Ken Schur Movies
The Jewish inhabitants of a faraway planet made entirely of Matzah have lost touch with tradition, but when a wandering menorah crash lands on their remote planet, a nine-year-old boy named Oogy is determined to find out just what the strange object means as animation, puppetry, and music combine to offer a fun introduction to the story of Chanukah. Upon looking through his high-powered telescope, Oogy spies three Jewish children partaking in a Chanukah party on far-away planet Earth. As the festive activities unfold before his very eyes, Oogy learns about everything from potato pancakes to what it means to eat a kosher meal. Now if he can just find out what to do with the menorah before the eighth night of Chanukah he can tell his entire planet about his exciting new discovery. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2003
- Add The Seder on Planet Matzah Ball to QueueAdd The Seder on Planet Matzah Ball to top of Queue
Long ago, the fuzzy little people who live on Planet Matzah Ball were Jewish. Sadly, over the years, most of the Jewish traditions there have been lost. Then one special night, an Intergalactic Passover Guide Book crashes to the planet's surface from outer space. Taking a look at its pages, the people there realize that Passover is approaching them, so they decide to follow the book's instructions and have a Passover Seder of their own. There's just one problem: they don't have a leader to take them through the ceremony. So nine-year-old Oogy volunteers to travel to Earth and bring back an Earthling who can lead them in their newly remembered tradition. Oogy lands in Cleveland, OH, where the Rosenberg family is having their own Passover Seder. They teach Oogy all about Passover and what it means to the Jewish people. By the time Oogy is climbing back into his spaceship, he might not need an Earthling to act as Passover leader after all. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Written and directed by Max Myers, Don't Let Go reflects on the musical past of siblings Jimmy Ray (Scott Wilson) and Billy Joe (Justin Shilton), who headed a rockabilly band called "The Texas Tumbleweeds" in the late '50s. Unfortunately, Jimmy Ray (Wilson) leaves the band for the bottle after his brother is murdered in a dispute over a woman. Forty years down the line, Jimmy Ray is an alcoholic and a distant father to his two children, young Billy Joe (Levi Kreis), and Johnny Blue (Brad Hawkins). At first, Jimmy Ray refuses to attend the concerts of his sons, who are burning up the rockabilly circuit themselves as leaders of "The Texas Two-Tones." The young band decides to hold a fundraiser in honor of the late Billy Joe (Shilton), and as a tribute to the 40 year anniversary of their father's former band. Though it seems that there is no chance of their father attending, Jimmy Ray happens upon his brother's old guitar in a junk shop and slings it over his shoulder in spite of himself. Don't Let Go also features Katharine Ross and Irma P. Hall. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Wilson, Katharine Ross, (more)
- 2001
- Add Big Brother and the Holding Co. With Janis Joplin: Nine Hundred Nights to QueueAdd Big Brother and the Holding Co. With Janis Joplin: Nine Hundred Nights to top of Queue
Big Brother & the Holding Company was one of the first major bands to emerge from the nascent psychedelic music scene in San Francisco, CA, in the mid-'60s. Conjuring up a high-powered blend of blues and folk, the band had already begun to gain a significant local following when the group's manager, Chet Helms, introduced them to a young woman from Texas who was looking for a gig -- Janis Joplin. After Joplin joined the band, Big Brother & the Holding Company became major stars, and their album Cheap Thrills became one of the touchstones of the early San Francisco sound, but Joplin's presence proved to be both a blessing and a curse. Her powerful vocals on tunes like "Piece of My Heart" and "Ball and Chain" helped make the group a hit, but once the music press singled out Joplin as the star of the show, the bandmembers soon found themselves in the shadow of their singer, even after she left the band to go solo. Big Brother and the Holding Company With Janis Joplin: Nine Hundred Nights is a documentary which examines the group's rise and fall, featuring interviews with the surviving members of the band and rare footage of the group on-stage, including performances of "Piece of my Heart," "Combination of the Two," "Ball and Chain," "Down on Me," "Light Is Faster Than Sound," and more. Rip Torn narrates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
