Want to get a jumpstart on your holiday shopping list? Look no further than this comprehensive guide, created by the Clarion. All of this year’s best in entertainment has been compiled so that you can gift your loved ones the best albums, TV series and movies.
To ask for:
“The Walking Dead”: The Complete Second Season (Limited Edition)*
Price: $64.98
Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your share of guts and gore anywhere else. If you’re a diehard (pun intended) fan, you’ll appreciate the creativity of the showrunners even more when you get season 2. In order to open the zombie head box set containing the second season of “The Walking Dead,” you have to insert the included screwdriver into the zombie’s eye socket to unlatch the lock. Once the box is open (and the fun is over), you can pop in one of the four discs and cringe, squeal and shriek as sheriff deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his band of survivors struggle to survive the zombie apocalypse and each other.
For the parents:
“Game of Thrones”: Season 1 Collector’s Edition [Blu-ray],
“Downton Abbey” Seasons 1 & 2 – Original UK Version*
Release Date: Nov. 20
Price: $79.99, $30.00
Bring Westeros home this holiday season with “Game of Thrones:” Season 1 Collector’s Edition. The boxset includes all the perks of the season 1 DVD, as well as “dragon eggs” featuring hidden bonus content that sharp-eyed fans should keep their eyes out for. If your parents are more in tune with the spirit of Victorian England, however, splurge on Downton Abbey Seasons 1 and 2. The special features are rather limited, but the real treat is watching upper-crust British socialites deliver snide remarks over simmering cups of tea. In fact, they even have more time to do so in these extended original cut episodes. With Season 3 for both series several months off, winter break is a great time for your parents (and you) to catch up.
For the significant other:
Homeland: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]*
Price: $34.98
Reconnaissance tells us you’ve probably been watching “Homeland,” Showtime’s critically-acclaimed new drama that took the Emmys by storm this fall. Not only did the show knock “Mad Men” off of its Best Drama pedestal, but it also received top acting awards for Claire Danes’ mentally unstable CIA agent Carrie Mathison and Damian Lewis’ suspicious war veteran Nicholas Brody. If you or your significant other haven’t had a chance to watch it, consider this your new assignment. This show’s got something everyone can enjoy, espionage for her, action for him . . . but really, it would be criminal to pass it up.
To ask for:
Babel, Mumford and Sons*,
Some Nights, fun.*
Price: $12.01, $9.99
With massive amounts of new music coming out all the time, its nearly impossible to keep up with what’s released. Thankfully, we’ve narrowed down your choices and now you can treat yourself. Take your pick between these albums, both from indie bands: Babel, from the British folk outfit Mumford and Sons and Some Nights, from alt rock group fun. You may be familiar with some of their work – due to the radio repeats of the toe-tapping “I Will Wait” by Mumford and Sons and the titular “Some Nights” by fun. – but take a chance to listen to the other tracks; after all, these are two of the top-selling albums of 2012.
For the parents:
GRRR!, The Rolling Stones
Standing Ovation, The Greatest Songs From The Stage, Susan Boyle
Release date: Nov. 13
Price: $22.99, $10.99
Mom and Dad have probably amassed a collection of songs over the years from some of their favorite artists, but consider bringing all the tracks together this holiday season with compilation albums from two very different schools of music. For Mom, there’s a collection of theatre standards covered by the angelic-voiced Susan Boyle (if you are looking for “I Dreamed A Dream” among them, though, you won’t find it). For Dad, there’s the 50-track (or 80-track if you’re feeling super-deluxe) GRRR! album, filled with classic hits from the Rolling Stones and featuring two new songs, “One More Shot” and “Doom and Gloom,” recorded this past August. Happy holidays indeed.
For the significant other:
Red*, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré!
Release dates: Nov. 13 and Dec. 11
Price: $13.88, $9.99, $10.99
For him, Green Day’s album trilogy is the gift that keeps on giving. After the release of September’s ¡Uno! the punk rockers still have some surprises with ¡Dos! in November, followed by ¡Tré! (most likely a nod to drummer Tré Cool) in December. The style segues from power pop in ¡Uno!, to punk rock in ¡Dos!, but if you can only splurge on one album, pick up ¡Tré!. It’s an “epic” mix of everything that won’t leave him disappointed. For her, make sure to pick up Taylor Swift’s fourth studio LP, Red, where the pop country songstress proves that the best cure for heartbreak is a best-selling album (here’s looking at you, Adele). The album isn’t quite as cheery as the ones that preceded it, but given that this season is chock full of it, a little change might do some good.
To ask for:
“The Avengers”*
Price: $19.96
“The Avengers” is the superhero film of 2012, finally drawing together all the Marvel heroes we’ve been introduced to together in one megafranchise, an effort that’s been in the making since 2008’s “Iron Man.” Instead of bogging us down in tedious backstories, director Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), liberated by the introductions of previous films, was free to dive into the dysfunctional team dynamic; even before the movie, we knew from past films that Iron Man’s snark (a performance powered by an excellent Robert Downey Jr.) would undoubtedly clash with Captain America’s aw-shucks American idealism (Chris Evans, definitively breaking away from his Johnny Storm role in “Fantastic Four”). If you don’t already have The Avengers, seriously, go buy it.
For the parents:
“Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures”*
Price: $49.99
If your parents are looking for Spielberg-ian thrills, grab a whip and snag “Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures” [Blu-Ray]. (Yes, the hotly contested “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is included too). The movies will offer a healthy sense of nostalgia to parents and everyone will remember why they have a crush on Harrison Ford. This treasure’s standout feature is “On Set With Raiders of the Lost Ark,” which includes behind-the-scenes interviews, outtakes and a handful of deleted scenes. Surprise Mom and Dad with a blast from the past and watch your present tally rise.
For the significant other:
“Prometheus”*, “Magic Mike”*
Price: $19.49, $14.96
Ridley Scott’s unofficial “Alien” prequel may not have lived up to the standards set by its predecessor, but plenty of thrills still abound. For him, “Prometheus” is a grandiose and visually stunning treat, boosted by standout performances by Michael Fassbender as an ambiguous android and Noomi Rapace as Ripley 2.0. For her, the obvious choice has to be “Magic Mike”: who doesn’t love Channing Tatum’s, ahem, acting? This film about male strippers may leave you feeling a little uncomfortable about your lack of a six-pack, but she’ll undoubtedly appreciate it.
