Billy Gay aka Choo-Choo aka Kenard: Video Picks

Kicking and Screaming (1995): Post-graduation and these kids got nothing to do, and they talk about it a lot. I'm a big fan of Noah Baumbach's work and he pulls a trifecta with this one: writing, directing, and acting. Not necessarily my favorite of his films, but it is an incredible first feature.








POINT BLANK (1967): TAGLINE-"There are two kinds of people in his up-tight world: his victims and his women. And sometimes you can't tell them apart." --> I love me some Lee Marvin










Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe: A short documentary film directed by Les Blank in 1980 which depicts director Herzog living up to his promise that he would eat his shoe if Errol Morris ever completed the film Gates of Heaven.









STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN: Arguably the best Star Trek film. R.I.P. Ricardo Montalban. "This is Ceti-Alpha V!!!"












TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (1985): The film is filled with over the top performances from William L. Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Turturro, John Pankow, among others. Wang Chung composed and performed the original music soundtrack. It does a fine job capturing the uber-testosterone filled and narcissistic ideals of the Reagan era. So much fun.






CACHE (2005): One of Michael Haneke's greatest works. Tells us how a successful and happy life can be torn apart by the simple fact that someone is watching. An incredibly quiet film that Haneke pieces together perfectly.









DEATH RIDES A HORSE (1967): A fantastic Spaghetti Western that is very hard to get on DVD (our DVD copy is obviously transferred from a VHS tape). Lee Van Cleef is one of my favorites, and he is a super bad ass.











TIM & ERIC'S AWESOME SHOW, GREAT JOB!: From the creators of TOM GOES TO THE MAYOR. This is by far my favorite show to put on when I want to drive someone out of the video store--it is obnoxious in just the right way.





STREETWISE (1986): Nominated for an academy award in 1986 for Best Documentary (it lost to THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HARVEY MILK), it shows the lives of several street kids from Seattle. This film has yet to be released on DVD (we hold only a VHS copy) these runaways are well worth the trouble of setting up your old tape player. This film will forever be on my staff picks (it also has a great soundtrack by Tom Waits). Check out photographer Mary Ellen Mark's book STREETWISE for some beautiful shots of these kids, as they grow up in extreme poverty.