The film was directed by Manuel Pradal, and was written by Tonino Benacquista and Manuel Pradal. The full cast and crew are listed here.

Norman Reedus’ character, Vincent, wife is brutally killed one evening right before he returns home. As he approaches his countryside home, he notices a passing taxi as he gets closer to his house, where he discovers his wife’s dead body.

Afterward, he can’t move on with his life until he catches the killer, whom he remembers had several distinct characteristics from the passing cab that evening which Vincent recalls.

3 years later, we find that he’s moved and now lives in Brooklyn, New York City, where across from his building, there lives a mysterious yet dysfunctional woman named Alice, played by Béart, whose persona exhumes a stagnant world-weariness that’s curiously attractive, where they’re her character, Alice and Vincent are friends and can also literally see each other in their respective apartments.

She is obsessed with and wants to be with Norman (Reedus), but knows that’s not possible until he’s able to solve the murder of his wife.

Soon, the machinations start–Béart needs a fall guy to satisfy Vincent’s character’s vengeance. So she picks a random cab driver, played by Harvey Keitel, as Roger, and proceeds methodically to recreate the symbols and physical affects which Vincent remembers about both the taxi driver, and the car that he passed before he found his wife murdered in cold blood.

It was a Taxi with a blue scratch on the side, and the driver was wearing a ring with a large stone on his finger along with a red jacket. .

Although Vincent has had a detective’s help him to solve the crime, nothing comes to pass, and the case becomes cold.

So Vincent, (Norman Reedus), passes his time training his dog for dog betting racing on the beach, which occupies the majority of his days.

Norman Reedus’ character, Vincent, is played with a distinct and particular manner of what one would expect a victim of a violent crime would behave–with a detachment from both himself and the world. So true to his part, Reedus’, (Vincent), is true to form and does not disappoint the viewer with his role.

Because he lives in the building directly across from Alice, (Emmanuelle Béart), they communicate by phone and talk to each other a lot , as Alice frequently takes care of his dog so their physical and emotional contact is constant.

Then the plot spins and twists–Alice finds a cabbie, Roger, played by Harvey Keitel–who projects danger–and pursues him so he thinks that she’s fallen for him.

Hence, the thriller aspect of the movie is thrown into the mix, because the viewer is never quite sure if he is indeed the culprit of the murder–ergo:–”The Crime.”

So Alice makes love to him, plies him full of liquor although he’s sworn off alcohol, puts a dent into the exact side of his cab that Vincent saw, and she also buys him a red jacket and ring that match the objects and things which Vincent remembers the evening his wife was murdered,

After Emmanuelle Béart (Alice), was able to get Roger passed out in the cab after they’ve made love, she makes sure that the cab is found near where Vincent hangs out, and he, of course notices everything that Alice wants him to notice, to think he’s found the killer of his wife.

Then, Vincent subsequently pushes Roger’s (Keite’sl) car into the Hudson, with the hope that Roger, (Keite)l, drowns, not before having his friends beat Roger to a pulp and dumping him in the car’s trunk before rolling it into the River.

By forcing Vincent to encounter Roger, Alice through inventing and then framing a culprit, releases Vincent from his past so she can stay and be with him.

After she, Vincent, and the cop, all think that Keitel’s character, Roger, has drowned—he has not.

In the meantime, Norman feels attached to the world again, and takes renewed enthusiasm for having Alice as his girlfriend and vice-verse.

Except for one minor detail.

Roger, Keitel’s character didn’t die during Alice’s escapades and dangerous set-up. As viewers, we do constantly wonder if Roger is the culprit, or the fool, or both–because he projects mystery, danger and darkness–generally speaking he’s a messed up loner.

I thought Keitel’s performance was good, because he was who he was, a man living in a world that long had passed him by. His character seemed authentic, as he escorted Alice from one strange club to another.

Vincent’s role was subdued but emotionally believable, as he portrayed a life not of his choice; but of a choice that was put upon him by circumstance, and his character never seemed uncomfortable or out-of-place.

It’s Emmanuelle Béart’s portrayal of Alice, that was the much more complicated role, and her acting was suited enough for the role because of how the script was written–more so than probably her acting–although, her ability to convincingly exist in a duality–caught between Vincent and Norman–was handled by her with passing finesse; where another actress might be more squeamish caught in such a dangerous bind.

Nonetheless, when Norman returns to confront Alice, she confesses the Crime to him, and we expect him to kill her, but he just wants to run away with her and start a new life, because as he says in the movie, “Hey what’s better than having a fresh start, especially when everyone thinks your dead.”

Well, soon enough, he’ll get his wish as Alice still sees him and feels trapped between 2 worlds–Keitel’s character, (Roger’s), and the object of her affection, Reedus’, Vincent.

Sooner or later, we know the end will either be bad for Alice or good–and in the end, as Roger and Alice were parked in a cab after an evening making love and drinking, Alice’s character, Emmanuelle Béart, impales Roger in the back seat of the car with a steel pipe that she grabbed from a nearby fence, while Roger was sleeping in the back and murders him.

The movie’s methodical rhythm, the characters’ ability to interact with one another with a modicum of emotive feeling, and the undertow of danger, make the movie worth watching.

Although the movie takes place in Brooklyn, New York, the setting and the characters–especially Emmanuelle Béart’s portrayal of the doe eyed girl with the far away look–make the location, the lives, and the ways in which the characters live, often resemble a cathartic impression and glimpse into a group of people with collective ennui–who are all now involved, in one way or another, in “A Crime.”

But in the end, we come away somewhat satiated with a closure that we don’t see coming, and a plot that’s highly original, but as well, highly saturated in fiction more so than in real life.

The term “Burned” is coined by those in the intelligence services when they have been unknowingly discharged without notice as a secret agent or operative for unknown reasons, and all of their personal history is erased along with all of their known records in the process.

They are left with no money, no credit, no job history, and whatever city that’s been decided to have been left in.

In Michael Westen’s case, he’s left in Miami, where he grew up, and where both his mom as played by Sharon Gless, (Madeleine Westen), and his brother Nate played by Seth Peterson, happen to live.

The other main characters that make this series such a guilty pleasure are Gabrielle Anwar, as Fiona Glenanne, a beautiful and sexy former IRA operative and Westen’s ex-girlfriend.

A large part of the emotional and melodramatic interplay is their complicated relationship—both when they’re working together to discover who “burned” Michael Westen along with the side jobs they take on to help ordinary citizens from various nefarious characters like drug dealers, arms and drug traffickers, gangs, kidnappers and a slew of other types of criminal miscreants.

Westen’s ability to go “undercover” at any given moment using a multitude of various archetype characters–a simpleton janitor, a high end car fence gang head, or a multi-national terrorist rogue–Donovon’s, Weston, pulls off the high-stakes flim-flam with uber-talent and panache. And for good reason, it’s not only his “job,” but his and others lives at stake while he does so.

Michael and Fiona have a sizzling chemistry always boiling beneath the surface as Fiona still loves Michael, and probably the reverse, but the combination of their dangerous lives along with Michael’s impenetrable detachment from ever having a “normal” relationship, always keeps their pot from boiling over.

Sharon Gless, who plays Michael’s mom, Madeleine Westen, is at times part irritant, helper, adviser, psychologist and the overall kind of character that we come to not only like but also empathize with on many levels–she knows that Michael will never recover from his abuse as a child, and he will always be loyal to her and his brother, yet be forever psychologically disconnected– but at times receptive to her advice.

As the series progresses, Madeleine knows that Michael will never change and for reasons only he knows, he’ll always be drawn to the dangerous and mirrored world of espionage, but only as one of the “good guys.”

Lastly, the glue that holds the show together is the character Sam Axe, as played by actor Bruce Campbell. A former Navy Seal and ex-spy to the FBI on Westen, his character is always on the rebound to help Michael, Fiona, or Madeleine out of a jam.

His ties to the intelligence community at all times are helpful in Michael Westen’s quest to find out who and why he was burned, as well as part of their trio always helping an innocent citizen in their trials and tribulations in each episode, to escape from the clutches of a criminal who has them, or a loved one, fighting for their or another loved one’s survival.

His character is funny and as well professional, proving that Campbell too, knows his chops when it comes to the game of espionage and investigation. Frequently he uses the moniker, “Chuck Finley,” when having to do undercover work.

The series has many frequently used themes, most of them Michael’s ability to use any household or nearby item to improvise into a military, explosive or other device to help him out of a fix–cell phones, computers, fire extinguishers, duct tape,etc., which are among a never ending array of devices he’s been trained to use in a jam.

Donovon’s character, Michael Weston, is never at a loss to stay one step ahead of situations that seem almost impossible to which he’s either set-up or must escape from.

Another funny aspect to the show is how they name the various bad guy-good guy characters the moment that character is unveiled in an episode—if one of the character’s in an episode is a psychotic drug kingpin, then that name is immediately placed underneath the first glimpse of the character, creating a humorous and simple way of labeling people for maximum entertaining effect.

From episode to episode, Michael encounters people from both his past and his present that present what may seem opportunities for him to get closer to find out who burned him, or who are just out to get him for a myriad of reasons—a lot having to do with his black ops and secret agent past.

A new character that’s been introduced in season 3 is another “Burned” spy named Colby Bell, as played by Jesse Porter, whom Michael mistakenly burned out of ignorance, and now their working relationship is strained yet sustainable and professional.

Overall, with the series setting in Miami, the action packed into each episode, the dynamics between each and all the characters and the rouge’s rogues’ list of characters from episode to episode, Burn Notice makes for a delicious hour of fantasy which has just been renewed for a series 5 and 6.

Without the underling character dynamics that Burn Notice’s actors have successfully developed, and have been able to convey in an action packed series that are symbolic of real life complex interrelationships, Burn Notice might not be as good as it is. But with this brilliant cast, it’s a no-brainer show that’s full of fun and excitement in each and every one of its episodes.

But during the 80’s, the band, three time Grammy winner, Los Lobos (The Wolves), changed all that. And they did so by staying true to their Latino roots, by combining their blend of Tex-Mex, Rock and Roll, Country, Folk, and Blues influences. And of course, their music was original, hip, and drew a mixed following across all music genres.

Another facet which played an important component of the band’s success, is that they were never flashy, they stayed true to their East Los Angeles roots by continuing to both live and practice there, and up to the present, their unique brand of music still plays homage to their Mexican – Latino culture in their songs.

Even though Los Lobos creativity has never stopped since they first started recording, they’ve shifted their reach through live performances at clubs and via touring, and use the Internet to reach their continued diverse audience.

Through their touring via clubs and playing in concerts alongside bands and performers including Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and the Grateful Dead, their music is as vibrant and diverse as ever. Also, they’ve just released their most recent album in over four years entitled, Tin Can Bust.

Los Lobos recorded soundtracks for both movies and shows including The Sopranos, Desperado, and I’m not There.

The members of the group include David Hidalgo -vocals, guitar, accordion, and fiddle; Louie Pérez – vocals, guitar, and drums; Cesar Rosas -vocals and guitar; Conrad Lozano –vocals and bass, and Steve Berlin on keyboards and horns.

More than three decades have passed since Los Lobos released their debut album, Just Another Band from East L.A. Since then they’ve repeatedly disproven that title—Los Lobos isn’t “just another” anything, but rather a band that has consistently evolved artistically while never losing sight of their humble roots.

Their discography consists of albums and songs that explore a variety of musical genres and dedications to various musicians and bands including Fats Domino and the Grateful Dead.

But during their entire career, they have continued to record Latin based songs that endear them to their community and to their fan base,.

They’re well known for their homage to Ritchie Valens, with their re-recording of the smash hit, La Bamba.

Here’s their performance of one of their breakthrough songs, “Don’t Worry Baby:”

Photos courtesy of The Huffington Post and Amazon.

Along with the other annual nominations by the American Film Institute–which has already announced its choices–the Film Critics Association, the Spirit Awards and soon to be Academy Award nominations .

This morning, the Screen Actors Guild otherwise better known for its acronym. (“SAG,”) has also announced its nominations.

SAG is the only televised awards show to exclusively honor actors by actors. The 17^th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Sunday, January 30^th, 2011 at 8:00pm(ET), 7:00pm(CT), 6:00pm(MT) and 5:00pm(PT) from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.

Along with SAG being solely a peer to peer actors voting nationwide, it annually presents thirteen awards for acting in film and television.

Two randomly selected panels of 2100 SAG members each from across the United States choose the nominees for television and motion pictures. The final ballot then goes out to the full guild membership — approximately 100,000 members — who select the outstanding performances of the year.

SAG also sponsors contribute to the literacy of children in their communities through BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools), its online component, Storyline and the We The Children family-heritage book-writing project ,along with a myriad of other worthy projects which assist both the general community as well.

SAG’S 2011 Nominations

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

• JEFF BRIDGES / Rooster Cogburn – “TRUE GRIT” (Paramount Pictures)
• ROBERT DUVALL / Felix Bush – "GET LOW” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• JESSE EISENBERG / Mark Zuckerberg – "THE SOCIAL NETWORK" (Columbia Pictures)
• COLIN FIRTH / King George VI – "THE KING’S SPEECH" (The Weinstein Company)
• JAMES FRANCO / Aron Ralston – "127 HOURS" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

• ANNETTE BENING / Nic – "THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT” (Focus Features)
• NICOLE KIDMAN / Becca – “RABBIT HOLE” (Lionsgate)
• JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Ree Dolly – “WINTER’S BONE” (Roadside Attractions)
• NATALIE PORTMAN / Nina Sayers – “BLACK SWAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• HILARY SWANK / Betty Anne Waters – “CONVICTION” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

• CHRISTIAN BALE / Dicky Eklund – “THE FIGHTER” (Paramount Pictures)
• JOHN HAWKES / Teardrop – “WINTER’S BONE” (Roadside Attractions)
• JEREMY RENNER / James Coughlin – “THE TOWN” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• MARK RUFFALO / Paul – “THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT” (Focus Features)
• GEOFFREY RUSH / Lionel Logue – “THE KING’S SPEECH” (The Weinstein Company)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

• AMY ADAMS / Charlene Fleming – “THE FIGHTER” (Paramount Pictures)
• HELENA BONHAM CARTER / Queen Elizabeth – “THE KING’S SPEECH” (The Weinstein Company)
• MILA KUNIS / Lily – “BLACK SWAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• MELISSA LEO / Alice Ward – “THE FIGHTER” (Paramount Pictures)
• HAILEE STEINFELD / Mattie Ross – “TRUE GRIT” (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

BLACK SWAN (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

• VINCENT CASSEL / Thomas Leroy
• BARBARA HERSHEY / Erica Sayers
• MILA KUNIS / Lily
• NATALIE PORTMAN / Nina Sayers
• WINONA RYDER / Beth Macintyre

THE FIGHTER (Paramount Pictures)

• AMY ADAMS / Charlene Fleming
• CHRISTIAN BALE / Dicky Eklund
• MELISSA LEO / Alice Ward
• JACK MCGEE / George Ward
• MARK WAHLBERG / Micky Ward

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (Focus Features)

• ANNETTE BENING / Nic
• JOSH HUTCHERSON / Laser
• JULIANNE MOORE / Jules
• MARK RUFFALO / Paul
• MIA WASIKOWSKA / Joni

THE KING’S SPEECH (The Weinstein Company)

• ANTHONY ANDREWS / Stanley Baldwin
• HELENA BONHAM CARTER / Queen Elizabeth
• JENNIFER EHLE / Myrtle Logue
• COLIN FIRTH / King George VI
• MICHAEL GAMBON / King George V
• DEREK JACOBI / Archbishop Cosmo Lang
• GUY PEARCE / King Edward VIII
• GEOFFREY RUSH / Lionel Logue
• TIMOTHY SPALL / Winston Churchill

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (Columbia Pictures)

• JESSE EISENBERG / Mark Zuckerberg
• ANDREW GARFIELD / Eduardo Saverin
• ARMIE HAMMER / Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss
• MAX MINGHELLA / Divya Narendra
• JOSH PENCE / Tyler Winklevoss
• JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE / Sean Parker

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

• JOHN GOODMAN / Neal Nicol – “YOU DON’T KNOW JACK” (HBO)
• AL PACINO / Jack Kevorkian – “YOU DON’T KNOW JACK” (HBO)
• DENNIS QUAID / Bill Clinton – “THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP” (HBO)
• ÉDGAR RAMÍREZ / Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, aka ‘Carlos’ – “CARLOS” (Sundance Channel)
• PATRICK STEWART / Macbeth – “MACBETH (GREAT PERFORMANCES)” (Thirteen/PBS)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

• CLAIRE DANES / Temple Grandin – “TEMPLE GRANDIN” (HBO)
• CATHERINE O’HARA / Aunt Ann – “TEMPLE GRANDIN” (HBO)
• JULIA ORMOND / Eustacia Grandin – “TEMPLE GRANDIN” (HBO)
• WINONA RYDER / Lois Wilson – “WHEN LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH: THE LOIS WILSON STORY” (CBS)
• SUSAN SARANDON / Janet Good – “YOU DON’T KNOW JACK” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

• STEVE BUSCEMI / Nucky Thompson – “BOARDWALK EMPIRE” (HBO)
• BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
• MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan – “DEXTER” (SHOWTIME)
• JON HAMM / Don Draper – “MAD MEN” (AMC)
• HUGH LAURIE / Dr. Gregory House – “HOUSE” (FOX)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

• GLENN CLOSE / Patty Hewes – “DAMAGES” (FX)
• MARISKA HARGITAY / Det. Olivia Benson – “LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT” (NBC)
• JULIANNA MARGULIES / Alicia Florrick – “THE GOOD WIFE” (CBS)
• ELISABETH MOSS / Peggy Olson – “MAD MEN” (AMC)
• KYRA SEDGWICK / Dep. Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson – “THE CLOSER” (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

• ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
• TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
• STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott – “THE OFFICE” (NBC)
• CHRIS COLFER / Kurt Hummel – “GLEE” (FOX)
• ED O’NEILL / Jay Pritchett – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

• EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton – “NURSE JACKIE” (Showtime)
• TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
• JANE LYNCH / Sue Sylvester – “GLEE” (FOX)
• SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
• BETTY WHITE / Elka Ostrovsky – “HOT IN CLEVELAND” (TV Land)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)

• STEVE BUSCEMI / Nucky Thompson
• DABNEY COLEMAN / Commodore Louis Kaestner
• PAZ DE LA HUERTA / Lucy Danzinger
• STEPHEN GRAHAM / Al Capone
• ANTHONY LACIURA / Eddie Kessler
• KELLY MACDONALD / Margaret Schroeder
• GRETCHEN MOL / Gillian Darmody
• ALESKA PALLADINO / Angela Darmody
• VINCENT PIAZZA / Lucky Luciano
• MICHAEL PITT / Jimmy Darmody
• MICHAEL SHANNON / Agent Nelson Van Alden
• PAUL SPARKS / Mickey Doyle
• MICHAEL STUHLBARG / Arnold Rothstein
• SHEA WHIGHAM / Sheriff Elias Thompson

THE CLOSER (TNT)

• G.W. BAILEY / Det. Lt. Provenza
• MICHAEL PAUL CHAN / Lt. Mike Tao
• RAYMOND CRUZ / Det. Julio Sanchez
• JONATHAN DEL ARCO / Dr. Morales
• TONY DENISON / Lt. Andy Flynn
• ROBERT GOSSETT / Commander Taylor
• PHILLIP P. KEENE / Buzz
• COREY REYNOLDS / Sgt. David Gabriel
• KYRA SEDGWICK / Dep. Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson
• J.K. SIMMONS / Asst. Police Chief Will Pope
• JON TENNEY / FBI Special Agent Fritz Howard

DEXTER (Showtime)

• JENNIFER CARPENTER / Debra Morgan
• APRIL HERNANDEZ CASTILLO / Cira
• MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan
• DESMOND HARRINGTON / Joey Quinn
• MARIA DOYLE KENNEDY / Sonya
• C.S. LEE / Vince Masuka
• JONNY LEE MILLER / Jordan Chase
• JAMES REMAR / Harry Morgan
• JULIA STILES / Lumen Pierce
• LAUREN VELEZ / Lt. Maria Laguerta
• PETER WELLER / Liddy
• DAVID ZAYAS / Sgt. Angel Batista

THE GOOD WIFE (CBS)

• CHRISTINE BARANSKI / Diane Lockhart
• JOSH CHARLES / Will Gardner
• ALAN CUMMING / Eli Gold
• MATT CZUCHRY / Cary Agos
• JULIANNA MARGULIES / Alicia Florrick
• ARCHIE PANJABI / Kalinda Sharma
• GRAHAM PHILLIPS / Zach Florrick
• MAKENZIE VEGA / Grace Florrick

MAD MEN (AMC)

• CARA BUONO / Faye Miller
• JON HAMM / Don Draper
• JARED HARRIS / Lane Pryce
• CHRISTINA HENDRICKS / Joan Harris
• JANUARY JONES / Betty Francis (Draper)
• VINCENT KARTHEISER / Pete Campbell
• MATT LONG / Joey Baird
• ROBERT MORSE / Bert Cooper
• ELISABETH MOSS / Peggy Olson
• JESSICA PARÉ / Megan Calvet
• KIERNAN SHIPKA / Sally Draper
• JOHN SLATTERY / Roger Sterling
• RICH SOMMER / Harry Crane
• CHRISTOPHER STANLEY / Henry Francis
• AARON STATON / Ken Cosgrove

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

30 ROCK (NBC)

• SCOTT ADSIT / Pete Hornberger
• ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy
• KATRINA BOWDEN / Cerie
• KEVIN BROWN / Dotcom
• GRIZZ CHAPMAN / Grizz
• TINA FEY / Liz Lemon
• JUDAH FRIEDLANDER / Frank Rossitano
• JANE KRAKOWSKI / Jenna Maroney
• JOHN LUTZ / Lutz
• JACK MCBRAYER / Kenneth Parcell
• TRACY MORGAN / Tracy Jordan
• MAULIK PANCHOLY / Jonathan
• KEITH POWELL / Toofer

GLEE (FOX)

• MAX ADLER / Dave Karofsky
• DIANNA AGRON / Quinn Fabray
• CHRIS COLFER / Kurt Hummel
• JANE LYNCH / Sue Sylvester
• JAYMA MAYS / Emma Pillsbury
• KEVIN MCHALE / Arty Abrams
• LEA MICHELE / Rachel Berry
• CORY MONTEITH / Finn Hudson
• HEATHER MORRIS / Brittany Pierce
• MATTHEW MORRISON / Will Schuester
• MIKE O’MALLEY / Burt Hummel
• AMBER RILEY / Mercedes
• NAYA RIVERA / Santana Lopez
• MARK SALLING / Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman
• HARRY SHUM JR. / Mike Chang
• IQBAL THEBA / Principal Figgins
• JENNA USHKOWITZ / Tina

HOT IN CLEVELAND (TV Land)

• VALERIE BERTINELLI / Melanie Moretti
• JANE LEEVES / Joy Scroggs
• WENDIE MALICK / Victoria Chase
• BETTY WHITE / Elka Ostrovsky

MODERN FAMILY (ABC)

• JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy
• TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy
• JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell Pritchett
• NOLAN GOULD / Luke Dunphy
• SARAH HYLAND / Haley Dunphy
• ED O’NEILL / Jay Pritchett
• RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny Delgado
• ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker
• SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
• ARIEL WINTER / Alex Dunphy

THE OFFICE (NBC)

• LESLIE DAVID BAKER / Stanley Hudson
• BRIAN BAUMGARTNER / Kevin Malone
• CREED BRATTON / Creed Bratton
• STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott
• JENNA FISCHER / Pam Beesly Halpert
• KATE FLANNERY / Meredith Palmer
• ED HELMS / Andy Bernard
• MINDY KALING / Kelly Kapoor
• ELLIE KEMPER / Erin Hannon
• ANGELA KINSEY / Angela Martin
• JOHN KRASINSKI / Jim Halpert
• PAUL LIEBERSTEIN / Toby Flenderson
• B.J. NOVAK / Ryan Howard
• OSCAR NUÑEZ / Oscar Martinez
• CRAIG ROBINSON / Daryll Philbin
• PHYLLIS SMITH / Phyllis Lapin-Vance
• RAINN WILSON / Dwight Schrute
• ZACH WOODS / Gabe Lewis

SAG HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

• GREEN ZONE (Universal Pictures)
• INCEPTION (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• ROBIN HOOD (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series

• BURN NOTICE (USA)
• CSI: NY (CBS)
• DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
• SOUTHLAND (TNT)
• TRUE BLOOD (HBO)

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Screen Actors Guild Awards 47th Annual Life Achievement Award:  Ernest Borgnine

And there you have it.  Who do you think will win?

So which actors who do you think will win the various categories? We look forward to your predictions by posting them in our comments section below!

Well, after watching several episodes, I’m a fan of the show. I enjoy its human interactions, human v Zombie conflicts, and the infrequent moments of quiet and calm.

Even more interesting for me is how the few living learn how to hone their wits to survive from one moment to the next.

At times, it does seem unreal and unthinkably bizarre to contemplate the events that are part of the plot, but I think that that’s the beauty of this particular series. It takes you into a dark place where you begin to identify with the non-Zombies, and their fight for survival.

The Walking Dead series is based on Robert Kirkman’s popular graphic novel about a zombie apocalypse. When cop Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) wakes from a coma, the world has changed completely–with most of humanity turned into “Dead Walkers."

The story is basic: an epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV.

The Sheriff Rick Grimes, finds himself among one of the few survivors in this terrifying future. A couple months previously, he was a small town cop who had never fired a shot and only ever saw one dead body.

Separated from his family, he must now sort through all the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son.

In a world ruled by the dead, they are forced to finally begin living. In every episode, there’s always danger lurking, times of serenity, brutal violence, and the lead protagonists of Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) as the Alpha males protecting the clan.

The Walking Dead is centered around Rick Grimes, a small-town police officer from Cynthiana, Kentucky, his family, and a number of other survivors who have banded together in order to survive after the world is overrun with zombies.

As the series progresses, the characters become more developed, and their personalities shift under the stress of a zombie apocalypse, most notably Rick’s.

In the beginning of the series, Rick and partner Shane are in a gunfight and Rick is shot and enters a coma. Upon waking in a hospital, he discovers the undead are in the building and town.

Rick returns home and shortly decides to go to Atlanta, where the survivors were told to await help, to find his wife Lori and son Carl. He discovers the city is crowded with zombies and bumps into Glenn, a scavenger for a band of survivors.

Following Glenn, Rick discovers Lori and Carl are okay along with Shane, who is less than happy that his former partner has returned. He also meets new survivors.

The Walking Dead are attracted to humans in several ways–noise, sight, smell, light, and happenstance. Essentially, from the beginning episode, up until the most recent, the various small roving small teams of survivors must learn how to cope with and survive with all the tenacity and cunning that they can muster.

That’s because if you’re bit by a Walking Dead, you’ll turn into one as well.

So to protect themselves, they’re either shooting the Zombies in the head, or dispatching of them via baseball bats and other sundry items.

On a deeper level, the Walking Dead is about hope and the belief in man’s camaraderie; but why that has to take place during a Zombie apocalypse is always the rub–but sometimes the best in man is brought out in his darkest hours.

The rest of the cast includes, Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes), Laurie Holden (Andrea), Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale), Steven Yeun (Glenn), Emma Bell(Amy) and Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes).

Not surprisingly, the opening debut of The Walking Dead attracted approximately 5.3 million viewers.

It will be interesting to see how and in which ways the survivors are able to keep alive, let alone keep going with the majority of the world now mindless and full of millions of rather dense Zombies because in this series, the world is full of them.

It is suggested as a fitting place to stage large national events, such as the Super Bowl, Final Four, etc. July 2010, reports in the Los Angeles media, states that lobbyists for AEG has contacted members of the California state legislature in hopes of gaining Environmental Exceptions, just like the City of Industry stadium, for a new stadium in the L.A. Live! Area.

The proposed new LA Live Stadium would have a retractable-roof venue, which would be part of an expansion and upgrade of the Los Angeles’ Convention Center, and would sit on the site of the center’s West Hall near the Staples Center.

However, there’s a plethora of sites in the CRA redevelopment areas that can be considered as a starting point for concept and initial vision, which could be part of an overall strategy to eventual movement from want and desire to change and execution that would bring back the Los Angeles Rams and create jobs, revenue, income and a time and place where the concept will help us in these tough times.

For technical details on how we could finance and build this without spending an inordinate or even high taxpayer funded basis, look no further than the success of Stapes Center which started out as a public-private partnership to many advanced concepts including 100% direct investment, subdividing the complex, pre-selling corporate and season luxury and other suites, and a plethora of creative financing.

Well, it looks like some very smart people are listening–Tim Leiweke — a former Denver sports executive who now runs Philip Anschutz’s sports and entertainment business — wants to build a $1 billion downtown Los Angeles football stadium in time to host the 50^th Super Bowl.

They are willing to put up a billion dollars of private money to do so, develop a football stadium that would have a retractable roof as part of the expansion of the LA Convention Center, and create a centralized home for the Lakers, the Kings the Clippers and hopefully a new LA Football team.

As we presciently pointed out in our story, Let’s Bring NFL Football Back to Los Angeles, Travelin’ Local is a leading proponent of bringing back NFL Football to Los Angeles. We’re confident that that will help help save our city’s finances and long term budgetary health–while creating a viable and superb sports, entertainment, and mixed use mega-complex for the people of our great city.

Not to mention that we’ll finally get to have an NFL team back where we should never have lost one.

It’s about time we take action away from the bureaucrats and take matters into our own hands!

To read more about possible plans: Anschutz entertainment chief eyes downtown L.A. football stadium

Slider photo courtesy of time.com, and LA Live courtesy of skyscraperpage.com

Although the band was formed years earlier, their impact could not have been more thunderous than an explosion in the middle of the night.

The band, formed in the Long Beach Area of southern Los Angeles, was sadly a shooting star– just as its commercial success was hitting a critical mass–due to their extremely unique mixture of ska, hip-hop, rock, blues, and rap–their lead singer and guitarist, Bradley Nowell, died prematurely of a heroin overdose, right before their commercial high point rocketed through the music world.

Sublime also consisted of fellow band members, Bud Gaugh, who played drums and percussion and fellow band mate, Eric Wilson on Bass Guitar.

Sublime’s other hit songs have forever endured them to the musical community of the world as a one of a kind band.

As of 2009, Sublime has sold over 17 million albums worldwide, including about 10 million in the US alone. Along with Green Day, The Offspring, and Rancid, Sublime is credited with helping to revive mainstream popular interest in punk rock in the United States in the mid-1990s.

Although some remaining band members still perform under a similar name–Sublime was and is a band that is much beloved. As they imbued a mixture of urban, surf, cool, and multi-culture, they also paved the way for many other bands, of different genres, even up to the present.

“And the Sublime style’s is still straight from Long Beach……………………”

But as the time honored tradition forever continues, the Big 3 Networks, and the Cable T.V. heavy weights (now holding a majority of the top Emmy spots), the New Fall TV Shows have been rolled out already, or are soon to be revealed on-air.

Which one’s will curry favor, ratings, and be renewed is anybody’s guess; I assume that it’s a pastime for executives in the television and cable industries.

Welcome, Fall TV Season, already in progress. Despite myself, and knowing that you will let me down at least as much as you might lift me up, I must admit that the big billboards heralding your big new shows raised in me a childlike rush of anticipation.

I notice that you are especially full of cops and lawyers this year — and superheroes, detectives and spies — which means you are also full of criminals. What is up with that, Fall Season? Is it the climate of fear engendered by opportunistic pundits and politicians? Or are you just out of breath for the moment, falling back on what you know, and on Jerry Bruckheimer?

Still, I hope for the best. We are all in this together. Source: LA Times

In any case, here’s a list of the New Fall TV Shows, from the traditional media as well as from cable. In alphabetical order, here they are:

Better with You (ABC)

Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 22, 8:30/7:30c

Sisters Maddie (Jennifer Finnigan), a high-strung attorney, and Mia (Privileged‘s JoAnna Garcia), a free-spirited "inventor," are fundamentally different. Maddie lives with, but has not married, Ben (Josh Cooke), her boyfriend of nine years. "It’s a valid life choice," she repeats throughout the pilot. Mia, on the other hand, has just agreed to marry Casey (Jake Lacy), her boyfriend of seven-and-a-half weeks. Kurt Fuller and Debra Jo Rupp play the girls’ quirky parents.

Blue Bloods (CBS):

Premieres: Friday, Sept. 24, Fridays, 10/9c

Crime-fighting meets family squabbling in this procedural about the Reagans, a multigenerational clan of New York cops. Frank (Tom Selleck), is the chief of police, just like his dad was. Frank’s eldest son, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), is a gruff detective and Iraq War vet; his youngest son, Jamie (Will Estes) is a rookie cop fresh out of the academy. Bridget Moynahan rounds out the testosterone-heavy cast as Frank’s daughter, Erin, an assistant district attorney and single mom.

Boardwalk Empire (HBO: Premieres: Friday, Sept. 24, Fridays, 10/9c

Crime-fighting meets family squabbling in this procedural about the Reagans, a multigenerational clan of New York cops. Frank (Tom Selleck), is the chief of police, just like his dad was. Frank’s eldest son, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), is a gruff detective and Iraq War vet; his youngest son, Jamie (Will Estes) is a rookie cop fresh out of the academy. Bridget Moynahan rounds out the testosterone-heavy cast as Frank’s daughter, Erin, an assistant district attorney and single mom.

Body of Proof (ABC) Premieres: TBD, Fridays at 9/8c

Dr. Megan Hunt (Desperate Housewives‘ Dana Delany) plays a feisty neurosurgeon whose career ends after a car accident. She takes a job as a medical examiner in Philadelphia, where she helps cops solve murders by "reading the body."

Chase (NBC): Premieres: Monday, Sept. 20 at 10/9c

Kelli Giddish stars as a tough-talkin’ U.S. marshal in this adrenalized action series from Jerry Bruckheimer.

The Defenders (CBS): Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 22, 10/9c

Nick Morelli (Jim Belushi) and Pete Kaczmarek (Jerry O’Connell) are colorful Las Vegas defense attorneys who risk it all for their clients in this legal dramedy (think Boston Legal). Co-starring Tanya Fischer as the firm’s colorful assistant, Sophie, and Jurnee Smollett as a new associate who paid his law-school tuition by stripping.

Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC):  Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 10/9c

Michael Imperioli stars as a respected but misunderstood homicide detective. In the style of Southland the show follows the cops as they police the streets of Detroit, the city with the country’s highest murder rate. Jon Michael Hill, James McDaniel, Aisha Hinds, and Natalie Martinez also star.

The Event (NBC): Premieres: Monday, Sept. 20 at 9/8c

A presidential assassination attempt, a missing person and a CIA cover-up are among the events that are included in the subject of this mystery thriller’s title.

Hawaii Five-0 (CBS):  Premieres: Monday, Sept. 20 at 10/9c

This action-packed remake of the hit procedural stars Alex O’Loughlin as Steve McGarrett, a detective who heads back to the Aloha State to investigate his father’s murder. The governor (Jean Smart) enlists him to form an elite task force, which includes Detective Danny "Danno" Williams (Scott Caan), Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim) and Chin’s cousin, surfer-turned-cop Kona (Grace Park). You’ll recognize the theme song.

Hellcats (CW): Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 8, 9/8c

Marti Perkins (Aly Michalka) wants to go to law school, but she’s flat broke. So the amateur dancer reluctantly applies for a cheerleading scholarship to help pay her tuition. Ashley Tisdale (the High School Musical flicks) co-stars as Marti’s prim roommate Savannah. Smallville‘s Tom Welling executive-produces.

Law & Order: Los Angeles (NBC): Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 10/9c

I think by now we all know the premise. Nevertheless, NBC promises that this won’t be your grandfather’s Law & Order, as it’ll feature a comely, youthful cast squeezed between that signature sound effect. First up: Skeet Ulrich has signed on in one of the detective roles.

Lone Star (Fox): Premieres: Monday, Sept. 20 at 9/8c

Newcomer James Wolk stars as a Texas con man who, as Bob Taylor, has a wife in Houston (Adrianne Palicki) and, as Robert Allen, a girlfriend in Midland (Eloise Mumford). Robert/Bob navigates this double life with a precision (two wallets, two cellphones) he learned from his con-man dad (the always solid David Keith), but is always worried that his blustery oil magnate father-in-law (Jon Voight) will discover his secret.

Mike & Molly (CBS): Premieres: Monday, Sept. 20 at 9:30/8:30c

Chicago cop Mike (Billy Gardell) and schoolteacher Molly (Melissa McCarthy) meet at an Overeaters Anonymous group. Their attraction is instant.

My Generation (ABC):  Premieres: Thursday, Sept. 23, 8/7c

In 2000, a documentary film crew follows a group of Austin, Texas, high school students just as they’re graduating. When they revisit the same classmates 10 years later, guess what? They’ve changed!

Nikita (CW): Premieres: Thursday, Sept. 9, 9/8c

Maggie Q (Mission: Impossible 3) plays the titular assassin, who wants to bring down a secret government program that turns at-risk youth into killers.

No Ordinary Family (ABC):  Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 8/7c

Jim and Stephanie Powell (The Shield‘s Michael Chiklis and Dexter‘s Julie Benz) are an average couple who, along with their kids, develop some "super" abilities when a family vacation ends with a plane crash in the Amazon River. Romany Malco and Autumn Reeser co-star.

Outlaw (NBC): Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 10/9c

Supreme Court Justice Cyrus Garza (Jimmy Smits) suddenly resigns when he realizes the system is flawed. The playboy and gambler returns to private practice to help the little guys take on the system.

Outsourced (NBC):  Premieres: Thursday, Sept. 23 at 9:30/8:30c

An American (newcomer Ben Rappaport) moves to India to run a call center for a novelty company. There, ethnic stereotypes — both Indian and American — are challenged.

Raising Hope (Fox): Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 9/8c

The significantly named Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff) becomes a single dad at 23 when a one-night stand announces she’s pregnant and will be unable to care for the baby. Martha Plimpton, Garret Dillahunt and Cloris Leachman co-star.

Running Wilde (Fox): Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 9:30/8:30c

Emotionally stunted rich guy Steve Wilde (Will Arnett) desperately tries to impress his childhood crush Emmy (Keri Russell), who’s now an uber-liberal humanitarian with a 12-year-old daughter who doesn’t speak.

Secret Millionaire (ABC):  Premieres: TBD, Fridays at 8/7c

Wealthy people go undercover in some of the most dangerous communities in the country to find the unsung heroes who help those in need on this reality show. At the end of a week, they reveal their identity and donate $100,000 to deserving individuals and organizations.

S#*! My Dad Says (CBS): Premieres: Thursday, Sept. 23 at 8:30/7:30c

Ed (William Shatner), a politically incorrect curmudgeon, harangues his youngest son, Henry in this Twitter feed-turned-sitcom. MadTV vets Will Sasso and Nicole Sullivan co-star.

Top Chef: Just Desserts (Bravo):  Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 11/10c

Top Chef judge Gail Simmons hosts this competitive culinary spin-off in which pastry chefs compete in a series of dessert challenges. Famed pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini serves as head judge.

Undercovers (NBC): Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 8/7c

Think Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the TV show. Married former spies (Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw) get back in the family business together in the J.J. Abrams-produced action series.

The Whole Truth (ABC): Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 10/9c

Rob Morrow and Maura Tierney star in this legal drama which examines a case from both the defense and prosecution’s perspectives.

Sources: TV Guide, LA Times, Variety and all of the TV and Cable Network channels listed.

Whew! That’s a lot of new shows to watch.

It makes me wonder how much is spent and lost until the shakeout occurs to find the few that will make the cut and be picked up.

As it’s been bandied about, entertainment choices have never been greater for the consumer, so to all the competitors, we say:

Let the Games Begin!

And please don’t make us watch shows that we need a script to figure out its plot, and here’s “the” final comment for all those producers who had the brilliant idea to remake the Hawaii Five-0 series.

Don’t you recall how great the old Hawaii Five-0 series is — and why in heaven’s name, would you, could you, and why did you contemplate for a moment to so-call “remake” the pure original genius of the original television show series that was, and will only be a one-of-a-kind and inimitable classic?

Although this year they’re next to last place in Major League Baseball’s National Western League standings, going to Dodger Stadium has and will always be a time honored tradition here.

Despite the last decade’s ups and downs, the Dodger owners, McCourt’s divorce saga, and Manny Ramirerz’s disappointing performance, we still bleed Dodger Blue.

Although it was first launched a few months ago with little fanfare, Metro introduced a great new service for all Dodger fans–the Dodger Roundtripper Station to Stadium Shuttle. Now you can park your automobile at either the Metro Rail Chinatown or Union Station, hop on the Shuttle and go to the ballpark.

Although Chavez Ravine, and Dodger Stadium never lose their innate charm and beauty, going back and forth to the Dodger Stadium parking lot may not be the best experience because of traffic or perhaps you’ve had one too many; but more importantly many Dodger Fans don’t drive or opt not to.

Patrons can board the shuttle at Union Station’s Patsaouras Transit Plaza. The shuttle will travel west, taking Elysian Park through Gate A and dropping fans off at a specially designated stop in lot 13 of Dodger Stadium. Cost for the round trip is $2. Patrons using the Metro Gold Line can also catch a Dodger Shuttle Bus from the Chinatown Station. Metro passes are not accepted on the shuttle.

Buses will leave Union Station every 15 minutes or less from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Buses leaving the Metro Gold Line Chinatown Station will leave every 30 minutes. Return service from Dodger Stadium will begin no later than the top of the 8th inning. The last bus will leave 30 minutes after the last out, but no later than 11 p.m.

The Metro Rail system spans nearly 73.1 miles linking Long Beach, Norwalk, El Segundo, North Hollywood, Universal City, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Highland Park, Pasadena and all MTA operates the 17.4-mile Metro Red Line subway, the 22-mile Los Angeles to Long Beach Metro Blue Line, the 20-mile Norwalk to El Segundo Metro Green Line, and the 13.4-mile Metro Gold Line from Pasadena to Los Angeles as well as Metro Buses.

For information on the Dodger Roundtripper Station to Stadium Shuttle call 323-244-1-HIT.

During the early 2000’s, they had incredibly won four successive seasons.The team’s honors were accomplished because of the team’s devoted and versatile key players such as Chan Ho Park, Shawn Green, Adrian Beltre, and Paul Lo Duca.

For many of us growing up, we’ll never forget the great Dodger players like Sandy Koufax’ Don Drysdale, Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Kirk Gibson, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, Fernando Valenzuela, and Manny Mosa, among tens of dozens of great Dodger athletes that immediately come to mind.

After relocating from Brooklyn, NY, in 1958, the Dodgers won the Pennant in 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, and 1988; they were world Champions winning the World Series in 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981 and 1988.

Here’s a tribute video of the great Dodger teams, players and moments:

As stated in one of our previous stories, if you live in Los Angeles, and have never attended a Dodgers game, shame on you!

Better yet, with Metro buses now going to Dodger Stadium, there’s no longer an excuse for not going………………………………………….

Italian Neo-Realism began shortly after the end of the World War II, in a time where the country was struck by poverty and a difficult economical and political time. The feelings of the era were reflected in the subject matter and style of the Italian Neo-Realist film makers. As a reaction to the social, political and economic situation of the time, Italian Neo Realist film makers wanted to be realistic and gritty in their representations. Italian Neo-Realist film makers often shot predominantly on location, which resulted in film making being low cost as well as adding to the sense of realism to the movie. They also often used real people instead of actors in their movies, again to add to the sense of realism. Key themes of the Italian Neo-Realist movement are plots about ordinary poor neighborhoods and are often set in the countryside. Italian Neo-Realists wanted to portray ordinary lives in realistic settings and plots. Source: suite101.com

As if hiding reality is something new to current regimes in China, Russia, and other places, notwithstanding.

Ironically, it garnered an Academy Award and a New York Film Critic’s awards here after its release. As most arts follow a predecessor, as in making it new, this was the case with Neo-realism which led to the development of France’s New Wave of Cinema with its Cinema Verite form of camera and film point of view; as well as the plot and story being more realistic in terms of stylistic and individualistic storytelling.

Directed by Academy Award winning director Vittorio De Sica, Umberto D,’s (Umberto is played by Carlo Battisti, a university professor De Sica chose to be in his movie after a chance meeting on the streets of Rome.) plot is simple enough.

The film opens with a street demonstration at city hall. A group of retirees are staging a protest about their insufficient pensions and have gathered to demand an increase, but the protest was easily dispersed because they had no permit to protest.

Sounds eerily current, if not post-Neo realistic as our middle class here, is being pummeled into new lows and desperation.

As is the case with most seniors around the world, Umberto Domenico Ferrari (Carlo Battisti) is a retired civil servant living on a fixed income. His room is diminutive as is what he owns. Umberto is an elderly pensioner, faced with the prospect of his pension being reduced along with the rest of both his fellow workers as well as Italy’s economic depression following the war.

The rent for his room alone is equal to half his monthly pension and, even skipping meals or taking free meals now and then at a shelter, he is unable to get by. His only non-essential expense is his little dog, named Flike–but Flike is more than his best friend, Flike is his metaphor for hope and his ability to relate to the world.

Umberto has fallen behind in his rent and the unsympathetic landlady ,Antonia (Lina Gennari), would really prefer to evict him for non-payment then be paid, because she could rent out the room for twice what he pays under current rates. She has served notice to him that he will be thrown out at the end of the month. Umberto understands that any other available room in the city would cost twice what he now pays. If he is evicted, he will be homeless; for all intents and purposes his life would then mean nothing and he will be doomed.

Umberto struggles to avoid this final descent from grinding poverty into shame and humiliation. He returns to his room on one occasion to find it “in use” by a prostitute and her customer.

The landlady rents out both his room and the living room to such couples for additional income. Umberto must wait it out in the ant-infested kitchen in the house while the landlady leads a life of upward mobility. There, he at least has the companionship of his only human friend in the world, the landlady’s housekeeper, Maria (Maria-Pia Casilio). Maria is just age fifteen but confides in Umberto that she is three months pregnant.

Although sweet she’s also confused. The father of her pregnant child, is either a tall soldier from Florence or a short one from Naples. It matters little since neither intends to assume responsibility for her or the child.

He’s behind on his rent, while being terrorized by his landlady who rents out his room during the day as a brothel. As she demands from him 15,000 lire on a “take it or leave it” basis; Umberto knows that he cannot meet his obligation.

In the house, he has befriended the maid, but her own situation is just as perilous–she’s pregnant from either of 2 men, neither whom will commit to being the father, or to commit to her.

Umberto’s relation to the world and surroundings is stark, impersonal, and increasingly depressing. His only solace, and friendship, is with his dog–Flike.

He loves Flike unconditionally, and vice verse. His acquaintances and friends have no intent, desire, or ability to want to assist him and he knows that he’s faced with a grim future as he sells what little earthly possessions he has–a watch, and some books.

The stages by which Umberto arrives at the idea of suicide and then is drawn away from it are among the best in the film. His dog is central to the action–both because he will not abandon it by his own death, and because the dog refuses to leave his side.

It is the fact of the dog’s love that saves him, because he cannot ignore it. Umberto tries to leave Flike as he hides under a bridge, but the dog finds him, and again we’re reminded of the duality of his impoverished life; yet his genteel way of dealing with it.

Although much has been written about Umberto D because its not too sentimental, or it prevents us to feel sorry for the protagonist, the film is about the unconditional love between Umberto and Flike. There’s nothing wrong with empathy or sympathy according to this critic’s opinion.

Universally, the human condition forces most people to condition their approval toward their fellow man, based on class and income; and Flike’s love for Umberto, and Umberto’s love in return is as it should be.

We’re who we are, and if that’s not good enough, then we’ll hold our heads high and not give in to despair nor resign to failure.

And this is the ultimate success and brilliance of Umberto D.

Umberto D is a remastered remarkable work of filmmaking, and is part of the world famous Criterion Movie Collection.

California and Los Angeles are still in the throes of one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression, so it makes a lot of sense to explore an idea which has been bounced around so many times that most are sick to death of it—thus, we need to focus our resources and attention to the problem in a more disciplined manner.

So, what does bringing back an NFL Team to Los Angeles and our fiscal solvency have to do with one other?

Done correctly, with a minimum of tax dollars directly or indirectly, and minimizing the risk of issuing too many public bonds in financial support of both a team and a white elephant building, a mixed used complex can generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually which results in additional sales taxes, tourism, jobs, and growth.

This would be in the form, among other ways, to increase the tax base which provides for more money to schools, and other municipal services, it creates construction and permanent jobs, and with the right planning and concept—a complete destination complex built downtown or somewhere appropriate can be a boon to the city, and our finances.

The City of Los Angeles provides vital public services, those closest to home. And the City charter requires that the annual budget be balanced. So we face a simple but stark choice in closing an estimated $530 million budget deficit: deeply slash municipal services at the time when families and businesses need them most, while pushing thousands of city employees into unemployment?  Or seek fresh ways to live within our means? Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa

Notwithstanding our propensity to support our local Sports Teams,our dedication shown toward them, and our pride toward Los Angeles, proves that it’s a concept whose time has passed the point of ignoring the obvious—we need an NFL Team and complex.

We can afford to build it, the people here want it, we can expand the development to attract other entertainment venues, uses, and other business, and the economic development impact of this cannot be underestimated.

The days of the city taking on unmitigated risk and subsidizing entire sports stadiums and teams reached its Zenith last decade. However, since our entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial spirit, municipal leaders, and last but not least–all of the fans, are eager to both bring new life and attract new opportunities here in the form of an NFL team, why not?

We’ve already transitioned over the last 10 years, into a powerhouse that has attracted many different types of industries that weren’t here just a decade ago; so we have the track record to successfully make new things happen.

Los Angeles is now very much home to the high-tech, finance, fashion, motion pictures arts and sciences, music, medical research, law, education, digital entertainment, the culinary arts and foods, and other industries–so we’re a proven commodity.

History of the Rams

In 1946, the defending NFL champions, the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles.

The Rams played home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which had originally been built to host the 1932 Summer Olympic Games and which was also the home of the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins.

The Rams made history their first season in 1946, when they signed the NFL’s first African-American players since the early 1930s–former UCLA stars Kenny Washington and Woody Strode.

The Rams quickly became established as an NFL power, with top quarterbacks like Roman Gabriel and the legendary Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the 1960s.

After their owner Carroll Rosenbloom died on April 2, 1979, the ownership of the Rams was turned over to widow Georgia Frontiere. Seen as an opportunist by most, she seized upon the first serious opportunity to move the Rams to St. Louis in 1994.

The Rams were one of the most successful teams in NFL history and they set many NFL records that will most likely stand forever.

Since 1995: Major developments

Shortly after the Rams got the okay to move to St. Louis, the City of Los Angeles would be rocked again when the Raiders moved back to Oakland leaving the second largest television market without an NFL team. Immediately plans were made to bring an expansion team to the area. However squabbles among ownership groups and the city delayed plans, in 2002 the NFL was all set to return to Los Angeles, and had planned to award an expansion team to the city in 1999.

However the squabbling and the bickering had prevented the city from presenting a sturdy stadium plan for the new team and the NFL decided to award the expansion team to Houston who lost their team in 1996, but presented a much strong plan.

This left Los Angeles without a team and without a window for expansion as the NFL now with 32 teams likely would not be expanding again soon, so the city turned to trying to get an established team to move to Los Angeles. Since then they have been used as a bargaining chip for team like the Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, and New Orleans Saints to try to force their cities’ into building new stadiums.

Los Angeles still does not have a new stadium and likely won’t begin work on one to they get one of those teams to finally move there, until then the second largest media market will continue to wait as they have so for more than ten years now, longer than anybody ever expected them to be without a team.

It’s obvious from the history we have had subsequent to the Rams leaving town–ranging from the obnoxious and unscrupulous Oakland Raider team owner, Al Davis, to the mostly rejected and unfeasible plans to build in Irwindale—completely a waste of time, effort, and money, to the Coliseum, and the Rose Bowl, it’s obvious fresh thinking and a new approach is necessary.

To offer your insight into Bringing Back the Rams, they have a Facebook Page where you can share and read others opinions, announcements, plans and ideas of where the initiative stands. (There’s a lot of action and opinions there so you gotta be hard core about it!)

Is Downtown Los Angeles a potential site for a massive Football and mega destination Center?

Casey Wasserman and Tim Leiweke are investigating the possibility of building a stadium behind Staples Center, where the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center now sits, with the idea of replacing that convention space elsewhere in the general area.

It is suggested as a fitting place to stage large national events, such as the Super Bowl, Final Four, etc. July 2010, reports in the Los Angeles media, states that lobbyists for AEG has contacted members of the California state legislature in hopes of gaining Environmental Exceptions, just like the City of Industry stadium, for a new stadium in the L.A. Live! Area.

However, there’s a plethora of sites in the CRA redevelopment areas that can be considered as a starting point for concept and initial vision, which could be part of an overall strategy to eventual movement from want and desire to change and execution that would bring back the Los Angeles Rams and create jobs, revenue, income and a time and place where the concept will help us in these tough times.

For technical details on how we could finance and build this without spending an inordinate or even high taxpayer funded basis, look no further than the success of Stapes Center which started out as a public-private partnership to many advanced concepts including 100% direct investment, subdividing the complex, pre-selling corporate and season luxury and other suites, and a plethora of creative financing:

1.The prime owner would put up an amount up to $50 million (but might not have to)
2. $25-50 million* by the public for infrastructure (i.e., state costs: land and site prep, streets and sewers,
etc.)
3. $100-200 million by bonds backed by ticket and parking revenues
4. $350-450 million by investors
5. $25-75 million by a one cent or less tax for a set period in return for profit cut
6. $150 million from lease bonds backed by state income tax on players‟ salaries
7. $25-50 million plus from “anchors” & others in non-stadium part of complex
8. $25-50 million from interest of monies waiting to be spent
9. $800 million to 1 Billion – total potential for the construction of the stadium complex
10 $50 million — one time, by the owner/ownership group (but might not have to
11. depending upon yield of #1 above)
12. $25-50 million — one time, by the public for infrastructure (i.e., state costs: land and site prep, streets and sewers, etc. Amount to be determined by final design. Amount is capped at $50 million. Team covers all costs above $50 million.
13. $100-200 million — bonds backed by ticket and parking revenues over time.
14. $450-850 million — up front, by investors. Could also be tailored to include public investment participation to share the wealth with others (fans, community), in order to take the sting off the notion that teams are wealthy and therefore unfair recipients of the money earned. Note also: There are numerous investment funds set up that are trolling in the Far East with big funds to buy up companies that tanked during their downturn; their turn-a-rounds, generate enormous returns on their investments, requiring them to find investments like well conceived stadium complexes to soften their tax burden.

Travelin’ Local is a leading proponent of bringing back the Rams to Los Angeles, We’re confident that that will help help save our city’s finances and long term budgetary health–while creating a viable and superb sports, entertainment, and mixed use mega-complex for the people of our great city.

Not to mention that we’ll finally get to have an NFL team back where we should never have lost one.

It’s about time we take action away from the bureaucrats and take matters into our own hands!

Although many of the case studies presented in the book are technologically complicated, the manner in which certain key decisions and analyses were made and chosen is what’s important for readers to understand–the crucial insight needed into how and why a particular Internet undertaking was selected, which resulted in a change from what was, to what would make it better.

The Internet Case Study Book presents 60 different website makeovers that accomplished successful results which are explained throughout the book.

For example, it reviewed a makeover of an old brand such as was the case when Doritos initiated a do-over to attract “flavor memories” to bring back two of their most intense flavors; interactive experiences with the audience to be more involved with a product, such as McDonald’s “Lost Ring” project as part of their sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. To date, The Lost Ring has been the world’s biggest and first truly global alternate reality games from over 100 countries to reach across geographic; cultural, and linguistic borders to unite in solving the mystery of “six amnesiac Olympians who competed an ancient, lost Olympic sport: Labyrinth Running.”

Included in the book, are detailed explanations of why organizations choose creative solutions, so that people will change their perception about a particular company and its products. For example, “The Got Milk?” campaign wanted to change the perception that drinking milk wasn’t appealing, so they chose a strategy with the objective to make it “cool” to drink milk among a certain demographic.

The book has 57 additional case studies of well known and respected brands, companies, organizations, and governmental institutions to provide the reader with a wide swath of Internet components of creative thinking and problem solving to utilize the building blocks available to ensure a project’s success, as opposed to a failure.

Each of its 5 chapters–Campaigns, E-Commerce, Promotional, Social Media, and Corporate case studies are introduced from an accomplished ad agency interactive executive and expert, helping us to better understand the thinking “under the hood.”

Each of the stories presented, start out with “The Brief,” which outlines what the organization views as the end game in implementing its vision.

The “Challenge” pulls together the various ways to accomplish the Brief, from a technological, user experience, a detailed layout, and the various ways and means to realize the desired result.

“The Solution” explains how the organizations used various custom technologies, existing technologies, and combined them with existing Internet tools such as videos, blog promotion, country inclusion and other creative ways to bring the solution to a successful conclusion. Frequently many solutions incorporated the use of Flash programming, the use of You Tube, Facebook and other sites around the world to tie the concept together on a global scale, and other actions to enhance different messages and brands.

Lastly, “The Result” contained real world data about how a case study in The Internet Case Study Book fared in the real world —e.g., the number of hits, how many sales took place, how many countries viewed the website, number of widgets created, how many YouTube videos were viewed, the number of downloads recorded, how many people got involved with interactive components, and a throng of important metrics that professionals who do business on the Internet throughout the world, can see why each case study presented can be objectively viewed as to why it was effective.

The Internet Case Study Book features many stories of achievement, from clients’ briefings to final projects– this book, follows on from the best selling Guidelines for Online Success, provides detailed and objective studies which were divided into the aforementioned five chapters.

These subjects form the core of how to use the web for those who want their online endeavors to be successful, and the case studies in the book explain how to help differentiate your business or online presence from that of your competitors.

Strategies examined range from those of giant corporations to small businesses, but all have a common goal: a successful, efficient and cost-effective investment on the web—-from Coca-Cola to Prince of Persia, from Diesel to Domino’s Pizza, this book shows how successful businesses of any size can devise an effective online presence, and features the work of strategic innovators such as Ajaz Ahmed, Alex Bogusky, and Jeff Goodby.

Kudos to its authors, Rob Ford, who founded Favourite Website Awards (FWA) in 2000, a recognition program for cutting-edge web design. His work has featured in the Chicago Tribune, Guardian and various web related magazines. He has judged many industry award shows, contributes regularly to web design sites and magazines, and writes a regular column in Adobe’s Edge Newsletter and its editor; and the editor, Julius Wiedemann, who was born in Brazil, studied graphic design and marketing, and was an art editor for digital and design magazines in Tokyo. His many TASCHEN digital and media titles include Illustration Now!, Advertising Now, Logo Design, and Brand Identity Now!

The conclusion of The Internet Case Study Book was markedly thoughtful and truthful in explaining how the Internet should be utilized as a business and as a way of life that it has become for most of the world.

In the Afterward by Lars Bastholm, an executive with the giant ad and Internet media company Ogilvy, he informs and provides all Internet entrepreneurs with the following sage advice:

A few years ago, we were still looking at postage stamp-sized videos that took forever to load (remember the World Wide Web Wait?) and most corporate websites were little more than brochure-ware stitched together with whatever budget and materials were leftover from the above-the-line campaign. It took years of relentless innovation, tenacity, salesmanship and, most importantly, changing consumer habits and demands to get us to where we are today.

I think we have now arrived at a moment of reckoning of sorts. We’ve reached the kind of technological maturity that effectively means that if we can dream it, we can create it. This is obviously a wonderful thing, it’s also a challenge for all of us. While we were held back by technological limitations, even small dreams looked like big achievements when they were brought to life. Now, we have no more excuses. We  need to dream big dreams.

For that we need big dreamers. We need more Tim Berner-Lees, more Sergei Brins and Larry Pages. But we also need our own Bill Bernback, our own David Ogilvy, and our own Lee Clow (ad agency interactive Internet experts). Not to mention our own James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and Quentin Tarantino. People who dream big in technology, communication, and storytelling and who can help define what this medium will become in the future.

Let’s keep in mind that the Internet as a brand-building medium is still only about 15 years old. It remains an unruly teenager trying to figure out its place in the world and what it all means. It’s trying out being different things: a TV channel, a community center, a shopping mall, and anything else that might tickle its fancy for a while. So everything is possible, and the wonderful news is that we’ve only just scratched the surface of the medium’s potential.”

After reading TASCHEN’s, “The Internet Case Study Book,” you’ll feel empowered with the knowledge and ways to build your own Internet empire as the book shows us how others were able to climb to the top by carefully thinking through their place in the world, and how they achieved that by implementing carefully selected methods, means and ways to stand apart from the crowd by initiating truly “successful Internet Strategies.”

As the name implies, the movie’s location takes place in upstate New York where the movie’s three main characters get together.

The film’s story seems simple enough. Liz, played by Iracel Rivero, decides to drive from New York City to visit an old friend, Steve, whose character is played by Max Arnaud, although implied it’s not clearly stated until later that he was somewhere in-between friend and boyfriend to Liz years before.

As the plot unfolds, Steve, is now married to the character Sylvia, played by Suzan Mikiel Kennedy. The movie is set in beautiful upstate New York where the trio come to learn new things about themselves as a result of Liz’s trip. The movie’s screenplay drills deep into the characters selves, and their relation to one another.

What’s very engaging about Upstate, is that the characters all go through a host of emotional feelings that slowly emerge at first, but then penetrate like a sword as we’re able to see that Iracel Rivero’s character, Liz, due to her visit will force a change in how the character’s begin to realize that their past feelings and psychological, emotional and consciousness forces them to accept the here and now, as their collective layers are peeled away.

The screenwriter, Katherine Nolfi, intelligently wrote the script and was able to bring onto the screen these complex characters lives and feelings via the cast’s 3 main characters.

Despite the slow beginning, and a few too many up close shots and unnecessarily slow shot editing at times, we begin to become equally entranced with the character’s unconscious desires while their adult consciousness cuts through what was versus what is:

For Liz’s character, her past attraction for and toward Steve, who throughout the movie also shows reciprocal romantic feelings for Liz. Yet the rub remains that there’s Sylvia, played by Suzan Mikiel Kennedy, who quickly and efficiently challenges both to reveal to her what they’re actually doing right “in front of her eyes.”

And as it turns out, Liz ultimately confesses to Sylvia in an emotionally intelligent manner that it was “just a mistake,” what she was doing when confronted by Sylvia after a hike in the idyllic and beautiful hills of the Upstate area, where Sylvia sees and hears that Liz and Steve still have undefined “feelings” for one another. The mistake being is that Liz’s character, really has no love connection with Steve, and at the same time, Sylvia comes to the realization that it’s easier for her to accept herself, and it’s also easier for her to like herself being “older because it’s easier.” This implies a realization that chasing rainbows might be one of their common bonds. But that they have grown into a new state of reality and awareness is the main theme.

This denouement, takes place in a highly charged sexually nuanced scene after the hike when Sylvia asks, indeed practically demands that Liz strip so she can check her body for some dangerous bugs that latch onto the body from the forest.

As the scene unfolds, we’re tantalized that Syliva just might get sexually involved with Liz, as Liz is semi-clothed, which is the perfect metaphor when Liz tells Sylvia about her need to feel loved, and that for all intents and purposes, Steve isn’t the one. In other words, her inner reality is suddenly stripped of the material world.

And as Liz is sitting in the bathtub, while they’re both smoking a joint, and the aura of confrontation lifted, Sylvia informs Liz that she and Steve tried to have children, but they all ended in Syliva having miscarriages.

Below is a trailer from Upstate:

From that point, we watch as the character’s have all successfully broken through past emotional and psychological barriers:

Liz wants to find her own-self and lover outside of past unrealistic dreams

Steve has to grow up quick and deal with Sylvia’s quiet and short but swift wrath upon him for him to grow up and realize that he’s only married to Sylvia, despite his previous emotional and other connections with and to Liz.

Sylvia’s breakaway role as the agent force of change, which is just as powerful as Liz’s physical visit altered the physical, emotional, and psycholotical interrelationships among the three

Sylvia, played by Suzan Mikiel Kennedy, had the brake out role, by sourcing the exact underling truth about what is and what can never be; but simultaneously she realizes that she too, has gotten older and wiser, and the layer cake of it all it comes out seamless–yet a little bit messy as real life Upstate is real life nonetheless.

The film’s capture of the lusciousness and beauty of upstate New York, is delightful and engaging. The scenes of the vast mountains, alluring shades, hues, and colors of the area is well done and provides the viewer with the tranquil thematic setting that’s idyllic, charming and enchanting.

The scenes of the local fair at night, the Alpaca’s being briefly shown being petted by a set of brothers at the fair, and the characters visit to a real Quaker church are likewise outstanding in order for the screenplay to capture the sense of time, place and identity that Upstate living entails. Kudos to the cinematographer, Brian Feeney, for capturing the wide and small range of the Catskills, and the shots of the burnished yet light filled house that provide the viewer with an appreciation of he beauty of the house where much of the drama occurs between the characters. The lighting for most scenes are realistic and modern but not sleek. Quite an accomplishment given that an HDCam was the camera used.

As much as Upstate is very much an Independent film, and was clearly made as a labor of love,  in the end it had a complicated tale to tell and was acted and filmed well, making it a success, and we can only expect more good things in the future form the actors, Iracel Rivero, Max Arnaud, and Suzan Mikiel Kennedy, the Directors, Katherine Nolfi and Andrew Luis, and the screenwriter, Katherine Nolfi.

Upstate is an enjoyable and important work of Independent Cinema, and while not quite ready for total prime-time, it’s a solid body of work that’s portends well for those who were responsible for it to be shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

If that’s the case, the world famous Los Angeles Film Festival which started on Thursday and runs until June 27^th, is the place to be.

“For the past 16 years, the Los Angeles Film Festival has been a preeminent cinematic event, showcasing the world’s best independent features, including premieres of smash-hits The Devil Wears Prada and Sunshine.  The Festival connects the movie-loving public to critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent in the heart of Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world.”

The 2010 Festival will present 200 features, shorts, and music videos from more than 40 countries with venues located all over downtown Los Angeles.

First, you’ll want to know where to go. It might be a little confusing at first, but to try and help you navigate your way through the Film Festival, here’s the different venues where the films are being featured:

So now you know where to go, but what movies are showing and when?

The LA Film Festival has a great link which includes the various show times and locations, plus a nice search feature. With over 200 films, you want to be able to know what you need to know without undue hassle. That’s why the Los Angeles Film Festival search feature is so great. You can search by director, film title, or by country, and of course by venue and genre.

But, can you get a ticket?

Now, you know the locations and can find the films you want to see, but you need a ticket. For that, you have four choices:

On the Web: www.lafilmfest.com

By phone: 866-FILMFEST (345-6337)

Hours of Operation: June 1-June 27:  Daily, 10:00am to 8:00pm

Web and phone orders are subject to a $3.00 handling charge per order.

In Person: The Coca-Cola Ticket Center will open for in-person sales June 14.  The Coca-Cola Ticket Center is located on the Event Deck @ L.A. LIVE, 1005 Chick Hearn Court (@ Olympic Blvd). The Event Deck is located on top of the west parking garage, just south of Regal Cinemas.

Hours of Operation: June 14-June 26: Daily, 10:00 am-9:00 pm

At the Door: Tickets can also be purchased at the screening venue beginning one hour prior to the scheduled screening time.  Subject to availability—check the LAFilmfest website for up-to-date information regarding specific screenings. Oh, and a few of the venues accept cash only, so click here to find out the payment methods.

So if you want to purchase a season pass, or only want to view certain films, and know where they are and how to purchase your tickets, the Los Angeles Film Festival is complete in its ability to service your needs.

But what to do after you’ve watched the movies?

Quite a few of the local restaurants, lounges, and clubs are offering special discounts for the film festival attendees. If you’d like to take advantage of them, here’s the link: Eat & Drink

Here’s to making the Los Angeles Film Festival 2010 the best ever!

Of course, the reactions would be as diverse as the culture that this scenario involves. No question though, that most marriages end in divorce half of the time.

In the aforementioned scenario, the heart wrenching event is between a gangster and his wife.

As the plot moves back and forth in time, to the actual event and what occurs afterwords, the film always keeps you guessing as to how the next scene will play out.

Colin (Ray Winstone) is distraught when wife Liz (Joanne Whalley) leaves him. Subsequently his gangster crew (Tom Wilkinson, John Hurt, Ian McShane and Stephen Dillane) steps in to get together and kidnap the “other man” (Melvil Poupaud), so Colin can have his chance at revenge.

They’re somewhere in London as Colin’s friends try to help him get control of his emotions, essentially encouraging Winstone’s character, Colin, to is get his redemption by killing his wife’s French lover.

The movie was penned from the same writers of the film Sexy Beast, and the man that was kidnapped for revenge, sets the viewer up to witness predictable violence and carnage.

Be that as it may, although Winstone’s character Colin is expected to kill the object of his pain, he meticulously intellectualizes the reasons why and why not an act of revenge would satiate his hurt.

Unbeknown to Colin himself, he reasons through such thorny issues as who would be the ultimate benefactor of potential brutality, if perhaps his motives are such that he’s only hurting himself or his wife, and if in the end, just accepting things the way they should be what they are.

But the movie is relentless in how its characters endlessly try getting Winstone to do the dirty deed and be done with it. Set in one room, and with its relentless English cockney accent and cacophony of foul mouthed dialogue, the viewer is kept guessing until the very end what will happen.

What held my interest in the movie, was how Winstone’s character, nicknamed the “Gentle Giant,” intellectually, emotionally, psychologically, and physically was able to emote his thinking process through to the viewers, as to why and how he made the final decision, including the fanciful interludes of both condensed dialogue and a sequence to Cecil B. DeMille’s Samson and Delilah, with such bloody good lines like “What am I supposed to do, or feel,” and “That’s it?” after being dealt nothing more than a swift kick to both his groin, life, and ego, the movie becomes more of a play than a film.

The movie is a compelling story in that it delves into that which contemplates the nature of love and asks what it takes to be a man.

With a title like Nightmare Alley, it conjures up the obvious–both a nightmare and an alley; the combined imagery abounds of danger and violence in thinly lit back streets of cities where no one finds their way out. 

In the case of the current musical at the Geffen Playhouse with the title “Nightmare Alley,” you’d be incorrect, kind of. “In the end, one character does find himself on a dead-end street, but for several others, life just keep getting better and better.  It’s all about the choices we make in life, which Nightmare Alley demonstrates. Starting with the opening scene, Madam Zeena transports you to a different time and place as she’s a foreboding character in the world of the ‘carnies.’”

But I’m way ahead of myself–the Geffen Playhouse on the outside is tranquil and indeed, a bit misleading of what is in the inside.

Once you enter the Geffen Playhouse through its intimate courtyard and beautiful tiled inlay fountain in its middle, inside is the lobby, of course; however the Geffen Playhouse’s auditorium is large enough to give sway to a large audience, but has the intimacy of smaller venues without a decrease in the experience. Having attended many a play at the Kennedy Center, I can confirm this viewpoint by firsthand experience.

Think Kennedy Center, less a few hundred thousand feet! Nonetheless, the Geffen Playhouse’s sound, amplification, acoustics, stage, and seats are all to die for–and I’d much prefer to see a play on a bit of a smaller set but with all the big-set trappings. The history of how the Geffen Playhouse came to be, and how it was transformed into such a modern and state-of-the-art facility can be read directly from the Geffen Playhouse website.

The Geffen Playhouse does not disappoint in its musical adaption and play of Nightmare Alley.

“Broadway veteran James Barbour (A Tale of Two Cities, Assassins, Urinetown) leads a colorful cast of characters in the world premiere musical Nightmare Alley which opened at the Geffen Playhouse on April 21^st, 2010. With music, books and lyrics by New York-based composer Jonathan Brielle and helmed by Geffen Playhouse Producing Director Gilbert Cates, Nightmare Alley is a dark musical set against the shadowy world of the traveling carnivals and tented churches that dominated the Dust Bowl era.”

“Based on the eponymous novel by William Lindsay Gresham (which was later turned into a film with Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell), Nightmare Alley plays upon fate, free-will and the consequences that await when you make the wrong choice. James Barbour stars as Stan, the con turned carnie and back again, who falls in love with Molly, the dark darling of the traveling carnival (the role of Molly is yet to be cast and will be announced shortly).”

“But there are many other side shows to this story: Zeena and Pete, the vaudeville stars now relegated to side show cons – played by Mary Gordon Murray (Broadway’s Footloose, Into the Woods, Coastal Disturbances) and LA theater favorite Larry Cedar (The Colony’s Celadine, Reprise’s She Loves Me [Ovation Award Winner], HBO’s Deadwood), respectively. The gruffly compassionate carnival boss Clem, played by musical theater maven Michael McCarty (Broadway’s To Be or Not to Be, Mary Poppins, Oklahoma); and, with fate and fortune at the center of this gritty tale, four uniquely charming tarot ladies – played by Melody Butiu, Leslie Stevens, Anise E. Ritchie and Alet Taylor – act as the musical’s chorus.”

And from Nightmare Alley’s composer Jonathan Brielle:

When I first read the novel, I was so struck by the question of how someone sinks so low as to become part of a carnival freak show that I felt the need to put this story to music. After working closely with the Gresham estate and in recent years collaborating with Gil, I feel like we are truly ready to raise the big top and watch these fantastic characters come to life in all their revelry and tragedy on the Geffen stage.

Sources: The Geffen Playhouse

Nightmare Alley plays on the Geffen Playhouse’s main stage from April 21^st to May 23^rd.  so it’s not a long running show. To purchase tickets as soon as possible you can do so online directly from the Geffen Playhouse.

As with most stories, there are highs and lows of how and why you feel the emotions projected toward you, the excitement and thrill of seeing reality through a different time and place, and the actors and orchestra climax into the passion play replete with its lighting, sound, and acting. In this, Nightmare Alley succeeds on all levels.

Without a doubt, the darkness which Nightmare Alley is able to act as a fulcrum and challenge our collective consciousness, paradoxically also helps us to create a lightness of being that we feel after watching such a gripping, and well thought out story that its Producer and Director intended.

Photos courtesy of the Geffen Playhouse

Its plot revolves around the main female lead Pippa Lee, as played by Robin Wright Penn, whose seemingly perfect life and exquisite beauty, were built on a tenuous foundation of her frenetic, difficult, and horrific family life. Her youth was subsequently filled with the counter-culture life of sex and drugs.

Fast forward, and her life in the present is the movie’s main theme–we begin the process of discovering who Pippa Lee really is, and how she’s able to come to terms with both the past and present. At the same time she’s dealing with the difficultly of her current family’s problems due to her husband’s ill health after three heart attacks.

Their lives are turned upside down, and that perhaps forces Pipi Lee to deal with the many issues that she abandoned when she married Arkin’s character, Herb Lee, who provided her an escape route for into a world of money, privilege, and quiet.

After a few quiet decades respite from her tumultuous youth and young adulthood, Robin Wright Penn’s portrayal of the complex character, Pippa Lee, is thrown into a series of psychodramas, after decades of being married to Alan Arkin’s character, Herb Lee, who is a successful book editor and publisher.

His illness and their subsequent move out of the city, forces Pippa into dealing with a myriad of issues which she subconsciously and unconsciously buried—which are unfortunately amateurishly juxtaposed and clumsily edited into back and forth vignettes of her present and past throughout the film.

Nonetheless what becomes increasingly clear about Pipi, is that she never really had a chance to develop her own life and personality–ending up living a life that others viewed through their own prisms.

It stars Robin Wright Penn as Pippa Lee, Alan Arkin as s Herb Lee, Keanu Reeves as Chris, Monica Bellucci as Gigi Lee , Julianne Moore as as Kat , Maria Bello as Suky Sarkissian , Blake Lively as the teenaged Pippa , and Winona Ryder as Sandra Dulles. Its senior produced is Brad Pitt.

Pipi’s long suffering under the auspices of her overbearing mother’s speed addiction, unpredictable mood swings, and erratic behavior, forced her to run away to stay with her understanding aunt.

But the moment of her saving grace is short lived. Although her mother’s sister, as played by Monica Bellucci, is a lesbian, her partner played by Julianne Moore, is a dominatrix, and the young Pipa Lee, quickly and perhaps without thinking, is a willing participant in her sexual antics and self documented sado-masochistic photographs and exploits.

To be expected, her stay there is short lived, as her aunt literally walks in on one of their photo shoots, and Pipa’s life is again uprooted and unstable.

Subsequently Wrights’ character, Lee, lives years under a cloud of drugs, sex, and free spirititness where she ultimately ends up in Los Angeles–with two boyfriends and no future.

During a party at a socialite’s house, she encounters her future husband, Alan Arkin’s character, Lee, who’s married to the same. Soon they start an affair, and when Arkin’s character announces that his socialite wife wants to end their marriage amicably–dinner and all with Pipi and Arkin’s, Lee–his socialite wife shoots herself in the head during dinner. Again, Pipi’s encounters massive instability.

She ultimately marries Herb, and she slowly but surely settles into a quiet life of learning how to take care of him, live quietly, and finally achieving her much sought after stability by having money without undue drama for decades, until Arkin’s character sells their NYC apartment to retire, and they subsequently move to suburbia in Connecticut, where they’re both bored and Herb keeps working anyway.

Despite the beauty of the cinematographer’s capture of the luscious colors of foreground and background, especially of Connecticut, the movie is long and tedious in its story, and attempts to bring the reader along the same road Pippa Lee is traveling to find out who she really is, too.

We also learn that Pipi is acting out her “quiet nervous breakdown,” by sleepwalking and roaming around the house and neighborhood, her daughter hates her, she meets the misunderstood and charismatic, Keanu Reeves, as Chris, and her husband is having an affair with one of their mutual friend and client writer’s wife, played by Wynona Ryder, as Sandra Dulles.

But she doesn’t’ know who she is, and that’s the saving grace of both Robin Wright’s brilliant portrayal of Pipa Lee, which draws the viewer into a a long denouement–as her husband is pulled from the machine keeping him alive after he’s suffered his 4^th heart attack when Pipa walks in on him and Rider’s character, Sandra Dulles, having sex, when she calmly asks her husband for a divorce.

As time heals all wounds, her daughter is soon seeking rapprochement with her mom, and Pipi begins the long and winding road of finding herself as she begins a relationship with Keanu Reeves, character, Chris, who is probably as complicated as her.

Although the movie never delivers a knock out scene, the beginning, middle, and end of its plot unwinds without much drama, we come to learn that beauty is both skin deep, and what we see in others is often a reflection of what we want to see–and not what’s real.

And the beauty of The Private Lives of Pipa Lee, is that Wright’s, Lee, is given a last chance to find out who she really is, and that’s what makes the movie worth watching—particularly so, due to the set of scenes and circumstances that we encounter in the movie– that lead us everywhere and nowhere–without a solid reason, until the very end.

That’s when we discover that Wright’s character Lee, is the ultimate survivor and we finally realize that we probably see a lot of our own life in her new found destiny.

Well, in a way you can, but a tad differently:

Regulators approve movie box office Futures Market

“U.S. regulators have approved the creation of a market for movie industry participants and speculators to trade on predicted box office receipts, despite its denouncement by Hollywood studios as ‘legalized gambling.’”

Backers of the box-office exchanges say those markets would help Hollywood manage risk in a notoriously hit-or-miss business.

Investors would be able to hedge against potential flops by preselling a share of future box office receipts. The exchanges could even guard against likely hits such as the upcoming “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” sequels falling short of projections. If a movie doesn’t do as well as expected, investors would at least be guaranteed revenue from those presales, known as futures contracts.  Source:Taragana News

Futures contracts, are also knows as a Derivative, which is actually older than the trading of stocks and other financial instruments.

The Cotton Exchange was established in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1871 on the corner of Carondelet and Gravier Streets. The Cotton Exchange was conceived and financed by a group of cotton merchants with support from bankers at a time when fully one-third of the entire production of cotton the United States, was sent to New Orleans. The Exchange wanted to bring order to what was a highly speculative and often erratic pricing system by providing a centralized trading office where people involved in the business could obtain information about market conditions and prices. As well as trading, the Exchange established standards for classification and facilitated payments between buyers and sellers. Source: New Orleans Cotton Exchange

It came to be that they were created so that farmers and other growers could "lock in" certain prices for their crops and grows, before delivery.

Being able to effectively "Hedge" their crops, farmers became less reliant on the whims of weather and other risks before their crop was delivered.

So thus futures trading was established as a means to minimize risk. The producers sold a futures contract at a certain price, and somebody bought that contract, a speculator, betting that the price and volume of that particular contract wouldn’t be met.

So in essence, what is happening is that if the grower was expecting $5 a bushel of corn, and before he was able to deliver the harvest to the buyer, the price had declined to $4, the grower lost some money on his bushels, but he also sold 1,000 futures contracts, to lessen his risk, and made money in advance from the "premiums" charged to the buyer of the contracts.

Therefore, the seller, in order to lock in his price, received a "premium" for selling his contracts, thereby receiving in advance a fee for every contract sold. So if he makes 2 dollars a bushel for selling the contract and loses one dollar per bushel on his crop, there’s a net gain of a dollar a bushel, less the expenses of the trading and other associated costs, equalizing the seller’s original profit.

Looking at it in the reverse, if the crop was delivered on time and on price, the speculator is out of luck, and the grower is only out the price it cost to sell the contracts.

However, if the speculator is correct in his bet, for example, and the delivery prices at the end of the contract had sunk to $2 a bushel, and they bought the contracts at $5 a bushel, then the speculator just made $3000 less costs. (1,000 contracts bought for delivery at $5 from the Grower, but the price upon expiration of the contract was $2).

Nowadays, the Futures markets are used to hedge just about every single financial instrument including the Dow Jones, the S & P, and too many contracts to even bother to list.

What to Expect Soon

Trading won’t start immediately, as the commission is still reviewing the kinds of contracts — essentially pre-sales of a share of future box office receipts — that could be traded there.

It’s also reviewing a proposal to create a second market called the Cantor Exchange. That one would have lower investment requirements than the Trend Exchange–making it more likely for movie fans and other amateurs to participate.

"With handicapping the weekend box office now a topic around the family breakfast table, Cantor and Veriana (the other upstart Box Office Exchange) hope they can harness the national obsession to create a safety net for the risky and expensive business of producing movies.

"If Universal Pictures, for instance, had traded a futures contract for ‘The Wolfman,’ it might have mitigated its losses on the recent flop," said Don Chance, a finance professor at Louisiana State University who has studied financial exchanges for the entertainment industry. "I would think a futures market would have great potential to do that."

Making films is notoriously risky, and people and companies make and lose fortunes every day when doing so. Reducing the financial risk of filmmaking through futures contracts, would even out these peaks and troughs, and probably bring new investment monies into a beleaguered economy, and more movie related jobs into Los Angeles.

Calling all aspiring Spielberg’s!

Now who would have thought of such a thing?

Sometimes the old and the new merge into making things better, and that’s Travelin’ Local’s script and story.

The two main protagonists in the movie are Chelsea, and her onscreen boyfriend, played by actor, Chris Santos as the character, Chris, whom she shares her “real self” with. He’s a personal trainer, and appears to be fairly good at what he does, whose job it is to sell the promise of a better body to his clients, most of whom won’t likely achieve the goal.

The movie’s plot is simple enough. Set in the recent backdrop of the Presidential election and the financial meltdown, Chelsea makes believe that she cares about her “clients,” while acting out the girlfriend part by listening to their concerns—mostly money related, and acts accordingly to care; which we know she doesn’t.

The movie operates on dual tracks:

On the one hand we have the cinéma-vérité style of documentary filmmaking that stresses unbiased realism, which has always played a part in Soderberg’s oeuvre. That’s how he got his big break with the movie, “Sex, Lies, and Videotape.” The director’s focus is that of the character’s life—one filled of familiar interiors—stylish flats, bedrooms, shopping boutiques, clothes, New York City, the ever constant close-ups of Sasha Grey, her encounters with others in closed settings, and the use of hand held digital cameras, also known as the RED camera. Soderbergh himself announced that he shot the film in 16 days, on a shoestring budget of 1.7 million, largely improvised, and on the RED camera. The much hyped “art house” features of this film. and its concomitant expose of the real and the fictitious, work on some level given the context of the film in of itself.

However, Sasha Grey’s character, Chelsea, is one-dimensional in her on-screen life. After the first couple scenes of her liaisons, relationships, and dialogue we come quickly to the conclusion that her character’s identity is confused, shallow, and hollow. Just as much, if not more than her clients.

Her only two confidants and friends are her boyfriend, who is accepting of the fact she’s a whore, and her gal pal “Escort,” whom she confides in for advice.

Her boyfriend seems interested in her to the point of seriousness that’s at least believable to discern; the return feelings and attachment that Chelsea gives back to Chris Santos’ character, Chris, is to leave for a weekend with one of her clients that she knows will destroy their relationship. Needless to say, she goes anyway and gets stood up by the client losing whatever dignity she may possess.

As Santos’ character, Chris, initially turned down a Vegas junket with his wealthy clients because his girlfriend couldn’t go, Grey announces that she’s going to break one of their main rules of the relationship–that she was never to spend time with a client outside of their hourly paid sessions.

Throughout the film, is the insertion by the editors of Chris’ friends in an airplane in a grainy, and never ending loop of their discussions and close ups of them during their plane ride. That displays a literary technique familiar to such writers as Tom DeLillo, and the tedious intensity of director Spike Lee’s movies, to drive home a message–whatever that message is present in this film.

But that doesn’t stop her from moving on just as quickly as if it never happened. In that, perhaps life does imitate art.

The other character’s in the movie aren’t grounded enough to even illicit anything more than our intellectual and emotional scorn; and as a prism into our own lives that we’re held hostage to our obsessive compulsiveness about money–which reduces us to our most basic human form.

We must, it seems, dismiss the eternal human heart in the words of C.S. Lewis:

The truth is that when you have stripped off what the human heart actually was in this or that culture, you are left with a miserable abstraction totally unlike the life really lived by any human being. To take an example from a simple matter, human eating, when you have abstracted all that is peculiar to the social and culinary practice of different times and places, resolves itself into the merely physical. Human love, abstracted from all the varying taboos, sentiments, and ethical discriminations which have accompanies it, resolves itself into something capable of medical treatment, not of poetical.

Perhaps it was the intent of the screenwriter’s, Messrs. Brian Koppelman and David Levien, to have Ms. Grey’s character so full of ennui and aimlessness, that style and content are fused and end up being one and the same.

That makes for glimpses of some art and some cinema and some plot—but the movie has some very serious flaws, that render those defects fatal flaws—the film fails to connect or identify the viewer with any of its characters.

For starters, the viewers’ can’t identify or emote with any of the main protagonists and the background characters–from Chelsea’s clients, to her one-dimensional boyfriend and his encounters as a trainer, to a journalist hopelessly trying to get her to talk to him on a more detailed level–which are all symptomatic of a cacophony of more emotional dead-ends that define all of the characters in this film.

As a sleazy Internet entrepreneur wants to take Chelsea “to the next level,” by promoting her services through a new and improved website, he wants to try her on a literal, as well as metaphorical “casting couch,” and we really don’t care.

Here, art imitates life. And that the character is a porn star only reinforces it.

What makes the difference between a great movie and one that’s not is character, story, and plot, and this movie is low on all three.

The glue that holds anything together in this movie is perhaps that’s what the writers, and Soderberg, sought from the beginning:

We’re all caught up in the giant machine of our society and its commodization of our lives and productivity, and our self-worth is tied up in it—both literally and allegorically.

After reading the film studio’s official description of the movie, I was expecting one thing but the film delivers another:

“Set in the weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election, The Girlfriend Experience is five days in the life of Chelsea (adult film star Sasha Grey in her mainstream film debut), an ultra high-end Manhattan call girl who offers more than sex to her clients, but companionship and conversation – “the girlfriend experience.” Chelsea thinks she has her life totally under control—she feels her future is secure because she runs her own business her own way, makes $2000 an hour, and has a devoted boyfriend who accepts her lifestyle. But when you’re in the business of meeting people, control can be easily manipulated.”

In The Girlfriend Experience, prettiness is both boring and demoralizing at the same time.

George Clooney, playing the character, Ryan Bingham, works for a company that’s a professional corporate “firing” firm, and he travels around the country for his boss–played by Jason Bateman, as the character, Craig Gregory–to humanize the depersonalization of mass layoffs, one worker by one worker at a time.

At first our attention is seized, then we become de-sensitized to the terminated workers responses to the news that they’ve been fired, which include familiar refrains such as how they’ll survive, how they’ll pay the bills, all the way to how many years they’ve put into working for “the company.”

Ultimately their collective plights are for naught, as Clooney’s, Ryan Bingham, possess’ all the experience of the messenger of doom, to deftly and swiftly serve up and sever their employment to each and every one of the tens of thousands of workers, he fires with niceties such as “consider this as your moment to find yourself,” and other insipid but real life responses one would expect from the corporate machine.

Bingham’s boss, Bateman’s character, Craig Gregory– efficiently corralled into being part-businessman, and part friend to Clooney– enables the viewer to become fairly immune to what Clooney’s character does for a living. It’s all a giant pot of witch’s brew, served up warm and funny.

Clooney’s character, Ryan Bingham, is the ultimate loner and escape artist—but uses airports and flying as his means and ways to avoid human contact and relationships. To be frank, it’s not far removed from reality for a lot of people. Granted, when a new MBA type wants to “re-engineer” the “process,” of having Clooney’s character, Bingham and the firm’s way of firing people by automating it “virtually” by computer—we know that that process is doomed, as is the new in-your-face career woman, who joined the company as an efficiency expert

Also doomed is Clooney’s turn-a-bout liaison’s with a fellow traveler, to the all but predictable burn-out and emotional toll on the young corporate protégée who doesn’t understand that when technology meets human being, the two are not meant to communicate on an intimate level.

Anna Kendrick, who plays Bingham’s colleague Natalie — is smart but not smart enough. Although she quickly seizes upon Mr. Clooney’s idiosyncratic escapism, for the fast track corporate lioness, her mind is never far from her heart, (although she doesn’t know or realize it until it’s too late), as she holds court with Clooney until she understands that she’s not cut out for this job. We watch blithely, Clooney’s emotional detachment, and Natalie’s rather pedantic views on life as a young career woman.

We come to learn that although she graduated at a leading university at the top of her class, she came to the company’s headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, because she “was just following a boy.”

The movie’s subtext of America as the land of collapsing economic dreams; relationships are temporary; and what one is not what one does—is smashed head-on with Clooney’s character, because he ultimately knows that he desires nothing more than what he’s doing, and the mythologies about who and what we are as a nation are easily tossed aside as Clooney understands, only too well.

Although along the way, he saves his sister’s marriage by taking wacky pictures for her and convincing her fiancé that cold feet on their wedding day would mean that he would remain lonely—an epic satire on his character—to the notion that the corporate woman with the fiery attitude is hell bent to incentive and improve the firing efficiency by technology is doomed to fail, because she will learn by flying around with Clooney’s character Bingham, that she’s not emotionally cut out for the world of corporate cut-throat layoffs.

The movie’s other subplot involves around Clooney’s female equivalent, the openly sexual and playful romantic relationship he has with Vera Farmiga, who plays Clooney’s female romantic lead character, Alex Goran. Alex is his “opposite but with a vagina,” is because she’s always traveling too. They’re the Yin and Yin of detached trysts which are only planned around both of their traveling schedules.

Predictably, the only time Clooney lets his character’s emotions get the better of him is when he travels to Chicago to see if Farmiga’s character, Alex, wants a deeper relationship with him, only to find out that she’s married in her “real life,”–and Clooney’s character, Bingham is her play life. Frankly, this twist was a dead give-a-way, as the viewer should have expected–and based on how the script was written–that each one of the characters were way too set in their ways to ever change.

But Clooney is no sap, and a quick study in human emotions. He picks himself up no matter whatever comes flying down the pike his way—no pun intended—and continues to know what makes him tick.

It’s being “Up in the Air,” and receiving his Ten Million Miles flying award, of which he’ll keep doing.