Kanopy Movie Review – Charles County Public Library

What to Watch: Kanopy New Releases

webadmin — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:00:32 +0000

A new year, a new collection of movies available on Kanopy. With Kanopy, you get 15 tickets each month to watch different movies, television shows, and educational content for free. All you need is your library card!

*CCPL Staff picks are chosen by CCPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We’d love to hear your ideas too, so write to us and tell us what you’d recommend!*

From our Collection

Perfect Days – 2024

From Kanopy:

Hirayama is content with his simple life cleaning toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Unexpected encounters reveal more of his story in a deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the world around us.

Hundreds of Beavers – 2024

From Kanopy:

In this wild and wacky black-and-white comedy, a drunken 19th-century applejack salesman finds himself up against an army of beavers after losing everything in a freak snowstorm. With no weapons or supplies, he’s forced to rely on sheer cunning (and pure luck) to outsmart the beavers and survive in the wilderness. What follows is a madcap, slapstick battle of man versus nature, filled with zany antics and unexpected twists. Bursting with old-school physical comedy, this film is a rollicking ride through a frostbitten frontier.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story – 2022

From Kanopy:

Explores every facet of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.

Immaculate – 2024

From Kanopy:

Sydney Sweeney stars as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.

The Old Oak – 2023

From Kanopy:

The final film from British master Ken Loach (Sorry We Missed You, Kes), THE OLD OAK is a deeply moving drama about loss, fear, and the difficulty of finding hope. The Old Oak is the last pub standing in a once-thriving mining village in northern England, a gathering space for a community that has fallen on hard times. There is growing anger, resentment, and a lack of hope among the residents, but the pub and its proprietor TJ are a fond presence to their customers. When a group of Syrian refugees move into the floundering village, a decisive rift fueled by prejudices develops between the community and its newest inhabitants. The formation of an unexpected friendship between TJ and a young Syrian woman named Yara opens up new possibilities for the divided village.

Odd Man Out – 1947

From Kanopy:

Set in postwar Belfast, this British film noir follows Johnny McQueen (James Mason), the wounded leader of an Irish nationalist group, as he attempts to evade police after a failed robbery. As Johnny navigates the city’s dark alleys and encounters various characters, his struggle for survival becomes increasingly desperate. Directed by Carol Reed and based on the novel by F. L. Green.

Not sure what book to pick up next? Well, our dedicated team of experts has you covered! Our staff is happy to provide personalized reading recommendations based on your interests. Check out our Book Match Service!

Kanopy Movie Review: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

webadmin — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 12:00:36 +0000

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New year, new you! Join me in this Kanopy Movie Review, where we meet the classic duo Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), featuring Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, and Lana Turner. Get your popcorn ready, fix a “potion,” and let us begin!

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was originally a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, which fixates on the good and evil we all have, an idea that renowned Dr. Henry Jekyll wants to experiment on. Maybe if he could extract the evil, life could be better. However, the doctor soon learns that evil is not simply defeated as his counterpart, Hyde, begins to rear his ugly head uninvited, causing mayhem in Jekyll’s pristine world.

As a fan of old movies and classic books, I highly enjoyed this movie. It did not stray far from the source material, and it is always astounding to see antiquated cinema portray special effects in creative ways. The cast was also perfect. Spencer Tracy’s portrayal of both Hyde and Jekyll was a powerhouse, especially when he was countered against Ingrid Bergman’s Ivy. Overall, this movie was so good it made me want to re-read the book!

If you are interested in watching this classic, click here.

If you are interested in reading the book, like I am, click here.

Enjoy!

Kanopy Movie Review: Night of the Living Dead

webadmin — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 11:00:39 +0000

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TW: Violence/Adult Themes and Violence

Inspired by the crisp weather we have been having, and the shift in the tree foliage, I thought it would be nice to welcome fall with a fun, creepy story. What story do you ask? The Night of the Living Dead. So get some popcorn, bar the doors, and enjoy this cult classic from 1968. It is certain to send shivers down your spine, so get the blankets too!

Taking place in rural Pennsylvania, we are thrown into the apocalyptic events quickly, running with Barbara, an ensemble character, as she escapes a hoard of ghouls from the graveyard, finding sanctuary in an “abandoned” farmhouse, where we meet the rest of the cast; Ben, Barbra, Tom, Judy, and the Coopers. Together, they must try to wait out the impending pressure of the living dead pressing down on their sanctuary until the military comes to comb through their sector of this chaos, all the while wondering: what caused this? And will it ever end?

If you enjoy old movies, cult classics, and scary films, you will enjoy this movie. The cinematography was well-thought-out, with the staging of scenes, shots, pacing, and choreography. I also appreciated the shoutout to Cumberland, Maryland, as it is always exciting to hear Maryland referenced in the media, even if it is during a period of doom and gloom.

To watch The Night of the Living Dead, click here.