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