Television Gives Mom A Break

Post contributed by Josue Durham

I always planned on my child being smart. I wanted him to always read books and play with the educational toys. I wanted to avoid television because it was not challenging. At least that was the plan in the beginning. When reality set in, I have never been more thankful for my direct tv than I am now. I did not realize how difficult it can be to raise a child. There are some days I wish I was still working. I always thought being at home would be relaxing and easy, but that is far from the truth. Sometimes I think my child is plotting against me. I know it might sound crazy, but I really think that. The television has become my “coffee break”. When everything is non-stop, it is nice to be able to have a moment to myself. Currently I am able to get that when Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is on. I guess that means I am also very thankful to Walt Disney. I think I love Mickey more now than I did as a kid.

Shows Being Filmed In Atlanta

Posted by Virgil Burks

I’ve lived in Atlanta my entire life, and I love my city. It seems like a lot of other people love it recently, too. One of the coolest things about living in Atlanta right now is that there are so many movies and TV shows are being filmed here. It’s really neat to be watching The Walking Dead on expert satellite and see something I recognize from Atlanta. And while a lot of Tyler Perry’s shows are shot mostly on a stage, there are a lot of references to Atlanta throughout the show. It’s pretty cool. The city of Atlanta has done a great job of offering tax incentives to film shows here and it seems like a lot of TV and film producers have noticed. It’s become a fairly regular occurrence to drive through town and see a notice of filming posted. I’ve seen Atlanta displayed in a lot of movie previews recently, and I’m looking forward to seeing what other shows start filming here as the word spreads that Atlanta is a great city as a backdrop! I’ve known it for a long time, and I’m glad to see so many other people noticing.

Cronos

I finally had a chance to check out the Criterion BluRay release of Cronos this past week. This twisted horror tale definitely received the royal treatment for this release. The video transfer is absolutely amazing. It maintains a nice amount of grain while featuring excellent depth of color and clarity. The audio transfer is excellent as well.

As a fan of most everything Guillermo Del Toro has done, I can honestly say that this was one of my favorites. It's a simple story that wears it's influences on it's sleeve. That's not necessarily a bad thing either.  While watching it, I felt like I was watching a lengthened classic episode of the Twilight Zone. It thrives and succeeds at taking a simple tale and adding a depth that most current films lack.

As one of his first films, I was dumbfounded at the quality of this film. Del Toro definitely had a vision and held strong while developing this signature film. The film was quite obviously made on a tight budget. However, this only strengthened Cronos with a strong sense of old school storytelling and vintage style graphics work.

If you've never seen Cronos, do yourself a favor and watch it immediately. You'll definitely enjoy it.

Burning Palms

Meant to be a black comedy, Burning Palms serves as an exploration of extreme fetishism amidst the abberant backdrop of Los Angeles. The film features some skillful  casting choices in a film that freely exploits every pathetic character. While I enjoyed a few laugh out loud moments, I had to question the world we live in and how the behavior portrayed in this movie is sickeningly realistic.

Burning Palms features five different stories, each with it's own freakish tale of twisted morality and savagery. My favorite features Nick Stahl and Zoe Saldana in an intense tale of perverted infatuation. While some may find it hard to watch, I found this to be the most convincing and realistic of all these modern tragedies. Dylan McDermott and the ever so annoying Lake Bell are featured in other segments.

Insightful but corrupt is how I would best define Burning Palms. If dark humor is your game, you'll definitely enjoy this movie. It is currently available on Netflix. 

Red

Last night I had the chance to see the 2008 film Red for the first time. This is an off kilter revenge film that stars Brian Cox and a redeemed Tom Sizemore. The film is unlike any other vengeance movie I've ever seen. The case for revenge is quite different than what we've all seen in the past. It doesn't feature a family being murdered and it doesn't feature a muscular lead bearing automatic weapons. This is a character driven study that enters the realm of greatness as Brian Cox stars in one of his best roles to date.

Browsing through Netflix I discovered this little gem and I'm extremely glad I did. The movie is slow paced at times. However, the pacing is genuine and serves the purpose of developing this small town story of violence and redemption. If you're expecting over glorified violence and gore, don't look here. This is a solid piece of independent film making at it's best. Definitely check it out.

Dead Girl

Let me start by saying that I've seen some disturbing films in my life. The first being Afflictionby Mark Hejna. The second being a German film called Rohtenburg. Both these films turned my stomach in their own distinct way. Deadgirl is equally as unnerving. I'm truly surprised this movie didn't have more publicity on the indie film circuit. Any film that can cross genres so well is excellent in my book.

 

DeadGirl is a commentary on modern social issues: Teenagers and their disconnect with real relationships. It's main focus is on the objectification of women.

 

I recommend DeadGirl if you have a tough stomach and rape on film doesn't make you sick. Just remember, it's only a movie.