Playing God in Films
21 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: adventure, america, angels, ark, Book II, brazil, Bruce Almighty, buffalo, Congress, devil, dogma, dvd, Earth, Evan Almighty, family, film, films, fisherman, girl, god, God is Brazilian, heaven, human race, humanity, IMDB, January 9th, library, list, manager, mankind, message, movies, musician, new york, Oh God, oh God book II, Oh God you Devil, Playing God day, Playing God in Films, Playing God in Movies, politics, promises, religious, replacement, road trip, rock idol, Saturday Cinema, Sequel, series, serve, soul, stand-in, supermarket, superstar, talent agent, third, Tv reporter, universe, vacation, VHS, voice of God, What to Watch, woman
January 9th was playing God day. Here’s some films for your enjoyment.
Bruce Almighty (2003) Rated PG-13
Bruce Nolan is a discontented TV reporter who believes the entire universe is stacked against him. After a bad day, Bruce flies into a rage and blames God for making his life so miserable. God responds by endowing Bruce with all of His divine powers and challenges him to take on “The Big Job” to see if he can do it any better.
Evan Almighty (2007) Rated PG
Sequel to Bruce Almighty
Newly elected to Congress, Evan Baxter has left Buffalo, New York in pursuit of a greater calling. But that calling isn’t serving in the illustrious ranks of America’s politics, but being summoned by the Almighty himself, who has handed Evan the task of building a new ark. With time passing by and his family belittled by Evan’s newfound realization, Evan will have to do the work that God has given him in what promises to be an unusual adventure for a man who just wanted to serve his country. But, Evan might actually be serving all of humanity instead.
Dogma (1999) Rated R
Two banished angels find a loophole that would get them back into heaven. The only snag? They’ll be destroying existence in the process. In an effort to stop them, the overworked voice of God taps cynical mortal Bethany to save the world by preventing the angels from reaching their unholy destination.
God is Brazilian (2002) Rated NR
God is stressed and needs a break from the endless toil of minding the Earth and the troublesome human race. But before he can go on vacation, he must find a temporary replacement. To track down the person best suited for the job, God heads to Brazil, a country that, despite being very religious, has never had an official saint. Joined by a conniving fisherman and a soul-searching young woman, he embarks on a spirited road trip in search of his ideal stand-in.
Oh, God! (1977) Rated PG
God picks a supermarket manager to carry His message to all mankind.
Oh God! Book II (VHS)* (1980) Rated PG
Sequel to Oh, God
God asks a young girl to help spread his word and influence with a slogan. -IMDB
Oh God! You Devil! (1984) Rated PG
Third in the Oh, God series.
The Devil turns talent agent to transform struggling musician Billy Shelton into a superstar rock idol. Naturally, their contract involves possession of the latter’s soul. A deal’s a deal in the eternal scheme of things–unless, of course, God intervenes.
*If you would like a DVD of Oh, God! Book II, please contact the library.
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.
Jeff Conaway
07 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: 1943, 2011, 9-year old, Babylon 5, boy, California, celebrity, characters, chief security officer, churchill, coast, coma, commander, Critical Condition, diplomats, doctors, Eagle has landed, Encino, Encino Tarzana Medical Center, england, entrepreneurs, family, fifties, films, foster parents, friends, galaxy, german paratroopers, good girl, Grease, greaser, hitler, invisible, Jeff Conaway, life support, list, los angeles times, love, Lt. commander, May 11, may 19, May 26, may 27, movies, musical, new york, New york city, outer-space way station, overdose, pain medication, pet dragon, Pete's dragon, reuters, run away, Saturday Cinema, scalawags, sixteen, taxi, taxi company, taxi dispatcher, telepath, tv series, tv shows, What to Watch, young life
1950-2011
On May 11, 2011, Conaway was found unconscious from what was initially described as an overdose of substances, believed to be pain medication, and was taken to Encino Tarzana Medical Center in Encino, California, where he was listed as being in critical condition and in a coma. On May 26, 2011, Conaway’s family took him off life support after doctors decided there was nothing they could do to revive him. Conaway died the following morning at the age of 60.
Babylon 5 (1994-1998) Rated NR
Babylon 5 is an outer-space way station, a port-of-call for diplomats, entrepreneurs, and scalawags of all species. Commander Jeffrey Sinclair–aided by chief security officer Michael Garibaldi, Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova, and resident telepath Talia Winters–tries to keep apprised of all the intrigues swirling around his little corner of the galaxy, but things invariably spiral out of control.
Taxi (1978-1982) Rated NR
Louie De Palma is a cantankerous taxi dispatcher for a New York City taxi company. He tries to maintain order over the varied collection of strange characters who drive for him. As he bullies and insults them from the safety of his “cage,” they form a special bond among themselves, becoming friends and supporting each other through the inevitable trials and tribulations of life.
Grease (1978) Rated PG
It’s love when a greaser falls for a good girl in this musical depicting young life in the fifties.
Pete’s Dragon (1977) Rated G
A 9-year old boy and his pet dragon (invisible to all but him) run away from his foster parents.
The Eagle Has Landed (1976) Rated PG
Sixteen German paratroopers are dropped on the coast of England in 1943 with orders to kidnap Churchill and bring him back to Hitler.
Information cited from Reuters, May 19, 2011 and Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2011.
Arthur Laurents
09 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, News, Subject Guide Tags: 1918, 1950s, anastasia, Arthur Laurents, ballerina, ballet, ballet career, bolsheviks, burlesque, college, czar nicholas, dance teacher, differences, directing, dowager empress, fifties, forties, friends, gypsy, Hollywood, love, Love Story, mainly on directing, marriage, midwestern housewife, mother/daughter, movies, musical, new york, opposites, paris, pheumonia, plays, Playwright, popular, princess, rivalry, romance, romanoff family, romanoffs, romeo and juliet, russia, screenwriter, seine river, street gangs, thirties, tragedy, turning point, vaudeville, way we were, west side story, white russian
1917-2011
Arthur Laurents was a famed play and screen writer for 66 years. Arthur passed away on May 5th from complications of pheumonia. He was 93 years old. He wrote a number of popular plays and movies, some of which are listed below.
Anastasia (1956) Rated NR
An expatriate White Russian general sets in motion a grand hoax after he meets a destitute woman on the banks of the Seine River in Paris. He is amazed at her resemblance to Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas of Russia, rumored to have somehow survived the Bolsheviks’ execution of the Romanoff family in 1918. He trains her to impersonate the missing princess but soon begins to feel she may be the real Anastasia. Ultimately, the truth can only be decided by one person–Anastasia’s grandmother, the Dowager Empress.
Gypsy (1962) Rated NR
The story of burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, her rise to stardom from vaudeville and her volatile relationship with her ambitious mother.
Turning Point (1977) Rated PG
Two friends who started in ballet are reunited after many years; one is now a star ballerina, the other a Midwestern housewife/dance teacher whose daughter is embarking on her own ballet career.
Way We Were (1973) Rated PG
The romance and marriage of opposites– the love that binds them together and the differences that tear them apart. A love story from college to Hollywood in the thirties, forties, and fifties.
West Side Story (1961) Rated NR
This musical sets the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet against a backdrop of the rivalry of two street gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, in New York of the 1950s. A young woman who is sister to the Sharks leader has her first taste of love with the former head of the Jets.
Arthur Laurents also wrote a book on directing musicals.
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.
Sidney Lumet
12 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: 12 Angry Men, 1972, abusive father, August 22, bank, Before the devil knows your dead, books, brooklyn, celebrity, criminals, Director, dog day afternoon, extort, films, grand jury, hostage, illness, investiation, jewelry store, Jury, list, Lymphoma, making movies, mental breakdown, Movie Making, movies, murder, network, new york, newscaster, parents, police officer, robbery, serpico, Sidney Lumet, situation, Stock broker, television, true story
Sidney Lumet was a director of many famous films most notable was 12 Angry Men. He also wrote a book on movie making. He passed away April 9th after a battle with lymphoma. Here is some films to check out:
12 Angry Men (1957) Rated NR
Depicts a jury of men who must decide the fate of a teenage boy who has murdered his abusive father. The jurors are from all walks of life, and bring with them their own opinions, prejudices, fears, and personal demons.
Before the Devil Knows Your Dead (2008) Rated R
A stock broker, who is having financial troubles and in need of extra cash, and his younger brother conspire to pull off the perfect, victimless crime. No guns, no violence, no problem. The only problem is that the owners of the jewelry store are their own parents. But when an accomplice ignores the rules and crosses the line, his actions trigger a series of events in which no one is left unscathed.
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) Rated R
The story of a botched bank robbery that occurred August 22, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York and turned into a bizarre hostage situation lasting all day.
Network (1976) Rated R
A television newscaster’s mental breakdown turns him into a celebrity when the network tries to profit from his illness.
Serpico (1973) Rated R
Adaptation of a true story where a young New York police officer refuses to extort money from criminals as the other officers do. His fellow police officers turn against him when he seeks to expose the situation during a grand jury investigation.
His book:
Elizabeth Taylor
24 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: 1880s, books, Civil War, classics, Cleopatra, Congestive Heart Failure, egypt, Elizabeth Taylor, films, IMDB, Julius Caesar, Life with Father, list, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Marc Anthony, marriage, movies, new york, novel, Simpsons: Complete fourth Season, Sisters, Springfield, Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?
Elizabeth Taylor passed away on March 23rd due to complications from Congestive Heart failure. Here is some of her films to remember her by:
Cleopatra (1963) Rated G
Story of the life of Cleopatra, queen of ancient Egypt from her ascension to the throne through her struggle for power and her loves and entanglements with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony.
Life with Father (1947) Rated NR
Anecdotal look at growing up in the Day family in 1880s New York.
Little Women (1949) Rated NR
Louisa May Alcott’s Civil War story of four sisters who share their loves, their joys, and their sorrows.
The Simpsons: Complete Fourth season (1992-1993) Rated NR
The satiric adventures of a working class family in the misfit city of Springfield. Synopsis by IMDB.
Who’s afraid of Virgina Woolf? (1966) Rated NR
A freewheeling, headlong slide into the corrosive hell of a marriage twisted by years of hatred and humiliation.
Celebrity Deaths
03 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: 13 going on 30, 13th birthday, Actress, author, autobiography, billy the kid, brain cancer, bride wars, calamity jane, cattle baron, Celebrity Deaths, charlotte's web, confederate soldiers, controversial films, controversial movies, cowpokes, dentist, Director, doc holliday, farm girl, films, frontier, gambler, gangsters, Gary Winick, Gentlemen prefer blondes, golddigger, greatest love story, his kind of woman, indians, Italy, Jane Russell, June wedding, letters to juliet, list, magazine editor, mexican, movies, Musical comedy, my path and my detours, new york, New york city, novel, Outlaw, outlaws, paleface, paris, pig, plaza hotel, pneumonia, resort, respiratory-related illness, robbery, romance, Romantic films, romantic journey, romeo and juliet, showgirls, spider, starting out in the evening, tall men, ten years, verona, writer
This week we have had a couple of Celebrity deaths. Jane Russell, an actress, died on February 28th due to a respiratory-related illness and Gary Winick, a director, passed away on February 27th from pneumonia after battle brain cancer. To honor them here is a list of their films.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) Rated NR
A musical comedy about the adventures of two beautiful showgirls–an apparently stupid blonde gold digger and her provocative brunette friend–during a voyage from New York to Paris.
His Kind of Woman! (1951) Rated NR
Hard-luck gambler Dan Milner is in sudden luck. He’ll get $50,000 to hang out at a posh Mexican resort. $5,000 now and the big payoff when the reason he’s been sent there is revealed. Of course, the gangsters making the offer don’t expect him to live long enough to collect.
The Outlaw (1943) Rated NR
One of the most controversial movies of its time. The thrilling tale of Doc Holliday and Billy the Kid and their feud over a fiery woman named Rio.
The Paleface (1948) Rated NR
A timid frontier dentist finds himself gunslinging alongside the fearless Calamity Jane as she fights off outlaws and Indians.
The Tall Men (1955) Rated NR
The Allison brothers, Ben and Clint, are ex-Confederate soldiers now trying their hands at robbery. But one attempt to get rich quick leads them into the company of Nathan Stark, a Texas cattle baron with a huge herd to get to market. Along the dangerous journey both bullets and fists are flying as these rough and ready cowpokes take on anything standing in their way, while Ben and Nathan compete for Nella’s affection.
In 1986, Jane Russell wrote an autobiography My Path and My Detours. You might want to check that out.
13 Going on 30 (2004) Rated PG-13
Jenna makes a wish on her 13th birthday to be 30 and grown up. When she wakes up the next day she finds herself, miraculously, just weeks away from her 30th birthday. The new, older Jenna is a successful magazine editor with friends in high places and a lion’s share of potential suitors. The problem is that her mind hasn’t matured with her body and Jenna finds it a little more terrifying than cool to be living on her own.
Bride Wars (2009) Rated PG
Lifelong best friends Liv and Emma have shared a dream since childhood. Each yearns for the perfect June wedding at the famed Plaza Hotel in New York City. Both find themselves engaged at the same time and go to a wedding coordinator to set up the perfect wedding. A clerical error puts them both down for nuptials on the same day at the same time. One of them will have to switch the date. More than the bouquet goes flying when these desperate brides-to-be fight it out for matrimonial supremacy.
Charlotte’s Web (2006) Rated G
Fern is a young farm girl who rescues the runt, Wilbur. Wilbur the pig is saved from certain death and Fern visits him every day at her Uncle Homer’s farm. But it’s Wilbur’s friendship with Charlotte the spider that ultimately saves him from the “smoke house.” Charlotte’s talent for weaving praiseworthy words about Wilbur into her web turns the Zuckerman farm into a tourist attraction.
Letters to Juliet (2010) Rated PG
“In Verona, Italy – the beautiful city where Romeo first met Juliet – there is a place where the heartbroken leave notes asking Juliet for her help. It’s there that aspiring writer Sophie finds a 50-year-old letter that will change her life forever. As she sets off on a romantic journey of the heart with the letter’s author, Claire, now a grandmother, and her handsome grandson, all three will discover that sometimes the greatest love story ever told is your own”
Starting Out In the Evening (2007) Rated PG-13
Battling illness and unable to finish a novel that has taken him ten years to write, aging novelist Leonard Schiller is slipping into literary obscurity. At one time a famous author, Schiller has been all but forgotten by the readers, colleagues and critics who once praised his works. When Heather Wolfe, an ambitious graduate student, convinces Schiller that her thesis could reintroduce his writing to the world, the reclusive writer is forced to confront his past regrets.
Thanksgiving Films
20 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Movies, Subject Guide Tags: alzheimer's, america, england, farmer, film, fims, financial difficulties, first thanksgiving, fruitcake, idaho, lower east side, movies, National Lampoon's Holiday reunion, new york, Old fashioned thanksgiving, Pennsylvania, pieces of april, pilgrims, squanto: warrior's tale, Thanksgiving films, thanksgiving movies, time to remember, widow, writer
National Lampoon’s Holiday Reunion (2004) Rated PG-13
Against the wishes of his wife and kids, Mitch Snider is determined to have a traditional Thanksgiving holiday with all the relatives. And it looks like that’s what he will have once he receives an invitation from his long-lost cousin Woodrow in Idaho. However, cousin Woodrow and his family turn out to be nuttier than a holiday fruitcake.
Old Fashioned Thanksgiving (2008) Rated NR
Things are so bad for recently widowed farmer Mary Bassett and her three children that this Thanksgiving they may not even be able to afford a turkey for their dinner. Suddenly, Mary’s wealthy and estranged mother Isabella comes for a visit. Although Isabella finds a kindred spirit in Mary’s eldest daughter and budding writer Tilly, Mary resents her mother’s attempts to help them out of their financial difficulties. It will take more than money to heal the emotional wounds that exist between mother and daughter.
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.
Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale (1994) Rated PG
Indian brave Squanto is kidnapped from America and taken to England to be put on display as a savage. He escapes and when he returns home he brings peace among Pilgrims and a tribe, thus bringing the first Thanksgiving.
Time to Remember (2003) Rated NR
Two estrange daughters return to the family home on Thanksgiving to find their relationship with their mother even more difficult than before. As strong-willed widow Maggie busily prepares for a perfect family celebration, her recently diagnosed Alzheimer’s condition becomes more apparent.
