Spring arrives with a garden full of fine new DVD releases. Here are a few of our favorites:

"Paradise Now is about suicide bombers like Brokeback Mountain is about gay cowboys. In other words, there's far, far more to the film than its immediate reputation. "Politics aside, the movie is a superior thriller whose shrewdly inserted plot twists and emotional wrinkles are calculated to put your heart in your throat and keep it there," wrote Stephen Holden in the New York Times. The film was also on Craig Phillips' 15 Best of 2005 list.

And #2 on the same list: The Squid and the Whale. "Noah Baumbach's inevitably compared to his cohort Wes Anderson but this sharply written, darkly funny work digs deeper and feels less controlled than even Anderson's best work. One of the best films ever about the pains of a divorce, with biblically-bearded Jeff Daniels splendid as the narcissistic, bitter professor/writer father and Jesse Eisenberg his near-equal as the parroting son."

Also out this week: 

Keane (2004), a festival favorite featuring an intense performance from Damian Lewis as the title character; Everything is Illuminated (2005); Fun With Dick and Jane (2005); Derailed (2005); The Dying Gaul (2005); Loggerheads (2005); Paul Mooney: Analyzing White America (2002); Bukowski: Born Into This (2002); Breasts: A Documentary (1996).

New anime: 

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig Volume 4 (2005)."A much better offering than the 1st season/gig," writes Ursus: "better writing, and music (Yoko Kanno is the Bee's Knees Baby!!!) with incredible CG animation. Very high production values, great v. actors and dub. Good, Good, Good."

A complete list of this week's New Releases | Coming Soon | New Releases Archive | Your Queue  

Betty Page sure is hot again. With a new biopic (with Gretchen Mol as the alluring pin-up idol) out soon, and several documentaries floating around out there, why not take a look at one of the better ones: Bettie Page Uncovered. An intimate look at the original Queen of Kink, you can watch the film any time you wish via GreenCine's ever-expanding Video-on-Demand collection.

 Winner of last year's Blue Angel Award for Best European Film and the Amnesty International Award for Best Film, Paradise Now was also nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. John Esther talks with director Hany Abu-Assad.

The GreenCine Daily blog returns from the SXSW Fest with some fine wrap-up coverage. Expect a flurry of shorts and more soon. 

Since spring has sprung, and the birds and bees are doin' it, the member list of the week is dpowers' clean, well-lighted erotic video list.  

Thanks to THINKFilm, a very special trivia contest will be up on Thursday, which will be of particular interest to fans of the Beastie Boys. Check your head and check our home page on Thursday. 

Our next screening at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will be on April 5 as we proudly unleash Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf. The film is by notorious Japanese director Teruo Ishii, known in some circles as the "King of Cult Movies," who single-handedly crafted some of the strangest motion pictures ever released. Blind Beast is based loosely on the writings of Edogawa Rampo. Wednesday April 5, 7:30 pm. 701 Mission Street, San Francisco. $8, $5 GreenCine members, students, seniors & teachers, $5 YBCA Members.