Blogs

©Perry Kibler

There´s an undeniable allure for travellers to embark on a cinematic pilgrimage to the locations that have captured our imaginations on screen. One such destination which promises to enchant, with sweeping vistas and rugged landscapes, is Utah, the setting for Kevin Costner's epic four-film series Horizon: An American Saga, the first of which was just released at the end of June. With a budget of $100 million, the films series a dozen years of the settlement of the U.S. West befo

Mountain Lake Lodge, AKA Kellerman’s Resort: Where Dirty Dancing Comes to Life. Photo courtesy of Mountain Lake Lodge

Is there anyone who doesn’t know you don’t put Baby in a corner? Or who doesn’t automatically hum along to The Time of My Life? Imagine revisiting Dirty Dancing at its original locale – and visiting the site where Baby and Johnny practiced “the lift” – possibly the most famous dance routine ending ever? Welcome to Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia channeling the Catskills

Looking back at the 23 James Bond movies made so far, it’s hard to pick one that is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be the best. But chances are that License to Kill is unlikely to be too many people’s favorite: Considered to be one of the weakest movies by the critics, Tom Hibbert of Empire described Timothy Dalton’s performance as “quite hopeless” while Entertainment Weekly slammed the movie’s Bond girl Pam Bouvier as “a nagging pest”. Others however have defended the movie, cl

As we travel, we check off places that are on our Bucket List. Being film buffs, many of the things on our list are related to movies we have seen over the years.

We recently checked off another “to do” from our list by skippering the authentic “African Queen,” the boat made famous by Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn in the 1951 Academy Award Winning film of the same name.

The “Queen” is presently docked at a destination also made famous by Bogart in the Florida Keys, Key Largo.

Finding the Qu

“Everybody's a filmmaker today.” -John Milius. Many willing volunteers for any project often lack the complete picture of what exactly is in store for them when they leave and what they are going do. Well if you are in any of these categories then volunteer movies and documentaries are just what you need. Movies about volunteering have a  revealing quality to new volunteer, memories for those who were once volunteers and that basic information for those not in the know. Here is a look into some

Sometimes when you watch a lousy movie, the only compliments you can muster are about the scenery. For many people this was the case with the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans, widely criticized for the quality of the 3-D graphics as well as the dubious plot. In fact, the landscapes of the Canary Islands were the only feature of the film to have emerged with credit. Even the actors spoke very highly of their own surprise in discovering the natural diversity and dramatic views across Gran Canari

The exact origins of capoeira are uncertain, although most people recognize that it was created by the 16th-century African slaves who were shipped across the Atlantic. The movements contain unmistakable native Brazilian influences. What noone can deny is that capoeira has been around for almost 500 years and is now as powerful a cultural symbol of Brazil as it ever has been.

Capoeira – The Early Years

Practicing a form that's part dance, part martial art, a capoeira fighter is distinguished

In 2002 the movie Cidade de Deus (City of God) brought to the eyes of many a picture of Brazil that was uncompromising but gave a glimpse of life inside one of Brazil’s many favelas. Telling the story of an ordinary young man and his struggle to survive in a rough, tough world, the movie won over 50 awards and received four Oscar nominations. But how does the drug-fueled gun-toting world of the movie compare with the reality of life within the favelas in Brazil?

Brazilian Favelas

The term favel

The movie Anaconda was a box office hit when it was released in 1997. Starring Jennifer Lopez and telling the story of a group of documentary makers who make enemies with a giant anaconda in the Amazon rainforest, it brought the drama of the jungle to cinema screens and TVs all over the world. Much of the movie was shot in the spectacular landscapes around the  Brazilian city of Manaus.

Anacondas: How deadly?

It doesn’t take long to realize why they chose the anaconda to play the leading role in

Guitar case full of weapons, guns swinging from each hand, whole bars full of villains wiped out by one man and his sharp shooting. It is surely the hallmark of only one man, an actor who can keep both a male and female audience simultaneously breathless (if for very different reasons). Antonio Banderas as “El Mariachi” cuts a lonesome, brooding and very dangerous figure wandering through small town Mexico; dangerous that is if you are on the wrong side of the law in the violent world of the Mex

This is one of the famous and most beautiful drainpipes in Paris. It can be seen at the  Hotel de Lauzun at 17 quai d'Anjou on Île Saint-Louis in the 4th arrondissement. (N.B. No, you can't book a room here).

The hotel was supposed to have been the centre of evil, the headquarters of a satanic federation in the movie The 9th Gate directed by Roman Polanski starring Johnny Depp.

Primero, Segundo, Tercero, Cuarto, Quinto, and… and… Sixto, ahhhh…  And the sixth time was a charm (not that the first five weren’t), and Sixto Diaz (Jesus) Rodriguez came into this world on July 10, 1942, the sixth son of Mexican immigrants working in war-time Detroit, more than three years before atomic bombs would fall on Japan and twenty-five years before rockets would land men on the moon.  No one would have predicted that his life would have been easy, but no one would have predicted that

A funny thing happened on the way to the movies.

Forty million international movie-goers opted to travel to a place where a movie they loved was shot.
Travel Daily News (TDN) reports that these travelers made their travel plans and chose their destinations based on a movie they saw in 2012. Obviously, as TDN says, filming in a destination is "clearly a very efficient driver for attracting new visitors."

Makes sense. As Mashable reported, old Hollywood had its star system and magazines. New mov

by Andy Jarosz

If ever a movie has perfected the ability of making its audience hungry it’s surely this Mexican classic. Released as Como Agua para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate) in 1992 and based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Laura Esquivel , the story is set in the 1910s in revolutionary Mexico. It features sweeping landscapes, smoldering passions (literally) and the most bitter family politics, yet the central theme of traditional Mexican cooking and its power to evoke the wil

When George Lucas first created the Star Wars trilogy, he likely never never imagined that the films, set in Tunisia, would draw in thousands of fans yearly to the country to this day. Many Star Wars fans have already found their way to the deserts of southern Tunisia, 'in a galaxy far far away’ that set the scene for one of history's most famous films .

As the producer and director of the trilogy, George Lucas traveled to exotic lands to find the perfect setting for his epic space opera film.

Sitting in a dark theater watching a movie is the last place you'll find me. When I heard about SAMSARA, by the same filmmakers as BAKARA, I made an exception and went to see it.

Shot on 70 mm film with not a stitch of digital manipulation and not one word of dialogue, the movie's pure cinematic images and poignant story left me on the floor stunned. This is a must-see for any photographer, filmmaker or travel fanatic. Here is a preview of the magic in store for your eyes, ears and mind:

Samsara,

by Andy Jarosz

When it was released in 2001, few suspected that the Mexican movie Y Tu Mamá También would become such a worldwide hit. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the story is simple enough: two bored teenagers (played by Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal) try to impress an attractive twentysomething at a wedding (Maribel Verdú) with tales of a fabled beach. Although she isn’t interested in keeping them company at first, when she later learns of her husband’s wayward behavior she accepts the b

I watched “Eat, Pray, Love” for the second time last night (okay, third - plus I read the book). Here are the effects it had upon me:

• It made me hungry for Italian food - most especially pizza in Naples
• It made me hungry for Italian men but then I got tired and that desire dissipated
• It made me re-examine my life (for 1hr 25 min.)
• The above noted “It made me” gave me a headache and so that dissipated as well
• It made me want to date James Franco
• It made me want to cycle in Bali but not get hit by a hot

by Andy Jarosz

An out-of-favor American football player turns up in Cozumel in search of a girl. They fall in love amid danger, dirty deals and murder. Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward add the necessary sparkle while a soundtrack featuring the well-known Phil Collins title song ensures worldwide success. 

But it may be the spectacular locations on the Yucatan peninsula chosen for 1984's “Against All Odds” that really steal the show. Chichen Itza, recently listed as one of the "Seven Wonders of the Wor

by Susana Alosete

When you think about films associated with Morocco, your mind can’t help but shift to black and white, as the faces ofIngrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart appear along with the soundtrack of “Casablanca.” However, this mythical movie was shot entirely in California, though it has left us with the memory of a romantic but dangerous Morocco.

Many movies have been filmed in this African nation, which prides itself on its own version of Hollywood or, as we Spaniards would say, its