****new release list no.309

こんにちは私の日本人の友達が！

I kind of love people. We’re so weird and fascinating and repugnant simultaneously. We’re so self-centered and repulsive, but generous and kind and beautifully ingenuitive at the same time. Whenever I have been a part of those fun-filled conversations about humans destroying the earth, I always imagine that no matter how dreadful we make it for ourselves to live here, we’ll always figure out some demented way to go on. Maybe we’ll build huge domes that we fill with an artificial atmosphere, or perhaps we’ll send ourselves, like a virus, out into the solar system, to muck up some other planet somewhere. We’ve got these big brains and they enable to us to do so much. Not to evolve away from hatred or anything, nothing as smart and self-preserving as that. But… we are problem solvers at the core. That’s what we do best.

There’s a hole in something? We plug it. It breaks? We fix it. It breaks again? We replace it. With something that we repurposed from something else. That once was living. Peacefully. Until we got our hands on it.

It’s not that our will to live is so remarkable. Many animals will deal with some pretty harsh circumstances to survive. It’s just that with our big brains, we can actually come up with some pretty imaginative solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.

Like say we’re in a cavern below the surface, crawling through a crevice, and we displace a big rock causing us and the rock to tumble deeper into the earth’s crust and when we come to rest, the rock is on our arm and it is immobile. Now what? Well, if you are Aron Ralston, you might try to stay calm and contemplate your options. Hmmm. Perhaps you can build a basic pulley system to try to dislodge the rock? Check. Maybe you can use your tiny little knife to scrape away material between the wall and the rock? Check? Perhaps you use the that same tiny little dull knife type thing to remove the trapped part of your arm so that you can go on your merry way and leave that little trapped piece of you behind? Yes? Would you? That’s what Aron decided to do when he was in that situation, and I salute him! I’m not sure why his story resonates so strong with me, but I totally appreciate that sort of fortitude. That desire for existence! That willingness to take ultimate responsibility and power. That bravery. He had to break both bones in his arm to get it fully removed. Read that part again.

127 HOURS is the film starring James Franco as Aron Ralston. Using an intense soundtrack, the beautiful imagery of the Canyonlands, and tight claustrophobic cinematography, we get a pretty grim idea of the hellish five days Aron spent trapped in the earth. I didn’t see a lot of the Academy Award nominated films and I am sure that the winners were worthy, but I thought this film could have won Best Picture and Franco could have taken home the Best Actor hardware, and those awards would have been very well earned. This movie is hard to watch here and there, but for me it really highlights the human spirit and many of the things I love about people.

We had a fun night at Four Star at our Oscar party on Sunday. Brilliant local magician James Crutcher wowed the crowd with card tricks. The FitzHoward girls popped pop corn out front. The Liberty Cafe and Ichi Sushi (among other merchants) provided yummy food. We raised over $500 for the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema festival! Great prizes included a month pass to Fit Bernal Fit and a beautiful handmade necklace with matching earrings from local artisan Feo Jacobsen. The winners of the Oscar picking competition will be announced by the BHOC this week. It was a super fun and chaotic party. The Four Star staff was proud to be a part of this event.

I love the Academy Awards because it can be a window into the lives of these artists who get paid so much and worshipped by millions for their acting skill. At times, you see someone win who didn’t expect it, and you see some pure and real reaction that is wonderful. It is so easy to dislike celebrities. They’re rich and childish and rich. (Oh, those rich bastards!) But sometimes when I watch the Academy Awards, and someone like Natalie Portman is up there gracefully describing her experience working hard in film since she was 11 years old and thanking the industry for continuing to give her jobs I find myself thinking that she’s just like the rest of us, only she happened to stumble into a much more lucrative career. Well, good job Natalie. Thank you for taking your job seriously, and though it doesn’t mean much to you, I will continue to do the same.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken


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

127 HOURS.****BD****
Adventure/Drama/Home Surgery.
James Franco.
Directed by.
* In 2003, Aron Ralston (Franco) went hiking solo in the Canyonlands. Dude was dipping into a canyon below the surface when he dislodged a rock which fell (with him) and landed on his arm trapping him without any way to contact anyone. Five days later, Aron took off his arm with a dull knife in order to survive. Though visceral and upsetting, this film highlights the human spirit and the incredible places we will go to in order to survive. Or at least, that Aron will go to. Dude is hardcore. Franco was unbelievable in this film. Though he didn’t win (though he was nominated), he gave to me what could have been an Academy award winning performance.

BURLESQUE.
Drama/Musical.
Christina Aguilera/Cher/Stanley Tucci/Kristen Bell.
Directed by Steven Antin.
* She’s just a small town girl, living in a lonely world…She took the midnight train going anywhere…Well, actually I’m not sure how she got to Los Angeles, but eventually she ends up working at a version of a strip club run by Cher. Worse fates could be had.

CANNES MAN.
Comedy.
Seymour Cassel/Many famous cameos.
Directed by Richard Martini.
* Ah, I see! This film is from 1996…15 years ago? Wow…This comedy is about a Hollywood producer who makes a bet that he can make anyone a star at the Cannes Film festival, and he goes about doing it. I wonder if we could create that kind of buzz at the Bernal Heights Outdoor Film festival? Hmmmm.

FASTER.
Action.
The Rock/Billy Bob Thornton.
Directed by George Tillman, Jr.
* Driver (The Rock!) has just gotten out of jail, and his prime mission in life is to kill everyone who double-crossed him and his brother ten years ago, leading to his brother’s death. He shoots and stabs a lot of people, some of whom shoot and stab him as well.

JUST BEFORE NIGHTFALL.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Directed by Claude Chabrol.
* This 1971 Chabrol film is about a guy who somewhat accidentally kills his best friend’s wife, with whom he was having an affair with. Though he is not caught, his life is thrown dramatically out of kilter as he tries to deal with the situation, while continuing his innocuous domestic life.

LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS.****BD****
Drama/Romance.
Anne Hathaway/Jake Gyllenhaal.
Directed by Edward Zwick.
* Jamie and Maggie are two players, they live hard and sleep around with anyone and everyone, and they are basically in a constant state of heat. However, Maggie has early onset Parkinson's Disease and is facing a very troubling future. Although their lifestyles and life issues are keeping their relationship from getting serious, their deeper desires draw them together.

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

I CLOWNS.
Documentary/Foreign (Italian).
Directed by Federico Fellini.
*1970 doc about clowns and circuses by the master of strangeness.

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

DICKENS IN AMERICA.
Television/Documentary.
* This three disc set follows the journey that Charles Dickens took across America in 1842.

IN LOVING MEMORY: SERIES ONE.
Television/Comedy/British.
* This is almost like a British SIX FEET UNDER in that it is the store of an undertaker business that carries on after the untimely death of the undertaker.

............//FAMILY/KIDS/............

BEYBLADE METAL FUSION: VOL 3.

ELMOS WORLD: PENGUINS AND ANIMAL FRIENDS.

KABOOM KIDS: FAVORITE FRIENDS.

KABOOM: AWESOME ADVENTURES.

............//MORE MORE MORE/............

JUSTIFIED: SEASON ONE.
* Damn this one is soooo popular!

****

****new release list no.308

Hello my people, neighbors, and friends, customers, acquaintances, associates, comrades, compadres, compatriots, expatriates, exhibitionists, abolitionists, abalone-heads, Babylonians, bologna snobs, couch potato blobs, movie snobs, cradle robbers (cradle robbers? Leave him alone, he’s on a roll), hot cross buns, bad puns, Attila and his Huns, tons and tons of love to you this fine evening.

Lots of interesting movies out this week, and for some reason there’s like 30 copies of DUE DATE. So there will be no need for patience on that title this week. One thing I’ve noticed about my new technoself (tech nose elf? Technoshelf?) is that I am much more impatient than I used to be, and that’s saying a lot! They say Patience is a virtue, but they never mention Meekness, Flexibility, Equanimity, Chastity, Ethical Egoism, and lots of other examples of moral excellence that describe Virtue according to my friend Wikipedia. Why is that? Why does Patience get so much play? Could it be more of a universal struggle? More than Chastity – doubt it. But, it’s hard to wait. I feel like if Patience were something I needed to demonstrate to become a Jedi Knight, then I could eventually pull it off. But…I have almost finished the process of accepting that I will never be a Jedi; and I will never look like Taye Diggs. Life can taste so bitter. Just ask Peter Highman (Robert Downey, Jr) as he is attempting to make it from Atlanta to Los Angeles in time for his wife to give scheduled birth to their first child by C-section (is that TMI?). When he crosses paths with Ethan Tremblay (Zachifianakis), his hopes of getting to L.A. plummet dramatically in this farcical comedy that feels quite like a remake of PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES. For Director Todd Phillips, this is his follow-up to the massively successful THE HANGOVER. And speaking of today’s sex comedy (mostly involving men masturbating in the same close space with each other), look for BRIDESMAIDS, the first woman-centric comedy from the Apatow machine. Betcha it’s funnier than this one…whatever one I was drifting around about up there.

GET LOW is another big title out this week. Robert Duvall plays a fellow who has lived in his own self-imposed exile for forty years and now is ready to get right with whoever in order to go on to wherever. Bill Murray is the funeral director who he hires him to give him a living funeral in order to process his life with the good people from town.

MEGAMIND is a really funny new animated film for the kiddos and the lucky adults who check it out. It’s quite funny, and a nice little twist on the usual fare. Megamind, the super hero who stars in this tale, is actually a bad guy. But see, he’s really been painted in this corner, and actually, it is truly not fair. And so, when the blue dude gets out badded by a badder bad guy, it is not a stretch to root for Megamind to beat him and claim his rightful place as a really good bad guy. I watched this whole movie laughing at the weird parent-directed dialog (his heart is like an ocean inside a bigger ocean) and the whole time I thought Owen Wilson was the voice of MEGAMIND and that my good pal, George Clooney was the voice of his first nemesis, the heroic Metro Man. Then it turns out it was actually Will Ferrell and Brad Pitt playing those guys, and the whole world turned upside down.

A couple films out this week that have gotten a lot of hype are part one of MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT. The true-ish story of French Public Enemy no. 1, Jacques Mesrine, follows him as he creates his persona and develops his legend. This movie is a sort of Bonnie and Clyde story with Mesrine’s wild girlfriend Jeanne Schneider along for the thrill ride. With Vincent Cassell and Cecile De France as Jacques and Jeanne. This movie was heavily decorated at the Cesar’s in 2009. FISH TANK is just hitting DVD and is being given the Criterion treatment from the beginning. It is what appears to be a breakout film by Andrea Arnold, an English director who won the Best Short Film, Live Action Academy Award in 2005 for her film WASP. In this one, the main character is a potty-mouthed 15-year-old girl who is in between schools and has little to do, and all day to do it. This film has an 81 rating on Metacritic.com, which is crazy high!

There is lots more, including an Academy Award nominated documentary that I missed in December called GASLAND, and lots of television including season two of NURSE JACKIE, a bunch of seasons of TOP CHEF, a couple more seasons of DETECTIVE MONTALBANO, and season six of WEEDS.

Speaking of the Academy Awards, and assuming you’re still with me in this babbling brook of a tome posted long after sleep should have taken me, while lucidity seems but a silly idea, don’t forget that this Sunday night, we are having an Academy Award party at Four Star Video. We will be projecting the awards outside if weather permits, and we’ll have them on inside the store as well. There will be epic prizes for the people who get the most picks right, so make sure to grab a ballot at the store and fill it out. Prizes include gift certificates to Red Hill Books, Blue Plate, Sports Basement and Fit Bernal Fit, as well as a beautiful hand made necklace made by local artisan Feo Jacobsen. The ballots cost $5 and the money will go to the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema in support of their 8th season. There will also be great food and wine on hand for sale. The party starts at 5pm on our red carpet, so come dressed to the nines and prance down the aisle. We’ll try to have our paparazzi snap a good photo of you and we’ll sell it to the highest bidder (hello, TMZ?). Seriously, peeps, this is going to be a super fun party, so come on down and help raise money for the greatest neighborhood film festival in the city while partying with your friends. Please email me with any questions about this event.

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

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 – Two Exchanges a month (3 movies total) – $9.99 + Tax/Month
1SUB - One Movie at a time – Unlimited exchange – $18.99 + Tax/Month
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4SUB - Four Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $32.99 + Tax/Month
******************************************************************************

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

ALL STAR SUPERMAN.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (France).
Christina Hendricks/Edward Asner/.
Directed by Sam Liu.
* Well done adaptation of Grant Morrison's "All Star Superman" comic book. But parents beware, this film is rated PG for among other things, “language including brief innuendo”.

BIRDEMIC: SHOCK AND TERROR.
Suspense/Horror/Romance/Not comedy.
Christina Hendricks/Edward Asner.
Directed by James Nguyen.
* If I was into this kind of movie, this is one I would be extra psyched about. Made as a sort of homage to THE BIRDS, it is eagles and vultures that do the attacking in this film, and they make a lethal team. Look for the sequel coming later this year.

CHANGE OF PLANS.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (France).
Karin Viard/Dany Boon/Emanuelle Seigner.
Directed by Daniele Thompson.
* Everyone is sleeping with everyone in this French comedy about community and dysfunction.

CHANGI.
Drama.

DUE DATE.****BD****
Comedy.
Robert Downey, Jr/Zach Galifiniakis/Juliette Lewis.
Directed by Todd Phillips.
* I don’t think this is a PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES remake, but it seems like it could have been, it is basically the same story. Straight guy trying to get home to loving wife to make important domestic deadline gets sidetracked by freaky (and slightly chunky) offbeat fellow who then offers to help get dude where he needs to go. In this case, it is RDJ in the Steve Martin role as the straight guy (!) and Zach in the John Candy role. Things get hectic, children get punched, a dog gets spit on, people get stoned and others are beaten. If you liked THE HANGOVER, you’ll probably like this one a bit, too.

FISH TANK.
Drama/Criterion.
Michael Fassbender/Katie Jarvis.
Directed by Andrea Arnold.
* Criterion is giving this the full treatment in its first DVD release (congrats, Andrea Arnold!). It is the story of a 15-year-old who is already at a crux in her young life as she waits to get in to a new school after getting kicked out of her last one.

GET LOW.****BD****
Comedy/Drama.
Robert Duvall/Bill Murray/Lucas Black/Sissy Spacek.
Directed by Aaron Schneider.
* Felix Bush (Duvall) is preparing to die, and he wants to get things straight with his community. A life-long hermit, he evidently has reasons for why he’s lived his isolated life, and he is not content to keep those reasons to himself. So he throws a funeral, with the help of funeral director Frank Quinn (Murray), with the sole purpose of telling the people his side of the story.

GLENN THE FLYING ROBOT.
Sci-Fi.
* Probably this is a film of genius. It is improbably the tale of two rival pianists, whose competition knows no bounds, until Glenn, the flying robot comes into the picture. Please please tell me about this movie after you see it.

MEGAMIND.****BD****
Animation/Comedy/Adventure/Fantasy.
Will Ferrell/Brad Pitt/Tina Fey/Jonah Hill/David Cross/Ben Stiller/J.K. Simmons.
Directed by Tom McGrath.
* Megamind and Metro Man and the bad guy-good guy superhero team that lives in Metro City. However, Metro Man’s heart is not really all committed to being the good guy all the time, and Megamind finally wins the battle. This leaves him bored to tears, and so he creates a new good-guy to battle with him over the city (literally and metaphorically). This movie made me and my kids laugh pretty hard, and is also filled with some great sound-track music including AC/DC and Black Sabbath.

MESRINE: PART ONE KILLER INSTINCT.
Action/Crime/Foreign (French/English/Spanish/Arabic).
Vincent Cassell/Cecile France/Gerard Depardieu.
Directed by Jena-Francois Richet.
* Part one of this long-awaited French film sees Jacques Mesrine become the French gangster legend he became known as. With his crazy girlfriend Jeanne, they do what they want whenever they want, and people who get in their way pay the consequences.

MIDSUMMER MADNESS.
Comedy/Drama/Romance.
Directed by Alexander Hahn.

ROOM IN ROME.
Drama/Romance/LGBT.
Directed by Julio Medem.
* Sexy love story in Rome.

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS.
Criterion/Drama.
Burt Lancaster/Tony Curtis/Marty Milner/Barbara Nichols.
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick.
* This 1957 noir tells the story of a Broadway journalist who is upset by his sister’s romance with a jazz musician and gets a dirty press agent to help him break them up.

SWORD OF WAR.
Action/Adventure.
Rutger Hauer/Raz Degan/F. Murray Abraham.


TEN INCH HERO.
Comedy.
Elisabeth Hanrois/Clea DuVall/Sean Patrick Flanery/Alice Krige.
Directed by David MacKay.
* This comedy is about a group of people working in a sandwich shop in Santa Cruz. Having lived there myself for seven years, I can say there is plenty of rich cinematic material in that town.

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

GASLAND.
Documentary.
* This is in the category of “how’d I miss this one?” From imdb: “It is happening all across America-rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a reservoir dubbed the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas." Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground-a hydraulic drilling process called "fracking"-and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower.”

LAST TRAIN HOME.
Documentary/Foreign (Mandarin).
Directed by Lixin Fan.
* Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance last year, this doc follows the plight of the migrant worker’s in China.

MIDDLETOWN.
Documentary/Television.
* I am really psyched about this one, it was a television series in 1982, one of the very first reality shows ever made. Examining the city of Muncie, Indiana, the show examines in depth a mayor campaign, a high school basketball rivalry, the struggles of a family business, and the lives of the high school students in town.

TWO IN THE WAVE.
Documentary/Art/Foreign (French).
* This doc tracks the friendship and professional rivalry between French filmmakers, Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut.

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

BROTHERS & SISTERS: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON.
Television/Drama/More Drama.
* This show starring Calista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths, among others, is like a much more serious version of PARENTHOOD. Both follow the siblings of a family through the hard knocks of adult life.

DETECTIVE MONTALBANO: EPISODES 4-6.
Television/Mystery/Foreign (Italian).
* Have you checked these out yet? Adapted from an awesome series of books, Montalbano is a detective in Sicily in the south of Italy. He calms himself with long meditative swims in the Mediterranean, and his own troubled youth gives him empathy for the people he is investigating. He is in charge of every situation, but never impulsive or full of posture. He is a good cop and an honest man. The shows are a bit reminiscent of 80’s American television visually, but the language, the differences between American television and European television and the beautiful backdrop of the dramatic terrain of Sicily make this a super fun watch.

DETECTIVE MONTALBANO: EPISODES 7-10.
Television/Mystery/Foreign (Italian).

MIDSOMER MURDERS: SET 17.
Television/Mystery.

NURSE JACKIE: SEASON TWO.
Television/Comedy/Drama.
Edie Falco/Eve Best.
* Yeah, it’s true that Nurse Jackie is a junkie, and living a life of dishonesty and addiction. But then again, so many of the people in her life are junkies too, popping pills like kids in a candy store. Ah, the hospital life!

TOP CHEF MASTERS: SEASON ONE.
Television/Food.
* Turns out Target has some exclusive DVD arrangement with this show. How lame! Oh well, whatever. We bought it from Target. We already had Season Five, so now we are just missing 2, 3 and 4. We’ll get those soon. In the meantime, we present these three to you.

TOP CHEF LAS VEGAS: SEASON SIX.
Television/Food.
* See above.

TOP CHEF DC: SEASON SEVEN.
Television/Food.
* See above.

WEEDS: SEASON SIX.****ALSO ON BD****
Television/High-fi.
* Has this show gotten weird? Or was it always pretty weird? The cover art is always awesome, and the cult following has not waned.

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

TIMMY TIME: TIMMY STEALS THE SHOW.
* And then his mom makes him walk back to the store and give it back.

****

****new release list no.307

Здравствуйте, мои русские друзья!

Valentine’s week made me think of my heart. And my heart made me think of Aerosmith, and Aerosmith made me think about the first amazing 30 seconds of “Sweet Emotion”. Wow, right?. Isn’t it interesting how some of us are very emotive, and others are steadier, and less rocked by their feelings? I wonder why that is? Is there a yin yang thing going on? Do we need both types of people to form a sort of whole community protein? Perhaps.

Personally, I’m an emotional. Sometimes, I have to take deep breaths in order to continue conversations. I’m quick to anger, and quick to laughter and quick to tears. Frankly, it’s a bit of a drag, but then again, I am who I am. And you are who you are. And we are the world. (Where was I?).

Did you watch our video blog last week? If not, click over to the blogspot and check it out. I am hoping to make these little movies somewhat regularly; then again, I am also hoping to write a novel, tour with my band, publish a book of poems, run a marathon, climb Mt. Shasta, paint a series of gigantic oil-paint bar graphs, develop retail fountains, and eventually become a docent at the museum, so I might be overreaching a bit, but it’s good to dream! In the meantime, I made the first one. Tell me what you think!

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER is the latest Woody Allen film to hit DVD. I could tell you about the plot and name the characters and probe their dilemmas, but I think just saying it is a New York love story about complicated marriage and yearning infidelity pretty much sums it up. With Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts and Josh Brolin, to name a few of the stars.

UNSTOPPABLE is what this train is, see, in the new action flick starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine as two idealists trying to stop it.

I would say, if there was one film that would educate and enrich you this week, it would be A TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES. This Kurdish film (the first to reach International release) tells the story of a group of kids on their own, who must do whatever they can to raise money so that their youngest sibling can have a life-saving operation.

Hey, we are getting ready to go full-bore into planning for our Oscar-watching fundraising party at Four Star! There are many epic prizes to be had and red carpet to strut down in your fancy get-up. Pick up your ballot at the store and fill it out for $5 which will go to the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema festival in support of their 8th season. Full prize list in next week's blog. The Oscars (and party) are Sunday, February 27th.

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

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 – Two Exchanges a month (3 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//............

AT THE SINATRA CLUB.
Action/Drama/Mafia.
* This is a John Gotti tale supposedly telling the story of how he became the successful crime boss that he eventually was. In this story, as a young man, he coalesced many different crime families to pull off a major heist that kind of set him up as almost as big a bossman as the late great George Steinbrenner.

HEARTBREAKER.
Comedy.
Romain Duris/Vanessa Paradis.
Directed by Pascal Chaumeil.
* Duris plays a man who runs a very strange agency with his sister. Their mission? To break up couples! If you are in the mood for a funny comedy that is focused on love, but maybe not in the usual way, this film is probably your ticket.

KITES.
Action/Romance/Foreign (English and Cantonese).
Hirithik Roshan/Barbara Mori.
Directed by Anurag Basu.
* I believe this adventure tale was made both as a Hollywood film and a Bollywood film (and both versions are on this disc)! The story involves a wounded young man who is searching for his sweetheart as he is somehow surviving a brutal shooting, while being pursued by a whole assortment of bad guys.

STORM WARRIORS.
Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Romance/Foreign (English and Cantonese).
Directed by Oxide Pang Chung and Danny Pang.
* From the Pang Brothers comes this adaptation of the comic book series Fung Wan, the story of two friends, Wind and Cloud who are battling an evil warlord intent on destroying their homeland.

TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES.
Drama/War/Foreign (Persian/Kurdish).
Directed by Bahman Ghobadi.
* This heavy but beautiful story is the first Kurdish film to achieve international release. It is the tale of five siblings, fending for themselves after the death of their father. The oldest brother, who is 12, finds out his youngest brother will die unless he has an immediate operation.

UNSTOPPABLE.****BD****
Action/Suspense.
Denzel/Chris Pine/Rosario Dawson.
Directed by Tony Scott.
* It’s a runaway train story filled with highballs loaded with toxicity and dangerous chemicals, in other words, a drunken night at the Wild Side West! With Denzel in the role of dude at the pool table, and Pine as the earnest fellow at the bar.

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER .****BD****
Comedy/Romance.
Anthony Hopkins/Gemma Jones/Naomi Watts/Josh Brolin/Antonio Banderas.
Directed by Woody Allen.
* Woody is back in the NYC in this comedy that hearkens back to many Allen comedy‘s of the past. He is sleeping with her, but she‘s married to him, and he likes somebody else. Is the moral of the story that love stinks? I‘m not really sure what Woody‘s true philosophy is, but his films certainly tap into a certain special vibe.

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

CANDYMAN.
Documentary.
Directed by Costa Botes.
* David Klein is the man who invented Jelly Belly jelly beans. This doc follows his career. For some strange reason, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic is in the movie.

PROMISED LANDS.
Documentary.
Directed by Susan Sontag.
*From the Amazon product description: PROMISED LANDS is famed writer and critic Susan Sontag's sole documentary project (and her third directorial effort), shot in Israel on the fly in the final days and immediate aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Not only does the film scrutinize the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict, but it also brilliantly underscores the deepening divisions within Jewish thought over the very question of Palestinian sovereignty as well. Banned by Israeli authorities upon its initial release, this visually visceral portrait of a land torn apart by the competing values of militarism, consumerism and religious national identity is as prescient and thought provoking as ever.

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN.
Documentary.
Directed by David Guggenheim.
* This is an unflinching look at the American education system, following individual students around and seeing how the system fails them by inhibiting their education as opposed to encouraging their growth and academic achievement.

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

BILL MOYERS: A WORLD OF IDEAS - WRITERS.
Documentary/Television.
* Bill Moyers unique journalistic style is in full form in this examination of literary giants from around the world.

BILL MOYERS: IN SEARCH OF THE CONSTITUTION.
Documentary/Television.
* Bill Moyers leads a 5-alarm, full-metal jacket, all-points bulletin search from the caves of Madagascar to the beaches of the Arctic Circle for the rumored “Constitution“ which, Moyer believes, may be in terrible danger of being used by terrorists to potentially divert justice for reasons that we are confusing at best, and diabolical at worst. In this 11-part in-depth series, no matter how hard thousands of soldiers from 27 different countries search, it remains elusive and undiscovered. There are unsubstantiated rumors that it might have been stolen by the previous American regime…In the sequel, look for Moyers to search in Texas for it.

DR. WHO: A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
Television/Sci-fi.
* This was the 2010 Dr. Who Christmas special. Four out of five dentists recommend that you chew it on a daily basis.

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

NICKELODEON’S FAVORITES: SISTERS AND BROTHERS.

THE SUPER HERO SQUAD SHOW: VOLUME 3 QUEST FOR THE INFINITY SWORD.

THE WIGGLES: LET’S EAT.

............//NEW ADDITIONS//............

DR. WHO: THE MOVIE.
* Eric Roberts (THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE) played “The Master”, Dr. Who’s foe in this 1996 feature film.

............//MORE MORE MORE//............

Are you on the reservation for these movies? Just letting you know I bought some more copies…Hold that download!

ANIMAL KINGDOM.

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP.
* That’s right, three more copies.

THE TILLMAN STORY.

............//THE REPLACEMENTS//............

THE ART OF THE STEAL.

SCREAMING MEN.

****

The video portion of this weeks Four Star Gazer

****new release no.306

Welkom op onze Nederlandse vrienden! Bedankt voor het lezen!

Although there are a plootitude of titles this week, there aren’t any huge ones, where the name jumps out at you, begging you to rent it furnishing you with an opinion other than David Denby’s about the film that everyone is facebooking about on their iphones right this moment. No. This week, there are a surprisingly lot of movies that are smaller, chancier and edgier. These tend to be my favorite kind…you miss more than you hit, but when you get a hit? Well, the hits are sublime, and it is awesome to stumble into some brilliant unknown art and feel like you got to the party early. Think ME YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW, JUNEBUG and CRAZY.

The movies I chose to take home this weekend were IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, starring the radical Galifianakishness of Zach Galifianakis. In it, a shy and stressed teenager checks himself into the mental health ward of a local hospital where he ends up stuck in the adult ward for the weekend with Galifianak, who both takes the kid under his wing, and tries to climb under the kid’s wing too. But not like that. Anyway, we missed this one, but it looked sweet. We also took home ENTER THE VOID, a mammoth psychedelic adventure involving a super tight bond between brother and sister, a lot of drugs, some crazy crazy visual effects, a few teaspoons of the afterlife, and an extreme sized dose of weirdness. I really wanted to check this out, but Amy was fully uninterested, so we moved on. UNMADE BEDS is the second film by Alexis Dos Santos. Although I hadn’t seen his first film, 2006’s GLUE, I remember the DVD had interesting looking cover art which mentioned soundtrack music from the Violent Femmes. The kid on the cover was cute and the movie looked quirky and smart. The new film, starring Deborah Francois and Fernando Tielve, is about life for a couple of 20 year-olds living in London. The constant pumping soundtrack of live and recorded music provides an excellent foundation with which to understand the youngsters who are trying on adult life like an unwanted jacket given to them by a beloved aunt. They’ll wear it, they have to! But it smells and doesn’t fit just right. So they drink and they try new things while drunk and they yearn for balance, while just barely consciously keeping themselves off kilter. Like REPRISE, the great Norwegian film from 2006, UNMADE BEDS captures well that moment when, like what’s his name in that FORREST GUMP movie, we shake off the leg braces of our youth and run run!

Other movies I thought about bringing home were A PRIVATE FUNCTION, starring Michael Palin and Richard Griffiths, MIDDLE MEN, with Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi and AMARCORD, the Federico Fellini film, being released by Criterion on Blu-ray.

To read about all of this week’s DVD releases, and to find out more about how you pertain to me, go to 4starsf.blogspot.com. And remember; support your local independent video store, cause you will be sad when they’re gone.

Do you enjoy the Oscars? Do you like to dress up and walk on red carpet with photographers taking pictures of you non-stop while people scream and reach for you with desperate star-struck fever? Do you like a good party with your neighbors? On Friday, February 27th, we’ll be hosting an Oscar party benefitting the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema’s 8th Season! Complete a ballot, ($5 to enter) win prizes; enjoy food, beverages and the live broadcast — outdoors and inside the store! Details and ballot available here and also down here at the store.

Do you like art? Have you been to Secession Art down on Mission Street across the street from Safeway? It is a splendid place with multiple in-house designers making jewelry and multi-media paintings and even more designers selling their incredible clothing (men’s, women’s and some stuff for the kiddos) as well as lots of other stuff. For the next two months SUCCULENCE will be filling the windows of the latest show with Living Frames, airplant globes and more. Also featured in the show are the sublime reversible skirts made by local neighborhood artisan Liisa Dalbak. There will be an art opening there this Friday night, Feb 11th. I’ll see you there!

Succulence is hosting a 3 day Planting Bar for Valentine’s Day. We’ll have on hand a variety of containers, as well as tons of succulents, and an array of sands and pebbles and mosses. You pick all the elements and we will help you plant it! Ask us about it.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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******************************************************************************

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

AMERICA AMERICA.
Drama.
Directed by Elia Kazan.
* This Oscar-winning film from 1963 was actually the story of the director’s Greek uncle who fled Turkey in the latter portion of the 19th century and headed against his family’s wishes to America.

BEAUTY AND THE BRIEFCASE.
Comedy.
Hilary Duff/Jamie Pressly.
Directed by Gil Junger.
* She is a freelance writer, and she is going undercovers while looking for love. Typo?

ENTER THE VOID.
Psychedelic/Drama/Experimental.
Directed by Gaspar Noe.
* This freak fest tells the story of a brother and sister who share a very tight bond which is not completely broken upon his shooting death. There are crazy effects and techniques applied in this psychedelic adventure. Not sure if the movie is that good, but if it isn‘t, turn the volume down and put on Pink Floyd‘s “The Dark Side of the Moon“, it goes with it perfectly.

FIVE CORNERS.
Drama.
Jodie Foster/Tim Robbins/Todd Graff/John Turturro.
Directed by Tony Bill.
* In this drama, from 1987, Turturro plays a psycho who gets out of jail and looks up the girl (Foster) that he attempted to rape in the crime that sent him up the river.

FOR COLORED GIRLS.
Drama.
Anika Noni Rose/Thandi Newton/Kerry Washington/Janet Jackson.
Directed by Tyler Perry.
* Adapted from a play by Ntozake Shange, this film tells multiple stories of women‘s issues, and in particular women of color.

HIDEAWAY.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Isabelle Carre.
Directed by Francois Ozon.
* A recently pregnant woman, left alone after she survived an OD with her boyfriend who did not, moves to the sticks where she is joined by her exes gay brother, who himself is struggling to find his place in life.

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (2010).****BD****
Horror.
Directed by Steven Monroe.
* Did you see the original? In this updated remake, there’s a bit of SAW and HOSTEL added to the standard brutal rape revenge fantasy. Brutal. Murderous. Torturous. Uh, huh, her.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY.
Comedy/Drama.
Keir Gilchrist/Zach Galifianakis/Emma Roberts/Viola Davis/Zoe Kravitz.
Directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden.
* This teenage kid, worried about some suicidal impulses, checks himself into a mental hospital, and ends up with a mandatory 5-day stay in the adult ward. There he meets a variety of unstable people, including Mr. Galifianakis, who becomes a special friend of a sort.

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT.****BD****
Comedy
Josh Duhamel/Katherine Heigl.
Directed by Greg Berlanti.
* Do you have an estate plan? Have any kids? Any sort of directives saying what happens if you pass unexpectedly? Well…Just saying, cuz in this “comedy“ two unprepared single adults become parents of a sort when their great friends die suddenly, leaving behind an orphaned baby girl.

MIDDLE MEN.****BD****
Comedy/Drama.
Luke Wilson/Giovanni Ribisi/James Caan.
Directed by George Gallo.
* This is the story of one of the pioneers of the internet, one of the first people to make solid money online in the 90’s. What did he sell? Sex, of course - what pushes all technology? Sex! This movie actually looks pretty fun.

MY SOUL TO TAKE. ****BD****
Suspense.
Directed by Wes Craven.
* So take it, Wes, hell you’ve got much of our cash, as well. Psych! I’m keeping my soul, and I suggest you do to! But if you are super into the killah killah movies, then this one, might be fun for you - it is the story of a supposedly dead serial killer coming to stalk some youngsters who were born the day he died, that is, if he really did die.

ONG BAK 3: THE FINAL BATTLE.
Action/Foreign (Thai).
Tony Jaa/Dan Chupong.
Directed by Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai.
* The third in this tale of karmatic, meditative violent battle.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2. ****BD****
Horror/Mystery/Thriller.
Directed by Tod Williams.
* The events in this store are not normal. They are outside the range of normal experience or scientific explanation. They’re crazy super freaky! Turn on the lights, look under the bed, get a gun, and then you can start to really freak out, cuz you can’t kill what you can’t touch.

A PRIVATE FUNCTION.****BD****
Comedy.
Michael Palin/Maggie Smith/Richard Griffiths.
Directed by Malcolm Mowbray.
* This laugh riot movie from 1984 has a plot centered around an illegally raised pig, set to be slaughtered and presented to the soon-to-be Queen. Sadly, the pig is stolen.

THE ROMANTICS.
Drama/Romance.
Katie Holmes/Anna Paquin/Josh Duhamel/Malin Akerman/Elijah Wood.
Directed by Galt Niederhoffer.
* Katie Holmes and Anna Paquin are ex-college roommates who battled over the same guy, but ha ha Katie, Anna won! And now she is marrying the lucky fellow (Duhamel) and all the old gang are gathering for the wedding. A drama kind of in the style of RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, this ensemble piece is full of young talent who evidently pull out some fine performances.

SANTA SANGRE.
Horror.
Directed by Alejandro Jodorosky.
* From the maker of EL TOPO and HOLY MOUNTAIN came this 1989 derangathon about a young man dealing with some mental struggles, the kind that come from watching yer Daddy cut off your mama’s arms! Even if she was a religious nut, it was still very extreme! Now, said young man is back with mommy, and has sort of become her hatchet man, so to speak, as together they embark on a murderous vengeful path.

SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER.
Comedy/Romance.
Justin Kirk/Estella Warren.
Directed by Tamara Tunie.
* New York love story about a woman who feel abandoned by her therapist and starts a network for other walking wounded who are angry at their therapists, too.

STILL WALKING.****BD****
Criterion/Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda.
* Emotive family drama from 2008 about adult kids coming to visit their parents with their families on a lovely summer day. They are there to commemorate the loss of the oldest sibling, from an accident years ago. The film gently shows the way families change and still remain the same.

TAMARA DREWE.
Comedy.
Gemma Arterton/Dominc Cooper/Luke Evans.
Directed by Stephen Frears.
* Developed from the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds, Tamara is a young newpaper writer who returns to her rural roots to help prepare her childhood home for sale.

UNMADE BEDS.
Drama/Indie/Comedy.
Deborah Francois/Fernando Tielve.
Directed by Alexis Dos Santos.
* Ah, the roaring 20‘s; not the decade, the period of life! The transition to adulthood can be rocked by many pitfalls, all-night dancing, black-out drinking, fear of abandonment, sexual options. In this coming of age tale, two separate stories of wistful self-protectiveness criss-cross just slightly in the squat where many artists are living. Axl is somewhat looking for his father who left his family when he was a small child and Vera is so deeply in avoidance of love that her latest boyfriend doesn’t even know her name. Dos Santos follows up his debut film GLUE with another wonderful capture of the joy, fear and exhilaration of early adulthood. Includes an awesome soundtrack.

WILD TARGET.
Action/Comedy.
Bill Nighy/Emily Blunt/Rupert Grint.
Directed by Jonathan Lynn.
* This remake of Cible Emovante (1993) is a classic British-style comedy with a buttoned-up solo assassin falling in love with one of his targets and then trying to avoid his angry client while traipsing around with his new friend.

YEAR OF THE FISH.
Animation/Fantasy/Romance.
Directed by David Kaplan.
* This lush rotoscope-animation sensual feast places the Cinderella story in the depths of New York‘s Chinatown. Rotoscoping is the animation style that was used to make A SCANNER DARKLY, but in this it is a bit lighter and prettier.

YOU AGAIN .****
Comedy.
Kristen Bell/Sigourney Weaver/Jamie Lee Curtis.
Directed by Andy Fickman.
* As if High School wasn‘t a nightmare enough for Marnie (Bell), now her brother is marrying her least favorite friend from that time period.

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

MI 5: VOLUME 8.
Television/Spy.
* The British spy series where they are much more civilized and intelligent in their investigations than their American counterparts. This usually involves lots of tea breaks.

PROJECT RUNWAY: THE COMPLETE 8th SEASON.
Television/Model/Realityish.
* They are still making dresses out of spam to compete for the grand prize of a career in the industry, but…which industry?

............//NEW ON BLU/……….
AMARCORD.
Criterion/Drama/Foreign (Italian).
Directed by Federico Fellini.
* This 1973 Oscar-winning film tells the story of a small Italian coastal town and the people who live there and was based on the town that Fellini grew up in.

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

CHUGGINGTON: LET’S RIDE THE RAILS.

COOL DOG.

CURIOUS GEORGE: BIKE RIDE ADVENTURE.

MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE: MINNIE’S MASQUERADE.

TOM & JERRY: FUR FLYING ADVENTURES.

............//THE REPLACEMENTS//............

AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER - BOOK 1 WATER: VOL ONE.

****

****new release list no.305

Moi znajomi polską! Witaj!

Ahoy there mates. It’s time for another edition of The Four Star Gazer!

It’s February as I write, and that seems exciting. Another month in the books, and although January did seem to fly by, when I looked at my calendar I was relatively shocked at all the things that happened last month. So, I think yes, it goes fast, but wow, so full.

In February, the Academy Awards get doled out. I have enjoyed watching them for the last few years, and each year I think, why are we not having a Four Star Video Oscar Party? Well, guess what? This year, we are having one! That’s right, in conjunction with the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema Festival (and actually, as a benefit for their 2011 festival) we are going to host a throw down on Oscar night, Sunday, February 27th! The plan is to project it outside, and have it on inside as well. We will have drinks and snacks for sale outside – think wine and cheese and maybe some yummy locally made sweets. We will also have an Oscar ballot for $5 with prizes for the winners (wonderful, amazing prizes – to be announced!). As I mentioned, this will be a benefit for the local film festival that we all love, can you believe this year will be their 8th season! Anne and Leslie, I salute you! We will encourage you to dress in your favorite film outfit, either as a character you admire, or perhaps in your snappiest red carpet outfit. I am sure we’ll be talking about your dresses and suits for weeks afterwards. I will give you more details as they come together, but calendar this party people, and look for the ballots at the counter of Four Star Video sometime in the next few days. Who loves a party? Everyone do. That’s who.

Lots of films out this week, but I don’t think any are Oscar-related. Ah, well, still and all. LET ME IN is the remake of the classic Swedish vampire movie from 2008, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. The new one stars the fabulous Chloe Moretz (KICK-ASS, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER), and the fact that it is a remake just two years after the fact probably should not be held against it. Also out is WELCOME TO THE RILEYS, where a wayward Kristen Stewart meets a heartbroken James Gandolfini and their resulting friendship helps both of them heal a bit. In CONVICTION, Hillary Swank’s brother Sam Rockwell is convicted and she goes to law school and spends a few decades trying to exonerate him. THE TILLMAN STORY tells the story of Pat Tillman, the once-famous football star who died of friendly fire in Afghanistan, and his family who fought fiercely to find out the details of his death after a military cover-up. There are also a few cool looking foreign films, GIULIA DOESN’T DATE AT NIGHT from Italia, MADEMOISELLE CHAMBON from France, and A WOMAN A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP, a satirical Chinese remake of the Coen Brother’s great early film BLOOD SIMPLE.

Is there more to report? Probably. Noisepop is this month, which is an amazing San Francisco institution. This is the first year in a few that neither Amy or my bands is playing in this festival, but the way Conspiracy of Venus is hitting it these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up in there somewhere. Also, more locally, tomorrow night at the library, the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema is having one of its quarterly screenings. Here’s the details. Is there more? Am I forgetting? Forgive me, it’s late and I am tired.

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

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 – Two Exchanges a month (3 movies total) – $9.99 + Tax/Month
1SUB - One Movie at a time – Unlimited exchange – $18.99 + Tax/Month
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******************************************************************************

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

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA 2.
Cutesy.
Erin Cahill/Susan Blakely/George Lopez.
Directed by Alex Zamm.
* Woof woof!

BULLSHOT.
Comedy.
Alan Shearman
Directed by Dick Clement.
* Hilarious 1983 farcical romp. Think BUCKAROO BANZAI without the sci-fi and with British accents, and more funny, and with a completely different plot.

CONVICTION.****BD****
Drama.
Hilary Swank/Sam Rockwell/Minnie Driver/Melissa Leo/Juliette Lewis.
Directed by Tony Goldwyn.
* Did he do it? Betty Anne (Swank) doesn’t think so. So when her convicted brother (Rockwell) has gone through the system and has no further hope from the public defenders who have been representing him, she puts herself through law school to try to represent him and gain his freedom.

ELENA UNDONE.
Drama/Romance/LGBT.
Tracie Dinwiddie/Necar Zadegan.
Directed by Nicole Conn.
* A well-known lesbian writer becomes involved in a passionate affair with the wife of a pastor.

GIULIA DOESN”T DATE AT NIGHT.
Drama/Foreign (Italian).
Valerie Golino.
Directed by Giusseppe Piccioni.
* Emotive tale about trust and fidelity.

LET ME IN.****BD****
Horror/Suspense/Vampire/Remake/Drama.
Chloe Moretz/Kodi Smit-McPhee/Richard Jenkins/Elias Koteas.
Directed by Matt Reeves.
* Just two years ago, the Swedish vampire drama LET THE RIGHT ONE IN took cinema fans by storm. Reviews raved about how it went beyond the vampire genre and was a beautiful story about isolation and friendship and youth. Hollywood jumped on it and has given us this remake which basically follows the same story line…An under loved and somewhat bullied kids becomes friends with a young vampire who helps him gain revenge on his tormentors, among other things. If you loved the original, you will probably find reasons not to like this as much, however the child actors are great, and in case you don’t know it, Chloe Moretz is a Star with a capital S. Not yet 14, she has worked like crazy in the last few years, and truly established herself in Hollywood. You may remember her as the brilliant younger sister in (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, or as the little killing machine Hit-Girl in KICK-ASS. She has between 5 and 8 movies coming out in the next several years, so you will probably know her name well after that.

MADEMOISELLE CHAMBON.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Sandrine Kiberlain/Aure Atika/Vincent Lindon.
Directed by Stephane Brize.
* I have heard sweet things about this simple tale of a father whose life opens up when he volunteers as a substitute teacher at the school his son goes to and finds himself having deeper feelings for his kid’s homeroom teacher, Mademoiselle Chambon. Voila!

MONSTERS.****BD****
Drama/Sci-Fi.
Whitney Able/Scoot McNairy.
Directed by Gareth Edwards.
* They say this movie takes place six years after an alien invasion, and I wanna know which aliens? Not sure, and it’s true that I haven’t seen this film, but it is rated higher than I would have imagined on imdb, and I did buy a stack of them, so perhaps you should check it out! The main story is a journalist is escorting a hot tourist through one of the infected zones, in this case in Mexico, back to the safe haven of the US. Wait, alien invasion? Infected zone in Mexico? What the? Is this some kind of bizarre border immigration subtext story? Uh, not according to writer.

NEVER LET ME GO.****BD****
Drama/Suspense.
Keira Knightley/Carey Mulligan/Andrew Garfield/Sally Hawkins/Charlotte Rampling.
Directed by Mark Romanek.
* Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s powerful novel about a group of young adults who share a wonderful past together, growing up in an idyllic boarding school, but who also share a frightening future based on their purpose in life. You may remember Garfield who just played Eduardo, the jilted partner in THE SOCIAL NETWORK, and Mulligan (AN EDUCATION) continues her rise to fame.

THE PREGNANCY PACT.
Drama.
Thora Birch.
Directed by Rosemary Rodriguez.
* Shila encouraged me to shut my mouth, when I began making an inappropriate joke about this film on Friday. Thanks, Shila! Yes, it is a Lifetime original film, but don’t judge it based on that! Do you remember the story this is based on? In Gloucester, Massachusetts, a group of teenagers made a pact to get pregnant at the same time, and many of them did! I can’t help but think that this was due in some small part to the fact that their families were Red Sox fans.

WELCOME TO THE RILEYS.
Drama.
James Gandolfini/Kristen Stewart/Melissa Leo/Ally Sheedy.
Directed by Jake Scott.
* This performance driven film is about a couple dealing with the terrible loss of their 15-year-old daughter. In the course of resuming his life, Doug Riley (Gandolfini) meets a young runaway (Stewart), and tries to parent her a bit, as he is struggling with his pain. Though the story is a bit trite, the strength of the acting carries this film and indeed carried it enough to be nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2010 (it lost to WINTER’S BONE).

A WOMAN A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP.
Drama/Foreign (Mandarin).
Directed by Yimou Zhang.
* A monkey, a candlestick and an ice cream parlor. A camel, a frozen steak and a sushi restaurant. A mouse, some cheese and a greasy spoon. The lion, the witch and the wardrobe. Oh, fine, the real info? This is a Chinese remake of the Coen brothers brilliant film BLOOD SIMPLE.

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

THE TILLMAN STORY.
Documentary.
Narrated by Josh Brolin.
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev.
* Ah shit, Pat Tillman was a skilled and successful football star at the peek of his young career when he threw it all away to join the military after 911 because he thought it was the right thing to do. Tragically, he was killed by friendly fire in April of 2004. This movie tells the baffling story of how the military withheld this information from the family (and even covered it up) until after a nationally televised memorial service was held lauding him as a hero and ramping up the vitriolic war vibe against the enemy. Maybe we only know the truth of his story because of the dogmatic struggle by his family to get to the bottom of what really happened. Maybe this is their story as well as their sons.

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

PLEASANTVILLE.
* Reese Witherspoon and Tobey McMonkey starred in this awesome 1998 film about siblings from the 90’s who find themselves living in a 1950’s sitcom after they are sucked into the television. Ah, but once the children of the 90’s assert themselves, the world will never be the same.

10.
* Vavoom! Bo Derek is the object of Dudley Moore’s obsession in this campy sex comedy. Did we need this on Blu-ray? Probably not…Are you gonna watch it? Probably so.

YOU’VE GOT MAIL.
* And lots of spam, too.

............//FAMILY/KIDS/............

ALICE IN WONDERLAND: 60th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE.****BD****

SCOOBY DOO MYSTERY INCORPORATED: SEASON ONE VOLUME 1.

SESAME STREET: SILLY STORYTIME.

****