Sales May Be Off, but Mall Guards Are Hot in Hollywood
By: Dave Itzkoff
NYT, Tuesday, January 22, 2009
The movie “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” starring the comedian Kevin James, recently was released last week. It opened at No. 1 making $39.2 million in the first four days. This article is about this film and a film starring Seth Rogen in the comedy “Observe and Report,” which has almost the same plot of a mall cop who teams up with a detective.
He also wrote, according to Jeff Blake, chairman for worldwide marketing and distribution for Sony, that the movie couldn’t have come out in a better time, because it came out during the time retail sales declined for the past six months, and that it was a good idea, because it is a film that makes people laugh in these economic times.
In the lede, Itzkoff starts off with a good criticism of “Mall Cop.” He compares the job of a shopping-mall security officer to a car salesman and a hedge-fund manager, because they gain public admiration, which means their jobs are very entertaining. His “but” statement is the fifth paragraph. After mentioning the other works that involve a mall cop character, he sees why is it that the writers chose to make these films, because he feels there is something “irresistible” about the American mall. And then he gives an example as to why he thinks that way, (“Disneyland version of what the world‘s supposed to be“). The kicker is a quote from Malachy Kavanagh, a communications executive for the International Council of Shopping Centers (a trade group).
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Elements of Style
One thing I would like to work on is omitting needless words. I tend to overwrite, which causes me to take a long time in revising. I sometimes lose track of making sure I write in the same tense. When writing a review, one is suppose to write in present tense, but when giving a little summary of a film or documentary, I write in past tense. I also still get confused when knowing when to use “affect” or “effect.” These are the things I need to work on so I can improve my writing in general.
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Critic as Artist
Gilbert explains in detail to Ernest the importance of having critics and how their work projects the artists’ work and by critiquing, the critic becomes an artist as well. This is vise versa, because an artist must critique other artists in order to embrace it and create their own art, so it is as if the artist and the critic are one.
Gilbert chooses to present the critics as an artist, because critics need to know what they are talking about. The critic needs to take art and show us the meaning of it. They need to think as artists and reveal something that is not obvious. People don’t learn and appreciate the art work without knowing the message the art portraits. This supports Gilbert’s theory: “The highest criticism, then, is more creative than creation, and the primary aim of the critic is to see the object as in itself it really is not, ” (Ernest, 907).
I agree with Gilbert’s projection of a critic, because Gilbert also mentions that it is much harder to talk than to act. He combines language as the parent and action as a child, because the parent knows language but the child only does action, because it doesn’t know language. I feel that I am a child, because I don’t know much about the arts in order to critique it, which is one of the key points Gilbert points out.
Gilbert chooses to present the critics as an artist, because critics need to know what they are talking about. The critic needs to take art and show us the meaning of it. They need to think as artists and reveal something that is not obvious. People don’t learn and appreciate the art work without knowing the message the art portraits. This supports Gilbert’s theory: “The highest criticism, then, is more creative than creation, and the primary aim of the critic is to see the object as in itself it really is not, ” (Ernest, 907).
I agree with Gilbert’s projection of a critic, because Gilbert also mentions that it is much harder to talk than to act. He combines language as the parent and action as a child, because the parent knows language but the child only does action, because it doesn’t know language. I feel that I am a child, because I don’t know much about the arts in order to critique it, which is one of the key points Gilbert points out.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Finally! The End of Torture
The documentary “Taxi to the Dark Side” gives shocks and shivers when detainees (terrorism suspects) are brutally kicked in the legs while chained in awkward positions, being questioned naked, getting forced to masturbate, and having violent dogs bark in their faces in Bagram, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“Taxi to the Dark Side,” winner of an Oscar for best documentary of the year, written, produced and directed by Alex Gibney, shows the inhumane actions that are made upon the helpless detainees, but ends up being too long and a huge hit to the head.
President Obama recently signed for the termination of Guantanamo Bay, and ordered for the Central Intelligence Agency to close the prison within a year. According to government officials, President Obama says he will allow the C.I.A officers to continue taking in and transferring terrorism suspects, but they cannot keep them for a long time.
This documentary finally gives voice to those Afghani prisoners of war who are waiting to be heard. Dilawar, an innocent taxi driver is brought in to Bagram on December 5th, 2002. Five days after his arrival he is found dead hanging from handcuffs in his cell. Dilawar was what they called “pulpified:” He was kicked in the legs causing trauma and massive tissue damage. Officers in charge of Bagram sent a death certificate to Dilawar‘s family reporting his death as a homicide.
A week before Dilawar’s death, another detainee died of pulmonary conditions. The man had received beatings before he was captured. He had blood clots in his lungs and tissue damage in his legs and died within a few months of his arrival.
“Bad apples,” soldiers who were sent to protect the prisoners, but were ordered to abuse them instead, were charged with maltreatment, maiming, and homicide. However, high officials were not charged at all and moved onto higher positions.
The photos and the interviews of the soldiers, high officials, the prisoners, and news footage are the most outrageous, intense ingredients necessary to create this masterpiece, but they are overwhelming.
As a journalist and editor of “Taxi to the Dark Side,” Robert Scheer is experienced in putting pieces of information together to fit as a very informative documentary, which allows the viewers to take note of how the Bush Administration violates the Geneva Convention.
In a recent New York Times article, Dennis C. Blair, soon to be director of national intelligence in the Obama administration, quotes in a written statement: “Any program of detention and interrogation must comply with the Geneva Conventions, the Conventions on Torture, and the Constitution. There must be clear standards for humane treatment that apply to all agencies of U.S. Government, including the Intelligence Community.”
Finally the torture will end. President Obama prefers detainees to be prosecuted in federal courts or in the military justice systems, which gives detainees the same rights as American civilians. Detainees will be given lawyers and a chance to release any information about Al-Qaeda.
“Taxi to the Dark Side” is a mind blowing, attention grabbing news feeder that can be disturbing to watch.
“Taxi to the Dark Side,” winner of an Oscar for best documentary of the year, written, produced and directed by Alex Gibney, shows the inhumane actions that are made upon the helpless detainees, but ends up being too long and a huge hit to the head.
President Obama recently signed for the termination of Guantanamo Bay, and ordered for the Central Intelligence Agency to close the prison within a year. According to government officials, President Obama says he will allow the C.I.A officers to continue taking in and transferring terrorism suspects, but they cannot keep them for a long time.
This documentary finally gives voice to those Afghani prisoners of war who are waiting to be heard. Dilawar, an innocent taxi driver is brought in to Bagram on December 5th, 2002. Five days after his arrival he is found dead hanging from handcuffs in his cell. Dilawar was what they called “pulpified:” He was kicked in the legs causing trauma and massive tissue damage. Officers in charge of Bagram sent a death certificate to Dilawar‘s family reporting his death as a homicide.
A week before Dilawar’s death, another detainee died of pulmonary conditions. The man had received beatings before he was captured. He had blood clots in his lungs and tissue damage in his legs and died within a few months of his arrival.
“Bad apples,” soldiers who were sent to protect the prisoners, but were ordered to abuse them instead, were charged with maltreatment, maiming, and homicide. However, high officials were not charged at all and moved onto higher positions.
The photos and the interviews of the soldiers, high officials, the prisoners, and news footage are the most outrageous, intense ingredients necessary to create this masterpiece, but they are overwhelming.
As a journalist and editor of “Taxi to the Dark Side,” Robert Scheer is experienced in putting pieces of information together to fit as a very informative documentary, which allows the viewers to take note of how the Bush Administration violates the Geneva Convention.
In a recent New York Times article, Dennis C. Blair, soon to be director of national intelligence in the Obama administration, quotes in a written statement: “Any program of detention and interrogation must comply with the Geneva Conventions, the Conventions on Torture, and the Constitution. There must be clear standards for humane treatment that apply to all agencies of U.S. Government, including the Intelligence Community.”
Finally the torture will end. President Obama prefers detainees to be prosecuted in federal courts or in the military justice systems, which gives detainees the same rights as American civilians. Detainees will be given lawyers and a chance to release any information about Al-Qaeda.
“Taxi to the Dark Side” is a mind blowing, attention grabbing news feeder that can be disturbing to watch.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Link of a Review of "Live from Baghdad"
This is the link where I got the names of the characters and the producers, etc. THis is a really good review of the film "Live from Baghdad."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E2DB1030F93BA25752C1A9649C8B63
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E2DB1030F93BA25752C1A9649C8B63
A Rapper's Tale Larger Than Life
Published by: A.O. Scott
New York Times-Weekend Arts C1
January 16th, 2009
As soon as you read the first sentence of this article, you can tell how the reviewer feels about the film “Notorious.” A.O. Scott’s tone sounds disappointed because the movie ended up being a recap of Biggie Smalls’s life and how he became a rapper with the help of Sean Combs while also being a drug dealer at an early age. Scott feels that the movie was not as intense as the lyrics of his songs and the acting and the script was not as great as he thought it would be. But Scott then says the movie was not so bad, but he was expecting more of the film since Biggie Smalls is a great idol in today’s adolescent years.
Scott explained all the difficulties Biggie (Jamal Woolard) went through growing up in Brooklyn, NY and getting made fun of for his physical features and the absence of his father by the kids in school. Biggie had a child in his teenage years, got married at an early age with Faith Evans (Antonique Smith) and had another relationship with Lil Kim (Naturi Naughton). Lets not forget the major conflict of the film, which is Biggie’s rival Tupac. Scott mentions that the performance of Anthony Mackie (Tupac) and Derek Luke (Sean Combs) were nothing like the real life person of those artists today.
The “but” statement in this review is in the very last paragraph: “So “Notorious” settles into a curious comfort zone; it’s half pop fable, half naturalistic docudrama. Not a bad movie, but nowhere near as strong as its soundtrack. It does not explain its hero so much as revel in the memory of his many selves, teasing the audience with a promise of intimacy and understanding much as Biggie himself did, but without the same seductive payoff…” (Scott, pg C6).
Scott summarizes the whole point of his review, but also saying that the movie is not that bad.
New York Times-Weekend Arts C1
January 16th, 2009
As soon as you read the first sentence of this article, you can tell how the reviewer feels about the film “Notorious.” A.O. Scott’s tone sounds disappointed because the movie ended up being a recap of Biggie Smalls’s life and how he became a rapper with the help of Sean Combs while also being a drug dealer at an early age. Scott feels that the movie was not as intense as the lyrics of his songs and the acting and the script was not as great as he thought it would be. But Scott then says the movie was not so bad, but he was expecting more of the film since Biggie Smalls is a great idol in today’s adolescent years.
Scott explained all the difficulties Biggie (Jamal Woolard) went through growing up in Brooklyn, NY and getting made fun of for his physical features and the absence of his father by the kids in school. Biggie had a child in his teenage years, got married at an early age with Faith Evans (Antonique Smith) and had another relationship with Lil Kim (Naturi Naughton). Lets not forget the major conflict of the film, which is Biggie’s rival Tupac. Scott mentions that the performance of Anthony Mackie (Tupac) and Derek Luke (Sean Combs) were nothing like the real life person of those artists today.
The “but” statement in this review is in the very last paragraph: “So “Notorious” settles into a curious comfort zone; it’s half pop fable, half naturalistic docudrama. Not a bad movie, but nowhere near as strong as its soundtrack. It does not explain its hero so much as revel in the memory of his many selves, teasing the audience with a promise of intimacy and understanding much as Biggie himself did, but without the same seductive payoff…” (Scott, pg C6).
Scott summarizes the whole point of his review, but also saying that the movie is not that bad.
"Live from Baghdad" Review
Should I Stay and Risk My Life or Go Home?
CNN journalists put their lives in danger while struggling to be the only news channel in the world to be live from Baghdad to witness the bombing during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Robert Wiener (Michael Keaton) and Ingrid Formanek (Helena Bonham Carter), both partners and producers, give a great performance in showing their dedication in getting what they came for: a live story.
The journalists stay at the Al-Rashid Hotel during their desired mission. Through their journey, they discover details that they encounter and broadcast it to the CNN network back in America.
The film “Live from Baghdad” is based on a real life action that occurred and made history for the CNN network. It was also based on a book written by Robert Wiener, the CNN producer that lead the Baghdad story at the time. Keaton, the producer/actor took the role of being the character of Wiener and re-enacted the most memorable event for CNN network.
The movie involves some humorous comments, but the action towards the important scenes are so intense and frightful, it focuses the audience to see the terrified yet strong journalists’ faces when they achieve to broadcast the bombing and stay alive.
Throughout the movie, Wiener fights to get the approval of Naji Al Hadithi (David Suchet), minister of Iraq to get an interview with President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. Hadithi and Wiener slowly build a relationship, which they somehow understand each other, considering the difference of being an American and Iraqis.
Another relationship that grows in the film is Bonham Carter’s character, Ingrid and Wiener. Wiener, married with children, becomes curious about any intimacies between him and Ingrid in the many drunken nights they’ve had during the many years they’ve worked together.
This film, directed by Mike Jackson and produced by George W. Perkins, manages to get the journalists to do what they came for and see the difficulty in achieving that goal considering the situation and the fact that they are Americans in a place that is being attacked by the U.S.
Executives of CNN network said the crew had a choice of leaving or staying, after the White House announced the time of the bombing and had advised for the journalists to depart. With great cinematography by Ivan Strasberg, the most intense scene is the crew becoming witnesses of the disaster of the city getting destroyed from the window of their room in the Al-Rashid Hotel.
The film expresses the fear that the Iraqis go through as the Persian Gulf war occurs, which gives the American viewers a chance to see how it affects the Iraqis instead of only seeing how it affects the Americans.
“Live from Baghdad” is a film that keeps people at the edge of their seat. This event made history and what they covered changed the views of the CNN network and the public.
CNN journalists put their lives in danger while struggling to be the only news channel in the world to be live from Baghdad to witness the bombing during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Robert Wiener (Michael Keaton) and Ingrid Formanek (Helena Bonham Carter), both partners and producers, give a great performance in showing their dedication in getting what they came for: a live story.
The journalists stay at the Al-Rashid Hotel during their desired mission. Through their journey, they discover details that they encounter and broadcast it to the CNN network back in America.
The film “Live from Baghdad” is based on a real life action that occurred and made history for the CNN network. It was also based on a book written by Robert Wiener, the CNN producer that lead the Baghdad story at the time. Keaton, the producer/actor took the role of being the character of Wiener and re-enacted the most memorable event for CNN network.
The movie involves some humorous comments, but the action towards the important scenes are so intense and frightful, it focuses the audience to see the terrified yet strong journalists’ faces when they achieve to broadcast the bombing and stay alive.
Throughout the movie, Wiener fights to get the approval of Naji Al Hadithi (David Suchet), minister of Iraq to get an interview with President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. Hadithi and Wiener slowly build a relationship, which they somehow understand each other, considering the difference of being an American and Iraqis.
Another relationship that grows in the film is Bonham Carter’s character, Ingrid and Wiener. Wiener, married with children, becomes curious about any intimacies between him and Ingrid in the many drunken nights they’ve had during the many years they’ve worked together.
This film, directed by Mike Jackson and produced by George W. Perkins, manages to get the journalists to do what they came for and see the difficulty in achieving that goal considering the situation and the fact that they are Americans in a place that is being attacked by the U.S.
Executives of CNN network said the crew had a choice of leaving or staying, after the White House announced the time of the bombing and had advised for the journalists to depart. With great cinematography by Ivan Strasberg, the most intense scene is the crew becoming witnesses of the disaster of the city getting destroyed from the window of their room in the Al-Rashid Hotel.
The film expresses the fear that the Iraqis go through as the Persian Gulf war occurs, which gives the American viewers a chance to see how it affects the Iraqis instead of only seeing how it affects the Americans.
“Live from Baghdad” is a film that keeps people at the edge of their seat. This event made history and what they covered changed the views of the CNN network and the public.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Golden Globe Awards
Hollywood Finds Its Party Mood for the Golden Globe Awards Ceremony
By Brooke Barnes and Michael Cieply
The New York Times, The Arts
This article is about the globes that were awarded to celebrities for their work. The article began with which award was awarded to who and it mentioned some of the people who presented the awards. Barnes and Cieply wrote that the Golden Globe Awards was televised in more than 160 channels and more than 20 million people were expected to watch it. They even mentioned what other events were happening at the same time, which was the season premiere of “24” on Fox.
The tone of this article is a “success” tone, because the way Barnes and Cieply covered this event seems like everything went as usual; celebrities walk the red carpet, the awards are presented and received. Nothing special happened. The vocabulary was good, but not enough to excite the readers. One thing I liked about this article is , aside from what happened at the event, Barnes and Cieply compared the event to the Oscars and how the Golden Globe awards is more relaxed. At the end, they have a dinner party with champagne, which is not a big deal, but the Oscars party more than anything.
I like the sentence where they introduce the Disney Channel stars: “The press association had tried to curate a show that featured a younger set of stars, something that it had hoped to attract younger viewers. To that end, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, the stars of Disney’s “High School Musical” franchise, were presenters along with the Jonas Brothers.” -Barnes and Cieply
This is a great sentence, because the article was boring, and this excited me, because I am a Disney Channel fan. The article has no excitement to it, because it seems like the event is the same every year with different titles of the movies and artists that get awarded.
The “but” sentence was in the beginning of the middle part of the article. The sentence says that the Golden Globes was not taken seriously as an “artistic milestones” and has history of voting “idiosyncrasies,” but it is viewed as vital to maintaining momentum in the Oscar marathon.
By Brooke Barnes and Michael Cieply
The New York Times, The Arts
This article is about the globes that were awarded to celebrities for their work. The article began with which award was awarded to who and it mentioned some of the people who presented the awards. Barnes and Cieply wrote that the Golden Globe Awards was televised in more than 160 channels and more than 20 million people were expected to watch it. They even mentioned what other events were happening at the same time, which was the season premiere of “24” on Fox.
The tone of this article is a “success” tone, because the way Barnes and Cieply covered this event seems like everything went as usual; celebrities walk the red carpet, the awards are presented and received. Nothing special happened. The vocabulary was good, but not enough to excite the readers. One thing I liked about this article is , aside from what happened at the event, Barnes and Cieply compared the event to the Oscars and how the Golden Globe awards is more relaxed. At the end, they have a dinner party with champagne, which is not a big deal, but the Oscars party more than anything.
I like the sentence where they introduce the Disney Channel stars: “The press association had tried to curate a show that featured a younger set of stars, something that it had hoped to attract younger viewers. To that end, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, the stars of Disney’s “High School Musical” franchise, were presenters along with the Jonas Brothers.” -Barnes and Cieply
This is a great sentence, because the article was boring, and this excited me, because I am a Disney Channel fan. The article has no excitement to it, because it seems like the event is the same every year with different titles of the movies and artists that get awarded.
The “but” sentence was in the beginning of the middle part of the article. The sentence says that the Golden Globes was not taken seriously as an “artistic milestones” and has history of voting “idiosyncrasies,” but it is viewed as vital to maintaining momentum in the Oscar marathon.
Monday, January 12, 2009
“Gran Torino”
“Gran Torino,” starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, is an unexpectedly funny yet intense story that follows an old man stuck in a modern neighborhood with Hmong immigrants. Grumpy and growling, he approaches his life with anger and regret, which melts through his relationship with the neighbors. Connecting with their struggles, he finds a new way of re-evaluating his pains and hurts from the past, and begins a search for redemption.
The intolerable man’s attitude creates a humorous tone that brings laughter to the audience. Eastwood’s engaging film brings laughter, but finishes in a serious and unexpected note.
Eastwood’s character, Walt Kowalski, a veteran of the Vietnam War, losses his wife at the beginning of the movie, and spends the day sitting on his porch, growling at every piece of life in his neighborhood. Kowalski is searing with pain from the violence that he’s faced, the shame and regret of how he carried himself throughout his life and found no comfort in his family or religion to release it. He accidentally becomes a hero to his next door neighbors when he intervenes in a fight and unknowingly saves them from gang violence. Comfort creeps into his life when the neighbors bring flowers and food to his doorstep for his heroism.
Along with the gratitude, the neighbors try to convince the old neighbor to accept their teenage son Thao, played by Bee Vang, to work for him after trying to steal his’72 Gran Torino one night. Kowalski ends up becoming the hero of the town, when the gang tries by force to drag Thao out of his own home to get him to join their gang. Kowalski, seeing the situation, comes out of his house with a rifle and scares off the gang-bangers for stepping on his lawn. To stop the family’s daily generous donations of food, Kowalski finally accepts Thao and puts him to work, which gradually leads to a bonding relationship.
His heroism continues when Thao’s sister, Sue, played by Ahney Her, was being man handled by a few teenage boys. The old man saves her from the trouble, which by then Sue realizes how fearless the old man is and how he is not as grumpy as he seems.
Bee Vang’s performance was convincing when playing the role of a teenager who struggles with learning how to be a man and staying away from the gang-bangers in a neighborhood in Detroit. Vang’s character feels passionate about learning and working for Kowalski. Throughout the movie, Thao quickly picks up the teachings of the old man. They spend time together and soon become close and depend on each other to find their purpose in life.
The intolerable man’s attitude creates a humorous tone that brings laughter to the audience. Eastwood’s engaging film brings laughter, but finishes in a serious and unexpected note.
Eastwood’s character, Walt Kowalski, a veteran of the Vietnam War, losses his wife at the beginning of the movie, and spends the day sitting on his porch, growling at every piece of life in his neighborhood. Kowalski is searing with pain from the violence that he’s faced, the shame and regret of how he carried himself throughout his life and found no comfort in his family or religion to release it. He accidentally becomes a hero to his next door neighbors when he intervenes in a fight and unknowingly saves them from gang violence. Comfort creeps into his life when the neighbors bring flowers and food to his doorstep for his heroism.
Along with the gratitude, the neighbors try to convince the old neighbor to accept their teenage son Thao, played by Bee Vang, to work for him after trying to steal his’72 Gran Torino one night. Kowalski ends up becoming the hero of the town, when the gang tries by force to drag Thao out of his own home to get him to join their gang. Kowalski, seeing the situation, comes out of his house with a rifle and scares off the gang-bangers for stepping on his lawn. To stop the family’s daily generous donations of food, Kowalski finally accepts Thao and puts him to work, which gradually leads to a bonding relationship.
His heroism continues when Thao’s sister, Sue, played by Ahney Her, was being man handled by a few teenage boys. The old man saves her from the trouble, which by then Sue realizes how fearless the old man is and how he is not as grumpy as he seems.
Bee Vang’s performance was convincing when playing the role of a teenager who struggles with learning how to be a man and staying away from the gang-bangers in a neighborhood in Detroit. Vang’s character feels passionate about learning and working for Kowalski. Throughout the movie, Thao quickly picks up the teachings of the old man. They spend time together and soon become close and depend on each other to find their purpose in life.
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