Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice is the true story of a young girl who was pulled into the drug world. It is the actual diary of a girl who was once a good kid involved in her studies until she gets involved with the wrong crowd. This story is so descriptive and horrifying it would drive anyone away from even the idea of using drugs. Towards the end of the book she doesn't even know what day it is and can think only about drugs. "After you've had it, there isn't even life without drugs..." This is a direct quote said by Alice after doing every drug possible. This book shows you how far people will go for drugs and what they will do to get them. This is definitely a good book to read to enter the mind of someone enslaved to addiction.

Christmas!

When I hear Christmas I think of many things. I actually like the Christmas season better than the actual day. I love decorating my house and cooking before hand. On Christmas Eve, we all go to my father's mother's house. All of my cousins are usually there, and we eat fish and open our presents. After that we go to midnight mass. Even though this might sound immature, I love going to mass so late at night. After mass, we all go back to the house and watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I love spending time with my family because we don't get to do it enough. On Christmas day we all go to my aunt's house on my mom's side. We basically do the same thing we do at the grandmas, except with different people. This day is also extremely fun. The day after is horrible though. I hate waking up and realizing that it's all over, but it is worth it for the fun I have.

The Lovely Bones

I would definitely recommend everyone to read the novel "Lovely Bones". This book is about a young girl who is brutally murdered by the hands of one of her neighbors. The book shows the effect it has on her family and the gut feeling her father has about who killed his daughter. The young girl is telling her story from heaven and watching down on her family and her killer. The girl talks light heartedly about her death, rather than having such a negative view. I couldn't put this book down. It held my attention the whole time because it was such a unique story and written well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a fantastic story!

My Favorite Movies

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
All the Rocky movies
The Lion King
Good Will Hunting
The Karate Kid Movies
Teen Wolf
Braveheart
Gladiator
Cinderella Man
Dirty Harry
Million Dollar Baby
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is about a young hobbit named Frodo who goes on a year and a half quest to destroy the one ring. This movie is stretched out into three movies, and is done beautifully. It is very well made and took four long years to make all three movies. Even though these movies are extremely long being three hours each, it is worth it to watch. Not only are the graphics beautiful, but so are the costumes. Each costume was hand crafted, and even the insides of the costumes were hand crafted so the actors felt like they were really the character. Since the movie was shot in New Zealand, the scenery is beautiful. The actors were also amazing in this movie. I would definitely suggest buying this movie and watching it if you haven't seen it already.

Rocky Balboa

A film review by Joseph Orisino, my brother, on the movie Rocky Balboa

First, let me start out by saying I consider the original Rocky to be one of the finest american films of all time. Although Rocky 2 & 3 are really good movies, they don't come close to the first film. I also like Rocky 4, because even though the premise is awful, the execution is fun. However, after watching Rocky 5 I became horribly disturbed at how truly awful it was, and I wondered how something so good could become so bad. When I found out Stallone was making another Rocky film, 16 years after the atrocity of Rocky 5, I couldn't help but cringe. Now, after having seen Rocky Balboa, I can say with absolute certainty that the film is an absolutely fantastic and appropriate sendoff to the Rocky Saga. THIS FILM IS WHAT ROCKY 5 SHOULD HAVE BEEN. Rocky is now retired and owns a restaurant named for his beloved wife Adrian, who passed away from cancer. Adrian's death has taken a lot out of the former champ, played gracefully by an aging Sylvester Stallone, who shows acting chops we haven't seen since the 1976 original. After seeing a computer simulated boxing fight on ESPN, Rocky's spirit is stirred and he considers a return to the ring. The computer simulation showcases a boxing match between Rocky (in his prime) and the current champion, Mason "The Line" Dixon. At the end of the fight, Rocky comes out on top. Even though he has not been in the ring in years, Rocky starts to believe he still has "some stuff left in the basement," and decides to start fighting again. The boxing simulation, which causes a publicity explosion, gets Dixon's camp talking. Dixon's promoters convince him to fight Rocky in an exhibition match. Complete with a training montage, the film brought back those same chills that I got when watching the original. Originally I thought that Stallone was making this film for the money. That may be true, but he did it with respect to the art of storytelling. Considering Stallone hasn't directed a major film since 1985's Rocky IV, the story of the film is executed remarkably well. Stallone brings back supporting characters we all know (Rocky Jr., his brother-in-law Paulie, Spider Rico) and makes the audience feel like they are visiting old friends. Fans of the Rocky films will spot many references to the other films of the saga, now two decades old. Instead of beating us over the head with corny revenge-driven plot lines and killing off characters for the hell of it, he recovers the original film's charm and, most importantly, its heart. I haven't heard cheering and clapping like I heard watching Rocky Balboa in a long time. If you were listening from outside the theater, you would have thought that the fight was going on live. In the lobby I didn't hear one gripe about the film, which is a damn rare thing these days. While I walked out of the theater I noticed that I couldn't stop smiling. The tagline for the film says it all: It ain't over 'til it's over.

I completely agree with my brother's analysis of the film. The reason why I used his critique is because I could not have written a better one myself. I am extremely happy that this movie was made because it was a good ending to the saga. Rocky 5 did not do the movies justice, and this one certainly did.

Movie Summaries and Reviews

Since I enjoy movies so much, I figured I would write about my favorites, giving a summary about each and telling what each means to me. I feel movies are a great way to escape from your life. You can forget about your troubles and get immersed in the "life" of another. Movies are also extremely entertaining and informative. Movies take up a big part of my life which is why I decided to write about this topic. For example, the movie American History X really opens your eyes to racism and how useless it is. Since the movie is so extreme it really gets the point across. Now when I say I will be writing about movies, I do not mean crappy ones such as the ones made today, for example movies like Hostile and the Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift. These movies are jokes and complete crap. These movies shouldn't even be on the big screen, but they make these movies cause they know that idiots will go and see them. I will be writing about the good movies. You may say what makes a movie good? Isn't that a matter of opinion? The answer is yes and no. When watching a movie, you have to know what to look for. Character driven plots are what make a good movie, not gore and violence. Movies that you can relate to are also ones to look out for, not ones where everything turns out perfect in the end. Since I enjoy writing about movies so much, this will be the topic of my upcoming blogs.