For 2009 - If Only Hollywood Would Consider These Changes
Friday, January 2, 2009

1. Keep all scenes dry: no more rain, please. I would like to see a film, especially if it is romantic, without people standing around in the rain. I don't care why - they add nothing to a scene. All it shows is a lack of imagination.
   
   Often, I'll watch these programs thinking: they're going to catch a cold! And eww, smelly wet hair!
   


2. No more kissing: it is disgusting to hear people smooch and lip smack. Let the viewers use their imagination. I don't want to see the filthy germ exchange.
   
   I would ban kissing in films if I had the power.
   


3. The minority sidekick to the white woman: it needs to stop. It's so lame. We all don't have an inner Oprah to tap to offer words of wisdom. Enough with the "sassy" minority woman who's gonna to take on the world to make things easy and accommodating for the "clueless" white chick (or man).
   
   It happened with Kate Hudson in Raising Helen, I wanted to choke the director and scriptwriter(s).
   


4. Whatever happened to black or minority sitcoms? I grew up watching shows with a black cast on television with my family. Now, all that's really available are re-runs on some cable networks. I think Lincoln Heights is the exception, but I still find the violence on the program excessive and disturbing.
   
   I don't need to see these programs, Kyle XY is my favorite, but a little variety would be nice. Not everyone wants to watch a program about vapid, bleach blond twits from Beverly Hills.
   


5. Is there a blond (any white) woman quota in Hollywood? One day I may do an actual head count. Off the top of my head, I can't think of one program on television, or movie, that doesn't have a white woman in it. She's included whether her character is integral to the plot or not. It's weird, sometimes they are brought on just because .... Some do nothing to advance the story line.
   
   For example, Heroes can't let go of Ali Larter. Although, I do like her. There are many, many story lines with other characters that would have made the show coherent. So many have been left unresolved. But nooooooo, they keep her, regardless of whether it muddles the stupidity factor of the show by a factor of ten.
   


6. Must there be a gun in nearly every film or TV show? Yes, some of us Americans are gun-totting nuts, but a good story doesn't need one either. How about just implying that people have one, and not show it?
   
   Not everyone who watches media entertainment is a 14 year old teenager who requires violence to stay interested in a program.
   


7. Please scale back the CGI effects. I can tell when it's used, and it still doesn't look convincing or interesting. People can't outrun a flood, rushing or rising waters. People can't survive a twenty-story waterfall in a ship, a car, or alone.
   
   I won't even go into the impossible stunts that the human body cannot perform. You know, those scenes where people can survive a head-on car accident, without seat belts, at 30+ mph.
   


8. Please, please, please make the actors audible. I know you enjoy loud music, and make most films for an international audience. However, I'd still like to pretend that dialogue is important to a movie. It'd be fun to know what's going on.
   
   The incoherent mumbling and overly loud, overly dramatic music needs to stop.
   


9. Make it illegal for George Lucas to release another Star Wars film. It's for the good of us all. He's made enough money. Star Wars is deeply entrenched into our modern culture. He can be proud, and not frightened by any thought that it will be forgotten.
   
   George, you can go away now. Thanks.
   
   I would include Star Trek, but I'm biased, so I'm ready for more of that sameness.
   


10. Make accessible 24/7 every Hollywood film ever made.
    


11. Every film made over the last 30 years old should be in the public domain. Congress and the Supreme Court needs to stop with this extra 100 year extension of copyrights every time it expires.
    
    It's not right.
    

Labels: black women, Hollywood, internet, Kate Hudson, minorities, Star Trek, Star Wars, television

posted by GoldenAh
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Netflix: Instant Gratification Viewing
Monday, February 18, 2008

This is the worst feature in the world. (smile) I am always on the Internet. This option is horrible. (giggle)

Netflix's instant viewing only feeds my Internet addiction.

With this service there are no delays, no hiccups. Pictures are clear, crisp, and brilliant. The only complaint I have is lack of a closed caption option that's provided on DVDs. A number of movies have irritatingly loud music and mumbled dialogue. It only runs on Internet Explorer. Depending on your version of Windows, it could be a real pain in the ass to try watching.

I watch these movies on a digital projector. Get one! It hooks easily into the back of the computer. Make sure it's compatible with VGA to HDMI cable. If you don't understand, get a child to hook you up!

Alas, the only thing that keeps me from being a complete junkie is that Netflix doesn't offer all the latest (and greatest) films available like iTunes. However, it still has lots of anime, foreign, and obscure flicks.

Phew, thank goodness for small mercies.

Labels: internet, iTunes, Netflix, television

posted by GoldenAh
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Televison's Fall Season Schedule Lineup
Sunday, September 16, 2007

This isn't going to be a good year for television: that was my first thought when I saw the fall season schedule lineup.

CBS has a show called Men in Trees. Does that sound like a winner to you?

One new dramatic show, K'Ville, has a black male lead, with the sexy Cole Hauser as co-star.

I think Heroes and Lost killed eliminated most, if not all, of their token blacks. And don't hold your breath expecting to see a normal black woman anytime soon: the strident, asexual, best friend is back in style.

I didn't see Law and Order or Law and Order: Criminal Intent in the lineup. So there goes my favorite crime shows. Yeah, I know they're on cable.

Television shows get canceled so quickly these days, that when I'm ready to get around to watching - the program is off the air. Damn.

If Seinfeld was broadcast today, it'd be gone already. Seinfeld took nearly three years to hit its stride or groove. It became a hit once it was moved from Wednesday to Thursday completing NBC's heavy duty lineup. I doubt any show gets that kind of nurturing love anymore.

There is one show I'm willing to pay for and that's Kyle XY. I think the young man is hot. The storyline, his personality and character development is a vast improvement over Smallville's superman.

Maybe there will be a show worth downloading or web watching this fall. I doubt it. Hey, that may not be a bad thing, I may have a more active social life then.

Labels: internet, iTunes, networks, television, YouTube

posted by GoldenAh
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Joost: Internet TV
Thursday, August 16, 2007

I'm an entertainment fiend. If it's free I'm going all over the internet to look for it.

I found a source of entertainment that I am liking a lot.

I don't have cable per se to watch, but I do use cable to surf the web. You know what kinds of speed I have? As close to T1 as can be. I never get disconnected to redial, etc. All of my computers are connected via a wireless network. (I have three PCs and two printers. I already have my eye on an iMac.) I can download huge files quickly.

Okay, let me stop bragging.

Joost is like having digital cable on your computer.

My folks have digital cable, so I'm able to peak and play with the features on their box. My parents only know how to: turn on the TV, raise the volume, and change the channel. So when I'm checking out all the features, they say: "Wait, how did you do that?" I try to show them, and they will lose interest after I point out the number of steps they need to take for those features. I can't say I blame them.

Joost has commercials, which is why it is free. At least for now. But the sweetness of it is in the ability to set up your own programming menu.

What do I mean? You can remove or add channels to your main menu selection. That means if you only like four channels - you will only see them, until you are ready to ask for more. It takes a while to get the hang of the menus, but once you get the hang of it - it's awesome.

Man, I am spoiled already.

Expect old shows, movies and not quite fresh content, but then again that's why I canceled my cable subscription. Even YouTube is vastly more entertaining than cable and network television.

I understand that there will be more applications like this from different sources coming along. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it!

Labels: cable, commercials, free programming, internet, Joost, television, YouTube

posted by GoldenAh
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YouTube Nation: The Natural Actor's Audition
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

YouTube is fascinating, be it clips of television shows, people involved in dangerous stupid stunts, folks airing their opinions, re-edited music videos to political ads, etc.

The other interesting thing about it is that I can tell when people are auditioning. I don't mean to put them down, I am certain that their feelings and what they are stating is authentic.

It's just that people who've attended acting school have a method of expressing themselves in a way in which normal people do not.

Some signs of an actor: long pause(s), structured "rants", the ebb and flow of dialogue that seems rather rehearsed, the deliberate 2-3 second stare into space (down and off to the left / right), and monologues that may sound familiar. You've heard it before, because the "actor" is reciting lines from plays / movies.

No crime in that. Authenticity is hard. Yet, the doctored stuff is easy to spot.

Those scenes with phony, hectoring, quarrelsome people pretending to be angry over nothing. How can I tell it's fake? The slight gestures they make to each other: the head nod, the long pause, and extended eye contact. You have the next line... Those little signals actors give one another.

Harmless fun, but some of these amateurs should say they are auditioning.

How to tell the real from the fake? When people look directly into the camera, close your eyes and listen. Don't they sound like they are on the phone talking to you?

A natural flow and chatty tone is real. Very few actors can really emulate that.

Labels: actors, auditioning, internet, YouTube

posted by GoldenAh
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TV / Movies over the internet
Friday, May 25, 2007

I don't own a television set. I gave it up around two to three years ago.

I cancelled my cable subscribtion long before the television was removed.

I don't miss either.

Well now, you may ask, how does she keep up with the television programs?

- I purchase episodes on iTunes, although not as much anymore.

- I watch Netflix DVDs to get an entire season. For a show like "24", it's required. I don't want to see any ads.

- When I was feeling quirky, I downloaded flicks off of Movielink, but now Netflix does the same.

Nowadays, I just go to the web sites of the TV networks and watch the shows. The commercials are limited, yet it's a richer experience based on my method.

When I gave up the television, I purchased replacements:

1. I bought a new computer (with a connection for an S-cable) and a big screen projector.


2. I connected the projector to the computer (S-cable) and the DVD player (component cable).


3. I connected the computer and DVD player to the audio / visual system. There are plenty of available input plugs for these items.


4. For the visual aspect, I only needed S-cables (pc) and component cables (DVD).


5. To keep my sanity, I ignored anything to do with DVI or HDMI or whatever they are called. Only because more crap will come down the pike and who needs the headache?

So, when I watch a rebroadcast of a show on the internet, it is done in surround sound, a darkened room, and in a complete movie theater-like setting.

I could't ask for more.

Labels: DVD, internet, movies, television

posted by GoldenAh
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