers is brought down around the heads of his friends in family in We Anderson’s delight, stop-motion animated Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). Will Fox be able to pull everyone through in this adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic? Trust me when I tell you to see for yourself. Bonus materials include a clutch of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
I think a comedic take on sword & sorcery epics has been a long-time coming, and I just wish that Comedy Central’s take on it – Krod Mandoon And The Flaming Sword Of Fire (Comedy Central, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) had been a little bit more solid than it wound up being. It’s since been cancelled, which is a shame, because given time, I’m sure the material would have lived up to the cast – including Matt Lucas’s wonderfully played master villain. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast interviews, deleted/extended scenes, and outtakes.
The 3rd season of Mad Men (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) is when much long-accumulating crap hit many a fan for every character, culminating in drastic changes not just in the office, but also at home. The 4-disc set contains all 13 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, and a documentary on Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers. A Blu-Ray edition ($49.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.
It’s not nearly the mess that some have made it out to be, but as satirical films about the illogic of war and the military go, The Men Who Stare At Goats (Anchor bay, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is just as inconsistent and imperfect as a film (also adapted from a far better book) 40 years its senior, Catch-22. Give it a spin and see if you share my thoughts on it, as the story itself – about the real military testing to discover psychic powers – is a hoot. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, and deleted scenes. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.98 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.
It never quite lived up to the fun and adventure of its predecessor, but by the end of Stargate Atlantis (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$199.98 SRP), a number of cast editions and a devil-may-care attitude crept in, which made the show a heck of a lot more enjoyable. Don’t believe me? Get the 26-disc complete series set, containing all 5 seasons, plus an exclusive bonus disc with tons of new extras.
For all those (including myself) who have accused Steven Spielberg of being an emotional button-pushing, saccharine filmmaker, watch The Blind Side (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.98 SRP) and see a truly off-putting, diabetes-inducing flick in action. There’s just so many aspects of this ballsy conservative woman who hand-picks an underprivileged teenager to save and he goes on to be a football success tale that I find offensive, that to select just one does a disservice to my loathing. Bonus materials are limited to additional scenes. A Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.
I think the quicker we can forget that the AMC remake of the brilliant 60’s series ever happened, the better, because this take on The Prisoner (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is just a boring, ill-conceived mess. In fact, the only bright light in a dark forest is Ian McKellen, who desperately tries to spark things up. Bonus materials include a pair of commentaries, featurettes, and an interview with McKellen.
Fans of low-budget, direct-to-video horror will want to pick up the “8 Films To Die For” comprising the 4th edition of the After Dark Horrorfest – Lake Mungo, Dread, The Graves, Kill Theory, The Reeds, Hidden, The Final, & Zombies Of Mass Destruction (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP each).
Overshadowed by the arrival of Mike Tyson, Robert Townsend’s Phantom Punch (Screen Media, Rated R, DVD-$24.98 SRP) presents a complicated biopic about the equally complicated former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston, portrayed by Ving Rhames.
If you’d like to partake of a brilliant, fascinating documentary snapshot of what seems like a distant age – even though it’s only 40 years ago – take a look at Rocky Road To Dublin (Icarus Films, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), director Peter Lennon’s look at an Ireland one the terrifying verge of social upheaval, as theocratic social norms were blown sky high. The disc also includes a newly produced making-of documentary.
The 3rd volume of The Judy Garland Show (Infinity, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) brings another pair of complete episodes, featuring guests Lena Horne, Terry-Thomas, Tony Bennett, Dick Shawn, and Jerry Van Dyke.
Celebrate Easter with a pair of new-to-DVD specials, the first of which is Bugs Bunny’s Easter Funnies (Warner Brow., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which uses linking material to weave together classic Looney Tunes cartoons that have some vague content connection to the holiday. The other release is The First Easter Rabbit (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), from those purveyors of animated holiday specials, Rankin/Bass.
Remember Ken Wahl? Remember Wiseguy, the show in which he starred as the FBI deep cover agent Vincent Terranova, out to take down the mob from within. Now you can get all 4 seasons in one handy set. Wiseguy: The Collector’s Edition (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP) contains all 67 episodes, 3 of which never aired.
Well, now we know that while Jeff Bridges was filming the role that would earn him an Oscar, his brother Beau was co-starring in a direct-to-video sequel with Bindi Irwin – Free Willy: Escape From Pirate’s Cove (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$27.98 SRP). Yeah. It’s exactly what you expect. Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes. A Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.
I know there are plenty of fans of both The Black Hole and TRON out there, and Mindstyle has decided to combine the two into a highly detailed, scaled vinyl replica of the robot V.I.N.C.E.N.T. ($129.99), with a TRON-style blue paintjob. Available through the fine folks at Sideshow, you’ll be kicking yourself if you miss out on this limited edition nerdgasm.
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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