****new release list no.319

Buenas tardes amigos. Hola, my good friends.

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

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

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

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

Don’t they always?

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

FRANKLIN AND THE GLOOMY DAY.

NICK JR.: FOOD WITH FRIENDS.

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

****new release list no.318

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

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

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

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

****new release list no.317

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

******************************************************************************
KenFlix - the only Independent Monthly Subscription Film Renting Service in SF
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******************************************************************************

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROS: V01.

THE AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROS: V02.

BEN 10: THE ULTIMATE ALIEN POWER STRUGGLE.

CURIOUS GEORGE PLAYS BALL.

DORA THE EXPLORER: IT’S HAIRCUT DAY.

ELLE: A MODERN CINDERELLA TALE.

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

SESAME STREET: ELMO’S TRAVEL SONGS AND GAMES.

SPOT: SPOT’S BIRTHDAY PARTY.

SUPER HERO SQUAD: V04.

TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO & MORE STORIES TO CELEBRATE ASIAN HERITAGE.

WOW WOW WUBBZY SAVES THE DAY.

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

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

DOCTOR WHO: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SERIES.

PETER PAN.

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

3 IDIOTS.
* Looks super funny.

BLOW OUT.
* Criterion release.

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

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

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

FLY AWAY.

JOLENE.

LOOKING FOR FIDEL.
* Great looking doc.

LUCKY.

OPA.

SOUTH PARK: THE COMPLETE 14th SEASON.

TESTEES: THE COMPLETE SERIES.

****

****new release list no.316

Salutations, mes frères et sœurs français!

We’re all gonna die!

Scary, but so true. Will it be today? Or next month? Or in 37 years? 71 years? We just can’t know. For me, that makes me want to seize each moment and stretch it out. Even the yucky ones. So for the hell of it, let’s all take a moment and take a deep breath together.

Ah.

Hey have you heard about a little movie called THE KING’S SPEECH? I haven’t seen it yet, but I hear it did pretty well in the theatres, and even won some hardware at the Oscar’s this year. Stars a guy named Colin Firth, and I guess he plays the King of England. He’s got a big speech he’s gotta give and its super traumatic for him, so he gets some other dude to emotionally hold his hand while he gives it…Or something like that. Disclaimer: I may be wrong, like I said, I haven’t seen it. But I hear it was pretty good, so I bought, like, a million copies or something.

Other movies you might be interested in include THE WAY BACK, starring Ed Harris, Colin Farrell and Jim Sturgess as prisoners in a gulag in Siberia who take a very long walk to freedom; GULLIVER’S TRAVELS, starring Jack Black as Gulliver; RABBIT HOLE, an emotional drama starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as grieving parents who have lost a young child; SOMEWHERE, Sophia Coppola’s latest about a Hollywood star whose partying ways are stunted by the arrival of his 11-year-old daughter and the disappearance of her mother.

Some smaller titles of interest are IP MAN 2, FALCO: THE RISE AND FALL OF AN 80’S POP ICON (he’s dead!), VISION: FROM THE LIFE OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN (she will become your hero), and some killer new documentaries, including Spike Lee’s followup to his Hurricane Katrina doc WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE called IF GOD IS WILLING AND DA CREEK DON’T RISE.

Hey, are you into Detective Montalbano? We got two more collections of the adventures of that Sicilian detective in shop this week. We’ve also got something called DOWNTON ABBEY, which is a very highly rated costume drama television show from the UK about a wealthy family and their servants. There’s more that I didn’t mention…scroll down to read all about this week’s releases.

Hey, here’s a question for you - How many video store/plant store combinations do you know about on Planet Earth? None, right? You probably know how hard we’re working down here at Sector 402 (that’s our little knickname for the Four Star/Succulence work zone) to provide our community with interesting art (cinematic and plant-based), and a fun place to hang out and chat with your neighbors. Well, you could tell the world how you feel by voting for Four Star Video and Succulence as your favorite small business in San Francisco! 7x7 Magazine is sponsoring a contest in anticipation of SF Small Business Week and we are one of 49 businesses that are listed on the ballot! The winner gets lots of love and some great free advertising among other things, plus the love and admiration of the entire city of San Francisco. How cool would it be for a video store in 2011 to win an award like this? Let’s find out. Vote for us here.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

p.s. Happy Passover, Happy Easter, Happy Beltane, Happy Fertility, Happy Spring!

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

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

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

FALCO: THE RISE AND FALL OF AN 80’s POP ICON.
Drama/Music/Foreign (German).
Directed by Thomas Roth.
* The decadent and fabulous life of Falco, creator of such 80’s hits as Rock Me Amadeus and Der Kommissar, is chronicled in this docudrama. Did you know he died in 1998? After you watch this movie, you’ll know so much more about Falco than you ever imagined…


GULLIVER’S TRAVELS.****BD****
Comedy.
Jack Black/Emily Blunt/Jason Segal/Amanda Peet/Billy Connolly.
Directed by Rob Letterman.
* The brilliantly biting and witty social commentary of Jonathan Swift’s novel (1726, yeah, you read that right) is not to be found in this 21st century comedy about a fellow who goes on some wild adventures and ends up on a fantastical island where he is a giant compared to the peeps that live there. This one is probably fun for the kids, with a good cast of comedians providing the laughs…Someone on the imdb also mentioned it is a fabulous albeit unintentional stoner comedy, which sounds about right.

IP MAN 2.****BD****
Action/Martial Artistry.
Donnie Yen.
Directed by Wilson Yip.
* Part two focuses on Ip man moving to Hong Kong in 1949, and his exploits there.

JOHN LEGUIZAMO: FREAK.****BD****
Comedy.
John Leguizamo.
Directed by Spike Lee.
* I am not sure when this was originally released on DVD (or if this is the first time), but this 1998 standup comedy performance features Leguizamo at his zaniest best and gives a somewhat autobiographical account of his youth and the trials that led him to the entertainment world.

KES.
Criterion/Drama.
David Bradley.
Directed by Ken Loach.
* Loach has been directing since 1964, and has some 45 titles to his credit. This about a disaffected young boy who finds meaning and purpose training a kestrel falcon is getting the full Criterion treatment, with a cleaned up master and lots of extras. Billy is 15 and is pretty much either left to his own devices or bullied and treated poorly. Kes, the falcon he trains gives him more than just something to do, it gives him strength and care and concern and attention and love. The film is charming and emotional, while never pulling on the heartstrings, just playing them like a finely tuned stringed instrument…The soundtrack has some terrific music as well.

THE KING’S SPEECH.****BD****
Drama.
Colin Firth/Geoffrey Rush/Helena Bonham Carter/Timothy Spall/Guy Pearce.
Directed by Tom Hooper.
* This is the one we’ve been waiting for. Winner of the Academy Awards for Best Direction Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Actor and Best Writing, Screenplay Written for the Screen, this film has been the talk of movie goers everywhere over the last six months. You are probably familiar with the story. The King of England is George VI, an unlikely King who struggles with a stammer and barely wants the job of leading a nation. However, duty calls, and he grudgingly takes on the job in 1936. The film focuses on his relationship with his speech therapist, a man named Lionel Logue who was ahead of his time in many of his ideas. Using some interesting techniques and utilizing the power of their burgeoning friendship, Logue is able to help George to find his tongue when it matters most.

LORNA DORNE.
Drama.
Clive Owen/Polly Walker/Sean Bean.
* This is the 1990 version of this 18th century double-crossing love tragedy.

RABBIT HOLE.
Drama.
Nicole Kidman/Aaron Eckhart/Dianne Wiest/Sandra Oh.
Directed by John Cameron Mitchell.
* The maker of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH and SHORTBUS has taken a mighty departure from those films with this painful, but hopeful story about a couple dealing with the broken hearted emptiness of the loss of their young child. This film manages to provide some laughs, while treating the pain gently and with dignity. This film was very highly rated by reviewers, and while I haven’t seen it yet, Jeff says it was terrific and recommends it. With Dianne Wiest as the mother of Kidman’s character.

SOMEWHERE.****BD****
Drama.
Stephen Dorff/Elle Fanning/Michelle Monaghan/Benicio Del Toro.
Directed by Sophia Coppola.
* Coppola (Sophia, that is) is such a polarizing director. People seem to really want to criticize her work. (LOST IN TRANSLATION, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, MARIE ANTOINETTE). I think her last name has something to do with it, we really seem to hate the nepotism concept (unless we are benefiting) and the fact that her dad is a famous director makes us think everything has been handed to her. And perhaps it has, but if she was simply a bad director, than would so much be written about each of her films? One way she is generally criticized is that her films are accused of being vapid and empty, and the themes she explores are frequently called selfish and too personal to be worth screen time. Much the way early Jim Jarmusch films were described, films like STRANGER THAN PARADISE and DOWN BY LAW, where little happens, but a vibe is thoroughly instilled that lingers long after the movie ends. This film appears to have gotten very vitriolic comments from many viewers, yet was reasonably well received by critics. In it, Stephen Dorff plays Johnny Marco, a veteran Hollywood actor who is living a solitary and lonely existence while surrounded by the film making world. Into his shallow life, meaning is thrust in the form of his 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning). His life starts to be viewed through the filter of this child, and what is shows is not super pleasant, and not very appealing. I, for one, am very glad that Sophia Coppola keeps making films. At the very least, LOST IN TRANSLATION was a pretty awesome movie, and one great one is more than most directors make.
 
STREET KINGS 2: MOTOR CITY.
Action/Crime/Drama.
Ray Liotta/Linda Boston.
Directed by Chris Fisher.

VISION: FROM THE LIFE OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN.
Drama/Foreign (German).
Directed Margaretha von Trotta.
* Hildy was a nun from the 12th century people! As someone points out on imdb, she was 1000 years ahead of her time. She was a composer, a theologist, an early suffragette, an above all a free-thinking person, whose force and strength created change.

THE WAY BACK.****BD****
Drama.
Colin Farrell/Ed Harris/Jim Sturgess/Saoirse Ronan.
Directed by Peter Weir.
* Weir hasn’t made a ton of movies lately. You gotta go back to 2003 for MASTER AND COMMANDER, and it was 1998 when THE TRUMAN SHOW came out. Even further back was DEAD POET’S SOCIETY, THE MOSQUITO COAST and WITNESS. Clearly the man knows how to direct. In THE WAY BACK, a group of prisoners in a Siberian gulag escape and walk away, into the hard and harsh weather as they try to traverse the some 4000 miles toward freedom. This film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Makeup, but alas, did not win (THE WOLFMAN won!).

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

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
Documentary/Economics.
Directed by Nicole Torre.
* This film is a step inside liquid, oil, that is…As we get an up close view of the assorted players in the gigantic American oil game.

IF GOD IS WILLING AND DA CREEK DON’T RISE.
Documentary/HBO/Disaster.
Directed by Spike Lee.
* This four part documentary is a follow up to Lee’s powerful look at the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. Now, five years later, Lee returns to N’awlins to see how the rebuilding plans have gotten along.

SQUARE GROUPER: THE GODFATHERS OF GANGA.
Documentary/Drugs.
Directed by Billy Corben.
* From the dude who made COCAINE COWBOYS comes this portrayal of the 1970’s pot smuggling scene in Miami, Florida. Filled with humorous stories, frightening adventures and jolly lawbreakers, this is probably a good one to light up with on a chilly San Francisco night.

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

A MIND TO KILL: SERIES 3.
Television/BBC/Detective.

DETECTIVE MONTALBANO: EPISODES 10-12.
Television/Mystery/Foreign (Italian).
* Do you watch MONTALBANO? It is pretty much super fun. Set in Sicily and based on some great mystery novels by Andrea Camilleri, the action is more cerebral then explosive, and the scenery and dialogue are rich with the natural beauty of the region.

DETECTIVE MONTALBANO: EPISODES 13-15.
Television/Mystery/Foreign (Italian).

DOWNTON ABBEY: SEASON ONE.
Television/BBC/Drama.
Hugh Bonneville/Jessica Brown-Findlay.
* This dramatic costume series takes place around the turn of the century in pre-WWI England and centers on a wealthy family and their servants.

THE GOOD WIFE: THE FIRST SEASON.
Television/Drama.
Julianna Margulies/Chris Roth.
* The Golden Globe winning show (5 of them!) is about the wife of a scandalized politician who goes back to work as a litigator to provide for her family.

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

SWEETIE.
Criterion/Drama.
* Jane Campion’s 1989 tour de force!

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

CAPTAIN PLANET AND THE PLANETEERS: SEASON ONE.

SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BIG CHASE.

............//MOREMOREMORE/............

HERCULES.
* Turns out we already had this on DVD, but this little girl whose parents had a broken player wanted it so bad and was so bummed we didn’t have it on VHS that I immediately bought this copy so we wouldn’t disappoint her again…I’m such a softy…

****

****new release list no.315

Hey All, and a Happy Colette Day to you!

I was going to include a poem that I wrote and included in a card that Amy and I made and sent in celebration of this special holiday (that we created 15 years ago), but I got shy! So, I posted it on the website, and if you feel like reading it, you can click here. Or just scroll down if you are already reading this on the web.

On to the movies…COUNTRY STRONG is like the Gwyneth Paltrow version of last year’s CRAZY HEART…She is a messed-up, professional rehabber who is struggling to stay on tour and toe the line…but dang it, she just can’t quit her partying ways, or stem her feelings for tour mate Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund)…luckily, even during the powerful struggles, during the down times, during the bleak moments, she stays strong…country strong.

Who else stays strong? How about our little buddy, Harry Potter? And even perhaps his buddies Hermione and Ron. Sadly, Volde- I mean, He Who Must Not Be Named, still seems pretty damn strong, too. Country strong. Course that suckah has not been able to kill Harry yet, but not for lack of effort. In HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART ONE, he continues to give it the college try, but Harry continues to barely escape with his life. This 7th film is the very closest one yet to stay true to the flow of the book, which is why they had to make the film in two parts. I, for one, think it is the finest movie to date. The tension is thick, the fear and desperation is palpable, V-Diddy is as bad-ass as ever, and everyone who has been watching these movies for years is ready for serious action to go down! However, there is not a ton of action in this movie…Harry and friends spend much of their time wandering through the world, looking for horcruxes, without a solid plan, and with much friction between them. Basically, they are up Muggle-Creek without a wand. And until the next movie comes out, you are too!

HIGHWATER is a lush surfing documentary from the director of STEP INTO LIQUID.

There are also some new films from Claire Denis (WHITE MATERIAL), Francois Ozon (RICKY) and Michael Winterbottom (SUMMER IN GENOA) as well as the conclusive season of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: SEASON FIVE.

A couple neighborhood notes. First up, the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema is now taking entries for its 2011 season. Read all about it right here. The season will begin around Labor Day weekend.

The second thing I wanted to mention is a bit different. Anyone who has lived in Bernal for a while has noticed the bar Skip’s Tavern. Over the years, it has been a bit of a polarizing bar in the neighborhood. There have been some issues over the years, related to noise things that have mobilized a lot of people. Recently, a Bernal resident named Lisa Marie Delgadillo has been involved in trying to purchase Skip’s. She would like to clean it up and make it a nice place to have a drink and maybe listen to some acoustic music. She has lots of great ideas, a very positive outlook and seems to me to be exactly what the any neighborhood would look for in a local business owner. As a result of the problems that people have had with Skip’s over the years, Lisa is having a big uphill struggle to take ownership and begin all the awesome changes that she would like to implement. I, for one, support Lisa in her quest. Here at Four Star, I have some petitions that you could sign helping her show the proper authorities that she has the support of the some of the neighborhood. One of the petitions is one of full support; the other shows support for her taking over the bar without the entertainment permit. I really hope she gets the full Monty, because as a local musician myself, I would love to play sometimes to my friends and neighbors right on Cortland. Lisa also would be happy to talk with any of you about any concerns you might have and share her vision for the bar with you. Just leave her a note on one of these petitions, and she will get right in touch with you.

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

COUNTRY STRONG.****BD****
Drama/Music.
Gwyneth Paltrow/Leighton Meester/Tim McGraw/Garrett Hedlund.
Directed by Shana Feste.
* Country music is alive and kicking, at least on the silver screen. Following the success of CRAZY HEART, this film follows country star, Kelly Canter (Paltrow) as she tries for a big comeback while touring with new singer-star, Beau Hutton.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART ONE.****BD****
Adventure/Fantasy/Action.
Daniel Radcliffe/Rupert Grint/Emily Watson/Alan Rickman/Ralph Fiennes/Helena Bonham Carter.
Directed by David Yates.
* The penultimate film in the great series about good and evil in the land of wizards and muggles follows Harry on his final quest as he is searching for the horcruxes that Lord V-Diddy hid all over the world that will prevent him from dying completely, even without a body. Everyone recognizes at this point that it is kill or be killed for H-Pot, and Hermione and Ron are tagging along for the long ride. As they search far and wide the realization strikes them again and again that they don’t even know what they are looking for. Meanwhile, V-Tone and his evil henchmen (and women) are close behind and they certainly know what they are looking for. This film follows the book quite closely, and really matches the tone and anxiety of the tale. I give it four stars (out of four).

RICKY.
Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Foreign (French).
Directed by Francois Ozon.
* This little fable is about a couple of normal people who hook up and give birth to an apparent angel.

SUMMER IN GENOA.
Drama/Romance (Italian and English, the language – not the Romance).
Colin Firth/Hope Davis/Catherine Keener.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom.
* After their mother dies in a car accident, two daughters move with their father to Italy to rebuild their lives.
 
SUMMER LOVE.
Romance/Erotic.
Directed by Robert Crombie.

TiMER.
Rom-Com/Sci-Fi.
Emma Caufield.
Directed by Jac Schaeffer.
* The premise here has something to do with a device that is counting down til the moment you meet your soul mate.

WHITE MATERIAL.
Criterion/Drama/War/Foreign (French).
Isabelle Huppert/Christopher Lambert.
Directed by Claire Denis.
* As a civil war rages in a country in Africa, a white French family tries to saves its holdings as their world violently crumbles beneath their feet. It is a very clear indication when a film has its first release as a Criterion film that is one not to miss. This intense, disturbing but beautiful film is no different.

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

HIGHWATER.****BD****
Documentary/Surfing.
Directed by Dana Brown.
* The maker of DUST TO GLORY and STEP INTO LIQUID is back with an amazing surf documentary centered around surfing’s Triple Crown competitions. Featuring incredible surf footage and insider interviews, if you are a lover of a tubular trip into the green room then you must watch this film.

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

DOCTOR WHO: KINDA.
Television/BBC/Sci-Fi.

DOCTOR WHO: SNAKEDANCE.
Television/BBC/Sci-Fi.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: SEASON FIVE.
Television/Sports.
* The final season of one of the more popular television series over the last few years continues the story of a small Texas town obsessed with its High School musical, I mean football team.

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

LE CERCLE ROUGE.
Criterion/Crime/Drama/Thriller/Foreign (French).
* This 1970 Melville classic is about a thief, a killer, the mob and a kitty-cat loving cop.

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

THE GARFIELD SHOW V03: PRIVATE EYE VENTURES.

GO DIEGO GO: DIEGO SAVES THE WORLD.

MAX AND RUBY: RAINY DAY PLAY.

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

JUDGEMENT AT NURENBURG.
* Somehow, we never had this important film…

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

21 GRAMS.

MR. HOLLAND’S OPUS.

****

Colette Day!

Colette Day? Say what? I know, I know, another weirdo thing about the weirdo guy who runs Four Star Video…True. True.

I wrote a bit about Colette Day last year. What I didn’t mention was that Colette Day is named for an old friend Colette Harrington, who, among many other things, was one of those very amazing people who have an extremely strong sense of perspective and are able to see the silver lining under just about any conditions. Colette passed, tragically, many years ago, when we were young adults, but her spirit lives on in just about everyone who knew her, and, through Colette Day, in many who didn’t.

One thing I find so interesting about life is how we can just create reality, take power and choose our own adventure. I really recommend it! Obviously, we have certain…constructs that must be followed, certain parameters that are relatively set in stone – we must eat and sleep regularly, some sort of income must be generated, clothes have to be worn in public – but lots of other aspects of life are just open for our own interpretation. I try to never miss an opportunity to interpret. For me, Colette Day is a great realization of that opportunity. Each year, my wife Amy makes a beautiful piece of art and we send it as a card to many friends and family. We always encourage our friends to "assess their surroundings" and to "be happy with what you got!". It is a powerful message of hope and love that we are happy to share with everyone.

This year was the 15th year we have celebrated this holiday, and I wrote a poem that we put into the card...In the spirit of sharing the love (and not being embarrassed to have written a poem!), I am publishing it here for you to read and for me to share the love. Thanks for being in my life, in whatever way you are. Hey, this isn't our regular film release post, but that will come very soon. Much love! -Ken

A butterfly flapped its wings
in my heart and breathlessly
my eyes were raised to the light

Gifted love creates a wake – a selfless wave with mondo break
Crashing down and exponentially
expanding and expounding
on the little moments; alighting on a song, on a breeze,
on a memory, a favorite shirt.

The summer you tripped lightly through the rich atmosphere
of regular life wearing little but a
smile and that shirt.

and knew the commonality of pain
and felt the rusted barbs of individualism
and laughed with the sheerness of loneliness
and were made drunk by the wind
and shed tears for the yous you’d never be
and rubbed lotion on the callouses of responsibility
and struggled with peace & love & understanding
and celebrated the outcasts and unmanicured
and rough and ragged and illprepared
and hapless and not funny and the eyesores and
the secretly crippled and each of the moments
of every single minute of every single day until you padded
your heart and kept surviving right up until this very morning

Are you the kite and we the flyer? Or is it the opposite?

To me, it’s the string that matters. The hand must hold the string and
also
be lucky that nature doesn’t sever the connection between kite and string
(we have so many names for this).

With this card, sent to you –
year after year after year after year for what now is fifteen years –
we renew our vows to you as fellow passengers on this ride
as possible affecters of this experience
as lucid dreamers in this dream
as the owners of a car, the parent of a child
as breathers of air and drinkers of water; that
We will hold onto the string with every earned bit of strength until at last
our breath gives way to whatever it is our breath gives way to.

Until then, as tradition dictates, we’ll assess our surroundings.
And we’ll find happiness with what we’ve got and share it with you and hopefully you’ll share it with all of your yous…

Because, a butterfly once flapped its wings and look at what happened.

Happy Colette Day people!

****new release list no.314

Ich grüße Sie, meine deutschen Brüder und Schwestern! Vielen Dank fürs Lesen!

Lots of interesting films this week, good stuff for the parents, good stuff for the kids.

Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey play jailbird lovers in I LOVE YOU, PHILLIP MORRIS. Carrey’s character Russell will go to great lengths to spring his man from jail.

TRON: LEGACY is the sequel 28 years later to 1982’s TRON. Jeff Bridges is back as Kevin Flynn, the computer genius who envisions a world inside “the grid” where humanity can evolve and life can be beautiful. Sadly, things went quite wrong in that there grid, and now many years later, Kevin’s son Sam enters the digital word looking to find his father and bring him back to analogville.

LITTLE FOCKERS continues the endless focking saga of the focking Focker family. Ben Stiller and Robert de Niro lead an all-star cast in this goofy situation comedy.

THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER is the latest in the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA series…Lucy and Edmund join Prince Caspian in an aqua adventure on the seas…The heavy duty religious vibe is pretty unavoidable in this one, as Aslan pretty much makes his messianic presence known.

There is also a batch of cool docs, and a nice bunch of older films newly released on Blu-ray. Scroll down for details!

As some of you know, my wife, Amy Shelf, is an estate planning attorney. In addition to her traditional law practice, Amy has developed an innovative way of helping people put together basic estate plans in a group setting for a price that can't be beat. These Workshops make the whole process more accessible and easy to finish - you leave the Workshop with a completed Will, Power of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directive.

Amy is hosting one of these "Panic-Free Estate Planning Workshops" on Saturday, April 16 at Recess Urban Recreation in Potrero Hill. This will be her last scheduled Workshop until the fall, and there are spaces available. To read more about the Workshops go here. You can also sign up online using the link available on that page. If you want to read testimonials from happy (and relieved) Workshop participants, you can go here.

Hey by the way, did you see that Succulence (our sister store) got a nice little write up in Sunset Magazine! Holy cow, right? Pretty exciting news for us. Check it out (page 28 in the April edition).

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

Love and Kisses,
Ken

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

CASINO JACK.
Crime/Politic/Comedy.
Kevin Spacey/Barry Pepper.
Directed by George Hickenlooper.
* Hickenlooper, who brought us THE MAYOR OF SUNSET STRIP and FACTORY GIRL among others, sadly, died last October after making this film. I am not sure how he died, but I guess it is a sign of the times that I am not surprised that something happened to him. After all, this film is about the rise and spectacular fall of Jack Abramoff, super lobbyist to the rich and republican. Spacey excels in his role as the smug Jack, and Pepper does more than his share as his right hand man. Sadly, Jon Lovitz is in this film, too.

I LOVE YOU, PHILLIP MORRIS.****BD****
Drama/Romance/Comedy.
Jim Carrey/Ewan McGregor/Leslie Mann.
Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.
* Jim Carrey is Russell, a heterosexually married cop who decides to throw his carefully constructed life away and accept his homosexuality, which leads him to Miami where he begins to live the good life. Which leads him to crime, to pay for the good life. Which leads him to jail, where eventually, destiny’s hand leads him to the heart of Phillip Morris (McGregor). Russell, who has shown a deep wild streak by then, goes way overboard as he refuses to be separated from his lovey-dovey and will do anything – ANYTHING – to stay together. The laws he breaks are many, and in fact it is hard to stay fully sympathetic to his plight. Ah, but McGregor and Carrey make a sweet couple, and it is enjoyable to watch this mainstream outlaw couple movie about a couple a guys. Not quite as exciting as THE FLUFFER, but with more star power.

LITTLE FOCKERS.****BD****
Comedy/Romance.
Ben Stiller/Robert de Niro/Owen Wilson/Dustin Hoffman/Barbara Streisand/Blythe Danner/Jessica Alba/Laura Dern/Other Fockers.
Directed by Paul Weitz.
* Ah, those little focking fockers. They just keep focking making these movies. They can’t focking stop themselves. It’s like they’re focking blinded by all the focking money they know they can make, no matter how focking stupid the movie might be…Not saying this focking movie is stupid, truth be told, I don’t focking know. But I think these movies are like one long focking episode of THREE’S focking COMPANY over and over again, with a moment of confusion leading to suspicion then to anger and eventually a grudging respect…over and focking over again and again. Ah, fock it. I bought 12 copies, so I guess I focking hope you’ll focking rent it.
 
TAQWACORES.
Drama.
Directed by Eyad Zahra.
* The Muslim life in American can be very hard for a young student from Pakistan. Yusef, living in Buffalo while attending engineering school, moves in with a very interesting household. By day, righteous religious prayer fills the living room, but by night, the house becomes a den of hard-cord Muslim Punk rock with non-stop parties that force Yusef to question everything he believes in.

TRON: LEGACY.****BD****
Sci-Fi.
Jeff Bridges.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski.
* You probably don’t want my opinion about this one. Just a short suggestion, if you are having trouble with the story or dialogue, turn the sound down and put on the soundtrack to ALICE IN WONDERLAND, they match almost perfectly. No, seriously, though, the images are awesome and there is a certain flavor from the original TRON (made 29 years ago!!!) that lingers, but they basically are cashing in on our memories with this one. If I had made this movie, it would have had the lowest end special effects and almost no dialogue.

THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER: CHRONICLES OF NARNIA.****BD****
Adventure/Fantasy.
Skandar Keynes/George Henley/Ben Barnes/Will Poulter/Tilda Swinton.
Directed by Michael Apted.
* The third movie in the Chonic (what?)cles of Narnia involves Edmund and Lucy and good old Prince Caspian and a daring trip across the waters on the royal ship, The Dawn Treader. I remember this as my favorite book in the series, but I can’t really remember why.

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

AFTER THE STORM.
Documentary/Musical Theatre.
Directed by Hilla Medalia.
* Post-Hurricane Katrina, a group of Broadway actors from NY headed down to New Orleans to help local teens by putting on a production with them. This documentary follows their efforts.

AMERICAN JIHADIST.
Documentary/Jihad.
Directed by Mark Claywell and Jody Jenkins.
* From the Amazon product description: American soldier. Family man. Jihadist. Isa Abdullah Ali is a person of many identities and contradictions, but in the beginning, he was a bullied young boy growing up in America s capital. At fifteen he joined the American army, and as a young man he converted to Islam and fought alongside the Amal militia and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Though the details of his past are murky, Isa claims to have killed more than 150 people in the fight to defend his faith. Through Isa s own words and those of family members, psychologists and political experts, this award-winning documentary attempts to decode the social and personal influences that can lead an individual down a path to radicalism. American Jihadist reaches beyond easy labels to grasp the nuances behind one man s decision to fight and kill for his religion

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

A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
* This 2001 Spielberg film about a little robot who wants to be real probably looks pretty amazing on the high-def.

THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT.
* 1996 action flick starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson.

MYSTIC PIZZA.
* Lili Taylor, Julia Roberts and Annabeth Gish had big early roles in their careers starring in this 1988 coming of age story set in Mystic, Connecticut.

TRON.
* This is the original one, that we had such a crazy waiting list for a few months ago...

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

CHUGGINGTON: CHUGGERS TO THE RESCUE.

SESAME STREET: WILD WORDS AND OUTDOOR ADVENTURES.

............//MOREMOREMORE/............

TRON.
* I know, right…a little late for the mad rush…Ah, well, it was $150 on Amazon five months ago, in anticipation of this new edition…

****