KC Public Library Blog
Program Notes: The Bicycle Thieves (Italy; 1948)
If you’re a film geek, you never forget the first time you saw The Bicycle Thieves. That’s because this movie is so devastatingly emotional that suddenly you realize just how potent a movie can be.
Classic Review: Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
When people hear the name Mark Twain, they likely think about The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But Twain had written a lot before either of those works came out.
Program Notes: Infamous (2006)
Infamous is a pretty good movie with a performance by Brit actor Toby Jones as Truman Capote that should have earned him an Oscar nomination, and Daniel Craig as the murderer Perry Smith.
Books to Celebrate Veterans Day
President Woodrow Wilson charged Americans with remembering “those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory.” The following books offer small tokens of remembrance and thanks.
In For the Landing
November 14, 1838: A group of 14 investors led by John Calvin McCoy purchases 257 acres near the town of Westport for $4,220 to found the “Town of Kansas,” which is renamed “Kansas City” in 1889.
Program Notes: Layer Cake (2004)
An entertaining gangster flick with plenty of style, Layer Cake asks us to root for a nameless drug dealer simply because he's less vile than his fellow miscreants – and because he's played by Daniel Craig.
Dayton Duncan on The Dust Bowl
Making the documentary, The Dust Bowl, wasn’t a matter of creating a story and then finding the interview subjects and visual elements that would tell that story, says Dayton Duncan. It’s the other way around.
New on DVD: A Dangerous Method (2011)
There’s no overt violence in A Dangerous Method. But for all its gentility, the latest from filmmaker David Cronenberg is right at home with his longstanding preoccupation with “abnormal” psychology.
Why I Love My Library Contest Concludes at the Plaza Branch
Why do Kansas City kids love their library? For some, it’s the books, movies, and stories that inspire and excite. For others, it’s having a safe place to let their imaginations run wild.
One thing’s clear. Kids do use – and love – their local libraries.
Program Notes: Sylvia (2003)
Sylvia falls short of being the final word on its subject. Still, the film has some fine moments, particularly a brave performance by Gwyneth Paltrow as Sylvia Plath and a big dose of manly charisma from Daniel Craig as Ted Hughes.
We’ve Got Kindles for You to Check Out
How would you like to get your hands on a brand-new Kindle that has 47 hot ebooks by the likes of Cormac McCarthy, Terry McMilan, Jodi Picoult, and many other fabulous authors already loaded on it – completely for free?
Pumpkin Time!
Does chilly weather make you want to sip hot apple cider with cinnamon in it? You aren’t alone. Fall brings with it delicious comfort foods—including pumpkins. Halloween is over, but Jack-o-lanterns are just one way to celebrate with pumpkins. Thanksgiving feasts traditionally feature pumpkin pies for desserts.
Program Notes: Road to Perdition (2002)
Road to Perdition is a brooding gangster drama – about fathers and sons, damnation and redemption – that continually defies expectations. Superbly photographed and staged, it creates its own detached-but-compelling ambience.
The Dean of Women Lawyers
November 8, 1917: After being shunned by the all-male Kansas City Bar Association, Mary Tiera Farrow and 20 other female lawyers form the Women's Bar Association of Kansas City.
New on DVD: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)
With its gentle humor and forgiving view of human nature, Lasse Hallström’s Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a low-keyed charmer that will leave most of us with bemused smiles plastered across our mugs.