This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Harrison Ford: Bald With Bushy Eyebrows!


Harrison Ford, Lake Bell, And Forest Whitaker


In A World Of Social Injustice

Two monumental events in United States history are being remembered this week in Washington and throughout the country. 500,000 people will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream March’ on Washington. 1,000 people will be commemorating the 93rd anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment of the Constitution giving women the right to vote.

These themes of history and injustice are well represented in two new movies this week. The first picture is Lee Daniels’ The Butler, a movie written by Danny Strong. You might remember him from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. His epic narrative is a marvelous depiction of the events scanning eight presidencies and 34 years as seen through the eyes of a White House butler. This butler was Eugene Allen. He rose to Head Butler and worked in the White House from 1952 until 1986. He recently died in March of 2010.

Forest Whitaker is Lee Daniels. Oprah Winfrey is his wife. The acting support group that brought this biopic and civil rights laden walk through history to life would take up a notepad page. It includes amongst others (as they say): Cuba Gooding, LaJessie Smith, Clarence Williams III, Vanessa Redgrave, Mariah Carey, David Oyelowo, John Cusack, Robin Williams, Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Jane Fonda, and Pernell Walker.

Find out what's happening in Clearwaterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

You might be misled to focus on seeing who played the presidents and their wives through the time periods featured in this story. The real focus is the roles the black actors played and magnified. It is one of the first movies that really features history from the roles these black actors portrayed. This movie will be seen and discussed by millions.

In A World Of Women’s Rights And Equity

Find out what's happening in Clearwaterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Lake Bell wrote, directed, and stars in….In A World. In a past television life and ten movies ago Lake played Sally Heep, a love interest of James Spader on Boston Legal. Her new movie, sadly, will be seen and discussed by thousands.

Can the insignificant in a seemingly insignificant occupation become the extraordinary is asked in this serio-comedy (serious comedy). Before seeing this movie, no one would have questioned the inequities in commercial and movie voice-overs. Voice-overs are a multi-million dollar occupation. This field is controlled and dominated by men. There is a sign over the door that says: no women allowed. Can you think of a single product or movie that is introduced by a woman’s voice? A resounding “no” will echo through your car or ‘after movie’ discussion at your favorite restaurant or pizza joint tonight.

Carol’s (Lake Bell) dad is The Voice. He gets every job nod and then throws the crumbs to his male friends. Carol doesn’t want to be The Voice. She just wants to be A voice. She has paid her dues and is still unnoticed. Slowly as the movie progresses and between sister and family antics, she begins to land important gigs. Can (a word used for the third time in this article) she compete against her award-winning dad for a movie trailer and future promotions? Dad’s respect and support may be another issue, too.

This is that little ‘artsy movie’ from a different point of view that non-epic lovers might enjoy. It is, surely, a discussion piece!

In A World Of Sell Phone Wars

Harrison Ford is back on the movie scene with Liam Hemsworth and Gary Oldman. Paranoia is its movie name (or misname). Ford and Oldman were former partners and, now, are bitter rivals. The two rivals are fighting for dominance in the world of technology, business security, mind-boggling applications, and cell phone supremacy. Liam Hemsworth (one of the “ hunk brothers”….Chris in Thor) and his movie love interest, Amber Heard, are caught in the middle of the two rivals.

Liam, Amber, and the movie audience will have a hard time finding who is right in this battle after viewing some amazing advances in technology and cell phone mania. You think this is competition! Apple and Samsung are coming out with their new, application loaded “cell phone toys” in the beginning of September. The lines are already forming!

Here are the questions you will be asking after the movie’s credits and the gaffer’s name fly by the screen:

  1. Is the watch cell phone that far away? The cell phone watch proto-types in the movie looked like they were ready for the marketplace! Swear!
  2. How can companies that sell security systems have such poor security in place in their offices? It is like going to Comcast or Verizon to dispute an Internet charge and having them tell you their computers are running slow or are down for “some” reason!
  3. Was Harrison Ford’s bald head necessary and, if so, why didn’t they trim his eyebrows?
  4. Which Hemsworth is the better kisser? And why would you even ask that question?
  5. Why doesn’t Harrison Ford do a cameo in the Expendables 3 with every other new and old time action hero like: Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Arnold, Chuck Norris, Jason Statham, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, The Rock, and a cast of thousands? He is in Expendables 3 action hero fans!
See 95 additional movie and book reviews at: thomasjpalumbo.wordpress.com.
Use your keyboard down arrow to scroll through these topics at your leisure.

Read the preview of Tom's new video driven eBook at the iBookstore on your iPad. Place Amelia Earhart, Once Again in the iBookstore search.



We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?