have you ever listened to a masterpiece? the beatles' white album? miles davis' kind of blue? michael jacksons' thriller? coldplays' viva la vida?yes. i just placed viva la vida among the greats like the joshua tree and dark side of the moon. what now?the issue with classifying something as a masterpiece is that people think that it has to be universally liked and generation defining. that may have been the case in the past, but not for generation y-er's. since we have so much more access to music these days, and so many different types of music, it is no longer possible to produce a "masterpiece". at least according to that definition. i honestly don't think that most bands/singers today are capable of producing one. most of them barely put out a second album. catchy riffs and vapid lyrics will get you a top 10 hit, but thats about it. coldplay is different. i think that coldplay realized this after the explosion that was "yellow" and quickly did something about it. case in point: a rush of blood to the head. a-maz-ing. i didn't think they would ever be able to top that. and when x&y came out i was pleasantly surprised since critics didn't like it so much. needless to say, their fourth creation has really eased my fears that i would be listening to one hit wonders the rest of my life. viva la vida quite possibly tops my list of favorite albums. everyone (critics) are highlighting the latin and spanish influences on the album and while i certainly heard those influences, i hear more african and asian influences. this kind of illustrates my whole point though. spanish, asian and african? how many bands can draw from three different cultures and integrate them seamlessly on one album?? humm?? if i had to choose i think my favorite song is "42" followed by the whole rest of the cd. i could give you a play by play review of each song but that would be overkill since they would all basically say "sofa king awesome". so go buy it and form your own opinions.i'm beating a dead horse here but coldplay is the next u2. i would bet large sums of money and valuables on it. the similarities are there. not just in the studio but in their lives as well.this is the best 47 minutes of auditory experience i've had in a very, very long time. thank you.
coldplay's "viva la vida" - A fucking + (++++++)
i wish people would give mr. shyamalan a break. he's never going to make another sixth sense, so stop waiting for it! i'm not saying the sixth sense was a fluke, because it wasn't. it was a well-thought out masterpiece. but you can't compare every movie he does from now on to his first. that's unfair. and ridiculous. i think his movies show that he's not a one trick pony. he's a storyteller. he tells familiar stories from new perspectives, twists the plot a bit and throws in a handful of suspense and thrills for good fun.in the happening shyamalan takes the story of a unseen, mysterious natural killer and applies his standard formula to it. the story is told from the point of view of an intelligent teacher, instead of a group of dumb, beautiful teenagers. he pretty much figures out the cause of the mass suicides on his own, where in another movie the teenagers would've heard it on the crackling radio inside the tent they are camping out in. in the typical movie the environment is attacking humans, whereas in the happening, the environment is protecting itself. see how a different perspective can change a movie entirely!? shyamalan could have told an equally effective story without explicitly showing the killings, but the neck piercing/bullet to the head/lawn mower food are this movies' ghost under the table/alien hand in the grate/monster in grass waiting to scare the shit out of you. i'm not saying the deaths were gratuitous, they were just the flash and bang aspect of the movie.i got really pissed when i read that critics were giving this movie exceptionally low ratings and writing it off as some cautionary-preachy green movie. there were definitely elements of that but i honestly don't believe that shyamalan wrote the movie thinking that it was going to be some massive slap in the forehead for the masses and we were all suddenly going to stop polluting and start driving eco-friendly cars. no one in hollywood is that delusional or self-centered. ok that's not true, but what i'm trying to say is that shyamalan is not just pulling bullshit out of his ass. nature is a living organism and has the same evolutionary capabilities as humans and other animals. he's just pointing out the "what-if" option and creating a story with it. if you like a good story, with a solid plot, interesting characters and twist here or there, then you should at least give the happening a chance. if you are just interested in a whip-lash inducing turn at the end, you will be disappointed and should go back to 1999 and re-watch the sixth sense for the first time.the happening :: b
j.j. abrams is some kind of god. or at the very least a demi-god. i don't know where he comes up with his material but i don't care. he could be 
killing people and sucking the thoughts from their corpses and i wouldn't care. i don't care if he sold his soul to the devil. or if his bff's are voldemort and hannibal lector and he has pow-wow's with them on a weekly basis to help him think up his next mind-fuck. whatever he does/did he needs to keep at it. his stuff is like crack to me. (don't even get me started on lost) i never saw the blair witch project so this is really the first time i have seen a movie from the [camera] point of view of the characters. it was mildly annoying at times but in most cases it really made the film. if cloverfield had been shot using typical camera work it would have been "oh just another monster movie, yawn" but this perspective added a lot more. it makes the film much more intimate and real (as real as it could get) and scary. that subway scene... i would've killed myself. actually i would have killed myself as soon as i realized the big monster was shitting out spider monsters the size of my car.i absolutely adore jj's storytelling techniques. he never answers all of your questions, often answering questions with more questions. and everything is a metaphor for something and it's all open to interpretation. there's always the possibility of more to come. i don't have much else to say about cloverfield other than it was entertaining and the only monster movie i have sat through willingly in ages. cloverfield :: b
way to go affleck brothers!the only thing i didn't really care for was the length. no, no, that's not right. i didn't like how it seemed to have 2 endings. the first time i thought it was going to end i was like "wtf. don't end it there!" but then it started up again and i was happy! but then it dragged just a little and i got a little disappointed. but the real ending was well worth it.the cast/acting was superb. the plot was incredible and the setting was perfect. there were a few twists which i loved and the character development and societal issues were fantastic. an original mystery is hard to come by these days, and gone baby gone is one of those rarities.gone baby gone :: a
ok first let me get something out of the way... emile hirsch AND matthew fox(even though his face is covered 98% of the movie...)?! and they are driving fast cars?! these are just 3 of my favorite things. ok...so i was never a huge speed racer fan. i watched a few episodes here and there after school when i was a kid, but the racing thing never really did it for me. that's before speed looked like emile and before i ever dreamed of touching (read: flooring) a gas pedal. i still don't really like racing, per se, but i do enjoy pretty cars and leaving the speed limit in the dust. anyways... in a flashy, fast one-shot, speed racer isn't that bad. this movie is perfect for my little sisters' overstimulated, a.d.d. afflicted, hyped-up generation. the colors and effects are pretty and entertaining. the plot is simple but thought out and well put together. the writers/director/producers did a good job catering to the two main demographics this movie would attract: the youngins who have no idea who speed racer is, and those who watched the cartoons when they were younger. it's visual enough and funny enough to keep kids in their seats, but it's also not brainless enough (which is a good thing) to drive parents/older siblings to rip out their hair in chunks. it also has a good "don't sell out your family and friends for anything less than a billion dollars" message.
i'm just fairly positive i had a few seizures in the theater. but no harm done.speed racer :: b+
i think i would like to take a trip like this. except stay in nicer hotels, have a more reliable car and, oh yea, not have cancer. i especially enjoyed y tu mama tambien because it was a movie centered around young men and told the story from their perspective. there aren't a whole lot of those, at least in the US, that aren't centered around violence and what not. although most male centric movies are dominated by sex. i wonder why that is??? the story is entirely realistic as are the emotions and situations the characters go through. the ending isn't the happiest one in the history of the world but it's also not slit-your-wrists-sad either. it is exactly what would happen if that situation really happened. which is what makes it a satisfying movie.y tu mama tambien :: b+
it's both fitting and ironic that lindsay lohans' career begins and ends with a "twin" movie. this movie was painful. it was like watching a dying animal waiting to be put out of its misery. except worse. there were so many plot holes and unbelievable situations that it wasn't even laughable. i don't even want to go into detail as to why it's so bad, because you wouldn't believe me. it is so outrageous, you have to see it for yourself. i could garner no artistic, aesthetic, intellectual, or other value from this film. it is a waste.i feel like this was lindsay's half-assed attempt at breaking into porn. a pornographic swan song, if you will. while it's not explicit, you get the feeling that she would've gladly taken her clothes off if that's what the director wanted. actually i bet she tried to flash some boob and some who-ha but the higher ups begged her to remain clothed. ikwkm was pretty much a platform for lindsay to show off her pole dancing "skillz" and her ability to ride a dick. this really was the final nail in lilo's career if you ask me. she has left the world of talented actresses and ascended into pitiful tabloid trash. how unfortunate.i know who killed me makes it onto my "top 10 worst movies i've ever seen" list. you're welcome.i know who killed me :: d-
have you ever listened to a masterpiece? the beatles' white album? miles davis' kind of blue? michael jacksons' thriller? coldplays' viva la vida?
