Don't Judge a Movie Before You See the Advertisements!

Critics these days are absolutely ridiculous when it comes to critiquing a movie! If the story has heart they will call it "soft" and "sappy." If it is has blood and gore they will call it a "blockbuster." If it is controversial and offends any group of people they will call it a "must-see." Sometimes they don't even read the small synopsis about the movie before they go and see it. Then they make claims against the movie when it is obvious they haven't read anything about it!

A perfect example of their stupidity is the critiques I read for the new movie August Rush. The movie is about an orphaned musical prodigy who believes that if he plays his music his parents will find him and they will live happily ever after. It's a story with heart and very little controversy! However, all the critics seem to say is that it is completely unrealistic. This comes after the movie advertised itself as a drama with fairytale elements!

I swear it's like they don't even listen to the advertisements before they watch it! They just want to tear something apart because it lacks the three essentials to make it in Hollywood: sex, violence, and controversy. If it doesn't have naked women, guns blazing, and something offensive then it will be torn apart. What a sad state Hollywood is in!

Holiday for Two

Okay, I'm taking a short break from my movie rants to address a problem that has been coming to my attention quite frequently recently. Why do commercials during the holidays promote couples? I was watching tv and I swear within a 30 minute period I must have seen 4 Zales commercials! Why? I feel like I am constantly being slammed with this promotion of marriage. And it only increases during the holidays!

I know that holidays are generally the time you spend with the ones you love. Places like Zales are just taking advantage of that in their commercials. However, when you are constantly hounded by commercials with flowers, jewelry, "get her what she wants this holiday season," and vice versa... it
all gets a little overwhelming!

You can call me bitter and you can even call me a Scrooge but in reality I think you see my point. The holidays should be a time of celebration and peace not of being hounded by some commercial that makes you begin to feel inadequate! So join with me and say no to commercials like Zales! It's Christmas not Valentine's Day!

It's That Time of Year Again...

Well, as you know the holiday season has begun and with the holidays comes...

Holiday Movies!!!

Now, personally, I love this time of year because movies we've been waiting all year for come out around this time. This year the heavy hitters are: Enchanted, I Am Legend, Beowulf, and The Golden Compass. Some must sees for me will be August Rush and Juno.

Holiday movies tend to be more family movies, centered on the themes of family, adventure, and hope. This year is no different. However, I wonder how this years movies will hold up. Previous years have released Harry Potter films, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. Will The Golden Compass follow these movies? With the writers strike now hitting the movies, I'm left to wonder what next years holiday movies will be or if they will even be any.

Strike!

Well, the writer's strike in Hollywood is in full swing now. Daily talk shows are showing reruns, movies in production have been postponed, and by January tv will turn to reality shows. I think this is a sad time for Hollywood and for the viewers.

I love television! I have my shows that I watch religiously. I understand the arguements that are going on at the moment and I support the writers. However, what am I supposed to do come January when shows like The Office and Pushing Daisies are replaced with crap like Marry My Mom or Eat As Many Gross Things As You Can? My tv will be off until my shows come back, I guess.

I hate reality television for the reason that there is nothing to it. It's absurd! Shows like The Bachelor, The Biggest Loser, Beauty and the Geek, and various others are ridiculous. It's a load of people's 15 minutes of fame. I avoid all MTV reality shows which are even more ridiculous than the ones already listed. Even a huge favorite, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition borders on ridiculous!

I end this post with a plea: Hollywood, please make peace!

Classic or Trash???

Who decides what is "classic" and what is "trash?" I've seen so many things lately that I hear are "classics" and all I really saw was worthless trash that someone deemed "classic-worthy." Who are these people that deem movies, works or art, literature...etc, "classics?" What are their backgrounds? How do they make their decisions?

Take for example, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with Audrey Hepburn. I still don't see the point. And the fact that this movie is what Audrey Hepburn is known for makes my head spin! She's a social climber, using anyone she can for money. He's a man-whore, having affairs with married women who support him while he attempts to write novels. And they unite over a cat! Who deemed this a classic and why?

If someone could explain this to me I would be forever grateful. I just don't understand what makes something a classic while other things go by unnoticed.

The Generation Gap in Technology

How is it that an eight year old can set up a Wii while a forty year old watches in amazement and confusion? Why can a twelve year old figure out a cell phone faster than a fifty year old? If you've ever asked yourself these questions then you have struggled with the comprehension of the generation gap.

I remember growing up I had a Fisher Price tape recorder (remember those?) that had five large buttons with symbols on them. It didn't say what they were or anything. A green triangle pointing right, a red square, a blue outlined arrow going left, a matching outlined arrow going right, and a red circle. This was my introduction into technology. From these complex symbols I learned play, stop, rewind, fast forward, and record. This is essentially what has gotten me through it all. Sure I've learned things on computers, learned how to use speed dial and voice commands on my cell phone, and even programming a tevo; but what it all really came down to for me was those five little symbols.

I know people like my parents and grandparents didn't have Fisher Price tape recorders to carry them through the technology age. For them, this is a completely different world then what they remember. And I'm not saying I know everything here. My twelve year old cousin makes me look like a fool when it comes to anything video games.

I'm not really sure what divides us in the end. My generation was around for the beginning of the technology age. Years from now I'll tell my grandchildren all about when I was around for the Apple Iphone, in which case they will probably laugh at me for how dated I am.

Slasher flicks gone wild!

I just saw 30 Days of Night about vampires taking over a small Alaskan town. It was the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a long time. People are being torn apart left and right, and not just adults but children as well. The movie has no real plot and the whole thing is mainly blood and gore. Yet this crap is what tops the box office. Instead of seeing a movie with heart or, god forbid, an actual plot, people rush to the theaters to see people being torn apart, their worst nightmares projected on the screen. I guess I don't get it.

Is it the exhilaration of fear and adrenaline? It is a way to release our morbid sides? Is it the pychotic in all of us that gets to live through the action on the screen, even if only for an hour or so?

It seems like more and more slasher flicks are being released every year. Now they are being released around Christmas time which I think is absolutely absurd! I know they are cheap to make and for some crazy reason draw big crowds. I just don't understand what our morbid fascination with this crap!