Category Archives: Hollywood

Zero Dark Thirty – Exposing the CIA’s Inner Secrets – a Film Review by Rob Simone

Zero Dark Thirty – Exposing the CIA’s inner Secrets – a Film Review by Rob Simone

I recently saw a screening of Kathryn Bigelow’s new film Zero Dark 30,
it chronicles the CIA’s efforts to track down Osama bin Laden in the wake of the 9/11 tragedies.

The movie starts with an audio montage of the emergency calls from 9/11. The screen is black and only the audio is heard. I think Catherine Bigelow did this because she did not want people to see the same news footage that we have been watching over the course of the decade. I think she wanted people to internalize 9/11 and relate to it in their own way.

zero

From that point on we see we the painstaking efforts of the CIA through torture, bribery and high-tech surveillance to track down Osama bin Laden’s courier, Abu Ahmad al Kuwaiti.
While the events leading up to and carrying out the assassination of Osama bin Laden are known, the behind the scenes political espionage and tactical operation of the mission is not.

The film shows in great detail the torturing of many Al Qaeda suspects. Including water boarding, sleep deprivation and much more. The Central Intelligence Agency objected to the film, stating that there are many inaccuracies. But it seems to me, that is something they would have to do, because if they left this film unchallenged, it would be a quiet acknowledgment of the films accuracy.

I think what the CIA most objects to is how accurately they used psychology as a weapon.

This has been something that is a cornerstone of the CIA…using assets, gathering information and manipulating people all over the world to suit their immediate and long-term needs.

At one point the Young CIA agent responsible for tracking down bin Laden, known only as Maya, played by Jessica Chastain, is sitting across the table from Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense. Mr. Panetta asked her if she knew why she was recruited to the CIA right out of high school. Maya replied “I don’t think I’m allowed to say…” This is a strange answer considering the director would’ve had a much higher clearance than she would.

What could be the possible reasons that she would be unable to disclose the reasons why she was recruited at such a young age? (or why the film could not)

It could be that she came from the CIA family, whose brothers or parents worked in sensitive positions. It could also be alluding to some far-reaching CIA program that has its tentacles woven within the academic system all across United States. This system could be tracking identifying traits and characteristics of adolescents and teenagers that suit particular positions within the agency.

The objections of the CIA to the film’s detailed depiction of their torture techniques and eavesdropping technology could be because it was too accurate.

A DVD quality copy is already on the Internet, on free streaming and downloading websites. This could have been done by the agency as a penalty measure for their disapproval of the film’s accuracy…?

All in all this film shows that foreign diplomacy, defense, intelligence gathering is a messy dirty murderous job and people don’t like to think of that reality. Everyone likes sausages they just don’t like to see how it’s made, and in this case the sausage is America’s continued dominance, surveillance, agenda of our foreign economic and strategic interests and the quote “war on terror.”
Continue reading

Kirsten Dunst new film Melancholia Fear-Mongering you with 2012 Nibiru Apocalypse

Kirsten Dunst new film Melancholia Fear-Mongering you with 2012 Nibiru Apocalypse
A new Hollywood film, “Melancholia” by the controversial director Lars von Trier, which in 2009 angered the Catholic church with his disgusting Anti-Christ film, is now set to push the doctrine of the 2012 Nibiru Apocalypse continues. Although the planet in 2011 Melancholia film is called “Melancholia” and Nibiru, all you need to do is rename part of Nibiru Planet Melancholia, and there it is, it is exactly the same story rouge giant planet colliding with Earth.

Planet miraculously override the Sun without getting sucked in and totally “eaten up” due to the Sun’s gravity and the big giant planet’s gravity.

Although most people do not take these films seriously doomsday, however, an alarming number of false and manipulated people who firmly believe that 2012 is the end of the world no matter what. For these people, 2012 is an undeniable fact, some even above religion, and speaking of religion, this day, 2012 is not a religious basis whatsoever. The Vatican has criticized this nutcase Apocalypse 2012 on numerous occasions.

There are many doomsday scenarios: zombies, vampires, viral outbreak, Alien Invasion, rouge planets, asteroids, World War 3, etc., but in this particular scenario, with the rogue planet Nibiru is dangerous to our society, because it has killed dozens of people.

In addition, a stupid and harmful apocalyptic story, the film Melancholia “to take good care” of the family and promote a healthy lifestyle by having Kirsten Dunst character (Justine) betrays her husband on their wedding night is.

Why 2012 instead of 2000?
Simple, because 2000 has already passed away, and nothing happened. Apocalypse 2000 Maniacs, said at the time that the world will end in 2001 because they mistakenly 2000, but passed over in 2001. Later, they claimed to be the world “definitely” will end 06.06.2006, because it is a “Satanic day,” but here we are, alive and well. “Apocalypse” hit us hard just 3 days ago, remember? 11/11/2011 It is a series of bad events were also to be expected. 2012 runs just like 2000 passed, and nothing like this happens.

Now, why 2012? Since the Mayan calendar is ending on that particular day, but what does it mean anyway? If the Mayans have made a huge calendar year 1000000 AD just so people today can live a relaxed and not thinking about “the end”? In 2012, the Mayan calendar was to simply move to the next baktun which is nothing more than a simple continuity of the calendar, but because there is no surviving Mayan calendar continues, we are left with this doomsday fear-mongering propaganda.

Although the film Melancholia is not defined in the year 2012 followers are certainly pleased with this movie to work with, “What’s to come in 2012.” This is not the first such film, in 2009, TGE 2012 film completely “ready” people in Apocalypse.

There is no evidence of such a rogue / Lost Planet from either NASA, Russia, Chile, China, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom or in any other country in the world with high-tech telescopes, but yes, of course, it’s all a conspiracy of the government in 2012 to say nutcase followers If only governments can be seen and to establish this fictional Lost Planet. Nibiru is supposedly the whole Gas giant planet Jupiter or Saturn, but such a large planet, which is now apparently only one years away from us, can easily become a journalist using a simple telescope at home.

2012 Mania has got to stop now, before it creates more victims
Not all people in this world are rational and capable of understanding that the 2012 Apocalypse mania is simply one of the production. Some have committed suicide (mainly teens), because they do not want to die for the masses in 2012. So they wanted to be “special” and to die alone, before the “big event in 2012,” just like John from Melancholia who committed suicide. Imagine how many suicides take place next year.

Others have started to prepare for this “future events” by building bunkers and supply them with food and water. Although the building bunker in these non-stop wars is not necessarily a bad thing to do, certainly in 2012 may not be the reason to build a bunker.

So what is the reason for creating all this hype, some may ask. The reason is simple: money. Impressions in December 2012 doomsday or a cosmic-shift event (complete fabrication) is a good opportunity for a lot of people cash in the 2009 apocalyptic science-fiction disaster film “2012” was based on this belief, and now, “Melancholia” too.

Why believe in Nibiru so desperate as part of convincing non-believers to believe that the world will end in 2012? Is this faith is going to change anything, even though in theory such a planet would be there? Even if such a planet was a real and recognized by all authorities in the world would not be anything we could do to prevent it. Although the dwarf or a small planet such as Mercury or Mars would be going towards our direction, we could not stop it with all the weapons available in the entire world. We just want to damage and scratch the surface, but we are not able to blow the planet to pieces, let alone to stop a giant planet like Jupiter or Saturn, which is 1000 times larger than Earth. It’s like an ant vs dinosaur. If such a planet should be our way, the country would be absorbed / eaten a giant planet, just like a man eating an apple and an apple can not do anything about it, although it acknowledges that it will be eaten. No one would survive, nothing will matter. So it does not matter if people believe that Nibiru or not, because of their beliefs does not change anything.

However, people believe in Nibiru needed to buy books, newspapers, and watch movies, so that the people who run this idea, can prey on people’s naivety and cash in.

Although this is not the only Apocalypse Sci Fi scenario in the world, the problem is that this one has claimed too many lives.

Beware that if this story reaches 2012 local believers (relatives, friends, neighbors, co-workers) to resurrect them, it is very possible that more lives will be claimed Nibiru through suicide.

‘Hatchet II’ Joins These Controversial Films with Rare Theatrical Release

Filed under: , , , , , , , , ,

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the NC-17 rating, invented by the MPAA to separate certain graphic yet non-pornographic films from the seedy connotations of the X rating. But the new classification immediately had its own stigma and many theater chains and video stores wouldn’t carry films with the NC-17 mark. So then some films that didn’t want to cut content to receive an R rating went out to cinemas unrated. Unfortunately, many chains were also unwelcome to circumvention of the MPAA. Now AMC Theatres, which has long been one of those against booking films lacking classification, is opening its screens (around 60 locations) to the horror sequel ‘Hatchet II,’ which makes this the widest opening for an unrated film in 25 years.

Of course this decision comes via the accessible horror genre rather than through something more “adult” or sex-centric like a Todd Solondz, John Waters or Harmony Korine, or even an Adrian Lyne or Paul Verhoeven. But will the erotic stuff be treated as fairly as the violent and gory? It’s assumed that following the October 1 release of ‘Hatchet II,’ the also-unrated horror release ‘I Spit on Your Grave’ will be booked in similar fashion. Then what? If the first title is successful — and I think it has a good shot at being the highest-grossing unrated film of all time — can we expect filmmakers to actually start trying to garner an NC-17 just to then go out unrated? Will films that wouldn’t even receive an NC-17 exploit the sudden approval by going unrated anyway? It could get as bad as the present situation with unrated DVD editions, which are rarely worth their ironic marketing gimmick.

After the jump lets look at some of the more notable films that were distributed unrated and see how they performed.

Continue Reading

‘Legend of the Guardians’ Screenwriter John Orloff on Creating ‘Lord of the Rings’ for Kids

Filed under: , ,

Even for the most astute or open-minded moviegoer, there are few films that share less in common with ‘A Mighty Heart’ and ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.’ And yet, both of these films were written for the screen by the same person: John Orloff. But looking more deeply at the animated film, it bears many of the same qualities, not the least of which being characters who are sympathetic, driven, and idealistic, even though one is an owl, and the other is Angelina Jolie.

Cinematical recently caught up with Orloff via telephone to discuss ‘Legend of the Guardians,’ which is being released in theaters this weekend. In addition to talking about the challenges of adapting a book about owls into a movie for human beings, he examined the logistics of bringing the characters to life for director Zack Snyder, and addressed the idea of making a movie that was faithful to the intensity of the source material, but still manages to be family-friendly enough to attract audiences of all ages.

Continue Reading

‘Nightline’ Beats Leno, Letterman In 2009-2010 Ratings

The Letterman-Leno rivalry may get the most attention, but in the past year, ABC’s “Nightline” has become the real late-night ratings champion.

Ratings for the 2009-2010 period were released Thursday, and “Nightline” emerged as the late night ratings leader for the first time in fifteen years. The news show–which ABC once seemed close to canceling–drew 3.71 million viewers, with 1.54 million in the coveted A25-54 demo.

CBS’ “The Late Show With David Letterman,” which benefited from the turmoil of the Leno-Conan O’Brien troubles at NBC, came in second. Letterman drew 3.63 million total viewers, and tied with “Nightline” in the demo.

NBC’s “The Tonight Show” beat its two rivals in the demo, with 1.65 million viewers. But it fell to third place in total viewers, with 3.5 million tuning in.

ABC News, which produces “Nightline,” celebrated the ratings news on Thursday.

“This is a very proud day for all of us at ABC News,” James Goldston, executive producer of the show, said in a statement.

Read more: David Letterman, Late Night Shows, TV Ratings, Late Show, Nightline, ABC News, Tonight Show, Jay Leno, Media News

Does Hollywood Need to “Win Back” its Audience?

Filed under: , , ,

On any slow news day, you can count on some major publication busting out a “death of Hollywood” story. This week, it’s the Guardian, whose Jeremy Kay has a piece entitled “Hollywood Must Plot a New Course to Win Back its Audience.” The gist: Hollywood is on the decline and has to come up with some game-changing plan to forestall its downfall.

Of course, this doomsaying comes at the end of the highest-revenue summer in movie history. Not discouraged, Kay nonetheless claims that the American movie industry is in trouble — why? As best I can tell, a couple of reasons. First: the movies this summer were bad. Well, yeah, by and large they weren’t great. (Curiously, he cites the exceedingly not-great Iron Man 2as a counter-example.) On the other hand, Inception, one of the summer’s biggest hits, was maybe the most ambitious and challenging tentpole blockbuster ever. Toy Story 3 was a near-masterpiece that busted all demographic barriers. Was there more than the usual number of stinkers? Slightly, probably. Was there a glut of franchise flicks and sequels? Yes, as has been the case for years. Does this suggest a systemic problem, or a new one? I don’t see how.

Second: attendance is down — 552 million tickets sold, the lowest since 1997 (540 million). (Here is the source for this.) First, this is a blip; by way of comparison, 563 million tickets were sold in 2005. Nothing to write home about during a by-all-accounts weak movie summer, especially since revenues increased. Second, weekly movie attendance has been declining in this country since 1930. Let’s not sound the alarms now.

Continue reading Does Hollywood Need to “Win Back” its Audience?

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Toronto Fest Programmer Colin Geddes on Midnight Movies … and Madness

Filed under: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

There’s an old saying that all film journalists are just frustrated filmmakers who couldn’t break into the business. And while I certainly think directing a film would be an awesome experience, to be totally honest, I’d rather have Colin Geddes‘ job. If you’re a horror nut like me, and love Midnight Movies and the Toronto International Film Festival, Geddes is the guy you’re going to want to get acquainted with. Having held the job for over a decade, Geddes has helped bring films like Martyrs and Hostel to appreciative festival audiences. As he prepares for yet another TIFF (you can keep up to speed with the event by checking out the official Midnight Madness blog — where you’ll find interviews, details about the films, and more … ), Mr. Geddes was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to chat with us about what it’s like to program for one of the greatest film festivals in the world.

Continue reading Toronto Fest Programmer Colin Geddes on Midnight Movies … and Madness

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Telluride Review: Black Swan

Filed under: , , , , , , ,

It’s fitting that Darren Aronofsky had to struggle for years to get Black Swan made. A movie about a ballerina’s agonizing quest for perfection might seem a little hollow if it were effortlessly cranked out on the Hollywood assembly line; Black Swan, on the other hand, has the marks of a passion project. You can practically see the metaphorical blood oozing from Aronofsky’s swollen directorial feet.

Black Swan is a wholly engrossing, almost unbearably tense drama about a fairly mundane thing: backstage anxiety in the performing arts. Countless movies have addressed the same subject, but I feel safe in saying none have addressed it in quite this way. Aronofsky, working from a screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz, shows a knack for combining genres in a most unsettling fashion. Here you’ll find psychological thrills, body horror, sexual awakening, symbolic self-discovery, hallucinatory trickery, and the terrifying calf muscles of ballet dancers, all in one movie.

Continue reading Telluride Review: Black Swan

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Louis C.K. Talks Terrible NYC Public Schools (VIDEO)

UPDATE: HuffPost Comedy mistook this Louis C.K. appearance on Leno in which he wore a black t-shirt and made fun of children (which actually aired in June of this year) for his September 3 appearance on Leno in which wore a black t-shirt and made fun of children. The words “last night” below are incorrect, but everything else is true. We regret the error.

PREVIOUSLY: Hilarious comedian, “Louie” star, and recent drunk tweeter Louis C.K. went on “The Tonight Show” last night, and dished out some material on his two daughters’ NYC public school. C.K. told some hilarious and frightening stories about the times he’s volunteered during lunch time, when 300 kids are dining and “one Jamaican lady is watching all of them.”

One of the funniest parts of the interview was when C.K. reacted sarcastically after getting a lot of laughs talking about some of the school kids’ deathly peanut allergies, and again when he mentioned free lunch for low income students. Leno’s audience had some interesting reactions.

On another interesting note, the second guest on “The Tonight Show” last night was Bristol Palin. We wonder if there was an awkward moment since the subject of C.K.’s recent drunk Twitter rant was Bristol’s mom, Sarah Palin.

WATCH:

Read more: Louis c.k. On Tonight Show, Louis c.k. School Lunch, Tonight Show, Louis c.k. On Leno, Funny Videos, Louis c.k. Daughters, Comedy News

‘Going The Distance’ Co-Star Charlie Day On Being Relatable and Not Sleeping with Jennifer Aniston

Filed under: , , , , , ,

Anyone who has seen It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia even once knows Charlie Day. His character on the show, also named Charlie, is an unforgettable combination of vulnerability, rage and abject stupidity, and virtually every episode includes at least one or two choice “Charlie moments” in which Day offers an observation, idea or even just a shriek or two that is idiotically, irresistibly hilarious. This week marks Day’s first major opportunity since Sunny started to bring his Charlie-style charm to the big screen, as he plays Dan, a predictably dim-witted buddy to Justin Long in the romantic comedy Going the Distance.

Cinematical sat down with Day at the recent Los Angeles press day for Going the Distance. In addition to talking about the shades of difference between Charlie and Dan, Day talked about maintaining a balance between characters that are empathetic and just plain idiotic, and examined the challenges of expanding his repertoire to include a larger variety of roles both in films and on television.

Continue reading ‘Going The Distance’ Co-Star Charlie Day On Being Relatable and Not Sleeping with Jennifer Aniston

Permalink | Email this | Comments