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Welcome Film Lovers... |
| Hello
and welcome to That's Rentertainment
-- the last locally owned and operated video store in the Champaign-Urbana
/ University of Illinois area. That's Rentertainment caters to film
fans (and fanatics) who have grown tired of the typical
Blockbuster fare. We specialize in international, independent, classic
American and Art House films on DVD (with a handful of VHS tapes
left over that have never been released on DVD). With almost 36,000 DVDs and over 1,300 BluRay discs, That’s Rentertainment has the largest selection
of movies in the entire Champaign-Urbana area -- if not all of Illinois.
We get new movies every week -- if you want to be kept up to date
about them sign up for our weekly e-mail
update or check out our New Arrivals
page. Membership is free (requiring
only 2 photo IDs, or an ID and credit card) and rentals can
be as cheap as $1.00 per disc, so come
on down and check out what you've been missing! |
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| This Week's New Release Message |
The big titles this week are: Amelia (w/Hilary Swank, Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor), New York, I Love You (w/Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Shia LeBoeuf, Orlando Bloom, etc), Ong Bak 2 (w/Tony Jaa) and Zombieland (w/Woody Harrelson). However, the most interesting title of the week is the 9-disc, 25 hour, "Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts" (filmed from the late 50s to the early 70s). I didn't watch these as a kid but I sure will now. We've also done some work cleaning up our Anime section by filling in a few gaps (most notably a whole new set of One Piece). We added "No Impact Man" to the documentaries (about a Manhattan family who decide to live a year making no net environmental impact). There are also lots of new international titles (Daytime Drinking, Import Export, My Fuehrer, Three Monkeys, etc), more Documentaries (America Betrayed, Brick City, etc) and even an Independent film (Fuel).
All of this week's new big titles were also released on BluRay. There are a few older titles making their debut as well (Casablanca, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Mystic River, etc). Doctor Who has finally made his way to hi-def: "The Complete Specials" has been released on 5 discs (4 titles). I imagine we'll start seeing a lot more of the Doctor on BluRay very soon. |
(for previous week's new releases click here) |
| Meet the Rentertarians... |
| Allison |
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Favorite Movie Genre: New French Extremity (or New French Extremism):
or films that usually aim at breaking a taboo and contain a large amount of sex and/ or violence. I also included films that I feel were either predecessors for this genre or have close ties to it but are not French. The term originates from the ArtForum critic James Quandt when he used it in one of his articles as an insult. Most do not acknowledge the label nor consider it a movement. Many of these films are also up for argument as to whether they fit into this genre.
1. Catherine Breillat's "Fat Girl"
2. Christophe Honore's "Ma Mere"
3. Catherine Breillat's "Romance"
4. Francois Ozon's "Swimming Pool"
5. Michael Haneke's "Funny Games"
6. Leox Carax's "Tokyo!" ("Merde" segment)
7. Lars Von Trier's "Dogville" (I'm also excited for his upcoming "Antichrist" which will seemingly fit into this genre as well)
8. Nagisa Oshima's "In the Realm of the Senses"
9. David Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch"
10. Jean-Luc Godard's "Le Week-end" |
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Renter News -- not all about film but all of interest... |
Introducing "The Itty Bitty Bike Shop"
If you've been in our store lately, you may have noticed what might very well be the smallest bike shop in the world (right now it's 2' x 2') sitting where the Pepsi machine used to sit. We call it the "Itty Bitty Bike Shop". It's got all the basics for your commuting needs: chain lube, inner tubes, lights, multi-tools, patch kits, some reflectors, tire levers, water bottles, and, of course, the ChampaignCountyBikes.org Urbana-Champaign Bike map. We've also got a pump (schrader and presta) in case you need some air. By the way, 10% of all sales will go to ChampaignCountyBikes.org and another 10% will go to The Bike Project in Urbana. Ride safely! (link) |
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What's up in the local world of cycling?
1) Are you a bicycle commuter, interested in becoming a bicycle commuter, or just love joining groups? Check out ChampaignCountyBikes.org -- tons of information (including routes and maps) and super nice folks.
2) The Priarie Cycle Club has started their spring rides. Check out their web site for more information.
3) We've got a Cycling in Film list posted and here's a bunch of links to other cycling related stuff
4) Next time you are at Renter pick up a "Watch for Bikes" t-shirt -- now in "don't hit me" neon green!!!
5) And, we've made it easier than ever to stay hydrated while riding with the official That's Rentertainment water bottle. Check 'em out here. |
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Welcome "Urbana-Champaign Bike Ride!"...
We've started a new web site -- UCBikeRide.com! You'll find some route maps (and a few cue sheets), some local cycling links, and a Google group for setting up spur of the moment impromptu bike rides. Check it out, join the mailing list and get out on your bike... it's fun. |
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Champaign County Bike Map
This week at the farmer's market, Champaign County Bikes held a press conference to announce the release of the all new Champaign-Urbana Area Bicycle Map. According to the good folks at CCB, "20,000 copies will be made available at local bike shops, fitness centers, other retailers, and public buildings throughout the communities. 10,000 copies will be distributed on the University of Illinois campus." Maps can picked up at various locations in Champaign-Urbana... including That's Rentertainment! (link) |
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High Definition at Rentertainment...
As always, That's Rentertainment is an early adopter -- even when it comes to format wars that can't be won. We started buying HD and BluRay discs when they came out. We have since ditched the HD format and are now buying all the BluRay we can and now have over 1,300 available to rent. That's more than anyone else in Urbana-Champaign -- in fact, it's probably more than everyone else combined! And we get more every week... |
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Essential
Art House Films: 50 Years of Janus Films
A few years ago (2007) I decided to watch the entire Essential
Art House box set -- one film per week in the order presented
in the box, alphabetical chronological order. I wrote
one paragraph reviews of each film as I watched them. If you want, you can read the reviews here. |
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Sign up for the That's
Rentertainment mailing list!
Enter your e-mail address in the box below and hit "Submit"
to start receiving the weekly That's Rentertainment New Arrivals
(every Tuesday-ish) e-mail update of the new DVDs
available for you to rent (sample updates can be seen
here): |
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NOTE
#1: We will never ever give, sell or provide your
e-mail address to anyone. It will only be used to send out
the That's Rentertainment New Arrivals weekly update.
NOTE #2: If you have a spam blocker in place
make sure <renter@rentertainment.com> is in your white
list. |
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International
Video Transfers: That's Rentertainment can transfer your
PAL VHS tapes and DVDs to NTSC video and DVD. We can also make DVDs from your home videos (VHS, 8mm or MiniDV). Click here
for more information. |
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| GIFT
CERTIFICATES: Give the gift that shows you don't care enough
to give it a whole lot of thought -- Gift certificates are NOW
AVAILABLE! Buy one for a friend, send one to your kid or be
selfish and just get it for yourself. |
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That's
Rentertainment used to be the proud sponsor of...
we've stopped but you can still watch the Red Green Show on WILL-TV |
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