CinemaDave

Photo by Wardcito Studios.

Photo from Wardcito Studios

Almost ten years after the release of "The Blair Witch Project," Josh Leonard makes another independent motion picture.

In his passing, one is becoming aware of how important Karl Malden was as a supporting actor. TCM has been playing film clips from "A Steetcar Names Desire," "On the Waterfront" and "One Eyed Jacks," with costar Marlon Brando. Malden became a household name for his work on the ABC television series; "The Streets of San Francisco," which made Michael Douglas a household name.

Last year at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Eli Wallach talked about his longtime friend;

The Michael Jackson memorial and interment has lived up to expectations as both a paparazzi tragedy and comedy. The tragedy of Michael Jackson will haunt the Jackson family for the rest of their lives, but the comedy will thrive under the guidance the sociopathic mainstream media machine fed by higher ratings and corporate advertising revenue.

There was a Jackson family connection with Sacha Baron Cohen's latest flick, **Bruno,** which was to feature LaToya Jackson being punked. Due to her brother's death, the LoToya Jackson scene was edited from the film. This may be the only sensitive gesture associated with **Bruno,** that is barely rated R.

At one point this film came close to a NC-17 rating for indecent exposure. Ticket buyers beware, even with an R rating, the ticket buyer witnesses naked physical acts.

A pseudo documentary, **Bruno** is about a gay Austrian man (Cohen) from the fashion industry. After a disasterous showing in Milan, bruno decides to come to Los Angeles and become the biggest Austrian Superstar since Adolph Hitler. Bruno fails miserably in his quest to become famous, so he tries a new track for success by following the headlines inspired by Madonna, Angelina Jolie and Al Gore.

Much like his flick from three years ago **Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,** is a pseudo documentary crosses fantasy with reality. Bruno and Borat are fake, but most of the situations around them could be real.

In **Bruno,** the title character visits a terrorist cell in the middle east, goes hunting in Alabama and upsets Harrison Ford in a 2 second cameo. The challenge for the viewer is to separate what is real and what is fake. One clue; if the cinematography looks grainey, the action was probably live.

The cameos by Congressman Ron Paul, Elton John, Sting, Bono and Sir Paul McCartney provide Cohen some authenticity to his wild endeavors, but one wonders if these celebrities know what they had gotten themselves into. Like **Borat,** Cohen gets fixated on the dirty and one feels the need for a shower after viewing **Bruno.*

Storyteller extraordinaire Countess Primavera inspires a new generation of children with tales of monsters. This storytime was held in the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art on a hot and sunny June afternoon.



However,
the Countess performed her "Demon Eyes" special effect for this little boy;



...the little boy raced home,washed behind his ears, brushed his teeth and promised to be a good boy for the rest of his life.



Stay tuned for the further adventures of Primavera Falwat!!!!

Dear Cinema Dave,

Today I testified at a Senate hearing about the persistent and deadly risk posed by the prevalence of the Burmese python in Florida.

Invasive species like the Burmese python are wreaking havoc in our most treasured environments. Some estimate there are upwards of more than one hundred thousand of these deadly pythons in the Everglades National Park. The crown jewel of our national park system has been transformed into a hunting ground for these predators.

And last week the unthinkable happened.

An eight-foot Burmese python escaped from its container in a home northwest of Orlando. The pet snake bit a two-year-old girl and wrapped itself around her body. By the time the paramedics had arrived, the child had been strangled.

And this is not an isolated case. Over the last ten years, at least 17 people have been the victim of an attack. Seven have died.

It took this tragic event to bring back focus to this problem – and there’s something we can do about it.

I filed a bill in February (S. 373) which would declare pythons as injurious animals and halt the importation and interstate commerce of these deadly snakes.

The state of Florida has been working from its end to get a handle on these snakes. They now require a yearly registration fee, owners must display knowledge of handling and care, and snakes are now micro-chipped – so if one got loose you would have a chance to chase them down. Now it’s time for the federal government to step up.

Senator Bill Nelson
(D) Florida

"And that's the way it is" was Walter Cronkite's sign off phrase when he was with CBS News until 1981.

At this moment in history,
President Barrack Obama is speaking to students at the Moscow New Economic School.
Saturday Night Live Founding Writer Al Franken is being sworn into the United States Senate to begin his six year term and the remains of Michael Jackson is stopping traffic in Los Angeles, California.

One wonders if the circus known as the Michael Jackson Memorial would have been the number one story when Walter Cronkite was news director for CBS News.

Directed by Tommy Nelson, this short horror film features Rachel Galvin. "The End of the Living" will be screening this Sunday, Jul. 12, at 5 p.m. at the BMC Cinema in Palm Beach (off PGA Blvd.) Other shorts will be featured. Ticket-- $5.

As a short subject, "The End of the Living" suffers from too many characters within too many story lines. This short subject would have worked better by concentrating upon either the pregnant girlfriend (Galvin) or the warehouse workers who find something disgusting in the garbage.

That said, given the Memorial Service in Los Angeles on this sunny July 7th day, take a peak at this spooky video from CNN;



Ghosts? Zombies? Vampires?
You decide.

Before we pass another mammoth 1200 page bill without reading it,
perhaps we should do some investigation?

Mr. Smith has something to say about this....

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence ?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors,
and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;
another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes,
and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners;
men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence
knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown , Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.
The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.
Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill
were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

Sometimes a still picture can reveal more than a moving picture;


...case in point, check out this still....

...and compare it with this moving image.....



with this moving image....



When you step out of the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery IMAX Theatre, this is what one faces!

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The Shohreh Aghdashloo story typifies the American Dream. Born in Tehran, Iran, Aghdashloo fled her homeland when Ayatollah Khomeini seized power in 1978. After fleeing to England, Shoreh earned a degree in International Relations and eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Seven years ago, Shoreh was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in **The House of Sand and Fog** and she has become a favorite of both **The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival** and **The Palm Beach International Film Festival** organizers.

While serving as a jurist for the recent **Palm Beach International Film Festival,** Shoreh admitted that her latest movie, **The Stoning of Soryaya M.** is a very personal film for her. It is no coincidence that **The Stoning of Soryaya M.** was being released during the recent botched Iranian elections. As Shoreh said, “This is a story that needs to be told.”

James Caviezel portrays Freidoune, an international journalist whose car breaks down in a stark village. Freidoune is greeted by the Mayor and the town religious leader, who tells the journalist to ignore the crazy lady, Zahra (Aghdashloo). Zahra connects with Freidoune and she reveals an incident from the village from yesterday.

Like **I Want to Live** and **Dead Man Walking,** a title like **The Stoning of Soryaya M.** reveals the climax of the story, the systematic execution of a woman in modern day Iran. Director Cyrus Nowrasteh does not spare the viewer from the brutality of mob justice. Yet the most horrifying scenes of **The Stoning of Soryaya M.** is the systematic madness that people use to justify stoning a woman in the middle of the town square.

**The Stoning of Soryaya** is a multilingual motion picture and the performers do an excellent job communicating universal truth. As the story teller, Shohreh Aghdashloo has the least showy role, but provides the maternal nerve and backbone. In a small but pivotal role, James Caviezel makes the most out of his cameo appearance.

The film belongs to young Mozhan Marnò, the actress who portrays Soryaya M. Marno’s performance runs the gamut of emotions from happiness to fear. The actress’ transition is believable and heartbreaking. Expect big things from this Los Angeles native in the future.

**The Stoning of Soryaya** presents the cultural dynamics between men and women in the middle east, a world far more removed than what popular culture seems to understand. It is a pity that such a film was not produced 5 years ago during the height of the Iraq War. Perhaps popular culture would have been more sympathetic to America’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Broward County Main Library’s Bienes Museum of the Modern Book presents:

The exhibition will showcase approximately 50 vintage comic books (and their precursors: Big Little Books and early Blue Ribbon pop-up books) from the 1930s to the 1990s, and will include titles such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Defenders, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Marvel Tales, and Marvel Team-Up.

**Transformers Revenge of the Fallen** is a hard movie to criticize. For a big budgeted motion picture, the film opened with some of the worst collective reviews from the mainstream film critics. On the other hand, people shelled out approximately 200 million dollars in box office revenue to see **Transformers 2** in both regular and IMAX screens, which is very impressive given the recent celebrity news cycle involving Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Like the original **Transformers** from two years ago, **Transformers Revenge of the Fallen** is a triumph of marketing movies with 1980s nostalgia.

The sequel begins with a stumble. **Transformers Revenge of the Fallen** suffers from director Michael Bay love of frenetic action sequences, that are often hard to follow. visually. The nighttime battle in Asia is confusing because one can not distinguish the differences between the bad robots (Decepticons) and the good robots (Autobots). However, once we are reunited with the Witwicky family, the this sequel becomes much more interesting.

Sam (Shia LeBeouf) leaves home to go to college. His girlfriend, Mikaela (Meghan Fox) stays behind to fix motorcycles for her father's small business. After barely surviving his first day of college, Sam has a reunion with Optimus Prime, the heroic Autobot leader from the last motion picture.

Optimus Prime explains to Sam that it is his destiny to save the world. Sam says he has other things to do, like get good grades and stay in touch with his girlfriend. Sam than goes on on to have a nervous breakdown in class and gets caught cheating on Mikaela. Of course, things go from bad to worst as Sam, Mikaela and the Autobots must thwart the wicked schemes of the Decepticons.

The action sequences do improve (or my eyes adjusted) as **Transformers Revenge of the Fallen** progresses. The final showdown occurs in the sands of the middle east. Setting the stage with broad action sequences, director Michael Bay manages to present some individual details of the individual in warfare. Most of the actors, especially LeBeouf, Kevin Dunn and John Turtorro give credible performances that balance the tragic with the comic. Megan Fox does not have to act as much; except to pose and run in slow motion wearing denim shorts with a tank top through the desert. Oh yeah, she looks pretty in a burka.

Along with earlier Paramount Pictures releases, **Star Trek,** **A Night at the Museum 2 Battle at the Smithsonian,** **Transformers Revenge of the Fallen** offers something special visually on the 60 foot IMAX screen at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery. There are subtle references (also know in DVD jargon as Easter eggs) that connect all three diverse movies.

Also of note, is the respect that the **Transformers** film makers pay to the American Military. Ten years ago, summer blockbusters featured military as buffoonish toy soldiers and easy victims for monsters. It also should be noted that these well marketed blockbusters, (IE **Godzilla**) were box office disappointments. Perhaps the lesson of **Transformers Revenge of the Fallen,** is that if filmmakers respect the sensibilities of the consumer, the consumer will reward the film makers despite bad reviews from the mainstream media.

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com/188544.html

As the summer of '77 drew to a close,
the world knew that Groucho Marx was in his final days. Groucho's live-in companion Erin Fleming was in court with the Marx family. Fleming was accused of taking advantage of the old comic legend. Eventually, the case was settled in the 1980s and Fleming was forced to pay nearly one half a million dollars to the Marx estate. Groucho died on August 19, three days after the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley died.

The parallels between the Summer of '77 and the Summer of '09 is eerie, given the passing of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson on the same day. Farrah's final days were a morbid death watch, with a "Love Story" comparison featuring Ryan O'Neal himself. Yet, Farrah's passing was swallowed up by the passing of Michael Jackson, much like Elvis Presley's death overshadowed Groucho Marx's death.

Soak in these days today, because you will be asked about these events thirty years from now.

In April 2003, Cinema Dave managed to get press credentials for the Palm Beach International Film Festival (PBiFF). Cinema Dave was thrilled because he was hoping to meet the legendary Fay Wray, King Kong's favorite leading lady. Cinema Dave made some friends that night and we have a reunion every April for the annual PBiFF. We still talk about how special this PBiFF was in 2003.


Also was in attendance was Producer Robert Evans and recent Oscar winner for "The Pianist," Adrien Brody. Director and Florida son Brett Ratner presented an award, but he gave a speech about one of the people in attendance, Michael Jackson.

Jackson's body guards made an entrance from the side of the gala hall, the same place where Cindy Morgan partied with Ted Knight, Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield during "Caddyshack." Michael Jackson appeared, waved to the crowd and sat in the center row.

The bodyguards stood at attention the whole time.
Michael appeared to be having a good time. He signed autographs and flirted with some of the people in the band, who played Michael Jackson tunes (Mostly from "Thriller."

It was a memorable night for Cinema Dave,
yet Cinema Dave only had eyes for one person that evening, Fay Wray.
While Fay Wray was in her nineties, Michael Jackson was only forty four years old.

Think of your brain as a muscle: It gets stronger with exercise. Your everyday mental tasks are like walking, but how about a real workout? Try these simple exercises to boost your brain power and clear away the fog of forgetfulness.

1. Use your non-dominant hand
Tackling new tasks improves brain capacity in younger people and has a restorative effect on mental faculties that are declining. Boost your brain power right now by performing everyday activities with your non-dominant hand. If you're right-handed, use your left hand to eat, drink, comb your hair, and brush your teeth. Try writing your name with your non-dominant hand or put your mouse pad on the other side of the keyboard.

Why does this work? The human brain starts declining after the age of 30 especially in women with each successive pregnancy. By exercising your brain through the use of non-dominant hand, you are stimulating the opposite side of the brain and activating blood flow, which slows down the brain aging process and improves mental capacity. Evidence from functional brain imaging shows that the process of neuroplasticity -- the brain's natural ability to form new connections -- can be enhanced by studying new things, especially hand-eye coordinated exercises like developing the use of your non-dominant hand and practicing visualization meditation. For an effective guided visualization that will also increase your years, check out Meditations to Live to Be 100.

Stimulating communication between the two hemispheres even helps physical balance. Mind-body exercises like tai chi coach people to use the right and left side of the body equally. Try switching it up in sports. For instance, in tennis, switch the racquet to your non-dominant side and play.

2. Work out your brain
You have to use it or lose it! You can work out your mind just like you work out your body. Mental exercises that will keep your brain fit include doing crossword puzzles, playing chess, or memorizing names, shopping lists, and phone numbers. When I was a young boy, to keep my brain function strong, my father had me memorize Tang Dynasty poetry. Every day I had to memorize a new poem and recite it back. Learn the words to a poem or a new song and repeat them back from memory. Set aside the calculator and add manually instead. Keep challenging yourself with tasks that are new to you.

Whatever mental exercise you choose, the key to success is to practice every day at the same time; you are developing and activating new neural pathways, and consistent cycles will keep the brain on track.

3. Move your fingers to improve your brain
Many people marvel that Asian children seem so intelligent. It could be because they use their fingers more frequently. They eat with chopsticks and at one time, they used to compute with an abacus in school. In fact, some studies have been done with children who use an abacus daily, and findings show that engaging the fingers stimulates nerve endings that go directly to the brain, increasing circulation. Take advantage of this by practicing motor activities that use your fingertips, like crocheting, knitting, and other arts and crafts where you are manipulating small parts. Try playing the piano or a stringed instrument.

Here is an exercise you can do anywhere, at any time. Put one finger on top of the one next to it, then try to stack the next finger on top of that. Or hold a pencil or pen between your index and middle fingers, roll it over until it's balanced between the middle and ring fingers, then again to between the ring finger and pinky. This exercise has a beneficial impact on brain health for anyone at any age, but especially for people in their 40s, 50s and beyond -- when signs of brain aging starts to set in.

Why does this work? A map of the brain shows that the nerve endings on your fingertips correspond to more areas of the brain than any other body area, except perhaps the tongue and lips. Therefore, finger exercise and movements can be useful in stimulating the neurons in the brain. The National Institute of Mental Health conducted experiments that showed finger exercises enlarged the capacity of the participants' brains, increased connections between neurons, forged new neural pathways, and increased circulation to the brain areas. The researchers concluded that finger exercise contributed significantly to brain plasticity, the ability of the brain to renew itself. Increased circulation means more oxygen and nutrients for the brain cells and decreased waste products that clog up the brain.

4. Stimulate brain acuity with self-massage
To improve concentration and memory try this self-massage that stimulates two easy-to-find acupressure points on your neck at the base of the skull. Cross your hands behind you with the palms cradling the back of your head, your thumbs in the grooves on each side of your neck, and your index fingers crossing one another below the skull, just above the thumbs. Sit in a chair, lean your head back, and let it rest against the pressure of your thumbs and index fingers. Slowly inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth, letting your whole body relax. Do this for three to five minutes. You'll increase blood flow to the brain and at the same time relax the neck muscles, which often tense up in response to stress, constricting blood vessels in the area.

You can find these, and many other brain boosting tips in my new book, Second Spring. I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

--Dr. Mao