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
Sing Street
by manz
A delightful film! Set in 1985 Dublin, the coming-of-age Sing Street is ripe with adolescence and dreaming big. Fourteen year old Conor is sent to a new school due to family money problems, and he encounters a slew of new woes himself, from a mean head-master to bullying. Enter the beautiful Raphina. One look at her and Conor’s heart is done with. He quickly needs to form a band to impress her. With a misfit crew of new band-mates, an older brother who schools him in the finest 80s Duran Duran, The Cure and Hall and Oates, Conor is on his way to self-discovery and fulfilling newfound dreams. The film is a pleasure to watch, and the band’s songs are a hit.
The film has been on many year-end best-of lists for 2016, and is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.
Blog Post
Enjoying and Understanding Outlander
by ballybeg
I just got around to reading Outlander. It is only the first long, complex book, of a long, complex series of books, loaded with characters, details, symbolism, history, and inter-weaving, multi-layered plots. The television series is another dimension of the Outlander phenomenon, also rich with period detail, language, folklore, and a dizzying array of settings and characters.
I was surprised and gratified, therefore, to discover these aids to appreciating the books and films, with some Scottish history and background, and lots of details to enhance the understanding of Gabaldon’s highly imaginative series.
For the television series, The Making of Outlander: The Official Guide to Seasons One & Two, adds interest and depth to the filmed version.
For the books, The Outlandish Companion Volume One is an elaboration of the first four books, and The Outlandish Companion Volume Two highlights details from books five through eight. Included are synopses of the plots, commentary by the author, glossaries of Gaelic language, bibliographies of books Gabaldon used when researching and writing the books, but also fiction series, by other authors, she recommends to enjoy and which complement hers (I got some good reading ideas here), and so much more.
For really fascinating detail about the rich world of Outlander, this book is a must: The Symbolism and Sources of Outlander: The Scottish Fairies, Folklore, Ballads, Magic, and Meanings That Inspired the Series. Here you can find: all about the mythologies of standing stones, sun and fire feasts; voodoo, Native American and Scottish folklore; the symbolism of plants, jewelry, animals, clothes, kilts and tartans (and what about that dragonfly in amber?); references to literature (the Bible, classics, Shakespeare and the English romantic poets) and music explained; and all about magic, witches, second sight, herbs, the sword dance, kelpies in the loch, La Dame Blanche, and more.
Then, just for fun, because everything ends with food, and who can resist oatmeal scones with clotted cream?, Outlander Kitchen: The Official Outlander Companion Cookbook.
Blog Post
A Series of Unfortunate Events
by PizzaPuppy
A brand new television show based on the popular Series of Unfortunate Events books is coming to Netflix on January 13th, making now the perfect time to catch up on Lemony Snicket's whimsical gothic novels.
Over the course of 13 books we follow Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire: 3 siblings who are orphaned after a fire destroys their house and kills their parents. The children are placed under the protection of their distant relative, the mysterious Count Olaf, but soon realize that Olaf is scheming to steal their inheritance and do away with the Baudelaire children altogether. Along the way, the Baudelaire children discover that their parents were part of a secret organization, and much of the later books revolves around the Baudelaire children uncovering dark family secrets. Lemony Snicket narrates with a quick wit and dark humor, often going off on tangents or explaining the meaning of words as he goes along. Snicket also begins each novel with a polite warning that if a happy book is what the reader is after, they won't find it here.
If you haven't seen the trailer for the new 8-episode series, take a look here.
Looking for more Series of Unfortunate Events-related stuff? Give the Tragic Treasury a try. This collection of songs featured in the audiobooks remains true to Snicket's books, and Snicket himself plays accordion on multiple tracks. Or maybe re-watch the 2004 movie adaptation featuring Jim Carrey as the tricky Count Olaf.
Blog Post
Audio Description Track on DVD!
by Beth Manuel
AADL continues to grow its collection of films that have a Descriptive Video Service or DVS feature. More films are being produced for children & adults that are Described Video Recordings for L Card users to borrow. Some are even available by mail to our WLBPD patrons as Free Matter for the Blind. If your vision isn't what it used to be, you may want to try watching a film with described narration. That way you don't have to ask other folks what's happening on the screen and can concentrate on the film.
Blog Post
Know what I mean, Vern?
by manz
If you’re looking for ridiculous 80s movies, look no further. An added bonus is a fun Christmas movie to watch, and they are kid-friendly.
Meet Ernest P. Worrell, portrayed by the late Jim Varney. With his kind heart, good cheer, and naiveté, Ernest is always getting himself into pretty big pickles while trying to save the day. There are several films that highlight his slap-stick shenanigans, including Ernest Goes to Camp (1987), Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), Ernest Goes to Jail (1990), and Ernest Scared Stupid (1991). "Camp" and "Christmas" are the two winners that sure need to spend some time in your VCR… I mean DVD player.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - "R" is for ROBOTS
by ryanikoglu
It was Robot time in Ms. Rachel’s Storytime this week.
HELLO ROBOTS … the robots do the work at home until … POP!
“COLOR ROBOTS” … we moved like robots with this rap & rhythm from Harry Kindergarten on youtube.
We danced the "Robo-POkey" with Banjo Betsy.
And in the ... BIRTHDAY BOX … we found a perfect present for a birthday kid.
For more ROBOT reads try these favorites:
ZOE And ROBOT: Let’s Pretend … do robots pretend?
DOUG UNPLUGGED … a robot adventure.
BABY BRAINS And ROBOMOM … an invention to give parents a rest.
NANOBOTS … an accidental discovery.
RALPH MASIELLO’S ROBOT DRAWING BOOK … get out the paper and pencils!
IF I HAD A ROBOT … Oh, the things I would do.
FRANKY … an almost wordless picture book. YOU help with telling the story.
BEEP! BEEP! GO TO SLEEP! … even robots need to sleep.
TWELVE BOTS OF CHRISTMAS … with two turbo doves and a cartridge in a gear tree.
La la la!
Blog Post
75 Years of Pearl Harbor on film
by amy
75 years is not so long ago, and as three noteworthy films whose themes revolve around the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii illustrate, Hollywood has long had a fascination with this infamous (to borrow from the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt) and momentous event in U. S. history. Perhaps the most noteworthy film is Fred Zinnemann’s 1953 winner of eight Academy Awards From Here to Eternity that traces through five distinct storylines the human side of the event. 1970s' Tora! Tora! Tora! seeks to reconstruct the attack in a quasi-documentary fashion (from both the American and Japanese sides) and never underestimate the sheer volume of the carnage to be found in Michael Bay’s 2001 retelling of the event through two young American fighter pilots (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) who find themselves unexpectedly caught up in world history at Pearl Harbor. The 1980s also saw the TV miniseries Winds of War and War and Remembrance.
AADL also has a few documentaries, including USS Arizona: Life and Death Of A Lady and Killer Subs in Pearl Harbor.
Blog Post
Non-Traditional Christmas Movies
by ballybeg
This is the time of year when everyone has a favorite holiday movie to watch. Or two, or three. Traditional Christmas movies can brighten the season and become essential holiday rituals for your family, being eagerly anticipated each year and deeply satisfying.
As is often the case when I go to look for my faves, other people have gotten there first. Too many holds on It’s A Wonderful Life, or White Christmas, might mean you are getting it in January, which is still a good month to watch these two films! But perhaps there are “non-traditional” holiday films that can be viewed right now, that have the qualities which make them suited for your Christmas-time, family movie nights; films that you might have over-looked in your rush to see the Grinch for the umpteenth time.
All of these films, while not about Christmas per se, have that uplifting, warm, giving feeling that you expect at this time of year; all but one have Christmas-time or winter scenes. If you want a different feel-good movie for Christmas this year, you could try:
The Bishop’s Wife Cary Grant as an angel who skates really well.
While You Were Sleeping She just wants to be a part of the family.
Little Women Amy gives up her Christmas orange.
The Snowman Flying and dancing through the winter landscape.
Silas Marner A young child brings love and redemption.
Joyeaux Noel A true story of laying down arms on Christmas Eve in the trenches of WWI.
You Can’t Take It With You A truly wacked-out family, all following their bliss.
You’ve Got Mail Love blooms remotely between rival book-sellers.
Iron Will Dog-sledding to save the family farm.
Never Cry Wolf You can’t blame wolves for everything that is going wrong in the wilderness.
Singing in the Rain Ok, this is way out there, but it has been one of my family’s favorite New Year’s movies forever. Make ‘Em Laugh.
In addition, though this is a very traditional movie, and so off-topic, I can't resist recommending this film of A Christmas Carol. Of the many filmed versions of the Dickens classic, this is the best! You can’t beat George C Scott as Scrooge.
What is your favorite non-traditional Christmas movie?
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.