RoosterFlix DVD Picks for December 30th

UGH. Another horribly slow week. Hopefully the start of 2009 will pick things up a bit.

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Towelhead (2007)
dir. Alan Ball

Alan Ball's most recent show on HBO, True Blood, lost my interest within the first two episodes...however, I really love some of his past work like American Beauty and Six Feet Under. I haven't seen this yet, but I'll probably watch it soon.

Product Decsription:
Haunting and moving, Alan Ball's directorial debut, Towelhead, settles around the viewer for hours, days, afterward, as its delicate layers unfold. Ball, the screenwriter of American Beauty and the creator of HBO's splendid Six Feet Under, revisits some familiar territory here, yet bestows grace upon even his most flawed characters. The film follows the life of 13-year-old Jasira (Summer Bishil), quiet and compliant, who's shuttled between an uncaring American-born mom and a strict, bigoted Lebanese-American dad (Peter Macdissi). When she goes to Houston to live with her father, Jasira starts babysitting for a bratty neighbor kid, whose dad (Aaron Eckhart) takes an unnatural interest in the girl. A new classmate, Tommy, also desires the eighth grader, and one begins to feel Jasira's whole world is a predatory nightmare. Yet the film, while uncomfortable at times to watch, manages to provoke without appalling. Young Jasira is exploring her own sexual awakening, secretly (with echoes of American Beauty), and so desires adult attention that she tiptoes into a flirtation with Eckhart's character, Mr. Vuoso--who is undeniably creepy, yet Eckhart's performance gives Vuoso a begrudging sympathy, no small feat. It's the film's achievement that characters the viewer should be repulsed by--the harsh, overbearing dad; the pervy Mr. Vuoso--have more than a shred of humanity. And luckily for young Jasira, another neighbor, played by Toni Collette, takes her under her wing--and there's almost a palpable sigh of relief when she does. And the script is shot through with humor, which doesn't exactly leaven the intense subject matter, but provides some lightness. When Jasira gets her first period, uptight dad takes her shopping for sanitary pads (no! tampons! ever!), and in the harsh light of the drugstore asks the mortified girl, "Would you describe your situation as Light, Medium, or Heavy?" Bishil is a lovely new discovery, like Thora Birch or Wes Bentley of Beauty, and stays true to herself while the adults around her--with the exception of Collette's Melina--let her down, or worse. The cinematography, draped in shadows, underscores Jasira's unstated plea: See me. Notice me. Care about me. --A.T. Hurley

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An American Carol (2008)
dir. David Zucker

This looks like hot fucking garbage, but Zucker has written & directed some of my all-time favorite comedies. No, not Scary Movie 3 & 4.

Product Decsription:
From David Zucker, the director of The Naked Gun and Airplane! comes a bare-knuckle comedy where no one is safe from the onslaught of lunacy. When obnoxious Hollywood director Michael Malone organizes a Ban the 4th of July campaign, his efforts are upended by a gang of spirits from America s past. Zucker roasts a herd of sacred cows in this latest parody featuring an all-star cast.

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Hellbound: Hellraiser II - 20th Anniversary Edition (1988)
dir. Tony Randel

Product Decsription:
In 1988, it emerged as the shocking follow-up to the film that redefined the face of horror. Two decades later, it remains the most brutally original sequel in horror film history. Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence and Kenneth Cranham co-star in this hit sequel from executive producer Clive Barker that experiences the flesh like no other. The time to play has come again: Surrender yourself to the infernal labyrinth of hellbound: Hellraiser II – The 20th Anniversary Edition.

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The Brave Archer (1978)
dir. Chang Cheh

Product Decsription:
Starring Alexander Fu Sheng stars as hero Guo Jing and Tanny Tian as Huang Rong adventures before their planned marriage. With old feuds and new allies, this is one of the most beloved stories written by Jin Yong and considered one of the most important in Chinese modern literature. Alexander Fu, who was a rising star and beloved actor of Cheng at the time, was tragically killed in a car crash aged 29, and this film captured his amazing star quality before his untimely death.

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Surfer, Dude (2008)
dir. S.R. Bindler

Matthew McConaughey IS Matthew McConaughey IN a Matthew McConaughey production OF Matthew McConaughey: The Movie

Product Decsription:
It’s hard to say just what the target audience for Surfer, Dude is. Maybe surfers--except that since the storyline involves one of the longest big wave droughts in Malibu history, there’s actually precious little surfing to be seen. Probably stoners--not only does the cast include noted herbivores Willie Nelson and Woody Harrelson, but many of the rest of the actors are rarely, if ever, seen without a joint dangling from their mouths. Definitely Matthew McConaughey fans, especially the female kind--as pro surfer icon Steve Addington, McConaughey spends approximately 99% of the movie shirtless. Slight but entertaining, director/co-writer S.R. Bindler’s film finds Addington returning to SoCal following a six-month surfing tour of the world. He soon finds out that things have changed. He still has his manager (Harrelson), but smarmy new sponsor Eddie Zarno (Jeffrey Nordling) wants Steve to appear in a reality TV show and be the model for “Free Surfer,” Zarno’s new “first person immersion video game.” But Steve’s not into it, brah. All he wants to do is surf, get high, and chase women, but when the former dries up for months on end, he decides to forego the other two until the waves return. Meanwhile, the dastardly Zarno re-edits some interview footage to make Addington look bad, whereupon Zarno’s cute East Coast assistant (Alexie Gilmore) quits and takes up with Steve, who plots (sort of) his revenge against the bad guy. It’s all pretty flimsy, occasionally amusing, filled with soft-core female nudity and, you know, like, stoked. --Sam Graham

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Internet Dating (2008)
dir. Master P

I'd probably go crazy too if I was at a point in my career where I was starring in movies directed by Master P.

Product Decsription:
Lonely and looking for some action, Mikey (Williams) creates an internet dating profile, describing himself as a 7 foot tall Lakers player. The ladies love him online, but they get a rude awakening when a 5 foot tall, broke, burger flipping, bicycle riding Mikey shows up at their front doors. And are the girls anything like they say they are?
All he wanted was to meet the right girl. What he got was an online roller coaster.

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RoosterFlix DVD Picks for December 23rd

It's an incredibly slow week thanks to Christmas, so I'm just gonna make this short and (not really) sweet.

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Ghost Town (2008)
dir. David Koepp

Product Decsription:
Ricky Gervais is brilliant in Ghost Town, playing an unnervingly rude dentist, Bertram, who dies for a few minutes during surgery and acquires the unwanted ability to see ghosts. Chased throughout Manhattan by a gaggle of restless spirits begging him to take care of their unfinished business on Earth, Bertram turns them all away except Frank (Greg Kinnear). The latter, a rogue who cheated on his archaeologist widow, Gwen (Téa Leoni), wants Bertram to intervene in a romance between Gwen and a starchy activist (Bill Campbell). Misanthropic Bertram has to polish his relationship patter, but ends up sounding a lot like Gervais' infamous character in the original The Office, unable to complete a sentence without making others uncomfortable. In time, of course, Bertram falls for the wonderful Gwen, setting up a bunch of overlapping conflicts. Cowritten and directed by David Koepp (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Ghost Town walks a fine line between comic freshness and a story idea with elements that have become overly familiar in movies and on television. Kinnear and Leoni have never been better on screen, but Ghost Town is well worth seeing because no one like Gervais has previously played the hapless hero in a high-concept film such as this one. With Gervais doing his familiar, hilariously discomfiting thing, it really doesn't matter what kind of movie Ghost Town is. Happily, it's a pretty good film in every respect. --Tom Keogh

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Eagle Eye (2008)
dir. D.J. Caruso

Product Decsription:
The "cell phone thriller" is becoming a genre unto itself, and Eagle Eye should be considered a key example of the form. Frankly preposterous but compulsively watchable, this movie puts Shia LaBeouf in a mess of trouble instigated by a mysterious telephone voice. If he doesn't follow orders, dire things will happen--although when he does follow orders, the consequences are pretty dire, anyway. Also being blackmailed is a single mom (Michelle Monaghan) receiving similar phone calls. Why are they being jerked around by the purring female voice, and why is the road leading to Washington, D.C.? Actually, you won't have time to contemplate these questions, because director D.J. Caruso (who guided LaBeouf in Disturbia) keeps the action going at the customary breakneck pace. This is a wise move, because the real questions you'd likely be asking have to do with the plausibility of events on a minute-by-minute basis (most notably: how could Mysterious Phone Voice possibly know that the two pigeons would survive the hoops she makes them fly through, each one more death-defying than the last?). The actors tumble through this mayhem like scattering bowling pins, including Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson as government agents. Nobody has time to make much of an impression, and LaBeouf has much less room for puppydog charm than he did in Disturbia. Even that would be all right within the movie's berserk parameters, but the really irritating thing is the way the tacked-on final scenes reverse what would have been a heroic climax. No guts, no glory. --Robert Horton

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The Duchess (2008)
dir. Saul Dibb

Product Decsription:
Swaddled in whalebone and wigs, Keira Knightley steps into the restricted world of the Duchess of Devonshire, a royal lady popular with her subjects but stuck in an unhappy marriage. If this situation recalls Princess Diana (a descendent of the Duchess's family), so much the better for the purposes of director Saul Dibb and company; this film is eager to draw parallels with the unfortunate Lady Di, even if she is never directly mentioned. Knightley's unsuspecting girl is married off to the Duke (Ralph Fiennes), a distracted jerk who craves male sons, and obviously has never thought of women as anything other than a means to achieve an heir. When the Duchess launches her procreative career with a couple of daughters, well, the Duke begins to get nervous--and partners outside the marriage become increasingly appealing. The Duchess serves up lavish portions of Brit-movie staples: costumes (which, in Knightley's case, are nothing short of spectacular), landscapes,! and gorgeous music (by Rachel Portman). If it falls short in some vague way, perhaps it's because the film is a mostly one-note affair, meaning exactly what it seems to mean at every moment. Charlotte Rampling appears too briefly as Knightley's mother, and Dominic Cooper and Hayley Atwell (from Brideshead Revisited), rising stars both, contribute attractive lures for the principals. They prove the old movie adage: there's a lot to be said for eye candy. --Robert Horton

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Savage Grace (2007)
dir. Tom Kalin

Product Decsription:
Set across a stunning backdrop ranging from New York to Paris to Cadaqués, Savage Grace is the incredible true story of a scandal that even today remains shocking. The beautiful Barbara Daly (Academy Award-nominee Julianne Moore; The Hours, Boogie Nights) marries above her social class to the dashing heir of the Bakelite plastics fortune, Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane of the HBO miniseries "John Adams"). The birth of the couple's only child, Tony (Eddie Redmayne of The Good Shepard), intensifies the already volatile marriage. As Tony matures, he becomes an unwilling pawn in the psychosexual games of his parents, and the seeds for a tragedy of spectacular decadence are sown which challenge even the most shocking taboos. Tom kalin's (Swoon) return to cinema has dazzled and stunned audiences from the Cannes to the Sundance Film Festivals.

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Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman, Vol. 5-8 (1964)
dir. Kenji Misumi

Product Decsription:
The opening scene places Zatoichi on a boat with a group of Samurai, who decide to hunt down Ichi after he slashes one of them. Within a few moments there is a heated band of Samurai demanding revenge, but a mysterious one-armed swordsman Yoshiro (Kenzaburo Joh) steps in and maims many of the swordsmen. Ichi's problems really begin when he is recruited to massage the lord at the House of Kuroda. The lord has a 'condition' (he seems insane), and they decide that Zatoichi must be killed so this secret cannot spread. Boss Kanbei is hired to kill Zatoichi, and he discovers that Ichi is on his way to Joshoji Temple to pay his respects to Hirate Miki exactly one year after killing him.

Yoshiro is also in trouble as he is a wanted gangster, and Sukegoro (whom Ichi stayed with for 10 days in the original) expels Yoshiro from his residence. He then follows him with an armed guard in order to capture him. The finale involves Ichi fighting with Kanbei's men at the same bridge where he fought Hirate one year earlier. Zatoichi slaughters all of Kanbei's men and before he can finish off Boss Kanbei, Yoshiro steps in to fight his brother. Both have a deadly grudge to bear against each other. Yoshiro stoles Ichi's love, Chiyo, away from him and Ichi crippled Yoshiro. Both are badly injured in the duel but manage to escape Sukegoro's men by jumping in the river. Yoshiro's wounds are lethal but Ichi survives and exacts his revenge on Boss Sukegoro.

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Baghead (2008)
dir. Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass



Product Decsription:
While the Duplass Brothers were shooting their last feature film The Puffy Chair, a crew member raised the question "what's the scariest thing you can think of?" Someone immediately said "a guy with a bag on his head staring into your window." Some agreed, but some thought it was downright ridiculous and, if anything, funny (but definitely not scary). Thus, Baghead was born, an attempt to take the absurdly low-concept idea of a "guy with a bag on his head" and make a funny, truthful, endearing film that, maybe, just maybe, was a little bit scary, too.

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Beethoven's Big Break (2008)
dir. Mike Elliott

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

Product Decsription:
hahahahahaha

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RoosterFlix DVD Picks for December 15th

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Burn After Reading (2008)
dir. Joel & Ethan Coen

Not one of the Coens' best, but still a really solid comedy. Although, considering their work, it'd have to be something special to be one of their best comedies. I love the fact that the movie is driven by all these paranoid conspiracy theorists panicking over absolutely nothing. Only the Coens would tackle something like this, and only they could make it any good. While plots are important, I can't say that not having one made me dislike the movie more...ultimately comedies are supposed to make you laugh, and I guess that was my biggest issue. It was funny, just not funny enough, I guess? As with most of their movies, this one will probably grow on me over time.

Product Decsription:
After the dark brilliance of No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading may seem like a trifle, but few filmmakers elevate the trivial to art quite like Joel and Ethan Coen. Inspired by Stansfield Turner's Burn Before Reading, the comically convoluted plot clicks into gear when the CIA gives analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) the boot. Little does Cox know his wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton, riffing on her Michael Clayton character), is seeing married federal marshal Harry (George Clooney, Swinton's Clayton co-star, playing off his Syriana role). To get back at the Agency, Cox works on his memoirs. Through a twist of fate, fitness club workers Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt in a pompadour that recalls Johnny Suede) find the disc and try to wrangle a "Samaratin tax" out of the surly alcoholic. An avid Internet dater, Linda plans to use the money for plastic surgery, oblivious that her manager, Ted (The Visitor's Richard Jenkins), likes her just the way she is. Though it sounds like a Beltway remake of The Big Lebowski, the Coen entry it most closely resembles, this time the brothers concentrate their energies on the myriad insecurities endemic to the mid-life crisis--with the exception of Chad, who's too dense to share such concerns, leading to the funniest performance of Pitt's career. If Lebowski represented the Coen's unique approach to film noir, Burn sees them putting their irresistibly absurdist stamp on paranoid thrillers from Enemy of the State to The Bourne Identity. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Generation Kill (2008)
dir. David Simon

I think expectations for this were way too high. I ended up being bored mostly the entire time, until the final 2 episodes I think. It's quite possible that I'm just burnt out regarding war-related movies, TV, and media in general. There were some really great people involved, and the acting, directing, cinematography, writing, all of it was top notch, but I was just bored with it. It doesn't make any sense, but it is what it is.

Product Decsription:
Based on the national best-selling book by Evan Wright, Generation Kill is an authentic and vividly detailed 7 part HBO mini-series event that presents a uniquely epic and intimate portrait of the first 40 days of the Iraq war from the perspective of the Marines of the First Recon Battalion – a new breed of American soldiers.
The mini-series tells the story of these young Marines physical and emotional journey into the heart of Baghdad in those initial weeks, and how the war reveals to be much more complicated, problematic and tragic than anyone had contemplated. Many of the complications and problems that arise are due to the unwieldy military bureaucracy which the Marines confront in the midst of the war, the challenges of over-zealous and incompetent commanding officers, ever-changing rules of engagement, a non-existent strategy, severe deficiencies in necessary armor and supplies, and an enemy they don’t understand.

Generation Kill is a humorous and frightening first hand account of these remarkable men, of the personal toll of victory, and of the brutality, camaraderie and bureaucracy of a new American war. It is a profoundly insightful and realistic look at the risk, costs and ultimately, the failures of the war.

Written and produced by Emmy-award winner David Simon (the Wire), and also produced by the award-winning George Faber (Elizabeth I).

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Death Race (Unrated Edition) (2008)
dir. Paul W.S. Anderson

I actually liked the trailer, but Paul W.S. Anderson was born to destroy....although I have to say, a part of me still wants to check this out. I know that it's absolutely nothing like the original Roger Corman classic, but it seems like mindless fun.

Product Decsription:
Mayhem rules in Death Race, a head-over-heels remake of the Roger Corman cult classic Death Race 2000, in which cars become lethal weapons. The strength of this new version is its total single-mindedness about vehicular homicide; it has the virtue of no cluttering subplots or simpering sentimentality. And banish all memory of the original's wild satirical comedy: Death Race is as grim as a dinner tray to the face (a reference that will be explained in a key sequence). In a slightly futuristic maximum-security prison, cons take part in brutal races around the island prison, their violent deaths watched live by millions of viewers. Jason Statham, possibly cast because of his driving dexterity in the Transporter movies, plays a man wrongly imprisoned for murder. Joan Allen provides her brittle cool as the warden, who recruits Statham to assume the masked persona of a legendary driver called Frankenstein. Tyrese Gibson is Frankie's main rival, Natalie Martinez provides the fetching eye candy, but the acting honors go to Ian McShane, as the philosophical prison mechanic. One misses the cross-country race from the original film, as the setting here is claustrophobic and the cars are largely colorless and indistinguishable from each other. Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) continues to display the sensibility of a video-game addict, which will either be a recommendation or a turn-off, depending on your own tastes. At least it doesn't have the hypocritical moral blathering of something like the somewhat similar Condemned--who knew you could be so grateful for simple, straight-forward head-bashing? --Robert Horton

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Traitor (2008)
dir. Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Product Decsription:
Academy Award® nominee Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Crash) and Guy Pearce (Memento, L.A. Confidential) star in Traitor, a taut international thriller set against a puzzle of covert counter-espionage operations. When straight-arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton (Pearce) investigates a dangerous international conspiracy responsible for a prison break in Yemen, a bombing in Nice and a raid in London, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn(Cheadle). But a tangle of contradictory evidence emerges, forcing Clayton to question whether his suspect is a disaffected former military operative—or something far more complicated.
Obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier burrows deeper and deeper into a world of shadows and intrigue. Traitor is written and directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (screenwriter of The Day After Tomorrow).

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Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)
dir. Joss Whedon

Product Decsription:
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) stars as Billy, A.K.A. Dr. Horrible, a budding super-villain whose plans for world domination continually go awry. His two goals: getting accepted into the Evil League of Evil, and working up the guts to speak to his laundromat crush Penny, played by Felicia Day (The Guild). The only thing standing in his way is Captain Hammer, Billy's superhero arch-nemesis played by Nathan Fillion (Firefly). With one big score, Billy could get into the E.L.E. and earn the respect of Penny, but only if he can keep her away from the dashing Captain Hammer...

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The House Bunny (2008)
dir. Fred Wolf

Product Decsription:
"I'm an expert in parties and boys. I'm a Bunny! Men write to me from prison--sometimes in their own blood!" So declares ex-Playboy Bunny Shelley, tossed out of the Mansion by a rival for her advanced age (27--"59 in bunny years," she's told). As played by the utterly fearless and appealing Anna Faris, Shelley becomes an unlikely post-feminist heroine, who finds a great use for her not-too-considerable expertise: being sexy. With nowhere else to live, Shelley finds herself as the house mother for a dying sorority, the Zetas, who are the audience for the rallying cry above. And the slightly misfit sisters, though wary, end up giving Shelley a sisterhood she could never have built back at the Grotto. To help build up the sorority, Shelley gives the young women her own peculiar tutorials in charm school--helping them raise their campus profile and recruit new pledges in the process. "When I'm done, every girl on campus will want to pledge Zeta!" Ignore her at your peril, girls. If the formula is a bit predictable, the pace is lively and the cast, headed by the wide-eyed Faris, is aces. American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee is a natural on camera, as is Rumer Willis, daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. The supporting cast includes the capable Colin Hanks and Beverly D'Angelo, and a bit too much screen time for the real-life Hugh Hefner, who maybe should have stayed on the set of The Girls Next Door. Still, Faris channels the cheerful, girly determination of Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods--no surprise since The House Bunny was cowritten by Kirsten Smith, who wrote Legally Blonde. Fans of silly romances, hop to it.--A.T. Hurley

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Louis C.K.: Chewed Up (2008)
dir. n/a

Louie's easily one of my favorite comics. When I went and saw him in Pittsburgh last year, this routine from Chewed Up was the one he was doing. I'm glad he recorded a special of it, because I was hardly able to enjoy it when I saw it. I got severly lost and showed up after he had started, and I was basically pissed off the entire show and couldnt enjoy myself. Worst shit. BUT, I was able to see him live again a couple months ago, with completely new material, and it was incredible.

Product Decsription:
Writer-director-performer Louis C.K. brings his no-holds-barred standup comedy style to this cable special, proffering uncomfortable observations about his life as a guy, a husband, and a father. Things start very well with a treatise on the proper use of the word "faggot," which should never, according to C.K., be used as a derogatory term for gay men, but serves as a catch-all insult for everyone and everything else. Also covered is the myth that drinking milk will replenish a man's vital bodily fluids during marathon sex, a subject that somehow segues into C.K.'s ambiguous admission about the fate of any housecat foolish enough to watch him being intimate. Less interesting is a diatribe about the comedian's collision with a deer on the road, and an overlong bit about the frustrations of fatherhood, including fantasies of extreme tough love with small children. The best material arrives at the end, when wisdom seeps into C.K.'s epiphany about arriving at an age when a man stops yearning for sex with girls and pines instead for women a little roughed-up by motherhood, disappointments, and other factors of adulthood. Of course, being C.K., he backpeddles a little about not wanting sex with hot young things, but his heart is in the right place. --Tom Keogh

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Mad Detective (2007)
dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka Fai

For those not in the loop, the Masters of Cinema label is basically Europe's answer to the Criterion Collection. I never usually list them here because they are imports and region 2, but Amazon has decided to list this one, probably because it's region free. Even better that it's in Blu-Ray. Really great movie, one of the best I've seen from Jonnie To.

Product Decsription:
Import only Blu-Ray/Region All pressing. 2007's largest grossing film at the Hong Kong box office - the smash-hit Mad Detective - is one of the freshest and most satisfying films from that country in a decade. The traditional Hong Kong police film is turned on its head: the imaginative twist being Detective Bun (a role created for Lau Ching Wan) who has the ability to 'see' people's inner personalities or 'hidden ghosts'. Breaking new ground and establishing breathtaking cinematic rules, Johnnie To's latest giddily entertaining collaboration with Wai Ka Fai radically raises the level of storytelling in modern film. The Masters of Cinema Series presents the winner of Best Screenplay at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards 2008.

DVD Features:
Q and A with Johnnie To.
Exclusive cast interviews.
Interview with Johnnie To.
Original UK theatrical trailer.
16-page booklet.
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Mamma Mia! (2008)
dir. Phyllida Lloyd

I feel obligated.

Product Decsription:
The delirious sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing "Dancing Queen" is one of the high points of Mamma Mia!, the musical built around the songs of the hugely popular pop group ABBA. The plot sets in motion when Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls), daughter of Donna (Streep), sends a letter to three men, inviting them to her wedding--because after reading her mother's diary, she suspects that one of them is her father. When all three arrive at the Greek island where Donna runs a hotel, Donna flips out and finds that passions she thought she'd laid aside are coming back to life. But let's face it, the plot is not the point--it's a ridiculous contrivance that provides an excuse for the characters to sing the massive hits of ABBA. Regrettably, first-time film director Phyllida Lloyd (who directed the original stage production) has drawn over-the-top performances from everyone involved, even Streep; every production number hammers its exuberance into your eyeballs. Which is too bad, because Mamma Mia! is a rarity: A middle-aged love story. The kids start things off, but the story is really about Streep and the three guys (former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, former Mr. Darcy Colin Firth, and Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard), as well as Donna's best friends (Christine Baranski, best known from the TV show Cybill, and Julie Walters, Calendar Girls). It's a romantic comedy aimed at the people who were around when all these songs were new, and that's an age group Hollywood largely ignores. For that alone, Mamma Mia! deserves to find an audience. --Bret Fetzer

DVD Features:
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Sangre de Mi Sangre (2007)
dir. Christopher Zalla

Product Decsription:
Fleeing his criminal past, Juan hops a truck transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to NYC, where he meets Pedro, who is going to America to search for his father. When Pedro wakes up in New York, Juan has stolen his ID and gone to claim Pedro's father as his own. Now Juan and Pedro, identities confused, are both in Brooklyn looking for a father who neither has ever met.

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Hamlet 2 (2008)
dir. Andrew Fleming

Product Decsription:
Just when it seems as if things can't get any worse for high-school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan), he quips, "My life is a parody of a tragedy." Yet that very ability to laugh in the face of defeat will allow this failed actor to triumph over adversity. A lovably ridiculous dreamer like Waiting for Guffman’s Corky St. Clair, Marschz lives in Tucson with his sarcastic wife (Catherine Keener) and their silent boarder (David Arquette). Though he tries to inspire, like Richard Dreyfuss in Mr. Holland's Opus, only two students (Spring Awakening’s Skylar Astin and Phoebe Strole) share his passion for theatrics. When the principal decides to eliminate his department, Marschz makes a bold move: he writes an original play, lets the class contribute their own unique talents, and puts the whole thing on as a fundraiser (they'll need to bring in $6,000). Sure, everyone dies at the end of Shakespeare's classic, but in Marschz’s musical sequel, Hamlet 2, a time machine allows the Danish prince to turn back the clock to set things right. Just as his production starts to take shape and retired actress Elisabeth Shue (played by Shue) offers her support, his marriage hits the rocks, he starts drinking again, and the community protests against numbers like "Rock Me Sexy Jesus." (Amy Poehler portrays his ACLU attorney.) Though Andrew Fleming’s comedy follows the usual inspirational instructor trajectory, ribald humor helps the medicine go down and Coogan gives his most unhinged performance since Tristram Shandy. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
dir. Rob Cohen

Product Decsription:
The third film in the The Mummy series freshens the franchise up by setting the action in China. There, the discovery of an ancient emperor's elaborate tomb proves a feather in the cap of Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford), a young archaeologist and son of Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello, taking over the role from Rachel Weisz). Unfortunately, a curse that turned the emperor (Jet Li) and his army into terra cotta warriors buried for centuries is lifted, and the old guy prepares for world domination by seeking immortality at Shangri La. The O'Connells barely stay a step ahead of him (climbing through the Himalaya mountains with apparent ease), but the action inevitably leads to a showdown between two armies of mummies in a Chinese desert. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has a lot to offer: a supporting cast that includes the elegant Michelle Yeoh, Russell Wong, and Liam Cunningham, the unexpected appearance of several Yeti, and a climactic battle sequence that is nightmarishly weird but compelling. On the downside, the charm so desperately sought in romantic relationships, as well as comic turns by John Hannah (as Evelyn's rascal brother), is not only absent but often annoying. Rarely have witty asides in the thick of battle been more unwelcome in a movie. Rob Cohen's direction is largely crisp if sometimes curious (a fight between Fraser and Jet Li keeps varying in speed for some reason), but his vision of Shangri La, in the Hollywood tradition, is certainly attractive. --Tom Keogh

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Zapped! (1982): THIS IS PERFECT

Robert J. Rosenthal's Zapped! is a breath of 26-year-old fresh air. Most of the time with movies like this, you can predict what's coming at almost every turn, but with this one....well....you still kind of can, but it really doesn't stick to convention at all. It's a damn near perfect 80's teen sex comedy.

Scott Baio stars as the nerdy lab rat Barney, who spends most of his time mixing chemicals and experimenting with mice. Does he get beat up by jocks and have trouble with girls? FUCK NO! He's on the baseball team! He never plays, but he's never picked on, either, which is unheard of in these kinds of movies. They even introduce a kind of rebel punk kid with a crazy hairdo early in the movie that would be perfect for giving these kids swirlies and that, but he doesn't do a damn thing to anybody and is only in two scenes. It's kind of weird that he's even in the movie in the first place, but I guess every school's got one. So there's one convention broken, no bullying. Hey, I'm all for stereotypical bullies with their dumb lackeys giving the teachers wedgies and whatever the fuck else, but there's none of that here.

OK, what else....is the principal a mean-spirited, evil, joy-killing dickhead? FUCK NO, this dude just wants to get his dick wet! No joke! It even happens! Even at the prom, when shit gets REAL nuts, him and another teacher sneak in the back to get busy. Speaking of the prom....fuck, I'll save that for later.

Why is the movie called Zapped! you might be asking yourself? OK you probably aren't asking yourself that, but fuck it....It all starts with Barney's baseball coach (played by the legendary Scatman Crothers) rummaging around the lab looking for whiskey or something when he accidentally drops a chemical into a jar with other chemicals creating the wonder drug that gives humans telekinetic abilities with absolutely no repercussions. During an experiment in the lab, Barney knocks over those same chemicals causing a small explosion and knocking Barney out. Of course, he wakes up unharmed, except now he can move shit with his brain. His new powers not only help, to an extent, his best friend get laid, and also turns his mom into a fucking nutcase. (See the video I posted in an earlier entry for many more examples of Barney's powers)

Long story short, he tries raping his girlfriend with his mind, and when that doesn't work, he rapes, with his mind, every single person at the prom. Which is EXACTLY what a high school kid with telekinesis would do. This movie just gets everything right. earlier in the movie, he is poppin' the shirts off girls left and right, and also pulling dudes' pants down and hanging them on a tree. Also, if this were any other movie, he'd get bonked on the head and lose all his powers, which actually kind of happens for a second, but he doesn't really lose them at all, and at the end of the movie he flies away......with his mind. That's the best thing, knowing that this kid is gonna have this awesome power forever and will rape people from a distance for the rest of his life. So, ultimately, what I'm really trying to get at here is that mind-rape is incredible, and I wish I could mind-rape. Please PM me on Yahoo chat. Bye! Thanks for stopping by! Read Full Post »

RoosterFlix DVD Picks for December 9th

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The Dark Knight (2008)
dir. Christopher Nolan

O-VER-RA-TED *clap-clap-clapclapclap*
O-VER-RA-TED *clap-clap-clapclapclap*

Now I'm not saying it's not a great movie, I just think that the extent to which fanboys suck this movie's cock is way beyond ridiculous. It's actually kind of annoying and uncomfortable and makes me want to like the movie less. I will say this though, considering the amount of hype behind the movie (might be safe to say it was the most hyped movie ever before it was released, up there with Independence Day) I was really amazed that it actually lived up to it. It's a top 10 movie of the year without question. Seeing the movie in an IMAX theater, especially all the sequences filmed with IMAX cameras, was an amazing experience. Heath Ledger will win an Oscar, and Christian Bale will need throat lozenges. God damn, the Batman voice was annoying as fuck.

Product Decsription:
The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movie great--in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision--is that it bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have paralyzed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon--and whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, after Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world is a dark, dangerous place where there are no easy choices. Eckhart and Oldman also shine, but as good as Bale is, his character turns out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for heroes facing more colorful villains). Director-cowriter Christopher Nolan (Memento) follows his critically acclaimed Batman Begins with an even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man because of its sheer emotional impact and striking sense of realism--there are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152 minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But for most movie fans--and not just superhero fans--The Dark Knight is a film for the ages. --David Horiuchi

DVD Features:
documentary "Gotham Uncovered"
"Batman Tech," an exhaustive television documentary
"Gotham Tonight," fake newscasts about our hero
Galleries and Trailers
BD Live content
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Man on Wire (2008)
dir. James Marsh

Another one of the best movies of the year. Even if you know the outcome, you can't help but sit on the edge of your seat as the team keeps beating close call after close call, wondering what's going to happen next. It's like a highly complex bank robbery, and everyone involved in the project acknowledges it. The enthusiasm of everyone involved, Phillipe Petit especially, is contageous, and you can't help but be drawn into their world.

Product Decsription:
Native New Yorkers know to expect the unexpected, but who among them could've predicted that a man would stroll between the towers of the World Trade Center? French high-wire walker Philippe Petit did just that on August 7th, 1974. Petit’s success may come as a foregone conclusion, but British filmmaker James Marsh’s pulse-pounding documentary still plays more like a thriller than a non-fiction entry--in fact, it puts most thrillers to shame. Marsh (Wisconsin Death Trip, The King) starts by looking at Petit's previous stunts. First, he took on Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral, then Sydney's Harbour Bridge before honing in on the not-yet-completed WTC. The planning took years, and the prescient Petit filmed his meetings with accomplices in France and America. Marsh smoothly integrates this material with stylized re-enactments and new interviews in which participants emerge from the shadows as if to reveal deep, dark secrets which, in a way, they do, since Petit's plan was illegal, "but not wicked or mean." The director documents every step they took to circumvent security, protocol, and physics as if re-creating a classic Jules Dassin or Jean-Pierre Melville caper. Though still photographs capture the feat rather than video, the resulting images will surely blow as many minds now as they did in the 1970s when splashed all over the media. Not only did Petit walk, he danced and even lay down on the cable strung between the skyscrapers. Based on his 2002 memoir, Man on Wire defines the adjective "awe-inspiring." --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Europa - Criterion Collection (1991)
dir. Lars von Trier

I'm not incredibly familiar with von Trier's work...I've only seen a couple of his films, not including Europa, but what I've seen I've liked. I think Dancer in the Dark gets a little too much praise, but I still think it's great. Breaking the Waves, however, can't be fucked with. I'm looking forward to checking this one out.

Product Decsription:
You will now listen to my voice . . . On the count of ten you will be in Europa . . ." So begins Max von Sydow s opening narration to Lars von Trier s hypnotic Europa (known in the U.S. as Zentropa), a fever dream in which American pacifist Leopold Kessler (Jean-Marc Barr) stumbles into a job as a sleeping-car conductor for the Zentropa railways in a Kafkaesque 1945 postwar Frankfurt. With its gorgeous black-and-white and color imagery and meticulously recreated (if then nightmarishly deconstructed) costumes and sets, Europa is one of the great Danish filmmaker s weirdest and most wonderful works, a runaway train ride to an oddly futuristic past.

DVD Features:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer
Audio commentary featuring director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen (in Danish)
The Making of Europa (1991), a documentary following the film from storyboarding to production
Trier s Element (1991), a documentary featuring an interview with von Trier, and footage from the set and Europa s Cannes premiere and press conference
Anecdotes from Europa (2005), a short documentary featuring interviews with film historian Peter Schepelern, actor Jean-Marc Barr, producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, assistant director Tómas Gislason, co-writer Niels Vørsel, and prop master Peter Grant
2005 interviews with cinematographer Henning Bendtsen, composer Joachim Holbek, costume designer Manon Rasmussen, film-school teacher Mogens Rukov, editor/director Tómas Gislason, producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, art director Peter Grant, actor Michael Simpson, production manager Per Arman, actor Ole Ernst
A conversation with Lars von Trier from 2005, in which the director speaks about the Europa trilogy
Europa The Faecal Location (2005), a short film by Gislason
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Howard Hampton
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The Wire: The Complete Series (2002-2008)
dir. David Simon & Ed Burns

One of the greatest shows ever, that's all there is to it. If you haven't seen it, clear your schedule and make time. Now.

Product Decsription:
Set in Baltimore, this show centers around the city's inner-city drug scene. It starts as mid-level drug dealer, D'Angelo Barksdale beats a murder rap. After a conversation with a judge, Det. James McNulty has been assigned to lead a joint homicide and narcotics team, in order to bring down drug kingpin Avon Barksdale. Avon Barksdale, accompanied by his right-hand man Stringer Bell, enforcer Wee-Bey and many lieutenants (including his own nephew, D'Angelo Barksdale), has to deal with law enforcement, informants in his own camp, and competition with a local rival, Omar, who's been robbing Barksdale's dealers and reselling the drugs. The supervisor of the investigation, Lt. Cedric Daniels, has to deal with his own problems, such as a corrupt bureaucracy, some of his detectives beating suspects, hard-headed but determined Det. McNulty, and a blackmailing deputy. The show depicts the lives of every part of the drug "food chain", from junkies to dealers, and from cops to politicians.

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Deadwood: The Complete Series (2004-2006)
dir. David Milch

Not as great as The Wire, but great nonetheless. Probably a top 20 show all-time. Considering the individual seasons used to run about $80-$90, getting all 3 seasons for around $100 is a helluva deal.

Product Decsription:
The town of Deadwood, South Dakota in the weeks following the Custer massacre is a lawless sinkhole of crime and corruption. Into this uncivilized outpost ride a disillusioned and bitter ex-lawman, Wild Bill Hickok, and Seth Bullock, a man hoping to find a new start for himself. Both men find themselves quickly on opposite sides of the legal and moral fence from Al Swearengen, saloon owner, hotel operator, and incipient boss of Deadwood. The lives of these three intertwine with many others, the high-minded and the low-lifes who populate Deadwood in 1876.

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Lost - The Complete Fourth Season (2008)
dir. J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof

It's still not making a goddamn bit of sense, but I'm still intrigued, and I'll still watch it. I just hope SOMEthing gets explained next season.

Product Decsription:
After Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, it s survivors were forced to find inner strength they never knew they had in order to survive. But they discovered that the island hold many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, a strange French woman and another group of island residents known as The Others. The survivors have also found signs of those who came to the island before them, including a 19th century sailing ship called The Black Rock, the remains of an ancient statue, as well as bunkers belonging to the Dharma Initiative a group of scientific researchers who inhabited the island in the recent past.

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Justice - A Cross The Universe CD/DVD (2008)
dir. n/a

Ed Banger is one of the best labels on the planet at the moment...I'll listen to pretty much anything they release. Justice's debut album was probably the most financially successful album Ed Banger has ever released, and for good reason, it was an instant classic. I'm really looking forward to seeing this tour documentary...you can find the trailer on youtube.

Product Decsription:
This live CD + DVD release includes recordings of Justice's signature headbanging live sets along with show footage and various hijinks captured as the band toured the U.S. in March 2008.

DVD Features:
Disc: 1
1. Intro
2. Genesis
3. Phantom Part 1
4. Phantom Part 1.5
5. D.A.N.C.E.
6. D.A.N.C.E. Part 2
7. DVNO
8. Waters Of Nazareth
9. One Minute To Midnight
10. Tthhee Ppaarrttyy
11. Let There Be Lite
12. Stress
13. We Are Your Friends (Reprises)
14. Waters Of Nazareth
15. Phantom Part 2
16. Encore
17. NY Excuse (Soulwax/Justice Remix)
18. Justice X Metallica

Disc: 2
1. 1 hour documentary (DVD)

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Murnau, Borzage and Fox - Box Set
dir. F.W. Murnau, Frank Borzage

I'd buy this set immediately if it weren't almost 200 fucking dollars.

Product Decsription:
This collection contains 2 F.W. Murnau films and 10 films directed by Frank Borzage from the late silent through the early talkie era. Many of these have long been unavailable.

Silent Films:

Murnau's entries include:
Sunrise (1927) - The story of a farmer ready to forsake his wife and home for a city woman on vacation in their village. She suggests that the husband drown his wife and make it look like an accident. Beautiful visuals make you sorry the silent era ever ended. Already available on DVD in the Fox Best Picture Collection. This film won the only Oscar ever awarded for best artistic film.

City Girl (1930) - This film exists in a sound and silent version. I hope this version is the silent one I saw. Charles Farrell plays the son in a farming family sent to sell the family wheat crop. He doesn't get the money the family hoped for plus he returns with a city girl as wife. This film doesn't show life on the farm as the ideal, but shows the harsh economic reality of farming. As usual, Murnau will thrill you with his excellent visuals.

Borzage films:
Lazybones (1925) - A man knicknamed "Lazybones" raises a homeless girl. After she is grown, he begins to love her as a woman. This story may sound familiar, but Borzage throws some curves in along the way so don't expect the conventional ending or conventional journey to that ending.

Seventh Heaven (1928) - One of several popular pairings of Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor. Janet Gaynor plays a girl beaten almost to death by her sister who is rescued by Farrell, who plays a sewer worker who has become an atheist. The romance is interrupted by war. Farrell becomes a soldier, Gaynor becomes a munitions worker. Remade in the sound era, this silent version is much better. One of three films that won Janet Gaynor a Best Actress Oscar.

Street Angel (1928) - Janet Gaynor plays an Italian girl accused of being a street walker who hides from the police by joinig a traveling circus. There she falls in love with a vagabond artist played by Charles Farrell. Full of splendid visuals.

Lucky Star (1929) - Janet Gaynor is again teamed with Charles Farrell in this late silent era film about a man who is left in wheelchair as a result of injuries suffered in World War I. This film gives Farrell more of a chance to show his acting abilities than his previous teamings with Janet Gaynor, although she gives a good performance too.

Talking films:

They Had to See Paris (1929) - Borzage directs Will Rogers' first talking picture. Will Rogers plays a homespun man who comes into money via an oil well. His wife decides they must go abroad to get some culture into their life. This film is a little stiff as are most early talkies, but it is still full of Will Rogers' unique brand of humor.

Liliom (1930) - Early talkie adaptation of the play with Charles Farrell in the title role. The sound on the prints I've been exposed to in the past has been terrible. Let's hope that part of the reason for the cost of this set is cleaning up the sound.

Song O' My Heart (1930) - Mainly made to exhibit the singing talent of John McCormack. Also, this is the film debut of Maureen O'Sullivan. The sound on this film the last time I saw it was terrible. It will be great to hear McCormack as others heard him eighty years ago.

Bad Girl (1931) - Won two Oscars - one for Borzage's direction and another for adapted writing. This film is really about a struggling young couple's ups and downs. I really have no idea why it is named "Bad Girl" unless it was because tantalizing titles sold tickets in the era of the precode film. Like the stars of many early talkies, the stars of this film did not have distinguished careers.

After Tomorrow (1932) - Charles Farrell stars in a genuine precode with lots of racy language. At heart, though, it is a melodrama like so much of Borzage's work. Not well known probably due to its lack of exposure on TV or home video.

Young America (1932) - Spencer Tracy in a very early role. Tracy plays a druggist whose wife wants to adopt a kid who is constantly getting in trouble. His last brush with the law involves stealing medicine from Tracy's drugstore.

This set also includes a documentary on Murnau, whose career was cut short by his death in a traffic accident in 1931, and Borzage, whose career as a director was quite active into the 1940's. Other announcements have claimed that what fragments exist of Borzage's 1929 film, "The River", shall also be in this set as an extra feature. That report is as of now unsubstantiated.

Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish.

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Horton Hears a Who (2008)
dir. Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino

Product Decsription:
Dr. Seuss's classic 1954 book Horton Hears a Who has entertained generations of children and served as the inspiration for a 26-minute, 1970 television special Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who and the 2000 Broadway musical Seussical: The Musical. This 2008, full-length animated movie features the voice talents of Jim Carrey as Horton, Steve Carrell as the Mayor of Whoville, Carol Burnett as the Kangaroo, and Jesse McCartney as JoJo and promises to delight a whole new generation of children and their parents and grandparents. The technological wonders of computer animation have allowed 20th Century Fox Animation to bring to life the wacky, colorful Whoville with its minute inhabitants and the lush Jungle of Nool with its host of distinctive animals and the result is a rich, fantastical world of wonder worthy of Dr. Seuss' own imagination. All the major plot elements of Dr. Seuss' book are present, with Horton hearing the faint cry for help from a tiny dust speck atop a small clover and doing his best to protect the inhabitants of that small civilization of Whoville despite the disbelief, disdain, and persecution of his fellow animals. The feel of Dr. Seuss' original rhyming prose is partially preserved in the sparse narration by Charles Osgood that's interspersed throughout the film's dialogue and the overarching themes of staying true to one's convictions and the celebration of the power of perseverance, imagination, and kindness come through loud and clear. Horton Hears a Who is a fun rendering of a classic Dr. Seuss story that's sure to entertain viewers of all ages. --Tami Horiuchi

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Flow (aka Flow: For Love of Water) (2007)
dir. Irena Salina

Product Decsription:
Review An astonishingly wide-ranging film. An informed and heartfelt examination of the tug of war between public health and private interests. --New York Times Product Description Water is the sleeping giant issue of the 21st century and we all need to wake up about it. FLOW opens our eyes about the greatest threat of our time - the global water crisis. It is a compelling and passionate film. Its engaging narrative will grip the viewer. - Robert Redford SYNOPSIS Irena Salina s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis. Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER? Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround.

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Peter and the Wolf (2006)
dir. Suzie Templeton

Won an Oscar for Best Animated Short in 2007. I couldn't find it on Youtube, but I wanted to check and see if the old Disney cartoon of Peter and the Wolf was on there, and sure enough...

part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILI3s7Wonvg
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCgJXD3J9Wc

then I just fell down the rabbit hole of incredible old cartoons...

Willie the Operatic Whale:
part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71kdU6iGjTM
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhAxLvV0-NI

Lambert the Sheepish Lion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRtKAQJUc3g

Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet (might be one of the weirdest cartoons ever, imagine someone pitching this, "OK, so these two hats fall in love.." NOPE)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3lAztMhIWI

Casey at the Bat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2F0qC1-sa0

Paul Bunyan

part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoG94ieN828
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyDAr-hjw80

The Ugly Duckling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p9riiSDkkA

In The Bag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scMbNZ_f16I

Susie the Little Blue Coupe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITeUvJyxUko

The Little House

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y881yjtFluQ

The voice of Sterling Holloway had a pretty tremendous impact on my childhood now that I think about it.

Product Decsription:
State-of-the-art digital technology and a new orchestral recording bring to life this fantastical retelling of Sergei Prokofiev s classic fable of a magical world in which little boys can find the strength and courage to overcome their fears and the ever-present dangers that surround them.

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Ummm...

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RoosterFlix DVD Picks for December 2nd

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Casablanca (Ultimate Collector's Edition) (1942)
dir. Michael Curtiz

If I didn't already have 2 copies of this motherfucker, I'd probably buy this. Although it's not really bringing anything mind-blowing to the table this time around other than the fact it's in Blu-ray, I'd probably get rid of the ones I already have for it. Here's looking at my DVD collection, kid LOLOLOL fuck, kill me

Product Decsription:
A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. --Tom Keogh

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Step Brothers (2008)
dir. Adam McKay

Even as a John C. Reilly superfan, I must say that I had my doubts with this one. I was pleasantly surprised, though, and basically laughed my ass off the entire time I was in the theater. The story isn't A+ material, but it doesn't have to be. Ferrell and Reilly's chemistry is so potent that they probably could've improved for 2 hours and came away with something worth watching. Definitely one of the best comedies of the year.

Product Decsription:
Crude, juvenile, and proud of it, Step Brothers stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as two 40-year-old men, both living at home and leading the lives of 13-year-old boys, who are thrown together when their single parents (Mary Steenburgen, Parenthood, and Richard Jenkins, Six Feet Under) get married. Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly) start out hating each other as only teenage boys can--but things get even worse for their long-suffering parents when they become best friends. Step Brothers gets most of its mileage from very lowbrow humor, but hidden among the farts and masturbation jokes is the suggestion that while these guys may be emotionally arrested, so are Brennan's hotshot business executive brother (Adam Scott, Tell Me You Love Me) and his high-fiving frat-boy pals, just in a way that's condoned because it makes money. Also crucial is that Ferrell and Reilly capture adolescence in all its gruesome glory--the awkward insecurity but also the egomaniacal, arrogant self-centeredness. Mind you, this isn't the American version of The 400 Blows or anything--one of the movie's setpieces features Brennan tea-bagging Dale's drum set (and if you don't know what tea-bagging is... well, you will after seeing this movie). All in all, Step Brothers combines the adolescent humor of producer Judd Apatow (Superbad, Knocked Up) and the comic chemistry of Ferrell and Reilly (who previously costarred in Talladega Nights)--fans of either will find plenty to enjoy. --Bret Fetzer

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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
dir. Andrew Adamson

Product Decsription:
More exciting than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian continues the movie franchise based on C.S. Lewis' classic fantasy books. The movie picks up where the first left off... sort of. It's been a year since the Pevensie children--Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley)--returned to England from Narnia, and they've just about resigned themselves to living their ordinary lives. But just like that, they're once again transported to a fantastical land, but one with a long-abandoned castle. It turns out that they are in Narnia again--and they themselves lived in that castle, but hundreds of years ago in Narnia time. They've been summoned back to help Prince Caspian (Stardust's Ben Barnes, resembling a young, cultured Keanu Reeves), the rightful heir to the throne who's become the target of his power-hungry uncle, King Mraz (Sergio Castellitto). And he's not the only one threatened: Mraz's people, the Telmarines, have pushed all the Narnians--the talking animals, the centaurs and other beasts, the walking trees--to the brink of extinction. Despite some alpha-male bickering, Peter and Caspian agree to fight Mraz alongside the remaining Narnians, including the dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and the swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard). (Also appearing is Warwick Davis, who was in Willow and the 1989 BBC Prince Caspian.) But of course they most of all miss the noble lion, Aslan, who would have never let this happen to Narnia if he hadn't disappeared. Prince Caspian is epic, evoking memories of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. (Some of the battle elements may seem too familiar, but they were in Lewis's book.) And it's appropriate for kids (Reepicheep could have come out of a Shrek movie), though the tone is dark and there is a lot of death, albeit bloodless. After two successful films, Disney and Walden Media's franchise has proved successful enough that many of the characters are scheduled to return in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. --David Horiuchi

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Wanted (2008)
dir. Timur Bekmambetov

Looks horrible, but I'm still morbidly curious....I might watch this soon.

Product Decsription:
As the impresario behind gravity-defying Russian blockbuster Night Watch, it's inevitable that Hollywood would come calling for Timur Bekmambetov. With a studio budget and an international cast, including two Oscar winners, Timur cooks up a Hong Kong-styled actioner bursting with fast cars and big guns. Our unlikely hero is mild-mannered Chicago accountant Wesley Gibson (Atonement's James McAvoy), whose father died when he was a tot. Wesley never learned to stand up for himself, and his girlfriend, boss, and best buddy all take advantage until the seductive Fox (Angelina Jolie) rescues him from a sharpshooter named Cross (The Pianist’s Thomas Kretschmann). After which, she whisks him away to a mansion on the edge of town to meet the other members of the Fraternity, where leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman) informs Wesley that Cross, a rogue agent, executed his father. Sloan believes Wesley has the goods to take him out, so he undergoes the Fraternity's brutal training regimen (Marc Warren and Common dish up some of the abuse). When he's ready, Sloan sends him out to fulfill his duty, but matters become complicated when Wesley finds out someone isn't telling the truth, leading our former milquetoast to exact an elaborate revenge. For those who've been following McAvoy's career to date, Wanted will surely come as a surprise. In adapting Mark Millar's comic series, Timur offers buckets of blood and a smidgen of depth, but fans of The Matrix and Mr. and Mrs. Smith will want to give this one a look. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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White Dog - Criterion Collection (1982)
dir. Samuel Fuller

Anything from Samuel Fuller would be an instant purchase, but considering the extreme social commentary on display in White Dog, I'm even more interested. Plus, it's Criterion, so, yeah.

Product Decsription:
Samuel Fuller's throat-grabbing exposé on American racism was misunderstood and withheld from release when it was made in the early eighties; today, the notorious film is lauded for its daring metaphor and gripping pulp filmmaking. Kristy McNichol stars as a young actress who adopts a lost German Shepherd, only to discover through a series of horrifying incidents that the dog has been trained to attack black people, and Paul Winfield plays the animal trainer who tries to cure him. A snarling, uncompromising vision, White Dog is a tragic portrait of the evil done by that most corruptible of animals: the human being.

DVD Features:
New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the uncut version, approved by producer Jon Davison
New video interviews with producer Davison, co-writer Curtis Hanson, and Sam Fuller s widow, Christa Lang-Fuller
An interview with dog trainer Karl Lewis-Miller
Rare photos from the film s production
PLUS: A booklet featuring new essays by critics J. Hoberman and Armond White, plus a rare 1982 interview in which Fuller interviews the canine star of the film
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Frost/Nixon: The Original Watergate Interviews (1977)
dir. Jorn Winther

Product Decsription:
A historic meeting so gripping and poignant it has been adapted into an award-winning stage play and major motion picture.

This program, culled from the over 28 hours of interview footage between Sir David Frost and U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, was originally broadcast in May of 1977. Never before, nor since, has a U.S. President been so candid on camera. Even more intriguing is the fact that Nixon agreed to appear on camera with no pre-interview preparation or screening of questions. The most famous of this series of interviews is in the final segment that focused solely on Watergate.

This program also contains new footage with Sir David Frost shot in 2007 discussing the historical impact of the interview along with his reactions of their famous encounter. Frost also discusses his views on Peter Morgan's interpretation and screenplay adaptation of this historical event.

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The Day the Earth Stood Still (Special Edition) (1951)
dir. Robert Wise

Going to go ahead and take a "risk" and say this is miles better than the Keanu Reeves-make will be.

Product Decsription:
A hallmark of the science fiction genre as well as a wry commentary on the political climate of the 1950s, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi movie less concerned with special effects than with a social parable. A spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C., carrying a humanoid messenger from another world (Michael Rennie) imparting a warning to the people of Earth to cease their violent behavior. But panic ensues as the messenger lands and is shot by a nervous soldier. His large robot companion destroys the Capitol as the messenger escapes the confines of the hospital. He moves in with a family as a boarder and blends into society to observe the full range of the human experience. Director Robert Wise (West Side Story) not only provides one of the most recognizable icons of the science fiction world in his depiction of the massive robot loyal to his master, but he avoids the obvious camp elements of the story to create a quiet and observant story highlighting both the good and the bad in human nature. --Robert Lane

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The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
dir.

I'm preeeeeetty sure you can't cast shadows like that with just one light source. I'm calling bullshit on this movie.

Product Decsription:
The feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a satisfying if unspectacular installment in the X-Files series, taking place an unspecified time after the show's nine-year television run. Former agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is now a doctor, while Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is being hunted by his former agency and living in seclusion. He and Scully are summoned back by a case involving a missing agent and a former priest (Billy Connolly) who claims to be able to see clues to the agent's whereabouts psychically, though his initial search turns up only a severed limb. Don't expect the usual cast of characters; the FBI has completely turned over (except for the George W. Bush portrait), and the only reason Scully and Mulder are back is because agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) remembers his success on similar cases involving the unexplainable. Don't expect the same rogues' gallery either; unlike the previous X-Files feature film, which was inextricably linked to the series' convoluted mythology arc (and served as a bridge between the fifth and sixth seasons), I Want to Believe is a stand-alone piece that makes use of the series' roots in horror/sci-fi and moody Vancouver, B.C., locales. Also unlike the previous film, which was almost self-consciously shot for the big screen, this film is on a smaller scale, like a double-length episode of the series. But it's still a good reminder of the creepy vibe that hooked fans for years. And the relationship between Mulder and Scully? It seems to have resumed pretty much where it left off, at least when you take into account the long period of separation. But stick around for the end-credit sequence to take in all the possibilities for the future. --David Horiuchi

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The Rape of Europa (Collector's Edition) (2007)
dir. Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, Nicole Newnham

Product Decsription:
The issues raised by The Rape of Europa, a documentary about the Nazi pillaging of art and the Allied effort to return it, can't be conveniently consigned to the dustbin of history. This story is still playing out, contentiously and emotionally, as art is recovered and heirs sue for restitution. (The case of Klimt s portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, familiar to many New Yorkers, opens and closes the movie.) The Rape of Europa covers endlessly interesting material: the central role art played for the Nazis; the arriviste connoisseurship of Hitler and Goering; the Germans different treatment of cities like Krakow (spared for its Germanic art) and Warsaw (almost obliterated for its Slavic art and sensibility). It also raises endlessly interesting questions: Should soldiers lives be risked to save historic sites and artwork? Can a culture survive if its art is wiped out? The film, based on a book by Lynn H. Nicholas, crams in a lot, which means it can seem rushed and cursory. And some parts beg for fuller treatment. The Monuments Men, G.I. s (mainly) whose mission was to recover and return art, could easily be the subject of their own documentary. They're heroes. And their work was vital to, in the words of one Florentine woman, the victory of beauty over horror. Rachel Saltz, New York Times

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A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All (2008)
dir. n/a

I can't watch this show or The Daily Show because the studio audience is so fucking obnoxious and annoying that it ruins practically everything. They burst into hearty laughter and thunderous applause at the slightest, weakest political quips and their ass-kissery knows no bounds. Both Colbert and Stewart are very smart and funny dudes to say the least, but their shows are insufferable. Highly recommended!

Product Decsription:
What better way to celebrate Christmas than with the fake media's biggest Scrooge, Stephen Colbert? Dirty liberals like Elvis Costello, Feist, and Willie Nelson--along with real American Toby Keith--are on the guest list for this special that includes all the ego-fueled mayhem of THE COLBERT REPORT, as well as a smattering of irony-laced Yuletide songs, such as "There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In" and "Little Dealer Boy."

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Shadow Company (2006)
dir. Jason Bourque, Nick Bicanic

Product Decsription:
This year thousands of private soldiers will be deployed in conflicts worldwide. These individuals, known as private security contractors, are changing the face of modern warfare. But to those at home, their world and influence remains a mystery. Who are these security contractors? What do they do? Why do they do it? Shadow Company, by Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque, is the groundbreaking feature-length documentary that reveals the origins and destinations of these modern-day mercenaries. The rules of war have changed.

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Pleasure For Sale (2008)
dir. Harry Gantz, Joe Gantz

So basically it's just a Sundance version of HBO's Cathouse.

Product Decsription:
The raunchy, original 6-part series from Sundance Channel and Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Joe and Harry Gantz (Taxicab Confessions) takes an intimate and revealing look inside a legal brothel in Pahrump, Nevada.

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My Father My Lord (2007)
dir. David Volach

Product Decsription:
WINNER: BEST FILM OF 2007 (TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL)
A heartbreakingly tender (New York Times) new entry into Israel s ongoing filmmaking renaissance, My Father My Lord is an anguished, mordant sigh of a fable (New York Sun) set in the ultra-orthodox Israeli community in which writer-director Volach was raised. This astonishing debut feature (Variety) is a beautifully made film (Newsday) portraying childhood at its most transcendent and fundamentalism at its most intimately corrosive. We do everything in the Torah without asking why, Rabbi Eidelman (Assi Dayan), a pious, respected elder in a cloistered Hasidic enclave tells his wonderstruck only son Menahem (Ilan Grif). But at an age where life prompts questions increasingly outside the confines of doctrine, Menahem unwittingly runs afoul of his father s inflexibility. Mindful of her marriage vows but accepting of her son s boyish curiosity, Rabbi Eidelman s wife Esther (Sharon Hacohen Bar) is caught in the middle. A holiday at the seashore meant to reconnect the family brings the ideological rift between pre-teen boy and middle-aged man to a biblically and dramatically tragic climax. Lifting equally from the secular religiosity of Krzysztof Kieslowski s The Decalogue and the aesthetics of Jewish ritual itself (Village Voice), and profoundly compassionate toward its characters (NY Times), My Father My Lord shines with a radiance and grave grace. (Entertainment Weekly)

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Seeding of a Ghost (1983)
dir. Chuan Yang

Whoa. The description is hot fire. I might have to see this.

Product Decsription:
In this supernatural splatterfest, a Hong Kong taxi driver suffers after being cursed by a sorcerer he accidentally hit with his cab. After the driver's wife is raped and killed by teenage hooligans, he pleads with the sorcerer to lift the hex and restore his wife to the land of the living. Otherworldly zombie chaos ensues.

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