movie-reviews – Charles County Public Library

Movie Reviews for Teens – Cast A Dark Shadow

webadmin — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 11:00:31 +0000

As a kickstart to spooky season, where we binge scary movies and chow down on discounted chocolates, the September edition of Movie Reviews for Teens will be about the British Thriller, “Cast a Dark Shadow,” from 1955.

If you enjoy film noir (a film genre noted by themes of pessimism, fatalism, and menace), England, or just love a thriller, this is for you. As a fan of both, I really enjoyed this movie. (Even though I struggled not to repeat their accents).

“Cast a Dark Shadow” opens with a married couple, Edward “Teddy” Bare and his senior wife Moni. They return to Moni’s manor, where she meets with her lawyer to rehash her will. Soon after, Edward stages her death in hopes of inheriting her money. But Edward is thwarted when he learns that his late wife left her money to her last of kin, her sister Dora, who lives in Jamaica.

Frustrated but not calling it quits, Edward hunts for another fated wife by going off on a seaside trip where he meets Freda, a recent widow who has a fortune to her name and is bent on keeping it to her name.

This movie was fantastic. I loved every 82 minutes of it. It was amazing, especially in the third act, I can’t tell you how many times I gasped at the ending. This film was beautifully directed by Lewis Gilbert. The blocking of the camera and the actors is something to write home to perfection. Especially as we watch dear Teddy Bare meticulously carry out Moni’s murder, seeing the shift from caring husband to cold-blooded killer just by the lighting change and the inquiry, “Are you cold?”

Speaking of quotations, the SCREENPLAY was amazing! There were many times when I paused the movie after the delivery of a well-written line. This movie is based on Janet Green’s play, “Murder Mistaken” (also called “Gently Does It”), and the screenplay by John Cresswell was a work of diligence and love and delivered effortlessly by the star-studded cast, Dirk Borgarde, Kay Walsh, and Margaret Lockwood.

I hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did. Feel free to find me at the La Plata library to discuss this movie!

Click the link below to log into Kanopy to watch here.

Movie Review for Teens – Donnie Darko

webadmin — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 11:00:20 +0000

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WARNING: The movie contains adult themes, violence, profane language, and mental health references.

Hello and welcome to the blog series “Movie Reviews for Teens,” where I, Ms. Kate, review movies you teens might enjoy! For this edition, I will review this star-studded cult classic, Donnie Darko, which debuted in 2001. The movie takes place in 1988 and follows high schooler Donnie Darko, who sleepwalks and meets a grotesque rabbit named Frank, who warns him that the apocalypse will come in 28 days.

I can understand why Donnie Darko has become a favorite. It is a very well-done movie with a great cast, script, and subject matter. Donnie Darko, the middle child and only son of the Darko family, is a person who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, providing a peek at what a patient and family can feel like after the diagnosis. There is some creativity behind Donnie’s schizophrenia, as he sleepwalks/goes into a trance numerous times throughout the movie and meets Frank, who warns him about the end times. Frank also instructs Donnie to complete other tasks that affect life outside of their “reality.”

I totally see why this film became a “cult classic” (a term used for movies that gained a large following, usually after it is released on VHS/ DVD/Blu-Ray.) The director, Richard Kelly, had a vision and stuck with it in his debut film. The cast is amazing and full of actors that have shaped my childhood (for example, Ashley Tisdale, who stars in Suite Life and High School Musical, and Jerry Trainor, who plays Spencer in iCarly). The story is enjoyable, and the soundtrack is perfectly early 2000s.

If you are someone who enjoys sci-fi, high school epics, and early 2000’s fashion, you will enjoy this film!

To check out this movie, log into Kanopy right here.

Kanopy Kids Movie Review: Secret of the Kells

webadmin — Thu, 20 May 2021 11:00:16 +0000

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(Greetings, reader! Before I begin this review, I would like to preface it with this movie has religious themes, referencing paganism and mythology. There is also violence, even though it is off screen, and takes place when the Vikings arrive to take over a village.)

The Secret of Kells is a beautiful story that tells viewers the history of how one of Ireland’s most prized books, The Book of Kells, was created. It follows a young boy, named Brendan, who helps an illuminator finish the blessed book, all the while preparing for the Northmen/Vikings to come upon Kells, bringing their darkness with them. Can Brendan help turn the darkness into light?

After an invasion, Brother Aidan, an illuminator, escapes from the Vikings to Kells’ safety, which is fortifying itself against the impending danger. Aidan brings his cat Pangur Bán and the Book of Iona, a fantastic book written by Saint Columbkille himself. The saint passed down the book to Aidan so he could finish it instead. Brendan, the nephew of Kells’ Abbott, is tasked with helping Aidan finish the book by creating the “Chi-Rho” page, the book’s most glorious page.

To help Aidan finish the goal, Brendan ventures beyond the walls of Kells to find berries for ink. While he is out, he is saved by a fairy named Aisling. She is an immortal girl who has the ability to turn into a white wolf and speak to animals, cool right? Brendan also needs help finding the Eye of Columbkille, a lens that will help him create the Chi-Rho page. But with the Northmen coming closer and closer to Kells, will the book be done in time? Will Brendan be able to turn the darkness into light?

I loved this movie. Cartoon Saloon, the company behind this movie, has such a specific animation style that is entertaining to watch. The trees, wolves, deer, clothes, and drawings are rooted in the Celtic art style of knots. The characters have a unique movement and style that you have to admire.

The characters themselves are all delightful. Aisling is a young fairy but is well beyond her years. Brendan is a kind soul that wants to make things right, even though it may be risky. Aidan is a wise man who has tricks up his sleeve, and Abbot is a man who wants to keep people safe, even though he gets carried away. (Brendan Gleeson, aka “Mad-Eye Moody” from the Harry Potter series, voices the Abbott, which is another bonus for the movie). The film also teaches the lesson of helping others accomplish something more significant, which is a great lesson. I hope you enjoy this movie as well!

Terms used in this blog post:

Abbott: a title given to the head of a monastery.
Celtic: the language of Indo-European family (Irish, Scottish, Gaelic, Welsh, etc).
Book of Kells: an illuminated manuscript of the four gospels of the Christian New Testament. It is noted for its intricate and illustrious illustrations.
Chi-Rho: it is said to be the finest example of illustration from the Middle Ages, and is found in the actual Book of Kells, which dates back to the 8th century!
Illuminator: in the movie, it is shown that an illuminator illustrates the cover and pages with ornate illustrations.
Illustrations: drawings found in literature.
Ireland: is an island in Northwestern Europe in the Atlantic Ocean.
Myth: A traditional story that usually explains how something began.
Mythology: a collection of myths that belonged to a group or religion.
Pangur Bán: I found this super cool). The cat in the movie, Pangur Bán is named after a cat that was featured in a 9th century poem, written by its owner, a Irish monk.
Paganism: a religion that incorporates beliefs or practices from outside the main world religions.
Religious: relating to or believing in a religion.
Vikings: seafaring Norse people from Southern Scandinavia.

One more thing:

If you are interested in learning more about Irish or Viking history, here are some free library resources you can check out:

Kanopy Kids Movie Review: Shorts Addition: If the World Were a Village

webadmin — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 12:00:45 +0000

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Movies can vary in origin, time, characters, effects, and timing. Timing is what we will focus on today in this blog post. Usually, movies can be up to three hours long. For example, one movie that has the longest run time, the Swedish art film Logistics (2012), is 857 hours or 35 days long. Who is ready for a movie marathon? Other movies can be 5 minutes long. These are short films, or in short, shorts, and within their allotted time, they tell a story or teach a lesson.

Today, we will focus on the short film, “If the World Were a Village,” based on the book by David J. Smith. The story behind this film is what the world would be like if we could connect people from different backgrounds? The narrator of this movie speaks in rhyme and rhythm as they explain what the world would be like if it were condensed into a village for just one day. The narrator breaks down the dynamics of our town by going into the different classifications people would mark themselves. In this post, I will cover the sections regarding the origin, age, and religion.

The narrator begins our journey by asking the question,

“Made of 100 people from all humankind,

if we could make a village, what would we find?”

There are about 6 billion people1 in the world. If we made a village of 100 people, 61 people would come from Asia (China, Russia, Japan, India, and many others). 5 inhabitants would be from North America, 13 would be from Africa, 12 people from Europe, 8 people from Central and South America, and 1 person would be from Oceania; which is someone from Australia or any island that is in the South and Central Pacific Oceans.

I found this portion super fascinating because they broke down the numbers by the Populus on each habitable continent; Asia, Africa, North and South America, Australia, and Europe. Our village is so dynamic and culturally diverse, I am excited to see what else our new home would represent, like languages or even the age groups!

22 people would speak in a Chinese dialect. 9 would speak English. 8 people would speak Hindi. 7 people would speak Spanish. 4 people would speak Bengali. 4 would speak Arabic. 3 would speak Russian. 3 would speak Portuguese. If we lived in this village, we could speak up to eight languages, isn’t that amazing! I would be very impressed if I met someone who could speak up to eight languages. How many do you speak?

We know that there would be a percentage of the village population originating from each continent and that our village would house 8 different languages, but what is the age range of the town? Would there be predominantly older people? What about younger people? In the short film, the narrator breaks down the data. 39 people would be under the age of 20 years old. 42 people would be between 20 and 49 years old. 18 people would be more than 50 years old. Only 1 person is over 80.

Religion is another demographic that people are grouped in. How many churches would our village have if we had 100 people from all over the world residing in it? 32 would be Christian, 19 would be Muslim, 13 would be Hindu, 12 would follow Animism and Shamanism, 6 people would be Buddhist, 1 person would be Jewish, and 15 people wouldn’t practice any organized religion.

How cool is our village? So many different faces, ages, and cultures, just like the whole world, there are so many dimensions to our way of life. This was just a sample of what the film discusses, I didn’t want to spoil the fun for you! This film can be found in our Digital Collection on Kanopy and is free to watch with your library card. Enjoy!

1At the time that “If the World Was A Village” was written, there were only approximately 6 billion people in the world. Currently, there are an estimated 7.8 billion people on Earth [World Population Clock: 7.8 Billion People (2021)].