5. DOCUMENTARY
Burma VJ: TBA The Cove: In Store Food Inc: In Store
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers: TBA
Which Way Home: TBA
6. FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
(of course, all of these are "to be announced", but Broken Embraces with Penelope Cruz was nominated for a Golden Globe an will be out on dvd March 16)
Ajami, Israel: TBA
El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Argentina: TBA
The Milk of Sorrow, Peru: TBA
Un Prophète, France: TBA
These Belgian boys are it right now. Their lastest film Lorna's Silence won the best screenplay at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, and their list of awards and accolades goes on and on. Remember last year's Oscar contender The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky? Well, that movie was very Dardenne-esque and many film critics lamented the fact that Aronofsky, not the Dardenne brothers, directed that film (cause you know that's how film critics can be). Ordinary people in desperate situations - a lot of times people without much of a moral backbone - that tends to be the fodder of the Dardenne brothers. Check out all their titles we have at citizen to get a more full bodied flavor.
This man is absolutely nuts (and he often makes movies about people that are pretty, um, driven). Citizen definitely has enough Herzog titles to fill up your week. Herzog may have made his biggest splash here in the States with Grizzly Man, but you can check out everything from his short film about a long distance sky jumper / wood whittler to Even Dwarfs Started Small to Heart of Glass (the movie in which his entire cast acted while hypnotized). Herzog movies are so fun it's worth watching them twice. Once just for the movie and the second time with the director commentary on (for dvds where this feature is an option like Aguirre: The Wrath of God).
His film Broken Embraces with a platinum blonde Penelope Cruz will most likely be up for the Academy's Best Foreign Film this year. But his early films were definitely not the stuff for the Academy. Check out Matador,Kika, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown to get a taste for early Almodovar. And then compare it to his more recent entries Volver and Bad Education.
The Academy still won't go anywhere near a Haneke film. And I have to admit, I threw in Herzog and Almodovar after the Dardenne Brothers because watching a diet of Dardenne and Haneke would be its own depressing kind of tidal wave. Haneke's most recent film - The White Ribbon - uses the sinister nature of a small German town to foreshadow the advent of Nazism. This just goes to show that Haneke doesn't go after light topics. He is often looking at the soul of man and society and diagnosing the disease his finds there. While his topics aren't exactly cheery, he must be applauded for his inventive approaches. In the words of film critic, A.O. Scott of the New York Times, "Mr. Haneke, born in 1942 and perhaps the most lauded living European filmmaker with a surname other than Dardenne, traffics in shock and terror, but in a cerebral, systematic way. His films rarely foreshadow their jolts or speed up their plots to generate suspense, but rather proceed, with almost meditative calm, to weave a cocoon of dread around intimations of mystery and implications of violence."
I had to throw Jane Campion in here because - well - for one, she's still making movies (several NY Times critics feel her Bright Star should be up for an Academy award), and two, I don't feel like enough people have seen her movie Sweetie, while everyone and their momma has seen The Piano. Sweetie on dvd is even more spectacular by its virtue of containing several early short films by Campion (films entirely worth watching, one winning an award at Cannes). Another favorite is Angel at My Table. Now if someone would re-release The Portrait of a Lady (used copies start at $40 and new copies go for as much as $130)
*as a bonus (okay, I'm cheating here by adding an extra), check out Carlos Reygadas for one of filmmaking's newest gems. Reygadas' films are few but each one a truely original vision. He is definitely for the foreign film lover though.... someone you are ready to spend a long rainy, quiet afternoon with. Silent Light, in particular, was a favorite of local film critic Duncan Shepherd and played at last year's San Diego Hispanic Film Festival.
CONFESSIONS OF AN INDEPENDENT VIDEO STORE OWNER (AKA WHAT I WATCHED OVER THE HOLIDAYS)
For one of the first year's ever, we were able to hunker down with some quality cinema at home. I must admit first on our list was The Big Lebowski. It's one that's worth revisiting again and again. On that same vein, for Christmas Day I picked out Annie Hall since my betrothed had never seen it. It's worth it even for all the cameos - Christopher Walken doing "pyscho" as only he can and Jeff Goldblum in a desperate call to his guru (I've forgotten my mantra). From there we moved onto some classics. All About Eve is on so many film critics' top ten lists that I knew I should become acquainted with it. The movie and performances definitely stand up even to modern cinema. And geez, did they know how to write dialogue back then when the world was only black and white. I absconded Death of a Cyclist before I put it up on the shelves and came up with - I thought - a fantastic marketing idea. To show it at Velo Cult in conjunction with a sale on helmets. The concept was not met with much enthusiasm, however the film is great. Finally, we finished up the new year with a couple of Hitchcock's. Inspired by a recent NPR program. We checked out Shadow of a Doubt, reportedly Hitchcock's favorite film. It was the first film he shot in the United States, in Santa Rosa. It may not be the nightmare fodder of today's horror flicks, but it has an awesome cast and great story. And finally, The Birds, which impresses even with its low-fi technical effects.
Moving onto what's new in-store: District 9 is probably the hottest new title to hit the shelves, a science fiction movie with a bit of a different slant. Instead of what would aliens do to *us* when if they discovered earth, this film explores what we would do to *them*. Also on the shelves last week, don't miss Trucker (which is reported to possibly receive an Oscar nod for best actress), and Lorna's Silence the newest movie by the Dardenne Brothers (this Belgian duo is one of the hottest items in foreign cinema. Lorna's Silence won best screenplay at Cannes in 2008). We're also keeping on top of new indie films by stocking the next two issues of Wholphin. This week's titles include: The Hurt Locker,Moon and The Brothers Bloom. Starring Adrien Brody and taking place in New Jersey and St Petersburg (too very cool locations), The Brothers Bloom is the second film by director Rian Johnson (Brick).
DECEMBER 29, 2009
MAX'S TOP 10 OVERLOOKED TITLES AT CITIZEN VIDEO
This year is winding down to a close. Finish it out with a bang by watching a great film. Rather than relying on a computer generated "if you like this movie..." list, check out our lovingly curated list of overlooked films, by the one and only Maximillian.
And for another entertaining recommendation, check out the Steady Diet of Film podcast of THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE and find out why Cathy de La Cruz feels the film is like getting a deep tissue massage after drinking kambucha. This film by Rebecca Miller isn't getting the attention it deserves.
DECEMBER 24, 2009
Check out our holiday hours and our photos from the Eve Before the Eve party last night at the Whistle Stop where we raised money for the Lindsay School's pregnant and parenting teens. Thanks to all of you who stopped by the store and donated gifts, whoever you are out there. They were very appreciated.
HOLIDAY HOURS
Thursday: Noon to 6pm; Friday: CLOSED; Saturday: Noon to 10pm; Sunday: Noon to 10pm
holly with michelle houle, teacher at the lindsay school and citizen video member
craig from citizen with michelle
dave brown of holiday matinee with michelle
holly shamelessly promoting the holiday matinee book "i swear to good you are god at this."
EVE BEFORE THE EVE PARTY
DECEMBER 23RD, 6PM-9PM
WHISTLE STO P BAR
Don't miss a great excuse to drink and do something good at the same time. Join us this Wednesday, December 23rd from 6pm to 9pm at the Whistle Stop where we'll be grooving to the dj sounds of Holiday Matinee and Dirty Needless. One dollar from every beverage of holiday cheer will go to the Lindsay Community School for pregnant and parenting teens and their children. The more people you bring with you to drink, the more good you do.
HOLIDAY HOURS
Tuesday: Noon to 9pm
Wednesday: Noon to 9pm
Thursday: Noon to 6pm Friday: CLOSED Saturday: Noon to 10pm Sunday: Noon to 10pm
DECEMBER 12, 2009
Don't miss our screening of A Christmas Tale, Sunday December 27th at 4pm at the Whistle Stop.
Despite the longest sleep stretch we've had in the past month is 2 hours, we were mesmerized and endeared by this film. It is a gem worth viewing and the perfect movie if you are visiting with family this season. It's a bit like The Royal Tenenbaums without the irony (although, honestly, it is more often likened to Fanny and Alexander). A sweeping French family melodrama, its central subject - the Vuillard family - have much in common with the Tenenbaums. They have a fantastic matriarch, this time Catherine Deneuve instead than Angelica Houston. They have a family member suffering from cancer (the reason for their reunion). They have a morose blonde sister. And they have a couple of lovable but undeniably dysfunctional brothers. It's all set to a great soundtrack, albeit not very Anderson-esque. This one contains Irish gigs, classical, and French hip hop. With all this in common with the Tenenbaums, it is, at the same time, nothing like it at all. The director - Arnaud Desplechin - has his very own style, his tone light, his characters full, and the scenes very improvised-feeling despite his intense scripting. It's so good, that we may just get a baby sitter and sidle up to the bar and our favorite WS bartender.
DECEMBER 7, 2009
San Diego's version of winter has officially hit. It's time to curl up with movies worth watching and there's quite a few being released this week. Julie & Julia may well be one of this season's most popular releases, but we have plenty of other titles that will fill you with all sorts of spirit - holiday and otherwise.
If you want holiday spirit, I'd say check out the French A Christmas Tale, which stars Catherin Denueve and was in theaters last winter.
If it's the spirt of art and culture, we have two great releases this week. Beautiful Losers chronicles the transformation of DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip-hop & graffiti into its own art genre. Anvil: The Story of Anvil takes a more lighthearted look at some other beautiful losers who made rock and roll. This story of the Canadian metal band follows some singers that are all heart. It's what kept them going when they played before 174 people in a 10,000 capacity venue (in Transylvania, yet), as well as through many other set backs that would send most of us back to our day jobs.
Finally, if you're looking for just spirit - straight up - check out Unmistaken Child.This 4-year-search for the reincarnation of Lama Konchog, a world-renowned Tibetan master who passed away in 2001 at age 84 - will awe and inspire you to reflect upon those powers that are bigger than all of us.
NOV 18, 2009
If you keep tabs on our "New In Store Column" on our website, you can see a lot of the big name titles that are coming your way soon. But there's also a host of smaller stuff that will be making it to our shelves this month. A couple of the titles are by one of my favorite distributors Oscilloscope Laboratories. They include Unmistaken Child and The Exiles. Unmistaken Child follows a 4-year-search for the reincarnation of Lama Konchog, a world-renowned Tibetan master who passed away in 2001 at age 84. Tenzin Zopa, a disciple of the Dalai Lama, travels on foot, mule and even in helicopter to remote villages where he interviews children and eventually presents his chosen one to the Dalai Lama. The Exiles is a film from 1961 that has finally been released on dvd. A one of a kind film, THE EXILES chronicles one night in the lives of young Native American men and women living in the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles. A formally wealthy neighborhood of decayed Victorian mansions and skid-row apartment buildings. Look for these titles on our shelves soon and keep on top of those titles that we work to unearth for you.
NOV 11, 2009
Just watched the Criterion release of Stephen Frear's THE HIT, a sly 80's gangster flick shot in Spain. The Criterion liner notes comment on the many future films and directors that borrowed from this little gem (most notably Sexy Beast, another great gangster flick shot in Spain but with some wonderful music video inspired moments by director Jonathon Glazer). However, being a female film watcher what impressed me about this flick was the unmentioned (at least in the liner notes) performance of Laura del Sol. Del Sol bites, scratches, and kicks her way out of gangster harm's way in a way that I haven't seen repeated on the screen except for Patricia Arquette's performance in True Romance (some of which was reportedly edited out of Hollywood Video's release of the dvd). Del Sol doesn't play the smartest study of the group, but she does play the fiercest. While Terence Stamp's character waxes philosophic about how he's ready for and accepting of his impending death (his gangster past has caught up with him), del Sol's character fights for her life with gumption. There are many other reasons to check out this film besides del Sol's performance. If you are searching for some solid filmmaking entertainment, this should be the next one on your list.
