21 Grams

Paul is suffering from a fatal heart condition, and will not live more than one month unless he receives a new heart. His wife longs to have his baby even if he dies. But there already exists distant gap among them. Jack is a former convict who is using his new-found religious faith to recover from drug addiction and alcoholism. Cristina is also a recovering drug addict, and now lives a normal suburban life with a supportive husband and two lovely girls. These three separate families become tied together one evening when Jake kills Cristiana's husband and her daughters in an accident. She donates her husband's heart to Paul, who begins to recover.

After Paul's recovery, he refuses his wife's idea of surgery and artificial insemination as a last-ditch effort to get pregnant. He is eager to begin his normal life again, and is inquisitive about whose heart he has. While he finds out what has happened to the heart's former owner, he cannot help reaching Cristiana. He catches every opportunity to meet her, and eventually reveals how they are connected. Cristiana is severely miserable at first, and then she goads Paul into agreeing to murder Jack.

Jack is stricken with guilty after the accident. Despite his wife's protests to keep quiet and conceal his guilt, he could not forgive himself because of his "duty is to God". He surrenders his crime after he fails to commit suicide. However, he is released for Cristiana declines to press charges. When Jack finds himself could no longer live as a normal man, he leaves home to live as a transient.

As Cristiana wishes, Paul purchases a gun from a private detective and finds the motel where Jack stays. He finds an opportunity to grabs Jack to a clearing at gunpoint with the intension of killing him. Nevertheless, he is unable to kill Jack, who himself is confused, shaking and pleading during the event. He tells Jack to disappear, and lies to Cristiana about Jack's death. Later that night, Jack returns to the motel instead of leave quietly. Jack is still consumed by guilt and inner torment, so he returns to order Paul to kill him and ends his misery. There is a struggle, and Cristiana beats Jack with a wooden lamp. Just at that time, Paul shoots himself.

Jack helps Cristiana to send Paul to hospital, but Paul still dies. It turns out that although Paul receives a new heart, his body is rejecting the surgery. Jack tells the police that he shot Paul, but he is released again for no evidence. He returns home to his wife and his children. Cristiana is told that she is pregnant with Paul's baby in the hospital. She doesn't cry this time and appears peaceful. She is seen tentatively preparing for the new baby.

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Bishop, California in the Movies

Movies are often not set in the location that is portrayed in the film. Filmmakers and producers often choose locations that are cost-effective, convenient, and offer facilities that can handle the hundreds of people working on a studio film production. What may be portrayed in the movie as being set in Afghanistan may actually be filmed in California. And with today's visual effects, movie makers can take nearly any location and adapt it for the setting they want presented in the film.

Bishop is a city of about 3,500 residents not far from the Nevada border. The city is located at the northern end of North America's deepest valley, the Owens Valley. Bishop is at an elevation of 4,190. The Sierra Nevada Mountains rise abruptly to the west to over 13,000 feet. To the east, the White Mountains rise to over 14,000 feet.

Bishop has been the filming location for more than two-dozen movies. Despite its remote location, it a popular choice for movie producers and filmmakers as it has a scenic mountain setting, dry terrain, generally sunny conditions, and the Owens River.

Bishop is about 270 miles north of Los Angeles where many movie studios are based. It is easily accessible relative to areas in the Middle East or other areas in the southwest. Bishop is located in North America's deepest valley, the Owens Valley.

Bishop was historically the setting for numerous Westerns. Director Sam Peckinpah's 1962 movie "Ride the High Country" was set in Bishop as was the 1969 Film "True Grit" starring John Wayne. The 1973 film "High Plains Drifter" starring Clint Eastwood. Was also filmed in Bishop. Recently, the Bishop area has been the setting for several big budget movies.

The 2007 box office movie, "Disturbia", opens with a scene set in a location what appears to be in Colorado or elsewhere in the Rocky Mountains. In the scene, Shia LaBeouf's character is fly-fishing on a river with his father with scenic mountains in the background. The scene was actually filmed in Bishop along the Owens River.

Other recent movies set in Bishop include the 1998 film, "Star Trek: Insurrection"; the 1996 film "The Arrival" starring Charlie Sheen; and the 2009 film, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra".

Bishop, California is a great area to make movies or to visit. Learn more and plan your visit at http://www.BishopCA.net.

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Movies Set in the Owens Valley, California

The Owens Valley in California is a very popular filming location for Hollywood Studios. Over one hundred films have been set in the valley, including numerous recent box office hits. The Owens Valley is the deepest valley in North America. It has a dramatic setting at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It lies at an elevation of about 4,000 feet with the Sierra Nevadas rising to over 14,000 feet to the west. This dramatic setting, with dry open terrain makes it a popular choice for movie producers.

Movies often portray settings that are not the actual location the movie is filmed. For example, early in 2008 movie "Iron Man", Robert Downey, Jr.'s character is in a convoy in what is said to be Afghanistan. The scene was actually filmed in the Owens Valley near Lone Pine.

The Owens Valley is attractive for film producers as they are looking for locations that are cost-effective, convenient, and offer facilities that can handle the hundreds of people working on a studio film production. The valley is about two hundred miles north of Los Angeles area, where many film studios are based. It is open, dry, not very populated and has dramatic mountain scenery. The valley was historically a popular location to film Westerns.

The city of Lone Pine, which is the nearest city to 14,495-foot Mt. Whitney, is a very popular film location. The surrounding area was featured in the 2000 Oscar winning film, Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe; the 2000 movie Gone in Sixty Seconds, starring Nicolas Cage, and the 2009 film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. In Gone in Sixty Seconds, Nicolas Cage's character has retired as from being a master car thief and relocated to a small, quiet and scenic town that is actually Lone Pine.

Other movies that feature Lone Pine area include the 1993 movie Kalifornia, starring Brad Pitt, 1994 film Maverick starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster; and G.I. Jane, a 1997 movie starring Demi Moore.

The Owens Valley and Bishop, California is a great place to make movies and explore nature. Learn more and plan your visit at http://www.BishopCA.net.

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How Did These Movies Lose Out to Those Movies For The Academy's Best Picture?

There are winners and losers in movies. Sometimes the wires get crossed and great movies get sent to the showers in favor of movies that truly suck. Here are some glaring examples of good movies that lost out for Best Picture to some real duds.

'Raging Bull' somehow lost the 1980 Best Picture Award to 'Ordinary People'. 'Raging Bull' is a graphic look at the brutal world of boxing as seen through the troubled life of Jake LaMotta. 'Ordinary People' was a boring look at a dysfunctional family. Too bad LaMotta wasn't a part of the family. He could have put them to sleep before they put the audience to sleep.

'Chariots of Fire" beat out 'Raiders of the lost Ark' in 1981. I remember the preview for 'Chariots of Fire': A bunch of guys racing down a beach. I naturally assumed that they had just left the theater playing this crappy movie on the dead run. Meanwhile Indiana Jones was cracking the whip in the first of the action/adventure franchise "Raiders" movies. This was a no-brainer, but the Academy got it wrong. Very wrong.

'The Last Emperor' won Best Picture in 1987. Did anybody even see this movie? 'Fatal Attraction' was nominated that same year, and few people will forget what was on the menu in this movie. Take one live rabbit, add one married guy's crazy girlfriend, and you have a recipe for shock and future marital fidelity.

'Shakespeare in Love' won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1998. Remember the guy who single-handedly bored and confused you in high school English? A movie about his love life somehow beat 'Saving Private Ryan' for the Academy Award in 1998.

1996 was the year that 'The English Patient' won the Best Picture award. One would assume that the movie was about a sick English person. That is all I can tell you about this movie because I never attempted to watch it. Instead I watched 1996 Best Picture nominee 'Jerry Maguire' because I like to stay awake during a movie, and get a few laughs along the way. Show me the funny.

2002 was the year that 'Chicago' won the Best Picture award. 'Chicago' was a musical. That is the best possible reason alone to avoid this movie like an infectious leper colony handshake club. It crushed 'Gangs of New York' for Best Picture in the eyes of the Academy. Give one to the atheists for proof there is no God when stuff like this happens.

The last movie on my list is 1968's Best Picture winner: 'Oliver'. Every nominee sucked that year, so they probably gave it by default to 'Oliver', a musical. Its competition that year included 'Funny Girl' (another musical), 'The Lion in Winter' (boring British monarch), 'Rachel Rachel'( boring school teacher), and 'Romeo and Juliet'( boring Shakespeare play).

The real 1968 winner was 'Bullitt', a Steve McQueen classic with the best car chase ever filmed for the big screen. It wasn't even nominated for Best Picture. With that, I would like to thank the Academy for fumbling the ball over the years-many times.

Jim Sutherland is a co-founder of mystarcollectorcar.com-dedicated to the average guy in the old car world.

We also like to take on non-car issues on a regular basis on our daily blog because it makes us look a lot smarter than we really are.Plus you can insult a car guy about his taste in music or movies but never hack on his car-those guys always have tire irons handy. It's fun, it's occasionally controversial and it draws women into the site-we're like an automotive beer commercial we need the women in the picture to make it interesting. But we're still going to talk about 57 Chevys and vintage Mustangs.

http://www.mystarcollectorcar.com/

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An Excellent Episode of the Great TV Show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Fitness is extremely important in life, and often times has a connection to one's ability to defend themselves in problem situations. One thing that exemplifies this philosophy is an episode of a popular TV show called It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The show centers around five bar owners in Philadelphia named Frank, Dennis, Mac, Dee and Charlie. Frank is a father to Dennis and Dee and the others are just good friends. In an episode of the show entitled Hundred Dollar Baby, a play on Million Dollar Baby, Frank decides to teach his daughter Dee self defense after an incident in which the other three men left her to get mugged by a junkie. Frank uses a life fitness elliptical machine, life fitness equipment and dumbbells to get Dee into shape and able to defend herself.

Dee is left to fend for herself when her brother Dennis and friends Mac and Charlie ditch her and run away when confronted with a mugger. This turns into former boxer Frank, played by Danny Devito, teaching Dee to defend herself. While at the gym working out, Frank runs into an old rival boxer and the two old foes throw jabs at each other for a while before it is decided that their two daughters will fight each other to finally settle the score. In order to get prepared for her fight against a clearly more talented competitor, and to make up for Frank's incompetent teaching, Dee decides to start taking steroids. Hilarity ensues when the typical steroid side effects show up and Dee is left having to shave her face and deal with extreme fits of rage.

Meanwhile, after an argument with Frank, Dennis and Mac decide that they should enter Charlie into an underground, unsanctioned and illegal street fighting tournament because they say he is the toughest guy they know. Ultimately this is just a scam on their part to make money, because they plan on betting on Charlie to win the fights they enter him in. In order to prepare him for his fights the three of them get really drunk and Dennis and Mac smash things on Charlie's back, such as chairs. To further prepare for his underground fights Charlie decides that he is going to start using Dee's steroids and towards the end of the episode also deals with fluctuating moods, alternating between crying, being angry and hysterical laughter.

To conclude the episode, Dee finds out that Charlie has been taking her pills and the two of them get in a fight which leaves them both in jail. Mac takes Charlie's place in the underground fighting competition at Dennis's suggestion and loses badly. On the way back to their bar the two men meet the same mugger as before and it comes out that Dennis switched his bet when Mac fought and bet on the other guy, resulting in him winning lots of money. Mac then encourages the mugger to stab Dennis and that plotline comes to a conclusion.

In the other plotline of the show Frank decides that since his daughter is in jail he will step up and fight his former rival in the ring like he always wanted to. Frank cheats and punches the other man before the bell, resulting in him falling and knocking his daughter down, who then hits her neck against a stool like in Million Dollar Baby. The episode reaches its conclusion with Frank walking away sheepishly and the credits rolling.

Connor Sullivan recently purchased a Life Fitness elliptical machine for his home gym. He ordered Life Fitness equipment online to donate to the local high school's gym.

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