On viewing the finalists of the 2011 Archibald Prize one finds some remarkable works where much time and effort has been expended, varying from the realistic to the stylistic. Though must wonder what constitutes a serious effort when a few entries could pass for the work of kindergarten or primary school children. Obviously art is in the eye of the beholder, particularly if it moves them emotionally… but what constitutes meritorious effort must be another thing.

Remember the case where someone painted a blank canvas and the critics were raving. Another notable abstract masterpiece was reported to have been painted in a drunken stupor and according to legend, contains the embedded vomit of the artist. This is the 1952 work of the late American artist Jackson Pollock called Blue Poles. It is owned by the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and considered to be Pollock’s most important painting.

Blue Poles was purchased in 1973 by the Whitlam Federal Government for A$1.3 million. It was the highest price ever paid for a modern painting, which created a political and media scandal. It is now one of the most popular exhibits in the gallery, and estimated to be worth A$180 million, pending the purchase by a willing buyer at that price.

So how credible is the art world?

In the free market a commodity is worth what someone will pay for it. How many are willing to maintain that price is another thing. In the case of one-off art, we’ll never know, unless someone purchases at a high price and others are prepared to buy it from them at an equal or more inflated price. Rarity seems another factor, where sadly the artist does not always benefit, yet the owner does after the artist’s demise.

Surely people must question something that looks like it has been generated with a minimum of time and effort, unless they be disadvantaged people who in some way lack the mental or physical facilities, but are trying their best.

To an onlooker, it seems there is an incredible degree of arrogance attached to the subject when questionable material is given an elated platform that is hard to comprehend. Either the critics possess some superior insight and appreciation that us mere mortals can never grasp, or the entire matter is a scam. Though tend to think its all subterfuge or snobbery, which others submit to as if compelled by some obscure incestuous peer pressure.

Talented cartoonists can produce clever and entertaining drawings that are instantly recognisable caricatures, yet minimalistic. These people are often well paid because they are so good at it and have wide appeal. At the other end of the scale can be found ticket writers who with a few strokes of a brush can create price labels for products in a shop widow. Each brush stoke is performed with great efficiency and precision, yet is hard for the average person to emulate. Calligraphy, is the art of producing decorative handwriting or lettering with a pen or brush, which takes ticket writing to the highest pinnacle. These skills deserve great recognition, though most of this work is low profile. They are not Hollywood stars, though their work may adorn the credits of many a great movie.

This brings us back to the simplistic scribblers masquerading as great art. While ever they can present a trendy facade and have critics who treat them as demigods, they will have mindless followers of fashion… as long as fools are spending their money and its not mine. But in the case of The Archibald Prize, which is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia, one must question the motive of the selectors when they don’t accept classroom art from school children, yet some of the offerings seem to fall within that category? Most surprised that some of the city graffiti is not eligible too, if it were to feature people distinguished in the Art, Letters, Science or Politics? In my humble opinion, some street graffiti is streets ahead in the true talent stakes.

Link to: The Archibald Prize: finalists for 2011

Entertainment – 1 / 2011

Your Scoops
Courtesy of Seven News

Thursday 23rd December, 2010

• Comedian Steve Martin trying to get out of jury duty
• Legendary London zebra crossing featured on the cover of The Beatles’ album “Abbey Road” has been designated a heritage site

Monday 27th December, 2012

• 60 year age gap for Hugh Hefner and fiancee Crystal Harris

Tuesday 28th December, 2010

• Pop superstar Elton John and his partner David Furnish have become the parents of a baby boy born to a surrogate mother in California

Friday 31st December, 2010

• Football wedding of the year for Chris Judd and Rebecca Twigley
• Death of Boney M front man died on tour in Russia aged 61

Monday 3rd January, 201

• Arnold Schwarzenegger is stepping down
• David Hasselhoff visits Bondi Beach to promote a new ice block
• Jennifer Hawkins is showing off her engagement ring in New Idea magazine

Tuesday 4th January, 2011

• British actor Pete Postlethwaite has died at the age of 64
• Abba reunion rumours – one last time for charity?

Computer games are also challenging the cinema for the youthful generation’s attention, amassing enormous sales and growth.

This presents considerable challenges for the conventional media as the trend for people to choose what they do and how they do it accelerates in ways not anticipated decades before.

A convergence is taking place with greater interactivity which all caters for the more mobile attention deficit mindset of people who want it now, no matter where they are, with infinite variety.

Its not just channel jumping, but an instant, unlimited and ever changing array of amusements to select from.

The ability to pacifily watch a program and during the dull moments reply to messages from friends or peruse titillating images and information. Then suddenly launch an interactive game with players spread across the globe.

The old media forms dish out vast streams of content, of which only a little may interest the individual. A newspaper can be very thick, populated heavily with adverts and obscure stories that may never get read. Stories determined by an editor rather than the reader.

News happenings result from sudden changes of luck, often bad, leading to stories of disaster and tragedy. Much of this comes as a surprise to the reader, as they chart a course of discovery for as long as the content holds their interest. Stories that directly impact on their lives will be more attention grabbing, or that affect people they can relate to. Then there’s stories about what the others do, whether that be celebrities, royalty or the eccentric. Giving people a taste of others lifestyles without a commitment or risk.

How current these stories are has an important bearing on their attention grabbing capabilities, for stale news can be as unpalatable as last week’s lunch scraps in the trash can.

The internet has the ability to serve up current information that is ever changing and refreshing, as the process of dissemination is more fluid and rapid. No restrictions such as the printed editions of a newspaper or waiting for a scheduled news bulletin.

As newspaper distributions decline, particularly in the U.S., followed by other regions as trends catch up, advertising revue will suffer. One of the reasons the Murdoch news empire is seeking alternate ways to generate an income stream from their vast news gathering resources.

Rupert Murdoch now has plans for an iPad-only newspaper, ‘The Daily’, which he hopes will make it cheaper to distribute content to a broader audience, using Apple’s iTunes payment system to gather subscriptions. The iPad app-only publication will have no print or web page versions. Readers will not be able to share content easily via Twitter, Facebook or Digg. Cut and paste will be disabled.

The Daily will be produced by News Corp with a staff of 100 journalists and a budget of $US30 million, to be launched some time in 2011.

Interestingly, the very internet based organs that enable content to go viral will be denied an easy interface, unless the reader is prepared to rekey in content the hard way, or hack the system. Twitter, Facebook and Digg get the word out and draw people to content, but Murdoch sees that as content stealing rather than heralding its existence or review. Particularly the Blogs which plagiarise his organisation’s stories. Much of his walled garden concept is counter to current internet philosophy, so it will be interesting to see if the power of Murdoch can overcome the ever increasing momentum of the internet.

The problem for Murdoch is that people can gain free news from the BBC in Britain and the ABC in Australia. Both with vast news gathering resources of their own and who work under legislation that guarantees it is made available without charge. Probably a reason News Corp has been so vocal against these institutions.

Broadcasters are also impacted by viewers recording and time shifting the shows they watch, often winding through the advertisements.

New technology usually brings with it new challenges, which then requires fresh solutions to counter the latest problems generated.

Electronic readers can replace paper and also make the content delivery more current, its just a case of encouraging people to pay for the service, which up until now has generally been free on the internet. Broadcasters, who are also content producers, are looking at ways to generate revenue from both new shows and old programs.

The latest innovation comes from MirriAd who have signed up the Seven Network in Australia for digital product placement. Those who object will most likely think of this as Spam and a detraction from the content. How people will react to this yet needs to be determined, if in fact many will react at all? Product placement has been taking place in movie productions for some time.

In Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox’s character Marty McFly goes into a 1955 cafe and orders a Pepsi Free, Pepsi’s diet drink. The soda jerk tells him if he wants a Pepsi he’s gonna have to pay for it. In the mid 90s, Apple Computer (now Apple, Inc.) used movie product placement to get its products in the public eye. Car manufacturers also employ this technique to place their products in everything from James Bond movies to Mission Impossible.

One of the most blatant examples is the placement of soft drinks in plain view as American Idol judges adjudicate.

Now video games are indoctrinating the young in the same way, as they play with their computer consoles.

To add a little levity, the actors in the television comedy show ’30 Rock’ made sly winks and nods toward the camera to lampoon the appearance of placed products.

MirriAd digital product placement

Your Scoops
Proprietary, unique end to end solution to reach audiences by digitally embedding brands into video content and managing the entire advertising sales process online.

Embedding advertising in program content

• MirriAd signs up the Seven Network in Australia for digital product placement
• Digital product placement coming to Seven
• Endemol is now using MirriAd’s embedded advertising technologies
• TV Shows With the Most Product Placements
• How Product Placement Works
• Product placement

2010-2011 New Years Eve and Fireworks

Your Scoops
News footage courtesy of the ABC, Seven and TEN News.

New Zealand and Australia were among the first to usher in the new year. Auckland’s Sky Tower featured a spectacular fireworks show to the delight of crowds below, whilst fireworks exploded from the Sydney harbour bridge and from barges scattered over the harbour, lighting up the Sydney Opera House and the crowd in Australia’s largest city.

In Hong Kong, residents and visitors were entertained with synchronised fireworks atop several buildings. Revellers at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Japan, released balloons carrying notes about their hopes for the future. Then there was the first countdown of a western new year in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Dubai saw a spectacular laser and fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

Fireworks burst behind the Quadriga statue on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, whilst party-goers in Europe attended new year’s events across the continent.

Spectacular fireworks over the London Eye marked the coming of the new year in Central London, Britain. Lighting up the sky behind Big Ben in London, as thousands of people lined the banks of the River Thames to join in the celebrations.

More than a ton of confetti was dropped over Times Square in New York, with individual wishes written in more than 25 languages, a tradition from the past three years. A crystal ball with 32,000 lights descended at midnight, setting off a wild and noisy New Year’s celebration – the country’s biggest.

Meanwhile, police in Perth, Western Australia, charged 481 people with a range of offences during a crackdown on anti-social behaviour on New Years Eve.

A senior constable was treated at Royal Perth Hospital after being knocked unconscious in an incident in Aberdeen Street, Northbridge. The officer has since been released from hospital. A 19-year-old woman had been charged with hitting the officer in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious and causing him to fall to the ground.

2010 Top News Stories

Your Scoops
News footage courtesy of the ABC, Seven and TEN News.

Most Popular Stories of 2010

• APPLE introduced its iPad tablet computer
• The ABC announced it would launch a 24-hour news channel
• Seven launch their HD channel 7mate
• Nine launch their HD channel Gem
• Hundreds feared dead in Haiti earthquake
• Tsunami reaches Australia after Chile quake
• UK’s first TV election debate
• UK’s Cameron and Clegg coalition
• David Jones chief executive Mark McInnes was accused of sexual harassment
• Carl Williams bashed and killed in jail
• Teen’s murder sparks Facebook privacy plea
• Massive sinkhole swallows city building in Guatemala
• Australia’s hung Parliament
• Independents’ seven key demands
• Labor clings to power
• US combat troops to leave Iraq
• Trapped Chilean miners rescued
• Prosthetic leg may belong to missing Zahra
• Surfing champion Irons dead
• Pope Benedict visit to Britain
• James Packer takes an 18 per cent stake in Ten
• Packer sold half his stake in TEN to Lachlan Murdoch
• WIN TV owner Bruce Gordon upped his TEN holding to 14 per cent
• Mid-air failure of an engine on an A380 plunged Qantas into crisis
• Qantas grounds A380s after engine failure
• WikiLeaks web site causes embarrassment to the US and other governments
• WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is arrested on sexual assault charges
• Prince William and Kate Middleton announce their engagement

Prince Poppycock is a stage character created by American singer, songwriter, and performer John Andrew Quale.

He wears elaborate costumes and performs as a powdered-wigged dandy straight out of the French Baroque period and specialises in musical theatre and opera.

Prince Poppycock was born in 2006. At the time John Quale was studying Opera, having just learnt the Figaro aria, ‘Largo al Factotum’. When a friend asked John to perform the aria at her nightclub there was only one stipulation: he must wear a wig. John decided to perform as a powdered-wigged baroque dandy, and Prince Poppycock was born!

Since then, Prince Poppycock has graced stages across the country including Las Vegas, San Francisco, New Orleans, New York City, and Jamaica. His style is very reminiscent of Liberace, who also wore outrageous costumes in the 1960s and 1970s.

Prince Poppycock came to national attention in 2010 when he competed on the fifth season of NBC’s reality television talent show series ‘America’s Got Talent’. On September 15, 2010, he was voted fourth place in the final four.

‘America’s Got Talent’ judge, Sharon Osbourne, dubbed Prince Poppycock the “male Lady Gaga” after capturing the audience’s and her imagination with his spectacular showmanship and singing voice.

For the New York City auditions of ‘America’s Got Talent’ on June 8, 2010, he performed an aria from The Barber of Seville (1816) by Gioachino Rossini.

Prince Poppycock, 32 ~ America’s Got Talent 2010 auditions NY Day1

AmericanBestTalent
Competitors from around the country showcase their talents, ranging from singing and dancing to more unusual acts, with the hopes of impressing the judges enough to earn a spot to continue on in the competition for a chance to win the grand prize.

‘America’s Got Talent’ – “Las Vegas Week, Classical Singers” (July 6, 2010)

For the Las Vegas Week, Classical Singers performance on July 6, 2010, Quale’s voice was compromised by illness and sung an abridged version of “La donna è mobile” (”Woman is fickle”) from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto (1851).

Classical Singers Compete ~ America’s Got Talent Vegas Week Day-1

AmericanBestTalent
Judges Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan and Howie Mandel hope to be impressed by some of the talented acts taking to the stage in an attempt to prove that they have what it takes to earn the grand prize and be America’s favorite act during “Las Vegas Week, Classical Singers” on July 6, 2010.

‘America’s Got Talent’ – “Week 4″ (August 3, 2010)

“Vesti la giubba” (”Put on the costume”), an aria from Pagliacci (1892) by Ruggero Leoncavallo

Prince Poppycock ~ America’s Got Talent, Top 48 week-4

AmericanBestTalent
The fourth group of 12 from the top 48 take to the stage with their performances, hoping to earn high praise from the judges and the votes from the American viewers to insure that they make it to the next round of competition.

‘America’s Got Talent’ – “Round 1″ (August 24, 2010)

Prince Poppycock’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody, by British rock band Queen.

Prince Poppycock ~ America’s Got Talent 1st Semi-finals

AmericanBestTalent
Prince Poppycock ~ America’s Got Talent 1st Semi-finals The semi-finals rounds begin from Hollywood, where the first group of 12 acts perform for a chance to impress the judges and move on to the Top Ten, where they will be one step closer to realizing their dream and winning the grand prize.

‘America’s Got Talent’ – “Top 10″ (September 7, 2010)

For the Top 10 show Quale did a medley of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, “The Yankee Doodle Boy”, and “The Stars And Stripes Forever”.

It was Prince Poppycock’s love letter back to America, whilst making a statement by being himself and performing in full outrageous historical drag. Poppycock sang while images of American civil liberty heroes Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks and Harvey Milk screened behind him. America loved it, and voted to keep him in the competition and into the finals.

Prince Poppycock ~ America’s Got Talent TOP 10

AmericanBestTalent
The top 10 acts perform live from Hollywood, hoping to prove to the judges and the viewing audience that they have what it takes to make it through to the Final Four and win the coveted grand prize and title of America’s Favorite Act.

‘America’s Got Talent’ – “Top 4″ (September 14, 2010)

The outlandish operatic creation of 32-year-old singing store clerk John Quale from Los Angeles was the only act to receive the dreaded buzzer on Tuesday’s edition of the NBC variety competition.

He performed “Nessun dorma” (”None shall sleep”), an aria from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot (1926). On pressing the buzzer, judge Piers Morgan said, “I think you’ve blown it. … You were guilty, I’m afraid, of that terrible crime that many contestants do at this stage, of taking yourself a little bit too seriously. And the whole point of Prince Poppycock is that you’re great fun. You’re a great showman. You make me smile. And you didn’t make me smile tonight!”

Prince Poppycock ~ America’s Got Talent The Finals 2010

AmericanBestTalent
The final four acts compete against one another and for the judges one final time to show that they have what it takes to be the next big act and win the $1 million prize and the chance to headline their own show in Las Vegas.

‘America’s Got Talent’ – Finale (September 15, 2010)

On September 15, 2010, Prince Poppycock sang alongside one of his favourite celebrities, singer and disco superstar Donna Summer.

Donna Summer performs with Prince Poppycock on America’s Got Talent FINALE

AmericanBestTalent
Donna Summer performs with Prince Poppycock on America’s Got Talent FINALE. The final four acts return to the stage for the final time, where they find out how viewers voted following their final performances the previous night, and Nick Cannon announces which act has won the $1 million prize and the chance to headline.

‘America’s Got Talent’ – Finale (September 15, 2010)

Prince Poppycock Voted off America’s Got Talent

AmericanBestTalent
1st result on America’s Got Talent 2010 FINALE. The final four acts return to the stage for the final time, where they find out how viewers voted following their final performances the previous night, and Nick Cannon announces which act has won the $1 million prize and the chance to headline.

‘America’s Got Talent’ – Finale (September 15, 2010)

The Winner is Revealed ~ America’s Got Talent 2010

AmericanBestTalent
The final four acts return to the stage for the final time, where they find out how viewers voted following their final performances the previous night, and Nick Cannon announces which act has won the $1 million prize and the chance to headline. Michael Grimm and Jackie Evancho were the final two. Michael Grimm was the Winner of America’s Got Talent 2010, the blues/rock singer raised by his grandparents who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina won the competition. Prince Poppycock finished 4th.

The Comedy, Drama “The Social Network” ($US15.5 million) continued to lead the US Box Office last weekend, followed by the Family, Fantasy “Life as We Know It” ($US14.6 million), whilst the tale of the champion racehorse “Secretariat” ($US12.6 million) came in third with last week’s second place getter “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” ($US7 million) coming fourth. Sixth place getter “The Town” ($US6.3 million) remains the biggest earner in the top ten with a Cumulative Gross of $US73,787,000 after four weeks.

In the romantic comedy “Life as We Know It,” Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) is an up-and-coming caterer and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a promising network sports director.

After a disastrous first date, the only thing they have in common is their dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter, Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in the world, Holly and Messer are forced to put their differences aside.

Juggling career ambitions and competing social calendars, they’ll have to find some common ground while living under one roof.

‘Life As We Know It’ Trailer HD

Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel star in this comedy about two people who have a disastrous first date but then find some common ground while living under the same roof.

Against all odds, housewife and mother Penny Chenery (DIANE LANE)-with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (JOHN MALKOVICH)-navigates the male-dominated horseracing business, ultimately taking Secretariat on a spectacular journey to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time.

Secretariat Movie Trailer

Secretariat, a story about the journey of the U.S. 1973 Triple Crown winning horse. Secretariat stars John Malkovich and Diane Lane.

Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, who in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in twenty-five years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby (1:59 2/5), and the Belmont Stakes (2:24)—records that still stand today.

Secretariat was owned by Penny Chenery, trained by Lucien Laurin (a French-Canadian jockey and Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse trainer) and mainly ridden by Canadian jockey Ron Turcotte, along with apprentice jockey Paul Feliciano (first two races), and veteran Eddie Maple (last race). He raced in Penny Chenery’s Meadow Stable’s blue and white checkered colors and his groom was Eddie Sweat.

The Immortal SECRETARIAT

• Secretariat’s handlers and admirers remembering his personality and greatness
• Secretariat (2010) – Internet Movie Database
• Secretariat (horse) – Wikipedia

1. The Social Network Every age has its visionaries who leave, in the wake of their genius, a changed world – but rarely without a battle over exactly what happened and who was there at the moment of creation. The Social Network explores the moment at which Facebook, the most revolutionary social phenomena of the new century, was invented. In the midst of the chaos are Mark Zuckerberg (JESSE EISENBERG), the brilliant Harvard student who conceived a website that seemed to redefine our social fabric overnight; Eduardo Saverin (ANDREW GARFIELD), once Zuckerberg’s close friend, who provided the seed money for the fledgling company; Napster founder Sean Parker (JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE) who brought Facebook to Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists; and the Winklevoss twins (ARMIE HAMMER and JOSH PENCE), the Harvard classmates who asserted that Zuckerberg stole their idea and then sued him for ownership of it.

2. Life as We Know It Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) is an up-and-coming caterer and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a promising network sports director. After a disastrous first date, the only thing they have in common is their dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter, Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in the world, Holly and Messer are forced to put their differences aside. Juggling career ambitions and competing social calendars, they’ll have to find some common ground while living under one roof.

3. Secretariat Against all odds, housewife and mother Penny Chenery (DIANE LANE)-with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (JOHN MALKOVICH)-navigates the male-dominated horseracing business, ultimately taking Secretariat on a spectacular journey to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time.

4. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole This fantasy family adventure is based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favour from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences – causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians – Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

5. My Soul to Take In the sleepy town of Riverton, legend tells of a serial killer who swore he would return to murder the seven children born the night he died. Now, 16 years later, people are disappearing again. Has the psychopath been reincarnated as one of the seven teens, or did he survive the night he was left for dead? Only one of the kids knows the answer. Adam “Bug” Heller (Max Thieriot) was supposed to die on the bloody night his father went insane. Unaware of his dad’s terrifying crimes, he has been plagued by nightmares since he was a baby. But if Bug hopes to save his friends from the monster that’s returned, he must face an evil that won’t rest…until it finishes the job it began the day he was born.

6. The Town Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who has no real attachments. But that all changed on the gang’s latest job, when they briefly took a hostage–bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), who they let her go unharmed. But she lets her guard down when she meets the unassuming and rather charming man who only days earlier had terrorised her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.

7. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Emerging from a lengthy prison stint, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) finds himself on the outside of a world he once dominated. Looking to repair his damaged relationship with his daughter Winnie, Gekko forms an alliance with her fiance Jacob (Shia LaBeouf). But can Jacob and Winnie really trust the ex-financial titan, whose relentless efforts to redefine himself in a different era have unexpected consequences.

8. Easy A After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter,” which she is currently studying in school – until she decides to use the rumour mill to advance her social and financial standing.

9. Case 39 A family services social worker Emily Jenkins (Renee Zellweger) thinks she has seen it all… until she meets 10-year old Lilith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) and the child’s cruel and dangerous parents. Her worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm Lily, their only daughter. Frightened for her life, Emily enlists the help of Detective Mike Barron (Ian McShane) and takes Lily in while she continues the search for the perfect foster family. Just as it seems as though Lily is on her way to a more loving home, under the guidance of Emily and psychiatrist (Bradley Cooper), dark forces surrounding this young girl come to light and, little do they know, their attempts to protect her will only bring on greater horror…

10. You Again Successful PR pro Marni (Kristen Bell) heads home for her older brother’s (Jimmy Wolk) wedding and discovers that he’s marrying her high school arch nemesis (Odette Yustman), who’s conveniently forgotten their problematic past. Then the bride’s jet-setting aunt (Sigourney Weaver) bursts in and Marni’s not-so-jet-setting mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) comes face to face with her own high school rival. The claws come out and old wounds are opened in this crazy comedy that proves that not all rivalries are forever.

For example, the people hard pressed by increased interest hikes, which in turn reduces their disposable income and their spending power, are the ones being penalised for increasing inflation. Often it is the people who are doing it tough that are hit hardest. Is this really just?

Surely there’s something fundamentally flawed with our governing system for this to happen. For if one is hard pressed to buy non-essentials, then they are least likely to inflame price rises by ongoing extravagant consumption or speculation. Blind Freddy can see that!

There was the situation recently where it was alleged that overseas buyers were causing house prices to dramatically rise, which in turn affected inflation, leading to a hike in interest rates. These buyers were not Australia citizens and weren’t residents. They were overseas speculators. Yet the locals fell victim to their inflationary pressures.

That’s just once example of how the innocent become economic victims.

• Households struggling as ‘mortgage stress’ spreads

Assuming the average battler trying to make ends meet is a victim of this type of circumstance, the powers-that-be need to determine acutely who is the real cause, before policy and economic decisions further inflict pain. Lip service seems to always place the policy emphasis on the user pays principle, so therefore the whole concept needs to be rethought so that the real people who contribute to increasing inflation pay the consequences.

The worst case scenario is to look at what is happening in Detroit in the USA. A combination of corporate greed, financial rorts and mismanagement resulted in a severe economic downturn with much unemployment, mortgage defaults and cases of destitution, where whole suburbs have now crumbled into a wasteland. Once again, the victims who suffered most were the innocent people who lost jobs rather, than the political or corporate decision makers who caused the mess in the first place.

Dying Detroit

A quick tour of Detroit proved quite shocking. Entire neighborhoods literally falling apart. The grand, majestic buildings from the golden age of Detroit empty and crumbling. Seb Walker reporting.

Australia is fortunate to have escaped much of that dilemma, though we are not immune from the underlying effects if our governance was to run off the rails too.

Our hung parliament has so far shown that Canberra business cannot proceed as usual, without being impacted by new checks and balances, where it’s likely that every policy will be subjected to greater scrutiny, as voting along rigid policy lines has been somewhat disrupted. The independents are not a rubber stamp, so policy needs to be persuasive for a vote to succeed.

It is likely that this situation can lead to many reforms, though the opposition’s lust for power seems determined to thwart things for their own self serving political ends. The very thing that the hoped for reforms should stop.

The country needs wise decision making rather than vested interest groups getting their way to the detriment of the average person.

Anomalies such as fixing aberrations with the interest hike mechanism would be a good starting point.

• If economics is an imperfect science, then what is politics?

Meanwhile, according to a leading property expert, mortgage rates in Australia will increase to more than nine percent in 2013.

Frank Gelber, chief economist at BIS Shrapnel, said that strong recovery of Australia from its economic downturn will trigger the home loan interest rates to rise.

For another viewpoint, Professor Steve Keen is a professional sceptic of accepted economic wisdom, yet is nonetheless an Associate Professor of Economics and Finance whose pre-academic career included periods of journalism, in fields as diverse as economics commentator for the ABC’s Indian-Pacific program and software editor for Australian Computing.

He recently wrote an article with some alarming charts like this one:

Professor Keen argues that the younger generations focuses on the money side of borrowing, giving emphasis to what they can buy with credit, compared to their more conservative grandparents, who worry about the debt side of borrowing because they remember the consequences of the world war and depression.

The professor points out that the average age for debt from credit cards tends to be the early 20s, when they are starting out and then their 40s when they are in financial difficulties and use credit cards to pay ordinary expenses. Most bankruptcy results from credit card debt rather than mortgages.

Professor Keen goes on to say that interest rates are not an efficient way to control the volume of credit. When you have people believing they can make money from leverage speculation. In that case the expected returns can be as much as 60% in a year and interest rates have never exceeded 20%.

People are therefore likely to borrow to speculate, but this does not represent the genuine wage earning battlers who are having difficulty maintaining their standard of ordinary living. They are not jet-setting high flyers who seem determined to lavishly live beyond their means.

According to Professor Keen, debt is necessary to finance genuine investment by businesses and houses for residences by ordinary income earners. Anything above that is unnecessary.

Particularly during times when incomes rise higher than asset prices, in this situation, the best investment is to pay down your debt.

Steve Keen on household debt and interest rates

Steve Keen (Assoc. Prof Economics & Finance at the University of Western Sydney) discusses interest rates and household debt with Kerry O’Brien on ABC Australia’s 7:30 Report, 7th Nov 2007.

Professor Keen on the Australian Economy

Steve Keen (Assoc. Prof Economics & Finance @ Uni Western Sydney) discusses interest rates and household debt with Kerry O’Brien on ABC Australia’s 7:30 Report, October 2008.

Professor Keen is an Associate Professor in economics and finance at the University of Western Sydney.

• Sixty Minutes live online chat with Professor Steve Keen on Sunday October 5, 2008
• Website of “Debunking Economics” and Steve Keen’s personal web site

(1 of 3) Steve Keen on debt and the economy: How do we pay for all this? Oct 09 2009.

Uploaded to youtube with permission from Associate Professor Steve Keen. Canberra, October 2009. Speaking at the Per Capita annual conference Policy Exchange 09, economist Steve Keen looks at the rising national debts in Australia and the United States, paying particular attention to their historical relationship with recessions, growth and unemployment. He suggests that the levels of debt in both countries have reached a point which virtually guarantees a very difficult economic road ahead in the long term. Canberra, October 2009

(2 of 3) Steve Keen on debt and the economy: How do we pay for all this? Oct 09 2009.

Posted with permission from Prof Steve Keen.

(3 of 3) Steve Keen on debt and the economy: How do we pay for all this? Oct 09 2009.

Posted with permission from Prof Steve Keen.

The Comedy, Drama “The Social Network” ($US23 million) led the US Box Office last weekend, followed by the Family, Fantasy “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” ($US10.85 million), whilst last week’s leader, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” ($US10.1 million) was relegated to third with last week’s third place getter “The Town” ($US10 million) coming in fourth, making it the biggest earner in the top ten with a Cumulative Gross of $US64,307,000 after three weeks.

Fans ‘Friend’ ‘Social Network’ at the Box Office

AssociatedPress
“The Social Network” finds new friends at the box office as it opens as the weekend’s No. 1 movie.

Every age has its visionaries who leave, in the wake of their genius, a changed world – but rarely without a battle over exactly what happened and who was there at the moment of creation. In The Social Network, director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin explore the moment at which Facebook, the most revolutionary social phenomena of the new century, was invented — through the warring perspectives of the super-smart young men who each claimed to be there at its inception.

The result is a drama rife with both creation and destruction; one that audaciously avoids a singular POV, but instead, by tracking dueling narratives, mirrors the clashing truths and constantly morphing social relationships that define our time.

Drawn from multiple sources, the film moves from the halls of Harvard to the cubicles of Palo Alto as it captures the visceral thrill of the heady early days of a culture-changing phenomenon in the making — and the way it both pulled a group of young revolutionaries together and then split them apart.

In the midst of the chaos are Mark Zuckerberg (JESSE EISENBERG), the brilliant Harvard student who conceived a website that seemed to redefine our social fabric overnight; Eduardo Saverin (ANDREW GARFIELD), once Zuckerberg’s close friend, who provided the seed money for the fledgling company; Napster founder Sean Parker (JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE) who brought Facebook to Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists; and the Winklevoss twins (ARMIE HAMMER and JOSH PENCE), the Harvard classmates who asserted that Zuckerberg stole their idea and then sued him for ownership of it.

Each has his own narrative, his own version of the Facebook story – but they add up to more than the sum of their parts in what becomes a multi-level portrait of 21st Century success – both the youthful fantasy of it and its finite realities as well.

The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, and Cean Chaffin and based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich.

The Social Network Official Trailer

1. The Social Network Every age has its visionaries who leave, in the wake of their genius, a changed world – but rarely without a battle over exactly what happened and who was there at the moment of creation. The Social Network explores the moment at which Facebook, the most revolutionary social phenomena of the new century, was invented. In the midst of the chaos are Mark Zuckerberg (JESSE EISENBERG), the brilliant Harvard student who conceived a website that seemed to redefine our social fabric overnight; Eduardo Saverin (ANDREW GARFIELD), once Zuckerberg’s close friend, who provided the seed money for the fledgling company; Napster founder Sean Parker (JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE) who brought Facebook to Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists; and the Winklevoss twins (ARMIE HAMMER and JOSH PENCE), the Harvard classmates who asserted that Zuckerberg stole their idea and then sued him for ownership of it.

2. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole This fantasy family adventure is based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favour from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences – causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians – Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

3. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Emerging from a lengthy prison stint, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) finds himself on the outside of a world he once dominated. Looking to repair his damaged relationship with his daughter Winnie, Gekko forms an alliance with her fiance Jacob (Shia LaBeouf). But can Jacob and Winnie really trust the ex-financial titan, whose relentless efforts to redefine himself in a different era have unexpected consequences.

4. The Town Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who has no real attachments. But that all changed on the gang’s latest job, when they briefly took a hostage–bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), who they let her go unharmed. But she lets her guard down when she meets the unassuming and rather charming man who only days earlier had terrorised her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.

5. Easy A After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter,” which she is currently studying in school – until she decides to use the rumour mill to advance her social and financial standing.

6. You Again Successful PR pro Marni (Kristen Bell) heads home for her older brother’s (Jimmy Wolk) wedding and discovers that he’s marrying her high school arch nemesis (Odette Yustman), who’s conveniently forgotten their problematic past. Then the bride’s jet-setting aunt (Sigourney Weaver) bursts in and Marni’s not-so-jet-setting mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) comes face to face with her own high school rival. The claws come out and old wounds are opened in this crazy comedy that proves that not all rivalries are forever.

7. Case 39 A family services social worker Emily Jenkins (Renee Zellweger) thinks she has seen it all… until she meets 10-year old Lilith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) and the child’s cruel and dangerous parents. Her worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm Lily, their only daughter. Frightened for her life, Emily enlists the help of Detective Mike Barron (Ian McShane) and takes Lily in while she continues the search for the perfect foster family. Just as it seems as though Lily is on her way to a more loving home, under the guidance of Emily and psychiatrist (Bradley Cooper), dark forces surrounding this young girl come to light and, little do they know, their attempts to protect her will only bring on greater horror…

8. Let Me In Chloe Moretz (Hit Girl from Kick-Ass) stars as Abby, a mysterious 12-year old girl, who moves next door to Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road). Owen is a social outcast who is viciously bullied at school and in his loneliness, forms a profound bond with his new neighbour. Owen can’t help noticing that Abby is like no one he has ever met before. As a string of grisly murders occupy the town, Owen has to confront the reality that this seemingly innocent girl is really a savage vampire.

9. Devil Devil is a supernatural thriller with M. Night Shyamalan’s signature touch.

10. Alpha and Omega What makes for the ultimate road trip? Hitchhiking, truck stops, angry bears, prickly porcupines and a golfing goose with a duck caddy. Just ask Kate and Humphrey, two wolves who are trying to get home after being taken by park rangers and shipped halfway across the country. Humphrey’s motto – make ‘em laugh. Kate’s motto – I’m the boss. And they have a thousand miles to go. But first, they have to survive each other.

The Drama “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” ($US19 million) led the US Box Office last weekend, followed by the Family, Fantasy “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” ($US16.3 million), whilst last week’s leader, “The Town” ($US16.3 million) was relegated to third with last week’s second place getter “Easy A” ($US10.7 million) coming in fourth. The biggest earner in the top ten is the tenth place getter “Inception” ($US1.24 million) for a Cumulative Gross of $US287,051,000 after eleven weeks.

Fans Invest in ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’

AssociatedPress
Fans willing to gamble on ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,’ helped the Michael Douglas/Oliver Stone sequel to the top spot at the weekend box office.

Michael Douglas is back in his Oscar-winning role as one of the screen’s most notorious villains, Gordon Gekko.

Emerging from a lengthy prison stint, Gekko finds himself on the outside of a world he once dominated.

Looking to repair his damaged relationship with his daughter Winnie, Gekko forms an alliance with her fiance Jacob (Shia LaBeouf).

But can Jacob and Winnie really trust the ex-financial titan, whose relentless efforts to redefine himself in a different era have unexpected consequences.

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps Trailer

The new trailer for the Oliver Stone-directed film starring Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Frank Langella, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon and Eli Wallach.

Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” based on the beloved Guardians of Ga’Hoole books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.

While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences – causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls.

Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians – Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

The movie is a visually dazzling 3D animated fantasy feature that has the epic sweep and feel of “Lord of the Rings” and deals with issues such as courage, unity, loyalty, faith, sacrifice and betrayal, while appealing to a mass audience.

With a superb voice cast of Australian, British and New Zealand actors, including Jim Sturgess, Helen Mirren, Abbie Cornish, Sam Neill, Barry Otto, Richard Roxburgh, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, Joel Edgerton, David Wenham, Deborra-Lee Furness and Bill Hunter.

Legend of the Guardians – The Owls of Ga Hoole Trailer

Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” based on the beloved Guardians of Ga’Hoole books by Kathryn Lasky.

It’s a Warner Bros and Village Roadshow Picture that was filmed at the Fox Studios in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia, with animation provided by the Australian company Animal Logic, who were also responsible for ‘Happy Feet’ and the CGI special effects for “The Matrix” and “Lord of the Rings”.

1. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Emerging from a lengthy prison stint, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) finds himself on the outside of a world he once dominated. Looking to repair his damaged relationship with his daughter Winnie, Gekko forms an alliance with her fiance Jacob (Shia LaBeouf). But can Jacob and Winnie really trust the ex-financial titan, whose relentless efforts to redefine himself in a different era have unexpected consequences.

2. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole This fantasy family adventure is based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favour from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences – causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians – Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

3. The Town Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who has no real attachments. But that all changed on the gang’s latest job, when they briefly took a hostage–bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), who they let her go unharmed. But she lets her guard down when she meets the unassuming and rather charming man who only days earlier had terrorised her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.

4. Easy A After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter,” which she is currently studying in school – until she decides to use the rumour mill to advance her social and financial standing.

5. You Again Successful PR pro Marni (Kristen Bell) heads home for her older brother’s (Jimmy Wolk) wedding and discovers that he’s marrying her high school arch nemesis (Odette Yustman), who’s conveniently forgotten their problematic past. Then the bride’s jet-setting aunt (Sigourney Weaver) bursts in and Marni’s not-so-jet-setting mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) comes face to face with her own high school rival. The claws come out and old wounds are opened in this crazy comedy that proves that not all rivalries are forever.

6. Devil Devil is a supernatural thriller with M. Night Shyamalan’s signature touch.

7. Resident Evil: Afterlife In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, ALICE (Milla Jovovich), continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead – and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.

8. Alpha and Omega What makes for the ultimate road trip? Hitchhiking, truck stops, angry bears, prickly porcupines and a golfing goose with a duck caddy. Just ask Kate and Humphrey, two wolves who are trying to get home after being taken by park rangers and shipped halfway across the country. Humphrey’s motto – make ‘em laugh. Kate’s motto – I’m the boss. And they have a thousand miles to go. But first, they have to survive each other.

9. Takers A notorious group of criminals (Idris Elba, Paul Walker, T.I., Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen and Michael Ealy) continue to baffle police by pulling off perfectly executed bank robberies. They are in and out like clockwork, leaving no evidence behind and laying low in between heists. But when they attempt to pull off one last job with more money at stake than ever before, the crew may find their plans interrupted by a hardened detective (Matt Dillon) who is hell-bent on solving the case.

10. Inception Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best in the dangerous art of stealing secrets from deep within the subconscious in the world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible.

The Drama, Romance movie “The Town” ($US23.8 million) led the US Box Office last weekend, followed by the Comedy, Romance “Easy A” ($US18.2 million), whilst last weeks leader, “Resident Evil: Afterlife” ($US10.1 million) was relegated to forth with new release M. Night Shyamalan Thriller “Devil” ($US12.58 million) coming in third. The biggest earner in the top ten is the eighth place getter “Inception” ($US2.015 million) for a Cumulative Gross of $US285,178,000 after ten weeks.

‘The Town’ Tops the Weekend Box Office

AssociatedPress
Moviegoers feel at home with ‘The Town,’ which opened at the top of the weekend box office.

In “The Town”, Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who has no real attachments. But that all changed on the gang’s latest job, when they briefly took a hostage–bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), who they let go unharmed.

But she lets her guard down when she meets the unassuming and rather charming man who only days earlier had terrorised her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.

The Town Trailer

The Trailer for Ben Affleck’s sophomore directorial debut, The Town.

“Easy A” is about a clean cut high school girl Olive (Emma Stone) who gains a bad reputation.

Olive sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter,” which she is currently studying in school – after a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, until she decides to use the rumour mill to advance her social and financial standing.

Easy A Trailer

Easy A Trailer…After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her life paralleling Hester Prynnes in The Scarlet Letter, which she is currently studying in school until she decides to use the rumour mill to advance her social and financial standing.

1. The Town Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who has no real attachments. But that all changed on the gang’s latest job, when they briefly took a hostage–bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), who they let go unharmed. But she lets her guard down when she meets the unassuming and rather charming man who only days earlier had terrorised her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.

2. Easy A After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter,” which she is currently studying in school – until she decides to use the rumour mill to advance her social and financial standing.

3. Devil Devil is a supernatural thriller with M. Night Shyamalan’s signature touch.

4. Resident Evil: Afterlife In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, ALICE (Milla Jovovich), continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead – and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.

5. Alpha and Omega What makes for the ultimate road trip? Hitchhiking, truck stops, angry bears, prickly porcupines and a golfing goose with a duck caddy. Just ask Kate and Humphrey, two wolves who are trying to get home after being taken by park rangers and shipped halfway across the country. Humphrey’s motto – make ‘em laugh. Kate’s motto – I’m the boss. And they have a thousand miles to go. But first, they have to survive each other.

6. Takers A notorious group of criminals (Idris Elba, Paul Walker, T.I., Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen and Michael Ealy) continue to baffle police by pulling off perfectly executed bank robberies. They are in and out like clockwork, leaving no evidence behind and laying low in between heists. But when they attempt to pull off one last job with more money at stake than ever before, the crew may find their plans interrupted by a hardened detective (Matt Dillon) who is hell-bent on solving the case.

7. The American An assassin, Jack (George Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). He also accepts the friendship of priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara (Violante Placido). But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.

8. Inception Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best in the dangerous art of stealing secrets from deep within the subconscious in the world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible.

9. The Other Guys Set in New York City, The Other Guys follows Detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell), a forensic accountant who’s more interested in paperwork than hitting the streets, and Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), a tough guy who has been stuck with Allen as his partner ever since an unfortunate run—in with Derek Jeter. Allen and Terry idolize the city’s top cops, Danson and Highsmith (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson), but when an opportunity arises for the Other Guys to step up, things don’t quite go as planned.

10. Eat Pray Love Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) had everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having — a husband, a house, a successful career — yet like so many others, she found herself lost, confused, and searching for what she really wanted in life. Newly divorced and at a crossroads, Gilbert steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self—discovery.