Word: actionalism
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...surest indication of a new Christmas Day ritual: Americans rip open their presents, gulp down the turkey dinner, speed-kiss their relatives goodbye and rush off to the multiplex. Or maybe the whole family goes - the kids to Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel; young males to the action film Sherlock Holmes; older females to see Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin in It's Complicated; and just about everyone sampling James Cameron's enviro-alien epic, Avatar. The record $85 million amassed on Friday accounts for a lot of tickets, even given the $18.50 price that Avatar...
...Sherlock Holmes handed Ritchie, once known mainly as Mr. Madonna, his first real hit; the director's five previous features have taken in a total of about $40 million at the North American box office. He achieved success both by turning Holmes from a contemplative sort into an action hero, and by filling the role with Robert Downey Jr., who has proved his action-film bona fides as the star of Iron Man. Budgeted at a reasonable $90 million, Sherlock is now a cinch for a sequel. And no question that Alvin will be back for a shriekquel...
...perhaps. But one look at the countless smokers bundled up outside offices in Paris suggests that the transgressors are still a relatively rare exception to the rule. If smokers become bolder about lighting up indoors, however, non-smokers may begin demanding greater action from authorities. Even Parola acknowledges that second-hand smoke levels have vastly improved since the ban went into effect, saying his group's current campaign is only aimed at improving enforcement enough to prevent a gradual return to 2006 habits...
...surprising that Ritchie, a director who essentially keeps making the same glib, lively movie over and over again (with the exception of 2002's Swept Away, which stands alone in defiant atrocity) would turn Holmes into an action hero. Nor does it feel like a sin against humanity or literature; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was fun but he wasn't exactly Henry James. What is surprising is how bland the results are. The explosions and action sequences have an odd cheapness to them and the central plot is one of those dreary take-over-the-world routines. (Blackwood...
...exercise or wear and tear of joints. In fact, a "normally functioning joint can withstand and actually flourish under a lot of wear," says Fries. Because cartilage - the soft connective tissue that surrounds the bones in joints - does not have arteries that deliver blood, it relies on the pumping action generated by movement to get its regular dose of oxygen and nutrients. "When you bear weight, [the joint] squishes out fluid, and when you release weight, it sucks in fluid," says Fries, explaining why a daily run or any other workout is useful for maintaining healthy cartilage...