Netflix sells an $ 8 monthly service that beams video to TVs and other devices with high-speed Internet connections. HBO also offers an Internet-streaming version of its service, but it’s only available to consumers who pay for the cable-TV channel.

Getting the streaming rights to fare such as “The Artist,’’ which is nominated for 10 Academy Awards, also may help Netflix keep its subscribers happy as other popular selections disappear from the service’s video library. Netflix will lose the rights to stream many movies from Walt Disney Co. and other studios when a three-year licensing deal with the Starz Entertainment channel expires next week.

Netflix, which is based in Los Gatos, Calif., says it currently has more than 23 million Internet streaming subscribers in the U.S. and more than 40 other countries. The company also offers a DVD-by-mail rental service that has been losing millions of customers in recent months as Netflix has intensified its focus on the streaming service.

The Weinstein agreement will give Netflix some films within a year of their release in movie theaters. Besides “The Artist,’’ the deal covers foreign-language movies, documentaries and other films in the Weinstein vault. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Netflix shares fell $ 2.35, or 1.9 percent, to $ 119.50 in Tuesday’s afternoon trading.

Netflix strikes movie deal with Weinstein Co. – Boston.com is a post from: Movie Review and News

HuffPost’s QuickRead…

Loading…

HuffPost’s QuickRead…

Loading…

EDITION: U.S.
CA Canada  Québec FR France US United States UK United Kingdom

Daniel Craig
Entertainment Features
The Oscars
Rihanna

Smarter Ideas More
Log in

|
Sign Out

February 22, 2012

Like

64k

CONNECT    

FRONT PAGE
U.S. UK CANADA QUÉBEC FRANCE

POLITICS
2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS FUNDRACE
GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON OFF THE BUS

BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS

ENTERTAINMENT
CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO
MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY

TECH
TECH TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ
SCIENCE ENGADGET APPLE BLOG

MEDIA
LIFE & STYLE
STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN
TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION

CULTURE
ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE
RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION

COMEDY
HEALTHY LIVING
HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS
MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP

WOMEN
HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS

LOCAL
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH
CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES

MORE
GOOD NEWS SCIENCE BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD GAY VOICES
GREEN LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY MUSIC MOVIEFONE TV POLITICAL HOLLYWOOD TRAILERS AND CLIPS FEATURES HOLLYWOOD BUZZ OSCARS

Movie Review: The Secret Life of Arrietty – Huffington Post is a post from: Movie Review and News

ARVADA, Colo. — It dates back to twelfth century France and it’s baked and eaten as part of a Catholic pre-lent celebration.

“The celebration is the three wise men visiting Jesus,” says Ed Dimmer, who owns Rhienlander Bakery in Olde Town Arvada, as he looks down on one of his tasty creations known as the King Cake.

Ed and Maro Dimmer have been backing up King Cakes at their bakery for 26 years. The colored sugar sprinkles look delicious, but they have meaning, too.

“Purple stands for justice, green stands for faith and gold stands for power,” Ed explains.

As for the familiar round shape of the King Cake? “The three wise men circling around trying to confuse the soldiers,” says Maro Dimmer, co-owner of the bakery.

When eating the King Cake for the very first time, be careful not to choke on its namesake, baby Jesus.

“The baby Jesus represents the baby the three wise men came to visit, so, therefore the baby Jesus is in the cake,” referring to the small, plastic likeness of baby Jesus placed in each and every King Cake.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be Catholic to enjoy the rich, sweet, yeast-dough confection. Just ask the numerous patrons of the Rhienlander Bakery munching on free samples.

According to tradition, the person who gets the baby Jesus in his piece of cake is expected to carry on the carnival festivities by hosting the next King Cake party.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Like this:

Be the first to like this post.

King Cake’s rule over Fat Tuesday – Fox 31 KDVR.com is a post from: Movie Review and News

EVANSVILLE — It’s not the Guinness Book of Records holder for world’s most popular party like Brazil’s Carnival celebration, nor does it have the elaborate floats and costumes found in the street parades on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street.

But what Evansville’s Duck Inn does have is its own unique recipe for one of Mardi Gras’ favorite spicy delicacies. It’s one that’s known by many names: mud bugs, crawdads, yabbies, nippers and spoondogs to name a few.

Crawfish is what they’re more commonly called, and it’s what has brought Rick and Kerri Delano to the Duck Inn every Fat Tuesday for the past three years. Between them, their daughter Brittany Delano and Kerri Delano’s sister and brother-in-law Kris and Mike Lanham from Ohio, the party sucked the heads out of more than five pounds of the Cajun crustacean, piling up a tab of more than $ 100.

Photo by Erin McCracken

Angel Crowley, manager of the Duck Inn, serves up some corn with a pound of freshly steamed crawfish for a New Orleans style meal on Tuesday. The Duck Inn is known for their Mardi Gras meal which has patrons returning year after year.

Photo by Erin McCracken

ERIN McCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS Kerri Delano, right of Candler, Ind., enjoys a Cajun lunch of crawfish, gumbo, and red beans and rice with her husband, Rick Delano, parents Robert and Dona Spence as well as her daughter, sister and brother-in-law at the Duck Inn to celebrate Mardi Gras on Tuesday afternoon. “We have a ‘Mardi Party,’ every year,” Delano said, “We make a big party of it, that usually lasts a week,” she said.

“If you go down to New Orleans, you get drunk, sick, maybe get pick pocketed,” said Rick Delano, who likes crawfish but prefers shrimp pasta. “We just hang in Evansville and have our party here.”

Kerri Delano picks the Duck Inn because it’s one of the few places in town that serves “the whole bug,” meaning the small lobster-like crayfish is served fully intact.

For their daughter Brittany Delano, a freshly minted 21-year-old, Tuesday was her first Mardi Gras experience. And unlike her parents, whose celebration ceased once the tab was paid, she considered going out and getting the full intoxicating Mardi Gras experience once the sun went down.

All crawfish aside, the couple said they didn’t have any other Mardi Gras plans although Kerri Delano said she was planning to giving up chocolate for 40 days during Lent, which starts today.

“Our party days are over,” she joked.

The Duck Inn starts preparing for its Mardi Gras celebration six months in advance by ordering 1,500 pounds of crawfish and 400 pounds of shrimp from a seafood merchant in Baton Rouge, La. It takes about two weeks and several shipments of 400 pounds each before all the crawfish arrives. The bar holds daily food specials throughout Mardi Gras and at night offers karaoke.

Steve Robertson, who was in real estate management when he purchased the bar a year ago right before Mardi Gras, said this year has already seen twice as much business than last year. In 2011, Robertson’s novice bar experience underestimated the Mardi Gras crowd.

“We really didn’t know what we were doing,” he said. “There’s a lot more to it than meets the eye.”

Along with the bar, Robertson also purchased the secret crawfish recipe, which for the last 22 years has been administered by Bob Bidwell, a retired manufacturing worker who lives near the bar. Bidwell, who only works at the Duck Inn during Mardi Gras, learned to cook Cajun cuisine in Slidell, La., from a friend he met in the military.

Bidwell starts with a big pot of water, adds dry seasoning and web crab boil, then stirs in lemons, garlic, onion and cayenne pepper. After that comes to a boil, he throws in the crawfish and lets it boil for three minutes before killing the heat. After the crawfish soaks for 10 minutes, Bidwell sprinkles a light coating of cayenne pepper over the top of the pot. Finally the crawfish are thrown on ice to stop further cooking and seal in the juices.

Cooking has always been a passion for Bidwell, and he feels as long as someone has a love for it and pays attention to detail, anyone can cook delicious food.

“If you don’t love what you’re doing, you’re not doing it right,” he said.

Bidwell also had a love for partying and remembers going to New Orleans with the friend who taught him to cook. It’s been over 15 years since he last visited New Orleans and Mardi Gras, saying crime there is a lot worse than it used to be, but he recalls him and his friend venturing down Bourbon Street and having a ball.

“It’s just a party everywhere you went, people having a good time,” he said. “You didn’t have to worry about nothing, as long as you didn’t kill somebody pretty much you could do what you wanted.”

Lowly mudbugs fuel annual Fat Tuesday celebration at Duck Inn – Evansville Courier & Press is a post from: Movie Review and News

These bars meet all King Cake flavor requirements, but are simpler to make and to serve.

I have never set myself the task of making a real King Cake, as I figure there are enough people who do that already. My brother used to send me delicious King Cakes from a bakery in New Orleans when I was in college. Those cakes were moist and tender with a cream cheese filling, with a brightly colored, but simple frosting. 

Skip to next paragraph

Perre Coleman Magness

Perre Magness has studied food and cooking around the world, mostly by eating, but also through serious study. Coursework at Le Cordon Bleu London and intensive courses in Morocco, Thailand and France has broadened her own culinary skill and palate. The kitchen of choice is at home, cooking like most people, experimenting with unique but practical ideas.

Recent posts

The cake was packaged with beads and doubloons and made for a fun party all around. I was always very popular during Mardi Gras season. That is really my idea of what a King Cake should be, though I know there are many different versions. Those were the first, and still the best, King Cakes I have ever had. But now, I often find the bakeries in my local grocery stores offer wildly decorated King Cakes leading up to Mardi Gras. I have bought them, but they are generally dry and tasteless and a real disappointment (and often stale). I once ordered a fancy, artfully decorated King Cake from a New Orleans bakery at great expense, but even it was dry.

These bars meet all my King Cake flavor requirements, but are simpler to make and to serve. They make a great dessert for a Mardi Gras party, and would pack up beautifully to carry to a parade-viewing spot. I sprinkle colored sanding sugar in the traditional purple, green and gold color scheme over the top for a sparkly Mardi Gras feel, but you could easily tint the glaze, use sprinkles or the fancier luster dust.

And a word about the baby. Traditionally, King Cake has a small plastic baby figure backed inside. The person whose piece of cake contains the baby is then responsible for hosting the next King Cake party. Many bakeries now include the baby in the box, but don’t bake it into the cake. I assume this is for liability reasons, as a small plastic baby is a choking hazard. If you do happen to have a plastic baby, feel free to bake it into the King Cake Bars, though it is likely to show through the filling and be less of a surprise.

King Cake BarsMakes about 15 bars

For the Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter6 tablespoons sugar2 tablespoons milk

For the Filling:

2 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened1 cup sugar1 egg1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar2 tablespoon milkColored sanding sugar or sprinkles (purple, green and gold)

For the Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9- x 13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour and sugar. Drop in the butter cubes and beat on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and looks a bit like wet sand.  Add the milk and beat until it starts to stick together. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared baking dish and press it in to form an even layer, making sure there are no holes or gaps.

For the Filling:

Wipe out the mixer bowl and rinse and dry the paddle. Beat the filling ingredients together until completely smooth. Spread the filling evenly over the prepared crust. Bake the bars for 20 – 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling is set.

For the Glaze:

While the bars are cooking, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and milk until completely smooth. As soon as you remove the bars from the oven, spread the glaze in an even layer across the top.  Immediately decorate with sanding sugar.  Leave the bars to cool completely, then slice.

Related post: Mardi Gras Crawfish Spread

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of food bloggers. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by The Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers’ own and they are responsible for the content of their blogs and their recipes. All readers are free to make ingredient substitutions to satisfy their dietary preferences, including not using wine (or substituting cooking wine) when a recipe calls for it. To contact us about a blogger, click here.

King Cake bars for Mardi Gras – Christian Science Monitor is a post from: Movie Review and News

NEW ORLEANS — From the family-friendly avenues of the Garden District to raunchy displays in the French Quarter, New Orleans let loose with a Fat Tuesday party as parades rolled and revelers frolicked amid showers of beads, trinkets and music.

The French Quarter began to fill with costumed revelers soon after dawn. Some people hadn’t stopped drinking since Monday’s Lundi Gras prequel to Mardi Gras.

Wearing a bright orange wig, a purple mask and green shoes, New Orleans resident Charlotte Hamrick walked along Canal Street to meet friends.

“I’ll be in the French Quarter all day,” Hamrick said. “I don’t even go to the parades. I love to take pictures of all the costumes and just be with my friends. It’s so fun.”

Brittany Davies of Denver was struggling through the early morning hours. Still feeling the effects of heavy drinking from the night before, her friends had her out again early Tuesday.

“They’re torturing me,” Davies joked. “But I’ll be OK after a bloody mary.”

The predominantly African-American Zulu krewe was the first major parade to hit the streets, shortly after 8 a.m. Most krewe members were in the traditional black-face makeup and the Afro wigs Zulu riders have sported for decades.

In the oak-lined Garden District, clarinetist Pete Fountain prepared to lead his Half-Fast Walking Club on its annual march down St. Charles Avenue.

Fountain, 82, gave a thumbs up to start off and his band launched into “When The Saints Come Marching In” as they rounded the corner onto St. Charles Avenue shortly after 7 a.m. It was the 52nd time that Fountain’s group has paraded for Mardi Gras. This year, the group wore bright yellow suits and matching pork pie hats for its theme, “Follow the Yellow Brick Road.”

In the Quarter, Joshua Westbrook of Dothan, Ala., had been on Bourbon Street drinking since Monday afternoon. His eyes were tired Tuesday morning but he was determined to see Mardi Gras through.

“I’m struggling, but I’m going to push through it,” he said.

Wearing a purple wig, New Orleans resident Juli Shipley carried a gallon of booze down Bourbon Street and filled her friends’ cups when they got low. “We’re going to wander all day and people-watch,” Shipley said. “That’s the best part of Mardi Gras — the costumes. They’re amazing.”

Partygoers were dressed as Wizard of Oz characters Dorothy and the Wicked Witch, bags of popcorn, pirates, super heroes, clowns, jesters, princesses and lots of homemade costumes with the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold.

The raunchy revelry was expected to increase through the day.

After Zulu, the parade of Rex, king of Carnival, would make the trek down the avenue and to the city’s business district, with hundreds of thousands of people pleading for beads and colorful aluminum coins, known as doubloons.

Along St. Charles, groups of people, many in costumes, ate breakfast as children played in the street. Small groups were already on the move. The Skeleton Krewe, 25 people dressed in black skeleton outfits, were on their way to the St. Louis Cathedral.

Tom White, 46, clad in a pink tutu, bicycled down the avenue with his wife, Allison, on their way to the French Quarter. “I’m the pink fairy this year,” he said. “Costuming is the real fun of Mardi Gras. I’m not too creative but when you weigh 200 pounds and put on a tutu people still take your picture.”

His wife was not in costume. “He’s disgraced the family enough,” she said.

The stakeout for prime spots along the Mardi Gras parade route started Monday, with legions of Carnival die-hards jockeying for the best places to vie for beads thrown from floats on Fat Tuesday.

Stephanie Chapman and her family had set up in their usual spot on the St. Charles streetcar tracks. They arrived at 4 a.m. Tuesday and would be staying for the duration.

“This is a beautiful day and we’ll be here until it’s over. It won’t rain on my parade, but if it does I won’t pay any attention,” she said.

It was partly cloudy, but rain was not in the forecast. Temperatures were in the 70s.

Across the Gulf Coast, Mardi Gras was getting into full swing. In the Cajun country of southwest Louisiana, masked riders were preparing to go from town to town, making merry along the way in the Courir du Mardi Gras. And parades were scheduled elsewhere around Louisiana and on the Mississippi and Alabama coasts. The celebration arrived in Louisiana in 1682 when the explorer LaSalle and his party stopped at a place they called Bayou Mardi Gras south of New Orleans to celebrate. The site is now lost to history.

The end of Mardi Gras gives way to the beginning of Lent, the period of fasting and repentance before Easter Sunday.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Mardi Gras celebration rocks New Orleans with Fat Tuesday music, revelry and … – Washington Post is a post from: Movie Review and News

By Ronald Grover

LOS ANGELES | Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:39pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The January 31 photo opportunity for the film “The Artist” came courtesy of Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who presented the cast and crew of the film with the inaugural “Made in Hollywood” award. But the photo op wasn’t just a feel-good ceremony to celebrate the movie.

It also served as a clever marketing opportunity for Harvey Weinstein, the movie impresario who has made a history of tweaking rules set by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to restrict Oscar campaigning.

With balloting for the Oscar only a month away, the event was aimed not so much at citizens of Tinseltown as at the nearly 5,800 Academy members who could vote for “The Artist,” one of the nine films nominated this year for Best Picture.

“The Artist” is the only one among this year’s contenders for the world’s top movie awards that was truly filmed in Hollywood, and the plaque being presented to the makers of the black-and-white, mostly silent movie about 1920s Los Angeles was a none-too-subtle bit of lobbying to movie folk who have seen film jobs leave for Toronto, New York and elsewhere in recent years.

What’s good for Hollywood is, naturally, good for the Oscars and good for show business.

“The Artist” wasn’t the only Oscar hopeful using the marketing ploy of a thinly veiled civic or educational event this year. Fox Searchlight, a unit of News Corp., sponsored “A Tribute to Classic Family Dramas From Oscars Past and Present” and sent “The Descendants” star George Clooney to a question-and-answer session at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles.

The Fox studio event was co-sponsored by the nonprofit American Cinematheque, some of whose members are also Academy members.

Dreamworks, which produced the “The Help,” a tale of Southern maids in the 1960s, sponsored a symposium on “the power of films to create social change” with the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

“It just felt organic,” a Dreamworks spokesman said in describing the “Help” seminar, at which Oscar-nominated star Octavia Spencer and writer/director Tate Taylor appeared on the panel. “This was a movie that was about something, a movie that resonated with a lot of people because of what it stood for.”

Fox executives declined to be interviewed for this story, and a spokeswoman for the Weinstein Co. had no comment.

Why the use of so many nontraditional and educational symposiums around Los Angeles this year? Studio executives had to get creative, because that’s what they’re paid for.

This year, the Academy clamped down on past Oscar campaigns that included lavish parties for members where the food and drink flowed. In September, the Academy passed new rules that prohibited receptions after screenings, a longtime Hollywood lobbying ritual, and limited to two the number of panel discussions that filmmakers can attend.

The rules also barred inviting Academy voters to attend events designed specifically to promote a nominated movie or individual. What the changes didn’t prohibit was nominees like “The Help’s” Spencer from attending a panel discussion at which she talked about growing up in the Southern United States and encouraged USC students to reach for their dreams.

“I’m just here to talk about how powerful a film can be to change people’s minds,” Spencer said after posing for pictures in the lobby of the Landmark Theater in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, where the seminar was taking place.

But it’s not only prestige that Oscars bring. The box office for last year’s winner, “The King’s Speech,” jumped 10 percent the week after the film was crowned, even though it had been in theaters nearly three months. This year, online ticket seller Fandango reported a doubling of ticket sales for “The Artist” and a 65 percent bump for “The Descendants” the day after they were nominated.

To meet that demand, the studios rolled out their films to more locations. “The Artist,” for example, added nearly 800 theaters to its release schedule between the January 17 nominations and a recent peak on the February 3 weekend. Its U.S. and Canadian box office more than doubled over the same period, from around $ 9 million to more than $ 20 million. “The Descendants” also aggressively boosted its theater count, and “The Help,” which was released in theaters late last summer, will look to increase DVD sales and future TV revenue from all the Oscar hype.

“You particularly see the Oscar bump for end-of-year indies, movies not fueled by star power,” said Fandango editor-in-chief Chuck Walton. “Moviegoers are more selective these days, and once the competition has been narrowed, they’ll take a chance on seeing a movie that’s an Oscar winner.”

And as studio executives know these days, it’s hard to win an Oscar if you don’t campaign for one.

(Reporting By Ronald Grover; Editing by Sheri Linden and Bob Tourtellotte)

Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints

Host returns to shoot down speculation about his absence

A website presents an ongoing sci-fi series about the town in a format unlike any TV you’ve ever seen

Two dozen Times staffers add some statistics to what we, and the Academy, already knew: it isn’t diverse enough

Academy members are hoping for a few monkey wrenches — some categories might be more uncertain than the experts think

Rules, schmules! Oscar hopefuls work around new guidelines – Reuters is a post from: Movie Review and News

For the last two weekends, U.S. moviegoers have been enamored of “Safe House,” the Denzel Washington-Ryan Reynolds action thriller directed by an up-and-coming Swedish filmmaker named Daniel Espinosa. Film fans gave the picture an A- CinemaScore and catapulted it to the No. 1 spot at the box office this past weekend.

But Americans curious to check out Espinosa’s previous movie may find themselves scrambling harder than Washington’s Tobin Frost. Although U.S. rights to the film, “Snabba Cash,” have been owned by the Weinstein Company for nearly two years, the movie has no release date and appears to be languishing on the shelf.

Premiering at Berlin two years ago this month, the Swedish-language crime drama (its title translates as “Easy Money”) tells the story of a young cab driver (Joel Kinnaman of “The Killing”) who gets  involved in the world of Stockholm drug running.  As he sinks into the underworld, he becomes entangled with a Chilean ex-con who’s savvy about the drug trade and a hit man who carries out kills for a Central European mafia boss.

The dark Bildungsroman, which is based on a bestselling Swedish novel and was a hit upon its release in Sweden, created a sensation at the Berlinale. The Weinstein Company soon acquired domestic rights, while Warner Bros. picked up remake rights with the aim of turning it into a starring and producing vehicle for Zac Efron. The film also tapped into the general vogue for Scandinavian stories, one that’s powered “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” franchise and others.

The Weinstein Company then brought its new pickup to the Toronto Film Festival in September 2010, presumably to prime the pump for a commercial rollout. But the movie was mysteriously never dated for release. 

Asked whether the success of “Safe House” could prompt that to change—the film, after all, could now be marketed as coming from the director of “Safe House”—a spokeswoman for the Weinstein Company said the release date was still “tbd.”

A source close to “Snabba Cash” who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to talk about the film publicly said he didn’t believe the Weinstein Company had any concrete plans at this point to release the movie and that producers may yet seek to extricate rights. For now, though, American viewers are out of luck; the film is not available on DVD or on any other platform in the U.S.

For his part, Espinosa deflected any concern. He told my colleague John Horn that with a second movie in the Swedish-language “Snabba” trilogy already shot (Espinosa is serving as a producer on that one) and a third set to begin production later this year, he believed the Weinstein Company was waiting so they can acquire the other two movies and bring the trio out as a series.

Box office: ‘Safe House’ surprises

Swedish spitfire Espinosa could seek sanctuary in South America

The Norwegians are coming (and the Swedes too)

–Steven Zeitchik

twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT

Photo: “Snabba Cash.” Credit: Tre Vanner Prods.

Is ‘Safe House’ director’s previous film locked away? – Los Angeles Times is a post from: Movie Review and News

February 20, 2012

By MIRANDA FORESMAN

Denzel Washington could make a banana perform as if it were Carmen Miranda in the flesh. He just brings out the best in his costars that way. In his latest release, Safe House, he even manages to make Ryan Reynolds appear as if he wants to act. (Sorry Ryan, I’m still epically disappointed in your Green Lantern performance…) In all seriousness, the movie is pretty good for a February release and a must-see for those who love a good explosion or seven.

Safe House has an intensity that is purely driven by Tobin Frost (Denzel), a rogue CIA agent who walks into an American consulate in South Africa after being targeted by mysteriously adept bad guys. Given Frost’s history of shuttling top-secret intelligence between countries, his voluntary appearance at the consulate is hugely concerning for the CIA. The CIA decides to move Frost to one of their safe houses; specifically, the one supervised by the very inexperienced CIA agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds).

Of course this goes poorly, because those mysteriously adept bad guys manage to get into the supposedly secure safe house, causing Weston to hesitantly take custody on the move with the ever-cool Frost. Denzel’s ability to speak in a calm and measured way is unequaled—his demeanor makes him a perfect foil to the fearful Weston. The reason Weston has so little confidence in his own ability is due to his unwavering faith in protocol and the righteousness of the CIA. As a former agent himself, Frost is so much wiser, and eventually gets Weston to see that all the CIA does is not gold. The dynamic of the two leading men feels very authentic, and that is a credit to both of their acting abilities.

Shockingly, Safe House is Swedish director Daniel Espinosa’s first American film. The aforementioned explosions are not subdued, but not over the top—they’re kind of realistic and always appropriately timed. Violence is certainly present, but not grotesque or obnoxiously overdone. In recalling the film, I remember how attractive the colors were—the dark scenes were perfectly midnight blue, the daylight scenes were vivid and saturated. The film was really well made, with the plot keeping a healthy pace and no loose ends or digressions made.

As much as I appreciate the performances and appearance of Safe House, the story itself lacked a certain amount of suspense. The twists and turns are well marked in advance, so nothing terribly surprising arises. That said, Safe House is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Denzel’s voice and cadence is worth the price of admission. Enjoy!

Movie review: Safe House – Cal Coast News is a post from: Movie Review and News

Sunday February 19, 2012

Elizabeth Smart marries at a temple in Hawaii

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY – Elizabeth Smart married her fiance Saturday at a Mormon temple in Hawaii, several months ahead of scheduled plans for the nuptials after news of her engagement last month drew widespread media attention.

A family spokesman said the Utah woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint at age 14 and held captive for nine months married Matthew Gilmour on Oahu’s North Shore.

“Elizabeth’s desire was for what most women want – to celebrate her nuptials in a private wedding with family and close friends,” family spokesman Chris Thomas said in a statement. “She decided, about a week ago, the best way to avoid significant distraction was to change her wedding plans and to get married in an unscheduled ceremony outside of Utah.”

The 24-year-old Smart is a senior at Brigham Young University. She met Gilmour, of Aberdeen, Scotland, while doing Mormon missionary work in Paris.

The couple wed at the Laie Hawaii Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in front of a small group of family members, Thomas said. The group then celebrated at a private reception and luau.

Smart and Gilmour got engaged last month and initially made plans to wed this summer.

“The bride and groom were beaming as they left the LDS Temple,” he added, noting the couple planned to go on an extended honeymoon in an undisclosed location.

“We’re just thrilled that she’s married,” her father, Ed Smart, told The Salt Lake Tribune, calling the ceremony a “kind of a spur of a moment thing.”

Onetime itinerant street preacher Brian David Mitchell was convicted in 2010 of Smart’s 2002 kidnapping and sexual assault. He is serving a life prison sentence.

Since her rescue, Smart has become increasingly involved in advocacy work for crime victims, forming the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, aimed largely at protecting children from abuse through prevention and education.

“Her wedding further demonstrates it is possible to rise above challenging circumstances to lead a happy and productive life,” Thomas said. “Once Elizabeth returns from her honeymoon, she looks forward to continuing her child advocacy work.”

SALT LAKE CITY – Elizabeth Smart married her fiance Saturday at a Mormon temple in Hawaii, several months ahead of scheduled plans for the nuptials after news of her engagement last month drew widespread media attention.

A family spokesman said the Utah woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint at age 14 and held captive for nine months married Matthew Gilmour on Oahu’s North Shore.

“Elizabeth’s desire was for what most women want – to celebrate her nuptials in a private wedding with family and close friends,” family spokesman Chris Thomas said in a statement. “She decided, about a week ago, the best way to avoid significant distraction was to change her wedding plans and to get married in an unscheduled ceremony outside of Utah.”

The 24-year-old Smart is a senior at Brigham Young University. She met Gilmour, of Aberdeen, Scotland, while doing Mormon missionary work in Paris.

The couple wed at the Laie Hawaii Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in front of a small group of family members, Thomas said. The group then celebrated at a private reception and luau.

Smart and Gilmour got engaged last month and initially made plans to wed this summer.

“The bride and groom were beaming as they left the LDS Temple,” he added, noting the couple planned to go on an extended honeymoon in an undisclosed location.

“We’re just thrilled that she’s married,” her father, Ed Smart, told The Salt Lake Tribune, calling the ceremony a “kind of a spur of a moment thing.”

Onetime itinerant street preacher Brian David Mitchell was convicted in 2010 of Smart’s 2002 kidnapping and sexual assault. He is serving a life prison sentence.

Since her rescue, Smart has become increasingly involved in advocacy work for crime victims, forming the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, aimed largely at protecting children from abuse through prevention and education.

“Her wedding further demonstrates it is possible to rise above challenging circumstances to lead a happy and productive life,” Thomas said. “Once Elizabeth returns from her honeymoon, she looks forward to continuing her child advocacy work.”

Elizabeth Smart marries at a temple in Hawaii – Daily Mail – Charleston is a post from: Movie Review and News