Teenagers and Movies, Music and Culture (Part II)

Here's a challenge to all people I will target in this posting - if you can write 100 words or of your all time favourite movie whether good or bad and send to me via my email at:

adriannguyen@rocketmail.com

There's no prize,  but I want you to complete the challenge so I know you can write review
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OK. What is it about this current generation. Generation Y is that generation.

I am quite sure that as you move to different generations they are literally dumb into making choices. Like should you spend on cash when you have $600 in your wallet or you spend by one of your credit cards you should only use for 'emergencies'.  The biggest disadvantages on cash is that you'll lose some money you should pay for lunch. The biggest disadvantages with credit cards is that as much as you spend it on expensive items more, it'll expire.

DVDs are quite like $6 to $29. But the average price for a new DVD is about $20 while Blu Rays are worth $30. But there's something that DVDs (or the film industry) need to take a stance on. Movie Piracy.

You know. The people supplying us with discs showing movies currently screening in theatres are Triads. And teenagers are going to the street buying these discs where it only cost $4, but the disc has a low quality in picture, sound, and features. I don't teenagers hold up a majority but we've seen ads where they say piracy is a problem for the film industry. And the people who buy pirated movies simply ignore it.

Well I'm not talking about movie piracy. I'm talking movies here and how this generation treats it like dirt.

Teenagers are going to the movie more than their parents. I mean their parents would adore celebrities like Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Aniston, Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp but I and the rest of Y adored people like Robert Pattinson, Megan Fox, Taylor Lautner, or any actress that had posed in a lad's mag before.. These people cannot even act but yet they are in love because they are good looking.

Why are boys drooling at Megan Fox. She's just a sex bomb. Seriously there are actresses that are pretty enough than Fox. What about Zooey Deschanel or Emma Stone. Even Blake Lively or Mila Kunis? Come on. They should be part of your stupid famtasies.

Whatever happened to celebrities who are naturally beautiful today? I mean the only actresses that are naturally hot are Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway and Natalie Portman.

I given up to the former. Johansson is a no good actress even if her amazing looks could lure both the boys and girls. And the only men she attracts are guys that are older than her. In their 40s? That is not on. Hathaway is literally a white person. She doesn't put on a lot of makeup except for some lipstick and eyelash or plastic surgery and every year she's becoming more gorgeous than ever.

A lot of girls see both Johansson and Hathaway as role models but they have something against Hathaway. They think she look like a rat and is annoying. On the other hand there's Natalie Portman and she might be one of the greatest actresses of her generation. The problem with her is that unless you have seen the Star Wars prequels, you have never heard of her. Teens should at least watch one Natalie Portman movie other than the Star Wars prequels.

 I have a total of 28 DVDs and I call them The Good Ones because all of these movies were acclaimed. Here some example:

• Kick Ass
• Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
• Inception
• Up
• Minority Report
• The Dark Knight
• The Departed
• Little Miss Sunshine.
• (500) Days OF Summer
• Sin City
• The Matrix

These movies are examples of what teenagers are missing out. IF I was going to a field trip to Washington and my teachers ask me to bring a movie so I and the other kids won't get bored I will bring them in. But I will most likely to pick Scott Pilgrim or Minority Report since the movie should be rated PG -13 or M in Australia. I wouldnt choose Inception or The Dark Knight because they think it is gay and I wouldn't choose Up because it's a Pixar movie. 

Inception and The Matrix has one thing in common. They both go into different universes and they both are smart and make the audiences think. It took me a while during the movie to figure out the plot halfway through The Matrix. And I'm not telling you that because you were too numb to understand it or people like me ahd figured it out. People at school once teased me for watching the Matrix because they couldn't understand it like they couldn't understand Inception.

I tried that hard to convince people to watch good movies. Nick Lyons tries to tell people to watch Black Swan. Problem is nobody listens to him

The only movies teenagers love nowadays are movies with broad humor like Adam Sandler movies or movies with Rob Schneider (my favourite actor of all time. Not), movies with hotties such as Twilight and Transformers and movies that are witless and juvenile like the Frieberg-Seltzer movies and they say it was funny. 

Come on people. Why can't teenagers be mature about movies? I mean they may as well forget their dates or what day do they have their exams.

Well I don't blame them. You know teenagers can be either the most demanding or undemanding depending on what movie Hollywood makes. If it was a Christopher Nolan movie it will undemanding because we don't know what movie idea Nolan has next in his mind. But if it was Transformers or an Adam Sandler movie, every young person will say (not literally) 'we want more. Give me more'.

I believe there will be more Resident Evil movies than there is for James Bond. The more movies they're planning the more demanding it gets. Seriously can it stop. It's a stupid video game movies. They're meant to be bad and pwned by the box office.

But honestly I still have something in common with the public. I enjoyed some Adam Sandler movies including Anger Management and Happy Gilmore, but the best movie with Adam Sandler is Reign Over Me. I enjoyed Superbad which was really funny and another movie The Hangover. Both these movies are actually hilarious based on story and comedy. I still have fun with comedy unless I would be offended

So if anyone is reading this you have two choices - either think about the movies you watch and change your taste or give me hate mail at my address or the comments.

You're offended? Hate me. Hate Me. I'm ready for you. Try and spam me whatever you want because it would never solve anything.

The Best Cityscapes in Science Fiction cinema

If there was anything about science fiction that I would wish to experience in real life it would be the location. Science fiction wouldn't be just aliens, laser guns and evil empires if it were boosted with reality and imagination. The thing that builds imagination in the genre is the art direction. It makes everything about the movie look good and inspiring, that we want to live in these places on our day off. IT can be anything. It can be futuristic with skyscrapers or a city on a floating block of a distant planet.

Given that Skyline and Repo Men had f*@ked the setting of science fiction. So here are the best ever architectures/art directions in science fiction history

Inception (2010)

Name Of City:
Unknown

Setting:

Paris, France

Type of Cityscape:

Dreamscape/virtual reality

Significance:

After Repo Men and before Skyline, there was two memorable scenes [in Inception] where part of Paris begins folding and where Leonardo Dicaprio and Ellen Page can actually stand on the folded area sideways. And then the markets explode when Ellen Page couldn't control the dream on her first time. Besides Page is the architect of this great city that she could actually create any kind of city for a person's dream.

Blade Runner (1984)

Name of City:
Los Angeles

Setting shot:

Los Angeles, USA

Type Of Cityscape:

Futuristic

Significance:

If this was it in nineteen years time, then I would be happy living there. Flying cars rising buildings and skyscrapers almost fill our imaginations of this magnificent science fiction film noir. It is almost a modern landscape filled with globalisastion, slavery and big chunks of product placements and advertising. One thing great about LA in Blade Runner is that the city relies heavily on industry, it totally ignored about the danger of our green environment. Didn't I mention that there is a huge migration of Asians?

The Matrix (1999)

Name of City:
MegaCity

Setting shot:

Sydney, Australia

Type of Cityscape:

Virtual Reality

Significance:

Like Inception, The Matrix goes into a parallel universe that does not interfere with reality. Unlike Inception however, the city for the Matrix stays the same. The Matrix's architecture has a purpose and that purpose is to keep humanity stuck by our brainwashed minds of alien machines. If there was any deeper meaning about The Matrix, it's just that urban life is sick.

Dark City (1998)

Setting shot:
Sydney, Australia

Type of Cityscape:
Futuristic

Significance:
Well it seems so realistic to the current state of every city, but now it's more darker. The main message of this city that it's a cause for living in a deranged state of mind. The cityscape had inspired the landscape for Inception and what else. It condescends into every character's psychological moments. It also opens up and revived the sci fi noir.

Back To The Future II (1987)

Name of city:

Hill Valley

Type Of Cityscape:

Futuristic

Significance:

Hill Valley had prospered back from 1985 and had shown greater use of technology we wish we would want to see. Hoverboards, automatic shoes and jackets, flying cars, hologram ads, a small round dough turned into a huge pizza and uh... Michael Jackson as a waiter? That's a bit odd.

Well these are the best cityscapes in science fiction around. I want to live in one of them for peace and quiets but there are many cityscapes that I would've put in the list. Any suggestions? Please comment.

Movies You Should See Before You Leave School (Part I)

With 2 weeks until the beginning of the Spring holidays and end of exams for me, there are some movies coming out. There's Buried about Ryan Reynolds in a coffin, The Town, a movie about police robberies in Boston and so much more coming soon.

But there was one thing I was disappointed with everyone at school. And that is...

NOBODY HAD SEEN INCEPTION!?!?!?!?

Seriously it's not hard to see a very good movie if you have read the reviews on the Net, newspapers whatever material there is about movies. Inception is really good and yet you're too afraid because the story's complicated and too challenging for you.

I know kids don't actually have time to watch movies but seriously. You're seeing The Expendables? It has nothing but action. You've seeing The Karate kid on the holidays? You would've seen the original Karate Kid from the 80s and it's better than that. You've seen Grown Ups? It's a movie that has jokes of waste, literally. You've seen the Twilight movies? Really? And you're seeing Tommorow When The War Began? Well, it's alright.

Ok. Sorry for being judgemental, but there were so many good movies out there from the past that you would actually watch. You might learn something there like life's tough, get a job. But maybe you might enjoy them. I don't know. IT's your opinion and your choice.

So I'm counting down the top films you should watch before you leave school. Anytime, it's either when you finish Year 12 or going to uni.

1. Sin City (9.5/10)

Before Kick Ass, before we've seen The Dark Knight, before Natalie Portman shaved her head for V for Vendetta, Frank Miller's graphic novella Sin City tuned into a movie that is so seductive, so sadistic, it's almost a teenage boy's pumping wet dream... in black and white. With Jessica Alba as a stripper, several vixen hookers with semi automatic weapons fighting for justice in a hugely corrupt city and an ensemble cast such as Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Elijah Wood that would impress, Sin City is a visceral movie any cinephile cannot miss.

2. UP (9.6/10)

Toy Story 3 may have taken the crown of Pixar's best movie so far, but Up is worth a watch. It's funny, cute, clever, smart and why would we waste our time with the oddest couple in animation? Because they have a lot of heart and soul we would totally look down to. Up is a simplistic film yet truly emotional, it's has a wild imagination that roams around releasing that inner child and giving us that uplifting and motivating one-liner "Adventure is out there!"

3. Amelie (10.0/10)

This was the first foreign movie I have seen and it is great. IT is about a young woman's journey to change everyone's lives for the better while she is trying to make her life better by making a love interest chase after her. It's instataneously clever and humourous, insanely erotic and yet at all times, it focused on not only the title character Amelie but also on everyone around her as we look in depth about each character. The music score is excellent, the cinematography's as bright as ever, Amelie bound to be your delight.


4. Little Miss Sunshine (8.8/10)

Being in a family that are full of nutcases is tough, but one moment with them will make you feel better and is a lot of fun. That's the lesson learnt in Little Miss Sunshine about a struggling family taking their little daughter so she can participate in a beauty pageant. But the whole family would have to take a malfunctioning van along and many things happen. Keep in mind that each member has a problem. From suicide, drug abuse to post traumatic stress but when we go into thier journey all the way to California, we get to know them better. Until the finish of the film, Little Miss Sunshine is smart and funny in many ways.

5. Donnie Darko [Director's Cut] (9.0/10)

Two people in this school has seen this movie, possibly out of curiousity. When Donnie Darko is warned about an apocalypse by an imaginary bunny rabbit called Frank, he commits a series of crimes from his manipulation and he even gets nosey about time travel. Since this concept was so hard to tell and that it was released during 9/11, Donnie Darko was re-released with a director's cut three years later so that everybody finally knows what the hell is going on! Whether you like cult classics, Jake Gylenhal or the song "Mad World", Donnie Darko will give you a head trip.

6. Where The Wild Things Are (8.5/10)

The much-loved children's book is turned into a movie where a boy named Max dressed like a rabbit escape from his house to an island where he meet The Wild Things. When it was released, it initially polarized people because it was not appropriate for kids since many of The Wild Things are incredibly depressed. But I don't care. It gives and teaches us many lessons about neglect, isolation and also to feel free when you escape from people who won't let you be. It was one my favourite movie of 2009.

7. Juno (8.9/10)

I really loved Canadians (except for Bieber). They're really the most underrated people on this planet. Juno is actually a Canadian movie starring Canadians, directed by a Canadian but written by a stripper. Juno is about teenage tomboy (Ellen Page) pregnant by her shy fitness freak (Michael Cera). She decided to not have an abortion, but to put the baby up for adoption and she found the perfect couple who are yuppies desperate for a child. Emotionally and almost honest, Juno teaches us values on feminism, pro choice and pregnancy rights and also a lesson about teenage sex and its consequences. Ellen Page and Michael Cera are really dynamic in their roles making them two of film's current bright stars. Oh, it also made orange Tic Tacs and hamburger phones fads. As well as a popular soundtrack, controversy involving the movie glamorising teenage pregnancy and becoming the highest profitable movie of all time, Juno is jolly good.

8. The Matrix (8.2/10)

Here's an interesting fact. The matrix is also a mathematical formula. But in this case, The Matrix is actually mathematical with its concept aking itself what is The Matrix. What's the truth? And why are so many of us wearing sunglasses? So thanks to that, shot in Sydney before the city head off for the Olympics, and impressive special effects involving slow mo, this prove that computer nerds (which is the main audience) rules the cinema. So if you didn't see the matrix, get out of here and go watch it.

9. The Breakfast Club (10.0/10)

John hughes is a master of teen fillms. Some of Hugh's favourites were Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Pretty In Pink. But this is John Hughe's masterpiece that is considered a movie defining its generation. When five students went to detention on a Saturday, they don't know each other very well. There's the athlete, the brain, the princess, the criminal and the basket-case. Once the film progresses we see that they hated their parents so much that it might have resulted being in detention. The Breakfast Club nails its characters, developing at the right pace and doesn't go in between margins. This movie describes the angst of a teenager and Hughes does a great job as he understands more of the teen.

10. 500 (Days) Of Summer (8.4/10)

As romantic comedies becoming older, this movie has become bolder! 500 Days Of Summer is a rom com that isn't niched for women, but it is also for men who complains about these movies as not their thing. If 500 Days Of Summer gives us a true life lesson (true love doesn't happen the way we wanted to), has an awesome soundtrack and add charms to its central characters while giving us surprises towards the end, this 90 minute indie flick is clever in its own right.