Friday, October 29, 2010

New to the library

I've gotten behind in my blogging so I am combining the last two weeks DVD's. Here they are:
Agora
A young slave in ancient Egypt must choose between joining the Christianity movement, which will give him freedom, and the woman he loves, who is his master and an atheist.

Christmas in Canaan
An unlikely friendship blossoms between two ten-year-old boys from different backgrounds during the racially charged backdrop of rural Texas, 1964. Through the years into manhood, prevailing attitudes and the growing civil rights movement severely test their friendship. In the end, they will discover that despite people's differences, it's the memories you make that determine your happiness and peace in life.

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
By the 1920s, Coco Chanel has established herself in the world of fashion. After a disastrous reaction to an early production of his Rite of Spring ballet, Igor Stravinsky has become a penniless refugee living in exile. When the two are introduced, the attraction is immediate and together they embark on a passionate affair, which results in a period of great artistic achievement for both artists.

Girl Who Played with Fire
In this second installment of Stieg Larsson's phenomenal 'Millennium' trilogy, Lisbeth Salander is a wanted woman. A researcher and a Millennium journalist about to expose the truth about the sex trade in Sweden are brutally murdered and Salander's prints are on the weapon. Her history of unpredictable and violent behavior makes her an official danger to society. Mikael Blomkvist, Salander's friend and Millennium's publisher, is alone in his belief of Salander's innocence. Digging deeper, Blomkvist unearths evidence implicating highly placed members of Swedish society--as well as shocking details about Salander's past. He is desperate to get to her before she is cornered--but no one can find her anywhere.

Honeymooners Holiday Classics
Two Christmas episodes of the television program "The Honeymooners" from 1953. Also includes two special bonus episodes from 1956. Christmas party -- New Year's Eve party -- Two-family car -- Forgot to register.

Last Song
Seventeen, angry, and alienated from her estranged father, Veronica 'Ronnie' Miller's life gets turned inside out when her mother forces her to spend the summer with him in the small Georgia beach town where he lives. Here, Ronnie finds salvation, friendship, second chances, and first love.

Lost, complete season 4
A 'rescue team' lands on the island and the survivors gear up to go home.

Mad Men, Season Three
At the office, the firings continue; Don is brought in to save the day on a PR campaign only to have the rug pulled out from under him; Peggy and Paul get stoned while working on an ad campaign; Sally steals money from her grandfather; Don had reservations about a misguided potential client; Betty has hallucinations of her dead father as she delivers her baby; Don and Betty renew their love affair while on a business trip.

Marmaduke
In this fun family comedy, the 'Duke' is livin' large in Orange County, California. But fitting in with his new four-legged friends isn't always easy for a super-sized teenage dog.

Please Give
Kate has a lot on her mind. There's the ethics problem of buying furniture at estate sales and marking it up at her Manhattan store. There's the materialism problem of not wanting her teenage daughter to want the expensive things that she wants. There's the marriage problem of sharing a partnership in parenting, business, and life with husband Alex but sensing doubt nibbling at the foundations. And worst of all are the neighbors, cranky, old Andra and the two granddaughters who look after her.

Predators
Royce is a mercenary who reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors mysteriously brought together on a jungle planet. But when these cold-blooded human 'predators' find themselves in all-out war against a new breed of alien Predators, it's the ultimate showdown between hunter and prey.

Splice
Two young scientists become superstars by splicing different animal DNA to create fantastical new creatures. Ignoring legal and ethical boundaries, the scientists, who are romantically involved, introduce human DNA into their experiment and risk the dawn of a terrifying new era.

Wild Grass
A lost wallet opens the door to Georges and Marguerite's romantic adventure. After examining the ID of its owner, it is not a simple matter for Georges to turn the wallet he has found into the police. Nor can Marguerite retrieve her wallet without being piqued with curiosity about the person who found it. As George and Marguerite navigate the social protocols of giving and acknowledging thanks, turbulence enters their everyday lives.

Winter’s Bone
Seventeen-year-old Ree Dolly sets out to track down her father who put their house up for his bail bond and then disappeared. If she fails to find him, she and her family will be turned out into the Ozark woods. Challenging her outlaw kin's code of silence and risking her life, Ree hacks through the lies, evasions, and threats offered up by her relatives and begins to piece together the truth.

You Don’t Know Jack
Angel of mercy, or murderous 'Doctor Death'? Jack Kevorkian is one of the most polarizing figures in modern American history, a man whose passionate belief that people have the right to die has brought him both praise and vilification. Al Pacino won a Best Actor Emmy for his performance.

A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism
Follow one woman's journey as she tries to help her severely autistic son break out of his own mind. Traveling to the United States from her home in Iceland to try to learn more about this complex condition, she meets along the way other families who have similar situations and all are looking for some answers.


What I've been watching:

This month I read a lot and barely watched any movies. I guess it's either one or the other for me. What I did watch was one of our newer films--(Untitled). Adam Goldberg plays a young sound artist in NYC. His atonal music has not found its audience so an art gallery owner invites him to play at the opening of a new show. She has paired his music with some completely bizarre art works and surprisingly, the audience loves the music although they find it funny while to him it is absolutely serious. Thus begins the question of what is art? Can it be both good art and commercial? This was a funny and intelligent movie. I enjoyed it.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

New This Week (10/13/10):

Babies
This delightful film follows four babies from different parts of the globe as they navigate their first year of life. It features Ponijao from Namibia, Bayarjargal from Mongolia, Hattie who lives in San Francisco, and Mari from Tokyo.

Bridge on the River Kwai
British soldiers captured by the Japanese during World War II are forced to construct a strategic railroad bridge which a commando team is instructed by the British High Command to destroy.

Dalziel & Pascoe, Season 2
Detective Andy Dalziel is an idiosyncratic copper with a penetrating wit and questionable personal habits. Inspector Peter Pascoe is his cultured sidekick, a thoughtful 'New Man' with a degree in Social Sciences, a caring attitude and a sharp brain. When they threw together these contrasting characters, few thought their talents would gel and that, sharing a commitment to justice, they would forge an impressive crime-solving partnership, and a tentative friendship.

I Am Love
The wealthy Recchi family has undergone sweeping changes. Eduardo Sr. has named a successor to the reins of his company, and surprised everyone by splitting power between his son Tancredi and grandson Edo. But Edo had always dreamed of opening a restaurant with his friend Antonio. To make matters worse, the very foundation of the entire family may be totally shattered after Tancredi's wife Emma falls deeply in love with Antonio and begins a passionate love affair. (In Italian)

Leaves of Grass
Bill, a classical philosophy professor at Brown University, returns home upon news of his brother, Brady's murder in a drug deal gone awry. Bill quickly learns that Brady's death has been grossly exaggerated, as he's swept up into one of his brother's crazy schemes. Alongside his eccentric mother and a beautiful woman named Janet, Bill participates in his brother's wild plan, leading him on a twisted path filled with unique characters and life's most challenging questions.

Mid-August Lunch
A middle-aged man living with his elderly mother finds the best way to pay for their debts is to take care of the building manager's mother during the biggest festival of the year. Soon he finds himself with not two but four mothers to keep fed and happy. (In Italian)

My Fair Lady
Outside Covent Garden on a rainy evening in 1912, cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, meets linguistic expert Henry Higgins. Higgins, in turn, bets with his companion, Colonel Pickering, that, within six months, he can transform Eliza into a proper lady, simply by teaching her proper English. The next morning, face and hands freshly scrubbed, Eliza presents herself on Higgins' doorstep, ready and willing to be turned into a lady.

Oceans
This amazing film features an exhilarating look under the sea through the eyes of those that live there. Incredible state-of-the-art-underwater filmmaking will take viewers breath away as they migrate with whales, swim alongside a great white shark, and race with dolphins at play.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
It's a race against time when a rogue prince reluctantly teams up with a rival princess to safeguard a magical dagger that gives its possessor the power to reverse time and rule the world.

Pulp Fiction
This clever, dark film tells four separate stories that are gradually brought together. Involved are two low-rent hit men, their boss and his sexy wife, a prizefighter and a pair of desperate robbers.

Raging Bull
Jake La Motta is a boxer whose psychological and sexual complexities erupt into violence both in and out of the ring. His brother Joey falls prey to Jake's mounting paranoia and jealousy, while fifteen-year-old Vickie becomes Jake's wife and most prized trophy. The same anger that drives Jake in the ring, ultimately drives him to beat his wife and brother, and sends Jake down a self-destructive spiral of paranoia and rage.

Friday, October 1, 2010

What I've been watching:

Kick-Ass
This was a fun movie. Aaron Johnson was perfect as Kick-Ass—a regular high school guy who gets tired of always being at the receiving end of bullies and bullying behavior. When he teams up with the seemingly indestructible Hit Girl he becomes a real superhero. Lots of action and lots of fun.

Date Night
This film is one of the big comedy films of 2010 starring 2 of TV’s most popular comedic actors so one hoped for a true laugh riot. It did have a few laughs but it certainly wasn’t hilarious. For a funnier movie on much the same subject you’d be better off watching Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis in the 1970 (the original) version of The Out of Towners or even better yet is the truly great 1985 film After Hours directed by Martin Scorsese.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
This is definitely my kind of movie. It is a dark and violent mystery but as I see it they are dealing with a real social problem, i.e. violence to women, and they are dealing with it in a particularly thoughtful, intelligent and suspenseful way. The character of Lisbeth Salander is one of the most remarkable characters to appear onscreen in a long time and she meshes in a very interesting way with Mikael Blomkvist’s naïve and idealistic journalist. I’ll watch this one again and again.