Invictus

The most recent film to be made about South Africa, Invictus merges the story of Nelson Mandela’s opening year in office with the progress of the national rugby team in their bid to win the 1995 World Cup. The film documents Mandela’s attempts to use the success of the sports team to unite a country that has suffered from a rift for many years. Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon this was sure to be a box office hit for 2010. The World Cup final takes place in Cape Town, and during the build up the viewer is privy to some phenomenal shots of Table Mountain and the surrounding landscapes. Nominated for two Oscars and a Golden Globe, this film perfectly encapsulates South Africa’s history and tells the story of one its most famous leaders.

Blood Diamond

In Blood Diamond, you will see a slightly different side of South Africa and parts of this film are certainly not for the faint hearted. However, it relays an important message about the way in which many of the diamonds worn by westerners have been acquired. The movie is set in a number of locations, depicting small local villages, the city of Cape Town, and the forests and mountains surrounding the city. The lead role really gives Leonardo di Caprio the chance to test out a more rough and ready style of acting, though his South African accent can be questionable at times. Though this film is heart wrenching in some places and somewhat violent in others, it raises awareness about the blood diamonds that are being exported out of the country even now.

District 9

Mingling everyday life in South Africa with the arrival of extra terrestrials, this film focuses purely on fantasy. The film tells of the arrival of an enormous space ship over Cape Town, from which an entire race of aliens exit and set up home in slums on the outskirts of the city. In the course of the film, a government agent becomes exposed to the aliens’ biotechnology, and as he begins to slowly evolve into an extra terrestrial being himself, he begins to understand the plight of the aliens and fight their corner. Less of a depiction of South Africa’s history or contemporary life, this film focuses purely on the futuristic sci fi. However, as the camera pans out across the slums, the backdrop of Table Mountain never fails to impress. Nominated for 4 Oscars, District 9 is an interesting take on the South African lifestyle.

Boasting a wealth of interesting history, intriguing culture, and beautiful scenery, South Africa is not only an ideal topic for a film, but it is the perfect location for filming. Many box office bonanzas have been produced either on, or in, this fascinating location, and many more are yet to come.

Get Him to the Greek Movie Poster

Rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) releases a song about problems in Africa called “African Child.” The song and music video are seen as horrible and called “the worst thing to happen to Africa since apartheid.” The single seemingly ruins Snow’s career, and as a result he starts drinking and doing drugs excessively once again. His girlfriend Jackie Q (Rose Byrne), with whom he had a son named Naples, also leaves him, taking custody of Naples.

Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) is a driven, idealistic young college graduate who works as an intern at Pinnacle Records. He lives with his girlfriend Daphne (Elisabeth Moss), a doctor in her internship, but they do not get to see each other often due to her heavy work schedule. Pinnacle Records has lost a lot of money, so the head of the company, Sergio Roma (Sean “Diddy” Combs), asks for ideas. Green proposes to have Snow play at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for the tenth anniversary of a particularly famous performance there.

Sergio decides Green has a good idea, so he orders him to transport Snow from London, to an interview on the Today Show, then to the concert in Los Angeles. Before he leaves, Green has a fight with Daphne. She was offered a job in Seattle and wants to move there, but Green is hesitant to do so. Green has to leave to catch a flight, and he departs thinking they have broken up. When he arrives at London, he finds Snow is incredibly difficult and unwilling to listen to Green. As a result, they spend a long time out partying, constantly pushing their departure further and further back. Green has been trying to limit Snow’s narcotic intake, but is forced to let him do drugs and drink for fear that he won’t perform. Because of this, when they finally arrive at the Today Show, barely making the deadline, Green drinks and smokes as much as he can so Snow cannot. Although Snow originally wants to sing “African Child”, he forgets the words. Green, in his high and drunk stupor tries to assist him, but Snow simply changes the song. His performance is well accepted, and both Green and Snow feel better about future prospects.

While preparing to fly to Los Angeles, Snow forces Green to smuggle drugs in his rectum. During their travels and time in London and New York, Green learns that Snow has become miserable and lonely, as he misses his son and has not talked to his father in several years. Green shares his relationship troubles, and Snow encourages him to enjoy his time in Los Angeles. Giving advice to Snow, Green suggests he visits Jackie Q and his father and so the two make a stop in Las Vegas the night prior to the show to see Snow’s father. Sergio also arrives, wanting to help oversee the final proceedings. Green, on Sergio’s orders, leaves to have sex with a girl named Destiny, but she sodomizes him with a large dildo. He tells Snow and his father that he has been raped, so they encourage him to smoke a “Geoffrey”, a joint which is filled with many different drugs. Green starts believing he is having a heart attack, but the others are too high to help him. Snow has a fight with his father; Sergio jumps in, and their tussle ends up setting the club on fire. Green begins feeling better, but Snow attempts to help Green with an adrenaline shot to the heart and they run out of the club, chased by Sergio.

Snow and Green are driven to Los Angeles, where Snow visits Jackie Q. She has been sleeping with Lars Ulrich (and is apparently engaged to him), and confesses to Snow that Naples is not actually his biological son. This depresses him even further. During this time, Green returns to his girlfriend and tries to make amends for the sex he has had during their fight. She did not believe they were broken up, leading to more friction. Snow shows up, trying to help, and invites them to a threesome, which Daphne accepts and Green reluctantly goes along with. During their sex, Green becomes distressed, and orders Snow out of his house. Snow has now hit rock bottom, and an hour before the concert prepares to jump from a roof. Green comes to his aid and Snow instead jumps into a pool, but hits his arm on the way down, breaking it. Instead of going to a hospital, Snow does the concert, realizing his fans are more important than he is. Although Green discusses with Sergio that Snow really needs help, the executive’s only suggestion is to have Snow pop some more pills; this enabling causes Green to quit in disgust. However, Green sees how happy Snow is performing and lets him continue while he himself goes home and reconciles with his girlfriend. Months later in Seattle (where Green and his girlfriend have moved), a healthier Snow has returned to fame with a single produced by Green based on events from their night in Las Vegas.

Inception Movie Poster:

Inception Movie Poster

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief in the art of “extraction,” stealing secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him valuable in corporate espionage. In one last job, he must cause an “inception” — instead of stealing an idea, he must plant one. Christopher Nolan, the director of the movie, was quoted as saying “We don’t do magic. Everything in Inception has a basis in reality, except for the technology” — apparently referring to the absence of metaphysical content in Inception.

The official plot synopsis is as follows:

“Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible—inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime.

1. To Save a Life: Yes, it is another teen movie. The film deals with clichéd elements like teen suicide, teen drinking and sexuality accompanied by some horrific and disturbing images. The story revolves around an American school student played by Randy Wayne. A repetitive story and a weak screenplay are amongst the primary reasons to ditch this movie. The acting in the movie is not Oscar material either. This movie has the ‘do good or go to hell’ thing going on. Need one say more?

1. Crazy on the outside: The only reason to put yourself through the experience of watching this movie is if you enjoy sexual vulgarity and nothing else. The movie is about Tommy played by Tim Allen, who has spent the last three years in prison and is finally out. He moves in with his sister and their family and the so called story begins as Tommy struggles to keep his sanity around his crazy family. After acting in movies like Toy Story and The Santa Clause, this movie seems like a big letdown.

1. When in Rome: When in Rome portrays Kristen Bell as a young New York woman who takes off to Rome on a whim to find love and reason in life. If the story doesn’t disappoint you the events in the story will do more than that. As she roams across Rome she meets a so-called interesting set of people who are obviously in love with her. The movie is in fact meant to be funny yet charming and it falls way short of its mark. In short, you can have a better time wasting three hours on the net looking for movies to watch, rather than watching this flick.

1. The spy next door: This is a bit down the list of bad movies and that makes it bearable to watch on the flight to kill time, but not worth purchasing a ticket. The lead has Jackie Chan acting the way he usually does, you know, jumping around and fighting people by the dozen. The story and screenplay however display lack of creativity and ingenuity. The story circles around Bob, who wishes to impress his neighbor but ends up as a baby sitter at their place. One of the kids however just happens to download a top secret formula and then Jackie tries to balance the role of a spy and a babysitter all while trying to woe his special someone. Reading a book was never more fun.

1. Cop Out: The names Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan when put together can mean only one thing, lot of violence and sex in combination with Tracy’s unusual and not quite charming personality. The story starts out with Willis and Morgan, two retired NYPD partners, in search of a rare baseball card. Financial difficulties and other problems lead them to believe that they are ready to toss their life on the line for this card. Cop Out is out.

1. Saint John of Las Vegas: There is some nudity involved but that should, in no way compel you to watch this. John, a gambler, leaves the glittery life of Las Vegas to a more stable and well, boring life in Albuquerque. Some events occur and he once again must resist the temptations of his previous life to ensure that he and his new found love have a good time. The twist in the tale being that John realizes that his fears are smothering him and so he goes to Sin City to meet his demons. The genre says Comedy-Drama, but don’t let that fool you.

The Top 15 Movie Goof Ups to Remember is listed below.

• Let us start with one of the latest hit, Avatar. It is a boon to the box office. It has broken many of the previous records. However, it is quite interesting that this James Cameron’s latest venture do have some clear mistakes too. Well, those who have watched this film may have noticed that after getting an order by Selfridge, two soldiers go to switch off the Grace’s and Jake’s Avatar links. This has shown totally out of sequence. You see Jake’s Avatar fall down unconsciously when the female soldier shuts off grace switch and the vice versa.

• There are plenty of other films having this kind of silly goofs. Can you ever think of air flights hundreds of years ago? Well, Brad Pitt has an answer to this! In the film Troy, you can see this miracle happening.

• All the fashion lovers will be glad to hear that, Jeans are popular since Roman era. Don’t believe it? Then you must watch Gladiator, where in one scene, you can see someone wearing a trendy pair of jeans.

• There are several more examples of crewmember visible by mistakenly. Pirates of the Caribbean has set an example with a crewmember with sleeveless T-shirt, a cowboy hat and a fashionable sunglass visible in a scene right behind the lead actor.

• Position change in no time or shifting of watches from one hand to other are some of the mistakes mostly found. However, what will happen if somebody’s scar changes its position! Yes, this is what you can see in The Lord of the Rings, where the scar on the lower part of Frodo’s right cheek shifts to many places in different shots. Even it is seen in various sizes and once at the left cheek.

• While talking about movie mistakes, you cannot really miss the most fantasized film series, the Harry Potter series. Starting with the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the scene where Harry is asleep wearing a crew necked short sleeve T-shirt, which changes to a Henley tee or in the Harry and the Philosopher’s stone, where during the feast Harry automatically shifts his sides. We can not also forget the unforgettable mistake from the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret, where they forgot to hide their cameraman in a scene. Another one is seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The triwizard cup lying on a grassy slope moves automatically nearer to the riddle monument.

• In Twilight, when Bella is lying in the hospital, her breathing tubes walk from her cheeks right on her eyes for a closer shot. This one is a deliberate mistake.
• Another such example is in the film Teen Wolf, where after winning the championship, Scott’s is coming out to congratulate, when one of the fans can be viewed clearly exposing himself to the camera.

• Some more instances are, in Matrix Reloaded, you can observe a reflector screen in agent Smith’s sunglass.

• In The Usual Suspects, the police air plane Boeing 747 loses two of its four engines and suddenly transforms into Boeing 767.

• One of the most easily noticeable mistakes was done in Spiderman, where after a fight, Spiderman saves Mary Jane and badly broke two windows on the brick wall. However, the window mends itself and they were perfectly intact after the fight.

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• In Ocean’s Eleven, the mysterious glass changes into a plate and again to its original form, a glass!

Well, there are lot more goofs in big Hollywood movies to be noticed, as you know, nothing is perfect in the world.

]]> http://www.mynewmovies.net/top-15-movie-goof-ups-to-remember/feed/ 0 http://www.mynewmovies.net/celebrity-caricatures/ http://www.mynewmovies.net/celebrity-caricatures/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:45:55 +0000 admin http://www.mynewmovies.net/?p=328 Caricature needs an eye that knows which feature will be the best to distort or simplify. The creations of French artist, Anthony Geoffroy are seen in the pictures where he has a large collection of tv show and movie celebrities. From series like LOST, Desperate Housewives, Scrubs to Sex in the city, he has them all in caricatures that make you laugh. Even though they just look funny on the surface, a lot of thought has gone into getting the details right.

He seems to have the ability to make the caricature suit their characters in the movie or the TV shows. He has successfully made them look mean, intelligent, sexy and stupid. It is amazing how he has got the eyes just right on everybody and how the distortions don’t make them unrecognizable. He has also given some thought to backgrounds by keeping it green for LOST, tiled for HOUSE, stars for Ugly Betty, etc.

When you consider who made the most money-wise, Transformer ROTF tops the list without doubt at a whooping $402,111,870. Even though Michael Bay has spent a squillion dollars making this movie, it must have felt worth every bit at the end. This number is whole hundred million ahead of the next in list, Harry Potter 6. Harry Potter 6 takes the second place by making $300, 880,041. Both the movies have been very popular among the young crowd.

Star Trek follows closely at $257,730,019 which is the eleventh film and was released in May 2009. This film is the highest earning film among the Star Trek series and has gained the best reviews so far. X-men Origins: Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman earned $179,883,157 and earned a position among the top ten money making films of 2009. This movie was a treat for Wolverine fans with its action packed scenes.

The military themed G.I. Joe made $149,643,000 and took the fifth spot. This film has action, adventure and science fiction all rolled into one. Terminator Salvation with its heavy action and violence takes the sixth place with $125,322,469. Directed by McG, it has a lot of action but the reviews have not all been good. In spite of a lot of bad reviews, it is surprising that this made it to the list of top 10 money making movies.

With a small difference in the numbers, District 9 came seventh with $114,873,680. This movie has got very good reviews and was well loved. The unpredictable nature of the film kept the audience glued to it till the end.  District 9 was followed by Watchmen which earned a good $107, 509,799. Watchmen didn’t disappoint the viewers like most films based on books do. It has exceeded most expectations and come within the top ten list.

Taking the ninth position in the top 10 best money making movies is Zombieland which earned $60,823,000. This funny horror film was liked well by the audience and moved the movie into the top 10 list. Released in the beginning of the year, Underworld 3 managed to stay on the list with $45,802,315. It was loved by all the Underworld fans as it is a prequel to the previous movies. This movie definitely puts the first two movies to shame with its excellent plot line and action.

This seems to have been a year with all action packed movies taking the top spots. When we look at the list, it is obvious that the viewers love a good plotline. All the mushy, love stories seem to have taken the back benches for this year.

Avatar’ is No. 1 again, soars past $1 billion worldwide

Thanks to astronomic word-of-mouth, inflated 3-D ticket prices, and consecutive holiday weekends that began on a Friday, Avatar continued its seemingly unstoppable climb to the Hallelujah Mountains of U.S. and global box office. According to estimates from Hollywood.com Box Office, James Cameron’s sci-fi opus grossed $68.3 million over New Years weekend, a tiny 10 percent drop from Christmas weekend for a $352.1 million domestic total — easily the biggest third weekend in the U.S. ever (2002’s Spider-Man had held the record with $45 million). Much more impressively, in just 17 days, Avatar has surpassed $1 billion in global box office. To put that in perspective, it took The Dark Knight pretty much its entire theatrical run just to make it to that milestone. (Another landmark: $66.4 million of Avatar’s worldwide total is from IMAX theaters, a record for the mega-screen format.)

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