Probably best known for his role in Brokeback Mountain and as The Joker in the upcoming Batman: The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger had a career that has spanned the last decade. He has been in such notable films as Monster's Ball and the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.
You can find all of his films available at the Pickering Public Library Here.
Well, there is a trailer for the new Narnia movie:Prince Caspian. You can see it here, as well as read a transcript.
Personally, I am looking forward to what this new movie can teach me about life. The first big screen film (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe) taught me many important lessons, which I will sum up in point form:
- Normal Coloured Tigers are good, White Tigers are evil.
- People who look like goats are good, people who look like bulls are evil.
- Santa Claus spends the off season as an arms dealer.
- Turkish Delight is apparently worth selling out your family for.
We have the entire series of Narnia books, as well as books on tape/CD and videos, available in our Catalogue.
Brush up on the series before the new movie. I will warn you though, the book Prince Caspian has some pretty blatant spoilers for the film.
CBC is reporting that Peter Jackson will be helming development of the film adaptation of "The Hobbit".
This is good news for everyone who loved Jackson's take on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and hope that he brings the same level of quality to the prequel. Apparently the book will be spun out over two separate films.
"The Hobbit" films have a tentative release date of 2010 and 2011, so to keep us occupied while we wait, have a look at some of these books and films:
If you are like me you are a librarian who works at the Pickering Public Library. If you are slightly less like me, but still similar, then you grew up in the 80s and loved watching cartoons after school, and now are riding high as nostalgia is causing these to be remade as movies, with usually limited success. But there was one thing that was almost sacred, and that was potentially going to be sullied as a movie remake, I am talking about, The Transformers.
When I heard about this movie I was frankly frightened. After the good beating my childhood had taken at the hands of George Lucas ("The force is little elves in my blood? OH COME ON! I HATE YOU LUCAAAAAAAAAAAS") anyone touching my beloved Transformers was doomed to crush the feelings of joy that the memories of the battles the Autobots raged on my television screen everyday after school, to say nothing of the losses sustained on the grim battlefield of my bedroom and backyard. Transformers do not like Chlorine is a lesson I will take to my grave (along with a very whitened Shockwave)...
So it was with great trepidation I approached the theater, but I was wrong, Michael Bay has done something I considered nigh impossible. He made me feel like I was 8 years old again watching Transformers after school.
The simple plot synopsis is that two factions of living extra-terrestrial robots, the Heroic Autobots and the Evil Decepticons have arrived on our planet seeking the allspark, the source of life and power for their species. Their war continues on our planet as humans such as Sam Witwicky are caught up in the battles and search.
Really though, it is half an hour of buildup followed by an hour and a half of "awesome robots doing awesome things awesomely" as I told a coworker. What really made this for me was the casting of Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime. It just brought back all the excitement of my childhood when you hear him say "Autobots: Transform and Roll Out!"
If you love the Transformers you need to see this movie. If you only like Robots then you should see this movie. If you just want to watch things blow up you should see this movie.
And the Library has a bunch of Transformers stuff coming in! Read it to your kids! So when the movie is re-remade in 2027 they can continue the cycle with their children! Till all are One!
Transformers: The Ultimate Guide
Meet the Autobots
Meet the Decepticons
Optimus Prime Vs Megatron
Sam's new Car
The Awakening
Transformers DVDs
The Pursuit of Happyness
Screenplay by Steve Conrad.
Directed by Gabriele Muccino.
Culver City, CA: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, c2007.
- Starring:
- Will Smith
- Thandie Newton
- Brian Howe
- James Karen
- Dan Castellaneta
Will Smith works hard for your tears in this piece of seasonal uplift. And while The Pursuit of Happyness isn't as sentimental as you may have feared (the cutesy spelling of "happiness" sets off warning bells), this true-life Horatio Alger tale never becomes especially involving either.
Smith plays Chris Gardner, a San Francisco man who struggles to maintain hope and dignity when circumstances force him and his son Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, the star's bona fide offspring) to join the city's legions of homeless people.
Such is the obviousness of Gardner's ability and essential goodness, the story's outcome is never in doubt even before he wins an internship at a brokerage firm. (This being the early '80s, he impresses the execs by completing a Rubik's cube.) Gabriele Muccino, who directed the original Italian version of The Last Kiss, manufactures suspense by having Smith frantically run around whenever he's late for an appointment. The director has a surer touch with the quieter scenes of Gardner trying to shield his son from their desperate straits, but those too are undermined by Smith's unnecessary voice-over and Andrea Guerra's sentimental score. If only the rough edges that give The Pursuit of Happyness some texture hadn't been sanded off so swiftly.
Review from Eye Weekly -- JA
Compare to the original Entertaining Non-Fiction book by Chris Gardner.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opens this Friday, May 25th. Check Tribute.ca for showtimes.
Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) ally with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a desperate quest to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from his mind-bending trap in Davy Jones' locker -- while the terrifying ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones, under the control of the East India Trading Company, wreaks havoc across the Seven Seas.
Navigating through treachery, betrayal and wild waters, they must forge their way to exotic Singapore and confront the cunning Chinese Pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Now headed beyond the very ends of the earth, each must ultimately choose a side in a final, titanic battle -- as not only their lives and fortunes, but the entire future of the freedom-loving Pirate way, hangs in the balance.
Synopsis from the official site.
For more piratey fun, check out these DVDs, VHS tapes and childrens' books featuring Captain Jack Sparrow.
I can't wait to go see this film. It's opening this weekend but I'll probably have to wait a while. If you see it first, be sure to leave a Comment below!!
28 Weeks Later Synopsis from Tribute.ca
This sequel to 28 Days Later picks up six months after the rage virus has annihilated the British Isles. The army declares that the war against infection has been won, and that the reconstruction of the country can begin. As the first wave of refugees return, a family is reunited - but one of them unwittingly carries a terrible secret. The virus is not yet dead, and this time, it is more dangerous than ever.
Check out the official movie site for trailers, downloadable screensavers and wallpaper and more.
We don't have the graphic novel 28 Days Later: The Aftermath which bridges the two movies yet, but in the meantime you're going to want to check out author Steve Niles' other work for a gory good time.
Do you share that guilty secret of loving Dirty Dancing? Well, don't miss the live musical hitting Toronto this fall. Performances begin October 31, 2007 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The first day sales set a box office record of $1,867,880 for Mirvish Entertainment.
Keisha Castle-Hughes, the youngest actress to receive a best actress Oscar nomination for Whale Rider at 13, has become a mother.
The now 17-year-old star and her boyfriend Bradley Hull, 20, became the proud parents of a baby girl on Wednesday, April 25, reports People.
The girl, Felicity-Amore, weighed 7 lbs., 6 oz. at birth. The couple has been dating for three years, and this is their first child together.
She has also been in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and starred as the Virgin Mary in The Nativity Story.
A short listing of famous people sharing their birthday with the birth of our new web site!
Click their names for some of the movies and books we have them starring in.
Who can you suggest? Please feel free to leave a Comment below.
Once you think of someone, try looking them up in our online Research Resource Biography Resource Centre.