In the spirit of the main character of the new film GREENBERG, who is trying to just “exist” and not “do” “anything”, except write letters to corporations that he dislikes, I thought I would make a list of random thoughts and things related to relatively nothing.Roman Polanski is free. Hmmm. How does that sit with you? You know, I think it might sit fine with me. I heard that his 9-month house arrest at an Alpine chalet was “very, very, tough on him”. Ha ha ha ha ha! What do I have to do to get a 9-month house arrest at a Swiss chalet!!!
George Steinbrenner is dead. Wow…I actually shed some tears over this. That should make you laugh a little.
The summer is halfway through. And you know what? I’m having a wonderful time. This is just a Wiki link to SF, but it has some fun facts on it.
People protesting BP have gotten creative.
Ex-BART cop, Johannes Mehserle, got convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Oscar Grant. I think maybe they got this one right. My wife keeps hammering home the question, “Why are transit cops carrying guns in the first place?” Let’s debate that, shall we?
Vote YES on Proposition 19. You drink your wine/beer/whiskey/whatever; let me smoke pot if I want without worrying about getting arrested. I’ll tell you what; I promise I will do it responsibly, just like you promise you’ll do with alcohol. And I guarantee I won’t start any bar fights if I’m too high. Vote YES. America needs the tax money.
Lowe’s is starting to look like a real store down on Bayshore. I am just psyched for that stretch of road to have some commerce and not look like a burned out section of North Philly. I still pledge to support Cole Hardware.
GREENBERG is out this week, and I would rather relate to the slutty young woman than the lost and angry older guy, but, too bad for me – the guy is my age, religion (though his Mom isn’t Jewish, so technically he isn’t either); he’s musical, darkly humorous, snotty, impulsive, egotistical and a little tough to reconcile for me. Maybe for you, too, Mr. 40+ what am I doing with my life! The music in this film is phenomenal, and reminded me of my last thought which is:
Music is the center of my soul, keeps me alive, brings me to tears, lifts me up to the sun, and drops me to the bottom of the ocean next to a giant hole where the earth’s lubricating blood pumps it’s toxicity into my sushi. Music mimics the sounds of the womb where we all first are exposed to perfect time and the chaotic percussion of multiple rhythms merging into one beauteous beat. Bless music. Cause it sneezed.
Lots and lots of movies this week...way way more than last. Scroll down, read about them.
Alrighty then, see you down at the store.
Love and Kisses,
Ken
Ps, my band, The Dont’s, is playing at Thee Parkside this Saturday night. If you show up, I’ll give you a free movie rental next week. Doh!
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............//NEW RELEASES//............
ARTOIS THE GOAT.
Comedy.
Mark Scheibmeir.
Directed by Cliff and Kyle Bogart.
* Virgil is a lab technician who has a passion, but it isn’t actually his lover, it is goat cheese, and more specifically, creating the finest goat cheese ever!
THE BOUNTY HUNTER.
Action/Comedy.
Gerard Butler/Jennifer Aniston.
Directed by Andy Tennant.
* I’d love to say I heard this film was awesome, but that would be lying. It is about a bounty hunter (gun-for-hire, Butler) who is paid to snag his ex-wife to prevent her from reporting on a murder case. I wish it were the opposite, Aniston playing the bounty hunter and Gerard as the tough reporter who just needs to get his story! Why does Jennifer Aniston not get great roles in Hollywood? Let’s get calm and contemplate that.
CHLOE.
Drama/Suspense.
Julianne Moore/Amanda Seyfried/Liam Neeson/Max Thieriot.
Directed by Atom Egoyan.
* I must say, if you suspect your partner of cheating on you, do not hire a prostitute to “test” them. The results will alarm you, almost always. As they do in this film where Catherine (Moore) suspects David (Neeson) and hires Chloe (Seyfried) to get it going on…Does Chloe get it going on? Come on…As things get more and more desperate for Catherine, her relationship with Chloe gets…complicated. And Chloe’s motives become questionable.
CREATION.
Fictobiopic.
Jennifer Connelly/Paul Bettany.
Directed by John Amiel.
* Bettany is Darwin, working on his research, evolving with his thoughts, and struggling to reconcile his hypothesis with his relationship with his deeply religious wife.
DEAD SNOW.
Comedy/Thriller/Horror/Foreign (Norweigan).
Vegar Hoel.
Directed by Tommy Wirkola.
* Ah yes, it is winter, and that means vacation, and for a group of young medical students, that means a time to ski and bond together, free of the enormous stress of school. What, you say, could possibly cause their restful plans to go awry? How about a pack of Nazi Zombies? Put that in your Vegar Hoel and smoke it.
DIARY OF A NYMPHOMANIAC.
Drama/Foreign (Spanish/French).
Belen Fabra.
Directed by Christian Molina.
* More than just the main character in a soft-core porn story, Valere (Fabra!) is a young woman who pursues her sexual adventures as far as she can, ostensibly for the sake of her own experimentation. This film was nominated (by me) for the Hottest Film at Four Star in Quite A While.
FILM NOIR CLASSIC COLLECTION NO. 5..
Noir.
* More awesome 50’s and 60’s era lost noir films, including CORNERED, DESPERATE, THE PHOENIX CITY STORY, DEADLINE AT DAWN, ARMORED CAR ROBBERY, CRIME IN THE STREETS, DIAL 1119, and BACKFIRE.
THE GIRL BY THE LAKE.
Suspense/Foreign (Italian).
Toni Servillo.
Directed by Andrea Molaioli.
* This Italian adaptation of a Norwegian mystery novel follows an Inspector as he goes to a small town to investigate the murder of a young woman found drowned by a lake.
THE GREATEST.****BD****
Drama.
Pierce Brosnan/Susan Sarandon/Carey Mulligan.
Directed by Shana Faste.
* Mulligan plays the pregnant teenage girlfriend of a boy who dies in a car crash. His parents struggle with grief while trying to deal with the reality of the oncoming birth of their grandchild .
GREENBERG.****BD****
Drama/Comedy.
Ben Stiller/Greta Gerwig/Rhys Ifans/Chris Messina/Jennifer Jason Leigh/Mark Duplass.
Directed by Noah Baumbach.
* Ah, Greenberg…thank god, I’m not you. Roger Greenberg (Stiller, in his best role since THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS), is traumatized…by what - is really not important…let’s just say his life has not gone super well, and much of it seems to stem from a bad decision he made 15 years ago when his strong opinions prevented his band from getting signed by a corporate label. Since then, he moved east, built a life, had it collapse, was hospitalized and now is back in Los Angeles, trying to “do nothing” while house sitting for his successful brother and writing angry letters to corporations. This is one of those movies where you don’t really like the main character, but you still enjoy the film. Greenberg meets Florence (Gerwig), the 25-year-old assistant of his brother who he’s been told is available to help him pick up groceries and run errands. His attraction to her, and her willingness to spend time with him, even though we have no idea what he offers her, comes up against his desire to “do nothing” and “not be tied down to someone”. Poor Greenberg. Someone give the guy a hug.
HEY HEY, IT’S ESTHER BLUEBURGER.
Comedy/Drama.
Keisha Castle-Hughes/Toni Collette.
Directed by Cathy Randall.
* This is a coming of age story about a 13-year-old girl trying to find balance in her super awkward life.
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
Comedy/Drama.
Eva Amurri/Anton Yelchin/Susan Sarandon/Justin Chatwin.
Directed by John Stockwell.
* You would think Mom would be fiercely protective of her daughter’s college fund, especially now when she is almost ready to use it…unfortunately, not. Not when the younger daughters aspiring modeling career is getting going and just needs a little capital to help it along.
THE ONLY SON/THERE WAS A FATHER.
Criterion/Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu.
* We continue to complete our Ozu collection with these two new Criterion releases, both about single parents struggling to provide for their children in the face of poverty and desolation.
OUR FAMILY WEDDING.
Comedy.
Forest Whitaker/America Ferrera/Regina King/Taye Diggs.
Directed by Rick Famuyiwa.
* This ethnicity-clash worlds-collide wedding flick is especially interesting as it explores racism and alienation between an African-American family and a Latino family as they prepare for their families to join in matrimony.
SAINT JOHN OF LAS VEGAS.
Comedy/Drama.
Steve Buscemi/Sarah Silverman/Peter Dinklage.
Directed by Hue Rhodes.
* A gambler who has stopped gambling is lured back to Vegas by an insurance-fraud inspector who needs his help.
TERRIBLY HAPPY.
Drama/Suspense/Foreign (Danish).
Jakob Cedergren.
Directed by Henrik Ruben Genz.
* A cop from Copenhagen gets reassigned after a mistake to a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone, and his world comes grinding to a halt as he struggles to find his equilibrium and get back to Copenhagen.
2:37.
Drama.
Teresa Palmer/Frank Sweet.
Directed by Murali Thalluri.
* This painful high school film follows six teenagers through their most painful confessions, fears, sorrows, loves, etc all leading up to 2:37pm, when their lives will change forever.
VIVERE.
Drama/Romance/Foreign (German/Dutch/Italian/English).
Hannelore Elsner/Esther Zimmering.
Directed by Angelina Maccarone.
* It is Christmas Eve, Francesca (Zimmering) goes in search of her little sister who has run off with her musician boyfriend....
ZIFT.
Drama/Crime/B&W/Foreign (Bulgarian).
Zahary Baharov.
Directed by Javor Gardev.
* This avant-garde, art piece is about Moth, a Bulgarian wrongfully convicted of murder who is imprisoned in 1944. Now, it is the –mid-60’s and he is released into a world of such utter confusion and gloominess, that he is unable to make sense of anything. The movie takes place in one night and won a lot of awards on the film festival circuit.
............//DOCUMENTARY/............
DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME: IN SEARCH OF JOHN HUGHES.
Documentary/Film.
Judd Nelson/The Rest of the Brat Pack/Kelly LeBrock/Other 80’s Stars.
Directed by Matt Austin.
* This doc was made before John Hughes died, and is about 4 young filmmakers trying to find him and question him about his decisions to stop directing films in the early 1990’s.
8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION.
Documentary/Civil Rights.
Dustin Black.
Directed by Reed Cowan and Steven Greenstreet.
* All judgments aside, this doc is about the passing in California of Proposition 8, and the Mormon Church’s involvement in that undertaking.
MORE THAN A GAME.
Documentary/Sports.
LeBra.
Directed by Kristopher Belman.
* This is a story about the King of the Cavaliers, er, um, The Heat. Yes, Mr. James has left the building, Cleveland. But he really loves you! This is the story of his exciting experience as a superstar high school player, and the teammates he would soon leave behind.
............//TELEVISION/............
DROP DEAD DIVA: SEASON ONE.
Comedy.
Margaret Cho/Brooke Elliot.
* This story is trying to get to root of the question: what is beauty? The tale begins with a super hot model that dies in a car crash. The end? Nah, somehow she is brought back to life as a chubby bright attorney who must rediscover how to exist in a world where she is no longer catered to simply because she provides eye candy.
PRIMEVAL: SEASON ONE.
Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Sci-Fi.
Andrew Lee Potts/Ben Miller/Juliet Aubrey.
Directed by.
* From the imdb: When strange anomalies in time start to appear all over England, Professor Cutter and his team have to help track down and capture all sorts of dangerous prehistoric creatures from Earth's distant past.
SELLING HITLER.
Comedy/Mini-series.
Jonathan Pryce/Alison Doody.
* This 1991 dark comedy mini-series tells the story of Gerd Heidemann, a reporter for the German magazine STERN who “discovers” the missing diaries of Hitler, and for a little while passes them off to the world until they are eventually discovered to be forged.
............//FAMILY/............
BACKYARDIGANS: OPERATION ELEPHANT DROP.
NICKELODEON: THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.
* Prolly a good one for the incoming kinders…
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: TRITON’S REVENGE.
............//NEW ADDITION/............
ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES.
* One of Kevin Costner’s most wonderful accents is deployed in this brilliant film.
............//REPLACEMENT DVD’S/............
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON TWO.
* I know you’ve been waiting for this, sorry it took a while.
CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND.
* Clooney directed this wacky tale about Chuck Barris, CIA hitman. Cloons…that guy.
****
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