Library

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: To anyone who "truly" understands what it means to be an American, Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" should be seen as a triumph of patriotic freedom. Rarely has the First Amendment been exercised with such fervor and forthrightness of purpose: After subjecting himself to charges of factual errors in his gun-lobby exposé "Bowling for Columbine", Moore armed himself with a platoon of reputable fact-checkers, an abundance of indisputable film and video footage, and his own ironically comedic sense of righteous indignation, with the singular intention of toppling the war-ravaged administration of President George W. Bush. It's the Bush presidency that Moore, with his provocative array of facts and figures, blames for corporate corruption, senseless death, unnecessary war, and political favoritism toward Osama Bin Laden's family and Saudi oil partners following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Moore's incendiary film earned Palme d'Or honors at Cannes and a predictable legion of detractors, but do yourself a favor: Ignore those who condemn the film without seeing it, and let the facts speak for themselves. By honoring American soldiers and the victims of 9/11 while condemning Bush's rationale for war in Iraq, "Fahrenheit 9/11" may actually succeed in turning the tides of history. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.0

Summary: Groundbreaking on several counts, not the least of which was an innovative use of animation and stereophonic sound, this ambitious Disney feature has lost nothing to time since its release in 1940. Classical music was interpreted by Disney animators, resulting in surreal fantasy and playful escapism. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra provided the music for eight segments by the composers Tchaikovsky, Moussorgsky, Stravinsky, Beethoven, Ponchielli, Bach, Dukas, and Schubert. Not all the sequences were created equally, but a few are simply glorious, such as "Night on Bald Mountain," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and "The Nutcracker Suite." The animation ranges from subtly delicate to fiercely bold. The screen bursts with color and action as creatures transmute and convention is thrust aside. The painstaking detail and saturated hues are unique to this film, unmatched even by more advanced technology. "--Rochelle O'Gorman"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: More ambitious in scope than any of its other animated films (before or to come), Disney's 1940 "Fantasia" was a dizzying, magical, and highly enjoyable marriage of classical music and animated images. "Fantasia 2000" features some breathtaking animation and storytelling, and in a few spots soars to wonderful high points, but it still more often than not has the feel of walking in its predecessor's footsteps as opposed to creating its own path. A family of whales swimming and soaring to Respighi's "The Pines of Rome" is magical to watch, but ends all too soon; a forest sprite's dance of life, death, and rebirth to Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" too clearly echoes the original "Fantasia"'s "Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria" sequence. But when it's on target, "Fantasia 2000" is glorious enough to make you giddy. Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is a perfect narrative set to Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2, and Donald Duck's guest appearance as the assistant to Noah (of ark fame) set to Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" marches is a welcome companion piece (though not an equal) to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", the one original "Fantasia" piece included here. The high point of "Fantasia 2000", though, is a fantastic day-in-the-life sequence of 1930s New York City set to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and animated in the style of cartoonist Al Hirschfeld; it's a perfect melding of music, story, and animation. Let's hope future "Fantasia"s (reportedly in the works) take a cue from the best of this compilation. The music is provided by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Levine, interspersed with negligible intros by Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Itzhak Perlman, James Earl Jones, and others. "--Mark Englehart"

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: Before he became an overrated filmmaker, Cameron Crowe ("Jerry Maguire") was a reporter for "Rolling Stone" who was so youthful looking that he could go undercover for a year at a California high school and write a book about it. He wrote the script for this film, based on that book, and it launched the careers of several young actors, including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, and, above all, Sean Penn. The story line is episodic, dealing with the lives of iconic teen types: one of the school's cool kids, a nerd, a teen queen, and, most enjoyably, the class stoner (Penn), who finds himself at odds with a strict history teacher (a wonderfully spiky Ray Walston). This is not a great movie but very entertaining and, for a certain age group, a seminal movie experience. "--Marshall Fine"

Languages: English

Summary: Like a soda pop left open all night, "Bueller" seems to have lost its effervescence over time. Sure, Matthew Broderick is still appealing as the perennial truant, Ferris, who fakes his parents out and takes one memorable day off from school. Jeffrey Jones is nasty and scheming as the principal who's out to catch him. Jennifer Grey is winning as Ferris's sister (who ends up making out in the police station with a prophetic vision of Charlie Sheen). But there's a definite sense that this film was of a particular time frame: the '80s. It's still fun, though. There's Ferris singing "Twist and Shout" during a Chicago parade, and a lovely sequence in the Art Institute. But don't get it and expect your kids to love it the way you did. Like it or not, it's yours alone. "--Keith Simanton"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The Farrelly brothers continue their good-natured winning streak with "Fever Pitch", a romantic comedy charmed by fate and last-minute improvisation. The movie was originally written with a bittersweet ending, but something unexpected happened (kismet, or perhaps divine intervention?) when the Boston Red Sox scored miraculous victories in the 2004 playoffs and World Series, and Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon were there, in character, to celebrate love and baseball as a pair of amiable lovers who learn to share their lives while accommodating Fallon's life-long passion for the Red Sox. You really have to love baseball to forgive the formulaic romance by veteran Hollywood screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (who also wrote "A League of Their Own", and could write this stuff in their sleep), but the codirecting Farrellys make it work, along with the easygoing chemistry of Barrymore and Fallon. The movie bears little resemblance to Nick Hornby's source novel (which was more faithfully adapted as a 1997 British comedy starring Colin Firth), but anyone who enjoyed "High Fidelity" or "About a Boy" will recognize Hornby's keen understanding of men and women, and the hazards we all endure when playing the game of love. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" sneers Johnny Rotten at the Sex Pistols' farewell performance. After seeing this picture you'll understand his disgust, but Julian Temple's sharp portrait of the ragged, raw band of working-class Brits won't leave you disappointed. The Sex Pistols left their legacy in a whirlwind 26-month reign, spitting out a caustic, confrontational brand of rock & roll that became the rallying cry for angry, disaffected youths in late 1970s England and defined the punk movement. Their story was first told two decades ago in the cynical "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle", also directed by Temple but produced by the Sex Pistols' smarmy manager, Malcolm McLaren, who stage-managed the film into a self-promoting vanity project. For "The Filth and the Fury", Temple turns to the four surviving band members to tell their own stories. His vibrant, vigorous direction captures the period of social unrest and alienated youth without turning into a history lesson, and shows the Pistols in all their insolent glory: spewing obscenities and gesturing lewdly to audiences and press alike, screaming out lyrics, overcoming musical limitations with pure passion and attitude. Rare, raw concert footage (including their final performance, which is appropriately enough the song "No Fun") and previously unseen interviews with the deceased Sid Vicious further energize the portrait. There's even footage of the smiling band cutting cake for kids at a fundraiser with nary a nasty gesture or sneering comment. Now there's a side of the Pistols you don't see everyday. "--Sean Axmaker"

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX

Summary: A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventure "Finding Nemo". When his son Nemo is captured by a scuba-diver, a nervous-nellie clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast--and astonishingly detailed--ocean to find him. Along the way he hooks up with a scatterbrained blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who's both helpful and a hindrance, sometimes at the same time. Faced with sharks, deep-sea anglers, fields of poisonous jellyfish, sea turtles, pelicans, and much more, Marlin rises above his neuroses in this wonderfully funny and nonstop thrill ride--rarely does more than 10 minutes pass without a sequence destined to become a theme park attraction. Pixar continues its run of impeccable artistic and economic success (their movies include "Toy Story", "A Bug's Life", "Toy Story 2", and "Monsters, Inc"). Also featuring the voices of Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, and Allison Janney. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: With each passing year bringing another high-profile rock reunion, prompted as often by balloon mortgage payments as any real artistic hunger, old fans could be excused for greeting 1997's announcement that the big Mac was back with skepticism: at their commercial zenith, Fleetwood Mac had offered superb transatlantic pop-rock with the added spice of a remarkable back-story, but the band's long decline and underwhelming later personnel shifts didn't bode well.
Such guarded expectations make the musical punch of "The Dance" all the more impressive, and enable the meticulously produced concert special to genuinely surprise. The band's musicianship--the one constant between the original, late '60s English blues band and its platinum '70s lineup featuring guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks--is in peak form, buttressed by a discreet auxiliary of additional musicians. Even with the hired guns, though, it's the rock-solid rhythm section of founders Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, and Buckingham's impassioned playing that strike sparks. Always a dynamic guitarist, Buckingham brings feverish intensity to both group classics and solo turns such as "Go Insane."
Both familiar hits and new songs (including the solid "Temporary One" and "Bleed to Love Her") further confirm that this isn't a rote exercise--the band sounds fully engaged. Buckingham, Nicks, and the elegant Christine McVie retain their vocal charm (although Nicks has clearly lost her upper register). And the sense of old wounds healed, and older affections acknowledged, gives true poignancy to the set's high mark, a brilliant live version of "Silver Springs," a truly haunting "Rumours"-era B-side that proves deeply moving. "--Sam Sutherland"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono

Summary: Horror master John Carpenter offers up a triple treat with "The Fog": Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, and Janet Leigh all in the same movie. As if that weren't enough, both John Houseman and Hal Holbrook make appearances, each clearly enjoying the novelty of being in a horror flick. "The Fog" opens just before the centennial celebration of the seaside town of Antonio Bay. Then the witching hour strikes, glowing fog rolls in, and all hell breaks loose. Carpenter wrote the script with producer Debra Hill, his collaborator on "Halloween", and the two know their craft. It's a creepy story and a tight script, and, as in their previous effort, the audience gets to know the main characters a bit before they're put in danger. The movie also has a sly sense of humor: "Things seem to happen to me," says slasher vet Jamie Lee. "I'm bad luck." Barbeau is also obviously having a great time, sinking her teeth into her role as a frightened disc jockey watching the fog roll in from a lighthouse. "The Fog" offers a few shocks and plenty of good old-fashioned clammy chills. You'll never look at weather systems the same way again. "--Ali Davis"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: Opposites attract in this conventional but refreshingly unpredictable romantic comedy. New York nightclub designer (Matthew Perry, from television's "Friends") is in Las Vegas to supervise the construction of a new project when he meets a fiery Mexican beauty (Salma Hayek). It's lust at first sight, and their one-night stand takes an unexpected turn when she shows up three months later to announce that she's pregnant. They're determined to do right for each other, so they get married in a Vegas chapel with an Elvis impersonator as their witness. Then comes the hard part--trying to figure out if they're actually compatible. The plot complications are mostly familiar, but Perry and Hayek throw some bright sparks as their initial bliss turns to more realistic concerns for family and future. Along the way there's some sharp dialogue and a few good laughs to give this all-too-human comedy an enjoyable spin. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: It's a mixed blessing, but "Frank Herbert's Dune" goes a long way toward satisfying science fiction purists who scoffed at David Lynch's previous attempt to adapt Herbert's epic narrative. Ironically, director John Harrison's 288-minute TV miniseries (broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel in December 2000) offers its own share of strengths and weaknesses, which, in retrospect, emphasize the quality of Lynch's film while treating Herbert's novel with more comprehensive authority. Debate will continue as to which film is better; Lynch's extensive use of internal monologue now seems like a challenge well met, and Harrison's more conventional approach is better equipped to convey the epic scope of Herbert's interplanetary political intrigue.
This much is certain: this "Dune" is a sumptuous treat for the eyes, with sets and costumes that were conceived with no apparent limits of budget or creativity. In terms of architecture alone, this is one of the most impressive films in science fiction history. And although the special effects fall short of feature-film quality, writer-director Harrison (who rose from an extensive background in TV) admirably tames the sprawling narrative that pits the opposing houses of Atreides and Harkonnen in a struggle to control the lucrative market for the spice melange. This is as accurate as any "Dune" adaptation is likely to get (i.e., there's no need for another attempt), and even then, it can be tricky to keep track of who's doing what to whom. Unfortunately, the film's biggest flaws are the casting of a nearly comatose William Hurt as Duke Leto, and a wooden Alec Newman as the messiah-to-be, Paul Atreides. These are regrettable shortcomings, but this "Dune" remains altogether respectable. That Frank Herbert would be impressed is perhaps the biggest compliment one can pay. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: In the wonderfully entertaining "Freaky Friday", teenager Anna (Lindsay Lohan) and her forty-something psychiatrist mom Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) have sunk into a rut of frustrated bickering--until a magic spell causes them to switch bodies. Suddenly Tess finds herself faced with petty teachers, vicious rivals, and a hunky boy, while Anna has to cope with her mother's neurotic patients as well as her befuddled fiance (Mark Harmon), who doesn't understand why his bride-to-be is suddenly recoiling from his embrace on the eve of their wedding. Both Lohan and Curtis turn in deft, delightful performances, with Curtis showing a surprising flair for physical comedy. The movie even manages to explore serious issues about fractured families, new parents, and adolescent sexuality with honesty and empathy--and without making the story stop dead in its tracks. It's a mother-daughter film that fathers and sons can enjoy just as much. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: "Frequency" is really two different--though inextricably linked--movies. First, the emotional drama of a father and son reunited after 30 years of separation. Then there's a science fiction thriller, in which a couple of chance solar storms, occurring exactly 30 years apart, can provide the agency through which the father and son can communicate using the very same ham radio in parallel time frames of 1969 and 1999. The son is John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel), a cop, and his father is Frank (Dennis Quaid), a firefighter who died on the job when John was 6, which just happens to be tomorrow for Frank when he and his now-adult son begin talking across time. This is great for John, because now he can warn his dad about the upcoming fire and avert the catastrophe that left him fatherless for most of his life. Accomplishing this gives John new memories of his life with Dad, but unfortunately alters the course of a serial killer, with tragic effect on John's family history. Since John's a cop, and the case he's working on turns out to be the same unsolved case from 30 years before, he and his father work together over the ham radio to solve the case and hopefully avert the tragedy that befell their family.
Time-travel stories have always been problematic, demanding either an extra degree of credulity on the part of the audience or an extra level of explanation on the part of storytellers, which is invariably cumbersome. "Frequency" handles the troublesome time paradoxes by having John explain how, having altered his past, he now experiences both timelines, as if he's had two pasts that converge in his present. And as changes continue to be wrought in John's past, we see him becoming more and more confused. No doubt the audience can sympathize, at least those of us who try to follow the ramifications of the rapidly accruing time fractures. Luckily, the bond between father and son is so strongly realized in the deeply felt performances of both Caviezel and Quaid that you don't even need to consider the science fiction elements in order to enjoy the film. But if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to allow for the possibility of time shifts, you'll have a far richer experience. "--Jim Gay"

Languages: Japanese, English

Subtitles: English

Summary: This was bought for my 13 year old niece who is really into "anime" and I was having a hard time locating anything she would like. She really enjoyed this gift.