Hard Lines

From Reader’s Digest Asia August Issue p.14

“Entertainment Weekly recently listed the worst movie dialogues ever spoken. Here are the selections:

Natalie Portman: “Hold me, like you did by the lake on Naboo.”(Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 2005)

Julia Roberts: “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy asking him to love her.” (Notting Hill 1999)

Tom Cruise: “You complete me.” (Jerry Maguire 1996)

Drew Barrymore: “A bird may love a fish, signore, but where will they live?” (Ever After 1996)

Halle Berry: “You know what happens when a toad gets struck by lighting? The same thing that happens to everything else.” (X-Men 2000)

Ali McGraw: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” (Love story 1970)

Andie MacDowell: “Is it still raining? I hadn’t noticed.” (Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994)

Jennifer Grey: “I carried a watermelon” (Dirty Dancing 1987)

Meg Ryan: “We were made to fit together” (City of Angels 1998)

Meryl Streep: “A dingo ate my baby!” (Evil Angels 1988)

**** Though I must admit I memorized Julia’s and Halle’s lines after I watched the film hehe..

Summer Box Office 2008: Top 10

10. WANTED – $133.7 million

Freely adapted from a little-known comic book, “Wanted” got people talking with trailers showing off some wildly inventive gunplay and Angelina Jolie sporting even more tattoos than usual. It exceeded expectations with its $51M opening, but still came in second that weekend behind “WALL-E.”

9. THE INCREDIBLE HULK – $134.4 million2003 movie. And while this one brought in a lower opening number — $55M to the previous film’s $62M — its positive reviews and fan reaction gave it more legs, bringing its total to $2M more than the first one.

Naturally, this new version of Marvel Comics’ green gargantuan would beg comparisons to the disappointing

8. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN – $141.5 millionThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, opened in December ‘05 with $10M more, but went on to gross more than double what “Prince Caspian” did. Coming out in the summer meant this one faced tougher competition, but it does raise questions if “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” the third movie scheduled for 2010, will float or sink.

Most films would be pleased as punch with a $55M opening and a $140+ total, but that’s not the case here.

7. SEX AND THE CITY – $152.3 million

Four years after the show ended its run on HBO, the buzz around the first big screen outing for Carrie and company was intense. Moviegoers across the nation made an event out of going to the movie, some even dressing up as their favorite character. But the excitement was warranted, with “Sex and the City” becoming the top grossing R-rated film of the year so far.

6. KUNG FU PANDA – $212.6 millionShrek movie ever.

It’s a formula so brilliant in its simplicity you wonder why no one thought of it before: take cute, cuddly, fuzzy animals and have them beat each other up. With a star-studded voice cast and kinetic action, “Kung Fu Panda” attracted audience of all ages, making it DreamWorks Animation’s biggest non-

5. WALL-E – $216.2 millionRatatouille.

If any movie was going to break Pixar’s 13-year streak of hits, it would’ve been “WALL-E.” It had no big celebrity voices, a story that couldn’t be summarized in a sentence, and a hero who could barely even speak. But even with those challenges, “WALL-E” opened at #1 with a $63M weekend, and went on to earn $10M more than Pixar’s release from last summer, the Oscar-winning

4. HANCOCK – $226.3 millionWill Smith refers to the 4th of July holiday as “Big Willie Weekend.” At turns broadly comedic and surprisingly dramatic, “Hancock” was his fifth movie to open at #1 over the long Independence Day weekend. It went on to become Smith’s fourth-highest earning movie, behind Independence Day, Men in Black, and last year’s I Am Legend.

There’s a reason

3. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL – $315.3 millionRaiders of the Lost Ark nearly doubles the take of this installment.

Nineteen years is a long time to wait for a sequel. Most of the teenage moviegoing population hadn’t even been born when Dr. Jones last hit the big screen. Still, “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” ended up as the highest grossing Indiana Jones movie. However, if you adjust for inflation, 1981’s

2. IRON MAN – $317.5 million

A well-respected actor who had never had a huge hit. A director known more for comedy than action. And a second-tier comic book character unfamiliar to most movie fans. It seemed like “Iron Man” had a lot stacked against it. But exciting trailers, positive reviews, and excellent word-of-mouth made the Marvel Comics adaptation a smash, with a $102M opening. The first big movie of the summer, “Iron Man” looked like it would be the champion of the season, until another masked hero swooped in.

1. THE DARK KNIGHT – $489.4 millionBatman Begins was the well-received reinvention of a tarnished film franchise that grossed a respectable $205M in the summer of ‘05. The follow-up, “The Dark Knight,” out-grossed that number in only six days. Why did the second film do so astonishingly well? Several reasons: the first found a much bigger audience on DVD, fan excitement had been stoked for months with eye-popping trailers, and, of course, the buzz that surrounded the late Heath Ledger’s electrifying performance as the Joker. All this has made “The Dark Knight” not only the top film of the summer, but the second-highest grossing movie of all time.

Eveything from: Yahoo Movies!

Fall

Rachel Zoe is a professional fashion stylist famous for working with A-list and high-profile celebrities. She will have her new series on Bravo this September called Rachel Zoe Project.

According to her these are what she’s lovin’ for the fall season:

A pair of amazing black patent-leather platforms or a great black patent-leather bag. They are both classic and basically can be paired with everything!

The “IN” shoe look right now : high-heel gladiators worn with an evening dress (or casual!)

BLACK can get too goth so go with a red lip and a messy chignon hairdo which is very French then stick to a feminine accessories like pearl, diamond or crystal jewelry.

Pick up a statement piece like a bag in hot or bright colors to go with gray , chocolate, black or denim.

Michael Phelps- Overcoming ADHD

We’ve watched swimmer Michael Phelps made Olympic history by winning eight gold medals in Beijing. But did you know Michael was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 9?

Diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 9, swimmer Michael Phelps, winner of 14 Olympic gold medals, overcame the challenges of his condition and hit his stride in the pool — thanks, in large part, to his mother’s help.

This summer, the world’s attention was focused on swimmer Michael Phelps: the 23-year-old won a historic eight gold medals and set seven world records at the Olympic Games in Beijing. During competitions, Michael is the embodiment of precision, slicing up and down the lanes through the water as he breaks world records. But as a child, Michael suffered from a lack of concentration that affected his school performance and greatly concerned his mother, Debbie.

Because Michael was the youngest of three children and the only male, Debbie believed that his lack of focus and go-go-go energy levels were typical for a young boy. But as Michael continued through school near Baltimore, Maryland, reports from his teachers pointed to a lack of improvement in his ability to stay on task. At age 9, Michael was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a mental condition that affects an estimated four million children and adolescents in the United States. With the help of treatment — medication and behavior therapy — and the support of his mother, Michael was able to channel his energies into swimming, becoming the youngest male record holder in modern sports at the age of 15.

Solennité de l’acceptation de Vierge Marie béni!

It’s a legal holiday in France today as they celebrate a Roman Catholic holiday: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Brilliant Award

I recieved this award from ALRITCH! Yipee!

The above recipients of the Brillante Weblog are welcomed to put the Logo on their personal blogs and have the honor of passing this award to seven other bloggers. Here are the rules for passing on the award:

l. Put the logo on your blog

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate at least seven other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog

Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

I want to share this Award to IDA, ELINIA, CLIOGODESS, GEISHA, VERPO, LEAFLESS, EARTH LOTUS, ELYENS, DJ KAUFMAN

Bernie Mac

Kind of sad to know that one of the great men in Hollywood who was able to stay in his marriage for 30 years died last Saturday.
Though been married since 1977 and with a 30 year old daughter, I believe Bernie was still young to die at 50.
I remembered him well only on Charlie’s Angel Full Throttle and the Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13.
May he rest in peace.

ESL online teacher needed

A certain Chinese company needs teachers this September. However, they badly need one teacher who will start on August 12, 2008.

I have already recommended one who started a few weeks ago.

The pay is good, basically $14 an hour though it is part-time like for only 12 hours a month.

If you are interested in applying please email me ASAP your resume @ shenmue7754@gmail.com

I DO NOT WORK FOR THEM AS A TEACHER SINCE MY SCHEDULE IS LOADED BUT I HELPED THEM HIRE TEACHERS.

Here are the details of the job:

Online Teacher Needed for Tianjin Project

Class Days: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday

Class Times: 8-9:30 pm (Beijing Time) 1.5 Hours/Session

 Number of Students: 2

Student Background: Managers in the Tianjin Port Management Company

Located: Tianjin, China

 English Level: Basic Elementary Intermediate Advanced

(Students are upper-intermediate. They can engage in conversation well but still make many errors and grammatical mistakes. They enjoy talking about current events, politics, economics, etc. and often propose articles and websites to study with their teacher.)

 Class Content: Provided by teacher.

 Focus on oral English, (try to have a business English focus about half of the time.) It is best to still have supporting materials to organize the class and help the student follow along, even if the focus is spoken English.

 Class Materials: Teachers and students are encouraged to communicate about what the students want to learn. Students may want to provide topics or articles for discussion. (One World Study believes that the desire to learn should come from the student. When companies or schools provide strict learning materials, students often lose interest. That being said, if the teacher requests a certain material or type of worksheet, etc. One World Study’s support staff will be happy to provide something to use in the classroom. However, the request should come from the teacher.)

 Class Method: Taught inside of our online classroom software. Teacher must have stable internet, microphone headset and web camera. Upon signing the teacher agreement, the teacher will be provided with a link to download and install the software.

 Teacher Fee: Teachers will receive 120 RMB (or about $17.50) per class session (1.5 hours) of teaching. This may be remitted in RMB or USD according to the teacher’s preference.

 Teacher Agreement: New teachers are asked to sign an initial 4 week agreement (or 12 class sessions). At the end of the 4 weeks, if both parties are satisfied theagreement may be extended.

 Payment Process: We currently offer payment via direct deposit to a Chinese bank account or PAYPAL accounts.

Teacher Description: A potential teacher should meet the following requirements:

• Is a native English speaker or speaks on a native level;
• Experienced in teaching English;
• Has ESL or similar teaching certificate;
• Online teaching experience is a plus, but not mandatory;
• Has computer with stable internet of 128kbps or above;
• Available for at least 4 weeks at the given days and times mentioned
above;
• Patient attitude, easily communicates with people of many cultures;
• Ability to speak Chinese is also a plus, but not necessary.

My Top 10 Movie Original Soundtracks

1. The Scientist by Coldplay- from the film The Wicker Park (Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne) which was played at the last scene of the movie where Matt (Josh’s character) was looking for Diane at the airport. I bought an original VCD for this. I love the movie. It makes me fall in love with the thought of falling in love!

2. Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows- from Shrek 2

3. This is Home by Switchfoot- Prince Caspian Narnia played at the end part of the film when the kids were going home

and

Say by John Mayer- from Bucketlist (Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) bonus track after the movie in DVD

4. Anyone At All by Carole King- from You’ve Got Mail (Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks). It was played when the names started to roll when the film ended. *** Edited.. saw another video much better with scenes from the movie!

and

Face of a Faith- from Rumor Has It (Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Kostner, Mark Rufallo, Mena Suvari) *** Cant remember well when it was played but I guess when Jennifer’s character started to miss her fiance Mark’s character after sleeping with Kevin. I just so love this song!

 

5. This Never Happened Before by Paul McCartney- from Lake House (Keannu Reeves and Sandra Bullock). Played when Sandra and Keannu were dancing outside somewhere in the yard on Sandra’s birthday.

and

Just Like Heaven by Katie Melua- from Just Like Heaven (Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo). Played at the beginning and at the end of the movie, if I am not mistaken. I downloaded the whole album of the movie’s soundtracks!

6. Look What You’ve Done by Jet- from A Lot Like Love (Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peets). Bought the original VCD of this because I like it.

7. Brighter Than Sunshine by Aqualung- from A Lot Like Love

8. The Little Things by Danny Elfman- from Wanted (Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy). Played when James ran away from his workplace and rode with Angelina.

9. Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve- from Cruel Intentions (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Philippe, Reese Whitherspoon). Played at the last scene of the movie where Sarah was already caught off guard with all her lies and deceptions…

10. Follow You Down by Gin Blossoms- from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey). Played at the end part too where Matt was chasing Kate in the taxi or something like that…

***numbers 1-8 I listen to them everyday ^_^