My Own Little World

My first reaction to Mockingjay Part 1 : wow, this is going to be long. My second: wow, this is good. Those two thoughts pretty much sum up my experience viewing Mockingjay Part 1 . I really didn't care for Mockingjay  the book as much as the first two parts of The Hunger Games trilogy, so when I heard it was being split into two parts, I knew this was a good possibility. Taking the same cast and crew as Catching Fire  plus a few additions was a good idea, but making Mockingjay  into two movies made me think of other young adult series that have suffered the same fate and not turned out as well as they could have if it was one film. That being said, Mockingjay Part 1  gets off to a good start for this two-part epic, mostly because of the script. The pace is a little deliberate, and there's not much action; however, the film turns into a war film shortly after it opens and begins poking fun (in a completely legitimate satire kind of way) at propaganda films. This makes i

Before watching the third film in the Hunger Games franchise, released last Friday, I thought I would share my thoughts on the first two films in the series: partially to remind myself of the universe, and partially to have an excuse to watch these movies again. This is a review of the second of the two films.  After seeing The Hunger Games , I wanted desperately to see the sequel, Catching Fire . There was so much potential for the franchise after the first film, and as I liked Catching Fire  better than the first novel, I had high hopes. When I heard Lionsgate had replaced Gary Ross with a new director, Francis Lawrence, I was even more excited for this film. In my mind, a new director was just what this franchise needed. I'll start with the script and story, as their quality was largely unaltered from the first film. Even though the series's author Suzanne Collins would not stay on to write the script for Catching Fire , it largely stayed true to the novel. The largest

Before watching the third film in the Hunger Games franchise, released today, I thought I would share my thoughts on the first two films in the series: partially to remind myself of the universe, and partially to have an excuse to watch these movies again. This is a review of the first of the two films. 

I have a confession to make. Nick Jonas was definitely my favorite Jonas Brother. He was always the one who seemed the most musically inclined and wanted to do his own thing. Kevin and Joe wanted to be rock stars: Nick wanted to be more alternative and old-school. Well, two years after the band's breakup, he's finally getting his shot. With his self-titled debut album, Nick Jonas finally gets his chance to prove why he's still relevant to music today and not just a relic of the Disney pop star era. Musically, Jonas's album reminds me of Ariana Grande's debut album Yours Truly  in the fact that it is a former teen star taking on '90s R&B and pop (and the killer range/head voice they both show off). It works well here, though not quite as well as Grande's album, mostly because it still feels very rooted in today's music; however, its swagger and bouncing beats cannot be denied. Almost every song is appealing in some way, with standouts being

Over the course of their career, Foo Fighters has been known for bringing a classic rock twist to the post-grunge genre. They are also very celebrated in the world of music, having won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album over their past several consecutive albums. However, after their masterpiece of Wasting Light , released in 2011, I was wondering where they could go from there. Would they be more experimental or return to their roots? Sadly, the answer is neither. For the Foo Fighters, Sonic Highways  is definitely a journey to nowhere. Sonically, it loses a lot of the depth that Wasting Light  while not charting any new ground. It feels less intriguing, as if we've heard it all before. The guitar riffs tonally feel the same as before, which is definitely not a bad thing; however, they somehow are not nearly as enticing and demanding of our attention. Honestly, it feels as if Foo Fighters decided to move into a more conservative genre, as Wasting Light  was visceral, dark po

You know, I was going to begin this review with some little quip about Interstellar 's similarities with 2001: A Space Odyssey  or some note about why I love Christopher Nolan's film-making. And, to be fair, those would have been perfectly sufficient ways to capture your interest in this film. However, both of these methods don't seem very fitting after seeing it, so I'll start by saying this:  Interstellar  is, quite honestly, the best movie-going experience I have ever had. There are so many things about it that make it great, but it all comes down to this: it melds its impressive visuals perfectly with its emotional impact. This is so important for many films today, as they repeatedly entice us with their stellar visuals while sometimes falling a hair short on the emotional front (or vice versa). Let's start with the story. Interstellar 's plot largely operates around a 2001 -type setup: multiple movements in the same grand symphony. However, the move