Category: DVD lists

Lists of items on different topics chosen by our librarians – if you’re after just the new material, visit our Recent Picks. The lists on this page may feature older items that we love or that fit a topic…

New DVDs for Te Awe

MarkLeave a comment
Featured covers of our new dvds

via GIPHY

Here are some new DVDs added to the catalogue over February, that are available at our CBD Te Awe branch and selected other locations.

New Material:
Raphael : the young prodigy.
Venom. Let there be Carnage
Brooklyn nine-nine. Season eight.
How to deter a robber
The hating game.
Ride the eagle.
Young Sheldon. The complete fourth season.
Agatha and the midnight murders
The many saints of Newark
Beginning
Eiffel
Lamb
Only the animals.
Silent night
Charmed. Season two.
The luminaries. Season 1.
Poppy
After we fell
I am mortal
Angela Black.
Last night in Soho
Nitram
Dear Evan Hansen

















 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Staff Picks: The Best DVDs of 2021

Mark

Here we have the very best DVDs of 2021, as selected by our own WCL librarians. All of these titles are available to loan!

Mark’s Picks:
Mare of Easttown
What more can you say about this great show that hasn’t already been said? A fantastically nuanced TV role from Kate Winslet, that embedded itself into the cultural zeitgeist of 2021. In a suburb of Philadelphia, Winslet plays Mare Sheehan, a former local basketball hero whose last minute shot won a State Championship, and who is now – 25 years later – a beleaguered police detective investigating the recent murder of a teenage mother, while also trying to balance the demands of her multi-generational family, the failure to solve an ongoing cold case of a missing girl, and a personal life that is fraying at the edges. The mechanics of the mystery itself are fairly conventional, with its ‘Dead girl-small town suspicions’ plot, but by focusing the story around the complicated family life & personal struggles of Winslet’s main character, it add layers not often found in other shows of the same ilk. Or sometimes found, but only in the lives of the male lead characters.

Synchronic
Every year throws up some interesting low-budget indie sci-fi, and from 2021 we had ‘Synchronic’ from Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson (Spring, The Endless). Anthony Mackie & Jamie Dornan are Steve & Dennis, paramedics in New Orleans, who begin to get call outs to a series of strange incidents where people are either dead in bizarre circumstances, or have wild, incoherent, stories to explain their injuries. All the cases are linked to a new designer drug called Synchronic, and the incidents become personal when Dennis’ daughter is identified as missing from one of the scenes where someone died from taking the drug. Steve attempts to track down the source of the drug, leading to an encounter with the drugs creator – who tells him Synchronic has some unique side effects…To say any more would spoil the plot of this intriguing, low-key sci-fi. Another example in a line of films with minimal characters, effects, or locations (Time Lapse, Coherence, Primer etc). that chooses to focus on ideas rather than explosions.

Nobody
Every year also throws up some ridiculous, yet hugely entertaining, action flick, and last year’s was ‘Nobody’. Directed by Russian director Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry) and written by Derek Kolstad (creator of the John Wick franchise) sees Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) play Hutch Mansell, a seemingly average middle aged office worker. However, much like John Wick, Hutch is not the mild-mannered guy he is pretending to be, and when his frustrations with his hum-drum life and a recent home-robbery boil over, he ‘helps out’ a young woman on a bus being harassed by a gang of thugs. This, however, only causes him to become the target of a vengeful Russian drug lord, and what follows is a hugely entertaining action-fest full of bonkers violence, absurdly entertaining scenes, and a good deal of tongue in cheek self-awareness. This works in the same way the first Taken worked, as Odenkirk seems the last actor to be believable as a ruthless killing machine, just as Liam Neeson initially was. Tons of fun. (Mark)

Continue reading “Staff Picks: The Best DVDs of 2021” →

New DVDs for Te Awe

Mark
Image of some of our new dvds on an abstract blue background.

Image featuring some of our new dvds

Here are some new DVDs added to the catalogue over January, available at our CBD Te Awe branch and other selected locations.

New Material:
Van Gogh : of wheat fields and clouded skies.
My name is Gulpilil : this is my story of my story
The comeback trail
Body brokers
Mare of Easttown
Midsomer murders. Season 22, Part 1
Blue bayou
Fanny Lye deliver’d.
The match
Halloween kills
Annette
The Nevers. Season 1, Part 1.
No time to die
Pig
The Great War
Broken trail : the complete mini series.













Blockbusters and indie gems: New DVDs for Te Awe

Mark
A selection of our new DVDs.

via GIPHY

Here are some new DVDs added to the catalogue over December that are available at our CBD Te Awe branch and other selected locations. One highlight for the below list is Another Round, which won the Oscar last year for Best International Feature Film. We also highly suggest that you check out Herself, a moving portrait of a young mother who embarks on building her own home from the ground up, and Synchronic, a mind-bending sci-fi thriller.

New Material:
Hemingway : the man, the myth, the writer revealed
Love it was not
Infinite
The ice road
The Suicide Squad
Superman & Lois. The complete first season.
No man of God
Bloodlands.
Stillwater
Whitstable Pearl.
Young Rock. Season 1.
Another round
Heroic losers.
Herself
Britannia. III.
The justice of Bunny King
Lowdown dirty criminals.
Reunion.
Bram Stoker’s Van Helsing.
Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie’s dead aunt).
Synchronic
Star trek : Discovery. Season three.
Reminiscence
In fabric





















..

Vale Indigenous Australian Actor David Dalaithngu

Kath

Sad news from across the ditch that Indigenous Australian actor, dancer and didgeridoo player David Dalaithngu has lost his battle with lung cancer at age 68.

Warning: This story contains the name and images of a deceased Indigenous person.

Born in  approximately 1953 in Arnhem Land in the far north of Australia,  Mr Dalaithngu was raised in the traditional culture of his Yolgnu people, not encountering white people until he was about 8 or 9.  Most famous around the world for his role in Crocodile Dundee and Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, Mr Dalaithngu has been a stalwart of the Australian film industry since his film debut at 18 in the 1971 film Walkabout.

You can read more about his life in his biography, Gulpilil by Derek Rielly (eBook).

To mark his passing and celebrate his life, we’ve put together a list of his films available through our collection and/or Beamafilm and Kanopy.


Walkabout – watch on Beamafilm
“Nicolas Roeg’s mystical masterpiece chronicles the physical, spiritual, and emotional journey of a sister and brother abandoned in the harsh Australian outback. Joining an Aboriginal on his walkabout – a tribal initiation into manhood – these modern children pass from innocence into experience as they are thrust from the comforts of civilisation into the savagery of the natural world.” (Description from our Catalogue)
DVD on our catalogue or watch Walkabout on Kanopy

Mad Dog Morgan – watch on Beamafilm
“Set in gold rush-era Victoria, and based on a true story, this violent, rollicking portrayal of infamous Irish outlaw Dan Morgan, a bravura performance from an intense Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now) is a classic of Australia’s ’70s cinema renaissance. A prospector who turns to crime and opium after failing at gold mining, Dan Morgan spends six brutal years in prison before terrorising country Victoria with a young Aboriginal, David Dalaithngu (Walkabout, The Tracker). Having escaped into NSW, the bush ranger and his accomplice easily dodge the police and mercilessly intimidate the wealthy land owners but wracked by madness and a lust to avenge an earlier attack from an irate squatter, the notorious Mad Dog makes a perilous journey back into Victoria.” (adapted from Beamafilm description)
Or, watch Mad Dog Morgan on Kanopy

Storm Boy – watch on Beamafilm (1976)
“Storm Boy lives with his recluse father on South Australia’s lonely and beautiful coast. Here his free spirit roams with his pet pelican Mr. Percival and his secret Aboriginal friend Fingerbone Bill. He knows no other world. Suddenly there are intruders, the local school teacher who wants him to take lessons, a resentful wildlife ranger, duck shooters… Storm Boy, growing up is forced to choose between a life of continued isolation and the challenges of the outside world.” (Description from our catalogue)
DVD on our Catalogue, or watch Storm Boy on Kanopy

The Last Wave – watch on Beamafilm
“Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Peter Weir explores a startling world on the brink of apocalypse in The Last Wave, a time and place where Mother Nature and human nature are destined to collide in catastrophic disaster. When lawyer David Burton is assigned a case to defend a group of indigenous Australian men, he is unprepared for the nightmares and dreamscapes ahead. Accused of murdering one of their own, the men stand trial amidst suspicious circumstances and, as Burton becomes plagued by unsettling visions, he is drawn to the mysterious Chris Lee (AFI Award winner David Dalaithngu, Storm Boy, The Tracker) for answers to his torment. As the erratic climate turns dangerous, Burton senses a greater power at play, where tribal customs and the ancient ideas of Dreamtime may be more than just an ominous warning.” (adapted from Beamafilm description)
DVD on our Catalogue or watch The Last Wave on Kanopy

Crocodile Dundee I [&] II (DVD)
“The adventures of Crocodile hunter Michael J. Dundee, in the wild outback of Australia and the wild streets of New York City.” (Catalogue description)

Rabbit-proof fence (DVD)
“In 1931, three aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domestic staff and set off on a trek across the Outback.” (Catalogue description)

The proposition (DVD)
“A story of class, race, colonisation and of one family’s violent destiny played out against the searing backdrop of Australia in the 1880s.” (Catalogue description)

Ten canoes (DVD)
“Ten canoes tells the story of the people of the Arafura swamp, in their language, and is set a long time before the coming of the Balanda, as white people were known. Dayindi covets one of the wives of his older brother. To teach him the proper way, he is told a story from the mythical past, a story of wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem and revenge gone wrong.” (Catalogue description)
Or watch Ten Canoes on Kanopy

Australia (Blu-ray)
“In northern Australia at the beginning of World War II, an English aristocrat inherits a cattle station the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country’s most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.” (Catalogue description)

Charlie’s country (DVD)
“Blackfella Charlie is getting older, and he’s out of sorts. The Government Intervention is making life more difficult on his remote community, what with the proper policing of whitefella laws that don’t generally make much sense, and Charlie’s kin and ken seeming more interested in going along with things than doing anything about it. So Charlie takes off, to live the old way, but in so doing, sets off a chain of events in his life that has him return to his community chastened, and somewhat the wiser.” (Catalogue description)

Goldstone (DVD)
“Indigenous Detective Jay Swan arrives in the frontier town of Goldstone on a missing persons enquiry. What seems like a simple light duties investigation opens a web of crime and corruption. Jay must pull his life together and bury his differences with young local cop Josh, so together they can bring justice to Goldstone.” (Catalogue description)

Cargo (DVD)
“An ecological collapse has seen the human population take to an orbital existence aboard a fleet of intergalactic space stations. Rumour had it that a distant habitable planet exists in the outer realms and CARGO concerns the intense and atmospheric journey one crew embarks on in order to find paradise”–Container.” (Catalogue description)

Storm boy (2018) (DVD)
“A contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele’s classic Australian tale. When Michael Kingley, a successful retired businessman starts to see images from his past that he can’t explain, he’s forced to remember his childhood and how, as a boy, he rescued and raised an extraordinary orphaned pelican, Mr Percival.” (Catalogue description)

Gulpilil – One Red Blood, watch on Kanopy
“GULPILIL – ONE RED BLOOD takes us from the world of cinema to Dalaithngu’s homeland and back again. It charts his career from his origins as a strictly tribal man who spoke no English, through his transformation to a jet-setting movie star. The film traces how Dalaithngu’s acting work declined during the 80s and how he was overlooked for over a decade. With his latest roles in Rabbit Proof Fence and The Tracker, Dalaithngu is once again back in the spotlight.” (Description from Kanopy)

Note: In many Indigenous Australian cultural practices, those that have died are not referred to by their name as a mark of respect.  Mr Dalaithngu’s family have requested that he be referred to as David Dalaithngu.  We have left the title of his biographical book and film with the original name so that they can be found in the library collection.

New DVDs for Te Awe

Mark

Here are some new DVDs added to the catalogue over October that are available at our CBD Te Awe Branch, and selected other locations. Also included are some of our On Order titles to give you a taste of what’s about to be released. Note: All ‘On Order’ titles are able to be reserved via the online catalogue.

New Material:
Black Widow
The father
In the Heights
Free Guy
Minamata
Signed, sealed, delivered. The movie & the series
The Nest

On Order:
Botticelli, Florence and the Medici.
Antoinette in the Cévennes






A little lightspeed music and reading for Space Week

Gus

Benson, Arizona, blew warm wind through your hair
My body flies the galaxy, my heart longs to be there
Benson, Arizona, the same stars in the sky
But they seemed so much kinder when we watched them, you and I.

Chorus to “Benson, Arizona” by John Carpenter, Bill Taylor and Dominik Hauser (from Dark Star)

The 4th to the 10th of October 2021 is World Space Week, where we celebrate the accomplishments humankind has made in exploring and studying the cosmos.

While scientists, engineers, and astronauts work to broaden our understanding of planets and galaxies beyond our own, writers, musicians and artists are already light-years ahead of the curve with imagining life in space; not just from the idealistic view that we’ll find better worlds when we leave our old one behind, but critiquing that idea as well. John Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon’s Dark Star, for instance, deflates the idea that life in space will allow us to achieve a new state of cosmic enlightenment and technological efficiency; instead they present it as just another work-a-day job, like trucking or an office job today.

Here’s a list of new and lesser-known music, books and films to explore for Space Week 2021:


Planetarium / Stevens, Sufjan
“Inspired by the Solar System, Planetarium‘s 17 tracks are named after celestial objects and related phenomena. Each piece is a musical mini-drama, with the glistening wash of “Halley’s Comet” lasting about 30 seconds, and “Earth” getting the most attention at around 15 minutes. Keyboard instruments ranging from piano, organ, and celeste to Mellotron, Moog, and other synths blend with Stevens’ airy vocal timbre.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Trilogy; past present and future. / Sinatra, Frank
“One of Frank Sinatra’s final albums, Trilogy is a three-part celebration of his career, covering his classics (Past), some then-new songs (Present), and a finale ‘Future’ that is both baffling and strangely compelling. In Future, Frank imagines a distant age where one can travel the Solar System in an afternoon, and how mankind achieved an era of peace by burning all of Earth’s weapons (‘World War None’). It’s worth listening to just for the sheer dissonance of hearing ‘Ol’ Blue Eyes’ sing about spaceships.”

Dark star
“Dark Star was a student film expanded to theatrical length, directed by John Carpenter (Halloween, Escape From New York) and written by Carpenter’s UCLA classmate Dan O’Bannon (who later retooled one sequence of the film into the script for a little production you may have heard of called Alien). The film is a pastiche of 2001: A Space Odyssey, following a crew of spaceship workers who have the thankless task of dropping bombs on unstable planets for an interstellar mega-corporation. A deeply underrated and underseen cult-classic that inspired the likes of Red Dwarf and Red vs Blue, Dark Star is essential viewing for any fan of sci-fi comedy.”

Persephone Station / Leicht, Stina
“On the backwater planet of Brynner, a community of android refugees, all female, are hiding since they were able to awaken their AI and escape servitude. But the Serrao-Orlov Corporation is nothing if not tenacious, and it wants their property back. However, Persephone is run by Rosie, and they are in charge of an organized group of beneficent criminals and assassins, along with a bunch of worn mercenaries who have a thing for doing the honorable thing, despite the odds.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Will save the galaxy for food / Croshaw, Yahtzee
“Space travel just isn’t what it used to be. With the invention of Quantum Teleportation, space heroes aren’t needed anymore. When one particularly unlucky ex-adventurer masquerades as famous pilot and hate figure Jacques McKeown, he’s sucked into an ever-deepening corporate and political intrigue. Between space pirates, adorable deadly creatures, and a missing fortune in royalties, saving the universe was never this difficult!” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The farthest : the story of Voyager : 12 billion miles, and counting
“In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager missions as a way of exploring the solar system’s outermost planets, capturing images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and their moons. “The farthest” documents Voyager’s journey, including first-hand accounts of the men and women who built the ships and guided their missions. Bonus film Second Genesis explores the scientific quest to find life, or evidence of it, beyond Earth.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Mooncop / Gauld, Tom
“The lunar colony is slowly winding down, like a small town circumvented by a new super highway. As our hero, the Mooncop, makes his daily rounds, his beat grows ever smaller, the population dwindles. A young girl runs away, a dog breaks off his leash, an automaton wanders off from the Museum. Mooncop is equal parts funny and melancholy, capturing essential truths about humanity and making this a story of the past, present, and future, all in one.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

We only find them when they’re dead. Book one, The seeker / Ewing, Al
“Captain Malik and the crew of his spaceship are in search of the only resources that matter – and can only be found by harvesting the giant corpses of alien gods that are found on the edge of human space. And now they see an opportunity to finally break free from this system: by being the first to find a living god.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The Enduring Popularity, and Many Faces and Films, of Agatha Christie

Neil

“Everything must be taken into account. If the fact will not fit the theory—let the theory go.”
― Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles

smile GIF

Agatha Christie’s books have for a long time been amongst the most popular books borrowed in libraries throughout the world and continue to be so even to this day, with book sales to match. She is the best-selling novelist of all time, selling a staggering 300 million books during her lifetime and a mind boggling estimated two billion to date. With such huge popularity it is no surprise that film makers rushed to her door looking for novels to adapt into scripts, though Agatha Christie herself famously said “My chief dislikes are crowds, loud noises, gramophones and cinemas.”

She grew up in an upper middle-class family in Torquay, a quiet, self-contained but happy child. Her first attempts at getting published were initially unsuccessful, however her luck changed in 1920 with the publication of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, the first book to feature one of her most successful detective creations Hercule Poirot. And from that point on her books just grew and grew in popularity.

The first film adaptation of her work was The Passing of Mr. Quinn in 1928 and many film adaptations throughout the years followed, with a new version of Death on the Nile scheduled to be released in 2022.

Most of the films feature one or other of Christie’s two big name detectives, Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple who have both been played by a wide variety of actors and actresses who have of course all brought their own style and approach to the characters. And it goes almost without saying that these films and television programmes have all reflected the times they were made (even if they had a historical backdrop).  From the cosy black and white, very British comic Miss Marple films of the 1960’s, starring Dame Margaret Rutherford, to the star-studded mega block buster Peter Ustinov films of the late 70’s and early 80’s. And then there is the highly unlikely (you have to see it to believe it) Arnold Schwarzenegger action thriller Sabotage, based on her And Then There Were None novel.  Not to mention the recent slickly-produced modern movies by Kenneth Branagh and the often more nuanced and measured television adaptations, such as the superb Joan Bogle Hickson BBC series.

Below is just a small selection of the Agatha Christie books, films and television series we have on offer.

Death on the Nile / Christie, Agatha
” The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile is shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful, a girl who had everything – until she lost her life. Hercule Poirot recalls an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: ‘I’d like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.’ Yet in this exotic setting’ nothing is ever quite what it seems…” (Adapted from Catalogue) Click  here for the 1978 star studded  Peter Ustinov film.

Murder on the Orient Express / Christie, Agatha
” Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer – in case he or she decides to strike again.” (Adapted from Catalogue) Click here for the 1976 version starring Albert Finney and here for the 2017 Kenneth Branagh version.

And then there were none / Christie, Agatha
” Ten strangers, apparently with little in common, are lured to an island mansion off the coast of Devon by the mysterious U.N.Owen. Over dinner, a record begins to play, and the voice of an unseen host accuses each person of hiding a guilty secret. That evening, former reckless driver Tony Marston is found murdered by a deadly dose of cyanide. The tension escalates as the survivors realise the killer is not only among them but is preparing to strike again… and again…” (Adapted from Catalogue). Click here for the availability of Sabotage, the Arnold Schwarzenegger action thriller based on And Then There Were None.

Evil under the sun / Christie, Agatha
” It was not unusual to find the beautiful bronzed body of the sun-loving Arlena Stuart stretched out on a beach, face down. Only, on this occasion, there was no sun… she had been strangled. Ever since Arlena’s arrival at the resort, Hercule Poirot had detected sexual tension in the seaside air. But could this apparent ‘crime of passion’ have been something more evil and premeditated altogether?” (Adapted from Catalogue). Click here forthe film starring Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, Jane Birkin, James Mason and Diana Rigg amongst others.

Why didn’t they ask Evans? / Christie, Agatha
“During a round of golf on a cliff-top course in Wales, Bobby Jones discovers a man lying gravely injured on the rocks below. His last words, “Why didn’t they ask Evans?,” two adventurous friends decide to find his killer…” (Adapted from Catalogue) Click here for the availability of the 1980 film which coincidently has Joan Hickson as  Mrs. Rivington before her time playing Miss Marple.

 

The body in the library / Christie, Agatha
“When the Bantrys wake to find the body of a beautiful young stranger in their library, Dolly Bantry knows there’s only one person to call: her old friend Miss Marple.” (Catalogue) Click here for the first series of Miss Marple Starring Joan Hickson, here for the second, here for the third  and here for the fourth.

 

The adventure of the Christmas pudding : and a selection of entrees / Christie, Agatha
“First came a sinister warning to Poirot not to eat any plum pudding … then the discovery of a corpse in a chest … next, an overheard quarrel that led to murder … the strange case of the dead man who altered his eating habits … and the puzzle of the victim who dreamt his own suicide. What links these five baffling cases? The little grey cells of Monsieur Hercule Poirot!” (Adapted from Catalogue) Click here for the availability of  first series of Hercule Poirot starring David Suchet, here for the second, here for the third and here for all our other numerous David Suchet,  Hercule Poirot items.

An autobiography / Christie, Agatha
“Agatha Christie’s ‘most absorbing mystery’ – her own autobiography, with new exclusive CD containing newly discovered priceless recordings of Agatha dictating excerpts from more than 40 years ago.” (Adapted from Catalogue) Click here for the availability of Agatha Christie’s garden : murder & mystery in Devon. A fascinating documentary about Agatha Christie’s personal Devon retreat Greenway which she described as   “the loveliest place in the world”

New DVDs for Te Awe

Mark

Here are some new DVDs added to the catalogue over July that are available at our CBD Te Awe Branch, and selected other locations. Also included are some of our On Order titles to give you a taste of what’s about to be released. Note: All ‘On Order’ titles are able to be reserved via the online catalogue.

New Material:
Zappa
The Glorias
Stepping out
Martha’s vineyard mystery collection. 1.
High ground.
The Brokenwood mysteries. Season 7.
Chaos walking

On Order:
Son Of The South
The Crown: Complete Season 4
CB Strike: Lethal White
Inspector Montalbano, 12
While At War
Locked Down
Finding You
No Man’s Land
Gunda










Staff Picks DVDs

Mark

Here is a mix of old and new movies (and a TV show) from our DVD shelves, storage facility, and online-streaming services, that Staff have been enjoying recently.

A beautiful day in the neighbourhood
It’s a Biographical film of Mister Rogers the American TV host of the pre-school television series Mr Rogers. A good yarn of a film with a feel-good factor about kindness, love, and forgiveness. (Maxine)

 

 

It Must Be Heaven
The Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman stars himself in his first feature in ten years and goes out from his homeland Nazareth to Paris and New York as ‘a citizen of the world’. He plays a film director but no one shows the interest in his film just like Palestrina has been often ignored from the rest of the world. The film implies serious messages, but with a touch of Jacques Tati and the unique Swedish maestro Roy Andersson, Suleiman makes it a minimal yet playful comedy. A droll gem. (Shinji)

Rams
Starring Michael Caton and Sam Neill. Marketed as a comedy, this movie is actually the heartbreaking tale of two brothers on neighbouring farms, who have not spoken a civil word in 40 years. Faced with the catastrophic outbreak of disease in the region, and savage bushfires, they are forced to work together to save their tiny flock of rare-breed sheep. (Kath)

 

Dogfight
This largely unknown little gem from 1991 tells a story of an unlikely but lovely one-night stand. Set in San Francisco in the mid-60s, it unfolds when U.S marines hold a big party before being sent to Vietnam. Featuring brilliant, flesh-and-blood performances by Lili Taylor and River Phoenix, the director Nancy Savoca sensitively crafts a sweet, moving affair. Soundtracks from the 60s folk music including Bob Dylan and Odetta make it even more memorable. (Shinji)

 

Capricorn One.
Another classic 70s deep state conspiracy thriller, along the lines of The Parallax View. Due to an immanent systems failure ‘Capricorn One’ – the first crewed mission to Mars – blasts off without its crew. Another failed space mission would result in NASA’s funding being cut and private contractors losing millions in profits, so the astronauts are taken to an abandoned warehouse fitted out as a TV studio, and blackmailed into filming counterfeit televised footage during the flight. But when the spacecraft burns up during atmospheric re-entry, what happens to them now….Written and directed by Peter Hyams with Elliott Gould as a crusading journalist out to discover the truth, and James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O. J. Simpson as the astronauts. A good solid old fashioned thriller. (Mark)

Shadow of a doubt
One of Hitchcock’s early American efforts, ‘Shadow of a Doubt’ explores the darkness lurking beneath the surface of an idyllic Californian town. Teenage Charlie is thrilled when her namesake uncle Charlie comes to stay, but soon comes to suspect he might be running away from something horrific. The cosy domesticity of the family home becomes increasingly claustrophobic as Charlie’s suspicions grow more certain, but the rest of the family remain blissfully ignorant, taken in by Uncle Charlie’s easy charm. Hitchcock called this his favourite of all his films and it’s not hard to see why – every element is pitch perfect, from the performances to the atmosphere to the undermining of the seemingly ideal nuclear family. Definitely worth a watch! (Charlotte)

Happy as Lazzaro
In this half social and half magical realism dram, new Italian auteur Alice Rohrwacher creates an enigmatic modern fable by avoiding the explanatory narrative and letting images and sounds talk. With the surprising twist at the middle point, it offers a unique cinematic experience like no other. Bewitching. (Shinji)

 

A chorus line
The classic Broadway musical, brought to the screen. Set at an audition for a Broadway chorus line, a group of young hopefuls share their hopes and dreams. Killer musical numbers and a great storyline. Directed by Richard Attenborough. (Kath)

 

 

The Undoing
Based on the Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel You Should have known, this highly anticipated HBO’s mini-series follows a wealthy, perfect-looking New York couple who becomes the centre of the high-profile murder case. Although it’s not the best work by director Susanne Bier (After the Wedding, The Night Manager), the superb performances by the starry cast led by Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman and the great Donald Sutherland make it a more than watchable psychological suspense. (Shinji)

I, Daniel Blake
The story of a 59 year old carpenter who finds himself out of work, trying to navigate the welfare system in the UK with dignity and respect. This film humanises welfare recipients and highlights just how punitive and discriminatory the systems in place are. Pack your tissues for this one! (Kath)

 

 

Caravaggio
I recently had the pleasure of watching Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio, which I borrowed on DVD. I saw it years back, but I went back again as I’d just read through his collected sketchbooks. I found it doubly wonderful to see his drawings and poems rendered into their final form- even more moving than before. I’d enjoyed his other films in the past, but none had made the same impact as this, hot on the heels of his personal writing. It’s a strange and sumptuous feast of a film, unexpected, anachronistic and beautiful- and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Our collections on his sketchbooks– and the book on his garden– make for wonderful companions! (Alex)

Bill & Ted face the music
William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and “Ted” Theodore Logan are back, grown up, still married to the Medieval Babes and now parents of daughters that are very like them! Faced with the end of time yet again, they’re tasked with travelling through time to save the universe. And their daughters follow them on their quest. It’s silly, it’s full of call backs to the original movies, and it’s a great way to pass a couple of hours. (Kath)

 

[Bemafilm only]
Never released on DVD in Australasia ‘Time Lapse’ is an award winning indie-Sci-Fi film that has recently been added to our streaming service Bemafilm. Finn is a painter with a creative block, who lives together with his girlfriend Callie and his best friend Jasper in an apartment complex where Finn works as a manager. When they go to check on a reclusive elderly tenant they discover a strange machine in his apartment that takes Polaroid photos of their living room’s picture window—apparently 24 hours in the future, always at 8pm. Discovering the mysterious charred corpse of the tenant in his storage facility, they decide to use the machine for their own financial and artistic gain. However this means they have to make sure the events depicted in the photos come to pass or the timeline won’t be real… no matter what they show. Intriguing low-key Sci-Fi that digs into the ideas of causal loops, makes clever use of a static location and relies on a ideas rather than effects. Recommended if you like films such as Coherence & Primer. (Mark)

If Beale Street could Talk
Barry Jenkins’ follow up to the Oscar winner ‘Moonlight’ is a faithful adaption of a James Baldwin novel, and is a lyrical portrait of a young black couple who is facing injustice. The deeply rooted racial issue is the undertow of the film, but with his poetic aesthetic, Jenkins crafts a haunting yet beautiful love story. Glorious. (Shinji)

 

Nobody
If you ever watched ‘Breaking Bad’ or ‘Better Call Saul’ & wondered what the shows would have been like if Bob Odenkirk had been cast as Walter White and Bryan Cranston had been cast as the comical lawyer Saul Goodman, then this is the movie for you. This action thriller directed by Russian director Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry) and written by Derek Kolstad (creator of the John Wick franchise) sees Odenkirk plays Hutch Mansell, a seemingly average middle aged office worker, who helps a young woman on the bus being harassed by a gang of thugs, only to become the target of a vengeful drug lord. However, much like John Wick, Hutch is not the mild-mannered guy he is pretending to be, and what follows is a hugely entertaining action-fest full of bonkers violence, absurdly entertaining scenes, and a good deal of tongue in cheek self-awareness. Tons of fun. (Mark)

Hammer Horror

Neil

Yahoo movies christopher lee horreur GIF - Find on GIFER

Human fangs ripping throats – no sawdust can soak up the torrent of blood”

Vampire Circus (1972)

Back in their heyday of the late 60s and early 70s, if you wanted your blood chilled at the cinema, then there was one film studio whose output was almost entirely designed to do the job – Hammer Film Productions Ltd. The company was initially founded in 1934, and up until 1955 their output was more mainstream, including movies such as Dick Barton: Special Agent; a film adaptation of the BBC radio play.

It wasn’t until 1955 with The Quatermass Experiment that they truly ventured into the Horror Genre. The film pushed the boundaries of censorship for the time, which they continued to do. The company then went on to revive horror classic characters such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy. Starting with The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957, of which the BBFC censor said “We are concerned about the flavour of this script, which, in its preoccupation with horror and gruesome detail, goes far beyond what we are accustomed to allow even for the ‘X’ category.” They pressed ahead anyway, bringing a new vein of vivid technicolour to the Horror and the rest, as they say, is history.

By the late 70s, due to changes in audience taste and saturation of the market, their days were numbered. In 2007 the studio name was sold and, like a reanimated creature of Frankenstein, the studio lived again, releasing several films such as Let Me In, The Resident, the chilling The Woman in Black, The Quiet Ones, and most recently The Lodge. We have a number of Hammer Horror related books and DVDs old and new available to freeze your soul on these wild, bleak, windswept winter nights; for a small selection, check our list below.

Hammer horror collection
“The curse of Frankstein” – Victor Frankenstein builds a creature and brings it to life. But his creature behaves not as he intended. “Horror of Dracula” – After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle, the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker’s fiance. The only one who may be able to protect them is Dr. van Helsing.”The Mummy” – In the 1890s a team of British archaeologists discover the untouched tomb of Princess Ananka but accidentally bring the mummified body of her High Priest back to life. ” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Flesh & blood: the Hammer heritage of horror
“Documentary charting the rise and fall of the world’s most successful independent film company. Includes film clips, trailers, behind-the-scenes home movies, rare photos and in-depth interviews with actors, directors, producers and writers.” (Catalogue)

 

 

Hammer House of Horror
“Hammer House of Horror is synonymous with terror, suspense and the supernatural. These alternative bed-time stories sparked millions of sleepless nights when originally screened and remain as scary as ever! The stories cover a wide range. Thrills and chills. Mystery and intrigue. Suspense and the supernatural. Everything from sheer spine-tingling horror to sinister drama, the occult and the eerie.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Kiss of the vampire
“Honeymooning in Bavaria, Gerald and Marianne Harcourt experience car trouble and are forced to spend a few days in a small remote village. Soon Doctor Ravna, owner of the impressive chateau that sits imposingly above the village, invites them to dinner and the couple are persuaded to go. Their association with Ravna and his charming beautiful family is to prove disastrous as they become unwittingly embroiled with this company of vampires who seek to initiate them into their diabolical creed…..” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Let me in
“Abby, an eerily self-possessed young girl, emerges from her heavily curtained apartment only at night and always barefoot, seemingly immune to the bitter winter elements. Owen, an alienated 12-year-old boy, recognizes a fellow outcast and opens up to her, forming a unique bond. But as a string of grisly murders occupy his town, Owen has to confront the reality that this seemingly innocent girl might be hiding an unthinkable secret.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The quiet ones
“Tucked away in an estate outside of London, Professor Coupland along with a team of university students conducts an “experiment” on Jane Harper, a young girl who harbors unspeakable secrets. What dark forces they uncover are more terrifying than any of them expected. Inspired by true events.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

House of horror : the complete Hammer Films story
“The Complete Hammer Films Story traces the complete history of Hammer from its early origins through to its golden era of classic horror movies and presents a comprehensive view of Hammer’s importance and influence in world cinema. Includes interviews with Hammer stars, detailed analysis of all horror and fantasy films, and dozens of rare and exciting photographs and posters, fully illustrated A-Z of key Hammer personnel, directory of unfilmed projects complete filmography and full film index.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The art of Hammer : posters from the archive of Hammer Films / Hearn, Marcus
“Over fifty years ago, with the release of The Curse of Frankenstein and Christopher Lee’s iconic performance in Dracula, Hammer ushered in a whole new era of blood and barely-restrained cleavage in glorious color, mixing sex and horror with a style and panache that made the small British company world famous. The Art of Hammer collects the very best and most iconic movie posters produced for the Hammer studio. This lavish hardcover brings together rare artwork from around the world. ” (Adapted From Catalogue)

New DVDs for Te Awe

Mark

Here are some new DVDs added to the catalogue over June that are available at our CBD Te Awe Branch, and selected other locations. Also included are some of our On Order titles to give you a taste of what’s about to be released. Note: All ‘On Order’ titles are able to be reserved via the online catalogue.

New Material:
Promising young woman
Miss Virginia
The dry
The marksman.
It’s a sin.
Spread your wings.
Nomadland
Joanna Lumley’s trans-Siberian adventure.
Into the labyrinth.
Love, weddings & other disasters
Ammonite.
Sound of metal
Oliver Sacks : his own life
Intelligence. Season 1.
Eighth grade
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Unforgotten. Series 4.
Nobody
Long story short.

On Order:
Six Minutes To Midnight
Only The Animals
Midsomer Murders: Season 21
His Dark Materials: Complete Season 2
French Exit
Flesh And Blood: (TV Mini-Series)
The Drowning
Triumph
Land
Defending Jacob: ; Season 1
Bram Stoker’s Van Helsing
Judas and the Black messiah
Come as you are.



























“Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a soul:” our selection of Studio Ghibli films.

Neil

Studio Ghibli Flowers GIF
“Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a soul.”

–The Baron, ‘The Cat Returns’ Studio Ghibli (2002).

Occasionally a film will lift itself from being a cinematic experience to being a work of art.
Studio Ghibli however has established itself as a studio that creates exquisite cinematic artworks time after time, whilst also making sure that the films are hugely enjoyable, entertaining and, when required, profound.

Founded in 1985 Studio Ghibli is widely recognised as one of the finest animation studios on the planet. Nominated for Academy awards for best animated feature on no less than five occasions and winner in 2001 for Spirited Away. The studio’s stylistic influences range from romantic Victorian steam punk, Ukiyo-e woodblock printing to traditional Japanese brush work and fantasy art. Likewise the subjects and themes range from adaptations of literary works, traditional mythology to studio penned original works and historical inspired works.

After their 1986 film Valley of the Wind was cut to ribbons in the U.S., Studio Ghibli refused to release their works in the West. And it was only after a no-edit distribution deal with Disney that this changed. Indeed, when one studio executive suggested edits the studio reportedly sent them a Samurai sword with a note that only said ‘no cuts’.

We have all the beautiful, lyrical, exciting, funny, and mysterious Studio Ghibli films in our collections.
Below is just a small selection.

Howl’s moving castle
“Sophie, an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. After this chance meeting she is turned into a 90-year old woman by the vain and conniving Witch of the Waste. Embarking on an incredible adventure to lift the curse, she finds refuge in Howl’s magical moving castle where she becomes acquainted with Markl, Howl’s apprentice, and a hot-headed fire demon named Calcifer. ” (Adapted from Catalogue)

My neighbor Totoro
“Deep inside a tree trunk, two children discover a fascinating new world inhabited by Totoros, amazing, charming creatures who become their friends.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

 

Ponyo
“A young boy named Sosuke rescues a goldfish named Ponyo, and they embark on a fantastic journey of friendship before Ponyo’s father forces her to return to the sea. Ponyo’s desire to be human upsets the balance of nature and only Ponyo’s mother, a beautiful sea goddess, can restore nature’s balance and make Ponyo’s dreams come true.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

Spirited away
“Spirited away is a wondrous fantasy about a young girl named Chihiro who discovers a secret world of strange spirits, creatures and sorcery. When her parents are mysteriously transformed, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

Arrietty
“In a secret world hidden beneath the floorboards, little people called Borrowers live quietly among us. But when tenacious and tiny Arrietty is discovered by Shawn, a human boy, their secret and forbidden friendship blossoms into an extraordinary adventure.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

 

Porco Rosso
“Slouching towards middle age, Porco Rosso makes his living by flying about in his red bi-plane and fighting sky bandits who prey on cruise ships sailing the Adriatic. When he’s not engaging in dog fights, this pilot lives on a deserted island retreat. Porco was once a strappling young man, but after his entire squardron was wiped out, he is mysteriously transformed into a pig. Then he is defeated in a dogfight against a dashing American rival, who has been hired by the dastardly bandits. With his plane damaged, he finds a repair hanger near Milan where a local woman fixes his plane.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Grave of the fireflies
“Orphaned Seita and his four-year-old sister struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside after a World War II bombing; the helplessness and indifference of their countrymen is more painful than the enemy raids.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

 

The collected works of Hayao Miyazaki.
“Featuring the collected works of legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. One of the founding members of Studio Ghibli, this limited edition box set collect’s all of Miyazaki’s full length feature films. Includes Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979), Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Porco Rosso (1992), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Ponyo (2008) and The Wind Rises (2013). ” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Studio Ghibli : the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata / Odell, Colin
“The animations of Japan’s Studio Ghibli are amongst the highest regarded in the movie industry. This book examines all their major works and explores the cultural and thematic threads that bind these films together.” (Catalogue)

New DVDs for Te Awe

Mark

Here are some new DVDs added to the catalogue over April that are available at our CBD Te Awe Branch, and selected other locations. Also included are some of our On Order titles to give you a taste of what’s about to be released. Note: All ‘On Order’ titles are able to be reserved via the online catalogue.

New Material:
Archenemy.
Misbehaviour
Happiest season
The deceived.

On Order:
Secret Impressionists.
Days Of The Bagnold Summer.
Agatha And The Curse Of Ishtar.
Bloodlands.
The Little Things.
The Pembrokeshire Murders (TV Mini-series)
A Friendly Tale.
Blackbird.
Life (TV Mini-Series).
Minari.
Don’t Look Back.
The Sinners.












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New DVDs for Te Awe

Mark

Here are some new DVDs added to the catalogue over March that are available at our CBD Te Awe Branch, and selected other locations. Also included are a few of our On Order titles to give you a taste of what’s about to be released. Note: All ‘On Order’ titles are able to be reserved via the online catalogue.

New material:
Gauguin in Tahiti . Paradise lost.
Three identical strangers.
A bump along the way
Freaky
Tootsie
The Mallorca files. Series one.
The undoing : an HBO limited series.
The witches
Lucky grandma.
Babyteeth
Rosie.
Dreamland
Soul

On Order:
All Creatures Great & Small: Complete Season 1.
Death In Paradise: Complete Season 10.
Honour (TV Mini-series).
A Gift From Bob.
My Salinger Year.
Penguin Bloom.
Summerland.
Wild Mountain Thyme.
All My Life.
Centigrade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New DVDs for Te Awe

Mark

Here are some new DVDs added to the catalogue over February that are available at our CBD Te Awe Branch, and selected other locations. Also included are a few of our On Order titles to give you a taste of what’s about to be released. Note: All ‘On Order’ titles are able to be reserved via the online catalogue.

New material:
Angie
Honest thief
Saint Judy
Dinner with friends.
Irresistible
It must be Heaven
Rams.
Miss Scarlet & the duke.
Penny Dreadful, City of Angels.
Room 212
Apartment 1BR.
Vivarium.
The outpost

On Order:
Monsoon.
The South Westerlies: Complete Season 1.
Let Him Go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Within the Mystery of WandaVision

Monty

After a lengthy hiatus, the Marvel Universe of films have restarted on Disney Plus with the unexpected meta-fictional world of WandaVision. Continuing on from the endgames of the last Avengers film, WandaVision eschews the usual Marvel film template with interlocking levels of mystery and deeply conflicted characters all wrapped up within a darkly satirical sitcom parody running across the decades.

Below are a selection of comics, films, TV series and books that directly influenced WandaVision’s complex world of mischievous invention, enigma and heartbreak. From comics that helped drive plot in the TV series to TV sitcoms that influence each episode’s comedy, look and feel, to the Marvel films themselves, consider this a sideways look into the many genius aspects of WandaVision

Vision : the complete collection / King, Tom
“He was created to kill the Avengers but he turned against his “father.” He found a home among Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and love in the arms of the Scarlet Witch. It didn’t end well. Now, the Vision just wants an ordinary life with a wife and two children, a home in the suburbs, perhaps even a dog. But it won’t end any better. Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta confound expectations in their heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, breath-taking magnum opus collected in all its Eisner Award-winning glory.” (Catalogue)

House of M / Bendis, Brian Michael
“The Marvel event of the decade is here! The Avengers and the X-Men are faced with a common foe that becomes their greatest threat: Wanda Maximoff! The Scarlet Witch is out of control, and the fate of the entire world is in her hands. Will Magneto help his daughter or use her powers to his own benefit? Starring the Astonishing X-Men and the New Avengers! You know how sometimes you hear the phrase: ‘and nothing will ever be the same again?’ Well, this time believe it, buster! Nothing will ever be the same again! Collects House of M #1-8, and Pulse House of M Special Edition Newspaper.” (Catalogue)

Scarlet Witch [1] : witches’ road / Robinson, James Dale
“Wanda Maximoff ‘s magical mystery tour continues on the streets of Paris; she will find the broken-hearted hero Le Peregrine. Can Wanda mend his broken wings and help him soar again? She’ll risk life and limb to try; next stop, Hong Kong, where an ancient warlock named the Dark Tongi has taken a powerful hold. Wanda must seek the help of a young witch, known as the Wu – but she has her own battle to fight. The former Avenger’s personal journey gets reflective as she explores her early memories and attempts to reconcile the sins of her past, but it’s time for a family reunion with her twin brother Pietro…but what happens when the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are on opposing sides? ” (Catalogue)

Overdrive cover Avengers: Disassembled, Brian Michael Bendis (ebook)
Collects Avengers (1998) #500-503. It begins with the return of a team member thought dead and by the time it’s over, everything you know about the Avengers will have changed! It’s the worst day in team history, as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes try to deal with the shocking tragedy around them. Who is behind this, and why? Will it tear the team apart? Who will fall at the hands of the Avengers’ greatest enemy? Guest-starring every Avenger…ever! (Overdrive description)

Pleasantville
“Two 1990’s teenagers find themselves in a 1950’s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world.” (Catalogue)

 

 

The twilight zone : the original series. Season one. “There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call… The Twilight Zone.” (Catalogue)

 

Gilmore girls. The complete first season
“Lorelai and Rory are a mother and daughter who are sharing life’s ups and downs in a small town in Connecticut. This heartfelt, humorous drama appeals to young and old alike with it’s blend of traditional family issues and hip attitude.” (Catalogue)

 

 

Modern family. The complete first season
“Modern Family takes a refreshing and funny view of what it means to raise a family in this hectic day and age. Multicultural relationships, adoption, and same-sex marriage are just a few of the timely issues faced by the show’s three wildly diverse broods. No matter the size or shape, family always comes first in this hilariously ‘modern’ look at life, love, and laughter.” (Catalogue)

 

The office [US]. Season one
“Earnest but clueless regional manager Michael Scott, the world’s worst manager, provides hilarious examples of bad management practice at the local Dunder Mifflin Paper Company Inc. office.” (Catalogue)

 

 

Avengers. Endgame
“The grave course of events set in motion by Thanos that wiped out half the universe and fractured their ranks compels the remaining to take one final stand in the grand conclusion to twenty-two films.” (Catalogue)

 

 

Captain America : civil war
“After another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps, one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark₂s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.” (Catalogue)

New DVDs for Te Awe

Mark

Some new DVDs added to the catalogue over December/January that are available at our CBD Te Awe Branch, and selected other locations. Also included are a few of our On Order titles to give you a taste of what’s about to be released. Note: All ‘On Order’ titles are able to be reserved via the online catalogue.

New material:
The pale horse
The secret garden
My brilliant friend. the story of a new name / Series 2 :
Of love & lies
Underwater
Taken. Season one.
I used to go here
Never look away
Who you think I am
Baby done
Savage.
Greenland
Dirt music.
London kills. Series 2.
Penance.

On Order:
Echo In The Canyon
The Mystery Of Henri Pick
The Trouble With Maggie Cole 
Stargirl: Complete Season 1
Roadkill: (TV Mini-series) 
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
Tesla 
Us: (TV Mini-Series) 
Hope Gap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Staff Picks – The Best of 2020: DVDs

Mark

COVID-19 impacted on the Movie & TV industry quite heavily in 2020 with many films and shows delayed, or when released, only via online streaming platforms and not on a physical format. All of this affected the Library DVD collection to some degree, however there will still a lot of quality releases that we enjoyed over the course of the year, and here are some of our favourites.

Kath’s Picks:
This town
So this film was promoted as a comedy, which it sort of is… but it’s dark. Really dark. I did laugh, but more often I found myself drawing a sharp breath and thinking “Oh no!” Written, directed and starring David White, this recent New Zealand film is the story of Sean (White), a man with a troubled past searching for love. He meets Casey (Alice May Connolly), a sweet local girl and they fall for one another. But the spanner in the works of their romance is ex-cop Pam (Robyn Malcolm) who is determined to put Sean behind bars for a crime he has already been acquitted of. There is something sweet and gentle about Sean and Casey’s relationship that I found endearing, even if they are both a bit on the gormless side. It has a really good solid twist at the end that I never saw coming.

My spy
Look it’s never going to win any Oscars and it’s the common trope of “tough guy softened by cute kid”, but it was sweet, heart-warming and fun to watch. Starring Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) as JJ, a hard nosed CIA operative and Chloe Coleman as Sophie, the cute and smart kid who blackmails him into teaching her to be tough and cool to beat the bullies at school. Turns out that Chloe isn’t quite as vulnerable as she thinks and JJ isn’t the tough guy he tries to project to the world. It’s funny and endearing, and a great movie for the whole family.

Gus’s Pick:
Tenet
Christopher Nolan’s latest heady blockbuster had to clear a lot of hurdles to reach screens this year, namely the worldwide pandemic, and once viewers were finally able to watch the film safely, it was met not with relief but with an exasperation not seen since the release of Nolan’s earlier film Inception. Part Primer and part Bond movie, Tenet follows a secret agent who uncovers the mysterious TENET organisation, whose members can harness the “inversion” of time and undo potential catastrophes before they happen. The appeal of the backwards time gimmick is at turns both delightful and frustrating, as bullets returning into guns and car chases conducted entirely in reverse eventually grow into whole battles conducted backwards and forwards in time that leave you more confused than entertained. But if you’re willing to roll with its admittedly cool premise (and maybe consult a few message boards), you’ll find TENET to be another action-packed high-concept romp from one of cinema’s most engaging populist auteurs.

Neil J.’s Picks:
The gentlemen/
Ritchie back on form doing what Ritchie does best snappy, sharp and twisty a film that rattles along!

 

 

 

Bill & Ted face the music
Surprisingly faithful to the originals fun, funny, goofy with a great heart.

 

 

 

Color out of space
Nic Cage goes Bonkers as only Nic Cage can in this Lovecraftian horror. Totally OTT pulpy B movie in feel, look out for the Llamas!!!!! (if you like try Mandy, which is Cage out there where the buses don’t run).

 

 

The booksellers.
A documentary about booksellers what could be more perfect!! Engaging, comfy and entertaining.

 

 

 

The invisible man
The umpteenth remake of the HG Wells novel (my fav is the 1933 James Whale version starring Claude Rains) but this version is pretty good too for very different reasons. This time it is as a modern day edge of the seat horror thriller.

 

 

Farmageddon : a Shaun the Sheep movie
A really well made family movie where the love and care of the animators can be seen in every frame right down to their fingerprints on the clay, a sweet and adorable film.

 

 

The personal history of David Copperfield ,
Quirky, offbeat, historical comedy. Fabulous comic performances all round, a film bursting with warmth and humanity. At the polar opposite of Iannucci’s previous film outing the hugely enjoyable The Death of Stalin, in which the humour is as pitch black as it comes.

 

 

Shinji’s Picks:
Sorry we missed you.
A compelling portrait of courier driver Ricky, who wants to be self-employed, and his family. Their struggle highlights the injustice that ‘working poor’ people are facing today, particularly in the gig economy. It might make you feel depressed, but like its brilliant predecessor I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach’s masterful direction makes it a powerful yet warm, sensitive drama. A stellar work.

 

Pain and glory.
Pedro Almodovar usually entertains us with unpredictable, twisted plots, but this semi-autobiographical film is rather low-key by his standard. His most trusted actor Antonio Banderas superbly plays a successful old filmmaker who looks back on his life and career. It’s about love and memory, and depicted in a very personal, almost confessional way. The 70-year-old Almodovar probably had to make this film to finish up the chapter he has been in to move on. Deeply affecting.

Portrait of a lady on fire
A slow burning period drama by the new French auteur Celine Sciamma (Tomboy, Girlhood) about two women; a noble bride-to-be and an artist who is commissioned to paint her portrait. It’s a subtly nuanced love story of these women but deep emotions lie underneath, which come out at the moving ending scene. Brilliantly performed by two leading actors, it’s a gracefully crafted, captivating work. Sublime.

 

Monos
Set in an astonishing looking mountainous landscape, it follows a group of teenage soldiers and an American female hostage, who is captured by their ‘organisation’. This slightly bizarre tale – somewhere between Lord of the Flies and Apocalypse Now – is all about survival. The film left us with more questions than answers, but it’s a vigorous, uncompromised work by the Colombian filmmaker Alejandro Landes. Impressive.

 

Queen & Slim.
Their first date was a rather forgettable one. A young black man and woman, Slim and Queen, just wanted to go home but when the white policeman stopped their car, everything changed. A Thelma & Louise like runaway saga begins from there but it has a serious ‘Black Lives Matter’ spin. The debut director Melina Matsoukas, who has made fine music videos for the likes of Beyonce and Rihanna, offers a dark but sharp, stylish drama with a great soundtrack. Brilliant.

For Sama.
Watching multi-award-winning documentary ‘For Sama’ is not easy. It’s a report from a war zone; the city of Aleppo, Syria. The city is under siege, Russian planes come and bomb. Eight out of the nine hospitals in East Aleppo had been destroyed. From the one hospital left, a student journalist turned filmmaker, Waad Al-Kateab shows us the devastating but most intimate, insightful realities of war. She married a doctor and became a mother during the battle of Aleppo (2012-2016). The film is dedicated for her daughter ‘Sama’ and is also a love letter to the city and its people. Incredibly touching.

Monty’s Picks:
Watchmen
Hugely enjoyable, unpredictable romp through the Watchmen comic-book universe that only occasionally borrows from the Alan Moore comics. The alternative earth of Watchmen is slightly removed from the United States now, but the fascist society, hidden and obvious racism reflected within the plot point towards the awfulness of Trump’s America. Despite the larger agenda, the human story portrayed across generations is beautifully told and amazingly acted especially by Regina King, Louis Gossett Jr and Jeremy Irons.

The dead don’t die
Jim Jarmusch has made a Zombie film finally – what took him so long?? Full of knowing in-joke asides, laid back performances, laconic dialogue and deliberate pacing, this may not be for everyone but will satisfy Jarmusch completists, and anyone wanting to see Bill Murray and Adam Driver driving together forever.

 

 

Des
David Tennant is very believable as mild mannered yet unpredictable serial killer Dennis Nilsen in this UK production of the famous murder case from the 1980’s. Des transcends other police procedurals by reversing the whodunnit tradition – we know who-did-it in the first half hour and the effective tension in the rest of the series results from how he’ll be convicted, and what toll it will take on the police, the media and those around the oblivious, destructive serial killer.

 

Wellington paranormal. Season 2.
New Zealand’s premier horror-comedy set in Wellington featuring a secret police squad dealing with everyday kiwi-monsters. Familiar, brilliant and occasionally unnerving.

 

 

Mark’s Picks:
Homecoming. Season one.
TV series based on the popular Podcast starring Julia Roberts & directed by Mr Robot’s Sam Esmail. Playing out both in the past & the present, Roberts is a social worker at the Homecoming Transitional Support Center, a live-in facility run by the mysterious Geist Group that helps soldiers transition to civilian life; and also 4 years later a waitress with little memory of her previous life and job. Just what happened at Homecoming is slowly teased out in this slow moving, enigmatic & engaging drama.

Billions. Season four.
Former enemies Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff), the chief counselor to each, come together to form an uneasy alliance aimed at the eradication of all their rivals. Horrible rich people doing rich people things to each other. There’s no one to really like anymore as everyone is just as corrupt and vicious as everyone else, but that’s probably the point. An indictment of 21st century capitalism and the nexus of finance, power and the law.

Unhinged
Russell Crowe packs on the pounds and channels his inner angry Nic Cage self, as an angry white man who decides to hand out a lesson in manners. Bonkers B-movie fun!

 

 

Mr. Robot. the final season. Season_4.0 :
How to end a show that saw itself as a diatribe against modern capitalism & the power of corporations, a cold thriller focusing on ‘hacks’ the way that other prestige shows & movies take on ‘heists’; yet also at certain points a dreamy weird non-linear Twin Peaks of Tech, full of surreal characters & labyrinthine plotlines that often don’t seem to work, or even make sense. After a somewhat ponderous 3rd season creator Sam Esmail manages to pull everything (including protagonist Elliot’s multiple personalities) together, by making the focus of the last season the characters need to step away from the world of their screens and connect face to face emotionally with one another and with themselves. At times a frustrating show, even as it was fascinating, the final episodes managed to provide a cohesion & closure to the epic 4 season narrative.

Pauline’s Pick:
This town

 

 

 

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“It’s only forever, not long at all.” The films of David Bowie

Neil

The truth is, of course, that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.”
― David Bowie

Its been five years since David Bowie passed on the 10th of Jan 2016. Commonly regarded as one of the most important musicians of the 20th century his albums gaining ten platinum certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, and sold in excess of 100 million albums. Following his death Rolling stone declared him the “Greatest Rock Star Ever”.

We have a very substantial collection of Bowie CD’s in our collection click here for the full list.

However, Bowie was much more than just a rock star his interests were rich and varied and covered just about every cultural field imaginable including books, he was a voracious reader (click here to see the blog we did about Bowie’s love of books); art he collected; he wrote about and exhibited art; theatre both as an actor in productions such as Elephant man and as a playwright in one of his last creative endeavours Lazarus, and also, of course, film.

And it is his career in film we are going to briefly look at in this blog.

All the films below are in our catalogue and available to borrow. Enjoy!


The prestige
“Still arguably Christopher Nolan’s best film. The prestige is set against the backdrop of turn-of-the-century London. Two magicians share an intense rivalry with each other and leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy. The rivalry is so intense that is will be full of obsession, deceit and jealousy, with both dangerous and deadly consequences. From the time that Robert angier and Alfred Bordon first met, the two were competitors. However, their once friendly competition evolves into battle for each other’s trade secrets.” (Adapted from Catalogue) 

Basquiat
“Bowie plays Andy Warhol to a tee (who famously hated the song Bowie wrote about him) in this film based on the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a young American unknown graffiti artist who lived on the streets of New York City in a cardboard box. Jean-Michel was “discovered” by Andy Warhol’s art world and became a star. Basquiat is a brilliant artist whose success came at a high price.”(Adapted from Catalogue) 

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
“Bowie plays Major Jack Celliers (alongside fellow musician Ryuichi Sakamoto as his Japanese counterpart) in this powerful wartime drama where the story focuses on a battle of wills and philosophies fought between Major Celliers as the prisoner of war, and the camp commander, Captain Yonnoi. Captain Yonnoi is mystified by the new prisoner that he fails to intimidate and believes he is evil spirit. In a desperate attempt to restore his sense of power, he provokes Celliers into a final act of defiance which seals both their fates.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Twin Peaks : Fire walk with me
“Bowie plays the Hawian shirted enigmatic agent Phillip Jeffries in Fire walk with me and used unused footage of Bowie from the film in the 2017 Television series Twin Peaks: the return. The film traces the week leading up to Laura’s death, Fire Walk With Me explores the darkness engulfing her soul and lays bare her downward spiral into drug abuse and sexual depravity. It’s a journey filled with symbolism, dream imagery, bizarre characters and a startling new interpretation of the Red Room. “(Adapted from Catalogue) 

Zoolander
“Bowies brief but memorable role in Zoolander is really just a cameo where he plays himself judging a fashion runway ‘walk-off’ in the zany fun and outrageous fashion comedy starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Director Ben Stiller later admitted he was ‘in shock’ when Bowie agreed saying that it was ‘the high point of his career’.” (Adapted from Catalogue) 

Labyrinth
“Bowie plays the creepy and sexy evil Jareth king of the goblins in this Muppetastic 80’s Family favourite, which was met with mixed reviews on its release and is now regarded as a firm family favourite. When young Sarah cavalierly wishes that goblins would take her crying baby brother away, she gets her wish. Now, she must confront Gareth – ruler of a mystical world one step removed from reality, master of the goblins who abducted her brother… and creator of the treacherous labyrinth that Sarah must solve in order to make things right.” (Adapted from Catalogue) 

The man who fell to Earth
“In many peoples opinion including Bowie himself his was his best film. He liked it so much he bought the rights to the book and co wrote the play Lazurus as a sequel not to mention using elements from his abandoned soundtrack in Low . The Polymesmeric, non linear plot added to the films unique strangeness. The film loosely revolves around Thomas Jerome Newton a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. But director Nicolas Roeg’s aims for the film are far loftier and highbrow than any basic plot creating a labyrinthian maze of interlocking visuals, concepts and ideas. A truly stunning film in many ways way ahead of its time and also strangely slightly dated ” . (Adapted from Catalogue) 

New DVDs at Te Awe

Mark

Here are some new movies & TV Shows recently added to our collection and available at our CBD Te Awe Library and selected Branch locations.

Laurel Canyon
Mulan
Treadstone. Season one
The crown. The complete third season
Where’d you go, Bernadette
Military wives (Television)
Westworld. Season three, The new world
Between two worlds. Season one
Monos
Radioactive
Cosmos : possible worlds
Inspector Montalbano. Volume 11




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff Picks CDs & DVDs

Mark

Staff Picks are back, with a completely random selection of new & old material that Library Staff have been watching & viewing recently!


Punisher. / Bridgers, Phoebe
When I reminisce about the apocalyptic hellscape that has been 2020, this album makes a fitting soundtrack. Flitting between jubilant and despondent, edgy and soft, this is a sophisticated offering which will appeal to those who spent their adolescence in the grip of emo pop rock, but who now prefer a bit more nuance. (Cassie)

Ghosts of West Virginia / Earle, Steve
Singer/Songwriter/Activist Steve Earle is involved in a project concerning a coal mining explosion that killed 29 miners. He wrote the music for this public theatre project in conjunction with documentary playwrights, who interviewed the families of the dead and the few survivors. He has a distinctive voice and writes powerful lyrics. Also includes 3 songs not in the play, but of a similar theme. I particularly liked Black Lung. (Greg)

The shocking Miss Emerald. / Emerald, Caro
Dutch chanteuse Caro Emerald’s Retro, Big Band singing style will get your toes tapping and your mood uplifted! These jazzy pop songs may be the Perfect hot (Hopefully) summer) soundtrack. (David)

Baduizm. / Badu, Erykah
I’ve been doing a deep dive into the murky waters of the music of my adolescence lately. There are so many classic records in the 90s and any deep drive into this decade brings you to the glory that is Erykah Badu’s “Baduizm”. Released in 1997, this record was Badu’s debut album that crowned her the high priestess of neo-soul. This record is uniquely Badu, mixing the singing style of Billie Holiday with soul, R&B, jazz and hip-hop. It’s songs of heartbreak speak of higher issues than a first listen can provide so is worth a good listen. (Dani)

England is a garden. / Cornershop
I hadn’t listened to the band for many years, but Cornershop came back into my life right after my family and I moved to New Zealand in late 2019. Those days were joyous, yet at the same time some of the most tiring moments that I have ever lived through, immigrating to a new country and getting adjusted to a very different way of life. Cornershop squeezed its way back in during all of this, when they announced a new album coming out in March 2020 titled “England Is A Garden”. In the time of Covid-19, I can’t think of a better band and album to spend lots of my time with. From start to finish, “England Is A Garden” is a gem to listen to, but it also makes you feel good things. You think about your place in the world as you listen to the album, you realise just how wonderful and special it is to be alive, no matter what is going on all around you. Certain music connects you to things happening, while at the same time providing an escape, and “England Is A Garden” is a perfect example of this. (Justin)

The kingdom. / Bush
Supposedly inspired by being the only Rock band playing at a bunch of Metal Festivals, ‘The Kingdom’ is a surprisingly heavy return to form for the English post grunge-rockers. Frontman Gavin Rossdale brings ex-Helmet guitarist Chris Traynor up in the mix for a twin near-metal attack that showcases an album of hugely catchy riffs and soaring vocals, anchored by some of his best song-writing in years. If you enjoyed the pummelling track ‘Bullet Holes’, that played out over the credits of John Wick 3, then you’ll enjoy the sound of this follow-up album. (Mark)

American head / Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are a bit wacky, an acquired taste, sort of cosmic, ethereal, spacey and this latest is no different to previous albums like Yoshimi battles the pink robots. So that’s good because they offer a mix of light and heavy sounds filled with simple melodies and complex noises. The lyrics on this album can teeter on the simplistic, but there are a lot of lovely harmonies and rhythms with eclectic patterns. So, something both soothing and slightly offbeat at the same time, which is great! (Martin)

The new abnormal / Strokes
The Strokes return after 7 years with one of those great albums that rewards after repeated listens; revealing a new level of emotional maturity and shifting musical contours, that play off their previous trademark style while adding in new elements. Diverging from the shorter pop ‘verse/chorus/verse’ construct of previous albums, the songs stretch out for longer and it takes a few listens before all the inherent melodies sink in. Julian Casablancas’ lyrics are more political and mature, befitting someone now in their 40s, the songs more brooding and reflective. The band sounds more together and focused than on the last couple of albums, and you once again marvel at the level of musicianship they provide to underpin Casablancas’ vocals, culminating in the epic closing track ‘Ode To The Mets’ which ranks as one of their best tracks ever. (Mark)

Endeavour. Complete series seven.
This is a great series and has kept us captivated since season 1. This latest series is set in the ’70’s and takes me back to the fashions and foibles of my childhood. Another set of Oxford murders to solve as well as an intriguing new relationship for Endeavour Morse keeps you guessing. (Raewyn)

Mystery Men. 
Oh the 90’s, what a time for movies! Possibly one of the most 90’s movies ever made (it’s soundtrack even has Smash Mouth’s All Star), this ridiculous tale of ridiculous superheroes is lots of silly fun. All the usual names are there, Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Paul Reubens, Janeane Garofalo but you also get bonus Tom Waits (a mad scientist who builds non-lethal weapons, like the Blame Thrower) and Eddie Izzard (one of the villainous Disco Boys henchmen). Not to mention that the villain is named Cassanova Frankenstein. Yes, you read that correctly, Cassanova Frankenstein. It’s camp, it’s silly, Hank Azaria throws forks at people and there’s an invisible boy who can only be invisible when nobody is looking. It’s just lots of fun. (Kath)

This town
So this film was promoted as a comedy, which it sort of is… but it’s dark. Really dark. I did laugh, but more often I found myself drawing a sharp breath and thinking “Oh no!” Written, directed and starring David White, this recent New Zealand film is the story of Sean (White), a man with a troubled past searching for love. He meets Casey (Alice May Connolly), a sweet local girl and they fall for one another. But the spanner in the works of their romance is ex-cop Pam (Robyn Malcolm) who is determined to put Sean behind bars for a crime he has already been acquitted of. There is something sweet and gentle about Sean and Casey’s relationship that I found endearing, even if they are both a bit on the gormless side. It has a really good solid twist at the end that I never saw coming. (Kath)

Velvet goldmine
If you’re a fan of 70’s glam rock, like Bowie, Marc Bolan, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop etc, this film is a fictional story made up of a lot of glam rock legends… that might be true, or they might not. Christian Bale plays a young English journalist Arthur Stuart (the biggest flaw of the movie – I found him terrible and his English accent even worse) chasing the story of what happened to glam rock superstar Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) whose career failed after he faked is own assassination on stage. Interviewing the people closest to Slade, like his ex-wife Mandy (Toni Collette, brilliantly doing her best Angie Bowie impersonation) and reported ex-lover American glam rocker Curt Wild (Ewan MacGregor, who steals the movie in every scene he appears) finds himself disappearing down a rabbit-hole of sex, drugs and rock n roll which never quite brings him any closer to Slade’s whereabouts. Don’t let Christian Bale’s performance put you off, the rest of the cast more than make up for it. Fantastic costuming and make-up, the soundtrack is glam rock heaven and it’s one of the iconic alternative films from the late 90’s. (Kath)


The Lost Aviator A Beamafilm Documentary (Australia)
Against his families wishes Documentary maker Andrew Lancaster unveils his pioneer aviator’s uncle’s life of adventure, obsessive love and involvement in a sensational murder trial. An intriguing story with a curiously moving and haunting ending. (David)

Queens of mystery. [Series 1]
Newly promoted Detective Sergeant Matilda Stone investigates offbeat murders in a quaint English Village. Her 3 crime-writing aunts lend her their expertise, as well as unwanted dating advice. They may solve the murders, but the unexplained disappearance of Matilda’s mother 25 years ago will be harder to crack “a quality production- Very well written and acted. The whole family enjoyed it”. (Roseanne)

Neil P’s Picks:
As the WCL CD Cataloguer, these are some of my favourite new CDs…
Andy Bell – The view from halfway down
Thurston Moore – By the fire
Drab City – Good songs for bad people
Dead Famous People – Harry
Magik Markers – 2020
Heliocentrics – Telemetric sounds
Hen Ogledd – Free humans
Garcia Peoples – Nightcap at wits’ end
Fenne Lily – Breach

Shinji’s Picks:
DVD’s:
Queen and Slim
Sorry We Missed You
The End of the Golden Weather
For Sama
Homecoming (TV show)

CD’s:
Blue Nile – High[Bonus Disc]
Sault – Untitled (Black is)
Bela Fleck – Throw Down Your Heart
Julianna Barwick – Healing Is a Miracle
Aaron Parks – Little Big II: dreams of a mechanical man


New DVDs at Te Awe

Mark

Here are some new movies & TV Shows recently added to our collection and available at our CBD Te Awe Library and selected Branch locations.

Why didn’t they ask Evans?
This town
Doctor Who [2005]. The complete twelfth series.
The hunting. Season one.
Pain and glory.
Partners in crime. The complete collection.
The high note
Yellowstone. Season 1.
A million little things. The complete first season.
Love Sarah
Watchmen
El camino : a Breaking bad movie

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Fear Factor: DVDs for Halloween

Mark

Test your Fear Level (Low, Moderate or High) with this selection of classic & lesser known Horror films & TV shows from our DVD collection at Te Awe & our offsite Storage Branch Te Pataka.

Halloween (1978)
Fear Factor: Moderate
Mark: Moody. Tense. Created its own cult & changed modern Horror forever.
Neil: John Carpenter‘s low budget masterpiece spawned a million imitators, but none as good as the original.

 

 

Gremlins (1984)
Fear Factor: Low
Mark: Great family fun that never dates.
Neil: One of the Halloween at Christmas movies. Hugely entertaining fun in a twisted & dark way.

 

 

Near dark (1988)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: Grimy & violent with Vampires as soulless spree killers. The anti-Twilight.
Neil: Kathryn Bigelow‘s genre redefining Vampire movie set in the American Midwest is a joy to watch for Horror film fans.

 

The hole (2009)
Fear Factor: Low
Mark: Intelligent YA film has 3 teens discover a mysterious bottomless pit, unleashing something that forces them to confront their own deepest fears.
Neil: No idea. Joe Dante usually makes a great film.

 

 

The cabin in the woods (2011)
Fear Factor: Moderate
Mark: A meta tribute to Horror films. Great fun. Helped to launch the career of Chris Hemsworth.
Neil: Joss Whedon reverses every horror trope in this twisty film. Super clever.

 

 

The birds (1963)
Fear Factor: Moderate
Mark: Hitchcock works out more issues.
Neil: Daphne du Maurier’s short story is given the Hitchcock treatment in this dated but truly disturbing movie which utilises Tippi Hedren‘s real life fear of Birds.

 

The descent (2005)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: The caving is super scary even before the true horror begins. Tips the whole female-bonding trope on its head.
Neil: Do not watch this if you suffer from claustrophobia!

 

 

Eden Lake (2008)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: Brutal ‘Hoddie-Horror’ sees Kelly Reilly on the run from local nasties.
Neil: A frightening version of Deliverance set in the British countryside.

 

 

The evil dead (1981)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: Sequels. A TV Show. Bruce Campbell. Enough said.
Neil: Classic schlock horror. If you’ve seen it, go back and watch it again. If you haven’t, watch to to understand the DNA of horror films.

 

 

Fright night (1985)
Fear Factor: Low
Mark: Another inspiration for Stranger Things. Teens fight monsters that adults don’t believe are real.
Neil: If you want to see mainstream American Horror was like in the 80s this is a great place to start.

 

The haunting of Hill House. (TV Series, 2018)
Fear Factor: High
Mark: Gripping. Atmospheric. Psychological. One of the best Horror TV shows ever.
Neil: Shirley Jackson‘s reputation as a master writer of Horror makes this a TV show worth watching.

 

The wicker man : the final cut (1973)
Fear Factor: Moderate
Mark: A classic inspiration for the recent Midsommar.
Neil: This was Christopher Lee‘s favourite performance. The detailed pagan ritual & rural Scottish setting give it a truly unsettling atmosphere.

Films from the Big Apple

Neil

I’m staying! You hear that, New York? THE FROG IS STAYING!

― Kermit the Frog, The Muppets Take Manhattan

We recently did a small blog on books set in New York City – but as well as fiction, New York City is one of the most filmed locations on the planet.  The city was first committed to celluloid in 1901 just a few years after the birth of cinema. It’s a vibrant, unique, melting pot, and its multi-cultural population coupled with its iconic skyscrapers and historic monuments  make it a perfect setting for so many tales.

The films stretch from the Jazz Singer (the world’s first talkie) to films that are regarded as all-time classic films such as Citizen Kane,  and The Godfather. There are also legions of films that are loved for different reasons such as  Escape from New York, The Muppets Take Manhattan and Crocodile Dundee. The good news is that many of these iconic New York films are available to borrow from our extensive DVD collection – for our small selection read on – and enjoy.


Frances Ha
“A story that follows a New York woman (who doesn’t really have an apartment), apprentices for a dance company (though she’s not really a dancer), and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possibility dwindles.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The warriors
“The Warriors are a street gang from Coney Island, trapped in the Bronx when a city-wide truce explodes. What follows is non-stop suspense and violent action as they try to get through 28 miles of “enemy territory” with 100,000 gang members after them!” (Adapted from Catalogue)


Breakfast at Tiffany’s [videorecording]
“An eccentric New York City playgirl is determined to marry a Brazilian millionaire, but her next-door neighbour, a writer, changes her plans.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

3 Spike Lee joints [videorecording].
“Do the right thing” – Traces the course of a single day on a block in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. It’s the hottest day of the year, a scorching 24-hour period that will change the lives of its residents forever. Also included in this collection “Jungle fever”and “Clockers”  (Adapted from Catalogue)

King Kong [videorecording].
“An expedition exploring a remote island capture a gigantic ape and bring him back to New York for exhibition. A beautiful actress who accompanies them is menaced, when the monster’s love for her causes him to break out” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Ghostbusters ; plus, Ghostbusters II. [videorecording] The original “Ghostbusters” and its sequel teamed comedians Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis with director Ivan Reitman, to tell the story of a trio of paranormal investigators who must save the world from the evil clutches of the supernatural.

Taxi driver [videorecording] “Vietnam vet Travis Bickle works as a loner night-shift cabbie in New York. Roving the streets, he kills time by keeping a diary, popping pills and hanging out in porn theatres. A series of frustrations and his encounters with a 14-year-old prostitute compel him to clean up the sordid milieu in which he operates.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Once upon a time in America [videorecording]
” Spanning four decades, the film tells the story of David “Noodles” Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and his Jewish pals, chronicling their childhoods on New York’s Lower East Side in the 1920s, through their gangster careers in the 1930s, and culminating in Noodles’ 1968 return to New York from self-imposed exile, at which time he learns the truth about the fate of his friends and again confronts the nightmare of his past.” (Adapted from Catalogue)