One Million Blog Pageviews - 1000000 Thank You's

That Glorious Moment has come!

Its time to rejoice and thank every one of you! Around half past 4 pm on June 11, this blog reached a new milestone - 1 Million Page views. You read it right, 1000000 page views (that's 6 zeroes). 

For noobs, it simply means that the websnackerblog.com has been visited/viewed for over 1,000,000 times (not necessarily by 1 million unique visitors though) but still a hard feat a very few blogs can manage to achieve (pardon the shameless self-promotion)

Skeptics as usual will disagree and claim I am exaggerating. So, for their eyes (and yours), I have also attached a current screenshot of my Google Blogger Statistics.  

Obviously, this is ONE BIG achievement and it would have not been possible without the support of all you readers, guest bloggers, crew and fans out there! From the bottom of my heart and the depths of my soul, I am truly grateful to all of you! 

And in the descending order of readership - Thank you, Danke, Merci, Shukran, Gracias, Spasibo, Shukriya, Khàwp- khun khâ, Nandri...until the next 1 million!~

Side Effects (2013)

JohnnyTwoToes is in love with this intriguing thriller

Steven Soderbergh is about the only filmmaker I have ever seen to direct no less than six films in less than two years and most of them, good films that warrant a watch. The list you ask? Okay real quick: The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg, Contagion, Haywire, Magic Mike, Side Effects and Behind The Candelabra. I have seen all of'em except the first film (The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg), which honestly I have never even heard of, (apparently it is out of Australia). 

Of all the films above, Side Effects stands out and for good reason. It is a slowly effective pot boiler about a mentally disturbed woman named Emily Taylor under psychiatric care whose mental state seems to unravel with the release of her imprisoned husband Martin (Channing Tatum in an unusual casting - seen also in Magic Mike). It's not that he is a bad sort. He has been in prison for insider trading and before incarceration they were living the high life. Now that he has been in, Emily has been reduced to a modest apartment with a little money but nothing more. She works for an ad agency but her mind is starting to buckle under all of the strain from life itself. 

After a failed suicide attempt, she is admitted to a psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Banks (a fantastic Jude Law). He starts her on some prescription meds that he has a sample of named Ablixa. Emily starts to sleepwalk and do some VERY strange things. When she lands in trouble with the law for a crime she may or may not have committed while under the influence of Ablixa, suspicion falls to Dr. Banks for his prescribing Ablixa to start with. That is all I can say without spoiling Side Effects. 

Side Effects is an effective urban drama, not flashy or abrasive - taking the science of mental instability, diagnosis and treatment with respect without becoming cheap or tawdry. Soderbergh does not feel the need to assault the viewer with odd or strange camera effects so common in a lot of films these days. He has a great script by Scott Burns to work with and these characters are all smart and well written. They behave out of natural instincts not forced storytelling and what happens to them is believable. 

Let's say, I cared what happened to all of them; even Emily's arrogantly bitchy former psychiatrist played with icy coolness that you could store meat in by Catherine Zeta Jones. Law's Dr. Banks is a good doctor, who cares about his patients even to the detriment of his marriage. What happens in Dr, Banks' life after Emily's crimes is handled effectively and subtlety and not overdone. 

Soderbergh is a masterful director who knows how to construct an delicate subject as in Side Effects. He takes his time and lets this film build and build until the true intentions of all involved remedy the situation; believably and with dire consequences for some - the final act you will have to pay attention to because you will not see it coming. Side Effects will not appeal to all of you as it does take its sweet time in unfolding, but if you have the patience and time, you'll love the finale.

Thomas Newman provides another stand out score with his music also being quiet but it pulsates enough to keep the film moving. His use of an orchestra, electronics and his choice of an eclectic array of odd instruments make Side Effects creepy and interesting. This composer is in my top five of all time and he has never disappointed me. If you have the means, get the soundtrack. 

Steven Soderbergh has stated that he wants to retire and after his busy schedule I don't blame him. Hopefully, this is just the exhaustion talking and after a rest with NO ABLIXA he will return. This is a director that keeps getting better with each film, takes chances and usually comes out on top. Not many directors can make that claim so , my plea to Mr. Soderbergh, PLEASE DO NOT RETIRE. Side Effects-***1/2 out of 4

June 8 is World Oceans Day

Saving the Worlds Oceans 

June 8th is World Oceans Day. More than 70 percent of the globe is covered by the ocean and half the world's human population lives within minutes of the coastline. Rich with resources and potential, our oceans have long been thought of as both infinite and indestructible. But they are not. 

Overfishing, climate change, pollution, acidification, dead zones, irresponsible tourism and more have put the world's ocean and marine life at great risk. Increasingly, we face the real possibility of seas without edible fish; an acidic, plastic-filled ocean in which nothing can survive except jellyfish; rising sea levels and mass extinction of fish and mammals. Yet if we take action now, this grim future can be avoided. 

We all have the ability to affect our oceans, for better or for worse, no matter where we live. Together we have the power to protect the Ocean. Do your bit today. Learn more at World Oceans Day and SaveMyOceans.

Independence Day (1996)

Not your usual movie review

With Independence Day 2 reportedly in the making, here's a fun review of the 90s Pseudo-Action Sci-fi adventure. (The original review is here.)

Starring - Millions of dollars of special effects that still manage to look like sets Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland built in the barn!

Meet: super anonymous pentagonians spewing pseudo military mumbo jumbo and the cute looking brylcreem president Bill Pullman - he's an ace pilot, he's the no-nonsense president and he's a darn good father, too! all-in-one guy!

Meet: The generic gay guy, Harvey Feinstein doing generic gay business. "Oooh! I'd better call my mother!" The generic old Jew, Judd Hirsh. He stoops, he complains, his every word a sarcastic quip. 

Meet: The Movie! A war movie, an alien movie, a love story! what a deal! all-in-one all inclusive package.

Just listen to this minimalist dialogue that is the great empowering and heart-warming lesson of this film: HEY! We could all write this! 

1. "Get me the secretary of defense!" (significant pause) "THEN WAKE HIM!!" 

2. "Address the nation. There's gonna be a lot of frightened people out there." "Yeah, I'm one of 'em."

3. "You think we'll get to Washington and they'll be there?" (Poignant look) Jeff Goldblum opens the computer, "yap!,yap!,yap!," closes the computer, draws little circles all over the president's letterhead, opens the computer AGAIN, whirls it around... AND THE CLOCK IS TICKING!!!!!! A CLOCK! THAT'S IT! WE'RE DOOOOOOMED!!! 

MORE WITTY DIALOGUE! "And then what?" "Check mate." "OH MY GOD!!" OH MY GOD IS RIGHT! The Shadow: Surprised looks (Ooh! It's big!) from the Hollywood Sign to the White House lawn to Central Park.

The Aliens: They've got an infinitely superior technology but no Virus Scanners. Doh! See the president outrun a fire ball and Will Smith's chick Vivica Fox : the only person in LA clever enough to find a cubby hole of safety. Rats can do it but, apparently, Americans cannot. 

'Terrible movie but entertaining anyway.' Put Will Smith and an Alien in a wave-making, sex pool scene and maybe we'd do the same. It's July 4th and all's well in the world. With a wisecracking, alien-punching Military, Celebrate your Independence!

Red Dawn (2012)

JohnnyTwoToes is angry with this jingoistic mess

Having been one of the few that did not even like the original Red Dawn from 1984, I was not holding out much hope for the new version that has made its way to video after a short and failing run in theaters. This version sadly offers nothing new and actually makes you wonder, why it was even remade? 

Completed in 2009, MGM shelved this version waiting for rewrites in the script, re-shoots, and a change of the invaders of the United States from China (to access its box office) to current favorite North Korea. Seemingly more timely since a new North Korean leader (even more loony than his father) has taken over power, it probably must have felt as a wise choice but it still does not help the movie. 

The problem I had with the 1984 original was the poor acting (and overacting) and a lame script by otherwise GREAT screenwriters John Milius (Apocalypse Now) and Kevin Reynolds (187, The Count Of Monte Cristo). Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore's script is also based on the 1984 film but however bad the original, this remake is worse. Dan Bradley's direction is amateurish and tepid, the script utterly bellicose and the action scenes (except a very few) boring. The movie stutters from the start as its poorly constructed with no pay off. 

The hero Chris Hemsworth is a returning soldier from the Middle East who still has the fighting blood in him. His younger brother, Matt (Josh Peck) is the local high school football stud that everyone loves. After the Wolverine football team loses a big game everyone crashes for the night at their respective homes only to be awaken by the horror that North Korea has decided to invade America. Why? Not a clue. 

North Korea barely has enough gumption to launch a fledgling missile into the Sea Of Japan, let alone launch a full scale invasion into a enormous country like America. I can suspend disbelief for a film provided it gives me a decent reason but Red Dawn (like its 1984 predecessor) fails in this department rather miserably. 

Besides, these kinds of action films are only as good as the villains are. The villains in Red Dawn are paper thin with nothing to distinguish them beyond a cardboard cutout. The villains are ineffective because the viewer knows nothing about them at all. What? Did they have some bad food the night before, wake up grumpy and say "Dammit, I need some good food. Let's invade America!"? 

The heroes don't fair much better. Hemsworth is an engaging lead; rugged, handsome with a swagger that The Duke would be proud of. The rest of the cast is okay but I have to talk about Josh Peck. Now I try not be vicious with films because, after all I can make my point without doing so. Even more so with performers, male or female but Josh Peck, at least in this film, has to be one of the crappiest actors I have ever seen. In Red Dawn he comes across as a simpering loser who would not last one minute going to the grocery store let alone in a real invasion of his homeland. He flashes his puppy dog eyes and everyone is supposed to swoon and give him a pass. I suppose I should not be too hard no him, but every time an emotional moment came to his character, Peck was about as convincing as Charles Manson convincing a parole board he was sane and should be released. Now before I get all kinds of hate mail shouting, "You are comparing an actor to a mass murderer?" , let me just NO I AM NOT COMPARING Josh Peck to a mass murderer. I am simply saying if you watch this film and then any of Manson's interviews on YouTube you will see that both fail miserably at conveying anything they want to convey. 

The only good aspect of Red Dawn is surprisingly its music. Ramin Djawadi terrific score solitarily stands out - its superb during the main highlights, effectively punctuating even some of the less energetic action scenes as well. In fact, it's so good, its worth purchasing. However, it still cant save this mess. 

So, take my advice and leave the film on the shelf. At a run time of only 90 minutes your pain will be short lived. Note to Hollywood, just because it is there, does not mean in needs to be remade. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, stop remaking crappy movies with crappier movies!! * out of 4

Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)

Cliched, over sentimental war romance 

I saw this last night on TV. The fact that I had never seen it earlier and that John Madden who did Shakespeare in Love directed it, piqued my interest! Anyway, here's the review.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) is a 5 star casted romantic war drama set in an unspecified island in Greece, with lots of blood and guts and mortar shells blowing up ten yards to the left of the target. The Greeks are fighting the Italians to defend their territory, which obviously has no strategic importance whatsoever to anyone. 

Penelope Cruz plays the female lead Pelagia for two hours without ever smiling although she first falls in love and gets betrothed to a local Greek Mandras, played by Christian Bale. He immediately leaves to fight for his homeland. She writes him 100 love letters without getting an answer. Later when he does show up he confesses he never learned to read and so couldn’t respond. Even a Greek peasant might have gotten someone else to read the letters to him, and take down a reply by dictation. 

After Pelagia is thoroughly upset at having been loved and left, she falls in love with an Italian soldier Captain Corelli played by Nicolas Cage. The love story is apparently adapted by someone who had read a review of Louis de Berniers' novel. Then the Germans come in on the side of the Italians. Obviously the director doesn’t like anything German and makes the characters into cartoons of stupidity. The German troops treacherously machine gun down a band of Greeks. Mandras, the original fiancee rescues the dying second fiancee Corelli, because he loves Pelagia and wants her to love him back. 

Most of the humor came from the older generation, especially Pelagia's doctor father played by John Hunt with enough mustachios to hide the whole cast. The love scenes were boring and the battle scenes weak, so I spent most of the two hours trying to visualize what the script looked like, with tiny bits of dialog separated by long involved descriptions of camera angles. I also looked at the elaborate sets which were used for perhaps 10 second each, thinking how they were different from a good Shakespeare production by a modern company that uses a bare stage and only those props they can carry with them. Unless you are die-hard Penelope fan, skip this.

Broken City (2013)

JohnnyTwoToes loves this multilayered crime thriller

The "love of money" is indeed the root of all evil and as they say "absolute corruption, corrupts absolutely". Never were these two correct and timely phrases more prevalent as they are in Allen Hughes first solo directorial effort Broken City (2013), a crackling good crime thriller with Mark Wahlberg donning the lead role of a battered ex-cop.

Wahlberg is Billy Taggart, a former cop who has now become a private investigator because of a shooting which we see in the movie's beginning. Whether he is right or not, I will not go into because it resurfaces later. Since Taggart is a better PI than he is at collecting money for his services, he is more than eager to jump at a job offered to him by NYC Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe). The job is to see who the mayor's wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is having an affair with. The job starts out easy enough but when things spiral out of control, loyalties are tested, friendships are strained, and the powerful are challenged.

Broken City is a busy film with a number of subplots but how they are tied together is pretty craftily constructed by Hughes and first time screenwriter Brian Tucker. The casting of Broken City is first rate and the acting is superb. Mark Wahlberg shines as Taggart, a rough around the edges soul who has battled his own demons but still knows what is right and just and will not be bought. Russell Crowe is devilishly good as the Mayor who comes across as genial but is everything but that. The supporting cast with Jeffrey Wright, Griffin Dunne, Kyle Chandler, Barry Pepper, Natalie Martinez and Michael Beach are equally excellent. I was particularly impressed with Alona Tal who plays Taggart's secretary, Katy. She is sweet, attractive and yet, still maintains a tough exterior. There is are humorous scenes where Taggart and Katy are trying to get paid from clients and it is well scripted and cut together. 

Broken City also features a great score by Atticus Ross who also scored the Hughes Brothers' earlier film Book Of Eli. It is a slightly ambient styled score with a mixture of soft electronics and percussion that puts the viewer into an almost surreal world of New York. It is good to see that Ross is getting more work as a film score composer after his work with industrial rock guru Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails creator) on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Social Network for which the duo won the Academy Award. 

Though a tad convoluted, Broken City is a good, solid film that has interesting characters, an impressive first script from Brian Tucker, and is well acted. Hughes' direction is well paced and he never lets the story get bogged down by details, keeping the viewer intrigued to the very end when justice is served. The chips fall were they may in Broken City and no one is immune. Go watch!

Sunset in the Andaman Sea

Mid-sea Twilight from aboard the Costa Atlantica

View Master 3D Memories

Third dimensional nostalgia

While poking around an old carton from the past, I discovered a long lost friend; No, not some art book from grade school, but a cherished toy. A View Master and a dusty bag full of old but great sceneries - from the Atlantic ocean to the mysterious Egyptian Pyramids, from the Inca caves to some volcano in Fiji, from the moon to the Amazon forests and a lot more to activate and flood my nostalgia buttons.

Many of us remember the View-Master from childhood, but few remember its extra dimension of depth. For those curious or have never heard or seen a view master, it a photographic reel in a cardboard disc containing 7 pairs of miniature slide film images - 14 total film chips per reel. When placed in a View-Master viewer, each image in each pair gets presented separately to each eye. Somewhere inside the brain, these images combine to produce one 3-D image. The images on View-Master reels are taken with a special dual-lensed camera whose lenses are spaced 2.5 inches apart; roughly the distance between two eyes. 

While View-Master cameras are no longer made today, they can be found on Ebay and other used markets for various prices depending on the model. Although they take regular 35MM slide film, you’d still need to shell out roughly some top dollars for a View-Master film cutter if you wanted to pursue View-Master photography as a hobby. 

Luckily, there are cheaper 3-D cameras out there on the used market - mostly cameras from the 50’s, when 3-D had a more enthusiastic audience.. While it’s far from being interactive, one could still say that the View-Master, and stereoscopic photography generally, was a good first stab at Virtual Reality. The realism of stereo photography is striking; especially when (a) it’s in color - most of us have only viewed black and white "anaglyphic" images with those red and blue glasses, (b) it’s done with slide film where you peer into a viewer in front of a light source - this pulls you dramatically into a picture, and (c) the subject matter of the images is itself striking. From the 1940’s to the 1970’s, View-Master photographers set out to conquer the world - stereoscopically that is. 

A variety of foreign and domestic travel reels were produced, but many can only be found today at garage sales and antique shops. Luckily for us, however, some of these reels are still being reprinted. Those who really dig the View-Master experience may want to hunt down older viewers with glass lenses, the ability to set the focus, and internal illumination with a battery powered light bulb. While viewers can sometimes be found in toy stores, I’ve yet to see any of the "scenic" reels in stores.Until then, I'll hook on to my new found collection.

The Impossible (2012)

JohnnyTwoToes tells you why watching this true-life survival drama is uplifiting.

The Impossible tells the remarkable true story of  one unfortunate family's hellish "vacation" to Thailand in 2004 when it was double hit by a catastrophic earthquake and a devastating tsunami to ever hit land. The 2004 tsunami if you remember, covered over 7 continents and killed upwards of almost 250,000 people, destroyed entire towns, villages, homes, businesses and anything that stood in its path. The earthquake that hit was bad enough (9.2 on the Richter Scale) but however bad the quake was, the tsunami was even worse, if you can grasp that. How ANYBODY could have survived this is beyond me.

The Impossible has been compared to Clint Eastwood's Hereafter, about people's encounter with death, one of them from a tsunami. Although, Hereafter is mostly fiction, The Impossible is a true story and that alone makes it special. One of the survivors, Maria Belon (on whose life this is based) was a technical supervisor in this movie to make sure this film about her and her family's ordeal was told as accurately as possible.

Only the nationality of the family in the movie has been changed. The Belons are from Spain and the family in the film are from England. Maria in the film is played by Naomi Watts, whom the real Maria wanted Ms. Watts to play her because she was awestruck with her performance in 21 Grams. Ewan McGregor plays Maria's husband, Henry and their three children, are Lucas, the oldest is ten and Thomas and Simon are the two youngest. It is a close knit family that flies into Thailand for their Christmas holiday. On December 26, 2004 the tsunami hits, carrying Maria and Lucas in one direction and Henry, Thomas and Simon in an other. I wont spoil it further as I really want you all to see it.

The Impossible is a powerful film. It is raw and brutal in its depiction of the disaster but it maintains a PG-13 rating so everyone can watch it. Juan Antonio Bayona (director of the fantastic horror flick The Orphanage) directs The Impossible with grace and tenderness. However, The Impossible came and went pretty quickly in theaters. It deserves a second viewing and the acting is superb. I want to acknowledge the performance by Tom Holland who plays Lucas. It is the best performance from a young actor I have ever seen. He shows remarkable maturity and depth and will have you glued to the screen. How Tom Holland was NOT nominated for best supporting actor is so criminal?

Yes, The Impossible tugs hard on the heart stings of the viewer, and I didn't mind. Screenwriter Sergio G. Sanchez based his script on Maria Belon's story and he has captured the essence of what she discovered from her ordeal - Hold on to what you love, appreciate life and if you should get a second chance, make it worthwhile. This is a terrific film; uplifting and life affirming in people's darkest hours. The Impossible-**** out of 4