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Stop supporting captivity of large aquatic mammals with Blackfish

By : Alfonso De Elias

Photo: Courtesy

Gabriela Cowperthwaite comes with BLACKFISH. Many of us have experienced the excitement and awe of watching 8,000-pound orcas, or “killer whales,” soar out of the water and fly through the air at sea parks, as if in perfect harmony with their trainers. However at this point may have destroyed the ability of some of the cetaceans to thrive in wild. Yet, in our contemporary lore this mighty black-and-white mammal is like a two-faced Janus—beloved as a majestic, friendly giant yet infamous for its capacity to kill viciously. BLACKFISH unravels the complexities of this dichotomy, employing the story of notorious performing whale Tilikum, who—unlike any orca in the wild—has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. So what exactly went wrong? Shocking, never-before-seen footage and riveting interviews with trainers and experts manifest the orca’s extraordinary nature, the species’ cruel treatment in captivity over the last four decades, and the growing disillusionment of workers who were misled and endangered by the highly profitable sea-park industry. This emotionally wrenching, tautly structured story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and reveals how little we humans have learned from these highly intelligent and enormously sentient fellow mammals. Even if the injuries they inflict on one another when kept in close proximity It’s not all about the trainers, the footage was there to be seen and conservation and rehabilitation is great for this animals but not for some ex trainers who defend the right of a good documentary that is only trying to prove the point that orcas and marine mammals belong in the wild and not a tank doing tricks for food. Two thumbs up for this film which makes us think about life in captivity of killer whales as they are separated from their biological mothers.

Top-less photo of Angelina Jolie up for bids

Renoir is a touch of love on a canvas

By Jenny Alvarez

Set on the French Riviera in 1915, RENOIR follows Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet), who is tormented by the loss of his wife, the pains of arthritis, and the news that his son Jean (Vincent Rottiers) has been wounded in action. When the incandescent Andrée, aka Dédé (newcomer Christa Théret,) miraculously enters his world, the artist is filled with an unexpected energy. Blazing with life, radiantly beautiful Dédé will become Renoir’s last model inspiring some of his most renowned works including Les baigneuses (The Bathers). Back at the family home in Cagnes-sur-Mer to convalesce, Jean too falls under the spell of the new, redheaded star in the Renoir firmament. In their Mediterranean Eden, and in the face of his father’s fierce opposition, he falls in love with this wild, untamable spirit, and as he does so, within weak-willed, battle-shaken Jean, a filmmaker begins to grow.

This film has the complex relationship between father and son. Pierre-Auguste may be haunted by the loss of his younger wife and fearful of what might befall two of his sons serving during World War 1, but painting is still his life. Renoir includes his sense that wars shatter natural cross-border fraternities, the harshness of the class prejudices, the increasing disrespect for culture and also how his last muse was. This film is full of beautiful scenes of the countryside and some dialogues are plain but witty in some contents of Renoir’s canvasses into a visual blast of natural color and sound on the big screen full of romantic attentions in 111 minutes (A little long so you should be full of energy otherwise it could be very boring).

6 Degrees of hell is stunningly horrible

By GalaTView Staff

Photos from Breaking Glass Pictures

Corey Feldman stars in the new indie horror film, “6 Degrees of Hell,” which was shot at the Hotel of Horror haunted house in Ross Township, Pa., a few miles north of the Slate Belt. “Uncle Jack’s Hotel of Horror” is besieged by a dark presence after two friends of “Uncle” Jack, Chris and Kellen, unwittingly release a deadly evil by transporting local psychic Mary Wilkins’ collection of haunted objects as props for the popular tourist attraction. At the same time, a local TV ghost hunter, confronts an evil that has haunted him all his life-one he believes is responsible for his sister’s death years ago. His search puts him in the path of a rogue police chief and June-a girl who seems to be the eye of this supernatural perfect storm. They all find themselves connected to the old hotel while the threads of their own personal horrors draw paranormal investigator Kyle Brenner (Feldman) to pull all the threads together.

This movie has turned into a total creep but is an excellent film in many takes especially in the hunter times. Two thumbs up!