Offbeat Movies to Make Your Weekend Brighter

Paul Smith of the Strongsville Library recommends these DVDs

Sydney White - When tomboy Sydney is banished from the most popular sorority on campus, she is taken in by seven socially challenged but endearing guys. With the help of her new friends, Sydney stands up for outcasts everywhere and takes on the reigning campus queen in a popularity showdown. Now, Sydney wants to win the heart of gorgeous frat guy Tyler Prince.   Year of the Dog - Peggy is a happy-go-lucky secretary who is a great friend, employee and sister. She lives alone with her beloved dog Pencil. But when Pencil unexpectedly dies, Peggy must find meaning in her life. Jack Goes Boating - Jack and Connie are two single people who on their own might continue to recede into the anonymous background of New York City, but in each other …

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DVD Picks for the Weekend

Paul Smith of the Strongsville Library likes these movies and thinks you will, too

The Lovely Bones - When 14-year-old Susie Salmon was murdered, she left her unfinished life behind. Now from her place in a strange but beautiful in-between world, she must help her father catch her killer and protect her family before she can finally move on.   The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest - The final installment of Stieg Larsson's 'Millennium' trilogy. Lisbeth Salander is fighting for her life in more ways than one. In an intensive care unit and charged with three murders, she will have to not only prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce the same corrupt government institutions that nearly destroyed her life. Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now, Lisbeth Salander is fighting back. Killer Diller - An ex-con guitar …

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3 More Great Unsung Movies

Paul Smith of the Strongsville Library uncovers dramas you probably missed

Peacock - John Skillpa, a quiet bank clerk living in tiny Peacock, Nebraska, prefers to live an invisible life. Then, in a moment, everything changes. A train caboose runs off its tracks and crashes into John's backyard and destroys more than the weathered planks of his wood fence. When neighbors descend on the scene, they discover John's other personality, Emma, for the first time and mistakenly believe her to be John's wife. John is launched into an unwelcome spotlight.   Leaves of Grass - Bill, a classical philosophy professor at Brown University, returns home upon news of his brother Brady's murder in a drug deal gone awry. Bill quickly learns that Brady's death has been grossly exaggerated, as he's swept up into one of his brother's …

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More Good Movies That Probably Passed You By

Paul Smith of the Strongsville Library thinks you'll like these dramas

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence - In a Japanese prison camp on Java in 1942, two British officers, John Lawrence and Jack Celliers, encounter camp commander Yonoi and his sergeant Hara. Things had been going pretty well, until charismatic, rebellious Celliers arrived. Yonoi is a devotee of the samurai ideal; neither he nor Hara can understand the stoic way in which the British prisoners accept their situation of defeat. Lawrence speaks Japanese, and ceaselessly tries to mediate between the prisoners and their overseers, translating both the words the values of the two races. Celliers' attitude, however, is more comprehensible to Yonoi. He and Celliers arrive at a sort of détente, based on an admiration for the other, but this eventually …

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For Your Weekend Viewing Pleasure

Paul Smith of the Strongsville Library recommends these movies

Of Boys and Men - Set on Chicago's West Side, this moving drama highlights the strength of family and the power of love. The long-awaited day has finally arrived: Holden and Rieta Cole's eldest son Terrell is graduating from college! But tragedy strikes suddenly, and now the Coles are forced to cope with overwhelming grief on top of life's everyday challenges. While Holden battles demons of pain and regret, his sister Janay steps in to help guide her loved ones on a healing path   Let Me In - Abby, an eerily self-possessed young girl, emerges from her heavily curtained apartment only at night and always barefoot, seemingly immune to the bitter winter elements. Owen, an alienated 12-year-old boy, recognizes a fellow outcast and opens up to …

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A Weekend of Love, Comedy and War

Paul Smith of the Strongsville Library suggests these DVD titles

Check out these movies recommended by the Strongsville Library. The Forgiven - It's 1878 and Jake Kincaid has just been released from prison for a crime he didn't commit. His heart is seeking vengeance on those responsible for landing him in jail, but he's also very interested in finding the gold he was accused of stealing. In his quest, he finds himself in the small town of Fairplay, CA, where Kincaid learns that love is far more powerful than hate and that redemption is more precious than gold. Four Lions -A whip-smart, slapstick comedy ... takes aim at Jihadi suicide bombers and illuminates the war on terror through satire and farce. Follow five inept aspiring terrorists on their quest to strike a blow, and how they demonstrate that …

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2 Military Movies and a Romance

Check out this week's DVD picks from the Strongsville Library

Our movie expert, Paul Smith of the Strongsville Library, is recommending two films with military themes this week, as well as a fun romance. All are available at the Strongsville Branch Library. Paths of Glory - During WWI, a French battalion is ordered on a suicide mission that is likely to fail. When it does, the general who planned the mission selects three soldiers from the battalion to be executed for cowardice, and selects their leader as their attorney.   Hurt Locker - U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Will James, Sgt. J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge comprise the Bravo Company's bomb disposal unit stationed in Baghdad. James is the tech team leader. When he arrives on the scene, Bravo Company has 39 days left on its current deployment…

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Movie Picks for the Weekend

They're all available at the Strongsville Library

 Paul Smith of the Strongsville Library has come up with some more little-known film titles that are well worth checking out. Wise Blood - U.S. Army war veteran Hazel Motes may not be a believing Christian, but he somehow makes observations about the state of a run-down country church and understands that there are ridiculous frauds on the streets. Memories inspire him to take up, after initially refusing, to take on the part of a traveling preacher when a cab driver insists he looks like one in his new hat. He starts his own new Church of Truth, without the crucified Jesus. His first disciple is an 18-year old simpleton with a "prophetic gift."   Assassin in Love - A hitman has second thoughts about his career and seeks refuge from his …

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Some DVDs to Check Out This Weekend

All are available at Strongsville Library

Paul Smith of the Cuyahoga County Public Library's Strongsville Branch has taken over the weekly DVD column. His first recommendations include dramas and family movies. I Love You, Phillip Morris - A true story of a spectacularly charismatic con man's journey from small-town businessman to flamboyant white-collar criminal, who repeatedly finds himself in trouble with the law and on the lam, all in the name of love. Walkabout - Stranded in the Australian desert, an English girl and her small brother are rescued by an aborigine boy who has journeyed into the outback on his "walkabout"- a tribal initiation into manhood. November Christmas - Vanessa Marks returns to her hometown library to read to children the book that she wrote, "November …

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DVD Drama on Tap This Week

Check out these choices at the Strongsville Library

Joseph Jones of the Strongsville Library turns in his last round of DVD picks for Strongsville Patch, and he's chosen some dramatic gems. Fly Away — Jeanne is a single mother doing her best to raise her autistic daughter Mandy. Despite pressure from Mandy’s school and father, Jeanne refuses to have her institutionalized. But can she do it on her own? How far will a mother go to keep and raise her daughter?  Broken Hill — Tommy’s dream is to become a musician. Unfortunately, his dad wants him to take over the family sheep ranch. When a prank goes awry and Tommy is forced to perform community service at the local prison, he uses it as an opportunity to showcase his musical abilities by orchestrating their choir. But will it be enough to …

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