What's New @ Crystal Video in May

The New Releases for Tuesday May 16 are:

THE PRODUCERS
This remake of Mel Brooks’ 1968 film features Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the roles that they originated in the smash Broadway adaptation of the original film. Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Lane) is famous for his spectacular opening night flops. Leopold Bloom (Broderick) is an uptight accountant who virtually discovers gold while reviewing Max’s books. When Leo realizes that you can actually make more money with a flop than with a hit, the two team up and begin a search for both the worst script and the worst director they can find to ensure failure. The script selection seems easy when the duo stumble upon SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER, an homage to the Fuhrer penned by Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell), a German sympathetic to the Nazi cause. Convinced that the script will incite outrage, the duo needs a bad director to seal the deal. Campy director Roger DeBris (Gary Beach) and his assistant (Roger Bart) fit the bill perfectly.

But when their scheme fails, Max and Leo find themselves with the worst possible outcome: a hit. To make matters worse, Franz is just a little peeved that Hitler was depicted disrespectfully--and he has a gun. Will Max and Leo survive the playwright’s wrath? Will they go to jail for cooking the books? And will Leo ever submit to the advances of sexy Swedish receptionist/actress Ulla (Uma Thurman)? Directed by stage director Susan Stroman, making her feature film directorial debut, this riotous romp features lots of laughs from the major players, as well as brief appearances by Jon Lovitz, Michael McKean, and Richard Kind. Lane and Broderick make it easy to understand why the show was an unprecedented hit on Broadway, and Ferrell is a scene-stealer as Liebkind.


DANIEL DERONDA
The title character of this Masterpiece Theater presentation is the illegitimate son of a wealthy British aristocrat. With a secretive past and an unlimited supply of cash, he turns to gambling where he meets Gwendolyn, a beautiful woman in desperate need of money. From their meeting at a roulette table, a romance blossoms. Daniel, however, is already involved in a passionate relationship with a Jewish singer. Based on George Eliot's novel, this adaptation depicts a heartbreaking love triangle while examining class and wealth in British society.


DOOGAL
The origins of the characters in DOOGAL stretch back to 1964 and a TV program called THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT (or "Le Manège Enchanté" as its French creator Serge Danot called it). The show became a popular staple on British television, and this full-length movie is the first attempt to acquaint American audiences with Danot’s magical world.

Zeebad (voiced by THE DAILY Show’s Jon Stewart) is a recently escaped convict whose powers as a sorcerer are known throughout the land. While fleeing from prison, the embittered Zeebad decides to capture some mystical diamonds with the power to freeze the sun. Zeebad’s devious dream is to freeze the entire globe as an act of revenge on those who imprisoned him. But he doesn’t bank on the resilient forces of heroic canine Doogal (Daniel Tay) and his friends, a snail named Brian (William H. Macy), a hippie-ish rabbit called Dylan (Jimmy Fallon), and a loveable pink cow by the name of Ermintrude (Whoopi Goldberg). Together, they venture across the world in a desperate bid to find the ancient stones before the dastardly Zeebad gets his hands on them. Doogal and his friends scatter a few amusing references to popular culture into the plot as the story unfolds, and the animation is rendered in a style instantly familiar to fans of movies such as FINDING NEMO and HOODWINKED. Fans of the original television show who are looking for a fond, nostalgic experience won’t find much to remind them of Danot’s creation in DOOGAL, which is a fast-paced action romp aimed at a young audience. But for a new generation of fans this is a great way to get acquainted with a bunch of loveable characters who passed their 40th birthday on completion of the film.

DUMA
Set in the exotic country of South Africa, Duma tells the powerful adventure tale of an unbreakable bond of friendship between a cheetah named Duma and an intrepid young boy named Xan (Alexander Michaletos), who faces the true test of love when he must cross the whole of Southern Africa to return his best friend to his rightful home in the wilds. On his journey, Xan learns that everything always changes, but not love.


THE RINGER
The latest fearless comedy from producers The Farrelly Brothers (THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, DUMB & DUMBER, SHALLOW HAL) asks the question: can a comedy be outlandishly off-the-wall, irreverently indelicate and yet . . . inspirational? THE RINGER spikes the uproarious with the uplifting in a story about an ordinary man who discovers what it truly means to be special when he attempts to "fix" Special Olympics.

WHEN A STRANGER CALLS
A slick remake of the 1979 original, Simon West’s WHEN A STRANGER CALLS is a contemporary update of a well-known suburban legend. When 16-year-old Jill (newcomer Camilla Belle in the part originally played by Carol Kane) runs over her cell phone minutes, her parents force her to spend the night babysitting instead of attending a huge bonfire bash. As Jill’s father drives her to Dr. Mandrakis’s house for the evening, we are given the sense from the long drive, spooky music, and winding roads, that the home is literally at the ends of the Earth. Perched over the edge of a steamy lake, the mansion-like structure is made entirely of dark wood and glass. With an arboretum built into its center, the palatial home feels both Zen-like and forbidding. With the children already asleep, Jill spends the first hour indulging in secret babysitter pleasures like snooping about and trying on Mrs. Mandrakis’s jewelry. Without a cell phone or car, and all her friends' phones out of range, Jill is particularly isolated--the perfect victim for a psychopath on the loose. As she begins to get calls from a heavy-breathing stranger, what at first seems like a prank slowly becomes a real threat, creating a panic-filled evening that's any babysitter's nightmare. Using modern-day luxuries like caller ID, security alarm systems, and motion-sensor lights to its advantage, the film plays with themes of technology and wealth, pondering how much protection they actually provide. Clearly targeted at a teenage audience, the PG-13-rated film contains relatively little violence (lacking some of the graphic scenes that most people remember the original by), and instead uses unfamiliar spaces and a sense of the unknown to keep audiences scared.

WHITE COUNTESS
Set in Shanghai in the late 1930s, this is the story of the relationship between a disillusioned former US diplomat and a refugee White Russian countess reduced to a sordid life in the city's bars.
Todd Jackson (mid-40s), once an American diplomat filled with idealism, has lost his sight several years earlier, and is now languishing in Shanghai's grand hotels and elite gentlemen's clubs, a burnt-out case, He has become bitterly disillusioned by real politic and the seemingly unavoidable nature of war and conflict. He is, moreover, deeply bereaved by the deaths of his wife and children - victims of violent events in the political turmoil of 1930s China that also robbed him of his sight.

AND WHAT DO WE THINK?

Rather than just a list of titles for the coming month or so, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce a couple of new sections at Crystal Video. First, fresh on the bare and saffron-scented heels of the 1st Annual Films of Compassion Buddhist Film Festival, we have a shelf showcasing selections from this kindest of all fests. Your rental of these films, and others like them, ensures that Films of Compassion will always have a home at Crystal Video.

Second, I’d like to invite you into the strange world of Ed Wood. Our man Marko is a big fan of the King of the B’s and has spent hours sorting through dusty boxes of videotapes and DVDs to compile this collection. Is it comprehensive? You’ll have to come in and debate that with Mark.

Another new development is the fact that we’ll be opening an hour later than we used to. Summer mornings are too good to rush, so we’ll see you at noon.

New films of special note:
“Tarnation” Wow! Imagine your life if you were abandoned by your crazy-ass mother, and were raised by your crazy-ass grandparents instead. Gravelly voiced Grandma: “I’ve got TB! That’s tobacco and beer! HAHAHAHA” What if when you were a 12-year-old boy you started posing as a petite Goth chick and going to all night raves? Now, what if you filmed the ENTIRE thing and edited it down to one psychedelic hour and a half? Well, you’d be Jonathan Caouette, of course. It took us a while to get a copy of this, so enjoy.
“Paradise Now” A fascinating and horrifying look at the road to martyrdom. Wasn’t it Wilhelm Reich who wrote about the sexual energies of young men being subverted for evil purpose? Maybe it was Walt Disney.
“Townes Van Zandt: Be Here to Love Me” Every Townes fan has probably already seen this, but if you’re like me, you’re a fan and didn’t even know it. This screened at this year’s Documentary Film Festival to cheering houses.

I’ll tell you, there’s a heck of a lot of other good stuff coming in as well, but for now you’ll have to come in and see for yourself.

Thanks for showing up, Tim.


Terri’s Faves:

The Price of Milk
Little shoes, cows, mystical old ladies and one of those hot men from Lord of the Rings, this is a love story that cannot be considered a chick flick by any means. It is fun and heart stirring in a very familiar way because almost all of us have been ridiculously in love. The story is fundamentally predictable from a human nature perspective but the bizarre Aussie humor makes you instinctively yell “what?” more frequently as the movie progresses. I learned a lot about life from this film, mostly from the unbelievable amount of shame experienced for having never bathed with my dirty dishes before.

Snatch
Okay, I know everyone has seen this movie but I would feel bad if I didn’t list it as one of my favorites. I am convinced that Guy Ritchie had divine inspiration in order to put this cast together and the layers upon layers of mishaps that make this wacky caper so freaking entertaining. The best piece of advice I can give anyone in Crystal World is turn on the subtitles when viewing Snatch. You will understand everything Mickey (Brad Pitt) has to say. And I am so glad that those sadistic Brits didn’t kill the cute, squeaky little dog.

East is East
Oh my god; this movie has it all when it comes to family dysfunction and turmoil.


MarkO’s Picks for May.

Eulogy:
A dark comedy that brings together three generations for a funeral, and the fun starts there! Staring Hank Azaria, Zodey Deschanel, Famke Janssen, Kelly Preston, Ray Romano, Rip Torn, and Debra Winger proves to be hilarious look at a dysfunctional family. Available on both DVD and VHS.

Dead Men Don’t Ware Plaid:
This is one of my favorite movies of all time even though it didn’t get very good reviews when released. Done in black and white staring Steve Martin as Rigby Reardon, a tough, rough private detective who is out to solve a murder. One thing that makes this film a favorite of mine is the use of scenes from movies such as The Killers, The Bribe, Double Indemnity, and more to give it a real 1940’s feeling. Also starring Rachel Ward, Reni Santoni, Carl Reiner, with help from Humphrey Bogart, Charles Laughton, Burt Lancaster, and Barbara Stanwyck this has proven to be a must see on my list. It is also the last movie that Edith Head worked on, she was a costume designer who worked on many movies form the 1930’s through the 1980’s. Available only on VHS.


Out Foxed:
A must see documentary dealing with the issue of accurate and non-bias news. Out Foxed focuses on Fox news, the marketing of Fox News, Bill O’ Reilley, and Rupert Murdock’s war on journalism. It analyzes the differences between accurate news reporting and propaganda (or outright lying). A must see for anyone who gets their news from Fox news or any of their affiliates. Available on both DVD and VHS.

In the Heat of the Night:
Winner of 5 academy awards including best picture, In the Heat of the Night is not only a great film but very important for it’s day and age. Set in the Deep South in the early sixties it deals with racial tensions of the day. Sidney Poitier plays a homicide detective caught up in the wrong Mississippi town waiting for a train the night one of the towns most influential people is murdered. Rod Steiger plays a small town sheriff who is stuck trying to solve the murder. With Warren Oates, Lee Grant, and music by Ray Charles has stood the test of time. Available only on VHS.


GOT 50 CENTS?
The 50 cent special this week is GERMAN FILMS. We have many including Nowhere in Africa, Enlightenment Guaranteed, and of coarse Sugar Baby. [Our 50 cent special starts on Thursday and runs through Wednesday, limit 2 please]


Open Noon to 11pm 7 days a week we will be here to help you find an alternative film or even something good