Week of April 10th

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Oscar Winners

Meryl Streep won her third Academy Award for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. As an elderly woman, Britain's longest-serving Prime Minister is haunted by the memory of her husband (Jim Broadbent) as they reflect on her young life during WWII, their meeting, and her rise in politics. Informed by her father's (Iain Glen) roles as both the Mayor of their town and a shopkeeper, Thatcher recalls her career through the British 1980s of IRA bombings, labor strikes, and economic crisis, and the unflinching conservatism that guided her life. With Olivia Colman and Anthony Head. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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I am a guest of your country, I do not have voting rights. I have a different historical background, and I'm speaking of the Nazi [era] with the genocide and euthanasia and everything. And I would be the last one in the position to tell the American people how to handle criminal justice. So that's why I say, "I have a different opinion, and I respectfully disagree with the practice."

--Werner Herzog

Recording Reality

Director Werner Herzog's documentary Into the Abyss centers on interviews with Michael Perry filmed eight days before his death sentence was carried out. The film explores the triple homicide for which Perry was sentenced, and interviews his accomplice (in jail with a life sentence), his father (also in jail), officers on the scene, victims' families, and the professionals that carry out the death sentence. Through the story, Herzog is able to delve deeper into his recurring themes of mortality, time, imprisonment, and what it means to be human. On DVD and Blu Ray.

The story of how puppeteer Kevin Clash grew from making his own puppets at home as child to defining one of Sesame Street's most beloved characters, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey is an upbeat documentary about someone who fully realized his dream. Influenced by Sesame Street as a child, Clash made his own puppets and put on his own shows, and eventually joined Jim Henson's team, defining a character that became an icon among younger children.

Miss Representation is a documentary about the representation of women in the mainstream media. Exploring the popular media representation of women with unattainable standards of beauty, the film offers insights into the effect these messages have on girls as they grow up. Through interviews with powerful and successful women as well as junior high and high school girls, the movie maps the real-world impact of women on screen and in print.

Stand Up

Donald Glover's stand-up comedy performance in Donald Glover: Weirdo, recorded at the Union Square Theatre in New York, is his debut comedy DVD, with the live comedy show, interviews, and a walking tour of NYC.

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Spectacle

Two American businessmen (Emile Hirsch and Max Minghella) are in a night club in Russia when aliens attack in The Darkest Hour. Trapped with the business partner that betrayed them (Joel Kinnaman) and the girls they met at the club (Olivia Thirby and Rachel Taylor), they have to survive a barren, foreign cityscape laid to waste by monsters that are nearly invisible: they're just arcs of electricity that turn everyone they touch to dust. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Dorothy gets an offer from a New York publishing house for her children's stories in The Witches of Oz, but her book deal turns out to be a ruse by people who know the truth: her stories, and Oz, are all real. Suddenly, Dorothy is face to face with Nome Kings and witches (both wicked and good), and the magic of Oz is poised to take over first New York... and then the world. With Mia Sara and Billy Boyd.

Robert Miller (Toby Kebbell) returns home to South London in The Veteran. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in Afghanistan and unable to get a job, Miller's wary of an old friend's (Tom Brooke) offer to make the most of his training. Suddenly, he's dodging tails and shooting reconnaissance photos for a pair of agents (Tony Curran and Brian Cox) trying to stop a terrorist cell aiming for civilian targets... but the war zone in London can be as dangerous as the one he just left when Miller doesn't know who he can trust.

Zoe on New to Reckless

Here at Reckless one of our top priorities is to keep a "library feel" to our stock. We will always bring in New Releases, but we want to make sure that the movies you need for classes, nostalgia and other times are here too. That means we will be bringing in New OLDER movies. This week is especially wonderful with the addition of many older movies that have been lacking from our library.

• Against All Odds (1984) (Jeff Bridges Thriller)
• Battle Royale ( 2000)  Blu-ray (Released to coincide with the Hunger Games)
• Beau Geste (1939) (Gary Cooper joins the foreign legend)
• Being Human (1994) (Robin Williams looks for the meaning of life over 4 centuries)
• Death Takes a Holiday (1934) (The original version of Meet Joe Black)
• The Deer Hunter (1978)    Blu-ray (Robert DiNiro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep)
• The Enchanted Cottage (1945) (Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire fall in love in a magical cottage)
• Garbo Talks (1984) (Anne Bancroft and Ron Silver, a mother's dying wish to meet Garbo)
• The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) (Robert Redford is a WWI biplane pilot)
• The Hanging Garden (1997) (A once obese teen returns home after 10 years)
• Housekeeping (1987) ( Christine Lahti in 1950's Pacific NW)
• Lady and the Tramp (1955) Blu-ray (Disney dogs on Blu-Ray)
• Leaving Normal (1992) (Christine Lahti and Meg Tilly travel to Alaska)
• The Legend of Billie Jean (1985) (Helen and Christian Slater outlaws, martyrs, good times)
• Letter Never Sent (1960) Blu-Ray Criterion (Diamond searchers in Siberia)
• The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) (The Orson Welles drama)
• The Next Voice You Hear (1950) (James Whitmore, God is heard on the radio)
• Saving Grace (1986) (Tom Conti is the Pope who runs away)
• World on a Wire (1973) (Crime, Sci Fi and Rainer Werner Fassbinder)