Summer movies I can't wait to see

Rudo y Cursi (May 8): Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, co-stars from Y Tu Mamá También (2001), reunite in this Spanish-language movie about brothers going after their soccer dreams in Mexico.

Land of the Lost (June 5): Will Ferrell, Danny McBride (Pineapple Express, TV’s Eastbound & Down), and Anna Friel (TV’s Pushing Daisies) are transported to a world of dinosaurs, cavemen, and other scary, disgusting creatures.

Public Enemies (July 1): The trailer for this movie is my favorite at the moment. Shot by Michael Mann in the ChicagoMidwest, Johnny Depp stars as gangster John Dillinger. Christian Bale and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose) also star. area and other parts of the

(500) Days of Summer (July 17): Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, this love story (or story about love) is not told in a traditional linear romantic-comedy fashion. Of everything being released this summer, this is the one that sounds the most unique. I think Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Stop-Loss, The Lookout) is an interesting actor to watch. And how awesome is this: he plays a greeting-card writer!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17): I am a Harry Potter fan and have enjoyed reading all seven books and watching the previous movie adaptations. It’s been over a year since the previous installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, came to theaters; Half-Blood Prince was originally supposed to come out in November. We've been waiting too long!

All Good Things (July 24): Part romance, part mystery, this one stars Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. For me, all I need to hear is “starring Ryan Gosling” and I am there. I will watch this man act in anything. He brings an intensity to all his roles that allows him to completely disappear into the characters he plays. Previously seen in Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Gosling was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as a drug addicted teacher in Half Nelson (2006).

Funny People (July 31): Director-writer-producer Judd Apatow’s follow-up to 2007’s Knocked Up. I have been a huge fan of Apatow’s work since the television series Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000) due to his signature way of combining funny gross-out humor with sweet, honest moments from the heart. This film includes regulars from the Apatow gang, including Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann, and even Apatow's kids Maude and Iris. Adam Sandler plays a comedian who learns he has cancer. Leslie Mann is the one who got away, Eric Bana plays her husband, and Seth Rogen is the struggling stand-up comic who Sandler mentors.

Taking Woodstock (August 14): Ang Lee directed this comedy, based on Elliot Tiber’s book of the same name. The cast includes Demetri Martin (Important Things with Demetri Martin), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), and Emile Hirsch (Milk, Speed Racer).

Inglourious Basterds (August 21): Directed by Quentin Tarantino, this film is set in France during World War II. Brad Pitt, B.J. Novak (The Office), and Samm Levine (Freaks and Geeks) form part of a group of Jewish-American soldiers whose job it is to kill and scalp Nazis.

Believe it or not, I have more on my list, but I have gone on enough. Feel free to add comments about movies you are either looking forward to seeing or have already seen this summer! (I know technically it's not summer yet, but the movie studios have already rolled out several big budget summer movies, like Night at the Museum 2, Wolverine, and Star Trek, etc.)

What did you think of the movie?

Thursday night we showed Twilight to an audience of 25 downstairs in the meeting room. (Gave away a free Twilight poster, too.) This was the third time I watched the movie. I have to say I always crack up at Jasper’s pained facial expressions and dialogue like this: “The feature's dead, Angela, don't bring it up again!" Or "'Sup Arizona? How you likin' the rain, girl?" I make fun of the movie, but I also love it. The music matched the feeling of each scene and of course Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are perfect together as Edward and Bella.

Did you come see the movie at the library? How do you think the movie version compares to the book?

Saturday afternoon 40 people showed up to see Bedtime Stories. I hadn't seen this movie before and really enjoyed it. I'm not always a fan of Adam Sandler's work, but somehow I didn't find him annoying in this movie. Keri Russell and Russell Brand also gave great performances. The whole family can watch and enjoy this one.

Have you seen Bedtime Stories? What did you think of it?

TV on DVD: True Blood

'Tis the season of vampires . . . The first season of True Blood, the HBO series based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire novels (aka Sookie Stackhouse), was released on DVD Tuesday. It's already checked out-- and ready for your name to be added to the waiting list.

Find it in the catalog!

DVDs out May 18th

My Bloody Valentine, in 3-D!
Find it in the catalog!

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

True Blood: The Complete First Season

Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise
Find it in the catalog!

As always, you can reserve a copy for yourself via our 2-Dimensional online catalog.

Some foreign film recommendations . . .

In honor of our poll about foreign films (to the right and a little lower), I thought I'd share some recommendations.

Heavy on action and humor (I love the harpist assassins!), you'll forget you're even watching a foreign film:
Kung Fu Hustle Find it in the catalog!

Great characters and setting, with a fulfilling ending:
Amelie Find it in the catalog!

Another action flick (and not too many subtitles):
Run Lola Run Find it in the catalog!

Two well acted and suspensful films:
Read My Lips Find it in the catalog!
The Lives of Others (2006 Foreign Film Oscar winner) Find it in the catalog!

Do you have any foreign films that you'd recommend?

Find Twilight audiobooks

The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer continues to grow in popularity as new and old fans of the series watch the movie on DVD and await the movie release of the second installment, New Moon, in November. Are you interested in listening to Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, or Breaking Dawn on CD? Here are some tips on searching the online catalog that will help you easily locate those titles in audiobook format.

One method is to type the title of the specific book followed by “and cd” and click on the title button. Instead of searching just Dundee’s holdings, click on the dropdown menu to select ALL to search all the libraries in our computer system.

To find a copy of Breaking Dawn on CD, type in breaking dawn and cd (limit to title):

A second way is to search for all four books in the Twilight series at once. To do this we combine several terms to narrow down the search. Just searching twilight and cd brings up way too many results to look through. If we search stephenie meyer and cd, that brings up the Twilight books plus anything else Meyer has available on CD. By combining author, series name, and the CD format, we narrow our results to just what we were looking for. Search stephenie meyer and twilight and cd (hit enter or search words or phrase):

Try out these search strategies the next time you want to find audiobooks by your favorite authors.