Tag: movies

Paper Towns

raining17
Photo Credit: pbs.twimg.com

The highly anticipated movie poster for author John Green’s Paper Towns was just released, sparking interest and excitement in all fans.

Journalists are scrounging for material to write about – putting out article after article on the movie, and the poster in particular. Some articles are reaching as far as to write about how actors Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff look like siblings, simply from the similar appearance of their eyebrows.

However, since Cara’s popularity did stem from her brows, this could be relevant for her.

Other writers are confused about the message the poster is depicting – unlike most movie posters, this one does not give much of the plot away. Many fans are complaining about this, but some are appreciative of the mystery.

This poster has brought mixed feelings from fans of the book and fans of the actors alike. An opinion that has been agreed upon, however, is how much excitement the release of the poster has brought, and how highly anticipated this movie is.

Fifty Shades of Grey Review

kennyrooLeave a comment

While certain critics may claim the series is “sugar-coated” domestic violence, that has not stopped crowds of people from overwhelming the box office this Valentine’s Day weekend.

The film is based on the highly successful novel written by E.L. James.

The film tells the story of a young, and devilishly handsome billionaire Christian, played by Jamie Dornan. The young woman he desires is named Anastasia Steele, played by Dakota Johnson.

This movie has audiences in uproars. And people are not staying quiet about it.

“Fifty Shades of Grey is not the lame, hot-and-bothered fantasy romance many, including myself, thought it would be. It’s got wit and humor and a modest intelligence about human behavior that, say, the Twilight movies never had,” said a writer for Vanity Fair.

Personally, I thought the two stars were excellently casted – the chemistry they had together was almost palpable.

I’m not going to sugar coat this either – some parts of the film were horribly cheesy. But those parts gave the audience a break from all of the romantic endeavors of Grey and Steele.

I would not recommend this movie to be seen as any sort of “family film”. This film will make you blush, I can assure you.

For a girl’s (or boy’s) night out, this is the perfect movie.

While this may not please the harsh critics eye with its plot or casting, it’s hard to argue with its great cinematography. I thought it was excellently filmed, and produced with a high budget.

I would say it’s worth the hype. While this may not be the most valuable movie to your life, seeing it in theaters is not a regret of mine.

Photo Credit: http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net

 

Somber

indigoshellLeave a comment

The meaning of life.

Is death.

Face it, that’s the cold, hard truth. We’re born, we live, we die.

Meaning there is no meaning of life.

But hey, that’s just my take on it. Not everyone has such somber minds.

“Just think preciously of every moment or time.”

“42.”

“Live life with no regrets.”

“To eat.”

“I think it’s a science. We are born and we die. The best we can do is be happy everyday and enjoy it.”

The answers will always be different, as people will be different, as situations will be different and as life will be different. The meaning of life is whatever you make of life, whether it’s to watch a thousand movies until you understand the “42” reference, or if you decide to just pursue happiness.

In the end though, death still overcomes all.

But hey, why spoil everyone’s fun?

Movie Day

backinphillyLeave a comment

Well, on a lazy Sunday, what better way to spend my time but watching a bunch of movies?

So let’s take movie role call.

I started with Happy Gilmore. Unfortunately, my Netflix wouldn’t let me watch it. So, that one was a bust.

So I ACTUALLY started with Coach Carter. Everyone should see that movie. It’s basketball and it’s awesome. That was great.

Then I ventured into the hockey genre, and watched Goon and Slap Shot. Goon reminds me a lot of me. It’s a hockey player that really doesn’t care about anyone. He fights, and that’s it. My temper matched his. Slap Shot is an interesting classic as well. Just more hockey and that’s that.

Then, I finished up the day with some Jackass and Nitro Circus. Doesn’t get much better than watching a few guys try and hurt themselves. It’s just awesome.

Anyway, let me continue my evening of Nitro Circus and maybe some other weird stuff.

The Film Industry Today

charlieandthebirdLeave a comment

To follow up from the previous angst saturated post “What is it all for?” written by yours truly, here are some issues regarding the film industry currently.

The Film Industry today revolves primarily among massive blockbuster film distributors who produce films that will cater to large audiences in order to maintain a high profit circulation.

Due to the high competition for sales, not as many quality films are being made. Movies are being made to sell, and look attractive to buyers. For example, you want to make an experimental film? Your distributer probably wont do it unless you throw in some romantic interest, and maybe a few action scenes.

That’s what people are buying these days.

Yes, great movies can have both those things, but they are loosing creativity. Characters are becoming 3 dimensional on imax screen buts are becoming 1 dimensional in content.

Smaller production companies such as Fox Searchlight are doing a great job. They’re doing well and coming out with great movies by more independent directors who are sticking to their creative vision more so than someone working for another company.

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Fox Searchlight

Life of Pi.

eternity1030Leave a comment

“Life of Pi” is recently a very famous and popular movie by Ang Lee, especially when it became the Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards of 2013’s Oscar Ceremony.

Therefore, I decided to watch it.

The movie begins with Pi’s childhood. When Pi was young, his life was not that good. He was bullied by his peers who laughed at his name and called him “Pissing” (His name was Piscine). As he grew up and entered middle school, he decided to change the way he lived. He believed in a lot of religions. He was very smart.

One day his father taught him that animals are not like humans, they don’t have the emotions like humans, they are just animals. Pi’s family decided to move their home and sell the zoo they owned. So they took all of the animals with them and boarded a Japanese ship to their new home. The ship sank because of a huge thunder storm. Pi was lucky to get on a life boat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a tiger whose name was Richard Parker.

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In My Free Time…

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

Everyone has a favorite pastime, something they do when all else fails. Mine is watching movies. And let me be clear on something – I’ve watched a lot of movies.

It’s because of the amount of movies I’ve watched that I’ve decided to make this post.

To be honest, I’m not a very big fan of most the movies which are in theaters these days. There are a few here and there that get a laugh out of me, but other than that they just aren’t as good as others out there.

For example, The Dictator. This is by far not my kind of movie. I went to go see it when it was out with some friends, and despite the racism, sexism, and just plain offensiveness of this film, I actually found it quite funny.

A movie along the same lines which I didn’t particularly enjoy was 21 Jump Street. I mean, it’s funny, it’s got Channing Tatum in it (obvious plus), and it’s a good concept. But let’s face it. How many other movies are out there with the exact same story line? The answer is way too many.

Act of Valor came out last year, and I went to see it with my dad while my brothers were with my mom. This was a hard movie to watch, but that very possibly could have just been me. I have a tendency to be a bit squeamish at times. All in all though, I thought this was a good movie. An aspect of it which I found particularly interesting and appealing was the fact that the actors were real Marines. It added an element of reality.

Almost everyone has heard of the romance Dirty Dancing, and I’ll admit to having a small crush on Patrick Swayze. This film is decent. It has everything one could want in a romance. Dancing, rebelling against parents, guy from the wrong side of the tracks… You get the idea. But although I do love this movie, I don’t find it to be very original. At least not anymore.

The Rebound however is a movie I enjoyed quite a bit. It was funny, and although it was predictable, there was an element of difference to it. And I love Catherine Zeta-Jones. Especially in her other movie, No Reservations.

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Espionage

therightliberalLeave a comment

I just finished watching the fantastic movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. It is a mind bending movie but one that works the brain in the best way possible.

I must say, I have a weakness for spy movies, the realistic type (not like Mission Impossible crap). They are just so scintillating and exciting.

Although I was a tad confused at the end of the movie, I still enjoyed it and its fun to have a movie that keeps you thinking even once it is over.

But beyond the world of spy movies, there is the world of actual “intelligence” work.

I think it is such an interesting field, one that holds so much power and importance. We have no idea what goes on behind the closed doors and yet we are all aware that it is extremely important.

The amount of work that goes into behind a step ahead of everyone else, from enemies to allies, is absolutely incredible, and yet we have no idea what it is, only that it exists.

I think the people that work for groups like the CIA should be saluted for doing such unselfish work that aims to always keep ‘Merica on top.

Universal Studios!

rangerthecatLeave a comment

Today was my first time ever going to Universal Studios. I didn’t know what to expect as we rode the bus there, but I had a lot of fun!

Both of my friends had already been there a time or two before, so they knew where all of the fun stuff was and were happy to show me around.

First, we went on the tour of the stages and sets where many famous movies have been shot. It was really interesting to see how many stages they had and how many interesting sets there were and what it took to create them. When I watch movies, I guess I never really think about the fact that they have to shoot on a set rather than in the real place. We saw outdoor sets from many movies including War of the Worlds, Jaws, Psycho, Desperate Housewives, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Three Amigos, and many more. We rode around in little buses throughout these sets and got to hear a little about each of then. We also saw some cool 3D King Kong preview and car stunts from Tokyo Drift. It was really mind-blowing to see how much goes into these movies!

After that tour, we went on a Simpsons Ride which was really silly, and then we went to the Mummy ride. That one was probably my favorite. It was like a miniature indoor roller coaster. We also went on a Jurassic Park water ride.

Towards the end of our day, we went to a Waterworld show where there was many stunts and tricks done on the water in a performance. There was a lot of action and fire as well. It was a very entertaining show to say the least.

About an hour before we had to leave, we exited the park and went walked through Universal City Walk. There were a lot of shops and we went into a few of them. We got candy from a candy store called Its Sugar, which was really cute inside and they had my favorite candy, chocolate covered gummy bears. We walked around for a little while longer and went into a few Universal gift stores and debated buying dorky souvenirs.

It was such a fun day and I had a really great first time at Universal Studios. I will definitely be going back again sometime soon!

The Vow

rangerthecatLeave a comment

This Saturday, I went off campus with some friends to go shopping, have dinner, and see the new movie The Vow.
I have been SO excited for this movie ever since I saw the first trailer in theaters.
First of all, the actors in it are some of my favorite. Channing Tatum is a god, and I have loved Rachel McAdams ever since the Notebook. The story also sounded so extremely cute, and I expected it to be the cutest new love story that everyone was talking about.

But to be honest, I was not impressed. I could be because I built it up so much in my head that my expectations were much too high. I was actually a little upset, especially at the end. The ending truly ruined it. I was hoping for a total cliché and cheesy romantic ending. Even if it would have been a predictable one, I wanted a real love story, and it ends leaving you wondering, and not in one of those good ways.

The story had so much potential, and I really don’t think that the movie makers took full advantage of what they had to work with. Maybe they didn’t want just another predictable, perfect Hollywood romance.

It was not terrible by any means, but it wasn’t great. I’m a bit disappointed.