The notebook, a name so succinct and mundane you’d be forgiven for casting it aside as a film about a book of notes, and whilst that’s essentially what it is, a more befitting name could have been used. What if the notes consisted of nothing more than a shopping list, or a teenager procrastinating in school. Perhaps they drew a willy; That wouldn’t be a film, would it?

The film is not one I’d normally watch, but I put it on in the background and slowly – but surely – started getting into the story, and once I’ve done that, well, I can never stop watching. T’wud normally be a man’s secret weapon if English charm fails, as I think women are infatuated by the story, and by transfer of property, the closest person next to them.

So I have watched it once before, but I was watching the girl I was with rather than the film itself, and when that’s done, you just catch glimpses of the story. So I thought ‘why is this girl crying, this film is essentially about a vintage floozy committing adultery, the swine!’ And so the most prominent feeling I perceived during that period was not one of heartfelt emotion, but a cramp in my leg.

And yet it turns out the feelings expressed linguistically in that film are so semantically beautiful, so heartfelt and sincere, that it holds sentiment; but even sentimentality itself has been dubbed ‘the unearned emotion’.

I think love is transcendental, or perhaps metaphysical, something we’re meant to spend our life searching for, never to discover. The pro-verbal lapis philosophorum to a naive alchemist.

So I still don’t think that film has the right to be so tear inducing, the only person that dies is old, it was bound to happen soon.

But that film, it almost makes you want to fall in love. Almost.

“Repo Men” was action packed, full of blood and gore, and choice entertainment for anyone beyond 18. Forrest Whitacker was fantastic as an extra again while the star was most notable for looking like Eminem. The movie was like “Pulp Fiction”, “Lethal Weapon” and Terminator wrapped into one. I enjoyed it in a totally sick way.

The movie foreshadowed what Insurance and healthcare could become if greed is unchecked. I loved the play on the word “Repossession.” Insurance owns you before or after you get in the system? I loved the struggle between “Good and Evil” and how the film touched on the gray areas in between. Unfortunately, there were no heroes in this film to root for or against. All you could do is wish for the end, but I can’t tell you how or if it ended. I’d suggest you see the film to join the debate on healthcare, death, and dying.

In short, “Repo Men” was gruesome but “I Get It.” If you sell yourself to the Devil in a cheap suit your life is over. It’s just a matter of time before something else goes wrong. If you live in fear are you living at all? Healthcare and Insurance are two different things. Add greed and you get “Repo Men.” Way to go Hollywood for the two for one. Hot Tub Time Machine also gave some long forgotten actors some quality work. It wasn’t “Precious” and neither one will win an Oscar.

I’m not certain that you are instantly familiar with the movie “Truman.” It was a story about a boy who grew up on a hidden camera. His entire life became a show and Truman didn’t know. It was rather sad to see him deceived by everyone in his world. It was more painful to see him struggle to prove his reality wasn’t reality at all. Truman lived in a lonely world and desperately tried to escape to another even more isolated. Is this world “Twitter?”

As I see it, Twitter is where lonely people interact with a world that isn’t real attempting to share their reality and connect because they are lonely. It’s a vicious cycle, but is sharing nothing far better than living a reality alone? I think so and I must painfully admit, “I tweet therefore I am…lonely.” I also write for the Citizen’s Journal because I have something constructive to say. I share as often as I can in a race against time. Sharing is not about the single moment, it’s about the long journey and the time we spent happily or angrily thinking collectively. There’s some Truman in us all.

I tweet knowing Twitter is still in it’s infancy. What does the future hold for those of us who consistantly provide content? Are we destined to be the re-runs of bad television like we see from the 50′s? Are we “Petticoat Junction”, “Green Acres” and “Gilligan’s Island?” We very well could be, but is that such a bad reality? Tweet, my friends Tweet. We cannot predict the future or control time. Twitter could be “Free Television” in the future shared with the universe? Think about it? Think, but not as dramatically as I? Twitter may not be free at all and someday you could get paid. By selflessly sharing our thoughts, we could become stars by accident. What we share becomes our legacy and our reality. Be the best “Truman” you can be. Always be true to your heart and your audience. It might seem crazy to some but what is your reality? I love you all and I told you.

The Academy Awards, “It is what it is.” It’s a spectacle where Hollywood takes 3 hours or more to give a statue to anyone or anything they decide is worthy. That’s entertainment? This is supposed to make us all dance and jump for joy? I don’t think so! Oscar night has become one of the most boring nights on air. We should sleep through the presentations and speeches and go directly to the “After Party.” Now that’s where the action is. That show would get better ratings than any dog and pony show we’ve seen in years and it needs no host.

What’s wrong with the Oscars? The audience is forced to sit and watch with no connection to the winners or losers. Basically, who cares! The award can be given to anyone the Academy decides is worthy. The Best Movie category has 10 entries and is taking the form of the Kentucky Derby. In that race the favorite seldom wins, but who is the favorite? Oscar is honoring “Endless War, Space Smurfs, and Child Abuse.” Are any of these movies “Worthy?” Again, who cares is not “Must See TV.”

In addition to the sorry lineup being recognized, the hosting duties are being shared by a “Wild and Crazy Guy” and a conservative most recently recognized for calling his daughter a “Fat Pig.” Now isn’t that “Precious?” It’s not like Oscar got “Blind Sided” on this poor selection. How will they manage to pull it off without stepping on their message?

In conclusion, the Oscars are now full of “Hot Air.” It is what it is an awards show where the audience has nothing to root for or bet against. The Kentucky Derby permits betting and that would keep some of us rivoted. Give out the awards in advance, tape the controversial speeches in advance, and go directly to the “After Party.” That would make me say, “Hooray for Hollywood.” I’d feel somebody finally got it right and is keeping it real interesting. Someone in Hollywood found the courage to show the ugly underbellly of the industry and permitted the celebrities we know and love to speak truth to power. Somebody cared and the ratings finally went through the roof. Imagine if Precious wins and Alec Baldwin was forced to talk about his “Fat Pig” comments? Show me the after party and blame the outstanding ratings on the alcohol? I’m watching this one because it could get real and ugly.

So what has made Twilight possibly the biggest thing thing to happen in this generation besides the Presidential Election? Well, Twilight is a love story. Don’t we all love love stories? The story is about Bella, the new girl in town, falling in love with the beautiful vampire Edward and the adventures they have with other vampires trying to kill Bella. That’s the story in a nutshell. I’m 14. So you would expect me to be one of “those” fans. Well, I’m not. I read the series before they became popular, and never fantasized having Robert Pattinson as my husband. I think he’s kinda ugly actually. My friends are obsessed with it though. I think its the combinaton of action, drama, and love all wrapped up into one. Meyer did a pretty good job writing these books. But beside from the books, why do girls go crazy over the actors that play the characters. 13 and 40 year old women go insane when they see Rob or Taylor Lautner, but they don’t go quite as crazy when they see Elizabeth Reaser who plays Esme Cullen. I mean, they are only actors. But girls thing that Rob IS Edward. Sorry to break it to you fangirls, he’s not. It bothered me that I couldn’t even hear Twilight when I saw it because of the girls screaming and commenting on how Edward’s eyes sparkle. So when the new movie, New Moon, comes out, I’m waiting a week. I have seen women my mom’s age who is obsessed over Twilight and wear Twilight everything. I personally think that those are the women who are lonley. And i think thats why Edward has become popular. Girls need that perfect guy to dream over and Edward Cullen (not Robert Pattinson) has filled that spot. I have heard of girl’s actually breaking up with their boyfriends because he wasn’t like Edward. Give me a break! I can’t wait for this Twilight trend to be over. My little sister is 9 years old and she tried to read the books, but never got into them (Thank God!). I still don’t get why girls worship these books and the franchise they have become. There’s even a Twilight Con. I’ve even seen Twilight underwear. I’m sure the actors are very happy with how big its gotten, they are the ones making money off of this. The obseesive people scare me. If you say something bad about Twilight, they get VERY defensive. I have learned this from personal experience. I’m glad I’m not obsessed. The Twilight Saga is a well written book series full of action, drama, and romance. So if you want a good book to read, pick Twlight up, just don’t get sucked into the Twlight craze. (I’m begging you)

First, let me say I am a huge fan of M. Night Shyamalan and suspense movies, which are almost synonymous with each other. Second, save your money on the movie “The Happening,” but if you must, wait, it will be out on video soon! That being said, if you do not intend on heeding my warning, take this one more seriously: this article containa spoiler in the last paragraph.

The Happening is dubbed by its creator as: “A lightning-paced, heart pounding thriller about a family on the run from an inexplicable and unstoppable event that threatens not only humankind…but the most basic human instinct of them all: survival.” I must have been directed into the wrong movie theater, because that synopsis barely described the movie that I saw. And, the writing and directly barley resembled an M. Night Shyamalan movie.

From the start, conversations and body language were unnatural for the situation the two families were facing. After a major event wipes out large populations of New York, many are fleeing Philadelphia for fear of the attack there. While waiting at the train station, with her mother late and needing to catch the next train, the child in the group is asked how she is doing. She shrugs and responds, as if someone broke her favorite doll, two weeks ago: “I’m hanging in there.”

These unnatural interactions have worse effects when I struggled to determine if this movie was a suspense or comedy. An example is shortly after many people in a large group that had converged together died. Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) stopped in the middle of a field and in an effort to get back at his wife for going to dinner with an overzealous coworker, tells a story of when he hit on a pharmacy clerk. In the most ridiculous conversation, he says, she asked if he needed help, he thought about buying cough syrup and in his words: “I didn’t even have a cough.” Moments after he confides, he fabricated the story. Everyone in the theater laughed. Similar interactions occur several other times in the movie.

Spoiler…

The only thing that stopped me from yelling out, “This movie sucks,” was the fact that this was an M. Night Shyamalan movie. I feared I would look like an idiot when an amazing surprise ending occurred. Well, it never did. The event came and went with no understanding of what caused it to start or stop. It was believed that the trees and plants felt under attack by humans, so they released gases to defend themselves. Experts speculated this first event was only a warning, and the movie ended. While I respect M. Night Shyamalan’s attempts to save mother earth, I think he should stick to real thrillers.