Rob Kardashian's Instagram compares sister Kim to 'Gone Girl's' conniving ...

Rob Kardashian just compared Kim Kardashian to Amy Dunne. You know, the murderess from "Gone Girl."

The former"Keeping Up With the Kardashians"star -- who has recentlyfaced issues with his self-esteem and weight -- took to Instagram on Sunday (March 22) to throw a few nasty words at his sister.

Specifically, hedeleted all of his previous photosand replaced them with the above picture of a b****y Rosamund Pike (as Amy) along with the caption, "This is my sister Kim, the b**** from Gone Girl."

RELATED: Here are all the selfies Kim Kardashian Instagrammed in 2014 - there are a lot

Rob's strange and confusing post comes on the heels of Kim's seemingly kind tweet to her brother on his birthday (March 17).

It has yet to be revealed if the Instagram picture is a joke of some kind or if Rob's account was hacked. But, for now, it does look like he posted the photo himself.

Source: http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/rob_kardashian_instagram_compares_sister_kim_gone_girls_conniving_murderer-2015-03

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'Insurgent' movie review: Dumb series gets dumber

'Insurgent' movie review: Dumb series gets dumber ROBERT LEVIN Rating: 1.5

'Insurgent," like its predecessor "Divergent," is well made in every sense except for perhaps the most important: it continues an utterly moronic story that only grows and expands in its stupidity as this series progresses.

Suspension of disbelief is a great and necessary quality if one is to appreciate virtually any Hollywood movie. But there's suspension of disbelief and then there's what the "Divergent" movies require, which is a total rejection of the most basic concepts of humanity.

To recap: in a dystopian future that looks remarkably like every similar society we've seen in a young adult novel over the past decade, humankind has been divided into five factions by their singular defining personality traits.

This runs against everything we know about what it is to be alive, a complicated experience that rejects the easy notion that a person can be all kind (Amity), or smart (Erudite), or fearless (Dauntless) without significant overlap. The concept is deeply problematic, transcending a mere implausibility to the point where characters behave in counterintuitive fashions in order to remain true to their sects.

The sequel finds Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) on the run from governmental forces spearheaded by Jeanine (Kate Winslet), who is hellbent on finding the proper "divergent" (an individual that, gasp, can't be defined by a single group) to open an ancient MacGuffin that supposedly contains a "message from the founders."

In the grand scheme of compelling villainous motivations, this ranks pretty low. It's hard to blame Jeanine, really, for wanting to uncover what's in the box even if it does cost the lives of some unfortunate test subjects who can't handle being "injected by all five sims" (don't ask). In fact, it's just a device that facilitates scenes of Tris and Four on the run, first hiding out with Amity (run by Octavia Spencer), finding their way to the "faction-less" (led by Naomi Watts) and eventually challenging the tightly-wound baddie. It also effectively bails out a plot that has hit a dead end.

The writing is so fundamentally flawed on multiple levels that the movie's many positive traits get lost. The ensemble -- which also includes Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort -- is totally committed and director Robert Schwentke stages some edge-of-your-seat chase scenes. The movie is thankfully bereft of excessive CGI except for in the simulations, which are really the heart of the "Insurgent" series and engagingly combine Tris' psychology with enormous graphical spectacle.

It's probably not possible to make a film worth seeing out this material, though. Whenever the movie makes a serious attempt to develop these characters and explore the depth of Veronica Roth's fantasy world, though, the nonsensical underpinnings are made all too apparent.

Source: http://www.amny.com/entertainment/insurgent-movie-review-1-5-stars-1.10083750

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'Insurgent' seizes top spot; 'The Gunman' misfires

LOS ANGELES (AP) Sean Penn's "The Gunman" was no match for the rebel kids of "Insurgent."

The second installment in the "Divergent" series easily topped the box office with $54 million from 3,875 theaters, according Rentrak estimates Sunday. Penn's geopolitical thriller stumbled with only $5 million.

While the second films in both the "Hunger Games" and the "Twilight" series boasted opening weekend gains over the first, "Insurgent's" opening nearly matches that of its predecessor, "Divergent," which debuted to $54.6 million just last year.

Many predicted a bit of growth for this second film, which sees the return of stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet to author Veronica Roth's dystopian world. But, both distributor Lionsgate and box office analysts see the consistency as a good thing.

"We're extremely pleased with the outcome," said Lionsgate's President of Domestic Distribution Richie Fay.

"I think this is exactly where we thought we'd be," he added. "We attracted a few more males this time around, and I think we're headed in the right direction. The uptick from Friday to Saturday was considerably higher than it was for 'Divergent.' That, the A- CinemaScore and what's coming into the marketplace will allow us to grow very nicely."

According to Lionsgate, 60 percent of audiences were female.

Rentrak's Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian credits Lionsgate's consistent release date strategy and impressive marketing campaign for the strong repeat performance.

"It's really about driving a very fickle audience, that teen, YA whatever you want to call them they're really tough to get a handle on. Their tastes change like the wind," he said. "The key is keeping the young adult audience engaged, excited and enthusiastic."

"Insurgent" also performed well overseas, taking in $47 million from 76 markets, bringing its worldwide total to $101 million.

Disney's live-action "Cinderella," meanwhile, fell 49 percent in Week 2 to take second place with $34.5 million. The PG-rated film has earned an impressive $122 million domestically to date.

Also in its second weekend in theaters, the R-rated Liam Neeson-led action film "Run All Night," managed a slight edge over Open Road's "The Gunman." Neeson's film, a Warner Bros. release, dropped 54 percent with its $5.1 million weekend, while Penn's film debuted in fourth place with only $5 million.

"You have a lot of R-rated competition out there right now," noted Dergarabedian, who also added that Penn's foray into the action genre has not garnered the best reviews.

"Kingsman: The Secret Service," one of the better performing R-rated releases in recent weeks, rounded out the top five with $4.6 million in its sixth weekend in theaters. The 20th Century Fox film has now earned over $114.6 million domestically.

"Over the past couple of weeks, films driven by the female audience have done much better than films driven by the male audience. But that's all going to change because 'Furious 7' is on the way," Dergarabedian said.

"Put on your seatbelt and get ready, because it's going to be an incredible ride in the coming weeks," he said.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Insurgent," $54 million ($47 million international).

2. "Cinderella," $34.5 million ($41.1 million international).

3. "Run All Night," $5.1 million ($5 million international).

4. "The Gunman," $5 million ($900,000 international).

5. "Kingsman: The Secret Service," $4.6 million ($8.5 million international).

6. "Do You Believe?" $4 million.

7. "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," $3.5 million ($3.2 million international).

8. "Focus," $3.3 million ($7.9 million international).

9. "Chappie," $2.7 million ($5.1 million international).

10. "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water," $2.4 million ($3.2 million international).

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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak:

1. "Insurgent," $47 million.

2. "Cinderella," $41.1 million.

3. "Home," $19.2 million.

4. "Taken 3," $18.6 million.

5. "Lost and Love," $16.2 million.

6. "Kingsman: The Secret Service," $8.5 million.

1. "Focus," $7.9 million.

2. "Big Hero 6," $6.6 million.

3. "Chappie," $5.1 million.

4. "Run All Night," $5 million.

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ldbahr

Source: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Insurgent-seizes-top-spot-The-Gunman-misfires-6151232.php

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NCAA upset hopes fade, but UCI fans hold heads high

Amid the smell of popcorn and pizza, the bobbing gold and blue balloons and the blaring 5-foot projection TVs, fans of UC Irvine basketball had the jitters.

Hundreds of students and alumni crowded the Newkirk Alumni Center on campus Friday afternoon to see the 13th-seeded Anteaters make their first NCAA men's tournament appearance against fourth-seeded Louisville in the East Regional from Seattle.

Friday happened to be the last day of finals week, but that didn't really matter. Nor did the fact that the Irvine campus is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Instead, guests at the game-watching party clutched pom-poms in the team colors, hugged stuffed anteaters and hung on to hopes of seeing their team upset the Cardinals, who have won three national titles and were making their 41st visit to the tournament also known as the Big Dance.

"I was more nervous for the game than I was for my final this morning," said Matt Levin, a 20-year-old UCI junior.

About an hour before the game's 1:10 p.m. start, Levin found a prime seat in an armchair a few feet from one of the four big-screen TVs. He and his buddies talked strategy, much of it centering on Mamadou Ndiaye, a sophomore center and the tallest player in NCAA Division I.

"At 7 feet 6, he is a game-changer," Levin said. "If we can get hot from the three-point line, it'll be hard to defend."

Sean Burke, a 2013 UCI graduate, said he watched Louisville videos on YouTube the previous night.

"I've seen all of our games and I wanted to see how they play," Burke said during a break in the first half Friday. "They usually have a lot of energy, but I'm not seeing a lot of that."

The game was a nail-biter, with UCI ahead by two or three points much of the first half.

Kim Ayala and Brittany Betancourt held stuffed animals in the shape of anteaters. Ayala, a 1982 grad who heads academic advising for undecided and undeclared majors at UCI, said she named her anteater Proud Peter.

"They're our lucky charms and they're working," she said.

With 42.4 seconds left, the score was tied at 55.

But even lucky anteaters and a 7-foot-6 center couldn't lift UCI over the Cardinals. With 8.9 seconds left, UCI forward Will Davis fouled Louisville guard Quentin Snider, who sank two free throws. The final score: 57-55.

Levin sat in the armchair for a few minutes to let the loss sink in.

"You can't hang your head with a loss like that," he said. "We fought our hearts out. You gotta learn from it."

Then he stood up. He had already moved on. He was heading to Hooters to watch more NCAA match-ups.

Source: http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dpt-me-0321-uci-party-20150320,0,5994725.story

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Can Enes Kanter help save the Thunder with Kevin Durant out?

The Turkish center is proving he can produce at a high level on offense but his defensive shortcomings limit his impact.

Enes Kanter was not happy in Utah. With no one to mask his flaws and Rudy Gobert looming as a potential replacement, he asked for a trade and the Jazz obliged. Since arriving at Oklahoma City he's showing why he was the third pick in the 2011 draft, displaying his offensive talent and helping the Thunder's playoffs hopes stay afloat. Yet a closer look to his performance suggests he still has a lot of growing to do as a player despite his gaudy numbers.

Kanter is averaging 16.5 points and 10.4 rebounds in his new team and is scoring efficiently now that he has abandoned his jumper. The Jazz wanted him to be able to stretch the floor, since he was sharing the court with another inside scorer in Derrick Favors and Kanter didn't project to be a rim protector. As a result, he was forced to float around the perimeter instead of playing to his strengths. In his time with the Jazz, only 52.6 of his shot attempts came within the restricted area. With the Thunder, that number has climbed to 73.7 percent, which explains the jump in his field goal percentage since the trade.

Playing closer to the rim has resulted in an increase in the number of offensive rebounds and free throws Kanter gets. Kanter is also posting up more and excelling, ranking in the 87th percentile in the league since joining the Thunder. To put it in simple terms, all he needed to unleash his potential as an offensive player was the opportunity to play like a traditional big man. Oklahoma City is reaping the benefits, scoring 109.7 points per 100 possessions with Kanter on the court, over five more than the team's average.

Defensively is where Kanter still hasn't found his bearings. The Thunder only outscore opponents by .6 points with Kanter playing because everything he does for the team on offense, they give back on defense when he's on the court. Opponents know he's not a rim protector (he allows 52.4 percent on shots he defends at the rim), so they go into attack mode, taking almost four percent more close shots when he's on the court as opposed to off, according to the league's media stats site. That's the area in which the Thunder will miss Kendrick Perkins, the player they traded for Kanter, now that Serge Ibaka is injured.

It's not uncommon for young big men to struggle defensively and Kanter is too big to continue averaging under a block per game for much longer. He simply needs to adjust to a new role after having Derrick Favors behind him in Utah and accept the responsibility that comes with being a defensive anchor. Ideally, that would have happened over time as Ibaka and Steven Adams handled the role, but Oklahoma City needs him to step up right now. So far the results have not been encouraging -- any pairing of Kanter and another big allows more points than the team does on average.

Kanter is showing that he is a gifted offensive player who can be efficient on a large role and offer a post presence on a good team. The next step -- and what could end up determining whether he stays in Oklahoma City after this season -- will be to improve enough on defense to not actively hurt his team on that end. Kanter is just 22 years old, but the sooner it happens, the better the Thunder's chances will be to get to the playoffs and make some noise.

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/3/21/8270115/enes-kanter-oklahoma-city-thunder

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Spring Equinox 2015: 3 Things To Know About The Pagan Ostara Festival

The vernal equinox falls on March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the change of seasons and the time when many pagans celebrate Ostara. The spring festival might not be as well known as other pagan celebrations like Samhain or Beltane, but it is nonetheless an important part of the calendar as one of the eight sabbats, or holidays, pagans celebrate throughout the year.

While the beginning of spring has been seen as a time of renewal by cultures around the world throughout history, modern celebrations of Ostara actively incorporate rituals and symbols that honor fertility and rebirth.

Historical Roots

Unlike many other pagan holidays, Ostara does not have its roots in Celtic tradition, rather in ancient Anglo-Saxon beliefs. The holiday is thought to have derived its name from the fertility goddess Eostre, whose own name comes from the Germanic word for east. The goddess is typically depicted as a young woman surrounded by light and budding trees and flowers, symbolizing her association with dawn and the coming of light of the spring season, according to Beliefnet. Symbols like eggs, rabbits and spring flowers are also associated with the goddess, speaking to the fertility and renewed life she is believed to bring.

Relation to Easter

Its no coincidence that Ostara and Easter sound alike, share similar symbols and typically fall around the same time. The Christian holiday gets its English name from the Saxon goddess Eostre, and early Christianity adopted many of the rituals and symbols associated with the equinox festival because of their popularity.

Eggs, bunnies, candy, Easter baskets, new clothes, all these traditions have their origin in practices which may have little or nothing to do with the Christian holiday, said Peg Aloi, in a commentary for the religion site Patheos. The traditional coloring and giving of eggs at Easter has very pagan associations. For eggs are clearly one of the most potent symbols of fertility, and spring is the season when animals begin to mate and flowers and trees pollinate and reproduce.

Modern Celebrations

Pagans celebrate Ostara with various rituals focused on themes of renewal and rebirth. Planting seedlings and cultivating gardens is one of the most traditional celebrations of the holiday, though any engagement with nature, whether lying in grass or hiking through a forest, can be used as an opportunity to meditate on the change of seasons, according to paganism expert Patti Wigington. Take some time to celebrate the new life that surrounds you in nature. ... As you do so, observe all the new things beginning around you -- plants, flowers, insects, birds.

Many pagans also celebrate by eating fresh greens like sprouts and other vegetables, while others choose to fast in order to purge their bodies of toxins to clear their minds for the new season.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/spring-equinox-2015-3-things-know-about-pagan-ostara-festival-1853196

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Veronica Roth addresses controversial 'Insurgent' book-to-film changes

Divergent author says shes seen Insurgent and is relieved to find that the book-to-film changes only benefit the movie.

In light of recent chatter in the Divergent fandom about changes theyre making to the second installment in the trilogy such as the mystery box depicted above, which has appeared in numerous previews Roth took to her Tumblr on Friday to relieve concerns.

I know that some of you are probably apprehensive because as the trailers have revealed, there are a few clear differences between the book and the movie, she wrote. I shared that apprehension walking into the screening room, but I walked out of the movie relieved and excited.

Roth explained that some things in her book would not have translated well to the big screen, so the changes were necessary. Insurgent, the book, has a complicated plota lot of moving parts, a lot of ups and downs. That sort of thing can work in a book, but if its translated directly to the screen, it makes for a messy, confusing movie. The changes that were made streamline the story so it makes sense for this new format; in other words, they work.

We wonder why Roth (and possibly Summit/Lionsgate) felt the need for this blog post, and particularly the above paragraph, to exist. Are they bracing us for bigger changes that weve yet to see?

Roths remarks may suggest were in store for even more book-to-film changes were still unaware of, but we trust Roth is truly happy with the final product.

Insurgent is great and fun to watch. It is a tense, action-packed adventure of a movie, she wrote. At certain points, my muscles were so clenched I felt like I had just done a series of push-ups. When I left, I immediately wanted to go back in and see it again. (I still do!), she wrote.

Insurgent hits theaters on March 20. This morning we shared the first two clips from the movie. Watch the films trailer to learn a little more about the aforementioned mystery box:

Source: http://www.hypable.com/veronica-roth-insurgent-review/

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