Posts Tagged ‘Movies’

How Pirates of the Caribbean Became a Movie

In: Entertainment

By: Libby Pawlick on Jun 27, 2011 at 8:00 am

Article By: Allison Strong

The real treasure of the Pirates of the Caribbean isn’t Johnny Depp (although it wouldn’t have been a box office hit in the first place without him) the real gem is how the story came to be.  A lot of movies that become big hits were first great novels.  The literary fans usually bawk at the watered down version of the story that played out so fully in their mind as they turned the pages of their favorite book.  But, since many movie-goers don’t read the book (why should you, they made a movie) the film becomes a success and sells millions.  The movie industry banks on this even if it breaks the heart of the novels fans as they realize that the ending has changed or their main characters don’t look as they were described.

I have always made it a rule that if a movie comes out after the popularity of the book, I will read the book first.  But how the Pirates of the Caribbean with Pirates came to be a movie unfolded differently.  The idea wasn’t born from a novel or a creative screenplay, it was born as a ride at Disneyland.  Yes, Walt Disney himself was fascinated by pirates and learning the secret charades of the evil sailors of the sea.

The ride first debuted at Disneyland in 1967 three months after Walt passed away.  Even more interesting is that the ride is one of a few that have survived the parks many revitalization’s -the Flying Dumbo ride and It’s a Small World boat ride are still big sellers too.  With the success of the ride, another version was created for Disney World in 1973.

This past spring my family made its way to the magical land that Disney created and we set forth to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  My five year old got on skeptically with lots of tears and my two year old loved it and has since learned how to sing “Yo Ho! Yo Ho! A pirates life for me!”  As we traveled the river boat ride it felt that the movie had taken over the ride.  Like many sequels the Magic Kingdom’s ride isn’t as thrilling as Disneyland’s.  I learned later in a “behind the scenes tour” this is because of the water levels under the park- they couldn’t dig deep for the drops so they had to build the ride up or they would hit water.

Pirates of the Caribbean is the only ride that I know of that warranted its own four part movie series to be built around it.  The ride would still be marketable without the movie but it has taken on the look of the films since they have come out and it has lost its luster.  I wonder if there are nostalgic Disney fans (like myself) that wonder where did the magic of this epic ride go? I guess I will never know since I will always give some of my money to see Johnny stumble onto the screen as Captain Jack Sparrow.

1
VN:F [1.7.4_987]

Rate Me

Rating: 3.5/5 (4 votes cast)

Tags

, , ,

The Hangover Part 2: Déjà Vu All Over Again

In: Entertainment

By: Sharon Santella on Jun 20, 2011 at 8:38 am

Memorial Day weekend – a time for honoring our past and current soldiers, family BBQs, and of course, the official beginning of summertime movie blockbusters. It is also my birthday. So, every year my husband takes me to see any movie of my choice (in other words, usually movies without aliens or things blowing up).  Last year it was Sex and the City 2. Poor guy. This year I selected a movie that would make us both happy – The Hangover Part 2. Before going, my girlfriend said, “It’s going to be the same as the first one.” My response was, “I hope so! I’ve watched the original about 50 times and it is still funny.”

The Hangover Part 2 didn’t disappoint me, but you really have to understand what you are going to see. A bachelor brunch that turns into one beer on a Thailand beach, which turns into the “wolf pack” sans Doug (Justin Bartha)  waking up in a seedy motel in Bangkok complete with a monkey and the self-proclaimed  international criminal, Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). The writers took the easy way out and recycled the storyline from the original, except filming the movie in Bangkok instead of Las Vegas. With one outrageous and shocking line after line, it kept me laughing and sometimes screaming through the movie and even the credits. The car chases were stellar and surprising. I often wonder how in the world they (Hollywood) rehearse and film those scenes – especially jumping over a river.  Ed Helms (Stu, the Dentist), Bradley Cooper (Phil: the “wolf pack leader”) and Zack Galifianakis (Alan: the self-proclaimed, “stay at home son”) work perfectly together.

Now, for the record, The Hangover Part 2 is rated “R” and should not be seen by anyone that it is not intended for. Not kidding. Really. Don’t bring anyone to see it under the age of 18. In fact, the theater I went to, was asking for identification from everyone.

This is a sequel and should be watched with that in mind. If you enjoyed the first and understand that the second is a similar script, you will enjoy Part 2 with the over-the-top lines that are simply there to shock and awe. While there aren’t any rumors of a Part 3 and I certainly don’t mean to start any, there is still one person to get married and suffer a hangover – Alan (Zack Galifianakis). We’ll see what the studios do with that one.

0
VN:F [1.7.4_987]

Rate Me

Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

Tags

, , ,

Sam’s Club

In: Technology

By: Steve Stanfill on Jan 19, 2011 at 9:25 am

One thing you can be sure of–when a technology shows up in Sam’s Club, it may be considered a mainstream offering.  Many of the technologies we have discussed in the past year are now Sam’s Club staples, including internet enabled televisions and Blu-ray players, as well as LED backlit displays.  One interesting inclusion that I noticed on my way to the fruits and vegetables–Sam’s Club now had a Samsung 3D system set up to demonstrate the technology to its “bulk buying” customers.  Wow!  I may have to rethink my lukewarm stance on 3D technology generally and whether or not it will go mainstream.

All that said, it is a fact that sales of 3D equipment (and televisions specifically) have been lackluster and disappointing to those who are pushing this technology.  It is also a fact that the majority of theatre releases using this technology have not sold well in 3D (within the theatre releases), and were probably not particularly well suited to the technology anyway from the standpoint of production artistry.  But in Sam’s Club?

Some things have become more clear in the last six months.  “Active glasses” designs have become more user friendly; the glasses are now lighter and use wireless technology to activate the shutters.  Manufacturers are lining up behind essentially three different technologies and their variants: 1) active shutter glasses w/ 120Hz plus displays; 2) Passive polarization glasses w/ displays using polarizing filters on the monitor; and 3)  3D displays which use no glasses at all, and rely on relatively new monitor technologies to produce a 3D image for the viewer.  Let’s take each of these in turn:

1) Active shutter/rapid image display–This technology is, at this point, probably the front runner in terms of quality of the experience, but carries with it its own set of baggage.  This technology displays different images at least 120 times a second, and the glasses only allow the viewer to see an image in one eye at a time, in a synchronized manner rapidly alternating between eyes and images perceived.  The brain then uses that different image information and creates a 3D image from what is presented.  In early versions, this would tether the user via a wire to the television, and the glasses were big and bulky.  The good news is that the glasses are now much lighter and use wireless technology (bluetooth, infrared, or wifi direct) to control the shutter action.  Advantages to this technology are a bright, clear picture in both 3D and 2D mode, and virtually no penalties on 2D material.  Samsung, as well as a number of other manufacturers are fully embracing this technology.

2)  Passive glasses/polarization panel monitor–At the recent CES show in Las Vegas, LG and Vizio demonstrated passive 3D models that will be released at retail later this year.  The huge advantage of this technology is that the glasses are light and “throwaway cheap”–certainly an advantage if one is prone to sit down on the couch before looking in the shadows ;)  The disadvantages of this technology are several:  Due to the polarization panel in the monitor itself, pictures generally are dimmer in both 3D and 2D, and the 3D experience does not carry the effective resolution of the active shutter technology.  The polarizer effectively shows only alternating scan lines to each eye, effectively reducing the available resolution in 3D to 540 vertical pixels/scan lines.  Further, the viewing angle for the full 3D experience is quite narrow; the 3D effect falls off drastically as the viewer moves to the side of the monitor.  In short, if your viewing environment is quite dim and your household environment favors the “cheap glasses” approach, this may be the technology to purchase.

3)  “Glasses Free” (auto-stereoscopic) monitor technology–Toshiba and a number of other manufacturers are working on display technologies that would do away with glasses altogether.  The immediate reaction of most people interested in 3D is “THAT’s what I want!”  And that’s understandable.  Toshiba actually demonstrated an auto-stereoscopic monitor at the CES show to mixed reviews.  “Reduced resolution”, “compromised 3D and 2D image”, “very narrow viewing angle” were some of the comments proffered.  It’s pretty clear that this design has as some technological hurdles to overcome, although Toshiba claims that these sets will be on dealer’s floors by the end of 2011.  This will be a technology to watch, but “ready for prime time” is probably several years away at best.

Add to this confusion a number of technologies out there that are in the lab, or that have commercial application only at this point.  Check out this interesting technology from Samsung and Real D that may find its way eventually into consumer 3D imaging.  Currently, Samsung says that this is being developed primarily for medical imaging applications in their business division.  We’ll see…

Until next time….

3
VN:F [1.7.4_987]

Rate Me

Rating: 5.0/5 (5 votes cast)

Tags

,

Family Media for the Holidays

In: Technology

By: Steve Stanfill on Dec 22, 2010 at 8:33 am

While I don’t generally write about media (Libby does such a capable job of that!), I thought that with this season, many families would gather and enjoy media on their home theater together around a roaring fire and a popcorn bowl.  It has been uncharacteristically (read, bitterly) cold in southern Indiana, and with the slick roads, some of our usual Holiday traditions have had to take a back seat to the realities of the wind howling outside.  So here are a couple of family friendly recommendations for cold winter nights from your resident tech guy:

Lark Rise to Candleford–For want of a better way to describe it, this is British “Little House on the Prairie”.  This television series is set around two villages in late 18th-early 19th century England–one prosperous, one not.  Set around Candleford’s center of social and business activity (the Post Office), this is a wonderful set of characters with equal measure of comedy and drama. Casting, direction, script, and production are all top notch–typical of the BBC.  Most of the family will enjoy this, with the possible exception of very young children.

Au Revoir Les Enfants–Certainly the darkest film on this list, this is the story of friendship in a French boarding school between two young boys, one a French Catholic and the other a Jew during the tumultuous time of the Nazi occupation of France.  Subtitled, but very engaging for all but young children.  This film is based on true events that occurred in the life of the director.

The Greatest Game Ever Played–Based on a true events, this is the story of golfer Francis Quimet’s upset victory over the defending champion in the 1913 US Open golf tournament.  Depicts a different era of sportsmanship and tolerance, with the positive and negative implications there.  A great story of friendship and coming-of-age.

Joyeux Noel–This is the (true) story of the Christmas Eve cease-fire of 1914 in World War I, set somewhere in Belgium.  Accompanied by an exquisite musical score by Phillipe Rombi, this film is a masterpiece on any level other than technical production.  The story is so good, you hardly notice.  Subtitled, again suitable for all that are old enough to understand the implications of sworn enemies reaching across a “no-man’s land” to celebrate Christmas.

I wish you peace, love, and joy for you and your loved ones this special season.

Until next time….

0
VN:F [1.7.4_987]

Rate Me

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Where Are They Now – Cast of The Mighty Ducks

In: Entertainment

By: Libby Pawlick on Oct 25, 2010 at 9:19 am

Quack, quack, quack, quack…Go Ducks!  Walt Disney’s The Mighty Ducks was a hit when it came out in 1992.  Starring Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay, a hotshot lawyer who is forced to coach a pee-wee hockey team whom by the way is the worst team in the league.  As all Disney movies go,there is always a lesson learned and in this case it is that teamwork and respect are more important than winning.

You are probably wondering, why I am writing about this movie?  Not only was it one of my favorite movies back in the day and it just happened to be on yesterday when I was flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch.  As I was watching, I wondered what happened to some of the more popular characters of the movie -  are they still acting or was this movie their claim to fame?  After some digging, here is what I discovered.

Even though the Mighty Ducks series was hugely popular back in the early 90’s, Emilio Estevez was more interested in films with substance and went on to try his hand at writing, acting and directing.  The most notable success in recent years was the 2006 movie, Bobby, which was about the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Heartthrob Joshua Jackson, went on to star in a number of the classic late 90’s movies such as Urban Legend, Cruel Intentions and The Skulls but is most known for his role as Pacey Witter in the TV series, Dawson’ Creek.  Today, Jackson is at it again as Peter Bishop in the Fox TV series, Fringe.

Most of the other actors from the movie  – Elden Henson (played Fulton), Shaun Weiss (played Goldberg), Matt Doherty (Lester Averman), Brandon Quintin Adams (Jesse Hall), and Marguerite Moreau (Connie Moreau) have played in a number of smaller movies and TV series.

0
VN:F [1.7.4_987]

Rate Me

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Tags

, , ,