Can anyone out there even remember how long it’s been since the original Mask film arrived in theatres? Well think of it this way. Jim Carrey was just starting to make a splash on the big screen and a little unknown actress named Cameron Diaz was cast as his love interest. The year was 1994.

Flash forward 11 painful years later and what are we left with. Probably the worst comic-book movie ever conceived and quite possibly the worst film I have seen in 5 years of covering the silver screen. It is that bad.

The sequel which bares little resemblance to the original finds Loki (Alan Cumming), creator of the Mask, banished to Earth to find his mask that has caused so much mischief. Loki’s father Odin (Bob Hoskins) is keeping a close eye on his disappointment of a son.

Meanwhile, cartoonist and would-be animator Tim Avery (Jamie Kennedy) is struggling to start a family with his eager wife, Tonya (Traylor Howard). Tim wants a big promotion at work before they have the baby Tonya has always wanted.

To make a long story short, Tim acquires the powers of the Mask and wows the big-wigs at work. After he scores big at work, Tim rushes home to make love to his wife but forgets to take off the mask. Thus we get “The Son of the Mask”.

Will Loki find Tim and his new son and finally regain his former glory and more importantly the mask? Will Tim ever find a happy ending?

Ok so the film has a plot, well, sort of.

What makes “Son of the Mask” so utterly painful to watch is how much it insults the audience that is watching this train wreck of a film. Every low-brow bathroom joke, bodily function and other things I don’t want to mention are passed off as rip-roaring comedy.

There is a sort of zany cartoon element to the child in the film who faces off against a “Mask-enhanced” dog for the father’s affection. But the whole scenario is so out of this world that it belongs in a cartoon. The scenario being played out in real-life and CGI just seems utterly wrong.

I can say for a fact there wasn’t anything I liked in this film. The acting was awful, the effects were in poor taste and nothing was funny.

I would suggest that if you have to relive the adventures of the Mask, stay home, lock the door, microwave some popcorn and rent the original. I shudder to think some people actually wanted to see this flick.

This is probably the worst film I have ever seen! And that includes all seven Deathstalker movies.

0 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

I’m not sure exactly how many films I’ve seen in my lifetime.

It is probably over a thousand, the list below barely scratches the surface of all the films I’ve seen and it was surprisingly easy to come up with. Rather than systematically list films by era or genre I got my brother’s girlfriend Dawn to call out any films she could think of.

I thought of this idea about five minutes before I began typing and Dawn rattled off films as they came to her while I typed out brief verdicts for each one. I initially intended to create a system for rating but found it too restrictive so I just wrote a brief instinctual verdict for each one.

I have included a link to Rotten Tomatoes and the score of each film, I haven’t seen some of these movies in a very long time…

NOTE: The percentages at the end are not my scores but the percentage of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

1. Men in Black (1997) – meh (91% – seriously?!)
2. Fight Club (1999) – brilliant (80%)
3. Unforgiven (1992) – immense (96%)
4. Shaun of the Dead (2004) – decent (gets worse every time I watch it)
5. Memento (2001) – pretty good (93%)
6. The Departed (2006) – good (92%)
7. Aliens (1986) – the best sequel ever made (100%)
8. Reservoir Dogs (1992) – great characters and dialogue (95%)
9. American Beauty (1999) – uplifting, brilliant (the stupid bag scene apart) (89%)
10. Goodfellas (1990) – excellent (96%)
11. Predator (1987) – one of Arnie’s best (76%)
12. 12 Angry Men (1957) – captivating (100%)
13. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) – meh (78%)
14. Shawshank Redemption (1994) – really, really good (88%)
15. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – better than I expected (90%)
16. Sin City (2005) – flashy trash (78%)
17. Toy Story 2 (1999) – yep, it’s good (100%)
18. Bambi (1942) – I remember it being good (much to the amusement of Dawn and Sean, many gay jokes followed) (89%)
19. Final Destination (2000) -guff (30%)
20. Edward Scissorhands (1990) – pretentious crap (90%)
21. Stranger than Fiction (2006) – Surprisingly good (72%)
22. Shallow Grave (1995) – okay (71%)
23. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1996) – facepalm (49%)
24. Man on Fire (2004) – underwhelming (39%)
25. Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – meh (81%)
26. 28 Days Later (2003) – meh (88%)
27. Casino Royale (2006) – surprisingly really good (94%)
28. Psycho (1960) – I was expecting it to be better (98%)
29. The Flintstones (1994) – Jesus wept (18%)
30. Aladdin (1992) – good (92%)
31. Jackass: The Movie (2002) – hard to class as a film really, hit and miss(48%)
32. E.T (1982) – good (98%)
33. Independence Day (1996) – a glorified B movie (61%)
34. Titanic (1997)  – Good (81%)
35. Ring (2002) – fairly decent (71%)
36. Pulp Fiction (1994) – Tarantino’s best film by a long way (97%)
37. Hot Fuzz (2007) – fun (90%)
38. Monty Python: Holy Grail (1975) – classic (94%)
39. Good Will Hunting (1997) – good (97%)
40. Heat (1995) – pretty good, not great (89%)
41. Zodiac (2007) – boring (87%)
42. Little Mermaid (1989) – decent (90%)
43. Ghost (1987) – crap (80%)
44. Dirty Dancing (1987) – utter shit – that women like this film makes me wonder if they actually deserve equal rights (67%)
45. The Terminator (1984) – the best Terminator (100%)
46. Bean (1998) – a test of mental endurance, awful (41%)
47. The Mask (1994) – rubbish (76%)
48. Frailty (2002) – ridiculous (74%)
49. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) – shite
50. Donnie Darko (2001) – overrated pish (84%)
51. Apollo 13 (1995)– crap (96%)
52. Deep Impact (1998)– more crap (46%)
53. Volcano (1997) – even more crap (40%)
54. I know what you did last summer (1997)– yet more crap (36%)
55. The Matrix (1999) – first half decent rest shite (86%)
56. Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (2002)– boring (96%)
57. Addams Family Values (1994) – some good moments (74%)
58. Nightmare before Christmas (1993) – overrated, largely guff (97%)
59. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) – (see earlier blog) (75%)
60. Three Men and a Baby (1987) – sickening  (78%)
61. Transformers: The Movie (1986) – decent (haven’t seen it in 10 years) (50%)
62. Cruel Intentions (1999) – trash (47%)
63. Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels (1998) – good if a little overrated (71%)
64. Clerks II (2006) – absolutely fucking diabolical (62%, seriously what the fuck?)
65. Baby’s Day Out (1994) – horrific (23%)
66. Home Alone 2 (1992) – decent (17% – that seems harsh!)
67. Liar Liar (1997) – pretty bad (84%)
68. Babe (1995) – Jesus wept (98%)
69. The Simpsons Movie (2007) – unfunny crap from a show that is a pale shadow of what it used to be (90%)
70. Mr Nanny (1993) – a holocaust of a film (7%)
71. The Thing (1980) – really tense, really good (80%)
72. Blair Witch Project (1999) – doing something different doesn’t make it good (85%)
73. Run Lola Run (1999) – see above (92%)
74. The Santa Clause (1994) – crap (Dawn: “What’s the film with Tim Allen dressed as Santa Claus?”) (79%)
75. Silence of the Lambs (1990) – they really should have just stopped at this one, a fine film (96%)
76. Matilda (1996) – another crap Dahl adaptation (89%)
77. A Bridge too Far (1977) – the quintessential war movie (67%)
78. Rocky V (1990) – laughable (21%)
79. The Sting (1973) – really good (91%)
80. The Sword in the Stone (1963) – good (73%)
81. The Witches (1990) – crap (100%, what the fuck?)
82. Starship Troopers (1997) – entertaining trash (60%)
83. Love Actually(2003)  – hated it (63%)
84. White men can’t jump (1992) – I liked it despite itself (78%)
85. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1999)– a pointless sequel (48%)
86. A Bug’s Life (1998) – meh (91%)
87. Hollow man (2000)– hollow is an appropriate adjective (but I like Bacon’s character) (27%)
88. Jaws (1975) – good but overrated (100%)
89. Jerry Maguire (1996)– oh Christ (84%)
90. Dawn of the Dead (1978)– awesome (95%)
91. Drop Dead Fred (1991)– mindless crap (still haunted by my little sister’s repeat viewing of this monstrosity) (9%)
92. Braveheart (1995) – good (it’s a movie, not a history lesson) (76%)
93. Saw II (2005) – crap (35%)
94. Mouse Hunt (1997)– hated it (really wanted the mouse to die) (44%)
95. The Mummy (1999)– didn’t like it (54%)
96. George of the Jungle (1997)– crap (53%)
97. Leon (1994) – ludicrous garbage (74%)
98. Death becomes her (1993)– had its moments (56%)
99. Meet Joe Black (1998) – meh (49%)
100. Dog Soldiers (2002) – entertaining (79%)
101. Cool Hand Luke (1967) – the best film ever (100%)

VERDICT:
4/10 Tainted Memories

Stands as an omen of things to come for our man Jim Carrey.

The Mask is about Stanley Ipkiss, a timid bank teller with zero confidence that gets shit on left and right by the entire human race (except for Cameron Diaz). Then one day he puts on this voodoo mask he finds and it transforms him into the exact opposite of everything that sucks about being Stanley Ipkiss (ie: a human cartoon that robs banks).

Back when this first came out, I regarded it as nothing less than a gift from the movie gods. I think I dragged my parents to the movie theater on three different occasions to see it, dressed up as The Mask for Halloween that year, had The Mask board game (which I actually played), and probably considered legally changing my name to “The Mask” or “Jim Mask Carrey”. It was a big deal.

That was back in 1994.

Flashfoward to 2005. I’m sitting in my bedroom, a come across The Mask while channel surfing. Haven’t seen it in 11 years, time to relive the glory. It’s the scene where he’s dancing this huge musical number with the entire police force, overacting abound.

Five minutes go by, I change the channel. I shake my head in disbelief that I put my poor parents through three separate viewings of this catastrophe, it occurs to me that I owe them big time.

Either time has not been kind to this movie or my sense of humor has evolved by leaps and bounds. Actually, nevermind, it’s probably both.

And therein lies the primary strength and weakness of The Mask. The story, the script, the direction – it’s all about Jim Carrey and Jim Carrey gives it his all whether we want it or not. He’s wacky, he’s over-the-top like no one else, you can’t take your eyes off him, but in one sense it’s fresh and amazing and in another it’s annoying to the point of torture. It’s new alright, but it is way too in your face. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Outside of it being the launching pad for Camerona Diaz’s career and all the scenes where Stanley Ipkiss turns into The Mask, there’s not much else here to bother with. Not a very funny movie otherwise.

This review is actually making me kinda sad, the same kid of sad I felt when I had no choice but to change the channel four years ago. Today, I can’t handle The Mask, but at one point I was all about it. Wish I could give it a higher score, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. If you want to see Jim Carrey at his most beserk, this is the end of the road, folks. Not the best thing he’s ever done, but if anything, he sure stands out.

Anyone else care to share their two cents on this? Genuinely interested to hear if I should give it another shot.

Threepenny Pierrot.
Columbine.
The Mirror.
The Mask.

For a time, during the tail end of the ’60s, David Bowie became a professional mime who occasionally sang on stage. His label wanted to be rid of him, every record that he had released had flopped, he didn’t have a band, and often his only regular work came from mime shows, whether in stage productions or even (disastrously) opening for rock bands like Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Mime, like it or loathe it, is essential to Bowie’s art—it’s as important an influence as Bowie’s love of R&B and jazz, or science fiction, or Buddhism, or Lou Reed. It lies behind everything that he did after 1968: Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, The Thin White Duke, even the wan extraterrestrial figure of his “Berlin” trilogy are basically all mimetic interpretations of rock musicians. Coming full circle, Bowie dressed as Pierrot in his 1980 video for “Ashes to Ashes,” winding down his most creative period.

Bowie had followed the path of a typical British would-be rock star—leaving school early, playing in beat groups, getting a manager, cutting singles, making a moderately psychedelic LP. His mime years broke this frame; it marked him with a different aesthetic than the typical rocker. It’s in part why Bowie is hard to fit into the standard “’70s rock star” slot, though radio stations and retrospectives try, and why some critics have considered him a poseur, a campy thief, a heartless vampire figure. Was Bowie really only a mime who “played” a rock musician? Or was he someone who considered mime to be an aesthetic equivalent to rock & roll, thus denying one of the music’s core myths—that its purity and simplicity made it superior to more elaborate, ‘higher” forms of art? When a mime can do rock as well as a “real” rock & roll singer, what does it say about the latter?

[Bowie] in class would drink up my words and do exactly as I asked of him. And a few years later, when he invited me to stage Ziggy Stardust for him at the Rainbow, he was still a joy to direct. I would keep encouraging him to simplify his performance, which he did, and we never had any artistic disagreements. He was an ideal student.

Lindsay Kemp, quoted in The Bowie Companion.

It was everything I thought Bohemia probably was. I joined the circus.

David Bowie, 1997, on working with Kemp.

Bowie met the mime Lindsay Kemp in mid-1967 and by the fall was taking dance lessons from him. Kemp later claimed, deliberately creating a legend, that he had saved Bowie from becoming a Buddhist monk, as Bowie had visited a Buddhist monastery in Scotland and allegedly was considering taking vows. Kemp asked Bowie to perform and write songs for a new production he was mounting, Pierrot in Turquoise. (Bowie suggested “turquoise” as it was the Buddhist symbol of eternity.) The play featured Pierrot, the sad, ever-trusting cuckold, his love Columbine and her lover Harlequin, variations on classic Commedia dell’arte types. The production became a traveling soap opera: Bowie was having simultaneous affairs with Kemp and the costume designer Natasha Korniloff, and once Kemp found out, he lived up to the role of the betrayed Pierrot and slashed his wrists before a show. When he reopened the wounds while performing that night, blood stained his Pierrot costume and the audience roared at the audacious realism.

For Pierrot in Turquoise, Bowie wrote “Threepenny Pierrot,” “Columbine” and “The Mirror” and revived, yet again, “When I Live My Dream.” While the jaunty “Threepenny Pierrot” (soon to be rewritten as “London Bye Ta-Ta“) could have fit on Bowie’s debut LP, “Columbine” and “The Mirror” show a new, emerging compositional style for Bowie—somber folk-esque songs, in which an elaborate lyric is countered by a basic, repetitive acoustic guitar figure. The type would dominate the Space Oddity LP. Bowie quarried from “Columbine” in particular—its guitar line is reused in “Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed” and a variation turns up at the end of “Width of a Circle.”

Bowie continued to work as a mime and dancer throughout 1968 and 1969, dancing in a Kemp-choreographed version of Pushkin’s The Pistol Shot and performing his own Tibetan-inspired production Yet-San and The Eagle. When Bowie’s manager Ken Pitt, seeking to revive his client’s career, arranged for Bowie to record a promo film, Bowie included in the mix a mime piece (with narration) he had written entitled “The Mask.” During its five minute span, Bowie calmly and ominously depicts his future stardom and the subsequent near-madness it caused him. He acted out his future, then endured it.

“Threepenny Pierrot,” “Columbine” and “The Mirror” were debuted at the premiere of Pierrot in Turquoise in Oxford on 28 December 1967; their only recordings are from a 1970 production of the show, The Looking Glass Murders, that aired on the BBC. “The Mask” was recorded for Bowie’s promo film Love You Till Tuesday on 5 February 1969.

Top: David Bowie at the Middle Earth Club, 19 May 1968.

Każdy ma jakieś zboczenia. Ja lubię patrzeć jak ktoś tańczy. A najlepiej jak tańczy dobrze, dziwnie, inaczej,  pozytywnie i z jajem ;]

Oglądając dziś Pulp Fiction naszła mnie właśnie ta upadła myśl.

Zacznijmy wiec od wspomnianego wyżej filmu Tarantino.

Pulp Fiction

Mia Wallace & Vincent Vega (Uma Thurman & John Travolta)

Skoro już mowa o Travolcie…

Saturday Night Fever

Tony Manero (John Travolta)

Skoro taniec to nie może zabraknąć także Dirty Dancing. W tymi miejscu miałem wstawić scenę finałową, ale bardziej przypasował mi ten “brudniejszy taniec”.

Dirty Dancing

Johnny Castle & Frances Houseman (Patrick Swayze & Jennifer Grey) i ekipa ;]

A skoro była jedynka to nie może zabraknąć czegoś pomarańczowego z gorącej Kuby

Dirty Dancing 2

Javier & Kate (Diego Luna & Romola Garai)

Było pomarańczowe, czas na zielone!

The Mask

Stanley Ipkiss & Tina Carlyle (Jim Carrey & Cameron Diaz)

W tym miejscu miał znaleźć się tańczący Garfield do piosnki ‘Hey Mamma‘. Niestety Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation uniemożliwia oglądanie krótkiego kawałka tegoż filmu tudzież bajki – smutne prawda!?! A tandetnych przeróbek wrzucał nie będę.

A na koniec coś wyjątkowo bajecznego ;]

Singin’ in the Rain

Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly)

To tylko kilka przykładów ciekawego tańca w filmach. A Wam jakie sceny przychodzą do głowy?

In an era when rail-thin models have ruled the runway for way too long, designer Mark Fast took a stand at London Fashion Week last week.  Proposing that regular-sized women can wear his garments and look good doing so, he used three models sizes 12-14 in his runway lineup, causing a rift between him and some of his staff members who chose to leave over “creative differences.”

Fast catwalk, London 2009

How refreshing to show that size 12 women can have beautiful, healthy bodies and can in fact “look even better” [than size zero models] in Fast’s tight-fitting knits according to Fast’s manager, Amanda May.

(Random Related Side Note:  Surely I’m not the only one who thinks a young Cameron Diaz was MUCH more stunning as the curvy love interest in “The Mask” than she is now, way too many pounds skinnier…?)

a younger, curvier Cameron D. in "The Mask"

an older, skinnier Cameron D. (where'd the cleavage go??)

Don’t get me wrong – I know there are some naturally thin women whose genes make it difficult for them to gain weight.  As long as they’re healthy, that’s great.  But when you have size zero models who are too big for current runway outfits, that’s a problem.

Enter a new solution:  All Walks Beyond the Catwalk.

Fast is involved in a wonderful project called All Walks Beyond the Catwalk in which designers used more a diverse model pool to showcase their Spring/Summer 2010 collections.  They include models from ages 18-65 and from sizes 8-16.  Let’s hope this is the dawn of a new era in the fashion industry.

Recuerdo la primera vez que vi a Cameron Diaz en una película, fue en The Mask, esa película que hablaba del perdedor de Stanley Ipkis  que encontraba una Mascara en donde una personalidad, conocida como The Mask se apoderaba de él y podía hacer todo lo que Stanley no haría, el verdadero Stanley. Había una frase que me encantaba repetir una y otra vez de pequeño, “Aaardiente (Smokin)”, ja, lo sé, suena estúpido, pero heyy, tenía 8 años, pero bueno, me he desviado del punto.

Recuerdo la entrada de Cameron Diaz al banco donde trabajaba Stanley Ipkis. La música sonando, Las enormeeeees piernas de Cameron recorriendo la invitación, ese cabello rubio (Me encantan las gueras… y las blancas de cabello negro), y ese vestido rojo, por Dios, ese vestido rojo, era un flashback a Jessica Rabbit, cuando la vi caminando, contoneandose en el pasillo, shooot, que mujer. Jim Carrey fue la envidia de todo hombre al tener a semejante mujer en frente de él. Creo yo, que una de las cosas más sexys que puede haber en una mujer, es un vestido rojo A lá Jessica Rabbit.

Dios bendiga a las mujeres en vestidos rojos.

Despite all of  backlash reviews this one took at the theatre, I thought it was a very entertaining movie. I thought Jim Carrey (The Mask, Yes Man) did an adequate job, although I did think the scene with the therapist was simply put in there for Carrey to have his comedic style moment in what is supposed to be a horror/thriller. Virginia Madsen (Sideways, Firewall) is cast as Carrey’s wife, and is about par as well.

This film, directed by Joel Schumacher (The Client, Phone Boothman), who is usually very hit and miss with his films, seems to be on the hit side. The story is about Walter Sparrow, who comes across a book about a childhood detective hero, Fingerling. It is also about the obsession with the number 23. Walter starts to see similarities between himself and Fingerling, and in turn becomes obsessed with the number 23 and is determined to find the author of the book to find out more information.

Although there were no really outstanding performances here, to me this was still a very intriguing and thought provoking thriller. Not the best ever made, nor the worst either. Don’t let the critics scare you away from this one. It is worth watching once

Have you seen Doing Time on Maple Drive? There is a big chance you haven’t. It is a TV movie from 1992 and it was the first time I saw Jim Carrey. Jim plays one of the leads as an alcoholic brother and it was a solid drama. Yep, I did not need to see the Truman Show before I could decide he was good at drama. In fact he was so good, it didn’t occur to me he was a comedian. Being much younger than Jim, I didn’t have the chance to follow his filmography in a chronological manner so it explains how I fell behind. And Dumb & Dumber did not appeal to me at all. Not my sense of funny. Ace Ventura was OK. But The Mask??? Oh my god- I love that movie. In fact I was shocked to realize it was the same guy!!! How could be so funny? Of course later I became a fan and realized he was essentially a comedian, having got to Hollywood from the stand-up performances in Canada.

After the Mask, I knew I was hooked to this guy’s performances. Liar Liar was brilliant, and so was Bruce Almighty. Me,myself and Irene- though a little-vulgar was insanely entertaining. Yesman was also typical Jim. Yeah, I haven’t mentioned the critically acclaimed The Truman Show,Majestic Man on the Moon or the cult hit Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I enjoyed Truman Show. It was bittersweet. Majestic was rather enjoyable and interesting. It portrayed the nightmare that is called reality shows so well. To be honest, the latter two bored me a little. It has nothing to do with Jim’s acting skills. But I don’t want to watch this guy in a drama!!! And especially not in depressing “romantic” stories or real-life stories (Eternal was about two lovers having their memories wiped out of each other-although I appreaciate the idea, I wouldn’t have wasted it on a bad break-up. And Man on the Moon was based on the life of Andy Kaufman.)

Don’t get me wrong. I like dramas. I do. If done well, they touch you,move you and make you feel alive. You find yourself thinking about them afterwards. It haunts you. But… There are so many good actors out there!!! There are so many actors who can make you feel like you were kicked in the gut. That can make you cry. Oh, Jim can make you cry too. The difference is while Jim can bring you to tears in a drama, he also has the amazing talent to make you cry because he makes you laugh so hard. Now, that is a much more scarce talent. I love laughing so hard that my muscles hurt, and Jim can do that. Not just with his movies. His appearances on talk shows are nothing short of hilarious and you got to admire how he comes up with a new persona/ show at movie award nights. He once dressed as a stoned, long-haired, bearded hippie biker and his own friends didn’t recognize him until he got to the stage to claim his award.There was a time he tried to french Will Smith. Once he thanked himself for the award:

• Jim!! (he gets off the stage.)
• Yeah?
• (he gets on the stage again) I couldn’t have done this without you buddy!!!

I love this handsome and utterly funny Canadian. Boy, I really felt like watching one his movies now!

As the Riddler, Batman Forever

The Mask

Jim Carreyas Joel in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind",starring with Kate Winslet

I know yall remember the infamous Ink and Paint Club scene from Who Shot Roger Rabbit, when animated vixen Jessica Rabbit put’s on a steamy show for horny flesh and blood patrons including private investigator Eddie Valient. The song she performs is one the main reason I loved that movie as a kid, aside from the fact it blended animation maturely and effectively with film noir, creating a satisfying cinimatic experience for young and old alike.  I had severe case of song-stuck-in-the-head so I decided to post up the vid and call it a day. Not to be one dimensional with it I decided to do a little research and came across the original joint by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra.

Benny was born on the south side of Chi Town in 1909. Influenced by the stylings of New Orleans Jazz musicians around his way like Jimmy Noone and Johhny Dodds, he began music lessons during his adolescence and became quite the Jazz clarinetist. In 1935, now a seasoned band leader, Benny struck musical gold working with Fletcher Hamilton Henderson Jr. Fletcher was an african-american  musician, arranger, composer and leader of the most popular black big band in New York during the 20’s and early 30’s. With Fletcher’s arrangements Benny’s band took off, igniting the ’swing’ movement in North America hence the moniker ’king of swing’. It’s also cool to note that dude led one of the first intergrated bands during that time. Nice. Benny Goodman passed June 13, 1986 a mere 4 days before I was born. Thanks to Ms. Rabbit for the introduction, here’s looking at you Benny….. 

Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee- Why Don’t You Do Right

Jessica Rabbit (Amy Irving)- Why Don’t You Do Right

Benny Goodman and His Orchestra- Sing, Sing, Sing

Honorable mention: Also one of my favorite reincarnations of a jazz classic in a film, Cameron Diaz’s performance of Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You, followed by a dance sequence to the equally fresh Hey Pachuco by swing revival band Royal Crown Revue.  Gee baby was first recorded by famed Detroit jazz big band McKinney’s Cotton Picker’s in 1929, Nat King Cole’s remake became his 4rth US chart topper in 1944.

Nat King Cole Trio- Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You

Cameron Diaz (Tiukien)- Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You/Hey Pachuco- Royal Crown Revue

Gangsta Boo , fosta componenta a Three 6 Mafia cu masca pe fata , erau ceva piesele de genu`  Tear Da` Club Up , south pur , ce avem astazi este tot acelasi gen de south doar ca fara Juice J , Dj Paul si Lord Infamous .

Download Gangsta Boo – The Mask

hunger

recht gute playlist

merde

nerdcore.de:Banksy unmasked, is Harry Potter actually

I`m a mac (early version)

unreality magazine: 10 Awesome Comedy to Horror Recut Trailers

The Big Lebowski Fucking Short Version

hot chicks with douchebags

the art of the brick: cello

learning english

final fate of the middleman

As announced, Lee Junki was in Japan over the weekend to perform for fans in Kobe and Yokohama for another series of fan concerts that seated 8,000 attendees.

This event was called “Lee Junki 2009 in Japan for Splendor,” which follows his last series of fan concerts called Episode 2: “The Mask.” Neither title makes a whole lot of sense, but hey, it’s Lee Junki, and a Junki who made perfect sense would be boring.

In addition to songs from his single album “J-Style,” he also sang songs from several of the OSTs of his dramas: in Kobe on the 18th, he sang “Foolish Heart” [미련한 가슴아] from Time of Dog and Wolf, and on the 19th he performed Iljimae soundtrack song “Flower’s Message” [화신].

Apparently, Lee Junki came to the Yokohama concert dressed in a yellow bear costume (er?) and arrived at the entrance an hour prior to the concert’s start, where 5,000 fans waited to enter. Along with one other person, he took photos with the fans as though he were an amusement park character. It wasn’t until later when he came out in costume that fans realized he’d been the one they’d taken photos with. Not too surprisingly, the whole idea is credited to Lee Junki himself.

source: news prime
Translations: dramabeans

To all the classic cartoon fans out there who were expecting me to do “Auteur Detour”: I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to wait until the next time I update.

This week, I take a break from the monotony of reviewing/analyzing classic theatrical cartoons and take a look at a modern-day TV cartoon that has aired in the 1990s in my new segment called “The ’90s Nook.”

In the 1990s, it seemed that every Saturday morning cartoon was a cartoon adaptation of a popular movie (particularly one that wasn’t meant for anyone under the age of 13, if America’s MPAA ratings system is indicative of anything). None were more memorable (to me, at least) than the cartoon adaptations of three (count ‘em, three) Jim Carrey movies: The Mask: The Animated Series, Ace Ventura, Pet Detective: The Animated Series, and Dumb and Dumber: The Animated Series.

Some Facts and Figures You Need to Know:

1) With the exception of Dumb and Dumber: The Animated Series, The Mask: TAS and Ace Ventura, Pet Detective: TAS aired on CBS from 1995 to 1997 (Dumb and Dumber: TAS aired on ABC in 1995).

2) Of the three Jim Carrey cartoon movie adaptations, The Mask: TAS and Ace Ventura, Pet Detective: TAS are both the longest-running (each lasted three seasons), but in terms of how many episodes each series had, The Mask: TAS (which lasted 54 episodes) beats Ace Ventura, Pet Detective: TAS (which only had 35 episodes, one of which was a crossover episode with The Mask: TAS).

3) Both The Mask: TAS and Ace Ventura, Pet Detective: TAS aired for a short time on CBS before finishing their runs on a cable network specializing in showing kids’ cartoons (The Mask aired on Cartoon Network; Ace Ventura aired on Nickelodeon).

Despite all of this trivia, I’m here to talk about The Mask: The Animated Series, since I remember that Jim Carrey movie cartoon adaptation more than the Ace Ventura cartoon (which was created by none other than Seth MacFarlane, the man [or sick fuck, depending on your tastes] behind Family Guy, American Dad!, and Seth’s Cartoon Cavalcade) and the Dumb and Dumber cartoon (which looks as if it was animated by the same people who did Cow and Chicken–Cartoon Network’s answer to that early ’90s John K. mindfuck Ren and Stimpy).

Creation and History

The Mask started out as a comic book series created by John Acrudi and Doug Mahnke and published by Dark Horse Comics. The comic book version of The Mask plays out like a mini-series, showing different people finding an antique green mask, wearing it, and turning into a brash, green-headed being (known as “Big Head” in the comics) that can only be described as a living cartoon character, able to do anything that defies every law in the book (including the laws of gravity and physics). Even though Stanley Ipkiss is the protagonist of the movie and TV cartoon versions of The Mask, in the original comic book, his trials and tribulations with the mask only last about four issues. The rest of the issues (from The Mask Returns and The Mask Strikes Back) focus on other people who find the mask and are totally unaware that the mask is behind the so-called “Big Head murders.” The original Mask comic book was also more violent than its film and TV adaptations, including such child-unfriendly acts as murder (Stanley as Big Head kills his first grade teacher and the mechanics who always cheat him out of money when he goes to get his car repaired), police brutality (Lieutenant Kellaway tries on the mask and becomes a Punisher-type vigilante), and domestic violence (Stanley verbally abuses his girlfriend, Kathy, and physically attacks her when in Big Head mode).

After The Mask Strikes Back, the violence was toned down to the cartoonish, Tex Avery-style humor of the 1994 movie. The only character from the original Mask series who appeared in the later comic books was Lieutenant Kellaway (who, in the movie and TV adaptation, NEVER put on The Mask, which is a shame, because that would have been a cool episode or movie sequence).

Now, the movie version was the first PG-13 movie I watched (at age 10). The movie version focused on Stanley Ipkiss (played by Jim Carrey), a loser bank clerk who finds a wooden mask in the Edge City river (mistakenly believing it was someone drowning) tries it on, and becomes a wacky, green-headed living cartoon man in a loud, yellow zoot-suit. He uses his new alter ego to impress a nightclub singer named Tina Carlyle (played by Cameron Diaz) and get back at the people who bullied him, such as his landlady Mrs. Peenman and the mechanics who constantly screw him over when he takes his car in to get repaired (this, by the way, was the only scene from the original comic series that was in the movie). However, things get sticky when a mobster named Dorian (played by Peter Greene) stage a robbery at the Edge City Bank and police detectives Mitch Kellaway (played by Peter Riegert) and his idiot partner, Doyle (played by Jim Doughan) brand Stanley as a “person of interest” in a rash of crimes that have been happening at night — all perpetrated by a man with a big, green head. I won’t give too much away. If you haven’t seen it, go.

Anyway, The Mask (movie version) was the movie that launched the careers of Jim Carrey (who was fresh off the FOX sketch show, In Living Color, which, at the time, was in its final season and really hitting the skids since the Wayans brothers [and sister] left the show following a dispute with censors over the show’s content, new cast members who didn’t exactly win over the audience were brought in, and the writers were either phoning it in or not really trying) and Cameron Diaz (who started out as a model, believe it or not). It got rave reviews from critics, was a box office success (grossing $119 million domestically and over $350 million worldwide), and was nominated for several awards (Jim Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe while the film itself was nominated for the “Best Visual Effects” Oscar. Unfortunately, it lost to Forrest Gump). Since it got all this praise and good karma and since this was the 1990s, there was one more thing to do to make this all complete: create a Saturday morning cartoon series out of it.

As mentioned earlier, The Mask: TAS was the first of the Jim Carrey movie cartoon adaptation trio, and was probably the only one that anyone really remembers. It aired on CBS from 1995 to 1997, even though CBS only aired seasons one and three. Season two had the privilege of airing on Cartoon Network and on local TV affiliates (often as part of an after-school line-up called BKN [Big Kids Network] that included such animated shows as The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys, Extreme Dinosaurs, Street Sharks, and Extreme Ghostbusters). Where I lived, season two of The Mask: TAS aired on channel 17 (back when it was an affiliate for The WB) and channel 48, a local TV station that used be a “whatever” channel (meaning the programmers aired “whatever” they had in their library, from old sitcoms to cartoons that network TV would never touch if they valued their FCC licenses). These days, Channel 48 is an all-Christian programming, all the time channel and Channel 17 is now called “MyNetworkTV” and airs worse shows than FOX (with the possible exception of Family Guy, but the Family Guy episodes they have are edited to remove a lot of the more tasteless jokes — some of which, by the grace of whatever deity you worship, made it past the FOX censors. Those that didn’t end up uncut on DVD or Cartoon Network).

Much like the movie, The Mask cartoon series focused on Stanley Ipkiss (voiced by Rob Paulsen [the guy who played Yakko Warner on Animaniacs]) and his cartoony alter-ego The Mask, had that Tex Avery/Bob Clampett-esque wackiness, and included Stanley’s friends, Peggy Brandt (voiced by Heidi Shannon) and Charlie Shumacher (voiced by Mark L. Taylor), and enemies, Mrs. Peenman (voiced by veteran voice actress Tress MacNeille), Lieutenant Kellaway (voiced by Neil Ross), and Doyle (voiced by veteran voice actor Jim Cummings). Unlike the movie, Stanley’s mask now works during the day (In the movie, Stanley tries to wear The Mask during the day, but nothing happens), Cameron Diaz’s character, Tina Carlyle, and the mobsters who used her to rob the Edge City Bank aren’t in the cartoon, and Peggy Brandt (the tabloid newspaper writer who liked Stanley Ipkiss for who he is and not what he’s become) is seen more (in the movie, there was supposed to be a scene where Dorian [wearing The Mask] kills Peggy by dumping her body in a newspaper printing press. Had that scene been shown in the movie proper, Peggy’s appearance in the cartoon would not have made any sense. In the actual movie, it was heavily implied that after Peggy met Dorian at the newspaper office, she made off with the money with her life intact and disappeared from the plot of the movie). Her personality is also tweaked a little. In the movie, Peggy actually cares about Stanley’s well-being when he’s The Mask; in the cartoon, Peggy still cares for Stanley, but she cares more about furthering her writing career and often wants Stanley to appear as The Mask so she can get that Pulitzer-winning headline.

The cartoon also created crazier villains, making this show the wacky, light-hearted yin to the yang of the dark and dramatic action cartoons, like Batman: TAS, X-Men, and Superman: TAS. Some of the regular villains include: 

1) A mad scientist cyborg named Pretorious (voiced by the always-skeevy Tim Curry) whose head always detached from his body and moved around on a set of metal spider legs. His thing was conducting wide-scale experiments that had an 80-90% chance of dooming all of humanity (like the Large Hadron Collider — at least, according to any conspiracy nut you can name) and using Stanley’s mask as part of the experiment. Pretorious is the only villain in the cartoon series who knows that Stanley Ipkiss is The Mask.

Pretorious appeared in the following episodes:

• “The Mask is Always Greener on the Other Side” (parts one and two)
• “Sister Mask”
• “Bride of Pretorious”
• “Shrink Rap”
• “Mayor Mask”
• “Santa Mask”
• “Cool Hand Mask”
• “Mutiny of the Bounty Hunters”
• “Convention of Evil”
• “To Have and Have Snot”
• “Mystery Cruise”
• “The Goofalotatots”
• “The Aceman Cometh”

2) Pretorious’s silent goon, Walter. Originally from the Mask comic book series, Walter is a redheaded, Frankenstein monster-type creature with a scar below one of his eyes. In the comic, Walter was murderous and cruel, along with being mute, but that was dropped for the cartoon. Much like Pretorious, Walter also wants The Mask (but only to wear it for himself), but on the last episode of season one (“Split Personality”), it’s revealed that the Mask doesn’t transform Walter at all because the Mask only works on those who have a personality. There are some episodes where Walter is seen as Pretorious’s sidekick and other episodes where he works alone (or is seen for no discernible reason other than to remind viewers that Walter exists).

Walter appeared in the following episodes:

• “The Mask is Always Greener on the Other Side” (parts one and two)
• “Double Reverse”
• “Mayor Mask”
• “How Much is That Dog in the Tin Can”
• “Santa Mask”
• “Split Personality”
• “Flight as a Feather” [fighting the Mask inside a whale]
• “Mask au Gratin” [it's very "blink-and-you-miss-it"; it's at the part where Gorgonzola chases The Mask into a punk rock club]
• “Broadway Malady” [as one of the performers in Andrew Bedwetter's broadway show]
• “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Green Mask” [mourning over The Mask at his "funeral"]
• “Mystery Cruise”

3) Dr. Amelia Chronos (voiced by Candi Milo), a mad scientist, like Pretorious. Unlike Pretorious, Dr. Chronos is a woman, and her deal is with manipulating time, sending her victims 100 years into the past or 10,000 years into a dystopian future (is there any other kind?). Chronos can also curse her victim into living the same half-hour repeatedly. Dr. Chronos didn’t appear until season two, and even then, only appeared in a handful of episodes: the season two premiere “A Comedy of Eras” (which the jackasses at TV.com mistakenly believe is an episode where Stanley meets Adam Sandler, Mike Meyers, and Jim Carrey. Like Saturday morning TV can afford to get stars like that on their dinky little shows), “What Goes Around Comes Around,” and “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Green Mask.” I guess she wasn’t as popular as the creators thought.

4) Putty Thing and Fish Guy (voiced by Cam Clarke and Jeff Glen Bennett), a giant made of putty and a mutant fish, respectively. Originally, these monsters were two slacker teenagers named Dak and Eddie who read comic books and thought it would be cool to gain superpowers from radioactivity.  The two fell ill after raiding a nuclear plant and ended up being rushed to the hospital. En route to the hospital, the ambulance crashed, sending them flying into two stores: Dak crashed into a hardware store [where putty is sold] while Eddie crashed into an exotic fish shop. The rest, as we say is history. A running gag with these guys would be that Eddie (now Fish Guy) gets mocked by The Mask for being a lousy supervillain and Eddie immediately gets jealous of Dak (now Putty Thing) and his amazing powers.

Putty Thing and Fish Guy appeared in the following episodes:

• “The Terrible Twos”
• “Martian Mask”
• “Santa Mask”
• “The Good, The Bad, and the Fish Guy”
• “Broadway Malady”

5) Lonnie The Shark (voiced by Glen Shadix), a typical mob boss type of character. Outside of having sharp teeth and a hairstyle resembling a shark’s fin, there’s really nothing strange about him (except for the fact that, in his first episode, he was the host of a children’s show modeled after “Barney the Dinosaur”). He has a biker gang led by a blond wuss named Pete (voiced by Charlie Adler [Buster Bunny from Tiny Toon Adventures]).

Lonnie the Shark (and his biker gang) appeared in the following episodes:

• “Baby’s Wild Ride”
• “Malled”
• “Convention of Evil”
• “The Green Marine”

6) Skillit (voiced by Jason Marsden), a warped version of Peter Pan (yes, even more warped than Michael Jackson, God rest his soul). Skillit lives in an alternate world called The Shadowland where monsters and other mythical beings live and are used as Skillit’s toys. Skillit has the power to suck the youth out of mortals by stealing their shadows (since The Mask is only semi-mortal, he is immune to this) so he can stay young forever.

Skillit appeared in the following episodes:

• “Shadow of a Skillit”
• “All Hallow’s Eve”
• “Enquiring Masks Want to Know”

7) Probably the creepiest Mask villain because of the Winnie the Pooh voice, Kablamus (voiced by Jim Cummings) was a balloon factory worker who, like Jack Napier, fell into a vat of acid and became a supervillain, only Kablamus becomes a supervillain that can inflate and blow himself up repeatedly.

Kablamus appeared in the following episodes:

• “Double Reverse”
• “Santa Mask”
• “Power of Suggestion”
• “Broadway Malady”

The rest of the supervillains on The Mask were either one-shots (such as Gorgonzola from “Mask au Gratin,” The Tempest from “Rain of Terror,” Channel Surfer from “Channel Surfin’,” The Stinger from “To Bee or Not To Bee,” and Bob The Devil from “Boogie with the Man”) or just ordinary people who were either pricks with bizarre agendas (such as Putterware CEO Celia N. Airtight from “Sealed Fate,” the Ross Perot-esque future mayor in “Future Mask,” and Colonel Beauregard Klaxon from “Goin’ for the Green”) or were deranged enough to stage a murder/suicide with explosives and apparently rich enough to afford said explosives (such as Art Nouveau from “The Terrible Twos,” Cookie BaBoom from “Flight as a Feather,” and the disgruntled chef from “Love Potion No. 8 1/2″).

Season Overviews

The first season of The Mask: The Animated Series played out like a follow-up to the movie version of The Mask (with, of course, alterations done; most at the creator’s discretion, some for content, and others for plot reasons). This was the season that introduced the recurring villains listed above (except for Dr. Chronos, Channel Surfer, The Tempest, The Stinger, Bob the Devil, Celia N. Airtight, Colonel Beauregard Kalxon, the Ross Perot-esque future mayor, Cookie BaBoom, the disgruntled chef from “Love Potion No. 8 1/2″, and Gorgonzola). This season, in comparison to seasons two and three, is probably the only one that has some semblance of realism to it, despite the cartoonishness. It even had lessons to learn (delivered in a manner that was neither heavy-handed nor overly preachy), like revenge has its consequences for all involved (“Split Personality”), don’t be so quick to judge others (“The Terrible Twos” and “How Much is That Dog in the Tin Can”), and don’t ever mess with a heat-packing babysitter (“Baby’s Wild Ride”).

Season two is when the series took a drink of spiced cable cocktail (or a Syndicated on the Beach) and lost (some of) its network TV inhibitions. It became cartoony in the same way The Simpsons did when Mike Scully took over from season nine to season twelve. The only difference is that The Mask was never a “realistic” cartoon to start with. It may have been somewhat rooted in reality, but season one of The Mask never had an episode where Stanley gives up drinking for 30 days following a DWI. Or one where Peggy buys a fancy Chanel suit and wants to join a country club. Or even an episode where The Mask must pass a history test or face repeating the fourth grade, so its descent into looniness and unbelievability wasn’t as heart-wrenching as, say, having an episode like “The Principal and the Pauper” (which may not be the best episode ever, but does have an interesting backstory if you ever listen to the audio commentary for this episode on the season nine DVD set) or “Saddlesore Galactica” (which I actually like because the writers purposely made ”Saddlesore Galactica” as a pisstake against wacky “adult” cartoons like South Park and, of course, The Simpsons fans who feel that the show lost the down-to-earth satire that it had in its first couple years). In fact, The Mask’s descent into looniness and unbelievability in season two was worth the pissed pants and aching lungs from laughing so much (or the locked jaws from gaping at what the writers got away with–more about that later).

Season three continued where season two left off humor-wise. Even though it was a tad weaker than the pure, uncut craziness of season two (thanks, in no small part, to the fact that season three aired on CBS, where the censors were stricter with what could and couldn’t be shown), you did have a lot of gross-out episodes, like “To Have and Have Snot” and “Fantaschtick Voyage”, but by 1997, The Mask: The Animated Series was already past its life expectency in the world of Saturday Morning TV (which, at that point, was becoming more and more moribund, thanks to cable TV airing better programming, plummeting network TV ratings, hack animators attempting to make their cartoons as outrageous as Ren and Stimpy [and failing], and media watchdog groups pushing for more educational shows “for da children,” when really, it’s for the parents so they don’t have to deal with “da children”), and CBS canceled The Mask: TAS after only nine episodes in its third season. The final episode, titled, “The Aceman Cometh,” was not only a crossover episode (with the cartoon version of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), but it also ended on a cliffhanger. After Ace Ventura bids farewell to Stanley Ipkiss, Stanley realizes that his magical mask has been taken from him by Ace’s pet monkey, Spike. The final shot of the final episode of The Mask: TAS shows Stanley chasing after Ace’s car as Ace drives off to Florida. Don’t despair, viewers. There exists a follow-up to this series finale, in the form of the Ace Ventura: TAS episode, “Have Mask, Will Travel,” which is available for viewing on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gop_y_IDT7U.

Uh-oh…according to the time on my laptop, I gotta cut this installment of Saturday Morning Hangover short. Tune in next time when I go inside an episode of The Mask: The Animated Series that puts a perverted spin on the phrase, “sex bomb.”

And maybe I’ll get on that Auteur Detour post…

I really wish I was referring to my run.  Instead, I mean the trail was literally smoking due to a control burn at the park.  Tiffany and I set out to run 8 miles, but after about 2 miles into our run, we hit a thick wall of smoke. We tried to run through it but after a ¼ mile into it, it didn’t seem to be clearing.  I couldn’t take it any more and needed to turn around.  We headed back to the start of the trail with only four miles finished.  After a quick potty break and water stop, Tiffany and I couldn’t get our momentum back and we struggled with the next two miles.  At 6 miles, I need to call it a day.

 6 miles

Time 1:03:40

Pace 10:36

When the other Striders returned from their runs, we learned that the fog of smoke was about ½ mile thick.  Our noble leader, David, assured me that turning around was the best thing I could have done.  I was just thankful that I remembered to take a hit off my inhaler before my run that morning.  Otherwise, it could have been a lot worse for me. 

Tiffany and I were really disappointed with our performances this week, but here’s hoping that we can be at 8 miles next week.  However, if the park continues its controlled burns, Tiffany and I may need to get creative with our miles by running through the park instead of running along the trail with our new Strider friends.

On another note, the Faces of Courage Triathlon (the triathlon formerly known as Babes and Bums) is less than 3 weeks away.  Since it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve seen a pool, I decided to swim 16 laps this morning.  Coincidentally, my friend and neighbor, Allan E, happened to be training this morning in our neighborhood pool as well.  Allan will be part of my relay team for the Longleaf Triathlon this October, so of course I was happy to see him training, but I was even more thrilled when he gave me some pointers on my breathing techniques.  I’ve been trying to swim as far as I could on one breath and Allan suggested I breathe on every third stroke.  That simple tip really improved my swim today!  Now, I just need to work on my flip turns. 

So, in the past few days, I’ve improved my swimming and didn’t fall off my bike.  It’s been a good week.  Maybe I really have been smokin’?

Facial masks are more than just silly tricks that women try to get their “beauty rest.” They are an important part of skin care. It is recommended that you use a facial mask at least once a week. While it is not necessary to go overboard and wear one every night, a weekly facial mask session cannot only help your skin receive moisture, but it can also ease skin disorders. Facial masks can be soothing or energizing, and the actions and rituals often involved with applying a facial mask can be an effective stress reliever.

A facial mask is generally defined as a substance that is applied to the face, much like smearing on cream. It is thick, and often resembles clay. Many masks make use of clay or gel as a base, as these will stay in place when applied, and they are generally harmless to most skin types (although gel is used most for sensitive skin, as heavy clay irritate it). Masks are meant to cover the entire face and then remain in place for a few minutes before washing off. The materials in most masks are safe to be washed down the sink.

Most facial masks include both deep cleaning and moisturizing agents in the mask. This allows the cores in the face to be cleansed deeply, getting rid of oily build up and trapped dirt. This can help reduce or even prevent acne. Additionally, many masks help slough off dead skin. The dead top skin is dull and lusterless. When it is gently removed, the mask brings the top layer of dead skin cells off with it. This leaves younger, healthier cells exposed as the face’s surface. This means tighter skin and a more brilliant complexion. It can also reduce the look of fine lines and small wrinkles to carry out a regular facial mask.

Another reason that facial masks are so popular involves the soothing and relaxing motions associated with applying a facial mask. If you decide to have one applied in for relaxation as well as the benefits it has for the skin on the face, then you can have a very enjoyable experience. In spas, these masks are applied with special techniques and often include a massage. You can give your own face a gentle massage just prior to applying the mask, and if you are systematic about it, you can apply the mask in a way that is singularly soothing. All masks should be applied to a freshly cleaned face, rinsed with warm water. This opens the pores and allows the mask to do its thing. Warm water is very calming and soothing, and many people find this part of the application to be one of the more enjoyable stages.

Apply the mask in a circular motion until it covers the face. This is calming and stimulating at the same time. Let the mask sit on your face for 15 to 20 minutes (although some are meant to be worn all night). Many women like to lie down and relax. The effect can be enhanced by the addition of candles or incense and some soothing music. Finally, when it is time to rinse the mask, do so in cold water. This will help close the pores, protecting them against dirt and oil, and also energize your face.

Many people enjoy making their own facial masks from common household products like bananas (for wrinkles), avocados, and honey (antibacterial). Butter can also be used as a remedy for dry skin. Other masks can be created using different types of clays, and different essential oils can be used for different skin types. Fruit purees also have different effects and yogurt and milk can soften the skin. Oatmeal is extremely soothing, and most sensitive skin types can use masks of this sort. Adding rose petal powder can enhance your fragrance without the need for perfume, while citrus fruit peel powder acts as an astringent.

When you decide to make use of facial masks, you are certain to feel the good effects of it later down the road. And if you apply them once a week, you can help keep your face healthy-looking and your complexion brilliant with a healthy glow.

Dave McNary – Variety

“T.J. Hooker” is headed for the bigscreen as an action comedy with David Foster, Ryan Heppe and series creator Rick Husky producing.

Chuck Russell (“The Scorpion King,” “The Mask”) is in talks to direct. The writing team of Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson will script the story, which focuses on the relationship between the title character and his father.

No actors have been cast yet for the feature.

The TV series, produced by Aaron Spelling, debuted in 1982 on ABC and ran for five seasons, the last on CBS. William Shatner starred as a no-nonsense patrol sergeant, with Adrian Zmed, Heather Locklear, Richard Herd and James Darren as co-stars.

Husky has long retained the feature rights to the project, according to Heppe.

“The series was the poster child for cop TV shows in the 1980s with great stunts, so we think there’s a fun movie to be made from it,” Heppe said.

Foster, Heppe and John Hyde are producing.

Series Make Up Department
  Leo Lotito Jr. … makeup supervisor (26 episodes, 1982-1986)
  James Lee McCoy … makeup artist (26 episodes, 1982-1986)

Series Special Effects Department
  Robert Peterson … special effects (26 episodes, 1982-1986)

Lee Junki was last in Japan in October 2008; he also put out a single album (in Korea) called “J Style” in April. However, Japanese fans will get the unique chance to buy a J Style Special Edition DVD, which will go on sale only for attendees of the fan concerts.

Lee Junki has attracted fans in Japan for previous roles in films like Fly Daddy Fly and The King and the Clown, but his popularity grew when his SBS drama series Iljimae showed last year on Japanese satellite channel So-net TV. It began re-airing on broadcast airwaves last month, and will enjoy a third airing starting August 25 on the satellite channel devoted to Korean entertainment, Mnet. Mnet will also begin airing his 2007 thriller drama Time of Dog and Wolf beginning August 1, as well as his Episode 2: The Mask “global fanmeeting” that took place in April in Seoul.

source: yonhap news
Translations:dramabeans