Archive for May 2012

"The Queen of Disco" Donna Summer Dead

“The Queen of Disco” Donna Summer died from battling cancer at age 63. Her family confirmed her death Thursday morning in Florida. She was in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 and has sold millions of records. Donna was a five time Grammy award winner and is a mostly known for her dance beat music. She is survived by her daughters Mimi, by her first husband Helmuth Sommer, as well as daughters Brooklyn and Amanda, by her second husband Bruce Sudano.

Jennifer Lopez Says Good Bye to "American Idol"

The singer and actress Jennifer Lopez recently stated that she is calling it quits with American Idol. Lopez told sources that she has little time to do other responsibilities and wants to spend more time with her growing children. She was with American Idolfor two seasons and stated that it was “too much”. The network Fox stated that working with J.Lo has been a pleasure and they will miss her. Lopez signed the contract in 2011 for $12 million, she does not plan to sign another deal with the show.

Real people in real situations in Where Do We Go Now?

By GalaTView Staff

Photos Courtesy

Set in a remote village where the church and the mosque stand side by side, Where Do We Go Now? follows the antics of the town’s women to keep their blowhard men from starting a religious war. Women heartsick over sons, husbands and fathers lost to previous flare-ups unite to distract their men with clever ruses, from faking a miracle to hiring a troop of Ukrainian strippers.

Many sons, fathers, and husbands died, and now the women are despondent having buried their loved ones. In an effort to quell the tensions that are beginning to rise, the town’s female population bands together to not just outsmart the men, but – better yet – to keep the peace between the religions. They distract the men with creative ruses – everything from faking a miracle (one of the funniest scenes in the film) to hiring a troupe of cute Ukrainian belly dancers. This movie also includes racial, religious and political tensions well treated especially with humourous and loving ladies have proved to be the true heroines of this hard-hitting film.

Where Do We Go Now? opens in limited release on May 11.

A comedy-drama in Girl in Progress

Review by Jenny Alvarez

Photo By Alfonso de Elias.

Eva Mendes plays Grace, a single mother working two jobs who has no time to help her daughter grow up. She is too busy juggling work, bills, and the very married Dr. Harford, to give her daughter, Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) the attention she desperately needs. When Ansiedad’s English teacher, Ms. Armstrong, introduces her students to classic coming-of-age stories, Ansiedad is inspired to skip adolescence and jump-start her life without mom. While Grace becomes preoccupied with the increasing affections of her co-worker, Mission Impossible (Eugenio Derbez), Ansiedad enlists the help of her loyal friend, Tavita, to plot her shortcut to “adulthood”. But as her misguided plan unravels, Ansiedad and Grace must learn that sometimes growing-up means acting your age.

This movie is something you don’t see every day, She is a parent with good intentions that fails to exhibit good behavior. Ansiedad researches adolescent rites of passage and maps them out on her bulletin board, planning to demonstrate potential and blow it and infiltrate the popular crowd and betray her best friend and lose her virginity in the course of a couple weeks.

The good thing is this movie is full of talented young actors and tell a smoothly structured, easily digestible story with an emotionally satisfying climax. Ansiedad will break your heart especially with her emotions and feelings.

A movie full of dreams in I Wish

Review by Jenny Alvarez

Photos courtesy

Koichi (Koki Maeda) a twelve-year-old boy lives with his mother and retired grandparents in Kagoshima, in the southern region of Kyushu, Japan.  His younger brother Ryunosuke (Koki’s real-life brother Ohshiro Maeda) lives with their father in Hakata, northern Kyushu.  The brothers have been separated by their parents’ divorce and Koichi’s only wish is for his family to be reunited.  When he learns that a new bullet train line will soon open, linking the two towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment these new trains first pass each other at top speed.  With help from the adults around him, Koichi sets out on a journey with a group of friends, each hoping to witness a miracle that will improve their difficult lives.

A delightful tale of childhood desires and imaginative adventures, I wish will open on May 11 in Los Angeles, with a national rollout to follow. Faces show up in supporting roles as adults, including Jo Odagiri as the deadbeat father and a struggling musician and Hiroshi Abe as a strict teacher.

This movie gives the story a timeless, dreamlike quality and illustrates life as it is. Some landscape shots featuring the live volcano next to Kagoshima are particularly breathtaking. But some of the scenes seemed as though the cuts were put together very sloppily. In fact, if any wish gets preferential treatment, it’s that of Koichi’s friend Makoto, who quietly mourns and accepts the devastation of mortality during the adventure. It’s about family in a changing society full of life, heart, and funny little details about daily existence. Two thumbs up!

Zooey Deschannel is Loretta Lynn

The “New Girl” actress Zooey Deschanel is to play Loretta Lynn on broadway. Loretta Lynn who is 80-years-old said “It’s a long way from Butcher Holler to Broadway in New York City, I never imagined I’d see ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ on a movie screen, and now I can’t believe it’s going to be on a stage for people to see.” Lynn is excited to have Zooey play herself. Lynn plans to sit front row and watch how a poor Kentucky girl grow to be the first female country singer on broadway. In 1972, Lynn was the first woman named “Entertainer of the Year” by the Country Music Association and has released 70 albums.

Mick Jagger, Foo Fighters, and Arcade Fire to perform on 'SNL'

Mick Jagger, Foo Fighters, and Arcade Fire are scheduled to perform for the season finale of ‘Saturday Night Live’. Jagger will also be hosting the show. The Rolling Stones hosted the show back in 1978, but this time Jagger will be going solo. The song that the bands will perform is yet to be confirmed, but it is anticipated that they will perform a classic Rolling Stones song. The show will premier May 19.
 

Britney Spears Joins X factor

The pop princess Britney Spears signed a $15 Million Contract to join the X Factor. She will be one of the judges, along with Simon Cowell and L.A Reid. Britney will finally be back in television, her last TV time was with her ex- husband Kevin Federline. The show will premier early fall. She will be replacing Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger.

Tim Burton Creates Art with “Dark Shadows”

By: Cynthia Gonzalez
Photos: by Alfonso De Elias.
Tim Burton has become the icon of our movie generation by creating dark twisted family films such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and the original Batman movies. When we experience a new Tim Burton film we are carried away into the familiarity of Burton’s twisted imagery and dark comedy.  His movies can disappoint critics but they never fail, because no one can do a dark visually stimulating comedy gothic horror like Burton. His movies can take us into an alternate universe where ghost have a twisted humor, where death is funny and corky, where the villain is all bad but always likable. In a world with bland movies he is the only mind that can think up and redo a dark comedy with stunning imagery.  Where most movies look to the future, Burton’s stick to the past, it somehow is give us a new feeling but with the same nostalgia we have treasured.
Nowadays the magic of cinema has largely been sucked out of its creative explorations by big money agendas. As a consequence genres have been stifled by what sell and what doesn’t. The genius of Tim Burton is that he has created a genre in his own right.  His creative direction is not questioned nor how much production cost his films require. This is largely because his films have become the only outlet we have for seeing and artist with no other agenda, but to unravel a dark visual world.
His newest undertaking is “Dark Shadows” a complete redo of a 70’s TV series. This comedy is about a reawakened 18th century vampire. Burton works with his familiar cast members such as Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Elena Carter, and Michelle Pfeirffe. In this movie, you get to see Johnny Depp, an icon for our generation, for the first time as a vampire in the imagination of Tim Burton. If this movie does not excite you, then you have sadly lost your childhood curiosity.
The film plays out with Johnny Depp as the cursed vampire, Barnabas Collins and his arch nemesis and obsessed ex-lover, played by Eva Green.  Eva’s character brings the fun and dilemma into the film, by adding humorous situations between the two immortal beings.  Eva renders a spookily delightful witch, hell bent on ruining Barnabas Collin’s eternal life and as we see their relationship unfold the viewer focuses less on the uncomplicated plot but on Depp’s comical reaction to these unfortunate events in stunning gothic imagery.  Burton’s main characters are always flawed, weird, and introverted.  As in this movie even Barnabas is not your compassionate vampire, being midly apologetic as he tears his innocent victim’s throat appart. “Dark Shadows” is definitely a film to be enjoyed by all of Tim Burton’s fans, new and old.

Tom Gabel of Against Me! is Transgendered

Tom Gabel from the American punk rock band Against Me! comes out as a transgender. Gabel recently revealed that he plans to live as a woman. Gabel has a gender dysphoria and will soon go through treatment for his gender transition. He will be taking the name Laura Jane Grace. He is married to wife Heather and stated that he mainly feared for her reaction to the news “for me, the most terrifying thing about this was how she would accept the news. But she’s been super-amazing and understanding” stated Gabel. Gabel spoke to the ‘Rolling Stones’ about his gender change “I’m going to have embarrassing moments,” says Gabel “and that won’t be fun. But that’s part of what talking to you is about – is hoping people will understand, and hoping they’ll be fairly kind.” Gabel no one is ‘Against’ your decision.

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