A Holiday Culture Smorgasboard

Hello all! Hope you all had a good end of year celebration. I'm sorry for the scant updates around here. Anyhoo, here is, as the title suggests, a collection (and subsequent reviews for each.) Let's start with:

My Christmas Gifts:

1. Florence + The Machine, Lungs

I first heard a song by Florence + The Machine on a fan-made music video for the film How To Train Your Dragon. I instantly fell in love with Florence Welch's epic, soaring voice. I waited for my library to receive the album. Unfortunately, they never stocked it. So here I got it for Christmas, yay! Really, Florence is such a powerhouse singer, anyone could fall in love with her instantly. Tracks of Note (Really my favorites): Dog Days Are Over, Howl, Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up), Cosmic Love, Drumming Song.

2. Florence + The Machine, Ceremonials

Florence takes a different, moodier approach to this album. The main inspiration, for it, according to her, drowning: "I'm attracted to the idea of drowning, or rather the idea of jumping off and being enveloped by something, not bad or good, just enveloping. [...]"(From the accompanying leaflet.) The album is very melancholic, but it makes me feel so powerful. Tracks of Note: No Light, No Light, Seven Devils, Only If For A Night, What The Water Gave Me.

3. Hark! A Vagrant By Kate Beaton

This book was listed on Time's list of the top 10 fiction books of 2011. [About Friggin' time, Time! *Shakefist*(End anager rant :-P)]. Beaton makes some of the wittiest comics out there. As a plus they are about history! History! With Napoleon, literature, and whatnot! The great thing is that her comics encourage you to look up the subjects, resulting in a free history lesson! What's not to love? You can find her strip at http://harkavagrant.com/

4. iDrakula By Bekka Black

I haven't actually read this book yet. Whereas Dracula is told in diary entries and letters, iDrakula is told with iPhones, iPads, and other things. I just want to read the original Dracual to get the story.

Have A Great 2012 Everyone! And coming soon: Webcomics! Mermaids! Shooting Stars! Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage! A few good songs! Adrian Celanto! Vinyl Records! And much, much, more!

Franz Ferdinand

I just wanted to write a quick blog post to let you guys know that I am not in fact dead.

Some bands I am listening to: The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay.

Listen and tell me what you think!

Bye for now!

127 Hours

I have just watched 127 Hours, directed by Danny Boyle and starring James Franco.

After watching it, I simply sat and struggled to with the emotions welling inside me. What James Franco does so well in his performance as Aron Ralston is that he doesn't play it too dramatically or operatic. Ralston wasn't a Shakespearean actor delivering a death soliloquy; he was a human being who sincerely thought hat he was going to die.

I think that the hardest thing for an actor to do is to be able to act in such a confined space for such a long time. The camera work is astonishing; it pans across the desert and the canyon to show how isolated Ralston was during his entrapment.

Also the makeup done to simulate the amputation is gory and intensely well done.

Overall, 5 out of 5 Stars.

Movies I Have Seen

Cowboys and Aliens revolves around an alien invasion taking place in The Old West. The cast is fantastic, if not slightly mismatched. The characters aren't fully realized. The genres of western and Sci-Fi could have been dealt with more easily, but honestly, the two are like oil and water. They can only mix for so long before they separate. Overall, nicely produced, a good cast, but it just didn't pull through to the end. 2 out of 4 stars.

Zookeeper is a fine summer comedy that is a simple escape. It is not fine filmaking, but you get what you pay for; talking animals and kiddie comedy. 3 out of 5 Stars.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1+2 The final two films pack an emotional punch as we come to the final and stunning conclusion of a decade marked by the series that surpassed all expectations. Amazing and a wonderful performance from the entire cast. 5 out of 5 Stars.

Kung Fu Panda 2 It is rare that a sequel should surpass the original. Here we have the continued story of Po, an unwitting hero in ancient China. With Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks captured lightning in a bottle; with Kung Fu Panda 2, Dreamworks did it again. 5 out of 5 Stars.

Fright Night (2011)

To some horror fans, news of a Fright Night remake was met with universal dismay. I have not seen the original and cannot make any real judgments.
Fright Night is about a boy named Charley Brewster(Anton Yelchin) who has a new neighbor. This neighbor is Jerry Dandridge played by none other than Colin Farrel.
I have to say that this film has the remarkable ability to stay afloat as both a comedy and a horror film. Much like the Lost Boys, this maintains itself throughout the entire film pulling us into a Las Vegas infested with vampires. The cast itself has great chemistry, and all of the actors work together harmoniously. Colin Farrel in particular exudes charisma, and danger in equal parts. Enough to draw you in and terrify you at the same time.
Set design is phenomenal on this film. It relies on the backdrop of the desert to isolate the struggle. The suburb is so tiny in comparison to the desert. This was more than likely done solely to create an isolated and desperate feel to it all. Overall this film is a scary good time that keeps you glued to your seat. 4 out of 5 Stars.

Alex Eylar

In the world of pop culture you will find some bewildering and intriguing links that lead you to find someone you wished that you had known about years ago.
I was reading an article on different games that they were turning into movies, which lead me to a link on Alex Eylar.
Alex Eylar takes Legos and uses them to build various landscapes and things that I was unaware is possible to do with them.
He also designs posters for movies, which makes for fresh new ways to look at an already beloved movie.
He is a film student,and has a clear understanding on what it takes to set up a good shot.
So check him out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoyvinmayvin/

More or Less, The Orgin of this Blog

My foray into the world of movies started at a rather surprising source...Twilight. Yes, that vampire romance where Kristen Stewart never smiles. I read the book and was overcome with with a brief bout of Twilight obsession. Several months later I began to go over why I liked the series:
1.Good-looking actor
2.Good looking cast
I thought to myself, if you like a movie solely based on how attractive the cast is versus the writing, you will find yourself scraping the grease of the bottom of the metaphorical movie bowl.
And so, I delved deeper searching for any movies that were better than Twilight. My search soon brought me to IMdB.com (Internet Movie Database).
Curious and hungry for more movie knowledge, I proceeded to type in the name of the first movie I had seen that popped into my head.
Within minutes, I began to experience the same elation and wonder that one expieriences when staring at the stars for the first time.
Now is where the story catches up to us in real time.
Overall, I have to say that this has taught me to appreciate films more. But this is the reality, and the story continues...