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Archive for October, 2011

In the current hi tech globe, several things stay the same. Among those issues is actually writing instruments. You are able to most likely browse around a person at this time and discover the pencil. Even while almost as much fast e-mail as well as Search engines are utilized to talk as well as study, many people nevertheless make use of a pencil to create inspections, indication documents, write down information as well as doodle. Present day ballpoint pencil is really simple to come across and thus affordable custom molded in ear monitors uk, you’ll find all of them scattered about almost anyplace. Most likely, you have a cabinet filled with all of them or perhaps a mug because of your table full of all of them.

Writing instruments came quite a distance, in the times of reed writing instruments, quill writing instruments, steel nib writing instruments, as well as water fountain writing instruments. These types of writing instruments experienced numerous issues with all of them. A lot of it might movement unevenly, which makes it hard to create. A lot of it which was utilized had been sluggish drying out, because it had been subjected to the environment because it experienced the actual pencil. Nevertheless, once the printer ink unintentionally does dry out within the pencil, this grew to become gummy and also the whole pencil needed to be tediously washed best in ear monitors for singers.

The actual ballpoint pencil stops these complaints, for good. Maybe you have considered the way it really labored? How come a lot of it emerged therefore easily? So how exactly does this dried out therefore rapidly as soon as it comes down away, although not within the pencil? Let’s consider some things which make the ballpoint pencil function completely. Just like it may sound, the ballpoint pencil includes a golf ball in the stage from the pencil.

Adam McKay may not be the best director or a household name just yet but hardcore movie fans like myself know when he does films with comedian Will Ferrell, it’s a hit and it JUST WORKS OUT. Now this former director Adam McKay was once a writer for Saturday Night Live and went onto directing two Will Ferrell movie’s, Anchorman and Talladega Nights with huge box office success. It’s also written in Will Ferrell’s resume that whenever he’s done a film without Adam McKay directing it, his movies have failed miserably in films such as Land of the Lost and Semi-Pro. As both the director and the co-writer of the film “The Other Guys”, Adam McKay does a wonderful job in bringing out the best in their main stars Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell and of course the rest of the acting crew. The best thing about this movie is that it complements both the action and comedy aspect than any other comedic film I’ve seen in a while.

In this film we get to see a whole new perspective on what detectives and cops actually do in the police department as far as work is concerned and hardly ever get the chance to fight crime out of their cubicles. For instance, we see it all of the time in shows like Law & Order and action movies whereas the detectives will chase down the criminals in the usual cops and robbers shenanigans and or games and this movie’s very different in that perspective. We see these cops staying at their cubicles performing their usual police reports which is certainly a whole new side we haven’t ever seen in other movies before. Will Ferrell plays Allen Gamble, a cop that enjoys working at his office filing police reports instead of working in the field whereas his partner Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) is a whole new story, he’s the go getter of the two with his forceful nature and a whole lot more ambitious.

What made this movie work really well was the last 40 percent of it. The one thing that made this movie that much more interesting is that they didn’t give Will Ferrell’s character all of the jokes, a mistake that all buddy cop movies make like the recent Cop Out remake starring both Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. Mark Wahlberg was as good as he always is in playing the more intense character like he does in every movie he’s in, he also had plenty of laugh out jokes in the film and does it beautifully with a straight face it’s just epic! I especially loved his joke about wanting to fly like a peacock because it may just make it’s way into AFI’s Most Memorable Movie Quotes and when he shoots Derek Jeter by mistaking him for a criminal it sent the whole movie theatre into a laughing uproar!

The twenty percent of the film that was absolutely hilarious was even more funny as the movie and story progressed. Many buddy cop movies of past and present make their biggest mistake in showing their villains very early on, which happens all of the time in comic book superheroes. The great thing about this film is that it gets you involved into figuring out the mystery along with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg and the many twists and turns that get you into questioning who the actual culprit is behind the massive ponzi scheme. However the movie The Other Guys isn’t just any movie it’s the “movie”. Some of the jokes were a little out of place, and even the annoying police chief’s (Michael Keaton) motive in keeping Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg into solving the ponzi scheme mystery did interfere with the film quite a bit. The Other Guys had a fabulous story line, everyone was just hilarious and in the year 2010 this movie lives up to all of the hype and so much more. I truly appreciate the individuals that have taken time out of their day to read this review and I’m certainly thankful for that.

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  Comic book movies have come a long way in popular cinema. They were once held mostly to Television series and specials in the likes of Spider-Man, Captain America, Batman, and others. The early comic book movies were cheesy and low budget affairs like Corman’s Fantastic Four, The Phantom, and the first Punisher with Dolf Lundgren.

Now, comic book movies are huge business. Marvel comics has raised almost a billion dollars to produce their own films, and Superman and Batman have seen huge resurgences on the silver screen. These movies are now worldwide phenomena and let’s see what the best comic book films are.

5. X-Men

 If Spider-Man is King of the Mountain, then X-Men helped it get there. The X-Men was one of the first “big budget” super hero movies in recent years, and it didn’t disappoint. X-Men was widely successful and spawned sequels with four movies out so far. This movie had a large list of A-list actors including Halle Berry, Ian McKellen and the fan favorite to play Professor Xavier – Patrick Stewart. The success of the film helped pave the way for other films to become what they are today.

4. Spider-Man

 Spider-Man was the movie that rocketed the superhero genre to become cemented as a mainstay in our culture. It broke records, made hundreds of millions, and made superstars out of Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Spider-Man is a top super hero movie in regards to popularity, money made, and impact on the future of comic book movies.

3. IronMan

 Iron Man really set the bar high for upcoming comic book movies. It was true to the source material, had high quality effects, and told a great story to boot. John Favreau did such a great job making Iron Man a hit, and even called in many of the Marvel writers to go over the script to make it the best what it could be. This movie gave a rebirth to Robert Downey Jr.’s career and took the Iron Man character to new heights. It is the kind of film that future comic books will be compared to for quite some time to come.

2. 300

 300 took a comic book and transformed it into a big screen super smash runaway hit. The movie made its budget back in the opening weekend and has fueled what will soon be many spin offs similar in style and looks. 300 had so many sequences and images that were straight from the film, but also worked to develop characters and subplots, making the story its own. This film is both loved and hated by critics and has also sparked international debate. All of this from just 300 men of Sparta. This movie quickly became a classic comic book film.

1. Betman: The Dark Knight

 The Dark Knight blew off the doors of what a comic book movie could be. This movie destroyed box office records, making it the number two movie in the United States of all time and number four worldwide. Holy Greenbacks Batman! Combine this with electrifying performances all around and an Oscar for the late Heath Ledger and this movie has shattered all expectations and catapulted The Dark Knight to the number one spot in my list.

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These are the best movies I’ve seen:

•    2001: A Space Odyssey,
•    Koyaanisqatsi,
•    The Third Man,
•    Casablanca,
•   Fog of War,
•    La Strada,
•    The Draughtsman’s Contract,
•    City Lights, and
•    Blade Runner

2001: A Space Odyssey

I first saw 2001 when I was 15. I went to see it for the special effects, but after seeing it, I knew that I had missed something important. I went back to see it again, maybe 20 times, read the book 3 or 4 times, and even wrote a high school essay on it. I eventually decided that I understood it. Years later, I saw more in it that I didn’t see earlier, so now I am not so sure that I really understand it. It changed my whole view of the world. It made me want to be a movie maker.

Koyaanisqatsi

I first saw Koyaanisqatsi when my brother showed me a videotape he had rented. It wasn’t until many years later that I saw it in a theatre. I saw it three times on the big screen, once at a live performance of the score by Philip Glass. The movie seemed to me to be completely abstract, yet it held my fascination every time I watch it. It does have a “story” and a “message”, but I’m not sure you can really put them into words.

The Third Man and Casablanca

I find that both of these movies have somewhat sad endings, in that the protagonists don’t get what they really wanted. Even so, they survive and maybe grow as people. I just wrote a blog where I talked about my fascination with this kind of plot. http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog/?p=170

I’d heard of both of these movies many years before I watched either of them. I never saw either on the big screen. I find both movies affect strongly at an emotional level.

I noticed that Roger Ebert has an image from The Third Man on his Twitter page. He also uses the Third Man Theme for his TV show.

Fog of War

Fog of War is an extended interview with Robert S. McNamara, who was the US Secretary of Defence during the Vietnam War. Sometimes it could be a horror movie, and other times a philosophical discussion. I never saw it on the big screen.

La Strada

Federico Fellini’ La Strata is the only movie of his that I really like. I saw it first in a movie appreciation course. It is about a brute of a man and the woman that travels with him. The end is both sad and surprising. This is another movie that I never saw on the big screen.

The Draughtsman’s Contract

I wanted to see this after seeing the review on Siskel and Ebert, but I didn’t see it for many years after. The first time I saw it was in a theatre. The woman I took to see it did not like it, and she asked me to apologize to her for taking her. I’ve seen it several times since and it grew on me. It is a sort of mystery, but one that isn’t really solved. I think it is that uncertainty that draws me to the movie. The director has crammed this movie full of many little details. I am sure there is still much more to see in this movie than I have so far.

City Lights

I saw this the first time in the mid 1970s when they rereleased several of Charlie Chaplin’s movies. It didn’t stick in my mind at the time, but years later I watched a documentary about Chaplin which showed out cuts from the movie. I think nearly an hour was devoted to City Lights. It was after that experience that the movie began to touch me emotionally. The last scene means so much more once you understand how the characters reached that point.

Blade Runner

I didn’t appreciate this movie until I began to talk to other people about it. Blade Runner asks what does it mean to be human. The movie uses hints at the nature of the hero to ask this question. These hints have fuelled many a long discussion. It is something of an intellectual and philosophical puzzle to be solved.

Reflecting on these thoughts, I see that most of these movies appeal to my intellect. They ask questions that get me thinking.

One of the most appealing attractions of an at home movie theater is that you get to bring the action right into your living room.  Having an at home movie theater is very different than having a setup with a television in your living room—you’re going to create the movie theater experience at home.  It’s possible, even on your budget and with your space to find that escape from the world in your own home.

There are basically four elements you’ll need to bring from the theater to your own home.  An at home movie theater first of all requires darkness at any hour of the day—which means having a room.  Whether this requires you taking out your window or finding great blinds that block out all sunlight completely once you have darkness you’ll have the first most important part of an at home movie theater setting.

The second element absolutely necessary for an at home movie theater is a screen of some sort.  Whether you can afford a projector and use the wall for your screen or you have just a television set in your room you’ll have the second important element of an at home movie theater.  Your screen is what allows you to watch the movie so of course it’s very important.

The third important element of an at home movie theater is the movie player.  With current technology it’s a DVD player, Blu-Ray player or even a computer hooked up to a projector.  Once you have a method for playing movies plus the viewing screen you’re going to be well on your way to your own at home movie theater being complete.

The final and almost most important element of any at home movie theater is the surround sound.  This is going to be where spending money comes in because not many people have a spare surround sound system in their house.  For a smaller roomed theater you’ll only need a three speaker set.  However, with a larger home movie theater you’re going to need at least a six speaker set and subwoofer.  The reason for the surround sound is so you actually get the feeling of being in a theater—which is what’s important when you’re making an at home movie theater.

You’ll want to set up your at home movie theater as similar to a real theater as you can, or you can get a little creative.  For the kids you can toss down some large beanbags and for the adults have personal recliner chairs.  Just make sure everyone can see the screen.

Creating your own at home movie theater isn’t difficult and won’t cost you too much.  If you have the space you can even go so far as to have the floor raised like a real movie theater—however, that’s not necessary to create the theater feeling at home.  Simply follow this setup with the four elements mentioned, pop some buttery popcorn and sit back and relax while you and your family enjoy your favorite movies in your at home movie theater. 

I have always wanted to become a movie director for as long as I can remember. Being able to direct a movie is basically my life long dream. I’m not exactly sure on how or when I decided that all I wanted to do is direct movies. I guess, I just knew. When I was a little kid, my parents and I would go out to watch a movie and whenever an exciting scene would come up, I would often say that I want to do that. At first they though that what I was referring to was what the movie characters were doing but when I started talking to them about the scenes and basically about everything that happened in the movie down to the littlest detail, they soon understood that what I wanted was the movie director job.

Unfortunately, in-tranced with my life long dream, I went straight to college without looking up on how to be a successful movie director. If I did, though, I’m pretty sure, I would have been extremely discouraged. You see, acquiring a degree from a film school is just the start of it. Even if you’re technically qualified to handle and direct films, it is difficult for anybody to hire you if you lack years of experience and there is a very valid reason for it. Everyone wants to become a movie director, that is a fact and Hollywood is overflowing with people that are either more qualified or more talented than you. Years of experience under your belt is needed along with undeniable connections and even taking the role of a gopher on different film sets is necessary for you to qualify as a movie director. The first years after your graduation from film school will be spent realizing these facts.

A good example would be what happened to me. It took three long years before I was finally able to contribute any editorial input to a movie production. Up until that point, I went through several menial jobs in the same field with my dream job. Some of them was helping in setting-up the movie sets, running errands, arranging meetings those kinds of work. I was in the brink of despair and even came to the point of calling it all off. Who could blame me? It’s never a good thing to realize that I’ve worked hard for three years yet I was nowhere near a movie director job. Fortunately, things started looking up for me.

Do not misunderstand me, though. I’m still far off in becoming a movie director. In fact, I could still be several years from my movie director dream job but nonetheless, the whole experience allowed me to advanced to that point where it feels like I can already make a mark of a certain degree on movies. Whether I become a movie director or not, I know that I certainly now have more creative input than I did before. Perhaps, now, it’s just a matter of time.

The Scandinavian – and Swedish – horror wave rolls on. After internationally successful movies such as “Frostbitten” and “Let the Right One In”, Swedish horror movie “Psalm 21” finally opens in its home country on November 5. I immediately became suspicious. Partly because the invitation to the press screening said the movie is 128 minutes. Come on, people, you don’t make horror movies that last over two hours! Horror should be 90 minutes. Tops.

The running time did however turn out to be wrong. I guess it should be something like 98 minutes; the movies was about 30 minutes shorter than promised.

But most of all, I got suspicious since “Psalm 21”, which was shot in the winter of 2008, was screened at Fantastisk Filmfestival in Lund, Sweden, in September … last year! Why doesn’t the movie open till now? I began speculating, after after having seen the movie, I’m speculating even more. Furthermore, I can’t remind myself of having read anything about the movie since the 2009 FFF catalog. Oh, and I didn’t see the movie at FFF, as usual I was attending the book fair in Gothenburg instead.

Jonas Malmsjö plays priest Henrik Horneus in Stockholm, who on his son’s birthday learns that his dad Gabriel (Per Ragnar from “Let the Right One In”); also a priest, has died during mysterious circumstances – he was found drowned in a lake by the small community Borgvattnet, way up north. Confused, Henrik, who’s more or less has lost contact with his dad, decides to immediately drive to Borgvattnet and find out what’s happened.

It’s in the middle of the night and on a dark forest road, a member of Henrik’s congregation suddenly appears, standing in the middle of the road. Henrik runs the old woman over, but when he steps out of the car, the body is gone, as if it’s never been there. And when Henrik tries to continue the journey, the car won’t start. Henrik grabs his luggage and start walking, hoping to find help.

He reaches a typical Swedish, red house with white corners in the dark woods. There’s a light coming from the barn, so he goes there. Then suddenly a little girl shows up, and suddenly her face transforms into a demonic, zombie-like face. Henrik panics, screams and rushes out of the barn, and by now, the Lidmans who live in the house have woken up.  

This here is one strange family, you’d better believe it. Very mysterious. They hardly speak at all and their son OLLE (Björn Bengtsson) has a wonderful mustache. They are suspicious of Henrik, who despite this is invited to stay the night at the motel.

Rumor has it Gabriel was murdered and dumped in the lake. Henrik has nightmares about the ghostly girl lying in his bed, about Gabriel rising from the water as a zombie priest, and about his mother, who died in front of Gabriel’s eyes when he was a little boy. Things sure aren’t as they should with the Lidmans. Soon Henrik slowly realizes what happened to his father and why, a reason that dates way back, and Henrik begins to questions his Christian faith.

“Psalm 21” (The title refers to hymn 21, “Lovely is the Earth”, in the Swedish book of hymns) opens surprisingly good. This is actually really suspenseful, thrilling and creepy: the tone is fateful and the ghostly events effective. The computer generated transformations to demon faces are are really good and cool.

Jonas Malmsjö, whom I’ve never seen in the lead in a feature film before, is not only a good actor; he’s also got a great face — he kind of looks like a robust, manly Hollywood star; like a cross between Alexander Skarsgård and Dolph Lundgren, a hunk who would’ve been perfect as The Mighty Thor. In supporting parts, we get to see Görel Crona, Josefin Ljungman and Gunvor Pontén, among others.

However… Halfway through the movie, it isn’t as fun anymore. The movie is nonfunctional and way too long — and yes, it really feels like those 128 minutes it isn’t. I’ve no idea if the movie was re-edited after the screening at FFF, but there must by an explanation to why it spent such a long time on a shelf before it now opens. I wouldn’t be surprised if several distributors have had a look at it and scratched their head and thought What the hell are we going to do with this?

“Psalm 21” loses almost everything during its second half. All tension disappears, partially because the ghostly faces appear all the damn time, which kills the effect. Several flashbacks are repeated way too many times, and totally unnecessary. We often get to see Henrik running, carrying a giant bible, sometimes he’s running in slow-motion.

The Lidman family is almost parodically weird. They hardly speak at all and just walk around, behaving strangely. Henrik doesn’t know if he’s dreaming or not, and neither do we in the audience. All of a sudden, there’s a sex scene in which the youngest Lidman daughter (Ljungman) seduces Henrik in the barn as were she a succubus (but we only get to see the muscular Malmsjö naked). Where did this scene come from, what did it have to do with the story? And was it only a dream? Olle starts practicing manic overacting. Gabriel takes the opportunity to haunt the place, so that he can have a long monologue. I glance at my watch when it all reminds me of a Bergmanesque drama about anguished characters fighting their inner demons.

The movie is written and directed by Fredrik Hiller, who after having directed several stage plays now makes his feature film debut. The cinematography is good and moody; the sound mix is better than usual for at Swedish movie, and a traditional horror score is on the soundtrack — but the latter becomes a little repetitive and annoying, since it almost never pauses for silence. A grotesque corpse in a bathtub made me jump a little.

There is a good movie hidden somewhere in “Psalm 21”. But to get to that movie, you have to trim at least twenty unnecessary minutes, and the rest must be heavily re-edited. And it’s of course during the second half the thrill-o-meter should go to ten (or eleven), not the first. The story in itself is good and interesting, and Henrik Horneus is a good character.

“Psalm 21” will hardly become a success like “Let the Right One In”. The question is if it will make any money at all. I’m also doubtful if it’ll sell on the international market and get released in as many territories as “Frostbitten” and “Let the Right One In”. The boring second half might prevent that.

The movie, which was shot on Red, is made without support from the Swedish Film Institute, which is unusual, and according to the IMDb, the budget was — wait for it — 800,000 Swedish kronor, which at this very moment is exactly 0,242.86! Compare that to “Frostbitten”, which was million. I would never have guessed that Hiller’s movie was that cheap, so he should have a standing ovation for that achievement.

I appreciate the attempt at making a horror movie in Sweden, but they really needed a script doctor and a daredevil editor.

Finally I must say that I hope I’ll get to see Jonas Malmsjö in more leads in the future.

Images copyright © Krejaren Dramaproduktion/CcV