****new release list. no.168

If you have been dying to watch RAMBO, this is your week. Call us immediately, and we will put the latest homicidal episode in John Rambo’s life on hold for you.

There is also a large batch of films with big stars (THE AIR I BREATHE, THE WALKER, CLEANER, CASSANDRA’S DREAM, GRACE IS GONE) like John Cusack, Kevin Bacon, Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell and Woody Harrelson among others. There is a big batch of horror from Dario Argento (THE CARDPLAYER, PHENOMENA, TENEBRE, TRAUMA, DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK?). Some comedies (ALL HAT, THE LATHER EFFECT), some old films new to DVD (THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD). A couple of hot-button documentaries (DARFUR NOW, WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY?). There is also some TV, both new and old (LIPSTICK JUNGLE, ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, SAVED BY THE BELL). And our usual batch of new additions (BASQUIAT, CHEECH AND CHONG: STILL SMOKIN, CHEECH AND CHONG: UP IN SMOKE, SPEED).

And there you have the movie report.

Starting June 1st, we are having our first price increase here in many years (at least 5). The increase is ONLY affecting library films which are current $3 for 3 nights. We are raising the price of library movies to the same as New Releases ($3.75 after tax) and we are also extending the time you can rent them. Instead of three day rentals, they will now be five day rentals. Until now, if you had a library film out for two renewal periods (six days), it cost you $6. Now, you can have that same movie for $3.75 for five nights.

We are NOT raising the New Release price, and we are not changing Dollar Wednesdays. Just for perspective, this is a .75 cent raise for a rental that you can have for five days…I hope everyone understands. We are still among the least expensive video stores in town with some of the best policies and one of the finest collections in the entire Bay Area.

Don’t forget, KenFlix is here! Four Star Video is now selling subscription memberships. We are not pushing this service, just offering it as an awesome alternative either to corporate America, or to regular renewal fees. If you are trying to analyze whether this service is for you, ask us to look up your rental history. Grab a pamphlet at the store which has all the 411 you need.

Best regards,

Ken

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

THE AIR I BREATHE.
Drama.
Kevin Bacon/Forest Whitaker/Sarah Michelle Gellar/Andy Garcia/Brendan Fraser/Julie Delpy/Emile Hirsch/.
Directed by Jieho Lee.
* One of those many-stories-wove-together type films based on an ancient Chinese proverb focusing on four elements of life - happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. Kevin Bacon is a genius, wouldn’t you say? He’s like the human energizer bunny. Nothing can stop him.

ALL HAT.
Comedy/Western.
Rachael Leigh Cook/Keith Carradine/Michelle Morgan.
Directed by Leonard Farlinger.
* Not many Western Comedies out there these days. The score is done by excellent jazzy guitar wizard Bill Frisell.

THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA.
Comedy/Drama.
Naveen Andrews.
Directed by Roger Michell.
* For the first time on DVD comes the 1993 story of Karim Amir (Andrews), the child of an English mother and an Indian father, and his struggles with British society. From the writer of MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE and SAMMY AND ROSIE GET LAID.

THE CARD PLAYER.
Horror/Thriller/Foreign (Italian).
Stefania Rocca/Liam Cunningham.
Directed by Dario Argento.
* One of a set of five new Argento films that we just got in. This one concerns a serial killer not playing nice with some officers of the law who are trying to catch him. Look on the wall under D for Dario Argento for this quintet.

CASSANDRA’S DREAM.
Crime/Drama/Thriller.
Ewan McGregor/Colin Farrell/Tom Wilkinson.
Directed by Woody Allen.
* Here Woody takes on a couple of down on their luck brothers (McGregor, Farrell) in London who are offered a way out of there financial problems if they’ll take care of “a little problem” for their Uncle Howard (The fabulous Wilkinson).

CLEANER.
Action/Suspense.
Samuel L. Jackson/Ed Harris/Eva Mendes.
Directed by Renny Harlin.
* Jackson plays a former cop turned crime scene clean-up dude.

DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK?
Horror/Thriller/Foreign (Italian).
Elio germano.
Directed by Dario Argento.
* Kind of a tribute film to Alfred, this concerns a student obsessed with Hitchcock’s work who is investigating a murder at the building next to his.

GRACE IS GONE.
Drama.
John Cusack.
Directed by James C. Strouse.
* A father takes his daughters on a road trip while trying to find the right moment to tell them their mother has died in Iraq.

THE LATHER EFFECT.
Comedy.
Peter Facinelli/Connie Britton/Eric Stoltz/Ione Skye.
Directed by Sarah Kelly.
* Some former high school peeps get together and party some years later and don’t like what they see quite as much in the morning. Whoop whoop, right?

PHENOMENA.
Horror/Thriller.
Jennifer Connelly.
Directed by Dario Argento.
* Her special ability? To communicate with insects. Her mission? To solve a string of murders at the elite Swiss boarding school she has been sent to. This was Jennifer Connelly second movie, a year before LABYRINTH.

RAMBO.****BLU-RAY, TOO****
War/Adventure/Action/Massacre.
Sylvester Stallone/Julie Benz/Paul Schulze.
Directed by Sylvester Stallone
* Missionaries taken captive by the Burmese government rely on Rambo to shoot MASSIVE amounts of people to save them.

TENEBRE.
Horror/Thriller.
Anthony Franciosa.
Directed by Dario Argento.
* In this one, a serial killer is stalking an American writer in Rome and killing everyone involved with his latest book.

THIEF OF BAGDAD.
Adventure/Family/Fantasy/Criterion.
John Justin/Conrad Veidt.
Directed by Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan and Michael Powell.
* Criterion release of the 1940 multiple Oscar winning film about the adventures of Prince Ahmad who should be the king of Bagdad but has been cast out and blinded.

TRAUMA.
Horror/Thriller.
Asia Argento.
Directed by Dario Argento.
* I think this is Argento’s only film made in English and it is starring his daughter Asia who has done a ton of weird indie flicks. In this she is paired with a young man trying to help her avoid or expose a serial killer who has killer her parents.

THE WALKER.
Drama.
Woody Harrelson/Kristin Scott Thomas/Lauren Bacall/Willem Dafoe/Lily Tomlin/Ned Beatty.
Directed by Paul Schrader.
* Harrelson plays an escort catering to the society ladies of Washington D.C. Then murder ensues, and everything gets sketchy.

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

DARFUR, NOW!
Documentary.
Don Cheadle/Hejewa Adam.
Directed by Ted Braun.
* A doc that is a call for help for the tremendous genocidal crisis going on in Darfur, this film examines six peoples stories and begs for awareness and action from its viewers.

WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY?
Documentary/Comedy.
Directed by Rob VanAlkemade.
* This doc attempts to answer the question I’m asking myself every day. Beware the Shopacolypse!

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

LIPSTICK JUNGLE: SEASON ONE.
Television/Comedy.
Brook Shields/Kim Raver/Lindsay Price.
* A show exploring the lives of three uber-successful women in New York City.

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

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING.
Television/Comedy.
* Absolutely Fabulous was a British comedy from the 1990’s that we have had at the store on VHS. This new release is a complete DVD set of the entire series with extras and it is truly absolutely fabulous. Check out the incredible packaging…one word: fabu!

BASQUIAT.
Drama/Biopic.
Jeffrey Wright/David Bowie/Benicio Del Toro.
Directed by Julian Schnabel.
* Schabel (THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY)’s first work as a director tackled the true story of painter Jean-Michel Basquiat and his rise to fame from a street artist to an internationally celebrated painter. The cast is amazing featuring Gary Oldman, Parker Posey, Christopher Walken, Claire Forlani, Willem Dafoe, Dennis Hopper, Tatum O’Neal, Courtney Love (she’s got bit parts in all the tweaked out famous drug addict movies, see: SID AND NANCY). This is our first copy on DVD.

CHEECH AND CHONG: STILL SMOKIN.
Comedy/Marijuana.
Cheech Marin/Tommy Chong.
Directed by Tommy Chong.
* Our heroes smoke massive reefer in Amsterdam and a slight story emerges. Did you know that Tommy Chong went to JAIL for selling bongs and pipes over the internet? That is just wrong…

CHEECH AND CHONG: UP IN SMOKE.
Comedy/Marijuana.
Cheech Marin/Thomas Chong.
Directed by Lou Adler.
* A more cohesive, but not necessarily coherent tale then STILL SMOKIN, in this movie the guys play a pair of potheads who get deported to Mexico. They agree to drive a van back to the states, without knowing the whole van is made out of marijuana! This film has some of the great lines of my youth and if I could remember any of them, I’d share them with you.

SAVED BY THE BELL: SEASONS ONE AND TWO.
Television/Comedy.
* This silly show was on from 1989 to 1993 and followed six kids through their hilarious and depressing high school existences. Shila assures me that this show has a massive following.

SPEED.
* First DVD copy of this Keanu film.

THE WIRE: COMPLETE THIRD SEASON.
Two new copies of this season of this outrageously popular show.

****

****new release list no. 167

We are rolling out subscription service! Available on June 1st, KenFlix is coming!

Here is a bunch of information about our very exciting new rental options…You can still rent the same way you always have at Four Star Video, but if you would like, you can sign up for our monthly subscription service. Sound interesting? Read on…Otherwise skip down to the movies.

KenFlix is Four Star Video’s new subscription rate membership. It is a multi-structured program that is optional for our customers and can be used with or without our current Block pricing structure. You simply decide what level subscription you want and then pay one monthly fee for unlimited rentals and no renewal fees.

• Is this a good service for me?
• There are a few reasons that a subscription will work great for customers. First off, do you rent a lot of movies? If so, this will provide you with an immediate discount in your monthly expense. Secondly, do you have trouble getting movies back on time? That is the main comment we hear at Four Star Video which has really motivated us to set this up. We understand all the options that people have out there, and we believe that our store offers you the best option of fulfilling your cinematic needs.

• Is it like Netflix?
• Kind of. But unlike Netflix, you won’t have to wait for any movies to get sent to you. You have unlimited access to rent as many movies as you would like without additional cost. And you get the added bonus of interacting with live humans who will amuse you with their quirky characteristics and movie suggestions. Also, we believe there is something about browsing movie boxes that you can touch that is really…touching.

• Is there a “queue” like Netflix?
• Hell no! Unlike that service, you don’t get what is next on your list; you get whatever is in your hand!

• Can I keep the movies indefinitely?
• Yes, however after twenty-one (21) days you will be charged full price for the movie. There will be no renewal fees, and this won’t affect your subscription. We’re still a neighborhood video store, and we need to keep copies of the movies for our other customers to rent. So if we see one is not coming back, we will replace it immediately. If you bring your movie back within ten days of this charge. We will refund you the price of the film, minus a $5 re-stocking fee.

• Can KenFlix be used with the block?
• Yes, it can! You can still purchase blocks whether or not you use the subscription service. If you do subscribe, you can utilize the block if you want to rent movies above your subscription total. If you return movies that you have on your subscription, we will shift your block rentals onto the subscription upon request to help you avoid any renewals fees as long as you have the maximum or less movies out on your plan.

• Can I rent more movies on top of my subscription?
• Yes, you can! You can choose to rent movies at regular cost at any time. Again, if you return the films that have maximized your subscription, we will shift your other rentals to your subscription upon request to avoid renewal fees.

• Will this mean I will have to wait longer for films?
• Probably not. We have been purchasing films in significantly higher proportions over the last five months in anticipation of this program. If we start having reservation lists for a title that is out for an extended period we will purchase more and expedite delivery. Which is what we already do!

• How will this affect my Wednesday Dollar Rentals?
• If you come in only on Wednesdays and get 4 movies then this program is perfect for you. Now, every day is Wednesday and you can come in seven days a week if you want to.

• What is not going to change?
• Oh just about everything. We’ll still have the same awesome releases. We’ll still have the same awesome staff. We’ll still have the same awesome red carpet. All this really does is add a great new service for those who would like to take part in it.

Here are the Pricing Options:

• $19.99/month – One movie out on your account of any type at any time. No fees. Unlimited exchange.

• $29.99/month – Two movies out on your account of any type at any time. No fees. Unlimited exchange.

• $39.99/month – Three movies out on your account of any type at any time. No fees. Unlimited exchange.

• $49.99/month – Four movies out on your account of any type at any time. No fees. Unlimited exchange.


This program will start on June 1st, but we may let you start buying it later this week. Ask us at the store!

Love and kisses,

Ken

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

DIARY OF THE DEAD.
Fantasy/Horror/Thriller.
Joshua Close/Scott Wentworth/Michelle Morgan.
Directed by George A. Romero.
* From the maker of classic zombie movies like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD comes this new zombie thriller following a group of film students as they witness the undead coming to life through their cameras and cellphones.

THE FLOCK.
Crime/Thriller.
Richard Gere/Claire Danes.
Directed by Wai-keung Lau.
* A vigilant (and perhaps over-zealous) federal agent (Gere) is training his young, hot replacement (Danes) while tracking down a missing girl into the seedy world of porn.

NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS. **** BLU-RAY,TOO****
Adventure.
Nicholas Cage/Diane Kruger/Jon Voight/Helen Mirren/Ed Harris.
Directed by John Turtletaub.
* His name is Benjamin Franklin Gates! That is so brilliant. Yes, Cage is back as the fabled treasure hunter seeking to discover the truth behind Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

STRANGE WILDERNESS.
Comedy.
Steve Zahn/Allen Covert/Jonah Hill.
Directed by Fred Wolf.
* Zahn plays a guy who takes over the animal show his dead father used to hosts. I read that this is a “good stupid dry-humor movie”. Well, I need that every now and again.

WHO’S YOUR MONKEY.
Comedy.
Jason London/Kevin Durand.
Directed by Todd Breau.
* In this low-budg comedy, some friends try to help their buddy (who is an out of work doctor making crystal meth to pay the bills) out of his funk.

THE WILLOW TREE.
Drama/Foreign (Persian).
Parviz Parastui.
Directed by Majid Majidi.
* Visually stunning Iranian film about a blind professor who is startled by what he sees when he regains his sight.

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

OUR HOUSE.
Documentary.
Directed by Meema Spadola.
* From the director of BREASTS: A DOCUMENTARY comes this exploration of life as the children of gay and lesbian parents. This fascinating story documents the children of five families of multiple ethnicities around the United States.

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

CRANFORD (2007).
BBC/Television.
Judi Dench.
* Victorian-era soap opera.

EXES & OHS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Television/Comedy/Lesbian.
Directed by Leah Friedlander.
* A sort of more realistic and less glamorous THE L WORD.

THE MUPPET SHOW: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON.
Television/Muppet.
Kermie/Miss Piggy.
Created by Jim Henson.
* Seriously, this is just pure brilliant genius (Can you use those two words back to back? Don’t ask me, I’m neither one of them…). Just look at the back of the box to see the incredible list of guest stars.

THE RICHES.
Television/Comedy/Drama.
Eddie Izzard/Minnie Driver.
* The Malloy’s are a family of gypsies who have conned their way through their lives. Now as they are getting older and sick of life on the move, they have assumed the identity of a upper middle class family in the Deep South and they intend to milk it for all it’s worth.

SQUARE PEGS: THE COMPLETE SERIES.
Television.
Sarah Jessica Parker/Amy Linker/Jami Gertz
* Do you remember this series? It is from 1982 and it is like a pre-cursor to all John Hughes films and so much other 1980’s existential life. It follows the lives in high school of two misfits as they try to fit in…to “click with the right clique” as they put it and become “popular”. If you ever spent idle time wondering why the popular crowd was popular, this show will remind you of the somewhat randomness of that designation. The music, the accents, the situations, this show is awesome, and I highly recommend it.

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

DORA THE EXPLORER: SUPER BABIES.
Dora.

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

BAND OF BROTHERS.
Replacement DVD’s.

CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD.
Adventure/Drama.
Henry Czerny.
Directed by Stephen Deutch.
* This is a customer request about a man’s journey from struggling to homeless to spiritual messenger and finally author. Tell me if you like it!

EPITAFIOS: SEASON ONE.
Replacement DVD’s.

****

****new release list no.166

The carpet is pretty sweet, huh?

Here is a pretty good breakdown of the movies coming out this summer. I am sure there are some hidden gems here, but at first read, I wasn’t super psyched on anything I read about it. Isn’t it amazing how Hollywood will just throw millions at just about anything in the hopes of paying for all the garbage with one monster success? Ah, to have millions to throw away…

This week we have some comedy (MAD MONEY, NUMB, WALK ALL OVER ME), some horror (THE COTTAGE), a batch of foreign films (LOST IN BEIJING, THE FIRE WITHIN, THE LOVERS, A MATTER OF TASTE, SHINOBI NO MONO 2: VENGEANCE), the latest Francis Ford Coppola film (YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH) and the latest Denzel Washington movie – which I heard was really good (THE GREAT DEBATERS). We also have another big batch of new additions, and some good kids stuff.

Have a nice week!

Ken


p.s. Fairmount Elementary is having its annual fund raiser this Saturday May 17th from 12pm - 5pm. There will be food and games for the kids and a silent auction with all sorts of great stuff (like a Four Star gift certificate). Fairmount is located at 65 Chenery and I will be there all day. Come on by for a fun day with your peeps.

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

THE COTTAGE.
Comedy/Horror.
Andy Serkis/Jennifer Ellison.
Directed by Paul Williams.
* A couple of siblings mess up a kidnapping, then have a nightmare to contend with while holed up with their hostage in a country cottage, and the nightmare wields and axe.

THE FIRE WITHIN.
Drama/Criterion/Foreign (French).
Maurice Ronet/Lena Skeria.
Directed by Louis Malle.
* Criterion release of this swirling descent into suicidal depression fueled by alcohol and failed dreams.

THE GREAT DEBATER.
Drama.
Denzel/Forest Whitaker.
Directed by Denzel Washington.
* Well-acted tale of a 1935 college debating team of African-Americans who challenged Harvard in the national championship.

LOST IN BEIJING.
Drama/Foreign (Mandarin).
Tony Leung Ka Fai/Bingbing Fan.
Directed by Yu Li.
* This film is freaking BANNED in China. Banned! That is so crazy. And the producer is banned from making another film for two years. The story follows a foursome exploring their relationship in Beijing. FREAKING BANNED! We must watch this movie.

THE LOVERS.
Drama/Criterion/Foreign (French).
Jeanne Moreau/Alain Cuny/Jean-Marc Bory.
Directed by Louis Malle.
* 1959 film about boredom, sex, and the bourgeoisie. This film helped the US Supreme court define pornography in 1964 (the defendant was acquitted from the charge of possessing and exhibiting an obscene film).

MAD MONEY.
Comedy/Crime.
Queen Latifah/Katie Holmes/Diane Keaton/Ted Danson.
Directed by Callie Khouri.
* Three bank robbing chicks get jiggy with stacks of cash.

A MATTER OF TASTE.
Crime/Thriller/Foreign (French).
Bernard Giraudeau/Jean-Pierre Lorit.
Directed by Bernard Rapp.
* Sexual thriller from France.

NUMB.
Comedy/Romance.
Matthew Perry/Mary Steenburgen/Lynn Collins/Kevin Pollack.
Directed by Harris Goldberg.
* I’m numb looking at this film about a young man who thinks he is going crazy.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN.
Drama.
Sean Combs/Phylicia Rashad/Audra McDonald.
Directed by Kenny Leon.
* P-Diddy stars in this adaptation of the famous Lorraine Hansberry play about an African-American family struggling to overcome racism and poverty.

SHINOBI NO MONO 2: VEGEANCE.
Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Raizo Ichikawa.
* Action oriented ninja flick from the 60’s.

WALK ALL OVER ME.
Comedy?/ Crime/Thriller/Dominatrix.
Leelee Sobieski.
Directed by Robert Cuffley.
* I believe this is a comedy about a young woman who takes on her roommates identity as a dominatrix to pay the bills...

YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH.
Drama.
Tim Roth/Alexandra Lara/Bruno Ganz.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
* Set in 1930’s Europe, this film follows a timid professor (Roth) whose life is changed dramatically and magically after he is hit by a bolt of lightning.

............//SERIES//............

BOONDOCKS: SEASON ONE.
Television/Animated.
Created by Aaron McGruder.
* Amazing social and politic commentary in this series based on the award winning comic-strip.

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

BOB THE BUILDER: THE THREE MUSKETRUCKS.
Kids.
Bob.
* Bob gets crazy with three sword wielding truck knights.

GARFIELD: A CAT AND HIS NERD.
Kids.
Garfield/His Nerd.
* Tremendous cinematography.

LAND BEFORE TIME: THROUGH THE EYES OF SPIKETAIL.
Kids/Dino.
* Four episodes of the cute little dino-critters.

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

LA CHINOISE.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (French).
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
* First time available on DVD, this 1967 film follows a group of students who explore terrorism while studying Mao.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. BLU-RAY!
* Yo, it’s the Chronic (What?) Cles of Narnia.

EVIL DEAD.
Fantasy/Horror/Thriller.
Directed by Sam Raimi.
* First DVD of this classic.

EVIL DEAD 2.
Fantasy/Horror/Thriller.
Directed by Sam Raimi..
* First DVD of this classic.

PLANET EARTH. BLU-RAY!
Doc/Nature/Amazing.
* We just got this amazing 5 disc series on Blu-ray…time to buy that Blu-ray player!

THE MISSION.
Drama/War.
Robert De Niro/Jeremy Irons/Aidan Quinn.
Directed by Roland Joffe.
* Jesuits and slave hunters in this 1986 period piece.

THE WAY WE WERE.
Drama/Romance.
Robert Redford/Barbara Streisand.
Directed by Sydney Pollack.
* First DVD copy of this Oscar winner from the 1970’s.

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (Spanish).
* Replacement DVD.

****

****new release list no.165

COME IN TO THE STORE FOR OUR GRAND RE-CARPETING!

We are rolling out the red carpet for y’alls’s. Today (May 5th) is the last day the old schwagalicious (that’s a technical term) carpet will be at Four Star Video. Then during the nights over the next few days the new carpet will be installed. It will be red, as we feel you all deserve the red carpet treatment. By Thursday, May 8th, the new carpet will be installed and we will be very happy. We hope you will, too.

Starting this month, one of the employees will choose a small stack of films that we currently don’t carry and these movies will be the Highlighted New Additions in the green room (new release room) for the entire month. Chris is the first of us to run the highlighted section (although thanks also go out to Andrew for picking last months new Anime films). Take a look at the stuff Chris has selected…you are bound to find something you like. They are listed below in the HIGHLIGHTED NEW ADDITIONS section.

This week is a week of fluffy comedy for the most part. Titles like ACE OF HEARTS, OVER HER DEAD BODY, FIRST SUNDAY, I REALLY HATE MY JOB, and others fill this niche. The long awaited Bob Dylan biofictopic I’M NOT THERE is also in this week, as is the faux horror flick TEETH about a young lady who discovers teeth where generally there are none. Yup, you get it… There are also a couple of documentaries that look good: HOW TO COOK YOUR LIFE and THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN. Hopefully there is something in that will appeal to your particular sense of escapism.

One quick note about the crime wave that Bernal Heights is experiencing: please pay attention to your surroundings when you are walking around. You probably know that we have had a large amount of muggings already this year. Last week Martha Bros. was robbed in the early morning. Believe me, the leadership organizations in this neighborhood (Tom Ammiano’s office, the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, Police Captain Denis O'Leary’s office, the Merchants Association) are aware of this problem and everyone is doing what they can to protect us. However a problem like this doesn’t just disappear because of righteous anger and higher police presence. There is a lot we can do as a community to combat muggings. Do not put yourself in dangers way, but do not turn and walk the other direction if you see something suspicious. Be safe, but don’t be paranoid. Try not to be judgmental about this. As long as there is no money and our economy is tanking, people with less means are going to go to where they perceive there is money and harvest it. This is completely related to the housing markets, the gas prices, the unemployment rate and the war. I’m sure you already know that. Hopefully we can join together during this crisis and not splinter into factions. And hopefully this can encourage us to vote in the upcoming election and do what we can to insure that those who are intent on getting rich off of our fear get out of office.

Ken

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

ACE OF HEARTS.
Family/Comedy.
Dean Cain/Anne Loder/Mike Dopud.
Directed by David Mackay.
* A cop works hard to clear his partners’ good name and save him from death…the twist? The partner is a doggy.

BELLA.
Drama.
Eduardo Verastegui/Tammy Blanchard.
Directed by Alejandro Monteverde.
* A story within a story riding the theme of how one moment can change people’s lives forever.

DANS PARIS.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Romain Duris/Louis Garrel.
Directed by Christophe Honore.
* A story of love and depression as a young man struggles to get over the woman who left him (probably cuz he was a jerk). The ONION really dug it.

DELIRIOUS.
Drama/Comedy.
Steve Buscemi/Michael Pitt/Alison Lohman.
Directed by Tom DiCillo.
* As in INTERVIEW, Buscemi plays a borderline journalist, willing to do whatever to further his career. In this, he befriends a homeless kid (Pitt, maybe starting to break out??) who’s luck in hooking up with a hot young music star (Lohman) drives the tale to its dark conclusion.

FIRST SUNDAY.
Comedy/Crime.
Ice Cube/Katt WilliamsTracy Morgan.
Directed by David Talbert.
* When Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn decide to rob a neighborhood church to come up with the cash to keep Durell from losing his son (huh?) they are forced to spend a night in the church and get more than they expected. Hmmm, okay.

I’M NOT THERE.
Drama/Biofictopic.
Christian Bale/Cate Blanchett/Marcus Carl Franklin/Richard Gere/Heath Ledger/Julianne Moore/Kris Kristofferson.
Directed by Todd Haynes.
* Very strange and complex tale of Bob Dylan told using six different characters playing different elements of his life. Tremendous soundtrack!!!

I REALLY HATE MY JOB.
Comedy.
Neve Campbell/Shirley Henderson.
Directed by Oliver Parker.
* Sounds kinda like THE BREAKFAST CLUB meets WAITRESS. The tale focuses on five women working in a café in London.

OVER HER DEAD BODY.
Comedy/Light-fare.
Eva Longoria/Paul Rudd.
Directed by Jeff Lowell.
* Uh-huh. Yep.

P.S. I LOVE YOU.
Comedy/Romance.
Hilary Swank/Gerard Butler/Lisa Kudrow.
Directed by Richard LaGravenese.
* In the schmaltzy tale, Swank plays a woman who finds the love of her life, only to lose him to tragedy soon after. However, he has prepared her some messages designed to help her find herself and rediscover her passion for life without him.

SAAWARIYA.
Drama/Musical/Bollywood (Hindi).
Ranbir Kapoor/Salman Khan/Rani Mukherjee/Sonam Kapoor.
Directed by Sanjay Bhansali.
* A Bollywood tale inspired by the Dostoevsky store “White Nights”.

SPIDER LILIES.
Drama/LGBT/Foreign (Mandarin).
Isabella Leong/Rainie Yang.
Directed by Zero Chou.
* Lesbian-themed romance between a web-cam girl and a tattoo artist.

TEETH.
Horror/Comedy.
Jess Weixler/John Hensley/Josh Pais.
Directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein.
* Campy, witty, toothy, future cult-classic about a high school girl who is working hard at being a model of abstinence who discovers that her vagina is toothed.

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

THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN.
Documentary.
Ricki Lake.
Directed by Abby Epstein..
* A film about birth and pregnancy that studies different methods families choose when preparing to bring a child into the world.

HOW TO COOK YOUR LIFE.
Documentary.
Edward Brown.
Directed by Doris Dorrie.
* A profile of Zen Master Edward Espe Brown and his slant on preparation of food as well as practicing the art of Zen Buddhism!

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

BLOOD FEAST.
Horror/Splatter.
Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis.
* From 1963, this was to be one of the first splatter films made, as well as the first installment of the Blood Trilogy (all featured in this month’s new additions). This film focuses on an Egyptian caterer who is gathering some lovely young maiden’s body parts in order to bring Ishtar back to life. There is much blood shed in this classic.

COLOR ME BLOOD RED.
Horror/Splatter.
Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis.
* Part three in the Blood Trilogy, this film follows the exploits of an artist who is struggling with his color sense. When he discovers that his own blood makes a fanciful color, he is pleased. However, soon he realizes the need to go outside his own veins for his paint supply.

DANCING OUTLAW.
Documentary.
Jesco White.
Directed by Jacob Young.
* Very wacky doc about Jesco White, a mountain dancer from rural West Virginia who briefly achieved fame in the 1990’s for his hard-living, hard-dancing ways.

DAVE CHAPPELLE: KILLIN’ THEM SOFTLY.
Stand-up Comedy.
* More stand-up from one of the kings of comedy in this decade.

HARLEM NIGHTS.
Comedy/Crime.
Eddie Murphy/Richard Pryor/Redd Foxx/Danny Aiello.
Directed by Eddie Murphy.
* Cops and vicious gangsters in this Oscar nominated film from 1989 (Best Costume Design) about an owner of an illegal casino who is struggling to stay in business against all odds.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.
Fantasy/Action.
Dolph Lundren.
Directed by Gary Goddard.
* The follow up film to ROCKY IV for Dolph Lundren where he plays He-Man from the popular children’s show of the 80’s. BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL! Or something like that…

THE TICK: VS. SEASON ONE.
Animation/Comic Book Hero.
* Sophisticated and inventive series about The Tick, a less-than-bright yet very powerful superhero who protects the city from all manner of villains. This show was more spoof than not, and remains one of the more classic and loved tv shows of the 90’s. Alas, it was canceled after three seasons. Dude wears the blue tights of justice!

TWO THOUSAND MANIACS!
Horror/Splatter.
Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis.
* The second installation in the Blood Trilogy, this tells the tale of a small southern town that is having a centennial celebration and lures some northerners in to take part in the celebration. Only catch is that this small town still hasn’t gotten over their loss in the Civil War and is planning to take revenge for the atrocities they were subject to back then. This is a total gore-fest that inspired a remake called 2001 MANIACS that starred Robert Englund of NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET fame.

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

MADELINE: NEXT STOP, AMERICA.
Madeline.
* Whoop, whoop.

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

ABOUT LAST NIGHT.
Comedy/Drama.
* Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Jim Belushi in this 1986 film based on the David Mamet play “Sexual Perversity in Chicago”. Quotable line “At this point, we don’t know”.

ARMY OF SHADOWS.
Drama/War/Criterion/Foreign (French).
Lino Ventura/Jean-Pierre Cassel.
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville.
* Intense war movie based on the book by Joseph Kassell about the occupation of France by the Nazi’s and the underground French Résistance movement who did what they could to overthrow them. This is the re-mastered Criterion release from April 2007.

****

****new release list no.164

Sorry about the paint-splattered carpet, but we are just a moment or two away from giving you the full red carpet treatment at Four Star Video! That’s right, just a week or so from now, you’ll be strolling along, browsing videos on our new red carpet. In the meantime, we are taking this opportunity to paint some shelving without too much of a concern about the existing carpet. Such is the luxury of change!

Meanwhile, some long awaited movies have come out this week, most notable THE GOLDEN COMPASS. Available on both Blu-Ray and DVD, this is the adaptation of the popular book by Philip Pullman. Also new to Four Star this week are THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, 27 DRESSES, BERKELEY, and a batch of other stuff including THE BIG GAY SKETCH SHOW, BERNARD & DORIS (starring Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes), AVIDA (crazy sounding French comedy), NANKING and a few others I will tell you about below.

Also, this Friday night, May 2nd, we are having another Four Star Screening! Please come and join us at 10pm for our showing of WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY. We will be asking for donations to cover our costs, and as usual there will be candy and soda available for $1. Bundle up and come on down!

A friend of mine passed along this interesting film article from the NY Times a few days ago. It mentions in brief one of my favorite freak films that we carried last year, WR: MYSTERIES OF THE ORGANISM. It’s a good read, hope you enjoy it.

Alrighty then, see you down at the store.

Love and kisses,
Ken

Ps. I now have a list of our for-sale movies in excel format, it may be off a bit, but let me know if you’d like me to email it to you.

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

AVIDA.
Comedy/French.
Mathieu Kassovitz.
Directed by Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Delepine.
* Have you heard of ketamine? Vitamin K, the kids call it. It is an animal tranquilizer that some people like to inject into their bodies to have very crazy psychedelic experiences. In this film, ketamine addiction and dog-napping just don’t go well together.

BERKELEY.
Drama.
Nick Roth/Henry Winkler.
Directed by Bobby Roth.
* Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll in Berkeley circa 1968 by the guy who brought us THE ELIZABETH SMART STORY.

BERNARD AND DORIS.
Drama/Biopic.
Susan Sarandon/Ralph Fiennes.
* Tobacco zillioniairess Doris Duke’s final days.

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Mathieu Alnaric/Emmanuelle Seigner.
Directed by Julian Schnabel.
* "Neo-expressionist" artist/painter Julian Schnabel appears to have successfully made the transition to filmmaker. In this tale, the true story of Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby is told. Bauby had a stroke in 1995 that left him almost completely paralyzed except for his left eye. They were going to call this MY LEFT EYE, but MY LEFT FOOT seemed so similar (the previous statement is not true). Blinking out his autobiography, this is the tale of his inner world, a world of both memories and fantasy.

THE DOVE’S LOST NECKLACE.
Foreign (Arabic).
Directed by Nacer Khemir.
* From Amazon “This second feature in Nacer Khemir's Desert Trilogy is a visually ravishing folktale reminiscent of "The Thousand and One Nights." The story revolves around Hassan, who is studying Arabic calligraphy from a grand master. Coming across a fragment of manuscript, Hassan goes in search of the missing pieces, believing that once he finds them, he will learn the secrets of love. With the help of Zin, a lovers' go-between, he meets the beautiful Aziz, Princess of Samarkand. After encountering wars, a battle between false prophets and an ancient curse, he learns that an entire lifetime would not suffice for him to learn the many dimensions of love.”

GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN.
Comedy/Musical.
Albert Cohen/Sarah Jessica Parker/Helen Hunt.
Directed by Alan Metter.
* A couple auditions to be the featured couple on a dance program on television.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS. ****ALSO AVAILABLE IN BLU-RAY****
Adventure/Fantasy.
Nicole Kidman/Daniel Craig/Dakota Blue Richards.
Directed by Chris Weitz.

27 DRESSES.
American Cheese-food.
Katherine Heigl.
Directed by Anne Fletcher.
* Soft American cheese-food squeezed through a charming can.

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

NANKING.
Documentary.
Woody Harrelson/Mariel Hemingway.
Directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman.
* Doc about one of the more terrible events in our illustrious history of atrocities.

THE TRUE STORY OF CHARLIE WILSON.
Documentary.
Directed by Aaron Bowden.
* No seriously, THIS is the way it happened.

............//SERIES//............

THE BIG GAY SKETCH SHOW: COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Television/Comedy.
* Sketch comedy by young up and comers.

THE CLOSER: COMPLETE 2nd SEASON.
Crime/TV.
Kyra Sedgwick.
* Season two of the story of Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson of the LAPD and her unorthodox police stylings.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: COMPLETE 2nd SEASON.
Football/TV.
* Season two of the highly touted but under watched show about high school football in Texas.

I SPY: SEASON ONE.
Television/Spy.
Bill Cosby/Robert Culp.
* Awesome 1960’s series about a couple of American spies undercover as a tennis pro and his trainer.

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

THE RED BALLOON.
Family/Criterion/Foreign (French).
Directed by Albert Lamorisse.
* Criterion release of the beautiful film about a balloon following a little boy around the streets of Paris.


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

BELLE DE JOUR.
Drama.
Catherine Deneuve.
Directed by Luis Bunuel.
* Sexy and erotic surrealism in the classic Bunuel style.

THE DINNER GAME.
Comedy/Foreign (French).
* Comedy about friends who have a weekly competition to find the biggest idiot to invite to dinner.

FEARLESS.
* First DVD copy of this film about a man who survives an airplane accident and how it changes his life.

HARRIET THE SPY.
* Family story from the famous kids book.

HARVEY KRUMPET.
* Oscar winning animation.

HEAT AND DUST and AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PRINCESS.
* Two Merchant Ivory films, one a feature (Heat and Dust) and the other a featurette.

JEEPERS CREEPERS 2
* Customer request.

LEAN ON ME.
* First copy of any sort here at the store of this high school principal battling drugs and crime story starring Morgan Freeman.

2001 MANIACS.
* Unfriendly southerners plan on killing yankee tourists. Not nice!

VERDI- AIDA: METROPOLITAN OPERA.
* A little opera for you, perhaps?

****

****new release list no.163

What’s up, what’s up? Lots of new flicks at Four Star Video this week. And lots of stuff on the agenda at the store, as well.

First up, did anyone have a better year of acting in 2007 than Philip Seymour Hoffman? The guy is fantastic. Last week we had BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, in which he played a reckless brother leading his sibling into a deadly robbery. This week he stars in two of our releases. In CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR, Hoffman plays CIA agent Gust L. Avrakotos, who helps Charlie bring down the Soviet Union. In THE SAVAGES, Hoffman plays Jon Savage, a member of the walking wounded, who is forced by his fathers’ dementia to come to terms with his sister (LAURA LINNEY) and their challenging upbringing. Hoffman is the kind of actor who usually plays the character bits, as he did early in his career in films like MAGNOLIA and BOOGIE NIGHTS. You always wonder with some of these guys (like William H. Macy) what they could do with the real meaty roles, the ones they usually reserve for the thin, tall handsome fellas like Hanks, Cruise, and Crowe (who also had a terrific, albeit un-acclaimed 2007 – 3:10 TO YUMA, AMERICAN GANGSTER). Well, Hoffman is showing us that he can do just about anything; he is adept at creating compassion, empathy and interest, even in unlikable characters.

We also have a bunch of Criterion releases this week, including three from Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. These silent films are of the social realism style and tell stories of families in and out of turmoil. We also have some comedy (THE TRAILER PARK BOYS: THE MOVIE), some foreign films (ADAM’S APPLES, NINA’S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS, ROMULUS MY FATHER) a bunch of horror/suspense films including the new one by Guillermo del Toro (THE ORPHANAGE) as well as others (CLOVERFIELD, ONE MISSED CALL). There is indie fare (HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS) (as opposed to me, I ride the elevator), and drama (STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING). There is comedy TV (TIM AND ERIC: AWESOME JOB, GOOD SHOW), documentary (THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK), we’ve got some environmentalism (BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET) and loads of new kids stuff and new acquisitions to our library including a 1971 Werner Herzog film called EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL.

In store news, we are having our carpet installed in a couple weeks, and in the meantime, we will be painting some of the wood shelving. Since the old carpet will be gone, we probably won’t be SUPER careful about the floor, so hopefully some paint spotted (and smelly) old carpet will only be an eyesore for about 2 more weeks. We are so psyched about our new carpet, it brings tears to our eyes (and we’re not talking about the expense either!).

Lastly, thanks to those of you who attended our 2nd outdoor film screening SUPER HIGH ME, which I have been told was very funny and well attended. If you haven’t yet checked out our screenings, they are in the back patio, and we’ll be doing them every few weeks. Look in the front window for information about the next one.

Love and kisses,
Ken

p.s. Email me if you’d like a list of the movies we have on sale right now. And then I can stress about putting that list together!

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

ADAMS APPLES.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (Danish).
Ulrich Thomsen/Mads Mikkelsen/Paprika Steen.
Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen.
* From the director who also wrote AFTER THE WEDDING comes this story of a neo-nazi who is sentenced to community service at a church where he struggles with the priest.

CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR.
Drama.
Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts/Philip Seymour Hoffman/Amy Adams/Emily Blunt.
Directed by Mike Nichols.
* In the 1970’s and 80’s, the behemoth that was the Soviet Union loomed like the dark side of the moon on the so-called free world. This is the very unusual story of a couple of renegade Americans in power who get involved in covert operations that help change and shape the world.

CLOVERFIELD.
Action/Suspense/The Monster That Ate New York.
Michael Stahl-David/Lizzy Caplan.
Directed by Matt Reeves.
* POV monster movie filmed from a camera about some young people trying to get out of NY while some sort of monster thing is causing a terrific nuisance.

DEATH OF A CYCLIST.
Drama/Criterion.
Directed by Juan Antonio Bardem
* Javier’s uncle made this 1955 film about a couple having an affair who strike and kill a cyclist accidentally, who offer no help for fear of being exposed.

HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS.
Drama/Indie.
Greta Gerwig/Mark Duplass.
Directed by Joe Swanberg.
* Little film about a young post-grad interning at a company where she is digging on a couple young men.

I WAS BORN, BUT…
Comedy/Criterion/Foreign (Japanese).
Tatsuo Saito /Tomio Aoki.
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu.
* The first (alphabetically, the 2nd in time sequence) of a trilogy of family based silent films from Japan in the 1930’s. This concerns parallel stories about a young gang of children and their fathers.

NINA’S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS.
Comedy/Queer/Foreign-esque (British).
Shelley Conn/Laura Fraser.
Directed by Pratibha Parmar.
* A young woman heads back to Glascow to take over the family curry house after her father’s death.

ONE MISSED CALL.
Horror/Remake.
Shannon Sossamon/Edward Burns.
Directed by Eric Valette.
* It’s like the video for that John Waite song from the 1980’s, MISSING YOU, where he’s at home, and his ex-girlfriend is knocking on his door, but he’s got his HEADPHONES on, and he can’t hear it, and he’s just trying to convince his friends that he’s not missing her, but he is, and he knows it and we know it and it’s just such a big snafu …. Well, no, it’s really not like that at all.

THE ORPHANAGE. ****AVAILABLE IN BLU-RAY AND DVD****
Horror/Suspense/Foreign (Spanish).
Belen Rueda/Fernado Cayo/Geraldine Chaplin.
Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
* The highly anticipated new film from the guy who brought us PAN’S LABRYNTH. When Laura (Rueda) decides to bring her family to live at her childhood home and open an orphanage for differently abled children, she doesn’t anticipate the supernatural forces that are already habitating the mansion. With one of my faves, Geraldine Chaplin as a psychic.

PASSING FANCY.
Drama/Criterion/Foreign (Japanese).
Takeshi Sakamoto/Tokan Kozzo.
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu.
* Another of the three silent film releases from Ozu, this tale is also from the 1930’s and concerns a newly widowed father struggling to raise his young son.

ROMULUS, MY FATHER.
Drama.
Eric Bana/Franka Potente/Martin Csokas.
Directed by Richard Roxburgh.
* A story of mental illness and a family struggling to raise a young son. Terrific acting make this film quite intriguing.

THE SAVAGES.
Comedy/Drama.
Philip Seymour Hoffman/Laura Linney/Philip Bosco.
Directed by Tamara Jenkins.
* A pair of very dysfunctional siblings are forced to confront their childhood when their father develops dementia and needs them to come together and make decisions about what to do. This is a dark comedy, full of difficult and painful human issues. The three main actors all give critically lauded performances, and this film is a must-see.

STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING.
Drama.
Lauren Ambrose/Frank Langella/Lili Taylor/Adrian Lester.
Directed by Andrew Wagner.
* An aging writer (Langella) is convinced by a young student that his career can be revived and vitalized. Ah, youth…

TOKYO CHORUS.
Criterion/Foreign (Japanese).
Tokihiko Okada/Emiko Yagumo/Tatsuo Saito.
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu.
* This is a silent film like the other two releases from Ozu. Again, the family and it’s relationship to economic status is explored.

THE TRAILER PARK BOYS: THE MOVIE.
Comedy.
Jean Tremblay/Rob Wells/Mike Smith/John Dunsworth.
Directed by Mike Clattenburg.
* I hear this is very funny, if you know the television series of the same name, then you know the humor.

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

BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET: 1st SEASON.
Tele-doc-series.
* A show about the planet, and ways we can create solutions to the environmental problems that some very smart scientists claim that we have. But we know they are just kidding and that global warming doesn’t exist. Besides, if we have global warming, then how come it is so cold all the time? Huh? Answer me that! (****SPOILERS: JUST KIDDING).

TIM AND ERIC: AWESOME SHOW, GOOD JOB: SEASON ONE.
Teevee/Comedy.
Tim Heidecker/Eric Wareheim/John C. Reilly/Bob Odenkirk/Richard Dunn/”Weird” Al Yankovic/David Cross.
* Star studded cast for this demented sketch comedy show. Did you like MR. SHOW? Then you’ll dig this…

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

THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK.
Documentary.
Directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern.
* A film about the genocide being wrought in Darfur as exposed by a former US Marine named Brian Steidle whose photographs and first-person testimony condemn the government there.

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

BIGFOOT PRESENTS METEOR AND MIGHT MONSTER TRUCKS: V3.
Kids.

POKEMON 4EVER.
Kids.
* Follow Ash Misty and Brock on the adventure of a lifetime. Did somebody say “Battle”?

TODD WORLD: MAKING NEW FRIENDS.
Kids.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE & OTHER MAURICE SENDAK STORIES.
Kids.
* Brilliant and strange, Sendaks’ tales will turn darkness and light upside and expose them to be one and the same.

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

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.
* First DVD copy of this Errol Flynn masterpiece.

BIG WEDNESDAY.
Surfing.
Jan-Michael Vincent/William Kat/Gary Busey.
Directed by John Milius.
* Epic wave riding by a posse of surfers from the 1960’s.

BLUME IN LOVE.
Surfing.
George Segal/Susan Anspach/Kris Kristofferson.
Directed by Paul Mazursky.
* Customer request about a lawyer in California trying to win back his ex-wife.

THE CELL.
Horror/Suspense.
* First DVD copy of this evidently must-have-on-DVD film.

EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL.
Comedy.
Directed by the brilliant Werner Herzog.
* Freaky allegorical tale of rebellion from 1971.

GUMBY: THE MOVIE.vhs
Comedy.
* Too bad you won’t hear Eddie Murphy say “I am Gumby, dammit!” in this lovely rendition of the cartoon classic.

JEFF DUNHAM: ARGUING WITH MYSELF.
Stand-up Comedy.
Jeff Dunham.
* More from the puppet master.

THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN.
Drama.
Walter Matthau/Bruce Dern.
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg.
* Two SF detectives dealing with a mass murder of bus passengers.

SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT.
* Yeah, that film. Burt Reynolds, Sally Field…Jackie Gleason!

SNAKE PEOPLE.
Horror.
Boris Karloff/Charles East
Directed by Juan Ibanez and Jack Hill.
* First copy of any sort of this classic horror film about scientist presiding over an island cult of voodoo worshipers and other assorted freaks.

****

**** new release list no. 162

Our next screening is scheduled for this coming Sunday, April 20th, and it is going to be pretty freaking funny. Chris, this screening’s curator, had been planning on showing HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE on 4/20, which to those in the know is kind of a stoner monument of sorts. 4/20 is code to some, and to those who don’t know, we suggest GOOGLE. So plug that in there and see what you get. Anyway, so Chris was planning on showing this film until we heard about another movie called SUPER HIGH ME that is opening on a wide scale with over 700 screenings planned all over the country in a variety of venues, none charging admission! In this fascinating documentary, Doug Benson, a stand-up comic fascinated by the vision of SUPER SIZE ME, decides to consume as much marijuana as he can over a 30 day period and documents the affects that it has on his every day life. You can read about this film here: SUPER HIGH ME. We are excited to be taking part in this national screening release party, and we hope you will join us at the store. We will show the movie at 10:00 on Sunday night, April 20th in our outdoor patio at back. Entrance is free, and we will have candy and soda for sale. Please dress very warmly and bring blankets. If you aren’t familiar yet with our screenings, we have a nice projector, about 45 folding chairs, a couple heating lamps and a whole lot of fun. Please join us!

This week we have a couple huge movies as well as a bunch of other interesting sounding stuff. The big titles of the week are BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD (Philip Seymour-Hoffman, Ethan Hawke) and JUNO (Ellen Page, Michael Cera). These films couldn’t be more different; however they are both examples of terrific acting and stories that hit their mark terrifically. Also we have a potpourri of other great looking films from around the world, as well as a posse of hard hitting documentary films.

Hope to see you down at the shop!

Love and kisses,
Ken

............//CO-RELEASES OF THE WEEK//............

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD. DVD and BLU-RAY****
Drama/Suspense.
Philip Seymour Hoffman/Ethan Hawke/Albert Finney/Marisa Tomei.
Directed by Sydney Lumet.
* Sydney Lumet has been directing since the 1940’s. Think about how amazing that is! He’s made a ton of films, and a bunch of them have been terrific (Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, The Verdict, Network, 12 Angry Men). Many of his films have been full of New York imagery, and this one is no different. The film actually opens in Rio with Andy Hanson (Hoffman) and his wife Gina (Tomei) having hot vacation sex. A hint or two are dropped about their problems back home, but for the most part, we get an arousing and hopeful couple moment in bed. That’s it for the happy times, folks. The rest of the movie zig-zags around New York and New Jersey, and in and out of time sequence. We get Andy leading his pathetic little brother Hank (Hawke in a tremendous performance) into a terrible scheme. We get their father Charles (Finney) mourning the murder of his wife in an attempted robbery at their little strip-mall jewelry store and determined to find the killer. We get Gina in and out of her clothing, mostly as eye-candy for the men in her life, but wishing she could be more involved. We see Hank struggling to hold the respect of his teenage daughter, while his reputation is ravaged by his own stupid decision making. We see both brothers, drowning in their own increasingly serious problems. We see greed, hate, drugs the bonds that hold together a family disintegrating before our eyes. At the heart, this is a tense, crime-gone-bad story about a man trying to extract his due from a family that he feels wronged him, and the bill that comes due as a result of his actions.

JUNO. DVD and BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Drama.
Ellen Page/Michael Cera/Jason Bateman/Jennifer Garner.
Directed by Jason Reitman.
* How do you make a great film about teen-pregnancy that features a full-on birth scene and have it still seem wholesome? Pop some orange-flavored one-calorie tic-tacs in your mouth and watch. Juno (Page, in what should be a break-through role) is sixteen. She is a foul-mouthed, cynical, smart-ass kid, and a pretty funny one at that. The kind of kid that you wish you hung out with back in the meat-grinder that’s called High School. She’s got a good buddy, a great friend actually named Bleeker (Cera) who for one fateful night becomes about as good a friend as one can have (is that a male opinion? Fine...).
Unfortunately for Juno and Bleek, that night they skip all the great sex education they teach kids in school these days, and Junski ends up preggers. Well, well. That’s where the fun begins. For a minute, it seems like she will take care of the pregnancy with an abortion, but the relatively contrived and mostly not believable scene in the abortion clinic ends that possibility. No, Juno decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption, a decision that she knows will have some socially awkward and physically challenging realities, but she is a kid with fortitude and so it goes. Garner and Bateman play the strangely matched couple who await the child. I really loved the Bateman character, who was maybe kind of a putz, and certainly struggled with emotionally honesty, and perhaps was struggling letting go with his rock star dreams even as he entered his middle-age, and maybe those were all the things I loved about him. Garner is too thin, but seemed well equipped to play her role, and there were moments when her frail openness mixed with her inner fortitude struck very true to me as motherly qualities. All in all, though the writing wasn’t stupendous, the story struck a chord that was very relatable in today’s world. Guess what people, the kids are having sex! And some of them get pregnant. What happens next is up to everyone involved. Juno’s father suggests that hard drugs, school expulsion, or perhaps a DWI would be better than pregnancy. I gotta beg to differ.

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

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM.
Horrorish/Sci-Fi.
Reiko Aylesworth/Steven Pasquale.
Directed by Colin Strause and Greg Strause.
* A wittle bitty town in Colorado becomes the battleground for the now classic interplanetary struggle between the alien Facehuggers and the Predators. I think the Predators just have too much offense; I can’t see the Aliens really pulling it out. Then again, it’s hard to predict, that’s why they play the games.

BAMAKO.
Drama/ Foreign (French/Bambara).
Aissa Maiga.
Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako.
* In this trial, the World Bank itself is accused of atrocities against the world with the background of a young bar singer (Maiga) and her out of work husband struggling to stay together.

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOUR DEAD.
See Co-Release of the Week.

BLAST OF SILENCE.
Drama/Criterion.
Allen Baron/Molly McCarthy/Larry Tucker.
Directed by Allen Baron.
* 1961 film about a professional killer returning after an absence to NY for one last hit.

I WANT SOMEONE TO EAT CHEESE WITH.
Comedy/Romance.
Sarah Silverman/Jeff Garlin.
Directed by Jeff Garlin.
* A sort of “Confederacy of Dunces” type tale about a big ol’ fella who is living with his mom and having a kind of depressing existence and longs for some companionship to share a nice lump of cheese with.

INSIDE.
Horror/Foreign (French).
Beatrice Dalle/Alysson Paradis.
Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury.
* Super gore-fest about a pregnant woman being terrorized by another woman in her house. See Also: HIGH TENSION.

IN THE NAME OF THE KING.
Action/Fantasy.
Jason Statham/Leelee Sobieski/Ray Liotta/Claire Forlani/Burt Reynolds.
Directed by Uwe Boll.
* Krugs, the evil Gallian, a kidnapped wife, revenge, beasties…you get the picture.

JUNO.
See Co-Release of the Week.

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL.
Comedy/Drama.
Ryan Gosling/Emily Mortimer/Patricia Clarckson.
Directed by Craig Gillespie.
* Pretty awesome sounding tale of a quirky, delusional young man who falls in love with a blow up sex doll he orders on the internet. Cue that great Police tune “Won’t you be my girl, won’t you be my girl, won’t you be my, be my, be my girl…”

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

THE PIED PIPER OF HUTZOVINA.
Roc-Doc/Drama/Foreign (English/Russian/Ukranian).
Euguene Hutz.
Directed by Pavla Fleischer.
* Do you know the band Gogol Bordello? Trust me; they are a very great band. This is essentially a road movie with the lead singer of this band and the filmmaker who loves him as they travel through his native land of Ukraine.

WAR DANCE.
Documentary.
Directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix.
* Oscar nominated film about three children living in a displacement camp in Northern Uganda who find purpose and meaning by taking part in the national music and dance festival.

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

IN DEBT WE TRUST.
Documentary.
Directed by Danny Schecter.
* A powerful doc exploring consumer debt and the credit cards we are addicted to.

THIS DIVIDED STATE.
Documentary.
Directed by Steven Greenstreet.
* A doc following the controversy that ensued when the Utah Valley State College invited Michael Moore to speak on campus, and the political battles that ensued between liberals and conservatives regarding his freedom of speech.

RADIO CAPE COD.
Drama.
Directed by Andrew Silver.
* A quartet of love stories directed by the brother of one of our customers.

WAR MADE EASY.
Drama.
Directed by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp.
* Narrated by Sean Penn, this film explores the brilliant Orwellian deception that governments everywhere (but in this case, our government) employ to justify the expense and loss of life of wars that it wishes to pursue.

****