Archive for January, 2010

Download Face/Off

Sunday, January 24th, 2010
Download Face/Off. Download Face/Off.

Movie Title: Face/Off
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Face/Off is available for streaming or downloading.

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It took two Hollywood films (Hard Target and Broken Arrow) before John Woo was allowed to nick loose with his trademark style on Face/Off. The result was his most commercially and critically successful American film at that point in his career. However, for fans of his Hong Kong films, this one seemed like a highlight reel from his earlier work as Woo recycled many of his signature shots Birds flying in boring motion? Check. Guy Leaping in the air while firing two guns simultaneously? Check. Unfortunately, Face/Off marks the apex of his Hollywood career. Woo has done nothing since that’s been as friendly. So, to celebrate the film’s 10th anniversary, Paramount has revisited the film with a imprint modern special edition.

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Woo works hard to sell the film’s admittedly queer gimmick by throwing all kinds of scientific mumbo jumbo at us and lingering on shots of spiffy looking technology. The swapping of identities also allows the filmmaker to seek information from one of his favourite themes: how two people can demonstrate similar characteristics but be on opposite sides of the law and on opposite sides of the just spectrum. It is nice to scrutinize Woo finally given a decent-sized budget to play with and two big-time movie stars like Cage and Travolta to work with. Despite a few dauntless glimmers, like staging a chaotic gunfight around a child listening to “Under the Rainbow,” we mild accumulate a recycling of Woo’s stylistic trademarks. However, this can be somewhat forgiven as it was the first true exposure for many North Americans to his work on a mainstream level.

The first disc features an audio commentary by director John Woo and screenwriters Mike Werb and Michael Colleary. Woo says that he initially passed on the project because he didn’t mediate that he could do a science fiction film, but after working with CGI on Broken Arrow, felt more comfortable with the notion. The writers say that Woo concentrated on the characters and their emotions in their conversations together.

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Also included is an additional commentary with Werb and Colleary that features a lot of repeated comments from the previous track. Werb and Colleary stress that they wanted to write an action film with a villain that was impartial as engrossing as the hero.

There are six deleted scenes and alternate ending with optional commentary by Woo, Werb and Colleary. There’s a nice, reflective moment where Archer spends the night in his listless son’s room before his surgery and also two action sequences that are extended.

The second disc has a well-made documentary entitled, “The Light and The Dark: Making Face/Off” that can be viewed in five separate featurettes or altogether. Cage and Travolta talk about how they approached their roles, mimicking each other. Cast and crew praise Woo and his signature style and how well he works with actors. The film’s explain practical, visual effects and stunts are all examined. Finally, Woo sums up the film – for him, it’s all about family and how Archer achieves closure with his.

“John Woo: A Life in Pictures” is a 30-minute profile of the filmmaker, from his humble childhood, living awful in a awful neighbourhood to a successful Hollywood director. It also takes a brief sight at some of his key Hong Kong work but nothing too detailed for hardcore fans. This doc acts mainly as a primer for newcomers to his work.

Finally, a theatrical trailer.

We already know this is a big action film with honorable performances from both Travolta and Cage so I will unbiased comment on the features:

Featurettes includes a decent amount information on all aspects of the script development, making of, locations, casting, state designs, special effects, weapons and the ‘mimic’ acting strategies for Cage/Travlota playing each other. Also includes 7 deleted scenes, a biography-type feature covering the life and career of director John Woo, and the new theatrical trailer.

The greatest disappointment here is that while several cast/crew members appear in newly filmed interviews, both Travolta and Cage participate only by map of vintage interviews filmed help when the movie was actually being made. You would judge they would have been proud enough of this gargantuan film to advance wait on to document it for posterity sake…

This DVD is probably worth the upgrade for fans, especially if you can manage to collect a few bucks for your feeble copy.

The best movie ever is Stevie

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
The best movie ever is Stevie. The best movie ever is Stevie.

Movie Title: Stevie
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Stevie is available for streaming or downloading.

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Steve James, the director of Hoop Dreams, comes back to rural Illinois to make a movie about the little boy who became a man, Stevie Fielding. Steve J was his “Big Brother” once upon a time. He grew up with a mother that didn’t want him, never knew his birth father, had a past of being abused and neglected, and basically was passed around all of the foster homes in Illinois.

The movie focuses partially on the trouble that Stevie has gotten into over the years, and the pending prison time he may have to do, because of some alleged crime he had committed during filming.

Stevie’s life is a train wreck, impossible to turn away from. It is obvious that he has had severe emotional scars that have traveled with him into adulthood, and sometimes he just seems like a 28 year old child. He doesn’t want to take responsibility for anything he has done. His life is an open book to those he talks to, as if he doesn’t have any remorse for the major and minor crimes he has committed.

When you meet his mother, you start to understand where the attitude stems from. This is a woman, who beat him when he was a child, couldn’t handle him herself, and turned him over to his grandma, who wasn’t really his blood grandmother at all, but his step-dad’s mother. The mother feels that people are constantly blaming her, for things past and present. It does seem though, that she tries to reconcile with Stevie and her daughter (who she has caused similar harm) throughout the film. Maybe she realized that she has made some mistakes in the past and she is ready to fess up. Maybe she feels guilt. I think a lot of the people involved feel guilt, including Steve J.

I really liked the honesty that went into it. Steve J. is like a Mr. Rogers, who is so sweet and kind, he seems a little timid at times, but very truthful. He asks Stevie, “do you feel that I abandoned you, when I moved away and stopped visiting you?” He was ready for the answer. I think that he’s trying to make up for leaving him, because maybe he thinks that if he didn’t leave him, Stevie wouldn’t have turned out the way that he did.

For children that have had such a harsh childhood, is there anything you can really do for them in adulthood that will bring back the trust that they have lost? I really don’t know. Stevie seems to avoid showing emotion, he never cried once that I could see. At the same time, he seems to care about those close to him, including his girlfriend, who is disabled, but is clearly making better choices than him.

I really loved Judy (the director’s wife) in the film. Knowing her job description and what Stevie allegedly did, she seems to really care about him, and wants to help him. Whether or not Stevie is affected by any of the people who seem to care about him, I couldn’t tell. He continually made bad choices, and his temper seemed to go up and down like a rollercoaster. One thing I will give him credit for, is the fact that he never laid a hand on his current fiance/girlfriend, because in his short-lived past marriage, he used to beat his wife. You realize that there are some mistakes that he has learned from.

Towards the end, Stevie leaves the house and climbs a tree, and it once again reminds me that he is a child. What happens when a child does something so bad that it’s hard to forgive? Can you separate the behavior from the child? I think that’s something that I struggled with, while I was viewing the film.

Like all good things, this had to come to an end. Not to spoil things, but, it didn’t end happily. No matter what happens, it’s good to know that people really do care about him, even though it he didn’t find this out for many, many years.

When I heard about this 2002 documentary by Steve James, the director who brought us “Hoop Dreams”, I just had to see it. “Stevie” is a disturbing look at a tortured life of a blue-eyed blond child who had a rotten childhood and grew up to become an abuser himself. When the director was in college, he was a “big brother” to the little boy but later moved away. After ten years, he returned to meet up with Stevie, now an in his twenties. Stevie had been in every foster home in Southern Illinois and got in trouble in all of them. When we meet him, he is living with his step-grandmother, hates his mother, has had a short abusive marriage, has never held a steady job, and has a mentally retarded girlfriend.

The film follows this troubled young man for 4-1/2 years and the director cannot help but take a good hard look at his own role in the film he is making. Right in front of us we see the result of years of neglect and abuse of the boy, now a man. He’s angry, abuses alcohol and is sometimes violent. The setting is rural Illinois, a place of trailer camps, fundamentalist churches, fishing creeks, white supremacist culture, pickup trucks and unemployment. With the exception of Stevie’s half-sister, who has a happy marriage and eventually has a baby, most of the people are sad and angry. It is not a pretty place to live.

The film is 145 minutes long but it never lags. I was completely caught up in Stevie’s life, my feelings ranging from pity to anger as it gradually became quite clear that Stevie’s character was set for life and that there would be little, if any change. When he is charged with a crime, we see him fighting the justice system. Eventually, he loses. This is not surprising.

If this were fiction, there would be some sort of contrived ending. But this is a documentary and all it does is tell the truth. I loved this fine film. It’s full of honesty and courage. And I applaud the filmmaker for making it. I highly recommended it. But be prepared to plunge into Stevie’s troubled world.

Streaming Wristcutters – A Love Story Online

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Streaming Wristcutters - A Love Story Online. Streaming Wristcutters – A Love Story Online.

Movie Title: Wristcutters – A Love Story
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Wristcutters – A Love Story is available for streaming or downloading.

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Most romantic comedies take place in… you know, the world of the living. They rarely star dead people. And not suicides, either.

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But “Wristcutters: A Love Story” is not going to be tied down by that. This delicious, dark little cult film is about people who have committed suicide, and are now stuck in a limbo zone that is just like the living world, but less appealing. It’s also dark, funny and poignant — everything you want in a very original little indie movie.

Because of a breakup, Zia (Patrick Fugit) has decided that life is no longer worth living. He cleans his house, slits his wrists — and finds himself in a strange twilight-zone with no sunshine, smiles, or appetizing food, and entirely populated by suicides — think a Midwestern small town, but more depressing. He eventually gets a job, a nasty roommate, and befriends Eugene (Shea Whigham) a likably bombastic Russian rocker.

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But then Zia learns from a new suicide that his girlfriend, Desiree (Leslie Bibb) has also offed herself. So he and Eugene bundle into Eugene’s horrible old car, and start a road trip to find her — picking up the pretty, feisty Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), who says she’s been placed there mistakenly. The odd trio rattles through this suicide world, until they stumble across a strange camp in the wilderness…

I first heard about “Wristcutters” a long while ago, on myspace — but in the months that followed, it just sort of floated in a limbo of its own. Pretty frustrating, but Goran Dukic actually makes it worth waiting for — it’s a quirky and dark indie comedy, a tragedy, and a love story all in one.

As you can probably guess, the movie’s main message is that you should live a life worth enjoying, and love someone worth loving. Yeah, the core of it is a guy who loses the girl, kills himself, tries to regain the girl, and falls in love with the worthier choice — all while wondering if love is still possible for those whose hearts have stopped.

But that potentially soppy message is wrapped up in clever little quirks in Wristcutterville (Zia works at “Kamikaze Pizza”) or the various deaths of the people who live there (Eugene electrocuted himself to get the crowd to pay attention). It feels pleasantly, wistfully warped — both with macabre humour (the hole-in-the-head cop) and delicious dialogue (”I’m not going out tonight. It just makes me depressed.” “So, what you gonna do? Kill yourself?”).

And you gotta admit, this postmodern Purgatorio is an interesting concept — it’s portrayed with a sort of low-budget magical realism. Suicide wounds, pale faces, bleak landscape, and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is a popular tune. It’s pretty fitting that the place for those who have given up hope is a place where hope and joy are nonexistant.

It also has a very pleasant, poignant ending — yeah, it seems like a bit of a cop-out, but somehow by the time we got there, I didn’t mind. It ties in with the lesson of the movie, and the poignant little love between Zia and Mikal.

Fugit is a likably confused, sweet character who is just a bit dense, since it takes him awhile to figure out what a great, funny girl Mikal is. And Whigham — whose character was partly based on Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz — rules all the scenes he’s in, as one of the few suicides who still has his vitality, libido and humour intact (”Everyone knows that man in back does not have c**k”).

Sad, quirky and poignant, “Wristcutters: A Love Story” is an offbeat love/road-trip movie in the land of suicides — it’s a brilliantly warped little cult movie, and definitely worth seeing.

This film goes far beyond the short story “Neller’s Happy Campers” by Etgar Keret found in The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God & Other Stories. It is about the weird world that suicides go to. (A world just like this one only worse).

You will see some strange things on the journey you take in this film with the characters.

The acting is excellent.

The soundtrack ranges from the otherworldly to Eskimo throat singing. (You’ve got to hear it)

It is a very dark comedy but has a surprisingly light touch and a goofy feel-good style. It is hard to describe. It is like “Crossroads” meets “Road Warrior” but everybody is already dead.

Watch Delirium on Xbox

Monday, January 18th, 2010
Watch Delirium on Xbox. Watch Delirium on Xbox.

Movie Title: Delirium
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Delirium is available for streaming or downloading.

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A exclusive curiosity that became a Cult movie for seventies italian gialli fans.

Very hard to leer in France. A must for Rita Calderoni fans.

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Didn’t know what to seek information from from this. It turned out to be a titanic tiny movie. Some of the dialogue was a bit hokie, but that is okay. There were some surprises and was a bit different. I watched the “International” version, and although there was expansive nudity, the sex was to a degree muted. There was one instance of some groping that was somewhat explicit, but was central to the overall storyline and definately not gratuitous. It is not for everyone, but for those who like a quirky slight film with a graceful decent storyline, they might get it worth a search for. I would rent it before deciding to add it to your library though. Charlie S.

Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas / Butt-O-Ween Streaming

Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas / Butt-O-Ween Streaming. Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas / Butt-O-Ween Streaming.

Movie Title: Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas / Butt-O-Ween
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Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas / Butt-O-Ween is available for streaming or downloading.

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As the Great Cornholio would say. This DVD is not the best of the Beavis and Butt-head series available on DVD, but it’s good in its own way. The theme for “Butt-O-Ween” is based on scary stuff that Beavis and Butt-head have endured over the course of the series, but “Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas” isn’t all that appealing, as it is only one episode.

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“Butt-O-Ween” Psynopsis

1. “Bungholio: Lord Of The Harvest” You probably guessed it, and you guessed it right. Beavis becomes the Great Cornholio for the third time, but on Halloween night. Anyways, B&B dress up in extremely cheap and mundane costumes (Butt-head is covered with nacho cheese, and Beavis has his underwear over his head and calls himself a “nad”. After several failed attempts to get candy, the boys go over to Tom Anderson’s house, but when Tom is interrupted by a phone call from John Thomas (ha ha), Beavis ingests all of the candy and pisses Butt-head off by EATING IT ALL. The sugar causes hyperactivity, and Beavis becomes his alter-ego, The Great Cornholio. I think I’ve told you enough to get by…

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2. “The Pipe Of Doom” B&B go into a construction work site and check out the pipes. Butt-head gets stuck in one of those pipes and the situation becomes so serious that an emergency squad had to pull him out while it was being broadcast live on TV.

3. “Killing Time” There is nothing good on for two hours on television, so B&B try to think of ways to kill time.

4. “Leave It To Beavis” The best one on this DVD yet. A parody to “Leave It To Beaver”, with the black and white animation and such.

5. “Ding-Dong-Ditch” The boys try (and fail) to attempt a game of Ding-Dong-Ditch.

6. “Late Night With Butt-head” When watching the David Letterman show, B&B are inspired to create their own show like that.

7. “Candy Sale” This one features David Spade for guest vocals as Mr. Candy. B&B sell 200 candy bars to each other and end up with a total of 2 dollars.

“Beavis And Butt-head Do Christmas”

This one parodizes the Ebenezer Scrooge and “It’s A Wonderful Life” stories. “Huh Huh Humbug” (the Ebenezer Scrooge one) is when Beavis dreams that he manages Burger World but predicts what will happen if he still his selfish self who watches porno all the time. “It’s A Miserable Life” shows how the world could be a better place if Butt-head didn’t exist on this world. The “Letters To Santa Butt-head” is a segment when people wrote to the show and asked crazy questions.

This gets three stars, because it could have gotten a better selection, but it’s still good in its way.

This DVD contains one of the funniest Christmas episodes of any series ever. It features a few Christmas music videos (Buster Poindexter’s “Zat You Santy Claus” being my favorite) letters to Santa-Butthead, and two very Christmasy short cartoons. In the first cartoon, Beavis dreams he’s a Burger World boss and goes home on Christmas Eve to watch a porn entitled “Ebenezer Screw” starring Bob Scratchit and Tiny Johnson. He’s interrupted by three ghosts who tell him to change his ways. When he wakes up from his dream and tells Butthead about it, Butthead seems most impressed with the porn.

In the second episode an angel shows Butthead a vision of how the world would be much better off without him. The angel keeps clumsily falling into a river though, and Beavis and Butthead decide to just laugh at his drowning instead of giving him a helping hand. The funniest part of this episode is when Butthead is beat up by a group of homeless people offscreen.

The letters to Santa-Butthead sequences are just as good as the cartoons, if not better. When girls write saying they want Beavis for Christmas, Butthead doesn’t understand why they’re into “buttwipes like that,” but it doesn’t seem to bother him too much since he still is able to laugh at names like “Les Dickson.”

The Halloween collection is good too, but aside from the first out of the eight or so cartoons, it doesn’t really have a Halloween feel to it. At Halloween time, I find myself wanting to only watch the first cartoon, which has Beavis and Butthead trick-or-treating in lame Halloween costumes. Butthead pours cheese on himself and says he’s nachos, and Beavis puts underwear on his head saying he’s a nad. Beavis eats all of Mr. Anderson’s Halloween candy (making Mr. Anderson understandably upset of course) and turns into Cornholio, wandering off into the night.

I highly recommend this DVD for the Christmas episode alone. The other episodes on the collection are good too, even though most of them don’t have much to do with Halloween. I like the episode where they ring peoples’ doorbells for fun but forget to run away. It’s hilarious seeing Beavis stand there for 20 seconds after the door opens, and then run away laughing. Man, he’s stupid.

Download The Hudsucker Proxy Xbox

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Download The Hudsucker Proxy Xbox. Download The Hudsucker Proxy Xbox.

Movie Title: The Hudsucker Proxy
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The Hudsucker Proxy is available for streaming or downloading.

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Two things killed this movie at the box office when it was first released: first, its title. Americans didn’t seem to know what a “proxy” was, much less a hudsucking one. The second was its time of release. The movie came out in May as an early summer release but was actually a movie that would have been better received at Christmas. “Jaws” is a prototypical summer film. “It’s A Wonderful Life,” by comparison, would hardly be a summer blockbuster but sets the perfect tone for the holiday season. Come back in twenty years and you will find that “The Hudsucker Proxy” IS the Frank Capra classic for a new generation. It is Capra meets “Metropolis” blended with the smart humor of the Coens. The casting is near perfect. Tim Robbins is the naive and goofy savant. Paul Newman is as wonderful a villain as you will find as the evil Sidney Mussberger. Only Jennifer Jason Leigh takes a bit of getting used to as the tough talking reporter but she will move you by movie’s end. I’ve had to beg, plead, wheedle and cajole my friends through the years to watch this movie and not let themselves be turned off by its title. Thus far it’s left no one disappointed.

The movie’s middle third is unbelievably funny, and Jennifer Jason Leigh is perfect. Buscemi shows up briefly during a scene at the Beatnik bar. The DVD isn’t of great quality, though. The first hint comes from the fact that “Ethan” (as in “Coen”) is spelled “Ethen” in the jewel case’s blurb. As soon as you begin watching, you’ll notice the graininess in the opening shots, and some jaggies during a pan from Tim Robbins on the ledge. The DVD is ok from then on, until you get to the dancing sequence with the white background. So, the disc is a hack job (maybe that explains the low price, too), but the movie is so well done you can overlook it for all but about 10 seconds.

Reviews of Green Street Hooligans

Saturday, January 9th, 2010
Reviews of Green Street Hooligans. Reviews of Green Street Hooligans.

Movie Title: Green Street Hooligans
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Green Street Hooligans is available for streaming or downloading.

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“Green Street Hooligans” sets a family drama and coming-of-age tale in the world of football (soccer) hooliganism. Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood) was a promising journalism student before he was expelled from Harvard University over his roommate’s cocaine stash. Suddenly aimless, Matt wanders to London to visit his sister Shannon (Claire Forlani) and her British husband Steve (Marc Warren). When Matt tags along to a soccer game with Steve’s brother Pete (Charlie Hunnam), he finds that there is a lot more to soccer culture than the game on the field. Pete is a member of a football firm or gang called the Green Street Elite (GSE). Firms are organizations of fanatic fans who battle other firms for reputation and dominance -by beating the crap out of each other. Matt is attracted to the high energy, danger, and physicality of the GSE and embraces the lifestyle. But eventually word gets around that he might be a journalist – and hooligans hate coppers and journalists.

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I couldn’t say how accurately “Green Street Hooligans” represents the dynamics of football firms or the relationships of their members. But the film does provide a window into a subculture that is common in the UK and South America, where soccer reigns supreme, but which Americans may never have heard of. Contrary to the American cocept of gangsters, soccer hooligans are neither Mafioso nor errant youth. They are grown, middle-class men who function perfectly well in normal jobs. But outside of work and domestic obligations, they are completely lawless. They happily adopt a brutality that could leave them dead or maimed in the blink of an eye. “Green Street Hooligans” requires some suspension of disbelief to accept more mundane behavior. Would Steve really send his naïve Yank brother-in-law to a soccer game with his estranged hooligan brother? No. That kind of illogic is common in this film. But the culture of hooliganism, the allure of their violence, is at the same time stupid and fascinating.

The DVD (Warner 2006): “The Making of Hooligans” (6 min) is not about making the movie. It is a series of interviews with actors Elijah Wood, Claire Forlani, Charlie Hunnam, director Lexi Alexander and producer Deborah Del Prete which discuss the characters and the phenomenon of football firms. There is a music video for the song “One Blood” by Terence Jay, which sounds uncannily like the Dire Straits’ song “Brother in Arms”. Terence Jay also acts in the movie. He plays Matt’s elite WASP Harvard roommate, the cokehead. Subtitles for the film are available in English, French, and Spanish.

Of everything written about this small film starring Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam, the most interesting is to see the lukewarm reactions from the UK side, which found the film is too violent, and dismissed it as implausible. And it must be admitted that they are complaining with some good reasons.

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For the film is really violent, and Elijah Wood may be the least plausible choice for making a film about the hooligans, almost fanatic supporters of football team in England. Elijah Wood plays Matt, a Harvard college undergraduate student wrongly expelled because of his irresponsible roommate. Matt flies to the home of his married sister (Clair Forlani), and there meets his brother-in-law Pete (Charlie Hannam), devoted leader of the Green Street Elite, bunch of the hooligans supporting West Ham United.

The set-up part is contrived, but you should wait a while. Soon the film’s story leads us to its gist, about how Matt (estranged from his father now in Kabul) finds his new existence in this underworld of the `Firm’ and its hooliganism. The film does not fail to show the complexity of the characters. The members of the `Firm’ have jobs to do when there is not a game (believe me nor not, one of them is an airplane pilot by profession), and not exactly bad guys at all, but when it comes to football games and the rivalry between the Firms, they turn fierce and unstoppable street fighters who have their own rules to follow. You cannot say the script is an in-depth study of hooligans, but still good enough to make us care its characters.

Besides its violent scenes, the criticism we hear against `Green Street Hooligans’ is about its cast, Elijah Wood in particular. Yes, the star of blockbuster hit `Lord of the Rings.’ Throughout `GSH’ Elijah Wood never looks like a hooligan. For all Matt’s repeated bloody fights, he still looks a visitor or outsider in the Green Street Elite, but that is the point of the film because he is there to provide the viewpoint from an outsider. And some UK reviewers complained about the accent of Charlie Hunnam. I don’t know because I do not have much linguistic knowledge, but to me his acting as charismatic Pete looked very good (though Leo Gregory as discontented GSE member is more impressive, as you will see).

More serious problem with `Green Street Hooligans’ is its incredible and too convenient coincidences in the story, which makes the whole film too melodramatic. Matt happens to have done two (or more) things, which results in a big problem. The far-fetched situation looks totally out of place among the gritty descriptions of hooliganism, and Claire Forlani’s character always remains a typical lady-in-distress image, which is another cliché in the filmmaking. German-born director Lexi Alexander sticks to the realistic approach to the street fight sequences (with blood and dirty words), but she somehow is content with the autopilot direction when showing several episodes that are not directly related to hooligans.

But I was intrigued with the main story about the friendship between males, or kind of combat camaraderie depicted in `Green Street Hooligans.’ I know this is not the only film about hooliganism – for example, `The Football Factory’ and `The Firm’ (starring Gary Oldman, not Tom Cruise) – but `Green Street Hooligans’ is worth a look even though you don’t know football for its strong and compelling main story.

Download Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea PSP

Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Download Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea PSP. Download Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea PSP.

Movie Title: Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
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Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is available for streaming or downloading.

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Loosely based on the noted recent by Jules Verne and spot in the slow 19th Century, LEAGUES offers the narrative of Professor Arronax (Paul Lukas), his assistant Conseil (Peter Lorre), and harpooner Ned Land (Kirk Douglas), who are coaxed by the United States government to abet in the search for a sea monster said to be terrorizing shipping lanes. But the monster is not of flesh and blood, and soon the three salvage themselves in the hands of the mysterious Captain Nemo (James Mason) as prisoners aboard the Nautilus–a fully functional submarine edifying of ramming ships and sending them to the ocean floor.

Underwater photography was hardly recent in 1954, but never had it been weak so extensively nor to such visually fair conclude, and the art designs–particularly those for the Nautilus–are justly noted. But for all its beauty, it is the performances which fabricate the film work. James Mason does not merely play Nemo, he seems to be Nemo; after seeing his performance it is impossible to imagine any other actor in the role. Paul Lukas adds yet another brilliantly understated performance to his memorable career, and while Kirk Douglas and Peter Lorre are hardly the Ned Land and Conseil of the Verne original they have surprising chemistry and lend the film grand stir.

At the time of its release, LEAGUES was the single most expensive motion represent ever made (ironically it would loose that dubious distinction later that same year to yet another film featuring James Mason: A STAR IS BORN), and every penny of the money spent shows in the onscreen result. While many of Disney’s live-action films are fondly recalled, few have had enduring fame, mighty less claim to location as art–but LEAGUES is the exception, and although the episodic nature of the record seems a shade languid from time to time it remains both a landmark and one of the most influential films of its decade. Truly savory from begin to carry out.

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GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Like many of the other reviewers of this movie, I’m a pre-boomer who was dazzled by the film as a child. Somewhere in my aging mom’s attic, I have a few bolts (painted wood) from the movie dwelling of the Nautilus, which I “borrowed” from one of the Disney properties as a kid nearly a half century ago. I remember taking a bus from LA to Burbank to study through the slats of the fence in the aid lot of the Disney Studios and seeing a partial model of the Nautilus, perhaps 1/3 scale, tossed in a corner like so remarkable debris. What I would have given to be able to sprint that model home.

When I viewed the VHS version of this film a couple of years ago, I was bitterly disappointed by the abominable quality which made the watching experience actually painful to a fan like me. But, let me sing you, this DVD is as thrilling as the VHS was painful. This fully-restored version of the film comes roaring encourage to life in all of its glory and then some. It’s the best film restoration these broken-down eyes have ever beheld. Watched on a state-of-the-art widescreen TV, this is every bit the experience it was in the ’50’s and I consider it’s astounding that this colossal film is now preserved for the ages, objective as it was when it was first released.

Is this a perfect movie? No. Even as a kid, I noticed that the background music was too cheesy, that Kirk Douglas’s songs seemed gratuitous, that the fish swimming outside the sizable porthole were cartoonish, and that the electrically-illuminated leer of the Giant Squid made an otherwise perfect special accomplish survey a bit spurious. I’m objective as puzzled by those weaknesses today as I was then, especially since all other aspects of the film, including the numerous, Oscar-winning special effects spirited the Nautilus, are masterful. But no movie is perfect and this movie, minor warts and all, is nothing less than a memorial to the genius of Disney, the acting of James Mason, the passion of the Disney staff, and the vision of Jules Verne.

rug cleaning 1

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Rug Cleaning
is the most tedious task despite of the fact that they adorn your homes. Sometimes buying them could be a costly affair and sometimes they might be dainty. So in order to guard your investment and keep their look maintained, you need to avoid few familiar mistakes and follow few tips while Rug Cleaning

which can increase the life of your rug.

We should not beat the rug because this process could weaken the threads interweaved together resulting in breaking of the rug backing.

Do not vacuum the edges of the rug as vacuum cleaner will suck the fringes into its beater bar and edges will get untied and become curly and stringy.

You are also advised not to use rug vaporizers or shampoos because if they are not washed out properly, they will catch more dust making them look dustier.

If still you have any plans to shampoo the rug, then first sweep the rug so that imbedded dirt gets loosened. Sweeping should be succeeded by vacuuming so that dust is cleared completely. This will make the rug appear cleaner and may hold up your plans of washing the rug.

You should also make certain that stains on the rug should be cleaned as soon as they occur. On the basis of category of stains or spills, they are to be blotted or scraped. It can be blotted with help of dry clean towel by pressing from the outside towards the center. Redo this process by folding the towel till the maximum moisture has been absorbed. If the milk has been scattered, then the area should be properly washed with the mild soap and water so that the residue doesn’t sour. Incase of greasy spills and sugar based drinks spills, proper cleaning and washing is also needed with relevant cleaners.

You are also suggested to scatter mixture of 2 cups of cornmeal and 1 cup of Borax to neutralize the pet smell. Leave this mixture for about an hour before vacuuming.

As rugs get dirty quite often, you can also call experts to do this chore but this could be expensive. But with little care, rug cleaning can be done conveniently at home.

rug cleaning 1

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

No doubt rugs beautify your living place but the most tedious chore is to cleanse and maintain them. Sometimes purchasing them can be an expensive affair and sometimes they might be dainty. So in order to guard your investment and keep their look preserved, you should avoid few common mistakes and follow certain tips while Rug Cleaning

which can lengthen the life of your rug.

You are hereby advised not to thump the rug as thumping can break up the woven threads resulting in the tearing of the rug backing.

Do not vacuum the edges of the rug as cleaner will suck the fringes into its beater bar and edges will get loosened and become curly and stringy.

You are also advised not to use rug vaporizers or shampoos because if they are not washed out thoroughly, they will capture more dust making them appear dustier.

If still you have any intention to shampoo the rug, then first sweep the rug so that settled dirt gets loosened. Sweeping should be followed by vacuuming so that dust is removed completely. This will make the rug look cleaner and might hold up your plans of washing the rug.

You should also make certain that spills on the rug should be cleaned as soon as they occur. On the basis of type of stains or spills, they should be blotted or scraped. You can blot it by pressing with a dry clean towel from the outside towards the center. Redo this action by folding the towel till the maximum moisture has been absorbed. If the milk has been scattered, then the affected part should be thoroughly washed with the mild soap and water so that the residue doesn’t rot. Incase of greasy spills and sugar based drinks spills, proper cleaning and washing is also required with proper cleaners.

You are also recommended to sprinkle mixture of two cups of cornmeal and 1 cup of Borax to neutralize the pet smell. Let this mixture be left for about one hour before vacuuming.

Rugs do get dirty eventually and there are many professional companies who can do the Rug Cleaning at your place only but it will cost you more. But with little care, rug cleaning can be done conveniently at home.