Hollywood

Hollywood is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California, situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word "Hollywood" is often used as a metonym of cinema of the United States. The nickname Tinseltown refers to the glittering, superficial nature of Hollywood and the movie industry. Today, much of the movie industry has dispersed into surrounding cities such as Burbank and the Los Angeles Westside but significant auxiliary industries, such as editing, effects, props, post-production and lighting companies, remain in Hollywood.
Many historic Hollywood theaters are used as venues and concert stages to premiere major theatrical releases and host the Academy Awards. It is a popular destination for nightlife and tourism and home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Although it is not the typical practice of the city of Los Angeles to establish specific boundaries for districts or neighborhoods, Hollywood is a recent exception. On February 16, 2005, Assembly Members Goldberg and Koretz introduced a bill to require California to keep specific records on Hollywood as though it were independent. For this to be done, the boundaries were defined. This bill was unanimously supported by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the LA City Council. Assembly Bill 588 was approved by the Governor on August 28, 2006 and now the district of Hollywood has official borders. The border can be loosely described as the area east of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, south of Mulholland Drive, Laurel Canyon, Cahuenga Boulevard, and Barham Boulevard, and the cities of Burbank and Glendale, north of Melrose Avenue and west of the Golden State Freeway and Hyperion Avenue. This includes all of Griffith Park and Los Feliz—two areas that were hitherto generally considered separate from Hollywood by most Angelenos. The population of the district, including Los Feliz, as of the 2000 census was 167,664 and the median household income was $33,409 in 1999.

As a portion of the city of Los Angeles, Hollywood does not have its own municipal government, but does have an official, appointed by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, who serves as "Honorary Mayor of Hollywood" for ceremonial purposes only. Johnny Grant held this position for decades, until his death on January 9, 2008.

'Bride Wars 2009'

The Story
Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson, two pretty adorable women, take on the lead roles in the chick flick Bride Wars. Hathaway and Hudson are Emma and Liv, best friends forever who turn into catty, shrewish monsters when their weddings are accidentally booked on the same day at the same location - the much sought-after Plaza Hotel in New York. Emma and Liv grew up dreaming about their weddings, picturing themselves walking down the aisle at the Plaza Hotel in all their bridal glory. But that dream turns into a nightmare when they both wind up engaged at around the same time and decide to go together to visit a wedding planner (played by Candice Bergen).
The wedding planner's soon-to-be-unemployed assistant screws up booking their June dates, and voila! Liv and Emma won't be available to attend the other's wedding as each will be smack dab in the middle of her own ceremony. That is, they'll be unavailable unless one budges off the date and agrees to having the ceremony performed somewhere other than the Plaza.

But let's back up this tale a bit to fill in some needed info… Liv is a high-powered attorney used to getting her way at all times. Emma is a push-over school teacher who never says no. So obviously it has to be Emma who dons her gown and hoofs it down an aisle not at the Plaza, right? No. Emma for once decides to grow a pair and stands up for herself, shocking Liv and leading to some horrible antics. The BFF go at each other in a myriad of silly ways, some of which lead to blue hair, orange tans, and a five pound weight gain. There's also a bizarre dance off at a strip club that barely deserves mentioning... Seriously, a strip-off to see who's the sexiest bride? Really? Hello - did anyone consider the target audience for this movie when planning out that scene?

'Gran Torino 2009'

The Story

Eastwood stars as Walt Kowalski, a cranky racist introduced to the audience on the day of his wife's funeral. How cranky is he? Walt's sons don't even like hanging around the old guy. He doesn't filter his thoughts and feelings. Whatever he thinks, he says, and it doesn't matter one iota how racist or inappropriate his opinions may be. Walt's a Korean War vet who's retired from Ford after years of putting together automobiles and now that his wife's passed away, he's all alone in the home in which they raised their children. Overall Walt's lived a long and full life, but it's some sort of miracle that he hasn't been murdered by one of the many people he's insulted over the years.
Walt's racism runs deep, and he's unafraid of calling his neighbors every possible hateful word you can use to describe someone of Asian descent. He despises the fact most of his neighbors are now Hmong immigrants and he rails at them whenever one gets within earshot. Yet despite what can only be described as deep-set hatred for anyone not a WASP, he begins warming up to the teenage Hmong girl who lives right next door. After saving her from gang bangers, he begins a weird friendship with her that eventually expands to include other members of her family, in particular her younger brother. When a local Hmong gang threatens the family, it's Walt who stands up for the same people he spent years putting down.

'The Dark Knight 2008'

The Story

Gotham City's falling to pieces and Batman is both the problem and the solution. The caped crusader has taken down a king-sized helping of bad guys, although he's not working on his own. Ordinary citizens have taken up his cause, donning their own Batman costumes and patrolling the streets. And now the mobsters left in town have joined forces in order to keep the real Batman at bay.

Fortunately for Gotham City, the newly elected district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is a real hard-ass on crime. Even Batman approves of this steely-jawed White Knight, and getting the superhero's stamp of approval wasn't easy since Harvey is spending lots of time with Batman's ex, Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Rachel couldn't handle Bruce's covert nighttime activities and now keeps company with a man unafraid of the spotlight.


However, the local mob and Rachel's preference for a non-costumed boyfriend aren't Batman's biggest problems. A new villain has emerged on the scene and he's not playing by any rules. Sporting smeary clown makeup that emphasizes a smile carved into his flesh like a pumpkin on Halloween, the maniacal character known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) is ready to take over as the leader of Gotham's underworld. The Joker's single-minded in his desire to inflict pain and unmask Batman. The formidable though strictly unofficial team of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), Harvey Dent and Batman must take down this sick clown before Gotham City turns into Slaughter City.

Wanted 2008

The Story

You know a guy like Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) and you wouldn't want to be him. He's a cubicle-dwelling sad sack of a man who merely exists. There's nothing special about his job or his life. He's stressed out, suffers from panic attacks, and even his girlfriend has a bigger set of gonads than he does. A strong wind could blow him away, and odds are if it did no one would notice he's gone.

But there is in fact something special about Wesley. He's gone through life oblivious to the fact his father, who deserted the family when he was just a baby, was actually the world's greatest assassin and a member of a secret organization known as The Fraternity. He 'was' as in he's now dead and it's Wesley's turn to step into his father's shoes.


sWhile shopping in a grocery store, Wesley's approached by the sexiest killer one would ever want to meet (if one did, in fact, actually ever want to meet someone who murdered people as a job). She introduces herself as Fox (Angelina Jolie), gives Wesley a very brief recap on his mysterious father's death, and pulls him into the world of The Fraternity while quite literally pulling him out of the line of fire. Seems she was followed into the store by Cross (Thomas Kretschmann), the man who took down Wesley's dad and who has now apparently set his sights on sending Wesley to his grave. Cross and Fox take their fight to the streets, engaging in one of the most complex, heart-stopping car chases on film with poor Wesley reluctantly along for the ride.
So now that he knows who his dad was, it's up to Wesley to decide if he wants to leave his rotten life behind and join in with this bizarre group of killers whose mission is to take out only those fated/deserving to die (in other words, someone who in the future will be a child molester, serial killer, or some other sort of despicable character). Oh and by the way, if he does decide to trade in being Wesley the Cubicle Rat for being Wesley the Sleek Assassin, he'll inherit his dad's millions. Wesley returns to work while making up his mind, is pushed beyond his limit by his bitchy boss, and cracks.


There's no turning back after he tells off his annoying boss but, soon after he checks in with The Fraternity, returning to that life in cubicle hell looks mighty appealing. In order to become an assassin and ultimately square off against Cross, Wesley must first get beaten down by various members of The Fraternity before he can begin to build himself up. Once he's completed his training, which involves learning to bend bullets and run on top of trains, Wesley believes he's ready to take down Cross. But things get twisty when deep dark secrets are revealed...

Untraceable 2008

The Story
Do you slow down when passing a car crash? Are you one of those people who can’t help but watch replays of horrible accidents on TV and/or online? With Untraceable, the moral question posed is along those same lines. If you knew about a website with live video of a stranger being tortured and killed, would you click on the link and check out what’s going on?

Lane stars as Special Agent Jennifer Marsh, an integral part of the FBI’s newly formed cybercrimes unit located in Portland, Oregon. Marsh and her partner Griffin Dowd (Hanks) spend their nights on duty surfing the internet seeking out criminal behavior. Dealers of kiddy porn, sexual predators, and other sickos are their targets as the team attempts to keep the internet safe.

An anonymous tip leads the investigators to killwithme.com. Visiting the site, Lane and Dowd see a kitten being lured into a trap and left to die in front of a video camera streaming the feed in real time on the net. It’s extremely disturbing, but Lane’s told by her boss to focus on crimes against humans. However, the killing of the poor kitten was just a way to entice viewers to the site. From that jumping off point, the creep who created the website progresses to torturing and killing a man for millions to see. In fact, he’s counting on millions of sets of eyes watching the horrific event unfold. The more people visit his site, the faster the victim dies.

Lane, Dowd, and local cop Detective Eric Box (Burke) need to discover the killer’s physical address, but he’s as computer savvy as the FBI team trying to catch him. His site is virtually untraceable. Complicating and aggravating matters, the publicity generated by the case only serves to help increase the number of visitors to killwithme.com. Law enforcement’s only hope is to somehow find a connection between the seemingly random victims and whoever runs the site. But as they’re tracking down the psycho, he’s not only one step ahead of them but also ready and willing to make things personal for the officers involved in the investigation.

'Twilight 2008'

The Story
Through a minimal amount of voice-over we learn Bella's leaving Arizona – and the sun – behind to live with her dad, Police Chief Charlie Swan, in Forks, Washington. Her first day at school she makes friends with Jessica, Angela, Eric and Mike, and spots…cue drum roll please…Edward Cullen. Be still our beating hearts – his already is.
If you've read the books, you know Bella falls quickly for the strangely cold, strangely detached 17 year old who occupies the same table at lunch every day with his brothers and sisters. The Cullens stick together and their fellow high school students tend to leave them alone. They're not ostracized, but they're definitely not the first to get invitations for sleepovers. But Bella sees something everyone else apparently misses or wisely chooses to ignore.


The film puts Edward and Bella together quicker than the book, which is fine because the most interesting parts of Meyer's story focus on Bella and Edward by themselves. Edward has to deal with balancing his desire to bite Bella with his longing to kiss her, which makes for one angst-ey vampire. And all Bella knows is that she's found the guy she wants to be with; the fact he's a vampire is pretty much a non-issue.
The Cullen family is the exception to the vampire rule, opting to feast on animals rather than people. They've adapted well to this lifestyle and although they're by no means totally immune to the smell of humans, they've progressed to the point where they can live amongst us fairly normally. But when vampires who do love humans – to death – come to town, it's up to Edward and his family to keep Bella safe.