Wickedfacts

Help Kids Manage Movie Collection Problems

You’re not the only one with movie collection issues. If you have children who like movies as much as you do, you need to give them the tools they need to organize on their own. While you could help them manage DVD collection problems, what will they learn if you do all the work for them? Instead, you can give them easy to use tools that will allow them to figure out how to manage movie collection issues when they come up and they might even be able to apply these lessons to larger organization concerns down the road.

The Younger Kids

It’s true, those children who are younger may not understand what a movie organization problem is. You need to start them a little simpler in this process, while still teaching them how to help you with your organization. Because they’ll have some understanding, they will be able to manage movie collection problems, even at their age. Have these children take a box and always put their movies back into the box when they’re done. This will help them understand how to stay neat and clean, and then you can see where the movies are at all times. You might also want to talk with them about only having enough movies to fit into that box. When the box is too full, the children need to decide which ones need to be donated or thrown away.

Older Children

When a child is older, they’ll be able to understand organization better. To manage movie collection problems at this age, have the children clean up after themselves, but then also arrange the movies by title. This will help them understand that movies need to go in a certain order so as to be easy to find later. You can also begin to introduce them to movie collection software that can help them keep things under control. Show them how you use the software and then have them help you when you are updating the movie collection lists. Those who are more adept with the computer might be able to use the system on their own too.

Teens

Software to manage DVD collection problems will be easy for teens to use. All they need to do is to read the instructions and they can manage the work on their own. You might want to make this a special role in your household and turn over the organization to a responsible teen. This will help them learn about organizational skills, plus it can help them continue to learn how to help the family as a whole. They can also find new ways of using the software so that it works better for the family’s needs.

To manage movie collection problems, all you need is to enlist the help of your children. This will allow you to create a clutter-free home as well as a movie collection that works for your family needs. Organization is simple when everyone is able to get involved.…

Reviewed: Good Neighbours [2011]

N/A – 95mins – Comedy/Crime/Thriller – N/A

Good Neighbours follows three people who live in the same apartment building in Montreal over the course of Winter in 1995. Spencer (Scott Speedman) is a wheelchair bound introvert who spends all of his time in his flat on the first floor; Victor (Jay Baruchel) who has recently moved to the area since returning from China; and finally Louise (Emily Hampshire), a waitress at a local restaurant who spends most of her time either socialising with her pet cats (Tia Maria and Mozart) or reading up on the local serial killer who is running riot near to where they live.

Each of them is flawed in their own unique way so much so that I found myself asking the question why are any of them friends at all? Only the nervous Victor seems to be capable of something resembling social skills despite the uncanny ability to put his foot in everything time and time again and yet on several occasions they all sit down to dinner together when it’s extremely obvious that they would be somewhere else.

The film took such a long time to get going and was so slow paced to begin with that I began to lose interest rather quickly. And although it did begin to pick up just past the hour mark I was only kept partially intrigued to see how the characters were going to play out once they had each laid their cards on the table. The acting was average, nothing shockingly bad but nothing exceptional either, with Hampshire the best of the bunch in her portrayal of the disturbingly cat obsessed Louise.

The most shocking moment in the film for me came after I finished watching it and realised that this was supposed to be part comedy albeit black humour. That small titbit of information only made itself obvious to me after I started to research it which gives you some indication of how funny I felt Good Neighbours to be. If that cryptic message was too much for you let me spell it out- it wasn’t funny… not in the slightest. Black comedies do tend to be more subjective than other comedies but I’m normally a fan quick to laugh at the disturbing and down right wrong. So (except for one line I’ve just remembered after some strenuous thinking) I had on my poker face.

Whoever made the trailer for this should be out of a job. Is a spoiler considered to be a spoiler if it’s included in the trailer? If you’re ever planning to watch this then I recommend giving the trailer a miss as it destroys what little intrigue there is supposed to be for one of the years most obvious and predictable plots. I’m usually quite good at seeing where a film is going but for Good Neighbours even if you’ve only got your head half screwed on I doubt the twists and turns will remain hidden from you for long.

I have the feeling that if you are able to get into this film near the beginning then there is a reasonable chance that enjoyment is there to be had but I found it so hard to do this that a potentially decent storyline has gone to waste and a sense of disappointment surrounded me once the film had finished. Not watching the trailer might also make for slightly better viewing. If you see it on the TV one day then maybe you should watch it.…

Tangled in Your Dreams

Judging form the preview of the Disney movie Tangled, I wasn’t expecting much. Boy was I wrong. This movie was clever, funny, had an emotionally engaging story and delivered some very powerful messages through metaphor and song. The female lead was not waiting around to be rescued and Prince Charming did not have a respectable background. This is the Disney we’ve been missing since Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. If you haven’t seen it yet, you may not want to read any further.

For starters, Rapunzel’s tower serves as her prison. She is about to turn 18 and has never felt grass under her feet or experienced the outside world. Her “mother” knows best and tells her the world is dangerous and harmful. The tower represents whatever little world you may currently live in (i.e. your family, your job, your town). We all cut ourselves off from possibilities every day because we choose to stay in the comfort of what’s familiar.

Tired of feeling trapped, Rapunzel’s curiosity leads to seizing an opportunity to escape for three days without her mother knowing. She takes a risk and goes against everything she’s been brought up to believe in because she has a dream.

When she gets out the tower, she experiences a roller coaster of emotions from ecstasy and joy to regret and sorrow. She is truly torn between moving forward and going back. Despite these strong emotions, she decides to forge ahead.

As obstacles surface, she turns rough and ugly characters into friends by explaining her quest and asking “didn’t you ever have a dream?” The best song in the movie is “I’ve Got a Dream,” which features the hidden talents of the most charming minor characters in the film. By sharing her dream, she helps others get back in touch with theirs.

Finally, as she’s about to get what’s she’s wanted for so long, she admits to being terrified. She asks what if it’s not everything she’s dreamed it would be? That is, when you’ve been aspiring toward something for so long and you achieve it at last, what do you do next? The male lead answers by saying you just choose another dream.

There is no shortage of dreams in the world. You can probably think of 5-10 dreams off the top of your head that you’ve had since childhood. You simply keep dreaming up new dreams in a never-ending cycle of dream fulfillment.

To make your dreams come true, you’ve got to be willing to take action. You’ve got to believe in the dream and be more committed to it than to your current reality. Don’t let fear paralyze you from taking steps toward your dream. That’s just ego trying to hold onto the status quo. There is no such thing as a neutral place. Your beliefs are always either moving you forward or holding you back.

Don’t miss this movie. I cried several times and so did my 12 year old daughter. A grown man sitting two rows in front of us laughed louder than anyone else in the theater. The scenes with Maximus the horse and the chameleon are priceless. This movie is about dreams and having the courage to go after them. It’s a wonderful message for children and adults.…

Read This Article if You Despise Religion

First, before I start realize that religion is only a concept. Therefore, if you despise a religion, you may as well despise Harry Potter’s latest novel, or Hollywood’s latest movie. Do you see that point? Now you might despise folks of a certain religion who have adopted a way of life or believe in something to the point that they have impeded upon your rights, as you see them. Just despising a religion is kind of silly, and may I ask who gave you the right to choose other people’s thoughts – what are you now; the thought police, a one-person Don Quixote windmill attacker, and if so, may I ask to what avail? Let’s talk about this for second shall we?

First, an FYI; I am not a follower of any religion, even at age 3 this whole theory of Santa Claus didn’t make any sense to me, and I question all the stories, tales, myths, and religious works regardless of denomination, and I find them all fascinating, and an integral part of human history and the human endeavor, but I certainly don’t want them for my own life experience, but to despise any of these concepts is not an intellectual thought, and perhaps it is the wrong tact altogether. If you recognize religions as culture, the glue of society, and/or a control mechanism then more power to you, at least you are observing what you see in the real world.

Are religions necessary for human civilization? Probably not. Are they a net negative or net positive? It’s hard to say, they’ve been around so long, we hardly would know what would be if they didn’t exist, things would be much different, so who is really to say? There’s no real empirical evidence one way or the other, and even if you took a supercomputer and looked at every civilization that has ever risen and fallen in the history of humanity, you probably couldn’t get a definite answer. You might find one religion which has done better than others for the society, depending on the culture, region, and many other factors, but you could never come to a foregone conclusion.

To assume that you could would be laughable, erroneous, and in itself a “hardened opinion” akin to a religion itself. Now then, it probably goes without saying that if a bunch of humans made up the story about a God or gods, chances are it isn’t true, the odds are so against that potential eventuality, it’s probably not even worth discussing, but that doesn’t mean you should despise the concept. In actuality you should be intrigued by it. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.…

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New Australian Adventure Movie Sure To Please Teen Audiences

Tomorrow When The War Began movie has just been released in Australia, It is a movie based on the first book in a series by John Marsden, a well known Australian author. It was adapted for the screen by screen writer Stuart Beattie, who has also directed the movie; his debut as director.

It stars a number of well known Australian actors including Caitlin Stasey of Neighbours fame who plays the film’s protagonist, Ellie Linton; and Lincoln Lewis of Home and Away fame who plays Homer. Ellie asks seven of her friends to join her on a camping trip into the remote, pristine bushland area the locals call “Hell”.

Six of them; her best friend Corrie and her boyfriend Kevin; her next door neighbour Homer; and friends from school; Fiona, Lee, Robyn can go. Chris’s parents are away overseas so he has to stay at home and house-sit.

While the group of teens are away, they notice a convoy of planes flying overhead, but think nothing of it as their rural township of Wirrawee is celebrating their annual Commemorative Day, so they assume the fly-over has something to do with the celebrations. Little do they realise what is happening back in town.

When they return from their trip, they find the streets are deserted and their homes are abandoned. Animals are dying and food is going off. Not sure what to make of it all, the group decide to wait until nightfall and go into town and investigate.

Once there, they see stores being looted by enemy soldiers and their families being held captive by an unknown enemy force. They realize that their town has been invaded by an enemy force. After much consideration they decide they are not going to stand helplessly by and watch their town get taken over; they choose to fight for their families and the town’s freedom, so form their own guerrilla militia.

The story goes on to show how the teens cope with the huge responsibility that has been thrust on their shoulders, with lots of action and adventure and romance thrown in to boot.…

Avatar – Big Bucks Create Incredible Movie Experience Through a Compelling Story

Does spending millions of dollars to tell a compelling story make sense? From Cleopatra to Titanic, Hollywood has spent big bucks to entertain while simultaneously earning a significant return on investment.

After watching Avatar on its opening day, all I can say is the expenditure was indeed worth it. Of course to be honest, I am a science fiction fan from my early childhood days of reading Jules Verne to H.G. Well. I remember many of those now “cheesy” science fiction movies such as Them or The Blob to even the better ones As the Day the Earth Stood Still to the first War of the Worlds.

Watching this movie I had this one consistent thought, “Cameron’s creativity was endless.” From the colors to the intricate environmental relationships between the humanoids on the planet Pandora to all of the native flora and animal life not to mention the mixing of animation with actors, I just could not stop thinking about the details within this incredible film. Having experienced the many contemporary science fiction and fantasy films, I could not find one having such an intricate story line. Possibly the closest one was Dune and yet never reached the depths of Avatar.

While having this ongoing thoughts of Wow, how did he think this up?, I also experienced several deep emotion reactions to this movie. These emotional jumps reminded me of watching Sleeping Beauty as a child. Not since Disney (which was a very long time ago) have I had an emotional connection with an animated picture.

In reflecting after leaving the theater, I realized that Cameron must have had read McCafferty’s Dragons of Pern not too mention possibly Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Last of the Mohicans. I saw and felt through the dialogue pieces of Native American to African American cultures.

The physical look of the Na’vi appeared to be cat like in the face like the Beast in the Beauty and the Beast television series. Their bodies moved like the felines in the musical Cats only with the combined agility of Spider Man, Flash and the Fantastic Four.

If you wish to experience something far different than anything you have ever seen, then you should purchase a ticket for Avatar. The only thing is you may wish to see it again because in one viewing you will truly not see everything that is happening on the big screen.

P.S. When it comes out in DVD, this is a must for my collection. Also, I believe Cameron may be thinking a series based upon the ending of the movie.…

Decorate Ideas – Rooms For Those Who Love Movies

A love for movies usually starts at a young age. The fun, adventure, danger, and laughter captured on screen lights a flame in the hearts of most children. Superheroes, cops, firemen, astronauts, and cowboys fabricate the dreams of many aspiring childhoods. While these dreams may or may not come true for some of us, our love for the silver screen remains true to these ideals.

Decorating a room is not just about throwing up some pictures or posters, painting a few trendy colors on the walls and calling it good. Decorating a room is all about personality. Is it a love for Disney movies? Disney characters? Specific movie stars? I know that my little sister absolutely loves Hannah Montana, and was lucky enough to go to one of her concerts. I bought her a poster before she went, and she was somehow able to get it signed. She couldn’t wait to display her experience on her wall in her room for all to see.

Whether you are decorating for yourself or for a son or daughter, you need to ask three basic questions:

What type of movies are the favorites? Disney? Pixar? Classic cartoons?

Is it a love for something specific that you may want a theme? Or a little bit of everything?

What type of movie memorabilia are the favorites? Posters? Film cells? Cardboard cutouts? Shadow boxes? There are so many choices when it comes to movies, answering these questions will give you insight into the best way to set up the room.

Finding the material to set up in the room is fairly simple. If you know the specific items you will be searching for, you can search the internet specifically for that item, and with a little research you can find a web site with a great selection, quality merchandise, and competitive prices. I have decorated and redecorated rooms so many times with film and television decor, that the process is simple. It all comes down to knowing what you want, and where to go look for it.…

Awake Heroics In You Like Iron Man

Superheroes are evergreen characters of the world of imagination. Every child wants to become a superhero when he grows up, and every adult has a hidden wish of having extraordinary powers. One of the most popular sources where superheroes emerge from is comics. The world of comics has fascinating and breathtaking superheroes. However, from Superman to Spiderman, there is undoubtedly one comic house which creates the most mesmerizing superheroes, Marvel Comics. Marvel Comics is the king when it comes to developing the most heroic figures in the world of fiction. One of the best creations of Marvel Comics is Iron Man.

Iron Man is a superhero who gets his superpowers in pursuit of protecting himself by making a metal armor suit. This character of Iron Man gets his distinctiveness from a gentle and noble nature he possesses. The journey of Iron Man began from comics and reached up to the big screen. The Iron Man movie was a blockbuster, and the audiences loved every attribute of the character of Iron Man as Tony Stark in the movie.

The character of Tony Stark required a highly advanced look. It was particularly challenging for the fashion designers to give him the apparel that could step side by side with the character of Iron Man. However, the designers met the challenge with diligence and eventually came up with extremely chic and classy apparel. Robert Downy Jr. played the character of Tony Stark and managed to sport the fashion pieces exceptionally well. The audiences simply fell in love with Downy from his very first look. Though Downy sported every piece of attire well, it was his trendy jacket that gained most popularity.

The jacket of Tony Stark was a unique and classic piece in itself. Unlike the conventional jackets, his jacket had a side zipper. This new way of zipping accentuated the appeal of the jacket. Even the style of the pockets of his jacket was exceptional. Away from the traditional pocket cuts, his jacket had a diagonal zipped pocket on the chest. There was another diagonal pocket on the stomach in the opposite direction. The collar had a snap with two metallic buttons which added intricacy to the jacket. The fitting of his jacket looked neat, and the cuts were extraordinarily stylish. The back had an inverted T-stitch which made the jacket look distinct. The sleeves had no extra leather hanging which awarded an exclusive look to his jacket. The details of the jacket spoke themselves for their exquisiteness. The structure of his jacket was well-defined through the stitches which fulfilled all the needs of the character to look muscular and athletic. The outer shell of leather used in his jacket was black and had a rough touch which complemented his appearance.

Iron Man is a legendary superhero. Every fiction lover will love to look like him. Every fashionable being would wish to look as stylish as Tony Stark. For every style savvy person, the apparel Downy sported in the movie are quite tempting.…

Movie Review – The A-Team

Don’t you just love remakes? With so many adaptations/remakes running around I suppose it was just a matter of time before The A-Team got remade. Based of the TV series which ran from 1983- 1987 a lot of us might not have had a chance to watch it or remember it very well because we were too young. So if you did remember the series well. Dude! You are so old. The good thing about not really remembering this series is that I went to watch as an average movie goer with no expectations a fan might have. Which is a nice change.

The movie stars Liam Neeson as Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith (Liam Neeson), Bradley Cooper as Templeton “Faceman” Peck, Quinton Jackson as B.A. Baracus and Sharlto Copley as H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock. Jessica Biel plays DCIS Captain Charissa Sosa and the film is directed by Joe Carnahan.

Now the A-Team stands for Alpha Team and just like in the TV series, are sent on a super top secret mission. Upon their return to base however they find their commanding officer who gave them the order, murdered, and therefore they have no proof that they were acting under orders. They are then sent to a maximum security facility but of course, they escape. Which makes me worry about maximum security facilities in general. The A-Team now go looking for the people that set them up. The storyline has been modified from Vietnam to Iraq but its generally the same.

Liam Neeson has pretty much played every conceivable character there is to play by adding Hannibal to this already long list of roles. Jedi Knight, Greek God, King of the Beasts you name it Mr Neeson has done it. So this role would hardly be a challenge for him. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?

A lot of us will remember Bradley Cooper from The Hangover and he is well suited for the womanizer Faceman. Plus he is eye candy apparently. If the girls I hang out with are any indication of what girls in general feel about him that is.

Copley as Howling Mad Murdock is probably going to be audience’s most favorite character. The mad pilot from hell who gave Baracus his fear of flying? Whats not to love? What I found out is that Copley is actually a South African producer, actor, and director who produced and directed several short films for the Cannes Film Festival. Didn’t see that coming I must say.

I’m actually the most impressed with Quinton Jackson who plays Bad Attitude Baracus. Now filling the shoes of Mr-T will be a big task indeed. For those who do not know Quinton is also known as Rampage Jackson, and is an American mixed martial artist. He acted in several reality TV shows including The Ultimate Fighter 7 and is a trained UFC fighter. After watching the movie thats pretty scary stuff. You don’t ever want to get into a fight with 6 foot 1, 93 KG guy that looks like that. What impresses me however is the fact that this guy isn’t actually an actor per say like the other three but he plays his role very well.

Overall it was a generally enjoyable movie with a nice blend of humor and action. Probably not the most original plot or storyline but it has decent jokes and a lot of explosions. So don’t expect too much and I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this movie.

“I ain’t gettin on no plane!” Sorry couldn’t help myself.

I rate the movie 3 out of 5…