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Rentertainment news... a blog of sorts. |
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May 1, 2008
Commuting or just riding around... Cycling is fun!!!
Get your calendars out and write this down, in pen -- May is Bike Month. Within Bike Month we have:
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May 4th -- ChampaignCountyBikes.org is holding the 2nd annual BikeFest at Hessel Park from 11 to 4. Among other things, there will be a bike auction, continuous bike film screenings, and lots of fun stuff for kids. There will also be folks on hand from The Bike Project to give you tune up tips. Check out their websites for more information.
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May 12-16 -- Bike-to-Work Week
3) May 13th -- LiveSTRONG Day (link)
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May 16th -- Bike-to-Work Day
5) May 23rd -- the Illini 4000 for Cancer kick off their cross country bike trek in New York. Look for them 4000 miles later in Seattle on August 3rd. Check out their web site ( www.illini4000.org) for more information and to make a donation.
6) May 27th -- Ride of Silence (7:00pm, starts at the parking lot at the corner of First Street and St. Mary's in Champaign, IL). Click for more info on the local ride.
7) Also, check out our list of Cycling in Film and here's a bunch of links to other cycling related stuff.
Don't forget, the Tour de France is right around around the corner and if you're going to keep up with the peloton you'd better bank some miles! Lastly, May also marks my one year anniversary as an all but exclusive bicycle commuter... way to go, me. |
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April 16, 2008
Want to work at a video store?
Too bad, but you can do the next best thing... be a virtual video store clerk at videostoreclerk.com! Turn your music up loud, ignore anyone who dares approach you, and act like putting your sandwich down to help someone is absolutely the final straw -- it'll be just like working at a real video store without all the hassle of leaving your house. Who knows, maybe with enough practice you can graduate to the real thing...
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March 31, 2008
Second Annual Latin American Film Festival
The Second Annual Latin American Film Festival is at the Boardman's Theatre, April 4 - 10. The festival is organized by the University of Ilinois’ Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies with collaboration and support from Boardman’s Art Theater. All screenings will take place at the theater, 126 W. Church St., Champaign. Tickets, priced at the theater’s standard rates, will be available for sale at the box office in advance of each showing.
April 4: “The Violin,” 7:30 .m.; “Cocalero,” 9:45 p.m.
April 5: “The Aura,” 5 p.m.; “Alice’s House,” 8 p.m.; “Madeinusa,” 10:10 p.m.
April 6: “Cocalero,” 6:30 p.m.; “The Violin,” 8:50 p.m.
April 7: “Alice’s House,” 6:30 p.m.; “Madeinusa,” 8:50 p.m.
April 8, “Madeinusa,” 6 p.m.; “The Aura,” 8:15 p.m.
April 9, “The Violin,” 6:30 p.m., “Cocalero,” 8:45 p.m.
April 10: “The Aura,” 6 p.m.; “Alice’s House, 8:55 p.m.
(more information at www.clacs.uiuc.edu) |
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March 17, 2008
The Portland Mercury makes me laugh...
... because they came up with Werner Herzog's blog "Werner Herzblog", the "Rainer Fassbinder Word Finder", and "Wim Wenders' Payday Cash Loan Lenders!" -- Nein credit? Nein title? NEIN PROBLEM! And, here's a link to the actual "Werner Herzblog". Hilarious!!!
(link to the Portland Mercury home page)
p.s. there are two great video stores in Portland: Movie Madness and Video Verite -- check 'em out when in town. |
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March 5, 2008
Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge
This excellent web site will map a two mile radius around your house and show you all the places that are easily within riding distance for you. So, next you are running out for a quick errand, why not ride your bike? It's easy!
Step one: Get a bike.
Step two: Start riding.
Step three: repeat. |
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February 24, 2008
Happy post-Oscars!
Did anyone watch them? I stopped watching in 1998 when Rob Lowe did that embarrassing song and dance routine... with Snow White -- yuck! I hear they are only a little bit better now (and maybe even a bit shorter). Here's a list of the big winners and when they'll be available on DVD:
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – March 8 (Best Picture, Director, etc)
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – April 8 (Best Actor, Cinematography, etc)
LA VIE EN ROSE – Available (Best Actress, Make-up)
MICHAEL CLAYTON – Available (Best Supporting Actress)
JUNO – April 15 (Best Screenplay)
RATATOUILLE – Available (Best Animated)
SWEENEY TODD – April 1 (Best Art Direction)
ELIZABETH: GOLDEN AGE – Available (Best Costume Design)
BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Available (Best Film Editing, Sound Mixing, etc)
ATONEMENT – March 18 (Best Original Score)
ONCE – Available (Best Song -- which they played over, and over, and over again)
GOLDEN COMPASS – April 29 (Best Visual Effects)
COUNTERFEITERS - No Date (Best Foreign)
LE MOZART DES PICKPOCKETS - No Date (Best Live Action Short Film)
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE - No Date (Best Documentary) |
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February 15, 2008
City of Urbana's Bicycle Master Plan unveiled
Please take a moment to look at the final draft of the City of Urbana's Bicycle Master Plan. The document outlines recommendations the City of Urbana can use to fully implement a bicycle network in Urbana. The city council, members of all the local bicycling organizations, and a ton of other citizens have worked very hard on this. Let's make Urbana a model community for bicycling!
(link) |
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February 14, 2008
The Adrienne Shelly Foundation
I just learned that Adrienne Shelly's husband, Andrew Ostroy, has set up a not-for-profit foundation in memory of my favorite actress. The collected funds are to be used to provide grants and scholarships to young female filmmakers.From the web site: "The Adrienne Shelly Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated in loving memory to the uniquely gifted actor and filmmaker Adrienne Shelly, whose highly accomplished life was tragically cut short November 1, 2006."
(more) |
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January 31, 2008
Central Illinois Feminist Film Festival - Call for submissions...
The deadline for submitting films to the Central Illinois Feminist Film Festival is February 29, 2008.
From the flyer: "This film festival promotes the mission of our Women’s Studies Program at Eastern Illinois University: to promote an understanding of how issues related to gender, age, race, economic status, sexual identity, and nationality affect women's lives and the communities in which they live. In order to promote an equitable and sensitive environment for all persons, the Council also responds to issues affecting women on campus and in the community."
(pdf of flyer) |
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January 26, 2008
How cool is this?
The newly soon-to-be re-built Presby Hall (just down the street from Rentertainment) is a cutting edge green buiding. If I'm doing my math right it should only take them about 12 years to break even on the aditional expense and then they'll be making money -- and saving the environment the entire time. Three cheers to the powers that be at Presby... well done!
(read the full article in the The News Gazette) |
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January 25, 2008
Movie weapons that kick ass...
The British newspaper, The Telegraph, has posted the results of 20th Century Fox's survey of 2,000 movie fans about what their favorite movie weapons are -- here's the rundown:
- Light saber (from the Star Wars films)
- Dirty Harry's .44 Magnum (you know, the one that can "blow your head clean off")
- Indiana Jones' bullwhip (from Raiders of the Lost Ark)
- The Bride's samurai sword in Kill Bill
- Leatherface's Chainsaw in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- James Bond's golden gun (from The Man with the Golden Gun)
- Robin Hood's bow and arrow
- Tony Montana's "little friend" (the machine gun in Scarface)
- The planet-destroying Death Star from Star Wars
- Oddjob's boller hat in the 007 movie Goldfinger
I couldn't help but notice the lack of Lethal Weapon's air nailer (that worked despite not being hooked up to anything). It's a fun list anyway, I suppose. Read the entire Daily Telegraph article here. |
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January 22, 2008
Hey Everyone -- It's Oscar time again... ho-hum.
Once again folks, it's time for all the thrills and excitment of the annual Academy Awards presentation. The nominees were officially announced in the wee hours this morning and the red carpet presentation will be on Sunday, February 24th. With all the writers on strike and the down-turn in the economy, maybe they'll just re-run last year's presentation. Then I could skip it a second time without missing anything new...
(link to Variety's Academy Awards nominations list) |
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January 14, 2008
Sita Sings the Blues
Urbana native, Nina Paley (cartoonist extraordinaire) sends us this news: "So the good news is, Sita is in the Berlinale. The bad news is, she’s programmed in a theater that doesn’t do Digital Cinema. That means unless I have a 35mm print by February, her one and only World Premiere will be on, well…video. I can’t let that happen. The 35mm master will still cost about $30,000 - more if we do surround sound, which is much better audio. I still need to raise $20,000. I’m looking into bouncing credit card debt - you know, putting it all on a few credit cards, then continually applying for new credit cards and shifting the balances from one to another. It would be much better if some rich person just lent me the money. Or if some supernatural being just gave me the money - but honestly, a loan would be plenty. Big ol’ credit in the film, you can attend the Berlinale with me as part of the film team, my undying gratitude…" Read more about Berlinale and Sita at NinaPaley.com
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January 11, 2008
Dusty Cohl: In Memory
If you've ever been to Ebertfest you've seen Dusty Cohl. You may even have met him. Either way, you're his friend. He was always surrounded by a crowd of people including his good friend and local "handler", Kim Robeson. I was never sure who he was or where he came from but everyone else seemed to know him -- and he always smiled and said hello. He was a founder of the Toronto Film Festival and put on his own annual festival, The Floating Film Festival, where he showed films he liked to his friends -- on a cruise. Dusty will be missed, and I will miss seeing him at Ebertfest this year...
(more from Roger Ebert) |
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January 1, 2008
There's a new sheriff in town...
... and her name is Jenn! If you notice a new face behind the counter at Rentertainment it's probably Jenn -- Renter's new manager (Amanda has continued to refuse to return from Portland... sheesh). You may recognize her as one of the many friendly faces behind the counter at the campus Espresso. I'll still be around but Jenn will be doing a lot of the day to day stuff at the store. Say "hi" the next time you are in -- she's much nicer than I am. |
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December 4, 2007
Smile Politely
Check it out: There's a new local on-line publication -- "Smile Politely: A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog" (www.smilepolitely.com). You'll recognize some of the writers as folks from the Buzz (Seth Fein), the now defunct Hub (Doug Hoepker), and, if you've got your way-back-hat on, the Octopus (Paul Young). It launched today and promises to be everything great about all the local print publications but without any of the filler, no waiting a whole week for the next edition and no killed trees. Looks good to me -- bookmark it! |
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November 19, 2007
Welcome to Tolono
Starting out as a play written by Mark Roberts and performed at the Station Theater in Urbana, IL., "Welcome to Tolono" made its film debut June 30, 2007 at the Foellinger Auditorium on the University of Illinois Campus and is currently making the film festival circuit. Some day it will be on DVD and we'll have it so you can watch it, too. |
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November 12, 2007
Look Ma -- I'm on the TV!
Not really film related and only slightly video related, but, here goes anyway... Now you can watch what is going on on the University of Illinois quad with the all new Quad Cam! If you have the patience, you can even move the camera around and zoom in on stuff. Better than Xbox and cheaper than a movie... |
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November 4, 2007
100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers
From the creator: "This is a parody of all the '100' list specials that the American Film Institute keeps putting out." Peter Bradswaw of The Guardian calls it the greatest YouTube clip of all time and Roger Ebert seems to agree. What do you think? Have a look
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October 31, 2007
Shades of Grey: Hollywood -- Only Blurrier. And Less Bright.
Today, Rentertainment pal and all around great guy, Shadie, takes the internet by force by launching his blog: Shades of Grey. You've probably seen him hanging around Renter, you may remember reading his movie insights in the Buzz a few years back, and you may even remember seeing him in Polyphonic Spree's "Light + Day" video -- now you can check in on him every single day. What fun!
(you can also see some of his "best" and "worst" lists on our own Shadie's World) |
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October 31, 2007
This year, why not Bring on the Lesbian Vampires?
Professional sex blogger, femmebot and San Francisco Chronicle writer, Violet Blue, has posted her "Top 10 retro, bare-breasted, vampire flicks". If you're looking for something a bit different from the usual Shining, Halloween and Exorcist fare any of these would be a great place to start. I would add Jean Rollin's "Lips of Blood" simply because the super cute Béatrice Harnois has an extended cameo in it. For more title suggestions check out the "Lesbian Vampire" wikipedia page.
(Read: Bring on the Lesbian Vampires) |
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September 22, 2007
O'zapft is!
With those words (translated to "The barrel has been tapped!") Oktoberfest 2007 (or Weisn as the locals call it -- that's the locals from Munich, not the locals from here) has begun! From now through October 10th 6.5 million people will drink 6.8 million liters of beer (order a "mas" and they will know what you are talking about), and eat 94,135 pieces of chicken and
144,635 pairs of pork sausages. What are we still doing in Urbana? Grab you dirndls and/or lederhosen and get over there... |
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September 21, 2007
Third Annual Tournees French Film Festival
Welcome to The Third Annual Tournés French Film Festival presented by the University of Illinois and Parkland College. We are very pleased to return to Boardman’s Art Theatre in Champaign, Illinois, where nearly 2,500 viewers have had the opportunity to discover new French and Francophone films each fall during this week-long event. Organized jointly by faculty and students from Champaign-Urbana’s two post-secondary institutions, the festival is open to the general public. In 2007, we are pleased to showcase the internationally-acclaimed anthology film Paris je t’aime as our festival opener (Friday, September 28 at 7:00pm). Another highlight is certain to be the Oscar-nominated Days of Glory. This year’s selection of seven films is our largest to date and represents a broad cross-section of the best of current French filmmaking, featuring a variety of genres and styles including the most recent work by legendary New Wave filmmakers Alain Resnais (Private Fears in Public Places) and Chris Marker (The Case of the Grinning Cat), as well as moving and incandescent looks at human nature in Time to Leave and Avenue Montaigne. Faculty specialists from UIUC and Parkland College will introduce films at select screenings throughout the week, while the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities will host a panel discussion on “Paris through the Global Lens.” We look forward to seeing you again this year… enjoy the show! (more) |
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September 11, 2007
Former "Empire" employee makes good...
Erin Stutland (University of Illinois graduate and former Cafe Paradiso employee) has made her big screen debut in "Ten 'til Noon". She's been in Chappelle's Show, Soprano's, and Sex and the City previously but this marks her first appearance in a major indie release. Look for her in 2008s re-make of "My Sassy Girl" as well. Please join us all in chanting "Good Luck Erin!!!" |
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August 22, 2007
The wait is over... Berlin Alexanderplatz finally hits DVD!
Criterion has finally revealed that Rainer Fassbinder's 15 1/2 hour long epic, Berlin Alexanderplatz, will be part of their November slate of releases (#411). Look for a 7-disc set that will include at least three documentaries and Phil Jutzi's 1931, ninety-minute film of Alfred Döblin’s novel, from a screenplay co-written by Döblin himself. List price is a very worthwhile $124.95 (you can find it cheaper just about anywhere). If German epics are your thing you may want to watch Heimat and all of its sequels as well... |
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July 25, 2007
The 50 Best Movie Robots!
The folks over at Times Online (UK) have made a list of the 50 coolest movie robots.
(From the web site)
We selected the fifty most memorable robots in film and rated them in four different categories:
1) Plausibility (meaning how likely it would be that, with advances on currently existing technology, such a device could be built)
2) Coolness (just how well designed, shiny or generally well-appointed the robot appeared to be)
3)
Dangerousness (scoring not only on built-in weaponry, but the robot's eagerness to use it) Related Links
4)
Comedy Value (how effective the robot is at providing light relief in the film in which it appears)
Check out the list here and then start watching!. |
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July 24, 2007
The Daily Fausto launches
Today, after noting that there just isn't enough information on the information super-highway, we decided to put up a blog about our favorite puppy -- Fausto Coppi (that's "Il Campionissimo" to you). Have a look... |
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July 17, 2007
The scream heard around the world -- The Wilhelm Scream
In 1951 a scream was used in the soundtrack for the movie "Distant Drums". Film sound editors loved it so much they have since used the scream in over 175 films (see IMDB list of over 100 here). You can read an excellent article at Hollywood Lost and Found about the origins and usage of the scream. There is also an amazing compilation video on YouTube of scenes that include the scream. Next time you are watching a movie a hear an excellent scream in the background maybe it's... The Wilhelm Scream!!! |
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July 9,2007
High Definition comes to Rentertainment!
We are usually early adopters but this latest round of HiDef wars just pissed me off so I chose not to participate. However, enough of you have bought HiDef players of one kind or another so I figure we'd better get into it. So, here's the plan: I'm going to buy about 50 HD-DVDS and 50 BluRay discs, put 'em out for rent, buy more as they come out and watch to see what happens. Our own little HiDef war! The HD-DVDs will be out by this Friday and the BluRays by next Friday -- look for 'em on the end cap where the Employee Picks usually reside (except for those weeks when Mr Ebert has elbowed his way in there). Let the battle begin! (link to HD-DVD films and BluRay films) |
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June 14, 2007
Ousmane Sembene (Jan 1, 1923 - June 9, 2007)
Ousmane Sembene, the Senegalese filmmaker and writer who was a crucial figure in Africa's postcolonial cultural awakening, has died at his home in Dakar, Senegal. His family, which announced his death Sunday June 10th, said Sembene had been ill since December. He was 84. (more) |
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June 3, 2007
Bicycling in Champaign County
I encourage everyone to use a bicycle for getting to work, excercise, and recreation -- it's not just good for you and the environment, it's fun! To that end, I have posted all sorts of cycling type links on the Rentertainment page: Cycling in Film and Cycling in Champaign County (including a .pdf of Champaign Cycle's Escape Map). |
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May 22, 2007
The Illini 4000 hit the road...
This week, the 20 riders from the Illini 4000 (www.illini4000.org) will get on their bikes in New York City and start riding 4000 miles west and not stop until they hit the ocean in San Diego. Their goal is to raise $100,000 for pediatric cancer research and Camp Kesem (a summer camp for children whose parents have been affected by cancer). Please visit their web site, read their blog, and donate a few dollars if you can. If you are a biker, consider joining the ride on June 9th and/or 10th as they ride from Chicago to Kankakee and then to Urbana-Champaign (more info on riding with the team is available on their web site). If you're not a rider, help celebrate their Homecoming on the evening of June 10th at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center. Fun for all and all for a good cause! I've also added some stuff to Renter's Illini 4000 page. |
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May 2, 2007
VHS is dead... long live VHS!
Free for the taking: Over 1,000 VHS tapes!
Here at That's Rentertainment we've been selling off our inventory of VHS tapes but now we need the space and just want to get rid of them. There are about 1,000 tapes left and we want them out of here. Stop by and take what you want. Free tapes are at the back of the store (the few up front we are keeping). Please do not call for information on specific titles -- we don't know what we've got and we're not going to look. If you think you'll want a lot of tapes bring boxes -- we don't have any. Build up your library or build a dog house out of them -- just get them out of my store. See you soon...
May 3, 2007
VHS for Free
Update: yesterday you folks boxed up, bagged up and simply loaded up over 900 VHS tapes and got 'em out of here -- only 140 more to go. Well done. Thanks! |
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April 23, 2007
A message from Roger Ebert...
Yesterday, Roger Ebert sent a press release out to everyone discussing the 2007 Ebertfest, his health issues, and his appearance. He concludes with a paraphrased quote from Raging Bull: "I ain't a pretty
boy no more." Give it a read.
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April 18, 2007
Lists are good...
Two new lists have been posted on the Renter site: "Popular Customer Requests" and "Films
that are either no longer available or have never been released on DVD" -- have a look. You may wonder why we have two lists for what appears to be the same thing. Well, one is stuff I'm looking for, the other is stuff you are looking for -- they are not necessarily the same thing. |
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April 4, 2007
Campustown -- then and now...
I found something cool last week -- a map of the University of Illinois Campustown I made in 1986 (or maybe 1987) listing all the businesses (about 150) and their locations. What's cool about that? Look at the diversity: 3 non-textbook bookstores (0 today), 4 record stores (0 today), a movie theater, a grocery store, three music venues (right here on campus!), a huge variety of locally owned restaurants and a slew of small specialty shops. I posted it on our web site if you want to look into the past. For what it's worth, around that time (actually a few years later) there were 14 locally owned video stores in CU, today there is one. I find it all very interesting, telling and sad. |
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