Established 1914 - Movies and Media

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Established 1914
Clearwater's Oldest Newspaper

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Movies and Media

Elvira Morgan Recomends

‎"Dolphin Tale" is a major motion picture that will be released in September and was filmed last year in and around downtown Clearwater, Florida. The film stars Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Nathan Gamble, Kris Kristofferson, and of course our own Clearwater Marine Aquarium resident "Winter the Dolphin".

The website is http://dolphintalemovie.warnerbros.com/index.html

Dolphin Tale trailers and video clips on Yahoo! Movies

BATTLE: LA

How do you kill an alien?
by Alan Rosen

If you want to kill an alien you capture a wounded one and cut him up while he's alive. Probe with your knife point until you find his weakest point. The heart is just to the right of where you would expect it to be - and then slice and dice it! Dick Chaney would have been proud.

Got an armed alien on your Humvee windshield? Point your weapon at that oddly located vital organ and pull the trigger. A Latina air force chick who shoots straight did this, dispatching one of the beasts dead set on colonizing Earth. But the blow back of gore and alien blood was all over her. She complained "Ahhhhh. I've got that nasty stuff on my lips." The leatherneck driving the Humvee didn't lose a beat. "Yeah and on your first date, too."

It's a standard war story that could be set in any battle in any era. Everything fit the genre. The story is enthralling and the entertainment level is quite adequate. It won't knock your socks off, but it won't disappoint either. Great fare for anybody who likes battle pics.

"Never quit" is the Marine motto. And the Devil Dogs in this story never do. Aaron Eckhart, a man who is probably considered too handsome for many roles, looked and acted perfectly as a marine sergeant who saves the world.

Julie & Julia - REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED WITH BUTTER

This observation is a twist on "Living well is the best revenge," and is well proven with the sucess of both title characters. Julia Child wrote the cook book that went into 40 plus printings. Julie Powell cooked every recipe in it and wrote about the experience in a blog - a a kind of Paris meets the outer boroughs.

Julia and a French cookbook collaborator (shown in the vignette above) are waiting for Julia's beloved pen pal, Avis, who submitted her first manuscript to a publisher.

"Loved it! Non stop enthusiasm... Academy Award material." The steady stream of comments heard from the exiting audience at the end of the movie told it like it was. -

Kathy Baird

The Taking of Pelham 123: This is a remake of the classic flick by Palomar. Can't breathe a word of it though, there would be diminishment. This Travolta-Denzel remake is as good as the WalterMatthau-Robert Shaw original, which oddly is available for streaming on the Internet. See it. See them both!! - Alan Rosen

The Hangover: Normally not the kind of flick we would go see. But Yahoo reported that the fans and the critics gave it good marks. So we went. It was funny, really funny and had me laughing as hard as I did as a kid in Jerry Lewis movies. Told in retrospect with good follow-up and setup throughout.

Bradley Cooper's breakout role. Not for your mother, kids, prudes or the sensitive. Bawdy, baby! - Tiki Parrot

Flash of Genius:

Spends too much time on the emotional, when it could have gone more deeply into the creative, technical and legal aspects. The inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper gets vengeance and millions from Big Auto Makers at the expense of his family life. Greg Kinnear came through with great acting. Definitely worth the rental.

Seven Pounds: Mystery layered on top of mystery. A writers challenge, but they pulled it off!. It would be a disservice to say anything about the movie itself to avoid spoiling the surprise - as was done by the New York Times in awarding the movie a undeserved F grade. But the Times has been issuing false reports. Let's just leave it that marine biology, rocket science, MIT, diet and romance all play a role. It was the first time we every had three ushers corner us on the way out of the theater to discuss plotting. They liked it and so will you.

Valkyrie: Plays like a good spy flick with strong performances. An enjoyable, heavy but worth-seeing movie. Tom Cruise's American accent does seem odd against the British accents of the other actors, but having him do an English accent would not have worked. Great sets, direction and acting all around.

Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler was a surprise treat! Part of the trend of family movies that have been coming on strong the past year or so. The trailer did not do it justice, and, in a sea of competitive holiday dreck it was a delight.

Pablo and Kat McGregor

"Soul Men" We're Dying As Soon As We're Crying

"I hope he didn't die of anything serious" and "Niagra goes down; Viagra goes up" are two jokes you won't hear in this gem from M.G.M. (right) with Bernie Mac, Sam Jackson supported by Issac Hayes.

The critics from New York really liked and really hated this movie. A.O. Scott of the New York Times called it a raucous comedy and he's right. Lou Lumenick of the New York Post treats it as a morbid posthumous piece and he's wrong.

The movie's premise is based on death, which is ironic in view of the death of Mr. Mac and Mr. Hayes. But both were working until shortly before their deaths, a good way to go. Don't read the Post review, it gives too much away. Just go see the flick. It's the best movie released in Clearwater this week. - Pablo

Clint's "Vision and style

...never wavers and only gets better."

This excerpt from Yahoo's Jim Basil about Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" is right on the money. Roger Ebert of the Chicago-Sun Times loved it for the feelings of emotion it created in him. None of Yahoo's 12 major critics hated it, but a few were lukewarm, yet still moved. The face of Angelina Jolee "Belongs on stained glass as much as it does on the movie screen" according to Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe.

It's not a slasher movie. But it does portray ax murders, death by hanging, psychiatric abuse and torture, non-consensual body cavity search, kidnapping by homicidal maniacs, kidnapping by L.A. policemen, retail theft, deportation, false impersonation, and a lack of due process of law.

The dialog was a bit expository, but is offset by superb direction, acting, set dressing, costumes, lighting, music and sets.

That's not my boy!

Don't make the mistake that this shows what life was like "Back then."

It's the perfect movie for people to learn what life is like now.

Psychiatric hospitals have been closed down for abuse in more recent years. O.J. may have been acquitted because the police tried to frame a guilty man. In fact, the courts have ruled against incarceration without due process in 2008.

Pablo and Kat McGregor, Senior Reporters for Exemplary Arts

“You disappoint me Junior. Deeply disappoint me.”

James Cromwell, in the part of George H.W. Bush, aptly sets the theme for this moving picture from Oliver Stone. E'Review’s Chris Farnsworth hated it and called it a “Overlong SNL sketch.” Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times loved it as a “Tragedy of a victim of the Peter Principle.” I think the truth lies somewhere in between.

After an arrest at Yale, George W. Bush, calls his father for a bailout, a recurring theme in the movie.

Jeffrey Wright portrays Colin Powell as the voice of reason in a sea of “f****** crazies” (General Powell’s actual words, not mine.) The (anatomically explicit gerund deleted) crazies are the icing on the cake. Richard Dreyfuss is Dick Cheney. He has the voice, mannerism and the makeup nailed. Thandie Newton looks exactly like Condoleezza Rice and portrays her subservience perfectly. Toby Jones makes Karl Rove, called “Turd Blossom” by W., almost human.

     Josh Brolin’s portrayal of President Bush completes the characterizations, giving the viewer an intimate look at how he ascended to the oval office and ran things when he was there. Mr. Stone took much less artistic license here than he has in his past works. It is not a fun West-Wingish look at the presidency, but it is fascinating; a good piece of work.

     Mr. Stone makes it all happen with respect and without trashing the title character; a remarkable feat when you consider the efforts Mr. Bush made in that direction.

     In a time when the country faces the very real possibility of being led into Armageddon in a flurry of religious fervor, this movie comes as a clarion call to voters who should use their minds, not their fears, when they slowly darken the large bubbles on Pinellas County ballots Tuesday.

Alan Rosen, Movie Editor

A wealth of moviemaking information. To buy call Kathy at 727-686-9903.

Notice - The Tiki Culture Duo is no longer accepting engagements due to the recent death of Flautist - Composer Claude Kennedy (Master of Arts in Composition USF).

His bassist is in the Master of Fine Arts in Music and Sound Design program at San Francisco's Academy of Arts U.

TIKIadEdit

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Established 1914
Clearwater's Oldest Newspaper

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