Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 12, 2013

B2

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 12, 2013 

SEAN’S SHAMELESS REVIEWS: 


JASMINE’S CORNER

Book Reviews by Jasmine Kelsey Williams 

By Sean Kayden

DON JON

Joseph Gordon Levitt makes his directorial debut with “Don Jon.” The thespian 
also wrote and stars in it. In the film, JGL portrays the title role of a modern 
day lothario who can pretty much get any girl he wants on a night-to-night 
basis. The problem is he’s only truly satisfied by the women he sees in porn. 
His expectations of women lie within the videos he views multiple times on 
a daily basis. While viewing pornography, he “loses himself.” It’s something that in fact has never 
occurred with a real life woman for him. “Don Jon” attempts to explore the world of pornography, 
men and women, and relationships. However, it only 
touches upon these different subjects and rarely does it 
dig deeper than surface level. 

Jon cares about only a few things in life: his boys, his 
girls, his family, his body, his church, and his porn. 
The latter becomes an issue when he scores with a girl 
(Scarlett Johansson) he calls “the most beautiful thing 
he’s ever seen.” Once she discovers his little secret, she 
will have no part of him. He has a logical excuse for it 
and for the time being, she buys it. In the movie, Jon navigates boyfriend territory, beloved son, gym 
enthusiast, and student. Johansson’s character has Jon take a night class because she prefer for him to 
have a suit & tie job rather than a food service one (bartender). In the end, we realize this woman is 
very taxing with her demands. Scarlet Johansson is certainly adequate in her role, but it’s not as if she 
needs to go above and beyond. Other scenes depict Jon at church always asking for forgiveness when 
he has sex out of wedlock. It becomes comical as the priest always tells him practically the same thing. 
Then there’s his family life. Jon is actually very similar to his father, played by Tony Danza. His father 
looks at women the same way as his son and they both communally posses a random temper (several 
scenes within the film where Jon is screaming at passing drivers on the road). Despite a constantly 
moving camera and a film bursting with high energy, the film starts to deflate toward the half way 
mark. It picks up here and there, however, while there’s nothing erroneous to point out, the road it 
travels on isn’t as fascinating as I was eagerly hoping for. 

When Jon attends his night classes, introduced is Julianne Moore’s character. At first they don’t 
really get off to a good start despite a considerate effort on her part. Once Jon’s relationship with 
his girlfriend starts to deteriorate, the two of them start up an unlikely friendship that leads to 
unlikely intercourse. Keep in mind, Jon is always hooking up with women around his age and now 
finds himself attracted to a middle-aged woman. In fact, what he sees in her and most of all feels 
when with her doesn’t hold a candle to women of his past. Moore is always great, but she doesn’t 
really have a whole lot to work with. Besides being a widow, that’s briefly touched upon, it’s unclear 
what her role really is. I guess she helps Jon figure out that there’s more to life than sex and porn. 
Don never spends time with women and really treats them as another conquest, one after the other. 
Moore opens his eyes to a different side; one that ultimately is more pleasing than what Jon gets out 
of watching porn. “Don Jon” is a fine effort from Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He surely has a knack for 
behind the camera, keeping us interested even if the story starts to go nowhere. You also realize that 
he’s carefully studied the directors he’s worked with on previous films. The screenplay is a bit green, 
but there have been far worse first time efforts. “Don Jon” is at times fun, humorous, and very light. 
Almost too light. With an abrupt, quickly wrapped up ending, and some themes never explored to 
their fullest, “Don Jon” is a decent time at the movies rather than something much more memorable. 
Grade: 3 out of 5

http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320410102l/4449177.jpg
GHOSTS/ALIENS By Trey Hamburger

The second week of October and we now seem to be taking 
it in stride dear readers; the cooler weather, Halloween décor, 
and to get you into the spirit, this next book which is sure to 
make you laugh. “Ghosts/Aliens” by Trey Hamburger should 
immediately charm you with its bright green coloring and 
the title alone. Although the title reads “Ghosts/Aliens”, the 
contents provide quite an adventurous, fun, and silly story, 
which will be sure to brighten your mood. The protagonists 
consist of Trey Hamburger and his friend Mike Stevens, whom 
after experiencing a “sort-of” paranormal phenomenon, set 
out on a mission to explain and possibly convince others of the 
danger they may be in. As early as the first few chapters, readers 
will immediately be able to pick up the humorous tone of the 
story, as well as noting that Trey and Mike are not meant to 
be taken seriously, as do the various organizations they contact 
in hopes of someone listening to them. To add even more to 
the humor and slight mayhem, Trey and Mike start from the 
explanation of ghosts and aliens, but then will randomly delve from casual and questioning 
conversation to such odd subjects such as sword techniques, psychic babies, and portals in 
the space/time continuum. Again dear readers, do not worry if this does not make any sense, 
as Trey Hamburger (an alias for his real name) is simply retelling his bizarre encounters from 
the top of his head, making for an excellent Bill & Ted type of scenario. 

With its funny tone, action-packed pacing, and humorous conversation between Trey and 
Mike, “Ghosts/Aliens” is a good choice for teen readers, or for any of us who wish to have a 
good laugh to lighten any Halloween spirit this month. But do curb this choice away from 
younger readers, as “Ghosts/Aliens” contains plenty of mature and adult themes, as well 
as adult language. Copyrighted in 2008, and being well-received and praised from various 
critics, “Ghosts/Aliens” is a definite go-to read to get you into the fun side of Halloween or to 
put you in good spirits anytime. 

Written & Directed By: 

 Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Rated R for strong graphic sexual 
material and dialogue throughout, 
nudity, language and some drug use

Release Date: September 27th, 2013

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HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

THE JOY OF YOGA

I WAS JUST PROGRAMMED 
THAT WAY!


ene
NATURE’S VACCINE FOR THE FLU!

It is that time again, flu season. Why the flu is more prevalent in the fall 
than in winter, no one knows for sure. It may be the change in temperature. 
It may have to do with the fact it is back to school time and we congregate 
many people in a small indoor area for long periods. It may be that we eat 
less vitamin/nutrient rich foods at this time. Whatever the reason, there 
are ways to NATURALLY protect yourself from being susceptible to the 
flu. 

One thing that works against all of us is that we live in an environmentally 
polluted world. Pollution (water pollution, air pollutions, chemicals used 
in farming, etc….) in and of itself weighs on our ability to fight infections. 
Processed foods also have a negative impact on our health. The result 
of both pollution and denatured food is a weakened and constantly 
challenged immune system. To strengthen ourselves we must restore the 
essential building blocks for health so our body can fight the threat of 
infection.

Maybe you have heard that nutritional deficiencies put us at risk for the 
flu and wondered how? Nutritional deficiencies increase susceptibility to 
infection so that every “bug” you encounter can multiply in your system 
and make you ill. Vitamin A, C, E Complexes, B6, folic acid, and also the minerals zinc, selenium, iron, 
copper are important in keeping our body strong so that we are not susceptible to the flu. The way our 
immune system stays strong is by having an adequate amount of good bacteria to fight off the invaders 
to our body. 

Our bodies are our immune system. Your skin, gut, liver, spleen, blood, lymph, and bones work in 
harmony to protect you from all kinds of invaders whether they are bacteria, viruses, parasites, or 
fungus. Along with eating well, it is imperative we stay hydrated. Remember that we are made largely 
of water and that water must constantly be replaced. 

We first need the majority of the foods we eat to be fruits and vegetables because they are full of nutrients. 
The remainder of the food we eat should still be whole unprocessed foods. We can avoid pollutants in 
our foods by growing some ourselves or eating organic. We need to drink plenty of water all day long to 
replace that which is naturally lost or used by the body. Lastly, we need to avoid processed, denatured 
foods and processed sugar. I haven’t had the flu in 15+ years. Never had the flu vaccine and I don’t 
live in a bubble. Now I’m sure that I got the flu virus sometime in the past 15 years. But I was never 
symptomatic because my 
body’s immune system 
defeated the virus. I’ve 
managed to do this by 
reducing toxins, eating 
whole foods rich in 
nutrients which enhances 
digestion, which aids in 
enhancing our entire body, 
“our immune system”!

Today’s lesson is about personal energy management. We all know the 
lesson. Put the oxygen mask on your self before the child, right? But in 
everyday life we run, run, run, from one task to the next. We say no sometimes, but it’s usually when 
we are finally depleted. It’s when we are actually depleted that we then just wish someone would take 
care of us. “OMG, I just can’t do anymore!”.

And if we are not careful – it is at that moment, that we fall apart. The world seems suddenly way to 
overwhelming. 

The problem is we have been programmed this way. We try to be perfect. Sometimes the momentum 
is carrying us. Sometimes there is a high along with the success. But the trick is how not to crash. 
Sometimes the momentum or the pre-programming can carry us waaay to long until we get sick. 
How can we prevent this?

Yoga is about energy management. We call it Prana. In the Tantric philosophy, we study our prana 
constantly. We learn how to contain it and only give the excess away. Of course, we always fall back 
to the way we were first programmed. But the more we begin to notice, the more we begin to see the 
signs, the better we become at catching ourselves before the fall. 

When we learn to work with it – we can direct it. This is the secret to success! Direct energy to where 
we choose, allowing mastery, happiness and contentment.

So, here is another reason that yoga can make a difference in your life.

See you in class. Namasté, René

Dr. Tina is a traditional 
naturopath and nutritionist 
at Vibrant Living 
Wellness Center