The new X-Men movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, has caused quite the stir among comic book enthusiasts and the average moviegoer. While many rabid X-Men comic readers found some dislike in the film, someone who is just out looking for a good way to spend two hours can find some serious entertainment value in this trilogy-ending film.
X-Men: The Last Stand picks up exactly where the last film left off. Jean Gray, played by Famke Janssen, is dead following a confrontation in a remote military base. This leaves Cyclops, played by James Marsden, distraught and unsure if he can continue leading the team of mutants. To the delight of many fans, Wolverine is back, with Hugh Jackman delivering a performance well worthy of the series he helped form. Also returning are Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Ian McKellen as the anti-hero Magneto. New to the films are the heroes Angel and the Beast. These characters help to add a dynamic to the X-men, with Kelsey Grammar delivering a stellar performance as the Beast.
The main conflict throughout the film is the development of a new drug that 'cures' mutants, causing them to lose all of their unique abilities and allowing them to be completely human. While this is a breath of fresh air for some mutants, such as the young Rogue who wants to be able to touch others, other mutants that are led by Magneto feel that there is no need for a cure, and that they, in fact, are the cure for humanity. This ignites a war over the philosophy of whether or not the drug should be an option for mutants. It is a rather deep underlying theme for a film that you would expect less from. Action-packed, the film weighs in at under 2 hours, which may be one of its few short-comings. There's barely any slow parts to the film, and you are instead barraged by scene-after-scene of high intensity. There's a lot going on in this film; the filmmakers could've easily stretched it into a 3 hour epic. A standout performance is given by McKellan, since through his acting you can truly see the struggle that the villain faces, showing that Magneto's ideals truly do have some consideration underneath them. While the movie isn't perfect, its as close to perfect as you can hope for from a series that only seems to get better each and every film.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Friday, January 07, 2011
Musical instruments for your children
Music is the essence of life and I think that no one is untouched with this beautiful gift given to mankind. Even children also love to play music and enjoy it when they get a chance to do so. For this, you require various expensive musical instruments but what if you make your own music instruments at your home with little efforts? It is a fun and inexpensive idea to make Gongs, xylophones, hummers and triangles for children to play.
1. To make a Gong you need an old pie tin or a lid of a large metal popcorn tin, a metal table knife or spoon for a mallet, a hammer and nail, a string. You have to pound two nail holes on the edge of the pie tin or on the side of the popcorn lid two or three inches apart. Thread the string through the holes and tie a knot. The string should be about 1 ½ to 2 feet long enough so that you can easily hold it without touching the pan or tin. Hit the pan with the spoon or knife and you have a loud sound. To soften the sound, you need to wrap the knife or spoon with a piece of cloth and then use a child socks to cover the knife or spoon.
2. To make a Xylophone you require glass pop bottles of same size and then shape work best for a homemade xylophone and for this purpose, water glasses shall also work. Fill the glasses with different amount of water whereby one bottle should be almost filled to the top and the other one with very little water. The other bottles should vary somewhere in between the two. You can use as many or less bottles as you like. A knife or spoon would wok well as a mallet. Hit the side of the bottle or glass gently as each one shall make a different sound. You can even experiment with different levels of water to decide which note pitch you would like most. If you have a piano or other musical instrument that shall make various pitches then you can tune your bottles or glasses to the instrument.
3. Making a hummer is also very easy where you need to have an empty cardboard toilet paper or paper towel tube, a rubber band and a wax paper. Cut a round piece of wax paper that is larger than the ends of the tube. Cover one end with the wax paper and hold in place with the rubber band and make sounds into the opposite end of the tube.
4. You can also make a triangle with the help of a horseshoe or 4 to 8 inches of metal pipe, string and a knife or spoon. Loop the string at the curve of the horse shoe or thread it through the pipe. Tie a knot at the top and hit the horse shoe or pipe with the knife as soon as it dangles from the sting. Make sure that the string is strong enough to hold the pipe
1. To make a Gong you need an old pie tin or a lid of a large metal popcorn tin, a metal table knife or spoon for a mallet, a hammer and nail, a string. You have to pound two nail holes on the edge of the pie tin or on the side of the popcorn lid two or three inches apart. Thread the string through the holes and tie a knot. The string should be about 1 ½ to 2 feet long enough so that you can easily hold it without touching the pan or tin. Hit the pan with the spoon or knife and you have a loud sound. To soften the sound, you need to wrap the knife or spoon with a piece of cloth and then use a child socks to cover the knife or spoon.
2. To make a Xylophone you require glass pop bottles of same size and then shape work best for a homemade xylophone and for this purpose, water glasses shall also work. Fill the glasses with different amount of water whereby one bottle should be almost filled to the top and the other one with very little water. The other bottles should vary somewhere in between the two. You can use as many or less bottles as you like. A knife or spoon would wok well as a mallet. Hit the side of the bottle or glass gently as each one shall make a different sound. You can even experiment with different levels of water to decide which note pitch you would like most. If you have a piano or other musical instrument that shall make various pitches then you can tune your bottles or glasses to the instrument.
3. Making a hummer is also very easy where you need to have an empty cardboard toilet paper or paper towel tube, a rubber band and a wax paper. Cut a round piece of wax paper that is larger than the ends of the tube. Cover one end with the wax paper and hold in place with the rubber band and make sounds into the opposite end of the tube.
4. You can also make a triangle with the help of a horseshoe or 4 to 8 inches of metal pipe, string and a knife or spoon. Loop the string at the curve of the horse shoe or thread it through the pipe. Tie a knot at the top and hit the horse shoe or pipe with the knife as soon as it dangles from the sting. Make sure that the string is strong enough to hold the pipe
Friday, December 17, 2010
Movie Review - Sweeney Todd
Having never seen the stage version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, I can't speak to the fidelity the film shares with the play. That said, let there be no doubt that Tim Burton has crafted a true piece of musical cinema from Stephen Sondheim's bloody masterpiece. To their discredit, early previews have hedged a bit regarding the singing in the film. In them we only see Johnny Depp canting some recitative as he prowls the streets of London. While this scene is certainly in the movie, it's barely representative of the actual film which contains at least a dozen fully-staged numbers and only intermittent dialogue.
As the former Benjamin Barker, Depp is magnificent as Todd. His voice may lack the thunder that would be expected on stage, but on the big screen it's more than suitable. Purists may find it a little ragged and flat at times--Michael Crawford needn't worry about Depp--but it's an ideal manifestation of the corrupting anger and rotting vengeance that fill Todd's soul. The same can be said for Helena Bonham Carter as the fiendish Mrs. Lovett. Sure she will occasionally descend into something approaching a hectoring screech, but consider for a moment that she's a baker who grinds people into meat and serves them up in piping hot pies!
Voices aside, both actors deliver rich, complex performances. The focus and intensity that Depp brings to his role is riveting. Within minutes of the film's opening there is no doubt that Depp will have his revenge and have it with gusto. Taking a step back from the film, realize that Todd is a thoroughly despicable character. He often kills indiscriminately, but Depp is so powerful as Todd that you eventually begin to relish his countless murders. Carter's Mrs. Lovett is, perhaps, even more of a psychopath. Slicing a throat is one thing. Butchering a man and then serving him up for dinner is quite another. Nevertheless, you delight in her, too.
As for the killings, Burton stages them in spectacularly gory fashion. The phrase 'geysers of blood' is often used casually when describing a violent film. In Sweeney Todd the phrase is explicitly correct. Depp is often obscured under the high-powered jets of plasma that repeatedly erupt from his customer's necks. Amazingly, these scenes aren't even the most disturbing. Once Todd finishes giving a 'shave', he dumps the corpse down a hole where it cracks loudly at the bottom as the skull splinters and the neck breaks cleanly. It's all completely over the top and, of course, wonderful, hilarious, inspired.
The same can be said for the film as a whole. In Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton has found material that meshes perfectly with his artistic sense. You could call it a horror film or a screwball comedy and you'd be right both times. The design is, as would be expected from a Burton picture, lavish and spectacular. The supporting cast, especially Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall, are superb. Only the love story between Johanna and Anthony falls a little flat. It's a minor quibble, though, in an otherwise outstanding film. Sweeney Todd joins Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands as Burton's finest work. It may eventually even be considered his best.
As the former Benjamin Barker, Depp is magnificent as Todd. His voice may lack the thunder that would be expected on stage, but on the big screen it's more than suitable. Purists may find it a little ragged and flat at times--Michael Crawford needn't worry about Depp--but it's an ideal manifestation of the corrupting anger and rotting vengeance that fill Todd's soul. The same can be said for Helena Bonham Carter as the fiendish Mrs. Lovett. Sure she will occasionally descend into something approaching a hectoring screech, but consider for a moment that she's a baker who grinds people into meat and serves them up in piping hot pies!
Voices aside, both actors deliver rich, complex performances. The focus and intensity that Depp brings to his role is riveting. Within minutes of the film's opening there is no doubt that Depp will have his revenge and have it with gusto. Taking a step back from the film, realize that Todd is a thoroughly despicable character. He often kills indiscriminately, but Depp is so powerful as Todd that you eventually begin to relish his countless murders. Carter's Mrs. Lovett is, perhaps, even more of a psychopath. Slicing a throat is one thing. Butchering a man and then serving him up for dinner is quite another. Nevertheless, you delight in her, too.
As for the killings, Burton stages them in spectacularly gory fashion. The phrase 'geysers of blood' is often used casually when describing a violent film. In Sweeney Todd the phrase is explicitly correct. Depp is often obscured under the high-powered jets of plasma that repeatedly erupt from his customer's necks. Amazingly, these scenes aren't even the most disturbing. Once Todd finishes giving a 'shave', he dumps the corpse down a hole where it cracks loudly at the bottom as the skull splinters and the neck breaks cleanly. It's all completely over the top and, of course, wonderful, hilarious, inspired.
The same can be said for the film as a whole. In Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton has found material that meshes perfectly with his artistic sense. You could call it a horror film or a screwball comedy and you'd be right both times. The design is, as would be expected from a Burton picture, lavish and spectacular. The supporting cast, especially Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall, are superb. Only the love story between Johanna and Anthony falls a little flat. It's a minor quibble, though, in an otherwise outstanding film. Sweeney Todd joins Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands as Burton's finest work. It may eventually even be considered his best.
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Start Your Own Sheet Music Collection
Starting a sheet music collection is easy, once you've decided what you want to collect. Sheet music is inexpensive and relatively easy to find. You can find music at yard sales, antique shows and on the internet. Only music that is very scarce or rare is expensive. Most pieces can be found at a price between three and twenty five dollars. Extremely rare sheet music can carry a price of up to a thousand dollars, but few pieces fall into this category. You will find music in any color graphic or subject matter you are looking for.
People collect sheet music in many ways. Sometimes sheet music is collected by the genre or songs. You could put together a history of music in America with a sheet music collection. You could do this with the entire history of our country or concentrate on one time period or decade. The possibilities are endless - be creative when building your collection! Songs have been written about most important events in our history, including wars, plane crashes and natural disasters. Themes such as love or the evolution of images of women in music are popular themes for sheet music collections. Other collectors focus on one composer or cover artist.
Ragtime music from the early twentieth century is popular with collectors of vintage sheet music. This music is considered the foundation of modern jazz music. A ragtime music collection looks great displayed in a room decorated in the Early American style. And the cover art on rag time sheet music looks great displayed in picture frames on a wall or sofa table.
Music written by famous composers is popular among sheet music collectors. This music is readily available in all music genres. Other collectors focus on rare or vintage sheet music. The value of these documents depends largely on the condition of the sheets. Pieces in mint condition will be more expensive. Most sheet music isn't found in perfect condition. The spine of the sheet was usually broken to make the score stand up in the music stand. Spills, tears and names written on the covers are common because sheet music was often used at parties.
Sheet music displayed in a family room or bar area makes a great focal point. Even people who don't collect sheet music use it in a display of other collectibles. Collectors of beer, whisky, golf, military, cigars or trains can find sheet music to accent their collection. A few pieces of sheet music with great cover art enhance a display of other collectibles. Collectors of memorabilia from movies or Broadway productions often look for sheet music written for the production.
Any sheet music that isn't displayed should be stored properly to preserve the condition. Store each set of sheet music in a plastic baggie like those used for comic book collections. Place those bags in a large plastic storage container to protect them from being ripped or crumpled. Store your containers in a dry place away from sunlight or moisture, which can damage the music
People collect sheet music in many ways. Sometimes sheet music is collected by the genre or songs. You could put together a history of music in America with a sheet music collection. You could do this with the entire history of our country or concentrate on one time period or decade. The possibilities are endless - be creative when building your collection! Songs have been written about most important events in our history, including wars, plane crashes and natural disasters. Themes such as love or the evolution of images of women in music are popular themes for sheet music collections. Other collectors focus on one composer or cover artist.
Ragtime music from the early twentieth century is popular with collectors of vintage sheet music. This music is considered the foundation of modern jazz music. A ragtime music collection looks great displayed in a room decorated in the Early American style. And the cover art on rag time sheet music looks great displayed in picture frames on a wall or sofa table.
Music written by famous composers is popular among sheet music collectors. This music is readily available in all music genres. Other collectors focus on rare or vintage sheet music. The value of these documents depends largely on the condition of the sheets. Pieces in mint condition will be more expensive. Most sheet music isn't found in perfect condition. The spine of the sheet was usually broken to make the score stand up in the music stand. Spills, tears and names written on the covers are common because sheet music was often used at parties.
Sheet music displayed in a family room or bar area makes a great focal point. Even people who don't collect sheet music use it in a display of other collectibles. Collectors of beer, whisky, golf, military, cigars or trains can find sheet music to accent their collection. A few pieces of sheet music with great cover art enhance a display of other collectibles. Collectors of memorabilia from movies or Broadway productions often look for sheet music written for the production.
Any sheet music that isn't displayed should be stored properly to preserve the condition. Store each set of sheet music in a plastic baggie like those used for comic book collections. Place those bags in a large plastic storage container to protect them from being ripped or crumpled. Store your containers in a dry place away from sunlight or moisture, which can damage the music
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