By: Justin Dee

justin-dee@utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop) Descend deep with in the bowels of the earth and see what horrors await you in Neil Marshall’s 2005 film The Descent.

The Descent was shot entirely in the United Kingdom although it was set in the U.S.

• Release Date: April 2, 2006
• Staring :Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Nora Jane Noone
• Domestic Gross Revenue: £3,500,000
• Gross Revenue:  £2,701,595

Starring a all female cast The Descent centers around a group of friends who decide to go an a spelunking trip in  the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina when they get trapped in the cave and run across some vicious cave dwelling creatures known as crawlers.

When Roger Ebert described the the film in his 2006 review he compared the film to classics like Deliverance, Jaws,  Alien and Dead Calm, writing that “It’s just that good.”

“Finally, a scary movie with teeth, not just blood and entrails — a savage and gripping piece of work that jangles your nerves without leaving your brain hanging. And so, for a change, you emerge feeling energized and exhilarated rather than enervated, or merely queasy,” wrote Ebert.

Steven Redd described The Descent as “defiantly different” when he was interviewed about the film.

Redd did have one issue with the film however, he said “The lighting and the fact that it’s an all female cast sometimes makes it difficult to differentiate some of the lesser characters.”

The descent currently available on DVD.

By Bryson Simpson

http://bryson-simpson@mocs.utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.(UTC/TheLoop)– Several types of massacres have taken place in our history. However, there is a different type of massacre taking place in Japan where dolphins are the victims.

When you think of dolphins, you think of the funny, intelligent, and loveable marine animal from the famous TV series “Flipper”. We have grown so attached through “Flipper” that we have created theme parks based around them. Also, dolphins are very friendly animals and interact with humans like they already have a mutual understanding for each other.

A scene from "The Cove" where the dolphins are swimming with Rick O'Berry

However as close as we are with dolphins, people out in the world cause harm to the gentle smiling animals of the sea.  Several groups of fisherman from different parts of the world who capture the healthy, finer looking dolphins and kill the rest to sell the meat as whale

meat. “The Cove” is a documentary that shows us the highly kept secret dolphin massacre in Taji, Japan. The website for “The Cove” is here

“The Cove” is a very good film from the amazing underwater shots of swimming dolphins with undercover filmed grisly footage of their slaughter. Fishermen in Taiji, Japan kill about 2,000 dolphins every year for their meat, while some are captured and sold to aquariums for up to $150,000 a piece.

However,dolphins are extremely toxic because they bioaccumulate heavy metals like mercury. Fishermen would disguise the tainted meat as whale meat and sell it to the Taiji community.

The fishermen would take long metal poles and hit the bottom of the water to create sound waves. Dolphins communicate with different “clicks” and “whistles” that causes sound waves that could be heard by dolphins miles away. When fishermen bang the poles in the water the sound waves that are created scare the dolphins. Furthermore, the fishermen use this technique to corner the dolphins in a secluded cove location where the dolphin slaughters takes place.

The secret location of the cove where the massacres take place

Louie Psihoyos is the director of “The Cove” stated, “ This movie is great because it have vivid imagery and informs people on what is going on in the world.” The movie has created a lot of publicity that actors have donated money, and created a public service announcement  to stop the brutal and unnecessary killings of the dolphins. “I can’t believe how people could kill something so intelligent.”

Rick O’ Berry the man who captured and trained the dolphins for the TV series “Flipper” starred in “The Cove”. O’ Berry said that when he was training the dolphins he realized he was doing the dolphins a disservice by keeping them in captivity. “Flipper” was the best and worst thing for dolphins”, O’ Berry stated.

If you would like to donate money to help stop the dolphin slaughter the link is here.

Copyright 2010

By: Justin Dee

justin-dee@utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop)

Horrifyingly beautiful is how one might describe Cyrus Nowrasteh’s 2008 film The Stoning of Soraya M, about a women’s untimely death at the hands of family, friends, and neighbors.

Click on image for cast and director interviews

• Release Date: September 27, 2008
• Staring :Shohreh Aghdahloo, Mozhan Marnò, Navid Negahban, Jim Caviezel
• Domestic Gross Revenue: $636,246
• Foreign Gross Revenue:  $349,795

In the film, based on the book of the same name, Soraya’s widowed aunt, Zahra (Shohreh Aghdahloo) recounts the true events that led to Soraya (Mozhan Marnò) tragic death to French-Iranian Journalist Freidoune Sahebjam (Jim Caviezel) who happens upon the remote Iranian village in 1986.

Soraya’s adulterous husband Ali (Navid Negahban) hatches a plan to have her killed using trumped up adultery charges so that he can marry a 14 year-old girl.

All the acting  in the film has perfect  pitch, the characters are believable and multi-dimensional.

One of the film’s stand out performances is that of Shohreh Aghdahool as Zahra. Aghdahloo does an excellent job portraying  both the character’s strength in standing up to this injustice and anguish in watching a loved one die in such a horrible fashion.

Shohreh Aghdahool (Top) was nominated for an Oscar for her 2003 role in a House of Sand and Fog

“Against them is one strong voice,” wrote Roger Ebert In his 2009 review. “The widow Zahra, Soraya’s aunt. She knows all the players and all the motives and publicly calls them on it, to no avail.”

The film also serves as a window into a society and practice that most viewers only see in news report.

Steven Redd,  of Memphis Tenn. said, ” While we are repeatedly told of the ordeals that some of these women face to connect with one and experience the stoning with her gives a very human element to the situation over there.”

Soraya M (Mozhan Marnò) about to be stoned by her father, husband, sons and other men of the villiage

The stoning sequence in the film may be overwhelming for some views but it is an important part of the film that should not be missed.

Roger Ebert wrote in his 2008 review, “The Stoning of Soraya M. has such a powerful stoning sequence that I recommend it if only for its brutal ideological message.”

The Stoning of Soraya M is currently available on DVD.

By: Benji Aird

Benji-Aird@utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/TheLoop)-Tyler Perry takes on the transformative work that is Ntozake Shange’s classic stage-play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. But as time gets closer to Perry’s big screen adaptation, there is a streak of anticipation running through our quarter-life bones.

Variety reports that the film, originally scheduled for January 2011, will be moved up to Nov. 5.

The movie stars a sweeping all-star cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Anika Noni Rose, Phylicia Rashad, Kerry Washington, Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton, Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Macy Gray, and Tessa Thompson.

Some reports are suggesting there is early Oscar buzz, particularly for the performances of AnikaNoni Rose, and on Tyler Perry himself who familiarized himself with the coveted voting community as a producer for last year’s “Precious.” The film’s new early release date will place in it the running for 2011 Oscar consideration.

“For Colored Girls” will be the first project from Perry’s new production company, 34th Street Films, which is housed at Lionsgate.

By: Justin Dee

justin-dee@utc.edu

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop) -

• Released October 27, 2000
• Staring Jarred Leto, Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans
• Budget $4,500,000
• Gross Revenue $7,390,108

Drug addiction, depression, and despair plague the characters in Darren Aronofsky’s journey into the world of four addicts in his 2000 film Requiem for a Dream.

The film, which is based on a book of the same name, centers on Harry Goldfarb (Jarred Leto), his mother Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn of Exorcist fame), Harry’s girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) and Harry’s best friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) as they all spiral downward into the pits of addiction.

Aronofsky’s ability to show viewers the world inside drug use by exposing the viewer the world from the prospective of the addicts as they use may have never been seen before.

The actor’s performances are all stellar in this dark drama.  Ellen Burstyn was nominated for an Oscar in the  best  actress category for her horrifying and haunting  portrayal  of a women’s descent into madness. Leto and  Connelly do  wonderful jobs as well, and Marlon Wayans  displays wells  of untapped talent never seen before from  the well-known  funny man.

Roger Ebert wrote in his 2000 review; “What is fascinating about “Requiem for a Dream,” the  new film by Darren Aronofsky, is how well he portrays the  mental states of his addicts. When they use, a window  opens briefly into a world where everything is right. Then  it slides shut, and life reduces itself to a search for the  money and drugs to open it again. Nothing else is remotely as interesting.”

Steven Redd, a 22-year-old senior from Memphis, said,” Requiem for a Dream could easily be one of the most impressive and potentially important movies that I’ve ever seen.”

Redd went on to say that, ”While Requiem for a Dream does not attempt to excuse their addiction to drugs, it gets you so emotionally involved in their plight that the why and the how no longer matter”.

Although the film received an R rating, it was celebrated by critics, and even winning two Independent Spirit Awards, one for best lead actress and on for best cinematography.

Requiem for a Dream is currently available on DVD.