****new release list no.166

The carpet is pretty sweet, huh?

Here is a pretty good breakdown of the movies coming out this summer. I am sure there are some hidden gems here, but at first read, I wasn’t super psyched on anything I read about it. Isn’t it amazing how Hollywood will just throw millions at just about anything in the hopes of paying for all the garbage with one monster success? Ah, to have millions to throw away…

This week we have some comedy (MAD MONEY, NUMB, WALK ALL OVER ME), some horror (THE COTTAGE), a batch of foreign films (LOST IN BEIJING, THE FIRE WITHIN, THE LOVERS, A MATTER OF TASTE, SHINOBI NO MONO 2: VENGEANCE), the latest Francis Ford Coppola film (YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH) and the latest Denzel Washington movie – which I heard was really good (THE GREAT DEBATERS). We also have another big batch of new additions, and some good kids stuff.

Have a nice week!

Ken


p.s. Fairmount Elementary is having its annual fund raiser this Saturday May 17th from 12pm - 5pm. There will be food and games for the kids and a silent auction with all sorts of great stuff (like a Four Star gift certificate). Fairmount is located at 65 Chenery and I will be there all day. Come on by for a fun day with your peeps.

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

THE COTTAGE.
Comedy/Horror.
Andy Serkis/Jennifer Ellison.
Directed by Paul Williams.
* A couple of siblings mess up a kidnapping, then have a nightmare to contend with while holed up with their hostage in a country cottage, and the nightmare wields and axe.

THE FIRE WITHIN.
Drama/Criterion/Foreign (French).
Maurice Ronet/Lena Skeria.
Directed by Louis Malle.
* Criterion release of this swirling descent into suicidal depression fueled by alcohol and failed dreams.

THE GREAT DEBATER.
Drama.
Denzel/Forest Whitaker.
Directed by Denzel Washington.
* Well-acted tale of a 1935 college debating team of African-Americans who challenged Harvard in the national championship.

LOST IN BEIJING.
Drama/Foreign (Mandarin).
Tony Leung Ka Fai/Bingbing Fan.
Directed by Yu Li.
* This film is freaking BANNED in China. Banned! That is so crazy. And the producer is banned from making another film for two years. The story follows a foursome exploring their relationship in Beijing. FREAKING BANNED! We must watch this movie.

THE LOVERS.
Drama/Criterion/Foreign (French).
Jeanne Moreau/Alain Cuny/Jean-Marc Bory.
Directed by Louis Malle.
* 1959 film about boredom, sex, and the bourgeoisie. This film helped the US Supreme court define pornography in 1964 (the defendant was acquitted from the charge of possessing and exhibiting an obscene film).

MAD MONEY.
Comedy/Crime.
Queen Latifah/Katie Holmes/Diane Keaton/Ted Danson.
Directed by Callie Khouri.
* Three bank robbing chicks get jiggy with stacks of cash.

A MATTER OF TASTE.
Crime/Thriller/Foreign (French).
Bernard Giraudeau/Jean-Pierre Lorit.
Directed by Bernard Rapp.
* Sexual thriller from France.

NUMB.
Comedy/Romance.
Matthew Perry/Mary Steenburgen/Lynn Collins/Kevin Pollack.
Directed by Harris Goldberg.
* I’m numb looking at this film about a young man who thinks he is going crazy.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN.
Drama.
Sean Combs/Phylicia Rashad/Audra McDonald.
Directed by Kenny Leon.
* P-Diddy stars in this adaptation of the famous Lorraine Hansberry play about an African-American family struggling to overcome racism and poverty.

SHINOBI NO MONO 2: VEGEANCE.
Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Raizo Ichikawa.
* Action oriented ninja flick from the 60’s.

WALK ALL OVER ME.
Comedy?/ Crime/Thriller/Dominatrix.
Leelee Sobieski.
Directed by Robert Cuffley.
* I believe this is a comedy about a young woman who takes on her roommates identity as a dominatrix to pay the bills...

YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH.
Drama.
Tim Roth/Alexandra Lara/Bruno Ganz.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
* Set in 1930’s Europe, this film follows a timid professor (Roth) whose life is changed dramatically and magically after he is hit by a bolt of lightning.

............//SERIES//............

BOONDOCKS: SEASON ONE.
Television/Animated.
Created by Aaron McGruder.
* Amazing social and politic commentary in this series based on the award winning comic-strip.

............//KIDS//............

BOB THE BUILDER: THE THREE MUSKETRUCKS.
Kids.
Bob.
* Bob gets crazy with three sword wielding truck knights.

GARFIELD: A CAT AND HIS NERD.
Kids.
Garfield/His Nerd.
* Tremendous cinematography.

LAND BEFORE TIME: THROUGH THE EYES OF SPIKETAIL.
Kids/Dino.
* Four episodes of the cute little dino-critters.

............//NEW ADDITIONS//............

LA CHINOISE.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (French).
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
* First time available on DVD, this 1967 film follows a group of students who explore terrorism while studying Mao.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. BLU-RAY!
* Yo, it’s the Chronic (What?) Cles of Narnia.

EVIL DEAD.
Fantasy/Horror/Thriller.
Directed by Sam Raimi.
* First DVD of this classic.

EVIL DEAD 2.
Fantasy/Horror/Thriller.
Directed by Sam Raimi..
* First DVD of this classic.

PLANET EARTH. BLU-RAY!
Doc/Nature/Amazing.
* We just got this amazing 5 disc series on Blu-ray…time to buy that Blu-ray player!

THE MISSION.
Drama/War.
Robert De Niro/Jeremy Irons/Aidan Quinn.
Directed by Roland Joffe.
* Jesuits and slave hunters in this 1986 period piece.

THE WAY WE WERE.
Drama/Romance.
Robert Redford/Barbara Streisand.
Directed by Sydney Pollack.
* First DVD copy of this Oscar winner from the 1970’s.

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (Spanish).
* Replacement DVD.

****