The Madison Public Library has a treasure trove of movies, about 10,000, on its shelves. But some titles are more popular than others. Read this week’s Snapshot to find out how DVDs can go from home to home without getting damaged (hint: they can’t) and check this list for your own favorites.
First, the Top Ten:
Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in "Goblet of Fire."
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
"While He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,” okay, Voldemort ' lurks in the shadows, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) seems mostly concerned with landing a date to the upcoming Yule Ball. I guess the end of the world will just have to wait while the savior of the world screws up the courage to ask Cho Chang to dance. As trivial as this may sound, it adds an element of Muggle-like humanity that makes the liftoff into fantasy all the more effective. And it has us pulling for Harry in a way we haven't quite before. (Kent Williams, Isthmus)
Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Georgie Henley and Anna Popplewell in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
2. Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The four Pevenise siblings, who are sent to the country from London to escape German bombs in World War II, travel through the back of a bedroom cabinet to the magical land of Narnia. There they battle the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) at the direction of the Lion, Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson). This is the first in a trilogy, released in 2005, by Walt Disney Home Entertainment.
Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen in the 2005 version of "Pride and Prejudice."
3. Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen's novel is a tour de force on the business of marriage, women and property rights, and the romantic travails of the five Bennet sisters. The five-point-five-hour BBC adaptation from 1995 is a must-see, starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Miss Elizabeth Bennet, but the two-hour Keira Knightly version from 2005 isn't bad, and it features Rosamund Pike playing Jane, the eldest and, reputedly, the most beautiful of the Bennet girls. The library has both versions, as well as the Laurence Olivier edition from 1940!
Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal in "Proof."
4. Proof
Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins star in an actors' showcase about an insanity-plagued academic and his caring daughter. The film features a screenplay by Rebecca Miller (daughter of American playwright Arthur Miller, and wife of actor Daniel Day-Lewis), adapted from the original Tony Award-winning play by David Auburn. With Jake Gyllenhaal, Hope Davis and Roshan Seth. (Mike Wilmington, Isthmus)
Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation."
5. Lost In Translation
A love story of sorts, Lost in Translation is set in Tokyo, which we Americans don't tend to associate with love, but you never know what will happen to strangers in a strange land. That's where Bob, a past-his-prime movie star played by Bill Murray, meets Charlotte, a recent philosophy grad played by Scarlett Johansson. Bob and Charlotte have several things in common, it turns out. Both of them are unable to sleep. Both of them are unable to establish meaningful contact with their spouses. Both of them are unable to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. And last but not least, both of them are unable to figure out what to do with the other. (Kent Williams, Isthmus)
Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon in "Love Actually."
6. Love Actually
Richard Curtis marks his directing debut with Love Actually, and he's pulled out all the stops. This time, we get not one, not four, but nine love stories blinking on and off in succession, like a string of Christmas lights. If there can ever be too much of a good thing, this may be it, and some of the stories aren't all that good. But the movie just keeps licking you in the face, like a puppy left under the tree all night, and you'd have to be Ebenezer Scrooge to shout “Bah Humbug!” (Kent Williams, Isthmus)
Carrie-Anne Moss and Guy Pearce in "Memento."
7. Memento
Memento is a psychological thriller masterfully directed by Christopher Nolan, who based it on his younger brother Jonathan Nolan's short story “Memento Mori.” The film is presented as two different sequences of interspersed scenes: a series in black-and-white shown chronologically, and a series in color shown in reverse order. The two sequences come together at the end of the film, producing a cohesive narrative.
Elijah Wood is Frodo, the Hobbit, in "The Lord of the Rings."
8. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Peter Jackson's cinematic adaptation of the first book in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy is an enthralling three-hour movie that both does justice to the book and stands on its own as one of the great adventure epics in the history of cinema. If you can make yourself comfortable in the rarefied realm of myth, Jackson will mesmerize you with the loving care he’s lavished on Tolkien’s Land of Enchantment. (Kent Williams, Isthmus)
Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church in "Sideways."
9. Sideways
Sideways, directed by Alexander Payne, is a comic ode to the male ego as it swells to the size of a beach ball and shrinks to the size of a pea. Miles (Paul Giamatti) embarks on a road-trip through wine country as a bachelor-party send-off for his friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church). But while Miles’ plan is to spend the week identifying various flavor notes as they land softly on his palate, Jack is determined to get both of them laid. A couple of guys who should be moving forward with their lives instead keep moving sideways. Rarely has failure been limned so successfully. (Kent Williams, Isthmus)
Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta Jones in "Ocean's Twelve."
10. Ocean's Twelve
Ocean's Twelve is, at best, a trifle, but it’s directed, by Steven Soderbergh, with such smooth nonchalance that you can’t help but wish it well. The actors (George Clooney, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts) seem to be having a great time tweaking their images. This is the movie that Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin would have made if they’d spent less time in the casino, letting the chips fall where they may. (Kent Williams, Isthmus)
And now, the rest…
11. Nanny McPhee
12. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
13. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
14. The Big Lebowski
15. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
16. In the Bedroom
17. The Bourne Identity
18. Prestige
19. Night at the Museum
20. Match Point
21. The Royal Tenenbaums
22. The Constant Gardener
23. The Godfather
24. Amadeus
25. Chocolat
26. Shawshank Redemption
27. Gone with the Wind
28. Millions
29. Pink Panther
30. Casablanca
31. About a Boy
32. The Aviator
33. Rear Window
34. Airplane!
35. House of Sand and Fog
36. Babel
37. The Day After Tomorrow
38. The Good Shepherd
39. Munich
40. Alfie
41. Beautiful Mind
42. Knocked Up
43. Deja Vu
44. How to Lose a Guy in 10 days
45. To Kill a Mockingbird
46. Princess Bride
47. 3:10 to Yuma
48. The Devil Wears Prada
49. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
50. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
51. Casino Royale
52. The Squid and the Whale
53. Closer
54. Friends With Money
55. V for Vendetta
56. Unforgiven
57. Bend It Like Beckham
58. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
59. North by Northwest
60. Ladykillers
61. Syriana
62. Miracle
63. Hot Fuzz
64. Holiday
65. Fun with Dick and Jane
66. Manchurian Candidate
67. Citizen Kane
68. No Country for Old Men
69. Vanity Fair
70. The Fountain
71. Sweet Home Alabama
72. Young Frankenstein
73. Coach Carter
74. The Wedding Date
75. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
76. Invincible
77. Shopgirl
78. Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones
79. Barton Fink
80. Girl with a Pearl Earring
81. Hotel Rwanda
82. Catch Me If You Can
83. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
84. Man on Fire
85. Raising Arizona
86. Rent
87. Bride and Prejudice
88. Hitch
89. The Hours
90. Possession
91. Adaptation
92. Mystic River
93. Glory
94. The Terminal
95. Ocean’s Thirteen
96. 27 Dresses
97. Interpreter
98. Sky High
99. Under the Tuscan Sun
100. Atonement
