Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Flick Picks 8/27

New This Week
ENTERTAINMENT: The blockbuster board game adaptation Battleship comes to DVD this week, as Taylor Kitsch and Liam Neeson fight off an alien invasion. We've got it on DVD and Blu-ray and it's sure to entertain in either format! Also, despite being marketed as children's films, the movies that Britain's Aardman Animation creates are always good fun for the whole family. The Pirates! Band of Misfits, which stars the voices of Hugh Grant, Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek, is another one of their modern claymation extravaganzas.

SERIES: One of the most anticipated series to hit DVD in some time is Homeland. This Showtime series stars Claire Danes as a CIA Officer who suspects that a recently returned Marine Sergeant might be planning an attack on America. It's suspenseful and was nominated for nine Emmy awards, including Best Drama Series, Lead Actress and Lead Actor. For you anglophiles we've got Injustice, a new series from the creator of Foyle's War. It's a legal drama and police investigation starring James Purefoy. Also out this week are season 2 of the zombie extravaganza The Walking Dead and the fifth and final season of In Plain Sight.

SUBTITLED: Headhunters is a Norwegian thriller based on Jo Nesbo's novel. It tells the story of a headhunter who steals art on the side and discovers something that disrupts his life. It's an intense, exciting, violent film, with a Coen brothers feel.

INFORMATIONAL: If you enjoyed The Art of The Steal, which was a Monday Night at the Movies selection in 2010, you might want to check out The Barnes Collection, which is more of a straightforward look at the famous Philadelphia collection and the new museum that houses it.

You can see all of our new and upcoming DVDs by visiting Bibliocommons.

To See Or Not To See...
You may be aware that this year's From Page to Stage program focuses on Writer's Theatre's staging of Hamlet. There have been many excellent film versions of Hamlet. The version that set the standard is Laurence Olivier's 1948 Hamlet, which was the first British film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. An intriguing recent adaptation is The Royal Shakespeare Company's version, which stars David Tennant (who played one incarnation of Doctor Who) as Hamlet and Star Trek's Patrick Stewart as Claudius. This was a reprise of the role for Patrick Stewart who also played Claudius in a 1980 BBC version starring Derek Jacobi as Hamlet. Finally, for an in-depth look at what it's like to create a version of Hamlet check out Discovering Hamlet, a documentary that follows Kenneth Branagh as he attempts to bring his vision of Hamlet to the stage. Hamletphiles should be sure to attend our next From Page to Stage program on September 10th at 7:00, where Rabbi Herbert Bronstein will discuss Hamlet's delay in seeking to avenge his father.

Talking Pictures
Our next Talking Pictures program takes place on Wednesday, September 5th at 1:00. Susan Benjamin will be screening Invictus, starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman in the story of post-Apartheid South Africa's rugby team as it attempts to win the Rugby World Cup. A discussion will follow.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Flick Picks 8/20

New This Week
ENTERTAINMENT: There are two sly new comedies on tap this week. First is Bernie, starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey in a film based on the true story of a Texas funeral director who befriended the crankiest widow in town and later was accused of her murder. Richard Linklater, director of Before Sunset, Dazed and Confused and Waking Life, directs this film with a light hand and an abundance of charm. Also this week is The Dictator, Sacha Baron Cohen's newest cringe-inducing comedy. He reunites with Larry Charles, the director of Borat, in the story of a dictator who is abandoned in America.

SERIES: We've given you a chance to become acquainted with the first 7 seasons of House M.D. and now the 8th and final season of House arrives on DVD. Also coming out this week is series 3 of the BBC's period legal drama Garrow's Law as well as season 7 (the final season) of The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick.

SUBTITLED: The much anticipated Academy Award winner for best foreign language film - A Separation - finally arrives on DVD this week. It's an Iranian film about the relationship between a husband and wife and the conflicts between the various classes in contemporary Iran. Chile is another country that has been putting out some great films and we've got two very different ones this week. Bonsai is a melancholy film about a writer who yearns for a love whom he let slip away. A much darker film is Post Mortem, which is set during the 1973 military coup and focuses on a lonely morgue clerk who is infatuated with the burlesque dancer next door.

Sight and Sound List
Every ten years, the British publication Sight & Sound Magazine polls various film industry professionals in order to come up with a list of top films. This year was newsworthy since Citizen Kane was knocked from its perch at number one for the first time since 1962. Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo is the new number one film while Citizen Kane sits at number two. You can get more information, including the top 50 films, at the Sight & Sound website. The top ten films are as follows:
  1. Vertigo
  2. Citizen Kane
  3. Tokyo Story
  4. The Rules of the Game
  5. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
  6. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  7. The Searchers
  8. Man With a Movie Camera
  9. The Passion of Joan of Arc
  10. 8 1/2



Thursday, August 16, 2012

Flick Picks 8/13

New This Week:
ENTERTAINMENT: One of this year's biggest hits, the The Hunger Games, is the story of a dystopian future where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in a yearly televised spectacle. It's based on an insanely popular series of novels by Suzanne Collins and received glowing reviews from critics. We've got it on DVD and Blu-ray and we'll also be showing it at the library on Monday, August 20th at 6:00 for 6th - 12th graders.

SERIES: Dexter Morgan continues to deal with life as a single father while making room for his "dark passenger" as season 6 of Showtime's Dexter. On the lighter side, season 3 of Glee sees many of the show's key characters off to graduation. Also, season 3 of the quirky NBC comedy Community is here

DOCUMENTARIES: If you're interested in Israeli culture you'll want to be sure to watch Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment. The New York Times calls it a "fascinating introduction" to the history of kibbutzes and the challenges that they currently face. Fans of well-made true crime documentaries will want to see Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, the third in a trilogy of documentaries following the 18 year fight to prove the innocence of three men who were teenagers when charged in the supposedly satanically motivated killing of a young boy. It was nominated for an Academy Award.

Check Bibliocommons for all of our new and upcoming releases.

Inspired by the Mars Rover?
Mars rover Curiosity is sending home amazing pictures. If you're feeling inspired about space exploration then we have some documentaries for you! Our first stop in space was the moon and In the Shadow of the Moon uses archival footage and current interviews to tell the story of the Apollo space program. Moonshot and For All Mankind are also breathtaking looks at the moon landing. Carl Sagan's classic Cosmos series is still inspiring. IMAX Hubble, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, has breathtaking material taken from the space shuttle Atlantis as repairs were being made to the Hubble Space Telescope. Or join Stephen Hawking and other scientists as they explore the secrets of the universe in Stephen Hawking and the Theory of Everything.

Monday Night at the Movies
On Monday, August 20th we'll be showing Jiro Dreams of Sushi at our Monday Night at the Movies program. It's a documentary about a master sushi maker who works in a Tokyo subway station. Monday Night at the Movies shows at 1:00 and 7:00 at the Women's Library Club.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Flick Picks 8/6

New This Week!
ENTERTAINMENT Everybody's favorite furry orange ecologist The Lorax comes to DVD this week. It stars the voices of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron and Taylor Swift.  Also this week, Robert Parker's Jesse Stone is back in his eighth film, Benefit of the Doubt. Tom Selleck returns turn as the now retired sheriff of Paradise, Mass who is called back into action.

DOCUMENTARY Marley tells the story of Bob Marley and his role in Jamaican music and politics, with plenty of rare footage and interviews with family members and associates. The director Kevin MacDonald has brought us the two great documentaries - Touching the Void and One Day in September - and Marley promises to be just as enthralling.

SERIES Season 3 of Parenthood, the sweet NBC family comedy/drama starring Craig T. Nelson and Lauren Graham, comes to DVD this week.

PERFORMING ARTS If you missed Robert Plant at Ravinia last year or are just looking for a chance to relive the concert you'll want to grab Robert Plant: Live from the Artist's Den. Recorded in Nashville, Plant and his Band of Joy bring an Americana feel to traditional songs, some classic Led Zeppelin and some new tracks as well.

Be sure to check Bibliocommons for all of our new and upcoming DVD releases.

Do you Love English Architecture?
If last week's Downton Abbey program makes you hungry to explore British architecture then we have some suggestions for you. Secrets of the Manor House looks at life inside British country houses in the early 1900s and how financial, political and social pressures brought about change to this lifestyle. Treasure Houses of Britain lets you take a look inside five great English country houses and explores the stories behind them. Or maybe these country homes are a little too modest. In that case you should watch The Queen's Palaces, which lets you visit Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and The Palace of Holyroodhouse. Windsor Castle: A Royal Year will give you an even more detailed look at Queen Elizabeth's favorite home.

Movies on the Green
There's one more chance to enjoy an outdoor movie on Wyman Green in the beautiful summer weather. On Friday, August 10 at dusk we will be cosponsoring a showing of Soul Surfer, based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, a surfer who lost an arm to a shark.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Flick Picks 7/30

New this week
It's a slow week for new releases, with the Emmy-nominated History Channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys as the biggest one. This is a different type of miniseries than History Channel has typically produced, with an all-star cast of Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Tom Berenger and Mare Winningham (all of whom received Emmy nods). If you enjoy history-rich Westerns you'll want to pick this one up.


SERIES There are no new series coming out this week but there's good news for all of you fans of the new series The Newsroom. We now own the series that made Aaron Sorkin a star - The West Wing. It's seven seasons long and is sure to get you in the mood for the upcoming presidential election!


SUBTITLED In Le Havre, Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki tells the warm-hearted story of a kindly French shoe shiner who befriends a young African refugee and tries to keep him from being deported. It's a sweet film that's got a 99% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a great indication of its qualities!

DOCUMENTARY Would you like to know why poker has been so hot over the last few years? Check out All In: The Poker Movie, which has interviews from everyone from Matt Damon to poker champion Annie Duke.

You can find all upcoming and recent DVD releases in Bibliocommons.

The Olympics on video!
If you can't get your fill of the Olympics then have we got some DVDs for you! Those of you curious about the history of the Olympics will want to see The Real Olympics, which reconstructs what the games in ancient Greece were actually like while also showing more contemporary highlights. Chariots of Fire is the based on a true story of Olympic runners, and while Miracle is not from the summer Olympics, it does a great job of capturing a classic Winter Olympic moment. On a more somber note, One Day in September is a moving documentary about the 1972 Munich Olympics, where 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage in the Olympic village. The film Munich deals with this event and the Israeli response that followed.