Great performances in 2009

After thinking about the movies I saw in the theater during 2009 I came up with this list of my favorites. All but two are now available on DVD. Check them out (or put them on hold) from the library!

(500) Days of Summer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zoey Deschanel star in this story, told out of sequence, of boy meets girl. I love that this movie doesn't follow the boring "romantic comedy" rules. Gordon-Levitt is one of the most talented young actors working today. Find it in the catalog!
 
Adventureland: A movie about twenty-somethings working at a theme park during the summer of 1987. The movie's 1980s details (music, clothes) don't overshadow how the feelings and situations faced by the characters can fit into any decade: You've graduated college and are supposed to move on to the next phase of your life, but you're not entirely sure what that next phase is. Stand-out performances from actors Jesse Eisenberg and Martin Starr. Find it in the catalog!

Bright Star: Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw are mesmerizing in this movie about the romance between the poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne. Possibly still playing in theaters.

Fantastic Mr. Fox: Based on the 1970 children's book by Roald Dahl, Wes Anderson directs this animated stop-motion film filled with whimsical details that is fun for moviegoers of all ages. George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Jason Schwartzman do excellent voice-over work as a family of foxes who are pushed out of their home by three farmers. After watching Fantastic Mr. Fox you'll want to modify your tube socks into bandit hats, too. Still playing in theaters.

The Hangover: I am rooting for Zach Galifianakis to receive an Oscar nomination for his uproarious performance in this movie about a bachelor party gone awry in Las Vegas. Another of my favorite highlights is Ed Helms' song at the piano, in which he ponders what tigers dream about. Find it in the catalog!

I Love You, Man: Jason Segel and Paul Rudd make an awesome comedy (and musical) duo. I loved the movie so much I took my picture next to several Spanish-language posters advertising the movie when I was in Spain over the summer. Find it in the catalog!

Inglourious Basterds: Melanie Laurent steals the movie with her performance as Shosanna Dreyfus, whose entire family was killed by Nazis. Years later, when German soldier Fredrick Zoller rents her movie theater out for a private screening of his war movie she sets into motion her plans for revenge. Find it in the catalog!

Paper Heart: Comedian/musician Charlyne Li interviews people across the country about love. What I especially enjoy about this movie is how Li creates puppets and dioramas to recreate special memories shared by the interviewees, whose stories are at once sweet, moving, and hilarious. Find it in the catalog!

Star Trek: Director J.J. Abrams does a brilliant job of restarting the Star Trek franchise with actors Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Zoe Saldana, and my personal favorite Simon Pegg. Find it in the catalog!

Up: Russell, a Wilderness Explorer Scout, assists Mr. Fredericksen in an adventure that takes them to South America in a floating house tied with balloons. A good movie to watch with the whole family. "Squirrel!" Find it in the catalog!

Best films of the 2000s

Looking back on the 2000s, several movie critics have put together lists of the best films from the past ten years. Whether or not you agree with their rankings, I think it is fun to see which movies are included. Take a look at this selection of the best of the decade lists. Do you agree with the films selected? Are there any listed you will make a note to check out from the library and watch?

Owen Gleiberman, movie critic at Entertainment Weekly, lists his 10 Best Movies of the Decade. Far From Heaven (2002) is his top choice.

Entertainment Weekly staff members pick the 10 Best Movies of the Decade! Their top spot goes to the Lord of the Rings trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003).

Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips chooses his 10 favorite films of the decade. He picks There Will Be Blood (2007) as his #1 film.

Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire writes about movies in the 2000s in the article Decade big on remakes, reboots and raunchy rom-coms. Gire selects The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2004) as the most influential film of the decade.

Writers at the AV Club highlight their 50 Best films of the '00s, with the top spot going to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2003).

DVDs out December 22nd

(500) Days of Summer: A romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Boy believes Girl to be he his soul-mate, based on a mutual love of The Smiths and surrealist artist René Magritte. Boy's earnestness must overcome Girl's aloofness.
Find 500 Days of Summer in the catalog!

All About Steve: The worst movie of 2009? Sure, some people have said that. But the 6% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes would seem to mitigate that claim. Sandra Bullock stars as a manic crossword puzzle writer, obsessed with Bradley Cooper and patent leather go-go boots.
Find All About Steve in the catalog!

District 9: An intriguing mix of Office-style pseudo-documentary and sci-fi action. District 9 was a surprise box-office hit that has already been hailed as a classic. Directed by Neill Blomkamp. Produced by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, King Kong).
Find District 9 in the catalog!

Extract: Mike Judge is best known as the creator of the animated television shows Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill, but he has directed several "live action" comedies (including Office Space, a masterpiece of workplace angst). Judge's latest film stars Jason Bateman as the disenchanted head of a flavor-extract company. Also starring: Ben Affleck, Kristen Wiig, and Mila Kunis.
Find Extract in the catalog!

Brittany Murphy: 1977-2009

Clueless (1995)

Girl, Interrupted (1999)

8 Mile (2002)

Spun (2002)

Just Married (2003)

Uptown Girls (2003)

Little Black Book (2004)

Sin City (2005)

The Dead Girl (2006)

The Ramen Girl (2008)

What we're listening to: Songs for Christmas by Sufjan Stevens

The same old Christmas songs dominate the radio and the insides of stores and malls; how many times can you hear "The Christmas Song" overdone by chart-topping singers? For something different, listen to this five-disc set of Christmas songs from Sufjan Stevens. Released in 2006, each disc is an EP that was previously only given to his friends and family from 2001-2006. Well-known traditional Christmas songs like "We Three Kings," "Little Drummer Boy," and "Away in a Manger" are included, as well as lesser known traditional songs (at least to my ears), like "Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming." Stevens also contributes original songs with unique titles you won't find anywhere else, like "It's Christmas! Let's Be Glad!" and "Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!"

I really enjoy the arrangements of the songs, especially the ones where Stevens plays the banjo. I feel that the musicians on each song are genuinely celebrating the spirit of Christmas; the performances have a grassroots, down home feel to them. The music is a perfect fit for walking in the snow, putting up decorations, or baking cookies. I keep finding myself replaying the first disc, Noel, with its stripped down sound and arrangements of "O Come O Come Emmanuel" and "Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming." On these songs especially Stevens' vocals and the song arrangements convey a particular "joyful sadness" that I can't help but be drawn to. In the essay "Christmas Tube Socks," included in the CD booklet, Stevens comments on the "joyful sadness" of Christmas songs, and I think that phrase is a good descriptor for many of the Christmas songs included in this set.

The boxed set also includes a fun booklet with chord charts, song lyrics, and drawings!
Find it in the catalog!

Books are going to the movies

Have you read any of the recent movies playing in theaters? Several movies in theaters or coming to theaters are based on popular books: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, Push by Sapphire (which Precious is based on), Me and Orson Welles by Robert Kaplow, and Up in the Air by Walter Kirn.

To browse a list of movies we have on DVD that are based on books, you can do an easy catalog search. Enter the search phrase based on the novel and dvd and hit enter or click on the "words or phrase" button. Be prepared for a long list of DVDs (over 500 results). Movies based on short stories or plays won't turn up in the results, though.

If you're wondering what novel a particular movie is based on, first click the "Details" button for the item. Then, click on the "Catalog Record" tab. The phrase "Based on the novel by [Author Name]" will be in one of the general notes. In the catalog record for Slumdog Millionaire we see that this movie is based on Vikas Swarup's book Q & A:

A good source to find a list of books and short stories made into movies is provided by the Mid-Continent Public Library in Missouri, on their Based on the Book website.

Here are some fairly recent movies on DVD I have seen and enjoyed that were adapted from books. Watch them or read them in their original book forms!

• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) starring Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt, based on the 1983 novel by Ron Hansen
• Atonement (2007) starring Keira Knightley and James McEvoy, based on the 2002 novel by Ian McEwan
• Children of Men (2006) starring Clive Owen, based on the 1993 novel by P.D. James
• The Devil Wears Prada (2006) starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, based on the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger
• Gone Baby Gone (2007) starring Casey Affleck, based on the 1998 novel by Dennis Lehane
• Little Children (2006) starring Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson, based on the 2004 novel by Tom Perrotta
• Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, based on the 2006 novel by Rachel Cohn
• No Country for Old Men (2007) starring Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Tommy Lee Jones; based on the 2005 novel by Cormac McCarthy
• The Notebook (2004) starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, based on the 1996 novel by Nicholas Sparks
• The Prestige (2006) starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, based on the 1985 novel The Glamour by Christopher Priest
• Revolutionary Road (2008) starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, based on the 1961 novel by Richard Yates
• There Will Be Blood (2007) starring Daniel Day-Lewis, based on the 1927 novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair
• Watchmen (2009) starring Jackie Earle Haley and Billy Crudup, based on the 1987 graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

DVDs out December 15th

G-Force: A team of highly trained government agents save the world from an evil billionaire's diabolical scheme. Only the agents are a quartet of guinea pigs, a cockroach, a fly, and a star-nosed mole. This family-friendly Disney adventure was the #1 movie in the country this past summer. Celebrity rodent voices include: Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, and Sam Rockwell.
Find G-Force in the catalog!

The Hangover: Another huge box-office hit from the summer of 2009, The Hangover stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms (Andy from The Office), and Zach Galifianakis as the bewildered leads in this post-bachelor party comedy. Cameos include Las Vegas regulars: Mike Tyson, Wayne Newton, and...Carrot Top.
Find The Hangover in the catalog!

Inglourious Basterds: Somewhat disingenuously touted as Quentin Tarantino's take on The Dirty Dozen (1967), Inglourious Basterds is so uniquely the work of its idiosyncratic director that the result is virtually indescribable. Tarantino is always divisive, and certainly many viewers will be put off by the film's pulpy violence and refusal to adhere to war-movie conventions. For this reviewer's money, Inglourious Basterds is one of the outstanding films of 2009 and the director's best work since Reservoir Dogs (1992).
Find Inglourious Basterds in the catalog!

Taking Woodstock: Ang Lee has directed films as stylistically disparate as Sense and Sensibility (an adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel), Hulk (a big-budget take on the Marvel Comics superhero), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (the revolutionary multi-national martial arts sensation), and the Academy Award winning drama Brokeback Mountain. Lee's most recent film is Taking Woodstock, which examines the 1969 Woodstock Festival from the fortuitous perspective of Elliot Tiber (played by actor/comedian Demetri Martin). Based on Tiber's memoir Taking Woodstock: a True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life, published in 2007.
Find Taking Woodstock in the catalog!

Music Roundup: My Top 10 Albums of 2009

It is difficult to recap the many songs/records/videos/performers that have made an impact on you in a given year. But, I've given it some thought and compiled a list of my personal - very subjective - top ten albums of 2009. These albums are not ranked. They are ordered alphabetically, which seemed the most democratic way to list them. (Although, in a way, every new Bill Callahan album will be my favorite album of the year.) I limited myself to "new" music released in 2009. So, this list doesn't include such recently released live recordings as James Brown's Live at the Garden or Leonard Cohen's Live at the Isle of Wight, 1970. Both of which are incredible, by the way. Feel free to comment or list some of your own favorites!

What we're listening to: The Fame by Lady Gaga

I know I'm a little behind the times, as The Fame came out in 2008, but I only recently got a copy from the library after being on the hold list since late March. That's how popular Lady Gaga's music is, and I can see why. The Fame is full of fun, addictive dance songs you'll want to play over and over again. Lady Gaga often gets attention for her crazy outfits and awards-show performances. Focus on her music and you'll see she is a powerful singer and songwriter; she co-wrote all the songs on the album. Her creative music videos and outfits are just icing on the cake. My favorite songs on the album include "Poker Face," "Just Dance," "Lovegame," and "Starstruck." The Fame was recently nominated for several Grammy awards, including Album of the Year and Best Electronic/Dance Album. The undeniably catchy song "Poker Face," produced by RedOne, received nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Dance Recording. The Fame has also recently been re-released in a deluxe edition called The Fame Monster, which includes 8 new songs, including "Bad Romance." Lady Gaga is currently on "The Monster Ball Tour" and will perform at the Chicago Theatre January 8, 9, and 10.


Find it in the catalog!