Saoirse Ronan : Pronouncing Her First Name May be Tough for Some, but you may Want to Learn How to!

In continuing my trend with highlighting actor/actresses whose careers are on the rise, this week I wanted to talk about Saoirse Ronan.  The first time I saw this girl was with her wide eyed quiet performance in the film Atonement.  Atonement follows the story of star crossed lovers Keira Knightly (Cecilia Tallis) and James McAvoy (Robbie Turner) who are are seen in very passionate moment by Cecilia's younger sister Briony (Ronan).  Saoirse Ronan's performance was one of the best parts about the film; she is quiet, innocent, and plays the unnerved Briony Tallis with gusto.  The film follows Briony throughout her older year (Ronan only plays Briony for a short time, but she begins the the journey of the characters depth and...

Read more »

What Super Hero Movie do You Want to See Most this Year?

Vote on the Right Hand S...

Read more »

Long Days Journey into Higher Education

So I have been away since this past Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland at a conference for work.  I work in the Higher Education system, and I am currently a graduate student at Bowling Green State University in the College Student Personal program.  Many of you may ask what two questions 1) What does that mean and 2) How does this connect with the theme of the blog?  Well the answer to one is tough-I basically am getting a masters in college administration and theoretical perspectives of understanding college students.  Its interesting and the conference was a blast-I did my first Drag ever and it was to Grease (I am not a pretty woman).The answer to the second question is the focus of this blog post-as I was sitting...

Read more »

5 "Must-See" Courtroom Dramas

So if you have not seen any of these films pull up your netflix-add them to your queue or your instant watch and get going-These are the five courtroom Dramas that are the best (in my opinion.)  I will not be doing much blog posting over the next couple of days, I will be away at a conference (trying to find a job-wish me luck.)  So I am going to try do as many posts today to make up for that.  Onto the list...1-To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)-The best courtroom drama is the film To Kill a Mockingbird.  Gregory Peck stars as the admirable Atticus Finch who takes on a court cases where a black man is accused of raping a young white woman.  The story is told through the point of view of Finch's young daughter Scout, and...

Read more »

Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy the Show: Go to the Movies to be Enertained!

I love it when I get to go to the movies and see a film that is just enjoyable.  Tonight I went to go see The Lincoln Lawyer with Matthew Mcconaughey.  I mentioned this movie to a lot of my friends, but many of them had not heard about it (mostly because there was poor publicity for this film.)  The sad part is this probably one of the most entertaining and enjoyable films I have seen this year.  The plot takes on the chase with Mcconaughey as a bad boy lawyer who you can't help but love.This made me think about other films that I saw that were just plain enjoyable, but because of either poor marketing, the fact that the film was too small, or other various reasons people don't get to see some or hear about movies until...

Read more »

Comic Book Movies in 2011: Too Much or Just Right?

With the release of the Captain America: The First Avenger trailer yesterday, it dawned on me, there are so many comic book/graphic novel inspired films this year.  Some films are sequels, or re-inventions, some are one time happenings, and others are making comic fanboys drool.  The question is will they be worth your time, or are they simply bleeding this genre dry?  As a big fan of comic books it is my duty to help steer you clear or direct you to the hits and the misses this upcoming movie year.The year started out with a wimper.  The Green Hornet was the first film inspired by a comic book.  Starring Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet) and Jay Chou (Kato) this film attempted to be funny, and humorous while also being...

Read more »

What was your favorite Elizabeth Taylor Performance?

...

Read more »

In Memoriam: Elizabeth Taylor

  The first time I saw Elizabeth Taylor in a movie was as a young child in The Flintstones; she played Wilma's mother.  Then I saw her as a guest star in the television show The Nanny and in her iconic television commercials for her White Diamonds perfume.  I also remember everyone talking about the fact that this woman had been married eight different times, and no one ever talked about her acting.All of the hype around her puzzled me, and  then one day I remember asking my grandmother "What's the big deal about Elizabeth Taylor?"  She answered "She was a huge movie star, beautiful, she had a strong presence, and was a great actress!"  I was still not sold, and let it it go thinking I was not...

Read more »

What Movie Would You Rent Today?

In Honor of New Release Tuesday I have a Poll in my blog (to the right) about which film you would want to rent.  Here are the optio...

Read more »

The Demise of the Video Store

On March 10th 2011 Azam Ahmed wrote a piece for the New York Times about Blockbuster's Bankruptcy sale. The point of the article in this post is not important, but it made me think about the changing technology and the end of the video store.  When I was young kid growing up in Albany, NY I remember heading to the video store Coulson's on Delaware Avenue.  They had magazines,snacks, and in the back a place to find and rent movies.  I remember my excitement renting The Muppet Show and Care Bears (don't laugh).  Coulson's went out of business  in 1996 fifteen years ago-this was the highpoint of video rental chains like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. I remember being sad when Coulson's stopped being the...

Read more »

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: A Bright Star on the Rise

My goal with this blog is to create a pattern so that as I build a loyal fan base I can highlight key things on specific days.  Monday is going to be about the star on the rise, and my first pick for this entry is on Joseph Gordon-Levitt.Who knew that the young teen in televisions 3rd Rock from the Sun would be on the list of go to actors.  Gordon-Levitt was a cute younger actor, but who knew what he had in him; his first major film role was in 10 Ten Things I Hate About You, had him playing the adoring dorky Cameron pining after the pretty popular girl Bianca (now that I look back maybe I did see how his angst would come shining through on the big screen).My first interaction with his greatness...

Read more »

Five "Great" Actors and Actresses Wasting Your Time at the Movies

It came to my attention after watching a terrible movie last night (Morning Glory) that there are a lot of actors and actresses who are doing some pretty terrible movies.  There are some people who I expect to be in a bad movie.  I don't ever expect to see  or hear the words Academy Award nominee Jessica Alba.  There are actors and actresses who I expect better from, they have shown they have talent, but have also proven to be in some terrible films.  Here are five current iconic actors/actresses working today that are not doing their best work in film right now.  1-Robert DeNiro-What a great actor; he brought us nuances in The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Cape Fear, Goodfellas, and of course...

Read more »

Rango Saves the Day: Are Animated Films Hollywood's Saving Grace?

This past Thursday March 17th 2011 (yes on St. Patrick's Day) I went to see my first film in theatres in over two months!  For my friends out there, I usually like to see a movie at least once a week, but there has been nothing on the horizon until this film. After the the movie ended (great film) a light bulb went off in my head,  and I said to my friends "Wow I have seen more animated films in the theatres as a 26 year-old then I did when I was a little kid."As the evening drew to a close I thought the animated features I watched in my childhood Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan, etc and how animated features have changed in the last 10 years.  Rango is a prime example-the film has a message, there is adult...

Read more »

Welcome to Eternal Thoughts of Kevin's Mind

Welcome to my new blog!  This focuses on the film industry and the role it plays it not only shaping the landscape of history, but in shaping our culture.  Many of you may think of me as a film snob or an elitest, but I enjoy well made well written films.  When I spend my money I want to know the producers, directors, cast put the time, effort and energy to make quality material. (Just wanted to put in Warning)My blog title was inspired by my favorite film of all time Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. If you haven't seen this movie yet-then we probably should not be friends.  But for your own sake I will give you a quick summary of the film in order to get you caught up to speed.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless...

Read more »

Adele 19 album cover

Adele...

Read more »