tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38634350031689075222024-02-08T05:57:18.856-08:00World MovieAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-28305127633445597152013-10-05T21:41:00.000-07:002013-10-27T21:42:02.298-07:00Great Riddlers: Neil Gaiman<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Neil Gaiman is a well-known English writer who has a very diverse
portfolio. He has written successful novels, comic books, graphic
novels, short stories and poems. Aside from art in the written form, he
has also been involved in film. He co-wrote the screenplay for the movie
MirrorMask. His works have earned him a large variety of awards and he
has even set the record for being the first person to earn the Newbery
and Carnegie awards for a single novel. He earned these awards for his
2008 novel The Graveyard Book. His childhood and his education were
fairly normal but he was already reading fairly well by the age of four.
He loved reading and had read vast amounts of novels by the time he was
a young teenager, developing his style and interests. Later he became a
fan of science fiction, which sparked his own novels in the genre. One
lesser studied aspect of Neil Gaiman is his riddles. Riddles play a
notable part in his works.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Neil Gaiman's use of riddles throughout
his works is very similar to many other modern writers, but he puts his
own twist on them as well. In his novels he uses riddles as a way to
test the wit of his characters. Riddles are posed to characters in the
story and they must find the answer to prove themselves worthy of
something. In contrast, he uses riddles in his poetry to create
metaphors to represent larger ideas, a practice very common in poetry
since the Greeks. Another way he uses riddles in his works is to teach
lessons. Riddles are a very good way to teach people about real world
principals, and making them think about it along the way. His use of
riddles throughout his works demonstrates how useful they can be as
literary devices in art.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One riddle that Neil Gaiman discusses in
one of his works, the film MirrorMask, is not one of his own; but it is a
great riddle all the same. The riddle includes asking somebody a riddle
and giving them an answer that makes no sense. In this situation the
riddle is "What is it that hangs on the wall, is green, wet -- and
whistles?" The supplied answer makes no sense at all with the riddle as
given. The answer is a herring which fits none of the criteria. But when
the person who is posed the riddle protests each of the clues the
person who asked the riddle just adds stipulations to the herring to
make the riddle work, such as, the herring can be painted. This type of
riddle is used to teach the idea that solutions and actions do not have
to make direct logical sense because they can be shifted to make sense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Neil
Gaiman is a very diverse artist making novels, comics, films and more.
He has achieved many of the highest literary awards and will continue to
make art for years to come, and hopefully more riddles.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-53570954970582548392013-09-29T20:43:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:44:12.043-08:00Skyfall Movie Review<div style="text-align: justify;">
Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in this movie that is also
celebrating 50 years since the Bond franchise began. After a lengthy
delay, and the 50 year celebrations, there was plenty of hype behind
this, but did it live up to the expectations I had?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The movie
starts off with a solid start. We begin with Bond hunting down an
assassin who has just taken out a bunch of agents and taken a hard drive
that holds valuable information. After an excellent chase scene Bond
ends up being shot and falling off train that is travelling over a
bridge and we last see Bonds body going down a waterfall. He is missing
presumed dead, but come on, its Bond, it wouldn't be much of a film if
he was.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bond has been living under the radar for six months, since
his apparent death. An attack on MI6 forces Bond to come back from
obscurity to the aid of the British secret service. However, Bond looks
more weather-beaten, older and damaged since coming back, and no longer
the agent he was. M however signs him fit for duty and re-assigns him to
locate the man he was originally chasing at the start of the movie. The
hard drive that was stolen contained information for every undercover
operative in the world, and could expose every undercover spy in the
secret service.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This movie does include some exotic locations and
excellent fight scenes, but this more Bond back to his roots, I felt
like this movie took more from the novels than the movies. It tells a
story, there is only action when the story requires it, the plot was
extremely well done with some nods to the Bond of old, including seeing
the old Astin Martin that Connery often drove, complete with ejector
seat and machine guns, and a little sprinkling of the old Bond theme for
great effect.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The main villain of the plot, and ex-agent himself,
Raoul Silva is an excellent villain for Bond, he is eccentric, odd and
most certainly insane. He comes across as a modern version of classic a
classic Bond villain, with shades of Red Grant, Goldfinger and
Scaramanga mixed together with a modern kick. Javier Bardem is
definitely a memorable villain and seems to enjoy every second of
playing the character. He does an outstanding job and makes ensures this
character has a lasting impact on the Bond franchise.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We also get
to see a lot more of M, who takes a central role for the first time in
this movie and it is great to see. She stands up well on her own to feet
and discover the is a lot more to her character than simply being the
head of the secret service. Q is also re-introduced as a young man looks
barely old enough to be out of school. He doesn't give Bond any
'exploding pens', he is definitely showing Q as being more practical
than over the top gadgets.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Danile Craig is flawless as Bond, I
remember when he was first announced and I certainly gave him a
luke-warm reception, but he has actually done a fantastic job since
coming into the role. Here he shows a vulnerable side to Bond, he plays
the part to perfection. You can see when he comes back he is not quite
ready, and he is not quite the same man he was, and Craig does a great
job of expressing that to the audience. I think this is Daniel Craig's
best Bond performance to date. With the plot allowing for a lot more
character development gives the characters and the actors time to shine
and that is exactly what Craig does. This is one of the best Bond
performances I have seen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What makes this movie great is all of
the nods it gives to the stories of old without becoming cliche, it is
stylish, sophisticated and slick, but respects it roots. I think Bond is
ready to go in a new direction and it has been done in the right way.
Not only does this Bond movie stand up against any other Bond movie, but
is also stands up against any other spy movie out today.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-84666699369274091352013-09-19T20:42:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:43:06.544-08:00The Last Dragon Movie Review<div style="text-align: justify;">
Being born in the 80's and being a martial arts fan as a kid, I was
always going to have a soft spot for this movie. I came across it when I
was only small and because the name sounded familiar (Enter the Dragon
being my favourite movie at the time). I didn't know then that this
would be one of the only times it was ever shown to my knowledge on UK
TV. I have never seen it on tv since, and only just recently
re-purchased the DVD.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The movie is about a Kung Fu student named
"Bruce" Leeroy Green, who wants to reach the final level, a feat only
Bruce Lee achieved. The final level is achieved when you are surronded
by a mystical glow, showing you are a true kung fu master. Leeroy's
master tells him to go and search for a Kung Fu master in New Yor kby
the name of Som Dum Guy. At the same time he has fallen for Music Video
presenter Laura Charles who wants him to be his body guard to help her
from Videogame King Eddie Arcadian. An evil Kung Fu master by the name
of Sho-Nuff has also returned to town and wants to fight Leeroy, so he
can be the kung fu master of Harlem.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The movie was made by Berry
Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, so naturally the soundtrack is
outstanding. The movie features the best of R&B and hip-hop from the
time, sprinkled with martial arts references, including 'Rythm of the
Night' and '7th Heaven'. The soundtracks is one of the best I have heard
in a movie and is strong throughout, with a very strong eighties vibe.
If you own a soundtrack for a movie, this has to be it. It is
particularly awesome when Laura Charles starts playing a song in the 7th
Heaven studio and puts on Enter the Dragon, Leeroy gets WAY to
exciting, it is slightly worrying at this point. The only one bad point
about the music in the movie is Eddie Arcadian's girlfriend wants to be a
popstar and is terrible, but unfortunately we have to suffer through
her eye wateringly bad music video.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sho-Nuff the main bad guy in
the movie played by Julius J. Carry III is brilliant. He is one of the
best movie bad guys ever, no-one can touch him. He walks about with
giant shoulder pads and claims to be 'The Shogun of Harlem'. He has
classic lines such as 'Kiss my converse' and is unforgettable. I will be
honest he steals the movie from under the nose of Taimak.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Taimak
plays 'Bruce' Leeroy Green, and it is surprising to know that he had no
previous acting experience, and learned on the set as he worked. He does
put in a fantastic shift. The fighting scenes are amazing and he is
definitely worthy of being called a kung fu master, his acting may be
slightly wooden at times, but considering this is his first role ever,
he does a brilliant job, and lets be honest his fighting scenes more
than make up for it,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I also think Leeroys brother Richie is
fantastic, he is hilarious in the movie and a great little actor here.
He is played by Leo O'Brien.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The plot of the movie is slightly
basic, but it is a good entertaining movie that is easy to follow and
heavy on entertainment. It never slows down to much and you learn enough
about the characters to at least care about them a little. They are
pretty one dimensional and not very complicated but so what, it is a
great movie, and the action and music makes up for it.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-85090762594336570752013-09-04T20:41:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:41:56.901-08:00The Life and Career of Stephen Dorff<div style="text-align: justify;">
Stephen Dorff Jr. was born on July 29, 1973, in Atlanta, Georgia. He
is the son of Steve Dorff, a country music songwriter who has worked
with such luminaries as George Strait and Clay Walker, garnering
multiple awards nominations. He also has composed the score for several
television shows, making this a true show business family. Steve and his
wife have another son, Andrew, who is a songwriter just like his
father.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Though Dorff was born in Atlanta, his father's work was
largely in Los Angeles, so the family relocated there, and that is where
Dorff and his brother were raised. He attended several private schools
in the area, mostly because he kept getting kicked out of them. By
Dorff's own count, he was expelled at least five times from various
schools in the Los Angeles area.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Despite his troublemaker status
at school, casting directors in Hollywood seemed to love the fresh-faced
kid, and Dorff soon became a child actor. He was first cast in several
commercials for products such as Mattel toys and Kraft foods. By the
mid-1980s, he had turned to much bigger acting gigs, actively pursuing
film and television roles. His first gig was a one-time guest appearance
in 1985 on the popular television show "The New Leave it to Beaver."
The same year, he also got a one-time guest gig as Scott on the classic
comedy series "Diff'rent Strokes."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dorff didn't land a single gig
in 1986, but then came back into the fold in 1987, when he got his first
part in a television movie called "In Love and War" with Jane Alexander
and James Woods. Later that year, he also landed his first feature
film, a horror movie called "The Gate." Not only was it his first major
motion picture, it was a lead role that got him noticed by more casting
directors, who were suddenly eager to cast Dorff in their films, even as
his troubles at school mounted.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The year 1988 was a big one for
the young actor, who was cast in a total of four made-for-television
movies. By 1989, he was appearing in guest roles on television again,
mixing those gigs in with more television movies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Many child
actors find the transition to becoming adult actor to be a hard one, and
many act out and rebel, turning to drugs and alcohol to deal with their
issues. Although Dorff was kicked out of several schools, he never got
arrested or did any hard drugs, though he does admit to smoking and
partying during his youth. He credits his mom and dad with keeping him
in check and not allowing him to go completely wild.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Unlike many
of his peers, Dorff seemed to transition easily into adult roles,
especially in feature films. His big breakout that made him a bona fide
adult actor was as Stuart Sutcliffe in "Backbeat," a biopic about the
early days of legendary band The Beatles. Dorff received rave reviews
for his turn as the tragic "fifth Beatle," paving the way for him to get
equally prestigious roles in future productions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After
"Backbeat," Dorff began working at a torrid pace, mostly in feature
films, averaging between three and four films each year. Some of his
more notable work was in films like "I Shot Andy Warhol," where he
played the person who literally shot Andy Warhol. However, it wasn't
until 1998 that his career would truly enter the next level, when he was
cast as head vampire Deacon Frost in the vampire hit " <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3863435003168907522" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Blade</a>
" starring Wesley Snipes. He got much acclaim for his villainous turn,
which was a big departure from the roles he usually took.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He
continued to work steadily in films, and even managed to pop up in the
occasional music video. Many wondered when the busy actor would settle
down, but Dorff was in no hurry to marry or have kids. In fact, the
actor, who is now in his 40s, has never married and keeps his life very
private.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-75503259395386114282013-08-26T20:39:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:39:37.213-08:00X Factor: Er, Haven't We Seen You Before?<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Has the X Factor exhausted the talent pool for contestants? We
ask this question because the amount of returnees to the X Factor in
2013 seems to be huge. In the three weeks of being back on our screens
there has been countless occasions where it has been reminded to us that
a particular singer had already auditioned.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Amy Motram, Jade
Richards, Melanie McCabe, Stephanie Woods, Dolly Rockers, all hopefuls
for 2013 and all names that have sang in front of those judges before.
But have they really gone away and perfected their performance or are
the X Factor's producers now just scraping the barrel of talent?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Perhaps
before casting aspersions though it should be a case of looking on an
individual basis. Take Stephanie Woods for example, she was just 14 when
when she first auditioned, perhaps too young to be in such a
competition, but first time round she did make it to the Judges' House
stage of the competition. Now 20 though, she's back and wowing the
judges, receiving a unanimous "yes" to put her through to the arena
auditions. She even reduced former mentor Sharon Osbourne to tears!
Perhaps Stephanie summed up her return to the competition best, she told
the judges "I've said if I don't get through today or this year then
it's not meant to be but I want it so bad now, I'm so ready".</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But
on the other hand let's look at Jade Richards. Now 23, and four stone
lighter, Jade is hoping for third time lucky in 2013. But what with her
weight loss, does Jade think that it was her image that was the cause of
her failure in 2011 and 2012?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
She was originally ditched from the
show at the Judges' House stage in 2011 by Kelly Rowland but after a
return to the show last year she didn't even make it past Boot Camp. Now
after following a strict exercise and healthy eating regime she is
back, complete with long sleek extensions in place of her jet black
frizzy hair. Her new look was welcomed by the judges though, who hardly
even recognised her, but perhaps it is more marketable?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Jade's
reasons for returning are clear, "I worked at a supermarket for a wee
while and everybody that came told me to come back," she told the panel.
"The more and more people said that, the more I thought, 'that's what I
should do'."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's not just individuals making the return either,
groups are doing it too. This year's X Factor has seen the return of
Dolly Rockers who previously competed in the third series of X Factor
back in 2006. The girl group, complete with a line-up change weren't so
successful however with the judges sending them home after their arena
audition last week. Maybe the Dolly Rockers are an example to others
wishing to try their luck in the competition once again? Perhaps the
Dolly Rockers, who have had minor hits with their singles, "Je Suis Une
Dolly" and "Gold Digger", and perhaps even other acts, should accept the
X Factor is not the competition for them?</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-52143883964588102052013-08-19T20:37:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:38:00.952-08:00Biography for Xavier Samuel<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Xavier Samuel is an Australian actor who was born in Hamilton,
Victoria, although he grew up in Adelaide, South Australia. Xavier's
parents are Clifford and Maree Samuel. He has an older sister named
Bridget and a younger brother named Benedict. Bridget is a stage
manager, and Benedict is an actor, producer, and writer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He
completed his high-school years at Rostrevor College and graduated from
that institution in 2001. He played Tom Snout in Shakespeare's "A
Midsummer Night's Dream" in his final year at Rostrevor. Samuel enrolled
at Christian Brothers College in 2001, studying drama under the
guidance of Amanda Portus. He also began attending Flinders University
Drama Centre in 2005, playing Hamlet in his graduate production. He
studied under Professor Julie Holledge, a well-known acting teacher at
Flinders.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He is best known for his role as Riley Biers in the 2010
movie "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." He has also played leading roles in
"A Few Best Men,""Further We Search," "Newcastle," "The Loved Ones,"
and "September." Samuel's professional acting debut was in the role of
Jason in 2003 on the Australian television show "McLeod's Daughters." He
also played Belvile in "The Rover," a 2005 CBC production. His
professional stage performances include the role of Colin in the
Windmill Performing Arts production of "Two Weeks with the Queen" in
2006. He also performed in "Osama the Hero" at The Old Fitzroy Theatre
in 2006. Samuel's next stage role was in "Mercury Fur" at the Griffin
Theatre.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He has primarily acted in movies since 2006. He played
Theo in "2:37" and Will Turner in "Angela's Decision," which were both
released in 2006. His next movie was the 2007 production "September," in
which he played Ed Anderson. Samuel played the part of Fergus in the
movie "Newcastle" and Boyd in "Dream Life," both of which were released
in 2008.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Samuel starred in three productions during 2009. The
first was a short work entitled "Drowning," in which he appeared as Dan.
"Drowning" was directed by Craig Boreham and also starred Miles Szanto,
star of "Elephant Princess." His next film was the horror/thriller "The
Loved Ones," appearing in the lead role of Brent. "The Loved Ones"
received several nominations for awards, although it failed to win any.
Samuel also played Age in the 2009 feature "Further We Search."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
His
breakout performance was in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" as Riley
Biers, a role for which he was cast in early 2010. This movie was a
blockbuster that provided Samuel with international exposure. GQ
Australia interviewed him in November 2010 regarding the casting
process. Samuel stated that he sent an audition tape to the producers
and was surprised to receive a response. He also said that it was
bizarre and wonderful that the gamble paid off.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
His performance in
"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" earned him several award nominations. He
won the 2011 MTV Movie Award for Best Fight, which he shared with Bryce
Dallas Howard and Robert Pattinson. He was also nominated for the MTV
Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance. Additional award
nominations for Samuel include the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice
Award for Favorite Movie Star, the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie
Male Breakout, and the Scream Awards for Best Male Breakthrough
Performance.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Samuel's next performance was the lead role of Marcus
in the 2010 Australian horror flick "Road Train," which was released as
"Road Kill" in the United States. He also appeared as Henry Wriothesley
in the 2011 production of "Anonymous." The 2012 movie "A Few Best Men"
starred Samuel as David, and he also appeared in the 2012 movie "Bait."
Additional features in which he has appeared include the short movie
"Sanctuary" in which he played Brother. He also played Jimmy Fisher in
"Drift" and Ian in the Australian-French drama "<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3863435003168907522" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Adore</a>."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He
will appear in two other movies that are currently in post-production.
The erotic thriller "Plush" is scheduled for release in September, 2013,
and Samuel plays the lead role of Enzo opposite Emily Browning's
Hayley. Enzo is a troubled guitarist who attempts to seduce Hayley and
becomes a threat to her and those around her when she refuses his
advances. The Australian drama "Healing" will star Xavier Samuel and is
scheduled for release in 2014. This movie also stars Laura Brent,
Justine Clarke, Anthony Hayes, Robert Taylor, and Hugo Weaving. It's
directed by Craig Monahan, who also wrote the screenplay along with
Alison Nisselle.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-21260280416860070252013-08-09T20:35:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:35:56.876-08:00Thanks for Sharing - Movie Review<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sex addiction seems to be Hollywood's newest obsession with the
dramatic comedy "Thanks for Sharing," the drama "Shame," the comedy "Don
Jon," and television's "Californication." Although writer-director
Stuart Blumberg surely had good intentions for his film "Thanks for
Sharing," its focus is too broad to satisfy most movie goers. Perhaps
that's the secret of success for those other productions about sex
addiction: a narrowed focus on one person and one addiction.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Thanks for Sharing</em>
(which gets its name from the meeting mantra expressed by recovering
addicts) explores three men in a sex addiction recovery group and to a
lesser extent one woman. The film looks briefly at their romantic
relationships, families, friendships with each other, symptoms,
temptations, and the overall group dynamics. That's a lot to cover in
112 minutes - too much, in fact.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>The Story of Three Addicts</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mark
Ruffalo stars as Adam, a recovering sex addict who is five years
"sober." He's embarking on a new romance with Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow), a
beautiful cancer-surviving over-achiever. She immediately reveals her
breasts are fake because the old ones tried to kill her. However, Adam
gives an evasive half-truth when she asks him if he's an alcoholic
because she wants to avoid addicts like her ex-boyfriend. His initial
secret will obviously surface later at the most inconvenient time
possible. We learn almost nothing about Phoebe's history or why she
consistently attracts addicts into her life, nor does Adam share the
story of how his addiction originated.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
His sponsor, Mike (Tim
Robbins, whose performance is exceptionally strong here), gave his wife
(Joely Richardson) a disease through his former sex addiction (now 12
years sober) and deals ineffectively with his grown son (Patrick Fugit),
who has an ongoing drug addiction. While Mike remains the 12-Step guru
at their daily meetings, he's often out of control with his family. The
hints of family dysfunction could be a movie entirely by themselves.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then
there's Neil (Josh Gad), a pervert just beginning rehab who rubs
against women on the subway and films up his boss's skirt. After a court
order to attend the meetings and an embarrassing firing from work (he
was employed as an emergency room doctor at a hospital), Neil hits rock
bottom and finally recognizes his need for help. Obese, out of shape,
and constantly sweaty (the main source of humor in this comedy), he has a
strange relationship with his mother (Carol Kane), which is not
developed enough to provide insight into his disturbing behaviors.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Strength in Numbers</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Neil
befriends a newbie to the group, Dede (Alecia Moore a.k.a the singer
Pink) who comes to the group for freedom from her nightmarish addiction.
Together the two friends are much stronger than they are when apart.
Once again, this developing platonic relationship could have been its
own movie. We learn nearly nothing about Dede except during her initial
admission at the meeting that she's a sex addict and craves her abusive
ex-boyfriend.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
While acting is top-notch throughout, there's just
not enough meat on these bones to make a meal. Had the film focused on
one family, one relationship, manifestations of the addiction, treatment
of the addiction, or the origin of the addiction, audiences would have a
more satisfying experience. As it is, we are given just enough
information about the characters to pique our interest, but not enough
to really care about any of them. Unfortunately <em>Thanks for Sharing</em> raises more questions than it answers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><em>Thanks for Sharing</em></strong></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>
Three male sex addicts in various stages of recovery develop relationships between themselves and others with mixed results.</li>
<li>
Starring Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Gad, Joely
Richardson, Alecia Moore, Patrick Fugit, Carol Kane, Isiah Whitlock Jr.,
Emily Meade</li>
<li>
Director: Stuart Blumberg</li>
<li>
Writers: Stuart Blumberg, Matt Winston</li>
<li>
Genre: Comedy/Drama</li>
<li>
Run Time: 112 minutes</li>
<li>
MPAA Rating: R (for language and strong sexual content)</li>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-36691230788766934302013-07-28T20:33:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:34:37.472-08:00Some of the Most Misunderstood Films of All Time<div style="text-align: justify;">
Compared to painting, sculpture, or music, movies are an extremely
young artistic medium. The unique implications of a moving camera
compared to a live performance are so vast that it has taken many years
for film to fully develop as an artistic medium. It's natural,
therefore, that filmmakers should have experimented with a wide variety
of different forms and narrative techniques. Imagine their frustration
when their movies, which they had carefully written, nurtured through
development, and finally released, were vividly misunderstood by the
very audiences the films were aimed at. These are just a few of those
misunderstood gems.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Shining</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When the talk turns to
misunderstood classics, there's hardly a better starting point than the
filmography of Stanley Kubrick, who spent the better part of thirty
years acting as a sort of one-man misunderstanding machine.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In
"The Shining," Kubrick knocked horror fans for a loop by driving them up
to a spooky old mansion in the mountains and throwing at them a
monster, who turned out to be a normal guy. No rubber suits, no aliens,
and not even one car chase were worked into this thriller. Audiences
took it as a simple story about an ax murderer. What those audiences
overlooked was that the film, and the book on which it was very loosely
based, had many kinds of subtext. Author Stephen King has publicly
stated that the book was a meditation on his own struggles with
alcoholism. Kubrick, for his part, left his own interpretation open to
speculation. Entire cottage industries exist to decipher the symbolism
in Kubrick's movies, and "The Shining" is no exception. Quite a lot of
evidence has been gathered-online, naturally-in support of "The Shining"
being an extended metaphor for the domination of the Americas by white
Europeans. As usual, everybody is free to interpret the film through
their own lens, but one thing "The Shining"isn'tis a simple slasher pic.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Starship Troopers</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nothing
sets off the alarm klaxons faster than a cheerful depiction of fascism.
"Cheery" and "fascist" don't usually go together, but Paul Verhoeven's
"Starship Troopers" manages just that. The film is surprisingly close to
the original novel by Robert Heinlein. Audiences, especially in Europe,
took the happy-go-lucky depiction of a delightful future dictatorship
at face value and accused the film's director of trying to smuggle
extremism into theaters. Paul Verhoeven has vehemently refuted the
charge, but the joke's on him after all. Much like Heinlein,
Verhoeven-himself a former refugee from Nazi aggression-got caught in a
trap. Heinlein's original intent was to depict the horrors of fascism
without rubbing his readers' noses in gore. Anyone can horrify an
audience with footage of concentration camps, goes the thinking, but to
really devastate the extremists' case one should show a best-case
scenario for fascism. The society in "Starship Troopers" is a deliberate
attempt to show fascism at its absolute best. A society of law and
order. A society that works. It's also a society that isn't good for
anything but war and murder, which astute viewers might have noticed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The
trap here is that the temptation to make positive suggestions seems to
have gotten the better of them both. Halfway through the book, Heinlein
finds himself shoehorning in every great idea he'd ever had about good
government, but putting the words in the mouths of characters who've
already been set up as rabid militarists. While Verhoeven resists the
temptation for the most part, even he can't entirely resist making the
film a fun adventure story.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wall Street</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Wall Street" is
another movie that was intended to teach a lesson, only to see it
backfire horribly. According to filmmaker Oliver Stone, the character of
Gordon Gekko was always intended to be an absurd caricature of '80s-era
greed and short-sighted policy. Gekko's iconic "greed is good" speech
was intended as a send-up of the extremist Objectivism found in "Atlas
Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Imagine Oliver Stone's surprise,
therefore, when an entire generation of supply-side bond traders
started slicking back their hair, shopping for Armani, and giving
similar speeches about the virtues of selfishness to their hapless
interns. To his credit, Stone did try to undo some of the damage in the
2010 sequel, " <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3863435003168907522" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Money Never Sleeps</a>."
Unfortunately, the film was doomed to fall short of the iconic status
of its predecessor, so the "greed is good" line seems doomed to be
repeated infinitum.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-32715577049005663082013-07-11T20:32:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:32:22.543-08:00Jake Gyllenhaal: A Biography<div style="text-align: justify;">
With the September 20, 2013, release of "Prisoners," fans are lining
up to find out everything they can about one of the film's lead actors,
Jake Gyllenhaal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The American actor has roots that are firmly
planted in the film industry. He was born in Los Angeles, California, in
1980. His parents are screenwriter Naomi Foner and film director
Stephen Gyllenhaal. He went to elementary school with members of the
mega-popular band Maroon 5 and graduated from a private high school,
Harvard-Westlake, in 1998, where his classmates included Adya Field and
Jason Segal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Before finding success as an actor, Gyllenhaal worked
several jobs, including as a bus boy at the restaurant of a family
friend and as a lifeguard. In the latter job, he has been credited with
rescuing a swimmer who had been stung by a jellyfish-and subsequently
urinating on the stings to alleviate the swimmer's pain.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
During
childhood, Gyllenhaal was regularly exposed to film and landed his first
role at the age of eleven, playing the son of Billy Crystal's character
in the comedy "City Slickers" (1991). He was cast for a role in "The
Mighty Ducks" the following year, but his parents would not allow him to
accept it, because he would have been required to be away from home for
a couple of months.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In 1993, Gyllenhaal appeared in "A Dangerous
Woman" along with his sister Maggie. His career slowed for a bit during
high school, largely because of his parents' objections whenever he'd
land a role. It wasn't until he landed a leading role in "October Sky"
in 1999 that he saw a glimmer of the success that would become his
future. The film is an adaptation of Rocket Boys, the autobiography of
Homer Hickam. The role is generally regarded as Gyllenhaal's breakout
performance.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Following the success of that movie, he went on to
land his second major role as the lead character in "Donnie Darko."
Although "Donnie Darko" was not initially popular at the box office, it
won over a select audience and developed a cult-like following that
would gain Gyllenhaal a legion of dedicated fans.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He would go on
to star in several films with limited acclaim, including "Bubble Boy"
(2001), "Highway" (2002), and "The Good Girl" (2002), a film that pitted
him in the lead opposite mega-star Jennifer Aniston. He starred
alongside Ellen Pompeo, Susan Sarandon, and Dustin Hoffman in "Moonlight
Mile" (2002), a movie based loosely on the experience of
director/writer Brad Silberling in the wake of the homicide of his
girlfriend Rebecca Schaeffer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was around that time that
Gyllenhaal almost landed the role of Spider-Man in the film "Spider-Man
2" (2004) because of mounting worries about the health of the lead star
Tobey Maguire. The deal fell through, however, when Maguire recovered.
Gyllenhaal eventually starred alongside Toby Maguire in "Brothers"
(2009).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
His next roles molded him into the actor who is now
beloved around the world. In "The Day After Tomorrow" (2004), he played
alongside Dennis Quaid as a survivor of a post-apocalyptic world. In
2005, he starred in some of his most critically acclaimed films,
including "Proof," "Jarhead," and "Brokeback Mountain." His performance
in the latter film as a homosexual sheep herder and lover of Heath
Ledger's character earned him an Academy Award nod for Best Supporting
Actor. He won Best Supporting Actor in the BAFTA awards for the role and
shared the award with Ledger for Best Kiss in a movie in 2006 at the
MTV Movie Awards.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Gyllenhaal delighted fans the following year in
David Fincher's "Zodiac," a film based loosely on a true story. In the
movie, he plays Robert Graysmith, an author who has written extensively
about the Zodiac killer. Also, in 2007, Gyllenhaal starred with Reese
Witherspoon and Meryl Streep in "Rendition."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In 2009, he filmed
"Brothers," a Jim Sheridan remake of a 2004 Danish language film by
Susanne Bier. In 2010, he played the lead character in the
video-game-comes-to-life "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," a Disney
film that was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and that garnered a huge
following. He won a Golden Globe nomination for his role in 2010's "Love
and Other Drugs."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"People Magazine" named Gyllenhaal one of its
50 Most Beautiful People in 2006, but so far he remains single. He has
dated actresses Reese Witherspoon and Kirsten Dunst and singer Taylor
Swift. He is currently dating Alyssa Miller, a model. In his spare time,
he likes to cook and do woodworking. He is a spokesperson for Stand Up
To Cancer.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-70099035586246706532013-07-02T20:30:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:30:45.273-08:00Silent Movie Acting - Not Just Melodrama<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you have ever seen some of the old TV comedies there is a
chance you may have seen an episode or two where they spoof silent
movies. In general the parody consists of a lot of title cards and
plenty of melodramatic acting.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In many instances they were not
that far off the mark. Some silent films because of the story or a
director that lacked imagination would use a ton of title cards to get
the narrative across.
<br />Sometimes it's a contest to find out what you will see more of the
actor's on the screen or the dialogue cards. It's a given with the
nature of silents that there must be a certain amount of explanation so
audiences could understand what was going on.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
However people like
Charlie Chaplin showed what was possible. Chaplin was able to make
feature length films let alone shorts with the minimum of title cards
hereby demonstrating the power of pantomime to carry the narrative.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And
his pantomime did not really consist of wild overblown gestures with
bug-eyed facial expressions. Charlie Chaplin's acting could be as
naturalistic as any actor that came after him. The same goes for
America's Sweetheart Mary Pickford. She foregoes many of the
melodramatic tendencies and hones in on more true to life style.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Pickford
like Chaplin would from time to time exaggerate their countenance as
well as body language but more often than not it was done to create a
certain effect and then it was back to the natural.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Douglas
Fairbanks goes back and forth between these two worlds in Mark Of Zorro.
In one scene Fairbanks as the mild mannered Don Diego Vega meets up
with some villainous soldiers who demonstrate to him what they are going
to do if they ever catch up with Zorro.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Fairbanks's reaction is
filled with great body movement and understated facial expressions.
Nothing over the top which makes it even more comical. A few scenes
later there he is back at his layer gesturing wildly to his faithful
servant about his plans to make the forces of evil pay for their
misdeeds. In fact watching Fairbanks' movies before he became The
Swashbuckler you come to the conclusion that besides being a tremendous
comedian much of his acting was of the naturalistic variety.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sessue
Hayakawa really raised the bar on this side of the Atlantic with his
portrayal of Hishuru Tori in Cecil B DeMille's The Cheat from 1915. His
looks and gestures many done with the minimum of effort illustrate his
power as an actor but also his knowledge of what this medium was capable
of.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Surrounded by a cast that was for the most part practicing
melodrama like it was their religion Hayakawa stands out with his
ability to give the camera just enough and let it take care of the rest.
<br />It should be pointed out that European actors were also working on
the same wavelength. The list of great stars across the pond is too many
to count but one in particular who achieved an incredible level of fame
in early cinema was Asta Nielson.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On stage she was just another
face in the crowd. The movies made Nielson a superstar. She discarded
many of the overt mannerisms that were prevalent and honed in on a more
naturalistic quality. You can see this clearly in movies like Afgrunden
from 1910, Poor Jenny and others.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
While everyone else was still by
and large playing to the balcony, Nielson seemed to grasp instinctively
that a minimalist approach was ideally suited for screen acting.
Regarded as the first international star of the movies, Asta Nielson is
the touchstone for bringing this style of pantomime to the big screen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Melodrama
had been on the stage for eons so it stands the reason it would carry
over into film. There was and is nothing wrong with it. Melodrama in the
hands of a skilled performer can be electrifying to watch.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But
the movies like the theater had more than one form of acting to offer.
In the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse the Rex Ingram masterpiece we see
different styles working side by side to great effect.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Naturalism
is not something that started when sound came to Hollywood or Method
acting became all the rage. As more than a few of the great silent movie
actors demonstrated it was always there like melodrama, just looking
for the right artist to take hold and utilize it.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-78249630295047033732013-06-30T20:28:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:28:35.520-08:00Format for Writing a Screenplay - What You Need to Know<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What format for writing a screenplay is one of the major
stumbling blocks of the budding writer. But it doesn't have to be, as
there are numerous scriptwriting aids, downloadable information and
examples available, in all aspects of screenplay writing. Why then, you
may ask, are questions still being asked on the web. For example I found
this writer asking...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"Help! I've been told that one <u>must</u>
use a 12pt New Courier font with page margins of 1.5" on left side (for
binding) and 1" on the right side, top and bottom. I'm confused,
because when I read sample scripts, they invariably seem to be able to
cram more lines and character spaces on a page.</em> How?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I agree
that your script should be presented in the format the industry expects.
It not only makes you look more professional, with the Final Draft
being more pleasing to the eye, but more importantly <strong>YOUR HARD WORK</strong> will be less likely to be thrown out.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Your content and story maybe the next blockbuster, but without that presentation you will fall at the first hurdle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Oh, I nearly forgot</em>
- Follow the rules yes, but if you look closely at some examples, you
will see that they have reduced the line spacing slightly, to 'cram in
more lines'. A good tip but don't overdo it. Remember it still has to be
pleasing on the eye.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
OK. It is true that you must format your
screenplay, and it does not have to be hard; if you follow the rules. It
will become easier the more you practice, and that is where your
valuable time should be spent most.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Keep to the rules and learn
the four main elements: Sluglines, Action, Character Names, and
Dialogue. How to present them, and their positioning, are a subject in
themselves and another article, but they are important, to the format
and content.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Even if you use screenwriting software, it's
important to have the basic knowledge of screenplay formatting so that
your Final Copy looks thoroughly professional.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I hope this has
been of help and I wish you well in your screenplay writing, whether it
be for Film or Television, Drama or Sitcom.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Learning any skills,
whether for business or pleasure, takes time, practice, and confidence
in ourselves. We will never know everything in our chosen niche market,
but we can accelerate and time manage our knowledge, to concentrate on
the action of doing, rather than studying. Invest in yourself.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-28336414275747483122013-06-19T20:25:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:25:40.032-08:00Five Amazing Chick Flicks<div style="text-align: justify;">
Women love them, men fear them, and Hollywood keeps on making them
better and better. Chick flicks are those sappy movies that are best
watched with a glass of wine and a box of tissues. Most women have seen
the classic chick flicks that include "Dirty Dancing," "Pretty Woman,"
and "Ghost," but many others are just as amazing although not as well
known.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale star in "Serendipity," a
story about destiny and true love. Jonathan Trager (Cusack) and Sara
Thomas (Beckinsale) meet by chance while doing some shopping and feel an
instant attraction to each other. Although both of them are engaged to
other people, they grab a bite to eat at a small café called Serendipity
3. Deciding that fate is at work, Sara writes down her name and phone
number on the inside of a book and then sells it to a used book vendor.
She tells Jonathan that if being together is their destiny, he will
eventually come across that book and will be able to contact her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Because
it is a true chick flick, the two do find each other again under the
stars in a light snowfall at the skating rink in New York's Central
Park. The bulk of the film details the twists, turns, and
misunderstandings that lead to that point. At various times, the viewer
will wonder whether the two will lose each other forever or simply find
each other too late.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Viewers should have two boxes of tissues near
them when watching "Message in a Bottle," as Robin Wright Penn, Kevin
Costner, and Paul Newman will keep them teary-eyed throughout most of
the movie. This is a story about true love and gut-wrenching loss.
Wright plays the role of Theresa Osborne, a city-dwelling researcher for
"The Chicago Tribune" who finds a love letter in a bottle that washed
up onshore. She tracks down the letter's author, a seafaring North
Carolina native, Garrett Blake (Costner), who hasn't yet come to grips
with the death of his wife, Catherine. His father, Dodge (Newman), lives
nearby.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Osborne and Blake fall in love, but that all comes apart
when Blake discovers that his letters to Catherine have been published
in the newspaper. By the time Garrett realizes that love trumps
everything and he has to say goodbye to his wife and find Theresa again,
it is too late. He dies trying to rescue a family stranded in their
boat in a vicious storm, and it becomes Theresa and Dodge's turn to
learn how to move on with their own lives.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The Runaway Bride"
gives a little twist to the classic chick flick, as this movie details a
man trying to get a woman to marry him, but the woman keeps running
away. Although it is a romantic comedy, it's less about love and more
about learning how to be true to yourself and make yourself happy
instead of conforming to what others want from you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Julia Roberts,
who has built a career around romantic comedies such as "Pretty Woman"
and "Notting Hill," plays Maggie Carpenter, a small-town resident who
keeps getting engaged but then bolting before she actually makes it to
the altar. Her reputation has hit the big-city paper, and former
reporter Ike Graham (Richard Gere) comes to town to watch her next
attempt at walking down the aisle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maggie and Ike almost
unknowingly fall in love, but true to her reputation, she runs as she's
walking down the aisle to marry him. They do wind up together
eventually, but only after Maggie realizes that she had spent her whole
life being what others wanted her to be instead of who she really was.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mel
Gibson will keep you laughing in "What Women Want." He plays the role
of Nick Marshall, a cocky advertising executive who is the
quintessential overbearing macho man. He loses a promotion to Darcy
Maguire (Helen Hunt), a seasoned ad exec who believes that everyone on
her team should understand the consumer's wants and needs. She gives
them each a kit that contains female paraphernalia, including makeup,
face cream, and hot wax, and asks the team to immerse themselves in the
female culture.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-75611936314604561952013-06-09T20:23:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:24:10.422-08:00Great Movies for Guys to Enjoy Over and Over<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A number of movies are made specifically for girls' nights. They
usually follow a basic formula, and they star a few famous women and a
handful of handsome men. When they end, you can typically be assured
that everything will work out well for the lead characters and everyone
will live happily ever after.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
While a large number of men have
watched these movies, they can rest assured that Hollywood is still
making movies specifically for men. From mobsters and contract killers
to racecars and outer-space adventures, plenty of great guy flicks
promise to take viewers away from the real world for a few hours on any
given afternoon.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the best movies for men is 1994's "Pulp
Fiction," which was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Some fans
of the movie who had seen his previous work, "Reservoir Dogs," were
already familiar with his nonlinear storytelling style. Those who
witnessed his wizardry for the first time felt themselves caught up in a
film like never before. "Pulp Fiction" tells the story of two
California hit men and the intertwining tales of other lives they touch
over a few strange days. From a guy's point of view, this movie has an
abundance of male camaraderie, prolific use of colorful language, and a
ridiculous amount of gunplay and gore. While many women love the movie,
this film is ideal for guys to enjoy time and time again.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In 1999,
David Fincher introduced a testosterone-fueled film called "Fight
Club." Starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt as two men who start an
underground fighting ring, this film is full of explosions, blood, and
violence. At the start of the film, the protagonists are simply trying
to find a way for men to get in touch with their baser instincts in
order to truly appreciate their lives. Brutal fistfights are cleverly
interspersed with humorous situations, a combination that male audiences
can easily appreciate. "Fight Club" is another film that was viewed in
theaters by men and women alike, but it is replayed on networks for men,
such as FX and Spike.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Those looking for an enjoyable trip to the
movies are likely to enjoy "Rush," which hit theaters on September 27,
2013. Every eighteen months or so, director Ron Howard treats audiences
to a film that is big on energy and excitement, and this year's offering
is no different. "Rush" tells the amazing story of Formula One racers
James Hunt and Niki Lauda before and after the 1976 German Grand Prix.
In a sport with virtually no room for mistakes, both drivers pushed
their bodies and their machines to the limit in the quest for that
year's championship. Lauda almost lost his life in a horrific crash that
year, and he had to overcome third-degree burns on his face and head in
an attempt to finish the season. Howard does an exceptional job showing
the speed and danger the two drivers faced in one of the best racing
movies-and best guy movies-of all time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the best mobster
movies ever, 1990's "Goodfellas" has some of the toughest characters to
ever grace the big screen. Ray Liotta stars as Henry Hill, a New York
kid who grew up idolizing the mobster lifestyle, and Robert DeNiro and
Joe Pesci play two of his best buddies: James Conway and Tommy DeVito,
respectively. Martin Scorsese used the efforts of these three actors to
present an honest and shocking look at the growth of organized crime and
the drug trade in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Well directed,
superbly acted, and immensely quotable, "Goodfellas" remains one of the
all-time best movies for men to enjoy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although the "Star Wars"
franchise has already included seven films, and more are on the way,
none of them could exist without the original. "Star Wars Episode IV: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3863435003168907522" rel="nofollow" target="_new">A New Hope</a>"
was released in 1977 to the admiration of moviegoers worldwide.
Although the film's themes appealed to a wide audience, Luke Skywalker's
quest to defeat Darth Vader put dreams into the minds of many young
boys. The story of a boy with modest beginnings who goes on to defeat an
evil ruling empire was hardly new, but director George Lucas was able
to update the story to include futuristic weapons, droids, and space
travel. "Star Wars" spawned a transcendent franchise that boys of all
ages will continue to enjoy for their entire lifetimes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Every
year, theaters are filled with a variety of family movies, romantic
comedies, and other offerings with mass appeal, but sometimes a movie
comes along that will resonate with men throughout repeated viewings.
It's not just the amount of blood or the number of fight scenes that
make these movies live in men's hearts; it's the stories they tell.
Whether the film concerns the rise and fall of a mob member or a young
man's journey from working on a small farm to destroying the Death Star,
men appreciate a well-crafted yarn. They also like a good explosion
here and there, a fact that Hollywood isn't likely to forget anytime
soon.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-17094202110608763542013-05-31T20:22:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:22:19.820-08:00Empowering The Youth To Take Action Against Crime<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the last year, the various crimes against women have been
brought under the spot light. Although these crimes may have been taking
place before, they were not given due importance in the newspapers and
the various other forms of media.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
However, after the gruesome rape
case that took place in Delhi, the nation was jolted into the reality
of how serious the problem really is. The fact is that there are a
number of crimes that are being committed every single day. Many of
these cases include a violation of the rights of women and children.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In
recent time, the media has played a major role in making sure that
these crimes are highlighted. It is because of this effort that the
public have become aware of the situation. They can now raise their
voice and work to make sure that the safety of the common people remains
a priority.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
News channels play a major role in bringing crime
under the spotlight. In order to further this effort, a number of
entertainment channels have joint the team as well. There are shows that
are dedicated to crime and helping the public understand the mind set
of criminals.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A great example of this genre of television is
Gumrah. The show recreates crimes that have taken place in India. A set
of actors in act the entire crime from the planning stages to the
implementation. It is explained to you in details so that you can
understand the thoughts of the criminals.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The show has been doing exceptionally well and has been enjoying high TRP ratings since the launch in March 2012. <strong><em>Gumrah Season 3</em></strong> is set to be aired this September and is sure to be as good as the first two seasons.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It
not only works to educate people about the need for safety measures, it
goes one step further, to make sure that their dedicated fans remain
safe. The show has launched the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3863435003168907522" rel="nofollow" target="_new">VithU apps</a>
for different smart phone platforms. The app serves as a safety
measure, which will send out messages to emergency contacts, when you
are in distress.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On downloading the app, you are made to enter the
numbers of people who need to be contacted in case of an emergency. If
you are in trouble, all you have to do is press the power button of
your phone twice, in quick succession. A message will be sent to all the
saved number along with your location. This will help to track you down
and make sure you are safe.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Like this, there are a number of other <strong><em>Safety mobile apps</em></strong>
and still more being developed. This will go a long way in making sure
that public safety remains a priority. It will help people to stay calm
during crises and give them tips on the same.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is will help to
make sure that safety remains a priority and the crimes that are being
committed against women and against people in general remain under
control.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-32239525605057824842013-05-23T20:20:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:20:50.311-08:00Films That Race to the Finish<div style="text-align: justify;">
It used to be that films about car racing catered to a specific
audience, mostly young and predominantly male. But recently, car racing
films have tried to reach across the aisle and bring in more female
fans. With more complex plots and terrific action sequences, car racing
films have grown in popularity in recent years.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Much is expected
of a new biopic film released in September 2013. "Rush" tells the story
of the Formula One rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the
mid-1970s. Directed by acclaimed American master Ron Howard, the film is
a joint production effort between Universal Pictures (United States),
StudioCanal (United Kingdom), and Pathé Productions (France). Chris
Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl take on the roles of Hunt and Lauda,
respectively. The film was released to critical acclaim, with many
calling "Rush" the best sports drama film in a long while. Apart from
"Rush," there have been many other car racing films that have achieved
success at the box office. Some of the most memorable are elaborated
upon in greater detail below.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Days of Thunder"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Directed by
the late Tony Scott, "Days of Thunder" features Tom Cruise teaming up
with "Top Gun" director Scott once again. The film, which also stars
Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, and Cary Elwes, follows the fortunes of a
young NASCAR racing driver, Cole, played by Cruise. The early part of
the film sees Cole and his archrival Rowdy Burns battle it out on the
racetrack. At the Firecracker 400 in Daytona, each of them suffers major
injuries from crashes that bring them together in the process. Cole
takes longer to recover than Rowdy, and as a result he is shut out from
the racing team. After Rowdy suffers another accident, Cole is allowed
to get back on the race track. The final race is the Daytona 500, in
which Cole overcomes the new hotshot Russ Wheeler to become the new
champion. Film critics were mostly positive about the film, but some
called it "Top Gun" on wheels.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The Fast and the Furious"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The
first film of what ultimately became the most successful car racing
film series of all time, "The Fast and the Furious" showcases the very
best street racing has to offer. Director Rob Cohen got the inspiration
to make the film after reading a magazine article about street racing in
New York City. Featuring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, and Michelle
Rodriguez among others, the film follows the fortunes of LAPD officer
Brian O'Connor (Walker), who is tasked with going undercover to
infiltrate a street-racing gang led by Dom (Diesel). The pair forms an
unlikely friendship, and they engage in an impromptu street race at the
end that O'Connor wins.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The film was mostly panned by the film
critics, but this feeling was not shared by many moviegoers. "The Fast
and the Furious" became a commercial success worldwide, making back
almost five times its production budget. Film executives were so pleased
that a sequel was ordered, followed by another a few years later.
Twelve years after the original, the series is still going strong, with
six films produced so far. Another film is scheduled for release in the
summer of 2014; it will be called "Fast &amp; Furious 7."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Cars"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A computer-animated film, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3863435003168907522" rel="nofollow" target="_new">"Cars"</a>
was released in 2006 and surprised many experts in the film industry.
The film was the last to be produced by Pixar before its takeover by
Walt Disney Pictures. Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, and Tony Shalhoub lend
their voices to some of the key characters in the film. "Cars" was
widely praised by film critics, some calling it one of Pixar's best
films ever. The film also appeals to more than just kids, with viewers
of all ages able to enjoy it. "Cars" held the number one spot at the
U.S. box office for its first two weeks and made more than $450 million
worldwide. This made it the highest grossing animated film in the United
States for the year it was released.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-10159446110914139792013-05-06T20:18:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:18:58.893-08:00Great Riddlers: Sherlock Holmes<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective invented by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle, conceptualized in 1887 and this series ended in 1927.
During this time the character became very popular with the novels and
short stories appearing in magazines. Since this time the character of
Sherlock Holmes has been adapted into countless TV shows, plays and
movies. Most famously and most recently Holmes was portrayed by Robert
Downey Jr in the film Sherlock Holmes in 2009. He received a Golden
Globe award for this portrayal and it did well enough to warrant a
sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. In addition to this movie
there are currently two popular TV shows based on Sir Conan Doyle's
works entitled 'Sherlock' and 'Elementary'. Both of these shows were
picked up for extra seasons.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On to the character himself, Holmes
is an eccentric man who cares little for the plainness of society. He is
somewhat inverted and he is always calm and collected. But his main
character trait that we are concerned about is his ability to take the
smallest and meaningless facts or traits of a person or situation to
draw large assumptions. In this sense he is very good at solving
riddles. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This sort of reasoning has been called "Holmesian deduction".
To draw these assumptions he uses simple abduction where he observes
something and connects it to another piece of information that
sufficiently explains the original observation. He explains this best in
one of the original novels when he says 'From a drop of water a
logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without
having seen or heard of one or the other'.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Most appearances
Holmes make in TV, movies, or books begin with him demonstrating his
great riddle solving abilities and Robert Downey Jr's appearance in the
2009 film was no exception. Early in the movie when Holmes meets
Watson's fiance he makes some deductions about her. Just by noticing
that she has a little ink on her face and that she is wearing expensive
jewelry he can tell that the child she is governess to is about eight
years old and that she does not punish him for things. He knows his age
from the height of the ink and he knows that she does not punish him
because the jewelry is from the child's wealthy parents who would not
give her it if she punished their child.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sherlock Holmes is
probably the most well-known detective of all times and he is still all
over the media from television to movies. He is a great character and we
can all take a lesson from him with regards to logic.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-25944476720609464382013-04-26T20:16:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:17:03.932-08:00Why "How I Met Your Mother" Is The Most Creative Thing On TV Right Now<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ever since <em>Friends</em> ended back in May 2004, sitcoms
started to copy the format that Martha Kauffman and David Crane used
back in 1994--get in a group of actors, make them be friends on a tv
show, put them in a familiar location (coffee-shop, bar, diner, etc.)
and earn loads of money making people laugh.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Except, it's not really that simple. And that's why so many TV shows failed (miserably) after <em>Friends</em>. They were either trying too hard to become <em>Friends</em>, or just not trying hard enough.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then in the fall of 2005 (yes, that long ago!), Carter Bays and Craig Thomas created <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>,
a show whose title explains what the past 9 years of our lives have
been about. Ted Mosby, in 2030, sits his two teenage kids on the couch
and starts telling him the story of he met their mother.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And then we flashback to present-time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's
been one hell-of-a-ride with this show. The ensemble cast is pretty
much the perfect group of friends to hang out with (or, in this case, to
look at) and the realism that this show tries to show is incredibly
amusing to watch. There are no sitcoms out there right now with such
"realistic" yet entertaining plotlines as this show.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now we get to the good stuff, the stuff that really drew <em>me</em> in. The <strong>creativity</strong>.
No show out there is as creative as the ideas that come out of Carter
Bays and Craig Thomas (who, by the way, claim that this show is based on
actual events from their lives). <em>HIMYM</em> isn't afraid to take risks, to make us cry and laugh at the same time, to be <em>so</em> crazy yet real all in once place.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recent
episodes like last season 8's "The Time Travelers" which aired on March
25th 2013 show that creativity and beautiful writing is what drives
this show the most. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This episode, which is called a "bottle episode"
because it basically takes place in one scene during the entire course
of the episode, took the show to a whole new level when it decided to
have two of its male characters talking with their future selves as they
ponder whether or not to go to a show where robots wrestle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
While
the entire episode was hilarious and top-notch with one-liners and
outstanding performances from the entire cast, the last 5 minutes pretty
much stole the show. Barney Stinson tells Ted that "this entire night"
isn't happening right now. It all happened five years ago, and right now
you (Ted) are sitting all alone at the bar while everyone else is busy
with other things (babies, weddings, etc.)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This alone sends a
chill down your spine. Then, Future Ted narrates and says that if he
could go back in time and change his actions, there's no way in hell he
would've gone to that <em>Robots vs Wrestlers</em> shows. Instead, he
would've gone to his future wife and tell her that he loves her, and
that he always will. Forever and beyond.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Instantly after the
episode ended, the Internet was buzzing with fans discussing what those
final moments mean. Is the Mother dead in 2030? Is <em>Ted</em> dead in 2030? Or is it just a ploy at making us think over our heads?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Whatever it was, and whatever comes at us now with the final season<em>, </em>I know that <em>How I Met Your Mother</em>
will not disappoint. And the fact that season 9 will span to a wedding
weekend just shows how far the writers are going to prove that they can
DO ANYTHING.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you're not familiar with this show, catch up with
all 8 seasons now. And watch as we finally get to the end of the most
romantic story ever, told in reverse.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-52120704541819402082013-04-19T20:12:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:13:06.634-08:00A Biography for Danny Trejo<div style="text-align: justify;">
Danny Trejo is an American film actor born on May 16, 1944. He has
appeared in many films, usually as a villain or antihero. His most
memorable films include "Con Air," "Desperado," "Heat," and "Machete."
Trejo frequently collaborates with film director Robert Rodriguez.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Trejo
was born in Los Angeles and is the son of Dan Trejo and Alice Rivera.
Robert Rodriguez is Trejo's second cousin, although neither man was
aware of this relationship until they filmed "Desperado." Trejo spent
much of the 1960s in California prisons and became a champion boxer for
the welterweight and lightweight divisions In San Quentin Prison. He
also joined a twelve-step program during his incarceration and says that
he has been sober since 1969. Trejo enrolled in Pitzer College in
Claremont, California, upon his release from prison but left after one
semester.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He was speaking at a recovery meeting in 1985 when one
of the attendees invited Trejo to watch the filming of "Runaway Train."
He got a job as an extra, and screenwriter Edward Bunker recognized
Trejo as a former inmate of San Quentin, where Bunker had also served
time. Bunker offered Trejo a job training star Eric Roberts to box.
Director Andrei Konchalovsky was also impressed by Trejo and offered him
a more prominent role in "Runaway Train."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Trejo has since
appeared in many films with A-list actors such as Charles Bronson,
Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Harrison Ford, and Robert De Niro. He
typically plays small roles, which allows him to routinely appear in
five or more films per year. Major films in which Trejo has played a
significant role include "Blood In, Blood Out," "Marked for Death" and
"Once Upon a Time in Mexico."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
His first leading role was Machete
Cortez in the 2010 action film "Machete," which was followed by the 2013
sequel, "Machete Kills." Trejo originally appeared as Machete in a
trailer for "Grindhouse," a B-grade action film directed by Robert
Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino. The trailer was originally intended as a
spoof, but it became so popular that Rodriquez decided to make a film
based on the character of Machete.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Trejo's characters, especially
those directed by Rodriquez, are often named after sharp instruments. In
addition to Machete, Trejo played Razor Charlie in the horror film
series "From Dusk till Dawn," and his character in "Desperado" was named
Navajas, which is Spanish for blades. His character in "Predators" was
Cuchillo, Spanish for knife.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He has a heavily lined face and has a
long mustache in most of his films, giving Trejo a distinctive
appearance. He also has a tattoo on his chest depicting a woman with a
sombrero that is visible in some of his films. Trejo usually plays
thugs, but he also plays sympathetic characters in films such as "Bubble
Boy" and "Spy Kids," which was directed by Robert Rodriguez.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Trejo
has made guest appearances on television series such as "Breaking Bad"
in which he played a recurring role in two episodes, one in 2009 and
another in 2010. He also played a character similar to himself in
"Monk," an action-comedy series starring Tony Shalhoub. Trejo played an
inmate at San Quentin prison, who was Monk's roommate. He was also a
good guy in an episode of "Desperate Housewives," a television drama
series.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He has also performed extensive voice work. Trejo provided
the voice for Enrique on "King of the Hill," a long-running animated
comedy. The character of Octavio on this series is based on Trejo,
although he does not voice that character. Trejo's voice work also
includes characters in video games such as "Def Jam," "Grand Theft
Auto," and "Fallout." These animated characters often bear a strong
resemblance to Trejo.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Trejo has made many cameo appearances in
music videos such as "Like Yeah" by rapper Tech N9ne. Additional videos
in which Trejo appears include "Double Blade" by Jay Chou and "Open Your
Eyes" by Marylene and the Sons of Disaster. Adult film star Lupe
Fuentes also featured Trejo in her music video "We Are the Party."</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-69989503577525505712013-04-06T20:11:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:11:24.064-08:00Best Horror Movies for Halloween<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
No Halloween is complete without blood-red candied apples and
horror movies. Some horror flicks are so good they stick in the mind for
a lifetime. This list is sure to induce spine-chilling, spooky fun this
Halloween.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Psycho"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A no-brainer for a Halloween movie list
is the classic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film "Psycho." Starring Anthony
Perkins as Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, the film is
praised by critics as a work of art in cinematography. Marion Crane is a
secretary who embezzles a large sum of money from her boss. She goes on
the run, taking refuge on a stormy night at the remote Bates Motel. The
lodging is deserted due to a detour from the main highway. The motel is
owned by a shaky young man named Norman Bates and his domineering and
mentally ill mother. "Psycho" is a twisted and murderous tale one might
think could only be concocted in a mind such as that of Hitchcock.
Unfortunately, Hitchcock got his inspiration from the true story of Ed
Gein. A truly perverse man, Gein enjoyed digging up human remains to
fashion into tools. He wore the skin of corpses like clothes. The movie
"Ed Gein," released in 2000, is also a great Halloween movie.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ed
Gein inspired another classic thriller that's perfect for Halloween,
the 1974 film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Marilyn Burns plays Sally
Hardesty and Paul A. Partain plays Sally's brother, Franklin. On a trip
to their family homestead, the siblings and their three friends become
stranded without gas. They stop at a house to find help but instead find
a chainsaw murderer and his cannibalistic family. "The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre" was remade in 2003.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The Shining"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It would be
inappropriate to mention twisted stories without crediting Stephen King
for his tales of suspense and horror. Of the many King plots from which
to choose, "The Shining" and its creepy cast is the best choice for a
spooky Halloween movie night. The 1980 film, based on King's 1977 novel,
stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance and Shelley Duvall as Jack's
wife, Wendy. Jack accepts a job as the off-season caretaker of the
Outlook Hotel. Jack, Wendy, and their son are to take care of the hotel
during the winter months when the snows are so deep no one can reach the
place. This also means the Torrance family can't leave. As it happens,
the lodging is built on a Native American burial site, and the previous
caretaker, overcome with cabin fever, slaughtered his family before
committing suicide in the grand hotel.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The Exorcist"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Based
on William Peter Blatty's 1971 novel, "The Exorcist" stars Linda Blair
as teenager Regan McNeil, Ellen Burstyn as Regan's mother, Chris, and
Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin. The movie begins with a scene
of an archeological dig where Father Lankester Merrin finds a statue of
Pazuzu, an ancient demon. The movie then switches to Washington, DC, and
the McNeils. Young Regan begins acting strangely, and after no doctors
can help her, Chris finds a priest to perform a much-needed exorcism.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"A Nightmare on Elm Street"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The
1984 movie "A Nightmare on Elm Street," which was remade in 2010, was
written and directed by Wes Craven. It stars Johnny Depp, Heather
Langenkamp, Ronee Blakley, John Saxon, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and
Amanda Wyss. A group of teenagers is stalked by a horrifically burned
man named Freddy Krueger. The teens only see Krueger in their dreams
while they sleep, and Krueger has a murderous vendetta. The kids'
parents may know something about Freddy Krueger's motive to kill the
children, one by one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The Blair Witch Project"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Written and
directed by Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, the 1999 movie "The Blair
Witch Project" stars Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C.
Williams. The film defined a new format for horror movies in which the
story unfolds through the characters' video and sound equipment. The
three main characters are student filmmakers who set out to document the
Blair Witch legend in the Black Hills in Maryland. The movie is filmed
so that it appears the students are real people rather than movie
characters, and that they vanished in the woods while making the
documentary. The audience sees and hears what the students experienced
through the filming equipment that was found by police a year after the
filmmakers disappeared. The same method of moviemaking was later used in
the movie, " <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3863435003168907522" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Paranormal Activity</a>."
It is effectively unsettling, making "The Blair Witch Project" a
must-see picture at Halloween time. For a truly terror-filled holiday,
turn down the lights and enjoy these movies. They are horror classics
for good reason. Watching these films could cause a person to never
shower, sleep, or go for a stroll in the woods again.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-84522884824589949472013-03-31T20:09:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:09:49.324-08:00Movies Based on Hockey<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you are a true hockey fan, you probably enjoy seeking out
movies on the sport to add to your collection because you simply can't
get enough of the action. There are a wide variety of flicks to satisfy
your desire to be on the ice, while providing you with the excitement,
heartache, suspense and drama of the game. Whether you enjoy a good
comedy or prefer a realistic tragedy, there is something for everyone.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One
of the most popular comedy movie series about hockey is "The Mighty
Ducks." The original was released in October 1992. The story follows
former star hockey player Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez), who is now an
egocentric lawyer. Ironically, he goes to court after being stopped for
drinking and driving. As part of his restitution, Judge George Coe
(Judge Weathers) orders Bombay to coach a peewee hockey team. Irritated
at first, Bombay nonetheless sets out to make the team he calls The
Ducks a winning team. Throughout the film, he confronts his past, gets
close to the boys, and gives back to the community. "The Mighty Ducks"
is an excellent film for the whole family that teaches the importance of
teamwork and the joys of hockey. Those who enjoy the film should also
enjoy "D2" and "D3: The Mighty Ducks" sequels.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you are looking
for a realistic drama about hockey, "The Rhino Brothers" is the story of
one young man's struggle on the way to play in the professional hockey
league. Stefan Kanachowski (Curtis Bechdholt) returns home after playing
in the minors. His family doesn't say much to him because they assume
he will follow in the path of his older brother Sasha (William
MacDonald), who also played in the minors before returning home. Stefan
is determined to be more than his brother, who still lives at home and
spends the majority of his days drinking. Through the love and support
of his mother Ellen (Gabrielle Rose), Stefan overcomes his older
brother's jealousy and rises to the top. The film was released in July
2002.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Youngblood" is a dramatic story that features the
heartthrob boys of the '80s, Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze. Released in
1986, "Youngblood" introduces us to a seventeen-year-old farm boy Dean
Youngblood (Rob Lowe), who dreams of playing in the NHL. His father
Blane (Eric Nesterenko) believes he should stay home, help with the
farm, and give up his dreams. Dean's older brother Kelly (Jim Youngs)
convinces their dad to let Dean try out for a Canadian team. Through a
series of scuffles with other players in the league, Dean wonders if he
has what it takes to make it after all. This film is about winning,
heartbreak, and the determination it takes to reach your dreams.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
No list of hockey movies would be complete without the 1977 comedy "Slap Shot," starring <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3863435003168907522" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Paul Newman</a>
as Reggie Dunlop. The movie is about a minor league hockey team so
determined to win-to prevent the team from being sold-they turn to
violent game play. After a long season of winning, the team gets the
attention of the NFL; scouts are sent to watch the championship game. In
spite of turning the team into a lucrative moneymaker, the owner Anita
McCambridge (Kathryn Walker) vows to fold it and take a tax write off.
Dunlop (Newman) is furious with the situation. After winning the
championship, he is given a shot at manager of the Minnesota Nighthawks
and vows to take the team with him. This exciting drama is ideal for
those who like the thrill and violence of the sport.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you prefer
a feel-good movie about hope and inspiration, "Miracle" is based on a
true story-the 1980 US Olympic hockey team and their win over the USSR.
Kurt Russell, who plays Coach Herb Brooks, delivers a heart-warming
performance in this tale about victory, the cold war, trusting in
miracles and providing hope to a nation when all the odds are against
you. This film is an excellent choice for families. It was released in
2004 by Disney.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sports films help take you behind the action and
give you a peak into the lives of those who play and coach the game. You
can also get a feel for what the families of players go through. With a
wide variety of hockey films to choose from, you can fill up your
shelves and enjoy every genre during the off season, which can tide you
over until your favorite team hits the ice again.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-21909251432844444932013-03-20T20:07:00.000-07:002013-11-05T20:08:11.011-08:00Tips for Anime Newbies: "Which Anime Should I Start With?"<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anime is a type of entertainment. Just as books, movies, television
and video games are. Asking where to start in this medium is a very
broad question. There are many types of anime including romance, comedy,
science fiction, adventure and much more.Similar to how a teenage girl
would choose to watch a romantic mystery and a professional may choose
to watch a documentary, your choices will be based on your personal
preferences.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ask yourself questions like:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Do I want to be
intellectually challenged?" "Do I want to cry?" "Do I want to laugh?"
"What are some great classics?" "Which titles will my friends/family and
I be able to discuss together?" "Can I learn something from this
anime?" "Do I want to see sword fights? robot fights?" "Is there going
to be mature themes in this anime?"... The list goes on.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Below I listed a variety of some of the best anime of all time. I would recommend the following to anyone.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion</strong>
<br /><b>Genre</b>: Action, Mecha, Psycological</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lelouch Lamperouge
is a Britannian prince who was sent to Japan, as a result of bargaining
in the midst of war, along with his sister Nunally. One day the
Britannian forces raid a Japanese city and wiped out everything in
sight. From that day on, Lelouch swore to his Japanese friend, Suzaku,
that he would one day obliterate Britannia.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
7 years after that
eventful day Lelouch has become a strategic genius and a tactical
mastermind.On his way to school he is caught up in a "terrorist attack"
and meets a girl called CC. CC grants Lelouch the power of kings, a
power called geass. This ability allows Lelouch to compel anyone he
chooses. Lelouch decides to use this new power to accomplish his goal of
destroying Britannia.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In this journey Lelouch becomes the leader
of the Black Knight resistance and takes the role of a masked mastermind
by the name of Zero.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Death Note</strong>
<br /><b>Genre:</b> Psycological Thriller, Mystery, Dark Fantasy</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A
genius high school student, Light Yagami, who is bored of mundane
everyday life, encounters a notebook called the Deathnote. The Deathnote
was dropped form the sky by an equally bored "Shinigami"(God Of Death).
This book allows Light to kill anyone by writing their name in the
book. After multiple experiments and tests Light decides he wants to
exterminate all the criminals of the world and become the god of the
resulting earth.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When Light's killing spree is noticed, notorious
detective "L" takes special interest in this case. In fact he manages to
determine the exact district Light is located within days of
investigating.Thus starts the battle of intelligence between Light and
L. It is a duel to determine the superior mind and ultimately the fate
of the world. Will Light triumph and build his ideal world? or Will L
crack the mystery and save thousands of lives including his own?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Full Metal Alchemist:Brotherhood (My Personal favorite)</strong>
<br /><b>Genre: </b>Adventure, Sci Fi</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Brothers Alphonse and Edward
Elric lose their mother to a chronic disease. Now they are left with no
mother and an absentee father who left years ago.The brothers attempt to
resurrect their mother using a forbidden alchemical technique, human
transmutation. In this process Alphonse loses his whole body and Edward
loses his left leg. To save his brother Edward sacrifices his right arm
as well and manages to bound his brother's soul to a metal suit of
armor.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With the help of a family friend, Edward is given
artificial limbs called "automail". After fully recuperating the Elric
brothers decide to embark on a journey for the philosophers stone hoping
to find a way to get their bodies back. Little do they know that the
truth behind the stone is a dark one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Welcome to the NHK </strong>
<br /><b>Genre:</b> Drama, Romamnce, Dark Comedy</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This story revolves
around the life of Hikikomori, Tatsuhiro Sato. A hikikomori is an
individual who has banished them self from society, a recluse. Simply
put a hikikomori is someone afraid of the social world.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sato is a
university dropout that lives a reclusive everyday life. He is conviced
that he became the way he is because of the N.H.K.
(Nihion.Hikikomori.Kyokai). How could they achieve this? Sato suspects
that the NHK are plotting to turn the whole world's population into
hikikomori by airing addictive anime.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One day he meets Misaki
Nakahara, a girl who wants to help Sato reorient himself into society.
Sato signs a contract agreeing to meet with Misaki everyday until he is
cured of his hikikomori ways.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-8363666768868670392013-03-08T20:05:00.000-08:002013-11-05T20:05:12.648-08:00A Closer Look At American Beauty<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've been in the mood of searching for and watching "classic"
movies no matter how old they are. Last weekend, I finished God Father
Triology, which I have watched twice and still find the movies
astonishingly wonderful and interesting. Last night, I watched American
Beauty, for the first time, getting to know by accident how well the
movie did at the 1999 Academy Awards and other international film
festivals. And gosh, I gotta share with you right away because this
movie truly deserves the title, one of the masterpieces of all time that
brings a perfect blend of intelligent screenplay, perfect acting and a
powerful story!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Whereas some movies will glide by as "good" until
they might, decades later, slip into the realm of "classic", American
Beauty is one of those rare films whose place among the classics has
been guaranteed since its appearance. In this movie, a metaphorical
magnifying glass is placed over American society and in particular the
lives of people living in a typical middle-class suburban. However, I do
think the message of this movie is applicable not only to American
society but also to all societies around the world. It's the film's tag
line: "Look closer".</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The movie is a story about Lester Burnham, a
man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis. The
nice-looking 2-storey house complete with shutters and the bright red
door does a great job of hiding and trapping Lester, his boring life and
dysfunctional family. Lester's relationship with his wife Carolyn is
not a warm one. While on the surface, Carolyn strives to present the
image that she's in full control of her life, inside, she actually feels
empty and desperate. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Their teenage daughter Jane is constantly
depressed, lacking self-esteem and convinced that she's unattractive.
Her problem seems worsened by her best friend Angela who is quite
beautiful and believes that that alone makes her a worthwhile person.
Lester falls into uncontrollable lust for Angela and she becomes part of
his drastic plan to change his body and his life. Next door, Colonel
Fitts, an ex-Marine, watches his son, Ricky - an aspiring filmmaker and
part-time drug dealer - with close eyes to make sure Ricky doesn't do
drugs. While Ricky gets closer to Lester's daughter, Carolyn starts to
sleep with a rival real estate agent.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All these complicated
relationships are hidden behind beautiful pictures of well-managed
families. But as you look closer, you'll start to discover a lot of
opposite things. Things that seem to be perfect outside suddenly become
dysfunctional parts while things that don't seem to be so beautiful turn
out to have their own charm. I can't forget the final scene in which a
discarded plastic bag blown by wind flies on the street. That scene
looks so beautiful! That's when I realized that if we look closer to
what happening around us, we may be able to find more beautiful things
in life. What do you think about the poster with a beautiful rose on
such a nice flat belly? So gorgeous, isn't it? But "look closer"!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I
wouldn't tell you how many awards the movie had won because I think the
awards themselves aren't the only measure of its awesomeness and
success. I strongly believe that this movie will touch every corner of
your souls when you watch and feel it. And I think this is the best
measure of American Beauty's success. So watch this movie and start
"looking closer"!</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-59690322923432164252013-02-27T20:03:00.000-08:002013-11-05T20:03:19.304-08:00The Best Special Effects in Halloween Movies<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Since the advent of special effects, modern movies have been able
to bring monsters, ghosts, and even dinosaurs to life. The first horror
movie that used heavy effects was, arguably, "Nosferatu" in 1922.
However, older movies had to rely entirely on practical effects such as
prosthetics, makeup, and optical illusions. As technology progresses,
it's becoming more and more difficult to distinguish the lines between
what is real and what is computer generated; in some cases, it's nearly
impossible. However, the best special effects are not always better when
it comes to Halloween horror movies. The ones that are technically less
advanced often look even more terrifying than the computer-generated
images that appear real to the untrained eye.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"A Nightmare on Elm
Street" is an excellent example of a terrifying effects-heavy film that
was released shortly after Halloween. From the scene in which Freddy
Krueger's scarred face presses against the wallpaper to the infamous
blood geyser scene, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is packed with
frightening special effects. "A Nightmare on Elm Street" was made in
1984, but the effects used in the film still hold up to modern standards
even though they were created without the technology moviemakers have
at their disposal today. Distorted camera angles and bizarre dream
sequences add to the spooky atmosphere of "A Nightmare on Elm Street"
even when Freddy Krueger isn't onscreen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Sleepy Hollow" was
another great horror movie packed with special effects. Even though
"Sleepy Hollow" was released two weeks after Halloween, this movie truly
embodies the spirit of All Hallows' Eve. After all, Halloween is a
night full of ghosts and spirits, and "Sleepy Hollow" is about the
headless ghost of a Hessian horseman and the forensic scientist who is
trying to put an end to his reign of terror. "Sleepy Hollow" has plenty
of impressive and frightening offerings, but the most grim of all is
arguably the hollow tree filled with human heads. The tree, which bleeds
if its bark is cut, opens up as a portal to the underworld and
unleashes the horrible headless horseman on the nearby village.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In
the midst of brutal Halloween films packed with bloodthirsty monsters,
"Let the Right One In" is a rare example of a touching, beautiful movie
about the most bloodthirsty monster of all. Released just days before
Halloween in Sweden, "Let the Right One In" is an understated film about
a child vampire named Eli and her only friend, a bullied human boy
named Oskar. Even though "Let the Right One In" uses special effects
sparingly, they're used masterfully during the handful of scenes in
which they appear. Special effects transform Eli from a sad little girl
to a relentless killing machine who suffers from terrible consequences
when exposed to sunlight or when she enters a home without being
invited.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" might be the
quintessential Halloween film for adults and children alike. It was
released right before Halloween in 1993 and quickly became a cult
classic. Jack Skellington, the frightful king of Halloweentown, is bored
with his job and sets out to take over Christmas with classic and
dangerous Halloween tricks. Every character, prop, and set in "The
Nightmare Before Christmas" was meticulously animated and filmed using
stop-motion technology. Thanks to the masterful use of practical and
special effects, it's easy to forget the lovable characters in "The
Nightmare Before Christmas" aren't real.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although many other
Halloween movies have excellent special effects, 2013's "Carrie" is
arguably the greatest of them all. Sophisticated computer technology
brings the titular character's terrifying telekinetic powers to life as
she enacts revenge against the classmates who've tortured her. "Carrie"
is a prime example of how far modern technology can go to create special
effects that are indistinguishable from reality. From flying knives to
deadly explosions and curling tongues of flames that represent the Hell
Carrie's abusive mother is certain her daughter is doomed to, "Carrie"
is packed with plenty of fantastic on-screen visionaries that will
impress even the pickiest moviegoer. At its heart, "Carrie" is a movie
about a bullied teenager who just wants to find her place in the world,
but it's still a classic horror story, and Carrie's destructive rages
are truly something to behold thanks to the advances of modern
technology. The team of talented crew members who created the special
effects used in "Carrie" went above and beyond to make sure this movie
would have some of the best effects of any Halloween film in history.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-31331347243660189862013-02-14T19:59:00.000-08:002013-11-05T20:00:13.420-08:003 Easy Tips On How To Find A Good School To Grow Your Acting Skills<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Do you want to be an actor or actress? One thing is for sure, you
have to be talented in acting as not everyone can do it. Acting has
become popular today, as more people are hyped by the movies and TV
programs being produced every day, and each day, these programs seem to
be getting better and better. Acting has also become a career for many
people and looking at the successful ones in the industry, everyone
would like to be in their shoes! If you have the talent and would like
to nurture it, you need to find a good school to learn more about
acting. Below are some tips to help you find a good acting school.</div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li> <strong>Lecturers</strong></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Your
lecturers will always have an idea on the best schools for acting. In
addition, they are the best people to give you referrals on the best
acting instructors. An instructor will guide and assist you to have
consistency in your skill. You may be criticized a lot and your flaws
may be announced to everyone during the acting sessions, but it is all
for your own good! If you find an instructor who only points out the
good side of your acting skills, then you may not know where you need
improvement and everyone needs to improve their skill, especially when
you are just getting started.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li> <strong>Online</strong></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You
always have the internet to rely on when you need anything. There are
so many ways to find a good school for acting online. One, you could
search the schools that good actors and actresses went to; this could
narrow your search tremendously! Secondly, you could search in different
categories such as ranks; the schools are normally ranked according to
their performance and facilities provided to students. Finally, you
could search for a good instructor online as well!</div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li> <strong>Reviews</strong></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Every
year, acting schools are reviewed just like businesses in the same
industry. This is a good source of information on different schools for
you to pick from. In addition, you have the chance to match what acting
skills you have with what is being offered or the best school for the
kind of acting skills you have. Reviews also give you an idea on how
much you need to have to enroll, as the best acting schools do not come
cheap! So if your dream is in this business, you better start saving up!</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3863435003168907522.post-4550272774250023062013-02-01T20:01:00.000-08:002013-11-05T20:01:27.531-08:00Quench Your Anticipation With The Iron Man 3 Trailer<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The newest movie within the Marvel Comics series is due to be
launched and a good deal of its enthusiasts are already looking forward
to it in eager anticipation. Self-described genius, playboy, billionaire
and philanthropist Tony Stark now has a strong enemy in the evil
Mandarin. In the upcoming Marvel movie, Iron Man's quest takes a
distinct turn from his past displays of power as well as antics, testing
his courage to the limits. Stark discovers the limit of his scruples
and also traits whilst desperately trying to hold on to his loved ones.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This
latest trailer shows Tony Stark fully outfitted within his upgraded
armour along with his variety of devices developed with the newest
technologies in the soon to be unveiled film, Iron Man 3. The producer
of the movie would be none other than Marvel Studios, in close
association with both DMG Entertainment and also Paramount Pictures,
with the distribution element being taken care of by Walt Disney
Studios. Iron Man is the character from Marvel Comics and Iron Man 3 is a
sequel of both successful precursors: both of which met with huge
success following their first appearance.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For those who are
interested in a little background of this series, Tony stark and his
alter ego came into being quite a while ago in 1963 in Marvel's Tales of
Suspense #39 and it grew in popularity after then. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Due to the amount of
fans as well as awareness created, this particular superhero quickly
got its very own solo comic book which was called The Invincible Iron
Man and the initial edition has been available on the May of 1968.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The
storyline starts off like this. Tony Stark, who was a widely well-known
billionaire, had been taken and then forced into constructing a potent
weapon for his captors. With a little assistance, he was able to develop
a powerful suit of armor that enabled him to escape. Even so, this came
at a price and he was severely injured in the chest area. Through his
firm Stark Industries, Tony would ultimately develop multiple military
weaponry and technological devices to integrate into his armored suit.
The particular suit helped him fight crimes like terrorism and other
types of asymmetric warfare. Being widely known as a superhero icon well
before its very first film launch on May 2008, there was little
question concerning its future accomplishment.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Within less than 2
years, the sequel was released as well as shown within theaters
worldwide. In this particular movie, his identity was ultimately
uncovered and the US government wanted him to share his scientific
advances with it but he refused to do so. Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko also
started to produce his own technologies just like that of Stark's. Ivan
Vanko is the son of Anton Vanko, the business partner of Stark's dad
Howard, who along the way got into a number of conflicts with the Starks
and ended up poor. In spite of Anton Vanko's own actions that had
resulted in dire consequences for himself and his family members, Ivan
Vanko nevertheless proceeded to seek blind revenge against the Stark
family.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16759579782522050919noreply@blogger.com0