Fiesta on the Hill was a blast. I spent the entire day outside in front of the store, hawking used movies, chatting with my peoples, rocking to the music, eating BBQ, and updating my fantasy football scores on my cellphone! More excellent days are rarely found. I know I was engaged in the receiving end of capitalistic activity, but I actually felt as though I myself was reinvesting emotionally in my community. The chatting, the hellos, the smiles and the mini-discussions about Bernal Bucks, the Neighborhood center, the economy, and this year’s musical selections (much more “rocking” than in recent years), all these interactions felt like transactions at the feel-good ATM, where I was making deposits and withdrawals all day long in what felt like a full-on neighborhood love-fest. Anyone else feel this way?Well, I love my city, and I love my neighborhood. Days like yesterday remind me why.
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is in this week, starring the burgeoning superstar Shia Labeouf and Megan Fox. It is a Michael Bay film which means one explosion follows the last. If action is your thing, you’ll be digging this one. In CHERI, Michelle Pfeiffer plays an courtesan dealing with inevitable issues surrounding aging. With Kathy Bates and Rupert Friend.
PAGEANT is a documentary about 52 men vying to be crowned Miss Gay America. THE LISTENING PROJECT is a documentary about international thoughts and feelings directed at the United States.
On television, we’ve got the final season of the THE L WORD! Six ground-breaking seasons comes to an end on three discs. Put in your reservation today! There are a couple of other television releases of note. The first is TOP CHEF: SEASON FIVE. For some reason, this is the first season they are releasing. Oh, well – beggars can’t be choosers. The second is an old show, just making it to DVD. IT’S GARRY SHANDLING’S SHOW, and don’t you forget it! This hysterical mid-80’s show holds up just fine as Garry faces crises, and the audience time and time again.
Alrighty then, see you down at the store.
Love and Kisses,
Ken
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............//NEW RELEASES//............
BLACK RAIN.
Drama/War/B&W/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Shohei Imamura.
* This 1989 film, based on the novel by Masuji Ibuse, is about the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing in WWII. The film won 24 awards worldwide, including a massive haul from the Academy of Japanese filmmaking.
BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Action/Horror/Thriller.
Gianna Jun/Allison Miller.
Directed by Chris Nahon.
* Live-action from the BLOOD+ series about an old-soul, half-human, half-vampire named Saya who is hunting a deadly vampire named Onigen.
CHERI.
Drama/Romance.
Michelle Pfeiffer/Kathy Bates/Felicity Jones/Rupert Friend.
Directed by Stephen Frears.
* Period piece based on a pair of novels by Colette (CHERI and THE LAST OF CHERI) about a slightly aging courtesan (Pfeiffer – at 51 still very hot!) who hooks up with the 19-year old son (Friend) of a former rival (Bates) and then must deal with private disappointment when he is married off to a much younger woman. As for the lover himself, he is also devastated at the separation and his mind somewhat unravels.
FADOS.
Musical/Foreign (Spanish).
Directed by Carlos Saura.
* Do you know the work of Carlos Saura – he has been making films since the 1950’s and has worked on a wide variety of films. He is best known for his music and dance work (CARMEN, BLOOD WEDDING) and this film is the completion of his latest Flamenco trilogy (with FLAMENCO and the Oscar-nominated TANGO) . My personal favorite is a 70’s era drama called CRIA CUERVOS which we have in the Criterion section.
JUST FOR LAUGHS: V03 LAUNCHING PAD.
Standup Comedy.
MONSOON WEDDING.
Criterion/Romance/Beauty/Foreign (English/Hindi/Punjabi/Urdu).
Naseeruddin Shah/Lillette Dubey.
Directed by Mira Nair.
* Two insanely hectic days in Delhi with the Verma family who is planning a giant wedding in the midst of chaos in every corner of the household. If you haven’t seen this beautiful and lush film you are in for a major treat .
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN.***ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Action.
Shia LaBeouf/Megan Fox/John Turturro/Rainn Wilson.
Directed by Michael Bay.
* Won the Teen Choice awards for Best Choice Female Movie Star for Megan Fox and Best Choice Male Movie Star for Shia LaBeouf. It’s not Pokemon, but similarly un-understandable.
WHOLPHIN NO.9.
* Number nine in the awesome series of shorts and docs by many award-winning and unknown filmmakers. This one features three never before seen shorts by Spike Jonze.
............//DOCUMENTARY/............
THE LISTENING PROJECT.
Documentary.
Directed by Dominic Howel and Joel Weber.
* This important film addresses the question “What does the world think of The United States of America?” The filmmakers went around the world asking this question through fourteen countries.
PAGEANT.
Beauty.
Directed by Ron Davis and Steward Halpern-Fingerhut.
* Inside the lives of the 52 men trying desperately to be crowned Miss Gay America. Awesome singing and dancing!
............//TELEVISION/............
IT’S GARRY SHANDLING’S SHOW: COMPLETE SERIES.
Comedy.
Garry Shandling/Rip Torn.
* All four seasons of the ground-breaking comedy from the mid-80’s about, well…Garry Shandling, and his funny life. This was one of the first shows that took down the fourth wall very often. Also, dig the insanely funny opening theme song.
THE L WORD: FINAL SEASON.
Drama.
Jennifer Beals/Mia Kirshner/Pam Grier/Leisha Hailey.
* The sixth and final season of the award-winning show following a group of lesbians living in Los Angeles.
TOP CHEF NEW YORK: SEASON FIVE.
Reality/Food.
* For whatever bizarre reason decisions get made, the powers that be finally have released TOP CHEF on DVD, but are they starting with season one? Nuh-uh. It’s season five to begin with. Believe me, when 1-4 become available, we will have them here. In the meantime, 17 cheftestants are headed to New York to begin the ultimate food competition.
............//KIDS/............
THE MARVELOUS MISADVENTURES OF FLAPJACK.
PEANUTS 1970’S COLLECTION: VOL 1.
YO GABBA GABBA! MEET MY FAMILY.
............//NEW ON BLU/............
EASY RIDER.
* Oh, I got a helmet. I got a helmet – and it’s a doozy!
****
1 comment:
Loved the Bernal street fair, too--it's like a giant block party for the whole neighborhood. In our house it's a major holiday--we're there early and we leave late.
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