Tag: related movies

The ultimate guide to movies with really big worms

There are some recurring hazards in movies that we should be glad not to deal with in real life. Quicksand, for one. Also high on that list are massive, carnivorous worms. For some reason, science fiction and fantasy films love giant worm monsters. We understand that fairly big worms do exist somewhere out in the … Continue reading “The ultimate guide to movies with really big worms”

There are some recurring hazards in movies that we should be glad not to deal with in real life. Quicksand, for one. Also high on that list are massive, carnivorous worms. For some reason, science fiction and fantasy films love giant worm monsters. We understand that fairly big worms do exist somewhere out in the wild, but we rarely have to deal with ones the size of cruise ships.

Should you ever cross paths with a house-eating annelid, Atlas Obscura has created this handy guide to the most memorable worms in movies. This short videos covers a wide range of sizes, all the way up to the Star Wars space slug so big that it was mistaken for a cave. Tremors is always our first thought when it comes to worms in movies, and this is a bizarre reminder that, for whatever reason, deadly super-worms are more common threats than we remembered.

With the exceptions of Labyrinth and The Liar of the White Worm, all the movies featured in this video are available for checkout at the AU Library.

King Kong – HU DVD 1891
Beetlejuice – HU DVD 9030
Men in Black II – HU DVD 11323
Tremors – HU DVD 2811
Dune – HU DVD 6106
The Empire Strikes Back – HU DVD 1644

A look back at Hugo Award-winning television and film

Yesterday marked the 73rd WorldCon, an annual assemblage of science fiction and fantasy fans and writers that hosts the prestigious Hugo Awards. Named after science fiction editor Hugo Gernsback, the Hugos are awarded every year to groundbreaking genre fiction and proudly include legends like Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick among their winners. This year’s … Continue reading “A look back at Hugo Award-winning television and film”

Yesterday marked the 73rd WorldCon, an annual assemblage of science fiction and fantasy fans and writers that hosts the prestigious Hugo Awards. Named after science fiction editor Hugo Gernsback, the Hugos are awarded every year to groundbreaking genre fiction and proudly include legends like Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick among their winners. This year’s ceremony was steeped in controversy after anti-diversity groups flooded the nomination process to block submissions by and about people of different races and gender identities, and voters responded by, well, just not giving out some of the awards this time. (Probably an appropriate response!)

Among the many awards for short stories and novellas, the Hugos also honor “dramatic presentations,” usually films and television shows. This year’s crowns went to Guardians of the Galaxy and, for the first time, BBCs Orphan Black. As with the rest of the Hugos, the winners in both the Short Form and Long Form categories have a remarkable pedigree, though we’ll quibble with some of the choices over the years. No win for Last Year at Marienbad in 1963?

Below, we’ve assembled a sample of Hugo-winning titles in our collection. It’s not everything, but it’s a good representation of what the Hugos tends to honor. There’s a lot of obvious major names (of course Star Wars won), which if anything is a great indication of how often they get it right. Congrats to the Hugos on their weird but successful year, and we look forward to seeing what joins these annals in 2016!

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – HU DVD 480
The Lord of the Rings trilogy – HU DVD 808 – 810
Blade Runner – HU DVD 1067
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? – HU DVD 1096
Star Wars original trilogy – HU DVD 1643 – 1646
Pan’s Labyrinth – HU DVD 2770
Slaughterhouse-Five – HU DVD 5727
Star Trek: “The Menagerie” – HU DVD 6201, Disc 4
Inception – HU DVD 8000
The Incredible Shrinking Man – HU DVD 8968
Game of Thrones, Season 1 – HU DVD 10021
Doctor Who: “Blink” – HU DVD 10803, Disc 4
A Boy and His Dog – HU DVD 11420
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “Conversations with Dead People” – HU DVD 14011, Disc 2
The Twilight Zone (television) – HU DVD 14063 – 14067
Star Trek: The Next Generation: “All Good Things…” – HU DVD 14209, Disc 7

Oregon Goonies fans never say die, but they’re getting on in years

Beloved 80s adventure movie The Goonies turned 30 last week. That’s a milestone you probably didn’t know or really care about, much like how you missed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie‘s 25th anniversary in March. But it was a big deal in Astoria, Oregon, the small northwest town where The Goonies was filmed. Over … Continue reading “Oregon Goonies fans never say die, but they’re getting on in years”

Beloved 80s adventure movie The Goonies turned 30 last week. That’s a milestone you probably didn’t know or really care about, much like how you missed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie‘s 25th anniversary in March.

But it was a big deal in Astoria, Oregon, the small northwest town where The Goonies was filmed. Over the weekend, Astoria welcomed over 10,000 fans (more than their total population) to take part in a weekend of meet-and-greets, panels, and other Goonies-centric events. The big draw this year was a screening at John Warren Field, a high school athletic field featured in the movie that will soon be torn down. Fans also participated in the “One-Eyed Willy Treasure Geocaching Hunt,” which is about as crudely modern as a Goonies remake would probably be.

We love when people care way too much about their favorite pop culture, and we’re sad that we missed The Goonies anniversary. Only one year left to plan for the Short Circuit celebration!

You can also always check out The Goonies from our collection for a belated celebration (HU DVD 3576).

Beyond Thunderdome, there was Happy Feet

 Director George Miller returns to the post-apocalyptic Mad Max franchise this Friday, and early reviews indicate his latest movie is a total triumph, an admittedly surprising outcome given Miller’s thirty years away from action films. That got us wondering: what else was Miller doing in the interim? If you can believe it, George Miller – … Continue reading “Beyond Thunderdome, there was Happy Feet”

 Director George Miller returns to the post-apocalyptic Mad Max franchise this Friday, and early reviews indicate his latest movie is a total triumph, an admittedly surprising outcome given Miller’s thirty years away from action films. That got us wondering: what else was Miller doing in the interim?

If you can believe it, George Miller – the mind behind The Road Warrior – directed Happy Feet and Babe: Pig in the City.

Miller refused to be typecast as a filmmaker over his career. He easily could have coasted on low-rent action movies for the rest of his life after his initial successes, but he went in unusual directions, directing a television miniseries about cricket and writing family-friendly fare like Lorenzo’s Oil. The two Happy Feet movies were his only output since 1998, so he has been inactive lately, but we were still shocked that his CV includes so much unlike his most famous films.

In anticipation of Fury Road, walk back through some of Miller’s other films for a reminder that this director has more tricks up his sleeve than explosions: he also has talking pigs.

Twilight Zone: The Movie – HU DVD 3270
Lorenzo’s Oil – HU DVD 3324
Mad Max – HU DVD 6577
The Road Warrior – HU DVD 6578
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome – HU DVD 6579
Babe – HU DVD 7221
Babe: Pig in the City – HU DVD 7222

School’s out! Christen the end of the year with summer vacation movies

In just a few hours, the 2014-2015 academic year comes to a close. We’ve enjoyed this decidedly busy year, but like you, we’re looking forward to cutting back our workload a little. More importantly, we’re sure everyone is looking forward to taking some time off for a little vacation, no matter how big or small. … Continue reading “School’s out! Christen the end of the year with summer vacation movies”

In just a few hours, the 2014-2015 academic year comes to a close. We’ve enjoyed this decidedly busy year, but like you, we’re looking forward to cutting back our workload a little. More importantly, we’re sure everyone is looking forward to taking some time off for a little vacation, no matter how big or small. And given the beautiful weather, we’re giddy thinking about the summer to come. What better way to stoke that excitement than to recommend a few summer-themed movies.

An infinite number of vacation movies and television shows exist, so we winnowed our selections down to a handful that we can learn something from. Everyone’s summer experience is different, but there are enough unifying themes – travel, emotions, and friendship – that we could make a few recommendations that most everyone should connect to.

(We aren’t actually offering these movies and TV episodes as life models, and in most cases, you should probably avoid doing whatever their characters choose. The one exception is the streaming video about travel photography; that one is very useful!)

Wet Hot American Summer – HU DVD 1506
The lesson: Don’t be the one to make a grand confessional on the last day of summer; it’s cliched.

Summertime – HU DVD 3964
The lesson: Summer love, though fleeting, can be trouble.

Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!: Season 2, Episode 1, “Vacation” – HU DVD 4026
The lesson: Make new friends, preferably if they have dreads and make a video of your summer.

Adventureland – HU DVD 6464
The lesson: A summer job isn’t so bad, and you might get something more out of it than money.

The Way Way Back – HU DVD 8478
The lesson: Take the family trip, even if your stepfather is a jerk.

The Office: Season 3, Episode 22, “Beach Games” – HU DVD 14156
The lesson: Improve your trip to the beach with competitive eating and sumo wrestling.

Travel: How to Take Stunning Photos – Streaming video
The lesson: Remember to bring your camera… but use it well.

Hot Summer – HU DVD 495
No lesson here, but we bet you haven’t watched this Germany summer vacation musical. 

After 30 years, New Coke is still a black mark in marketing history

from Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing Thirty years ago today, Coca-Cola unveiled New Coke, a Pepsi-like formula that replaced the original Coca-Cola in stores. In retrospect, this is regarded as one of the worst marketing decisions in history. Fans considered the change a betrayal and stockpiled the classic Coke in an act … Continue reading “After 30 years, New Coke is still a black mark in marketing history”

from Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing

Thirty years ago today, Coca-Cola unveiled New Coke, a Pepsi-like formula that replaced the original Coca-Cola in stores. In retrospect, this is regarded as one of the worst marketing decisions in history. Fans considered the change a betrayal and stockpiled the classic Coke in an act of consumer protest. The Coca-Cola Company relented and re-introduced the original formula within three months, saving Coke from long-term brand damage.

If you were born after the 80s, you probably never encountered New Coke (or Coke II, as it was later named). Luckily, the frantic media coverage of the Coke switch-up ensures that we have some documentation of the fallout. We found a good segment from Films on Demand about the release of New Coke and its competition with Pepsi; it’s short, but it gets to the point and shows the extreme value of the Coca-Cola brand.

It might also be useful to catch up a bit on the importance of branding and image – and why Coca-Cola frantically moved to maintain them. To this end, we offer three streaming documentaries that specifically discuss Coca-Cola iconography: Power of Brands, Understanding Brands, and In Brands We Trust. Each runs under an hour and can be viewed from your choice of device as long as you long in with your AU library account.

The New Coke debacle will likely be discussed for decades in business courses as a prime example of well-intentioned marketing gone awry. We’re glad there’s video evidence of this calamity, and today is a great time to revisit it through our streaming collections

Happy Earth Day! Say hi to Mother Nature with environmental films

Happy Earth Day, one and all! The AU Library and Media Services take pride in our commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, and we hope our patrons learn about sustainability and green living too. If you’re looking for some entertaining eco-conscious film choices for Earth Day, we have a resource for you! Last year, … Continue reading “Happy Earth Day! Say hi to Mother Nature with environmental films”

Happy Earth Day, one and all! The AU Library and Media Services take pride in our commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, and we hope our patrons learn about sustainability and green living too.

If you’re looking for some entertaining eco-conscious film choices for Earth Day, we have a resource for you! Last year, Media Librarian Chris Lewis put together a filmography for environmental studies which doubles as a handy list of all our films about going green. Some, like The Age of Stupid (streaming video), are documentaries about the impact of our actions on the environment. Others are a little more fun, like YERT (HU DVD 10863), the story of three friends on a green-themed road trip.

We realize that Earth Day can be associated with lecturing about keeping the planet safe for the next generation, so we think some of these green films are a great way to make the day entertaining while still informative. Many of them are streaming, so you won’t even have to leave your room to watch them.

And yes, of course we have Captain Planet available. The power – and the first season – is yours! (HU DVD 8841)

Vulture reflects on Ousmane Sembène, father of African cinema

This year’s Sundance film festival hosted the premiere of Sembène!, a documentary about African filmmaker Ousmane Sembène. You might not know that name, but Sembène is one of the most important figures in the birth of African cinema. He arguably started the entire African film movement with, as Vulture describes, “no film equipment, no professional … Continue reading “Vulture reflects on Ousmane Sembène, father of African cinema”

This year’s Sundance film festival hosted the premiere of Sembène!, a documentary about African filmmaker Ousmane Sembène. You might not know that name, but Sembène is one of the most important figures in the birth of African cinema. He arguably started the entire African film movement with, as Vulture describes, “no film equipment, no professional actors, and no funding.”

Sembène is a name worth knowing, and in celebration of the new documentary, Vulture put together a terrific overview of Sembène’s work and his contributions to African cinema. We strongly recommend giving it a read if you want to learn about one of the hardest working and most pivotal filmmakers in world cinema.

If you want to dive further into his work, look for Sembène’s films in our collection. They’re frequently being checked out for class use, but you can also watch many of them here in the library.

Xala – HU DVD 1286
Mandabi – HU DVD 1287
La Noire de… – HU DVD 1953
Moolaadé – HU DVD 3862
Faat Kiné – DVD 8721
Ceddo – DVD 9465
Camp de Thiaroye – DVD 9728
Borom Sarret – DVD 10070
Guelwaar – DVD 10586

Everything is Oscars! See the Academy Award nominees that have hit DVD

Earlier today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for this year’s Oscars ceremony. It’s a solid if unsurprising list: Birdman and Boyhood earned big nods, and Jake Gyllenhaal is sadly nowhere in sight. For a full list of nominees that you’ll have to start learning the names of, check out … Continue reading “Everything is Oscars! See the Academy Award nominees that have hit DVD”

Earlier today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for this year’s Oscars ceremony. It’s a solid if unsurprising list: Birdman and Boyhood earned big nods, and Jake Gyllenhaal is sadly nowhere in sight. For a full list of nominees that you’ll have to start learning the names of, check out the Washington Post’s list.

(ADDENDUM: One of our staff members points out that this is the whitest and most male Oscar ceremony in decades. No women are nominated in the major awards outside of the actress categories; Iñárritu is the only person of color in those categories. Somewhat a letdown considering the diversity among directors and writers this year.)

Most of the nominated films were released in the last few months, as tends to happen for award-seeking movies, so very few are available on DVD yet. We have a few in process (Boyhood, Gone Girl, and Guardians of the Galaxy are on their way…), but a handful of the foreign and documentary films have already seen home video release. And to be honest, those are the ones you probably needed to watch anyway.

There’ll probably be repertoire theaters replaying some of the nominees in the coming weeks, but if you find yourself in the library, consider watching these award contenders in advance of the big ceremony.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – HU DVD 11444
Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design

The Lego Movie – HU DVD 11466
Nominated for Best Original Song

Ida – HU DVD 11538
Nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Foreign Language Film

Finding Vivian Maier – HU DVD 11547
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature

Maleficent – HU DVD 11584
Nominated for Best Costume Design

Ferris Bueller and The Dude join this year’s National Film Registry list

While everyone was out over break, the Library of Congress continued tradition by adding 25 new titles to its permanent archives in the National Film Registry. Each year, the National Film Preservation Board selects films that it deems “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” for preservation for future generations. It’s an eclectic collection that spans decades … Continue reading “Ferris Bueller and The Dude join this year’s National Film Registry list”

While everyone was out over break, the Library of Congress continued tradition by adding 25 new titles to its permanent archives in the National Film Registry. Each year, the National Film Preservation Board selects films that it deems “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” for preservation for future generations. It’s an eclectic collection that spans decades and genres, and this year’s additions are similarly well-rounded.

The highest-profile films in the NFR’s latest wave include stoner-bowling-mystery-comedy The Big Lebowski, World War II drama Saving Private Ryan, 80s teen wish fulfillment vehicle Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Pixar’s first ever short, Luxo Jr. But there are also odder gems beyond that, like 13 Lakes, a long-take documentary about America’s lakes, and the untitled Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day, the first film to feature an all-black cast.

You certainly can’t fault the National Film Preservation Board for picking some interesting films. If you’d like to catch up on what the government now considers essential, the following recently selected films are also in our collection:

The Big Lebowski – HU DVD 25
Into the Arms of Strangers – DVD 305
Little Big Man – HU DVD 650
Saving Private Ryan – HU DVD 1313
Luxo Jr. – HU DVD 3411
Rosemary’s Baby – HU DVD  5783
Down Argentine Way – HU DVD 6094
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – HU DVD 6126
Rio Bravo – HU DVD 7326
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – HU DVD 10240
The Gang’s All Here – MUSIC LIBRARY DVD 300