My Own Little World

The Marvel movie machine is an unstoppable force that will earn its money whether or not they produce good films. Thankfully, they have a high standard for their films that makes them critically successful as well as commercially. However, that standard has been slipping as of late, with Iron Man 3  and Thor: The Dark World  drawing in some of the poorest reviews of the series. Does the second installment of the Captain's story bring Marvel back to its former heights? In short, yes. The Winter Soldier  succeeds where the recent Marvel films have not: the story. Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely make The Winter Soldier 's story suspenseful yet thematically rich at the same time. Like The Dark Knight trilogy, it mixes political undertones and themes prevalent in our world today with incredible action sequences and tense, chaotic moments, propelling the movie through its 150-minute running time quite quickly. It never lets up on its relentless pace, mak...

Noah is the first Biblical epic in quite some time to be a good film. It focuses on bringing a heavenly story from over 4,000 years ago into the modern age of film, and it does so quite well. The acting is impeccable, and the great ensemble cast exceeds expectations. Russell Crowe delivers one of his best performances as Noah, making him gritty and realistic enough to relate with. The entirety of Noah's family also has good performances, especially Emma Watson and Logan Lerman as Ila and Ham, respectively. Meanwhile, Anthony Hopkins delivers as Methuselah, Noah's primary mentor, making him very similar to Odin in the Thor movies. Ray Winstone also has a fantastic performance as Tubal-Cain, being both physically and mentally imposing as the antagonist. Overall, a beautifully acted movie that will get overlooked come next awards season, as all early releases are. Noah  is fantastic visually as well. The direction from Darren Aronofsky shows a personal touch that is often mis...

Everfound is a new Christian pop/rock group from Russia. These four brothers are set to invade America with their electronically-tinged sound. To help gain more exposure, they joined the Winter Jam tour this year. Their self-titled debut was released last summer, providing us with more insight as to these brothers' sound. Does their debut album break any new ground? Musically, they do not accomplish anything terribly new. They put forth an energetic but familiar CCM pop/rock sound, akin to Sanctus Real. The electronic elements are more prominent than most artists, but they do not yet have their own unique sound. This is their debut album, so they have plenty of time to utilize their amazing potential. That is the one thing that Everfound shows on this album: potential. Nikita's voice is very promising, as he can sound emotional while belting out incredibly high notes. Their anthemic sound will draw many fans early on in their career, giving them more leeway when they make a...

Third Day is perhaps one of the most popular acts in Christian music history. Their southern gospel-rock blend is accessible to fans of both adult contemporary and harder rock, but recently they have stuck to the same sound as their 2008 hit album Revelation . I was hoping for something different from Move but didn't get it. Did Miracle  finally undo their stagnation? In a word, no. They stick to their same brand of southern rock for most of the album. The upside? The word "most." Third Day realizes when the trends begin to change and when they need to slightly tweak their sound, like any well-seasoned band should. Musically, they drift more into ambient rock and add some subtle electronic bass lines in songs like "For the Rest of My Life." Like 2010's Move , they add a harder edge to open the album with "Hit Me Like a Bomb." However, save these songs, they stay for the most part where they are comfortable musically. This is not entirely bad ...

Ever since Michael Tait replaced Peter Furler as the Newsboys' lead singer, I've become far less enamored with the band. After a solid initial release in Born Again and a mediocre worship album in God's Not Dead , I really did not know what to expect from Restart . Musically, I was not surprised at all. The album makes use of the standard modern pop-rock sound that both of Tait's albums have used. Some songs sound better than others, with "Live With Abandon" being the best. Overall, the music rarely obscured the lyrics, which with this style is a mark of some excellence, even if the composition is nothing we have not heard before. It supports the lyrics well; however, this is not necessarily a good thing. Most of the lyrics are somewhat thought-out, but a couple songs stand out for better or for worse. "Live With Abandon" and "We Believe" have excellent lyrics, especially the latter. "We Believe" is a simple yet effective p...

I've always had a soft spot for Katy Perry. Her voice is silky smooth and her music is infectiously catchy. However, after looking back at Teenage Dream , I started to become less enamored with her because of her provocative lyrics. You see, I am very impressed when pop singers can break the mold of sex-filled lyrics and create wonderful music. At long last, I can add Katy Perry to that very small group. Does she still write about sex on Prism ? Yes, but it is much more diminished and subtle than Teenage Dream  was. Thematically, it worked; however, I'm not one that likes to hear "sex, sex, sex" in all my music. Thankfully, Prism  distinguishes itself from almost all other pop music in that sense. The album's two highlights, "Unconditionally" and "By the Grace of God", are both astonishingly Christian in their values that they purport, which is a real surprise given how much Perry has denied her faith in the past few years. Musically, Prism  ...