Meet Me in Montauk

Still my favorite movie of all time!

Cobain Biopic!!!!!!!!!

There are few things more exciting to me than the idea of a Kurt Cobain Biopic. Perhaps the possibility of a 2pac Biopic, or the possibility of winning the trip to the “Living a better story seminar." But aside from those things, nothing can be more meaningful than a movie made by an Oscar nominated director about a man who shared more in common with a teenage me than any of my peers. Nirvana’s music takes me back to the age of 17, where I was a college freshman, addicted to Marijuana and nitrous oxide, misunderstood by my fellow school peers and the “homies” on the block. A recluse, often surrounded by those that claimed to love him, a depressed young man that had everything going for him and a brilliant anti-social extrovert, I quickly fell in love with his music and felt that if anybody, he understood what I was going through. Cobains life was cut short by his own hand way before I even started listening to his music but his memory lives on through his music and through the fans that not only remember his life and departure, but know that his spirit lives on through his art. So to all of us that remember him and miss him, this movie will be monumental; another way to immortalize the grunge hero of the 90's!

Review: (500) Days of Summer

*****

“Tender Hearts Were Made to Be Broken” Athos from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.

It’s like somebody broke open the heart of every over-emotional, over thinking, neurotic young person and plastered it across the big screen. 500 Days of summer is an ode to those of whom Dumas speaks in the quote above. To anybody that has ever been in a relationship where love felt unrequited and unequal, this is your story! This story is more than just a romance but a pattern of thought and a way of life condensed into a 95 minute film.

The film itself, thoughtful while simultaneously comedic, focuses on the relationship of Tom and Summer. This film shares the emotional side of men through the unaccomplished life of Tom, an architecture student by training but greeting card writer by profession. Tom, destined from childhood to be a hopeless romantic, meets Summer at work on her first day and convinces himself that they are meant to be together based on various mutual interests. As time progresses Tom and Summer have separate perspectives on the relationship, Tom believing that they were destined to be together, Summer becoming fed up with their romance. Summer eventually breaks up with him and so begins the path of self discovery, pain and eventual acceptance with a thrust towards a promising future that is 500 Days of summer! I definitely recommend this film to those tender hearts that are frequently being broken and yet recognize that that is characteristic of them.

Review: Sin Nombre

****1/2

I’m sort of biased in this movie considering the fact that my favorite types of movies are gang movies but this one really is great. Sin Nombre is one of the best gang movies I have seen since American Me. The movie however isn’t only a gang film; it also shows how the gang world intersects with the trial, tragedy and triumph of illegal immigrants coming to America. It opens your eyes to the inner workings of what has been dubbed as America’s most dangerous gang (MS-13), and to the world of illegal immigration through train hopping.

The movie follows “Casper” a teenage gang member who is having a teenage love affair with a middle class teenage girl and attempts to hide it from his gang to keep her out of trouble. Meanwhile a sub plot shows Sayra, a teenage Honduran girl heading to the US with her father and uncle. Due to a twist of events you find Casper boarding the train towards America and Sayra becoming fascinated with Casper and his story after he saves her from an attempted rape.

The way that the gang is depicted seems to be very realistic. Based on what I have heard, read and seen in El Salvador. One thing that really stood out were the hand signal tagging seen on the walls of the movie which a saw identically made on walls in El Salvador. Another thing that I noticed that was very authentic was the tattoos, types of tattoos and placement of their tattoos. In El Salvador it is not uncommon for gang members to tattoo their faces, heads, lips or anything else. Also their heartless politics stood out and reminded me of a cousin of mine that was killed in El Salvador due to gang involvement with MS-13 itself.

In all this movie is a must see in my book so I left out the ending since I didn’t want to spoil the ending for you. Rent it, folks!

Review - Religulous

Religulous = a Portmanteau of two words, Religion and Ridiculous.
Its interesting to see the reaction of a person as the thing that they find most precious in this world is satirized and questioned by bill maher, a man whose face screams of condescension.
I watched Religulous with two of my friends from church (great crowd to watch it with, right?) And I made note of their every reaction to the subjects in question. At the end, after hearing everything that we heard, I immediately jumped to the forefront of the discussion I wanted to have by offering the suggestion that this movie was “great.” One of the guys looked at me like I had lost all faith in the lord jesus Christ, LOL. The other paused to hear my opinion.
You see Bill Maher takes a stance where he simply offers questions based on his perspective of world religions. Many times we take our faith to a level where we feel like it is above questioning. What I would like to understand is why we feel like we have to have all of the answers to questions about our religion? Why do we feel as if our belief is void if we question our faith…as if we sin by doubting certain things about our faith? And if somebody offers the same questions that we once had or continue having, why do we get offended?
To doubt and question is human. If you ask a person what they would say to God if they met him,99% of the time they will ask God a question based on something about life or their faith that they don’t understand. So why do we get angry when people ask the tough questions about our faith? Are we insecure? Does it make us feel stupid? Striking out and acting in an angry manner against the person that asks the questions only makes matter worse.
So here’s a thought. Why don’t we actually LEARN our religion, faith or belief…WELL!? Why not try to find an answer to the tough questions, that way when somebody comes with a tough question we won’t look like complete morons. We want to get away with the minimal amount of study of a belief that supposedly saved our lives or at the very least changed it.
When Maher asked the tough questions, I welcomed them. Answering the ones that I could and taking note of the difficult ones to study. Nothing that he asked came as a surprise to me because I’ve asked those and many more myself. I’m not afraid to say that I don’t know everything about my faith, but I am trying to find out as much as possible about the belief that changed my life. I do have questions about my faith but I’m trying to answer those questions, not only for others but also for myself. To keep the people from asking questions about their own belief is to keep them ignorant and naive about the answers which in turn makes us all look like idiots, which we are not.

2PAC MOVIE!!!

LOS ANGELES - Film production company Morgan Creek is in a legal turf war with the estate of Tupac Shakur.

The Rick Nicita-topped production house has sued Amaru Entertainment, the company run by Afeni Shakur, the late rapper’s mother and executor, alleging in a Los Angeles Superior Court filing that the company has backed out of an agreement to sell his life rights for a film adaptation.

Negotiations between Morgan Creek and Amaru began in November for life rights that would form the basis of the untitled project....
...Life rights and collaboration with an executor are not always necessary with a public figure like Shakur, though they would be essential if the filmmakers hope to include music, as they would in this case.

the rest of the article is HERE.

Do you realize what this means? It means that there have been recent talks about a 2Pac movie! I have been waiting for this since 1996 when Makaveli passed away. I am super excited about this possibility. If it really comes outI swear I will watch it 8 times!!! lol

Review: He's just not that into you.

I think that the best part about "He's just not that into you" is that you can relate, perhaps partially, to at least one of the various characters in the story. If you really look close you can see yourself going through one of the situations in the spectrum of relationship follies portrayed in this romantic comedy. From the person actively looking for clues to a potential love interest that doesn't truly exist, to the person being led on by another and trying to figure out what is going on in their situation; from the one that has completely given up trying to seek a relationship, to the one that is desperately desiring to get married, a vast array of situations leads to some of said situations being left at wayside while others are over analyzed. Either way this movie will have you laughing, empathizing, hating and simply loving the characters as they travel the dreaded waters of the dating world in a pursuit of the pinnacle of all relationships the possibility of finding true love.

Review: The Wrestler

The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke is such a great movie. Mickey Rourke marks a great return starring as a Middle aged Wrestler that is well past his prime and yet continues to do what he knows best. His unconventional love interest a stripper played by Marisa Tomei that is beginning to realize that her stripping days are coming to an end and develops a relationship with Rourke As He frequents her club in an attempt to woo her. Rourke lives a rather depressing life working part time at a grocery store and wrestling on the weekends with his glory days well behind him.

Without a doubt the best scenes are those between Rourke and his daughter Stephanie played By Evan Rachel Wood whom he apparently abandoned a number of years prior to his current time. The Wrestler is directed by Darren Aronofsky who changes his work as compared to earlier films but still manages to capture a gritty and raw picture that adds to the credibility of the film. Rourke definitely outdid himself in this great movie that I recommend to all of you.

New (Old) Movie...

So Last night I went to dimple records (my new favorite source for music and DVD's) and I happened to find Menace II society for $6! I was so excited and of course I bought it. You have got to love that movie if you grew up in that time period, wore that close, lived that life, and lived it fast. Even if you didn't its a great movie and a great portrayal of gang violence. And now it is added to my collection. My collection is getting good!

Tombstone

with lines such as:
"Hey Johnny, what did that Mexican mean by a sick horse is going to get us?"
"He was quoting the Bible, Revelations. "Behold the pale horse". The man who "sat on him was Death... and Hell followed with him".

and:

"What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?"
"A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it."
"What does he need?"
"Revenge."
"For what?"
"Bein' born."

and of course:

"From now on I see a red sash, I kill the man wearing it. So run you cur. And tell the other curs the law is coming. You tell 'em I'm coming! And Hell's coming with me you hear! Hell's coming with me!"

It's no wonder why a movie like "Tombstone would be one of my favorites. Actors such as Kurt Russell and the amazing performance of Val kilmer as doc holiday really take this movie and make it from a western into an instant classic. This has to be one of the coolest movies ever. Wyatt earp is displayed as being this man of legendary fame throughout the country in a time where the “cowboy” gang was reaching national notoriety. Doc Holiday on the other hand is an unsavory rebel that also shows a loving side when it comes to his friends, which he holds very dear. The two along with the rest of the gang team up to destroy the cowboys and what ensues is the greatest western perhaps of all time. If anybody doesn’t want to go back to the old west and become a sherrif after watching this movie, then you better check your pulse! Lol

If you’ve never seen it go rent it now!

Review: Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist

****1/2

An adolescent love story about two kids that almost serendipitously find each other, start to like each other even considering all their circumstances, and end up falling in love all in one night. Given it isn't the most credible of stories for an adult, your inner adolescent slips out during this charming tale, to believe perhaps naively that a night and a romance like this could actually happen.

Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist appeals to your young and carefree side as the crew sets out on an unending moonlight tour of New York to find the fictional ( I think the band is fictional?) ever-evading, legendary, emo rock band “Where’s fluffy?” the connection between every person in the movie.

Nick, an over-emotional bass player for a band, is attempting to get over his recent heart breaking with his girlfriend, when he meets Norah, the rich yet easy going girl who is compassionate towards his heartbreak and yet wants him for herself. The two end up getting to know each other on a search for Where’s fluffy as well as her missing drunk friend who escapes from the bands van in the midst of the confusion of the night.

Aside from the fairly week soundtrack, Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist is a great movie. I definitely recommend it as a date movie or as a “friend night” movie alike. Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist will have you laughing and also sappily smiling from ear to ear at the romantic moments between the two protagonists.

Review: Definitely Maybe

*****

So Last night I watched one of the best movies I've seen in a while. (Well actually, the best movie I saw before that was the Bucket List...What is it with great movies coming out lately?)

Definitely Maybe, starring The witty Ryan Reynolds and the quirky yet adorable Isla Fishers, Is a story about a 30-something year old dad that decides to share the path down his love story with his daughter. Reminiscing about a few past love interests, he and his daughter come to the conclusion that even after all this time, he had yet to find his one true love.

Reynolds plays a convincing role as a campaign worker turned businessman who hates his job and finds consolation only in seeing his daughter two days out of the week. Reynolds is confused about his past love life and doesn't see the clues that his past loves drop on him (as many guys can relate) and often has his young daughter reveal small details and clues to him.
My personal favorite parts of the movie include the acting skills of Reynolds and Fisher Themselves who did a phenomenal job on this movie, the music of Nirvana and Sinatra during their "early 90's" scenes, and the story line revolving around the '92 Bill Clinton Campaign. These were small things I liked about the movie aside from the storyline itself, which was exceptional.

movie that gets me

The bucket list! It's not just the clever rantings of Jack Nicholson or the serenity and knowledge portrayed by Morgan Freeman that make me love this movie but the main subject of the movie: mortality.

To me, death has always been another part of life as worthy as discussing as the weather and gas prices. It's not that I am incredibly morbid or morose; anyone that has ever met me can vouch for that, I’m actually a very upbeat person: ). It is the simple fact that I consider death as a simple part of life and therefore equally worthy of discussion as anything else. And so I speak of death freely.

I often wonder about my funeral and what "my world" would be like without me. I am always wondering who would show up to my funeral, who wouldn't and who I wouldn't allow in. In my own funeral processions, I have a vip list, a general audience, and a bouncer at the door for those that didn't truly care about me in life. :)

My daily conversations contain verbiage such as “what would you do If I died?” or “would you cry if I died?” or even, "That person isn't allowed to go to my funeral.” Lol. People think I’m joking around about it but death is very real to me. I was born one day and likewise, one day I will die. It is not a big deal, but it is a real deal.
There are many things that I want to accomplish, try and have before I go on to be with Jesus. Nonetheless my reality is that one day, I will go on to be with Jesus and when that day comes, I don’t want anybody to be surprised. I want those that truly love me to remember me, even if just for a while and then forget me and continue on living their lives happily.