Four months into keeping track of my favorite new hits and I am so glad I am doing this. If you are a music junkie, I'd recommend doing something similar.
Song Title ............................... Artist
Heartbeat Song.............................. Futureheads
I Saw You Blink ............................. Stornoway
She Said ............................ ..............Plan B
Chasing June ...................................Alan Pownall
Symphonies ............................ ........Dan Black
Bubbles ............................................ Biffy Clyro
Drunk Girls ...................................... LCD Soundsystem
Felicia ............................................... Constellations
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah ............................ New Politics
Mountains ........................................ Biffy Clyro
Grown on the Ground ..................... Sleigh Bells
Rill Rill... ........................................... Sleigh Bells
Lay Me Down ................................... Dirty Heads
Zorbing .............................................. Stornoway
You Will Leave A Mark .................. A Silent Film
Tighten Up ....................................... Black Keys
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Movie Review- Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 - Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke - *****
I loved the first Iron Man so was more than excited to see Iron Man 2 and luckily was not disappointed. Iron Man 2 is going to be a huge success and will stand up as one of the best summer action flicks. When you see it, you will agree with me.
Robert Downey Jr. reprises his famed role of Iron Man with the perfect balance of snark, sex appeal and self centered asshole-ness. Despite his flaws, he is a likable character and it is easy to see Downey in this role, or rather that Downey might actually be this person. Mickey Rourke is OK but not really given much to work with other than "Be a menacing Russian Physicist with dirty nails". I'm not going to go into too much detail because it is Iron Man 2 and there really doesn't need to be a lot said about it. There is a bad guy, a smarmy bad guy, a good guy turned bad guy, secret agents, hot women, government trying to take the "weapon" from him and a WHOLE lotta action.
But overall this movie is fun to see. The dialogue is witty, the technology (and Downey himself) is cool, the women are smart, strong and gorgeous and the effects are incredibly good. It is hard to make a good sequel but Jon Favreau has done just that. Sure, it's predictable and a bit corny, but you should go see this movie expecting an action packed, good time.
I loved the first Iron Man so was more than excited to see Iron Man 2 and luckily was not disappointed. Iron Man 2 is going to be a huge success and will stand up as one of the best summer action flicks. When you see it, you will agree with me.
Robert Downey Jr. reprises his famed role of Iron Man with the perfect balance of snark, sex appeal and self centered asshole-ness. Despite his flaws, he is a likable character and it is easy to see Downey in this role, or rather that Downey might actually be this person. Mickey Rourke is OK but not really given much to work with other than "Be a menacing Russian Physicist with dirty nails". I'm not going to go into too much detail because it is Iron Man 2 and there really doesn't need to be a lot said about it. There is a bad guy, a smarmy bad guy, a good guy turned bad guy, secret agents, hot women, government trying to take the "weapon" from him and a WHOLE lotta action.
But overall this movie is fun to see. The dialogue is witty, the technology (and Downey himself) is cool, the women are smart, strong and gorgeous and the effects are incredibly good. It is hard to make a good sequel but Jon Favreau has done just that. Sure, it's predictable and a bit corny, but you should go see this movie expecting an action packed, good time.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Movie Reviews - Chicks Flick, Social Commentary and Polanksi Oh My!
I love going to movies and I REALLY love when there are less than 10 people in the theater. So I was pretty happy about my birthday weekend movie pics - all less than 10 people!
The Back-Up Plan - Jennifer Lopez, Alex McLaughlin - **
I have to say a HUGE thank you to Sarah Waterrose for going to see this movie with me. Sarah's not a huge chick flick viewer and the thought of seeing a movie with J-Lo, all about having babies, probably made her skin crawl. But she hung in there in honor of my birthday week. She wins Friend of the Month!! I wanted to see this movie because of Alex McLaughlin, who I loved in Moonlight a few years ago. That show was not bad, but got cancelled. Then he starred in Three Rivers, which quickly got cancelled. I think he needs to fire his agent as his work choices are steadily going down hill. The Back Up Plan is a cute premise, and J-Lo's nose is equally adorable, but overall this movie is not great. J-Lo is a thirty something single woman who knows she wants a family but doesn't have a man in her life. She decides to be a single mom and be artificially inseminated. She leaves the fertility clinic, jumps in a cab and meets McLoughlin's character, who has jumped in the same cab from the other side. Through a series of coincidences, they run into each other a few more times and eventually start to date, just as J-Lo realizes she is pregnant. McLoughlin decides to stick around and hilarity and drama ensue. This could be a really cute movie, but J-Lo's character is just annoying and McLoughlin is too perfect. Not to be old-fashioned, but I couldn't help but walk away from this movie thinking that it is bad for society and young women to see this. It's easy it is to have a baby, even twins! Who worries about money? You'll be happy, well rested and perfect if you have a baby or babies, even if you do it alone! UGH. If movies have a responsibility to not show characters smoking to limit teenage smoking, I think the same should be said for glamorizing parenthood. As for The Back Up Plan, skip it. Wait and check out McLaughlin in the upcoming Hawaii Five-0. He'll be just as cute and you won't want to vomit, or impetuously procreate.
Ghost Writer - Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Timothy Hutton and Olivia Williams - ****
Obviously Roman Polanksi is well known as a director but I was not familiar with his work, only his legal woes (vast understatement). A quick search of imdb.com revealed that I had not seen a single movie he wrote or directed, until Ghost Writer, and now I want to see more. Ghost Writer is a mystery, spy thriller intelligently done. McGregor is hired to finish the memoirs of the former British Prime Minister after the previous ghost writer suddenly turns up dead. The pace is slow, characters are developed well as the intrigue builds and McGregor finds more details that put his life in jeopardy. The cast (with the exception of Cattrall who bugged me) is supreme and Olivia Williams (most recently in Dollhouse) steals the show. Check out this movie for a nod to how movies used to be; well thought out pieces of art.
The Joneses - David Duchovny, Demi Moore, Gary Cole- ****
I tweet, I facebook. I am usually an early adopter, if not, definitely in the early majority. I also work in sales and have a marketing and public relations background. So I really appreciated The Joneses, a movie about self marketing. Duchovny and Moore along with their two children move into an upscale neighborhood, sporting all the coolest clothing, toys and food. Their life looks perfect, except it is all a fake. They are not a family, they are a team of sales people whose job is to introduce specific products into the marketplace. They seem cool and trendy and others want to buy the showcased items in order to "keep up with the Joneses". I won't say any more because I think this movie is better if you know nothing about it. Go see it. You will leave thinking about what you buy, why you buy it and the state of consumerism in America. Plus, Demi Moore looks gorgeous, David Duchovny solidly remains in my top 3 and you will be thinking about Gary Cole for hours afterwards.
The Back-Up Plan - Jennifer Lopez, Alex McLaughlin - **
I have to say a HUGE thank you to Sarah Waterrose for going to see this movie with me. Sarah's not a huge chick flick viewer and the thought of seeing a movie with J-Lo, all about having babies, probably made her skin crawl. But she hung in there in honor of my birthday week. She wins Friend of the Month!! I wanted to see this movie because of Alex McLaughlin, who I loved in Moonlight a few years ago. That show was not bad, but got cancelled. Then he starred in Three Rivers, which quickly got cancelled. I think he needs to fire his agent as his work choices are steadily going down hill. The Back Up Plan is a cute premise, and J-Lo's nose is equally adorable, but overall this movie is not great. J-Lo is a thirty something single woman who knows she wants a family but doesn't have a man in her life. She decides to be a single mom and be artificially inseminated. She leaves the fertility clinic, jumps in a cab and meets McLoughlin's character, who has jumped in the same cab from the other side. Through a series of coincidences, they run into each other a few more times and eventually start to date, just as J-Lo realizes she is pregnant. McLoughlin decides to stick around and hilarity and drama ensue. This could be a really cute movie, but J-Lo's character is just annoying and McLoughlin is too perfect. Not to be old-fashioned, but I couldn't help but walk away from this movie thinking that it is bad for society and young women to see this. It's easy it is to have a baby, even twins! Who worries about money? You'll be happy, well rested and perfect if you have a baby or babies, even if you do it alone! UGH. If movies have a responsibility to not show characters smoking to limit teenage smoking, I think the same should be said for glamorizing parenthood. As for The Back Up Plan, skip it. Wait and check out McLaughlin in the upcoming Hawaii Five-0. He'll be just as cute and you won't want to vomit, or impetuously procreate.
Ghost Writer - Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Timothy Hutton and Olivia Williams - ****
Obviously Roman Polanksi is well known as a director but I was not familiar with his work, only his legal woes (vast understatement). A quick search of imdb.com revealed that I had not seen a single movie he wrote or directed, until Ghost Writer, and now I want to see more. Ghost Writer is a mystery, spy thriller intelligently done. McGregor is hired to finish the memoirs of the former British Prime Minister after the previous ghost writer suddenly turns up dead. The pace is slow, characters are developed well as the intrigue builds and McGregor finds more details that put his life in jeopardy. The cast (with the exception of Cattrall who bugged me) is supreme and Olivia Williams (most recently in Dollhouse) steals the show. Check out this movie for a nod to how movies used to be; well thought out pieces of art.
The Joneses - David Duchovny, Demi Moore, Gary Cole- ****
I tweet, I facebook. I am usually an early adopter, if not, definitely in the early majority. I also work in sales and have a marketing and public relations background. So I really appreciated The Joneses, a movie about self marketing. Duchovny and Moore along with their two children move into an upscale neighborhood, sporting all the coolest clothing, toys and food. Their life looks perfect, except it is all a fake. They are not a family, they are a team of sales people whose job is to introduce specific products into the marketplace. They seem cool and trendy and others want to buy the showcased items in order to "keep up with the Joneses". I won't say any more because I think this movie is better if you know nothing about it. Go see it. You will leave thinking about what you buy, why you buy it and the state of consumerism in America. Plus, Demi Moore looks gorgeous, David Duchovny solidly remains in my top 3 and you will be thinking about Gary Cole for hours afterwards.
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