Blog Post
The Golden Globes!
by manz
Last night the 74th Golden Globe Award winners were announced in top categories for motion pictures and television from the past year. It’s always fun to see the winners and speculate who will also win at the Oscars. It was a quite a year for entertainment on the big and small screen! The big winner of the night was La La Land with 7 wins. And can I just say the cold-open a-la La La Land was pretty cool!
Best Motion Picture – Drama went to Moonlight, Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy went to La La Land, which also won Best Performance by an Actress, Best Performance by an Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song. Best Motion Picture – Animated went to Zootopia, and Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language went to Elle.
As for television, Best Television Series – Drama went to The Crown, Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy went to Atlanta, and Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television went to The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
Many are too new to be owned by AADL yet, or are still in theaters, so check back when items are released on DVD! Also, be sure to check out the full list of winners and nominees to see who won in the many categories.
Blog Post
New TV Shows @ AADL!
by manz
The library is always acquiring additional TV shows and new seasons of them, be they hot and new, or oldies but goodies. Here are more new-to-AADL series:
Braindead, Season 1
When struggling documentary filmmaker Laurel Healy takes a job working with her brother, Senator Luke Healy, she soon discovers there's more to Washington than meets the eye. As tensions grow amongst political parties, so does a conspiracy involving alien bugs replacing the brains of several members of congress. The investigation unfolds while the infection spreads.
Guilt, Season 1
When a young woman is brutally murdered in her London flat, the search for her killer leads to scandal and intrigue stretching all the way from underground clubs to the highest levels of the royal family.
Constantine, The Complete Series
Seasoned demon hunter and master of the occult John Constantine is armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts and a wicked wit. With the balance of good and evil on the line, Constantine uses his skills to find the supernatural terrors that threaten our world and send them back where they belong.
Greenleaf, Season 1
Greenleaf World Ministries is more than just a house of worship, it is the center of a community, and a duplicitous life. Although the family business is religion, the Greenleaf family and their business practices are not without sin. Yet amidst the mayhem and deception, the power of something greater exists, calling all to test their faith.
The Bible: The Epic Miniseries
Breathtaking in scope and scale, The Bible features powerful performances, exotic locales and dazzling visual effects that breathe spectacular life into the dramatic tales of faith and courage from Genesis through Revelation. This historic television event is sure to entertain and inspire the whole family.
True Jackson, VP, Season 1, Volume 1
A 15-year-old vice president of a major fashion label? Watch as True Jackson proves to the world that she's got real talent, all while discovering that the office is really just like high school, complete with bullies, cliques, and crushes.
Fore more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.
Blog Post
TV Spotlight: Togetherness
by manz
Togetherness was created by Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Steve Zissis, and is a tragically hilarious look at family life in Los Angeles. To my surprise the dark comedy was an absolute joy to watch and I can’t wait to watch season 2.
Brett and Michelle are married with two young children and are trying to find the long lost spark in their relationship. Brett’s actor friend Alex is down and out after getting evicted while jobless, so he ends up staying at Brett’s house for a while. Around the same time Michelle’s sister Tina is suffering from a break up and needs a change of scenery and joins the rest of the clan at Brett and Michelle’s house. With the four adults under one roof struggling to make sense of their lives, friendships and relationships, it makes for plenty of mishaps, antics, laughter, and tears.
The HBO show was cancelled after two seasons, and I'm thinking 16 episodes is just not enough.
Blog Post
New TV Shows @ AADL, Pt. 3
by manz
The library is always acquiring additional TV shows and new seasons of them, be they hot and new, or oldies but goodies. So many new shows have hit the catalog so far in September! Here are more new-to-AADL series:
Feed the Beast, Season 1
For Tommy and Dion, two friends on the brink of losing everything, a dusty pipe dream of opening an upscale restaurant in their hometown of the Bronx is all they have left to turn their lives around. Together, Tommy and Dion take on the insanity of the New York restaurant world, navigating its underbelly of petty criminals, corrupt officials, and violent gangsters.
Salem, Season 1 & 2
Witchcraft, the witch trials and the supernatural are at the center of this fictional story set in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts.
You, Me & Them, Series 1
This sparkling British comedy follows a May-December romance between free spirit Lauren and young-at-heart divorced grandfather Ed. The age gap isn't Lauren and Ed's only challenge: they face the disapproval of Lauren's parents, who are practically Ed's contemporaries, and her envious older sister, who's got a chaotic family of her own. On the other side, they endure Ed's down-on-his-luck, live-in brother; his irresponsible grandson; and most vexing of all, his narcissistic, delusional ex-wife.
Limitless, Season 1
After an old friend introduces him to a dangerous new pill called NZT-48, aimless twenty-something Brian Finch is able to use every part of his brain, making him the smartest person alive when he is on the drug. Utilizing his enhanced abilities, Brian helps FBI agent Rebecca Harris with her caseload, as well as attempting to track down the deadly drug’s manufacturer and figure out why Brian is the only person immune to its fatal side effects.
Outsiders, Season 1
A struggle for power and control set in the mysterious hills of modern-day Appalachia centers on the Farrells family, who behave as though they are above the law and are prepared to use any means necessary to protect their off-the-grid way of life in rural Kentucky.
Chicago Med, Season 1
The doctors, nurses and staff of the city's most cutting-edge trauma center take on critical medical cases and their ethical dilemmas. Woven into this high-intensity environment are engrossing personal dramas where life or death is always on the line.
Billions, Season 1
U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades goes after hedge fund king, Bobby "Axe" Axelrod in a battle between two powerful New York figures.
Jericho
Annie Quaintain is a widowed mother of two who is forced to start a new life in the remote town of Jericho in rugged 1870s Yorkshire. To make ends meet, she takes in lodgers who work on the local railroad. When handsome worker Johnny Jackson shows up at her door, he brings with him a load of trouble that could threaten Annie's new life.
Thirteen
Thirteen years after her abduction, 26-year-old Ivy Moxam flees the cellar that has held her captive for half her life. But escape is just the beginning of Ivy's story. Just as she's picking up the pieces of the life she was forced to leave behind, a startling discovery leaves everyone scrambling: her former captor has found his next victim. Forced to confront the truth of what happened in that cellar, Ivy's story leaves the detectives with one question: can Ivy be trusted?
Fore more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.
Blog Post
TV Spotlight: Moone Boy
by manz
What a great show! I happened upon this little gem as I decided after watching Family Tree that I needed to see more things with Chris O’Dowd in it, and BOOM! Enter Moone Boy, which happens to star him and is also semi-autobiographical of his own childhood in Boyle. Magical, right? He not only co-stars in it, but also created it and co-wrote it. I needed this TV show in my life.
Set in Ireland in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Martin Moone is 12 years old and the youngest sibling in a house with a large, Irish family and far too many sisters. O’Dowd portrays his imaginary friend Sean Murphy, who is constantly supporting Martin’s ideas and offering not-so-great advice that Martin just eats up.
The ridiculous scenes, the fun childhood adventures, Sean’s bad advice, and a never ending supply of loud and wacky family antics will keep you laughing. I loved the odd humor in the show, namely the banter between Sean and Martin. I also really enjoyed the scenes with Martin's best friend Padraic, who has his own imaginary friend, Crunchie Danger Haystacks. Think Malcolm in the Middle written by a sleep deprived Roddy Doyle.
The show is also filled with a great soundtrack that fits the place and time of the show – there are so many good songs! The show is delightful, endearing, wacky, and wonderful. There are three 6-episode seasons that are all in this DVD set.
Blog Post
New TV Shows @ AADL, Pt. 2
by manz
The library is always acquiring additional TV shows and new seasons of them, be they hot and new, or oldies but goodies. Here are some new-to-AADL series:
The Catch, Season 1
Meet Alice Vaughan: Strong, smart and tough-as-nails, she specializes in foiling world-class criminals with her elite team at Anderson/Vaughan Investigations, so she's devastated after losing her heart, and her life savings, to dashing, international conman Benjamin Jones. Desperate to extract some serious payback, Ali embarks on a secret quest to nab her ex-fiancée.
Into the Badlands, Season 1
Sunny, the most deadly Clipper in the Badlands, rescues a boy, M.K., from a deadly ambush. As Sunny and M.K. try to uncover the secret behind M.K.'s dark power, a new baron threatens a start a war between the rival lands.
Cop Rock, The Complete Series
It attempted to combine police procedural with musical theatre. The series centered on the LAPD and featured an ensemble cast that mixed musical numbers and choreography throughout storylines.
Quantico, Season 1
Alex Parrish is one of a diverse group of young recruits at the FBI Quantico Base. Despite intriguing personal secrets and complicated pasts, Alex and her fellow "NATs" (New Agents In Training) are the best, brightest, most thoroughly vetted candidates in the U.S., so it seems impossible that one of them could be a traitor.
The Night Manager
Jonathan Pine is working as the night manager of a Cairo hotel. He gets involved with a local woman who is the girlfriend of a local gangster. Through her relationship with the gangster she has acquired information linking illegal international arms sales with an English billionaire. Based on the best-selling novel by John Le Carre.
Legends, Season 1
Follows FBI Deep Cover Operations agent Martin Odum as he navigates living a lie for his job and delving into the mystery surrounding his real identity.
Angie Tribeca, Season 1
Angie Tribeca is a ten-year veteran of LAPD'S RHCU: Really Heinous Crimes Unit. The show is a hilarious spoof of police procedurals in the spirit of The Naked Gun.
Fore more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows. There are a bunch of NEW seasons of shows we already own!!
Blog Post
68th Primetime Emmy Awards Winners
by manz
Last night the winners of the 68th Emmy Awards were announced in a red carpet star-studded event hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The awards recognize excellence within various areas of television and emerging media.
Game of Thrones has now broken the record for the highest number of Emmy Awards won by any fictional series. The show’s total awards stand at 38, ousting Frasier, which held the record with 37. That’s a lot of Emmys! With winners announced, it's time to see what's going on in TV land. Here are the winners in major categories:
Drama Series – Game of Thrones
Comedy Series – Veep
Television Movie – Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Miniseries or Movie – The People v OJ Simpson
Variety Talk Series – Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Reality Competition Series – The Voice
Lead Actor in a Drama Series – Rami Malek (Mr Robot)
Lead Actress in a Dama Series – Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series – Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Louie Anderson (Baskets)
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline)
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Dame Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey)
Be sure to check the Emmys website for a full list of winners and for behind the scenes action and fun at how the show went down!
Blog Post
New TV Shows @ AADL, Pt. 1
by manz
The library is always acquiring additional TV shows and new seasons of them, be they hot and new, or oldies but goodies. Here are some new-to-AADL series:
The Night Of
Explore the dark corners of NYC's criminal-justice system as they swirl around a young Pakistani-American man who is accused of murder in this riveting eight-part miniseries. The story centers on the killing and the investigation that targets the unassuming college kid as its prime suspect.
A Place To Call Home, Seasons 1, 2, 3
A drama that follows Sarah Adams, a nurse returning to 1950s Australia after twenty years in Europe. A convert to Judaism, Sarah emerged from the horrors of World War II strong, principled, and defiant--a modern woman still bearing the weight of her past.
Winter, Series 1
Sydney homicide detective Eve Winter solves tough, high profile cases with cool intelligence, fighting bureaucrats, criminals and plenty of advances - unwanted and wanted - to catch her prey.
Wentworth, Series 1
Set in Australia, the show focuses on Bea Smith when she first enters prison after being charged with the attempted murder of her husband. Bea is separated from her daughter and sent to Wentworth on remand, where she lives in "an uncertain limbo" until she is sentenced. Starting at the bottom of Wentworth's hierarchy, Bea is forced to learn how to survive in prison.
Preacher, Season 1
Fulfilling a promise to his deceased father, one-time outlaw Jesse Custer returns home to West Texas to take over his dad's church. Jesse's mission, however, becomes twisted when his body is overcome by a cryptic force that unleashes within him a highly unconventional power. Together with hell-raising ex-girlfriend Tulip and Irish vagabond Cassidy, the preacher-in-training embarks on a journey to find God. Based on the comic books.
X Company, Seasons 1 & 2
The show follows the stories of five highly skilled young recruits torn from their ordinary lives to train as agents in an ultra-secret facility on the shores of Lake Ontario. These agents parachute behind enemy lines, where they're fair game for torture and execution. From elegant hotels to hellholes in the field, it's one risky operation after another, masterminded by the brains of Camp X.
Fore more TV shows, be sure to check out AADL’s lists for HOT TV shows, as well as NEW TV shows.
Blog Post
TV Spotlight: 11.22.63
by manz
11.22.63 is a sci fi thriller based on the best-selling Stephen King novel of the same name. The 8 part television series is another interesting look into the assassination of John F. Kennedy and I thoroughly enjoyed the series. It makes me want to watch Oliver Stone’s JFK again!
James Franco stars as Jake Epping, a recently divorced English teacher who is offered a chance to go back in time after finding out that a friend of his discovered a portal that takes you back to 1960. He is then tasked with travelling back in time to prevent JFK’s assassination on November 22, 1963, focusing on Lee Harvey Oswald, in order to alter the course of history. With the past always trying to “push back” this is not an easy task for Jake and he finds many hurdles along the way that leave room for plenty of suspense. He also meets sweet and stunning librarian Sadie Dunhill who throws a wrench in keeping on track with his big plans.
If you like history or suspense, give the show a try!
Blog Post
TV Spotlight: Family Tree
by manz
One of the funniest films I’ve ever seen is Best in Show. I seriously could not stop laughing while viewing. The humor is so dry and bizarre and right up my alley, thanks to Christopher Guest who directed and co-wrote the film.
The HBO show Family Tree was created by Christopher Guest and Jim Piddock, and carries that same sense of calm, extremely dry humor. The documentary style half-hour comedy stars Chis O'Dowd as Tom, a 30 year old man in between jobs and girlfriends, who has just inherited a box of trinkets from a dead aunt he’s never met. The mementos in the box lead him to research his family tree at home in England and eventually America. His day to day search includes a cast of eccentric friends and relatives who aid and encourage his search in amusing ways. (They are portrayed by some of Guest’s favorite regular crew, including Ed Begley Jr., Fred Willard, and Michael McKean.)
There is something about the writing and thus the sentences that come out of these characters mouths and the manner in which they flow that hit my funny bone just right. Because of this, Guest’s musings are not for everyone.
The show received mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. I loved the nonsense of it. One thing I did tire of very quickly was the sister with the talking monkey puppet. Yep, I said it was a bizarre show. The show was cancelled after just the one season.
Films also written and/or directed by Guest with a wacky cast of regulars includes This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind.