Parental Control

Parental Control is an MTV show that showcases parents, chosing who their kids date. My group and I talked about this show in our Glides project and how it is insane that is even on television. It has no actual meaning to it and you can't possibly learn anything from watching it. Incase you have never seen it before, I will explain what it is about. The show involves parents of a teenager who is dating someone that they find unacceptable for their son or daughter. The parents start of my interviewing many people and then they each chose who they belive is best. The son or daughter then goes on a date with these two people while the parents and the boyfriend or girlfriend sit home and watch the date from their television. The son or daughter then have to choose who they belive is going to be best for them. Like a lot of shows these days, this show is really acted.

I am Sam

One of my favorite movies is I am Sam. This movie is about a mentally challenged father who goes against the odds and raises a child. However, when the authorities find out he is raising a child, they take the girl away from him. They believe that the daughter has exceeded the fathers IQ level and this is unacceptable in their eyes. The movie shows his journey to get his daughter back. In a way this movie is happy but just everything that Sam has to go through makes me really sad. How can you take a happy child away from a father who tries his best to raise her. If they were really looking for what was in the best interest of the child then they would have never taken her away.

Wiki

For the past couple of weeks, we have been working on Wiki's in class. At first, my group was lost for ideas. We had no clue where we were going with this project. Our topic was I generation and the problem was that you can do so many things with this. In the end, we ended up deciding to focus on how this generation is more ignorant then any other generation. My part of the project was to focus on advertising, television, and films. I chose to analyze the MTV show Parental Control because this is the most ridiculous show in the world. It has no moral or purpose. It makes this generation look like they lack the ability to be independent. Movies like Superbad and Napoleon Dynamite are taking over our generation. In the end, I really enjoyed doing this project. I like the fact that it wasn't a research paper where you focus on one specific point. This project was an opportunity for us to expand our knowledge of the world around us.

Stepmom

When my dad got remarried, my stepmom made me watch the movie Stepmom. Since then, this has become one of my favorite movies. It is about a mother and a stepmom and their journey in co parenting two children. While the stepmom tries hard to bond with the kids, the mothers jealousy takes over, jeapordizing this relationship. In the end, the mother has to accept it because the cancer she has is ultimately going to kill her. She needs to let the kids know that when she's gone it's ok to love the stepmom and accept her. In my opinion, every child that has a blended family should tune into this movie. I can relate to this movie because when my parents got divorced I had a very hard time with it. When my dad remarried, I had trouble accepting my stepmom and had a very hard time with that also. This movie helped me to accept this change in my life and in the end it all worked out fine.

Spongebob

Over the weekend I decided to spend time with my little brother and watch some TV. I said lets like try to drift away from Nikelodian but when your with a 6 year old they have their own agenda. We settled on Spongebob and he kept getting mad at me because I kept telling him how dumb this show was and that we should watch something normal. I can't believe how much entertainment can come out of a yellow sponge. When he was like three he got the movie and he has watched it so many times. In the end we ended up having so much fun and I got beyond what was on the TV and just enjoyed spending time with my little brother.

John & Kate Plus 8

The other day I was watching this show on TLC and I came across this show called John and Kate plus 8. I don't normally watch this channel but when I was flipping through it stopped for a second and all I heard was screaming. I thought it was one of those medical shows and someone was screaming because they got shot or something. However, it was far from what I thought. This lady Kate, had eight children. She had twins and then she had sex tuplets. All the kids are under the age of ten and their house just looks like cahos all the time. I can't even handle babysitting for more then two kids. I honestly don't know how she does it. These kids all they do is scream and cry. I kind of feel bad for them because they have cameras invading their house. It was really weird because after I watched this show, I read in a magezine that John cheated on kate. I really hope that they fix their problems because they really can't afford to get divorced which so many young kids.

The Simpsons

I really enjoyed seeing the movie, "The Simpsons." I remember that I watched this movie for the first time with my little brother. Its a family filled adventure movie about Homer Simpson and stoping a plot to save the world and it doesnt look generic. Its about trapping the town in a dome and trying to break out of it and going to Alaska. They feel like going back and they end the story by taking a bomb and tossing it out of the dome unlike the 1 in a million chance for most people to get it right. This was a really good movie and I recommend seeing it.

Ransom

When I was little my parents made me watch the movie, "Ransom." It was about a boy who wandered away from his parents and got kidnapped. The kidnappers held the child for ransom and wouldn't let him go. They tied him up and put tape over his mouth and abused him. This movie taught me that I can never wander away from my parents because that is unsafe. It was good that my parents showed me this movie because ever since I saw it, I have been traumatized.

The House Bunny

This is just another chick flick that I saw a long time ago. It is about a house bunny who is set up and kicked out of the mansion. On her way to find shelter, she comes across a sorority called, Zeta Alpha Zeta. She uses her talent to make this group into the hottest sorority on campus. I have to say that this movie was very funny but I wouldn't want to see it again. There are some movies that you can only see once or else it just ruins the whole thing.

Widow On the Hill (lifetime movie)

This weekend, my mom and I were bored so we decided to watch Lifetime. We came across this movie called, "The Widow on the Hill." This movie was about an upper class family that is destructed when the the wife and mother dies from cancer. While in hospice, the father comes across a fairly attractive women who was caring for his wife. When the wife dies, the two immediately become companions, getting married and moving in together. The daughter however, senses something is up and question what this women really wants. Does she want to be loved or is she in it for the money? This women starts sleeping around and it one day caught by the daughter and she reports to her father. When the father finds out, he immediately dumps the women. Since the women has connections to the hospice and the medicines, she poisons the man and kills him. She then wants the body to be cremated to get rid of the evidence but the daughter won't allow it. In the end, they find morphine in his body. I was most frustrated because the man signed everything over to this women and left nothing for his daughters. The women was never found guilty because there was never enough evidence. If everything in this movie is true and it is a fair representation of the women, then I think she is guilty no matter what. If you ever get a chance to watch these movies on lifetime, I strongly recommend it.

When a Stranger Calls

I used to babysit a lot until I saw this movie. "When a Stranger Calls," is about a young girl who goes to babysit in a large deserted house and gets stalked by a serial killer. She is just your average teenager who agrees to babysit young kids. However, she continuously gets a call saying, "Check the children." She goes around checking the house and finds the nanny dead and her best friend dead. In the end, it is up to her to fufill her obligation and protect the children she was trusted with. The entire movie was very well put together and very suspisious. In the end the serial killers identity is never revealed.

The Hannah Montana Movie

Ok sooo I can't believe I actually payed money to go see this movie but all my friends were going. I believe that this movie was aimed towards the younger generation but I couldn't help myself. Well obviously, Miley Cyrus stars in this movie and is forced to choose to be either Hannah or Miley. It basically goes through her journey of her being a spoiled pop star to a farmer. She actually has to start acting like a person in society. My favorite part of this movie was when the fire alarm went off in the theater and the entire movie theater had to evacuate. That was a mess in itself. Anyways, besides all the unpleasntness, this movie did have a lesson to it. "Life's a climb, but the view is great."

We Were Soldier's

We watched this movie in class and for a class movie, this was really good. It wasn't one of those movies that put you to sleep right away. Those are always great when the teacher's like, "pick your head up," because you are falling asleep. Anyways, I really enjoyed this movie. It was a little graphic but this allowed viewers to picture themselves in the war environment. It kept me on my wondering all the time, what was going to happen next. I have always wondered how the Vietnam War really was and this movie answered all my questions.

Baby Mama

I saw Baby Mama over the weekend and I thought it was so funny. Just to see how two different lifestyles have to collide and the way they live. One character is trailer trash and the other character is very conservative. Angie, wanting money, offers to carry kates baby. This eventually leads to Angie living under the same roof at Kate. Kate, being very conservative has to learn how to lighten up in order to meet the demands of Angie. Well the whole process was just very funny. I don't want to ruin the ending because you should see it!!!

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Although, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," was a little graphic, I really thought it was funny. I always wonder how these actresses can act in this type of movie with a straight face. This movie reminded me a lot of being at high school. These characters were all so immature by doing what they did. They all tormented eachother which is why I feel that every high school student should watch this because it shows where jealousy can lead you. Behind the humor it had a very important life lesson to it. I learned that you have to be happy with what you have. You can expect people to wait for you because in most cases they won't. This movie brought in $63,172,463 to the box office.

Sequels

I really don't like the fact that movies have sequels to them, unless absolutely needed. I don't like when movies leave you with questions at the end but sometimes its good. I enjoy drawing my own conclusions in certain situations but other times I just wish the movie had five more minutes. For example, the move, "Click," left me so confused at the end. I had no idea what was going on when the guy came back with the romote. Other movies like, "The Lion King," really didnt need a sequel. I don't think that any Disney movie should have a sequel because those movies are supposed to be filled with ways to use your imagination. If you can't think outside the box then you can't learn to use your imagination. I have added a link so you can see for yourself the money coming into the box office for the sequels.


http://www.the-numbers.com/market/2007/Sequel.php

Sybil

In my psychology class we watched the movie, "Sybil." This movie made me very sad because no child or adult should ever have to go through what this girl did. She has several psychological disorders and was unable to function in society. She suffered from dissociative identity disorder due to the traumas had to endure as a child. As she was remembering her childhood to her therapist, it was concluded that she had 16 different personalities. All of these personalites had their own identity and emerged when she recalled different events of her life. This movie was really good and I really want to read the book.

Weston 8

The other day me and some friends went to the Weston 8 theater. I've talked about in previous blogs how rude people can be at the movies but I have never quite seen anything like this. First of all we got there like five minutes before the movie started and there were no people in the theater. Like right when the movie started a large amount of middle schoolers came in and a lot of children, very loud children. I thought it was funny because the entire theater was empty and everyone was sitting right on top of each other. For example, this family came over to me and just sat right in front of me. It would have been nice if they could have sat a few seats over so we could all see. Then the middle schoolers who were sitting behind me decided to mock what the movie was saying. I actually turned around and asked them politely if they could be quiet. When I turned back around, I saw little girls rolling around on the floor in front of the screen. The mother of the family in front of me laughed like an ape and the children kept having to go to the rest room. Lets just say it was not a fun experience and I have vowed to never go to that theater again.

Click

Over the weekend I saw the movie "Click." I have seen this movie before, but ever since Mrs. Stoklosa taught us to pay close attention to details, I see different things. "Click," was about a man or thought it was cool to fast forward through the bad parts of his life, but eventually learned that he was missing out on good things to. The main lesson in this movie was to appreciate life in all ways. Everyday is not going to be filled with fun and games. However, we cannot run from this. We need to face it head on because if we don't then we will be missing out on whats most important.

http://videos.komando.com/2009/03/01/secrets-of-a-nazi-mascot/

http://videos.komando.com/2009/03/01/secrets-of-a-nazi-mascot/
This week I am posting a video that I found so interesting. It is amazing to me what people had to do, to survive this war. I am personally interested in learning about the Holocaust because my grandfather is a Holocaust survivor and he has told me so many stories about how he survived. It is unbelievable what he had to endure. He has two holes in his body from where he got shot. When he came to America, the doctors told him that he would be able to live with the bullets in his skin. However, he couldn't go on with such a painful reminder engraved in his skin. The stories he tells me are so horrific and this story on this video is just amazing. It goes to show you that we need to appreciate what we have. You can survive a war and then wake up one morning, walk out your front door, and get killed. There are no guarantees in life.

Beauty and the Beast

One of my favorite disney movies is "Beauty and the Beast." I can watch this movie over and over again. When me and my little brother watch this movie, I really enjoy watching how he interprets it. He always tells me that the monster is mean and scary. In class when Ms. Stoklosa asks us to think outside of the box, I always am like wow she would totally get so mad at my brother because he just see's basic stuff. If I had to say one of the themes of this movie, I would say hidden love.

Slumdog Millionaire

Over the weekend I saw ,"Slumdog Millionaire." It's one of those movies that you can't judge by the beginning. The beginning was kind of slow but it got better. It is about a boy from India who is on the show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. When he is at the last question, time gets called and he is taken in and accused of cheating. The authorities inquired how anyone can know all of those questions? He replies by going through his entire life and how at every point, he was face to face with the answers to these questions. It made me think that if I just paid a little more attention to what was going on around me, then maybe I would have more knowledge. I really enjoyed this movie.

Premonition

One of my favorite movies is, "Premonition." I can watch this movie over and over and not get bored of it. This movie is about a women who gets her days mixed up when she is going through a premontion. She finds out that her husband died, but then wakes up one morning and finds him sitting there. I really enjoyed the suspense that this movie has. The ending was very sad but as I learned this week, you can't always have happy endings. If every movie ended happy then they would be boring and predictable.

Sad endings RIP HERMAN

I would like to go a little off track on my blog this week and talk about sad endings. Movies have sad ending but the worst is when your life is affected by a sad ending. Yesturday at 8:49 in the morning my great uncle lost his battle with cancer. He was only suffering with it f0r about a year and yesturday he was put at peace. I spent every summer with this man for the past five years. He had the best personality, always knowing how to make someone laugh, and just all around a good guy. I looked foward to spending my summers in New Jersey which is where he lived. Every time before I left he would tell me how he loves how every year I grow up so much. He would tell me how he looked foward to seeing me the next summer and that he would be counting the days. When I saw him over the past summer I never imagined this being my last time. I could tell that he was sick but he tried so hard to hide it with his personality. Within the last couple of weeks he got terribly ill and just wanted to die. The death of a family member is never easy on anyone. Since I was optimistic about him fighting his way out of the cancer like every other time, I think I was more let down then anything. Today was a sad day for me but tomorrow I know that I have to move on. He would want me to continue growing up and that is what I am going to do. Not everything in life can always have a happy ending. We look for the positive aspects in negative things through the lessons that they teach. I think that this mans life taught me so much about strength, character, and making it through every day. So I would like to dedicate this blog to Herman. I will miss you forever and ever and have fun up in heaven with your new friends.

Movie times

I go to the movies almost every weekend. There is always something out there that I really want to see. My problem is that the times that they show the movies are really inconvienient for me. It either starts to early or to late. I have trouble staying awake during late movies so I always have to check if its a long movie. Long movies for me are over two hours. I prefer to go to like a 7:00 movie. Anything later then that I always have to go look up the times. 6:00 is way to early for me. However lately I have been noticing that the movies are playing at like 5:45 or 8:30. I have been having trouble finding an in between time. I enjoy the movies though and if it's a good movie the time goes by really fast.

The International

I saw "The International," over the weekend. It was definately not my type of movie. I couldn't really comprehend what was going on. All I know that the movie was very violent and a lot of people died. Very depressing movie.

Movie Expenses

The movie prices are getting crazy. I went to the movies the other day and wanted a water. I was shocked that water really costs $4.00. It's bad enough that in school there like $1.25 but $4.00. Everything else was so expensive. Like $7 for popcorn. The movie alone is like $9 to get in. By the time I left the movies I had spent over $20. I realized that I could have waited, rented the movie, and enjoyed it from the comfort of my home with cheap snacks. Things these days are really getting very expensive.

V for Vandetta

This week in class we watched the moive, "V for Vandtta." I am not really into action type movies but I have to admit that this movie was very good. I would have liked to analyze it a little more because with the little analyzing we did in class, I learned so much more. This week I learned that a movie has secret messages behind it. You have to use your common knowledge to try to interpret it. I would have watched this movie like I watch every other movie, I would have missed out on so much.

Is going to the movies really enjoyable???

On Saturday night I went to the movies. We know how crowded a movie can get so we rushed to get their on time. We sat down in the theater about 20 minutes early and were anxiously awaiting the movie. About two minutes before the movie started, people started coming in. Of course, being at a new movie, the theater was crowded and they were not able to find seats. There were seats available but the people would not be able to sit together and therefore would have to separate. I watched as most of the people accepted this, even compromising and sitting up front in those very bad seats. Then there was this lady who saw a seat next to me and saw a seat 3 seats down. I could not believe when she asked us to move. I thought to myself you get here late lady, disrupt the movie, and then have the nerve to inconvenience us and ask us to move? Since I try not to be rude, we all kindly shifted over. If that was not enough, her cell phone rang. AND GUESS WHAT!!! SHE ANSWERED IT!!! We were all so annoyed so we just stared at her. I guess she finally got the point because she hung it up. About an hour into the movie, another call came and we all gave her the same look. I guess she got the point because she did not answer the call. It's really not fair when people have no common courtesy for others.

Taken

Over the weekend, I saw the movie "Taken." With "The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons" and "Seven Pounds," recently coming out, this movie had a lot of competion. "Taken" was a very good movie. I enjoyed this movie so much because I can relate to it. Well mostly the beginning reminded me of myself. Kim, being 17 really wanted to prove her independence and go away with her friend Amanda, 19 to Paris. Or so that was what she told her dad. We find out that she lied to her dad and really had a bigger trip planned then she was saying. She insures her dad that Amanda's older cousins would be in Paris with them. Her dad reluctantly allows her to go with the conditions of a phone call home every day, more then once a day. When they arrive, the girls meet an attractive, young man. He acts like one of their friends, inviting them to a party that evening. He gets their address and when Kim goes to call her father, she witnesses her friend Amanda getting kidnapped. As her father tracks the call, he informs her of what to do. He is very honest with her, telling her that they are going to take her. Kim's father under no conditions will let anything to happen to his little girl. He does everything in his power to save her. Unfortunately, he is unable to save her friend Amanda but he does save her.
This movie shows the limits that a father will go to protect his daughter. It shows the value of love and that even though a parent may abandon you, that may make them love you more.

Seven Pounds

"Seven Pounds," was a great movie that recently came out. Tim Thomas, (Will Smith) did what most of us selfishly do every day. While driving with his wife, he was looking at his phone. When he drifted into nearby lanes, he became responsible for seven deaths. After stealing his brothers IRS ID access, Tim is able to find out more information about the seven people that he killed in the accident. However, his plan comes to a halt when he "falls in love" with Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson). Emily and seven others were among the people who he would be donating "pounds of flesh" In the end, Tim's guilt takes over him and he kills himself in a way that wouldn't destroy his organs.

"Seven Pounds," starts out showing Tim's rage of what he did. Throughout the movie, viewers do not have an idea about what is going on. It is not until the end when the movie all ties together and we are all left in shock.

The Curios Case of Benjamin Button

Did anyone see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button??? Benjamin,(Brad Pitt) abandoned as a child, was born with a series of age defining diseases that doctors concluded would only give him a matter of a few years to live. Benjamin goes againts the doctors conclusions and continues to grow day after day. He even manages to find a crush, Daisy Williams (Cate Blanchett). When both set out to persue their own dreams, they are separated for many years. The day comes when they are reunited at their childhood home. It is a shock to Daisy when she see's that the man she loves, is no longer an old man. While she had aged, Benjamin had been getting younger. They go through many fall outs but still manage to get back together, settle down, and have a child. Benjamin realizes that he cannot provide for his daughter in the way most fathers could and recognizes that his lover would soon have the responsibility of taking care of him as well as their daughter. That is when he decides to head back to his home where he finds out that his mother had passed away. As time goes on, Benjamin is getting younger and younger. When Daisy returns to their home, she see's that Benjamin does not remember who she is. The movie ends with Daisy holding Benjamin as an infant and Benjamin dying in her arms.
This movie is narrarated from a diary which Benjamin had written for Daisy. Their daughter is reading this to Daisy as she lays on her death bed in a hospital, during hurricane Katrina. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," is a time traveler's tale of the peoople and places he bumps into along the way, the loves he loses and finds, the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time."