I confirmed tonight that the Bienville Club in downtown Mobile is preparing to close and take with it, a piece of contemporary Mobile history.

Since it opened in 1967, it was THE site for power lunches, featuring downtown business leaders.  On the rare occasions I went there (always as the guest of a member), there were never any checks presented, just a receipt that the member signed.  The late TV General Manager C.P. Persons had a favorite lunch of boiled, peeled shrimp, and the waiter knew that.   It was a good choice.

The view was, and is, spectacular.  Diners could look south down the Mobile River, north for miles and east to the USS Alabama and beyond.  It was the closest you could get to heaven in Mobile, until the new RSA Tower was completed.

Hello Blog Readers.  This is Marcus Jackson, the FOX 10 / CW 55 Resident Movie Guru here once again.

Well I guess when it comes to literary inspiration … aka … adaptable screenplay … a comic book has more pull than a classic novel.  As I told you in my last blog entry if Iron Man 3 can beat out The Great Gatsby for the top spot at the box office this past weekend it would be a contender for the Best Summer Movie of  2013.  Comic Book Fans UNITED – Iron Man 3 made over $72 Million while The Great Gatsby got a little over $51 Million.  This  means that the pathos of Tony Stark was a little more intriguing to movie goers than the updated version of the madcap lavish life of the Great Gatsby.  Summer Movie Showdown #1 goes to Iron Man 3 …. Now It’s Time To “Energize” The Next Summer Movie Showdown …. At Warp Factor 9 … And Beyond.

Now Iron Man 3 & The Great Gatsby will have to contend with one of the most anticipated movie sequels for this year and in any movie season to date.  Star Trek: Into Darkness.  This continuation of the Star Trek Franchise Rebooting has all the fan boys & girls alike getting out their Starfleet uniforms from their closets and gearing up for the May 17^th release … or in some places the night before on May 16^th at Midnight for advance showings of the film.  Director J.J. Abrams promised us a real thrill ride on board the U.S.S. Enterprise and the weekend of May 17^th all of us here in the USA are going to “Bold Go …. AGAIN” on our way to the re-imagined world of the 23^rd Century known as the Star Trek Universe – in the J.J. Abrams’ Space/Time Continuum.

Here is just a sample of what you’re in for.  Check Out This Trailer Courtesy of IMDb …. http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1137026585/

Like I had mentioned in previous blog entries this is just the beginning of the Summer Movie Showdown.  2013 has got a lot of really good movies that are going to be released on certain weekends at certain times to maximize your spending dollars at the box office.  It’s going to be up to you to decide what movie you want to see first on those particular weekends.  I must tell you the majority of these films need to be seen on the Big Screen before you decide to wait for them to be “On Demand” or rented from “Redbox” or “Netflex”.

And Remember These Keywords …. “Real 3D”  &  “IMAX 3D”.  I know the tickets will cost you a little more but with Star Trek: Into Darkness and the soon to be released After Earth, Fast and Furious 6, Disney’s Monster’s University and Man Of Steel if you can afford it see them in these formats on the big screen.  You won’t be disappointed.

Keep checking out my Movie Guru Blog Entries in the coming weeks.  We got some Awesome movies coming out this Summer Movie Season.  By the way, you might have a chance to see some of these movies for FREE if they come along with Advance Screening Movie Passes.  If My Friend and Colleague, Dani Dials, The Face of CW, get any Free Movie Passes for Any Movie You Bet Your Last Drop Of Buttered Popcorn That I’ll Let You Know.

This is Marcus Jackson, The FOX 10 / CW 55 Resident Movie Guru.  We are getting ready to Boldly Go Where All Movie Lovers Are Planning To Go Again.  Back To The Movies For A Guaranteed Wild Ride.  It Just Depends On Who You Want To Ride With …. Iron Man, The Great Gatsby, or Captain Kirk.

A unique cold core low pressure system over Tennessee is bring us some cool nights for early May. This mornings low was 45 degrees in Mobile, breaking the old record of 47 set in 2011. We also broke a record in Pensacola with a temperature of 50 degrees. The old record was 51, set in 1944. The coldest morning of all was Saturday when Mobile Regional recorded 43 degrees! The low will continue to weaken and pull away from the area on Tuesday and Wednesday. We expect a warming trend with readings in the 80′s again by mid week.

Hello Blog Readers.  This is Marcus Jackson, the FOX 10 / CW 55 Resident Movie Guru here.

The Weekend of May 3^rd, 2013 came with a BANG!  That can only mean one thing Movie Lovers ….. The Summer Movie Season Has Begun and Kicked It Into Overdrive with a Repulsor Blast …. Iron Man 3.  Tony Stark becomes “The Man In The Iron Mask … and Gauntlets … and Jet Boots … and” ….  just the Good Ole “Mark 42” Iron Man Suit – Movie Hint – in this movie Stark has about 42 Armored Suits in his arsenal. If you’ve seen the movie trailers so far this is going to be a factor for the movie itself this go round.

Iron Man 3 takes place just right Tony Stark help save the world from an alien threat led by the Norse God Loki with his teammates, The Avengers – Last Year’s Biggest Movie Of The Year.  This time the movie focuses on the aftermath that Tony has to deal with.  But alas Iron Man has to deal with a new threat – the terrorist known as The Mandarin. This All-Star cast of Robert Downey, Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Jon Favreau (who directed the first 2 Iron Man movies and help produce this one) and Sir Ben Kingsley has made this film a must see at the box office … worldwide last week and this past weekend here Stateside.  Iron Man 3 pulled in about $505 Million overseas so far and we as Americans had to step up to the plate with “Iron Patriot” at our side pulled in an incredible (sorry Hulk, had to use your adjective) $175.9 Million.  This makes it the second biggest opening movie weekend on U.S. soil – Last year’s Marvel’s The Avengers is STILL the biggest with $207.4 Million.

Check Out A Sample Of What Everyone’s Talking About At The Water Cooler With the International Trailer From

Iron Man 3 courtesy of IMDb  …. http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2847319577/

We just had the Kentucky Derby Race to run this past Saturday with the winning horse by the name of “Orb”.  But the race for the Summer Movie Season Box Office is just getting into its first links.  Can Iron Man 3 hold its own with movies like The Great Gatsby, Star Trek: Into Darkness, The Hangover 3, Fast & Furious 6, and After Earth; And These Are All Movies Coming Out In May.   We still have the months of June, July, and August to contend with … and a particular movie called Man Of Steel that may tip the scales to the DC Comics Universe in winning this summer movie horse race.  Here’s a Movie Biz factoid … If Iron Man 3 can stay at the top of the box office this coming weekend it can be in good standing to be the Big Movie Of The Summer 2013 … maybe Movie Of The Year … We’ll See.

Keep checking out my Movie Guru Blog Entries in the coming weeks.  We got some Awesome movies coming out this Summer Movie Season.  By the way, you might have a chance to see some of these movies for FREE if they come along with Advance Screening Movie Passes.  If My Friend and Colleague, Dani Dials, The Face of CW, get any Free Movie Passes for Any Movie You Bet Your Last Drop Of Buttered Popcorn That I’ll Let You Know.

This is Marcus Jackson, The FOX 10 / CW 55 Resident Movie Guru.  Time for me to suit up just like Iron Man and tackle all these great movies coming out this Summer of 2013 …. Come on out to the movie theaters and join me.

Humid, warm, and windy will be the key words for our Wednesday forecast. Highs will top out around 80 and there’s a slight chance (20%) of a shower later in the day.

A cold front will be headed our way Thursday. It will bring rain to our area throughout the day, with a line of storms with the actually front late in the afternoon. We have a slight risk of severe weather with that line of storms, but the conditions are marginal, so widespread severe weather is unlikely.

After the front passes it will be slightly cooler, and perhaps more importantly, less humid for the upcoming weekend!

Happy Easter Movie Lovers & Bloggers.  This is Marcus Jackson, the FOX 10 / CW 55 Resident Movie Guru here.

It’s that time of the year that you get together with family and friends to celebrate the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ – if you are a Christian.  Those of you who are of the Jewish faith usually about this time you celebrate the season of the Passover.  Now, to learn more about either of these events you can now look them up online on any info website or just do what I do since I was a kid …. Read The Holy Bible …. Good Movie Plots in that book.

But the one thing that a lot of people seem to do at this time of the year is of course ….. SPRING BREAK!  Usually the Easter holiday weekend either caps off or starts off this annual “Mecca” of fun and excitement and adventure for the whole family or good friends and buddies.  Now one of the activities that a lot of people like to do is go to a GOOD movie.  This Easter Holiday Weekend we got two brand new releases that have been getting a lot of buzz.

The two movies that I’m talking about are G. I. Joe: Retaliation and The Host.

First up …. “Yo, Joe!”   G. I. Joe: Retaliation is the sequel to the first Live Action version of the Hasbro action figure franchise, G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.  Retaliation stars Dwayne ‘The Rock” Johnson as “Roadblock” who heads up the G.I. Joe team in response to a threat that the terrorist organization known as Cobra is plotting against the free world.  Now this movie was suppose to come out this past summer but certain films that came out at the same time …. Namely Battleship …. didn’t do too well at the box office and so the studios producing G. I. Joe decided to pull the movie and release it a later date because Hasbro had stake in both of those projects.  Retaliation also stars Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum who plays “Duke”.  Fast Fact – Tatum was NOT suppose to be in this sequel but because of his popularity this past year the studios decided to rewrite the script to keep him in the action instead of killing him off which was the original plan for his character in this sequel … which leads to the “Retaliation” by the Joes.  This film open on Thursday, March 28^th.  This is becoming a trend for movie releases nowadays.

Check Out This Trailer for G. I. Joe: Retaliation courtesy of IMDb …. http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1448713753/

Now, on Friday, March 29^th …. She did it with Vampires & Werewolves and now she’s taking a crack at Alien Invasion & Possession.   The next epic novel from Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight Saga, is being brought to life in this much anticipated motion picture adaptation of The Host.  Think of Invasion of the Body Snatchers with a love triangle, action and drama, and a determination to break free from the bonds of oppression from the aliens’ plan to take over Earth and all of its inhabitants.  This go around the young actress becoming the heroine of the film is Saoirse Ronan.  She has been in recent films like Atonement, Hanna, and the Oscar nominated The Lovely Bones.  The Host also stars Jake Abel, Max Irons, Diane Kruger, and William Hurt.  I know a lot of people have been waiting for quite a while for this film to come, especially two of my close friends and sisters, Donna & Jessica.  I would be right there with them when hits the theaters but I have a prior engagement to attend.

Check Out This Trailer for The Host courtesy of IMDb …. http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1617274649/

Well gang, I hope that this little blog will help you out and give you a couple of options to see some GOOD and Anticipated Movies that will hit the big screen this Easter Holiday Weekend.  The question will be which one will take the Top Spot at the Box Office.  Basically this could be the classic case of Guys going to see G. I. Joe and Gals going to see The Host.  Now we’ll have to see which one will get the most bang for the big bucks in ticket sales on Monday.  Being the Movie Guru … I’ll be seeing both …. It’s What I Do!

Happy Easter Weekend & Enjoy Spring Break 2013 Everybody!  See You Out There At Church, The Beach, and  At The Movies

Hello Blog Readers & Fellow Movie Lovers.  This is Marcus Jackson, the FOX 10 / CW 55 Resident Movie Guru.

The Weekend Is Here!  Now I have to tell you that this weekend, mainly Saturday, we are in the path for maybe some Severe Weather.  Maybe after you go out and see the runners run The Azalea Trail Run in the morning; if you can’t do something outside and you don’t want to drive to the movies in the rain why don’t you consider spending at home with an Oscar Winning Movie.

The Academy Awards have come and gone – Seth MacFarlane did his damage and we all survived it.  Now is the time catch up on your movie watching.  If you didn’t see them on the big screen you are in luck because some of those Award Winning Films are now out on Blu-ray & DVD.

Today, for example, Les Miserables is out now.  So if you want to see why Anne Hathaway won for Best Supporting Actress you have a good opportunity to judge for yourself in the comforts of your own surround sound home entertainment system.  Some other movies that are out on Blu-Ray & DVD are Zero Dark Thirty, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Skyfall (Adele’s Oscar winning Best Song and Great 007 movie) and the movie that won for Best Picture of the Year, Argo.

So if you didn’t spend the $8 to $12 bucks to see these films on the Big Screen (me personally I mostly go to the cheaper matinee showing in the afternoon or our Free Movie Pass opportunities The Face of CW 55, Dani Dials, gives out at times – like Skyfall) now is your chance to purchase for your film library or just Netflex it onto your adaptable home console and enjoy these wonderful Oscar Winning Films.  Just Remember, you’re at home so you have to make and butter your own popcorn and get up and go to the kitchen to get your own refills;  But, You Can Always Hit The PAUSE Button.

Hello Blog Readers.  This is Marcus Jackson, the FOX 10 / CW 55 Resident Movie Guru here.

He was seduced by Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate.  We have known him as being a Marathon Man, a Little Big Man, and a Rain Man … not to mention one of All The President’s Men.  Over the years with movies like Kramer vs. Kramer, Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, Outbreak, Meet The Fockers, Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2, and we can’t forget two of my favorites … Hook & Toosie …. That’s because he pulled off those characters so well on screen.

And Now … A Hollywood Icon …. An Actor’s Actor … has to tackle his greatest role to date …. Being Interviewed by our very own Studio 10 Host … Joe Emer

Check out this link below to the interview Joe did with the “One & Only”, Dustin Hoffman, as they discuss his career and his latest project directing the indie film, Quartet, which recently nominated for a Golden Globe this year.

<a href=”http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/more_studio10/celebrities/dustin-hoffman-on-studio10” target=”_blank”>Dustin Hoffman on Studio10</a></p>

Talking to Two Time Best Actor Oscar Winner Dustin Hoffman …. Makes The Movie Guru Proud …. Way to Go Joe!!!!

The 2013 Alabama HiQ champions

Another HiQ academic season is over with Davidson High School victorious.  Click here to see the championship match, thanks to the Mobile County Public School system.

I told the audience who attended the championship at the Renaissance Riverview Plaza that I enjoy being in the company of those who strive to excel, and all the students who compete in HiQ certainly qualify.

I also appreciated the fact that Mobile County’s superintendent, Martha Peek took the time at the end of her day to come to the match, and so did the principals of all 3 schools who competed, Baker, Davidson and McGill-Toolen Catholic.

This was my 25th year asking the questions and over that time, I’ve noticed a distinction between those schools that succeed in HiQ and those who don’t.

All the schools who do well generally fill the auditorium or gym where we have the matches.  Some even invite middle school students to try to recruit prospects.   Those schools that traditionally do poorly usually only invite a few students to attend or even in some cases, do not allow any students to witness the matches.  It’s hard for the students and for me to get pumped up about a competition that takes place in an empty auditorium. (For the record, I have never had a problem with crowd control.  One focused stare toward noisy students is usually all it takes!)

A major reason for the competition is to recognize gifted students as role models.

Here’s my question.  What does it say to students when you fill the auditorium for football signing day, but show no support for academic achievement?

To me, the answer is a sad one.

“9-1-1.What is your emergency?”  This is usually what you would hear from the 911 operator when you make that that important phone call to get help or assistance.  Now, what if that 9-1-1 operator has a little bit more to do in the process of saving your life …. And maybe even, their life?  That’s the premise for the suspense thriller The Call starring Halle Berry. 

When veteran 911 operator Jordan Turner, played by Berry, receives a call from a girl who has just been abducted, she soon realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life. This movie also stars Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund, Michael Imperioli, and David Otunga who is one of the WWE Wrestling Superstars – By The Way – World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is one of the Production Companies producing this film. 

The Call opens nationwide This Friday, January 15^th.  But, how would you like to see the movie for FREE.  The Face of CW 55 has you covered.

On Tuesday, March 12^th, from 12 Noon to 2pm head to Fone Zone (next to Jason’s Deli)  in Mobile at 3766 Airport Blvd and meet Dani Dials there.  She will give you, while they last, a FREE Movie Pass that will get TWO people in to see the film on Wednesday, March 13^th at Carmike Wynnsong Theaters on Schillinger Road in Mobile.  The Sneak Preview is at 7:30pm so … GET THERE EARLY!  Once the theater they will show the film is full no one else will able to get in.

Check Out This Trailer of the film at this link to IMDb …..  http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2670962457/

And if you want to see Joe Emer’s interview with Dani Dials talking about the Free passes for The Call …. Check out this link to her Studio 10 segment about the free passes here ….. <a href=”http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/studio10/free-movie-passes-for-the-call” target=”_blank”>Free Movie Passes for “The Call”</a></p>

So after you read this blog …. Get Up! …… and head to Fone Zone on Airport on Tuesday, March 12^th between 12 Noon & 2pm.  See Dani Dials and she’ll give you a FREE Movie Pass to go see The Call …. And Remember, 9-1-1 is NOT a joke in this town or any other (sorry Flavor Flav) so do not call 9-1-1 to order a hamburger or tacos or etc.  It is only to be used for emergencies only.  But if you want to catch a potential date night movie for FREE come out and get your Movie Pass for The Call.