****new release list no.150

Friends and countrymen: what is updog?

I have just heard about (and then read about) the very strangest thing; the end of analog television is coming February 17th, 2009.

How strange is that?

Why would they stop broadcasting air waves? I am having trouble figuring it out. Do they need the space for something else? What could that be? What a very interesting reality this will be for families like mine who don’t have cable and watch what flows naturally onto our television set from the air. Yes, it has its drawbacks. Occasionally there needs to be a bit of antennae adjustment (every occasional 5 minutes) and NBC doesn’t really ever come in clearly. But we get what we pay for (nothing for nothing) and we don’t complain. However, now we will be unable to watch anything without a set-top box, which will decode the digital broadcast. Somehow, this seems so strange.

Ah, well, they give it to us coming and going I suppose.

This week we have a bunch of stuff, but as always, I want to tell you about what I’ve been watching lately, and that is: DAE JANG GEUM. You may have seen this on the new series release wall, and wondered what it was. You may have read about it on this blog in the past and not been turned on. In fact, though we’ve had it for 4 or 5 months, and though we only even got it because I read about it in a Gourmet magazine or something, until this week I had not watched it myself. Now, however, I am completely hooked. The basics are that it is a show about 15th century Korea and the royal court and specifically the women who cook in the royal court. But it is about so much more. In the first episode alone, Jang Geum’s mother, a young royal court woman was kidnapped and poisoned by a group of the kitchen court women who were covering up a poisoning plot against the king’s grandmother, and Jang Geum’s father, who as a young officer was present at the queen’s execution (again by forced poisoning – ahh, it was brutal!) has had his future spelled out to him quite esoterically by a spiritual master. By the second episode, young Jang Geum is alone, having lost her parents to the crazy paranoid royal machine, and she is left at 10 to fend for herself. I’m telling you, this is a crazy series. The food preparation, which I thought originally central to the plot, appears to be more secondary, but delicious looking! So, there you go, watch it or not.

Another thing I watched this weekend, with the whole family, was a new release from Animal Planet called THE JEFF CORWIN EXPERIENCE. It is essentially a kid’s show about this kook Jeff Corwin going all over the planet and showing us all sorts of wild animals, but at the core of this show is Jeff himself and his very strange and ambiguous humor that left Amy and I staring at each other over the kids heads over and over again. If you or your kid is a nature freak, check out this show.

I know, I know, I am long-winded and type to, uh…hear myself type, but one last thing. I have just bought about 100 of these funky DVD skin protectors that Four Star will be trying out over the next week or two. They are snap on protection and hopefully they will scratch without the disc scratching. I am very hopeful that this will be a boon for all of us who watch DVD’s, as everyone knows what a drag it is when the movie stops mid-plot. Please ask us about them at the store. We will give you information when we start using them. Also, we may make them available for you to buy as well, for your personal collections. I have also bought (not delivered yet) some DVD machine repair discs that will also be for sale.

Okay, okay, on to the movies.

Ken

............//NEW TITLES//............

ADRIFT IN MANHATTAN.
Drama.
Heather Graham/William Baldwin/Dominic Chianese.
Directed by Alfredo Villa.
* Isolation and loneliness in New York City, with three intersecting lives offering comfort and a chance to grow. Is Heather Graham anything more than Rollergirl from BOOGIE NIGHTS? I don’t know, but it seems like she mostly exists in the B movies with a sex scene in each contract. In this, she plays a mom stricken with grief after the death of her infant.

BLONDE AMBITION.
Comedy.
Jessica Simpson/Luke Wilson/Penelope Ann Miller.
Directed by Scott Marshall.
* The description of this film describes Simpson’s character as a “young professional woman.” Wow! I only know the Jessica Simpson jokes; can she act? I know Luke Wilson can, and he’s always charming to watch. This film follows a power struggle in corporate America.

LE BONHEUR.
Drama/Criterion/Foreign (French).
Jean-Claude Drouot/Claire Drouot/Marie-France Boyer.
Directed by Agnes Varda.
* One of a group of four movies by Varda released this week, we already had two, so I am just highlighting this and La Pointe Courte. This film is about the painfulness of the introduction of a mistress into a solid married couples (with children) life. Varda was one of the creator’s of cinema’s New Wave, and this film remains provocative and raw.

THE GAME PLAN.
Comedy.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson/Madison Pettis.
Directed by Andy Fickman.
* The Rock! Dwayne stars as Joe Kingman (dude, come on, who comes up with these names??) the QB of the Boston Rebels, who are vying for a championship. Kingman is mister bachelor, star-athlete, stud, and living the full lifestyle, until his 8-year old daughter (Pettis) comes to live with him. The kid throws his life upside down, but somehow, against all odds, he is able to get in touch with his inner-dad and win the big game.

HENRY ROLLINS: LIVE IN THE CONVERSATION PIT.
Performance/Comedy.
Henry Rollins.
Directed by.
* Henry, doing what Henry does best; gabbing.

JOSHUA.
Suspense.
Sam Rockwell/Jacob Kogan.
Directed by George Ratliff.
* Uber-creepy movie about a kid who gets really pissed when his parents have a baby and start showering her with the attention that he craves and feels is rightfully his.

MOLIERE.
Comedy/Biopic/Foreign (French).
Ludivine Sagnier/Romain Duris/Fabrice Luchini.
Directed by Laurent Tirard.
* Sexual and theatrical hijinks in 1650’s Paris.

LA POINTE COURTE.
Drama/Criterion/Foreign (French).
Silvia Monfort/Philippe Noiret.
Directed by Agnes Varda.
* Varda’s 1956 classic is considered by many to be her best. It is the tale of two lovers and their relationship which they are both tiring of.

SAW IV.
Action/Drama.
Tobin Bell/Betsy Russell/Scott Patterson/.
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.
* People get cut up and sewn up in really horrifyingly gnarly ways. If you’re into it, I hear this one is great.

SEX & BREAKFAST.
Comedy.
Macaulay Culkin/Kuno Becker/Eliza Dushku.
Directed by Miles Brandman.
* Two couples who are falling a bit out of love with each other get connected through a therapist Dr. Wellbridge (she should meet Joe Kingman, they could discuss their amazing names together). Dr. Wellbridge has a fabu idea! Partner swapping! Thus, the four embark on a path of self-discovery. I’m just psyched to see Culkin acting again.

SYDNEY WHITE.
Comedy.
Amanda Bynes/Sara Paxton/Matt Long.
Directed by Joe Nussbaum.
* It’s a retelling of Snow White, with Sydney taking on the evil sorority leader (Paxton, in the role of Rachel Witchburn ).

THIS SPORTING LIFE.
Drama/Criterion.
Richard Harris/Rachel Roberts..
Directed by Lindsay Anderson.
* Frank Machin (Harris) is a mean thug Rugby player who is unable to connect with society.

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

THE JEFF CORWIN EXPERIENCE: 1st SEASON.
Television.
* Humor, action, education in the animal world by the one and only Jeff Corwin. If you have an animal obsessed child (like I do) or are animal obsessed yourself, then you should check out this entertaining show that features borderline inappropriate humor from Jeff.

THE KINGDOM: SERIES 1 AND 2.
Television.
Directed by Lars Von Trier.
* The entire series about the super duper advanced hospital in Denmark, and the supernatural energy that lurks within.

............//MUSIC//............

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD: TEN DAYS OUT.
Music.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd/Friends.
* Hmmm, I hope someone likes Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

............//RECENT ACQUISITIONS//............

BREAKFAST CLUB.
First DVD of this film. Another quintessential 1980’s movie about kids fucking up.

SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT.
First DVD of this film. I think it actually just came out on DVD, but it ended up on our recent acquisition shelf anyway…

ST. ELMO’S FIRE.
First DVD or VHS of this classic 1980’s film starring Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe, and so many more.

****

****new release list no. 149

Everyone just about back to school? Work as normal? Vacations over? Real life back to center stage? Ahhh, must be mid-January. 2008. Damn, huh? This decade is in its last few years. That is so weird. And with this current one never really getting a name. It’ll be so nice in 12 years when we get to a decade that just has a specific name that we can use from day one until Dec 31st, 2029, right? Okay, I’m rambling.

This week is not a huge release week, probably the biggest two titles are the understated dark comedy HE WAS A QUIET MAN (one of two this week starring Christian Slater) and the overstated raunchy comedy THE TEN. However, this winter is going to be huge here at Four Star, with massive releases many weeks in a row. So bundle up, turn on the heat and get ready to watch some movies.

Oh, and by the way, I am doing a small experiment in the next month or two of buying a few copies of Blu-ray titles. I heard Warner Bros. are only making them now, and I think they may be winning the Blu-ray vs HD DVD battle. I also heard that Sony’s Playstation 3 (PS3) plays Blu-ray and that Blu-ray players can also play regular DVD. Lastly, I heard that Blu-ray has a bit of a protective coating which makes it less easy to scratch and that sounds good to me. So let me know what you think about this, and I will let you know when I get them in and which titles are available in Blu-ray.

Righteo.

Ken

............//NEW ARRIVALS//............

DRAGONLANCE: DRAGONS OFAUTUMN TWILIGHT.
Animation/Action/Adventure.
Lucy Lawless/Kiefer Sutherland.
Directed by Will Meugniot.
* Dragons.

GOOD LUCK CHUCK.
Comedy/Romance.
Dane Cook/Dan Fogler.
Directed by Mark Helfrich.
* Cook plays a guy who is the penultimate lay before someone finds true love. He longs to change that trend.

HE WAS A QUIET MAN.
Comedy/Drama.
Christian Slater/Elisha Cuthbert/William H. Macy.
Directed by Frank A. Cappello.
* He was a psycho! Maybe, maybe not. The key to this film is the psychological twists and turns. Bob Maconel (Slater) is your typical office enigma; living below the radar, lunching alone, contemplating mayhem, and perhaps making plans for a big day that will leave everyone remembering his name. However, when that day arrives, the plans change…or do they?

JIMMY & JUDY.
Action/Drama/Thriller.
Edward Furlong/Rachael Bella.
Directed by Randall Rubin and Jon Schroder.
* One of those destined-to-be-a-cult-classic type pictures about a couple of truly messed up kids who go seriously off the deep end and document their decline with their video camera.

KILLER DILLER.
Drama/Rock and roll.
Lucas Black/William Lee Scott/Fred Willard.
Directed by Tricia Brock.
* Some troubled youth and halfway house residents get together and form a blues band.

LOVE LIES BLEEDING.
Action/Drama/Thriller.
Christian Slater/Jenna Dewan/Brian Geraghty.
Directed by Keith Samples.
* Well, my mama told me when love lies bleeding, leave it lying there, but I guess nobody done told that to these fools. When they find a sack of cash after a shootout, they think “whoop-whoop” and my guess is that is the wrong kinda thinking in them circumstances. Didn’t they see SHALLOW GRAVE? This is the second new release this week that sees Christian Slater wielding weaponry.

MR. WOODCOCK.
Comedy.
Billy Bob Thornton/Seann William Scott/Susan Sarandon.
Directed by Craig Gillespie.
* No, we are not going back to the days of adult videos at Four Star, this is simply a comedy about a badly named (and mannered) gym teacher who is marrying the mother of one of his old students. What is it about gym teachers? I actually had one in 9th grade named Mrs. Cabinass. Life!

NAKED PREY.
Criterion/Adventure.
Cornel Wilde.
Directed by Cornel Wilde.
* A totally harrowing and insane tale of a group of hunters who offend a tribe in Africa and are murdered for the offense. All, except one, that is, who is set loose naked to be hunted by the tribe through Africa.

NOT FOR OR AGAINST.
Crime/Drama/Foreign (French).
Marie Gillain/Diane Kruger/Vincent Elbaz).
Directed by Cedric Klapisch.
* The fall of the media, in this case a camera woman (Gillain) who throws in with some petty thieves who convince her to film a bank robbery.

SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE.
Comedy/Drama.
Hugh Bonneville/Ewan McGregor/Adrian Lester.
Directed by Ed Blum.
* A treatise on love and sex expounded upon one afternoon in a park outside of London through the separate interactions of six or seven couples.

SEE HOW THEY FALL.
Suspense/Foreign (French).
Mathiew Kassovitz/Jean Yanne.
Directed by Jacques Audiard.
* A psychological thriller about an older man who throws his career away to find the killers of his friend.

SUBURBAN GIRL.
Comedy/Drama/Romance
Sarah Michelle Gellar/Alec Baldwin.
Directed by Marc Klein.
* This is a tale of a book editor (Gellar) who is the objet d’attention of an older gentleman with cash (Baldwin). Truth be told, I read something regarding the “lukewarm, insincere acting by Alec Baldwin”, but I am sure that was written by some mean mean person who was just jealous. It may be fluff, but sometimes fluff is wonderful.

THE TEN (07).
Comedy.
Jessica Alba/Paul Rudd/Adam Brody/Famke Janssen/Liev Schreiber/Winona Ryder.
Directed by David Wain.
* Ten tales of biblical proportion about people behaving poorly. What a cast, though. I, mean seriously, how often do you get Winona Ryder and Famke Janssen in the same movie. My guess is that this one flies under the Oscar radar, maybe even never gets mentioned. But, I’ll probably see it. Maybe twice.

YES, BUT...
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (French).
Emile Dequenne.
Directed by Yves Lavandier.
* A 17-year-old girl, under-supervised and involved with an older and READY boyfriend, seeks professional advice from a therapist about sex.

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

BALLYKISSANGEL: COMPLETE SERIES (ALL SIX SEASONS).
Television.
Created by Kieran Prendiville
* Much loved UK series about an English priest in a small Irish village. Colin Farrell starred in this show for a few seasons.

FAMILY GUY: BLUE HARVEST.
Television.
* Blue Harvest was the code name when they filmed the Return of the Jedi. I’m not sure what the code name was when they filmed this.

ROBOT CHICKEN: SEASON 1.
Television.
* Demented stop motion animation series from Seth Green, Mike Fasolo and Matthew Senreich.

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

DORA THE EXPLORER: UNDERCOVER DORA.
Family.

............//RECENT ACQUISITIONS//............

AMERICA BROWN.
Replacement DVD.

BREAKER MORANT.
First DVD or VHS of this classic Australian war movie from 1980.

BUS 174.
First DVD of this for us.

JOHNNY SUEDE.
First DVD of this early Brad Pitt rocker film that also stars Nick Cave!

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS.
Replacement DVD.

POINT BLANK (67).
First DVD of this Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson flick.


****

****new release list no148

Welcome to 2008. Hope you are surviving the water. I took a walk during the highpoint of the storm on Friday morning, not yet aware that it would be such a wild day that would see a bunch of Cortland businesses (depressingly, including ours) shut down. Being from the east coast gives me a sort of hubris that sometimes contends that I am tougher than a little measly weather and can “take it”. Ah, what foolhardiness I carry with me. By the time I got to Cortland, I was soaked, cold and defeated. And that was before I got to the store!

Ah, yes. Nature always wins. Not a bad lesson to learn. We were sorry we could not help everyone with a little entertainment on Friday night. We may invest in a generator so that never happens again.

This is our first posting in a couple weeks. It has been an awesome holiday season over here at Four Star Video, and we thank you all tremendously for supporting us. We know the many choices that are available these days, and we are grateful that you continue to decide to come to Four Star. We will continue to put all of our resources into making our library fantastic, and your experience in the store the same.

We have a lot of films to tell you about, including five that we put out on the shelves a week or so ago. I have put a star next to the titles that we put out last week, just so you know what’s truly new and what is new to this blog, but perhaps not to you if you’ve been in the store this last week. (That sentence is a bit hard to understand, but it’s 12:45am and I think you get the point).

I’ve seen a ton of movies lately, and I want to tell you about a few. My two favorites both have child stars and are both foreign films. The first, BLAME IT ON FIDEL, from France, is simply spectacular. It follows one family’s political upheaval as it affects their young 8 or 9 year old daughter. She goes from having everything to feeling angry and lost as the family give up their big house and servants for a communist lifestyle. She is so wonderful and mature, as she attempts to reconstruct her world and understand the larger world around her. The second is an older Spanish film, CRIA CUERVOS by the flamenco film master, Carlos Saura from 1976. This movie is also wonderful! It concerns a family of three daughters, who have just become orphans as the movie begins. The main character is Ana, the middle child (oh, the poor middle child) who blames her mothers death on her father, and who sees her mothers ghost regularly. We also have three of the flamenco movies of Saura on the new release wall, and although I have only seen one, I recommend them. The one I saw was CARMEN, and it was terrific. The music and dancing were superb and the storytelling through the dance was just wild. I was a little skeptical that I would like a flamenco movie, but I loved it. So there you go; some recommendations from me. Let me know how you like them.

Okay then, on to the movies.

Love and kisses,
Ken

............//NEW TITLES//............

3:10 TO YUMA.
Western.
Russell Crowe/Christian Bale/Peter Fonda/Gretchen Mol.
Directed by James Mangold.
* A remake of the 1957 film of the same name, the story is of the tense and treacherous transport of famed outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) to the train which will bring him to justice. Among those in the transport posse is rancher Dan Evans (Bale) who is desperate for the money to keep his ranch. Psychological warfare mixed with gun battles both from Indians (it’s a Western, guys, it would seem weird to type Native Americans in this context) and Wade’s gang keep things ultra tight right up until the bloody end.

AN ANGEL IN KRAKOW. *
Comedy/Foreign (Polish).
Krzysztof Globisz/Ewa Kaim.
Directed by Artur Wiecek.
* Another freaky movie from Eastern Europe about an angel philosophizing with a human.

BIG BANG LOVE, JUVENILE A .
Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Sohee Park.
Directed by Takashi Miike.
* I read “Homosexual tension and explosive violence” on IMDB.com. It’s about two detectives trying to unravel the mystery of a murder at an all-boys juvenile detention center.

CATERINA IN THE BIG CITY.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (Italian).
Alice Teghil/Sergio Castellitto.
Directed by Paolo Virzi.
* Caterina’s family is from the sticks outside of Rome; when they move to the big city, her young teenage world is totally blown away. She is torn in two by painful friendships with the two uber-popular girls, Magherita – the daughter of writers and artists, and Daniela – a politician’s daughter. Caterina’s father is a failed teacher who is certain that the world if full of spite for him, and that the haves are conspiring to make sure he has not. The awkward solitude of puberty is strong in this film; it filled me with feelings of loneliness, regret and anger. The beauty and strength of Caterina make this film a wonderful testimony to life.

DARKBLUEALMOSTBLACK.
Drama/Foreign (Spanish).
Quim Gutierrez/Marta Etura/Antonio de la Torre/Eva Pallares/Raul Arevalo.
Directed by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo.
* This beautiful little film is about a young man’s struggle to outrun his destiny; in this case, being the janitor of the building he lives in with his invalid father who he cares for. He has a stuttering romance with a young woman whose family also lives in the building and a wonderful friendship with a friend who is struggling to deal with the discovery of his father’s secret sexuality. He also has a brother in jail whose goal is to impregnate his also imprisoned girlfriend. Unfortunately, his sperm have flown south forever, and he wants our hero to do the impregnating. Ah, the complexities of life! You must see this wonderful film.

DEATH SENTENCE.
Action/Drama/Thriller.
Kevin Bacon/Kelly Preston.
Directed by James Wan.
* Kevin Bacon schizes out in a major way after witnessing terrible brutality. He then exacts his very own, DEATH SENTENCE. Who doesn’t love a Kevin Bacon flick?

THE DR. JEKYL AND MR. HYDE ROCK AND ROLL MUSICAL.
Musical.
Alan Bernhoft/Michelle Monaghan.
Directed by Andre Champagne.
* If you love a rock opera, you’ll check this out (and tell me about it!).

DRAGON WARS.
Dragon/War.
Jason Behr/Amanda Brooks.
Directed by Hyung-rae Shim..
* Monsters battling it out in Los Angeles.

EAGLE VS SHARK.
Comedy/Stilted/Foreign (New Zealand – is New Zealand foreign?).
Jermaine Clement/Loren Horsley.
Directed by Taika Cohen.
* Almost like a New Zealand NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE meets LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, but not quite as good as either. She (Horsley) is a loser waitress (albeit a beautiful loser) and he (Clement - of FLIGHTS OF THE CONCHORD fame) is a true loser, freak, pathetic vengeful liar. But that is not enough to keep this woman away!!!

FORGET ABOUT IT.
Comedy/Drama.
Burt Reynolds/Robert Loggia/Raquel Welch.
Directed by BJ Davis.
* Three old war veteran trailer chumps in trouble with the mafia.

GOLDEN DOOR.
Adventure/Drama/Romance/Foreign (Italian).
Charlotte Gainsbourg/Vincenzo Amato.
Directed by Emanuele Crialese.
* Gritty realistic portrayal of a poor family immigrating to America in the early 20th century.

KLIMT.
Drama/Biopic.
John Malkovich/Saffron Burrows.
Directed by Raul Ruiz.
* Malkovich plays the decadent Austrian artist Gustav Klimt in this period piece.

THE LADY VANISHES.
Suspense/Criterion.
Dame May Whitty/Margaret Lockwood.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
* Criterion release of the 1938 classic. Where’d she go?

MIRACLE DOGS, TOO. *
Family.
Janine Turner/Patrick Muldoon.
Directed by Richard Gabai.
* Two dogs have magical powers that cure problems in a small town.

PERCEPTION.
Comedy/Drama.
Piper Perabo.
Directed by Irving Schwartz.
* I always get Piper Perabo mixed up with Pikabo Street. You know, the skier who got to pick her own name? Anyway, I don’t know much about her skiing, and I don’t know much about this movie. But Piperboo plays some chick in NY who has dysfunctional parents, druggie friends and I think gets hit by a truck. That sounds funny!

RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION. *
Action/Zombie/Gorgeous Model.
Milla Jovovitch/Ali Larter/Oded Fehr/Ashanti.
Directed by Russell Mulcahy.
* The third in the trilogy following the outrageously beautiful Jovovitch strapped full of weapons shooting zombies and other assorted bad guys.

SEPTEMBER DAWN. *
Western.
Jon Voigt/Trent Ford/Tamara Hope.
Directed by Christopher Cain.
* A western romance set behind the historical tale of a group of settlers from Arkansas getting massacred by some seriously angry Mormons. Why can’t we all just get along?

SHILOH FALLS.
Western/Thriller.
Ellie Araiza/Brad Greenquist.
Directed by Adrian Fulle.
* Good versus evil in the wild wild West. Actually, I think it’s good and evil versus really really evil.

SHOOT EM UP. *
Action/Adventure/Comedy.
Clive Owen/Paul Giamatti/Monica Bellucci.
Directed by Michael Davis.
* Dude, look at this cast! I’m not sure exactly what this is about, but it involves a baby being protected from a bunch of gunmen by a vigilante (Owen). Sounds like the dark, evil but goofy sibling of CHILDREN OF MEN. But probably not.

SUNSHINE.
Sci-Fi/Apocalypse.
Michelle Yeoh/Cillian Murphy/Cliff Curtis/Chris Evans.
Directed by Danny Boyle.
* The sun is dying, astronauts, scientific mission, reigniting the sun, failure, bombs and uh…You oughta see me try to reignite a dying fire; I’m told it’s pretty funny.

ULTIMATE ANIMATION: ETERNAL GAZE AND F8.
Animation.

WAR. *
Action/Thriller.
Jet Li/Jason Statham.
Directed by Philip G. Atwell.
* An FBI agent (Statham) seeks revenge on the mysterious killer (Li) of his partner.

WOOL 100%.
Tripped Out/Psychedelic/Fairy Tale/Foreign (Japanese).
Kyoko Kishida/Kazuko Yoshiyuki.
Directed by Mai Tominaga.
* Whoa, this film is weird. It is the story of two old ladies living in a crazy old mansion just completely filled with stuff. Along comes a bunch of balls of red yarn, and kind of attached to them a young woman who may or may not be their mother. She knits a dress, and must knit it again, and AGAIN, AND AGAIN! The sound design is sublime, with long periods of silence, and great horn-based tunes. Animated scenes move the story along, and a dollhouse helps ground the narrative. I haven’t taken acid for many years, but I sure thought I was tripping while watching this flick.

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

THE BEST OF JOHNNY CARSON: VOLUME 1.
Television.
Johnny/Ed.
* Funny stuff from the original late night master.

Mi-5: VOLUME 5.
Television.
Season five in the tales of the UK intelligence organization.

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

AMERICAN CARNY: TRUE TALES FROM THE CIRCUS SIDESHOW.
Documentary.
Directed by Nick Basile.
A look at the great American tradition.

INDIE SEX. *
Documentary.
Directed by Lesli Klainberg.
* An in-depth look at sex and nudity in cinema.

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

GROWING UP ARCTIC.
Documentary.
* Another awesome study by the Animal Planet people. This has four segments about animals being rescued in Alaska and elsewhere, and a ton of great footage and information about these animals: Seals, Polar Bears, Walruses and Penguins.

MIGHTY MACHINES: BOATS TO THE RESCUE.

****

****new release list no.147

Its cold, and its late December, which kinda means, it’s movie time. It turns out that we have 8 new releases for you this Friday, December 21st, for some unknown reason probably having something to do with Christmas They are on the shelves, even as I type.

Before I get to them, however, I want to re-cap a few of the newer movies I have seen in the last couple weeks. So, scroll down if you are not interested in some cinematic rambling. First off, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. It’s a one emotion film (anxiety), but it has that emotion down real well. There’s a lot of fast cut, MTV-style editing, meant to mimic the action of the characters. Some of that is a little nauseating, but all in all, I thought this film was a total joyride. It’s funny thinking about this edition of Matt Damon hanging out with Ben Affleck. I wonder what they talk about? Who knows, maybe Matt and Ben aren’t pals anymore. Somehow, that seems sad. Next, SAINT CLARA. This is the little Israeli film that we mentioned is about a Junior High School love story with a girl who has telekinetic powers. Yeah, that’s true, but it’s so much more. It’s like HEATHERS meets GUMMO meets REPO MAN directed by John Hughes’s very strange European cousin. It is a fascinating kids vs. The Man type story, with the kids being self-possessed and not afraid of the man at all. Especially lingering with me is the image of a hanging and burning full size sculpture of Golda Meir. These kids are punk rock. This movie is not for the traditional lot. Another recent one I saw was ONCE, the rock and roll musical tale of a couple of musical artists sharing their love for music during a mutually lonely moment. Oh, I can’t say enough about this film. You must watch it. It is such a nice movie with power and strength and longing and MUSIC! It really is great. Four stars!!!! Lastly, THE NAMESAKE, a film based on the book of the same name. First off, I loved the book. It is amazing. Don’t bother with the film, just go right now down to Red Hill Books and buy yourself a nice little holiday gift of this incredible tale of a family from India living in the Northeast in America from the 1970’s to the present time. It will leave you feeling full of life and joyful, even in the presence of sorrow and dysfunction.

Okay, so what’s on tap? Well, we’ve got THE KINGDOM, RUSH HOUR 3, PARDISE TEXAS, EASTERN PROMISES, INTIMATE AFFAIRS, THE HEARTBREAK KID, THE BROTHERS SOLOMON and MEN IN THE NUDE. Everything you could want for Christmas. We also have a slew of new television acquisitions, including INSPECTOR LYNLEY SET 4, THE FORSYTE SERIES 1, and more. Capping this moments new DVD’s to the store are about ten separate titles of the children’s movies series featuring KIPPER. This is something we heard about and wanted to stock up on, so we hope your kids dig it. Give us feedback!

A couple other pieces of store news: We are having a used DVD sale from Friday, Dec 21 through Monday, Dec 24th. Buy one for $8 (plus tax) and get one free! We have about 60-80 titles and about 200 total movies to sell. So get your inexpensive holiday gifts here.

Also, we had another slight shift in the movie arrangement. Back in the New Release area, we pulled all the New Release Television out of the New Release Movies and split them up. They are all still in the back room, and there are some handy-dandy signs that should point everything out to you, but as always, please ask anyone for help if you can’t find what you are looking for.

Peace out,
Ken and Amy


............//NEW TITLES//............

THE BROTHERS SOLOMON.
Comedy.
Will Arnett/Will Forte.
Directed by Bob Odenkirk.
* I am not sure what this is about, but I think it is the kind of comedy that compares itself to DUMB AND DUMBER (which was humorously hard for me to type). The tagline to this flick is “They want to put a baby in you.”

EASTERN PROMISES.
Crime/Drama/Foreign (Canadian).
Viggo Mortensen/Naomi Watts.
Directed by David Cronenberg.
* Did you catch this film in the theatres? All summer, it seemed, I heard about a very intense scene in a Turkish bath. It is in this film, where a pair of Chechen heavies do their best to take Nikolai (Mortensen) out. I have not seen this film, but I have seen my share of Cronenberg’s creations. His hard eye and penchant for unhappy endings (figuratively, not literally – though maybe literally, too) pack a punch that is usually felt everywhere. This film follows Mortensen’s character plod methodically through the painfully dark underworld of London.

THE HEARTBREAK KID.
Comedy/Romance.
Ben Stiller/Michelle Monaghan.
Directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly..
* It was Charles Grodin and Cybill Shepherd in the original. Different times. Original screenplay by Neil Simon.

INTIMATE AFFAIRS.
Comedy/Drama.
Dermot Mulroney/Julie Delpy/Robin Tunney/Neve Campbell/Nick Nolte/Terrence Howard/Tuesday Weld.
Directed by Alan Rudolph.
* This flick was originally called INVESTIGATING SEX when it came out in 2002. An all-star cast play some men and women scientifically (just like you) studying sex.

THE KINGDOM.
Action/Drama.
Jamie Foxx/Chris Cooper;/Jason Bateman/Jennifer Garner.
Directed by Peter Berg.
* Super action flick about agents investigating a massacre of Americans living on a compound in Saudi Arabia. Shila saw it, she said it was awesome.

MEN IN THE NUDE.
Drama/Romance/Foreign (Hungarian).
Laszlo Galffi/David Szabo/Eva Kerekes.
Directed by Karoly Esztergalyos.
* Twisting plots involving thieving and prostituting street kids mark this love tale of a Hungarian writer who falls for a young androgynous teenage boy.

PARADISE TEXAS.
Drama.
Timothy Bottoms/Meredith Baxter/Ben Estus/Sheryl Lee.
Directed by Lorraine Senna.
* Indie film about a middle aged actor struggling to reconnect with his wife, his kids and himself.

RUSH HOUR 3.
Action/Comedy.
Chris Tucker/Jackie Chan.
Directed by Brett Ratner.
* Part 3 in the action series starring Chan and Tucker.

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

INSPECTOR LYNLEY SERIES 4.
Television.
Sharon Small/Nathaniel Parker.
* Series 4 of this very popular mystery series. We missed this one and season 5 as well, but now we are all caught up. Season 6 will be coming soon.

INSPECTOR LYNLEY SERIES 5.
Television.
Sharon Small/Nathaniel Parker.

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

KIPPER HELPS OUT.

KIPPER – AMAZING DISCOVERIES.

KIPPER – FRIENDSHIP TALES.

KIPPER – FUN IN THE SUN.

KIPPER – IMAGINE THAT.

KIPPER – LET IT SNOW.

KIPPER – PLAYTIME IN THE SUN.

KIPPER - POOLS PARKS AND PICNICS.

KIPPER - PUPPY LOVE.

KIPPER - TIGER TALES.

............//RECENT ACQUISITIONS//............

ALLEGRO NON TROPPO.
Replacement copy.

LUTHER (2003).
First DVD.

X FILES: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
Replacement copy.

SNL: SEASON TWO.
Another copy, I guess it was on backorder.

THE FORSYTE SAGA: SEASON ONE.

****

****new release list no.146

Yo, yo!

We received a really wonderful email from a customer recently. The customer emailed to give us feedback on certain aspects of the store and how we run it. The particulars of what this person had to say were good for us to hear and know, for sure, but it wasn’t someone ranting and venting, it was good, solid, caring, constructive criticism. It meant a lot to us to have someone care about the store and trust that their customer input would make a difference. It did and it does. We are so happy and grateful when you tell us what you think – how else will we know?

Also, just as people, it means so much to us—all of us—when each of us take it upon ourselves to speak. Speak out, speak up. I think, in many ways, that it doesn’t matter on what we are voicing our opinions, but that we are taking responsibility for the world around us, owning it and owning up to it in our own ways, and saying “Yes, that is OK,” or saying, “No, that is not working for me.” That is what creates and sustains community, that sense of ownership and responsibility that connect us to others’ business (in every sense of the word).

Now, on to the movies . . .

Rock the house,
Ken and Amy

............//NEW TITLES//............

BALLS OF FURY.
Comedy/Schtick.
Dan Fogler/Christopher Walken/George Lopez.
Directed by Robert Ben Garant.
* The world of extreme Ping-Pong is the background of this intrigue-filled CIA-fueled revenge flick about a washed-up former Ping-Pong budding star (Fogler) who is recruited to whip some table tennis ass in the secret jungle compound of super nemesis Feng (Walken). You can be sure the balls will be flying.

BOY EATS GIRL.
Comedy/Zombie/Foreign (Irish).
Samantha Mumba/David Leon.
Directed by Stephen Bradley.
* In the FIDO theme of Zombie tales, a boy dies after declaring his eternal love for his special one. Once he’s a zombie, his desire grows to new heights. Hey, who hasn’t wanted to take a big bite out of the one you love most?

DRUNKEN ANGEL.
Yakuza/Foreign (Japan)/Criterion.
Takashi Shimura/Toshiro Mifune/
Directed by Akira Kurosawa..
* The relationship between a small-time hood and the alcoholic doctor treating him for tuberculosis is at the center of this 1948 film that marked the first completely uncensored Kurosawa film, after battling the powers that be. Won multiple international cinematic awards in 1949.

ILLEGAL TENDER.
Crime/Drama.
Rick Gonzalez.
Directed by Franc Reyes.
* Don’t mess with a mom intent on protecting her son. When a killer from her past catches up with a mom and her young adult son, they decide to stop running, and prepare for a battle to put their ghosts to rest.

ONCE.
Drama/Music.
Glen Hansard/Marketa Inglova.
Directed by John Carney.
* Fairy-tale about two nameless people who meet on the streets of Dublin and slowly whisk each other away into a week of tenderness and emotion. Hansard is the frontman for the Irish band, The Frames, and Inglova is a young Czech musician who became his partner in music and love in real life—either during or after the filming of the movie (there are conflicting accounts.)

SAINT CLARA.
Romance/Foreign (Hebrew/Russian).
Lucy Dubinchik/Halil Elohey.
Directed by Ari Folman and Ori Sivan.
* Junior High school love story about a 7th grader Russian immigrant who has telekinetic powers (yeah, I know, don’t we all) and who can see the future. Based on a story by Czech novelists.

SEX CRAZY.
Comedy/Foreign (Spanish).
Jordi Vilches/Inma del Moral.
Directed by Javier Rebollo.
* And I quote: “Sex Crazy is ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST meets THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS in Spanish.”

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE.
Comedy/Animation/Donuts.
Directed by David Silverman.
* Spiderpig, spiderpig, does whatever a spiderpig does. You’ve prolly heard of this film. Some critics said it didn’t translate quite as well as a feature film, but I think the diehards wanna watch anyway.

STARDUST.
Action/Fantasy
Sienna Miller/Peter O’Toole/Ian McKellen/Charlie Cox.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn.
* Kings, witches, quests, maybe goblins (I may be stretching here) all compliment a boy, a promise and a fallen star.

SUSANA.
Drama /Foreign (Mexico).
Fernando Soler/Rosita Quintana/Victor Manuel Mendoza.
Directed by Luis Bunuel.
* Bunuel potboiler. The story of a wayward girl who is bad to the bone, but somehow god is on her side.

TWO LANE BLACKTOP.
Car Racing/Action.
James Taylor/Dennis Wilson/Harry Dean Stanton.
Directed by Monte Hellman.
* Epic drag racing film from the early 70’s just hitting DVD.

UNDEAD OR ALIVE.
Comedy/Western/Zombie.
James Denton/Chris Kattan.
Directed by Glasgow Phillips.
* Man, the zombie thing is HAPPENING! A sorrowful cowboy, and an AWOL soldier find solace robbing a corrupt sheriff just as the curse of Geronimo (that’s right, THE Geronimo) has turned the people in the surrounding area into zombies.

UNDERDOG.
Action/Comic/Dog.
Jason Lee/James Belushi/Others.
Directed by Frederik Du Chau.
* A lab accident provides a dawg with some swagger to go with his bark. This film is targeted for the very young.

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

BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ.
German Television/Criterion.
Gunter Lamprecht.

BROTHERHOOD: 1ST SEASON.
Television/Crime.
Jason Isaacs/Jason Clarke.
Created by Blake Masters.
* Cops and robbers New England style with two brothers on opposite sides of the law, one a gangster and one a police officer.

............//NEW TO DVD//............

HEARTS OF DARKNESS.
Documentary.
Created by Fax Bahr and George Hinckenlooper.
* Inside story about how the challenges in making APOCALYPSE NOW nearly destroyed the film, Francis Ford Coppola, and Coppola’s career. Some footage covertly filmed by Eleanor Coppola.

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

PLAN BEE.
* Classic tale of society’s transformation from an agrarian monarchy to an industrialized oligarchy.

............//RECENT ACQUISITIONS//............

DOCTOR.
Replacement copy of this William Hurt flick.

LITTLE MONSTERS.
Fred Savage and Howie Mandel…why did we get this? Not sure.

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?
Replacement copy of this Coen Brothers gem.

OZ: THE 5TH SEASON.
Replacement discs.

SNL: SEASON ONE.
We missed this the first time around, and since we bought season two, we thought we’d pick up the first season, also.

THE WEST WING: COMPLETE SERIES.
Replacement discs of all seasons 1 through 7.

****

****new release list no.145

Rock on Four Star Customers!

Poor Daniel Radcliffe is going to spend his career either playing Harry Potter or playing a character that is NOT Harry Potter. While his latest performance as Mr. P is sure to be as good as the others, check him out also in DECEMBER BOYS, where he also plays an orphan but one living a much different life. As Harry Potter may have defined Daniel Radcliffe’s career, so have the Harry Potter movies forever doomed young boys who wear glasses to being told they look like Harry Potter.

And what about Matt Damon? Can he ever make another movie in which we don’t think of him as Jason Bourne? Who knows? Not sure it really matters if you are curled up watching him all buffed out, dodge governmental assassins.

SO . . . do you start the week with some serious action-adventure (THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM) or with suspense and wizardry with the character who is defining this decade more than almost any other (HARRY POTTER: THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX)? Drama (DANZON, DECEMBER BOYS, INTERVIEW) or comedy (BLUE COLLAR COMEDY TOUR, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2, THE NANNY DIARIES)? Reality? You want some of that? It isn’t pretty but it is important and we’ve got that, too (BUGS! A RAINFOREST ADVENTURE, COLCALERO, EVERYTHING’S COOL, ROSES IN DECEMBER).

Enjoy! We love you!
Ken and Amy


............//NEW TITLES//............

BLUE COLLAR COMEDY TOUR: THE MOVIE.
Comedy/Documentary.
Larry the Cable Guy/Ron White/Bill Engval/Jeff Foxworthy
Directed by C. B. Harding.
* Stand up!.

BOURNE ULTIMATUM
Action/Adventure/Espionage.
Matt Damon/Joan Allen/Albert Finney.
Directed by Paul Greengrass.
* Bourne. Again. A London-based reporter inadvertently pulls Bourne out of hiding. This sets off a series of events leading Bourne to “ultimately, finally uncover his dark past.” WHAT?? Is this the last one??? Noooooooo!!!!! Action-adventure as it is meant to be in the third installment of the movies based upon the Robert Ludlum books.

BUGS! A RAINFOREST ADVENTURE
Nature.
Judi Dench (narrator).
Directed by Mike Slee.
* Set in the rainforests of Borneo. ”Larger-than-life story of a caterpillar and a praying mantis is dazzling, if you're not too grossed out.” See more than 40 insects, up close. Originally made for IMAX.

DANZON.
Drama/Foreign (Mexico).
Maria Rojo/Carmen Salinas.
Directed by Maria Novaro.
* Maria Rojo plays Julia, an ordinary woman living in Mexico City who is devoted to the danzon, a Cuban dance. When her regular Wednesday dancing partner disappears without a trace, Julia is stunned and takes a life-changing trip to Veracruz where the man’s brother lives.

DECEMBER BOYS.
Drama/Coming of Age/Foreign (Australia).
Daniel Radcliffe/Teresa Palmer.
Directed by Ron Hardy.
* Four orphan boys, all with December birthdays and so known as the December Boys, are sent on a coastal holiday by a dying benefactor. The boys’ friendships are tested when word gets out that someone in the vacation town might adopt one of them. This is a charming tale and is set in an incredibly beautiful and magical landscape.

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX.
Fantasy/Sci-Fi.
Daniel Radcliffe/Rupert Grint.
Directed by David Yates.
* Harry leads “Dumbledore’s Army” in a fight of resistance against an authoritarian pedagogue who takes over at Hogwarts and threatens free speech, progressive wizard education and the future of good as we know it.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2: SING IT ALL OR NOTHING.
Teen/Musical.
Zac Efron/Ashley Tisdale.
Directed by Kenny Ortega.
* Oh I’ll sing it. Ever wonder how much more high school or how much more musical it can get? Well, the answer is none more high school, none more musical.

INTERVIEW.
Drama.
Steve Buscemi/Sienna Miller.
Directed by Steve Buscemi.
* Steve Buscemi plays a political journalist who is forced to interview a very popular soap opera actress, played by Sienna Miller. Poor, poor Steve Buscemi.

THE NANNY DIARIES.
Comedy/Drama.
Scarlet Johansson/Laura Linney.
Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Pulcini.
* College graduate becomes a nanny for a wealthy New York family. Girl is just nannying in the wrong ‘hood. Come to Bernal Heights! BERNAL NANNIES ROCK.


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

BIG LOVE: SEASON 2.
Comedy/Polygamy
* Everyone’s favorite polygamist and his three wives. This show always makes me think of Bob Foster, an ex-Mormon fundamentalist we met on our honeymoon who had obtained a long-term lease on a half-mile long rock from the BLM and bored various living spaces into its permanently temperate center, the largest of which he ultimately turned into a bed and breakfast called “Rockland.”

LOST: SEASON 3.
Adventure/Thriller.
* Season 3 of this gripping adventure story.

............//DOCUMENTARY//............
COCALERO.
Documentary.
Directed by Alejandro Landes.
* The story of Evo Morales and the Bolivian farmers who he came to represent, and the union formed to oppose governmental efforts to erradicate the coca crops. I hope this is not a spoiler, but the U.S. was in on this one.

EVERYTHING’S COOL.
Documentary
Directed by Daniel Gold and Judith Helfand.
* What does it take for people to speak about climate change? What must they do to get through to us? The subjects of this documentary are the people—desperate, exasperated, determined—who are trying to get us all to listen.

ROSES IN DECEMBER.
Documentary.
Directed by Ana Carrigan and Bernard Stone.
* With this war still being waged in Iraq bearing so much resemblance to the Vietnam War, it is important to remember that destructive foreign policy has been a consistent practice of the U.S. government between the two debacles. That of the Reagan Administration in Central America is an outstanding example and, ultimately, is the subject of this documentary. The story unfolds as we learn about four American women were among those providing humanitarian aid in El Salvador and who were raped, tortured and murdered by the U.S.-backed military in its efforts to suppress the poor and the very threatening liberation theology.

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

HIP HOP HARRY: FUN WITH FRIENDS
Kids.
* Its fun, and he is a bear. Hip. Hop.


****

****new release list no.144

Yo, yo!

Of course many good flicks this week, including the much-awaited release of the week, SUPERBAD. Things move quickly to DVD these days and it is a good thing! It is interesting how Judd Apatow has moved in reverse chronological order, the main characters of his big films getting younger and younger. Reminds me of that line in DAZED AND CONFUSED, “I keep getting older and the high school girls keep staying the same age.” Or something to that effect. Judd Apatow’s films are kind of the opposite. Kind of. Or something.

A must-see this week is SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: SEASON TWO. Go look it up on IMDB, each season gets broken down by episode and the line ups for this season are unbelievable. Have I mentioned how notsalgic I feel for 70’s TV?

Rock the house,
Ken and Amy

............//RELEASE OF THE WEEK//............

SUPERBAD.
Comedy.
Jonah Hill/Michael Cera
Directed by Greg Mottola.
* Latest super funny release from producer Judd Apatow, in which best friends Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) set out to lose their virginity at a high school party with the girls of their dreams. They will be going to different colleges, so this they must do before they are forced to be apart. The smart young men know that the quickest way into a girl’s pants is by getting her drunk, so they get a friend to get a fake ID to buy beer to take to the party. Not surprisingly, in the end . . . oh, well, you’ll have to see for yourselves! Written by Seth Rogen (knocked her up in Knocked Up) and Evan Goldberg (wrote for Da Ali G Show). Tell us what you think about the homoerotic element; this film was at one point titled, “Separation Anxiety.”

............//NEW TITLES//............

BOY CRUSH.
Drama/Foreign (world-wide).
Directed by George Barbakadze/Daniel Falcone/Hong Khaou/Judd King/Sven J. Matten/Eric Rognard/David M. Young
* Seven gay-themed shorts from around the world.

THE KID.
Action/Martial Arts.
Bruce Lee.
Directed by Fung Fung.
* A 10-year-old Bruce Lee stars as Kid Cheung, an orphan boy who sells comics in a little stall in the slums to survive. A classic story of a good deed bringing wealth and friendship. Bruce Lee has one of the longest Wikipedia entries I’ve ever seen for an entertainer, describing a life much more amazing than the 70’s Hollywood films where I first met Bruce Lee (amazing unto themselves, too).

CZECH DREAM.
Documentary/Comedy.
Directed by Vít Klusák/Filip Remunda.
* Documentary in the most Michael Moore sense of the word: Two Czech films students hire an advertising agency to put together an ad campaign for a supermarket, Czech Dream, which does not exist. Art or social experiment?

EAST SIDE STORY.
Comedy/Gay and Lesbian.
David Beron/Rene Alvarado.
Directed by Carlos Portugal.
* “Love thy neighbor. Just don’t get caught.”

HOTTEST STATE.
Drama/Suspense.
Mark Webber/Laura Linney/Sonia Braga/Michelle Williams
Directed by Ethan Hawke.
* Not only did Ethan Hawke write and direct this baby, but he apparently wrote a novel upon which the screenplay is based. But don’t hate him ‘cause he’s beautiful. A young man’s coming of age as he tries to make it in New York as an actor, falls for an unavailable chanteuse and eventually goes to home Texas to make peace with his father (played by Ethan Hawke).

LIVE-IN MAID.
Drama.
Norma Aleandro/Norma Argentina.
Directed by Jorge Gaggero.
* Set in Buenos Aires, a story of how things change between a wealthy woman and her live-in maid as the Argentinean economy collapses.

MIDNIGHT CLEAR.
Drama.
Stephen Baldwin/K Callan.
Directed by Dallas Jenkins.
* Unrelated characters, each full of his or her own despair, cross paths on Christmas Eve. Random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty ensue.

MIKOGAMI TRILOGY: THE TRAIL OF BLOOD; THE FEARLESS AVENGER; SLAUGHTER IN THE SNOW.
Samurai/Foreign (Japan).
Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro.
* The central character of these classic 70’s samurai action flicks is Jokichi of Mikogami, a famed wandering yakuza soldier.

PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: AT WORLDS END.
Action/Adventure.
Johnny Depp/Orlando Bloom/Keira Knightly/Chow Yun-Fat.
Directed by Gore Verbinski.
* A journey to World’s End to rescue Jack Sparrow. Jack, as luck would have it, is stuck in Davy Jones’ Locker. Remember that Brady Bunch episode? With Davy Jones? Well, this film is way more adventure-filled.

GUY X.
Comedy.
Jason Biggs/Natasha McElhone.
Directed by Saul Metzstein.
* A soldier mistakenly sent to an arctic army base in Greenland, only to be told he doesn’t exist. The soldier uncovers a secret and adjusts to the dark beauty and mystery of the great north. Set in 1979.

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

24: SEASON 6.
Terrorism.
Keifer Sutherland.
* Day. After Day.

CSI: SEASON 7.
Crime/Soft Science.
Created by Anthony Zuicker

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: COMPLETE SECOND SEASON.
Comedy.
John Belushi/Gilda Radner/Dan Akroyd/Jane Curtain/Lorraine Newman. . .
Created by Lorne Michaels.
* Some of the funniest sketch comedy ever made. Like ever, ever, ever . . . in my life.

THE WIRE: SEASON 4.
Crime.
Created by David Simon.
* Season 4 of one of the tightest and complex shows on television.

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

CURIOUS GEORGE: PLAYS IN THE SNOW & OTHER AWESOME ACTIVITIES.
* Far, far from his natural habitat.

ARCTIC TALE.
Nature/Polar Regions.
Queen Latifah (narrator)
Directed by Sarah Robertson.
* A seal and a polar bear followed from birth into parenthood. Music by Aimee Man and Ben Harper. Glacier groove.

****