Black Dog Newsletter for Week Ending May 23rd

It’s really quite amazing – not the good kind of amazing unfortunately – to see what has transpired in the first five months of 2011 with regards to this business. Since the beginning of the year no less than ten DVD rental stores have either closed or will be closing in the very near future. And that’s not counting the Blockbusters and the Rogers. It shocks and saddens me to think that a town the size of Vancouver might be without any video stores. Bizarre. That said, rest assured that Black Dog is not going anywhere. At least that’s the plan. There will be a few changes in the future to the business; starting June 1st the Cambie store will be opening at 1pm Sunday to Thursday instead of the regular noon openings. Stay tuned.

New Releases for Tuesday May 17th

Autre Dumas – The round Gerard Depardieu stars in this period drama about the famous writer ( Dumas) and his uncredited writing partner who decides to pretend he’s Dumas to seduce a young Dumas groupie. Kind sounds like an episode of Three’s Company.

Daydream Nation – Locally shot number about a lovely big city gal who has to move to a small town for some reason and then becomes embroiled in a love triangle with her young handsome teacher and stoner classmate. Stars the lovely Kat Dennings and the lovely Josh Lucas. Lovely!

I Saw the Devil – Can’t wait to check this one out! Nobody does the revenge flicks like the South Koreans. When a psycho kills the pregnant wife of an “elite special agent” he gets more than he bargained for when the husband exacts his own brand of nasty-ass revenge. Word has it that it is crazy violent and crazy good. This one jumps to the top of my viewing que for sure.

The Mechanic – So-so action thingy about a hit man who takes on the son of one of his targets to teach him the trade. I was actually looking forward to this as I kinda like the Jason Statham (does he do anything else beside steely-eyed hit men roles?) but it’s pretty cliched (hello beautiful prostitute) and ridiculous with improbable action scenes that are edited too fast and pseudo stylized which all adds up to just another tired action flick. Also on the Blu Ray.

Modra – Canadian/ Slovakian production about a young girl who gets dumped by her boyfriend just before she leaves Toronto for a vacation abroad. So she invites a cute boy named Leco from her school to join her. Misunderstandings and some sort of self discovery hijinks, I presume, ensue.

The Rite – Sir Anthony Hopkins + exorcism horror film = well I hope that it equals something pretty good. But I’m not holding my breath. Also on the Blu Ray.

The Roommate – Another in the long line of “crazy hot roommate at college who looks a lot like you and who may end up killing your boyfriend and stealing your identity for some reason” films.

Thor: Tales of Asgard (Animated) – Word has it that this animated Thor feature (coincidence that it hits DVD the same time that the non-animated one hits the theatres?) is actually pretty darn good. For all you nerds out there who like this sort of thing.

Three Idiots – Wacky (don’t believe me? Look at the box art) comedy from India about a couple of friends who embark on a journey to find a long lost buddy. And they do it without pants!

Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show Great Job! Season 5 – More of the insane, hilarious and insane skits and what-not from these jokesters.

Vanishing on 7th Street – Everyone in Detroit has mysteriously disappeared (insert Detroit joke here) leaving behind nothing but a pile of clothes (whoo-hoo! free clothes!). What is in the dark that is doing this? Is it some sort of evil? Is it the Rapture? A small band of survivors must figure it out before it’s too late. From Brad Anderson (Session 9, Transsiberian) one of the most under-rated directors working (in my not-so-humble opinion) today.

The Way Back – Peter Weir finally returns to the director’s chair in this trueish tale about a bunch of prisoners who escape a Gulag in Siberia and trek ten million miles to India. I read the book, which was quite interesting and exciting but I seem to recall there was a Yeti sighting in it. Wonder if that will make it onto the screen. Hope so. Also on the Blu Ray.

Coming Next Week

• Oliver Sherman
• Blood Creek
• Bedeviled
• Public Speaking
• All Good Things
• Gnomeo and Juliet
• I am Number Four

Recently Viewed and Recommended

The Illusionist
Blue Valentine
Rabbit Hole
A Somewhat Gentle Man
The Girl

Inside Job

Somewhere

King’s Speech
Marwencol

Great Job Internets!

Ever wonder what a Turkish tailgate party might look like? Of course you have. Now here’s your chance![youtube] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUzC78VNnB0[/youtube]

Looks like Jim Jaramuch is going to venture into the tired and well trodden vampire flick genre. At least it will probably be a lot more interesting than the Twilight stuff. It will star Tilda Swinton who already looks like a vampire so it’s got that going for it. http://www.avclub.com/articles/even-jim-jarmusch-is-making-a-vampire-movie,56118/

The First Weekend Club would like you to know about a showing of the locally shot Repeaters this week… http://www.bigbluesafe.com/email/display.php?M=81692&C=b6cb8cd1b1f1e7648778570ec1f4d974&S=908&L=33&N=649

Another thing I was thinking of has been made true because of the internets! Great Job. Why in romantic comedies do woman fall down all the time? Here’s a bunch of evidence. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH2Bpl42WXo&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Want to see something utterly ridiculous and offensive? Check out the size of Will Smith’s trailer (not what you’re thinking, perverts) It even has a name it’s so big… http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/monster_that_ate_soho_VdW5POGj4kk2YKCD1R0g6I?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4dccda72952ab787%2C0

Thats it for today folks. Enjoy the hockey if that’s your bag but don’t forget about us! Keep watching.

Black Dog Video