My friend Craig recently messaged me:

“Looking at these trailers, I wonder which summer movie will be better: “Transformers 2″ - where the giant fireball destroys Paris at 0:12
before the movie ends up at the pyramids of Egypt at :25

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb2fUOW1ne4

Or “G.I. Joe - where the giant fireball destroys Paris at 0:35 before the movie ends up at the pyramids of Egypt at 0:57″

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBfnQXWvatw&feature=channel

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, been busy writing on Mediocre Forever and keeping up in school and working on music of course.  So I’ve got a huge midterm coming up on Wednesday, for my Rock & Popular Music course which I need to do fervently good on.  So here I am of course, on the internet, reading every NBA related article copiously (Adit can relate to this) and even updating my personal blog.  Oh, and of course, watching the Mavs-Spurs game 1 in opening round of the NBA playoffs for two and a half hours - but since the Mavs won (WOOOO!!!!!) despite my favourite player Dirk Nowitzki being hampered by foul trouble - it was totally worth it.  Back to the school aspect.  This is one of the very few midterms that’s not completely boring to study for since it is music.  Speaking of which, everyday I find more and more great songs that end up being sampled off of some old tune, and being in a music class raises this exponentially.  Things I have learned lately in this course: Bob Dylan is the man, The Beatles are the shiznat, and no matter how hip a dance it might’ve been at one point, doing “the twist” always looks foolish and funny.

Now, back to studying..or not.

Have been curious about this movie for a little while. I’ve heard from people whether they absolutely loved it or didn’t.  It’s suppose to keep you guessing, and in some ways it does, but the big twist isn’t so devastating as they show you clues from the beginning, of course, which is the ending - Will Smith phoning 911 to report his own suicide.

I personally still thoroughly enjoyed it, and the ending, even though I had an idea what was going on, was still hearty (no pun intended) and sent a jolt through me.  It’s actually one of Will Smith’s better performances since he plays such an introvert, which is the polar opposite of 99% of his roles.  Rosario Dawson is one hell of an actress; her performance in this is just incredible. And Woody Harerrelson’s scenes are touching.  When Smith berates him at work, its so damn sad but it’s all for a good cause of course.  Seven Pounds is a depressing film, and I mean that in a good way, I think the story was told very effectively by Gabriele Muccino and it’s weird and cool at the same time to see Will Smith in such a downer role.

The film almost gets TOO confusing with Barry Pepper’s part; it all makes sense in the end, but as it builds up, Pepper’s part really throws a wrench into the plot as you’re trying to understand it.  All in all, it has a good build up and takes it time; its two hours long and with the pacing it really puts you in suspense wondering what’s exactly going on regardless of the giveaways with flashbacks.

• Duke is an awesome dog.
• Had no idea the Box Jellyfish was such a deadly creature, check it out. It was used brilliantly in the end.
• Will Smith and Rosario Dawson have good chemistry.
• It’s always weird at first to see Will Smith completely shaved.
• The motel owner - it’s the guy from Superbad who works at the liquor store and says “fuck my life”!
• It’s a serious movie, so don’t rent it for a party thinking it’s gonna be Bad Boys 2 style shoot’em up Will Smith.

Went to see Slumdog Millionaire again in a big group, and it wasn’t any less tantalizing, at all. What an amazing film. Noticed a lot more things this time, the little details that make the experience so much more enjoyable. Like in the opening title, you actually see Salim’s end scene when he’s scattering all the cash on the floor/tub.  But what I realized noticed was the directing; all the little cuts, transitions, angles - Danny Boyle style is wicked.   I also was able to listen to the music in more detail this time and loved it even more, went out and bought the soundtrack in fact.  I was completely ecstatic when this film won best director, and best picture at the Oscars, I was in a moment. I know there’s a lot of hate out there saying Milk, Frost/Nixon, etc. should have won and that this is just a ‘nice’ film but not worthy, and that’s all up for debate. But to me it deserves all the praise its getting, it’s an amazing film and all the issues behind it (filmed in real slums with real kids from the slums, etc.) only make it better and more thought-provoking.

See this movie again, you won’t regret it.

What a SONG!!!  If you’re like me, you first heard this on the Watchmen trailer (worth looking at again even if you’ve seen it a hundred times) and were blown away by it.  I was surprised to find out The Smashing Pumpkins made this song..I didn’t really think this was their style (the whole electronica element to it), but I may have to check out more Pumpkins albums. 

The opening of the track hits you hard and instantly sucks you in with that thumping kick and bass, and when the beat picks up its so dark and moody yet undeniably stimulating.  Billy Corgan’s haunting voice is perfectly suited for the track, and when the chorus comes in the song goes to a whole another level of awesomeness.  I’ve had this hook stuck in my head ever since watching that first Watchmen trailer.  Speaking of which, it’s both hilarious and astounding that this song was originally written for and used with another movie..you ready for this?….Batman & Robin.  Yes.  Really. That Batman & Robin; the epic failure of a film, the one which Joel Schumacher killed Batman with until Christopher Nolan saved us all with Batman Begins.  How such a great song was used with such a shitty movie is unfortunate, but no doubt the whole world will associate this now with Watchmen (thank God).  You can, however, for kicks, watch the original music video for this here.

Now don’t get confused.  This one (the good one), the version featured with Watchmen, is called “The beginning is the end is the beginning”, and is featured on the B side of the Batman & Robin soundtrack while the original rock version made for Batman & Robin is called “The end is the beginning is the end.”  The song itself was released as a single and I’m definitely going to get it, apparently it’s got some instrumental versions which should be very satisfying.

Billy Corgan wants to make another music video of this song for the Watchmen release, I sure hope it happens. Can’t wait for the movie to come out, it’s got the potential to be the best comic-book-movie after The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. 

Coldplay is pretty much the biggest band in the world right now, and love’em or hate’em, you have to respect them.  I like Chris Martin (the frontman) even more since he made a song with Jay-Z (”Beach Chair“).  It was so out of the blue; Chris Martin is probably one of the last person you’d expect to jump into a hip-hop song, and it was a good one.  Then my buddy forwarded me this cool mix with Jay-Z and Nelly Furtado.  Chris Martin’s little part in the beginning makes the mix good for me (Nelly Furtado’s original version is awesome)

Coldplay’s got a plethora of GREAT songs, but my favourite would probably have to be Don’t Panic, which is one of their smaller songs but is just amazing.  You can’t help but feel moved by that guitar line as Martin repeats “we live in a peaceful world.” I just wish they made a better video :p  Random note about Coldplay, I remember my brother knew them looonng before the world discovered them, and I remember him saying “you gotta hear this band, they’re gonna become HUGE, I swear!” What an understatement that was.

I’ve been M.I.A on this blog for a little while, for a couple of reasons. One, school is back - freakin’ York strike is finally over (well technically the government forced their ass back to work haha), but more importantly, I’ve been busy setting up a new blog with some friends that’s strictly Raptors related. Presenting to you:

Mediocre Forever - A Toronto Raptors blog!

Just my Raptors related posts will be there, this blog is very much still intact (no pun intended).

From the first time I saw the trailer, I knew I wanted to see Taken, simply because Liam Neeson stars in it

Liam Neeson: bad ass spy

and looks like he’s gonna be a total bad ass. I know this guy’s been in PLENTY of movies and has garnered critical acclaim for obvious films such as Schindler’s List, but what made him a fan favourite to me was of course Batman Begins in which he played Ra’s Al Ghul.

I’m not expecting a deep plot from this film or anything, it just looks like an edge-of-your-seat action movie where Liam Neeson shoots first and asks questions later.  The reviews so far seem to peg it as just that - a great action movie that goes at a breakneck pace. Also, Famke Janssen is in it, which is a bonus

But simply put, Ra’s Al-Ghul going around kicking ass? I’m sold.

One of my songs, “One More Chance“, from my album “No Cure EP“, was awarded Track Of The Day on GarageBand on January 4th, 2009. I know it’s well past that but I just found out now :p

It’s not a surprise, but it’s still disappointing.  Other than the heavily favoured best supporting nomination for Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight got nominated for nothing else.  Christian Bale himself has been saying all along that it probably wouldn’t because “it’s the genre thing”, being based on a comic character and all.  This usually wouldn’t bug me, but if The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring can get 13 nominations including best picture, then The Dark Knight deserves some more nominations as well.

"Some men aren’t looking for anything logical. That's why our movie was snubbed by the Oscars Mr. Wayne"

If anything, I think TDK should get a nod for best director - what Christopher Nolan did was simply unbelievable and unprecedented.  The pressure to already top a high-class movie like Batman Begins, and then to actually live up to the hype and BEAT IT with The Dark Knight is nothing short of astounding.  Think about it for a second, sequels usually SUCK.  Another nomination I think should go to Wally Pfister for cinematography, don’t you agree? How breathtaking were those shots of Gotham, and in the blue-tone?

The Dark Knight is one of those rare films that deserves all the praise it gets, it’s just that good.  It’s a shame the Oscar people couldn’t look past the whole comic-book-movie thing, it really is. Dark Knight is such a multi-layered, complex film it’s phenomenal.  I guess the marketing itself didn’t help as it was advertised everywhere as the summer blockbuster, action film.  Action - I think that’s where it probably really hurt its chances.