Monday, March 23, 2009

****new release list no.211


I have been tweaking this blog site a bit this week. You may notice on the right there I have added many links: links to Bay Area film festivals, links to things Bernal, links to things I like to read…etc. Do you have a link you think that I should post here? Can you link the Four Star Gazer in exchange? Send me an email.

We appear to be deep into the best rental film season of the year, as there are really many terrific films out on our New Release floor. The movies I have enjoyed the most of the last weeks were RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, MILK and ELEGY. By far the movie that has garnished the most discussion has been LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, the Swedish vampire movie that people can’t get enough of. I haven’t seen it yet, but I am told it is quite inventive and just a terrific story. Do you have a short film review that you want me to share on this blog? Let me know.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE is here. The second Daniel Craig installment of the James Bond series comes in about 40 minutes shorter than CASINO ROYALE and different in numerous other ways. I hope they give him a third shot, cuz I really like his hot-headed, hard-boiled, borderline psychotic rendition of 007. But I doubt this will be the movie that he wants to be remembered for. Still, it is a joy ride, with many new special effects and Judi Dench presiding over the festivities.

Are you a local filmmaker? Have you ever shown your work at the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema festival? Please consider submitting this year to this terrific community event. This year the festival will feature music and a 24-hour filmmaking challenge as well as all the usual terrific shorts, and feature length films. Info can be found online here.

Also, don’t forget about Videofest 2009 at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. 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

Things you get by using KenFlix that you cannot get with Netflix.

1) Take part in your local economy
2) No waiting for the mail for your movies; thus more movies to watch per month
3) Human interaction
4) The feel and touch of movie boxes

KenFlix - the only Independent Monthly Subscription Film Renting Service in SF
If you are going to make a monthly commitment, make it a local one.
No due dates. No late fees.

ESUB -One Movie at a time – Two Exchanges a month (3 movies total) – $9.99 + Tax/Month
1SUB - One Movie at a time – Unlimited exchange – $18.99 + Tax/Month
3SUB - Three Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $24.99 + Tax/Month
4SUB - Four Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $32.99 + Tax/Month

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

BIG STAN.
Comedish.
Rob Schneider.
Directed by Rob Schneider.

BOLT.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Animation/Action.
John Travolta/Miley Cyrus/Malcolm McDowell.
Directed by Byron Howard and Chris Williams.
* This was out over the weekend, but I only had it listed in Blu-Ray last week, so I thought I would re-print.

Bolt is kind of like Truman Burbank, the fictional star of THE TRUMAN SHOW. He has an action/sci-fi show with his real life owner Penny (Cyrus) but he doesn’t actually know he is just a tv star and not a real action hero (and neither, for that matter, does YOUR dog). But when he is accidentally shipped to New York and must fight his way through the real world to get home, he discovers that some super hero powers are embedded in us all. (Dude, they shoulda hired me to write copy for this movie).

CAKE EATERS.
Drama/Romance/Indie.
Kristen Stewart/Melissa Leo.
Directed by Mary Stuart Masterson.
* Little indie film about a couple of idiosyncratic families living in rural America, dealing with life’s curveballs and off-speed pitches.

CAREFUL.
Comedy/Bizzaro.
Kyle McCulloch/Sarah Neville.
Directed by Guy Maddin.
* Another wild ride from Maddin, this one is a 1992 film shot like an old German movie from the 1930’s with scratchy sound, weird color and strange titling. The story involves Counts and butlers, duels and avalanches all in the Alpine village of Tolzbad.

COLUMBUS DAY.
Crime/Drama/Thriller.
Val Kilmer.
Directed by Charles Burmeister.
* Val Kilmer plays a thief who starts to count his chickens before they hatch. Unfortunately, when the eggs get scrambled, he’s left with dry toast. Would have been called Indigenous Peoples Day if made in SF.

FOUR SILENT FILMS BY DEAN MERMELL.
Silent/Indie/Classic.
Directed by Dean Mermell.
* Featured last year in the Bernal Outdoor Film Festival, Dean is a local Bernal Heights musician/filmmaker/digital video editor extraordinaire. These films feature soundtracks written and performed by Mr. Mermell and offer a world of strange romance and melancholy.

GARDENS OF THE NIGHT.
Drama.
Ryan Simpkins/John Malkovich/Tom Arnold/Kevin Zegers/Jeremy Sisto.
Directed by Damian Harris.
* Emotional story of a couple of kids kidnapped from their family at a super young age and treated horrifically for many years. Story takes place when the oldest is 17 and they are now beginning to put their lives back together.

LAST METRO.
Criterion/Suspense/Foreign (French).
Catherine Deneuve/Gerard Depardieu/Jean Poiret.
Directed by Francois Truffaut.
* A story about Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942 centered around a theatre being run by the actress wife of the owner, who himself is hiding from the Nazi’s in the cellar.

MURNAU 1921-1926.
Directed by F. W. Murnau.
* Continuing the building of our Murnau library, this collection contains our first DVD’s of NOSFERATU and FAUST as well as our first copies of any sort of THE LAST LAUGH, TARTUFFE, THE HAUNTED CASTLE and THE FINANCES OF THE GRAND DUKE. Spanning the time period of 1921-1926 this collection contains all restored editions of these films and numerous DVD extras including commentaries, documentaries and original scores. These movies are in the middle of the New Release room with the 12 movies from the MURNAU, BORZAGE and FOX box set. Ask us if you can’t find them.

NEW YORK CITY SERENADE.
Comedy/Drama.
Freddie Prinz, Jr./Chris Klein/Jamie-Lynn Sigler/.
Directed by Frank Whaley.
* Indie tale about a couple of old friends at crossroads in their lives. Ray (Klein) is a rock drummer passing the time with a beer in his hand and Owen (Prinz, Jr.) is an aspiring filmmaker whose personal life is in a shambles. Together they make a trip to a small film festival in Kansas where they separately confront their futures.

THE ODD COUPLE: CENTENNIAL COLLECTION.
Comedy/Classics.
Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau.
Directed by Gene Saks.
* The awesome Neil Simon comedy about two very opposite roommates and their struggle to cohabitate! Nominated for a couple Oscars in 1969.

PROMETHEUS TRIUMPHANT: FUGUE IN THE KEY OF FLESH.
Horror.
Josh Ebel/Kelly I. Lynn.
Directed by Mike McKown and Jim Towns.
* Low-budget black and white silent film about a 19th century doctor who brings his dead lover back to life.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Action/007.
Daniel Craig/Olga Kurylenko/Judi Dench.
Directed by Marc Forster.
* Craig repeats his performance as James Bond in this latest installment of the series. As Craig played him in his first Bond film, James is struggling to diminish the body count of his missions, while ignoring everyone’s advice and diving headfirst into every dangerous situation he uncovers. Kurylenko (HITMAN) plays a young Bolivian for whom revenge is her only goal. Together they take down an international plot to do bad bad things and make mucho money. Where’s the real James Bond when we need him?

SIDE EFFECTS.
Comedy.
Katherine Heigl.
Directed by Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau.
* Heigl’s recent success has allowed the release of this 2006 comedy about a young woman working unhappily in the pharmaceutical industry. I think she would have a much more exciting career in the neutical industry. Don’t know what neuticals are? Google it.

WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER.****NOT THE MOVIE YOU ARE THINKING OF****
Animation.
Directed by Mike Smith and Daniel DelPurgatorio.

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

A WOMAN CALLED GOLDA.
Drama/Fictobiopic.
Ingrid Bergman/Ned Beatty.
Directed by Alan Gibson.
* But can she type? Seriously, cuz Golda Meir could do just about anything else. This 1982 mini-series about the American-raised Russian who became the Israeli Prime Minister shows features Bergman as the amazing and multi-talented diplomat who presided over Israel during much chaos and war.

IN TREATMENT: SEASON 1.
HBO/Drama.
Gabriel Byrne/Melissa George/Dianne Wiest.
Directed by.
* Fascinating fictional HBO drama following the weekly therapy sessions of seven patients (three in therapy alone and two couples through 9 weeks of intimately filmed appointments.

MIDSOMER MURDERS: SET 12.
Television/Crime/Drama.
John Nettles/Jane Wymark.
* The twelfth season of murder and investigation in the fictional county of Midsomer in England.

THE RICHES: SEASON 2.
Television/Drama/Comedy.
Minnie Driver/Eddie Izzard/Noel Fisher.
* The continuing saga of a couple of modern con-artist gypsies who have assumed another families identity and are trying to settle down and escape their past.

TAGGART: SET 1.
Television/Crime/Drama.
Blythe Duff.
Created by Glenn Chandler.
* This show has been on air in Great Britain for 25 years! The show revolves around DS Jackie Reid (Duff) an investigator in Glasgow who investigates the grisly murders of the city. If we like it, there are at least 24 more seasons we could eventually get.

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

MIFFY & FRIENDS: MIFFY’S ADVENTURE.

WOW WOW WUBBZY: PIRATE TREASURE.

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

THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD.
* Continuing the DVD upgrades of some adventure classis, this is our first DVD of the 1974 epic starring John Phillip Law as Captain Sinbad.

KING OF NEW YORK: SPECIAL EDITION.
Action.
Christopher Walken.
Directed gby Abel Ferrara.
* Made right before he made THE BAD LIEUTENANT, Ferrara crafts this tale about Frank White (Walken) a ultra-violent modern day Robin Hood who wants to kill and steal to help the poor neighborhood that he’s from.

YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE.
Comedy/Romance/Drama.
Rex Harrison/Shirley MacLaine/Ingrid Bergman/Alain Delon/George Scott/Omar Sharif/Art Carney.
Directed by Anthony Asquith.
* 1964 film just making its way to DVD about a certain Yellow Rolls Royce and the people who’ve owned it. Filled with many stars of its era.

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

CAPOTE.

****

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