princess diaries
Do all little girls dream of becoming princesses? Will a makeover make all of your dreams come true? Do all Disney films have to be contrived, formulaic, and predictable?The Princess Diaries would have us believe so.This latest effort by Garry Marshall, the veteran director of such feel-good mush as Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride (also known as Pretty Woman, Part II), and Cinderella (also known as Pretty Woman for the Pre-teen Soul) serves up another plate of outdated, inconsequential fluff that would be more appropriate as a Saturday afternoon Disney Channel special than a theatrical release.But, as has been proven by the box-office receipts of the aforementioned trio of Marshall films, there are just enough people out there that will eat this stuff up with a spoon to guarantee it’ll keep showing up at a theatre near you.The Princess Diaries is, then, much of the same. Homely and awkward teenager Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is a frizzy-haired, retainer-wearing mess. She is habitually teased by her classmates, especially by one Lana Thomas (Mandy Moore), a perky cheerleader type whose boyfriend (Erik von Detton) Mia has the hots for. Mia doesn’t think her life could get any more pathetic, until one day along comes Mia’s long-lost granny (Julie Andrews), who reveals a big family secret that changes Mia’s life forever. As it turns out, Mia’s granny is actually the queen of Genovia, a fictitious country of which Mia is apparently Princess. But wait, Mia can’t be a princess! Not with her unruly hair and coarse manners. So, under the watchful eye of her grandmother, Mia undergoes “princess lessons,” a series of Draconian image and behavior changes that make Mia groomed, well dressed, and ladylike.But wait, the plot thickens. Mia doesn’t want to be princess! Sure, she likes her new look and riding around in a limo just fine, but, really, she just wants to be a regular kid! What should she do? The fate of her fake-country lies on her shoulders, and she is torn between her responsibility and her wants.It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where things go from here. Mia gets to be Princess but revolutionizes the role (a la Princess Di) and retains her regular-kid sensibilities even though she is in charge of a small nation.Despite the fact that The Princess Diaries is complete fodder generated to appease the short attention spans of preteen girls, the film does manage to churn out some decent performances. Julie Andrews is great in her first major role in years, and does manage to bring a degree of regality to an otherwise completely flat character. The film’s young star, Anne Hathaway, holds her own in the insipid storyline and manages to be charming and somewhat funny. Even Marshall-mascot Hector Elizondo gets in a few choice scenes as Mia’s chauffeur and confidante, and Julie Andrews’ love interest. Even pop-princess Mandy Moore, cast against type as the token bitch that eventually gets hers, is at the very least watchable.I do have some issues with the theme represented in The Princess Diaries, as well as in most of Marshall’s films, for that matter. This notion of changing one’s image as a means of changing one’s life is slightly degrading and imparts an ultimately negative message in the minds of the impressionable youngsters that will be subjected to it. Though many will argue that it’s just a movie and not an emotional manifesto to be taken too seriously, one has to consider the fact that for the ninety minutes that these kids are in the theatre watching this film, they are under the command of whatever is on the screen. Of course, it could be worse. They could be watching American Pie 2.Ultimately, The Princess Diaries is little more than diabetically sweet feel-good junk designed to get preteens to fork over their disposable incomes. But judging from the track record of such films, smart money is on the fact that the film’s target audience will flock to it anyways.
titanic
The tragic history of Titanic
The intensely competitive transatlantic steamship business had seen recent major advances in ship design, size and speed. White Star Line, one of the leaders, determined to focus on size and elegance rather than pure speed.
In 1907, White Star Line’s managing director J. Bruce Ismay and Lord James Pirrie, a partner in Harland & Wolff (White Star Line’s ship-builder since its founding in 1869) conceived of three magnificent steam ships which would set a new standard for comfort, elegance, and safety.
The first two were to be named Olympic and Titanic, the latter name chosen by Ismay to convey a sense of overwhelming size and strength. It took a year to design the two ships. Construction of Olympic started in December, 1908, followed by Titanic in March 1909.
The Belfast shipyards of Harland & Wolff had to be re-designed to accommodate the immense projects while White Star’s pier in New York had to be lengthened to enable the ships to dock. During the two years it took to complete Titanic’s hull, the press was primed with publicity about the ship’s magnificence, making Titanic virtually a legend before her launch. The “launch” of the completed steel in May, 1911, was a heavily publicized spectacle. Tickets were sold to benefit a local children’s hospital
On 10 April 1912, the Titanic commenced her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York, with 2,227 passengers and crew aboard. At 11:40 p.m. on the night of 14 April, traveling at a speed of 20.5 knots, she struck an iceberg on her starboard bow. At 2:20 a.m. she sank, approximately 13.5 miles east-southeast of the position from which her distress call was transmitted.
Lost at sea were 1,522 people, including passengers and crew. The 705 survivors, afloat in the ship’s twenty lifeboats, were rescued within hours by the Cunard Liner, Carpathia.
There was one fictional story written by a merchant seaman by the name of Morgan Robertson. Robertson’s book was about an unsinkable passenger liner that sank while carrying the elite people of the time. The ship in Robertson’s story was called the Titan and the book was titled The Wreck of the Titan. Even though the book is fictitious, the events in the story parallel the events of the Titanic. Both ships were built to be unsinkable. Both ships sank after striking an iceberg. Both ships were on their maiden voyage. The most well to do famous people were on the Titan and Titanic. Only one third of the passengers on each ship survived. Both ships had an inadequate number of lifeboats. Both ships were encouraged to break speed records during their voyage. Robertson’s book
The Wreck of the Titan was never published. Each time it was rejected by editor’s, they told him the same thing. The story was unbelievable. Surely the events he wrote of could not possibly happen to an unsinkable ship. The book, The Wreck of the Titan was written in 1898, fourteen years before the Titanic hit an iceberg and settled on the bottom of the northern Atlantic.
Titanic discovered
The wreck of the Titanic was located by a French and American team on 1 September 1985 in 12,500 feet (3,810 m) of water about 350 miles (531 km) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada. A 1986 expedition documented the shipwreck more thoroughly.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: The Fellowship of the Ring
Had three to pick from today and MAN am I glad I picked this one! I must tell you that I have never been much of a “Rings” fan and though I watched all three of the animated movies, I really never quite “got it”. I do now. This was a GREAT picture! A HUGE picture! I am right on the edge of using the word EPIC! The sets were fabulous! The scenery was beautiful! The acting was great! The special effects were fantastic and the story was solid. If I had to find a fault it would be that some (not much) of the dialogue was hard to understand and it was a bit long though never boring.
Elijah Wood plays Frodo the Hobbit who is entrusted with the monumental task of returning a Ring that threatens world existence to the sinister, dark place that it was made. He joins with Sean Bean (Ronin), Viggo Mortensen (G.I. Jane), Sean Astin (Rudy) and others to become “The Fellowship Of The Rings” and sets out on his quest. It is a quest FILLED with obstacles in the form of monsters and villains of every shape and style. This picture reminded me of old movie serials where our hero must overcome HUGE odds, time after time after time. These guys are up to the task. They are a conglomeration of hobbits, elves, dwarves, humans and a wizard. Every time we started to think of the little people as human, the director would give us a perspective shot to show how short they were. It worked. It ALL worked but I must warn you. It IS a trilogy and this is the first part. When it ended, I was pissed! Not because I felt cheated but because I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! I will be there on the FIRST day for the second installment.
“Keep it secret. Keep it safe!”
RECOMMENDATION: Not being a purest I can’t vouch for the accuracy to the book. What I can tell you is this is a FABULOUS picture with Oscar written all over it! SEE IT!
TWO MYSTICAL, MIDDLE EARTH THUMBS STRAIGHT UP! (On stilts!)
