Entertainment July 2005

James Stabile Info Blog Newsletter

July 2005

Entertainment...

Crash was a great movie. I don't think that it will win any awards or be a big viewer pull, but it was very interesting. It was about prejudice and discrimination. The movie starts with a automobile crash, then other non-related situations occurred introducing the main characters. The movie chronicled the lives of these individuals. The common thread in these people's lives was prejudice, all types of prejudice. The movie was so depressing. It was so true to life, but so depressing because the message was so true. The audience at the matinee that I attended was a little bigger than usual for a matinee, but it was a Saturday afternoon. Probably about 30 people were in attendance, many older people, but a representative ethnic mix of people. The movie was serious in nature, however, the audience laughed at some of the situations and dialogue. They didn't laugh out of disrespect, but because the situations were so real and seeing them portrayed on the screen showed the absurdity of that kind of behavior. The ending was excellent. I won't divulge the ending, but being a fiscal conservative and a liberal social thinking person, I was extremely pleased with the ending. I won't see it again, but I may buy the DVD when it is released. It could be used for sensitivity sessions for many different types of groups, from teachers and hospital workers to the police departments. I do not advise it for children under 13 years of age. Not just because of the filthy language, but because I think that young children would miss the message of the movie. They may interpret the actions by the characters in the movie as appropriate behavior. This is an adult movie.

Unleashed is another good movie, although a somewhat different genre than Crash. Unleashed is an action, martial arts kind of movie, with emotion. I must say that my eyes filled up several times watching the movie. Yes, it was a typical action movie. It was a typical R rated movie when it came to violence and language, but it was a tender movie, too. I think it would be a great "date" movie because each person would be satisfied with the movie, but for different reasons. It would probably add to the feeling that the "date", especially if it was a first date, was a success.

An AP-AOL poll found that 73% of Americans prefer watching movies at home on DVDs, videotapes or pay-per-view rather than in the theaters. The movie industry is definitely in a slump. Many people feel that the new movies are not of the highest quality, some of the new arrivals are downright terrible. I think current movies are being produced in mass numbers and in an assembly line manner for financial ends not for aesthetic value. Things like plot, theme development and characterization have gone by the wayside in order to produce and distribute movies in mass numbers.

Movie prices are extremely high, even for matinees. I think a lot of movie goers are staying away from the theaters because the price is not commensurate with the quality of many movies. People would rather wait for the reviews and then select the movies that they will view in the privacy of their homes. A family night in one's living room is much cheaper and sometimes more convenient than a night at the theater.

According to the same poll, the people who rent DVDs or videotapes are the same people who visit the neighborhood cinema. It seems that people who do not go to movies do not rent DVDs etc. That's kind of surprising. So in other words, some people just like the movie experience whether at home or at the cinema.

My movie watching behavior is not completely in line with the results of the AP-AOL poll. Personally, I do not rent DVDs. I do not rent videotapes. I absolutely would not subscribe to any pay-per-view movie service. No, not me. I prefer to go to the movies. I like the cinema experience. I like the big screens, the previews of coming attractions and the smell of freshly popped popcorn, although I very seldom take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy that fattening, calorie laden and highly unhealthy popcorn . I prefer matinees and the total cinema experience.

Attention beach lovers, South Florida beaches are in the process of beach restoration. Beaches from Port Everglades south to the Miami-Dade County line are slated for the restoration. Hollywood Beach adjacent to the Broardwalk won't need to much work, it has a lot of beach area and sand. But south Hollywood, in the Diplomat Hotel complex area, there is no beach. Dredging the ocean floor off Deerfield Beach will provide the sand needed to restore the once pristine Diplomat beach. John U Lloyd Beach is another area in need of restoration. Directly south of Port Everglades, John U Lloyd is in dire need of more beach. At high tide the small beach disappears. All this is the result of years of beach erosion and little or no beach maintenance. Dania Beach is in pretty good shape, although it too has lost some of it's depth due to beach erosion. South Florida is defined by it's beaches. Beach restoration is not just for the "locals", but it is imperative to attract the tourist from literally around the world. Personally, I've never thought that Broward County beaches were anything to write home about. The southwest Florida beaches are much more attractive than the beaches on the southeastern coast of Florida.

The Food Network is a good place to go for a variety of food shows. One show that I really enjoy is Calorie Commando with Juan-Carlos Cruz. It is broadcasted at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays. The show teaches weight conscious consumers how to cook low calorie. It's host Juan-Carlos Cruz is a successful weight lost guru. He successfully lost a ton of weight and has managed the loss creatively. He gives many tips for calorie conscious cooks.

Another good weight conscious show is Weighing In, 10 p.m. Fridays and 2 p.m. Sundays. I have not viewed the show, yet, but it is advertised as a show about nutrition and fitness, exercise and activity. A nutritionist and fitness trainer checks in on people who are trying to lose weight for special occasions, during a three month period.

Here a some tips for calorie conscious individuals that were discussed in an article in the Sun-Sentinel (Of course I provide some personal comments):

Use sprays for pans, low calorie sprays. Personally, I like the Mazola No Stick varieties. Don't be afraid of spraying those pans completely. You can even spray directly on the meat or potato or whatever.
Instead of butter, wrap garlic in foil and roast in the oven and spread on bread. I like the spray butter substitutes better, but the garlic is an option.
To get low-fat cheese to melt like regular cheese, coat it with a spray of canola oil. Again, I like the sprays. Olive oil is a good substitute for fatty oils, but olive oil still contains a lot of calories, but olive oil is healthier than those fattier oils. I use olive oil, sparingly.
To reduce the calories in cheesecake, use half cream cheese and half tofu. I've never used tofu. I'm going to try it sometime. I have heard that tofu assumes the taste of whatever food it is combined with, plain tofu has little taste. A good "filler" if you will.
When dining out - skip bread, go with low-calorie dressings, go light on butter and oil, ask for a box to take half of your portion home. Excellent. I never eat butter, always ask for low calorie dressings. A big secret in weight control - portion size.
Substitute spaghetti squash for pasta. I've done that before, but I like my pasta. I've used whole wheat pasta and lower calorie varieties, by all means I control my portions.
Substitute lettuce leafs for tortillas. I don't eat many tortilla meals, however, when I use tortilla wraps I choose the lower calorie varieties.
Remove ice cream, cookies and candy from home. Yes, excellent, but sometime you just want some of these goodies. Once again, go healthier and portion control. I happen to like Healthy Choice products and Edy's lower calorie products. However, sometimes one little piece of Philadelphia or Daffin's candy is recommended.
When baking, replace sugar with substitute, egg whites instead of the whole eggs. I like and use Splenda. Also, substitute apple sauce for half of the shortening when baking cookies, etc..
Substitute nonfat yogurt for fruit topping.
For better taste use low fat, not nonfat products. This depends on the taste of the nonfat product..

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is exonerated by a jury of his peers. Remember, the jury found the man not guilty. He was not found to be innocent, just not guilty. This is our American legal system at work. We must accept the jury's decision. After watching the news pundits and the interviews with the jury members, I've come to the decision that the results of the trial may have been completely different if the mother of the victim would not have testified. She was not a credible witness. Also, I feel that the results would have been different if the judge's directions to the jury were simple, concise and to the point. I think that the jury was too prudent in coming to their judgment. I feel that they confused "a reasonable doubt" with "a shadow of a doubt". The jury foreman and 5 or 6 of the jurors were interviewed on ABC's Good Morning America the morning after they rendered their decision, "When asked if they believed that Michael Jackson may have molested other children, however, three jurors said they suspected that could be true...The jury foreman, Paul Rodriguez, said past allegations came up frequently in the jury room, and while he said it is "possible" Jackson could have molested other children, "we couldn't weigh that with this case in particular." Read about the interview.

Will Michael Jackson ascend to the status of The King of Pop again? Possibly. He is very popular in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. He hasn't been very popular in the United States for years. time will tell. Time will also tell if he is in fact a child molester. If he is, he will undoubtedly molest again. Again, time will tell. In any case, Master Jackson is an odd duck.

Has anyone seen the movie Super-Size Me? One of our social workers had the movie at school to show students. I borrowed it from her. In the movie, Morgan Spurlock chronicled his month long ordeal of eating nothing but McDonald's food. After the 30 days he went to his doctor and found that his health and vital statistics like weight, cholesterol and body fat had increased significantly. I believe the movie won the Director's Award for documentary at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and it may have been nominated for other awards. Once again, everything in moderation.

This summer FX is airing other Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days type programs. Each week he will cover a different human situation such as, living on minimum wage, anti-aging, Muslims and America, straight/gay and alcohol binging. The show should be interesting. I know Jamie and Tom will be watching it. Jamie is the person who told me about the weekly series. I haven't seen the FX shows, yet.