Category: DVDs

Interstellar on DVD and Blu Ray

- Bianca Leave a comment

Interstellarinterstellar takes place in a future Earth where a plague called the Blight is eating up the food sources around the world. Another effect of the Blight is routine dust storms that cause a range of health problems. Scientists have concluded the Earth is dying.  As food dwindles and dust storms increase, a young girl begins to receive messages through her bedroom bookshelves. Her father (played by Matthew McConaughey), an ex engineer and pilot, is called upon to lead a hail Mary expedition through space to find a new home for Earth’s residents.  He is joined by three others (including the lovely Anne Hathaway) to travel through space and time where minutes lost in space mean years lost on Earth.

Watching Interstellar is a complete mind boggling experience. Be prepared going in to it that you will be stuck to your seat for the next three hours. I recommend going to the bathroom first and keeping liquid intake to a minimum. Whatever you do, do not start this moving an hour before bed time. You will be up two hours past your bedtime. I made all of these mistakes. Luckily  during my bathroom break, I stopped the movie long enough to knock some sense into myself and go to bed (only an hour late). However I spent the entire next day thinking about this movie and wondering how it was going to end. And one more thing, use the subtitle function. It may seem strange at first to have it on, but you will get used to it. Action movies tend to be really loud or really quiet and you can never get it just right. You might miss some good information if you don’t have the subtitles on.

Interstellar has all of the things we have come to expect from a space movie (including plenty of terminology and theory that you need a degree in astrophysics to understand), but it finishes way ahead of predecessors. Interstellar gives you raw human emotion and good, sometimes great acting. On more than one occasion I wanted to drop to my knees, snap my head to the sky and scream ‘nooooooo!’  Other times my face lost all expression and my body went limp as I tried to grasp what just happened. It is the kind of movie that will you keep you up at night, and make you hold on to the ones you love just a little bit tighter.

I’m sure after reading this you will all be determined to watch this movie. While you will love it, you will be confused. After you have watched the movie, come back to this blog and check out this site. Den of Geek gives a great explanation of what is really going on in this movie as the movie does wrap up pretty quick.

Verdict: Not only one of the best movies of 2014, but could possible break into my personal top ten hit list of all time.

Award Watch: Won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. To see a full list of awards visit Interstellar Awards.

Fun Fact: Matt Damon is actually in this movie! He pops up about halfway through the movie. Interstellar is full of big name actors that have little actual screen time. John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, and Topher Grace all appear in Interstellar in small roles.

A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott

- Rachel Leave a comment

A Touch of StardustA Touch of Stardust  by Kate Alcott is a novel about the filming of the movie, Gone With the Wind.

Fictional character Julie Crawford is new to Hollywood and is pursuing a career as a screenwriter. A female screenwriter is a rare thing in 1938 Hollywood so she gets a job working at Selznick International studios to earn some money. Julie’s first day on the job is the first day of filming Gone With the Wind. The first scene of GWTW that was filmed was the burning of Atlanta. Producer David O. Selznick decided to burn down old movie sets in order to make room for the new GWTW sets. At this point in time, Selznick had not cast the role of Scarlett O’Hara. The front runner for the role, Paulette Goddard, has not been able to convince Selznick that she is right for the part. Julie has been given a message to give to Mr. Selznick but she cannot get near him due to the crowds and the fire department keeping her away. When she finally finds David Selznick, he promptly fires Julie for giving him the message too late. The note told him that actress Vivien Leigh would be visiting the set and that she was interested in playing the lead, Scarlett O’Hara. Selznick had been talking to Vivien Leigh for the past hour.

Actress Carole Lombard takes pity on Julie and hires her as her personal assistant. Julie now has a front seat to the developing romantic relationship between Carole Lombard and actor Clark Gable, who stars in Gone With the Wind as Rhett Butler. Julie is constantly in Carole’s movie set trailer signing autographs for the actress or at Carole’s house helping her with a project. Carole Lombard becomes a true friend to Julie. She advises Julie on life and the way that Hollywood works. Carole and Clark even invite Julie to dinner at their home. Julie also spends a lot of time with David O. Selznick’s fictional assistant, Andy. Andy invites Julie to come on set and watch scenes being filmed. She witnesses Vivien Leigh’s first day on set, the siege of Atlanta and  the desolation of Tara among other scenes.

Another aspect of the story is the growing tension in Europe. The film industry was trying to ignore the growing war overseas. Some people in Hollywood believed that the war should be addressed while others thought that a war movie would bomb at the box office. Julie’s boyfriend Andy is Jewish. He has family in Germany that he worries about. Julie’s parents would not want her dating Andy because he is Jewish which is a source of tension between the pair. Along with that tension, the African American community has reservations about the making of the movie GWTW.

70th Anniversary Edition of Gone With the Wind
70th Anniversary Edition of Gone With the Wind DVD

A Touch of Stardust is a coming of age novel about friendship and relationships centered around the filming of Gone With the Wind. Author Kate Alcott’s late husband, Frank Mankiewicz, grew up in a film family (his father was a screenwriter and his uncle was a director) and shared many stories about Old Hollywood with Alcott. Included in the novel are stories about what it was like on the movie set and working for David O. Selznick.

A Touch of Stardust is available in print and in audiobook.

 

Mystery Series Debut! Toured to Death by Hy Conrad

- Katie Leave a comment

Toured to Death

In Toured to Death, mystery writer Hy Conrad launches the exploits of Amy and Fanny Abel, a mother-and-daughter team of New York City travel agents unexpectedly turned sleuths.  Join this promising start to the Amy’s Travel Mystery series on the Monte Carlo to Rome Mystery Road Rally, the first European tour offered by our heroines’ fledgling niche-travel business.

With her mother Fanny’s support from across the Atlantic, Amy leads a group of twenty-four tourists through stylish French and Italian destinations as they hunt for clues to solve a fictional murder mystery.  Amy’s ambitious idea to combine a game of Clue with an Amazing Race-like competition unfolds smoothly…until actual murders begin to take place!  When one of of the tourists and the man hired to write the plot line for the mystery excursion are found dead, Amy and Fanny must put their heads together to keep the killer from striking again.  They soon learn that the writer’s story was based on a real-life murder case involving two of their current tour customers.  Working in tandem to solve the crimes, mother and daughter begin to overcome the loss of their partners, strengthen their relationship, save their agency’s reputation, and prepare for their next adventure!

If, like author Hy Conrad, you enjoy both mysteries and travel writing, pack your bags (including a magnifying glass) for Toured to Death and the Amy’s Travel Mystery series. Readers of “cozy” mysteries will be interested in this book’s unique take on the genre, and fans of TV’s Monk can compare how Conrad (a writer and producer for the series, as well as the author of novels based upon it) develops his detectives and other key characters for different formats.

New Mad Men Landmark

- Rachel Leave a comment
mad-men-statue
Actor Jon Hamm sits on the Don Draper Bench in front of the Time-Life Building in New York City. The silhouette of Hamm is used in the opening credits of the show Mad Men.

Are you a fan of the TV show Mad Men?  Are you travelling to New York City this summer?  Then you will want to head to 1271 Avenue of the Americas in Rockefeller Center, home of the Time-Life Building which houses the fictional Sterling Cooper & Partners office.  Outside of the building is a new Mad Men fixture called, The Draper Bench and a street sign that says Mad Men Ave and Don Draper Way.  The second half of season 7 premieres on Sunday, April 5th on AMC.  If you have not watched Mad Men, the library owns seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and part one of the last season of the show.

If you need other ideas on things to do and see while you are in New York City, the library has different travel guides available for checkout.  Frommer’s Easy Guide to New York City, Explore New York and Lonely Planet’s New York City are a few examples of travel guides you may be interested in.

 

 

 

Downton Abbey is over?! Now what do I do??

- Stephanie 1 Comment

da coverSeason 5 of Downton Abbey is over. Season 6 is in production, but doesn’t have a release date. What are we supposed to dooo?? If you’re wondering just what you should read next or watch next so you keep the Downton spirit, never fear! One of our librarians has created a guide to help you find something similar called “If You Like Downton Abbey…”. Click through to explore.

If you’re new to Downton Abbey, this guide lists all the seasons available within the library, as well as books about the show and music from the different seasons. Downton Abbey on TV lists the seasons and other related materials the library owns.

Maybe you’re interested in finding out more about the history of Downton Abbey and other English homes in general. Did you know that the Downton Abbey estate is an actual place called Highclere Castle? Lady Cora is also based upon the Lady Almina, the Countess of Carnarvon, who lived at Highclere Castle. Check out the Downton History and Castles portion of the guide to learn more!

This guide also features a nonfiction section about downstairs and upstairs lives, another section with novels similar to Downton Abbey(this page also lists parodies and a graphic novel version!), as well as other related television shows and movies. Stroll through this guide and find something to tide you over until Downton Abbey season 6 comes back on the air.

And the Oscar Goes To….

- Bianca Leave a comment

The 85th Academy Awards® will air live on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, 2013.

 

The 87th Academy Award Ceremony was held on Sunday, February 22 in Hollywood California. Many of 2014’s best shows were given honors, and most of the winners will be making their way to the shelves during the next few months. Several have already arrived!

For a complete list of nominees and winners visit http://oscar.go.com/nominees

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Tells the tale of two friends working at a famous hotel between WWI and WWII. Winner for Best Costume Design, Makeup and Hair Style, Original Score, and Production Design.

Ida – A young woman in 1960’s Poland is about to take her holy vows to become a nun when she discovers a family secret. Winner Best Foreign Language Film.

Boyhood – The story of a boy growing up from ages six to eighteen. It was filmed over the course of twelve years. Winner Patricia Arquette for Best Supporting Actress.

Birdman – A dark comedy starring Michael Keaton as a washed up actor getting ready for opening night of the Broadway play he is in. Winner for Best Directing, Cinematography, Original Screenplay, and Motion Picture of the  Year.

Big Hero Six – A group of friends form a band of high tech super heroes. Winner Best Animated Feature Film.

Whiplash – A young drummer is pushed to the limits when he enrolls at a music conservatory. Winner for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Male Supporting Actor J.K. Simmons.

The Theory of Everything – The story of Stephen Hawking and his wife. Winner Eddie Redmayne for Best Actor. Coming in March.

 Imitation Game – Mathematicians try to crack the enigma code during WWII. Winner Best Adapted Screenplay. Coming in April.

Interstellar – With the world soon coming to an end, a group of explorers travel through a wormhole across the galaxy to find a new place for mankind. Winner for Best Visual Effects. Coming in April.

Crisis Hotline – A documentary about Veterans that have turned to the Veteran Crisis Hotline to help with trauma at home. Winner Best Documentary. Coming Soon. 

Still Alice – A woman struggling with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. Winner Julianne Moore for Best Actress. Coming Soon.

American Sniper – A Navy Seal Sniper returns home after four tours of duty in a war he can’t leave behind. Winner Best Sound Editing. Coming Soon.

Selma – Martin Luther King Jr.’s march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama for equal voting rights. Coming Soon

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Galentine’s Day!

- Ann Leave a comment

parks and redWhat, you’ve never heard of Galentine’s Day?! Why, it’s just the most wonderful holiday of the year! In the words of the infamous Leslie Knope:

“What’s Galentine’s Day? Oh, it’s only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas. — Leslie Knope”

In case you’re still befuddled, check out the delightfully off-center comedy Parks and Recreation, led by the amazing Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks department of fictional Pawnee, Indiana. A great ensemble cast, sharp and witty writing and characters that are both funny and real, this is a laugh-out-loud comedy with a big heart. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of watching Parks and Recreation, you’re in luck – the Davenport Library has all six seasons available on DVD (the seventh and final season of the series is running now with the final episode scheduled for February 24th – we’ll be getting that season on DVD as soon as it’s available) And the episode that introduces Galentine’s Day? Season 2, episode 16.

In case you’re wondering, Galentine’s Day has become real – you can buy Galentine’s Day cards for your BFFs and the internet and Pinterest are full of ideas for gifts and parties for your gal pals. And don’t worry guys – the celebrations are appropriate for you too! Friends are important no matter your gender.

Now go out there and celebrate your friends (preferably over breakfast)!

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on DVD

- Bianca Leave a comment

 

Mockingjay part 1The third motion picture in the Hunger Games franchise will hit the library in March, but you can reserve your copy today. Watch Katniss as she takes on the Capital in this action packed dystopia phenom.

Mockingjay Part 1 was  released into theaters November of last year and has 333 million dollars in sales in the United States! Due to the high demand of this title, the Davenport library has ordered 30 copies on DVD and will order 3 additional copies on Blu Ray when they become available. The quickest way to get a copy of this title in your hands is to place a hold in the online catalog as soon as possible. Once you make a hold, your name will be added to the list of holds. A copy of this title will be sent to the Rivershare library location of your choice when it is your turn.

Don’t want to wait your turn? Well you are in luck! When the library can anticipate a high demand for a title, we set aside what are called BROWSE copies. These are copies of a title that live only on the New shelves. They cannot be reserved. Every time you visit the library check out the New Books and New Movies shelving to see what BROWSE items are on the shelf. They will have a green tag that says BROWSE. You might just get lucky and find that Mockingjay Part 1 is sitting on the shelf.

Also available at all three Davenport libraries are the The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the first and second movies in the franchise.

The Verdict: Mockingjay will not disappoint! Three yeas ago I was one of the many Katniss crazed readers that devoured all three Hunger Games books in the weeks leading up to the first movie release, and I have patiently waited year after year as each new movie slowly hits the big screen. Mockingjay was great! The movie follows the book well but includes insight to things happening in other districts that aren’t as clear to visualize while reading the first person perspective of Katniss in the books.

Award Watch: Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) is nominated for best actress in an action movie by Broadcast Film Critics Association. For a list of other awards and nominations visit IMDb Mockingjay.

Fun Fact: Jennifer Lawrence also plays the mutant Mystique in X-Men First Class and X-Men Days of Futures Past and won an Oscar for Best Performance by a Female Actress for Silver Linings Playbook in 2013.

Gone Girl on DVD

- Bianca Leave a comment

Gone Girl DVDGone Girl starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike is now available at the library on DVD. Gone Girl is a mystery/thriller set in present day Missouri. The movie begins on the morning of the 5th wedding anniversary of Nick and Amy Dunne. Nick leaves for work, but returns home soon after at the urging of a concerned neighbor. Nick finds signs of a struggle and Amy gone. The movie takes us on a search to find out what happened to Amy. What makes this movie interesting? Many things, but I particularly like that it is told through a dual perspective. On the one hand there is the point of view of present day Nick Dunne while he works with family, friends, and the police to figure out what happened to Amy. Weaved in to the story are entries from Amy’s diary that span back seven years to when Amy and Nick first met. Good luck trying to figure out what is real and who is telling the truth! I promise you the final fifteen minutes will have your head spinning.

Gone Girl was originally released as a Mystery novel by Gillian Flynn in 2012.  Gone Girl is the third novel written by Flynn and the first to see the big screen.  A couple years ago I read this book at the urging of a coworker and I admit I was quite enthralled with it, though not completely  taken with the ending. Watching the movie, I almost wish I hadn’t read the book first because the mystery was now gone. It is hard for me to tell if Gone Girl was just better as a book or if reading the book spoiled the movie. Part of this may fall back on the fact that Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay to Gone Girl and stays incredibly true to the book. For those of you concerned about how this movie will end, don’t be! The majority of people that I speak to like the way the book/movie ends.

The Verdict: If mystery and thrills is your thing, then make a hold for Gone Girl today! If you haven’t read the book don’t worry as the story stays true to the book! If you have read the book and loved it, watch the movie and let me know what you think!

Award Watch: Gone Girl was nominated for 4 golden globes including Best Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Rosamund Pike has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. For a full list of awards visit IMBd Gone Girl.

Fun Fact: Gillian Flynn has written two other novels: Sharp Objects and Dark Places, both of which are being made into movies. Dark Places will be released this year as a made for TV movie and Sharp Objects is still in production.

 

Watch a Little TV with Me: America’s Most Watched Television Shows Available at Your Local Library

- Bianca Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Last summer TV Guide released an article titled America’s Most Watched: The Top 50 Shows of the 2013-2014 TV Season, and as you may have guessed it included a list of the 50 most watched TV shows last year. I thought it would be interesting to weigh the DPL video collection against what America is watching. Are we keeping our finger on the remote of the Nation?

As a rule I do not believe in suspense, so we are going straight to the top! The Big Bang Theory was named the top TV show of the 2013/2014 season based on number of viewers per episode according to TV Guide. At this point I have to ask myself, how have I never watched this show!? Honestly settling in to a Big Bang marathon has been in the back of my mind for quite some time. But I just keep putting it off because it isn’t on Netflix yet. Well guess what? It is season eight and it is still not available on Netflix yet it continues to be one of the most talked about shows on television. So I am taking matters into my own hands and utilizing the best free source of entertainment in the Quad Cities!

The Davenport Library did not disappoint me. There is a copy of the first season of The Big Bang Theory available at each library location. Further yet, Eastern and Main have complete seasons on the shelves! Perhaps that is a bit deceiving, since this show is incredibly popular you will likely need to place a hold as I did, but the wait on older seasons is usually a short one.

Enough about Big Bang, let’s look at the rest. Out of the 50 titles the Davenport Libraries carry 34 titles. You may be wondering why we don’t have them all. TV Guide rated all television programs, which includes live events and reality TV. However out of the 36 purchasable titles, we do own 34. While I won’t list all 34 of them, I will review some of my favorites.

The Walking Dead on AMC is ranked 4th on the TV Guide list and that is a well deserved place mark. About a year ago, I decided it was about time I get on The Walking Dead bandwagon and see what all the fuss was about. Zombies have never really appealed to me, but when a show hits a certain level of popularity you just have to watch at least one episode. While some fans may tune in for guts and gore, most of us have found ourselves relating to the show on a human level. The writers of this show excel at getting the audience to feel exactly what these characters are feeling. We all know zombies aren’t real, but we can understand and identify with the intense emotions of love, friendship, triumph, and loss. This show oozes all of those with every episode. There have been many times that I found myself at a loss for words as my heart breaks and soars for these characters. Full seasons available at Eastern and Main.

 Downton Abbey from PBS came out of nowhere and has exploded in popularity in the U.S. I’ll admit when this show jumped on my radar, I was quick to check out the first two seasons of this show because I have a deep love of historical fiction and period pieces. Downton is a world of it’s own. Each week we are transported back in time to the days of servants and masters, carriage rides and afternoon tea. What really makes this show a hit, is the strength of it’s characters. There are so many different personalities and story lines there seems to be someone for everyone. At the very least you will feel smarter each week as you learn a little more about upper class England in the early 1900’s. Sound like something you would like? All three libraries have multiple copies of each season, with the current airing season available soon.

Once Upon a Time broadcast on ABC is something the entire family can watch and enjoy. This year it seems I haven’t had much time for live TV, and this show was starting to pile up on my DVR. With more free time over the holidays, I started watching this season’s episodes with my six year old daughter and eight year old son. They are hooked! Now whenever we have a free hour together, we pile on the couch and play the episodes from this season. While my children are just tuning in, I have been a Once Upon a Time fan from the beginning, finding the pretense genius. All of your favorite fairy tale characters and their perspective stories weaved together with a present day twist. Each week brings something new to the stories we have all heard time and time again. What I like best about this show is that a traditional fairy tale villain can be a hero, and well known heroes can be villains. You never know who is going to be good and who will be bad when a new character is introduced. What you can always count on from this show is that good will always win in the end and true love conquers all.