The end of the movie

Dear Neighbors, It is with heavy hearts that we announce that Four Star Video is closed, effective September 26, 2012. We are no longer renting movies. Succulence will continue to operate, and will be moving into the whole store over the next bunch of weeks. See the bottom of this letter for more details. When we bought Four Star, in March of 2007, we projected that the business probably had 3-5 years of life left in it. We also optimistically committed ourselves to keeping it open for as long as we could. Dashing our hopes but exceeding our expectations, we made it 5 1/2 years. But now, we must move on. For quite a while Four Star has existed to pay its employees and serve the neighborhood, but it has not been a profitable enterprise. We’ve hit other dips in the road and have made (sometimes difficult) adjustments that have kept Four Star open. We shortened our hours, we changed our staffing schedules, we offered a membership plan for customers, and we stopped paying for health insurance for our employees. That one really felt terrible. Of course, we also opened Succulence. That has added growth and new dimensions to the store and to our lives. The two businesses together have worked in amazing cooperation. But it does take a lot to run them both – one is growing while the other is shrinking, and the combination has often made us feel as though we are simultaneously running our hardest and staying in place. That has been exhausting and discouraging. It recently became clear that a change at Four Star was required, and we just don’t feel as though hiking the prices or reducing our ordering of new films or any other approach to keep Four Star afloat is likely to serve any long term goal, and maybe not any short term goal either. There is a quality of experience that we’ve offered at Four Star that we don’t want to compromise, and we can’t maintain that quality and continue to reduce expenses. We love Four Star Video and we know many, many of you do, too – you tell us all the time! That makes us so proud, and makes this decision so scary. Like so many others, we have been thinking about technology, the economy, our changing society and what it all means. The opportunity to put on your shoes and jacket, walk to Cortland, and rent a DVD was a rare privilege and a wonderful feature to our neighborhood. We are saddened and disappointed to see that go, but we are not surprised. Certain ways we live our lives are changed forever, making some wonderful things obsolete. That is not happening but has already happened. It is indeed full of a lot of loss. Change is a must, that much is clear. The goodness or badness of change is sometimes just not the point. The inevitability of change, however, carries the lessons to us: we cannot hold onto what is simply because we know it and love it; we cannot remain bitter about the inevitable, because then we are just left with bitterness; we cannot know what good will come! Let us also heed this reminder not to take the things we love and value for granted. Enjoy them while you can! Take responsibility for their survival! We do have some ability to decide what we will support, where we will compromise, and how we spend our money. More here than most places – that is a privilege we haven’t yet lost. Each of us plays a part in determining where value lies in our world. Thank you, thank you, wonderful Bernal Heights, for supporting Four Star for so long. Thank you to all of the previous owners of Four Star Video, who gave us such a gem. Thank you to the probably hundreds of people who have worked at the store over the years. And continuing thanks to you, dear customers, for coming in, hanging out, talking film, talking life, and changing and growing with us and the times. We love bringing you art and plants and things that add to your quality of life, and we are grateful for the opportunity to keep doing it. We will be selling movies in the store for a least two – and probably more like four – more weeks. Our transition plan is a work in progress, but we have a lot of movies and need to get them to loving homes. Maybe you want to own a piece of Bernal History or want to get some stocking-stuffers in advance. Stock up on some TV series you haven’t watched yet? Prepare for the collapse of the internet and global infrastructure by making sure you have entertainment stashed away in your survival bunker? Kids movies are $4, library DVDs are $5, library BluRays are $8, Criterion, foreign and documentary films are $10. New Releases are $12, and Series are sold by the season for $10 - $15. 10% discount if you buy 10 or more movies, and a 20% discount if you buy 20 or more movies. If you want more, lets talk. If you want VHS tapes you are a super hero. Also, effective immediately, store hours are 10am to 8pm. We’d love to give you store credit (at Succulence) for any unused blocks or KenFlix days if you are interested in that. Your continued support means a lot to us. We’re sorry we couldn’t keep Four Star Video open forever. With love, Ken and Amy Shelf

We're still here.

Dear Good People of Bernal Heights and Beyond,

We, Amy and Ken Shelf (and our children, Huck and Trudy) became owners of Four Star Video in March of 2007 – five years ago! The previous owner, David Ayoob, had passed away in November of 2006 after also owning Four Star Video for five years. Ken had a funny epiphany one night realizing that Dave's life seemed quite romantic and lovely, and that perhaps he could step into those huge shoes and become a business owner on Cortland. “These are our working years” he said to Amy, while convincing her of his plan. Oh, we've laughed hard at that memory.

Our friends (some of you!) were very worried about this. A video store? How can that survive? What about Netflix? Redbox? Comcast? AppleTV? Hulu? Streaming of any sort? Iphone, Ipod, Ipad, I put it at 3-5 years maximum. We'd already seen so many video stores close. Meanwhile, we told them (and our parents, and ourselves), we will contemplate our options, prepare a business plan for another store. Not get caught with out pants down (well...you know what I mean).

A funny thing happened along the way, our great friend and mentor, Darcy Lee, suggested we start selling succulents, those lovely thick-leaved plants that have such a penchant for existence that they sometimes refuse to die. We hemmed. We hawed. Then we bit, set out a table in the back patio and picked up some plants.

Well, like a rice grain and a pinto bean, somehow, improbably, we formed a whole protein with video and plant. Virtual and organic. Entertainment and existence. And here we are; five years later, still renting videos and also offering classes on vertical gardening and terrarium building. And seeds for your vegetable gardens. And lighting for your romantic dinner. And freshly made jams and pickles and supplies. And handmade ceramics and necklaces and belt buckles. And art, both utilitarian and otherwise. And, of course, succulents, small and large, of all colors and types, in a state of joy, waiting to be taken home to nurture and nourish.

The video store? Like Joaquin Phoenix, still here! In September last year, we realized we didn't need to separately “own” two stores on the same footprint, so we merged the two, and now our entire operation is called Succulence. And currently, Succulence has a huge video rental library, with well over 25,000 titles, and 10-20 new titles every week. Our subscription program (cleverly called Kenflix) allows you to rent without late fees and due dates. Our educated staff helps you to pick out what you didn't even know you wanted. We still offer the opportunity to browse and touch videos with your actual hands. Yes we are constantly making changes to our layout. We must! Our responsibility is to survive. That is our intention; survival. Our plan is to be in business in Bernal Heights, whether or not we rent videos, sell plants, teach classes, or whatever. We want to be up here, at 402 Cortland, schmoozing with you, our friends, our neighbors, and those of you we have just met, offering some good honest business with care and attention. That is our plan. Thank you for supporting us.

Love and Kisses,

Ken and Amy Shelf
Owners, Succulence

****new release list no.324

Who has two thumbs, speaks French and loves a vacation? C’est moi!

We just spent a glorious sunny first half of July touring around our great state. We dabbled in the Central Valley, frolicked in the San Fernando Valley, chilled out in the Sonoma Valley, and gawked at the beauty we passed along the way (particularly some stunning lunar displays!). There is very little like spending time with your family outside of the normal constraints of schools, works, camps, and the ticking clock of the weekend. We wandered around a bit, saw some old friends, bonded with some newer friends, ate so much amazing food that I must ingest nothing but raw vegetable juice for a week or two to get back down to fighting strength (the homemade porchetta was the highlight – shazaam!).

We didn’t have much of a media related vacation, though we did finally see for the first time THE WEDDING CRASHERS, which was significantly funnier than I expected. Bradley Cooper was a revelation, and Vince Vaughn was definitely at the top of his game in this tale of two dudes who work a wedding season like few others. There style? Crash weddings, eat/drink/be merry, and then hook up with the lovely ladies they meet at the party. Rachel McAdams was excellent as the accidental love interest of Owen Wilson’s character, and after loving her in SLINGS & ARROWS (Season One), it was fun to see her star power translate to the big screen. I always worry that a comedy will just be stupid in the bright light its own buzz, but I can confidently say that this one had some true brilliance (the opening scene!) as well as a lot of laugh-out-loud moments that had me literally crying. Probably helped that I heavily employed the green ratings system, but no matter what your movie watching preferences are, I recommend this one.

You may have noticed there are some new people at Four Star Video. After 4 years of working here, Jeff is moving on. He has gotten into an amazing art school and flying away from the nest. We are going to miss him very much, but we wish him the very best! This Sunday (July 24th) is his last day. We will have a couple bottles of wine around during the evening, so come have a toast to Jeff and contribute to what is sure to be a very drunken work night for him. I hope he gives you your right movie.

Soon, there will be more changes. Andrew has been on and off the schedule lately and now is going off it again for a little while. It turns out he is a student, too! Go figure. Soon, Tanya will be flying off to college as well. My goodness! Such change! Well, as Amy says “change is a must”. True, true. We wish these guys well, and look forward to the new relationships that we will make.

In the meantime, we have movies here at Four Star Video. Lots and lots of them. This very week there is a big new stack, and I’ve written a bit about them below. I think you’ll find a couple things there that you might not have heard about, but that might tickle your fancy (whatever your fancy may be!).

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

Oh, P.S. – Some artist words of note. My band Static People is playing in the East Bay this Friday, July 22nd at The Shattuck Down Low. This is sure to be a fun show, so come rock out with us. What? You don’t go to the East Bay except to visit your sister? Well, then, my band Static People is playing next Thursday, July 28th at The Red Devil Lounge. That show is the finals of a long competition that we have been involved in. If we win, we will get shipped to Quebec for a huge music festival in September. So come support, if ya like Rock and Roll. Also, my art that I make and sell at Succulence will be on display the month of August in the East Bay at The Rare Bird. There will be an art opening on August 16th, which I’ll tell you more about later. There will be lots of crazy things there, and I am very excited about it! What? You don’t go to the East Bay except to visit your Mother? Well, it seems that my art will also be on display at The Stray Bar here on Cortland in September. When that is all confirmed up, I will give you details. Okey-dokey then.

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

DAWNING.
Horror.
* Indie horror film about a family visit at a secluded cabin by a lake in Minnesota who have a bad vacation. Take note, Andrew!

LIMITLESS.****BD****
Action/Suspense.
Bradley Cooper/Robert De Niro/Abbie Cornish/Anna Friel.
Directed by Neil Burger.
* I am pretty sure this film is about me, because it says it is about a writer (Cooper) who takes a drug which allows him to evolve into the perfect version of himself! They do appear to take liberties with my story, because then he becomes the target of many bad guys, including a mogul (De Niro) who imagines he can used to make lots of money. Sadly, side effects create bigger problems than just dealing with non-witty party conversation, and the writer’s amazing future starts looking sort of like Algernon’s.

THE MUSIC ROOM.
Criterion/Drama/Black and White/Foreign (Bengali).
Directed by Satyajit Ray.
* This 1959 film reminds me a tiny bit of THE COMPANY MEN. It is the tale of a landlord, whose money is drying up, yet cannot help himself from continuing to live a lavish life, even as the reality of his shrinking funds becomes more and more evident. Regardless of his families desire to curtail spending and get a handle on their vanishing empire, the landlord continues to spend money on his gorgeous music room and the wild parties he hosts there. Eventually, reality bears down heartily.

PEEP WORLD.****BD****
Comedy.
Michael C. Hall/Sarah Silverman/Rainn Wilson/Kate Mara/Ben Schwartz.
Directed by Barry Blaustein.
* Ah, family, the ultimate expose. Can we keep secrets from our friends and neighbors? Not when family is about. It’s like what Uncle Buddy said in the J.D. Salinger classic, “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters”, “I am a writer, and therefore not a nice man”. In this film, a family gathering for the patriarch’s 70th birthday must reconcile the fact that the youngest of his four children has just written a novel exposing all the darkest secrets of the family. Yikes!

POTICHE.****BD****
Comedy/Foreign (French).
Catherine Deneuve/Gerard Depardieu.
Directed by Francois Ozon.
* Potiche is the French term for trophy wife, and that is what Catherine Deneuve plays in this new comedy from Ozon. In this comedy of errors, she must take over the family business after her husband is kidnapped by his workers. She is doing quite a fine job, thank you very much, until her ex-lover and life-long unionizer (Depardieu) arrives on the scene.

SMALL TOWN MURDER SONGS.
Drama/Crime/Thriller.
* Slow moving film about a murder in a small religious community that upsets the flow of things and disturbs a man who has been dealing with his own violent past.

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

DUMBSTRUCK.
Comedy.
* No, it’s not a mockumentary, it’s actually a story about some ventriloquists and features their live performances.

THE LIFE & WORK OF CLAUDE CHABROL. DOUBLE CHECK THIS!
Documentary/Film.
* This 2002 doc examines the, ahem, life and (cough) work, of the prolific French director.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG: MASTERS OF AMERICAN MUSIC - SATCHMO.
Documentary/Music.
* This 1992 film examines the wonderful music of Armstrong.

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

DOCTOR WHO: SERIES SIX, PART ONE.
Television/Sci-Fi.

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

GO DIEGO GO-FIERCEST ANIMAL RESCUES.

I’M DIRTY.
* For the kids people, for the kids.

I’M DIRTY AND I STINK.

PEANUTS: SNOOPY’S ADVENTURES.

PIPPY LONGSTOCKING: PIPPI GOES TO THE FAIR.

SMURFS: A MAGICAL SMURF ADVENTURE.
* Getting all smurfed up for the big smurfy smurf-a-thon.

YOUNG JUSTICE: SEASON ONE, VOLUME ONE.


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

BEAUTY & THE BEAST.****BD****
* The beautiful Jean Cocteau film from 1946 that all movies that share the name were based on.

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

The last two weeks of missing episodes…

13 ASSASSINS.****BD**** This one goes up to 13!
BLOODRAYNE-THIRD REICH.
COMPASSION IN EMPTINESS-DALAI LAMA AT RADIO CITY 2011.
MAX’S MAGICAL JOURNAY.
HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN.****BD****
OF GODS AND MEN.****BD**** You need to see this one.
SESAME STREET SPOOFS.
TOM & JERRY-FUR FLYING ADVENTURES-V02.
MAGRITTE-DAY & NIGHT. Documentary.
NORTH STAR AND MORE STORIES ABOUT FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS.
PIPPI LONGSTOCKING-PIPPI & THE BALLOON.
SALT OF THE SEA. This Palestinian film looks really good.
ARTHUR.****BD**** Russell Brand in the remake of the Dudley Moore comedy.
DAVID BOWIE: THE ROAD TO THE RAILWAY. Love love love Monsieur Bowie.
DAMAGES: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON. Ding ding ding!
DINOCROS VS SUPERGATOR Who will win?
ENTOURAGE: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON. Ode to Jake.
INSIDIOUS.****BD**** Horror.
THE LINCOLN LAWYER.
MI-5: VOLUME 9.
MINTY THE ASSASSIN. I think if you like Roger Corman films this may be for you.
MIRAL. Looks awesome and heavy.
RANGO. ****BD**** Animation for the whole fam.
[ REC. ] 2. Horror!
ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS III.****BD**** I know my chicken…
THE THIRD WAVE. Sean Penn documentary. Not about him, mind you.
THE THUNDERCATS: SEASON ONE, PART ONE.
ULTIMATE AVENGERS: SEASON ONE.
UNCLE BOONMEE. You may have heard about this one, another you should not miss.
WHITE IRISH DRINKERS.****BD**** My movie will be called: WHITE JEWISH POTSMOKERS.

****new release list no.323

My gosh, my peeps, I totally missed you last week! It was like I was on vacation, but I wasn’t! But I will be next week, and the week after! Ain’t life grand?

Really, it is though. It’s all about the balance sheet. You got honesty, integrity and love on the left. Then there is aggravation, irritation, back-stabbing and idiocy on the right… Also on the left is fresh fruit, butterflies (fluttering by), rainbows and pretty sunsets. Over on the right is smog, rotten avocados, broken hearts and broken toys. The left: sensuality, air, water, food, flowers, kindness. The right: greediness, selfishness (except when it is necessary for self-preservation), unemployment, soullessness, hindrance, encumbrance, vexation. Left – music (unless it is grating), dirt (unless you just need to be clean), sunshine (when shade and water are available), rain (except when you are cold, and unprepared). Right – illness, physical pain (unless you like that kind of thing), oppression, fear, loss, hopelessness. Weigh it out. Scrape stuff off the right. Add liberally to the left (not trying to make a political statement with the left and right stuff here, but if it feels right, run with it).

It’s kind of trite to say, but it’s seems like when we want life to seem great, that is available to us, and when we want it to be cruddy, that’s there, too. Is it that simple? Do we just need to want life to be good to have it be good? Maybe, peeps, it may be.

Well, enough of that. Seen anything good lately? Amy and I just finished watching the UK version of LIFE ON MARS. It was a customer suggestion (thanks!) and we went with it. The show ran for just two seasons and followed a detective who had an accident and woke up in 1973. Is he mad? In a coma? Or really back in time? Whatever's happened, it’s like he’s landed on another planet. Now if he can work out the reason, maybe he can get home. That’s the voice over on in the intro. It took me all 16 episodes to get it down, and I may be off a word or two, but you get the point. Basically, the show is a detective show with a psychedelic twist and we really enjoyed it. It gets my recommendation. We also recently watched ROBIN HOOD, starring that fellow Russell Crowe and the wonderful Cate Blanchett. I had suggested to Amy that I wanted to watch a destruction- based action film, and frankly, it fit the bill perfectly! I don’t watch a ton of action flicks, so I am sure this movie sucked for many people, but for me, there were good battle scenes, a nice amount of bloodshed, arrows, chain-mail, and angry monarchs! I missed the end, b/c the kiddo woke up and climbed into our bed and cried at the sounds of the movie, but even so, I fully enjoyed it. Go figure.

There is a nice batch of movies out this week. BARNEY’S VERSION, starring Paul Giamatti, and SUCKER PUNCH are the bigger Hollywood titles. There are also a bunch of cool Criterion releases, as well as COWBOY BEBOP THE MOVIE out on Blu-ray. Last week, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU came out as well. Check it out!

Btw: for those of you who know I am a musician, my band The Dont’s has been on an extended hiatus, and I have been rocking with some other bands lately. One such band, Static People, has a show this Thursday at The Stud! The band is really awesome and features a front woman, Dmitra Smith, who is total star material and will probably be rocking on the MTV one day soon. I have been honored to rock with them this summer, and this show should be super fun. We go on at 10:15pm. See you there!

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

3 BACKYARDS.
Drama.
Edie Falco/Elias Koteas/Embeth Davidtz.
Directed by Eric Mendelsohn.
* This film follows three people in suburbia during one day in Autumn. For Mendelsohn, it is his second feature film, after 1999’s quirky JUDY BERLIN, also starring Falco.

BARNEY’S VERSION.****BD****
Comedy/Drama.
Paul Giamatti/Rosamund Pike/Minnie Driver/Dustin Hofffman.
Directed by Richard J. Lewis.
*Barney Panofsky (Giamatti) is a loud-mouthed, brash, irritating, boorish guy who lives life to the Nth degree full-time. In this somewhat lovable story, Barney reflects on his mistakes, his fortunes and his path as the finality of his existence comes into focus.

BEASTLY.
Drama/Fantasy/Romance.
Vanessa Hudgens/Alex Pettyfer/Mary-Kate Olsen.
Directed by Daniel Barnz.
* It’s “Beauty & The Beast” retold with the main characters set as teens in New York.

BLACK MOON.
Criterion/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Foreign (English and French).
Directed by Louis Malle.
* This 1975 phantasmagorical story is strange and beautiful and involves a unicorn living with a very strange family. There is much escape from reality in this tale!

BLOODWORTH.
Drama.
Val Kilmer/Kris Kristofferson/Hilary Duff.
Directed by Shane Dax Taylor.
* Bloodworth is a wandering country musician who comes home after decades away to find angry and embittered family members waiting for him. Just as a side-note – Duff is actually a pretty good young actor, and probably raises this films watchability factor by a lot.

LEBANON, PA.
Drama/Comedy.
Josh Hopkins/Samantha Mathis.
Directed by Ben Hickernell.
* This bittersweet tale is about a man who heads home to bury his father, and the complicated familial relationships that he reconnects with while there.

MAX MANUS: MAN OF WAR.
Drama/Suspense/War/Foreign (Norweigan/Russian/German/English/Finnish).
* This intense story is about a real person, a brutally conflicted saboteur during WWII.

PEOPLE ON SUNDAY.
Criterion/Drama/Comedy/Black & White/Silent.
Directed by Robert Siodmak.
* This 1930 movie is nearly a documentary, as everyone basically plays themselves. They are people, working jobs, carrying on affairs, dreaming dreams and basically just living for Sunday, when they will head to the beach, flirt, joke, drink and laugh as they try to fit everything into one glorious afternoon. I guess for all time everybody’s working for the weekend.

SEASON OF THE WITCH.
Adventure/Fantasy/Unintentional Comedy.
Nicholas Cage/Ron Perlman.
Directed by Dominic Sena.
* Cage’s strange career continues, this time he plays a 14th century Knight, transporting a witch to a monastery to destroy her and try to save the world. In other news, his tax problems continue.

SK8 LIFE.
Drama/Skateboarding.
Directed by Wyeth Clarkson.
* A group of skaters band together to save something they love. And look cute skating all over the place.

SUCKER PUNCH.****BD****
Action/Fantasy.
Emily Browning/Vanessa Anne Hudgens/Abby Cornish/Jamie Chung.
Directed by Zack Snyder.
* Weird, heavy and sad film about a young girl institutionalized by her abusive father who escapes into a fantasy world where she and other young woman are going to fight to escape the sanitarium before she is scheduled to be lobotomized.

WHITE LIGHTNIN’.
Drama.
Edward Hogg/Carrie Fisher.
Directed by Dominic Murphy.
* Remember Jesco White, "the dancing outlaw”? There was a great documentary about him and his West Virginia gun-toting, whiskey drinking, dancing ways. This is a feature film about the guy, and his life.

ZAZIE DANS LE METRO.
Criterion/Comedy.
Edward Hogg/Carrie Fisher.
Directed by Louis Malle.
* This madcap 60’s comedy is about a 12-year-old girl who goes awol while staying with relatives in Paris while her mom is off having an affair.

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

BOB DYLAN-GOTTA DO MY TIME.
Documentary/Music.
* A look at Dylan’s life during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Great footage, as usual.

HEMPSTERS-PLANT THE SEED.
Documentary/Social Policy.
Directed by Michael Henning.
* As Peter Tosh sang, “Legalize it, and I will advertise it”. Come on people, move on dot org already. Not surprisingly, Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson are in this film following a group of hemp activists working to change the laws around the world.

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

DANNY AND THE DINOSAUR.

THE DAY JIMMY’S BOA ATE THE WASH.

GERALD MCBOING BOING COLLECTION.

TIMMY TIME: PICTURE DAY.

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

COWBOY BEBOP: THE MOVIE.****BD****
* Brilliant animation.

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

In last week’s missing episode…

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU.****BD**** Matt Damon in a Philip K. Dick story.
BEDWAYS. - Shazaaam!
CEDAR RAPIDS. - Comedy.
CEREMONY.****BD**** Uma. Romantic comedy.
THE CLOSER: THE COMPLETE 6th SEASON.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID 2: RODRICK RULES.
THE EAGLE.****BD**** Channing Tatum, buff, Roman, dangerous.
ECLIPSE SERIES 27-RAFFAELLO MATARAZZOS RUNAWAY MELODRAMAS. - These Eclipse series are Criterion Collections and are generally must-sees for cinema fans.
ELEKTRA LUXX. - Pregnant porn star seeks new career. Is it comedy? Says “action”. Uh-huh.
HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE. - Indie.
HARVEST.
KISS ME DEADLY. - Criterion by Robert Aldrich.
LOUIS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.****BD****
MARPLE: PALE HORSE.
NICKELODEON: BIG BOX OF PLAY DATES.
NICKELODEON FAVORITES: SUMMER VACATION!
POISON: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION. - Todd Haynes freaky film.
ROCKO’S MODERN LIFE: SEASON ONE.
UNKNOWN.****BD**** Liam Neeson, action thriller.

****new release list no.322

Hey peeps! Its mid-June 2011, for those of you living on an island with a calendar or the internet. How are you reading this? Nevermind.

We had a monster week of releases last week, and this week is pretty big again. HALL PASS, starring Owen Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Richard Jenkins and Christina Applegate imagines the hijinks that would ensue if a couple married women gave their husbands “hall passes” to get into whatever sexual situations that they want to for one week without any fear of trouble. Of course, the women get hall passes, too. Which somehow gives the dudes a bit more problems than they bargained for. What I want to know is why these guys are complaining, considering the women they are married to. They are super smart, hot women! I guess the ass is always eener. Typo!

In RED RIDING HOOD, Amanda Seyfried plays the young lassie who lives in a medieval village that is beset with a problematic werewolf who lately is chowing people at an alarming rate. Valerie (as Red is named here) is struggling with the usual love story…she wants to marry one guy, and her folks want her to marry another. Things get further complicated when the werewolf hunter the town hires points out that probably the werewolf is one of them. Spooky!

Aaron Eckhart, in the new film BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, plays a marine near the end of his career who makes his last stand fighting off aliens in Los Angeles. Michelle Rodriguez kicks some alien butt as well.

Chris Messina and Rashida Jones play a couple preparing for marriage who are struggling with cold feet in MONOGAMY. Messina’s character is a photographer who, bored with his regular wedding gigs, begins a new business stalking his clients and taking voyeuristic shots of them.

Are you worried about the bees? There has been a relatively shocking and not very explainable disappearance of them over the last decade. The documentary VANISHING OF THE BEES takes on this confusing topic and attempts to come to some conclusions.

There are a huge amount of new kids DVD’s, including a bunch of LITTLE RASCALS among other things. Also, there are some good older films newly put out on Blu-ray, including the animation classic HEAVY METAL. Scroll down to read about all the films.

It is that “Best of” time of year again. Help Four Star get the city-wide recognition it deserves! You can vote for us for Best Video Store on page four of the poll. Hey, while you’re there, write in Succulence as Best Funky Plant Store, too (I think you’ll have to make up that category). Last year, Succulence was voted best Succor or Succulence by the staff of the Guardian.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

A MATADOR’S MISTRESS.
Drama/Romance.
Adrien Brody/Penelope Cruz.
Directed by Menno Meyjes.
* This is a love story based on a real life matador and the woman he loves.

ADRIFT.
Drama.
Camilla Belle/Vincent Cassel.
Directed by Heitor Dhalia.
* Set in the 80’s, this is a coming-of-age story of a teenage girl who discovers her father’s infidelity while on vacation with him, and then discovers many other secrets.

BATTLE LOS ANGELES.****BD****
Action/War.
Aaron Eckhart/Michael Pena/Bridget Moynahan/Michelle Rodriguez.
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman.
* Los Angeles is mercifully destroyed by aliens…Hold on. Wait, that’s not it…Los Angeles is the last place NOT yet destroyed by aliens, and where a tough aging Marine captain (Eckhart) has his last stand, trying to protect earth from the invading force. And, of course no action film would be complete with Michelle Rodriguez blowing stuff up.

BIG MOMMA: LIKE FATHER LIKE SON.
Comedy/Action.
Martin Lawrence/Brandon T. Jackson.
Directed by John Whitesell.
* Big Momma goes undercover with his step-son at an all-girls school.

CHATROOM.
Drama.
Aaron Johnson/Imogene Poots.
Directed by Hideo Nakata.
* Parents pay close attention! Kids wearing black are probably worshipping satan! Wait…what? Wrong decade? That was the 80’s? Okay…Parents pay close attention! Kids spending a lot of time online are probably pretending to be people they are no while videoblogging their worst behavior behind your back! Or maybe that’s just what these snide kids are doing…in the Chatroom!

HALL PASS.****BD****
Comedy/Romance.
Owen Wilson/Jason Sudeikis/Christina Applegate/Jenna Fischer/Richard Jenkins/Amanda Bynes.
Directed by Peter Farrelly Bobby Farrelly.
* How’s your marriage? Wish you had a “hall pass” for some bad behavior that will be forgiven? That’s what Rick (Wilson) and Fred (Sudeikis) think. When their wives acquiesce and they are granted their freedom, they are completely incompetent and barely able to do anything but giggle at their options. Meanwhile, their wives are free that week, too, and not wasting time…

INSIGNIFICANCE.
Criterion/Comedy.
Gary Busey/Theresa Russell.
Directed by Nicolas Roeg.
* This strange fable-like film from 1985 imagine four 1950’s era icons (Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Senator Joseph MacCarthy) meeting in a hotel room. The director of this also made WALKABOUT and THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH.

JACKASS 3.5 THE MOVIE.
Drama/Crime.
Johnny Knoxville/Chris Pontius.
Directed by.
* These guys are total jackasses.

KILL THE IRISHMAN.
Drama/Crime.
Val Kilmer/Christopher Walken/Linda Cardelini/Vincent D’Onofrio.
Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh.
* From the imdb: The true story of Danny Greene, a tough Irish thug working for mobsters in Cleveland during the 1970's.

KORKORO.
Drama/Foreign (French/German/Romany).
Directed by Tony Gatlif.
* From the director of 1993’s acclaimed Gypsy documentary LATCHO DROM, comes this story of a Gypsy family traveling in France during World War II. They are arrested for being nomads and imprisoned, and deal with the indignities of being vilified for their lifestyle. However, when given an opportunity to get out of jail and live on gifted property, their ingrained need for movement prevents them from settling down.

LATINO.
War/Drama.
Directed by Haskell Wexler.
*A drama from 1985, this film is set in Nicaragua and deals with the rebel Contras fighting the Sandinista government.

LEGEND OF THE FIST: THE RETURN OF CHEN ZHEN.****BD****
Action/Foreign (Cantonese/Mandarin/Japanese/English).
Donnie Yen.
Directed by Wai-keung Lau.
* Seven years after supposedly being killed a young man returns to wreak his vengeance.

THE MAKIOKA SISTERS.
Criterion/Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Kon Ichikawa.
* This lush and sensual story tells about four sisters who gather each year in Kyoto to see the gorgeous cherry blossoms. In 1984, this film was heavily nominated for Japanese Film Academy Awards.

MARVEL KNIGHTS: SPIDER-WOMAN.
Adventure/Animation.

MONOGAMY.
Drama/Suspense.
Chris Messina/Rashida Jones/Meital Dohan
Directed by Dana Shapiro.
* A photographer, struggling with his upcoming nuptials and bored with his life, begins a creepy side business taking voyeuristic stalking photos of his new clients…this creates disharmony and stretches his truth telling capabilities.

RED RIDING HOOD.****BD****
Suspense/Fantasy.
Amanda Seyfried/Gary Oldman/Lukas Haas.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke.
* Valerie (Seyfried) is NOT little, thus the title. She is, however, a very attractive woman in a red hoodie, which garners her much attention in the medieval village she lives in. But who is the wolf? That is the question the village must ask itself when they bring in a famous werewolf hunter to help them fend off the nasty human eater lingering in the woods when the moon is full. Like everyone else, he wants to eat Valerie cuz she does looks tasty in that red riding hood.

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

VANISHING OF THE BEES.
Documentary/Nature.
Narrated by Ellen Page.
Directed by George Langworthy and Maryan Heinen.
* This film examines the relationship between humans and honey bees and the bizarre situation called Colony Collapse Disorder which has led to the disappearance of millions of bees.

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

DOCTOR WHO: FRONTIOS.
Sci-fi TV.

DOCTOR WHO: TIME AND THE RANI.
Sci-fi TV.

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

BOB THE BUILDER: BIG DINO DIG THE MOVIE.

HAVE A LAUGH VOL 3.

HAVE A LAUGH VOL 4.

THE LITTLE RASCALS: VOL. 1.

THE LITTLE RASCALS: VOL. 2.

THE LITTLE RASCALS: VOL. 3.

THE LITTLE RASCALS: VOL. 4.

THE LITTLE RASCALS: VOL. 5.

THE LITTLE RASCALS: VOL. 6.

THE LITTLE RASCALS: VOL. 7.

SPONGEBOB: HEROS OF BIKINI BOTTOM.
* Uh…

YO GABBA GABBA: CIRCUS!

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

HEAVY METAL.
* I remember watching the preview for this movie while sitting in the theatre with my dad getting ready to watch STRIPES and being somewhat dumbfounded and super crazy intrigued.

JOHNNY MNEMONIC.
* This movie takes place in 2021…just ten years from now…Accurate portrayal of the future?

TRANSFORMERS.

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

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.
* Remains one of my top ten movies.

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

****new release list no.321

Hey hey! Do you have grit? Perseverance? Resilience? Hardiness? Ambition? Do you have TRUE GRIT? Rooster Cogburn does…He’s also got whiskey! And just one eye, but we don’t know where the other one went. But, we aren’t really on a need-to-know basis, so it doesn’t actually really matter. Rooster Cogburn is a US Marshal, at a time when Marshal’s are for sale, and the law cost hard cash (or whiskey, occasionally). Not that they’d necessarily be bad guys for your currency, but if you want them to chase down the guy who shot your daddy, you better have some good old American money or you might be out of luck. Luckily, Mattie Ross has money, and she’s got balls! She wants to see her daddy’s killer hang, and she’s willing to tote the rifle if necessary.

At first blush, Cogburn doesn’t really seem up to the task. Does he really have grit? True grit? It takes a while for us to be sure while watching the Coen Brothers new version of the 1969 film that saw John Wayne win an Oscar for his portray of Cogburn. It’s Jeff Bridges who has the task this time. His growly voice and his stumbly body language give us a pretty clear idea that he’s spent some time at the bar. Although we aren’t sure if he’s gonna show staying power, we won’t be surprised if he doesn’t, as he has all the makings of a bum with a badge. Now Mattie on the other hand, we don’t know much about her. Why is she so smart? Where is her confidence from? Why does she know all the legal jargon she is throwing around? There’s not a lot of surprises in Ethan and Joel’s movie, and not nearly as much tension as in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. But it is a solid film, and both Bridges and Matt Damon (as a Texas Ranger chasing the same bad guy) are fun to watch. There aren’t a lot of Westerns being made these days, but for me, I can stomach violence and brutality in the historical context of a dog eat dog world, significantly more than I can deal with desperate people shooting each other in today’s dog eat dogfood world.

TRUE GRIT is the biggest release this week, but we have probably the biggest week of new movies we’ve had all year. The other big titles are THE COMPANY MEN, starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner and Chris Cooper. Affleck plays a yuppie whose life is thrown into turmoil when he is downsized from the fat corporate gig he has been working. Now he can’t find a job, he can’t make payments on his sports car, he feels emasculated and desperate, and he’s forced to turn to jobs that he isn’t necessarily qualified to do just so he can bring home some money for the family. It is a very real story that millions of people worldwide have struggled with, and Affleck actually brings a quiet dignity to his role. In JUST GO FOR IT, Adam Sandler plays a guy who is hot for a woman 20+ years younger than him. By some strange twist of fate, he tells a stupid lie that than snowballs until he finds himself getting his friends to keep lying for him so that he can continue pursuit of this beautiful young woman. Lies upon lies upon lies. And it’s a comedy! ANOTHER YEAR is the newest offering from Mike
Leigh. His special talent for exposing normal life is again on display in this portrayal of life as seen through a couple’s relationship with their community through one cycle of the four seasons. Life, death, love, hate…It’s all so fucking poignant. James Cameron is one of like 400 producers on the film SANCTUM, but he’s the one whose name is on the cover. The film follows a group of underwater scientists whose exploration of a deep cave gets dangerous, and crisis ensues! They get in way over their heads. Be-dum ching!

I also recommend you watch the horror comedy story RUBBER about a runaway tire with a personality and the ability to do much damage. It’s like a reaction to Hollywood, and its seemingly meaningless films that it just pumps out. And I hear it is both deep and deeply funny. The tire has a name. It’s Robert. Also, THE HOUSEMAID is out. Another suspenseful film from Korea, this one is about the vengeful response by the women of a household to the man of the house hooking up with the maid. Bad idea, fellow.

There is insanely anticipated television this week. I forgot to mention TRUE BLOOD: SEASON THREE last week, but it is here, and on Blu-ray, too. Also, season three of BREAKING BAD is here this week…let me check – yup, there is a copy of that on Blu-ray as well. Also out this week is the first season of THE BIG C, which stars Laura Linney as a cancer patient. Linney rules, as many of you will agree, so I imagine the show is pretty good. PRETTY LITTLE LIARS is out this week, as well as the fourth season of BURN NOTICE. Also of note, both seasons of the very popular HBO show ROME have arrived at the store on Blu-ray as well. Whoop.

There are a huge amount of kids films here this week (scroll down parents), a big amount of new Blu-ray releases (HAIR, DEATH AT A FUNERAL, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, A MAN CALLED HORSE), and there is also a big stack of great looking documentaries. If you like the nature stuff by BBC Earth, you must watch MADAGARSCAR! It is the stuff of dreams. It is the reason the made hi-def cameras. It is a gorgeous and awe-inspiring and rich and magical and again, if nature is your thing, then you will be psyched. Also visually amazing is LEGENDS OF FLIGHT, a movie made to highlight the richness of the Imax movie system. KINGS OF PASTRY, about a French pastry competition, looks great as does several other docs out this week…check them out. Literally.

There is a little list of films I didn’t write about last week at the bottom. The most important one is BIUTIFUL, starring the fantastic Javier Bardem. The movie garnished some Academy Award nominations and Bardem does his usual job of conveying so much through his big droopy eyes. It is a heavy and sad film, but a very powerful one as well.

A couple quick bits of local news in this week where my beautiful son turns 10 and my beautiful wife has a birthday too (tactful!). Skip’s will be having a soft reopening quite soon, with new owners, a new name, newly redecorated with a great new vibe. I don’t drink, but I am really looking forward to checking this place out. Maybe some of you will join me? I will post about it on the Four Star Video page on Facebook when I hear it is opening.

Also, the Bernal Heights Outdoor Film festival has extended its submission dates. You can read all about the festival here, including information as to how to submit. This festival is wonderful, and it’s a great way to expose your friends and neighbors to your work. Come on artists, do it!

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

ANOTHER YEAR.****BD****
Comedy/Drama.
Jim Broadbent/Lesley Manville/Ruth Sheen.
Directed by Mike Leigh.
* Leigh has made a career of awkward, illuminating family stories that grate, discomfort and eventually enlighten. In this, the couple, Tom (Broadbent) and Geri (Sheen) are a mostly happy family surrounded by friends that can’t really say the same. The four seasons pass in this community and we experience the changes, both dramatic and subtle that everyone goes through, as another year flits gently by.

BLUE CRUSH 2.
Drama/Adventure.
Directed by Mike Elliot.
* Epic waves, mondo break, gnarly wipeouts, and footage guaranteed to make you yearn for the green room are all featured in this sequel about a girl who heads to South Africa armed with her mom’s journals and a desire to fulfill her mom’s dream to surf Jeffrey’s Bay.

CARANCHO.
Suspense/Drama/Romance/Foreign (Spanish).
Directed by Pablo Trapero.
* Tense story about a corrupt doctor and an ambulance chasing lawyer who fall in love in Argentina.

THE COMPANY MEN.****BD****
Drama.
Ben Affleck/Tommy Lee Jones/Kevin Kostner/Chris Cooper/Maria Bello/Rosemarie DeWitt/Craig T. Nelson.
Directed by John Wells.
* Don’t let the artwork fool you. This is a subtle and well-acted portrait of a man whose well-manicured life that includes a beautiful wife, cute kids, a slick car and a big house comes crashing down around him when the economy tanks and he loses his job. The film is about redefining yourself, and the struggle to make it happen for your family, whatever it takes, whatever it means.

GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS.
Sci-Fi/Animation/Adventure.
* The second in a line of 3 “green” superhero movies, this one is NOT the live-action film you have been hearing about. However it is a made-for-adults (or big kids) movie about Mr. Lantern and the illuminating effect he has on bad guys.

THE HOUSEMAID.
Suspense/Foreign (Korean).
Jung-Jae Lee/Do-yeon Jeon.
Directed by Sang-soo Im.
* When a man starts hooking it up with his family maid, it brings nasty consequences from the women in the household.

JUST GO WITH IT.****BD****
Comedy/Romance.
Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston/Nicole Kidman/Brooklyn Decker.
Directed by Dennis Dugan.
* Ah, the little lies we tell and the big trouble it gets us in…In this, Sandler plays a guy who tells a throw-away lie which he then must back up with bigger and bigger lies as he is tracking the girl of his dreams.

NICE GUY JOHNNY.
Drama.
Directed by the Edward Burns.
* He’s a nice guy, but also kind of a schmuck. He leaves his radio gig to get something more appropriate for his soon-to-be wife. Then her uncle suggests a little hanky panky (not with him) before the wedding. Then we get to find out just how much of a nice guy Johnny is.

RUBBER.
Horror/Comedy.
Stephen Spinella/Jack Plotnick.
Directed by the Quentin Dupieux.
* Robert is made of rubber. No, really! He is a rubber tire. And he’s alive! And he can destroy anything he wants! And he does, yes he does. The question is can anyone burn Rubber? I mean, Robert. I don’t know. But you can find out. By watching the movie.

SANCTUM.****BD****
Action/Suspense.
Directed by Alister Grierson.
Produced by James Cameron.
* It’s about an underwater science team that are exploring a very inaccessible cave when tragic crisis erupts!

SHADOWS AND LIES.
Drama/Romance/Crime.
James Franco/Julianne Nicholson.
Produced by Jay Anania.
* Franco plays William, a guy who was forced by threat of death to leave New York but now comes back to try to rescue the woman he loves.

TRUE GRIT.****BD****
Western/Drama.
Jeff Bridges/Hailee Steinfeld/Matt Damon/Josh Brolin.
Directed by the Coen Brothers.
* It’s one of those “not” remakes, where the screenwriters adapt a story not a screenplay. The original film starred John Wayne and won him a Best Actor Oscar. This one was nominated for 10 Oscars, but didn’t win any of them. The story is about a young girl (Steinfeld, in what is bound to be a breakout role for her) who wants justice for the murder of her father and is willing to go great lengths to get it. She hires Rooster Cogburn (Bridges, wonderful again), a hard-drinking, one-eyed US Marshall, to track down the murderer and bring him back to hang for his crime. They encounter a Texas Ranger (Damon) who has been tracking the same guy for months since he killed a politician (not that one) down in Texas. Although none of this unlikely team is really on the same page with one another, they end up working together as long as they can. The kid asks Cogburn if he’s got “grit”. She was told he did, and guess what? He does.

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

KINGS OF PASTRY.
Documentary/Food/Foreign (English and French).
* This doc follows top pastry chefs from around the world as they compete in the Meilleur Ouvrier de France for recognition as the top pastry chef. I hear it is funny and amazing.

LEGENDS OF FLIGHT.****BD****
Documentary/Imax.
* Intense and amazing flight footage in this doc originally made to highlight the incredible effects of the Imax theatre system.

MADAGASCAR.****BD****
Documentary/Nature/BBC Earth.
Narrated by David Attenborough.
* My god, if you like the nature documentaries, this one is going to blow your mind. In Madagascar, animals evolved differently than many other parts of the world. As always, the BBC Earth team has filmed this world in the most gloriously vivid way possible. You will swing with the lemurs and crawl with the chameleons as you explore the complex beauty that is this enormous and sparsely populated island off the southern coast of Africa.

THE PLANETS.
Documentary/Science/Space.
Directed by
* Do you ever find yourself staring up at the sky at night? Looking at the stars and wondering all the little things you’ve ever wondered since you were a kid about existence, reality and the overwhelmingly bigness of it all? Well, this documentary will provide you with all the answers!

SWEETGRASS.
Documentary.
* From the imdb: In the summer of 2003, a group of shepherds took a herd of sheep one final time through the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, in the extreme northwest of the United States. It was a journey of almost 300 kilometers through expansive green valleys, by fields of snow, and across hazardous, narrow ridges - a journey brimming with challenges. The aging shepherds do their very best to keep the hundreds of sheep together; the panoramic high mountains are teeming with hungry wolves and grizzly bears.

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

THE BIG C: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Television/Comedy/Drama.
Laura Linney/Gabourey Sidibe/Oliver Platt/John Hickey.
* The fact is that if you are a Laura Linney fan, anything she does is a must-see. This new Showtime series is no different, in fact, she won the 2010 Golden Globe Best Actress Award for her work as a cancer patient struggling to fit her diagnosis into her already packed life.

BREAKING BAD: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON.****BD****
Television/Drama.
* The return to DVD of one of the most intense shows on television, season three continues the story of the ex-teacher turned meth-maker who is deeper than he ever intended to be in bad bad shit with big-time dealers, feds, guns and drugs that will rot your teeth just thinking about them.

BURN NOTICE: SEASON FOUR.
Television/Crime/Comedy.
* A team of “burned” spies continues to work undercover without the benefit of government support.

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Television/Mystery/Drama.
* They’re cute, but don’t believe a word they say.

TRUE BLOOD: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON.****BD****
Television/Vampire/GMOs.
* This came out last week, but I thought it was worthy of a bigger mention than the list at the bottom. Season three continues the story of Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton, and the big bad world of blood sucking that happens around them.

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

ANGELINA BALLERINA: POP STAR GIRLS.

BANDS ON THE RUN.

BRATZ: BEST FRIENDS.

ELMOS WORLD: PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE.

MADELINE AND HER FRIENDS.

ROARY THE RACING CAR.

THE SCRAMBLED STATES OF AMERICA.

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

THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCELLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT.
Comedy.
* Brilliant comedy from down under about three drag queens heading to a gig in the sticks.

A MAN CALLED HORSE.
* Richard Harris as an Englishman capture by the Sioux.

DEATH AT A FUNERAL.
Comedy.
* This is the original British version of the super funny movie.

HAIR.
Drama/Musical.
* Let the sun shine, let the sun shine, the sun shine in.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.
* The Sergio Leone masterpiece starring Henry Fonda and many more.

ROME: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Drama/HBO.
* That’s right, ROME on blu-ray!

ROME: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON.
Drama/HBO.

............//LAST WEEK!!!/............

A little stack of movies from last week that were not yet written about including one must-see film, BIUTIFUL, starring Javier Bardem

PICASSO AND BRAQUE GO TO THE MOVIES. Cool doc about art and early cinema.

THE KIDS IN THE HALL: DEATH COMES TO TOWN. A nice return from the hysterical Canadian comic troop.

DRIVE ANGRY. Nicholas Cage in another scratch your head performance, this time in an action film about a felon who breaks out of hell to avenge his daughter’s death.

BIUTIFUL. Javier Bardem in an Academy Award nominated performance about a man living in the underworld of Barcelona and struggling to keep his affairs in order.

UNDERTOW. Drama about a young married fisherman who is in love with a gay painter in town.

STREETBALL. Documentary.

KABOOM. Psychedelic lgbt comedy sci-fi thriller!

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

****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

******************************************************************************
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//............

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.

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

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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.

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

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