The Studio

Cable channel AMC’s much-ballyhooed remake of the 1960s British sci-fi classic The Prisoner premieres on Sunday night. Jim Caviezel stars as No. 6, the role made famous by Patrick McGoohan, and Ian McKellen is the villainous No. 2. The miniseries reworks the original in numerous ways, so before or after you watch the new version you might want to check out the classic one. DVDs are available at the library and AMC has posted full episodes that may be watched online.

Sharon, our AV librarian, sat down for a brief conversation about some of her favorite unsung titles coming out soon on DVD.

Would you like to be interviewed for a library podcast? We’d love to hear about your favorite music and/or movies. Let us know and we’ll set up an appointment!

Skokie Public Library Studio Podcast

Titles featured in this podcast:

Beau Jest
My One and Only
In the Loop
Paper Heart

Given the recent local downpours, it is apropos that tonight The Weather Channel airs The Perfect Storm, the first in a series of Friday night movie showings. (Don’t worry, forecast fans … they’ll still provide the weekend temps on the screen six times an hour.)

The selection is a no-brainer for the cable network, especially considering that today is the 18th anniversary of the brutal Nor’easter that is the subject of the film and the Sebastian Junger book on which it was based. However, future TWC movie showings (March of the Penguins, Deep Blue Sea and Misery) seem less inspired. So check out our own perfect storm of suggestions for wild-weather flicks below:

Twister (1996) And a nation of storm-chasers is born.

The Day After Tomorrow (2004) Global warming is even more inconvenient than you think.

The Mist (2007) Reduced visibility and … EVIL.

The Weather Man (2005) Okay, it’s not really about the weather. But this offbeat comedy about a Chicago TV meteorologist features a great performance from Nic Cage. Tom Skilling, eat your heart out.

Have you ever been overwhelmed by the number of DVDs in our collection, unsure of what’s good and what you feel like seeing next? Try using a map. French graphic designer David Honnorat has ingeniously taken IMDb’s list of the Top 250 films and plotted them as a CTA-style transit map, with intersecting genres and movies standing in for routes and station stops. The resulting diagram is visually arresting, cinematically intriguing and a lot more fun than hopping on the El. For example, you can make it from WALL-E to A Clockwork Orange in four stops, or take a detour at Casablanca and head toward either Glory or Manhattan. A large version of the map is available for download at Vodkaster.com.

Criticker is a new movie recommendation website along the lines of the previously reviewed Clerk Dogs.  You submit a review between 0-100 of ten movies and Criticker will match you with other members that have ranked movies similarly.  Then it is possible to look at other movies they loved  and learn about some new movies. Criticker calls this TCI (Taste Compatibility Index).  For example, after inputting my 10 movies I looked at a user with similar tastes.  One of his/her top movies was The Life and Death of Peter Sellers which seems like a movie I might really enjoy.

Criticker also has lots of social options such as forums and movie lists.

Try it and let me  know what you think.

Attention Masterpiece Mystery! fans. Did you catch the first installment of the three-part series, Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh as the troubled Swedish detective? Any comments?

FYI, these are based on the popular books by Henning Mankell. The first episode, Sidetracked, aired locally on PBS this past Sunday night. It is being re-run Tuesday, May 12th at 2:30am. The next episode is Firewall. It airs Sunday, May 17 at 8:00pm and again Wednesday, May 20th at 2:30am. The third episode, One Step Behind, is scheduled for Sunday, May 31st at 8:00pm. The Library has orderd the DVD. If you missed out, reserve it now.

Do you have a favorite cinematic Miss Marple? Check out the possibilities.

Geraldine McEwan

Helen Hayes

Joan Hickson

Margaret Rutherford

Catch new Marple episodes starring Julia McKenzie on PBS, starting this July as part of the Masterpiece Mystery series. (P.S. the Library does not have these yet on DVD. Stay tuned.)

The Library will be showing Woody Allen’s latest film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, on Friday, April 17 at 1:30pm in the Petty Auditorium. Penelope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.  Check out the soundtrack or read a short annotation here.

The British miniseries Lost in Austen is being broadcast on PBS this month. I hope that I’m not the only one who finds this exciting news. The Library has ordered the DVD. Reserve it now!

For more viewing ideas,  have a look at our film list – Movies Based on the Works of Jane Austen.

I also recommend watching The Jane Austen Book Club.

Here is a short review: For various reasons, five women and one man start a Jane Austen book group. It’s perfect. There are six books and six people. They agree to discuss one novel a month, and each will take a turn to host the gathering. Amid the confusion and complexity of modern-day relationships, the question is: “What would Jane do?” Based on the book by Karen Joy Fowler. (read more)

See a related Bookshelf post.

The Library is showing the recent Oscar winner for best documentary feature Man on Wire on Monday, April 13 at 7:00pm in the Petty Auditorium.  Be sure to catch this breathtaking account of Philippe Petit’s daring highwire walk between the World Trade Center twin towers in 1974. Here is a short annotation. The DVD also includes the short animated film The Man Who Walked Between the Towers as a bonus feature.  This was based on a children’s book by the same name.  For further information you may read Philippe Petit’s own account, To Reach The Clouds.