Summer Movies at the Library … With Friends!

Calling all adults  -- do you enjoy watching movies?   Are you tired of paying to see movies at home and then watching them on your “small” 50-inch TV screen?  Are you looking for some fun evenings away from home this summer, at no cost?  Well, have our Friends of the Library got some fun evenings planned for you!

The 2nd and 4th Thursdays of June, July and August are “Summer Movies with Friends” at the Library!  Six movies have been planned [one has already been shown] and the next one is next Thursday evening, June 25th at 6 pm.  The Bourne Legacy, starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, and Edward Norton, will be shown on the big screen in the Hussey Room .  The movie is rated PG-13.

Fresh movie-style popcorn made with the Library’s new popcorn popper and sodas/bottled water will be served.  Bring your own comfy lawn chair, bean bag … whatever suits you for a full-length movie … and settle down for an evening of entertainment.  Register on the Library’s website at www.zionsville.lib.in.us on the Programs and Events calendar. 

The movies for July and August are:

•    Thursday, July 11th, 6 pm – Playing for Keeps, starring Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, and Dennis Quaid [PG-13]

•    Thursday, July 25th, 6 pm – The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Rhys Ifans [PG-13]

•    Thursday, August 8th, 6 pm – The Producers, starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and Uma Thurman [PG-13]

•    Thursday, August 22nd, 6 pm – Arsenic and Old Lace, starring Cary Grant and Raymond Massey [Not Rated]

These Summer Movies with Friends evenings are for all adults, not just members of the Friends of the Library; no children, please.   As mentioned above, you may register on the Library’s website at www.zionsville.lib.in.us on the Programs and Events calendar.

Join us for summer movies at the Library … with Friends!

Thoughts on “The Hunger Games” Movie

I am a librarian. I did the same thing pretty much every librarian did last weekend: I called my librarian friends and they gathered their loved ones and a crew of ten to see "The Hunger Games." It has been several years since I have read the book, so I will resist even trying to compare the movie to the book. Instead I will concentrate solely on making this a movie review and not a comparison. First of all, I feel compelled to say the movie is violent. I have described the plot to many people as a futuristic "Gladiator." My high school history teacher told me I had to study history because history repeats itself. "The Hunger Games" is exactly that. 24 kids, called tributes, between the ages of 12-18 are put into an arena, which can be altered at the push of button, and the winner gets to live. As a tribute, you can help your odds of winning by getting sponsors. You get sponsors by getting the public to like you. This may sound familiar if you have seen the movie "Gladiator" featuring Russell Crowe, but "The Hunger Games" has less blood.
Now that the violence of the movie has been addressed (you are prepared when a character actually says "It's a bloodbath,"), it is time to move forward. First of all, go to the bathroom before setting foot in the theatre. This is a two hour and twenty-two minute movie. Normally, I start squirming at the hour and a half mark, but this movie did not feel like a two-plus hour movie. It has action, compassion, young love, chess-like strategizing, Jennifer Lawrence, Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson, and a very nice cast mix. The blood, violence, and historic aspect (think of the Colosseum in Rome and all the people who died fighting to the death in an entertainment arena) of this movie is the draw for guys, but the refreshing independence of a female protagonist is a perk for the ladies in the audience. But it is not all business; there was more than one moment that left me teary-eyed and there was at least one instance where the theater was completely silent, creating an opportunity for sniffles to be heard from several movie goers.
I am cheap and prefer to see movies in the comfort of my own home, but I was happy to cough up the money. CNN says the movie raked in $155 million in the opening weekend, making it the third largest opening weekend in history (behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and The Dark Knight). If you do not see it, you may be left out of many upcoming movie conversations over the next few years. Also, go ahead and make sure you mark November 22, 2013 on your calendar. Why? That, my friends, is the next biggest awaited movie release, the second installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, "Catching Fire."

I geek books and movies

The nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards have been announced and Hollywood’s special evening is fast approaching (2/26/12).

Each year at this time I wonder if I have seen most of the movies that were nominated, how many were based on books—and have I read those books?

There is a display in the Teen and Adult area of books that were made into movies from past years; and this year is no exception. One of the most popular novels from 2009, The Help, has at least three nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress and two for Best Supporting Actress. I am happy to report that the movie closely followed the story line of the novel—I thoroughly enjoyed both.

Of the nine nominees for Best Picture, five were based on books. In the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, six of the ten pictures were developed from books. The same number is true of Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories. What three movies are tied as the most honored motion pictures in Academy Award history? (answer below)

Stop in the library and check out or download one of the featured titles:

Extremely Loud & Incredible Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

                The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Hugo (based on the children’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick)

Moneyball (based on Moneyball: Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis)

My Week with Marilyn by Colin Clark

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy by John LeCarre

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (a teen title)

Of all the movies, Hugo has the most nominations with eleven. 

You can also Google and print the Oscars Award Ballot, and see if your picks are the same as the Academy’s chosen movies. There are many books in the library about the film industry. You might check out Awake in the Dark: the Best of Roger Ebert by Mr. Ebert or The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies and a Company Called Dreamworks by Nicole Laporte. The library also has many award-winning movies on CD and Blue-ray.

Popcorn anyone?

The answer to the question is: Ben Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and Return of the King (2003) each earned 11 awards. For more quizzes go to quizland.