Lecture: "War Is Hell"

Friends of Middletown Thrall Library, Inc. present "War Is Hell," a presentation by Eliot S. Hermon, Brigadier General (NYG, Retired); President of Duncan T. Trueman Chap. 59, Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge; Past Post Commander, Frederick Hecht Post # 425, Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.

The stirring and insightful lecture about the experience of war will be held on Sunday, November 14, 2010, at 2 PM in the 2nd Floor Community Room at Middletown Thrall Library

This program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Music Event: An Afternoon of Opera

Join us for a sonorous and sensational Sunday afternoon of opera on October 17, 2010, 2 PM.

The event, produced by Ron DeFesi, will be held in the 2nd Floor Community Room at Middletown Thrall Library.

Admission is free, and all are welcome to attend.

Fall Book Discussion Series

Middletown Thrall Library Presents

Stories into Screen 2

"The Sequel"

Our Latest Scholar-Led Book Discussion Series

Featuring Books Made into Movies

Since many of you enjoyed our first "Stories into Screen" book and film discussion last Fall, we thought we'd try a similar approach this year as well!

It is probably safe to say that the answer to the question posed ("do good books make good movies?") remains the same: "occasionally, or once in a great while." In this case, however, we think you will be impressed with the films in this series!

We invite you to read and evaluate each book and share your thoughts, if you like. You can then attend the corresponding film the following week and compare it to the book - but please don't feel that you must read the books to attend discussions or the films. If you just want to attend discussions or just enjoy a good film, that's perfectly fine! Films will be viewed on their own merits, as a genre distinct from the literary. We hope you plan to join us!

Here is the schedule of books and films:

• Book #1: Nobody's Fool
  by Richard Russo

  Tuesday, October 5th, 7 - 9 PM

  Scholar: Peggy Abt, Professor Emeritus, SUNY Orange English Dept.

  Russo is a shrewd observer of human nature and writes some of the best dialogue of any modern writer today. Sully, the main character in this novel, is multi-dimensional and memorable as are many equally colorful townspeople Russo has created. Some might describe these characters as "ordinary," living in a small, economically depressed town in upstate New York, but Russo clearly loves them. Sully is something of a free spirit, rarely thinking beyond the moment. Now that he's sixty, he's feeling the effects of his short-sightedness. He has friends but few real relationships, even with his son and his off-and-on again lover. Indeed, the closest relationship he has is with his landlady. As in life much happens to these characters but many things are not neatly resolved. This film also highlights many Mid-Hudson locales.
  
  

  Film #1: Tuesday, October 12th, 7 PM
  (1994, Rated R 110 minutes)

  Drama. Nominated for two Oscars - best actor and best writing. Stars: Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, and Melanie Griffith.
  
  

• Book #2: A River Runs Through It
  by Norman Maclean

  Tuesday, October 19th, 7 - 9 PM

  Scholar: Mary Makofske, SUNY Orange English Dept., retired

  This is a small, beautifully written story, a timeless tale of fathers and sons and brothers and their often futile attempts to understand one another and how sports can provide a tie (sometimes the only tie) between them. This is Maclean's childhood recollections of his father, a Presbyterian minister, and his troubled but talented brother, with whom he fished. Against the Montana background of his youth, Maclean paints exquisitely vivid word-pictures of a land, water, and family now gone. At the story's core lies the frustration of often futile attempts to help others or to save loved ones from self-destruction.

  Film #2: October 26th, 7 PM
  (1992, Rated PG, 120 minutes)

  Drama. Won Oscar best cinematography. Nominated best music, best writing. Stars: Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, and Tom Skerritt.
  
  

• Book #3: All the President's Men
  by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

  Tuesday, November 2nd, 7 - 9 PM

  Scholar: Tony Nappo, Middletown City School District, retired

  Time has not dulled the impact of All the President's Men, perhaps the most famous investigative book written in the last forty years. Beginning with the story of a simple burglary at Democratic headquarters and then continuing with headline after headline, Bernstein and Woodward kept the tale of conspiracy and the trail of dirty tricks coming, delivering stunning revelations and pieces in the Watergate puzzle that brought about Nixon's scandalous downfall. Their explosive reports won a Pulitzer Prize for The Washington Post and toppled the President. This story continues to be relevant. It speaks to a concern fundamental to American democracy - the constant threat of corruption and abuse of power in government.

  Film #3: November 9th, 7 PM
  (1976, Rated PG 135 minutes)

  Drama. History. Thriller. Won 4 Oscars including best actor in a supporting role, and nominated for 4 others. Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Hal Holbrook, and Jason Robards.

Books Available

Copies of each book can be requested at any time and in any order you wish using your RCLS library card. However, we will have copies of each title at Thrall at least 3 weeks prior to the discussion. When available, we will have copies in various formats (large print, CD, cassette).

For film titles and other information, please call (845) 341-5454, ext. 5479 or send e-mail to thrall16@warwick.net.

The Big Read 2010

Edgar Allan Poe

The Big Read 2010 is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and library Services and Arts Midwest. This initiative is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.

The Big Read is a countrywide initiative coordinated by the Orange Library Association (OLA). Beginning October, 1st, Orange County's 17 public libraries will celebrate the literary genius of Edgar Allan Poe. This effort is supported by a $17,050 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and matching funds from local organizations. The program provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single author within their communities, encouraging reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

Our featured book is Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe.

In addition to the Poe Kickoff Events Weekend, don't miss some of the other programs and events taking place here in Middletown at the Library, in front of the Library, and at the Senior Center.

While most of the Poe events take place in October, we are kicking off our participation in The Big Read earlier with a presentation by popular scholar/poet/fiction writer Mary Makofske:

On Tuesday, September 28, 7 - 8:30 PM she will introduce people to Poe's shrewd amateur detective Chevalier Auguste Dupin in a program entitled, Edgar Allan Poe: Master of Mystery. Stories to be covered are:

• The Murders in the Rue Morgue
• The Mystery of Marie Roget
• The Purloined Letter

Copies of the the stories will be available at the library about three weeks before her program.

Other Poe related events are planned in October: *Friday, October 8th, from 2 - 6 PM Thrall hosts a bloodmobile donation drive. Community Blood Services, a not-for-profit organization that supplies blood and blood products to more than 30 hospitals in the NJ/NY region for more than 50 years, will be here in front of the library.

We are calling this event "The Big Bleed for the Big Read: A Pint for Poe". While walk-ins are welcome, pre-registration is preferred. Please call or e-mail us if you can help: (845)341-5454, ext.5479 or thrall16@warwick.net.

Movie buffs, please take note: Thrall will host "Based on Poe: 2 Classic Scary Films" on October 14 and October 28. Please call (845)341-5454, ext.5479 for movie titles. Both begin at 7 PM and last about an hour and a half. Both films feature Vincent Price.

We hope to see you at one or more of these events!

Free Jazz Concert

The Friends of Middletown Thrall Library, Inc. Present

Chris Parker

A Musical Performance at Thrall

Sunday, September 19th, 2 PM
in the 2nd Floor Community Room.

Admission is free!

Chris Parker (pianist / composer / recording artist) is also Professor of Music and head of Jazz Studies at Orange County Community College in New York. A New York Chancellor's Award winner, Parker engages and inspires students as he teaches them the skills they will need as future jazz musicians. Parker regularly conducts professional clinics in jazz performance, including an annual clinic and performance in Newburgh, NY, with saxophonist Chris Vadala of the Chuck Magione Band.

A versatile performer, Parker has appeared in various East coast and West coast jazz clubs and festivals. Recently, Parker appeared as a featured performer in Mt. Hood Jazz Festival in Portland, Oregon, and COTA Jazz Festival in Delaware Watergao, Pennsylvania. Parker has also performed in concert venues with such jazz greats as Bob Mintzer, Lyn Seaston, and Randy Brecker.

Parker's latest CD is Late in Lisbon and features original jazz compositions by this critically-acclaimed master of modern jazz.

Summer Baseball Movie Series

This summer, Middletown Thrall Library presents...

The All-Time "Best"

Baseball Movies

"A Tribute to the Boys (and girls) of Summer"

Welcome baseball fans! Join us this July for some outstanding baseball-themed movies.

All movies are free and will be shown in our 2nd floor Community Room at Thrall. Here is the schedule:

• Wednesday, July 7, 2010, 7 PM (* Please call for title *)
  Starring: Michael Moriarty, Robert De Niro, Vincent Gardenia, and Phil Foster.
• Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 7 PM (* Please call for title *)
  Starring: Kevin Cosner, Amy Madigan, and James Earl Jones.
• Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 7 PM (* Please call for title *)
  Starring: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, and Lori Petty.
• Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 7 PM (* Please call for title *)
  Starring: Kevin Cosner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins.

* Titles cannot be publicized outside of the library due to licensing restrictions.

Please call 341-5454, ext. 5479 for movie titles.

Please note each movie's ratings.

About the list: Many individuals and organizations have created lists of "best" baseball movies. These 4 movies are among the top ten films rated by Baseball Almanac. This list was developed with the help of Gene Shalit, a panel of experts, staff members, and friends of Baseball America. Shalit helped them determine two key criteria: is the film worth watching ten years after its release, and are the characters interesting enough to be enjoyed by people who know nothing about baseball.

For more information, please call (845) 341-5454, ext. 5479 or e-mail thrall16@warwick.net.

You and Your Landlord

We invite you to attend "You and Your Landlord: The Rights and Responsibilities of Tenants," presented by Jaime Samarel, a staff attorney in the Housing Unit of the Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (Newburgh office) since November 1999.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010, 7 - 8:30 PM
in the 2nd floor Community Room at Middletown Thrall Library

Have your questions answered by an expert!

Discover your rights and legal options when dealing with…

• evictions
• timely notifications
• privacy
• safety issues
• Section 8 housing
• seniors and disabled renters
• mobile homes
• and more

The presenter has represented tenants in eviction proceedings in courts located throughout Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Rockland and Sullivan Counties.

For more information, please call (845) 341-5454, ext. 5479 or e-mail thrall16@warwick.net.

Where Does Your Money Go?

Money - where does it go - and why so quickly?

Find out and get some tips on how to better manage your money in these tough financial times by attending this free program:

Wednesday, June 2, 2010, 7 - 9 PM
in the 2nd Floor Community Room at Middletown Thrall Library

About the program:

This free multimedia presentation, presented by Stefanie Hubert (financial educator, Cornell University, Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County), can help you learn how to get more out of your hard-earned money, set realistic financial goals, develop budgeting strategies that work, establish credit and debt management skills, and more!

Free informational handouts will also be provided.

If you have any questions, please call 341-5454, ext. 5479 or e-mail thrall16@warwick.net.

Free Music Concert at Thrall

Friends of Middletown Thrall Library, Inc. Present

Brooklyn Baroque

"April in Paris"

Sunday, April 25, 2 PM

in the 2nd Floor Community Room at Middletown Thrall Library

We invite you to attend "April in Paris," a free music concert at the library starring Rebecca Pechefsky (harpsichord), Andrew Bolotowsky (Baroque flute), and David Bakamjian (Baroque cello).

Brooklyn Baroque specializes in the music of Bach and his contemporaries and also performs works further back into the seventeenth century or as far forward as Beethoven.

"April in Paris" will feature Georg Philipp Telemann's Tenth "Paris" Quartet, which he wrote after hearing the accomplished Parisian musicians during his visit there in the spring of 1738.

Also to be performed: works by composers Telemann probably heard and possibly even met, including Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Jean-Marie Leclair, and Jean-Philippe Rameau.

Special guest Rachel Evans (Baroque violin) will contribute her musical mastery to this memorable event.

This concert is open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

For more news and information on Brooklyn Baroque, please visit www.brooklynbaroque.com.

Elderlaw 2010

Peace of Mind

Attend a "free legal checkup" - Elder Law 2010 - ...and put your mind (and your family) at ease!

Thursday, April 8, 2010, at 11:00 AM to Noon
in the 2nd Floor Community Room at Middletown Thrall Library

About this program: Learn about wills, health care proxies, powers of attorney, how to choose an agent for health care proxies or powers of attorney, probate, and guardianship issues.

A volunteer lawyer will explain it all so that you can begin to make more informed personal health care and financial decisions!

Now in its sixteenth year, Decision Making Day is a volunteer-driven public service of the Elder Law and Health Law Sections of the New York State Bar Association.

Handouts and sample documents will be given out to the audience to assist people in making informed decisions about important legal issues.

Please call us as (845) 341-5454, ext. 5479 or send e-mail to thrall16@warwick.net if you have any questions.

Spring 2010 Book Discussion Series

Historians and Novelists Confront the Past

How Storytellers Use History

The 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the US's first serial killer, New York City during the Great Depression, World War II in German towns and occupied territory: all are "real" parts of history. And all have been used by four contemporary storytellers in their book length narratives which you are invited to explore with us this Spring.

What do these stories offer us in new insights, perceptions, and questions about the human condition and the places and events of history? How does an author intertwine the "facts" of history with imagined characters and events?

What is the relationship between the "real" historical past and the imaginative, emotional depiction of it? Where is "truth" found in fiction? What is the power of both literature and history and the telling of a good story?

We invite you to join us for a lively and in-depth exploration of all these fascinating questions!

Books We Will Discuss

• Book # 1:
  April 13, 2010, 7-9 PM
  The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
  Presented by Tony Nappo, Middletown City School District, retired
  
  In a thrilling narrative showcasing his gifts as storyteller and researcher, Larson recounts the spellbinding tale of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair nicknamed the "White City" for its classically inspired buildings, all painted white. Larson intertwines the true story of two men--the brilliant architect behind the Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world, and the cunning serial killer, masquerading as a charming doctor, who used the fair to lure his victims to their deaths. As readers we are drawn into a richly complex moment in American history, a moment that would bring together the best and worst of the Gilded Age, the grandeur and triumph of the human imagination, and the poverty, violence, and depravity that surrounded it.
• Book # 2:
  April 27, 2010, 7-9 PM
  North River by Pete Hamill
  Presented by Mary Makofske, SUNY Orange English Dept., retired
  
  Hamill is at his best when he writes about his city. He knows New York present and past. In North River New York City is in the icy grip of the Great Depression.
  
  With compassion Dr. James DeLaney tends to his hurt, sick, and poor neighbors. His patients include gangsters, Tammany chieftains, veterans, laborers, prostitutes, and housewives.
  
  A wounded veteran of World War I, he is despondent that his wife, Molly, has deserted him and that his only child, Grace, has left her son, two-year-old Carlito, in his care. Delaney hires Rose, a Sicilian woman, to care for Carlos, his grandson, so Delaney can continue ministering to his patients. What happens to Delaney and his newly formed little family forms the basis for the rest of this well-written book.
• Book # 3:
  May 11, 2010, 7-9 PM
  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  Presented by Chris Godwin, Professor Emeritus, SUNY Orange English Dept.
  
  The narrator of this book is Death. Liesel, the book thief, is a young girl who has lost her brother and her mother, and is taken in by a foster family who live on the outskirts of Munich. During the years that Liesel lives with the Hubermanns, Hitler becomes more powerful, life on Himmel Street becomes more fearful, and Liesel becomes a full-fledged book thief.
  
  With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.
  
  She recognizes the power of books and words, to comfort and destroy, as tools for both good and evil.
• Book # 4:
  May 25, 2010, 7-9 PM
  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
  Presented by Peggy Abt, Professor Emeritus, SUNY Orange English Dept.
  
  Living in the shadow of World War II writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
  
  And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.
  
  As the letters unfold, readers will meet the brave and endearing people who survived, and a few who did not, in this life affirming tribute to the power of the human spirit and the written word.

For More Information

Please call our adult program coordinator at (845) 341-5454, ext. 5479 or send e-mail to thrall16@warwick.net.

You are also invited to join either our print or electronic mailing list to receive news of discussions, performances, and other free and interesting events for the public at Middletown Thrall Library.

Free Music Event: Jeanne MacDonald Performs

Friends of Middletown Thrall Library, Inc. Presents

"Both Sides Now"

Jeanne MacDonald Performs Standards Old and New

Steven Wing - Accompanist

Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 2 PM

This musical performance will be held in the 2nd floor Community Room at Thrall.

All are welcome to attend! Light refreshments will be served.

Poetic Performances

Coming to Life
at the End of Winter

An Evening of Poetry

Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 7 - 8 PM

Presented by Poets Mary Makofske and Joan Siegel

Enjoy an evening of great poetry from two well-known published poets. Both will read from their own works and from poems of some of their favorite poets.

Mary's poems have appeared in Poetry, Zone 3, Poetry East, Mississippi Review, Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women, and other literary magazines and anthologies. She is the author of THE DISAPPEARANCE OF GARGOYLES and EATING NASTURTIUMS. Individual poems have received the Robert Penn Warren Poetry Prize, Spoon River Poetry Review prize, and the Iowa Woman prize.

Joan's most recent book, Hyacinth for the Soul garnered high praise from poets including Maxine Kumin, (former US Poet Laureate) who said, "…Siegel knows how to go for the small specific details that illuminate even the darkest subjects." Recipient of the New Letters Poetry Prize and the Anna Davidson Rosenberg Award, her poetry has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The American Scholar, Commonweal, Prairie Schooner, The Gettysburg Review among other journals and anthologies.

Both women have recently retired from the English Department at SUNY Orange.

Music Event in Celebration of Black History Month

The Friends of Middletown Thrall Library, Inc Present

Kofi and Sankofa Drum
and Dance Ensemble

Sunday, February 7, 2010, 2 PM

in the 2nd Community Room at Thrall

This musically wonderful event is free and open to the public!

Light refreshment will be served.

Learn about Middletown's History

We invite you to attend this free and interesting program exploring our town's unique history:

Old Middletown in Slides

Businesses, Homes, and Streets

Presented by Marvin H. Cohen

Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 7 - 8 PM
in the 2nd Floor Community Room

Marvin Cohen is the curator of the Historical Society of Middletown and the Wallkill Precinct.

A lifelong resident of Middletown, he is proud to share his deep knowledge of the community, gained in part from his fifty-year membership in the Middletown Fire Department and his decades of research as a railway historian.

Reel Eclectic Film Series: 2010 Schedule

Program dates: (please see below)

"Reel Eclectic" is Middletown Thrall Library's year-long independent and international film festival.

In this series we present independent as well as acclaimed feature films of interest to art and foreign film buffs and cinematic connoisseurs alike.

If mature entertainment of a truly different order is what you crave, this series might appeal to you!

Here is our film schedule for 2010:

• January 7, 2010
• February 4, 2010
• March 4, 2010
• April 1, 2010
• May 6, 2010
• June 3, 2010
• July 1, 2010
• August 5, 2010
• September 2, 2010
• October 7, 2010
• November 4, 2010
• December 2, 2010

All films begin at 7 PM, and admission is always free! Films are shown in the 2nd Floor Community Room at Middletown Thrall Library.

Due to licensing restrictions, we cannot publicize film titles outside of the library. Please call (845) 341-5454, ext. 5479 for more details or send e-mail to thrall16@warwick.net.

Free Parent Information Session

Program date: January 11, 2010, 7:00 - 8:00 PM

Middletown Thrall Library and the Hudson Valley Special Education Parent Center present:

"Referrals, Evaluations And Eligibility Determinations"

A Special Education Parent Information Session

on Monday, January 11, 2010, 7:00 - 8:00 PM
in the 2nd Floor Community Meeting Room at Middletown Thrall Library.

Topics to be covered are:

• Who can make a referral for an evaluation if there are concerns about a child's progress in school?
• How is an evaluation conducted?
• What is "Response to Intervention" and how is an eligibility determination made?

Look for the next HVSEPC information session on February 22, 2010.

Before attending, please contact the library or click here to view delays/cancellations due to inclement weather.

For more information, please contact:

A New Year-Long Movie Series

Program dates: (please see below)

In 2010 Middletown Thrall Library Presents

Afternoon Movies for Grownups

"Something for Everyone!"

Movies are shown at Middletown Thrall Library in the 2nd floor Community Room on the 3rd Wednesday of each month throughout 2010.

All movies are FREE and begin at 2:00 PM.

Due to licensing restrictions, movie titles cannot be publicized outside of the library.

Please call (845) 341-5454, ext. 5479 for more information.

Here is the schedule:

• January 20, 2010: (call for title) 1962. 129 minutes. black & white. Drama. Winner of three Academy Awards including Best Actor for Gregory Peck. Six-year-old Jean Louise "Scout" Finch (Mary Badham) is growing up in the Depression era of the early 1930s in a small Southern town in this acclaimed motion picture based on Harper Lee's novel. Jean's father (Gregory Peck), the town lawyer, is a wise, quiet man with a great sense of justice who defends a black man accused of rape.
• February 17, 2010: (call for title) 1954. 103 minutes. Musical/Romance. Winner of one Academy Award for best music, nominated for three others. Brilliant choreography by Michael Kidd, a spirited score by Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul, and an imaginative plot about six brothers, who decide to find brides for themselves after the seventh brother (Howard Keel) brings home a wife, heighten this memorable musical. The classic "barn-raising" dance sequence is one of the most thrilling musical numbers of all-time.
• March 17, 2010: (call for title) 1944. 118 minutes. black & white. Comedy. Based on Joseph Kesselring's hit Broadway play, this madcap comedy is a blend of the bizarre and the mundane. A mild-mannered drama critic (Cary Grant) learns that his two kindly and loveable aunts have been poisoning people with elderberry wine.
• April 21, 2010: (call for title) 2004. 131 minutes. Action/Adventure. Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicholas Cage) comes from a long line of archaeologists who are searching for a secret stash of treasure hidden for centuries. Gates has determined that the clue may lie on the back of the original Declaration of Independence. He plots to steal it to find this war chest but he must also battle the FBI who has been tipped off to the hunt in this intelligent action adventure.
• May 19, 2010: (call for title) 1937. 109 minutes. black & white. Musical. A rumor sparks a romance in this film starring perennial favorites Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. A ballet star crosses the Atlantic on the same ship as the dancer he's fallen for but hardly knows. Their interactions cause such a stir on the ship that by the time they hit land the rumor mill has churned out the incorrect item that the two are secretly married. This rumor forces the two together and they find that they actually are in love! This film features such Gershwin favorites as "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me."
• June 16, 2010 (call for title) 2003. 141 minutes. Drama/History/Sport. This true story based on a best selling book tells the story of a group of the unlikeliest of heroes. It would seem that pairing a knobby-kneed horse with a half-blind ex boxer jockey would lead only to last place. Instead this unsung duo became a winning combination that inspired and intrigued a nation suffering the hardships of the Great Depression.
• July 21, 2010: (call for title) 1934. 91 minutes. black & white. Comedy/Mystery. The chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy was so right that this film spawned five sequels. The pair plays Nick and Nora Charles; he is a veteran detective, she his sophisticated wife.
• August 18, 2010: (call for title) 1954. 124 minutes. Drama/War. Humphrey Bogart gives a stellar performance as the mentally unfit Captain Queeg, who is relieved of duty by his executive officer to save their ship in this World War II drama. The ensemble acting makes for a marvelous study of military justice.
• September 15, 2010: (call for title) 1954. 108 minutes. Musical/Fantasy. Two Americans Gene Kelly and Van Johnson on a hunting trip in Scotland become lost. They encounter a small village, not on the map, called Brigadoon, in which people harbor a mysterious secret, and behave as if they were still living two hundred years in the past. Cyd Charisse plays the girl Kelly falls for.
• October 20, 2010: (call for title) 1967. 109 minutes. Thriller/Murder/Mystery. A fascinating look at the strained relationship between a racist Southern cop (Rod Steiger) and a black detective (Sidney Poitier) from Philadelphia, who are involved in the same murder case. Norman Jewison's film was one of the first to explore the sensitive issue of the color line in the South. But, first and foremost this is a tense, entertaining thriller. Winner of five academy awards including best picture.
• November 17, 2010: (call for title) 1995. 94 minutes. Adventure/Fantasy. Based on Dick King-Smith's beloved children's novel, this is the story of an intelligent swine whose talents in sheep herding just might save him from the slaughterhouse. Featuring live-action comedy with state-of-the-art special effects and performances by animal actors, this is an inventive, heartwarming film. Academy Award Winner best effects, visual effects.
• December 15, 2010: (call for title) 2009. 123 minutes. Biography/ Comedy/Romance. A woman verging on 30 and frustrated in a temp secretary job takes on a yearlong culinary quest: cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She chronicles her trials and tribulations in a blog that catches on with the food crowd. This film follows both women (Meryl Streep, Amy Adams) who, while separated by time and space, discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.

(Film annotations are adapted from Movie Licensing USA.)