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As it is, moving can bring a lot of stress. Worse, it can even be harmful to the environment. When preparing to move to a new home, you may feel like you have a lot of things to worry about that you do not have time to even think about the effects on the environment. Well, you are mistaken; there are ways to move green. Here are some Eco-friendly tips that may help make the moving process less costly and a lot easier.
You can move efficiently even without using fancy packing materials. Most of the time, there are things around the house that you can use to secure your items. Old newspapers, clothing, blankets, sheets, pillows, and used cardboard boxes can be used to protect and pack your belongings. The best part is that it can be reused once you get to your destination. These are good alternatives to plastic bubble wraps and Styrofoam that are harmful to the environment. In addition, recycling can help you save money and have less impact on the environment.
Plastic containers or bins are another alternative to cardboard boxes. They are eco friendly and most importantly, you may use them for a long time.
Whether cleaning up your new house or cleaning out of your old one, you may need to use lots of cleaning supplies and most of them are petroleum based. You can avoid contributing to further environmental damage by using materials that are environmentally-friendly and do not contain potentially harmful chemicals. There are many eco-friendly products that keep a home clean and fresh smelling. For example, instead of using rolls upon rolls of paper towels, you can use rags which may be made out of old clothing that you can also use for packing. An added benefit is that these rags can be washed and reused later.
To avoid packing and taking along items that you may no longer need or want, you may have to downsize. By rummaging through your things, you may decide that a lot of them belong to the trash. But before throwing these unwanted belongings away, you may consider the following options first:
Someone else may find use in your trash. You can hold a garage sale to dispose of items you may not need anymore. You can also make some money that you can use to defray some moving expenses in the process.
The items that are not sold in the garage sale may be given away to family and friends. You can also donate them to local charities such as the Salvation Army and veterans. Aside from having other people benefit from your unwanted items, you may find an opportunity to use the charitable donation as a valid deduction come income tax filing time.
You can also recycle old paperwork that you may have accumulated over the years. However, you may first need to shred those that contain sensitive financial or personal information. If you do not have time to do it yourself, you can hire a company to pick up and shred the documents for you. Just make sure that the one you hire employs environmentally-safe processes.
After going through the exhausting process of moving, you may find yourself making a resolution to not accumulate more stuff. Minimizing will help reduce your personal impact on the environment and save on your next move. And if you find the need to move again in the future, it will be less stressful, easier, and more importantly more Eco-friendly.
Need a hand? US Border Movers can help you with professional packing services.
Whether you are moving around the block or planning each painstaking detail involved with long distance moving, organizing your move is paramount in reducing stress and ensuring it goes smoothly.
Finding the right long distance movers certainly helps, but those professionals cannot do everything for you. You must take the initiative and adequately prepare.
Long distance moving leaves little room for error. The last thing you want is to find out you missed a box or important item that is now 1,000 miles away. Here are some tips to organizing your move:
Nothing is going to take all the stress out of long distance moving, but being proactive about it will help prevent unnecessary issues. Always have a plan and stick to it.
What do you think? Do you have any questions related to international shipping and moving? The professional team of international shipping experts at Gateways Moving would love to help you out! Send us an email using the form below and we will promptly help you along in any way that we can!
Hire a moving company you can trust, like US Border Movers.
If you are moving to Washington, D.C., be prepared for a journey like no other. The historic district has so much to offer. The district is spread out an extensive 68 sq miles from the city center giving you an abundance of options for living, entertainment, and much more.
Washington D.C. might just be one of the most historical cities in the United States. In 1791, the U.S. Congress designated Washington D.C. as the nations capital. Prior to 1791, Philadelphia held the title as the nations capital until Maryland and Virginia both donated land to form what was formerly known as the District of Columbia. Today, the city is most commonly referred to as D.C. or Washington D.C.
Before making the big jump, get the information you need to make your move to the District of Columbia a breeze. Get information on finding a mover in Washington, D.C., finding a local DMV, and selecting the right neighborhood.
Although there is no official moving association in the District of Columbia, it doesnt mean you cant protect your move. You can always follow the guidelines of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in order to prevent moving fraud. Before you choose any movers, read below to catch a glimpse at what you can do to protect your move:
Need a more comprehensive list? Download the FMCSA Checklist and use it to your advantage with your next move.
If you are switching your drivers license or ID to a District of Columbia license, the process is very similar to any other state. You need valid proof of ID, residency, and your social security card. Are you ready to change your license over? Visit the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles site to find a local DMV office nearest you.
Washington D.C. is a melting pot of people from all over the world. The city's diverse groups of people make it a great place to live. The city is filled with a wide variety of things to see, places to go, and people to meet. The city is filled with historic architecture outlined with tree-lined streets, and a story behind every statue on every corner.
The best part of Washington D.C. is its centralized location to other destinations. Within a couple of hours, you have options of the beach, mountains, and other major cities like New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. If you want to stay in town, there is an insurmountable amount of activity to keep you involved. D.C. is filled with professional sports teams, museums, art galleries, fine dining, and more. There is no question that Washington D.C. has much to offer.
Washington, D.C. is a hardworking city. Professionals come from neighboring cities in states like Maryland and Virginia for work. While Washington continues to see an increasing percentage in professional jobs, government based jobs account for almost 29% of the jobs in the city. Other opportunities and programs are available to help people find jobs as well.
Finding the right neighborhood can mean everything to your overall experience. Depending on where you work and the things you like, you can be a part of the artsy neighborhoods around DuPont Circle, or historic bohemian Adams Morgan.
The city is split into four quadrants; Downtown, North Central, West, and East. If you are familiar with living in a heavily metropolitan area, your transition to Washington, D.C. will be smooth. For others, moving from suburban to city life may be slightly too fast but the adjustment will come faster than you can imagine.
With history being deep-rooted in Washington, D.C. you can find old colonial homes renovated into modern homes. You can also find townhomes, apartments, single family homes and condos throughout the city but it does come at a cost.
With the cost of living being one of the highest in the country, living in the city can be expensive but the convenience to those who work in the city is something to consider with the heavy traffic of commuters going in and out of the city. If you are looking for a rural or suburban lifestyle, you can find more affordable homes moving further away from the city in Maryland and Virginia.
State Resources The District of Columbia has multiple state resources to help you find the right home. You can search the HomesDatabase.com or DC Homeownership Opportunities.
Online Classified Ads You can view the Washington City Paper or The Washington Times classified section for rentals, real estate agents, and people looking for roommates.
Online Resources Resources like urbanigloo.com, Roomiematch.com, and Homes.com provide loads of opportunities for you to find roommates, homes, and apartments in Washington, D.C.
Social Networks Online word-of-mouth better known as social networking can help you find almost anything. When its time to find the right neighborhood, ask friends and family on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
Word-of-Mouth The cheapest way of finding a neighborhood or home of choice is through word of mouth. Reach out to your extended network and ask if they can recommend some areas that fit your criteria.
Neighborhoods in DC: Adams Morgan, Anacostia, Brookland/Northeast, Capitol Hill/Capitol Riverfront, Downtown, Dupont Circle/Kalorama, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, Waterfront, U Street/Shaw, Woodley Park/Cleveland Park.
The weather in Washington, D.C. is similar to other east coast states. You can expect hot summers through July and August with temperatures around 80 F and frequent thunderstorms. Winters are the total opposite with occasional snowstorms and temperatures around 38 F lasting towards the end of March.
Hire a moving company you can trust, like US Border Movers.
Massachusetts is known for die-hard sports fans, fresh seafood, and much more that makes it one of the best places to live. No matter if you come with a full caravan of family members or if its just you, there is something for you to do and somewhere for you to live.
Just as easy as it is to find seafood, you can also find a mover. The goal is to find a mover you can ultimately trust with your belongings, provide great customer service, and make the transition as smooth as possible. In order for that to happen, you should be completely informed on moving laws that are restricted for interstate and intrastate movers that deal with Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (MDPU) controls the operation of all movers within the state of Massachusetts. In the state of Massachusetts, movers are required to:
Checklist for Easier Moving
This list is provided by the Department of Public Utilities.
If you are moving from one state to another, your mover must follow the guidelines of the FMCSA and not MDPU. Both the FMCSA and MDPU are set in place to protect movers from fraudulent activity.
If you are switching your drivers license or your ID from your previous state to Massachusetts, you can visit the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to start the process. In order to convert your license, you can start the process online by answering a few questions and filling out the form.
State Resources There are several resources in the state of Massachusetts that you can visit. You can start with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or other homebuyer and homeowner programs in Massachusetts.
Online Classified Ads You can view your local newspapers classified section for rentals, real estate agents, and people looking for roommates.
Online Resources There are several online resources to find a home. Resources like Trulia.com, Homes.com and ForRent.com provide loads of homes for you to rent or buy.
Social Networks You can find almost anything by tapping into your social network. Ask friends and family on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ for information on finding your perfect home.
Word-of-Mouth The cheapest way of finding a neighborhood or home of choice is through word of mouth. Reach out to your extended network and ask if they can recommend some areas that fit your criteria.
Click here if you are in need of a professional moving company to help with moving your house equipment after packing them. Just select the services you need and pay for the space you use. It's easy.
The two things you must remember and keep in mind throughout the moving process: always keep your cool and plan ahead. It will keep you in control of any situation and it will help to calm and reassure those counting on you.
With any move the unexpected will occur. Scratches will happen and nerves can get frayed. But it's important to keep your perspective. And while you can't prevent every surprise, you can go a long way to preventing most surprises with just a little preparation and fore-thought. And if you have hired professional movers, it could save you from making some expensive mistakes.
The following tips can help your move go smoothly:
If you need a lending hand while moving your house, a professional moving company like US Border Movers can help move your valuable items to your new house.
As a moving company you have many expenses. Salary, equipment maintenance, and lead purchases are just a few of the things going through your head on a daily basis. The big question you might be asking is, "How liquid do I need my assets to be and is it possible to be too liquid or too safe?"
"Liquidity" refers to your ability to pay your bills. The more liquid you are, the less risk you'll have at defaulting on your bills. It is measured as the following ratio: assets/liabilities. For the sake of simplicity, let's look at assets as cash, accounts receivable, and prepaid expenses, and liabilities as debts, accrued expenses, and accounts payable. The higher the ratio, the more liquid you are and the less risk you have of not being able to pay your bills. The industry standard for this ratio is 1.5, meaning that you have $1.50 of assets for every $1 of liabilities. Having a high ratio means you are very liquid, but it also means that you have a lot of excess cash not being used to grow your business. Excess cash is also dangerous because it provides a juicy target in the event of a lawsuit. So by staying near the 1.5 ratio you are making sure you can pay your bills, but are also allowing your profits to work hard at growing your business.
Also look at your debt to equity ratio which is your total liability divided by your total equity. In other words, how much you owe/what you're worth. In this instance you want the 1.5 ratio (industry standard here as well) to apply as $1.50 of debt for every $1 of equity that you have. So with the liquidity example, while you have the cash to pay your bills on time, your overall liabilities may still outweigh your total equity. At a 1.5 ratio of liabilities to equity you are making sure that your debt does not exceed your total equity at too high a level. A ratio below 1 would indicate that you are very financially safe, but like with the liquidity example, having your equity outweigh your debt at an extreme level could mean you are not investing your excess cash in growing your business.
So when it comes down to it, from a financial point of view it is possible to be too safe with your assets. You want to have enough money to pay your bills, but also have enough money invested in your growth. It is possible to have high equity, but also to have a responsible amount of debt in order to spur growth.
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You are entrusting your entire household goods into the hands of strangers when you are relocating. You have to therefore ensure two thingsone is that your things reach your new residence in an undamaged condition; secondly, nothing goes missing on the way. This assurance will come only via an insurer. So when you are relocating, get moving insurance or what is commonly termed as valuation from your moving company.
Now, what exactly is valuation? It is something that is provided automatically by most of the moving companies, and comes as part of the contract that you sign. You do not have to pay extra for it. The term is defined as the predetermined limit of liability as stated on the moving contract or bill of lading. As a matter of fact, there is no relationship between the actual value of your goods and valuation.
There are three kinds of valuation that you can opt for
In order to determine the type of valuation you should go in for, you will have to figure out a rough estimate of what your total belongings are worth.
And that is how you give a value to your household goods!
Research the company before you sign the agreement or contract and look for companies which provide quality services. You wouldnt go wrong with US Border Movers company.
Your business is continuously growing year over year, even in economic downturn. You might be escalating employees and inventory but theyre conk out of work space. Each unique consumer and new salesperson demands an increase in paperwork and files in the office. While building new customers and employees is good for your business, it is bad for the amount of space in your workplace.
In this case there are a couple options for you. First, you may get a larger size business office with more room or youre able rent a self storage unit. Office space really isnt inexpensive and will also require you to keep bringing in valued clientele in order to afford the most recent space. A storage unit is simply a fixed monthly bill. Even while the fascination might be to go for the new, stylish department space, the more affordable method is the storage unit.
When researching a local storage facility, be sure to identify one near your existing office so you are able to reach the unit when you need to without driving across the metropolis. There are many reliable, reasonably priced, suitable options available in most urban areas so locating a storage facility shouldnt be a problem. Selecting the right unit for you is your only obstacle. Once you find the perfect storage unit, use the tips below to de-clutter your office.
Office furniture Used couches can probably be dumped or stored in the storage unit. Leaving it hang out when you have new furniture is an eye sore and a misuse of significant room. Have staff members keep solely what they require. Book cases, magazine stands and anything which is rarely used should go as well.
Office Equipment Extra computers, printers, fax machines, scanners and TVs can all be put in storage or e-recycled. If you are placing any of these items in storage, be sure you rent a climate controlled storage unit as a traditional unit will harm these electronics.
Supplies We identify that your associates desire to buy anything on sale in the event you need it in the time to come but the additional stacks of printing paper, 400 pens, 80 ink cartridges and 40 paper shredders can go. A storage unit can also be good for storing your extra stock of seasonal inventory which didnt sell.
Files Files and file cabinets are of use but can increase disorder. Its a great idea to store files and stands for any reports which are not older than 5 years. Everything older can be recycled or trashed.
Once your office space is de-cluttered you will have considerably more room to work and move around. Your old office will not only seem unique, but bigger as well. If you need help searching for a self storage facility near your office, try using SelfStorageFinders.com for everything self storage.
Want to read more moving tips, visit US Border Movers.
Getting into the hands of scam movers is becoming more and more frequent. You cant really see this coming when you get involved with them, but before you recognize what is going on you may have lost some of your property or received badly damaged furniture with no prompt hope of redemption. Their style of business changes, but most scam companies will give you laughably cheap moving estimate just to get the job first with very doubtful purposes and motives.
They may ask for a little deposit, pack your belongings, load everything in their moving trucks and leave your old home in an alleged drive to your new home. You may be waiting for hours to hear from them till you call their office. This is even unusual when you think of the fact that they should have at least keep you informed before leaving the old home but that is not the scenario in many cases. They would drive off with your possessions and wait for you to pay more money, in some cases double than what was earlier agreed on. There is hope for you if you end up in this position but even before it occurs, you have to take some accordingly preparatory steps.
Here is what you should do if you feel being scammed by a moving company.
Ensure that you document everything that happens between you and the company. Keep all your records , the total amount you two agreed on at first, the deposit you had already paid and the amount the sneakily want to take from you.
The minute you find out that youre being scammed or that your possessions are being held hostage till you pay extra money, you should purposely and accordingly keep all phone communication, who you talked with, the dates, emails and any other documented proofs that will help you to demonstrate you case. Doing these will assist you to regain your goods by the legal means and bring out the crime of such company.
The doubtful behaves of such scam moving companies are wrong and should be convicted and fought by all in the community. Connect with the closest BBB and describe your case and you will be able to brief your lawyer while this is happening. Be ready to battle for your rights and help to stop scammers in our community.
If everyone that has been scammed by moving companies decided to get compensate, the scammers actions may have been cut down to minimum or even stopped since theyd have discovered that it is no more beneficial to betray their customers.
Click here for more moving tips.
Clutter can sneak up on you. Before you know it, youre looking for your keys, losing your phone, and searching for a favorite sweater every morning. Clutter makes you anxious and unhappy before youve even left the house, and as you step into a new year youve got the perfect opportunity to lose that excess stuff and re-organize your home.
Yes, it may be a big job. But the payoff will be big too. And as professional movers, were experts with organizing things. So follow our simple steps and reap the benefits of a decluttered home:
Too often, were overwhelmed by the idea of decluttering an entire house. Thats why its so darn hard to get started! To move past the initial obstacles and get the job done, work in small bursts of 15 or 20 minutes at a time. You can even use a timer so youll know when its time to stop.
Pick the spot in your home where the clutter bothers you most. It probably wont be a whole room more than likely, its a corner or a countertop where things just keep piling up. Then sort through the clutter as quickly as you can. Junk mail, outdated invitations and broken things you keep meaning to fix can all go directly into the trash or recycling bin. Put bills and important notices into a special basket on your desk or workspace. Kids art goes right up on the bulletin board or refrigerator.
When the timer goes off, youre done! As you become accustomed to working in these small increments the job will seem less intimidating. And as your comfort level rises, you can add minutes to the timer until youre prepared to take on bigger jobs.
After youve built up a bit of speed its time to attack all the stuff filling up your closets, kitchen drawers, and workspaces. If youve accumulated so many things that you simply dont have any place to put more, dont despair! Instead, be objective about the usefulness of every item. Make a few guidelines, and stick to them.
For example, heres one rule to live by: If you havent used something in a year, chances are you can get rid of it. If youve been saving something just in case, how likely are you to need it in the next 6 months? Is it something you thought you lost, and either replaced or did without? All these are great criteria for getting rid of excess stuff.
For the avid shopper, get rid of one item you dont need anymore every time you bring a new item into the house. If youre an especially visual person, try a little experiment to help you in your sorting. Simply turn an item around after youve used it; clothes go back into the closet facing backward, books are put on the shelf upside-down after theyre read, and so on. After a few months, youll have a clear idea of what things youre using and what things are ready to move on.
Try playing around with numbers and number patterns as you declutter. For example, use the 4-box trick. Every time you begin a decluttering job, set out four boxes. Label one trash, one recycling, one for donations, and one for things you want to keep. Then move quickly through space, sorting as you go. Finish each job by putting away the things youre keeping and getting the other three boxes out of the house.
Better yet, challenge your family to the 12-12-12 competition. Propose that each person locate 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to put away in their proper place. The person who finishes first is the winner but honestly, this is a game where everyone wins.
As your home becomes less cluttered, youll feel more relaxed and comfortable in your surroundings. You may even find yourself developing new habits or thinking in a more organized fashion. And thats exactly how to make one fantastic step into this new year!
Looking to move somewhere new and start fresh? US Border Movers can help you move across the border with a quick, simple, and hassle-free experience.
Reputable movers are always licensed with the DOT. Check your mover's license certificate and then call the Department of Transportation (DOT) in order to make sure the license is up to date.
Often, the mover's final bill can send a customer into a state of shock. People often are disconcerted when they find out after their move is completed and they're presented with the bill, that an "estimate" is not a guarantee. Your mover can't give you a binding estimate over the telephone or the Internet, because to accurately appraise your move the mover needs to send a professional estimator to look over everything you need to move. The estimator plans the move with you and asks questions like: "What do you plan to pack yourself? Will we have to pick up any of your belongings from a storage facility? How much packaging will we have to provide? Where exactly are you moving to?" After taking inventory and noting your answers, the mover will be able to give you a binding or "not to exceed" estimate, which can be relied upon. So: take the time to fill the mover in on everything that needs to be moved, and make sure that you answer all pertinent questions.
In order to choose the right mover for you, have several movers come to your house to give you estimates. Doing so can protect you from an unscrupulous mover who will offer you an impossibly low price, "not guaranteed of course," in order to win the job, and then hand you a monster bill when the move is completed. If any mover's price estimate is substantially lower than others you've received, find out for sure whether the mover is willing to stand by the estimate by making it binding. Have a lot of complaints been levied against the mover?
Like people in other businesses, movers receive complaints. Some complaints aren't based on much but beware of any mover who has received the same complaint, whether about price, the handling of household goods, or punctuality, from a number of customers. Your local Better Business Bureau and your state's DOT can give you information about how a mover resolves complaints.
No matter how much research you're willing to do, we all know that the best recommendation for any mover is a satisfied customer, If you are thinking about border moving, from the US or Mexico, we highly recommend US Border Movers, they are specialized in this kind of moving service and have a great background of customer satisfaction.
Local trade associations maintain high standards and can give you detailed information about business practices. Find out if there's a trade association in your community, and if there is one, is the mover you're considering a member?
Moving can be very stressful and costly. When you are moving, there are many factors that you need to consider before packing up your belongings and relocating to a new home. If you have children, moving becomes even more complicated as switching schools may be an issue.
So, what time of year is it best to move? Well, the answer is not quite as simple as you would have hoped. Below are the best times of year to move based on circumstances.
If you have kids, moving to a new school can be difficult. What complicates a move even more is the transition to a new school in the middle of the school year. If you have kids and are moving to a new home that requires a change in school, it is best to move during the summer.
Perhaps you want to save as much money as possible during your move and dont mind moving right when winter is beginning. The months of November and December are untraditional times to move, but they are also the times when moving costs plummet. This is the slow season so deals on moving are often offered and securing a moving truck will not be an issue.
If possible, choosing to move during the week instead of during the weekend will also save you money.
The spring season is also a possibility. While not as slow as the late fall, spring season is still a much slower moving time than summer. You will also avoid the heat of the summer or the harsh weather seen during winter months.
Perhaps you havent chosen a home yet and you want to move when the best deals to buy a home are available. Traditionally, home prices are at their lowest in December and spring sees the most homes on the market.
If you move during the fall or winter, you will save money on buying a home as well as beat the moving rush that sees most moving companies booked for weeks at a time. If you want to find a great deal on homes but would rather not move during the holidays, right before spring begins is a great time for home searching. This is before more buyers are on the market, and negotiating prices is much easier.
Before moving, always make sure to find a reputable moving company that guarantees availability during your moving timeframe. US Border Movers can provide a smooth and convenient moving process when you need to move, even if youre moving to Mexico. If you wait too long and book during summer, you will find that many companies are unavailable for weeks at a time.
NAME: Will Ferrell
AUDIT DATE: September 28, 2001
AGE: 34
OCCUPATION: Comic actor
EXPERIENCE: 16 movies and 2 TV series since 1995
I don't know what it's like to struggle for years honing my craft in front of bitchy or indifferent or defiant audiences, sacrificing sleep and time with loved ones and my youth, and then to get cast on Saturday Night Live -- still, despite spotty seasons and the inevitable slightly too long, really quite long, and oh my god way too long skits that appear in every episode, the biggest and generally most well-received mainstream showcases for sketch comedy. It must be pretty thrilling to know that even though you're going to have to act in a few pretty crappy skits every week, you're going to have a regular paycheque for at least a while, and that the odds are you'll be able to spend your summers playing middle-sized roles in big-screen comedies. Sure, those comedies generally range from horrible up to...well, average, usually. Still, it's work. If I were a sketch comic who'd managed to get cast on SNL, I'd probably stare down that contract hoping to be the next Gilda Radner, realistically settling for being the next Jan Hooks, and praying not to be the next Gail Matthius. (Who? Exactly.)
Most SNL cast members find themselves in that comfortable lump in the middle of the Bell Curve -- which is fine. Tim Meadows is the perfect embodiment of that lump: he's a perfectly serviceable comic actor you can slot into pretty much any old skit, and he'll do a job that's...you know, fine. Generally unremarkable. Neither offensive nor uproarious; neither a Jim Breuer nor a Mike Myers. Tim Meadows -- no dummy -- stayed in the warm, forgiving bosom of SNL for nine years. He appeared in four feature-length films, all of which were based on SNL characters. He left in 2000 to star in a sitcom. That sitcom was The Michael Richards Show. We will never, never see Tim Meadows again, but wherever he is now, he probably feels like he had a fair run of it. He did a lot with what he had, and it's not his fault he's not Chris Rock, or Adam Sandler, or Will Ferrell.
Will Ferrell joined the cast of SNL at a pivotal time. Those cast members who had ascended to movie stardom in the early '90s -- the aforementioned Rock, Sandler, and Myers, as well as Chris Farley and Rob Schneider, among others -- were starting to straggle off the show. Even Kevin Nealon had decided to pack it in, for Christ's sake. To make up for all the splitters, the 1994-1995 season saw the addition of a whole raft of new cast members, many of whom weren't the usual total unknowns Lorne Michaels casts, and had already proven themselves elsewhere, like Janeane Garofalo (late of The Ben Stiller Show and at that time fresh off Reality Bites), Chris Elliott (who'd been writing and doing bits on Letterman forever), and Michael McKean (Lenny! David St. Hubbins!). I can only guess that Michaels figured it was a rebuilding year, and thought he'd try something new. It was a failed experiment, and (as I recall it) a very crappy season despite the pedigreed performers, most of whom left at the end of the season.
Which meant that the 1995-1996 season was the real rebuilding year. Enter most of the cast members we now know and love so well: Cheri Oteri, Darrell Hammond, Molly Shannon, and Will Ferrell. (The rest of the current core cast members -- Ana Gasteyer, Tracy Morgan, and Chris Kattan -- showed up the next year.) Coming so close on the heels of one of the worst seasons since the Gary Kroeger era, Ferrell and his fellows had a lot to prove, and they were equal to the challenge. I can barely remember what the show was like without them, now, because they are so good. Even recent quitter Molly Shannon, who can certainly be annoying (can you tell the difference between her "I'm fifty!" character and her "joyologist" character? Really? Shut up, you cannot), was funnier and more versatile on her worst day than Melanie "Jan Brady" Hutsell ever was.
Certainly one might make the case for Darrell Hammond as Most Valuable Player, what with his note-perfect impressions of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Ted Koppel, Phil Donahue, Dick Cheney, Richard Dreyfuss, and (my personal favourite) Sean Connery. He is a gifted mimic, to be sure. But the market for a comic actor who can do impressions -- albeit very good ones -- is quite small, and the comparatively small number of non-SNL credits on Hammond's CV suggests his limited post-SNL prospects. It's fitting that, in a 1996 episode just before the presidential election, Hammond played the contemporary Clinton to guest host Dana Carvey's college-aged Clinton; Carvey is also a good mimic (though not nearly as talented as Hammond), and his career after SNL has also been...well, since the poor man has recently undergone heart surgery, we'll be kind and just call it slight.
At the core of the core cast members, one man stands alone, and that man (as you might have probably guessed by now) is Will Ferrell. If Darrell Hammond is a latter-day Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell is the closest our generation will ever get to Phil Hartman. Like Hartman, Ferrell does impressions that rely less on reproducing the subject's exact voice and more on conveying the entirety of the subject's demeanour and mannerism. Consider Hartman's Frank Sinatra and Ferrell's Alex Trebek. Or Hartman's James Stockdale and Ferrell's Janet Reno. Hartman's Bill Clinton was masterful and hilarious even if he didn't really sound all that much like Clinton, just as Ferrell's George W. Bush (I almost want to write "R.I.P." here since heaven only knows when we'll get to see it again) hinges on the squinting and snickering to create a general portrait reminiscent of Bush's essence.
Like Hartman, Ferrell not so much an impressionist as he is a comic actor, and as such has a much bigger range than, say, a Darrell Hammond. Running over Ferrell's recent repertoire, it seems like each one of his recurring characters -- high-school music teacher Marty Culp, Morning Latte doofus Tom Wilkins, the ultra-hip manager of the snotty menswear store, and even blessed though overused Craig of the Spartan cheerleaders -- is...you know, brilliant. Like Hartman, the unadorned Ferrell is a relatively unremarkable physical presence -- which is not to say that he's ugly, just that he's sort of neutral, the better to provide a blank slate for his comic characters. Like Hartman (and unlike, for instance, a Dana Carvey, who must be the focal point of attention every second he's sharing the county with a video camera), Ferrell is also a generous performer, able to be the straight man when such is required, and still able to get laughs without overblown Carrey-esque physical comedy, nor Bobcat Goldthwait-ian yelling. That, of course, is not to say that he's too pretentious to humiliate himself for the sake of a joke. Many's the time I've seen him on Conan, doing his entirely non-verbal impression of a squirrel. (Hard to describe in print, but trust me...it's funny.) And I hope that everyone in our readership has had the pleasure of watching the Cowbell/"Don't Fear the Reaper" skit because, if you haven't, I can't describe it to you, and if you have, you're probably picturing Ferrell's just-slightly-too-tight vintage brown knit top riding up over his kind of doughy, kind of hairy gut as he whales the fuck out of that cowbell, and if you are human, you are at least smiling at the memory.
Finally, like Hartman, Ferrell is enjoying a healthy film career. Sure, he's done time in his share of feature-length SNL spinoffs, but he's sufficiently proven his acting skills that he's also graced both Austin Powers movies, Dick (and I am here to tell you Dick is a criminally underrated gem), the recent Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and this week's highly anticipated (possibly only by me) Zoolander. In the last of these, Ferrell plays the fashion designer/criminal mastermind Jacobim Mugatu, the svengali behind the title character's transformation from vain, stupid, yet benign supermodel to cold-blooded assassin; he also demonstrates his willingness to appear in a curly platinum wig.
Will Ferrell has been in a lot of movies, but not all of them are worth watching. Click here to check out reviews on the best hollywood movies and see if his latest flick made the cut.
Because Will Ferrell -- like the late Phil Hartman -- is so consistently great without necessarily evincing his greatness in showy, spectacular comic roles (like, say, Little Nicky or The Grinch), it's easy to underestimate the scope of his talent. At the same time, I wouldn't want him to be any more famous; it would be a waste of his unique gifts as a comic actor if he started turning up as the lead in cookie-cutter romantic comedies like There's Something About Mary, or at the centre of an ill-conceived and hence ill-fated sitcom like Cursed. Will Ferrell is a character comedian -- possibly the best we have since the loss of the late and still lamented Phil Hartman -- and I submit that we need him to stay exactly where he is.
Current approximate level of fame: Will Ferrell
Deserved approximate level of fame: Will Ferrell
You've sat through all the Critics' Circles and Goyas and BAFTAs and SAGs. Now: here's this.
This year, there were lots of people that other people talked about: TOM CRUISE (still), little SURI, little BRANGELINA BABY, little NICOLE RICHIE. And so, yes, by definition, they are all famous.
Better yet, there were even people to admire: HELEN MIRREN, STEPHEN COLBERT, ALEC BALDWIN. But who had the really great year? Who cemented his claim on our adoring attention? Who rocked us, then stopped us, then rocked us once more? Who, in short, cut a hole in the box, put their junk in that box, then made us open the box?
Oh, you know who. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE.
It's not enough that he had the best-selling album of the year (because albums don't sell nearly as much as they once did). It's not enough that he had, arguably, the single of the summer (because "SexyBack," when you stop to listen to it, doesn't really have a tune at all). It's not enough that he starred in a movie (because who saw Alpha Dog?) and got great reviews (buried in the movie's otherwise stinkeriffic reviews).
It's not even that he had his best year yet while his ex-flame was concurrently flaming out in the most spectacular, horrible way. (Who ever thought Britney would be the Andrew Ridgeley of their relationship, and Justin the George Michael?)
It's that he made Saturday Night Live funny again.
Who is he? Superman?
Is he Jesus?
Simply put, Timberlake had the best year, and he's the most famous, and dammit, right now he deserves to be the most famous. Seriously, brother -- you put on one double-breasted suit with a neon t-shirt underneath, and stroke that creepy goatee, and hang a wrapped present from your loins while swinging off a basketball hoop, and you've bought yourself a mountain of love from a whole lot of people. Happy, thankful people.
And we think we speak for those people when we say: Oh, JT. You'll always be the dick in our box.
Be proud. Because there were, as always, so many good candidates for this award. The usual PARIS-LINDSAY-BRITNEY Axis of Evil, the shameless horrors who actually have us getting all nostalgic for the quiet dignity and measured poise of Darva Conger. There are punk-ass pop stars by the dozen, starting with all things SIMPSON and Simpson-related. Yes, you too, NICK LACHEY. And VANESSA WHAT'S-HER-FACE. And JOHN MAYER. (Where do they grow all these people?) And there are those lousy lying writers, like JAMES FREY and JT LEROY, one of whom doesn't exist and both of whom we wish didn't exist. And there's TYRA BANKS! Tyra Freaking Banks! We don't care if you're fat or slim! Seriously! You neither, KIRSTIE ALLEY! Just stop!
So why the feeling of accomplishment? Why the sensation of deserved pride?
Well, because none of these people managed to steal the crown of Most Undeservedly Famous Person of the Year. Because you did.
That's right. YOU.
Oh, you know you had a big year. You were Time's Person of the Year! You were Spin's Artist of the Year! You cleaned up! Yes, you!
And what did you do to deserve this? Hell if we know.
You put some Mentos in Diet Coke. You fell off your skateboard and put it on YouTube. You turned MySpace into a screaming nightmare of flashing wallpaper and idiotic snapshots. Then you moved onto Facebook, and you weren't much more interesting there either.
Did you write a catchy song? You did not. Did you star in a sitcom and make us laugh? No, you didn't, unless you are Rainn Wilson or Tina Fey, in which case you may stop reading now. Did you make an awesome movie? No, you probably made Babel. Thanks a lot, you!
And speaking of you, if you love hollywood news, celebrity gossip, and movie reviews, youll want to click here.
Frankly, you suck. You certainly don't deserve to be famous. You've had your day in the sun, and now you should sit down and stop hogging the spotlight from its rightful owner, us. Yes, us.
2007 is the year of the us.
Wait. Except for you. Yeah, you. We like your music. You keep going. And you too, the one who makes the funny cartoons.
The rest of you, though -- seriously. Enough.
Years from now, when your grandchildren are gathered around the underground bunker where you cower in constant fear of gang rape from the amoral thugs who govern the Mad Max-esque post-fossil fuels hellscape that Earth has become (that is, if you're lucky enough to have had grandchildren, thank you very much Alfonso Cuarn), and those grandchildren ask you to distract them from the screams of the unlucky outside by running down the top entertainment story of 2006, what will it be? Surely, what you will rememer most vividly is that 2006 was the year of the celebrity breakup.
Some, of course, were so unsurprising that they actually came all the way back around to surprising us. Obviously, no sensible person thought that BRITNEY SPEARS and KEVIN FEDERLINE were in it for the long haul, but having made her terrible choice, we kind of thought she might stick with it just long enough to make the point that we weren't the boss of her. And while NICK LACHEY and JESSICA SIMPSON had already proven that relationships documented on MTV aren't likely to end well, we thought CARMEN ELECTRA and DAVE NAVARRO might actually buck the trend. But when you can't even count on the likes of HEATHER LOCKLEAR and RICHIE SAMBORA to make a go out of it after more than a dozen years together, or MARILYN MANSON to stick it out with DITA VON TEESE when the two of them together barely even add up to one celebrity, or JENNIFER ANISTON and VINCE VAUGHN to remain an item out of, if nothing else, pure spite...well, it's enough to make you doubt that the sun is even going to rise in the morning -- now, we mean, not in the apocalyptic future to which we're all doomed.
In pretty much every celebrity breakup, there's a winner and a loser. (The rest of the time, of course, there are only losers.) And what loss can be more devastating to a broken-up celebrity than knowing, without any doubt, that the end of one's marriage also means the end of one's fame? Such is life these days for RYAN PHILLIPPE.
Because it is. It really, really is. You already didn't like him -- you saw the Breach trailer and muttered, "That might be good, but I can't see a Ryan Phillippe movie." We know you did, because we were down the aisle from you, and overheard, and muttered back, "Word." He's untalented, he's bitchfaced, and he's not even cute. All that chump had going for him was his marriage to a much more famous and successful Best Actress winner, who we assume just came home from Starbucks one morning, saw his worthless ass sprawled on the couch, glanced over at her Oscar, and muttered, "That'll do, pig." Had we been passing by the window at that moment, we might have muttered "Word" back at that, too.
Ryan Phillippe's fame is ebbing away, and he knows it so surely that just last week, he was using his divorce as a cheap applause line on Ellen. And why not, right? It's probably the last talk-show appearance on which he'll get to exploit his misfortune. Anyway, don't worry, buddy; Chad Lowe's saving you a seat down at the Sad Men's Club, and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s probably soon to follow.
Okay, here's the category where we usually cheat. "Who's the HITG! Graduate? The one who burned up that well-regarded, little-seen indie movie and got a surprise mid-life Oscar nomination!" The only problem? This year the Academy decided not to do us a solid on this one. Thanks, dicks.
So without someone else doing our work for us, this was a toughie. TV's biggest breakout star was MASI OKA, heretofore a sub-HITG! barely remembered from guest appearances on Scrubs and Reno 911!. And the stars of the year's biggest indie movies were all either famous already, as in the case of Little Miss Sunshine, or were...BRAD PITT.
So when it came to determining the winner, we turned to a most likely place: the top-grossing movie of the year. And to a most likely role: the showy villain. Who's in somewhat unlikely circumstances: acting under a thick, disfiguring layer of CG tentacles all over his face. Remember? Davy Jones! Even with all the fishy appendages -- including a gigantic claw, which has got to be a physical challenge when it comes to steering a ghostly pirate ship -- connoisseurs recognized and appreciated the salty performance of Mr. BILL NIGHY.
While some of us have been appreciatively following Nighy's career since his role as an eccentric (somewhat inadequate) father in I Capture The Castle, and on through the decaying rock star who called Britney Spears's boudoir performance "rubbish" in Love Actually; the vampire king in the Underworld movies; the doomed suburbanite in Shaun Of The Dead, the galactic architect in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy; the amoral government official in The Constant Gardener (he was responsible for having the Rachel Weisz character killed! Even though she was so pretty and nice!); and the desiccated bureaucrat in The Girl In The Caf. It was in the last of these that we started to love Nighy's talent so much that we actually developed a bit of a crush on him, despite his stick-insect figure and lipless countenance. Really talented actors are just...sexy, kind of regardless of what they look like. We think this is probably how this lady ended up married to this guy, you know?
Anyway, Nighy had a good 2006: other than Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, there was The Vertical Hour on Broadway -- well known as the play in which Julianne Moore was only okay, and had all her scenes stolen by Bill Nighy -- and as Richard, spectacularly cuckolded in Notes On A Scandal -- about which we'll just say that the kid who played Stephen is actually eighteen, so we're not pervs for thinking that if he and his freckles were always hanging around us, calling us "miss" in that Belfast accent, we might screw him in a trainyard too. It takes a very talented guy to pull focus from the character who's (sexily) breaking the law with her student, and the character who's her crazy gay stalker, but Bill Nighy did it, which is why we feel that Bill Nighy's days of being confused with the Science Guy are behind him at last
As usual, the year's most exciting movie experience has been entirely overlooked by the Academy: much as The 40 Year Old Virgin was getting egregiously snubbed around this time last year, there'll be no love at the Kodak for Casino Royale this weekend. It was the year's brainiest action movie, you say? Daniel Craig's sexy-beast performance reinvented James Bond after years the character's spent poncing around in tuxedos, eating cucumber sandwiches with his pinkie up? Whatever, dude, Will Smith cried in a bathroom.
While Casino Royale was the best thing to happen to the Bond franchise in decades, it didn't represent good news for everyone. Consider the sad case of PIERCE BROSNAN. Amid all the rapturous media coverage of everything Royale did right -- thrilling script, convincing violence, considerably less poncing -- just highlighted what past Bond outings had done wrong; we end up associating all of it with the last Bond, Brosnan. And it's not his fault: he didn't write those lame scripts. He didn't make all those clumsy product placement deals. He didn't CAST DENISE RICHARDS, for heaven's sake. But he's still got to be the last guy to be in a crappy Bond movie -- not a position anyone envies.
The problem for Brosnan is that Bond movies have been so campy that anyone who plays the character is practically a Personality already, even when everything's going right. Sure, there are those attempts for actors to counter-program the role, but the effect is still "Bond fights for his adorable Irish daughter" or "Bond lives among the Canadian First Nations" or "Bond gets wasted and marries Julianne Moore."
Before GoldenEye, Pierce Brosnan was in the weeds, trying to end his identification with the character of Remington Steele -- and not doing so well, if the high point of those years was playing the smarmy Obstacle Guy in something like Mrs. Doubtfire. Now he has to live down essentially the same role, but on an international scale, and in a franchise that we've all spen the past six months agreeing was moribund during his tenure. Yeah, it was cute when he strode through that hotel lobby in his skivvies in The Matador, but let's not be cute: the man's getting old. Those roles are going to run out just in time for the calls to start offering him gigs spoofing James Bond at trade shows and in ads for Efferdent.
Fame is a funny thing. Hopefully, most of the time, it's a funny-ha-ha thing, which is the premise this very website is based on. And in the eight years (it's true!) that Fametracker has been tracking fame, fame itself has changed. Sure, there's been celebrities all through history, from Pliny the Elder to Pat Harrington Jr., to, yes, even Buddha. (Who can forget the summer of Buddha mania?)
But when Fametracker started, in 1999, things were a little different. There was no Us Weekly. (It was just plain old Us -- remember that magazine? It was like People's prettier, dumber little sister.) There were no celebutards like Paris Hilton. (She was alive, sure, but no one had heard of her, nor cared about her, and she had a different nose back then). There was no need, in fact, for a new word for such people, combining "celebrity," "debutante," and "retard." (As they do.) In fact, back then, there weren't even blogs. (We think. Maybe they had them at MIT. Those nerds get everything first.) Why, we barely had radios!
And so people who were famous back then were, for the most part, famous for some reason; e.g., they'd been in a lot of movies. Except for GEORGE HAMILTON and ZSA ZSA.
Now, however, the new kind of celebrity -- the one who's famous for being famous, whose fame is like a candlewick that doesn't need the wax of achievement to keep it burning and burning -- well, they seem to have taken over. They seem to be everywhere. These days, the best-case celebrity scenario is that you have a few hit songs, then coast for years in a slow decline toward public humiliation, get into and out of a bad marriage, then eventually shave your head. That's the best-case scenario.
Worst case? ANNA NICOLE SMITH.
Sure, she may be more on our minds since she died recently at the surprisingly young age of thirty-nine (both surprising as an age to die and surprising because she seemed older somehow, more aged, like she's always been around, like rocks). But in death, as in the latter part of her life, she's come to perfectly represent what celebrity is today: one part circus, one part freak show, one part dancing monkeys, one part nuclear meltdown.
Anna Nicole Smith was never good at anything, ever. She was pretty once, that's true. Then, later, she was good at acting stupid while on drugs. While on TV. It's a stretch to call that a "talent." Then she was good at what can only be called antics. The word "celebrity" obviously shares a root with "celebrate," but -- and we mean no disrespect to the person -- there was quite literally nothing to celebrate about her.
Now she's being compared, laughably, sadly, to Marilyn Monroe. Monroe was never a great actress, but compared to Anna Nicole Smith, she may as well have been Uta Hagen. Monroe was married to DiMaggio and Arthur Miller. Anna Nicole Smith was (maybe) married to a guy universally known as Not That Howard Stern The Other Howard Stern.
More important, Monroe stood for something: she represented the friction of a post-war country innocence rubbing up against a newly liberated sexuality. And maybe in that sense they are kind of similar.
Anna Nicole Smith is a funhouse Marilyn -- almost literally, in her exaggerated, and later plastic-surgerized, physical looks -- and, as such, she is the Marilyn we deserve. She, too, represents something about her time. She's too talentless to be tragic, too grotesque to be celebrated. And yet, she was the perfect contemporary celebrity: someone who simply stumbled into the hot spotlight, and then realized that, these days, it's not so hard to stay there.
Moving in the winter has its perks, traditionally lower prices (for off-peak season), less perspiration on moving days, lower gas prices (usually). While all of this sounds nice (especially the lower prices part), moving in the winter also produces a need for extra precautions.
Plan ahead for road conditions
Most states have highway and road conditions maps and updates available online. These maps are great tools for planning your route so you avoid areas with traditionally bad winter weather if you can avoid it, you'll want to stay away from mountain passes.
As an example, I live in Arkansas so during the winter months I use the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department website to plan for road trips. You can check out current weather conditions and any areas under construction that may slow your trip down.
To find information specific to the areas you'll be driving through, simply Google "(state name) highways" or "(state name) road conditions".
First, we recommend that you avoid a rental truck move during the winter months if that's possible. It's ideal to have expert moving company drivers transport your belongings instead of tackling an unfamiliar truck in unfamiliar conditions. But, when you're traveling in your own vehicle, keep these tips in mind:
Cold weather can cause vehicles to have more problems than they typically would throughout the year. Because of this, it's a good idea to have your car serviced before heading to your new location. Double-check all of your fluids, battery connections and brakes before leaving, to make sure that your car is in perfect condition for your trip.
Add blankets and snacks to your car. If you have car trouble along the way or get stuck having to wait in your vehicle for a hotel check-in time, you'll be glad you have these.
Pack books and travel games for all passengers in the car who are not driving. Keeping them entertained will help you focus on driving and keep everyone in a good mood.
Making extra preparations will take some extra time in the beginning, but will save you time in the long run and keep you safe. It's better to find any problems ahead of time than to be stuck in an unfamiliar area.
If you're planning on moving in the winter, get a free moving estimate from US Border Movers so you can drive in your own vehicle while experts drive the big trucks!
Director-writer Alfonso Cuaron spearheads the thriving sci-fi thriller Children of Men with an in-depth sophistication thatfs interspersed with vibrancy, conviction, imagination and notable intelligence. Cuaron (gY Tu Mama Tabienh, gHarry Potter and the Prison of Azkabonh) helms a visionary and futuristic fable about hopelessness and humanity. Consequently, Children of Men is one of these cautionary tales about human-made destruction and devastation thatfs uniquely plausible in scope. Wefre introduced to a wasted world gone completely haywire. Cuaron understands the compelling sensation behind the shocking ramifications of humanized carelessness. Immensely thought-provoking and chillingly insightful, Children of Men is artistically intriguing as a resilient sci-fi fantasy that dares to contemplate the fate of mankindfs chaotic impulsiveness.
Children of Men is adapted from a 1992 novel by P.D. James. Inevitably, Cuaronfs nihilistic narrative would be favorably compared to such telling political and/or contemplative disaster dramas such as gV for Vendettah and g28 Daysh. The dystopian story shines a dim light but is nevertheless interesting in its conflicting malaise. The year is 2027 and everyone is in a variety of disillusionment stages. Whether as a political extremist or victimized statistic these lost souls are on borrowed time as Great Britain seems to be the last venue of an embattled civilization trying to hold on to its tattered society. Strangely, therefs an inexplicable fertility problem that exists where women cannot conceive babies (although the animal kingdom doesnft seem have any such problems). Alarmingly, the youngest living person in the world known as 18-year old gBaby Diegoh Ricardo has just died in Latin America. Since then there hasnft been a birth to speak of in recent memory. And if this isnft disheartening enough the governmental brass and terrorists are finding more ways to be reckless in the bid for political power through the frailties of an eroding existence.
The scenario centers on bewildered bureaucrat Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a Londoner who is eventually held against his will by an ex-wife named Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore). Julian is the radical leader of an opposition movement (the pro-immigrant Fishes) and needs Theofs professional connections to assist in helping the cause of a secretive agenda known as the vague conception gThe Human Projecth. As the token evidence of an immigrant pregnant black woman named Kee (Claire Hope-Ashitey) at stake Julian enlists weary Theo to ensure the safety of the expectant charge by obtaining illegal transportation passes. Itfs imperative that the off-shore scientists that make up the hush-hush hired hands of The Human Project are contacted as their services are obviously valuable to the hasty matters at large.
As the reluctant hero mired in emotional disbelief and disconnection, Owenfs Theo is the perfect tour guide for the detachment and deterioration that Cuaron creates with involved urgency. Already a broken man thatfs stuck in a low-level routine of the same bureaucracy that threatens the withering environment Theo is trapped in a quagmire of bullies and bombs, the mistreatment of unwelcome foreigners, countless streets and buildings basking in squalor and the constant reminder of death. In essence, Theo Faron is a walking nervous wreck. Clearly his weaknesses for the habitual smoking and drinking are instinctual. Theofs a shell of a man that he used to be as an idealistic activist in the glorious days when he and Julian were close in heart and spirit. With the passing of the duofs precious child some two decades ago their passion for justice fizzled along with their marriage and understandably so. Theofs disorientation is so prevalent that itfs quite numbing. In fact, Theofs idea of a calming effect is to commiserate with his only mature hippie dippy friend Jasper (Oscar-winner Michael Caine) and his disabled wife that live in isolation deep in the woods of oblivion. Together these men smoke dope and lose themselves in nostalgic song and jocularity.
Therefs a lyrical landscape to the perilous playground that Cuaron captures so vividly with his intrusive camera lens. The gend-of-the-worldh premise toppled with the salvaging of fleeting humanity hits a true nerve especially in the contemporary times that we live in now with the distrusting atmosphere of terrorism and political purgatory. As a filmmaker Cuaron accentuates the social turbulence with gloomy, disturbing imagery that is both intoxicating and depressing. Bottom line: the world is an ugly and uncertain place. Not only Children of Men remind us how evil that terrorism tactics have come to dictate our guarded livelihood but therefs the element of xenophobia and the indecent treatment of goutsideh people as global citizens. The future of the complex world looks bleak in Cuaronfs paramilitary peepshow. However, itfs a pretty convincing measuring stick for the current climate of our modern-day surroundings.
The collapsing of a fragile universe that has seen its instability front and center is indeed a riveting wake-up call to compliment Cuaronfs British-based catastrophic community. Children of Men is robustly solemn and frothily carries its message of gloom and doom with a side dish of hope and compromise. This is an explosive sci-fi gem that is loaded with relevance and reflection. Smart, perceptive and thoroughly innovative, Children is sordid but uncannily heartfelt in its search for that ultimate inquiry: do we naturally embrace our appetite for turmoil on a massive scale?
The choice of actors can really make or break a sci-film. Therefs few better examples of this than the repeated casting of dynamic talent Adam Driver in the Star Wars franchise.
"Spared no expense" is what millionaire John Hammond continues to proclaim throughout the film about his theme park geared towards bringing forth a realistic adventure that everyone can visualize and touch. This is Spielberg's attempt in the making of this film and I believe successfully accomplished in his recreation of these massive creatures. The problem is there is only so much one can do with dinosaurs other than run!
Jurassic Park is about millionaire John Hammonds creation of an island theme park where genetically engineered dinosaurs, cloned from the DNA found in amber encrusted mosquitoes, created to be displayed in what is planned to be a most unique theme park. Hammond?s investors though are rather skeptical of his creations and require that he have some experts in the field to provide a stamp of approval. So two paleontologists (Laura Dern & Sam Neil) and the comical relief mathematician (Jeff Goldblum aka "The Goldblum") are brought to the island to experience all of its glory... or disaster.
Everything appears to be going according to plan, but little do the visitors know that their lives are severely in danger. A massive storm is about to hit the island, but that happens to be the least of their problems. Wayne Knight (better known as Newman) plays the greedy computer engineer named Dennis who is in charge of keeping all the systems running. He's run into some financial trouble, or more likely wasted all his money away, and Hammond is unwilling to increase his salary so that he can blow even more. So Dennis turns to the competition and offers to procure them dinosaur DNA for large sums of money, now all he has to do is obtain the DNA and get off the island before the storm gets worse.
Obtaining the DNA isn't the problem, it's getting off the island in time, after he shuts down the security system, making it look like system maintenance, he's free to go but has to make his way through Jurassic Park unaware that the dinosaurs are now on the loose! Meanwhile the visitors are in more danger as they sit in front of the Tyrannosaurus Rex enclosure that is no longer secure. Now everyone is faced with the challenge of escaping the island alive and intact.
I couldn't help but think why is Dennis, "Newman" still working there? If I'm running some elaborate park that relies on security, I wouldn't continue to employ someone who potentially had it out for me because they wouldn't get more money, especially when they have access to almost the entire system and could easily make more money selling the secrets or in this case the DNA. Big mistake there which pretty much led to the whole disaster, but of course without it you wouldn't have much of a movie.
Jurassic Park is the film that started the ball rolling bringing dinosaurs back to the screen in realistic form. Probably one of the biggest movies of its time and certainly visually top at the time, 13 years later its realism is still pretty impressive. The only problem is it starts to get old pretty quick. While the film actually progresses in the beginning fairly quickly, once arriving at the island things start to take a slower pace and it's quite a while until any real action takes place. Then when the dominos finally start to fall, it's all about running for your life.
In the end, Jurassic Park is definitely an entertaining film, well put together and is very well written and entertaining. You have to give the actors credit as well for doing a great job pretending that there was actually something there when for the most part there wasn't. I wasn't even overly annoyed by "The Goldblum" whose fast talking rambles can sometimes become tiring. Overall, I liked Jurassic Park, but I didn't love it, its definitely entertaining but how entertaining can running away from dinosaurs for two hours be after a while, it gets to be a little old, but the story did help to make the repetition bearable, something the sequels suffered from.
For more entertainment news and movie reviews, check out Hollywood Insider.
Man, I love Tarantino movies. Theyfve got action, adventure, thrills, sass, and hilarious amounts of blood and dismemberment; everything a good flick needs. Thatfs the short version of this Django Unchained review, to be sure, and it is bloody. That tends to happen when a freed slave turned bounty hunter gets to exact revenge on the sadistic slavers who took his wife from him. Paired with a charming German ex-dentist named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and armed with enough guns to change the air-to-lead ratio, Django (Jamie Foxx) sets out on a quest to buy his wifefs freedom from the nefarious Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) of the Candie plantation.
Now, the first thing you should know about Django Unchained is that the story takes place in 1858 in the South. If gratuitous use of the N-word makes you uncomfortable or outright offends you, steer clear!
The story begins with a transaction gone foul: Masquerading as a dentist, Dr. Schultz approaches two slaveholders and their latest purchases in the night, wishing to acquire a particular slave that might harbor knowledge of his latest bounties. In truth, he is a bounty hunter employed by the United States government. When the slavers threaten to kill Schultz if he doesnft depart immediately, one winds up with a hole in his head, and the other with his leg broken underneath a dead horse. Despite the bloodshed, or perhaps owing to it, Django agrees to help Schultz in his hunt, and the two depart for the Gatlinburg plantation where the Brittles are employed.
Over the course of their journey together, Django proves himself to be a competent bounty hunter, and so Schultz takes him on as a sort of partner/apprentice. They roam the land, exchanging the corpses of criminals for cash money, and getting themselves into particularly tight situations that are resolved only by Schultzfs immaculate charm. At a point, Django tells Schultz of his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who was sold at an auction in Mississippi. Schultz realizes that hefs witnessing a real-life rendition of the German fable of Siegfried. He feels compelled to help Django, and so the movie shifts to its main attraction: Candyland!
Calvin Candie, the owner of Candyland, is a man that deals in mandingo fighting; a brutal form of one-on-one combat to the death with virtually no rules beyond winning at all costs. Schultz and Django – disguised as a novice mandingo aficionado and a talent evaluator, respectively – veil their desire to purchase Broomhilda with an outlandish offer of $12,000 for one of Candiefs top mandingos, Eskimo Joe. The head house slave, Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), doesnft take too kindly to the fact that Django, a black man, isnft treated like a slave. While Candie is seduced by the prospect of making money, Stephen sees right through the sham and lets his master know whatfs what, forcing the two bounty hunters into a very dire situation indeed. And thatfs the cliffhanger Ifll leave you with.
Oh, right. And that Quentin Tarantino himself appears as an Australian slaveholder and explodes within minutes. Horrible as it may be, that was the hardest I laughed throughout the entire movie.
This movie is two hours and forty five minutes long, just so you know what youre getting yourself into. If youre touchy about racism or ultraviolence, youre going to have a lot of both on your hands if you try to sit this one all the way through. If youre sufficiently jaded as I am, you can laugh at the overdone violence, revel in the righteous vengeance Django and Schultz lay down on the sadistic slavers, and feel pretty good when the movie ends with a literal bang.
Its no doubt that Django Unchaineds divisive premise helped drive people to cinemas. Check out this article on another box office hit with a highly controversial start.
My name is James, but I go by Double JJ.
I am 19 years old and currently a student at JCC. I am a member of
both Band and Boy scouts. I am an aspiring poet. I like to
play both fantasy role-playing games,
like Dungeons and Dragons and Vampire:
the Masquerade, and collectible card games like Magic and Legend of the
Five Rings. I am also an avid fan of comics.
I'm watching you! Please sign my guestbook.
Sign my guestbook 
View my guestbook
Visit the library of the great Jonas by
clicking here.
See the dungeon
of the Psichotic Biskelion Elsdragon.
ICQ is cool. The palace number is 46236628.
See the Vampire the Masquerade room.
See my personal library of Poetry, all original
works of Leon Loren.
See the Alex Ross Art Gallery.
My
friend Jenny. She lives Next door.
My friend Kiwi.
She lives down the block.
Visit Stone Cold Online. He
owns the next block.
