Special Edition 2008

8/14/2019 Special Edition 2008

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©

Beijing 2008

Phelps:Swimming through History

Sarah Palin:

Madam VicePresident?

Olympic

Coverage

INSIDE

MOVIE

Reviews

www. montepictures.com



From the founderI must say, this month’s edition was extremely funto produce. As you can probably see, this editionmay be creativity equivalent to America’s bestmagazine publications like Time and SportsIllustrated. My goal for this edition was to expresscurrent events that I found to be most importantlyto be inducted into the edition. So, you’ll be askingthe question, “Will I be exploring current eventsmore in Monte©?” The answer is yes and no.

Actually, the reason why I chose this month’sedition to express gradually on world events isecause September produced many historical

moments like the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing,China, and Governor Sarah Palin

accepting the nomination to become the next Vice President, if she wins she ’ll become thefirst woman to do so. In the next ten to twenty years when I’m looking back at theaccomplishment of Monte Pictures©, I know I will be confident that I made the rightdecisions about this specific edition. Hopefully, you will cherish and save this month’s

*Monte Pictures© was founded by Javier Abraham Serrano in San Diego, California in theyear 2007. In his quest to pursue a career in filmmaking, Mr. Serrano composed a monthlynewsletter to express visually his passion for cinema to all variety of audiences. In his non-published autobiography, “What a Life,” he writes, “If I could achieve this dream and goal

of mine to open a film production: Monte Pictures, then it is obviously possible for anyoneto achieve their dreams.”

For Olivia, Elaine and Jose

Phone (619) 450.3638 Email [email protected]

e ition in a sa e p ace. As a istory major an aspiring istorian, every ay an everyone is

part of history. Our goal is simply not to become victims of our past, but to enjoy and lovelife. So, remember to pursue every possibilities that come your way and I will beconcluding my message with a quote that started whole Monte© process in the first place:“Dream like you’ve never dreamed before because fear is the only enemy, take the risks ifnot than step to the side and let someone else have the chance” (Anonymous). Therefore, Imust thank you for your support of Monte Pictures©. I wish you and your family great

health!

JavierSerrano



My BlueberryNights 1/2

China’s most acclaimed filmdirector Wong Kar Wai gets the

The film begins with Jeremy, playedAcadem Award® nominee ude

not revealing her whereshe lives or work. One

opportunity to irect is irst

feature film in English. I mustsay, his direction was absolutelynear perfection for his firstAmerican feature. However, Ifear not many people will enjoythis film because the film is toopredicable. Don’t get me wrong,a film has to sell to itsperformances to the audience. Ifyou simply cannot feel for theirperformances than did not do

their job to persuade you.

Norah Jones, eight timeGrammy® award winner, makesher acting debut as Elizabeth.Ironically, Wai chose Jones forthe leading role as Lizzie becausehe felt that she had actingcapabilities, but was aware of herlack of prior acting experiences.

Law, who runs a café in New York

City. Lizzie, played by Jones, recentlydiscovers that her boyfriend has beendinning at Jeremy’s café with anothergirl. Lizzie becomes obsessed withthe fact of being dumped by her

oyfriend. Broken hearted, Lizziefinds her way back to Jeremy’s caféseeking for answers about her failedrelationship. For several weeks,Lizzie returns to Jeremy’s café

exchanging conversations about life,love and friendship.

Their friendship blossoms, but Lizzieleaves New York City suddenlywithout explaining her decision to

Jeremy of her departure, she relocatesin Memphis, Tennessee in her searchof her identity. She takes up two jobs,in a café and at a bar, to save moneyto buy a car. She sends Jeremypostcards of her whereabouts

night at the bar a local

police officer Arnie,played by AcademyAward® nomineeDavid Strathaim, is overcoming his grievingabout the fact that hiswife Sue Lynn, playedAcademy Award®winner Rachel Weisz,left him. Lizzie learns

from Arnie that love isunpredictable, who isovercoming alcoholabuse alone.

Soul searching is theplot of the film. Thefilm is not perfect, butNorah Jones performed

rilliantly having noacting experiences.





In the Valley of ElahPaul Haggis’ In the Valley of Elah is basedon actual events. Hank Deerfield (TommyLee Jones) is a retired army militarysergeant with the experiences in criminal

justice. The film begins with a youngman’s voice, Hank’s son. Although, thereis no visual images but the soundilluminates brilliantly of what theexperience could be serving in Iraq underdifficult conditions. The film is arguablycontroversy in its own rights. After notreceiving no emails from his son, Hanksuddenly packs up for what it seems forseveral days and drives to the army basewhere his son is stationed in Texas.Through many emotionally scenes that

Jones performs masterly, Hank receives a

video from his son days prior to hismissing through email.

The video uncovers bits of pieces ofHank’s son experiences serving in thestreets of Iraq. Turmoil and no answers to

e given by the United States Army, Hankresearches every possible detail of hismissing son. Detective Emily Sanders(Charlize Theron) becomes involved inHank’s missing person case when bodyremains are discovered near the army

ase. Detective Sanders investigatesthoroughly; she soon predicates thatHank’s son was murdered by his owncomrades on the jurisdiction on the city’sproperty and not the army base, whichgives the right to law enforcement toinspect on army’s jurisdiction. The film isutterly brilliant and intense.





1/2

TheEdukators

For the past decade, Germany has

been producing masterful films. Oneof my favorites is Hans Weingarten'sThe Edukators. The story revolveson three anti-capitalists activistsliving in Berlin, Germany – Jule(Julia Jentsch), her boyfriend Peter(Stripe Erceg), and his best friend Jan(Daniel Bruhl).

Jule is waitressing to pay off anenormous debt that has beendepressing her life ever since she rana red light and crashed into aMercedes-Benz S-class. Expiredregistration, no insurance and she isbilled US$95,000. Jule’s boyfriendleaves for several days to an activist

convention held in Spain. Jule and Jan begin to flourish a friendshipwhich soon evolves into love.

Jan informs Jule about his and

Peter’s deepest secret. Jan and Peterbreak into wealthy homes neverstealing one thing, but the purposeis to inform the owners of the hometo be aware that money doesn’t buyeverything. Their trademark isrearranging furniture and leaving anote with a phrase “the days ofplenty are numbered.” Jule isdumbfounded by the actscommitted by her boyfriend and

Jan, but soon she is convinced andbecomes part of their activity. Itsfun and games living life at itsfullest until one of them is caught.

The Edukators is pure adrenaline

and without argument the bestensemble cast produced fromGermany.





21This film is fun, enjoyable and could

e educational. 21 (2008) directed

y acclaimed American film directorRobert Luketic, who directed 2001,Legally Blonde. Jim Sturgess playsBen Campbell, an ambitious andintellectual student with the gradepoint average of 4.0 to show for it atMIT (Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology). His dream prevailswhen he is accepted into thegraduate program at HarvardMedical School. Brilliant withnumbers but lacks the financialstability, his tuition fees for HarvardMedical School cumulates to$300,000.

Mickey Rosa, played by KevinSpacey, is a Professor at MIT arookie of counting cards in his days.Rosa’s challenges Ben in classthrough mathematics theories which

Rosa finds his ability truly gifted.

,of MIT where five students and Rosa await for his

arrival. Rosa introduces Ben to the world of“counting cards” also known as blackjack. Ben, first,must take the initiative test to be accepted intoRosa’s blackjack group: to be terrorized underpressure.

Eventually Ben is accepted into Professor Rosa’sanonymous blackjack club, which every weekendthe group of five brilliant MIT’s mathematicswhizzes travels to Vegas for weekends of clubbing,

drinking, shopping and counting.

Ben promises himself to win what’s reasonable: topay Harvard Medical School’s tuition of $300,000.However, when jealousy and temptation begin to

crackle in the inner circle of co-workers rather thanfriends, Ben is obsessed and addicted to “countingcards” winnings. Ben has simply gone too far withhis winning streaks which have alerted visuallyunder Casinos surveillance, but can Ben count his

way out of this one when he’s caught





The Song of

ithout doubt one of the best religious films of all time. Jennifer Jones plays BernadetteSoubirous, a fourteen-year-old who lives in Lourdes, France, where she visions theBlessed Virgin Mary. The film circulates Bernadette and her family and the poverty theylive in. Her father wakes up everyday before dawn in his quest to find what’s availablefor him to work. Bernadette’s sister Marie and her friend Jeanne are summoned to do anerrand, Bernadette tags along wanting to become part of the circle of friendship. Whenthe three encounter a river, Marie and Jeanne walk barefooted across the river.

Marie and Jeanne demand Bernadette to stay put because Bernadette suffers fromAsthma because of the chilly waters would drive Bernadette to illness. As the two girlsventures further in search of fire woods, Bernadette is alone. A woman appearsclaiming she is the Immaculate Conception. Bernadette believes her word because she isthe only one capable of the visions; the town accuses Bernadette of her sanity. Miracles

egin to blossom in the town, and love, happiness and health soon become the nature ofgod’s work that people begin to follow and are inspired by Bernadette’s vision of theBlessed Virgin Mary.

Jennifer Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.



The All American Woman

A year ago, Hillary Clinton was much predicated as a front-runner for the Democratic Partyfor President of the United States. The American people assumed Clinton would become thefirst female President of the United States, but months ago, our government parties decidedto make history on someone else: Barack Obama, if he wins he will become the nation’s BlackPresident. Millions wanted Obama to pick Clinton as his Vice President, but in August of2008 he chooses someone who has international affairs experiences, Sen. Joe Biden. JohnMcCain, at the time, needed someone who could simply win the hearts of millions ofAmericans because Clinton, with her incredible experiences in the White House was out of

the competition. So, McCain, needless to say, picked a woman candidate as his VicePresident running-mate.

Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska and a mother of five children is the all American woman.She may not have White House experiences but she’s capable of winning majority ofwomen’s vote in this November Election. The media has been tormenting her private life,her son is enlisted in the services and was deployed aboard on September 11, 2008, and herseventeen-year-old daughter is pregnant with her unmarried boyfriend of nineteen-years ofage. Palin is simply fearless in this competition and confident to win the Republican VicePresident. Is America ready for a woman President or Vice President? Absolutely, she may

win the November election, but if she fails, than it goes to show that the next election in fouryears may we have a woman as President.

as an ov. ara Pa in



-- .a legend, yet, but a hero, most definitely. At the age of 23, Phelps won a total of sixteen

Olympic medals in just two Olympics Games in Athens (2004) and in Beijing (2008). Heis currently the second most awarded Olympian, after Soviet Larissa Latynina(Gymnastics) with her eighteen in three Olympics at the 1956, 1960, and 1964 games.

Phelps, also, holds the record with eight gold medals in one Olympics game, whichanalysts agree that there will not be another Phelps in the years to come. Although, veryprivate about his social life and family, his mother is a principal at a middle schoolMaryland. He has two sisters and his father is often out of the picture, his parentsdivorced in 1984. There is simply not much to say about Phelps personally because hislife circulates around swimming, but professionally he is God’s miracle work.

Career Medals:

16 Olympic Medals

21 World Medals

11 Pan Pacific Medals



OlgaKorbut(Soviet)

Before Nadia, Mary Lou, and the Magnificent Seven; women’s gymnastics became popularized atthe 1972 games in Munich, Germany, when Olga Korbut (Soviet Union) just seventeen years of age,charmed the world and became the darling of the games. Prior to the Olympics games in 1972,Korbut was never a major contender in any of the four apparatus in Gymnastics. She was heavilyshadowed by her former Soviet teammate Lyudmila Tourischeva, which she won the all aroundtitle at the 1972 games. The Soviet women captured the team all around gold making it againanother historical moment in Olympic history. When the women’s all around finals nearlyconcluded, Korbut dazzled, leaped and flirted with the audience. On her last apparatus: the uneven

ars, she had the opportunity to win the prestigious women all around title but failed after missfooting from one bar to the other. She sobbed in a deeply emotional fashion which the camerasmoved in to capture her every moment of distress which she had won the hearts of millions.She left a legacy in the sport of gymnastics; there is simply no one like her that can be compared toher ageless personality.



NadiaComaneci(Romania)

Nadia Comaneci first emerged internationally at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada,when she became the first gymnast to ever receive a perfect 10 in the sport of Gymnastics. Prior tothe 1976 Games, Nadia was born and raised in a small poverty village in Onesti, Romania,northeast of the capitol city of Bucharest. The legendary Romanian coach Bela Karoyli, famous forcoaching Nadia, Mary Lou Retton – first American to win the women’s all around at the 1984Olympic Games, Kim Zmeskal – first American to win the women’s all around at the World

Championships, and Dominique Moceanu – one of seven US gymnasts that captured the firstTeam gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games. In his search for young gymnasts, Bela went toevery school and began enrolling qualified and most spirited little girls. This infamous story isoften told: Bela had seen two little girls performing cartwheels in the playgrounds, he approachedthe two girls but the bell rang and they immediately disappeared into their classrooms. Belavowed to search for these two girls and went to each of the classrooms. On several attempts hefinally finds both girls, he stated in many interviews that he told the students, “Who wants to be agymnast,” and the two girls jumped up from their seats screaming, “I do!” Afterwards, NadiaComaneci trained to become an elite gymnast. She would win the European all aroundchampionships, and also won the American Cup, which was held in New York City in 1976. At the

1976 Games, Nadia won the prestigious women’s all around title at the age of fourteen, andreceiving seven perfect tens. Nadia would take gymnastics to a whole new level capitalizing thatperfection is possible after all.



Not since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, when the Magnificent Seven: TeamUSA won the old medal in the women’s team finals in mnastics. At the 2008 Ol m icsGames in Beijing, China, Team USA can now understand what home field advantage is all

about, when Team China won their first team title in Olympic history and in front of thehome audiences. During and after the games, the controversy of three Chinese gymnasts ontheir ages was mere of media attention. It was said that three of the six team members wereineligible because they were just fourteen years of age, a gymnast must be of sixteen yearsof age to participate in the Olympic Games. China provided proof of documents to theInternational Olympic Committee, but the public demanded more documents not the IOC.China beat USA in the team finals, one of their gymnasts stars Alicia Sacramone, fell off the

eam due to stage freight, and sated on her first tumbling run on floor exercise. China’sCheng Fei finished her floor routine marking a career of exhaustion, depression andsatisfaction that captured her first Olympic gold medal.

Nastia Luikin, 18, (Gold Medalist) and Shawn Johnson, 16, (Silver Medalist) made historyy becoming the first Americans to go 1-2 in the women’s all around finals, this marks the

fourth time in competition when a country wins both Gold and Silver in the all around.Luikin won a total of five Olympic medals tying with Mary Lou Retton (1984, Los Angeles)and Shannon Miller (1992, Barcelona) with the most medals won by any American in thesport of Gymnastics. Johnson won four medals capturing the gold on Balance Beam andthree silvers: team, all around, and floor exercise.



Cheng Fei(China)

Shawn Johnson and NastiaLuikin were both the stars ofthe Olympic Games inBeijing, China. However,China has to feel spectaculartoo have their very owngymnast becoming a starinternationally. Cheng Fei,unfamiliar in the Americanpublic eye, but well known inthe gymnastics world, is theoldest and most experiencedmember of the Chinese team.

For her accomplishments as afive-time World Champion,

she was awarded by Chineseofficials, the title that usuallydoes not bestow respectively

for a woman Chinese athlete:the greatest Chinese gymnastof all time. But, unlikeAmerican gymnastics whenlittle girls dream ofparticipating in the Olympicsand winning the all aroundtitle, Cheng Fei was placedinto the sport of gymnastics

y the decision of her

parents. Fei was born in theprovince of Hubei, a smallpoverty town.

Fei’s parents gambled greatlywhen they placed in her

gymnastics because they wantedCheng Fei to have a secure andhappy future. At the age ofseven, she was sent off to asports boot camp, and neverlived with her parents again, butmany times pleaded to herparents to let her quit the sportand return home. Her crowningachievement was when she wonthe Olympics team gold medal at

the Olympic Games held in her

country.



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