Flick Picks 1/21/14: Captain Phillips, Blue Jasmine, In a World

New on DVD at the library this week!

ENTERTAINMENT: Nominated for 6 Oscars including best film, Captain Phillips stars Tom Hanks in the gripping story of an American cargo ship that is hijacked by Somali pirates. The film focuses on the relationship between Hanks' title character and the lead Somali pirate, played by Oscar-nominated newcomer Bakhard Abdi. Paul Greengrass, who directed two Bourne films, is behind the camera for this one and we've got it on DVD and Blu-ray. Woody Allen received an Oscar nomination for screenplay while Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins were nominated for actress and supporting actress respectively, for Blue Jasmine, the story of a New York socialite trying to make a fresh start in San Francisco after her businessman husband is sent to prison for fraud. It has another great Allen cast that includes Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard and Louis C.K. No Oscar nominations but a hilarious supporting cast that includes Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Ken Marino and Nick Offerman for In a World, a romantic comedy featuring rising star Lake Bell as a woman trying to make it big in the movie-trailer voiceover business. Our indie pick this week is Sunlight Jr., which tells the story of the relationship between a working class store clerk, played by Naomi Watts, and her wheelchair-bound boyfriend Matt Dillon.

SERIES: If you'd like to see what has been referred to as one of the greatest political dramas of all time, you should pick up the Danish series Borgen, season 3 of which arrives this week.

SUBTITLED: The Prey, the newest white knuckle thriller to come out of France, arrives this week and tells the story of a bank robber who must break out of prison before his former cellmate commits crimes against his family.

DOCUMENTARIES: The subtly titled Greedy Lying Bastards takes a look at why there is so little progress being made in the fight against climate change despite evidence that it is upon us.

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

DVDs celebrating Martin Luther King's legacy

The third Monday of January every year is marked in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, the official date of which is January 15th. We have a great selection of videos that both honor Dr. King and the principles for which he stood.

• Ely Landau's King is a documentary of his life that includes much archival footage and was only screened theatrically for a single night.
• The 1963 March on Washington, where King made his "I Have a Dream" speech is the focus of the PBS documentary The March.
• The History Channel documentary King is another excellent look at the life of the man.
• The civil rights activists known as the Freedom Riders get their due in the PBS documentary Freedom Riders.
• March On! is a civil rights DVD made just for kids and it includes Martin Luther King's sister's story of hearing her brother deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech.