Personal: I Can Almost See It...!

I'm almost done... Just a week more and I am free!

Can't wait to get back on track. See ya soon!

Personal: Slow Days Ahead & Super 8

Hey, I just want to apologies for the slowing pace of content the past week or so.

Being in university, my time over the next few weeks will be consumed with the last of my classes assignments and tests, with my final day of normal classes being April 6th. After that date, I have three weeks off until the end of April, where I then have two final exams. Once those exams are complete, I have the next five months off.

I can't wait.

My plan is to get my constant stream of final assignments done asap, and when I have free time, post a new blog, but since this is totally dependent on project completion, I can't just say "I'll be posting every OTHER day until university is done."  I'll be checking in on your blogs within this period, but like I said, please stick with me in this slow period, I promise to go full speed once my time frees up!

Thanks again!

PS: Anyone else in this crunch period at school?

PPS: New Super 8 trailer, check it out!

Movies: The Room (2003) - Cult Film of the Week

What do you call the worst drama film ever made?

The best comedy of all time.

The Room (2003) centers around a group of friends - the couple of Johnny and Lisa, best friend Mark, "adopted" child Denny and mother Claudette, as they deal with jobs, faltering romance and the future. 

At least that was the intended plot, except the film - written, directed, produced, financed and starring Tommy Wiseau (Johnny), fails to provide the audience with anything other then a comedy due to its broken narratives, terrible lines, amateur film-making, 

inconsistent casting and just the overall inability to take this film seriously. 

The actual serious trailer for the movie. 

However, this horrendous quality has led this movie to garner cult support, its corny and repetitive lines being uttered on university campuses worldwide, with sellout film showings, fan clubs and play reenactments popping up everywhere. There's even a video game The Room: The Game.    

Yes. It's that bad.

If ever have the chance, go to a screening of The Room. It is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life, just don't sit in front of the screen and make sure to bring a lot of plastic cutlery. 

SPOONS!

Have you ever seen The Room? How about at a screening?

Other: Lack of TV & Principle's Office

Hey everyone!

Sadly, I planned on including more TV articles this week, but since most of the shows I have knowledge on were off this week, I had to make due.

Anyways, for the future, I am planning to explore new topics of discussion - testing the water, if you will, as I try to find a good rhythm for this blog. Right now I am thinking of a schedule which rotates Movies, Music, and TV from Monday-Saturday. Sundays, I am thinking, will be days in which I might post a more experimental blog, maybe an art discussion, or a new reel slot. We will see!

Question: Would people be interested in a - let's say weekly - post, which would involve a more personal discussion? It could be stuff like "I was late for ... blah blah", or possibly more structured topics, just topics outside the realm of general entertainment. I dunno ... Just let me know what you think and I'll decide from there.

Moral of the story is, thanks for sticking with me, and since I plan on doing this for a long time, I really want it to be the best it can be, for everyone.

So to end this off, I've had this fun little clip favorite'd for a while now, and I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy!

Music: Arcade Fire

After all the "Who are they?" comments following their 2010 Album of the Year Grammy, I've decided to give an introduction to the Montreal-based band Arcade Fire.

The band, described as Indy but akin more to Stadium rock, consists of husband Win Butler (lead vocal/guitar), wife Regine Chassagne (drums, lead vocals, piano, odd instruments), brother Will Butler (everything) and a few other close friends. 

Known for being one of the best live acts around, Arcade Fire takes advantage of their numbers by employing a multitude of instruments and sounds throughout each of their songs, both in studio and live.

Funeral (2004)

Their major label debut, Funeral, was widely praised by critics, many citing Funeral as the best album of 2004 and 2005.

There first released single, "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)", describes the aftermath of the infamous 98' Ice Storm that cover all of northeastern North America, in which cities were ripped apart, power lines knocked over, and in some cases injuries and deaths occurred. 

"Wake Up", probably one of their most well known songs to-date, namely because of its use in promotional advertising and movie scores, is what you would call a "show-stopper". With a thrilling sing-a-long chant, this song is the type of song that every artist dreams of writing.

"Rebellion (Lies)" cited as one of the best off Funeral, is expertly crafted from droning bass lines, pounding keys and a rolling drum beat to die for. Whats not to love?

Neon Bible (2006)

After their explosion into the mainstream through Funeral, the band used their next project, Neon Bible, to explore new musical territory, with new instruments, new song styles, and a new perspective on life.

However, that doesn't mean that the band abandoned their signature bass lines, big band sound and addicting melodies, as can be seen in their hit single "No Cars Go".

The Suburbs (2010)

After a two-year hiatus, the band hit back hard with the release of The Suburbs, aptly called due to its thematic fixation on youth. Though not the first album in which Arcade Fire chose an overall them, The Suburbs is by far the most successful in that regard.

I therefore present you with my two favorite songs on the album - the first being the ever-droning "Empty Room".

Finally, I present "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)", one of the many beautiful songs that include of Regine as lead vocalist. This was one of the first songs on the album I really got into, and I was very happy when they chose to release it as a single - something I didn't think would happen. 

Well, thanks for sticking with me here, I know getting to known new bands can sometimes be a tedious adventure. So, did anyone know about Arcade Fire previous to the Grammy win? If you have one, what is your favorite song by them? Thanks again! 

Movies: Upcoming Films

Now that the film award season is finished, there a hint of well timed explosions and vulgarities in the air. Therefore, today I will take a look at some of the big upcoming films, and see what is in store for us.

Battle: Los Angeles
Mix the plot of Independence Day, change the main group of heroes from Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum to Michelle Rodriguez and a bunch of tough soldiers, shift the attempted "realistic" factor to Cloverfield/District 9, add big battles and colorful alien explosions and you've got Battle: Los Angeles.

From what I've read, don't go into this movie expecting Oscar winning story-lines and acting, as this movie, said to be a better version of Skyline, is made with solely sci-fi military action in mind.

In Theaters March 11th

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Captain Jack Sparrow and the crew, minus Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan, head out to find the Fountain of Youth, fight Zombies, pirates, the British, blah blah - It's essentially the same format as every PoTC film so far, with a new goal and a few new villains. Not to say that's a bad thing. Why fix what isn't broken? And let's not kid ourselves, we all are going to see it, so I'm just hoping its as fun as the previous installments, and that we get a lot more Keith Richards. 

PS: While looking the IMDB, I stumbled upon an interesting catch that I'm surprised I didn't spot. Geoffrey Rush of The King's Speech plays Captain Barbossa! 

In Theaters May 20th

Bad Teacher
A comedy about a slack teacher who uses their students to achieve some self-serving goal, and hilarity ensues? Yes, I know I just described quite a bit of movies, School of Rock comes to mind, but this one is VULGAR!

Anyways, this movie is sizing up to be the next big thing, with a great cast - Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, and Jason Seagel. I'm just hoping this trailer didn't show all the funny stuff, because this movie has a lot of potential!

Could you please hold my ball-sack while I watch this trailer? Haha.

In Theaters June 24th

What do you think of these movies? Any good upcoming movies out that I didn't show here that are worth mentioning? 

Movies: The Oscars

Hey, today's piece will simply consist of the major Oscar results accompanied with my opinion. 

• Art Direction Alice in Wonderland
• Since this is generally seen as a throwaway award, I expected them to give it to either Alice or Inception. I can see an argument for Alice winning the award, but I would've given it to Inception, because in my opinion Alice was good at best, and its use of 3D was gimmicky, whereas Inception really pushed the boundaries of film imagery this past year. 
• Cinematography Inception
• I definitely agree with this selection,  because the only other movie that came close to Inception in this regard would have been Black Swan. Inception's whole concept flowed through its use of cinematography.
• Best Supporting Actress Melissa Leo The Fighter
• I actually haven't seen The Fighter as of yet, the movie didn't look interesting through the trailer, but now that I look, I've only seen one of the best supporting actress nominee films. Mhmm. I guess that means I have no comment in this section.
• Best Animated Feature Film Toy Story 3
• Obvious choice is obvious.

• Best Adapted Screenplay Aaron Sorkin The Social Network
• I was surprised to find out that this movie's literary origins, and now that I know this I can really see where the book bleeds into the film. In comparison to the other films nominated in this catagory, it really isn't a surprise that this film won, as it is easily in the top 5 movies of the year.
• Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale The Fighter
• This is funny, because once again, for the supporting Actor category, I have only seen one of the movies from the five nominees. Question: Were The Town/The Fighter/Kids Are Alright/Winter's Bone any good? I was under the impression that these films bombed, but since they got nominated, it makes me wonder.
• Best Original Score Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross The Social Network
• Its really nice to see a major recording artist dedicated themselves to a unique project and be rewarded for their efforts.
• Best Documentary Feature Inside Job
• I was severely disappointed to find out that Banksy's documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop lost. I extremely enjoyed that documentary, including the subtle twist/mind-blowing part at the end that really makes you think...
• Best Visual Effects Inception
• Honestly, if Inception didn't win, I would have no hope for the Academy.

• Best Film Editing The Social Network
• A well deserved honor, as the editing in this film was make or break, and thankfully, it really made this film great.
• Best Original Song Randy Newman “We Belong Together” Toy Story 3
• You could write a computer program for this award "If nominee = "Randy Newman" then printf "Randy Newman wins". ;P
• Best Director Tom Hooper The King’s Speech
• Biggest tossup of the night, in my opinion. All the nominees are prestigious directors who've really proven themselves this year. All of them could have and should have won. 
• Best Actress Natalie Portman Black Swan
• No brainer. Portman solidified herself as one of the greatest young actresses of our time, as her dedication to this movie proved.

• Best Actor Colin Firth The King’s Speech
• After all that stammering he deserved some award. Haha! But seriously, this year, Firth and Geoffrey Rush pushed the boundaries of character development, as their amazing chemistry really built upon the solid narrative of The King's Speech to allow it to become one of the best films of the year.
• Best Picture The King’s Speech
• Similar to the Best Director category, it is my opinion that every film nominated this year was truly powerful in their own unique ways. However, I was surprised that Black Swan did not win, solely because it would seem to fall suit to the Academy's usually selection for Best Picture. 'Popular, but not the biggest boxseller', 'Slightly odd narrative', 'heavy acting requirement', and 'psychological content, both physically and emotionally." I also felt that it was odd that The King's Speech won over the other choices because of its heavy dependency on historical content. 

Anyways, sorry about this lack of content today, had a hectic day! Should I go see those film that I haven't seen? Where you surprised about any of the picks? How did you find this year's Oscars in general?