Summer isn’t always the best time for TV…lots of silly competition shows with ordinary people displaying secret talents (which mostly should be kept secret!) However, there is one exception to this rule: The return of So You Think You Can Dance!

Okay, maybe dancing shows aren’t your thing. But this one, with truly talented young dancers from different genres competing together, always hooks me.  Here are some dance-themed movies from our collection to get you in the mood!

* Dirty Dancing

* Swing Kids

* Hairspray

* Center Stage

* Mad Hot Ballroom

* Step Up

* Rize

We often talk about books that get turned into movies on this blog…but here’s a look into what happens here at the library…a sample dialog:

Patron: I’m looking for that new book that just got made into that movie…

Librarian: What is the movie about?

Patron: Umm…college kids playing blackjack in Vegas…

Librarian: The movie is called 21. It is based on a book called Bringing Down the House. Let me grab it for you… 

(Walking with the patron over to the bookshelves)

Patron: It’s not a new book?

Librarian: Nope. The book came out in 2002.

Patron: *jaw drops*

The moral of the story: There’s a really good chance that the movie you want to see has been out for years – as a book. Get a head start and impress your friends. Check out Bringing Down the House, The Ruins (written in 2006,)  Nim’s Island (2001) and, of course, Horton Hears a Who! (from 1954!)

The best films of 2007? All pretty dreary (if literary!) Now that Oscar season is over, it’s time to get back to fun movies in the theatres! Here are some you might be interested in:

The Other Boleyn Girl with Natalie Portman ~ 2/29

Semi-Pro with Will Ferrell ~ 2/29

Horton Hears a Who! ~ 3/14

Superhero Movie ~ 3/28

And…

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay ~ 4/25

Neil Patrick Harris will be back…apparently riding a unicorn!

What is it about this time of year? All these fabulous movies coming out all at once – and then all these award shows! On Monday, January 7th, the Critic’s Choice Awards will air on VH1.  What is interesting about this particular award is that there is a special category for Young Actor and Young Actress…the nominees?

Young Actor

• Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada for The Kite Runner
• Freddie Highmore for August Rush
• Michael Cera for Juno and Superbad
• Ed Sanders for Sweeney Todd

Young Actress

• Dakota Blue Richards for The Golden Compass
• Nikki Blonsky for Hairspray
• Saoirse Ronan for Atonement
• AnnaSophia Robb for Bridge to Terabithia

Will your favorite win? Our favorites, Ms. Ronan and Mr. Sanders, are in the pictures up top!

Hot on the heels of the Chronicles of Narnia movie, which was hot on the heels of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, comes The Golden Compass, based on the first book of the His Dark Materials series by British fantasy writer Philip Pullman.

 While this might seem like just another CGI popcorn flick for the holiday movie season, this particular YA-novel adaptation is pretty controversial. Why? Well, poke around on the Internet, and you can figure it out.

Other beloved books morphing into movies recently (and soon)…

* The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black

* The Seeker: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

* Beowulf  (check out the graphic novel by Gareth Hinds)

* Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

* I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

* The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

* Atonementby Ian McEwan (for older teens – it’s not an easy read)

* No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (again – for older teens)

 

Waiting anxiously for the next Johnny Depp movie? Just so you know in advance: It’s a musical! That’s right: Sweeney Todd is full of hardcore showtunes (something you might not pick up from the mostly non-musical trailer being shown in movie theatres currently.)

Check out these movie musicals from our collection:

*Grease

*Rent

*The Producers

*Jesus Christ, Superstar

*Hair

Dancing with the Stars is one of the biggest shows on TV (as a girly gearhead, I have to pull for Helio Castroneves, personally) but when I feel like watching dancing, I prefer the summer show So You Think You Can Dance? There is something genuinely exciting about a group of unknown dancers challenging themselves each week to learn new styles of dance that they’ve never tried before.

One of the styles of dancing featured from time to time on SYTYCD is krumping, a sort-of hyperagressive, dramatic form of hip-hop dance. Check out Rize, a documentary about the evolution of this new dance form. It is so amazing, it will make you pop and lock!

 Oh, and if you prefer Dancing with the Stars, you’ll probably enjoy Mad Hot Ballroom, also found in the Teen department…

We know…who really wants to head back to school after such a glorious summer. It’s awesome to reconnect with friends you haven’t seen all summer long, but that sort of wears off after the first day, doesn’t it? So, to cheer you up, here are some of our favorite ’school’ movies. Check them out before the summer sun fades for good!:

• Ten Things I Hate About You
• Rudy
• Say Anything
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Napoleon Dynamite
• Mean Girls

Who doesn’t love John Cusack? From his 80s teen roles to his modern romantic leading men, Mr. Cusack is one of our favorites in the Teen Room. My favorite: His role in 1989’s Say Anything, as charming underachiever and aspiring kickboxer Lloyd Dobler (the character that made the boombox over the head thing a pop culture standard.) Not to be confused with the band Lloyd Dobler Effect. Check out these terrific films:

• Say Anything

• Serendipity

• Eight Men Out

• Better Off Dead

• America’s Sweethearts

• Must Love Dogs