Flick Picks 9/30/13: This is The End, The Croods, The Frozen Ground

New on DVD this week at your library!

ENTERTAINMENT: Some of Hollywood's funniest young stars portray themselves as the apocalypse arrives in This is The End. Funnyman Seth Rogan co-wrote, co-directed and co-stars in this raunchy, star-studded comedic look at what happens when self-indulgent Hollywood actors are faced with the end of civilization as they know it. James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride are the leads and there are cameos from Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Channing Tatum and more. Also this month, you might have missed the Nicholas Cage and John Cusack mystery The Frozen Ground when it was in the theaters so now you can get caught up! It's based on the true story of an Alaskan state trooper who tries to track a serial killer. Finally, kids will want to meet The Croods, a Stone Age family that is forced to explore the world after its cave is destroyed. Nicholas Cage's voice stars in this one, along with those of Emma Stone, Catherine Keener and Ryan Reynolds.

SERIES: Guy Pearce comes to the small screen in the Australian import Jack Irish, in which he plays an alcoholic criminal lawyer turned private investigator following his wife's murder. We've got the second of the classic Doctor Who specials The Doctors Revisited 5-8, which features a documentary about the second quartet of Doctors as well as a representative episode from each one. This week also brings us season 8 of How I Met Your Mother, season 4 of Glee and season 2 of New Girl.

DOCUMENTARIES: If you're interested in an overview of the evolution of the environmental movement you'll want to see A Fierce Green Fire, which is narrated by Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Ashley Judd.

You can find all of our new and forthcoming releases in Bibliocommons!

Talking Pictures
Susan Benjamin returns to host Talking Pictures on Monday, October 7th when we will be showing Parental Guidance, starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler. Talking Pictures features are screened in the Hammond Room of the library at 1:00 and are free and open to everyone.

TV for a Government Shutdown

We're now in the midst of a government shutdown which may inspire you to want to see more of the comedy, back-stabbing and intrigue that happens behind Washington DC's locked doors. The following series are all great looks at politics, U.S. and elsewhere

• Emmy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Vice President Selina Meyer in Veep, as she tries to negotiate politics and deal with a crazy staff.
• Another Emmy winner - Kevin Spacey - stars in House of Cards, which follows the political manipulations of a vengeful Congressman. It is based on the BBC series of the same name.
• President Bartlett in The West Wing probably could have averted a government shutdown with an appeal to the American people's conscience.
• The UK government has its own craziness as the darkly comic The Thick of It (later adapted into the feature film In the Loop) shows.
• No Job for a Lady was a sitcom about the misadventures of a newly elected female British Prime Minister.
• A much darker look at UK politics is the miniseries The Politician's Wife, in which a woman tries to end her husband's political career after discovering his affair.
• One of the best political dramas around - Borgen - comes from Denmark and revolves around their fictional first female Prime Minister.