Flick Picks 10/14/13: Pacific Rim, The Heat

New on DVD at the Library This Week

ENTERTAINMENT: If giant monsters fighting massive robots isn't your idea of entertainment, then Pacific Rim is probably not for you! On the other hand, those of you who realize that it's the BEST form of entertainment will want to watch this epic visual treat on the largest screen possible. Sci-fi stylist Guillermo del Toro brings us the story of robot jockeys (including Charlie Hunnam) fighting to keep our world safe from invaders. We've got it on DVD and Blu-ray. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are also fighting bad guys in The Heat. The director of Bridesmaids brings us a buddy cop flick in which two mismatched police officers must work together to bring down a drug lord. It's also available in both DVD and Blu-ray. Finally, fans of previous collaborations of actor Steve Coogan and director Michael Winterbottom (which include Tristram Shandy and The Trip) will definitely want to check out The Look of Love, about Paul Raymond who opened the UK's first strip club in 1958.

SERIES: Gillian Anderson is back on tv in the BBC crime drama The Fall, in which she plays a British detective hunting a serial killer in Belfast. History Channel's first scripted series Vikings follows the head of a Norse clan who rises to King.

SUBTITLED: Fans of the movie Captain Phillips won't want to miss the similarly themed A Hijacking, about a Danish ship taken over by Somali pirates. The brilliant Luc Besson colorfully adapts a popular French adventure comic about an adventurous young woman in early 20th century Paris in the fun live action Adele Blanc-Sec. Finally, the gorgeously animated The Painting resembles art more than cartoons in the parable of the artist and his various creations. It's a French animated film that can be enjoyed by the entire family.

DOCUMENTARIES: Tom Selleck is the narrator of North America, a beautifully shot look at the continent on which we live. Jeremy Scahill adapts his book to bring us the movie Dirty Wars, which investigates the U.S. involvement in covert wars. Anglophiles will want to take a look at Julien Temple's London: The Modern Babylon, that shows the combination of historical factors that have created the exciting and diverse London that we know.

PERFORMING ARTS: The big green guy is back and now he sings in Shrek: The Musical, the Broadway adaptation of the popular film.

You can find all of our new and upcoming releases in Bibliocommons.

Monday Night at the Movies
Our next Monday Night at the Movies is What Maisie Knew, which stars Julianne Moore and Alexander Skarsgard in the modern adaptation of the Henry James novel about a divorce as seen through the eyes of a six-year-old. The film will screen at 1:00 and 7:00 on Monday, October 21st at the Woman's Library Club (325 Tudor Ct.) Our Monday Night at the Movies films are free and are open to everyone.

Videos on Islam

We are almost at the end of the 4-day festival Eid al-Adha, which is one of the most important holidays from the Islamic calendar. Would you like to learn more about the world's second most popular religion? We can help!

• Islam, Empire of Faith is a PBS program that provides an overview of the history of the religion.
• Frontline's Muslims looks more specifically at what it means to be a Muslim in the 21st century.
• The National Geographic show Inside the Koran focuses on the religion's religious text.
• Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World looks at 1400 years of Muslim arts, crafts and architecture.
• Based on an autobiographical graphic novel, the animated Persepolis shows what it was like to grow up a woman in an Iran run by Islamic fundamentalists.