Category: DVDs

Valentino: The Last Emperor

- Ann 1 Comment

Need something to hold you over until Season 7 of Project Runway starts on Jan. 14, 2010? Check out Valentino: The Last Emperor, a documentary following around the iconic designer and his team as Valentino gives his final show and the label succumbs to takeover. At the heart of the story is the relationship between Valentino and his long-time business partner and companion, Giancarlo Giammetti. However, it is the fluttery Valentino seamstresses that really captivated me–how does one even learn to sew like that?! I wonder if they get a discount on the couture? The parade of glamorous gowns throughout the film kept me in constant awe (Oh! to wear a Valentino!) and seeing Valentino’s complete creative process was so inspiring, that by the end of the film I felt completely heartbroken about the separation of Valentino Garavani and Valentino, the artist and his creation, the emperor and his world.

DVDs for January

- Ann Leave a comment

January 5

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

In a town where food drops from the sky like rain, a young inventor hopes to create something that will change everyone’s life. However, when the weather takes a turn for the worse, the residents of the town of Chewandswallow will find their eating habits have drastically changed.

January 12

Fame – Debbie Allen,  Charles Dutton

The inspiring story of a group of dancers, singers, musicians, and actors at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, and their spirited drive to live out their dreams of stardom. In an incredibly competitive atmosphere, each student must shine amidst the tumult of school work, deep friendships, budding romance, and self-discovery.

Big Fan – Kevin Corrigan,  Michael Rappaport

A diehard New York Giants fan meets his hero, the quarterback of the team, with disastrous results that impact his entire life and those around him.

Moon – Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey

Astronaut Sam Bell is completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth’s primary source of energy, Helium-3. His declining health is causing headaches and hallucinations that lead to a near-fatal accident, rendering him unconscious. After recuperating, an unexpected discovery leads him to doubt his sanity, his identity, and the integrity of the company. Believing he is alone on his mission, his sole purpose is getting back home on his own.

January 19

The Invention of Lying – Jennifer Garner, Ricky Gervais

In a world where people speak the truth and have no concept of deception, a young man about to lose everything invents the ‘lie’ and goes on to not just change the nature of movie-making, but also creates the basis of religion. After much effort, he also gets the girl he loves.

January 26

Michael Jackson’s This is It

Presents a rare, behind-the-scenes look at Jackson as he developed, created, and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts at London’s O2 Arena. Drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius, and great artist at work is captured in raw and candid detail as he created and perfected his planned final London shows.

Surrogates – Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames

People are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates – sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It’s an ideal world where crime, pain, fear, and consequences don’t exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon and must abandon his own surrogate, risking his life to unravel the mystery.

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

- Ann 2 Comments

christmasmemory

If you’re like me and associate Truman Capote primarily with In Cold Blood, you might be pleasantly surprised to find something totally different in his “tiny gem of a short story,” A Christmas Memory.  It fits the bill if you are looking for something meaningful yet humorous, and something nostalgic but not excessively sentimental.

The story is largely autobiographical, a classic memoir of Capote’s childhood in rural Alabama in the early 1930’s.  Until he was ten, Capote lived with distant relatives and this is his recollection (written in the present tense) of the time spent with a favorite cousin, Miss Sook Faulk, when he was about seven.  Sook is a simple, older woman (perhaps mid-sixties) and is herself much like a child.  Together they make fruitcakes — some for friends and neighbors,  some to be shipped away.  They count the money they have saved over the year (somewhere between $12.73 and $13.00) and decide they have enough to purchase all the ingredients, including a quart of “sinful” whiskey.  Afterwards, they get a little tipsy on the leftover moonshine.  They also chop down their own Christmas tree and end up making kites for each other as presents.  The kleenex part comes at the end when Buddy is sent away to military school, never to see Sook again.

The Davenport Library also has a DVD version of this story, starring Patty Duke as Sook.  Unchararcteristically, the movie actually has more character development than what is actually revealed in the sparse print version.  However, the same message still comes through in both — that friendship and caring for each other, no matter the gap in years — never goes out of style.

Season’s Greeting Cards

- Ann 1 Comment
Christmas Card by Frederick Hammersley; Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Christmas Card by Frederick Hammersley; Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Need some ideas for your Christmas Cards this year? May I suggest checking out the Archives of American Art’s current exhibits on Holiday Cards by Artists–Don’t worry, you don’t need to go to New York or Washington, D.C. to see the magic! You can view highlights from the exhibits at both the Archives of American Art’s website and at the Smithsonian Magazine’s website.

JimHensonI have very recently become obsessed with Christmas cards created by Artists for their personal cheer-sending needs (my two ephemeral obsessions previous were bookplates and dance cards). It began this summer while I was reading Jim Henson’s Designs and Doodles: a Muppet Sketchbook by Alison Inches and the book included several images of Henson’s homemade and company Christmas cards featuring the likes of Kermit, the Fraggles and Big Bird. Later in the summer I practically squealed in delight while watching Julia and Paul Child create their notorious holiday cards in the movie Julie and Julia. These artist-made cards fascinate me for multiple reasons: 1. We get to see how artists focus their creativity into specific parameters and who will disregard those boundaries (think Project Runway) 2. We can compare how an artist creates for the market and posterity vs. private and immediate and 3. I just love Christmas cards!

MerryChristmasFromBut Artists with a capital A are not the only people who make creative Christmas cards! Check out this great book titled Merry Christmas From…150 Christmas cards you wish you’d received by Karen Robert. This book features real families’ portrait Christmas cards–most of which are silly and adorable. My favorite is a photo of three little babies in gingerbread costumes that have been photoshopped onto a cookie sheet and spatula. Season’s Greetings!

The Best Christmas Special Ev…er

- Lynn 2 Comments

Lynn wraps up our week of holiday recommendations with a favorite for kids ages 2-92.

Heat MiserDuring the Christmas season, appointment tv for me is The Year Without a  Santa Claus (the original 1974 Shirley Booth version).

Kids can really relate to the story, which is based on the Phyllis McGinley book. Among other things, it features sibling rivalry in the form of brothers, Heat and Snow Miser, fighting over the earth’s climate. Their mother, (Mother Nature) is constantly mediating their feuds. Also cool, the brothers each have super powers (melting and freezing objects).

But, really, it’s the catchy tunes and the chorus lines of miser dancing that I  love. Just try to get his out of your head now:

“He’s Mr. White Christmas, he’s Mr. Snow. He’s Mr. Icicle, He’s Mr. 10 below.” and “He’s Mr. Green Christmas. He’s Mr. Sun. He’s Mr. HeatBlister. He’s Mr. Hundred-and-One….”

Favorite Christmas Movies

- Ann 2 Comments

Rita’s choices for Christmas viewing are all about 1940s and 50s nostalgia. Take a step back to a simpler time before the words “video game” and “internet” were invented.

white christmasWhite Christmas –Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen.

After leaving the Army after W.W.II, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis team up to become a top song-and-dance act. Davis plays matchmaker and introduces Wallace to a pair of beautiful sisters (Betty and Judy) who also have a song-and-dance act. When Betty and Judy travel to a Vermont lodge to perform a Christmas show, Wallace and Davis follow, only to find their former commander, General Waverly, is the lodge owner. A series of romantic mix-ups ensue as the performers try to help the General. I love the singing and dancing and the romantic mixups of the 1954 movie.

ralphieChristmas Story – Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon

This vignette-laden, nostalgic view of Christmastime in 1940s Indiana follows nine-year-old Ralphie, who desperately wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas–and is waging an all-out campaign to… This vignette-laden, nostalgic view of Christmastime in 1940s Indiana follows nine-year-old Ralphie, who desperately wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas–and is waging an all-out campaign to convince his reluctant parents that the toy will be safe in his hands. By turns warped and winsome, the comedy follows Ralphie as he prepares for the big day with his rather idiosyncratic family. Based on the novel by humorist Jean Shepherd (who also narrates the film), A Christmas Story gained popularity long after its theatrical run, through frequent holiday broadcasts that turned its schoolyard “triple-dog” dares, family neuroses, and childhood indignities into a Yuletide tradition. I love this movie as it reminds me of my early life in Davenport. In the 1960’s we were still double dog daring, going to see Santa Claus at Petersen Harned Von Maur and wishing for the perfect Christmas gift. Mine was a Tiny Tears Doll.

My new Christmas tradition is to watch all the Christmas movies broadcast on ABC Family Channel’s “25 days of Christmas” Some of these are the hokest Christmas movies ever, but it does get you in the mood.

Hello Bedford Falls!

- Bill 1 Comment

Bill’s choice for favorite holiday escape is a beloved classic. Since it is largely set during the austerity of the Great Depression and World War II, it reflects many of the same economic hardships we’re experiencing now – and shows that there’s always something to be grateful for.

The 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life frequently appears on lists of the top 100 movies of all time (sometimes it ranks in the top 10) for a reason…it’s good.  It’s a feelgood story from an innocent American age, when all that was needed was black and white celluloid and a good script.  I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have the Tom Hanks of the World War II era on your payroll either.

We can relate to George Bailey’s existential questioning.  It has a happy ending for the holidays.  Finally, its over-the-air broadcast is a free local television tradition that serves as a much-needed respite from the brutal Iowa winter, people jockeying for your last cent, and familial stresses.

And in case you were wondering, young Zuzu is no longer six years old.  She will be 70 next year.

DVDs for December

- Ann 1 Comment

December 1

smithsonianNight at the Museum : Battle of the Smithsonian –  Ben Stiller, Amy Adams

History is larger than life, and twice as funny, in this monumental comedy sequel. Larry Daley is a former night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, where the exhibits come to life after dark. Now Larry’s nocturnal friends are being retired to the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, luring him back for a hilarious, all-out battle against museum misfits who plan to take over the Smithsonian, and the world.

terminatorTerminator Salvation – Christian Bale

John Connor’s path into the future is altered by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row, and he must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

December 8

half blood princeHarry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – Daniel Ratcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for another year of schooling and learns more about the dark past of the boy who grew up to become Lord Voldemort. There was a time when Hogwarts was thought of as a safe haven, but thanks to Voldemort’s tightening grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, that simply isn’t the case anymore.

juliaJulie and Julia – Meryl Streep, Amy Adams

Julia Child’s beginning in the cooking profession is intertwined with the life of thirty-year-old Julie Powell, who decides to cook all 524 recipes in Child’s first book in one year to escape from the monotony of her daily life.

December 15

bastardsInglourious Basterds – Brad Pitt

During World War II, a group of Jewish-American guerilla soldiers led by Lt. Aldo Raine, known as ‘The Basterds,’ are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish woman who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers. A plot is set in motion to kill the Nazis at the theater’s movie premiere, including Adolf Hitler.

December 22

districtDistrict 9

Twenty years ago, aliens from another planet made contact with Earth. Now, the refugee camp they are forced to live in has deteriorated into a slum-like ghetto. When field operative Wikus van der Merwe is put in charge of evicting the aliens, he contracts a strange virus that changes his DNA to match that of the refugees. As his body begins to mutate, he becomes a hunted man, and the aliens’ only hope for freedom.

What do you think about Jackson Pollock?

- Ann Leave a comment
University of Iowa Museum of Art, Gift of Peggy Guggenheim 1959.6 / © 2009 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / ARS, NY
University of Iowa Museum of Art, Gift of Peggy Guggenheim 1959.6 / © 2009 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / ARS, NY

Have you been over to the Figge Museum yet to see Mural by Jackson Pollock? The masterpiece is currently on display through December 31 as part of the exhibit titled A Legacy for Iowa: Pollock’s Mural and Modern Masterworks from the University of Iowa Museum of Art (which also includes works by Picasso, Matisse and Chagall). I’m not sure if it is the size, the intense strokes of color or just some unnameable aura, but this painting has always had the ability to weaken my knees and completely clear my head (This may explain why the museum always keeps the Eames lounge chairs nearby!). After taking in the painting for a few minutes or so, I suddenly find myself actively easedropping on the other viewers: “Look for cigarette ash!” or “I think it looks like dancing.” or “I read in the Smithsonian that Pollock spelled out his name.” or “I could paint that!” to which I often say in my head “But you didn’t!” Here are several movies related to Pollock and his work:

pollockThe University of Iowa’s Mural plays a prominent role in Pollock, a biopic of Jackson Pollock starring Ed Harris–the film includes a very intense scene where Pollock paints Mural in one feverish night before he presents it to famous art collector/patron, Peggy Guggenheim (who offered the painting to the University of Iowa in 1948).

whoisPollockImagine having something in your possession that is either worth over $100 million or less than $5 and no one can tell you which. Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock? tells the story of a woman, Teri Horton, who bought a cheap painting in a thrift shop only to have someone tell her that it could be an unknown work by Jackson Pollock. What intrigued me most about this movie was that upon seeing Teri’s painting, I had a very strong, persistent feeling that it was NOT done by Jackson Pollock despite the evidence presented. I had expected to be easily convinced.

mykidcouldpaintthatMy Kid Could Paint That is a documentary on kid painter Marla Olmstead and the controversy surrounding the authenticity of her paintings. At the heart of this movie is the question: What makes art, Art? the artist? the work? the idea? or the price it will fetch at an auction?

DVDs for November

- Ann Leave a comment

November 3

food incFood, Inc – Documentary

Reveals surprising and often shocking truths about what we eat, how it’s produced, and who we have become as a nation. Includes celebrity PSA’s, deleted scenes, and Nightline segment.  An eye-opening expose of the modern food industry, Food, Inc. is both fascinating and terrifying, and essential viewing for any health-conscious citizen.

pelhamTaking Pelham 1-2-3 – John Tavolta, Denzel Washington

Dispatcher Walter Garber’s day is turned upside down when he must face off against the criminal mind that is holding the passengers of a New York City subway train hostage after it is hijacked.

November 10

upUp – Disney Animated

Seventy-eight-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. He discovers too late that an 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell has stowed away.

November 17

anybodyIs Anybody There? – Michael Caine,

Ten-year-old Edward lives in his family-run retirement home. While his mother struggles to keep the family business afloat and his father copes with the onset of a mid-life crisis, Edward leads an increasingly lonely existence until he meets Clarence, a retired magician and grieving widower who refuses to give in gracefully to old age.

sisters keeperMy Sister’s Keeper – Alec Baldwin, Abigail Breslin, Cameron Diaz

Sara and Brian live an idyllic life with their young son and daughter. Suddenly, their baby girl falls ill, and her only hope for survival rests in her parents’ ability to find a compatible bone marrow donor. Their desperate decision to conceive another child raises both ethical and moral questions and begins to erode their relationship. Their actions ultimately set off a court case that threatens to tear the family apart.

star trekStar Trek – Eric Bana, Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto

When the Romulan Nero comes from the future to take revenge on the Federation, the new recruits of the U.S.S. Enterprise will voyage through unimaginable danger to stop him from destroying everything they know.

November 24

angelsAngels & Demons – Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of the most powerful underground organization in history, the Illuminati. Upon learning of an unstoppable terrorist act against the Vatican, Langdon travels to Rome and joins forces with Italian scientist Vittoria Vetra, and together they will follow the 400-year-old Path of Illumination that leads to the Vatican’s only chance for survival.