Poco material esta saliendo por ahora de esta esperadísima secuela, fotos, alguna que otra visita al set de rodaje, mas fotos, mas visitas al set, y mas fotos.

Hoy nos llega lo que será la próxima portada de la revista Empire, que tiene al Hombre de Hierro como principal reclamo.

Recupero un par de imágenes que tenia por aquí guardadas sin haber publicado, en la que podemos ver a Stark en una cafetería con la armadura de Iron Man y varios pics de lo que será una línea de juguetes del film para ir haciéndonos una ligera idea de cómo será, por ejemplo, Don Cheadle como Maquina de Guerra.

Os dejo también un video piratón del footage mostrado en la pasada Comic Con de San Diego, cuyos últimos minutos son para mear y no echar gota, cuando salga en buena calidad no quiero ni imaginármelo…Maquina de Guerra va a repartir de lo lindo.

Numarul din ianuarie 2010 al revistei Emipire Magazine va avea pe coperta un nou poster pentru “Iron Man 2″.

De asemenea, in interiorul revistei, fanii filmului vor gasi si alte poze de promovare pentru Iron Man.

Filmul va aparea pe marile ecrane pe 7 mai, anul viitor, iar din distributie fac parte actorii: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson si Scarlett Johansson.

Empire magazine is featuring Iron Man 2 as the main article in their forthcoming January issue. Today they unveiled the cover for this new issue complete with the man of iron himself. I must say it looks amazing.

The movie from director Jon Favreau sees Robert Downey Jr. back as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Gwyneth Paltrow back as his lovely assistant Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle replace as Terrence Howard as Lt. Col. James Rhodes/War Machine. There are also some new characters including Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow played by Scarlett Johansson, Justin Hammer played by Sam Rockwell and Ivan Vanko/Whiplash played by Mickey Rourke.

It’s in cinemas from May 5th, 2010 and is sure to be one of my favourite movies of next year.

No one has even seen a trailer for Iron Man 2, yet rumors are swirling around of actor Faran Tahir (leader of the Ten Rings terrorist organization that held Tony Stark hostage in the first film) returning to play the villain in the third film; Mandarin. Tahir told Moviefone the following:

“At some point, they want to introduce Mandarin into the storyline and my character, like Mandarin, was the leader of the Ten Rings. We’re leaving it open because, partly, it makes good business sense for us to leave a little bit of uncertainty for people to speculate on.”

“He [Favreau] has known for a long time where he wants to take it and I don’t want to speak for him, but my feeling is that the second movie didn’t want to just follow a singular storyline. They wanted to expand the characters to show that it’s not a linear saga like Lord of the Rings. There’s a linkage somewhere in there, but the big idea is to do at least one more Iron Man movie and then go into The Avengers.”

This revelation is nothing major, not until we set our eyes on the I.M. 2!

หลังจากข่าวความเคลื่อนไหวของ Iron Man 2 ขาดหายไปช่วงหนึ่ง ก็ทำให้แฟนๆ นั้น ต่างพากันถวิลหากันยกใหญ่ แต่มาคราวนี้ ประเด็นสำคัญของการโปรโมตหนัง ก็กำลังจะทำให้เรานั้น อยากเห็นจนเนื้อเต้น นั่นก็คือ…

ตัวอย่่างแรก(ที่ไม่หลุด)ของ Iron Man 2 นั่นเอง ซึ่งทางผู้กำกับ จอน เฟฟโร ได้ประกาศเอาไว้ใน Twitter ว่า ตัวอย่างแรกของ Iron Man 2 จะฉายแปะเรื่อง Sherlock Holmes นั่นหมายความว่า ตัวอย่างจะออนไลน์ในวันคริสต์มาสต์ 25 ธันวาคม 2009 นี้ แต่ในไทย หนังสุดยอดนักสืบจอมบู๊โฮล์มส จะเข้าฉายในวันที่ 24 ธันวาคม ดังนั้น ก็ยังไม่แน่นอน ว่าในไทยจะมาหรือยัง อันนี้ก็ต้องติดตามต่อไปครับ

เป็นอะไรที่น่าตื่นเต้นทีเดียว หลังจากที่ได้ดูภาพใหม่ๆ ตัวอย่างหลุึด ก็เป็นอะไรที่สุดยอดมากแล้ว ทีนี้ ก็ใกล้จะถึงเวลายลโฉมตัวอย่างแรกของ Iron Man 2 ให้ประจักษ์แก่สายตา

ผมคิดว่าเป็นวิธีที่ดีทีเดียว ในการเอาตัวอย่างแรกไปแปะหนังเรื่อง Sherlock Holmes เนื่องจาก พระเอกนั้น ก็คนเดียวกัน!! ซึ่งก็คือ โรเบิร์ต ดาวนี่ย์ จูเนียร์ ครับ ดูๆ ไปแล้ว หนังเรื่องนี้ ก็เป็นอีกหนังแนวซูเปอร์ฮีโร่หนึ่ง ที่คนชื่นชอบกันเยอะ เนื่องจากตัวหนังนั้น ทำออกมาได้ดี แต่คราวนี้แหละครับ แฟนๆ ก็จะได้น้ำลายสอกับตัวอย่างแรก ของภาคต่อที่สองของ Iron Man ที่จะกลับมาทำให้เราประทับใจอีกครั้ง

Iron Man 2 มีกำหนดฉาย (ไทย) 29 เมษายน 2010 ครับ

Se cree que el director Jon Favreau nos ha dejado la pista de que vamos a ver en el trailer para su secuela del superhéroe laminado. Favreau retweeteó una pregunta sobre el trailer para Iron Man 2.

RT@Ann_Howard: @Jon_Favreau PORFAVOR, dinos que va a salir un trailer pronto con Sherlock Holmes..si?

Aunque Favreau no respondió al tweet de la fan, si lo hubiera hecho ya sería una pista significante. Pero tiene algo de sentido meterle un trailer de Iron Man 2 ya que en la película de Sherlock Holmes pues está Robert Downey Jr.

No sabemos que es lo que vaya a pasar, pero si pasa, tengan por seguro que por navidad estaremos posteando los detalles del trailer.

PS: yo digo que sí va a salir. ¿Ustedes que creen?

Couples Retreat

Couples Retreat [Blu-ray]

Director: Peter Billingsley
Writers: Jon Favreau
Vince Vaughn

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Kristen Bell

Couple Retreat is the kind of movie that could drive a person to the point of suicide. On the surface it seems like a potentially great idea for a movie right? That being said how could you go wrong when you fill the movie with some top names in the movie right? Well what probably seemed like a no brainer for the people behind Couples Retreat soon became a nightmare for those who had to witness it.

Couples Retreat is the story of four couples who are convinced into going on a relationship building retreat. It appeared to be a trip to paradise for the couples until they found out that they actually had to follow a specific guideline in order to be able to stay at this specific retreat. This is the point in the movie where supposedly the fun and excitement begins, although I truly never did find any of either.

There is a scene at the start of the movie where Vince Vaughn and his wife are at a home renovation store with their children, the little boy looks up at his parents with disgusted eyes and says “You guys this is sooooo boring” and here I was thinking to myself that this kid is right. It goes without saying though that this little kid then goes on to have the only two funny moments in the entire movie. I hate to say it but a kid who likely was paid very little money was more comical then the overpriced celebrity actors/actresses that graced the screen in Couples Retreat.

I know that many people have been to see this movie already, and I am sure some will even tell me that they found it to be a good movie also, unfortunately I do not share their ability to enjoy mindless movie babble. It also completely disgusted me at the obvious product advertising that can be found in Couple Retreat. I mean who sits there spending several minutes of screen time rambling on about Applebees? Well I guess Vince Vaughn does and it is sad to say that a once otherwise amusing actor has been reduced to this type of big screen trash. Couples Retreat honestly would not have even made a good made for TV movie. This movie is not quite the worst one I have seen all year but it sure as hell managed to come in a close race for the title. I recommend staying clear of this snooze fest, even if you guys out there are trying to impress your girl.

My Rating: 4%

Iron Man è un film del 2008 basato sul supereroe americano, personaggio dei fumetti Marvel con lo stesso nome. Diretto da Jon Favreau, il film interpretato da Robert Downey Jr. come Tony Stark, industriale miliardario e ingegnere che costruisce una esoscheletro e diventa il supereroe tecnologicamente piu’ avanzato, Iron Man.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Jon Favreau | Robert Downey Jr | Terrence Howard | Jeff Bridges

Vince Vaughn is zo ongeveer de koning van de hap-slik-weg komedies. Met Couples Retreat heeft hij er weer één bijgeschreven op zijn, op dit vlak, toch al imposante cv. Jammer genoeg is het ook in dit geval weer een dertien in een dozijn film die eigenlijk nooit grappig wil worden.

In Couples Retreat draait het om de relaties van vier stellen. Aangezien één koppel niet meer weet of het nog wel met elkaar door wil, besluiten ze dit uit te zoeken tijdens een luxe vakantie met optionele relatietraining. Eis is echter wel dat ook de andere drie stellen meegaan naar dit luxe vakantieoord. Daar aangekomen blijkt de relatietraining echter helemaal niet zo vrijblijvend en worden de therapiesessies al snel een pijnlijke aangelegenheid.

Couples Retreat begint nochtans best aardig. De introductie van de personages en de eerste momenten op het tropische eiland met de therapeutische sessies zijn zowaar behoorlijk vermakelijk en beloven een leuk avondje. Dat wordt echter al snel om zeep geholpen. De bijpersonages die in de film met enige regelmaat opduiken om de film wat extra op te leuken falen namelijk stuk voor stuk. Jean Reno is totaal niet leuk als de goeroe die het programma voor de stellen opstelt en het dieptepunt van de film is de rol van Carlos Ponce als de yoga leraar. De scéne waarin hij yoga les geeft behoort zelfs tot de flauwste die ik in jaren zag.

Het maakt van Couples Reatreat  een wegkijkfilm die eigenlijk constant balanceert tussen wel aardig en oerflauw. De acteurs zullen het ongetwijfeld goed naar hun zin hebben gehad met deze goedbetaalde vakantie maar een bioscoopbezoek zou ik er zeker niet aan wijden. Of Vince Vaughn en zijn vorige films moeten natuurlijk tot je favorieten behoren. Dan zit je met Couples Retreat ongetwijfeld ook weer op rozen.

Dopo il recente successo negli Stati Uniti, uscirà in Italia il 4 dicembre L’Isola delle Coppie (Couples Retreat).
Distribuito da Universal Pictures, la commedia con Vince Vaughn racconta la storia di quattro coppie in vacanza su un’isola di vacanza: mentre una è lì per rimettere in piedi il matrimonio in crisi, le altre tre intendono solo divertirsi. Ma, a quanto pare, la terapia di coppia organizzata dal villaggio turistico tocca a tutti!

Diretto da Peter Billingsley, il film ha un cast d’eccezione: Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Kristin Davis, Jean Reno, John Michael Higgins.

Today, entirely by accident, I found my IMDb review history. I realised that these two were the first two reviews I had ever written. Then, I realised that these two were the first symptoms of what would later develop into this blog. So, I’m posting them.

First, on the twentieth of August 2009, I posted a review of Sudhir Mishra’s brilliant Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (literally Thousands Such Wishes; sorry, I can’t come up with a better translation). Honestly, I need to watch it again and write some more about it. I should warn you that there is the general idea of a spoiler here, but I feel that you can enjoy the movie nevertheless.

A movie that raises many questions and answers them in an inevitably simple way

Have you ever watched a movie with one girl and two guys, one guy a stud and the other a nice guy at heart, and in which the girl tries to have a relationship with the stud and ends up realising that she should be with the nice guy?

I’m guessing, yes. Well, imagine a movie with a problem at its heart. The characters: one girl(Chitrangda Singh), two guys(Kay Kay Menon and Shiney Ahuja). The girl loves the man who tries to solve the problem(Kay Kay). The other man(Shiney) – who’s poorer – feels that those are all rich kids’ games. He is, at heart, a nice man, but a practical man. I won’t say any more, but you should have figured out by now what the title of this review means.

It isn’t, however, just about the characters. It’s also an insightful treatise on society. For example, very near the beginning, there is a scene where Kay Kay’s character realises the weight of tradition, an idea that comes back later in the film. The landlord’s son has raped a lower-caste woman and the untouchables are all up in arms, when the landlord gets a heart attack and is cured, by the untouchables.

But what really struck me about the movie was that the characters spoke English like…well, human beings. In most Hindi movies nowadays the characters’ English accents makes me cringe, bringing up words in my mind that I won’t reproduce here.

So, on the whole, a very very good movie with a lot of brilliant scenes in chronological order that don’t feel like part of the story – though they are -, as being part of an overarching story would ruin them.

The second, on the twenty-eighth of August 2009, was of Iron Man. This one, I feel, is a complete review.

A bloody comedy!

‘Iron man’ is the first superhero movie that is mostly a comedy. Sure, there are lots of fights and all, but it’s all about the dialogues and the characters – there were, I think four action sequences in the whole movie.

The movie, refreshingly, doesn’t take itself too seriously: Stark stops and explains himself a sum total of one time, for about two sentences. And it makes sense. You see the weapons you have made in the hands of the terrorists, you don’t sit back and philosophise, you bam.

It’s as simple as that. A man who thinks he’s helping the cause of peace finds out he isn’t and tries to rectify it.

Yes, the other characters. Well, they are never established. Need I give Favreau a bigger compliment?

Now that I think of it, I wrote a few short reviews of books before these, on World Literature Forum. Here’s the first one, posted on the thirtieth of April 2009, of Vikram Chandra’s Red Earth and Pouring Rain (original thread here):

The only accurate word I can think of to describe this book is big. Not in terms of length, not even in terms of scope and imagination but in terms of the realistic universe Chandra creates. Here, by realistic, I mean rooted in reality: it could very well have happened and we don’t know about it because we just didn’t see it. Every new element of fantasy he brings in first looks like it is only there to satisfy Chandra’s sense of humour. Then, we eventually get to see the self-wrapped ness, so to say, of the universe he’s created and how every element fits in.
I absolutely love the way he layers story-telling upon story-telling to create a web of stories within stories(most of the book is a monkey telling a story about a man telling a story about someone telling him about the monkey’s previous life). This circle of stories also adds to the impression of bigness that you get.
His writing is remarkably accurate, modelling most of the narrative style according to the style of the narrator at that point, which tops off in the war scenes where there are sentences spanning pages; this is how people talk in that sort of epic excitement.

The only problem with the book that I could find was that it was too verbose in some parts (that is, more verbose than the style of the moment demanded).

PS: I’m sorry I could not give specific examples here, but I read the novel almost three and a half months ago(couldn’t write the article sooner because of a series of exams).

Un film del 2010, regia di Jon Favreau, con Robert Downey Jr. / Gwyneth Paltrow / Samuel L. Jackson / Mickey Rourke. Prodotto da Universal Pictures ()

Azione

Ritornano le avventure del miliardario col pallino delle invenzioni Tony Stark e della sua assistente-eterna innamorata Pepper. Stavolta Tony dovrà indossare la tuta di Iron Man per vedersela con delle feroci spie russe.

As good a comedy about male friendship as I’ve seen, I Love You, Man captures the essence of relationships with brilliant comic timing and hilarious dialogue. Directed by John Hamburg, this is a movie that pokes fun at what it means to be a grown-up male in a time where strong friendships are hard to come by. The plot is actually quite original, too, and the performers have tremendous chemistry together.

Connection is important, of course, and it works in spades with I Love You, Man. Stars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel have worked together in two Judd Apatow projects and have displayed natural chemistry, especially during those hilarious surfing sequences in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And Hamburg worked with Segel on Apatow’s Undeclared TV show, furthering the behind-the-scenes connections. Due to the comfort the performers have with one another, the film itself naturally becomes a very snug prospect.

Rudd stars as Peter Klaven, a real estate salesman in the high end of the business. He has just gotten engaged to Zooey Rice (Rashida Jones) and has got things working quite well. Zooey, naturally, calls all of her friends with the news of the engagement and, as the process carries itself out, Peter realizes that he has a shortage of friends to call his own. It turns out that he has dedicated all of his time and energy to his relationships with women in life and, as Peter’s brother Robbie (Andy Samberg) explains, his friends have “fallen by the wayside.”

Thus begins a hilarious mission to find some friends. Peter hits all the angles searching for a platonic relationship and ends up in some interesting predicaments, proving that it’s actually pretty difficult to make friends in this day and age when there are no strings attached. He eventually gives up on the whole thing, only to meet Sydney (Segel). Peter and Sydney strike up a friendship almost immediately and go through all of the awkward complications of getting close as two heterosexual males. This leads to, of course, a bit of trouble that all gets resolved neatly by the time the credits roll.

Rudd knocks this movie out of the park as a charmingly clueless guy trying to be cool to gain friends. There’s nothing wrong with Peter, of course, and his reason for not having other close male friends is simply by accident of circumstance. Opportunities for male companionship have vanished in favour of Sunday HBO nights and other special experiences with Zooey and other women in his life, which is something I found myself personally relating to.

I Love You, Man makes great comedy out of the awkwardness felt between two men pursuing a new platonic relationship. There is this strange societal implication that we are supposed to be set in our friendship ways by the conclusion of high school and that we are damned to a life of acquaintances and office pals after that. It’s strange how hard it is for a straight man to walk up to another straight man for a conversation and maybe a beer, but what this film delivers actually rings true.

Segel is the perfect match to Rudd’s uber-sincerity and matches everything with this sort of freedom-laced comic timing. There are no rules in his world: his tiny dog shits where it wants to and he’ll take on the Hulk if he so pleases. Interestingly, though, the friendship that blossoms between Segel’s Sydney and Rudd’s Peter is delicate, natural and interesting beyond the typical “buddy” sort of way and it feels good, for once, to see a film depict straight male relationships without resorting to stereotypes.

In the end, I Love You, Man turns out to be a very funny, very heartfelt comedy just perfect for guys and girls trying to understand their guys. Friendship, especially in these days, is a hard thing for a man to wrap his head around sometimes. And as the advancing tide of life pulls us into different relationships and away from lifelong connections, it can be a vital shock to the system to find that one guy who, by hook or by crook, just showed up for the panini.

8.8/10

Trailer:

Over the course of this week, we will uncover twenty titles you need to seek out at your local DVD store. Here is Part 4.

The list is laid out something like this. The title, year it was made, genre, synopsis and finally my rating. I hope to do more of these lists as I uncover some of the treasures hidden at the local videostore.

5. Still Breathing (1998) (Romantic – Drama)

Two lost soul-mates: Rosalyn (Joanna Going) is a cunning con-artist in L.A.and Fletcher (Brendan Fraser) is a secure puppeteer in San Antonio have the same dream linking each with the other.

Fletcher travels to L.A. to find this woman he can’t get out of his mind. “Still Breathing” is the perfect example that man still believes in destiny and true love.

The brilliant use of color, passionate dialogue and soft tones accent Fletcher’s quest for true love. What this film seems to have that a lot of romantic films don’t is a heart and a flawed true love.

Because of those two elements there is a little bit of reality in what the film is saying.

Fall in love with this little movie and always remember the ivy. (4 of 5)

4. Swingers (1996) (Comedy – Drama)

This is Mike’s story. Mike (Jon Favreau) is a left his girl in New York and came to LA to be a star. It’s taken six months longer than Mike would like and he’s not doing so well. Mike’s friends Trent (Vince Vaughn) and Rob (Ron Livingston) take Mike to Vegas to forget about life’s problems.

During that trip Mike is going to find out a little about himself. “Swingers” has a brilliant script, brilliant cast and it’s a lot of fun.

This little cult film made movie stars out of Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. It’s so laid back and true to the world that you really relate to these guys.

Vaughn is utterly brilliant as the trio’s leader. He is quick-lipped, charismatic and makes the whole film flow. “Swingers” is a great little comedy to sit back and relax with. (4 of 5) .

3. Unholy, The (1988) (Horror)

A priest (Ben Cross) battles a demon that kills sinners in the act of sinning. “The Unholy” is one of those horror films that blur the line between religion and horror.

Imagine if you were faced with your ultimate temptation, would you give up all you are to have it?

The priest in this film is faced with that temptation and he is just a man. He also is protecting an innocent from the greatest evil man has ever known and being faced with his temptation may condemn that innocent for all time. I used to adore a short-lived television series called “Dark Shadows”.

It was a 1990s revival of a 1960s overly clever gothic soap opera of the same name. The star of that show was a cursed vampire named Barnabas Collins, who was played by Ben Cross.

That show and “The Unholy” are the two pieces of work that stand in my mind when I think of Ben Cross. Sure Cross was in “Chariots of Fire” but these two roles in the macabre are the ones that meant the most to me. If you can get into the mind of this priest and see his internal battle this film will challenge your mind like none other in this genre. (4 of 5)

2. Quigley Down Under (1990) (Western)

Sharpshooter Matt Quigley (Tom Selleck) claims to be the best long distance shooter in the world and is hired from America by Elliot Marston, an Australian rancher (Alan Rickman).

When Quigley arrives in Australia and confronts the rancher he finds a devious and cunning man. Marston’s plan for his employment shocks Quigley and he refuses. Marston tries to kill Quigley as he tries to escape Australia. Quigley finds that Marston is doing the unspeakable deed without him and it looks like Quigley may be the only man to stop him.

A western is a perfect setting for star Tom Selleck. He looks so at home as Quigley and his showdowns with Rickman are ripped right out of the classic westerns. The story is simple and that’s the way westerns should be.

Director Simon Wincer uses Quigley’s marksmanship with intensity and suspense that you are blown away when Quigley picks up his rifle. Rickman plays his villain with panache like he did in “Robin Hood” and “Die Hard”. “Quigley Down Under” is a great little western. (4 of 5) .

1. Pumpkinhead (1988) (Horror)

A group of renegade teens take a trip to the country where one of them is involved in a motorcycle accident. The accident kills the son of the local storekeeper (Lance Henriksen).

Filled with rage, the storekeeper pleads to a witch to unleash an unstoppable demon on the renegades. During the killing spree, the storekeeper realizes he may have a closer connection to the beast than previously thought.

“Pumpkinhead” is as close as one can get to the perfect modern monster film. The film was created and directed by “monster-creator” extraordinaire Stan Winston, who delivers one of the most original creatures ever to grace the silver screen.

Winston also gets an incredible performance out of veteran horror actor Lance Henriksen who brings a lot of passion to his lead character. This is one of the greatest monster-creature films of the horror genre. (4 of 5) .

(Possible Spoiler): A little known realization about this film occurs towards the film’s finale. Look ever so closely at the creature as it faces off against Henriksen. If you look close enough you will see the creature’s face echo Henriksen stating that in fact Henriksen’s soul was apart of the voodoo that created the demon. It’s awesome!

Ένα νεαρό ζευγάρι αποφασίζει να πάει διακοπές σ’ ένα τροπικό νησί-θέρετρο σε μια προσπάθεια διάσωσης του γάμου του, προκειμένου να σταθμίσει τα υπέρ και τα κατά της σχέσης του και να δει αν τελικά μπορεί να αποφύγει το χωρισμό. Επειδή όμως τα οικονομικά του ζευγαριού δεν του επιτρέπoυν να πάει στο θέρετρο μόνο του, προτείνει σε άλλα τρία φιλικά ζευγάρια να το ακολουθήσουν στον «παράδεισο» και να απολαύσουν μοναδικές διακοπές, την ίδια στιγμή που το ζευγάρι θα προσπαθεί να σώσει τη σχέση του, μέσα από «θεραπεία». Φτάνοντας όμως στο νησί τα τρία φιλικά ζευγάρια συνειδητοποιούν πως αναπόφευκτα, αργά ή γρήγορα, αντί για σπα και θαλάσσιο σκι, θα πρέπει να συμμετάσχουν και τα ίδια στις θεραπευτικές συνεδρίες του θέρετρου, καθώς η συμμετοχή στις θεραπείες δεν είναι προαιρετική!

Η ΤΑΥΤΟΤΗΤΑ ΤΗΣ ΤΑΙΝΙΑΣ

ΖΕΥΓΑΡΙΑ ΣΤΑ ΒΑΘΙΑ-COUPLES RETREAT -ΗΠΑ-2009-114′

Σκηνοθεσία: Peter Billingsley

Ηθοποιοί: Malin Akerman,  Ken Jeong , Kristen Bell , Jason Bateman,  Vince Vaughn,  Jon Favreau,  Jean Reno , Kristin Davis , John Michael Higgins , Tasha Smith, Faizon Love

Το site της ταινίας: http://www.couplesretreatmovie.com/

ΤΟ TRAILER ΤΗΣ ΤΑΙΝΙΑΣ

ΚΡΙΤΙΚΕΣ
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΔΑΝΙΚΑΣ-ΤΑ ΝΕΑ

Τουρισμός χωρίς εξάρσεις Κομεντί του Πίτερ Μπίλινγκσλεϊ, από σενάριο των (ηθοποιών) Τζον Φαβρό και Βινς Βον. Ο τελευταίος είναι ο αγαπημένος μου, ως η πιο σύγχρονη εκδοχή ενός Βig Lebovski! Το πρόβλημα γνωστό. Σχεδόν όλες οι αμερικανικές κομεντί δεν τολμούν και έτσι μία από τα ίδια στο τέλος καταντούν. Ο σαρκασμός απαιτεί να χύνεις δηλητήριο μέχρι το τελευταίο λεπτό. Τίποτα από αυτό. Το «διά ταύτα» απαρτίζεται από το γνωστό: Τουριστική περιήγηση στα τροπικά νησιά Βora Βora.

Με την απαραίτητη διαφημιστική προβολή, κάτι που εξασφαλίζει στην παραγωγή αρκετά λεφτά. Και από την άλλη, τα πάντα συμβατικά. Τι μένει; Μερικές έξυπνες ατάκες και ελάχιστοι χαριτωμένοι τρίτοι ρόλοι. Όπως η περίπτωση ενός καρατερίστα που υποδύεται τον μάτσο Σαλβατόρε που παραδίδει μαθήματα γιόγκα. Και όπως ο γκουρού των μαθημάτων ψυχοθεραπείας με το γαλλικό όνομα Μαρσέλ (Ζαν Ρενό). Από εκεί και πέρα, το στόρι κοινότοπο και συμβατικό:

Τέσσερα ζευγάρια καταφεύγουν σε πολυτελές, τροπικό θέρετρο προκειμένου να λύσουν τις διαφορές τους και να αναθερμάνουν τις σχέσεις τους. Αντί όμως για sex and drugs, το πρόγραμμα επιτάσσει ασκήσεις, αυτοσυγκράτηση και ψυχοθεραπεία. Από εδώ η West Εden (Δυτική Εδέμ) των παντρεμένων. Από εκεί η Εast Εden των εργένηδων. Which side are you on?

ΒΑΘΜΟΙ = 4    (με ελάχιστα χαμόγελα συμβατικά)

ΝΙΝΟΣ ΦΕΝΕΚ ΜΙΚΕΛΙΔΗΣ-ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΟΤΥΠΙΑ

**    Μέτρια κωμωδία γύρω από τέσσερα ζευγάρια, με διάφορα προβλήματα, που αποφασίζουν να πάνε στο «Θέρετρο Εδέμ», ένα ειδυλλιακό, παραθαλάσσιο θέρετρο κάπου στον Ειρηνικό, σε μια προσπάθεια να ξανα-αποκτήσουν την παλιά τους ευτυχία.

Τα προβλήματά τους: ένα από τα ζευγάρια δεν έχει παιδί, το άλλο έχει χάσει, εξαιτίας των παιδιών τους, την όρεξη για ρομάντζο, ο άντρας ενός άλλου ζευγαριού φλερτάρει μια 20χρονη, και πάει λέγοντας. Τα ζευγάρια θα περάσουν κάποια στιγμή από κρίση, δυστυχώς όμως η ιστορία ακολουθεί τις συνταγές των συνηθισμένων τηλεοπτικών σίριαλ, με τα διάφορα πρόσωπα να περιφέρονται χωρίς να προσφέρουν τίποτα στους χαρακτήρες τους, ενώ η εμφάνιση ενός καρχαρία στη διάρκεια ενός scuba-diving, δεν κατορθώνει να προσθέσει τίποτα το καινούργιο ή το συναρπαστικό στην όλη κωμωδία.

ΘΟΔΩΡΗΣ ΚΟΥΤΣΟΓΙΑΝΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ-LIFO

Τέσσερα ζευγάρια επιλέγουν έναν τροπικό προορισμό, παραδεισένιο, αλλά καθόλου ξεκούραστο.

Το ένα από τα τέσσερα ζευγάρια που πρωταγωνιστούν στην ταινία βρίσκεται στα πρόθυρα του διαζυγίου, αλλά έχει εντοπίσει έναν ωραιότατο εξωτικό προορισμό που μπορεί να γίνει οικονομικά προσιτός αν πείσουν και τους υπόλοιπους φίλους τους να πάνε πακέτο και να εκμεταλλευτούν μια ειδική προσφορά.

Το ζευγάρι σε κρίση γουστάρει το γεγονός πως η συγκεκριμένη πτέρυγα που επιλέγουν λειτουργεί ως υποστήριξη σε ανδρόγυνα που δεν τα πάνε καλά, αλλά οι υπόλοιποι που περιμένουν διακοπές και πλήρη χαλάρωση απογοητεύονται, ειδικά όταν βλέπουν, ταυτόχρονα με την άφιξή τους, πως στο ανατολικό τμήμα του θερέτρου Εδέμ οι παραθεριστές πίνουν, τρώνε και κάνουν σεξ. Το Ζευγάρια στα Βαθιά εξερευνά τη σύγχρονη αλλά τόσο σταθερά απαράλλαχτη συζυγική νεύρωση και προσπαθεί να την καταλύσει μέσω της ψυχοθεραπείας. Με δεδομένο το ονειρικό σκηνικό των νήσων Μπόρα-Μπόρα θα έπρεπε να προκαλεί γέλιο με την αντίθεση, αλλά ούτε αρκετά καλογραμμένη είναι, ούτε εφευρίσκει νέους ή αστείους τρόπους για να εμβαθύνει στην ατονία της ερωτικής επιθυμίας που κατακεραυνώνει ένα ανδρόγυνο στην κοινή του πορεία – και ο Ζαν Ρενό στον ρόλο του ζεν εμπνευστή της μεθόδου διακοπών είναι άνευρος και σαχλός. Επίσης, οι ψυχοθεραπείες και ο τρόπος διασκέδασης και ξεδόματος είναι εκνευριστικά αμερικάνικα στην εκφορά και τη νοοτροπία τους.

Αξίζει μια σκηνή με σεξουαλική γιόγκα και ο Βινς Βον για την προσπάθειά του να δώσει μια εργατική νότα φυσικότητας σε έναν άνδρα που δεν απολογείται για την παρατημένη σωματική του κατάσταση και την κυκλοφοριακή συμφόρηση στο νευρικό του σύστημα.

ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ

Οι Τζον Φαβρό και Βινς Βον -που είχε και την αρχική ιδέα του σεναρίου- γράφουν (μαζί με την Ντάνα Φοξ) και πρωταγωνιστούν σε μια ρομαντική κομεντί για παντρεμένους και μη, με φόντο ένα παραδεισένιο, τροπικό νησί. Απλοί, καθημερινοί άνθρωποι της διπλανής πόρτας οι πρωταγωνιστές, με προβλήματα που όλοι λίγο πολύ γνωρίζουμε και που η νέα σχολή του Σικάγο προσπαθεί να τα προσεγγίσει με αισιόδοξο, κωμικό τρόπο.

INFO

• Το 1996 ο Βινς Βον και ο Τζον Φαβρό έκαναν αισθητή την παρουσία τους στο Χόλιγουντ με την ταινία Swingers, σε σενάριο του Φαβρό. Η συνεργασία αυτή αποτέλεσε την αρχή μιας μακροχρόνιας φιλίας και τον προπομπό της νέας τους ταινίας Couples Retreat. Εν έτει 2007 ο Βινς Βον έριξε την ιδέα για την ταινία αυτή στον Φαβρό… «Είχα την έμπνευση για μια παρέα φίλων που είναι παντρεμένοι κι αντιμετωπίζουν προβλήματα στις σχέσεις τους. Μάλιστα κάποια από τα προβλήματα είναι πιο ακραία από άλλα…Το ένα από τα ζευγάρια θα έχει το ρόλο του καταλύτη που θα παρασύρει τα υπόλοιπα κι έτσι θα βρεθούν όλοι στο μικροσκόπιο…» σημειώνει ο Βινς Βον και συνεχίζει «Ήθελα οι πρωταγωνιστές να είναι φυσιολογικοί άνθρωποι με καθημερινά προβλήματα που απλά τυχαίνει να βρίσκονται σ’ένα ιδιαίτερο περιβάλλον. Έτσι και το κοινό θα μπορούσε να ταυτιστεί με τους ήρωες και τα προβλήματά τους, γελώντας ταυτόχρονα με τον τρόπο με τον οποίο τα επί οθόνης ζευγάρια προσπαθούν να λύσουν τα προβλήματά τους.»
• Ο Πίτερ Μπιλίνγκσλεϊ ήταν η πρώτη και μόνη επιλογή του πρωταγωνιστή Βινς Βον, καθώς ο Μπιλίνγκσλεϊ είχε συνεργαστεί πολύ πετυχημένα στο παρελθόν τόσο με τον Βινς Βον (Made, The Break-Up, Four Christmases), όσο και με τον Τζον Φαβρό (Made, Zathura, Iron Man).
• Οι Βινς Βον, Τζέισον Μπέιτμαν, Τζον Φαβρό και Φέιζον Λαβ είχαν δεσμευτεί να πάρουν μέρος στην ταινία ακόμα και πριν την ολοκλήρωση του σεναρίου, καθιστώντας πολύ δημιουργική τη συγγραφή του, καθώς οι σεναριογράφοι είχαν ήδη στο μυαλό τους κατά τη συγγραφή τους ηθοποιούς που θα ενσάρκωναν τους ήρωες. Για τους γυναικείους ρόλους, επελέγησαν οι καταλληλότερες παρτενέρ ώστε να υπάρξει η κατάλληλη χημεία ανά ζευγάρι.
• Το μεγαλύτερο μέρος των γυρισμάτων έλαβαν χώρα σ’ένα πολυτελές θέρετρο στα νησιά Μπόρα Μπόρα, το οποίο και «κατέλαβε» η παραγωγή, με τους ντόπιους να είναι πολύ συνεργάσιμοι. Είναι η πρώτη ταινία που γυρίζεται εκεί μετά το 1979, που γυρίστηκε στην περιοχή η ταινία Hurricane.

Ο ΣΚΗΝΟΘΕΤΗΣ

ΠΙΤΕΡ ΜΠΙΛΙΝΓΚΣΛΕΪ

• Γεννήθηκε το 1971στη Νέα Υόρκη.
• Ξεκίνησε από παιδί ως ηθοποιός και στη συνέχεια ασχολήθηκε με επιτυχία με την παραγωγή (Dinner For Five, Made, Four Christmases, The Break-Up, Iron Man) και σταδιακά και τη σκηνοθεσία.
• Από τις πρώτες ταινίες στις οποίες πήρε μέρος ως ηθοποιός ήταν το If Ever I See You Again.
• Τον θυμόμαστε ως ηθοποιό στην ταινία A Christmas Story.
• Έχει συμμετάσχει ως ηθοποιός πρόσφατα στις ταινίες The Break — Up, Iron Man, Four Christmases.
• Η ταινία Couples Retreat αποτελεί το σκηνοθετικό του ντεμπούτο.

ΤΟ ΚΑΣΤ

ΒΙΝΣ ΒΟΝ

• Γεννήθηκε το 1970 στη Μινεσότα των ΗΠΑ.
• Εκτός από ηθοποιός ασχολείται με επιτυχία και με την παραγωγή ταινιών και τη συγγραφή σεναρίων.
• Έκανε το κινηματογραφικό του ντεμπούτο με την ταινία Rudy, όπου γνωρίστηκε και με τον Τζον Φαβρό.
• Χάρη στο ρόλο του στην ταινία Swingers τον είδε ο Στίβεν Σπίλμπεργκ και τον συμπεριέλαβε στο καστ της ταινίας The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Παλαιότερες ταινίες: Rudy, At Risk, Swingers, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, The Locusts, A Cool Dry Place, Return to Paradise, Psycho, The Cell, Made, Domestic Disturbance, Old School, Blackball, I Love Your Work, Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Thumbsucker, Be Cool, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Wedding Crashers, The Break Up, Into The Wild, Fred Claus, Four Christmases.

ΤΖON ΦΑΒΡΟ

• Γεννήθηκε το 1966 στη Νέα Υόρκη.
• To ντεμπούτο του στη συγγραφή σεναρίων το έκανε το 1996 οπότε κι έγραψε το σενάριο της κωμωδίας Swingers.
• Έκανε το σκηνοθετικό του ντεμπούτο με την ταινία Made.
• Σκηνοθέτησε τη μεγάλη επιτυχία Iron Man και τώρα και το Iron Man 2.
Παλαιότερες ταινίες: (ως ηθοποιός) Hoffa, Rudy, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Batman Forever, Notes From Underground, Swingers, Dogtown, Deep Impact, Very Bad Things, Love & Sex, The Replacements, Made, Daredevil, The Big Empty, Elf, Something’s Gotta Give, Wimbledon, The Break-Up, Iron Man, I Love You Man. (ως σκηνοθέτης) Made, Elf, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Iron Man.

ΚΡΙΣΤΙΝ ΝΤΕΪΒΙΣ

• Γεννήθηκε το 1965 στο Κολοράντο.
• Τη θυμόμαστε από τη συμμετοχή της στην τηλεοπτική σειρά Melrose Place.
• Η καριέρα της απογειώθηκε χάρη στο ρόλο της στην τηλεοπτική σειρά
Sex and the City.
Παλαιότερες ταινίες: Nine Months, Traveling Companion, Sour Grapes, The Shaggy Dog, Deck the Halls, Sex and the City.

ΤΖΕΪΣΟΝ ΜΠΕΪΤΜΑΝ

• Γεννήθηκε το 1969 στη Νέα Υόρκη.
• Σε ηλικία 12 ετών έκανε το ντεμπούτο του στην τηλεοπτική σειρά Little House on the Prairie.
• Κέρδισε Χρυσή Σφαίρα, για το ρόλο του στη σειρά Arrested Development.
• Προσεχώς θα τον δούμε στην ταινία της Paramount, Up in the Air, στο πλευρό του Τζορτζ Κλούνεϊ.
Παλαιότερες ταινίες: Necessary Roughness, Breaking the Rules, Love Stinks, Sol Goode, The Sweetest Thing, Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, The Break-Up, Arthur and the Minimoys, Smokin’ Aces, The Kingdom, Juno, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, The Promotion, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hancock, State of Play, Extract.

ΜΑΛΙΝ ΑΚΕΡΜΑΝ

• Γεννήθηκε το 1978 στη Στοκχόλμη της Σουηδίας.
• Σπούδασε ψυχολογία.
• Έκανε αίσθηση με το ρόλο της στην ταινία The Heartbreak Kid.
• Είναι η βασική τραγουδίστρια ενός ροκ συγκροτήματος (The Petalstones), στο οποίο συμμετέχει και ο σύζυγός της.
Παλαιότερες ταινίες: Τhe Skulls, The Circle, The Utopian Society, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, The Brothers Solomon, The Heartbreak Kid, Heavy Petting, 27 Dresses, Watchmen, The Proposal.

ΚΡΙΣΤΕΝ ΜΠΕΛ

• Γεννήθηκε στο Μίσιγκαν το 1980.
• Πήρε μέρος στην τηλεοπτική σειρά Heroes.
• Είναι η πρωταγωνίστρια της τηλεοπτικής σειράς Veronica Mars.
Παλαιότερες ταινίες: People Are Dead, Spartan, Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, Deepwater, The Receipt, Fifty Pills, Pulse, Roman, Forgetting Sarah Marshal, Fanboys, Serious Moonlight.

ΖΑΝ ΡΕΝΟ

• Γεννήθηκε το 1948.
• Έκανε το κινηματογραφικό του ντεμπούτο με την ταινία Clair de femme.
• Έχει πάρει μέρος σε πολλές Ευρωπαϊκές (κυρίως γαλλικές) κι αμερικανικές παραγωγές.
• Ξεκίνησε την καριέρα του στη Γαλλία παίρνοντας μέρος σε πολλές ταινίες του Λυκ Μπεσόν (The Professional, Le dernier combat; Subway, The Big Blue, La Femme Nikita).
Παλαιότερες ταινίες: L’ hypothese du tableau vole, Clair de femme, L’ avant dernier, Le dernier combat, Ne quittez pas, Alea, Notre Histoire, Subway, I Love You, Le grand bleu, Nikita, The Man in the Golden Mask, Leon, French Kiss, For Roseanna, Mission: Impossible, Godzilla, Ronin, Just Visiting, Wasabi, Hotel Rwanda, L’empire des loups, The Pink Panther, The Da Vinci Code, Flyboys, The Pink Panther 2.

ΦΕΪΖΟΝ ΛΑΒ

• Γεννήθηκε το 1968 στην Κούβα.
• Ξεκίνησε ως stand up comedian σε ηλικία 15 ετών.
• Ξεκίνησε την καριέρα του στην τηλεόραση στις σειρές Bebe’s Kids, The Parent ‘Hood.
Παλαιότερες ταινίες: Friday, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, The Replacements, Made, Mr. Bones, Wonderland, Elf, Ride or Die, Just My Luck, All You’ve Got, Idlewild, Days of Wrath, G.E.D.

ΚΑΛΙ ΧΟΚ

• Παιδί θαύμα, μπήκε στο Πανεπιστήμιο πριν κλείσει τα 16.
• Ξεκίνησε με διαφημίσεις κι εργάστηκε ως μοντέλο.
• Κάνει το κινηματογραφικό της ντεμπούτο ως πρωταγωνίστρια με την ταινία Couples Retreat.
Παλαιότερες ταινίες: Gotham Cafe, Issues, Where Is Love Waiting, Holla, Lovers & Haters.

Iron Man 2 è un film del 2010, diretto da Jon Favreau e interpretato da Robert Downey Jr.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Azione | Supereroi | Jon Favreau | Robert Downey Jr | Don Cheadle | Gwyneth Paltrow | Samuel L. Jackson | Mickey Rourke

ไม่รู้จะเป็นข่าวใหญ่ หรือขาวเล็กๆ ดีนะครับ แต่ทางเว็บสุดยอดแห่งแหล่งข้อมูลภาพยนตร์ฮอลลีวู้ด IMDb ส่งข่าวมา จะยังไงก็ต้องรายงานครับ!! โดยข่าวคราวนี้ เกี่ยวกับพี่ยักษ์เขียว เสียงเบิ้ม Hulk ในหนังเรื่อง The Avengers รวมเหล่าซูเปอร์ฮีโร่ กู้โลก จะเป็นยังไงนั้น มาอ่านกันครับ 

ตามรายงานมานั้น ฮัล์ค จะอยู่ใน The Avengers แน่นอน แต่เรื่องตัวละครในตอนที่ยังเป็นคน หรือร่างมนุษย์นั้น พลิกเป็นอีกแบบหนึ่งเลยครับ ซึ่งฮัล์คเวอร์ชั่นปัจจุบัน ผู้รับบทเป็น บรูซ แบนเนอร์ (ร่างมนุษย์) ก็คือ เอ็ดเวิร์ด นอร์ตัน แต่อย่างที่บอกมาครับ มันพลิกมาเป็นอีกอย่างหนึ่ง โดยเนื้อหาเป็นอย่างนี้ครับ เอ็ดเวิร์ด นอร์ตัน จะไม่ปรากฏใน The Avengers แต่ลือๆ กันว่า โลว์ เฟอริกโน (ผู้พากย์เสียงให้ยักษ์เขียวทุกเวอร์ชั่น และผู้แสดงเป็นฮัล์คเอง ในเวอร์ชั่นเก่าสุดๆ ) จะมาพากย์เสียงให้ฮัล์คในหนังรวมซูเปอร์ฮีโร่นี้เช่นเคย

นั่นก็หมายถึงว่า ในหนังนั้น จะมีฮัล์คแค่ร่างเดียว ส่วนร่างมนุษย์ จะไม่โผล่ออกมาให้เห็น และนี่ ก็หมายความได้อีกว่า ตัวหนังจะไม่เน้นร่างมนุษย์อีกเลย อาจจะเน้นไปในด้านการปะทะกันมากกว่า และอีกในหนึ่ง Iron Man 2 ก็มีข่าวลือๆ ไว้ว่า จะมีฮัล์คในเรื่อง แต่เอ็ดเวิร์ดบอกว่า “ผมไม่ได้อยู่ในหนัง” ซึ่งก็คือ จะโผล่ออกมาแบบเป็นยักษ์เขียวโดยไร้ร่างมนุษย์ นั่นอาจบ่งบอกถึงความขี้เกียจของนักแสดง ที่เห็นว่าไม่จำเป็นต้องใช้คนแสดง ก็ดำเนินเรื่องได้ กรรม! ไม่ใช่ น่าจะอยู่ที่ความลงตัวของบท หรือประเด็นอื่นๆ นอกจากนั้นมากกว่า แต่ยังไง สมัยนี้ ความสำคัญของบท ก็เป็นหลักอยู่แล้ว เพราะอย่างนั้น รายละเอียดของเรื่องนี้จึงเยอะไปตามๆ กัน ถึงขึ้นว่า จอน เฟฟโัร ผู้กำกับ Iron Man ยังยอมถอย

The Avengers มีแผนฉาย (สหรัฐ) 4 พฤษภาคม 2012

และ Iron Man 2 มีแผนฉาย (ไทย) 29 เมษายน (วันเกิดผมอ๊ะ)  2010 ครับ!!!

I learned this proverb (?) / phrase from Elsa, my once-upon-a-time YW leader. Or was she our general youth leader? Not sure. She was cool though. Is cool, I think. I remember having this written down on a tiny piece of paper, her handwriting as I recall, and though I didn’t quite understand it I was thrilled to learn from it new English words, and slightly worried that it meant that I was beautiful. Or that it meant I was only beautiful to Elsa. Ambivalent abt both possibilities. A clear sign of Early Childhood Over Analysis Syndrome. It hasn’t cleared up much!

In regards to Elsa, I will never forget my disappointment when showing up at her house for a youth night and being served Chinese ground beef pancakes!! I entered her cool near-city-centre flat (which I promised myself I’d rent from her when I was old enough, though this never panned out) to the sweet smell of crepés in the making. She rushed to the door to let me in, then straight back into the kitchen to finish the batch. I went with her and saw a bowl of ground beef. Mmmm exciting, thought I. Then I went into the living room for some chit chat with the other youth. Or probably not, I was shy. There was a boy there who, rumour had it, fancied me and this was devastating to me. Not bc he wasn’t great. It had more to do with the Jante law, haha, see previous post. The thought of others thinking that perhaps I thought that I was something special, someone worth fancying, horrified me. Anyway, Elsa let us into her kitchen and to my horror she’d rolled up what I’d thought to me the main course inside what I’d thought to be dessert! Elsa þó, what were you thinking? I never was particularly scared of trying new foods, but I recall eating this dish reluctantly. I’ve changed since, and I hope Elsa didn’t notice my reaction at the time. It was juvenile. I will now send her the link to this post

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I just got back from Couples’ Retreat, the movie. Not bad; predictable, good fun. Spoilers up ahead. Only the yoga scene was unexpected, as were the characters’ reactions to their yoga instructor. Boom boom. He was built like a Greek god, spoke with an eSpanish accent, kept saying “regard me” when he wanted them to watch him and do as he did haha, and his voice sounded like that of Kiefer Sutherland. A great combo of characteristics. My intuition-based intel reveals that this actor, Carlos Ponce, smiled more in his 15 mins on-screen than Kiefer has in all of his big and small screen work combined!

I don’t think the ‘values’ and pearls of wisdom left behind by this film are far off, though most importantly I learned to do my research and do it well when it comes to choosing a place to go for a couple’s retreat. Also: why anyone would fly to Bora Bora for a stumpy little week’s worth of holiday is beyond me, and bordering on insanity, if not self-torture & punishment. ‘Curtailed of its fair proportion’ is the lengthy phrase that springs to mind, just like that! After finding it on dictionary.com.

I am almost certain that none of the women touched, or have ever touched, any of the carbs on that table. The men however - well, no one cares what they look like, right? There are more pics out there of these peeps half-naked, but I leave it to you to search for them. This will show how interested you are in what I wrote ha!

All the ladies in the film, whether they had speaking parts or not, but I refer mainly to Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Kristin Davis, Kali Hawk and Tasha Smith, had super hot bodies. Did I just type ’super hot’? I blush. Super duper hot is what I meant to write.

Will this expectation – to look perfect – ever be lifted off women? The men don’t need to look anything nearly as good as the women. Vince Vaughn looks good, but he ain’t ‘built’, as it were. He’s got a good build, but were he a woman he’d never have gotten a part in this film, despite his obvious comedic talent, and despite the fact that the womens’ roles weren’t abt their bodies. Jason Bateman was more in line with the women so I won’t spend much time on him. The other men, Faizon Love and Jon Favreau, are just not in shape, short and simple. Also, both are short … The above yoga teacher is built like nobody’s business, but then he’s meant to be, the role depends on it, so it doesn’t quite count.

In the film there are supporting actors, of course, whose physiques are of no consequence. In the case of the males, they are allowed to look all sorts. There are the single party guys and gay masseues, all really fit, and then there’s the therapists, the ‘couple whisperer’ guy, and some hosts and random others, who can only be described as having freely-shaped and random looking bodies. One guy spoke like Chewbacca. That was funny.

I dare say all of the women in the film who didn’t have speaking parts were very fit – this being bc un-fit girls don’t go to beach resorts to enjoy themselves and perhaps hook up! They don’t hook up in general at all, right? I know this comedy isn’t a factual documentary, but though fun and innocent it does manage to maintain harmful stereotypes. The only unfit woman in the film, and she wasn’t fat by any description, was a therapist. So, she’s well educated and smart; she’s allowed to be normal. The furthest the script writers could go to make a funny scene with the the non-essential but beautiful and fit masseuse lady, was to give her a horrid (Dutch) name, bc the (sex starved) chubby, short and so-so looking male she was massaging couldn’t be seen getting aroused by some normal woman with a normal name, let alone an ugly fat one. Not even if she were called Savannah Eve, or something heavenly like that. Hmm my logic kinda ran aground there, but you know what I mean, right?

I should probably pause and say again that I did enjoy the film:) Analysing is just fun, and sometimes essential.

Faizon Love’s very very heavy-set physique is of consequence, as it’s made fun of in the film – by him only come to think of it -, and then we are to giggle at the fact that his 20 yr old girlfriend wants him at all, and that his wife is coming back to him. Cruel, and such jokes are seldom if ever made about women.

Do I want fat women in movies and jokes made abt them? Not necessarily, though I am rather non-bothered, but really not really on the latter point, to be honest.

Normal people in films would be nice, which would facilitate a greater focus on the subject matter and make any reference to and jokes about body times irrelevant, unnecessary, pointless. That’s what I’ll say when answering that beauty queen question abt one wish, to which most respond: ‘world peace’.

So, men can be fat, unfit, and unattractive, and we can make fun of it. This is a no-no with women.
Women must have perfect bodies, and this may or may not be of importances to the plot. It may or may not be mentioned.
Basta. No other rules apply, and no variations allowed!

Where is this going? I am not the only one who finds the pressure on actresses to have a perfect body ridiculously unfair on them, and very dangerous for impressionable girls. And likely boys, too, what do I know. The men get away with whatevah look they want, but the women, though no one mentioned this in the film, have ridiculously fit bodies, especially for busy working mothers and busy successful carreer women. I think! I am none of these – not fit, not a mother, not successful, not a business woman, not that busy, so … I do however read stuff and hear things, so I know weight dilemmas are out there. Body image dilemmas rather. I have a body, and my feelings abt it cause dilemmas. So I know.

Like when this Lizzi Miller photo was published back in September. It was in Glamour magazine and Lizzi’s plus-size figure caused such a crazy stir. She is what’s called a plus-size model, which is why I used that term above. As Glamour’s editor put it, Lizzi is

” … “plus-size” one by modeling industry standards, though hello, at size 12 she’s actually “normal size” … As Genevieve Field writes in our November issue, most “plus-size” models actually aren’t plus-size humans. It’s one of the perversities of the modeling industry that women are moved into “plus” divisions once they’re anything larger than a six. (They actually have to wear cutlets and padding to model plus-size clothing.) Strange but true.

At sizes 12-14 is how I feel the best about my body, so after the necessary facial cosmetic surgery haha I will be a plus size one model. With my bone structure and at 1,71 cm, I cannot be any thinner and expect to live healthily. I let you be the judge when it comes to this Lizzi deal, but after all I’ve said above I think you know where I stand. I am overweight and hate it, but judging someone else for their fat … no way! Not for anything.

Obesity is dangerous and many actually believe they are helping obese people by shocking them into reality with rude remarks, or polite ones, whatever they sound like. Not really effective, folks. We might do well to stay out of others’ business and just love ‘em, not judge ‘em. O where has the love gone? The tolerance? The ‘live and let live’? Let’s get it back!

I dare say that Lubna in Baghdad speaks for us all … at least for me and for those of you whom I care to know!:

Oh my God, in some parts of the world a photo of a female super-model with a small roll of fat around her stomach is causing a huge fuss, while in other parts of the world people would argue about for e.g. “Why don’t we have ‘national’ electricity in our neighbourhood for almost a week now?!”

Read this comment in its entirety (in one of the above links) and you’ll see that this sweetheart from Bagdhad couldn’t resist mentioning Lizzi’s weight in the end. I forgive her; she’s an overworked, idealistic med. student. I think Lizzi is probably aware of any probs obesity causes, but though not a med student, I’m almost certain that Lizzi is not actually obese. What do you think?

The articles I’ve linked above are not bad; read them, you’ll find something useful for you and your children abt body image. The below interview is awright, too:

In regards to others’ comments about one’s weight, I had an odd experience the other day. My first fat attack and hopefully the last. I was walking out from a shop on my way to volunteering. I had a bottle of fizzy berry water in my hand, and nothing else. The sweets were hidden in my bag:) As I was near to turning a corner I heard a woman I’d just passed say:

Miss, shouldn’t you be thinking of going on a diet?

What? What? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!

I assumed I’d heard wrong, for not only am I not that fat that people are worried abt me on a daily basis, but also this: strangers don’t talk like that to one another. Do they? Not in Iceland, they don’t. We also don’t use the word miss (fröken), unless it’s meant as a (hilarious! ) joke, or you are older than 97, so I really thought I’d misheard her – or no, not misheard her, just heard wrong; the words seemed to come from the voices in my head. I was going to look back to see if she was really there. I didn’t have to, as she quickly repeated herself, saying:

Huh? Shouldn’t you be thinking about that?

Though I am not normally a violent person, I knew I’d punch her cold were I to turn around and face her. So I just walked on. Thankfully there was that corner up ahead, and I turned it, knowing I was escaping her. But not before glancing back quickly. What I saw was this old looking bag lady type person; she looked certifiable, and yes I am judging, but she started it!

I am working up the courage to lose the weight I must lose to feel good. But I don’t need to people to tell me I’m fat. I am well aware of it. It astounds me that people honestly think they must correct others’ behaviour, appearance … It’s different if it’s a loved one who is clueless abt the dangers of obesity, or dunno they are rude by nature, or whatever. Then we, as their close friends or relatives or loved ones, tell them, nicely. Yeah?

I almost wanna get obese (I am still under the ‘required’ weight to be obese:) ) and then go on the circuit to teach people to shut it and work out their own salvation, with fear and trembling, etc etc. Sheez.

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I actually started out just wanting to write: Facebook status updates and Twits are show-offy, voyeuristic, and pointless. I agree with this, and I am reading this and hearing all over the place.

But there are exceptions. People like reading updates, Tweets, and blog entries from those they love. And in the case of Twitter,  people love reading Tweets in regards to info on something or other, which they follow on there.

No random stranger really enjoys all my kitten posts (though I’ve received a few emails saying the opposite:) ); Ninjai and Nala are just cats, and not that unique, though I think they are. But the people who love me love my entries abt them.

I like to read what friends and family are up to via updates or blog entries. I am friends on Fb with a bunch of girls from school whose updates are always like this: “Finished cleaning, now going to have risotto and a red with my ridiculously rumscious hubby (I made that up!)”, or “Body Pump at 6am, then baking for bake sale, drove kids to school, got the cats neutered, picked up the cat sitter, visited my nan in the old folks’ home to arrange her 95th birthday and my pop’s funeral, knitted some socks for relax-time, bought the urn, finished big project at work, all before noon. Go superwoman me!”.

These bore me to tears. I’ve hidden them from view. I must say though that the latter example of a status update often comes with a “Wonder how long I can keep this up?” or “Hope I have the energy to do this tomorrow, too” , which has been useful to me in realising that though I cannot always do everything I am not a lazy sloth at all, like I’ve often felt, and been made to feel. Thanks insufferable women on Fb. Now go hide.

We do find beauty … okay not beauty but interest, right?, in blogs and updates that concern us.

The beauty and the value of a blog entry and status update is in the eye of the reader. St.Pie

You may quote me.

servizio di LUCA SVIZZERETTO e GIANLUCA MEOLA

(tratto da Nuovo Oggi di giovedì 29 ottobre 2009) – Vince Vaughn e Malin Akerman sono arrivati a Roma per presentare ‘L’isola delle coppie’, la pellicola diretta dal produttore Peter Billingsley (alla sua prima regia), e scritta dallo stesso Vaughn con Jon Favreau e Dana Fox.
Il film, girato a Tahiti e precisamente a Bora Bora, racconta le vicende di quattro coppie del Midwest che partono insieme per una piacevole vacanza allo scopo di salvare il matrimonio di una di esse. L’isola, infatti è nota per un particolare tipo di terapia di coppia che, però, si scopre solo dopo, essere obbligatoria per tutti. Le coppie scoprono presto che nulla è come sembra, specialmente nei loro rapporti.
Una commedia frizzante che fa dei paesaggi da favola il suo punto di forza. Negli States questa produzione ha sbancato i botteghini già alla sua prima settimana nella sale e promette di ottenere discreto successo anche in Italia, dove amore e sole sono sempre in mix molto apprezzato dal pubblico, specialmente da quello più giovane.
“Erano 30 anni che un film non veniva girato a Tahiti”, racconta il regista alla conferenza stampa, (iniziata con una performance di ballerini polinesiani). Da single impenitente Vince Vaughn dice “con ‘L’isola delle coppie’ ho voluto fare un film che parlasse delle cose positive della famiglia e dei genitori”. “Forse non si possono risolvere tutti i problemi, ma bisogna divertirsi finchè c’è tempo. – sostiene l’attore e produttore americano – Io sono stato single per tantissimo tempo, ma a un certo punto le cose cambiano, le priorità diventano altre: famiglia e figli”. Poi però parla anche della sua carriera: “io mi sono basato sul lavoro. Il lavoro è importantissimo, perchè attraverso esso si può crescere. Certo le cose possono non andare sempre bene. Anch’io all’inizio della mia carriera ho avuto delle difficoltà, ma quando le cose vanno male si impara tantissimo, più che quando vanno bene perchè si capisce anche quale è il proprio potenziale. Questa è la cosa bella della vita”.
Nel film Vaughn interpreta un marito che di professione produce videogiochi e, a proposito del ruolo dei videogame nella società, dice “sono un’ottima cosa ma non bisogna farsi alienare, lasciare da parte famiglia e amici per vincere alla fine un trofeo virtuale”.
“Faccio sempre dei film che possano relazionarsi bene con l’uomo comune” – continua Vaughn – “In effetti in questa storia io impersono le problematiche che tutti noi abbiamo: famiglia, figli e via dicendo”.
quando gli chiediamo del suo doppio ruolo di produttore e attore la sua risposta è chiara: “In realtà, come ricorderete,ho iniziato scrivendo perchè scrivere aiuta a recitare”.
Tornando invece al suo personaggio e alle problematiche quotidiane che affronta nella pellicola: “La vita è sempre molto complessa proprio per questo motivo dobbiamo tenerci strette le cose a cui teniamo maggiormente”.
Durante le riprese Vince si è trovato anche a nuotare in mare aperto, circondato da squali, un’esperienza difficile da dimenticare: “sono cresciuto in una città senza mare e quindi all’inizio ho dovuto necessariamente abituarmi ma è stata un’avventura molto interessante”.
Malin Akerman si limita a poche parole nella consueta conferenza stampa. Spiega come sia intenzionate a fare presto un figlio anhce nella vita reale e quindi come recitare questa parte sia stato per lei una specie di esperimento per prepararsi. Tanti sorrisi per tutti dipinti un uno volto splendido che farà senza dubbio la fortuna di questa attrice emergente che abbiamo già avuto modo di apprezzare in ‘Watchman’, ‘Lo spaccacuori’, ‘Ricatto d’amore’ e ‘27 volte in bianco’.
‘L’isola delle coppie’ arriverà nelle sale italiane il prossimo 4 dicembre distribuito dalla Universal.