box office movie news

Mummy, Tomb of the dragon emperor

2008-08-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

This month blockbuster the Mummy, Tomb of the dragon emperor, the picture was not as good as the mummy return. The Han emperor which play by the Asian star jet li and women sorceress known as Zi Juan play by Michelle Yeoh. The Han emperor want Zi juan to be his wife but Zi juan has an affair and love his general. The general was put to death by the emperor. Before Zi Juan has already make a curse on the emperor and his follower to turn into terra cotta.

Alex O'connell play by Luke ford son of Rick O'connell by the main actor of mummy return, Brendar Fraser and his wife Evelyn ( Maria Bello ) and brother in law Jonathan ( John Hannah ) had to stop the emperor from treaten to plunge the world after Alex has discover the tomb with his father best friend Roger Wilson play by David Calder. Roger wilson be tratior them by joining force with the Chinese general Anthony Wong Chau-Sang as General Yang to open the 2,000 years curse and make the Han emperor alive again.

The picture was taken in a Himalayas mountain and the beautiful neon lit street of post war Shanghai. The O'Connell had to stop the Han emperor from achieve his aim with the help of Zi Juan daugther, Lin, play by Isabella Leong and three white huge animals to stop the Han from reaching his goal. The emperor achieve it and summon his warrior alive but was stop by Zi Juan the sorceress who summon the death to fight the army.

This Indiana Jones picture The kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-23T01:53:00.000-07:00

I presume this will be the last film of Indiana Jones play by Harrison Fords. At the age of sixty five I think he don't have the energy to go on when he has the full energy to act the early Indiana Jones. This Indiana Jones picture was not so exciting then the early adventures where by Harrison Ford acting was not so much then before Indiana Jones. The picture was most act by his lost child knowns as Mutt William cast by Shia LeBeouf and the Russian women general Irina Spalko plays by Cate Blanchett. Marion Ravenwood plays by his main women from the first films till the last Indiana Jones (Karen allen). The Indiana Jones movies were directed by Steven Spielberg and written by George Lucas.

This Indiana Jones picture The kingdom of the Crystal Skull is about putting the glass heads back to the body from other space. The adventures is driving their jeep down three consecutive waterfalls and the sword plays between Mutt William and Irina Spalko on a speeding jeeds. Thousand of ant eaters attacking and eating people when it passed by. Their job is to find Prof Oxley plays by John Hurt to leads them to the secret place and place back the glass heads. The ending was very beautiful as both Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood ties their knots and became husband and wife.

Movies news Dragon balls

2008-05-21T03:05:00.000-07:00

Even before the pictures Dragon balls is release on the June 2009, the picture is much talk by many people in town. The movies news is about a young boy name Goku Plays by Justin Chatin try to find the great master plays by Chow Yun Fat as master Roshi to gain the procession of all the seven Dragon balls before king Piccolo stars by James Marsters gets the seven Dragon balls and destroy the world. The young boy accepted his dying request from his grandfather and seek to find master Roshi and find the seven Dragon ball which he has already one in his procession.

The story was director, Producer and screenwriter by James Wong and in a 20th century fox studio. Steven Chow were announced as director and producer respectively. The shooting of dragon balls began in December the 3rd 2007 in Mexico city. Jamie Chung as Chi Chi became close to Goku and she became her love in terest. He mets Bulma plays by Emmy Rossum whom she helps him when one of Goku dragon balls is stolen by king PIccolo. Inorder to get the Dragon ball he has to passed many ostacle and even battle with the King Piccolo son.

A Paramount pictures is going to release a movies film Iron man in theatre nationwide.

2008-03-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

Soon on the 2nd of May A Paramount pictures is going to release a movies film Iron man in theatre nationwide. The film is director by Jon Favereau The movies news is about a billionaire plays by Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark known iron man who was kidnapped and force to build a deadly weapon. Tony stark a genius inventor used his intelligence to build a high-tech suit of armor to help in his escapes captivity.

After his escape and accident, he uncover a nefarious plot with global implication, he worn the high tech suit armor and vows to protect the world from crime. Together with his best friend Terrence Howard as Lt coloney known as Jim Rhodes and Gwyneth Paltrow, the Oscar winner, his executive assitance known as Virginia "Pepper " Potts and Obadiah Stane ( Jeff Bridge ) knowns as Iron Monger who works for Tony father before Tony birth will help Tony to see his work done quickly.Together their stand and fight the world from crime.

To know more about Iron Man and his top secrets, go to The Iron Man Movie Site.

The movies 10,000 B.C.

2008-03-24T23:35:00.000-07:00

The movies news 10,000 B.C. Is about a young brave boy in a remote mountain. This young hunter D.Leh ( Steven Strait ) is force to defend his people when a invaded band of mysterious warlords capture his people and force them to be a slave. The boy whom their tribes young people called him coward because of his father ran away fall in love and try to win the heart of a beautiful princess name Evolet ( Camilla Belle ). When the mysterious warlords capture his people and kidnap his girlfriend. He leads a small groups of three to hung down the kidnapper and save his people.

On His ways he has to passed many dangerous area to reach his destination but eventually his groups joined with others tribes whose people suffer the same incident. He was the leaders of the groups because the people believes he was send by gods to save them from invaders. They keep walking till their heroic journey end that they discover a lost civilization.

There they found that their people was force to slavery to build a great pyramids to reach the sky by a the person who called god to his own people. Together with his people and the slave their brought down the so called god and the empire. It is here that D’Leh finally comes to understand that he has been called to save not only Evolet but all of civilization. During the fight Evolet was arrow by the warlords leader when she try to escape. D;leh kill the warlord with his spear but eventually Evolet was saved by Old mother.

Actor Tony Leung the favourite to win the Golden Hourse Awards for the best actor

2007-12-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

This year Golden Horse Awards which is to be held in Taipei on December the 8th will see three Singapore films competing with the favourite actor Tony Leung Chui Wai, leading main actors in film Lust Caution who is also running for the best actor awards. The Singapore Song Stories, Is the second most nominated film with seven nods, including best films, best actress for Joan Chen and best supporting actor Joel Lok.

Another Singapore famous actor Gurmit Singh has been nominated the best actor shortlist and the films has beebn given the green light as the best original sreenplay and best visual effects categories. Gurmit Singh said he did not know that his had entered him for the contest in the movies film In Just Follow Law with singapore actress Fann Wong. He said he is honoured to be in the same category as Cannes Best Best Actor winner Tony Leung. Others Singapore films The Royston Tan musical 881 is up fot the best makeup and best costume design.

The golden compass

2007-12-04T23:16:00.000-08:00

Golden compass is the lastest talk movies news and the story is where witches rules the nothern skies. It is about magisterium play by Sir Derek Jacobi which seek to control all of humanity and trying to possess the golden compass from Lyra Belacqua. The golden compss is the greatest treat to them if they never have the golden compass. This golden compass is a mystical device that can tell the truth and also can reveals which people try to hide. As the world is dominated by the mysterious where people had to joined hands with animals spirits and hence the story whereby the ice bears is the bravest warriors.

Lyra Belaqua plays by Dakota Blue Richards trying to rescue her bestfriends from disappering with other children to the north. She woes to rescue his friend Roger, play by Ben walker to the end of the world to rescue him and was drawn into the traps by the magisterium. Lyra realizes that she will have to embark on her own journey to rescue Roger and stop the Magisterium. But fate puts her in the protection of a tribe of seafaring Gyptians led by Lord Faa, plays by Jim Carter, Farder Coram plays by Tom Courteney and Ma Costa by Claire Higgins. Lyra is accompanied everywhere by her daemon, Pantalaimon--a small, ever-changing animal who helps her to fight the magisterium. Her best change to get away when when a new figure, Marisa Coulter plays by Marisa Coulter appears at the college a beguiling scientist and world traveler. Lyra will need all her skill and all her courage, to stop magisterium.

John Travolta in Hairsprays

2007-09-24T03:02:00.000-07:00

John Travolta lastest movie shows the Hairspray and he proves his trademark of a rather plump housewife in his latest screen role the Hairsprays. This is not the first time has modified his kook foa a role, although it's the most dramatic the Battlefields Earth.

This film show John Travolta buried under a fat suit and wearing a skirts and female makeup. He was wearing an awful wig, wore pumps and put on a truly in your face costume. John Travolta was recently saying this about his role in Hairspray. I have had the intch for thirty years to return to mivie musical. I thought maybe it's smart to come back to it in a whole difference way , an unexpected way. Because how do you top Grease.

His role in this adapation from the Broadway stage hit, which in turn is based on the 1988 film staring Ricki Late see him playing mother to a sweet girl who manage to change the face of a Tv dance show

Springing Surprises on Venice film fest.

2007-09-24T02:36:00.000-07:00

Leading Hong Kong director Johnnie To will springs ome surprise of this year's Venice film festival. The movie news of his latest police thrillers is Mad detective. The movies main actors by Andy On, and Lau ching Wan and the film co-directed by Wai Ka fai. The story about a standard of a rookie cop teaming up with a former officer to hunt down a serial killers.

The films turns into a psychological teaster that blurs the line between truth and lies, reality and delusion, This year entry 23 films vying for the golden lion has been kept secret until a few surprice were spring out.

Last year top prise was won by one of the surprice candidate Still Life by chinese director Jia Zhangke. Welsh director Peter Greenaway applied to reveal the many secret of the Rembrandt masterpiece. The nightwatch, a work that led to the Dutch master finanicial and social ruin. The works explores the three women in Rembrandt's life and the influnce of his home life on his work.

Harry potter and the order of the phoenix

2007-07-26T00:13:00.000-07:00

The fifth film opens with the usual faces Daniel Radcliffe as Harry potters and Emma Watson as his ever friends, Herminone and Rubert Grint as Ron. and Micheal Gambon as headed prof Dumbledore. The movies news is Harry potter and the order of the phoenix by David Yates, A british TV drama director. Yates is to impress upon us that magic is no longer child's play. The movies news is about his cousin Dudley and their family squabble is interruped by a pairs od Dementors, who speak up on them in the muggle suburb where harry lives when not at Hogwarts.

Harry whips out his magic wand and defects the life sucking enemy, but troble brews when the ministry of magic discovers he has used magic outside of school and treaten to expel him out of the school. When an inquisition proves Harry Potter innocence, he was reinstalled in the school but his return is less than joyous. Harry feels isolated as he tries to get over the death of his friend Cedric and deal with doubts about his prophesised showdown with his enemisis. the one who can't be named.

Dolores Umbridge the new defence against the dark teacher who is a pink Energizer bunny with a deadly smile. Dolores fasist mission is to transform the school into a prison for harry potter and his friends. Being on the brink of war with the impending returns of Lord Voldemortand his death eater. Although this new movie is dramatically resonant and darker, it does not lose its inner magical child. The omission of quidditch which has cause an unroar among Potter fan boys.

Harry potter the wizard of kissing

2007-07-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe may be wizard at kissing, but the teen sensation revealed earlier that he is still a gentleman when it comes to locking lips. Radcliffe's kiss scene with Katie Leung who plays his schoolmate Cho Chang is a highlight of the latest Harry Potter movie and tugged at the heartstrings of the film crew who had watched the bristish actor grow up over the years.

But Radcliffe was quick to Stress that the kiss was not quite that passionate, who had been described by Leung as a great kisser. The Order of the Phoenix is the fifth film adapted from the author J.K. Rowling's hit series of books, and is being realease just weeks before the long awaited seventh and final books is published.

The huge US150 million production follows Harry and his classmates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger for the fifth year at the Hogwarts school.

Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty back on air

2007-06-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

Areality television show which sparked a racist bullying row involving Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty was back on air for anew series. But moments before the eighth series of Big Breother got under way in Britian,broadcasterschannel4 were forced to screen details of the significant failing detected by communications watchdog OFcom over the row.

OFcom recived in January many complains about alleged racist materials which centred on Shetty's treatment at the hands of fellow conrestants on the celebrity version of the show. Big Brother is a massively popular show with versions worldwide, where viewers choose a winner among contestantswhose activities are broadcast around the clock by cameras inside the studio house.

Zhang plays the leading actress in Horseman

2007-06-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi said Anthony Hopkins famous protrayer of the cannibalistic Hannibal Lectal inspired performance in her new movie The Horseman which was reported by a Hong Kong magazine.

The story that she plays is a killer who like to torture her victims psychologically before killinh them. She comment that to get into this kinds of mentally she had to watch Anthony Hopkins in his brilliant interpretation of a killer. The words Anthony uses was very carefully and none is wasted.

The Hourseman also staring Dennis Quaid, is about serial killing linked to the biblical Apocalypse. The movies finish shooting in March this year. The picture that watch Zhang Ziyi watched and played by Anthony Hopkins are The infamous villian Hannibal Lecter, and others movies The silence of the lambs and Hannibal and Red Dragon.

Zhang others well knowns movies and whose own credits include Crouching Tiger And Hidden Dragons, Memoirs of a geisha.

Pirates of the caribbean stay number one at the end of May

2007-06-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

Pirates of the caribbean,( at world's end ) stay number one amoung the top ten movies in united states and asia countries for the weekend of May and beginning of June 2007. Follow by Sherk the Third which grosses 69.08 while pirates of caribbean grosses 142.0, Spider Man in third places grossing 18.00 and follow by Big in four, Waitress in fifth, Twenty eight weeks later in six places. In seven place is Disturia, eight place Georgia Rule, nine place Fracture and ten place Wild hogs.

Pirates starring Johnny Depp as Jack, Orlando Bloom as William Turner, Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann, Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa. Turner, Elizabeth and Barbossa with its members try to free Jack Sparrow from his mind bending trap in Davy Jone's locker, while terrifying ghost ship. Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman controlling the East India Trading Company wreaks havoc across the seven seas. Turner try to get the black pearl to free his father from Davy Jones spell.

Also starring is Chow Yuen Fatt as Sao-Feng a Hong Kong Star act as a notorious pirates from Singapore who capture Elizabeth and later pass her a necklase and make her the captain of his ship from his last breath. This movies picture takes about two hours and forty minutes to finish.

Court summoned Shetty to court

2007-06-01T01:40:00.000-07:00

Shilpa Shetty Bollywood actress the winner of reality television show Celebrity Big Brother was summoned to court for the incident last month in New Delhi when she and Hollywood star Richard Gere was promoting Aids awareness among Indian truck drivers.

Shetty said the kiss might have gone a little too far but it was not obscene and the protest made India look regressive. She and Gere was only reenacting his movies from the film Shall We Dance to entertain the audience at the Aids event and communicate in a Hollywood style, as he did not speak Hindi.

Groups of Indian men had burned and kicked straw effigies of Gere and Shetty in sporadic protests across the country after newspaper published pictures of the couple kissing on the front pages and TV channels aired replays of the events. Many commentators subsequently expressed their unhapiness at what they said were fringe groups making a major issue out of a harnless peck on the cheek.

A kiss is just a kist by Gere

2007-05-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hollywood star Richard Gere got himself into trouble by kissing the cheek of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Gere Swooped Shetty up in his arm, dipped her and kissed her severa times on the cheeks at an event in New Delhi last month to promote aids awareness among Indian truck drivers. This act has ordered the Indian court to arrest him for committing an obscene act in the public.

This act has cause a sparked protests in some parts of india, mostly by Hindu vigilante groups, who saw it as an outrage agaibst Shetty's modesty and an affront to Indian culture. A court in the northern city of Jaipur ordered Gere's arrest in the response to a complaint by a local lawyers.

Gere a devout buddhist who visits India frequently to meet Dalai Lama, said the event was a successful at the time but blew up later. If Gere found guilty he could face a three months in jail or a fine or both for such an offence. Gere who star in the movies Pretty women.

Wedding for actress Elizabeth Hurley and Nayar

2007-04-18T02:43:00.000-07:00

British model and actress Elizabeth Hurley and her hubsand Indian businessman Arun Nayar arriving for a private dinner party hoasted by Indian food retail tycoon Riyal Oomerbhoy and wife Farah in Mumbai on monday. Hurley married Nayar in a private ceromony at Sudeley Castle in southwestern England's Gloucestershire country on friday. Both the bride and bridegroom with british actor Hugh Grant travelled to Mumbai straight after the party for their second wedding in Indian.

In Indian they marriedin a traditional hindu ceremonyin the dessert state of Rajasthan where the groom trotted down the aisle on a horse.The bride and bridegroom with their 300 guests enjoy bthe kind of pageantry once reserved for maharajahs as they shuttled between palaces and ancient hilltops fort around Jodhpur.

The guest dined on obscure Indian cuisine from Rajasthan, including wheat dumpling mixed into a soup of savoury lentils and food wrapped in leaves and cooked by embers while buried in the earth. There was a wedding caravan involving twelve hourse and sixty camel carts and fireworks in the evening.

movies news

Spider man 3

2007-04-18T02:21:00.000-07:00

Spider man 3 will make its worldwide debut in Japan on May the first that is labour day, three days before the action film premiere in the United State. The star studded premiere will be held at a Tokyo cinema on 16th of april with the actor Maguire attented and others star Kristen Dunst. Also attended are director Sam Raimi and creator Stan Lee.

The film will be relaese in others parts of the world such as Asia, Africa and Europe. Tobey Maguire is not sure he would star the superhero a forth time in Spidey man 4.

Curse of the Golden Flower

2007-03-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

Last month I saw the movies the Curse of the Golden Flower with my family. The story of the picture as I would said is not very good and the subtitles are not quite very understanding but if you talked about the dressing I would say very fantasty the whole show. The colour of the picture was very beautiful with a lots of colourful and beautiful sceanary of china ancient places.

The main actor is Chow Yun Fat who act as the emperor, Gong Li as Empress who is daily poison by the emperor and Jay Chou as one of the princes and dicector by Zhang Yimow. The Golden Flower is a symbol of being a Chinese woman who she is born into a feudalistic society where she is treated as an object, have absolutely no control of her life, yet she still tries her best to fight back and seek revenge any way she can. The ending parts of the picture saw the three prince was killed by each others.

Night at the musean

2007-02-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

Larry daley as Ben Stiller got himself a job as a security in a natural history musean which he desperated needed to show his son Jake Cherry as Nick Daley whom he love so much. He has a broken family as he living on his own. The movies is quite drilled and a comedy one which you can laugh yourself out along the picture.

On his first night at the musean he was giving a flashlight and a instruction manual about his jobs and left all along in the musean.To his utter astonishment and disbelief, Larry watches in shock as everythings comes to life. The first encounter he comes upon dinosieur drinking water and chasing after him all over the musean. then the monkey, the animals, Rex and Atilla and the caves men. With the help of
Teddy Roosevelt as Robin Williams he wage an incredible battle to save the museum besides not losing his job and letting his son down. the ending parts he got his job back with the increasing crowds in the musean

Casino Royale license to kill

2006-11-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

Daniel Craig the new James Bond's 007 "license to kill" takes his first mission to Madagascar, where he is to spy on a terrorist Mollaka. His mission here: infiltrate a high-stakes card game organized by the shadowy Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), Not everything goes as planned and Bond decides to investigate, independently of the MI6 agency, in order to track down the rest of the terrorist cell. Following a lead to the Bahamas, he encounters Dimitrios and his girlfriend. Eva Green plays Vesper Lynn, an alluring operative from the British Treasury who accompanies Bond to the titular casino and Judi Dench returns as Bond's boss, M.

The film contains recurring strong action violence, including an intense torture scene, adultery, partial nudity, sexual situations, and some mildly crude language.
This movies, Casino Royale will be sreening in Penang on 16th of november 2006. Expecting to runs at a full house for a few weeks

The movies news the SawIII 2006

2006-10-30T23:59:00.000-08:00

SawIII was release in theatre in 27 oct 2006 and starring by Tobin bell as jigsaw.
The movies news about the cruel of the puppet-master who intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police and he has once again excape capture and vanished. While city detectives scramble to locate him, Dr. Lynn Denlon played by Shawnee Smith as Amanda is unaware that she is about to become the latest victim to his vicious jigsaw cruel act. After finishing a shift at her hospital one night, Lynn is kidnapped and taken to an abandoned warehouse where she meets Jigsaw, bedridden and on the verge of death. She is told that she must keep the creep alive for as long as it takes another one of his victims. Angus MacFadyen as Jeff, racing against the ticking clock of Jigsaw's own heartbeat, Lynn and Jeff struggle to make it through each of their vicious tests, unaware that he has a much bigger plan for both of them.

The film was director by Darren Lynn Dousman at Liongate studio, producer by Mark Burg, story and screenplay by Leigh Whannell.

The next installment in the SAW4 series of horror films is set for release next Halloween on oct 31st 2007 after SAW 3 experienced the best opening yet for the gory horror franchise last weekend touching $34.4 million as sawII release last year touch $17.6 million while sawI $18.3 million in 2004.

Open Season 2006

2006-10-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

Open Season a Pictures Animation. It's a movie that kids will probably like. Open Season is no "Shrek" or "Ice Age," it gets laughs too. It's capable of giving at least the kid part of the audience a good hunter-trashing, bunny-bashing time.

Led by Boog and Elliot, a battalion of ferocious squirrels, rambunctious skunks, rampaging deer, a wacky duck and busy little beavers with chainsaws all set aside their differences and explode into revolt, attacking the crass, heavily-armed hunters. Most visible and obnoxious of the gun-toters is a snarling brute named Shaw (Gary Sinise, in his sadist mode), a maniac with a cabin full of mounted animal heads, who looks and acts like a mix of Paul Bunyan, Jack the Ripper and Bluto from the "Popeye" cartoons. There's also bossy tourist wife Bobbie, a Jennifer Tilly type voiced by Georgia Engel of the classic TV "Mary Tyler Moore Show."

As for the critters, after Boog and Elliot, the most notable are the mad Scots squirrel-general McSquizzy (the right role for Billy Connolly of "Mrs. Brown"), Elliot's dream girl deer Giselle (Jane Krakowski), his arrogant, fully antlered rival Ian (cartoon regular Patrick Warburton) and blue-collar beaver boss Reilly (Jon Favreau). grizzly bear, Boog (Lawrence) who's been sent back to the wilderness for misbehavior--getting drunk and trashing a convenience store--by his loving and regretful "mama," winsome forest ranger Beth (Debra Messing). Boog has led a fat and sassy dream life in Beth's town, Timberline, as a show-biz bear, but he gets exiled along with his fast talking, one-horned mule deer cohort and all-around bad influence Elliot (Kutcher), who keeps leading him astray for the entire movie.

CAST:
Martin Lawrence (Boog )
Ashton Kutcher (Elliot )
Debra Messing (Beth )
Gary Sinise (Shaw )
Jon Favreau (Reilly )
Patrick Warburton (Ian )
Billy Connolly (McSquizzy )
Georgia Engel (Bobbie )
Jane Krakowski (Giselle )
Gordon Tootoosis
Cody Cameron
Danny Mann
Fergal Reilly
Nika Futterman

DIRECTORS:
Jill Culton,
Anthony Stacchi,
Roger Allers

Open Season North American box office

2006-10-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

Open Season a Comedy, Kids/Family and Sony Pictures Animation unit, sold about $23 million worth of tickets during its first three days beginning on Friday. The new animal cartoon "Open Season" tracked down the No. 1 spot at the North American box office. The Guardian" sharing top billing with Kevin Costner, which opened at No. 2 with $17.7 million. Last weekend's champion, "Jackass Number Two," slipped to No. 3 with $14 million,

The story about a 900-pound domesticated grizzly bear named Boog and a scrawny, one-horned mule deer named Elliot end up stranded together in the woods during hunting season and it's up to the duo to rally all the other forest animals and turn the tables on the hunters. Martin Lawrence voices a domesticated bear named Boog, who is set loose in the wilderness just before the start of hunting season. Ashton Kutcher plays his partner-in-crime, a one-antlered mule deer.

Starring: Paul Westerberg, Gary Sinise, Jon Favreau, Patrick Warburton, Ashton Kutcher, Martin Lawrence
movie news

movie news : omen

2006-09-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

The film Omen was created in 1976 and directed by Richard Donner was later released in June 2006. These films were based off of a novel and the new movie was directed by John Moore.

The film focuses on the life of a young boy named Damien who may or may not be the son of the devil. With heavy religious overtones, this film plays on our sense of fear by presenting a quiet, evil, and calculating young boy. The main conflict found within the movie is the disbelief of the boy's father that his son could be the son of the devil. It is a moral dilemma faced by the man, played by Liev Schriber and his wife, played by Julia Styles,The boy is played by a young Harvey Stevenswho really knocks it out of the park when it comes to playing a one-dimensional creepster. The film also features a priest, played by Patrick Troughton who continuously warns the father of the coming circumstances he will face.
movie news

movie news : Hollywoodland

2006-09-12T01:20:00.000-07:00

Movie News
June 16, 1959. The glamour of Tinseltown permanently fades for actor George Reeves, the heroic Man of Steel on TV's "Adventures of Superman," as the actor dies in his Hollywood Hills home. Felled by a single gunshot wound, Reeves leaves behind a fiancée--aspiring starlet Leonore Lemmon--and millions of fans who are shocked by his death. But it is his grieving mother, Helen Bessolo, who will not let the questionable circumstances surrounding his demise go unaddressed. Helen seeks justice, or at least answers. The Los Angeles Police Department closes the case, but Helen hires--for $50 a day--private detective Louis Simo. Simo soon ascertains that the torrid affair Reeves had with Toni Mannix, the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix, might hold the key to the truth. But truth and justice are not so easily found in Hollywood. Simo pursues dangerous and elusive leads in both high and low places and, in trying to turn up the heat, risks getting burned. The detective also uncovers unexpected connections to his own life as the case turns more personal and he learns more about Reeves himself. Behind the icon was a complex man who gave his life to Hollywood in more ways than one.

Also Known As: Truth, Justice and the American Way

Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release

Logline: A drama that recounts the life and mysterious death by suicide of George Reeves, star of the television series "Superman" (1951-1957), who died at age forty-two.

Genres: Drama, Romance, Thriller, Crime/Gangster and Biopic

Running Time: 126 min

Release Date: September 8th, 2006 (wide)

MPAA Rating: R for language, some violence and sexual content.

Distributors: Focus Features

Production Co.: Back Lot Pictures

Studios: Focus Features

Filming Locations: Toronto, Ontario Canada

Produced in: United States

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

movie news : The covenant

2006-09-12T01:14:00.000-07:00

Movie NewsIn 1692, in the Ipswich Colony of Massachusetts, five families with untold power formed a covenant of silence. One family, lusting for more, was banished; their bloodline disappearing without a trace--until now. This thriller tells the story of the Sons of Ipswich, four young students at the elite Spencer Academy who are bound by their sacred ancestry. As descendants of the original families who settled in Ipswich Colony in the 1600's, the boys have all been born with special powers. When the body of a dead student is discovered after a party, secrets begin to unravel which threaten to break the covenant of silence that has protected their families for hundreds of years.

Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release

Logline: Four prep-school students discover they have supernatural powers. When one of them uses the powers for less than altruistic purposes, there are catastrophic results.

Genres: Suspense/Horror and Thriller

Release Date: September 8th, 2006 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, sexual content, partial nudity and language.

Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing

Production Co.: Lakeshore Entertainment, Sandstorm Films

Studios: Screen Gems

Filming Locations: Montreal, Quebec Canada

Produced in: United States

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

movie news : Faris lands on sorority row in comedy

2006-08-30T02:39:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Scary Movie" heroine Anna Faris will star in a fish-out-of-water comedy she originated.

The as-yet-untitled project revolves around a naive centerfold model who loses her job and takes the only one she can find, that of a "house mother" at UCLA's lamest, dorkiest sorority.

Faris brought the idea for the character to screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith, who developed it into a feature. The trio took the project to Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Prods., which set it up at Paramount Pictures.

Faris will serve as an executive producer, along with Lutz and Smith. The scribes' credits include "10 Things I Hate About You," "Legally Blonde" and "She's the Man."

Faris starred in all four "Scary Movie" films, which collectively grossed more than $680 million worldwide. Her other recent credits include "Brokeback Mountain," "Just Friends" and "My Super Ex-Girlfriend." She recently wrapped a starring turn in the indie feature "Smiley Face" as well as an appearance in "Mama's Boy" opposite Jon Heder and Diane Keaton.

By Borys Kit

movie news : Another Gay Movie

2006-08-30T02:31:00.000-07:00

The gay gross-out comedy Adam & Steve was a tame family outing compared to this teen sex farce, which basically puts a homosexual spin on American Pie, gag for gag. Meaning you've got your uncomfortable sex-ed talk with a well-meaning but awkward father; your embarrassing webcam sex escapade accidentally broadcast to the entire school; and, of course, pastry humping. AGM tries so hard to be extreme that it misses the key ingredient of the American Pie films—an underlying sweetness. We laughed at the Pie crew, but ultimately came to care for them. This is not the case with AGM's four high-school seniors, who vow to lose their "Big A" virginity before heading off to college. Nor do we care for the semifamous gay celebs in supporting roles, including comic Graham Norton as an S&M–loving teacher and Survivor winner/tax evader Richard Hatch. (Yes, he's naked in every scene, only without the box blurring out his naughty bits. You've been warned.) Making the best impression is Ashlie Atkinson's Muffler, the lesbian analogue to Seann William Scott's obnoxious jock Stifler, who manages to deflower the entire cheerleading squad in one night. FRANK PAIVA
movie news

By Frank Paiva

movie news : Charlie Sheen Making 9/11 Conspiracy Movie?

2006-08-30T02:20:00.000-07:00

Alright, so Oliver Stone's World Trade Center came and went without offending anyone or pissing on the victims of 9/11. We dodged a bullet there folks. Care to try it again?

Get ready, we might have to. Our friends over at Filmstalker have dug up a story from the NY Post which says yet another World Trade Center movie may be on the way.

This movie is about another last men out of the WTC, William Rodriguez. Rodriguez's story starts out heroically. A janitor at the Trade Center, on the day of the attack he was the only man with a master key to all the doors in the building. So, in a bit of bravery he led Firefighters up the stairs of the North Tower unlocking doors for them as he went. He made it to floor 39 before he evacuated, and in the process saved hundreds of lives. He made it out of the buildling just before it collapsed, but was buried under rubble for an hour before being rescued.

That's the good part. The bad part is that after it was all over he launched a lawsuit against the government accusing President Bush of planning the attacks himself.

So, who do you go to when you're a 9/11 hero full of conspiracy theories against the government? Charlie Sheen of course. Rodriguez is reportedly talking to Sheen and Esai Morales about funding a project to bring his story to theaters. He says that Charlie's on board, and told him he'd "be honored" to turn his story into a movie. Writer David Marconi is reportedly already part of the project.

Marconi insists that the movie will focus on Rodirguez's 9/11 heroism, but I find that a little hard to believe. Sheen has gained some notoriety as a 9/11 conspiracy theorist in the past, and if you're not going to explore his story from that angle, then why bother to go to him over some other Hollywood actor?

If you thought audiences weren't ready to see faithful re-enactments of the events of the day, just wait until they have to react to a 9/11 film filled with accusatory conspiracy theories. Wait, we already had that didn't we? It was called Fahrenheit 9/11 and it outgrossed United 93 and World Trade Center combined. If he does it, Charlie Sheen just might end up getting very very rich.
movie news

By Josh Tyler

movie news : Crossover (2006)

2006-08-24T04:37:00.000-07:00

Synopsis: movie news
Noah Cruise, a naturally talented basketball player, is determined to become a doctor using his basketball scholarship to attend UCLA pre-med, rather than succumbing to the lure of a former sports agent Vaughn, and his push for Noah to go for the NBA. Noah's best friend, Tech, the buddy that covered for him and did time for an assault charge, is also an outstanding basketball player, but has less lofty ambitions--he wants to get his GED and win an underground street ball game against an arrogant rival, Jewelz. Noah and Tech's lives drastically change when they both fall in love with two local girls, Vanessa Lilly and Eboni Jackson, and take a fateful trip out to L.A. together

Director Credit
Preston Whitmore
Anthony Mackie
Shelli Boone
Wayne Brady
Alecia Jai Fears
Michael Kimbrew
Eva Pigford
Wesley Jonathan
Kristen Wilson
James Lewis
Philip Champion

©1999-2006 Hollywood.com, Inc. NASDAQ:HOLL

movie news : Snakes on a Plane (2006)

2006-08-24T04:29:00.000-07:00

Synopsis: movie news
When a young man witnesses a brutal mob murder, it falls to FBI agent Neville Flynn to escort his charge safely from Hawaii to Los Angeles to testify. But in an act of self-preservation, the crime boss facing prison smuggles hundreds of poisonous snakes onto the commercial aircraft in a crate timed to release its deadly cargo halfway over the Pacific. Flynn, along with a frightened flight crew and passengers, must then band together in a desperate attempt to survive.

Full Cast & Crew

Theatrical Release 8/18/2006
Studio Credit New Line Cinema Studio
Director Credit

David Richard Ellis Director
Cast Credit
Samuel L. Jackson Neville Flynn
Nathan Phillips Sean Jones
Rachel Blanchard Mercedes
Julianna Margulies Claire Miller
Flex Alexander Three G's
Sunny Mabrey Tiffany
Bobby Cannavale Hank Harris
Todd Louiso Dr. Steven Price
Kenan Thompson Troy
Lin Shaye Grace
David Koechner Rick
Elsa Pataky Maria

©1999-2006 Hollywood.com, Inc. NASDAQ:HOLL

movie news :

2006-08-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

HOLLYWOOD - Veteran actor James Woods has dumped his 20-year-old girlfriend, Ashley Madison, after the stress from the May-December relationship sent him to the emergency room.
The 59-year-old star was distraught after his brother Michael died unexpectedly of a heart attack last month and was shocked by Madison's insensitivity during his funeral.

Woods' friend Scott Sandler tells the New York Daily News that Madison showed up for the service dressed inappropriately "in a 3-inch miniskirt and chain-smoking."

He explains, "At the funeral she was concerned about the amount of magazines she was in. Jimmy was on his knees with tears staining his shirt, and she was showing pictures of herself.

"Jimmy was so overcome by grief his blood pressure went through the roof early last week, and he had to go to the hospital. When he came out, it was like he had seen the light."

The actor has known Madison, the pal of a golfing buddy, since she was five-years-old.

Adds Sandler, "She's the anti-Christ. She truly has the soul of a moth and the brain of a dead trout."

Shark, which stars Woods as a celebrity attorney-turned-prosecutor, began shooting Monday. Production has been suspended at least until the end of next week. The series is slated for a September 21 premiere, in the Thursday 10 p.m. slot, after the seventh-season launch of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Michael Woods, 49, had acting roles in several of his brother's movies, including Race to Space, Another Day in Paradise, Killer: A Journal of Murder and USA Network's Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story.

Article Copyright Entertainment News Network All Rights Reserved.

Photo(s) by Scott Kirkland- © 2006- DailyCeleb.com- All Rights Reserved.

movie news : The Grudge 2

2006-08-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Movie NewsSuspense/Horror and Sequel

October 13th, 2006 (wide)

Starring:
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Teresa Palmer, Jennifer Beals
Directed By:
Takashi Shimizu

Synopsis:
In Tokyo, a young woman (Amber Tamblyn) is exposed to the same mysterious curse that afflicted her sister (Sarah Michelle Gellar). The super-natural force, which fills a person with rage before spreading to its next victim, brings together a group of previously unrelated people who attempt to unlock its secret to save their lives.

Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release

Logline: When a cast and crew of a TV show start filming in the apparently haunted house, strange things begin to happen to each of them.

Genres: Suspense/Horror and Sequel

Release Date: October 13th, 2006 (wide)

Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing

Production Co.: Ghost House Pictures, Mandate Pictures

Studios: Columbia Pictures

Filming Locations: Tokyo, Japan

Produced in: United States

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

movie news : Talladega Nights

2006-08-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

Movie news
Comedy and Sports

August 4th, 2006 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG-13
for crude and sexual humor, language, drug references and brief comic violence

Starring:
Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Michael Clarke Duncan, Amy Adams, David Koechner, Gary Cole, Leslie Bibb

Directed By: Adam McKay

Synopsis:
Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is a NASCAR racing sensation whose "win at all costs" approach has made him a national hero. He and his loyal racing partner and childhood friend, Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly), are a fearless duo, thrilling their fans by finishing most races in the top spots - with Ricky Bobby always leading the pack. When a flamboyant French Formula One driver, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), challenges him, Ricky Bobby must face his own demons and fight for his place as racing's top driver.

Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is a NASCAR racing sensation whose "win at all costs" approach has made him a national hero. He and his loyal racing partner and childhood friend, Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly), are a fearless duo, thrilling their fans by finishing most races in the top spots - with Ricky Bobby always leading the pack. When a flamboyant French Formula One driver, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), challenges him for the supremacy of NASCAR, Ricky Bobby must face his own demons and fight for his place as racing's top driver.

Also Known As: High, Wide and Handsome
Talladega Nights
Untitled (Will Ferrell Nascar Project)

Production Status: Released

Logline: Set in the world of professional stock car racing.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy and Sports

Running Time: 1 hr. 50 min.

Release Date: August 4th, 2006 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language, drug references and brief comic violence.

Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing

Production Co.: High Wide and Handsome Inc, Apatow Productions, Mosaic Media Group

Studios: Columbia Pictures

Financiers: Relativity Media

U.S. Box Office: $47,042,215

Filming Locations: North Carolina, USA

Produced in: United States

Copyright © 2006 Baseline. All rights reserved.

movie news : The Departed (2006)

2006-08-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

'The Departed' is set in South Boston, where the state police force is waging war on organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Costello (Jack Nicholson). While Billy is quickly gaining Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the gangsters and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy -- and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

Also Known As: Infernal Affairs

Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release

Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Crime/Gangster and Remake

Release Date: October 6th, 2006 (wide)

MPAA Rating: R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material.

Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Production Co.: Hollywood Gang Productions, Cappa Productions, Plan B, Vertigo Entertainment

Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Filming Locations: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
New York, New York USA
Quincy, Massachusetts, USA

Produced in: United States
movie news

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

movie news : Miami Vice

2006-08-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

movie news
Ricardo Tubbs is urbane and dead smart. He lives with Bronx-born intel analyst Trudy, as they work undercover transporting drug loads into South Florida to identify a group responsible for three murders. Sonny Crockett is charismatic and flirtatious until-while undercover working with the supplier of the South Florida group-he gets romantically entangled with Isabella, the Chinese-Cuban wife of an arms and drugs trafficker. The intensity of this case pushes Crockett and Tubbs out onto the edge where identity and fabrication become blurred, where cop and player become one-especially for Crockett in his romance with Isabella and for Tubbs in the provocation of an assault on those he loves.
Theatrical Release
7/28/2006
Studio Universal Pictures Studio
Director Michael Mann Director
Cast
Jamie Foxx Detective Ricardo Tubbs
Colin Farrell Det. James "Sonny" Crockett
Gong Li Isabella
Naomie Harris Trudy Joplin
Ciarán Hinds FBI Agent Fujima
John Ortiz Jose Yero
Jon Jacobs Nicholas Ugo
Elizabeth Rodriguez Gina Calabrese
Barry Shabaka Henley Lt. Castillo
Luis Tosar Montoya
Domenick Lombardozzi Det. Stan Switek
Justin Theroux Det. Larry Zito

©1999-2006 Hollywood.com, Inc. NASDAQ:HOLL

movie news : Monster House (2006)

2006-08-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Twelve-year-old DJ Walters, who is caught in that awkward moment between childhood and the onset of puberty, has too much time on his hands and has taken it into his head that there's something weird about old man Nebbercracker's house across the street. Things keep disappearing into the dilapidated structure: basketballs, tricycles, toys and pets. Come to think of it, whatever happened to Mrs. Nebbercracker? It's the day before Halloween and DJ and his candy-friendly pal Chowder have a run-in with Mr. Nebbercracker after their basketball wanders onto his lawn and is mysteriously swept into the house. When the house tries to swallow their new friend Jenny and no one believes the frightened trio's claims that the house is up to no good, it's up to them to investigate. They turn for his advice to the only person on the planet who might even remotely understand what's going on, the wise one they call Skull, a 20-something slacker pizza chef and master of the arcade machine who once played a video game for four days straight on one singly quarter, a gallon of chocolate milk and an adult diaper. "I have heard tell of man-made structures becoming possessed by a human soul," Skull tells them. You mean the house is alive? Yikes! Skull tells them the only way to stop the house from gulping down everything in sight is by striking at its heart, which the kids figure out must be the perpetually-fueled furnace in the basement. They come up with what seems to be a foolproof plan--a vacuum cleaner disguised as a human dummy filled with cold medicine. The kids offer up their bait to the house, figuring that once it's asleep, they can sneak in and put out the furnace with their squirt guns. Their little plan goes awry, though, and when the house starts chasing them down the street--that's right, chasing them down the street!--they must join forces to once again make the neighborhood safe for trick or treaters.
movie news

©1999-2006 Hollywood.com, Inc. NASDAQ:HOLL

movie news : "Miami Vice" cops defeat "Pirates" at box office

2006-07-31T02:02:00.000-07:00

Miami Vice" was the top destination for weekend moviegoers across North America, as the high-powered remake of the slick TV series ended the three-week reign of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

Among other new releases, the Tom Hanks-produced cartoon "The Ant Bully" tanked, while young women turned out in force for the lively romantic comedy "John Tucker Must Die."

"Miami Vice," starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell as suave drug-busters, earned about $25.2 million during its first three days, distributor Universal Pictures said on Sunday.

The tally consists of actual sales for Friday and Saturday, and estimated sales for Sunday. Final data will be issued on Monday.

The $135 million film was directed by Michael Mann, an executive producer of the original 1980s television series. The shoot was plagued by hurricanes, injuries, and a shootout on location in the Dominican Republic. But the finished product drew warm reviews from critics despite an opaque plot.

Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal, said almost two-thirds of the audience was aged 30 and older, and exit polling indicated that Foxx was the main draw.

If the estimate holds, it would rank as Mann's No. 1 opening, surpassing the $24.7 million debut of his 2004 film "Collateral," also starring Foxx.

DISNEY RECORD

Walt Disney Co.'s "Pirates" sequel slipped to No. 2 with $20.5 million in its fourth round. The buccaneer sequel now ranks as the No. 1 domestic release in the firm's history, with a booty of $358.4 million. The 2003 cartoon "Finding Nemo" held the record with $339.7 million.

"John Tucker Must Die" followed at No. 3 with $14.1 million, slightly exceeding the expectations of its distributor, News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox. The film, which cost about $18 million to make, stars Jesse Metcalfe, the jailbait gardener in ABC's "Desperate Housewives."

"The Ant Bully," a cartoon based on a children's book, has a high-wattage voice cast, including Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep. But it only managed a No. 5 debut with $8.1 million. Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures had hoped for an opening in the mid-teens.

The film marks the second consecutive dud for the Time Warner Inc. unit, following "Lady in the Water." The M. Night Shyamalan fantasy earned $7 million in its second weekend, for a 10-day haul of $32 million. The studio hopes it will reach $48 million, less than half the earnings of his 2004 under-performer "The Village."

One reason for the disappointing opening of "The Ant Bully" was competition from another cartoon, "Monster House," which fell two places to No. 4 with $11.5 million in its second weekend. The 10-day tally for Columbia Pictures' animated film stands at $43.9 million. Columbia is a unit of Sony Corp .

"SUNSHINE" ENLIGHTENS

The art house scene was busy over the weekend, with Woody Allen's crime farce "Scoop" and the Sundance Film Festival favorite "Little Miss Sunshine" opening in limited release.

Despite mixed reviews, "Scoop" earned $3 million from 538 theaters. The film stars Allen's latest muse, Scarlett Johansson, and Hugh Jackman. Distributor Focus Features, also a unit of NBC Universal, said it was very happy with the opening, but would not expand the film beyond its current theater count.

"Little Miss Sunshine," a comedy revolving around a dysfunctional family's road trip to California, earned a stellar $356,863 from seven theaters in New York and Los Angeles. It will expand to additional cities over the next two weekends before going into national release on August 18. It was released by News Corp.'s Fox Searchlight arm, which bought the film at Sundance in January.

Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited All rights reserved.

movie news : Lord of War with Nicholas Cage

2006-07-31T01:47:00.000-07:00

The movie; Lord of War with Nicholas Cage is a great movie to help illustrate the kinds of things that go on behind the scenes in the arms trade business. It rationalizes all different points of view and explains situations that so often we as citizens are not willing to address. It shows how often we make judgments without understanding the reality and brutality of the rest of the world.

Indeed, it also shows the darker side of man and the obvious innate characteristics to wage war and kill his own species. The movie also goes into the thought processes of all the different players on all sides of the fence in the movement of drugs, diamonds, currency, arms and even oil. During this current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah many people are wondering how the international terrorists organizations get their arms and their money to securities arms, which end up killing innocent people.

This movie should be seen by people who simply watch the news and think they understand world affairs because it is rather obvious that the mass media has done a mass snow job on the reality of world events. The Lord of War with Nicolas Cage is a great action-packed movie and worth your time to view. Please consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

movie news : Operation Petticoat (1959)

2006-07-29T01:22:00.000-07:00

A rather average Blake Edwards comedy released the same year as that other Cary Grant movie that would destined to become a classic of all times – NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959). OPERATION PETTICOAT is written by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin.

The film is one long flashback of Admiral Sherman (Cary Grant) who used to be the first captain of an old WW2 sub about to be commissioned.

Cary Grant stars as Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman, the commander of the WW2 submarine USS Sea Tiger docked at its port in Philippines.

December 1941. Before it can join the battle in the Pacific, Sea Tiger is damaged heavily by the attacking Japanese fighter planes. Rather than decommission the one-year old ship right away, Sherman manages to get the permission to fix his sub within two weeks – which does not seem possible given the impossibility of getting any parts or supplies.

But the next character who shows up will change the fate of the sub -- Lt. Nicholas Holden (Tony Curtis) has served previously as the “idea man” and an “entertainment officer” providing Navy's liaison “with Hollywood.” He has never set foot on a submarine and with his pretty-boy looks and spoiled mannerisms he does not look like he is ready for the rigors of sailing for war.

Yet Holden, who actually grew up in a tough neighborhood and a dog-eat-dog world, has one skill that comes in handy for the rule-and-order straight-arrow Sherman who cannot cut through the Navy red tape and order 150 rolls of toilet paper for his crew: Holden can scavenge, steal and do anything and everything possible to get things done. He is a smooth, sweet talking and shameless operator who knows the “easy way” to get everything. He asks to be assigned as the “supply officer” of Sea Tiger and his request is accepted right on the spot.

Pretty soon, due to clandestine visits to navy supply depots in black faces and black burglar outfits, Holden and his men manage to get whatever is needed in record time. Soon the black-smoke belching and wheezy sub is swimming again on a single faulty engine.

After sailing for open seas, a major plot point arrives when five female officers stranded on an island board the ship, thanks to Lt. Holden.

From that point on till the end, the story transforms into a comedy of double entendres and innuendos, of sexually suggestive and socially embarrassing chance encounters and confrontations among a boat full of men and five attractive women. A submarine is not made for “co-educational purposes” and that generates a lot of tension, a lot of one liners and laughs.

The film is full of sexist wisecracks that would not fly today like “When a girl is under 21, she's protected by law. When she's over 65, she's protected by nature. Anywhere in between, she's fair game. Look out.”

At one point, since they can get their hands only on red and white paint, they end up painting the whole submarine with pink primer, becoming the butt of jokes in the Navy. But when the “Tokyo Rose”starts to make radio broadcasts inviting the “pink submarine” to surrender, the US Navy command, certain that the Americans do not have a pink submarine, think all that talk might actually be a Japanese ruse to slip a pink sub masquerading as a US vessel behind the US lines. Thus the US surface ships are ordered to sink the pink sub wherever it is spotted.

At the end Sherman's pink sub survives the attacks and the ridicule and the war of the sexes in tight quarters. It even survives a goat on board and two babies delivered by the female officer who also happened to be a nurse.

USS Sea Tiger returns to its home port listing on one side, its engine misfiring and belching out black smoke. The funny looking sub is jeered and ridiculed until the proud ship shows the colors and gains the respect of all the US sailors present at the port for homecoming.

The last scene -- we zoom back to the present time. Lt. Holden is now the Captain of the decommissioned US Sea Tiger and Sherman is an Admiral giving Holden the good news – he is going to be the captain of a brand new nuclear sub.

Both have married and had kids with the female officers with whom they have flirted in the sub during those eventful days of WW2. Both are happy and the film leaves us there while the going is still good.

Cary Grant and Tony Curtis excel in their roles. They are cast superbly. Both are very believable and deliver their lines with authority. Lots of good one liners and innuendos. But ultimately this is a feel-good comedy reflecting the specific conditions of WW2. Half a century later it probably has lost all its relevance and shine, especially for the younger generation born in the '80s and '90s.

A 7 out of 10.

Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Senior Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation. He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 corporations since 1999.

He is the editor of PRIVATE TUTOR FOR SAT MATH SUCCESS web site http://www.privatetutor.us

In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).

A true movie fan since he was a child, Akinci provides FREE MOVIE PLOT IDEAS every day of the year at SCRIPT BOILER. Visit http://scriptboiler.blogspot.com today.

You are most welcomed to visit his COPYWRITING WEB SITE http://www.writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, writing career, and client testimonials.

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movie news : Horror Movie News

2006-07-29T01:19:00.000-07:00

Scream 4 is pretty much a done deal according to Icons Of Fright. Read on for the blockbuster news which comes straight from the mouth of Wes Craven.

Icons Of Fright Reports...

Big news for "Scream" fans from Wes Craven. During his panel discussion Craven revealed that he had recently had breakfast with Neve Campbell. He told us that she had recently spoken with the Weinsteins about coming back for "Scream 4". Wes made it clear that this was the first he'd heard about it, but Campbell seemed to be seriously considering another stab at Sidney Prescott.

My 2 cents on Scream 4

Back in 2000, when the third film was released, and I saw it, I felt things had been brought to a satisfactory conclusion as far as the "Scream" universe goes, despite the ominous ending. Now here we are 4 years later, and the rumor of a 4th movie still lives, and now with this latest lump of coal added to the fire, seems to have gained steam. Truthfully, I would pay to see a 4th film, but still alot of questions remain... We know Williamson won't be involved. Craven most likely won't be. Who will write and direct then? Neve Campbell has been a long time hold out for doing a 4th film if you believe what you read on most of the "Scream 4" rumor sites. Just who will and won't be returning? and finally, what direction can this story continue in? Sids already disposed of Mrs Loomis, and her Brother Roman, as well as Billy and Stu, whos left at this point? Sure there are plenty of relatives out for revenge type scenarios, but which one makes the most sense?

Mr. HoRrOr Horror Movies & stuff.com http://www.hms.notlong.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicky_Jones

movie news : Ghost Rider - Biker's Beloved or Philosopher's Pet?

2006-07-27T00:45:00.000-07:00

I see today that they're making a Ghost Rider movie. I discovered Ghost Rider when I was about thirteen years old, at my regular haunt, Collector's Comics of Wantagh, New York. I was a late bloomer to comic books, having been introduced to them by my D&D buddy, Marc Koenig. Like most things new in my life, I quickly became hooked and soon after, obsessed. I started small, with X-Men, Daredevil, and Thor. Oh, and I was lucky enough to be there for the Wolverine miniseries. The X-Men were about to embark on their second fight with the Brood, Daredevil was looking for direction after his lover had died, and I can't remember what was happening to poor Thor. What I do remember, though, was that crossovers got me to buy more books, and if I bought an issue I bought into the series. I was a Marvel man all the way, and they played me like a fiddle. At sixty cents an ish, I was soon spending twenty bucks a week and was a member of the discount club, adding to the savings I got by preordering my subscriptions. One of those that I ordered was Ghost Rider, the continuing story of the much-cursed Johnny Blaze, host to a demon motorcyclist.

Now a tale about a demonic motorcycle rider might seem like it's only appealing to tattoo artists and Harley salesmen, and perhaps tasteless teenagers, and that probably isn't that far off. Ghost Rider created solid objects out of Hellfire™ and spouted no small amount of preachy stuff about punishing the guilty, and all-in-all came off as a strange hybrid of Green Lantern and Captain America. However, after I went off to college and had no money for comics they retooled his character, making it less dependent on supernatural solids and moreso on his chain and "Penance Stare," whatever that is. I can't say I'm an expert on this character anymore, but I can say that the movie version looks really, really cool.

So why am I interested? Why don't I ever see issues of Ghost Rider laying in the waiting rooms of tattoo studios? Is Ghost Rider actually a multilayered allegory of truth and consequence, cause and effect, the dark nature within each of us? Is the carnival background of the oh-so-aptly-named Johnny Blaze a commentary of the estrangement that increases daily in our society, and the growing fear of the "other" that bears down on us? Given its original writing, would that "other" have once been Communist, and now have been transmogrified into the Islamist terrorists all over the news? And what of the motorcycle aspect? Man becoming his own worst nightmare by embracing technology? Pushing the limits of danger to finally push past the fear of death? Are these the deep, weighty issues that attract us to this much-misunderstood anti-hero?

Or is it that flames, motorcycles, and skulls go really well together?

Terence P Ward expresses much of his observations about the world through the written word, spoken word, visual media . . . well, any way he damned well pleases. Most of what he's responsible for can be found at, or through, http://otherlleft.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terence_Ward

movie news : Microsoft Loses Patent Lawsuit

2006-07-27T00:38:00.000-07:00

One of the top news stories this week that got virtually no popular press involves the judgment against Microsoft by a small company with a big software patent.

University of California and Eolas Technologies, Inc. hold a patent which Microsoft, according to several judges, violated with its popular Internet Explorer Web browser.

Without going into painful technical detail, the patent involves the "ActiveX" technology enabling Web browsers to display both web pages and content such as streaming audio, Flash, QuickTime video and other "rich" or "dynamic" content.

Despite heated input by the Internet community to invalidate Eolas' patent because of its broad nature, Microsoft lost every appeal and effort to get the patent nullified.

Bottom line: Microsoft faced two choices. First, they could pay the patent owner and keep things moving along, business as usual (much the way Blackberry did recently when a judge found them guilty of patent infringement).

Second choice: Microsoft could avoid future licensing fees by changing their IE browser and removing the offending code.

Which do you think they chose? Ding-ding-ding!

You guessed it, Microsoft chose to avoid paying millions more by simply removing the offending code.

Unfortunately, that decision means a bit of trouble for a few million web designers who use Flash, streaming movies, and more.

Ultimately, the change to IE may force visitors to sites with rich content to click on an object to enable it before they can interact with it.

Not a huge deal. However, time will tell what ultimately happens and the actual impact on sites running rich content.

But before everyone starts screaming that "The sky is falling" and "our websites are broken," let me ask you a question.

Do you really think that companies like Macromedia (makers of Flash) and sites like Google Video will let a few changes in Internet Explorer put them out of business?

I don't think so!

If anything, this change will force companies to step up to the plate and discover ways to serve dynamic content that does not depend on ActiveX.

Sure, it will mean some pain for both content creators and users in the short term, but in the end I honestly believe that, through innovation, we will all end up with a better solution than what currently exists.

In other news today...

** Hollywood Goes Online **

Six major movie studios recently announced their intentions to start selling new-release movies via Internet download from the site MovieLink.com.

But before you jump for joy at watching "Brokeback Mountain" on your pc, understand a couple of facts.

You can't burn the movie to DVD, and the downloadable films carry a price tag of around $15-30, a price comparable or more than a physical DVD you can purchase at Wal-Mart.

As a rabid DVD consumer and enthusiastic computer user (with six in my home office alone), I can tell you right up front, there is no way in @#$%* I'll pay 20 bucks for a movie I can't "veg" out with in front of the TV.

Are they insane?

Until it gets to the point where you can download a new- release movie, burn it to DVD or put it on your iPod, downloadable flicks will remain, at best, a novelty.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Edwards

movie news : The Squid and the Whale

2006-07-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

I've been a Jeff Daniels fan for a long time.

This is yet another great Jeff Daniels movie based on a very strong script by Noah Baumbach who also directed this family drama. Bernie Berkman (Daniels) is an English professor married to another writer Joan (delivered with great texture by Laura Linney). They have two sons Walt (Chicken) (Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank (Pinkie) Berkman (Owen Kline) who go through their own breakdown episodes when they hear that their mom and dad are separating.

The opening tennis scene in which the four are playing a nasty game of doubles (Bernie keeps hitting Joan with stiff volleys) is a good metaphor for where their relationship is headed. On the one side is Bernie and Walt, and on the other, Joan and Frank.

Nobody seems to be blameless but Joan probably contributed more to the breakup than anybody else with her illicit love affair with a neighbor. During their separation she beds her son's tennis coach (a perfectly cast happy-go-lucky Bill Baldwin). Soon we have a seriously malfunctioning family unit where the little Frank starts drinking beer when he is home alone and displays sex-related anomalies at school and home. Walt, on the other hand, takes a different route to his neurosis and tries plagiarism to score a quick success at his high school's talent contest.

Bernie himself loses his rudder as well and vacillates between his desire to keep away from Joan, on the one hand, and his jealousy with her literary success and boyfriends on the other. He also starts an affair with a female student of his who rents a room at his new house and flirts with his son as well.

There is no quick and neat solution to this modern drama set in Brooklyn in the 80s. There is an attempt at reconciliation but no one knows how to get the toothpaste back into the tube again. Thus it is very appropriate that the film ends with Walt's visit to the museum of natural history where there is an immense replica of a whale battling with a giant squid (and thus the film's title). That looks like a visual representation of Bernie and Joan's stalemate as well as Walt and Frank's no holds barred fight in and out of school to keep their sanity and grow as a “normal adult” in a very turbulent world.

The editing is as sharp and fast as the script. I really loved the transitions that kept exposition to a minimum and used the cinema language to great effect. For example, in the scene where Joan is trying to talk and “explain things” to his little son who is in the shower, the appearance of his frail small hand on the shower tile, just a small fragile object coming out of the shower curtain as if it were the antenna of a scared creature testing the world's atmosphere for presence of poisonous gasses, shows the kind of great talent Noah Baumbach has for telling stories in “motion pictures.”

It's a good watch if you like modern R-rated dramas. A good 8 out of 10.
Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Senior Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation. He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 corporations since 1999.

He is the editor of PRIVATE TUTOR FOR SAT MATH SUCCESS web site http://www.privatetutor.us

In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).

A true movie fan since he was a child, Akinci provides FREE MOVIE PLOT IDEAS every day of the year at SCRIPT BOILER. Visit http://scriptboiler.blogspot.com today.

You are most welcomed to visit his COPYWRITING WEB SITE http://www.writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, writing career, and client testimonials.

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movie news : At the Peak of Disaster Films:

2006-07-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

"Dante's Peak" does for disaster movie fans what a hot fudge sundae does for a chocolate addict. It satisfies you immensely and then makes you want to come back for more. This afternoon, while sitting at home looking at all the housework that needs to be done, I decided to watch "Dante's Peak" for probably the twelfth or thirteen time since it first hit the big screen.

"Dante's Peak" stars Pierce Brosnan as Harry Dalton, a scientist from the U.S. Geological Survey. Harry, who lost his fiancée in a volcanic eruption several years before, is sent to "Dante's Peak", a quiet town in the Cascades, where a dormant volcano overshadows the nations second best place to live -- population under 20,000.

After two deaths (backpackers boiled while bathing in Twonset hot springs), and a suspiciously acidic water level in the lake, Harry wants to put "Dante's Peak" on alert. His boss, Paul, thinks otherwise. Of course, in the middle of all this is a potential multi-million dollar investor. Politics, politics...

Starring alongside Pierce Brosnan is Linda Hamilton, who plays Rachel Wando, a small town mayor and single mom of two. Hamilton is better remembered as the pumped-up mom in the Terminator movies. I've liked Linda Hamilton's work ever since her Beauty and the Beast days. I'm not saying she's an Oscar-caliber actress, but she turns in a solid performance time and again, and it's nice to see her in a softer role.

Brosnan, on the other had, I've always had a healthy dislike of, even in his better roles, such as in the perennial favorite, "Mrs. Doubtfire." Brosnan is, however, perfect for his role in "Dante's Peak", and even I can't take this away from him. The two stars have good chemistry -- very subtle -- and it adds to the movie, rather than detracting from it.

"Dante's Peak" does a great job of building suspense and holding it there -- much better than Volcano which was released in theaters at approximately the same time and with a similar theme. The suspense builds from the time the unsuspecting backpackers are cooked, and when the geologists are ready to pack it up, certain that there will be no action from this volcano, viewers know that this idyllic town is cooked as well.

Evacuation begins, but of course, Wando's two children (played beautifully by Jamie Renee Smith and Jeremy Foley) have taken off on a wild ride up the mountain to rescue their brutally independent grandmother. Harry and Rachel take off after them and they all end up in the devil's layer itself -- the very heart of "Dante's Peak".

This movie has some wonderful special effects. The pyroclastic cloud is incredibly believable, and the pyrotechnics will steal your breath. But it's the more focused, personal moments that are really gripping in "Dante's Peak", such as the boat scene. Anyone who's seen the film will know just the scene I'm talking about -- and for those of you who haven't, I won't ruin it. This scene was wonderfully original, and easily one of the most suspenseful moments in any movie ever. Row, row, row your boat... After a dozen viewings, I still sit on the edge of my seat for those few moments.

One thing I never really noticed in my many watchings of "Dante's Peak" was the music -- and it's really very good. I've always found that the mark of a good musical score for a film is that it isn't obtrusive -- that you don't really know it's there. Still, take a moment while you're watching "Dante's Peak", close your eyes, and listen to the music. It's beautiful, orchestral music which swells and ebbs at just the right moments. I'd buy the soundtrack.

As far as believability goes, well no, "Dante's Peak" is not always 100% credible. What movie of this type is? Disaster movies do tend to be formulaic. I've seen this time and again. If you're willing to suspend your disbelief at times, you'll enjoy it immensely. Stretch your imagination -- and for those of you who've seen "Twister," there is nothing in "Dante's Peak" worse than the concept of a "suck zone" for scientific believability. Do I believe a tire-less vehicle could outrun a pyroclastic cloud? Who cares? That's the whole fun of "Dante's Peak".

This is, on the whole, a remarkably well put-together movie, and I don't wholly understand all the criticism it has received. This type of movie is supposed to be great fun -- no nitpickers allowed. And if you're car shopping -- well, then it would also make a great commercial for SUVs.

This is the perfect movie for a Friday night. Make some popcorn and gather together in your very safe living room and pop in the video. For adrenaline addicts, technophiles, and disaster fans alike, it's a wild ride through this volcanic eruption.

Lisa is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Writers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Koosis

movie news : CinemaNow to sell movie downloads that can be burned to DVD

2006-07-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

CinemaNow Inc. will begin selling mainstream movies for download that can be transferred to DVD and watched on standalone players, marking a first for Hollywood films bought and distributed over the Internet.

The online movie provider's "Burn to DVD" service was to debut Wednesday with more than 100 movies available, including "Scent of a Woman," "About a Boy," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Barbershop."

"Our customers will experience a true innovation in home entertainment, the ability to obtain a DVD in the comfort of their living room," said Curt Marvis, CinemaNow's chief executive.

Previously, Hollywood movies purchased through CinemaNow could be watched on a PC _ or even a TV hooked up to a computer _ but not transferred to a DVD.

Studios have been reluctant to offer movies for at-home DVD copying because of piracy concerns. But the development of more secure technology has eased those fears.

"The studios were pretty rigorous in their need to have very strong encryption," Marvis said.

CinemaNow said studios initially licensed only a limited number of films.

"It's a test of the distribution and the security architecture," said Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony's home entertainment division.

He expects more films to be offered if users find the system easy to use and if the copy-protection is successful at thwarting pirates.

Hollywood is looking toward digital distribution as a way to generate revenue amid rising manufacturing and retail costs.

"It is a big deal that the studios are going to do this because they're all very interested on electronic sell-through," said Josh Bernoff, digital video analyst for Forrester Research.

"It has some challenges, but it's a much cheaper way to distribute content," he said.

A separate Web site run by CinemaNow has been offering the DVD download option for adult films since May.

CinemaNow will sell the mainstream films starting at $8.99. The offerings will contain all the features of its store-bought counterpart, including boosted sound settings, interactive menus, deleted scenes, commentaries and other extras, Marvis said.

Consumers can transfer only one copy of the movie to a DVD, which will be near the quality of retail DVDs. The service will also allow consumers to view the movies on their computer with video software like Windows Media Player.

Initially, the DVD service will not offer any first-run movies for purchase, which is likely to dull its prospects in the near term, Bernoff said.

"The choice of movies here is, shall we say, underwhelming," he said.

"It's a step in the right direction, but I don't think it's a fair test because you'd have to have a whole lot more selection, even of library movies," he said.

Marvis expects first-run movies to be added later.

The lack of selection will likely keep CinemaNow and other video-on-demand services behind traditional DVD retailers for a while, said Steve Swasey, a spokesman for Netflix Inc.

"Until the title selection is significant so that the majority of the people are interested, it's going to be a very niche and small market that does not take off," Swasey said.

Among the major Hollywood film distributors providing content for the service are The Walt Disney Co.'s Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, MGM Worldwide Digital Media and Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Independents Lionsgate, EagleVision and Sundance Channel have also licensed films for home download and transfer to DVD.

CinemaNow rival Movielink announced Monday it has licensed technology to offer DVD downloads but has yet to launch such a service.

The CinemaNow burning technology is based on fluxDVD, which was developed by Dortmund, Germany's ACE GmbH. Movielink's technology partner is Marin-based Sonic Solutions.

© 2006 AP DIGITAL

movie news : Disney to Cut 650 Jobs, Movie Output

2006-07-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. is restructuring its studio division to emphasize blockbuster franchise films over more adult fare, a move that will mean slashing 650 jobs worldwide, the company announced Tuesday.

Among those who will lose their jobs is Disney's longtime head of live-action production, Nina Jacobsen.

The restructuring will cut Disney's output from about 18 films a year to about a dozen. Of those, about 10 will be released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, a proven family-friendly brand that includes the successful"Pirates of the Caribbean"franchise.

Disney's Touchstone label, which is responsible for more esoteric fare by artists like Joel and Ethan Coen of"Fargo"fame, will be cut back to only two or three releases a year. Recent Touchstone films have included the box-office flops"The Alamo"and"The Ladykillers."

The shift, the company explained, will allow Disney films to bolster the resources of other divisions. A hit like"Pirates of the Caribbean,"for example, can spawn video games, action figures, cable TV shows and, in the case of"Pirates,"give new life to an old Disney theme park attraction.

"When we do it well, the lift it gives to the entire company is so significant,"Dick Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios told The Associated Press.

By ANDREW GLAZER, Associated Press Writer

movie news : It’s movie time!

2006-07-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Summer appears quite a dead season for good movies. I mean “Poseidon,” “She’s the man,” “The Break-Up,” “Just My Luck” – all very fine but they can hardly make me rush to the cinema and give away my cash for a couple of hours of dubious pleasure. But I do love cinemas – big screens, the smell of popcorn and all that jazz, and for the last few weeks I just couldn’t wait for some movie to come out which would be worth seeing. Finally, this coming week three great flicks will hit Ukrainian cinemas – one in English, one in Portuguese and one in Ukrainian and Russian, but I’d say, speaking of the latter, the language will hardly matter there at all.

Pirates of the Carribean:

Dead Man’s Chest

“Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest” is surely the most awaited blockbuster this summer and the reason for it is quite simple – the success of its predecessor “Pirates of the Carribean: the Curse of the Black Pearl.” It’s easy to predict that the sequel will be just as much or even much more fun and judging by the latest reports of viewers and critics, it’s very likely.

The success of the first “Pirates” movie was mainly due to the performance of Johnny Depp – who knows what could become of a movie based on the Disneyland attraction if not for his character, Captain Jack Sparrow. The famous Hollywood “chameleon” approached his new image with quite some inspiration – having fancied that pirates where nothing but hippies and rock-n-rollers of the past, he based his performance on Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. In fact, Depp was eager to have Richards appear in the movie sequel as Jack Sparrow’s father. Unfortunately, we’re not going to see the veteran rocker in “Dead Man’s Chest” but it has been reported that Richards finally agreed to appear in the third installment of “Pirates,” and in autumn he will arrive on the set to play a cameo written specially for him.

In the meantime we’ll be treated to another portion of adventures from the dashing Captain Jack Sparrow, his pal Will Turner and the brave beauty Elizabeth Swann. Haunted by ghosts just as much as before, Sparrow finds out that he owes a blood debt to the legendary Davey Jones, Captain of the ghostly Flying Dutchman played by Bill Nighy. The hippy pirate risks being doomed to eternal damnation and servitude in the afterlife, and naturally tries to escape this sort of fate in the company of his two friends, who are forced to put off their marriage in order to help Jack.

“Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest,” premiered in USA last week, grossing $132 million in the first three days and topping the previous record of “Spider-Man,” which grossed $115 million. Of course, those figures don’t guarantee that the movie is going to be great, but trust me, Johnny won’t let us down.

by Alexandra Matoshko, Kyiv Post Staff Writer

movie news : Piracy 'destroying China's own movie industry'

2006-07-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

Most Chinese film executives believe movie piracy, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of the market in China, will expand in the short term and is unlikely to shrink in the future, according to a survey. The survey was recently conducted on behalf of the Motion Picture Association, the lobby group for Hollywood and the global interests of the US film industry.

The survey represents an effort by the MPA to put a Chinese face on its longstanding claims about the size and scope of movie piracy in China, which it argues is devastating the local industry as well as harming foreigners. "Pirated movies have fundamentally undermined the production capabilities of China's movie industry, with the private sector hit most severely," the report says.

The MPA's work in countries such as China has often been undermined by the perception that the Hollywood lobby simply represents wealthy foreign studios with little interest in building the local market. A recent study commissioned by the MPA estimated that piracy cost movie makers $2.7bn in 2005 in China, with more than half of that loss being carried by the Chinese industry itself.

The latest report makes no such claims for total monetary losses, as it is based on the responses of about 100 senior Chinese executives to a list of survey questions. One measure of the scope of piracy are China's 774 registered DVD/CD production lines which have a total annual capacity of about 2.7bn pieces, overshadowing official sales of 353m in 2003. "Some pirated DVD manufacturers have established their own reputations and brands," the report says.

The rapid growth in downloads by young movie watchers is a major reason why piracy will continue to thrive. The makers of pirated discs are mostly clustered in Guangdong, the southern Chinese province bordering Hong Kong, and are structured along the lines of organised crime organisations, the report says. "These [crime] bosses generally establish illegal production plants in mainland China but stay abroad themselves to avoid being arrested," the report says.

The main drivers of piracy remain the tight restrictions on movies in China and the huge profits that come from selling illegal discs. Discs cost less than Rmb1 (E0.10) to manufacture and are sold for between Rmb5 and Rmb10 each.

von Richard McGregor, Beijing

movie news : Kenya: Armenians? It's Only a Movie

2006-07-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

The cartoonist Gado got it right. His daily offering in last Friday's Daily Nation depicted the Kenyatta International Conference Centre as a movie theatre showing the saga of The Artur Brothers. A poster to one side advertised the movie, showing them together with two African women - one old and one young. No prizes for guessing whom they were meant to represent - the repudiated daughter of the repudiated second wife now euphemistically referred to as a 'NARC activist.' Meanwhile, a woman excitedly described the contents of the movie to her male companion, "It has everything: intrigue, conflict, romance, betrayal, comedy and tragedy."

The reference was to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry now sitting on the matter, its proceedings open to the public. The sub-text was the turning of serious national proceedings into circuses where our outrage is silenced. Just as we did with the Goldenberg inquiry, we will troop to this inquiry's sittings in large numbers. We will exclaim and wring our hands, beside ourselves at the juicy revelations.

The proceedings will dominate media coverage for the duration. We will feel we participated. That we have learnt just how security is assured at our international airport. That we have sufficiently chastised and embarrassed the senior airports officials involved in enabling the breach of that security. Simply by being there. Or hearing about it. And discussing it, endlessly, tediously, with our families and friends.

For Kenyans, it is apparently now enough to know. But only after having resisted knowledge in the first place. Let us not pretend, after all, that we had not been forewarned about the presence of the so-called Armenian brothers in our country.

AND WE LET THE STORY DIE DOWN, while allowing the jurisdiction of our Police Commissioner to be trampled upon unceremoniously. Until the goings-on at our international airport when, finally (so the story goes), one brave minister apparently stepped up to the plate to enable the Police Commissioner to do his job.

But, even then, we resisted the logical progression from partial knowledge to full knowledge to decisive action. We decided that it was enough to know only as much of the story as is allowed to come through by inflexible and strict adherence to basic principles of law. Meaning that no inferences are to be drawn based on broader understandings of accountability. At all.

Thus the Judicial Inquiry into Goldenberg can be closed with absolutely no mention of our former president's good name. Even though he clearly had, if not legal accountability, then political accountability for everything that transpired under his watch.

Similarly, the only result of the release of John Githongo's dossier on Anglo-Leasing has been the resignation of erstwhile ministers, only for them to be resurrected unchallenged in various House committees - including those (gasp!) dealing with financial matters.

The events at our international airport, together with the discoveries made in the home of the "Armenian brothers" should have resulted in the prompt (and I do mean prompt!) sacking (not "resignations") of our Ministers for Internal Security and Immigration - just for a start. Because they are so clearly politically accountable.

Instead, what do we see going on before our very eyes? A movie.

We know what happened. The direct line of accountability that can be legally established and substantiated never tells the whole story. Political accountability demands more.

Copyright © 2006 The East African. All rights reserved.

movie news : Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

2006-07-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

THE STORY: Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightly) and Will Turner (Johnny Depp) are arrested on their wedding day for releasing the notorious pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in the first “Pirates” film;, So, they must find Sparrow if they want to secure freedom for themselves and Sparrow, too ... or, something.

PIRATE TRUTH: The plot of this movie is about as convincing as the plot from the first movie, but in a series of films with a heck of a lot of undead pirates, believability isn’t exactly paramount. These films serve up exactly what they promise: extremely attractive people, amazing swordfights, some worth-watching special effects, and a little bit of Depp hilarity.

What more could you want from a mindless summer flick?

What worked quite well in the first film was that the special effect of the walking skeletons was used only as a temporary fright, making them all the more interesting. Some might consider it a drawback that in this installment, the villains — the legendary Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and the monstrous crew of “The Flying Dutchman” — dominate a huge chunk of screen time. But if, like me, you are at all impressed by a perfect binding of unbelievable makeup arts and flawless special effects, you won’t be able to peel your eyes away from them.

THE BOTTOM LINE: If “Dead Man’s Chest” had pre-dated “The Curse of the Black Pearl,” the whole “Pirates” cult following and obsession probably wouldn’t have reached the magnitude that it’s at today. However, this incredibly amusing sequel -- with it’s wickedly wonderful, cliff-hanger ending -- will be sure to fill theaters for next year’s release of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”

-- Jody Goldberg, Los Gatos High

movie news : Natalie bares all in new movie

2006-07-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

Natalie Portman appears nude in her new movie.

The stunning actress will be seen completely naked during torture scenes in the upcoming historical drama Goya's Ghosts, which focuses on revered artist Francisco Goya.

Portman plays Goya's muse, Alicia, who becomes embroiled in a scandal after she is accused of being a heretic by a monk.

It is not the first time Portman has stripped off for a movie role.
She previously exposed her body in the complex romantic drama Closer, which also starred Jude Law, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, but the explicit scenes were eventually cut.

The 24-year-old actress, who appeared in the three Star Wars prequels, has previously admitted she is uncomfortable being a sex symbol - because of her role in Leon. Portman shot to fame aged just 12 playing a young Lolita-esque orphan who befriends a hardened assassin in the critically acclaimed 1994 movie.

Although the role won her universal acclaim, the actress admits she found it disturbing that some men lusted after her - even though she was a child.

She said: "I had a bad experience when Leon first came out.

"In hindsight, I'm really proud of that film, though at the time it was
unnerving to find myself suddenly being looked at."

©2006 Tonight & Independent Online (Pty) Ltd. All rights reserved.

movie news : Harry Potter author receives honorary law degree

2006-07-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter author JK Rowling received an honorary law degree from the University of Aberdeen on Thursday to mark her support for research into multiple sclerosis.

"I am thrilled, it is very exciting," she said about the degree, which she said was "particularly meaningful" to her.

Rowling, whose mother died aged 45 from MS in 1990, has helped fund a programme of research at the university into the debilitating condition.

She became patron of the MS Society Scotland in 2001 after discovering what she has described as the "appallingly poor quality of care" available to people with the condition in Scotland.

"I am particularly pleased to support the work that the University's Institute of Medical Sciences is doing on MS research," Rowling said.
"As the patron of the MS Society Scotland, and someone with personal experience of the devastating effects of MS, it is a great privilege to be able to help the Institute continue its pioneering work into the causes and effects of multiple sclerosis."

The 40-year-old writer has already been honoured for her contribution to literature by three other Scottish universities, St Andrews, Edinburgh and Napier.

Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter adventure when she was an unemployed single mother in Edinburgh, but has gone on to become one of the richest authors in history.

The Potter series has sold an estimated 300 million copies worldwide. - Reuters
movies news

©2006 Tonight & Independent Online (Pty) Ltd. All rights reserved.

movie news : Knightley Didn't Dig 'Pirates' at First

2006-07-03T01:24:00.000-07:00

Keira Knightley acknowledges she was a bit skeptical at first about appearing in a movie that shared a name with a Disney ride.

"I was like, 'Wait a minute, you're doing a pirate movie something that hasn't worked in about 50 years and it's based on an amusement park ride?!" the actress told the New York Daily News for a story published Sunday.

The 2003 film "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" went on to be a $650 million worldwide success, and co-star Johnny Depp earned an Oscar nomination for his role.
Knightley appears again in the sequel "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," opening Friday. A third "Pirates" installment is due out Memorial Day weekend next year.

Knightley says it wasn't until she was at the premiere of the first "Pirates" movie with co-star Orlando Bloom that she knew the premise would work.

"Orlando and I were sitting next to each other at the premiere, which was the first time I'd seen it, and we'd had a big talk and decided that if it was awful, we'd still leave the theater all smiles," she said.

"Halfway through the film, I nudged him and said, 'It's quite good, isn't it?' and he was like 'Yeah, it's really good.' We had no idea it would work."

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

movie news : Superman Returns (2006)

2006-07-03T01:15:00.000-07:00

Superman--born on a planet which has long since died--has been raised by adoptive parents on the Kent farm in Kansas. The young boy Kal-El is renamed Clark Kent, and though he has grown up among humans, he is not one of them. Under Earth's yellow sun, he can do two things humans can only dream of, but to co-exist with them he must live a dual life as mild, unassuming Clark Kent, secretly transforming into the Man of Steel when the world cries out for him. But now, the world's crises have gone unheeded for five long years since Superman's mysterious disappearance. Without him, crime has risen in the city of Metropolis and beyond; that's not even counting the future destructive acts of Lex Luthor, who has been sprung from prison with the specific intent of using Superman's technological secrets for his own personal gain and glory. Lois Lane, star reporter for the Daily Planet and the love of Superman's life, has moved on since Superman left without a word. She has even won a Pulitzer Prize for her essay, "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." Lois has other issues to contend with--she is now engaged to the editor's nephew and has a young son to look after. But for Superman, the long search for his place in the universe ends back at the Kent farm, among the only family he has ever known. His destiny lies in Metropolis, where one look in Lois's eyes tell him that this place, among the flawed but ultimately good people of Earth, is his true home. And with Lex's plan coming to fruition mere hours after his return, the world will never need Superman more than it does now.

Also Known As: The Last Son of Krypton
Unbelievable

Production Status: Released

Logline: Following a mysterious absence of several years, the Man of Steel comes back to Earth.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation

Running Time: 2 hrs. 34 min.

Release Date: June 28th, 2006 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some intense action violence.

Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures International, Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Production Co.: Bad Hat Harry Productions, Peters Entertainment

Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Financiers: Co-Financier: Legendary Pictures, Inc.

Filming Locations: Fox Studios Austrialia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Los Angeles, California, United States

Produced in: United States
movies news

Copyright © 2006 Baseline. All rights reserved.

movie news : Copter filming movie crashes in Iowa field, killing 1

2006-07-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

A helicopter being used to film scenes for a movie crashed, killing one person and critically injuring two others, authorities said.

The helicopter crashed just before 1 p.m. (2330 IST) yesterday, said Jim Saunders, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Federal Aviation Administration officials in Kansas City said the helicopter, a Bell 206, may have crashed because of a "wire strike."

The Gazette newspaper reported on its Web site that the helicopter was filming a parade for the movie "The Final Season," starring Sean Astin and Powers Booth, about a high school baseball team.

Witnesses said the helicopter was carrying the pilot, a producer and a photographer when it hit power lines and crashed into a field about 16 kilometers southwest of Cedar Rapids, the newspaper reported.

The photographer, Roland Schlotzhauer, 50, of Lenexa, Kansas was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Benton County sheriff's office. Pilot Richard Green, 72, and producer Tony Wilson, 49, both of Iowa, were hospitalized in critical condition last night.

The helicopter was contracted through Ri Tel Copter Services Inc. in Hudson. A woman who answered the telephone at the company said a family member was piloting the aircraft and declined to comment.

"The Final Season" is based on the real life story of the 1991 Norway High School baseball team. It is being directed by David Mickey Evans, who also directed the "The Sandlot".

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu

movie news : South Korean movie stars rally against screen cuts.

2006-07-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

South Korean movie stars rallied Saturday night against a proposed free trade agreement between their country and the United States amid the start of reduced protections for the domestic film industry.

About a dozen actors including Choi Min-shik, who starred in the Cannes award-winning film "Oldboy," actress Jeon Do-yeon, movie industry workers, academics and some 3,000 supporters gathered in a park in central Seoul for a rally denouncing the U.S. and South Korean governments as well as the American movie industry.

"We refuse to surrender to the unjustifiable demands of the United States," Kim Min-woong, a professor of social science and theology at Sungkonghoe University, told the rally. "We will not kneel down before the Hollywood giant."

The focus of the protester's anger is a government measure announced in January - the so-called screen quota system - that cuts the required number of domestic films shown annually in the nation's cinemas.

As of Saturday, local theaters are now required to show South Korean movies for 73 days a year, down from the previous 146 days. The system was introduced in 1966 to protect the local film industry.

The United States had long pushed for the quota to be reduced and made it a prerequisite for free trade negotiations, which began in Washington last month. The second round of talks is set to start in Seoul on July 10.

Cinematographer Kim Byung-il said he fears the domestic movie industry will lose jobs becasue of the lower screen quota.

"The Korean film industry is small," said Kim, who filmed the acclaimed 2003 movie "Untold Scandal," a South Korean version of the novel "Les Liasons Dangereuses." It's a "huge industry in Hollywood."

The South Korean government has pledged to continue supporting the local film industry, and has promised a 400 billion won (US$422 million; euro330 million) fund to help cushion the blow.

by Associated Press

movie news : Superman II (1981)

2006-06-26T00:27:00.000-07:00

Terrorists hold Lois Lane captive and threaten to destroy Paris with a thermo nuclear device. Superman rescues Lois and throws the weapon into space. But, the blast awakens Zod, Ursa, and Non, the three exiled villains from Superman's home planet of Krypton. The evil threesome return to Earth and attempt to use their powers to take over the world.

Production Status: Released

Logline: Three villains from Superman's former home planet escape imprisonment and come to Earth with the same powers as Superman.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Sequel

Running Time: 2 hrs. 7 min.

Release Date: January 1, 1980

MPAA Rating: PG

Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Production Co.: International Film Productions, Dovemead

Filming Locations: Niagara Falls and New York City, New York; Paris, France

Produced in: United Kingdom

Starring: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Sarah Douglas
Directed by: Richard Lester, David Tomblin, Robert Lynn (II)
Produced by: Ilya Salkind, Geoffrey Helman, Robert Simmonds

Copyright © 2006 Baseline. All rights reserved.

movie news : Superman (1978)

2006-06-26T00:22:00.000-07:00

The Superman myth is well told, from his birth on the doomed planet Krypton to his childhood in a small Kansas town and beyond, in Richard Donner's blockbuster. After he comes of age, young Clark Kent, as his Earth parents have named him, learns the truth of his alien birth on a voyage of discovery to the Arctic where he builds his "Fortress of Solitude". It is there that he learns--through a link to his long-dead birth father--of his superhuman abilities and his responsibility to preserve and protect "truth, justice and the American Way." Once he adjusts to life in the big city, Metropolis, he discovers that hiding his superpowers as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) isn't easy as he flirts with hard-nosed Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) and battles supervillain Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). The film's all-star cast includes Jackie Cooper, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty, Glenn Ford, Terence Stamp, and Valerie Perrine, among others, all camping it up wonderfully.
Academy Award Nominations: 4, including Best Music, Best Sound and Best Editing.
Academy Awards: 1, Special Achievement Award for the groundbreaking special effects.

Also Known As: Superman the Movie
Superman: The Movie

Production Status: Released

Logline: A young boy is sent to Earth from his dying planet and grows to become a man with superhuman powers.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation

Running Time: 2 hrs. 23 min.

Release Date: December 15, 1978

MPAA Rating: PG for peril, some mild sensuality and language.

Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures International

Production Co.: Dovemead, International Film Productions

Filming Locations: New Mexico
New York City, New York
Canada
England

Produced in: United States

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty
Directed by: Richard Donner, Jonathan Barry, David Tomblin
Produced by: Ilya Salkind, Pierre Spengler, Charles F. Greenlaw

Portions of this page Copyright © 2006 Baseline. All rights reserved.

movie news : Waist Deep

2006-06-22T01:37:00.000-07:00

"Waist Deep" plunges much deeper than that into good old-fashioned genre filmmaking.

Director Vondie Curtis Hall gives this virtually nonstop crime actioner, set against the mean streets of Los Angeles, pleasing noirish touches along with larger-than-life-size characters.

The Rogue Pictures release is pitched to urban houses, so blacks will predominately make up the audience for the well-made film.

Tyrese Gibson, after two fine performances in the John Singleton films "Baby Boy" and "Four Brothers," carries the movie on his broad shoulders, though the impossibly good-looking Meagan Good makes a solid action co-star.

The opening sequence in the screenplay by Hall and Darin Scott (from a story by Michael Mahern) is overly contrived, but does set off a classic race against the clock.

A newly paroled ex-con named O2 (Gibson) has somehow landed a security job that gives him access to a gun. When his flaky cousin Lucky (Larenz Tate) fails to pick up O2's son, Junior (H. Hunter Hall), from school, O2 must leave his job before a replacement shows up, taking the gun with him, to pick up the boy.

Then, tooling down Adams Boulevard, O2 has his car jacked by hoods with his boy still inside. This leads to a well-executed foot-and-car chase through traffic with guns going off and bad guys shot, but O2 ultimately loses the car -- and his beloved son.

His only connection to the carjackers is a hustler named Coco (Good), who apparently was assigned the job of distracting O2 before the assault. He forces Coco at gunpoint to join him in his crusade to get back his son.

By Kirk Honeycutt

movie news : CBS mulls entry into movie business

2006-06-22T01:34:00.000-07:00

Television broadcaster CBS Corp. is exploring a possible entry into the motion picture business, with a view toward producing a handful of smaller-budget films annually, Chief Executive Les Moonves said on Wednesday.

"We are exploring it," Moonves said at a PricewaterhouseCoopers media event in New York. "We're not looking to do 'Superman."'

Moonves did not provide details on how CBS would set up a movie venture, whether through acquisition or building up its own properties.

But he said the television and radio broadcaster would be interested in producing six to eight movies a year on smaller budgets of $20 million to $30 million.

"We could get in a small way, doing six to eight movies a year in a risk-free way," Moonves said.

CBS, home to the television network of the same name, separated from corporate parent Viacom Inc. at the beginning of the year. Viacom retained the Paramount Pictures movie studios.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

movie news : A lazy cat in a lazy movie

2006-06-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

There's nothing horribly wrong with "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties."

There's nothing especially right about it either.

The three children under 5 whom I took to the movie were entertained enough.

But as a parent, I was pretty much left out to dry, wondering who ordered up a sequel to the 2004 "Garfield," anyway.

Though the title alludes to Charles Dickens, "Two Kitties" resurrects Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper" as house cat Garfield gets mixed up with the hoity-toity tabby Prince, who has just inherited an English castle. Both must battle a vengeful nephew (voiced by Billy Connolly), out for blood after getting shortchanged in the will.

As in the first movie, Garfield is convincingly rendered via computer animation while the rest of the world is photographed in live action. Everyone plays straight man (or duck, dog, or goat) to the wisecracking Garfield, for whom all the world is a stand-up comedy stage.

Bill Murray is the perfect choice to voice Garfield, since the laid-back actor can deliver his asides half-asleep and still stay in character. The cat's chronic laziness infects the movie, since the jokes are as dusty and the script as clattery as the suits of armor in the parlor.

The slapstick is aimed squarely at preschoolers, while parents are expected to chortle at references to "Fear Factor" and "Silence of the Lambs." The mix of cute and crude doesn't serve either demographic.

The twist here is that the cat acts human while the actors run around like cartoons. Breckin Meyer returns as owner Jon, who can't find the right moment to propose to girlfriend Liz (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Garfield figures that it's bad enough that he has to share Jon's affection with the mutt Odie, so he tries to foil the nuptials.

No one looks comfortable, including the animated Garfield. He seems to know as well as we do that his comedy works best in a handful of comic strip frames.

BY JOHN MONAGHAN

movie news : Nacho Libre (2006)

2006-06-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

Nacho is a man without skills. After growing up in a Mexican monastery, he is now a grown man and the monastery's cook, but doesn't seem to fit in. Nacho cares deeply for the orphans he feeds, but his food is terrible--mostly, if you ask him, a result of his terrible ingredients. He realizes he must hatch a plan to make money to buy better food for "the young orphans, who have nothing" (and if in doing so Nacho can impress the lovely Sister Encarnacion, that would be a big plus). When Nacho is struck by the idea to earn money as a Lucha Libre wrestler, he finds that he has a natural, raw talent for wrestling. As he teams with his rail-thin, unconventional partner, Esqueleto (the Skeleton), Nacho feels for the first time in his life that he has something to fight for and a place where he belongs. As Lucha is strictly forbidden by the church elders at the monastery, Nacho is forced to lead a double life. Disguised by a sky blue mask, Nacho conceals his true identity as he takes on Mexico's most famous wrestlers and takes on a hilarious quest to make life a little sweeter at the orphanage.
Also Known As: Untitled (Nickelodeon/Jack Black Project)

Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release

Genres: Comedy

Release Date: June 16th, 2006 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG for rough action, and crude humor including dialogue.

Distributors: Paramount Pictures, United International Pictures

Production Co.: Black & White Productions, Nickelodeon Movies
Studios: Paramount Pictures

Filming Locations: Oxaca, Mexico
Los Angeles, California USA

Produced in: United States

Copyright © 2006 Baseline. All rights reserved.

movie news : Waist Deep (2006)

2006-06-13T02:19:00.000-07:00

I'll always come back for you," single father O2 tells his young son Junior. This parental promise is put to the test when O2 is suddenly plunged into a do-or-die situation; trying to go straight for Junior's sake, this recently paroled ex-con is forced to go back outside the law after his son is kidnapped in a carjacking. The resulting chase and shootout have left Junior in the hands of Meat, the vicious leader of the Outlaw Syndicate. O2's shady cousin Lucky tries to meditate, but is caught between criminal and family loyalties. The only person who can or will help O2 get his son back is wily street-smart hustler Coco, whose path fatefully crossed O2's just moments before the kidnapping. When Lucky gets word to O2 that Meat expects $100,000 for Junior's freedom, O2 and Coco seize the opportunity to pit rival elements of the South Los Angeles underworld against each other. "It's either all or nothing," realizes O2. With the clock ticking down, the heat between O2 and Coco rises as they become a lawbreaking couple, on an action-packed tear through a range of Los Angeles neighborhoods. Can they outwit the underworld and save Junior and themselves?
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movie news ; God Bless IMAX

2006-06-13T02:07:00.000-07:00

As a resident of the American South for 27 out of the 28 years of my life and a childhood "Dukes of Hazzard" fan, let me start this by saying the following: I'm really sick of us Southerners making ourselves look like ass-clowns. Get it together people. For every episode of "Boston Legal" that portrays us all as gun-toting, mustache twirling, murdering dim-wits, there's a real life story like this one that makes us every bit as stupid as James Spader portrays us. Maybe it's time I moved up north.

Here's the long and short of it: IMAX theaters in several southern cities (Texas is listed specifically, so no doubt this includes my IMAX theater here in Dallas.) have opted not to show a film on volcanoes on the grounds that it references the theory of evolution. Cited are concerns that movie-goers might be offended, or worse still actually learn something. The South's education reputation didn't occur by accident after all.

Now granted, I don't spend a lot of time watching The Discovery Channel, but when was the last time you saw a nature program that didn't reference evolution? They're absolutely RIFE with it, perhaps because they're put together by smart people known as "scientists" instead of evangelical, money-hungry preachers. Scientists you see are this weird cult of folks who worship this guy named Einstein and believe in crazy things like scientific method as a way for unraveling the mysteries of the Earth. They also feel pretty confident that we all got here by a process known as evolution. Fun fact… the Pope agrees.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I believe on the subject, but that's irrelevant to the discussion. Whether evolution is the real deal or not, this is a move that's completely out of wack. I support the rights of these individual theater owners to run whichever movies they want. I believe in that, it's a private business and they're in it to make money. Fine. But has the Bible belt really become so desperately oppressive that legitimate science no longer has a place in movie theaters? That's a frightening thought. It stinks of knee-jerk reaction. Are people actually out there protesting this? I know a lot of fundamentalist creationists (I do after all live in Texas) and they spend more time watching the Discovery Channel than anyone I know (Animals screwing is less morally offensive than people). They're used to wading through evolution references… why would it suddenly bother them? It's as if electing a president on moral grounds has suddenly empowered an entire small subset of psychotically religious people to go out and start forcing their beliefs on the rest of the populace… or has it? At least that seems like what these theater owners are afraid of. To me, the fear seems unfounded.

The worst thing about this is the message it sends to the folks making these sorts of movies. If you want your movie shown, leave out anything that isn't in the Bible. Maybe work in some references to God. Throw in A few shots of a bearded guy shooting stars out of his ass. Better make that beard thicker, wouldn't want him to be confused as female. Alanis Morrisette is right out. Maybe the Lucas-like fellow could even ask to borrow a starship. God does that sort of thing you know.

This mess reflects poorly on normal, mainstream Christians, and as usual reflects poorly on the justifiably maligned Deep South. We deserve the stereotypes. Might as well kick back in your rocking chair and suck on a corn-cob pipe brothers. Religion is well and good but please, keep it to yourself. You're making the whole region look like bullshit. God bless Texas?

by Joshua Tyler

movie news : Official Movie Website Miscogony

2006-06-09T02:22:00.000-07:00

All right, I've got a complaint. It goes out directly to all you sneaky marketing types who THINK you know exactly what the public wants.

Official movie websites...have you tried to look at one lately? Its torture! After looking at many of them, I have come to the conclusion that the majority of them are designed exclusively for people with DSL connections who aren't interested in knowing anything about the movie whose website they are looking up except perhaps to confirm that the movie does indeed exist.

Case in point: The new Highlander: Endgame official website. The first thing you'll notice upon going to the URL (and I recommend you don't) is that the website takes total control of your computer and decides to block out any other windows or toolbars you may have had up. The sheer arrogance of this little programming "feature" boggles the mind. Evidently the marketing geeks who designed the site are absolutely certain that their website is THE most important thing in your entire life.

Next you will notice that the entire website is in flash, with no option to go to a non-flash site. Again, marketing dorks assume that everyone in the world has a cable modem. The truth is that most people have dialups and if you have a dialup connect it will take a good 15 minutes of loading before you can enter the site. So since the stinking site has taken over your entire computer screen and you can't do anything, you get to spend 15 minutes staring at a blank screen. Lovely.

At last! The site loads and you enter eagerly to discover that it contains NOTHING! No cast bios, no plot synopsis, no teasers, no movie stills, NOTHING but a couple of brief blurbs about the two main characters and a place to download the movie trailer. (2 more hours of waiting...I think now!)

Sadly, this type of official movie site is now the rule rather than the exception. High tech wonders filled with boatloads of jack crap. I mean is it so much to ask you execs to throw in a picture or two, or an interview, or a .wav file or SOMETHING?

Why should I waste any of my time struggling with your slow loading futuristic bells and whistles when I can go over to Joe Schmo's low tech, fast loading, fan page and get better stuff?

The point is that I shouldn't. And neither should you.

by Joshua Tyler

movie news : Bootlet Bandits Deliver Sub-Par Downloads

2006-06-09T02:20:00.000-07:00

This week notorious internet news nanny Matt Drudge reported the presence of advanced bootleg prints of The Two Towers floating about online available for download. While the validity of this story is actually quite questionable and completely unconfirmed, for me it raises the question why?

Why would anyone want to download bootlegs to begin with? Sure, I'm not a total innocent; I've dabbled in it once or twice and know what I'm doing well enough to find the same things all you hardcore bootleggers find. But I simply don't see the point. Presumably hardcore downloaders are doing this for the love of film. It takes a real movie lover to put that kind of time and effort into hunting down something just to have the chance to see it first. As a movie lover, how could you watch something so totally inferior?

Put aside questions of legality or morality involved with such things, this isn't a rant about breaking the law or the unjust behavior of fat cat studios that makes them richer and screws the rest of us over. I'm talking about loving movies. Bootlegs are an inferior product. Generally they are grainy, fuzzy, and of poor sound quality. Most of them are taken by some guy with a camcorder in a movie theater, recording what's up on the screen. There are a few high quality prints out there, most of these from stolen press screening copies, featuring the type of quality you'd expect from a purchased dvd but these are rare and still not perfect.

So you download and if you're lucky you manage to find a quality bootleg that's actually watchable, instead of the aforementioned camcorder mess. You download and you sit, hunched over a tiny computer screen. Alone. Isolated. Squinting to make out pictures compressed onto your 17-inch monitor. Listening intently to the tinny sound coming out of your outdated Altec-Lansing computer speakers. Imagine this is the way you see The Two Towers or the next Star Wars installment for the first time. Not in a theater, not on opening night, not surrounded by other movie lovers basking in the glow of a crystal clear 75ft screen enraptured by pure digital surround sound that pumps out every click, boom, and ping from Howard Shore's magnificent soundtrack. No not like that. Instead you get it early, you get it at home, and you watch it alone in the dark squinting for clarity.

That's not a movie experience that's a disappointment. If you REALLY love movies, why would you CHOOSE to watch any film much less one you care about, in such a sub-par, low-tech environment? You're doing yourself and the film an injustice.

So why do we bother with bootlegs? Are people so set on one upping their friends by seeing things first that they don't care HOW they see it? Maybe. As a critic it would do wonders for my career to see things further ahead of time. I won't tell you that I don't receive such things occasionally from a few folks I know trying to help snag The Film Hobbit an exclusive sneak peak. And I'm grateful. I watch. I'm happy. But to do so on a regular basis, or to watch a film you really CARE about, a film like Lord of the Rings... that's a shame.

I'd rather wait in line outside the UA MacArthur Marketplace 16 here in Dallas for days rather than spend 3 hours in a hardbacked chair at home glaring at my computer. There's magic in the movies. If you lose that, and reduce films to just a bunch of pixels on your screen, you've lost what movie making is all about. The first time you see something should be the best time.

You only get one opportunity to experience each movie as something totally new. Don't waste it on some slacker's attempt at underground bootleg fame. Your movie health depends on it.

by Joshua Tyler

movie news : Kung Fu Cowboy Free

2006-06-05T01:52:00.000-07:00

Filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee have spent their lives capturing the world in and around New York City. Last year, Michael Mann won acclaim for accurately depicting L.A. in his hitman drama Collateral. What about everywhere else?

There's no one out there showing the real Dallas. The place I call home is represented by grinning cowboy industrialists with huge belt buckles or spitting rednecks who sacrifice their children's education for games of high school football. New York gets The 25th Hour, Dallas gets Serving Sara. What do we know about Baltimore, or Indianapolis? Does anyone care? The closest anyone's gotten to capturing my town is Mike Judge with Office Space. Great movie, but a sad commentary on Hollywood's bi-coastal bias. That's the real Dallas, and it isn't run by Larry Hagman.

It's time for filmmakers to broaden out. There's nothing Hollywood loves more than making movies about itself, but give the rest of us a chance. Give folks a chance to see that Dallas is a shallow, rotting, festering boil of shallow consumerism and chronic eating out. While you're at it, show the good things too… if you can find them. I'd start looking in the suburbs. Everything isn't bigger and better in Texas and no Mr. Norris, our cowboys (what few there are) don't know Karate.

by Joshua Tyler

movie news ; Avid Moviegoers Find Range of Special Offers

2006-06-05T01:48:00.000-07:00

Hoyts is an Australia wide cinema chain, and for a long time has been familiar to Australian moviegoers as the place to see the latest big releases. There are over forty theatres throughout metropolitan centres in most states. For more information, visit www.all-hobbies-r-us.com

Hoyts also runs specialized theatres which cater to specific markets. Cinema Paris at Fox Studios in Sydney features a selection of art house and international films. La Premiere cinemas can be found at a number of locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, and offer audiences a luxurious movie viewing experience, with super size screens, superior digital surround sound, luxury seating including sofa seats for two, a lounge and wine bar, and complimentary popcorn, coffee, tea and soft drinks. All of this comes at a price, but it can be an attractive choice for a special night out.

Avid moviegoers can sign up as a Hoyts Movie club member. It's free to join, and members get a range of benefits, including members only $9 movie tickets for selected sessions, candy bar discounts, a personalized weekly email newsletter, and access to special competitions. To join customers need to log on and provide a few personal details, but the data will only be used by Hoyts to tailor the marketing material they send, so members will receive movie news which is of most interest to them.

Hoyts also has a range of other services which will be of particular interest to mobile savvy teens. Promotional movie wallpapers, animated screensavers and action games can be downloaded from the official Hoyts website for a small fee. Customers can get instant information on session times via SMS, simply by sending the keywords for the cinema name and movie title. This is a simple innovation, but a fantastic convenience to customers.

Author: Sufi Fanning

movie news : Poseidon

2006-06-02T04:15:00.000-07:00

Plot: Remake of the 1975 disaster epic that starred Gene Hackman amongst many others. When a rogue wave capsizes a luxury cruise ship in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, a small group of survivors find themselves unlikely allies in a battle for their lives. Preferring to test the odds alone, career gambler John Dylan (Josh Lucas) ignores captain’s orders (Andre Braugher) to wait below for possible rescue and sets out to find his own way to safety. What begins as a solo mission soon draws others as Dylan is followed by a desperate father (Kurt Russell) searching for his daughter (Emmy Rossum) and her fiancé (Mike Vogel), a young couple who hours before couldn’t summon the courage to tell him they were engaged and now face much graver challenges.

Along the way they are joined by a single mother (Jacinda Barrett) and her wise-beyond-his-years son (Jimmy Bennett), an anxious stowaway (Mia Maestro) and a despondent fellow passenger (Richard Dreyfuss) who boarded the ship not sure he wanted to live but now knows he doesn’t want to die. Determined to fight their way to the surface, the group sets off through the disorienting maze of twisted steel in the upside-down wreckage. As the unstable vessel rapidly fills with water each must draw on skills and strengths they didn’t even know they possessed, fighting against time for their own survival and for each other.
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movie news : Snakes on a Plane

2006-06-02T04:09:00.000-07:00

It may seem odd to Movie Minutiae-ise a film that hasn't even been released yet but Snakes on a Plane is a law unto itself.

Even though it won't be released until August, Snakes on a Plane has sparked massive interest on the web - blogging, meme-ing, crank phone calling airlines, writing songs, poetry, cartoons, a game and video parodies.

The Charm School blog has the best wrap-up of the 'snakes-on-a-mania', but even McSweeney's has got in on the act, posting a list of possible 'surprise' endings.

And as far as I know, this is the first time in film history (email me if you know better) that a movie has been changed to incorporate aspects of the web parodies.

According to IMDB, in March 2006 (six months after principal photography wrapped) New Line Cinema allowed for a five-day reshoot to film new scenes, taking the movie from PG-13 to a R-rated film.

Among the additions is a line by star Samuel L Jackson: "I want these mother***ing snakes off this mother***ing plane," which originated in an anticipatory Internet parody.

And apparently, after Jackson signed on for the film, the title was changed to Pacific Air Flight 121, but was changed back after the star said: "We're totally changing that back. That's the only reason I took the job: I read the title."

So the big question is, is this just a clever (and successful) guerilla marketing campaign? Or is it just that film buffs and web nerds alike are hanging out for a flick about, well, snakes on a plane?

By Gary Kemble.

movie news: ‘Da Vinci Code’ Exceeds Studio Expectations

2006-05-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

HOLLYWOOD - Finally, a summer movie worthy of “blockbuster” status. Despite worldwide protests and mixed reviews, the suspense thriller The Da Vinci Code debuted this weekend with a masterful $77 million at the North American box office, while grossing $224 million worldwide. It marks the best opener for both director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks.

"Da Vinci opening this big just tells you that people do want to go to the movies, they just need the right movie to go," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press. "You had a built-in audience from the book and the awareness levels were so high from this film. You would have to live under a rock not to know this movie was opening."

Coming in a strong second was DreamWorks’ CGI comedy Over the Hedge, which grossed $37.2 million. "We thought we could very easily coexist with The Da Vinci Code and I think the numbers bear that out," Dan Harris, executive vice president at Paramount told AP.

Also opening this weekend was the horror flick See No Evil, starring pro-wrestling star Kane, which came in sixth place with $4.3 million.

The Top 12 pics this week grossed an estimated $153.1 million, up 80.14 percent from last weekend’s total of $85 million but down 2.81 percent from last year's draw of $157.6 million.

The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: 20th Cent Fox’s Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, which debuted at No. 1 with $108.4 million in 3,661 theaters, averaging $29,619 per theater; New Line’s Monster-In-Law, which dropped to second place in its second week with $14.3 million in 3,424 theaters, averaging $4,191 per theaters; and Universal’s Kicking & Screaming, which dropped to third place in its second week with $10.7 million in 3,470 theaters, averaging $3,090 per theaters (Click here to read last year's box office report).
By Hollywood.com Staff| Monday, May 22, 2006

movie news: ‘X-Men’ Set to ‘Stand’ Tall at Holiday Box Office

2006-05-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES - movie news, X-Men: The Last Stand, the third and last film in the superhero trilogy, is expected to take the box office crown from The Da Vinci Code during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, but will be hard-pressed to match the $85.6 million three-day bow of its 2003 predecessor.

Fox's PG-13 film is debuting in 3,689 theaters, slightly less than the 3,741 in which X2 debuted during the first weekend in May. Unlike this year, there was precious little competition in the marketplace then. X2 went on to gross $214.9 million domestically.

Amid mostly positive reviews, the Marvel sci-fi actioner has been tracking strongly for quite some time, attracting a broad age range but skewing slightly younger and more male.

Sony's Da Vinci Code debuted a week ago with a sterling $77.1 million, and Paramount's Over the Hedge, from DreamWorks Animation, parlayed $38.5 million in its opening session. Conventional box office wisdom says they should gross almost as much in the four-day holiday period.

With Brett Ratner taking over as director from Matthew Vaughn, who himself had replaced Bryan Singer, X3 features returning stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, and Famke Janssen. The story follows the battle among mutants when a cure is discovered that would strip them of their powers and make them human.
Copyright 2006 Reuters. http://www.reuters.com.
X3 will also roll out in most countries overseas, with the notable exceptions of Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. Last weekend, Da Vinci pulled in an international gross of a record $154.7 million.

movie news: 'X-Men' Cracks 'Da Vinci Code' at Box Office

2006-05-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES - The final film in the X-Men superhero trilogy blew past last weekend's box office champ, The Da Vinci Code, to post the fourth-highest all-time opening in North America, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

The movie news

X-Men: The Last Stand sold about $107 million worth of tickets in the three-day period from Friday to Sunday, said distributor 20th Century Fox. The News Corp.-owned studio said it hoped the film would open near the $86 million bow of its 2003 predecessor X2: X-Men United.

By contrast, Da Vinci Code opened with $77 million a week ago, the highest bow so far this year. The Vatican conspiracy thriller slipped to No. 2, but sales data were not available as most studios were planning to report estimates for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend on Monday.

However, Da Vinci Code distributor Columbia Pictures said the film earned $92 million in most foreign territories, and enjoyed strong holds in such countries as Germany and Japan. The international total stands at $320 million. As of Thursday evening, the film had earned $102 million in North America.

Columbia, a unit of Sony Corp. said its film earned more overseas than X-Men, which also opened internationally on Friday, but neither Columbia nor Fox had any foreign data for the new arrival.

The three-day record for a film opening on a Friday is held by 2002's Spider-Man ($115 million), followed by 2005's Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith ($108.4 million) and 2004's Shrek 2 ($108 million).

Fox said X-Men: The Last Stand cost about $165 million to make. The studio licensed the comic book franchise from Marvel Entertainment Inc. The first film in the series, "X-Men" opened to $54 million in 2000, and went on to earn $157 million. The sequel finished with $215 million.

The new film, whose returning cast of mutants includes Hugh Jackman as the heroic Wolverine and Ian McKellen as the evil Magneto, was directed by Brett Ratner, best known for the Rush Hour films. It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last week, and earned rave reviews--unlike Da Vinci Code.

In addition to taking over from Da Vinci Code as the highest opening so far this year, the new X-Men beats the nine-year-old Memorial Day weekend record held by The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which opened to $72 million during its first three days. Steven Spielberg's dinosaur picture earned an additional $18 million during the Monday holiday.

Projections for the four-day period will be released on Monday, and final data on Tuesday.

Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures said it took the No. 3 and No. 4 places with the barnyard cartoon Over the Hedge ($27.3 million) and the Tom Cruise thriller Mission: Impossible III ($6.6 million), respectively. Their totals rose to $85.3 million after two weeks and $115.5 million after four weeks, respectively.
Copyright 2006 Reuters.http://www.reuters.com.

Motorola HT820/ 98689 Bluetooth Stereo

2006-05-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

Music automatically pauses when a call comes in. Then when the call ends, the music resumes play. The Motorola HT820/ 98689 Bluetooth Stereo headphones eliminate the need to carry headphones for listening to music, and a separate mono Bluetooth headset for hands free voice communication, by integrating a microphone into the Bluetooth stereo headphones for use with voice calling.
The advanced DSP technology within the BlueCore3-Multimedia (BlueCore3-MM) chip significantly reduces background noise and echo and allows the headset to switch between paired devices.
The Bluetooth Stereo headphones can receive music from any Bluetooth-enabled device that supports the new Advance Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), thus widening the range of potential music sources. For example, use the Motorola DC800/ 98729H/ 98690 Bluetooth Home Stereo Adapter with your in-home stereo sound system! Some MP3 players are now becoming Bluetooth A2DP profile enabled as well. The Motorola V360 cell phone, and the Audiovox PPC-6600/ PPC6700 cell phones also support the Bluetooth A2DP profile.
When paired to a Bluetooth product that supports the Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), a touch of the headphone抯 multifunction button is all that is required to pause music being streamed to the Motorola HT820/ 98689 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones and answer an incoming call, and you can even skip tracks using buttons right on the headset. Once the call is finished, one touch of the same button hangs up the call and resumes the stereo music stream from the point where it was interrupted. This means that users will no longer miss calls if they are listening to music, and no longer need to remove their headphones to answer or make a call, without compromising on sound quality.
The lightweight, ergonomic Motorola HT820/ 98689 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones provide premium communication and music connectivity with minimized background noise and reliable battery power. Battery lasts up to 16 hours for cell phone, 12 hours for music, and recharges in a fast 2 hour charge time with the included AC charger.

Copyright 2006 TangShop.com. All rights reserved.

Surround Sound Basics

2006-05-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

The main thing that sets a home theater apart from an ordinary television setup is the surround sound. For a proper surround-sound system, you need two to three speakers in front of you and two to three speakers to your sides or behind you. The audio signal is split into multiple channels so that different sound information comes out of the various speakers.
The most prominent sounds come out of the front speakers. When someone or something is making noise on the left side of the screen, you hear it more from a speaker to the left of the screen. When something is happening on the right, you hear it more from a speaker to the right of the screen.

The third speaker sits in the center, just under or above the screen. This center speaker is very important because it anchors the sound coming from the left and right speakers -- it plays all the dialogue and front sound effects so that they seem to be coming from the center of your television screen, rather than from the sides.

The speakers behind you fill in various sorts of background noise in the movie -- dogs barking, rushing water, the sound of a plane overhead. They also work with the speakers in front of you to give the sensation of movement -- a sound starts from the front and then moves behind you.

But how do all these sounds get split up? This is the job of the audio/video receiver, which is the real heart of a home theater.

by Tom Harris and Tracy V. Wilson

Casino Debate On The Table Again In Britain

2006-05-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

We all live in a global village. And very different countries thousands of miles apart can have raging debates on exactly the same social issues. Casino gambling is the subject of controversy here in Britain, but it is also the subject of debate in Jamaica. And, although the social and economic realities are very different, the issues raised are the same.

The background to casino gambling in Britain is that, although we have casinos, they are so tightly regulated that for most of the population they might as well not exist. As a deliberate act of government policy, we have no equivalent to Las Vegas.

Casino owners cannot advertise their casinos, serve drinks on the gaming floor or offer live entertainment. They are run as private clubs and you have to be a member for at least 24 hours before you can gamble.

There are very strict controls over where they can be set up and who can run them. These restrictions were brought in because of the fear of the link between gambling and organised crime. The underlying thinking was that gambling was to be tolerated but not encouraged.

Casinos have never formed an integral part of our leisure or tourism industry; the determined American tourist who wanted to gamble could probably find one, but that was about it. Then the British government decided to deregulate casino gambling. They wanted a new generation of 24-hour casinos and a wave of mega-casinos on the Las Vegas model with 1,250 slot machines, all with a £1-million jackpot.

There were a number of reasons for the change in policy: there was a feeling that our existing gambling legislation was old fashioned and had not caught up with new developments like Internet gambling and the lottery; there was the idea that deregulation in general was a good thing and there was sustained pressure from US gambling interests who saw Britain as a huge untapped source of profits.

But what did not exist was public demand for bigger and better casino gambling on the Las Vegas model. Even so, the government was taken aback by the strength of the public backlash against their proposals. In the anti-casino gambling camp were: the churches, progressive opinion, social conservatives and much of the media.

The churches argued the moral case and some conservative commentators argued against the new casinos because they were seizing on any stick to beat the government. But there was widespread concern about the social consequences of these new huge casinos which, for the first time, would be allowed to advertise and actively encourage new gamblers.

Opponents pointed out that the US style mega-casino is not really about the blackjack and roulette. Where they make their money is from the slot machines. And these slot machines attract the poor, the female and the gambling addict. An American survey has revealed that the very poorest gamblers spend three times as much (as a proportion of their income) as the better off.

Commentators argued that more casinos with thousands of these slot machines will lead to a rise in the number of gambling addicts and middle-aged women gambling away their housekeeping money. And where you have casinos you have organised crime and opponents were not slow to point out that casinos were ideal for laundering money, even without the active co-operation of the owners.

This debate all took place in the run-up to last year's general election, and public feeling was so strong that the government had to backtrack for fear of losing votes. They promised to limit the numbers of new casinos and only have one mega-casino. But now that the election is out of the way, the lobbyists for US gambling interests have resumed their pressure and the issue is being debated again.

The strongest supporters of casino gambling are some of our run-down resort areas which see it as a way of regenerating their communities. But public opposition is still strong. I have an open mind on the issue. Gambling is one of the few vices I have never been able to see the point of.

I have visited a casino only twice in my life and placed a bet on a horserace just once. (I lost.) And, the last thing that the poor people in East London that I represent need is more opportunities to throw away their money gambling.

But I can see how, carefully regulated, a mega-casino could form part of a leisure complex. In Jamaica, the debate is different again. A developed economy like Britain has many alternatives for regenerating run-down tourist areas, but for Jamaica, casino gambling may be a lifeline. Only Jamaicans can judge that. But it is interesting to see that this is a live issue on both sides of the Atlantic

http://pokermag.com/managearticle.asp?C=310&A=11685

Strange new rodent discovered as Asian snack

2006-05-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

A weird species of rodent, totally new to science, has been discovered on sale in a southeast Asian food market. The rock rat - or kha-nyou as it is known in Laos - is unlike any rodent seen before by scientists.

“It was for sale on a table next to some vegetables,” says conservation biologist Robert Timmins, “And I knew immediately it was something I had never seen before.” People in the Khammouan region of Laos know of the species, and prepare it by roasting it on a skewer, says Timmins, of the Wildlife Conservation Society, based in New York City, US.

Timmins and his team have subsequently trapped the animal with the help of local people, but have never seen it alive either in the wild or in the market. Relatively little is yet known of how it lives or the full extent of its habitats.

The creature looks something like a cross between a large dark rat and a squirrel, but is actually more closely related to guinea pigs and chinchillas. The long-whiskered rodent has a thick, furry tail, large paws, stubby limbs and is around 40 centimetres from nose to tail. Initial evidence suggests it gives birth to a single young at a time. The discovery was reported in the journal Systematics and Biodiversity.

What makes Laonastes aenigmamus so unusual is that it is not closely related to any other rodents. The researchers behind the find have had to create a whole new family, the Laonastidae, to accommodate it.

Rare delicacy
Although new rodents are discovered by scientists at the rate of about one a year, new mammal families are much rarer, Timmins told New Scientist. The last new mammal family was created in 1974 with the discovery of the bumblebee bat. “To find something so distinct in this day and age is just extraordinary,” he says.

The species may be the primitive ancestor to a large group of mostly African and South American rodents known as the Hystricognathi. This group includes mole rats, guinea pigs, capybaras, porcupines and chinchillas. Laonastes may have diverged from these species tens of millions of years ago, Timmins says. Today its closest living relatives are found in Africa.

“The discovery is particularly interesting because it may throw new light on theories about the evolution and past distribution of Old and New World rodents,” says rodent expert and study co-author Paulina Jenkins of the Natural History Museum in London, UK.

The researchers have too little information on the population size and distribution of Laonastes to currently confirm whether or not it is an endangered species, says Jenkins. However, evidence suggests its habitat is confined to rocky limestone outcrops in and around the protected Khammouan National Biodiversity Conservation Area, and is therefore not likely to be very widespread.

by John Pickrell

Ocean rescue

2006-05-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

As I walked along the beach in northern Washington, scouting for garbage to put in the heavy-duty trash bag they had given me at the Olympic Coast clean-up orientation session a few hours earlier, I came upon a sad sight. A sea otter had somehow lost its way and ended up dead on Shi Shi Beach. With its life drained away, the otter's matted fur seemed to have lost its luxuriant richness, appearing more a drab gray than the chestnut brown I would have expected from the world's most prized fur.

Lacking a Ph.D. in marine biology, it was hard to tell what exactly killed the wayward sea otter. It might have been a predator, but I didn't see any visible wounds. Maybe it succumbed to leptospirosis or one of any dozen other bacterial outbreaks slowly making their way up the coast from California's marine mammal populations. Or perhaps one of the hundreds of tanker ships that pass through the area every week had discharged some oil into the waters contaminating an abalone or crab that the otter had enjoyed as an unwitting last meal. Or maybe it has starved while foraging far and wide for dwindling amounts of shellfish. I noted the dead otter's location to report to the National Marine Sanctuary group that was overseeing the beach clean-up.

Then I got back to work. I had volunteered to help cleanup Shi Shi Beach, a pristine sea-stacked affair on the northwest corner of the continental United States, just a four-hour drive from downtown Seattle. While other beach clean-ups happening around the country on this Earth Day might have focused on empty beer cans and abandoned beach toys, my work at Shi Shi, three miles from the nearest road and only accessible via a muddy tromp through verdant old-growth forest, focused more on debris washed up onto the beach from the turbulent Pacific. A large piece of broken fishing net. A weathered shipping palette. An oil can. A melange of odd-shaped plastic pieces. Each item in my assemblage represented one or another major threat to the world's oceans. The otter was just the coup de grace.

by Roddy Scheer

Discover Little Known Secrets about How to Achieve Enduring Success! by Rupert Mamby

2006-04-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Being lucky in life is the result of putting yourself into action for good luck to happen to you. You've probably heard the statement "The harder I work the luckier I get". Another way of putting it is "Whatever you are ready for is ready for you."

Are you satisfied with your life, the job you have, or the amount of money you're making? Or are you not satisfied with the feeling that life is somehow passing you by? Chances are one of these reasons fits you because most people aren't satisfied with their lives, and usually one of those reasons is the cause.

Success is not a spectator sport, something that just happens before your eyes. It's an experience, a game that must be played to be enjoyed fully. You need to get involved with life. You'll need to get more involved with your family, friends, people you see every day. Because in that involvement, you'll find you have everything you need to succeed.

You have within you, right now, at this very moment, all that is necessary for you to become the happy, successful person you've always wanted to be. All you need to do is unlock the riches that have been locked away with-in you.

Are you ready for a more abundant and happier life? If you are, then you'll need to know how to put yourself into action to achieve it.

Consider these discoveries for successful living:

* Convert your hopes and dreams into physical reality. Train your inner vision to transcend outer world stimulation, and become a true master of your fate. An example of this is the experience of being immersed in a dream while sleeping and being certain that the dream is real. This apparent reality is brought on by the fact that the mind doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's imagined. Thus this emphasizes the power belief has over the believer. "What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."

* Expect increased achievement and assured success. Unlock yourself from limitations of your own making due to impressions received from family, friends and associates. Break free to create new self-images formed from your own reasoned conviction. Don't fall into the trap of unreasoned convictions about yourself; belief in something about you that is not true is destructive. Remember the power belief has over the believer.

* Become a good friend to yourself, and stop trying to be perfect. Most children were brought up to do things the right way and it seemed that the natural way was always the wrong way. You were either right or wrong... there wasn't any in-between, and you started out wrong and had to learn to be right. Right was perfect, wrong was not, and as a result, you were trained to be perfect all the time.

You probably know that you can't be perfect, but you may have this deep down feeling that you ought to be. So you're not perfect, well welcome to the human race. Take a good look at yourself as you really are, you have a lot of good qualities, including some that other people haven't even seen yet. In fact, when you're honest with yourself, your good qualities outnumber and outweigh your shortcomings, don't they?

Implement these discoveries for successful living into your life and train yourself to see scenes in your mind that arrive in dimensions of color, sound, and pulsating life. The objective here is to train your subconscious to obey you. In this way it will be possible for you to become free from frustration, failure, and even disease. That's when you will begin to stop letting things happen to you and instead start making things happen for you.

About the Author
©2006 Rupert Mamby is a motivation consultant, Internet marketer, writer, and coach. He owners ViewBiz Marketing and helps home based business entrepreneurs - For Newsletter and Gifts send email to ebuilder@sendfree.com. For more discoveries for successful living visit: http://dimensions4living.com