Journal 6: Here Comes "Hitchcock"

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/165556-hitchcock-needs-more-psycho-less-sideshow/

In the article, "'Hitchcock' Needs More 'Psycho,' Less Slideshow," author, Bill Gibron discusses the upcoming film, Hitchcock. This movie is about the life of Alfred Hitchcock, a movie making legend. Basically everyone of his movies has suspense around a theme of death. One of his first films, North by Northwest, and one of his most famous horror films, Psycho are referenced in Hitchcock. In this movie, Hitchcock, played by Anthony Hopkins, has already made North by Northwest and wants to make another film that he will finance himself. He goes on to start the production of Psycho and hires the cast members for the film that he himself wrote. Hitchcock is about the making of the movie Psycho, but Gibron argues that the film should have more of what happens in Psycho instead of just the making of it.

This movie isn't Psycho and if Gibron wanted to see Psycho, he should have watched the 1960's film instead. Hitchcock isn't just about the making of the movie, it's about what happens behind the production of the movie. It's about his personal life and how the making of his movie effects Hitchcock and his wife, played by Helen Mirren. I think this would be a good movie to see. I have seen many of his films and would like to know the story of the man himself. He was a movie legend and his films are still being watched today. This movie would has lots of insight about Hitch's life as Psycho is unfolded.

Journal 5: Brief Screeing Report on "The Social Network"

http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&newwindow=1&tbo=d&tbm=isch&tbnid=yh_aN_1wxDsoYM:&imgrefurl=http://www.geekpeeks.com/2010/10/18/the-social-network-review/&docid=3D25T4POwf0mQM&imgurl=http://www.geekpeeks.com/wp-content/gallery/the-social-network/the-social-network.jpg&w=596&h=489&ei=3mGcUMTcOOfS2AXBqYCgCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=18&sig=111518609891335608379&page=1&tbnh=147&tbnw=180&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:127&tx=106&ty=-31&biw=1600&bih=705

The scene in The Social Network that I found to be important is the scene in which Eduardo Saverin freezes the bank account for Facebook. The events leading up to this event help to better understand this scene. Mark Zuckerberg wants his best friend and CFO of Facebook to come to California with him so he doesn’t get left behind with Facebook’s constant growth. Mark’s other friend, Sean Parker, keeps making business meetings even though Eduardo is the business end of the company. To get Mark’s attention, Eduardo freezes their only bank account. When Mark finds out, he gets very panicky because without money, the site can’t function. He explains that the servers will be down, the system will crash, and there will be a domino effect as Facebook users log off on one by one.

The scene in which Eduardo freezes the bank account is in chapter 14 of the movie, but the events leading up to it are in chapter 13. I think this scene is important because the events in this scene drive Eduardo to take legal action against Mark for not making him a part of Facebook even though he’s the company’s CFO. Mark diluted Eduardo’s shared down from an original thirty percent to less than one percent. Eduardo then went on to sue Mark for everything because he had a big part in the creation of Facebook. He funded everything needed to get the site up and running and was the one who set up the bank account in the first place. This whole movie is set around the law suits that Mark is in, one of which being with Eduardo.

Homework Blog 11/8

The article, "Realism and Anti-realism," discusses the terms, realism, anti-realism, and verisimilitude. Realism is an interest in or concern for the actual or real, a tendency to view or represent things as they really are. An example of realism is the movie, Marley and Me. Typically; puppies are very mischievous as depicted in the film.  Anti-realism is an interest in or concern for the abstract, speculative, or fantastic. An example of anti-realism is the move, The Princess and the Frog. Frogs don't talk, sing, dance, or turn into a human being. This movie has the element of fantasy. Verisimilitude is convincing the appearance of truth. An example of verisimilitude is the Harry Potter movie series. All the movies are full of magic and spells, and the setting of Hogwarts makes the movies appear to be real.

The video, "Looking at Movies-- Genre: The Western," discusses the main characteristics of genre. One important characteristic of a genre is the setting. For horror movies, the setting is a very important aspect. In horror films, the events typically take place in a haunted house or mansion in a deserted town or in the middle of nowhere. The killer or demon is usually in the house or around the perimeter of the house. Main characters in these films almost always are left in darkness or power outages for a good portion of movie as well.

Journal 4: The Red-Head is Back!

                  http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/165047-malibu-country-reba-returns/

In the article, "'Malibu Country': Reba McEntire Returns," the author, Leigh H. Edwards, describes Reba's new sitcom, "Malibu Country." This new show does parallel Reba's previous sitcom, "Reba," in some ways. They are both about a main character named Reba who is a mom with a sassy attitude and quick with a comeback, and has a quirky next-door neighbor and a constant nuisance to Reba. Some differences between this new show and her old one are in "Malibu Country," Reba is a country singer who hasn't had a record in twelve years and wants to get back in the business while her husband, Bobby, is a country super-star with a record deal. In "Reba," Reba is a single mom with three kids and a cheating husband who gets his mistress pregnant. She is constantly in the middle of both her family and her ex-husband's family. 

Ever since my grandma introduced it to me, "Reba" has been one of my all-time favorite comedy shows. It is a complete laugh-out-loud series that I can never get enough of. One of my favorite characters on "Reba" is Reba's ex-husband's pregnant mistress and next door neighbor, Barbara Jean. She is a quirky and goofy woman who calls Reba her best friend. She is one of the funniest characters on the show and a reason why I still watch the re-runs. I am pleased to hear that in Malibu Country, there is a character similar to Barbara Jean's. In the new series, the neighbor's name is Kim. There's no doubt that I would enjoy this new show. Even though the two shows are kind of similar, this new one offers some fresh new ideas, some of which from Reba McEntire's own life.

Journal 3: A Tail of "The Little Mermaid"

                                http://www.kidzworld.com/article/6145-classic-disney-fairy-tales

Of all the movies I've seen, one of them pops out at me as a favorite. "The Little Mermaid" has been my top pick for many reasons. First of all, it takes place under the sea. As a kid, I loved the water, and I loved swimming, but this movie has more to offer than just the setting. This movie is also full of catchy songs. When I was little, I enjoyed singing along to "Under the Sea" "Part of Your World," and "Kiss the Girl." I thought those were the best songs in the movie.

Besides the many sing-along-songs, I think one aspect that I respond to is the art design of "The Little Mermaid." The whole movie is full of many colors that portray the mystical world of Atlantica. The many fish, mermaids, and flowers are painted with the colors of the rainbow. Another part of the movie that I respond to is the plot. In this film, the plot is used to teach a lesson. What the audience should take away from this movie when watching it is to not take anything for granted. Ariel traded her voice and soul to Ursula for the chance to walk on land and meet Prince Eric. Later, she realized how difficult is was to get by without a voice, but found her way. I enjoy watching Disney movies because they typically have a message for the audience and happy endings. Ariel ended up getting her voice back and decided to live on land with Eric.

How To Make Better Than Sex Cake

By: Jenna Crawley, Amanda King, Kirby Reehl, Shannon Sward

The upcoming months are beginning to seem stressful as you have been put in charge of finding the perfect cake for your sister’s bridal shower. As you search the web, you find many cakes, but none of them seem quite right. You find Crème de Menthe, but you’re not old enough to buy the alcohol. Your next thought is to make rice cakes, but these might not be appealing to all of the guests. Then you find it: Better Than Sex Cake. It seems to be the most ideal choice. However, you don’t know quite how to make it. Our goal is to help you make the best Better Than Sex Cake for your sister to enjoy at her bridal shower.

Step one: Obtain the following items:

Appliances needed:

Oven

Microwave

Refrigerator

Supplies needed:

9x13 inch pan

Wooden spoon

Metal spoon

Large mixing bowl

1 Quart size plastic Ziploc bag

Rubber spatula

1/3 and 1 cup measuring cups

Rolling pin

Oven mitt

Pam Cooking Spray

Toothpick

Small bowl

Timer

Ingredients

1 package of German Chocolate Cake mix

-1 cup of water

-3 eggs

-1/3 cup of vegetable oil

6 ounces caramel ice cream topping

3 regular size Heath bars, crushed

One 8 ounce container cool whip

Step two: After all supplies have been gathered, set out all of the ingredients on a counter or table in a kitchen and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Empty the contents of the cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of water, 3 eggs, and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. Mix ingredients together in the large bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Step three: Evenly spray the 9x13 inch pan with the Pam cooking spray. Proceed to pour the cake batter out of the large bowl into the greased 9x13 inch pan while scraping excess batter with a rubber spatula. Evenly distribute the batter in the pan with the rubber spatula.

Step four: Open the oven door and place the pan with the batter into the center of the top rack of the pre-heated oven. Close the oven door and set a timer for 34 minutes. Once the timer goes off after 34 minutes, use an oven mitt to carefully remove the hot pan from the hot oven. Insert a toothpick into the center of the baked cake. Take toothpick out. If the toothpick is clean, your cake is fully baked. If there is residue on the toothpick, place your cake into the still heated oven for 2-3 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out of the cake clean. Turn off oven once the cake is completely baked and out of the oven.

Step five: Using the handle of the wooden spoon, poke 25-30 holes into the top of the baked cake. Unscrew the cap of the caramel ice cream topping, and place the caramel ice cream jar into the microwave. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until the caramel topping can easily flow off of a metal spoon. Pour heated caramel topping from the jar evenly over the baked cake. Then place cake into refrigerator until cool to the touch.

Step six: While the cake is cooling in the refrigerator, unwrap 3 regular size Heath bars and place them in a one quart size plastic Ziploc bag. Using the rolling pin, crush the Heath Bars in the Ziploc bag until the candy pieces are bite-sized. Pour the bite-sized Heath bar pieces from Ziploc bag into a small bowl. Please try to refrain from eating all of the Heath bar candy pieces before you can sprinkle them on the cake. Set aside until the cake is cool.

Step seven: Take the cooled cake out of the refrigerator. Spread the Cool Whip evenly over the cake with a clean rubber spatula. Scrape the edges of the Cool Whip container with the rubber spatula to get all of the Cool Whip out of the container and on to the cake.

Step eight: Sprinkle the crushed Heath bar pieces evenly over the Cool Whip topping. Pay close attention to the empty spaces around the cake where you can still see a large amount of Cool Whip. Be careful not to over sprinkle the Heath bar pieces so the cake does not look too cluttered. Your cake is now finished!

Now you have made the perfect cake for your sister to enjoy at her bridal shower! Your friends and family, especially your sister, will quickly devour this delectable Better than Sex Cake. You will receive raving reviews for baking such an astounding cake and will be considered the highlight of the bridal shower.

Journal 2: Not Your Typical Haunted House

                              http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/164221-paranormal/

The article, "Indie Horror Month: 'Paranormal'" by Nick Dinicola is about a video game called "Paranormal." In this game, the gamer is the only character, and their task is to find the ghost in the haunted house. Throughout the game, the house depicts events that go bump in the night. Random items in the house might pop out or explode in the first game, but in the next, nothing might pop out. It is completely unpredictable. In this article, the author also compares this game to the "Paranormal Activity" movies because no one really knows what to expect, and if they think they know what's coming, they're wrong. I have seen the first three "Paranormal Activity" movies and this game does sound a lot like the movies. In the movies, the main characters are filming what's going on in their haunted house and have no idea what to expect, this game is similar to that. Special effects in the game create an even scarier setting. The "camera" will shake creating the feeling that the gamer is out of control as to what happens, the "battery" on the camera will run out after a certain amount of time, forcing the character to sleep in the house so the "battery can charge." Even though this game isn't released yet, I can imagine many people anticipating getting this game because it is so close to Halloween.