Archive Posts

“Whiz Kids” traces the events leading up to the most prestigious science competition in the USA. The Science Talent Search began in 1942 and currently is sponsored by Intel, the processor chip giant. The filmmakers scoured the high schools of the country looking for 16-17 year old budding scientists.

To their surprise, they found that some of the STS candidates were already working in government labs, sometime under the supervision of Nobel Prize winning scientists. Others were working in that masterpiece of American ingenuity, the basement lab. Here they toiled away, driven by curiosity and fueled by the energy of youth.

The group was winnowed down to three competitors who were chosen to tell their stories in “Whiz Kids.” Keledra Welcker’s research centered on pollution dumped into the Ohio River by her hometown in West Virginia. The pollutant is a byproduct of the Teflon manufacturing process and the corporations who make Teflon are very big and very powerful.

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I always promise myself I won’t get sucked in to ‘America’s Next Top Model’ when a new cycle is beginning. I say I won’t watch ‘Canada’s Next Top Model’, ‘Make me a Supermodel’, ‘True Beauty’ or any other modeling contests. And yet I find myself glued to the television, hopelessly addicted to all of the above, every single time.

How can I resist – Beautiful people, designer clothes, death-defying photo shoots, drama – modeling contests are the ultimate escape. I sigh with envy as girls settle in for their three-hour makeup and hair sessions, reflecting on my own daily routine of yanking my hair into a ponytail and swiping on some lip balm.

I picture myself twenty pounds lighter and twenty years younger. I imagine myself hanging from a crane in an evening gown while a photographer yells up at me that I am fabulous. These fantasies are surprisingly easy to get lost in while sitting on the couch in sweatpants eating chocolate and watching modeling contests on television.

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After his breakthrough with The Sixth Sense in 1999, M. Night Shyamalan’s career has been painful to contemplate. Hailed as the new Spielberg.

He has made five movies, ranging from the awkward-but-promising (Signs) to the ridiculous (Lady in the Water). Never content to be a conventional hack.

Shyamalan shows auteurist ambitions in his films, with themes of grief and loss of faith, when supernatural agencies intrude in ordinary lives.

The Last Airbender has been touted as a change of direction. With a hefty $150-million (U.S.) budget, it is offered as the first film in a blockbuster trilogy. The movie is adapted from Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko’s well-regarded Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which draws inspiration from various Asian cultures and takes place in a world with four nations named after the elements of earth, water, air and fire.

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Who says family films are just for families? In one of the more surprising developments of the summer movie season, three movies primarily aimed at kids and their parents are drawing a surge of significantly older moviegoers — many of whom are going without their children — in a trend that single-handedly has reversed the vacation season's box-office doldrums.

Thanks to the performance to date of the PG-rated "Shrek Forever After" ($223.8 million in domestic release), the G-rated "Toy Story 3" ($125.9 million) and the PG-rated "The Karate Kid" ($110.6 million), total receipts since the first weekend of May are now even with where they were a year ago, a material improvement from early June, when ticket sales were off 4% (summer admissions are still down about 6% compared with 2009).

Because these three films are either sequels or remakes with significant nostalgic appeal (and attracted some very favorable reviews), they are reaching an audience that typically would drop off their children at the multiplex, rather than join them inside the auditorium.

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Imax Corp. and Walt Disney Studios said Wednesday that they have agreed on a deal to release three more 3D movies to Imax theaters next year. The movies are "Mars Needs Moms," which is scheduled to be released next March; "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," set for release in May; and "Cars 2," which is scheduled to be released next June.

Disney had previously agreed to release five 3D films with Imax. Many moviegoers experienced Imax for the first time when they saw "Avatar," which in turn boosted both the number of the company's new repeat customers and demand for 3D films in huge-screen format. Imax shares fell 14 cents to $16.16 in afternoon trading, while shares of Walt Disney Co. rose 2 cents to $34.37.

Marvel Studios and Disney are preparing a mystic spell with the announcement that writers have been hired to take a crack at Doctor Strange.

Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer, currently working on Conan, just got the job. For whatever reason I think I've read more Doctor Strange.

Than any other Marvel property, and I can tell you that if this is done right, it could be a terrific movie.

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What do you know - a remake that actually was pretty good. This summer has been one remake or sequel after another, and most of them have been crap-ola but "The Karate Kid" broke the recent mold. The remake has some subtle differences then the original but is mostly a carbon copy.

This time the frail kid is played by Jaden Smith, whose face is a young dead ringer for his Dad (Will) while the Kung Fu master is played by Jackie Chan.

Chan of course has made a living of his comedic karate roles, but this time he leaves most of the comedy behind and shows both a serious and sensitive side.

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It's a sign of our times. The reboot of the 1984 classic that pitted underdog Daniel Larusso against merciless bullies offers the same crowd-pleasing charm but with a contemporary twist.

"The Karate Kid" reflects both globalization and bone-crunching stylistics, packaging dislocation and violence as picture-postcard entertainment stamped in China.

Will the PG crowd enjoy the retread? Absolutely. Will parents feel conflicted about mixed messages? Probably.

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New stills have been released from the upcoming Disney/Pixar movie “Toy Story 3,” which is set to hit theaters on June 18, 2010. In the stills you can see all of your favorite Toy Story characters who have been with us ever since the first movie, and you can meet a ton of new characters from the third and upcoming movie. Who’s excited for Toy Story 3?

You want to see Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers over and over on repeat? Well the release date for the Disney Channel movie Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam will be coming to DVD and Blu-Ray on September 7th which is a few days after we get to see it on the Disney Channel September 3rd per Amazon.  Not that we do not think that it could slide a bit.

If watching them on the television is not real enough for you, remember that they are coming to a town near you.  You can also check out an unofficial track listing for the Camp Rock 2 soundtrack here and make a guess at what your favorite song will be.  It’s On is a favorite of mine so far, we will see if it holds up when the full soundtrack is out.