Good Movies - December 2007

The Golden Compass

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)

 

Good Movies - November 2007

At Last My Arm Is Complete Again

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

Good Movies - October 2007

So You Think You Can Krump?

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…

Good Movies - September 2007

Back to School

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

Good Movies - June 2007

Cool Cusack

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