Love Actually

Every year one of my family's Thanksgiving traditions, besides watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is to watch Christmas movies. We love to watch Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Jingle All the Way, Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, several versions of A Christmas Carol, etc. However, one of my favorite holiday movies that I love to watch, but only when I am amongst friends, would be Love Actually.

Love Actually (2003) is a British romantic comedy that follows several characters' friends and family as they find love during the holiday season. Granted I am not one to like rom-coms, but this one I can sit through and watch multiple times in a row most likely because it has such a fantastic star-studded cast. Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Keira Knightly, Alan Rickman, Rowan Atkinson, and Martin Freeman are only a few of the actors involved in this well-executed and delightful British love story. Some of the characters have office romances, one couple breaks through a language barrier, and another couple even met for the first time on the set of a movie as sex stunt doubles. Although the movie mostly focuses on couples, some characters just find the love of their family and friends that help them carry on. This movie goes to show that "love, actually, is all around us."
Besides the story and the cast, the music is another significant aspect of the film that I enjoy and cherish. The movie begins with a British has-been pop star that still has one hit left within him. Although using the same melody from one of his past hit songs, he only has to replace the word 'Love' with the word 'Christmas' and he's got a new hit. This song, although quite a bit of a joke, is used throughout the film and can be heard on the other character's radios or on their 'tele.' Another song that is particularly memorable in this movie is 'Bye Bye Baby' sung by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The song begins to play when Liam Neeson's character says goodbye to his late wife, the love of his life, at her funeral, and then the song carries over into the next scene where Keira Knightly's character has just been happily married and the couple is sharing their first dance. The duality of this song is beautiful. There are other moments in the film that are accentuated through the use of music as well, but I don't wish to give anymore away.
I highly recommend this British comedy for the holiday season.

Movie Night

After a five and a half hour drive from Ithaca to Northboro Massachusetts I finally arrived home. It has been 4 months since I left for football camp in early August. Upon my arrival I sat down to dinner with my family in the our living room. After a delicious dinner my mom suggested that we watch a movie as family. We stumbled upon the movie Wanderlust.

Wanderlust is Directed by David Wain and produced by Judd Apatow. It was the perfect movie for the mood I was in after a long car ride. Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston were the two lead actors who played a happy couple from New York City. On a roadtrip down to Atlanta the couple stumbles across a hippy commune and their life would be changed forever. Rudd and Aniston both delivered nice performances and my family and I laughed throughout the film.

It is so nice to be home with my family. After a long football season and a crazy first half of the semester being home for Thanksgiving break is a much needed breath of  fresh air. I look forward to more movie nights with my family throughout the week. I'll keep you posted! Enjoy the break everyone.

-Mike Vulcano

Family Guy

One of my favorite shows ever is Family Guy. Now I know that this show definitely isn't for everybody but I absolutely love it. It's the kind of show that I can watch at any time and always enjoy it. It's funny, enjoyable and easy to watch.

The show is about the Griffin family. You have Peter, who is the father of the family. He is the big oaf that's usually getting the family into some sort of crazy situation. There's Lois, his wife who is usually the voice of reason and understanding. Meg who is the daughter, is the typical teenage girl that the family happens to hate. Chris who is the son, who is basically just a teenage boy that has some funny moments. Brian who is also sometimes the voice of reason, but he's also the most political of the family. Then of course there's Stewie, the evil one year old with plans of world domination who also happens to absolutely despise his mother. There is also a huge array of side characters that all add to the humor of the show.

As I said before, the show isn't for everybody however. Many people will find it offensive, distasteful or just plain stupid. The show definitely isn't a satire like in the vain of South Park. It's more of a shut your brain off and laugh for half an hour type of show. Now don't get me wrong, there are some heartfelt moments and there are episodes that touch on touchy subjects such as abortion and religion and honestly I feel like they do those episodes pretty well. But for the most part, it's just a lot of fun.

Seth McFarlene is a man who has gotten very lucky in the television world. This show has been cancelled not once, but twice and brought back each time. He now has three syndicated shows, all of which are still releasing new episodes to this day and he just released a feature length film that did pretty well in the box office. He is a man that owes a lot to the fans and I think he does a pretty good job of showing it

Although the show has changed pretty dramatically in its over ten year run time, I still continue to love it. The newer episodes are definitely not as "smart" or "witty" as the older ones but I still think they do a pretty good job. It's a show that I think everyone should watch at least once, you never know, you just might like it.

Here is a little compilation of moments from the show. If you find these funny, chances are you'll enjoy the show.

Skyfall BTS

I can't post a review of Skyfall yet because I haven't seen it, but I looked through some of these videos and they just make me more excited to see it. Even before I was interested in filmmaking, I always loved watching behind the scenes of movies and seeing the "magic" of how everything was made. And now after being involved in film and movies more I can appreciate the behind the scenes even more and appreciate how much work went into one shot and how they got everything to work and look like the feature film that it was. Next week hopefully I will be posting a review of Skyfall after seeing it! For now everyone should take a look at some of these videos they are very interesting.


http://nofilmschool.com/2012/11/james-bond-making-of-skyfall/

Parks and Rec

For the last six months, the one show that kept popping up in random discussions, class, and even on the Netflix "Recently Added" list, was the show Parks and Recreation on NBC. I was very hesitant to watch it, especially since I'm more of a fantasy/sci-fi girl, but I eventually caved in. So over the last week and a half, I have been on a Parks and Recreation marathon, and I have to admit: I actually love it.

For some reason, I have always found it hard to watch and even read anything in the realistic fiction genre and enjoy it. Yet, this show is definitely one of my top favorites. The mix of characters is combined in a way that is refreshing and incredibly funny. The dialogue (delivery of lines) and the way the show is presented (scenes intermixed with "interviews," and the actors breaking that "fourth wall") took some getting used to, but in the end it is what makes the show so great. I didn't think I would even like this breaking of the "fourth wall," but I have found that it is great to have the characters speak directly to the audience (staring straight at the lens) because it truly brings the viewer into the story with them.

The more episodes I watch the more I love this show!
~Amber Capogrossi

American: The Bill Hicks Story

This week I watched American: The Bill Hicks Story for the first time. Several friends had been recommending it to me for a few weeks so one night before I went to bed I pulled it up on netflix and watched it. Coming from a background of limited knowledge about Bill Hicks I was excited to learn about the man who was referred to as the finest comedian America ever produced. The thing about this documentary that stood out to me the most was not the story, which was amazing, but the visual style. All of the narration is done over animated pictures of Bill and his friends throughout their lives. You don't even see the people talking until the end of the doc. Bill HIcks The visual style is stunning and draws you into the mesmerizing story. You feel like you know who Bill Hicks was as a person by the end of this doc. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of animation or comedy.

#42 A Legend

I'm a really big sports fan, especially sports like baseball and football. When it comes to baseball, I'm a big fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and their history in the Major League Baseball. The experience of baseball changed forever when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and became the first African American to play professional baseball. Jackie was born in 1919 in Cairo Georgia. Jackie became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, football, basketball, and track. In 1945, Robinson played one season in the Negro Baseball League with the Kansas City Monarchs. In 1947, Dodgers owner Branch Rickey approached Jackie about joining the team and throughout his career, he faced much discrimination and abuse for playing baseball. After his first season with the Dodgers, he was the National League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the year with 12 home-runs, 29 stolen bases, and a .297 batting average. Finally in 1962, Jackie Robinson was inducted to the baseball Hall of Fame.

With all of that said, director Brian Helgeland, director of 2010 Robin Hood, L.A Confidential, Mystic River, and Man on Fire, is directing a motion picture called "42," which gives audiences a visual of the history making moment when Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers.

When I saw this trailer, I immediately fell in love with it and agreed that I would go see this movie. Harrison ford plays Dodger owner Branch Rickey, Lucas Black plays Robinson's teammate Pee Wee Reese who took the famous picture with Jackie with his arm around his teammate. Playing Jackie Robinson is not a well known actor, but it is Chadwick Boseman, who is known for his roles in All My Children, Persons Unknown, and The Kill Hole. This movie is set to open April 12, 2013. 

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and definitely see this trailer. 

Fringe

So I recently started to watch the television show Fringe. I had started to watch this show when it first came onto the television, however, I got enormously creeped out at the second episode and stopped watching it.

Recently, since I have become more "okay" with gore and creepy things so I decided to watch it again by starting it all over again. The first episode was so amazing that I want to watch all of the episodes in a day. The funny part is that I remember seeing certain parts in both the first and second episode.

What can I say about this show? It's unbelievably good and the way they incorporate all of the sciafye type of themes I think is completely awesome. If you're someone that likes blood, science, and really creepy themes of a television show, then if I were you, I'd find it right now.

Dog With A Blog...

Recently, while watching TV, I came across a commercial for the new Disney show called Dog With a Blog. What is the show about? This is the premise of the show as told by Wikipedia..."Avery Jennings and Tyler James are step-siblings who hate each other but come together in episode 1 . The family faces an even bigger adjustment when they discover that their new dog, Stan, can talk and also has a blog, unknown to the family. Stan uses his blog to discuss the happenings in the Jennings-James household. Avery and Tyler later learn of Stan's talking ability and agree to keep it a secret from their parents." Well that sounds like a rich idea. Are you kidding me? This is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard and when I saw the commercial, I though it was some kind of joke making fun of shows for kids. My post last week was about  how networks such as Nickelodeon and Disney fail to produce programming with quality writing and teach lessons that are age appropriate. More and more shows being produced on such networks are filled with undeserving laugh tracks and ridiculous plot lines. Disney original movies were once praised by viewers and taught meaningful lessons. For example, Disney's Johnny Tsunami (1999) taught about overcoming bullying and breaking racial barriers. Brink (1998) was about friends staying together, making right decisions, and working to beat the overpaid, egotistical inline rollerblade team. The list of past movies goes on and on but note that these movies weren't made recently. Disney needs to get their act together and produce TV shows that mold the minds of young children rather than turn them into mush. Here's an idea for Disney; how about there's a family that moves into an old house and everything is gone except the old refrigerator and when someone gets ice out of the freezer, it starts to talk and give advice to the kids. The father of the children would be played by Rob Schneider and the refrigerator's voice would be played by Sinbad or someone equivalent to his relevancy. Just kidding, this idea is awful but when Dog With a Blog exists, I feel as if I could walk into Disney and pitch the idea of a talking refrigerator. Mark my words, I will restore humanity and produce shows that teach lessons and impact children's lives rather than turn them into idiots. Where is the modern day Boy Meets World? I need to take what I've seen when I was a kid and recreate shows that are meaningful and age appropriate. 

This is Dog With A Blog...

Addiction to The Office

An addiction is defined as a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance. For me, this substance is The Office. I spend most nights before going to sleep watching this show, but now it's getting to the point where I skip class jus to watch a few episodes. (Don't worry Arturo never your class). I even had a dream about The Office. 

I love this show because of the uniqueness and sense of humor this show has. The show is filmed in a single-camera set-up and shot sort of like a mocumentary. There are "confessionals" where the character's tell the cameras their personal opinions or thoughts about a subject, or just tell a story. For me these confessionals make the show. There will be cutaways during these to demonstrate what the character is talking about, or the facial expressions will show all that needs to be said. The characters on this show obviously are aware that the cameras are there, and the slight looks they give to the cameras directly make this show work so well. 

Although the U.S. version of the Office is a recreation of a british show, there have been many shows that base their camera style and show set-up like the Office. Currently, Parks and Rec is a very popular show that uses the same single-camera set-up with confessionals. Clearly this style seems to work, and I'm sure new shows are in the making working off of this style. Another popular show, although cancelled but being brought back next year with a similar style is Arrested Development. This show does not have confessionals but uses the single-camera method that makes you feel right there with the family. The Office is a great show for a good laugh, although there isn't much depth or complex stories. 

Les Miserables: Remixed

After watching the first two editions of Everything is a Remix in class, I went home and watched the two following episodes. It got me to thinking about a new film coming out that is definitely a remix. Les Miserables is a film coming out on Christmas day that chronicles the life of ex-convict and refugee Jean Valjean, Javert (the man trying to catch him), and the love triangle between orphaned Cosette, young soldier Marius, and peasant Eponine. It is set amongst the backdrop of the 19th century French Rebellion.

Les Miserables started out as a novel written by the French author Victor Hugo in the year 1862. Since then, the novel has been remade a multitude of times through a variety of different media (ex: comic books, films, animations), most notably the 1980's musical of the same name.

The new film is based off of the stage musical, as it will follow the same plot arrangement and musical numbers. I'm particularly excited by this remake as it is directed by Academy Award winning director Tom Hopper (The King's Speech). It also stars some big names such as Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfried, and Anne Hathaway. All of the singing is done live on set, which is different than most musicals which are pre-recorded. After watching some featurette footage on the making of the film as well as the trailer, it looks really well done!

- Melanie Saitta

Video Game Graphics: Do They Matter?

Recently a whole slew of new video games have been released. Among them are Halo 4 and Call of Duty Black Ops 2. With these new releases i have been constantly overhearing conversations concerning things like how certain aspects of these games are but one thing always seems to be a serious topic within the discussion. Im talking of course about the graphics. It seems that graphics is one of the most important things to gamers these days. It makes sense. Why wouldn't you want to play a game that has the best graphics around.

While games like Halo and Call of Duty improve there graphics with each new release, there has a computer game released recently that challenges the idea that graphics are one of the most important parts of the game. The game i am referring to is called Minecraft. The concept surrounding this game is very simple. You are a character in an extremely blocky world, mining resources like coal and iron in order to build things. You can build anything from a house to a scale model of the starship enterprise. The graphics in this game are incredibly simple. Everything is made out of blocks and the coloring is very simple. There is no such thing as shading, all of the colors are basic and simple. The most interesting thing about this however is that this game is extremely popular. I found this very interesting because while it is fun to play (albeit extremely time consuming) the graphics look like something that would have been released 15 years ago. However Minecraft is extremely popular. Once released, all over the internet there were forums and screencaps popping up concerning the game and who could build the most ridiculous thing in there chosen world. I really like that this is as popular as it is. It has always bugged me when people get really serious about the graphics in there video games. I personally have never really cared. This shows that there are others out there like me who do not really care that much about graphics and are more concerned with the actual gameplay.

I've never seen Anchorman...

At the beginning of the semester Mr. Scott Walle found out I'd never seen the movie Anchorman before. That's not to say I'd never heard of Anchorman before. Without even having seen it I could name a few particularly famous quotes from the movie, but that wasn't good enough. So, this past week Scott lent me the DVD.

I haven't gotten a chance to actually watch it yet (I'm sorrrry!) because of one certain Mass Media Research Methods exam, but now that that is over and done with I have some free time before break and I'll just have to watch it.

So yea, I'll have to let you know what I think, but I'm sure Will Ferrel is hilarious and that it will be just as great as everyone says.

See you all after break, and have a happy Thanksgiving!

World War Z

I recently watched the trailer for World War Z, coming out in June of 2013, and was pretty impressed. While I wish the trailer concentrated more on zombies rather than Brad Pitt's hair, from what I saw this still looks like a solid zombie movie.

At first I thought they would make this book into a television series, as the book goes through the history of the zombie apocalypse. So at first I was disappointed because this is nothing like the book, but then I became happy again because it deals with zombies. I'm looking forward to seeing how this movie turns out, and hopefully Brad Pitt doesn't screw up too much.

Thoughts on the media policy

Back in the beginning of October, there was a lot of noise made by both students and staff when President Rochon implemented the new media policy; lately, I haven't heard much about it.  It kind of reminded me of how everyone exploded over a thing like Kony (a little late to the party, it's been happening for years): there was the initial flare of interest, particularly on social networks, but it died down quickly.

Just recently, the Ithacan published an article stating that this policy has since been rescinded, thanks to the collaborative effort of many groups on campus to communicate with the president of the school on the topic.  Check out the full article here.

A quote that stood out to me from this article goes as follows:

"It really has been amazing to see the community rally around this topic and shows that students, faculty and staff can have an impact, and I hope that this spirit doesn’t go away now that the media policy has been rescinded"

It is impressive to see the impact of this campus community, but do we have the endurance to keep it going now?  Maybe it's just me, but it seemed that, as with many causes people tend to rally around, support dwindled with time, making it appear to lose steam regardless of whether there was still action or not (in this case, there was some definite success for those who stuck it out).  Does anyone else have this feeling about it, or am I just out of the loop?

Watch this too?

I saw this video a while ago. Maybe it will help groups with coming up with ideas for their films. It is definitely contains a wealth of knowledge.

This video basically walks you through Ken Burns's thought process when coming up with ideas.

Yes this is the same Ken Burns as the "Ken Burns Effect".

So hearing from such and influential person is always great, but at the same time it is humbling because he is human, not eccentric and his thought process seems normal when he explains it and most people can do the same.

One of the main things I got out of it is his math. Everyone is used to 1+1=2, but he is saying make 1+1=3, add that extra element that will make the audience feel. Manipulate them with things that they hold close to their hearts and you will come up with something truly great.

It's also cool hearing about how he can see stories so easily, like things that happen in history make such interesting stories. Like Jefferson writing that all men are created equal, but had slaves of his own and never freed them in his life.

So without further adieu here's the link to the video:

Ken Burns: on Story

Illegal Music Downloading

If you don't know me well, then you wont know that I play in a signed band that goes on tours and has their music distributed worldwide.  We're on iTunes, Amazon, and pretty much any other site that music is sold on.  The point of this isn't to toot my own horn but just so I can establish my knowledge on the subject and kind of give my own standpoint.  Now, I know that this is a little off the vein of video editing but, I do think it is important to talk about illegal music downloading because we are seeing a lot of the same things in illegal video streaming and downloading.  I am also giving a speech and writing a documentary on the subject so I have done a lot of research on the topic.

Although I am connected very strongly to the music industry, my opinion on the subject is very unbiased and dead in the middle on the topic.  On one hand, it has costed the industry millions of dollars every year and since Napster started the online illegal file sharing in 1999, the industry has regressed in sales almost 50%.  Its costed almost 100,000 jobs in the music industry and is the reason the music industry and labels support really crappy mainstream artists because they don't have money to invest and take risks on musicians and artists that are outside of the mainstream.

On the other hand, you have to blame the record labels and the RIAA for failing to adapt well if at all to the changes that the internet has brought into the music scene and have stayed in the stone age when it comes to file sharing and streaming content.  In recent history, they have allowed things like spotify and pandora which is great but have made it very hard to make music accessible to everyone.  Most people want to experience music before they put money down to buy it.

I think a lot of it comes down to education and the mindset of Americans.  I'm worried that this trend is beginning to plague the movie industry as well. I'm wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on the subject and if they have ideas on how to fix it.

Skyfall: Homage to the Bond classics

This weekend I saw the latest addition to the Bond legacy, Skyfall.  This film was able to appeal to the current generation's "action movie go-er" while still paying homage to the classic Bond spy movies.  Regardless of the movies attempt to have a more realistic plot/take than some of the old Bond movies the director took special care to not over step his bounds and preserving many aspects of the older films.

First off James Bond/ Agent 007 kept his name as did "Mom" and eventually Agent Moneypenny, along with several other characters. The preservation of names, regardless of how silly they seem now, directly points out the commitment to maintaining the tradition of "Bond."

Throughout the movie old plot points from previous Bond films were brought up such as exploding pens and ejector seats.  These moments of brief dialogue were directly for those who knew the old movies and allows the audience into the mind of the writer/director of the film saying, "No this is not a remake of the old Bond movies but instead another chapter in the legacy." Such comments pass right over the heads of people who don't know the movies, but add another dimension to those who have been following Bond from the beginning.

The film even went as far as to reintroduce the spy car the original James Bond used in the past films.
Recognition of the creators of Skyfall to address the fact that the film industry has changed and that the plots of action films today differ from those in the past allow them to change the story/character accordingly to still preserve Bond as an admirable, suave, and all around "cool"character.  The idea of an exploding pen would be better suited for a comedy than a serious action film is the perfect example of this.  However the fact that Skyfall incorporated and worked so hard to bring back elements of the old movies in the best way they could added an entirely new dimension to the film.  In my opinion the new Skyfall movie did the Bond series justice and through its homages to the classics of the past appeased many fans who may have been apprehensive about re-igniting the Bond legacy and tradition.

I Hold a PHD in Horribleness.

In 2008, during the most recent Writers Guild of America strike, brothers Joss, Jed, and Zack Whedon created Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Shortly after its release, this three part miniseries became a huge internet sensation. Besides having the talented minds of Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and his brothers, the project boasted talented actors like Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Felicia Day (The Guild), Nathan Fillion (Castle), and Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory). Over the span of forty-three minutes, there are fourteen incredibly catchy songs and loads of quotable dialogue (I've had some of the lyrics stuck in my head all day thus I felt the need to blog about it).
Dr. Horrible is a villain with a video blog who updates his viewers regularly on his various villainous schemes. On the vlog he mentions his progress on his Freeze Ray that will stop time, how he melted gold bars to destroy the status quo, and what advances he has made toward his 'laundry buddy,' Penny. However Dr. Horrible, also known as 'Billy buddy,' inadvertently introduced Penny to his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer. Being a ladies man, Captain Hammer instantly sweeps Penny off her feet and Dr. Horrible tries to win her back at the Laundromat, but the more he tries to win Penny's heart, the further away Dr. Horrible gets from his objective, which is to get into the Evil League of Evil. With Captain Hammer always foiling his plans, Dr. Horrible must find a way to win the girl and obtain a spot in the League.
This miniseries is hilarious yet I somehow find myself often on the verge of tears because that's what Whedon does. He makes you laugh and get emotionally invested in the characters, but then he tears your heart out.
Still, if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. This is something that I can watch over and over again.

Wreck It Ralph

I just saw the best animated I have seen in awhile.  The movie was set in an Arcade and it was a bout a bad guy named Ralph who only wanted to be good.  The cool thing about this Arcade was when ever the Arcade closed all the characters could go visit the the other games by going to game central station.

Wreck It Ralph makes many references to other games as you can see in the picture above.  Wreck it Ralph is at a Bad Anon meeting in Pac Man's game and when he leaves he takes a cherry.  When ralph stumbles into a different game looking for a medal to make him a good guy, he runs into Vanellope.

Vanellope is the adorable child you see above, who is voiced by Sarah Silverman.  Vanellope is a glitch in a game and finds Ralph's medal and uses it to pay to get into a race that she is normally not allowed in because she is a glitch.  So Ralph taking on the hero role tries to help Vanellope race and win and of course if she wins he gets his medal back.

The four main characters are all great and you root for all of them.  They are all voiced by known celebrities and John C. Reilly voices Ralph.  They do a great job of bringing you into the world and making you never want to leave.  Wreck it Ralph is a very fun movie that you will not regret seeing.

Certain and uncertain endings

Alright. So early this week I watched Shutter Island starring a Mr. Leonardo DeCaprio.  Overall it was a very good film but that is not my concentration.  What I am concerned with is the ending.  I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone that has yet to see it, but I will say it is an ending that leaves the audience questioning what exactly happened.  It is one of those endings that you have to take an extra period of time and try to figure out what exactly just happened.

In this period of attempted epiphany, I instead came up with a general question.  Why do some directors or writers decide to end their films in a state of uncertainty.  At the same time, however, why do some choose to end in concrete or obvious endings.  Is it that one leaves a more powerful impact on the audience, or is it something more then that.  Could it be that they do not know a clear way to end it that will be memorable so they leave the ending up to interpretation.  Personally any ending that confuses me usually causes me to watch the movie for a second, third, or fourth time, or at least sit on the plot and try to figure it out.  However I do tip my cap to any movie that has a definite powerful ending.  When a movie has a straightforward, powerful ending (sorry I am drawing a blank on a specific piece) I tend to just sit there in a state of awe.  At the same time though, if the ending is awful or not what I was hoping for, I sometimes become enraged and don't want anything to do with the movie.  Very often people say things along the lines of "yea it was good, but the ending sucked".  And I feel this is a reaction many people leave with after movies.

 Sometimes many times an uncertain ending is the way to go, but I would say a powerful concrete ending is the way to go.  A good ending is what you leave the audience with and everything that happened for the last hour and a half or so goes out the window.  So what is the way to go.  Personally I feel like leaving the audience in a state of confusion is usually more powerful and leaves everyone wanting more, but if you are able to pull of the ending of the century that people don't hate, well then go all out for it.  Sometimes having some closure is the way to go.  I guess as the viewer, our opinion really doesn't matter and the ending is determined by the sinister writing and directing tactics by the people in charge of production.

Homeland.. Finally!

This week I finally started the television series Homeland. My friends have been after me, often telling me that this is one of the best shows on TV. Being a TV-R student I figured I had to see what all the talk was about.

Homeland, which was created by Gideon Raff and runs on Showtime, quickly draws you in with a compelling plot line. The first episode has many clips of main character Nicholas Brody, a Marine Sargent, held captive by al-Qaeda. After being imprisoned for eight years he is finally rescued by an American Delta Force raid. However, after so many years as a prisoner his life had been completely altered. As he returns home almost everything has changed with his family, and peoples perception of him. He is now a hero to the American people. His family, who assumed he was dead, now has the chance to build a relationship with their father/husband. However, the most interesting plot line is CIA agent Carrie Mathison, who has her own feelings about Brody. She has suspicion that Brody is coming to America as a possible terrorist threat and launches an investigation. The show creators have kept me guessing weather Brody is a hero or a terrorist. I am completely intrigued and will continue to watch more of this series in the upcoming weeks. I am officially hooked on my new show.

"Argo" Review

Recently I went to the theaters and got to see "Argo". This is Ben Affleck's latest film and in my opinion, probably his best. This film is one of those movies that seems to just be perfect in almost every aspect. Without ruining too much, I'll try to explain why.

"Argo" opens with storyboards of a fictional movie, and it transitions into a fantastic intro that grabs you immediately with a sense of threat and urgency. It deals with the Iranian hostage crisis that occurred from 1979-1981. We see the point of views of a group of American embassy escapees who are now trying to return to America. Cue Ben Affleck's character who is an expert in extraction and is brought in by the CIA and Brian Cranston's character to help out.

This is where the movie really stands out. It manages to take this incredibly doom and gloom concept of rescuing fugitives and we get story telling that is anything but that. "Argo" weaves together drama,   humour and tension into this great engaging storyline. The characters are all different and each and every one of them are well developed, even the secondary character stay away from being bland or boring. 

The other reason I loved this movie was because it has possibly one of the tensest scene's I've ever seen. My heart was beating of my chest for nearly ten minutes, and it's no surprise how this movie ends; after all, it's history.

Overall I highly suggest going out and seeing this movie, I have a strong feeling this will win some Oscars, and it definitely deserves it.

I Love Beer...Commercials

Some people like fast cars, delicious food, movie trailers, health and beauty products, etc. But, I love beer commercials. In my opinion the some of the funniest commercials ever aired. They are also very abundant, as beer is the widest distributed and most consumed beverage on the American market. The competition is so fierce for these very similar-tasting drinks that the commercials need to be top-notch in order to increase sales. Some like Sam Adams try to tell you how cool the owners and workers are and what really goes into their beer. Others like Coors try to tell you just how cold their beer really is. Carona even tries to take you to a nice calm beach. However, I prefer the commercials that make me laugh. Dos Equis, Miller Lite, Keystone, and Budweiser just to name a few. I wish I had half the comedic brainpower of the people who came up with the "Real Men of Genius" line of Bud Light commercials. Here's a little treat for your eyes, ears, and funnybone.

Everyone have a fun and safe Cortaca Weekend.

Wreck-It Ralph

Recently I saw Wreck-It Ralph, the new Disney movie that's an homage to gamers everywhere. Because I absolutely love video games, this movie was on my must see list pretty much the instant I heard of its existence and I'm here to say that it didn't disappoint.

The movie is about Ralph, a bad guy from the video game Fix-It Felix, which is basically Donkey Kong with different characters. He's tired of being a bad guy and he's tired of being treated with no respect by everyone around him, so one day he decides to leave his game so he can be a hero in another one. The movie is about what happens because of his actions.

The movie is a whole lot of fun, it's even more fun if you're a gamer because there are so many references to video games throughout the movie (obviously) but it's still enjoyable even if you aren't. John C. Reilly does a fantastic job as Ralph. He's funny, sympathetic and it really sounds like he's having a lot of fun in his part. I should also give recognition to Sarah Silverman who does an equally amazing job as Vanellope, who is a rambunctious kid from another video game that Ralph stumbles in to. These two together make for some great and funny moments throughout the movie.

A MUST SEE: THE ARTIST!

I had the most unexpected surprise today when I got on Netflix and looked under the "Recently Added" tab. I scrolled along trying to find something to watch and I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw The Artist directed by Michel Hazanavicius sitting there among the other movies that people can stream online. It was one of those moments where everything around the picture of the movie went out of focus and there glowed the one movie I have been dying to see for the last three weeks. So, I cooked myself some dinner, curled up on the couch, and hit play.

This movie was so much better than I had even expected. I thought I was excited after watching the behind the scenes look in class, but after I finished this movie I was grinning from ear to ear and had the sudden urge to get up and dance around my room laughing.

Where to start in describing this experience? I suppose with the history that it encompassed and depicted in such a creative way. The transition from the silent films to the "talkies" was one of those topics that my amazing U.S. history teacher gave a lecture on in high school. A subject that is not usually in the curriculum for history classes in high school, I was completely fascinated by it. Two of my peers and I were able to put together a little report for one of the class projects. I thought it was interesting how many of the silent film actors were not used in the "talkies"because, just like George, they were symbolic of the "old" and they wanted the "new." Beyond that though, some were not used because of their voices in general. For the "new" style of film, they weren't only looking for people who were attractive, but also for those people who sounded good as well. The Artist did such a wonderful job of depicting this era of change.

I saw several Charlie Chaplin films (including City Lights) when I went to France with a friend about two years ago. While we were staying with her grandparents in Antibes, her grandfather would put in the movie and we would all sit and watch. He said (thanks to my friend's translation), "These kinds of films are the best to watch because it doesn't matter what language you speak, everyone understands." How true were his words! It is the wonderful part about these kinds of films. Half the time, I didn't need the dialogue that flashed on the screen in order to understand what was happening. It reminded me of reading a book (which I do a lot of), except for the fact that you don't have the trouble of imagining the setting and the characters looks. I could almost hear the dialogue in my own mind and the story unfolded.

The characters were so memorable as well. They were the kind of characters that you wanted to meet and hang out with. The personality of George Valentin was great when it was  all charm in the beginning, but I think it was towards the end, when the audience saw him at his weakest point, that he became such a rounded out character. Jean Dujardin, the actor who played George Valentin, not only looked the part, he completely embodied the part. He was like a symbol for all those actors who were considered the "old." His energy and emotion given through his eyes, right down to the smallest of gestures, were so great that it made me feel like I could see straight to the soul of the character.

I have decided that if I could be anyone, I would love to be Peppy Miller. She was so bold and confident, but best of all, she had such a kind heart. She was the kind of woman I hope I can someday become. I loved her personality that was so innocent and yet, she didn't let anyone mess with her. Of course, Bèrènice Bejo was just fabulous playing the part. All of the actors were phenomenal, including John Goodman and James Cromwell.

The filming itself was amazing as well. A story told mostly through images and a wonderfully arranged and performed film score. The use of the camera was astonishing. I love how the newspaper was used for "dialogue" in the beginning when it said "Who's that Girl?" It was great how the movie never got boring because the next shot was always so unexpected. Shots that showed what was happening in the reflection of mirrors or glass tables, or the use of shadows, or the transition of time with a montage of magazine and newspaper headlines; it always kept you engaged and entertained.

Even the use of sound was so creative! I loved the dream sequence were he started hearing the things he touched and the phone rang. What a great way to show how he was really feeling about the "talkies!" Even at the end when you can hear them all speak, it was such a treat; a wonderful ending that depicted the acceptance that George felt for the "talkies" by the end of the film.






My favorite line in the whole film though was when George says to Peppy, "If you want to be an actress, you need to have something the others don't." As one of those dreamers myself, this line truly resonated with me.






It is so hard to summarize this movie in only a few words. From wonderful music to the awesome tap numbers at the end of the film (I was a dancer for nine years), I travelled through time to another beautiful era that took my breath away.  I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone. It is such a great film that leaves you with a smile on your face and a catchy tune in your head.

~Amber Capogrossi

Netflix recommends: H.R. Pufnstuf

It's always nice to end a day with a group of friends and an amusing television show; everyone gets a laugh at something, even if the program itself is atrocious, and you come away feeling a bit better about life in general.  A few of us ended up doing just this, skimming through one guy's Netflix recommendations and arguing halfheartedly over what to watch.  You have to admit, there's quite the variety of intriguing television out there to choose from, so it's understandable that each new genre brought more conflict.  Finally, we gave up, flicked the joystick on the Xbox controller a few times, and clicked on what was highlighted to watch: H.R. Pufnstuf.

Not a single one of us had seen nor heard of this before, and I'm not surprised; the show aired from 1969 until 1971, and was apparently targeted at a young audience.  Of the five of us in the room, all in Park, nobody could get past some of the absurdities of Sid and Marty Krofft's world in its early stages, though apparently the siblings used this storyline as a basis for many future adventures (fairy tale, good versus bad approach to each episode's problem).  What really got me were the life sized puppets, the whimsical transitions, and attempts at almost Hanna-Barbera-esqe action.  In comparison to the costuming and effects of today's productions, these look absolutely childish; yet, in their time, this was the sort of thing that led a generation's entertainment.  It's interesting to look at what children's television started with, and how it's evolved into what's seen today.  The basic story remains the same despite the years and technical advances, though, so at it's core, there's always one of the same few starting points for a kids' production.  I'm definitely planning on seeing what else the Kroffts produced, just to find out where they went from this.

Edit: So, I looked into more of the Krofft's work, and you can see the list of productions here.  I'm curious to know, is anyone familiar with any of these titles?

Sportsball & Comic Con

In honor of this weekend’s Cortaca game, Game Over will be continuing with our tradition of “Sportsball Coverage.” The episode involves a running joke that we as geeks don’t know anything about sports, which gives us plenty of material to work with when doing writing assignments. My personal favorite is the “Top 5 Madden Games” segment, which has become a tradition for our Sportsball special.

We’re also finishing up editing our footage from New York Comic Con. I’ve been editing the round table interview for China, IL with Brad Neely and Daniel Weidenfeld and the interview with Avery Monsen and Jory John, the pair behind the children’s book All My Friends Are Dead. Both interviews were hilarious, and I can’t wait to watch the finalized Game Over Comic Con special!

Breaking Away

 Breaking Away tells the story of Dave Stoller and his three best friends while they find their way out of adolescence into adulthood. Without the guarantee of a college degree or a steady job, these young men feel lost in a new world that they increasingly see as being divided between the haves and the have nots. Dave, Mike, Cyril, and Moocher were all raised by working class families in a small town in Indiana, also home to the state university. Abandoned limestone quarries once worked by the town’s residents – known as “cutters” – surround the town, serving as a reminder of lost industry and tragic irony. Dave and his friends reflect a sentiment shared by the people of the town that the university’s students, who are generally wealthier, are in effect cultural trespassers. This sentiment provides a societal conflict between the cutters and the university students that culminates in the ending bicycle race showing that four lost young men can achieve the seemingly impossible. This film ultimately explores some fundamental human ideas such as overcoming near impossible odds, class struggle, and the relationship between father and son.

            Dave, Mike, Cyril, and Moocher are all “in eminent danger of turning 20” and growing up after graduating high school. These friends share a common concern that they will become screw-ups and will waste away their lives. Mike, the former star quarterback resents the university students for having the opportunity to make it to the pros. Without a scholarship, Cyril can’t afford college. Moocher debates whether or not he should marry his girlfriend at such a young age. Dave on the other hand has a dream of becoming a world-class cyclist and has a romantic interest, however he hides behind an Italian mask to escape reality. Each young man in this group of friends has an equally important and deep internal conflict that allows the film to explore realms of thought that often go forgotten.

            Dave, an ardent bicyclist, who shows quite a bit of talent, idolizes the Italian cycling team so much so that he wholeheartedly embraces Italian culture, much to the annoyance of his friends and family. Dave escapes the reality of his life by playing out an Italian fantasy. He embraces Italian culture so entirely that it edges on obsession at points. Feeling ashamed of his working class background, he pretends to be an Italian foreign exchange student to win the love of a girl attending the university. Dave’s escapist approach to life comes crashing down when his idols come to town for a racing event in which they force him to crash after being annoyed that he could keep up with them. This stark realization that his idols are not in fact as perfect as he imagined left Dave disillusioned and depressed, forcing him to finally evaluate his actual life. With the help of his parents and friends, Dave pushed through and regained his drive much like any other developing adult who relies on a support network.

With the presence of the wealthier university students, it causes Dave, his friends, and the entire town, who come from lower classes, to question their self-worth. The very limestone quarries worked by prior generations like Dave’s dad led to the construction of the university’s campus. So in effect, the university was built by the hands of cutters. This is a tragic irony; with the miners feeling as if the university they built is too good for them and intended only for the rich. Dave and his friends reflect the sentiment held by the miners, as they feel a certain level of resentment towards the students who will seemingly have it all.

Dave, once again with the help of his friends triumphed over the university students in the final race, coming in a near and exciting first, proving that class and material wealth are not as strong as one’s all intense burning desire to prove their worth. The outcome of the race not only proved the self-worth of Dave and his friends but also proved to the townspeople that previously lived in the shadow of the university that they too were worth something.
[Borrow this movie from the Ithaca College Library.]

I think that we, as human beings, can all find a fundamental message in the film that allows us to delve into deep introspective thought about our own lives. Throughout my own life and much more recently, I too have questioned my own self-worth. I feel a deep connection to Dave’s character who, during his moment of doubt and pain after the accident, lost sight of what is truly important in life. I know that I have experienced the same moments of doubt and pain where things that were once important to me suddenly weren’t. Dave’s father, for the most part, hides his true emotions towards his son, but as a loving father who cares deeply for his son, he is ultimately there to support him. This kind of paternal bond is not always shown in many families and I believe I can firmly relate my relationship to my father to Dave’s. It is for the above stated reasons that this movie is universal and appeals to a level of emotion that is deeply complicated and sometimes perplexing.