Day: January 19, 2011

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My Favorite Date Movies

Dating can be nerve-wracking, to say the least.  Taking that special someone to a movie is generally a good way to ensure he or she will have a nice time.  However, depending on the box office to supply your local theater with a good date movie is not always a safe bet.  Don’t underestimate a nice night in, cuddled up on your couch with a bowl of popcorn, a blanket, and a choice film from the video store.  Be on the lookout for one of these gems when choosing what you will rent for the evening.

If you’re looking for something in the black and white variety, give Bringing Up Baby a try.  This romantic comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant tells the story of a misguided girl who loses a leopard.  At a loss for what to do, she convinces a well-meaning paleontologist to help her find it.  The movie chronicles their misadventures, and details exactly how they fall in love with one another.

If your date is made of stronger stuff and enjoys a good spook, stick with the classic Poltergeist.  While this film is packed with frights, it also gives you moments of unintentional laughter due to the extremely dated special effects.  However, during those moments that are truly hair-raising, you can bet that you and your companion will inch a little closer to each other.

Some ladies and gents find that their type is “different.”  Those who look different, speak differently, read obscure books, and listen to little known music.  They also enjoy movies that aren’t exactly mainstream.  Enter The Science of Sleep, a film about a girl who meets a boy who is a little off-kilter, but who intrigues her and finds his way deep into her subconscious.  The Science of Sleep is honest and sweet, but uncomfortable and a bit disturbing, in a soft manner.

The next movie is perfect for those who have established a serious relationship, but just need a night snuggled up together.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the story of a couple who have recently parted ways.  One of them is so upset that she has her ex-boyfriend erased from her memory.  Once he realizes what she’s done, he decides to do the same, in retaliation.  However, once the process begins, he realizes that the memory of her is all he has left, and that he doesn’t want to lose that last bit of her.  Eternal Sunshine will break your heart, but it will bring to mind all the things you love and need about your significant other.

No matter your age or background, there isn’t a person who has a beating heart that won’t appreciate the gentle whimsy of Harvey.  Starring Jimmy Stewart and a gigantic invisible bunny, Harvey tells the story of a man who has rejected the harshness of reality, and replaced it with his own interpretation of the world around him.  No matter how the date ends, Harvey will leave you with a smile on your face.

Any of these movies would lead to a wonderful ending to your romantic evening!

Stephanie Parker is a preschool teacher/freelance writer, living in Kentucky. She loves to contribute articles to EduBook, a freelance writing site and watch movies and television in her spare time.

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Let Buffy RIP (Retire in Peace)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)
Image via Wikipedia

Ever since she was retired with grace back in 2003 rumors have been doing the rounds that Buffy is going to make a comeback, every now and then one of the cast would pipe up with a comment about how they’d love the old gang to get back together and Joss himself said it’s not something he’d rule out. Just over a month ago, Warner Brothers announced they were dragging Buffy back from the grave (how many times can one Chosen One be resurrected?) without a single name from the original series. With the help of the Kazui’s (who some would argue contributed nothing more than cash to the original film and series and no creativity) and Newbie Whit Anderson, hard core Buffy fans the world over are up in arms before the details have even been finalized.

So why’s everyone upset? Surly in our vampire crazy world where teenagers everywhere want the dark brooding stranger to bite them this was inevitable?

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Back before vampires were sparkling on the big screen, and undead brothers were falling in love with high school girls the spitting image of their 500 year old ex, Joss was showing us his version of the vampire and we loved it. OK, so the original film kind of sucked (no pun intended) but the TV series very quickly acquired a true cult following. It was simple; vampires were the bad guys and our fearless blond hero killed them. There was only one exception, the brooding and dark Angel whose entire character was based on the torment of the evil he’s carried out before he got his soul back. Even as the series progressed and we fell in love with Spike (soul or no soul) Joss never let us forget that he was a vampire and first and foremost he would also be evil, if any of us were under any illusion that he could be good the bathroom scene in Seeing Red reminds us that his evil side can be very human.

So what made Buffy so loved? This will depend on who you ask. Joss said more than once that Buffy is ‘bring your own subtext, in other words there was no right or wrong way to read Buffy, you could love it for what you loved it for and it was written for multiple interpretations. This meant Joss had faith in his audience and assumed they had a certain level of creativity and intelligence. On a more simple level, she was a young strong blond chick who could fight vampires and still find time to complete high school, the generation that grew up with her could relate to her. At a time when any pretty blond in a horror situation was always the first to get picked off by the bad guy Buffy was refreshing. She was inspirational to a generation of teenagers growing up in what looked like a scary world.

Right from the very first scene of the very first episode, we see an ‘innocent’ looking blond school girl alone at night with a big guy. She’s jumpy and scared and before we have a chance to decide whether the guy she’s with is going to protect or kill her, she vamps out and kills him. That’s when we know the rules are being turned on their head and anything can happen. The little girl is not innocent and the big strong guy is not going to be the one to always save the day.

Back in the mid nineties this was refreshing, we loved Star Trek Voyager, X Files and the Alien movies but these days we know women can have power. The original premise of Buffy is not going to work anymore. These days vampires are romantic whether they’re ‘evil’ of not and the pretty high school girl is always going to fall in love with them and they’ll have an eternal love. Don’t get me wrong, Twilight and The Vampire Diaries and all the others must be doing something right, they get the audience and generate revenue, but personally I really don’t have faith that this generation are truly going to understand Buffy and I certainly don’t have faith in anyone other than Joss to try and show them. I’ll certainly watch it to see what Whit and her team do with this cult classic but Buffy belongs in the late nineties. She’s fought her demons and for the hard core fans Joss even continued her story with the season eight comic book so surly it’s time we just let her retire in peace.

Kim works for Holiday Rentals who offer an extensive selection of cottages to rent

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Is the Netflix Free Trial Worth Trying?

Is the Netflix free trial worth trying? I get asked that question a lot. In fact, it’s been put to me so many times that I’ve decided to write an article to explain my stance on the situation. That way, the next time someone comes up and says, “Is the Netflix free trial worth trying?”, I can simply direct them here.

When you sign up for the Netflix free trial, you’ll receive a free membership to Netflix for the amount of time stated on their website. As of this writing, the free trial runs for 1 month. In other cases, the trial has only lasted for two weeks. If you’ve ever taken advantage of the free trial before, or if someone in your home is currently a Netflix subscriber (or has been in the last 12 months), then you won’t be eligible. You will also need to enter a valid method of payment in order to get started.

Once the free trial is underway, you’ll be able to log in to the Netflix website and choose which movies you would like to have delivered to your home. You will also have the option to watch an unlimited number of streaming movies over your computer.

When you take part in the Netflix free trial, you’ll be able to participate in the lowest rung of their standard subscription service. This means that you’ll be able to have one movie at a time in your home, but you still have access to an unlimited number of streaming movies through their website.

If you don’t wish to become a regular Netflix subscriber, you’ll need to cancel your free trial before the one month period is up. If, for example, you joined on January 15th, you’ll have until February 15 to cancel. If you fail to cancel your membership, you’ll automatically be charged $9.99 for the next month of service (which will continue until you cancel). If you cancel, you’ll have seven days to return any outstanding DVDs. A reminder email will be sent if you fail to comply. After a period of time, Netflix will charge your credit or debit card for their lost items.

For those who like Netflix well enough to become full-time subscribers, you’ll be able to choose from the following subscription options:

$7.99 – No DVDs are sent to your home, but you have access to an unlimited number of streaming movies.

$9.99 – Unlimited streaming and 1 DVD at home

$14.99 – Unlimited streaming and 2 DVDs at home

$19.99 – Unlimited streaming and 3 DVDs at home

$27.99 – Unlimited streaming and 4 DVDs at home

$34.99 – Unlimited streaming and 5 DVDs at home

$41.99 – Unlimited streaming and 6 DVDs at home

$48.99 – Unlimited streaming and 7 DVDs at home

$55.99 – Unlimited streaming and 8 DVDs at home

So to answer the question “Is the Netflix free trial worth trying?”: Yes, it’s worth the minute or two it takes to sign up. You’ll have access to everything that a regular subscriber does, plus you’re not paying a penny. Few things in life are free, but this is one of them.

Shane Rivers lives in Texas and writes for Only Good Movies. He’s written about Netflix free trials and Netflix pricing plans there too. In his spare time he watches movies.

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How Much is Gene Simmons worth?

Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz) is an American rock and roll legend, actor, producer, entrepreneur and the bassist for the band KISS. He was a founding member of the band in 1973 and they continue to produce albums and tour 43 years later. He is so well known and loved that everyone asks how much Gene Simmons worth. Well he is estimated to have a net worth at $300 million.

Here is a brief biography of Gene Simmons. He was born in August 25th 1949 as Chaim Wits in Haifa Israel to Hungarian –Jewish parents, his mother Florence was a survivor of a NAZI concentration camp, and his father Chaim was a carpenter. At the age of five his parents got separated and Chaim and his mother moved to the US and settled in Williamsburg, Brooklyn New York and he was renamed Gene Klein. As a child he was introduced to his first love comic books and cartoons with the help of these new interests Gene picked up the English language adding to a vast vocabulary which also included Hebrew, Spanish, Turkish and Hungarian. (His make-up in Kiss came from his love of comic books) He saw the historic band The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964, Genes life was changed instantly; it would be the 15th year that his mother would give him a second guitar the Kent.

Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After years of playing lead guitar he changed to bass guitar because as he saw there was more guitarist than bassist. By 1968 he had already been apart of five separate music groups; Long Island Sounds, Rising Sun, the Missing Links, Bullfrog Bheer and Cathedral. With Wicked Lester he had an Epic Records recording deal but was unhappy with the sound and the group and ended up leaving. He never wasted a chance with education and in 1970 he graduated from Richmond College with a degree in education and four language degrees English, German, Hungarian and Hebrew. He worked as a sixth grade teacher and later gave up and held a job as a personal assistant with Vogue and Glamour magazines and the name Gene Simmons was adopted.

In 1973 he formed the group KISS with Paul Stanley. Their breakthrough came with the double live album, Alive! In 1975, KISS went at it hammer and tongs with striking stage shows featuring eye catching demonic make up. The albums Destroyer and Rock and Roll Over were released in 1976 and Love Gun and Alive II in 1977. The following year they released no less than four albums, all named after the orginal members of the band. They were hot and Simmons took advantage of every opportunity that came along: merchandising, acting, and all kinds of naming deals.

Gene expanded his interest and acted in Runway with Tom Selleck in 1948, appeared in Wanted Dead or Alive in 1986. He started producing and established a management company. Was considered the first producer to discover Van Halen although the demo tapes did not grow into a long term contract. He created the cartoon show My Dad the Rock Star in 2002, Whole Kiss and Make Up and Sex Money Kiss. In 2004 he finished filming Rock School Foe Channel 4 teaching classically trained 13-14 year-olds how to rock. He has appeared in the Apprentice with Donald Trump but was fired in the second week. In 2009, Kiss celebrated their 35th year in the music charts with the release of their first studio show album in nearly a decade. He finally married Shannon Lee Tweed in 2011 after dating for over 20 years and their two children Sophie and Nick live with them in California. You might have seen the A&E reality show Family Jewels featuring the family.

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