"It will change your life..."

One of my all time favorite movies is Garden State and one of my all time favorite lines happens in a waiting room of a doctor's office. Here the Natalie Portman approaches Zach Braff with her headphones and tells him he has to hear this song because "it will change his life."

I love music, and I think most people do as well. When I first heard this line I started thinking, what songs, albums, bands etc. have changed my life? What are my influences?

For me, my favorite bands, and this is just a few because there are really too many to name, are:
Oasis, the Beatles, Dave Matthews Band, Belle and Sebastian, the Dandy Warhols...etc.
Favorite albums: What's the Story Morning Glory, Tigermilk, 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia...etc.

Sure it's easy to list the favorites but then I got to thinking, what really changed my life? What song brings me back to a defining moment in my life. Such as everytime I hear a song from John Mayer's "Room for Squares" cd, the one with "No Such Thing" and "Your Body's a Wonderland" I am taken back to my sophomore year of high school and learning how to drive. That was a big year in my life. Another album that changed my life was "Don't Believe the Truth" by Oasis. It came out around the time that I was making a lot of changes in my life. For the first time I was starting to take charge and feel like an adult. That album was there for me through all of that.

So now I pose the question to you. What changed your life?

The things that stick with you...

Have you ever seen a movie or read a book that just stuck with you long after you left the theatre or finished the book? Something just sticks with you and makes you constantly think about it at random times. This has happened to me on more than one occassion.

I recently saw the movie Atonement and it just hasn't left me. If you haven't seen it you need to. It just makes you think about the consequences of misunderstandings, of lies, and if redemption is ever a possibility. A week and a half after seeing the movie I'm still thinking about it. It's amazing how one lie can affect so many people, how a misunderstanding can escalate to so much more.

I guess, in the end, whenever I have these moments I feel as though in a way, it's changed me. Like I'm different in some way because of this. Do you ever feel that way?

Music Takes Me Back...

I have always found that music is one of the best triggers of memory. I can hear a song that I haven't heard since 3rd grade and suddenly I'm transported back to that time and a particular moment I heard that song. It amazes me just how one song can do that. I once read one of my favorite directors, Cameron Crowe talking about his film Almost Famous. The movie is semi-autobiographical and so he was talking about how he remembered that time in his life. He said something like, "I just pop in records and I'm immediately transported back to that time and place. There's no need for journals or written records of any kind. All I need is the music." I know exactly what he's talking about.

Once More, Please!

This weekend I rented the independent film Once. I had read numerous reviews about how wonderful it was and how is was the film of the year. I am usually a sceptic when it comes to these things so I decided to check it out for myself. I am happy to report that it exceeded my grandest expectations!

The film is set in Ireland and follows two people, one a heartbroken street musician trying to get a record deal, and a talented immigrant whom he meets. They begin to make music together that illustrates the progression of their relationship during this one week.

The movie itself is no major Hollywood production. It's simple. Just two people singing and walking through the streets of Ireland. It's fascinating to watch the progression of their relationship. They are two, very real, very normal people trying to express through song what they can't express through direct conversation.

This movie, to me, represents what a lot of films nowadays have lost. The story is simple but heartwrenching. It's realistic and makes you relaize this thing happens everyday. It takes a moment in time and magnifies it for the world to see. That's what the Transformers, Harry Potters, and Superbads of the industry have failed to do. Now, I'm not trying to knock these movies but what I'm trying to say is that film used to be about showing people things that happen everyday, but in the process depicting something that we don't pay attention to, that slips by unnoticed. That's what Once has achieved and I have to agree, it is definetly one of my favorite films of 2007.

Don't Judge a Movie Before You See the Advertisements!

Critics these days are absolutely ridiculous when it comes to critiquing a movie! If the story has heart they will call it "soft" and "sappy." If it is has blood and gore they will call it a "blockbuster." If it is controversial and offends any group of people they will call it a "must-see." Sometimes they don't even read the small synopsis about the movie before they go and see it. Then they make claims against the movie when it is obvious they haven't read anything about it!

A perfect example of their stupidity is the critiques I read for the new movie August Rush. The movie is about an orphaned musical prodigy who believes that if he plays his music his parents will find him and they will live happily ever after. It's a story with heart and very little controversy! However, all the critics seem to say is that it is completely unrealistic. This comes after the movie advertised itself as a drama with fairytale elements!

I swear it's like they don't even listen to the advertisements before they watch it! They just want to tear something apart because it lacks the three essentials to make it in Hollywood: sex, violence, and controversy. If it doesn't have naked women, guns blazing, and something offensive then it will be torn apart. What a sad state Hollywood is in!

Holiday for Two

Okay, I'm taking a short break from my movie rants to address a problem that has been coming to my attention quite frequently recently. Why do commercials during the holidays promote couples? I was watching tv and I swear within a 30 minute period I must have seen 4 Zales commercials! Why? I feel like I am constantly being slammed with this promotion of marriage. And it only increases during the holidays!

I know that holidays are generally the time you spend with the ones you love. Places like Zales are just taking advantage of that in their commercials. However, when you are constantly hounded by commercials with flowers, jewelry, "get her what she wants this holiday season," and vice versa... it
all gets a little overwhelming!

You can call me bitter and you can even call me a Scrooge but in reality I think you see my point. The holidays should be a time of celebration and peace not of being hounded by some commercial that makes you begin to feel inadequate! So join with me and say no to commercials like Zales! It's Christmas not Valentine's Day!

It's That Time of Year Again...

Well, as you know the holiday season has begun and with the holidays comes...

Holiday Movies!!!

Now, personally, I love this time of year because movies we've been waiting all year for come out around this time. This year the heavy hitters are: Enchanted, I Am Legend, Beowulf, and The Golden Compass. Some must sees for me will be August Rush and Juno.

Holiday movies tend to be more family movies, centered on the themes of family, adventure, and hope. This year is no different. However, I wonder how this years movies will hold up. Previous years have released Harry Potter films, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. Will The Golden Compass follow these movies? With the writers strike now hitting the movies, I'm left to wonder what next years holiday movies will be or if they will even be any.