****new release list no.245

Have you been in the back of Four Star Video to SUCCULENCE lately? It is a bit insane back there. We have been working so hard to get the internal store component to our already open succulent and supplies store, and it is very chaotic! However, the light is at the end of the tunnel, and very soon, Bernal Heights’ newest retail establishment will be offering you all sorts of interesting life and garden supplies, such as artisan hand crafted coat hangers and key hooks, and living cactus key chains, home wine vinegar making kits and Italian design goods. Add that to our collection of plants, planters, succulent garden books and living frames and you have an idea of where we are heading. We are grateful to Jeff Lester and The New Bernal Journal who published a short article about us in this month’s issue. And we are excited to add to the amazing flavor of Bernal Heights that is even being written about these days in The New York Times!

We noticed that Blockbuster on Mission Street is closing. Wow, Bernal Heights! That is pretty amazing, don’t you think? Many of you ask me at times, how is it going? In this industry? With all the options out there? And I can see in your eyes that you know the answer. And I can tell you honestly that it is scary, it is hard to imagine the future. That is partly why SUCCULENCE exists. But I can also tell you honestly that the present at Four Star Video is okay! Thank you all for supporting your locally owned and operated video store! And to all you new customers making the transition from the big box, welcome! You will find us to be smaller than you are used to, but look around. Maybe there is something else you might like to watch here that you would never have seen at the old joint. And please give us feedback, our service is our main resource, and we are always psyched to hear how we’re doing.

Wha? You don’t wanna hear me blahblahing about non-movie related stuff? It’s kinda been awhile since I just babbled freely, in free form, exercising my freedom of speech. I find myself thinking sometimes during the week in the voice of this blog, speaking to myself, but really speaking to you, the people on the other end of the wire; sitting, standing, walking (driving?) somewhere, in an office, or in your homes (or cars – or car-homes, as it is tough times) and reading my babble to you, wondering what the new movies are this week and wondering when I’m gonna get to them (You can feel free to exercise your freedom right now and just scroll down to the movie list and read about the newest stuff at Four Star Video this week) or if I’m gonna get to them (which this week, I’m not). Truth is, I rarely remember what it is I wanted to say when I finally get to the writing of this weekly digest. I’ll remember a sliver of a moment late at night when I had a “duh-piphany” about something I wanted to share, and I’ll remember the hint of a flavor of the brilliant moment behind the counter when a great truth about life was revealed in the telling of a plot by a long-time customer and friend. But the meat of the tale, I am unable to recall. Such it is with so many aspects of life (and movies!), where the moment is not about the plot, it’s not about what actually going on, it’s about the way we feel while it is happening. And that’s what we take away. And that’s what I hope you take away from this. Just the feeling…that we are sharing a random moment in a random town on a random planet, where, somehow…improbably, life happened.

Don’t forget, Four Star Video has holiday deals: KenFlix packages of 3 months of any service for 10% off – give it as a Gift Certificate, or buy it for yourself! Four Star T-Shirts and Previously Viewed DVDs for $25 total, tax included. This is an 18% discount. Come in for details! We finally got the brown shirts in men’s large and extra large sizes!

Alrighty then, see you down at the store.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

A CHRISTMAS TALE.
Criterion/Drama/Foreign (French).
Catherine Deneuve/Mathieu Amalric.
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin.
* Mental health issues, bone marrow transplant necessities, a shopping list of dislikes and historical bickering lead up to a family holiday season to end all family holiday seasons. Deneuve plays the matriarch of the family struggling for the will to both keep everyone together and finesse the desire to stay alive. Criterion is releasing this 2008 film in its first run on DVD.

BETTY BLUE: DIRECTOR’S CUT.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Beatrice Dalle/Jean-Hugues Anglade.
Directed by Jean-Jacque Beineix.
* Classic 1986 Oscar nominated film about a couple’s tormented love affair and a slow slide into insanity for Betty.

DEADLINE .
Thriller/Drama/Horror.
Brittany Murphy/Thora Birch.
Directed by Sean McConville.
* This horror (horrible?) film is about a young frail screenwriter off in a big house in the country to finish her screenplay before the big “deadline”. Did you see SWIMMING POOL by Francois Ozon? It’s not a horror film, but it reminds me of this premise…

DOUBLE .
Action/Comedy/Foreign (Polish).
Chrysk Littnski/Schilansky Evanchaksi/Kenski Shscylfski/Andreezy/Whtsidski/Jffry McMocksk/Kaiya.
Directed by Marcin Ziebinski.
* Madcap Polish comedy crime film – Chris says I should have a “Ken’s Polish Movies” section.

INTO THE STORM.
Comedy/Drama.
Brendan Gleeson.
Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan.
* The continuing saga of Winston Churchill focuses on his wartime leadership and his inability to transfer that success into his political career.

THE JAZZ SINGER: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
Comedy/Drama.
Neil Diamond/Laurence Olivier/Lucy Arnaz.
Directed by Richard Fleischer.
* Not the Oscar-nominated 1927 original starring Al Jolson, and not the Oscar-nominated 1952 re-make starring Peggy Lee; this is the 1980 Golden Globe nominated version with Diamond playing the role of the son of the cantor who must defy his strict father to fulfill his dreams of becoming a singer.

KATT WILLIAMS: PIMPADELIC.
Standup Comedy.
Katt Williams.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE AT THE SMITHSONIAN.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Comedy.
Ben Stiller/Amy Adams/Robin Williams/Owen Wilson/Hank Azaria/Steve Coogan/Ricky Gervais/Bill Hader/Dick Van Dyke/Thomas Lennon/Alain Chabat/Clint Howard/Jonah Hill.
Directed by Shawn Levy.
* Part two of this very successful series about museum installations who come to life after dark is really pretty darn funny! The plot involves a slightly convoluted series of technologically driven circumstances that sees the museum being packed up to put into storage in Washington. The mysterious tablet that brings them life is not supposed to go with them, but alas, it does, and Napoleon, Al Capone and Ivan the Terrible join up with Kahmunrah in an attempt to take over the world, or the known universe, or maybe just the after hours party at the Smithsonian. Larry Daley, the erstwhile museum guard must go to D.C. and save the day. Luckily for him, Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) joins forces with him and wears crazy tight pants! There is lots of smacking, prat-falling, posturing, and chasing to keep you and your kids laughing for most of this film.

PAPER HEART.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Romance/Drama.
Michael Cera/Charlyne Yi.
Directed by Nicholas Jasenovec.
* It’s kinda of a mumbled jumbled tumbled fox in sox type of a mockumentary about a young woman traveling the country searching for the meaning of love.

TERMINATOR SALVATION.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Intense Action!/Sci-fi.
Christian Bale/Sam Worthington/Bryce Dallas Howard/Anton Yelchin/Linda Hamilton/Helena Bonham Carter.
Directed by Moritz Borman and Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek.
* It is 2018 and the world has finally crapped out. Guess what? It wasn’t about global warming, it was the IPhone that did us in, but I digress. John Connor (Bale) who has spent his entire life living in another time (much like Johnny Cash) is leading a small group of survivors who are trying to overthrow the terminators and reclaim technology for the humans! This is so what Steve Jobs would be doing if he was there in the future when the robots have killed almost all of us.

VALLEY OF THE HEARTS DELIGHT.
Drama.
Gabriel Mann/Emily Harrison/Pete Postelthwaite.
Directed by Tim Boxell.

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

BURN TO SHINE: VOLUME 5, SEATTLE.
Rock-Doc.
* Awesome music series featuring many bands playing one song each in a house that is condemned and must burn at the end of the day. In house, we have been loving the others in this series.

HORI SMOKU SAILOR JERRY.
Documentary.
Directed by Erich Weiss.
* Super awesome and foul-mouthed look at the history of tattoos in America featuring many of the legendary artists themselves.

NEW WORLD ORDER.
Documentary.
Directed by Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel.
* Pretty interesting expose of conspiracy theorists and the havoc they can wreak with rumors unfounded possibilities and straight out lies.

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

MENTAL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Television/Cops and Robbers.
Chris Vance/Annabelle Sciorra
* He’s a shrink, but he’s not super stoned like Kevin Spacey in SHRINK, he’s more superfreaky, but not like Rick James, more like Dr House.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIGHT: SEASON FIVE.
Comedy.
* Steve Martin Blondie, Bob Dylan, Chicago, Tom Petty, Martin Sheen, David Bowie, Dr. Pepper, Elliot Gould, The B-52’s, Gary Numan, Chevy Chase, Marianne Faithful, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Burt Reynolds…come on.

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

BEN 10: ALIEN SWARM.
* According to my 8-year-old consultant, this show is the shizzay. Did I get that right?

FARZZLE’S WORLD: OH FARZZLE TREE.

MY LITTLE PONY: TWINKLE WISH ADVENTURE.

PLASTIC MAN: COMPLETE COLLECTION.

............//NEW ON BLU/............

LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELLS.
* The movie that launched Mr. Madonna’s career.

THE MASK OF ZORRO.
* Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones cavorting around on horses and slicing the letter Z into anything that moves.

SNATCH.
* And, Mr. Madonna’s second film – hey he made the new Sherlock Holmes movie too! And by the way, I know I know, he and Ma-donor are old news, divorced, finito. I still like to think of him as Mr. Madonna.

WAYNE’S WORLD.
Comedy.
* Mike Myers and Dana Carvey doing the shtick we love.

............//REPLACEMENT DVD’S/............

DEAD LIKE ME: COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.

MAD MEN: SEASON TWO.

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