Staff Favorites on DVD
In no particular order......
Cinderella Man
Based on a true story of a washed up Depression-era boxer who gets a second chance at the title and his dignity. Great depiction of how a family stays together under extremely challenging times. The boxing scenes are realistic and well-choreographed. This is a "Seabiscuit" for older children and adults.
Iron Man
Based on the comic book character clad in a futuristic flying metal suit, this movie is one of the best "superhero" movies ever made. Starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, the movie modernizes the origins of Tony Stark, weapons manufacturer, and the birth of Ironman to fight injustice and fear. Well-acted with a great story, this is one to watch over and over.
Planet Earth series
Years in the making, his docmentary about the Earth features some of the most incredible footage of wildlife across the globe. How did they get the camera in some of those places? Never boring, each episode offers something for everyone--beautiful footage, favorite animals and exotic locations.
3:10 to Yuma
A remake of the 1950s favorite, this western offers Russell Crowe as the conscientious leader of a band of murderers and Christian Bale as the down-on-his-luck farmer trying to regain some wealth and self-dignity as the escort of Crowe to prison. Rated R for violence, it is an intense character study where the murderer is not as evil as portrayed, and the farmer is desperate to win his family's approval and respect. The ending will surprise you. This movie is a great vehicle to generate discussion about right and wrong and what it means to be a father and a man.
Pride &
Prejudice (Kiera Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, 2005)
Pride & Prejudice (BBC/A&E miniseries, 1998)
A great love story: when Elizabeth Bennett meets the handsome Mr. Darcy,
she finds herself captivated by the very person she has sworn to loathe for all
eternity.
The Holiday
A romantic Christmas
comedy: two unhappy women swap houses for the holidays to forget about
men, only they end up finding love once again. (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, 2007)
Khuda kay liye (In the name of God)
This film is illustrates the difficult issues Pakistanis and Muslims must face since 9/11.
There is a war between the Fundamentalists and the Liberal Muslims, creating a rift not only between the western world and the
Muslims, but also within the Muslim community. The educated and modern Muslims are criticized and harassed by the fundamentalists because of their approach towards life and their
western attire. On the
other hand, the western world views them as potential terrorists
because of their Muslim names. One of the interesting things about this film is how it connects the events on three continents, and is based on some very serious issues,
raising controversial questions engaging Muslim minds these days.
The Willow Tree
Blinded since the age of eight by a fireworks accident,
Youssef, a professor, seems resigned and at peace with his fate. But when a friend arranges
for him to fly to Paris to receive a cornea transplant which miraculously
restores his sight, the professor's marginalized but safe world slowly unravels
following initial euphoria over his regained sight. Shocked to behold in the
mirror, not the child whose gaze he left there decades ago but an aging man in
his middle years, Youssef undergoes a traumatic midlife crisis which
ironically thrusts him into the frank visual reality of his world that
blindness protected him from. Troublesome moral questions arise, such as
thoughts of infidelity and an irrepressible attraction to younger women which
he was denied in his youth through blindness. Also, his moral obligations to
society that sight now suddenly mandates, as when he witnesses a pick-pocketing
of another passenger on a crowded subway train, and is too cowardly to actively
protest and intercede.
Dr. Quinn - Medicine Woman
A classic family adventure of the trials and triumphs of a woman doctor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, during the 1800s.
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Mrs. Palfrey is a widow who
moved to London to be less of a burden to her daughter. When she arrives
at the Claremont Hotel, she finds a rundown and unfriendly place--not at all
what she was led to expect. She makes the mistake of telling the other
residents that she has a grandson in town, but he never calls or comes to
visit. She settles in with the eccentric residents of the hotel and her
life seems to be taking a downward decline, until she meets a young, aspiring
writer named Ludovic who takes on the role of grandson. This is a
gentle and heartwarming story of two people who discover how to create their
own family.
Billy
Elliot
Billy Elliot, an eleven-year-old miner's son, is on his way to boxing lessons
when he stumbles upon a ballet class. Billy secretly joins the class, knowing
that his blue-collar family would never understand.
An Ideal Husband
Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam) is a successful Government minister,
well-off and with a loving wife. All this is threatened when Mrs. Chieveley
(Julianne Moore) appears in London with damning evidence of a past misdeed. Sir
Robert turns for help to his friend Lord Goring (Rupert Everett), an apparently
idle philanderer and the despair of his father. Goring knows the lady of old,
and, for him, takes the whole thing pretty seriously. Based on
a play of the same title by Oscar Wilde.
The Boat (Das Boot) VHS German with
English subtitles
Hitler sent out 40,000 men aboard German U-Boats during
World War II. Less than 10,000 returned. This story is
a look into the claustrophobic and terrifying world of a German U-boat
crew hunting ships. This movie was released in 1981. Gritty
and realistic, this is one of the few sympathetic portrayals of the war from
the German side to be released for western distribution.
Slings and Arrows
A Canadian television series based on the behind-the-scenes
working of a theater festival putting on Shakespeare's plays (similar to the
Stratford Festival). Three seasons of this series were produced,
each featuring a different play. The series is witty, quirky, and
sometimes outrageous--yet always engaging and terrific. Please watch them in order.
Death at a Funeral
Chaos ensues when a man tries to expose a dark secret regarding a recently deceased patriarch of a dysfunctional British family. (summary from imdb.com)
Bladerunner
Los
Angeles, 2019: Rick Deckard of the LAPD's Blade Runner unit prowls the steel
& micro-chip jungle of the 21st century for assumed humanoids known as
'replicants.' Replicants were declared illegal after a bloody mutiny on an
Off-World Colony, and are to be terminated upon detection. Man's obsession with
creating a being equal to himself has back-fired. (summary from imdb.com)
Metropolis
This silent film, produced in 1927 by Fritz Lang
and Thea von Harbou, takes place in 2026. The futuristic city is divided into two
groups: the workers who must live in the dark underground and the rich,
who enjoy a modern city of splendor. In an attempt to quell a worker
uprising, one of the city leaders creates a robot designed to undermine the
activities of the revolutionaries. The filming, the sets ,and the special
effects are astonishing achievement for their time.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
In a world destroyed by ecological disaster, Princess Nausicaa
uses her intellect and her love of nature to make the world a better place. This is a
great animated film by legendary Japanese director Hiyao Miyazaki that appeals
to adults as well as children. Other highly recommended films by Miyazaki:
Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle.
Men in Black
This movie is just plain fun as Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith
try to solve a mystery and save the earth from total annihilation.
Death Note (An anime series, not a movie, the library owns several
discs.)
A lazy and bored God of Death accidentally drops his "Death Note"
to earth - a notebook in which he writes names of humans, thereby causing them to die.
The notebook is picked up by Light, an equally bored teenager, who finds that
the ability to dictate death leads him to create justification for his killings
as his obsession with power becomes stronger.
Horse Whisperer
The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a
unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse. (summary from imdb.com)
Sleeping with the Enemy
Laura and Martin have been married for four years. They seem to be the
perfect, happiest and most successful couple. The reality of their
household, however, is very different. (summary from imdb.com)
What Lies Beneath
Norman and Claire Spencer are a seemingly happily married couple who
uncover a terrible secret . . . a secret so disturbing it threatens to
destroy them. When Claire Spencer begins seeing ghostly images and
hearing mysterious voices in their home, her husband Norman suspects
it's just her imagination - until the images turn real. (summary from imdb.com)
Jane Eyre (William Hurt, 1996)
Jane Eyre (Masterpiece Theater, Toby Stephens & Ruth Wilson, 2006)
Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre is about a young woman who becomes
governess to the ward of Mr. Rochester, a brooding and enigmatic man.
She falls in love with him. But what secrets lie in his past and
threaten to enter his future?
(summary from imdb.com)
Casablanca
In the early years of World War II, the Moroccan city of Casablanca
attracts people from all over. Many are transients trying to get out of
Europe; a few are just trying to make a buck. Most of them--gamblers
and refugees, Nazis, resistance fighters, and plain old crooks--find
their way to Rick's Café Américain, a swank nightclub owned by American
expatriate Rick Blaine. (summary from imdb.com)
Jaws
Classic tale of man versus beast.
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