Movies Watched in February

With a movie collection approaching 400 movies, I've decided that I shouldn't watch them in alphabetical order. The main reason I want to do this is because I probably haven't watched about a third of my movies. By watching my movies in alphabetical order I will have to watch those movies that I have yet to see.

Here is a brief rundown of the movies I watched in February along with a rating out of 10.

-Atonement: I think this movie is shot beautifully, the score is fantastic and really enjoyed the performances by Kiera Knightley and James McAvoy. It's easy to see why so many critics enjoyed it and why it was nominated for so many awards. I would have to give this movie an 8 out of 10.

-Apocalypse Now: This is a classic film and it's hard to argue against it. Martin Sheen's performance was spectacular. The supporting cast that includes Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, and Harrison Ford all put on great performances. Francis Ford Coppola really doesn't a great job giving the audience a sense of what Vietnam was like. 9 out of 10.

-Any Given Sunday: It had been years since I've seen this movie and to be honest, I don't really know why I used to like it. It's definitely not as enjoyable as I once thought it was. Cameron Diaz has an pro football team owner was really unbelievable, it was hard to see why she even cared about the team. Dennis Quaid's character really reminded me of Brett Favre, an aging quarterback that doesn't want to give it up. Overall I thought the movie was too long and flashy. 4 out of 10.

-Anchorman: As comedies go I feel like Anchorman is ok. It has those memorable lines and scenes that you always remember and make you laugh, but Will Ferrell tends to get on my nerves after a while. It's one of those movies that's good to watch every couple of years but not much more than that. 6 out of 10.

-Avatar: This is one of those big over the top blockbusters that tends to work all across the board. The special effects are gorgeous. A lot of the time my jaw would drop at the sheer beauty of the scenery. The creatures that James Cameron was able to create were amazing. Yes the story is heavily recycled from FernGully , but for me that was okay. 8 out of 10.

-Back to the Future Part I-III: This is one of those movie trilogies that I had done all wrong. I had never actually seen the first movie. I watched the second one a bunch when I was little and saw the third one at least once. After finally seeing the first one I can honestly say that scenes in the other movies actually make sense now. I didn't really like that they recast the Marty's girlfriend after the first movie, but other than that they did a good job bringing back all the same actors. This is a pretty enjoyable series to watch and has some pretty iconic scenes. 8 out of 10.

-Backdraft: This is probably one of the first R-rated movies I ever saw when I younger and I absolutely loved it. Watching a group of firemen run into burning buildings to put it out and save those that are inside. What little boy doesn't find firemen to be real superheroes. Also the Universal Studios attraction made me enjoy the movie even more. As I've gotten older the movie has lost some of its glory, but the cast is still pretty sweet. Also it's a Ron Howard film and he doesn't have too many misses. 7 out of 10.

-Bad Boys 2: There is one thing Michael Bay is good at and that is explosions and like his other films, Bad Boys 2 has a lot of them. I remember liking this film a lot after seeing it in theaters but over time it has lost a lot of its sparkle. I feel like the action scenes are solid and enjoy Will Smiths performance, but other than that it's still just another action film. It doesn't really stand out and never really has moments that stick in the memory banks. 5 out of 10.

-Bambi: It has been ages since I have seen this movie and while watching it, I realized I forgot a lot about it. I still remembered a lot of Thumpers lines, but then again how could you forget that little rabbit. For some reason though I thought Bambi's mom died at the beginning of the movie, I was wrong. This kind of threw off the entire movie for me because I was anticipating when that was going to happen. It's pretty easy to see why this is a Disney classic: the characters a fun, action puts you on the edge of your seat and the audience goes through a wide variety of emotions while watching it. 8 out of 10.

New Song from The Shins

I wasn't sure if this day would ever come, but The Shins have finally released a new song.  The Shins last album, Wincing the Night Away, came out in 2007.  When that album came out, I immediately fell in the love with it.  I listened to it all the time, I mean it never even left for CD player for well over a year.  It was one of those albums that you could listen to regardless of what your mood was.  It was a solid album.

But then time went by and reports of the band splitting up began to appear.  James Mercer, the bands leader singer, started doing the side project Broken Bells.  Other members of the band were forming new bands.  It broke my heart to think there would be no more music by The Shins.  But then news came out that James had began working on a new Shins album and that made me really excited.  Then news came that the album had a title, Port of Morrow, and a release date, March 20th, 2012.  Let me tell you, I was a happy camper when I heard this news.

And then yesterday, Jan. 9th, the first single from Port of Morrow was released.  The first single is called Simple Song and I must say I am a fan.  I really look forward to hearing what the rest of the album will be like.  Below is a link to Pitchfork.com that has the song streaming.  Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I do.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12952-simple-song/?utm_medium=bnt_sidebar&utm_source=pitchfork

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer #2

This is a few weeks old now, but I decided I should at least mention it.  Back on Dec. 19th, the second trailer was released for The Dark Knight Rises.  For you that know me really well you know that I have a slight obsession with the Christopher Nolan Batman movies and The Dark Knight Rises is the third and final film in his trilogy.

I have been eagerly waiting for a full length trailer for The Dark Knight Rises and the wait was well worth it.  I can watch this trailer nonstop.  I love it.  It's one of those trailers that doesn't give too much away about the movie and makes you wonder how everything goes together.  Below you can find the trailer.

I'm really excited to see how Tom Hardy does as Bane.  I enjoyed Tom a lot in Inception and Warrior and think he will do an amazing job as the films main villain.  I am interested in seeing how Anne Hathaway will do as Selina Kyle/Catwoman.  I'm putting a lot of trust into Nolan hoping he doesn't screw it up by having Catwoman in the movie.

I feel like the action scenes in the movie are going to be crazy just like they were in The Dark Knight.  In the trailer the scene where the football field just collapses looks insane.  I also feel like the fighting scenes between Bane and Batman could be fairly epic.  Bane is the type of character that will just be brutal.

The Dark Knight Rises is easily the biggest movie of 2012 for me.  July can't come soon enough.  In my mind I am already sitting in line for the midnight showing!

Across The Universe Review

I've decided to give reviewing movies another try.  The movie Across the Universe is first up.  I have owned this movie for a few years now and have finally got around to watching it.

Across the Universe stars Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess.  Jim plays a young lad named Jude who was born and raised in Liverpool.  Jude decides to travel to the United States to find his father who left before Jude was even born.  While Jude is in the United States he runs into a Princeton student named Max.  Max invites Jude to come with him to his parents for Thanksgiving.  There Jude meets Lucy, played by Evan Rachel Wood.  Jude instantly becomes smitten by Lucy.  Max and Jude move to New York, where Lucy decides to join them during the summer.  From then on Jude and Lucy's relationship begins to grow.

Across the Universe is a musical where songs by The Beatles play an integral part into the stories plot.  Throughout the entire movie the cast will break into song, and sometimes dance, to songs from The Beatles catalog.  For me, most of the musical numbers worked, but at times I felt some dragged on a bit longer than they needed to.  The ones that bothered me the most are the ones where "drugs" where involved and it got all psychedelic.  For example one that I didn't really like at all involved Bono from the band U2.  At first I thought it was okay, but they it got a little crazy and out there.  Below I have include a video of the scene.  These scenes just seemed to take away from the story and didn't really serve a purpose.  The musical numbers I enjoyed fit into the story and weren't a distraction.  They showed the emotions of the characters and help progress their relationships.

Overall I felt that Across the Universe was enjoyable.  There were definitely a few scenes that could have been cut, but hearing songs by The Beatles performed in a new unique way was interesting and fun to watch.  If you are a fan of The Beatles or just enjoy musical in general then I would say check out Across the Universe.

Top Ten Albums of 2011

Here are my Top Ten Albums of 2011.  Bon Iver was my favorite album of the year hands down, wasn't even close.  Such a beautiful album.  If you haven't listened to it yet, please go pick it up!!!

1.  Bon Iver - Bon Iver
2.  Fleet Foxes -  Helplessness Blues
3.  Adele - 21
4.  The Civil Wars - Barton Hallow
5.  Cults - Cults
6.  The Weeknd - House of Balloons/Thursday
7.  St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
8.  Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
9.  James Blake - James Blake
10.  Okkervil River - I Am Very Far

I have also included an Honorable Mention list because 2011 featured some pretty solid albums.

Honorable Mentions:
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys
The Decemberists - The King is Dead
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
My Morning Jacket - Circuital
Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing
The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
Cut Copy - Zonoscope

James Blake & Bon Iver - Fall Creek Boys Choir

Instead of my normal music highlights of the day post I'm just going to talk about the new song featuring James Blake and Bon Iver that was released today.  Last week James Blake released a post on Twitter saying that he and Bon Iver had an announcement to make on 8-24.  When I saw this I got really excited.  So far I've absolutely loved everything Justin Vernon of Bon Iver has done so far and the more I listen to James Blake, the more I enjoy him.

Early this morning I was sitting at work and remembered that today was supposed to be the big announcement.  I had expected it to be announced early this morning and was slightly disappointed when I didn't read any news of it.  I am have even sent a post to James Blake and Justin Vernon on Twitter about it, but just maybe.  Within 30 minutes of sending the message, news started coming out that the song Fall Creek Boys Choir would be played live on BBC Radio.  When I saw this I got a little excited, okay really excited.

If you are a fan of Bon Iver's latest album or of James Blake album you will probably really enjoy Fall Creek Boys Choir.  It is pure auto-tune magic.  Understanding the lyrics is a tad difficult but the song still has this incredible beauty to it.  I really hope that this collaboration can turn into a full album.  That would be absolutely amazing!!!

For those of you that haven't listened to it, here is Fall Creek Boys Choir by James Blake & Bon Iver

Music Highlights of the Day 8-23-11

Go Outside by Cults:  The Cults are a band out of Manhattan that have an extremely fun sound to them.  When I listen to them I just think of a 60's beach party.  The first single released from their debut album was Go Outside.  To me Go Outside is one of those songs you would expect to hear in a commercial, especially an Apple or some car commercial.  Here is the official video for the song:

Holocene by Bon Iver:  Last week the video for Holocene was released and it is beautiful.  It was filmed in Iceland and shows how amazing the landscape is there.  I absolutely love Bon Iver and any chance to listen to a Bon Iver song is a treat.  Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did.

Music Highlights of the Day 8-22-11

Conversation 16 by The National: The National have slowly become one of my favorite bands. In fact I would be them in my Top 3 favorite bands and about to become number 1. Seeing them last summer in concert is the reason for this. They put on such an incredible show. Their live performance alone is why people should check this band out. Today I listened to their last album High Violet. One of my favorite songs off the album has got to be Conversation 16. It's a very dark and bleak song. The lyric "I was afraid, I'd eat your brains" is proof enough how dark it is.

Wake and Be Fine by Okkervil River: Okkervil River is another one of my favorite bands. I actually got to see them last summer in concert opening for The National. I don't know what it is about Okkervil River but I absolutely love them. Their songs end to be dark but always seem to tell a great story. Below is a video from their latest album. Hope you enjoy it.

Music Highlights of the Day 8-18-11 & 8-19-11

Work has been kind of slow the last few days so I haven't really been able to focus on music as much. Because of this I've decided to combine the last two days.

Change of Time by Josh Ritter: If you've watched any of the preseason NFL games this season you have probably heard this song. When I saw the commercial I was completely shocked. I couldn't believe I was hearing Josh Ritter on a nationally televised commercial. I've seen Josh Ritter I'm concert and he is one of the happiest people I've ever seen on stage. If you have the chance to see Josh in concert, do it!

First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes: I first started listening to Bright Eyes my senior year of college. With the release of I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, Bright Eyes released a collection of beautiful songs, but to me the best song was First Day of My Life. When you listen to the lyrics you can't help but feel great and possibly get the chills.

The Party & The After Party by The Weeknd: The Weeknd is an R&B singer out of Toronto that has released two mixtapes for free online. His first mix tape, House of Balloons, Has received a lot of praise from various critics. I feel that it is a solid album that is enjoyable to listen to from beginning to end. My favorite song on the album has got to be The Party & The After Party

Music Highlights of the Day 8-17-11

Limit to Your Love by James Blake:  So I've listened to James Blake full length album twice now and every time this song comes on I wonder where I've heard it before.  The reason why this song sounds so familiar is because it's actually a song originally performed by Feist.  Feist is an artist who I haven't listened to a lot of but I some how remember she did this song.  I kind of prefer the James Blake version but I can let you decide which one you like more, so here are videos for both.

Sun Hands by The Local Natives:  The Local Natives are a band that I fell in love with the second I heard them.  I just really enjoy their harmonies and the tempo of their songs.  I actually got to see them in concert a little over the year ago at what once was the Empyrean in Spokane.  It was a nice intimate venue and I was able to pretty much be right in the bands face, it was incredible.  Sun Hands is probably one of my favorite Local Natives songs and watched a video of them performing it at this years Lollapalooza.  I hope you enjoy the song as much as I do.