The newly released “Olympus Has Fallen” is an action movie, which, like so many others that have come out of Hollywood in the past few years, is a mixed bag artistically.
However, the film seems to have abnormally irritated a number of critics, not so much because of some of its inherent flaws, but rather because it includes a display of patriotism and additionally dares to contain a story line about a Western nation that is dealing with the real world challenges of terrorism.
A major buzz has been building in the mainstream and social media over a technological device that is being developed by search giant Google called Google Glass, which is a wearable computer, with a head-mounted display in the form of eyeglasses.
The Google Glass eyeglasses will reportedly display information to a wearer in a smartphone-like format and will allow a user to interact with the Internet via voice commands.
However, as has been seen with other types of data collection, tracking technology, and proposed devices that interface with the human body, the capabilities of such computing instruments raise some serious issues involving personal privacy, Google Glass being no exception.
In the making of the new movie “Oz the Great and Powerful,” director Sam Raimi has kept with the current filmmaking trend and succumbed to the temptation of sacrificing fundamentals only to rely on eye-popping computer generated effects.
The movie suffers considerably as a result of its weakness of dialogue, uneven story pacing, indelicate editing, and general miscasting of actors.
Notwithstanding some of its flaws, though, the film did succeed in securing one of the biggest March debuts ever, taking in about $80 million in North America and $70 million abroad.
While the nation and the entire globe watched yesterday as Sen. Rand Paul conducted an historic filibuster, actor John Cusack used his twitter account to sound the alarm bells regarding the absence of support from Democrats in the Kentucky senator’s effort to highlight the issue of the possible use of drones by the government to summarily execute American citizens without due process.
“For gods sake where are democrats ??” Cusack asked, referencing a tweet by left-leaning cable network Democracy Now, which read, “Rand Paul: Obama Admin Response Drones ‘More Than Frightening.’”
The super dark fairy tale is a relatively new genre that is making its presence felt on the small and big screens.
Recent movies such as “Snow White and the Huntsman” and “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters,” and television programs including “Once Upon a Time,” are Hollywood cases in point.
It appears that some traditional fairy tales have mutated into entertainment fare with distinctly adult themes, the latest of which is this past weekend’s top box-office film, “Jack the Giant Slayer,” a sci-fi fantasy action movie loosely adapted from the children’s story “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
This past Sunday, as the 85th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony was taking place right in the heart of Hollywood, an anxiety was growing within the entertainment business.
Despite the much-ballyhooed box-office figures, the traditional movie business model is facing a grim prognosis in terms of its ability to generate future revenues.
After sinking in 2011 to the lowest movie audience tally seen since the mid-1990s (1.3 billion), the industry shifted into panic mode. Then last year’s box office numbers managed to provide Hollywood studios with some relief, thanks to a number of blockbuster hits including “The Avengers.” Audiences grew to 1.36 billion and gross revenues hit $10.8 billion.
Voting is now underway and will continue through Tuesday to determine which films and film related artists are ultimately going to receive one or more of the coveted golden statues that are given out annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Oscar campaigns have become brutal affairs, replete with skilled strategists, opposition research, and multimedia leaks.
However, this year politically tinged cinematic content and even some real-life political officeholders may have an effect on the outcome of the Academy Award ceremonies.
At a time when Hollywood stars are lining up to support one Democrat agenda item after another, one prominent actor has decided to go up against the grain and give voice to alternative positions.
Bruce Willis is speaking out on two issues that so-called progressives have been championing, taxes and gun control.
It is a risky proposition to go up against the Hollywood Left, but Willis is one of the major power players in Tinseltown, having grossed more than two and a half billion dollars at the box office.
A snub by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences along with a series of wins from the Producers Guild of America (PGA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and most recently the Directors Guild of America (DGA) have set up a major Hollywood power struggle in the lead up to the Oscars.
On one side of the power struggle is an institution, the longtime heralded filmmaker Steven Spielberg, and on the other an upstart, the comeback kid Ben Affleck.
Spielberg’s “Lincoln” and Affleck’s “Argo” will go head to head in the best picture category of the upcoming Academy Awards.
When it comes to Academy Award predictions, the current season has been suffering from a bout of Oscar confusion.
“Argo” has received seven Oscar nominations from the Academy, including a best picture nom. The same prestigious organization has snubbed Ben Affleck in the director’s category.
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has given Affleck a director’s nomination but has skipped over “Silver Linings Playbook” director David O. Russell. However, the Academy did give Russell an Oscar nomination.
Kathryn Bigelow was ignored by the Academy for “Zero Dark Thirty” and yet the film was honored with a best picture nomination.
Hirsen at Newsmax