One of the truly great ones has passed on. His like does not come around very often. There's a lot to admire about about Paul Newman, not the least of it being his craftsmanship. His love of family, integrity, courage, and integrity are admirable. I hope he is in heaven chalking up his cue to take on the Fat Man.

I have been a fan of Paul Newman's for many years and have admired his portrayal of complicated and very human characters. In many cases they have deep flaws in their character and are not perfect by any means, but they never lose the essential spirit of humanity which makes his characters so very memorable.

In the Hustler, Newman plays the character of Fast Eddie Felson a young aggressive would be pool shark who is simply trying to hustle up a living playing pool in smoky bars and pool halls. He links up with an unscrupulous manager played by George C. Scott and after a series of false starts and disappointments loses an important match to Jackie Gleason's Minnesota Fats. Felson is abandoned by his manager and his girlfriend dies under mysterious circumstances, prompted by psychological pressure applied by George C. Scott. Felson is able to rise above the setbacks, fueled by his burning passion and undeniable skill at pool. He works his way back up to the top on his own in defeats Minnesota fats in a one-on-one showdown that is one of the most powerful scenes ever filmed.

In Cool Hand Luke, Newman plays Luke as a happy-go-lucky drifter who is just looking to pass the time in an interesting way and finds himself working on the chain gang where he goes nose to nose against the prison captain and life itself. In his passion to live life fully, Newman's character pushes the limits of the law and the human spirit and enlists an unusual assortment of allies inside and outside of the prison. This may be his most memorable role, since Newman is usually associated with the concept of cool.

In the movie The Color of Money, Newman reprises his role as Fast Eddie Felson 25 years later, older, wiser and slower. He acts as a mentor and coach to a younger incarnation of himself as played by Tom Cruise. It is an interesting character study to see the old lion teaching the young dog new tricks. This is one of the few movies that I can actually stand watching Tom Cruise at work and I attributed to the powerful performance turned in by Newman who commands your attention through his powerful restraint and deep commitment to integrity.

As great an actor as Newman was, he was a much better man and could serve as a role model for people of all ages who desire to live life with passion and integrity. He will be sorely missed and I hope he is enjoying a game of pool with Minnesota Fats in heaven.



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A flower may wither, but, will it die? That depends on you.

Fireproof the Movie is a story of expectation that captivates you from the very opening scene as Captain Caleb Holt, played by Kirk Cameron, is reaming out another fireman (Eric Harmon) about leaving his partner at the scene of fire a fire. Since the buddy system is supposed to save lives, a man alone in a fire may indicate his partner has fallen. At home, Caleb's buddy is his wife Katherine, played by Erin Bethea. There is no friendship there and cinematically, they are ships passing in the night. When they speak, all guns fire on both sides leaving the audience wondering how this will ever work itself out.

Enter mom and dad (John and Cheryl Holt) as Caleb is ready to divorce Katherine. Dad has no words of wisdom except for hope to put his plans on hold for forty days and take the "forty day dare." Day one is rough, but it's going to get better, right?

Christians who come to this movie will not be disappointed, as will non-Christians who see a message of hope with a little grace in the mix. How can two people come together when she is considering another love interest, and his thrills come from the internet? How long can they pass in the night before love is reignited, or will it be?

As a movie, I was glad Fireproof didn't use tired themes like putting fireman Caleb in a life and death situation with Katherine sitting by his deathbed replaying their lives until she realizes she loves him. The supporting cast in the fire department (Ken Bevel, Wayne Floyd, and Eric Young) was great demonstrating what it takes to be a man's man. The comic relief of a not-trying-to-be-nosy neighbor added to the fun of this movie. Also inspiring was the not so usual credits, where the volunteers and donors were recognized for helping to bring this moving to the big screen.

This movie is a joy to watch with your spouse, your best friend, or anyone who has struggled with anything in their marriage over their lifetime. I highly recommend it.



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Smallville Season 8 is back with a bang.

4 weeks have passed in 'Smallville' since the season 7 finale and we learn that the Justice League have been scouring the planet looking for Clark but their not the only ones doing a little searching, Employees of Lex Luthor have also been searching for Lex which has lead them to the Artic Tundra. Since Lex is missing and there's no Luthor's left to control the Empire this job is left to Tess Mercer who has been described as 'a beautiful but vengeful person'. Tess is now in charge of everything Luthor's and it seams at this point her one and only goal is to find Lex.

While in the Artic Tundra Tess and the rest of the Lex's goons are attacked by the Justice League who have come to look for Clark but leave with only his trusty red jacket that was found a couple of meters under the ice.

When we finally get to see Clark he is being held in a Russian warm camp, the reason for this is unexplained however we are show that Clark hasn't got his powers and this could be the result of Jor-El's plan to control Clark. Clark tries to escape this place in order to get back to Smallville but fails to do so; however he is rescued by the Green Arrow later in the show.

While heading back to Smallville Clark and the Green Arrow discover that Chloe is being held by some of Lex's men in a secure location in Montana, they decide to go and try to break her out even if Clark doesn't have his abilities anymore. We also learn in this episode that Chloe may have lost her power to heal but also may have a learned a new skill which includes being able to read faster than CK and also able to memorise it all.

Luthor's goons have discovered her new power and have been using Chloe to break certain code which leads to the capture of A.C (Aqua Man) and the Black Canary. In the process of trying to rescue Chloe, AC and Black Canary the Green Arrow is captured and used by Luthor's men to do anything necessary to find Lex, this results in The Green Arrow shooting Clark with two arrows. Chloe then learns her power to heal is gone while attempting to heal CK but Martian Man Hunter turns up to save the day by taking Clark close to the sun which not only heals Clark but also returns his powers, but in doing so MMH (Martian Man hunter) loses his powers as the sun has the reverse effect on him.

Once back to normal with superpowers and all Clark tells MMH that he is ready to leave his life on the farm behind to embrace his destiny. Not only does Clark say this but he also takes some steps in actually achieving this as he now works for The Daily Planet and surprise, surprise his desk is next to Lois's.

Also Chloe finally gives Jimmy an answer to the question he asked her at the end of season 7, and it now looks like there could be wedding bells on the horizon in Smallville, however in typical Smallville fashion one of them will probably die or they will end the relationship, but I hope neither are the case here.

"Odyssey" in my opinion is the step Smallville has needed for a while. Hopefully we have passed the days on Clark pining over Lana and he is ready to become or even take the next steps to becoming Superman. Smallville is back and in my opinion displays one of its best episodes in a long while.

Overall this is one of the better episodes of Smallville and even without Michael Rosenbaum I wait to see what season 8 has in store for us. Odyssey is awarded 5 stars out of 5.



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Watching movies is both entertaining and relaxing. However, before you get to watch them only in movie theatres; now you can relax and be entertained even while your out in the streets, waiting for the bus, perhaps, or lining up waiting for your turn in the clinic, in the office, or practically anywhere else. If you have an MP4 player, you can virtually make MP4 movie downloads to your convenience.

The MP4 works like the MP3, only that it has more advanced features. For instance, while the MP3 is widely used for listening to music, with an MP4, you can watch quality videos and movies, and so much more.

Prior to getting MP4 movie downloads, however, you will be required to install a software from the internet that will convert and transfer your MP4 files. The software may be downloaded for free.

MP4 movie downloads have compressed audio and video files, so you do not need a lot of space to enjoy a full length movie. Even though the files are compressed, the quality of the MP4 movie downloads remains the same, if not better.

The MP4 has become very popular that you will see so many sites in the internet that offer the service of MP4 movie downloads. Some sites enable you to do it for free, while some others require a one-time minimal investment. Free sites are often not free, however, because what you usually get with every download from these free sites are spyware and adware than can literally attack your computer system.

Therefore, it is always a wise decision to do a lot of searches and resources before committing to a single site. While there may be an abundance in free sites, there are quite a lot of legitimate sites, too, which you can use. Legitimate sites are usually those with payment requirements and secured payment systems. Among the best features of these legitimate sites are the fast downloads, without the accompanying spyware or adware.

Don’t worry if you find all these difficult to understand. It may be, at first, but as soon as you have made your very first download, everything else will just come into place. Before you know it, you will enjoy making one download to another.

So, if you are a movie freak and have always wanted to watch movies any time and any day, visit my blog, and start your way to making great MP4 movie downloads.



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Have you ever wondered why your video of the vacation to Italy (or wherever you went) looks so "amateurish"?
Do you want to know how to make it look just a little more like a big Hollywood production?
Well then read on.

First let me warn you. These tips are really time consuming. It also takes a lot of experimentation before you know what your video needs and what not.

But if you are ready to spent hours in front of your pc (or mac) editing your video these tips will really help.

Let's get going.

If you only want to do one of these things do this. DOF (depth of field) is something very subtle but it makes a huge difference. DOF is the blurring of the background so your foreground gets more focus. You don't really notice this in movies before you know that it exists.

Now most video cameras don't come with this feature so there is a whole lot of post production to do here. To make the effect you work with layers. Duplicate your footage and blur the new layer. Then you cut out your foreground. Done.
If you have the option of motion tracking that will make the whole thing a lot easier. If you can't motion track you will have to animate the whole blurring with keyframes. And that's where it gets time consuming.

Another big difference is "quality". It's not actually the quality but more the colors. It's called color correction. Most home videos have some very bleeched colors. Most times it helps to turn down the brightness a little and turn up the contrast. But don't overdo this as it can make the video seem unnatural. Saturation also can do wonderful thins for your video. Again don't overdo.

The last thing is that most people who make professional movies go to filmschool for a really long time. There they learn everything that it takes to make a good looking movie.


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Where can you find movies to download online? That seems to be a prominent question these days for people online. Movies have never been so accessible as they are today at prices unheard of. Unheard of as in, absurdly low, sometimes free. But, is free always the best. As "they" say, you get what you pay for.

So, how can you watch full movies online? Here are 3 ways that will point in the right (or wrong) direction.

1. Online Streaming Video Sites

These sites are similar to YouTube. The only difference is that they have full length movies on them. These movies range from very low quality (bootlegged with a home video camera) to somewhat high quality. These sites are usually pretty sketchy looking and make it difficult to find exactly what your looking for. I'd say they're a last resort if any resort at all.

2. Illegally Download Movies

This one's a popular one. You can illegally download movies off the Internet. It's a little thing called pirating and it's been going on for quite some time now. While it's possible and sometimes even easy, it's not the best solution. If you love movies, which most people do, there's a better way to spend less and watch more.

3. Legally Download Movies

Your solution: do it legally. Of course the movie industry is going to leverage the Internet. So, instead of working to find that movie illegally, just subscribe to a legitimate movie download site and watch all the movies you want.

There are many ways to watch movies online. The best way to go, though, is to find a quality download site and download movies legally. That will give you peace of mind, while still saving money and the high quality entertainment you like and deserve.



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