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May- June 2017

VOL. 32 THE VIDEO REVIEW MAGAZINE FOR LIBRARIES NO. 3

IN THIS ISSUE | Planet Earth II | I Am Not Your Negro | Blood on the Mountain | Fire at Sea | Confronting ISIS | Tower scene & heard

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La La Land HHHH breezy romanticism of make-believe through , 128 min., PG- entrancing, unabashedly twinkly musical 13, DVD: $29.99, Blu- numbers choreographed by Mandy Moore ray/DVD Combo: $39.99, (not the pop singer) that are reminiscent of Publisher/Editor: Randy Pitman Apr. 25 Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly/ Opening with a Debbie Reynolds, particularly when the Associate Editor: Jazza Williams-Wood fabulous fantasy song- lovebirds glide into the heavens during the Editorial Assistant: Christopher Pitman and-dance sequence sparkling “” at the Griffith Ob- Graphic Designer: Carol Kaufman featuring commuters servatory. A lovely contemporary update of caught in congested the classic Hollywood musical, this is highly Marketing Director: Anne Williams traffic on Los Ange- recommended. Editor’s Choice. (S. Granger) les freeways, ’s dazzling multi-Oscar-winning contemporary musical Contributing Writers serves a chronicle of longing, love, and In many of its song- and-dance numbers, La Carson Block, formerly with lingering wistfulness. Aspiring actress Mia Poudre River Public Library District () works as a barista on the La Land pays homage Warner Bros. lot, while brooding jazz pianist to the Golden Age of Kathleen C. Fennessy, Reviewer, the Hollywood musical, The Stranger Sebastian () is tired of playing background music at bars and restaurants. particularly MGM’s hits Susan Granger, SSG Syndicate They “meet cute” several times before actu- from the 1930s through Donald Liebenson, Reviewer, ally connecting, after which they encourage the ‘50s. Viewers can get a taste of those , Amazon.com each other to follow their dreams as their classic, star-studded films in Warner Home Video’s That’s Entertainment! The Stephen Rees, Librarian, formerly with respective careers move forward. Mia writes Bucks Co. Free Library, Levittown, PA a one-woman show attracting the interest of Complete Collection (VL Online-11/04), an influential agent, while Sebastian joins a which compiles 1974’s That’s Entertain- Frank Swietek, Associate Professor ment!, 1976’s That’s Entertainment, Part 2, of History, University of Dallas, TX touring pop band that is fronted by his old friend (). But long separations and 1994’s That’s Entertainment III, and take a toll on their romantic relationship as features Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Additional Contributors: the story follows the couple over changing Stewart, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and seasons. Inspired by ’s classic Donald O’Connor, among others. Sean Axmaker The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, as well as A Star Charles Cassady Is Born and Singin’ in the Rain, Chazelle styl- Cover Photo: © 2017 , LLC. ishly transitions from naturalism into the All Rights Reserved. Jose Cruz Phil Hall TABLE OF CONTENTS Tom Keogh Lisa Martincik Michael Sandlin Video Newsbriefs 4 Relationships & Sexuality 55 Books Into Movies 5 Food & Spirits 55 Mixed Media 6 Business & Economics 56 Video Movies 12 Computers & Technology 56 Video Librarian (ISSN: 0887-6851) is pub- TV on Video Sports, Games & Recreation lished bi-monthly by Video Librarian, 3435 37 56 NE Nine Boulder Dr., Poulsbo, WA 98370. Key to Star Ratings The Arts 58 Subscriptions: $64 for one year in the Unit- 42 ed States; $69 (US) in Canada (includes Video Reviews History & Current Events 59 GST); $86 elsewhere. Address all correspon- 42 dence to Video Librarian, 3435 NE Nine Children’s 42 Biography 62 Boulder Dr., Poulsbo, WA 98370. Period- icals Postage Paid at Poulsbo, WA and at Psychology & Self-Help 44 Series Update 64 additional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Video Librarian, Religion & Philosophy 44 Japanese 65 3435 NE Nine Boulder Dr., Poulsbo, WA 98370. Copyright © 2017 by Randy Pitman. Social & Political Issues 45 Music/Dance 68 All rights reserved. Telephone/Fax/E-mail Education 50 Distributor Addresses 70 Subscriptions: (800) 692-2270 Law & Crime 50 Title Index 72 Editorial: (360) 626-1259 Advertising: (800) 265-7965 Nature, Math & Science 51 Advertiser Directory 72 Fax: (360) 626-1260 E-mail: [email protected] Health & Fitness 52 Final Frame 74 Web: www.videolibrarian.com Childbirth & Parenting 54

MAY/JUNE 2017 3 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Video Newsbriefs

“Marseille Trilogy,” “Straw personal stories that illustrate the ,” and “” Lead issue from multi- Criterion Collection June Slate ple points of view: New Releases parents, children, ’s June slate the police, and kicks off June 6 with Kenji Mizoguchi’s the . 1953 Japanese drama Ugetsu (DVD: 2 Among those pro- discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95), an exqui- filed are activist site ghost tale derived from stories by and founder of Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, The Ethics Proj- following two villagers whose pursuit of ect, Dr. Christi Griffin; Samaria Rice, fame and fortune leads them far astray mother of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy from their loyal wives. Coming June killed by the Cleveland police while 13 is legendary director Nicholas Ray’s playing with a toy gun in a local park; 1948 debut They Live By Night (DVD: Reverend Catherine Brown, who was KAZIRANGA $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95), a lyrical film assaulted by Chicago police in front Explores the battle between poachers and noir that travels with a wide-eyed fugi- of children in her own car; retired conservationists in Kaziranga Park, the last tive (Farley Granger) and his innocent NYPD sergeant Trevena Garel; Brooklyn stronghold for the endangered Indian rhino. love interest (Cathy O’Donnell). Arriv- Borough President Eric Adams, and “A powerful portrayal of how human empathy ing June 20 is a newly restored edition of members of the South Carolina Crimi- is an effective strategy for reforming rhino Marcel Pagnol’s Marseille Trilogy (DVD: nal Justice Academy. Other participants poachers.” —Dawn Smallman, Festival Director, 4 discs, $99.95; Blu-ray: 3 discs, $99.95), include black-ish creator Kenya Barris, Portland EcoFilm Festival a sweeping three-film saga set in the musician Nas, actress Rosie Perez, film- author’s native Provence that tracks the maker John Singleton, and lives and loves of its characters over the Times columnist Charles Blow. course of a generation: Marius (1931), a tale of lovers torn between devotion and the restless urge for adventure; Fanny Shout! Factory Announces (1932), which picks up moments after June 27 Release for “The Pink Marius has left his would-be titular Panther Film Collection” wife for a sailor’s life; and César (1936), leaping forward 20 years and resolving Shout! Factory has announced the the protagonists’ star-crossed destinies. upcoming release of The Pink Panther Slated for June 27 is 1927’s The Lodg- Film Collection (Blu-ray: 6 discs, $99.99), SINCE: THE BOMBING OF er: A Story of the Fog (DVD: 2 slated for June 27. The legendary Peter PAN AM FLIGHT 103 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95), a silent Sellers stars as the irrepressible and Tells the story of some of the first victims of serial-killer boardinghouse thriller incompetent Inspector Jacques Clou- terrorism, who proved that can that Alfred Hitchcock considered his seau in this six-film collection, which accomplish extraordinary feats in the wake of true debut, starring matinee idol Ivor includes The Pink Panther (1964), A Shot politically fueled mass . Novello. Also coming June 27 is Sam in the Dark (1964), The Return of the “A powerful portrayal of the emotional price Peckinpah’s notorious 1971 shocker Pink Panther (1975), The Pink Panther of terrorism.” Straw Dogs (DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu- Strikes Again (1976), Revenge of the Pink —Heather Kenihan, Newport Beach Film Festival ray: $39.95), starring as Panther (1978), and Trail of the Pink Pan- a young American mathematician who ther (1982), each directed by Academy is forced to face off against local thugs Award winner Blake Edwards (with four after he moves to the village hometown of the titles making their Blu-ray de- of his English wife (Susan George). buts). One of the most influential comic of all time, Academy Award nom- inee Sellers is well-remembered for his “The Talk: Race in America” iconic role as the bumbling detective Available Now from PBS Inspector Clouseau. The Pink Panther films showcase a magical combination Distribution of Edwards’s masterful directing, writ- PBS Distribution has recently released ing, and producing skills; Sellers’s hi- BEYOND THE DIVIDE the documentary The Talk: Race in larious verbal and physical antics; and Two brave people find a way to bridge the America (DVD: $24.99), centering on sparkling performances from, among divide of unresolved resentment between those increasingly common conversations others, series staples Herbert Lom, Burt who served in the Vietnam War and those who taking place in homes and communities Kwouk, André Maranne, and Graham fought a different war at home. across the country between parents of Stark. Bonus features include a 24-page “ . . . a remarkable story of peace building that color and their children—especially book with an essay by animation his- will help shape and heal our divided culture.” sons—about how to behave if they are torian and film critic Jerry , new —Michael C. Klein, The University of St. Thomas stopped by the police. Filmed in Long interviews with cast and crew members, Beach, Oakland, St. Louis, Memphis, audio commentaries, TV spots, stills www.darkhollowfilms.com and Cleveland, The Talk features six galleries, and more.

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 4 MAY/JUNE 2017 Books Into Movies

The following films based on books Jordan Peele, Thomas Middleditch, and are slated to open during May and June. Kristen Schaal. Movie release dates are subject to change. My Cousin Rachel Coming in May (June 9) is adapted from NEW RELEASE! Daphne du Maurier’s The Dinner (May 1951 novel. Direct- 5) is based on Herman ed by Roger Michell, Koch’s 2009 interna- the Cornwell-set mys- tional bestselling Dutch tery-romance stars Ra- novel. Directed by Oren chel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Moverman, the dramat- Iain Glen, and Holliday ic thriller stars Richard Grainger. Gere, Steve Coogan, Lau- ra Linney, Rebecca Hall, The Beguiled (June and Chloë Sevigny. 30) is based on Thom- as P. Cullinan’s titular King Arthur: Leg- 1966 Southern Goth- end of the Sword (May ic novel and the 1971 12) is loosely based on film adaptation starring Sir Thomas Malory’s Clint Eastwood. Direct- 1485 Le Morte d’Arthur, ed by Sofia Coppola, the chronicling the legend film stars Colin Farrell, of the British leader. Di- Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle rected by Guy Ritchie, Fanning. the adventure film stars Charlie Hunnam as the Looking Ahead RUSSIAN INVASION OF king, as well as Djimon Hounsou, Àstrid IS EXPOSED Bergès-Frisbey, Aidan Gillen, Jude Law, Slated for July is and Eric Bana. Atomic Blonde, based From Academy Award Winning on Antony Johnston’s Director Mark Harris Diary of a Wimpy 2012 graphic novel The Kid: The Long Haul Coldest City. Directed by Just days after the revolution in Ukraine, the (May 19) is based on the David Leitch, the film country was invaded by . Ukrainians 2014 ninth book in au- features a star-studded thor and cartoonist Jeff cast that includes Char- of all backgrounds rallied to the country’s Kinney’s YA series. Di- lize Theron, James McA- defense, in the process creating a new sense rected by David Bowers, voy, John Goodman, , and of Ukrainian nationhood. Breaking Point: The this fourth film features Sofia Boutella. War for Democracy in Ukraine is the dramatic a new cast that includes and inspiring portrait of people willing to Jason Drucker, Alicia Silverstone, and Tom Also coming in July Everett Scott. is The Dark Tower, in- give up their private, normal lives to unite spired by horror master in a collective e ort to bring the rule of law Everything, Every- Stephen King’s 1982- and democracy to their country. thing (May 19) is an ad- 2004 dark fantasy se- aptation of Nicola Yoon’s ries. Directed by Nikolaj Run time 98 min 2015 debut YA novel. Di- Arcel, the film stars Id- 2016 USA / Ukraine rected by Stella Meghie, ris Elba, Matthew Mc- Languages: English, Ukrainian, Russian the romantic drama stars Conaughey, Katheryn English Subtitles, Close Captioned Amandla Stenberg, Nick Winnick, Jackie Earle Haley, Abbey Lee, Robinson, and Anika and Nicholas Hamilton. Noni Rose. Arriving in August Coming in June is Tulip Fever, an ad- aptation of English Captain Underpants writer Deborah Mog- (June 2) is an animated gach’s 1999 period nov- adaption of Dav Pilkey’s el. Directed by Justin children’s novel series, Chadwick, this Neth- which began with 1997’s erlands-set 17th-cen- The Adventures of Captain tury drama stars Alicia Underpants. Directed by Vikander, Dane De- Order the DVD, PPR, and streaming rights at: David Soren, the film Haan, Zach Galifianakis, , features the voices of Christoph Waltz, Cara Delevingne, and Ed Helms, Kevin Hart, Holliday Grainger. www.darkhollow lms.com

MAY/JUNE 2017 5 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Mixed Media

Mixed Media features new release Injustice 2 (Warner, PS4/Switch/X360/WiiU/XOne: $49.99- information on upcoming video PS4/XOne: $59.99, Rat- $59.99, Rated: RP). Released to coincide games and TV series on DVD/Blu-ray, ed: T). This sequel to with the titular Pixar animated theatrical as well as notable older titles that the popular fighting film, this finds Lightning are re-priced or new to DVD/Blu-ray. game features a huge McQueen and Cruz Ramirez preparing selection of DC super- for a rematch against rival racer Jackson heroes and supervil- Storm. Video Games lains, with each iconic character sporting unique and powerful gear. June 18—June 24 Note: Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) ratings for video games are: E May 21—May 27 M ic ro Mach i ne s (Everyone), E10+ (Everyone 10+), T (Teen), M World Series (Code- (Mature), and RP (Rating Pending). Some titles 6: Lost Borders masters, PS4/XOne: are not rated until just prior to release date. (Gaijinworks, PS4: $59.99, Rated: T). This $29.99, Rated: RP). This third-person RPG game weaves an emo- racing game supporting Available Now tional tale of friendship and discovery up to four co-op players that begins in the sparsely populated combines the thrill of LEGO City Undercover (Warner, PS4/ “cocoon world” of Fillujah, where the racing micro vehicles with epic team bat- Switch/XOne: $59.99, Rated: E10+). In this three main characters (Raj, Amu, and Ist) tle strategies, set against the interactive third-person action-adventure game, players live in virtual isolation. backdrops of an everyday home. assume the identity of Chase McCain, an undercover armed with clever disguises May 28—June 3 MXGP 3: The Official Motocross who is trying to end fiendish Rex Fury’s crime Videogame (Square Enix, PS4/XOne: wave in LEGO City. RiME (Grey Box, $49.99, Rated: E). This motocross racing PS4/XOne: $29.99, simulation game features every track April 30—May 6 Rated: E10+). In this and rider from the 2016 Official MXGP third-person puz- Championship, and is built on the new FlatOut 4: Total Insanity (Strategy First, zle-adventure game, Unreal Engine 4 graphics engine. PS4/XOne: $49.99, Rated: T). This demolition players take on the role derby-style racing game features over 25 cus- of a young boy—- Redout (505 Games, PS4/Switch/ tomizable cars and 20-plus tracks. wrecked on a mysteri- XOne: $39.99, Rated: E). In this racing ous island after a torrential storm—who game, players speed over some 25- Prey (Bethesda, PS4/ faces challenges and finds secrets in a plus stylish tracks to a heart-pounding XOne: $59.99, Rated: M). In world strewn with rugged terrain, wild soundtrack. this first-person shooter set creatures, and the crumbling ruins of a aboard Talos I, a space station long-forgotten civilization. June 25—July 1 orbiting the moon in the year 2032, the player awakens as 7 ( , PS4/XOne: Crash Bandicoot Morgan Yu—key subject of an $59.99, Rated: T). This latest entry in the N. Sane Trilogy (Ac- experiment meant to alter humanity forever— popular fighting game franchise features tivison, PS4: $39.99, only to find that the station has been overrun over 30 playable characters, as well as Rated: RP). This collec- by hostile aliens. photo-realistic graphics and new fighting tion features the first mechanics. three third-person ac- May 7—May 13 tion-platform games June 4—June 10 in the series—Crash Bandicoot, Crash Birthdays: The Beginning (NIS America, Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash PS4: $39.99, Rated: E). In this sandbox game, DiRT 4 (Codemasters, PS4/XOne: Bandicoot: Warped—with fully-remas- players create cube-shaped worlds that give $59.99, Rated: RP). This fourth entry in tered HD graphics. rise to diverse and unique lifeforms, changing the popular racing franchise features the geography and altering the temperature of over 50 cars to race in locations including Valkyria Revolution (Sega, PS4/XOne: each world to make an entire ecosystem. Australia, , Michigan, Sweden, and $39.99, Rated: T). Taking place in an Wales, as well as a rally route creation tool alternate world based on the European May 14—May 20 that allows players to produce an almost era of industrialization, this third-person infinite number of unique stages. action-tactical game has players banding Akiba’s Beat (XSEED, PS4: together with Jutland’s elite soldiers as $49.99, Rated: T). In this mod- WipEout: Omega Collection (Sony, they fight against the merciless Ruzi ern-day satirical spin on a PS4: $39.99, Rated: E10+). This futuristic Empire in fast-paced real-time combat. classic Japanese third-person racing game collection brings together all RPG formula—set in a true- of the content from WipEout HD, WipEout to-life recreation of ’s HD Fury and . TV on DVD/Blu-ray Akihabara ward—players take control of a party of characters led by June 11—June 17 Available Now protagonist Asahi Tachibana as they seek to rid the town of anything out of sync with reality. Cars 3: Driven to Win (Warner, PS3/ The Affair: Season Three (Paramount,

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 6 MAY/JUNE 2017 Best Sellers & New Releases from

DYING TO KNOW EVERYBODY KNOWS... In the early 1960s Harvard psychology profes- ELIZABETH MURRAY sors Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert began EVERYBODY KNOWS...ELIZABETH MUR- probing the of consciousness through RAY is an intimate portrait of the ground- their experiments with psychedelics. Leary breaking artist Elizabeth Murray who broke became a missionary for mind-altering drugs, convention, and made an indelible imprint on igniting a global counter-culture movement contemporary art as one of the great painters and Alpert journeyed to the East to become of our time. This film explores the relationship Ram Dass, a spiritual teacher for a new gen- between Murray’s family life and career and eration and the author of the book “Be Here her remarkable journey from an impoverished Now”. This documentary incorporates 80 childhood to artistic maverick, before she lost years of rare footage and never-before-seen her life to cancer in 2007. Murray’s personal interviews. Narrated by Robert Redford, DY- journals, voiced by , give view- ING TO KNOW examines their seminal work ers a privileged window into Murray’s inter- as potentially more relevant today than in the nal struggles and incredible ambition. Verité past and encourages us to ponder questions footage of her studio and home videos help about life, death, drugs & the biggest myster- round out this profile, and include exclusive ies of the human condition. interviews with art world luminaries. “....it inspires boomers and millenials “cognent, fascinating portrait of the artist” alike.” -Eat, Drink, Film -

LOVE, SWEAT, & TEARS I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO

Death, taxes, and menopause are unavoid- I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO is a journey into able facts of life. LOVE, SWEAT, & TEARS black history that connects the past of the Civil is a groundbreaking, inspiring, and humorous Rights movement to the present of #Black- look at a long-taboo subject that will impact LivesMatter. Filmmaker envisions both women and men during their lifetimes. the book that never finished, Filled with humor, insight, and important a revolutionary and personal account about medical information, the film follows Dr. the lives and assassinations of his three close Pamela Dee Gaudry, “America’s Menopause friends- , Malcolm , and Martin Romance Doctor,” as she guides women Luther King, Jr. It is a film that questions black through the isolation, fear, and confusion of representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, this phase of life. It includes interviews with ultimately by confronting the deeper connec- renowned medical experts, comedians like tions between the lives and assassinations Joan Rivers, and spiritual leaders such as Dr. of three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have pro- Michael Beckwith. On a mission to de-stigma- duced a work that challenges the very defini- tize menopause, Dr. Pam takes a sex-positive tion of what America stands for. approach, encouraging women to keep ro- “FIVE STARS. A cinematic seance, and one mance alive and enjoy intimacy long after the of movies about the civil rights era flow is gone. ever made.” -

FIRE AT SEA DARE TO DRUM ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE - BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE DARE TO DRUM tells the story of rock star FIRE AT SEA takes place in Lampedusa, a once composer Stewart Copeland, drummer for peaceful Mediterranean island that has become The Police, teaming up with D’Drum, a Texas a major entry point for African refugees into Eu- -based world percussion group, and Maestro rope. There, we meet Samuele, a boy who lives Jaap van Zweden with the Dallas Symphony simply, climbing rocks by the shore and playing Orchestra to create groundbreaking work. with his slingshot. Yet nearby we also witness In 2011, after three years of composing, re- thousands of men, women and children trying hearsals, recording sessions, and trips to to survive the crossing from Africa in boats that Bali and Java, “Gamelan D’Drum” - a musical are too small for such a journey. Filmmaker Gi- synthesis of pitch, rhythm, and orchestration anfranco Rosi masterfully places these realities - is ready for its world premiere. But when side by side, and creates a remarkable third uncharacteristically cold and icy weather hits narrative that jolts us into a new understanding Dallas, it threatens to derail their dreams of of what is really happening in the Mediterranean performing the creative masterpiece with the today. Dallas Symphony. “Deliberate storytelling that allows us to consider what documentary can do. DVD includes full 30-minute concert It is urgent, imaginative and necessary from the Dallas Symphony. filmmaking.”-Meryl Streep

For information about exhibition, public performance rights or streaming, please go to www.kinolorberedu.com or call (212) 629-6880 Classroom rights: $149 • With PPR: $349 • DSL Streaming: $499 DVD: 4 discs, $39.98). Set comedienne is back in this 2016 fourth The Westerner: The Complete Series three years after Noah’s season of the sketch (Shout! Factory, 2 discs, DVD: $19.98). (Dominic West) guilty series that includes guest appearances by Brian Keith stars as a drifter cowhand who plea at the murder trial, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Liam Neeson. travels with his dog in this short-lived 1960 this 2016-17 third season highbrow series. of the Showtime drama Ironside: Season 3 (Shout! Factory, also stars Ruth Wilson, DVD: 7 discs, $44.99). Wheelchair-bound May 23 Joshua Jackson, and Mau- Chief Robert T. Ironside (Raymond Burr) ra Tierney. heads a San Francisco special detective Call the Midwife: Sea- unit in this 1969-70 third season of the son Six (BBC, DVD: 3 The Art of More: Season One (Sony, Emmy-winning series. discs, $39.98; Blu-ray: 2 DVD: 2 discs, $30.99). Starring Dennis discs, $44.98). Sister Ju- Quaid, Kate Bosworth, and Cary Elwes, Lou Grant: The Final Season (Shout! lienne (Jenny Agutter) this 2015 debut season of the Crackle-aired Factory, DVD: 5 discs, $39.98). This 1981- is demoted as the leader series goes behind-the-scenes at various 82 fifth and final season ofThe Mary Tyler of the Nonnatus New York auction houses. Moore Show spin-off drama—winner of nursing convent in this Peabody and Humanitas awards—stars 2017 sixth season of the historical drama. People Just Do Nothing: The Complete Ed Asner as the titular newspaper editor. Seasons 1-3 (Shout! Factory, DVD: 3 discs, Dark Angel (PBS, DVD: $29.99). Based $22.98). This compilation includes episodes Orange Is the New on the real-life story of English serial killer from the 2014-16 first three seasons of Black: Season Four (Li- Mary Ann Cotton, this 2016 two-part Mas- the BBC that is set at a pirate radio onsgate, DVD: 4 discs, terpiece miniseries stars Joanne Froggatt and station. $34.98; Blu-ray: 3 discs, Alun Armstrong. $34.98). Minimum secu- To Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters rity penitentiary Litch- Outsiders: Season Two (Sony, DVD: 4 (PBS, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $34.99). Writer field becomes a profit- discs, $38.99). An Appalachians mountain sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë able business in this 2016 clan clashes with the local townspeople (Finn Atkins, Chloe Pirrie, Charlie ) fourth season of the Net- in this 2017 second season of the WGN are profiled in this 2016 BBC One-aired flix dramedy series starring America-aired drama series starring David drama that also stars Jonathan Pryce and and . Morse, Joe Anderson, and Kyle Gallner. James Norton. Simon & Simon: Season Five (Shout! May 30 Top Gear: The Complete Season 23 Factory, DVD: 6 discs, $39.95). San Diego (BBC, DVD: 2 discs, $19.98). This 2016 23rd detective brothers Rick and A.J. (Gerald Code of a Killer (Acorn, DVD: $34.99). season of the car aficionado series features McRaney and Jameson Parker) continue to Based on Joseph Wambaugh’s 1989 nonfic- celebrity guests including Damian Lewis, solve crimes in this 1985-86 fifth season. tion book The Blooding: The True Story of the Kevin Hart, and Jennifer Saunders. Narborough Village , this 2015 three- The Streets of San Francisco: The Com- part ITV-aired drama ex- May 2 plete Series (Paramount, DVD: 32 discs, ploring the origins of DNA fingerprinting $89.98). Karl Malden and Michael Douglas stars David Threlfall and John Simm. The Last Ship: The star in this 1972-77 popular crime drama, Complete Third Season newly available in a complete series set. The Last Kingdom: Season Two (Uni- (Warner, DVD: 3 discs, versal, DVD: 3 discs, $39.98; Blu-ray: 3 $29.99; Blu-ray: 2 discs, May 16 discs, $44.98). The history of King Alfred $39.99). This 2016 third the Great (David Dawson) is given the season of the TNT-aired Ice: Season One (Sony, docudrama treatment in this 2017 second post-apocalyptic series DVD: 3 discs, $40.99). season based on Bernard Cornwell’s The starring Eric Dane, Adam The insider’s world of Saxon Stories. Baldwin, and Rhona Mi- diamond dealing is at the tra features a new captain of the Nathan center of this short-lived Major Crimes: The James . 2016-17 drama series Complete Fifth Season co-created by Antoine (Warner, DVD: 5 discs, May 9 Fuqua and starring Cam $39.99). This 2016-17 fifth Gigandet, Jeremy Sisto, season of the Los Ange- Divorce: The Complete First Season Ray Winstone, and Donald Sutherland. les-set police procedural (HBO, DVD: 2 discs, $19.98; Blu-ray: 2 spin-off of stars discs, $24.98). Starring The Kennedys: After Camelot (Uni- Mary McDonnell and and Thomas Haden Church, this 2016 first versal, DVD: 2 discs, $29.98). Based on a G.W. Bailey. season of the marriage-ending comedy 2012 book by J. Randy Taraborrelli, this series also features Molly Shannon and 2017 two-part historical biographical Queen Sugar: The Complete First Sea- Tracy Letts. miniseries stars Katie Holmes as Jacqueline son (Warner, DVD: 3 discs, $29.99). Co-ex- Kennedy Onassis, with Matthew Perry ecutive produced by Oprah Winfrey and Inside Amy Schumer: Season 4 (Para- as Ted Kennedy and Alexander Siddig as Ava DuVernay, this 2016 debut season of mount, DVD: 2 discs, $22.98). The titular Aristotle Onassis. the sugarcane farm family drama is based

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 8 MAY/JUNE 2017

on the 2014 novel by Natalie Baszile and June 13 Village That Rose from the Dead” and “Red stars Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, in Tooth & Claw.” and Kofi Siriboe. American Epic (PBS, DVD: 2 discs, $29.99; Blu-ray: 2 discs, $34.99). Execu- Striking Out: Series 1 (Acorn, DVD: 2 Suits: Season Six tive produced by T Bone Burnett, Robert discs, $39.99). Amy Huberman stars as a (Universal, DVD: 4 discs, Redford, and Jack White, this PBS-aired Dublin-based solicitor in this 2017 first $44.98). Associate Mike three-part documentary series explores season of the Irish legal drama series. Ross’s (Patrick J. Adams) the history of early American recorded prison stint is the cen- music. Looking Ahead terpiece of this 2016-17 sixth season of the USA Aquarius: The Com- Slated for July is the Network legal drama se- plete Second Season (An- first season of the prequel ries that also stars Gabriel chor Bay, DVD: 4 discs, series Prime Suspect: Macht and Meghan Markle. $49.98). David Duchovny Tennison, the second stars as a detective who seasons of June 6 comes in contact with Creek and The Tunnel: the Manson Family in Sabotage, the third sea- CHiPs: The Sixth and Final Season this 2016 second and final son of Grantchester, the (Warner, DVD: 4 discs, $24.98). This 1982- season of the Los Ange- fourth season of The 83 sixth and final season of the action series les-based 1960s-set period crime drama. 100, the sixth season of Diff’rent Strokes, follows highway patrol officers the seventh and final season of Pretty (Erik Estrada, Tom Reilly). Baa Baa Black Sheep: Season One (Uni- Little Liars, and the complete series sets versal, DVD: 5 discs, $22.98). Based on the of T.J. Hooker and TV Party. Slated for : Series Ten, Part One career of Marine Corps aviator Greg Boy- August is the 10th season of Murdoch (BBC, DVD: 3 discs, $24.98; Blu-ray: 2 discs, ington (Robert Conrad), this 1976-77 first Mysteries, the second set of the 10th $29.98). This compilation includes the first season of the period military series features season of Doctor Who, as well as the six episodes from the 2017 10th season of guest appearances by , Anne complete series of Porridge. the latest incarnation of the sci-fi cult series Francis, and René Auberjonois. starring Pearl Mackie, Matt Lucas, and Peter Capaldi as . Dark Matter: Season Two (, Re-priced or New to DVD/Blu-ray DVD: 5 discs, $44.98; Blu-ray: 3 discs, Kingdom: Seasons One and Two $49.98). Based on a comic book series, this The Business of Being Born / More (Shout! Factory, DVD: 9 discs, $29.95). An 2016 sophomore season—aired on Space Business of Being Born (Kino Lorber, MMA fighter (Frank Grillo) runs a Venice and —focuses on six amnesiacs on a DVD: $29.95). Director Abby Epstein gym in this compilation from the 2014- starship, and stars Marc Bendavid, Melissa examines the contemporary state of ma- 16 first and second seasons of this drama O’Neil, and Jodelle Ferland. ternity healthcare in this double-feature series, also starring Kiele Sanchez, Nick set that includes 2007’s The Business of Jonas, Jonathan Tucker, and Joanna Going. Shooter: Season One Being Born (VL-7/08 HHH) and the four- (Universal, DVD: 2 discs, part sequel series More Business of Being : Vintage $34.98). Ryan Phillippe Born (2011). 2007 (BBC, DVD: 2 discs, $34.98). Wine is stars as a Force Recon Ma- still flowing in the Yorkshire Dales in this rine and sniper in this Come Hell or High Water (Icarus 2007 28th series from the long-running 2016-17 debut season of Films, DVD: $24.98). Filmmaker Leah Britcom starring Brian Murphy, Peter Sallis, the USA Network action Mahan discovers a memorable hero in and Frank Thornton. series based on the 1993 longtime friend and teacher Der- novel Point of Impact by rick Evans in this documentary (VL On- Van Helsing: Season Stephen Hunter, as well as the 2007 fea- line-9/14 HHH) that covers a 10-year story One (Universal, DVD: ture film. marked by activism, corporate greed, and 4 discs, $39.98; Blu-ray: race-tainted Deep South land grabs. 3 discs, $44.98). Set in a The Vampire Diaries: The Eighth near-future world con- and Final Season (Warner, DVD: 4 discs, The Creeping Garden trolled by vampires, this $39.99; Blu-ray: 3 discs, $44.99). The saga (Music Video Distribu- 2016 first season of the of the Salvatore brothers comes to a close tors, Blu-ray/DVD Com- dark fantasy horror series in this 2016-17 eighth and final season of bo: $29.95). Filmmakers based on the Dracula leg- the supernatural series based on the books Tim Grabham and Jasper end stars Kelly Overton, Jonathan Scarfe, by L.J. Smith and starring Paul Wesley, Ian Sharp’s delightfully odd- and Paul Johansson. Somerhalder, and Nina Dobrev. ball documentary (VL- 9/16 HHH1/2) investigates slime mold, Wentworth: Season 3 (Acorn, DVD: June 27 following hobbyist Mark Pragnell (who 4 discs, $59.99). Dominant leader Bea searches the forest for organisms), and Smith (Danielle Cormack) intimidates Midsomer Murders: Series 19, Part 1 visiting a museum with a huge collec- the other inmates in this 2015 third (Acorn, DVD or Blu-ray: 2 discs, $34.99). tion of molds. Bonus features include a season of the Australian prison drama This first volume from the 2016-17 19th soundtrack CD, directors’ audio commen- series that also features Nicole da Silva season of the long-running detective dra- tary, short films, and behind-the-scenes and Kate Atkinson. ma series features episodes including “The featurettes.

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 10 MAY/JUNE 2017 VL_Ad_0517_VisionVideo 3/7/17 12:09 PM Page 1

The Messengers Calvin, Zwingli, and Br. Klaus: We Were There A powerful and moving depiction of the Shapers of the Faith We Were There captures the voices of first apostles of the early church. Follow the John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and Brother Klaus America’s greatest generation as they share small band of early believers as they boldly (Niklaus von Flüe) were three very different their stories of duty, service, and proclaim Christ’s message in the face of men who shaped the Christian faith in responsibility during World War II. While the great opposition, resulting in the growth of Switzerland. John Calvin was as an intellectual tumultuous global events of the early 1940’s the church and the unexpected conversion giant of the Reformation, Ulrich Zwingli was a provide the backdrop for this film, it is the of its most zealous enemy. Children and humble priest who brought reform to the men and women recalling their personal adults alike will be captivated by this church and died in battle, and Brother Klaus stories who take center stage. The lives and account featuring vivid storytelling and was a mystic who left everything to seek God in experiences of these veterans from every high impact animation. Recommended for the wilderness. In comparing and contrasting branch of the service quickly become the ages 7 and up. Animated, 70 minutes. these three figures, we see how the practice of heart of this riveting independent documentary. Color and B&W, 103 minutes. #501715D, $14.99, UPC 7 27985 01715 0 the faith changed in Switzerland in the late Middle Ages. Docu-drama, 60 minutes. #501740D, $14.99, UPC 7 27985 01740 2 #501730D, $19.99, UPC 7 27985 01730 3

Newton’s Grace Until Forever John Newton was a troubled young man with a violent temper and a When a medical diagnosis shatters a young couple’s dreams for the penchant for vulgarity that literally made his fellow sailors blush. future, their love and faith are tested to the limits. Seeking answers to Following a powerful conversion experience during a storm at sea, difficult questions, they begin searching for a miracle that doesn’t Newton eventually became a pastor in the Church of and the seem to be coming. writer of several of the church’s most beloved hymns, including “Amazing With honesty, warmth, and unexpected humor, this powerful Grace.” He also came to hate the slave trade, becoming a spiritual leader story—based on actual events—illustrates the strength of faith in the in the fight to end slavery. Newton’s Grace is the true story of miraculous midst of darkness and shows that miracles can come in the most forgiveness and change that lies behind the powerful words of one of unexpected ways. Drama, 100 minutes. the world’s most beloved hymns. Drama, 80 minutes. #501616D, $14.99, UPC 7 27985 01616 0 #501526D, $19.99, UPC 7 27985 01526 2

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milieu—a pair of second-tier Assassin’s Creed H1/2 This section features reviews of current and actress pals decide to take a Fox, 115 min., PG-13, DVD: classic studio, independent, and foreign feature break from the thankless $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $39.99 films. Each review includes pricing information, patriarchal industry rat race by traveling to Big Sur to Based on Ubisoft’s pop- as well as running time, rating, subtitling infor- reevaluate their dubious ca- ular franchise, mation, and street dates for yet-to-be-released reer directions. Beth (Caitlin this time-tripping sci-fi film titles. Most titles reviewed here are widely FitzGerald) is a soft-spoken rarely rises above incoheren- available through most distributors. attractive blond with some- cy. The saga begins with a series of ominous thing resembling a career as a straight-to-DVD biblical texts claiming that a device known HHHH= Excellent horror scream queen, while her angst-ridden as the Apple from the Tree of Knowledge friend, Anna (Mackenzie Davis), aspires to in the Garden of Eden contains “the key to HHH= Good bigger and better projects but has had little free will itself.” In 1492, during the Spanish success. Although the North Cal trip was Inquisition, Knights Templar search for this HH= Fair meant to rejuvenate their precarious friend- artifact with the aim of being able to enforce H= Poor ship, the seclusion ends up doing a number peace through “the power to control all on Anna’s head. Displaying signs of mental freedom of thought.” Their opponents, the instability, Anna’s more intimate contact secret society of assassins, are all about free with Beth only ramps up her jealousy, which will, even if that includes violence. Flash eventually leads to a lot of passive-aggressive forward to Texas, where prisoner Callum Current Films head games and worse. Director Sophia Takal Lynch (Michael Fassbender) is facing execu- serves up moments of David Lynch-ian creep- tion by lethal injection for murder. Instead, Ali & Nino HH1/2 iness and hyper-real social unease, although he’s transported to an Abstergo Industries MPI, 101 min., not rated, DVD: weak dialogue sometimes undercuts the film’s laboratory in Madrid where— supervised by $24.99 visual merits. A strong optional purchase. Dr. Sophia Rikkin (Marion Cotillard) and The story of the brief in- (M. Sandlin) her creepy CEO father (Jeremy Irons)—he is dependence of Azerbaijan hooked up to a virtual reality/time machine after World War I is told The Ardennes HHH called the Animus. The Animus technology through the love story of Ali Film Movement, 93 min., in enables Cal to participate, via holograms, in (Adam Bakri), a Russian-ed- Flemish & French w/English the actions of his genetic ancestor, a hooded ucated Muslim from a noble family in Baku, subtitles, not rated, DVD: assassin named Aguilar de Nerha (also played Azerbaijan, and Nino (María Valverde), an $24.99 by Fassbender), who is a counter-revolution- Orthodox Christian from Georgia and the This Belgian crime drama ary fighting in 15th-century Spain with his daughter of a Russian Prince (Mandy Pat- opens with a home inva- Maria (Ariane Labed). Their shad- inkin). Their marriage is put on hold when sion gone wrong that lands owy mission—which is full of parkour-like war is declared in 1914 and events split them the volatile, violent Kenny jumps off medieval rooftops—is to make up—Nino is kidnapped, and Ali goes into hid- (Kevin Janssens) in prison while his younger sure that the besieged Sultan Muhammad ing—but they are reunited and Ali becomes brother Dave (Jeroen Perceval) and Kenny’s XII doesn’t surrender the precious Apple. a part of the new independent government. girlfriend Sylvie (Veerle Baetens) barely es- Directed by Justin Kurzel, Assassin’s Creed is Their journey takes them from the modern cape. Released four years later, Kenny slips ultimately much more about swashbuckling Muslim city of Baku to the poor mountain back into alpha mode but everyone else visuals than coherent storytelling. Not rec- villages of Azerbaijan to Turkey and Iran and has changed. Sylvie left Kenny and she and ommended. (S. Granger) back to Baku, which they must flee when the Dave are sober and have gone straight. What invades the oil-rich country. Kenny doesn’t know is that Sylvie is pregnant The Assignment H This is the first film version of the classic with Dave’s child and Dave is determined Lionsgate, 95 min., R, DVD: 1937 novel by the pseudonymous Kurban to keep that relationship secret until Kenny $19.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: Said, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker settles, waiting for the “right moment.” That $24.99, June 6 Asif Kapadia (Amy) from an adaptation by moment, of course, never comes, as Kenny’s Director Walter Hill’s Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher temper stirs things up and pulls Dave into pulpy psycho-sexual thrill- Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) and shot on another criminal scheme: getting rid of a dead er begins with a gratuitous, location. But the historical aspects and the body in the trunk. While it’s clear from the full-frontal nude scene in- portrait of the culture of Azerbaijan 100 years first few minutes after Kenny’s release that volving Frank Kitchen, a nasty hitman, ago are more interesting than the human things will not end well, this turns out to hiding out in a sleazy San Francisco hotel drama. And while Bakri and Valverde are be an understatement. A mix of grim crime after murdering a gangster. Suddenly, Frank is attractive and likable performers, they never thriller, dysfunctional family drama, and confronted by thugs who deliver him to meg- show the kind of epic passion needed to drive social portrait of life on the lowest rungs of alomaniacal plastic surgeon Dr. Rachel Kay their dramatic journey. Still, this handsome survival, this is a simple film with a fatalistic (Sigourney Weaver), whose medical license film centered on a lesser-known moment in attitude built around a violent, impulsive has been revoked. Because Frank killed Ra- history should be considered a strong option- bully who sows chaos in every situation. But if chel’s debt-riddled, playboy brother (Adrian al purchase. (S. Axmaker) its portrait of out-of-control criminal lowlifes Hough), she is determined to wreak her own seems familiar, it’s also quite effective, thanks deviant revenge. When Frank awakens, he Always Shine HH1/2 to the commitment of the actors and the tense discovers that he’s undergone a sex change. Oscilloscope, 85 min., not rated, DVD: $34.99, direction by Robin Pront, who populates Without embarrassment, Frank (Michelle Blu-ray: $39.99 the film with offbeat touches (including an Rodriguez) examines his female breasts In this tale of murderous female obses- ostrich attack!). Belgium’s official entry for and is furious about the surgical removal of sion—which loosely transposes Single White the , this is recommended. his penis, which doesn’t seem to deter his Female to the L.A. B-movie trash-culture (S. Axmaker) relationship with a flirtatious nurse (Caitlin

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FM2_JMay/JUN_VidLIBr.indd 1 4/11/17 5:58 PM Gerard) with whom he had a one-night stand. every student’s status. Self-centered Sam (the French Pyrénées, snow-filled in the win- When Dr. Kay is subsequently committed to has reached the pinnacle of the popularity ter sequences), and fine performances make a mental institution, psychiatrist Dr. Ralph poll, surrounded by three friends (Cynthy this a film that both surprises and satisfies. Green () is assigned to eval- Wu, Medalion Rahimi, Halston Sage). Like Recommended. (F. Swietek) uate her sanity. Calm and confident, despite many bitchy cliques, they cruelly pick on an wearing a straitjacket, Kay flaunts her intel- ostracized outcast—in this case, wild-haired Bitter Harvest HH lectual superiority, quoting Shakespeare and Juliet Sykes (Elena Kampouris). For Sam, this Lionsgate, 103 min., R, DVD: Edgar Allan Poe. Based on a French graphic particular Friday precedes a party hosted $19.98, June 13 novel, The Assignment subversively taps into by temporarily parent-less Kent McFuller The Holodomor—Sta- provocative topics like plastic surgery and (Logan Miller), who has adored Samantha lin’s mass starvation of the gender re-assignment, but this is essentially since elementary school, even though she Ukrainian populace in the schlocky B-movie fare, a titillating and trashy is currently enamored with hard-drinking early 1930s, estimated to excuse to present a lurid killing spree. Not Rob (Kian Lawley). When the frivolity at the have killed as many as seven recommended. (S. Granger) party is followed by a fatal car crash, Sam million people—serves as the backdrop for is forced to repeat the day over and over filmmaker George Mendeluk’s stilted his- Beauty and the Beast again, eventually becoming enlightened torical romance, which strives for a Doctor HH1/2 and learning important life lessons, even Zhivago vibe but falls miles short. The hero Shout! Factory, in French w/ if it’s a bit too late. Problem is: Samantha is is Yuri (Max Irons), an artistically-inclined English subtitles & English- somewhat passive in this doomed timeline peasant in love since childhood with Na- dubbed, 112 min., PG-13, loop—with things happening to her—as talka (Samantha Barks). After the Bolshevik DVD: $16.99, Blu-ray/DVD morsels of pertinent information about her revolution, he goes off to the art academy in Combo: $22.99 little sister (Erica Tremblay) and mother Kiev, but winds up in jail when his modern- French beauty Léa Sey- (Jennifer Beals), among others, are revealed. ist style conflicts with the dictates of Soviet doux stars as Belle, the youngest daughter of a And Deutch seems a bit too sophisticated to realism. Back home, Natalka, as well as Yuri’s once-prosperous merchant (André Dussollier) be convincing as a high-school senior. Based grandfather, Ivan (Terence Stamp), falls under who is ruined after the wreck of his , and on Lauren Oliver’s bestselling 2010 YA novel, the malevolent rule of brutal Communist costars as the hirsute Beast and directed by Ry Russo-Young, Before I commandant Sergei (Tamer Hassan), who ex- whose magical kingdom becomes Belle’s Fall ultimately delivers a sympathetic “savor propriates the locals’ lush fields for collective prison after her father takes a forbidden rose. every moment” message. A strong optional farms and casts lustful eyes on the women. Director Christophe Gans frames this lavish purchase. (S. Granger) Yuri escapes from prison, returns to Natalka, and colorful French adaptation of the classic and joins rebels fighting the Soviets, but the tale as a bedtime story told by a mother to Being 17 HHH resistance is doomed to fail. Will the belea- her young children. The enchanted kingdom Strand, 114 min., in French w/ guered couple—along with the sweet orphan magically hidden in the forest is beautifully English subtitles, not rated, boy they have adopted—make it across the designed and grandly presented, and Belle DVD: $27.99, Blu-ray: $32.99 border into still-free ? The Holodomor takes it all in with a sense of wonder and French writer-director deserves to be remembered, but while Bitter delight even as she glowers at the gruff but André Téchiné’s evocative Harvest has its heart in the right place, this gentlemanly Beast. There are cute magical coming-of-age tale centers feels more like a TV movie, weighed down puppies, giant enchanted statues, and an epic on two antagonistic class- by leaden acting and clunky dialogue. An battle with a brutal human villain (Eduardo mates who are drawn to one another after earnest, old-fashioned melodrama that fails Noriega) who invades the kingdom with his being accidentally thrown together. Damien to do justice to the historical horrors it seeks gang of thieves. What’s missing, however, is (Kacey Mottet Klein) is a brainy misfit who to dramatize, this is not a necessary purchase. any romantic attraction or bond of friend- knocks heads with Thomas (Corentin Fila), a (F. Swietek) ship between Belle and the Beast. Seydoux more rugged but less studious teen who was brings passion and courage to her role but the adopted by a childless family. When Thom- Bleak Street HHH CGI-enhanced face of Cassel’s Beast costume as’s mother becomes pregnant, Damien’s Kino Lorber, 99 min., in is flat and inexpressive, leaving him with little mother, Marianne (Sandrine Kiberlain), who Spanish w/English subtitles, not dimension or emotional life. Still, fans of is also the local doctor, suggests that Thomas rated, DVD: $29.95 fantasy and lavish period spectacles may ap- move in with them to spare him the long Revered Mexican direc- preciate (and there may be interest thanks to trek to school. The boys initially resist any tor Arturo Ripstein trawls the new Disney version of the story), making sort of brotherly feeling, but in time Damien the alleys and byways of this a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker) will confess his attraction to Thomas, and the downtrodden in this although their complicated relationship oddball dramatization of a Before I Fall HH1/2 continues to be marked by tension—even true crime committed in 2009. Adela (Nora Universal, 99 min., PG-13, violence—as well as physical intimacy, the Velázquez), an aging prostitute, is finding it DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD pair grow closer, especially after an incident difficult to land johns now that her looks and Combo: $34.98, May 30 involving Damien’s father (Alexis Loret), a street status are fading, a downturn in luck Lifting the supernatural military man who keeps in touch via Skype. that leaves her and her despondent ailing premise of Harold Ramis’s Being 17 never becomes a simple story of mother (Lety Gómez) with barely enough classic comedy Groundhog gay sexual awakening—Téchiné even leaves money for food. Fellow hooker Dora (Patri- Day, this angst-riddled open the possibility that Marianne might cia Reyes Spíndola) also faces financial and melodrama follows 17-year-old Samantha be harboring feelings for Thomas in her other troubles, with her mouthy daughter “Sam” Kingston () who re- husband’s absence—and it refuses to turn (Greta Cervantes) demanding a cell phone lives a crucial Friday over and over again. Damien into a nerdy victim (he practices and her closeted husband (Alejandro Suarez) In the Pacific Northwest, Cascadia High boxing with a neighbor, and can hold his secretly dressing in Dora’s “work clothes” and School celebrates Valentine’s Day with own in a fight). Ultimately, the combination sneaking around with strapping young men. “val-o-grams”—rose deliveries that gauge of emotional complexity, a striking setting Into this already-eclectic fray enters a pair of

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AVAILABLE NOW AVAILABLE NOW www.oscilloscope.net “Lilliputian luchadores” (Juan Francisco Lon- involves an innocent love triangle between whose husband, Paul (Chris goria and Guillermo Lopez), identical midget two boys and a girl that goes south when Beetem), an ornithologist, brothers who perform as “shadows” to their the suitors’ families are caught up in a blood vanishes during what is full-sized partners in the ring. The brothers’ . Years later, the now-grown Novia supposed to be a three-day fame and notoriety attract the attentions of (Inma Cuesta) is emotionally stuck between hike. When a police investi- the desperate Adela and Dora, who together her old friends, having been the lover gation finds Paul’s car still at conspire to pull an old whoring trick on the of one and the new bride of the other. A the trailhead but no sign of masked fighters by seducing them and then smoldering desire, however, upends every- Paul, Claire and her young knocking them unconscious with a roofie thing, causing history to repeat itself. Ortiz son, Connor (Zev Haworth), of eye drop solution in order to make off derives good performances from Cuesta, as enter a kind of stasis in which life slows to a with their cash. The ploy proves a little too well as some of the older actors who crawl because of doubt and irresolution. How successful as the toxic dosage ends up killing an exhausted generation either too hopeful does one get through a day? Make decisions? the brothers and sets the entire city on the or too skeptical about the potential of a Look ahead? With no evidence that Paul trail of the murderous hookers. While the marriage to heal everyone’s old wounds. But died, or intentionally disappeared, or met material may sound highly sensationalistic with its agonizingly slow pace and Ortiz’s an unknown fate, closure becomes impos- and exploitative, Ripstein—aided greatly by misguided need to push raw emotions to sible. Claire and Connor begin to take baby the stark, beautiful black-and-white cinema- operatic heights, The Bride is ultimately a steps toward growing and evolving, all the tography of Alejandro Cantú—maintains a movie that simply (and fatally) doesn’t trust while feeling they are under the microscope quiet, introspective demeanor. A surprisingly its best assets to deliver on their own. Not of friends and colleagues who see them as touching film, this is recommended. (J. Cruz) recommended. (T. Keogh) hapless victims. Another layer of intrigue is added when Claire discovers that Paul The Brand New H had sides to his life he did not reveal to her, Testament HHH1/2 Universal, 97 min., PG-13, including a key relationship with an oddly Music Box, 115 min., in French DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD aggressive artist (Anna Margaret Hollyman). w/English subtitles, not rated, Combo: $34.98 Brandt shines in the title role, playing a de- DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.95 “Don’t think it! Don’t liberately colorless figure who is more at ease The latest phantasmago- say it!” This is the caution- blending into the background than looking ria from Belgian writer-di- ary phrase that propels The into the shadowy unknown. A fine character rector Jaco Van Dormael (a Bye Bye Man, a tiresome, study built around a low-key mystery, this is onetime circus clown) imagines that God tepid horror-thriller, based on an urban recommended. (T. Keogh) (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a slovenly, middle-aged legend. During the 1969-set prologue, jerk in a bathrobe living in a Brussels high- deranged Larry Redmon (Leigh Whannel) Collateral Beauty H1/2 rise with his downtrodden family. God is a goes on a shooting rampage, killing eight Warner, 96 min., PG-13, DVD: cruel deity who enjoys sitting at his home-of- neighbors and himself. Cut to the present, $28.98, Blu-ray: $29.98 fice computer and making humanity suffer in as three University of Wisconsin students— David Frankel’s totally ways ranging from major wars to the phone nerdy Elliot (Douglas Smith), his sexy girl- , crudely manip- always ringing when people are trying to friend Sasha (Cressida Bonas), and a jock ulative tearjerker begins relax in the tub. Jesus, aka JC (David Murg- named John (Lucien Laviscount)—rent a with Howard Inlet (Will ia), rebelled against cranky Father long ago large, decrepit house in rural Madison. El- Smith)—hotshot head of a and is banished, while JC’s kid sister Ea (Pili liot discovers mysterious inscriptions inside successful New York ad agency—devastated Groyne)—also disgusted with God—goes his bedside table—a repeated warning that by the death of his beloved 6-year-old daugh- to Earth to form her own band of disciples, reads: “Don’t think it. Don’t say it.” And ter, so he retreats into grief-ridden isolation. including a one-armed beauty, a would-be the scrawled words, “Bye Bye Man.” No His prolonged depression—which leads to serial killer, a sex pervert, and a wealthy one knows what this means, but during a his penning accusatory letters to Death, matron (played by screen legend Catherine housewarming party Sasha’s psychic friend Time, and Love—threatens the business, so Deneuve), who team up to further subvert Kim (Jenna Kanell) conducts a séance that his partners (Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, God. Despite the subject matter, the tone reveals a malevolent, supernatural presence. and Michael Peña) hire actors from a strug- here is more whimsical than blasphemous, And then Elliot glimpses a ghastly, ghostly, gling theatrical troupe (, Jacob serving up a playful, iconoclastic vibe. An hooded figure (Doug Jones). Adapting Rob- Latimore, and ) to accost entertaining, oddball foreign fantasy, this is ert Damon Schneck’s 2005 short story The Howard in the guise of those abstractions highly recommended. (C. Cassady) Bridge to Body Island, screenwriter Jonathan and goad him into actions that will provide Penner and his wife, director , proof of his mental instability—allowing H go with the evil boogeyman curse concept them to sell the . This cruel plan The Bride (La Novia) instead of developing an intriguing backsto- Strand, 96 min., in Spanish unwittingly encourages Howard to join a w/English subtitles, not rated, ry, relying on predictable jump-scares and therapy group of grieving parents led by a DVD: $24.99 not-so-subtle misdirection. Also featuring sympathetic counselor (Naomie Harris). The This strained and often as Redmon’s aged widow maudlin quotient escalates exponentially laughable adaptation of and Carrie-Anne Moss as a suspicious po- as the three perpetrators transcend into Federico García Lorca’s play lice detective, this is not recommended. confessional mode about their own regrets Blood Wedding lacks the (S. Granger) and fret over the damage they are doing to sense of dangerous immediacy that drives their friend and partner, until a final reel the stage version with such blinding passion. Claire in Motion HHH offers an avalanche of cathartic emotional Director Paula Ortiz chokes on the poetry Breaking Glass, 84 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99 climaxes before adding twists that take the of Lorca’s dialogue, wringing the life out of An interesting drama about a tightly plot into magical territory. Apart from Mirren, his language with so much absurd reverence wound college professor, co-writers and co-di- who brings an elfin mischief to her role, the that a viewer can quickly forget the point of rectors Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell’s cast is sabotaged by the awful material. Not any given scene. Set in rural Spain, the story Claire in Motion stars Betsy Brandt as Claire, recommended. (F. Swietek)

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 16 MAY/JUNE 2017 The Comedian HH strong dose of the grisly gore that devotees of staying with his aunt. They speak a little of Sony, 120 min., R, DVD: the genre expect. Creepy proves that Kurosawa each other’s language, but certain words, like $25.99, Blu-ray: $26.99, May 2 is one of the most skillful horror filmmakers “deer,” are lost in translation. Aspiring writer Robert De Niro, who working today. Recommended. (F. Swietek) Elliot likes to correct other people’s grammar, played a sociopathic wan- so Clément calls him, somewhat sarcastical- nabe celebrity in Martin A Cure for Wellness HH ly, “the poet.” As they hang out together, Scorsese’s 1983 film The Fox, 146 min., R, DVD: $29.98, Elliot becomes increasingly disapproving of King of Comedy, stars here Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $39.98, Beatrice. Clément, whose own mother has as former TV sitcom star Jackie Burke. Aging June 6 terminal cancer, tells him that Beatrice seems Burke has hit hard times, unable to move be- A young, ambitious Wall sad, but Elliot is too self-absorbed to notice. yond nostalgic references to his earlier show. Street investment banker is He’s more interested in Clément, who uses When an obnoxious heckler with a webcam dispatched to Switzerland “fag” as a pejorative term even as he seems taunts him in a Long Island comedy club to retrieve his company’s fully aware that his new friend has a crush one night, Jackie clobbers the guy in a scuffle CEO from a mysterious, idyllic spa encased on him. Steggall gives no indication whether that winds up on YouTube. After spending 30 in an Alpine . Upon his arrival, Lock- Clément is gay or straight, only that he seems days in the slammer, Jackie reports for com- hart (Dane DeHaan) observes the elderly, flattered by Elliot’s attentions. When Philip munity service at a homeless shelter, where outwardly contented residents wandering drops by to sign some paperwork, tensions he meets Harmony (Leslie Mann), who also around in white robes. As the plot twists and between mother and son increase, although has anger problems. Despite their obvious age turns, Lockhart winds up in an automobile greater understanding will eventually follow. difference, the pair connect. He takes her to accident. Awakening with a broken leg, he Recommended. (K. Fennessy) the Comedy Cellar and his lesbian niece’s discovers that he is now a patient, cared for wedding; she takes him to a birthday dinner by the suavely sinister Dr. Heinrich Volmer A Dog’s Purpose HH1/2 for her domineering father (Harvey Keitel). (Jason Isaacs), who explains that the spa’s mi- Universal, 100 min., PG, DVD: Cobbled together by a quartet of screenwrit- raculous rejuvenation treatment comes from $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $34.98, May 2 ers and superficially directed by Taylor Hack- the water. “Drink!” he’s urged. “Drink the ford, The Comedian features strained insult water.” Hobbling around the asylum grounds, Lasse Hallström’s adapta- comedy, a Friars Club Roast of a legendary Lockhart meets Hannah (Mia Goth), a pale, tion of W. Bruce Cameron’s comedienne (), and a sleazy hollow-eyed adolescent who says she’s lived popular 2010 novel—a cel- Fear Factor-like game show. costars there all her life. Commandeering her bicy- ebration of canine loyalty as Jackie’s frustrated manager, while Danny cle to search for a telephone, Lockhart takes based on the weird premise DeVito and Patti LuPone play his long-suffer- Hannah into a nearby village whose Bavarian that doggie are reincarnated to bring ing brother and resentful sister-in-law. Also residents display an obvious antagonism to joy to their human owners (even those who featuring cameos by Charles Grodin, Billy the castle and all it represents. In addition to have forgotten them)—is a shameless mix- Crystal, Richard Belzer, Gilbert Gottfried, an excruciating torture scene—with Lock- ture of slapstick, melodrama, and cloying and others, this is a flimsy, faltering film that hart strapped in a dentist’s chair, evoking sentimentality. Following a brief prologue in is definitely not funny. Optional. S.( Granger) horrifying memories of Laurence Olivier/ which a stray puppy (voiced by ) is Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man—and a picked up by animal control and presumably Creepy HHH shocking rape involving incest, the most euthanized, the pooch is reborn as a Golden KimStim, 130 min., in Japanese malevolent scare comes from the repellent Retriever adopted by Ethan (Bruce Gheisar), w/English subtitles, not rated, use of slimy, slithering eels. Director Gore who names the dog Bailey. Ethan grows DVD: $29.99 Verbinski’s creepy dystopian thriller slogs into a teen heartthrob and star quarterback Japanese fright-master along for an ominous two-and-a-half hours, (now played by KJ Apa), but he suffers a foot- Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s deeply saddling viewers with a surly anti-hero, luna- ball-ending accident, and faithful Bailey dies unsettling thriller centers tic villain, and ghastly, nightmarish imagery after his master goes off to agricultural col- on ex-police detective Taka- in a grotesque Gothic gone awry. lege. The dog (always voiced by Gad) is reborn kura (Hidetoshi Nishijima), who leaves the Optional. (S. Granger) several times—first as a German Shepherd force to take up a position as a university who becomes a heroic police dog, then as a instructor following an on-the-job tragedy. Departure HHH Corgi who accompanies an initially lonely He and his wife (Yuko Takeuchi) move into a Wolfe, 109 min., in English & college student through a happy married new suburban home, but find their neighbors French w/English subtitles, not life, and finally as a mutt that, after years of to be curiously unfriendly, except for Nishino rated, DVD: $26.99 abuse, finds its way back to an older Ethan (Teruyuki Kagawa), a strange, erratic man Andrew Steggall’s debut (Dennis Quaid), arranging a reunion with who lives next door with his teenage daughter feature takes place in a bu- the latter’s long-lost high school sweetheart. (Ryoko Fujino). While the couple try to settle colic part of southern France Even without the viral video showing one of in, Takakura is asked by a former colleague full of streams, forests, and the stunt dogs apparently being mistreated to help with a cold case—the inexplicable quaint cottages. Elliot (Alex during filming,A Dog’s Purpose would be an disappearance of a family who left a young Lawther) is helping his mother, Beatrice (Ju- iffy prospect to join the ranks of classic ca- daughter behind. Now a teen, she recalls that liet Stevenson), prepare to sell their summer nine movies. Still, there is always an audience her parents seemed to have fallen under the home in the wake of her separation from for schmaltzy family movies about dogs, so spell of some stranger before they abandoned Elliot’s father, Philip (Finbar Lynch). Elliot consider this a strong optional purchase. (F. her, and Takakura’s inquiries eventually sug- is bored, restless, and insists on wearing Swietek) gest that Nishino might have been involved. a vintage soldier jacket that Beatrice can’t That coincidence, along with an ensuing stand. One afternoon, he spots an older boy Elle HHH1/2 series of weird revelations, strain credulity, swimming in the reservoir—a forbidden ac- Sony, 131 min., in French w/English subtitles, R, but once the film moves inside Nishino’s tivity—and it piques his interest, so he sets DVD: $25.99, Blu-ray: $30.99 house, it creates an ambience that will chill out to befriend Clément (Phénix Brossard), Oscar-nominated Isabelle Huppert stars in viewers to the bone—while also serving up a a smoker and motorcycle enthusiast who is Paul Verhoeven’s chilly thriller as Michèle,

MAY/JUNE 2017 17 VIDEO LIBRARIAN an imperious Parisian busi- the end has more of an impact than many a bed with Father Sam 40 years earlier, stirs nesswoman who reacts with more elaborate horror films. Recommended. the pot a bit story-wise, but Odette is intent apparent nonchalance after (F. Swietek) on dragging this plot strand out. And that’s being raped by a masked a shame, because some scenes are quite intruder. Refusing to report Fair Haven HHH moving, including a counseling session for the to the police, she Breaking Glass, 90 min., not a young, distressed woman terrified that continues to oversee a firm rated, DVD: $24.99 her upcoming wedding will fall apart, and that produces violent, sex- The controversial, emo- another in which a gay Iranian man rants ually explicit video games, tionally wrenching practice about the . A strong optional while also carrying on a halfhearted affair of conversion therapy for purchase. (T. Keogh) with the husband of her partner and encour- gays is the starting point aging her troubled son to dump his shrewish for this thoughtful, gentle Fences HHH girlfriend. Although one might assume she story about a young man caught between his Paramount, 138 min., PG-13, has been traumatized, her icily pragmatic own identity and pressure to follow through DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99 demeanor actually masks her determination on Christian-based reparative “treatment” Denzel Washington to take vengeance on all who have wronged to turn him straight. Nineteen-year-old directs and stars in this her—not only the intruder but also her James (Michael Grant) is taken home by his multi-Oscar-nominated mother, who is making a fool of herself with remote widower father, Richard (Tom Wo- adaptation of August Wil- a young gold digger, and her father, a long-im- pat), following a stint at a conversion clinic son’s iconic 1983 Pulitzer prisoned mass murderer who implicated her run by a zealous doctor (Gregory Harrison). Prize-winning play centered on a dysfunc- in his crimes, as well as a hacker (perhaps a Discovering that his dad paid for the thera- tional family. Set in , PA, during the staff member) who has posted insulting imag- py with James’s college savings, the already 1950s, Fences revolves around the relationship es of her on the web. Verhoeven and Huppert dispirited son feels trapped by a bleak future between a bitter, Negro League baseball play- obviously relish the intricacies of this lurid on a failing family farm when what he really er-turned-sanitation worker, 53-year-old Troy revenge tale in which Michèle deals with all wants is to pursue his dreams as a talented Maxon (Washington), and his long-suffering of her enemies, although the means are twisty pianist. Pushed toward a relationship with a wife, Rose (Viola Davis). Plus, there’s Troy’s and shot through with mordant humor and a bright, earnest young woman (Lily Anne Har- best friend/co-worker (Stephen Henderson), soupçon of bitterness. Presiding over all like a rison) while cautiously reconnecting with a brain-damaged brother (Mykelti Williamson), stern goddess is Huppert’s Michèle, a model potential soulmate (Josh Green), James slowly and adult son (Russell Hornsby) by another of hauteur who never apologizes for even becomes the man he is meant to be despite woman. When we first meet hyper-talkative the most horrendous acts. Elle is a cinematic obstacles. The moving script by Jack Bryant Troy, he’s riding on the back of a garbage game in which director and star toy with eschews thinly disguised lectures about truck, complaining that only whites get to the audience like expert puppeteers. Highly the obvious problems with gay conversion, be drivers, while blacks do the heavy lifting recommended. (F. Swietek) instead wisely allowing the relationships to of trash cans. The main conflict here revolves speak for themselves. And the cast is first-rate, around the tension between Troy, Rose, and The Eyes of My Mother with Wopat in particular doing a terrific job their teenage son (Jovan Adepo), who is HHH playing a somewhat lost man torn between hoping for a football scholarship. Closely Magnolia, 76 min., R, DVD: his principles and muted love for his son. following Wilson’s poetic text, Washington $26.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 Recommended. (T. Keogh) elicits insightful, intelligent, nuanced perfor- Shot in elegant wide- mances from his acting ensemble, although screen black-and-white, Fall HH1/2 with the action primarily restricted to the Nicolas Pesce’s lurid horror Breaking Glass, 82 min., not yard of a two-story brick home, the film film offers abundant shivers rated, DVD: $24.99 cannot escape its theatrical origins. Still, along with a few major jolts. After an opening Veteran character this is a formidable, character-driven drama. sequence in which a truck driver stops on a Michael Murphy is the Recommended. (S. Granger) desolate road to aid an injured person, the principal reason to see this narrative flashes back to an isolated farm- agonizingly evasive drama Fifty Shades Darker H1/2 house, where a woman teaches her little about an elderly priest who Universal, 118 min., R, DVD: daughter Francisca useful knowledge—such might or might not have committed an act $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: as how to dissect a cow’s eye. The oddly of sexual abuse decades ago. As Father Sam $34.98, May 9 bucolic aura—enhanced by Portuguese fado Ryan, Murphy is mesmerizing as an active— When we last saw Anas- music—is shattered when a wandering strang- albeit weary—cleric looking after his small tasia “Ana” Steele (Dakota er murders the mother in front of the girl. community of parishioners on the Canadian Johnson), she’d brusquely The farmer father returns home to extract side of Niagara Falls. With his days consisting walked out on domineer- a terrible revenge on the killer, which his of a series of exhausting rituals including ing Seattle billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie daughter shares in—using her mother’s ear- saying the mass at a retirement home, de- Dornan), after the latter turned her into his lier instructions. After her father’s death, the livering last rites, and hearing maddening personal sex slave. Now, she’s an assistant to grown-up Francisca (Kika Magalhães) seeks confessions, Father Sam grabs moments of the editor in a publishing house. Still, when the companionship of others, who tend to privacy to enjoy silence or tend, by phone, Christian buys an entire art exhibit of her meet gruesome fates at her hands, including a to the care of his nonagenarian mother in photos, gullible Ana returns to his kinky red young woman with a little son, who Francisca northern Ontario. Writer-director Terrance room, which has been sensuously redecorat- adopts as her own. Although she warns the Odette has a good feel for the mix of isola- ed, and their arrangement is renegotiated: tyke never to go into the barn, his curiosity tion and intense responsibilities that are the this time, no pain (unless you count nipple wins out, and ultimately the secret that Fran- burden of a career priest, but he is cagey when clamps). In addition to a creepy, spurned cisca is hiding there is revealed. The Eyes of it comes to forming a clear narrative. The stalker (Bella Heathcote), there’s also a piv- My Mother suffers from plot holes, but it also arrival of a letter from a dying, middle-aged otal woman haunting Christian’s twisted creates a genuinely eerie atmosphere, and in man, alluding to a blurry memory of sharing psyche: his mother’s (Marcia Gay Harden)

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 18 MAY/JUNE 2017 best friend, Elena (Kim Basinger), a cougar Adam expanded the film to sympathetic as Susana cheats on Rodrigo who taught Christian all about obedience also embrace his father’s life and he turns his petulant child act up a few and sadomasochistic sex. “He needs a sub- and career. Mr. , the notches. Still, this adaptation of Héctor Abad missive—in life as well as ,” half-, half-human Faciolince’s 1998 novel Fragmentos de Amor she tartly informs skittish Ana. Complicating science officer on the USS Furtivo has its moments, making it a strong matters further, Ana’s smarmy editor, Jack Enterprise in , grew optional purchase. (K. Fennessy) Hyde (Eric Johnson), loses his livelihood from being a pop culture when Christian buys the publishing house, figure into an international HHH1/2 and Hyde is determined to wreak revenge. icon. Nimoy had been an actor for over a Universal, 104 min., R, DVD: Adapted from E.L. James’s bestselling novel decade—appearing in bit parts and support- $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: with steamy Harlequin-esque dialogue, Fifty ing roles in movies and on TV—when he $34.98, May 23 Shades Darker is ineptly directed by James took on the role written for him by Gene Giving a satirical jolt to Foley, featuring simulated, stylized sex scenes Roddenberry. Although Nimoy went on to what has been described as that are laughably ludicrous. Not recom- enjoy a successful career in movies, TV, the- Guess Who’s Coming to Din- mended. (S. Granger) ater, and even as a director, he was forever ner meets The Stepford Wives, identified with the iconic role of Spock. The actor Jordan Peele in his directing debut has Fist Fight HH film explores Nimoy’s roots (he drew from his created one of the most astute, critically Warner, 91 min., R, DVD: childhood growing up Jewish in Boston for acclaimed horror movies in recent years. As $28.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: Spock), life, career, and troubled relationship Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) packs $35.99, May 30 with his family, ultimately coming across as a to join his girlfriend, Rose Armitage (Allison Richie Keen’s campus loving portrait of the actor by his son. But it Williams), for a weekend in the country to comedy is a reworking of is most illuminating when exploring Nimoy’s meet her parents, he hesitantly asks if she’s 1987’s Three O’Clock High, love-hate relationship with the character of told them that he’s black. Chris’s paranoid only the battling characters Spock, which he finally embraced after re- buddy (Lil Rel Howery) has warned him not to are now warring teachers rather than high viving the role in a series of Star Trek movies. go, and viewers are already wary after witness- school students. Making the combatants old- Featuring interviews with Nimoy’s colleagues, ing a prologue in which a black pedestrian er does not, of course, make the material any friends, family, and fans (including renowned in suburbia is stalked and stuffed into the more mature. A typical contemporary R-rated astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson), this is trunk of a car. But Rose quickly assures Chris comedy that confuses raunchiness for humor recommended. (S. Axmaker) that her parents, Missy and Dean (Catherine and nastiness for smarts, Fist Fight serves as Keener, Bradley Whitford), will welcome him a starring vehicle for nerdy comic Charlie Fragments of Love with open arms. Dean’s a neurosurgeon, an Day, who plays Andy Campbell, a dedicated HH1/2 Obama-admirer who says it’s cool to be black, milquetoast English teacher at Roosevelt Strand, 100 min., in Spanish and Missy’s an Earth Mother-type hypnother- High. On the last day before summer break w/English subtitles, not rated, apist, offering to help Chris stop smoking. he falls afoul of Roy Strickland (Ice Cube), a DVD: $24.99 Chris’s uneasiness is amplified by the eerily mad-as-hell history teacher prone to violent Two people with different ominous African-American housekeeper (Bet- outbursts. When Andy’s maneuvering to approaches to relationships ty Gabriel) and gardener (Marcus Henderson) save his job in the face of budgetary cutbacks fall in love in debut director who cared for Rose’s elderly grandparents winds up costing Roy his position, the latter Fernando Vallejo’s erotic drama. Rodrigo (José and are “like family.” Plus, Rose’s pugnacious challenges Andy to a fight in the parking lot Ángel Bichir), a frustrated composer, enters brother (Caleb Landry Jones) seems overly after classes let out—a taunt that is of course the orbit of Susana (Angelica Blandon), a competitive. At a garden party, the elite caught on student smartphones and quickly sculptor, when he visits her fiancé’s apartment guests’ stereotypical veneer cracks, leading to goes viral, ensuring a big turnout for the to tune his piano. During the visit, he learns bizarre behavior that impels Chris to try to beat-down. Andy, who also has to tend to the that she and Isaias (Alfredo De Quesada) escape. Having honed his skills on Comedy needs of his very pregnant wife and attend are preparing to relocate to Shanghai. After Central’s Key & Peele, the director’s subversive, his daughter’s talent show, tries to avoid asthmatic Rodrigo rescues Susana from an surrealist Get Out depicts the soul-sucking the possibility of getting pulverized, but his explosion, they fall into each other’s arms danger posed by so-called liberals, making for various schemes go awry and a confrontation both literally and figuratively. While un- a scathing commentary on racial tensions in becomes inevitable—although naturally explained terrorist attacks have Bogotá on America. Highly recommended. (S. Granger) there is an implausibly happy ending. Some edge, their tryst develops into an affair. Each subplots—with Tracy Morgan as a clueless time they meet, Susana tells Rodrigo a story Gimme Danger HHH coach and Jillian Bell as an oversexed guid- about a different lover, which drives him Sony, 109 min., R, DVD: ance counselor with the hots for a graduating crazy. Seriocomic flashbacks depict these $30.99 senior—are particularly crude, but it is the encounters, including flings with a philoso- Jim Jarmusch is possi- basic idiocy of the central premise coupled pher, an ornithologist, and a man studying bly the perfect director to with the clumsy choreography of the con- for the priesthood. When Rodrigo complains profile Iggy Pop and the cluding brawl that ultimately send Fist Fight to Carmen (Angélica Aragón), she tells him to Stooges. Two years after Jar- down for the count. Not a necessary purchase. stop asking Susana to talk about her past, but musch directed Iggy in his (F. Swietek) he can’t seem to help himself. Carmen, who metaphysical Western Dead Man, he made a is older, treats Rodrigo like a son or nephew, documentary about Neil Young (the film’s For the Love of Spock HHH but Vallejo never clarifies their connection, composer). Now, he builds Gimme Danger FilmRise, 111 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95 other than that she’s the closest thing he has around lucid, self-effacing recollections from Directed by , this documen- to a support system. Cumulatively, Susana’s Iggy, bolstered by archival material, band tary began as a collaborative project with his stories torture Rodrigo, who smokes and mate commentary, and cut-out animation. father Leonard to examine the phenomenon mopes, but they also turn him on, and in due Iggy, who grew up in Detroit, was so enthu- of Mr. Spock in and out of the Star Trek uni- time, he’s composing again. Unfortunately, siastic about drumming that his parents gave verse. When the elder Nimoy died in 2015, both characters become increasingly less him their bedroom for his practice sessions.

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 20 MAY/JUNE 2017

In his teens, he played in garage bands be- every story gadget and the elite military garrison are color-coded, fore moving to Chicago to soak up the blues whim one could think of? with crimson archers wielding massive scene and deciding that he would rather sing The clunky result is unfor- crossbows, and a bright blue Crane Corps than drum. Back in Detroit, he formed the tunate, because buried in of spear-toting, female aerialists, secured Stooges with Dave Alexander and Ron and here is an original tale about by cables, bungee-jumping down the wall Scott Asheton (James Williamson would later two strangers with a shared to stab the reptiles. Lurking within the wall replace Alexander). While their friends in the tragedy. Scott (Nick Fink) is is another Western captive, Ballard (Willem MC5 embraced left-wing politics, the Stooges a young vagrant getting by Dafoe), who helps Tovar plan an escape. Garin presented a nihilistic image. After signing to through squatting in fore- will eventually acknowledge the Chinese Elektra, they recorded a debut in New York closed homes and eating scraps and garbage. army’s altruism with its principled culture and a follow-up in L.A., and that’s when drugs He’s only vaguely human: not much of a of “trust,” celebrating the cohesive unit over entered the picture. By 1972, Elektra had had talker, Scott expresses himself through draw- capitalism and individuality. Unfortunately, enough, so Iggy went home, got clean, and ing on walls, and he drops by the home of while visually captivating, the film has a flew to London to makeRaw Power with David an ex-girlfriend, Nessa (Louisa Krause), now very straightforward plot featuring little or Bowie. The rest of the band came later, but and then for sex if she’s in the mood. But she no character development and the dialogue the album was no more successful than the usually isn’t, and this is where things begin is bizarrely peppered with contemporary others. As Iggy puts it, “We were stumbling to get unnecessarily complicated. Nessa has phrases. Optional. (S. Granger) and bumbling,” so they went their separate a baby fathered by another ex, but she also ways, working on other projects and inspir- had a baby with Scott whom she gave up for HHHH ing other bands. Three decades later, they adoption (because Scott couldn’t handle the Fox, 127 min., PG, DVD: re-formed with Mike on bass, ending responsibility). That baby was taken in by $29.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: this story on a high note. Gimme Danger was Margaret (Melanie Lynskey), but the child $39.99 clearly made with love, and it shows. Recom- died after a few years, leading to the breakup During the early 1960s, mended. (K. Fennessy) of Margaret’s marriage. Meanwhile, Scott several African-American lands a job working for a moving company women worked for NASA, Golden Kingdom HHH whose boss (Ritchie Coster)—a caricature of providing the mathemati- Alive Mind, 103 min., in every Guy Ritchie Brit-gangster type imag- cal data needed to launch the nation’s first Burmese w/English subtitles, inable—is secretly running a fencing opera- successful space mission. But every day—in not rated, DVD: $29.99 tion. And an Alabama police detective (Ann a myriad of ways—their integrity and per- American journeyman Dowd)—a eccentric who seems to severance were challenged by the hostile director Brian Perkins have stepped out of a bad Coen brothers racism and inherent sexism of the period. helms this quiet, most- knockoff thriller-comedy—is on Scott’s trail, Graduating from college summa cum laude ly realist film about four although why is unclear. If Bias had thrown at the age of 18, Katherine Johnson (Taraji Myanmar child monks-in-training, add- out 80% of this nonsense, the remainder—a P. Henson) was perhaps the most brilliant ing occasional supernatural and spiritual healing friendship between Scott and Marga- mathematician of her time. When the Space touches. Viewers are given a fly-on-the-wall ret that redeems each—would have been well Task Group’s manager (Kevin Costner) final- perspective on the daily prayer routines of worth exploring. Not a necessary purchase. ly admitted Katherine into the elite rocket these four young aspiring Buddhist monks (T. Keogh) scientists’ inner sanctum, she calculated and their rigidly ascetic existences—all stead- trajectories for John Glenn’s Earth orbit in fastly overseen by their patient master, the The Great Wall HH 1962 and subsequent missions. But she suf- head abbot (U Zaw Ti Ka) of the monastery. Universal, 103 min., in fered numerous humiliations, including not Slowly but surely, the film builds up to more English & Mandarin w/English being allowed to use the bathroom facilities dramatic notes: when the head monk has to subtitles, PG-13, DVD: $29.98, in the building in which she worked, and leave the youngsters for a few days to attend Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $34.98, being assigned an often-empty “colored to urgent business in the nearest town, the May 23 coffee” thermos. Even Katherine’s admiring green pre-adolescent monks must fend for Filmed entirely in China, husband-to-be (Mahershala Ali) could not themselves until their master returns. And this action-adventure-fan- comprehend her aptitude for analytical geom- when the sheltered children finally emerge tasy epic was directed by etry. Her colleagues (Octavia Spencer, Janelle from their monastery in search of food, they (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Monáe) were condescendingly referred to as get a phantasmagoric glimpse of Myanmar’s who also orchestrated the opening and clos- “colored computers” and paid considerably recent reality as they are confronted with the ing ceremonies of Beijing’s 2008 Summer lower wages. Based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s ugly truth of the political conflicts that have Olympic Games. According to a 12th-century 2016 nonfiction book, this multi-Oscar-nom- been raging on and off ever since Burmese legend, European mercenary William Garin inated film (including Best Picture) directed independence was declared in the late 1940s. (Matt Damon) and his sidekick Tovar (Pedro by Theodore Melfi is highly recommended. The film’s strength lies in its visual elements, Pascal) went searching in the Gobi Desert Editor’s Choice. (S. Granger) with the lush rural Myanmar backdrop stun- for “black powder” (gunpowder) that would ningly juxtaposed against the monks’ mostly change the future of war. When they’re taken I Am Michael HH1/2 hushed interior existence. A rewarding watch prisoner by the Nameless Order, headed by Passion River, 100 min., not for patient audiences, this is recommended. General Shao (Zhang Hanyu), strategist Wang rated, DVD: $24.99 (M. Sandlin) (Andy Lau), and Commander Lin (Jing Tian), An unusual “coming out” they discover that the Great Wall was not tale, filmmaker Justin Kelly’s The Great & The Small HH erected to protect against foreign invaders, drama tells the real-life story Breaking Glass, 104 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99 but to serve as a fortress against hordes of rav- of Michael Glatze, a gay ac- A classic case of creative overreach, writ- enous, dinosaur-like creatures—the mythical tivist who became a Chris- er-director Dusty Bias approaches his over- Tao Tei—which attack every 60 years. The tian preacher and subsequently described ho- stuffed film as if the opportunity to work Industrial Light & Magic-created pageantry mosexuality as an immoral abnormality that may never arise again—so why not include here is awesome: the massive formations of should be overcome—a view that puzzled

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 22 MAY/JUNE 2017 and antagonized many of his former friends, periences. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek) eo in Iraq (embedded with soldiers), and then who were equally surprised by his decision to on his own during Libya’s descent into chaos marry a girl he met while studying theology. Ixcanul HHH1/2 following the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi. I Am Michael tries to present Glatze’s story Kino Lorber, 91 min., in Foley was kidnapped by a Libyan militia and in a balanced fashion, aided by the earnest Spanish & Kaqchikel w/English held for a period before returning to the performance of James Franco as Michael and subtitles, not rated, DVD: U.S. After that, his family and friends were equally committed turns by $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.99 astonished when he chose to go to Syria just as Bennett, his former partner, and Emma The first film from Guate- as Bashar al-Assad began to bomb his own Roberts as Rebekah, who Glatze falls in love mala to be submitted in the people. Heartbreaking images from some with. It does not ignore aspects of Glatze’s Best Foreign Language Film of those atrocities are seen, accompanied conversion that might raise eyebrows—for category of the Academy by accounts of Foley’s efforts to help people example, the medical problems (diagnosed Awards, Ixcanul serves up a mix of docu- while reporting about the carnage. Foley’s as panic attacks) that led him to religion, or mentary realism and fable-like drama set in lengthy imprisonment, torture, and behead- an uncomfortable stay at a Buddhist retreat isolated mountains. At the base of a dormant ing by ISIS are also detailed (images of the where he was eventually asked to leave. But it volcano, inhabitants of an impoverished gruesome execution are not shown here), and is never cynical in dramatizing Glatze’s trans- Mayan village eke out a living harvesting the film presents disturbing evidence that formation, and it refreshingly treats religious coffee beans at a nearby plantation and U.S. official policy of not negotiating with belief seriously rather than dismissing it as farming inhospitable fields hewn out of the terrorists (unlike other nations that were able misguided. Unfortunately, Kelly’s approach jungle. The parents of Maria (María Mercedes to get captives released) was short-sighted and also often comes across as excessively cau- Coroy)—a beautiful, hard-working young inhumane. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh) tious, making for a rather staid film. Still,I woman—have arranged a marriage with Am Michael deserves credit for its sympathetic the plantation foreman, but she has made Julieta HHH portrait of a complex character. A strong her own plans to run off to America with a Sony, 99 min., in Spanish w/ optional purchase. (F. Swietek) cocky worker her own age who talks big and English subtitles, R, DVD: drinks his wages away at the local dive bar. $26.99, Blu-ray: $30.99 I Am Not Your Negro She seduces him to seal the deal, which has Celebrated writer-director consequences that change everything for HHH1/2 Pedro Almodóvar serves up her. The feature debut of filmmaker Jayro Magnolia, 94 min., PG-13, an opulently crafted soap DVD: $26.99, Blu-ray: $29.99, Bustamante, this is a powerful portrait of tra- opera in this adaptation of May 2 ditional Mayan culture, where peasants live several stories by Alice Munro, transferring Although skirting over in huts without electricity or running water the American setting to Spain. The title char- many details of James Bald- and speak their native Kaqchikel, unable acter (Emma Suárez) is initially introduced win’s life, Raoul Peck’s docu- to communicate with the Spanish speakers as a woman in late middle age about to leave mentary serves up an engrossing intellectual from the nearby city without an interpreter. Madrid and move to with her boy- of the great African-American The ordeal of Maria and her parents is har- friend. But her plan is derailed after a chance writer that is set within a broader context rowing and Bustamante presents it without encounter with Bea, a young woman who was of the black experience in America. The sentiment or melodramatic flourish, focusing once her daughter Antía’s best friend. Bea tells centerpiece is a highly personal prospectus on their strength as he shows their plight her that she has recently seen Antía, who that Baldwin wrote for a proposed book on in this primal, powerful, and rare portrait went missing years earlier after a religious Medgar Evers, , and Martin Luther of a hidden culture. Highly recommended. retreat. So Julieta decides to remain in the King, Jr., who were all assassinated during the (S. Axmaker) city in hopes of tracking Antía down, and she tumultuous 1960s. Excerpts read by Samuel L. recalls, during a lengthy flashback (in which Jackson detail Baldwin’s personal connection Jim HHH1/2 she is now played by Adriana Ugarte), her to each man, but they also range widely, of- FilmRise, 113 min., not rated, meeting with her daughter’s fisherman father fering observations about the treatment that DVD: $31, Blu-ray: $37 during an eventful train ride, their marriage blacks endured from early slavery up through A sad, painful, yet also after the death of his ill wife, his accidental the ‘80s. Peck accompanies the words with inspiring portrait of one drowning, and the circumstances of Antía’s beautifully-chosen collages of archival foot- man’s enormous courage in still-unexplained disappearance. The final age, as well as clips from movies, from King the face of monstrousness, act returns to the present and Julieta’s search Kong to Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. He filmmaker Brian Oakes’s for closure. Almodóvar tells this tale with his also periodically intercuts excerpts from the HBO-aired documentary Jim chronicles the customary visual flair, and the performances writer’s appearances on TV talk shows, in events that led to the murder of American of Suárez and Ugarte mesh nicely, even if which Baldwin challenges liberal voices that journalist James Foley, who was beheaded the actresses do not especially resemble one might appear supportive but come across as by ISIS in 2014. This film features a mix of another. While not quite as distinctive as patronizing. Peck emphasizes the continuing wartime footage shot by or featuring Foley, some of the director’s earlier films, this one relevance of Baldwin’s stinging criticism along with interviews of his parents, siblings, is still a satisfying addition to an impressive concerning America’s racial attitudes by colleagues, and former captives who were oeuvre. Recommended. (F. Swietek) adding visual references to jailed with him in the months prior to his and Ferguson, MO. I Am Not Your Negro makes death. The aggregate vision of Foley that Just a Sigh HHH it clear that Baldwin’s brilliant critiques are emerges from all of these shared perspec- Icarus, 105 min., in French w/English subtitles, not not a thing of the past, but a continuing stain tives is that of a young man too restless for rated, DVD: $26.99 on the country’s moral character. Passionate the suburban life embraced by his family, Director Jérôme Bonnell’s French feature yet incisive, moving yet clear-sighted, this compelled instead to seek out the frontlines film can’t help but bring to mind David impressionistic documentary captures how of war-ravaged countries and report on the Lean’s 1945 classic Brief Encounter. But its Baldwin forced fellow Americans to confront suffering. Against his family’s wishes, Foley Gallic take on two strangers drawn to one an- racism in society, while also showing how became a “combat journalist,” one of a breed other against a backdrop of trains, who find a deeply racism impacted his own personal ex- of freelancers writing about and shooting vid- temporary oasis of love in a world of anguish,

MAY/JUNE 2017 23 VIDEO LIBRARIAN has some unusual shadings. ing cast, likely to appeal to superhero comics passive-aggressive misfits doesn’t really add Emmanuelle Devos stars as fans. Recommended. (S. Axmaker) up to much more than predictable teen Alix, a 43-year-old actress comedy swipes at parental authority. And appearing in an Ibsen stage Lion HHHH Timlin’s turn as Colleen is a wasted opportu- production in Calais. Not Anchor Bay, 118 min., PG-13, nity—instead of investing the character with yet paid for her work, Alix DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $34.99 necessary empathetic human dimension, has to hustle back home to After 5-year-old Saroo she somnambulates uncomfortably through for an audition, hoping (Sunny Pawar) is accidental- the movie as if nursing a particularly acute to get support (and maybe ly abandoned in a railroad migraine headache. Optional. (M. Sandlin) cash) from her live-in lover, a documentary station, he gets on a train filmmaker who is off on some adventure. and falls asleep, travelling Live by Night HH But the two don’t connect, Alix has lost her thousands of miles across India, far away Warner, 129 min., R, DVD: phone charger, she has no funds (save for from his family. Left to fend for himself as $28.98, Blu-ray: $29.98 train fare and coffee), and her credit card is an orphan on the streets of Calcutta, Saroo Adapted from Den- being denied. One soon gets the idea that embarks on the adventure of a lifetime—one nis Lehane’s 2012 Edgar this is typical of Alix’s life, where talent and that takes him all the way to Australia, where Award-winning crime nov- artistic inspiration outweigh practical living. he’s adopted by a loving couple (Nicole Kid- el, director-star Ben Affleck’s But then she and Douglas (Gabriel Byrne), a man, David Wenham). Some 25 years later, drama finds disillusioned mystery man in his 60s, exchange looks on a guided only by fractured, fragmented memo- WWI vet Joe Coughlin (Affleck) returning train, and Alix is soon lost in the intrigue of ries and steadfast determination, adult Saroo home to Prohibition-era Boston, vowing nev- his sad eyes and vulnerable if wary bearing. (Dev Patel) discovers Google Earth, which er to take orders from anyone again. Resisting Thus begins a journey for two people who leads him back to his long-lost village and all authority, he becomes a thief and outlaw, know nothing about one another, yet see a birth family he barely remembers. Based falling in love with Emma (Sienna Miller), what they need to see at this moment in their on Saroo Brierley’s 2014 memoir A Long Way the sassy, selfish mistress of an Irish gangster lives—possibilities. The two stars bring a sad, Home, this multi-Oscar-nominated film is (Robert Glenister). Badly beaten and believing experienced soulfulness to their grownup sensitively directed by Garth Davis, telling that Emma is dead, Joe allies himself with the characters, giving Just a Sigh a welcome sense a spiritually uplifting story that doesn’t boss (Remo Gitone) of the rival Italian Mafia, of poignancy in our youth-obsessed film succumb to sentimentality. Diminutive much to the chagrin of his law-abiding dad culture. Recommended. (T. Keogh) Pawar exudes charismatic vulnerability, (Brendan Gleeson), a bigwig with the Boston while Patel’s guilt-conflicted resolve is raw, police, who warns, “What you put out into Dark strong, and powerful. Rooney Mara costars the world will always come back to haunt HHH as Saroo’s supportive girlfriend. The film’s you, but never how you predict.” When Joe Warner, 76 min., R, DVD: secondary theme revolves around the uncon- is dispatched to run Florida’s rum-smuggling $19.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: ditional love of an adoptive parent—and the racket, he marries a black Cuban émigré (Zoe $24.99 two mother-figures here are the pillars that Saldana), becoming a target of the Ku Klux While the name suggests support this story about searching for family Klan leader (Matthew Maher), who is the an evil version of the super- and identity. Highly recommended. Editor’s brother-in-law of the pious, pragmatic sheriff hero team made up of Super- Choice. (S. Granger) (Chris Cooper). Meanwhile, the sheriff’s as- man, , Wonder Woman, and others, piring starlet daughter (Elle Fanning) takes off Justice League Dark is actually a comic book Little Sister HH on an ill-fated trip to Hollywood, eventually series featuring an alternative team of charac- Kino Lorber, 91 min., not rated, becoming a Bible-thumping evangelist. Live ters whose powers are more supernatural than DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.95 by Night is weighed down by melodramatic super. Filmmaker Jay Oliva’s animated movie Little Sister is one of the subplots and extraneous characters, consis- version re-imagines the team’s origin. When many recent indie produc- tently choosing clichéd style over narrative citizens start seeing demons in the streets, tions that attempts to set substance. Optional. (S. Granger) Batman (voiced by Jason O’Mara) seeks out itself apart from the main- help from stage magician Zatanna and free- stream by letting overplayed The Love Witch HH1/2 lance supernatural investigator John Con- quirkiness masquerade as humor. A subdued Oscilloscope, 120 min., not stantine (Matt Ryan, reprising his role from hipster-turned-nun, Colleen (Addison Tim- rated, DVD: $34.99, Blu-ray: the live-action TV series). They pull together lin) moves from Brooklyn to Asheville, NC, to $39.99 a team that includes Deadman (a spirit who please her mentally disturbed mother (played This highly stylized oc- can inhabit living bodies), Etrigan the Demon by a wizened Ally Sheedy), trying to leave her cult schlock-fest has its roots (a genuine demon from Hell who speaks in goth-girl past behind to make a new life as somewhere in late 1990s rhyme), Black Orchid (a shapeshifter), and a servant of the Lord without being driven Charles Busch vintage ironic Swamp Thing (an elemental plant creature), to the brink of insanity by her hypercritical horror-comedy (think: Psycho Beach Par- who help the original Justice League defeat mother and her annoying dork of a father. ty), not to mention Roger Corman’s 1960 Destiny, a villain who plans to use the mag- Colleen’s brother Jacob (Keith Poulson) is low-budget B-movie fare. The title character, ical Dreamstone to take over the world. This a creepily exploited character—an Iraq war Elaine (Samantha Robinson), is a stunningly is one of the darkest animated films from the veteran who was badly burned in an explo- gorgeous wiccan who seems to live in an Aus- DCU Animated Original Movie series, with a sion and is presented as sort of a figure of fun, tin Powers fantasy land of retro visuals. She’s a corresponding visual palette, magical battles which is indicative of the tin-eared humor lovestruck necromancer with potent potions with morphing imagery, and some gruesome in this film set in 2008, which also banks and lethal spells that she uses on male vic- violence. It puts relatively obscure characters on crude terrorism and 9/11 jokes and silly tims to try and control their worst instincts in the lead, with Constantine taking charge religious humor to carry the flat dialogue. Di- once she’s seduced them. But her sex magic from Batman (who is out of his depth in the rector-screenwriter Zach Clark unsuccessfully is simply too much for her unworthy victims. supernatural world). Overall, it’s a well-made tries to mine family dysfunction for laughs, Writer-director Anna Biller weaves in some entry with an engaging story and an intrigu- but portraying Colleen’s parents as bumbling heady feminist criticism that unfortunately

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www.musicboxfi lms.com @musicboxfi lms clashes badly with the dominant poker-faced take place in Marinoni’s Italian hometown. name of O-Ei Katsushika, a young woman ironic humor. The costumes are well-chosen Marinoni also tells the moving, related story who trained under her legendary painter and the sets are imaginatively conceived, but of Jocelyn Lovell (1950-2016), another cycling father, Katsushika. Based on the The Love Witch seems cursed by an inability champion who was hit by a truck and left a biographic manga Sarusuberi by Hinako to laugh at its own cheesy grindhouse-cin- quadriplegic. Lovell was a longtime friend of Sugiura, filmmaker ’s animated ema conceits. A strong optional purchase. Marinoni, and it is Lovell’s old bike—which feature, presented in the classic hand-drawn (M. Sandlin) Marinoni built for him years before—that the style, has an episodic quality, serving up old lion rides during his effort to break the memories and vignettes illustrating the Lovesong HHH record. Recommended. (T. Keogh) kind of man Hokusai was—a dedicated and Strand, 85 min., not rated, brilliant artist but neglectful and emotionally DVD: $27.99, May 16 Mifune: The Last distant father—as seen through his daughter’s Longing looks never Samurai HHH1/2 eyes. But it is also the story of this daughter seemed more painful than Strand, 80 min., in Japanese & who works in the shadow of her father and in Lovesong, an unusual re- English w/English subtitles, not even paints commissions that are sold under lationship drama about two rated, DVD: $27.99 his name. Scenes of their daily life in , women whose deep yearn- “Icon” is a word tossed circa 1814, are interspersed with sequences ing for one another is inhibited not so much around all too easily in pop- of fantasy and wonder—dreams, stories, and by external pressures as by their own inability ular culture. But it is the magical moments that may or may not be all to say and do what is in their hearts. Actresses only meaningful word that fits the outsize in the creative imagination of the characters. Riley Keough and Jena Malone are deeply impact that legendary Japanese actor Toshi- And the gentle, serene direction evokes the effective as old friends whose lives intersect ro Mifune (1920-1997) had both on world style of Hokusai’s artwork (Hokusai and O-Ei a second time when Sarah (Keough) senses cinema and the imaginations of cinephiles also painted erotica and while there are no that her marriage is evaporating, leaving her and budding directors everywhere. Despite explicit images, the film does suggest and to raise a young daughter alone. Nights of starring in 170 movies (including The Seven discuss the sexuality of their work). Although nostalgia with Mindy (Malone) lead to looks, Samurai and Yojimbo), Mifune said little in ostensibly a biographical drama, embraces, and kisses, and beyond—to the public about his work and legacy. Filmmaker actually focuses on a short period of time, sense of a palpable, enduring bond between Steven Okazaki’s tribute combines generous exploring the artistic process and creative the two that has always been there and film clips from Mifune classics with inter- imagination of its characters. Recommended. always will be. But a failure to acknowledge views of the leading man’s surviving collab- (S. Axmaker) the truth and take their relationship to the orators, among them a stuntman and fight next level makes it too easy for Sarah and choreographer whom Mifune “killed” on Mountain HHH Mindy to separate, which is what happens camera over 100 times. Several of Mifune’s First Run, 81 min., in Hebrew until they meet again three years later on w/English subtitles, not rated, frequent costars—including Yoko Tsukasa DVD: $19.95 the eve of Mindy’s half-hearted wedding. and Kyoko Kagawa, actresses famous in their Filmmaker So Yong Kim again places the two own right—provide the most personal details Yaelle Kayam’s debut fea- characters in scenes that will easily change here, testifying to Mifune’s iconoclastic mix ture is a nuanced character the course of their lives if the right words are of tightlipped gruffness and broadly generous study centering on Zvia spoken. Also featuring a brief appearance by character. Steven Spielberg and Martin Scor- (Shani Klein), an Orthodox Rosanna Arquette as Mindy’s mother, this is sese also offer insightful appraisals of what Jewish woman who lives with her husband recommended. (T. Keogh) made Mifune both a galvanic presence and Reuven (Avshalom Pollak) and their four chil- transcendent, inimitable star. But the soul of dren at the edge of a huge, crowded cemetery on the slope of Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives. Marinoni: The Fire in the The Last Samurai lies in its depiction of Mi- Reuven, a Yeshiva teacher who is mostly HHH fune’s place in Japan’s homegrown cinematic Frame away at work, has grown increasingly distant First Run, 87 min., not rated, culture, where the nation’s earliest experi- from his wife even when he is home, and the DVD: $19.95 ences with silent movies proved a breeding children—especially the oldest daughter—are ground for samurai tales. Following World Filmmaker Tony Girar- becoming restive as well. Starved for sup- din spent years trying to War II, a defeated Japan was in search of new portive human interaction, Zvia converses get famed cyclist and bicy- cultural directions, and Mifune’s rebellious with the graveyard’s sympathetic Palestin- cle frame-making master streak and onscreen intensity turned out to ian caretaker, and even makes contact with Giuseppe Marinoni to be the subject of a be a perfect complement to filmmaker Akira the worldly souls—prostitutes, pimps, and documentary, only to find that once per- Kurosawa’s disruptive style in over a dozen drug-dealers—who frequent the cemetery as mission was granted, the 75-year-old, deeply films. Their pairing over two decades made a base of operations (she even goes so far as suspicious Marinoni thought the director was for one of the most rewarding director-actor to bring them food). Her yearnings are also merely trying to steal his bike-building se- partnerships in history, which is examined mirrored in her fascination with the poetry crets. Fortunately, Marinoni’s cranky paranoia here in depth by Okazaki, who is helped of a woman buried there, which she pores softens, and Girardin is able to dig into the immeasurably by recollections from both over as she sits by the latter’s tombstone. interesting past of this man who in his youth Mifune’s and Kurosawa’s middle-aged sons. Mountain does not pretend to fully explain was a champion cyclist in his native Highly recommended. (T. Keogh) before immigrating to Canada and resuming Zvia’s personality or resolve her issues, but competition. After becoming a legend in the Miss Hokusai HHH it offers a commendably subtle glimpse into sport, Marinoni opened a workshop near the psyche of a woman straining to balance Universal, 90 min., in Japanese the demands of her religious beliefs with her Montreal, where his custom-made frames are w/English subtitles, PG-13, built and remain highly prized by enthusiasts. DVD: $26.99, Blu-ray/DVD human needs. Recommended. (F. Swietek) But the narrative hook of this film is Mari- Combo: $29.99 noni’s determination to break one more re- The title character is ac- Mr. Pig HHH cord in his age category: for covering the most tually an artist from early First Run, 92 min., not rated, DVD: $19.99 ground in one hour on a bike, a trial that will 19th-century Japan by the In what could be considered yet another

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 26 MAY/JUNE 2017 variation on John Stein- Puppylove HHH photographed—but its dramatic dreariness beck’s classic Travels With Film Movement, 85 min., in ultimately undermines an intriguing prem- Charley—here substituting a French w/English subtitles, not ise. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek) prize pig for a dutiful dog— rated, DVD: $24.95 director Diego Luna’s third A coming-of-age tale Rings H1/2 feature is an understated told in faux cinéma vérité Paramount, 102 min., PG-13, road movie that is reminis- style, Delphine Leheric- DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD cent of early itiner- ey’s Puppylove centers on Combo: $39.99, May 2 ant-themed low-life dramas. Diane (Solene Rigot), a 14-year-old living In the era of DVD, Blu-ray, Here, a grizzled Danny Glover stars as fading in a provincial town with her single father and streaming video for- septuagenarian pig farmer Ambrose, who Christian (Vincent Perez) and little broth- mats, it would seem rather decides to embark on one last alcohol-fueled, er. She is nervously inching toward sexual foolhardy to revive a horror for-the-hell-of-it road trip across the Mexican experimentation, secretly watching adult series based on an outmoded technology— border to visit old friends after the bank de- movies on TV (the story is set before the the VCR. Director F. Javier Gutiérrez returns cides to coldly repossess his SoCal hog farm. Internet), masturbating while bathing, and to the Ring franchise, last heard from in Problem is, his daughter (Maya Rudolph) even climbing into bed with an equally 2005, built around the notion that a cursed only finds out about her father’s ill-advised nervous classmate, although they do not VHS tape will viewers to die in a week trip after it’s too late to stop him. Meanwhile, progress beyond a bit of snuggling. All of (unless they are able to get someone else to the heavy-drinking (and as we soon learn, that changes when neighbor Julia (Audrey take on the curse by watching it). Here a new deathly ill) Ambrose’s last ambition is to sell Bastien) moves in. Far more experienced “outbreak” is traced to a professor named off his best hog so his daughter will have and reckless than timid Diane, Julia en- Gabriel (Johnny Galecki), who is interested in something like an inheritance. By all rights, joys nightclubs and one-night stands with vintage devices and finds a copy of the dread- Glover’s pitch-perfect performance should older guys, introducing Diane to her wild ed tape lodged in a video recorder that he have catapulted Mr. Pig out of the trough lifestyle. The parents seem oblivious: Julia’s buys at a flea market. Believing it can reveal of 2016’s indie-film also-rans. But Luna’s father is abusive, and Christian is depicted truths about the afterlife, Gabriel enlists his platitude-laced script can’t quite resist a ten- as a hopeless man-child, all too ready to unsuspecting students in a kind of pyramid dency towards easy sentimentalizing, which revert to frat-boy foolishness (at one point, scheme, inducing them to watch the tape and detracts from the otherwise respectably gritty Julia attempts to seduce him, and his flus- then pass it on. One is Holt (Alex Roe), whose performances by Rudolph and Glover. An tered response proves his immaturity). A girlfriend Julia (Matilda Lutz) intervenes and entertaining oddball film with fine acting, cautionary tale buoyed by the performance together they try to uncover the tape’s origin this is recommended. (M. Sandlin) of young Rigot, who conveys a perfect mix- and end its reign of terror. That quest requires ture of wide-eyed naiveté and teen angst, a visit to a spooky small town, where a blind Passengers HH this is a familiar story, but edgier and more guy (Vincent D’Onofrio) guards the ceme- Sony, 116 min., PG-13, DVD: provocative than usual. Recommended. tery, kicking off an investigation that reveals $30.99, Blu-ray: $34.99 (F. Swietek) secrets about child abuse, hidden skeletons, Passengers feat ures a mysterious symbols in braille, and revenge terrific sci-fi premise: two Resistance HH1/2 and reincarnation, wrapping up with a twist passengers on a 120-year Film Movement, 92 min., not that pushes the concept into the digital age. journey on the immense, rated, DVD: $24.99 Not recommended. (F. Swietek) ultra-luxurious spaceship Director Amit Gupta’s al- Avalon awake from their hibernation pods ternative-history film, based Rogue One: A Star Wars 90 years too early. Along with 5,000 fellow on Owen Sheers’s titular Story HH travelers and 258 crew, they’re headed for a 2007 novel, is set in a 1944 Disney, 133 min., PG-13, DVD: distant colony called Homestead II, which where the D-Day invasion $29.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: offers a promised land alternative to “over- has failed and the German army is engaged $39.99 populated, overpriced, and overrated Earth.” in the conquest of Great Britain. In a valley in A long time ago in a gal- After a damaging asteroid strike, Jim Preston Wales, most of the men have gone into hiding axy far, far away, George (Chris Pratt) emerges from cryogenic sleep, to form an underground resistance movement Lucas launched a visionary but soon realizes that he’s the only one while their wives remain behind. A German series built around space-age mythology, awake—with just a genial android bartender squadron arrives to establish control, but utilizing droids, alien entities, and aerial (Michael Sheen) for company. Jim is a me- the commanding officer (Tom Wlaschiha) dogfights as background for a compelling chanical engineer, so he spends a full year has become disillusioned after witnessing human drama that evolved over the course trying to remedy the situation—to no avail. so much carnage, and he suggests that the of six films, creating a quasi-mystical epic. Almost suicidal with loneliness, Jim finds women accept the help of his men on their In 2012, Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4.06 another awakened passenger, a beautiful New farms as winter weather arrives. He is also billion, with plans for a series of spin-offs York writer, Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence). attracted to Sarah (Andrea Riseborough), who that begin with this prequel (set between Naturally, a romantic relationship develops doesn’t know whether her absent husband Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith but one with turns and twists. Helmed by is alive or dead, and she in turn is drawn to and Star Wars Episode IV—A New Hope) from Norwegian director Morten Tyldum, Passen- the German. Gupta clearly wants to convey filmmaker Gareth Edwards, with the iconic gers tackles profound moral and philosophical the realities of occupation, along with the stars missing and much of the spirit lost, dilemmas in a provocative, character-driven tension between remaining loyal to one’s which only leaves a lot more wars. After her story that unfortunately disappoints during country and inching toward collaboration. backstory is established, scrappy, resourceful the final act, which feels like it was adjust- Unfortunately, however, the film is slow Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) joins the Alliance, ed by a focus group that demanded some and enervated, with both stars delivering working with Intelligence Officer Cassian spectacular action/thriller sequences. So, performances that are so understated they Andor (Diego Luna) and a ragtag group of sadly, the compelling castaway concept is almost evaporate. Resistance offers some love- freedom fighters, to steal plans for Darth ultimately squandered. Optional. (S. Granger) ly location shooting—which is beautifully Vader’s Death Star, an immense galactic

MAY/JUNE 2017 27 VIDEO LIBRARIAN weapon that was designed by Jyn’s father rope’s beautiful green forests. The central center of filmmaker Garth (Mads Mikkelsen). Combat prevails as a conceit here is to imagine seeing these forests Jennings’s Oscar-nominated multitude of characters are all-too-briefly at end of the last Ice Age, after which a cycle animated jukebox musical, introduced, including Saw Gerrera (Forest of seasons emerges with burgeoning flora, which features a playlist Whitaker), Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), and a fauna, and—eventually—humans, the latter that adults will enjoy and blind ninja (Hong Kong action star Donnie ultimately upsetting the natural balance enough cheerily colorful Yen), plus villainous Imperial Orson and forcing larger animals (in particular) critter shenanigans to keep Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). James Earl Jones to abandon the thinning forests for higher kids happy. Matthew Mc- once again voices Darth Vader, and Cassian ground in the mountains. This “story” is told Conaughey voices Buster Andor’s black metallic robot, K-2SO (voiced in mere snippets of overlaid narration as the Moon, a koala bear who runs a music hall by ), provides caustic comic relief. often leisurely camera captures the birth of where he serves as an enthusiastic MC. All of But this is mostly like a big-screen video a deer, baby ducks marching towards water, his productions have sadly bombed, and to game with lots of Stormtroopers. Optional. and squirrels playing, among other sights. save the place from creditors, Buster plans an (S. Granger) These scenes are punctuated by occasional amateur singing contest with a $1,000 prize. bursts of extraordinarily dramatic sequences, Unfortunately, while printing up the adver- The Salesman HHHH including one in which wolves chase a boar tisements his doddering secretary announces Sony, 124 min., in Persian w/ (filmed with incredible tracking shots). While the sum as $100,000. The plot runs along two English subtitles, PG-13, DVD: the environmental live-in-harmony mes- tracks, with one involving Buster desperately $30.99, Blu-ray: $34.99, May 2 sage is so lightly presented as to feel almost trying to raise money—which leads him to This year’s Oscar winner ephemeral, the gorgeous visuals make this a legendary star (Jennifer Saunders and—in for Best Foreign Language nature documentary well worth the watch. a younger version—Jennifer Hudson) who Film, Asghar Farhadi’s (who Recommended. (R. Pitman) is the grandmother of his sheep buddy also won for 2011’s A Sepa- (John C. Reilly). But the main emphasis is ration) marital drama centers on Emad (Sha- Silence HH1/2 on the contest finalists—an arrogant Frank hab Hosseini) and Rana Etesamis (Taraneh Paramount, 160 min., R, DVD: Sinatra-type mouse (Seth McFarlane) being Alidoosti), who are forced to evacuate their $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99 pursued by a bunch of gamblers; a porcupine crumbling Tehran apartment and move into Director/co-writer Martin (Scarlett Johansson) whose punk boyfriend a more dilapidated abode that was previously Scorsese adapts Shusaku has just dumped her; a homebody pig (Reese occupied by a single woman with a young Endo’s 1966 historical nov- Witherspoon) teamed up with a garrulous child. The clutter left behind by the former el about two Jesuit priests hog (Nick Kroll); and a Cockney gorilla (Taron tenant gives subtle clues as to the promiscu- who travel from Portugal Egerton) with a mellow voice and a mobster ous life that she led. Emad and Rana are actors to Japan to find their mentor, a man who is father. Added to the mix is an elephant (Tori appearing in an amateur theater company’s rumored to have renounced his religion un- Kelly) who sings sensationally but is hobbled production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a der torture. In 17th-century Buddhist Japan, by a seemingly insurmountable case of stage Salesman. But there are problems translating Catholicism has been outlawed, and believers fright. Sing might not be the most imaginative the blunt sexuality of this American classic are persecuted, but fervent Father Rodrigues film around, but a solid mixture of music and for an Iranian audience, particularly due to (Andrew Garfield) and Father Garape (Adam slapstick make this an engaging take on a local censors. One day, when Emad is out, the Driver) are determined to track down Father familiar formula. Recommended. (F. Swietek) doorbell rings, and thinking it’s her husband, Ferreira (Liam Neeson). While searching, Rana unlocks the front door and takes a they minister to villagers who risk their lives Somewhere in the shower. But it turns out to be a stranger who to hide them from the wily Inquisitor (Issey Middle HH1/2 brutally her and flees, leaving his Ogata), who gives suspected Christians the Film Movement, 90 min., not keys and his minivan outside. Rana did not opportunity to recant by stepping on an rated, DVD: $24.95 see her attacker (nor do viewers). When Emad image of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. If they Somewhere in the Middle suggests going to the police, emotionally dev- refuse, he mercilessly torments and tortures tells the story of intercon- astated Rana refuses, knowing that she would them in a myriad of graphically gruesome nected relationships be- have to justify why she left the door open ways, including hot-water scalding, burning tween four people. Billie and fearing that her reputation would suffer. on a pyre, drowning on a crucifix in the (Cassandra Freeman) runs a New York ad- Rana feels shamed, guilty, and afraid to be rising tide, or slowly bleeding to death while vertising agency and has a particular gift for alone, while enraged Emad is determined to hanging upside down over a pit. Betrayal is controlling her staff with understated threats track down the intruder and wreak revenge. a recurring theme here, as the priests’ guide that are tied to promises of reward. At home, Farhadi builds a suspenseful thriller that is Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka) repeatedly de- she is breaking up with her husband, Kofi haunted by themes of inadequacy, intimacy, ceives them, yet begs forgiveness, promising (Charles Miller), the self-centered brother of a and respect. Offering an engrossing, empa- to be stronger next time. The title refers to therapist who is treating Sofia (Marisol Miran- thetic commentary on contemporary Iranian Rodrigues’s prayers for divine guidance—and da)—the latter a freelance graphic designer society, this is highly recommended. Editor’s the silence that ensues. Visually magnificent working for Billie. Sofia, who is clueless about Choice. (S. Granger) (an Oscar nominee for its cinematography), Kofi’s marriage to Billie, exhibits an obsessive Silence is ultimately more of an intellectual interest in Kofi (in a scaryFatal Attraction-like Seasons HHH exercise than an emotionally engaging way), until he agrees to have sex with her. Music Box, 96 min., in French film—a dour depiction of an agonized, seem- Meanwhile, Billie has boundary issues of her w/English subtitles, PG, DVD: ingly endless pilgrimage. A strong optional own, aggressively cultivating a friendship $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.99 purchase. (S. Granger) with employee Alex (Louisa Ward), although A bit like Planet Earth perhaps hoping for something more. The on quaaludes, filmmakers Sing HHH entanglements here range from pedestrian to Jacques Perrin and Jacques Universal, 108 min., PG, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray/ surprising, and writer-director Lanre Olabisi Cluzaud’s Seasons is a very DVD Combo: $34.98 tries to add drama and mystery by presenting sparsely narrated documentary shot in Eu- The old “let’s put on a show” adage is at the scenes in nonlinear fashion, with concurrent

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2016

For more information please contact Richard Ross at [email protected] Visit us at bgpics.com subplots that circle back, again and again, to is so intense that she abandons their baby, woman who volunteers at the charity, and certain touchstones. Somewhere in the Middle, leaving Léo to play a daddy role for which he Ariel’s relationship with his New York girl- which reportedly grew out of a year of im- is extremely ill-equipped. Filmmaker Alain friend further frays with each new phone provisations, features a consistently strong Guiraudie’s Staying Vertical is an opaque if call, giving him less incentive to leave Buenos cast and boasts some very good moments, frequently comic road movie that ultimately Aires. Burman strives to give The Tenth Man a but the fractured structure ultimately feels comes across as somewhat unmoored, with low-key style in its approach to relationship like an empty experiment. A strong optional Guiraudie adding more fantastic, dreamlike comedy, but it often feels enervated, and purchase. (T. Keogh) elements (and an explicit hardcore sex scene) Usher’s machinations and Ariel’s gullible as the film rolls on, leading to a haunting, personality eventually grow tiresome. The The Space Between Us unforgettable ending. A strong optional cast tries their best—Sabbagh won an acting HH purchase for more adventurous collections. award at the Tribeca Film Festival—but they Universal, 121 min., PG-13, (T. Keogh) ultimately cannot overcome a weak screen- DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD play. Not recommended. (P. Hall) Combo: $34.98, May 16 Tanna HHH1/2 With Earth’s resources be- Lightyear, 104 min., in Tharlo HH1/2 coming increasingly deplet- Nauvhal w/English subtitles, Icarus, 123 min., in Tibetan not rated, DVD: $19.99, Blu- w/English subtitles, not rated, ed, Genesis Space Technolo- ray: $25.99 gies—founded by eccentric visionary Nathan- DVD: $29.98 iel Shepherd (Gary Oldman, channeling Elon Filmmakers Bentley An atypical Tibetan film, Musk/Richard Branson)—is ready to colonize Dean and Martin Butler’s Tharlo is a minimalist black- Mars. Working with NASA, Genesis launches Oscar-nominated Australian and-white tale from writ- a pioneer team to settle in an experimental tribal romance is based on er-director Pema Tseden, colony called East Texas. The astronaut crew a true story. Wawa (Marie Wawa) is a young adapting his own 2013 novella. Tharlo—aka woman who is a member of the Yakel, one of six is confidently led by Sarah Elliot (Janet “Pigtail”—is a mountain shepherd with no of the last remaining traditional tribes in the Montgomery), who declares: “Courage is fear family, content to dress and work in the South Pacific. Wawa is drawn to the chief’s that has said its prayers.” Complications arise fashion of past generations, alone. Dutifully grandson, Dain (Mungau Dain), but she is mid-trip when Sarah discovers that she’s preg- reporting to the nearest city to take a gov- promised to the rival Imedin clan as part of a nant. Afraid of losing vital funding, Nathan- ernment-mandated ID photo, Tharlo is a peace deal. After Dain sleeps with the virginal iel insists on total secrecy, even when Sarah curiosity to all, and he has a brief, doomed Wawa, he is banished, and she—despite the dies giving birth to the baby. Skip ahead 16 affair with a modern Tibetan girl that cul- threat of continued warfare—runs away to years: now a precocious, inquisitive teenager, ture-shocks and ultimately breaks his placid join him. With both tribes hot on the trail of Gardner (Asa Butterfield) has been raised by spirit. The narrative takes place in austere, the forbidden lovers, their idyllic time seems Kendra Wyndham (Carla Gugino) and her long takes, often with Tharlo minimized destined to be short. Although the subject fellow scientists in an antiseptic, artificial or off-center in the frame, symbolizing his matter is serious, the tone early on is often dwindling stature. More frustrating for (pre- environment. Isolated Gardner strikes up a light, with some of the best moments provid- sumably non-Tibetan) viewers will be the secret Internet friendship with Tulsa (Britt ed by the luminous Marceline Rofit as Selin, miniscule English subtitles, which often flash Robertson), a cynical, angst-riddled Colora- the mischievous younger sister of Wawa. onscreen at a frustratingly fast rate for such a do teenager who is shuttling between foster Filmed on location in Vanuatu, and featuring slow-paced drama. Longstanding controversy homes. Gardner is eager to meet Tulsa, but incredibly natural performances from the about China’s conquest of Tibet is only treat- he’s told that since he was born on Mars, his non-professional actors (drawn from the Yakel ed tangentially here, mainly in a detail about internal organs could not adjust to Earth’s community), Tanna is a beautifully filmed tale the simple Tharlo having memorized reams atmosphere. Nevertheless, Gardner boards a about lovers who ultimately spurred real-life of Mao passages. Likely to appeal to fans of shuttle spaceship, breaks out of quarantine, changes in tribal law regarding arranged foreign art house fare, this is a strong optional finds street-smart Tulsa, and embarks on a marriages. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman) road trip in search of his father. Melodramat- purchase. (C. Cassady) ically scripted, this sci-fi adventure/romance H from director Peter Chelsom is uneven—visu- The Tenth Man 1/2 HHH Kino Lorber, 80 min., in Three ally stunning, sometimes surprisingly tender, Spanish & Hebrew w/English Well Go USA, 89 min., in but also groan-worthy. Optional. (S. Granger) subtitles, not rated, DVD: Cantonese w/English subtitles, $29.99 not rated, DVD: $24.98, Blu- ray: $29.98 Staying Vertical HH1/2 Argentine writer-director Strand, 100 min., in French Daniel Burman’s The Tenth Hong Kong filmmaker w/English subtitles, not rated, Man is set in the Once dis- Johnny To is one of the top DVD: $27.99, May 30 trict that serves as the center directors of action thrillers Oddball screenwriter Léo of Buenos Aires’s Jewish community. New and crime dramas. If Three is not one of To’s (Damien Bonnard), who ini- York-based economist Ariel (Alan Sabbagh) best, it is still entertaining, consistently en- tially seems like an amoral returns to his childhood neighborhood gaging, and executed with a precision that sponge soaking up random there for the Purim holiday, hopeful of re- turns intriguing ideas into superb action experiences with anyone he sees, roams rural connecting with his estranged father Usher sequences. Set almost entirely in a hospital France by car and on foot. He’s not so much (Usher Barilka), who runs a local charity. But surgical ward, Three stars as driven seeking material for a script that he’s sup- Usher is strangely elusive, communicating cop Ken, who crosses the line when he shoots posed to be writing (for which he’s regularly with his son via used cell phones with pre- ruthless gangster Shun (Wallace ) in receiving advance payments) as he is actively paid minutes, instructing him to handle a the head. Ken accompanies Shun to the hos- avoiding the work by engaging with strangers series of menial jobs related to the charity. pital where the latter survives. Vicki Zhao co- in non-nuanced seduction. One result is that Ariel’s duties on behalf of his father place stars as the intense surgeon who clashes with he fathers a child with (no kidding) a farm- him in constant contact with Eva (Julieta the frustrated cop (who could lose more than er’s daughter, whose postpartum depression Zylberberg), an unmarried Orthodox Jewish his job if Shun lives to tell his story) while

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 30 MAY/JUNE 2017 the manipulative Shun plays mind games government, which had recently introduced We Are the Flesh HH with both of them and waits for his gang to apartheid to South Africa, so a biracial couple Arrow, 110 min., in Spanish rescue him. The director fills the enclosed ruling a neighboring country seemed out of w/English subtitles, not rated, space of the ward with numerous characters the question. Economically, Britain needed DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 and stories that unfold in the margins and resource-rich South Africa’s uranium for their The avant-garde meets cross paths in intricate choreography, build- nuclear program and gold-mining rights, exploitation cinema in this ing to an explosive climax and astounding which were vital to replenishing depleted Mexican horror film that close-quarters shootout that throws dozens reserves following WWII. Plus, there was begins as a post-apocalyptic of characters into the beautifully designed a strategic threat of South Africa invading ordeal and turns into a surreal portrait of an slow-motion chaos in an impressive long Bechuanaland (later known as Botswana). isolated world apart from society. A brother take (accomplished with plenty of CGI). The The scandalous marriage precipitates an in- and sister (Diego Gamaliel and María Evoli) clash of compromised heroes and a cocky ternational crisis that is further complicated emerge from what appears to be an under- criminal mastermind is clever without being by Khama’s obstinate uncle/guardian (Vusi ground passage into an abandoned building dramatically resonant and the script is more Kunene), who—acting as regent—repeatedly occupied by a malevolently-grinning hermit engineered than written, but the direction urges his people to cooperate with the colo- (Noé Hernández) who distills an enigmatic here offers a master class in action movie nial government. In addition, Seretse’s aunt drug that he trades for food. The siblings filmmaking. Recommended. S.( Axmaker) (Abena Ayivor) and sister (Terry Pheto) believe become prisoners and collaborators, helping that the prince’s marriage to a white woman him build a strange cave-like habitat out of Underground Kings H1/2 demeans the black women of their Bamang- scraps of wood, cardboard, and packing tape, Breaking Glass, 72 min., not wato tribe. But when the dignified, defiant, while he pushes them to continually trans- rated, DVD: $24.99 and ultimately persuasive Khama arrives gress social boundaries. This surreal, savage, This is essentially the back in his African homeland with resilient explicit debut feature by Emiliano Rocha 2014 pilot for a TV series (or Ruth, this changes everything—along with Minter belongs to the cinema of transgres- miniseries) that did not last the discovery of diamonds. Based on Susan sion, featuring masturbation, orgies, incest, beyond four episodes and Williams’s 2006 nonfiction book Colour Bar, necrophilia, and cannibalism, all of which is now being marketed as a this is a somewhat simplistic and standard the gleefully demonic hermit presents as a standalone movie, which makes no sense. As historical biopic, albeit sensitively directed form of liberation from repression. While it with any TV pilot, multiple story threads are by Ghana’s Amma Asante, who works well could be considered an allegory for depravi- introduced for later development, so it’s not with her superb ensemble, which includes ties that exist in a so-called civilized world, surprising that much of the material here Jack Davenport and Tom Felton as the intim- or a sick perversion of the messiah myth, winds up feeling like a series of blind alleys. idating bureaucratic villains. Sam McCurdy’s the explicit imagery and shocking acts will Set in Philadelphia, Underground Kings centers stunning cinematography captures the flat, limit interest to fans of extreme cinema and on a huge array of characters on both sides sunbaked landscape of Botswana, which the cult films of Alejandro Jodorowsky and of the law, with some straddling the divide. recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of other filmmakers who push the boundaries of Young narcotics detective Carter (Kevin independence. A strong optional purchase. cinematic and social taboos. Not a necessary Savage), who is caught between his job and (S. Granger) purchase. (S. Axmaker) domestic obligations, is recruited by a federal agent to go undercover and weed out police Until Forever HHH We Go On HH1/2 corruption following an ambush of Carter’s Vision, 100 min., not rated, Lightyear, 89 min., not rated, partner. Meanwhile, a drug kingpin named DVD: $19.99, May 2 DVD: $19.98, Blu-ray: $25.98 Smooth (Christopher Mann) navigates his Until Forever is a Chris- Jesse Holland and Andy own set of problems with more powerful mob- tian drama based on the Mitton’s supernatural sters, treacherous underlings, and a crooked true story of Michael thriller sports an intrigu- police lieutenant who is putting the squeeze Boyum, a 23-year-Minne- ing premise: Miles Grissom on him. Also added to the mix is a cartoonish sotan whose faith, coupled (Clark Freeman) is a young gaggle of Sopranos-like made men who have with the love of his girlfriend, Michelle, man tortured by fears—especially of death— generational conflicts with younger guys in sustained his spirit during a lengthy battle that have led him to work at home editing TV the business. But there are so many characters with leukemia. While the story is essen- infomercials. Having recently come into a and locations that’s it’s hard to keep up (or tially a tearjerker, there are a number of modest inheritance, Miles decides to pay half care). Moreover, the show’s creator and costar, inspiring stops along the way. Graced with to anyone who can offer him proof of an af- Skye Dennis, makes it all feel wooden and a strong, extroverted personality and desire terlife. Despite the concerns of his protective drab. Not recommended. (T. Keogh) to help others, Michael (Stephen Anthony mother (Annette O’Toole), Miles advertises Bailey) has the humility and charisma to the offer and receives a predictable flood of A persuade others to become their best selves, responses, from which he selects several that HH1/2 either through the martial arts classes he are particularly promising. The first brings Fox, 111 min., PG-13, DVD: teaches or in the hospital where he’s con- him to a professor (John Glover) who tries $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: fined during chemotherapy. Visiting other to put him in touch with the spirit world $39.99, June 6 patients, he lifts spirits while also keeping by forcing him to confront past traumatic In London, circa 1947, the medical staff upbeat. Michelle (Madison experiences, while the second connects him the future King of Botswa- Lawlor) joins him in these good acts, while with a psychic (Giovanna Zararías) whose na, Prince Seretse Khama Michael’s brother Matt (Jamie Anderson) pronouncements appear totally bizarre. (David Oyelowo)—who was studying law suffers from depression over Michael’s con- When Miles encounters Nelson (Jay Dunn), at Oxford—met a beautiful Englishwoman, dition. Writer-director Michael Linn man- an airport maintenance man, he learns the Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike); soon after, ages to keep the material moving, despite secret of passing over to the other side, but the the pair impulsively married. Original op- the inevitability of the outcome, especially result is hardly pleasant, since it brings forth position to their union came not only from thanks to the romance between Michelle painful revelations about the past history of Ruth’s racist father but also from the British and Michael. Recommended. (T. Keogh) Miles and his family. We Go On grows a mite

MAY/JUNE 2017 31 VIDEO LIBRARIAN confusing in the final stretch, and Freeman Simenon, which stars Marie Trintignant as are Charles Sturridge, Ken Russell, Derek is a rather colorless protagonist, but with its the titular boozy, unhappy wife of a lawyer Jarman, Julien Temple, and Bruce Beresford. emphasis on mood and tension, the film dominated by his controlling mother. Betty A cinematic curio making its Blu-ray debut does offer a nice change from gore-drenched sinks into depression when she is banished with extras including a stills gallery, this is a horror movies. Still, in the end this is more after being caught in an affair. This is not strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh) mildly intriguing than genuinely compelling. a crime thriller, but rather a psychological A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek) drama woven through with flashbacks and Battleground HHH1/2 built on an almost Darwinian perspective Warner, 118 min., not rated, xXx: Return of Xander on social survival. L’ E nfe r (1994), based on Blu-ray: $21.99 Cage HH an unmade screenplay by Henri-George Battleground is simply one Paramount, 96 min., PG-13, Clouzot, stars François Cluzet as a happily of the great Hollywood pla- DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD married man who becomes insanely jealous toon dramas. In December Combo: $39.99, May 16 over his sexy wife (Emmanuelle Béart). Chab- 1944, the 101st Airborne In 2002, Vin Diesel scored rol’s empathy for the tormented husband Division was sent to protect an early hit with the goofy makes him far more interesting than as a the town of Bastogne in Belgium from a Ger- spy movie xXx, in which he mere madman, but this comes at the expense man offensive. It was the last major Nazi push starred as an extreme-sports star recruited of the wife, who is portrayed as an angelic of the war and became known as the Battle of into the espionage game by a secret agency’s sexpot with little dimension. Regardless, the Bulge. This 1949 film, directed by World volatile head (Samuel L. Jackson). Diesel left L’ Enfe r is a riveting psychological portrait War I veteran William A. Wellman and writ- the sequel to Ice Cube, but now returns a of madness and pathological jealousy. The ten by Robert Pirosh (who fought in the Battle decade and a half later as Xander Cage. Loud- Swindle (1997), starring Isabelle Huppert and of the Bulge), views the military engagement er, dumber, and even more cartoonish than Michel Serrault as con artists and Cluzet as from the perspective of one American squad the original, the new plot revolves around a their clever (possibly duplicitous) mark, is in the rugged, snow-covered terrain as they device called Pandora’s Box, which can turn a lightweight thriller in contrast. It builds hold out against the Germans. Van Johnson orbiting satellites into weapons crashing to slowly and is a little precocious, but it twists is the ostensible star but he’s essentially the Earth, but this is just an excuse for a suc- effectively when the small time players cross first among equals in an ensemble piece, cession of ludicrous, choppily-edited action big time killers. Extras include audio com- playing a wisecracking soldier who rises to sequences. While on his mission to retrieve mentaries and an archival interview with meet the responsibilities when command the box from a mysterious villain, Xander Cluzet. Recommended. (S. Axmaker) is passed down to him. John Hodiak is the must put up with a scowling NSA chief (Toni former newspaper reporter turned seasoned Collette), but he is able to assemble a team of Aria HH1/2 private, George Murphy an older soldier reckless oddballs to accompany him first to Lightyear, 86 min., R, DVD: waiting on orders to go home with each mail the Philippines and then to Detroit to make $19.99, Blu-ray: $25.99 delivery, Ricardo Montalban a baseball-loving the recovery. The film also features a first-act The anthology filmAria guy from who is delighted by cameo by Jackson, a surprise reappearance is just as oddball today as it the falling snow, Marshall Thompson the by another past xXx agent, a spectacular was when first released in new kid, and James Whitmore the tough but (but poorly executed) leap from a jet plane, 1987, but over the ensuing caring Sarge. Shot largely on studio sets, this and a thoroughly predictable resurrection. years several of the partic- is war in close-up, with soldiers digging in, The most imaginative thing about this se- ipating directors have died, grown old, or holding ground, walking patrols, marching quel is the diverse cast, cannily chosen to graduated beyond their early reputations to the next location, and generally trying to reflect virtually every segment of the global as young innovators. The quirky idea here survive with dwindling supplies. A film that distribution market. Diesel ultimately dooms was to have 10 distinctive filmmakers each focuses as much on the way soldiers deal with the film by playing Cage as such a smugly shoot a brief work inspired by one or anoth- the waiting as it does on battle, this is a classic invincible hero that he becomes a beefy bore. er aria from various operas. The result was built on the camaraderie and personalities of A brainless cacophony of chaotic narrative, and remains an overall uneven experience the soldiers. Winning Academy Awards for risible dialogue, dreadful acting, mediocre that doesn’t necessarily make opera any the original screenplay and cinematography, effects, and sheer noise pollution, this is not more accessible to non-fans, but does offer Battleground debuts on Blu-ray in a newly recommended. (F. Swietek) stylistic novelties and flashes of inspiration. restored and remastered edition, with extras Australian director Bill Bryden presents including a vintage cartoon and an archival wraparound segments starring the late John featurette. Recommended. (S. Axmaker) Classic Films Hurt as a washed-up virtuoso singing the famous solo from “Il Pagliacci,” while French Bells Are Ringing HHH 3 Classic Films by Claude New Wave genius Jean-Luc Godard offers a Warner, 126 min., not rated, Chabrol HHH deconstruction of myth and image set to Blu-ray: $21.99 Cohen, 3 discs, 310 min., in “Armide.” weighs in with an Judy Holliday plays Ella French w/English subtitles, not imagined recreation of a decadent opening Peterson, a switchboard op- rated, Blu-ray: $49.99 night for Rameau’s “Les Boréades” in 1734, erator who becomes person- Claude Chabrol has been and Nicolas Roeg casts his then-wife, actress ally involved in the lives called the Gallic Hitchcock Theresa Russell, as the mustachioed King Rog of the clients of a phone answering service, due to his fascination with of , who escaped assassination in 1931 and Dean Martin costars as Jeffrey Moss, of Suspense and because he spent (all set to Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera”). a playwright with writer’s block who Ella most of his career making thrillers that, at Franc Roddam takes on “Liebestod” from is determined to coax back to work in this their best, reveal characters with complex Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde with a hoary 1960 musical comedy. Legendary musical psychologies, often involved in destructive if somewhat effective tale of young lovers team Betty Comden and Adolph Green (who and unhealthy relationships. This collection (Bridget Fonda and James Mathers) who wrote Singin’ in the Rain) adapt their Broad- presents three from the 1990s, starting with travel to Las Vegas, make love, and then kill way hit and Holliday reprises her stage role Betty (1992), based on a 1960 novel by Georges themselves. Also on the directing docket as the operator who plays fairy godmother

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 32 MAY/JUNE 2017 to a beatnik actor (Frank Gorshin spoofing abandonment, as well as perverse sexuality, a married couple with two kids whose rural ) and a dentist , brutal violence, and vicious characters. Extras manor is destroyed in the storms, and pro- and becomes the straight-talking muse to include audio commentaries on all three fessional swimmer Claire (Peggy Shannon), Martin’s playwright under an alter-ego. More films by Miike biographer Tom Mes and new who escapes a brutish thug and is rescued complications ensue when the answering ser- video interviews with Miike and actor Show by Martin, separated by the havoc from his vice becomes the unwitting go-between for Aikawa. Likely to appeal to fans of Japanese family and surviving in a remote cabin. The a gambling syndicate and the police put the cult films, this is a strong optional purchase. spectacle is all presented during the first act, business under surveillance, convinced that (S. Axmaker) with primitive, almost surreal miniature ef- it is up to no good. This is old school musical fects showing being leveled in comedy, lightweight and silly with harmless Canoa HHH1/2 an earthquake and swamped in tidal waves, criminals and bumbling cops and a slate of Criterion, 115 min., in Spanish while the remainder of the film is a tale of sur- entertaining but disposable songs with comic w/English subtitles, not rated, vival after the end of civilization as we know lyrics. Vincente Minnelli directs the colorful DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95 it. A marauding gang preys upon survivors, Arthur Freed production like an elaborate Although not well known raping and murdering women (not shown on- stage show, with fabulously designed studio to American audiences, this screen but the implications are clear), while a sets that are far more like the older 1950s 1976 film is a landmark of community of survivors tries to rebuild from musicals than the changing styles of 1960s Mexican cinema. Set during the rubble of a ruined town. Based on the musicals to come. André Previn composed the the political unrest of 1968 and based on titular 1928 novel by Fowler Wright, Oscar-nominated score, Jean Stapleton plays real life events, the film opens with a news Deluge can lay claim to the title of first disaster the owner of the answering service, and jazz report: four young men killed and another movie. For decades the film was only available saxophone great Gerry Mulligan appears as critically injured in San Miguel Canoa, a in an Italian-dubbed print, but is presented Ella’s clumsy blind date. It’s the final film by small, impoverished village located a few here in a fine restoration of the original En- the great Holliday and she carries the film miles from the city of Puebla. Director Fe- glish language version, with extras including with her energy and talent: singing, danc- lipe Cazals uses documentary techniques to audio commentary by film historian Richard ing, and playing multiple characters for her illustrate the town’s culture and highlight Harland Smith, and the 1934 B-movie Back answering service clients. Likely to appeal to the power wielded by the priest, and more Page (a newspaper drama starring Shannon). fans of classic musicals, Bells Are Ringing bows conventional dramatic scenes to introduce Recommended. (S. Axmaker) on Blu-ray with extras including a behind- the aforementioned young men (all apolitical the-scenes featurette, musical outtakes, and employees of a university). The measured, Film HHH an alternate version of “The Midas Touch.” sober reportage style and easygoing comic Milestone, 22 min., not rated, Recommended. (S. Axmaker) quality of the boisterous boys collide when DVD: $34.95, Blu-ray: $39.99 the townsfolk brutally attack the strangers Black Society Trilogy after being stirred into hysteria by the priest. HHH HH1/2 The setting may not resonate with American Milestone, 2 discs, 129 min., Arrow, 2 discs, 302 min., in viewers but the portrait of a community lead- not rated, DVD: $34.99, Blu- Japanese w/English subtitles, er manipulating the ignorant and illiterate ray: $39.99 not rated, DVD: $39.99, Blu- through fear, xenophobia, and religion is pe- Playwright participated ray: $49.95 rennially relevant. Canoa is historical drama in bringing many of his works to TV but Japanese filmmaker and political commentary presented as horror only once engaged in filmmaking, writing broke out film, with bloody scenes of brutal violence the original screenplay for the experimental of the low-budget direct-to-video industry as the innocent students are massacred with short Film and completely overseeing the with his first theatrical feature Shinjuku machetes and rifles. This remarkable drama direction (attributed to longtime stage col- Society (1995), a violent and energetic combines unreliable narrators, documentary laborator Alan Schneider). Film stars Buster gangster thriller about a merciless Tokyo cop style, and primal drama into a powerful por- Keaton as an unnamed man who keeps his who stalks a brutal Taiwanese gang leader trait of despotism, manipulation, and mob face hidden from people, windows, mirrors, () dealing in black market violence in a thoughtful, provocative, and animals, and the roving camera that follows human organs, only to discover that his own ultimately emotionally affecting manner. him through a city. It plays like you might younger brother is working for his quarry. The Extras include a video introduction by film- expect from a playwright with a minimalist brothers, Japanese orphans raised by Chinese maker Guillermo del Toro and a conversation aesthetic, more conceptual than cinematic, parents, are outcasts in both societies, and between filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón and and (apart from one absurd sight gag) largely that alienation defines the crime drama as Cazals. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker) fails to make use of the talents and expe- much as the sadistic violence and predatory rience of great silent movie comedian and sex. Rainy Dog (1997) moves to for the Deluge HHH filmmaker Keaton. But given the meeting of story of a Japanese foot soldier in exile Kino Lorber, 70 min., not rated, legends in their respective fields, it remains in Taipei, where he survives as a freelance hit- DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 a landmark of sorts. And it inspired film man for a local mobster, living only for him- This original end-of-the- restorer to make the 2015 doc- self until he’s presented with a son he never world disaster movie is a cu- umentary Notfilm, which Lipman describes knew and hooks up with a young prostitute. rious and often fascinating as a kino-essay. It’s a fitting description for When the gangster betrays him and a price is artifact. Produced in 1933 a two-hours-plus production that mixes in- put on his head, he becomes protective of his (pre-Production Code) on a terviews and historical documents together instant family. And in Ley Lines (1999), three relatively modest budget, the film parses out with observations and philosophical musings mixed-race boys (Chinese father, Japanese the special effects spectacle carefully, opening on Film, as well as the art and inspiration of mother) become involved with a sadistic with scientists in a panic as they predict dire Beckett. Available in separate editions, extras Tokyo crime boss. While no characters cross storms—alarming news that is communi- on Film include outtakes and the home video over in the trilogy, all three films are set on cated over radio reports. Intercut with these debut of a 1961 TV production of Beckett’s the outskirts of society and feature outcast voices of authority is the story of Martin starring Zero Mostel and characters and themes of alienation and (Sidney Blackmer) and Helen (Lois Wilson), Burgess Meredith, while extras on Notfilm

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 34 MAY/JUNE 2017 NEW RELEASES FROM THE CRITERION COLLECTION

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AVAILABLE AT WWW.CRITERION.COM Visit www.baker-taylor.com/criterioncollection for the complete Criterion Collection. include bonus interviews (new and archival), the tail section of the company’s latest plane, historian Tim Lucas (on the longer edition) audio recordings of Beckett and others, “The which he believes will fail after 1,440 hours and video interviews with actresses Welch Music of Notfilm” MP3 recordings by Mihály in flight, but sees no urgency in completing and Martine Beswick and animator Ray Vig, and a reconstruction of a lost scene from the test despite the number of planes in the Harryhausen from 2002. Recommended. outtakes. Together, these two entries capture air approaching that limit. On a flight to (S. Axmaker) an interesting and largely forgotten chapter in Newfoundland to examine a crash site, he the work of one of the most important play- discovers that he is on one such plane and it What a Way to Go! wrights of the 20th century. Recommended. is no longer simply an intellectual exercise. (S. Axmaker) After failing to convince to turn HHH back, Honey explains his hypothesis to a Kino Lorber, 111 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $29.99 Love in the Afternoon kindly young and sympathetic stewardess HHH (Glynis Johns) and a famous Hollywood Frothier than a strawber- actress in First Class (, play- ry milkshake, this comedic Warner, 130 min., not rated, confection stars Shirley Blu-ray: $21.99 ing off her own image), who are convinced MacLaine as the put-upon and eternally The May-December ro- by his assurance if not his science. Based on Nevil Shute’s 1948 novel , this unlucky Louisa May Foster, a sensible gal mance in this 1957 comedy who wants to settle down with a husband feels more like March-De- is a cool, dispassionate mix of disaster film and engineering drama, with Stewart in fine she genuinely loves to enjoy a life of simple cember with the casting pleasures. But every caring and sensitive of elfin young Audrey Hepburn as music form as a somewhat absent-minded professor who is determined to save the lives of his man she marries suddenly and unexpected- student Ariane Chavasse opposite Gary ly dies as they fall victim to their own vices Cooper as cynical American playboy Frank fellow passengers. Directed by and costarring Jack Hawkins, this minor but and fortunes. Like a fatal cross between a Flannagan, a globetrotting millionaire magic genie and a black cat, Louisa brings businessman who romances women (often interesting film will likely appeal to fans of Stewart and intelligent Hollywood dramas. wealth and fame to her husbands right married) in every port of call. Ariane is the before they are sent to premature graves, daughter of a private detective (Maurice Bowing on Blu-ray with an audio commen- tary by film historian Jeremy Arnold and from workaholic store merchant Edgar Chevalier) who has files dedicated to Flan- Hopper (Dick Van Dyke) and obsessive ex- nagan’s exploits, which fascinate Ariane. Henry Koster’s son Bob Koster, this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker) patriate painter Larry Flint (Paul Newman) When she breaks into Flannagan’s hotel to jaded playboy Rod Anderson, Jr. (Robert room to warn him of a cuckolded husband Mitchum) and effusive song-and-dance with murderous intent, she ends up return- One Million Years B.C. man Pinky Benson (Gene Kelly). Will our ing for afternoon meetings as an innocent HHH hapless heroine ever find true love that will pretending to be a woman of the world with Kino Lorber, 2 discs, 100 min., stand the test of mortality? The high-cal- not rated, Blu-ray: $29.99 a history of lovers (using stories borrowed iber cast and posh production values give from her father’s files) while limiting Flan- Raquel Welch became a the film a prestigious sheen, but director nagan’s advances to long kisses. When she sex symbol playing a cave- J. Lee Thompson keeps the mood light suddenly disappears, Flannagan inevitably woman pin-up clothed in and playful throughout, with MacLaine’s hires a private detective to find her: natural- an animal skin bikini in what is surely the character picturing each of her romances ly, Ariane’s father. Directed and co-written most famous caveman movie ever made. as a different kind of “movie” in a series of by Billy Wilder, this is an American comedy Produced by Britain’s Hammer Films, a highly amusing fantasy sequences that span with a continental attitude inspired by the specialist in horror flicks, this is a 1966 re- the history of cinema from silent slapstick work of Ernst Lubitsch (with whom Wilder make of Hal Roach’s campy One Million B.C. to foreign art house fare. Although it has collaborated early in his career). The craggy (1940), with John Richardson in the Victor a tender message about finding joy in the Cooper was 55 at the time but appeared Mature role of Tumak, a young warrior bare necessities of life, What a Way to Go! older, while Hepburn was in her late 20s but driven from his tribe of hunters by a brutal remains an unabashedly screwball comedy looked like a teenager. Despite Hepburn’s leader, and Welch as Loana, a woman in a with considerable highlights—including longing glances and swoony performance, peaceful coastal tribe of fisher-gatherers. seeing a drunken Mitchum being kicked there is little chemistry to the romance, This is pure fantasy, with primitive man through a barn wall after trying to milk a but Wilder’s light, smooth touch turns in fur togas battling dinosaurs that died bull. Recommended. (J. Cruz) what could have been a leering, uncomfort- out millions of years before the arrival of able situation into a playful farce and the the earliest human ancestors, and commu- Paris locations add romantic atmosphere. nicating in broad gestures and single-word Bowing on Blu-ray, this is recommended. exclamations in a grunting proto-language. (S. Axmaker) But it is also very entertaining and fea- Online tures stop-motion dinosaurs created and Visit Video Librarian Online (www. No Highway in the Sky animated by the great Ray Harryhausen. videolibrarian.com) during May and HH1/2 Director Don Chaffey plays it all seriously June for DVD/Blu-ray-specific comments Kino Lorber, 99 min., not rated, and delivers a fine looking film shot against added to the video movies reviewed here, Blu-ray: $29.99 dramatic landscapes on the Canary Island as well as new reviews of current films, In this unusual and en- off of Spain, including a primordial vol- including: Gold, The Gospel of Mark, The gaging 1951 drama, James canic desert. As the old joke goes, if you Red Turtle, and Tunnel, plus reviews of Stewart stars as Theodore only have room for one caveman movie in the classic films The Boy Friend, The Car- Honey, an American engineer working in your collection, this lively cult film should dinal, The Delinquents, Finian’s Rainbow, a British aviation firm. Honey, an eccentric be it. This Blu-ray debut features both the A Great Wall, Multiple Maniacs, Phaedra, genius who has disconnected himself emo- American cut and the longer international Psychomania, The Skull, When Dinosaurs tionally from the world since the death of his version (each on a separate disc), with ex- Ruled the Earth, and much more! wife, is currently conducting a stress test on tras including audio commentary by film

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 36 MAY/JUNE 2017 TV on Video The Best of the slow-speaking old school cop who seems Doctor Who: The Power to be part of the network of denial while qui- HH1/2 of the Daleks HH1/2 Time Life, 153 min., not rated, etly following the evidence to the truth. This BBC, 2 discs, 145 min., not DVD: $12.95 is a well-made police procedural—something rated, DVD: $24.99 Tim Conway did not of- Australian TV has been perfecting over the The 1966 narrative arc ficially join the cast of The past few years—but while the story is ficti- Power of the Daleks was the Show (1967-78) tious, it is also inspired by scandalous real-life third serial from the fourth until 1975 but he was a fre- events recently brought to light. As the show season of Doctor Who, fea- quent and favorite guest star ever since the confronts the homophobia and brutal attacks turing the first full episode with Patrick first season and earned five on gay men, it reveals an ugly strain that is Troughton as the Second Doctor. All six epi- over the 11-season run. This misleadingly still alive in contemporary society even as sodes have been lost, but the audio survives, titled release is not a collection of choice gay culture has come out of the shadows. so the BBC has produced an animated recre- sketches but instead four complete episodes American audiences won’t have the same ation set to the original broadcast soundtrack. featuring Conway in top form. In the first geographical connection, but the themes The story opens with an unconscious young (from season three), Conway plays a dod- should nonetheless resonate within some man in the Doctor’s clothes on the floor of dering old man (one of his most beloved communities. Presenting all four episodes of the TARDIS time machine, who wakes up and characters) as a race car pit crew mechanic, this 2016 miniseries, extras include a photo starts behaving oddly, spouting nonsensical a prince with a frog curse trying to cure a gallery. Recommended. (S. Axmaker) lines as the TARDIS travels to Vulcan. While princess (Burnett) with sleeping sickness, and the Doctor’s companions—Polly (Anneke Charlie Chan. The standout sketch in the Dirk Gently’s Holistic Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze)—try to second episode (from season four) features Detective Agency: deal with the transformation, the Doctor Conway transforming into a dog after getting Season One HH1/2 takes the identity of a murdered Examiner an accidental dose of canine medicine, and BBC, 2 discs, 360 min., not to investigate a human colony where rebels it shows Conway doing what he does best: rated, DVD: $24.99 believe they can control Daleks to overthrow cracking up costar with his Douglas Adams wrote the Governor. But the Daleks have their own inspired improvisations. The third episode his novels about Dirk Gen- plans: “Exterminate!” This is the first time (from season five) features one of the show’s tly—Dirk Gently’s Holistic the series tackled the idea of regeneration, most popular sketches, with Conway as a Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time which has since become an essential part of nervous novice dentist who inadvertently of the Soul—in the late 1980s, and like his the show’s lore and longevity, making this injects himself with Novocain while treating more famous The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the lost serial a landmark of sorts. The limited patient Korman (who once again cracks up at Galaxy, these are odd, fractured stories, here animation is built on TV screen “telesnaps” Conway’s shenanigans). The fourth episode, focusing on a shamus whose unconventional taken from the broadcast of the original pro- from the show’s final season, features Conway investigative methods presume the funda- gram, and features thick lines and minimal as Mr. Tudball, a businessman with a heavy mental interconnectedness of everything. movements. Presented in both color and comic accent and an obsession with efficiency Created by Max Landis and aired on BBC black-and-white versions, this is really only who is constantly sabotaged by his distracted America and , this series follows an for devoted Doctor Who fans. Extras include secretary (Burnett). Whether or not they ac- earlier British radio serial and TV miniseries, a telesnap version with still photos illustrat- tually represent “the best” of Conway on the but the setting has been moved to Seattle, ing the soundtrack, episode commentaries, show, all of the episodes showcase the actor and while Gently (Samuel Barnett) remains a behind-the-scenes featurette, additional in hilarious skits, and also feature Vicki Law- English, he acquires an extremely reluctant footage, and stills galleries. A strong optional rence, Lyle Waggoner, and guest stars Martha American assistant named Todd Brotzman purchase. (S. Axmaker) Raye and Pat Carroll. Extras include bloopers. (Elijah Wood), a bellboy who is perpetu- A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker) ally low on funds because he spends the From Dusk Till Dawn: little money he earns on treatments for his Season Three HH1/2 Deep Water HHH sister (Hannah Marks), who suffers from a , 3 discs, Acorn, 2 discs, 221 min., not rare (and fictional) disease. The narrative 448 min., not rated, DVD: rated, DVD or Blu-ray: $39.99 threads are disparate, including: a murdered $39.99 Noah Taylor is veteran businessman whose bodyguard is as intent Seth and Richie Gecko police detective Nick Man- on solving the crime as Dirk, the disappear- (D.J. Cotrona and Zane ning and costars ance of a girl whose soul is trapped inside Holtz) are together again in as his young partner Tori the body of a dog, an anarchic bike gang this third season of the south-of-the-border Lustigman in this Austra- called the Rowdy 3, a time-travel device, vampire series inspired by the 1996 film lian crime miniseries about the murder of a and a “holistic” assassin named Bart (Fiona directed by Robert Rodriguez (who produces gay man in Bondi Beach, a suburb of Sydney Dourif), who feels compelled to kill Gently. here and also directs an episode). Richie, a famous for its tourist beaches and nightclubs. It requires serious attention to follow how one-time hothead who became more focused Tori finds similarities in a series of deaths these elements eventually fit together—es- and crafty after he was turned into a vam- dating back 20 years and uncovers a history pecially since the series moves at a frantic pire, and his human brother Seth now give of hate crimes either buried or simply ignored pace, with Barnett and Dourif playing their orders in the vampire underworld, working (chalked up to suicide or accidental death by parts with frenzied eccentricity while Wood for vampire Lord Venganza Verdugo (Ana de the police). She also finds a connection to the looks on with dour disbelief at the apparent la Reguera) after a demon from Hell named death of her younger brother, a gay teenager chaos around him. But everything is sorted Amaru possesses their one-time collaborator who kept his identity a secret from their out in the finale, which paves the way for a Kate (Madison Davenport) and plots to kill father, who remains in denial. Stone has the promised second season. While the hectic the vampire Lords and take over the world. more dramatic role and her aggressiveness craziness can be exhausting, this will likely Former enemies (including the Texas mar- puts her on a collision course with her boss appeal to Adams’s admirers. Compiling all shal on the trail of the Geckos and a rival (William McInnes), who was part of the team 10 episodes from the 2016 debut season, this vampire warlord they fought in season two) that dismissed the earlier deaths. Taylor plays is a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek) join forces to send Amaru back to hell. This

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Library digital available on hoopla. season adds spaghetti Western style, notably is thrown into a tailspin when he Googles The Level HHH in a showdown in a desert ghost town where himself and discovers just how disastrous his RLJ, 2 discs, 288 min., not the vampires use enchanted bullets to kill the policies have been for the country. Graves is rated, DVD or Blu-ray: $39.99 possessed soldiers of Amaru’s undead army. determined to set things right, early on even This Brit crime drama Jake Busey and Wilmer Valderrama return offering up his Texas ranch as a safe haven TV series takes the sort of and cult horror icon Tom Savini joins the for illegal immigrants threatened—thanks extreme gun and drug vi- team this season. Produced for the El Rey to him—with deportation. As someone who olence found in American cable channel, the show features dark humor, leans left myself, I found this series to be classics like The Wire and lively (if not always witty) banter, and loads heavy-handed, liberal-wish-fulfillment clap- Homicide and attempts to believably trans- of movie references, along with over-the-top trap. There is not a moment or a supporting pose this bullet-riddled environment into violence. Compiling all 10 episodes from the character that rings the least bit authentic. peaceful, leafy rural Sussex and middle-class 2016 third season, extras include episode Particularly annoying are two broadly-writ- bohemian Brighton. Detective Nancy Devlin commentaries, behind-the-scene featurettes, ten (and acted) characters, Graves’s daughter (Karla Crome) is assigned to the case of a and a deleted scene. A strong optional pur- (Heléne Yorke), whose personal life is a mess, murdered Sussex drug czar because she’s chase. (S. Axmaker) and Graves’s new assistant Isaiah (Skylar from the area, but her employers have no Astin), a true believer who idolizes Graves. clue that she has conflict-of-interest nonpro- Grace and Frankie: Graves’s steely wife (Sela Ward) instructs fessional ties to one of the mid-level drug Season Two HHH Isaiah to keep Graves from doing something, smugglers who gets bumped off during a Lionsgate, 3 discs, 389 min., Graves then does that very thing, and Isaiah clandestine meeting in the woods—a murder not rated, DVD: $29.99 frets, “I am so fired.” This schtick gets old very that Devlin unfortunately witnesses. While In the first season of this quickly. Compiling all 11 episodes from the Devlin knows the faceless mobsters who naughty-but-nice geriatric 2016 debut season, extras include behind- killed her dodgy acquaintance will soon be Netflix sitcom, Robert and the-scenes featurettes and a gag reel. Not a coming after her and her friends, she also Sol (Martin Sheen and Sam necessary purchase. (D. Liebenson) can’t let the department know about her Waterston), husbands of retired cosmetics personal involvement. Crome’s approach mogul Grace (Jane Fonda) and artsy free Hooperman: Season One to her character isn’t that imaginative: she spirit Frankie (Lily Tomlin), announced that HH1/2 clearly means to portray crime-solving Devlin they were in love and leaving their wives. Olive, 3 discs, 528 min., not as deadly serious, determined, and dedicated The mismatched women then decamped rated, DVD: $34.99 to her work, but her demeanor rarely suggests to the couples’ shared beach house while John Ritter stars as Detec- anything beyond aggravation, annoyance, or all four (and their children) began coming tive Harry Hooperman of hopeless resignation (which isn’t a particu- to terms with the new order of things. In the SFPD in this half-hour larly wide emotional palette). However, as in this second season, the women continue to series created by Steven a good Agatha Christie murder mystery, The develop their unlikely bond while searching Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher (the team Level excels at keeping the viewer guessing for male companionship, Grace taking up behind L.A. Law) that ran for two seasons about who’s doing the killing and who will with an old flame () and Frankie (1987-89). A mix of police procedural, work- be plugged next. Compiling all six episodes interested in the fellow (Ernie Hudson) who place comedy, and character study, the show from 2016, extras include behind-the-scenes provides the yams for her homemade lube, a focuses on the professional and private life of featurettes. (M. Sandlin) product that Grace’s daughter and successor Hooperman, a savvy cop and smart detective at her old company joins forces with Frankie with a sardonic wit. In the opening episode Mercy Street: Season 2 to market. Meanwhile, Robert and Sol run his deceased landlady leaves Hooperman the HHH into difficulties when Robert has a heart apartment building, making him the reluc- PBS, 2 discs, 360 min., not attack and then becomes enraged over the tant landlord of a place that is in serious need rated, DVD: $39.99, Blu-ray: revelation that Sol has shared a recent night of expensive repairs. Costar Barbara Bosson $49.99 with Frankie. Additional complications in- is the newly-divorced squad Captain, Felton The second season of volve the children and old friends, including Perry is Hooperman’s partner, and Debo- this PBS original drama set Babe (Estelle Parsons), who enters toward the rah Farentino is Susan, Hooperman’s new during the American Civil season’s end, forcing all of the characters to apartment superintendent. The attraction War continues to explore the collision of reexamine their priorities. Grace and Frankie between Harry and Susan is palpable from cultures in Union-occupied Alexandria, VA, has an old-fashioned vibe despite its cheeky their first meeting, and the tension only where the white population supports the premise, but Fonda, Tomlin, Sheen, and builds as they dance around their feelings, Confederacy and still believes in the right Waterston are masters at making the most of flirt, argue, and give in to their impulses. of slaveholding. The series revolves around their material, and they here display adept Hooperman is essentially a classic squad room a Union army hospital set up in what was comic timing. Presenting all 13 episodes from cop drama with a light touch, featuring once the town’s lavish hotel owned by the 2016 second season, extras include a gag offbeat character humor while also treating James Green (), a proud Southern reel. Recommended. (F. Swietek) the police work and the hazards of the job businessman who refuses to sign an oath to seriously, especially as Susan contemplates the Union. The second season opens in the Graves: Season One HH a potential life with a cop. The series also aftermath of a failed assassination attempt Lionsgate, 3 discs, 300 min., features a gay patrolman (Joseph Gian), by a conspiracy of Confederate sympathiz- not rated, DVD: $24.98 making it one of the first American TV shows ers. As Dr. Foster () and the Nick Nolte stars as Rich- to include a non-stereotypical homosexual staff deal with the capricious nature of a ard Graves, a two-term Pres- character in the regular cast. Hooperman new hospital chief and Green attempts to ident regarded as “the last earned good reviews and an Emmy Award negotiate an alliance with England (which great Republican to sit in the but low ratings and was canceled after only abolished slavery decades before—using Oval Office” (he’s kind of a two seasons. Compiling all 22 episodes of cotton as leverage), the armed resistance mash-up between Ronald Reagan and George the 1987-88 debut season, this is a strong grows under the guidance of Green’s son H.W. Bush). The gruff, crusty curmudgeon optional purchase. (S. Axmaker) (Brad Koed). Mary Elizabeth Winstead is

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 40 MAY/JUNE 2017 the Northern abolitionist nurse assigned to by a number of small, unorganized gangs. Li- a position that the men feel they’ve earned, organize the nursing staff, while Hannah bano (Francesco Montanari), the big-thinking which gives the show an edge, although it James plays Green’s Southern belle daugh- criminal with a perpetual scowl, joins forces is more incendiary than enlightening. The ter, a volunteer whose experience tending to with Freddo (Vinicio Marchioni) to pull off gags are broad and juvenile at times—aimed both Confederate and Union soldiers begins a major and put their ransom at showing how pathetic the two men are— to shift her understanding of the issues of money into drugs, challenging a big shot but the show becomes more conflicted as the conflict. An involving, well-produced whose Mafia connections have made him the guys develop a real camaraderie in their drama steeped in American history at a untouchable until now. Smart but impulsive shared scheme and Gamby starts to respect major cultural turning point, the show police detective Scialoja (Marco Bocci) traces Brown even as he’s destroying her career and features intelligent writing and compli- some of the marked ransom money to Dandi life. Compiling all nine episodes from the cated characters who face situations that (Alessandro Roja), a big-spending member of 2016 debut season, extras include episode challenge them to confront their beliefs the gang who is in love with an expensive commentaries, deleted scenes, and a blooper and prejudices. Presenting all six episodes prostitute (Daniela Virgilio), and he figures reel. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker) from the 2017 second season, extras include out that a major criminal power shift is deleted scenes. Recommended. (S. Axmaker) underway, but his investigation is sidelined Victoria: The Complete when the Red Brigade kidnaps Italian pol- First Season HHH1/2 Quarry: The Complete itician Aldo Mora (a real-life event) and all PBS, 3 discs, 415 min., not First Season HH1/2 resources are focused on squaring off against rated, DVD: $49.99, Blu-ray: HBO, 3 discs, 478 min., TV- the Communists. Based on the 2002 novel by $59.99 MA, DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: Giancarlo De Cataldo, which was inspired by Jenna Coleman stars as $34.99 the true story of the young Queen Victoria in Loosely based on a series organization that ran the Roman underworld this British TV drama aired of novels by Max Allan for over a decade, the story was previously in the U.S. on PBS’s Masterpiece, which chron- Collins, this grim Cinemax made into a 2005 film. This series takes a icles her life and reign beginning with her series focuses on Mac Conway (Logan Mar- much deeper dive into the material, showing ascension to the throne in 1837 at the age of shall-Green), a Marine who is returning to the mechanics of the group’s criminal activ- 18. The first season covers the first few years Memphis in 1972 from a tour in Vietnam but ities, their negotiations with the of her rule as she learns about power and pol- is under a cloud: his company is suspected (centered around Naples) and Mafia (based in itics while fighting to maintain independence of involvement in a My Lai-style massacre. Sicily), and the ongoing police investigations. from her mother’s private secretary, Sir John Mac’s wife, Joni (Jodi Balfour), has been en- It also explores the political era, including the Conroy (Paul Rhys), and from her uncle, the gaged in an affair, although it will be some anxiety over Communists and the police hos- Duke of Cumberland (Peter Firth). Elizabeth time before Mac realizes this. A more imme- tility toward students. This well-made series chooses Lord Melbourne (Rufus Sewell), the diately pressing matter is that Mac is forced was a major hit in Italy and should appeal to Whig Prime Minister, as her advisor, weathers to become a member of a crew of hitmen led those interested in true crime dramas and scandal and ongoing shifts in the political by a master criminal known as The Broker Italian culture and history. Compiling all 12 winds, and marries Prince Albert (Tom (Peter Mullan)—a job that will not only lead episodes from the 2008-09 debut season, this Hughes), with the season coming to a close to Joni’s kidnapping by one of his targets, is recommended. (S. Axmaker) with the birth of their first child. The series but also to Mac being suspected of murder deftly explores the politics surrounding Vic- by a police detective. Marshall-Green invests Vice Principals: The toria (as powerful old men attempt to control the brooding, angry Conway—rechristened the young queen), Albert’s struggle to find a “Quarry” by The Broker—with a generalized Complete First Season purpose within the kingdom, and Victoria’s angst, and the supporting cast is strong, also HH1/2 sharing of responsibility with her new hus- including Damon Herriman as Quarry’s HBO, 2 discs, 269 min., TV- band. Intelligent and handsomely mounted Broker-appointed partner-in-crime and such MA, DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $24.99 (with some Upstairs, Downstairs melodramatic stalwarts as Tom Noonan and in smaller roles. Still, the pervasively cynical This HBO comedy stars stories of staff members), the show is built portrayal of a society mired in violence and Danny McBride and Walton on Coleman’s bright, energetic portrayal of corruption, populated by characters who Goggins as Neal Gamby and Lee Russell, vice Victoria and her early history, which included possess few redeeming qualities, makes for principals in a California high school who a scandal that turned the public against her, a rather depressing viewing experience. both think they should take over when the and anti-German sentiment that led to an Presenting all eight episodes from the 2016 well-liked veteran principal (guest star Bill assassination attempt. Presenting all eight debut season, extras include audio commen- Murray) steps down. Gamby is an arrogant episodes from the 2016 debut season, extras taries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted disciplinarian with anger issues who is obliv- include a behind-the-scenes featurette, a set scenes, and music videos. A strong optional ious to his insensitive remarks, while Russell tour, and cast interviews. Highly recommend- purchase. (F. Swietek) is an obsequious snake who sweet talks ev- ed. (S. Axmaker) eryone with a honeyed drawl while scheming behind their backs. The pair hate each other, Romanzo Criminale— but when they are both passed over for high- The Series: Season 1 ly-qualified Dr. Belinda Brown (Kimberly HHH Hebert Gregory) they reluctantly team up to Visit Video Librarian Online (www. Kino Lorber, 3 discs, 660 min., sabotage their mutual enemy. Dr. Brown (who videolibrarian.com) for more reviews in Italian w/English subtitles, insists on being called “Doctor”) is accus- during May and June, including: 800 not rated, DVD: $29.99 tomed to resistance, but the series—created Words: Season 1, Anne of Green Gables, In the late 1970s, an am- by McBride and director Jody Hill—takes a Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio, bitious young thug hatches quick dive into truly nasty tricks and bad Insecure: The Complete First Season, Jack a plan to leave petty robberies behind and— behavior. It’s a satire about two white men Taylor: Series 3, Mystery Science Theater partnering with another gang—take over the of dubious talent attacking a more qualified 3000: Volume XXXVIII, and much more! drug trade in Rome, a city that is divided up and accomplished black woman hired to fill

MAY/JUNE 2017 41 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Video Reviews Mickey and the Roadster Racers HH Jaguar Claw tribe, the pair can get hitched. Ordering information for the titles reviewed in (2017) 68 min. DVD: $19.99. Buena Vista Home But like a certain other star-crossed love affair, this section can be found in the “Distributor Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). a misleading messenger and a sleeping potion throw a wrench in the plan. Featuring a wind Addresses” listings at the back of the magazine. This uninspired newest incarnation from the House of Mouse serves up a premise that instrument-laden soundtrack and realistic casts favorite Disney characters as drivers colors for Tonatiuh’s characters, extras for this HHHH= Excellent working out of a shop in Hot Dog Hills, with fine fable include an author’s note about the real mountains Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl HHH= Good each two-fer episode including speedy races, wacky antics, contemporary animation, and in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. An ALSC HH= Fair an abundance of annoying sound effects Notable Children’s Video selection, this is rec- ommended. Aud: K, E, P. (J. Williams-Wood) H= Poor (think: “boing!” “vroom!” and the like). “Mickey’s Wild Tire” finds the garage gang PPR = Public Performance Rights gearing up for a visit from famous racer Jimi- Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s Showdown HHH (2017) 80 min. DVD: $19.98. Warner Bros. Home DRA = Digital Rights Available ny, while also competing with antagonist Pete to catch up with a missing special tire in time Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). SDH captioned. Aud = Audience for a mayoral ceremony. The accompanying tale, “Sittin’ Kitty,” revs up the pinks and In this latest addition to the contemporary K = Preschool-Kindergarten purples as it follows Minnie and Daisy on a animated film series, talking Great Dane Scooby-Doo and friends arrive at Shaggy’s E = Elementary (grades 1-3) wild pursuit across town to keep track of a pet job for their “Happy Helpers” service. Also cousin Tawny’s dude ranch after she finds I = Intermediate (grades 4-6) included are “Goofy Gas! / Little Big Ape” him on a genealogy website. The Crazy Ranch in Sorghum City is a pretty cool place, and “Race for the Rigatoni Ribbon / Roam- J = Jr. High (grades 7-8) except for the mysterious scary ghost Dapper ing Around Rome,” the latter a stereotypical Jake (a historical robber who did awful things H = High School (grades 9-12) look at the Eternal City that includes thrown such as “returned his library books late”), who pizzas and olive oil on the track, insulting C = Colleges & Universities terrorizes the guests with a morphing skull accents, and the desecration of the Coliseum, face and fiery green flames emanating from P = Public Libraries Spanish Steps, and aqueducts. Extras include his -style guns. The twist here a bonus episode and music videos. Optional. is that Scooby’s BFF Shaggy happens to be a Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood) descendant of the notorious criminal (and looks like a doppelganger), which freaks out The Princess and the Warrior HHH the other visitors to the resort, including two CHILDREN’S (2016) 18 min. DVD: $38.99. Dreamscape Media. TV producers, prank-playing adult sisters, PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 978-1-52004-947-2. and a family whose young son is the famous Narrated by Tim Andrés Pabon, this adap- musician Buddy G (think a country-style HHH tation of author-illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh’s Justin Bieber), who is preparing to play for Ada’s Ideas 2016 picture book offers a retelling of a legend an upcoming rodeo. Featuring customary (2016) 16 min. DVD: $38.99. Dreamscape Media. from Aztec mythology. Featuring a bonus PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 978-1-52004-954-0. Mystery Inc. gags—Scooby and Shaggy an- read-along option and glossary—helpful with nihilating the buffet and being scaredy-cats, This iconographic-animated adaptation the many non-English words—The Princess Velma nerding it up with chemistry and of author-illustrator Fiona Robinson’s 2015 and the Warrior follows picky Princess Izta, historical data, etc.—but with cowboy themes picture book provides an interesting look who is not really excited over suitors who try (Scooby does tricks on a horse and lassos a at the life of Ada Lovelace—the 19th-cen- to woo her with feathers and turquoise neck- criminal at one point), this solid entry in the tury mathematician daughter of Romantic laces but is totally smitten when simple war- series also adds plenty of tongue-in-cheek poet Lord Byron—whose calculations are rior Popoca shows up and talks about things nuance for adults. Bonus features include considered by many to mark the historical like love and honesty. Izta’s emperor dad additional episodes. Recommended. Aud: P. origins of computer programming. Narrated offers Popoca a deal: if he battles the enemy (J. Williams-Wood) by English actress Rosalyn Lander, the short looks at Lovelace’s dreams of -pow- ered flying horses and ideas that upset her HHH math-minded mother, who encouraged Ava Maybe Something Beautiful 1/2 (2016) 11 min. DVD: $38.99. Dreamscape Media. PPR. Closed to study music, needlepoint, and arithmetic captioned. ISBN: 978-1-52006-125-2. in order to avoid becoming flighty like her scandalous father. Living in London during Co-written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, this the Industrial Revolution helped inspire iconographic-animated adaptation of the 2016 picture book Ava’s mathematical expressions, and while features illustrations by Rafael López, who along with his graphic she suffered from measles, her mind never designer wife Candace helped with the real-life behind-the- stopped whirring. She was introduced to key scenes revitalization of East Village in San Diego. Narrated by figures of the period including Charles Dick- Adriana Sananes, and featuring a high-energy salsa/merengue/ ens, science writer Mary Fairfax Somerville, cha-cha soundtrack, Maybe Something Beautiful focuses on a girl and mechanical engineer Charles Babbage who loves to draw, and paint, give her art away to neighbors (“her (who worked closely with Lovelace). Offering city was less gray…but not that much”). A muralist with a bouquet of brushes and art a compelling profile of a little-known early supplies is inspired by the girl’s work and soon the whole ‘hood is working together, numbers-cruncher, this ALSC Notable Chil- putting colors, shapes, shades, mosaics, and designs on walls, sidewalks, utility boxes, dren’s Video selection features extras includ- and benches. Combining various mediums in a whirl of vivid hues, this lovely story ing a read-along option and an explanation based on actual events features extras including a read-along option and an author’s of Bernoulli numbers. Recommended. Aud: note on the real Urban Art Trail. Highly recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (J. Williams-Wood) K, E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 42 MAY/JUNE 2017

head and heart before painting a declaration faces eviction during the course of the film PSYCHOLOGY & SELF-HELP such as “none of this is me.” Although film- (the co-directors don’t provide details about makers Shaeri Richards and Jerry Hartleben the cause of her injury). Brandon attended can’t really capture the way that these ex- Bible college in hopes of becoming a worship HHH ercises feel to the practitioners (viewers just leader, but dropped out after a truck driver God Knows Where I Am crashed into a car he was riding in. Now, (2016) 102 min. DVD: $349 ($799 w/PPR). DRA. see grown-ups painting squiggles), listening Bond Educator. closely to Alok encourages confidence that he lives in a rehabilitation center where he receives the support he needs, but longs for The life and strange, sad death of Linda he is actually imparting something both pro- greater independence. Although he has lost Bishop are examined in Todd and Jedd Wid- found and therapeutic. Beyond the studio, the some facial mobility, it hasn’t hampered his er’s haunting documentary, which begins documentary finds Alok retracing his life as ability to talk and sing. Unfortunately, an with the discovery of a woman’s decompos- the son of Chinese immigrants who survived attempt to return to college didn’t pan out, ing body in a supposedly abandoned farm- Japan’s attacks during World War II. Viewers so he concentrates on making music. For all house in New Hampshire. The authorities fi- also meet his beloved partner and hear from three subjects, art serves as a saving grace, nally identified her as the mentally-ill Bishop, a couple of Zen masters in the U.S. who help although it’s hard to predict whether any of who—according to a diary she scrawled while explain the ancient practice. But the star here them will ever be fully self-sufficient, due to squatting in the unheated house—had been is clearly Alok, a man with an enviably light memory and concentration issues. Recom- living there for four months, hiding from spirit born of a long personal journey. Extras mended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) outsiders and surviving on apples (scrounged include bonus interviews. Recommended. from local trees) and rainwater until she died Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) of cold and starvation. Poignant excerpts RELIGION & PHILOSOPHY from the diary are read by Lori Singer as Who Am I to Stop It HHH the filmmakers—using footage shot inside (2016) 86 min. DVD: $79: public libraries; $95: the house, combined with interviews of its community colleges; $300: colleges & universities. previous owners, as well as local police—re- New Day Films. PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 978- Calvin, Zwingli, and Brother Klaus: 1-57448-418-2. construct Bishop’s last weeks. Bishop’s larger Shapers of the Faith HH life is traced through interviews with friends Cheryl Green and Cynthia Lopez’s clear- (2017) 60 min. DVD: $14.99. DRA. Vision Video and relatives, including Bishop’s sister and eyed documentary focuses on three Pacific (avail. from most distributors). daughter, coupled with archival materials, Northwest-based individuals who have Filmmaker Rainer Walde’s ambitious but including family photos. What emerges is suffered a traumatic brain injury. Dani is overstuffed historical documentary randomly a melancholy portrait of an energetic and preparing to graduate from high school. jumps between the three titular figures from intelligent young girl with a special love of Due to a car accident, she is three years older the 15th and 16th centuries who played a art whose descent into apparent schizophre- than her classmates. Dani worries about her part in bringing the Protestant Reformation nia undermined her early promise. The film job prospects since college isn’t an option. to Switzerland. St. Nicholas of Flüe, better eventually turns to the question of medical Instead, she raps, beat-boxes, and dreams known as Brother Klaus, was a hermit and treatment that might have helped Bishop, but of working with Nicki Minaj. Since she has mystic who left his wife and 10 children (as was limited by laws designed to protect the trouble making friends, her mother encour- well as his farm and prior military career) rights of diagnosed individuals. Ultimately, ages her to do volunteer work, putting her in to live a contemplative life, serving as a me- however, God Knows Where I Am is more per- contact with other LGBT young people. Kris diating voice to reduce escalating tensions sonal story than finger-pointing accusation, is a visual artist who wears hats and ear plugs between Catholics and emerging Protestants. and under the Widers’ sensitive handling it in order to minimize audiovisual stimuli. Ulrich Zwingli was a Reformation leader proves to be a deeply affecting one. Recom- Her paintings bring in a modest income in who successfully challenged many Catholic mended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) addition to her Social Security payments, but traditions and practices, drawing the favor- she has a hard time making ends meet, and able attention of Martin Luther but nearly Moving from Emptiness: The Life and Art of a Zen Dude HHH (2016) 72 min. DVD: $29.95 (avail. from most The Messengers HHH1/2 distributors), $349 w/PPR (avail. from www. (2017) 70 min. DVD: $17.99. DRA. Vision Video (avail. from most kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber. Closed distributors). captioned. To modern mainstream Christians, the early church would Depending on one’s mood, the enigmatic be almost unrecognizable, as followers were considered out- Zen wisdom of calligraphic artist Alok Hsu laws—persecuted, jailed, and sometimes killed as martyrs, while Kwang-han can inspire either giddiness or continuing to worship Jesus. Part of the animated The Voice of eye-rolling. In his workshops for people the Martyrs series, this episode focuses on the period after Jesus’s looking to connect with something essential Resurrection and Ascension, as Christians began to organize and within, intuition trumps thought, expressed the faith took an uncertain but steady hold in Jerusalem and on rice paper in black watercolor paint. In elsewhere. Before leaving, Jesus promised his followers that the this alternately moving and mystifying Holy Spirit would soon visit the faithful and ignite their devotion and praise, inspiring documentary that is largely shot in Alok’s believers to speak in tongues (a phenomenon in which a person spontaneously talks studio, the 75-year-old master teaches stu- in a previously unknown language) during prayer meetings and spread the message dents to be “present, available, playful, and to people in the street. But most of the stories here revolve around officials’ efforts to not-knowing,” a state of mind that is very stamp out the church and its members, told through the memories of the apostle James much the opposite of our usual daily distract- as an old man in captivity. James shares stories about his faith, actions, and experiences ed, stream-of-consciousness lives. Viewers see with his increasingly sympathetic captors. Through this narrative lens, of the lanky, grey-haired Alok swiftly transform how faith helped James and others endure persecution is powerfully demonstrated from philosopher to clown, dancing wildly without ever becoming too heavy-handed for the target audience of younger viewers. or spouting gibberish (while encouraging his Highly recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block) students to do the same) as a way to clear the

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 44 MAY/JUNE 2017 provoking a Swiss civil war. Finally, John Calvin—the founder of Calvinism and a man who acquired much authority over church Accidental Courtesy HHH matters (altering the liturgy and declaring (2016) 96 min. DVD: $19.95. First Run Features (avail. from most distributors). others to be heretics)—cemented the Refor- mation in Switzerland. Unfortunately, it’s Matt Ornstein’s documentary profiles Daryl Davis, an Afri- hard to gain more than a few impressions or can-American musician who performed alongside Chuck Berry the most general sense of appreciation from and Bo Diddley, among others. While the film features a few clips this project that would have been better of his talented playing, the emphasis here is on his interesting served if it were divided into several films. avocation: inviting dialogue with white supremacists—such Optional. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) as Ku Klux Klan members—in order to encourage changes in attitude through personal contact and discussion. Background biographical information is presented largely through lengthy SOCIAL & POLITICAL ISSUES interviews with Davis: raised abroad, he became aware of racial animosity only after his return to the as an adolescent, and accidentally began his mission when, following a band gig, he was invited for a drink with an impressed listener who admitted that he had never talked to a black person before. That incident set Davis 10 Billion: What’s on Your Plate? HH1/2 on the road to engaging members of white supremacist groups, some of whom—in- (2015) 102 min. In English & German w/English terviewed here, often with Davis—have left the movement, even donating their KKK subtitles. DVD: $300. DRA. Film Platform (avail. from www.filmplatform.net). PPR. robes to a collection that Davis proudly exhibits, sometimes at motivational speeches. Davis is not always successful, of course, and Ornstein includes footage of those who Filmmaker Valentin Thurn’s sobering, reject his approach (not just determined white racists but also representatives of the globetrotting documentary asks how will Southern Poverty Law Center, who consider his methods overly conciliatory, and the teeming masses of the world be fed as adherents of the movement, who angrily describe his strategy as the population continues to soar. The current ridiculous). Regardless, it’s hard to dismiss Davis’s gregarious affability, and his plea mega-corporate domination of agriculture for civility is certainly refreshing in our uncivil times. Extras include deleted scenes, and livestock generates a lot of food—but interviews, cable news clips, Q&A clips, and a featurette on the film’s SXSW Festival only in the short term, viewers are told here. screening. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) Genetically modified crops fail to revive for future harvests (which suits the companies, as desperate farmers must buy the same seeds over and over). And grazing lands and Feminists for the Right to Information, effort by various activist groups, led by Boats- must be reserved for cattle and poultry in where young women put their lives at risk 4People, to make the world aware that at least wasteful and waste-producing large-scale by running an underground hotline that 20,000 migrants have died at sea since the operations. Possible answers include small serves thousands of desperate women who are mid-1990s, sometimes under the eyes of coast de-centralized organic and sustainable farms inquiring about where to can get an illegal guard ships or surveillance patrols that won’t and urban gardening (pro basketball player abortion or induce one at home. The group lend a hand. Here, the camera crew boards a Will Allen’s efforts are showcased), but aside advocates the use of a drug called misoprostol, Boats4People voyage that sails a typical route from the high-tech hydroponics practiced which is commonly proscribed for treating for refugees in anticipation of encountering in farmland-deficient Japan, corporations ulcers but can also induce abortions. In addi- some in need of aid. Along the way, viewers do not seem interested in being part of tion, the film captures acts of public advocacy, learn about the heartbreaking realities—in- these solutions, and famine may well lie in as well as guerrilla tactics such as plastering cluding desperation and death—of people in the planet’s future. Somewhat hobbled by city walls with instructions for women about search of a better life. Recommended. Aud: miniscule subtitles that make non-English how to self-terminate a pregnancy. A sidebar H, C, P. (T. Keogh) speakers hard to understand (along with the on the black market for misoprostol offers an crucial points they make), this should still be interesting look at the criminals and con-men All Eyes and Ears HHH considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: providing relief, while Chile’s ongoing debate (2015) 75 min. DVD: $29.99: individuals; $325: C, P. (C. Cassady) over abortion gives some insight into the institutions. DRA. Outcast Films. PPR. Closed country’s presidential politics. Recommend- captioned. The Abortion Hotline HHH ed. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) Jon Huntsman, former governor of Utah (2016) 57 min. DVD: $99.95: public libraries & and a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, high schools; $350: colleges & universities. The Against the Tide HHH is reportedly slated to be Donald Trump’s Cinema Guild. PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: (2016) 52 min. DVD: $24.99 ($199 w/PPR). ambassador to Russia. Filmmaker Vanessa 0-7815-1547-5. Dreamscape Media. Closed captioned. Hope’s documentary centers on Huntsman’s Filmmaker Fernando López Escrivá’s The Filmmaker Nathalie Loubeyre’s Against ambassadorship to China under Barack Abortion Hotline offers a reminder that even the Tide is a powerful documentary about Obama from 2009-11, which was a natural where there is no avenue available for safe and European organizations that are dramatically fit since Huntsman speaks fluent Mandarin legal abortions, some women will seek them drawing attention to the mass drownings of (he was once a Mormon missionary in Tai- out while others try to help. This tough-mind- refugees from Senegal and Tunisia in the Med- wan). All Eyes and Ears also emphasizes the ed documentary focuses on Chile, where laws iterranean Sea. As feelings harden in Italy, experience of his daughter Gracie Mei, an against abortion are the most extreme. Once Sicily, and elsewhere in toward immi- abandoned infant whom the Huntsmans liberal concerning abortion, Chile changed grants, official laws governing “boat people” adopted from a Chinese orphanage in 1999. under the dictatorship of Pinochet, and those (i.e., refugees attempting to reach Europe Gracie returned to her Chinese homeland restrictions have remained absolute, outlaw- via overcrowded vessels) have become more with her parents, and the film offers fly-on- ing abortions even in cases of rape, incest, or inhumane, threatening anyone who gives the-wall footage both of the ambassador the compromised health of the mother. The travelers assistance—no matter how grave fulfilling the duties of his post—negotiating documentary follows the work of pro-choice the circumstances—with possible criminal with leaders, interacting with people on the activists in an organization called Lesbians charges. The film focuses on a coordinated street, taking a trip to Tibet—and of Gracie

MAY/JUNE 2017 45 VIDEO LIBRARIAN reacquainting herself with the country of her Cooking up large amounts of food that can participants spoke out against birth. The juxtaposition of the political and be packed into plastic bags, the Patronas are and racial injustice. He says he knew arrest the personal makes for a diverting portrait of caught on camera several times in a surreal might be a possible result, and the police do a family in often challenging circumstances drama, repeatedly handing off those bags to indeed charge him with obstruction, place that they all handle quite deftly. One of the outstretched arms reaching from speeding him in handcuffs, and transport him to a major demands of diplomatic service in Chi- trains. There is obvious danger to everyone holding cell. The film abruptly ends at that na involves maintaining good relations with involved, and flawless timing is required to point, with no further information about the the government while also acknowledging get the meals to long rows of hungry migrants money raised or whether additional protests protestors, a balancing act addressed here in this passionate political and humanitarian took place, but this still serves as a good dis- in the case of Chen Guangcheng, a blind balancing act. Filmmaker Arturo González cussion starter about social justice. A strong dissident jailed for bringing legal action Villaseñor makes the point that thousands of optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) against the regime’s one-child policy and kept such would-be immigrants disappear during under house arrest even following his release their efforts to get to America, but for the Defendant 5 HHH1/2 in 2010. Guangcheng eventually escaped, Patronas, doing their bit for weary travelers (2014) 30 min. DVD: $26.95: public libraries; took refuge in the American embassy, and keeps the fighting spirit alive inside them as $69 w/PPR: high schools; $99 wPPR: colleges & emigrated to the U.S.—although not until well. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh) universities. DRA. Green Planet Films. PPR. Closed 2012, after Huntsman’s resignation. All Eyes captioned. and Ears sometimes feels like a panegyric, but Bars4Justice HH1/2 Told from the perspective of filmmaker it’s certainly an appealing portrait. Extras (2015) 9 min. DVD: $50: public libraries; $150: Heidi Douglas—who is the titular “Defendant include additional scenes. Recommended. colleges & universities. DRA. Third World 5” of the so-called Gunns 20 (a group of activ- Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) Newsreel. PPR. ists sued for $8 million by the Gunns Limited Hakeem Khaaliq and Queen Muhammad logging company of Australia)—this docu- All of Me HHH Ali directed and edited this short documen- mentary illustrates how the camera can serve (2014) 90 min. In Spanish w/English subtitles. tary, narrated by rapper Jasiri X, examining as both a tool of activism and a trap. In 2001, DVD: $24.99. Strand Releasing (avail. from most efforts to raise awareness in the wake of the Douglas began filming the harvest of some distributors). killing of Michael Brown by a police officer of the oldest-growth trees in the world (in Shot in the Mexican village of La Patrona, in 2014. An opening title notes that since Tasmania), documenting the health effects of the haunting documentary All of Me centers Brown’s death, some 1,100 people in the logging on nearby communities, including re- on the region’s semi-resigned, semi-rebel- United States have been killed by police. spiratory issues reported by residents from the lious women known as Patronas. Raised The Brown killing incited protests in Fergu- fine wood dust that was created by processing with hopes and dreams of their own, these son, MO, that lasted for several weeks, and operations. Along the way, Douglas crossed women—generation after generation—have garnered international attention. Jasiri X the line from simply being a documentarian become lost in the quagmire of marriages to traveled to Missouri on the first anniversary to becoming an activist. She was hired by Aus- men they barely know, saddled with all-con- of the incident to perform at a benefit concert tralia’s The Wilderness Society to help build suming child-rearing and exhausting field organized by Talib Kweli (formerly of the an emotional case against logging operations, work (e.g. picking coffee beans) on top of hip-hop group Black Star). Other performers including capturing scenes of clearcutting, domestic chores. One might expect them to included activists such as Dr. Cornel West, the burning of large swaths of land, and the be completely drained, but there’s a fire inside and rappers Common and Pharoahe Monch. poisoning of wildlife. Her film work caught the Patronas that comes from an unexpected The concert attracted hundreds of attendees, people’s attention, sparking a familiar battle sidebar to their lives: feeding a never-ending who helped raise money to support Brown’s of environmental concerns vs. industry and flow of Central American and Mexican family (the show was free but donations jobs. Gunns launched a lawsuit that accused hopefuls in boxcars on their were solicited). Jasiri X also reflects on the activists of conspiracy to harm the compa- way to to America. subsequent St. Louis march during which ny—targeting members of The Wilderness Society and a local politician, among others. The protesting of logging operations brought people together, but the legal proceedings Blood on the Mountain HHH1/2 took on more of a personal nature—with (2016) 93 min. DVD: $19.99. Virgil Films (avail. from most distributors). many lacking the financial resources for an Closed captioned. ongoing legal battle. In the case of Douglas, Filmmakers Mari- Evans and Jordan Freeman’s compel- her footage was used by Gunns as evidence ling documentary details the economic, ecological, and human in their lawsuit against the 20. A powerful damage created by reckless coal mining operations in West look at the personal costs of committed Virginia. Using a mix of archival footage, in-depth interviews activism, this is highly recommended. Aud: with miners, and news reportage on the coal industry, the film C, P. (C. Block) looks at what happens when corporate ruthlessness is allowed to run amok. Much of the information here on the generational From Flint: Voices of a Poisoned City poverty that exists within coal country and the efforts by the HHH mining companies to dilute the power of local unions will be familiar to those who have 1/2 (2017) 25 min. DVD: $79: public libraries & high seen similar documentaries, most notably Barbara Kopple’s Academy Award-winning schools; $149: colleges & universities. DRA. The masterwork Harlan County USA (VL-11/06). The filmmakers are especially skilled at Video Project. PPR. Closed captioned. documenting the occupational health problems that afflict the miners, as well as the The factors that caused the recent water wreckage that excessive mining has created on the state’s environment—most tragically, crisis in Flint, MI, are fairly well-known: the 1972 Buffalo Creek dam failure disaster that killed 125 and left more than 4,000 Flint’s government decided to save money homeless. Also called to task here are West Virginia’s politicians, whose allegiances are by switching from a treated-water source seemingly forged in coal company suites. A justifiably angry film about a continually to the untreated Flint River. The result was debated subject, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) devastating, pushing contaminated water— full of lead and toxins—through taps and

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 46 MAY/JUNE 2017 runs three nominees for 2013—among them Breaking Point HHH1/2 a gay man (or “bakla,” as gays are sometimes (2016) 98 min. In English, Ukrainian & Russian w/English subtitles. called in the conservative Catholic country) DVD: $139: public libraries & high schools; $289: colleges & universities. and a transgender woman. Attempting to DRA. Dark Hollow Films. PPR. Closed captioned. form alliances with political centrists while Filling in many blanks for non-Ukrainians about what exactly assuming that the LGBT community will au- happened in that perennially besieged nation over the last few tomatically unite behind Ladlad, the party’s years, filmmakers Mark Jonathan Harris and Oles Sanin’s aston- candidates eschew controversial issues such ishing documentary presents edge-of-your-seat, you-are-there as marriage equality and bathroom rights in footage as thousands of protestors in Kiev gather in the city’s cen- order to push a more generically appealing ter day and night for an extended period in 2014 to demand the anti-discrimination platform. Out Run follows removal of pro-Putin Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych. The the campaign as this dubious strategy plays protest, sparked by a Facebook post and the pent-up frustration of out, although filmmakers S. Leo Chiang and Ukrainians who felt betrayed by Yanukovych’s tilt toward Russia (an old oppressor and Johnny Symons are often distracted by the adversary of the country), was eventually met by violent security forces and bullets. glittery, self-congratulatory identity politics Yet in the end, after much loss of civilian life, Ukraine’s patriots prevailed, only to be of transgender and transsexual Ladlad sup- attacked by the Russian military in Crimea and elsewhere. Harris and Sanin seem to porters. While the nominees are met with be everywhere: in Kiev’s bloodied Maidan Square, in a bombed-out airport where five a fair amount of goodwill on the street, an- Ukrainian soldiers attempt to fend off a larger group of heavily-armed , and in ti-LGBT bigotry is never far away, and certain a field where a Malaysian airliner mistakenly shot down lies in a pile of rubble. Footage traditions of small-scale election season cor- from cell phones and dashboard cameras add to the sense of omnipresence. Along the ruption (such as paying poor people for their way, viewers watch as a nation reinvents itself with a new army and police force, and votes) are an obstacle. In the end, the election they see ordinary people—an investigative reporter, a children’s theater director— results remind both the Ladlad bosses and rising to meet the demands of a new era. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) the audience that when it comes to politics, a platform that tries to appeal to everyone rarely inspires loyalty. Recommended. Aud: fountains into homes, schools, and elsewhere. Interviews with Rawl, along with state of- C, P. (T. Keogh) While children and adults found themselves ficials and proponents of election reform mysteriously afflicted with rashes, seizures, led Greene to broaden the investigation to Political Animals HHH hair loss, and problems affecting newborns, include similar irregularities nationwide, and (2016) 86 min. DVD: $16.99, Blu-ray: $19.99. the city and Michigan state government his findings are troubling. After the brouhaha Gravitas Ventures (avail. from most distributors). maintained that Flint’s water was safe, and surrounding Florida’s “hanging chads” in the Closed captioned. evaded responsibility for poisoning residents 2000 presidential election, Congress passed Once the camel’s nose got into the tent, while officially covering up data and test legislation encouraging states to modernize says former California legislator Carole results. Filmmaker Elise Conklin’s stinging the process by purchasing new voting equip- Migden, the rest of the beast began to follow. documentary From Flint quickly reprises the ment, but the machines that vendors sold In this case, the “camel” was anti-discrim- situation before getting to its real purpose: (and their software) were already outdated ination laws in California protecting gays meeting and hearing the story from ordinary and unreliable. Smith interviews state and and lesbians from biases that today seem people among Flint’s population of 100,000. federal officials who acknowledge the need to unconscionable, but were standard not These are folks whose families were made ensure the integrity of the electoral process that long ago. Political Animals is a powerful seriously ill; whose households received one but seem unable to provide the resources documentary about four lesbian members of rationed case of bottled water per day from needed to fix it, or even to agree that federal the California assembly who united to take the city for drinking, cooking, and bathing; oversight would be appropriate. Even more on discrimination and faced a long, uphill and who can’t move away from Flint be- tellingly, he visits technical experts who battle to success, gradually accelerating prog- cause the homes they own no longer have doubt that any machine can currently be ress for gay rights as the movement gained value. Watching this film is like going to a devised that would completely eliminate the wider acceptance. Director Jonah Markowitz community meeting and encountering your possibility of hacking (they also doubt the reunites Migden with the indomitable Sheila flesh-and-blood neighbors instead of reading potential for Internet voting). Presented in Kuehl, a former actress who lost her role about faceless victims of an unconscionable the genial-essay style of Michael Moore and on the 1950s-‘60s hit television sitcom The scandal. Viewers hear from a handful of indi- Morgan Spurlock, I Voted? addresses a serious Many Loves of Dobie Gillis due to her sexual viduals who are either struggling or trying to and timely national issue in an agreeably orientation, reinventing herself as a Harvard help on a number of fronts, a mix that leaves homespun, non-hectoring way. Recommend- Law School graduate with political aspira- one sickened and outraged, yet also heartened ed. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek) tions. Along with Christine Kehoe and Jackie by the organized goodwill of ordinary people. Goldberg—the latter a veteran of the Free Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) Out Run HHH Speech Movement at UC Berkeley, and still (2016) 75 min. DVD: $95: public libraries; $325: suffering from a permanent back injury from I Voted? HHH colleges & universities. New Day Films. PPR. Closed a police beating—Migden and Kuehl led the (2015) 76 min. DVD or Blu-ray: $75: public captioned. ISBN: 978-1-57448-426-7. way during the 1990s to gain legal protection libraries & high schools; $250: colleges & According to this documentary, the Ladlad for gay kids who were bullied, beaten, and universities. DRA. Tugg. PPR. political party in the Philippines is globally humiliated at schools. Archival footage of The case of Alvin Greene—an unknown unique for being formed and run by LGBT in- floor speeches in the assembly over a decade candidate who won the South Carolina dividuals. But the struggles of Ladlad captured show all four lawmakers making the case Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate here prove to be a cautionary tale about trying again and again to give gay children some in 2010—led documentary filmmaker Jason to finesse an election by papering over issues shielding, only to be rebuffed by opponents Smith to look into allegations made by Vic that divide one’s base from everyone else. who linked homosexuality with pedophilia Rawl, his primary opponent, that the result Having failed to secure any wins in a 2010 and bestiality. But over time, viewers witness had been tainted by faulty voting machines. congressional election, Ladlad regroups and the emergence of straight allies in the assem-

MAY/JUNE 2017 47 VIDEO LIBRARIAN a municipal legislator in Moca as a member of the Puerto Rican Independence Party. The Fire at Sea HHH individual sketches are compelling, but the (2016) 108 min. In Italian w/English subtitles. DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: film only hints at vital topics (student strikes, $34.95 (avail. from most distributors), $349 w/PPR (avail. from www. kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber. attempts at organized labor formation, and other protests) that would have presented a The tiny Mediterranean island of Lampedusa—lying midway deeper understanding of the wider effects on between Libya and Sicily—is the setting for Gianfranco Rosi’s the stand-by generation. A strong optional Oscar-nominated documentary, which contrasts the plight of purchase. Aud: C, P. (C. Block) desperate refugees from Africa (who are rescued from leaky boats and brought to island camps) with the quiet lives of local residents. Although Fire at Sea includes footage of Italian naval Sunú HHH (2015) 85 min. In Spanish w/English subtitles. operations launched to save those clinging to sinking vessels, DVD: $24.95: individuals; $100: public libraries; together with recollections from some refugees in the camps, much of the focus is on $250: colleges & universities. EPF Media. PPR. Samuele Puccilo, a 12-year-old boy who gets seasick on his father’s fishing boat, and Closed captioned. ISBN: 978-1-930545-87-8. spends most of his time with his best friend, playing games involving slingshots and Americans aren’t the only ones with a imaginary guns—seemingly untouched (like most of his elders) by the grudge against NAFTA. Filmmaker Teresa occurring around him (a reflection of many for whom the refugee crisis seems remote). Camou’s low-key yet revealing documentary The film also spotlights another local: Dr. , who has taken on the duty Sunú takes viewers into the hardscrabble of treating not only his regular patients like Samuele, but the refugees as well. The world of corn (or “maize”) growers in Mexico. photos that he shares with the filmmaker—one of a boy not much older than Samuele The focus is not on factory farms that grow covered with burns—along with his sorrowful stories of the horrors he has witnessed cheap yellow corn to be imported to the U.S. bring home the reality of a disaster that the West has largely chosen to ignore. Still, and sold back, after processing, to Mexican there are rays of hope here, such as when the doctor shows a pregnant refugee a consumers (an ironic twist courtesy of trade sonogram of her unborn twins. Doctor and patient have trouble communicating, agreements), but rather on the narrow world but the information—and the film’s larger message—is conveyed quite effectively. of indigenous family farmers in Mexico Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) who raise, against great odds, multi-colored, healthy corn for their own consumption. While much of the story is told without bly, leading to the passage of a student bill, relevant when they begin to intersect in each comment or only a few words from the some- ultimately followed by domestic partnership other’s lives. Eschewing the “more is better” times self-conscious farmers, the personal protections bills, and more. Throughout philosophy, the interviewees here also strug- relationship between the people and their the film, the four women look back on how gle with finding a balance between values homegrown food source is clear and power- they patiently played the hard ground game and survival. When a vegetarian farmer, who ful. The farmers, their spouses, and children to change hearts and minds. A stirring, is visibly anxious but in need of chickens, are all involved in growing corn to turn into encouraging film reminding viewers that it goes to a poultry grower, Boll doesn’t shrink tortillas—a huge part of their diet. This prac- sometimes takes a long painful time for social from capturing the moment when several tice has gone on for eons, but as with many change to happen, this is recommended. free-range birds are slit across the throat. But traditions regarding food, this one is under [Note: this is also available with public per- this same chicken farmer wrestles with his threat from climate change, an infestation of formance rights on DVD for $125 for public conscience when it comes to killing pigs. And GMO seeds, and a consumer culture that has libraries and $350 for colleges and universities there’s an inspiring sequence in which some become so fixated on processed foods that the from The Video Project, www.videoproject. of the interviewees volunteer to go to Rwanda Mexican government regards hand-to-mouth com.] Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) to teach updated farming techniques. Extras family farmers as irrelevant. Sunú serves as include deleted scenes. Recommended. Aud: both a celebration of our essential relation- A Small Good Thing HHH C, P. (T. Keogh) ship with the Earth and a warning that we (2016) 72 min. DVD: $29.95 (avail. from most have ceded food production to corporations. distributors), $349 w/PPR (avail. from www. The Stand-By Generation HH1/2 Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber. Closed (2016) 19 min. In Spanish w/English subtitles. captioned. DVD: $60: public libraries; $200: colleges & Surire HHH universities. DRA. Third World Newsreel. PPR. Filmmaker Pamela Tanner Boll’s initially (2015) 80 min. In Spanish & Aymara w/English tepid but ultimately meaningful documen- In 2006, Puerto Rico suffered an economic subtitles. DVD: $100: public libraries; $250: tary focuses on a handful of people who are crisis more severe than any in the country’s colleges & universities. EPF Media. PPR. Closed trying to live more principled lives in the history, adding up to a national debt esti- captioned. ISBN: 978-1-930545-42-7. Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Boll mated at 73 billion dollars in 2016. This Set in the Surire Salt Flat in the high desert introduces us to several military veterans who has created a bleak situation for the titular of Chile, this often mesmerizing documen- left the service either damaged or yearning “stand-by” generation, many of whom— tary serves up a fever-dream study of old and for family and community; one finds relief despite a college education and advanced new worlds on the country’s border with Bo- through cycling and revisiting his Native degrees—have put their dreams on hold. This livia. The Chilean side is a UNESCO biosphere American roots, while another takes up brief documentary offers a glimpse into the reserve in which flamingos, rheas, some sort sustainable farming along with his wife. A lives of two affected young people who are of jackrabbit, and other exotic animals pass pastor’s spouse overcomes her introversion by trying to find their way despite hardships. before the camera. On the other is a borax working with kids in a program called Youth One is director Juan C. Davila, an employee mining operation that leaves the land bald, Alive, while a yoga teacher conquers his res- of a Sam’s Club, who struggles with a work constantly assaulted by earth movers and tive nature through his practice and becomes schedule that may be 20 hours one week and trucks. The entire region shared by the two a better father in the bargain. There are a few just a handful the next. His employers told countries spreads endlessly—as far as the eye others in the mix, and while the film seems him, “you signed a contract and now your can see—and filmmakers Bettina Perut and weak early on at making these folks seem time has become ours.” The other is Dávila, Ivan Osnovikoff present it through lengthy three-dimensional, it becomes increasingly a weightlifter, who is also politically active as scenes with no cuts. Flattened by the enor-

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grasshopperfilm.com To place orders, please email [email protected] or call 646–586–3060. Mike Dorsey’s documentary feels somewhat HHH redundant. Still, armchair investigators are Women of the Mine sure to find plenty of interesting evidence (2014) 63 min. In Spanish & Aymara w/English subtitles. DVD: $100: public libraries; $250: colleges & universities. EPF Media. PPR. Closed here, including emergency calls, surveillance captioned. ISBN: 978-1-930545-32-8. footage, and interrogation recordings. Dorsey Filmed against the grey and chalk-white backdrop of Cerro draws from retired LAPD homicide investiga- Rico—a cold and forbidding mining community in Potosi, tor Greg Kading’s 2011 book Murder Rap: The Bolivia—the harsh life of widows and other lone women Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur trying to survive and care for their children is at the center of Murder Investigations, briefly sketching out the Women of the Mine. Filmmakers Malena Bystrowicz and Loreley artists’ careers before proceeding through the Unamuno begin with a slow and deliberate orientation into events that exacerbated their rivalry, many a world in which young kids weave their way downhill and involving Sean “Diddy” Combs (Bad Boy through narrow passages between boulders to get to school. Mothers are up before Entertainment), Suge Knight (Death Row Re- sunrise to take care of housework before spending their days seeking rocks that cords), their bodyguards, and gang members they can strip-mine for tin. About midway, the narrative expands to tell a history who floated around the periphery. The artists of the miners’ labor union and its struggles during Bolivia’s hellish years of military also made defamatory statements about each authoritarianism. It turns out that some of the women of Cerro Rico were deeply other at awards shows and on studio tracks involved in keeping the union strong, and when it was time to lead a protest that such as Biggie’s “ Who Shot Ya?” and Tupac’s helped topple the government, those same women were on the frontlines. Yet, as “Hit ‘Em Up.” Tupac attended the Mike Tyson powerful and moving as that victory was, life isn’t easier for the survivors living fight at Las Vegas’s MGM Grand in 1996, and in perpetual chill and dust. The men still die in mining accidents or from lung was murdered later that night. A year later, disease, and their wives have no choice but to take up shovels and hammers. A tale after the Vibe Awards, Biggie was killed. At the of personal courage on the part of people who are trapped in a generational cycle time, off-duty cops were implicated in both of poverty, illness, and death, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) deaths, but Kading offers insights that con- tradict that theory, suggesting that Tupac was murdered by a member of the Crips and that mous distance, these images effectively reveal this educational food chain is at the center of Biggie was killed by a Knight associate. Other the scale in which life and activity play out: filmmaker Curtis Chin’s Tested, a documen- interviewees include author Cathy Scott (The the mining vehicles look tiny, almost alien, tary about the brutal process of preparing Murder of Tupac Shakur) and Reggie Wright Jr., while desert creatures parade through waves thousands of potential enrollees in New former head of security for Death Row. Since of rising heat. Above all are the miniscule York’s middle schools for tests to gain admit- the cases remain unsolved, more books and human subjects, elderly members of the tance to top-drawer high schools. While the documentaries seem likely to materialize in Aymara who walk the crooked dusty paths to film focuses on several families from a variety the future. A strong optional purchase. Aud: find wood for burning or to watch the min- of neighborhoods reflecting racial, ethnic, P. (K. Fennessy) ers. The local Aymara are reportedly roughly economic, and cultural diversity, it also 2,000 in number, living quite remotely while demonstrates how numerous factors come Southwest of Salem: The Story of the shepherding their llamas and barely surviving to bear on the prospect of earning a great San Antonio Four HHH in stone and stucco huts. When an invitation education. For parents who were prevented (2016) 91 min. DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $24.95. comes for two Aymara to join an elder’s from meeting their own educational goals FilmRise (avail. from most distributors). council on New Year’s Day in Putre, Chile, as kids, the opportunities for their own chil- Deborah S. Esquenazi’s film about a mis- the subsequent effort to compensate a Boliv- dren represent balance and redemption. For carriage of justice tells the story of the so- ian boy for looking after their llamas adds a moms and dads who believe that one should called San Antonio Four: lesbian couple Anna ripple of drama. Surire reminds us that there simply choose the best school program for Vasquez and Cassandra Rivera, along with is so much otherworldliness we sons and daughters, testing forces them to their friends Elizabeth Ramirez and Kristie think we know—it captures a haunting land- recognize that competition leads to quality. Mayhugh. After Ramirez babysat her young scape filled with strange beauty and mystery. Chin follows his subjects over months of nieces, the children accused all four of sexu- Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) preparing for the big exam, and catches up ally abusing them. Despite a complete lack of afterwards, when acceptance and rejection physical evidence, the quartet were convicted letters start to roll in. Although the issues in a trial in which homophobia, as well as EDUCATION of immigration, segregation, and economic some highly dubious medical testimony and inequality hang over the film, it also holds suspicions of Satanic practices, played a role. out hope that things will change for the The women were incarcerated for years before Tested HHH better with a well-prepared next generation. an independent Canadian researcher took an (2016) 73 min. DVD: $79: public libraries, $299: Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) interest in their case and referred his findings colleges & universities. Bull and Monkey (avail. to the Innocence Project of Texas. New evi- from www.testedfilm.com). PPR. Closed captioned. LAW & CRIME dence, along with a recantation by one of the New York City has over 400 public high girls, led to their ultimate release, although schools, three of which are “world class” they still had to go through a torturous legal with graduates including a large number of process to be fully exonerated. Esquenazi famous achievers who’ve won loads of awards Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and has smoothly edited extensive interviews in their professional lives. It’s no wonder that Tupac Murders HH1/2 with the women, their supporters, and other parents clamor to get their bright children (2016) 114 min. DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $27.99. experts—along with archival footage—to tell into these places, or at least into one of a FilmRise (avail. from most distributors). the story. Viewers might wish that Esquenazi secondary group of specialized schools that Since the murders of hip-hop stars Biggie had been more forceful in questioning Javier recognize a student’s emerging skill set. All of Smalls and Tupac Shakur have already been Limon—Ramirez’s former brother-in-law— the other schools—the “ordinary” ones—are explored extensively in films like Nick Broom- who probably coached the girls into making where everyone else goes. The navigation of field’s 2002 Biggie & Tupac (VL Online-7/03), the original accusations because Elizabeth

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 50 MAY/JUNE 2017 had rejected his advances, and that the tunity to join a research team bound for animated Madagascar movie series over the documentary had included interviews of Antarctica, subsequently spending a year past dozen years know that the island of the judges and prosecutors who conducted in an underground chamber from which he Madagascar—located off the Southeast coast the trials. But while it fails to cover all sides, mapped the land beneath the ice. Over the of Africa in the Indian Ocean—is a scien- the film nevertheless presents a powerful years, Lorius began to study snow crystals, tific curiosity. That is because the remote and compelling brief on behalf of the San which led to drilling into the ice and dis- nation harbors various species of animals Antonio Four. Extras include additional covering that core layers revealed historical and plants that evolved there exclusively, courtroom footage and later interviews with temperatures, which proved that while independent and apart from the influence the freed women. Recommended. Aud: C, P. cycles of warm and cold eras occurred of the nearby continent. Filmmaker Cyrille (F. Swietek) predictably until about a century ago, the Cornu’s documentary Baobabs: Between rate of warming over the last hundred years Land and Sea centers on a French ecological markedly departed from the pattern and survey of the baobab, an upside-down-look- NATURE, MATH & SCIENCE must therefore be ascribed to increased ing tree with a crown of branches that re- activity on the part of humankind. By minds one of entangled roots. The baobab allowing Lorius to recount his long polar appears in several varieties, but all share a Antarctica: Ice and Sky HHH adventure, Jacquet not only celebrates the bulbous trunk that, in some cases, is enor- (2016) 89 min. In French & English w/English man’s contribution to the scientific un- mous and hollow. (At one point, a scientist, subtitles. DVD: $29.95. Music Box Films (avail. derstanding of the climatic realities that his translator, and a film crew step inside from most distributors). threaten the future of the planet but also a gigantic trunk, where an entire family Filmmaker Luc Jacquet (March of the captures his enthusiastic devotion to his found shelter for a while.) Here, Cornu and Penguins) takes viewers to the Antarctic life’s work. Extras include a “making-of” Wilfried Ramahafaly explore Madagascar’s for this portrait of French explorer Claude featurette, a film festival Q&A with Jacquet, coast by boat—relying on sailors from Lorius, whose six-decade exploration of and a stills gallery. Recommended. Aud: H, among the indigenous Vezo people to take polar glaciers, conducted over 20-plus C, P. (F. Swietek) them over rough currents—finding that not expeditions, is credited with first demon- every baobab site is a happy one. Slash-and- strating that climate change must be Baobabs: Between Land and Sea burn agricultural policies in some regions attributed to human activity. Combining HHH have left a number of the trees deprived of English narration in the “voice” of Lorius (2015) 56 min. DVD: $49: public libraries; $99: their bark and suffering premature death. (actually Michel Papineschi) with new high schools; $225: colleges & universities. DRA. An intriguing, visually appealing ecological and archival footage, the film recalls how Green Planet Films. PPR. Closed captioned. travelogue, this is recommended. Aud: H, a 23-year-old Lorius jumped at the oppor- Kids and adults who have enjoyed the C, P. (T. Keogh)

MAY/JUNE 2017 51 VIDEO LIBRARIAN a communal form of social organization. The second episode, “Into the Americas,” Planet Earth II HHH1/2 describes species that arose after cats crossed (2016) 2 discs. 350 min. DVD: $35.99; Blu-ray: $44.95. BBC Worldwide the land bridge that once joined Asia to North Ltd. (avail. from most distributors). America and then went south—the lynx, oce- A decade ago, the BBC landmark series Planet Earth (VL-5/07) lot, mountain lion, and many curious types of set a new bar for nature documentaries with its extraordinary wild South American cats—before looking at scope and heretofore-unseen close-up footage of animals, birds, the subject of domestication, which is traced and insects all over the globe. While not quite the game changer to ancient Egypt. The skill for which cats were that the first series represented, this sequel filmed in 40 countries most prized—as mousers—has preserved over the course of 2,000-plus shooting days serves up oodles of their hunting instincts down to the present amazing scenes. Where the original series ran for 11 episodes, day, while their aloofness and cuteness has Planet Earth II only has six—again geographically-themed, in- made them a YouTube sensation. Sure to cluding “Mountains,” “Deserts,” “Grasslands”—and is once more narrated by Sir David appeal to cat fanciers, this is recommended. Attenborough. Although the series features numerous (and mostly predictable) predator/ Aud: P. (F. Swietek) prey sequences, it also regularly surprises viewers with interesting factual tidbits (saiga antelopes always give birth to twins, sea-going iguanas can hold their under- HHH water for half an hour, etc.). Ultimately, however, the draw of Planet Earth II lies not Tulare: The Phantom Lake 1/2 (2014) 24 min. DVD: $39.95. DRA. Green Planet in the words but rather the images, which include an eye-popping march of millions Films. PPR. Closed captioned. of red crabs, snow leopards in the Himalayas, flamingos (literally) on parade, flying draco lizards, a new species of river dolphin in a flooded forest in Brazil, luminescent Once the largest freshwater lake in the fungi, a huge locust swarm, and the railroad worm (which is actually a caterpillar-like Western United States, Tulare Lake in Cali- beetle with yellow and red lights on its body that it strategically controls). Perhaps the fornia’s Central Valley at one time boasted most interesting episode is the final one, “Cities,” which explores how animals have 700 square miles of open water, but began infiltrated and adapted to urban areas, including hand-fed hyenas in Ethiopia, and shrinking during the 1860s in the wake of an Australian bowerbird whose nest—designed to attract potential mates—features land reclamation and irrigation projects. By human-made objects such as a shiny toy car and a cloth red heart. Each episode con- the early 1900s, the lake had disappeared cludes with a “Planet Earth Diaries” featurette taking viewers behind-the-scenes of one completely, save for unusual weather events, or more of the filmed sequences. Also available in a 4K UHD edition for $59.99, this is such as a 1997 flood that reclaimed a number highly recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman) of fields (hence the “phantom lake” moni- ker). Now called the Tulare Lake Basin, the region is a patchwork of farming fields where some areas remain barren due to irrigation Planetary HH1/2 Presented in its full-length version, along projects in the clay soil that leached salts to (2015) 2 discs. 84 min. DVD: $350. Bullfrog Films. with 52-minute and 43-minute editions, ex- the surface, making the land uninhabitable PPR. SDH captioned. ISBN: 1-941545-58-0. tras include the short film “Overview” and a for plants. With the rise of salt and heavy Made as a contribution to the Earth Day PDF study guide. A strong optional purchase. metals to the surface, some sections are no events of 2015, Guy Reid’s documentary Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek) longer a haven for wildlife—or people. While concerning the dangers posed to the planet there are presently no enduring solutions for by climate change is often visually stunning, The Story of Cats HHH the issues plaguing Tulare Basin, one land but the accompanying talking-head inter- (2016) 120 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR), owner is engaged in a promising project to view excerpts grow increasingly repetitive Blu-ray: $29.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video (avail. restore part of the lake and create a marsh. and banal. Reid begins with observations from most distributors). SDH captioned. ISBN: Ultimately, the film makes viewers think by astronauts who attest that their view of 978-1-62789-875-1 (dvd), 978-1-62789-909-3 about the unintended consequences of de- (blu-ray). Earth from space—shown in NASA footage— cisions made a hundred years ago—and by impressed upon them not only its fragility Filmmaker Anwar Mamon’s two-part PBS- extension how today’s decisions may affect but the common mission of all humans to aired NATURE documentary traces the evo- things in the future. Highly recommended. preserve it. This sense of responsible inter- lutionary history of felines from their origin Aud: C, P. (C. Block) connectedness becomes the film’s motif as in Southeast Asia tens of millions of years a large roster of commentators, scientists, ago to their current status as most-owned pet and explorers (as well as others identified as in America. But only the final minutes are HEALTH & FITNESS “eco-philosopher,” “mindfulness teacher,” devoted to various breeds of domestic cats; and “futurist”) offer bite-sized pronounce- the lion’s share concerns the 40-plus species ments about how we must all work together to of wild cats that have adapted to different The C Word HHH reverse environmentally dangerous practices. environmental circumstances over the centu- (2016) 93 min. DVD: $24.99. Virgil Films (avail. Zen Buddhist teachers are prominent here, ries. The first episode, “Asia to Africa,” begins from most distributors). Closed captioned. and their admonitions—along with those of with the emergence of felines in the forests Although Meghan O’Hara’s documentary Native Americans and yoga instructors—take of Asia and their development of survival was inspired by her own successful struggle Planetary further from the realm of scientific traits, including extraordinary agility, that with breast cancer, it is Dr. David Servan- analysis and more into the area of spiritual have persisted throughout their evolutionary Schreiber who emerges as the hero of this exhortation. While the interviewees’ earnest- history. Employing gorgeous wildlife footage, film. Diagnosed with a malignant brain tu- ness is genuine, the stream of “we are the often shown in slow-motion, the film briefly mor at 31, French physician Servan-Schreiber world” platitudes ultimately grows tedious. examines the various surviving types of Asian underwent surgery but, after a recurrence, While it likely served its purpose of rousing cats before following their movement over a he became a proponent of “Anticancer”—an true believers on Earth Day, Planetary taken once-existing land bridge into Africa, where integrative mode of prevention standing in by itself comes across more as a combination new species evolved. Special attention is paid contrast to common medical practices that of stern lecture and heartfelt sermon than a to lions—the only species of cat that aban- emphasize drugs and radiation to combat serious argument aimed at the unconverted. doned a solitary mode of life and developed disease. As presented in interviews with Ser-

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 52 MAY/JUNE 2017 van-Schreiber and footage of his TV lectures Latta, the fi lm features expert Robert Lustig, and book tours—as well as narration deliv- who vehemently denounces processed foods ered by O’Hara and Morgan Freeman—the as being “poisoned” with sugar, noting that approach has four basic elements: nutrition, “it’s time to change the paradigm.” Vignettes exercise, stress management, and avoidance fi nd Latta visiting a store and examining la- of toxins. While some of the discussion bels to see just how much sugar is in foods he sounds like common sense (the dangers of normally buys (with some surprises); talking a sedentary lifestyle seem obvious), the fi lm with food technologists who say that sugar also deals with subjects such as the obesity helps offset other costs; interviewing a young epidemic triggered by overdependence on urban sugar addict; and getting his own processed foods containing sugar and other health checked (with unexpected results). A ingredients that might be potential carcino- nutritionist, a dentist, and Katherine Rich of gens. The notion that further governmental the New Zealand Food and Grocery council regulation of the food industry should be (who doesn’t think government should step resisted on the grounds that it represents an in but that people should step up because infringement of individual liberty is coun- “the choice you make will have an impact tered by the Mississippi lawyer who was in- on your life”) weigh in, while personal sto- strumental in ultimately forcing the tobacco ries are also included touching on a school industry to admit the dangers of their product offering better food choices to their students (and led major tobacco companies to invest, and a woman whose health improved with ironically, in processed foods). Using graphs, moderation. Offering an eye-opening but not animation, and pop culture clips (including terribly shocking look at the link between excerpts from comic Jim Gaffi gan’s standup sugar and health, this is recommended. Aud: routine), The C Word combines Servan-Sch- P. ( J. Williams-Wood) reiber’s story with O’Hara’s to make a power- ful argument regarding contemporary health Mimi & Dona HHH hazards. Extras include related featurettes. (2015) 56 min. DVD: $95: public libraries; $199: Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) community colleges; $350: colleges & universities. New Day Films. PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 978- Is Sugar the New Fat? HHH 1-57448-423-6. (2016) 44 min. DVD: $24.99 ($199.99 w/PPR). Sophie Sartain’s PBS-aired Dreamscape Media. Closed captioned. documentary looks at elder care from one Eating a fun-size Butterfi nger candy bar family’s perspective. Sartain’s 64-year-old was maybe a mistake while watching fi lm- aunt, Dona, who has an intellectual disabil- maker Cameron Bennett’s New Zealand-pro- ity, lives with her 92-year-old mother, Mimi. duced documentary on the perils of sugar. Sartain, who resides in Los Angeles, suspects ENVIRONMENTAL FILMS Presented by psychologist and author Nigel that Dona might also have undiagnosed au- DVDs | Streaming BRILLIANT DARKNESS Hotaru in the Night explores the im- portance of darkness told through the study, preservation and Hero with a Thousand Faces HHH celebration of firefly habitats in Japan and the United States. (2016) 89 min. DVD: $59.95 ($299 w/PPR from edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from most distributors). The 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa and the world’s response are addressed in fi lmmaker Joel Clark’s documentary, which celebrates the heroism of those who endangered themselves to fi ght the epidemic, and praises the efforts made by some in the political and medical communities to educate people about the global implications of the outbreak, as well as marshal needed international resources. Numerous individuals are interviewed SAFE HARBOR presents research efforts of scientists, here, including brave locals who initially fought the spread of naturalists and local citizens to understand and protect the the disease with very limited means, but the emphasis is placed on Carrie Jo Cain, an Horseshoes Crabs, Oysters and Diamondback American nurse who went to Sierra Leone—the center of the epidemic—and Dr. Kent Terrapin Turtles of Wellfleet Harbor off of Cape Cod Bay. Brantly, who became infected and was brought back to the United States for treatment (which was ultimately successful). Their comments are integrated into expertly edit- ed news footage that provides context for the outbreak, including relevant scientifi c data. Brantly’s reaffi rmation of his dedication to his responsibility as both doctor and human being is unquestionably inspiring, and the comments of Cain’s husband and daughters, who obviously regretted her long absence but supported her decision (and are shown in home movies enjoying her occasional return visits), are also uplifting. As counterpoint to these profi les in courage, Clark periodically includes clips from alarmist commentators on cable news programs (as well as segments from satirists such as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert ridiculing them). The Shakespeare quotations that serve as transitions feel a bit intrusive, but overall the fi lm effectively illustrates how a crisis www.greenplanetfilms.org can bring out the best and worst in people, while also noting that similar outbreaks are likely to recur—so we would be wise to learn the lessons of this one. Recommended. 415-377-5471 Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) [email protected]

MAY/JUNE 2017 53 VIDEO LIBRARIAN speaking clearly) underscore the preposterous How to Live to a Hundred HHH irony of the government’s rejection of her (2016) 59 min. DVD: $24.99 ($199.99 w/PPR). Dreamscape Media. Closed disability claim: Canada has decided that captioned. Janz is too smart and too functional to get Sunny Welsh-Italian cook Michela Chiappa hosts this documen- the help that she so obviously and desperately tary in which she visits her ancestral lands to explore the reasons needs. An insightful short about inadequate behind longevity for a variety of interviewed centenarians. In definitions of disability, this is recommended. Wales, Chiappa attends the birthday party of 105-year-old Doris Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) (whose favorite breakfast is “a bit of toast”), meets two other 100-plusers, checks in with 31-year-old overweight Lee (who de- scribes his health as a “ticking time bomb”), and talks with aging CHILDBIRTH & PARENTING expert Professor Vanessa Berholt. Chiappa also heads to Sardinia (home to many 100-year-olds), visits with molecular biologist Gianni Pes, tours a rustic peasant farm, and eats with a traditional family who create everything they consume Future Baby HHH from scratch. Along the way, Chiappa explores reasons for longevity that include more (2016) 91 min. In English, German & Spanish w/ strenuous work, wholesome nutrition, and having a purpose in life, although the most English subtitles. DVD: $300. DRA. Film Platform important facet noted here is good social support. As Doris says, “if you got your family (avail. from www.filmplatform.net). PPR. with you, you got some backbone.” True dat. Recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood) Filmmaker Maria Arlamovsky takes a low-key, global-picture look at modern, medical-assisted baby-making. As one in- tism. Sartain also believes that her son could plan to pick him up; since they didn’t arrive terviewee puts it, what would have been be on the autism spectrum (a suspicion that on time, he changed his mind about the trip. considered science-fiction a few decades ago is confirmed during the film). Although Mimi Once their stepmother Jane talks Tom back is now commonplace. Potential mothers who is doing well, the family worries about what into it, the siblings fly to Los Angeles and rent seem to be past birthing age, same-sex cou- will happen to Dona after Mimi passes away. an RV for the drive to Las Vegas. But once ples, or practically anyone, can now achieve Sophie’s brother, Bo, is concerned that Dona there, Tom doesn’t feel up to meeting Lars, so offspring, via in-vitro fertilization, paid has never learned to do anything for her- Cathy goes to the show, while Will and Tom surrogate mothers, and agencies claiming to self, because Mimi has always seen to every watch TV and attempt to do laundry. Next, represent premium-quality sperm and ovum detail. Bo also worries about the potentially they’re off to Sacramento. After talking to (donors look like showroom-supermodels in long wait lists for care facilities that Mimi Jane and a Fragile X expert, Tom does go to their computer profiles; most are struggling initially disdains but reconsiders once Dona’s the second show, watching with headphones students earning their way through college). condition worsens. The family chooses the from the back of the stage, since he doesn’t do People now behave as though reproduction Denton State School, which admits residents well with crowds or excessive volume. They is an entitlement, says bioethicist Carmel with IQs of 72 or less, and they help Dona to finish up in Anaheim where Tom finally feels Shalev. The overall impression given here prepare for the move, but question whether ready to meet his hero. This is the fulfillment is of a union between business and science she understands what’s going on (after they of a 10-year dream, so the film ends on a that is advancing too fast for laws, healthcare, get Dona settled in, she tries to leave with positive note, although it’s hard to tell if the and an understanding of the consequences them). Once back home, Mimi has regrets, siblings are closer than they were before. As to keep pace. Some grown children resulting but visits regularly. At first the women make they all return to their separate lives, there’s from such treatments now find themselves adjustments, but then Dona’s health deterio- a sense that nothing has really changed. Still, stonewalled as to the identity of their bio- rates further, and doctors diagnose her with this feel-good road trip doc should be consid- logical parents—who might even have been Alzheimer’s. After Mimi breaks her hip, she ered a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. long dead at the time their frozen seed was also moves to a residential facility, and the (K. Fennessy) purchased. Also interviewing authors Anna rest of the film tracks the family’s involve- Smajdor and Miriam Zoll, the film travels ment in their care. This is an undeniably sad We Regret to Inform You HHH from the U.S. to Vienna, Israel, and Mexico film, but it would be considerably more so if (2015) 12 min. DVD: $79. National Film Board of to offer an interesting look at the science and Mimi and Dona didn’t have such a caring Canada. PPR. ethics of cutting-edge human reproduction. support system. Recommended. Aud: C, P. This Canadian documentary short wittily Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady) (K. Fennessy) takes on Canada’s national pension plan, spe- cifically the program’s penchant for rejecting Growing Up Coy HHH1/2 Mission to Lars HH1/2 60% of disabled applicants who are trying to (2016) 82 min. DVD: $29.99: individuals; $325: (2015) 78 min. DVD: $24.99: individuals, $99: receive disability benefits. At the center of institutions. DRA. Outcast Films. PPR. Closed high schools & public libraries; $349: colleges & filmmaker Eva Colmers’s We Regret to Inform captioned. universities. First Pond Entertainment. PPR. You is co-director Dr. Heidi Janz, a university Coy Mathis, a 6-year-old transgender girl For most of his life, Tom Spicer, who has professor with profound disabilities who living in a conservative Colorado town, just Fragile X Syndrome (a form of autism), has was recently released from her teaching wants to live a normal life. Her parents, lived in a British care facility. His siblings, position because of budget cuts. Demoted to Jeremy and Kathryn, are doing everything Cathy, a journalist, and Will, a filmmaker, an adjunct professor (she keeps an office for they can to help her. Filmmaker Eric Juhola’s decide to document Tom’s quest to meet writing but receives no income), Janz under- Growing Up Coy documents their efforts to Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich in a bid to get goes a complicated regimen every morning ensure that Coy’s school treats her like any to know their brother better (Cathy produced in preparation for her day that involves a other girl. Since Coy, born a boy, identified the film, while Will directed with James couple of assistants who get her through the as a girl from an early age, they encouraged Moore). Their parents are encouraging, but most basic self-care functions. From there, her to move in that direction, especially after warn them that Tom doesn’t deal well with Janz meets with a dramaturge about a play their attempts to do otherwise were met with change. Cathy eventually establishes the nec- she is writing, and then heads for her office extreme discomfort. They also take her to a essary connections, but things get off to a bad computer. Janz’s level of ambition and ac- child psychologist and a support group, where start when Tom goes missing on the day they complishment (despite enormous problems they find more encouragement than judg-

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 54 MAY/JUNE 2017 ment. At first, Coy’s school is supportive, but while she was young, Aldarondo has only the publicly about gay rights while living with later decides that Coy can’t use the girl’s bath- sketchiest of memories regarding his partner, a Jewish boyfriend and enduring air raids room. Jeremy and Kathryn, who have four a man named Robert. Pressing her mother, together. The more introspective Fadi worries other children, then begin to home school Nylda (Miguel’s sister), for details, Aldarondo that he might fall for a Jew who could seem the whole group. And they reach out to the fills in a few blanks about Dieppa’s life and oblivious to the Palestinian situation. Naim, Transgender Legal & Defense Education Fund eventually locates Robert, who is now a priest the only one of the three who hasn’t come in New York, which files a complaint with named Father Aquin. Aquin speaks with the out of the closet to his family, vaguely but the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, since director about Dieppa and the “hatred” that insistently tries to tell his pained, confused discrimination against transgender people his dead lover’s family harbored because they parents that he needs to move all the way to is illegal in the state. Fund founder Michael felt shame, given their conservative Puerto Tel Aviv to attain a “freedom” that he can’t Silverman helps them prepare for the fight, Rican and Catholic roots. To her credit, Al- explain. Between these dramas, the guys hit beginning with a press conference, which darondo wants to know more than just what nightclubs, party, and attend a rock concert in leads to appearances on news programs happened to her uncle and Robert; she also Jordan, and Khader and his partner decide on across the world. Some pundits praise the tries to better understand her grandmother, a long holiday in Berlin—only to be remind- family, others do not (CNN goes so far as to Carmen (with whom Miguel frequently ar- ed by Fadi that Islamophobia is rampant in remove the more hateful comments from gued—via letters—about his sexuality and Europe as well. For some, true freedom can their website). But after awhile, the negative God’s love), her grandfather (who might still only be a state of mind. Recommended. attention begins to grind the family down. have been a closeted gay man himself) and Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) Says Jeremy, “You shouldn’t have to move Nylda, who walked a fine line when Dieppa somewhere to have basic rights,” but circum- was alive, trying to save him and herself at stances will force their hand. The marriage the same time. Even as Aldarondo relentlessly FOOD & SPIRITS suffers, but the case establishes a precedent probes this buried tale, she never forgets that that will benefit other transgender children she’s making a film, drawing on strong visual in Colorado and beyond. A sobering docu- metaphors to comment upon the universality Cooking at the World’s End HHH mentary about the challenges and rewards of Dieppa’s tragedy. Recommended. Aud: C, (2017) 94 min. In Spanish w/English subtitles. involved in the transgender struggle for equal P. (T. Keogh) DVD: $24.95. Film Movement (avail. from most rights, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, distributors). Closed captioned. P. (K. Fennessy) Oriented HHH Director Alberto Baamonde’s Spanish-lan- (2015) 80 min. DVD: $375. Grasshopper Film. guage culinary documentary explores the PPR. world of the chef collective Grupo Nove, a RELATIONSHIPS & SEXUALITY charismatic group of experts with numerous What is it like to be a gay Palestinian Michelin stars between them, all centered in living in occupied territory where people the provinces of Spain. Combining in- are already seen as the “other”? Filmmaker Memories of a Penitent Heart HHH teresting shots of food preparation, bubbling Jake Witzenfeld’s interesting, fly-on-the- (2016) 72 min. DVD: $99: public libraries; $349: dishes, dribbled sauces, eagle-eyed workers, wall documentary centers on a trio of gay colleges & universities. DRA. Good Docs (avail. and grinning patrons, Cooking at the World’s from www.gooddocs.net). PPR. Arabs for whom life under Israeli rule is a End features a meeting of members to discuss Documentary filmmaker Cecilia Aldaron- mixed bag: one can choose to be free of their mission and mull over the requirements do courageously explores a forbidden family ideology, but there is no escaping the fact for new inductees, as well as trips to sources secret in Memories of a Penitent Heart, which of occupation. The three twentysomething for the local products that gastronomes hold tells the story of her uncle, Miguel Dieppa, friends—Khader, Fadi, and Naim—cope with dear, including a rustic cattle ranch, a night- a gay man who died of AIDS complications this issue while trying to enjoy their lives and time farm stop for perfect pea pods, and grape in the 1980s. Having met Dieppa only once grow. The most extroverted, Khader, speaks harvesting along craggy rocks. Other subjects include a Fraga Do Eume High School compe- tition and the group’s Decimo Anniversario. My Transgender Life: Male or Female? I Am Who I Am Cuisine devotees will likely appreciate this HHH colorful and upbeat look at an association that shows respect for food culture, unique- (2017) 47 min. DVD: $44.95. DRA. TMW Media Group. PPR. ness, and quality. Recommended. Aud: P. The personal stories of seven transgender individuals ranging (J. Williams-Wood) in age from 25 to 73 are at the center of this Canadian-produced documentary. Male or Female? I Am Who I Am places each inter- HHH1/2 viewee in a “hot seat” as they explain their experiences of being Sustainable (2016) 92 min. DVD: $59.95 ($299 w/PPR from transgender, seamlessly touching on topics including upbringing, edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from stereotypes, challenges, family dysfunction, and being an outsid- most distributors). er. While the takes are different (one says “I see it as a rebirth,” Among the many documentaries about another admits “I never knew I was ‘trans’ until someone put that the relationship between humans and our name on me,” and a third notes that “I believed I was mentally ill”), the stories carry food sources, Sustainable stands out for similarities, including confusion, curiosity, family and partner reactions, coping skills being particularly optimistic. Filmmaker (and not so great coping skills, including prostitution, black market street hormones, Matt Wechsler reminds viewers—through suicide attempts, and substance abuse), and physical changes to the body through interviews with a number of agriculture chemistry and surgery, all shedding light on the many struggles involved. From a radio experts—that it was only a half-century ago newscaster, to a retired teacher, to an aspiring nurse, nearly everyone winds up with when nearly all food sources for Americans some sort of positive note and hope for the future. A slice-of-life doc on a timely topic, were locally grown on family farms, largely this is recommended. [Note: also newly available from the My Transgender Life series at free of toxins and bio-engineering. Those tra- the same price is Paul Wears Dresses.] Aud: H, C, P. (J. Williams-Wood) ditions are therefore within living memory, and are being revived by today’s “conven-

MAY/JUNE 2017 55 VIDEO LIBRARIAN tional” family farmers. Although Wechsler enlists several famous chefs (including Rick HHH Bayless and Dan Barber) and former New York (2016) 71 min. DVD: $50 ($125 w/PPR): public libraries; $295 w/PPR: Times food writer Mark Bittman to help build colleges & universities. DRA. Collective Eye Films. Closed captioned. the case for small, organic farms playing a Do we not appreciate enough? A case for these 200-foot, stronger role, most of the film focuses on flat-bottomed vessels playing an essential role in civilization is the work of congenial Illinois farmer Marty made by the captain of the Mary Parker, a towboat, which pushes Travis, whose success with a mere 160 acres is along a dozen or so tightly-packed barges down the Mississippi a model of remarkably productive, versatile, River in filmmaker Ben Powell’s low-key documentary. “When and profitable farming that begins with good you get in your car, and you leave your driveway, guess what?” stewardship of the soil and intelligent season- says the captain. “Concrete was probably in a barge. The tires al rotation of crops. But even more interesting you’re rolling on, the petroleum to make them was in a barge. is Travis’s dedication to the needs and desires Asphalt…that stuff was in a barge.” He goes on to suggest that just about anything we of food consumers in his own community can buy or use was once, in its original materials form, delivered somewhere by barge, and nearby Chicago. When Bayless loses a and without these sometimes ugly carriers society would grind to a halt. Life as a captain longtime source for a particular type of corn, or crew member has its insular pleasures: the men (and they are all men) aboard the for instance, Travis starts growing it for him. Mary Parker submit to a rhythmic life of shift work with the hum of a powerful boat When Travis’s son asks if they can revive the engine beneath their feet. Powell quickly recognizes that not a lot happens aboard a cultivation of maple syrup—a lucrative prac- barge, aside from tasks designed to keep a lot of barges from drifting apart or crashing tice abandoned by Travis’s parents during a together. The workers live simply and leave behind domestic problems at home while hard time—the answer is yes. It’s that kind of on month-long trips. And the possibility for advancement is real: a six-figure income responsiveness that results in Travis supplying is not out of line for a veteran worker with a high school diploma. Powell doesn’t make 300 restaurants and markets with his yields, any statement here, but he is a good cultural anthropologist telling the story of a little and encourages him to create a cooperative noticed cog in the global wheel of commerce. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) with other struggling family farmers in the area. Wechsler’s interviews with various re- searchers undercut myths that organic farm- helpful advice. Also featuring a PDF teacher’s be an agreeably nostalgic and entertaining ing can never feed the entire world, while a guide with activities, fact sheets, and learning (if also selective) slice of PC history. Recom- scientist who had been a proponent of “big objectives, this info-packed career guid- mended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady) agriculture” in the 1960s now admits that it ance title is recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. was a disastrous, community-destroying idea. (J. Williams-Wood) Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) SPORTS, GAMES & RECREATION BUSINESS & ECONOMICS COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY Let’s Get the Rhythm HHH (2014) 53 min. DVD: $89: public libraries, $350: Silicon Cowboys HHH colleges & universities. Women Make Movies. PPR. How They Did It: Pathways to Amazing (2016) 87 min. DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $24.95. Girls worldwide play hand-clapping games Jobs HHH FilmRise (avail. from most distributors). using different rhymes to tell a wide array (2016) 17 min. DVD: $149.95 (teacher’s guide Filmmaker Jason Cohen here recalls of stories. Director Irene Chagall speaks included). Human Relations Media. PPR. Closed pioneers in the home-computer revolution with participants and observers in Ameri- captioned. ISBN: 978-1-62706-083-7. who do not share the celebrity status/infamy ca to solicit their thoughts on the subject. Geared towards grades 7 through college, of Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Houston-based Nine-year-old Eve from New Jersey says, “I this short features four real-life young pro- Compaq Computers was formed by a quartet think clapping games are really fun, because fessionals who offer information about the of former Texas Instruments employees in you don’t need anything but your hands.” steps they took to achieve their current career 1981 who just wanted to strike out on their In these games, girls roughly aged 6-to-11 goals. Pediatrician Sasha Gaglani decided own (partnering on a Mexican restaurant face each other and clap hands in groups early on that she wanted to be a doctor, was briefly considered). Their insanely great of two, four, or more. In conjunction with tailoring her courses and internships to her idea: making a “luggable” suitcased-sized modern-day scenes, Chagall includes grainy chosen field, with an eye towards staying portable PC that, like industry-leader IBM, footage of girls from the 1930s through the close to home and family. A composer of ran Microsoft software—and, thanks to ‘70s engaging in the same sort of games. advertising spots, musician Gene Back relies careful engineering, did it better than IBM. Anthropologist Rafael Pérez Arroyo says that on freelance assignments for his livelihood, Leading the “clone” offensive, Compaq these clapping games have been around at which affords some flexibility but also carries challenged IBM in the business marketplace, least since the Paleolithic era. Kids appreci- the inevitability of rejection. A web editor David-vs.-Goliath fashion, over a 10-year ate the fact that they learn from each other for Harper’s Bazaar, Chrissy Rutherford is ba- rollercoaster ride—at the end of which the rather than parents or teachers (nowadays sically on call at all times in order to quickly original founders, despite their meteoric some also study YouTube videos). Khadijah report on current events and trends. And success, had either left the company or, in Shaheed, a community liaison, notes that investment manager Ted Shuey acknowledges the case of media-friendly CEO Rod Canion, there is no financial barrier to participating that his work as a bond trader requires that been fired (Compaq apparently lagged behind in clapping games, which for girls attending he live in major financial hubs, but he enjoys rivals like Dell in outsourcing manufacturing schools with scarce resources provide a con- networking and learning from coworkers. to cheap overseas labor, a footnote not really structive way to pass the time during recess. Topics covered include college experiences explored here). Viewers with fond memories Although some songs reinforce gender stereo- (including how a broader degree may help a of the 1980s digital revolution—when Wil- types, the girls interpret the material as they person fine-tune their goals down the road), liam Shatner, , and even a Charlie choose, and many have endless variations. finding career services resources, and pros Chaplin impersonator were pitchmen for the Enduring favorites include “Rockin’ Robin,” and cons of various jobs, along with other marvelous new machines—will find this to “Miss Susie Had a Steamboat,” and “Miss

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 56 MAY/JUNE 2017 Mary Mack.” Author Ellen Disayake points our that these games prioritize cooperation over competition, because things fall apart if one girl tries to sing or clap faster than the other (and that is one of the reasons, among others, that girls are more likely to gravitate towards clapping games than boys). Poets STREAMING VIDEO FOR ALL LIBRARIES and musicians are also on hand to praise the musical and lyrical complexity of clapping games. An intriguing look at a longstanding cultural phenomenon, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (K. Fennessy) Premium Add-On We Must Go HHH (2016) 94 min. DVD: $59.95 ($250 w/PPR from Collections edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from most distributors). Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker’s doc- umentary focuses on the unlikely common ground between the Arab Spring political uprising and soccer mania. At the center of the fi lm is Bob Bradley, the former U.S. Soc- cer manager recruited in September 2011 to take over leadership of the Egyptian National Soccer team. The hiring of an American manager was highly unusual from a sports perspective and a bit dicey from a political one—especially after unrest in Egypt saw the toppling of Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship in favor of a Muslim Brotherhood leadership that, in turn, was ousted in a military coup. Bradley avoided getting involved in politics and, to his credit, seemed to rise above the growing level of anti-Americanism that per- Check out our premium add-on meated Egypt during this tumultuous time. (Many Egyptians admired that he chose to streaming video collections and find live in their country and learn their language and customs.) Bradley’s efforts were instead the targeted video content you need! concentrated on bringing the Egyptian team to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and the fi lm Start a Free Trial Today! details the training and strategies behind this diffi cult goal. Unfortunately, Egypt was eliminated by Ghana in the third-round NEW! playoffs of the qualification matches. But Bradley’s insights regarding soccer and Egypt Allied Health Veterinary offers a unique perspective on contemporary 140+ TITLES 245+ TITLES Egyptian society. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) Nursing World Cinema Wizard Mode HHH 575+ TITLES 485+ TITLES (2016) 97 min. DVD: $50 ($125 w/PPR): public libraries; $295 w/PPR: colleges & universities. DRA. Collective Eye Films. Closed captioned. Physical Therapy In the world of competitive pinball, 155+ TITLES Robert Gagno, a Canadian youth, is ranked among the top players, and here the camera follows him as he competes furiously in FREE Trial: “Pinburgh”—the world’s largest silverball face-off, held in Pennsylvania—to maintain www.Infobase.com/TrialAD17 or better his scores. Gagno’s backstory is particularly interesting: born autistic, Rob- ert did not even start speaking fully until the age of seven. A loner child, pinball has become his chief method of interacting with the world (although as a boy he did develop (800) 322-8755 • [email protected] • www.Infobase.com a habit of spontaneous hugging). Robert’s nurturing parents have gifted him with

MAY/JUNE 2017 57 VIDEO LIBRARIAN on a live stage presentation, “Harmontown,” that blended unrehearsed monologues, The Business of Amateurs HHH1/2 (2016) 89 min. DVD: $29.95. Kino Lorber (avail. from most distributors). guests, and Dungeons & Dragons sessions— Closed captioned. rallying even more self-declared misfits to Director Bob DeMars, who played football for the University his side. Here Harmon, despite being on TV- of Southern California but was forced to quit after suffering a script deadline, takes girlfriend Erin, “Dun- serious neck injury in 2001, is clearly the right person to helm geon Master” Spencer Crittenden, and other this documentary on the National Collegiate Athletic Association hangers-on on a national “Harmontown” (NCAA) and the business of college sports. DeMars outlines how tour. Unfortunately, despite filmmaker Neil the NCAA generates billions of dollars annually while being Berkeley’s efforts, this comes across as a you- largely indifferent towards the health risks faced by college had-to-be-there marathon of quasi-standup athletes—particularly the degenerative brain disease “chronic schtick and road diary. Harmon drinks to traumatic encephalopathy” (CTE), which was detailed in the recent Will Smith film excess (even genuine Tennessee moonshine), Concussion. DeMars profiles late CTE victims Scott Ross and Junior Seau—the latter died discloses details of his ugliest fights with from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following the severe deterioration of his health. Erin, and enjoys the support of simpatico Also interviewed are Robert Cantu and Chris Nowinski of the Concussion Legacy nerds. Harmon claims that he’s just trying Foundation, who provide cogent explanations of sports-based brain injuries. The film to make people happy, but also acknowledges also examines how the NCAA ruthlessly prevents college athletes from having any the paradox of his own chronic misery and share of the massive profits generated by college sports, and looks at the legal victory dysfunctional relationships (traced to an of UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon, who sued the NCAA for using his likeness abusive childhood). While this portrait of a without permission. Both harrowing and enlightening, this documentary should complicated, prickly entertainment personal- spark discussion about the ethical aspects of profit-based academic sports. Highly ity would have benefited from tighter editing, recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) it should still be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (C. Cassady) several full-sized machines for training and stopped selling and he couldn’t get a record Hieronymus Bosch: Touched by the Devil fun, but they worry about him being able to deal. But he never stopped recording, wound HHH live independently. Robert himself says that up overspending on touring, and eventual- (2016) 88 min. In English & Dutch w/English he refuses to be defined by autism, and there ly went into debt. His father, Tony Webb, subtitles. DVD: $29.95 (avail. from most is a not-so-subtle parallel made by Canadian who managed his career, warned him that distributors), $349 w/PPR (avail. from www. filmmakers Nathan Drillot and Jeff Petry the elaborate and expensive tours couldn’t kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber. Closed between Gagno striving to maintain focus in continue indefinitely. Father and son had a captioned. pinball tournaments and facing day-to-day falling out, which contributed to Numan’s One might expect this documentary to be challenges of applying for jobs and main- move to the U.S. (fortunately, the pair make either a biography of the titular Dutch painter taining relationships (the obvious connection up before film’s end). In 1997, Numan married or a scholarly study of his phantasmagorical with The Who’s fictitious disabled pinball longtime fan Gemma, but she was unable to depictions of peasant life and Hell, some of maestro/messiah Tommy is only made during conceive until undergoing IVF treatments. which are so bizarre that they have been the closing credits). The excitement of world Now, they have three daughters, including described as forerunners of surrealism. While championship pinball is hard to capture in two who Gemma dubs “lucky accidents.” Pieter van Huystee’s film touches on these narrative form, but Gagno’s human-interest In 2013, the family moves to Los Angeles, matters—offering a sketch of Bosch’s life and story effectively provides the film’s spark. where Numan sets up his studio and works commenting on the symbolism of the owls An uplifting portrait, this is recommended. on the new album Splinter, trading files with in his paintings—the primary focus is on [Note: this is also available on home video producer Ade Fenton in . The the effort of a group of experts to arrange an from Gravitas Ventures on DVD for $16.99 rest of the film tracks his re-entrance into exhibit of Bosch’s work at the museum in Den and Blu-ray for $19.99 from www.amazon. the active music scene. If the documentary Bosch, the artist’s hometown, in recognition com.] Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady) sometimes feels like a promotional vehicle, of the 500th anniversary of his death in 1516. Numan is candid to a fault, although fans Their mission involves trips to repositories may regret the lack of information about his where most of the 20-odd identified (but un- THE ARTS early years. Extras include bonus scenes. A dated) paintings, as well as drawings, ascribed strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (K. Fennessy) to Bosch are housed—including museums in Venice and Vienna, but particularly the Gary Numan: Android in La La Land Harmontown HH1/2 Prado in Madrid. (King Philip II of Spain as- HH1/2 (2016) 101 min. DVD: $24.95 ($299 w/PPR from siduously collected Bosch’s works, including (2016) 85 min. DVD: $24.95. First Run Features edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from The Garden of Earthly Delights, likely his most (avail. from most distributors). most distributors). famous painting.) Fraught negotiations to Steve Read and Rob Alexander’s docu- is a TV comedy auteur, arrange the loan of the precious artwork to mentary examines British musician Gary respected by his peers—here including Ben Den Bosch’s Noordbrabants Museum take up Numan’s career, beginning with a look back Stiller, Sarah Silverman, , and considerable running time here, but while at Numan’s work in the late-1970s. Other Jack Black—despite his oddball, domineer- the back-and-forth is intriguing, the team’s electronic artists had come before him, such ing personality (and possible alcoholism). investigation of individual works—closely as Kraftwerk, but few enjoyed the same degree Harmon is perhaps best known for creating examining brushstrokes and using infrared of chart success, most notably for his New the NBC sitcom Community, which during a cameras to peer beneath the surface paint—is Wave mega-hit “Cars.” Numan (born Gary low-rated run amassed cultish fans who were truly fascinating, leading to debates about Webb) describes himself as a synth-rock star. desperate to keep it on the air. At one point, whether some items should be considered col- But while his first three albums conquered the Harmon was fired from his own show after laborative efforts that involved other mem- charts, he felt isolated by his fame, due in part a public tiff with cast member Chevy Chase. bers of Bosch’s workshop (a trip to Kansas to Asperger syndrome. And then his music Harmon later started podcasts and embarked City to assess the authenticity of a painting

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 58 MAY/JUNE 2017 sometimes attributed to Bosch is a highlight). drug use and street violence. But a different fying Korea, pressing towards the Yalu River, Extras include deleted scenes. Sure to appeal graffiti culture emerged in Brooklyn, one the country’s northern border. Ignoring to those with an interest in art history, this is more artistic, organized, and enterprising, warnings from China, MacArthur persisted recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) and by the early ‘70s, urban graffiti—while until suddenly—in late November and early officially reviled—was celebrated by the art December—“volunteer” Chinese troops en- Wall Writers HH world, although the story told here about a circled the First Marine division, acting on (2016) 78 min. DVD: $29.95. Kino Lorber (avail. City College of New York student who created orders from China’s Chairman Mao to cut from most distributors). Closed captioned. a workshop space for taggers and wound up off and annihilate the division. Filmmaker Taki 183, Stitch 1, Cornbread, Bama… being violently assaulted by the taggers is Randall MacLoury’s PBS-aired American Ex- these are just a few of the noms-de-plume both harrowing and disheartening. Ultimate- perience documentary, narrated by Michael adopted by young taggers in big American ly, one’s personal views about graffiti are not Murphy, describes the hellish conditions cities such as New York and Philadelphia in likely to change after watching this film, but and incredible valor of the “Chosin few,” so the late 1960s and early ‘70s. Their stories it is interesting to meet some of these people named after the nearby reservoir. Much of and ambiguous ethics are revealed in this in the autumn of their lives. Optional. [Note: the fighting was done at night, in hand-to- alternately dull and illuminating documen- this is also available with public performance hand combat, with temperatures reaching tary, narrated by cult filmmaker John Waters, rights for $349 from Bond Educator at www. 35 degrees below zero. To demoralize the which centers on the rise of graffiti and its bondeducator.com.] Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) Americans, the Chinese often began their evolution from narcissistic teen pastime to art attacks with shouts and screams, followed world acceptance. Many now-60-ish artists by the blowing of whistles and bugles. Out- are interviewed in Wall Writers, recounting HISTORY & CURRENT EVENTS numbered by almost 10 to 1, the Marines em- the origins and flourishing of the tagging barked on a slow fighting retreat, hampered subculture, which began as ego-boosting by the cold, rugged terrain, and a lack of food, vandalism. Filmmaker Roger Gastman, some- sleep, proper clothing, and equipment, as times relying on archival footage of national The Battle of Chosin HHH1/2 well as a blown bridge that blocked a timely newscasts decrying graffiti’s vulgarity, fails to (2016) 120 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). exit. Wounds were sometimes cauterized by make a strong case for how this earliest and PBS Video. ISBN: 978-1-62789-924-6. the frigid cold, while other soldiers bled or “purest” form of wall-writing added up to Following the successful American landing froze to death, sometimes stripped of their more than vanity practiced by kids who stole at Inchon in September 1950, it appeared that clothing to supply the needs of the living, spray paint from stores. And the story certain- the Korean War could be over by . and then buried in mass graves. Veterans ly gets worse before it gets better, as taggers Riding a wave of optimism, General Douglas here remember feelings of isolation—look- were pressured to join gangs embroiled in MacArthur continued with the aim of uni- ing out for their buddies, yet not wanting

MAY/JUNE 2017 59 VIDEO LIBRARIAN to get too close to anyone. Meanwhile, an by the entire population. Homeland: Iraq Year the camera captures a ghostly view of a mil- alarmed American public followed each day’s Zero is a quietly devastating portrait of the itary uniform, still swaying on a hanger in events while holding their collective breath. toll that war takes on those who are often the officer’s quarters. Cups, dishes, and other Combining vivid footage with harrowing considered mere collateral damage. Extras artifacts abound, but no human remains are comments from vets, this powerful tribute include a New York Film Festival Q&A with seen (200 bodies were recovered shortly after to the courage of average soldiers trying to Fahdel. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) the attack). Although the bombing greatly fight and survive in a remote land is highly damaged the fleet, the horrific event only recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees) Pearl Harbor: Into the Arizona HHH1/2 stiffened America’s resolve in winning total (2016) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS victory over Japan. A fine historical docu- Homeland: Iraq Year Zero HHH Video. ISBN: 978-1-62789-994-9. mentary, this is highly recommended. Aud: (2015) 2 discs. 334 min. In Arabic w/English Prior to 9/11, Pearl Harbor represented the H, C, P. (S. Rees) subtitles. DVD: $29.95. Kino Lorber (avail. from deadliest foreign attack in American military most distributors). history. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese air Projections of America HHH The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq was exten- force bombed Pearl Harbor’s row. (2015) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS sively covered from the American perspective The USS Arizona was ground zero, with 2,000 Video. ISBN: 978-1-62789-983-3. in contemporary news broadcasts and subse- pounds of explosives blowing the battleship As World War II raged on, some visionary quent documentaries, but filmmaker Abbas apart and sending it to the bottom of the filmmakers saw a need to explain American Fahdel here offers a remarkable five-hours- harbor—killing, trapping, or drowning over values to liberated territories, while also an- plus view from the perspective of ordinary 1,700 men. Seventy-five years later the ship ticipating what the post-war world could look Iraqis. Fahdel, long a resident of France, remains on the sea floor, a military grave like. Thus began the little known Projections decided to visit relatives in Baghdad early and monument to the sailors who died there. of America series, which aimed to spread a in 2002, when tensions following 9/11 were Filmmaker Carsten Oblaender’s PBS-aired “propaganda of truth” in short films that reaching a peak. In the first half ofHomeland documentary concerns National Park service were often shown in bombed out theaters in he records his brother, sister-in-law, and their efforts to determine the long term stability areas often recently occupied by the Nazis. three children as they attempt to live normal of the sunken ship. No divers are permitted Filmmaker Peter Miller’s PBS-aired documen- lives under the threat of war and a barrage of inside what is considered a shrine and ceme- tary, narrated by , looks at these patriotic propaganda lauding Saddam Hus- tery, requiring remote controlled cameras to idealistic films that provided a positive view sein. Fahdel also shows the family visiting a navigate the interior. The film describes pre- of American life. One of the driving forces memorial to the victims of an earlier aerial war life around the Hawaiian island of Oahu, behind the project was screenwriter Robert attack, foretelling a tragedy that the family where a sunny, tropical, relaxed atmosphere Riskin (It Happened One Night). Taking time off will suffer—a revelation that hangs over the prevailed, which was most welcome to the from Hollywood, enduring long separations rest of the film like a ticking time bomb. In Depression-weary sailors who tried to ignore from his actress wife, Fay Wray (King Kong), the second half, Fahdel documents the fam- the gathering war clouds between Japan and Riskin and his crew crafted short documen- ily’s life under American occupation. People America. The USS Arizona, officially commis- taries, usually meant to accompany a feature in the streets now speak more openly of the sioned in 1916, was dubbed the “pride of the film. One of the most popular,The Autobiog- brutality of Saddam’s rule, but they also com- fleet.” On that peaceful Sunday morning, raphy of a Jeep (1943), was “narrated” by the plain bitterly about the lack of security and Pearl Harbor became a hell of bombs, smoke, vehicle, describing its journey from assembly the insulting fashion in which they are often and burning bodies. An elderly Arizona sur- line, to training ground, and finally onto the treated by U.S. soldiers. Only at the close is vivor is here given a view of the sonar as it battlefield. Another film,The Cummington the family’s loss fully covered, and it comes to traverses the battleship levels, evoking both Story (1945), shows a real New England town, represent in microcosm the suffering endured tears and pride from the old veteran. Later, charting the citizens’ journey from suspicion to acceptance as they encounter refugees from war-torn lands. Surprisingly, one of Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise HHHH the most successful films was the seemingly (2016) 2 discs. 240 min. DVD: $29.99 ($59.99 w/PPR), Blu-ray: esoteric subject of the Library of Congress, $34.99 ($59.99 w/PPR). PBS Video (avail. from most distributors). SDH not simply depicting the functions of the captioned. ISBN: 978-1-62789-806-5 (dvd), 978-1-62789-807-2 (blu-ray). library, but also providing a stirring tribute Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. presents this PBS-aired four-part to intellectual freedom. Of course, some series chronicling the African-American struggle for equality, members of Congress opposed the overall beginning with the passage in 1965 of the Voting Rights Act, after program, detecting a pro-Roosevelt bias. which blacks found that merely having the vote wasn’t enough. Although these films have remained mostly Following the devastating murders of Malcolm X and Martin unseen since the war, they are being pre- Luther King, Jr., America’s cities burned, reflecting feelings of served and slowly restored by (appropriately anger and hopelessness. For , integration wasn’t enough) the Library of Congress. While more enough without accompanying economic opportunity. The series film clips would have been welcome, this is discusses the rise of the Black Panthers, white flight from the cities, the school busing an interesting documentary that sheds light crisis of the 1970s, black feminists, and the black cultural awakening in music, TV, on an inspiring and little known subject. movies, fashion, and literature. As the song in the hit show The Jeffersons put it, blacks Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees) “finally got a piece of the pie,” and a new generation of black political leaders would emerge. However, old problems such as poverty and new scourges like drug addiction A Promise to My Father HHH1/2 took a toll. Gates deftly explores the O.J. Simpson murder trial for insights into black- (2016) 60 min. DVD: $19.99. DRA. TMW Media white relations, and the coverage of Obama’s election is inspiring, celebrating hope Group. PPR. and possibility. Examining a wide range of issues (although, surprisingly, no mention When Polish Jew Israel “Izzy” Arbeiter is made of the gun violence epidemic), Black America Since MLK features powerful was a teenager, he and his two brothers were archival footage, sharp editing, and keen insight. Highly recommended. Editor’s separated from their parents and a 7-year- Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees) old brother by the Nazis. The last words he heard his father say were, “If you survive,

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 60 MAY/JUNE 2017 Organizations—which sprang into action during World War II, and has over the years Confronting ISIS HHH served some 24 million American soldiers. (2016) 120 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. SDH For lonely soldiers far from home, the USO captioned. ISBN: 978-1-62789-905-5. provided a comforting reminder of civilian In June 2014, the Islamic State in Syria shocked the world by life, while the WWII-era Stage Door Canteens routing the Iraqi army, taking control of the northern Iraq city offered a safe place with lots of pretty girls of Mosul, establishing strict Islamic law, and declaring an Islamic available for a dance, a chance to talk, or caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria. Using a sophisticated perhaps help with writing a love letter to the system of social media messaging, they broadcast videos of soldier’s girlfriend. Of course, Bob Hope put beheadings, destruction of historic sites, and other atrocities. the USO on the map, traveling to countless Martin Smith hosts this PBS-aired Frontline documentary, countries, armed with corny jokes, skits, and presenting an in-depth look at the struggle of the West and in later years performances by celebrities moderate Middle Eastern countries in the fight against ISIS, a battle that is as much including Ann-Margret and Raquel Welch about ideology as military victories. Initially, residents of Mosul welcomed ISIS since (both interviewed here). Hope performed they distrusted Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite Muslim who clearly in every conflict from WWII to the Persian favored the Shiite branch of Islam over Mosul’s Sunni population. When the Iraqi Gulf War. The USO was disbanded in 1947 army hastily quit the battlefield, they left millions of dollars in American military in the naïve belief that there would be no equipment that fell into the hands of ISIS, a group that skillfully exploits the Internet more wars, but it was quickly reactivated to encourage disaffected Muslims to come to Syria to fight the brutal regime of Syrian during the Korean War. The troupe has a lot Shiite President Bashar al-Assad. Some in the Obama administration urged the West to of moving parts, with transportation staff “contain” ISIS, but Obama eventually decided on a strategy to “degrade and destroy,” and equipment needing to be shipped to which proved easier said than done. The situation is endlessly complex, with Saudi far-flung locations. The documentary covers Arabia more concerned with confronting Iran (an ISIS ally) than the terrorist group the USO in the years of a segregated military itself. While Russia and Iran pile on in support of Assad, Turkey is fighting the best and during the time of Vietnam anti-war anti-ISIS forces, the Kurds, who they oppose because of their desire for independence protests, while also looking at the new chal- in Turkey. And enveloping everything is the problem of sectarianism, which dates lenges posed by an all-volunteer armed forces, back at least a thousand years. Featuring testimony from government and military with an eye towards increasing importance leaders, this documentary—produced before the 2016 presidential election—offers of aiding and connecting families in the In- no easy answers and no hopes of an early end in sight, noting that the situation has ternet age, helping the returning wounded, arisen from a “once in a century” perfect storm of regional and religious rivalries. An and even comforting loved ones when bodies informative and timely review, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees) are shipped back home. Other interviewees include Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and Senator Al Franken. Noting that the USO evolved along remember to carry on with Jewish life and specs of battlefield equipment. But it also with America’s military, this entertaining and Jewish tradition.” Seventy years later, the serves up a general history of a weapon that inspirational documentary is recommended. camera follows 87-year-old Holocaust survi- was initially envisioned as a battleship on dry Aud: P. (S. Rees) vor Albeiter (accompanied by his grandson land. The first generation of tanks produced Matt) on his return to Eastern Europe to face toward the end of World War I by the U.S., We Were There HHH1/2 his past—and to find items that his family Britain, and France, were sluggish vehicles (2017) 103 min. DVD: $19.99. DRA. Vision Video. buried to protect them from Nazi plunder. that had limited mobility, were vulnerable An oral history of World War II told by Albeiter locates his old home near the ghet- to attack, and were internally dangerous for veterans (with a bit of stock footage thrown to (still standing but now condemned) and crews (bits of metal within the tank could in), We Were There is a remarkably moving heads to the basement area, but subsequent suddenly go flying). These tanks were made documentary that eschews facts and figures digging is in vain. Although the physical by automobile companies (Ford, Renault) and for personal anecdotal accounts of battle, remnants are gone, the memories remain. ran on similar engines and fuel as cars. After with many men unburdening themselves Albeiter—when young and strong—worked the war concluded, interest in tanks waned, of painful memories for the first time. Pre- in several Nazi camps, eventually landing in but when the U.S. Army infantry sought out sented in loose chronology, the film begins the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he a smaller, lighter tank during the 1930s, tech- with recollections of what these interviewees was told that the only way out was “through nological evolution suddenly took off, im- were doing when they received news about the chimneys.” His visit here to Auschwitz proving tank utility over the decades to fight Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, and how each is chilling (walking into the yard he keeps in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and beyond. of them—barely more than boys—wound looking back to make sure the gate is still Tanks ultimately expanded their capabilities up in one or another branch of the military, open) as he serves as a sort of grim tour to be able to shoot flames, bulldoze, and often for precise reasons such as possessing a guide—sharing his memories about one of travel in near silence at rapid speeds. With the skill set (truck mechanics, engineering) that the most horrific events in human history. ascension of drones in modern warfare, the was useful to the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, A powerful Holocaust documentary, this is place of tanks is now questionable, but they or Marines. From there, the stories diverge as highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (C. Block) certainly made a notable mark over the past combat action took different forms. A former century of military history. Recommended. pilot talks about being shot down over Italy, Tanks: A Century of Dominating the Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh) and—badly injured and attacked by locals— Battlefield 1916-2016 HHH being rescued by German soldiers who placed (2016) 38 min. DVD: $19.95. Hoch Productions USO: For the Troops HHH him in a hospital where he was hidden by a (avail. from www.amazon.com). (2016) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS doctor. A D-Day survivor recalls the thou- Written and directed by Clyde Hoch, a Video. SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-62789-926-0. sands of men, including his captain, killed former tank commander who fought during Directed by Peter Schnall and narrated by even before reaching the shore in Normandy the Vietnam War, Tanks is largely aimed at , this PBS-aired documen- (the memory of his fear still brings him to the armchair military fans interested in the tech tary centers on the USO—or United Service brink of tears). And various ex-sailors speak

MAY/JUNE 2017 61 VIDEO LIBRARIAN during its civil war and then abandoned France just before Hitler’s occupation. After Tower HHHH his early years in New York, Casablancas (2016) 69 min. DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.95 (avail. from most attended an elite boarding school in Europe, distributors), $349 w/PPR (avail. from www.kinolorberedu.com). DRA. where his teenage sexual relationship with Kino Lorber. Closed captioned. a maid resulted in expulsion and a gradual In an age when school shootings are depressingly frequent, path towards the world of managing models. Keith Maitland’s powerful documentary takes a look at the first Casablancas grows increasingly engaging as major incident, when a sniper on the observation deck of the the subject recounts his hard work and the University of Texas Tower took aim at pedestrians below, killing daring involved in building a nascent, entre- 14 and wounding another 31, on August 1, 1966. The identity preneurial already overshadowed of gunman Charles Whitman is eventually revealed, but the by titan Eileen Ford. The ups and downs of emphasis here is on the victims, along with the police and Casablancas’s relationship with Ford over other individuals who tried to assist or made their way toward the tower to confront many years is just one of the recurring story the shooter. Maitland uses an impressive variety of techniques to capture both the threads here, but what is fascinating is how immediacy and poignancy of the tragic event, including dramatic re-enactments that often he reinvented his business, ultimately morph into rotoscope-animated images (both black-and-white and color), accompanied reaching stratospheric success with the in- by voiceover reminiscences (new and archival) of those trapped amidst the carnage. troduction of celebrity models in popular A remarkable amount of contemporary footage is edited into the material, with radio culture, including Cindy Crawford, Christie and television reports, punctuated by a steady stream of gunfire, added to the mix, Brinkley, Stephanie Seymour, and Naomi while a group of police and one civilian (a bookstore manager) recollect how they Campbell. Casablancas’s honesty about fail- worked past the bodies of Whitman’s first victims to reach the deck and end the siege. ures in his private life and certain business This portrait of courage in the face of terror is capped by newly-shot interviews and decisions help negate any easy assumptions reunions, including one between Claire Wilson, who lay wounded on the concrete that he lived a charmed existence. Drawing beside the corpse of her dead boyfriend for hours, and John Fox, a young man who from a wealth of archival footage, including came out of hiding to help carry her to safety. Tower is a remarkably moving re-cre- film and video of Elite’s clients, this engaging ation of a traumatic episode in America’s history that also serves as a reminder of how portrait is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) ineffective we have been at preventing similar tragedies over the past half-century. Highly recommended. Editor’s Choice. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future HHH (2016) 68 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS of the horror of Japanese pilots crashing their with narration by Doblmeier, quotations Video. SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-62789-796-9. warplanes into American ships. Spirited de- from Niebuhr’s work read by Hal Holbrook, One of the most influential figures in fenses are also made of why it was necessary and interviews with political figures (Jimmy post-World War II architecture was the Finn- (so the argument goes) to drop two atomic Carter, Andrew Young), scholars (Andrew ish-born Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), whose bombs on Japan to prevent the many more Bacevich, Stanley Hauerwas, Cornel West), neo-futuristic vision produced some of the deaths that would have occurred had America and journalists (David Brooks), as it traces most striking design accomplishments of and its allies launched a conventional inva- changes in Niebuhr’s thought over time, the 20th century. Filmmaker Peter Rosen’s sion. Serving up powerful testimonials from from unqualified idealism to what came to PBS-aired American Masters documentary WWII survivors, this is highly recommended. be called Christian realism. The result is a offers a respectable overview of Saarinen’s Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) positive but nuanced depiction of an im- career. The son of acclaimed architect Eliel portant thinker who influenced a wide range Saarinen, Eero first gained attention in 1948 of individuals, including anti-Nazi German when he won the competition to create the BIOGRAPHY Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mar- Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in tin Luther King, Jr., and political figures as St. Louis with a concept that became known diverse as and John McCain. as the Gateway Arch. Saarinen’s later designs An American Conscience: The Reinhold Extras include bonus interview segments. for the TWA Flight Center at New York’s Niebuhr Story HHH Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) John F. Kennedy International Airport and (2017) 60 min. DVD: $24.95. First Run Features the main terminal at Washington’s Dulles (avail. from most distributors). Casablancas: The Man Who Loved International Airport were boldly modern, Filmmaker Martin Doblmeier serves Women HHH while his General Motors Technical Center up a solid portrait of American Protestant (2016) 86 min. DVD: $19.95. First Run Features in Warren, MI, turned the corporate campus theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), (avail. from most distributors). into a work of intelligent art. Saarinen’s inte- an activist Midwestern pastor who espoused A spirited documentary about the legacy rior design concepts—most notably the “tulip socialism and pacifism while also showing of John Casablancas, the founder of mod- chair”—offered an imaginative spin on office concern for the downtrodden and minorities eling agency Elite Model Management and and home décor. Eric Saarinen, this film’s (including religious ones). Niebuhr joined inventor of the “supermodel” phenomenon co-producer and director of photography, the faculty of New York’s Union Theological in the 1970s and beyond, director Hubert also serves as an onscreen presence, visiting Seminary as Professor of Christian Ethics in Woroniecki’s film grew out of a recording many of his father’s famous buildings. But 1928, becoming one of the country’s leading that Casablancas made in 2011 (two years the younger Saarinen appears somewhat public intellectuals as he applied moral princi- before he died of cancer at age 70) in which uncomfortable plumbing the more sour as- ples to politics, economics, and international he told his story. That posthumously-released pects of his father’s life—Saarinen divorced affairs (Niebuhr also originated the serenity narrative serves as the guide for what turns Eric’s mother, sculptor Lilian Swann, and prayer adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous). out to be a winning portrait of a likable pio- mostly ignored Eric and his sister in favor of The film combines archival footage from neer in the fashion world. A youthful rogue, the vivacious writer Aline Bernstein, whose Niebuhr’s speeches and TV appearances (with Casablancas was born in Manhattan to a tireless promotion of Saarinen’s projects interviewers such as Mike Wallace) together financially successful couple who fled Spain made him better known. Presenting a solid

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 62 MAY/JUNE 2017 appraisal of Saarinen’s influential architec- ognized as exceptional in his field, this is in the 1980s when she studied Einstein’s tural achievements, this is recommended. recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) brain, and while her resulting paper was Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) controversial due to methodology and results, My Love Affair with the Brain: The Life she helped scientists to see glial cells in a new Forced Perspective: The Story of Artist and Science of Dr. Marian Diamond way. More recently, she has been working Derek Hess HHH to educate children in Cambodia who are HHH victims of the same kind of environmental (2015) 95 min. DVD: $29.95. Kino Lorber (avail. (2017) 56 min. DVD: $295. Luna Productions. impoverishment that she once studied in a from most distributors). Closed captioned. PPR. ISBN: 978-1-63587-860-8. lab. An engaging portrait of a neuroscience Cleveland poster artist Derek Hess is the Dr. Marian Diamond may be the world’s pioneer, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. subject of Nick Cavalier’s documentary best known neuroscientist, having made (K. Fennessy) profile, which takes on an increasingly auto- countless appearances in person and been biographical tone as Hess talks about his life widely covered in the press. According to this Paolo Soleri: Citizen of the Planet and career in extended interview excerpts. affectionate profile, which features narration HHH Hess’s recollections cover his childhood fas- by Mayim Bialik—an actress (The Big Bang cination with comic-book illustrators such (2016) 50 min. DVD: $50 ($125 w/PPR): public Theory) and neuroscientist herself—Dia- libraries; $295 w/PPR: colleges & universities. DRA. as Gil Kane (whose work introduced Hess to mond is the second most popular professor Collective Eye Films. his favorite technique of forced perspective, on YouTube, where her Berkeley lectures are One of the more colorfully eccentric figures which emphasizes an object by increasing its accessible to all. Other neuroscientists, in- of the 20th century was Paolo Soleri (1919- size relative to others surrounding it) and his cluding her husband, UCLA professor Arne 2013), whose theories on urban redesign early studies with, among others, his father Scheibel, credit her for helping to found the earned him a devoted cult-like following (a teacher of industrial design). Hess created field by challenging conventional notions. during his lifetime. Geoffrey Madeja’s doc- posters and promo materials for bands he In 1953, Diamond earned the first doctorate umentary offers a positive view of Soleri’s encountered at a bar where he worked in in anatomy at Berkeley. By her early 30s, she work and vision, which was striking for its Cleveland—efforts that not only gained was a mother of four working as a part-time audacious plan of hyper-dense human hab- him recognition in the music scene but also researcher and lecturer. She joined a team to itation but was perhaps a bit too utopian for led him to produce work for galleries and study the effects of the environment on the practical purposes. Born in Turin, Italy, Soleri museums, as well as designs for a clothing brain, a project that would last for 15 years. grew up influenced by and drawn to urban line. On the more personal side, Hess offers In comparing the brains of rats living in en- settings. He was briefly a student of Frank frank observations about his struggles with riched and impoverished environments, the Lloyd Wright in the late 1940s, but the film bipolar disorder and alcoholism. His remarks group found significant differences in brain claims that Wright became upset when Soleri throughout are supplemented by well-chosen size over time, ultimately concluding that outshone him in a bridge design competition. examples of his artwork, along with inter- brain plasticity disproved genetic determin- Soleri returned to Italy in 1950 to oversee the views with friends, colleagues and admirers, ism as an immutable phenomenon. The paper construction of a ceramics factory, but came who not only comment enthusiastically on they published in the 1960s met with some back to the U.S. in 1956 to pursue the concept Hess’s talent but also talk candidly about how resistance before becoming widely accepted, of “arcology”—a melding of architecture and the artist’s medical problems have impacted and it inspired Diamond’s catchphrase, “Use ecology—through the construction of an his productivity. An insightful portrait of it or lose it,” coined to underscore the fact that experimental community dubbed Arcosan- a man who has overcome major obstacles the brain atrophies in the absence of ongoing ti. But this project, worked on by students to create a body of work that is widely rec- stimulation. Diamond made headlines again and volunteers over several decades, never achieved completion, and it is primarily used today as an educational forum to highlight Art Bastard HHH Soleri’s theories and celebrate his design (2016) 84 min. DVD: $24.95 ($299 w/PPR from edu.passionriver.com). skills. The documentary combines archival Passion River (avail. from most distributors). footage with interviews of admirers to serve Victor Kanefsky’s documentary centers on iconoclastic Amer- up an entertaining portrait of a charismatic ican artist Robert Cenedella, whose paintings famously include architectural outsider. Recommended. Aud: a 1988 depiction of a crucified Santa Claus that was quickly C, P. (P. Hall) removed from its original placement in an ad agency lobby and later caused an outcry when it was finally exhibited in the win- The Passionate Pursuits of Angela dow of Manhattan’s Art Students League in 1997. The painting’s Bowen HHH1/2 mixture of provocation and humor is characteristic of Cenedella, (2015) 73 min. DVD: $89: public libraries, $395: who readily admits in the autobiographical interviews here that colleges & universities. Women Make Movies. PPR. he was a rebel from the start, studying at the Art Students League—after being thrown The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen out of a prestigious public arts high school—with its drawing teacher, German Dadaist tells the story of a onetime dancer and dance George Grosz. Cenedella’s most famous works, colorful canvases crammed with riotous teacher who was suddenly catapulted into crowds of cartoonish people, are prominently featured, but Kanefsky also gives the the public eye as a lesbian-feminist activist, artist lots of opportunities to excoriate the art establishment for its commercialism and then recruited into academia, becoming and faddishness. The film’s title refers to his defiant status as a populist outsider who is a professor. Shot over several years, Jennifer largely shunned by gallery owners and museum directors, but it also carries a secondary Abod’s documentary profile begins with its meaning: Cenedella’s mother confessed he was not the biological son of Robert Sr., a African-American subject’s childhood in writer blacklisted during the McCarthy era, but of an English professor—a domestic inner-city Boston during the Jim Crow years. matter that the artist discusses with his customary outgoing geniality. Kanefsky punc- Bowen’s father died when Angela was two, tuates Cenedella’s entertaining ramblings with observations from friends and admirers. forcing her mother to work two jobs to raise Art Bastard has a bit of a ramshackle quality, but that seems to mirror its subject’s gruffly her seven children, while also finding time exuberant personality. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) to support the Civil Rights movement. Tall, stiff, and afflicted with bad posture, Bowen

MAY/JUNE 2017 63 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise HHH1/2 Series Update (2016) 114 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. ISBN: 978-1- 62789-987-1. The following titles are new additions A dancer, actress, activist, and writer, Maya Angelou (1928-2014) to series that were previously recom- was committed—as one observer here puts it—to living a “life on mended. Titles are available from most the stage.” Directed by Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack, distributors unless otherwise noted. this PBS-aired American Masters documentary examines Angelou’s eventful life and the impact that she had on America. Raped at the Wild Kratts: Pan- age of seven by her mother’s boyfriend, Angelou became mute for da-Monium (120 min., five years. She was sent to live with her grandmother in a small DVD: $14.99) is the lat- Arkansas town, where she discovered school libraries and reading. est entry in PBS Distri- After becoming pregnant at age 16, Angelou danced in strip clubs (although she did not bution’s combination disrobe), eventually earning the title of “Miss Calypso.” She had a better than average live-action and ani- singing voice, and worked her way into stage shows and low-budget films, but money mated series featuring was always a concern. While living in Harlem, Angelou discovered her activist voice, animal expert brothers becoming acquainted with James Baldwin, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin and Chris Kratt Although Angelou had written some for the stage, she didn’t seriously pursue writing in nature-themed episodes. See review until her friend Jules Feiffer suggested that she write about her life. This led to 1969’s of Wild Kratts: Creature Adventures in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which became a publishing phenomenon, cultural VL-7/11. touchstone, and staple of college American literature classes and discussion groups. Angelou talks about the misuse of language, the “curse” of vulgarity (after dressing Also recently released by PBS is Craft down Tupac Shakur for his profanity, she humorously confesses that she didn’t know in America: Nature (60 min., DVD: Tupac from a six-pack), and, of course, race relations in America. With tributes from $19.99), the latest episode of the Pea- Oprah Winfrey, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Common, John Singleton, and others, this body Award-winning series, which here film offers a rounded portrait of an African-American feminist and literary pioneer. focuses on craft in the natural world Extras include behind-the-scenes footage. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees) and features sculptor Patrick Dougherty and woodcarver Michelle Holzapfel. See review of Craft in America: Messages in was enrolled in a dance studio and gradually Hallacy’s documentary details his tumultu- VL-11/11. found her natural talent, becoming the com- ous life, starting with his role as a student pany’s prima ballerina as well as an instruc- leader in the 1988 anti-government uprising The newest addition from Universal tor. Moving to New York, Bowen encountered and his subsequent escape into the Burmese Studios Home Entertainment’s creepy severe racism as she auditioned for dance jungle to join a rebel army commanded by animated series, High: Elec- companies and Broadway shows, eventually the ethnic minority (no mean feat for trified (72 min., DVD: $19.98, Blu-ray/ joining an all-black dance revue that toured an urban youth with no previous experience DVD Combo: $22.98) finds Clawdeen in either a jungle or a militia). Min avoided Europe. The film traces Bowen’s reluctant and Frankie working on their idea of a capture by his country’s junta regime and marriage and the terrible death of her toddler monster and normie beauty salon with fled to Thailand—not returning to Myanmar son, which left a pain that she buried during the help of the Boogey Man’s daughter. for 24 years. Once back home, Min became a two decades of work running her own dance See review of Monster High Clawesome prominent advocate for ensuring that LGBT school in New Haven. Throughout, archival Double Feature: Fright On!/Escape from Skull citizens were guaranteed equal protection, footage of Bowen’s own dancing and that Shores in VL-9/14. of her students is presented to accompany an effort that presented two huge challeng- es: mounting a legal assault on a law that Bowen’s recollections. When the narrative Paramount Home Media Distribution criminalized “unnatural sex” with the threat abruptly changes to Bowen coming out has released PAW Patrol: Pups Save the of fines and prison sentences, and breaking as lesbian during the 1970s height of the Bunnies (94 min., DVD: $14.98), featur- down a historic taboo in Burmese society feminist movement—she gave up dance for ing the animated PAW Patrol, who are regarding the open acknowledgement of ho- a new role as an outspoken advocate of wom- busy working in Adventure Bay in this mosexuality. This Kind of Love is a remarkable en’s rights—the shift feels seismic. Viewers springtime compilation that includes tribute to a bold man who has helped broaden also meet Bowen’s partner and her grown “Pups Save the Easter Egg Hunt” and the concept of civil rights in a nation that has children, who speak honestly about the “Pups Save the Mayor’s Tulips.” See re- only recently begun to re-enter the family difficulties they experienced in childhood view of PAW Patrol in VL-7/14. adjusting to their mother’s radical changes. of democracies. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) Offering a compelling story of one woman’s Newly available from remarkable journey through 20th-century NCircle Entertainment turbulence in racial and sexual politics, this is Octonauts: 12 Res- is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) cue Missions (140 min., Visit Video Librarian Online (www. DVD: $9.99), from the This Kind of Love HHH1/2 videolibrarian.com) for more reviews computer-animated se- (2015) 43 min. DVD: $295. DRA. Documentary during May and June, including: The ries featuring the Oc- Educational Resources. PPR. Age of Consequences, By Sidney Lumet, tonauts, on the job here Aung Myo Min is one of the most compel- Dirty Old Wedge, Fly By Light, For Grace, in episodes including “Mariana Trench ling figures among Burmese human rights The Great Human Odyssey, My Congo, Adventure,” “Lion’s Mane Jellyfish,” and activists, not only for his commitment to the Playing with Fire, The Return, Searching for “Loggerhead Sea Turtle.” See review of establishment of democracy in Myanmar but Augusta: The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne, Octonauts: 15 Underwater Adventures in also for being a pioneer in calling for LGBT The Story of Chocolate, and much more! VL-11/16. rights in his country. Filmmaker Jeanne

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 64 MAY/JUNE 2017 Japanese Anime Aquarion Logos, Part 1 with English subtitles, this is highly rec- in a new Blu-ray edition, rated TV-14, and ommended. (C. Cassady) presented in Japanese with English subtitles, H1/2 this is an optional purchase. (C. Cassady) (2015) 4 discs. 325 min. Blu- ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. Bikini Warriors H1/2 Funimation (avail. from most (2015) 48 min. Blu-ray/DVD Castle Town Dandelion distributors). Combo: $29.98. Funimation H1/2 (avail. from most distributors). In this latest anime series (2015) 4 discs. 300 min. Blu- from the Aquarion franchise, An anime series sporting ray/DVD Combo: $64.99. the supreme villain is a corporate wizard who the title Bikini Warriors is Funimation (avail. from most has become obsessed with the collapse of unlikely to offer much in distributors). language—using his powers to turn words the way of cerebral enter- The Sakurada clan are a into extraordinary monsters called M.J.B.K. tainment, especially one promising “warriors royal family headed by a (Menace of Japanese with Biological Kinetic skilled at battling questionable slimes and king with nine children who each have a energy—and yes, the acronym is a bit off, but taming tumescent tentacles.” Unfortunately, distinctive super power. In a reality-TV-like that’s the least of problems here). The good anyone hoping for a jolly bit of camp will like- scenario, the kids’ actions are televised with guys and gals are the youthful members of ly feel cheated by this offering that feels like the aid of thousands of surveillance cameras, the Verbalism Club, a quasi-governmental a cut-rate version of Barbarella mixed with a and the citizens of the kingdom will be asked entity, all of whom have exaggerated per- half-dozen other anime sci-fi romps. The title to vote on which child will become the next sonalities. Their leader is the humorless characters are a quartet of Russ Meyer-wor- monarch. The unlikely hero is fourth-eldest Akira, who refers to himself as the “savior,” thy heroines who search for villains and Akane, who is able to manipulate gravity for but most of the attention seems to fall on monsters, although their heroic abilities are herself and others. Akane is shy and she only the aggressive antics of would-be comedian sometimes lacking and they often wind up wants to win the competition in order to ban Tsutomu. While the animation is often imag- being victims of remarkably poor judgment. surveillance cameras in the kingdom. While inative—particularly in the embodiment The lady fighters also have a strange habit of Castle Town Dandelion could have offered of the M.J.B.K.—the story is a sprawling landing in dungeons where they are held up sharp satire on celebrity and the ubiquity of mess and the characters are disappointing. as figures for lecherous amusement—some- cameras in contemporary society, the series Presenting the first 13 episodes from 2015 thing that happens far too often to be funny. eschews cogent commentary in favor of a in a dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, To its credit, one very surprising plot twist sitcom style characterized by obvious jokes rated TV-14, extras include the special episode occurs roughly two-thirds of the way through and predictable plots. Presenting all 12 epi- “Genesis of Aquarion EVOL.” Not a necessary the series that suggests Bikini Warriors could sodes from 2015 in a dual-language Blu-ray/ purchase. [Note: Aquarion Logos, Part 2 is also have been more than just fan service. But, DVD Combo set, rated TV-PG, extras include newly available.] (P. Hall) alas, the series ends up taking a too-easy way episode commentaries. Not a necessary pur- out. Presenting all 12 episodes from 2015 in a chase. (P. Hall) Beautiful Bones— dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated Sakurako’s Investigation: TV-MA, this is not recommended. (P. Hall) : Complete HH Complete Collection Busou Shinki—Armored Collection 1/2 HHH1/2 (2015) 300 min. In Japanese w/English subtitles. DVD: 3 (2015) 300 min. In Japanese War Goddess: Complete discs, $49.98; Blu-ray: 2 discs, w/English subtitles. DVD: 3 Collection HH $59.98. Sentai Filmworks discs, $49.98; Blu-ray: 2 discs, (2012) 2 discs. 325 min. In (avail. from most distributors). $59.98. Sentai Filmworks Japanese w/English subtitles. (avail. from most distributors). Blu-ray: $59.98. Sentai Despite some striking in- Although a set of illustrated mystery nov- Filmworks (avail. from most troductory artwork, this series serves up old distributors). els actually inspired this forensics-oriented anime clichés of and super-cute mys- anime series, there’s some resemblance to A line of Japanese female action-figure toys tery girls floating down from the sky. On an the Fox TV crime show Bones. A daughter (and tie-in video games) inspired this series, advanced Earth-like planet called Gift, young in a family of pathologists and coroners, set in a future Japan, centered on “Shin- mineral prospector Sogo finds a strange, mute, the beautiful but eccentric and macabre ki”—she-robots that are only six inches tall. otherworldly young maiden dubbed Felia. A Sakurako Kujo is a brilliant osteologist who Fiercely devoted to their male “masters,” they guardian-spirit, she is protected by a small, enthusiastically collects skeletal remains in work as servants, alarm clocks, and so on, bug-like companion that can morph into a the Hokkaido region and turns sleuth when but are also weaponized and frequently duel. fearsome giant humanoid. A longstanding confronted with the (frequent) signs of ho- Young Rihito is master to four Shinki, who conspiracy of military and underground micide. Although she’s engaged to a (never compete among themselves to please him, types vie to capture and exploit Felia for the seen) police officer, her Dr. Watson-like their diminutive size prompting high-speed hidden power she represents. A few bystanders companion here is a high-school boy who action, as the Shinki battle a live octopus they and not-so-innocent background players are serves as a surrogate for her own deceased must cut up to serve as Rihito’s sushi, and try also swept up in the skullduggery, but it’s the little brother. The cases they handle include to keep up with Rihito’s travels. Episodes grow mecha-on-mecha slugfests that dominate and a young family man who is certain he is more interesting as rogue and abandoned tend to stand out (the series features some se- targeted by curses, an elderly corpse clad in Shinki form an anti-master movement, and riously bloody violence). A surprise climactic hiking gear, and a widow who is seemingly evil “collector” masters steal and brainwash twist explains where hitherto-unmentioned planning suicide. Despite the morbidity Shinki based on production-line rarity. Still, planet Earth fits into all of this (involving and occasional violence, the narrative is this is the kind of toy story in which even elaborate mythology). Compiling all 12 handled with exceptional heart and brains Lilliputian machine-girls do fan-service com- episodes from 2015 in separate DVD and Blu- (not in the autopsy sense), backed by strik- munal bathing and chirp about cleaning out ray editions, rated TV-MA, and presented in ing visuals. Compiling all 12 episodes from each other’s “screw holes” (and they are so Japanese with English subtitles, extras include 2015 in separate DVD and Blu-ray editions, artificial-life-realistic that they can even catch related shorts and music videos. A strong rated TV-MA, and presented in Japanese colds!). Compiling all 12 episodes from 2012 optional purchase. (C. Cassady)

MAY/JUNE 2017 65 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Death Parade HHH1/2 constant war makes a compelling statement such as ordering coffee, are meticulously ren- (2015) 4 discs. 300 min. Blu- on the madness of militarism, the stories are dered here. But despite an utter lack of over- ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. relatively dull and the characters somewhat arching plot, life in Tokisadame does move Funimation (avail. from most quotidian. Presenting all 12 episodes from along, and the characters grow and change: distributors). 2015 in a dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo Nano becomes a student, Mio succeeds as a A Japanese TV original, set, rated TV-MA, extras include episode com- skilled manga artist, and the Igo Soccer Club this moody series depicts a mentaries. Optional. [Note: Heavy Object: Part gains new members. What makes this mad postmortem existence—usually resembling Two is also newly available.] (P. Hall) pastiche of humor cohere is the beautiful and an empty saloon—in which newly deceased carefully rendered animation. Presenting all humans arrive sans memories of their The Mystic Archives of 26 episodes from 2011 in a Blu-ray/DVD Com- deaths, to be judged by “arbiters,” powerful Dantalian: The Complete bo set, in Japanese with English subtitles, and immortals who determine the destiny of rated TV-14, extras include a bonus episode. HHH1/2 human souls. Some souls are reincarnated Series Highly recommended. Aud: P. (L. Martincik) (2011) 300 min. Blu-ray/DVD and others are discarded—based on their Combo: $39.98. Funimation true natures, which are revealed under stress (avail. from most distributors). RWBY: Volumes 1-3— when the simple recreational games they are This anime series set in Beacon HHH made to play become nightmarish. A stoic England during the post- (2016) 3 discs. 439 min. arbiter called Decim, disguised as a bartender, World War I years centers on young aristocrat Blu-ray: $49.98. Cinedigm presides over these trials. Despite his stolid Hugh Anthony Disward—called “Huey”— Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). demeanor, Decim agonizes over rendering who is heir to his grandfather’s estate. As correct judgments, and he has made the un- part of his grandfather’s will, Huey is given —an Aus- heard-of decision to take a mildly goth-like a key and charged with being the custodian tin-based team—concocted this fantasy-ac- human girl (a soul he found himself unable of the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian. tion online saga that imitates Japanese anima- to determine) as an assistant. As different Huey also meets Dalian, a strange little girl tion. Rendered in stylized, video-game-esque casualties—a pop idol and an adoring fan, who lives on the estate and is responsible for CGI artwork with Nippon character designs, newlyweds, a vigilante detective, a reali- guarding dangerous texts known as Phantom RWBY is initially striking but bland over the ty-show star—enter to be judged, a larger Books. Over the course of this series, Huey long haul. The action takes place in a mystic backstory emerges involving the arbiters and and Dalian encounter various characters land besieged by monsters, where members their ethics (or lack thereof). Striking, poetic, in possession of Phantom Books, but their of the Beacon school for young “hunters” and sometimes violent imagery accompanies inability to master the power of these tomes and “huntresses” are trained to fight such the provocative themes here, and if the logic creates bizarre and sometimes tragic situa- entities. A quartet of color-coded maidens— is never quite as clear as one might hope, the tions. This anime offering deserves credit Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang (hence the effect is nevertheless transfixing. Presenting for its focus on a genteel upper-class Euro- title)—are the principal students/warrior all 12 episodes from 2015 in a dual-language pean past rather than a dystopian future, princesses from divergent backgrounds who Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-MA, extras its Rod Serling-worthy storylines that push face off not only against marauding monsters, include episode commentaries, a behind-the- the boundaries of intellectual terror, and , and mystery outlaw-terrorists, but scenes featurette, and “Death Billiards”—the its wonderfully subversive message about also become involved with a subculture of one-off cartoon that became the basis for the the potential damage that books can create formerly oppressed cat-eared animal-people series. Highly recommended. (C. Cassady) when placed in the wrong hands. Not all whose grassroots equal-rights activism has of the stories entirely click and some of the led to militant hatred of all humans. Much Heavy Object: Part One animation is rather quotidian, but the series’ of the narrative centers on boss fights, either HH originality and offbeat personality make it in prolonged campus practice sessions or in (2015) 4 discs. 300 min. Blu- well-deserving of attention. Compiling all extracurricular conspiracies, with the premise ray/DVD Combo: $64.99. 12 episodes from 2011 in a DVD edition, finally becoming more interesting and moral- Funimation (avail. from most rated TV-MA, and presented in Japanese with ly complex in the battle-royale third season. distributors). English subtitles, extras include a bonus OVA. Presenting all 41 episodes from the 2013-15 This anime series is set in Highly recommended. (P. Hall) first three seasons on Blu-ray, suitable for ages a dystopian future where warfare has been 13-up, extras include audio commentaries, revolutionized by extraordinary machines Nichijou: My Ordinary behind-the-scenes featurettes, live-action cosplay, and Rooster Teeth convention panel called Objects. As a result of this advanced HHH1/2 Life discussions. Recommended. (C. Cassady) military invention, the world finds itself (2011) 7 discs. 650 min. Blu- in never-ending war. One of the governing ray/DVD Combo: $69.98. philosophies here is that only Objects can Funimation (avail. from most : End of destroy other Objects, but that logic is con- distributors). Judgement HHH founded when rookie soldiers Qwenthur Nichijou is a high school (2014) 4 discs. 300 min. Blu- Barbotage and Havia Winchell—fighting slice-of-life comedy with slices that are razor ray/DVD Combo: $64.99. for the “Legitimate Kingdom”—manage to thin—each episode features vignettes that Funimation (avail. from most outwit an Object and bring it down. Because range from minutes to seconds long, usually distributors). of their innovative bravery, the pair are taking place in the town of Tokisadame but End of Judgement, the sent on missions to destroy Objects from traveling as far away as outer space. Most latest entry in the Sengoku rival governments. They are assisted in their revolve around two groups of characters: 1) Basara franchise, begins 100 days prior adventures by Milinda Brantini, an Object high school students Yuuko (the wacky one), to Japan’s Battle of Sekigahara during the pilot who regularly gets into situations that Mio (the nice but violent one), and Mai (the 17th-century, with rival warlords and their require Qwenthur and Havia’s intervention, deadpan one), and 2) child genius Hakase, respective armies trying to gain domination and they operate under the command of the her robot Nano, and the (sort of) talking cat in a fractured landscape. The drama heats up harsh lady commander Frolaytia Capistrano. Sakamoto. While cute, each is also terribly when clan leader Ieyasu Tokugawa unexpect- While the series’ vision of a futuristic world in flawed. The small, ordinary events of life, edly kills clan head Hideyoshi Toyotomi. And

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 66 MAY/JUNE 2017 the violence escalates as old alliances fray, world where—after monstrous flying “Devil centers on a young man new pacts are hastily made, and Hideyoshi’s Beetles” ravage civilization—humanity can named Junichiro Kagami, loyal followers plan an elaborate revenge for only survive by taking to the air in floating who while educated in sci- their slain chief. Viewers without any pre- cities (which are, somewhat against common ence is also the Japanese cul- vious acquaintance with the Sengoku Basara sense, easier to defend). Brave young warrior tural archetype of a “NEET” series may find themselves utterly baffled by Kanata risks his life valorously defending (Not in Education, Employ- the number of characters and thorny plot against a Devil Beetle assault only to be ment or Training)—a guy twists involving the complicated military ma- labeled a coward and “traitor.” Kanata is who devotes all of his time neuvers. But even if the story may sometimes demoted to teaching a squad of misfit young to video games, comics, anime, and blogging seem opaque, there is no shortage of action, girls (one of whom claims to be a goddess) about same. His exasperated sister forces presented in increasingly vivid animation. to rally as “Sky Wizards” against the regular Junichiro (at the point of a baseball bat) to Presenting all 12 episodes from 2014 in a onslaughts. After getting some tiresome an- take a real-world job as a public high-school dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated ime-cliché business out of the way (breast-size teacher. Surprisingly, Junichiro finds that he TV-14, extras include episode commentaries. comparisons, accidental boob gropes), Kanata can use gaming, social media, and anime Serving up a pure anime adrenaline rush, this proves his courage and resourcefulness, philosophies to reach his students, and while is recommended. (P. Hall) although he never takes credit or otherwise a misunderstanding with a semi-delinquent tries to redeem his tainted reputation. There girl soon gets him fired (which the otaku Show by Rock!! The is a decent boss-battle showdown, but much teacher doesn’t mind at all), news of his un- Complete Series HH of this is overly familiar. Presenting all 12 ep- orthodox methods also results in him being (2015) 4 discs. 300 min. Blu- isodes from 2015 in a dual-language Blu-ray/ recruited to lead a classroom at an exclusive ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. DVD Combo set, rated TV-14, extras include academy. Here, Junichiro learns that one of Funimation (avail. from most episode commentaries, and an OVA episode. his new students is, in fact, a leading manga distributors). A strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady) creator going incognito; he reforms a fear- Inspired by a Japanese some bully jock nicknamed “Cyborg”; and music video game, this shrill action-fantasy Snow White with the Red he takes the entire class into a virtual-reality online fantasy RPG for character-building anime series features characters designed in Hair HHH1/2 the super-cute “moe” style who occasionally (2015) 4 discs. 300 min. Blu- lessons. Obviously, the “real-world” high- become 3D CGI. Schoolgirl Cyan dreams of ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. school settings are barely more authentic rock-music fame but is too shy to audition. Funimation (avail. from most than those found in typical anime fare, but Suddenly, she is sucked by her cell-phone distributors). there are plenty of amusing moments and video game into the amazing Midi City, a In a medieval-Europe- insider references here for genre fans. Pre- place of folkloric Japanese spirit-creatures an-style setting, a head- senting the first 12 episodes from 2015 in a unrecognizably morphed into pop-music strong girl named Shirayuki (literally “snow dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated archetypes. After her guitar heroics destroy a white”) is a skilled young herbalist and TV-14, extras include episode commentaries. marauding monster at a concert, Cyan (now healer. But to many males her most striking Recommended. [Note: Ultimate Otaku Teacher: sporting catlike features) becomes the fourth feature is her bright red hair, which makes Part 2 is also newly available.] (C. Cassady) member of the girl group Plasmagica, who her an object of both fascination and scorn. sign with a small-but-honorable indie record Fleeing her home after a spoiled minor prince Wolf’s Rain: The label that is run by an egg-shaped promoter. demands that she be his concubine, Shirayuki Complete Series meets and befriends Zen, another royal heir Along with fierce battle-of-the-bands rival- HHH1/2 who lives in a more powerful neighboring ries with other divas and drama involving (2003) 9 discs. 750 min. Blu- a handsome boy-band of poseurs, there is kingdom. Zen shows great potential to be ray/DVD Combo: $64.99. also background menace in the form of the a more enlightened ruler, but his sheltered, Funimation (avail. from most demonic Dagger, who through the power of aristocratic upbringing leaves him surround- distributors). rock is able to manipulate performer egos ed by class-bound treacherous nobles who The 2003 anime series Wolf’s Rain is set in and enslave a top songwriter in his scheme to view innocent commoner Shirayuki as an a typically dystopian future, with human- conquer Midi City (or something). While for interloper and opportunist—or someone they kind living in domed cities and nearly all otaku this may chart higher (real-life Japanese can use as a tool for their own ends. The epi- wildlife extinct for centuries. But wolves have bands guest star on the soundtrack), general sodes frequently involve the heroine striving managed to survive the transition by using anime viewers may want to pump down the to surmount palace snobbery and intrigues, a hitherto unsuspected ability of making volume, even with the occasionally amus- while slowly (very slowly, at times) coming to themselves appear to be human. Wolves with ing riffs on teen idols, fans, and A&R men. realize her true love with Zen. Derived from the ability to pretend to be people here join Presenting all 12 episodes from 2015 in a manga, this is an engaging old-school fairy- with sympathetic humans—including some- dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated tale-like romance narrative, more grounded one known as the “Flower Maiden,” who was TV-14, extras include episode commentaries. in common sense than many fantasies (with artificially created from a “Lunar Flower”—in Optional. (C. Cassady) paranormal elements here played down). a search for a distant utopia known as Para- Presenting all 12 episodes from 2015 in a dise. Wolf’s Rain goes to wild extremes with Sky Wizards Academy dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated its brash mix of ecological drama, pseudosci- TV-14, extras include episode commentaries. ence, conspiracies, and aversion towards mil- HH1/2 Highly recommended. [Note: Snow White with (2015) 4 discs. 325 min. Blu- itary-government authority. The characters the Red Hair: Season 2 is also newly available.] have remarkable depth of emotion, and the ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. (C. Cassady) Funimation (avail. from most artwork, particularly the action sequences in- distributors). volving wolves, is nothing short of stunning. An average to mildly di- Ultimate Otaku Teacher: Part 1 HHH Presenting all 26 episodes in a dual-language verting adventure-fantasy that is loaded (2015) 4 discs. 300 min. Blu-ray/DVD Combo: Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-14, extras with “harem” elements, Sky Wizards Academy $64.98. Funimation (avail. from most distributors). include cast and crew interviews, and promo (drawn from a series of light novels) is set in a Adapted from manga, this comedy series films. Highly recommended. P.( Hall)

MAY/JUNE 2017 67 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Music Dance : The this demanding work in 2015—requiring six DTS-HD 5.0 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, ex- ringing tenors and two rock-steady basses, Tapes HH1/2 tras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. (2017) 2 discs. 265 min. DVD: as well as a coloratura soprano—the result is Recommended. (F. Swietek) $24.98, Blu-ray: $29.98. Eagle sadly undernourished. Rossini specialist Al- Rock Entertainment (avail. berto Zedda conducts the score energetically Brad Paisley: Life from most distributors). but without much elegance, and although Amplified World Tour Kahlil Joseph, the film- Enea Scala is a more than adequate Rinaldo HHH maker behind Beyoncé’s and Dario Schmunck, Robert McPherson, Live from WVU (2016) 95 min. DVD: $16.95. visual album Lemonade, directed this kalei- Leonard Bernad, and Adam Smith handle the Music Video Distributors (avail. doscopic look at the making of Arcade Fire’s remaining male roles adequately (sometimes from most distributors). Closed 2013 album Reflektor, which the Grammy doubling up), Carmen Romeu simply cannot captioned. Award-winning Montreal art rockers record- compete with Callas or Fleming as Armida, In this PBS-aired Great ed in Jamaica. Joseph combines rehearsal, though she improves as the performance Performances special, Grammy Award-win- recording, and concert footage with interview proceeds. Mariame Clément’s staging does ning country star Brad Paisley performs excerpts and scenes of island life. Most of the work no favors, merely having the chorus for a 20,000-strong crowd at West Virginia the spoken-word sequences come from front meander about during the ballet music, and University. Showing his hometown pride by couple and Régine Chassagne. Julia Hansen’s sets are overly sparse, especial- way of the WVU jersey he wears with requi- Although the voiceover tends towards the ly for the scenes set at the sorceress’s garden site cowboy hat and jeans (he is later joined opaque, Chassagne adds a few introspective of delights, while her costumes are decidedly by the local Mountaineers cheerleaders for a moments by way of her Haitian heritage and odd, with the Crusaders often dressed in what number), Paisley is backed by his band, the its influence on the record. The look of the look like soccer outfits. Presented in DTS-HD Drama Kings, which includes players on fid- material here varies widely, from saturat- 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, and Dolby dle, guitar, steel guitar, keyboards, bass, and ed color sequences to abstract imagery to Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, this is drums. Paisley kicks off with the celebratory black-and-white footage processed to appear a workmanlike effort that does not measure “Crushin’ It” in this energetic 20-song set silvery grey, making for a visually attractive up to better productions. Not a necessary during which he frequently communes with film, but also one that feels more like an purchase. (F. Swietek) the audience, dazzling them with quicksilver extended highlights reel, particularly since guitar solos played on a succession of glittery most of the 23 songs here are presented in Ballet Hispánico HHH guitars. During the song “Water,” Paisley truncated form. For those who aren’t already (2015) 104 min. DVD: $24.99, spots a fan with a guitar, calls him over, signs on the band’s wavelength, The Reflektor Tapes Blu-ray: $34.99. C Major (dist. it, and returns it while Justin Williamson by Naxos of America). will likely leave them cold, while fans may saws away on the fiddle. During “Mud on the want to play it on an endless loop like a The latest release in the Tires,” Williamson gets his own solo spotlight tuneful screensaver. The second disc, which Lincoln Center at (but it’s nearly impossible to hear him). If captures a 20-song 2014 concert at London’s series showcasing American most of Paisley’s songs revolve around simple Earl’s Court, should have wider appeal since dance focuses on New York’s pleasures, he also addresses social media in the band draws from all four of their studio Ballet Hispánico, founded in 1970 by Tina “Online,” quipping that “I grow another foot albums and the show includes the favorites Ramirez to present works reflecting Latino and I lose a bunch of weight every time I log “ (Lies),” “Neighborhood # 1 (Tun- and Hispanic culture in the United States. in.” He also relaxes the crowd with slower nels),” and “Wake Up.” Although Joseph uses The longer of the two signature pieces that songs such as “Letter to Me,” switching from some of the same techniques featured in the are presented here, Gustavo Ramírez San- electric to acoustic guitar, and duets with documentary, the effect during the concert sano’s Carmen.maquia draws on orchestral Chris Young on “I’m Still a Guy.” Presented proves less distracting since the band’s fa- selections from Bizet’s opera (slightly altered in DTS 5.1 and stereo, this is also available in mously intense performances come to the and embellished) to offer an abbreviated take a DVD/CD Combo edition. Recommended. fore. Presented in DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM on the romantic conflict involving gypsy (K. Fennessy) stereo on Blu-ray, and DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital seductress Carmen, smitten soldier Don José, 5.1 and stereo on DVD, extras include promo bullfighter Escamillo, and José’s hometown Def Leppard: And videos and alternative cuts of various tracks. A girlfriend Micaela. Set against plain white strong optional purchase. (K. Fennessy) boxes and walls, and featuring simple white There Will Be a Next costumes—only Carmen’s black gown and Time… Live from Detroit Armida HH a bit of color on Escamillo’s outfit stand HHH (2015) 162 min. In Italian w/ out—Sansano’s ballet (the first full-length (2016) 112 min. DVD: $21.98 English subtitles. DVD: $34.99, narrative piece in the company’s history) (2 audio CDs included), Blu-ray: $26.98 (2 audio Blu-ray: $39.99. Dynamic (dist. is far too abstract to coherently reflect the CDs included). Eagle Rock Entertainment (avail. by Naxos of America). opera’s plot (newcomers would be lost with- from most distributors). The tale of the Saracen out the occasional written summaries here), Veteran metal band Def Leppard plays sorceress Armida who be- but it does offer the opportunity to create a pleasing mix of old and new material in witches the courageous sequences that effectively express character this 2016 engagement at the DTE Energy Crusader Rinaldo, first told by Italian poet emotion, and the company responds exuber- Music Theatre in Clarkston, MI. The title Torquato Tasso in the 16th century, has been antly to the changing moods. The shorter comes from singer Joe Elliott’s promise a favorite with composers from Monteverdi Club Havana, choreographed by Pedro Ruiz at the show’s conclusion: “See you next to Dvorák (it is estimated that more than to songs by various composers, recreates the time—and there will be a next time.” The 50 operas have been based on the story). elegant, vivacious atmosphere of a nightclub band members are in fine form, although Rossini’s 1817 version was largely forgotten in the titular Cuban capital before the Castro Elliott’s voice isn’t quite as prominent in the until it was revived for Maria Callas (more revolution. The series of dances allows the mix as it could be. The video wall behind recently, Renée Fleming has triumphed in the principals and corps to show off their moves the Sheffield quintet provides the most lead role). While it was heroic of the Opera without the confines of narrative. Presented notable special effect, changing visuals Vlaanderen of Antwerp/Ghent to mount in DTS 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, and from song to song, including a collection

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 68 MAY/JUNE 2017 of neon signs. The band starts the nine- an introduction to the ballet and behind- stabbed (or in this case, shot) by his friend song set with “Let’s Go” and winds up the-scenes featurettes. A strong optional and advisor Renato, who has learned of the with “Man Enough,” both off their 2015 purchase. (F. Swietek) governor’s affair with Renato’s wife Ame- self-titled album. Elliott introduces “Fool- lia—as the governor’s nightmare, in which in’”—a highlight of their multi-platinum Mumford & Sons—Live a fortune-teller named Ulrica plays a major Pyromania CD—as a song for those who’ve from South Africa: Dust role. The concept is frankly bewildering: a been “as far back with us as 1983.” Def puppet appears occasionally to mouth lines Leppard don’t sound much different than and Thunder HH1/2 sung by Riccardo, and it sometimes turns they did 34 years ago, even if they look (2016) 94 min. DVD: $15.98, Blu-ray: $24.98. Eagle Rock into a real boy, while Riccardo mounts unsurprisingly (but not dramatically) older. Entertainment (avail. from the staircase at the close after supposedly Guitarist Phil Collen has less hair, but he most distributors). being shot dead. But while the visuals—pre- couldn’t be in better shape as his toned International superstar sented virtually in black-and-white, often shirtless torso attests. Collen is joined by band Mumford & Sons, hailing from the through scrims—are strange, the musical Rick Allen on drums, Vivian Campbell U.K., cap a tour of South Africa from 2016 performance is superb. Zubin Mehta leads on guitar, and Rick Savage on bass. Def with a two-night stand in Pretoria in this the Bayerische Staatsorchester in a weighty Leppard has always leaned toward the 17-song concert. Those who find Mumford but exciting account of the score, and the glam end of the spectrum, which comes & Sons’ music to be a colorless mush of a vocalism of Piotr Beczala (Riccardo), George through in their slow-burn cover of David sound, whether from their country-folk Petean (Renato), Anja Harteros (Amelia), Essex’s “Rock On.” Presented in DTS-HD days or their revised, more driving, elec- Okka von der Damerau (Ulrica), and the 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, and DTS trified material, will witness little here to supporting soloists is uniformly first-rate. 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, change their minds. Despite a passionate Although a more traditional reading might extras include bonus music videos and two crowd of Pretorian fans who know the be preferred—such as the 2011 Teatro Regio audio CDs. (K. Fennessy) group’s lyrics and respond well to African di Parma staging (VL-11/13)—this one cer- guest musicians who turn up, Mumford & tainly shines when it comes to the music. HH1/2 Sons rarely frame a song as anything more Presented in DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the (2016) 130 min. DVD: $29.99, than a murmured, undistinguished series Blu-ray edition) and PCM stereo, this is Blu-ray: $39.99. Opus Arte of cyclical rhythms at modulated speeds. recommended. (F. Swietek) (dist. by Naxos of America). The opening track “Snake Eyes” (following Mary Shelley’s 1818 nov- a curiously diffident “hello” to the audience Winterreise HHH1/2 el has been adapted for by Marcus Mumford) is a rumbling engine (2014) 138 min. In German w/ stage and screen many that shifts from slow to fast. “I Will Wait” English subtitles. DVD: $24.99, times, but this co-produc- Blu-ray: $34.99. C Major/Unitel offers tuneless bluegrass and folk-rock, (dist. by Naxos of America). tion of London’s Royal Ballet and the San while “Awake My Soul” fares better, starting Francisco Ballet appears to be the first as a prayerful, meditative piece that shifts to Franz Schubert’s related major dance work. This inaugural a slightly more celebratory, rocking tempo. 24-number song cycle, 2016 London mounting is visually lavish, “Lover of the Light” is the centerpiece of based on the poems of Wilhelm Müller, is one of with elaborate period sets and costumes by the show in many ways, breaking open as the unquestioned masterpieces of 19th-cen- John Macfarlane. The ballet itself, however, a Coldplay-like exciting anthem driven by ury lieder, understandably attracting is a curiously meandering, unfocused af- Mumford’s thrilling turn on a drum kit. noteworthy male singers—both tenors fair, choreographed in an unimaginatively Presented in DTS HD 5.1, Dolby Atmos, and baritones. Perhaps its most celebrated conventional style by Liam Scarlett to an and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, and DTS 5.1, contemporary exponent in the lower range old-fashioned, ersatz romantic new score Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, this is Matthias Goerne, who has recorded by Lowell Liebermann. It can be applaud- is a strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh) ed for trying to shoehorn Shelley’s entire the cycle no fewer than three times in convoluted plot (with some omissions, of audio-only format with different accom- course) into a space of little more than two Un Ballo in Maschera panists and now offers a “staged” version hours, but in reality the first act wastes a HHH of the complete cycle with pianist Markus good deal of time on the domestic lives of (2016) 149 min. In Italian w/ Hinterhäuser, filmed at the Festival d’Aix- the Frankenstein family and Victor’s studies English subtitles. DVD: $24.99, en-Provence in 2014. Vocally, this is a Blu-ray: $34.99. C Major/Unitel magnificent performance, with Goerne in anatomy (including a bizarre ensemble (dist. by Naxos of America). dance with severed limbs) before ending capturing the myriad nuances of the nar- with the re-animation of the Creature. The Verdi’s 1859 opera was rator’s “dark night of the soul” as he takes second act returns to Victor’s estate in Ge- originally beset by cen- his winter’s journey, despondent over neva, where his monster comes to demand sorship problems because it dealt with a unrequited love. And while Hinterhäuser fatherly affection and, when refused, targets royal assassination—the 1792 murder of might not be as famous as Goerne’s earlier Frankenstein’s friends and family before King Gustav III of Sweden—which was collaborators (Graham Johnson, Alfred confronting his creator himself. On the considered an unsuitable subject for the Brendel, and Christoph Eschenbach), he plus side, Liebermann’s music is well-played stage. The composer was therefore forced proves here to be an equally insightful in- by the company orchestra under Koen Kes- to shift the locale to 17th-century Boston terpreter. Viewers will either be enthralled sels, and the production features excellent and change the victim to its governor, or irritated with the “visualizations” by dancing by Federico Bonelli (Victor), Laura Riccardo. The Boston version is followed artist William Kentridge—animated draw- Morera (his childhood sweetheart and later in this 2016 production from Munich’s ings projected behind the performers that wife), Alexander Campbell (his friend Cler- Bayerische Staatsoper, and the geographical offer impressionistic counterpoint to the val), and Steven McRae (the Creature), as location is the least controversial element verse—but regardless this is an outstanding well as the large supporting cast and corps. in Johannes Erath’s peculiar staging, which version of Winterreise. Presented in PCM Presented in DTS 5.1 and PCM stereo on situates all of the action on a single set: a stereo on DVD and Blu-ray, extras include DVD, and Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD 5.1, bedroom with a huge curving staircase. And the “making-of” documentary A Trio for and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include it apparently presents the plot—Riccardo is Schubert. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)

MAY/JUNE 2017 69 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Distributor Addresses

Contact information for distribu- Green Planet Films The Video Project P.O. Box 247 145 Ninth St., Ste. 102 tors of titles reviewed in this issue Corte Madera, CA 94976 San Francisco, CA 94103 are listed below. Some titles must Tel: (415) 377-5471 Tel: (800) 475-2638 be ordered direct, while others are Web: greenplanetfilms.org Web: videoproject.com available from a wide variety of Human Relations Media Vision Video distributors. 41 Kensico Dr. P.O. Box 540 Mt. Kisco, NY 10549 Worcester, PA 19490 Tel: (800) 431-2050 Tel: (800) 523-0226 Web: hrmvideo.com Web: visionvideo.com

Bond Educator Kino Lorber Edu Women Make Movies 1841 Broadway, Ste. 508 333 W. 39th St., Ste. 503 115 West 29th St., Ste. 1200 New York, NY 10023 New York, NY 10018 New York, NY 10001 Tel: (212) 354-2650 Tel: (800) 562-3330 Tel: (212) 925-0606 Web: bondeducator.com Web: kinolorberedu.com Web: wmm.com

Bullfrog Films Luna Productions P.O. Box 149 1210 Masonic Ave. #3 Oley, PA 19547 Berkeley, CA 94706 Tel: (800) 543-3764 Tel: (510) 526-9500 Web: bullfrogfilms.com Web: lunaproductions.com

The Cinema Guild Music Box Films 115 W. 30th St., Ste. 800 173 N. Morgan St. New York, NY 10001 Chicago, IL 60607 Tel: (800) 723-5522 Tel: (312) 241-1320 Web: cinemaguild.com Web: musicboxfilms.com

Collective Eye Films National Film Board of Canada 2305 SE Yamhill St., Ste. 101 P.O. Box 6100, Centre-Ville Station Portland, OR 97214 Montreal, Quebec H3C 3H5 CANADA Tel: (503) 232-5345 Tel: (800) 542-2164 Web: collectiveeye.org Web: nfb.ca

Dark Hollow Films Naxos of America 13389 Folsom Blvd., Ste. 300 1810 Columbia Ave., Ste. 28 Folsom, CA 95630 Franklin, TN 37064 Tel: (310) 625-7662 Tel: (615) 771-9393 Web: darkhollowfilms.com Web: naxos.com

Documentary Educational Resources New Day Films 101 Morse St. P.O. Box 165 Watertown, MA 02472 Blooming Grove, NY 10914 Tel: (800) 569-6621 Tel: (888) 367-9154 Web: der.org Web: newday.com

Dreamscape Media Outcast Films 1417 Timberwolf Dr. 511 Avenue of the Americas, Ste. 398 Holland, OH 43528 New York, NY 10011 Tel: (877) 983-7326 Tel: (800) 343-5540 Web: dreamscapeab.com Web: outcast-films.com

EPF Media Passion River 324 S. Beverly Dr., PMB 437 154 Mt. Bethel Rd. Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Warren, NJ 07059 Tel: (310) 839-1500 Tel: (732) 321-0711 Web: epfmedia.com Web: passionriver.com

Film Movement PBS Video 109 West 27th St., Ste. 9B 2100 Crystal Dr. New York, NY 10001 Arlington, VA 22202 Tel: (866) 937-3456 Tel: (800) 344-3337 Web: filmmovement.com Web: .org

First Pond Entertainment Third World Newsreel 3532 Sawtelle Blvd., #2 545 Eighth Ave., 5th Fl., Ste. 550 Los Angeles, CA 90066 New York, NY 10018 Tel: (213) 545-6851 Tel: (212) 947-9277 Web: firstpond.com Web: twn.org

First Run Features TMW Media Group 630 Ninth Ave., Ste. 1213 2321 Abbot Kinney Blvd. New York, NY 10036 Venice, CA 90291 Tel: (800) 229-8575 Tel: (800) 262-8862 Web: firstrunfeatures.com Web: tmwmedia.com

Grasshopper Film Tugg 12 E. 32nd St., 4th Fl. 4210 Spicewood Springs Rd. New York, NY 10016 Austin, TX 78759 Tel: (646) 586-3060 Tel: (855) 321-8844 Web: grasshopperfilm.com Web: edu.tugg.com

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 70 MAY/JUNE 2017 䤀一匀倀䤀刀䤀一䜀 䄀圀䄀刀䐀 圀䤀一一䤀一䜀 䐀伀䌀唀䴀䴀䔀䔀一一吀吀䄀䄀刀刀䤀䤀䔀䔀匀匀

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3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol ...... 32 Comedian, The ...... 17 Moving from Emptiness ...... 44 10 Billion: What’s on Your Plate? ...... 45 Comet Lucifer: Complete Collection ...... 65 Mr. Pig ...... 26 Abortion Hotline, The ...... 45 Confronting ISIS ...... 61 Mumford & Sons—Live from South Africa ...... 69 Accidental Courtesy ...... 45 Cooking at the World’s End ...... 55 Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Ada’s Ideas ...... 42 Creepy ...... 17 Murders ...... 50 Against the Tide ...... 45 Cure for Wellness, A ...... 17 My Love Affair with the Brain ...... 63 Ali & Nino ...... 12 Death Parade ...... 66 My Transgender Life: Male or Female? ...... 55 All Eyes and Ears ...... 45 Deep Water ...... 37 Mystic Archives of Dantalian ...... 66 All of Me ...... 46 Def Leppard: And There Will Be a Next Time ...... 68 Nichijou: My Ordinary Life ...... 66 Always Shine ...... 12 Defendant 5 ...... 46 No Highway in the Sky ...... 36 American Conscience: Reinhold Niebuhr Story ...... 62 Deluge ...... 34 Notfilm...... 34 Antarctica: Ice and Sky ...... 51 Departure ...... 17 One Million Years B.C...... 36 Aquarion Logos, Part 1 ...... 65 Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency: Season Oriented ...... 55 Arcade Fire: Reflektor Tapes ...... 68 One ...... 37 Out Run ...... 47 Ardennes, The ...... 12 Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks ...... 37 Paolo Soleri: Citizen of the Planet ...... 63 Aria ...... 32 Dog’s Purpose, A ...... 17 Passengers ...... 27 Armida ...... 68 Eero Saarinen: Architect Who Saw the Future ...... 62 Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen, The ...... 63 Art Bastard ...... 63 Elle ...... 17 Pearl Harbor: Into the Arizona ...... 60 Assassin’s Creed ...... 12 Eyes of My Mother, The ...... 18 Planet Earth II ...... 52 Assignment, The ...... 12 Fair Haven ...... 18 Planetary ...... 52 Ballet Hispánico ...... 68 Fall ...... 18 Political Animals ...... 47 Baobabs: Between Land and Sea ...... 51 Fences ...... 18 Princess and the Warrior, The ...... 42 Barge ...... 56 Fifty Shades Darker ...... 18 Projections of America ...... 60 Bars4Justice ...... 46 Film ...... 34 Promise to My Father, A...... 60 Battle of Chosin, The ...... 59 Fire at Sea ...... 48 Puppylove ...... 27 Battleground ...... 32 Fist Fight ...... 20 Quarry: Complete First Season ...... 41 Beautiful Bones—Sakurako’s Investigation ...... 65 For the Love of Spock ...... 20 Resistance ...... 27 Beauty and the Beast ...... 14 Forced Perspective: Story of Artist Derek Hess ...... 63 Rings ...... 27 Before I Fall ...... 14 Fragments of Love ...... 20 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ...... 27 Being 17 ...... 14 Frankenstein ...... 69 Romanzo Criminale—Series: Season 1 ...... 41 Bells Are Ringing ...... 32 From Dusk Till Dawn: Season Three ...... 37 RWBY: Volumes 1-3—Beacon ...... 66 Best of Tim Conway, The ...... 37 From Flint: Voices of a Poisoned City ...... 46 Salesman, The ...... 28 Bikini Warriors ...... 65 Future Baby ...... 54 Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s Showdown ...... 42 Bitter Harvest ...... 14 Gary Numan: Android in La La Land ...... 58 Seasons ...... 28 Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise ...... 60 Get Out ...... 20 Sengoku Basara: End of Judgement ...... 66 Black Society Trilogy ...... 34 Gimme Danger ...... 20 Show by Rock!! ...... 67 Silence ...... 28 Bleak Street ...... 14 God Knows Where I Am ...... 44 Silicon Cowboys ...... 56 Blood on the Mountain ...... 46 Golden Kingdom ...... 22 Sing ...... 28 Brad Paisley ...... 68 Grace and Frankie: Season Two ...... 40 Sky Wizards Academy ...... 67 Brand New Testament, The ...... 16 Graves: Season One ...... 40 Small Good Thing, A ...... 48 Breaking Point ...... 47 Great & The Small, The ...... 22 Snow White with the Red Hair ...... 67 Bride (La Novia) ...... 16 Great Wall, The ...... 22 Somewhere in the Middle ...... 28 Business of Amateurs, The ...... 58 Growing Up Coy ...... 54 Southwest of Salem: Story of the San Antonio Busou Shinki—Armored War Goddess ...... 65 Harmontown ...... 58 Bye Bye Man, The ...... 16 Four ...... 50 Heavy Object: Part One ...... 66 Space Between Us, The ...... 30 C Word, The ...... 52 Hero with a Thousand Faces ...... 53 Calvin, Zwingli, and Brother Klaus ...... 44 Stand-By Generation, The ...... 48 Hidden Figures ...... 22 Staying Vertical ...... 30 Canoa ...... 34 Hieronymus Bosch: Touched by the Devil ...... 58 Story of Cats, The ...... 52 Casablancas: Man Who Loved Women ...... 62 Homeland: Iraq Year Zero ...... 60 Sunú ...... 48 Castle Town Dandelion ...... 65 Hooperman: Season One ...... 40 Surire ...... 48 Claire in Motion ...... 16 How They Did It: Pathways to Amazing Jobs ...... 56 Sustainable ...... 55 Collateral Beauty ...... 16 How to Live to a Hundred ...... 54 Tanks: A Century of Dominating the Battlefield I Am Michael ...... 22 1916-2016 ...... 61 I Am Not Your Negro ...... 23 Tanna ...... 30 I Voted? ...... 47 Tenth Man, The ...... 30 Advertiser Directory Is Sugar the New Fat? ...... 53 Tested ...... 50 Ixcanul ...... 23 Tharlo ...... 30 Action! Library Media Service ...... 53 Jim ...... 23 This Kind of Love ...... 64 Baker & Taylor Entertainment ...... 2 Julieta ...... 23 Three ...... 30 Bennett-Watt HD Productions ...... 59 Just a Sigh ...... 23 Tower ...... 62 Breaking Glass ...... 29 Justice League Dark ...... 24 Tulare: The Phantom Lake ...... 52 Criterion ...... 35 La La Land ...... 3 Ultimate Otaku Teacher: Part 1 ...... 67 Dark Hollow Films ...... 4, 5 Let’s Get the Rhythm ...... 56 Un Ballo in Maschera ...... 69 Dreamscape ...... 38, 39 Level, The ...... 40 Underground Kings ...... 31 EPF Media ...... 71 Lion ...... 24 Film Movement ...... 13 United Kingdom, A ...... 31 Little Sister ...... 24 Until Forever ...... 31 Films Media Group ...... 57 Live by Night ...... 24 First Run Features ...... 19 USO: For the Troops ...... 61 Love in the Afternoon ...... 36 Grasshopper Film ...... 49 Vice Principals: Complete First Season ...... 41 Green Planet Films ...... 53 Love Witch, The ...... 24 Victoria: Complete First Season ...... 41 IndiePix Films ...... 33 Lovesong ...... 26 Wall Writers ...... 59 Kino Lorber Education ...... 7, 74 Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame ...... 26 We Are the Flesh ...... 31 Midwest Tape ...... 76 Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise ...... 64 We Go On ...... 31 Music Box Films ...... 25 Maybe Something Beautiful ...... 42 We Must Go ...... 57 NCircle Entertainment ...... 9, 43 Memories of a Penitent Heart ...... 55 We Regret to Inform You ...... 54 Oscilloscope Pictures ...... 15 Mercy Street: Season 2 ...... 40 We Were There ...... 61 Passion River Films ...... 75 Messengers, The ...... 44 What a Way to Go! ...... 36 PBS Video ...... 73 Mickey and the Roadster Racers ...... 42 Who Am I to Stop It ...... 44 Silk Scroll Productions ...... 59 Mifune: The Last Samurai ...... 26 Winterreise ...... 69 Speak to Win American English ...... 51 Mimi & Dona ...... 53 Wizard Mode ...... 57 Strand Releasing ...... 21 Miss Hokusai ...... 26 Wolf’s Rain ...... 67 Vision Video ...... 11 Mission to Lars ...... 54 Women of the Mine ...... 50 Mountain ...... 26 xXx: Return of Xander Cage ...... 32

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 72 MAY/JUNE 2017 Unforgettable Dramas and Documentaries from PBS. For explorers of all ages, DVDs from PBS Teacher Shop open a world of new ideas and new adventures. It’s always easy and affordable to add in-demand titles to your video collections with great new releases from PBS.

JUST FOR KIDS!

BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT PEG AND CAT SAVE THE WORLD TIGER FAMILY TRIP In 1915, civil rights activist Monroe Trotter waged a battle against D.W. Griffi th’s In this fun-fi lled, two-part movie, It’s time for a family road trip to see notorious blockbuster, The Birth of a the U.S. president (voiced by actress Grandpere! Travel with the Tiger Nation, which unleashed a fi ght about Sandra Oh) summons Peg and Cat to Family as they sing, play games, enjoy race relations and the infl uence of the White House to solve a problem of a dinosaur-themed playground and Hollywood. Includes interviews with Spike national importance by identifying a explore a butterfl y garden, plus more Lee, Reginald Hudlin, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., mysterious object fl oating in space. travel-related adventures! and DJ Spooky.

THE ORIGAMI REVOLUTION YOSEMITE DARK ANGEL The century old tradition of paper Yosemite was forged by time and Based on a true story, a troubled folding is at the heart of a scientifi c shaped by water. But as climate change woman (Joanne Froggatt, Downton revolution as engineers and designers makes water scarcer and the threat of Abbey) is drawn ever deeper into are now adopting origami designs to wildfi re grows, see how critters survive causal murder while her loved ones conquer space or reshape the world in this great wilderness. and friends, who were also her victims, around us. never suspect a thing.

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a Bill O’Reilly book title). Destroyer.” A mindless, Naturally, the idea of Big Bird going the destructive force of na- We Will Survive way of the dodo has rightfully spurred a hue ture strikes me as a fairly As I write, it is April 15, the final day of and cry amongst parents who depend on PBS apt metaphor, although I National Library Week. Two days ago, Ivanka Kids programming to help educate and enter- doubt that Trump has the Trump tweeted “This #NationalLibraryWeek, tain their children amidst the vast wasteland understanding, interest, or attention span to we honor our libraries and librarians for of Saturday morning cartoon dreck that is personally engineer devastating budget cuts. opening our eyes to the world of knowledge, primarily meant to sell toys. Actually, Big But regardless of who orchestrated these learning and reading!” Bird would likely survive Trump’s budget proposed cuts, the fates of the IMLS, NEA, That is a wonderful sentiment, but not cuts. HBO has contracted for new Sesame NEH, and CPB should concern both major one shared by her father, who as President Street episodes (which would premiere on its political parties. Democrats and Republicans continues to display a marked aversion to premium cable channel before airing on reg- alike use libraries for education, entertain- “knowledge, learning and reading!” Trump’s ular PBS stations). And larger metropolitan ment, job hunting, research, and more. proposed budget will eliminate the only areas have the numbers to sustain success- Democrats and Republicans enjoy science, federal-funded program for libraries, the ful pledge drives to keep stations running. nature, and history documentaries that Institute of Museum and Library Services But those living in rural areas would likely teach us about the world we live in. Demo- (IMLS), which at a cost of $230 million helps see less PBS programming because smaller crats and Republicans both carry a torch in support libraries and museums across the stations depend on funding from the CPB. their hearts for Elmo. country—particularly in the rural areas that Of course, PBS is so much more than Ses- Despite the indiscriminant swath of de- backed Trump’s presidential run. ame Street. Ken Burns could probably find a struction that Trump appears to be hell-bent Not content with severely impairing li- home on Netflix, but what about the many on laying to American arts and culture, I brary services nationwide, Trump also wants other American Experience documentaries have hope, because I believe that the in- to eliminate the National Endowment for the that tell fascinating stories about our history? formed citizens of a democracy constitute Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Would commercial networks or premium a stronger force. We see it in the protest Humanities (NEH), budgeted at $148 million cable channels clamor for The Mine Wars, The marches. We see it in the packed town hall each, as well as the Corporation for Public Abolitionists, or The Amish? Not likely. Ditto meetings. We see it in the skyrocketing Broadcasting (CPB), which receives $445 for Frontline, NOVA, and Nature documenta- subscription numbers for The New York Times million. To put those figures in perspective, ries, among others. and The Washington Post. the suggested defense budget is $54 billion. The April 6 cover for Rolling Stone has a To paraphrase Gloria Gaynor, we will The general theme here seems to be: Kill- picture of Trump as a cartoon tornado for survive. ing Art & Culture (which almost sounds like reporter Matt Taibbi’s story “Trump the Randy Pitman

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A surprising number of Americans make their living off vast rivers of trash. They are Austrian designer Stefan Sagmeister is doing well. He lives in New York, the city of his America's unseen. Dismissed as scavengers and pests, these "pirates of trash" come to life dreams, and he has success in his work, designing album covers for the Rolling Stones, in DOGTOWN REDEMPTION, the story of an underclass of shopping cart recyclers, poor Jay-Z and the Talking Heads. But in the back of his mind he suspects there must be entrepreneurs who defy Darwin every day, cheating death and despair by seeking something more. He decides to turn himself into a design project. Can he redesign his redemption in trash. We follow the lives of three recyclers: Jason Witt, the titan of personality to become a better person? Is it possible to train his mind to get happier? He recycling, Landon Goodwin, a former minister, who struggles with his own fall from grace, pursues 3 controlled experiments of meditation, therapy, and drugs, grading himself and Miss Hayok Kay, the ultimate outsider, formerly a punk rocker from a prominent along the way. But real life creeps in and confounds the process: art, sex, love, and death Korean family, now at the mercy of the elements and predators. prove impossible to disentangle. Documentary | Poverty | Urban Studies | Sustainability | Business & Economics Documentary | Lifestyle | Design | Mental Health & Wellness 94 min. | UPC: 602573215340 | SRP: $59.95 | PPR: $250.00 96 min. | UPC: 888295558488 | SRP: $59.95 | PPR: $325.00 | Closed Captioned Exclusively Available For Libraries Exclusively Available For Libraries

FINDING THE GOLD WITHIN THE LAND BENEATH OUR FEET

“A model for historical filmmaking” – Nancy Jacobs, Professor of History at Brown University, for the journal Environmental History “...one of the best films I’ve ever seen about the “The film dramatizes urgent questions of challenges facing African-American males in our society.” distributive justice that reverberate well – Mark Phillips beyond Liberia.” – Rob Nixon, Princeton University, author of Slow “An extraordinary film, worthy of the widest possible Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor audience as our country continues to grapple with racial "The film ends with an uneasy sense that a revolt, injustice, particularly the persistent stereotyping and brewing especially among the young, is all but criminalizing of young Black men. Highly recommended for all library film collections.” inevitable. Recommended." on Video Librarian!

Finding the Gold Within follows six African American college students from Akron, Ohio for three and a half years. They have been mentored for three to seven years by the award-winning youth program Alchemy, Inc. and are well-equipped with self-confidence and critical thinking skills, ready to become the heroes within their own stories. The The Land Beneath Our Feet weaves together rare archival footage from a 1926 Harvard protagonists grow before our eyes, whether navigating racial provocations, or seeking expedition to Liberia with the journey of a young Liberian man, uprooted by war, seeking support with friends, estranged fathers, and wise grandmothers. Each of them is hell-bent to understand how the past has shaped land conflicts in his country today. This film is an on disproving society's stereotypes and low expectations. What will their paths and trials explosive reminder of how large-scale land grabs are transforming livelihoods across the look like? How will they follow their dreams? planet. Documentary| Race | Education | Masculinity/Gender Studies Documentary | African Studies | Liberian History | Environmental |Politics| War 92 min. | UPC: 602573165041| SRP: $59.95 | Closed Captioned 60 min. | UPC: 602573184318 | SRP: $59.95 | PPR: $250.00 | Closed Captioned Exclusively Available for Libraries Exclusively Available for Libraries

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