La Batalla de Wits

La Batalla de Wits (Muk Gong, 2006) es una película épica basada en una novela gráfica japonesa denominada Bokko y que se sitúa en la antigua China (alrededor de 243 A.C.) en la era de los Siete Reinos (antes de la unificación bajo la dinastía Qin). Dirigida por Jacob Cheung Chi-Leung y estelarizada por Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Ahn Sung-Ki y Fan Bing-Bing, la Batalla de Wits se enfoca en la ciudad-estado de Liang, que se encuentra bajo la amenaza de uno de los grandes reinos, Zhao, que ha enviado un numero ejército comandado por el general Xiang Yanzhong (Ahn Sung-Ki). El monarca de Liang (Wang Zhiwen), dudando entre rendirse o resistir, solicita la ayuda de la secta Mozi para dirigir la defensa de la ciudad, pero sólo llega uno de sus miembros, Ge Li (Andy Lau). Ge Li resulta un gran estratega, aunque en el fondo es un pacifista que busca el menor derramamiento de sangre. Le enseña a los soldados y a la gente de Liang cómo defenderse de manera efectiva, aunque su presencia es vista con recelo por el príncipe Liang Shi (Choi Si-Won), el general Niu (Chin Siu-Ho) y el consejero real (Wu Ma) ya que el rey pone en manos de Ge Li el pequeño ejército de Liang. Ge Li también cuenta con algunos aliados como el jefe de arqueros Zi Yuan (Nicky Wu) y la líder de la caballería Yi Yue (Fan Bing-Bing), quienes confían en la capacidad y liderazgo del guerrero Mozi. El ejército de Zhao intenta infructuosamente tomar la ciudad pero fracasan, por lo que aparentemente se retiran del sitio. La popularidad de Ge Li aumenta y el consejero real le advierte (falsamente) al rey que Ge Li quiere derrocarlo aprovechando el apoyo popular. Los soldados de Liang intentan apresar a Ge Li pero el príncipe Liang Shi, simulando ser rehén de Ge Li, lo ayuda a escapar. Los arqueros de Liang disparan flechas indiscriminadamente y matan a príncipe Liang Shi, aunque Ge Li logra huir. El arquero Zi Yuan es relevado de su mando y Yi Yue (quien esta enamorada de Ge Li) es puesta en prisión. El ejército de Zhao regresa y ataca nuevamente a Liang, que sin liderazgo en la defensa (el general Niu es incapaz de defender la ciudad), termina por caer en manos del general Xiang Yanzhong. Ge Li regresa con los arqueros y algunos otros guerreros e inunda la ciudad con el caudal de un rio cercano, liberando Liang. El problema es que Yi Yue se encuentra en una cárcel subterránea, la cual se llena de agua, por lo que Ge Li busca desesperadamente rescatarla. Al final la batalla de Wits nos demuestra que, en cualquier época, la guerra provoca la misma serie de horrores. Ge Li tratará de enseñar la filosofía del Mohismo (amor universal y desapego a las cosas materiales) a los huérfanos de la guerra.

La Batalla de Wits es aparentemente una película de acción épica que tiene subjetivamente un mensaje pacifista. Dispone eficientemente de los amplios recursos tanto humanos como de sfectos especiales, al estilo de Hermandad de Guerra, Héroe, La Maldición de la Flor Dorada y otras tantas joyas del cine asiático. La película ha sido exhibida de manera limitada en el hemisferio occidental, pero vale la pena verla si se tiene oportunidad, ya sea en cine o renta en su videoclub favorito.

La Batalla de Wits: *** (Buena)

Washizu Ayano

Washizu Ayano

Christmas Eve - Celebration!

I promise this is the last Christmas Post, then back to Weddings as Usual! Okay, so the one thing I love about Christmas is the food, I just love entertaining - so for me this is the Ultimate in Entertaining!

The Prep work, after my first cup of coffee I start cooking - here's our menu:

Hor's Deavours:

• Shrimp Cocktail (Fish One)
• Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese, Capers and Diced Onion on Mini Toasts (Fish Two)
• Goat Cheese with Fresh Rosemary and Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil
• Crab Rangoon's with an Apricot Dipping Sauce (Fish Three)
• Mushroom Turnovers
• Spinach Tartlets
• Cheese Souffles
• Blue Cheese with Fresh Honey
• Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Dinner:

• Stuffed Calamari (Fish Four + Bonus Fish in Stuffing)
• Lobster and Crab Potatoes Au Gratin (Fish Five)
• Salmon with a Lump Crab Meat and Lemon Caper Butter Sauce
• Tilapia with an Orange Dijon Glaze (Fish Six)
• Smelts (Fish Seven)
• Inside Out Stuffed Artichokes

Dessert: (Mostly Made by Maria who is an incredible Chef and needs to open a bakery!!!)

• Homemade Cookies and Cakes
• Homemade Canolli's
• A ton of yummy'ness!!!

Here is the Photo Documenting that Greg did such a fantastic job with!!!

The Prep Work:

Me Playing with the Calamari:

The Finished Products:

My Table - wouldn't The Hostess with the Mostess be proud of me! The Dessert:

The People:

My Handsome Husband and his Mommy:Erin, Me and Barb:My Step Dad (Greg), My Mommy, Father in Law and Mother in Law:The Whole Group (Minus Greg)Me Cleaning:Erin and I:

It was such a lovely and Lively Christmas - I hope everyone had a fantabulous time! I know I did! And my apron looked so nice with my Christmas Eve outfit!

Christmas Eve - Pre-Celebration!

I hope you all had a fantabulous Christmas! I know we did! It was filled with so much laughter and love, and fun! And that is what the holidays are all about - regardless of how you celebrate, what you celebrate, or what your traditions are, just being together, your crazy family, your quiet celebration - it's about doing it together.

Like I posted earlier we celebrate Christmas Eve, Italian Style with the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Here's the recap:

We started with Gingerbread Smack-Down, also known as Pimp Your Gingerbread Crib - we all go together started with a standard Gingerbread Kit and made it our own - This was Christmas Eve-Eve (aka December 23rd)

The Gingerbread Mess!

My Gingerbread House (The Snowman is totally cute, no?)

The Cheater's House (aka - My Mom's - she was trying to copy a house from the Internet)

My Mother-In-Law's House:

Maria's House (I love her wreath and trees!!!)All of our Houses!

Next Post - The Food!

Angelina Jolie

Raised mostly by her mother after her parents divorced while she was still a baby, Jolie moved around a lot with her mother and brother. She also did a fair amount of traveling as a professional model, living in such places as London, New York, and Los Angeles before settling for a time in New York as a student at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and New York University, where she first started acting in theater productions. The fledgling actress soon moved on to film with a small role in 1993's Cyborg 2, followed in 1995 by her turn as a computer hacker in the more widely seen Hackers. The film gave her her first taste of recognition, as well as an introduction to Trainspotting's Jonny Lee Miller, to whom she was married for a short time.

After appearing in a number of mediocre films, Jolie finally hit it big in 1997 with her Golden Globe-winning performance as George Wallace's wife in the highly acclaimed TV movie George Wallace. The role, coupled with her Emmy-nominated performance in the title role of HBO's Gia, provided Jolie with a new level of professional respect and recognition. She was soon appearing on talk shows and in magazines, answering questions about everything from her multiple tattoos to her famous father to her brief marriage.

She was also netting roles in high-profile projects: In 1998 Jolie headlined an ensemble cast that included Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Anthony Edwards, Gillian Anderson, Ryan Phillippe, and Madeline Stowe in Playing By Heart. The following year, she was part of another high-voltage cast in Mike Newell's Pushing Tin, co-starring alongside John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Although the film was neither a critical nor a financial success, it did little to diminish the rapid ascent of the career of the actress, who was in hot demand for projects that would further elevate her already rising star. In 2000, Jolie's star received one of its greatest boosts to date when the actress won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of a volatile mental patient in Girl, Interrupted. Later that year, her personal life also got a boost in the form of her April marriage to Billy Bob Thornton.

Onscreen, Jolie was hard to miss in 2000. She starred in a number of films, including the crime thriller Gone in Sixty Seconds, in which she co-starred as a car thief alongside Nicolas Cage, and Original Sin, a thriller that featured her as the bad-seed bride of a Cuban tycoon (Antonio Banderas). If she was hard to miss in 2000, Jolie was impossible to escape in 2001 with her turn as shapely video-game adventuress Lara Croft in the long anticipated film adaptation of the popular Tomb Raider video-game franchise. Carrying on the tradition of video-game movies that are light on plot but heavy on the action, Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life (2003) scored with summer audiences and quickly shot to number one at the box office despite disparaging reviews citing an incoherent story line, unlike Life or Something Like It, the 2002 romantic comedy-drama that critics and audiences alike would rather not have seen.

On July 18th, 2002, Jolie filed for divorce from Billy Bob Thornton, claiming that their priorities no longer meshed after having adopted a child. Though the famously quirky couple were no longer, Angelina's film schedule remained hectic. In 2003 she would play a rich-girl-turned-humanitarian in Beyond Borders, while 2004 promised a host of parts for Jolie, including a role in Oliver Stone's Alexander; an epic biography of Alexander the Great starring Colin Farrell, as well as a role alongside fellow Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow in The World of Tomorrow, and a turn as a tough FBI agent in Taking Lives.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez's first serious screen role in Gregory Nava's 1995 Latino melodrama My Family followed years of training in television movies and series. Like Rosie Perez, Lopez began her career as a Fly Girl -- a dancer on the sketch comedy series, In Living Color -- and appeared in music videos by Puff Daddy and Janet Jackson. Her big break came in 1997 when she appeared in the title role of Nava's Selena, the story of the successful Tejano singer who was tragically murdered in 1995.


Lopez was at first cast as a femme fatale -- due in no small part to her classic Latina beauty (she was born in the Bronx to parents of Puerto Rican descent) -- and worked almost exclusively with acclaimed directors: Francis Ford Coppola (Jack, 1996), Oliver Stone (U-Turn, 1997), and Bob Rafelson (Blood and Wine, 1996). In 1998, she had one of her most acclaimed roles, starring opposite George Clooney in Out of Sight, Steven Soderbergh's adaptation the Elmore Leonard novel. Cast as a deputy federal marshal who falls for a charming criminal (Clooney), Lopez won raves for her tough, sexy performance, and in the process, she became the highest paid Latina actress in Hollywood history. That same year, she earned an introduction to a new generation of fans by lending her voice to the popular Antz (1998). The lavish but much more adult-oriented thriller The Cell (2000) followed shortly thereafter, bringing Lopez one of her first number-one openings.


In an attempt to curry favor from the rom-com crowd, Lopez lightened things up a bit opposite Matthew McConaughey in 2001's romantic comedy The Wedding Planner. Though Lopez was consistently smooth in her frequent transitions from actress to songstress, her next role in the supernatural romance Angel Eyes (2001) failed to click with audiences and critics alike, and her role in the cathartic revenge thriller Enough (2002) likewise disappeared from theaters shortly after its release. Though Maid in Manhattan (2002) was ultimately relegated to a similar fate as her last few films, few could anticipate the outright hostility with which her 2003 comedy Gigli would be greeted. In the movie, Lopez was cast as a female gangster assigned to keep an eye on a kidnapper (played by then-real-life-boyfriend Ben Affleck) who is holding a psychologically challenged young boy hostage. The harsh public backlash against the film was likely due (at least in part) to over-saturated media coverage of the duo's tumultuous off-screen relationship. Though the film's failure wasn't exactly what one would call a career-ender for either star, their shoddy onscreen dynamic reportedly led director Kevin Smith to excise most of Lopez' role in the Affleck-starrer Jersey Girl.


Finally, in 2005, it appeared the actress' string of bad box-office luck had possibly reached its end. Teaming up with Jane Fonda for the latter thespian's first feature in over a decade, Lopez scored a modest hit with the comedy Monster In-Law. The Lasse Hallstrom-helmed drama An Unfinished Life followed later the same year with Lopez opposite heavy-hitters Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman.


In 2006, Lopez tried her hand at producing with Bordertown, a thriller she also starred in opposite Antonio Banderas.


In addition to her screen work, Lopez has also enjoyed a successful singing career on the dance-pop circuit.

Paris Hilton

Socialite Paris Hilton was born on February 17, 1981 in New York City into the Hilton family and, along with her three younger siblings, is heir-apparent to the vast Hilton hotel and real estate dynasty. Her childhood was spent in palatial dwellings in the priciest neighborhoods on both coasts and featured a brief flirtation with the educational system, including high schooling at the ultra-exclusive Dwight School, from which she dropped out and ultimately earned her high school GED.

Living the glitzy socialite life from a relatively early age, attending exclusive parties and being covered by the gossip press, Hilton apparently became hooked on obtaining celebrity status, which was perhaps furthered by the example of her mother, Kathy Richards, who had a brief acting career herself, mostly on TV. Hilton began a remarkable and well-financed campaign to put herself in the public eye, on screen, on television and in music. This effort has included a substantial amount of physical alteration. A naturally pleasant-looking girl, Hilton underwent extensive plastic surgery, hair coloring and tinted contact lenses in her attempt to reinvent herself as "hot". Sadly, money could not buy alteration of the physical attribute she most dislikes about herself: her exceptionally-large feet.

Some skeptics have guessed that the endless parade of inane inter-celebrity feuds centering around Hilton are, in fact, publicity stunts, another front in the campaign to keep her exposure level high. It has even been argued that the infamous home video of Hilton with then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, in which Hilton performs explicit romantic activities with Rick Salomon, was part of this campaign as well. If it was, it worked. For better or for worse, it made Hilton a household name overnight, and was even widely marketed as a video, 1 Night in Paris (2004) (V).

Eventually Hilton's efforts paid off and she got some modeling work, the designers presumably relying on her notoriety. She has been an increasing presence on-screen too, in TV commercials, on TV series and in the movies, at first bit parts in movies such as Zoolander (2001), Wonderland (2003), The Cat in the Hat (2003) and guest-star roles on TV shows such as "The O.C." (2003) and "George Lopez" (2002), but later more substantial roles in horror flick House of Wax (2005), the direct-to-DVD _Bottom's Up (2006)_ and her own TV show, the fish-out-of-water reality series "The Simple Life" (2003).

Hilton also has plans to become a player in the music business, has recorded an album and even started her own music label, Heiress Records, in order to release it.

Hilton is widely scorned for what some see as her narcissism, shallow intellect and materialism and for other things besides, but she seems to be aware of the old adage that there's no such thing as bad publicity and it should be evident even to her detractors that she is ambitious and driven to achieve, rather than simply basking in her family's vast fortune, as do so many other socialites. In fact, performing is only part of her many activities and she has dabbled in designing, writing (one hastens to add, with a professional writer on the team), nightclub management and even marketing video games - all of which feature Paris Hilton, front and center.