Friday, February 27, 2009

New DVDs available this week

Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
Examines the American film and television industry's response to the rise of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi persecution of the Jews before, during, and after World War II.

Up the Yangtze
Life surrounding the Yangtze is changing due to the Three Gorges Dam. Filmmaker Yung Chang goes on a farewell cruise that traverses the gargantuan waterway.

The House Bunny
When Playboy Bunny, Shelly, is tossed out of the Playboy Mansion, she has nowhere to go. She quickly falls in with the sorority girls from Zeta Alpha Zeta. The members of the sorority, all seven of whom are socially inept, are about to lose their house. The girls need a dose of what only the eternally bubbly Shelley can provide. Eventually, the girls, and Shelly, learn to stop pretending to be what they think others want them to be and start being themselves.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Nick knows exactly how long it has been since Tris broke up with him - three weeks, two days, and 23 hours. Now she is at his gig, with a new guy. Nick can't understand how she could have moved on so fast. But that night, Nick meets Norah. They have nothing in common except their taste in music. This begins the night of Nick, Norah and Manhattan. Now, this chance meeting will turn into a crusade to find a legendary rock band's secret show and ends up being a first date and a night that will change their lives forever.

Dirty Dancing
The summer of 1963 innocent 17-year-old Baby vacations with her parents at a Catskill's resort. One evening she is drawn to the staff quarters by stirring music. There she meets Johnny, the hotel dance instructor, who is as experienced as Baby is naive. Baby soon becomes Johnny's pupil in dance and love.

The Children of Huang Shi
Set in the 1930's in war-torn China and inspired by true events. George Hogg is a young Englishman who leads sixty orphaned boys on an extraordinary journey of almost a thousand miles across the snow-bound Liu Pan Shan mountains to safety on the edge of the Mongolian desert. During his journey, George learns to rely on the support of Chen, the leader of a Chinese partisan group who becomes his closest friend. He soon finds himself falling in love with the Australian adventurer Lee, an unsentimental nurse. Along the way, Hogg befriends Madame Wang, an aristocratic survivor who has also been displaced by war. She helps the young Englishman, his friends and their sixty war orphans make their way to safety near the western end of the Great Wall of China.

What Just Happened?
Ben is an overburdened movie producer. He tries to balance his life and has to contend with the never-ending demands of 2 ex-wives, his ice-queen studio head, and a menagerie of various Hollywood prima donnas. Ben manages to take it all in stride. He copes by exuding a smoothly assuring demeanor. The only thing that really seems to upset Ben is when he discovers that his ex-wife sleeps with one of his colleagues.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Zack and Miri are lifelong friends and roommates who are facing hard times and a mountain of debt. When the electricity and plumbing get shut off, they seize upon the idea of making a homemade porno movie for some quick cash. They decide to enlist the help of their friends and they become part of the haphazard cast and crew. They both vow that having sex will not ruin their friendship. But as the filming begins, what started out as a business proposition between friends turns into something much more.

Changeling
Working-class suburb Los Angeles, 1928. Christine says goodbye to her son, Walter, and departs for work. Arriving home, Christine discovers that Walter is nowhere to be found. Christine launches a desperate a search for her son. Then, a boy claiming to be Christine's son appears out of thin air. Knowing the boy is not hers, Christine invites the child to stay in her home. Christine cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Los Angeles police force at every turn. The police slander Christine and paint her as an unfit mother. Christine challenges the system and the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb.

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