Pathology

When I first saw this movie’s poster I got excited to watch this. But thankfully I read a bad review about it online so I didn’t push through with watching this on the big screen.
Hubby and I just bought a DVD instead. I was right it wasn’t worth watching in the theaters. The only consolation in this movie is the sexual nature that might attract the boys to watch it.

This Summer’s Best Five Family Flicks

Summer vacation just started and already Shine Parenting is feverishly offering ideas to keep the kids busy. We think a movie or two (or three?) is a great way to kick off the season—and have picked five winners that your kids will find irresistible.

1. WALL-E

WALL-E from Disney/Pixar may be the most eagerly awaited family film of the year. It’s certainly one of the most popular on Yahoo! Kids, where its trailers and clips are immensely popular. Surprisingly endearing WALL-E is a robot left alone on the future vacated Earth. When a sleek female robot visits, smitten WALL-E launches into swashbuckling space adventures where he finds his destiny. Rated G.

2. Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda is the early summer box office favorite and for good reason. This creative treat from DreamWorks Animation features Po, an oh-so-huggable panda destined to save ancient China from the evil snow leopard, Tai Lung. Trouble is, Po isn’t the perfect picture of a kung fu warrior—so it’s up to master Shifu and a menagerie of assistants to whip him into shape. There’s lots of fast action along with a feel-good message about believing in oneself. Rated G.

3. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

If there are girls in your family, you already know about Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, based on the American Girl brand of dolls, books, DVDs and destination stores. The surprising news is that this sweet tale is not over-commercialized and features a fine performance from media darling Abigail Breslin in the title role. Set in the Great Depression, the story follows Kit (an aspiring reporter) as she investigates a citywide crime spree that touches close to home. True to the American Girl sensibility, there’s even an educational streak in this film-just don’t tell the kids. Rated G. In limited release June 27 and wide release July 2.

4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

For boys, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a slam-bang feast of special effects, heart-pumping action scenes and Saturday afternoon serial heroics. Indy is back in classic form, older and slower to be sure, but still battling the forces of evil for the fate of the world. While the story drags between the adventure scenes-and the final act seems a bit too “out there” even for Indy—this is excellent escapist fare appropriate for aspiring tween Indies. Rated PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images.

5. Space Chimps

Space Chimps (coming July 18) looks to be an ideal, easy-going movie for whiling away a hot summer day. This animated adventure follows three latter-day chimp-o-nauts as they pursue a lost NASA probe—only to find themselves the only hope for a peaceful planet under attack by the evil Zartog. Along the way, hero Ham III discovers his hidden destiny. (Stop us if you’ve already heard this.) With producer John H. Black (Shrek) and director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) at the helm, we have hopes Space Chimps will transcend potential monkeyshines. Rated G.

Of course, the summer’s still young and there are plenty of films still to come. We’ll feature five more family-friendly flicks later in the season.

The above article was originally posted here.

‘Dark Knight’ credits pay tribute to Ledger

LOS ANGELES (AP) Heath Ledger is getting a fond tribute from his collaborators on “The Dark Knight” The end credits of the “Batman Begins” sequel include a farewell note to Ledger, who died in January from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs; and to special-effects technician Conway Wickliffe, who was killed last September in a stunt-car accident.

“In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe,” reads the tribute included in the credits, which went up Thursday on the Warner Bros. publicity Web site.

Ledger plays the villainous Joker in “The Dark Knight,” who begins a reign of terror on Gotham City that pits him against conflicted hero Batman (Christian Bale).

Arriving in theaters July 18, the movie reteams Bale with director Christopher Nolan and returning co-stars Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. Joining the cast are Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Beginning months before Ledger’s death, his frenetic performance and demented-clown makeup have been a cornerstone of the marketing campaign for the film.

“I needed a phenomenal actor, but he also had to be someone unafraid of taking on such an iconic role,” Nolan says in the production notes for “The Dark Knight.” “Heath created something entirely original. It’s stunning, it’s captivating. … It’s going to blow people away.”

The above article was originally posted here.

Wanted

This is the most recent movies I have watched. Names like Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman made me want to see it. It was a story of a group of Assassins called The Fraternity. They believed their destiny was to “kill one to save thousands.” They kill people according to the name
that comes up to the loom. And so the stories goes.

I wasn’t completely awed by the movie. As for my own point of view, it was not as I expected it to be. Maybe I had expected too much of the stars. There was no “wow” factor for me. Angelina’s role was not as great as I saw her in other movies. Though it is not totally a flop movie. The swiveling to fire a gun was quite intriguing.

Overall, the move is fine. So to those who haven’t seen it, check it out!

Amityville Horror - Movie & True Story

The Amityville Horror. You’ve heard of it as a movie or maybe a true story. You might even have heard it mentioned in an Eminem song. However you first heard about it, you heard the real truth. Amityville is a real town in New York, Suffolk County to be precise. The town was settled back in the 1600’s, but it wouldn’t be until the 1970’s that it’d rise to national prominence due to a tragic real crime committed at the famous address 112 Ocean Avenue.

On the night in November of 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr killed 6 of his own family members in what would come to be known as the Amityville murders. That’s the true Amityville horror, but the story continues after that. George Lutz and his wife (along with their three children) moved into that house on Ocean Ave the following December. Kathy Lutz found the place creepy right away and 28 days later (interesting?) the family moved from that residence claiming they’d experienced traumatic paranormal events.

Now, enter the author Jay Anson. He wrote not only the book 666, but also the novel titled ‘The Amityville Horror’ based on the events that the Lutz family went through though it is up for debate how close he stuck to the original real story. That book (published in 1977), in turn, became used to base a movie that would bear its same title in 1979. The movie terrified audiences worldwide with James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger all giving creepy performances that only added to the already scary story of the Amityville horror house.

Does the Amityville house exist today in real life? It certainly does, though it’s been renovated these days and the address has been changed. Many people came to see the site of the DeFeo murders and the place where demon possession was supposed to have taken place. Obviously, the home owners needed their privacy so they took steps to get that back.

I hope I’ve helped clear up any misunderstandings about the awful events surrounding the Amityville house. While the movies are terrific (a new version was made in 2005), the real stories are nothing to smile about.

Movie Downloads For Noobs

While a majority of people know that you are able to download movies on the internet, not everyone knows how to go about it, and what the benefits are. The good news is that it is very easy, even for the non-computer savvy, like myself.

After being frustrated by the often slow release of movies onto DVD and then finding that I have to wait to rent them once they are available, I decided to do a bit of my own research into how to download movies on the internet.

The first step I took was to do a quick Google search, which turned up an overwhelming amount of possible sites (literally millions) all offering movie downloads, it was hard to know where to start, but having the luxury of time I started looking through them. Amongst them were several free movie download sites, offering legal movie downloads, this was an exciting prospect, but on further investigation I found that the movies were often quite old i.e. black and white, musicals or other such things that didn’t quite suit my tastes, so I kept looking.

While not having investigated every possible site, I have found one that suits all of my needs and stuck with it, it offers not only a side variety of up to date moves, but T.V. shows and music as well, all of which are unlimited after one initial membership fee.

These are all reasons I chose to sign up for a movie download subscription. Now I can not only browse for and download movies of my choice at my own leisure, but I can also download a vast array of up to date music and T.V. shows as well

The pros are you get up to date movies of your choice in a short amount of time (dependent on your computer speed of course) which are high quality and legally obtained. Legally obtained movie downloads are something which most of us have to be conscious of unless we are living somewhere like the Philippines or Indonesia.

The best sites I have found so far are listed on my blog: These sites are safe in terms of viruses and spyware. the movies and other files are in a format that can be easily viewed and stored on your PC, they provide step by step instructions of what to do and provide support, which is good if your like me and sometimes find straight forward computer instructions a bit overwhelming at times. There is also info on how to put your movie onto a DVD.

Basically for someone like myself it turns an initially daunting task of how do I find movies on the net, into a pleasant, easy and efficient experience….If I feel like watching a horror I can download it in the morning and watch it that night, there is almost an indefinite amount and selection of movies T.V. and music all achieved through one member ship all in one place, I highly recommend doing this for anyone who enjoys watching movies. Now you can not only watch them in the comfort of your own home, why not choose them from home as well.

Top 10 Survival Movies

10. Tremors

Ok maybe this ones only borderline survivalist, but when a small town is cut off from the world by underground monsters, fun always ensues.

9. Waterworld

What happens when the world floods? Waterworld is what happens. Kevin Costner is a rogue survivor who has evolved to breathe and swim better under water. This survivor stumbles upon a little girl who holds the key to land all the while fighting a tyrant with unbeatable military forces.

8. 12 Monkeys

Bruce Willis plays a prison worker in a post apocalyptic society. After volunteering to participate in a science experiment Bruce Willis finds himself back in time before the society killing virus was released. He tries to prevent the catastrophe from taking place this preventing the societal collapse. This movie is a good watch.

7. Dawn of the dead

Plain and simple this movie spells zombies and mayhem. After a rash of zombie infections, some survivors find themselves held up at the mall. They have some fun while they’re stuck at the mall but don’t expect a comedy. There’s some gruesome violence in this film as well.

6. Mad Max

Gas runs out and this is what Australia becomes, a desolate place filled with road gangs. In this world everyone’s competing for one thing; gasoline. Watch citizens fight for survival in this post apocalyptic world.

5. Terminator 2

Rarely do we see a sequel as good as the first. This one is better than its predecessor. Follow Jon Connors attempts to prevent the world takeover of robots using the very same robot that was sent back in time to kill him.

4. Deliverance

Ah the famous Dueling Banjos. This film is a classic. A few friends camping in the great outdoors, what could go wrong? As it happens a lot can go wrong. A few friends become hostages of some local mountain men but thanks to the survivor of the group, Lewis, the group has a chance to get back to society. This movie may have some adult themes.

3. The Postman

Get caught stealing in a post apocalyptic town? Pretend to be a postman! That’s what Kevin Costner does in this great EOTW movie. Follow Postmaster Ford Lincoln Mercury and the Postman through the fight of their lives as they preserve the mail service while fighting tyrannical forces.

2. I Am Legend

They thought they cured cancer but instead they created a terrible new disease. After killing off most of the population a sole survivor residing in New York tries to contact others. Isolation is his worst problem because he is immune to the disease. Watch Will Smith try to find other survivors as he struggles to maintain his sanity.

1. Red Dawn

Why does Red Dawn get our vote for number one survivalist movie? Well because of the realistic plot and harsh realities presented. This movie takes place in a small Colorado town. After being invaded by Cuba and Russia a group of students take refuge in the mountains. They begin to mount a guerrilla war campaign against the hostile invaders. A great watch for the modern survivalist.

Married Life - Movie Review

Writer/director, Ira Sachs’ screenplay for this film is a dark satire of the classic late 40s-50s movies, created in the Woody Allen style of witty dialogue delivery. The look and tone of the film was meticulously researched to be correct in every detail to the late 40s period. Men wore suits any time they left the house. Women were relegated to being housewives or career women, there was no in-between. Everyone chain smoked straight cigarettes (Lucky Strikes or Camels) and drank heavily. The life expectancy was about mid-50s when men would drop-off with heart attacks or lung cancer.

Chris Cooper portrays Harry Allen a successful business executive who is disillusioned with his wife, Pat (Patricia Clarkson). He feels she doesn’t love him anymore and she wants sex much more than him. Consequently, Harry has been carrying on an affair with young pretty woman named Kay Nesbitt (Rachel McAdams) half his age. Harry makes the big mistake of introducing his mistress to his best friend, Richard Langley (Pierce Bronsnan) who is instantly smitten by her. Richard immediately begins plotting to steal Kay from Harry.

And so, Sachs sets-up this love triangle with Harry, who is contemplating murdering Pat with poison as his only way out. After all, he doesn’t want to hurt her and be the guy who ruined his wife’s life. He reasons that she’d be better off dead than face the humiliation of him leaving her.

Gradually, Richard injects himself into Kay’s life and before she realizes it they are going out on dates to night clubs. His excuse is–he is just trying to keep her from getting lonely while Harry is away with his wife. But, Richard aims for a home run which doesn’t take him long and bingo, Kay is singing Richard’s song of lust. Ah, sweet mystery of life I have found you…and so on.
With skillful fimmaking, Sachs created a typically 40s skin-deep social setting of proper dress and manners in which to place his actors. On the surface, the characters were polite and charming, but underneath they were obsessed with free sex and bored with the constrictions of the typically uptight 40s marriage.

As the plot boils, Harry gets cold feet about murdering his wife, and Richard strengthens his relationship with Kay. Meanwhile, there are strange things going on with Pat, who is unhappy with her life yet still feels loyalty to Harry.
Indeed, Sachs’ dialogue is snappy with underlying dark satire. Miraculously, Pierce Bronsnan was able to deliver some funny lines with a straight face, which only made them funnier. Chris Cooper is the quintessential stuffed shirt of the era–a man who hid his emotions to the point of making him psychotic. Culturally and socially, we’ve come a long way from that miserable time when people led secret lives to free themselves from the tyranny of acting a certain way to satisfy society’s narrow expectations.
This is a serious grownup movie with well written dialogue and interesting characters. It’s a far cry from the mainstream schlock that fills up the theaters.

Marilyn Monroe and the Silver Screen of the 1950s

From her uncredited roles in many of her early films such as Green Grass of Wyoming, to her most famous, or infamous, roles in movies such as Some Like it Hot, Marilyn Monroe has always made her presence known on-screen. Whether she was singing or just working the camera, Marilyn was famous for leaving her audiences with unforgettable images and long-lasting memories of her beautiful face and unmatched charisma. Throughout the years, Marilyn Monroe made headlines on and off-screen, but no matter what you remember her for, you surely do remember her.

Born Norma Jean Mortenson in 1926, Marilyn Monroe had an unstable childhood and was married at the age of 16. By the age of 20, however, Marilyn had begun to make a name for herself when she aligned with Twentieth Century Fox. Although many of her roles throughout the early 1950’s were small, most of which she was not even credited with, she took the front stage after she starred in Niagara.

Many audiences, modern day and those from Marilyn’s time, remember Marilyn Monroe for her knockout performances in films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire. Although Marilyn’s career ended too soon, her effects on the silver screen and in society in general, will be felt for many years to come. Her influence on pop culture is nearly unmatched by any celebrity before or after her.

More than just a beautiful face or a talented actress, Marilyn Monroe was and is a legend. From her memorable moments on-screen, to her controversial decisions off-screen (such as deciding to release nude pictures of herself to Playboy in 1953), she will remain in the minds in all those who have seen her face for many years to come.

Street Kings - Movie Review

When Serpico meets Training Day with The Shield’s antihero slant in this corrupt cops tale directed by David Ayer and written by James Ellroy. The characters in this drama are all twisted, but when the excrement hits the fan, even the good guy is as bad as than the rest. There are no redeeming characters in this scenario, just various stages of evil.

Keanu Reeves plays Detective Torn Ludlow, a vodka swigging killer cop who hands out his own brand of justice under the supervision and protection of his mentor, Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker). Captain Wander leads a cadre of bad cops who take illegal short cuts, steal drug money, and execute cop killers or other scum they judge to be guilty.

Detective Ludow’s outrage at injustice fuels his lust for vengeance. Captain Wander uses his anger as a tool to serve his own interests, but Detective Ludlow doesn’t realize he is being manipulated in this criminal enterprise disguised as a police unit. Ludlow considers himself an avenging angel, but in reality, he’s a hired killer.

Reeves adopts a cold steely persona for his rogue cop character which is quite effective at characterizing Ludlow as emotionally detached. The scenes of Ludlow taking out two drug dealers and other scum are brutal and shocking. His former partner wants his blood, but in an ironic scene, Ludlow walks into a convenience store and two hitmen come in to kill his ex-partner. The store tape insinuates that Ludlow was there to setup his ex-partner.

Hugh Laurie (House) deftly portrays Internal Affairs Captain James Biggs who is looking at Ludlow behind the scenes. But, remember things are not what they seem and are magnified by director David Ayer’s intensely violent scenes that can confuse viewers to ask, “Who are the bad guys anyway?” Well, just about every character in the film has an agenda that doesn’t include the police rules manual. This cop culture runs deep with bloody revenge and paid hits to protect the complex illicit operation.
Ludlow goes to extremes so he won’t implicate himself in the assassination of his ex-partner. But he doesn’t realize that it doesn’t make any difference, he is only a part of the chain of command that runs the corrupt cop network. The obvious flaw in Ludlow’s character is why is he so naive and unaware of his role in the criminal conspiracy.

Still, the story is complicated and dense, which holds the viewer’s interest. Then, during all this violence, Cedric the Entertainer appears as a minor criminal. No one will accept Cedric as a serious actor, but he does get some laughs, which breaks up the high tension of the action.

Forest Whitaker overplays his character with unintelligible sputtering speech. Whatever Whitaker had in mind for his character’s persona, it didn’t work out. Toward the end of the movie, no one emerges as a likeable character. However, Ayer’s gritty dark action scenes are strangely appealing. The scenario touches a hidden side of the viewer’s imagination.
When we see these cops-gone-bad stories, we wonder how much of it is based on reality. The truth is there are plenty of righteous cops who do their jobs and obey the rules. But the evil side of the thin blue line is much more intriguing. Just as we are fascinated by serial killers, we are drawn to the corrupt cop scenarios.

The odd way this story resolves leaves many unanswered questions. But the law takes a heavy hit and good cops are maligned by the suggestion that corruption this extensive could exist for such long periods of time. But we know that as in the past, justice will win in the

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