Wednesday, August 31, 2011

New to the library:

Barney’s Version
Barney Panofsky is a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. With his father, Izzy as his sidekick, Barney reflects on the many highs, and a few too many lows, of his long and colorful life. Not only does Barney turn out to be a true romantic, he is also capable of all kinds of sneaky acts of gallantry, generosity, and goodness when it is least expected. His gloriously full life is played out on a grand scale all the way through the final chapters.

Beastly
Kyle Kingson has it all, including a wicked cruel streak. He zeroes in on Goth classmate Kendra inviting her to the school's extravagant bash. After she accepts, he blows her off in a very cruel fashion. She retaliates by casting a spell that physically transforms him into everything he hates. Enraged by his horrible appearance he confronts Kendra and learns that the only way to break the curse is to find someone that will love him as he is, which is something he considers impossible.

Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost
While still dealing with drinking and family issues, Jesse Stone is reinstated as chief of police and must investigate a series of murders.

Love Guru (2008)
Guru Pitka is an American-born, Indian-raised guru who was taught to become an expert in matters of love. Now, a world famous spiritual advisor, he guides hundreds of followers. A way for Pitka to increase his popularity is by helping to heal the troubled relationship between Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player Darren Roanoke and his wife, Prudence. Jane Bullard is the owner of the Maple Leafs who wants Pitka to help Darren with his waning skills. When Pitka tells Darren his wife has forgiven him, his shots dramatically improve. Pitka understands that the key to Darren's success is about distraction, not merely about reconciling a feuding couple. Darren begins a strict regiment of spiritual guidance. Darren has to overcome obstacles, including his wife's new boyfriend and his overbearing mother. Intertwined with all of this is the relationship between Pitka and Jane. Jane feels inadequate because of what she calls the Bullard Curse. Everyone in the city blames her for the Maple Leafs' losing streak.

Of Gods and Men
Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990's. When a crew of foreign workers are massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay, come what may.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
John Connor is a 20-something living on the streets as a common laborer. His mother has since died, and their earlier efforts did not stop the creation of SkyNet artificial intelligence network. As he will still become the leader of the human resistance, Connor is once again targeted by a Terminator sent from the future by SkyNet. This new Terminator, T-X, is a female and is more powerful than any of her predecessors. To protect Connor, the human resistance sends a new T-101 back from the future.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

New week of 8/4:

Along the way (2007)
Unable to ignore the tragic events that changed the lives of his three best friends, Jocko, Warren and Christian during the summer of 1996, Trevor has decided to write a memoir about it. Chronicling them from their hysterical first meeting in Junior high, 1983, to their last summer together after college.

George Gently. Series 3
Gently evil
: Called to a crime scene at a working-class boarding house, Gently and Bacchus find a woman horribly beaten to death, her eyes covered discreetly with a handkerchief. The victim also carried her daughter's birth certificate, with the name of the child's father crossed out and "Satan" penciled in. Following this lead, Gently and Bacchus probe the twisted secrets of a family that seems to harbor pure evil.
Peace & love: When nuclear submarines plan to dock at the local naval base, young peace protesters from Durham University clash with the police. The next morning, the demonstrators' fiery leader, faculty member Fraser Barratt, turns up dead at the dockside. The investigation takes Gently and Bacchus to the campus, where big changes are blowin' in the wind--and the social, political, and sexual tumult brings little peace.

Heavy (1995)
Victor is the overweight under-appreciated cook for a diner. He meets Callie, an enchanting new waitress, and they fall in love.

Junebug (2005)
Junebug is a deceptively simple, deeply resonant story about the inherent loneliness of family, embracing the texture of a world the movies rarely visit. Three years have passed since George has been home, and he is bringing his bride, Chicago art dealer Madeleine. His family--father Eugene, mother Peg, brother Johnny and sister-in-law Ashley--await them with a mixture of excitement, anxiety, and dread. Junebug sounds a paean to yearning, alienation, and endless hope, in the face of the enormous distances that can divide two people, separated by two ways of life.

Last Night
A married couple in New York City is apart for the night. Each will be confronted by temptation that may decide the fate of their marriage.

Mayo Clinic Wellness Solutions for Arthritis 616.722 MAY
Physicians from the esteemed Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota provide the middle-aged with insights on the most effective means to cope with this all-too-common family of ailments. Sections include Integrative Medicine, Gentle Yoga, and Daily Nutrition.

Passionada (2002)
Celia is a beautiful woman who lost her husband, a fisherman, to an accident at sea. Years later her equally lovely daughter, Vicky, encourages her to start dating again. Unknown to Celia, Vicky goes to a local casino, where she meets a handsome Englishman named Charlie. Vicky urges Charlie to see Celia perform at a local nightclub, where she sings passionate Portuguese songs of the fado style. Charlie is immediately taken with Celia. In time, Charlie's charm eventually conquers Celia's reservations, and a romance begins to bloom.

Paul
Two sci-fi geeks take a pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland. There they meet a smart-ass alien, Paul, who takes them on an insane road trip. As they struggle to return Paul home, the little green man might just take the outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

Super
When sad-sack loser Frank, a short-order cook, sees his ex-addict wife willingly snatched away by a seductive drug dealer, he finds himself bereft and unable to cope. But he decides to fight back under the guise of a do-it-yourself superhero called Crimson Bolt. With a red handmade suit, a wrench, a crazed sidekick named Boltie, and absolutely nothing in the way of superpowers, Crimson Bolt beats his way through the mean streets of crime in hopes of saving his wife.

Your Highness
Two royal princes, slacker, weed-smoking Thadeous and the noble Fabious, join with an elusive warrior on a quest to free a princess from an evil wizard. Along the way, they'll have to vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights in this raunchy trip loaded with footage too outrageous for theaters.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Guest review: Junebug

I've been out with a bad back but friend and colleague Judie has been busy watching films. Here's a review from her:

Junebug (2005)
An interesting film that draws together a sophisticated, urban art dealer and her husband’s rural, churchgoing family. As the visit unfolds, the tensions and misunderstandings mount and the characters are challenged to understand and accept each other. Amy Adams is wonderful as Ashley, a sweet and simple young wife whose warmth and kindness is the heart of the movie. Not recommended for fans of action films.

Monday, August 1, 2011

What I’ve been watching:

Biutiful
Javier Bardem is terrific in this film about a man with only a short time to live trying to put his life in order. He lives on the wrong side of the law: finding work for illegal aliens, while raising 2 children by himself. Though he tries to do good, things just don’t turn out the way he hopes. This is a sad film with great performances.

The Concert
When a fax comes to the Bolshoi Orchestra inviting them to play in Paris, it is picked up by Andrei, the former Maestro, now the janitor. Fired during the communist era, he is determined to gather the former orchestra members and to take them to Paris for this concert. What follows is a comedy of errors. This was a wonderful movie and had beautiful music.

Mesrine: Public Enemy #1
This is the 2nd part of Mesrine’s story and I liked it better than the first. This one spent more time developing the personality of Mesrine and less time on his crimes. Vincent Cassel is so natural in the film that you forget that he’s playing a part. I liked this film a lot.

Trial & Retribution, season 1
Voorheesville Library does not own this one but you can get it from another library in the system. It is yet another British mystery mini-series. This one resembles Law & Order in that you follow the crime from the police side to the courtroom side. The series is very well done with interesting characters and crimes. The gap between the trial lawyers who seem to live in a whole different plane from the rest of the world: the difference between the British and American judicial system is fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed this series.

Unknown
With this film and Taken Liam Neeson has become a really great action hero. In this one, when he wakes up in the hospital having been in a car crash, he finds that someone else has taken over his name, his wife and his life. He has to search to find out who he is with a little help from the crashed taxi driver. This was reminiscent of The Bourne Identity but it was very exciting!