Blog Post
TV Spotlight: Treme on DVD
by manz
Treme [truh-MAY] is an HBO television drama created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer. (The two previously worked together on Homicide and The Wire.) The show begins 3 months after Hurricane Katrina in the neighborhood of Treme in New Orleans. It focuses on various characters, including musicians, chefs, a DJ, a lawyer, and a series of locals, who are trying to put their lives and homes back together after their neighborhood was nearly destroyed.
The show is deeply moving as the viewer gets a close look at the damage and the long term effect it has on some of the characters. It has a wonderful cast, many who have worked with Simon before, including New Orleans native Wendell Pierce, who portrays a musician in Treme. The show also features many other locals to create the local flavor the creators desire in their productions. Between the acting, writing, and the subject matter, it’s a great human interest story as we look at the lives of those who lost. Being set in New Orleans, the show is also rich with music of all sorts. It flows through the streets and in every scene, and is one of the biggest characters in this television drama.
AADL currently owns season 1 and 2, season 3 will premier this fall on HBO, and a 4th season is planned. If you're attracted to the Hurricane Katrina aspect of Treme, check out some documentaries on the subject matter.
Blog Post
TV Spotlight: The IT Crowd
by manz
The hilarious British sitcom The IT Crowd is set at the fictional Reynholm Industries. The show revolves around three IT department staff members who dwell in the dank basement of the office. The department consists of a geeky genius named Moss, the lazy, girl-chasing Roy, and their boss Jen, who knows absolutely nothing about computers. Together they get the job done while not getting the job done, as they get themselves into and out of one wacky situation after the other. This is the kind of team who emails the fire department when a fire breaks out, then makes the small fire look like a screen saver in order to disguise the outbreak from the big boss.
You might like The IT Crowd if you’re into offbeat British comedies like The Office or Absolutely Fabulous. The show spanned four seasons, and seasons one and two are currently available at AADL.
Blog Post
Next Week in Booklists
by Professor Plum
Notable dates for the week of May 15 to May 21
May 17 Trent Reznor celebrates his 47th birthday
May 18 National Pizza Party Day. Where should we order pizza from? Hello Faz, College Inn, Cottage Inn, or make one ourselves?
Blog Post
TV Spotlight: Luther
by manz
BBC’s Luther is a psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba (The Wire) as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. Elba does a smashing job of portraying Luther, a brilliant yet troubled detective with a dark side. While battling crime in London he’s dealing with a prior case that haunts his existence, as well as coping with the fact that his wife has left him. Luther is an impulsive, emotionally-charged man, on the brink of violence, and often unable to control his emotions at times when he should.
The show focuses on Luther and the detectives he works with. As a twist, former murder suspect Alice decides to make Luther a new pet project and the two are locked in a battle of wits. That keeps things interesting, as they realize they have more in common than Luther would like. It’s a definite must-see for fans of British crime dramas or police procedurals. Thus far, Season 1 and Season 2 have been released on DVD, and a third season is in the works. After such cliff hanger endings, I can't wait!
Blog Post
This Week in Booklists
by Professor Plum
Notable dates for the week of May 8 to May 14
May 9 Take note of National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day
May 11 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded 85 years ago
May 12 Hug Your Cat Day and National Miniature Golf Day
May 13 Mother’s Day- Don’t forget to pick up flowers!
May 14 Underground America Basements : step by step Day
Blog Post
This Week in Booklists
by Professor Plum
Notable dates for the week of May 1 to May 7
May 1 May kicks off both National Bike Month and National Hamburger (or Veggie Burger) Month
May 2 Football player David Nugent turns 27. Go Leicester City!
May 3 Garden Meditation Day
May 4 Star Wars Day. May the Fourth be with you.
May 5 Cinco de Mayo!
May 6 World Laughter Day. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
May 7 Gary Cooper was born 111 years ago.
Blog Post
Top Ten Movies of All Time
by eby
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Once a decade Sight and Sound magazine does a poll of critics on their top 10 films of all time. While the 2012 poll is being compiled you can view previous poll results on their website. Roger Ebert has posted his choices for 2012 and explains why he chose them. While most of his choices stayed the same he did replace the Dekalog series with Tree of Life. Here is Roger's full list:
- Aguirre, Wrath of God (Herzog)
- Apocalypse Now (Coppola) - dvd version is redux, also available in blu-ray
- Citizen Kane (Welles) - also available in blu-ray
- La Dolce Vita (Fellini)
- The General (Keaton)
- Raging Bull (Scorsese) - also available in blu-ray
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick) - also available in blu-ray
- Tokyo Story (Ozu)
- The Tree of Life (Malick) - also available in blu-ray
- Vertigo (Hitchcock)
Blog Post
This Week in Booklists
by jaegerla
Notable dates for the week of April 24 to April 30
April 24 Alejandro Fernandez turns 41 years old
April 25 Red Hat Society Day. Those ladies know how to have a good time.
April 26 Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day!
Blog Post
A Connecticut Yankee in the Court of King Arthur
by Grace22
The Ann Arbor Young Actor's Guild will present a lively adaptation of Mark Twain's classic book on April 27 and 28. Twain's book tells the story of Hank Morgan, the quintessential self-reliant New Englander who brings to King Arthur’s Age of Chivalry the “great and beneficent” miracles of nineteenth-century engineering and American ingenuity. Through the collision of past and present, Twain exposes the insubstantiality of both utopias, destroying the myth of the romantic ideal as well as his own era’s faith in scientific and social progress.
Mark Twain first published his novel in 1889. Since then, this famous story has been adapted many times. In A Knight in Camelot Whoopi Goldberg plays a computer scientist whose computer malfunctions. This causes her to be sent back in time with her laptop. She uses the device to amaze the court of the 6th-century English King Arthur and his court.
It has been said that If Mark Twain were alive today, he'd probably be publishing interactive novels on the Web. Like many people of his time, he embraced new technological developments and saw them as a measure of human potential. But Twain was also keenly aware of the limitations of technology, as he shows in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.