Cool Movies for Hot Summer Evenings

Sharon Scanlan

Cold weather is something I avoid—in person, in books, and in movies, so this article is the result of some great recommendations from our excellent volunteers who buy and catalog DVDs. We hope they help you stay cool!

A favorite of many patrons is Fisherman’s Friend, based on a true tale of fishermen in Cornwall, England. House of Gucci with Lady Gaga is a new movie that is a lot of fun to watch. For James Bond fans, we have No Time to Die, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall, the latest in the series, as well as a few older ones. Bond movies often take place in the European mountains. A silly but entertaining movie is Date Night with Steve Carrell and Tina Fey. It’s a “feel good” movie. Wind River and The Hunted are also in our collection. They are both a little brutal and cold!

Older movies that are definitely “cold” are Dr. Zhivago, Cold Mountain, and The Mountain Between Us. Eight Below, Whiteout, and Christmas Train are a few more.

Absolutely icy children’s movies are Frozen, Ice Age, Ice Princess, and Happy Feet. You can be a cool grandparent!

The British Isles are always cold! Series that take place in colder climates are Shetland and Outlander from Scotland. Filmed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, are the new movie Belfast and the series Line of Duty. Ballykissangel, an older series, is filmed in the charming village of Avoca, Ireland.

There are many Acorn and BBC series that take place in England, such as Doc Martin and Poldark in Cornwall. Yorkshire is the setting for Last Tango in Halifax and the new version of All Creatures Great and Small. Call the Midwife, Victoria, Belgravia, and The Crown are filmed in London. A charming series in the Cotswolds is based on M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin books. Midsomer Murders takes place in the fictional Midsomer County, which is west of London in Oxfordshire. This popular series could be your entire summer viewing! There are 19 sets!

Chilly Scandinavia hosts several series: Acquitted in Norway, Borgen in Denmark, and A Man Called Ove and Wallander from Sweden.

Closer to home, two very popular series are filmed in Canada. The long-running Heartland takes place in Alberta with the Canadian Rocky Mountains as the backdrop for the ranch. The award-winning Schitt$ Creek, which debuted in 2020, was filmed in Ontario.

Stay cool this summer in SaddleBrooke viewing these entertaining movies and series. Enjoy old DVD friends and meet some new ones! Our DVDs are ready to use without an expensive streaming service and the dreaded buffering when a movie/series downloads.

If you don’t like the first episode, return it and check out another.

If you use the SaddleBrooke Libraries, please support the Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries (FSL) at www.sbfsl.org. FSL funds all of the purchases for the newest books and DVDs every month.

You can access the library online catalog to find more movies and series at the website www.sblibraries.com. All SaddleBrooke DVDs are available at the DesertView Library.