****new release list no.287

Isn’t it wild how life imitates art imitates life? Sometimes it is just kind of freaky; then other times it is “twilight zone” weird. For example, this weekend, the reel world and the real world merged for just a brief moment in the strangest of ways. For me, it was a tough weekend because a great friend, and an amazing Bernal personality, passed away. Aaron Green, a Bernal Heights resident who could often be found book in hand, sitting on a bench on Cortland, reading, listening to music or just enjoying the day, succumbed to illness leaving behind an earth that is a little less bright as a result. Aaron was the kind of guy who was a king of perspective. Many times he helped me remember what was important, and more importantly, what was not. I was grateful for his humor and his wisdom, and he was also a great loaner of books, which we shared a great love for. He was among the very first people who welcomed my family to Four Star Video, and I will always remember him for that.

Aaron was my friend, and on Saturday he left us. That day my family spent the afternoon in the Brisbane swimming pool and my mood rose and fell with the memory of his breath. It was a sad day. And I was comforted by my family. That night, I swung by Four Star to pick up some movies for a little cinematic escape. I took home this week’s biggest two releases, GET HIM TO THE GREEK and IRON MAN 2 (electric boogaloo). When I went online to the IMDB to read about the films, I was initially startled by the first words I read on the first film…”Aaron Green can do no wrong.”!!!! My brain didn’t understand at first…that’s right, I thought, he couldn’t…but…how would the computer know about Aaron Green? Wha??? Then, like a pile of plates that have fallen perfectly back into place after the tablecloth was pulled out from under them, suddenly it clicked. The universe was talking to me through film!?!? Was it just coincidence that the movie I picked up had a main character with my friend’s name? Maybe, but who cares? It was a sign! Of what? Not important! What was important for me was the sign. Aaron was gone, but here was another Aaron and I was invited to spend a couple hours with him. So, of course, I did. I watched GET HIM TO THE GREEK, a silly comedy starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, and I laughed until I cried. And I cried a bit until I laughed…Aaron would have appreciated life’s rich façade, and I did, too. The movie was pretty funny, if you like Judd Apatow-style humor – which I do, and which, humorously, Aaron did not.

The universe has a tendency toward bizarre connections like this. And usually we have the tendency to just ignore them. But I think the more I notice these strange and beautiful moments, the more I feel like I am on my correct path. Which is a nice way to feel.

A couple notes on some of the other titles: I watched IRON MAN 2. Back with another supercast, this one with Robert Downey, Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow playing the same roles, and introducing Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson and the very sexy (but slightly vapid) Scarlett Johannsen in either villainous or duplicitous roles, the sequel was pretty much exactly what I hope for in a comic book film. Truth is, I don’t watch a ton of these films, so I am not the best judge. But what I want in these movies is some cool gadgetry, snappy dialogue, tight costumes over fit bodies, high-tech action sequences, and a few well-placed explosions. IM2 has that and more. I heard some complaints about this and that, and they are valid complaints, but as for me, I am not judging this film the way I would judge more dramatic films or serious comedies. This kind of movie is pure entertainment, and in that department it delivered what it promised.

THE KILLER INSIDE ME is the new film by Michael Winterbottom. Starring Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson, it is about a sheriff in Texas struggling with his own passions and demons.

BABIES is the doc we’ve been hearing about for the last year. It follows 4 babies from around the world (including one from San Francisco) and shows how we are all the same, even though we are all so very different.

COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY is another film that is trying to contextualize the huge affect Coco had on the world and in this case on Mr. Stravinsky.

There is also a lot of television out this week, including everyone’s fave 30 ROCK: SEASON 4!

Two other short personal notes: First, this week, my first ever film column is being printed in The New Bernal Journal. “Film Talk with Ken” should hit the streets at the end of the week. It was fun writing, and I hope I get asked to continue to do it. Let me know what you think! Secondly, my band, The Dont’s, is being reviewed, dissected and psychoanalyzed in an article in the East Bay Express that is maybe coming out tomorrow (or next week, nobody tells the drummer!). So there you go, this weeks horn blowing has come to an end.

Alrighty then, see you down at the store.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY.???????????
Drama/Foreign (French).
Mads Mikkelsen/Anna Mouglalis/Yelena Morozova.
Directed by Jan Kounen.
* Parallels in their drive and motivations are strongly felt by Coco and Igor when they first meet, passion is the emotion that marks their later connection.

GET HIM TO THE GREEK. ****BD****
Comedy.
Jonah Hill/Russell Brand/Rose Byrne/Elizabeth Moss/Sean Combs.
Directed by Nicholas Stoller.
* P-Diddy is pretty awesome as the record label boss who sends Aaron (Hill) off to pick up a newly off-the-wagon, Aldous Snow, somewhat washed-up rock star, to bring him from London to Los Angeles where he is set to have a 10-year anniversary concert of one of his more famous performances. For Aaron, it is the chance of a lifetime, to be the man in the industry who makes this special event happen. For Snow, it’s just another weekend of drug cocktails, boorish behavior, and kinky sex, which culminates in one of film’s more uncomfortable ménage a trois scenes with Aaron, Aldous and Aaron’s girlfriend (Byrne). Though the film is pretty silly, there are a lot of laughs to be had.

I’M GONNA EXPLODE.
Drama/Foreign (Spanish).
Directed by Gerardo Naranjo.
* Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna produced this rebellious teen film about a young couple who hit the road with daddy’s gun and a stolen VW…party!

IRON MAN 2.****BD****
Comic Book/Action/Sci-Fi/Fantasy.
Robert Downey, Jr/Gwyneth Paltrow/Don Cheadle/Scarlett Johansson/Mickey Rourke/Sam Rockwell/Samuel L. Jackson/Garry Shandling.
Directed by Jon Favreau.
* Pretty sturdy sequel with Downey, Jr back in the role of the egomaniacal and narcissistic Tony Starks, world dominator, all around stud, and supergenius, who also happens to be dying from some hard to explain illness having something to do with the ring of blue electricity that emanates from a strange hole in the guys chest…Uh, moving on. Enter Mickey Rourke, the son of some Mongolian, or Russian, or Latvian who feels like he was rooked by Tony’s daddy and now wants revenge. I really liked this movie, but couldn’t they have found a Mongolian, or Russian or Latvian actor to play this part? Or maybe Viggo Mortensen at the least? I digress… Mayhem ensues, battles, flight, weird explosives, other Iron Men, friends turned enemies turned friends again, rival weapons companies, snotty senators, very sexy assistants and assistants assistants (censoring a funny line here). All around this movie had the fun things you are looking for in a comic book flick and, as usual, is perfectly set up for the next one in the series. My son, Huck, says that Tony Starks turned bad in the comic books and eventually got killed by the good guys…we should only be so lucky if they follow that path on the silver screen.

THE KILLER INSIDE ME.
Suspense/Crime.
Casey Affleck/Jessica Alba/Kate Hudson/Elias Koteas/Bill Pullman.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom.
* In this strange tale, a southern sheriff turns out to be a psychotic killer...Where do they come up with these crazy stories?

LA LOI (THE LAW).
Drama/Black & White/Foreign (French)
Gina Lollobrigida/Marcello Mastroianni.
Directed by Jules Dassin.
* Pretty awesome and hot looking film from 1959.

LE PETOMANE! (THE FART FILM).
Comedy.
Directed by Steve Ochs???.
* Please watch this important film, from the IMDB: Based on a true story set around turn-of-the-century France, it follows the lives of two men: Joseph Pujol and Dr. Marcel Baudouin. Pujol was an entertainer at the Moulin Rouge who was gifted with a unique backside, which could take in and release air in measured increments thus producing amazing and humorous noises. Dr. Baudouin was obsessed with Joseph's "instrument" and pursued him doggedly for many years, ultimately resulting in his undoing.

PIG HUNT.
Action/Horror/Comedy?
Travis Aaron Wade.
Directed by James Isaac.
* We’ve been hearing about this locally made horror film for a few years now, and I have been pretty psyched about it…today Chris told me it is basically about these dudes mesmerize by these hippy chicks with their hippy outfits and who use the marijuana, who then become food and fertilizer on the farm by getting scarfed down by their crazy wild human-eating pigs…hope I didn’t spoil it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE.
Criterion/War.
David Bowie/Tom Conti.
Directed by Nagisa Oshima.
* Bowie plays a British Major in a Japanese internment camp during WWII in this 1983 film just being rereleased by Criterion.

PERRIER’S BOUNTY.
Comedy/Crime/Action/Drama/Thriller.
Cillian Murphy/Jim Broadbent/Brendan Gleeson.
Directed by Ian Fitzgibbon.
* This is a revenge story about a gangster looking to exact revenge on some people who he blames for the death of one of his peeps.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: THE BEST OF EDDIE MURPHY.
Comedy/Skit.
Eddie Murphy.
* Eddie did his most amazing work back in his SNL days…

STOMP THE YARD: HOMECOMING.
Dance/Drama.
Keith David.
Directed by Rob Hardy.
* More great dance drama in this sequel about “step” competition at university.

THE THIN RED LINE.
Criterion/Drama/War.
Sean Penn/Adrien Brody/Jim Caviezel/George Clooney/John Cusack/Woody Harrelson/Elias Koteas/Jared Leto/Nick Nolte/John Travolta/.
Directed by Terrence Malick.
* When released in 1998, this was Malick’s first film since 1978. It stars many of the biggest stars of the day, and features tremendous cinematography, as well as tight and intense dialogue. The story is about the conflict at Guadalcanal during World War II.

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

BABIES.
Documentary/Nature/Nurture/Foreign (English/Japanese/Mongolian).
Directed by Thomas Balmes.
* This doc, which shows a year in the life of four babies (San Francisco, Tokyo, Namibia and Mongolia) highlights some of the differences in the way we raise our children around the planet, but even more so highlights the similarities in peoples everywhere.

SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION.
Documentary/Music&Politics.
The Roots/Richie Havens/TV on The Radio/Wyclef Jean.
Directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman.
* This is a telling of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s through the powerful and political music that served as the anthems and freedom songs sung by the protesters.

VIDEOCRACY.
Documentary/Celebrity/Politics/Foreign (English and Italian).
Directed by Eric Gandini.
* From Amazon: VIDEOCRACY is a queasy-funny and unapologetically biased look at the televisual world that the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has created. As if you were watching a transmission from another planet, the media mogul and politician (he was elected for a third term in 2008) has a monopoly hold on Italian television and some say, helped put the boob (and lots of them) on the Italian tube. Berlusconi is often in the news himself for his political machinations, outrageous observations, sexcapades and persistent charges of corruption. This gripping documentary captures it all.

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

ASTONISHING X-MEN GIFTED.
Action/Television.
Created by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday.
* I think if Joss Whedon touches it, it becomes gold.

BEING HUMAN: SEASON TWO.
Television/Drama/BBC.
* I was gonna make a joke about a werewolf a vampire and a ghost walking into a bar, b/c the premise of this show is those three living together and trying to make a go of their multi-ethnic lives…then I went online and saw that EVERY reviewer made the same unfunny joke. Now I know I have really hit it big-time!

THE LORD PETER WIMSEY MYSTERY SERIES: SET TWO.
Television/Mystery/BBC.
* More epic BBC televised mysteriousness.

MIDSOMER MURDERS: SET 16.
Television/Mystery/BBC.

PARTY DOWN: SEASON TWO.
Television/Comedy.
Adam Scott/Martin Starr.
* Season two of the noxious comedy about a crew of caterers who were actually hoping to be actors when they moved to Los Angeles. Oh, well…reality bites.

SOUTH PARK: A LITTLE BOX OF BUTTERS.
TV/Animation/Wonderfully sick humor.
* This is a collection of Butters-centric episodes from the crazy South Park gang.

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE.
Animation/Action.
Clark/Bruce.
* This is PG-13 and that is why it is not in the kids section.

30 ROCK: SEASON 4.
Television/Comedy.
Tina Fey/Alec Baldwin.
* Elizabeth Stamatina Fey is the king of comedy. And she’s hot! Seriously, this show about goings on behind the scenes of a late night comedy show is super funny.

............//FAMILY/............

HARRIET THE SPY: BLOG WARS.

LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE LAURIE BERKNER BAND.

RALPH S. MOUSE: RELAUNCH.

SHE-RA: SEASON ONE VOLUME ONE.

TOM AND JERRY’S GREATEST CHASES: V05.

VEGGIE TALES: GIRL POWER TRIPLE FEATURE.

VEGGIE TALES: SUPER HERO TRIPLE FEATURE.

............//NEW ACQUISITIONS/............

TRUE GRIT.
* Really? The Coen Brothers are remaking this film? Well, I guess those crazy guys know what they’re doing... This is our first DVD of the original John Wayne masterpiece.

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

ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM.
* My son must not have been in that room...

****

****new release list no.286

We had a fun art show here on Saturday night. You can still see the art even if you missed the party. There are photos and sculpture and even some poetry posted around the New Release room and near the cash register, all done by the Four Star staff! It was fun having a party in the middle of the store. I wanna do it again soon! What kind of party next time? Not sure, maybe we’ll hire a mime! Or maybe we’ll have a cellist play in the Drama section. Anything! Everything!

Speaking of platitudes, I watched a new release called UNTITLED last night. It is an indie film, of the drama/comedy/etc nature about the art scene in New York. The main storyline is the relationship between a gallery owner in Chelsea and a post-modern music composer who plays mostly to tiny unresponsive crowds. She (the gallery owner) shows artists who display pushpins in blank walls and taxidermied (word or not a word?) beasts holding staple guns and posed in funny positions. He (the composer) has his musicians kick buckets hanging from chain (from the waist dammit, kick from the waist) and scream and screech on clarinets and bang pianos with both hands frantically. The movie got me thinking about the nature of art, and thus the meaning of life. First I found myself wondering, as the movie was clearly directing me to wonder, what is art? And what is music? Is noise music? Can you bang your head against a wall and call it music? Can you write something on a post-it and then, after discarding the post-it, peel off the post-it below the original post-it, the one that has faint indentations made from the original writing, and then can that second post-it be mounted, framed, or otherwise displayed and called art? What do we need from our art? How do we react to art? Why does some art leave us cold and skeptical and other art bring us in touch with the most intense of our emotions and affect us in the depths of our souls? Have you ever cried from looking at art? Cried watching a movie? A television commercial (man, those McDonald commercials can be pretty touching)? An oil painting? A pencil drawing? An abstract bronze sculpture? What is important in life? Does the weather matter? Politics? Is it necessary to care about our fellow people? Is it necessary to care about non-human animals? Are non-humans people, too? Do our hearts need to be engaged with our minds? How does what we eat affect how we feel? What do we tell our children when someone close to us dies? Why do we read blogs? To whom are we beholden? When do we say stop when something hurts, and why do different people react to pain differently? If you love somebody, why don’t you love everything they ever do and say? Why do we sometimes hate things?

Gosh! I have no answers to any these questions. But as I was watching that movie, my mind was doing somersaults in the arena of inquisition. In the end, I found myself thinking that really, integrity is my main criteria for nearly everything. If there is a true belief in ones work, pretty much no matter what it is (unless it is hurting others), then I can get behind it, even if I don’t completely understand it. Integrity, honesty, loyalty. What else is there? Oh yeah, the desire to be loved. There it is. Humanity in a nutshell.

This week, the masterful Ridley Scott has released the film ROBIN HOOD on DVD. In it, Robin does generally atrocious things, but in the name of good, and mostly to not good people. Russell Crowe plays Robin, and the big pensive guy plays it with all he’s got. Luckily, Cate Blanchett is also in it, making it a film not to miss. Also out this week, is this year’s Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES. From Argentina, it is the story of a retired Justice Department worker revisiting the pains and loves of his life as he writes a novel based on some events of his past. There are two collections out this week, one ECLIPSE SERIES 24 featuring the “Actuality Dramas” of Alan King. These documentary films sound amazing, full of life and joy and hope and pain. FANTOMAS: THE COMPLETE SAGA is 5 hours of silent, black and white films from the early portion of last century about a villain wreaking havoc on France.

On TV, we have a new HBO series called BORED TO DEATH starring the inimitable Jason Schwartzman and also Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis (Did I spell that right? Not according to spell-check). Also, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON is here, with more desperate behavior from those charming ladies of the day. SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND is a new Starz Network show about the Roman legend and MR PALFREY OF WESTMINSTER is a British spy show from the 80’s.

Last thing to mention is JOSEPH CAMPBELL AND THE POWER OF MYTH. This 5-hour set is incredible, and if you are interested in mythology from all over the world, you should check out some of these discs. Campbell died soon after giving Bill Moyers these interviews, and with his death, the world lost a great mind.

Alrighty then, see you down at the store.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

PS Oh snap, check this out: Movie Puke is a zine that got dropped off at Four Star sometime recently. That link is its website. It is full of amazing and funny film reviews. I think you’ll like it.

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

AFTERSCHOOL.
Indie/Drama.
Ezra Miller.
Directed by Antonio Campos.
* This internet-era social commentary is about a high school kid who somewhat accidentally films the overdose and death of two popular girls at school…the aftermath is as much of nightmare as the event itself. This story is made by a young director (24) who has been making award winning shorts since he was 13. For some, the film may be hard to watch and uncomfortable, there are a lot of references to things kids today are dealing with that are somewhat shocking to the old guard including a very casual relationship with internet porn. You may not like this film, but it is less of an exception than you might think.

ECLIPSE SERIES 24: THE ACTUALITY DRAMAS OF ALAN KING.
Criterion/ Comedy/Drama/Documentary.
Directed by Alan King.
* The series includes WARRENDALE, A MARRIED COUPLE , COME ON CHILDREN, DYING AT GRACE and MEMORY FOR MAX, CLAIRE, IDA AND COMPANY. These intense cinema-verité-style documentaries, made over many years, are a small sampling of King’s wide and varied career.

THE EXPERIMENT.
Suspense/Drama.
Adrien Brody/Forest Whitaker.
Directed by Paul Scheuring.
* This remake of DAS EXPERIMENT is about a psychological study about prisoners and guards that turns nasty, very nasty.

FANTOMAS: THE COMPLETE SAGA.
Classic/Silent/B&W/Foreign (French).
Rene Navarre/Edmund Breon.
Directed by Louis Feuillade.
* From Amazon: The Fantômas series is a silent crime film serial consisting of five episodes (in a 3-Disc set), based on the novels of the same name, each an hour to an hour and a half in length, which end in cliffhangers, i.e., episodes one and three end with Fantomas making a last minute escape, the end of the second movie has Fantômas blowing up Lady Beltham's manor house with Juve and Fandor, the two heroes, still inside. The subsequent episodes begin with a recap of the story that has gone before. Each film is further divided into three or more chapters that do not end in cliffhangers.

LOCKSMITH.
Comedy/Crime.
Anslem Richardson.
Directed by Brad Barnes and Todd Barnes.
* Mike (Richardson) is out on work release, working as a locksmith, trying to keep his nose clean and not get into any more trouble…odds?

ONDINE.
Fantasy/Drama/Foreign (English and Romanian).
Colin Farrell (and his hair)/Alicja Bachleda-Curus.
Directed by Neil Jordan.
* Jordan’s new film is a fairytale about a fisherman who finds a near-dead woman in his nets, who he believes is a mermaid.

ROBIN HOOD.****BD****
Action/Adventure.
Russell Crowe/Cate Blanchett/William Hurt/Vanessa Redgrave/Max Von Sydow.
Directed by Ridley Scott.
* Good Samaritan Robin gets a makeover by Ridley Scott in this action-packed, arrow-shooting, vine-swinging swashbuckling, sword-fighting, back-stabbing, money-making, hollow-bodied, block-busting, thrill-seeking adventure tale. Think GLADIATOR and BRAVEHEART’s pick-pocketing love child.

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES.****BD****
Drama/Foreign (Spanish).
Ricardo Darin.
Directed by Juan Jose Campanella.
* This Argentinean film won the Best Foreign Film Oscar this last year. It is the story of a retired Federal Justice agent who is now writing a novel loosely based on one of his cases. As he gets deeper into the novel, he digs up the past and finds himself delving into old pains and frustrations and pent up longings that have been suffocating under his own need to repress them.

STIFFS.
Comedy/Crime.
Danny Aielleo.
Directed by Frank Ciota.
* Aiello plays a hearse driver struggling to keep his funeral home in bidness.

UNTITLED.
Comedy/Drama/Indie.
Adam Goldberg.
Directed by Jonathan Parker.
* Local filmmaker Parker’s new movie is a New York story about a art gallery owner who hooks up with a dark and unpopular composer of bizarre sound oriented music. The film skewers art and music and their commercialization, yet still somehow manages to distill the importance of both of them in society. Filled with a weird and beautiful soundtrack and hilarious art installations such a “DOOR OBSTRUCTING DOORSTOP” this film has a humanity to it that is very thought provoking (much like the Four Star Video art show – now showing!) .

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

JOSEPH CAMPBELL AND THE POWER OF MYTH.
Documentary/World Mythology.
Narrated by Bill Moyers.
* Campbell is a genius; he has amazing thoughts on our world. This five or six hour set was created from a series of interviews he did with Moyers shortly before he died. This is a truly fascinating series.

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

BORED TO DEATH: SEASON ONE.
Television/Comedy/HBO.
Jason Schwartzman/Zach Galifianakis/Ted Danson.
Created by Jonathan Ames.
* In this new series, Schwartzman (RUSHMORE) plays Jonathan Ames (yes, also the name of the creator), who is an out-of-work writer, moonlighting as an unlicensed private investigator in Brooklyn. He’s no Magnum P.I, nor is he much like Jim Rockford, Columbo or David Addison. Hell, he’s no Tracer Bullet either. He’s kind of like your incompetent step-son still living at your house and eating your food.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON.
Television/Drama/Comedy.
All the hot tv babes.
* Man, I am getting desperate to become a house husband. I could run around in a little apron, clean house, pop pills, make dinner, harass the help. Gosh…doesn’t it sound wonderful!

MR. PALFREY OF WESTMINSTER: COMPLETE COLLECTION.
TV/Spy/UK.
* Mr. Palfrey (Alec McCowen) was a British spy who used his sharp intellect and mild manners to solve a multitude of crimes. This show was from the mid-1980’s and showed on PBS back then here in the US of A.

SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Mega-action!/Blood/Guts!
Bart/Homer.
* This new gore-fest television show from Starz Network is the classic tale of Roman treachery and betrayal. Spartacus is super tough…dude is ripped!

............//FAMILY/............

EESBEES ADVENTURES: ALL IN A DAY’S PLAY.

FRANNY’S FEET: ANIMAL ADVENTURES.

KABOOM KIDS: LET’S PLAY!

KABOOM: LET’S PARTY!

MAX AND RUBY: EVERYBUNNY LOVES WINTER.

PEANUTS: HE’S YOUR DOG, CHARLIE BROWN.
* Just purely wonderful.

TINKER BELL & THE GREAT FAIRY RESCUE.
* Peeps, the fairies have been ALL over my house lately…just last night, Trudy wrote a letter to the Tooth Fairy, just letting her know that some of her teeth were feeling loose, and this morning, the letter was gone! And all that was left was a big pile of glitter under her pillow! Damn, that girl has an amazing mom.

............//NEW ON BLUE/............

AMERICAN BEAUTY.
* Welcome to the incredible worlds of Sam Mendes and Alan Ball.

CHARADE.
* Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, and James Coburn star in this 1963 comedic thriller.

****

****new release list no.285

I didn’t forget you! I’m just a bit tardy.

There are some great DVD’s at the store this week. In the doc department, we have Alex Gibney’s CASINO JACK AND THE UNITED STATES OF MONEY about lobbyist Jack Abramoff, 2501 MIGRANTS: A JOURNEY, BROTHER OUTSIDER: LIFE OF BAYARD RUSTIN and JIMI HENDRIX:GUITAR HERO (definitely one of mine). PRINCE OF PERSIA is an action flick starring Jake Gyllenhaal contemplating following in Nick Cage’s career footpath. MY SON MY SON WHAT HAVE YE DONE is the latest drama from all-time great Werner Herzog. LETTERS TO JULIET is another in the series of “great American romance” films. There is some much anticipated television, such as GLEE: SEASON ONE: VOLUME TWO, GREY’S ANATOMY: COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON and FRINGE: COMPLETE SECOND SEASON. There is also a ton of kid’s movies and DELICATESSEN has been released on Blu-ray!

Wanna party with us? This Saturday night, September 18th, from 8pm until close, we are going to have an art opening right in the middle of the New Release room here at Four Star Video. The show will feature the art of Four Star Video employees. There will be photographs, sculpture, hand-made instruments, and perhaps some film as well. We will have refreshments, and will be planning for chaos. Come celebrate the chaos with us!

Do you wanna have an event at Four Star Video? Let me know!

Do you love music, but don’t go out to shows much anymore? Bogged down with life, kids, work? Did you know there is a music site on the internet that is aimed at YOU! Yes, spOOOnful is a website that is aimed at informing, educating and introducing peeps who are just not as “in” the scene as they once were to awesome and cool music from all over. You should check it out for so many reasons, not the smallest one being that my band, The Dont’s is this week’s featured artist! How cool is that? Superwonderfullyepically cool. Toot toot!

Alrighty then, see you down at the store.

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//............

BARBIE: FASHION FAIRYTALE.

BENEATH CLOUDS.
* Indie drama.

THE BLACK CAULDRON: 25th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION.
* Disney.

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S.
* Replacement copy.

BOOGIE WOOGIE.
* Sex comedy starring Gillian Anderson as Mrs. Robinson (psyche!) and Heather Graham as…Heather Graham. Also starring Amanda Seyfried, Alan Cumming, Gemma Atkinson, Danny Huston, Stellan Skarsgard, and Charlotte Rampling.

BROKEN LIZARD STANDS UP: LIVE, EXTENDED AND UNCENSORED .
* This is the comedy troop that brought us SUPER TROOPERS (super funny).

BROTHER OUTSIDER: LIFE OF BAYARD RUSTIN.

CASINO JACK AND THE UNITED STATES OF MONEY.
* Fast becoming the premium political documentary maker of our time (move over Michael Moore), Alex Gibney (THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF HUNTER S. THOMPSON) takes on Washington super lobbyist Jack Abramoff in this in-depth film.

DELICATESSEN.****BD****
* This is the blu-ray copy of this amazing film about a black-market cannibal butcher. If you haven’t seen it, just go get it right away.

DORA THE EXPLORER: DORA’S SLUMBER PARTY.
* Great double feature with DELICATESSEN.

FRAGGLE ROCK: SCARED SILLY.

FRINGE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON.
* Freaky-deaky television.

GLEE: SEASON ONE: VOLUME 2: ROAD TO REGIONALS.
* This is a cult musical hit! It seems to always be on at Four Star Video.

GREY’S ANATOMY: COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON.

IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA: THE COMPLETE SEASON 5.
* This show is AMAZING. If you like demented east coast comedy (think Ween).

JIMI HENDRIX: THE GUITAR HERO.
* I haven’t seen this, but I listened to ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? for the first time in a while this week while I was out on tour with my band, and I was completely destroyed by his unbelievable brilliance. His solos are so melodic, and paint such an vibrant tapestry, it’s like listening to poetry in another language.

JUST WRIGHT.
* Comedy/romance starring Queen Latifah, who I predict will take home an Oscar some day.

LETTERS TO JULIET.
* Dear J-Cap, yo, baby, I’m lost without you…Your dad’s such an asshole! If we can’t go to prom, I’m gonna kill myself! Love, Ro-Dog.

MADCHEN IN UNIFORM.
* This 1958 lesbian longing romance film starring Romy Schneider was the basis for the film LOVING ANNABELLE.

MY SON MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE.
* Werner Herzog directed Willem Defoe and Chloe Sevigny in this mystery based on the true story of a young actor obsessed with a Greek tragedy he is studying who uses a sword to kill his mom.

PRINCE OF PERSIA.****BD****
* Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley star in this action/adventure epic.

RAGING PHOENIX.
* Action/Foreign.

SCOOBY-DOO: CAMP SCARE.
* I honestly remember being scared by Scooby-Doo, when I was much too old to be.

SESAME STREET: PRESCHOOL IS COOL.
* But expensive.

THE SPIRIT OF THE FOREST.
* Family/Adventure.

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: 10 HAPPIEST MOMENTS.

STAR CRASH.
* Roger Corman Sci-fi classic starring my fave, Christopher Plummer.

TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE.
* Comedy.

2501 MIGRANTS: A JOURNEY.
* Documentary.

****

****new release list no.284

Labor Day…and I am laboring…Who knows? Maybe my business partner at Succulence, Frauke, is laboring. She is due any day now! My mom might have been laboring 41 years ago around this weekend, as my birthday is in a couple days. Damn, did I say 41? Tick. Tock.

Did you make it to any of the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema? We had an amazing couple screenings on Friday night out back in Succulence. It was really fun. Everyone was bundled up, but it wasn’t too cold. There was standing room only as we watched 6 really well made short films. My favorite was called MY FATHER’S HOPES and chronicled the life of a man who had been an artist, then put away his brushes and artistic desires for many years as he raised his family without a word of regret. Then, many years later, after the death of his wife, he rediscovered his passion and lived an entire second life, full of bohemian rhapsody and hedonistic passion for life. It was a hopeful film, and gave me a warm feeling about aging, and about all the possibilities and paths that will always remain open so long as we remain open to them. Thank you again, Anne and Leslie, for putting on this tremendous festival year in and year out.

It was so much fun to be partying over at Four Star Video that we decided to have another party and invite you all! Inspired by some incredible photographs that Andrew took of the staff of Four Star, we decided to share them with you! To give them the proper respect they deserve (and to indulge ourselves with a chaotic party during a busy time of the week) we decided to have a full wine and cheese opening on Saturday night, September 18th, at 8pm. The photographs will be arranged in the New Release room, and we will encourage you to hang out, discuss the art, imbibe the comestibles and enjoy the ambiance. Rachel Whiteside will be showing her brilliant photography as well, and perhaps Shila will be showing some art, too. All of the staff are invited to share their art, so be sure to encourage them (Jeff? Chris?) to show their stuff when you are in the store this week . There is even a rumor that my feature film, HUMANS BEING, will be played in the store during the party. I will update you as to who will be showing work in next weeks blog post, and you can also go to the Four Star Video facebook page to see the event page that we will post a bit later in the week, which should have more specific info as well.

Our hope is to have more and more of these types of events as we recognize the value of our store as a community space, as a zone for cinematic discussion, and a safe place to rent dangerous movies. Speaking of movies, we got lots of them this week, including Season Six of THE OFFICE (USA), a whole host of older films just released on Blu-Ray, and a nice batch of kids films. There are also some good foreign films (JOHN RABE, THE SQUARE) and some good old-fashioned Hollywood standbys (SOLITARY MAN, KILLERS).

I will be away on tour with my band this week, and the store will be in the very capable hands of the amazing staff, all of whom have been here for 3 years or more, except Rachel whose 3 year anniversary is coming up soon. How rare is that for a retail establishment? We must always notice when we are in the midst of a special moment, because who knows how long it can last? Find a special moment, examine every inch of it. Make it last.

Alrighty, that’s all folks, hope to see you at the store.

Love and Kisses,
Ken

P.S. I mention below that SOLITARY MAN led me on a funny little Youtube journey this morning. Eventually I ended up watching and listening to some Johnny Cash videos that were just amazing…I wasn’t a Johnny Cash fan somehow until he died; that morning I listened to this U2 song with tears streaming down my eyes and finally understood his brilliance. Stumbling back upon him this morning, I enjoyed these covers he did later in his life and again reflected on his powerful voice. Somehow, through his voice and interpretation, the message in these songs is more powerful than in the originals. This song, "I See a Darkenss", was written by Will Oldham (also a terrific actor), who also sings back up. And this one, "Hurt", is a 9 Inch Nails song, made so much more utterly poignant by Cash’s performance.

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

CAMP ROCK 2: THE FINAL JAM.
Comedy/Family/Music.
Demi Lovato/Joe Jonas/Other boys named Jonas.
Directed by Paul Hoen.
* Disney family jam with the Brother Jonas and a bunch of Disney kids trying to break out. Probably fun viewing for your preteen rock star!

THE EXPLODING GIRL.
Drama.
Zoe Kazan.
Directed by Bradley Rust Gray.
* A young woman on break from college (Kazan from REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, ME AND ORSON WELLES, I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY, IT’S COMPLICATED) is dealing with her life, which involves managing her epilepsy, a challenging house guest and a new boyfriend. The director, who is married to So Yong Kim, was a producer and writer on her feature films TREELESS MOUNTAIN and IN BETWEEN DAYS. Seems like a power couple to me.

JOHN RABE.
Drama/Biography/History/War/Foreign (English/German/Japanese/Mandarin/Cantonese/Ukranian).
Steve Buscemi/Ulrich Tukur.
Directed by Florian Gallenberger.
* Based on the real life John Rabe’s diaries, this film tells the story of the German businessman who saved over 200,000 Chinese people during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.

KEVIN POLLACK: THE LITTLES SUSPECT.
Standup Comedy.
Kevin Pollack.
* San Francisco native Pollack delivers his unique brand of comedy complete with excellent impressions.

KILLERS.
Comedy/Action/Romance/Thriller.
Ashton Kutcher/Katherine Heigl/Tom Selleck/Catherine O’Hara.
Directed by Robert Luketic.
* Spencer Aimes (Kutcher) is a super spy, in the vein of Bond, but perhaps more lethal...However, he trades that lifestyle in when he meets Jen (Heigl) on vacation. Soon they are living a domestic life of marital bliss. But wait! A few years later, they are thrust back into the swashbuckling life when they discover they are the objects of hitmen who have been tracking them for a few years. Who could they be? The neighbors? The paper boy? The mailman? Shoot em all, let god sort it out.

KUNG FU MASTER.
Action/Comedy/Family/Foreign (Mandarin).
Jackie Chan.
Directed by Gangliang Fang and Ping Jiang.

THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND.
Drama/Romance.
Bryce Dallas Howard/Chris Evans.
Directed by Jodie Markell.
Written by Tennessee Williams.
* Not sure how this film is acted or directed, but Williams screenplay if certain to be full of smoldering brilliance. The story is of Fisher Willow, a wealthy daughter of a Memphis plantation owner who is snotty and obnoxious, not the sweet southern belle her family wishes she was. Her love for Jimmy, a man who was born into no means, causes an uproar that she is willing to weather, until the loss of a priceless diamond causes questions that are challenging to answer. Set in the 1920’s.

MACGRUBER.
Comedy.
Will Forte/Ryan Phillippe/Kristen Wiig/Val Kilmer/Powers Boothe.
Directed by Jorma Taccone
* This originated as a SNL skit about a super spy and his arch nemesis Dieter Von Cunth (Kilmer). There is no truth to the rumor that Owen Wilson is contractually obliged to star in all movies of this sort.

THE PHANTOM.
Action/Comicbook.
Ryan Carnes/Sandrine Holt/Jean Marchand.
Directed by Paolo Barzman.
* I am not trying to be argumentative, but I am getting kinda bored with all these comic book movies…I am sure this one is fun and all, but…wasn’t there another film of this same name starring Billy Zane not too long ago? Anyway, here it is. Someone tell me how it is.

THE SQUARE.
Drama/Thriller/Suspense.
David Robers/Claire van der Boom.
Directed by Nash Edgerton.
* Chris watched this film and told me to get it. It’s an Australian puzzle about a man who gets a bag of cash and then watches his life come completely undone in the ensuing madness. Murder, revenge, backstabbing, twists and turns are all employed as the mystery deepens and the truth becomes vaguer and vaguer.

SOLITARY MAN.****BD****
Comedy/Drama.
Michael Douglas/Jesse Eisenberg/Susan Sarandon/Danny DeVito/Jenna Fischer/Mary-Louise Parker.
Directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien.
* This star-studded dramedy is about a New York businessman (Douglas) who watches his life fall apart as he makes one after another poor business decision and seems to self-destruct his family and emotional life as well. It is only after he hits the bottom that he can begin to rebuild knowing that now he has nothing to lose. I think the title of this film led me on the whole Youtube adventure that I’ve been on all morning. I watched this Neil Diamond song of the same title, which led me to some Johnny Cash videos which has really flavored my day. Youtube is such a bizarre adventure. You really never know where it will lead you; which seems to be how Douglas’s character in this film leads his life.

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

WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. ****BD****
Documentary/Nature/BBC.
Space/The Final Frontier.
* This space series examines our solar system and compares and contrasts it with human life on earth. I haven’t seen it, but considering the usual BBC treatment of anything nature oriented, I imagine it is beautiful to watch.

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

THE OFFICE: SEASON 6.
Steve Carell/John Krasinski/Rainn Wilson/Jenna Fischer/Craig Robinson.
* Were you waiting for long for this? I was. I finally watched disc one last night and was relieved to laugh quite hard (see the side-splitting opening sequence to episode 3…). The characters in this show are very rich even though the humor tends toward the low-brow. I know there are many debates regarding the US versus the British version of this show, but the British version simply lasted two brilliant seasons and the US version really shouldn’t be compared to it anymore. It has a life of its own, and a different flavor and different arc, and frankly it is funny as hell. I think just about anyone who works at any job has had many cringe-worthy moments that are pretty accurately chronicled in this show.

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

GOOSEBUMPS: THE BLOB THAT ATE EVERYONE.

GOOSEBUMPS: GO EAT WORMS.

MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE: ROAD RALLY.

SHAUN THE SHEEP: PARTY ANIMALS.

THE VERY BRAVE WITCH AND MORE HALLOWEEN STORIES.

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

A SCANNER DARKLY.
* 2006 Linklater animated film about an undercover cop addicted to a powerful drug.

FORBIDDEN PLANET.
* Visually stunning 1956 Sci-fi flick.

IN COLD BLOOD.
* 1967 Oscar nominated film adaptation of Truman Capote’s gritty novel.

MARS ATTACKS!
* Tim Burton’s 1996 gory comedy about a Martian take over of planet earth.

MATIX RELOADED.
* Number two in the MATRIX trilogy, released in 2003.

STARDUST.
* I keep meaning to see this 2007 fantasy film that features a cross-dressing performance by Robert De Niro.

TOMMY.
* See me….Feel me…Touch me…Heal me! Damn, this rock opera is so weird and amazing and beautiful! This 1975 Ken Russell film features tons of great actors (Ann-Margret, Jack Nicholson, Oliver Reed), and incredible musicians (all of The Who, Elton John, Eric Clapton) and a mind-bending turn as The Acid Queen by Tina Turner. Just watch this clip to get excited about this film.

............// REPLACEMENT DISCS//............

THE SHIELD: SEASON SIX.

****