To all my blog fans Happy New Year.
January's DVD list is here.
All About Steve Thomas Haden Church, Sandra Bullock, Howard Hesseman, Bradley Cooper. After going out on one date, an eccentric crossword puzzle creator follows a news cameraman across the country to convince him that they belong together.
Cheri Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend Based on the novels "Chéri" and "The last of Chéri" by Colette, The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.
A Christmas Tale Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon. The Vuillard family is no stranger to mental illness, loss, and banishment. But when the matriarch becomes in need of a transplant, the whole family is forced to come together, emotional baggage and all, just in time for Christmas.
Departures Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue. After the orchestra he plays with breaks up, Daigo, a cellist, returns to his hometown and gets a job preparing the dead for their final resting place. Although his wife and family are disgusted by his new position, Daigo finds that by taking care of the dead, he is learning how to finally live. Japanese with English subtitles.
Easy Virtue Jessica Biel, Colin Firth. Based on the play by Noel Coward. John Whittaker is a young Englishman who falls madly in love with Larita, a sexy, glamorous American woman. The two impulsively decide to get married. He takes her home to meet his family, she arrives like a blast from the future. John's mother takes an instant disliking to Lairta and undermines her every move. But Larita will blow their entrenched British stuffiness right out the window.
Every Little Step Bob Avian, Ramon Flowers, Natascia Diaz, Marvin Hamlisch For over three decades, there's been one singular sensation: A Chorus Line. Now, the story comes full circle and offers a revealing, unprecedented look at the auditions for the Broadway revival of the perennial classic. The music, the moves and the real-life drama, bringing you closer to the footlights than you ever thought possible.
Extract Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman. Just as he is about to sell his successful flavor extract company and life seems to be going well, Joel experiences a series of personal and professional disasters.
Faubourg Treme: the untold story of Black New Orleans Long ago during slavery, Faubourg Tremé was home to the largest community of free black people in the Deep South and a hotbed of political ferment. Here black and white, free and enslaved, rich and poor co-habitated, collaborated, and clashed to create much of what defines New Orleans culture today. Shot largely before Hurricane Katrina and edited afterwards, the film is both celebratory and elegiac in tone.
500 Days of Summer Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel. Tom, a romantic greeting card writer, thinks that Summer is the girl of his dreams, but she does not believe that true love exists.
The Hangover Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis. A blowout Las Vegas bachelor party turns into a race against time. Three hung-over groomsmen awake after a night of heavy celebrating to find that the groom has gone missing.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson. Harry Potter and his friends struggle to keep Lord Voldemort away from Hogwarts while also learning how to handle new friendships and romance.
The Hurt Locker Guy Pearce, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes. When a new sergeant takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amid violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat.
Inglourious Basterds Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz. During World War II, a group of Jewish-American guerilla soldiers known as "The Basterds" spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. A movie theater in Paris is targeted by the soldiers and a plot is set in motion to kill the Nazis at the theater including Adolph Hitler.
Julie & Julia Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci . Julie Powell is a frustrated insurance worker who wants to be a writer. Trying to find a challenge in her life, she decides to cook her way through Julia Child's 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' in one year, and to blog about it. Based on the books "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell and "My life in France" by Julia Child with Alex Prud'Homme.
Lymelife Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon. Scott is 15 and growing up in suburban Long Island. While caught up in his first love, Scott watches the relationships of his parents and neighbors slowly crumble as they try to keep up with the changing times.
Public Enemies Johnny Depp, Christian Bale. No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone, from his girlfriend Billie Frechette to the American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression. While the adventures of Dillinger's gang thrilled many, Hoover made Dillinger America's first Public Enemy Number One.
Surveillance Julia Ormond, Bill Pullman. Two FBI agent tracks a serial killer with the help of three of his would-be victims - all of whom have wildly different stories to tell.
.
Trumbo Joan Allen, Brian Dennehy, Michael Douglas Documents the rise of Dalton Trumbo's career in Hollywood and his subsequent public humiliation for being among the 'Hollywood Ten' blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1940s for communist associations. Exiled and penniless, he wrote under various pseudonyms, and even won an Academy Award. Viewed by many as a moral and just man, Dalton stood for the American value and right of free expression.
Tulpan Tulepbergen Baisakalov, Ondasyn Besikbasov A young man returns home from the navy in order to become a shepherd and find a wife, and the only single girl for miles around turns out to be his neighbor. a sweetly comic coming-of-age story. Kazakh dialogue, English subtitles.
Cheri Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend Based on the novels "Chéri" and "The last of Chéri" by Colette, The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.
A Christmas Tale Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon. The Vuillard family is no stranger to mental illness, loss, and banishment. But when the matriarch becomes in need of a transplant, the whole family is forced to come together, emotional baggage and all, just in time for Christmas.
Departures Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue. After the orchestra he plays with breaks up, Daigo, a cellist, returns to his hometown and gets a job preparing the dead for their final resting place. Although his wife and family are disgusted by his new position, Daigo finds that by taking care of the dead, he is learning how to finally live. Japanese with English subtitles.
Easy Virtue Jessica Biel, Colin Firth. Based on the play by Noel Coward. John Whittaker is a young Englishman who falls madly in love with Larita, a sexy, glamorous American woman. The two impulsively decide to get married. He takes her home to meet his family, she arrives like a blast from the future. John's mother takes an instant disliking to Lairta and undermines her every move. But Larita will blow their entrenched British stuffiness right out the window.
Every Little Step Bob Avian, Ramon Flowers, Natascia Diaz, Marvin Hamlisch For over three decades, there's been one singular sensation: A Chorus Line. Now, the story comes full circle and offers a revealing, unprecedented look at the auditions for the Broadway revival of the perennial classic. The music, the moves and the real-life drama, bringing you closer to the footlights than you ever thought possible.
Extract Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman. Just as he is about to sell his successful flavor extract company and life seems to be going well, Joel experiences a series of personal and professional disasters.
Faubourg Treme: the untold story of Black New Orleans Long ago during slavery, Faubourg Tremé was home to the largest community of free black people in the Deep South and a hotbed of political ferment. Here black and white, free and enslaved, rich and poor co-habitated, collaborated, and clashed to create much of what defines New Orleans culture today. Shot largely before Hurricane Katrina and edited afterwards, the film is both celebratory and elegiac in tone.
500 Days of Summer Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel. Tom, a romantic greeting card writer, thinks that Summer is the girl of his dreams, but she does not believe that true love exists.
The Hangover Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis. A blowout Las Vegas bachelor party turns into a race against time. Three hung-over groomsmen awake after a night of heavy celebrating to find that the groom has gone missing.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson. Harry Potter and his friends struggle to keep Lord Voldemort away from Hogwarts while also learning how to handle new friendships and romance.
The Hurt Locker Guy Pearce, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes. When a new sergeant takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amid violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat.
Inglourious Basterds Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz. During World War II, a group of Jewish-American guerilla soldiers known as "The Basterds" spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. A movie theater in Paris is targeted by the soldiers and a plot is set in motion to kill the Nazis at the theater including Adolph Hitler.
Julie & Julia Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci . Julie Powell is a frustrated insurance worker who wants to be a writer. Trying to find a challenge in her life, she decides to cook her way through Julia Child's 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' in one year, and to blog about it. Based on the books "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell and "My life in France" by Julia Child with Alex Prud'Homme.
Lymelife Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon. Scott is 15 and growing up in suburban Long Island. While caught up in his first love, Scott watches the relationships of his parents and neighbors slowly crumble as they try to keep up with the changing times.
Public Enemies Johnny Depp, Christian Bale. No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone, from his girlfriend Billie Frechette to the American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression. While the adventures of Dillinger's gang thrilled many, Hoover made Dillinger America's first Public Enemy Number One.
Surveillance Julia Ormond, Bill Pullman. Two FBI agent tracks a serial killer with the help of three of his would-be victims - all of whom have wildly different stories to tell.
.
Trumbo Joan Allen, Brian Dennehy, Michael Douglas Documents the rise of Dalton Trumbo's career in Hollywood and his subsequent public humiliation for being among the 'Hollywood Ten' blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1940s for communist associations. Exiled and penniless, he wrote under various pseudonyms, and even won an Academy Award. Viewed by many as a moral and just man, Dalton stood for the American value and right of free expression.
Tulpan Tulepbergen Baisakalov, Ondasyn Besikbasov A young man returns home from the navy in order to become a shepherd and find a wife, and the only single girl for miles around turns out to be his neighbor. a sweetly comic coming-of-age story. Kazakh dialogue, English subtitles.
Despite the glorious weather this weekend, I was able to see two films: one I really liked, the other was entertaining, but both were thought provoking. An Education, set in suburban London in the 1960s, explores a young girl's choice between the world of books and the world of glamous evenings and social affairs. How easily we can be swayed ! The cast is wonderful especially Carey Mulligan as Jenny, Peter 
The Visitor
Bottle Shock
Love, Ludlow
Two Family House
Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music
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