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Archive for the ‘12’ Category

Michael Jackson’s London tour dates

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

The tour dates have been announced and it seems that Michael will be in London the entirity of July. This Is It is the event not to miss this year (the event to miss this year: Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet extension). I am mucho excited about this and will do everything to go see him. I went to his last tour (HIStory) and it was just spectacular. And if this is really the farewell tour, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. There’s a lot of talk about how he couldn’t do what we formerly was capable of. Well, If MJ was on a wheelchair and on a yodeling tour, I’d still go to see it. The tour dates after the jump:

Wednesday, July 8
Friday, July 10
Sunday, July 12 (Yay!!!)
Tuesday, July 14
Saturday, July 18
Monday, July 20
Wednesday, July 22
Friday, July 24
Sunday, July 26
Tuesday, July 28

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Explosive DARK KNIGHT Trailer

Monday, December 17th, 2007

Now that's a great piece of marketing

Warner Bros. has just released an absolutely kick-ass teaser for the Batman sequel, THE DARK KNIGHT - click TRAILER for the preview.

Heath Ledger's portrayal of 'The Joker' looks ominously psychotic, miles above Jack Nicholson's portrayal in the original BATMAN (which in my view was way too campy). Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman reprise their roles in KNIGHT adding a touch of class and gravitas to the proceedings. The sequel is again helmed by the talented Chris Nolan (MEMENTO, INSOMNIA).

The $150 million dollar sequel (which will also will be released in the IMAX format) opens July 18th, 2008 in the United States and July 25 in the United Kingdom - I expect a U.S. day and date opening in Kuwait.

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When In ROME, Stay In-HOUSE, Watch DEADWOOD

Sunday, October 28th, 2007

The last few months I have been voraciously going through various DVD boxed sets of some outstanding shows.

ROME (Season 2) is as graphic, engrossing and brilliant as the original. The concluding season picks up after Julius Caesar's death, focusing on Marc Anthony's (James Purefoy) attempt to solidify his power against Octavian, Brutus and the Roman Senate. Our two principals, Lucious Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) are excellent and we watch the unfolding of Rome's political machinations through their eyes. An expensive, lavish show, HBO only produced two seasons, seeing it end was a heartbreaker.

HOUSE M.D. (Season Three) continues the ongoing saga of the sarcastic, brutally honest Dr. House (played with absolute gusto by Hugh Laurie). A highly entertaining season that throws in quite a number of surprises including an arc revolving around a Detective (David Morse) out to nail House, as well as a health tribulation that threatens House's health. Season Three is dramatic and ends on a highly unexpected note. Even if you are not into medical dramas it well worth catching just for the genuine chemistry between House and the supporting cast. Indeed my favorite part of the show is the bickering and emotional fireworks involved in the candid relationship between House and his friend Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard).

DEADWOOD (Season Three) was never meant to be the final season of this show - HBO recently pulled the plug on David Milch's magnificent Shakesperean blood and guts drama, set in an 1880s corrupt gold-mining town. In my view, this is one of the best shows of the last decade. A polarizing show, but rest assured that the performances featuring Ian McShane (as ruthless saloon/whore-house owner Al Swearengen) and the supporting cast - simply the best ensemble of any recent show, period - are thrilling. And the great thing about this show, it is based on historic fact. Season Three finds Al Swearengen and Sheriff Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) forming an alliance in order to curtail George Hearst's (Gerald McRaney, in a superb performance of great menace) control of the town. The three seasons of DEADWOOD are classic and not to be missed.

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Pirated ‘Kingdom’ Copies Flood Kuwait Black-Market

Monday, October 15th, 2007

We told you so...thousands of pirated KINGDOM copies have flooded the Kuwaiti black market. I'm sure the Ministry of Information is ecstatic now that the Studio and Movie Exhibitors get no revenues, but the pirates get all the profit.

Check the 'Arab Times' article 'Pirates Ignore Kingdom Plea.'

Posted in , , , , , , 12, 14 | Comments Off

Saudi ‘Arab News’ ‘Kingdom’ Article Quotes ‘Hilaliya’ Commenters

Friday, October 12th, 2007

The Saudi-based 'Arab News' newspaper has quoted 'Hilaliya' commenters, including This Lady Says, in an article by Rasheed Abou-Alsamh called "Banning 'The Kingdom' Is Counterproductive, Say Experts." [Link]

A Scene From 'The Kingdom' (Universal)

An excerpt:

"The banning of the new Hollywood movie "The Kingdom" by Bahrain and Kuwait this week was deemed counterproductive and largely symbolic by a cross-section of experts interviewed by Arab News. Saudi Arabia has not yet announced a ban on the movie. While the Kingdom has no movie theaters, DVD films (both licensed and pirated copies) are widely available. A ban would mean the film would only be available as pirated copies sold on the street.

But one Kuwaiti blogger who saw the movie and who blogs under the handle "This Lady Says", said she was not surprised that the film was banned; it depicts the Americans as the heroes that come in and rescue the bungling Saudis, she pointed out.

"The supposedly 'Saudi' characters speak in dialects more related to Bilad Al-Sham," wrote the blogger, referring to the accent of Syrian Arabic. "They portray a Saudi prince, as well as Saudi figures, such as generals in the army, as ignorant or just plain dumb. They made many sarcastic jokes about them, and portrayed the American FBI agents as the heroes who go to Saudi Arabia to bring freedom and stop terrorists."

Yet Al-Ibrahim insists that the original script that he read was far worse, and that by being on the set throughout the filming of the movie he was able to change many negative portrayals of Saudis into positive ones. "I asked for many changes and I tried my best to get the accents right, but it was hard to teach (the actors) a Najdi accent," said the consultant.

"By banning the film it fuels illegal downloading and pirated copies, which I guarantee we'll see on Kuwaiti streets during the Eid holidays," wrote Kuwaiti blogger Amer on his blog Hilaliya.

Burgess agrees. "Telling people that they cannot have something, for no apparently good reason, always tempts them to try and get it through one means or another," he said. "Illegal downloads, copying, bringing DVDs across the border are sure to result." Michael Saba, an American businessman and executive director of the Friends of Saudi Arabia group in Washington, D.C., said he felt viewing audiences should decide for themselves whether they should watch it or not. "Viewers should be able to make their own judgments and should have the chance to see it," said Saba.

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Kuwait Ministry of Information Bans ‘The Kingdom’

Wednesday, October 10th, 2007

UPI reports the Hollywood action-thriller THE KINGDOM, which was shot in Abu Dhabi, starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner has been banned in Kuwait and Bahrain. It will, however, be shown uncut in the UAE, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Oman. [Link]

An excerpt from the article:

"Kuwait and Bahrain have banned theaters from showing "The Kingdom," a Hollywood thriller set in Saudi Arabia, Variety.com said Wednesday.The first Hollywood movie made in Abu Dhabi, "The Kingdom" is about an elite FBI team that goes to Saudi Arabia to investigate a terror attack on a U.S. compound. It is loosely based on the 1996 Khobar Towers bombings in Saudi Arabia, in which an Islamic fundamentalist cell attacked a U.S. compound, killing 19 U.S. servicemen. The movie has passed censors and will be shown uncut in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, opening in most territories Thursday to tie in with the Eid al Fitr celebrations, the trade paper said. Kuwait is the most conservative of the Gulf countries when it comes to censoring foreign films, while Bahrain often feels pressure to do likewise from neighboring Saudi Arabia, whose cinemas have been closed for 30 years."