My picks for entertainment ~ suggested movies, TV shows, music, and books ~ so you can enjoy some quality ME time! (ATTN Korean drama addicts! This blog has lots of K-drama love.)
Thandie Newton, actress, born November 6, 1972, in Westminster, London, England, UK. She won the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in the drama series "Westworld" (2019). I have followed Thandie Newton's acting career ever since she was in her teens. Her first major role was at the age of 18 in an Australian film titled Flirting. She has been around for quite a while and I am glad that the entertainment industry has recognized and rewarded fabulous talent when they see it. It could not have been easy for her. Nevertheless, she persevered. Sharing a link to an interesting interview of Ms. Newton published by Vulture.com. WARNING: The language and content of this interview may be hard to digest. All I can say is when you see people onscreen, you really have no idea of the turmoil that's happening in their personal lives. They do such a good job of acting. (Side Note: One night I happened to be up late and ended up watching Late Night with Stephen Colbert and he was interviewing a young child actress. I tuned in at the middle of the interview. Even though I didn't know this young lady's name, there was no mistaking whose child she was. The girl is the exact image of her mother. Nico Parker is the daughter of Thandie Newton and she is also an actress. She had a role in Dumbo (2019), Entertainment Tonight (1981) and Dish Nation (2011).)
{The alternate title for this post could be: “When the Chimes End”. :) Hope you enjoy this post. Please let me know. }
My kids don't get my fascination and admiration for Clint Eastwood.
FACT: In his heyday, he was simply irresistible! Drawing upon my
childhood memories once again ( an absolute must when you're a skeptic
and don't trust everything you find on the Internet :) ) - who can
forget “ Rollin, rollin, rollin ”, theme song for the TV show “Rawhide ” which was my introduction to a young actor named Clint Eastwood.
Next thing that happened was a
string of spaghetti westerns; films starring that tall lanky handsome
man who made a fashion statement wearing a poncho. If they haven't done
it already, it should be done. Clint Eastwood's poncho belongs in the
Smithsonian. All Americans will agree, it's a national treasure. Then, there was a collection of
Dirty Harry movies. Mr. Eastwood still had a cowboy-style even though he
was playing a modern detective in the city. That was it for me and
Clint. My affair with him ended and didn't bother to follow his acting
career after that. No need. The most memorable scene
ever played out in a movie about the wild wild west was already embedded
in my mind so that I could hit the “instant recall button”, any time,
any place. What scene was that? “ For a Few Dollars More ”. Colonel Mortimer and Indigo face off! It's time Indigo! You're going down down down! The outlaw Indigo holds a stolen
watch in his hand that plays lovely chime music. The music starts
playing. When the music ends, there will only be one left standing. Shhhh … The audience in the dark
crowded movie theater is completely silent. All you can hear is the
music. Everybody is waiting for the chimes to end. The last note of the
chimes sound and then … bing … bing bong … bing bing … bing bong …
What's that? It's the sound of more chime music. What? Who?? Where??
How??
The hero, Clint Eastwood, appears
with another watch that plays the same exact chime music. The audience
erupts into cheers. YAY!! YAY!! Whew! For a minute there we didn't know
how the bad guy was going to get his comeuppance. Shhhh ... The audience gets quiet. Everybody's waiting for the chime music to end. AGAIN!! To this day, that final duel between
Mortimer and Indigo never gets old! Especially the music!! Loyal fans
will watch it over and over.
Do you fancy BBC Masterpiece Contemporary Mystery movies or television series?
The BBC political thriller titled “Page Eight” is about a British intelligence analyst who refuses to compromise his integrity.
What happens to him is what usually happens when civil servants will not budge on their principles and ideals of Right versus Wrong, and their principles and ideals do not line up with their boss, i.e., the chief executive leader who says: I know what is best for our country and I am the one in charge, with the authority!
In his case, Mr. Worricker (the character masterfully played by Bill Nighy) butts heads with the British Prime Minister. He found some real information on page 8 of an intelligence report that points a finger in the direction of the Prime Minister and … Oh dear!
He has to leave his job? No. Rather he chooses that it is time for him to resign from the MI-5 service and move on. To spice up this not “atypical” political thriller plot, he meets a young woman (played by Rachel Weisz) that he has the power to help because of his access to confidential official government secrets. Does he help her? But of course! She helps him as well. In his line of work, it’s really hard to find someone you can trust.
I once worked for the federal government. I understand how a young man like Christopher Boyce who came from a typical middle class white American Catholic family ... could become disillusioned he when comes to the knowledge that his beloved country, the United States of America, is not ... "perfect". After all, that's not what he was taught or raised to believe.
Even though I'm African-American and grew up in segregated neighborhood, I can empathize with how he felt. I was taught the same thing. America is the land of the free, the home of the brave, We're righteous and the other countries should follow our example. Even though I understand Mr. Boyce, I refuse to justify what he did. Ideals or not, HE WAS WRONG!
So America is not "without sin". But can any other country say that they are sinless? You don't like what's happening in America? Stay here and change it!! At least you care. The other country you're selling out to, could care less.
This is a very good movie. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars. The soundtrack gets 10 stars! David Bowie is English but he sang the song "This is Not America", like he was an American
"The Falcon and the Snowman" starred Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn. I think the movie should be incorporated into an orientation training class for all civil servants who work in the law enforcement agencies “ CIA, NSA, ICE, FBI, etc. The movie was intense. Riveting! A favorite word used by official movie critics. The best part of the movie for me is David Bowie and Pat Metheny on the soundtrack. But I digress.The movie is about a young guy (Christopher Boyce, played by Timothy Hutton) who works for the government and learns that "things" are not what they appear to be and feels betrayed by his country. He gets angry about it “ as any red-blooded patriot would - and decides to sells secrets to "The Enemy". He recruits his childhood friend (Daulton Lee, played by Sean Penn) who is a dope head! Long story short. In the end, they both go to prison. There is also a book written about this story as well.
In between, Mr. Lee gets caught and accused of murder. Of course, he didn't commit the murder but that didn't stop the law enforcement authorities who captured him from grilling him, thoroughly interrogating him, and torturing him to get the truth out of him.After all is said and done “ they say "He did!," - he say "He didn't! He's just a tourist, a businessman." - there's a scene where he's about to be released and a man walks in and says something to the effect: "We're going to give you 2 choices." Before the man could tell what the choices were, Mr. Lee (Sean Penn) looks up at the guy, weary, scared, demoralized and says in questioning tone of voice: "Costa Rica?"I CRACKED UP LAUGHING!!I thought to myself: 'Now ain't that sumthin! They done beat the crap about this boy and he is totally weakened and confused, but he still had the clarity of mind to try to negotiate to get sent to Costa Rica!!' :)
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When people say “Kismet” or “Kismat”, they mean it's your fate or destiny. The word is derived from the Arabic qisma, meaning "portion" or "lot." I first heard this word watching a Bollywood movie, “Kismat Konnection” (2008) which starred Shahid Kapoor.
The female lead is Vidya Balan. As of September 2022, it was still streaming on Netflix. "A man finds his lucky charm in the form of a woman whom he had once clashed with on every level, but on whose presence he must now rely to succeed."
When I did some research I found out this film was a remake of an American movie, “Just My Luck” which starred Lindsay Lohan. Since I'm not a Lohan fan, I didn't know anything about that movie. Since I am a huge Shahid Kapoor, I would highly recommend watching this movie. You'll love it! It's delightful! Totally PG!
Thanks for visiting my entertainment blog. While you're here, check out some of the other posts tagged "Bollywood". It is a wide variety of films, drama, romance, and comedy.
I really enjoy a lot of old movies that can easily be found on YouTube. I like mysteries, but especially the genre that is called "film noir". One such old movie is called "Impact", released in 1949. What I liked was the way the court case played out. If you haven't watched the movie I don't want to spoil the ending. If you like vintage film noir drama you'll probably like this movie.
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If you like crime thrillers, you'll like the movie called "Georgetown" (2019). The name caught my attention because there is Georgetown, Texas, a city near where I live and then there is the Georgetown near Washington, D.C. I used to work in D.C. and it's a lively place. This movie was set in the historic neighborhood of Georgetown, in the District of Columbia (D.C.)
The reviewers at RogerEbert.com gave the film 2 stars and Rotten Tomatoes gave it 3 stars. Not sure why the ratings were so low. High caliber actors were in this film: Vanessa Redgrave, Annette Bening, and Christoph Waltz. I would give 1 star fir each and the another star for the film. That's 4 stars!
I did not realize until The End that it was based on a true story. Yeah. That creep was an idiot and he really did kill his wife.
The real guy's name is Albrecht Muth.
The name of the character in the movie was Ulrich Mott (played by Christoph Waltz).
In April 2014, Albrecht Muth, 49 years old, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 50 years in prison for first-degree murder of his wife.
Even though it would not make my top 10 list, it's a good movie for a Friday night.
Peter Sellers was the perfect person to play the clumsy French detective Jacques Clouseau. His job is to prevent a notorious thief from stealing a world famous jewel known as "The Pink Panther" which belongs to a princess.
I like the original music from the original Pink Panther movie. Henry Mancini won an award for it and he said he can't believe he received an award for making up such fun music.
Nope! My mind was not changed, The original movie released in the 1960s and the soundtrack to the movie are both vintage classic memorable entertainment!
I would not recommend the 2006 remake; however I would recommend: "The Return of the Pink Panther" (1975); "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" (1976); or any of the many other sequels to the original Pink Panther movie which starred Peter Sellers. I would also recommend the hilarious animated TV series "The Pink Panther Show" (1969).
Are you a fan of Wesley Snipes? I've been a fan ever since he made an appearance in the Michael Jackson video “Bad”. Who knew a short part in a music video with the late King of Pop would lead him to a successful acting career? The video was released in 1987. He was very convincing as a scary street thug in that music video. No surprise then that he ended up being cast as a ruthless drug kingpin in the 1991 film “NewJack City” (watch trailer). In 2016, the film celebrated its 25th anniversary. By my rules, this qualifies as an “old movie”.
What kind of movies do you like?
Do you like films where the bad guy is sort of a good guy and you’re confused as to whether he should be punished or congratulated? Set free, even though he committed unpardonable crimes, or put in jail where violent criminals are supposed to be?
OR
Do you like to watch movies where there is absolutely no question who the REAL BAD GUY is and you have to watch that movie to The End to see if he never pays for his crimes and gets to walk off into the sunset or if TRUE JUSTICE IS SERVED? You’re like … they better get that dirty rotten creep and bury him the in the jailhouse!!
If Number 2 is your kind of movie, then you need to watch New Jack City. Have you watched this movie? Then you know the answer to this trivia question. * * *
Which scripture was often quoted in “New Jack City”.
I recently read an article about female philosophers who were contemporaries with the male philosophers in the ancient world like Aristotle, Epicurius, Socrates, etc. ("Wise Women: 6 Ancient Female Philosophers You Should Know About") I did know one of the women philosophers named in the article: Hypatia. I knew of her because I saw a movie about her. Rachel Weisz played the part.
I love Rachel Weisz. She is a fantastic actress. But I did not like this movie. Of course, Ms. Weisz did a fantastic of playing the role of Hypatia. What I did not like about the movie was that it was the story of a real life human being and her ending in the movie was horrific! What was worse? When I did more research on the real woman, it turns out the movie did not really show what happened to this woman. The Hollywood version of her death was horrible. But what they did to her in real life was much much worse. Why did she have to die that way when she had really done nothing worthy of death? I don't want to explain it. It's too graphic. I give this movie a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
This blog post is about one of my favorite Indian actors, Aamir Khan. It's
fair to say that he is one of the first Indian actors I came to know
who made me want to watch more Indian and Hindi cinema, even though
they have to be English subtitled. His full name is Mohammed Aamir
Hussain Khan. He started his career as a child actor.
“In
2001, he founded Aamir Khan Productions, whose first release, Lagaan,
was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
and earned him a National Film Award for Best Popular Film and two
more Filmfare Awards (Best Actor and Best Film).” (Quote Source:
Wikipedia)
My first favorite AK film? Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) –
As far as the story line goes: There are people living in this small
Indian village being oppressed by the British rulers. One of the men
in the village is Bhuvan (plyed by Aamir Khan). He challenges this
arrogant British guy, Captain Andrew Russell (played by Paul
Blackthorne) to a game of cricket. If he wins, the Brits can't
collect any taxes. Well the Captain is so certain that he will win,
he agrees. The villagers are wondering if Bhuvan has LOST HIS MIND!
He doesn't know how to play cricket!! The captain's sister,
Elizabeth Russell (played by Rachel Shelley) knows her brother is a
proud, crude and cruel jerk! She also knows the villagers don't know
the rules of the game. So she secretly teaches Bhuvan and the
villagers how to play the game so that at least they have a chance of
winning. I am not really familiar with any of Aamir Khan's work
before this film was released. I liked the movie for its historical
value; but also because it was the film that introduced me to this
cultured and refined actor. He really left a lasting impression. By
the way, the word “Lagaan” means “tax”. This movie has won
several awards. It was even nominated for an Oscar in the category
of Best Foreign Language Film.
My second favorite AK film? Fanaa (2006) – A painfully beautiful
love story; emphasis on the pain part. A young man, Rehan Qadri
(played by Aamir Khan) meets a blind girl, Zooni Ali Beg (played by
Kajol). He falls in love and pays for her to have eye surgery to
regain her vision. The surgery is successful ONLY … she does not
know who paid for the operation and she never knew what Rehan looked
like. When they meet again, she falls in love with him not realizing
that he was the one helped her regain her eyesight. They get married
and have a son. The problem is that she does not know her husband is
linked to a terrorist organization. When she finally realizes it she
is faced with a major decision. Should she report her husband, the
father of her child, to the law enforcement authorities so they can
capture him? The story was so tragic yet so touching and beautiful.
I was extremely moved by the performances of both Aamir Khan, and his
leading lady, Kajol.
It was a slow night and I was ready to doze off but couldn't quite get to sleep. I wanted to be entertained but not burdened with the sorrow of a tragedy or excited by the suspenseful intensity of a mystery or a thriller. I just needed something to watch and fall asleep afterward. Found a Jackie Chan movie that did the trick. Kung Fu Yoga (2017). I didn't fall asleep on it though. I watched it all the way to the end.
Per The Hollywood Reporter*, this India-China co-production project received negative reviews for perpetuating stereotypes. I think that criticism is valid. However, if you just want to not take life too seriously, kick back, chill out, and be entertained, add this movie to your watch list.
They should at least get an A+ for figuring out how to work martial arts action scenes into it and for the fact that the movie was somewhat educational as well as entertaining. It addressed the links between the histories of ancient China and ancient India.
If you're already a Jackie Chan fan you know to expect some lighthearted comedy. However, if the critics were expecting something different, then I can understand their disappointment.
*REF: Jackie Chan's 'Kung-Fu Yoga' Slammed by Indian Critics for Perpetuating Stereotypes by Nyay Bhushan; 2/5/2017 : hollywoodreporter.com/news/jackie-chans-kung-fu-yoga-slammed-by-indian-critics-perpetuating-stereotypes-972335
*
*
Well! Everyone is entitled to their opinions. I used to watch a cartoon series with one of my kids and as far as giving out ratings for “adorable cuteness” this cartoon has maintained the Number One spot on my list for years. However, "Kung Fu Yoga" bumped it from its spot.
I gave this film gets 5 out of 5 stars for adorable cuteness.
Why? The final scene. Don't want to spoil it if you haven't seen the movie, but that last scene in the movie booted "Kung Fu Yoga" straight to the top of my Adorable Cuteness Entertainment List.
I kind of feel bad adding this movie as my random movie pick. If somebody were to ask me should they watch the movie "Don't Look Up", I would be tempted to say DON'T LOOK AT IT!!
But since I know I'm old school, I would just say watch it and judge for yourself. It has been described or labeled as a "Social Issue Drama", even though it is a comedy. ll a very bad comedy. It was ridiculously funny but it didn't really make me laugh.
27th Annual Critics Choice NomineeI
The movie is on Netflix. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and Meryl Streep.
You would think that with an all-star cast like this that the movie would be FREAKING AWESOME!
Instead ... the movie was ... kind of stupid! Although ... I GET IT!
I get that the movie was saying that human beings are STUPID!!
The film made fun of American politics, and of social media and of other foolish
things that are so prevalent and important in 1st world countries like memes and celebrity couple break-ups. The plot was old
and boring. As always there's a scientist or scientists who have the
science to prove that a major disaster is headed our way ... in this
case it's a "planet killer" ... but the priority of the idiot
politicians is whether or not they will get enough votes to win the next
election.
WHO CARES IF THE WORLD WILL END??
The
funniest part of the movie to me was "the ship". If you have not
watched the movie I don't want to tell you what that is because it will
spoil it for you.
I love to read The Guardian . They have the most interesting content on just about every topic you can think of. I especially like their entertainment section and lists they publish like this one:
I'm not saying it's a bad list or ranking. I'm just saying ... when it comes to gangster movies nothing tops "The Godfather". Not even the sequels, The Godfather II and III. That horse head in the bed scene? I'm never gonna forget about it! When it comes to mobster movies, "The Godfather" is the best of the best. Just sayin'.
If you enjoy books adapted to film, then you will probably enjoy the film “Life of Pi”. It was based on a book by the same name and was released in 2012. Now it is streaming online at various sites.
For me, part of enjoying a film is knowing some of the “behind the scenes” entertainment history and trivia; especially, information about the casting decisions. For example:
Who decided to choose an unknown Indian teenager and cast him in the starring role?
Wouldn’t you like to know? Well here’s the scoop.
Ang Lee chose Suraj Sharma, an unknown teenage Indian actor to portray Pi Patel, in the film adaptation of the novel, “Life of Pi”.
■ Suraj Sharma played the character Pi as a young boy. The late Irraf Kahn (1967-2020), a well-known Indian actor, was cast in the role of the adult Pi.
When one hears the name “Ang Lee”, the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” almost immediately comes to mind. But most people know that Ang Lee is an award-winning contemporary filmmaker who has garnered international recognition, with an impressive filmography resume. Ang Lee is a Taiwanese-American director, producer, writer and more, with over 60 film titles to his credit. So it’s understandable that there was a flurry of buzz and excitement when his fans learned that he would direct “Life of Pi”.
As briefly mentioned, Ang Lee’s film project, “Life of Pi”, is based on a best selling novel by the same name written by Yann Martel. The Man Booker Prize is considered the world’s most important literary award. Each year, it endorses the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book. Yann Martel’s book won this award in 2002. Life of Pi has a simple storyline. Pi Patel, a teenage boy, survives a shipwreck and is left on a small boat with a tiger.
Perhaps the part about the tiger makes it a little less simple. Conveniently, Pi happens to possess a comprehensive detailed knowledge of animal behavior and an ardent love of stories, which are all the life skills he needs to survive, and he does. Until he kissed thr shores, he lives at sea for 227 days with a big Bengal Tiger.
With this fantasy adventure, Canadian author Yann Martel proved his worth as a master story teller; and Ang Lee proved he had the ability to capture this vivid and thought-provoking tale on film.
For Ang Lee to take notice is extremely high praise for anyone’s written work. Yann Martel was no doubt humbled, honored and ecstatic that the brilliant Ang Lee brought his novel to the screen.
For Ang Lee to cast you – an unknown, a newcomer – to play the leading part in his film adaptation of an award-winning novel – is surely a dream come true for any aspiring actor. Particularly an actor, with no acting experience. Suraj Sharma was 17 years old, an Indian actor and student from New Delhi, who beat out more than 3,000 challengers.
After a worldwide casting search for the “perfect Pi”, Suraj Sharma was selected to play the role of the teenaged Pi, the zookeeper’s son. How did he do it? How did Suraj Sharma manage to catch the eye of Ang Lee? According to Mr. Lee, it was his eyes. Mr. Lee was quoted as having said: Sharma has a natural talent to convey emotions through his eyes.
Apart from expressive eyes, what does Suraj Sharma have? Below are a few biographical facts about Suraj Sharma:
The name “Suraj” is Hindi meaning “sun”. His surname is a common name for many Hindu Indians. Suraj Sharma’s parents are both mathematicians in Delhi.
Before being chosen to play the lead role in “Life of Pi”, he was just your average teenager, a Class XII humanities student of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, who enjoyed playing practical jokes.
He dumped his first girlfriend (according to his girlfriend) after making all kinds of promises to include her in his rise to stardom, fame, and fortune.
For the audition, Suraj Sharma read out the ‘Survival Manual’ from Chapter 58 of the book. A little background info: In Chapter 58 of the novel by Yann Martel, the Manual is included with the lifeboat supplies. Even though Pi is beginning to despair because it appears his situation is hopeless, he nevertheless determines that practical advice contained in the book is what he will need to keep himself alive, i.e. to survive. Therefore, he must read it.
And read it, he did! Not just with his lips but with his eyes, winning the approval of Ang Lee and his casting crew.
· Suraj is very photogenic. Pi had to be a teenaged boy of “medium complexion”, a “fairly well-developed physique”, say between 5’6” and 6’ tall. He had to not only act the part of Pi, but look the part as well.
· When the news broke about Ang Lee’s selection of Suraj Sharma for the leading role in “Life of Pi”, it was reported by the BBC, Washington Times, The Times of India, Bollywood Hungama News Network, TamilWire Forum, and the EuroInvestor (U.K.), to name just a few of the publications.Suraj Sharma made his acting debut in the company of veteran actors Gerard Depardieu (the Frenchman-Chef), Adil Hussain (Pi’s father), Irrfan Khan* (the elderly or adult Pi), and Tabu (Pi’s mother). In addition, Tobey Maguire (of Spider-Man fame) played a small role as a journalist who interviews the adult Pi (Irrfan Khan) about his experience.
The movie “Life of Pi” was successful at the box office as well as the award shows. Sharma’s performance received many positive reviews. In fact, he was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award (British Academy of Film and Television Arts).
Suraj Sharma has continued his acting career playing parts in both Indian and American movies and television shows. His latest endeavor is a TV series called “Little America” which was released January 2020.
Have you watched “Life of Pi”?
Have you followed Suraj Sharma’s acting career?
* In Memory Of: Irrfan Khan (1967 - 2020)
NOTE: This is my original content previously published at Article Writing Jobs (articlewritingjobs.com)
If you were to ask any Brando fan to name their favorite Brando movies, I seriously doubt that "The Ugly American" would be on anybody's list. Nevertheless, I'm recommending this movie. Why? Because ...
The novel “The Ugly American” was published in 1958 and in 1963, the book was adapted to film by Universal Pictures. Marlon Brando (1924 – 2004) played the part of Ambassador Harrison Carter MacWhite. Many critics gave Brando great reviews for his acting; however other critics did not have praise for either the movie or Brando. If you're a fan, you can watch this movie on YouTube, in English, with Spanish subtitles and decide for yourself.
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