Coco Before Chanel was released on DVD this week.  Starring Audrey Tatou (of Amelie fame), this film details the life of Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel beginning with her childhood in an orphanage.  First skirting society by being a singer in a nightclub, Coco later developed relationships with wealthy friends and lovers.  This fascinating film reveals the origins of Coco’s fashion sense as a young woman and how her personal style changed the way women dressed.  This film is in French with English subtitles.

Well folks, the 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations are in!  For a full list check out the official Oscar website.  Of course the library owns all of the titles nominated for Best Picture that are available on DVD such as:

District 9

The Hurt Locker

Inglorious Basterds

Up

Many of you have been asking if we will hold an Oscar Ballot contest again this year.  Of course we are!  We are currently preparing the ballot sheets and dusting off the ballot box.  The contest will be set up by the Circulation Desk by the end of the week.  Good luck selecting the winners!

Last week, YouTube announced a partnership with Sundance Film Festival.  For the duration of the festival (January 22 to Jan 31) customers can rent five of the films featured at the festival for $3.99 and watch them online through YouTube.  Here is a quick demo video produced by YouTube about how the process works.

Downloading movies seems to be the way of the future and may eventually replace the production of physical copies of movies.   But until we reach that point, the library will carry DVDs of films featured at the Sundance Film Festival.

Ahhhh, romance…No visions of Valentine’s Day here, this is the story of the relationship of Romantic poet John Keats and his muse Fanny Brawne.  Bright Star, directed by Jane Campion (who also directed The Piano), is visually beautiful and emotionally involving without being overly dramatic.  Kenneth Turan of the L.A. Times says: “‘Bright Star’ satisfies a hunger we may not have known we had, a hunger for an exquisitely done, emotional love story that marries heartbreaking passion to formidable filmmaking restraint, all in the service of an unapologetically romantic belief in ‘the holiness of the heart’s affections.’”  The DVD will be available on Tuesday, January 26th here at the library.

If you missed the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night you can view a list of the winners on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association website.  Most of the winning films are still in the theaters, but the titles that are available on DVD (and here at the library) are: The Hangover, Inglorious Basterds, Julie & Julia, and Up.

We also have the winning TV Series that are available on DVD such as: Mad Men, Dexter, Glee, United States of Tara, 30 Rock, Grey Gardens, Taking Chance, and Big Love.

If you are looking for a good movie with a great message check out Like Stars on Earth (Taare Zameen Par).  This Hindi language film is the story of a boy named Ishaan who constantly gets into trouble at home and at school.  No one understands his behavior and seeming lack of interest in his education until a new art teacher discovers the root of Ishaan’s problem.  This is not your typical Bollywood film filled with song and dance, it is a heartwarming movie about the power of teachers who care about their students and the challenges that children with learning disabilities face every day.  The DVD will be available on Tuesday, January 12!

Look no further!  You can find a complete list of Christmas feature films here.  From classics such as ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ to newer titles such as ‘Four Christmases’, we have them all.  And if you need some Christmas music to fill the air check our catalog for all of your favorites!

That’s right, The Tudors: The Complete Third Season is here!  This season features King Henry VIII’s third and fourth wives, Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves.  This Reformation-era soap opera continues to fascinate viewers.  We all know how each marriage ends, but this up-close and personal (and somewhat erotic) lens through which we see history gives a new perspective on the enigmatic  figure of Henry VII.

Julie & Julia came out on DVD this week!  Meryl Streep and Amy Adams bring to life the two books on which the movie is based: Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child.  Get ready to laugh and cry as you watch the real-life trials and tribulations of both women.  Also, have snacks handy, as this movie will surely make you hungry!

Terminator Salvation comes out on DVD tomorrow!  Get ready for some serious action, lots of explosions, and of course, killing machines.  This latest installment in the Terminator franchise is set in the future, when John Connor is an adult and has fulfilled his  role as the leader of the humans in the Los Angeles area.  We  finally get to view the time and place of origin of all the killer robots we have seen in Terminator 1, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.