There are many reasons we need to save our libraries, not least because of their cinematic history. From thrillers to epic romances to teen comedies, the library is cinema's go-to location when it wants somewhere with history, gravitas and a glass door that can shatter when you scream. They're sacred places, spooky places – they're downright sexy places. Characters can find the meaning of life and death in them, clues to help solve cases in them, or just have a big old sing song in them. With such a rich history, one does wonder what would happen if writers and directors no longer felt the need to use them in films. What would they use instead? The internet can never compete visually – who wants to see their leading man/lady finding out facts on Wikipedia? Discovering the murderer on an app? Searching the shelves of … Amazon? It just won't do. So sign every petition you can, borrow as many books as possible, keep libraries alive and open, on our high streets and in our cinemas. In other words, don't ssssh.
1) Emilio Estevez shows us exactly the kind of moves we should all be showcasing in local libraries everywhere in The Breakfast Club.
2) Morgan Freeman plus Air on a G String in Seven equals murders solved.
3) Best. Ghost. Sssh. Ever. (From Ghostbusters.)
4) Borrowing a book was never as complicated as in Kes.
5) Blatant adolescent disrespect for the written word in The Squid and the Whale.
Last week on Clip joint, John Carvill mopped up the choicest tears of unrequited love in cinema. Here are his picks from your suggestions:
1) Monkeybug reminded us that even when you're as tall, dark, and handsome as King Kong, you can still be brought to your knees by a leggy blonde.
2) greensox gave me a nice big "D'oh!" moment as I realised I'd forgotten all about Gregory's Girl.
3) MonsieurBoulanger second guessed me by nominating a film I'd removed from my list because I wasn't sure (and I'm still not sure) if Luke Wilson's love for Gwyneth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums really remains unrequited.
4) swanstep plunged us into the abyss of Barbara Bel Geddes's almost-but-not-quite-requited love for James Stewart, in Vertigo. Who can think of that scene where she reveals her self-portrait as Carlotta without cringing? Life down at Southfork was never like that!
5) The winner just had to be KilkennyHead for his heartfelt and heart-rending real-life story of spurned love, as much as for 500 Days of Summer and its clever split-screen depiction of the yawning gap between expectation and reality.
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