(500) DAYS OF SUMMER – Alternately fantastical and cringe-inducingly realistic, this is a worthy addition to the genre of chick-flick-for-sensitive-hetero-guys (see: HIGH FIDELITY). Zooey Deschanel plays the this-is-just-casual Casanova to Joseph Gordon-Levitt's hopeful, let's-not-put-a-label-on-this Romantic. This one may dredge up a few bad memories, but it does have an undeniable charm, and Gordon-Levitt makes a sympathetic lovelorn schmuck. Definitely worth the hour and a half – but what kind of karaoke bar actually has “Here Comes Your Man” by The Pixies? Karaoke is always better in movies...

DISTRICT 9 - Produced by Peter Jackson, this is 1970s style social-commentary sci-fi, but with a lot more exploding body parts (the good thing about explosions, though, is that they're mercifully brief). Alternating between faux documentary and complete immersion in the events as they unfold, it's engaging entertainment with an anti-xenophobic message, and we're sure there will be a District 10 coming soon...

BLIND DATE - Stanley Tucci (THE IMPOSTORS, BIG NIGHT) directs and stars in this adaptation of the acclaimed Theo Van Gogh film in which a couple go on a series of blind dates (with each other) to try to rekindle some sparks in their marriage.

EXTRACT - From Mike Judge, who brought us the ingenious satire IDIOCRACY, as well as OFFICE SPACE, KING OF THE HILL, and BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD. This may not be his greatest film, but not many comedies can stand up to IDIOCRACY for its sheer slap-in-the-face-ness. EXTRACT is worth the hour and a half if you're looking for a decent comedy. Oh, and it stars Jason Bateman (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, JUNO).

ALL ABOUT STEVE - Sandra Bullock plays a quirky misfit who's so smitten with an (unsmitten) storm chaser that she chases him while he chases storms...

FAMILY GUY: SOMETHING, SOMETHING, SOMETHING DARK FORCE - Family Guy spoofs THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. 'Nough said.

STATEN ISLAND - Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio and Seymour Cassel star in an impressively low-budget mobster movie backed by a French studio.

THE MARC PEASE EXPERIENCE - Ben Stiller and Jason Schwartzman, straight to DVD??? I wonder why this one didn't make it to theatres...should we be scared? Will we watch it anyways? Yes, yes we will.

UP FOR GRABS – This critically acclaimed baseball documentary shot by a former Humboldt local was suppressed by the MLB despite being called “quite possibly the year's funniest comedy” by the L.A. Times and “a sports-themed Rashomon with an O. Henry twist” by Variety. We had to get our ultra-rare copy from the Director of Photography when he came to town to screen it at ATL.

J-POD: SEASON 1 -  Weird Canadian sitcom written by Douglas Coupland, the hipster author who coined the term "Generation X" (see Merrick's review in these pages).

DOG EAT DOG – This Colombian crime thriller was an official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film in 2008, and the first Colombian-made film to be shown at Sundance Film Festival. A gritty thrill ride.

TAKVA: A MAN'S FEAR OF GOD – Acclaimed Turkish drama about a strict adherent to Islam who is hired as a rent collector by a religious leader. Given modern clothing, a cell phone, and a car with driver, the man's faith is tested and his sanity is threatened by “hypocricies and temptations.”

CHAI LAI ANGELS – Funnier-than-it-looks Thai spoof of CHARLIE'S ANGELS, complete with optional bad dubbing!

And this week we add the following CLASSICS to our catalog:

BLACK ORPHEUS - This lively Brazilian classic won 1960's Best Foreign Film Oscar. Tagged as "the film that introduced bossa nova to the world," it is a gorgeously shot retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice, with Eurydice stalked by Death through the colorful crowds of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival.

ARTHUR - Still funny after all these years. Dudley Moore plays a charming drunk who is also heir to millions of dollars, assuming he marries the right uptight woman. Enter waitress Liza Minelli, who complicates matters by winning the booze hound's whiskey-soaked heart. Everyone must see this movie at least once.

BRIEF ENCOUNTER - Another classic from one of our 'featured directors,' David Lean (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, HOBSON'S CHOICE, etc.). This one is based on Noel Coward's play STILL LIFE, and was once voted #2 in a British Film Institute poll of the Top 100 British Films of All Time: in other words a must-see.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Hailed as Quentin Tarantino's best film yet, a re-writing of WWII through the lens of European cult/exploitation films of the 70s like its namesake INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (1977), which you can also find at LDV.

TAKING WOODSTOCK - Director Ang Lee knows how to precisely mimic the look and feel of an era (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, SENSE & SENSIBILITY). His latest is a surprisingly feel-good comedy inspired by the events surrounding the relocation of the Woodstock music festival to a certain cow pasture. Stars comedian Demetri Martin (THE DAILY SHOW).

THE HANGOVER - From the director of OLD SCHOOL - just replace Will Ferrell with a deadpan Zach Galifinakis, and substitute mythical Las Vegas for the frat house. This is actually pretty entertaining and will probably be over-quoted for years to come, so don't miss out...

G-FORCE - Jerry Bruckheimer, director of such classic action titles as Pirates of the Caribbean, Con Air, The Rock, Armageddon, brings you an action film about guinea pigs who save the world. Sure to be entertaining.

THE TUDORS S.3 - Third verse, same as the first! Henry the Eighth I am, I am...That sexy, womanizing dictator Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is back for another season of this steamy Showtime hit.

THE GOODS: LIVE HARD, SELL HARD - Starring Jeremy Piven of ENTOURAGE. Lewd, crude comedy about used car salesmen.

KNOW YOUR MUSHROOMS - The director of GO FURTHER and GRASS follows "über myco visionaries," wild mushroom hunters Gary Lincoff and Larry Evans, as they examine the cultural history of both the edible and the psychedelic. With a soundtrack by THE FLAMING LIPS and THE SADIES!

THE OTHER MAN - Thriller shot in Milan and London, starring Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas, and the always watchable Laura Linney. Neeson becomes obsessed with tracking down Banderas, a mysterious artist with whom his wife (Linney) had an affair.

COLLISION - This PBS drama follows the strangely entwined lives of the surviving members of a 6-car collision, and the traffic cops investigating the scene.

PLACE OF EXECUTION - Based on the acclaimed crime novel by Val McDermid, writer of the BBC series WIRE IN THE BLOOD. A documentary filmmaker in the present re-examines a closed missing persons case from 1963, uncovering something more chilling than she had imagined.

WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE - Feature-length film based on the popular Disney Channel series. A young wizard-in-training accidentally casts a spell to change the past so that her parents have never met.

And more JUST ADDED catalog titles (3 for 5 days for $5)...

• 10 out-of-print classics from the Warner Archive collection, from the 1930s to 1980s!
• 3 piece Brigitte Bardot box set!!! Rrrrrrrowr!
• 3 discs worth of the 'lost' SHERLOCK HOLMES miniseries starring Peter Cushing!!!