New DVD Releases

Wow!!! The year 2021 zoomed by, and boy was it  packed with great movies!

If  you were looking for action, the year did not disappoint. Flicks such as F9, The Suicide Squad, Black Widow, The Wrath of Man and numerous others kept many of us on the edge of our recliners. Or if you are a lover of drama, News of the World, Stillwater, and Passing were three great titles. If you enjoy a nail biting thriller, the much anticipated A Quiet Place 2 was released. For those that love to watch movies with the entire family, Luca, Tom and Jerry, and Space Jam were all great. It does not matter which genre you prefer, there were definitely movies that would surely  satisfy any movie connoisseur.   

The year 2021 did not close without providing even more movie greats. Below are some titles with links to our catalog of the latest blockbusters to help you narrow your cinematic search. And as always… choose your favorite genre to find a movie or two… or three…or feel free to watch them all!  

New DVD Releases

As the weather begins to change, this is a great time to reflect on the warm summer days of  2021, and the great movies from this season. Do you know what movie was the 1st summer  blockbuster?… No, it wasn’t a Star Wars movie. It was actually Jaws! In the summer of 1975,  movie goers stood in long lines to see a horror flick about a humongous terrorizing shark.  Believe it or not, this movie ended up grossing over $100 million at the box office. Since then,  summer movies have become a blockbuster trend. 

So, don’t fret because the summer months have passed. The summer BlockBuster DVDs have  just arrived at your library! This year was no exception, even though the theatres were just  reopening, the production companies were busy. There are a lot of great summer releases to  choose from. Many of the much anticipated sequels as well as some original movies are now  waiting to be checked out at our CCPL branches.  

So get your favorite blanket or sweater and curl up with a good movie. Below are some titles  with links to our catalog of the latest blockbusters to help you narrow your cinematic search.  And as always… choose your favorite genre to find a movie or two… or three…or feel free to watch them all!  

REMARKABLY ROMANTIC

• As Luck Would Have It

Staff Pick: 

I Carry You With Me: Based on true love, this decades spanning romance begins in Mexico between an aspiring chef and a teacher. Their lives restart in incredible ways as societal pressure propels them to embark on a treacherous journey to NYC with dreams, hopes, and memories in tow. 

DEFINITELY DRAMATIC

• Stillwater
• Nine Days
• Take Back
• Under the Stadium Lights
• Four Good Days
• Pig
• Free Guy

Staff Pick:

• Charming the Hearts of Men: In the early ’60s, a sophisticated woman returns to her southern hometown and finds her options are  limited. With the help of a Congressional ally, she inspires historic legislation that allows  opportunities never before afforded to women.

FUN FAMILY FEATURES

• Paw Patrol: The Movie
• 20 Snowy Stories/ PBS Kids
• 44 Cats. Cats Rock!

Staff Pick:

• Space Jam: A New Legacy: Basketball champion and global icon LeBron James goes on an epic adventure alongside timeless  Tune Bugs Bunny with the animated/live-action event from director Malcolm D. Lee. This  transformational journey is a manic mash-up of two worlds that reveals just how far some parents  will go to connect with their kids. 

AWESOME ACTION

• The Suicide Squad
• Protege
• A Green Knight
• F9, The Fast Saga
• Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

Staff Pick: 

• Black Widow: Natasha Romanoff–aka Black Widow–confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous  conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a past that will stop at nothing to bring her down,  Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before  she became an Avenger. 

THRILLER THEMES/SUPER SUSPENSES

• Old
• The Night House
• Zone 414

Staff Pick: 

• Reminiscence: A scientist discovers a way to relive your past and uses the technology to search for his long lost  love. Also, a private investigator uncovers a conspiracy while helping his clients recover lost  memories. 

HAUNTING HORRORS

• The Forever Purge
• Prisoners of Ghostland
• Malignant
• Bloodthirsty
• Don’t Breathe 2

Staff Pick: 

• Candyman: Oscar® winner Jordan Peele and filmmaker Nia DaCosta unleash a fresh take on the blood-chilling  urban legend: Candyman. For decades, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green were  terrorized by a ghost story about a supernatural, hook-handed killer. In the present day, an artist  (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) begins to explore the macabre history of Candyman, not knowing it would unravel his sanity and unleash a terrifying wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with  destiny. 

COMEDIC CHUCKLES

• Vamps
• On The Rocks
• Ride The Eagle

Staff Pick: 

• Lady of the Manor: An aimless ne’er-do-well becomes a tour guide in a historic estate and winds up befriending the manor’s resident ghost. 

RESPECTING REPRESENTATION 

• Zola
• Mifune: the last samurai : a documentary about Toshiro 
• Mifune

Staff Pick 

Respect: The life story of legendary R&B singer Aretha Franklin

Are you looking for a great STEAM activity? You can make a zombie movie at home! All you need are a few zombie figures, good lighting, construction paper, and a device with an app for recording your images and editing them together. 

The first thing you need is a story! A good movie is all about the story arc. Start with a storyboard worksheet, this will help you visualize the individual scenes and dialogue. Here is our blank storyboard.

Bill is the creative genius in this dynamic duo, so Bill suggested we have our zombies go in search of brains. We would take photos of the zombies as they move back and forth in search of brains on sale. Here is a close up of our completed storyboard. As you can see we included descriptions and drawings.

Next, we decided to set our backdrop. Feel free to be creative. You can use blue or green construction paper in the background and then replace it with a digital background. You can also print out different backgrounds. It all depends on how comfortable you feel with editing. We’ll show you two versions of our video and share what we learned.

We used a desk clipboard to hold blue construction paper as a blue screen and used a desk lamp for lighting. Lighting can be a challenge. You don’t want heavy shadows that will prevent your viewers from being able to see your figurines. Here is a photo of our zombie figures. We bought these figures in bulk online and painted them with paint markers. We added multiple layers of paint for added detail.

Keep in mind that if you plan to use a green screen or blue screen as your background, you want it to be a contrasting color from your figures, otherwise your figures will disappear when you go to replace the background in editing. 

Making this movie required 127 still images using a mobile device. I downloaded an app called Stop Motion. With the app we started a new project and took many, many, photos as we made micro adjustments of our figurines. At any time you can animate the images to view your pro audio to your movie.

This app has free and premium features. We made our movie using just the free features. You don’t have to use this app. There are many different options for making stop motion videos including apps like TikTok. You can also just have fun taking a series of photos on your device.

To keep your camera steady you will need a tripod. You can see we improvised a tripod with a tissue box. If you have a tripod that’s even better! If you don’t have a tripod, there are tutorials and tips online for making a DIY tripod

For editing, you may find this link to various chroma key, post-production editing software, and options to be helpful as well. Chroma key allows you to swap out the blue or green screen.

To view our sample stop motion animated film, Brain Mart, please visit the library’s YouTube Channel.

Looking for books? Check out the stop motion books we have at the library!

New DVD Releases

In 1888 a Frenchman named Louis Le Prince directed the very first motion picture.  It was made with 11 clips and played for approximately 10 seconds. This short film, entitled “Roundhay Garden Scene”, merely showed a man riding a horse. Imagine how the audience felt as they viewed the first moving pictures!  No one could have been more excited and in awe than this group. Today, we can get almost as excited as this group when we watch a newly released movie. 

Fortunately, our modern movies usually captivate us a lot longer than 10 seconds. They temporarily transport us to new worlds, dimensions or different places in time. They impact our emotions, thoughts and opinions.

One of  the best things about movies is they come in different genres. Do you like stories about love in the air?  If so, romance might be for you. Are you easily bored?  Try an action-packed movie.  Are you a screamer? Then, try a horror movie. Or do you like Who-Done-Its?  A suspense/thriller is probably more to your liking… Or you could be like many of us, like them all. 

CCPL constantly gets new, exciting movies every week. We have so many movies to choose from, but so little time for most of us to watch them (but you can be a secret binge-watcher).  

Below are some titles of the latest releases to help you narrow your cinematic search. Choose your favorite genre to find a movie or two… or three…or feel free to watch them all.  

 

REMARKABLY ROMANTIC

• Chasing Waterfalls
• Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

Staff Pick: 

• Finding You: After a tumultuous audition, Finley Sinclair (Rose Reid) sets off for a change of pace and scenery to the beautiful, rolling hills of Ireland.  There Finley happens to find love and lots of drama when she meets Beckett Rush (Jedidiah Goodacre) , a young, arrogant actor who appears to have everything. 

DEFINITELY DRAMATIC

• The Hedgehog
• 12 Mighty Orphans
• Dream Horse

Staff Pick:

• Here Today: Although this movie is starring two well-renowned comics and has some laughable moments, its delicate subject matter warrants it as a beautiful drama about friendship. Charlie Burnz (Billy Crystal) and Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish) come from two very different walks of life. Yet, they open up their hearts to discover that there are limitless possibilities in friendship and love.

FUN FAMILY FEATURES

• Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
• The Boss Baby: Family Business
• The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run

Staff Pick:

• Luca: Luca has always followed the rules and has done everything his mom and dad told him.  However, he dreams that there is more beyond the sea. So he decides to take a chance and explore. Along the way he meets new friends and finds a new exciting world.  

AWESOME ACTION

• Jack Snyder’s Justice League
• No Man’s Land
• Mortal Kombat

Staff Pick:

• Wrath of Man: In this action flick, “H” (Jason Statham) searches for the ones responsible for upsetting his family dynamic. He is out for revenge and nothing or no one will dare stop him. 

THRILLER THEMES/SUPER SUSPENSES

• Flashback
• Every Breath You Take
• Defending Jacob
• City of Lies

Staff Pick:

• A Quiet Place 2: If you were waiting to find out what happened to the Abbott family….the wait is over.  This long awaited sequel continues the family’s fight for survival in the midst of the terrifying silent world. 

HAUNTING HORRORS

• The Boonies
• Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Staff Pick:

• The Conjuring 3:The Devil Made Me Do It: Once again the Warners uncover an unparalleled evil. This evil entity preys on members of a small town.   With Lorraine’s (Vera Farmiga) clairvoyant gifts and Ed’s (Patrick Wilson) investigative talents, the pair reveal demonic possession can truly ruin the lives of the innocent. 

COMEDIC CHUCKLES

• Cruella
• The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard

Staff Pick:

• Queen Bees: This hilarious movie proves that change can be good at any age. It also shows that you don’t have to be young to make enemies or friends….but it is better to make friends.  

RESPECTING REPRESENTATION 

• Equal Standard
• Canal Street

Staff Pick:

• In the Heights: “In the Heights”  is a  wonderful musical that takes place within a New York community. There we meet Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), a hard-working store owner, who dreams and hopes his  life will change. Through hard work and determination Unsavi believes this dream will come true.

CCPL now has Kanopy! Kanopy showcases more than 30,000 of the world’s best films for all ages, for free! Ms. Kate will be sharing reviews of kids and teen movies to give you information you need to enjoy programs.

This documentary follows the culinary program at Frankford High School in Philadelphia, PA. The program, led by Mrs. Stephenson, teaches the kids how to cook and essential life lessons. The documentary also follows three students; Fatoumata, Tyree (called “Dudley” by his friends), and Eric as they navigate their senior year in the hopes of leaving their hometown and achieving their dreams. 

Fatoumata is a student that was born and raised in Mali, Africa. In her interview, she describes what life was like. She would walk 20 miles a day for her schooling. Her dream is to achieve a scholarship to college. She shows us more of her life in Africa in her essay. She lived with her mother while her father left to make money in America until it stopped. Fatoumata’s paternal family took her away from her mother, which was the last time she saw her. She lives in Philadelphia with her father and stepmother, where she does most of the cleaning and cooking. The culinary art class is her new family. 

Erica is concerned that the responsibilities she has in her family will hold her back. Erica helps take care of her 15-year-old sister, who is legally blind. “When I eat, she eats, and when I dress, she dresses,” Erica says. Erica had to grow up quickly instead of enjoying her childhood. Her parents divorced when she was two-years-old, and when she was twelve, her mother kicked her and her sibling out of the house. Ever since then, they have been living with their father. Even though Erica likes helping out in the family, she is scared that the responsibilities will keep her trapped in Frankford. She needs an escape, and the one way she can is by receiving a scholarship. 

“Dudley” is a football player who participates in the culinary program. He thrives under the pressure of Mrs. Stephenson; he enjoys learning by her example. As the only son of the family, he holds a lot of responsibility, like raising his kid sister. “Dudley” comes from a single-parent home and has faced hardships growing up. For example, when he was young, someone stole his Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. He isn’t the only one who wants a scholarship; his mother does too. She hopes it will help the whole family get out of the area. 

Mrs. Stephenson leads the culinary program and watches out for her students by ensuring they have a better future. She does this by selling cookies to save up enough money for her pupil’s college applications. There is another scene where Mrs. Stephenson gets Dudley’s measurements to buy him a preliminaries dress shirt. She not only teaches her students how to cook but how to enjoy life outside of class; she urges Fatoumata and Erica out to get prom dresses. Stephenson is genuine in what she does with her students every day she is with them. “Nothing’s ever too much for them to do,” she says about her students. 

Soon it is the day of the preliminaries, where judges decide which students will move onto the finals to receive school scholarships. I was stressed, and I wasn’t the one cooking crepes! Thankfully, all of Mrs. Stephenson’s students pass on to the finals. If you weren’t sweating during the preliminaries, then you have to be while watching the finals. I squirmed in my seat as I watched Fatoumata, “Dudley”, and Erica, making their dishes to be judged. I think I even held my breath a few times!

Finally, the moment of truth arrives, the Awards Breakfast, where recipients of the scholarships are announced. Tyree Dudley received a 3,000 scholarship and went to attend school at Bloomsburg. Erica received a full ride to The Art Institute in Atlanta. Fatoumata received a full ride to Monroe College in New York and received an internship at Aquavit, one of New York’s top restaurants. 

The final act is watching the students walk across the stage in graduation. You cry with Mrs. Stephenson as you watch her students move on to bigger and better things. 

I loved this documentary. You gravitate to the high stake’s culinary education world very quickly, and by doing such, you hope the Frankford students can succeed. I am going to be honest; I teared up a few times watching this because it is such a moving piece about pushing against stereotypes and following your dreams. As Mrs. Stephenson states, “Dreams are a reality that you must work for.”

I hope you enjoy this documentary as much as I did.

Hoopla has a lot of great movies, but if you are looking for great horror movies, you may want to watch these commonly missed hits!

What We Do In The Shadows

Created from the mind of Academy Award winner, Taika Waititi, presents a hysterical mockumentary about a house of awkward Vampires living together in the modern world trying to adapt to the new world.

 The Color Out of Space

Based on the H.P. Lovecraft short story, The Color Out of Space is a disturbing nightmare of Nicholas Cage and his family losing themselves to something that fell out of an asteroid infecting their farmland. 

Train to Busan

South Korea’s first zombie movie is about a man and daughter trapped on a train running out of control in the beginning of the outbreak. Pure high octane action and suspense that shouldn’t be missed!

Scream

Wes Anderson’s classic slasher satire is available on Hoopla! Small town suburb is under panic from recent murders until paranoia settles in and everyone becomes a suspect.

 A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

A vampire stalks her prey in the night of a small Iranian ghost town while the townspeople remain unaware. An eerie modern classic movie that shouldn’t be missed.

Hellraiser

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is one of the most infamous and grotesque horror movies. A mysterious puzzle box begins to cause havoc in a family when their mysterious missing uncle comes back from the dead, craving blood.

House (1985)

A writer goes into his childhood home to write his experience in Vietnam but bizarre things begin to happen making his self-isolation feel like he is spiralling into madness.

 Halloween (1978)

Halloween is one of the most iconic horror movies of all time. It follows the stories of teenage babysitter Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis)  being hunted by an escaped serial killer, Micheal Myers, on Halloween night.