With a long weekend ahead, think about borrowing DVDs from the library. The weather will be great, but after a long day outside, you may want to curl up and watch a great film. The new July list is out. Check the library web site for a complete list. Below are some favorable mentions. . . . .

I can recommend The Botany of Desire a PBS special based on the Michael Pollan book that examines the relationship between plants and humans.

Another film I can recommend is

A Single Man. Based on the Christopher Isherwood novel, it is brilliant. Colin Firth is the tortured professor who loses his longtime partner in a terrible accident. Dealing with his grief, he contemplates suicide while he struggles with the age-old question: is life worthwhile. It is an outstanding performance from Colin Firth. The role is a perfect match for his talent: withdrawn, pained, sensual, with sparks of wit and fun. He so perfectly depicts a man who cannot publicly morn because in the 1960s during the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the birth of youth culture, society would not permit him to grieve the death of his gay companion openly. Don't miss this poignant, deeply compassionate portrait.

Also on the list are: From Paris with Love, Invictus, Legion, The Memory Thief, Shutter Island, Valentine's Day and When in Rome. If you missed them in the theater this year, here's your chance.

Four foreign films have been add to the library collection this month

All French, each explores an issue as only the French can. Shall We Kiss?, a comedy about the consequences of intimacy, is an enjoyable, tender and tasteful romantic film. Adult in its appeal, it presents lessons that never grow old with time. Heart in Winter (un Coeur En Hiver) examines the complexities of a love triangle and rebirth. Only the French can create such wonderful characters. Is there anything as beautiful as love and anything as painful as deep sorrow and loneliness of the soul ? The Wedding Song (Le Chant des Mariees), an art house film because of one explicit scene, is set in Tunis on the cusp of World War II. It examines the lives of two 16 year old girls, one a Muslim, and the other a Jew, who struggle to maintain their friendship as politics and families threaten to undermine it. A fine example of contemporary French cinema, Summer Hours (Heure d'Ete) is a story of an estate that must be divided up by three siblings after the death of their mother. The film is understated and gently paced, evoking the changes brought on one family as they are forced to reevaluate heritage vs. their place in the increasingly globalized world.

The June 2010 DVD list has been posted to the library's web page. Check it out and add your holds. Some titles to reserve are: Avatar, Crazy Heart, It's Complicated, and Last Station. All are my favorites except Avatar. But, if you haven't seen it, you should. . . if not for the plot, for the film technique.