Whenever I think 'quirky', two actors come to mind. One is Johnny Depp and the other is John Cusack. Both have been around for a lot of years, both are highly versatile and both can be counted on to give solid performances---especially in very offbeat films. It's interesting to see that both also have new releases in the theatres at the moment. The Raven is loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's poem of the same name and features Cusask. Dark Shadows is a re-imagining of the 1966 tv cult classic and features Depp as an imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins. Truth be told, I will give both of these a pass until they come out on dvd, but we have lots of other Depp and Cusack titles that showcase their talents.

Forget the mainstream Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, we've all seen and enjoyed them, and try these from Depp: Edward Scissorhands, Rango, Don Juan DeMarco, Benny and Joon and the wonderful and truly strange Ed Wood. We also have the original tv series that launched his career and made him the heartthrob of most North American teens---21 Jump Street. I recently watched The Rum Diary and although not a great film it did qualify as mildly quirky, is well acted, and had more than enough to keep me with it.

Cusack has never really been main stream, or at least not since his days as a member of the brat pack in the 80's. Try him out in what is likely one of the most bizarre movies ever---Being John Malcovich. Also Grosse Pointe Blank and the same roll reprised in War Inc ---written by Cusack---and yes that is him doing his own stunts-he has a black belt in kick boxing.

Now to end this post, let me say that the two Johns have in their filmography to my mind several VERY scary movies. 1408 with Cusack just scares the milk and cookies out of me every time I watch it- and I can't stop watching it. And Depp is often at his best when he plays the 'in over his head' protagonist like in Sleepy Hollow. Also, From Hell

(a Jack the Ripper retelling-very bloody and dark) and Secret Window.

If you are a fan of BBC mystery/detective series, and I know I sure am, one worth watching is 2010's Luther starring Idris Elba. We have season one and two available, and at the time of this post they are pretty easy to get a hold of. But it's getting a lot of buzz from word of mouth, so get while the getting is good because the holds will start piling up. Watch them in order; they build on each other. Once I started I couldn't stop.

As with most BBC productions you will recognize all sorts of cast members from other series. Elba himself you may recall as the maniacal Stringer Bell from the first season of the highly respected, multi award winning crime series The Wire. This series had a five year run (which CPL has) and centered around the Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement officers.

As promised on Tuesday, here is your chance to get a double pass to an advanced screening of this new release.

Hopefully you planned ahead and created your account at http://www.gofobo.com/. You will need to have one in place to access tickets. If you haven't yet, read the previous post to find out how.

-I did find gofobo a little tricky to register with and retrieve the tickets when I tested it, so here are some pointers:

-'Register' is a small icon on the upper right of their home page above the search bar

-Provide them with a valid email, go to your email and retrieve the temp password, log on again and reset your password

-When you are ready to get tickets from Movie Maniacs, have your gofobo account open and ready, and then enter the RSVP code I provide.

-Make sure you have the correct code because you are only allowed 3 attempts before you are locked out till the next day best thing is just copy and paste the rsvp code right from here into gofobo

-Your tickets are sent to the email you provided as an attachment. It you have trouble with the attachment (I did) go back into myfobo and request that they be resent- it worked the second time for me

If you have an account the passes are now available--- the rsvp code for a double pass to Marigold Hotel is :

CPLMMJ7D6

If you have done everything correctly, below is what you will end up with- with your name on the printable ticket. One last thing- each ticket will have a unique barcode on it and may only be used once. Printing it twice will not get four of you in! If you request a pass and are unable to attend, please release your ticket in the MYFOBO area and someone else can use it. Or pass it on to a friend- they don't check ID, so the different name is not a problem- they just want bums in seats.

If you see the movie drop me a line through comments and tell me how it was.

I am happy to announce that MM has just formed another partnership with a company that will offer tickets to MOVIE MANIAC fans. If you have ever received advanced screening passes from our other PR companion (click on CONTEST on the left under tags to see some of our previous offerings) you already mostly know how this works.

Now this next part is important and you must judge your own comfort level. If you want to take advantage of these offers you will be redirected to an external site at http://www.gofobo.com/ and it is through them that you request your tickets. This will require that you set up a gofobo account and password and if you are okay with this, I would do so ahead of time. The register icon is small - it is up on the top right of the page along with login/ f/Connect/register. Click on register and set yourself up. They will send you a confirmation in the email you provide and then you can set your password up. Done- you are registered.Then when you read here on the Movie Maniac blog that passes are available you just go to gofobo, log on to your own account and enter the very specific RSVP code which I will provide for each movie.Then the tickets will be sent to your own computer for printing off.

We will have a designated number of double passes for advanced screenings held specifically for our readers. You don't need to worry about trying to find the right movie/page on gofobo- once you enter the rsvp code that I provide it will take you right to that movie. You will see our Movie Maniac name and Logo once you use the code.

As with other advanced screening passes, you are not guaranteed admission UNTIL you redeem the pass at the box office for an actual theatre ticket.

On Friday the 11th I will be posting for advanced screening tickets for the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with a wonderful cast incluidng Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy---screening Thursday May 17 at 7:00 at Eau Claire Market.

Remember to come back on Friday and get that RSVP code.

That time again- join us TONIGHT at Crowfoot Library at 6:30 for our fifth movie night. As always, due to copyright restrictions I can not put here what the title is, but a quick phone call to us at 221-4122 and all will be revealed. This is rated PG 13 and runs 124 minutes.

As with our previous choices of Real Steel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Puss 'n Boots, and last months Adventures of TinTin, this too will be a current, popular selection. Seating is first come, first served, and once we have reached our maximun seating allowance (60), we close the doors. Avoid disappointment and come early! Doors open at 6:00.

I had the pleasure of attending the Comic Expo held April 27-29 at the BMO Centre as a representative at the library booth. The Event was a huge success with an estimated attendance at the three day event in the 45,000 + range. At one point on Saturday afternoon Calgary’s Fire Marshall actually closed the event to further entry as maximum saturation had been reached. And boy was it saturated.

The crowds were amazing, the costumes dazzling, and the atmosphere electric.

We engaged with hundreds of people and once again I am struck with how responsive people are to public libraries and their presence at such events. I talked to people from Fredericton, Houston, Los Angeles, Wyoming, a lot from Vancouver and Edmonton and one lady who had travelled all the way from Pool, England to see James Marsters- and who can blame her. She is a librarian and was thrilled to hear that libraries are alive and well in Calgary as she herself had recently been made redundant as a “soft target” of England’s budget cuts.

I asked dozens of attendees to pose for pictures in front of our “EVERYTHING YOU'RE INTO“ banner, and without exception, everyone agreed. They loved the banner and thought it really spoke to their own wide variety of interests.

If there was ever an event that more readily embraces the diversity of people’s interests, I have yet to find it. Steam Punk, Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Anime, Graphix, Gothic, cartoonists, animators, illustrators, self-publishers, all very enthusiastic and ready to share what Public Libraries mean to them. There was one very charming young lady, Melissa, who along with her entire family had a wildly successful, heavily-attended ‘Steam Punk’ booth. She had an amazing hand-made costume and I asked if she would be willing to come over and let me take her picture in front of our banner. She did, stayed for around 10 minutes, drew a huge crowd, and proclaimed "Reading is Sexy, Libraries are wonderful, Support your local library.” She makes costumes, jewelry, accessories and specializes in the most amazing steam punk goggles, monocles, field glasses etc-- she does her research at her local library -- and yes, I bought a pair- I LOVE the steam punk look.

Freddy Kruger, Q , Skeletor, Wolverine (old and new versions), an entire family of Superman[s], Lady Galadriel, Orcs from the White Tower, The Fly, Rorschach, Darth Maul, Spider-Man, Red Skull, The Mad Hatter, Star Trek, and Steam Punk galore --- all happy to stop and pose with our banner. One of the people who I asked to pose, Red Skull, was on his way to the judging for best costume, but agreed to take the time for a picture with us. He went on to become one of the finalists. What an amazing costume! Thanks Skull. Freddy K, who I have always found to have one of the most disturbing faces ever, took a little bit of the edge off for me when he said "Who doesn't like libraries!" My Darth Maul guy actually physically implanted his horns; that's an amazing degree of committment...

And if you are wondering if I sprung for my own big photoshoot with the entire Star Trek- Next Generation cast- the answer is--- sadly not. At $495.00 it was a little too rich for my blood.

Once a decade since 1952, the BFI (British Film Institute) polls top critics and filmmakers from around the globe, asking them to choose the 10 greatest films of all time. The results are compiled and published in BFI's monthly publication, Sight and Sound magazine. The 2012 selections will be published later this year.

As we await the final list, Roger Ebert, arguably the world's most read and trusted critic, has just published his selections for the 10 Greatest films of all time. Here are his ten choices, listed in alphabetical order. These can all be found at the CPL. Please click on the links to place your holds:

Aguirre, Wrath of God (Directed by Werner Herzog) [DVD]
Apocalypse Now (Directed by Francis Ford Coppola) [DVD] [Blu-Ray]
Citizen Kane (Directed by Orson Welles) [DVD] [Blu-ray]
La Dolce Vita (Directed by Federico Fellini) [DVD]
The General (Directed by Buster Keaton) [DVD] [Blu-ray]
Raging Bull (Directed by Martin Scorsese) [DVD] [Blu-ray]
2001: A Space Odyssey (Directed by Stanley Kubrick) [DVD] [Blu-ray]
Tokyo Story (Directed by Yasujiro Ozu) [DVD]
The Tree of Life (Directed by Terrence Malick) [DVD] [Blu-ray]
Vertigo (Directed by Alfred Hitchcock) [DVD]

Ebert's original blog post can be found here.

I still can't believe he didn't include The Princess Bride... sigh.

Happy Watching!

On Friday May 4th Marvel Comics latest offering -The Avengers - hits the big screen. With an estimated cost of $220,000,000, directed by Joss Whedon and with every hot A-Lister you can think of, this should be a huge draw for all ages. Check out the above trailer- you gotta admit this looks like great fun!They are going to make a fortune!

Marvel Comics has had great success in bringing their action heroes to the screen and we have a wonderful collection of them at CPL.

Iron Man 1 and 2

X-Men- 1, 2 United 3 Last Stand, Origins Wolverine and X Men First Class---I luv the X-men franchise! I even know what I would want for my own mutation.

Captain America- not as 'flag-waving' as I feared it might be, this is worth your two hours.

The Hulk- to me the weakest entry but still fun.

Spider Man 1, 2 and 3

And an entire series of Marvel Animated SpiderMan 1 High Voltage 2 Mutant Menace 3 Ultimate Faceoff 4 Extreme Threat

And tomorrow I am off to the Comic Expo, where in attendance is the creator of all this Marvellous mayhem-the legendary Stan Lee

And an update- I saw Joss Whedon's Cabin in the Woods last night. Well, I didn't actually see HIS cabin, but you know what I mean. Let me just say this- he did find a way to put a new twist on the classic "group of hot teens spending a weekend away and all hell breaks loose/demented meat hook waving inbreds/does anybody survive" storyline. Gory, bloody and over the top doesn't even begin to describe it. Did I like it? A little more than I like these typical slasher films- only because he found that twist.

An award winning film and talk by the son of Pablo Escobar, the infamous Columbian Medellin cartel drug lord.

This film by Nicolas Entel deals with son Sebastien's journey to reconcillation by himself and the sons of two men murdered by his father.

John Dutton Theatre, Central Library

Thursday April 26 7:00-10:00 (registration required- 6:30-7:00)

$30.00

Well, myself and fellow Movie Maniac Mat are off to see Cabin in the Woods next week. This one is getting a lot of buzz- the ultimate 'fanboy' horror movie. The film has been produced and co-written by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and other iconic TV shows and directed by his longtime collaborator Drew Goddard, writer of Cloverfield. Now I have never been much of a Buffy fan although it still remains hugely popular, but Angel is certainly a lot of fun. Cloverfield, once you get past the 'queasy-cam' is quite effective, and I loved the look of the aliens/monsters. So I am quite interested to see what is going on in, and under The Cabin the Woods---I'll let you know.

I recently watched the remake of Fright Night with Colin Farrell as the Vampire next door. Round out the cast with Toni Collette from United States of Tara, Anton Yelchin from Star Trek Year One, and David Tennant, the 10th incarnation of Doctor Who, and you have a pretty good flick. I thought Colin struck just the right note between campy and evil. I found myself in equal measures, jumping, laughing, thinking 'great special effects and ' oh, that's just plain nasty'. What fun !!