Four types of girls who are never going to be ‘The One’

Originally published on Baladna English 23-May-2011

We talked yesterday about the four types of men who are never going to be able to settle down in a relationship unless some major changes in their attitude take place. Being a big fan of gender equality, today’s article is about the four types of women who need similar changes in their lives if they want to find Mr. Right.

So if you, ladies, find yourself to be falling into one of the following categories, you don’t need to worry too much about it. These changes are simply made the minute you’re aware of the symptoms. You might be, also, unaware that you’re a die-hard bachelorette; so, dig deep into your character and you might find some demons to fight.

The drama queen

This bachelorette is characterized as an overly dramatic person: someone who turns something unimportant into a major deal and someone who blows things way out of proportion whenever the chance is given. “I don’t blow things way out of proportion, how dare you say that?” Mariam, 27, says in fury. “I am not a drama queen; I just like to make sure everything goes right and I’m willing to fight for it until the end.” Mariam tells stories of fights she had before with a man who asked her out on a date: “Oh my god! He copied some of his university projects from someone without giving the other person credit! That is just mean. He was horrible,” Mariam explains. “I went out and told everyone what a cruel person he was.”

Now, as far as we know the phrase, drama queen applies to both men and women. Researching for this article I also came across the phrase ‘drama king’, but that is in much less common usage. The real question really is why people create such drama in their lives.

Of course a person who seems to be behaving as a drama queen can be genuinely in trouble, in which case we must support and help him/her if and as appropriate. Putting aside any underlying medical causes or genuine reasons, here are the reasons why a person may create so much drama in his/her life: boredom, seeking sympathy, manipulation of others and seeking attention. There you are – knowing what makes a drama queen tick enables you to see how you can help him/her let go of some of the underlying causes. To be able to get over this phase in your life so you could have a healthy relationship soon, you need to understand the causes behind your attitude instead of treating the symptoms.

 

The emotional rollercoaster

One of the best places to see how we’re handling our emotions — or how they’re handling us — is in our most intimate relationships. This bachelorette has a problem with handling her emotions. She cries for the smallest thing and falls in love on first dates. “I don’t know why, I can’t content my emotions at all; I think I feel that some of my friends –and dates– feel awkward around me,” says Salma, 29, who thinks that she has her heart on her sleeve. “I fall in love and out of love easily, that’s not healthy, right? Right?” she says, on the verge of crying.

Once emotion bursts out and overflows, all bets are off. We get caught in its momentum and abandon all reason. We may often say or do things we’ll regret, so we end up fearful of our emotions. If we feel anger rising up toward our partner, for example, we might panic and try to shut it down or get rid of it. In that case, we might turn the anger in on ourselves or let it loose on an innocent target — a co-worker, a child, or the family pet. Or we might be successful in keeping our angry mind quiet for a few weeks, then blow up one day for no apparent reason. This is one of the unhealthiest things a woman can do in a relationship; it might make her feel inferior to the other part; might make her feel that she has no power anymore. Experts think that the best way to handle these emotions is to reason with yourself before reasoning with the other. Try to understand your emotions and don’t be afraid of them; by training yourself to know what the emotion is you’re experiencing and what the right respond to it should be, you would be able to stop riding the emotional rollercoaster.

 

The hot mess

Someone suggested that this section should be titled ‘The blondes’, but honestly, there are amazing women with blonde hair out there and they are smart, educated and lovely. So, this is for the women who are acting shallowly, partying every night and hold no worry in the world. The hot mess is the best friend of yesterday’s partier; the two of them are seen together in parties, hanging around every night or dancing in a corner; they both need a change in life to be able to settle down before it’s too late.

Suzan, for example, would never be seen in daylight and rather considers herself a creature of the night. She, also, won’t be caught dead without her soirée dress and full make up. “I’m 25 and I should not waste a single moment,” Suzan says. “I won’t be beautiful and capable of partying forever.”

However, Suzan has a huge problem: she finds herself to be seriously alone. “I’m sad and lonely, but not alone,” she explains. “I’m surrounded by all these beautiful party people, but I don’t feel there is a single emotional connection to any of them. I don’t trust them and I’m not sure I love them.”

“I love to party with them, though,” she adds.

This feeling of loneliness is understandable and the only way for the party girl to get over it is to spend more time developing personal relations with her friends and less time partying. There is no harm in a nice fun party ever y now and again, but maybe some time to develop actual friendships can help her practice meaningful life with others, which will help her know the right guy and becoming the right girl.

The successful businesswoman

If you’re a career-oriented, successful woman, you’re on the right track; there is nothing wrong with you whatsoever. But men generally, and not all of them, are afraid of a strong smart woman who are able of having more power in the household that they possess. “I don’t want to date anyone because they all are afraid of me,” says Dina, 31, who owns her own advertisement company. “I feel that they are looking at me like a weird creature with too much power; they are afraid of me.”

Again, you shouldn’t change yourself for the acceptance of men; you just need to find the right male. Under this falls either a man who is open-minded and smart enough to accept his mate’s success, or a man who is equally successful. You’re amazing, keep it up.

Four types of guys who are never going to be “the one”

Inspired by a Lifestyle item on Yahoo! news and published on Baladna English on 22-May-2011

For some reason, female friends seem to entrust me with their deepest and darkest dating secrets and stories. I became well aware of the types of guys girls fall for; they who think that they are ‘the one’ turn out to be anything but Mr. Right. We all know this guy — or are this guy: in his 20s or 30s, affable, attractive and yet he’s never been in a serious long-term relationship. And as his single status stretches into a third decade, one has to wonder: what’s the deal? Far from being not dateable, this guy may simply not be ready to change his independent ways. Or, he may be all too willing to do so — but something’s blocking him.

If you feel you may fall into the latter category (or know someone who does), stop worrying about what’s slowing you down and read on to learn about how four types of die-hard bachelors contribute to their perpetual ‘single’ status and which steps to take to break the cycle.

The workaholic

For the guy who makes work priority number one, a relationship can seem like a hindrance for which he hasn’t the time or energy. It’s likely that he’s set lofty career goals for himself — perhaps finishing medical school or starting his own business — with personal deadlines (say, by age 35). Take it from Bassem, 31, who is an admitted workaholic: “My main focus is getting to a point in my career where I am stable and have accomplished enough to move on to a job that I really want to do,” he says. “I can’t sacrifice or compromise my career path for anyone yet.”

If you’re like Bassem, you should know that waiting for the “right time” isn’t the solution. You need to understand that life doesn’t start when you schedule it. And it needn’t be a lonely climb to the top: rather than derailing you career, a supportive mate could provide stability, encouragement and an attentive ear. And for the guy who is working to become husband material, consider this: 91 percent of women in a Match.com survey reported that they tend to fall in love with a moderately successful career person with a balanced life rather than a very successful workaholic.

The partier

For this guy, weekends in Beirut and hitting up the newest parties and clubs have too much appeal to entertain the possibility of settling down. Self-described “committed bachelor” Ahmed who is 30 year-old says: “I go out to have a good time — mingle, dance and have fun — and not to meet someone.”

Yet, as Ahmed and all the other Ahmeds of the world mature, these men may notice that their party-hearty peers are becoming fewer in number or that the average age of their social circle — and of his dates — remains constant as he ages. Another warning sign? More numbers in his cell phone of ‘friends with benefits’ than those belonging to actual friends. The bottom line is; for all the fun of casual encounters and late nights out, a partier would do well to understand that a committed relationship has its own joys, too — even excitement and novelty. So, don’t be an adrenaline junkie out of fear that a commitment to one person will be no fun. Really getting to know one person in a relationship can be a source of passion and adrenaline, too.

The shy guy

It’s a fact: meeting women requires conversation, which can be problematic for a shy guy and can stunt his relationship prospects. “I go out with the express purpose of meeting people, but I hardly ever scrape up enough courage to talk to strangers,” admits Alex, 31, while sitting in a café in Mezzah. “Even if I do, I wuss out and leave before I get anywhere.”

Rather than forcing social behavior in a high-stress situation, like at a loud nightclub, shy guys may be better off searching for potential mates who share the same affinities. You should put yourself in situations that present opportunities for easy conversation. Experts suggest theater clubs, team sports or anything else with expectations for regular participation, like volunteering. Or, if you do start dating someone, suggest making it a double date or an activity date, thereby reducing the pressure of a one-on-one outing.

The too-picky guy

For all his many, many first dates, this guy is resolutely single, never having met anyone who quite fits his mold for the ideal mate. He is convinced that there is someone out there and is alternately determined to find ‘The One’, or frustrated by his inability to do so. Says 30-year-old Ramy: “It’s impossible for me to compromise. I can’t settle for someone who doesn’t attract me physically, emotionally, intellectually and so on.” Compounding this inability to compromise is the belief that perfection in another personal really exists — a notion that could lend itself to fantasies of discovering love at first sight. A guy with impossibly high standards may fall for someone, but then he’ll see this person’s flaws and imperfections and become disappointed. Unfortunately, this can lead to discounting potentially great matches, as the picky guy may be unwilling to give a date with, say, a tendency to use emoticons in emails or ‘too short’ hair a chance.

What these guys need to accept is that no one’s perfect — and include themselves in that statement. And, according to an expert’s opinion: “There is no such thing as a soul mate; rather, it’s the journey of building a great relationship over time that leads to a ‘soul mate’-type of closeness.” So the next time you’re iffy about a girl, give her more of a chance before you write her off.

Now, stay tuned for tomorrow’s ‘Four types of girls who are never going to be the one’ edition.

For the love of TV: What TV show survived the summer cuts?

Originally published on Baladna English on 17th of May 2011.

The end of the American TV season is upon us; each year around the mid of May, beloved TV series face a challenge that some mange to overcome whiles others basically fall: Would they make it to yet another season, or is it the end of the trip for them?

Based on quality and viewers ratings; American TV executives have to decide whether to allow a certain TV show to continue its airtime or not! The executives base their decisions on multiple accounts: How many people are watching the TV series? How good the plotlines and the stories told on that series are, and most importantly, how much advertisers are interested in buying TV spots to air ads about their products during this TV series. Based on these elements; some TV series keep their spot for yet another season, while others are dropped from the schedule and  replaced by new TV series all together.

This year is no difference: many TV series has been canceled and not renewed for a new season while others were considered a success and are expected to come back in the Fall season of 2011.

Famous TV series and Musical Glee has been one of the easiest decisions this year for those executives: The hit TV series was renewed for season three even before the current season two began shooting. Back in May 2010, Fox, the channel producing the TV series, announced that they are not only ordering the making of season two of the series, but also of season three. Obviously, people would not “stop believing” in the power of Glee anytime soon.

Medical drama fans: rejoice! Grey’s Anatomy, and its spin-off Private Practice has both been renewed for another season; which would be season eight for Grey’s and season five for Private Practice.

House M.D., the TV series following the ups and downs of genius (yet seriously mean) Dr. House, is renewed as well for an eighth season. The series was under the spotlight during season six and it was expected to be canceled after this season; but the creative team behind the series managed to bring back interest in the show and viewers went back to watch their favorite doctor doing his magic.

Those in love with Humor Simpsons and his eccentric family are happy to know that The Simpsons are renewed for yet another season; next year’s season would be the animated sitcom’s 23rd season, which means the show will reach 500 episodes. In 2009, The Simpsons was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s longest running sitcom.

After a long period of uncertainty regards the TV sitcom Two and a Half Men after actor Charlie Sheen announcement back in February 2010 that he was entering drug rehabilitation which extended to a long struggle to keep the show working for the last year; the show has been saved by actor Ashton Kutcher who would replace Sheen as the main character and push Two and Half Men towards a ninth season airing next year.

The Office might not be starring funnyman Steve Carell anymore but the show most go on. Will Farrell steps in to take over the main role as the crazy office manager mingling in all of his employees lives and the show season eight will start airing in the fall.

How I met Your Mother is one of the luckiest shows on TV at the moment; as it was not renewed for only one season, but for two. The comedy will air its seventh season in the 2011-2012 period and follows it with its eighth season in 2012-2013. Would we get to know, finally, how the main character Ted Mosby met the mother of his children? The future can only tell.

Fans’ favorite The Vampire Diaries is naturally renewed for a third season next year. The supernatural drama is considered a big success over the last two seasons especially that its pilot episode attracted the largest audience of any series premiere since the network began in 2006.[2] The first season averaged 3.60 million viewers.[3] The show initially received average reviews, but critics agreed that the series improved over the course of the season; the second season premiered to generally favorable reviews.

Many shows are not decided upon yet, but these following shows are sure to come back for a new season: Desperate Housewives, Criminal Minds, CSI, Mike & Molly, NCIS: LA, The Mentalist, Law &Order: SVU and Hawaii 5-0.

ABC has canceled fans’ favorite Brothers & Sisters among their list of cancelation, which included Detroit 1-8-7, No Ordinary Family, Off the Map and V. If you count the shows canceled earlier in the season, the network has canceled 8 dramas in all this season.

Other shows that has been canceled are My Generation, The Whole Truth, Medium, Life Unexpected, Running Wilde, Lone Star, The Good Guys, Smallville and The Paul Reiser Show.

Language Exchange: Learning Arabic in Damascus with locals

Originally published on Baladna English on May 15th 2011.

At this time in our global history, the world’s eyes are locked on the Middle-East, as it’s considered a hot topic for multiple reasons. This global interest in the Arab community created a renewed interest in the minds of a lot of individuals to come and visit the Arab world and understand its historical culture and its traditions and societies. The only barrier, however, facing these eager visitors is the language.

The reasons why foreigners are interested in learning the Arabic language varies the same way these people are different. Michelle, for example, who is living in a small room in an old-styled house in Bab Toma explains that she is interested in understanding the Arabic culture as a whole and that’s what led her to come to Syria from France. “Syria has the best Arabic tutoring courses in the Arab world; I tried to learn Arabic in Lebanon or in Egypt, but Egyptian Arabic is really distant from the Fusha (traditional classical Arabic) while in Lebanon most people speak French to me,” she explains. “In Syria, I find a lot of people who are willing to talk to me in the Syrian accent, which is extremely close to Fusha, and they do it with big smiles on their faces; they are helping me with the right pronunciation also.”

Michelle meets Nada, a 21-year-old student of French literature at the University of Damascus, three times a week. In these meetings, which last for two hours a time, they speak for one hour in Arabic and the next hour in French. “We both benefit from these meetings,” Michelle says. “She learns a lot of French and I learn a lot of Arabic; we have followed this language exchange concept for the last three months and it’s working well for us.”

The problem with Michelle is, however, that she needed to put a lot of effort into finding Nada. She needed to ask friends, trying to get in touch with someone who is interested in working on improving his/her language in this effective and free method. “I don’t understand why it was extremely hard for me to find someone to do a language exchange with,” Michelle complains. “I mean, we exchange knowledge and culture, we spend a good time together, it’s a free service that we both benefit from.”

Back in Egypt, Michelle managed to find a language buddy much easier. “There is an online service called Cairo Scholars where foreigners and Egyptians can meet online and plan for such stuff,” Michelle explains. “It is a very useful service that I couldn’t find here in Damascus.”

Osama would like to get better in English; his dream is to travel to work in Rolls Royce Motors. Don’t ask him what’s the connection between English and that, because the 21-year-old has no explanation. He believes that learning English would lead him to his dream job and no one around him understands how that is possible. The fact that Rolls Royce seized production back in 2003 and was sold to BMW motors is information that did not cross Osama’s path.

Osama, however, went to the British Council to learn English there, but found the programs to be slow and not in rhythm with his fast-forwarded plan, so, he took the opportunity to work with Mathew, an American student studying Arabic in Syria for six months. The two of them have been working together for the last month and a half. “We meet twice a week, and we only talk Arabic in one of the meetings, while we speak only English in the other,” Osama explains. “We talk about everything in the world; we talk about women, friends, differences between Syrian and American cultures and the latest football matches.” Osama, apparently, is a fan of the Barcelona football team while Mathew loves nothing more than the Real Madrid team. “When we started hanging out he only talked about the American football game; that silly game they play with their hands,” Osama explains, “but now I introduced him to the real football and he loves it.”

“We fight about our teams all the time, sometimes in Arabic, sometimes in English,” Osama says laughing. “I learn a lot of English swear words due to our fights!”

Brian, however, sees the whole language exchange in a different light. “I just speak Arabic all the time,” he says in a half-broken Arabic. “I just speak all the time to everyone around me in my broken Arabic hoping that this would basically push me to learn it really fast.”

Brian believes that his attitude is the only way he can learn. When he was asked how people react to his try-outs he smiles, saying that “different people react in different ways.” He says that taxi drivers, shop owners and landlords are happy to speak to him in Arabic, but sometimes he feels that he overdoes it. “I speak Arabic all the time, even in a party with loud music, dancing and alcohol,” he says. “Syrian people with good English that I meet in these parties find it hard to understand my Arabic and they just shy away from talking to me, because they just don’t get what I need.”
“I don’t need to make friends here, though,” he explains. “I just need to learn Arabic so I can go back to my country with this new language that could open doors for me to work in multi-national companies and get high salaries.”

Rush of Adrenaline: New athletics are finding a niche in Syria.

Originally Published on monthly magazine Syria Today in their May issue.

Photo Adel Samara

Parkour enthusiasts perform in Tishreen Park in central Damascus.

“Let me tell you about extreme sports,” Nasser Qabani, a 40-something trainer in a gym in the neighborhood of Mezzeh, said. “Back in the day, anyone in Syria playing something other than football was considered ‘singing out of the choir’.”

This is changing as thrill-seekers take up sports such as parkour and bike dancing.

“Now we see a lot of people taking innovative steps towards getting to know new and unusual sports that we hadn’t heard of before,” Qabani said.

Overcoming obstacles
At Tishreen Park in central Damascus, young people gather every Friday morning to partake in parkour. They jump, climb, vault, roll, swing, scale walls and run along a route. The objective is to continue moving at all times while overcoming obstacles. They use objects around them to perform difficult movements that test both physical strength and coordination.

Parkour, also known as “free running” and sometimes as “PK”, is a non-competitive sport that originated in France in the early 1900s. It is considered an art form by participants and has quickly become an underground sensation in Damascus where it started less than four years ago.

“I’m still new to the art of parkour myself, I started to train only six months ago,” Mahmoud Jawish, who coaches nine teenagers at Tishreen, said. “But I have been an enthusiast of sports for the last 15 years and I’m one of the very few people practicing this art here.”

Because of his long-time interest in athletics, Jawish said he understands parkour better than others and is largely responsible for introducing it to Syria. Interest in turning parkour into a mainstream sport surged when the regional TV programme Arabs Got Talent screened performances by a Moroccan parkour group in January 2011.

Ahmed Alwan, 25, joined the club five months ago and is one of Jawish’s most talented trainees. He was a bodybuilder for almost three years before becoming a free runner. He said parkour provides an outlet for his excess energy and anxiety.

“It’s an alternative sport that needs concentration, strength, focus and spirituality, and for that I love it,” he said. “It attracts me with the level of spirituality in it. When I’m upset, I play parkour and I feel much better.”

Others in the park train without the help of a teacher.

Mostapha Zakaria, 17, began practicing parkour two-and-a-half years ago. He and a group of teenage boys learn by downloading and imitating Youtube videos.

“We don’t feel like belonging to a group or having a trainer. My family supports my activity, yet when they offered to register me in a club, I refused,” he explained, referring to Jawish’s organisation.

Riding on
Another activity taking place on the streets of Syria gives a modern twist to a traditional activity. Cycling in Damascus is usually a leisurely affair. But some young Syrians are transforming it from a mode of transportation into a face-paced sport called “bike dancing”.

At Arnous Square, a group of five friends gather almost daily. From there, they ride to streets and parks throughout the city, where they jump off ledges and weave through crowds on one wheel. They jump in the air and hold their balance while spinning the bike around underneath them.

“I have been dancing with my bike for the last 10 years,” Ahmed Jawish, 19, said. “It’s my thing, really.”

He does not wear a helmet, even though he and his fellow cyclers ride on dangerous streets and attempt risky tricks. He said the sport is his way of “blowing off steam”.

Mohamed Hajjar, an 18-year-old barber, is another bike dancer. He said he had to prove both his skills and his respectability before the group accepted him.
“They do not want anyone to change their reputation of being a respectful group,” he said. “They wanted to make sure that I won’t bother any lady passing by or scare a child. I proved myself to them and now I’m one of them.”

Tragedy of Theatre in Syria

Originally published on monthly magazine Syria Today in the May issue.

While Syrian theatre is becoming more creative, outlets for innovations are limited.

Insufficient theatre space is hindering the development of the art form, playwrights, directors and producers told Syria Today.

“Writing is an individual activity, yet to create a workshop for a theatre, you need a space to exchange ideas, discuss them and collaborate on turning them into an actual performance,” Abdullah al-Kafri, a Syrian playwright, said.

Such spaces are few, even though there are more than 400 national cultural centres in Syria. Each has a theatre that is, theoretically, allocated for public use. Yet these stages are unsuitable for live performances.

“They are not designed as theatre stages,” Kafri explained. “They might work as a lecture stage or even to screen a movie, but not for a theatre play, which needs the right balance in its stage.”

Breaking in
Competition for space is intensified because well-known theatres prefer to stage international productions backed by famous directors rather than those written and produced by young Syrians, Modar al-Hajj, a 29-year-old playwright, explained.

The National Institute of Theatre and Music (NITM) prefers to work with well-known and established directors than with young people trying to establish their careers.

“Famous directors who manage to get their work on the [NITM] schedule usually like to rely on foreign plays and scripts, rather than take advantage of talented writers in Syria,” Hajj explained. “It is very rare that you see a Syrian production that is based on a Syrian script.”

The fact that the national institute’s schedule for this year has no Syrian-written productions highlights this, he said. All its productions are based on foreign scripts and most were written by the 19th-century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.

Hajj and Kafri agreed that this situation is disheartening for young thespians and makes them timid about pursuing new projects.

“We are not experienced in the right way to deal with the paperwork needed to get a stage we want to rent,” Hajj said. “Also, we feel like we are judged even before we show them our art. We feel like they are thinking: ‘Who are you to come and rent a stage here?’ We feel unwanted.”

Alternative spaces
Many private halls and spaces, however, can be used as makeshift theatres when needed. This too presents problems, most significantly the cost of renting and converting the spaces into temporary theatres.

“They are not real theatres,” Hajj said. “They are halls that we need to turn into theatres by installing a stage, a sound system, etc.”

As an officer for Rawafed, the cultural programme of The Syrian Trust for Development, Kafri is working to increase the number of theatres and alternative spaces that young producers can use to stage their works. It also provides support to a small number of individual projects and gives them legal, financial, follow-up, networking and media assistance.

Homs Artistic Space, managed by Samer Ibrahim, is one of the projects supported by Rawafed. Of 165 projects that applied for Rawafed support in 2010, Homs Artistic Space was one of only five that were accepted, Samer Ibrahim, project manager, said. Its goal is to provide a space for young artists in Homs to deliver their work.

“We support multiple art forms including theatre, fine arts, poetry and photography,” he said.

The project was set up to tackle the lack of theatre space in Homs. The main stage, the Culture Centre Theatre, has been under construction since 2005, Ibrahim explained, leaving only one small theatre for all the cultural activities in the city.

The project plans to convert the old train station in Homs into an artistic space, giving young artists a place to present their work.

Innovative solutions
Because some plays are written to be performed in small, intimate environments while others are designed for large spaces, theatre producers in Syria sometimes adapt the spaces to their plays – or sometimes adapt their shows to the spaces available to them.

For instance, Ahmed and Mohammed Malas created a small theatre in their bedroom. They came up with the idea in February 2009 when they could not find affordable space to stage a production. The play was called Melodrama in the Room, and an audience of 15, crammed on the floor, watched the production. The Malas brothers submitted their bedroom to the Guinness World Records to be named the smallest theatre in the world. Since then, they have staged three more plays inside their bedroom and they have made a number of press appearances.

Another solution to the lack of theatre space is to simply go outdoors and perform. The Street Theatre Project began in Syria in 2008.

“It solves the problem of the place, and, also, knowing that this play is taking place in the streets, we managed to connect with the audience on a higher level,” Hajj, who participates in the programme, said. In 2008, Bassam Dawood, an actor, director and co-founder of the Khuta Workshop, directed a street theatre project called Mowkif.

The concept of the show was a play on Arabic words. Mowkif means both a bus stop and a personal stand.

“We created our stage to look like a bus stop, but we meant it to emphasise your stand as a human being towards a number of things in your life,” Dawood explained. The play also served as a vehicle for social commentary by confronting some harsh realities that exist on the street, particularly the lives of street children.

Yet, the project was not without hurdles. The Street Theatre Project has faced problems trying to get governmental permission to perform.

“Street theatre should not be advertised or announced before the show,” Hajj explained. “We should be able to stop somewhere and start performing for the people standing nearby.”

Movies to look forward to: Summer 2011

Originally Published on Baladna English on May 9th, 2011

The release of Need-for-Speed-like movie Fast Five, starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, and Thor, the anticipated comic movie, marks a hot beginning for a hot cinematic summer season this year. The two movies, fighting over the top spot in the American box office and the Syrian one alike, are just an indication of what might be the strongest Hollywood summer in recent years.

On Friday, Thor, starring the Australian star Chris Hemsworth, claimed an estimated $25.7 million at 3,955 locations in the United States alone, handily dominating the day. However, the Marvel Comics adaptation’s opening salvo wasn’t as thunderous as neither Fast Five’s $34.3 million nor recent years’ summer starters like the Iron Man movies and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Furthermore, both Fast Five and Thor are expected to be forgotten in a matter of days, with the release of the long-anticipated movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which will mark the return of actor Johnny Depp to his pirate getup; this time falling for the Spanish sensation Penélope Cruz.

The movie, expected to be released on 20^th of May, continue to tell the misadventures of Captain Jack Sparrow, who, after crossing paths with a woman from his past (Cruz), is swept aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (played by actor Ian McShane), on an unexpected mission to find the elusive fountain of youth.

On May 27^th, the people who enjoyed the first Hangover, a movie telling the funny details of four friends getting too drunk during their night in Las Vegas, would enjoy yet another drunken cinematic experience with Hangover II, which takes the misfortunate heroes  to Thailand this time.  The movie is starring American hunk Bradley Cooper and funnyman Zach Galifianakis.

Those who want a less bumpy ride can watch, on the same day, the sequel to the action-animation flick Kung Fu Panda, which is starring Jack Black and Angelina Jolie, who both lend their voices again to the characters they made famous in the first movie.

If you’re a fan of superhero films, you’re in for a treat this June; the month starts with the release of X-Men: First Class; a new addition to the X-Men series. The movie, starring James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, is expected to hit theaters on June 3^rd. In this movie; Charles Xavier (aka Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (aka Magneto) are two young men discovering their powers. Banding together with fellow mutants to stop a threat to the world, a rift grows between the two forces, leading to the founding of Professor X’s X-MEN and Magneto’s Brotherhood, and the beginning of their eternal war.

Director J.J. Abrams, famous for his TV series Lost, is bringing his talent to the big screen this year, releasing a sci-fi movie titled Super 8. The movie, starring Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka and Kyle Chandler, is to be released on the 10^th of June. The movie is collaboration with producer Steven Spielberg and a tribute to his 1980s footprints. We love the title, a retro take on the found-footage genre, and though little else is known about the story at this point, we have to assume that Elle Fanning and her friends/family (five bucks says that Amanda Michalka plays her sister, or babysitter) get on their bicycles to take down a monster while the military storms through their town.

Canadian superstar Ryan Reynolds stars in this comic-inspired movie; titled Green Lantern. When he’s granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, test pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds) becomes the first human to earn membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe. His mission: to combat an enemy called Parallax, which threatens to destroy the universe’s balance of power. The movie, directed by Martin Campbell, is expected to be released on June 17^th.

July kick-starts with a huge summer blockbuster; Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The movie, a third installment in the Michael Bay-directed and Shia LaBeouf-stared trilogy telling the story of the alliance between Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) and Optimus Prime, which is put to the test against a common enemy: Shockwave.

However, this is not the prime event of July 2011; the last chapter of Wiz-boy Harry Potter is to be revealed on 15^th of July. The movie, titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, tells the end of the conflict between Potter and his nemesis Lord Voldemort. Yes, it’s taken ten years (!) and eight (!!) movies to reach the final climax to the Harry Potter film series.

Chris Evans tried his luck again with superheroes, after his role as the Human Torch in Fantastic Four proved to be a failure; he is back with Captain America: The First Avenger. The movie, released on July 22, tells the story of a superhero dedicated to defending America’s ideals. His first mission: to combat the Nazi propaganda effort headed by Johann Schmidt (played by Hugo Weaving), also known as the Red Skull.

July finally ends with the release of Cowboys and Aliens; starring Daniel Craig, famous for being the latest 007, plays a cowboy who must lay his differences with the Apache Indians in Western America to fight the aliens trying to take over earth.

Other outstanding releases this summer include: The Smurfs (July 29^th), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (August 5^th), Final Destination 5 (August 12^th), Conan The Barbarian (August 19^th) and Abduction (September 23^rd).