Monday, May 10, 2010

****new release list no.267

Last week’s blog was an especially hard one to write. I was super low and somewhat having escapist fantasies! I worded the Four Star survey that I sent out as negatively as possible, feeling like if people wanted me to know it was time to make a big change, it would help them communicate that to me. I had become depressed based on the accounting numbers, and I was super stressed about our options.

How do I feel this week?

Well, it is still pretty stressful, but the information that came across from those who took the survey was amazingly supportive and this support has completely reinvigorated me!

Thanks must go out to the 138 people who have thus far filled out the survey. I am concerned that some people didn’t fill it out because of the lack of anonymity, so I will have a survey, (slightly different from the online one) set up at the store in the next several days, and if you pop in, you can fill it out and slip it into a box here. We’d appreciate it, because feedback, both positive and negative, is crucial to any small business.

I have lots more I want to share about the future of Four Star, but I also have had about 4 great days in a row, and I’d like to keep that streak going, so we’ll save the hard talk for another day. In the meantime, on to the movies!

This week, it seems like most of the films are action/suspense/thriller/disaster types. Led by EDGE OF DARKNESS, a feature film starring Mel Gibson, which is actually a remake of a 6-part miniseries of the same name from 1985 (made by the same director!). Mel plays Thomas Craven, a crusty Boston cop who must investigate his own daughter’s death after she is shot down at the front door. Death is not a fear of Craven’s, as he never falters in his dogmatic single-minded approach to the truth.

In LEGION, apocalyptic battles are fought by angels and earthlings in a fight for survival by humanity. In TIDAL WAVE, a big bunch of water comes down on a beach town in Korea rendering everyone’s problems less meaningful while they struggle against nature’s hand. In DAYBREAKERS, vampires are faced with a dwindling supply of human blood. Seriously!

There are also two miniseries from the LONESOME DOVE series, STREETS OF LAREDO and DEAD MAN’S WALK. I haven’t seen them, but I loved those books, so hard and lethal and full of a desperate need for focus and good decision-making. These 1995 and 1996 television adaptations are full of stars of both the present and the past.

Here is a reminder about our change of hours:

Our new operation hours are: Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 9pm and Monday 2pm-9pm.

Please know, I take my stewardship of Four Star Video very seriously, and I will continue to do as much as I can to provide this important business to the community. All you have to do is utilize us to help keep the doors open.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

******************************************************************************
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 – Three 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//............

DAYBREAKERS.****BD****
Action/Sci-Fi/Horror.
Ethan Hawke/Willem Dafoe/Sam Neill.
Directed by Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig.
* Visually gorgeous futuristic vampire movie about a plague that has turned us all into bloodsuckers dealing with a dwindling fuel source…

EDGE OF DARKNESS.****BD****
Crime/Suspense.
Mel Gibson/Ray Winstone/Danny Huston.
Directed by Martin Campbell.
* Originally made as a six-part miniseries by the same director in 1985 (and starring Joanne Whalley), this version is quite pared. The basic tale is of a long-time Boston cop (probably a Red Sox fan) whose daughter is shot literally on his doorstep. Although it first seems like an accidental death with the real intended victim being the cop, soon it becomes clear that she has become embroiled in an international conspiracy involving the company she is working for making secret nuclear weapons to be used around the world. Soon, the ever-dogmatic Gibson (as Thomas Craven, the father) becomes steadfastly focused on finding the killers and making them pay. With Winstone as a government agent charged with “fixing” the controversy in a way that it will never be discovered.

LEGION (2010).****BD****
Action/Fantasy/Thriller.
Paul Bettany/Lucas Black/Tyrese Gibson/Dennis Quaid.
* Pretty sure God is super pissed off in this apocalyptic tale. See, he think humans are maybe not worth the effort and so he sends some nasty “angels” to demoralize, demolish, and demi glace earth. Ah, but Archangel Michael (Bettany) and a bunch of random earthlings who are trapped in diner provide the righteousness needed to fight back.

TIDAL WAVE.
Action/Disaster/Foreign (Korean).
Ji-won Ha/Joong-Hoon Park.
Directed by Je-gyun Yun.
* A beach in Southern Korea is hit with a giant Tsunami.

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

DEAD MAN’S WALK.
* This and the next are mini-series from the LONESOME DOVE stories of Larry McMurtry…they are hard hitting Westerns and these were made in the mid-90’s.

STREETS OF LAREDO.
* As with DEAD MAN’S WALK, this is a mini-series from the LONESOME DOVE stories of Larry McMurtry…

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

ELLIOT MOOSE: TREASURE.

KUNG FU MAGOO.

MR. MAGOO IN SHERWOOD FOREST.

****

No comments: