Films with: Shamberg, Michael

Along came Polly

Reuben Feffer, a professional risk assessor, is not one to ever take chances in any aspect of his life. But when his new bride Lisa leaves him for French scuba instructor Claude on their honeymoon, he finally decides to a risk of his own. At a party, he meets free-spirited Polly, whom he remembers from the seventh grade. Unlike the control-freak Reuben, she's spent her life living on the edge. They reluctantly begin a romance and Polly introduces him to a new world of spicy food and what it mean to really take a chance.

DVD 8950

Big chill

Seven college housemates from the 1960s who have drifted apart reunite at the funeral of a friend. Having entered adulthood as non-conformists, most now belong to the establishment. Stunned by the death of their peer, sensing their own mortality and the loss of their innocence, each takes the opportunity to reevaluate his or her life and re-establish their bonds.

DVD 369

Contagion

A thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak.

DVD 8608

Erin Brockovich

Erin Brockovich is a feisty young mother who convinces attorney Ed Masry to hire her and promptly stumbles upon a momumental law case against a giant corporation. Erin's determined to take on this powerful adversary even though no law firm has dared to do it before. The two begin an incredible and sometimes hilarious fight that will bring a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees.

DVD 1670

Fierce creatures

When ruthless media mogul Rod McCain acquires England's Marwood Zoo, he sends his sexy marketing executive and his lecherous son to whip the place into shape, but they discover Marwood's straitlaced director has already implemented his own harebrained scheme to boost attendance: from now on the zoo will do away with cute, cuddly animals and display only "fierce creatures."

DVD 2199

Freedom Writers [their story, their words, their future] /

A true story about a teacher in a racially divided school who gives her students what they've always needed, a voice. Erin Gruwell comes to a southern California high school bubbling over with naive optimism. She quickly discovers that her unruly classroom is not easily won over by her good intentions. After a few floundering attempts to connect with her students, Gruwell gives them the assignment of keeping journals about their own lives, This assignment is something that the class can bite into with relish. This eventually bonds them together and pushes racial rivalries aside. Draws heavily from the published journals of the real students themselves.

DVD 8948

Heart beat

Part ode to the Beat Generation, part domestic comedy, this film, based on the memoirs of Carolyn Cassady, tells of her life with Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac.

DVD 9981

Matilda

Matilda is a super-smart little girl who is woefully ignored and ridiculed by her self-centered parents. They send her to a school with a mean, bullying principal, where she learns she has special powers that can help her, her friends, and her kind and gentle teacher.

DVD 12327