I saw the first Wall Street movie years ago before I really understood the greed and corruption that goes on there. After reading a few books, I now understand how greedy people can get (Kurt Eichenwald’s Serpent on the Rock and Conspiracy of Fools are both good reads). I still don’t understand trading very much, guess I should invest in Forex training seminars, but I am looking forward to the new Wall Street movie starring Michael Douglas and Shia LeBeouf. Here is the trailer from the movie:

John Huston was one of my favorite directors. He directed such films as The Maltese Falcon, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen, Moby Dick and The Man Who Would Be King. He was also a screenwriter (The African Queen, Moby Dick and more) and an actor. Unfortunately, he was also a heavy smoker. He suffered from emphysema and saw him several times with a device such as a evergo oxygen concentrator to give his lungs more oxygen.

Huston died on August 28, 1987 at the age of 81, but his great work will live on.

My kids have been waiting a long time for this movie. My older daughter can’t wait to see it since she grew up with the older two movies. Let’s hope she has a better time at the movies this time, since the last time she went someone went out the wrong door and set off the exit alarm.

The first Toy Story movie was released in 1995 starring Tom Hanks as the voice of Woody and Tim Allen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear. The story resolves around toys who come to life whenever humans aren’t around. The all star cast included Don Rickles, Jim Varney, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts and Wallace Shawn.

Toy Story 2 soon followed and was released in 1999. The same cast returned with the additions of Joan Cusack and Kelsey Grammer.

Toy Story 3 can be seen in 3D and was released June 18, 2010. Unfortunately, Jim Varney, who played Slinky the Dog passed away in 2000. His role is taken over by Joe Ranft. The Opening Weekend saw a gross of over $100 million dollars.

The second movie poster is from the great film Breaking Away starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern (his first film role) and Jackie Earle Haley (who definitely needs to try the best acne medication). These four friends live in a college town. It is about trying to find yourself and the obstacles that you my find. The 1979 film is one of my favorites.

The past couple weeks have been very busy for me so I haven’t had time to post. I have been helping my high school daughter with her brochure printing project and my 5th grader with her end of year projects too. I recently came across some cool old movie posters that I thought I would share. The first one is Creature From the Black Lagoon. Whenever you mention old horror flicks, this movie, released in 1954, is sure to come up. The movie was not in color, but in black and white.

I finally finished installing a KVM switch so that I could fix my internet feed to watch The Searchers. It is a movie on my watch list that I haven’t seen yet. The film, which was released in 1956, starred John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles and Natalie Wood.

The plot involved Ethan Edwards (Wayne), a middle-aged Civil War veteran, who spends years looking for his abducted niece with Martin Pawley (Hunter), his adoptive nephew.

Although the movie received no Academy Award Nominations, the movie is listed by the American Film Institute as the Greatest Western Film of all time.

John Wayne’s catchphrase in the film, “That’ll be the day”, inspired Buddy Holly to write his hit song of the same name.

The 1990s were not that long ago. But when you think about it the year 1990 was 20 years ago. There are kids that graduated from high school in 1990 that will be attending their 20th high school reunion this year. The 90s is when the technology boom really started happening. Cell phones, mp3 players and a bigger online consumer presence took hold. You could even buy online life insurance instead of talking directly with an insurance agent.

Looking back, some of my favorite 1990 movies include:

One of my favorite movies is Young Frankenstein. If you watched the trailer, you will get a glimpse of some cool wall sconces outside the door. I have always wanted a big, creepy looking house with fire coming from the wall sconces! This is the type of movie that you either think is absolutely funny, or you think it is the dumbest thing you have ever seen. I put this in the same category as the likes of The Producers, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Napoleon Dynamite!

Who doesn’t love diamonds? The song “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” was introduced in the Broadway musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and was sung by Carol Channing. The song was written by Jule Styne.

But, it is probably best remembered for the movie version sung by Marilyn Monroe. Monroe plays Lorilei Lee, whose father does not want her to marry for money. When he finds that she is involved with a British mine owner, he cancels her line of credit and she seeks work in nightclub where she performs this song:

I recently saw a huge point of purchase displays for the movie 2012. I never got to see it in the movie theater and I thought I would either purchase it or rent it.

How did we start believing that the world was going to end in 2012? December 21 or 23, 2012 is the end date of the 5,125 year long Mayan Calendar. Some believe that 2012 will mark the beginning of a new spiritual era, while others believe that it will mark the end of the world. The Mayan’s themselves never predicted an end on this date.