GreenCine has no plans to rule the world, just our little corner of it, but this week we just plain rule, as we offer up a theatrical screening of the one-of-a-kind winner of our online film festival, sponsored by DivX; details below. Then there's more trivia giveaways, tips on favorite DVD and VOD titles, new and old, and a whole lot more. All this in a newsletter that would make Mr. Krabs happy - because it's free. (Well, sort of.)

Besides our Gus Van Sant interview, which you may have perused by now, we also talked to Penn Jillette about the film The Aristocrats, which he produced. Already a runaway hit, the film is currently pulling in more per screen than any other movie out there. Jillette discussed how he and director Paul Provenza (both pictured at left) came up with the idea and about the origins of the Penn & Teller partnership, his past movies, his radio show... and magic around the world.

The GreenCine Daily, our jam-packed film blog, runs full steam ahead this week, with a peak at the new issue of Canadian film mag Synoptique and UK film mag Firecracker, along with what other cinephiles are writing about.

Video-on-Demand: Dogtown (1997).

Director George Hickenlooper is better known for the original short that Sling Blade was based on and for his work in the documentary form (his Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse is still one of the most desired MIA DVDs), but his indie drama Dogtown is worth a look, too. Dogtown is Hickenlooper's own stab at a Last Picture Show and "is one of those rare American movies that dares to address the possibility that the quest for the American dream sometimes never gets very far," extolled Boxoffice Magazine. "A warm and sweet movie that nonetheless shuns the fantasy of Capra's America in favor of a realistic look at shattered dreams and broken hopes. Anchored by excellent performances from Karen Black, Rory Cochrane, Jon Favreau and Mary Stuart Masterson, Dogtown screams for a theatrical release that it never received." You can watch it now or any time via GreenCine's ever-expanding Video-on-Demand collection.

GreenCine Staff Pick of the Week: The Knack... and How to Get It (1965).

Ah, the knack. "Some have it, some don't," posited the tagline for The Knack... and How to Get It, a very 60's, very British, and still very funny farce, full of "Mods and Rockers!" (as one elderly chap exclaims in disgust in the film). The Knack was director Richard Lester's follow-up to his Beatle-maniac classic A Hard Day's Night, and while less famous, it remains very much of a piece with the earlier film in its manic style, frenetic energy, plethora of jump cuts and one-liners. It also shares a lack of a plot, but what there is of one centers on shy schoolteacher Colin (played by future phantom Michael Crawford) whose new womanizing tenant (Ray Brooks) is out to show him a thing or two about the fairer sex. When doe-eyed Nancy (Rita Tushingham) catches Colin's fancy, he has to fend off the more cocky boarder. Make no mistake: as funny as The Knack is, it's also undeniably a little dated, especially in this Austin Powers era, and a bit sexist, too. But don't get your knickers in a twist: with Crawford surprisingly adept at physical comedy, the movie full of witty banter, and several ripping sight gags, The Knack has what it takes to give you a good time. -- Craig Phillips

It's a rather slow DVD releasing week so our highlights of today's new releases are a small group, while next week will be a bit busier. Some good stuff here, though:

Kung Fu Hustle (2004). Stephen Chow is a major favorite among GreenCiners on both sides of the envelope. See, for example, the staff raves and member reviews for The God of Cookery and Shaolin Soccer. As for Chow's latest, Marc Savlov writes in the Austin Chronicle, "This is as pure and downright fun a cinematic experience as you're likely to have all year: part chopsocky battle royale, part Chuck Jones-and-Buster Keaton-inspired gonzo romantic comedy, and part MGM musical run amok. It's all choreographed and art-directed to the nines, too, which makes it as pleasing to the eyes as it is to your pulse, which you'll find pounding relentlessly throughout."

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1965). Robert Aldrich knew if he could get Bette Davis and Joan Crawford to do a sequel to the commercially successful What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, he'd be set. Long story short, Crawford was out, Olivia de Havilland was in and the result is "an even more outrageous exercise in Hollywood necrophilia," wrote Dave Kehr in the Chicago Reader. "It was camp before the term was coined, but it's somewhat better than that, too." (By the way, you've just got to read Mark A. Vieira telling the tale of the film's making in Bright Lights Film Journal.)

New Anime:

Inu Yasha Volume 32: Glow of the False Jewel (2000). "Inu Yasha is classic," proclaims CarpeNoctem. "It's got all the great elements of an awesome anime, moving plot without tons of filler anywhere... cool characters, smooth animation, a perverted monk, and killer villians... Definitely a must-watch for any anime fan."

Mind your p's and queues: Try to have a minimum of ten titles for every slot you have, i.e., forty titles if you're on the four-out plan. If you're having trouble thinking of titles to rent, here are a few ideas: check out member lists (which you can look at chronologically, alphabetically or by average rating) and editorial top lists, browse through primers and our active discussion boards, look at our lists of titles coming soon, among other ideas. So queue away! And if you need to watch something right now, take a gander at our rapidly expanding Video-on-Demand offerings. And for ease of browsing, you can look at our currently available VOD titles by genre; go to the main page for a list of all genres.

We have a ton of winners of recent GreenCine trivia contests to congratulate this week: Fox classics winners were MKing2, mahster and FOLIA (the answer was Mildred Pierce); Balseros winners were lgringo, hcourtais and FPatton (the answer was Lucrecia/Lucrecia Perez); Over There winners were duanehall, johnpalmer and hogisland (the answer was Mississippi Burning); and John Wayne contest winners were kbergstr, shilarny and ZLewis (the answer was Ernest K. Gann). We'll announce more winners in this space next week. Meanwhile, our next trivia contest giveaway features three more classic Fox dramas, the aforementioned The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and the supercreepy Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, along with In Old Chicago; look for it this Friday.

Member list of the week: JAuner's Subjective Guide to Something Weird Video. (An objective list of Something Weird titles can be found here.)

Tomorrow night! GreenCine Presents Red Cockroaches, the winner of the DivX Presents the GreenCine Online Film Festival's Narrative Grand Prize, at the Balboa Theater.

The Balboa Theater is located at 3630 Balboa Street in San Francisco. The movie screens at 8pm. Ticket prices are $8/$5 GreenCine Members, Students, Seniors.