Category: DVDs

Pay It Forward

- Ann 1 Comment

pay it forwardRemember the movie, Pay It Forward (2000) with Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt?  The one in which the teacher (Spacey) encourages his students to make the world a better place?  By the way, in case you don’t know — as I didn’t — the movie is actually based on a book with the same title by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  Anyway, in the book or the movie,  one of his students actually comes up with a plausible plan: to pay it forward.  In other words, if someone does you a kind deed, rather than paying it back, you pay it forward, to three new people.

Well, recently, my husband and I were recipients of a kind deed.  We were out shopping for replacement steps to our hot tub; after 16 years, its wooden stairs had finally disintegrated. We looked at building them ourselves (cost: $50 plus, not to mention time and effort).  Another store sold cedar steps for $100 — a bit pricey.  At our final stop, the salesperson was showing us floor samples in hard plastic.  Another customer spoke up and said, “I have three of those at home; if you want one, just follow me home and you can have one.”  At first, we weren’t certain he was serious and we didn’t want to appear cheap.  But even the sales guy offered, “Well, you can’t beat a deal like that!”  So, we followed him home, got the steps and offered to pay him.  His reply: “Just do something nice for someone else.”  Translation: pay it forward.

So, I’m still looking for ways to do just that.  Though I’m not quite ready to donate a kidney, I am hoping some random act of kindness will make itself blatantly obvious.  In the meantime, if you know of a need — please let me know.  I need to forward some payments.

DVDs for September

- Ann Leave a comment

September 1

stateState of Play– Russell Crowe, Ben Affeck, Helen Mirren

When D.C. reporter Cal McCaffrey is assigned to investigate the murder of an assistant to an up-and-coming politician, he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to bring down the nation’s power structures. In a town of spin doctors and wealthy power brokers, he will discover one truth: when fortunes are at stake, no one’s integrity, love, or life is safe.

sugarSugar – Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino

After seeing the movie Field of Dreams, Dominican baseball star Miguel ‘Sugar’ Santos hopes to break into the big leagues in the United States to earn money to support his impoverished family. His dreams may become a reality when he is recruited to play for a minor league team in the United States. There is local interest in this movie as it was filmed in Davenport at Modern Woodman Park

“This is a wonderful film. “ — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

September 15

wolverineX Men Origins – Wolverine – Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds

Tells the story of Wolverine’s epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe whose appearances in the film series have long been anticipated.

September 22

ghostsGhosts of Girlfriends Past – Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner

A committed bachelor who thinks nothing of breaking up with several women on a conference call is visited by the ghosts of his former jilted girlfriends, who take him on a hilarious adventure through his failed relationships – past, present, and future.

September 29

awayAway We Go – John Krasinski, Maya Rudolf, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal

This heartfelt film explores the comedic twists and turns in one couple’s journey across contemporary America. Anticipating the birth of their first child, longtime couple Burt and Verona embark on an ambitious itinerary to visit friends and family in order to find their perfect home.

The Armchair Traveler – Traveling through Time

- Lynn 1 Comment

s WifeAudrey Niffenegger’s Time Traveler’s Wife will be released as a movie starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana on August 14th. This combines two excellent genres – novels featuring librarians and time travel. (There can never be enough stories about “hip, handsome” librarians).  Henry works for the Newberry library in Chicago and involuntarily pops up in his own past and future.

Add to this, time travel as an “impossible romantic trap” and you have box office magic. Consider the romantic traps inherent in movies such as Somewhere in Time, The Lake House and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. When your lover is aging at a different rate or is in a different time zone, so to speak, it makes for a relationship complication.

So, here’s your chance to expand your travel choices – really expand them. Outside our time/space continuum.

Good Food on the Screen

- Ann 2 Comments

Julie and JuliaThe long anticipated movie Julie and Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, opens today and whatever the reviews, it’s sure to be filled with beautiful food. Based on the book Julie and Julia by Julie Powell, it follows the cooking adventures of a young woman who, in an attempt to bring some focus to her life, decides to make every recipe in Julia Child’s iconic Mastering the Art of French Cooking – in one year and all in her tiny kitchen.

This isn’t the first time food has been the centerpiece of a film. Take a look at these entries for more mouthwatering fun:

Big Night – An Italian restaurant on the brink of closing pulls out all the stops in one last attempt to keep the kitchen running.

Babette’s Feast – An unexpected windfall allows Babette to create a once-in-a-lifetime banquet for her longtime benefactors, a pious religious group that deny earthly pleasure.

Chocolat – When a mysterious single mother moves into a small French village and opens a chocolate shop, magic and controversy soon follow.

Sideways – Two best friends spend a week touring the California wine country, discovering passion, exploring their failures and searching for the perfect wine.

Like Water for Chocolate – In this romantic fantasy a couple is denied the chance to marry. To be near her, the young man marries her sister and she expresses her passion for him through her cooking.

DVDs for August

- Ann Leave a comment

August 4

Race to Witch Mountain – Dwayne “The Rock” JohnsonRace

When Las Vegas cab driver Jack Bruno encounters two teens with supernatural powers, he finds himself in an adventure in the middle of the Nevada desert known for unexplained phenomena and strange sightings – Witch Mountain.

soloistThe Soloist – Robert Downey, Jr.; Jamie Foxx

A Los Angeles newspaper reporter discovers a homeless musical prodigy while looking for a new article for the paper. The two form a unique friendship that will transform both their lives.

August 11

1717 Again – Zac Efron, Michelle Trachenberg, Matthew Perry

What would you do if you got a second shot at life? Mike’s glory days are decidedly behind him. His marriage has fallen apart, he’s been passed over for a promotion, and his kids think he’s a loser. But Mike is given another chance when he is miraculously transformed back to the age of 17. Unfortunately, Mike may look 17 again, but his thirtysomething outlook is totally uncool in the class of 2009.

i love youI Love you, Man – Paul Rudd, Rashida Jones, Jason Segel

After Peter gets engaged to the woman of his dreams, he realizes he has not one friend to serve as his best man. To rectify the situation, he goes on a series of man-dates before he meets Sydney Fife, with whom he instantly bonds. While Peter and Sydney become closer, his relationship with his fiancee begins to suffer, forcing him to choose between her or his new B.F.F.

August 18

Hannah Montana the Movie – Miley Cyrus, Brian Bostwickhannah

When stardom threatens to take over Miley’s life as pop sensation Hannah Montana, her father takes the entire family back home to the country, where Miley finds herself in the middle of fun adventures and even a little romance!

August 25

dupDuplicity – Julia Roberts, Clive Owens

Two sexy spies turned corporate operatives attempt to pull off one of the biggest heists ever. As the stakes rise in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, they’ll put everything on the line to remain one double-cross ahead of the rest.

Sunshine Cleaning – Amy Adams, Emily Bluntsunshine

Trying to better her financial situation, a single mother starts a crime scene cleaning business and asks her unreliable sister to join her. Together they clean up the deadly messes left by others, and deal with the messes in their own lives as well.

Breaking Away

- Ann Leave a comment

breaking awayThere’s lots of bicycling in the news this week – RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) is at the halfway point and the Tour de France will finish on Sunday (can Lance Armstrong pull off his comeback?) Keep the bicycling theme going and check out the movie Breaking Away, one of the best sports movies ever made.

Set in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana, four friends are caught in limbo after finishing high school, not know what they want to do next. The college kids derisively call them “cutters” (for the stone quarry where most of their blue-collar fathers work). Dave escapes into his dream of becoming a bicycle racer for the world champion Italian team by training rigorously and even learning to speak Italian (much to his father’s chagrin). After one dream is shattered, an unexpected opportunity opens when a local team (the “Cutters”, led by Dave) is allowed to compete in the famous Little 500 bicycle race at Indiana University. What follows will have you cheering for what’s possible against impossible odds.

Loosely based on a true story (there really is a Little 500 race at Indiana University) this heartwarming (in the best sense) movie is more than a story about a bicycle race – it’s also about family and home, about loyalty and friendship, about accepting and embracing change, about finding your perfect place in the world. Beautifully acted (Dennis Christopher, Paul Dooley, Daniel Stern, Dennis Quaid, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie) this inspiring film will make you laugh, cry and cheer.

There And Back Again

- Ann 1 Comment

earth from the moon40 years ago today, while millions watched from their living rooms, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon and suddenly we had a whole new perspective on our world. We’ve come a long way since then – space shuttles and space walks and space stations – but that first step and all of the struggle and work that led up to it continues to fascinate us. The library has all kinds of books  about the Apollo missions including:

Rocket Men: the Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon by Craig Nelson

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh

Moondust: in Search of the Men Who Feel to Earth by Andrew Smith

Apollo: the Epic Journey to the Moon by David West Reynolds

If you’d prefer to watch your history (and watch actual footage taken at the moon) check out these DVDs:

From the Earth to the Moon – the acclaimed HBO series co-produced by Tom Hanks.

In the Shadow of the Moon: Remember When the Whole World Looked Up – original NASA film footage and interviews with surviving astronauts recall this epic chapter in American history.

The Right Stuff – fictionalized account of the early Apollo missions brings a very human face to the science and technology.

It is a truth univerally acknowledged that Mr. Darcy is dreamy.

- Ann 3 Comments

I admit it. I am definitely one of those girls who watches the BBC presentation of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy over and over and over again. I also watch Bridget Jones’ Diary starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy over and over and over again. In fact, a good majority of my favorite movies  are a version of the Jane Austen’s classic.  Why watch anything else when you can watch Mr. Darcy (especially when that Mr. Darcy is played by Colin Firth)?

BrideAndPrejudiceBride and Prejudice
Bride and Prejudice is Pride and Prejudice gone Bollywood, and it is FANTASTIC. Aishwarya Rai, Bollywood actress and former Miss World, is absolutely stunning as the Elizabeth Bennet character.

Lost in AustenLost in Austen
What girl wouldn’t want to trade places with Elizabeth for some alone time with Mr. Darcy? Yeah, that is what Amanda thought, too, until she started causing chaos in her beloved story when Mr. Bingley falls in love with her and Jane agrees to marry Mr. Collins. Maybe Miss Austen didn’t tell us the whole story…

Becoming JaneBecoming Jane
So Colin Firth will always be my favorite Mr. Darcy, but after seeing James McAvoy as Tom LeFroy, the man who may have inspired the Darcy character, he became my favorite actor. Swoooooon.

Bridget Jones's DiaryBridget Jones’s Diary
FAVORITE! I went through a phase in college where I watched this movie about once a week, now I watch it about once a month. Renée Zellweger is BRILLIANT as Bridget Jones and Colin Firth is DREAMY as Mark Darcy. Laugh laugh tear giggle swoon laugh.

Pride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice (the BBC Version)
By far THE BEST straight-up movie version of Pride and Prejudice. Some may be daunted by the six hour viewing time, but I say the longer the better (I have been known to watch it twice in a row…).

and for those of you who prefer Emma:

cluelessClueless
Long before he was part of Seth Rogen’s gang, Paul Rudd was the Mr. Knightley to Alicia Silverstone’s Emma of Beverly Hills. Hmmm, this represents a crossover into my other genre fave: teen movies based on classics…

It’s Bastille Day!

- Lynn Leave a comment

Bastille DayAnd you may be wondering how to commemorate this joyeux July 14th.  As all foodies know, no one takes more delight in their cuisine than the French. Why not check out Joanne Harris’ Chocolat? (in book or dvd format), a fable about the magical quality of chocolate. The film version is a sensual celebration of all forms of chocolate (and Johnny Depp).

A paperback copy of A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle was my constant companion on a trip through the Northeast, and became a scrapbook of sorts (stuffed with pamphlets, snack wrapper bookmarks and smeared with chocolate ice cream eaten in downtown Bar Harbor). Mayle loves his food so much, it’s impossible to feel guilty if you eat while reading his book.  The deep and abiding love of food and drink formed a bond with his Provencal neighbors – though their actions were often perplexing to him.

From Paris to the Moon is a more cerebral collection of essays, about a year in which Adam Gopnik moves from New York to Paris to immerse his family in the French language and way of life. He dissects cafe culture and the “crisis in French cuisine,” among many other things; what could be dry is instead a personal and fascinating insider’s view of an American in Paris.

Enchanted April on DVD

- Ann Leave a comment

Enchanted AprilLong available only on VHS tape, Enchanted April has finally been released on DVD. Fans of beautiful scenery, charming stories and happy endings rejoice!

Two middle class English housewives, feeling downtrodden and forlorn, decide to rent an Italian villa for the month of April. To help with expenses they include two strangers – an elderly woman and a beautiful socialite. Leaving England in the rain, they are somewhat discouraged to find it still raining when they arrive in Italy, but the next morning reveals the countryside in all its beauty.  Soon the sunshine, warmth and quiet solitude work their magic; friendships are forged, marriages healed, memories made.

This is a light – and yes, enchanting – movie filled with humor and heartfelt stories. It is beautifully made (filmed on location in Portofino) and the cast is stellar (Polly Walker, Joan Plowright, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, Alfred Molina, Josie Lawrence) This is the perfect ancedote to a hectic or rainy day, or any day that you just want to feel good.