Earth Day Films 2012
21 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: adventure, al gore, an inconvenient truth, antarctic, attorney, based on a true story, bat, cockroach, company, continent, corporation, courtship, Earth, Earth Day Films, erin brockovich, family, ferngully, friend, global warming, human life, journey, law case, law firm, life, magic, march, march of the penguins, mate, mother, rainforest, robot, small town, true love, vice president, wall-e, waters, world, years
Erin Brockovich (1999) Rated R
Erin Brockovich is a feisty young mother who convinces attorney Ed Masry to hire her and promptly stumbles upon a momumental law case against a giant corporation. Erin’s determined to take on this powerful adversary even though no law firm has dared to do it before. The two begin an incredible and sometimes hilarious fight that will bring a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees. Based on a true story.
FernGully (1992) Rated G
Magic and adventure await in FernGully, a spectacular rainforest where a bat named Batty, whose radar has gone haywire, joins together with Crysta, Pips, and the Beetle Boys to save their marvelous world from the evil Hexxus.
An Inconvenient Truth (2006) Rated PG
A passionate and inspiring look at former Vice President Al Gore’s campaign to expose the myths and misconceptions of global warming, and to create public awareness on the subject.
March of the Penguins (2005) Rated G
In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family. This courtship will begin with a long journey–a journey that will take them hundreds of miles across the continent by foot, one by one in a single file. They will endure freezing temperatures, in brittle, icy winds and through deep, treacherous waters. They will risk starvation and attack by dangerous predators, under the harshest conditions on earth, all to find true love.
Wall-E (2008) Rated G
After hundreds of lonely years, a waste management robot finds a new purpose in life. With only a cockroach for a friend, he finds true love in another robot sent on a mission to Earth to see if it is safe for human life.
Thanksgiving Films 2011
19 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: 1970s, america, apartment, baltimore, boston, boyfriend, brother, business, central african, childhood, conservative, dad, dinner, disaster, disfunctional, divorced, dying, enemy, families, family, feast, film, films, friend, good girl, gorilla, home for the holidays, husband, ice storm, job, key party, lifestyle, list, lower east side, meal, Mighty joe young, mistress, mom, mother, movies, new york, Pennsylvania, pieces of april, plane, planes trains and automobiles, poachers, relationships, romance, salesman, Saturday Cinema, single, sister, story, suburban, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving films, thanksgiving movies, traditional, traveling, turkey, What to Watch, wife
Home for the Holidays (1995) Rated PG-13
Claudia Larson is a divorced single mom who just lost her job and now has to fly home for the traditional family Thanksgiving in Baltimore. From the plane, she calls for reinforcements–and her brother Tommy makes it down from Boston with a little surprise: a handsome friend named Leo. Between dropping the turkey in their sister’s lap and a few fist fights on the front lawn, Claudia and Tommy recapture their childhood–and Claudia and Leo explore the sweet possibility of romance.
The Ice Storm (1997) Rated R
The story of two dysfunctional suburban families, set in the 1970s. When a self-centered husband’s relationships with his wife and mistress grow cold, it takes a wife-swapping “key party” and a freak ice storm to clear the air–and change their lives forever.
Mighty Joe Young (1998) Rated PG
A fifteen-foot-tall Central African gorilla is brought to America to save him from poachers. But his notoriety makes him a target for an enemy from his past.
Pieces of April (2003) Rated PG-13
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) Rated 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.
Gilbert Cates (1934-2011)
02 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: Academy Awards, accident, adaptation, bears, bed, bill cosby, boy, chair, childless, college students, danielle steel, death, Death in the family, dennis hines, department, diagnosed, Director, family, fatal, father, film, films, futures, Gilbert Cates, girl, golden hair, goldilocks and the three bears, imagination, inner-city, investigation, james agee, library, list, love, money, mother, movies, obsession, October 31st, porridge, prince, Producer, professor, pulitzer prize, rapunzel, Saturday Cinema, shows, sickle-cell anemia, steals, television, the promise, theater, to all my friends on shore, tower, tv shows, ucla, What to Watch, winning novel, witch, woman
Gilbert Cates was a renowned Producer and Director of films and tv shows. He was most notable as the producer of some of the Academy awards shows. He, also, was a professor at UCLA where he founded their department of Theater, Film and Television. He passed away a couple of days ago on October 31st. His death is under an investigation. Here is a list of his films that the library owns:
Death in the Family (2002) Rated NR
A television adaptation of James Agee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the effect a freak accident has upon a little boy and his mother.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1983) Rated UR
It’s hard to find porridge, a chair and a bed that’s “just right” nowadays, as a little girl is about to find out. Goldilocks, a little girl with a big imagination, has her life changed forever when she wanders into the home of some furry, but friendly, bears.
The Promise (1979) Rated PG
Two college students find their love changed forever when a dangerous accident forces them to choose between their love and their futures.
Rapunzel (1982) Rated NR
A childless witch steals a baby girl and whisks her away to a tall tower to raise as her own and calls her Rapunzel. Rapunzel turns into a lovely but lonely young woman with the longest golden hair in the land. When a handsome Prince sees her, it’s love at first sight. He begs her to let down her hair so he can use it as a ladder and come face to face with the woman of his dreams. Will it be curtains for Rapunzel when the Witch finds out about the Prince?
To All My Friends on Shore (1972) Rated NR
Bill Cosby stars as Blue, an inner-city father struggling to save enough money to buy a house for his family. His obsession with money causes him to neglect his family. When his son (Dennis Hines) is diagnosed with fatal sickle-cell anemia, Blue realizes his priorities need to change.
German Films
01 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: 1984, angel, atlantic, beer, berlin, berlin wall, boss, boyfriend, britain, capitalism, coma, das boot, east berlin, fall in love, films, german cinema, German films, german movies, girlfriend, goodbye lenin, government, list, Lives of others, mobster, money, mortal, mother, movies, oktoberfest, Playwright, romantic fantasy, run-lola-run, Saturday Cinema, sea, secret service, socialist, submarine, What to Watch, wings of desire, world war II
In honor of Oktoberfest, here is a list of German films to enjoy with your beer.
Das Boot (1985) Rated R
At the height of World War II, a young submarine crew heads out to sea on a top-secret mission that all but ensures most will never make it home alive. Ordered to patrol the Atlantic and destroy an allied armada bringing supplies to Britain, these raw recruits must band together, bracing themselves against a depth-charge assault from an unseen enemy. Can the captain and his crew summon the strength to escape their watery grave?
Goodbye Lenin (2002) Rated R
Alex’s proud, socialist mother falls into a coma for eight months. When she wakes, her heart is weak, so Alex has to keep the secret that the Berlin Wall has fallen and capitalism has triumphed. What begins as a little white lie turns into a major scam.
The Lives of Others (2006) Rated R
Set in East Berlin in 1984, a secret service agent assigned to monitor a playwright and his girlfriend begins to question his assignment and his loyalty to the government.
Run Lola Run (1998) Rated R
Time is running out: Lola has just received a frantic call from her boyfriend Manni, who’s accidentally lost a small fortune he was to deliver to his mobster boss. If they cannot find a way to replace the money within twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe consequences.
Wings of Desire (1987) Rated PG-13
A romantic fantasy about an angel who wishes he were mortal and is willing to fall from the sky if it means a chance to fall in love. Set in modern day Berlin, the film follows angel Damiel’s path from heavenly flight to earthly delight in a manner that’s comical, touching and entertaining.
The Conspirator (2010) (via What to Watch.)
20 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: abraham-lincoln, acting, assassination, authentic, based on a true story, film-reviews, films, frederick-aiken, girlfriend, lawyer, mary-surratt, mother, Movie Reviews, movie-reviews-2, movies, president-lincoln, reviews, robert-redford, Saturday Cinema, the-conspirator, trial, true story, What to Watch
via What to Watch. The content and opinions expressed in this review do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the Rice Lake Public Library.
POW/MIA Recognition Day September 16th
17 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: list, movies, films, world war II, japanese, american, Saturday Cinema, What to Watch, father, mother, Korean War, british, dog, husband, Pow/mia, Recognition Day, September 16th, Bridge on the River kwai, POW, railway, bridge, burma, Allied, Great escape, german, prisoner-of-war, camp, 1942, war, in enemy hands, u-boat, Prisoners of the sun, australian, lawyer, guards, officer, stalag 17, g.i.s, spy, three wishes, sons, two, stranger
Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) Rated PG
When British P.O.W.s build a vital railway bridge in enemy-occupied Burma, Allied commandos are assigned to destroy it.
Great Escape (1963) Rated NR
A high-security German prisoner-of-war camp in 1942 holds only known troublemakers and risk-takers, all of whom are determined to pull off the war’s most daring escape.
In Enemy Hands (2004) Rated R
The U.S.S. Swordfish U-boat is taken prisoner in a battle with a German sub. Meningitis strikes half the German crew. Avoiding the contagion and POW protocol, crew members and prisoners must work together to survive.
Prisoners of the Sun (1991) Rated R
In the aftermath of World War II, a mass grave of brutally executed Australian POWs is discovered. A tough military lawyer and his team are dispatched to prosecute the Japanese guards. To win his fight for justice, the lawyer must deal with an American officer protecting his national interests and a Japanese commander who has sworn his troops to a blood oath of silence.
Stalag 17 (1953) Rated NR
A group of American G.I.s in a POW camp suspect a spy is among them.
Three Wishes (1995) Rated PG
A mother and her two young sons try to survive the best they can since her husband, the boys’ father, is presumed to have died in the Korean War. One day they meet an injured stranger and his dog who change their lives.
Labor Day Films 2011
03 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: list, movies, films, Saturday Cinema, What to Watch, marriage, mother, job, life, comedy, Labor day films 2011, Labor day movies, Clerks, convenience, video store clerks, drug dealers, stores, erin brockovich, attorney, hire, law case, corporation, law firm, based on a true story, north country, minnesota, steel mine, husband, miners, verbally abuse, pranks, physically assaulted, coworker, harassment, sexual harassment, case, U.S., Office Space, fired, attitude, sexy, girlfriend, management, tommy boy, seven years, diploma, auto parts, salesmanship
Clerks (1994) Rated R
A deadpan comedy about a day in the life of two nowhere-bound convenience and video store clerks and the two eccentric drug dealers who constantly loiter outside the stores.
Erin Brockovich (1999) Rated R
Erin Brockovich is a feisty young mother who convinces attorney Ed Masry to hire her and promptly stumbles upon a momumental law case against a giant corporation. Erin’s determined to take on this powerful adversary even though no law firm has dared to do it before. The two begin an incredible and sometimes hilarious fight that will bring a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees. Based on a true story.
North Country (2005) Rated R
Josey Aimes needs a job and goes to work at a Minnesota steel mine after splitting with her violent husband. But the job proves to be almost as harrowing as her marriage. The male miners are resentful of women taking their jobs, so the men verbally abuse and play humiliating pranks on the female miners. After being physically assaulted by a coworker, Josey tries to fight against the harassment, but none of the other women will join her case for fear that things will only get worse. A fictionalized account of the first class action sexual harassment case in the U.S.
Office Space (1999) Rated R
Unable to endure another mind-numbing day at Initech Corporation, cubicle slave Peter Gibbons gets fired up–and decides to get fired. Armed with a leisurely new attitude and a sexy new girlfriend, he soon masters the art of neglecting his job, which quickly propels him into the ranks of upper management.
Tommy Boy (1995) Rated PG-13
Party animal Tommy Callahan is definitely a few cans short of a six-pack. But after seven years, Tommy’s finally earned his diploma–and a cushy job at Callahan Auto Parts. Returning home, Tommy gets some more great news: his dad is marrying a real “10,” and Tommy will get the stepbrother he always wanted. But when his father dies, the business starts tanking–and his stepmother starts scheming. Now Tommy’s got to hit the road with his dad’s right-hand man, a smug numbers-cruncher. And what these two don’t know about salesmanship could fill a book.
Bastille Day Films
16 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies Tags: au revoir les enfants, based on, Bastille Day Films, Bastille Day movies, boarding school, day for night, director's life, family, farm, films, forgive, France, french films, french movies, friendship, german occupation, Good-bye children, happy bastille day, I have loved you so long, jean de florette, life, list, minors, mother, movies, murder, music, music teacher, neighbor, nice, personality, prison, rehabilitation, romantic film, Saturday Cinema, sister, son, steal, supervisor, the chorus, world war II
In honor of Bastille Day here is a list of French films to see:
Au Revoir les Enfants (1987) Rated PG
Based on the director’s life, this film chronicles Malle’s experiences during the German occupation of France in World War II. Julien (Malle) is 12 years old, and the smartest boy in his class at boarding school when a new student appears. The two form a friendship even though Julien senses that there is something different about his new friend.
The Chorus (2004) Rated PG-13
Unemployed music teacher Clement Mathieu becomes the supervisor at a boarding school for the rehabilitation of minors. Dismayed by the repressive administration, he works to positively transform the students’ lives through music.
Day for Night (1973) Rated PG
Frictions and personality clashes beset the making of a romantic film in Nice.
I Have Loved You So Long (2008) Rated PG-13
A shell-shocked Juliette is released from prison after serving 15 years for murdering her young son. As life has moved on, she must relearn certain basics. After being banished from her family, she is now reunited with her younger sister, Lea. Hopefully, Juliette will learn to forgive herself in the process.
Jean De Florette (1986) Rated PG
A man inherits a farm from his mother, but his powerful neighbor plots to steal it from him.
Mother’s Day Films
07 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: actual events, Austria, based on books, based on true story, books, Calendar Girls, cancer, Chocolat, chocolate shop, Church, divine secrets of Ya-Ya Sisterhood, divorced, family, father, films, France, governess, hospital, list, Louisiana, mother, Mother's day films, mother's day movies, mother/daughter, movies, musical, nazism, new york, nude, nude calendar, photographer, Playwright, single mother, Sound of music, stepmom, Sunday, What to Watch, Widowed
Here’ s a list of films to watch with your mother this Mother’s Day:
Stepmom (1998) Rated PG-13
Anna and Ben, the two children of Jackie and Luke, have to cope with the fact that their parents divorced and that there is a new woman in their father’s life: Isabel, a successful photographer. She does her best to treat the kids in a way that makes them still feel at home when being with their dad, but also loves her work and does not plan to give it up. But Jackie, a full-time-mother, regards Isabel’s efforts as offensively insufficient. She can’t understand that work can be important to her as well as the kids. The conflict between them is deepened by the sudden diagnose of cancer, which might be deadly for Jackie. They all have to learn a little in order to grow together.
Sound of Music (1965) Rated G
As Nazism takes over Austria, a governess and a widowed father fall in love and escape the country with his large family of musically-talented children.
Chocolat (2000) Rated PG-13
When a single mother and her young daughter move to rural France and open a chocolate shop – with Sunday hours – across the street from the local church, they are met with some resistance from the rigidly moral community. But as soon as the townspeople discover their delicious products, their attitudes begin to change.
Divine Secrets of Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) Rated PG-13
Like mother, like daughter. Neither a hard-as-nails New York playwright nor her flaky Louisiana mother will take the necessary steps to mend their long-time rift. No, this is a job for the Sisterhood, sworn life-long friends who stage an outlandish “intervention” to bring daughter and mother back together again.
Calendar Girls (2003) Rated PG-13
When Chris’ best friend Annie loses her husband, Chris derives a scheme to memoralize him. The two women, along with some of their friends–all fiftysomething women–will make a nude calendar to raise money for the hospital where he died. The calendar becomes hugely popular. Based on actual events, this story carefully balances the stories of several women as it follows the media explosion.
