**** new release list no. 139

More in-store news: We have taken another step in the re-organization of the library. The Independent film section is now in the back room with the new releases, as is the Criterion section. Do you ever peruse the Criterion section? It is simply amazing, filled with stupendous films of every genre from ever corner of the earth. Where the Indie section used to be is now the New Classics section on one side and the Classics and Noir section on the other. We are building a low, semi-enclosed Kids section in the window at the front of the store, which is not yet in place. If you are looking for kids movies this week, there are a bunch available in the front of the store where the Criterion section used to be, and the Kids new release section is still in the back for now. There will be more changes over the next week, and we will keep you informed here, but also, please ask us to help you find anything if you are at the store and it seems chaotic. We hope as the plan continues to emerge that you will be as excited about the changes as we are.

In other non-film news, did you notice our new monitors? Very sleek, huh? (I wrote this on Friday, before two of them broke…ah, Craigslist...).

Meanwhile back at the ranch, good stuff from TV land: the final chapter of the SOPRANOS series, which actually came out last week, but took us a few extra days to stock. I think this was the best show to ever play on television, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a feature film come our way in the not too far off future. Until then, it may be time to start at episode one of season one and start the whole bloody mess again. When you are finished watching this second part of season 6, tell us what you think. The end was a polarizing experience for the faithful. Count me as one of the totally satisfied viewers.

Lots of other good stuff here, scroll down to read about it.

Until then,

Ken

Ps .Do you read the Onion? Not only is it free, a brilliantly funny, it is also a fantastic source of film knowledge. They have insightful reviews about great new films each issue. I highly recommend it.

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

IN THE LAND OF WOMEN.
Comedy/Romance.
Adam Brody/Kristen Stewart/Meg Ryan.
Directed by John Kasdan.
* Brody plays a writer who is devastated by the break-up with his actress girlfriend in Los Angeles. He head to Michigan to care for his grandmother and meets the Hardwickes (I love the names Hollywood comes up with!), mother Sarah (Ryan) and sisters Paige (Makenzie Vega) and Lucy (Stewart). As he gets drawn into their lives, the love bonds that form create a place of healing for them all.

KRZYZACY.
Adventure/War/Foreign (Polish).
Urszula Modrzynska.
Directed by Aleksander Ford.
* War film from 1960 just getting to DVD. This film features scenes with up to 35,000 extras and evidently a couple people died during the making of the film.

LICENSE TO WED.
Comedy/Romance.
Robin Williams/Mandy Moore/John Krasinski.
Directed by.
* The only way to say it? Reverend Frank (Williams) is a psycho! He forces Ben (Krasinski) and Sadie (Moore) through demented classes and coursework before he will bless their union. Yikes! Hey Ben and Sadie, for five bucks you could get a friend to be sanctified by the state of California to marry you through the Universal Life Church.

ROSES SONGS.
Foreign (Hungarian).
Directed by Andor Szilagyi.
* 2003 Hungarian film about the ghettos of Budapest during 1944. It is the story of a people in hiding, a secretive opera star and a boy who is making the transition to manhood during this terrible and frightening time.

SPIDERMAN 3.
Action/Superhero/Sequel.
Tobey Maguire/Kirsten Dunst/James Franco/Topher Grace.
Directed by Sam Raimi.
* Spiderdude has a whole array of enemies in this one…including himself! When his suit turns black, his inner demons come out to play. The critics panned this third movie in the popular series, but lovers of Spidey and superhero comic films in general will have to see this film. Maybe by the fourth Spiderman we’ll have an actually black Spiderman, and a black president!

TALK TO ME.
Drama
Chiweteil Ejiofor/Don Cheadle/Mike Epps/Martin Sheen.
Directed by Kasi Lemmons.
* Ejiofor and Cheadle are awesome as Dewey Hughes and Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene, radio celebrities in the late 60’s and 70’s in Washington DC. Petey is an ex-con who is a tell-it-like-it-is prison DJ looking to get a radio gig on the outside. Hughes is a programming director at WOL, trying to keep his station on the top of the ratings, and feeling like they are losing touch with the people. Convincing the owner of the station (Sheen) to put Petey on the air is not easy, even as Petey explains “I am the people”. However, once on the air, his honesty and passion connects him to his audience and his career flourishes. Eventually, his inner demons begin to surface, complicating things for Hughes, who dreams of making him a national media success. Although slightly sentimental and schmaltzy, TALK TO ME is a terrific film; funny, touching and poignant, taking perfect aim on the time and place it represents.

THINK TANK.
Comedy.
Eric Artell/Steve Fogel.
Directed by Brian Peterson.
* From the production team of NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE comes this comedy about a group of slackers who are trying to save town from an evil “pool celebrity”. What the hells a pool celebrity? The movies tagline is something about a fine line between genius and stupid, which really pissed me off, because it is almost a direct theft of the brilliant line in SPINAL TAP when the band is defending the cover of their new album on which they chained and greased a mostly nude woman who is being forced by a leather bound hand to smell a glove. Their record company is nixing the cover as sexist (“what’s wrong with being sexy”) and in response they ask about another band’s record cover which features the whole band in chains being whipped. It is pointed out that in that cover, it is the band that is the victim, which is truly a revelation to TAP and out pops the wonderful line “there’s such a fine line between clever and stupid.” Now that I have rambled about that for a while, I will also mention that I hear this film is “better than it sounds” and “not so bad”, so it you are looking for something “not totally sucky” to “watch” than “this one might be for you!”

THE WENDELL BAKER STORY.
Comedy/Drama.
Luke Wilson/Owen Wilson/Eva Mendes/Kris Kristofferson/Seymour Cassel/Other Wilsons.
Directed by Andrew Wilson and Luke Wilson.
* How many Wilsons does it take to make a feature film? As many as are available I guess. In this one, I think there are four, but I may be wrong. Either way, Baker (Wilson)(that’s kind of a joke)(Luke Wilson), is a good-hearted con man, who’s scamming ways finally catch up to him and eventually land him, post-jail, in a retirement community where he joins together with some funny old farts to form a rebellion and right his ship.

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

MY SO-CALLED LIFE: THE COMPLETE SERIES.
Television.
Claire Danes/Jared Leto.
* This was a very realistic mid-nineties show about the painful and beautiful life of a 15-year old trying to keep it real. Although it didn’t last long (19 episodes), it has lived on in the memory of it’s viewers for the last decade.

THE SOPRANOS: SEASON 6 PART 2.
Television.
James Gandolfini/.
Directed by.
* Somehow it took us a couple extra days to get this last week, but it has been on the floor since Wednesday. This is the last 10 episodes of what I consider the best television series to ever have been made. At this point, the world of Tony Soprano is crumbling. He is bumbling through his life, unsure of whom his enemies are, and unsure of whom his friends are. The showdown with NY aka Phil Leotardo is eminent, and the cards are pretty open. Christopher’s series long struggle with substance abuse is revisited. Anthony Junior is heading down some dark paths, and Pauly Walnuts is like an outsider in his own family. The whole season is pretty much leading up to the big questions of who’s gonna get capped and who’s gonna survive. And the explosive last two episodes will deliver the answers you’ve been waiting for. Personally, I see a feature film in this franchise’s future, and frankly, it couldn’t come soon enough.

VERONICA MARS: COMPLETE 3rd SEASON.
Television.
Kristen Bell.
Created by Rob Thomas.
* I don’t know if this show is spacey, but her name is Mars and she lives in Neptune. She fights crimes Scooby-style and she even has a dog. This is the 3rd season, and although I’ve never seen it, I hear it’s pretty fun.

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

O AMOR NATURAL.
Documentary/Foreign (Portugese).
Directed by Heddy Honigman.
* Very absorbing doc about the erotic poetry of Brazilian, Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Interviews are conducted with Brazilians who read his poems and talk about their sexuality. This film was made by a Dutch director.

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

BREATHLESS.
New Criterion release.

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS.
Gearing up copies for the next release.

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE.
Gearing up copies for the next release.

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN.
Gearing up copies for the next release.

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE.
Gearing up copies for the next release.

****

**** new release list no. 138

Today was a superb movie day for me. I started out the day with the DARK CRYSTAL, moved on to MURDER BY DEATH and eventually landed on BREAKING AWAY, ALL of which were rented out from under me. I love that. BREAKING AWAY was so awesome, I almost put on THE KARATE KID afterwards, but I was afraid I’d be too devastated if that was rented before I got to the climactic scene.

This week we have another huge stack of stuff. The two trends I see? A bunch of older movies first making their appearance on DVD (BRUTE, BLACK SUNDAY, UNDER THE VOLCANO, FANTASTIC PLANET), and a myriad of documentaries starting with the letter C (CARNIVAL IN THE NIGHT, THE CASE OF HOWARD PHILLIPS LOVECRAFT, CLASS ACT, COMMUNE). We’ve also got some horror of sorts (FIDO, HOSTEL PART II) some Kevin Costner (MR. BROOKS), Walt (MEET THE ROBINSONS), Iraq (HOME OF THE BRAVE) and superfreak (INTERKOSMOS). But wait there’s more (BEST OF CHAPPELLE’S SHOW, THE COMPANY, THE L WORD: 4th SEASON, AIR GUITAR NATION (!!!)), as well as a large batch of new acquisitions including BEETLEJUICE, GLORIA, MEET THE FEEBLES, GRAPES OF DEATH, GREMLINS and more.

I very much recommend MEET THE FEEBLES for the adventurous cult freak movie lovers.

I heard the Fiesta on the Hill was great this year. I was sorry not to have the opportunity to get dunked, which I heard came with this job. Maybe next year.

Until then,

Ken


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

BRUTE.
Drama/Foreign (Spanish).
Pedro Armendariz/Katy Jurado/Andres Soler.
Directed by Luis Bunuel.
* Brilliant Bunuel 1953 masterpiece finally finding its way to DVD about a muscle-y servant who is hired to help an evil landlord have his way with the poor tenants of his building.

BLACK SUNDAY.
Horror/Foreign (Italian).
Barbara Steele/John Richardson/Ivo Garrani.
Directed by Mario Bava.
* Another older film just finding its way to DVD, this film was called La Maschera del Demonio when it was released in Italy in 1961. It concerns a witch who returns from the grave to wreak havoc on the world.

FANTASTIC PLANET.
Sci-Fi/Animation.
Directed by Rene Laloux.
* Tripped out 1973 surrealistic story about a planet of giants where tiny humanoids are fighting against domestication for their lives. Based on the Soviet Union’s occupation of Czechoslovakia.

FIDO.
Horror/Comedy.
Carrie Moss/Billy Connolly.
Directed by Andrew Currie.
* This zombie satire involves a young boys relationship with his servant zombie who he calls Fido. The tagline? “Good Dead Are Hard To Find.” Really this reminds me of my bands tour in NYC last week. Our last show was in Tribeca, and we were really concerned that we would be playing to an empty house. However, unbeknownst to us, ZOMBIECON was having their afterparty at the very club we were playing. We rocked the undead and were saved by the zombies. Life was good.

HOME OF THE BRAVE.
Drama/War.
Jessica Biel/Curtis Jackson/Christina Ricci.
Directed by Irwin Winkler.
* It seems the Iraqi war movies are starting to roll in, earlier than I usually expect in a war. In this one, a group of soldiers who are about to go home, have one final tragic interlude with insurgents which flavors their lives terribly back stateside.

HOSTEL PART II.
Horror.
Lauren German/Heather Matarazzo/Bijou Phillips.
Directed by Eli Roth.
* Three young American chicks get chopped up by psychos from around the world.

INTERKOSMOS.
Cult/Freak/Weird/Wow/Not-Foreign but in(German).
Dean DeMatteis/Jim Finn/Nandini Khaund.
Directed by Jim Finn.
* Here is what I read on IMDB: “Interkosmos is a musical documentary-style film about the East German space program-a program with the energy and creativity of the Soviet arts scene of the 1920s and a bit of the hippie sensibility from West Germany of the early 1970s. The story is about a failed space colonization mission called "wundertüte" and is told through narration, dialogue, letters, and period songs.”

MEET THE ROBINSONS.
Family/Adventure/Animation.
Angela Bassett/Paul Butcher.
Directed by Steve Anderson.
* Disney joy fest about an inventor and some trips back and forth to and from the future.

MR. BROOKS.
Suspense.
Kevin Costner/William Hurt/Demi Moore.
Directed by Bruce Evans.
* Mr. Brooks (Costner) is a sweetheart community father/husband/businessman/philanthropist/serial killer. Oops, that last thing is a secret. Usually he is so slick that his alter-ego is able to help him keep careful control over his double life, however control is slipping away. I admit, usually I just don’t like Costner, but this film looks really interesting to me.

UNDER THE VOLCANO.
Drama.
Albert Finney/Jacqueline Bisset.
Directed by John Huston.
* Yet another older film hitting DVD (this is a bit of a trend this week). This is a 1984 film about Geoffrey Firmin (Finney), a drunk British consul living in wrecked despair in 1939 Mexico.

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

THE COMPANY.
Television.
Chris O’Donnell/Alfred Molina/Michael Keaton.
Directed by Mikael Salomon.
* TV miniseries tracking the CIA over a 40 year span culminating post-Cold War.

THE L WORD: 4th SEASON.
Television.
Jennifer Beals/Mia Kirshner/Pam Grier.
* Next season in the popular series about a group of L’s.

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

AIR GUITAR NATION.
Documentary.
Directed by Alexandra Lipsitz.
* I really really really wish I could have competed at the US Air Guitar Championships. Damn, these dudes SHRED!

CARNIVAL IN THE NIGHT.
Music/Documentary/Foreign (Japanese).
Kumiko Ota/Akemi Edo.
Directed by Masashi Yamamoto.
* Tweaky music doc following a woman who throws it all away to explore the underground punk scene in Japan in the early 1980’s.

THE CASE OF HOWARD PHILLIPS LOVECRAFT.
Documentary/Foreign (French).
Directed by Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic.
* A “highly unorthodox” study of the life of author H.P. Lovecraft.

CLASS ACT.
Documentary.
Andy Garcia/among others.
Directed by Sara Sackner.
* This doc focuses on the lack of funding for arts in public schools. The main subject is Jay W. Jensen, a veteran Florida drama teacher with over 40 years of experience. We got this film in last week, but I think we missed it on the blog

COMMUNE.
Documentary.
Directed by Jonathan Berman.
* Black Bear Ranch Commune, founded in Northern California in the late 1960’s is the subject of this documentary.

............//COMEDY//............

BEST OF CHAPPELLE’S SHOW.
Comedy.
Dave Chappelle.
* 25 Greatest Skits.

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

BEETLEJUICE.
Our first DVD copy.

BEST OF THE ELECTRIC COMPANY.
Replacement DVD.

BOB DYLAN: DON’T LOOK BACK.
Replacement DVD.

ELLING.
Replacement DVD.

ERASERHEAD.
The classic! Our first DVD copy.

GLORIA.
Our first DVD copy.

GRAPES OF DEATH.
First time we are owning this classic, one of the many requested by Jeff, our resident cult film connoisseur.

GREMLINS.
Our first DVD copy. Don’t give them water, suckah.

HIGHER LEARNING.
Replacement DVD.

MEET THE FEEBLES.
Our first copy of any sort of this as well, this is pure cinematic mastery. If you love Muppets, but always wondered what it would be like if Kermy was on sex, drugs and rock n roll, then please check out this outrageous early Peter Jackson flick.

****

**** new release list no. 137

Thanks all, for bearing with our mostly all day closing last Saturday. It was an amazing time we had, and we hope that you weren’t too badly inconvenienced.

You may have notice we have started some library re-structuring this last week (where are all the newest of the new??). We have expanded the new release section and moved the new acquisitions to the middle of the room. Eventually, we will be moving many more sections in the hopes of creating some space for a browsing area with some computers in the middle of the store, as well as just creating a better flow. Any ideas would be heard, and if you would like to hear our overarching plan just ask.

This week we have SO many movies. A ton of foreign films (CELLULOS, CARLOS SAURA'S FLAMENCO TRILOGY, CROWN WITNESS, GOOD-BYE MOMO, PARTY, PIECE OF SKY, SUCH IS LIFE, YOUR LIFE IN 65)!! I am really psyched to be adding more and more cinema from around the world. Personally, those tweaky Eastern European movies really blow my mind. There are also some scary films (ICE SPIDERS, THE INVISIBLE, THE REAPING), some action flicks (KINGS OF SOUTH BEACH, TRANSFORMERS 07) as well as a new food show (JULIA CHILD: FRENCH CHEF). For you families out there, we are really psyched to tell you that the newest CHARLIE AND LOLA: 6 has come in. Wehoo! And for you western lovers, the original 3:10 TO YUMA is here as well…

Ken is going to New York on tour with his band this week (whoop-whoop) and he will be no-doubt watching more strange late night hotel movies which he will share with you upon his return. He hopes to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK next Sunday, he will be back at the store on Monday, October 22.

Yours,

Ken and Amy


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

CARLOS SAURA'S FLAMENCO TRILOGY.
Flamenco.
Criterion Collection Release
Directed by Carlos Saura.
* The Trilogy includes three films: Carmen, Blood Wedding, El Amor Brujo. Dramatic and powerful flamenco interpretations of the classic opera by Bizet, the play by Federico Garcia Lorca, and the Antonio Gades ballet, respectively. Reality, rehearsal, and performance blend together into an utterly unprecedented storytelling voice.

CELLULOSE.
Social Drama/Foreign (Poland).
Jozef Nowak/Stanislaw Milski.
Directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
* A young man’s journey from rural poverty to politicized member of the working class.

CROWN WITNESS.
Action/Adventure/Foreign (Poland).
Directed by Jacek Filipiak.
* A reporter must guard a deep secret from his past, and his subject is a Mafioso who is preparing to testify against his peeps. Sounds gripping.

5 GIRLS.
Documentary/Drama.
Directed by Maria Finitzo.
* This PBS production follows 5 Chicago area girls through the four years of high school and watches them transform into women.

GOOD-BYE MOMO.
Drama/Foreign (Uruguay).
Matthias Acuna.
Directed by Leonardo Ricagni.
* A magical and mystical world unfolds at the carnival at night as a boy learns about irreverent joy and learning to read.

HOAX.
Drama/Comedy.
Richard Gere/Julie Delpy/Alfred Molina.
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom.
* A dramatic retelling of the story of a young man catapulted to ignominious fame by selling a bogus biography of Howard Hughes to a prominent publishing house in the 70’s. Ah, the 70’s . . .

ICE SPIDERS.
Horror/Sci-Fi.
Patrick Muldoon/Vanessa L. Williams.
Directed by Tibor Takacs.
* From an IMDB comment: “2 hours of Spiderlicious action. I had nightmares of spiders on ski's chasing me down the slopes. My kids couldn't sleep for days. After watching this movie I often would wonder if ice spiders are real? and if so are there fire spiders? Since this movie I have moved to a dryer and warmer area. I have seen several spiders. Are these spiders iced spiders thawed??”

THE INVISIBLE.
Teen/Suspense.
Justin Chatwin/Margarita Levieva.
Directed by David Goyer.
* A remake of a Swedish supernatural thriller of the same name (but in Swedish). The story of solving one’s own murder. As a teenager no less. These teens exist but no one can see their real selves.

KINGS OF SOUTH BEACH.
Action.
Donnie Wahlberg/Jason Gedrick/Steven Bauer/Maria Bove.
Directed by Tim Hunter.
* Based, I hear, on a true story. Miami nightclub owner mentors a young employee while having to deal with the mob and impending financial ruin. Seems to be the M.O. for Miami nightclub owners.

A MIGHTY HEART.
Drama.
Angelina Jolie/Dan Futterman/Irfan Kahn.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom.
* The story, from Mariane Pearl’s perspective, of the horrific and unforgettable beheading of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Seems like a whole war ago that happened.

PARTY.
Drama/Foreign (Iran).
Hedieh Tehrani, Mehdi Khayyami.
Directed by Saman Moghaddam.
* A writer at a liberal newspaper is thrown in jail for publishing his brother’s wartime diary. Friends decide to raise money for his bail by renting out the house for parties.

PIECE OF SKY.
Drama/Foreign (Belgium).
Severine Caneele, Sophie Leboutte, Josiane Stoleru.
Directed by Bénédicte Liénard.
* Two women – a prisoner and a corporate executive, both looking for a piece of sky.

THE REAPING.
Suspense.
Hilary Swank/AnnaSophia Robb.
Directed by Stephen Hopkins.
* Dude! These plagues are biblical man!

ROBINSONS GARDEN.
Drama/Fantasy/Foreign (Japan).
Machizo Machida, Kumiko Ota, Shigeru Muroi.
Directed by Masashi Yamamoto.
* A girl is drawn into a rich fantasy world located in strange ruins outside of Tokyo in this retelling of the Robinson Crusoe adventure.

SUCH IS LIFE.
Drama/Tragedy/Foreign (Mexico).
Arcelia Ramirez, Patricia Reyes Spindola.
Directed by Arturo Ripstein.
* Present day Mexican version of the Greek tragedy, Medea.

TRANSFORMERS 07.
Action/Sci-Fi.
Shia LaBeouf/Jon Voigt/John Turturro.
Directed by Michael Bay.
* Transformational! Robot war! They’re not after us humans, but, rather, the talisman we unknowingly harbor. If only.

YOUR LIFE IN 65.
Comedy/Love/Foreign (Spain).
Javier Pereira, Marc Rodriguez, Oriol Vila, Tamara Arias.
Directed by Maria Ripoll.
* Mistaken identity leads these young adults on an adventure of love and redefinition.

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

JULIA CHILD: FRENCH CHEF.
Food.
Julia Child.
* Classic! Watch this powerhouse of a woman, and media icon, make some delicious shit. I have vivid memories of watching this show when I was a kid—I still remember her baking a whole fish in pastry. Old school food porn.

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

CLASS ACT.
Documentary.
Directed by Sara Sackner.
* The story of Miami Beach, Florida teacher Jay Jensen, and of the importance of arts in education.

CRAZY LOVE.
Documentary.
Directed by Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens.
* The story of Burt and Linda Pagach and their bizarre and compelling love story. They married sixteen years after he threw acid in her face.

MICHAEL MOORE HATES AMERICA.
Documentary.
Directed by Michael Wilson.
* Who is more Michael Moore? Michael Moore or the Michael who Michael Moores Michael Moore? From the kind folks at BBC.

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

CHARLIE AND LOLA: SEASON 6.
Kids.
Charlie/Lola.
* These two just get better and better.

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


EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN.
Comedy/Romance/Drama
Sihung Lung, Yu-Wen Wang
Directed by Ang Lee.
* A chef, his three grown daughters and family folly. Beautifully filmed

THE PROFESSIONAL.
Drama/Action.
Gary Oldman/Natalie Portman/Jean Russo/Danny Aiello.
Directed by Luc Besson.
Replacement copy.

3:10 TO YUMA.
Western.
Glenn Ford, Van Heflin.
Directed by Delmer Daves.
* 1957 Original.

THE WIRE: COMPLETE SEASON ONE.
Replacement copy of this fine series.

THE WIRE: COMPLETE SEASON TWO.
I said, "Replacement copy of this fine series."

****new release list no.136

Well, Fleet Week has come and gone. It made me nostalgic for TOP GUN. Damn, that was when Tom Cruise could really fly! And Val Kilmer’s Iceman? Don’t even get me started. Probably “Goose” was Anthony Edwards’s greatest role. Course he didn’t hook up with Kelly McGillis though, did he? I guess the lesson here is we can’t all be Tom Cruise. This is what I thought about while spasmodically ducking all week as those angels in blue tore through good American money that we could have used on the war.

We have a lot of new flicks. Great movies, new and old. I am having a lot of fun replacing our VHS collection with DVD. And thanks to those of you who have tipped me off as to what I should buy. At this point we are planning on trying to buy a new stack every week, so please do tell us when you are trying to rent something we only have on videotape.

You may have noticed our sign up at the store regarding next Saturday, October 13th. We have special limited hours that day.

WE WILL ONLY BE OPEN 10:00AM – 12:30PM ON OCTOBER 13th, 2007.

We are opening one hour early and closing waaaaaaay early.

Why? Because Amy and I are celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary with a vow-renewal ceremony and we wanted the entire staff to celebrate with our friends and family.

We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you. We will be open our normal hours Friday, Oct 12th, and Sunday Oct 14th as well as every other day.

OK, then, on to the movies.

See you at the shop,

Ken

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

ALLEGRO.
Drama/Foreign
Ulrich Thomsen/Helena Christensen.
Directed by Christoffer Boe.
* When a famous pianist (Thomsen) returns to his native land he confronts the decisions he has made that formulated his life.

EVAN ALMIGHTY.
Comedy.
Steve Carell/Morgan Freeman.
Directed by Tom Shadyac.
* Hmmm, Evan is asked by God to build a large ship, an ark if you will, because there is going to be rain…lots and lots of rain. I just read the most amazing arguments people were having on the message board about this movie at www.imdb.com. People love to argue anonymously.

GO FOR ZUCKER.
Comedy/Foreign (German).
Henry Hubshen.
Directed by Dani Levy.
* Another comedy about post-Berlin Wall Germany. Did you see Goodbye Lenin? That was awesome. In this, Zucker is a down-on-his-luck journalist who is a non-practicing Jew. When his mother dies leaving him an inheritance, he is psyched (clearly he’s not a mensch). However, in order to collect, he must reconcile his relationship with his religious brother and sit Shiva with him in respect for his dead mother. Can Zucker put aside his feelings long enough to cash in?

MAN PUSH CART.
Drama.
Ahmad Razvi/Leticia Dolera.
Directed by Rahmin Bahrani.
* Ahmad, a Pakistani immigrant, pushes his coffee cart through the mean streets of Manhattan (ah, Manhattan), never being recognized as the rock star he was back in his home country. This movie garnered fantastic reviews all over.

THE PROTECTOR.
Action/Martial Arts/Foreign (Thailand).
Tony Jaa.
Directed by Prachya Pinkaew.
* This looks great. It’s a martial arts film about a guy who must go to Australia to try to retrieve his two kidnapped ELEPHANTS!

REIGN OVER ME.
Drama.
Adam Sandler/Don Cheadle/Liv Tyler/Jada Pinkett Smith.
Directed by Mike Binder.
* Sandler plays a devastated guy who has lost his family, and pretty much his mind, in the September 11th attacks. Cheadle plays an old college roommate of his that is not having a terrific time himself. In the rekindling of their friendship, comes some comfort and healing for the both of them.

SHANGHAI KISS.
Comedy/Romance.
Hayden Paniettiere/Ken Leung.
Directed by Kern Konwiser and David Ren.
* When his grandma back in China dies and leaves him a house, down on his luck Asian-American Liam Liu (Leung) leaves behind Los Angeles and the high school girlfriend (Paniettiere) that he has accidentally gotten involved with to reconnect with his roots.

SHINOBI NO MONO.
Action/Ninja/Foreign (Japan).
Raizo Ichikawa.
Directed by Satsuo Yamamoto.
* First time on DVD, fast paced crazy ninja flick from the 1960’s.

SURF’S UP.
Surf/Family/Animation.
Shia LaBoeuf/Jon Heder/Zooey Deschanel/Jeff Bridges/James Woods.
Directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck.
* Who’s gonna win the annual Penguin Surfing Contest? Will it be young Cody Maverick (LaBoeuf)? Will he hook up with the hot penguin lifeguard (Deschanel) March on over with your happy feet and check out this flick.

TARA ROAD.
Drama.
Andie MacDowell/Brenda Fricker/Stephen Rea/Olivia Williams.
Directed by Gillies MacKinnon.
* In the face of a family tragedy, a American woman (MacDowell) switches homes with an Irish woman (Williams).

THREE DAYS OF RAIN.
Drama.
Peter Falk/Blythe Danner/Don Meredith/Lyle Lovett.
Directed by Michael Meredith.
* This movie follows its all-star cast through three rain filled days in Cleveland, Ohio. Their stories on based on short stories by Anton Chekhov.

28 WEEKS LATER.
Horror/Sci-Fi.
Catherine McCormack/Robert Carlyle.
Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.
* The long awaited sequel to 28 Days Later has finally arrived. Now, it’s been six months since the Rage virus rampaged through the British Isles. Luckily for the Brits, the US army has secured the virus and it’s time to repopulate London. But Oh Nelly, the US Intelligence may be flawed; perhaps the virus is not secure? It only takes one poor sucker who still has the virus to really mess things up. This film is not funny or ironical; it is simply scary and tense.

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

CREATURE COMFORTS AMERICA.
Animation.
* From the creators of Wallace and Gromit comes this freaky claymation take on America. This show was cancelled after just a short time, ostensibly because the public didn’t quite get it that although it is animation, it is NOT for the kiddos.

DEXTER: SEASON ONE.
Television/Serial.
Michael C. Hall.
* He’s your friendly neighborhood forensics expert. And, he’s a serial killer. Based on the popular novels by Jeff Lindsay.

HANNAH MONTANA: LIFE’S WHAT YOU MAKE IT.
Family.
Miley Cyrus/Emily Osment.
* This popular series is about the life of Miley Stewart, who is leading a double life, pretending to live life as a normal teen, but actually being Hannah Montana a teen pop star.
............//DOCUMENTARY//............

OPRAH UNAUTHORIZED.
Documentary.
Oprah Winfrey.
* A seriously in-depth look into the life of the iconic Oprah Winfrey.

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


WIGGLES: GETTING STRONG.
Family.
Murray/Sam/Jeff/Anthony.
* And don’t forget Captain Feathersword, the true comic genius in this outfit. Maybe it’s me, but I miss Greg. Sam’s okay, I guess. But it seemed like they were missing their leader, and just bumbling in the dark. Wags the Dog and Dorothy the Dinosaur were around, to keep things real, but Anthony just seems like he’s lost.

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

THE BROOD.
Horror/Sci-Fi.
Oliver Reed/Art Hindle/Samantha Eggar.
Directed by David Cronenberg.
* Super freaky 1979 film about a psychiatrist’s very strange and dangerous methodology. The plot involves a husband trying to find out about his wife’s therapy, and a brood of mutant kids out attacking the public. I think this film is being remade.

THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR. T.
First DVD copy of this amazing adaptation of the Dr. Seuss story.

HELLO DOLLY.
Musical.
Barbara Streisand/Walter Matthau.
Directed by Gene Kelly!!
* I heard they were re-making this, so we stocked up. I think this may be the first time this store has EVER carried this film.

L.A. STORY.
First DVD copy of this terrific Steve Martin feature.

QUICKSILVER.
80’s.
Kevin Bacon.
* Our first DVD of this classic 1985 film about Bacon as a NYC bike messenger…ask Ken about his experiences in the bike messenger world.

24: SEASON 4.
Replacement copy of this taut thriller series.

TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE.
First release on DVD.

WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.
A couple more DVD copies of the brilliant Gene Wilder affair.

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