****new release list no.200

This week continues the strange soft releases of last week, with GHOST TOWN, EAGLE EYE, BAGHEAD, and THE DUCHESS being released last Saturday. Tuesday, Dec 30th sees a lot of interesting independent films at the story, as well as a little batch of new additions (many of them from the 1980’s).

NEO NED is the tale of a skinhead who falls in love with a black woman who thinks she’s the reincarnated Adolf Hitler. INTERNET DATING follows Katt Williams down its foible lined path. TOWEL HEAD is the story of a young Arab-American girl struggling to deal with her life during the Gulf War. Also this week is NIP/TUCK: SEASON FIVE PART ONE, which continues the tale of the plastic surgeons out to make your body perfect.

Happy Holidays from Four Star Video! We hope that as we all look back over 2008 that each and every one of us can find the wonderful nuggets of beauty that occurred and cherish them. And we hope that 2009, though certain to be full of challenges both micro and macro, is also capitalized on as a tremendous opportunity for change and growth.

One thing we can hopefully count on is that as you walk (or drive) down Cortland Avenue, as you pass Red Hill Books and Progressive Grounds, but before you get to Heartfelt, Bernal Yoga and Good Life Grocery, FOUR STAR VIDEO will be awaiting you, with a bright red carpet, good cheer, laughter, conversation and bunches of great films for your viewing entertainment. Thank you very much for supporting this store. We appreciate it!

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

AN AMERICAN CAROL.
Comedy/Fantasy.
Kelsey Grammer/Dennis Hopper.
Directed by the David Zucker.
* A cynical movie maker, out to try to abolish the celebration of Independence Day (yeah, right, how’s he gonna do that?) is visited by three ghosts who take him on a journey to highlight the true meaning of America in this twist on the classic Christmas Carol tale.

DELBARAN.
Drama/Foreign (Persian).
Kaim Alizadeh.
Directed by Abolfazl Jalili.
* Character study film focusing on a fourteen year old Afghan refugee living and working in a small Iranian town near the border. This film won awards on the festival circuit some years ago, and is finally completing its journey to wide-scale release.

DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS.
Comedy/Foreign (Portuguese).
Sonia Braga.
Directed by.
* This sexy Brazilian film from 1976 is just making its way to DVD. It stars the lovely Braga as a woman who is having a full relationship with both her current husband and the ghost of her past one.

INTERNET DATING.
Comedy.
Katt Williams.
Directed by Master P.
* A goofy expose of the internet dating world in which a short fellow (Four Star Favorite, Katt Williams) sets up an internet profile claiming he is a 7 foot Lakers basketball player. The chicks are bummed when he shows up slightly different, but what he discovers is that everyone is lying about something online.

NEO NED.
Drama/Romance.
Jeremy Renner/Gabrielle Union.
Directed by Van Fischer.
* Beautiful little film about a messed up kid who grows up involved with the Aryan Nation people (Nazis) and eventually meets a young black woman who believes Adolf Hitler has been reincarnated within her. What follows is a love story unlike many ever made. This film was highly celebrated on the festival circuit with many awards.

SURFER DUDE.
Comedy.
Matthew McConaughey/Alexie Gilmore.
Directed by S. R. Bindler.
* I read somewhere someone said it was SUPERBAD for the surfing set.

TOWELHEAD.
Drama.
Summer Bishil/Aaron Eckhart/Toni Collette.
Directed by Alan Ball.
* This is the tale of a young Arab-American girl (Bishil) struggling with racism and her own blossoming sexuality during the Gulf War.

THE TROUBLE WITH DEE DEE.
Comedy.
Lisa Anne Walter/Kurtwood Smith.
Directed by Mike Meiners.
* Indie comedy about a wealthy eccentric woman who finds her life turned upside down when she is disowned by her mega-wealthy father.

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

NIP/TUCK: SEASON FIVE PART ONE.
Television/Drama.
Dylan Walsh/Julian McMahon.
* Season five of the popular show about a couple of plastic surgeons living the good life in Miami.

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER: 1st SEASON.
Television/Drama.
Created by Brenda Hampton.
* Molly Ringwald (BREAKFAST CLUB, PRETTY IN PINK) is in this fictional tale of a bunch of high school kids struggling to grow up in a world full of peer pressure.

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

ATTACK!
* Jack Palance and Lee Marvin star in this 1956 Robert Aldrich film about betrayal between American soldiers in the waning days of WWII. This is our first DVD.

EXOTICA.
* First DVD of the Atom Egoyan story starring Mia Kirschner (THE L WORD).

HAMLET.
* First DVD of the Kenneth Branagh version.

MA VIE EN ROSE.
* First DVD of this French story about a young boy who decides he wants to be a girl.

NOW AND THEN.
* First DVD of this movie starring Rosie O’Donnell, Thora Birch, Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Melanie Griffith, Janeane Garofalo, and Rita Wilson among others. Damn, what a cast!

ORLANDO.
* First DVD of the Tilda Swinton tale.

QUIET EARTH.
* First DVD of this New Zealand film about a man who awakens one day to find himself alone on the planet.

SOMETHING WILD.
* First DVD of this Jonathan Demme 1980’s flick starring Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith.

WEIRD SCIENCE.
* First DVD of this John Hughes 1980’s classic.

............// REPLACEMENT DISCS//............

L’AVVENTURA.
* Replacement of the Michelangelo Antonioni classic about a woman’s disappearance during a Mediterranean boating trip.

****

****new release list no.199

DVD Sale at Four Star Video! $5 each for used DVD's. Perfect holiday gifts. This sale will last until 2009!
It’s another weird release week in the movie world. In essence, this week’s releases are HAMLET 2, BURN AFTER READING, DEATH RACE and THE WOMEN. However they had us release them early this weekend, and now we have another double batch coming out this week. Of the feature films below, only MY HEART IS MINE ALONE will be available tomorrow Tuesday Dec 23rd. Also available are the kids movies listed, and the television series 10 ITEMS OR LESS, as well as the new additions. The others, GHOST TOWN, BAGHEAD, THE DUCHESS, EAGLE EYE, and RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION are all being released on Saturday, Dec 27th. However, b/c of the holiday, I decided to just send out one email this week and good luck understanding it!

In the immortal words of Mr. Turkentine, Charlie’s teacher in WILLY WONKA, “I've just decided to switch our Friday schedule to Monday, which means that the test we take each Friday on what we learned during the week will now take place on Monday before we've learned it. But since today is Tuesday, it doesn't matter in the slightest. Pencils ready! “

Hey, by the way, happy holidays. Whether you are celebrating a traditional holiday this year or just celebrating the continuation of your corporal existence, celebrate bravely, celebrate warmly and celebrate thankfully. As tough as things seem right now, we are still living in a mostly peaceful environment and continue to be able to survive aboveground! Yeah!

On to some movies…

GHOST TOWN is like the comedic flip side of THE SIXTH SENSE. He sees dead people! But instead of frightening him (Gervais of THE OFFICE and EXTRAS), they annoy him. In that way, they are just like all the living people he knows because everyone annoys him. Well, almost everyone…

In EAGLE EYE, Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan are on the run from the mean old government with a mysterious lady calling them on their cell phones with instructions generally involving things blowing up. Kaboom!

THE DUCHESS is the latest historic fictobiopic about royalty in all their tight little outfits and their scandalous ways. Starring Ralph Fiennes as the Duke and Keira Knightley as the Duchess.

We’ll be open on Christmas Eve this Wednesday until around 7pm and we will be closed the next day. We will re-open on Friday, Dec 26th at our regular hours. Hope to see you this week.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

Ps. I am taking a vote, and I need a show of hands. Who would support a maximum wage? As a part of fixing this totally demented economy I think that we should implement it. Call it a “salary cap”. Call it “compassionate capitalism”. After all, who is worth 6 million a year to do anything? No one…unless you can hit the long ball.

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

BAGHEAD. AVAIL SAT
Drama/Horror/Comedy/Indie.
Ross Partridge/Steve Zissis.
Directed by the Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass.
* Is it a horror film, a comedy and indie flick? It is hard to classify…The Duplass brothers follow up their debut feature THE PUFFY CHAIR, with this tale of four out of work actors staying in a cabin in the woods who come up with a story that will make them famous about a crazed killer terrorizing people in a cabin in the woods while wearing a bag over his/her head. Ah, but then their little tale becomes real as a real Baghead arrives and begins the terror.

THE DUCHESS. AVAIL SAT ****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Drama/Fictobiopic.
Keira Knightley/Ralph Fiennes/Charlotte Rampling.
Directed by Saul Dibb.
* The tale of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (Knightley) whose unhappy marriage (to Fiennes) casts a sorrowful shadow over the other details of her extravagant and somewhat hedonistic life

EAGLE EYE. AVAIL SAT ****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Action/Cellphone.
Shia LaBeouf/Michelle Monaghan/Rosario Dawson/Billy Bob Thornton.
Directed by D. J. Caruso.
* Super duper blow em up action flick about a couple of strangers being manipulated by a strange woman’s voice on the other end of their cell phones who appears to know things that seem unknowable. If you dig the huge action blockbusters, than this one is for you. Shia LaBeouf rules…he was great in SURF’S UP!

GHOST TOWN. AVAIL SAT ****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Comedy.
Ricky Gervais/Greg Kinnear/Tea Leoni.
Directed by David Koepp.
* Bertram Pincus DDS (Gervais) is a total antisocial, obnoxious turd. That is, until he dies during a routine hospital surgery. Technically he is dead for only seven minutes, but that is long enough for him to be completely altered by the experience. Not that he’s not still a total jerk, but now he sees the dead, too. It’s like THE SIXTH SENSE re-envisioned as a comedy! And, like that other film, the dead want his help. The need resolution. Especially Kinnear’s character, a swarmy adulterer dude whose wife (Leoni) is preparing to remarry to someone he deems unworthy.

MY HEART IS MINE ALONE.
Drama/Foreign (German).
Directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms.
* From Amazon.com: The story of the real-life love affair between Jewish poet Else Lasker-Schueler and Nazi poet Gottfried Benn is told largely through their poetry in this experimental drama scored with improvised music..

RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION. AVAIL SAT
Animated/Disaster/Horror/Sci-Fi.
Directed by Makoto Kamiya.
* Zombie animation.

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

10 ITEMS OR LESS: SEASONS ONE AND TWO.
Television/Comedy.
* It’s kind of like FOUR STAR VIDEO, oops, I mean, THE OFFICE but at a grocery store.

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

BEETHOVEN’S BIG BREAK.

SKUNK FU: ART OF MONKEY LAUNCHING.

SKUNK FU: ART OF RIVALRY.

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

LUMIERE & COMPANY.
* From IMDB: 40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes. The results run the gamut from Zhang Yimou's convention-thwarting joke to David Lynch's bizarre miniature epic.

ROBOCOP
* First DVD of the Paul Verhoeven classic about a cyborg cop patrolling Detroit.

SCROOGED
* I love Bill Murray…this is our first DVD of this take on A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

****

****new release list no. 198

A bunch of titles available this Friday and Sunday: word is that Wal-Mart forced this bizarre industry change. You think they’re on steroids? Maybe…

BURN AFTER READING is the latest from the Coen Brothers. Clooney (that’s what he told me to call him) is great in it as a paranoid government analyst. DEATH RACE is the latest jaw-dropping adrenaline ride starring action superhero Jason Statham. In HAMLET 2, we get to see what would have happened next, had Shakespeare continued the story. The less said about HOUSE BUNNY the better. Will Hollywood move past racial and religious stereotypes? Viewing TRAITOR, I think ought perhaps the answer is no. Still, Don Cheadle is a pleasure to watch in all of his movies, and if you like the international conspiracy flicks, then you will probably enjoy this one. THE WOMEN is about women dealing with feminine issues. And AMERICAN TEEN is something I was, and would never willingly be again.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

PS. Three quick hits – 1) Danger around Bernal Heights reported recently, some muggings, shoplifting and an assault near Eugenia. Please keep your eyes open and pay attention to your surroundings. Holiday season makes some people crazy. 2) Saw MILK last night at the Castro and left with my face still wet. Wow! Go see it at the Castro if you can. It was amazing walking out of the theatre and being RIGHT THERE! 3) Damn, my television at home is tiny. I am desperately seeking an upgrade. Are you buying a bigger better tv this holiday season? Wanna trade your old one for a lot of movie rentals? I am looking ideally for like a 32” Hi-def set. Just putting it out there.

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

BURN AFTER READING.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Crime.
Brad Pitt/Frances McDormand/George Clooney/Tilda Swinton/John Malkovich.
Directed by the Coen Brothers.
* Pitt and McDormand are two doofuses who work at a gym. He is more of just a pretty clown and she is desperate for some cash for a little body manipulation surgery. Neither are bad per se, but you certainly can question their intelligence when they find a computer disc containing the memoirs of Osbourne Cox (Malkovich, in a role that mostly requires him to say “fuck”) and decide to blackmail the CIA or FBI or Treasury Dept, or whichever convoluted agency he works for. As you can imagine, things don’t work out great for their plans and convolution occurs. Swinton plays Cox’s soon to be ex-wife who is sleeping with Clooney, who (as you could imagine) is sleeping with anyone. Clooney’s physical mannerisms in this movie are probably reason enough to see it.

DEATH RACE.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Action/Adventure.
Jason Statham/Joan Allen/Ian McShane.
Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson.
* Post-industrial prison car killer race death explosives back-stabbing baby stealing wife-killing cars death speed gasoline oil bombs bad economy statham masked for-profit pay per view race death lies. Did you see Death Race 2000 with Sylvester Stallone? Now that was a movie…

HAMLET 2.
Comedy.
Steve Coogan/Catherine Keener/Elizabeth Shue/Amy Poehler.
Directed by Andrew Fleming.
* After staging one after another pathetic stage adaptations of films for a high school drama class, Dana Marschz (Coogan) decides to write a politically incorrect musical sequel to Hamlet to try to save the Drama program. This is at least a two-hitter on the Green Ratings.

HOUSE BUNNY.
Comedy.
Anna Faris/Colin Hanks.
Directed by Fred Wolf.
* No but its PG-13.

TRAITOR. ****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Crime/Drama/Thriller.
Don Cheadle/Guy Pearce/Said Taghmaoui.
Directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff.
* Is he a traitor or not? That is pretty much the question of this international thriller about an FBI agent (Pearce) tracking an international conspiracy where all paths appear to lead back to Horn (Cheadle) a form Special Ops government employee and perhaps a terrorist, too.

THE WOMEN. ****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Drama.
Meg Ryan/Annette Bening/Eva Mendes/Debra Messing/Jada Pinkett Smith/Bette Midler/Candice Bergen/Carrie Fisher/Cloris Leachman.
Directed by Diane English.
* This remake of the 1939 film starring Joan Crawford appears to star just about every woman in Hollywood. It is about women, the things they do, the way they do them. Women! Mysterious, unpredictable! Strange! From Venus! (or is it Mars?) As a man, I was not able to find out much in the way of plot. I’m not being disrespectful! I swear – I’m married to a pretty tough woman, and I assure you she will kick my ass if she thinks I am being disrespectful. I do have two copies of the original film, if you’d like to check that out. I’m not sure what it’s about.

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

AMERICAN TEEN.
Documentary.
Directed by Nanette Burstein.
* Oh the pain! This doc examines life at a high school in small town Indiana as seen through the eyes of five or six seniors. Who was it that said High School was the best time in your life? Yikes!

****

****new release list no.197

There are strange multiple New Release dates this week. There are a bunch of Tuesday (regular day) releases, then there are a few Friday, Dec 19th (AMERICAN TEEN, TRAITOR, HOUSE BUNNY) releases, and another handful of Sunday Dec 21st releases of some HUGE titles (BURN AFTER READING, THE WOMEN, HAMLET 2, DEATH RACE). You will receive a second New Release email from us Thursday or Friday this week.

This week the sugary sweet yet relatively raunchy MAMMA MIA is here at the store. Featuring the music of ABBA, this musical comedy should lead to much nostalgic humor at home. The much-lauded television series GENERATION KILL is here as well.

This week marks the first week that I am purchasing Criterion releases on Blu-ray. If you have a Blu-ray player, you can now dig THE THIRD MAN, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH and THE CHUNGKING EXPRESS in high definition.

We had our Four Star Video holiday party this last Friday, and it was awesome! Like so many businesses, we have toned down our celebrations this year and are kind of waiting with cautious optimism to see what the Economy will bring us for the Holidays. But in the meantime, everyone here is still working hard to create a fun and joyous environment. I am so proud of the staff at Four Star Video! Every single one of the seven of them has been here for over a year, and most of them have been here for a year and a half. For a little retail store, that’s incredible!

So, hats off to Shila, Chris, Rachel W, Evan, Jeff, Rachel S and Andrew. Thanks for all your hard work and for making Four Star Video the terrific video store that could.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

LOVE GIRLS.
Uh….
Forman Shane/Dianne Michaels.
Directed by Lee Frost.
* This tame almost cute 1964 soft-core classic reminded me of REEFER MADNESS in a way. It is definitely a sexploitation film, and for its time, it is quite racy as it portrays a young man obsessed with women and mostly with their boobs. It is would be humorous to hear the filmmakers interviewed today and to hear their feelings about the internet and how it has affected the modern man.

MAMMA MIA.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Musical/Comedy/Romance.
Meryl Streep/Pierce Brosnan/Colin Firth.
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd.
* A young woman is trying to find her real father on the eve of her wedding in this classic and extremely successful romp based on the phenomenal music by the disco gods ABBA. I still remember the first time I heard ABBA when my dad became obsessed with their enormous hit TAKE A CHANCE and showed us kids how adults could become passionate and emotional about music, a lesson I keep with me!

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPOROR.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Action/Adventure.
Brendan Fraser/Jet Li/Maria Bello/Michelle Yeoh.
Directed by Rob Cohen.
* Yada yada yada the Mummy.

THE WEDDING DIRECTOR.
Drama/Mystery/Foreign (Italian).
Sergio Castellitto/Donatella Finocchiaro.
Directed by Marco Bellocchio.
* A film director, in a down moment in his career, accepts a job in Sicily directing a wedding video for a dangerous man’s daughter. In a wild plot twist, the director falls in love with the daughter.

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

GENERATION KILL.
Television//War/HBO.
Alexander Skarsgard/James Ransone/Lee Tergesen.
*Baghdad; 2003. A Rolling Stone reporter embedded with a marine battalion tells the story of the American invasion through the eyes and actions of its young soldiers killing and dying. This series has been acclaimed as a very realistic and gritty portrayal of the real events that happened.

WILL SHAKESPEARE.
Television/Mini-Series.
Tim Curry/Ian McShane/Nicholas Clay.
Directed by Mark Cullingham and Robert Knights and Peter Wood.
* 1978 six hour miniseries about the bard (Curry) and his Elizabethan life. With McShane as Christopher Marlowe and Clay stealing scenes as the flamboyant Earl of Southampton.

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

PLANET B-BOY.
Documentary/History/Music/Dance.
Mr. Freeze/Skwall/Luis Mateo.
Directed by Benson Lee.
* An amazing and in-depth international history of breakdancing as experienced through a competition called BATTLE OF THE YEAR where the Planet B-Boy will be crowned.

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

THE CHEETAH GIRLS: ONE WORLD.

THE LITTLE MERMAID 2: RETURN TO THE SEA SPECIAL EDITION.
* Four copies for the little mermaids in training!

POWER RANGERS JUNGLE FURY: WAY OF THE MASTER.

POWER RANGERS JUNGLE FURY: INTO THE JUNGLE.

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

CHUNGKING EXPRESS.
Comedy/Criterion/Foreign (Japanese/Mandarin/Cantonese/English).
Brigitte Lin/Takeshi Kaneshiro/Tony Leung.
Directed by Wong Kar-Wai.
* Is this my first Criterion blu-ray purchase? I think so! It is a beautiful and lush portrait of Hong Kong in the 1990’s, the film follows a couple of cops dealing with the loss of their girlfriends.

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH.
Sci-fi/Criterion.
* The amazing David Bowie film about an alien seeking water for his dying planet. Now on Blu-ray!

OLD SCHOOL.
Comedy.
* The Will Ferrell romp now on Blu-ray. I grudgingly admit I thought this was pretty funny.

THE THIRD MAN.
Film Noir/Thriller/Criterion.
Orson Welles/Joseph Cotten.
Directed by Carol Reed.
* Amazingly complicated dark tale of corruption and murder in Germany circa the late 1940’s.

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

SISTER ACT.
Comedy.
Whoopi Goldberg.
* She’s a singer hiding from the mob disguised as a nun!

SISTER ACT 2.
Comedy.
Whoopi Goldberg.
* She can’t get enough of this nunsense!

THE VALLEY OF GWANGI.
Western/Sci-fi.
Directed by Jim O’Connolly.
* Wow! The tagline says: Cowboys Battle Monsters in the Lost World of Forbidden Valley! Enough said.

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

STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR.
Crime/Drama/Romance/Foreign (Italian).
Lucia Bose/Massimo Girotti.
Directed by Michaelangelo Antonioni.
* Thanks to one of our customers for requesting this and thus helping us add to our Antonioni collection. This film is about a beautiful and married young woman who is kind of being investigated by a former husband.

****

****new release list no.196

It’s cold! Must be winter, I guess. Good time to curl up with THE DARK KNIGHT, the latest installment of the Batman series. This was Heath Ledger’s last completed role and he plays the uber-creepy Joker. Christian Bale reprises the Batman role and Michael Caine is excellent as the cockney-accented butler.

Truly stunning is MAN ON WIRE about high-wire walker Phillipe Petit’s walk between the Twin Towers in 1974. This movie just pushes so many boundaries of human possibility. The visuals are startling and evocative and the interviews bring you along Petit’s journey as he goes from 17-year-old dreamer to 23-year-old poetic terrorist. He is such a beautiful maniac, I am grateful for his existence!

We have a big stack of Criterion this week including MISSING, EUROPA (Lars Von Trier), and KENJI MIZOGUCHIS FALLEN WOMEN: ECLIPSE SERIES 13, as well as some terrific pictures about fundamentalism and its effect on our personal lives (MY FATHER MY LORD and TAKVA: A MAN’S FEAR OF GOD).

There’s about a bazillion more, including some more of Shila’s highlighted new additions. Scroll down for the full scope.

Don’t forget this holiday season, we sell T-Shirts (Adults $20, Kids $15) Wristbands ($5) and Gift-Certificates in all sizes. Thanks for shopping locally!

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

BLUE BLOOD.
Suspense/Noir.
Roy Scheider/Bill Sage.
Directed by Ben Cummings and Orson Cummings.
* One of the last three Scheider films, it was released last year as IF I DIDN’T CARE, but came to DVD with the new name BLUE BLOOD. It is a mystery about wealthy Hampton residents dabbling in infidelity and murder. Scheider plays a local cop named Linus trying to piece together the evidence.

CHANGE MY LIFE.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Fanny Ardant/Roschdy Zem.
Directed by Liria Begeja.
* Two people, very down on their luck, discover each other and though their desires are quite different are motivated to help the other put their broken pieces back together.

THE DARK KNIGHT****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Action/Drama/Comic.
Christian Bale/Heath Ledger/Aaron Eckhart/Maggie Gyllenhaal/Michael Caine/Morgan Freeman/Gary Oldman/Anthony Michael Hall.
Directed by Christopher Nolan.
* The second in the latest Batman series (which are much darker and creepier than the first batch), this one follows the Dark Knight (Bale) in his quest to pass the baton to Harvey Dent (Eckhart) the new DA of Gotham City. Batman’s hope? That he can one day be done with the leather suit and gadgetry, and that he can make a life with Rachel (Gyllenhaal) his old flame, who is currently sparking it up with Harvey. Although Harvey is a very promising DA, certainly strong with words and personality, Gotham is under attack by a new villain, the twisted and demented Joker (Ledger, in his final completed role) who’s plans for destabilizing and petrifying the entire city put Harvey quite literally on the hot seat. The scarred and painted bad guy digs especially the demoralizing of, well, anything and anyone. He just gets off on bringing people to their lowest common denominator. It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy menacing people himself, he truly does. But what really floats his boat is turning normal people into cold-blooded killers. The Batdude is heavily armed with stuff that 007 wishes he had…especially fancy is the “sky-hook” that he employs to depart an extra tight situation. He suit is also pretty stylish, with just the slightest cut eye-holes that give you very little insight into this flying night critters motivation. In this installment, Batman truly is a “Dark Knight” and perhaps one you may not want to come across in the dead of night. The cinematography is filled with gigantic breath-taking tableaus and the soundtrack is creepy and edgy and will keep your heart beating fast. Ledger, of course, is fascinating. It is hard to not flash on his somewhat accidental death while watching this film; and it is not hard to imagine the demons that he may have been trying to drive away with the medications he eventually OD’d on.

ELDER SON.
Comedy/Drama.
Shane West/Leelee Sobieski/Eric Balfour.
Directed by Marius Balchunas.
* A young scammer who has just been involved in a failed car heist passes himself off as the son of a Russian clarinet player living in Los Angeles.

ELEPHANT TALES.
Family/Action/Adventure.
Directed by Mario Andreacchio.
* A couple of elephants brothers dealing with adverse jungle situations.

EUROPA.
Suspense/Criterion/Foreign (German/English).
Jean-Marc Barr/Barbara Sukowa/Udo Kier.
Directed by Lars Von Trier.
* Very heavy-hitting film about an American who takes a job on the railroad in post WWII Germany and gets involved in various political plots. The film is a must see for any true student of film, as it uses various techniques and styles masterfully and takes you on a journey that is both terrifying and spellbinding. I highly recommend this film!

HORTON HEARS A WHO.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Animation.
Jim Carrey/Steve Carell.
Directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino.
* Horton, the kind-hearted (and somewhat dimwitted) Elephant finds himself in such a predicament. You see, he hears an entire culture or beings that are living in turmoil and desperately need help, but are so small that they live on a speck of dust and are really not visible to the naked eye. The other animals in the jungle are not quite as sympathetic as Horton, and in fact think perhaps Horton is completely crazy for talking to dust. But Horton stays the course, yo.

IRMA VEP: ESSENTIAL EDITION.
Comedy/Crime/Fantasy/Foreign (French).
Maggie Cheung/Jean-Pierre Leaud.
Directed by Olivier Assayas.
* A director whose best work is behind him, decides to remake a famous silent vampire movie, and casts a famous actress from Hong Kong (Maggie Cheung, playing herself) in the main role, even though she doesn’t speak a word of French in this 1996 classic.

KENJI MIZOGUCHIS FALLEN WOMEN: ECLIPSE SERIES 13.
Drama/Criterion/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.
* Four films by the Japanese master director (Osaka Elegy, Sisters of the Gion, Women of the Night and Street of Shame) about women, and the trials they face to survive in the social structure established between the years of 1930’s and 1950’s Japan.

THE MAN WHO CAME BACK.
Western/Action.
Billy Zane/Sean Young/Armand Assante/Carol Alt.
Directed by Glen Pitre.
* Classic Western revenge film.

MISSING.
Drama/Criterion.
Jack Lemmon/Sissy Spacek.
Directed by Costa-Gavras.
* This amazing film traumatized me so bad when I saw it in the theatres back in 1982! It is about a conservative father (Lemmon) and his more liberal daughter-in-law (Spacek) searching for her husband (his son) an idealistic writer who has gone missing in a South American country in 1973. They are pushing through the bureaucratic nightmare of searching for one of thousands missing and presumed dead during a military coup. Won the Oscar for Best Screenplay and was nominated for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Film Oscars as well.

MY FATHER MY LORD.
Drama/Foreign (Hebrew).
Assi Dayan/Ilan Grif/Sharon Hacohen.
Directed by David Volach .
* Beautiful and sorrowful tale of an orthodox Rabbi in Israel who spends all his time praying and preparing his sermons and his wife and son, who both crave his attention. The story focuses on the young boy, who is growing up, and becoming aware of his surroundings, and is full of wonder and questions about life.

OPEN WINDOW
Comedy.
Robin Tunney/Joel Edgerton/Cybil Shepherd/Elliot Gould.
Directed by Mia Goldman.
* A young couples lives are shattered by a random act of violence that effects their entire respective families. Won awards on the festival circuit.

ROBERTO ROSSELLINI’S DIRECTOR SERIES.
Drama/Foreign (Italian).
Directed by Roberto Rossellini.
* Two films (ESCAPE BY NIGHT and WHERE IS FREEDOM?) from the Italian director.

TAKVA: A MAN’S FEAR OF GOD.
Drama/Foreign (Turkish).
Erkan Can/Guven Kirac.
Directed by Ozer Kiziltan.
* Muharrem (Can) is a devout Muslim, devoted to his religion and filled with pious fear of his god, until a promotion at his job changes his life dramatically and leads him to question everything he holds sacred. This film is almost a companion piece to MY FATHER MY LORD in that both films show a very dogmatic and religious life thrown into turmoil by the realities of life on earth and interpersonal relationships.

TEENAGE ANGST.
Drama /Foreign (German).
Franz Dinda/Niklas Kohrt.
Directed by Thomas Stuber.
* Four boys at an elite boarding school form play out their dissatisfactions with life in increasingly violent and demeaning games with each other.

THREE SHORT FILMS BY WERNER HERZOG: BALLAD OF THE LITTLE SOLDIER, THE DARK GLOW OF THE MOUNTAINS, PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FANATICS.
Short Weird Films.
Directed by Werner Herzog.

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

LOST: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON.
Television/Drama/Adventure/Mystery/Thriller.
Matthew Fox/Naveen Andrews/Jorge Garcia/Josh Holloway.
* Season four of the exciting and mysterious tale of survivors of a plane crash on an island struggling to make sense of it all (don’t you feel like that sometimes?).

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

MAN ON WIRE.
Documentary.
Phillipe Petit.
Directed by James Marsh.
* This mind-boggling documentary will take you deeply into the mind of Phillipe, a multitalented artist whose many talents include tightrope walking. In the early 1970’s, he walked several of the world’s large constructions such as Notre Dame Cathedral and the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia. Then, in 1974, with a small group of cohorts and supporters, he pulled off the biggest coup of all when he stretched a wire between the tops of the two World Trade Centers and spent 45 minutes walking back and forth between the two mega-structures. If you ever wondered about human limitations as far as fear, concentration, bravery, scope of vision and pure elation, watching this film will stretch your concepts of what is possible. I feel as though I will be filled with the imagery of this film for the rest of my life.

UP THE YANGTZE.
Documentary.
Cindy Shui Yu/Jerry Bo Yu Chen.
Directed by Yung Chang.
* An amazing documentary about the Yangtze river in China and the incredible transformation many towns and regions went through as a result of the building of the Three Gorges Dam.

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

ADVENTURES OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: VOL. 2

JANE AND THE DRAGON

KAYLAS: CHANUKAH CONCERT.

MY LITTLE PONY: LIVE! THE WORLD’S BIGGEST TEA PARTY.

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

DAY OF THE DEAD.
Horror.
* George A. Romero’s classic zombie tale.

GET SMART.
Comedy.
* First copy took a walk and never came back.

TROPIC THUNDER.
Comedy.
* Just got another, cuz, dang, everyone wants to see it on blu-ray!

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE.
Suspense/Thriller.
* I neglected to buy this last week, so I picked it up.

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

HERCULES: DISNEY GOLD CLASSIC EDITION.
* Animated classic.

RALPHIE MAY: GIRTH OF A NATION.
Stand-up Comedy.
Ralphie May
* May delivers his Southern Fried comedy.

TEEN WOLF.
Comedy.
Michael J. Fox.
* Goofy comedy sendup of I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF.

TEEN WOLF, TOO.
Comedy.
Jason Bateman.
* Bateman replaces Fox in the sequel.

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

CLASH OF THE TITANS..
* First DVD of the 1980’s big budget Greek mythological classic.

SIXTEEN CANDLES..
* First DVD of the John Hughes classic starring Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall and the elusive Michael Schoeffling, who left Hollywood in the early 1990’s for the normal life.

ULTRAMAN..
* Three disc set of the 1960’s Japanese monster television extravaganza.

............// REPLACEMENT DISCS//............

POOH’S GRAND ADVENTURE..

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****new release list no.195

Hey parents! This Thursday, December 4th, there will be a live puppet show in our backyard screening patio at 4:30pm! Nick Barone Puppets will be performing his show “Tales From The Enchanted Forest”. Here is a link to frequently asked questions about his shows.

Yo, it’s the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia! PRINCE CASPIAN is in the house. Follow the further adventures of Lucy, Edmond, Peter and Susan as they traverse the mythical terrain of Narnia and battle evil all in the name of Aslan, and the restoration of Prince Caspian himself to his rightful throne – whoop whoop!

In WANTED – James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie play super trained assassins in the employ of Morgan Freeman. Lots of bullets getting bent like Beckham in this one.

In STEP BROTHERS, John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell battle it out for who is the biggest moron in the house. Eventually though, they both realize that if they combine their intelligence (term used loosely) they can make their dreams come true. It’s heartwarming!

All three of these are available on Blu-ray as well as regular DVD. Hey Blu-ray renters – I notice there are more and more of you, and I am upping the quantity of copies I am buying on Blu-ray starting next week with the release of THE DARK NIGHT. Keep giving me feedback on this – I appreciate it!

December marks a new month of Highlighted New Additions to our collection. Actually, this Four Star feature is now happening every two months, but I don’t have a snazzy name for that, so I will just stick with the aforementioned HNA. This month is Shila’s month, and she is bringing a great batch of television to the store (WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU, SCRUBS, PSYCH) as well as some stand up comedy (BILL ENGVALL) and a few more editions of DEF POETRY (Seasons 2, 4 and 5). We hope you like them!

Did you buy any movies at my DVD sale last week? I sold about 200 movies last Wednesday and Friday for $6 for one and $10 for two. Wish you had partaken? Catch me anytime in the store this month and I will offer you the same deal. Buy quantity – they make great holiday gifts.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

BAM MARGERA PRESENTS: WHERE THE %$@#$ IS SANTA?
Comedy.
Bam Margera.
Directed by Jon DeVito and Bam Margera.
* One of the jackasses from the JACKASS movie made a movie.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Adventure/Fantasy/Thriller.
Ben Barnes/Georgie Henley/William Moseley/Peter Dinklage.
Directed by Andrew Adamson.
* My personal favorite of the original books, PRINCE CASPIAN follows the further adventures of the four Pevensie siblings as one year later they are again pulled from London to the magical and mystical land of Narnia. There, they discover, hundreds of years have passed since their last visit and currently an evil King named Miraz has taken control of the land, much to the dismay of its rightful leader, Prince Caspian. Together, the Pevensie’s and their iconic buddy, Aslan, help to restore order and peace to the land.

DARK WORLD.
Suspense.
Michael Pare/Theresa Russell/James Russo.
Directed by Zia Mojabi.
* Pare continues his spiraling descent into irrelevance – oops, I mean, this is a weird and dark cops and robbers flick set in LA and centering around some mysterious kidnappings.

FLY ME TO THE MOON: 3D.
Family/Animation.
Kelly Ripa/Nicolette Sheridan/Tim Curry/Christopher Lloyd.
Directed by Ben Stassen.
* It’s kinda like the Russian flies versus the American flies, in this strange tale of a small posse of houseflies who stow away aboard the Apollo 11 headed to the moon.

SHE LIKES GIRLS: 3.
LGBT.
* Eight short films about women and the women who like them.

STEP BROTHERS. ****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Comedy.
Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly.
Directed by Adam McKay.
* When an older couple get married, their adult age ne’er do well sons come together as competitive and moronic step brothers. Hijinks follow. I don’t think this is a stoner movie, but I do think it is the kind of comedy that calls for a new Four Star rating system to be, ahem, rolled out. We’ll call them the Green Ratings. Here is a short synopsis: A “one hit” movie is pretty funny! A “two hit” movie is still pretty funny, albeit with maybe more than a few moments of inanity. A “bong hit” movie probably shows most of the funny parts in the trailer. Finally, a “full doobie” film must be properly prepared for, and even then may lead to a gentle nap in the middle. I haven’t seen this one yet (but I probably will tonight), but I’m going to go out on a limb and give it a “full doobie”.

STILL LIFE.
Drama/Romance/Foreign (Mandarin).
Tao Zhao/Sanming Han.
Directed by Zhang Ke Jia.
* Stilted tale of a town and its inhabitants in flux, as symbolized by the Three Gorges Dam construction and the destruction of the town as a result.

TROJAN HORSE.
Drama/Suspense.
Paul Gross/Tom Skerritt/Greta Scacchi.
Directed by Charles Biname.
* TV movie about Canada becoming annexed by the US!

WANTED.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Action/Suspense.
James McAvoy/Angelina Jolie/Morgan Freeman.
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov.
* McAvoy plays Wesley, a bumbling and lonely clerk living a sad existence mostly consisting of being unfulfilled and humiliated until he meets a fox, or more accurately, Fox (Jolie) who helps him gain confidence by revealing his amazing killing abilities to him and offering him work as an assassin with a team led by the enigmatic Sloan (Freeman). The film is an adaptation of a graphic novel and is basically a super-complicated, shoot em up, action joyride.

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE.
Drama/Mystery/Thriller/Sci-Fi.
David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson/Amanda Peet.
Directed by Chris Carter.
* Six years after the finale of The X-Files, Mulder and Scully are called back to action, this time to investigate a defrocked pedophiliac priest who claims that God is sending him visions of his crimes. I know, right? But I digress… Severed heads, amputated limbs, perversity, dementia, and all the other things you loved about this TV show are on full display as the paranormal crime fighters slog through many messy messes in an attempt to find truth and do good.

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

THE BEST OF DR.KATZ: PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST.
Television/Comedy/Animation.
Jonathan Katz.
* A best of collection of the weird and strangely hysterical animated show.

SNL: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON 1978-1979.
Television/Comedy.
George Carlin/Paul Simon/Rolling Stones/Devo/Frank Zappa/Steve Martin/Van Morrison/Walter Matthau/Peter Tosh/Kate Bush/Rickie Lee Jones/Talking Heads/James Taylor/Blondie/Dylan.
* Are we almost done with all the good seasons here? Should I keep buying these? You tell me.

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

IN THE GUTTER
Documentary/Comedy.
John Waters/Stephen Furst.
* A comedic quest to discover what makes us laugh, featuring interviews with many actors and directors.

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

CURIOUS GEORGE LEADS THE BAND: AND OTHER MUSICAL MAYHEM!
* Georgie-poo and the Imperialist in the Big Yellow Hat!

HEY THERE, IT’S YOGI BEAR
* Original Hanna-Barbera action.

LAND BEFORE TIME: FRIENDS FOREVER
* Or until a meteor hits the earth.

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

BILL ENGVALL: HERE’S YOUR SIGN.
Stand-up Comedy.
* Stupidity is shown no mercy in the stand-up comedy show.

DEF POETRY: SEASONS 2, 4 & 5.
Series/Poetry.
Featuring Jamie Foxx/Erykah Badu/Malcolm-Jamal Warner/Dave Chappelle/Alicia Keys/Kanye West/Common/Mike Epps.
Hosted by Mos Def.
* Stars, super stars, seasoned veterans and virgin poets united. If you don’t like one poet, just skip to the next.

PSYCH: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Television/Comedy.
James Roday/Dule Hill.
* A show about how just being perceptive can make you seem psychic.

SCRUBS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Television/Comedy.
Zach Braff.
* Zach Braff and other hotties in this hilarious long running show about the life of doctors.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU.
Television/Comedy.
Amanda Bynes/Jennie Garth/Simon Rex/Wesley Jonathan.
Created by Wil Calhoun and Dan Schneider.
* I LOVE AMANDA BYNES! A teenager living with her older sister in NYC and all the funny problems that come along with that.

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