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Do you know what would make this picture even better? Absolutely nothing.

DVDs streeting the week of 12/9:

Another Gay Sequel

Bad Boys (1983) (reissue) – No, not the stupid Lawrence/Smith vehicle, but a nice, gritty slice of juvenile delinquency starring a young Sean Penn and Esai Morales as rival street thugs. Penn accidentally runs down Morales's little brother after a robbery and Morales rapes Penn's girlfriend (Ally Sheedy) to get revenge. When they both end up in the same juvie facility, you know a showdown is coming and the rest of the film is spent building that conflict. Meanwhile, the adults try to show them the error of their ways to little avail as other inmates start to take sides. It's a low budget little morality play, not unlike any number of gangster and crime dramas that came before it, convincingly written and acted. Direction by Rick Rosenthal just keeps out of of the way of the energy of actors - too much stylization (which I doubt Rosenthal really has in him) would ruin it, so it's good that no auteur was given this assignment. (Patrick)

Chamber of Horrors/Brides of Fu Manchu (double feature)
The Dark Knight
Dona Flor & Her Two Husbands
The Early Works of Cheryl Dunye
Europa (Criterion Collection directed by Lars Von Trier)
God & Gays
Hair: Let the Sun Shine In
Three Short Films By Werner Herzog (The Dark Glow of the Mountains/ Ballad of the Little Soldier/ Precautions Against Fanatics)
A Hole in a Fence
Horton Hears a Who (2008)

Irma Vep - I see that this is the "essential edition" of Oliver Assayas' 1996 meta-comedy, which features Assayas' real-life-wife Maggie Cheung starring as herself. Cheung's cast in a remake of the (totally awesome) silent French serial Les Vampires, reconceived by a bunch of neurotic French filmmakers, and though I would never in a million years knock a film that would put one of the world's loveliest actresses in black leather, but Irma Vep is merely a sweet, minor note; a nerdy movie for movie nerds. (Dex)

It Happened One Night (1934) (reissue)
Killing Hitler: The True Story of the Valkyrie Plot
Man on Wire
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) (reissue)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) (reissue)
Murder Island/Die Zombiejager

Murnau, Borzage, and Fox Box Set - This is the biggest release of the year for fans of classic Hollywood. You get the surviving first film (Sunrise) and third film (City Girl) of three that F.W. Murnau directed for Fox Studios. Both of these film come from newly struck remasters and as a bonus, Sunrise is presented in two formats- the first is the domestic, Movietone version and the second is the European, silent version. The second film that Murnau did for Fox, 4 Devils, is considered lost but is covered by this set with the documentary Murnau’s 4 Devils: Traces of a Lost Film by Janet Bergstrom and a 130 page soft cover book. Frank Borzage, whose films make up the bulk of this box, was a visually adventurous filmmaker interested in the promise of love, both human and divine, and our capacity to attain it. In this sense, he was a more optimistic and light hearted filmmaker than Murnau who, in his own films, liked to poke around at the dark corners of human existence. With this in mind it is easy to see why Borzage's films, as time has gone on, have not received the attention that Murnau's films have had. I would not be surprised though, if a re-evaluation begins to take place after this release as ten of Borzage's films under the Fox banner are presented here (Lazybones, Street Angel, 7th Heaven, Lucky Star, They Had to See Paris, Liliom, Song O' My Heart, Bad Girl, After Tomorrow, and Young America) along with a reconstruction of 1929's The River. Struck from the best prints available, this is the best chance ever on DVD to get a comprehensive take on Borzage during his prime and to discover or rediscover some of the most beautiful films from late silent and early sound era. (Pike Bishop)


Passion and Power
The Quare Fellow
Resident Evil 3-pack
Roscoe’s House of Chicken N Waffles
School of Rock (re-release with digital copy included)
Sex & the City: The Movie (Ultimate Collector’s Edition)
Teenage Angst
You Can’t Take It With You (reissue)
Zoolander (re-release with digital copy included)