Bee Movie

Posted on March 10, 2008 at 8:00 am

Jerry Seinfeld will always be remembered for creating a brilliant and beloved television show about…nothing. His unbreakable rule was “no learning, no hugging.” Popular sitcoms had always been about learning and hugging and “very special episodes.” But Seinfeld created four intensely self-absorbed characters and if we did not exactly care about them, we were captivated by them. Now, he and some of the “Seinfeld” show writers have created an animated movie aimed at children. There is some hugging and learning involved but it is still as close to being about nothing as it can be.

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Special offer for Public Libraries on Films of Frederick Wiseman

Posted on March 9, 2008 at 6:10 pm

Pioneering documentarian Frederick Wiseman is one of the key developers of what is sometimes called “observational” or “direct” cinema. These days, our concept of documentaries is often shaped by Michael Moore or Al Gore, unabashedly advocacy movies that are more like op-ed pieces than journalism. But Wiseman’s interest in institutions of all kinds, from mental hospitals to high schools, from high end department stores to welfare offices, from making decisions with and about patients at the end of life to the efforts of people with disabilities to achieve independence, from people on welfare to state legislators, from missile-makers to high-fashion models, all are displayed in forthright documentaries that tell their stories without narration.
While there is no such thing as complete objectivity in any story-telling and Wiseman himself is the first to admit that he shapes his stories with his choice of structure, the order and the positioning of the cuts, his movies have a kind of directness and intimacy that lets us experience what he shows us in our own way, without relying on anyone telling us what to think about what we are seeing. He does not interact with his subjects. He lets them tell their own stories, not by speaking to us directly but by becoming so comfortable with his camera that they let us see them as they are.
Wiseman’s films have sometimes been controversial. His first documentary, “Titticut Follies,” is a searing expose of a Massachusetts mental hospital. It was banned from release and restricted in its showing to anyone but educators and students by a court order on the grounds that it violated the patients’ rights to privacy, despite the fact that Wiseman had received permission from all of the people portrayed in the film or else their legal guardian. The film’s unblinking portrayal of the abusive and neglectful treatment of the patients may have been the reason for the ruling. In 1992, it was allowed to be shown on PBS.
The films are available on DVD at a modest price for individuals. For a limited time, Wiseman’s films are available to public libraries at a discount.
Enter code “PUBLIB15” at checkout to receive 15% off orders of 5 films or more
Enter code “PUBLIB20” at checkout to receive 20% off orders of 15 films or more

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Documentary

10,000 B.C.

Posted on March 6, 2008 at 9:42 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence.
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Peril and violence including battles with swords and arrows and animal attacks, characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	March 7, 2008

If you are ten years old, a fan of video games, and have a short attention span and no knowledge of history, you will love this movie. The further you stray from these core qualifications, the less you will love it.
“10,000 B.C.” is the story of a tribe of ice age mammoth hunters who are scratching out a peaceful existence in the mountains when they are set upon by a fierce band of marauders who capture members of the tribe and drag them off into slavery. One of the captives is Evolet (the deserving-of-better Camilla Belle), the blue-eyed girlfriend of the young hunter D’Leh (Steven Strait). He vows to follow them to the ends of the earth to get her back, and so begins an epic journey in which D’Leh grows from a callow and frightened young man to a mature and powerful leader of men.

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The Bank Job

Posted on March 6, 2008 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for sexual content, nudity, violence and language.
Profanity:	Very strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Peril and graphic violence, torture, murder, disturbing images, characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 7, 2008

Ah, the pleasures of the heist film. Something for nothing. Sticking it to The Man. Tricky problems solved by clever people both in the planning stages and on the spot. And, just to make it really fun, sometimes, as here, it is based on a true story. Yes, as they say, now it can be told. Once upon a time back in 1970, when cameras, cops, bank security, and princesses were very different from what we get nowadays, the sister of the Queen of England was photographed in a compromising position by an enterprising gangster who used the photos to blackmail the government. The prints and film were tucked away in a safe deposit box at a bank frequented by somewhat shady types. And it seemed to MI-5, the British equivalent of the Secret Service, that the best way to clear up this spot of trouble was to rob the bank. Efficient and discreet as always, they dispatched one of their officers to find some criminals to do the job.

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Purple State of Mind: A movie about faith, politics, and connections

Posted on March 6, 2008 at 9:19 am

Craig Detweiler and John Marks have known each other for twenty-five years. When they roomed together as sophomores at Davidson College, they were devout Christians. It was Craig’s first year in the faith, John’s last. After college, they parted ways, and when they met again, years later, they never talked about what happened… until now…

“A Purple State of Mind” is a new film they describe as “an 80-minute effort to bridge the cultural gap, to push past politics, and wade into the middle ground where most people live. Purple State, the web experience, extends that effort out into the homes, dorm rooms, churches, offices and playing fields where people are struggling to have their own conversations. In a world of increasing tension, we hope Purple State of Mind offers an alternative–a warm, humorous, genuine conversation that at the same time pulls no punches.”

Detweiler and Marks are appearing with the film across the country to start conversations and try to bring red and blue state voters together to find some purple middle ground.

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Spiritual films