Perfectly timed for the presidential election is the Limited Edition Election Collection of Schoolhouse Rock! on DVD (coming out on September 23). Schoolhouse Rock! was a series of short animated musical educational fillers that aired during Saturday morning children's programming on ABC in the 1970s and 1980s. They were fun and educational and had a way of sticking in your head so you remembered the information. In this Election Collection, you get instruction on how a bill becomes law (see video above), on taxes, on the electoral college and more. Simple and effective, this DVD could help educate voters, and maybe even some of the people running for office. This limited edition comes with a special new to DVD song called Presidential Minute (with two different endings) and an election tracking kit. Whether you have kids or not, this DVD provides entertainment and information.

What We Do Is Secret (Vitagraph Films)

What We Do Is Secret (opening September 5 at Landmark's Ken Cinema) chronicles the life and death of punk rocker Darby Crash. The film marks the feature writing and directing debut of Rodger Grossman and stars popular TV actor Shane West (of ER fame) as the Germs' notorious frontman.

The Nightmare Before Christmas gets a digital makeover for a new DVD and BluRay Collector's Edition (Disney)

Tim Burton, the darkly demented and wickedly inspired creator of Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice, began his career in the unlikely setting of Walt Disney's bright and sunny G rated studios. And their improbable alliance continued when Disney's Touchstone Pictures produced the animated adaptation of Tim Burton's children's book The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993. Once again, Burton displayed a delightfully sick and twisted perspective that's not often seen in adult films let alone children's pictures. This past Tuesday, Walt Disney Home Entertainment re-issued The Nightmare Before Christmas in a digitally restored version for DVD and BluRay.

Rainn Wilson's Fish -- Reliving the dream in The Rocker (Fox Atomic)

Expectation can have a lot to do with whether or not you like a film. I had low expectations for The Rocker (opening August 20 throughout San Diego) based on trailers that made it look entirely stupid. So I was surprised to find that the film is actually only partly stupid, or to paraphrase Robert Downey, Jr.'s line from Tropic Thunder, they didn't go "full" stupid - just halfway. The other surprise is that Peter Cattaneo, the man who created the sweetly charming Brit-com The Full Monty, directed the film. But the main draw for The Rocker will probably be to see Rainn Wilson stepping out of his Dwight character from the American TV show The Office to take on the role of an aging rocker getting his second chance at fame.

The San Diego Women's Film Festival will be screening the music documentary The Gits as a fundraising event Wednesday August 20 at 9pm at the Whistle Stop Bar (2236 Fern Street, 619-284-6784). Entering its sixth year, SDWFF will kick off its 2008 festival on October 2. But the Festival, like so many non-profits this year, needs your help in raising funds so that it can continue to build on its past successes. The Gits will have its San Diego sneak preview at the Whistle Stop and will have its theatrical premiere at the Festival in October.

Directed by Kerri O'Kane, The Gits is the rousing and heartbreaking story of Seattle band The Gits, whose promising start was cut short by the tragic murder of lead singer Mia Zapata (who was rumored to have been descended from Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata).The documentary mixes musical history with murder mystery as it weaves a tale about a punk band that was beginning to distinguish itself.

Tickets are a suggested $5 donation (of course you can always give more!). I have served on the SDWFF selection committee since the Festival's inception and I value the work it has done to highlight films by women so I hope you will come out and support the festival and quality films by women by coming out to the Whistle Stop. You will also be supporting the Festival's new, dynamic curator Holly Jones whose passion for film has already been proven with her Citizen Video store. Com'on, it'll be like going to see the band play live at a bar -- you couldn't ask for a more perfect setting for a film like this.

Mamma Mia! takes on Batman at the box office this weekend. (Universal)

Mamma Mia! is a blast. I can't believe I just said that. As a fan of horror and Asian Extreme Cinema, I have a little trouble admitting how much fun I had at the bright, cheery ABBA musical Mamma Mia! (opening July 18 throughout San Diego). There's something irresistible in the way this film jubilantly embraces the movie musical tradition. So having Mamma Mia! open the same weekend as The Dark Knight offers the perfect yin and yang choices for filmgoers.

Season Three of The Muppet Show comes out on DVD May 20. (The Muppet Holding Company/BVHE)

I was a little too old to have grown up with Sesame Street as my educational TV show, but my younger brother and sister watched it, learning to count with The Count and understand the concept of near and far with Grover. But I have to admit, I often watched the show, and probably used my younger siblings as an excuse for having it on. My favorite character was Cookie Monster, and his obsession with cookies and things that looked like big, giant, delicious, chocolate cuppy-cakes. I was always impressed by the ingenuity of Jim Henson and his Muppet creations.

Fortunately for us "older" folks, Henson came up with The Muppet Show, a half hour variety program that débuted in 1976 and allowed teens and adults to watch the Muppets without guilt, excuses, or younger siblings. The show ran until 1981, and the third season of wackiness is now available on DVD. Season Three boasts guest such as Liberace and Gilda Radner, who could have been Muppets themselves; unlikely glamorous types such as Marisa Berenson and Raquel Welch; legends such as Danny Kaye; and rockers like Alice Cooper. My favorites from Season Three are Spike Milligan, the uncontrollable British comic from The Goon Show, and oddly enough Sylvester Stallone, fresh from Rocky and seeming quite at home with the Muppet gang. I also love Danny Kaye's bit with the Swedish Chef. But the real standout on this DVD is a bonus feature called Muppets on Puppets. This black and white TV documentary featuring Jim Henson provides a brief history of puppets and goes behind the scenes of the early Muppets themselves. It's an absolute delight, and Henson is such an unassuming and supremely talented host. You get to see part of a Muppet fairy tale from backstage, which ramps up the intensity of the performance as you see how much work goes into something that appears so effortlessly charming. The genius of Henson and people like Frank Oz (who did Miss Piggy and Sam the Bald Eagle among others) rests in their ability to create thoroughly believable characters. So when Rolf the Dog is told that he's a puppet, neither he nor the viewers seem willing to believe it. Then Henson tells Rolf to look down and Rolf is shocked to find a man down them manipulating his every move. It's a great moment because Henson is like a magician who's so confident that his trick will dazzle you no matter what that he's willing to give away all his secrets. And he was right. Even after seeing how the Muppets are constructed and manipulated by people behind a stage, we still buy into them as characters we love. The Muppet Show remains a delight for audiences of all ages.

The Muppet Show: Season Three retails for $39.99 (four discs).

Edwin S. Porter's film interpretation of Windsor McCay's Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (Edison Manufacturing Co.)

Based on the popular response (and wildly appreciative comments) to the last Teen-Tiny Film event featuring the multi-talented Scott Paulson, I thought it would be best to highlight the final event in the film series:  From Surreal to Abstract (Thursday, May 8 at 8:00 pm at Porter's Pub, UCSD). The film series is a presentation of USCD's ArtPower! The event, as with the other Teeny-Tiny film screenings, features silent films accompanied by live music from Paulson's Teeny-Tiny Pit Orchestra. As in the past, the audience members will not be merely passive observers. No, no, no! Instead, the audience will be called upon to act as official members of the pit orchestra and asked to be as experimental and abstract as the films themselves. Instruments available for this particular silent film adventure will include the tambura, kalimba, and gamelan. For the series‚ finale, the Teeny-Tiny Pit Orchestra will screen a collection of innovative and experimental silent films from the early 20th century. The press release promises: "Just like Scott himself, these films are mysteriously mysterious and humorously humorous!"

The films include Dream of a Rarebit Fiend, directed by Edwin S. Porter (1906). The scenario, taken from Windsor McKay's popular and thoroughly delightful comic, involves about a man who has had too much Welsh rarebit for dinner and suffers nightmares from the spicy food. El Espectro Rojo by french director Ferdinand Zecca (1903) serves up a beautiful example of hand-coloring in this classic trick film complete with strange Faustian characters. Fantamagorie by Emile Cohl (1908), which the series is calling "the the first fully animated film." Also screening will be: The Revenge of the Kinematograph Cameraman (Ladislas Starevich, 1912); Symphonie Diagonale (Viking Eggeling, 1924); Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra (Robert Floery, 1928); and Tit for Tat (1900). This sounds like another delightful evening of film treats, and Paulson is bound to bring a lively improvisational feel to the whole proceedings.

MORE INFO: www.artpower.ucsd.edu

Plácido Domingo and Patricia Racette (Robert Millard)

At 67, Plácido Domingo is not content to rest on his laurels. The world famous opera singer has recently taken on conducting opera and concert performances. He has also signed on through the 2010-11 season as the General Director of the Washington National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera. Earlier this year he made news by asking filmmakers Woody Allen, William Friedkin and David Cronenberg to each direct a production for the Los Angeles Opera in the 2008/09 season. This Mother's Day, you can enjoy Domingo on the big screen for a 40th Anniversary Gala Concert (Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 2:00pm at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas). Maybe to complement his selection of movie directors for a trio of upcoming projects at the L.A. Opera, Domingo is taking the L.A. Opera into movie theatres. Twenty-two Landmark Theatres around the country will be screening the concert recorded before a live audience on April 18, 2008, which celebrated the fortieth anniversary of Domingo's first professional appearance in Los Angeles. 

You can purchase tickets online at www.landmarktheatres.com. Ticket proces for this event: $20.00 adults, $18.00 seniors, and $15.00 children.

Companion viewing: Francesco Rosi's Carmen, Franco Zeffirelli's La Traviata, Franco Zeffirelli's Otello

Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan in Jodhaa Akbar (UTV Motion Pictures)

The Museum of Photographic Arts kicks off an Indian Film Series on May 3 that's designed to complement its new exhibit Humanitas: Images of India by Fredric Roberts. For the kick off event, MoPA will be partnering with Goldspirit Films, the sole exhibitor of contemporary Indian language films in San Diego, to present a free encore screening of the epic Jodhaa Akbar. The screening begins at 6:00 pm at the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Theater. If you have ever wanted to sample a contemporary Indian film this is the perfect opportunity since the event is free and the film is a lush romantic and historical opus. MoPA will also be partnering with the San Diego Museum of Art for additional films in the series. SDMA is currently running its own Indian-themed exhibit Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose. The first film of the MoPA/SDMA collaboration will be Satyajit Ray's Two Daughters (1961) screening Tuesday May 6. Ray's gift for nuanced comedy is superbly demonstrated in this exquisite adaptation of a pair of short stories by Indian literary giant Rabindranath Tagore. So if you want to spend a wonderful day and evening in Balboa Park enjoying all things Indian, come early and take a tour of both museum exhibits and then settle in for an evening of grand cinematic entertainment. 

Now to Jodhaa Akbar. This lush $10 million dollar historical romance favors legend over facts as it chronicles the sixteenth century love story between the famous Mughal Emperor Akbar and the Rajput Princess Jodhaa that he marries. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker (an Academy Award nominee for his cricket epic Lagaan), Jodhaa Akbar stars hunky Hrithik Roshan as the emperor and the lovely Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan as his Hindu wife. Politically, Emperor Akbar is revealed as a savvy ruler, extending his empire as far east as Afghanistan and as far west as the Bay of Bengal, and from the Himalayas to the Godhavari River. As emperor, he displays tolerance and generosity backed by strength and military force. Akbar marries Jodhaa in order to strengthen his relations with the Rajputs. But Jodhaa is not about to be some mere political pawn. So she places two demands on Akbar before she will agree to marry: She will not be forced to convert to his Islamic faith and she will be allowed a small shrine to Krishna in her private quarters. Akbar agrees. But on their wedding night, he's turned away from her bed. Until he wins her heart, Jodhaa refuses to consummate their marriage. So in between battles, Akbar focuses on the domestic challenge of winning his wife's love and trust. He embarks on a courtship that leads to true love - despite court intrigues and prejudices that threaten to pull them apart.