Flick Picks 9/24

New this week!

ENTERTAINMENT: Iron Man! Thor! The Hulk! Captain America! Throw 'em in a blender and what do you have? A superhero smoothie that has also become the highest grossing movie of 2012! Directed with a sure hand and sense of humor by Joss Whedon, The Avengers is a big-budget extravaganza that never forgets that it's supposed to be fun. We have it on DVD and Blu-ray. For something a little bit more low-key try Damsels in Distress, the latest from Metropolitan and Last Days of Disco director Whit Stillman. It's a literate, urbane comedy about the interactions between a group of young women at an Ivy League college.

SERIES: The long-awaited FX series American Horror Story finally premieres on DVD this week. Jessica Lange won a Golden Globe award for her portrayal of the neighbor of the haunted house that welcomes new residents Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton. It was co-created by Ryan Murphy who also had a hand in the creation of Glee. Season 2 of the hipster comedy series Portlandia is also out this week.

There also some quality offerings for fans of British television. The Crimson Petal & The White is a four-part BBC series that approaches Gothic melodrama in tone as it follows a Victorian prostitute as she searches for a better life. Among the exciting cast are Gillian Anderson and Richard E. Grant. Also out this week are 3 episodes of the Kenneth Branagh Wallander series as well as season 8 of the detective drama New Tricks.

SUBTITLED: Arriving from France this week is Goodbye First Love, about a young girl who falls in love with an older boy who then leaves to travel through South America. Eight years later he returns to a much more fully formed woman and their relationship resumes. Or if a bad taste comedy is more of your style, try the Danish film Klown which follows two friends in their raunchy adventures through the Danish countryside.

All of our upcoming releases can be found in Bibliocommons.

Primetime Emmy Winners
It's the time of the year when the best of television is honored! We own many of the winners so this is a great excuse to try a new show! Here are the multiple award winning shows that we own (number of awards in parentheses).

Homeland (6)
Game of Thrones (6)
Modern Family (5)
Hatfields & McCoys (5)
Boardwalk Empire (4)
Frozen Planet (4)
Great Expectations (4)
Downton Abbey (3)
American Horror Story (2)
George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2)

Talking Pictures Program

At our October 3rd Talking Pictures program we'll be screening The Ides of March, followed by a discussion led by Susan Benjamin. The Ides of March stars George Clooney as a presidential candidate and Ryan Gosling as his idealistic press secretary. The program takes place at 1:00.