Holiday Hours:
We will be open for last-minute shopping and movie marathon renting on:

Dec. 24th: Noon-10pm
Dec. 25th: 3-11pm
Dec 31st: Noon-10pm
Jan 1st: Noon-11pm

Holiday Special - On December 25th, we will be offering our annual Christmas Day special: 10 movies for $25, reducing per rental costs to last century's prices. This sale is available only on 12/25/11 to members but the movie rentals can be used anytime.

The Connection between Big End-of-the-Year Theatrical Films and Vidiots: Enjoying "My Week with Marilyn"? We've got a great "Marilyn Monroe" section as well as Michelle Williams' body of work. Loving "The Artist"? Vidiots is unique in its vast silent film collection and we have film docs that comment on the best of the era. Want to see more of director Steve McQueen and actor Michael Fassbender's experiments after experiencing "Shame?" We've got their earlier titles. Curious about Georges Melies' films after seeing Scorsese's "Hugo"? You can rent them at Vidiots. So it's easy…when a holiday season film awakens your desire to learn more, stop by Vidiots on the way home.

Congratulations to: Vidiots Customer Ben Lewin, whose independent film "The Surrogate," was awarded a coveted spot at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival. Helen Hunt, John Hawkes and William H. Macy star in Lewin's "unusual tale of a 36 year-old man who has spent most of his life in an iron lung and now develops a plan to lose his virginity." We're proud to say that Ben screened the film in our Vidiots Annex screening room.

Events: Tail-Spin - Fans of "This American Life," "The Moth," and great storytelling, join us for this month's edition of Tail Spin, December 15th at 7pm.

Film Festival in a Box - Looking for a way to keep holiday family "discussions" away from focusing on you, or want a new way to entertain friends? On the Vidiots counter you'll discover "Film Festival in a Box" ($18), which the New York Times describes as "bite-size Indies in competition on your couch." Each box contains a disc with four independent short films, helpfully grouped according to themes like "Dark Comedies," "Chillers," etc. You provide the wine and organic gluten-free snacks, watch the films with your friends (or by yourself) and then gather your results and vote online. There's even a way to develop a dialogue with the filmmakers. As "Better Homes and Gardens" says, "Good fun…no need to wait for the Oscars!" Film-Festival-In-A-Box parties are this year's Book Club, and make a great gift as well.

Gift Ideas pt. 1: Boxed Sets - Need a gift for your dad who's proud of his humongous new flatscreen? How about the new IMAX Ultimate Collection Boxed Set? A devoted auteur fan? What about the beautiful new Blu-Ray set of Kieslowski's "Blue, White, Red" series? We also have both Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection and The Woody Allen Collection? We've got a beautiful set from Janus, 'The Essential Art House Films" and we have the latest season of "Mad Men." And for that little kid you know who's seen it all and tweeted it twice, how about introducing them to "The Little Rascals Collected Films?"

Gift Ideas, pt. 2: Special DVD/Blu-Rays - Need a last-minute gift or stocking stuffer for the cineaste on your list? How about the Special Edition of David Lynch's "Inland Empire?" For the musical fan we have the re-issue of "Carousel." Your innovative friends will appreciate "The Genius of Design," and the music fans will smile at David Byrne's concert film "Ride, Rise, Roar." The devoted Coen Brothers fan on your list will love the Blu-Ray collection "From the Minds of the Coens" and your favorite night-owl will keep hitting play on "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop." Need more ideas? Our staff will be happy to help, and we have a whole wall of new titles to peruse in-store.

Gift Ideas, pt. 3: Gift Certificates - Vidiots T-shirts, and Special Orders! We're running a holiday special…if you buy a Vidiots gift certificate for $25 you'll get a free Vidiots t-shirt! The shirts can also be purchased independently for $14.99. While you're in the store, maybe you'd like to purchase a film as a present you don't see on our shelves…give us a call and we'll special order it for you and let you know as soon as it comes in!

Gift Idea, pt. 4: A Movie Party in Our Vidiots Annex Screening Room! Looking for a gift for someone who has everything, or never tells you what they want, or someone who loves festivities? How about a gift certificate that would take care of the rental of our state-of-the-art Vidiots screening room? Your lucky cinema fan could then host a soiree showing their favorite film to a select group of friends and family…you've given the gift of fun and making memories. Make arrangements for this unusual but cool gift by calling owners Patty or Cathy at 310 392 8508.

Patrick Art - Fans of our distinctive seasonal window art, as well as the many colorful drawings and magnets that have graced our counters over the year, should know the artist behind them: Patrick McGilligan. And you should also know that it's very easy to make an investment in Patrick's work and easy to obtain one of his colorful portraits of uneasy, sexy, pop and noir-inspired characters. "One-Dollar Art" is the name of his low-tech way of purchasing art; send Patrick a dollar in an envelope, and in return he will send you one of his original, specially-designed art works on a Post-It, suitable for…posting! Or framing! Send four dollars and get four hand-drawn post-its, and so on. To learn more, check out:

http://www.facebook.com/l/JAQELc6iDAQF35ChsGqYR3vW6NXE8t2UxyFWVxNljTPr3NQ/lethargicarts.com/ or like his facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/onedollarpostitart

Hidden Gems - Worthwhile titles tucked into our New Arrivals section, reviewed by Tom Cendejas

Attack the Block - Why this isn't showing up on top ten and critics' prizes list is a mystery to me. Or not…sharp yet humane satire is a rare thing, and seldom gets recognized by awards. Several UK hip-hop kids living in a block of public housing discover an alien attack; not everyone makes it; by the time one of them is dangling from a dank cement balcony hanging on to a shredding British flag for life, you may want to applaud the bravado of writer-director and comedian Joe Cornish.

Our Idiot Brother - Paul Rudd, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones, Elizabeth Banks (doing her best Parker Posey), Emily Mortimer, Kathryn Hahn, Adam Scott, Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy, Shirley Knight, Polly Draper and an awesome turn by T.J. Miller. Now that's a charming cast, who give their all to this featherweight story, blessedly free of broad pratfalls and gross jokes, perfect for a winter's night when what you want is something gentle and sunny.

The Last Mountain - Those of us in the Western U.S. don't always have an appreciation for the devastation caused by strip mining for coal. Mountains that existed for millennia are now gone forever; eco-systems destroyed; corporate social persists. This award-winning non-fiction film is a stirring work.

Tucker & Dave vs. Evil - Hilarious upending of the teens-lost-in-the-backwoods horror genre.

Making the Boys - Cherish it or despise it, "The Boys in the Band" is widely acknowledged as the first major open depiction of homosexual culture on Broadway. This documentary turns out to be surprisingly prismatic in the topics it illuminates, including playwright Matt Crowley's clinical depression, the generational divide in the gay community, AIDS, Broadway vs. Hollywood, Willaim Friedkin's methodology, and the surprising revelation that Natalie Wood may have been just as influential as Judy Garland in kicking off the gay liberation movement, making the account of her death here all the more timely and heartbreaking.

Tom’s Pick o’ the Month:
"Circo" - I'm one of those people who thinks that as far as metaphors go, the "circus" theme has been played out. Who knew the Las Vegas landscape would turn from Frank and Sammy to "O" and "Mystere?" There's a cirque on every corner, an apparent endless supply of foreign acrobats, circus fantasy YA novels, and big-top themed tours from Britney and Pink. So..I'm hear to tell you, that if like me, you might have been inclined to skip Aaron Schlock's gorgeous documentary just because of its title, I suggest that would be a mistake. The film follows the Ponce family as they struggle to keep the generational "Gran Circo Mexico" alive in the face of an exhausted people and economy, almost willing a spirit of fantasy and joy into a rural landscape charred with palpable defeat. Through the year Schlock follows them, we see the Ponces tire, bicker, transport a llama, triumph, persevere; we also, sadly, see a marriage dissolve, and look in the ashes and sawdust for hope. The editing and framing are impeccable and often heartrending. In this holiday season, when many of us contemplate "family"—how we live with them, how to live without them—"Circo"seems to say we are all death-defying high-wire acts, flying through the air, hoping to be caught.

Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un6L6A4VGlw