A Brief Movie Review: 'Super 8' (2011)

Movie: Super 8 (2011)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Rating: 3.4/5 Stars ***'

This movie was a lot better than I thought it would be, although J.J. Abrams seems to have a thing for monster-movies in which the monsters all look like giant mutant-turtles (ie Cloverfield (2008)), and not the teenaged ninja type. The US military loses a captured alien after a transporter train derails, and the alien then proceeds to terrorize a small nearby town. The kids in this movie, and their interactions were taken right out of The Goonies (1987) in terms of a similarity of characters, as well as the adventure theme, the only thing they were missing was a 'Sloth' character who likes Babyruth candybars...mmmm...baaabby ruth....

Your Daily Track: 'Dancing On My Grave' by Ghostland Observatory (2010)

Today's feature daily track goes to American indie-electro-dance duo Ghostland Observatory and their song Dancing On My Grave. As you may have already noticed, I am a big indie-electro/indie-dance fan, and I discovered this group recently and found that the singer reminds me very much of the vocals of Freddie Mercury. Now those vocals, and the modern indie-electro sound mixed are just unstoppable, and so it is I am presenting this song here today to you all ;-) Ghostland Observatory consists of duo Aaron Kyle Behrens (vocals) and Thomas Ross Turner (drums and synth), who originate out of Austin, Texas, USA, and who have been active on the music scene circa 2004. Dancing On My Grave can be found on their Robotique Majestique album, which was released in 2008. Listen to the song and tell me it doesn't sound like Freddie Mercury...do it now! If you like what you hear you can check out more at their MySpace page HERE. 

A Brief Movie Review: 'Everybody's Fine' (2009)

Movie: Everybody's Fine (2009)

Director: Kirk Jones

Rating: 3/5 Stars ***

Quite a cast in this movie including stars Robert Deniro, Kate Beckinsale, and Drew Barrymore, and ultimately is a good movie about familes. Deniro, finds himself shut-out and avoided by his 4 children all of whom lead busy lives and in live in various parts of the country. After a failed get together in which every single child backs out of he decides to hit the road against his physicians orders to go visit each one of his kids. Truths are revealed and the family is challenged to stay in touch. A bit emotional, but a good movie.

Your Daily Song: 'Progress (ft. Mantra)' by Ishu (2010)

Today's song is... Progress (ft. Mantra) by Australian hip-hop artist Ishu. Ishu is a Melbourne-Australia-based producer, and his song Progress comes off of his recently released A World in Progress album, which hit stores on November 9th, 2010. This is the first single released from the album, and it features progressive rap/hip-hop, which is quite nice for a change-up on the usual rap-themes. Not a whole lot of info on this artist out there on the web at the moment, but you can check out his MySpace page HERE, and the album is now available for purchase on ITunes and Amazon. Check it out!

Your Daily Song: 'Ain't Hungry' by Lanie Lane (2011)

Today's song is...Ain't Hungry by Australian pop-roots-blues-jazz singer-guitarist-songwriter Lanie Lane. Lanie Lane comes out of Sydney, Australia, and her musical style fits into many genres all at once. This song was produced by Jack White, and if you listen to the song you can definitely tell his influence is there, and the article on that is HERE. There is not a heap of biographical information on this artist, but I do highly recommend checking out her work, and if you are interested in finding out more about her you can go to her Unearthed page HERE, or her Facebook page HERE, or even her Myspace page HERE. Do note, that this song is still available as a free and legal MP3 download on herUnearthed page. Enjoy! The video is not up on YouTube yet, as this song was just released today (August 23rd, 2011), and so you can go the link HERE to listen to it. Enjoy!

Brief Movie Review: 'The Landlord' (1970)

Movie: The Landlord (1970) 
Director: Hal Ashby
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars ***' 

Quite an interesting and ground-breaking movie for 1970. A rich, white, young and naive man buys a block of flats in a New York slum and finds that it is a little more than he can handle. This movie came out only 3 years after "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," and I appreciate that it contributed its part to breaking racial barriers by increasing understanding and compassion by including inter-racial couples and and relationships, which even to this day are still challenged in places like the South. Check this one out!

Your Daily Song: 'Gucci Gucci' by Kreayshawn (2011)

Today's feature song is Gucci Gucci by American hip-hop artists Kreayshawn. Kreayshawn (Natassia Gail Zolot) is a hip-hop singer/song-writer out of Oakland, California and has been active on the music scene circa 2008, also being a former member of garage-punk band The Trashwomen. Gucci Gucci is a single which was initially released on Kreayshawn's YouTube channel and which since has gaine over 10 million views. The song was available as of June 14th, 2011 on many online music stores such as ITunes and Amazon.

Brief Movie Review: 'Blithe Spirit' (1945)

Movie: Blithe Spirit (1945)
Director: David Lean
Rating: 3.2/5 Stars ***'

Another oldie, this one is about an English couple who raise the spirit of the husband's ex-wife during a seance that they did out of boredom with the local medium. Lots of entertaining dialogue, all though it becomes a bit too predictable. Check this one out!

Your Daily Song: 'You Know What I Mean' by Cults (2011)

Today's daily feature is a song called You Know What I Mean, by Manhattan-based indie-pop band Cults. Cults started out in 2010 with New York University-collegues and duo Brian Oblivion (vocals, guitar, and percussion) and Madeline Follin (vocals) who rose to fame with the release of their digital 3-track EP in 2010. You Know What I Mean comes off of their debut self-titled studio-album Cults, which was released on June 7th, 2011 and is still pretty fresh. Head over to their website HERE for more music and info.

Brief Movie Review for 'The Hustler' (1961)

Movie: The Hustler (1961)
Director: Robert Rossen 
Rating: 4.2/5 Stars ****'

After seeing The Color Of Money (1986) I decide I should see the original, and I must say it was quite a bit better than the follow-up, even though he actually won the Oscar for the The Color Of Money (1986). Definitely check this movie out, its a classic Paul Newman movie and well worth watching, even more than once too :)

Your Daily Song: 'Black Tooth' by King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard (2011)

Ok, so I have been away on holiday again for the last week, but I am back now and here to keep the posts coming. Today's daily song is Black Tooth, by Australian indie/punk band King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard (might become KGTLW due to name length) are an indie band from Melbourne, Australia and consisting of members Stu Mackenzie, Eric Moore, Michael Cavanagh, Lucas Skinner, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, and Ambrose Kenny-Smith. Black Tooth is the first single released off of their debut EP titled Willoughby's Beach. If you search for them on ITunes you will also find they have released a more recent EP for purchase called Anglesea, so be sure to check that out as well if you like what you hear. Stay tuned....

Brief Movie Review for 'They Live' (1988)

Movie: They Live (1988)
Director: John Carpenter
Rating: 4/5 Stars ****

Wow, this film was way better than I thought it would be all things considered. I thought it was a horror movie when I first saw the cover, but it is actually more of a sci-fi adventure with heaps of social commentary on modern society and economics. Interestingly enough it seems to me to be a metaphor for the whole struggle between working blue-collar class vs. elite ruling class to just live a good life. The best quote in the movie was 'The golden rule is...he who has the gold rules.' There are also hints of anti-consumerism placed in this film, which for its time (the Reagan era) was quite a brave film to be put out there. The acting is mediocre, but the film is worth watching, and everyone should see it at least once. Also, if you search for this movie on youtube.com you will find that the whole movie is available for viewing.

Your Daily Song: 'Somebody That I Used To Know (Feat. Kimbra)' by Gotye (2011)

Today's feature song is Somebody That I Used To Know (Feat. Kimbra) by Australian musician Gotye. Gotye (Wouter De Backer) is multi-instrumental musician originally from Belgium but who now identifies himself as Australian and has been active in the music scene circa 2001. He is also one of the primary members of Melbourne-based pop-band The Basics. Somebody That I Used to Know is a single off of his latest album Making Mirrors, which is set for release on August 19th, 2011, and it features guest vocals from New Zealand singer/songwriter  Kimbra.