Some great books will come alive on the silver screen this fall. A lot of hype is preceding Drive, I Don't Know How She Does It and Moneyball.

The novel Drive, written by James Sallis, is about a Hollywood movie stuntman who finds more excitement as a wheel man during robberies. When a heist goes sour, a contract is put out on him and he is trusted into survival mode. The film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn stars Ryan Gosling and has received rave reviews.

I read I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson in 2003 and loved it. The sense of order in her professional life and the sense of disorder in her family life was masterfully handled. The film is directed by Doug McGrath and stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan and Kelsey Grammer. All accomplished actors! I hope they can capture the feeling of the novel in the film.



Moneyball:the art of winning an unfair game, by Micheal Lewis, asks the question of how the Oakland A's, one of baseball's poorest teams, managed to win so many games. Lewis weaves this story around the A's General Manager, Billy Beane, his background and mediocre career while evaluating baseball talent. The film directed by Bennett Miller stars Brad Pitt and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The new DVD list is out. My best bets are: Barney's Version, Of Gods and Men, and Win Win. Reserve you choices on the library's web site.

Another Year Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville. A married couple who have managed to remain blissfully happy into their autumn years are surrounded over the course of the four seasons of one average year by friends, colleagues, and family who all seem to suffer some degree of unhappiness.

Barney’s Version Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver. Barney Panofsky is a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. With his father, Izzy as his sidekick, Barney reflects on the many highs, and a few too many lows, of his long and colorful life. Not only does Barney turn out to be a true romantic, he is also capable of all kinds of sneaky acts of gallantry, generosity, and goodness when it is least expected. His gloriously full life is played out on a grand scale all the way through the final chapters. Based on the novel by Mordecai Richler.

Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop Filmmaker Rodman Flender’s documentary is an intimate portrait of an artist trained in improvisation, captured at the most improvisational time of his career. It offers a window into the private writers room and rehearsal halls as O'Brien's "half-assed show" (his words) is almost instantly assembled and mounted to an adoring fan base.

Das Boot Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer. The film follows the daring patrol of the U-96, one of the famed German U-boats known as the "gray wolves." The crew is graphically portrayed in a life-and-death struggle, challenging the British Navy at every turn.

Everything Must Go Rebecca Hall, Michael Pena, Will Ferrell. Nick is a career salesman who loses his wife and his job in the worst day of his life. Faced with his life imploding, Nick puts it all on the line, or, rather, on the lawn, as he moves himself and all his possessions to his front yard.

Forks over Knives This documentary "examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods"

Incendies Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette. A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play, Incendies tells the powerful and moving tale of two young adults' voyage to the core of deep-rooted hatred, never-ending wars and enduring love.
Jumping the Broom Angela Bassett, Paula Patton At a weekend wedding on Martha's Vineyard, two African-American families from divergent socioeconomic backgrounds clash during their first meeting before the big event.
Lorna’s Silence Arta Dobroshi, Jérémie Renier. Lorna is a young Albanian women who dreams of opening up a snack bar with her boyfriend. Without the money, she finds herself entwined in a vicious plan devised by mobster Fabio. A false marriage between Lorna and Claudy will allow her to get her Belgian citizenship. She is then expected to marry a Russian Mafioso who is anxious to get his hands on the Belgian identity papers, after Fabio kills Claudy to speed up the second marriage. But can Lorna keep quiet?

Of Gods and Men Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale and Olivier Rabourdin. Under threat by fundamentalist terrorists, a group of Trappist monks stationed with an impoverished Algerian community must decide whether to leave or stay.

Priest Paul Bettany, Brad Dourif. A legendary Warrior Priest from the last Vampire War lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on a quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined by his niece's boyfriend, a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess who possesses other worldly fighting skills.

Something Borrowed Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin. Rachel is a generous and loyal pal to her engaged best friend Darcy. But after celebrating her 30th birthday, perpetual good girl Rachel unexpectedly ends up in the arms of Dex, the guy she's had a crush on since law school, and who happens to be Darcy's fiancé. In the frantic weeks leading up to Darcy's wedding, Rachel finds herself caught between her longtime friendship with Darcy and the prospect of losing the love of her life.

Win Win Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale. Mike Flaherty is a lovable yet long-suffering lawyer and high school wrestling coach. When Mike comes across a teenage runaway who also happens to be a champion wrestler, Mike's luck turns around in spectacular fashion. But his win-win situation soon becomes more complicated than he ever imagined when the boy's family affairs come into play.