Jackin4Beats Magazine

With major Studio releases like A Christmas Carol and The Fourth Kind topping the box office chart this weekend, it would appear that all OscarWatchers’ eyes were on Precious. After dominating this year’s film festival prizes, the indie drama opened on Friday to very strong reviews, resulting in an 85 grade from Rotten Tomatoes. EW’s Owen Gleiberman rated the film an A, while the New York Times A.O. Scott said that lead actress Gabourey Sidibe was “extraordinarily poised.”
It would appear that the critics weren’t the only ones going crazy over the film. Although it only appeared in 18 theaters, Precious grossed a phenomenal $1.8 million, according to studio estimates. Industry experts say if those figures continue to hold, Precious will become the third live-action film to score a per-theater average of over $100,000, following closely on the heels of multiple Oscar nominees, Dreamgirls and Brokeback Mountain. Considering all of this was accomplished by a film by a relatively new director with no big movie stars in it, it’s an amazing achievement.
Did you have the opportunity to see Precious this weekend? Do you think it deserves all of the prays that it has been getting?

All I can say is damn! Twitter has been blowing up with news of the King of Pop and his death. To be frank, I still can’t believe it. I keep hoping that maybe this is a rumor, just maybe there is an outside chance that the Internet has it all wrong.

I got the call from a source who wishes to stay anonymous. I couldn’t believe it as I heard her say that they had just pronounced Michael Jackson dead.

Here’s a Tribute To The King of Pop:

The Tribute has ended… I hope all of you that watched really enjoyed it.

In Gary, Indiana back in August of 1958, Michael Jackson was brought into this world as the seventh child of nine. Michael has 3 sisters and 5 brothers which he had to share his childhood with. At a relatively young age he was introduced into music by his father and was set as the lead singer for the family band known as the Jackson 5.

The band’s earlier years saw them playing in both clubs as well as at private parties although they also had the opportunity to compete in competitions from time to time as well. It would not be until Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers heard them that the group would finally get the break they were looking for. He set up an audition with Berry Gordy at Motown who signed them instantly, and if you are interested in seeing some of their older stuff, it is still available on dvd rental new releases.

After the contracted with Motown was signed, the entire Jackson family headed out to California where the group went to work. Singles like The Love You Save as well as I’ll Be There were immediately liked by the listeners and set the Jackson 5 to the top of the charts.

The Jackson 5 would go on to make 14 albums with Motown and Michael Jackson would make 4 solos before the group made the switch to Epic in 1976. While with Epic they released another 6 albums but under the name the Jacksons because Motown had the rights to the Jackson 5 band name. Most of these Epic albums too were big hits.

The movie The Wiz allowed Michael Jackson to make his film debut and while working on the film he met Quincy Jones. With Quincy, Michael went on to release the album Off the Wall which features 4 number one singles. Following that album would be no easy task, but when Michael Jackson released Thriller, all records would be broken as more then fifty million copies have been sold.

When Michael Jackson released the album Thriller, he would receive 8 Grammies. This also marked the time when Michael was entering into the musical video scene and started releasing his short films as he calls them. These short films which can be longer then 10 minutes helped increase the sales of Thriller and it is through these that the world got their first glimpse at the trademarked Moonwalk. The moonwalk wowed kids all over the world, and they still watch it today Neflix.

Michael Jackson was married for a short time to Lisa Marie Presley who is the daughter of Elvis, however this marriage would end quickly and within only a yea and a half they were divorced. He would then married again and now has two of his own children including the first which was a boy, and more recently a girl. However a recent scandal has made Michael leave the music industry and he has believed to have moved to the country of Bahrain where he owns a mansion.

There is a lot of debate about media violence, particularly in its effects on children. Although no one really claims that all problems with aggressive kids are caused by violence in the media, everyone knows that it does have some affect on some people.

The real question comes down to a chicken or the egg sort of thing: we know that violent kids and young adults tend to be more interested in media violence than most people, but we don’t understand the cause effect relationship. Are these people interested in violent programming and games because they are violent people, or do they become violent people because of their interest in violent media?

Some parents take a very aggressive position on media violence. I know a few families that will cut off the access their children have to any but the most nonviolent and nondestructive media. They claim that, through limiting exposure to Hollywood movies, violent music, and video games, they can make their children grow up to be more peaceful, productive people. This approach requires a lot of sacrifices and very vigilant parenting. It is hard to live in a modern urban or suburban environment and restrict your child’s access to the media.

Then again, there are other people who focus more on violent behaviors and aggressive emotions than on media violence per se. This has always been my approach personally. Rather than trying to limit what my children watch or what games they play, I try to help them engage in activities that will make them feel more peaceful and less prone to anger. By making sure my kids get enough exercise, do meditation and yoga, and feel comfortable talking about their feelings, I can help them become more psychologically healthy and happy. In my mind, this is probably the best antidote to living in a violent society.

I suppose that, no matter what your position, the important thing is to show that you care. All parents make mistakes, and even your whole approach to violent programming might be the wrong one. Nonetheless, by doing your best to take an active role in your child’s life, you are showing that you are interested in what happens to them. Just by taking the time to care, you really can change things for the better. Not every parent knows what to do, but every parent knows they have to do something. This is the first step towards being a good parent and a good role model.

Lionsgate has been under pressure from investors to turn around its plummeting movie division. Thanks to “Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail” and it’s record breaking opening of $41.1 million in sales at domestic theaters, Lionsgate may make it after all.

The film, is the latest to star Tyler Perry as a gun-toting grandmother, it also delivered the best opening weekend in Lionsgate’s 12-year history, according to Steve Rothenberg, president for distribution. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail marks a high point for Tyler Perry, do to the fact that it opened with 35 percent more sales than his previous show entitled, “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion” in 2006.

Despite the best efforts of Lionsgate marketers to broaden Tyler Perry’s audience to white moviegoers — still the sweet spot of the North American box office — patrons for the picture, featuring a predominantly African-American (Moorish) cast, were only 6 percent white. That percentage is on a par with Tyler Perry’s previous films, Mr. Rothenberg said.