Catch a free movie at the library in November

Tickets are available now at the Information Desk for our free movies in November. We show the movies downstairs in the Meeting Room and provide free popcorn and refreshments. Come join us!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Monday, November 16 at 6 PM
Race to Witch Mountain: Thursday, November 19 at 6 PM
Monsters vs. Aliens: Saturday, November 21 at 2 PM

Attendees of our movies in November get the first chance to get their tickets for our free December movies: Star Trek, Up, White Christmas, and The Shop Around the Corner!

Slam dunk these basketball-related DVDs

Basketball season has started up again! (GO BULLS!!)  Here is a list of DVDs in our collection you may want to put on hold or check out if you are a basketball fan.

Air Bud
J-DVD FICTION AIR
Find it in the catalog!

Coach Carter
DVD FICTION COACH
Find it in the catalog!

Crossover
DVD FICTION CROSSOVER
Find it in the catalog!

Finding Forrester
DVD FICTION FINDING
Find it in the catalog!

Glory Road
DVD FICTION GLORY
Find it in the catalog!

The Heart of the Game
DVD 796.323 HEA
Find it in the catalog!

Hoop Dreams
DVD 796.323 HOO
Find it in the catalog!

Hoosiers
DVD FICTION HOOSIERS
Find it in the catalog!

Space Jam
J-DVD FICTION SPACE
Find it in the catalog!

Buffalo Grove Theatres are a bargain

If you refuse to pay $10 to see a movie then Buffalo Grove Theatres are right up your alley. Located in the Town Center shopping center, this chain of theaters has been around since the late 1980s.  Second-run and first-run movies are shown on the five screens. In the past only second-run movies were shown here but recently some first-run movies have been added. Second-run shows are $2, and on Tuesdays they are only $1.50!  For first-run shows (after 5:30) the price is $5; the discounted price for students and seniors is $4.50. The matinee price for shows before 5:30 is $4.25.

UPDATE (12/11/09): Second-run shows are no longer being shown; all the shows currently shown at the theater are first-run ($5 after 5:30).

You do have to sit through commercials and a few trailers, but I think the number is less than you would find at an AMC.

And as long as you're in the neighborhood you should definitely stop to eat at the Buffalo Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor, located right down the road (1180 W. Lake Cook Rd). Why? Just take a look at the sundae I ordered after a recent trip to the movies to see Paper Heart:

Yum! is right.

Buffalo Grove Theaters
120 McHenry Road, Buffalo Grove, IL
Website

DVDs out Oct. 27th

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan: The popular sci-fi series as viewed from the perspective of the cylons . If you know what a cylon is, then this is probably mandatory viewing. Otherwise, not so much.
Find it in the catalog!

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: The familiar Pleistocene characters are back, this time with dinosaurs. Roger Ebert calls it "the best of the three films."
Find it in the catalog!

Orphan: A horror flick in the vein of The Bad Seed and The Good Son. Stars Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard.
Find it in the catalog!

Whatever Works: Larry David takes his curmudgeon shtick to new extremes in Woody Allen's latest film. Also starring: Evan Rachel Wood and Patricia Clarkson.
Find it in the catalog!

Scene stealer: Rinko Kikuchi

Last night I watched The Brothers Bloom, about a pair of con men brothers working their last con. I enjoy caper movies, and this did not dissapoint. It's also not hard to enjoy great actors such as Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo, and Adrien Brody. However, the actor that stood out to me was Rinko Kikuchi in the role of Bang Bang, obviously the least high profile (in this country) of the actors.

Kikuchi was able to set the mood and style of the movie perfectly and was responsible for most of the humor throughout the film. And she did all of this with virtually no dialogue. There are a few moments that stand out in my mind, one of which being when Bang Bang and Stephen (Ruffalo) are watching Bloom (Brody) ride a bike precariously into the path of the mark, Penelope (Weisz), and they hold up score cards to indicate his form. Bang Bang adjusts her cards as the scene becomes further complicated. It's funnier than my explanation could ever be.

When the credits rolled I recognized her name, but could not place her. I realized then that she was in the ensemble cast of Babel, another excellent turn by this Japanese actress. She was nominated for an Oscar for this role in which she played a deaf daughter trying to get the attention of her emotionally absent father. Once again, no dialogue for Kikuchi.

It seems she should seek out parts that do not require her to speak . . .

The Brothers Bloom Find it in the catalog!

Babel Find it in the catalog!

What we're listening to...

Oh My God, Charlie Darwin - The Low Anthem

I highly recommend this album, particularly the opening track, simply titled "Charlie Darwin." There are a couple rambunctious rockers on this record, which are great by the way, but the majority of the songs here are quietly yearning acoustic numbers. Track #3, "Ticket Taker," sounds something like Mark Kozelek's work on Songs for a Blue Guitar; a deceptively simple guitar arrangement coupled with literate, heartbreaking lyrics. You're likely to see Oh My God, Charlie Darwin on more than a few Best of 2009 lists.

Find it in the catalog!

You can listen to select tracks from the album on the band's website:

www.lowanthem.com

Cornish and Whishaw make Bright Star shine

Bright Star, written and directed by Jane Campion, tells the story of the romance between the poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw from Brideshead Revisited) and his neighbor Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish from Stop-Loss). Despite the sad ending I knew was coming (Keats died at the age of 25) I really enjoyed watching this movie; the cinematography is so amazing that the beautiful images remain clear in my mind.

Keats' friend Charles Brown (Paul Schneider of TV's Park and Recreation) and Fanny's family say that Keats is poor and cannot offer Fanny a stable life. But they share a strong connection and cannot help how they feel. The chemistry between Cornish and Whishaw makes this movie special. Even during the silences the viewer can feel the passion between them. In one scene, after being away, Keats watches as Fanny opens a trunk of clothes for him. The look on his face is that of pure admiration and love. In another scene Keats and Fanny weave their hands together while sitting next to each other and the impact is ten times as powerful as any heavy make-out session found in any number of romantic comedies or dramas. I think both Cornish and Whishaw deserve Oscar nominations for their performances; the movie wouldn't be the same without them. Bright Star had been playing at the AMC in South Barrington but has already disappeared, which I found disappointing; I was able to catch a show at the Glen Art in Glen Ellyn. I'm willing to bet that when Oscar season rolls around more theaters will book it again.

• Now playing at the Glen Art Theatre (540 Crescent Blvd, Glen Ellyn) and Loews Pipers Alley 4 (1608 N. Wells St, Chicago)
• 1 hour 59 minutes
• Rated PG

Werewolf on the prowl

This week's Movie Night selection is The Wolf Man (1941), starring Lon Chaney, Jr. as the titular monster. This Universal horror classic was essentially a "B" picture at the time of its release; that is to say it was a low-budget genre film, meant to make a quick profit for the the studio. Nearly 70 years later, The Wolf Man has outlasted many of the studio's prestige pictures and become a permanent part of American popular culture, alongside Dracula, Frankenstein and The Invisible Man.

Watch it with us!

Wednesday, October 21st, at 6 PM in the Library meeting room. The film is 70 minutes in duration. Doors open at 5:30. Popcorn is on us.

Is it magic perfume? Yi conducts interviews about love in Paper Heart

The inventive docudrama Paper Heart received a limited release over the summer and I have only recently been able to see it now that it's playing in Buffalo Grove. And wow, was it worth the wait. Comedian and musician Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up) doesn't believe in love and travels across the country interviewing couples, professors, motorcycle bikers, kids, and friends (including actors Martin Starr, Seth Rogen, and Dmetri Martin) about love. She asks couples how they met, how they knew they were in love, and how they define love. Yi also asks them to share a special story about their relationship; she creatively uses homemade puppets and dioramas to illustrate these stories. During her travels Yi is accompanied by a film crew including director Nicholas Jasenovec (played by Jake M. Johnson). Yes, this is confusing. Jasenovic directed and co-wrote the movie with Yi but he is played by an actor. The lines between fiction and reality are further blurred when Yi meets actor Michael Cera (Superbad) and they begin to date. The film goes back and forth between Yi's interviews and her blossoming romance with Cera, who feels uncomfortable being filmed by the cameras. Is Yi falling in love, something she thought she never would be able to do?

The soundtrack, which features both Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi, is awesome as well. Since I saw the movie I haven't been able to get Yi's "Magic Perfume" out of my head. If you aren't able to catch Paper Heart in the theater then be sure to reserve a copy when it's available on DVD December 1.

• Now playing at Buffalo Grove Theatres (120 McHenry Rd, Buffalo Grove)
• 1 hour 28 minutes
• Rated PG-13 (It does not deserve that rating; I'd rate it PG)