Happy New Year!
NEW RELEASES:
(500) Days of Summer: This new pseudo-indie comedy starring pseudo-indie goddess, Zooey Deschanel, is too cute for it's own good. I've never really fallen in love before, but I'd like to think that falling in love is like this movie. If you want to know what love is, this movie will show you.
District 9: This movie had some pretty intense marketing before it hit the streets. I remember seeing those bus ads with a toll free number. I was actually one of the losers who called the number on the ads only to be dissapointed with a lame pre-recorded message. The ad rubbed me in the wrong way and I passed on watching this. Now I regret it after hearing from everyone how awesome it is. It was filmed in South Africa and apparently features some pretty out there special effects, too.
The Hurt Locker: This movie was nearly too intense. In fact, it put so much stress on me, I developed an ulcer in the middle of the film. But it is only the sixth film to do this to me this year, so it gets my seal of approval. Besides, it makes you fortunate that we're stuck in Los Angeles where our biggest problem is heavy traffic in the 110 freeway.
It Might Get Loud: Jimmy Page, the AARP's greatest guitar player, The Edge, still playing the same guitar riff of the last twenty years, and Jack White, looking paler than ever, get together for an hour and a half jam session. Is it good? Yes. Yes it is.
Jennifer's Body: Megan Fox stars as a cheer leader who's eating her fellow students. Plus, it's written by Diablo Cody so expect everyone in this film to speak like Diablo Cody. Also, interesting fact, the Wikipedia article for this film is longer than the Wikipedia article for cannibalism.
Moon: An amalgamation of sci-fi cinematic history and directed by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones (a.k.a. Zowie Bowie), was pretty neat. I can't really say much about this without ruining it, but you must see it for yourself. One of my favorite things is the lack of CGI effects and a return to classic sci-fi days with models.
OTHER NEW RELEASES AND NEW INVENTORY FOR THIS WEEK:
Big Fan (Patton Oswalt)
The Burning Plain
Death in the Garden (Dir. Luis Bunuel)
Departures (Academy Award 2009 for Best Foreign Language Picture)
Downloading Nancy (Indie)
Fame (09)
Halloween II (09)
The Invention of Lyin (Ricky Gervais)
I Can Do Bad All By My Self
In the Loop
Yo Gabba Gabba! New Friends
No Impact Man
Post Grad
Smoking Aces 2: Assassin's Bay
The United States of Tara S.1
Weeds S.5
Region One Imports:
27 Missing Kisses
About the Looking and Finding for Love
The Accompanist (Dir. Claude Miller)
Bebo's Girls
Before the Revolution (Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci)
Caught (Dir. Max Ophuls)
Cul-de-sac (Dir. Roman Polanski)
Hotel Du Nord
Journey to Italy (Dir. Roberto Rossellini
The Lady of Musashino (Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi)
L'air de Paris
Le Silence de la Mer
Letters from and Unknown Woman (Dir. Max Ophuls)
Madame Claude
Mariage of Romeo & Juliet
Marianne of My Youth
Miracle in Milan (Dir. Vittorio De Sica)
My New Partner
Red Sun (Charles Bronson, Alain Delon and Toshiro Mifune)
The Tarnished Angeles (Dir. Douglas Sirk)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Dir. Elia Kazan)
Viva Zapata (Dir. Eliza Kazan and starring Marlon Brando)
More Warner Archive:
Bright Leaf
Deep Valley
Every Girl Should Be Married
The Hard Way
A Lady of Chance
The Little Drummer Girl
One Sunday Afternoon
One Trick Pony (Paul Simon)
Operator 13
Saratoga Trunk
Task Force
Then Came Bronson
Today We Live
Untamed Youth
Wild Orchids
RECOMMENDED SECTIONS:
Eric Rohmer 1920-2010: Grand old man of cinema, Eric Rohmer, has passed on at the age of 89. We can't say he didn't live a full life as he was fortunate to keep up an active working career til the end. With almost thirty films under his name and several shorts, Eric Rohmer left behind a substantial body of work. In dedication, we have a small section dedicated to his contributions to cinema such as his splendid Six Moral Tales ("The Bakery Girl of Monceau", "Suzanne's Career", "La Collectionneuse", "My Night at Maud's", "Claire's Knee", & "Chloe in the Afternoon"), "Pauline at the Beach", and "Rendez-vous in Paris".
Import and Rarity Corner: We've tracked down some great titles unavailable on these shores. Don't miss classics like Marcle Carne's "Hotel du Nord", Elia Kazan's "Viva Zapata", and Robert Rossellini's "Voyage to Italy" for starters, plus a stash of amazing work from Polanski, Melville, Ophuls, Mizoguchi, Bertolucci and more! Help yourself to some long lost cult titles like "Rolling Thunder ('77)", "The Legend of Billie Jean", and "Rad", too.
Sherlock Holmes: Did Guy Ritchie's re-imagining of the Sherlock Holmes tales in the form of a buddy cop movie (with a thin Watson) offend you? With our new section, you can remember who Sherlock Holmes was via the 80s BBC Jeremy Brett version, the serious Basil Rathbone serials, and even a fun parody with Gene Wilder, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother".
BLOG PIC OF THE WEEK:
Forty Guns: This cried out for my attention the moment I saw it was directed by Samuel Fuller and starring the beautiful and enduring Barbara Stanwyck. What you get is another great Fuller film filled with subversive dark humor (a lot of overtly sexual ones I was surprised made it past the censors), gritty action and a tough female that puts all the men in their place. One of the best Hollywood westerns and worth it just to see Barbara Stanwyck in cute outfits, surviving a tornado, and Barry Sullivan as an asexual cowboy. Not my favorite Samuel Fuller, but it's still amazing to think a film like this could've been made in the studio system.
Ciao:
I'm done for the week
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Look at poor RV. He has to do actually physical labor while I stand here like a slob updating a website...MORAL OF THE WEEK:
Don't ignore your blog for a few weeks.
Oh, Barbara Stanwyck, how could they ever censor you?
ReplyDeleteGlad to read the blog is back.
Ummm..., does this blog have multiple bloggers?
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a stark difference in style in some posts. It would be great to see the Videotheque staff using their own names or use blogging names.
Some older posts changed too? I noticed when I showed a co-worker the blog.
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It's actually not surprising that "40 Guns" made it into the studio system. There are actually many great Western Films, but the stigma of kitsiness and corny diaologe can sometimes keep people away.