Movie Natters: August 15, 2008 Archive

Explaining the Netflix delay

Posted at 10:58 AM on August 15, 2008 by Euan Kerr

Lots of folks got the following e-mail from Netflix yesterday:

Our shipping system is unexpectedly down. We received a DVD back from you and should have shipped you a DVD, but we likely have not. Our goal is to ship DVDs as soon as possible, and we will keep you posted on the status of your DVD shipments.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. If your DVD shipment is delayed, we will be issuing a credit to your account in the next few days. You don't need to do anything. The credit will be automatically applied to your next billing statement.

If you are one of them, NPR's Wendy Kauffman has an explanation.

Looking ahead

Posted at 12:32 PM on August 15, 2008 by Euan Kerr

The news the King of Norway knighted a penguin proves we are deep in the summer news doldrums, there's a lot going on in the local film scene.

MUFF The line-up is pretty much complete for the Minneapolis Underground Film Festival which runs August 29-31. Melody Gilbert's local fave "Urban Explorers" has just been added as the closing film at 11 pm on the last night.

Festival director Greg Yolen says he wants to showcase the local film scene and screen films which just don't get shown anywhere else. He's very excited about the opening film "Saila" a post-punk drama filmed in East Berlin which will get its world premier on the festival's opening night.

When asked by he set the festival in the run-up to the Republican National Convention, Yolen freely admits the other event just wasn't on his radar. He says anyone coming in for the RNC is of course welcome, and he's even offering a discount to anyone who can produce RNC credentials.

Homegrown Cinema at the Parkway Speaking of local film, the Homegrown Cinema folks have announced their second series at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis. The idea is to screen locally made movies on Monday nights. The series includes two my Melody Gilbert on September 8th: "Married at the Mall" and "Whole." On September 15th it's Joel Schumacher's "Stimulus." On September 22nd there's Joseph Larsen's "When the Sidewalk Ends." On the 29th there's Todd Pitman's "Murphy's Law" a documentary which follows the band Look Down as it embarks on its first tour in a borrowed van. On October 6th the series continues with Jason Mitchell's "The Reception," and then wraps October 13th with Dave Ash's film "Love: a documentary."