DVDs out August 17th

Furry Vengeance: This family-friendly comedy features Brendan Fraser as a businessman whose latest land-development project raises the ire of the area's woodland creatures. Yes, it's man vs. nature. Co-starring: Brooke Shields, Matt Prokop, and Angela Kinsey. And, keep an eye out for professional scene-stealers Ken Jeong and Wallace Shawn.
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The Last Song: Miley Cyrus takes the lead in this latest adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel. Cyrus stars as Veronica "Ronnie" Miller, a teenager whose life is forever changed by a summer spent at her father's home on Tybee Island, Georgia. Ronnie's father is played by the reliably affable Greg Kinnear, and Liam Hemsworth plays Ronnie's believably shirtless love interest. For those of us less susceptible to the treacly charms of Mr. Sparks and Co., I recommend Heather's light-hearted debunking of the Sparks franchise over on the Readers Block.
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Black Keys and the Morning Benders at Metro, 8/7/10

While the Black Keys were in town last weekend to play at summer music festival behemoth Lollapalooza, they also played a late night show at the Metro in Wrigleyville. I am a pretty big fan of the duo from Akron, Ohio, having previously expressed my love for their stellar album Rubber Factory (seriously, listen it to it!).  However, summer music festivals aren't my favorite, something about the combination of port-a-potties, the hot summer sun, and poor sound quality just doesn't appeal to me.  So naturally I opted to see the Metro show instead and was one of the lucky few non-Lolla attendees to snag tickets. 

When I first approached Metro, I saw a line winding pretty far down Clark St.  I've attended shows that were sold out before, but never quite this popular.  California indie rockers the Morning Benders opened for the Keys.  I've been enjoying their most recent album, Big Echo, throughout the summer.  It's a nice blend of shoe-gazer and 60s pop-inspired harmonies that manages to sound both old-fashioned and fresh at the same time.  The band had more of a forceful, guitar heavy sound in concert and performed a really enjoyable set.  Lead singer Christopher Chu was a sarcastic but genial stage presence that slowly won over an initially indifferent crowd.  Also, I feel obliged to mention that the Morning Benders are pretty cute in a skinny hipster sort of way.  I'd recommend the band to fans of the Arctic Monkeys, the Shins, or Beach House.

During the break between the Morning Benders and the Black Keys sets, I noticed that the girl in front of me kept looking up in the balcony with a mixture of surprise and (I thought) disgust.  I assumed someone was doing something stupid, so I looked up there too.  Much to my surprise, I saw the pretty, brooding face of Ed Westwick aka. Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl.  I felt sort of bad for him, because Chicago audiences aren't quite as cool to celebrities as in New York and L.A.; people were gawking and taking pictures.  Also, he was stuck up in the balcony rather than being able to rock out in the pit like the rest of us.

The Black Keys took the stage a little after midnight.  Their set featured songs from all six of their albums, though their most recent album Brothers was definitely the focus; they played about 10 songs off of it.   They played primarily singles from their older albums, making the show a good primer for newer Keys fans.  However, as a nerd, I couldn't help but wish they played some deeper cuts too.  Nonetheless, this was definitely an awesome show.  I've always been impressed by Dan Auerbach's guitar work, but live, I was blown away by how amazingly talented he is. He's the equivalent of all four Midlake guitarists in one impressively bearded guitar player.  The Keys started out as a duo and were later joined on stage by a touring bassist and guitar player.  I can't say I really noticed a radical different in sound between the two piece and four piece Black Keys. Dan and drummer Patrick Carney are able to rock enough on their own.  Highlights of their set include: "10 A.M. Automatic" from Rubber Factory, "I Got Mine" from  Attack and Release, a cover of Junior Kimbrough's "Everywhere I Go" from Thickfreakness, and "She's Long Gone" and "Everlasting Light" from Brothers. My only real quibble with the set was the closer, "Sinister Kid," which is my second least favorite song off of Brothers ("Unknown Brother" is my number one and thankfully wasn't played).  It's not a terrible song, but with an incredible song catalog, they could have done much better (like "The Lengths").  Also, it has sort of a weird rhythm, so there was lots awkward dancing going on in the crowd.  Still this was definitely among my top two shows of the year so far. 

The audience for the show was definitely on the rowdy side.  Most of the people had attended Lollapalooza first, so they were more than ready to party, and it was a guy-heavy crowd.  The show started out crowded and wound up stuffed to the brim.  Between the geeky, in-place dancing done by most the audience (myself very much included) and the sizable crowd, most of the audience was pretty sweaty by the end of the night.  It was a fun and enthusiastic crowd that sang along with most of the songs and cheered wildly for everything, except Dan's confessed Lady Gaga love.

DVDs out August 10th

Date Night: The much anticipated match-up of comic heavyweights Steve Carell and Tina Fey. The duo play a couple whose somewhat dreary marriage is tested - and subsequently reinvigorated - by a night in Manhattan that goes drastically awry. Carell and Fey make the most of familiar material, finding a certain sweetness in the sometimes prickly characters. Supporting cast: Mark Wahlberg makes for a solid straight-man, and the quarrelsome James Franco and Mila Kunis nearly steal the show. My earlier Media Corner review can be found here.
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Death at a Funeral: An amiable American remake of the 2007  British film of the same name. This madcap funeral differs very little from the original, but proves to be pretty funny in its own right. The large cast includes: Danny Glover, Regina Hall, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, and Luke Wilson. Directed by Neil LaBute (Your Friends & Neighbors, Lakeview Terrace).
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The Joneses: A satirical comedy centered on an all-too-perfect suburban family. David Duchovny and Demi Moore star as an affluent couple whose consumerism make them the envy of their neighbors. Co-starring: Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth, and Gary Cole.
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Letters to God: An "inspirational drama"  based on the true story of a young boy's bout with cancer and the effect his religious faith has on his community. This is a Christian-themed film from the producer of Facing the Giants and Fireproof.
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Scene Stealer: Lizzy Caplan

 Lizzy Caplan is probably best known for playing sarcastic best friend roles.  Her break out performance was as Janis Ian in the teen satire Mean Girls.  Janis is easily the best thing about that movie with her mean but funny comments on the general stupidity of high school life.  Anyone who felt like an outcast in high school will relate to her character.  On the HBO series True Blood she played Amy Burley, Jason Stackhouse's V (vampire blood drug) addicted girl friend.  Amy was a ruthless and fairly unlikable character who corrupted the semi-moral but stupid Jason into kidnapping a vampire to get his blood. Caplan's performance as Amy was an interesting departure from Janis Ian.  Amy is a bohemian and pseudo-intellectual, she's selfish and manipulative and yet you can kind of understand why Jason falls for her in the first place.

My favorite role of her's is Casey Klein from the brilliant but canceled Party Down.  Casey is an aspiring comedian working temporarily as a catering waitress.  Casey has a lot of flaws, she's insecure, a disrespectful employee (always taking personal calls while working), and she can be insensitive (like when she leaves Henry to take a job as a comedian on a cruise ship).  But she's also funny, smart and the only person who encourages and believes in Henry's acting career.  Henry and Casey are one of my favorite TV couples.

Lizzy Caplan is frequently compared to manic pixie dream girl extraordinaire Zooey Deschanel.  Both actresses have similarly husky voices, frequently play sardonic characters, and are masters of the side eye.  However, I think Lizzy more consistently chooses believable and complex characters. 

Check out Lizzy in one of the DVDs we have at the library:

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010).
Probably the closest Caplan has come to playing a manic pixie dream girl.  She's the girl John Cusack's character notices the second time he relives his 80s ski weekend.  It's easy to see why the older and more mature Cusack would fall for her instead of his pretty but vapid girlfriend.
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Party Down (2009-2010).
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True Blood (2008).
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Cloverfield (2008). 
Caplan plays Marlena Diamond, who in her typical fashion is a sarcastic outsider.  However, when she and her friends get chased by the Cloverfield monster, Marlena is surprisingly heroic.
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Mean Girls (2004).
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Freaks and Geeks (1999). 
Here she plays Sarah, a disco enthusiast who dates Nick Andopolis (Jason Segel) after his mega crush Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) dumps him.  Probably one of my favorite TV shows ever and a great place to see all of the Judd Apatow regulars before they were a big deal.
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Patricia Neal: 1926-2010

Patricia Neal, an Oscar Winner Who Endured Tragedy, Dies at 84

If you have not seen the 1963 film Hud, I strongly encourage you to do so. What follows is a list of highlights from Neal's decades-long Hollywood career.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
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A Face in the Crowd (1957)
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Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
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Hud (1963)
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Cookie's Fortune (1999)
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Free movies in August at the Dundee Library

Come to the library in August for a free movie! Popcorn, drinks, and a movie on the big screen, all for free! All movies are shown in the downstairs Meeting Room. You do not need to make reservations or get tickets to attend. The door to the Meeting Room opens 30 minutes before showtime. First come, first served (audience capacity is limited to 80 people).

The Young Victoria
Wednesday, August 18 at 6 PM
Rated PG

Hachi: A Dog's Tale
Saturday, August 21 at 2 PM
Rated G

Jaws
Tuesday, August 24 at 6 PM
Rated PG-13
Classic Movie Night!

Scene stealer: Bobby Cannavale

The entire cast of 2003 film The Station Agent is superb: Peter Dinklage plays the town newcomer, Finbar, who is mourning his friend and wants to be left alone. Patricia Clarkson portrays the lonely divorcee, Olivia, who is mourning a loss as well. Yet, it is Bobby Cannavale, as Joe, mourning no one, that is a revelation. Joe is the enthusiastic and pesky hot dog vendor who worms his way into the lives of the other characters (especially the standoffish Finbar). Joe's motivation to pursue the relationships seems to be curiosity and bordem. The audience must care about Joe because it is through him that the storyline progresses. To be annoying yet still likeable is the balancing act that Cannavale must perform-- which he does to absolute realization. 

But let's face it, Cannavale's character isn't new to the cinematic realm (think Kramer from Seinfeld).  However, Cannavale adds such leveity to the film that deals with some heavier issues (dwarfism, death). He is responsible for a majority of the humor throughout this dramedy. His performance proves that often the humorous performances are better (and sometimes more difficult) than the crying on cue ones.
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A Bittersweet Curse

How seriously can you take the idea of romance between an Egyptian mummy and the archaeologist who discovers him? Not terribly, am I right? Such scenarios are generally limited to black and white horror movies and pulpy Anne Rice novels. Singer/songwriter Josh Ritter somehow manages to invest this fantastical relationship with pathos and tenderness, making "The Curse" the standout track of his 2010 album So Runs the World Away. "The Curse" is a lilting waltz with perfectly punctuated horn accompaniment and one of the most elegantly written poetic narratives in pop music. Ritter's drummer, professional puppeteer Liam Hurley, painstakingly created a visual corollary to the song that enhances its already powerful emotional impact. (You can read Hurley's thoughts on the song/video and see photos of the production process on NPR's All Songs Considered blog.) You can scoff at the perceived preciousness of an all-puppet music video, but if you're not moved by the sight of that marionette mummy reaching out to stroke the archaeologists hair (1 minute, 19 seconds into the video), then I'm not sure you're alive. Recommended for: lovers of poetic, finely wrought songs; puppeteers and puppet aficionados; video geeks; and any human being in whose chest the dried fig of a heart still beats.

The September Issue

This documentary follows Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and her staff on the fashion runways, at photo shoots, and within the Vogue offices in Times Square as they prepare the September 2007 issue of the magazine. The September issue is important because, as one staff member puts it, September is the "January in fashion. This is when I change." The September issue is also the thickest, often being compared to a telephone book.

Wintour, originally from London, grew up with 1960s fashion influences and is actually the first to use celebrities in fashion. Today we always see celebrities on magazine covers, but in the past only fashion models were used. Wintour is often described as cold, and we see why, as staff members get worked up when she rejects ideas ("I wanna kill myself.") In addition to Wintour, the documentary follows around Grace Coddington, the magazine's creative director and a fashion stylist. Originally from northern Wales, Coddington modeled for Vogue as a teenager before traveling to London to model full-time. When an auto accident ended her modeling career Coddington started work as British Vogue Junior Editor and then worked her way up. Coddington is unique in that she's a fashion stylist that actually touches the models and also retains a romantic notion about photography and fashion.

I enjoyed this documentary and found it very fascinating to look at what goes into creating an issue of a magazine. I especially liked watching Grace Coddington's photoshoots. Watching her work was definitely the highlight of the movie for me. When she re-shoots the color blocking photographs, she comes up with an idea that includes the documentary cameraman, Bob. After seeing the finished photos Wintour makes a comment that the photo needs retouching and that Bob needs to go to the gym; upon hearing Wintour's response, Coddington makes a call that she absolutely does not want his tummy airbrushed. Awesome!

This DVD set includes an entire disc of special features. One deleted scene finds Wintour upset about "horrible white plastic buckets of ice." Even if you don't check out the special features, after watching this movie you'll never look at a fashion magazine the same again.
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