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Janice21383
Vancouver Public Library
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126 to 150 of 1,036 items
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The Greatest Showman, DVD

DVD - 2018
Janice21383's rating:
1.5 out of 5 stars
Added Jan 02, 2019

Comment:

Sometimes you come across a film that makes you wonder "did I see the same thing as everyone else?" and The Greatest Showman is that for for me. Here's a challenge: first, forget it has anything to do with the real P.T. Barnum, Jenny Lind, etc., except for names. Then write, or get your child to write, a story about how a scrappy circus owner and his freaks (that's what they were called in Barnum's time, and that's what the movie calls them) learn to believe in themselves. Don't be afraid to make the characters two- or even one dimensional, or to lay the corny lessons on thick. And there you go; that's The Greatest Showman. The score has one memorable song, which is played several times. Difficult dance moves are not performed by the main actors, but by obvious body doubles. The sets and costumes are gorgeous, but I guess they couldn't find trained horses for this circus -- so some CGI ones are plopped in. You may like it if you're looking for an up with people message. But I wouldn't use it to introduce children to movie musicals. Don't they deserve better?

Cake, DVD

DVD - 2015
Janice21383's rating:
2 out of 5 stars
Added Jan 01, 2019

Comment:

Jennifer Aniston's bid for an Oscar nomination. She didn't get it, and to me, it's doubtful she'll get another chance for a long time to come. You can see her trying, she worked hard and plained herself up and everything, but the performance remains surface level. It doesn't help she's acting opposite Sam "The Potato" Worthington, and the screenplay piles pain on tragedy, almost like a parody of an Academy Award (TM) winning film.

American Gods, DVDSeason One

DVD - 2017
Janice21383's rating:
3.5 out of 5 stars
Added Dec 29, 2018

Comment:

To me, the novels of Neil Gaiman are cotton candy for the mind, delicious but melting quickly away. So I can't tell you how close American Gods the series is to the book, but think the series will be more memorable, because of producer Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Hannibal). The main story of down-on-their luck old gods gathering to fight the popular new gods of technology and media alternates with short stories of various personal encounters with gods and other spirits. Some are better than others -- the Native American story is especially half-asked for a show named "American Gods" -- but generally strike the tricky balance between funny and serious. This is not a show for viewers sensitive to sex, violence or ethnic stereotypes; and some cultures are treated with more respect than others. For example, the gods of one side of my family are depicted as violent, drunken and bigoted, and on the other as filthy and murderous. And I have to roll my eyes at the story's fuzzy "believe and anything can be real" message, and at the cliche of a sad atheist character with no moral compass. But most of the series is so enjoyable, and the actors are having such a good time, that it's difficult not to go with the highly eccentric flow. BONUS American Gods drinking game: drink! when Laura Moon says "puppy", when Shadow says "I don't know what I believe", or when Mr. Wednesday ignores a question about who he is or what is going on.

Love & Friendship, DVD

DVD - 2016
Janice21383's rating:
3 out of 5 stars
Added Dec 28, 2018

Comment:

Good elements, poor execution -- and Jane Austen is not the problem. True, she wrote Lady Susan aka Love and Friendship when she was very young, and it lacks the depth of her other works, but it is as pointed and snappy a romantic comedy novella as anything published today. Whit Stillman compares it to Oscar Wilde, but his naturalist style and Wilde don't go together. He was shooting in an authentic old house which seems to either confine his camera movements, or he just doesn't want to move the camera at all. Compared to Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility, or Roger Michell's Persuasion, L & F looks like a stage play. That's a shame, because the cast is excellent. An exception is lead Kate Beckinsdale, who is not the charismatic person Lady Susan is supposed to be. It would have been a natural role for Cate Blanchett or Annette Bening, but I guess they weren't available. However. Beckinsdale is balanced by Tom Bennett, who plays a young "rattle". He's a joy every time he's on screen, and believe me, Love & Friendship needs it.

Hush, DVD

DVD - 2016
Janice21383's rating:
0.5 out of 5 stars
Added Dec 26, 2018

Comment:

Hush is not one of the four horror films of the same name. Nor is it a documentary in the usual sense of the term. It is not filed under "science" or "medicine", but "political ethics", and for good reason -- heavy on the politics, and light on the ethics. It's about ten percent women saying they had an abortion and they regret it, and ninety percent misleading or completely false information about alleged abortion health effects, especially cancer. I have posted an article by one of experts consulted, below. His tone is extreme, but it would appear that most of the people giving their opinions, including the film makers, are unqualified, and that one of the interviews, a secret voice-recording with an unidentified “Abortion Clinic Manager”, was probably fabricated. Also, the use of the Alberta government logo is apparently fraudulent -- a government representative says "we have entered into conversations with the production company but we do not at this point have a formal agreement in place". https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-a-grimes/hush-the-documentaryhubri_b_11527642.html

The Real Lolita, BookThe Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World

by Weinman, Sarah
Book - 2018
Janice21383's rating:
2.5 out of 5 stars
Added Dec 23, 2018

Comment:

The Real Lolita is part of a trend in historical books to take two stories, and link them together. The intention is for one to comment on the other, but it's also a sales ploy: two for one deal! The parallels can be strained. I still don't know what the link between The Chicago World's Fair and the H.H. Holmes murders was in The Devil In the White City, except "changing times, huh." Sarah Weinman's stated purpose is to prove Vladimir Nabokov based more of Lolita on the Sally Horner case than he wanted to reveal. To which I say: probably, and; does it matter? There is more to Lolita than the details of a news story, and little is known about Sally Horner. So he couldn't have based much of Lolita on her case, could he, except in extremely broad outlines? Weinman is in no way as good a writer as Nabokov -- few people are. But both the Horner and Nabokov stories are interesting and worth your time -- just don't expect the halves to make up a whole.

The Miracle of the Cards, DVD

DVD - 2010
Janice21383's rating:
1.5 out of 5 stars
Added Dec 21, 2018

Comment:

A child with a brain tumor. A cast of sub-d-listers. Kirk Cameron as the man whose life will be "changed forever". Now you know all you need to know about The Miracle of the Cards. Again I ask: why are all these obscure religious movies showing up at VPL suddenly? Did a Christian bookstore go out of business?

Let There Be Light, DVD

DVD - 2007
Janice21383's rating:
4 out of 5 stars
Added Dec 16, 2018

Comment:

Battle fatigue wounds soldiers in every war, but public consciousness of it seems to depend on the war's success and popularity. World War II must have been very popular, because even this mostly upbeat documentary was suppressed in 1946. In 2018, it's hard to see why. Was it the mere idea that their brave soldiers could come back shaking and voiceless? The suggestion that families and employers might not understand? Ironically, the veterans seem to gain some strength from the documentary, and the prospect of their stories being told. Putting all that aside, Let There Be Light is worth seeing, both as a time capsule from the 1940s, and as a groundbreaking film. John Huston keeps the focus on the veterans, and the story of their recovery is told with great compassion and the minimum of propaganda.

Mōsō dairinin, DVDSatoshi Kon's Paranoia agent

DVD - 2004 | Japanese
Added Dec 15, 2018

Comment:

Satoshi Kon's classic animated series about shame and adorable stuffed animals. Kon's heightened style may take a while to get used to, but fans of Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone should like. The one and only copy at VPL is volumes 3 and 4; one and two are missing. I am submitting a complaint but if you are reading this in Vancouver, please urge the library to get a full set, and other films by Kon.

12 Rules for Life, BookAn Antidote to Chaos

by Peterson, Jordan B.
Book - 2018
Janice21383's rating:
1.5 out of 5 stars
Added Dec 13, 2018

Comment:

Suppose you wanted to pass down twelves rules for life to future generations. Write your list, and compare to Jordan Peterson's. I can almost guarantee that your rules will be similar, because they're basic golden rule, chicken soup for the soul things: tell the truth, treat yourself as well as you treat other people, pet cats. So why are people buying his rules and not yours? Long story short, they are written for certain groups who feel in need of guidance, especially white people perturbed by changing times, who want to change them back. It pushes Peterson's conservative, Christian values (in all but name; it isn't just coincidence that the majority of his references to ancient literature come from the Bible.) In his world, belief is truth, the female principal is "chaotic", and women should accept that men are better at leadership -- because there are legends and books that say that, okay? And atheists aren't real, unless they're murderers (chapter four). The rules have fancy wrappings: psychology, biology, history, philosophy and so on that sound profound, though are often factually dubious. This is a writer who came to prominence by misrepresenting Bill C-16, after all. Okay if you want a book like that, but readers should know going in it's C.S. Lewis for 2018.

Video: Jordan Peterson: Intellectual

Most libraries only contain Peterson's most accessible books, 12 Rules For Life and (soon) Beyond Order. But do they fully represent his gifts as a public intellectual? This video presents the breadth, and to some extent the depth of his achievement.

Collateral Beauty, DVD

DVD - 2017
Janice21383's rating:
1.5 out of 5 stars
Added Dec 12, 2018

Comment:

A new Will Smith movie? Why haven't I heard of it? -- you may be thinking. For good reason, believe me. Some have compared it to It's a Wonderful Life, if it had a confusing, poorly written and painfully contrived story. There is a "twist" near the end that will make you roll your eyes, and another one earlier on that will make you go "huh?" Smith's charisma doesn't carry it through, either. His character is dull and deadened from beginning to end. However, there is a star-studded cast, who I am convinced lost a bar bet.

The Sandbaggers, DVDSet One, First Principles

DVD - 2009
Janice21383's rating:
4.5 out of 5 stars
Added Nov 29, 2018

Comment:

Much more John le Carré than James Bond, Sandbaggers is a unique mix of the real and the surreal. One of the writers must have been a UK intelligence insider, because most of the series is like observing actual MI 6 and CIA operations. At the same time, the characters are unusually deep and unconventional, especially Roy Marsden's Burnside, who is both a beloved leader and a troubled stalker in his personal life. Some viewers might be put off by the series' low budget, but aside from that, this is a first rate production, played by the cream of British actors.

Image of the Beast, DVD

DVD - 2002
Janice21383's rating:
0.5 out of 5 stars
Added Nov 25, 2018

Comment:

Third in the Mark IV series of films, Image of the Beast is roughly the 137th Christian apocalypse film made in the 1970s and 1980s alone. If you have to see one, it might as well be Image, because they are usually remarkably similar. Where is the library getting all these fundamentalist films suddenly? Did someone die and leave VPL his DVD library?

Same Kind of Different as Me, DVD

DVD - 2018
Janice21383's rating:
1.5 out of 5 stars
Added Nov 25, 2018

Comment:

Yet another religious film about a well-off, depressed man who learns how to care and share from a magical black street person. Jon Voight, I'm not surprised; but Greg Kinnear, Renée Zellweger and Djimon Hounsou? Is this the best you can get?

The Star, DVD

DVD - 2018
Janice21383's rating:
2 out of 5 stars
Added Nov 25, 2018

Comment:

A Christmas story for children you dislike. It desperately wants to be a Pixar film, but is not well written, well performed (looking at you especially, Oprah, but it's also obvious who got the talent in Key and Peele, and it isn't Key), nor funny. However, for parents concerned about unpleasantness, The Star looks quickly away from all troubling or deeper subjects.

Grace Unplugged, Unknown

Unknown - 2014
Janice21383's rating:
1.5 out of 5 stars
Added Nov 25, 2018

Comment:

The Miley Cyrus story, rewritten for a conservative religious audience. Will Grace (the name of fully 20% of Christian movie heroines) discover the sinful nature of the music industry, and striving for anything except loving you-know-Whom? Or will she sink into a wild career of dissipation and non-reverent music making? Will she heck.

The Young Duke, BookThe Early Life of John Wayne

by Kazanjian, Howard
Book - 2018
Added Oct 31, 2018

Comment:

A biography of the early years of macho actor John Wayne: a super-patriot who never served in combat (now who does that remind me of?). Somehow, though he wrote letters about it and expressed some interest, he never walked himself down to the enlistment office. He could have taken a deferment as an older man with a family, but older, bigger stars with families like Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart managed. But he was a rising star at a studio that needed them. And then there was his hot affair with Marlene Dietrich. A man has his priorities. https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/john-wayne/252904/john-wayne-the-world-war-ii-hero-who-didnt-serve

The Best Years of Our Lives, DVD

DVD - 2000
Janice21383's rating:
4.5 out of 5 stars
Added Oct 27, 2018

Comment:

Hollywood doesn't do realism, but there are certain times, like immediately after WWII, when it comes close. The gloss is still there, but The Best Years of Our Lives is true to the feelings of many returning veterans and their families. Prepare to be surprised, shocked and moved, both by the story and the performances these familiar actors were capable of.

A Knight's Tale, DVD

DVD - 2005
Janice21383's rating:
2.5 out of 5 stars
Added Oct 15, 2018

Comment:

Best to think of it as a fantasy, because it sure isn't history. A peasant boy who through a twist of fate becomes a knight, and gains wealth, fame and a lady-love. This just could not happen real life (looking at you Kingdom of Heaven, and many more). The skills and muscles required had to be developed from childhood, and even if that were not so, the horse, armour, and other equipment cost the equivalent of a small jet airplane to buy and maintain. And that's just the beginning of the cheerful inaccuracies. There's a lot to like in Knight's Tale, including Alan Tudyk, and Paul Bettany as Chaucer, and the cast seems to be enjoying themselves. The exception is Heath Ledger, who is glum and sulky for the entire movie -- one of the least engaging lead characters that I have ever seen. Maybe it's the dreadlocks he wears in the first part of the movie; they look like a cat was sick on his head.

The Honeymoon Killers, DVD

DVD - 2003
Janice21383's rating:
4 out of 5 stars
Added Oct 15, 2018

Patch Adams, DVD

DVD - 1999
Janice21383's rating:
2 out of 5 stars
Added Oct 07, 2018

Comment:

The world needs more doctors like Patch Adams -- the real Patch Adams. As depicted in this unfunny travesty, he offers a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants -- to heck with that stuffy science! Against all odds, Philip Seymour Hoffman gives another excellent performance.

Loving the Bad Man, DVD

DVD - 2012
Janice21383's rating:
0.5 out of 5 stars
Added Oct 07, 2018

Comment:

Modern women could learn something from the heroine of Loving the Bad Man. Some might have ill feelings against a man who raped and impregnated them, but aren't they the real sinners? It's a shame she called the police, and interfered with his prospective career as a supreme court judge. As it is, they share caring and inspirational moments, separated only by prison Plexiglas. Stephen Baldwin appears as the U.S.'s puffiest-faced gang leader.

The Lake House, DVD

DVD - 2006
Janice21383's rating:
1.5 out of 5 stars
Added Oct 07, 2018

Comment:

A story that makes no sense -- doesn't usually stop a film from being made. It might make a difference if this romantic fantasy were well written and acted, but it isn't. That may not bother Keanu and Sandra Bullock fans.

Faith Like Potatoes, DVD

DVD - 2009
Janice21383's rating:
0.5 out of 5 stars
Added Sep 27, 2018

Comment:

You know who are persecuted? Rich white landowners in Africa. Well, it's the 1980s and they have to deal with that anti-Apartheid, and paying for all-white schools and polo clubs. Potatoes tells the story of Angus Buchan who, when he beats up an old man in Zambia, must flee to South Africa with only his trailer and Mercedes. He and his family squat on land owned by Zulus, who can't do anything about it. Wonder why? Anyway, after some time screaming at and beating his workers, and making them work for no pay, God intervenes with miracles. No, not on behalf of the Zulus. People who find this story inspirational will also like real-life Buchan's other book, A Rushing Mighty Wind.

Jurassic World, DVD

DVD - 2015
Janice21383's rating:
1.5 out of 5 stars
Added Sep 24, 2018

Comment:

You know those things you loved in Jurassic Park: exciting action, interesting characters, and a little food for thought? Don't look for them here. "Jurassic World" is a decent description of where the people who wrote this movie must have come from. I'm not saying that they are dumber than dinosaurs; but they aren't any smarter.
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