Thanks for Sharing - Movie Review

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.

Thanks for Sharing (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.

The Story of Three Addicts

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.

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.

Some of the Most Misunderstood Films of All Time

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.

The Shining

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.

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.

Jake Gyllenhaal: A Biography

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Silent Movie Acting - Not Just Melodrama

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.

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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Format for Writing a Screenplay - What You Need to Know

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...

"Help! I've been told that one must 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. How?

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 YOUR HARD WORK will be less likely to be thrown out.

Your content and story maybe the next blockbuster, but without that presentation you will fall at the first hurdle.

Five Amazing Chick Flicks

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.

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.

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.

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.

Great Movies for Guys to Enjoy Over and Over

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.