Black Dog Newsletter for Week Ending December 5th

A few important announcements from your cruise director here;

Starting December 1st (this Thursday) the hours at the Cambie store will change slightly – we will be open at noon (just like in the good ole days) everyday. Stay tuned for adjusted holiday hours as well.

Also starting this Thursday and running until the following Monday will be our famous late charge amnesty period! That’s right, just bring in some tasty (well doesn’t have to be all that tasty, I guess) non-perishable food items to donate to the Vancouver food bank and we will absolve you of all outstanding late charges you may have accrued. This does not include late charges you may get after tomorrow. It’s a great way to make you feel less guilty about returning your films egregiously late and you get to do a good deed. Win-win. Please no expired clams, jellied grass or liquid horse anus.

Also we will have a fresh batch of T-shirts for sale starting tomorrow at both locations. They will be the same design as the old ones but will only be available in black.

Also we finally received a bunch of DVD copies of Beginners. Sorry it took so damn long. They were only available in the Blu-Ray combo packs and since we don’t need 4 -6 Blu Ray copies we are selling a couple brand new Blu Rays for only $10.00! Score!

And finally, we’re looking at a pretty good week for releases. Seems that the majority are relationship films; romantic comedies, romantic dramas, love between friends, love between siblings, love between hillbilly friends, love between friends and cats, love between small blue creepy things and love between a man and a dead woman. Something for everyone.

New Releases for Tuesday November 29th

Another Earth – A strange looking sci-fi kind of drama involving the discovery of another earth (hence the title) and a young woman who gets involved in a tragic accident with a guy. Not too sure what this all has to do with each other but I guess that’s where the watching the film part comes in. Note – we only have the Blu Ray at the moment as the DVD’s have not arrived as of yet. This seems to be an ongoing theme as of late with the studios. Bastardos!

The Art of Getting By – Teenage rebel, Catcher in the Rye kind of high-school dude meets a kindred spirit in the form of a cute girl who helps change his dour perspective on life. Or something like that. Supposed to be pretty pretty good. Also on the Blu Ray.

Balcony by the Sea – Happily married French dude meets a woman from his past, has a brief encounter with her and then learns that she died years before. I imagine he took a long shower after that. Spooky. Freaky.

Friends with Benefits – Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are friends who decide to have many brief encounters i.e., getting it on, knocking boots, having sexual intercourse or whatever the kids are calling it these days. Complications and hilarity, I presume, ensue. Also on the Blu Ray. Note – doesn’t actually hit the shelves till this Friday for some reason.

The Future – Couple adopts a cat which in turn alters their perspective on their lives as well as altering space and time around them. Cats will do that, they’re magical. From Miranda July who made the great Me and You and Everyone You Know a few years back. Probably the most interesting flick out this week.

Griff the Invisible – Romantic comedy starring that dumb hunky guy from True Blood who plays a office worker by day and then dresses up in superhero garb and doles out some justice at night. Seems like a pretty popular theme as of late. He then meets a girl and things happen.

One Day – Anne Hatheway and Jim Sturgess sleep together on their graduation day and then we see them on the same day for the next several years doing stuff (not always together) such as sleeping, shopping, raising helper monkeys, foxy boxing, making a robot, farming bees and all kinds of nice things (I made most of that up). Also on the Blu Ray.

Our Idiot Brother – The funny Paul Rudd stars as the slacker brother of some sisters who thinks he’s quite the title character. He ends up staying with them at different intervals after he gets out of prison for some lame pot charge. Comedy and family drama (mostly comedy I presume) ensue. Also on the Blu Ray.

The Smurfs – Creepy blue troll like creatures invade New York and eat the brains out of children. Or something like that. For kids.

30 Minutes or Less – Jesse Eisenberg is a loser pizza delivery guy who is forced to rob a bank by that loser guy from Eastbound and Down. Not a bad little flick, hums by at a scant 78 minutes. Has some laughs and some guffaws. I could think of a worse way to spend an evening. (stabbing myself in the eyes with a fork comes to mind). Also on the Blu Ray.

30 Rock Season 5 – More hijinks from the funniest show on network TV.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil – Fun spin on the kids go into the woods and are butchered by some inbred hillbillies theme. Some obnoxious coeds mistake the kindness of some local yokels for a kidnapping and they end up dying trying to kill the hillbillies and “rescue” their friend. Pretty fun film, has a bit of nice gore and some good laughs. I could think of a worse way to spend an evening (dry shaving my entire body comes to mind). Also on the Blu Ray.

Old stuff Just In

Going Places (1974)
Metropolis (1984 Giorgio Moroder soundtrack version)

Coming Next Week

NHL 24/7 Penguins vs Capitals
Portandia Season 1
The Debt
Life Above All
Project Nim
Psychic Experiment
Cowboys and Aliens
Big Love Season 5
A Bout Portant
The Help
Mr. Poppers Penguins
The Hangover part 2

Recently Viewed and Recommended

Tucker and Dale vs Evil
30 Minutes or Less
Friends with Benefits
The Last Circus
Devil’s Double
Super 8
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Attack the Block
Captain America

That’s it for this week, folks. I hope that everyone has a great week. Stay dry, stay happy, keep watching.

Black Dog Video

Black Dog Newsletter for Week Ending November 28th

Well that was short but sweet. Two weeks in Mexico was just what the doctor ordered (I wish I had an actual doctor who would order such things). Seems though that you let the place go when I was away. Saturday morning I was taking a shower in the warm sunshine in a sweet outdoor shower. It was great, 30 plus degrees. Next thing I know I’m stepping off the plane at 1 am to – 4 degrees! Not nice! Anyways, I hoped that you all didn’t miss me too much.

A spot of bad news to pass along. Black Dog Toronto is packing it in. The wayward little brother to the Vancouver Black Dog has succumbed to the pressures of all the things that are trying to kill our business. They will be shutting their doors at the end of the year. Good night and good luck.

And read to the end of the newsletter for a little contest/ giveaway thingy we have going on.

New Releases for Tuesday November 22nd

Bellflower – Cool sounding flick about a couple of buddies who spend all of their free time building weapons like flamethrowers attached to their car and shit in case the apocalypse is really just around the corner. Then one of them falls in love which complicates things. Maybe the kids at Black Dog Toronto can take a few pointers from this film. Get to work! Also on the Blu Ray.

Chillerama – Fun ode to those great trashy B-Movie horror films finds the closing of the last drive-in theatre in the US hosting a screening of rare exploitation type horror flicks. Crazy mayhem ensues.

Conan the Barbarian – In the world of unnecessary remakes (and is seems to be an ever-expanding universe) comes a leading candidate for the most unnecessary remake of all time, or at least the past six months. Why touch the original, it was great and fun and had Arnold? This one has Jason Momoa. Who? Exactly. Only the promise of brutal violence and gory scenes may prompt me to watch this. If you do check out the original, watch it with the commentary on – it is the funniest thing ever! Also on the Blu Ray.

Devil’s Double – Pretty good true story effort about a guy in Baghdad who was forced to become the double for Uday Hussein – the bat-shit crazy psychopath (easily the worst kind of psychopath) son of Saddam. Great performance by Dominic Cooper who plays both parts. Only a couple of quibbles; I wished they had used Iraqi actors or at least spoken the language, and what was with Ludivine Sagnier? She plays Uday’s “girlfriend” who seduces the double. She tries to play it sexy and alluring but it just comes off as weird, unsexy and a bit creepy. Also on the Blu Ray.

Faces on the Crowd – Some sort of thriller starring Mila Jovovich where she plays a woman who suffers from some movie affliction called “face blindness”. Oh and there’s a killer after her. Enjoy.

The Family Tree – Good looking dark comedy about a dysfunctional family ( pretty much the only kind one finds in the movies these days). Just in time for the holidays! Maybe watching films like these somehow make it easier to feel better about one’s own decrepit and messed up family?

Prep and Landing – Christmas animated family stuff about some elves and shit.

Rescue Me Season 6/7 – The final (thank gods) seasons of crusty Denis Leary’s fireman saga. Did you know he’s over 50?! Looks pretty good for a hard livin’ dude. Bodes well for me I hope.

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World – They still making these things? Who exactly are they aimed at. I think the kids who watched the first 4 or 5 might be a little too old to give a rat’s ass about any more of them. Just sayin’.

South of Heaven – This one has cult potential written all over it. Guy gets out of the Navy, goes to San Fran to see his brother and write a novel. Gets mistaken for said brother by some thugs, is left for dead and then goes on a murderous revenge fueled killing spree. And then there’s so much more. Word has it that it’s a fun ride.

Super 8 – Pretty good sci-fi thriller that is trying just a little too hard to harken back to the days when Senor Speilbergo made really good films – Close Encounters, ET and such. The main difference between this and those older films is that Super 8 just doesn’t have the same heart or well written characters and dialogue that made those films so special. That said it’s still a fun, well-made good time with good acting and stuff throughout although it tends to run out of steam about 2/3rds of the way through. On the curious downside (for me anyways) was the strange blue lens flares all through the film. Not too sure what the point of that was as I imagine that there was a point. Also on the Blu Ray.

Coming Next Week

Griff the Invisible
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
30 Minutes or Less
The Future
The Art of Getting By
Our Idiot Brother
One Day
Another Earth
30 Rock S 5

Recently Viewed and Recommended

Super 8
Devil’s Double
Harry Potter and the blah blah
Attack the Block
Robber
Rare Exports
Page One: NY Times
Tabloid
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Becoming Santa
Captain America

Contest Alert!

We have several copies of Chillerama – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1727252/ and Faces in the Crowd – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1536410/ to give way. Here’s an easy skill testing question – Kane Hodder stars in Chillerama. What role is he most famous for? First come first serve if you want to win one of these flicks…

That’s it for this week, folks. Stay dry, stay healthy and stay entertained!

Black Dog Video

Black Dog Newsletter for Week Ending November 7th

Rats! I was hoping to have this newsletter done by yesterday so I could prattle on about Halloween and all that jazz but I got caught up doing shit, decorating the house, getting the sprog ready for trick or treating and everything else that All Hallows Eve brings. That said, I had a great night last night. The house looked swell, we had over a hundred kids come by, trick or treating was a success, there were fireworks, an awesome funeral procession type jazz band winding their way through the hood and even a beautiful crescent moon to enhance the enjoyment. Good times.

 

I also just wanted to let ya’ll know that there won’t be a newsletter for the next couple of weeks as I’m taking a much needed vacation. I hope that everyone copes well in the absence.

 

New Releases for Tuesday November 1st

 

Beginners – Family comedy/drama that has Ewan McGregor finding out that Christopher Plummer (his dad – in the film) has cancer and is gay. Dramatic and comedic hijinks, I presume, ensue. Also on the Blu Ray – My apologies as the DVDs for this flick are late. We’re hoping to have them on the shelf by the end of the week. Keeping my fingers and other body parts crossed.

 

A Better Life – Illegal Mexican worker in LA tries to make, cue…A Better Life…for his son. Shhh don’t tell any Republicans about this guy!

 

Californication Season 4 – Sex addict David Duchovney plays sex addict Hank Moody in this sex riddled comedy series. It’s not bad but seems to be trying to hard sometimes and it comes across on occasion as Three’s Company but with lots of naked boobs.

 

Cars 2 – As much as I enjoy the Pixar films, this one holds little or no interest for me (or my 6 year-old). Also on the Blu Ray.

 

Crazy Stupid Love – Newly single Steve Carell has to navigate the single’s scene (yikes, how scary!) with the aid of shirtless Ryan Gosling. As much as I like the Gosling – he was great in the awesome Drive – I think he may be getting to be a little over exposed (no shirt-pun intended). Also on the Blu Ray.

 

Herschell Gordon Lewis: Godfather of Gore – Doc about famed exploitation director of such wholesome fare as Two Thousand Maniacs, The Gore Gore Girls, Blood Feast and The Wizard of Gore.

 

The Hour – No it’s not the George Snuffleupagus show, it’s a great miniseries from the BBC (so it’s gotta be good, right?). It’s a cold war espionage thriller that stars McNulty from The Wire. Looking forward to this one for sure!

 

A Little Help – Pam Beesley from The Office stars in this comedy about a woman who gets caught in a crazy web of lies as she tries to make do for her and her 12 year-old sprog. Hilarity, I presume, ensues.

 

A Serbian Film – Notorious flick from Serbia about a former porn star who gets sucked back into the life. I haven’t seen this yet but word has it that it contains all sorts of depravity and I have to throw out a warning that this may be a bit much even for seasoned film goers. Enjoy!

 

Tabloid – The great documentary film-maker Errol Morris pops up out of the blue with this excellent doc about a former Miss Wyoming who is charged with abducting and imprisoning a young Mormon Missionary. Only Morris could even find this story, never mind making a film about it. Mormons. Hee-hee.

 

Trespass – Straight to video is becoming quite common these days even if it doesn’t star Eric Roberts. Nic Cage and Nicole Kidman slum with crappy director Joel Schumacher in this tale of a home invasion gone wrong. Do they ever go right? Hey, check out those waxy looking faces on the cover. Weird.

 

Water for Elephants – And Guinness for Darren. Sorry. Nicely shot tale about a vampire (well it is the guy from Twilight!) who runs away to join the circus. As a veterinarian. There he hooks up with Reese Witherspoon. Things happen. People say stuff. They kiss at some point. Am I giving too much away? Also on the Blu Ray.

 

Oh, and I should mention that we finally got more DVD copies of The Robber – excellent French crime thriller – at both stores.

 

Coming Next Week

 

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Magic Trip

Becoming Santa

The Change-Up

 

And Coming the Week After That

 

Superheroes

Bunraku

Camelot

Larry Crowne

Face Off

Drummond Will

Dreamworks Dragons

 

Recently Viewed and Recommended

 

Attack The Block

Tabloid

The Robber

Captain America

The Hour

Rare Exports

Bill Cunningham: New York

Red Corner

Hesher

Red State

 

One from the Internets

 

Sorry this is a day late…And in the spirit of the almighty Halloween, I’ll throw your attention over to the fine folks at the Onion who prattle on about their favorite scary moments in film…What’s yours? I’d have to put the ending of Carrie and the scene in Ringu (The Japanese original) when she crawls out of the TV, up there for good scares. http://www.avclub.com/articles/scariest-movie-scenes,64163/

 

That’s it for this week, folks. Remember no newsletter for a couple of weeks. Be safe and keep watching.

 

Black Dog Video