****new release list no.320

I AM NUMBER TWELVE! But no one has made a film about my life, so that’s not the release we have this week. No, instead, it is I AM NUMBER FOUR about a teenager in some sort of deep disguise trying to avoid the terrible fates of Numbers 1, 2 and 3. I think this is kind of tweener, teen-age sci-fi movie. It does have Timothy Olyphant (from JUSTIFIED) in it, so that’s appealing.

Also out this week is GNOMEO AND JULIET, which Shila assures me is terrific. My kids haven’t watched it yet, but I imagine it is a fun one for the kids. We’ve been plowing (for the first time) through the SHREK series, which has been super fun. All four of us were crying with laughter at the end of SHREK THE THIRD, when Donkey and Puss in Boots were showcasing their dance moves during the credits. Funny stuff. GNOMEO has some serious star power…putting voices to the animation are James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Jason Statham and more. Somehow I doubt this one ends the same way as Mr. Shakespeare’s classic.

Some interesting docs out this week include PUBLIC SPEAKING, EATRIP and CROPSEY (probably not related to Banksy, but maybe!). Also a cool looking Tom Waits movie called ONE STAR SHINING is here this week– maybe it features one of the multiple musicians in Bernal who have played in his band!

Lots of kids movies here this week. Also some interesting films made from Anton Chekhov plays. Scroll down to read all about it.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

CRUZANDO.
Adventure/Comedy/Drama.
. Directed by Mando Alvarado and Michael Ray Escamillo.
* A young man child has a due date which is the same day his father is scheduled to be executed in Texas. He and a friend embark on a journey to see his father one last time.

THE DUEL.
Drama.
Directed by Dover Koshashvili.
* From the Anton Chekhov play, this story is about two men, whose very different philosophies point them in the direction of serious conflict.

GNOMEO AND JULIET.****BD****
Animation/Comedy/Family.
James McAvoy/Emily Blunt/Michael Caine/Jason Statham.
Directed by Kelly Asbury.
* Yes, they are garden gnomes, but they share a deep and true love.

I AM NUMBER FOUR.****BD****
Sci-Fi/Adventure.
Alex Pettyfer/Timothy Olyphant.
Directed by D.J. Caruso.
* A mysterious teenager is not who he seems. Forces of evil are trying to destroy him as he tries to pass as a “normal” high school kid.

LILLY’S THORN.
Drama.
Windy Marshall/Michelle Trout.
Directed by Will Bain and Dewell Williams.
* Davy vs Goliath type indie tale about a woman fighting a hostile corporate real estate takeover.

THE SCENESTERS.
Comedy/Crime/Mystery/Indie.
Directed by Todd Berger.
* Indie comedy about a serial killer picking up hipsters in LA and the crime scene videographers who are trying to catch him.

THE UNLOVED.
Drama.
Molly Windsor/Robert Carlyle.
Directed by Samantha Morton.
* Academy-Award nominated actor Samantha Morton makes her directorial debut with this film about an abused young girl and the government system she gets involved with, that doesn’t really protect her or keep her from danger.

WARD NO.6.
Drama/Foreign (Russian).
Directed by Aleksandr Gornovsky and Karen Shakhnazarov.
* Another film based on writings by Anton Chekhov, this one is about a psychiatric doctor who becomes a patient in his own clinic.

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

CROPSEY
Documentary/Crime.
Directed by Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman.
* The two directors, themselves residents of Staten Island, look into some grisly murders from the 1970’s in their neck of the woods and attempt to figure out what might have happened.

EATRIP
Documentary/Food/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Yuri Nomura.
* Self-described as food porn, this movie explores our relationship with our food, with the people we eat with, and with nature.

PUBLIC SPEAKING.
Documentary/Sociology.
Fran Lebowitz.
Directed by Martin Scorcese.
* This doc about the philosophy and writings of Fran Lebowitz features archival footage from Truman Capote, Dorothy Parker, William F. Buckley, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison and many more.

A SMALL ACT.
Documentary/Foreign (English/Kikuyu/Swedish/Swahili).
Directed by Jennifer Arnold.
* Great example of the whole concept that your niceness and friendliness will continue onward and morph and grow and change. This movie follows a young Kenyan man who becomes the beneficiary of a Swedish stranger who decides to pay for his education. Years later, the Kenyan is now funding his scholarship program to help others.

TOM WAITS: ONE STAR SHINING.
Documentary/Music.
* This music doc focuses on the first decade of Waits glorious career.

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

CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL: THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS.
Comedy.
Created by and Starring Rob Corddry.
* Very weird, parody of multiple medical dramas.

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

FANBOY AND CHUMCHUM.

THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB: MICKEY’S GREAT OUTDOORS.

THE NAPPING HOUSE AND OTHER STORIES THAT RHYME.

SPLAT THE CAT AND OTHER FURRY FRIENDS.

THE STORY ABOUT PING AND OTHER FINE FEATHERED FRIENDS.

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

THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA.****BD****
Drama.

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

****new release list no.319

Buenas tardes amigos. Hola, my good friends.

The strange batch of releases this week include three (3) films about a young woman who falls for her teacher. Wow! I guess that is what the focus groups said we wanted to watch. At least two of them involve the woman also having an age-appropriate relationship, so a nice love triangle is added to the mix. Also, two of them or decidedly not Hollywood-ish, with one being from France (LA BELLE PERSONNE) and another being a freaky-deaky Indie film (DAYDREAM NATION, starring Kat Dennings). Lest we dismiss the Hollywood offering, THE OTHER WOMAN stars Natalie Portman, so something tells me it is worth seeing as well. Gosh, an Academy Award will really bring out the smaller releases from yesteryear, won’t it? This Portman film is from 2009.

There is also some suspense and horror at Four Star Video this week. I know, I know, I don’t order a ton of horror films. I hear it from the staff all the time. This week, however, we got you covered, with something old, something new…you know the drill. The older film is from the master, Dario Argento, called DEEP RED about a musician who witnesses a murder and the journalist who helps him investigate. In the newer department, we have two films, both sequels to THE GRUDGE from Mari Asato. Also, RITE, starring Anthony Hopkins is out this week. It is the tale of a young seminary student who travels to Italy to take part in an exorcism class. Sounds like a party! I hope these films are nice and terrifying!

The fabulous action hero, Jason Statham, teams up with upcoming star Ben Foster in a remake of a 1972 Charles Bronson film about a hitman and a young apprentice who he trains who is harboring a secret.

We also have a classic by Vittoria De Sica (the director of the amazing film BICYCLE THIEVES). In SHOESHINE, two young boys get involved in a life of crime in order to finance the purchase of a horse that they desire. Sadly, things get more complicated than they bargained for.

Don’t they always?

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

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

LA BELLE PERSONNE (THE BEAUTIFUL PERSON).
Drama/Foreign (French).
Louis Garrell/Lea Seydoux.
Directed by Christophe Honore.
* One of three films this week about a young woman who hooks up with her teacher. This one, much like DAYDREAM NATION (right below), follows a sad girl who has just lost her mother and has moved to a new town where she hooks up with both a nice high school boy, and her Italian teacher.

DAYDREAM NATION.****BD****
Drama/Romance.
Kat Dennings/Reece Thompson/Josh Lucas.
Directed by Michael Goldbach.
* Trippy-made tale about a high school girl, new in town, who gets involved with a teacher and a stoner classmate.

DEEP RED.
Horror/Foreign (Italian).
Directed by Dario Argento.
* This is a lesser known Argento thrill-fest from 1975 about a reporter and a musician teaming up to find a killer intent on not getting caught.

JU-ON: WHITE GHOST BLACK GHOST.
Horror/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Mari Asato.
* Ah, I see, this is actually two movies, both sequels to the Japanese horror film, THE GRUDGE. They are both released together on one disc.

THE MECHANIC.****BD****
Action/Suspense/Crime.
Jason Statham/Ben Foster/Donald Sutherland.
Directed by Simon West.
*Statham plays Arthur, a highly regarded hit man with a penchant for getting the job done. Steve (Foster) is a younger guy who becomes his apprentice. Unfortunately for Arthur, Steve has a few secrets that he is preparing to share.

THE OTHER WOMAN.****BD****
Comedy/Drama/Romance.
Natalie Portman/Lisa Kudrow/Lauren Ambrose.
Directed by Don Roos.
* This 2009 film is just making it to DVD. Interesting how Portman is everywhere in the movies recently. She’s terrific, so I am not complaining. In this, she plays a young woman who is the “other woman” in an older married man’s life. When he divorces to marry his pregnant girlfriend, his young son is super unhappy and angry. In a way, the feeling is mutual, as Portman’s character doesn’t really want to share her new husband. The movie has comedic elements, but eventually gets quite serious.

RITE.****BD****
Horror/Suspense.
Anthony Hopkins/Ciaran Hinds/Alice Braga.
Directed by Mikael Hofstrom.
* An exorcism film starring one of the best creepy actors of our time, Anthony Hopkins. The basic tale is of a young American student who travels to Italy (ah, Italia!) to take a course in exorcisms.

THE ROOMMATE.
Suspense.
Leighton Meester/Minka Kelly.
Directed by Christian Christiansen.
* This is a little updated version of SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, but perhaps a bit tamer.

SHOESHINE.
Drama/Classic/Foreign (Italian).
Directed by Vittorio De Sica.
* In this feature film made just two years before his triumph THE BICYCLE THIEVES (one of my top 10 films of all time), this film follows a couple of shoeshine kids whose hopes of owning a horse of their own are dashed when they get involved in a shady deal involving stealing money from an older woman. Once they get to jail their fates are sealed and soon their friendships have eroded and they are both spinning – in opposite directions.

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

ARAYA
Documentary/Industry/Foreign (Spanish).
Directed by Margo Benacerraf.
* This was a darling at the Cannes Film Festival in…1959, yup you read that right. It examines the life of a “salineros”, miners working an old salt mine in Venezuela.

WARTORN: 1861-2010
Documentary/War/HBO.
* This emotional documentary examines soldier’s lives over the last 150 years and questions why the suicide rate among veterans has grown higher over time.


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

BEVERLY HILLS COP.
Drama.
* I’m just burnin’, doin’ the neutron dance - oohoo.

JAGGED EDGE.
Drama.
* Remember this one with Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges?

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

FRANKLIN AND THE GLOOMY DAY.

NICK JR.: FOOD WITH FRIENDS.

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

****new release list no.318

Did you see 2003’s THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE? Writer/director Sylvain Chomet’s animated feature is a wildly inventive, meticulously contrived and brilliantly drawn masterpiece about the kidnap of a young bicycle competitor, and the dogged pursuit of him by his iron-willed Grandmother and her doggy. Aided by three insanely eccentric, frog-eating singing women in the twilight of a career that saw them at one point star club singers known as Les Triplettes but now has left them with little in the way of income, Gramma faces down disaster after disaster, including explosions at sea and gangsters with machine guns to get to the center of the dastardly plot that her kidnapped grandson is being held captive for. The plot is feverishly clever filled with incredible details such as the apartment that grammy and Champion (the bicyclist) live in that is so close to a passing air tram that when the train cruises past it feels as though it is right there in the room and the bizarre swamp bombing the aged singing sisters perform to gather their nightly frog dinner. The movie lacks any true dialogue and tells its story using age-old silent film techniques that have been so lauded in such recent Pixar films like WALL-E and UP. Different than these American films, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE never really dips into dialogue, content instead that we will understand everything that we see, no matter how far-fetched or unreal the twists may get. The characters are truly compelling, especially the older women (the grandmother and the joyful triplets) who are unwilling to do anything but laugh in the face of life’s cruel jokes. The movie is buoyed and broadened by its incredible soundtrack of Les Triplettes singing both in the past and in the present; their wild harmonies and crazy soulful jazz songs are made of the same uplifting stuff as the indomitable will of life.

Now, Chomet has come out with his first feature film since then in his adaptation of a script that Jacques Tati wrote in 1956 called THE ILLUSIONIST telling the story of an aging stage magician in the early 60’s whose career is being closed out both by his own age and the emergence of new exciting stage acts like rock and roll bands. It is a very different offering from his previous film in that it is a much smaller story, without much in the way of plot devices or twists of really any sort. Instead, it is a straight forward story of an aging entertainer facing unemployment and the fears of being unable to care for himself. He finds himself getting an obscure gig in Scotland in a off-the-path hotel somewhere where he meets a young girl who quickly becomes a fan. When he leaves Scotland, she stows away on the boat on which he’s traveling and basically becomes his ward of a sort. With the gifts that he buys her, she blossoms and becomes a lovely young woman who inspires the affections of a young man who, like her, is at the beginning of a wide open life. As the illusionist struggles to keep their household afloat with any odd job he can get, the gulf separating the two becomes wider and their vastly different futures become impossible to ignore. In general, there is a wistful and timelessness throughout the film, of the sort you’d expect to feel while reading a novel by Dostoevsky or listening to Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21. It serves as testament to the faithful adaptation of Tati’s 55-year old script that the film comes off, though modern and fresh feeling, as if it could have been made back in the 1960’s, or even earlier. As in his previous feature, there is very little dialogue in this film; we watched it without any subtitles, after being annoyed by such lines as “everyone laughs” and “music swells” that didn’t actually add anything to our comprehension of the story. Though not the same sort of must-see film as THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, THE ILLUSIONIST remains a fascinating portrait of a life of solitude.

Scroll down to read about the rest of the movies this week, including Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in BLUE VALENTINE.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

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

BLUE VALENTINE.****BD****
Drama.
Ryan Gosling/Michelle Williams.
Directed by Derek Cianfrance.
* This honest and painful portrayal of love and pain in a marriage features two of the hottest actors in Hollywood today. Goslin plays Dean, the child of a broken marriage, a professional house painter, a morning drinker, unapologetically unambitious but relatively good-natured, and a hunk who has relatively accidentally fallen in love and become a father against all natural design. Of course look who he’s in love with, the insanely gorgeous Cindy (Williams), also the child of a difficult home, and also someone who struggles with judgment issues. The film cuts between time periods to put together the puzzle of who they are, how they got there, and what happened along the way. The marriage itself is precariously balanced, and somewhat a third main character that you care for and wonder what will happen to. Anyone who has been in a relationship knows the pitfalls that seem to be available to fall into around every corner and the precarious nature of modern love. Dean and Cindy’s love is a love you know; either one like you’ve been through, or one your good friends are dealing with right now.

I SAW THE DEVIL.
Horror/Suspense/Crime/Foreign (Korean).
Directed by Kim Jee-Woon.
*…and it’s name was the Internet! Actually, in this scary film from the maker of THE GOOD THE BAD THE WEIRD, a killer murders the pregnant fiancée of a secret agent, whose pursuit of revenge knows no boundaries between right and wrong. His pleasureful pursuit of the bad guy involves a sort of cat-and-mouse catch-and-release game that becomes sicker and sicker. I’ve heard this film called the best serial killer movie since THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Hmmm.

THE ILLUSIONIST (2010).****BD****
Animation/Drama/Comedy.
Directed by.
* From the director of THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE comes this wonderful little film that I have knick named in my head THE GREAT BIG SAD SCARY WORLD. An aging magician, working at smaller venues then in the past, but acting with great dignity and no anger at the changing world, takes in a young woman and becomes a conduit for her to begin her adult life. Sad, but not in a hopeless way, and joyful, in the sense that we are all in this crazy life together, THE ILLUSIONIST is a beautiful little film about endings and beginnings.

NO STRINGS ATTACHED.****BD****
Comedy.
Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher/Ludacris/Olivia Thirlby/Greta Gerwig/Kevin Kline.
Directed by Ivan Reitman.
* His first film since MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND, Reitman has a way with comedy, and an understanding as to what is funny. Perhaps that is why this somewhat bland, middle-of-the-road looking romantic comedy about two people who just want to have fun, no strings attached, rises above the normal fluff of its kind. Or maybe it’s because Natalie Portman is the star…not sure.

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

WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?****BD****
Documentary/Sociology.
Directed by Pamela Tanner Boll.
* Intense exploration of mothering, and the brutal choices so many moms have to make regarding being a person in the world and being beholden to the lives that she has created. Those choices can affect careers, marriages and relationships, and personal growth. This film focuses on five moms who are trying to do everything, and the challenges they face every day.

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

DOCTOR WHO: PLANET OF THE SPIDERS.
Television/Sci-Fi.
* The John Pertwee years, 1970-1974.

DOCTOR WHO: THE TERROR OF THE AUTONS.
Television/Sci-Fi.
* The John Pertwee years, 1970-1974.

IN PLAIN SIGHT: SEASON 3.
Television/Drama.
Mary McCormack/Frederick Weller.
* The continuing story of a US Marshall whose main gig is in relocating federal witnesses.

MOLL FLANDERS: THE FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES OF.
Television/.
* Alex Kingston plays Moll in this 1996 retelling of the tale of Moll Flanders “the wickedest woman in England”, who actually just appears to be the victim of some rotten luck, bad parenting, sexual abuse and, eventually, poor judgment.

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

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF: 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
Drama/Musical.
* Truly one of the finest musicals ever written.

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

THE BIRDS: COLLECTOR’S EDITION.
* Tweet tweet, aaaaaarghghgh!!!!

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

****new release list no.317

خوش آمدید برادران و خواهران ا ز ایران! با تشکر از شما برای خواندن.

Check one. Check two. Is this thing on? Déjà vu, right?

Wow, last week I had big plans for the blog. Tim Hetherington, one of the directors of the Academy Award-nominated documentary RESTREPO had just been killed in Libya, and that, combined with so much else going on in that region, had my head just totally spinning. Then, last Sunday night, I got the brutal stomach virus going around and was fully down for the count for five solid days. In the scheme of things, not much of a big deal, but wow, being sidelined for a week really sets you back. Since then, so much else has happened in the world, beginning with the gigantic news out of Pakistan last night that US forces have killed Usama Bin Laden and now I don’t even know where to begin!

Although, truthfully, though the world is spinning and loaded and popping left and right, there wouldn’t really be a proper beginning to this entry (especially considering Mother’s Day this weekend) without extending a huge and loving happy birthday to my very own special mother person, Leslee Feinsod! Mom, I wish you the best; I am so grateful for your presence in my life. Much love and thanks for not overtly obsessing about the environment when you decided to procreate. I appreciate it, as I can only analyze this life through my actual, living mind. Thanks for life, Mom.

I don’t want to come off as uneducated or trite or shallow, so I will not try to verbalize my personal experience of September 11th, 2001. Suffice to say it was one of my worst days. Watching the news last night however, conflicted me tremendously. I am not sorry to see Bin Laden dead, not in the least. But I found the images of chanting, dancing joy to be disturbing to my eyes and my heart. I wanted to grab and hug those dancing kids in Washington, D.C. and say, please go home, don’t look into the camera, don’t smile and chant U.S.A, U.S.A! Finally, this afternoon, I stumbled upon this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr which I think fully speaks to my feelings:

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

Forty-plus years later, MLK’s words remain poignant and apt. I am grateful today for them to help me find perspective in this big event, and in this big world.

I think we are having a bit of a watershed moment on the planet right now. In Libya, Syria, in Egypt, in Jordan and Yemen, people of many Islamic countries are fighting and dying for personal freedom. Everyone wants freedom. Many people may have different definitions for freedom. Right here in San Francisco we may argue about the nature of freedom. But the basic fact is that freedom transcends religion, ethnicity, nationality and culture. People. Want. Freedom.

I can live in a world where that is a truth.

If you need some diversions from the emotionally paralyzing realities of life, we’ve got you covered. Here’s an idea. Close your computer, and walk on up to Cortland. There’s a lot of people around. There’s a lot of nice businesses in your neighborhood. The trees look pretty. The air is delicious. While you’re up here, stop in to Four Star Video and rent a movie. We’ll say hi.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

P.S. In honor of Mother’s Day, Succulence has some cool stuff happening this weekend. On Friday, Jessica Vidican-Neisius Holguin, the founder of Morning Glory Chai, will be pouring her special spicy sweet blend in-house from 4-6pm. All weekend, Fri – Sunday, from 11am – 7pm, the Succulence Planting Bar will be in effect. You can come and pick a planter, pick plants and toppings (sands/pebbles), and then we’ll shepherd you through the process of planting it up. The end result is that you have a lovely gift for Mom made with your own two hands! We’ve got lots of other great stuff for Mom. If you haven’t perused our offerings lately, make it point to check us out this week. Mom will thank you. So will I!

******************************************************************************
KenFlix - the only Independent Monthly Subscription Film Renting Service in SF
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4SUB - Four Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $32.99 + Tax/Month
******************************************************************************

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

A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN.
Comedy/Drama/Crime/Foreign (Norweigan).
Stellan Skarsgard.
Directed by Hans Moland.
* A man is dealing with his life after being released from a 12-year sentence in jail. Yes, he’s a gangster, but…he’s a tender man of sorts. Sure, sure, he’ll shoot you in the face if he must, it’s just that…he’d rather just maybe get out of the shooting industry and live out his twilight years in relative peace. Is that likely for a “made” man? Not very.

BLOOMINGTON.
Romance/LGBT.
Directed by Fernanda Cadosa.
* It’s a bit of a coming of age tale with a student falling for her college professor.

THE DILEMMA.****BD****
Drama.
Vince Vaughn/Kevin James/Jennifer Connelly/Winona Ryder/Channing Tatum/Queen Latifah.
Directed by Ron Howard.
* A couple of great buddies, now business partners, have their relationship thrown into turmoil when one discovers that the other’s wife is maybe seeing another guy. Should he tell his buddy? And potentially ruin the guys’ marriage? Oh, it’s a tough one…A moral conundrum!
 
THE GREEN HORNET.****BD****
Action/Comedy/Superhero.
Seth Rogen/Jay Chou/Cameron Diaz/Christopher Waltz/Tom Wilkinson.
Directed by Michel Gondry.
* There’s really no plot to speak of, not much in the way of character development or motivation. There isn’t a ton of pumping music (some), eye candy (sorry Cameron), and even the explosions are meh. So why watch? Well, for one, Seth Rogen remains funny. Especially when he tries to explain things, or talk his way out of things, or understand things, and even occasionally when he wakes up. The guy is just funny. I laughed with this movie a nice bunch of times. It was co-written by Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg (together they scripted SUPERBAD), which makes me think much of the actual “story” must have ended up edited out of the picture. Watch this movie as a spoof of the genre. In that respect, it should hold your attention.

MY OWN LOVE SONG.
Drama.
Renee Zellwegger/Forest Whitaker/Nick Nolte.
Directed Olivier Dahan.
* A group of lost souls head on a road trip looking for redemption.

NINJAS VS. VAMPIRES.
Comedy/Spoof/Horror/Action.
Directed by Justin Timpane.

UNA SEMANA SOLOS.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (Spanish and Italian).
Directed by Celine Murga.
* This indie from Argentina tells the story of a group of kids left alone in a gated community after the adults go on vacation.

WAITING FOR FOREVER.
Drama/Romance.
Rachel Bilson/Tom Sturridge/Richard Jenkins.
Directed by James Keach.

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

HUMAN PLANET: THE COMPLETE SERIES.****BD****
Documentary/BBC/Naturish.
* The BBC Earth team brings us another audio and visual treat as they examine human life in all the elements around the planet, ranging from cities to jungles, mountains, grasslands, deserts, and more. As usual, incredible dedication and camera work go into making this a must see for any and all amateur (and professional) sociologists. Probably should be watched in schools as well.

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

BEING HUMAN: SEASON THREE.
Television/BBC/Drama/Fantasy.
* Season three in the out-there BBC series about three roommates, a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost making a go of it in the big scary world.

DROP DEAD DIVA: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON.
Television/Comedy.
Brooke Elliot/Margaret Cho.

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

FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS.
Criterion/Comedy/Drama.
* Epic Terry Gilliam movie adaptation of the famous Hunter S. Thompson book starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro. This is a must-see for serious fans of film, Thompson and/or psychedelia. Featuring many amazing performances topped by Depp’s Hunter S.

WHAT DREAMS MAY COME.
Drama.
* Robin Williams stars in this fantastical examination of the afterlife.

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

THE AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROS: V01.

THE AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROS: V02.

BEN 10: THE ULTIMATE ALIEN POWER STRUGGLE.

CURIOUS GEORGE PLAYS BALL.

DORA THE EXPLORER: IT’S HAIRCUT DAY.

ELLE: A MODERN CINDERELLA TALE.

REDWALL: THE NEXT ADVENTURE.
* Both my six-year-old daughter and my nearly ten-year-old (!) son really like this adventure series.

SESAME STREET: ELMO’S TRAVEL SONGS AND GAMES.

SPOT: SPOT’S BIRTHDAY PARTY.

SUPER HERO SQUAD: V04.

TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO & MORE STORIES TO CELEBRATE ASIAN HERITAGE.

WOW WOW WUBBZY SAVES THE DAY.

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

DOCTOR WHO: THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES.
* How did we become such a bastion of Doctor Who down here at Four Star? Will we remain this way when Tanya goes off to college in August? Tanya! We miss you already!

DOCTOR WHO: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SERIES.

PETER PAN.

*******HERE IS THE LIST OF LAST WEEKS MOVIES*******

3 IDIOTS.
* Looks super funny.

BLOW OUT.
* Criterion release.

BOB DYLAN: DON’T LOOK BACK.****ON BLU RAY****

BUNNY AND THE BULL.
* Rachel says this comedy is great.

CHAWZ.
* Korean comedy/horror about a wild pig causing much destruction.

FLY AWAY.

JOLENE.

LOOKING FOR FIDEL.
* Great looking doc.

LUCKY.

OPA.

SOUTH PARK: THE COMPLETE 14th SEASON.

TESTEES: THE COMPLETE SERIES.

****