**** new release list no.126

Another monster week and we mean monster! Human monsters! The biggest two releases of the week are probably HOT FUZZ, the latest from the group who brought you SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and 300, a war film of epic proportion.

There is also quirky indie tales (THE DARWIN AWARDS, NOVEL ROMANCE, EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN) some foreign films (YELLOW, PLAYED, IVAN’S CHILDHOOD (Criterion)), a family tale (FIREHOUSE DOG) as well as some docs (ROVING MARS, REQUIEM FOR BILLY THE KID, CRUDE AWAKENING) and some tight dramas (LONELY HEARTS, THE SITUATION).

Time to squeeze the charmin.

FOURPLAY
****
Last week's Fourplay was all about big dumb fun. To interject a little balance into the celluloid universe, this week's Fourplay is all about, as one of the protagonists put it, "the life of the mind." And man, does it get weird in there. To make things even weirder, all of the following were written and directed by brothers, some of them identical twins. Split brains. Weird.

NORTHFORK
The construction of a dam outside of Northfork, Montana, threatens to flood a handful of townspeople who refuse to leave, so a group of nefarious salesmen (lead by James Woods) are sent to evacuate them. The story drifts in and out of the fevered dreams of an ill child who is watched over by a soul-searching priest (Nick Nolte) and a group of unusual angels (including Darryl Hannah). Written and directed by Mark and Michael Polish (Twin Falls Idaho, Jackpot, The Astronaut Farmer).

BARTON FINK
A nervous New York playwright (John Turturro) goes to LA to write a wrestling movie. He stays in a strange hotel run by a strange bellboy (Steve Buscemi), and meets his even stranger neighbor (John Goodman) and is soon thrust into the midst of a bizarre murder. As things heat up, Barton suffers from writer's block, and dives deeper and deeper into "the life of the mind." Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (Raising Arizona, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou...)

THE BROTHERS QUAY COLLECTION
This collection of bizarre animated shorts features the best of the Brothers Quay, identical twins from Pennsylvania who take the style of Jan Svankmajer and push it into the deep end. Highlights include "Street of Crocodiles," "The Comb," and the complete "Stille Nacht" series. Dreamy, textural, bizarre -- you've never seen anything like this. Written and directed by Stephen and Timothy Quay (Institute Benjamenta, The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes, tons of animated shorts...).

BOUND
Raquel Welch once said, "the mind is an erogenous zone," and who am I to quibble? This steamy love-triangle-gone-bad features a gangster (Joe Pantoliano), his moll (Jennifer Tilly), and their plumber (Gena Gershon). The girls have an affair and run off with the mobster's money, but he's hot on their tail, uh, I mean, trail. Trashy, sexy, and highly stylized, this one puts the R in noir. The first film written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski (the Matrix series).
****
Each of the four films of Fourplay is featured on a shelf by the register.
See you at the shop,

Ken
............//RELEASE OF THE WEEK//............

HOT FUZZ.
Comedy.
Simon Pegg/Nick Frost.
Directed by Edgar Wright.
* Amazing sound design, 21st century comic sensibility, great timing and a hooded and homicidal neighborhood watch committee. Put it together you have Wright and Pegg’s amazing and hysterical script. From the guys who brought you SHAUN OF THE DEAD comes this wild ride in the life of Nicholas Angel, a cop who is so productive at his job that he is showing up the rest of the force in London. After being forcibly relocated to the sticks, he discovers that the sleepy little no-crime town that is patrolling is hiding a demented and evil secret. It’s up to him and the police chief’s slacker son to stop the violence.

............//NEW TITLES//............

THE DARWIN AWARDS.
Comedy/Drama.
Joseph Fiennes/Winona Ryder.
Directed by Finn Taylor.
* Fiennes is a detective and Ryder an insurance investigator who together are checking into a potential Darwin Award winner, which are given posthumously to those who kill themselves in especially stupid ways.

EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN.
Comedy.
Paulo Coastanzo/Steph Song.
Directed by Paul Fox.
* A sweet slacker dude gets involved with a money laundering scheme…not sure where the marijuana comes in, but the cover images definitely imply there is some THC propagation somewhere in this film.

FIREHOUSE DOG.
Comedy/Family.
Josh Hutcherson/Bree Turner.
Directed by Todd Holland.
* Hollywood’s top canine, the strangely named Rexxx (Triple-X?) gets lost and eventually adopted by a firehouse in disrepair.

HOT FUZZ.
Release of the week.

LONELY HEARTS.
Drama/Suspense.
John Travolta/James Gandolfini/Salma Hayek/Jared Leto.
Directed by Todd Robinson.
* The sick and true story of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez the so-called "Lonely Hearts Killers” who lured elderly widows through the personals, stole their hearts/savings and then viciously killed them. Travolta and Gandolfini play the detectives who track them down. It should be kinda fun to see Tony Soprano (Gandolfini) playing a cop.

NOVEL ROMANCE.
Comedy.
Traci Lords/Paul Johanson/Sherilyn Fenn.
Directed by Emily Skopov.
* You have got to hand it to Traci Lords, she just keeps re-inventing herself! In this, she plays a powerful editor who wants to have a baby, but wants to be a single mom.

PATHFINDER.
Action/Adventure.
Karl Urban/ Jay Tavare.
Directed by Marcus Nispel.
* This is an action film about a Viking kid who gets left in the “New World” after his people fight with some Native Americans. He is then raised by the tribe his family fought.

PLAYED.
Suspense.
Mick Rossi/Gabriel Byrne/ Vinnie Jones/Val Kilmer.
Directed by Sean Stanek.
* A grim tale of revenge in the crime world of London.

THE SITUATION.
Drama.
Connie Nielsen/Damian Lewis.
Directed by Philip Haas.
* One of the first features to depict life in wartime Iraq, the situation concerns a love triangle with an Iraqi photographer, an American journalist and a member of the CIA.

YELLOW.
Drama
Roselyn Sanchez/D.B. Sweeney.
Directed by Alfredo De Villa.
* A classically trained dancer becomes a stripper when she moves to the city. The plot twist that you couldn’t see coming is when she falls in love with one of the club’s best customers.

300.
Action/War.
Gerald Butler/Lena Heady.
Directed by Zack Snyder.
* 300 Spartans for Democracy versus Xerxes and a tremendous Persian army. 300 is based on the Frank Miller graphic novel by the same name and stays true to its roots. A bloody joyride.

............//DOCUMENTARY//............

CRUDE AWAKENING: OIL CRASH.
Documentary.
Directed by Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack and Reto Caduff.
* A very thorough, visual and emotionally honest look at the oil situation on planet Earth.

REQUIEM FOR BILLY THE KID.
Documentary.
Kris Kristofferson.
Directed by Anne Feinsilber.
* An investigation into the life of Billy the Kid and his death at the hands of Pat Garrett in 1881.

ROVING MARS.
Documentary.
Martians (Not really).
Directed by George Butler.
* Spectacular imagery from two robots sent to Mars.
As someone on IMDB wrote “Your Tax Dollars Actually Not Being Used to Kill People”. That’s nice, huh?

............//RECENT ACQUISITIONS//............

CARNIVALE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Replacement copy of the popular series.

CECIL B. DEMENTED.
Comedy.
Eric Roberts/Ricki Lake.
Directed by John Waters.
First DVD copy.

IVAN’S CHILDHOOD.
Criterion/Foreign (Russian).
Nikolai Burlyayev.
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.
*Tarkovsky’s 1962 debut about a 12 year-old boy fighting on the front lines against the German invasion in WWII.


****

**** new release list no. 125

****EXTRA EXTRA****
We just got in the 2nd Seasons of Weeds and Extras and they are available as of today!


This week we have so many movies new to DVD! Among the many titles is ZODIAC, the story of the psycho who terrorized our very own city just 30 years ago. We also have the NUMBER 23 starring Jim Carrey, as well as the lesser known PERFUME: STORY OF A MURDERER, a dark and sinister tale of a perfumologist seeking to preserve the perfect scents. This film is directed by the superbly talented Tom Tykwer best known for RUN LOLA RUN, but in my mind his most amazing work is the poorly titled THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR. If you haven’t seen that, beeline it down to Four Star and I’ll help you find it…

We also have a wide assortment of docs (another one about Allen Ginsberg, one tracking great moments at the X-Games, one about crime writer James Ellroy), indie films (CASHBACK, LIVE FREE OR DIE {not to be confused with the latest Bruce Willis action flick LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD}), foreign films (ADVENTURES OF JUAN QUIN QUIN, RENAISSANCE, TO LIVE) as well as some family stuff, more great vintage television (PERRY MAN SEASON 1, VOLUMES ONE AND TWO) and bunches of new acquisitions featuring animations (REN AND STIMPY, NAOYUKI TSUJI ANIMATION COLLECTION) as well as some fantastic vintage French cinema released as part of the Criterion Collection (LES MISERABLES, WOODEN CROSSES) and otherwise (MANON OF THE SPRING, LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES).

Like always, we will start off with a little touchy-feely session to get you in the mood…

FOURPLAY
****
After burdensome tales of runaway floodwaters and footballer dogfights, this week's Fourplay is all about escapism. Trying to ride the edge of sanity, good taste, and all points in between, I'm recommending some movies that make your sides hurt more than your brain -- but not so lowbrow that you'll drool on the couch. (Well, maybe just a little.) In other words: fun. So, if you're game... fasten your seatbelt, strap on your helmet, and get on the fun bus!

BOWFINGER
Failed B-movie producer Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) is making a last-ditch effort at success, directing his sci-fi masterpiece, "Chubby Rain," starring the huge action star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy). The problem is, Kit doesn't even know he's in the movie. Martin does a brilliant parody of the say-anything producer and Murphy is jawdropping in his dual role as the paranoid movie star and his mentally challenged brother. Directed by Frank Oz (Little Shop of Horrors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, What About Bob...).

KISS KISS, BANG BANG
A farcical noir featuring punchy dialog and even punchier characters, played with merciless charm by Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. The setup: a witless thug (Downey) ends up in the middle of a Hollywood whodunit with a nonplussed private eye (Kilmer). It's pulp, its noir, its whiplash chemistry. Co-written by first-time director Shane Black (writer of the Lethal Weapon series).

RAT RACE
Imagine a casino run by John Cleese. Now imagine he wants to bring in all the high-rollers in, to bet on a dozen wackos racing across the dessert to a lockbox full of cash. Now imagine that these wackos include a narcoleptic Italian (Rowan Atkinson), a chronic nogoodnick (John Lovitz), a despised football referee (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a kooky absentee mom (Whoopie Goldberg), and a host of other nutjobs. Directed by Jerry Zucker (Rock 'n' Roll High School, Airplane, Ruthless People...).

WEDDING CRASHERS
Two oddball divorce mediators (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) spend their summers crashing weddings and lying their way into bed. But when they set their sites on the daughters of a prominent Senator (Christopher Walken), all hell breaks looser than their morals. Crazy scenarios, lightning-fast responses, and deeper and deeper doo-doo will put the pop in your popcorn. Directed by David Dobkin (Clay Pigeons, Shanghai Knights...)

****
Each of the four films of Fourplay is featured on a shelf by the register.
See you at the shop,

Ken


............//NEW TITLES//............

ADVENTURES OF JUAN QUIN QUIN.
Drama/Foreign (Cuba).
Julio Martinez/Erdwin Fernandez.
Directed by Julio Garcia Espinosa.
* Adapted from a novel by Samuel Ferijoo, Juan Quin Quin is a bullfighter, a guerrilla, and a sacristan.

CASHBACK.
Comedy/Drama.
Directed by Sean Ellis.
* This feature made from an 18 minute short that Ellis made (that was nominated for an Oscar) is about an insomniac artist who works the night shift at a supermarket where his imagination runs wild.

THE CONTRACT.
Suspense/Action.
John Cusack/Morgan Freeman.
Directed by Bruce Beresford.
* The critics panned this pretty hard. The Cusack character is a dad on a hiking trip with his son when they run into a very mean assassin who has been arrested by the feds while trying to complete a contract. Things go bad from there…

LIVE FREE OR DIE.
Comedy.
Aaron Stanford/Michael Rapaport/Zooey Deschanel.
Directed by Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin.
* Two dim-witted criminals and an emotionally unstable cop make for wincing laughs.

NUMBER 23.
Suspense/Drama.
Jim Carrey/Virginia Madsen
Directed by Joel Schumacher.
*.Ever have one of those friends who reads “The Illuminati” or some other conspiracy theory book and gets all jacked on the number 23? No? Maybe that was a Santa Cruz thing…anyway, Jim Carrey plays some sucker who gets waaaay paranoid about the number 23 and in fact believes a novel he is reading is actually written about him.

PERFUME: STORY OF A MURDERER.
Drama/Suspense.
Dustin Hoffman/Ben Whishaw/Alan Rickman.
Directed by Tom Tykwer.
* Here’s the latest from Tykwer who burst onto the American film scene with Run Lola, Run. This film follows the obsessive compulsive and eventually gruesome path of Grenouille (Whishaw) who has the most acute sense of smell in the world, and whose dreams and desires lead him down dark paths.

RENAISSANCE.
Drama/Comedy.
Daniel Craig/Iam Holm/Jonathan Pryce/Catherine McCormack.
Directed by Christian Volckman.
* A brilliantly animated futuristic sci-fi flick in the style of Blade Runner, this film delivers a stark vision of 2054 Paris where the biggest company in town controls beauty and youth. Visually amazing!

ZODIAC.
Suspense/Drama.
Jake Gyllenhaal/Robert Downey Jr./Mark Ruffalo/Anthony Edwards/Chloe Sevigny/Bijou Phillips.
Directed by David Fincher.
* San Francisco tale of the Zodiac killer who terrorized the Bay Area for over 10 years in the 60’s and 70’s. This story centers on the journalists and police who are trying to decipher the killer’s notes and motives.

............//DOCUMENTARY//............

JAMES ELLROY: AMERICAN DOG.
Documentary.
Directed by Clara Kruperberg and Robert Kruperberg.
* Documentary about the famous writer of L.A. Confidential, among other things.

POET ON LOWER EAST SIDE.
Docu-Diary.
Allen Ginsberg.
Directed by Gyula Gazdag.
* Hungarian poet and translator István Eörsi spends time with Allen Ginsberg walking about and visiting his old haunts just a few years before the great American poet’s death.

THE BEST OF X: X-GAMES GREATEST MOMENTS.
Sports.
* If you dig alternative sports, you will love this movie which documents the craziest and sickest (that’s just slang for cool) performances in the X-Games.

............//TELEVISION//............

REN AND STIMPY: SEASON 5 AND SOME MORE OF SEASON FOUR.
Animation.
* I was so psyched when I read this on IMDB – “The gross misadventures of a hyper chihuahua and a stupid cat”. I guess that kind of sums it up.

PERRY MASON: SEASON ONE.
Television.
Raymond Burr
* A certain 9-year old helped us see the need to obtain this, the godfather of all lawyer shows. From 1957 until 1966 Perry Mason tracked down the truth in the most difficult criminal cases of the time. In a day and age where a television season seemed to last forever, this first season collection features 39 episodes on a whopping 10 discs! Dig in.

............//FAMILY//............

WOODY WOODPECKER & FRIENDS CLASSIC CARTOON COLLECTION.
Kids Animation.
* This is probably the kind of kids’ entertainment that Mom or Dad can sneak off with and touch base with some long ago memories of childhood.

............//RECENT ACQUISITIONS//............

LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES.
Criterion Collection.

LES MISERABLES.
Criterion Collection.

MANON OF THE SPRING/JEAN DE FLORETTE.
* Double feature of great French films on the same DVD that I accidentally bought. Oh well, it will be a helluva great dollar Wednesdays deal.

TO LIVE.
Drama/Foreign (China).
First DVD copy.

MONSTER SQUAD: 20TH ANNIVERSARY.
* Truly, I am not sure what this is, or why I got two copies, but Shila LOVES it and says that I will too, once I watch it.

NAOYUKI TSUJI ANIMATION COLLECTION.
Here is a description of this from Amazon “With a few simple, hand-drawn lines in his trademark charcoal and pastel, acclaimed animator Naoyuki Tsuji creates a distinctive universe that is at once tender and horrible. Included are all the elements of a fractured fairy tale for adults: clouds come alive in the sky; an escape becomes a terrifying journey; characters transform into animals; a man with a deranged face terrorizes his family and devours his children. What first appears to be childlike crudeness in his animation is actually subtle, strange, and even uncanny. Tsuji s films captivate us because they are vague recollections of beguiling childhood dreams and memories the wonder of the puppet show, the mystery of clouds, or the attraction of monsters”.

REN AND STIMPY THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS.
Replacement copy.

WOODEN CROSSES.
Criterion Collection.


****

**** new release list no.124

Nice days lately…warm and sunny. What happened to summer? Oh well, it will be back; in the meantime we'll enjoy this strange beautiful interlude.

When Amy and I took over Four Star Video in March, our immediate thought was to update the kids section. As parents, it always seems hard to find anything you want to show your kids. This week we watched CHARLIE AND LOLA for the first time. It is fantastic. It follows the antics of Charlie and his funny little sister Lola as they trip-trop through the world. It is in parts beautiful, psychedelic, humorous and always entertaining. I sat through almost the entire 7 episode disc 1 over three nights and thoroughly enjoyed myself. There were no skeptically raised eyelids or tweaked frowns on our faces as we watched (always a good litmus test with the kids stuff). I highly recommend this show.

On to this weeks FOURPLAY (written weekly by John Lucas)!

****FOURPLAY****

Sometimes I look at the headlines and wish I could time travel. You know, to a time when things were a bit more... you know. But was it ever really how we remember it? The thing with history in general and personal history specifically, is that hindsight is... you know. So this week, for your viewing pleasure, a few flicks that reflect the 20/20 of, well, you know...

MEMENTO

Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) has a problem. And an even bigger problem: he can't remember what the problem is all about. Brain damaged from a violent attack that left his wife dead, he tries to find the killer with the help of his new friends Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss). But are they really his friends, or are they looking to fulfill their own sick needs at the expense of his amnesia? An expert cast and nonlinear story is directed masterfully by Christopher Nolan (Insomnia, The Prestige, Batman Begins).

24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE

Follow the rebirth (and redeath) of Manchester's music scene through the eyes of Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan), the TV host turned impresario, owner of Manchester's soon-to-be hottest club, the Factory. His recollections of this historic era turn upon themselves, making it hard to distinguish what really happened. This joyride puts you right there, from the early days of Joy Division to the decadent implosion of Happy Mondays. Directed by Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland, The Road to Guantanamo, A Mighty Heart...)

AMERICAN SPLENDOR

Loser file clerk Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) has only one passion in life: comics. He meets Robert Crumb (James Urbaniak) who inspires him to make a comic about his own life. The problem is, all he can draw is stick figures. So the two loners begin an unlikely collaboration that leads Harvey into the awkward arms of comic book clerk Joyce (Hope Davis). Told with clever flashbacks by the real Harvey Pekar, this movie blurs the distinction between memoir and fantasy. Co-directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (co-directors on The Young & the Dead, Hello He Lied, Wanderlust...)

DINER

Six young men -- played by Kevin Bacon, Mickey Roarke, Paul Reiser, Daniel Stern, Steve Guttenberg and Timothy Daly -- try to cross the bumpy road to manhood in Baltimore in 1959. Their meeting place: the quintessential American diner. And they're finally beginning to realize that they can't stay there forever. All-star performances and childish antics set a stage that inspires the Tarrantino Generation. This definitive first feature was written and directed by Barry Levinson (Bugsy, Rain Man, Good Morning Vietnam...)

Next week: get ready for some shameless entertainment, a selection from the "Big Dumb Fun" pile...

****FOURPLAY****

Whoop-Whoop!

See you at the shop,

Ken
............//NEW TITLES//............

A BULLET FOR JOEY.
Suspense.
Edward G. Robinson.
Directed by Lewis Allen.
* A cold-war era espionage noir thriller complete with gangsters, communists, the FBI and nuclear scientists.

ACE IN THE HOLE.
Drama/Noir/Criterion.
Kirk Douglas/Jan Sterling.
Directed by Billy Wilder.
* One of the original films about the concept of a "media-circus" a reporter delays the rescue of a miner trapped in a cave for his own personal gain.

AVENUE MONTAIGNE.
Comedy/Drama (French).
Cecil De France/Valerie Lemercier.
Directed by Daniele Thompon.
* This French flick converges of the lives of a television star, a classical pianist, an art connoisseur, at a café where the very real and non-famous Jessica is waiting tables.

BUT FOREVER IN MY MIND.
Comedy/Drama (Italian).
Sylvio Muccino.
Directed by Gabriele Muccino.
* Described as an Italian John Hughes film, this film concerns the lives of teenagers in 1968 Italy. Full of contempt for the adults around them the kids strive to make their own way in a world of hypocrisy. Sound familiar? How'd it work out for you?

HANA & ALICE.
Comedy/Drama/ (Japanese).
Anne Suzuki/Yu Aoi.
Directed by Shunji Iwai.
* Hana and Alice are two high school girls struggling with the things high school kids struggle with. They complicate things a bit by making up tales to a cute boy they both have a crush on. This is Andrew's girlfriend's favorite movie! Ask him about it.

HILLS HAVE EYES 2.
Horror.
Jessica Stroup/Reshad Strik.
Directed by Martin Weisz.
* Part duh, I mean deux of this cannibalistic mutant tale of HORROR!

KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL.
Drama.
John Payne/Colleen Gray.
Directed by Phil Karlson.
* Dirty cops frame an ex-con for a bank robbery they commit.

PREMONITION.
Suspense/Drama.
Sandra Bullock.
Directed by Mennan Yapo.
* Linda Hanson (Bullock) is facing the unfortunate reality of slipping in and out of time. The plot centers on her husbands tragic car-accident death and then bucks the trend by flip-flopping Hanson's reality before and after the accident. What would you do if you could go back in time and prevent something from happening?

WILD CAMP.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Denis Lavant/Isild Le Besco.
Directed by Christophe Ali and Nicolas Bonilauri.
* An updated version of the Lolita story, she is a sulky teenager and he is a married ex-con working at the camp. He doesn't stand a chance.

............//DOCUMENTARY//............

ROMANTICO.
Documentary.
Directed by Mark Becker.
* A locally made doc about the life of a Mexican troubadour who eventually returns to Mexico after years of trying to scratch out a decent living here in San Francisco.

PAPER DOLLS.
Documentary.
Directed by Tomer Heymann.
* This documentary covers so much ground. It is about a group of Filipino transvestites (hear that JJ?) who emigrate to Israel where they spend their days taking care of elderly religious men and their nights performing as the drag troupe The Paper Dolls.

............//TELEVISION//...........

FOYLE'S WAR: SET 4.
Television.
Michael Kitchen.
* Season Four of the popular UK television show about a cop at home in England during WWII.

GRAFTERS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Television.
Robson Green/Stephen Tompkinson.
* UK series about brothers who are forced to work together for economic reasons and the bonds that are forged and damaged by that happenstance.

MOST HAUNTED: THE COLLECTION.
Television/Reality.
Derek Acorah/Yvette Fielding.
* "Paranormal investigations into haunted locations, using psychic mediums and scientific equipment". -IMDB

............//RECENT ACQUISITIONS//............

CITY HEAT.
Action/Comedy.
Clint Eastwood/Burt Reynolds/Madeline Kahn.
Directed by Richard Benjamin.
* Eastwood and Reynolds as ex-partner cops who team up one more time to solve a crime even though they now hate each other.

LIFE AND TIMES OF ALLEN GINSBERG.
Directed by Jerry Aronson.
* First DVD copy of this awesome profile of one of the more controversial, influential and profound poets of the 20th century.

RED DAWN.
Action.
Patrick Swayze/C.Thomas Howell/Charlie Sheen/Jennifer Grey/Harry Dean Stanton!
Directed by John Milius.
* 80's tale of teenagers fighting back against the Soviets takeover of mid-Western America. Wonderful period piece.

SEX AND THE CITY: THE COMPLETE 2nd SEASON.
Replacement copy.

WOMAN IN THE WINDOW.
Noir/Suspense.
Edward G. Robinson.
Directed by Fritz Lang.
* Tripped out thriller about a murder, and blackmail. Just recently released on DVD from a restored 35mm print.

****

**** new release list no. 123

I watched C.R.A.Z.Y. last night. It is a French film on our new release wall from Jean-Marc Vallee and it is simply fantastic. It is the story of the Beaulieu family, and in particular the fourth son (of five), Zachary and his all-too-ordinary, yet so tremendously extraordinary struggles to fit into the world. Although the primary struggle of young Zac’s life is the acceptance of his potential homosexuality, to focus on this aspect of the story would be to pigeon-hole this tremendous tale of family and suburbia and modern culture. This movie takes place in France (in the 60’s and 70’s for the most part), however, the action could be happening almost anywhere in the Western world during that time. With David Bowie, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones rocking the characters lives and the soundtrack, this movie is an emotional wall of sex, drugs and rock and roll seen through the lens of the nuclear family. If you liked LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, ME YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW, or any other films of that tweaky dysfunctional family film sub-genre, then I highly recommend C.R.A.Z.Y.

We've got a lot of new stuff coming in right now. Aside from our numerous new releases, we've got a bunch of new music docs featuring PAVEMENT, THE DECEMBERISTS, THE MINUTEMEN, CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN, and the festival COACHELLA. We also have a lot of new series such as ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?, I SPY, CHEF!, and the crown jewel of the bunch, the DEFINITIVE TWILIGHT ZONE COLLECTION. That's 28 discs of Twilight Zone brilliance for all you counting at home. We are also focusing right now on obtaining DVD copies of some of our Four Star Favorites that to date we have only had on VHS.

Happy Viewing!

On to this weeks FOURPLAY!

****FOURPLAY****

With all the holiday hubbub this week, I was reminded of the wealth of friends we have, people who share their outstanding quirks with us -- and tolerate ours. But far be it from me to suggest any of the typical "buddy movie" fare. So in that spirit, your Fourplay recommendations are...

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS
Something of a coming-of-age story, told in flashback, of an L.A. writer (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his four childhood friends growing up in Queens in the 80s. Violence, drugs and crime tear them apart, and years later the writer returns to face his estranged parents (Chazz Palminteri and Dianne Wiest). Written and directed by Dito Montiel (his first feature, supposedly another is in the works). (NOTE FROM KEN: This movie is also edited by the very talented Jake Pushinsky - his first big editing gig and on yet another note, he is soon to be my brother-in-law as he is set to be married to my lovely sister-in-law Amanda Denker in early 08).

PRIMER
Four enterprising your engineers struggle to get their invention to market. When two of them stumble upon an unexpected side effect, they realize it's possible to make a time machine. But can they play nice? A winner at 2004's Sundance, this tense drama was filmed on a super-low budget with stunning results. Written and directed by co-star Shane Carruth (his only feature film to date).

GOOD BYE LENIN!
A young East German gets arrested in a protest, giving his loyal communist mother a heart attack. She drifts into a coma, during which the Berlin Wall falls, and she awakens in a fragile state. Fearing the political upheaval will give her another heart attack, her son and his best friend set out to hide all evidence of the
changes, including filming their own funny version of the nightly news. Directed and co-written by Wolfgang Becker (who's directed a handful of German films I've never heard of).

DOWN BY LAW
Perhaps the quirkiest jailbreak film of all time. Three unlikely cell mates -- a narcissistic pimp (John Lurie), a deadbeat DJ (Tom Waits), and a misquoting Italian (Roberto Benini) -- break out of a New Orleans prison... only to get lost in the swamp. Directed by Jim Jarmusch (Dead Man, Ghost Dog, Broken Flowers...) and beautifully shot by Robby Müller.

So call up your quirkiest friend and invite him or her (or it) over for a little idiot box bonding!

****FOURPLAY****

See you at the shop,
Ken


............//NEW TITLES//............

AFTER THE WEDDING.
Drama/Foreign (Denmark).
Mads Mikkelsen/Rolf Laasgard.
Directed by Susanne Bier.
* A mysterious stranger from Denmark (Laasgard) offers to save the orphanage in India that Jacob (Mikkelsen) manages if he’ll head back to Denmark and take part in a family wedding. This film won numerous awards and was nominated for an Oscar.
See also: The Celebration

AMOR XTREMO.
Action/Adventure/Foreign (Mexico).
Aaron Diaz/Iran Castillo.
Directed by Chavas Cartas.
* This film follows a couple brothers from Mexico City as they travel to Las Vegas to attend the US Motocross Open.

THE ASTRONAUT FARMER.
Drama.
Billy Bob Thornton/Bruce Willis/Virginia Madsen/Bruce Dern.
Directed by Michael Polish.
* The Polish brothers (Michael and Mark) have specialized in quirky indie flicks up until this point. With THE ASTRONAUT FARMER, they have taken the leap into Hollywood film making. Thornton plays Charles Farmer, a once and future astronaut whose original taste of NASA amounted to not much more than a cup of coffee. After leaving the space team to go back to the family farm, he’s mortgaged his future on the hopes of flying the full-on rocket ship he’s built in the family halo (OK, maybe it’s not a halo, but it should have been). Even his astronaut buddy (Willis) agrees the ship is the bomb, but still suggests a seat on the shuttle might be a little more prudent. Never! With the support of his wife and kids, Billy Bob avoids the CIA, FBI, FAA (maybe even the FDA!) and blasts off.

THE CONTRACTOR.
Action.
Wesley Snipes.
Directed by Josef Rusnak.
* This is SHOOTER with Wesley Snipes, one of the brilliant actors of our time, in the Marky-Mark role.

FACE OF ANOTHER.
Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Tatsuya Nakadai
Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara.
* Incredible tale of a man whose face is melted off in a laboratory fire and who obtains a life-like mask from his doctor. This film swerves close to but never quite becomes science fiction.

THE LAST MIMZY.
Foreign/Horror.
Chris O’Neil/Rhiannan Leigh Wryn.
Directed by Robert Shaye.
* These kids find these toys that increase their intelligence and then things get seriously strange from there, including messages from the future. This movie should vie with BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA for best young-teen film of the year.

THE LAST TIME.
Drama/Comedy.
Michael Keaton/Brendan Fraser/Amber Valleta.
Directed by Jacque Peerson/Barbara Peters..
* I’m pretty sure that I am reading that an affair with a business associate’s (Fraser) fiancée (Valleta) renews the excitement for life for a big city salesman (Keaton). So, if you're in a rut…

THE PITFALL.
Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Hisashi Igawa.
Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara.
* The first movie from the acclaimed film team of Teshigahara, writer Kodo Abe, and composer Toru Takemitsu (who made all three of this weeks Tehigahara releases), THE PITFALL considers the plight of a town comprised of ghosts made so by corruption. Until recently, these films were not readily available to the Western world.

SWEET LAND.
Drama/Comedy.
Elizabeth Reaser/Tim Guinee.
Directed by Ali Selim.
* Reaser is a German mail order bride shipped to Minnesota to marry Olaf (Guinee) a quiet Norwegian immigrant. However, it is post WWI and the local clergy tries to force them not to marry under the pretense that she may be a German spy. Though the anti-German sentiment is strong, the community unites around the couple and eventually accepts her as one of their own.

WOMAN IN THE DUNES.
Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Eiji Okada.
Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara.
* An amateur entomologist is somehow trapped by local villagers into living with a woman who spends most of her life saving her home from being swallowed by sand dunes.


............//MUSIC//............

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN.
Rock-Doc.
Camper Van Beethoven/Cracker/Monks of Doom/More.
* Rock footage of a family of awesome bands sired by Camper Van Beethoven.

COACHELLA.
Rock-Doc.
Spearhead/Radiohead/The Mars Volta/The White Stripes/Iggy and The Stooges/Fischerspooner and more.
Directed by Drew Thomas.
* Documentary on the seminal Southern California music festival.

THE DECEMBERISTS: A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK.
Rock-Doc.
The Decemberists.
* Awesome! Features videos, a full length concert and interviews with the band.

PAVEMENT: SLOW CENTURY.
Rock-Doc.
Pavement.
* Also awesome! Videos, doc, concert footage from one of the greatest bands of the 1990’s.

WE JAM ECONO: THE STORY OF THE MINUTEMEN.
Rock-Doc.
The Minutement.
* Features lots of stuff about this great band from Southern California.

............//TELEVISION//............

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?
Television.
* Popular kids show about a group called the Midnight Society who tells ghost stories around a campfire. Scary!

CHEF! SERIES ONE.
Television.
Funny cooking show spoof from UK.

I SPY: SERIES ONE.
Television.
Robert Culp/Bill Cosby.
Created by Morton S. Fine. and David Friedkin.
* Culp and Cosby are post WWII spies in this awesome tv show from the mid-1060’s. One of the original “buddy” shows, and the first American dramatic series to feature a black actor in a leading role, I-Spy won many awards, and Bill Cosby won 3 Emmy’s for his portrayal of Alexander Scott. This show ran for three seasons.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION.
Television.
Created by Rod Serling.
* The complete 28 disc, 156 episode collection of one of the greatest and weirdest shows ever to be aired on television. From 1959-1964, the Twilight Zone explored that strange dimension, in its own words: "a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind"..."where any thought can become a reality." We are super proud to have this collection in the library.

............//RECENT ACQUISITIONS//............

GODS MUST BE CRAZY.
First DVD copy.

GODS MUST BE CRAZY 2.
First DVD copy.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE.
First DVD copy.

ROOM WITH A VIEW.
First DVD copy.

GOOD WILL HUNTING.
Replacement copy.

PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE.
Replacement copy.



****

**** new release list no.122

Today we are introducing a new element to the Star Gazer. It is called "Fourplay" and is designed to get you in the mood for some new releases by telling you about some movies that we have really loved in the past. Our Fourplay reviewer is John Lucas, a local film-maker and talented artist of many varieties…please email us with any feedback about Fourplay! Without further ado: Heeeeer'e Jonny!

****FOURPLAY****

I've been asked by my good friends Ken and Amy to participate in a regular film blurbage for Four Star. As they are truly freedom-loving citizens, they've left it up to me to interpret just what the heck they meant by this assignment. And in the spirit of that freedom -- as celebrated by our upcoming Independence Day -- I offer for your consideration these choice celluloid tidbits, to help celebrate the truly independent spirit of what some might call "America"...

Your Fourplayth of July recommendations:

BOTTLE ROCKET
If you've ever mowed the lawn, you know what a slippery slope you walk towards a life of crime. Owen Wilson stars as the unforgettable Dignan, an irrepressible optimist hellbent on a lifestyle of crime. James Caan plays the master thief and rotten apple of young Dignan's eye. This independent gem co-written by Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson offers perhaps the most poignant moment of amateur pyrotechnics ever seen on film. Directed by Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou)

ON THE WATERFRONT
Karl Malden's epic nose goes head-to-head with union mobsters as a punch-drunk Marlon Brando wrestles with his conscience. Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, and Eva Marie Saint round out a flawless cast that struggles with not-rocking-the-boat when they really know ship is going down. A little something for us all to chew on on this Independence Day. Directed by Elia Kazan (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A Streetcar Named Desire, Splendor in the Grass...)

GIANT
OK, this one may be longer than an opening disclaimer to a senate committee, but it's worth it. One of James Dean's three feature films, this bad boy was released after his fatal last ride. Dean floors it through all the curves with Liz Taylor, Rock Hudson, Sal Mineo, and the feature debut of Dennis Hopper, a legend of independence. Directed by George Stevens (The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Diary of Anne Frank, Shane...)

WITHNAIL & I
Lest we forget what all this independence hubbub is about, this English folktale plots two London dope fiends, played by Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann, against the end of the 60s. Much gnashing of teeth and paranoiac vacationing will have you raising Old Glory (or the likes) in a smoky toast to why we broke from Mother England. Directed by Bruce Robinson (How to Get Ahead in Advertising, Jennifer Eight, The Rum Diary)

So check 'em out and blow stuff up, you'll be one happy patriot. Next week's Fourplay will cover the unforgettable and no less patriotic works of to be continued...

****
See you at the store!

Best regards,
Ken


............//NEW TITLES//............

CHERRY CRUSH.
Suspense/Drama.
Nikki Reed/Julie Gonzalo/Jonathan Tucker.
Directed by Nicholas DiBella.
* He’s a rich-kid photographer struggling to toe his parent’s line; she’s a hottie psycho. What’s gonna happen? First; he takes hot photos of her. Second; he gets lured into her bad trip and becomes an accessory to murder.

DRIVING LESSONS.
Comedy/Drama.
Rupert Grint/Julie Walters/Laura Linney
Directed by Jeremy Brock.
* Sounds kind of like a modern-day Harold and Maude. Ben (Grint) is a shy teenager with an overbearing mom (Linney) in a conservative family who basically does what he is told to do. Until, that is, he gets employed by a freaky retired actress named Evie (Walters) whose life philosophy turns Ben’s world upside down. Ultimately, this film is a coming-of-age tale about taking control of your life.

GAMBLERS.
Foreign/Drama.
Pascal Elbe/Simon Abkarian/Isaac Sharry.
Directed by Frederic Balekdjian.
* Hustling and gang violence in gay Paree!

GEORGE LOPEZ: AMERICA’S MEXICAN.
Stand-up Comedy.
Geoge Lopez.
* George Lopez delivers his particular brand of hysterical stand up in this concert film.

HIGH TENSION.
Foreign/Horror.
Cecile De France/Malwenn Le Besco.
Directed by Alexandra Aja.
* This French film has been lauded by critics as a true horror film. It follows the very bad times of Alexa and Marie as they head on vacation to Alexa’s country home, but are terrorized by a masked killer. All is not as it seems. If horror is your genre, you must see this film.

JUST THE TWO OF US.
Drama.
Elizabeth Plumb/Alisa Courtney.
Directed by Jacque Peerson/Barbara Peters..
* A Vintage Collection piece, the tagline of this film is “The Tragedy of Today’s Lonely Housewife”. It is a sexy look into a young woman’s hidden desires…

ONIBI: FIRE WITHIN.
Foreign/Drama.
Yoshio Harada..
Directed by Rokuro Mochizuki.
* The middle in a trilogy of unrelated Japanese gangster-culture films.

PUCCINI FOR BEGINNERS.
Comedy.
Elizabeth Reaser/Gretchen Mol/Justin Kirk
Directed by Maria Maggenti.
* Entertainment Weekly called it: “Woody Allen meets The L Word”. It is a NY story about a writer entangled in a few different relationships.

SABAH: LOVE STORY.
Comedy/Drama/Romance.
Arsinee Khanjian
Directed by Ruba Nadda.
* Sabah is a 40-year old woman living with her family in Toronto. When she meets Stephen at a city swimming pool, romantic feelings develop between them. The catch? She is a Muslim woman, and he is not a Muslim man. This simple difference becomes a culture clash that the family must confront.

THAT TENDER TOUCH.
Drama?.
Sue Bernard/Bee Tompkins.
* Another Vintage Collection lesbian from the same series as JUST THE TWO OF US.

OUR VERY OWN.
Suspense/Drama.
Jason Risser//Allison Janney/Cheryl Hines/Beth Grant/Hilarie Burton.
Directed by Cameron Watson.
* Indie-flick about five teenagers in 1970’s Tennessee looking for a life beyond their little world.

............//MUSIC//............

FUGAZI: INSTRUMENT.
Rock-Doc.
Fugazi.

............//TELEVISION//............

CLATTERFORD.
Television/Comedy/Drama.
Suzy Aichtison/.Dawn French.
Directed by Mandy Fletcher.
* Super funny UK food series.

............//FAMILY//............

BLUE’S ROOM: LITTLE BLUE RIDING HOOD.
Kids/Animation.
Blue.

DORA THE EXPLORER: SUMMER EXPLORER.
Kids/Animation.
Dora/Friends.

GO DIEGO GO: READY, SET, GO!
Kids/Animation.
Diego.

............//RECENT ACQUISITIONS//............

CADDYSHACK.
Comedy.
Bill Murray/Ted Night/Chevy Chase/Rodney Dangerfield.
The golf classic.
* Replacement copy.

EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED.
Drama.
Elijah Wood.
Directed by Live Schreiber.
* Replacement copy.

OLD SCHOOL.
Comedy.
Will Ferrell.
Hijinks of the old school variety.
* Replacement copy.

SLOW BURN.
Drama/Suspense
Minnie Driver/James Spader..
Directed by Christian Ford.
* We have this on VHS, just got it on DVD.

THIEVES LIKE US.
Drama/Suspense.
Keith Carradine/Shelley Duvall.
Directed by Robert Altman.
* 1974 film about fugitive gangsters in 1930’s Mississippi.

TICKETS.
Comedy/Drama..
Directed by Ken Loach and others.
* Replacement copy.


****