Holiday Gift Guide - Part III
December 17, 2006
With just a week till Christmas and with hard to shop for people still on the list desperation is probably setting in. With all the stress everyone's judgment is questionable so here is another selection or random gifts that may are may not be perfect for someone on your list.
Here's the third batch of gift suggestions, in the order that they popped into my head...
For those who grew up in the 70s
For those who sing-a-long to their movies
For others like me who use an Nom de Plume
For hopefully the last time
For those who want to see my little friend
For those whose minds went into the gutter after reading, 'little friend'
For those who think of politics and not porn when they hear the term, 'Deep Throat'
For those who like it hot
For those who don't like it hot
Name: The Best of the Electric Company - Volume 1 and Volume 2
Description: A kids educational program from the 1970s featuring the likes of Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, as well as guest stars by the dozen.
Pros: It's a great hit of nostalgia and if you grew up on the show, you might also have kids that are the same age as you were when you first saw the show.
Cons: They call it an educational show, but I don't buy it. I just watched volume two, and I didn't learn a thing. Like when Bill Cosby explained how jets fly, I already knew that. I guess I'm just smarter than the average 7 to 10 year old from the 1970s.
Name: High School Musical - Remix Edition
Description: After a record-breaking debut on the Disney channel, this musical was on the sales charts for week after week. Now it is out on a 2-disc special edition.
Pros: Made for TV movies, especially kids movies, tend to be quite bad. But this film is a cut above most. I'm not saying adults who enjoyed Les Miserables will be enthralled by the subtles of the script, but the target audience should get a kick out of it.
Cons: I still don't quite believe that musicals are popular with high school students. I have the feeling it’s a fad that will end just as suddenly as it starts. Then again, even if I'm right, it probably won't end till after Christmas at the earliest.
Name: Alias - The Compete Series - Buy from Amazon
Description: All five seasons of the secret agent show that made Jennifer Garner a star.
Pros: Much cheaper than buying the season sets individually and comes with a bonus DVD with even more extras.
Cons: Many fans of the show already have the season sets so the value of the gift might decline accordingly.
Name: Monty Python - 16-Ton Megaset and Personal Bests
Description: Practically everything related to Monty Python's Flying Circus. I say practically because there's probably something, somewhere hidden in someone's closest that will be found next year and will be part of a 17-Ton Megaset.
Pros: Arguably the best know, and funniest, British comedy troupe of all time.
Cons: This is not the first Megaset released for Monty Python and there's not much new from the previous version.
Name: Scarface - Platinum Edition - Buy from Amazon
Description: The rise and fall of Cuban Drug Lord, Tony Montana, played by an over-the-top Al Pacino.
Pros: Has a special place in the hearts of fans of violent movies. They drop the F-bomb more than 200 times in the movie.
Cons: When I say Al Pacino is over-the-top, I mean he is so far over-the-top that he needs special equipment just to breath at that altitude. Because of this, many think of this film more as camp than quality.
Name: Inside Deep Throat - Buy from Amazon
Description: A documentary look at the world's most famous porn film.
Pros: It is a fascinating film on a topic that is usually not dealt with in the documentary.
Cons: It's about porn, which limits its appeal to mainstream audiences. In other words, you could get strange looks depending on whom you send it to.
Name: A G-Man's Life: The FBI, Being 'Deep Throat,' And the Struggle for Honor in Washington - Buy from Amazon
Description: The auto-biography of Mark Felt, who revealed last year that he was in fact Deep Throat, the word's most famous anonymous informant.
Pros: "Who is Deep Throat?" is a question that has been on the minds of every political junkie for the past 30 years.
Cons: It's political. And like anything political in today's environment, if you give this to the wrong person you will either look like a dirty hippie or a jack-booted Nazi.
Name: Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection - Buy from Amazon
Description: Five films from Marilyn Monroe's tragically short career plus a documentary on her final days and her unfinished movie.
Pros: Good mix of movies in this collection, including three classics, (Seven Year Itch, Gentlemen Perfer Blondes, and Niagara).
Cons: Doesn't actually include Some Like It Hot, which can be purchased separately.
Name: An Inconvenient Truth - Buy from Amazon
Description: Former Vice President Al Gore walks the audience through the overwhelming evidence in support of global warming and the way of combating the problem.
Pros: Arguably the best documentary of the year and possibly the most important movie to come out in a long, long time.
Cons: Environmental issues, like all scientific discussion, should be above politics. Unfortunately, it is not. And as such, giving this movie to the wrong person is a sure way to start a fight.
Filed under: An Inconvenient Truth, Inside Deep Throat