Pan’s Labyrinth

Discussion on December 13th

Register and pick up your copy of the DVD starting December 2nd.

Director & Screenwriter: Guillermo del Toro

Stars: Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo

Plot: When young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her mother go to live with her new stepfather on a rural military outpost during the Spanish Civil War, she finds herself in a world of unimaginable cruelty. Soon Ofelia finds the creatures of her imagination in which she used to escape have become a reality and she must battle them to save both her mother and herself. In the terrifying battle that ensues, Ofelia soon learns that innocence has a power that evil cannot imagine.

I’d like to set up the dvd selections for the first few months of the new year. Here’s a few newer titles I’ve been considering. If you click the title you can see the library’s catalog entry:

• Black Book
• Volver
• The Namesake
• The Wind that Shakes the Barley
• Notes on a Scandal
• The Lookout
• The Lives of Others
• Grizzly Man
• Rabbit-Proof Fence
• Magdalene Sisters

Children of Men (2006)

Discussion on November 8th

Register and pick up your copy of the DVD starting November 1st.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Stars: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Claire-Hope Ashitey, Pam Ferris, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Plot: London, 2027. Humanity has become infertile and no child has been born for 18 years. Immigration is a crime and refugees are caged like animals. The world is torn apart by nuclear fallout, terrorism and political rebellion. In this climate of nationalistic violence, a London peace activist turned bureaucrat Theo Faron (Clive Owen), joins forces with Julian (Julianne Moore), his revolutionary ex-wife, in order to save mankind by protecting a woman who has mysteriously become pregnant.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Discussion on October 11th

Register and pick up your copy of the DVD starting October 1st.

Director: Michel Gondry

Stars: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson

Plot: When Joel (Jim Carrey) discovers that his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind through an experimental scientific procedure, he decides to ease his own pain by getting the same treatment. But, as each memory of Clementine is systematically eliminated, Joel suddenly realizes how much he still loves her and desperately attempts to reverse the process.

August 9th discussion : Mrs. Henderson Presents

Register for this discussion starting August 1st.

Pick up your copies of the DVDs starting August 1st.

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2006)

Director: Stephen Frears

Stars: Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Will Young, Kelly Reilly, Thelma Barlow, Christopher Guest.

Plot: Recently widowed and well-to-do Laura Henderson needs a diversion to see her through war torn London. On a whim she buys the derelict Windmill theatre in the West End and persuades impresario Vivian Van Damm to run it. The two don't seem to get along at all. Although their idea of a non-stop revue is at first a success, other theatres begin to copy the idea and disaster looms. Laura suggests they put nudes in the show, but Van Damm points out that the Lord Chamberlain, who licenses live shows in Britain, is likely to have something to say about this. Luckily for Laura, she is friends with him.

July 12th discussion : Dangerous Living - Coming Out in the Developing World & Fire

Register for this discussion starting June 1st.

Pick up your copies of the DVDs starting June 7th.

Dangerous Living - Coming Out in the Developing World (2003)

Director: John Scagliotti

Narrator: Janeane Garofalo

Plot: A feature-length documentary that explores the immense changes that occurred for gays, lesbians and transgender people living in the Global South. In the last decade of the 20th Century, a new heightened visibility began spreading throughout the developing world and the battles between families, fundamentalist religions, and governments around sexual and gender identity had begun. But in the West, few people knew about this historic social upheaval, until 52 men on Cairo’s Queen Boat discothèque were arrested for crimes of debauchery. That explosive story focused attention to the lives and trials of gay people coming out in the developing world and the film chronicles those events.

Fire (1996)

Director: Deepa Mehta

Screenwriter: Deepa Mehta

Plot: This movie explores a love that develops between a woman and her sister in law, helped along by her new husband's neglect and infidelity, as well as her brother in law's religious preoccupation. In a society where this sort of love (read: lesbianism) is neither defined nor accepted, these women struggle to maintain their love in secret until finally, like the Goddess Sita, one must face the "trial by fire".

June 14th discussion : Brokeback Mountain & TransAmerica

Register for this discussion starting June 1st.

Pick up your copies of the DVDs starting June 7th.

Brokeback Mountain
Director: Ang Lee

Screenplay: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana; based on the short story by Annie Proulx

Stars: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid

Plot: “An epic love story set against the sweeping vistas of Alberta's Rocky Mountains, Brokeback Mountain tells the story of two young men - a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy - who meet in the summer of 1963, and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection, one whose complications, joys and tragedies provide a testament to the endurance and power of love.” Focus Features plot summary via imdb.com

Review links:

Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times

David Edelstein Slate

Lisa Anne Cockrel Christianity Today

Read more reviews:

IMDB

Metacritic

Transamerica
Director: Duncan Tucker

Screenplay: Duncan Tucker

Stars: Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegars, Fionnula Flanagan, Burt Young, Graham Greene

Plot: “Huffman plays Bree Osbourne, a conservative transsexual woman, who learns she is the parent of a long-lost 17-year-old son (Kevin Zegers). The wheels of fortune take Bree and son on a cross-country adventure, including a memorable visit with Bree’s parents, that will change both of their lives. A funny, touching, completely original look at the modern American family” Product description via amazon.com

Review links:

Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times

David Edelstein Slate

Read more reviews:
IMDB
Metacritic

Once Were Warriors and Whale Rider - discussion on 5/10

Register online for this discussion starting 4/26

Once Were Warriors
Director: Lee Tamahori
Screenplay: Riwia Brown, Alan Duff (novel)
Stars: Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian Arahanga
Plot: " New Zealand filmmaker Lee Tamahori (The Edge) directed this brutal but powerful story drawn from the culture of poverty and alienation enveloping contemporary Maori life. Rena Owen plays the beleaguered mother of two boys--one of whom is already in prison while the other contemplates membership in a gang--and a daughter whose potential is being smothered at home. Temuera Morrison gives an outstanding and sometimes shocking performance as the violent head of the household, more adept at keeping up his social stature within his community of friends than holding down a job. The film pulls no punches, literally and figuratively, but despite the rough going, Tamahori gives us a rare and important insight into a disenfranchised people digging down deep to find their pride. --Tom Keogh [Amazon.com]


Whale Rider
Director: Niki Caro
Screenplay: Niki Caro, Witi Ihimaera (novel)
Stars: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis
Plot: On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny. [IMDB]

Amen.

Register for this discussion starting 3/29

Director: Costa-Gavras
Screenplay: Jean-Claude Grumberg and Costa-Gavras
Stars: Ulrich Tukur, Mathieu Kassovitz, Ulrich Mühe
Plot: During World War II, Kurt Gerstein, an SS officer and chemical engineer, works with an Italian Jesuit priest to alert Pope Pius XII and the world to the extermination of Jews and other "vermin" in the concentration camps.

Akeelah and the Bee

Register for this discussion starting 2/8
Director : Doug Atchison
Screenplay : Doug Atchison
Stars : Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Curtis Armstrong
Plot : An inspirational drama, Akeelah and the Bee is the story of Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer), a precocious eleven-year-old girl from south Los Angeles with a gift for words. Despite the objections of her mother Tanya (Angela Bassett), Akeelah enters various spelling contests, for which she is tutored by the forthright Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne); her principal Mr. Welch (Curtis Armstrong) and the proud residents of her neighborhood. Akeelah’s aptitude earns her an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and in turn unites her neighborhood who witness the courage and inspiration of one amazing little girl.

Hustle & Flow

Register for this discussion starting 2/2
Director : Craig Brewer
Screenplay : Craig Brewer
Stars : Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, DJ Qualls, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges
Plot : DJay (Terrence Howard) is a Memphis hustler who spends most days in a parked Chevy philosophizing about life while Nola (Taryn Manning) turns tricks in the backseat. He's not very good at pimping, but he can hustle almost anything or anyone and makes enough to keep himself and three girls satisfied and housed in his shotgun home. DJay however is in the midst of a midlife crisis; he quietly harbors dreams of becoming a respected rapper. When he learns from a local club owner, Arnel (Isaac Hayes), that rap mogul Skinny Black (Ludacris) is rolling through town, DJay decides to record his flow with the hopes of slipping his demo to Skinny. With little help from his friends and "family" DJay sets in motion the hustle of his life, and galvanizes the lives of those around him as they learn that "Everybody's gotta have a dream."

Crash - Discussion 2/1 7pm

Register for this discussion starting 1/25

Director : Paul Haggis

Screenplay : Paul Haggis

Stars : Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, Larenz Tate, Michael Peña, Shaun Toub

Plot : A car accident brings together a group of strangers in Los Angeles. “Crash” takes a provocative, unflinching look at the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America.

And the nominees are...

Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards were announced this morning; check them out here.

The winners for the 64th Annual Golden Globes can be found here.

Golden Globes Tonight!

The Golden Globe Awards air tonight at 8 pm on NBC. Nominees include Forrest Whitaker for his role as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland, Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness, Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Hudson for their roles in Dreamgirls, and British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor for Kinky Boots.