****new release list no.236

And life continues zooming along. It’s the end of September, for crying out loud! Of 2009. Wow.

Well, Bernal Heights appears to be weathering the economic storm. We may not be thriving how we’d all like, but the businesses on Cortland for the most part appear stable. We have some new neighbors to say hello to. BERNAL FIT, the new dog-friendly gym on the hill has opened its doors, and I hear nothing but good things from its customers. STATE FARM has somehow arrived in Bernal Heights, and I hear that it is an individually-owned franchise. We wish you well. Construction appears to be moving right along at the old dry-cleaner spot next to BERNAL BUBBLES, we look forward to their opening with excitement. Soon soon soon, I hope, SANDBOX BAKERY at 833 Cortland will open their doors. I must admit, my excitement is almost overwhelming when what Mutsumi Takehara (a former executive pastry chef at Slanted Door) might prepare for us. Yum yum!

Right around the corner we have the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema festival. This event exists simply from the massively hard work and love from its founders, Leslie Lombre and Anne Batmale and an array of helpful volunteers. This is a strictly non-profit event that is basically a shining diamond in our little neighborhood, giving us access to local movies, local music and ten days of partying together all over the hood.

It starts this very Thursday, Oct 1st at Your Neighborhood Dive – El Rio(thanks, Dawn)! This year there will be music combined with film at many of the events, and they will be at some new places, such as SoCha Café, and the Bernal Playground. On Thursday, Justine Lucas-McPlague is opening the show at 7pm, with screenings between 8 and 9pm featuring local filmmakers like Caroline Blair and Audrey Daniel. Then, London Street will be playing at 9pm, and rising superstars The Ferocious Few will take the stage at 10:30pm.

On Friday, Four Star Video is happy to present the second night of the BHOC with music by Will Hammond, Jr. at 7pm in what was formerly known as our backyard screening patio and is now SUCCULENCE, Bernal Height's new Life and Garden store. Screenings will happen between 8 and 9pm and feature work by Katherine Bruens and Valerie Soe and Russell Jeung.

On Saturday (October 3rd for those of you following at home), the BHOC moves to the Bernal Playground behind the library. The event begins at 6:00pm with music by The Venusians Screenings will begin around 7:30pm and go until 9pm.

On Sunday, the event will be at Red Hill Books (Thanks, Kate). It will be a day event, from 4-5:30pm and will feature filmmakers Gustavo Vazquez and John Hewitt, discussing their book Documentary Filmmaking: A Contemporary Field Guide. This will be a multi-media event, with film clips and Q&A.

Monday, Oct. 5th, the BHOC ventures into the Excelsior with a co-presentation at the Excelsior Branch of the public library at 4400 Mission Street. Screenings will go from 6:00-8:00pm and will feature local filmmakers Max Strebel, Nathan and Kathy Kensinger, Michelle Meeker and more.

Here is a short breakdown of next week’s events. Check the BHOC website for updates and more information.

Tues – Red Poppy – Filmmaker/Musician Forum featuring Beth Custer, Marshall Crutcher and Greta Snider – I will be moderating this event.

Wed – Kingmond Young Studio – lots of music and short films (including one by Four Star’s own Andrew Friedman!).

Thur – SoCha Café – films and music by Vishnu’s Secret.

Friday – Films and Old Time Music and Dancing at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center.

Saturday – Closing night at Precita park with music by my band, The Dont’s, short films and at 8pm a MAMMA MIA sing along! Fun fun fun!

Also, coming up is the VideoFest film festival in the Mission. This is another festival not to be missed. It is close to our hearts, and we are proud to let you know that this year a Four Star Video award was given to the top local filmmaker entered in the festival. The program runs Oct 15th and 17th at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, and I urge you to go! More info to follow.

Fiesta on the Hill will be here soon, then Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, life, death and everything in between. Your life is flying by! Catch a moment by your fingernails and exploit it for everything its worth. That’s my plan. Maybe we can share a moment together?

In the meantime, movies. Man, there are finally a great batch of them in the last few months. Many I haven’t seen yet, but I am dying to. Movies like WHITE NIGHT WEDDING, TULPAN, SUGISBALL, RUMBA, TRUMBO, O’HORTON, LYMELIFE, NERDCORE RISING and more! Not to mention all those awesome documentaries that Rachel W got for her month of Highlighted New Additions. This week, my personal list increases, with movies like SITA SINGS THE BLUES, THE BROTHERS BLOOM, and EXTREME ANIMATION.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

AWAY WE GO.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Drama.
John Krasinski/Maya Rudolph/Maggie Gyllenhaal/Jeff Daniels.
Directed by Sam Mendes.
* Burt and Verona (Krasinski and Rudolph) are young expectant parents, traveling around the country trying to decide where would be the perfect place to live. They visit old friends and family, looking not just for the right home, but for the right role-models that will help them be excited about the future, about parenting, loving and building a future together. They visit Tucson, Phoenix…Madison, Montreal…they even visit Miami. Along the way, they find themselves. Co--written by locals, Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida.

THE BROTHERS BLOOM.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Crime.
Adrien Brody/Rachel Weisz/Mark Ruffalo.
Directed by Rian Johnson.
* …and then they wilt. Stephen (Ruffalo) and Bloom (Brody) have been on the prowl since they were kids, relying and their conning ways to make a living. Stephen tells the stories, and Bloom acts out the elaborate fantasies that he makes up as they scam their way through life. But now, Bloom is blooming, and he is ready to find out who he is, not who Stephen wants him to be. Of course, before he makes the break to normalcy, Stephen convinces him to pull one final job involving a wealthy heiress from New Jersey. Can Bloom stay in character long enough to finish the job before he falls in love with the mark? Or are the players being played?

FILTH AND WISDOM.
Comedy/Drama.
Eugene Hutz/Vicky McClure.
Directed by Madonna.
* The filth, we can guarantee. The wisdom? Harder to promise. Even harder to quantify. Will it be the kind of wisdom one gains with deep experience and contemplation? Or more like the kind you get when you accidently slam your finger in the car door? Guessing the latter…w/music by Gogol Bordello (who rule, by the way).

THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Drama/Mystery/Horror/Fantasy.
Sasha Grey/Chris Santos.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
* Real life adult-film star Sasha Grey makes her non-porn debut in this tale of a high-end Manhattan call girl precariously perched in the high-life and seemingly completely under control. She is seriously high-end, as in the 2K an hour style. Which begs the question, what do you get for 2K an hour? Evidently much more than sex. With Chelsea, you get a caring friend, a sympathetic ear, a good-humored companion, and an excellent actor. Chelsea is more than a hooker, she is your girlfriend; that is, as long as you keep kicking down the big bucks. This film asks many questions about the price of dignity, the depth of soul, and where sex fits into our concept of sanity.

EXTREME ANIMATION: FILMS BY PHIL MULLOY.
Animation/Shorts.
Directed by Phil Mulloy.
* Mulloy creates grotesque, distorted and wildly hideous portraits of humankind in his strange and almost pornographic short animations.
 
JUST FOR LAUGHS/OVER THE EDGE.
Comedy/Standup.
* Flight of the Conchords is featured on this collection.

KATT WILLIAMS: LIVE.
Comedy-Standup-Sitdown-Falldown.
* Four Star favorite Katt Williams does his thing. Dude lives a crazy personal life.

MANAGEMENT.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Comedy /Romance.
Jennifer Aniston/Steve Zahn/Woody Harrelson/Fred Ward.
Directed by Stephen Belber.
* I think this is your basic stalker comedy, about a guy (Zahn) who spends one night with a traveling salesperson (Aniston) and then chases her all of the country to recapture their moment.

MONSTERS VS ALIENS.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Animation/Action/Comedy/Family.
Reese Witherspoon/Seth Rogen/Hugh Laurie/Rainn Wilson/Kiefer Sutherland/Stephen Colbert/Paul Rudd.
Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon.
* So, kids, watch out for quantonium, which will cause you to turn into a strange and grotesque monster! Then again, you may want to seek out some quantonium (maybe at 16th and Mission?) because President Hathaway (played by Stephen Colbert, portending the future?) will put you to work fighting aliens and saving San Francisco and even the planet from the bad guys.

SHRINK.
Comedy/Drama.
Kevin Spacey/Saffon Burrows/Robin Williams/Griffin Dunne.
Directed by Jonas Pate.
* Ah, it’s tough to be a celebrity shrink. Ask Henry Carter! After he deals with his own personal tragedy, acting as though he cares for strangers becomes more and more unbearable. Soon, he settles into a marijuana haze as his concern for his public profile melts into the background.

SITA SINGS THE BLUES.
Animation/Musical/Romance.
Annette Hanshaw.
Directed by Nina Paley.
* Nina Paley is an awesome animator and comic strip drawer. I bought this film simply because I know about her and she is amazing. This is the animated story of the Indian tale of Ramayana set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw. That’s all I know about it, yet I urge you to check it out because it is sure to be terrific.

STEAM.
Drama/Romance.
Ally Sheedy/Kate Siegel/Ruby Dee.
Directed by Kyle Schickner.
* Three woman who’s lives intersect at the local steam room (meet you there at 10) tell stories of longing and love (wait a sec…where is the local steam room?).

THAT HAMILTON WOMAN.
Criterion/Drama.
Vivien Leigh/Laurence Olivier.
Directed by Alexander Corda.
* From the Criterion synopsis: One of cinema’s most dashing duos, real-life spouses Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier live their greatest on-screen romance in this visually dazzling tragic love story from legendary producer-director Alexander Korda. Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars of the late eighteenth century, That Hamilton Woman is a gripping account of the scandalous adulterous affair between the British Royal Navy officer Lord Horatio Nelson and the renowned beauty Emma, Lady Hamilton, the wife of a British ambassador. With its grandly designed sea battles and formidable star performances, That Hamilton Woman (Winston Churchill’s favorite movie, which he claimed to have seen over eighty times) brings history to vivid, glamorous life.

TREELESS MOUNTAIN.
Drama/Foreign (Korean).
Chae Gil Byung/Jung Gil Ja/Shin Hyun Je.
Directed by So Yong Kim.
* Two very young girls (6 and 3!) are abandoned by their mother as she goes in search of reconciliation with their father. The girls are left with a cranky aunt as they wait and hope for their mother’s return.

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

THE BETRAYAL - NERAKHOON.
Documentary.
Directed by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath.
* This Oscar-nominated documentary is the story of a family from Laos who has immigrated to the US after years of dealing with US Air strikes and war in Vietnam.

MICHAEL JACKSON: NEVER SURRENDER.
Documentary/Music.
Directed by.
* You seriously need to see my kids dance to MJ’s tunes....

NOT YOUR TYPICAL BIGFOOT MOVIE.
Documentary.
Directed by Jay Delaney.
* This is the story of two researchers from Ohio who have worked for years to prove that Bigfoot exists.

YELLOWSTONE: BATTLE FOR LIFE.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Documentary/Nature/BBC.
Directed by Jay Delaney.
* This gorgeously shot doc from the BBC Earth series shows the fragility of life in Yellowstone Park and the struggles that animals who live there face year after year.

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

FRINGE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
Television/Drama/Horror/Mystery/Sci-Fi.
Anna Torv/Joshua Jackson/Lance Reddick.
* We must thank a customer for suggesting we get this freaky show! It is the story of an FBI agent who is forced to team up with a previously institutionalized scientist to investigate some over-the-top extra mysterious crimes potentially involving a shady, global multi-national corporation.

LIFE ON MARS: THE COMPLETE SERIES.
Television/Crime/Drama/Mystery.
John Simm.
* This two season show followed a cop in 2006 who has a car accident and awakes to find himself in the same place, only thirty-three years earlier! Who (over 40) wouldn’t want that problem?

MIDSOMER MURDERS: SET 13.
Television/Drama.
* Here is where I make my usual lame joke about how many people get killed in this little county. Get out!

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

BABY EINSTEIN: WORLD ANIMAL ADVENTURE.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE.

MR> TICKLE.

............//NEW BLU-RAY ADDITIONS/............

THE DARK CRYSTAL.
* I just love this freaky movie.

THE GRADUATE.
* Mrs. Robinson…rarrrrr!

LABYRINTH.
* Sci-fi Bowie. What more can I say to ya?

THE WIZARD OF OZ.
* This three disc set is a must see for all true believers. Click your heels three times together, then bring the tag up to the counter.

............//REPLACEMENT DISCS/............

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: THE THIRD SEASON

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK!: COMPLETE COLLECTION
* Conjunction, junction…what is your function?

SONS OF ANARCHY: SEASON ONE
* Seriously, I have bought extra copies of this twice now. Is this show amazing or what?

****

****new release list no.235

Buongiorno mi amici! Hola, my good friends. I have just spent two glorious weeks in Italia, and I feel refreshed, transformed and excited for the fall!

We missed two blogs, and as this train only moves forward, we shall delve into this week’s releases, and not dwell to sorrowfully on the past. However, I shall list with little info the movies we released that went blogless:

Sept 8th (a wonderful day I spent in Siena in the Tuscan hills outside of Roma – yeow!)

Crank 2 – Action – Jason Statham. ****Also on Blu-Ray****
Dance Flick – Comedy.
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire – Can’t have enough copies of these, I guess.
Homicide – D. – David Mamet – Criterion release.
The Human Condition – D. – Masaki Kobayashi – Criterion release.
Kabei Our Mother – Japanese – D. – Yoji Yamada.
The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency – HBO (I thought this was gonna be super popular…no?)
Magnolia – Re-release. D. – P.T. Anderson.
The Office: Complete Season 5 – Television.
Parks & Recreation – Season One – Television - Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones.
Valentino – The Last Emperor – Documentary.
The Visioneers – Comedy – Zach Galifianakis.

Kids stuff:
Little Einstein’s – Firetruck Rockets Blastoff!
Enchanted Tale’s – Follow Your Dreams.
Power Rangers RPM – Race for Corinth.
Wow Wow Wubbzy Goes Boo!

September 15th (an insane day of traveling home for hours and hours – oof!)

Animal Armageddon – Nature Documentary.
Camille – Comedy – James Franco/Sienna Miller.
Crash – Complete First Season – Drama/Television.
Easy Virtue – Comedy/Drama– Jessical Biel/Kristen Scott Thomas. ****Also in Blu-Ray****
Four Dragons – Action/Martial Arts.
Gervaise – Essential Art House (Criterion) – D. Rene Clement.
Grace – Horror – D. – Paul Solet.
Grey’s Anatomy – Season Five – Television – Katherine Heigl.
In the Company of Whales – Nature Documentary.
The IT Crowd – Season Three – Comedy/Television.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Season Four – Comedy/Television.
Le Jour Se Leve – Essential Art House (Criterion) – D. Marcel Carne.
Mayerling – Essential Art House (Criterion) – D. – Anatole Litvak.
Next Day Air – Comedy – Mos Def/Mike Epps.
Rescue Me – Season Five – Television.
Rumba – France – D. – Dominique Abel (L’Iceberg) - ****Four Star Favorite****
Trumbo – Documentary – D. – Peter Askin.
White Night Wedding – Iceland – D. –Baltasar Kormakur (101 Reykjavik) – won a lot of awards at the Icelandic Academy’s.
X-Men Origins – Wolverine – Comic Book – Hugh Jackman. ****Also on Blu-Ray****

Kids stuff:

Bionicle – The Legend Reborn.
Go Diego Go – Diego’s Arctic Rescue.
Go Diego Go – Mega Missions!
Star Wars The Clone Wars – Clone Commandos

This week we have a lot of releases, including a few foreign films that have won many awards on the festival circuit (TULPAN, O’HORTEN, SUGISBALL). We also have the usual Hollywood fare (OBSERVE AND REPORT, GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST), animation (THE BATTLE FOR TERRA, THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO, WALLACE AND GROMIT THE COMPLETE COLLECTION) and some interesting looking indie’s (LYMELIFE, ADAM RESURRECTED). Throw in a bunch of new television and a batch of documentaries, and you got mid-September at Four Star Video.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

******************************************************************************
KenFlix - the only Independent Monthly Subscription Film Renting Service in SF
If you are going to make a monthly commitment, make it a local one.
No due dates. No late fees.

ESUB -One Movie at a time – Three movies total – $9.99 + Tax/Month
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4SUB - Four Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $32.99 + Tax/Month
******************************************************************************

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

ADAM RESURRECTED.
Drama/War.
Jeff Goldblum/Willem Dafoe.
Directed by Paul Shrader.
* Adam Stein (Goldblum) was a circus entertainer before WWII. In the concentration camp he was interned at, he became the entertainer for the commander of the camp, and loses his sanity as well. Years later, he is living at an insane asylum in Israel where he makes a bond with a young child who has been treated terribly.

BATTLE FOR TERRA.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Animation/Drama.
Directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas.
* As a renegade group of straggling aliens face death, they set their sights on a beautiful and peaceful planet to take over where they can live and breed and continue their species. However, the peaceful planet of Terra has no desire to be destroyed and will battle to retain their autonomy over the vicious aliens. The catch? The aliens are the remains of the human race.

BOOK OF BLOOD.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Drama/Mystery/Horror/Fantasy.
Jonas Armstrong/Sophie Ward.
Directed by John Harrison.
* Based on a Clive Barker tale, this story is about a house that is a sort of stopping point on the highway delivering souls to and from the afterlife.

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Fantasy/Romance.
Matthew McConaughey/Jennifer Garner/Michael Douglas/Emma Stone.
Directed by Mark Waters.
* A player is haunted by ghosts of his exes while at his brother’s wedding.

THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO.
Action/Animation/Comedy/Horror.
Paul Giamatti/Rosario Dawson.
Directed by Rob Zombie.
* Freaky, weirdo, psycho animation by the living Zombie himself.
 
LYMELIFE.
Comedy/Drama.
Alec Baldwin/Kieran Culkin/Emma Roberts/Rory Culkin/Timothy Hutton.
Directed by Derick Martini.
* Is it the lyme’s disease that is taking its toll on the Bartlett family? Or is it the failing marriage of Brenda (Jill Hennessy) and Mickey (Baldwin)? Told through the eyes of 15-year-old Scott (Rory Culkin) and set in the late 70’s, this bittersweet tale should be relatable to many.

O’HORTEN.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (Norweigan).
Baard Owe.
Directed by Bent Hamer.
* The winner of numerous European film awards, this film is about the moment of retirement for a 67-year-old train engineer, Odd Horten (Owe).

OBSERVE AND REPORT.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Comedy.
Seth Rogen/Ray Liotta/Anna Faris.
Directed by Jody Hill.
* Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) is a mallcop! No, he’s not Paul Blart, he’s his more psycho, and perhaps less funny cousin. Playing it straight for much of the film, in that funny peculiar manner that is guaranteed to draw many people in, and repulse perhaps even more, Rogen is begging Hollywood for a more serious role. We can only hope Hollywood listens.

SCOOBY-DOO! THE MYSTERY BEGINS.
Comedy.
Nick Palatas/Robbie Amell.
Directed by Brian Levant.
* The story of the origins of the relationship between Daphne, Velma, Fred and Shaggy.

SUGISBALL.
Drama/Foreign (Estonian).
Rain Tolk.
Directed by Veiko Ounpuu.
* From the IMDB: It's Autumn. We see a huge sprawling conurbation of tower blocks built in the Soviet era - the neighborhood called Lasnamäe. Unkempt youngsters are tossing a football around muddy squares in between buildings while yelling obscenities. Men with striped sailors shirts and blank faces are smoking on the balconies built close to accommodate their ever extending families. Women are fussing in their kitchens or hanging their washed linen out to dry. Infants in the yard hang from the iron monstrosities, once built as merry go rounds for a standardized childhood, now heaps of scrap metal waiting to bleed a nose or tear a sleeve. In between the few slim bushes lay the drunkards, twitching to the sounds of a distant siren. People wearing colorless overcoats and solemn gray faces are moving in herds to bus stations to discount supermarkets and then back again. In the evening, when the sky darkens, the windows are lit by the blue glow of television screens. Mati, a young writer, lives alone in a two bedroom apartment after his wife left him for his friend. Mati drinks, as every sane man would do in his situation, and spies jealously on his wife. Barber August Kask is an elderly bachelor with a monotone life. He cuts hair, sweeps the floors after, eats porridge and returns the bottles to the shop. He is getting attached to a little girl at the playground, but when approaching the girl is instantly accused of pedophilia intentions. The little girls mother, Laura, watches a lot of TV and turns down the men who show interest in her. Her daughters father, a devoted drunkard, makes harassing phone calls to Laura and stalks her at the gates of her workplace, a shoe factory. Architect Maurer is content with his life in Lasnamäe, he perceives the lifestyle as an inevitability that accompanies progress. He is a modernist and keen on the subject of the well being of humanity. His wife on the other hand has become alienated from him and finds solace in her secret relationship with Theo the bouncer. Theo's relations to other people are slowly deteriorating. Being an autodidact with no social status and possessing at the same time an uncompromising and strong personality, make it very hard for him to adjust. Women like him but are unable or unwilling to understand him. The Autumn Ball is a film about different forms of solitude. Sometimes unbearable but mostly endurable the feelings of loneliness are strongest in such intimate proximity to other people. The film is also an attempt to poetically extrapolate or generalize on the conditions of our existence; to find from the sum of all different angles something larger than the sum itself.

TULPAN.
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (Kazakh/Russian).
Directed by Sergie Dvortsevoy.
* Beautifully filmed Kazakh tale of a young man who years for a wife on the desolate steppe’s of Kazakhstan. This one also won a ton of European film awards.

VIRUS.
Comedy/Drama/Suspense/Foreign (Polish).
Directed by Jan Kidawa-Blonski.
* A story of a computer virus eating its way through Warsaw.

WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION.
Comedy/Animation.

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

NERCORE RISING.
Documentary/Music/Comedy.
Directed by Negin Farsad and Kim Gatewood.
* This doc focuses on “nerdy” hip-hop rappers ostensibly rapping about what? Harry Potter? Star Wars? Pokemon? I think stuff like that. I hear this film is hilarious.

PRIVATE CENTURY.
Documentary/Foreign (Czech).
Directed by Jan Sikl.
* From IMDB: Jan Sikl expertly edits together actual home-movie footage from the 1920s to the 1960s in order to chronicle the history of Czechoslovakia in the 20th century. In eight episodes of 52 minutes, the major events of Czech history, including the Depression, the occupation by the Nazis, World War II, and the rise of communism are depicted through the experiences of real-life Czech citizens. The series reveals that history is the story of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances - not the dry, dull set of names and dates taught in schools.

RUNNING WITH ARNOLD.
Documentary.
Directed by Dan Cox.
* This doc focuses on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gubernatorial campaign in California.

SHOOTER SERIES: VOLUME ONE BRETT RATTNER.
Documentary/Music.

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

BROTHERHOOD: THIRD SEASON.
Television/Drama.
* The continuing saga of two brothers on different sides of the law in New England.

30 ROCK: SEASON THREE.
Television/Comedy.
Alec Baldwin/Tina Fey.
* Season three in the hysterical series about a fictional late night comedy show and the crazy hijinks that go on backstage.

UGLY BETTY: THIRD SEASON.
Television/Comedy.
America Ferrera
* Actually, Betty’s pretty damn hot.

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

DORA THE EXPLORER: DORA SAVES THE CRYSTAL KINGDOM.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE.

MR> TICKLE.

............//NEW BLU-RAY ADDITIONS/............

PIERROT LE FOU
* Le Fou on blu!

****

****new release list no.234

It’s a new month of Highlighted New Additions, and this month Rachel W went yard to bring you a whole stack of amazing documentaries. Please scan down to read about them all.

This week, I highly recommend SUGAR from the direction/writing team that made HALF NELSON. Sugar is a Dominican baseball player, trying to make it in the big leagues with the pressures of an entire community resting on his shoulders. This movie features excellent acting, great editing and sound design, and is a terrific character study. Three thumbs up (my two, and one of yours?)!

SIN NOMBRE won major awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It is the story of a young girl from Honduras trying to get to America to reunite with her father.

STATE OF PLAY is the big blockbuster release this week. Featuring performances by Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren and more big names, it is a Washington conspiracy tale about some journalists trying to get to the bottom of a couple mysterious deaths.

On the little screen, HEROES: SEASON THREE, and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: COMPLETE SEASON FIVE are both out on DVD this week. Chick a bow bow.

Also check out Disney’s EARTH, another beautiful nature documentary. There are also three New Additions to the Hong Kong collection (A BETTER TOMORROW, A BETTER TOMORROW 2, and GREEN SNAKE), as well as the entire current collection of the Harry Potter movies (1-5) out on Blu-ray. Oh yeah!

Hey, the blog may be either light or non-existent for the next couple weeks, as I step away from the desk and enjoy the first half of September from afar. If you don’t get the email, please give us a call down here (415.641.5380) to get the low-down of each week’s new releases…or just come on by and browse the wall yourself. I just saw RUDO Y CURSI last night (came out last week) and it was fun. It is always a pleasure to see Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal acting together.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

******************************************************************************
KenFlix - the only Independent Monthly Subscription Film Renting Service in SF
If you are going to make a monthly commitment, make it a local one.
No due dates. No late fees.

ESUB -One Movie at a time – Three movies total – $9.99 + Tax/Month
1SUB - One Movie at a time – Unlimited exchange – $18.99 + Tax/Month
3SUB - Three Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $24.99 + Tax/Month
4SUB - Four Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $32.99 + Tax/Month
******************************************************************************

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

SIN NOMBRE.
Adventure/Crime/Drama/Thriller/Foreign (Spanish).
Paulina Gaitan.
Directed by Cary Fukunaga.
* When a girl from Honduras (Gaitan) reunites with her father, she gains an opportunity to go to the US. But her odds of making it there are slim, as she has to survive very dangerous travels to get there. This film won festival awards, including the BEST DIRECTION and BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.

STATE OF PLAY.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Crime/Drama/Thriller.
Russell Crowe/Ben Affleck/Rachel McAdams/Hellen Mirren/Robin Wright Penn/Jason Bateman/Jeff Daniels.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald.
* Is it a conspiracy, or just an inside job? This is the question that jaded journalist Cal McAffrey (Crowe) asks himself after a congressman’s aide and a petty thief both die in seemingly unrelated circumstances in Washington. With the help of a young blogger (McAdams) they delve deeper and deeper into the investigation realizing that they closer they get to the truth, the closer they also get to being discovered by the killers they are trying to uncover.

SUGAR.
Drama/Sports/Foreign (Spanish and English).
Algenis Perez Soto/Andre Holland.
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
* Even if you are not a baseball fan, this film about a young pitcher from the Dominican Republic trying to make it in the Major Leagues is fascinating and captivating. If you happen to be a baseball fan as well, this is a MUST SEE. From the moment we meet Sugar, a teenager living at a baseball academy in his home country, we palpably feel the pressure this kid has to succeed from every member of his family and home village. It is all about making it to “the states” for these kids. The potential to make enough money to pull dozens of family and friends out of poverty is startling. Once Sugar makes it to Spring Training, the real struggle begins, as he is assigned to a minor league team in the mid-west where he has almost nothing in common with any he meets outside the sports world, and where the competition is fierce for the right to move up within the minor league system. The film is shot beautifully, with the depth of field mimicking the isolation and disorientation of the main character. Also notable is the sound editing, which relies heavily on the ambient location sounds of the ball games and player chatter as well as using music to place the characters in and out of their comfort zones. This film was made by the same team that made HALF NELSON in 2006.

TAKE OUT.
Drama/Foreign (English/Mandarin/Spanish.
Charles Jang/Amy Danielson.
Directed by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou.

THIRD.
Drama/Foreign (Polish).
Jacek Braciak/Piotr Buczek.
Directed by Jan Hryniak.
* A couple trying to save their marriage and reconnect with each other on a boat trip meet a man made cynical by his wealth who decides to “help” them.

TOE TACTIC.
Animation/Drama.
Lilly Rabe/Kevin Corrigan/David Cross.
Directed by Emily Hubley.

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

EARTH.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Documentary.
Narrated by James Earl Jones.
* More spectacular cinematography tracking the absolute gorgeousness of our fair planet.

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

BRAVE NEW VOICES.
Television/HBO.
Queen Latifah.
* This HBO series highlights young poets.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON.
Television/Drama.
Teri Hatcher/Felicity Huffman/Marcia Cross/Eva Longoria Parker/Nicollette Sheridan.
* Desperate! Cougars! On! The! Prowl!

HEROES: SEASON THREE.
Television/Drama
Jack Coleman/Hayden Panettiere.
* Season three in the award-winning series about a bunch of international people who discovered they had super powers. But, I guess none of them had the power to balance the budget, or negotiate peace, or feed the children, or create a battery for an electronic device that doesn’t run out right when you need it most. Sigh.

RAMSAY’S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES: COMPLETE SERIES TWO.
Television/Drama.
Gordon Ramsay.
* More ranting and raving from Gordon as he tries to whip restaurants into shape.

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

Reviews written by Rachel W.

A MAN NAMED PEARL.
* What happens when a black man with no horticulture or artistic education moves to a small town in South Carolina and creates a 3-acre masterpiece of avant-guard plant sculptures? Watch this doc and find out!

BAADASSSS CINEMA.
* Ever think of the historical and cultural impacts of “Foxy Brown”? I do……… all the time.

KING CORN.
* King Corn has arrived! Did you know that we have corn in our hair?! I certainly did not. This documentary got a lot of well-deserved attention when it came out, as it chronicles the growth, production, evolution, and distribution of corn. One of the more creative documentaries I have seen, with hand-drawn graphs, farmer-figurine diagrams, and awesome pictures.

NINE GOOD TEETH.
* Director Alex Halpern decides to interview his Italian-American 104 year-old grandmother in a series of interviews in which she shares her wisdom, humor and some previously unknown family secrets….need I say more?

PICK UP THE MIC.
* Unfortunately, the hip-hop music scene is notoriously known for its less-than sympathetic/understanding view of the gay community. This provocative documentary shows the hidden world of LGBT rappers and includes footage from performances in San Francisco!

PICTURES FROM A REVOLUTION.
* Co-directed by one of my personal heroines, Susan Meisales, this documentary retraces her history in photographing the Revolution in Nicaragua in the 70’s and 80’s and catches up with those that she photographed.

PRISON TOWN, USA.
* This documentary traces the economic and social impacts of the aftermath of bringing a prison into a small town in California. Contains great interviews with all those affected, such as out of work farmers, local high school kids, prison guards, and the prisoners themselves.

SECOND SKIN.
* If you are currently alive, you have probably heard of the Internet “avatars”- personalities that real people create in online role-playing games. But who are these people? Are they you? Are they me? This documentary provides an inside look into the lives of those who have decided carry out most of their life through their virtual avatar.

SING FASTER: THE STAGEHANDS’ RING CIRCLE.
* This won the Sundance Filmmaker’s Trophy in 1999. This documentary is a hilarious look at the San Francisco’s production of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, told from the perspective of the stagehands.

TRUE MEANING OF LIFE: SHELBY LEE ADAM’S APPALACHIA.
* Shelby Lee Adams is a controversial photographer who was the first in his field to do an in-depth photo-essay on modern Appalachia. This documentary follows him and his interactions with the Appalachian families he grew to love and tells the families’ stories as well.

WE ARE WIZARDS.
* This is a documentary mainly about the musical side of the Harry Potter fan-culture but also touches on the legal issues that arise when Warner Brothers gets as angry as a horn-tailed dragon because people are making a creative living off of Harry Potter. Who the Hogwarts knew? Funny, fascinating, and yes, magical.

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

BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE.

ELMO’S WORLD: ALL ABOUT FACES.

SCRUFF’S HALLOWEEN.

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

* More Hong Kong!

A BETTER TOMORROW.

A BETTER TOMORROW 2.

GREEN SNAKE.

............//NEW BLU-RAY ADDITIONS/............

HARRY POTTER: FIRST FIVE FILMS.
* Yeah, baby. Dumbledore in Hi-Def.

****

****new release list no.233

It’s feast or famine in DVD world. This week, it is a massive feast.

First up is ADVENTURELAND, the latest from the director of SUPERBAD. This film takes place during the summer of 1987 and follows a young man as he takes a job he doesn’t want and gains a life he does. With Jessie Eisenberg (THE SQUID AND THE WHALE) and Kristen Stewart (TWILIGHT). Amy Adams and Emily Blunt play the Lorkowski sisters cleaning up crime scenes in Christine Jeff’s SUNSHINE CLEANING. With Alan Arkin and Steve Zahn.

In DUPLICITY, we are not sure who is getting duped. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts play dueling corporate spies, crossing, double-crossing and triple-crossing each other and the corporations they work for in this new winking thriller by Tony Gilroy. GOODBYE SOLO is the latest from Ramin Bahrani (CHOP SHOP, MAN PUSH CART). The friendship between a Senegalese cab driver and a Southern Good Ol’ Boy is front and center in this almost buddy film taking place in North Carolina.

FIGHTING was edited by my brother-in-law Jake Pushinsky and stars Terrence Howard and Channing Tatum as a bare-knuckled fighter (Tatum) and the street scammer (Howard) who manages him in this stylized film from Dito Montiel (A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS).

CALIFORNICATION: SEASON TWO is here! As are a bunch of Criterion releases, such as THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO and JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE 1080 BRUXELLES as well as NIKKATSU NOIR: ECLIPSE SERIES 17, containing five hard-boiled Japanese action films from the Nikkatsu Studio made between 1957 and 1967. Scroll down to read more about these films.

Also of note is TROUBLE THE WATER, the intimate, Oscar-Nominated documentary about a couple trying to survive Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

In the non-movie related category, we have live music this Tuesday, August 25th at El Rio (Your Neighborhood Dive) at 3158 Mission St, just one long block from the Blue Plate restaurant. Starting at 8pm we have Sugarspun, Earth Minor (my cousin Harry’s band) and Spoon + 10 (my sister Anne’s band). Should be a fun night of tunes at one of the best local places to see music. I’ll be there, maybe I’ll see some of you!

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

ADVENTURELAND.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Drama/Romance.
Jesse Eisenberg/Kristen Stewart/Ryan Reynolds/Bill Hader.
Directed by Greg Mottola
* From the director of SUPERBAD comes this bitter-sweet summer crush movie about a young man who’s plans to gallivant around Europe after graduating college in 1987 are put on hold by the economic struggles of his parents (damn Ronny Reagan!). Instead, he must take a job at Adventureland, a run-down amusement park in Philadelphia. There, his adult life really begins as he is confronted with existential pain, un-requited love, financial stress, an absolute tear in his safety net, and all the cotton candy he can eat. Co-starring Eisenberg from THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, Stewart from TWILIGHT, Reynolds from DEFINITELY MAYBE and Hader as one of the struggling park owners.

DARK STREETS.
Drama/Thriller.
Gabriel Mann/Bijou Phillips
Directed by Rachel Samuels.
* Set in 1930’s New York, this noir-ish film centers on a playboy owner of a fancy jazz nightclub.

DUPLICITY.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Drama/Suspense/Romance/Thriller.
Julia Roberts/Clive Owen/Paul Giamatti/Tom Wilkinson/Ulrich Thomsen
Directed by Tony Gilroy.
* Roberts was CIA, Owen was MI6, and things got hot and bothered when they co-tackled situations. But now, they are both working in the private sector, for competing corporations, and now the question is, who is working for whom? This massive double-crossing romp features Giamatti and Wilkinson as competing CEO’s out to ruin each other’s businesses.

FIGHTING.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Action/Drama.
Channing Tatum/Terrence Howard.
Directed by Dito Montiel.
* Tatum is a young man living in the NYC trying to make it work, and barely getting by. Howard is the older street scammer who becomes his manager in the world of underground fist-fighting. Features realistic fisticuffs, a pumping soundtrack and brilliant editing by my brother-in-law Jake Pushinsky (A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS, CHOPS).

GOODBYE SOLO.
Comedy/Drama.
Soulemane Savane/Red West.
Directed by Ramin Bahrani.
* Bahrani is becoming famous for his independent films (MAN PUSH CART, CHOP SHOP) featuring foreigners living in America and trying to find the dream that is so famously discussed internationally. This one follows a similar path. Solo (Savane) is a Senegalese immigrant working in North Carolina as a cab driver. He meets William (West) an older Southern man who is down and full of regret and an interesting friendship is born.

THE INFORMERS.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Drama/Comedy.
Billy Bob Thornton/Kim Basinger/Winona Ryder/Mickey Rourke.
Directed by Gregor Jordan.
* This expose of 1980’s Los Angeles is about greed and sex and narcissism and Hollywood and the never-ending groups of young men and women partying all night, living on the edge, hoping to get to the top and more than likely ending up in the gutter.

JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE 1080 BRUXELLES.
Criterion/Drama/Foreign (French).
Chantal Akerman/Delphine Seyrig.
Directed by Chantal Akerman.
*Slow and mesmerizing 1975 film following in meticulous detail the daily routine of a middle aged widow cooking and cleaning for her son while doing the same chores in the same order day after day after day.

KISSING COUSINS.
Comedy.
Samrat Chakrabarti/Rebecca Hazlewood.
Directed by Amyn Kaderali.
* Amir (Chakrabarti) is a professional break-up messenger. That is, he is the paid bearer of bad news for people who are ending their relationships. As the cynical unmarried guy in his group, it is pointed out to him that he couldn’t keep a relationship alive if he tried. So, as a gag, he tries. With his cousin.

LANDSCAPE NO.2.
Crime/Thriller/Foreign (Slovenian).
Marko Mandic/Slobodan Custic/Janez Hocevar.
Directed by Vinko Moderndorfer.
* Taught thriller about a couple of small-time thieves who accidentally steal from a retired General documents showing him to be responsible for war time atrocities…Soon, the General sends his men to retrieve the documents, and deal with the thieves.

THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO.
Criterion/Drama.
Chloe Sevigny/Kate Beckinsale.
Directed by Whit Stillman
* It’s the early 80’s and disco is dying. Two young pre-raver women spend their nights dancing, primping and dreaming at the disco.

NEWCASTLE.
Drama/Surfing/LGBT.
Lachlan Buchanan/Xavier Samuel/Anthony Hayes.
Directed by Dan Castle.
* This surfing movie about young men in Australia is more of a coming-of-age story than anything else about a surfer kid trying to get out of the shadow of his older brother.

NIKKATSU NOIR: ECLIPSE SERIES 17.
* From Amazon:

From the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, wild, idiosyncratic crime movies were the brutal and boisterous business of Nikkatsu, the oldest film studion in Japan. In an effort to attract youthful audiences growing increasingly accustomed to American and French big-screen imports, Nikkatsu began producing action potboilers (mukokuseki akushun, or borderless action) modeled on the western, comedy, gangster, and teen-rebel genres. This bruised and bloody collection represents a standout cross section of the nimble nasties Nikkatsu had to offer, from such prominent, stylistically daring directors as Seijun Suzuki, Toshio Masuda, and Takashi Nomura.
I AM WAITING (1957): In Koreyoshi Kurahara's directorial debut, rebel matinee idol Yujiro Ishihara (fresh off the sensational Crazed Fruit) stars a restaurant manager and former boxer who saves a beautiful, suicidal club hostess (Mie Kitahara) trying to escape the clutches of her gangster employer. Featuring expressionist lighting and bold camera work, this was one of Nikkatsu's early successes.
RUSTY KNIFE (1958): Rusty Knife was the first smash for director Toshio Masuda, who would go on to become one of Japanese cinema's major hit makers. In the film, Yujiro Ishihara and fellow top Nikkatsu star Akira Kobayashi play former hoodlums trying to leave behind a life of crime, but their past comes back to haunt them when the authorities seek them out as murder witnesses.
TAKE AIM AT THE POLICE VAN (1960): At the beginning of Seijun Suzuki's taut and twisty whodunit, a prison truck is attacked and a convict inside is murdered. The penitentiary warden on duty, Daijiro (Michitaro Mizushima) is accused of negligence and suspended, only to take it upon himself to track down the killers.
CRUEL GUN STORY (1964): Fresh out of the slammer, Togawa (Branded to Kill's Joe Shishido) has no chance to go straight because he is immediately coerced by a wealthy mob boss into organizing the heist of an armoured car carrying racetrack receipts. After gathering together a ragtag bunch to carry out the robbery, Togawa learns that all is not what it seems in Takumi Furukawa's thriller. Cue the double (and triple) crosses!
A COLT IS MY PASSPORT (1967): One of Japanese cinema's supreme emulations of American noir, Takashi Nomura's A Colt Is My Passport is a down-and-dirty but gorgeously photographed yakuza film starring Joe Shishido as a hard-boiled hit man caught between rival gangs. Featuring an incredible, spaghetti-western-style soundtrack and brimming with formal experimentation, this is Nikkatsu at its finest.

RUDO Y CURSI.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Drama/Foreign (Spanish).
Gael Garcia Bernal/Diega Luna.
Directed by Carlos Cuaron
* From the writer of Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, and reuniting its stars, comes this new comedy about two siblings, living on a banana plantation with their family. When they are picked up by a talent scout and make it as professional football (soccer) stars, their lives become conflicted with their desires for women, gambling and the “good” life, outweighing their professional sports ambition by far.

SOMETHING IS KILLING TATE.
Drama.
Jocko Sims/Joshua Curls.
Directed by Leon Lozano.
* The winner of 8 individual awards on the Festival circuit in 2008, this well-acted and heady drama is about Tate, a 25-year old man struggling to reconcile his past before he it reconciles him.

SUNSHINE CLEANING.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Drama.
Amy Adams/Emily Blunt/Alan Arkin/Steve Zahn.
Directed by Christine Jeffs.
* From the production team that brought us LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE comes another family comedy about a disjointed community trying to figure themselves out. Rose (Adama, ah, Amy Adams…don’t you just love her? From her work in JUNEBUG to ENCHANTED she is just amazing) amd Norah (Blunt) are the adult children of Joe. Rose has a son, and is dating her old high school flame (Zahn, in a surprisingly mellow performance that hopefully will be a harbinger of things to come) even though he is, alas, married with children to someone else. Rose cleans houses, and is struggling to make the next step for herself, when her boyfriend gives her the idea that cleaning crime scenes can be lucrative. Thus the Sunshine Cleaning company is formed and soon Rose and Norah are scrubbing the blood off of mattresses and the tissue matter of walls all over town. This movie is not going to win any awards, but it is heartfelt, introduces a pretty good child actor (Jason Spevack) and features Adams in underwear on at least three separate occasions.

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

TROUBLE THE WATER.
Documentary.
Directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal.
* Nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar (and winner of a bunch of festival awards) this film follows Scott and Kimberly Roberts, a young couple living in New Orlean’s Ninth Ward, as they struggle to survive Hurricane Katrina. Some shot on the couple’s own video camera, and some shot with the filmmakers two weeks later as they come home and try to rebuild their lives, this intimate and amazing film is as powerful as it is devastating. Also contains hardcore rap by Kimberly Roberts (Black Kold Madina) on the soundtrack.

WONDER OF IT ALL.
Documentary.
Directed by Jeffrey Roth.
* Brilliant interviews of seven of the surviving astronauts that walked on the moon.

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

CALIFORNICATION: THE SECOND SEASON.
Television/Drama/Comedy.
David Duchovny.
* Season two follows Hank Moody (Duchovny) as he continues to walk the path of struggle, moderated only by the company of beautiful women. Dude shouldn’t complain, but he does. And it’s tough for the guy; writer’s block is weighing him down. Co-parenting is a scheduling nightmare. And the babes are throwing themselves at his feet…what’s a guy to do?

HOUSE: SEASON FIVE.
Television/Drama.
Hugh Laurie/Omar Epps.
* These are puzzling cases that the good doctor takes on, very very puzzling.

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

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD.
* Four episodes on this disc.

THE BERENSTAIN BEARS: HALLOWEEN TREATS.
* Holy cow, it’s almost Halloween already…deep breath.

............//REPLACEMENT DISCS/............

DEADWOOD: COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASON.
* Just cuz they needed replacing…

****

****new release list no.232

Great television and great documentaries highlight this week’s releases. Let’s begin with THE GARDEN, an Oscar nominated doc about a community garden in Los Angeles battling the city and a land developer for the right to keep gardening in their space. This super-charged doc highlights some of society’s biggest issues. Next up we have the much-anticipated TYSON, the story of Mike Tyson, boxer, cannibal (just kidding Mikey), pariah, and fascinating subject. I haven’t seen this yet, but I am told it is simply superb.

In television-land, the biggest title is DEXTER: SEASON THREE. Dexter, for those of you who do not know the show, is a forensics expert in Miami who also moonlights as a serial killer of bad guys who have escaped justice. Scary! Other television releases of note – SONS OF ANARCHY: SEASON ONE, GOSSIP GIRL: SEASON TWO, IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA: SEASON THREE, SKINS: VOLUME TWO, and a little animation show you may have heard of called THE SIMPSONS: THE TWELFTH.

In the new acquisitions television department, we just got the entire series of MOONLIGHTING. Featuring a young Bruce Willis paired with Cybill Shepherd, this was one of the funniest shows on the air back in 1985, and seems to have held up through the test of time.

There is a little more of this and that down there, scroll down to read about the movies.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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Links we are super hip on this week:
Relatively insanely cool Beck site where he and collaborators have recreated all the songs off the first Velvet Underground album, complete with videos. Wow!
The Rock Make Festival. The excellent musical and crafts outdoor festival presented by The Bay Bridged, Tartufi, Whiz Bang Fabrics and Noise Pop that my band The Dont’s are honored to be playing this Sunday, Aug 23rd.
KIDS DIGITAL DESIGN CONTEST. Local architect (dad/husband/racecar driver) Mason Kirby is sponsoring this cool contest.
Beyond Asiaphilia is local filmmaker Valerie Soe's excellent blog focusing on Asian/American arts, culture and other related topics.

Do you have a link Four Star Customers should check out??? Email it to me.

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

BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE.
Sci-Fi.
* Part of the ICONS OF SCI-FI TOHO COLLECTION.

BRAVE ARCHER AND HIS MATE.
Martial-Arts/Foreign (Mandarin).
Directed by Cheh Chang.
* The Shaw Brothers strike again in this fourth film in the Brave Archer series.

THE GOLDEN BOYS.
Drama/Foreign (French).
David Carradine/Rip Torn/Bruce Dern/Marielle Hemingway.
Directed by Daniel Adams.
* Although Carradine died this last June, he was either finished or just about finished with nearly a dozen films that will be coming out over the next year or so. In this romantic comedy set in the early part of last century (1905, for those of you keeping score), he plays one of a trio of retired sea captains, trying to find a young wife (Hemingway) who will cook and clean for all of them on their sea going journeys.

THE GOOD TIMES KID.
Indie.
Azazel Jacobs.
Directed by Azazel Jacobs.
* From the director of MOMMA’S MAN, comes another indie about love, identity and life’s rich pageantry.

HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE.

THE H-MAN.
Sci-Fi.
Directed by Ishiro Honda .
* Part of the ICONS OF SCI-FI TOHO COLLECTION. ALL H- BREAKS LOOSE!

HUSBANDS.
Drama/Comedy.
Ben Gazzara/Peter Falk/John Cassavetes.
Directed by John Cassavetes .
* 1970 period piece about three men who, in the wake of their peer’s death, decide to run away from their wives and families to go gamble and party together to try to reclaim their lost lives. Ha ha ha ha ha!

JULIA.
Drama.
Tilda Swinton.
Directed by Erick Zonca.
* Harrowing indie film starring Swinton as a drunk who gets involved in a kidnap scheme that just gets worse and worse. She helps a mother kidnap her son to try to get a huge ransom from the rich grandfather, but she double-crosses the mother and then makes one bad decision after the next and eventually finds herself in Tijuana with the boy and very little .

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT.
Horror.
Monica Potter/Tony Goldwyn.
Directed by Dennis Iliadis.
* Bad people get bad treatment from people they have wronged. Very very bad people…very very bad treatment.

THE LAST STARFIGHTER: 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Sci-Fi.
Lance Guest/Robert Preston.
Directed by Nick Castle.
* Alex Rogan (Guest) lives in a trailer park and can score six bazillion playing Last Starfighter, a popular video game. Unfortunately, he can’t get a loan to go to college, and his life is seeming kinda dead end. That is, until Centauri (Preston – he’s a what, he’s a what? He’s a MUSIC MAN) comes and “invites” him to play the game on another level. Little does he know he is being invited to play the game for real, and that all the other Starfighters are dead, and that he is the loan obstacle between the galaxy being taken over and destroyed by aliens. I can’t believe this movie is 25 years old!

MOTHRA.
Sci-Fi.
* Part of the ICONS OF SCI-FI TOHO COLLECTION.

17 AGAIN.
Comedy/Drama/Romance.
Zac Efron/Leslie Mann/Thomas Lennon/Matthew Perry.
Directed by Burr Steers .
* Actually got this last week, but I forgot to mention it in the blog. This is the age old story about a guy who gets to try to do it all over again, and maybe do things better the second time. Mike (Perry, old; Efron, young) is a loser who sacrificed all of his goals to marry his preggers high school sweetheart and never got over it and now is separated, unemployed and pretty damn pathetic. Then – in a supernatural twist – he finds himself 17 again (!) and is determined to make the most of it.

SURVEILLANCE.
Drama/Crime.
Julia Ormond/Bill Pullman/.
Directed by Jennifer Chambers Lynch.
* Plot twisty film about some FBI agents trying to get to the bottom of a bloody killing spree in a desert town. Three witnesses are being interrogated, and one knows more than she is letting on. Will the FBI catch the murderers before they kill again?

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

THE GARDEN.
Documentary.
Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy.
* Nominated for the Best Documentary Academy Award, this film is about the bitter struggle between the City of L.A. and a community who has been cultivating the nation’s biggest community garden space (14 acres). Unfortunately for the urban farmers who grow their food here, developers want to bulldoze it down and put up warehouses. This David vs. Goliath tale underscores a major prioritization problem we have in our cities, and in our farm lands.

TYSON.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****
Documentary/Sports.
Mike Tyson.
Directed by James Toback.
* Ah, the train wreck that is Mike Tyson. Love him or hate him, he has been front and center in our society since he came on like a tornado absolutely obliterating his boxing opponents in the ring in the mid-1980’s. From Nov 22, 1986, when he first became the Heavyweight Champion of the World, until his shocking loss to James Douglas on Feb 11, 1990, he was followed and vilified (and coronated) for his ferocious style, both in and out of the ring. This documentary uses archival footage, interviews and photographs to try to shed life on the Mike Tyson experience. As Mike himself describes his life, “It's like a Greek Tragedy. The only problem is, I'm the subject”.

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

DEXTER: THE THIRD SEASON.
Television/Crime/Thriller/Drama.
Michael C. Hall/Julie Benz.
* Dexter is a forensics expert who hates injustice. Hates it! Damn it, it burns him up so much when people get away with murder, and as a very calm presence around death, he has the skills to do something about it. What should he do? Quite simply, hunt down and kill those who “deserve it”. Michael C. Hall has forged a brilliant television career dealing with death and bodies. SIX FEET UNDER lasted five excellent seasons, and DEXTER is on to season number four. What will be next for him? A necromancing voodoo healer? Grave-robbing cemetery worker? At this point, we don’t know.

GOSSIP GIRL: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON.
Television/Drama.
Blake Lively/Leighton Meester/Chace Crawford/Taylor Momsen.
* These chicks have got it all, and will talk about it viciously. Won 7 Teen Choice Awards in 2008.

IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA: SEASON THREE.
Television/Comedy.
Charlie Day/Kaitlin Olson/Glenn Howerton/Rob McElhenney/Danny DeVito.
Created by Rob McElhenney.
* More hair-raising, trouble-filled business and relationship woe for the four friends running an Irish bar in Philadelphia. The tagline for this show is: It’s “Seinfeld” on crack! Looking for a good comedy? Look no further.

THE SIMPSONS: THE TWELFTH SEASON.
Television/Comedy.
* I’m not sure what this show is about.

SKINS: VOLUME TWO.
Television/Drama.
* Are British shows more mature than their American counterparts? Seems kinda like it, at least when it comes to the teenagers…This show is about kids dealing with bad parenting, sexual desires, school and peer stress and the usual nights of longing.

SONS OF ANARCHY: SEASONE ONE.
Television/Drama.
Theo Rossi/Ron Perlman/Kim Coates.
Created by Kurt Sutter.
* Raw and frank, this show is about a guy in a motorcycle gang and the difficulty he has assimilating parenthood with his outlaw lifestyle.

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

ELOISE: RAWTHER UNUSUAL HALLOWEEN.

............//NEW BLU-RAY ADDITIONS/............

ABOUT LAST NIGHT.
* Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins starred in this 80’s adaptation of a David Mamet play called SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO.

KAGEMUSHA.
Criterion/Drama/History/War/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Akira Kurosawa.
* First time on Blu-Ray for this Criterion release Oscar-nominated 1980 release by the Japanese filmmaking master.

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

THE MIGHTY QUINN.
* Denzel and Robert Townsend star in this action-drama about a cop tracking down his best childhood friend to either arrest him, or clear his name.

MOONLIGHTING: THE COMPLETE SERIES.
* Do you remember this amazing Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd show? Featuring Shepherd as a top model who inadvertently becomes the owner of a detective agency run by wise-guy David Addison (Willis) and packed with rapid-fire dialogue and mounting sexual tension, this was one of the funniest shows of the 1980’s. I still remember the episode when they finally kiss…

............//REPLACEMENT DISCS/............

UNDER THE SAME MOON.

****

****new release list no.231

What is this thing, life? So strange to be living an adult existence, running through your schedules, occasionally slapped around by life in some way that reminds you not to get too comfortable in your skin. What is it to be an adult? As a person with the Y chromosome (I know, I know, that’s not the WHOLE deal) , I ask myself what does it mean to be a man? How do you find the right combination of confident yet gracious, macho but not asshole (pardon my language), self-contained yet still in need of companionship. These are some of the questions that Peter Klaven (as played by the versatile Paul Rudd) is asking himself as the day of his heterosexual wedding approaches and he realizes that he has no real male friends. Is there a bromance in his future? Can he find a significant brother? Can he even score a man date? What should he talk about? How will he knick name his new bro? Will he shake hands properly? How long does he wait after the first hang session before he calls? Luckily his new dude friend, Sydney (Jason Segel from FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL) is willing to show him the ropes, easing him slowly and gently into dudehood. But does Peter really want to be a dude? Will his fiancée Zooey (Rashida Jones) become jealous? All these issues are front and center (shwing) in the new comedy I LOVE YOU, MAN. Funny and poignant, cuttingly satirical, and somewhat serious, this comedy is a winner, and further cements Rudd and Segel’s status (along with Seth Rogen) as some of comedy’s leading men.

There are three events in Bernal Heights that you should know about this week. Number one is this Wednesday, August 12th here at SUCCULENCE (located in Four Star Video’s back patio) at 402 Cortland Ave at 4:30pm. Mark Bunnell will be performing as The Juggling Tornado. This is a part of a series of events co-sponsored by the Bernal Branch Library and Four Star Video and supported by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. It will be a great event for the little ones, so please come on by! I also want to tell you that the library is targeting January for its reopening, and I recently was lucky enough to take a short tour inside the building. It is looking fabulous, and I think everyone is going to be really psyched! I have heard it is the absolute best of all the libraries being remodeled. The second event is number three in the series of Bernal Film Nights co-sponsored by the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center and Four Star Video, and organized and coordinated by Sabrina Davis who is doing so much great community work at the BHNC right now. This week, on Thursday, August 13th at 7pm at the BHNC at 515 Cortland Ave, they will be showing FAST FOOD NATION. As usual, admission is free and some refreshments will be provided. Lastly, this Saturday, Aug 15th is the 16th Annual Hillwide Garage Sale from 9am-4pm. Maps will be provided at the neighborhood center, and we will be selling hundreds of excellent used DVD’s outside the store for $5. Enjoy, neighbors, enjoy.

John Hughes died last Thursday, at the much-too-young age of 59. For many of us, his passing was a shocking reminder of both our mortality and our teen years. Starting with SIXTEEN CANDLES in 1984 (1984!), Hughes directed 9 films all but one of them being released in the 80’s. His films nearly defined the generation. Movies about outcasts, nerds and truants that had excellent adventures and found love. BREAKFAST CLUB and WEIRD SCIENCE both came out in 1985 and Ferris Bueller took his day off just one year later. His films made great use of pop music, and made isolation look cool. In 1987, I graduated High School, and I guess Hughes did too. He only directed three more films from that point forward, and finished his directorial career with 1991’s CURLY SUE. He continued writing films all the way until last year when he wrote DRILLBIT TAYLOR, but he wrote under a pseudonym (Edmond Dantes, from the main character of The Count of Monte Cristo), and many people didn’t know it was the same guy. I am not sure what his take was on his career, but I can tell you my life was better off as a result of his existence. Thanks, John, you will be missed. In the meantime, we just bought the last two of his films we didn’t have yet on DVD, UNCLE BUCK and PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILE’S, so now his collection is complete. Happy viewing.

Guess what? We got a brand-spanking-new DVD repair machine. Same one we had before, but freshly manufactured with all the bells and whistles of a 2009 technological wonder. Our old one was acting up and bit, and thus the new one. While we were waiting for it to come in, I noticed that we had a little stack of movies awaiting repair. I want to make a suggestion to everyone out there that ever has problems with DVD’s. You may want to replace your machine if it is three years old or older. Forgetting for a moment how sad it is that our technology is so poor that our electronic appliances appear to be designed to stop working at three years, and also keeping in mind that my only investment in this discussion is to keep you all as customers, it is important to remember that DVD players are not very costly, and that newer ones basically just play right through any blemishes on the disc itself. Instead of locking in to a stubborn position about your player, why not just replace it with a new one for $89.99? Our main interest is in you seeing your movie all the way through, and if that is being a problem, then a player replacement is a possible solution. Just to reiterate our policy regarding problem discs, if we get a complaint about a disc we run it through our fancy machine which buffs and refinishes the disc. We make a note about it, including the date. If the disc is complained about again, we run it through the machine one more time, on a Medium or Heavy cycle. Again, the cycle and date are noted. If we have a third problem, the disc is disposed of and a replacement is bought. For the most part, this works. There are a few different shows that seem to have extra problems than usual. Personally, I think it is cheap manufacturing, but I don’t really know. I understand that a large amount of THE WIRE discs have problems. I am so sorry about that – believe me, I know how frustrating it is to not be able to get through a tense and terrific show like that. With shows like these, I buy replacement copies regularly. We’ve had 11 full copies of THE WIRE: SEASON THREE! If you are having a problem with a disc, please let us know. We cannot do anything about a problem disc if we do not know about it. The last thing I would like to mention is that we at the store almost never actually handle the discs. The only time we do is when we are checking it out to you and we give it a wipe. When discs are scratched (and smudged, or otherwise) that happens when another customer does not handle the disc with care. Please remember to always hold the disc by its edges with your fingertips. When you are done watching the movie, please put it back into its box. Please do not allow your children to put the movies into the player and out by themselves. As wonderful as it is that they can work a DVD player, they are almost guaranteed to damage our discs. Unfortunately, this goes for your teenagers as well. For some reason those large adult shaped teen people just don’t seem to have the respect for other people’s property that is required for proper disc management (I know, it is totally shocking!). So, please, if you see our discs being mishandled by your teen, set them straight. Lastly, when putting the disc back into its box, make sure it is sitting properly nestled in its little plastic home. It is always slightly amusing to me when someone brings in a disc that didn’t work for them and they hand it to me loose in its case, getting more scratched even as we transact.

I am grateful that in 2009 our community is renting videos from Four Star Video. We are loving the business, and going the extra distance to obtain the most interesting films we can find from around the globe. We are very proud of Kenflix as a way to wipe out late fees forever. We are happy to continue hearing your suggestions to make the store even better.

Thanks for shopping at Four Star Video.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

******************************************************************************
KenFlix - the only Independent Monthly Subscription Film Renting Service in SF
If you are going to make a monthly commitment, make it a local one.
No due dates. No late fees.

ESUB -One Movie at a time – Three movies total – $9.99 + Tax/Month
1SUB - One Movie at a time – Unlimited exchange – $18.99 + Tax/Month
3SUB - Three Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $24.99 + Tax/Month
4SUB - Four Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $32.99 + Tax/Month
******************************************************************************

Links we are super hip on this week:
The Rock Make Festival. The excellent musical and crafts outdoor festival presented by The Bay Bridged, Tartufi, Whiz Bang Fabrics and Noise Pop that my band The Dont’s are honored to be playing this year.
KIDS DIGITAL DESIGN CONTEST–Local architect(dad/husband/racecar driver) Mason Kirby is sponsoring this cool contest.
Tetra Vaal -This short film was made by the very same people who are about to release DISTRICT 9 – a very cool looking sci-fi film.
Beyond Asiaphilia is local filmmaker Valerie Soe's excellent blog focusing on Asian/American arts, culture and other related topics.

Do you have a link Four Star Customers should check out??? Email it to me.

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

APRES LUI.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Catherine Deneuve/Guy Marchand.
Directed by Gael Morel.
* After her son dies in an accident, Camille (Deneuve) becomes unglued and slightly obsessed with his best friend.

BIG MAN JAPAN.
Comedy/Sci-Fi/Cult/Foreign (Japanese).
Hitoshi Matsumoto.
Directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto.
* Totally wild bizarre-fest about a man who occasionally grows about 100 feet tall and defends his nation against a smorgasbord of monsters and beasties. Chris says this is hysterical.

BORN IN 68.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Laetitia Casta/Yannick Renier/Christine Citti.
Directed by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau.
* A group of French revolutionaries struggle to maintain the ethics and values as they try to create a new society full of love and without possessions. Imagine that! As their commune becomes settled, their philosophies and their paths diverge.

THE CLASS.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Drama/Foreign (French).
Francois Begaudeau/Franck Keita.
Directed by Laurent Cantet.
* This much anticipated film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language film Academy award, and won a bunch of other awards including the GOLDEN PALM at Cannes. It is the story of a teacher, and a school in an inner city neighborhood in Paris struggling to maintain, to motivate, to thrive and just to get through to the next day.

I LOVE YOU, MAN.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Comedy.
Paul Rudd/Jason Segel/Rashida Jones/Jaime Pressley/Jon Favreau/Jane Curtin.
Directed by John Hamburg.
* Rudd is Peter Klaven, newly engaged to Zooey (Jones) and lovely woman with a nice group of friends who is concerned that her man doesn’t have a good manfriend. Thus, Klaven embarks on a mission to get a brofriend. The mission is tough (desperation is such a turn-off), but eventually Peter meets Sydney who teaches him what being a man is really about. Featuring a ton of great cameo’s including Curtin as Peter’s loving mom.

KATYN.
Drama/War/Foreign (Polish???).
Andrzej Chyra.
Directed by Andrzej Wajda.
* Another film Nomintated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film, KATYN is the tragic story of the slaughter of thousands of Polish officers and citizens by the Soviet army in the Katyn forest in 1939. Wajda has been directing movies since 1950 and is considered to be one of Poland’s greatest living directors.

KING EAGLE.
Martial Arts.
Tam Mei/Chung Hwa.
Directed by Cheh Chang.
* The Monks of kung-fu Doom.

PAVEE LACKEEN – TRAVELLER GIRL.
Drama.
Directed by Perry Ogden.
* I am having trouble deciding if this is a documentary or fiction. And, I am afraid I don’t know what a Traveller is. Help me! Here, I got this from Amazon: PAVEE LACKEEN: THE TRAVELLER GIRL is an intimate portrait of Winnie, a resilient and spirited young girl, and her family who are part of Dublin’s traveller community, living in a dilapidated trailer on the side of the road in a desolate industrialized area. The film presents an unflinching portrait of a marginalized community often living in third world poverty in a modern, prosperous Ireland. It follows Winnie through several weeks of her life, as she struggles with her identity as a young traveller girl in contemporary Ireland.

NIGHTS & WEEKENDS.
Drama/Microindependent.
Joe Swanberg/Greta Gerwig.
Directed by Greta Gerwig and Joe Swanberg.
* Written, directed by and starring Joe and Greta as a long-distance couple being stretched by the tension such an arrangement can cause.

NO MATTER WHAT.
Drama/Foreign (Mandarin and English).
Zhou Li.
Directed by Oscar Petersson.
* A young girl from the sticks heads to Shanghai to become a pop star, but loses herself along the way.

ONE DAY YOU’LL UNDERSTAND.
Drama/Foreign (French).
Hippolyte Giradot/Jeanne Moreau.
Directed by Amos Gitai.
* This film set in Paris is about a Jewish man trying to collect information and memories about his grandparents who died in the holocaust.

PARIS 36.
Drama/Musical/Foreign (French).
Gerard Jugnot/Clovis Cornillac/Kad Merad.
Directed by Christophe Barratier.
* This film takes place in 1936 Paris and features the conflict between the left and the ultra conservative right as they pertain to a theatre troupe struggling to survive.

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

HOFFMAN’S POTION.
Documentary.
Directed by Connie Littlefield.
* This doc is about researching trying to determine medical benefits of lysergic acid diethylamide, otherwise known as LSD. Cue up the Pink Floyd.

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

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF VIVIENNE VYLE.
Television/Comedy.
Jennifer Sanders/Miranda Richardson.
* A sharp, witty comedy about Vivienne Vyle (Saunders) a television personality with a ton of chaos going on around her. Richardson co-stars as the show within the show’s producer.

SUPERFRIENDS: THE LOST EPISODES.
Television/Animation.
* Wonder twin powers activate!

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

DONKEY X.
* An anonymous donkey forces the mules in his community to treat him and other donkeys with respect. Or at least that’s what it should be about…

GOOBY – BECAUSE EVERYONE NEEDS A FRIEND.

OLIVIA.
* New series based on the books – pretty fun!

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

PLANES TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES.
* 1987 John Hughes films pairs Steve Martin with John Candy as two strangers trying to get home for the holidays. Funny!

RAIN.
* This 2006 adaptation of a Virginia C. Andrews book is about a young musical prodigy with a secret past. Co-starring Faye Dunaway.

UNCLE BUCK.
* Hughes second-to-last film features John Candy as the slovenly, lovable Uncle Buck.

****

****new release list no.230

What is it? If I can’t even sing it to you?

Well, I guess it’s a blog, and you can’t even hear my voice…although some of you can probably imagine it a bit as you read. My hair color today? Goldish Feather.

In the meantime, we got some titles you may be interested in this week. THE SOLOIST, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. follows a schizophrenic street musician with a Julliard background befriended by a Los Angeles journalist who longs to help him off the streets. THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH is the adaptation of local author Michael Chabon’s (Wonder Boys, Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Summerland) debut novel. It is the story of an 18-year-old’s last summer before growing up spent doing the usual things…i.e. disobeying his gangster father, hanging out with a mysterious babe, and experiencing life. OBSESSED, with Beyonce and Ali Larter, is about a stalking temp who threatens to destroy a marriage to get the man she desires. RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN is the remake of the 70’s flick about a couple of kids with super powers and their frantic attempt to avoid capture by a government organization bent on using their powers for badness.

Some television out this week you may be interested in…THE FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS: SEASON TWO – Funny! PROJECT RUNWAY: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON – Cheeky! AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MARPLE: SET 4 – Mysterious! For more movie related info, scroll down.

Have a house? Kids? Anything of value? Do you have an estate plan? Amy Shelf (the silent partner of Four Star Video, less-silent partner of SUCCULENCE, and my not-silent-at-all life partner) is a Bernal Heights-based Estate Planning Attorney. Besides her usual in-depth practice, she has developed a quick and easy way to get an estate plan in place. She calls them Panic-Free Potlucks and Panic-Free Workshops. Recently, she has added a schedule, with online signup available, for the Panic-Free Workshops. You can read about her Panic-Free concept here, and testimonials about her Panic-Free programs here. Estate plans are important in that they help your family make important decisions when you are gone…occasionally decisions relating to your children and property. It is an important thing to deal with. Like Amy says: Life is a gift; change is a must.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

******************************************************************************
KenFlix - the only Independent Monthly Subscription Film Renting Service in SF
If you are going to make a monthly commitment, make it a local one.
No due dates. No late fees.

ESUB -One Movie at a time – Three movies total – $9.99 + Tax/Month
1SUB - One Movie at a time – Unlimited exchange – $18.99 + Tax/Month
3SUB - Three Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $24.99 + Tax/Month
4SUB - Four Movies at a time – Unlimited exchange – $32.99 + Tax/Month
******************************************************************************

Links we are super hip on this week:
The Rock Make Festival. The excellent musical and crafts outdoor festival presented by The Bay Bridged, Tartufi, Whiz Bang Fabrics and Noise Pop that my band The Dont’s are honored to be playing this year.
KIDS DIGITAL DESIGN CONTEST–Local architect(dad/husband/racecar driver) Mason Kirby is sponsoring this cool contest.
Tetra Vaal -This short film was made by the very same people who are about to release DISTRICT 9 – a very cool looking sci-fi film.
Beyond Asiaphilia is local filmmaker Valerie Soe's excellent blog focusing on Asian/American arts, culture and other related topics.

Do you have a link Four Star Customers should check out??? Email it to me.

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

DELGO.
Animation/Adventure/Fantasy.
Freddie Prinze, Jr./Val Kilmer/Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Directed by Marc Adler and Jason Maurer.
* Delgo is a teenager who gets caught up in a war between two peoples, the Lockni and the Nohrin.

FRAGMENTS.
Crime/Drama.
Kate Beckinsale/Forest Whitaker/Dakota Fanning/Guy Pearce.
Directed by Rowan Woods.
* This movie follows the survivors of a random shooting in a diner and how their lives are changed by the experience.

LABOR PAINS.
Comedy/Romance.
Lindsay Lohan/Cheryl Hines/Chris Parnell/Janeane Garofalo.
Directed by Lara Shapiro.
* Lindsay Lohan plays a young woman who pretends to be pregnant and then must continue the lie after she told it to so many people. All I know is that it’s Lindsay Lohan, so this movie has got to be a 10.

MUTANT CHRONICLES.
Fantasy/Sci-Fi.
Thomas Jane/Ron Perlman/John Malkovich.
Directed by Simon Hunter.
* I can’t describe this further than saying that there is a war between Mutants and people in the 28th Century. I also find it lovely that the main character “Mitch Hunter”, the good guy leader has the same last name as the director.

THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Comedy/Romance/Foreign (Polish).
Sienna Miller/Mena Suvari/Peter Sarsgaard/Nick Nolte.
Directed by Rawson Thurber.
* Adapted from local author Michael Chabon’s novel, this tells the story of a teenager caught between his dreary job, his gangster father (Nolte) and a wild woman (Miller) and her boyfriend (Sarsgaard) who pull him out of his shell and show him how to live. Set in the Pittsburgh of the early 80’s, before the Beehive and all things hip came to town.

OBSESSED.
Drama/Suspense.
Beyonce Knowles/Ali Larter/Idris Elba.
Directed by Steve Shill.
* It’s your classic FATAL ATTRACTION tale, except without so much attraction. Happily married Derek (Elba) and Sharon’s (Knowles) lives are turned upside down when a hottie temp (Larter) at Derek’s work becomes psychotically attached to the idea of being with him and inserts herself into his life in every way possible.

RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN.
Family/Adventure/Suspense.
Dwayne Johnson/Carla Cugino.
Directed by Andy Fickman.
* In the remake of the family favorite from the 70’s, The Rock plays a cabbie who helps a couple of kids escape from a mean government organization hoping to harness their paranormal powers.

THE SOLOIST.****ALSO IN BLU-RAY****
Drama.
Robert Downey, Jr./Jamie Foxx.
Directed by Joe Wright.
* Steve Lopez wrote this true story about his days as a journalist in Los Angeles and his meeting of Nathaniel Ayers, a schizophrenic former musical prodigy now living on the streets of LA. With Foxx playing Ayers, and Downey, Jr as Lopez, the film shows the pitfalls of expectation, and the difficulty involved in helping people off the streets.

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

ELVIS PRESLEY ON THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW.
Music.
Elvis/His Pelvis.
* Fantastic footage of Elvis on Ed’s show back in October 1958. The footage is amazing. Elvis is sexy and looking kinda glazed, and totally in control of the audience yet totally submissive to Ed in that polite, good-old-boy fashion of the era.

HARVARD BEATS YALE 29-29.****IN STORE ON THURSDAY****
Sports.
Directed by Kevin Rafferty.
*Hysterical, dramatic and suspenseful (even though we know the end), the film tells the story of the Nov, 1968 match-up between these two undefeated teams with the backdrop of all things 60’.

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

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MARPLE: SERIES 4.
Television/Mystery.
Julie McKenzie.
* McKenzie plays Marple in four more sleuthular episodes.

THE FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON.
Television/Comedy/Music.
Jermaine Clement/Bret McKenzie/Rhys Darby.
* Spreading in popularity through the internet like a virus, Jermaine and Bret, two New Zealander’s trying to make it as musicians on the streets of New York, make brilliant musical parody videos and push the envelope of the sitcom far beyond anything BOSOM BUDDIES ever imagined.

PROJECT RUNWAY: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON.
Television/Realityesque.
Heidi Klum.

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

BAKUGAN: VOLUME 4.
* Bakugan BRAWL!

DAFFY DUCK’S QUACKBUSTERS.

DIVE OLLY DIVE: SHIP SHAPE SUB.

THE TIGGER MOVIE: 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION.


............//NEW BLU-RAY ADDITIONS/............

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA.

FAST AND FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT????.

MY COUSIN VINNY.
* Marisa Tomei won her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work in this film.

****