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Hearts Beat Loud

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Hearts Beat Loud
Format: Digital Movie, DVD, Blu-ray
Who it’s for: Adults, Teens

If you like feel-good movies, about fathers and daughters, with great soundtracks, well, I’ve got a film for you:

Hearts Beat Loud stars Nick Offerman as Frank, and Kiersey Clemons as his daughter Sam. Frank and Sam’s mother were musicians. She died when Sam was little, and Frank never re-married. He’s been running a record shop for 17 years, but things are going to have to change. Sam is heading across the country soon, to pursue her dream of studying to become a doctor, and the record shop won’t support her out-of-state pre-med tuition.

Frank and Sam have regular jam sessions, and one night they play a song Sam has written, about her budding summer romance, which Frank records, and uploads to Spotify on a whim. To their surprise, the song becomes a hit, and the opportunity to pursue a career in music opens up to Sam and Frank. Frank has fantasies of their daddy-daughter-duo sweeping the indie rock scene, while Sam is firm about going to school, despite developing strong feelings for her new love. What will they do?

I thought Hearts Beat Loud was really sweet, and just what I needed to escape the complicated world we find ourselves in, just for a few hours. Offerman and Clemons have great chemistry, and the movie also features entertaining performances from Toni Collette as Frank’s landlady, and Ted Danson as his bar-owning best friend. This intergenerational story may also be a good movie for parents to share with their older children (it’s rated PG-13). Put the DVD or Blu-ray on hold, or stream it via Hoopla today!

Fighting with My Family

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Fighting with My Family
Format: DVD
Rating: PG-13

If you love to watch WWE, you are going to love this movie! “Fighting with My Family” revolves around Paige growing up in a tight-knit wrestling family. Paige and her brother Zak are given one ultimate shot to try out for WWE. Paige is the only one who earns a spot in the WWE training program. This movie is based on the true story of determination that leads Paige down the path that makes her a star.  This movie also stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and cameos many other WWE stars. You don’t have to be familiar with WWE wrestling to be able to understand this movie. Anyone who has fought hard for something will definitely relate to “Fighting with My Family” .

Find it in the catalog.

Killjoys

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Recommended TV Series
Series Title: Killjoys
by SyFy & Universal Studios
Format: TV Series on DVD
Who it’s for: [Teens, Adults,]

“From the producers of Orphan Black and the creator of Lost Girl comes Killjoys. This sci-fi adventure follows a fun-loving, hard living trio of interplanetary bounty hunters (a.k.a. Killjoys) sworn to remain impartial as they chase deadly warrants around the Quad, a system of planets on the brink of revolution. A motley crew that always has each other’s back, until a dark secret threatens to tear apart their trio for good. Follow their adventures and discover their secrets with all 10 episodes back-to-back and uninterrupted.”  – via SyFy and Universal Studios

I picked this up because a former coworker recommended it.  I was looking for a new Sci-fi series that was like Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, or Eureka.  The DVD cover was quite attractive and intrigued me. Plus it was produced by the SyFy channel. The show has many similar traits to Firefly, Star Wars, and other science fiction entertainment.  I really like space operas with action, adventure, mystery, a lil romance, and fun.  This show has all of those elements yet somehow they put their own unique spin on it.  It will feel familiar to regular fans of Sci-fi but not exactly, the same plot twists, friendships, villains, rebellions, romance, robots, etc. A good thing (or bad depending) is that the show was not produced in the USA. This means it is short; there are only 10 episodes per season.  You don’t have to carve out 2 months of your life to binge all four seasons. Since every episode ends with at least one cliffhanger, I would suggest you checkout all 4 seasons on DVD at one time.

(Killjoys television series is inspired by the comic series written by Gerard Way, The true lives of Killjoys. The collected issues 1-6 are available in print format in Calvert County and digital format on hoopla .)

I would recommend this to people who like a bit of magical mystery with their typical episodic adventure space show.

Click to Request Season 1-4 on DVD!

Gravity Falls

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Gravity Falls
Format: TV series on DVD
Who it’s for: Kids, Teens, Adults, Everyone

Twins Dipper and Mabel Pines have been sent to Gravity Falls, Oregon to spend the summer with their Great Uncle, or Grunkle, Stan, who runs the Mystery Shack, a tourist trap that peddles overpriced merchandise to anyone interested in Bigfoot, flying saucers, unicorns, and the like. But very soon after their arrival Dipper discovers a journal that leads him to believe the mythical things in Grunkle Stan’s shop could be based in reality, and Gravity Falls might be a hotbed of paranormal activity. It turns out there really are zombies, minotaurs, real live gnomes, and a number of other oddities in the woods surrounding the Mystery Shack, and Grunkle Stan may not be as oblivious to it all as he lets on!

This show is truly enjoyable for all ages. It’s got delightful humor for the kids and delicious mysteries for the grown-ups. The twins are the heart of the show: Dipper is slightly neurotic, Mabel is a bottomless well of effervescence, and they have a sweet, supportive sibling relationship. The cast includes the voices of Kristen Schaal, T.J. Miller, J.K. Simmons, Nathan Fillion, and Nick Offerman. It’s basically The X-Files meets Twin Peaks meets The Simpsons on the Disney channel and I am here for it. Are you? Find Gravity Falls in our catalog!