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I have watched soap operas on and off my entire life. I think it started when a babysitter I had when I was about ten would watch Days of Our Lives each day like clockwork. Because all of the other children under her care were very young, they had naps each afternoon. At my age, this was not something I needed to do. That meant she would treat me to a soda and then allow me to watch the soap with her. I have watched Days on and off through the years, and this led me to watch the Passions soap opera when it debuted nearly a decade ago. I still watch Days of Our Lives, but I always found the Passions soap opera very interesting and worth watching. Perhaps it was because it had a bit of something that most other soaps did not.

I’ve always loved new release movies. I know that being new doesn’t necessarily make a movie better, But it is still so easy to get excited by a movie that has just appeared in the theater. I especially love seeing new release films on opening day. Everyone is just so happy and excited to be there. You can tell by the energy. They laugh at all the jokes, gasp at all the scary scenes, and even sometimes cry. Everyone seems to react as a whole as if you are at a football game or some other type of public spectacle. A movie rarely feels like a spectacle anymore, but it still does on opening day. Sometimes new release movies will seem fun and enjoyable just because they are new. For example, Transformers the movie was not really my kind of film.

Movie trailers can be a great way to get a glimpse of upcoming movies, but if you really want to get the whole picture, you have to read some movie reviews. After all, a movie trailer is meant to pander to the audience as much as possible. They want you to come to see the movie, and they are going to do everything in their power to make it look awesome. As a matter of fact, some movie trailers even incorporate scenes that aren’t in the actual movie. Movie reviews, however, are different. A good movie reviewer will balance the good and the bad. They will give you a whole view of the movie, talking about the actors and how they do, the quality of the writing, and the direction. There is no better way to find out about a movie except by going yourself.

My great aunt Ida has one of the best collections of movie collectibles you could ever hope to see you. Nonetheless, it is not all exactly public viewing material. As a matter of fact, some of her golden age movie figurines are downright offensive to anyone with good taste. She is a very progressive person and not in the least bit racist, but she holds on to them anyway. For her, it is not all about just getting movie collectibles that she likes. The important thing, as far as she’s concerned, is finding, treasuring, and preserving the history of motion pictures. Different people start getting movie collectibles for different reasons. For some people, it is all about simply treasuring movies that they like. A lot of people get movie posters from their favorite childhood movies, for example, or from the art flicks they liked to watch in college.

Ever since I discovered You Tube, I have probably watched more video clips every month than I had previously in my entire life. There are just too many good movie clips to see out there, even if you miss all of the so-so ones. Sometimes, it is hard to stop once you get going. I’ve passed whole evenings by staring at the computer, watching flick after flick. It’s amazing how much the Internet has really improved video art. Nowadays, anyone can get their movie clips seen by big group of people. It’s not really guaranteed – sometimes a pretty clever movie can languish there on the Internet on the edge of obscurity for months before even a single person watches it – but eventually, if you keep your stuff out there, someone is going to see it.

One of the most action packed genres in the cinema is Martial Arts movies. They have an avid following, whether they are big budget Hollywood features or low budget cult films. The Hong Kong produced films are well known and they inspired American and European enthusiasts to make their own films. Some actors have got into Martial Arts and used it for their career and some Martial Arts experts have become involved in the movie industry. The major stars of the genre are heroes to the fans. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li each bring their own personality and fighting techniques to the story. Western stars Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal further popularized the films.

One of the greatest memories of my childhood was watching an alien autopsy video on the Discovery Channel. I was raised on science fiction stories, shows, and movies from a very young age, so for me it was more than just a show. I was convinced that aliens were real – at least in the way that little kids are always convinced that their favorite monsters are real. They didn’t need to bombard me with the testimony of experts or the opinions of astronomers about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. For me, the alien invasion was already at hand! I was actually not supposed to be watching the alien autopsy show. I had pretty tolerant, open minded parents, but on some issues they were not open to compromise.

The directing, producing and writing team of Joel and Ethan Coen are known for their very stylized films, including Fargo, Raising Arizona, O Brother, Where Art You?, and No Country for Old Men. In 1998, the brothers released The Big Lebowski movie to critical acclaim. The story explores the ‘slacker’ lifestyle, has great characters and a convoluted plot. The star is Jeff Bridges, playing an unemployed man named Jeffrey Lebowski, who prefers to be called The Dude. The setting is Los Angeles and The Dude and his buddies spend most of their time in the bowling alleys, as bowling is their passion in life. Life gets complicated for The Dude due to mistaken identity when he is mixed up with a man with the same name who just happens to be a multimillionaire.

Hanging posters on the wall starts as a teenager but needn’t stop there. With a quality frame, a print or poster can look classy in the right setting. Framed movie posters are very popular, whether to remind one of a favorite film or to set a mood in a room. In addition to homes, they are bought for restaurants, nightclubs and other businesses. They come in all shapes and sizes and some are reproductions of the original posters of classic films, going back to the 1930s. Buyers can choose by genre or a certain actor, actress or director but it’s also possible to browse through the most popular buys. These framed movie posters tend to be blockbusters, cult films or other films that did well at the box office. Some images are iconic and instantly recognizable, such as The Godfather with Marlon Brando as Don Corleone standing underneath the puppet string logo. Quentin Tarantino films are also very familiar, particularly Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill.

I have been watching Disney movies Since I was a very young child, and I have enjoyed many of them in that time. I have watched all the classic Disney films – “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Little Mermaid,” and even the older ones. When I was a kid, for example, my dad used to love to show us the movie “Song of the South.” This movie has recently been suppressed, owing to the fact that some of it was considered racist, but it was also well done film. The music in it was great, the storytelling was excellent, and the characters were all a lot of fun for kids. One of the great things about Disney movies is how they change the original stories for the better. If you look at an authentic fairy tale, it is often pretty complex.

January 2009
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