by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian
If the hot weather is sapping your energy, check out some of
Litchfield Library’s new DVDs for some entertainment while you take it
easy. Some of the ones I’ll tell you
about are new releases, and some are just new to our library’s collection.
This summer has brought Independence Day: Resurgence and a
reboot of Ghostbusters to theaters. We
have recently gotten the original Ghostbusters and Independence Day on DVD
at our library. Rotten Tomatoes is a
website that pulls together published reviews from many, many critics and gives
movies a rating based on the percentage of positive reviews. The original Independence Day from 1996 has
about a 60% positive rating, while the new sequel is at only about 30%. I
thoroughly enjoyed Independence Day back when it was in the theaters, but
when I watched it again with my kids recently, it didn’t seem as
wonderful. My girls saw it as an
inferior variation on the Star Wars story, an opinion I can agree with. I haven’t watched the new one.
The original Ghostbusters from 1984 has a Rotten Tomatoes
rating of 97%, which is impressive. Based on a viewing at my house, I suspect
kids today don’t see it as positively as we did back in the ‘80s. However, adult fans still enjoy it. The new version in theaters has about a 70% positive
rating. I’m looking forward to watching
it at some point, and the library will get it once it’s on DVD.
The new movie Race has about a 60% positive rating from
Rotten Tomatoes. It tells the story of
Jesse Owens’ path to the Olympics in Nazi Germany and his record-breaking
accomplishments there. I wanted to watch
it especially because of the character Rudy’s enthusiasm for Jesse Owens in the
novel The Book Thief. I really didn’t
know enough about Owens, and I enjoyed learning his story through an inspiring
movie. Some of the movie’s subplots are fairly
weak, but the main storyline is interesting, and Stephan James is good as
Owens. It’s a straightforward historical biography, and many people enjoy
those, as I do.
The library now has all of the seasons of the television
comedy Parks and Recreation. The
creator and star Amy Poehler won a Golden Globe for her performance on the
show, and the series has been nominated for Emmys many times. I wondered what all of the fuss was about, so
my husband and I started watching it recently. It is wacky, but once we got
used to the humor we’ve enjoyed it. I’d
read that the first season isn’t the best but it’s short, so stick with it; I
think that’s a good assessment. Nick
Offerman and Chris Pratt are especially funny as part of a group involved with
city government.
I’ve been hearing good things about Zootopia, the new
animated Disney movie. Rotten Tomatoes
agrees with what I’ve heard; the approval rating is a whopping 98%. The movie is a mystery featuring a rabbit
who’s a rookie cop and a fox who’s a con artist; they dress and act like
humans. Reviewers say it appeals to kids
and adults on different levels, with smart writing and a good message about
being who you want to be, not what others expect you to be.
Some of our other new DVDs include 10 Cloverfield Lane, 45 Years, The Divergent Series: Allegiant, Eddie the Eagle, Hail,Caesar!, and Hello, My Name is Doris.
If there’s a movie or television series you’re looking for that we don’t
have, most of the time we can order it from somewhere in Minnesota. Let us know if you need some help.
