‘True Blood’ Recap: Everybody Hates Sookie

It’s not often we get an episode of True Blood in which every storyline touches Sookie’s lifeline in some way, shape, or form. Oh wait. That’s right. It happens all the time. This week, True Blood managed to keep the tradition alive while reminding us that Sookie is both the glue that hold the series together and the dynamite that blows its plots and relationships to smithereens.

And she starts out the episode by standing in the shrapnel shower of her latest big decision: Telling Alcide the truth about who killed Debbie. Lafayette storms out of Merlott’s, chastising her for confessing her guilt to Alcide. She swears Alcide won’t tell (but it’s obvious she’s not really sure that’s true) and that doing right is the only way to get right. Lafayette is livid, worried her passionate, irrational choice will get him locked up for Jesus’ death too. “You’re the f**king angel of death,” he says.

But it’s not just Lafayette. Tara, fresh off her revelation as a self-loathing vampire, is still furious with Sookie for making Pam turn her. When Bill visits Fangtasia and asks Tara about Sookie’s safety, Tara responds with a curt command for him to stop asking. Sookie will be fine. Someone will always protect her. But she makes sure to note that someone else always pays the price. And it’s true. Sookie is at the center (and is often the catalyst) for some of the biggest dramatic problems in Bon Temps. But Tara should step back for a second and remember the time her friendship was the one that caused the whole town to be turned into sex-crazed zombies when a Maenad came to town in Season 2.

Still, the Sookie hate continues. At Merlott’s Sookie experiences a similar level of contempt and curiosity to the time she took a shift after going public with (then) Vampire Bill. Her customers’ and coworkers’ thoughts invade her brain and everyone is thinking about how she had Tara changed into a vampire and whether or not it makes her a terrible person. Because she’s not already worried enough about that herself. She even goes to Jason’s to confess, since he’s the deputy, and he tells her they’re going to keep her out of jail. Of course when she confesses she turned Tara, Jason freaks out completely. Oh, Jason. You’ve always got your priorities straight.

At this point, Sookie is so wrought after the events of the day, confessing to Alcide, and being chewed out by Lafayette that with tears in her eyes she cries, “I ruin lives, Jason!” But does she? Or does she just draw such attention, what with her sweet blood and her ability to read minds, that she’s an unwilling magnet for trouble and those who are willing to protect her? It’s about time True Blood at least opens the door to that question (because we’ve been thinking it for four years) and it seems that Bill may be about to use that quality to his own tactical advantage. But more on that later.

Back at Merlott’s, Lafayette is still livid with Sookie even after she leaves and his dark magic, apparently left from when Marnie stole it from Jesus while she was in Lafayette’s body, comes out in creepy, kindergarten clay mask form and Lafayette (or the dark magic; we’re not quite sure who’s really responsible here) puts a spell on Sookie’s car. Later, when she hops in a drives home from Merlott’s, it begins to speed up and the brakes fail, so she bails right before the car crashes.

Convinced the crash is punishment for her status as a life-ruiner, Sookie walks home and pours herself a glass of every hard liquor known to man. Soon, she’s drunk and singing new vampire lyrics to Rupert Holmes’ “Escape” (yes, sight, the Piña Colada Song). Lafayette calls her; he found her car wrapped around a tree and he’s worried something happened to her. When she sings him the song (literally – she’s wasted, remember?) of what happened to her, Lafayette realizes he’s the one that did it. So that’s happening this season. Why can’t Lafayette just drop the magic and be his magical self so we can actually enjoy his character again? Why, True Blood, why?

Sookie drunkenly puts down the phone as Lafayette tries to do the right thing (like she taught him) and confess, but Alcide is at the door. He didn’t turn her in (because of course he didn’t, he’s a big ol’ lovable softy who just happens to be incredibly attractive, the vampire race’s greatest rival outside of humans, and a man with a raging case of Sookie love). He told Debbie’s parents she was dead, because he’s a good man and he knows they deserve closure. But, he tells them Marcus killed Debbie, got drunk and bragged about it, and Alcide killed him as retaliation. Of course, only the Debbie being dead part and the Alcide killing Marcus part are true, but let’s all take a moment to ooh and ahh over the werewolf who is not only sweet, selfless, heroic, and… okay, let’s just say it : hot. He’s got the cherry on top that he’s also incredibly clever and quick on his feet. Bill and Eric who? (Sorry shippers, but this new Sookie suitor is just so my speed. No disrespect.)

Alice In Wonderland Blu-ray Review

Last week, The Walt Disney Company announced that their Spring hit Alice in Wonderland had officially crossed the $1 billion mark in global gross, only the sixth film in history to do so. As if they foresaw this financial milestone when they controversially announced their DVD/Blu-ray roll out weeks before the films bow (with a shorter-than-usual window between releases), they unleash their maelstrom of home entertainment products today, riding on the success of Alice’s theatrical run and boasting the annual box-office crown. You’ve got to hand it to the Mouse House, they can capitalize from and merchandise a property like none other.

But is the hefty price of the top product, the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy package, worth it? It depends on what you’re looking for. If you and/or your family loved going down Tim Burton’s colorful but convoluted rabbit hole, then you’ll probably like the fact that you can get both discs, plus the digital copy in one purchase (that way your Red and White Queen’s at home won’t have to go to war over it).

However, the special features crowd won’t be able to get truly immersed in them because each subject gets only about five minutes of coverage before you’re whisked along to the next. They throw in a little bit of something for everyone, but ultimately come up short. Notable bonuses include a look at the cakes that comprised the Mad Hatter’s scrumptious table spread, courtesy of the Cake Divas (love that name) and a time-lapse of Helena Bonham Carter’s grueling daily make-up ritual. Burton fans will be disappointed to know that there’s no commentary whatsoever. All in all, the features are pretty flat.

The same can be said for the film itself, because despite the gripes about shooting 3D vs. converting to 3D, Wonderland was a hell of a lot more interactive and entertaining with the added dimension. Without it, the authenticity of most of the digital characters is compromised and the green-screen-heavy visuals become tiresome, as if you, the viewer, are switching off between a movie and a video game and don’t care about either. Luckily, the films enviable cast came through for their eccentric director, helping to take the focus off of his drawn-out narrative. Each actor channels the heart of their character, whether that core is wicked (in the case of Carter’s Red Queen), wondrous (like Anne Hathaway’s White Queen or Michael Sheen’s White Rabbit) or just weird (Johnny Depp is particularly out-there, giving his turn as Willy Wonka a run for it’s title as the actor’s most peculiar performance).

If you’ve got the capability to watch Alice in Wonderland in a large, loud, ludicrously cinematic environment, then you’re in for an epic audio visual adventure each time you pop that disc in. Unfortunately, the smaller the TV, the less engrossing the experience is. Overall: an average home entertainment release for an average film.

Blogging the Salt Game

Day X Exists - Mission 3:

As cynical as I tend to be about such things, I have to admi tthat the online Day X Exists game has me starting to get pretty amped up about the upcoming movie starring Angelina Jolie. She plays CIA agent Evelyn Salt who has been framed as a double agent and is trying to clear her name. In the worldof the online game, only you can help her from inside the CIA, accomplishing anew and different task each week through a mini-game and uncovering hidden codes as well for bonus points.

After last week’s observation of an exchange between Day X agents that I got to surreptitiously photograph, thanks to a heads up from Agent Salt,I got another message from her. This time she was pointing me towards a hidden hard drive left in a university quad by another Day X operative. The man who left it was a janitor named Michael Simms, who apparently used to be a lab tech at the university but had been laid off and stayed on in the maintenance department. There was no explanation for regular money transfers to an account he holds in Bermuda under the name Davidoff Marachenko. He is believed to actually be a Ukrainian national.

My job was to hack into the hard drive wirelessly (using a PSP portable, in case you forgot this was a Sony film). The game itself was similar to Tetris in that different shaped pieces would pop up and I had to line them up from one side of the screen to the other so a signal could go through. In the meantime, a red pulse was slowly creeping up on me so time was indeed a factor. Easily the hardest learning curve of the three games, the secret was to pay attention to what pieces were coming up next so I could plan accordingly,and make sure that any pieces I wanted to discard were placed considerably out of the way of the path I planned on taking. There were three screens, each progressively more difficult until my goal was reached with a sigh of relief!

Uncovered in the files from the hard drive was the chemical formula for a dangerous fertilizer that was developed and discarded by the Soviets in the seventies called Illenium One. Apparently it was causing a series of mysterious illnesses but it’s unclear why the Day X spies are interested in it. Also there was a ciphered message that seems too difficult for the cryptologists at headquarters to know what to do with except that the words “Simms, Connection, 0300, and S.A.” all seem to be key words. Bets that this will have something to do with my mission next Tuesday? I guess I’ll find out then

Did DreamWorks Steal the Idea for Kung Fu Panda?

Self-described "writer-producer-teacher-philosopher" Terence Dunn is suing DreamWorks Animation for allegedly stealing his idea for Kung Fu Panda, and is now seeking over $1 million in damages. In the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Dunn claims that he originally pitched the idea of a "spiritual kung-fu fighting panda bear" to DreamWorks studio execs back in November 2001. Dunn's kung-fu bear was "adopted by five animal friends in the forest (a tiger, a leopard, a dragon, a snake and a crane), whose destiny is foretold by an old and wise sage, Turquoise Tortoise, and who comes of age and fulfills his destiny as a martial arts hero and spiritual avatar."

Despite a series of alleged telephone conversations between Dunn and two DreamWorks execs, the studio ultimately decided to forego pursuing the concept in February 2002. However, within the span of a few months, according to the lawsuit, DreamWorks was in fact developing the Kung Fu Panda movie, to star Jack Black as the voice of the titular bear who is "substantially similar in all respects" to the character that Dunn had pitched back in 2001.

Kung Fu Panda went on to gross over $630 million dollars worldwide, with DVD sales, a straight-to-video sequel, a TV show and stage adaptation both in the works, and a planned 3D sequel (Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom). Unfortunately, Terence Dunn, writer-producer-teacher-philosopher and alleged creator of the "Kung Fu Panda" concept, was left with nothing for his efforts.

As much as this story begs the administration of snark, Dunn's story seems within reason. Dunn graduated Yale University in 1976 with a B.S. in Biology, where he also studied Philosophy and Chinese Studies, before going on to get his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1980. He has been studying "Chinese, yogic, and healing arts" for over 36 years in the Los Angeles area, and has produced several instructional DVDs, including Tai Chi For Health. None of that makes him sound particularly kooky, as one might first assume.

He is also the founder and CEO of Zen-Bear, Inc. (sound familiar?) - a company whose trademark was registered back in January 1997. The martial arts panda bear concept goes back further - a YouTube video on his website featuring his "Zen-Bear" is dated from 2004, four years before the release of DreamWorks' Kung-Fu Panda.

However, the video itself wasn't posted to YouTube in its current iteration until this Tuesday - after the lawsuit was filed - and the trademark for Zen-Bear, Inc. appears to have been canceled back in August 2008, just two months after Kung-Fu Panda was released, under "Section 8," which stipulates that "For a trademark registration to remain valid, you must file a Declaration of Continued Use with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office between the 5-year and 6-year anniversaries following your trademark registration." Dunn does not appear to have done so.

We contacted Dunn to get his comment on this story, but at the time of this article's publication, he had not responded.

While the YouTube clip of Dunn's animated Zen-Bear does have a passing resemblance to DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda, it's not clear that it's similar enough to the movie character to constitute a theft of intellectual property. Still, it seems pretty irresponsible of DreamWorks to have overlooked negotiating with Dunn, if indeed he was in talks with studio execs as he claims. Even though Dunn is only seeking around $1 million in damages - a drop in the bucket to a large movie studio - the suit could certainly damage Dreamworks' image and hurt the Kung Fu Panda brand.

What do you think? Does it sound like the martial-arts guru has a case? Check out the clip of Dunn's Tai Chi panda bear below, and sound off in the comments.

'MacGruber' Movie Review

Commercials for MacGruber have been airing for weeks, proudly boasting quotes that refer to it as “the best SNL skit movie since Wayne’s World” and “arguably the best action-comedy since Beverly Hills Cop.” Such outsized blurbs — usually accompanied by miniscule attributions — have long been a sine qua non of movie marketing strategy, but what makes MacGruber’s case unique is that its praise came not from the usual studio fluffers, but from The Atlantic, the venerable 150-year-old publication that counts the likes of Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson among its founders. Calling anything “the best SNL skit movie since ...” may be faint praise akin to "You're the smartest stripper I've ever met," but it’s still impressive for a film based on a shtick that typically struggles to conjure enough laughs to fill a two-minute sketch.

And it’s true. MacGruber star Will Forte and director Jorma Taccone (who also co-wrote the film along with John Solomon), much like the character Richard Dean Anderson they mercilessly parody, took the scrap that was their middling SNL sketch and somehow turned it into one of the funniest films of the year.

The film, which pits the super-handy MacGruber against his sworn enemy, a nuke-stealing terrorist named Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer, gracefully entering the self-mocking stage of his career and selling it like a champ), works in part because it heartily exploits all the advantages unavailable to its television counterpart: a hard-R rating that lets it showcase, among other things, MacGruber’s unmatched throat-ripping skills and his willingness to suck a c**k to save American lives (let's see Jack Bauer try that); a script that clearly took more than a week — possibly as many as two — to construct; and guest stars who actually care enough to learn all of their lines. Forte's SNL co-star Kristen Wiig is fantastic as MacGruber's partner/love interest — a role more crucial to the comedy than you'd think — and even the much-maligned (by me, mainly) Ryan Phillippe is pleasantly serviceable opposite Forte as his beleaguered straight man. In fact — dare I say it — he’s almost likable.

"Sex and the City 2" Spends 10 Million Dollars on Wardrobe

When Michael Patrick King started writing Sex and the City 2, the economy had just made itself a new home in the sewers. He knew the country was hurting and experiencing new kinds of money woes. But instead of contemplating how he could tone down the sequel's extravagance to reflect the uncomfortable financial pressure of many Americans, he ultimately decided against it and shelled out $10 million for what the girls would wear. (He must have really not wanted to see them naked!)

There's one scene in particular, where Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha are doing karaoke in Abu Dhabi, and two of the outfits (and their prices) are described as follows: Carrie wears $4,000 embellished Blonds jeans under a $47,190 silver and gold Chanel lamé dress (that's over $50,000 right there -- and somebody's freshman year at an Ivy) and Samantha wears a $5,000 spiked blazer. In other scenes, Charlotte makes cupcakes in a Valentino blouse and Miranda (probably goes to work as a lawyer) in a Roland Mouret dress so expensive that you or I wouldn't even wear it to sleep.

All this means the women will be impeccably dressed, courtesy of the series and movie's stylist (and otherwise BIG SPENDER), Patricia Field. However, after we salaried people endure some-two hours of looking at beautiful clothes we do not (nor will ever) have the pleasure of owning, we're going to feel very small and very underfunded. This in mind, it's hard to imagine how Michael Patrick King would write the sequel and feel comfortable pummeling his audience with gaudy cuffs and silk iridescent overlays at a time in history when everyone (even the actors) are feeling financially vulnerable. But he found a reason and gave himself the green light for spending. He said, "I thought Hollywood should take people on a big vacation that maybe they couldn't afford themselves. I wanted to make it a big, extravagant vacation." But again, this is risky, because who wants to see Sarah Jessica Parker sipping Dom Perignon on a first-class flight to Abu Dhabi, when the last vacation they took involved dumping a truck of sand in their basement? (I do, I really do. And I will. Probably a few times. But it's going to be hard.)

City of Motherly Love 2010 : Watch Online

City of Motherly Love 2010 Hollywood Movie Watch Online Informations :

Director : Natalie Paige Bentley
Genre : Drama
Cast : Natalie Paige Bentley, Terrell Mackey, Nicole Renee, Jayy Mannon, Vincent Razzano
Young overworked, underpaid, Ashley Freeman, caught in a struggle against time, faces the hardships of being a single parent to her son, Davie. In a tragic turn of events her son is killed leaving her left with nothing more then what she had previously desired most, time. But time now is filled with the torments of the abandonment of her son’s father, the sudden and violent death of her only child, and a shattered past, which ultimately becomes a twisted race she must endure to rescue her own life.

Click Here To Watch Online

Hurt Locker Oscars May Double Box-Office Sales

March 9 (UPI) – “The Hurt Locker” DVD sales spiked after the film won best picture at the Oscars, and analysts said his six Oscars can help double box office income for distributor Summit Entertainment LLC.
“The Hurt Locker,” which won best original screenplay and best director Kathryn Bigelow ceremony at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, rose to third in Ayer 13 March 7 on Amazon.com Inc. ’s DVDs sold in Mexico. The drama of the war in Iraq was the most rented video movie yesterday’s Amazon-on-demand service and Apple’s iTunes.
Extending the 1000 movie in 274 theaters in the coming weeks could increase its box office sales worldwide-an estimated $ 40 million, said David Joyce, an analyst at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. The film has taken $ 21.4 million in ticket sales worldwide since its launch on June 26, according to Box Office Mojo, a researcher based in Sherman Oaks, California.
Summit can “easily” double their box office revenue, making “The Hurt Locker” to more theaters, said Hal Vogel, an analyst with independent media in New York. Oscar wins could help the closely held studio to sell 1 million DVDs in addition to the 725,000 already sold, he said.
“The Hurt Locker,” which follows a U.S. Army readiness pump unit in Iraq, costing $ 15 billion, according to Box Office Mojo. Beat the movie “Avatar”, the highest grossing film of all time, to win best picture at the Oscars ceremony on March 7.
Paul Pflug, spokesman based in Los Angeles for the Summit, said the company has no immediate comment on plans for the film. Sarah Gelman, an Amazon spokesman, said the online retailer of Seattle-based had been a “coup Oscar” for the sale of the titles nominated for best film.
‘Oscar stamp’
Video-on-demand, home video and cable TV profit increase of “The Hurt Locker,” said Gitesh Pandya, editor of Box Office Guru LLC.
“It’s a movie that many people may want to own, and most importantly is a film that most of the country has lost,” Pandya said in a telephone interview. “With the stamp of approval Oscar becomes a movie much higher profile.”
Amazon rose 18 cents to $ 130.29 at 9:57 am on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares had fallen 3.3 percent this year before today. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, up 36 cents at $ 219.44 and has advanced 4 percent this year before today.
- With the help of Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco and Michael White in Los Angeles. Editors: James Callan, Margot Slade

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 3D

The 3D gravy train is making its way through Hollywood, and Warner Bros. wants its piece of the pie. It’s looking like the next two Harry Potter movies — parts I and II of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — are going to get the royal 3D treatment. And other movies are likely to follow suit. The Hollywood Reporter spills all the details about the movies Warner Bros. is going to convert to 3D:
Early 3D-conversion tests on Warners’ remake of Clash of the Titans have gone so well that — combined with boosted enthusiasm for 3D in the wake of the Avatar tsunami — the Burbank studio has decided to release not only Titans but also the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 3D.
Warners refused to confirm the decision Tuesday, but an announcement on Titans is expected by week’s end, and official word on the Potter pics surely will follow.
Apparently the conversion of a film to 3D is a relatively cheap process. The operative term here being “relative”: the process costs $5 million, which doesn’t include the $5 million worth of 3D glasses the studio has to provide theaters for these films.
If you were already a fan of the Harry Potter movies, and you’re not a fan of 3D, then it’s bad times for you: your ticket prices are going to be more expensive. But if you weren’t already a fan, it’s likely this will get your behind into the theater, if only to experience another 3D movie.
As for Clash of the Titans, it sounds like it’s going to be a retroactive process — the filmmakers didn’t actually shoot the film in 3D.
So which of these movies are you most excited about? Will 3D improve movies, or simply make the more expensive for us to see?

Edge of Darkness : 2010 Hollywood Movie Online

As homicide detective Thomas Craven investigates the death of his activist daughter, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence.

Director : Martin Campbell

Release Date : 29 January 2010
Genre : Drama, Thriller
Cast : Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts, David Aaron Baker, Jay O. Sanders, Denis O’Hare, Damian Young, Caterina Scorsone, Frank Grillo, Wayne Duvall, Gbenga Akinnagbe


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The Book Of Eli Watch Online

The Book of Eli 2010 Hollywood Movie Watch Online
The Book of Eli 2010 Hollywood Movie Watch Online Informations :
Directors : Albert Hughes
Release Date : 15 January 2010
Genre : Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Western
Cast : Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Evan Jones, Joe Pingue, Frances de la Tour, Michael Gambon, Tom Waits, Chris Browning, Richard Cetrone, Lateef Crowder

Click Here To Watch Online

Why Did China Kill Avatar

Google isn’t the only American commodity being driven out of China. Avatar, James Cameron’s highly successful and critically acclaimed sci-fi epic, will be pulled from all 2-D screens in China by this weekend, according to Chinese media outlets.
Although 3-D and IMAX versions of the film will continue, the majority of Chinese movie theaters are not equipped with 3-D technology. As a result, the movie will be pulled from 1,628 movie screens across the country (compared to only 800 3-D and IMAX cinemas). Avatar will be replaced with Confucius, a domestically produced biopic about the renowned Chinese philosopher. Why?
Avatar generated record-breaking profits in China, earning $76 million in Chinese ticket sales so far. The film’s financial success, however, may have led to its demise. Several reports from both the mainland and U.S. indicate that the government wants to promote and protect the domestic film industry. Currently, only 20 films can be imported per year, in order to reduce foreign competition. These films can only run for 10 days and are often curtailed during a major holiday, giving domestic films a significant market advantage.
Avatar’s resonance with Chinese audiences also may have prompted government intervention. In the film, humans attempt to conquer the alien-inhabited world of Pandora, which contains a mineral that the Earth desperately needs. Many Chinese citizens see a close parallel to their own lives, as urban developments and projects such as the Three Gorges Dam force them off their land. Perhaps the government is worried that the ensuing violence on-screen may incite violence off-screen as well.
At first glance, the decision to pull Avatar is not exceptional. The film has indeed lapsed its 10-day run and a holiday — the Lunar New Year — is approaching. In addition, foreign films often contain themes that the government is not fond of. What is exceptional is the timing. A week after Google threatened to leave China, the Chinese government shows no signs of changing its restrictive censorship policies. I don’t think it is mere coincidence that Confucius — a state-sanctioned, state-produced movie about one of China’s most beloved and patriotic figures — will replace the controversial Avatar. By canning the most successful movie of all time in China, the government shows little concern for free markets or its consumers. Ignoring Chinese consumer demand for Avatar and bait-and-switching it with state propaganda may incite the very criticism that the government seeks to avoid.