If you have something to say...
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If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If I were to rename this film, I would call it 'It is my home; I won't leave it', an uncompromising message used by Sheikh Jarrah's people to hold nonviolent demonstrations against the illegal occupation and forced-eviction from their own homes.
The title sums up this film, really. GI Joe: Retaliation is the epitome of action films. People shoot other people, explosions go off, Aerosmith plays in the background of every other scene, and it has the emotional impact of a damp sponge slapping against gravel. I could watch it again, because I like ninjas and it has quite a few of those.
Some reviewers have described this movie as sexy. I'd argue that Trance is the opposite of sex. It is charmless and wit-free. You don't believe in any of the central relationships and in place in character development we have pointless plot twists. And I would like someone to explain to me why it's okay to show a naked woman with a shaved vagina on the big screen but you can't show a penis? What's that about?
The loss of Richard Griffiths is a time to remember and to celebrate British acting. In the end, he doesn't need me or you to say that he was a part of a great tradition. Everyone knows that. Maybe bring this tradition up next time you encounter a young actress/actor starting out. Just so they keep it in mind.
Although the film is a little untamed and features some baffling choices in terms of story, there is a lot within Trance to enjoy. Danny Boyle's stylish direction helps to smooth over the mistakes within the screenplay and results in a gripping, interesting and hypnotic crime movie that for the most part keeps the audience guessing.
This mind-bending, psychological-thriller is a far cry from sky-diving monarchs and jitterbugging nurses, but Boyle hasn't completly reined in his penchant for spectacle.
It was reported by The Telegraph recently that 'sex has been all but eradicated from Hollywood scripts over the past 18 months'. Apparently sex scenes are being shunned in favour of dazzling special effects and tellingly, only two films containing sex and nudity made the box office top ten in the UK last year. So what is the reason for Hollywood's languishing libido?
In The House, which picked up the top award at last year's San Sebastian Film Festival, is a jet black, yet oddly playful comedy about a gifted teenage writer named Claude (Ernst Umhauer), who is taken under the wing of his bored French teacher, M. Germain (Fabrice Luchini).
Yaron Zilberman's debut feature, A Late Quartet is a delicately handled and brilliantly-observed relationship drama about the internal dynamics of a world renowned string quartet.
A thinly-veiled Hangover rehash with fewer jokes and fewer interesting characters, 21 & Over aims for outrageous campus comedy, but finds itself enrolled in the remedial class.
There is nothing like social media that brings people together from different continents. Being an author about adversity and diversity, I was drawn to the story of indie filmmaker Marcus Markou from the United Kingdom. A man with a similar background to myself in the arts, I loved reading his blog about what he has gone through to get his film "Papadopoulos & Sons" made and into theaters for people to see it.
I heard Mandy Rice-Davies on the BBC this week. She sounds in good shape. She's the survivor. Today is the 50th anniversary of the day when Conservative MP and secretary of state for war John Profumo told the House of Commons that there was "no impropriety whatever" in his relationship with Christine Keeler, a watershed moment in what we now call 'The Profumo Affair'.
There are a wealth of problems with Stolen; whether it's the grainy aesthetic that screams "straight to DVD', the dated soundtrack that sounds like a 1990's video game, the terrible script, or Josh Lucas' spectacularly over-the-top acting, but there is something in its stubbornness to elevate itself beyond its pulp framework that is admirable.
After some notable successes in the 1990s ... studios seemed to lose their nerve when it came to delivering big budget bonanzas. Subsequently, fans have been fed a constant regurgitation of films from those glory days, in the form of prequels, sequels, remakes and reboots. If none of those words mean anything to you, then you evidently haven't been going to the cinema for the last 10-years.
I will never forget the feelings of grief, anger, fear, and sadness that overwhelmed me when news came that the bombs and missiles had started falling on Baghdad. I was on the set of the movie, which by now I hated, when it came.
Despite the tough subject matter Salma is a fantastic watch. I came out of it empowered and inspired. And I have both Salma and Kim Longinotto to thank for that.
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