I've Given In....

...to Netflix. All my friends have it and have told me what a great deal it is so i've decided to jump on the Netflix bandwagon. It's a good deal, $19.99 a month for unlimited movies (you get 3 at a time) which in retrospect is better than the deal at DVDen (9.99 for 5 movies for a week). So ya that's how I'll be spending by spring break, using my free trial of netflix at my house. (have I mentioned I got a 65inch HDTV with brand new surround sound...if I were ever on cribs that's about the only cool thing I've got to show off.)

anyhoodles...time for movie of the week!...(actually I owe u readers about 2 movies of the week since I didn't post 1 last week)..Our first movie recommendation comes in the spirit of March Madness. No, I wont say Hoosiers (to predictable) I'm going with Blue Chips. Ok so it isn't an excellent movie, but it stars Nick Nolte in it doing well...Nick Nolte things. It also stars NBA players Shaq and Penny Hardaway, along with cameos from Bobby Knight, the guy who played Al Bundy, and of course Boston Celtic legends Bob Cousy(in a memorable free throw shooting scene where he never misses and did it all in one take) and of course the great Larry Bird. About as a good as a sports movie as your going to get from the 90's so check it out if your into basketball and have never seen it.

My 2nd recommendation is Contempt by Jon-Luc Godard. It's an old French film which I tried basing my photoessay off of. It's a story about love and the relationship of a screenwriter and his wife. The film also stars American Jack Palance (Curly from City Slickers fame). Its a serious drama that also explores the ways of film making. One of my personal favorites. If you've never seen a French New Wave film check it out. Also see Godard's Breathless as well, a film that might translate better to a younger crowd.

Have a good spring break and peace the balls out ya'll.

photoessay

Well mine sucks but here it is....
http://people.umass.edu/kpjuica/

download presentation 1 with powerpoint

Thing is ive been sick all week like no other and have been busy as hell. As far as movies go though Tonight at 7PM in Campus Center 101 is the first ever UMASS FILM FESTIVAL presented by UVC-TV19. I work at the station so i'll be attending (and working). In fact technically i'll be late cause of this class. Thanks for getting me fired. Today has been rough as i've been putting the final touches on my terrible excuse for a photoessay. I haven't even eaten today. With this Film Fest after class, I probably won't get to eat until around 10-11ish or so. That should be a good breakfast.

Updates

As you can see I updated this blog. Links are up so check those out. I sort of rushed through those previous blog entries so I made a few slight changes. I plan on going more in depth in the future. One thing I am going to also do from now on is have a "Movie Of The Week". It's easy to recommend famous movies like Forrest Gump or something so instead, I'll focus more on Independent; Foreign; Old Films; Movies in Theaters; etc...In general movies that are obscure and maybe forgotten somewhat as well as personal favorites of mine. I'll try and mix things up as much as I can. This weeks Flick....."Rashoman" - Directed by Akira Kurasawa.

In my opinion you can't go wrong with Kurosawa. He is a master storyteller. His most famous film is "The Seven Samurai" which you should also check out if you haven't seen. One of his more obscure films is called "The Hidden Fortress" which was the bases for Star Wars. Rashoman although not as acclaimed as Seven Samurai, is very cool in concept. In what was the first of its kind the film is told through the interpretations of different characters, so we see the same general story unfold, yet the details contrast throughout. I walked away in somewhat of an awe after I saw it for the first time. samurai movies kick ass.

A long short vacation...

This was a long weekend for myself. I went home to Boston Thursday night and came back Wednesday morning. During that time I saw many films. The first movie I saw was "Raiders of the Lost Ark". I watched it with my 2nd cousin whos 13 years old. He had never even heard of Indiana Jones before. I realized that watching the movie through him made all the special effects seem supremely dated. He thought the effects were cheesy. Hearing him bash my childhood like that was the oldest moment of my life to date.

Next I headed downtown to hang out with a few friends at Emerson College. After dinner in the north end we came back to their apartment and watched "The Great Escape", This is one of the films I've always been meaning to watch but never did. So we watched as my best friend fell asleep a third of the way through. I stayed up and watched the whole movie. By the end I thought it was one of the better movies I've seen in a long time. Shorty after, I called it a night.

Our last day hanging out we chilled around Boston. Looking to kill some time, we thought screw it lets go see a movie. And so we did, as went to the Boston Common Theater where we watched "Good Night, and Good Luck", one of the few oscar nominated pictures I haven't seen yet. The film directed by George Clooney himself is nominated for Best Picture and I could see why. One of the more interesting things it brought up was the relationship of Television vs Citizens and wether or not it should be used for entertainment or to educate. In the end a whole lot happened in that short time over the weekend.

Until next time...

Winter...

...can be downright depressing at times. Remember when we were kids and we couldn't wait for snow? Well now snow kinda sucks. I guess thats growing up for ya, you slowly start to lose your interest and imagination for things. I guess thats why man invented the TV. Whoever came up with the idea definatly had to be from some place snowy. Ahh TV...mans best friend on a snowy day inside. For me, a 28' inch tv and a dvd player will do...

My Blog

My blog will center around movies. From all around really; The movie theater, the video store, cable, back home...you get the picture. I've always had a passion for film and television. Hopefully one day i can do something involved in that. That or sports, i love sports. Work at ESPN? NESN?? write a sports movie? we'll see what happens down the road. For now in this blog i'll be talking about different movies and the places i see them and how it effects my life.