It was the home of the Mcallisters, it was a huge warm home big enough for the whole family, and it was a house that Kevin had to protect. Not many movies portray a house like Home Alone did back when it was released in 1990, the house was the battleground for Kevin as he had to defend it from burglars and really was like a main character in the movie itself.
And just recently that same house in Chicago Illinois has gone up for sale. So if you have the cash, you can own a little piece of cinema history. The 4250 sq. ft. home has 4 bedrooms and 14 rooms in total, and it also features a scary basement, cool third floor bedrooms, and a staircase just begging for a toboggan.
The house is listed for $2.4 million… keep the change you filthy animal.
The house is currently being listed by Coldwell Banker and you can check out the online real estate page here:
If you have been following the ‘Fault Line’ trailers of the upcoming game Battlefield 3, you know that this game release is building a lot of momentum. The teaser gameplay trailers have kept us interested in one of the slickest looking games to date. And with the recent release of the full ‘Fault Line’ 12 minute trailer, one can only get a little more excited. But if you can’t wait to get your hands on a copy, you have to wait a little longer, the game is not set to be released until November 2011.
Set in 2014, the current trailer scenes document a squad of marines in Iran carrying out missions against the PLR. From walking through the marketplace, gunfights on the street, to crawling across the rooftops, the visuals are impressive.
From a generation that used to play Wolfenstein 3D, and Duke Nukem 3D; games that included the ’3D’ heading just to let us know we were stepping out of the traditional 2D realm, BF3 is a fantastic example of how far gaming has come. Check out the new trailer below, but be sure to watch it in HD.
With the huge amount of pop culture streaming out of South Korea comes one particular film which pushes the boundaries of quality movie making, especially from a foreign market. ‘The Man From Nowhere’ is a 2010 film which is just now hitting North American markets with the DVD release.
The film follows Cha Tae-sik, a quiet guy living a low key lifestyle in Korea. One of the only people he communicates with is a small girl named So-mee, who visits his small pawn shop regularily. This simple relationship is the anchor for the series of events that unfolds when both their lives are thrown in turmoil.
This action film closely resembles the likes of ‘Man on fire’ or ‘Taken’ with one persons determination to do anything to save a loved one. Not in the traditional 90 minute hollywood length category, the longer timeframe allows for a more indepth character development which allows the kind of attachment and feelings required to pull you in. Action scenes abound as an underground world of drugs and black market organ trade is revealed, and even with the 2 hour length, theres hardly a moment when you are wondering when it will end.
Every single day we have to make thousands of decisions. Some are as simple as what time to get out of bed, what to eat for breakfast, or what clothes we are going to wear. However not all decisions are easy, in our personal lives and work lives we sometimes have to make difficult or complicated decisions. This sets the basis for the factors that affect decisions and how we handle them.
What makes a difficult decision? Difficulty is often gauged by the severity of the outcome. We would deme the decision to pick fruit loops or cheerios less difficult to make than say, which school to put our kids in. So what makes your breakfast choice less difficult? Well when you analyze the outcomes of choosing one cereal over the other, the result will be that you’ll be less hungry than when you started, and the worst case scenario being that you would of rather had fruit loops that day. Compare that to choosing which school your kids go to, the outcome becomes much more complicated. For example, it is possible that the school which your children attend will have no effect on their future. But there is also the possibility that the choice of school will greatly alter their lives. With no means to tell for sure, one can only investigate each outcome as best as possible, and finally make that difficult decision.
This leads us to another couple of factors affecting our decision making process. The more difficult a decision is the more time to make that decision is required. However, as many of us know, this is not always an option. Furthermore stressful situations can be caused either internally by the decision itself, but also externally by the conditions in which we make decisions. Stress can induce an altered state of mind in which every person reacts differently. Often individuals who can make effective decisions under stressful conditions and in short amounts of time are highly regarded.
The Hurt Locker
Perhaps one of the best examples of stressful decision making is in a combat situation. While many business decisions can be stressful, it’s hard to match the outcomes of life and death many soldiers face every day in active duty. The recent film ‘The Hurt Locker’ released in 2008 portrays the particularly stressful life of Sergeant First Class William James, Sergeant JT Sanborn, and Specialist Owen Eldridge, a military bomb squad in Iraq. For the 3 man team portrayed in the film, there are multiple levels of danger associated with their duty. The decision to join the army, being deployed for active duty in Iraq, and being on the bomb squad, and having to constantly deal with IED’s in a combat situation. For it is one thing to diffuse a bomb in a secure location, but more complicated to diffuse a bomb while the streets around you are far from safe. The combination of all the factors surrounding an army bomb squad means that determining the best decision can be substantially more complicated than choosing what to eat for breakfast.
Suicide Bomber: What is more evil?
The film is loaded with difficult scenes, and questionable wartime tactics, from injured insurgents, hostage situations, to bomb laden Iraqi bodies.
One particular scene in the movie deals with a particularly difficult ethical decision. Suicide bombers usually strike without any warning, but in this scene, the troops are faced with a different kind of bomber. The man is strapped with explosives, but he has changed his mind, regretting his decision and begging for help. The scene is reflective of the opening scene of the movie in which one member lost his life due to a bad decision. Troops clear the area, as James, Sanborn, and Eldridge are called to the scene. The amount of explosives on the man forces the troops to isolate him, keeping a safe zone around him. As the man cries for help, James is strapped with the bomb suit and goes to analyze the situation. Sanborn and James attempt to free the man of his explosive vest, but it is tightly secured with a series of locks and metal strapping, and a timer ticking down to detonation. It quickly becomes clear that they will not be able to free the man in time, as Sanborn tries to drag James away. James struggles to the last seconds to try and free the man, but ultimately has to make the difficult decision to leave him. The scene closes with a massive explosion.
Although difficult, it seems a necessary decision to leave the man for the safety of everyone else involved. And for most people that exact decision seems like the only logical choice. Ultimately that decision is one of the biggest ethical questions individuals, soldiers, organizations, or governments have to face, and is more commonly known as the lesser of two evils. It’s that very concept that many people would struggle with, and ultimately, even people who don’t believe in the concept of a lesser of two evils will react in the same manner.
Lesser of Two Evils in Life
Not every variation of the Lesser of Two Evils concept is life and death. The concept only implies that in some strained situations, the benefit of many must occur at the expense of a few. In that view, democracy itself can be thought of in this way, for democracy is the benefit of the majority, at the expense of the minority. Every decision has a compromise, there is always sacrifice. More often than not, these types of decisions are surrounded with time constraints and stress. It is easy to judge a decision from a calm environment with ample time to explore the outcomes, but not easy to make that decision when the time calls for it. This is something we must always remember. As stressful conditions intensify, and time is short, we may not have the opportunity to investigate all possible outcomes, but a diligent attempt is required.
Finding Balance
It is imperative that we strive towards that balance in life. While not all our decisions will be the best ones, we should work towards educating ourselves and exploring the options as best as possible. By doing this we can ensure that we are better equipped to handle situations as they arise. Just as we must not let the restrictions of voluntary blindness to issues around the world affect us, so too can this concept be reflected in a global scale. By limiting exposure and education, prime conditions for unethical decision making can develop. Often so, these bad decisions can even be done without harmful intention, but as the world changes, the ignorance excuse is losing credibility. The regimes of the Soviet Union, East Germany, and more recently North Korea all have worked to blind their citizens of the freedom of knowledge. Without knowledge it is difficult for individuals to make informed decisions, the lines between right and wrong can quickly become blurred.
The importance of establishing a sound knowledge base is the foundation for good ethical values. As DesJardins outlines “acts and choices that aim to promote human well-being are acts and choices based on ethical values” (DesJardins, 2009). While many of us may not face the same conditions that an army bomb squad will, we will however face difficult situations nonetheless. Nobody wants to be faced with making difficult decisions, but it is inevitable in life. As Sergeant Sanborn says riding back in the Humvee after that particular final scene, “you realize every time you suit up, every time we go out, its life or death, you roll the dice, and you deal with it” (Bigelow, 2008). We do not have the luxury of choosing which situations we are faced with, but we do have to deal with them. With a strong understanding of our surroundings and values we can enable ourselves to make the difficult decisions to the best of our ability.
-J.Magnan
References
Bigelow, K. (Director). Mackie, A. (Actor). (2008). The Hurt Locker [Motion picture]. Voltage Pictures.
DesJardens, J. (2009). An introduction to business ethics (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
If the name Tony Jaa rings a bell, thats probably because you were introduced to the movie Ong Bak back sometime around 2003. Ong Bak was a film which introduced alot of people to a few new things: Thai Films, Hilarious English Dubbing, Muay Thai, and the insane fighting skills of Tony Jaa.
While although Tony Jaa has yet to breakthrough into the realm of credit I think he deserves, we are lucky enough to see him in a whole trilogy of Ong Bak films. Having delayed watching Ong Bak 2 and 3, I finally watched the entire Ong Bak 2 film.
A couple things to remember when watching Ong Bak 2, is that it really is nothing like Ong Bak, thats right, not a tuk-tuk in sight in this film. In fact, the film takes place in the 15th century, in ancient Siam, making for a unique setting, in a world very few people even know about. The second thing is that, just as in the original, the storyline is so faint, it ultimately fails to pull you in. Which is sad, because with the right amount of plotwork, these films could easily have become epic historical action films comparable to the likes of Gladiator, Braveheart, Apocalypto, or Croutching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
However, do not let that prevent you from watching this film. For what the movie lacks in story, it makes up for with a whole lot of flying knee kicks to heads and sternums. And the movie posesses the best use of an elephant in a fight scene, hands down. Combat scenes are elaborate and well choreographed, and the absence of music in some parts really brings out basis of this film; the fight. Listening to leg kicks and throat jabs is all you really need sometimes. More points for some simply stunning scenery, elaborate costumes, and decent musical score.
On the discussion board today is a film I saw last night. The film I saw was Monsters. It’s safe to say that I had no previous knowledge or expectations about this film before I saw it. I had pretty much only heard of the name, and was told it was a low-budget film from a friend.
One thing I love about low-budget films is that the film makers don’t possess the funds necessary to create large action sequences or incredible CG. This forces the filmmakers to focus on the story, the characters, their relationships, and ultimately be creative to draw in their audiences.
Monsters is no exception, the film follows Andrew; a photo journalist as he is forced to put aside his assignment and help the daughter of his boss Samantha get back to the United States from Central America. The catch is that 6 years ago, a space probe returning to earth with samples thought to prove the existence of alien life crashed into Central America. And ever since then, the ‘monsters’ have been multiplying, pushing the limits of the Mexican and American governments capability to contain them.
In order to return to America, the couple has to travel through ‘the infected zone’, an area off-limits to humans and is meant to contain the monsters. As they do so, they develop an interesting relationship, as Andrews cynical yet realistic point of view combines with Samantha’s soft-spoken gentle nature. The characters are easily likable, and you can’t help but hope they succeed in their journey to the border.
Scifi monster movie buffs might be disappointed with the very little actual monster contact. The best relation I can think of is that of Cloverfield, in which you saw very little of the monsters themselves. But the similarities stop at that, as Monsters is far superior in quality to that of Cloverfield.
So for a movie that was created with 2 people, filmed entirely on locations, and utilized local people as characters in the movie, this was a spectacular film. Check it out.
2010 may not have hosted the best movies of any year on record (1977-Star Wars obviously…), but it most certainly had some worthy works. Despite the usual expected travesties such as Twilight and Sex and the City sequels, there were some remarkable films. One of the first to come to mind would be Inception, the film that played on the realities of a dream. A great action film leaving you with the same sort of feeling you had after watching the Matrix for the first time, waking up in the middle of the night screaming “WHAT IS REAL!?” Well maybe not that far, but another DiCaprio hit none the less.
Other worthy mentions would be the Social Network, with the surprisingly entertaining depiction of Mr Zuckerberg himself, the unexpected humor in Kick Ass, the ever likable Boston gangster film genre of The Town, and the witty remarks of Tony Stark in Iron Man 2. Furthermore, the less popular but incredibly well written film Remember Me starring Robert Pattinson showed this British actor is capable of portraying a decent character other than a sparkly vampire. Never Let Me Go, was a difficult and sad yet incredible movie to watch as well, same goes for Winters Bone which Jennifer Lawrence does a fantastic job in.
I maintain 2010 was a good year for movies. It’s hard to explain the value of movies to non-movie buffs, and I can never express enough the importance of watching each film for what it is. Let yourself into the story, experience what the filmmakers are trying to portray, because films are not merely entertainment, they are depictions of all the feelings and emotions we have in this world.
So I’ll leave you with one of the best movie montages of 2010 I’ve seen. Kudos to the creators of this, they did a good job. We’ll see how 2011 turns out.
So you know about music mashups, when 2 or more songs are blended together to come up with something new. What made you think it ends there? There is an ever expanding selection of really well put together movie trailer mashups which I highly recommend taking a look at. Most can be broken into 2 categories, mashups being the audio from one trailer blended over the visuals of another movie. Then theres recut, which is entirely different audio played over a recut selection of clips from a movie. They are addictive and highly entertaining to watch, take a look at my favs below.
So maybe you’ve noticed them on the streets already, or maybe your city has been plastered with billboards of them, there’s no denying, a new era of the automobile has arrived. Who ever believes that all North Americans drive hummers and other excessively large SUV’s is still living that 2002 generalisation. It was hardly true then, and its definitely not true now, its 2010! Let it go.
North American society is ready for the change, then again, it always was. Because after all, nobody wants to intentionally damage the environment, they just never had the opportunity for change. It is evident the worlds auto manufacturers have built it, and yes the people, they are coming.
It appears that things are fast changing, the streets are filled with the likes of Juke’s, Cubes, and Mini’s. And the CRZ’s, Leaf’s, Cruze’s, and Volt’s are on the way. It’s true, insanely small engine, hybrid, diesel, or full electric cars are fast replacing the fleets of models that ruled the streets before. And they’ve come with a variety of entertaining media campaigns!
It’s the catch phrase of suburban consumerism, that simple line personifies the human instinct to always do better than our neighbors. When Mr. Jones next door pulls into the driveway in his new Audi S4, you stop mowing the lawn and stare in awe of his new ride. You go over and have a look for yourself, complimenting Mr. Jones on his new purchase, and then get back to mowing your lawn. The next day you’re looking at your old car with dissatisfaction, and you are soon at the Audi dealership test driving an R8, knowing that when you pull into your driveway, all your neighbors will want what you have. Yup, your just keeping up with the Joneses.
Cue in this years film titled just that: The Joneses. The film stars David Duchovny and Demi Moore as they portray a wealthy suburban family moving into a new neighborhood. Their perfect family easily blends into their new community and soon becomes the family that has what everyone wants. They drive the cars you want, they have the phone you didn’t even think was out yet, and they dress the way you wish you looked. However if it all seems to good to be true, then you might be catching on.
That perfect family turns out to be no family at all, instead, they are a corporate team of advertisers working for an agency that places ‘families’ in neighborhoods just to show off the latest consumer products. It all seems so perfect until the father figure Steve Jones played by Duchovny starts to see the crippling effect their sales tactic is having on the neighbors as they desperately try to keep up.
Coming into this film I thought it was going to be a clever and entertaining movie, but as the credits rolled up, it ended as a touching experience as well. The film exposed the tragic reality of how consumerism can push people out of their element, and into a world full of debt and regret. The current economic situation will resonate in your mind as you watch, and start to ask yourself; are you living within your means?
Thumbs up for a quality film that both entertains and leaves you with something to think about. Check out the trailer below.
"The dirty little secret - the fact often denied - is that unlike the mythical epiphany, real creation is sloppy. Discovery is messy, exploration is dangerous."
It’s the catch phrase of suburban consumerism, that simple line personifies the human instinct to always do better than our neighbors. When Mr. Jones next door pulls into the driveway in his new Audi S4, you stop mowing the lawn and stare in awe of his new ride. You go over and have a look for yourself, complimenting Mr. Jones on his new purchase, and then get back to mowing your lawn. The next day you’re looking at your old car with dissatisfaction, and you are soon at the Audi dealership test driving an R8, knowing that when you pull into your driveway, all your neighbors will want what you have. Yup, your just keeping up with the Joneses.
