by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian
Now that summer is starting, will you have more or less time
for watching movies? That probably
depends on whether you do a lot of outside activities in the summer and whether
the school year takes up your time. If
summer means more leisure time for you, stop in to the library to check out
some of our new movies and television shows.
The third season of Call the Midwife is a new arrival
expected any day now. This popular BBC
series is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth. She was a young midwife in the 1950s in a
London convent which helped poor pregnant women. We have seasons one and two in now.
I wondered why the movie About Time was so popular. I found out that it’s from the creator of Love Actually, Notting Hill, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Love Actually has a particularly
enthusiastic following. If you’ve
enjoyed these other British romantic comedies, you are likely to enjoy About
Time. In this one, the main character
can travel through time. Reviewers say
that it has its faults, but that it is sweet, with themes of family, love, and
loss.
American Hustle was nominated for ten Oscars but didn’t
manage to win one. It did win Golden
Globes for best comedy or musical and best performances by Amy Adams and
Jennifer Lawrence. The movie is about
the Abscam sting by the FBI in the late 1970s.
Critics loved it for its humor and characters.
A family movie, at least for older kids, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the second installment of the movies based on Tolkien’s
book. We have the first, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as well. The movie
is full of constant action, sometimes preposterous but still entertaining. Usually movie adaptations leave out so much
from a book, but the Hobbit movies add extra material, since three movies are
based on one short book. My kids love
these movies. I would rather they’d been
made into one great movie instead of three.
The classic TV comedy Gilligan’s Island is constantly
getting checked out by young and old at our library. I realized that we only have seasons one and
two, so I recently ordered the third and final season. Did you know that Gilligan’s Island only ran
for three seasons?
Little House on the Prairie is being re-released on DVD and Blu-Ray for the 40th
anniversary of the television show. We
have season one already, and season two is on its way. I expect that we’ll continue to add seasons
as they’re released on DVD. I loved this
show as a kid, but I would say the books are far better. Isn’t that usually the way it goes?
Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of the Disney adaptation
of P.L. Travers’ novel Mary Poppins.
Travers, played by Emma Thompson, resisted having Walt Disney, played by
Tom Hanks, turn her beloved creation into a cheerful family film. The movie swings between fun and very serious
moments, as flashbacks show Travers’ difficult childhood. You may be inspired to watch Mary Poppins afterward.
Other new arrivals at our library include August: Osage County, The Broken Circle Breakdown, and Enough Said. Even if you find the newest DVDs checked out
when you stop in, you can put a hold on them to get them another day, and we
have a large selection of other movies and TV shows to choose from.
