New York Characters & New Releases...

Bill Cunningham New York, a delightful documentary on the eccentric and wonderfully good-natured octogenarian photographer, familiar to all readers of the New York Times' Sunday Style section and many others, received its DVD release this week, and I highly recommend it. It's hard not to be taken with the man - his philosophy, his humor, and his work. Watching it called to mind some other great profiles of New York characters, of all stripes...

I Like Killing Flies
The irascible and oddly endearing chef and diner owner Kenny Shopsin pontificates on food, community, and... whatever else crosses his mind in Matt Mahurin's lo-fi doc.

Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story
The daughter of Manhattan socialites, Berlin left behind the world of debutantes and soirees at a young age to pursue a more idiosyncratic path. A regular amongst the New York underground scene, Berlin was a famed member of the Warhol Factory and a good friend of Andy himself. In addition to pursuing her own artistic muse (ie, her "Cock Book" and appearances in John Waters' films), she also candidly battled eating disorders and obsessive compulsive tendencies. In Shelly Dunn & Vincent Freemont's documentary, she holds forth on her past and present accomplishments and challenges with refreshing honesty.

The Cruise
A tour guide of New York's Gray Line double-decker buses, Timothy "Speed" Levitch treats his captive audiences to stream-of-consciousness musings on subjects ranging from historical and architectural trivia to philosophical conjectures to reasons why he loves his city. Levitch is also featured in Richard Linklater's doc, Live From Shiva's Dance Floor.

Public Speaking
Martin Scorsese directs this portrait of noted writer and iconoclastic thinker Fran Lebowitz, who delivers witty and provocative reflections on an impressive range of topics.


This week's new arrivals:

Thor
This week's superhero quota is fulfilled by Thor and his mighty hammer. Kenneth Branagh directs!

Hesher
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a rough-living loner who becomes entwined in one family's lives. Also stars Rainn Wilson and Natalie Portman.

Incendies
Denis Villeneuve's Oscar-nominated film is a riveting, Middle Eastern set mystery (based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad) that leads to a sucker-punch of an ending.

Meek's Cutoff
The latest from Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy, Old Joy) is a slow-burning Western, starring Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, and Paul Dano.

American Breakdown
This omnibus film strings together several shorts, featuring James Gandolfini, Steve Carell, Eric Stonestreet, Paris Hilton, and many others.

Blades of Blood
The latest Korean martial arts flick. Original title: Goo-reu-meul beo-eo-nan dal-cheo-reom... Not sure why they changed it.

True Legend
Another martial arts offering, this one directed by Woo-ping Yuen (fight choreographer for Kill Bill; The Matrix; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and many others).

Son of Morning
Nothing like being mistaken for the messiah to make you famous overnight.

Brand New Day
Geoffrey Rush stars in this Australian musical comedy.

Wishful Drinking
Carrie Fisher's wonderful one-woman show. Read a great AV Club interview with Fisher here.

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
When Conan becomes contractually forbidden from performing on television, radio, or the interweb, he takes it on the road. Read Margot Harrison's here, part of her Movies You Missed blog series for Seven Days.

Vidal Sassoon: The Movie
Documentary profile of the influential stylist.

The National: A Skin, A Night
Vincent Moon's impressionistic portrait of the band as they record their album Boxer.

'Tis the season for TV on DVD! This week's arrivals:

Rescue Me - 6th & Final Season

Glee - 2.2nd Season

Camelot - 1st Season

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena - 1st Season

The Big Bang Theory - 4th Season

Grey's Anatomy - 7th Season

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - 6th Season

For more movie news & notes -- as well occasional exclusive deals --
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Spotlight on Michael Fassbender! Plus New Releases...

On Friday, X-Men: First Class comes out on DVD as a video store exclusive (not available through Netflix or Redbox). This highly entertaining origin story is directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Layer Cake) and features a great cast that includes James McAvoy, Rose Byrne, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult. But it's Michael Fassbender, who plays the young Magneto, who gets the spotlight this week...


Fassbender has quickly and quietly established himself as one of the strongest and more versatile actors working today. With a duo of upcoming, highly anticipated films (David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, where he plays Carl Jung opposite Viggo Mortensen's Sigmund Freud, and British director Steve McQueen's Shame, where he portrays a sex addict), Fassbender seems poised to cement his rising stardom. Here we take a look at some of his earlier roles:

Hunger
Steve McQueen's directorial debut is an austere and meditative look at the 1981 IRA hunger strike in the Maze Prison of Northern Ireland. Fassbender plays strike leader Bobby Sands in a physically transformative performance that is as unsettling as it is impressive.

Fish Tank
Director Andrea Arnold's excellent depiction of Mia, an aspiring teenage flygirl, features authentic performances and a vivid sense of place. Fassbender shows up as the seductive boyfriend of Mia's mother - a beguiling mixture of charm and danger.

Inglourious Basterds
In Tarantino's divisive revisionist war fantasy, Fassbender plays one of the Basterds, Lt. Archie Hicox, whose tension-filled scene in the basement of a German tavern is one of the film's stand-out sequences.

Eden Lake
One of the more effective horror offerings of recent years, this disturbing tale centers on a young couple on holiday (Fassbender and Kelly Reilly) who find themselves terrorized by a menacing group of chavs. White-knuckled suspense marked by moments of gore and terror.


Other notable new releases:
Hanna
Joe Wright (Atonement) directs this action thriller, starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, and Cate Blanchett. This is also a video store exclusive (not available through Netflix or Redbox).

Everything Must Go
Will Ferrell stars in this adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story.

Frederick Wiseman on DVD!
Our first offerings by the legendary documentarian include his two most recent films, Boxing Gym and La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet, as well as his first, Titicut Follies from 1967, an unsettling look inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater.

Another good week for TV on DVD!

The Office - 7th Season
Catch Michael Scott's final season and learn a new dance in the process!


Parks and Recreation - 3rd Season

Community - 2nd Season

The Good Wife - 2nd Season

Fringe - 3rd Season

For more movie news & notes -- as well occasional exclusive deals -- like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Labor Day Sale, Hurricane Relief Efforts, & New Releases

Labor Day Weekend Customer Appreciation Sale!!!

Stop by the store between Friday and Monday for our annual
Customer Appreciation Weekend.
Discounted rentals, late-fee forgiveness,
deals on all previously-viewed movies for sale, & more!

This has of course been a difficult time for many of our neighbors in this state as we all come to terms with the destruction and devastating effects of Hurricane Irene. Relief efforts had already begun before the storm was over, and there has been a truly affecting display of generosity and community spirit as volunteers and organizations around Vermont have stepped up to help.
If you are looking for ways to get involved in the relief effort, some recommended sites include:
An excellent resource that has helped co-ordinate much of the aid effort, #VTResponse.
A VT Irene Flood relief fund was also created on Facebook here.
Governor Shumlin posted about ways to donate on his blog.
And Seven Days has done a typically great job of reporting on the state of the state as well as offering directories of sites and organizations active in the relief efforts, especially this list here.
Texting FOODNOW to 52000 will donate $10 to the Vermont Foodbank.
There are also a couple of benefit concerts being planned for next weekend, including this one on Sunday the 11th at Nectar's. We'll post more info about these over the next week.
And at the Waterfront Video store, we will have Red Cross donation boxes available. Because every little bit helps.

(Thanks to James B. for the WeepyVT picture.)


New to our shelves this week:

In a Better World
Susanne Bier's Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Film of 2010.

Prom
Who are you going with?

True Adolescents
Mumblecore enters its 30s.

The Perfect Host
David Hyde Pierce hosts a dinner party with a rather sinister menu.

Forks Over Knives
Documentary examining the relationship between diet and disease.

Police, Adjective
Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu follows up his excellent droll comedy, 12:08 East of Bucharest, with this meditation on the banality of procedure and intricacies of semantics.

X
An erotic Australian thriller.

Wrecked
Adrien Brody awakes in the wreckage of a car with no memory of how he wound up there.

Skateland
Back to the 80s... again.

Sons of Anarchy - 3rd Season

House - 7th Season

Cougar Town - 2nd Season

Parenthood - 2nd Season

Running Wilde - 1st Season

The Vampire Diaries - 2nd Season

Brewster McCloud
Altman's early absurdist comedy gets an MOD release.

The Complete Vigo
Criterion releases a 2-disc set of legendary French director's four films, including the iconic L'Atalante and the iconoclastic Zero du Conduit. A big fan, Michel Gondry, created this short piece of animation to herald the DVD release: watch it here!

For more movie news & notes -- as well occasional exclusive deals -- please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

New Releases & Soundtrack Videos...

Tom McCarthy, the writer/director of The Station Agent and The Visitor, delivers another understated, quietly observed comic drama this week with Win Win, the story of a small town lawyer and wrestling coach (Paul Giamatti) who gets himself in a difficult situation when he decides to ignore his ethical misgivings and become the legal guardian for one of his own clients (Burt Young). The strong supporting cast also includes Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, and Jeffrey Tambor. Plus, it features a new song by The National whose video got us thinking about other classic soundtrack songs...
Here's The National's "Think You Can Wait"




In addition to being a great song, I really appreciated the "old-school" approach the band took with the video, featuring clips of the film. Although it does make great use of outtakes and b-roll (which is somewhat uncommon), the video still harkens back to that "proud tradition" of the soundtrack video as cross-promotional tool that seemed ubiquitous during MTV's 80s heyday.

Some of those videos, like Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun, were made exclusively of clips from the film:



Mmmm, was it a good montage for you, too, dear?

More often than not, though, the movie clips were interspersed amidst shots of the singer "performing," as in these classics:



That was Madonna's "Live to Tell" from At Close Range, a movie I simply cannot mention without also bringing up its totally awesome tagline: Like Father. Like Son. Like Hell.

Here is Phil Collins' "Take a Look at Me Now" from Against All Odds, a very loose remake of Out of the Past.



But, lest we forget and start thinking it was only the power ballads that got the movie video tie-ins, here's Joe Cocker and "You Can Leave Your Hat On" from 9 1/2 Weeks. Because what else can spice up a Kim Basinger striptease than random shots of Joe Cocker singing?



Of course, there's no shortage of these... What were some of your favorite soundtrack videos?


Some other films new to our shelves this week:

Road to Nowhere
Read Margot Harrison's review of Monte Hellman's indie film on the Seven Days' blog here. Margot is going to begin reviewing a DVD release each week, focusing on films that never found their way to local theaters. Be sure to check them out!

The Beaver
Jodie Foster directs Mel Gibson and his puppet.

Henry's Crime
Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, & James Caan headline this week's heist flick.

Sympathy for Delicious
Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut.

Little Big Soldier
Jackie Chan wrote and stars in this comic war drama.

Blitz
Bang!

Neds
Peter Mullan (The Magdalene Sisters) directs this drama about Scottish delinquents.

Troll Hunter
Watch the original Norweigan creature feature before the inevitable American remake (already in the works).

Secret Sunshine and Poetry
Criterion releases two dramas by Chang-dong Lee.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Morgan Spurlock's latest takes a look at product placement -- oh, I'm sorry, I meant "branded entertainment."

Cameraman: The Life & Work of Jack Cardiff
Master cinematographer gets a loving and fitting documentary treatment.

David Holzman's Diary
This early American independent film from 1967 presages the current youtube culture with some prescient satire (and unwieldy equipment).

Stay tuned for news about our upcoming Labor Day Weekend Customer Appreciation Sale!!

And for more movie news & notes -- as well occasional exclusive deals -- please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Here's a run-down of some notable recent arrivals...

Jane Eyre
This latest adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte classic stars Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right), Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot), Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky), and Michael Fassbender (Fish Tank) as Rochester. Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) directs. See our THEME shelf nearest the New Releases for six previous screen versions of the story.

The Conspirator
Director Robert Redford (who turned 75 this week) crafts a compelling legal drama out of the trial of Mary Surratt, charged with conspiracy in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The film stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, and a great many other seasoned character actors.


Paul
Super
Your Highness
A trio of R-rated comedies featuring plenty of bawdiness and high-jinks. (Don't forget your snacks.)

Outside the Law
This nomination for 2010's Best Foreign Language Oscar follows the exploits of three brothers during the Algerian struggle for independence.

The Ward
John Carpenter returns with this horror tale set in an asylum.


New series t0 our shelves:
Dexter - Season 5
After the previous season's wallop of an ending, America's favorite serial killer tries to put the pieces back together.

Luther - Season 1
Idris Alba (Stringer Bell from The Wire) stars as an unhinged detective in this BBC series.

MST3K vs Gamera
B-Moviedom's biggest smart-asses take on the Japanese beast in this 5-disc set.

The Larry Sanders Show
We now have the complete collection of The Larry Sanders Show on DVD! An early HBO original series, a groundbreaking sitcom, and a hilarious watch, the show boasted a cavalcade of comic talent. Garry Shandling, Rip Torn, & Jeffrey Tambor anchored the proceedings, but there was no shortage of supporting brilliance: Judd Apatow, Jon Stewart, Janeane Garofalo, Scott Thompson, Peter Tolan, Jeremy Piven, Carol Burnett, Bob Odenkirk, Roseanne, Dana Carvey, Sarah Silverman, Steven Wright, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Saget, David Letterman, Sandra Bernhard, Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, and Ellen Degeneres... to name just a few! Really, who wasn't on this show?!

Two Criterion releases:
Cul-de-Sac
An early, darkly comic thriller by Roman Polanski.

The Killing
Kubrick's great heist flick comes with a wealth of extras as well as his earliest feature, The Killer's Kiss. Also boasts the best cover art of the week, hands down:

For more movie news & notes -- as well occasional exclusive deals -- please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

A great many thanks to all those who voted for us as the Best Place to Rent a Movie inside Chittenden County! This is our ninth out of nine Daysies Awards, and we sincerely appreciate the loyalty of all our customers who have been so supportive of us and who have continued renting local over the past 15 years. We hope to continue providing movies of all stripes and serving the community for a long time to come!

And now on to movie news...
An interesting development in the distribution of classic and obscure films on DVD include the rise of the MOD (manufactured-on-demand) model that has been adopted by many major studios. This means that they are making titles available on a "made-to-order" basis -- basically, putting them out as limited DVD-R editions. As of now, Netflix, Redbox, Blockbuster, and other major rental outlets are not carrying these titles. However, Waterfront Video is! So stop by and pick up some long unavailable gems & curios, including:

Park Row
Sam Fuller's newspaper classic may be didactic at times, but it's fiery and obviously from the heart. As usual with Fuller, there is plenty of grit, piss & vinegar -- as well as an expected dose of soapboxing. The few moments of crowd mayhem are staged excellently and it's no surprise why Scorsese cites the picture as influential. Gene Evans is great in the gruff lead -- he and Fuller were made for each other.

Mickey One
One of Arthur Penn's early features, this feisty, eccentric flick tells the grim tale of a comic (Warren Beatty) caught up in danger he doesn't understand. The narrative is fractured and at times messy (deliberately and otherwise), but the energy of the filmmaking is impressive start to finish. Penn borrows generously from the European cinematic sensibilities of the sixties (Godard, Fellini, Bergman, Bunuel, etc) but filters it all through a distinctly American, noir-tinged lens. The surrealistic moments and oddball bit characters add to the underlying sense of paranoia and disorientation.

Crackers
Louis Malle's 1984 heist comedy, featuring Sean Penn, Donald Sutherland, Wallace Shawn, and Jack Warden.

2 Weeks in Another Town
Vincente Minnelli's somewhat follow-up to his classic insider Hollywood tale, The Bad & The Beautiful. This one also stars Kirk Douglas.

The Search & The Defector
Two Montgomery Clift films - his first and last! The Search, from 1948, stars an Oscar-nominated Clift as a soldier in occupied Germany (filmed on location) who befriends a young boy separated from his mother. The Defector, from 1966, is a cold war thriller that, although low on actual thrills, does contain one great hallucinatory sequence that presaged the psychedelic movement around the corner.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt & While the City Sleeps
Two Fritz Lang thrillers from 1956 -- the first a courtroom drama with a great twist, the second a serial killer tale that seems to have set the template for many a suspense film to follow.

The Secret War of Harry Frigg & Sometimes a Great Notion
Two Paul Newman films -- the first a WWII set comedy, the second a drama about a family logging business struggling in a changing economy, directed by Newman.


Other recent releases of note:

Life During Wartime

Source Code

Peep World

Heartbeats

Potiche

Rango

My Dog Tulip

Winter in Wartime

Of Gods and Men

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune

Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird

Stephen Fry in America & Last Chance to See



And, as always, for more movie news & notes -- as well occasional exclusive deals -- please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

ch-ch-ch-changes, & coming distractions

After 13 years of films and good times, Waterfront Video Middlebury will rent its last movie on April 30th. Though the end of things are always sad, the good news is there will be a giant liquidation sale at the Middlebury location at 259 Maple St. in Marbleworks. Go to our website for a map. The sale will run from the beginning to the middle of May, but store hours will be limited so check the website often for an updated schedule. We hope to see you there!

We will continue to rent our vast selection from the Burlington location. Plus, we have some exciting deals in the works for the summer time. The suspense!

Movies to be released May 3rd, 2011:

Green Hornet - Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, & Christoph Waltz in Michel Gondry's (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Science of Sleep) take on the superhero genre. We also have a new superhero section! See store for more details. Also: a new fantasy section.


The Dilemma


A Somewhat Gentle Man


A small sampling of titles out since we last spoke (I've been gone so long! I'm sorry, long-distance relationships have always been hard for me - but I promise I've been thinking about you every day):

The King's Speech

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows pt. 1

Somewhere

Rabbit Hole

Gulliver's Travels