Visual stylist Sam Raimi, who also brought us the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies, offers the pre-Dorothy story of the land of Oz in Oz The Great and Powerful. In this film, circus magician Oscar Diggs is transported to Oz where he meets three witches who were expecting a wizard and not a carnival huckster. Unfortunately, one of the witches has some wicked plans. The movie stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz and is available on DVD and Blu-ray. Also this week, the always watchable Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) flexes his acting muscles in Snitch, the story of a man who agrees to become an informant for the DEA in order to keep his son out of prison. Our indie pick is the comedy It's a Disaster, which tells the story of a monthly "couples brunch" that leads to craziness when an attack on the city traps the characters inside the house. It features David Cross, Julia Stiles and America Ferrera.
SERIES
HBO's The Newsroom comes from the creative pen of Aaron Sorkin, who gave us so many enjoyable seasons of The West Wing. It stars Jeff Daniels as an anchor at a fictional news agency who must deal with his corporate masters and an ex-girlfriend. The Netflix exclusive series House of Cards also arrives on DVD. It's a remake of the BBC series of the same name and features Kevin Spacey as a power-hungry Congressman. The third season of Rizzoli and Isles and season two of Fairly Legal are also out this week.
DOCUMENTARIES
The Loving Story is a powerful look at the Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage in 1967 (following nearly ten years of legal battles). Also, learn about some of our country's greatest architects and their works in 10 Buildings That Changed America.
SUBTITLED
The intense Vincent Cassel stars as The Monk, a story about a well-respected Monk in 17th century Madrid who becomes tempted by a woman, which may or may not have something to do with strange occurrences taking place at the monastery. Reminiscent of Stand by Me, three French teenagers must fend for themselves over the summer in the sad and heartwarming The Giants. The wonderfully intimate 11 Flowers is set near the end of the Chinese Cultural Revolution during which a child in a remote rural town is asked to wear a clean new shirt to lead his school in gymnastics, requiring his family to make sacrifices.
Check Bibliocommons for all new and upcoming DVDs and Blu-rays.
Monday Night at the Movies
Brooklyn Castle is a documentary about a Brooklyn school where 65% of students live below the federal poverty level, yet the school has the highest-ranked junior high chess team in the nation. The film will screen at 1:00 and 7:00 on Monday, June 17th at the Women's Library Club at 325 Tudor Ct. Admission is free.
Chicago on Film
- Find out how in only 60 years Chicago grew from swamp town to lively city in Chicago: City of the Century.
- Remembering Chicago, Remembering Chicago Again and Remembering Chicago & World War II are great avenues for looking back on the Chicago of the past!
- Geoffrey Baer leads you on some fascinating tours of Chicago's history in the WTTW specials Chicago by Boat, Chicago's Loop and Chicago's North Shore.
- The heyday of Maxwell Street is the subject of And This is Free.
- Jewish Chicago: 1833 to 1948 follows the migration of Jewish emigrants to the city.
- Tom Palazzolo was an experimental filmmaker whose Four More Films: Chicago 60's capture the unveiling of the Picasso sculpture, the 1968 Democratic convention, Maxwell Street and Riverview Amusement Park.
- It's not a documentary but Medium Cool, set during the 1968 Democratic Convention, contains actual footage from the riots, including a scene where the director Haskell Wexler was really gassed by police.
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