New Biographies 5/17/08

Audition: A Memoir
Barbara Walters
The legendary television journalist examines her own life and the many individuals she has known and interviewed.

The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century
Steve Coll
The history of the family that within two generations emerged from a poor desert canyon to being oil rich millionaires.

Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World
Samantha Power
Mello, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, was killed in a terrorist attack on UN headquarters in Iraq in 2003.

Freedom’s Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers
Richard S. Newman
Securing his freedom during the American Revolution, Bishop Allen was a tireless minister, abolitionist and reformer and a very influential figure of the nineteenth century.

The Good Fight: Hard Lessons from Searchlight to Washington
Harry Reid
The Senate majority leader recounts the story of his life from very humble beginnings.

Hats & Eyeglasses: A Family Love Affair with Gambling
Martha Frankel
The author grew up in a warm, loving family of die-hard gamblers, where just about everything was a situation for a bet.

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years
Julie Andrews
The story of the famous actress/singer during her childhood in war-torn Britain and to her new stardom in America.

Hope’s Boy
Andrew Bridge
At the age of seven, the author was taken from his mother and spent the next decade in foster care. Having graduated from Harvard Law School, he is now an advocate for children’s rights.

I’m Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir
Jennifer Finney Boylan
The author, an English professor, grew up in a haunted house in Pennsylvania as a boy who longed to become a girl.

The Last Lecture
Randy Pausch
The professor of CMU who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer gave a “last lecture” that was a summation of all that he had come to believe.

The Legend of Colton H. Bryant
Alexandra Fuller
The short and tragic life of a Wyoming cowboy who goes to work on an oil rig.

Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter
Sidney Poitier
The famous actor and author reflects on his amazing life and offers inspirational advice and personal stories.

A Life with Karol: My Forty-Year Friendship with the Man Who Became Pope
Stanislaw Dziwisz
A close-up glimpse into the beloved Pope’s life and the critical events of his papacy.

Madness: A Bipolar Life
Marya Hornbacher
At the age of 24, the author was diagnosed with Type I rapid-cycle bipolar, the most severe form of bipolar disorder.

Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de’Medici
Miles J. Unger
The uncrowned ruler of Florence during its golden age was a pivotal figure of the Renaissance.

The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
Simon Winchester
An eccentric Englishman who explored the scientific advances of the Chinese people, is depicted by the author of The Professor and the Madman.

The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness, and the creation of Roget’s Thesaurus
Joshua Kendall
At the young age of eight, Roget began his quest to put everything in its rightful place, one word at a time.

Marie-Thérèse, Child of Terror: The Fate of Marie Antoinette’s Daughter
Susan Nagel
The remarkable story of the royal child who was imprisoned and orphaned during the French Revolution.

Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration
Marcia Ann Gillespie, Rosa Johnson Butler and Richard A. Long
The life story of Dr. Angelou is featured along with numerous photographs and letters from her years as an activist, writer, performer, and teacher.

Never Give In: Battling Cancer in the Senate
Arlen Specter
The senator from Pennsylvania tells the story of his work in the senate and as a cancer survivor.

The Place to Be: Washington, CBS, and the Glory Days of Television News
Roger Mudd
A chronicle of the consuming passion for news during this reporter’s career.

The Prince of Frogtown
Rick Bragg
The author of All Over but the Shoutin’ and Ava’s Man continues with a tale about fathers and sons.

Shakespeare’s Wife
Germaine Greer
The author resets the story of Shakespeare’s marriage in its social context and disputes the negative impression that many authors have assumed about the wife of the Bard.

sTori telling
Tori Spelling
The life of the actress, and daughter of producer Aaron Spelling, who was known for her role in “Hollywood 90210.”

The Sum of Our Days
Isabel Allende
The famous Chilean writer, relates the story of her life after the death of her daughter and shares her thoughts on love, marriage, motherhood, spirituality and memory.

Swallow the Ocean
Laura M. Flynn
The author and her two sisters experienced life with a difficult mother who was suffering from schizophrenia.

A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father
Augusten Burroughs
The author of Running with Scissors returns with a heartbreaking look at life with his father.

Woman of the House: The Rise of Nancy Pelosi
Vincent Bzdek
A look at the life and career of the country’s most powerful woman.

New Releases

Eagle vs Shark
When Lily, an oddball fast-food waitress and hopeless romantic, and Jarrod, another forsaken eccentric, connect at a ‘dress as your favorite animal’ party, it’s a match seemingly made in outcast heaven. Cast: Loren Horsley, Jemaine Clement, Brian Sergent, Rachel House, Craig Hall.
MPAA Rating: R.

The Golden Compass
In a wondrous parallel world where witches soar the skies and Ice Bears rule the frozen North, one special girl is destined to hold the fate of the universe in her hands. When Lyra Belacqua becomes the keeper of the Golden Compass, she discovers that her world and all those beyond are threatened by the secret plans of Mrs Coulter. With the help of Lord Asriel and a group of unlikely allies ready to stand at her side, Lyra embarks on an extraordinary quest that celebrates friendship and courage against all odds. Cast: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Freddie Highmore, Kathy Bates, Kristin Scott Thomas, Daniel Craig. Based on the book “Northern lights” by Philip Pullman. Rated PG-13.

Good Luck Chuck
In order to keep the woman of his dreams from falling for another guy, Charlie Logan has to break the curse that has made him wildly popular with single women: Sleep with Charlie once, and the next man you meet will be your true love. Cast: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler.
Rated R

The Great Debaters
Inspired by a true story, Melvin B. Tolson is a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African American college students into an historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite. Cast: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker, John Heard, Kimberly Elise. Rated PG-13

The Invasion
Something terrifying has come to Earth, something that attacks us while we sleep and turns us into soulless replicants. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jeffrey Wright. Based on the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. Rated PG-13

Love in the Time of Cholera
Florentino is a poetry-writing telegraph operator who lives in a Central American city. He spots the graceful Fermina while making his rounds, and finds himself in love. While Florentino’s mother encourages the courtship, Fermina’s father absolutely forbids it. Years pass, and the well-born Dr. Urbino treats Fermina for a case of cholera. When Urbino proposes, Fermina accepts. A distraught Florentino decides to wait. With the help of his uncle, he amasses wealth of his own. All the while, he drifts from woman to woman, never really finding what he is looking for in a woman. After five decades of waiting, he gets a second chance to win Fermina’s heart. Cast: Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Benjamin Bratt, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Hector Elizondo, Liev Schreiber, Fernanda Montenegro, Laura Harring, John Leguizamo. Based on the novel by Gabriel García Marquez. Rated R

Mad Money
Bridget is a stay-at-home wife whose life as she knows it ends when her husband loses his cushy, high-paying job. Her college degree in literature does not help her find a substantial job, so she accepts a janitorial position at the Federal Reserve. There, she meets Nina and Jackie, who could use some spare scratch as well. Suddenly, it dawns on Bridget that the bank has plenty of what they need – money. The plan is to take the old bills that are headed for the shredder and recycle them back into the economy by spending it. Cast: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Stephen Root, Christopher McDonald, Adam Rothenberg. Rated PG-13

National Treasure Book of Secrets
When a missing page from the diary of John Wilkes Booth surfaces, Ben Gates’ great-great grandfather is suddenly implicated as a key conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In order to find a clue so that he can clear his family’s name, Ben must kidnap the President of the United States. Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Bruce Greenwood, Helen Mirren.v Rated PG

Over Her Dead Body
When Kate is killed by an ice sculpture on her wedding day, her fiancé Henry gives up on romance until he falls for the beautiful psychic who’s supposed to be helping him move on. But Kate is not having any of it, and now she’s making it her heavenly duty to send their budding relationship six-feet-under. Cast: Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell, Lindsay Sloane, Jason Biggs. Rated PG-13

P.S. I Love You
Holly Kennedy is beautiful, smart and married to the love of her life – a passionate, funny, and impetuous Irishman named Gerry. So when his life is taken by an illness, it takes the life out of Holly. Nobody knows Holly better than Gerry, so it’s a good thing he planned ahead. Before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her grief, but in rediscovering herself. The first message arrives on Holly’s 30th birthday in the form of a cake and a tape recording from Gerry. In the weeks and months that follow, more letters from Gerry are delivered in surprising ways, each sending her on a new adventure and each signing off in the same way – P.S. I Love You. Holly’s mother and best friends begin to worry that Gerry’s letters are keeping Holly tied to the past, but in fact, each letter is pushing her further into a new future. Cast: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Harry Connick, Jr., Gina Gershon, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kathy Bates. Based on the novel by Cecelia Ahern. Rated PG-13

Reservation Road
Two fathers are forced to live with the same tragedy in two very different ways after an incident that involves them both on the same road. Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino. Rated R

27 Dresses
Jane is a romantic, completely selfless woman who’s been a happy, helpful bridesmaid no less than 27 times. But her own fairy-tale wedding seems to be nowhere in sight, until younger sister Tess captures the heart of Jane’s boss with whom she’s secretly in love with. This inspires Jane to change her “always a bridesmaid” destiny. Cast: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Judy Greer, Edward Burns. MPAA rating: PG-13.

Documentaries & Non-Fiction

American Idiot: the Ultimate Critical Review
American Idiot is the Grammy award-winning album which transformed the group into global superstars capable of filling the biggest stadiums on earth. Featuring rare concert footage and the reflections of the band along side the views of a leading team of music critics and studio insiders, this is the independent critical review of the album that rocked the world the how and why of American Idiot and how it works its magic.

Feature Length Films & Made for TV Productions

The Boys from Brazil
A band of Nazi leaders, escaped from postwar Germany, scheme to return to power. Their plans to dominate the world are based on a bizarre biological experiment undertaken by Josef Mengele, to clone Hitler. Cast: Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Steve Guttenberg. Originally released as a motion picture in 1978. Based on the novel by Ira Levin. Rated R.

The Conversation
A provoking mystery-suspense drama explores the morality of privacy in the story of Harry Caul, a surveillance expert, who conducts a routine surveillance job only to later find himself suspicious that he has become an unwitting player in murder scheme. Originally released as a motion picture in 1974. Cast: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Robert Duvall.

The Counterfeit Traitor
An American businessman turned Swedish oil-trader finds his life and fortunes held hostage when he’s blackmailed by British agents and forced into the perilous arena of WWII espionage. Cast: William Holden, Lilli Palmer, Hugh Griffith. Originally released as a motion picture in 1962.
Based on the book by Alexander Klein. Not rated.

The Day of the Jackal
Story of a cold, suave British assassin hired by the French OAS to kill General Charles de Gaulle. Nameless and faceless, the killer, known by the code name of Jackal, relentlessly moves toward the date with death that would rock the world. The tension mounts as the methodical preparations of the Jackal are paralleled with the efforts of the police to uncover the plot, which gives the story non-stop, edge-of-your-seat suspense. Cast: Edward Fox, Alan Badel, Tony Britton, Cyril Cusack, Michel Lonsdale, Eric Porter, Delhpine Seyrig. DVD release of the 1973 motion picture. Based on the book by Frederick Forsyth. Rated PG.

Eye of the Needle
While attempting to complete a crucial mission during WWII, a ruthless German spy is shipwrecked on a deserted Scottish island and befriended by a lonely woman. Cast: Donald Sutherland, Kate Nelligan, Ian Bannen, Christopher Cazenove. Based on the novel by Ken Follett. Rated R.

Five Days
After Leanne and her children vanish into thin air, her husband and family soon learn that nobody is what they seem. Cast: Nikki Amuka-Bird, Hugh Bonneville, Charlie Creed-Miles, Lucinda Dryzek, Rory Kinnear, Patrick Malahide, Janet McTeer, David Oyelowo, Sarah Smart, Penelope Wilton, Edward Woodward. Originally broadcast on HBO in 2007. Rated TV-MA

Love’s Unfolding Dream
Missie’s adopted daughter Belinda is determined to become a doctor, but despite her dedication and ability, Doc Jackson believes women should stay at home– and so does Belinda’s suitor, Drew Simpson. But with faith and hard work, Belinda begins winning the hearts and minds of everyone around her, including a wealthy dowager, who just might help make Belinda’s dreams come true. Cast: Erin Cottrell, Dale Midkiff, Scout Taylor-Compton, Robert Pine, Patrick Levis, Nancy Linehan Charles, Samantha Smith. Based on the novel by Janette Oke. Originally broadcast as a made-for-TV movie in 2007. Not Rated

Man Who Never Was
Account of wartime espionage based on the true story of an intelligence operation designed to mislead the Nazis prior to the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Cast: Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame. Originally produced as a motion picture in 1955. From the book by Ewen Montagu. Not rated.

Marathon Man
Story of a graduate student and marathon runner unwittingly trapped in a terrifying drama revolving around a murderous Nazi fugitive. Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane, Marthe Keller. DVD release of the 1976 motion picture. Rated R.

The Omega Man
Biological warfare has decimated the world’s population. Los Angeles is a windswept, debris-strewn ghost town. There, Robert Neville tools his convertible through the sunny streets, pillaging deserted department stores to survive. And making damn sure he gets undercover before sundown, when the other ’survivors’ emerge. Based on the novel “I am Legend” by Richard Matheson. Cast: Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash. Rated PG.

The Three Days of Condor
A CIA agent who is on the run from a mass slaughter in his research office suddenly finds himself the target of both his employers and the unknown killers of his associates. Based on the novel “Six days of the Condor” by James Grady. CastRobert Redford, Cliff Robertson, Faye Dunaway, Max von Sydow. Rated R.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Some say George Smiley is in innocent retirement. Others say he was sacked after the Czech scandal. But all agree that nobody ever leaves the ‘Circus’ without some unfinished business. Brought out of retirement to trace an enemy infiltrator in the department where he was once the prize employee, the shy and retiring master of espionage moves forwards to investigate and finds himself going backwards over very old ground … Cast: Alec Guinness, Ian Bannen, Bernard Hepton, Terence Rigby, Michael Jayston, Hywel Bennett and Anthony Bate. Based on the novel by John Le Carre. Not rated.

Touch of Frost Season 13
Detective Jack Frost is called to investigate when a couple return from holiday to find the body of a complete stranger in their bed. He also becomes involved in a murder inquiry and uncovers a crime ring involved in the importing of endangered species and illegal animal goods. Cast: David Jason, Bruce Alexander. Not rated.

Foreign Language Films

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The inspiring true story about the French editor of Elle magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in 1995 at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he’d only visited in his mind. In French, English and Spanish; with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny, Patrick Chesnais, Niels Arestrup, Olatz López Garmendia, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Marina Hands, Max von Sydow. Rated PG-13.