Welcome to March! Did it come in like a lion? Will it go out like a lamb? Is that even applicable on the West Coast? Not really, but these days the weather is so weird I won’t be surprised if we start getting snow and warmth in the same week next winter.In I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG, Kristen Scott Thomas plays a woman getting out of prison after fifteen long years. She reunites with her family and begins the long and painful process of forgiveness to herself for a crime that has mostly been kept secret. In AUSTRALIA, a young English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) inherits an enormous parcel of land right before WWII and has to fight off an evil cattle baron to save what is rightfully hers.
THE AXE IN THE ATTIC is an artfully done documentary chronicling life post-Hurricane Katrina. JAM is another documentary telling the incredibly important story of a group of older ex-Roller Derby stars who are giving it one more chance! WONDERFUL TOWN is the story of Ton and Pa, two young people embarking on a love affair in the aftermath of the murderous tsunami in Southeast Thailand
March 9th is the two year anniversary of Amy and me owning Four Star Video. Since we bought it we have seen such interesting changes. The industry is certainly pushing technology over DVD rental; internet subscription has grown in popularity as a cheap and easy way to rent movies; and to throw in some extra fun, the economy has tanked historically!
We’re all hurting financially in 2009 and we have re-evaluated our KenFlix pricing as a result. The new pricing is designed to encourage you to cancel your Netflix account and make that same commitment to your local economy. This pricing greatly reduces our income from the current KenFlix subscribers. Our hope for this price change is to encourage hundreds if not thousands of you to subscribe to one of our new plans and basically help Four Star Video reinvent the video store, sans dues dates and late fees.
The new pricing at Four Star is available TODAY and goes like this.
• $9.99/month – ESUB - One movie out on your account of any type at any time. Two exchanges per month, for a total of three (3) movie rentals. No renewal fees.
• $18.99/month – 1SUB - One movie out on your account of any type at any time. No renewal fees. Unlimited exchange.
• $24.99/month – 3SUB - Three movies out on your account of any type at any time. No renewal fees. Unlimited exchange.
• $32.99/month – 4SUB - Four movies out on your account of any type at any time. No renewal fees. Unlimited exchange.
If you’re going to make a monthly commitment…make it a local commitment.
No late fees. No due dates.
If you are a current subscriber, these new prices go into effect on April 1st. As a thanks to you (and to all new subscribers) all used movies will be available for $5 plus tax for the entire month and Four Star T-Shirts will be $17 ($3 off) for Adult sizes and $12 for Kid sizes (also $3 off). We will be asking all current subscribers to pick one of the new services during the month of March.
Also: We are proud to be associated with Videofest 2009, a film festival sponsored by the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. This year’s focus is in on Labor and Dreams. To read more about the festival and submit for entry, please go to their website which is linked here. One of the prizes is a year subscription to Kenflix!
Alrighty, that’s all folks, hope to see you at the store.
Love and Kisses,
Ken
............//NEW RELEASES//............
ASHES OF TIME: REDUX.
Drama/Action/Foreign (Mandarin and Cantonese).
Tony Leung Ka Fai/Brigitte Lin/Leslie Cheung/Maggie Cheung.
Directed by Wong Kar-Wai.
* Originally released in 1994, this is a newly mastered and re-edited version of the story about a broken and cold-hearted man living in the desert and the swordsmen he hires to carry out his contract killings.
AUSTRALIA.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Romance/Adventure.
Nicole Kidman/Hugh Jackman/David Wenham/Bryan Brown.
Directed by Baz Luhrmann.
* Kidman plays Lady Sarah Ashley, a wealthy young Englishwoman who is coming to Australia in 1939 to meet her husband who owns a farm in Northern Australia. Unfortunately she arrives to find him dead, murdered for his land by the evil cattle baron King Carney (no relation to Ralph). Against many odds, she joins up with several workers to drive the cattle across the hard country to supply the army which is busy fighting the Japanese. Nominated for a costume Oscar and many other festival awards as well.
BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA.
Comedy/Family.
Piper Perabo/Manolo Cardona/Jamie Lee Curtis/Drew Barrymore/Andy Garcia/George Lopez/Cheech Marin.
Directed by Raja Gosnell.
* The amazing story of Chloe (Barrymore) a well-kept Chihuahua from Beverly Hills who becomes lost while on vacation with her owner’s niece in Mexico. Will she get home? Will the big bad Doberman take a bite out of her petite bootay? Will the mean dognapper snatch her diamond collar? The only way to find out is to watch…
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.
Drama/Horror/Romance.
Anthony Hopkins/Derek Jacobi/Leslie-Anne Down/John Gielgud.
Directed by Michael Tuchner.
* Originally made for TV in 1982 (and therefore not eligible for Academy Awards) this version of the famous story was critically acclaimed, especially Jacobi as Dom Claude Frollo, archdeacon of the cathedral. Many reviews mention how similar it is to the original novel.
IN THE ELECTRIC MIST.
Drama/Suspense/Mystery.
Tommy Lee Jones/John Goodman/Peter Sarsgaard/Mary Steenburgen.
Directed by Bertrand Tavernier.
* Adapted from the book written by James Lee Burke, this surreal film follows the character Lt. Dave Robicheaux (Jones) as he tries to tie down the murder of a hooker to a New Orleans mobster (Goodman).
I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Drama.
Kristin Scott Thomas.
Directed by Philippe Claudel.
* Juliette (Thomas) is released from prison, she is surprised by her sister’s warmth and love and invitation to live with her family and rebuild her life. The love she receives helps her to forgive herself for the decisions that she made that led to her incarceration.
LAKE CITY.
Drama.
Sissy Spacek/Troy Garity/Dave Matthews/Rebecca Romijn/Drea De Matteo/Keith Carradine.
Directed by Hunter Hill and Perry Moore.
* Spacek and Garity play a mother and son who have long been estranged who come together in an attempt to save their lives. The rock star Dave Matthews plays a crazed cocaine dealer!
REAL TIME.
Comedy/Suspense.
Randy Quaid/Jay Baruchel.
Directed by Randall Cole.
* Reuben (Quaid) is a hitman who gives Andy (Baruchel) one hour to live before he completes his assignment to off him.
SATURDAY MORNING.
Comedy.
Joey Piscopo/George Wendt.
Directed by Rob Greenberg.
WONDERFUL TOWN.
Drama/Foreign (Thai).
Anchalee Saisoontorn/Supphasit Kansen.
Directed by Aditya Assarat.
* In Takua Pa, a small town in Southeastern Thailand, the people have not gotten over the deadly Tsunami that claimed so many people’s lives. When an outsider comes to town and begins a love affair with a local young woman, the unhappy townspeople rise up to destroy the joy they perceive.
............//DOCUMENTARY/............
THE AXE IN THE ATTIC.
Documentary.
Hurricane Katrina/Survivors.
Directed by Ed Pincus and Lucia Small.
* This doc follows the filmmakers on a sixty day voyage from New England to Louisiana as they encounter displaced survivors of the disastrous Hurricane that left New Orleans in shambles.
BACK TO NORMANDY.
Documentary/Foreign (French).
Directed by Nicolas Philibert.
* The filmmaker was an assistant on a small feature film set in 1975 in Normandy where all the parts were played by non-actor peasants living in the area where they were filming. Now, 30 + years later, he re-visits the area, and the lives of the peasants and the story they had told in the film in an attempt to capture the time, the place, the growth and the stagnation of humanity.
BODY IN NUMBERS: LIFE’S MYSTERIES DECODED.
Documentary/Science.
* The four episodes in this science doc are called THE MIRACLE OF LIFE, CHILDHOOD, BECOMING MEN AND WOMEN and OUR LIFE IN NUMBERS. The show is an analysis of the human body from conception to old age, presents the statistical findings in a very interesting way.
JAM.
Documentary.
Directed by Mark Woollen
* Following the 1970’s craze of Roller Derby there was a long lull for those involved. Then, in the late 1990’s a group of those skaters revived their lost careers in the American Roller Derby League. This is their story. In case you are interested, Roller Derby is thriving in our fair city once more in the form of The Bay Area Derby Girls…You should check one of these bouts out…they are not messing around!
............//TELEVISION/............
WATCHMEN: THE COMPLETE MOTION COMIC.
Television/Animation.
Directed by Jake Strider Hughes.
* This is not the feature film that is coming to theatres soon, but rather an animated television series about the same superheroes. If you are a fan, you’ll have to watch these…
............// KIDS//............
AIRBUD: SPECIAL EDITION.
ELMO & FRIENDS: TALES OF ADVENTURE.
FRANNY’S FEET: PRINCESS FRANNY.
SPONGEBOB VS. THE BIG ONE.
WONDER WOMAN. ????
****
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