Archive for year: 2012

Disney. I’ve never liked the Disney. They’ve always appeared kind of evil to me for a myriad of reasons. Now I have another. The latest affront to all that is good and well comes in the form of the mouse house actively trying to put video stores out of business. They have a few titles coming out on DVD this week and down the road – The Secret World of Arrietty and John Carter – but they are releasing them for sale only with a 28 day hold back on the rental versions. Their ploy? To make consumers buy the DVD and Blu Rays (and the Disney stuff is the most expensive product on the market) instead of renting it. As you can tell this would spell disaster for us and all the other remaining DVD rental stores out there. So what we are doing is only picking up 1 -2 copies of each of these titles and renting them out anyways. It seems to me to be the only way to make Disney see the error of their ways. Not only is Disney trying to sink the rental business but they are in bed with Wal-Mart who gets very favorable prices for their product. Seems like a level of hell to me, these two together. Evil begetting evil. So please bear with us and support us as we try to tough it out against these pricks. We’ll still have a few copies of these films for your enjoyment, just not a whole ton of them. Thanks!

On the other side of bed, here’s a little article about the place in your community for businesses such as ourselves….http://ow.ly/b5dDy

New Releases for Tuesday May 22nd

Albatross – Comedy/drama dealy that finds a young sexy writer working at a B & B and having an affair with her friend’s dad. “Ruh-roh!”, as Scooby-Doo has been known to say.

Front Line – Fine looking Korean war thriller about the final battle in said Korean War that was to determine where the border between south and crazy north was to be drawn. Also on the Blu Ray.

The Grey – Stealy-eyed Liam Neeson survives a (very well done) plane crash with some other dudes only to be hunted by giant psychotic wolves for some reason. A pretty fun thriller that, despite gaping, non-sensical plot holes, being overly-long, peppered with ridiculous stunts, brimming with cliches, and having shoddy looking wolves ( one could just imagine a guy off camera with a stuffed wolf head jabbing it into the face and intestines of the actors), I still quite enjoyed for it’s entertaining silliness. Also on the Blu Ray.

Red Tails – From all accounts it is a pretty weak, cliche riddled war flick that tries to tell an important story mostly ignored in American history – that of the Tuskegee Airmen – a squadron of black pilots who are finally given the chance to prove themselves in the skies during WWII, after putting up with tons of horrible racism. George Lucas said he wanted to produce this film for many years and this was the best he could come up with? He probably tried to fir Jar Jar Binks somewhere in the film. “Meesa gonna kill some Nazi scum!” Also on the Blu Ray.

The River Season 1 – Cool, scary looking found footage TV thriller about some people traveling the Amazon in search of a missing explorer dude. From the guy who made the terrifying Paranormal Activity flicks. The found footage genre has been getting a pretty good workout as of late but when it’s on, it can be pretty effective. I’m looking forward to check this number out.

The Secret World of Arrietty – I want to say positive things about this fine animated Japanese flick that was inspired by The Borrowers that tells the tale of a bunch of four inch people living in someone’s home, but since it’s Disney I’ll just leave it at, well, suck it Disney! Also on the Blu Ray.

This Means War – Romantic action comedy (!) about a couple of CIA operatives who wage war on each other when they discover they are both dating Reese Witherspoon for some reason. One of those hybrid films that tries to appeal to everyone with the action and the romance mixed together. Kinda like crossing a gorilla with a gazzelle. A Gorzella. Hence forth these types of flicks will now be known as Gorzellas. Also on the Blu Ray.

Sherlock Season 2 – Benedict Cumberbatch, the best name in show business, stars as the titlular sleuth in this fine BBC series. I could go around all day saying Benedict Cumberbatch. Try it!

Some Days are Better Than Others – Hipster drama/comedy (with possibly the worst cover art ever) about an aspiring reality TV star and a dude who works as a temp who find each other in the rain and clouds of Portland. How hip is this flick? Well it stars James Mercer from The Shins and Carrie Brownstein from Portlandia and Sleater-Kinney. So there. Available at Commercial, soon at Cambie.

The Woman in Black – No it’s not a sequel to The Lady in Red (ear-worm!). Harry Potter stars in this scaarry horror flick as a dude who has to move into a mansion with a mysterious and horrible history. Oh and there’s a vengeful ghost hanging around there as well. Again with the vengeful ghost. Also on the Blu Ray.

Coming Next Week

We Need to Talk About Kevin
Goon
Mutant Girls Squad
There be Dragons
True Blood Season 4
Aggression Scale

Recently Viewed and Recommended

The Grey
Merantau
Chronicle
The Innkeepers
Mission Impossible 4
Breaking Bad S 3
Tiny Furniture
The Future
Guilty

Me thinks it’s going to be a fine year for films. Want a little proof? Here’s a teaser trailer for the new Paul Thomas Anderson flick, The Master. Can’t wait. http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Teaser-Trailer-Paul-Thomas-Anderson-Master-31025.html

Oh and don’t forget to “like” our Facebook page. Why would I do that, you ask? Well you can win free rentals that’s why. Every now and then I post a still from a flick and the first one to answer wins a free old title rental that day.

See ya’ll next week. Stay warm, well fed and watered and keep watching.

Black Dog Video

First off let me apologize for two things; the lateness of this week’s newsletter – I always try to get it out on Monday afternoon but that’s morphed into Tuesday afternoon and now here we are at good old Wednesday. I am going to have to let the blame fall upon me having a cold and then thinking that it was a good idea to remedy my ailment with some of the fine beverages offered to me at Biercraft Tuesday afternoon. It wasn’t long before I was making tender love to my couch. And the second thing I’d like to apologize for is the quality of this week’s new releases. “Yikes!” might have been overheard at either location when laying your eyeballs on what passes for releases on the shelves. There are a few  good smaller titles but when freaking Underworld 4 is the top title, well let’s just say that there’s lots of other older films that are worth your time and effort. It gets better starting next week, I promise.

Everyone loves a good contest, right? Well here’s another one for you anyways. Starting tomorrow (Thursday) I’m going to post a photo on the Black Dog Video Facebook page from some movie or some famous movie star or something. So you have to go to the Black Dog Page (not the group), like it and the first one to respond with the correct answer gets a free old title rental for that day. One per location. Cool? Thought so.

Just a reminder that all of our lovely Black Dog T-Shirts can be yours for the low cost of $14.99 plus da tax. Also we still have a whack of $4.00 DVDs for sale at the Cambie location only. Come and and make a good home for a lonely DVD or Blu Ray.

New Releases for Tuesday May 8th

The Big C Season 2 – Suburban mom finds out she has cancer so she decides she should start cooking meth and become a drug kingpin…wait that’s another show….suburban mom finds out she has cancer and then goes on a killing spree targeting people she thinks deserves…wait that’s a movie…suburban mom has cancer and drama and comedy, I presume, ensue.

Birdsong – Over-long TV thingy about a guy fighting in the trenches in WW1 who keeps thinking about the hot French woman who he had an illicit affair with. Probably not what I’d be thinking of covered in mud and being shot at all the time. But that’s just me.

Daylight – Cool, scary sounding kidnapping kinda horror film that sounds like, from what I’ve read, as a sort of Funny Games kinda thing. Worth a look for those of you sick puppies, such as myself, who are into these types of things.

Kawa – A Maori father and husband comes out of the closet in this heavy drama from New Zealand.

Koch Brothers: Exposed – Doc on the Koch brothers, those sleazy billionaires who help fund evil in America – in other words a lot of conservative nasty business. Directed by the guy who made the doc on Wal-Mart, Fox TV, the Iraq war and, for some reason, the film Xanadu.

Mother’s Day – Rebecca De Mornay (remember her from Risky Business?) stars as an evil mom in this remake of the 80’s slasher, well, not classic, but flick. She plays the mom of a sadistic family who returns to their childhood home to terrorize the family that now lives there. Might as well, what else is a sadistic family to do? Also on the Blu Ray.

Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie – Those wacky guys – Tim and Eric – get a billion clams to make a film but they lose it and then try to revitalize a failing shopping mall. I don’t think that the plot really matters as this is more insanity for fans of this type of insanity. You know who you are. Also on the Blu Ray.

Presume Coupable aka Presumed Guilty – Award winning French drama/thriller true story thingy about a husband and wife who are accused to some horrible crimes agains children. French children! I’ve heard very good things about this “miscarriage of justice” flick.

Underworld: Awakening – I don’t remember anyone asking for another Underworld film. I’m not too sure what number this one is, 4? 6? 17? I guess if you’re into watching Kate Beckinsdale run around in tight leather shooting werewolves or vampires or mermen or whatever she has to battle with, then I guess you’ll be lining up for this one. Also on the Blu Ray.

The Vow – The lovely Rachel McAdams awakes from a coma following a car crash with amnesia. Her lovelier husband, Channing Tatum, has to win her heart again. Ugh. How many times have we seen amnesia used as a plot device in films or TV? Too many, that’s how many. I think I’ve heard of maybe one or two cases of amnesia in real life but the movies make it as common as serial killers and mobsters. I imagine that there are folk out there who dig this kind of romantic claptrap, but for me, a jaded old curmudgeon, I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a warm spoon that watch this. Also on the Blu Ray.

Oh and we have more copies of the acclaimed documentary on George Harrison in stock at both stores.

Coming Next Week

Albert Nobbs
Chronicle
The Devil Inside
Front Line
Hard Core Logo 2
Miss Bala
Hell on Wheels
Norwegian Wood
Rampart

Recently Viewed and Recommended

The Innkeepers
Misson Impossible: Ghost Protocol
The Skin I Live In
Haywire
Breking Bad S 3
The Killing S 1
Game of Thrones S 1
Nurse Jackie S 3
Shame
Tyrannosaur
Treme Season 2
Into the Abyss
Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy
Young Adult
Elite Squad: Enemy Within
Housemaid

That’s it for this edition folks. Have a great week, enjoy the new lovely weather we may or may not be getting, eat well, drink well and keep watching.

Black Dog Video

So I had a pretty good response to last weeks newsletter in which I touted some of Black Dog’s favorite things (businesses primarily) in each of the hoods where we reside. Here’s a few comments from some readers on things they liked and things I missed…
For the Drive.
The newly landscaped Grandview Park with it’s people-friendly “Town Square” design, a fabulous western City view at sunset and excellent bathrooms.
Joe’s Coffee (The untrendy coffee tradition for all of us non-trendies)
Elizabeth’s Bakery for their cheap and tasty Goulash soup and meat pies.
SuperValu 1st and Commercial (Not the best or cheapest supermarket but it’s Greater Vancouver’s only S.M. that’s open 24/365 for us night owls and shift workers and has underground parking Wow!)

Cambie Hood
I’ve been a patron at Thai Away Home for many years. They weathered the Canada Line construction and are still going strong. My partner and I (he buys stuff for me-yes!) also shop at Cocoon. They have beautiful, locally made clothing and accessories for women.
I think you were were remiss to include Walrus on your list of Cambie St businesses. Great store often carrying locally made items.
I’m surprised The Kino Cafe was not mentioned for The Cambie hood. It has long been a fine independent business even before the current owners took over many years ago.

So there you have it – some more places to check out in the neighborhoods. It’s refreshing to get a response to this newsletter that isn’t “please remove me from you mailing list”. I only got one of those last week!

Slim picking for New Releases this week – next week it picks up again followed by many a strong week. In the meantime, catch up on some great TV on the DVD or even, gasp, rent something old!

New Releases for Tuesday April 24th

The Big Fix – Doc about that horrendous BP Oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Should be good for a few laughs. That is if you find baby seals covered in oil funny. You’re so cruel.

Cinema Verite – Diane Lane, Tim Robbins and Tony Soprano star in this cool looking docudrama about the first American family to be the subjects of a reality TV show. Little did they know that they would change the TV world into the tepid hellscape that it is today.

Contraband – Remake of the pretty good (from what I hear) Icelandic thriller Reykjavik-Rotterdam. It’s actually directed by the guy who starred in the original. Not too sure why I mentioned that, thought it might be of interest I guess. This remake stars Marky Mark (not too sure if there’s any shots of him in his underwear) as a guy who used to be involved in smuggling and stuff who get “pulled back in to do one last job”. I’m sure the usual hijinks ensue. Also on the Blu Ray.

Domain – French film finds the lovely gap-toothed Beatrice Dalle playing a teacher who enters into some sort of relationship with one of her students. Don’t know if that’s a sexy type of relationship but I like this description by Indiewire – Imagine “Harold and Maude” directed by Eric Rohmer with shades of film noir and doused in philosophical chatter enhanced by ample white wine. There ya go.

Frozen Planet – Another one of those amazingly filmed animals doing animal shit docs narrated by David Attenborough. This time around it looks at those crazy animals that live at the earth’s poles. Why anything would want to live there is beyond me. Also on the Blu Ray.

In the Land of Blood and Honey – I know that everyone loves a little blood and honey on their toast but I can’t imagine that premise going very far. Oh wait, I was thinking of something else. This is a heavy duty drama set during the Bosnian war that finds a Serb and a Bosnian entering into a complicated affair. Don’t expect a lot of laughs here – no oil covered seals for your enjoyment. Directed by the uber-lipped Angelina Joile. Also on the Blu Ray.

Pariah – From all accounts this is an excellent drama that finds a young gay teenager trying to deal with her traditional family and being true to herself. (Did I just write that? Eww).

The Wicker Tree – Kind of a sequel, maybe a remake of the awesome cult favorite Wicker Man. This time around a couple of missionaries travel to the remote Scottish island inhabited by weirdo hippies and Christopher Lee. Written and directed by the guy who made the original. Hope that its as weird and sexy as the first one although I’m not expecting good things here. Not too sure why this film exists. Might be of interest to fans of the original.

Coming Next Week

Dark Tide
Haywire
George Harrison – Living in the Material World
Joyful Noise
Nazis at the Centre of the Earth
New Years Eve
Great Expectations
The Innkeepers
Tomorrow When the War Began

Recently Viewed and Recommended

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Shame
Tyrannosaur
Treme Season 2
Into the Abyss
The Killing Season 1
Game of Thrones Season 1
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy
Young Adult
Elite Squad: Enemy Within
Housemaid
Shameless Season 1
Good Neighbors

That’s about it for this week folks. Have a fine week. Sorry about the Canucks. The weather is still dodgy so it’s a swell time to rent a flick. Come on down and we’ll fix you up!

Well it’s that time of year again, hockey playoffs (I heard that collective groan!). I have a love/hate relationship with the Canucks and the hockey in general. While I do love the sport – playing it as well as watching – and the playoffs are the best time to watch the game, it just does such a number on business that it makes it tough for me to fully get behind all the hoopla. I guess in a perfect world the Canucks would win the cup by sweeping every series and not playing on the weekends. Hoping for that or a first round exit. Sigh.

On another note, all of our garbage and recycling containers and bags have disappeared from behind the Cambie store. This actually happens quite often (although it’s the first time that the garbage bin as gone missing) and I’m always bewildered as to why anyone would want to take these things. They’re free from the city and they’re also new and shiny. What’s wrong with people?

So the sales of the used DVDs are winding down – probably another week at Commercial and maybe a bit longer at Cambie so come on down and see what you can pick up for real cheap – $6 per DVD or $5 each if you purchase three or more. You’re saving money by buying them!

New Releases for Tuesday April 10th

Cannibal – Latest gore fest from France finds a dude who’s living in the woods in a nice little cabin who stumbles across a woman covered in blood. He takes her home (of course he does) only to realize later on that she’s got a taste for human flesh (of course she does). She then gets kidnapped by some Gypsy mobsters for some reason and has to eat her way to freedom. I hear that humans taste like chicken.

The Darkest Hour – Haven’t heard too many good things about this supposed sci-fi thriller that finds some Americans in Russia who have to battle electric aliens or something that are bent on destroying the world. Why are almost all aliens who visit our fine planet bent on destroying it? Who goes on vacation with the expressed purpose of wrecking everything and trying to assimilate everyone and everything to their way of life? Besides Americans that is. Jerks. Also on the Blu Ray.

The Divide – Survivors of a nuclear attack on New York take refuge in a basement until the gravity of the situation forces them to act, shall we say, badly. This one looks like it might be pretty promising, even if I’ve never heard of it before. From the French director of the pretty awesome Frontier(s). Available only at Cambie for the moment, coming soon to Commercial.

El Bulli – Slow moving doc about the famed Spanish restaurant in Spain known as the best restaurant in the world for their fancy foamy art food. Pretty good flick (but pretty slow as mentioned) especially if you’re a foodie type.

Into the Abyss – The always amazing Werner Herzog’s latest doc about some (not-so-bright) guys who are death row for killing some people over a car somewhere in the States.

Iron Lady – Meryl Steep won some awards for her portrayal of that awful woman with that great hair who was the president of England back in the eighties. Can’t say that I’m much of a fan of the bio-pic, especially about particularly despicable people, unless they are really scathing. Haven’t seen this so I can’t really say. Also on the Blu Ray.

Louder Than a Bomb – Crowd pleasing doc that follows four teams of poetry slammers from Chicago as they prepare for a throw-down, cage-match, no-holds-barred poetry slammathon.

One Life – One of those really well filmed docs about animals getting their animal thang on and what not. Also on the Blu Ray. Available only at Cambie for the moment, coming soon to Commercial.

Sleeping Beauty – Strange looking weird erotic drama finds a woman who takes the job of a “sleeping beauty” which entails her being rendered unconscious and letting gross men do things with/to her while she’s asleep. So many layers of creepiness just in the description makes me want to check this deviant little number out. Hopefully you don’t get this film from the stores when you come in to rent the Disney Sleeping Beauty although that would make for a funny story for us.

Old but New to Us

Highway Patrolman (Alex Cox)

Coming Next Week

Bob’s Burgers Season 1
Domain
Girl Fight
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Shame
Treme Season 2

Recently Viewed and Recommended

Into the Abyss
The Killing Season 1
Game of Thrones Season 1
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy
Young Adult
Elite Squad: Enemy Within
Housemaid
Shameless Season 1

Oh ya and Happy Belated Easter (if you can be happy about a guy being crucified and then possibly coming back to life) World’s first zombie? Anyways here’s a little how do-ya-do from the Oatmeal…

I’ve been thinking a lot about sex lately. Well really, who hasn’t? Let me be more specific, I’ve been thinking about sex in the movies a lot lately. I don’t have a reason as to why I’ve been thinking about this but I’ve come to the conclusion that, generally, I don’t really like sex scenes in my movies. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no prude. Far from it. As Woody Allen once said. “Sex is the most fun you can have without laughing”. I do enjoy a good erotic sex scene when it’s appropriate, say like in films such as 9 Songs, The Lover, Secret Things or 9 1/2 Weeks. But I find that in your regular films (regular?) sex scenes either bring the film to a grinding halt or they are so unbelievable that I can’t help but role my eyes. If I’m watching an action flick or horror film (we all know what happens to folks who get it on in horror films) I don’t want to have my film interrupted (filmus interruptus?) by some cheesy – and they are almost always cheesy – sex scene. Like really, you’re going to knock everything off that kitchen table to go at it instead of going to the couch or bed or the treehouse in the backyard? And how long did it take you to light all of those candles? There must be over 200 candles burning in that room. It must be very hot and probably most of the oxygen has been sucked out of that room and you’re going to pass out any moment now. There are exceptions of course. One that comes to mind is in the film The Name of the Rose – great little sex scene with Christian Slater’s apprentice monk character and a local girl who has broken into the castle looking for food. It seems real(ish) and is pretty hot. These are just some thoughts roaming around my tired brain lately. Any films that you can think of that has good sex scenes that actually add to the film instead of being a distraction or an excuse to get an actress naked? Let us know. Next week we can talk about the lack of penis’ in the movies if you like!

On another note, we wanted to say welcome to the Commercial hood to Via Tevere Pizzeria Napoletana who just opened up on the corner of Victoria and William St.. We tried to go on Friday but it was rammed so we’ll have to check it out on another evening. It’s about time we had some quality pizza over here!

New Releases for Tuesday March 27th

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked – Are you really going to make talk about this? I have nothing good to say so I choose to plead the 5th. You know who you are if you want to watch this. The only thing that could redeem this would be some inappropriate sex scenes. Some good chipmunk on Jason Lee scenes? Think about it!

Confucius – Raunchy comedy about a guy heading off to university with the hopes of losing his virginity to some sexy, bouncy coeds and joining a fraternity made up of misfits and party animals. Only problem is the Dean wants to shut down the frat…oh sorry I was thinking of something else. Chow Yun-Fat plays the titular philosopher in this biopic. I doubt (and hope) that there aren’t any sex scenes in this.

Corman’s World – Doc about the famed director producer responsible for such fare as Piranha, Bloodsport, Peter Bogdanovich, Grand Theft Auto, Peter Fonda, Big Bad Mama, Martin Scorsese, Death Race 2000, Jonathan Demme, Night Call Nurses, Ron Howard and about a thousand other things.

A Dangerous Method– Lots of facial hair on display here as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung square off in a cage match over the affections of an insanely overacting Keira Knightly. This is the kind of film by David Cronenberg that I don’t really care for. Check out the trailer here for his new flick, which is more my speed (warning! Has sex, violence and giant rats!) [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DCFB-WPe9Ic[/youtube] Also on the Blu Ray.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Heavy duty drama about a nine-year old kid who searches all over New York for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by Tom Hanks, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11. Sandra Bulloch is on hand as well to cry and yell and stuff. Also on the Blu Ray.

Monster Brawl – Ok. The best way to describe this I guess is…eight classic monsters fight to the death in an explosive wrestling tournament set inside an abandoned and cursed graveyard. You weren’t expecting me to say that now were you? And no, this isn’t a documentary. But it is Canadian so it has that going for it, right?

Revenge of the Electric Car – Kind of a sequel to Who Killed the Electric car from a few years ago. This one looks at the resurgence in said title vehicle. Unfortunately there are no scenes of electric cars taking actual revenge on anyone.

Todd and the Book of Pure Evil Season 1 (Season 1 and 2 at Cambie) – Fun Buffy-style TV show that follows stoner metalhead Todd Smith, his crushee Jenny, his best friend Curtis, and the geeky Hannah, as they search their high school for a mayhem-causing Satanic spell book, while being opposed by Atticus, the evil guidance councillor. Supposed to be quite a good time. Don’t believe me? http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/53594/todd-the-book-of-pure-evil-the-complete-first-season/

Wallace and Gromit: A World of Invention – TV show featuring everyone’s favorite claymation, cheese-loving duo.

Old Stuff Just In…

Deer Hunter – Blu Ray
Story of a Love Affair

Coming Next Week

Being Elmo
War Horse
Snows of Kilimanjaro
Space Dogs
Toast
Private Eye
Chasing Madoff
We Bought a Zoo

Recently Viewed and Recommended

Game of Thrones
Skin I lIve In
Senna
Melancholia
Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Housemaid
Young Adult
The Muppets

Mad Men finally got back onto the air Sunday. I’m hoping that it doesn’t take too long before we get our hands on the DVDs and Blu Rays! Here’s some fun graffiti mocking the ads for the new season. Enjoy – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/the-funniest-mad-men-subway-poster-graffiti-video_n_1379652.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003#s813268&title=The_Original

That’s it for this week folks. Have a swell week, enjoy those sex scenes and remember, keep watching.

Black Dog Video