The Academy Awards: Better than Last Year...But Good?

The 88th Academy Awards have come and gone.  All I can say is PHEW...Mad Max Fury Road didn't win Best Picture.  All is right in the universe.  Though it did beat out some huge films and swept the technical categories taking home Best Production Design, Film Editing, Costume Design, Makeup, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing.  That being said, there were some pretty big upsets.  Ex Machina, one of my personal favorite films of the year took home Best Visual Effects over popular favorites like Star Wars and The Martian which was both surprising and well deserved.  Spotlight, a true underdog in my book, took home the most coveted award of Best Picture which was a delightful shock and Leo finally secured Best Actor for his role in The Revenant.  His acceptance speech was both humble and poignant as he used his time to talk about the problem of global warming and a variety of other world issues.  Brie Larson won Best Actress for her stunning role in the emotionally powerful Room which I'm still DYING to see.  Alejandro Inarritu secured Best Director for The Revenant, his second year in a row (last year he won for Birdman).  Final highlights included Ennio Morricone winning Best Score for his soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's Hateful Eight and Pixar's Inside Out taking home Best Animated feature.  As anyone knows though, the awards are only half the night.  Chris Rock was a great host who kept things light but decidedly topical focusing almost entirely on the lack of diversity in this years nominees.  A speech by the head of the Academy on diversifying Hollywood added a seriousness to Rock's jokes as she addressed the audience directly and called for all involved in the process of making movies to try harder to include more people of color in the film industry.  Overall, the night was just what I've come to expect from the Academy Awards.  A few upsets, some hit and miss jokes, some long winded speeches, and some poor choices.  But hey, at least they raised over $65,000 for the Girl Scouts of America by selling cookies to tipsy celebrities.

Hoopla Highlights - Movies

Hoopla is set to launch here at the DFL on October 19th!  There are SO MANY amazing films to see and with no holds or waiting, you can watch wherever you want, whenever you want.  Below is a small sampling of the large selection of movies in all genres that will be available to all DFL library card holders.  Next week I'll profile some of the incredible music selection available just before we go live.  Time to get excited!

Philomena

Nominated for several Academy Awards, this incredible true story about a mothers half century long search for her adopted son will make you laugh and pull at your heartstrings all at once.  Judy Dench and Steve Coogan have a magical chemistry and provide us with a film that transcends the medium.

Django Unchained

This Quentin Tarantino directed “Western” stars Jamie Foxx as escaped slave Django who enters into an agreement with bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in an attempt to rescue his wife from the clutches of an evil slaveholder named Calvin Candie.  The supporting roles by Christopher Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio are stupendous and the films storyline is both unique, refreshing, and action packed.  Tatantino’s style is easily recognizable and makes the 2 hour+ timeline fly by.  You find yourself anxiously awaiting the next turn of events throughout each and every scene; truly a cinematic triumph.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

The life of Nelson Mandela is a difficult one to portray.  His story was one marred by tragedy and wrongful persecution.  And yet his triumph is an uplifting ray of hope amidst so much suffering.  Idris Elba’s portrayal of the South African president before, during and after the horrors of apartheid is an incredible achievement.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

This heist movie gone rogue has achieved a level of cult success since its initial release in 1998 and has an intriguing and unqiue plot which keeps you guessing up until the very end.  While the sheer number of characters and complex storyline leave you confused at times, all is made clear by the films climax.  The movie feels like a dirty, British version of any number of more mainstream crime films albeit with a grittier aesthetic.  Jason Statham is in his element, long before he was the heartthrob with an accent in The Italian Job.

Return to the Wild

The story of Christopher McCandless is one of tragedy and inspiration.  It’s a tale of life itself and what it means to be alive.  This documentary film examines the popular book “Into the Wild” which tells the tale of the young McCandless’ trek into the Alaskan wilderness and subsequent death from starvation.  With new interviews, letters, and personal accounts, the film sheds new light on the life of a young man who in the words of Henry David Thoreau, just wanted trek into the woods and live deliberately.  

Hoopla is Coming to the DFL!!!

So for those who don't know, there is a TON of music and movies right here for your listening and viewing pleasure at the Duxbury Free Library.  But is there some obscure band from the 80's we don't have?  Some classic flick which we don't stock?  Odds are that Hoopla.com has it among its tens of thousands of titles which will soon be available to YOU courtesy of the DFL.  Hoopla is a service similar to Zinio or Freegal which libraries can subscribe to and it allows for a set number of checkouts each month per patron.  They have books, audiobooks, graphic novels, music, movies and TV shows.  Each month you'll be able to check out 6-8 of any or all of these digital items.  No waiting, no holds, no late fees.  When your time is up, the item gets automatically returned and at the end of the month your checkouts get reset so you can take out EVEN MORE.  You can watch, read, or listen on you computer, tablet, OR phone with an internet connection and you can even download the music/audio you rent (temporarily) so you can listen free of WiFi.  Stay tuned for more updates and look for Hoopla to be available to every DFL card holder sometime in October!  In the meantime, check out all the amazing titles they have to offer below and start planning your first checkouts today.

Hoopla!!!

Ted and I are BACK with another episode of our podcast where we discuss the movies and music we experienced over the summer.  Films we loved (Ex-Machina, Kingsman), films we hated (Jupiter Ascending, Mission Impossible 4) and music we saw live (Pile, Tim McGraw, J. Cole).  We also talk about music festivals and rumors of a new Northeast festival in talks for next year PLUS what we're looking forward to in the coming months (Ted's going to see Tyler, the Creator and A$AP Rocky!).  Keep an eye out for more in the coming weeks and check out this episode below!

Music and Movies with Mike and Ted - What We Did Over the Summer

New Podcast is Up!

Our 6th podcast is up on the Soundcloud!  For this episode we discuss musical genres and how they affect what we listen to.  We discuss whether or not you can take generic genre's like "Indie" at face value and if artists should reserve the right to call themselves what they feel best represents their art.  We dip briefly into the movie realm with a minor bit on actors getting typecast but stick to the tunes for this one primarily.  Check it out and let us know your opinion in the comments!!

What genre is that artist??

Latest from Music and Movies with Mike and Ted

Check out the latest podcast with my partner in crime Ted Wahle as we interview local Duxbury up and coming rapper Jon Bartley.  We discuss his origins, inspirations, goals, and a whole slew of things relating to the experience of the independent musician in today's musical landscape.  Find his first two albums on Soundcloud and check out one of his tracks at the end of the interview.  IT'S CRAZY GOOD.

Movies and Music with Mike and Ted - Jon Bartley Interview

Episode Three of Music and Movies with Mike and Ted

Episode three of our podcast is up and running!  We discuss award shows, whether the Grammy's is a popularity contest, and our five favorite comedies of all time!  Give it a listen and stay tuned for more episodes to come!  Next week we plan on discussing movie franchises and how many only serve to destroy a once fabulous film.  We're looking at you Indiana Jones!

Music and Movies with Mike and Ted - Episode 3

New Music and Movie Podcast!!!

I've started a new podcast with a fellow music and movie lover here in Duxbury.  We'll bring fresh topics, interesting discussion, and all around good vibes to two subjects you could spend 10 lifetimes talking about.  Check back weekly for new additions.  Listen to the first iteration below.

Music and Movies with Mike and Ted

Oscar Noms are In!!

It's that time of year again folks.  The month where everyone anxiously awaits the decisions of the esteemed Motion Picture Academy of America as they decide who made the best films of 2014.  While the nominations this year have drawn criticism from many, the lineup is most definitely a strong set of films.  I'm thrilled that Wes Anderson is finally getting his rightful recognition as The Grand Budapest Hotel is tied with Birdman with nine total nominations, more than any other film.  The nods include Best Picture and Best Director.  Other notable films up for awards include The Imitation Game, Richard Linklater's masterpiece Boyhood and the the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything among many others.  Check out the full list of nominations in each category below.

2015 Oscar Nominations

A Little About Me

      My name is Michael and I have been working here at the DFL for a little over a year and a half.  I have an unrelenting passion for music.  I went to my first show when I was 16 for my friends 15th birthday.  We saw The Aquabats and Reel Big Fish at the Avalon on Lansdowne Street in Boston.  It was an incredible experience and one that made a lasting impression on me.  From then on, seeing arena rock bands like Aerosmith or the Foo Fighters just didn't have the same feel.  Don't get me wrong, they are undeniably GREAT bands to see live, but they don't give you the same feeling as being squished against the stage and moving and jumping around just to try and stay right side up.  There is something personal about seeing small shows that I've always loved and it's defined my musical interest ever since Christian Jacobs (aka The MC Bat Commander) lead singer for the Aquabats, threw inflatable pool toys and opened water bottles out into the writhing, homogonized mass of heads and limbs that I was a part of. 
      I read about music, I talk about music, and most importantly I listen to music.  There is a style of music out there for everybody and I enjoy finding out what people like and why.  Hopefully through some of my writing on this blog, those who read it will come out knowning a little something new or experiencing a style or genre of music they previously would have ignored.  At the end of the day, the beauty of music is that it is enjoyed in some form or another by everyone, all over the world.  There is so much of it out there that at times it can feel daunting, but my goal is to hopefully make finding a few new tunes something easy and enjoyable.