Over-Done Movie Sequels

I hate it when a movie is made, and it makes a lot of money, but the producers are greedy and want more money, so they make another four movies of the same concept. It’s so irritating that the original concept is great, but then it’s twisted into something completely opposite to what the original plot is like. The two most common examples of this are Pirates of the Caribbean and the Harry Potter movies.

Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter movies defer slightly, in that the Potter concept originated from a book. It is rumored, that because the first four Harry Potter books were so successful and the movies as swell, that the movie producers paid JK Rowling a large sum of money to continue writing the Harry Potter books. Anyway, I stopped watching those movies after the second one came out. I never really gave the books a chance, even though they have become a pandemic. I’ve never been to keen on that genre thought. The Harry Potter movie series would have been better as a whole, if six movies hadn’t been made, only three.

I know that the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are somewhat good, but honestly, I’m pirates-of-the-caribbeaned out! I’ve had enough of those movies!! Basically, every movie is based on the same concept: Johnny Depp is a bad guy at first, but ends up saving the day with one of his crazy and wild ideas. Depp’s character, Jack Sparrow, irritates me to no extent. He always seems to be clueless of his surrounding’s, even when there are flying bullets and people getting killed. He never seems to care. One day he is going to get viciously murdered, and he probably won’t even realize.

I would way rather watch one excellent, extremely well made movie (well directed, written, acted, etc.) than four or five mediocre movies. Making one movie would take a fraction of the time, and would be remembered as a cinematic classic for many years to come. In my opinion, a producer’s main goal is for their movie to be fantastic, over it being lucrative. If a movie is fantastic, then the buck$ will come in too.

Interesting Bio

Hey guys. Just finished writing this really interesting paper. Thought it would be cool to post it.

Bernard Madoff

 

“In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules.”

Bernie Madoff

            This biography is about Bernard Madoff. Until only eighteen months ago today only several hundred clients and a handful of friends knew who Bernie Madoff was. Today several million people know exactly who he is and what he did. If one would have to define Madoff in a few words it would be “the biggest thief the world has ever known.” Because of him over $ 50 Billion of his client’s money was stolen.

            Bernard Lawrence Madoff was born on April 29, 1938 in New York City, in the borough of Queens in a small Jewish family. His parents Ralph Madoff and Sylvia Muntner were immigrants in America. Madoff went to Far Rockaway High School and graduated in 1956. He attended Hofstra College and got a degree in political science. In 1959, Madoff married his high school sweetheart Ruth Alpern. They had two sons: Marc, born in 1964 and Andrew, in 1966. In 1960 Madoff founded Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) and was its chairman until December 11, 2008.            Madoff started BLMIS as a penny stock trader when he was twenty-two. To open it he used the money that he had earned being a lifeguard and a sprinkler installer. The company bought and sold penny stocks (stocks worth less that $1). The company also provided financial advice to investors. His father-in-law who recommended his friends and their families to Madoff helped him. The company grew and was very successful over the next 45 years. Madoff’s company had important and famous people as clients.

            In September 2008 the worlds financial markets crashed. Many investors panicked and wanted their money back, trillions of dollars. In December 2008 Madoff’s investors started asking for their money back but Madoff did not have it. He was having trouble finding $ 7 Billion when in fact his fund was supposed to be worth

$ 50 Billion. On December 9^th 2008 he told his sons that “everything was just a big lie” and “it was just one big Ponzi scheme.” A Ponzi scheme occurs when initial investors are paid returns with new investors money, rather than with real growth of their investments. In other words Madoff’s fund had not grown in value, but he mislead his investors to think that their investment had grown. His reputation for paying such high returns attracted more and more clients. He sent out false financial statements, which lead his clients to think that they were making a lot of money. Madoff’s sons reported him to the federal authorities and he was arrested in his Manhattan apartment on December 11^th 2008.

            Madoff was charged with the following crimes: securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and theft from an employee benefit plan. On March 12^th 2009 he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 150 years in Butner Federal Correctional Institution.

            Hundreds of Madoff’s investors lost all of their life savings. Many retired and elderly without incomes or pensions lost everything with Madoff. Madoff was a very bad man who ruined lots of people’s lives.

            I chose Bernard Madoff for my biography because he has been in the financial news for a very long time. I am very interested in what goes on in the stock market because someday I would like to be working on Wall Street, as a businessman. Madoff is a good example of what not to become. Madoff is a crook and a liar and he definitely deserves to be in jail for the rest of his life.  

           

The Truth and Some Goosebumps Moments

Ok. No more nonsense. I’m tired of writing about someone that doesn’t exist. Henry Friedman, Swiss boy, he’s nothing. He is a figment of my imagination that I never really liked; an alter ego. Henry Friedman is a partial segment of my brain. Basically, a mix of everything wrong and right that I think about.

Let me tell you the truth:

·      I am writing a blog because my English teacher wants us to

·      Not allowed to mention my name

That’s it. You’ll learn more about me as I write.

Well, I guess that when I say ‘you will’,  ‘you guys’ or refer to you in any way, I mean you English teacher. I know that no one follows this blog, because it’s terrible and has no point whatsoever. I bet you don’t really care about it. What separates my mediocre blog from the 40 others in the grade? Honestly, I doubt you would actually read this blog in your free time. The only reason you are skimming the blog, is for the purpose of grading, which I doubt you like to do.

           

            Just a quick question: why do you make us write a blog? I don’t really think people enjoy it very much. All it does is give us more grey hairs, seeing that it is more homework. I prefer the blog to in-class-essays; however, in in-class-essays there is a topic and a point. With the blog, I aimlessly type random crap to make the post look longer. If you would assign a topic for each entry, it would make life so much easier.

Whatever. I guess I’ll make the best out of it. I know my opinion won’t change your mind.

Meanwhile writing this post, I was also aimlessly wandering the walls of Facebook, when I came across a status update from a friend. It was something like this: “The truth is... I am Iron Man. *Goosebumps*” It got me thinking: in what movies have I been legit freaked out and gotten Goosebumps from the excitement and nerve. The most recent time was while watching black swan.

 

IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT SKIP THE NEXT FEW LINES. I WILL SPOIL IT.

Right at the end, after Natalie Portman has had all the hallucinations and she’s just finished the black swan part on stage. When she jumps of the ledge onto the mattress and you see her bleeding. When you realized she killed herself so the ballet would end like the story of the swan lake. I freaked out at this point. 

YOU CAN START READING AGAIN FROM HERE.

Another example would be in Shawshank Redemption in like the last 7 minutes of the movie, when Andy Dufresne escapes from prison to where Red and Andy meet in Zihuantanejo. I was so excited and I had mega Goosebumps in those last scenes.  If you haven’t seen Shawshank Redemption, you’re a disgrace to humanity. My favorite Goosebumps moment of all time, by far, is the last scene of the usual suspects; when Kevin Spacey leaves the police station and is walking crookedly on the sidewalk and then suddenly his walk turns normal. Then the police detective realizes that everything that Spacey had told him was a lie. At this point, one realizes that Kevin Spacey is Keyser Söze.

Well goodnight people. Sleep time