****new release list no.190

THIS FRIDAY, Oct 31th: we are having one final movie screening of our season. It will be a kiddy Halloween special night, so if you are up on Cortland and want to take a 30 minute break from the Trick or Treating crush, bring your kiddo over to Four Star Video and watch CHARLIE BROWN: IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN with a special short video from the SIPPY CUPS to start the show and assorted other specials if people are digging it. The movie will be shown at the early time of 7pm and the doors will be open at 6:45pm. Come on by!

Now that our outdoor screening season is coming to an end, I am going to spend a little time reflecting on what was fun, what worked, what didn’t work so well and what we can do better next year. If anyone has any input, please send it my way. All in all, my initial thought is that I had a great time doing it, and watching fantastic films bundled up outside with a group of people is really awesome.

The latest season of THE L WORD is here this week, as is Brendan Fraser’s new action film JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE WORLD: 3D. There is also an amazing looking pair of documentary’s about the indigenous people of New Guinea called THEM AND ME and THE SKY IN THE GARDEN. We’ve also got a bunch of Halloween new additions this week, thanks to Shila, also a nice little stack of new Blu-Ray titles, including A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.

Me? I’ve been totally bingeing on books and movies this week. I have become totally addicted to the American version of THE OFFICE. It hurts, it is painful, it’s crass, it’s so wrong. I love it! Wow, it will definitely affect your interactions at work. I highly recommend this show. I’ve also been reading for the first time the Harry Potter books. I am a huge reader, but not generally into magic tales, but after getting sucked into HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE at the store recently, decided to take the plunge. I am hooked. It is a total soap-opera, but I have to know what happens! I have only watched the first movie in totality, but I am very much looking forward to the rest. Wow, those actors were so young in that first one.

Alrighty, then. See you at the store.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

............//NEW RELEASES//............

CHRISTMAS CAPER.
Comedy/Holiday.
Shannon Doherty.
Directed by David Winkler.
* A thief (Doherty) goes back to her home in Connecticut to lay for the holidays after a con goes badly. Freaking Connecticut! Get a baseball team!

ELITE SQUAD.
Action/Crime/Foreign (Portuguese).
Wagner Moura/Caio Junqueira.
Directed by Jose Padilha.
* Cops and bad guys on the streets of Rio de Janeiro before an important visit by the Pope.

HANK AND MIKE.
Indie/Comedy.
Thomas Michael/Paolo Mancini/Chris Klein/Joe Mantegna.
Directed by Matthiew Klinck.
* Strange and potentially beautiful tale of Hank and Mike, two corporate Easter Bunnies dealing with downsizing and loss of employment. Kind of fitting in today’s world.

I LOVE BEIJING.
Drama/Foreign (Mandarin).
Yu Lei.
Directed by Ying Ning.
* Well respected Chinese film about urbanization and construction and migration to Beijing told through the eyes of a taxi driver.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH: 3D.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Action/Adventure.
Brendan Fraser.
Directed by Eric Brevig.
* A scientist goes missing and his brother and his nephew go questing for him. While in Iceland, they discover a deep cave. A really deeeeeeep cave. That goes. To the center. Of the earth. There, they discover the world is in 3D, much like it is back up on earth. Also they discover many strange and phantasmagorical creatures, which isn’t surprising considering Bjork is from Iceland and she is kinda phantasmagorical as well, right?

KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL.
Family/Comedy.
Abigail Breslin.
Directed by Patricia Rozema.
* Based on a popular doll collection, this is the tale of Kit (Breslin – remember her from LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and DEFINITELY, MAYBE and NIM’S ISLAND) a young girl living in Cincinnati during the depression and dreaming big dreams of being famous someday.

THE STONE ANGEL.
Family/Drama/Comedy.
Ellen Burstyn/Christine Horne/Ellen Page.
Directed by Kari Skogland.
* A story in the vein of AWAY FROM HER and THE BUCKET LIST about an aging woman fighting a battle to remember her life and to put her memories in order. Based on a book by Margaret Laurence.

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

BODY OF WAR.
Documentary/War.
Directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro.
* An anti-war documentary following the parallel stories of Tomas Young, an Iraqi war vet, home from the Gulf with a paralyzed body and new thoughts on the conflict, and the American Congress, struggling to come to consensus on what to do with the conflict that we are so deeply involved with.

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.
Documentary/Sports.
Fred Fred Lebow.
Directed by Judd Ehrlich.
* A tribute to Fred Lebow, whose determination and love for running helped create the New York City Marathon.

THEM AND ME w/ THE SKY IN THE GARDEN.
Documentary/Anthropology.
Directed by Stephane Breton.
* From IMDB: Anthropologist and filmmaker Stephane Breton lived among the Wodoni of Papua, New Guinea, and produced two unique documentaries based on his remarkable adventures. Unlike other ethnographic filmmakers, Breton is more interested in how the Wodoni see him than he is in documenting their way of life, which provides the premise for THEM AND ME. Eventually, he builds a close bond with his neighbors, illustrating that certain parts of life are universal whether you are a French filmmaker or a Wodoni villager. In THE SKY IN THE GARDEN, Breton returns to the village after several years, knowing that future trips will be impossible and that this is his last visit. In this nostalgic account, he explores the poetry and beauty of the little things, sharing his perspective on a people he has grown to admire

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

AFFAIRS OF THE HEART: SERIES 1.
Television/Drama/Fictobiopic.
*1974 series about romance and pain based on the work of Henry James.

THE L WORD: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON.
Television/Drama.
Jennifer Beals/Mia Kirschner/Leisha Hailey/Pam Grier
* Same-Sex and The City, in Los Angeles.

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

PUCCA: SECRET SAMARAI SANTA.

TINKER BELL.
* Oh Nelly, the little girls are going CRAZY for this one. My daughter cried when I brought it back to the store this morning…

TURBO: A POWER RANGERS MOVIE.
* Customer request to get this one on DVD. Got it!

............//BLU-RAY NEW ADDITIONS//............

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.
* Classic Stanley Kubrick at his most creepiest.

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD.
* Terrific work by Casey Affleck here in this Brad Pitt flick.

ELF.
* Will Ferrell lights it up in this Jon Favreau comedy also starring Ed Asner, James Kaan, Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.
* Another 007 on Blu-Ray, this time starring Roger Moore.

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS.
* They march and they march.

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

ADDAMS FAMILY/ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES.
* A comic double feature about America’s favorite family of weirdoes.

HALLOWEEN.
* Our first DVD of the Jamie Lee Curtis spookfest.

HALLOWEENTOWN AND HALLOWEENTOWN.
* For the kids out there, it is a double-feature Disney Halloween tale.

HALLOWEENTOWN HIGH.
* And another story about this place.

HOCUS POCUS.
* First DVD of this film starring Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker as resurrected witches wreaking havoc on Salem 300 years after they were hung.

RETURN TO HALLOWEENTOWN.
* Just when you thought you couldn’t get any more Halloweened out.

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: ULTIMATE EDITION.
* First DVD of the 1974 iconic horror slasher flick.

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

THE FIRM.
* First DVD of this Sydney Pollack film starring Tom Cruise about a sinister law firm.

****