Marrying for Money

I know I have already blogged about the Kardashians, but I can’t help myself--I’m blogging about them again. For the past few weeks, the four hour wedding special plays absolutely non stop on E! television. The media has been overrun with Kardashian fever. Every magazine, news report, and commercial tends to feature one of the Kardashians. Kim’s overly extravagant wedding has caught people’s attention as the wedding of the century. People are completely amazed by the amount of money that was spent on the wedding ceremony, reception, and overall celebrations.

Now, Kim has officially made a statement that she has filed a divorce. Not even having been married for 72 days, the couple is ready to call it quits. The brevity of the marriage raises many questions. Was the wedding an extreme form of scripted television? The Kardashian family was said to have made between $17 and $18 million dollars. If that is the case, then there was great incentive to get married. Even with all they spent on the wedding, the Kardashian family was actually making $17 million. That blows my mind.

The recent events cause one to question the validity of reality television. I know I personally am starting to believe that their wedding was a publicity stunt. The marriage between Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian truly was the epitome of marrying for money.

Edward Scissorhands

This weekend when I traveled home for fall break I came home to a house without internet and TV. It was very quite, peaceful and a little boring sometimes. Thursday night my mom and I came home from dinner and decided to watch a movie from my brother's collection. Since I've seen most of them, I was looking for one I have never seen. The first one that caught my eyes was "Edward Scissorhands", when I asked my mom if she has ever seen it she said, "You haven't!". We immediately decided to watch it. The first few scenes is an old lady telling her grandchild a bedtime story about this old, scary house up on the hill that you can vaguely see out the window behind her. It then shots to a shot of a hand knocking on a door and someone saying "Hello! Avon lady!" The door opens to a housewife with curlers in her hair, and it zooms out as the Avon lady gets denied and walks away. You then see all the houses throughout the neighborhood are all painted a different color but are all the same built (I thought this was pretty funny)/ We then follow the Avon lady to a couple more houses where she also gets turned away and ends up in her car disappointed. It then cuts to her rear view mirror and zooms in where you see the house at the top of the hill, she proceeds to drive up to the house. When she arrives at the door, after a few knocks and no answers she lets herself in and as she introduces herself it echoes through the dark, scary house. She asks, "Is anyone here?" and there was no reply, being the noisy housewife she is, she starts to walk up the spiral staircase. Which leads her to this wide-open room, where she finds a scared Edward in the corner. She promises she isn't going to hurt him and he proceeds to come out. The Avon lady sees that he had scissors for hands and decides that he can not live up there all by himself and he needs to come home with her right away. Without a question we cut to them in her car driving away from the house and towards heres. Before they can even pull into the driveway all of the other housewives spot Edward in her car and start to gossip with all of the other ladies on the street. She gets Edward in the house without being seen and begins to get him all cleaned up and gives him normal clothing. One of the funniest parts in the movie is when the Avon lady tries to cover all of Edwards scrapes on his face from the scissors with all of her Avon products. He just sits there helplessly with all of the goop on his face. Once everyone in the neighborhood finds out who Edward is and his specialty, they have him trimming all of their bushes in to a piece of artwork. This quickly changes to everyone starting to think he is a bad person, when truly he has the sweetest heart and is just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The ending of the movie is bittersweet. Everyone wants Edward killed and they think that happens but he just goes back to his house on the hill. This is where you fin out that the old lady from the begining of the movie is the Avon lady's daughter who falls in love with Edward and reveals that he is dead to all of the neighbors to save him from the real world; even though he was ready to be out in the world, the world was not ready for him and that is truly sad.

Lion King.. on VHS

The other day, me and my boyfriend really wanted to watch the Lion king, but since we are lazy and didnt wan to go to theaters and see it in 3D, we decided to watch it on VHS.. and i was very surprised it actually still worked. The Lion Kings has always been one of my favorite Disney movies. Its songs always get stuck in my head, but its meaning is what really makes it a great movie for me. After only watching dvds for so long, i had totally forgotten the troubles of a vhs tape. And its visual apperance vs a dvd does not even compare. I think we forget how lucky we are to have such wonderful visuals now. But watching the Video really took me back to my childhood!

Burlesque

This is one of my favorite movies that I have seen in a while. It is about a small town girl, who doesn have alot of money, who goes to LA to find a better life. While looking, she runs into a place called burlesque. She walks in to see what it is all about. She seeing girls dancing on stage, and se knows that that is what she wants to do. So she works her way up, avantually trying out for a dancing role. She finds difficulites during her time trying to move to the top, but she never lets anything hold her back. She helps Tes(the club owner), keep the bussiness. The music in this movie is amazing and very upbeat. Although the movie was about showgirls, i felt that the director did a good job of making it tasteful and one that even adults would enjoy. Christina Aguilera did a wonderful job and the main role (Ally). She showed just how musicly talented she still is and how she can still dance as if she were a 18 year old again. Cher showed how talented she still is by acting the role of Tes. She did a great job playing a former dancer/club owner. Its amazing how her voice is still one of the best, and her and Christina made a killer duo together. Seeing this movie in theathers and then in a home atmosphere, it still made me want to get up and sing. I would love to see this as a Broadway production!

Tom Petty Runnin Down A Dream

Tom Petty Running Down A Dream, released October 14^th 2007, is a documentary about the rock band Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. The film has an amazing list of guests that are interviewed throughout the film about the band. Some of the stars that are featured on the panel of guests in the film include: Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, George Harrison, Eddie Vetter, and Rick Rubin. The first part of Tom Petty Running Down A Dream covers Tom Petty’s childhood, the evolution of Mudcrutch, and the battle with the record company over a copywriting dispute.

From early on in Tom Petty’s childhood, Tom knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life. This has a lot to do with the fact that his uncle worked in the movie industry and because of this he was able to meet Elvis Presley. The fact that Tom Petty met Elvis Presley had a big impact on Tom Petty and he instantly became an Elvis Presley fan and started listening to a lot of music because of this.

After meeting Elvis Presley Tom Petty’s dream was to play music. He followed his hearts desire and learned how to play the guitar. He later went on to form a band in high school named Mudcrutch. Mudcrutch stayed together for a while and they had a lot of material written. They later went on to California and got a record deal.

After they were signed the record label decided that they didn’t want the band anymore and only wanted Tom Petty. After Tom Petty heard the news that they only wanted him, he had the tough job of telling the musicians that he convinced to drop their personal lives and other aspirations they were pursuing in order to attain the record label that the record label only wanted him. This was very tough for Tom because Mudcrutch was like a family for Tom.

Soon after this he had the privilege of picking his own band. Mudcrutch had stayed together and had made some adjustments to the lineup to the band. One day Tom went to a recording session to see how they were doing. When he heard them he was very impressed and he took the band and got them on his label. They later came up with the name Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

One thing that I found interesting in the film was that Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers didn’t have the copy write for a lot of their hits. This is something that I’ve always heard that I need to do as a songwriter is to copy write my material. I never thought anything of it until I met up with my mentor this summer. Although I had written some good songs, I never thought that they were good enough to make a lot of money off of them.

When I saw that Tom Petty didn’t copy write his material I almost choked on my drink because you would think that someone of the greatness of Tom Petty would surely have the knowledge to copy write his material. I’m not sure why he didn’t have his material copy written I have the assumption that its because he didn’t have much knowledge about the business aspect of the music industry until it was too late.

Although this was definitely a hard time for Tom Petty and The Heart Breakers, when the issue of not having his material copy written Tom Petty didn’t just roll over and let this get the best of him and the band. He took action and took the issue to court. Tom Petty even threatened to leave the record label and to go another record label.

Throughout this process of a lengthy trials and tribulations for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers they continued to record. The band continued to record on their new album. They worked on the album in the studio and since Tom Petty was under trial they had to have a secret place to hide their material so that if it was brought up in court whether or not they were recording Tom Petty could deny and say that he did not know where the recordings were. Fortunately, the trial came to an end with good results for Tom Petty. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers got their own record label.

In conclusion I would like to say that this is a great film that portrays the life of an American icon. Tom Petty has greatly accomplished his dream of being a musician and like the name of the film and the song he has definitely ran down his dream. What is even greater is that he is so full of ambition that he hasn’t stopped yet and is still chasing his dream today and is still making his mark on rock and roll today. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t heard of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

In Time

In Time, is a crime movie that takes place in the future, where time is the currency and everyone stops aging physically at twenty-five. The movie has strong characters and appropriate music. The characters are dynamic, and well developed. The criminals are attractive and relatable, while the cop is tired and judgmental, this leads the audience to favor the criminals. The music enhances the emotions in the movie. Although the movie features successful characters and music, the plot is expected. It is the typical crime movie, with cops, guns, and speeding cars, but the futuristic spin sets this movie apart from other movies in this genre. The sequence of events is so predictable that I made it a game to guess what would happen next. Furthermore, the movie is a cross between the stories of Bonnie and Clyde and Robin Hood. The criminals are an enticing couple that everyone can identify with. Like in Bonnie and Clyde, the audience sides with the criminals, because they are attractive and relatable. Additionally, the movie is similar to Robin Hood, because the criminals steal from the rich to give to the poor. In Time was an okay movie, but the plot should have been a little bit more creative.

Hot Fuzz

Today I watched a movie called Hot Fuzz on Comedy Central. The short version of the plot for this film is that the main character Nicholas Angel is a police officer in London's Metropolitan Police Service. However, he performs his duties so well that he is accused of making the other officers look bad, and as a result the Chief of Police transfers him to a crime-free town called Sandford. Once there, he immediately arrests a large group of underage drinkers, and a drunk driver who turns out to be his partner named Danny Butterman who is the son of local police inspector Frank Butterman. Danny, a well-meaning but naive police officer, is in admiration of his new partner. Nick struggles to adjust to the slow uneventful pace of the village, but then a series of gruesome deaths shocks the village. Angel investigates, believing the deaths to be murders. This movie is the prime example of an action comedy. There are some dark moments in the movie having to do with some of the deaths, but they are replaced with some comedic moments shortly after. I thought this movie was very well made and that the types of shots and angles used were spectacular. For example, every time we see Nick go back to his apartment we see him walking down the hall and when he almost gets to his room it all the sudden shows an extreme close up shot of his hand opening the door, then the next shot is of him inside. The movie does this a lot and uses the extreme close up shot like there's no tomorrow. However, the movie also incorporates a lot of long/extreme long shots like many/every action movie as well as some high angle shots for when certain characters are on top of buildings for example. This is a great movie and I would recommend it to anyone who can't decide on whether to watch an action movie or a comedy.

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Last week, part of my Fellows class had a dinner discussion with Professor Nolan of the Honors College. Our talk was centered around the documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop. The film is about the evolution of street art. The main figure, Thierry, is a documentarian looking to capture the identities and behavior of popular street artists. He follows them to document the way they present their work, where they go, and how they approach art as a whole.

He follows major street artists that have made social statements through their artwork. The main artist that is portrayed is Banksy, an artist who does not reveal his identity but is one of the most widely known street artists in London. Thierry makes his first documentary, but the product is a complete flop. Exit Through The Gift Shop is a documentary based on Thierry’s transition from documenting other street artist’s work to making his own street art.

Banksy is a mysterious figure manipulating art as a medium to portray his ideas. When we were discussing the way he reaches audience, we came up with an interesting perspective about the documentary. Because the documentary was actually about Thierry, who developed a street artist alias called Mr. Brain Wash, we suggested Banksy could have made the documentary himself. Developing a street artist that had the power to “brainwash” an audience by taking advantage of an art fad would be exactly the type of statement Banksy would try to make. The documentary could easily have been a staged message that Banksy developed to impact an audience. There is a great possibility that we were incorrect in our mindset, but we began questioning the line between fact and fiction.

Paranormal Activities 2

It’s getting close to Halloween, and I’m sure many people are planning on celebrating by watching some scary movies. I recently watched Paranormal Activities 2, and afterwards I jumped every time the people in the room above me made a noise. I was blown away watching this movie as someone who now knows a little bit about film. First of all, if you haven’t seen the first Paranormal Activity you need to watch it beforehand. (This may seem like an obvious thing to do, but the trailer for Paranormal Activities 2 was so vague -although terrifying- that I didn’t realize that the two actually are part of the same story until I was 20 minutes into the second installment.) The creators of the Paranormal Activities movies are brilliant. This movie is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The entire second movie is shot from a handheld camera being wielded by the actors and security cameras placed throughout the home of the haunted family. Instead of the typical decrepit, haunted house, the family lives in a beautiful, modern home in some wealthy neighborhood in California. The family is a typical American family: dad, stepmom, teenage daughter, baby, and dog. Nothing about these people or their home seem creepy at first, but you know it’s a horror movie which makes it all the worse that a dog and infant are involved.

Psychologically the creators know how to manipulate you. I guessed out loud what scary thing was going to happen in the movie over a dozen times. Not once was I correct. The movie is divided into a series of days. Everyday you see the family and learn about them, getting the sense that they’re a normal family much like your own. Then at night you see the same images over and over: pool, kitchen, stairs, baby’s room. You think something is going to happen at night, but eventually after seeing the night sequence repeatedly with nothing scary happening, you let your guard down. Not a good idea. This movie might start out with some subtle spooky activity, but it doesn’t end that way. Another thing I loved about this movie was the use of angles and composition. All the security cameras are set up in corners, so you see the rooms at tilted angles and are looking at several rooms or doors at once. It’s so visually overstimulating that you don’t know where to look- making it even more difficult to anticipate what’s going to happen and where.

Father & Son

While watching Waist Deep a lot of things were pointed out to me that i did not notice before, many of the camera views were profile shots and up close shots which showed a lot of feelings and personality. Throughout the movie during action scenes the shot length was very short but there were a lot of shots composed just for 3o seconds of action. Camera panning often happened when there were many people in the room or to build suspense on what was next to come in the picture. During different scenes that were not connected in any way by surroundings music was played to ensure the viewer knew the plots were linked. While on a journey to get his son back Tyrese shows so much emotion that the movie is no longer just a Gangster/Crime film it merged between that and a Drama Film.

Blood Pressure

One of my favorite bands is a band called MuteMath. MuteMath is a American alternative rock band from New Orleans that formed several years ago. The group consists of lead vocalist and keyboardist Paul Meany, Darren King as drummer, Todd Gummerman on guitar, and on bass is Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas. They often perform on any mixture or variation of these instruments, which makes them pretty cool in my opinion. They also just had a concert in Birmingham, AL, which I was unfortunately unable to go to, but from what I hear it was amazing and they're even better live. Anyway, I recently watched one of their music videos for one of their songs called "Blood Pressure," which is a great song. In all of MuteMaths' music videos they have really cool editing processes in how they make the video. For example in one of their videos for a song called "Typical" the entire video is played backwards, but when viewed all the mouth movements for each word fit perfectly with the song. A great video. In the music video for Blood Pressure the camera doesn't move so the location never changes and half of the video is taken in snap shots of each individual. So they may appear to be moving, but it's really choppy and obviously not normal. They also incorporate real time footage of the lead singer along with the single frame shots, which I thought was really neat. The real time footage of the lead singer is a close up of the side of his face from the neck up. This video is really cool I encourage anyone who loves music to check it out Blood Pressure - MUTEMATH

Willy Wonka

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, is everyone’s childhood wish come true. A movie based entirely upon candy. The original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has a strong plot and stronger characters. The movie is based on Roald Dahl’s children’s book. The plot of the movie closely follows the plot of the novel. From the initial explanation of Wonka’s factory, to the five golden tickets, to the surprises in the factory, the movie stays true to the events in the book. Although the plot is an important part of the movie, the characters are vital to the overall success of the movie. Charlie, the protagonist, is a lovable and relatable character. Although he is poor, he maintains a positive attitude throughout the movie; he rarely gets upset or discouraged. Contrastingly, the other winners of the golden tickets, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teevee, Augustus Gloop, and their respective parents are not as charming as Charlie and Grandpa Joe. The other winners are arrogant, rude, annoying, and too greedy. Their negative traits highlight Charlie’s positive traits. Additionally, Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompas are interesting characters that contribute to the success of the movie. The movie would not be as memorable without these characters. In conclusion, a developed plot and fascinating characters are two aspects of Willy Wonka that makes it a movie that stands the test of time.

A Fresh View of Documentaries

When, on Monday, I had heard that we would be spending a class learning about documentaries, I was not thrilled.  To my surprise, however, I really enjoyed it!  When discussing television or movies, documentary is not the genre that normally spurs excitement or interest.  Documentaries are thought of as boring, informative films or shows about things such as Civil War or Politics... certainly not on many "must see" lists.  However, today I realized that documentaries can actually be interesting, funny, stories, and that I actually watch documentaries all the time, not realizing that is what they were considered.  I believe that the thought of documentaries being "lame" is outdated and that film makers today have found ways to make documentaries as enjoyable as films of any popular genre.  Watching "Come on Down and Pick Me Up" by Nicholas Corrao, and listening to him talk about his work with documentary films entirely changed my opinion on what I thought of documentaries.  I found learning about Fred and his artwork, as well as his illness to be interesting.  It was intriguing how Fred's artwork has progressed his illness, and at the same time took his mind off of the idea that he was dying.  The way the film was shot and edited, as well as the music choice, really helped to tie it together and tell the story.  Kudos to Professor Corrao!

Truth in Documentary

Class today made me start thinking about the truth in documentary films. In the documentary Food Inc. the maker's of the film are defiantly making the film in the viewpoint of the farmers. They are showing farmer's that are at the mercy of these huge corporations. You can't help but be angry, sad, and just really disturbed by the information they show you. Most of the film they are interviewing farmers, shooting video of their farm, and showy the dirty side of food and the farming world. The way the movie is edited makes a big difference in how the subjects are portrayed. For example there are close up shots of animals living in their own waste. They show the desperation and frustration of these farmers working on their land and then they will cut to a shot of a massive building with the corporations name on it. To me this makes the corporations look like big bullies. The fact that no one from the corporations will comment on the film makes them look faceless and guilty. I think the director is trying to raise awareness of something that most people in America are detached from. The majority of Americans do not know how the grow their own food or even what things actually grow in the ground. This is the reason I am in Sustainable Agriculture. I think Food Inc. did a great job opening people's eyes to a real problem that is effecting our country. Is it the total truth of the corporations? Maybe someone will make a documentary for them. :)

Stage Moms Out Of Control?

About three weeks ago my friend posted this video on her twitter & after watching it I have to admit I was a little outraged ONLY because the mom was recording it and knew her little girl was cursing. That was my only problem with this video you can see the mom in the mirror jumping up and down with excitement recording her little girl sing dirty words for a little girl this age, right? Sure when your that young your really have no idea the true meaning or definition for a curse word so ok I let it slide. So at first my plan was to blog about how ridiculous these moms were for uploading tons of videos of their young children singing just for their own benefit maybe in hopes of getting rich or some publicity stunt or what have you, until I saw the video clip of the same little girls on the Ellen Show! That little girl had tttoooonnnnnsssss of energy & talent! She got to meet Nicki Minaj and I loved that Nicki Minaj told her that she was super talented and most importantly to stay in school! The parents were in tears to see their amazing little girl perform with her favorite singer! I could only imagine the happiness her parents felt for that moment. So in conclusion, don't judge a book by it's cover! This little girl seemed like a ball of fun & energy so of course you would want & almost have to share that with the YouTube world :) I agree with Nicki Minaj it is a start of an incredible journey for this little one, if her parents continue to support & nourish her talent.

Recently I've listened to this young man's music beats on http://lilstevebeatz.blogspot.com/. His name is Steven Webb but he goes by "Steve Beatz". He sells his leases (non profiting use) at $25 and his exclusive rights (profiting use) at $125. Getting deeper into his music and the vocals of his background effects I can easily see that making these beats couldn't possibly be as easy as it seems. His tunes are very much different and unique and I imagine them flowing into an upper more advanced level. On the other hand they seem a bit shady as far as only contributing to one kind of music. I couldn't see any of his beats contributing to rock, jazz, or classical music.

Footloose

I saw the remake of Footloose last night with my whole sorority because one of our seniors is featured as a dancer in the movie. I really loved the movie. Though I never saw the original, I thought the plot, music, dancing, and characters were extremely entertaining. In the beginning and end of the film, the director focuses on the movement of people's feet as they dance to emphasize the freedom the dancers felt when they could actually dance in public. The director did a great job of tying all of the elements of the movie together from the costumes to the cars to the music. The ending was a little but too cheesy for my taste, but overall I thought it was a great movie and I would recommend it for anyone who likes small town love stories with a happy ending!

Spongebob Squarepants

Spongebob is an animated television series created by animator Stephen Hillenburg. Its genre is comedy and it has produced at least 306 individual episodes. This animated series does not only attract the attention of young kids but teenagers and adults as well. It often teaches good lessons about how to treat yourself as well as other people. The main character Spongebob Squarepants is a talking sponge that lives under the ocean with a load of his "under the sea" friends. They live in this fictional city called Bikini Bottom that always seem to house all of Spongebob's unusal mishaps. This is actually a quite humerous series that provides a lot of excitement and fun. One the downside some say that spongebob represents a gay symbol and that the produces are simply trying to get kids to grow up in that scene. Whatever this may be many people are searching for answers about this Mr. Spongebob and are too questioning themselves about how valid this rumor could be.

That 70's Show

That 70's Show is a sitcom based around a few teenagers who grow up in the 1970's. It was extremely successful and lasted for 8 consecutive seasons. The re-runs are continuously played on many television channels. The number 1 reason the show was so successful is the acting is great from almost all the cast members. And a cast of great actors almost always produces a hit. Their talent is projected even more with the way the camera zooms in for close mid-range shots, allowing the actors to exemplify their many facial expressions and convey the depth of their characters. Probably the least capable of the actors is Topher Grace, who plays Eric. But even with his somewhat lacking capability, he still is a success because of the nature of his character. He is supposed to be kind of shy and dull. The way the show is filmed in front of a live audience, with only a few different sets, forces the actors to do exactly that: act. In comparison to film, where many different takes and odd camera angles and special effects can propel someone's acting ability, here they don't have as many of those options. All in all, a combination of well planned camera angles and good acting forced this show into the mainstream market and into success.

Bones

Last night I started this new series called "Bones" from the very first episode of the first season. My roommates are in love with this series, so I had to find out what it's all about. Starting the first episode I new it was some sort of crime show but I had no idea what else it had to offer. It started off with this woman getting off an airplane, and as she's walking towards the exit she realizes someone is following her. Not knowing who this character is or what she does, she turns around and somehow gets this man (who is 3 times her size!) onto the ground. Humiliated he tells her that he is part of Homeland Security and they need to look in her bag. They take her into a private room, where they open her bag and find a skull. She tries telling them that she works with the FBI and is an anthropologist. FBI Agent Booth then walks in the room and proceeds to tell the man in Homeland Security that she is with him and assists with investigations with the FBI. She then realizes that Agent Booth set this whole thing up so he could get a hold of her because he needs help with this new investigation, that involves a deceased body. You also get a feel that they have a flirty partnership going on, which I am excited to see how it builds throughout the rest of the episodes! Dr. Brennan agrees to help him with the investigation under one circumstance, if she gets to be a full partner in the case. One of the major problems in this episode is the FBI letting Dr. Brennan and her crew do their own thing without being watched every second. Which is a problem I've seen in many obscured crime shows. Throughout the show they use a lot of shading on faces during conversations, which creates this ire, crime scene feel. My favorite genre in t.v. shows is detective crime, so I am very excited to watch the rest of the episodes and seasons, and catch up to the current episodes being played on t.v.

jersey shore...

This weekend, I watched Jersey Shore on Mtv for the first time. I was kind of forced into this situation by my surroundings and figured I would proceed with getting my self through an episode. First of all, this show is very hard to watch. The people around me somehow were actual fans of the show and told me I didn't know what I was missing. The main characters essentially have the goal of acting as stuck up, belligerent, drunk, intolerable, loud and/or obnoxious as possible. I quickly began questioning my friends as to what we were doing watching this, and I eventually gathered the response that the entertainment is all about how crazy they are (to them at least). All of the characters had relocated their 'Real World' type cast in Italy to film, because their all Italians "revisiting the motherland". All of the girls went to a wine tour where they proceeded to act like obnoxious middle school girls. Their only intent was getting drunk and I felt bad for their tour guide. I hope he got paid some money to put up with the main character 'Snooky' falling asleep on the wine barrels as he was giving them history. The guys went to go visit on of the character's family, which he had never met. This seems like a good idea, and I suppose they didn't find it immoral to let the mtv cameras film them with the 'guidos'. Later Snookie sleeps with multiple people and the episode ends with her throwing wine bottles at people. I almost wish I had kept my streak of not seeing this show.

The Proposal

So this movie has come on FX atleast 20 times since I have moved to tuscaloosa, so i have had a lot of chances to really watch it and get whats all going on. The movies plot is that there is this won,an who is about to be deported back to canada, so she black mails her assient and made him "marry her". While going through this process, they go to his families house in alaska and they start to fall in love. But people know that something is up so they try to prove that they arent getting married. The woman breaks off the weeding at the wedding.. but they end up together. I think it is a great comedy for couples to watch, although it leans more to a chick flick. I really enjoy watching this movie.

Making a Scene

While working on my storyboard project, I really started to realize how much goes in to planning for and making a movie. When I started writing my outline I kind of flew through it. I had all of the images in my head of what I wanted to illustrate and I began to describe them. After I finished, I looked back over my notes and realized I had skipped over a lot of time that would go by in-between my shots. I had trouble trying to fit my entire scene in to just fifteen shots. You try to think of every shot that has to be captured, from someone getting up from their seat to another character entering the room. It took me rewriting my outline several times to finally narrow down to fifteen shots but still keep enough to fulfill my story line. Then came the drawing... I'm not a very artistic person, so trying to include all of the necessary details was probably the hardest part for me. As I drew each shot I had to keep reminding myself of the background and surroundings. My main focus had been the main characters but without having background images, I really didn't have a setting. I had to recreate several shots including these details, but it really made a difference. My favorite part of the project was writing the dialog. My genre was romantic comedy and the lines just came to me as I looked at my images. My dialog changed a lot from what I had written in my outline and trying to make it funny was definitely an obstacle but overall it was a fun project.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians

I have mixed feelings about this show. It can be entertaining to watch because the family is so ostentatious and fight all the time, but on the other hand I feel like I gain nothing after I watch it. This was the event of Kim Kardashian's wedding. She married some pro-basketball player named Kris Humpheries. The show is constantly about them buying things, showing off their fancy cars and houses, and arguing over something dumb. I think the Kardashians have gotten use to having the cameras in their faces all the time that they forget they are there and say whatever they want. I would be on my best behavior if I was in front of a camera, but no these reality stars. They get paid tons of money to live their lives. I do think the producers try and add a little drama to each episode to keep the audience interested. This episode was about Kim getting ready for her extremely lavish wedding. They didn't say how much the wedding cost, but I"m sure it was a lot. The whole episode she and her fiance fought about how the wedding should look because her fiance is controlling like she is. In the end they had a very nice wedding at some villa and a huge reception in a black and white tent. There were many celebrities there and the whole Kardashian clan was of course there. Who knows if Kim and Kris will stay together, but they sure did throw a nice wedding.

Hangover 2

This weekend I watched the Hangover 2. I find this movie to a mediocre comedy due to the fact that the plot is exactly the same as the first movie. I do however like the fact that the director took the time rethink the story line within a new location, and in this film it is Thai Land. In comparison to the first movie I found it to be less comedic because I felt that I already knew what was going to happen, because I had seen the first film. The cast of this movie is what makes these movies so as far as the actors of tho film, the movie was exceptional. I wish the director would have just left the movie as a one and done, because it would have made the first movie much memorable and less of a let down due to the first film.

The Green Mile

This past week I watched a movie called, "The Green Mile." The film is told as a flashback and stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb and Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey. The movie is a story about Paul and his life as a death row corrections officer during the Great Depression in the United States, and the supernatural events he witnessed. One day, John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a giant black man convicted of raping and killing two young white girls arrives on death row. John shows all the characteristics of being a gentle giant, soft-spoken, and crying often. Soon enough, John reveals extraordinary powers by healing Paul's urinary tract infection and bringing a pet mouse of another prison inmate back to life. Later, he would heal the terminally ill wife of the Warden, who suffered from a large brain tumor. When John is asked to explain his power, he merely says that he "took it back." I thought the movie was very well made overall and really portrayed the time of the great depression even though it was made in 1999.

The Life of Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is one Tom Hanks best movies of all time. It's a great story about a man and all of his adventures and troubles throughout his life. Forrest Gump tells many things about a person's life. It shows him being a military which shows great courage in someone of a being a man and serving a part in our country's military. In that time it tells us about friendship with a man named Lieutenant Dan. Forrest saved his life in the war and shows the friendship between them throughout the movie. That kind of friendship is hard to find. With that friend they start a business together and become business partners, make a living together. I think this movie also just tells how people think of all the things that run through someone's mine being in all of those places around the world. The most important thing in this movie is his love with Jenny. He was always in love with her but he wasn't sure if she was in love with him because she always left and didn't come back. He would have to go find her. But it shows that love for someone will never go away if you care about them enough to know that they will always come back. Through their love they have a kid and keep that love for her on and on. So that loving family lives on and knows that someone is always there to love her. Also such a great movie if you've never seen it.

An Inside Look To Apocolypse Now Through The Hero's Journey

Apocalypse Now, made in 1979, is a movie that goes beyond the concept of war and deep into the human psyche. The writer uses the Hero’s Journey, like the Odyssey, as the framework of the storyline. This framework has many aspects but to understand the concept behind the Hero’s Journey as a whole an individual must understand the three main parts. The main parts of the Hero’s Journey include the departure, initiation, and return.

In the Hero’s Journey the adventure begins at home. In Apocalypse Now home is the apartment of Captain Benjamin Willard. There Captain Willard is reflecting on his life and how the war has impacted him as a person. Captain Willard is a conflicted individual. When he is at home he wants to be at war. On the other hand, when he is at war he wants to be home.

The call to Adventure takes place at Captain Willard’s apartment. He is in bed and he is awakened by two soldiers who have orders that Captain Willard must follow. Originally, Captain Willard refuses the call. The Captain refuses to get out of bed and the soldiers have to drag him out of his slumber and throw him in the shower. Captain Willard soon wakes up and accepts the call.

After the acceptance of the call Captain Willard meets his mentor, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore. Lieutenant Kilgore is an older man that has a wild side. He makes his soldiers surf on the waves of Viet Cong when there is an actual battle going on. As a practical joke Captain Willard steals Colonel Kilgore’s surf board. In result, Colonel Kilgore has his men chase Captain Willard down a river in Viet Cong. They continuously play practical jokes throughout the movie.

Captain Willard crosses the first threshold when he gets on Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore’s helicopter. On the helicopter they fly to a Viet Cong battlefield. Once Captain Willard arrives on the battlefield there is no turning back.

Another element of the Hero’s Journey is test and allies. Captain Willard and his crew encounter tests of all kinds throughout the journey. Captain Willard’s soldiers are his support system and help him get through the everyday struggles of the mission. Each soldier is different and they bring something of value to the crew. The French and Lieutenant Colonel’s crew are Captain Willard’s allies. They help Captain Willard throughout his journey.

Captain Willard approaches the inmost cave when he and his crew are attacked by a tribe on their journey down the Viet Cong River. In result, one of Captain Willard’s soldiers is killed. This is an emotional part of the movie because it has the crew member who was killed mother talking to the soldier about home.

The supreme ordeal takes place when Captain Willard is captured by Green Beret Colonel Walter E. Kurtz. Captain Willard is then kept prisoner and is barely given and food or water to stay alive. Green Beret Colonel Walter E. Kurtz is a Harvard graduate and is a very bright man who has supposedly gone insane according to the U.S. Army. He enlisted in the army at an older age. Green Beret Colonel Kurtz also had the ability and the qualifications to become a general but decided to be a Green Beret instead.

The reward – seizing the sword occurs when Captain Willard eventually gains his strength back. He jumps out of the window and into the Viet Cong River. He then finds a machete and then sneaks past the guards and kills Green Beret Colonel Walter E. Kurtz. When Captain Willard walks out of the lair with the machete the village people all bow down because he is the new God.

The film ends after this event and the road back, resurrection, and return with the elixir are left to the viewer’s imagination. There is a belief that this movie could be what it is like for a soldier to adjust through two different worlds, the war of peace and the world of war. A question of multiple identities may occur within two parallel universes in which they are connected to one world. This question is something that can definitely be held up to a standard for reality in which is almost impossible but the imagination of the mind is lead to question what possibly could occur.

I am Number Four

The movie “I am Number Four” is the typical teen fantasy thriller, with attractive protagonists, a love story, violence, action, and of course, aliens. “I am Number Four” is about a teenage boy from a different planet and how he fights off enemy aliens who are trying to take over earth. Even though the story is generic and expected, the special affects, costumes, and makeup were used effectively. The special effects added visual interest to the story. The dark set contrasted with the bright colors used in the special effects.Furthermore, special effects were used to transform a small dog into a huge scary creature. The costumes added a lot to the story. Although the main character was supposed to be an alien, he was dressed in the wardrobe of a typical teenage boy. This made the story believable. Contrastingly, the enemy aliens were dressed in black, this exemplified their status as the “bad guys.” Furthermore, the enemy aliens were made to look fearsome with makeup. The enemies’ heads were covered with scary dark tattoos. Additionally, the evil aliens had gills and unsightly teeth. The makeup made the aliens appear to be scary and gruesome creatures. Even though the special effects, wardrobe, and makeup were done well, it was all lost on the story. The story was a generic one, with the standard popular quarterback, the typical high school party, and the illicit relationship. In addition, the conclusion was expected, the main character wins the girl, saves the day, and rides off into the sunset. Although I enjoyed watching the movie, I would have found it to be a more entertaining experience if the movie had an unexpected plot.

Keeping Up with the Drama

I’ll admit it. I enjoy watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but watching four hours of the show over the course of two nights really makes you realize just how silly all of the drama is. You have to hand it to the Kardashians and everyone involved in creating the show, they know how to take a flame and turn it into a forest fire. For example, the wedding special featuring the wedding of Kim Kardashian and Chris Humpfries also focused on the weight gain of Rob Kardashian. They managed to make it seem as though he might be nominated for the Biggest Loser at any moment when really he’d only gained a few pounds. While his sisters ranted about how unhealthy he was, the editors chose to cut to and from shots of him eating. How can we know that the Taco Bell trip that they chose to show wasn’t, in fact, his only trip there in months?

Then Kris Jenner, mother of the bride, decided to get elective plastic surgery shortly before the wedding. Despite the fact that she was presumably being operated on by the best surgeon money can buy, she still acted as though she was going to perish on the operating table. Then during surgery, with heart racing music playing, viewers got to see her with her flesh peeled back from face -a completely unanticipated sight. Now I feel that most people who say they are getting plastic surgery because they don’t like the way they look would think twice before giving millions of viewers the visual memory of them with their face off. Watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians for an extended period of time really makes you realize how little you can trust reality television. The stars are making a huge amount of money off of causing drama, and the film is cut to give viewers a more dramatic picture of reality. So while shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians may extremely entertaining, they should never be a trusted representation of someone’s life.

Advertisement

Lately I've been paying more attention to advertisement than i usually do. I've started to notice and pick up on some of the themes and methods advertisers are using. Have you ever noticed how many commercials involve something to do with football during football season? Advertisers try to play on your interests at the time to get you to buy their products. For example: The Allstate car insurance commercial about a ref being chased out of town by fans after a bad call in a football game. Although this will never happen to most of us, the media planner for this company thought that this would catch people's eye because it involves football. Most beer companies also make football the subject of their ads during football season. Many food commercials and ads use football too. Tostidos chips always takes part in this season and Ritz makes football shaped crackers. These commercials may not send you rushing out to the stores to buy the products, but these are the top selling items and brands for fans weekend snacks.

The NEW Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men has been one of my favorite shows for a long time, but I'm a little skeptical about this new season. In the past seasons the show was based on inner family humor. The relationship between the three males on the show was very unique and Charlie Sheen's characters made the show. Now with season nine just beginning I've found myself being very critical towards the show. Maybe this is because i don't want it to change, but I definitely don't think it is nearly as good as it used to be. It still has it's funny parts and Ashton Kutcher is no doubt a funny character. I'm just not sure his type of humor was right for this show. Ashton has been in tons of movies and tv series and nailed the parts, but this space he is trying to fill now just isn't working. Although they didn't bring Ashton in to fill Charlie Sheen's role, the charter they have created for him has changed the show completely. The original story line and humor isn't there anymore. It's just a whole new show!

Mask Maker...

I honestly don't have any trouble with scary movies. Killer type movies- no problem. Suspense thrillers- no problem. I mostly don't have trouble with them because they are so hard to believe; production wise. I watched a movie last night called "Mask Maker (meet your maker)." I know, right? Terrible name. It's been trashed for being too similar to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I watched this movie because my significant other's band was featured in the soundtrack. Probably one of the only good/original parts of this movie. Apart from the terrible green screen action and the protagonist's obnoxious laughter, the movie wasn't AS bad as the reviews were making it out to be. Stephen from MTV's Laguna Beach was in it, as well as Terry Kiser from Weekend at Bernie's. If you like scary movies, you might enjoy this one, because the music does have an element of creepiness. But minor chords can only do so much. It is available on Netflix to watch instantly so go see how awesome/terrible this movie is!

2 Broke Girls

9/21/11

I was flipping through the channels Monday and came across a new series on ABC called 2 Broke Girls. It caught my attention right away and before long I had called my roommate to come watch it with me. The show is about Max a girl that works 2 jobs just to make ends meet. One of her jobs is waiting tables at a small diner and the manager has just hired a new waitress, Caroline. Caroline claims to have a lot of experience in top restaurants, but it turns out she is the daughter of a wealthy man who has just gone bankrupt and put in jail for stealing, now she is broke. She has no experience in the restaurant business and Max has to start at level one teaching her everything. The first episode really just introduces them and their story. Now they are beginning there journey together. This show was most likely written for a younger audience because of the choice of characters and the “slang” language. The main reason this show interest me is probably because I work in the restaurant/bar industry and its funny to watch them say things to customers, that I wish I could say sometimes. Also they include a twist with Caroline coming from wealth and having to go through the struggles Max has been through her whole life. You should give this show a chance!

Storyboard Project Presentations

Throughout the process of creating my storyboard, I changed my ideas multiple times.  I kept the same general idea of a man coming home from work and searching for his wife, who he soon finds was kidnapped.  While drawing my shots for the scene, however, I kept coming up with different ways to draw them.  For example, I would begin drawing a character point of view and then think, "Oh an over the shoulder shot would be perfect here", then I would begin drawing that and realize, "If I draw this as bird's eye view, it would kind of give the feeling that someone is watching him, and create an eerie effect".  I went through this with a few of my shots.  Although it got a bit annoying, I knew that I was being creative!  Besides for creating my own storyboard, I really enjoyed the presentations of everyone's storyboards.  It was interesting to see how people would imagine a specific scene and how they would set it up.  Some people even had the same ideas of how to create their scene, for instance, the Western scenes had similar angles and order of shots.  This project really helps you to realize how important the angle and order of shots in a scene is to the creation of mood of a scene.

Scary Movies

Ever since I was a little girl I've loved the month of October. I love the fall festivities and Halloween, but especially the old scary movies played over and over all month long. Classic horror movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose are so much more creative than the "horror" movies produced today. Modern scary movies are centered around sex and gore. There is nothing scary about seeing people get mutilated when they are half naked. Movies such as "Saw" and "Hostel" make me wonder how producers even think of such disgusting ways for people to die. Classic horror movies were actually scary; modern horror movies get more disgusting with each passing year.