RAMble, the University Libraries' blog

This week was a bit of a struggle with movies for me—I found myself not loving any of the movies I took home (which can happen, but is always a shame). However, I’ll try to explain why I didn’t love these movies: The Constant Gardener [IMC DVD 323.1676 C757 2006], Lost in Translation [IMC DVD 302.34 L881 2003], and Sideways [IMC DVD 306.7 S568 2005].

I knew that The Constant Gardener was going to be hard for me—I kept putting off watching it, so from the offset it was hard to get into the plot. Ralph Fiennes is a good actor, but I just couldn’t get into his character, and the storyline didn’t feel believable to me. A lot of people really enjoyed this movie, so I wouldn’t write it off, but it just wasn’t for me.

Lost in Translation and Sideways were both movies that I was looking forward to watching, having heard that they were both quirky films. Lost in Translation wasn’t bad, and I actually enjoyed Scarlett Johansson much more than I thought I would—it was nice to see her in a role that required more subtle emotions. I could understand why people liked this movie, and I didn’t mind it, but I was puzzled by how Johansson’s and Murray’s relationship in the movie ended. I would say this was worth watching, but nothing to swoon over.

I was more disappointed about the movie Sideways: I love Paul Giamatti, but his friend’s character felt too shallow. In the movie, Jack (Thomas Haden Church) is about to get married so he and his friend Miles (Giamatti) take a trip to wine country before the big day. There, Jack finds a woman, has a fling, and ruins Miles’s chance with another woman. There are comedic parts, but everything resolves itself a little too perfectly and Jack is able to return to his fiancé with no lingering problems. This was another movie that would be worth watching, but easily forgotten.

Our Strong Women display has ended and now we are showcasing our favorite movies with a Staff Picks DVD display! Come check it out and discover some new favorites. Continue to follow along on our travelogue adventure at https://letterboxd.com/peterstanley/list/1001-movies-you-must-see-before-you-die/ .

New 24five Zone in FHG Library for Spring Exams

You have spoken, we have listened. You’ve been telling us about your different schedules and different study needs and in response Frances Harvey Green Library is creating a space to be open 24 hours, 5 days a week for Spring Exams. The 24five Zone will be open Sundays 12 noon through Fridays 10pm April 29^th through May 11^th, 2018.

University Librarian Mary Page says, “We are so excited about the launch of the 24five Zone.  We believe there is a need for providing WCU students with study and collaboration space during overnight hours, and through this pilot, we hope to learn more about what those needs are and how to best meet them.  If the pilot is successful (and we think it will be), the plan is to offer extended hours beginning in September 2018 as a regular service.  Many people and departments worked with us to make this project a reality, including Public Safety and Facilities.  We are so grateful for their expert advice and assistance.”

“Students will have access to computers, printers, and scanners, as well as plenty of seats.  As someone who frequently assists students working late into the night, I’ve very happy overnight hours will be available and hope that students will take advantage of it,” said evening/weekend Library Help Desk supervisor Kevin Maguire.

When asked what students need to know, Officer Gene Klecko responded, “Be sure to have your RAMCard with you. The 24five Zone will only be open to current students and you will be required to present your valid ID to enter. Students should enter the 24five Zone through the Starbucks on the first floor.”

As always your feedback is very important to us. Tell us what you think, tweet @FHGLibrary #24five!

For March, we decided to feature Strong Women in our DVD display. Three of the movies I watched from this display were Pretty Woman [IMC DVD 306.7 P942 2005], Cabaret [IMC DVD 782.14 C112 1998], and Clueless [IMC DVD 305.235 C649 2005].

I was pretty excited to watch all of these movies because I had heard about them from various people. Pretty Woman struck me as a Pygmalion/My Fair Lady type movie, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was a light-hearted romantic comedy and I thought Julia Roberts did a very good job.

Cabaret was a movie that I was surprised I had never seen before, having grown up watching musicals. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was immensely impressed by Liza Minnelli’s acting performance. I had known her name because of her singing career, but had never seen her as an actress, so it was a pleasure to watch. The Master of Ceremonies was also phenomenal (Joel Grey). It was surprising to learn after watching it that the director (Bob Fosse) originally didn’t want Grey to play this role, even though Grey had won the Tony for that same part when Cabaret was on Broadway.

Finally, my last movie was Clueless, the classic 90’s movie. The whole time I was watching this movie I had a sense of déjà vu: many movies later came to have a similar plotline.  Just like Pretty Woman, this was a movie that was easy to watch, and a good break from some of my more serious movie-watching.

Our Strong Women display is only up for another week, so come grab some movies! Next display will be “Staff Picks”, where you’ll get to see what our favorite movies are. As always, follow along at https://letterboxd.com/peterstanley/list/1001-movies-you-must-see-before-you-die .