Comedy is so subjective! And yet people request recommendations for comedies more than any other genre. There is a rumor going around that I suggested NOTES ON A SCANDAL as a comedy. Although I do not think that is exactly true (it is NOT a funny movie, though it is true that I laughed a few inappropriate times and may have mentioned that to someone), it does illustrate the point. What is funny to me may not be the same thing that is funny to Amy, or Shila or anyone else behind the counter, or in front of it. Still, keep asking us for recommendations, because we are generally psyched to share our thoughts about the movies we watch. Personally, I have been on a quest to see as many comedies as possible in order to develop a better sense of what is funny! I am starting with THE SHINING...
This week, I recommend you check out our music section, it is so under-viewed and is chock-full of brilliance. Where is the music section, you ask? Not the musicals section (which is also amazing), but the music section. It is the low horizontal shelf parallel to and catty corner from the documentary section, next to the art and nature (and experimental, short, literature, etc) docs. Some of my personal favorites: JOHN AND YOKO'S YEAR OF PEACE following John Lennon and Yoko Ono on their attempt to gain recognition for the improbable concept of peace; FINISTERRE, a doc about London and it's music; BLANK GENERATION, the amazing music of the late 70's NY scene; TOM DOWD AND THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC, following the mixing genius of the man who mixed Layla, among other great rock tunes. I love this section; check it out!
We have a huge stash of stuff this Tuesday. A bunch of TV (STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES, CITY OF MEN {replacement copies, finally }, DEADWOOD SEASON 3), bunches of documentaries with subjects ranging from music to mental health (THE BRIDGE, GLASTONBURY, AN UNREASONABLE MAN, AMERICAN ALOHA), as well as a slew of new cinematic releases (THE BREACH, RAINING STONES, GHOST RIDER, BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE, DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL, PRIMEVAL)...We've also replenished the library with some previously lost stock, as well as added a personal favorite of ours that I noticed we didn't stock: BURN!, a 60's era Brando film that is just awesome (but NOT funny!). That photo is him from this movie released in 1969 (same year I was released).
Dig it!
Ken
p.s. I play in a rock band - we play in the city all the time. We are called The Dont's. Ask me about them. You can hear our music here: www.myspace.com/thedonts
............//NEW TITLES//............
BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE.
Horror/Suspense.
Agnes Bruckner/Hugh Dancy/Olivier Martinez.
Directed by Katja von Garnier.
* Yum-yum! Chocolate! But, I digress...The love between a young werewolf (Bruckner) and a human (Martinez) is the subject matter of this monster tale.
THE BREACH.
Suspense/Drama.
Ryan Phillippe/Chris Cooper/Laura Linney.
Directed by Billy Ray.
* Drama inside FBI headquarters! Is Hanssen (Cooper) a trusted agent -- or a traitor to his country? Agent O’Neill (Phillippe) is asked to find out.
CUBAN BLOOD.
Drama/Action.
Harvey Keitel/Iben Hjejle/Gael Garcia Bernal.
Directed by Juan Gerard.
* CUBAN BLOOD is set against the background of Cuban revolution in a little town that has been thus far insulated against the violence. However that will all change as Che (Keitel), a town leader, and Ricky (Bernal) a young revolutionary, are forced to confront a new existence of pain and suffering.
DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL.
"Comedy"/Romance.
Gabrielle Union/Idris Elba/Lou Gossett, Jr.
Directed by Tyler Perry.
* A working class dad joins forces with an ivy-league educated attorney to get his kids back from his drug-dealing ex-wife. A romance blossoms, but is threatened by cultural differences.
GHOST RIDER.
Action/Horror.
Nicolas Cage/Wes Bentley/Eva Mendes.
Directed by Mark Steven Johnson.
* You gotta love a movie where the devil is played by Peter Fonda. In this sold-your-soul to the devil flick, Johnny Blaze (Cage) is the seller, and as a result he is Satan’s bounty hunter at night and a world famous daredevil (?) by day. But wait, here comes Eva Mendes, and it’s time to throw the whole agreement out the window. But first: the big showdown with Blackheart (Bentley) the devils son. But this isn’t any Sanford and Son operation, no siree! Blackheart wants to take over Daddy’s op and the only one who can stop him is GHOST RIDER!
PRIMEVAL.
Suspense/Horror.
Dominic Purcell/Orlando Jones.
Directed by Michael Katleman.
* The cunning, blood-hungry, crazed, demonic, savage, flesh-eating killer is a 25-foot crocodile! Look out!
RAINING STONES.
"Comedy".
Bruce Jones/Julie Brown.
Directed by Ken Loach.
* A daughter’s first Communion and her need for a white dress, causes an out-of-work plumber (presumably, with plumber’s butt) to resort to extremes. Serious extremes, evidently involving his immortal soul and salvation. This 1993 film is just making its way to DVD.
............//TELEVISION//............
DEADWOOD: SEASON 3.
Television.
Ian McShane/Molly Parker/Timothy Olyphant/Kim Dickens.
Created by David Milch.
* The third season of the massively popular HBO series set in the late 1800’s in the small South Dakota town of Deadwood.
STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES: SEASON 1.
Television.
Leonard Nimoy/William Shatner/DeForest Kelley.
Created by Gene Roddenbury.
* By popular demand. Your mission? To boldly go where no man has gone before. Ask me to tell you my funny George Takei (Sulu) stories…
............//DOCUMENTARY//............
AMERICAN ALOHA: HULA BEYOND HAWAI’I.
Documentary.
Directed by Lisette Marie Flanary/Evann Siebens.
* Hula has come with many Hawaiians to the mainland.
AN UNREASONABLE MAN.
Documentary.
Ralph Nader/Pat Buchanan/Howard Zinn.
Directed by Henriette Mantel/Steve Skrovan.
* An in-depth look at the varied career of Ralph Nader and the legacy he has left behind.
THE BRIDGE.
Documentary..
Directed by Eric Steel.
* We obtained this doc about people who have jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge with the hopes that it would be helpful. It is a graphic look at the lives and deaths of people who jumped from the bridge in 2004. Steel’s cameras were on the bridge from dusk to dawn every day that year, and as they felt someone was going to jump they called 911 immediately. 6 people were saved in that way. The other 24 jumped. This film is about those people; their lives, their stories and their pain.
GLASTONBURY.
Documentary/Music.
Bjork/Bowie/Cave/Brown/Bragg/Strummer.
Directed by Julien Temple.
* This is the 30th anniversary addition of Britain’s most famous music festival.
............//FAMILY//............
BEAR IN THE BIG BLUE HOUSE: POTTY TIME WITH BEAR.
Children.
Bear/Treelo/Ojo/Potty.
Created by Mitchell Kriegman.
* Do you have a potty training toddler? This might be the movie for you.
............//MUSIC//............
SYSTEM OF A DOWN: PSYCHO MESSIAHS.
Music.
* A complete unauthorized biography of the seriously hard rocking metal band System Of A Down.
............//NEW ACQUISITIONS//............
BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER.
Comedy.
Cathy Moriarty/Michelle Williams/Julie Delpy.
Directed by Jamie Babbit.
* Too bad, baby, you still are going to rehab for acting potentially like a lesbian.
BURN!.
Drama.
Marlon Brando.
Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo.
* Quintessential 1969 Brando film about the British sugar trade in the Caribbean. First Sir William Walker (Brando) is sent to the island of Queimada to instigate a slave revolution to improve the trade; then he is sent to squelch it for the same purposes. Brando is amazing with long swashbuckling blond hair. A must see.
CITY OF MEN.
Television.
* This heavy hitting Brazilian television series was new in our store 6 months ago, but alas, we lost it. Now we have it again!
ONION FIELD.
Drama.
John Savage/James Woods/Ted Danson.
Directed by Harold Becker.
* A cop is wracked with guilt over the murder of his partner by two crooks.
PLANET EARTH: COMPLETE SERIES.
Documentary/Splendor.
This is just a second copy of this AMAZING 5 disc set. I noticed that the demand was great, so I picked up another one.
SLOW BURN.
Action.
Minnie Driver/James Spader/Josh Brolin.
Directed by Christian Ford.
* A wealth of diamonds forges an unusual partnership between a woman and two escaped cons all trying to recover the booty.
****
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