Thursday, December 22, 2011

New this week (12/22/11):

Colombiana
A child grows up to be a hardcore assassin after she witnesses the brutal murder of her parents in Bogotá. Working for her uncle as a professional killer, she remains focused on her ultimate goal: to hunt down and get revenge on the mobster responsible for her parents' deaths.

Midnight in Paris
The movie follows Woody Allen stand-in Owen Wilson as Gil Pender, an American writer on a vacation to Paris with his fiancé and her parents. But something isn't right: between increasingly prickly interactions with the lady friend and annoying forced field trips with her friends, Pender grows weary of the young, engaged socialite life and one night finds himself wandering the streets of the city alone, when something happens: He's swirled into a fantasy time machine, landing him in the company of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Salvador Dali.

Page Eight
Johnny Worricker is a long-serving MI5 officer. His boss and best friend Benedict Baron dies suddenly, leaving behind him an inexplicable file, threatening the stability of the organization. Meanwhile, a seemingly chance encounter with Johnny's striking next-door neighbor and political activist Nancy Pierpan seems too good to be true. Johnny is forced to walk out of his job, and then out of his identity to find out the truth.

Pieces of April
Family outcast April lives in a beat-up apartment in New York's Lower East Side with her boyfriend, Bobby. In order to spend some time with her dying mother, April invites her conservative suburban family to her place for a Thanksgiving feast. While she frantically tries to complete the meal, the family drives in from Pennsylvania sharing less-than-pleasant opinions about April's lifestyle. Her dad tries to think positively, while sister Beth flaunts her good-girl status and brother Timmy captures it all on film.

Single-Handed
Sgt. Jack Driscoll had to leave Dublin fast when his affair with a senior officer's wife was discovered. But Jack's father, Gerry, comes to his son's aid. Recently retired from his post as Garda Sergeant in a small Connemara town, Gerry manages to 'swing it' so that Jack inherits the job, so now Jack's on his own, in charge of hundreds of square miles of remote, beautiful rural Ireland, but having to deal with his father as well as some interesting cases.

These Amazing Shadows
Tells the history and importance of the National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.

Warrior
An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy Riordan returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his father, to train him for an MMA tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title prize, his brother, Brendan, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. The two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense, winner-takes-all battle of their lives.

Prohibition 363.41 PRO
This videodisc explores the extraordinary story of what happens when a freedom-loving nation outlaws the sale of intoxicating liquor, and the disastrous unintended consequences that follow. The utterly relevant cautionary tale raises profound questions about the proper role of government and the limits of legislating morality. When the country goes dry in 1920, after a century of debate, millions of law-abiding Americans become lawbreakers overnight.

Friday, December 16, 2011

New (to the library) Holiday DVDs:

Just in time for Christmas!

Christmas Snow (1986) (NR-made for TV)
Mrs. Mutterance runs a candy shop and lives with her two adopted children. On Christmas Eve, her mean-spirited landlord, Mr. Snyder, says they must move, as he plans to turn the building into a laundromat. Then a blizzard hits, and Mr. Snyder goes missing. Mrs. Mutterance and her children rescue Mr. Snyder, and he has a change of heart.

Love Actually (2003) R
It's all about love and holiday cheer in London. The Prime Minister is smitten with his caterer; a widower's young son nurses the ultimate schoolboy crush; a writer falls for his Portuguese housekeeper; a devoted wife and mother copes with her potentially unfaithful husband; and a lovelorn American is desperately attracted to a colleague.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) PG13
This holiday season Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) vows his clan will enjoy "the most fun-filled family Christmas ever, that no one will ever forget." Before you can sing "fa-la-la-la-lah," he decks the halls with howls of folly in the perennial favorite National Lampoon's Christmas vacation.

The Nutcracker: the Untold Story PG
Experience the classic holiday tale of the Nutcracker brought to life like you have never seen it before. This all-new film features a highly-acclaimed cast. Join Mary on a magical adventure when her toy nutcracker comes to life and whisks her away to a magical kingdom filled with fantastical toys, sugar plums and dancing fairies. Mary soon discovers the evil Rat King is threatening the kingdom.


Unfortunately, these arrived too late for Thanksgiving but they’re all great movies so maybe you can watch them as just good holiday films.

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) PG13
A look at three sisters and the relationship they have with one another, and with the men in their lives. (It takes place between two Thanksgivings)

Pieces of April (2003) PG13
Family outcast April lives in a beat-up apartment in New York's Lower East Side with her boyfriend, Bobby. In order to spend some time with her dying mother, April invites her conservative suburban family to her place for a Thanksgiving feast. While she frantically tries to complete the meal, the family drives in from Pennsylvania sharing less-than-pleasant opinions about April's lifestyle. Her dad tries to think positively, while sister Beth flaunts her good-girl status and brother Timmy captures it all on film.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) R
An uptight businessman faces disaster after disaster as he tries to get back home in time for his family's Thanksgiving dinner, and along the way is joined by an insane traveling salesman that will not leave him alone.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

New this week: (12/14/11)

Cowboys & Aliens
A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys and natives are all that stand in their way.

The Debt
The story begins in 1997, as shocking news reaches retired Mossad secret agents Rachel and Stephan about their former colleague David. All three have been venerated for decades by Israel because of the secret mission that they embarked on for their country back in 1965-1966, when the trio tracked down Nazi war criminal Dieter Vogel, the feared Surgeon of Birkenau, in East Berlin. At great risk, and at considerable personal cost, the team's mission was accomplished - or was it?

One Day
After one day together, July 15th, 1988, their college graduation, Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew begin a friendship that lasts a lifetime. She's a working-class girl who dreams of making the world a better place. He's a wealthy charmer who thinks the world is his playground. Somewhere over the next two decades, these two very different people realize that the love they've been hoping for has been there for them all along.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
During experiments to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, a genetically-enhanced chimpanzee uses its greater intelligence to lead other apes to freedom.

The Biggest Loser, the Workout: Power Walk
Walking is one of the easiest and most effective ways to burn calories. Now get moving with four one-mile indoor walks that increase in intensity. Start with Walk 1, a low-impact walking workout, and progress to Walk 4 with added weight and cardio power. Plus, get your chance to achieve your marathon goal like the contestants on the show. Use the progress tracker and your one-mile walking workouts will add up to 26 miles in just three weeks.

Steve Jobs: One Last Thing
This documentary looks not only at how his talent, style and imagination have shaped all of our lives, but also at the influences that shaped and molded the man himself. Through interviews with the people who worked closely with him or chronicled his life, we gain unique insight into what made him tick. In a never before broadcast, exclusive interview, Steve Jobs expounds his own philosophy of life, and offers advice to us all on changing our own lives.

Visions of the Sea
This film offers a glimpse into a dazzling assortment of shapes, rainbow of colors, and amazing variety of sea creatures and features the underwater photographic artistry of Al Giddings. The program pairs stunning imagery and informative narration with a soundtrack that embodies the eclectic rhythms of life in the ocean.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

New this week (12/7/11):

Conan the Barbarian
A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

Devil’s Double
Summoned to Saddam Hussein's palace, Iraqi army lieutenant Latif Yahia is thrust into the highest echelons of the 'royal family' when he's ordered to become the body double to Saddam's son, the notorious 'Black Prince' Uday Hussein, a reckless, sadistic, party-boy with a rabid hunger for sex and brutality. With his and his family's lives at stake, Latif must surrender his former self forever. But nothing could have prepared him for the horror of the Black Prince's psychotic, drug-addled life.

Friends with Benefits
While trying to avoid the clichés of Hollywood romantic comedies, Dylan and Jamie soon discover however that adding the act of sex to their friendship does lead to complications.

The Help
Mississippi during the 1960s: Skeeter, a southern society girl, returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives, and a small Mississippi town, upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen, Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up, to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community.

Why Quilts Matter
"The series takes a fresh look at quilts and spreads the word about their unique position at the center of a startlingly broad grid of topics, ranging from women's studies to the contemporary art market."--Publisher's website.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics

Shelly Zegart began as a quilt collector but has since become a leading advocate in the promotion of quilts as art and as vital historical records. In this nine episode series which was aired on selected PBS stations, Ms Zegart reveals to us through photographs and interviews just how essential quilts are in studying American culture. Historically, quilts have provided a window into the lives and thoughts of their makers. This is particularly true regarding the lives of women, including women of different classes, races, and religions. Quilting has always been an acceptable outlet for ideas and creativity. Some quilt makers have become well known for their work, becoming accepted as artists. Today there are millions of quilters supporting a hugely profitable business worldwide. Quilts are hung in art museums and command premium prices for collectors. Zegart convinces us absolutely that quilts do matter in this compelling and visually rich series. Beyond the film is the website where information on all of the photographs can be found. This is a wonderful series and will be enjoyed by anyone interested in quilts.

New this week (11/30/11):

Angel Eyes (2001)
After a startling ambush, one of Chicago's best cops, Officer Sharon Pogue, is looking point blank into the barrel of a scumball's handgun. Then it happens, a mysterious stranger appears out the shadows and saves her life. She discovers that it’s not the first time she and the mystery man have met before. The troubled pasts of these two have led them to build walls around their private lives, but brick by brick, secret after secret, love is going to tear down those walls.

Christmas Snow (1986)
Mrs. Mutterance runs a candy shop and lives with her two adopted children. On Christmas Eve, her mean-spirited landlord, Mr. Snyder, says they must move, as he plans to turn the building into a laundromat. Then a blizzard hits, and Mr. Snyder goes missing. Mrs. Mutterance and her children rescue Mr. Snyder, and he has a change of heart.

Enough (2002)
Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married the man of her dreams. After the arrival of her daughter, Slim begins to see the hidden, abusive side of her husband. Terrified for her and her daughter's safety, Slim flees. But her husband's resources allow him to relentlessly pursue them. Finally Slim fights back, engaging her husband in a physical and psychological battle.

Friday after Next (2002)
Craig and Day-Day have finally gotten jobs as mall security guards and have moved into their own crib. When a fake Santa robs their rundown apartment on Christmas Eve, the two embark on an adventure to track down the bandit and retrieve their stolen loot.

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
A look at three sisters and the relationship they have with one another, and with the men in their lives. “Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters," the best movie he has ever made…”—Roger Ebert

Next Friday (2000)
The suburbs make the 'hood look good, as Craig stays with an uncle to escape a vengeful Debo. Includes a soundtrack featuring Ice Cube, Lil' Zane, Wyclef Jean and the NWA reunion.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
An uptight businessman faces disaster after disaster as he tries to get back home in time for his family's Thanksgiving dinner, and along the way is joined by an insane traveling salesman that will not leave him alone.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Two friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids. When one of the students is separated from the group, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count and the laughs.