I got great response from last week’s post about great soundtracks, and great pot smoking films. It turns out soundtracks have a very special place in everyone’s hearts. Here is a short list of movies with great soundtracks that appeared on multiple of your lists: SAY ANYTHING, HIGH FIDELITY, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, and THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU. Also of note is the brilliant ex-Devo member turned composer, Mark Mothersbaugh, whose incredible ear and style is imprinted on so many of the wonderful soundtracks of the great films of the last 20 years. I first became aware of his work from the film RUSHMORE and it seems like he pops up on so many films I love now. Hooray, Mark! Thanks for the excellence.
As far as the pot smoking movies, it seems THE BIG LEBOWSKI should have been listed here as well. Noted. Listed. And on this same wavelength is this funny list of Top Five “Enhanced Emotions” Movies of All-Time. This was written by a very funny blogger who specializes in great lists. I encourage you to check his blog often.
This week is devoid of blockbusters, but if you look you will find some hidden gems. Like SUBVERSION, a 1970’s era cult freakout from Stanislav Stanojevic. Or SKY CRAWLERS, the latest amazing animation from Mamoru Oshii, the guy who brought us GHOST IN THE SHELL. There is also a pair from French Post-New Wave director Philippe Garrel (EMERGENCY KISSES, I CAN NO LONGER HEAR THE GUITAR), a pair from Wayne Wang (A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS, THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA), a couple of operas (LA CLEMENZA DI TITO, TAMERLANO), a couple of LGBT related foreign dramas (WITHERED IN THE BLOOMING SEASON, UNSPOKEN PASSION) and an interesting variety of other stuff. Check it out, yo.
Here is an awesome Bernal Heights event: Please come celebrate the release of Michele Bigley’s new book NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: AN EXPLORER'S GUIDE. We'll taste wine, munch on snacks, and talk about the glorious beauty of Northern California--from Big Sur to Yosemite, all the way to the Oregon border. Bring the family, friends, and your wanderlust as we'll be discussing cheap vacations, family destinations, romantic getaways, adventures and culinary travels. You¹ll find out about Nor Cal destinations you've never heard of, plus get to revisit some of your favorites. This event is Sunday, May 31, 2009, from 6:00pm - 7:00pm at Red Hill Books, 401 Cortland Ave(The bookstore has to close at 7, so be on time!). While you’re there: buy a book!
Here is a link to the Facebook invitation. You can also order the guidebook in advance through Amazon by clicking here.
For those of you who thought (hoped?) this posting might contain some political rant about the CA Supreme Court’s decision on Proposition 8, I hope it’s not a let down. I have thoughts and feelings about it, and for the most part, I just need to digest it. This civil rights battle (like ALL civil rights battles) will not end until fairness is achieved. Ugh. Evolution. It’s like birth. I think.
Alrighty, that’s all folks, hope to see you at the store.
Love and Kisses,
Ken
P.S. Hey! By the way! Four Star Video has Sno-Caps now! Yum.
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Links we are super hip on this week:
7X7 Photo and/or Essay SF Love story contest - For the 7X7 Neighborhood Issue.
Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema festival.
Videofest 2009 at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.
Pal’s Takeaway – Yummy yummy.
Do you have a link Four Star Customers should check out??? Email it to me.
............//NEW RELEASES//............
ALL THE DAYS BEFORE TOMORROW.
Comedy/Drama/Romance.
Joey Kern/Richard Roundtree/Alexandra Holden.
Directed by Francois Dompierre.
* It’s the story of a couple of friends whose timing is never right for the friendship to develop into something deeper.
DIVERGENCE.
Drama/Romance.
Traci Ann Wolfe/Jakob Hawkins/.
Directed by Patrick J. Donnelly.
* Two walking wounded, she by the loss of her husband and child in a driving accident and he by the war in Iraq which he fights as a helicopter pilot, find solace in each others company.
DRIVEN TO KILL.****IN STORE ON THURSDAY****
Action.
Steven Seagal.
Directed by Jeff King.
* Its an action movie starring Steven Seagal. I guess since Jean-Claude Van Damme came out with a new movie, Steve-O had to as well. Peeps asked me to get it, so I did. If this would be a movie about me, it might be called DRIVEN TO THE SUPERMARKET, or DRIVEN TO JUST SIT HERE ON THE COUCH.
EARTHQUAKE IN CHILE.
Drama/Mystery/Romance/Foreign (German).
Julia Pena.
Directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms.
* A story of forbidden and repressed love from 1974 from Sanders-Brahms whose work we have been collecting lately. In this, the church tries to stop a relationship from happening and, after the young woman is found pregnant, condemns her to die. Only an earthquake can save her, but what hope will the future hold?
EMERGENCY KISSES.
Drama/Black and White/Foreign (French).
Philippe Garrel/Brigitte Sy.
Directed by Philippe Garrel.
* This 1989 release is very autobiographical seeming. It is about the struggles between a director (Garrel) who will not cast his wife (Garrel’s real life wife at the time, Sy) in a role based on her.
I CAN NO LONGER HEAR THE GUITAR.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Johanna ter Steege/Benoit Regent.
Directed by Philippe Garrel.
* This 1991 film was made in homage to Garrel’s relationship with the iconic German muse Nico (the same one who song with the Velvet Underground and hung with Warhol’s factory scene). It is the story of two drug-hazed people drifting apart.
KILLSHOT.
Action/Thriller.
Mickey Rourke/Diane Lane/Thomas Jane/Rosario Dawson.
Directed by John Madden.
* Ah, Mickey Rourke is back! Ahem. In this flick, a couple is placed in the Witness Protection Program, but unfortunately, it is not enough to protect them from a couple a psychos. Customer of the Month Brady says this movie is amazing and very dark and intense, so if you've liked his picks this month, you might want to check this one out!
LA CLEMENZA DI TITO.
Opera.
Directed by Thomas Olofson.
* Do you like opera? This one is from Mozart.
NEW IN TOWN.
Comedy/Romance.
Renee Zellwegger/Harry Connick, Jr.
Directed by Jonas Elmer.
* Oh snap, Lucy Hill (Zellwegger) is just as cute as a button! But the locals in the small town in Minnesota aren’t super hip to her cuteness when she is relocated there from Miami to oversee the restructuring of a manufacturing plant there. Oh drat! But…then they do think she’s cute! But, then they don’t. And finally, they do. Dang, it’s tough to be new in town.
POWDER BLUE.
Drama.
Forest Whitaker/Jessica Biel/Ray Liotta/Patrick Swayze/Lisa Kudrow.
Directed by Timothy Bui.
* It’s one of those “four strangers meet by happenstance on christmas eve” type movies, with the characters in varying states of desperation and despair.
THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA.
Drama.
Patrice Binaisa/Pamelyn Chee.
Directed by Wayne Wang.
* A story of a young woman pregnant in a foreign land.
SKY CRAWLERS.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Animated/Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Mamoru Oshii.
* From the director who brought us GHOST IN THE SHELL comes this new fantasy about Kildren, the young people who are fight a never-ending war (with footage of amazing dogfights in the sky) but who have no memories of their lives before the training.
SUBVERSION.
Fantasy/Cult/Foreign (French).
Nathalie Nell/Sacha Pitoeff/Florence Giorgetti/Daniel Emilfork.
Directed by Stanislav Stanojevic.
* I must recommend this film without having seen much of it. I watched it for a few minutes this morning, and I was immediately taken by the nonsensical strange depravity of it all. It feels like one of those totally kooky Eastern European Criterion films. There is an evil dictator whose hearing is so incredible that he can hear the heartbeats of his soon to be executed dissidents…and his even more evil daughter who works as the national fire Marshall and starts fires regularly to keep her job important. And there is more, so much more.
TAMERLANO.
Opera/Foreign (Italian).
Monica Bacelli/Tom Randle.
Directed by Helga Dubnyicsek.
* Another Opera, this time by Handel.
A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS.
Drama/Romance.
Henry O/Pavel Lychnikoff/Vida Ghahremani.
Directed by Wayne Wang.
* Somewhat like SHORT CUTS, it is based on a collection of short stories by Yiyun Li about life in China and the United States.
UNSPOKEN PASSION.
Drama/LGBT/Foreign (Filipino/Tagalog).
Ken Escudero/Will Sandejas/Ashley Silverio.
Directed by Roni Bertubin.
* A love triangle between two childhood friends and one of their girlfriends in a small town south of Manila highlights the strange subculture surrounding the sale of sex.
WITHERED IN THE BLOOMING SEASON.
Drama/LGBT/Foreign (Mandarin).
Wang Guifeng.
Directed by Cui Zi’En.
* A strange and dysfunctional family life is portrayed in this tale of a gay young man who also is somewhat infatuated with his twin sister, whose relationships he tries to control. The reviews of this film, which are positive, mention Jean Cocteau as a directorial inspiration.
............//DOCUMENTARY/............
FTA.
Documentary.
Jane Fonda/Donald Sutherland.
Directed by Francine Parker.
* Let’s try this again, the first copy had audio problems before we even released it. Here is what we said the first time: This bizarre time capsule first came out in the early 1970’s and was effectively squashed. It follows a comedy/music/politico group of performers led by Fonda and Sutherland as it travels around encouraging kids to speak out against the Vietnam War.
THE REAL JOAN OF ARC.
Documentary/History/Foreign (French).
Directed by Mark Meissonnier.
* The story of Joan of Arc is examined here, including rumors that she didn’t die at the stake, but survived long enough to continue her work.
............//TELEVISION/............
THE CLOSER: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON.
Crime/Cops/Robbers.
Kyra Sedgewick.
* Season four in the story about the Atlanta transplant Brenda Leigh Johnson (Sedgewick), who is a Deputy Police Chief in Los Angeles, with a good ability to get the bad guys talking.
JEEVES AND WOOSTER: THE COMPLETE SET.
Comedy/Hilarity.
Stephen Fry/Hugh Laurie.
* The complete set of mad-cap and hysterical comedy based on the books of P.G. Wodehouse.
THE UNIVERSE: SEASON 3.
Stars/Other Celestial Realities.
* We should hope this show never gets canceled.
****
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