A guide to films that express social realism or escapism; and a guide to culturally important films that may reveal a character's thoughts, dreams, or motivations.
Image from 2001: A Space Odysseyfrom giphy.com at http://gph.is/1ejRCnZ
Psychological
2001: A Space OdysseyMankind finds a mysterious artifact buried on the moon and with the intelligent computer HAL 9000, sets off on a quest to Jupiter.
Call Number: BLU-RAY MOVIE 2001
ISBN: 0883929642212
Publication Date: 1968
The Amusement ParkRecently discovered and restored 46 years after its completion, George A. Romero's film stars MARTIN's Lincoln Maazel as an elderly man who finds himself disoriented and increasingly isolated as the pains, tragedies, and humiliations of aging in America are manifested through roller coasters and chaotic crowds.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE AMUSEMENT
ISBN: 0014381142129
Publication Date: 1975
Berberian Sound StudioMild-mannered sound engineer Gilderoy arrives in Rome to begin work on the soundtrack to a film called The Equestrian Vortex, a tale of witchcraft and murder set inside an all-girl riding academy. Before long he finds himself entranced by the film's mysteriously terrifying allure, and the lines between reality and fantasy begin to blur.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE BERBERIAN
ISBN: 0030306989396
Publication Date: 2012
Black SwanA psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet. An insecure ballet dancer wins the lead in Swan Lake but slowly loses her grip on sanity when a seductive newcomer is out to steal her role.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE BLACK
ISBN: B0041KKYEM
Publication Date: 2011
BugAgnes has finally escaped her abusive ex-husband Goss, who has recently been released from state prison. Agnes is a lonely waitress with a tragic past who moves into a sleazy, run-down Oklahoma motel room with her lesbian co-worker R.C. She, in turn, introduces Agnes to Gulf War veteran, Peter, a peculiar, paranoiac drifter and they begin a tentative romance. However, things don't always seem as they appear, and Agnes is about to experience a claustrophobic nightmare reality as the bugs begin to arrive.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE BUG
ISBN: 0031398218012
Publication Date: 2006
A Clockwork Orange"Being the adventures of a young man who couldn't resist pretty girls, or a bit of the old ultra-violence, who went to jail, was re-conditioned, and came out a different young man. Or was he?" So might opine your humble narrator, Alex. Alex and his droogs Georgie, Dim, and Pete are bored. Alex loves Ludwig van, milk bars, and mayhem. One night a botched burglary ends in murder. Apprehended by the police, Alex is tried, sentenced, and sent to prison for fourteen years. Two years into his sentence, he signs up for The Ludovico Treatment, and is released as cured. However, the world is a harsh and violent place, and now Alex is unable to defend himself. O my brothers, what will happen to poor Alex now?
Call Number: BLU-RAY MOVIE CLOCKWORK
ISBN: 9781419830594
Publication Date: 1971
DogtoothA darkly surreal look at three teenagers confined to an isolated country estate and kept under strict rule and regimen by their parents - an alternately hilarious and nightmarish experiment of manipulation and oppression.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE DOGTOOTH
ISBN: 0738329067328
Publication Date: 2009
Donnie DarkoDonnie is a troubled high school student: in therapy, prone to sleepwalking and in possession of an imaginary friend -- a six-foot rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world is going to end in 28 days 06 hours 42 minutes and 12 seconds. During that time he will navigate teenage life, narrowling avoid death in the form of a falling jet engine, follow Frank's maladjusted instructions and try to maintain the space-time continuum.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE DONNIE
ISBN: B0006GAOBI
Publication Date: 2001
Fight ClubWhen a ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a soap salesman channel their aggression into therapeutic "fight clubs", an eccentric woman gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE FIGHT
ISBN: 0024543044796
Publication Date: 1999
Goodnight MommyIn this atmospheric, nerve-straining chiller, two young twins confined to an isolated country house transform their resentment towards their mother into a fatal illusion about her identity. In the heat of the summer, in a lonesome house in the countryside between woods and corn fields, nine-year-old twin brothers are waiting for their mother. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before. The children start to doubt that this woman is actually their mother.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE GOODNIGHT
ISBN: B015EVT7FI
Publication Date: 2015
HereditaryWhen the matriarch of the Graham framily passes away, her daughter's family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE HEREDITARY
ISBN: B07G1Y112F
Publication Date: 2018
The LobsterIn a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obligated to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE LOBSTER
ISBN: B01GF7NA2G
Publication Date: 2016
MelancholiaJustine and Michael are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister Claire , and brother-in-law John. A planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth and threatening to collide. Meanwhile, tensions are mounting and relationships are fraying as the family deals with their fears.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE MELANCHOLIA
ISBN: B006KH6CF4
Publication Date: 2012
MoonAstronaut Sam Bell is completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth's primary source of energy, Helium-3. His declining health is causing headaches and hallucinations that lead to a near-fatal accident, rendering him unconscious. After recuperating, an unexpected discovery leads him to doubt his sanity, his identity, and the integrity of the company. Believing he is alone on his mission, his sole purpose is getting back home on his own.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE MOON
ISBN: B002T9H2MO
Publication Date: 2009
Mother!A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE MOTHER!
ISBN: B075FGXPCL
Publication Date: 2017
Image from Repulsion from 4thact.wordpress.com at https://4thact.wordpress.com/2015/09/21/repulsion/
The One I LoveEthan and Sophie are a married couple on the brink of separation. At the urging of their therapist, they escape to a beautiful vacation house for a weekend getaway in an attempt to salvage what's left of their relationship, only to discover an unusual dilemma that awaits them.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE ONE
ISBN: B00NG4H9JW
Publication Date: 2014
Perfect BlueRising pop star Mima has quit singing to pursue a career as an actress and model, but her fans aren't ready to see her go. Encouraged by her managers, Mima takes on a recurring role on a popular TV show, when suddenly her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia. As her stalker closes in, the threat he poses is more real than even Mima knows.
Call Number: BLU-RAY ANIMATED PERFECT
ISBN: 0826663195774
Publication Date: 1997
Personal ShopperThis evocative character study tells the story of a young American fashion assistant and spiritual medium who is living in Paris and searching for signs of an afterlife following the sudden death of her twin brother. A chilling meditation on modern modes of communication and the way one mourns those they love.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE PERSONAL
ISBN: 0715515205313
Publication Date: 2016
RepulsionCarol, who works in a beauty salon in London, is both repulsed and fascinated by men. She is unsure of how to handle their advances, which are numerous because she is gorgeous. Gripped by mental illness, she eventually imprisons herself in her apartment, where she suffers from sexual dreams. Her delirium leads to dire circumstances.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE REPULSION
ISBN: B0026VBOK6
Publication Date: 1964
Requiem for a DreamHarry, his best friend Tyrone, his girlfriend Marion, and his mother all struggle with drug addiction against a backdrop of the abandoned beaches and faded glory of Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE REQUIEM
ISBN: B00005Q4CS
Publication Date: 2001
Ruby SparksStruggling with writer's block and a lackluster love life, once-famous novelist Calvin creates a beautiful fictitious character named Ruby who inspires him. But not only does this bring his work to life, it also brings Ruby to life, literally. Face-to-face with an actual relationship with his once virtual girlfriend, Calvin must now decide whether to pen this love story or let it write itself.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE RUBY
ISBN: B008220BA2
Publication Date: 2012
StokerFollowing the tragic death of her father on her eighteenth birthday, India Stoker meets Charlie, her charismatic uncle, whom she never knew existed. When Charlie moves in with India and her unstable mother, both are drawn to his charming and calming demeanor. But it soon becomes clear that Charlie's arrival was no coincidence, and that the shocking secrets of his past could shatter India's future.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE STOKER
ISBN: B00BJ0RE4A
Publication Date: 2013
TullyThe film is about Marlo, a mother of three including a newborn, who is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Hesitant to the extravagance at first, Marlo comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE TULLY
ISBN: B07CPCFTXH
Publication Date: 2018
We Need to Talk About KevinKevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.
Call Number: DVD MOVIE WE
ISBN: B007C3TVNA
Publication Date: 2011
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Image Ruby Sparks from giphy.com at https://giphy.com/gifs/ruby-DYfyG5fdFyzCw