I feel like I apologise way toomuch for not posting so I'll make it quick. Sorry for being away for a
little over a year! And now that's over and done with, let's get right into it!
So what's been happening in the year we've been away? The answer to that dear reader is that I've been digging my teeth into the world of K-Pop. It started with one music video and now I'm here one year later with playlists full if it.
So here we go! This is my year in Kpop
f(x) - 4 Walls
Album: 4 Walls Why you should listen: It's f(x)'s long awaited comeback since the
departure of Sulli in 2014. This single caught me by surprise with
it's house vibe. Compared to their past releases, this one caught me bysurprise and it's nice to hear Amber actually singing more than rapping. Actually the whole album caught me by surprise. 4 Walls as an album is a work that I recommend as a whole. Other Notable Releases: X, Diamond (but really everything on the 4 Walls Album is gold.)
SHINee - Married to the Music
Album: Married to the Music (Repackage) Why you should listen: This was the first Kpop song that actually
encouraged me to have a look at an entire album. It is also the song
that I first recommend to other people. I have mentioned before that I love a good brass section and the chorus is all about that. And the
music video is a lot of fun to watch as well with its Halloween, Rocky Horror Picture Show-esque theme. Other Notable Releases: View, Odd Eye, (the whole album is pretty darn good anyway)
Well this is awkward. Long time no see guys! I haven't written anything since about January and I'm so sorry about that! Here's a quick little life update with what's been going on which will hopefully explain this unintentional hiatus. Part-time jobs took up pretty much all of our time and energy throughout the summer and then when February rolled in, Justine was off on holiday around Europe and then an exchange in Spain while I spent an amazing holiday in the USA. Yes, this girl finally got to visit a Disney Park and it was amazing. And right as we got back it was time for university once again. This year I've started law school and I can rightfully say that it is hectic. So, in saying that, updates won't be coming as often. But I will try to write when I can.
Last week I found out that I won tickets to go see Cinderella and I finally got to see it today. So here I am, putting my thoughts down once again while Justine is off at a Ricky Martin concert. I'll see if I can convince her to write a little something about it. No promises. Today, with two of my Once Upon a Time watching sisters, a bottle of Mountain Dew, a bucket of popcorn and a bag of chocolate buttons, it was time to experience yet another Disney live-action remake. Fun fact, I was also sitting next to a teacher from my old high school. I can't say this is the first time this has happened.
Watch the trailer for Cinderella (2015)
This live-action adaptation of Cinderella is simply
beautiful, vibrant and refreshing. It’s a massive step up from Maleficent
(2014) who took creative liberties and almost made it an unrecognisable story.
I did initially enjoy Maleficent, but I took it in and realised that some
choices were questionable. Cinderella (2015) takes the classic tale and adds welcomed
embellishments here and there, rather than turning it on its head.
Hello there readers! Long time no see. I guess I’ll get the
apologies out of the way. After exams ended I was thrust straight into the
world of work once again and let me tell you… retail around the holiday season
is no laughing matter. There have been many things that we’ve been dying to
write about but so often they have been left as drafts and cast aside,
unfinished and forgotten. But hey, now that we’re into the new year, new
movies, new music… hopefully we can get back into the swing of things.
This post has been in the works for a while and I have tried
to start and finish it on many occaisions. I guess you could say that I’m in
denial, I can’t believe that The Legend of Korra is over and that I have to
carry on without any new episodes. Mind you it’s already been about a month
already. This is not the kind of life I want to live! All dramatics aside, like
I’ve said, I’ve tried to write this finale post from different angles. A lot of
times it just turned into a scene- by-scene retelling of the episodes. And
that’s definitely not what I wanted. So hopefully, I have more luck with this one.
by Justine My very first venture into the world of Edward Norton was actually spurred by my dad when he suggested I watch Primal Fear. From that point on, I have consistently awed by his dedication to his roles, the vision he has for his character and, let's face it, he's got this whole duality thing sorted. I discovered the existence of American History X whilst exploring Mr. Norton's Wikipedia page and, seeing as I liked him so much in Primal Fear, I thought why not. I couldn't possibly have anticipated how much I would enjoy this film.
Derek Vinyard (Norton) is the young, skinhead protege of a white supremacist, neo-Nazi named Cameron. He leads a small group of angry, pissed off, white people in a modern day crusade to take back his neighbourhood from the "niggers" and "spics". His brother Danny follows close behind, idolising his brother and breathing in the propaganda. When a poor decision by Derek leads to his incarceration, Derek learns about the consequences of his life choices and sets out to save his brother from a similar fate.
Don't be misled by the title. This film has very little to do with American history in the strict sense of the term. In fact, I think the film makes a great comment about the nature of history itself. History doesn't necessarily have to mean Hitler and great wars, history can be personal too. The X in American History X represents an x-ing of conventional attitudes towards history instead encouraging people to look at their own histories and analyse the events that shaped their lives. This is a strong theme in the film. It is illustrated particularly by Sweeney's rejection of Danny's essay on Mein Kampf (for those of you who aren't history enthusiasts, that's a book written by Hitler during his prison sentence) instead encouraging him to write about his brother and how events surrounding him have come to shape Danny's own life.
This brings us to the theme of familial influence. The crux of this story is Derek's influence over his brother, which at first pulled him into a life of violence and extreme prejudice, but which he is now trying to use to undo the damage. We also see the influence that Cameron has initially over Derek and now over Danny as he assumes the father-figure role. Sweeney also takes on this paternal role and uses his influence to alter the trajectory of both boys' lives. This story is very much about family and how they can both save and destroy each other.
This film plays with linearity using black and white to distinguish events from the past from events in the present. It also does a great job of representing Derek's mindset in the past - black and white. I'm not sure if I'm being all english-teacher-y by reading into that but that's how I saw it. I do enjoy when films manipulate time. It sort of makes it feel like you're putting together a puzzle - when you start, there's no real systematic order in which you put the pieces together but maybe you'll find two pieces that fit together and then another two that fit together. The way that a film unravels which it plays around with time gives you that feeling of discovery which I love. These "flashbacks" also serve as a means of showing us critical events from Derek and Danny's pasts that have shaped who they have become - the basketball game, the murder, the uh prison shower bit. This all plays into the greater concept of history being personal events that mould us into who we are.
As in every one of his films, Norton absolutely kills it. Despite his age, he always seems to look very boyish. For this film he packed on the muscle, grew some manly facial hair and transformed himself from scared little Aaron in Primal Fear to this ruthless beast that just emanated hate and self-satisfaction. Norton returns to his roots of duality by contrasting this hardened white supremacist with his post-prison self who is more aware, accepting and rejecting of his past. Norton manages to aptly show both the hardness and harshness of pre-prison Derek with the softer, more family oriented and loving brother figure of post-prison Derek. The fact that the audience is able to feel strong emotions towards the same character but in two completely different ways is testament to Norton's brilliance as an actor.
This is an absolute must see film. Yes, the beginning is awkward to watch with your parents, yes there's a tonne of violence and yes, the director was a bit of a ... fill in the blank BUT this film also has some of the most amazing symbolism and imagery (e.g. the proud exposure of his swastika vs his desire to cover it post-prison, the pouring of milk onto the black woman's face at the grocery store, the taking down of Danny's Nazi paraphernalia in his bedroom). It is also filled with fantastic monologues that, though severely racist and prejudiced, ask the real questions and make you question what you believe and how you feel about certain situations (why IS it that Europeans can come to America and prosper while the hispanic and black population seem to be living in poverty?). It is controversial no doubt but it opens up a dialogue and it really makes you think.
"Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. So if you can't top it, steal from them and go out strong."
by Daniela
I have a confession to make. I am 21, I watch Girl Meets World, and I have no shame. Yes, I actually haven't watched Disney Channel religiously since I was about 14. Okay, that does sound a bit out of the demographic but Hannah Montana was my thing. If you ask a lot of people today, many would say that Disney Channel shows are on the decline as the quality of the shows aren't what they used to be. I might even go out and say that Disney Junior is probably better than the main channel. But that's just me.
So why is 21 year old me watching a show that's aimed at tween girls? The answer may be no surprise to you, but growing up, I was huge fan of it's predecessor, Boy Meets World. Boy first aired in my birth year but growing up, you could always find a timeslot where they aired episodes in order from season 1. Although some of the themes may have gone right over my head, it was still entertaining and memorable. Who could forget Cory and Topanga's first interaction and Topanga smearing red lipstick all over her face? Naturally, when word of sequel started circulating, this peaked my interest and I was anxiously waiting for a premiere date. But has it lived up to the hype?
Edward Norton and Kevin Spacey are without a doubt two of my favourite actors. So, I thought it might be interesting to pit their films against each other and see who really is the king of the silver screen. I'll be doing a part by part series of either a Norton or Spacey film for the next few weeks starting this week with Academy Award winning American Beauty.
This film came out in 1999 when I was all of about five years old. I remember seeing it at the video store and in my little five year old brain thinking that it was some documentary about beauty pageants or something. Well...it wasn't. I watched it for the first time twelve years later in 2011 when I selected it to be one of my film studies for my English scholarship exam. Needless to say, I was completely blown away by the complexity of it, the social commentary, the phenomenal camera work and of course, the stellar performances by Annette Benning, Thora Birch, Meena Suvari, Wes Bentley and most of all, Kevin Spacey.
by Daniela Studio: Walt Disney Pictures Release Date: March 13 2015
Disney has started having a knack for taking their classic tales and creating live-action retellings. Earlier this year we had Maleficent, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the villain, and we also have future projects like The Jungle Book on the horizon. If we take Maleficent as an example, the main issue that a lot of Disney fans took from it was its disregard for a lot of the "source" material (the 1959 animated film) and completely rewriting a lot of what we already knew. So, is it a good idea for Disney to reimagine the story of one of the most iconic princesses?
It's really no surprise that Disney has decided to Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo around with the story of Cinderella. Aside from their animated film from 1950, there have been many adaptations of this Grimm tale. One that I hold close to my heart is the Rodgers and Hammerstein's versions, this includes the Broadway show and the Brandy TV special. I grew up with In My Own Little Corner and Ten Minutes Ago was one of the first songs I learned on the ukulele. With all these different adaptations of one classic fairytale, it does make me wonder how far away Disney is willing to veer away from their version of the story of which they established.
by Justine
As I delve deeper into the Tarantino sphere I find myself watching the strangest, craziest films in existence. One such film is vampire cult classic, From Dusk Till Dawn. While Mr. Quentin Tarantino both wrote the screenplay and starred in the film, he did not in fact direct it. It was directed by Robert Rodriguez. You may be wondering why the name of this film sounds familiar. It's probably because Robert Rodriguez has decided to remake the classic into a TV series by the same name which aired this year. Admittedly, that's how I heard about the film in the first place.
This isn't your typical complex storyline, genius art that we normally see from Tarantino. In fact, it may be the complete opposite. While the dialogue certainly has that Tarantino-esque flavour to it the actual plot of the film is very much "let's slay some vampires". It's frequently labelled a B grade film and for good reason. It's sloppy in terms of storytelling. There's no character development (unless you count Kate becoming a badass) and there seems little purpose to it at all.
The film stars George Clooney (I know right...) as recent prison escapee Seth Gecko who along with his unnecessarily violent and rape-y brother Richie (played by Tarantino) robs a bank and tries to make it across the border into Mexico with the help of a travelling pastor (Harvey Keitel) and his two children. All appears to be going well until the Gecko brothers are instructed to meet drug lord Carlos with their money at a nude bar called "The Titty Twister", tasteful, I know. Unbeknownst to the brothers, the bar is actually a haven for endless blood-thirsty vampires who feast on the truckers and bikers that wander in. The second half of the film is predominantly staking and killing vampires. And no, not the sparkly, Edward Cullen kind, I'm talking grotesque, horrific THINGS. I don't know if it's just me but somehow I feel like that's how vampires are supposed to look.
The most iconic scene, and perhaps the films only redeeming quality, is Santánico's snake dance. She's played by a very scantily clad Salma Hayek who dances with a snake wrapped around her neck. She saunters over to an awestruck Richie Gecko and does the whole "I'm going to pour whiskey into your mouth using my foot" thing. Not quite sure what that's about but other than Clooney's "Be cool" line, it's probably the most memorable moment in the film. I'm not going to post a clip here but you'll find it on YouTube no doubt.
I have a few questions regarding this film:
1. Why, when writing the script for a character you are playing, would you make him a violent rapist? I know Tarantino's twisted and everything but yikes.
2. Why does no-one explain why Richie is so psychotic? Fortunately, this is something that is explored in the TV series so kudos to Mr. Rodriguez.
3. Why are the vampires so easy to kill? Now I'm not saying they didn't put up a fight but Seth pretty much dropped a chandelier on Santántico and boom, dead.
Rodriguez sort of has a second chance with the TV series. From what I've seen of it so far, it certainly takes its time around character development and backstory which I think is incredibly important. If drawn out and re-written properly plot-wise, I think this film could have some real, solid, material. However, as it stands, the film doesn't seem particularly impressive or special to me.
If you're not easily offended by violence and nudity then I'd check it out but it's definitely not a must-see. In fact, if you're going to watch anything, I'd watch the TV series. I've only seen two episodes thus far and it's already better than the film. No offence Tarantino! I still love you!
As the years go on, the quality of movies seem to decline. When we look at iconic years like 1994 that produced world renowned classics like The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction or even Forrest Gump, what we have begun to produce in the 20 years following seems trivial and completely unoriginal. I'm tired of being able to sit in a movie theatre and be able to predict the entire plot from start to finish based solely on the first five minutes (*cough cough* Pitch Perfect). We've all seen the oh-so-predictable girl meets boy, boy screws up, girl hates boy, boy redeems himself and boom, happily ever after. I am NOT a fan. I'm also not such a great believer in happy endings, somehow I feel that more realistic endings have a greater appeal.
Psychological thrillers are one of my favourite genres of film. Why? Because in order to totally mess with your mind, the writers actually have to sit and think of clever twists in the plot. They have to find a way to lure you into a false sense of security and then turn everything upside down. Admittedly, it has been a LONG time since Hollywood produced a good psychological thriller. Standouts for me have definitely been Primal Fear, Fight Club and of course the unforgettable Silence of the Lambs. It's pretty much impossible to dislike Anthony Hopkins. That being said, Hollywood finally decided to prove to itself, and the world, that they still have it in them to produce something original and hence, Gone Girl.
Now for those of you who are more sensitive viewers, there is a certain amount of nudity, sex and violence so be aware. If you're easily offended by this kind of thing, you're probably not going to want to watch this.
I went to see this film in the theatre with my family. I had high expectations given the hype surrounding it and the fact that David Fincher was the director, myself being an unaware fan of his work (Fight Club (duh!), Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - all of which I only recently discovered her directed). Given my experience with Fight Club I was expecting some kind of crazy twist and the film did not disappoint. I'm going to try my very best here not to give away any spoilers!
On the night of the October 27th I was going mad. Why you may ask? Because I didn't realise that 1989 was going to be released on iTunes that night, the 28th was the official NZ release date. So I spent that night listening to the three tracks I already had on a loop to mentally prepare myself. But a few hours later, on the 28th, I woke up early and walked in the rain to go get my physical copy of the deluxe album. You see, I really wanted those Polaroids, bonus tracks and songwriting voice memos. Did I overreact? Probably. But here I am, having listened to the album for about a week, and ready to tell you dear reader, if it was all worth it.
The two year mark since Red has passed and Taylor Swift is back and ready to start the 1989 era. Which means it's time for me to put the fangirl glasses down (but keep my regular glasses on) and get ready for a new track-by-track review. Bear with me because I'm still figuring out how I like to do these. I like to rate the songs individually based on what I like and what they are like musically (instrumentation, rhythm etc.). Also, bear with me as it's hard to find unpitched versions of new songs.
1989 is Swift's first official pop album, no matter how much iTunes tries to label it as country. For some reason mine was categorised as Country & Folk... okay iTunes. It's a massive gamble for someone to switch genres but Taylor has been toeing that line between country and pop for a long time. If you take a look at Red (2012) there were still some elements of country with twangy guitars but the same record toyed with elements of dubstep. So I guess it was only natural for the official switchover to happen. But let's see if it paid off. Hold on tight people, it's a long one!
by Daniela Year: 2012 Studio: Laika
Happy Halloween lovely reader(s)! You're probably having a better Halloween than me because this girl has an exam on Saturday! Hooray for the university student life! Now, a lot of you may have expected me to write about The Nightmare Before Christmas, and even I thought I was going to for the longest time. But I thought I'd shake things up a bit and not talk about something non-Disney related for once in my life. I mean, Nightmare could also be a great movie to talk about around Christmas time, just sayin'.I remember one summer when I was trying to decide between ParaNorman and Frankenweenie. Up to that point I had often mixed the two up. Eventually I went for ParaNorman and to this day, I still haven't watched past the first 15 minutes of Frankenweenie. I blame myself for being easily distracted.
Norman isn't a normal young boy. In fact, Norman can see and communicate with the dead. It's tough being the weird kid in the town of Blithe Hollow when you're considered an outcast even in your own family. But one day Norman comes across his uncle who informs him about the witch's curse that has been placed over the town. Suddenly, the undead have come out to play. Zombies begin to crawl out of their graves and seem to be targeting the town. Along with a troupe of unlikely companions, Norman must use his abilities to save the town. In his attempts he discovers the shocking truth about the curse and must find a way to stop it from haunting them ever again.
Would you trust this gang to save you from a Zombie Apocalypse?
By Daniela Year: 2013 Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Halloween is just around the corner so I thought I'd get a headstart with the spooky posts! The toys are back with an all new adventure in this special that follow the events of Toy Story 3. I'm still getting over that ending. this 21 minute T.V. special is Pixar's way of building on the mega-successful franchise without having to release another full length film. I would also suggest watching the Toy Story shorts like Hawaiian Vacation, Small Fry and Partysaurus Rex. They're cute and still manage to contain everything we loved about the films in just a few minutes.
Car troubles during their road trip force Bonnie and her mother to stay at the Sleep Well Motel for the night and things escalate quickly for the toys. Woody and the gang find themselves in a frightening situation where one-by-one they are captured by a mysterious figure lurking in the motel. Together they must overcome many obstacles to survive the night and hopefully return to Bonnie before she leaves in the morning. And for one toy, the obstacle may just be facing their biggest fears.
Glow in the dark Buzz lights the way for Woody and Jessie
by Justine
FIVE YEARS! It's been FIVE YEARS! Tokio Hotel have sure taken their time in producing their latest album Kings of Suburbia but just one listen through the album will tell you why. The twins, Bill and Tom Kaulitz, relocated to LA not long after the release of their previous album, Humanoid. Contrary to what normal people may believe about LA, it seems the city provided them with a much more "live-able" lifestyle. In Germany it didn't seem like they had much chance to leave their homes or live like everyday people (I'm guessing that's what World Behind My Wall was about). The G's, Georg and Gustav, remained in Germany but the twins seem to have found a more comfortable and free lifestyle in the US. Undoubtedly, this fuelled a new kind of creativity of which the product is Kings of Suburbia. The boys have certainly shocked with their drastically different sound but once over the initial "what the hell?!" this album is actually quite good.
Feel It All
The song starts with a soft electric sound followed by a drum beat and a rather different sounding vocal from Bill. It's not nearly as auto-tuned as the other songs on this album and you can actually hear Bill's voice. It has a fairly simple structure with a very electric and "studio produced" feel rather than their trademark "live rock band" sound. While it's not exactly a stand out on the album, I find it easy to listen to and quite likeable. It's a good opening track as it's a subtle introduction to the new sound.
Stormy Weather
SO MUCH AUTO-TUNE! I sometimes wonder how on earth Bill is going to perform some of these songs live! Not that I don't doubt he can hit the high notes (he did manage to get that extremely high note in Love and Death on their Welcome to Humanoid City Tour after all). BUT, that being said, I actually really like this song. I like the low tones at the beginning of the song and the fact that the electric guitar actually plays a role in the song. The beat is great and it has a lot of power. It's one of my favourites on the album. My only criticism would be the lack of inventive lyrics in the chorus and the poor grammar (It is "a" stormy weather? Just no...). I can imagine them rocking out to this in concert - in fact I think it would be a great opening number for their tour (*hint hint*).
by Daniela
Disclaimer: Daniela is not responsible for anyone not being able to "control their feels" or any hysterical crying that may occur. These include ugly sobbing, sad faces, and hitting anyone right in the childhood. You have been warned.
We have all fallen victim to the trap that are so-called "children's movies." They lure you in with their colourful and cheery appearance but once you realise that it was all a facade... it's too late. You're too invested and there's no turning back now. Fun fact, I actually don't cry in movies (Justine on the other hand) but I have come very close on a few occasions. I'm just the person who just gets really sad who just can't shake that gut wrenching feeling afterwards. Over the past day or two, I've been putting together a list of all these heart wrenching scenes from these movies from our childhood. I even asked my friends and very helpful tumblr followers. So please take note that this is only a part of that ever-growing list. In other words, I'll be writing a part 2 at some point. So grab your box of tissues and tubs of ice-cream and let's get started. *deep breaths*
by Justine
Greetings dear readers, today you will be getting more bang for your buck! Last night I attended the concert of famous, suited-up legend, Justin Timberlake along with my friend Jai. He has asked (countlessly) to guest blog so today we're giving him the chance. The first part of this blog will be my review of the concert and the second part will be his.
Straight into it then?
It's been 7 years since JT last graced the stage at Vector Arena in Auckland, and there was 13 year old me, with my family, sitting for the first time in said arena and seeing my first concert in NZ. Now, at 20 years old (*shudder*) I found myself there again, this time clad in the overpriced JT shirt I'd purchased at that last concert and with significantly better seats. We were lower bowl this time, about three rows from the floor and stage left with a freaking incredible view.
The opening act was relatively dull. It was just a DJ with his set playing an array of music and hoping to get people jumping. It was forgettable most certainly. However, it didn't make that much of a difference really - who wants an opening act that outshines the headliner anyway? (I'm looking at you PussyCat Dolls...).
By quarter to nine the show really started. The set was excellent. There was just enough room on the stage for JT and his crew to show off their superb dance moves with the Tennessee Kids (his band) directly behind looking like they were having the time of their life. A flight of stairs rose behind the band from which JT emerged atop with the stage-length screen flickering to life behind him. The opening song was the first song on his most recent album, The 20/20 Experience, called Pusher Love Girl. Admittedly, I'd only heard the song for the first time directly before the concert in my mad rush to familiarise myself with at least SOME of the new songs.
My apologies for the serious lack of posts these last few weeks! Uni is definitely cracking down with only two weeks to finals so forgive us! I'll try my best to catch up on some posts!
It seems relatively unanimous that Pitbull should NEVER be allowed to write/perform the official song to any event. Let's face it, of all the songs that could have been the official song of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Pitbull's We Are One (Ole Ola) was probably the worst option. If the song itself wasn't bad enough, the lacklustre performance at the opening was the icing on the cake. For this week's blog, I'll be looking at five songs that would have been MUCH better options for the official 2014 World Cup song.
1. Vida - Ricky Martin
I do actually prefer the Spanish version of this song (there's one in Portuguese as well - the man is thorough!) but this was the only one with a video. As you may know already, Ricky Martin sang the official FIFA World Cup song in 1998. He did a killer job then with The Cup of Life and I personally think that his song Vida this year should have been a strong contender for the official song. It has a great, upbeat tempo with a characteristic Latin party flavour. Martin is also a pretty decent live performer and he sure puts on a show so I imagine the live performance of this would have definitely outshone Pitbull's lifeless performance. The song is catchy and fun and I can definitely picture hoards of people dancing to it in the streets of Brazil!
Some of you may or may not know that I’m an avid listener of
the Rotoscopers: Animation Addicts Podcast and I also love their website. In fact, they were actually the inspiration to start this blog when I first mentioned the
idea to Justine. Earlier this year they posted a list of Disney Classics they’d
love to see on Broadway (which you can check out here) and it made me think
about what movies I’d like to see turned into full-blown musicals. So although
this may be a similar list, these are my own reasons.
Over the last year or so, I’ve started to really enjoy
listening to cast recordings like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Wicked
and Newsies so I’m fairly new to the Broadway fandom (if you have any show
suggestions for me, please comment them down below or leave me a message on
tumblr). I enjoy musicals even though I don’t even know how a show is put
together. So please excuse my very unexperienced point of view. I’ve only seen
a handful of musicals in my 21 years. The first being one in Philippines with THE
Lea Salonga, unfortunately I can’t even remember what it was called… I was 5 or 6. I
did see Beauty and the Beast when I was 10! Now I constantly check the ticket
websites and try and find the next big show playing in the city.
Disney has had its hand in Broadway musicals and they’re pretty
good at it. Just check out their Tonys and nominations! Their most recent venture is an adaptation of Aladdin and they are
also currently working on developments for The Jungle Book and also Frozen’s big break on Broadway (it was bound to
happen). They’re also responsible for bringing Beauty and the Beast, The Lion
King, Tarzan, and The Little Mermaid to life on stage. Other shows also include
Mary Poppins, Aida, Newsies and many more. So here’s a few more movies I’d love
to see make their Broadway debut.
First of all, I'm so sorry that we didn't post anything new at all last week. University is starting to wind down for the year which means due dates, due dates, due dates (say that ten times fast)! I'd hate for that to be a regular excuse that we use but that's the harsh reality of that university student life. But let's move on, shall we?
Since the first The Hunger Games (2012) movie was released, I've not only been a fan of the books and movies but also the companion soundtracks! Safe and Sound, Elastic Heart and Shooting Arrows In The Sky are still probably my favourite tracks from the first two albums.for Mockingjay - Part 1, things have started to take a different turn. Lorde is at the helm of the album and has been assigned the task of selecting the songs she thinks fit the theme of the film. It's a huge step in her career especially since she's arguably one of the newcomers taking the world by storm. She did appear on the Catching Fire soundtrack with a dark and broody cover of Everybody Wants to Rule the World. So how does Yellow Flicker Beat match-up to its predecessors?
Over the last few years I've started to pay attention to animated short films. It's probably the perfect thing for a lazy person like me who can't seem to sit through a whole movie at home. For some reason a 90 minute movie can weirdly become a 3 hour chore.
For any Disney and/or Pixar fan you'll know that their shorts premiere before their feature films. Get a Horse played before Frozen, Paperman before Wreck-it Ralph, The Blue Umbrella before Monsters University etc. It's no different when it comes to Pixar's Lava (2015) and Walt Disney Animation's Feast (2014). Disney and Pixar shorts are known for their memorable characters and beautiful scores. I sometimes wonder how in the world they made me care so much for an umbrella of all things! Don't even get me started on how much I love the music in Paperman! Although these Feast and Lava are still relatively unknown and some time away, slowly and surely Disney and Pixar have been releasing little glimpses to tease us for what's to come.
I had originally planned to write on a completely different subject this week, however, Tokio Hotel just happened to release their new video for second single Girl Got a Gun from their long awaited album (I'm talking 5 years here!) Kings of Suburbia.
The boys have announced that they will be releasing three singles before the whole album becomes available in early October. The first single released was the very un-Tokio Hotel song, Run Run Run. Now I admit, upon hearing the song for the first time, I wasn't quite sure. My favourite TH songs had always had more of a rock feel and I loved the messages in the lyrics. It took a while for the song to grow on me but eventually I was able to accept that a lot can change in five years. They grew up in that time so naturally the music should be different.
I know a fair bit of TH fans were disappointed upon hearing Run Run Run as Georg and Gustav (the G's) seem to have been excluded. The music video released shortly after only featured the twins; Tom on the piano with a cigarette close by, and Bill sitting on a speaker wearing insanely high heels and sporting a short, blonde look - significantly different from the mohawk and lion's mane us fans were used to. The video is completely in black and white with a play on light. Bill's voice sounds quite different although it's probably the result of some auto-tune. The lyrics however did seem to have some resonance with the past TH but it still took some getting used to.
Now, onto Girl Got a Gun. The single was released last week and I was thrilled to have it pop up on my phone that morning. I was a bit disappointed at the song length (2mins 46? Really?) but in any case, having earlier accepted that TH have changed, I took to this song more easily. It certainly didn't sound like anything that they'd done before but it was catchy - especially considering the chorus only consists of the words "Girl got a gun, girl got gun gun gun, girl got a gun, girl got a gun, bang bang" repeated over an over. It's like some strange tongue twister! The rhythm and beat are pretty good so no complaints there.
Naturally, having taken to the song, I simply could not wait until the release of the video! In my head I was picturing the production that was Automatic or Monsoon. I had been obsessively checking YouTube and their website until they finally announced that it would be release on the 23rd of September.
f(x) - 4 Walls
