Hollywood Legends

During the weekend of before Halloween, one of my friends and I got together in the King of Prussia area of Pennsylvania. We went shopping for a few hours at the mall and I particularly wanted to show my friend a cool store filled with pop culture merchandise. The store is called "Beyond the Wall," and featured items themed with images of old Hollywood icons along the store front.


I first found out about the store when a few workers were at my college campus on the first day of the Fall 2010 semester to sell merchandise. After that, I searched online to find out where the store's closest locations were at.


At one point, my friend picked up an 8x10 image of Marilyn Monroe sitting and wearing a long-skired ballerina costume. My friend didn't know that I saw her looking at the item, so that gave me the perfect idea for her Christmas present this year.


We continued to browse through the pop culture merchandise that surrounded us for a little while longer. I decided to buy a photo book of James Dean and my friend bought a poster of a recent favorite movie. Since she didn't buy the Marilyn Monroe image, I planned to come back another time to buy it when my friend would not be shopping with me.


However, the weekend before Christmas arrived and I found a larger version of the same image to buy for my friend. It was being sold by a vender who was set up somewhere in the main corridor of a mall closer to where I live. On Dec. 23, I went back up to visit my friend and give her the present. She loved it, and I could tell it was a total surprise to receive the Marilyn Monroe image. She said that she had seen a few of Monroe's movies in the past.


One of my presents this year from family turned out to be this cool James Dean image.

With our mutual interest in Old Hollywood, I think my friend and I will watch James Dean's and Marilyn Monroe's movies when we get together next time.

Golden Globes 2011

The list of my Golden Globe favorites to win, or guesses at who / what will win, is similar to that of my Critics' Choice picks...with a few categories having ties. I wasn't sure at all which nominee to pick for the best original song category.

• Best Motion Picture Drama - "Inception"
• Best Actress Drama - Natalie Portman, "Black Swan" / Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"
• Best Actor Drama - James Franco, "127 Hours"
• Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical - "Alice in Wonderland"
• Best Actress Comedy or Musical - Anne Hathaway, "Love and Other Drugs"
• Best Actor Comedy or Musical - Jake Gyllenhaal, "Love and Other Drugs"
• Best Animated Feature - "How to Train Your Dragon" / "Tangled"
• Best Foreign Language Film - "Biutiful" / "I Am Love"
• Best Actress in Supporting Role - Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
• Best Actor in Supporting Role - Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech"
• Best Director - Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
• Best Screenplay - Boyle & Beaufoy, "127 Hours" / Nolan, "Inception"
• Best Original Score - Hans Zimmer, "Inception"
• Best Original Song - ?
• Best TV Series Drama - "Mad Men"
• Best Actress in TV Series Drama - Katey Sagal, "Sons of Anarchy"
• Best Actor in TV Series Drama - Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
• Best TV Series Comedy or Musical - "Glee"
• Best Actress in TV Series Comedy or Musical - Laura Linney, "The Big C"
• Best Actor in TV Series Comedy or Musical - Steve Carell, "The Office"
• Best Mini-Series or TV Movie - "The Pacific"
• Best Actress in Mini-Series or TV Movie - Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin" / Judi Dench, "Return to Cranford"
• Best Actor in Mini-Series or TV Movie - Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack"
• Best Supporting Actress in Mini-Series or TV Movie - Julia Stiles, "Dexter"
• Best Supporting Actor in Mini-Series or TV Movie - David Strathairn, "Temple Grandin"

With certain actors, actresses, directors and films getting nominations for both award ceremonies, I'm very curious about the Oscar nominations this year.

Critics' Choice Awards 2011

Today I was looking at the list of nominees for the Critics' Choice Awards and picked out my favorites to win. Some are also some guesses about who / what I think will win, basing those guesses somewhat on the buzz I've heard. Some categories are tied for me and there was one I couldn't really decide on, hence the question mark. So, here are the ones I chose:

• Best Picture - "Inception" / "127 Hours"
• Best Actor - James Franco, "127 Hours"
• Best Actress - Natalie Portman, "Black Swan" / Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"
• Best Supporting Actor - Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids are All Right"
• Best Supporting Actress - Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
• Best Young Actor or Actress - Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
• Best Acting Ensemble - ?
• Best Director - Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
• Best Original Screenplay - Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
• Best Adapted Screenplay - Beaufoy and Boyle, "127 Hours"
• Best Cinematography - "127 Hours"/ "Inception"
• Best Art Direction - "Alice in Wonderland" (2nd choice - "Inception" or "Black Swan")
• Best Editing - "127 Hours" / "Inception"
• Best Costume Design - "Alice in Wonderland"
• Best Make-Up - "Alice in Wonderland"
• Best Visual Effects - "Inception" / "Alice in Wonderland" / "Deathly Hallows Pt. 1"
• Best Sound - "Inception"
• Best Animated Feature - "How to Train Your Dragon" / "Tangled"
• Best Action Movie - "Inception"
• Best Comedy - "Date Night"
• Best Picture Made for TV - "The Pacific"
• Best Foreign Language Film - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
• Best Documentary Feature - "The Tillman Story" / "Waiting for Superman"
• Best Song - "If I Rise," from "127 Hours"
• Best Score - Hans Zimmer, "Inception"

Next up, my picks for the Golden Globes.

A Presentation on Filmmaking

In my speech class, I have an informative speech coming up and today I finally decided on a topic. I'll be presenting info on various filmmaking techniques that I learned about in a film class a few years ago. Along with techniques, the class covered genres and acting styles. The professor showed clips of various films, some of which I had never heard of. He also showed clips of other films that I had heard of but never watched. Since then, I have been inspired to watch many films for the first time.


Regarding my presentation, I am looking for particular scenes from various films so that I can use them as examples of techniques. Once I get all the information together, I'll be putting it into a PowerPoint slideshow. I'm going to use a mix of films from various genres and decades for a good variety. These should be a good pre-cursor to my Spring semester, when I'll be taking a film history class focusing on the last 60 years of films. I'm looking forward to finding out what films will be discussed.

Show People (1928)

I was up between the hours of 4 and 6 a.m. yesterday, watching a silent film on TCM about a girl who wanted to be famous. There was a scene in which the girl was being directed to cry after receiving some sad news.


Without giving too much away, the scene goes into an actor's ability to cry on cue when a scene calls for it. The film's story also involves the newly famous girl's celebrity life and its impact on her pre-fame life. To me, this silent film is timeless in those respects. I always wonder how an actor or actress can cry when needed for a scene. I love the emotion that some actors and actresses can show in their roles. Also, there are plenty of examples of how fame and someone's personal life don't always mesh well.


There were a lot of funny moments in this film, along with funny quotes shown between certain scenes. So I'd recommend it to others because of the laughs it gave me throughout the film.

People's Choice Awards 2011

For this post, I am sharing my favorites to win the movie-related People's Choice Awards this year.

• Favorite Movie - "Inception"
• Favorite Movie Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio
• Favorite Movie Actress - Julia Roberts
• Favorite Action Movie - "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"
• Favorite Action Star - Jake Gyllenhaal
• Favorite Drama Movie - "Inception"
• Favorite Family Movie - "The Karate Kid"
• Favorite Comedy Movie - "Valentine's Day"
• Favorite Comedic Star - Drew Barrymore
• Favorite On-Screen Team - "Inception" (DiCaprio, Gordon-Levitt, Page, Hardy, Rao)
• Favorite Movie Star Under 26 - Emma Watson
• Favorite Horror Movie - ?

I wasn't really sure with that last one's nominees since I hadn't seen any of them. After all, these are the types of horror movies that I am never able to stomach. However, since I voted online, I decided to go with "Let Me In."

The Blob (1958)

Many of my favorite classic films from the 1950s are the ones about invaders from space. Although I didn't see it featured for an October scare, "The Blob" was shown yesterday on Turner Classic Movies.


This is one of my favorites out of the invaders-from-space set of films over the years, and was filmed not too far away from where I live. So I have always wanted to see the film locations made famous by "The Blob." Of course, there is also the annual Blobfest, which I have never been too. However, I'll have to make a road trip out of it next time it is held and I'll go check out the Colonial Theatre, where movie-goers ran screaming from the gooey monster.


"The Blob" is also the film that I first saw actor Steve McQueen star in. He is one of those classic actor favorites and I think that new generations will easily like him when first watching his films. As any teen can relate to, McQueen's character is not being listened to by most of the authority figures. The cool cars of the 1950s driven by McQueen's character and his friends are another timeless aspect of the film. They add to that always-cool look of a decade that continues to inspire a love of cool cars.


A few moments of humor are included here and there throughout "The Blob," so it has a little bit of something for many people. It uses suspense to scare and has human emotion when main characters find themselves in a jam...no pun intended.


Overall, I recommend this classic to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

The Gorgon (1964)

This creepy classic stars two of legends from the horror genre, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. It centers around a creature similar to Medusa of Greek mythology, with the power to turn victims into stone.

Among horror films filled with vampires, mummies, werewolfs and other monsters, the Medusa-like creature seemed an unusual element to encounter. It was interesting to see outside of watching the original "The Clash of the Titans."

What I like the most about "The Gorgon" included the effects adding to the film's overall eerie atmosphere. There are the scenes with a creepy, dark castle off in the distance with a wooded area that seems to warn, "do not enter." The winds howl, sounding ghostly as they whip around the castle and nearby village homes. Inside the castle, the rooms are shadowy and filled with gothic-detailed furnishings.

The setting builds up a feeling that something is going to happen, or that someone or something is watching from the shadows. This is why I love the old horror films the most, because they are creepy without all the "in-your-face" scenes of today's horror films.

October's Classic Scares

Counting down the final days before Halloween once more, one annual ritual of sorts is watching the old horror and sci-fi movie line-up on TCM. Whether it's Bela Lugosi starring as Dracula, 1950s oversized creatures or invasions from outer space, they are always a great addition to celebrating the season of scares.



There are quite a number of these creepy classics that I've watched over and over, never tiring of them. "Creepy Classics" was also the title of a collection of horror film clips I had on VHS back in the late 80s. It was hosted by Vincent Price and featured a mix of different kinds of monsters that we've seen in films over the years.


This year, I caught a few monster classics that I haven't seen before in all the years I've tuned in to watch movie monsters of old. In honor of October's scary line-up, I'll be writing about those as well as any long-time favorite scream-filled gems.


One final thought for now...I also like remakes of certain classics and one such example is "The Wolfman," starring Benicio Del Toro as the latest werewolf. It has that perfectly creepy, atmospheric look throughout the movie. The time period it was set in also added to that gloomy effect. Other remakes, however, bring on that feeling of "nothing beats the original."

Hamlet (1948)

On Thursday, Sept. 16, I tuned into the Turner Classic Movies channel and watched the 1948 version of Hamlet starring Laurence Olivier. When watching TCM, I sometimes catch the commentary by host Robert Osborne before or after a film. This time, Osborne said that Olivier brought Shakespearean work "to the public" with the Hamlet (1948).

Hamlet was also the first Shakespearean play I read, leading to my interest in Shakepeare's other famous works. Those include not only the plays, but the sonnets as well.

My thoughts about the 1948 film version of Hamlet are on how haunting it felt. Of course, there is the ghost theme in Hamlet. However, that's not why I felt the film to be haunting. It was the acting by Olivier as Hamlet, watching the moments in which there was a great deal of emotion. The character Ophelia, played by Jean Simmons, was equally haunting as she began to seem out-of-sorts. The voice-over heard during the drowning scene added to that other-worldly feel in that part of the film.

I would definitely recommend this film version of William Shakespeare's Hamlet to anyone who hasn't seen it. In my opinion, it makes a great addition to any list of films from the Old Hollywood era.

Theatre & Stage Crew

Yesterday, my college held an involvement fair on campus to help students find clubs and organizations of interest to them. In following with my film / entertainment interests, I decided to sign up with the theatre & stage crew.


This will be something totally different for me, being involved to any degree with plays. Yet it coincides with my communications major through the various equipment used. Lighting, for example, which I learned about in video production during my Spring 2010 semester. Of course, there is the area of working with props or set / stage design. That is something I really like...the little details you see in a scene...studio set or theatre stage. I think that they can really make a story real for the viewer, or even allow an interesting shot. I'm remembering some film scenes in which a character's face is framed in a different way, or maybe viewers get to see the character and a reflection of him or her at the same time.


Back on campus, I'm also looking forward to any meetings of the film society on campus this semester. I didn't see any tables set up for that particular student group at the involvement fair. However, I hope to meet many other students with an interest in the film industry and who just really love many different films.

Why I'm Blogging About Film

I decided to keep a blog about films because I love many different genres, and have a lot of favorite actors and actresses. As I go to see new films, I will post on here my thoughts about them. I also want to do the same for any film that I see for the first time, even if it is something that I don't see until it is on DVD or TV. Of course, I usually follow the various award shows when that time rolls around. So, I also plan to write about my favorites to win for their categories.


There are many films that feature places I would love to visit someday, inspiring things I want to photograph. I listed some films with favorite locations on my Photo Journey blog, back before I thought of blogging about films. As a college student, I am also interested in learning about video, filmmaking, script writing. So I'd like to post about the steps I take toward those areas, writing about the overall experiences as I go.