Posts tagged construction
LEGO Kids Fest
Apr 28th
LEGO KidsFest brings all of the creative hands-on, minds-on fun of LEGO building and experiences together in one activity- and entertainment-packed family event for children of all ages and builders of all skills and interests. In this special event we bring you to the festival, watch kids hard at work building tons of LEGO constructions and a personal interview with Chis one of the LEGO Master builders who tells us about the things kids can participate in and lots of cool LEGO models to check out.
Find out more about the event at http://www.legokidsfest.com/
“Straw Dogs” an Exercise in Violence
Sep 24th
“Another Unnecessary Remake”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Straw Dogs is a remake of the classic 1971 film starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George that was directed by acclaimed director Sam Peckinpah, who was known for the violence in his movies.
This 2011 version stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth and was directed by Rod Lurie, and the location has been changed from a small town in western England to a small town in Southern Mississippi.
The title comes from the straw dogs that were used as ceremonial objects in ancient China. They were used as sacrifices, dressed up, put on the altar, and then when the ceremony was over, they were thrown into the street.
David and Amy are married, and when they drive into Blackwater, Mississippi, where Amy grew up, she mentions that the young good ol’ boys in town don’t have much to do anymore after their glory days of high-school football are over, and David compares them to the “straw dogs” of ancient China.
David is a Hollywood screenwriter, Amy recently starred in a television series, and they are in Blackwater because Amy’s father died and they are there to fix up his house and then sell it.
So, when they meet Charlie in town and find out that he has a small construction business, they hire Charlie to repair the roof on the barn.
Charlie says, “We take care of our own here,” and then he says to Amy, “Remember when I took care of you?”
And that is when David learns that Amy and Charlie had been high-school sweethearts.
Well, you can see where this is going, can’t you? Charlie and his construction team are rude and obnoxious, they ogle Amy because of the provocative way she dresses, and they belittle David almost every chance they get, because he doesn’t understand their small-town Southern culture, doesn’t fit in, and unknowingly insults them.
And then when Charlie and the boys invite David to go hunting with them, David feels obligated to go with them as a gesture of good will, but, of course, things don’t end well.
Things don’t end well at all, which can also be said about the whole movie.
There are some small subplots that attempt to flesh out the main plot, but basically the movie is an exercise in violence.
Straw Dogs is just another unnecessary remake.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“One Day” Contrived Love Story
Aug 27th
“Contrived Love Story”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
One Day is a gimmicky love story starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess as two British friends who eventually become lovers.
The gimmick is in the construction of the story, which begins on July 15, 2006, and then suddenly flashes back to July 15, 1988, and then shows us what these two people are doing on that day every year from then until now.
The reason that date is significant is that it is known as St. Smithin’s day in Great Britain, and British folklore says that whatever the weather is on that day will continue for the next 40 days.
And the reason that the first date in 1988 is significant is that that is the date that Emma and Dexter became involved after graduation from college and a night out of celebration with mutual friends and fellow graduates.
At the end of the evening, Dexter walks Emma home, and although Dexter thinks they have never met before, Emma says that they have met several times.
One thing leads to another, but then they change their minds about sleeping together and they exchange “Sorry, I’m not good at this” and “That’s fine, maybe we can just be friends.”
And so the story skips to each year on that date of July 15 to show us what they are doing, how their lives have changed, and how their relationship with each other is developing.
Emma wants to be a poet and take London by storm, but London swallows her up, and she ends up working in a Mexican restaurant.
Dexter goes to India and becomes a teacher, but they exchange long letters with each other while he is away.
In 1992 they go on holiday together, but Emma establishes some rules for them, which include separate bedrooms, no flirting, no skinny-dipping, and no playing Scrabble. Some of those rules are broken, and with comic results.
Dexter becomes famous with a television show that he hosts, but audiences love to hate him, which isn’t satisfying.
Both of them get involved with someone else, but they stay in touch and even see each other when Emma moves to Paris, which, of course, is the City of Romance.
One Day is a contrived love story, and maybe you will guess the ending and maybe you won’t, but you will be surprised.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
