Flick Picks 12/3/13: The Wolverine, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Smurfs 2

New on DVD and Blu-ray at the library

ENTERTAINMENT: Hugh Jackman dons the adamantium yet again for The Wolverine, which takes the X-Man of the title to Japan where he must protect the daughter of a man whose life he once saved. The Asian setting for the film makes it a unique addition to the seemingly endless stream of superhero flicks while talented director James Mangold keeps the action moving. Also this week, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is the latest young adult book to hit the big screen, telling the story of half-angels in modern day New York who must protect our world from being overrun by demons. If you are seeing little blue men it's probably not because you haven't recovered from your Thanksgiving celebration but rather the family's screening of Smurfs 2, in which Neil Patrick Harris must fly to Paris to rescue our kidnapped heroes! Finally, this week's indie pick is Drinking Buddies, a low-key comedy-drama set in a Chicago brewery where four friends (Olivia Wilde, Ron Livingston, Anna Kendrick and Jake Johnson) try to figure out just exactly what they mean to each other.

DOCUMENTARIES: You probably haven't heard of Freda Kelly but she was the secretary for and friend of the Beatles, and in Good Ol' Freda she tells her story. Sir Nicholas Winton, an Englishman who rescued 669 Jewish Czech and Slovak children, is profiled in Nicky's Family.

SUBTITLED: A Canadian obstetrician living in Jerusalem and working in a Palestian refuge camp tries to build bridges between the two in Inch'Allah. The erotic Italian psychological thriller The Future tells the story of two boys who attempt to rob a former Mr. Universe (Rutger Hauer) by enlisting the help of a seductive young woman.

All of our current and upcoming DVDs can be found in Bibliocommons.

Food on DVD

Peggy Wolff's talk about her book Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie: Midwestern Writers on Food takes place Thursday night at 7:30 and it may leave you inspired. Luckily we are here to help with these great food related DVDs!

• Julia Child may no longer be with us but her legacy lives on in great books and videos, such as Julia Child's French Classics.
• The cooking series The Essential Pepin features entire episodes with Jacques Pepin focusing on a particular type of food.
• People of all sizes will enjoy the British Two Fat Ladies series.
• If you're in a hurry then you might need 30 Minute Meals With Rachael Ray.
• Filmed in the test kitchens of Cook's Illustrated magazine, America's Test Kitchen is a PBS series that will make you drool.
• For something a little different, how about How to Cook Your Life, a cooking class from a Zen master?