Archives

Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link Tremors (1990) PG-13, 96min Check it out in our online card catalog! Summary: Two country handymen and a seismology student discover a desolate town infested with gigantic man-eating creatures that live underground. Dune (1984) came out first, so forgive the similarities you might spot between giant tunneling worm-monsters. Recommendation: …

Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link Cloverfield – 2008, rated PG-13, 90mins Check it out in our online card catalog! Summary: You head for a party where you expect the biggest drama of the night to be when the ex- shows up with a new guy. But no… it’s not just about someone leaving the …

Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link A Quiet Place – 2018, rated PG-13, 90min Check it out in our online card catalog! Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, a family lives in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing. Can they all survive scavenging for supplies and growing their own food? Reduced to living without …

Fright Night – 2011, 120min | Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant Check it out in our online card catalog! Summary: High school senior Charley Brewster finally has it all – he’s running with the cool kids and dating the hottest girl in high school. But all hell breaks loose when charming Jerry Dandrige moves in next …

The Wave, 2015 (Norway) – rated R, 105mins Check it out in our online card catalog! Summary: Although anticipated, no one is ready when the mountain pass above the scenic, narrow Norwegian fjord Geiranger collapses and creates an 85-meter high violent tsunami. A geologist is one of those caught in the middle of it and …

Have you ever celebrated Christmas in July? Look at these fun movies to get you in the Christmas spirit! This link shares all of the Christmas movies that we have at our library or digitally, on a streaming platform: Check out the fun Christmas movies that we have at our library, or digitally online. Visit …

This is part of our “Christmas in July” series! Elf (2003) PG Check it out in our online card catalog! Summary: Raised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn’t know he exists and is in desperate need of some …

Maggie, 2015 – rated PG-13, 95 mins Check it out in our online card catalog! Summary: By the time a necrotic viral pandemic spread cross-country to small town America and infected the film’s titular character, 16-year-old MAGGIE, authorities had established a protocol for patients infected with the deadly virus: the afflicted are removed from society …

Two Audiobooks, enjoyed on Hoopla. When traveling, you can’t beat renting a book from Hoopla for helping the miles fly by. Two movies, one available from SPLD and one rented from the vast array of movies available in the system. One Native American Novel which was recommended during a panel discussion at the Chicago Public …

Episodic storytelling can engender an addictive loyalty in fans. If you have never seen these shows at all, my suggestion is to try a half-dozen episodes before giving up – usually you need a few shows to detail the relationships between characters. I was watching Voltron and Sailor Moon when they came out in America. …

Mixed Nuts | Screenplay by Nora Ephron Summary: A group of very bizarre individuals man a suicide hotline on Christmas Eve. Recommendation: Mixed Nuts is a 1994 American Christmas dark comedy film.  The Cast will surprise you.  Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Adam Sandler, Juliette Lewis and Rob Reiner to name a few stars in this …

Do films like Die Hard and Gremlins count as Christmas movies? This reviewer says yes. Rare Exports (2010) rated R Summary: Young Pietari lives with his stern reindeer-herding father Rauno in arctic Finland. On the eve of Christmas, an enormous excavation at a nearby mountain disturbs the locals and captures Pietari’s curiosity. When Rauno’s reindeer …

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) – United States rated PG Summary: A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armor worn by his father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past. He gains help along the way before facing a very personal fear – his family. Recommendation: The …

The Last Unicorn (1982) – United States rated PG Summary: When a young unicorn learns she may soon be the last of her kind, she leaves the safety of her protected forest and enlists the help of a clumsy sorcerer as they embark on a long journey to save the unicorns from extinction. Recommendation: I …

Millennium Actress (2001) Japan rated PG Summary: Past and present collide as a film director discovers a mysterious key that unlocks the secrets of a legendary actress who vanished at the height of her career. There are multiple angles to watch this story unfold from regarding how connected the viewer is – one of the …

Tokyo Godfathers (2003) PG-13 Summary: The story takes place on Christmas Eve in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Middle-aged has-been Gin, aging transvestite Hana, and teenager runaway Miyuki are homeless friends who have formed a makeshift family structure bond. That bond is tested when they find an abandoned baby while searching for food in a trash dumpster. They …

The Secret of Kells (2009) – Ireland, France, and Belgium Summary: In a remote medieval outpost of Ireland, young Brendan embarks on a new life of adventure when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying a book brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome …

Tales of the Night (2011) – France Summary: Silhouetted characters are set off against exquisitely detailed backgrounds bursting with color and kaleidoscopic patterns, as the film weaves together six exotic fables each unfolding in a unique locale, from Tibet, to medieval Europe, the African plains and even the Land of the Dead. In Ocelot’s celebrated …

Game Changer (2021) | Neal Shusterman Summary: With every rough tackle on the football field, high schooler Ash is bounced from one dimension to the next–in one place he lives in a gated community instead of tract housing and in another segregation continues to exist–forcing him to consider different perspectives while finding a way to …

Let’s introduce animation from some other lands. Being from near Belleville, IL, this title always amuses. We start in in France (their home, the race) and travel to Belleville (which looks a great deal like NYC), the place from which grandma must rescue her grandson. The Triplets of Belleville (2002) – France, Belgium, Canada, and …