Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential musicians of his time. His style, personality and flavor
has been replicated by musicians today who recognize his talent and honor his work. This essay is about him and
what he gave to entertainment today with his life and work.

Louis Armstrong in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901 to a poor family. Growing up was rough for him as he spent most of his youth in poverty
in uptown New Orleans. The neighborhood was rough and his father left the family when Louis was still a baby. Years later his mother left and the Louis and his sister were watched
over by their grandmother, Josephine. Louis soon developed an interest for music when he first played cornet, an instrument he had bought with a loan.
However the circumstances weren't too good. He learned to play the instrument in a juvenile delinquency center with the "jail" music band.Then, after getting out,
he followed the band and loved to watch older musicians play, taking time to do so whenever he got the chance.
Soon after he got into a relationship with Joe Oliver, a renown musician of the time who took Armstrong under his wing much like a mentor or even a father.
Oliver left some time later and Armstrong took his place in band, regarded as one of the hottest jazz bands. BLAH BLAH BALH!

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Academy Awards Special

With the Academy Awards coming soon, I thought an Oscar special would be fun. I'm just going to take my little Academy Award nominations paper, fill in who I think will win, tell you why and offer some extra knowledge on the subject. I'll run through the obvious genres like best picture, best score and best original screenplay. I'm not exactly an expert on all of the genres but I know enough to give you a semi-detailed answer.

NOTE: The spreadsheet paper I was going to use for the Academy Award presentation is somehow corrupted or was brought down by the website. Therefore, I will just use bullets and the like. :) The strikes indicate my bet. Oh, and there will be some minor bias. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Best Leading Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio – BLOOD DIAMOND (Runner-Up)
Ryan Gosling – HALF NELSON
Peter O’Toole – VENUS
Will Smith – THE PURSUIT
OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker – THE LAST KING
OF SCOTLAND (My Pick)

His performance in the film was great, giving many critics the impression that he dug deep into his sadistic character. Without saying too much, the movie was very good, his performance merely a boost, a big boost at that.
Leo D. is the runner-up because of his gritty, manly performance in Blood Diamond. He wasn't nominated for The Departed so he very well might run away with this award. Another notable pick is Ryan Gosling.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

THE BLACK DAHLIA
CHILDREN OF MEN (My Pick)
THE ILLUSIONIST
PAN’S LABYRINTH (Runner-Up)
THE PRESTIGE

Children of Men was an amazing film so it was sure to get a nod for something, in this case, cinematography, which may seem like a back-burner award but sometimes it can make a movie. Children of Men was overall very well done with cinematography a big part of the film's deliverance. A close runner-up would have to be Pan's Labyrinth because it was just so engaging and beautiful.

Best Leading Actress

Penélope Cruz – VOLVER
Judi Dench – NOTES ON A SCANDAL (Runner-Up)
Helen Mirren – THE QUEEN (My Pick)
Meryl Streep – THE DEVIL WEARS
PRADA
Kate Winslet – LITTLE CHILDREN

Everyone thinks Helen Mirren will walk away with this one and I don't blame them. Her performance was astonishing and one of the reasons the movie was so damn good. However, Judi Dench is no pushover. She may steal this one from Helen, so watch out.

Screenplay Adapted

BORAT
CHILDREN OF MEN (Runner-Up)
THE DEPARTED (My Pick)
LITTLE CHILDREN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL

I have to go with The Departed on this one. It was originally a Japanese trilogy and to mold it into an Irish mobster film wasn't an easy task. Not to mention that The Departed was explosive and just a great movie, this screenplay should win. However, Children of Men has an incredible script marked by an interesting premise and creativity. Tune in to see who wins.

Original Screenplay

BABEL (Runner-Up)
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (Odd Ball Pick)
PAN’S LABYRINTH (My Pick)
THE QUEEN

This will be a tough one. All of the films in this category are superb and while I loved Pan's Labyrinth, it will be hard for it to beat out Babel and Little Miss Sunshine which I think are the biggest threats to Pan's Labyrinth's win. Babel was like Crash in how it compared human situations and used emotion as it's backdrop. I wouldn't be surprised if this won because it was just so damn good. Then you have Little Miss Sunshine. I loved this movie too because it's something everyone can watch and really is a heartwarming film about life and all of the disappointments and stories you can get from it. I give it my Oddball Pick so don't be astonished if it wins.

Directing

BABEL (My Pick)
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (Runner-Up)
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93

I pick Babel for obvious reasons that I have stated before. My runner-up is "Letters From Iwo Jima" because Clint Eastwood did something not many directors would ever try. It directed an entire movie in Japanese with a cast that could not speak English. Talk about a language barrier. This feat alone was enough to propel him towards the Oscar but don't forget that the film itself was excellent. I might even change my mind and give him my pick moving Babel over to runner-up.

Best Picture

BABEL (My Pick)
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN (Runner-Up)

I'm going with Babel on this one. No one expected Crash to win last year and this movie is similar if not better. Babel had a powerful message and that's what wins Oscars. With that said, I have to go with The Queen even though Little Miss Sunshine is far behind. I would love to say The Departed hands down or Letters From Iwo Jima but it's going to be a tight race.

*************************************************************************************

Now I'm going to run through the "lesser" awards.

Documentary Feature - An Inconvenient Truth
This was a real eye-opener. Everyone should watch this to see how global warming is affecting Earth.

Art Direction - Pan's Labyrinth
Visually stunning, engaging and engulfs the audience. Simply wondrous.

Original Score - Pan's Labyrinth
Let's put it this way. It's the only score you'll remember after watching all of the films in this category.

Sound Mixing - Dreamgirls
Flawless sound mixing for..well...a musical!

Original Song - Dreamgirls (One of the three nominated)
I would be surprised if it didn't win. After all three of its songs were nominated out of the overall five Original Song nominations.

Sound Editing - Blood Diamond
Masterful sound editing in hectic scenes throughout the film.

Foreign Language Film - Pan's Labyrinth
It's in Spanish which isn't too foreign and it being in a different language is the only reason why this movie wasn't nominated for Best Picture.

Film Editing - United 93
When you consider the topic addressed, you realize the need for perfect film editing.

Supporting Actor - Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine)
I give this one to him because of his stature in Hollywood and his quirky yet very good performance in Little Miss Sunshine.

Visual Effects - Superman Returns
Huge scale, convincing graphics, scarily good visual effects. It's Superman!

Animated Feature - Happy Feet
Catchy musical numbers, an all-star cast and great visuals bring this film to life and takes the Oscar easily.

Costume Design - Curse of the Golden Flower
Wowzerz! It's hard not to give the Oscar to this one. Just watch it.

Makeup - Apocalypto
Vibrant colors and divine paints make the Mayans a lost yet incredibly beautiful civilization. No point in disagreeing.

Supporting Actress - Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
With such a powerful impact this movie left on me, it would not be possible without the heart-aching performance by Rinko which required a lot of preserverance. Watching the movie will show you just how hard it must have been for Kikuchi to portray a lost, deaf, mute and sorrowful Japanese girl on the brink of mental suicide.
*************************************************************************************

That just about wraps up my Oscar Special. As for the Academy Awards, they will be held on Februrary 25th at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and will be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Tune in to see who wins and if I was right!

NOTE: I left out the nominations for Documentary Short, Short Film (Live Action), and Short Film (Animated.) I don't know too much about those.
A big thanks to Film.com for their Oscar Ballot PDF page: http://smilparse.real.com/showcase/filmcom/oscars_2007/filmcom_oscarballot_2007.pdf

Burning Center

Self imprisonment
I suppose somewhere inside me
I yearn for freedom from
That which holds me stagnant
Overexaggeration turns underestimated
Emotion...
Emotion. Why the urgency to hide and
Slow the flow of that which could,
And perhaps will, improve, and
Heal the burning inside?
I am protecting my pain
It is mine
And I so badly want to keep my
Pain to myself
But, in doing so I am hurting
So many who cross me, or care for me,
Aching for love and acceptance,
Only to throw you down in the latter
Of our shared love
Yet anger and guilt not shared
Between me and you
You are blamed for all that is a
Mystery within myself...burning
Oh, I pray that I might someday
Throw a blanket over that angry
Child
If the strength is found within the
Core of my being
His tears soak my heart and
Weight it down
I am drowning, and I am tired,
And so very, very lonely
I am.

Smokin' Aces

Smokin' Aces is one of those movies you watch with your high school friends. It's got sexy women, guns, humor, rock music and explosions. It's like Jackass with guns. And a script.

The very first thing you'll notice about Smokin' Aces is the all-star cast which includes Ray Liota, Peter Berg, Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, Andy Garcia with the debut performances for musicians Alicia Keys and Common (Sir Ivy.) Once you past the Ocean's Eleven-esque cast you'll recognize the snazzy camera work and flashy music. By now you might be thinking that this is a Pulp Fiction kind of movie with witty dialogue, synchronized music and wild action-packed scenes. Well you're just about right.

Everything in this movie flies at you. The separate points of view include one of a bail bond's man and his associates, a group of ragtag mercenaries, one of two FBI agents, the other of a deranged assassin, another of a twisted gun for hire, another of two lesbian femme fatales and the last of the main target, Buddy Israel (Piven.) As you can see the plot can become very convoluted with all of the different interests involved. What's more is that the individual accounts are interconnected leading to many same place and the same time moments. Needless to say, this makes for a very intriguing script but may confuse some people.

The film does do a great job of foreshadowing the big hit. All of the accounts are explained in the beginning, each with their respective take on the whole mission, the stakes and more. Here is where the audience is enlightened of the whole situation and how it should play out. Nevertheless, things don't work out the way the characters want them too. Quickly you'll take sides or even make mental bets as to who gets the kill, at least that's what I did. Anyway, teh foreshadowing is done well and you're constantly awaiting the beginning of the hit and when it does finally begin you won't be disappointed. The bullets will fly.

Enough of the plot though. The script is fun which equals good. Meaning you can enjoy it and it's certainly entertaining.

Audio and visual in this film is where it should be. The general pop songs float in and out while the predictable rock anthems blare over the speakers during the bigger firefights. All of the guns sound authentic which could keep the guys happy. After all this film is full of testosterone so guns are a big part of it. You have your sniper rifles, shotguns, rifles and various pistols. Without sounding like your local black market dealer, I'll say this. You'll get scared when the firefights begin. The surround sound in the theater makes everything that much louder making the guns ring in your ears, permitted you are in a classy movie theater.

If you weren't aware by now, this film is very enjoyable and entertains on all levels. I've listed all of the bigger pros including guns, bullets, suggestive themes, sassy language etc. The acting isn't so bad either yet nothing stands out, maybe except for Jeremy Piven's convincing performance given his character's circumstances and tense situation. That's like giving Steve-O an Oscar for best supporting actor. Not gonna happen. Now for the cons of Smokin' Aces.

Smokin' Aces is highly illogical. The plot twists are slightly predictable not to mention that they lead up to a Saw-like ending which might satisfy some viewers. The plot is force fed to you leaving no room for true foreshadowing or suspense. Another annoying aspect is the use of melodramatic music when a character dies. If I wanted to watch a soap opera, I would have stayed home. Just try not to curse the director for trying to be sincere. In this type of fragfest, serenity is a no-no.

Either way the movie is still good and while not one for the Oscars, it's an action-packed man sausage fiesta. Bring your Cola, nachos, popcorn, as well as a spare bullet proof vest. You're going to need it.

Directed by	Joe Carnahan
Produced by	Tim Bevan Joe Carnahan Liza Chasin Eric Fellner
Written by	Joe Carnahan
Starring	Ben Affleck Andy Garcia Alicia Keys Ray Liotta Jeremy Piven Ryan Reynolds
Music by	Clint Mansell
Cinematography	Mauro Fiore
Editing by	Robert Frazen
Distributed by	Universal
Release date(s)	January 12, 2007 [1] January 26, 2007
Running time	108 min.
Language	English
Budget	$17,000,000

Babel? Babel you say?

Emotion. The power of emotion. Emotion means so much more than words, pictures, voices. Emotion can symbolize a person's pain, love, hate and more. Babel is full of emotion. It is full of powerful images. Babel is one the year's best films because it captures emotion and it's strength over words, like no other film ever before.

Babel is one of those films that has interconnected stories. It was directed by the same man who did 21 Grams and is made in the style of Traffic and Syriana. The story jumps back and forth giving you different perspectives and points of view. Each point of view is different and offers a subplot that is connected to the main plot in some way or another. Needless to say, the script is very well done since writing something like this can prove to be difficult. Read on.

The main idea of this story is that emotion is stronger than words. This is supplemented by the fact that more than 80 percent of the movie is in a foreign language. One point of view is in Mexican, another in Japanese, another in English, another in Middle Eastern and the last in sign language. To make a long story short...you'll be reading a lot. However this doesn't take away from the experience which will totally encompass you.

Since I have four reviews in this update, I'll try to keep things small. :P

The settings in the movie are also very well done and were shot on location and in the native language - something that took the film crew the most time to get done. Morocco, Mexico, California and Japan. No matter what language the scenes use, the film proves it's point. Emotion is stronger than words.

One Japanese teenager struggles to find herself. She is deaf and mute. She has friends and a loving father but after the death of mother she has never been the same. People look at her and her friends, also deaf and mute, as monsters. The girl can no longer take it, gets involved wit the wrong people and makes unwise choices. Her mindset leads her to believe the wrong things and it is through this barrier, this border or barbed wire fence that she must find herself. Ironic that words cannot describe her story. This is just one of the four stories the film weaves together.

Another aspect of the movie is the sound. Obviously, with such a thought-provoking plot, you'd like proactive music. That's what you get. As you watch people cry, laugh, and talk, you will hear exotic sounds and musics that are relevant to the situation. Whether it is a Mexican band playing during a party, or a Spanish lullaby playing at the credits, the music makes the movie that much better.

Fossick doesn't think you came here to read about the music though. The acting is the key to this film and let me tell you, it's superb.
Finally Brad Pitt has done a movie where he looks like a man and acts like a man. I'm not trying to say that he's a bad actor but in this movie he'll appeal to men because he's a man's man and you don't have to hate him for getting the girl in the movie...Anyways...

The acting is done very well. It takes the movie to new heights and blends the other elements of the film perfectly. Most of Babel is somber and reflective; Making the audience think. But when things get sad and you want to cry, the actors cry. If you're mad at the guy at screen, the actors are too. What I'm trying to say is that the acting is real. These actors look like real men and women who have lost loved ones, are trying to find themselves or are struggling with a problem they have no control over. You feel for them. This is what all acting should be like. The cast doesn't use any tongue in cheek laughs or cliches. They act naturally as a person would under their circumstances. No wonder Babel was nominated for Best Picture. Well, it had great cinematography too...if you're into that kind of thing.

The photography, art direction and cinematography was executed excellently. As the camera shifts from the rising sun to a dried bushman's face...you are captured. Some might even say it's mesmerizing. I wouldn't argue with them.

In the end, Babel is one of the best motion pictures of the year, capturing beauty, pain, emotion and language like never before. Conflicts arise. Regular humans face these conflicts without proper solutions. You will be taken by the story, shocked by the plot twists and captivated by the sheer idea of the film. If you are intellectual person looking for a great movie with a powerful message, look no further.

9.1 Kangawoos

DETAILS:

Directed by	Alejandro González Iñárritu
Produced by	Steve Golin Jon Kilik
Written by	Guillermo Arriaga
Starring	Brad Pitt Cate Blanchett Gael García Bernal Kôji Yakusho Adriana Barraza Rinko Kikuchi
Music by	Gustavo Santaolalla
Distributed by	Paramount Vantage
Release date(s)	November 10, 2006
Running time	142 min.
Country	Mexico/USA/France
Language	English Spanish Arabic French Japanese Japanese Sign Language Berber
Budget	$25 million USD (estimated)

Kangawoo!

A friend and I are working on content for a new video gaming blog/site. Yes...they're are a lot of those. However you are going to do things different and give the readers a unique experience each time they read a review or feature etc. Right now I have a Rainbow Six:Vegas Multiplayer guide planned as well as a MP guide for Gears of War. More will follow..

The url is www.kangawoo.net

Movies!

I saw Babel and Thelma and Louise yesterday. I couldn't get Children of Men because they didn't have it so next week I'll be back to watch Pan's Labyrinth. Reviews on the way!

Congratulations to Peyton Manning.