DVD Review - Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

 

David O Russell’s superb film Silver Linings Playbook graced our screens and enchanted our hearts back in 2012 and through generous backing from producer Harvey Weinstein earned itself a great reputation and a bundle of awards to boot, including an Academy Award for Jennifer Lawrence as Best Actress.

The story is about Pat (Bradley Cooper) who has just been released from a psychiatric hospital for attacking his wife’s lover after he found them romantically entwined in his bathroom, Pat has bipolar disorder and he has to see a therapist every week as part of the terms of his release. He returns home and is greeted by his father (Robert De Niro) who also shows signs of having a mental disorder, although this is never actually pinned down to specifics. Pat learns that his wife, Nikki, has moved away yet is still desperate to pick their marriage back up again, delusional to the fact his relationship is completely over. Along the way he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) a sufferer of depression who was diagnosed when her husband, Tommy, died. 

She makes a deal with Pat that she will deliver letters to Nikki for him if he agrees to be her dance partner for an upcoming dance competition.  A couple of letters pass hands and Pat thinks that a reconciliation with Nikki is on the cards. A racially fuelled brawl at football match lands Pat in trouble and his Father in a pile of debt, hope for his family lies entirely on the dance competition with Tiffany, with Nikki in attendance things start to heat up as they both take to the dance floor. With the sounds of The White Stripes ringing out and enough gyration to make Elvis’ head spin, will they reign victorious?

As serious as the subject matter of bipolar disorder may be, Silver Linings Playbook manages to keeps its head above the water without plunging into a swell of depression. The friendship of Pat and Tiffany is at times hilarious, while at others heart wrenching and their story is encapsulating from start to finish. Pat has some painfully honest personal moments which are short, sharp stabs of realism that bipolar disorder is a serious and unrelenting problem suffered by millions.

Beautifully acted and wonderfully directed, Silver Linings Playbook is a real treat from start to finish and every award and nomination well deserving.  It manages to dip into the subject of mental health while simultaneously sculpting an unconventional love story, throw in a bit of wacky dancing and illegal gambling and you’ve got yourself some pretty excellent entertainment.

 

Further Reading in the Information Store:

Silver Linings Playbook by David O' Russell - DVD ZONE - 791.43 S

Bipolar Disorder: Your Questions Answered by Neil Hunt - BOOK ZONE - 616.895 HUN

The Pits and the Pendulum: A Life with Bipolar Disorder by Brian Adams - BOOK ZONE - 616.895 ADA

DVD Review - Amelie (2001)

 

 Amelie Poulain is a young woman who endeavours to bring a little happiness to the lives of those living around her. Despite a rather stunted childhood, she uses many ingenious methods to help the quirky and eccentric people she loves.  These include her father, a glum recluse, who has never offered Amelie any warmth or love. As a result, Amelie has grown up wrapped in her own dreams by way of escaping her lonely life. However, Amelie’s vocation in helping others draws her out of herself and she finds what she believes to be her purpose.

Unlike many feel good films, Amelie is not the perfect heroine. She’s clever and childlike and a little bit out of step, but you love her for it. The film has a typically French sense of style and subtly, with a recurring theme of nostalgia. Throughout the film we are reminded of those things we loved as children, and forgot as we grew up.

The film is shot in saturated colour with a ‘hyper real’ atmosphere in every shot. The sound track is utterly beautiful, echoing the film’s whimsical and sweet nature. The Montmartre portrayed is picture-postcard like, if not completely realistic. And that is quite in tune with the films suspension from reality.

By Erin Bradshaw

Amelie is shelved in the DVD ZONE under 'Foreign Language, French' 791.430944 A

Summer Hobbies and Activites

The summer holidays are upon us and maybe you are jetting off to a sunny beach, escaping to the mountains or just chilling out at home. Either way, there will no doubt be a couple of rainy days where you are stuck inside, twiddling your thumbs thinking ‘I wish I had a hobby’.

Our display this week is dedicated to hobbies and activities and there are loads of books to get your mind turning and heart pumping. Here are a handful of examples:

Paper Cutting by Laura Heyenga

Paper cutting has become a popular art form in the last few years, where artists skilfully cut stencil-like designs into paper. This book chaptered by different paper cutting artists, discusses how they got started, their techniques and what they have achieved while showcasing the immense intricacies of their work.

 The Complete Idiots Guide to Astronomy by Christopher De Pree & Alan Axelrod

Summer offers clear, crisp skies and warm nights which are perfect for practicing astronomy. This books gives you a complete run down of everything you need to know before gazing into the depths of space, including, guidance on locating planets and tips for using a telescope.

 

Low-Budget Shooting by Cyrill Harnischmacher

Fancy spending the summer making low budget movies with your friends? This book tells you how to shortcut your way around film equipment without spending thousands of pounds. Couple with our other book on the display ‘The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook’ you should be sauntering up the red carpet in no time!

Cooking with the Masterchef:  Michel Roux Jr.

Do you enjoy cooking? Following recipes? A challenge in the kitchen? This book written by Master Chef Michel Roux Jr. is full of great, gourmet recipes that aren’t easy to perfect, but will be certain to satisfy the taste buds. A fun summer project could be cooking through the recipes and starting a blog to present your findings – disasters and successes!

 Design & Make: Mixed Media Jewellery by Joanne Haywood

This book covers all kinds of areas of jewellery making, introducing you to the wide range of materials and techniques. The easy to follow illustrations are suitable for a variety of ages and abilities, whether you are starting out or developing your skills, this books is a great starter.

Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy

Gardening doesn’t have to be all weeding, mowing and planting, in fact, as demonstrated here by author Sharon Lovejoy,  there are lots of cool things you can do with a patch of soil or grass including making a ‘pizza patch’,’ moon garden’ or ‘medicine chest’ . She also offers basic gardening tips and tricks. The colourful layout and imaginative ideas make for fun reading and may even ignite a new found love for gardening!

All these books and more can be found on the display near the issue desk! Keep your eyes peeled for a few of these titles:

 

Simply Pottery

by Sarah Pearch

 

Printmaking on a Budget

by Mandy Bonnell & Stephen Mumberson

 

The Bicycle Book

By Bella Bathurst

 

The Complete Book of Running for Beginners

By Amby Burfoot

 

The Wagamama Cookbook

by Hugo Arnold

Summery Movies!

Grease

Love-struck Kiwi, Sandy, moves to America and falls in love with high school stud Danny Zucko in this classic musical comedy. She meets him during the summer, knowing nothing of his bad boy reputation and notoriety as leader of the gang ‘T-Birds’. When she starts at Rydell High School all becomes clear to her as Danny’s not the boy she fell in love with on the beach. She decides to prove her worth to him, be the kind of woman that will make him sit up and listen, not the wimpy little Sandra D everyone teases her for being. The result is a feel good classic with tons of catchy tunes and groovy dance moves that will leave you tapping your toes for hours afterwards.

 

(500) Days of Summer

The clue is in the name, however, this is not a film about a prolonged season, instead about a girl named after a season. Tom falls for the whimsical, beautiful and quirky Summer and despite a great start to their relationship, things soon start to completely fall apart. Tom recalls his relationship with Summer through a series of clever flashbacks including an ‘expectations vs. reality’ sequence where he arrives at a party to see Summer.  It’s not the happiest story in the world but it is well acted and hilarious in places. Worth a watch, for sure.

 

Slumdog Millionaire

Everyone was talking about Danny Boyle’s 2008 summer blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire because it was such an amazing, sweeping love story that captured the imaginations of viewers all over the world. Dev Patel plays Jamal who winds up on the Indian version of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ Through the tribulations of Jamal’s life and the events that have lead him to this point he is able to easily answer every question down to life experience. He has no need for riches, he hasn’t gone on the show to become a millionaire, yet he is one question away from being one, so why is he there?

 

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

What would you do with one day off school? Play video games? Watch movies? Sleep in until 2pm? Ferris decides that with one day off, he is free to do whatever he wants. He and his friend Cameron bust their other friend Sloane out of school and borrow Cameron’s Dad’s Ferrari and the three of them set out to have the best day they possibly can, and they do.   Classic 80’s comedy in the same vain as The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a feel-good summer hit!

 

The Inbetweeners Movie

If you’ve ever watched the TV show The Inbetweener’s, you will know, before watching the film, that you will be in for some vulgarity from the start. The boys decide to go on holiday to Malia together, but of course, its not going to be that simple. Their dreams of a weekend full of girls, alcohol and all night raves is soon completely shattered when everything starts to go very wrong. Have a pillow to hand, this film will have you wanting to cover your face with embarrassment as their misadventures become more and more unfortunate.

If you find yourself faced with a rainy summer day, which let’s face it, is pretty likely, have a borrow of one of these movies to keep your summery spirits up!

Be safe and have a great summer!!

Summer Reads!

Our display this week is SUMMER READS!

 

 

Amongst the display are some great novels for you to get stuck into over the summer months as well as some gardening and cookery books!

Some titles include:

 

Bring up the Bodies 

Hilary Mantel

 

Hello Cupcake!

Karen Tack

 

Flight Behaviour

Barbera Kingsolver

 

Death Comes to Pemberley

 P.D James

 

Narcopolis

Jeet Thayil

 

River Cottage Veg

Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall

Some Films With Questionable Titles!

There are some films amongst our collection with titles that need to be celebrated. Open your mind to silent documentaries and low budget rockumentaries and explore our list of films with really weird titles!

Nanook of the North (Robert J. Flaherty , 1922)

Although it may sound like a film about an artic e-reader, this is in fact a film about an Inuit. Considered to be the first feature length documentary, although some of its content is arguably fictitious, the film follows Nanook and his family travelling and hunting for food illustrating the arduous Inuit life they endure.  Notable scenes include when Nanook builds and igloo and an interaction at trade post with a man from the Western world.  The film showed the isolation and solitude imposed upon the family by living in such a hostile corner of the world.  Being made in 1922 it is a silent film which makes its content all the more difficult to sustain for its 79 minute duration.


The Story of the Weeping Camel (Bayambasure Duvaa & Luigi Falorni, 2003)

A product of the hybrid genre of ‘docudrama’ this film follows the story of a family of shepherds who are trying to save the life of a rare white camel calf which has been rejected by its mother. In order to try and reconnect the mother with her young a Mongolian ritual is performed whereby a ‘violinist’ plays a lullaby to soothe the mother camel. She then cries (a real tear) and reconciles with her baby. It sounds weird and far fetched but its actually quite a beautiful little film. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2004 and was very well received amongst critics on its release. Odd name, odd story but one worth investing in.

Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983)

This weird title belongs to a film about gang culture. A man known only as Motorcycle Boy ditches his bad boy reputation for a quieter, more law abiding life. However his younger brother, Rusty James, continues to accepts fights with rival gangs resulting in horrific injury.  Motorcycle Boy intervenes one night while trying to save his brother from serious harm and decides to try and change him. Rusty James resolves to change his ways and be more like his brother. Such noble solutions come at cost though… Considered to be one of Coppola’s best films since Apocalypse Now is a story of brothers, redemption and revenge starring Mickey Rourke and Matt Dillon, not a bad watch by any means!

Eagle Vs. Shark (Taika Waititi,2007)

Quirky romantic comedy starring Jermaine from Flight of the Concords, this film gets its name from a ‘dress as your favourite animal’ party hosted by Jarrod. Lily who attends the party uninvited has a huge crush on Jarrod and just wants to get close to him. They start an awkward relationship even though Jarrod is not interested in her. She meets his father, 9 year old daughter (the result of a one night stand) and learns of Jarrod’s deceased brother. Jarrod is continually mean to Lily, often trying to push her away but will she give up that easily? It’s a weird one, almost too quirky for its own good and too awkward to bare in places. New Zealanders and fans of Flight of the Concords loved it though so you may too!

Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)

This classic comedy from the 1930’s stars Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx the famed comedy quartet who delighted audiences with their slapstick films. Duck Soup is no exception to their famous mad cap style. The bankrupt state of Freedonia seaks to borrow money from a wealthy lady called Mrs Teasdale. In return for her money she asks for a new president to be appointed, the wacky Rufus T. Firefly. Chaos and nonsense ensues as he takes over the state and neighbouring states attempt to infiltrate his office. It’s as mad and hilarious as the title suggests it to be, guaranteed to cheer you up on a bad day.

Le Donk and Scor-say-zee (Shane Meadows, 2007)

Filmed in five days and largely improvised, this rockumentary follows rock roadie Le Donk as he attempts to make aspiring rapper Scor-say-zee a success. They embark on a crazy and unpredictable journey together and with a little help from the Arctic Monkeys Scor-say-zee is on his way to the top. An amusing fictitious story about the music industry, a nice change from the more depressing subject matter we are used to from Meadows.

 

Snow Cake (Marc Evans, 2006)

An ex-convict accidentally kills a young girl in a car accident and decides to pay the girls mother a visit at her home. Unbeknown to him she is a severely autistic woman who manages to convince him to stay with her while he organises the funeral. He embarks on an emotional journey of friendship, love and grief as he tries to come to terms with his actions. A though provoking drama starring Sigourney Weaver. It’s an emotional one, definitely not about icy baked goods.  

 

Further Reading in the Information Store:

You can find all these DVD's in the DVD ZONE.

Nanook of the North at 791.4353
The Story of the Weeping Camel at 791.4309517
Rumble Fish at 791.43 R
Eagle Vs Shark at 791.43 E
Duck Soup at 791.43 D
Le Donk and Scor-say-zee at 791.43 L
Snow Cake at 791.43 S

Silent Cinema: An Introduction by Paolo Usai - BOOK ZONE - 791.43 USA
The Documentary Film Movement: An Anthology by Ian Aitkin - BOOK ZONE - 791.4353 AIT

Or perhaps these other weird film titles might fuel your curiosity to hunt for more!

Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb by Stanley Kubrick
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ken Kwapis
Poor Cow by Ken Loach

Give it a go, you never know, you might enjoy one of them!

Book Exchange - donate books and get a free book bag!

Book Exchange has been going from strength to strength, to the extent that we are now running low on books.

If you have any spare fiction paperbacks at home, please bring them in so that we can include them in the Book Exchange. If you donate books, you can collect a free book bag(while stocks last) as modelled below by Jeni-Marie.

Over the last few weeks we have given away over 100 books, hopefully there are now a few more happy readers out there! And if you have a Book Exchange book, please feel free to bring it back when you've finished reading it so that we can pass it on to the next eager reader.

Here's some photos of the Book Exchange story so far...

DVD Review - The Master (2012)

Paul Thomas Anderson, director of There Will Be Blood and Magnolia gave us a remarkable film in 2012 called The Master. Based loosely on the life of L. Ron Hubbard, creator of Scientology, The Master follows the story of a young war veteran, Freddie Quell, suffering from post-traumatic stress who stows away on the boat of Lancaster Dodd, founder of a religious group called The Cause. Freddie, as well as being a sufferer of post-traumatic stress disorder is an alcoholic sex-addict and concocts his own ‘potions’ out of domestic items such as paint thinner or fuel. Dodd samples some of his moonshine and says he will help him for more alcohol in return.

Lancaster sees something in Freddie he is very fond of and Freddie feels the same way in return, so Freddie joins Lancaster and his followers on their trip along the east coast of America as they spread the word of The Cause. An unfortunate altercation lands Freddie and Lancaster in prison and soon after The Cause and Freddie’s worlds fall apart. A powerful, emotional and supremely unique film about a broken war veteran’s struggle with regaining control of his own mind. The subjective undertones of brainwashing and nonsensical teachings plays favour to those doubtful of Lancaster’s methods similar to those of Hubbard in recent times. The end result will leaving you questioning who ‘The Master’ really is…

Amongst others, The Master was nominated for various Academy Awards including best actor for Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell, best supporting actor for Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dodd and best supporting actress for Amy Adams as Dodd’s wife, Peggy.  All deservedly so, Phoenix is breath taking as the crippled Freddie and his breakdowns are heart wrenchingly pure, similarly the raw power and authority of Lancaster will send shivers down your spine.

It’s certainly a difficult watch and will require a fair amount of concentration to follow as the narrative and editing is at first a little jarring, but allow yourself to be swept up in the masterful cinematography and beauty of 70mm film as it fills your television screens. Wholly immersive, intellectually challenging and above all sublimely acted, it’s definitely worth a go.

 

Further Reading in the Information Store:

The Master – DVD ZONE – 791.43 M

Counselling for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – BOOK ZONE – 361.06

The Secrets of Scientology (DVD)  – BOOK ZONE – 299.936

Magnolia - DVD ZONE - 791.43 M

There Will Be Blood - DVD ZONE - 791.43 T

DVD Review - Argo (2012)

Conquering this year’s Academy Awards was Ben Affleck’s directorial masterpiece Argo. Based on the true, relatively unknown story of Tony Mendez, whose ludicrous plan to save six American citizens from a life threatening situation in Iran was only recently declassified by CIA officials allowing Mendez to finally tell his remarkable story.

In 1980, the American embassy in Iran was stormed by Iranian protesters and activists, while many US citizens were captured and held hostage in the embassy, six of them escaped and sought refuge in the home of Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor. Upon hearing of this crisis and the news of six escapees who will be hunted down by Iranians and killed, CIA agent Tony Mendez (played by Ben Affleck) devises a plan to get them back to the USA safely. However, Iranians everywhere are aware of these six people and there would be no way they could just walk onto a plane to fly home, Mendez had to think of something smarter to get the American’s back without being seen…

He comes up with the ingenious and crazy idea of staging a science fiction film shoot which involves sending six Canadians to Iran to scout for locations. Under this ruse, Tony Mendez should be able to sneak the Americans out as Canadians, but there are plenty of armed guards and officials at airport security who are keeping a watchful eye out for the American’s that escaped from the embassy.  With the prospect of a brutal execution if they are found out, you will find yourself gripping your seat during the final airport scene, but will they make it?

With John Goodman , Alan Arkin and Brian Cranston in supporting roles, offering moments of comic relief and Ben Affleck in the leading role and at the director’s helm it is really no wonder Argo was one the of best films of 2012 and won countless awards all ove the world.

Why not borrow it for the half term week?

Further Reading in the Information Store:

Argo – DVD ZONE – 791.43 A

Iran – BOOK ZONE – 915.60

Iran and the Bomb – BOOK ZONE – 327.1

Come in and grab a free book!

The Information Store is launching its new Book Exchange today as part of Adult Learners Week. Come in and grab a free book from the cupboard behind the printers. Take home any book where you see the Book Exchange logo (it will be on the front or back cover). All we ask is that once you have read it, you pass it on, either to friends or family or back to us for the next person. Happy reading!