Bring your Own Popcorn!
It’s easy to watch movies for free through Lake Forest Library. The Library uses the Apps Hoopla and Kanopy to deliver movies and television series to you; watch on your phone, your iPad or other devices. To access these free streaming apps with your library card visit https://www.lakeforestlibrary.org/download-stream/digital-media/movies-music. Both of these services are limited to 10 downloads or streams per month, but they are also offering credit-free streams right now, so you can look for those if you run out of your 10 for the month.
Drama & Thrillers
Bel Canto stars Julianne Moore in this movie based on the best-selling book by Ann Patchett. The movie takes place during a glamorous birthday party for a wealthy business man. As the guest of honor, a famous opera singer played superbly by Moore (and the amazing voice of Renee Fleming) sings, a guerrilla terrorist group storms the gala and holds the guest’s hostage. As the days pass and the hostages and their captives form bonds, the tension in and out of the villa rises. Hoopla
Restless is the story of a woman who is shocked to discover that her mother is neither paranoid or delusional in her reports of being followed and spied on; in fact, she worked for the secret service during World War Two and has been on the run ever since. This short series is based on the William Boyd novel and the actors Charlotte Rampling and James Norton star in this tense thriller. Hoopla
The Rainmaker stars Matt Damon as John Grisham’s rookie lawyer Rudy. While working for the ambulance chasing lawyer played by Mickey Rourke he teams up with Danny DeVito’s Deck Shifflet, a brilliant but less than ethical failed insurance adjuster turned para-legal. These two are the last hope for a family trying to get their insurance company to fund a bone marrow transplant for their leukemia stricken son. This film also stars Jon Voight and Claire Danes. Hoopla
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo This is the first installment in this Swedish fast paced, trilogy written by author and journalist Stieg Larsson. Mikael Blomkvist, a respected and fearless journalist investigates the disappearance of a young girl 40 years ago. He is aided by Lisbeth Salander, an unorthodox and troubled computer hacker and detective. Sometimes rough and graphic but always gripping, this trilogy became a worldwide phenomenon. Other movies in the series are also available. Hoopla & Kanopy
Comedies
Bridget Jones’s Diary is a charming and hilarious romantic comedy. Bridget Jones, played by Renee Zellweger is a self-named “singleton”. She is a novice in the dating world and is feeling pressure to find the perfect mate, pressure from her parents and pressure as her friends are pairing up. She becomes caught between two bachelors, Colin Firth boring, pompous and proper and Hugh Grant…it’s Hugh Grant, need I say more? Hoopla
Bride &Prejudice is a charming, modern and musical Bollywood retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Pride & Prejudice. A small town beauty and her 3 sisters are encouraged by their parents to woo the wealthy American visiting their small Indian village. Sparks fly but in the beginning they aren’t flying in the right direction. This is such a fun and happy movie and so beautifully filmed. Hoopla
Drama
A Street Cat Named Bob is a true story based on the best-selling autobiographical book by James Bowen. A street cat named Bob is determined to find a home with a recovering heroin addict and barely employed James. These two lost souls heal each other on the streets of London in an uplifting and feel-good story. Kanopy
The Children Act Ian McEwan’s novel has been artfully crafted into this poignant and thoughtful film. Emma Thompson stars as a high court family judge who is to make the difficult decision if the doctors should go against the parent’s religious beliefs and proceed with a lifesaving medical procedure in order to save their almost 18-year- old son's life. Emma Thompson plays her role with precision and compassion. This film also stars Stanley Tucci as the Judges husband; their marriages is complicated by her attention to her work and to her clients. Kanopy
Room is film adaptation of Emma Donohue’s best-selling novel that tells the story of Ma and her 7-year-old son Jack who have lived together in the "room" with no contact with the outside world. When they are suddenly exposed to the world outside “the room” they have to find themselves without losing each other. This is a powerful story of a mother’s love and a child’s resilience. Kanopy
Too Good to Miss
Like Water for Chocolate is a beautiful and sensuous movie based on the novel by Laura Esquive. During the Mexican Revolution, both tradition and her mother forbids her youngest daughter Tita to marry her one true love Pedro. Instead she offers her other daughter to him for marriage, which he accepts only because it will keep him close to her. Tita expresses her passion for Pedro through food; her strong emotions become infused into her cooking, unintentionally affecting the people around her. Hoopla
Sean Penn and Mel Gibson star in The Professor and the Madman, based on Simon Winchester’s best-selling true story of the madness, the genius and the obsession it took to create the Oxford English Dictionary. When Professor James Murray begins work compiling the words for the first edition of The Oxford English Dictionary he receives over 10,000 entries from Dr. William Minor. He is shocked to discover that this brilliant doctor is a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum where he has been committed for murder. Hoopla & Kanopy
For more information visit Lakeforestlibrary.org