Bright FuturaBrainy And Famous: Celebrities With Degrees
Posted on November 3, 2011
Maybe they’re just lucky, or maybe they sold their souls like Faust to achieve their wild success. Whatever the case may be, it is not fair that these people exist. You will be asking yourself “What am I doing with my life” in 5…4…3…2..
1. James Franco
Although the idea of becoming a marine zoologist interested him, Franco had always secretly wanted to become an actor but feared rejection. He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as an English major, but dropped out after his freshman year against his parents’ wishes to pursue a career as an actor, since he would have to have waited two years to audition for their acting program. Franco instead chose to take acting lessons with Robert Carnegie at the Playhouse West. Some time passes and James Franco becomes wildly successful. Talk About A Happy Ending! Continue Reading
STUDENT MOVIE REVIEW: DRIVE
Posted on October 27, 2011
“If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place. I give you a five-minute window, anything happens in that five minutes and I’m yours no matter what. I don’t sit in while you’re running it down; I don’t carry a gun… I drive.” Continue Reading
‘Real Steal’: Student Movie Review
Posted on October 11, 2011
In Shawn Levy’s “Real Steel,” the only difference between the world of today and that of tomorrow is the prevalence of fighting robots. No, not the kind bent on world domination—boxing robots. These hulking humanoid machines fight each other for our entertainment, and apparently haven’t yet entered their Skynet phase. The film, which features Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, and a breakout performance by 12-year-old Dakota Goyo, coasts on its evocative imagery and atmosphere, which mostly compensate for its rather pedestrian plot. Continue Reading
‘Take Shelter’: Review of Jeff Nichols Sophomore Film
Posted on October 3, 2011
TAKE SHELTER, the sophomore film from writer/director Jeff Nichols, whose previous film, Shotgun Stories, also starred Michael Shannon, is a dark psychological tale of Middle America and paranoia in a modern world.
Prophetic phantasmagoria · The main character of Take Shelter, Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon), is cursed with intense, prescient dreams that drive the film’s storyline, making the narrative a slow-burning psychological thriller grounded in a sense of tweaked realism. – Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics Continue Reading
REVIEW: ‘Lion’ still king of the jungle
Posted on September 27, 2011
IN 1994, “The Lion King” WAS RELEASED AS DISNEY’S 32ND ANIMATD FILM. THIS FEATURE-LENGTH CARTOON CARRIED ON THE RICH TRADITION OF DISNEY FILMS— of course characterized by memorable plots and characters ripped off from centuries-old sources (see works by the brothers Grimm, the Bible and Shakespeare) and harried parents ushering their screaming children into a darkened theater, praying for an hour-long distraction for their children under the guise of “family time.” In 1994, I was among these screaming children, about to experience a “movie theater” film for the first time. Continue Reading
Missouri Journalism School Dropped Out
Posted on September 24, 2011
NPR.org | The Maneater
On Thursday’s “Fresh Air” show, Brad Pitt talked with host Terry Gross about his days at the University of Missouri journalism school:
TG: You studied journalism in college. What did you expect to become?
BP: I wasn’t really sure. i was just investigating for myself — they have one of the best j-schools in the country. Continue Reading
MOVIE REVIEW: Contagion is more than the usual thriller
Posted on September 22, 2011
So there’s this thing called The Avengers…
Posted on September 20, 2011
by Vicky Fryer
Those of you of a less geeky disposition may be unaware of a project that has been unfolding in cinemas since 2008, a project which reaches its culmination next year with a superhero film that has the potential to change a great deal indeed: The Avengers. Quite simply, come early 2012, we will witness whether it is possible to join together several very different and reasonably successful films to make a larger and even more successful one. Needless to say, nothing like this has ever managed to make it to screen before. Continue Reading
Review: ‘Fright Night’
Posted on September 16, 2011
“Fright Night” lies somewhere between the genres of horror and comedy, a line difficult to walk. Overdo the jokes and the entire movie becomes a farce; fail to be funny enough, and all you’ve made is a bad horror movie. Surprisingly enough, though, “Fright Night” manages to toe that line with apparent ease, melding the genres to create a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience. Continue Reading
