Hot This Week: April 27

The biblical epic starring Christian Bale as Moses takes the top spot on this week's movie list. Four new albums grace the music chart, all in the top half, led by the debut from Shawn Mendes at #1. In fiction, mainstays Nora Roberts and Lisa Scottoline see their popular new novels make it for the first time, and in non-fiction, the list is topped by a new title from David Brooks, one of three newcomers for the week.

DVD

1. Exodus: Gods and Kings
2. Interstellar
3. Penguins of Madagascar
4. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
5. Wild Card
6. The Imitation Game
7. Into the Woods
8. Big Hero 6
9. Big Eyes
10. A Most Violent Year

CD

1. Shawn Mendes, Handwritten
2. Furious 7 Soundtrack
3. Reba McEntire, Love Somebody
4. Tyler, the Creator, Cherry Bomb
5. Halestorm, Into the Wild Life
6. Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack
7. Taylor Swift, 1989
8. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
9. Ed Sheeran, X
10. Drake, If You're Reading This It's Too Late

Fiction

1. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
2. The Liar, Nora Roberts
3. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
4. Every Fifteen Minutes, Lisa Scottoline
5. The Stranger, Harlan Coben 
6. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
7. Miracle at Augusta, James Patterson and Peter de Jonge
8. At the Water's Edge, Sara Gruen
9. A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler
10. Hot Pursuit, Stuart Woods

Non-Fiction

1. The Road to Character, David Brooks
2. Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies, Bill O'Reilly and David Fisher
3. Dealing with China, Henry M. Paulson Jr.
4. Dead Wake, Erik Larson
5. The Residence, Kate Andersen Brower
6. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
7. A Curious Mind, Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman
8. Between You & Me, Mary Norris
9. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald
10. Capital Dames, Cokie Roberts 

2015 Quite a Year for Movie Anniversaries

Written by Jon Williams

This year is shaping up to be a pretty big one for movies. Movies like Insurgent, Fifty Shades of Grey, and Furious 7 have already brought tons of people to the box office, and others like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spectre, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (to name just a very few) are still on the horizon. But that’s looking ahead. Looking back, 2015 also sees a number of classic films celebrating significant landmark anniversaries.

Going back to 1940, a handful of notable films are celebrating their 75th anniversary this year. One is The Grapes of Wrath, an adaptation of the classic John Steinbeck novel of the same name, starring Henry Ford and John Carradine. That was also a great year for Disney, which released the animated staples Fantasia and Pinocchio. Unfortunately, both of those titles are in Disney’s vault at the moment, so if you already have copies of them on your shelves, consider yourself lucky.

Moving forward to 1965, some great and notable films are marking 50 years. Doctor Zhivago is an all-time great film, a romance with the backdrop of World War I and the Russian Revolution. For a Few Dollars More (released in 1965 in Italy, but not until 1967 in North America) is one of the Sergio Leone westerns that helped launch the career of Clint Eastwood, a career that’s still going strong all these years later. Thunderball (currently unavailable, although the novel by Ian Fleming is) was one of the first James Bond films to feature the organization SPECTRE as the enemy; fitting, as that’s the title of the Bond film releasing later this year. Finally, there’s The Sound of Music, one of the quintessential movie musicals of all time, which was recently released in a 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray that includes a ton of bonus material in addition to the film.

And then there’s 1990, which was a banner year for great movies. Just look at this list of films released that year, which turn 25 in 2015: The Hunt for Red October. Total Recall (the Schwarzenegger original, of course). Pretty Woman. Ghost. Goodfellas. Home Alone (currently unavailable). Dances with Wolves. Misery. Edward Scissorhands (currently unavailable). Is that a great list of movies or what?

So those are the big landmark anniversaries—25, 50, and 75 years—for 2015. Anything in particular catch your eye, or did we miss anything? And don’t forget, there are plenty of great films celebrating other, not quite as grand anniversaries, such as Rebel Without a Cause (60 years), Jaws (40 years), and Back to the Future (30 years). You can find these great films are more on our website.

Hot This Week: April 20

The final installment in the popular Night at the Museum series is this week's top newcomer in movies. In music, the Furious 7 soundtrack takes over the top spot, followed by the debut of a new CD from All Time Low comes in just behind it. New titles from Stuart Woods, Jo Nesbo, and James Patterson jump onto the fiction list, while five new audiobooks shake up the non-fiction slate.

DVD

1. Interstellar
2. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
3. The Imitation Game
4. Wild Card
5. A Most Violent Year
6. Into the Woods 
7. Big Hero 6
8. Annie
9. Dumb and Dumber To
10. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

CD

1. Furious 7 Soundtrack
2. All Time Low, Future Hearts
3. Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack
4. Maroon 5, V
5. Taylor Swift, 1989
6. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
7. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly
8. Drake, If You're Reading This It's Too Late
9. Ed Sheeran, X
10. Meghan Trainor, Title

Fiction

1. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
2. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
3. The Stranger, Harlan Coben 
4. Hot Pursuit, Stuart Woods
5. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
6. At the Water's Edge, Sara Gruen
7. The Patriot Threat, Steve Berry
8. Blood on Snow, Jo Nesbo
9. Miracle at Augusta, James Patterson and Peter de Jonge
10. A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler

Non-Fiction

1. Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies, Bill O'Reilly and David Fisher
2. Dead Wake, Erik Larson
3. The Residence, Kate Andersen Brower
4. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
5. A Fine Romance, Candice Bergen
6. Between You & Me, Mary Norris
7. A Curious Mind, Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman
8. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald
9. What If?, Randall Munroe
10. Yes Please, Amy Poehler

Hot This Week: April 13

Christopher Nolan's latest mind trip, Interstellar, leads a solid pack of newcomers on this week's movie listing. The music chart undergoes a major shakeup with six new titles, topped by the new release from Wale. Paula Hawkins holds onto the top fiction spot for yet another week, while Fareed Zakaria's new book is the only new title in non-fiction.

DVD

1. Interstellar
2. The Imitation Game
3. Wild Card
4. Into the Woods
5. Dumb and Dumber To 
6. Big Hero 6
7. Annie
8. Outcast
9. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
10. Horrible Bosses 2

CD

1. Wale, The Album About Nothing
2. Furious 7 Soundtrack
3. Ludacris, Ludaversal
4. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly
5. Taylor Swift, 1989
6. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
7. Darius Rucker, Southern Style
8. Death Cab for Cutie, Kintsugi
9. Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack
10. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell 

Fiction

1. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
2. The Shadows, J.R. Ward
3. The Stranger, Harlan Coben
4. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
5. The Patriot Threat, Steve Berry
6. At the Water's Edge, Sara Gruen
7. A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler
8. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
9. The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro
10. NYPD Red 3, James Patterson and Marshall Karp

Non-Fiction

1. Dead Wake, Erik Larson
2. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
3. Becoming Steve Jobs, Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli
4. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald
5. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
6. In Defense of a Liberal Education, Fareed Zakaria
7. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
8. Heretic, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
9. What If?, Randall Munroe
10. Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be, Frank Bruni

Hot This Week: April 6

Last week's top movie titles remain largely the same, with Beyond the Lights being this week's only newcomer. It was likewise a week of little change on the music chart, which sees the debut from Action Bronson join the latest Kidz Bop release as the only new titles this week. In fiction, Harlan Coben's latest comes in at #2, just behind the juggernaut that is The Girl on the Train. Finally, in non-fiction, the latest exploration of the ever-fascinating Steve Jobs makes its debut.

DVD

1. Dumb and Dumber To 
2. Big Hero 6
3. Annie
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
5. Birdman
6. Horrible Bosses 2
7. Nightcrawler
8. Beyond the Lights
9. Top Five
10. Vice

CD

1. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly
2. Empire Season 1 Soundtrack
3. Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack
4. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
5. Taylor Swift, 1989
6. Ed Sheeran, X
7. Action Bronson, Mr. Wonderful
8. Maroon 5, V
9. Kidz Bop Kids, Kidz Bop 28
10. Meghan Trainor, Title

Fiction

1. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
2. The Stranger, Harlan Coben
3. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
4. NYPD Red 3, James Patterson and Marshall Karp
5. A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler
6. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
7. The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro
8. Cuba Straits, Randy Wayne White
9. Endangered, C.J. Box
10. A Dangerous Place, Jacqueline Winspear

Non-Fiction

1. Dead Wake, Erik Larson
2. Becoming Steve Jobs, Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli
3. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
4. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald
5. Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be, Frank Bruni
6. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
7. Heretic, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
8. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
9. Every Day I Fight, Stuart Scott and Larry Platt
10. What If?, Randall Munroe