Guest Blogger: Allyson S1

In the movie Finding Nemo a clown fish dad losses his son when he tries to go touch the butt of the boat on a dare. The dad must go and find his son Nemo and on he’s way he meets new fish and animals. One of the fishes he meets along the way is Dory voice of Ellen DeGeneres. Dory is an interesting fish let’s say, she does not really remember thing all that well. Ellen does a great job of doing the voice. I think Ellen did a great job because to being Ellen is very funny person and her just doing this part is great! Dory is what makes the movie funny in part and with the help of Ellen’s humor it’s just great. One of the characters that has a big part in the film and kind of changes throughout the movie would be Marlin played by Albert Brooks. How Marlin changes throughout the movie is at the being he is very protecting of his son Nemo. One of the reasons why is because Nemo only has one good fin which makes him not swim so well. By the end of the movie Marlin lightens up a bit, but I will let you figure out how. One of the themes in the movie would have to be friendship. Why I say friendship is a theme is because look at Marlin and Dory from the outside they look like they would never be friends because of the way they act. For example, Marlin is so protective over his son and himself where Dory forgets stuff and likes to have fun. But they go one this journey to find Nemo and with their different personalities they become the greatest of friends. I would say that Finding Nemo is worth your time to watch. Its funny but also serious at times, and kids of all ages love the movie! –Allyson S.

Forest Gump is a movie about a very simple man named Forest Gump (Tom Hanks) with a low IQ and good intensions. Forest goes through his childhood with his friend Jenny and his ‘momma’ teaches him the way of life and then leaves him to choose his own destiny. Forest joins in the Vietnam War and just about every important event in that happens between the 50’s through 80’s. While at war he meets two of his friends Bubba and Dan who throughout the movie effect forest’s life dramatically. During the movie Forest wins medals, creates a famous shrimp fishing fleet, inspires people to jog, starts a ping-pong craze, create the smiley, writes bumper stickers and songs, donating to people and meeting the president several times. However this is all irrelevant to Forrest who can only think of his childhood sweetheart Jenny. Who has messed up her whole life. The low-intelligence man tells his life's tale to people waiting at a small town bus stop. He has captured fame, fortune and glory, but his one true love has continuously evaded him. Tom Hanks is tremendous throughout the movie he makes the audience connect to Forest and by the end you realize you have fallen in love with his character. I think the theme would be about how a man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events - in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. Even if you aren’t the smartest person out there you can still do amazing things and make a difference in the world. Critics rave about this movie and I can’t blame them this is a must see heartwarming movie. I would highly suggest if you haven’t seen it that you immediately try and get your hands on it you will not regret it!

Guest Blogger: Tyler K1

“Lieutenant Dan, I got you some ice cream. [Voice wavering] Lieutenant Dan, ice cream.” These are the most memorable quotes from the movie Forrest Gump in my opinion. Forrest Gump is one of those characters who goes through life not living in the past but living in the present. Forrest goes through life being raised by just his mother with a crooked spine which forces him to wear a leg brace. Within Forrest’s life he overcomes many obstacles and experiences which include him meeting JFK, serves in Vietnam, he speaks at an anti-war rally, and he also meets Richard Nixon. These are just some of the many remarkable life Experiences Forrest has. Forrest falls in love with the girl he first sits next to on the bus. Jenny Curran was one of few who accepted who he really was and sees that he is more than what most people think of him. Jenny grew up without a mother as she had died when she was little; her father was an abusive alcoholic who raped his kids until jenny was taken to her grandmother’s house. I see jenny and forest having a friendship gave them both an escape from the real world. Jenny did a lot of things for Forrest. She helped Forrest overcome lots of things, reading, writing, even bullies. As Forrest is going through every national event that happened jenny is also doing the same, but does totally different things. Overall Jenny and Forrest cover all the events that happen in the 1950s to the 1980s.This movie has an amazing plot which makes you think how Jenny and Forrest have covered all the landmarks of our recent history and how they arrive together at the end is like a dream come true.

Guest Blogger: Mitch M1

In the movie Gran Torino directed by Clint Eastwood, Walt Kowalski who is played by Clint Eastwood is a Korean War veteran who is also a grumpy and racist old man who does not get along with his children or neighbors. The only thing Walt has is his 1972 Gran Torino which he keeps in mint condition. One day his neighbor Thao a Hmong teenager played by Bee Vang, is pressured by his gang member cousin to break into Walt’s garage and steal his Gran Torino. Walt sets out to set the boy straight and gains an interest in his family’s lifestyle. Walt spends his time protecting his family from the gangs in the neighborhood. Clint Eastwood does a great job playing and old racist man due to the fact that he looks like an old racist man, and can usually play a tough-minded character any time the opportunity is given. Thao is a young and quiet kid, who is pushed around a lot. His sister Sue played by Ahney Her is a smart, very mature girl for her age. She tries to lead her brother right but their cousin keeps pushing him into the gang life. In the movie, people realize that no matter how old or how set people are on their opinions, their thoughts could still change. Like in the movie, Walt is a racist old man but throughout the movie he eventually changes his opinion to instead of hating the whole race itself he only started to hate the bad eggs out of that race. All the critics are saying that Gran Torino is a remarkable movie and I agree with them, it is one of my favorite movies and will always be. Gran Torino is an All-American favorite movie and if you’re planning on watching a movie, I would greatly recommend this movie.

Guest Blogger: Michael B1

Anchorman is one of my favorite comedy movies if not my favorite comedy movie of all time. Anchorman is about a news cast in San Diego lead by the legendary Ron Burgundy. Ron Burgundy is so legendary because of his self-proclaimed dashing good looks and his amazing on screen presence. His downfall however is his willingness to literally read whatever is out on the screen. This ends up getting him in some serious trouble when new member of the crew Veronica Corningstone shows up. Her good looks and ability on the camera end up hurting Ron and things spiral down from there. Will Ferrell plays Ron Burgundy and I think he does a genius job as he is by far my favorite comedy character in any comedy movie. He is absolutely hilarious. Steve Carrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner also star in this movie as members of the news crew and all do a great job as they are all hilarious. Ron Burgundy is a confident anchor who has been with the news crew for multiple years. The news station however decides to add a new addition to the crew. This addition is Veronica Corningstone. She is a confident young up and coming new anchor who hopes to eventually make it big. Ron and Veronica end up falling in love, but Veronica still attempts to sabotage Ron and is successful with it. Veronica puts her job first and eventually takes over as lead anchor. This movie depicts Veronica as a somewhat cruel person, but also a very likeable person. Ron is shown as a confident guy who isn’t necessarily the smartest. The theme of this movie is that real champions always arise in the end and the real winner will always win. You have to watch the entire movie to know what I am saying. I agree with almost all critics in saying that this is a can’t miss comedy. This movie is worth every penny to go see and is a must see for all comedy fans and also just movie fans in general.

Guest Blogger: Kyle W1

In the past forty years or so there have been many famous trilogies in the entertainment industry. Personally, one of my favorites is the original Star Wars movies. Out of the first three, my favorite would be “The Empire Strikes Back”. In the first episode the characters of Luke, Leia, and Obi-Wan first meet. Luke is like any other person that lives on the planet of Tatooine, until the day when his dad and him go out to get a couple of new droids. This is where the rest of the story is both revealed to Luke and the audience. As the story progresses, you see how Luke at first doesn’t believe in using the force. This eventually changes as Obi-Wan teach him through many different training sessions. Eventually Luke becomes a Jedi and is forced to make decisions that greatly affect the following movies. Mark Hamill, the man who played Luke in the original first three movies, was a great choice by the directors for his superior acting. Not only did he make the movie largely character based, but the way that he seemed to connect with the audience was absolutely amazing. Luke, because of Marks acting became not only the main protagonist, but also the character most apparent of having solvable problems that could relate to those watching. With Luke finding himself in a war between the rebel troops and the Empire, he finds himself falling in love with Princess Leia. This relationship is the main motivation as Luke goes on through the first film. The audience watching the movie is supposed to take away the fact that even when faced with insurmountable odds, there is always a sliver of luck that may be in your favor. Many other critics have replied positively on Mark’s acting and the movie. With them I agree on both of the statements. Marks’ acting is one of the best in the business and it shows through the whole movie. Overall the movie has struck the hearts of millions and has won me over as a complete fan. Star Wars “The Empire Strikes Back” is not only worth the money, but is a great character based classic that will wanting to see the rest of the series.

Guest Blogger: Kelly P1

The contrasts of the characters in the movie, The Secret Garden (1993) make the story line even more interesting. Directed by Agnieszka Holland, Mary Lennox is a little girl who has been neglected by her parents and grew up to be a stubborn and sour girl in India. One day an earthquake occurs, her parents die and Mary moved to England to live with her distant uncle because of the loss of his wife (Mary’s aunt). She is also neglected by all the servants and her distant uncle, so she goes out and discovers the castle and land herself. While exploring, she finds a hidden garden that once belonged to her aunt and has been locked up ever since her death and she meets an ill boy around her age, who turns out to be her cousin. Mary’s discovery may change the lives of everyone around her. Kate Maberly plays Mary and does an incredible job of being stubborn, but for a kid, that’s no hard job to do. Colin, Mary’s ill cousin is played by Heydon Prowse does a well job of acting ill, the stance he has from back problems, and the way he shivers when given a bath. This movie portrays the growth of magic and love and that love in family is always there and cannot disappear. Critic, Janet Maslin explains how readers of the book would be proud of the movie. The characters in the movie are what the readers would expect to see, the little details of each character is encrypted in the minds of the actors and actresses. I agree that the movie follows along with the book pretty well, but I read the book after, so that might have had an effect on how I portrayed it. Overall, I think this was a great, warm-hearted movie that anyone can enjoy. It is a feel-good movie with many emotions intertwined within the movie and it is definitely worth the time to watch it.

Guest Blogger: Grant W1

I chose the movie “Act of Valor” for the movie blog. It’s about this Navy SEAL team and how they operate in missions. It starts out with them and their families and them getting a mission about two C.I.A. agents getting kidnapped. When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the U.S., a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. As the men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a planned attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home. Each time they accomplish their mission, a new piece of intelligence reveals another shocking twist to the terrorist’s plan, which stretches from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia. The operation sends the SEALs across the globe as they track the terrorist ring to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they engage in an epic firefight. So they go off to duty, there’s many intense scenes, and all the SEALs on the team in the movie are actual active duty Navy SEALs. My favorite part of the movie is when the SEAL team raids a house to get the two C.I.A. agents back. They stelthfully secure a premature around the house and slowly sneak in. There are two snipers covering the outside while the rest of the SEAL team completes the mission inside. Then after they get the C.I.A. agent they leave the premises and are chased. They are chased by a terrorist group through the woods and into a lake where the other SEALs were waiting with rescue boats. I would defiantly recommend this movie for anyone. Kids, teens, or even adults. It may be violent but it is an adrenaline rush.

Guest Blogger: Darrian M1

The movie The Dark Knight Rises is the last of a trilogy. Staring in this movie is Christen Bale as Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman. In the previous movies in the trilogy batman was blamed for many crimes, even though he was trying to stop crime, he caused more damage than help. In the plot Bruce is trying to go one step beyond the police and stop the man called Bane. In his fight with Bane, Bruce has to overcome many obstacles that will make your heart race and make you feel like you are in the movie (personal experience). His largest obstacle is to escape from a prison that only one child has ever escaped. The actors in the film I feel did an amazing job in each role. Bane played by Tom Hardy, did an exceptional job at being the evil villain everyone wants, putting up very hard fights and makes the hero overcome obstacles bigger than himself and the city has ever faced before. Michael Caine did an outstanding job at being Bruce Wayne’s buttler, but also being Batman’s man to go to for advice. Even though he turns away from Bruce’s ideas he feels the sorrow, pain and joy that Bruce feels in the movie. Marion Cotillard did an outstanding role playing as Bruce’s head lady of the Wayne foundation. She does an excellent job of hiding her ultimate secret, which puts a interesting twist into the plot and all of Bruce’s plans. The theme of the movie is that when bad things happen to one person or to society as a whole, the world may give up on you, but you should never give up on yourself. Bruce had let himself go to waste after getting blamed for deaths of civilians and a man that is very important to the town. He found the courage to come back and do what is right for him and his city. Many critics rate this movie five stars! I would have to fully agree with them! The movie as a whole is outstanding, as well as each individual scene. Many critics said that they feel humbled by the movie, stating that “I was more affected psychologically. Curious about humanity and all the different sides of it you see in this movie. It goes to many extremes. I felt humbled by my complete lack of life experience. What do I know about anything? How could I possibly understand half of the characters?” Christopher Reid. What he means is that he could not comprehend what he would do in that situation, and that he is afraid that the society of today is fully capable of things in this movie. All in all, The Dark Knight Rises is a MUST SEE movie! If you get the chance to view this movie it is defiantly worth the time and money to see.

Guest Blogger: Danielle D1

This movie is a very heartwarming movie. It’s about a middle school boy named Henry who lives in a little town in Alabama. Henry has a drug addict mom that is going through treatment, a father that Is in the military and a grandfather that is a racist redneck and he gets bullied every day at school. In this movie Henry has many battles to face he faces the battle of his best friend, singing buddy his father getting deployed for the second time. Henry likes to sing that is his special bond with his father. While his dad is away on his deployment henry and his mother find out that they are getting evicted and needed to move right away, henry was upset about that because he didn’t want to move because that’s their home there dad put a lot of work into. They end up having to move in with his racist redneck grandfather. Henry doesn’t really like his grandfather because he is old fashion and doesn’t like the way henry sings and dresses. Henry doesn’t let it stop him from singing thought he stops every day at the Baptist church to play the church piano. The Priest of the church tells henry about a singing compotation that you could win up to $5,000 and henry thought that would be a good idea to sign up for because he could get a house for his family. Henry was astatic about the compotation and ran home to tell his mom about it but his mom had feel back into her bad habit of meth, and she wouldn’t speck back to him, he got upset about it and ran inside packed his bags and runs away to the singing compotation. His mother didn’t have a clue where he was , she looked for days then went to the priest and asked if he knew where he was and he mention the singing compotation to her. When he makes it to the compotation in a different state he sees his father there and was so happy to see his father . when his mother got to the compotation she was so happy to see that he wasn’t hurt and was okay . When Henry brought up that hes father was there with them she was shocked. If you would like to find out the ending and why she was shocked watch the movie Lifted. This movie is definitely worth your time and money because it’s a great movie with a lot of passion and love for his military father and drug addict mother and most of all he keeps with his signing no matter what .

Guest Blogger: Cody T1

Being a fan of superheroes throughout my life, between reading comics, watching the T.V. shows and now watching Hollywood films, the best experience of them all is watching films. The new Batman movie, by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises, is a film unquestionably well done. Christian Bale returning as Batman, the best Batman actor in all of the films previous, versus a frightening Bane (Tom Hardy). Also, the stunning Anne Hathaway, as Cat Woman brings a new seductive neutral character to the group. Michael Cain’s performance as Alfred as always was fantastic. Christopher Nolan does a wonderful job laying the sequence of events throughout the movie flawlessly. From the beginning where Bane is introduced, to when Batman comes out of hiding, to the takeover of Gotham, finally to the end of the movie (I won’t spoil it). The movie may have been roughly about 3 hours long but there was a lot for Nolan to do to make it compatible with the two previous films, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight Rises rose beyond all expectations and was very well done in sound, lighting, dialogue and everything else. I would have to rate this movie a ten out of ten!

Guest Bloggr: Cody E1

The movie, “The Ringer” came out in 2005 with current ratings of 5.7/10. This movie is about a young guy, Jonny Knoxville, who is forced to join the special Olympics to win a lump some of money because his Mexican lawn worker got his fingers chopped off in Steve’s lawn mower while trying to make some extra money on the side. So Steve, who goes by the name of Jeffy once he joins the Special Olympics, competes against all the other competitors. He realizes that it is not as easy as he thought it would be to beat the “retards” at field events. And in the end he makes friendships with all the other members and then at the end it takes a huge turn. So Johnny Knoxville or Jeffy in the movie is a caring, loving, and all around good friend even when it comes to competitions. Jeffy’s main motivation throughout the movie was to win the Special Olympics so he would be able to get his friends fingers sewed back on however through the course of the movie another one of his motivations I would say would be to make friends in the process of being in the Special Olympics. The theme in this movie I would say would be to not get to far ahead of yourself and don’t always expect to win. I would have to agree with the critics on this movie because most of the people’s reviews said that this was surprisingly a very good movie that was not offensive at all. I would have to say that buying this movie is most definitely worth your time as well as your money. This is an overall fantastic movie that will leave you laughing for hours and quoting the movie all the time. I have seen this movie multiple times and it is still as funny and entertaining as the first time I saw it.

Guest Blogger: Cameron H1

The movie Dukes of Hazzard is a comedy about a family that lives in Georgia and makes moonshine. They deliver it in their built 1969 dodge charger named the General Lee. The whole time they are running moonshine, they have to escape form the county commissioner Boss Hog. Boss Hog wants to catch Uncle Jesse and the boys while they are running moonshine so Boss Hog can put the boys Bo and Luke in jail and Boss Hog can take the farm. He wants to strip mine Hazzard and the Duke farm is the only farm Boss needs to buy so he can start strip mining Hazzard so he can get all of the coal that is in the ground so he can sell it to make money. The cousins, Bo and Luke, are played by Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott. Their cousin, Daisy Duke, is played by Jessica Simpson. Uncle Jesse is played by Willie Nelson and Boss Hogg is played by Burt Reynolds and his deputy, Sheriff Roscoe P Coltrane, is played by M.C. Gainey. All of the actors did their parts well. It was easy to believe that they were all running moonshine and that they were all from down South. Bo and Luke Duke are a couple of good old boy’s from George they like to keep the deputy and Boss Hog on their toes when they are running moonshine for their Uncle Jesse to save the family farm that Boss Hog and his deputy are trying to take away from them so he can strip mine hazzard county. The theme of the movie is about to good old boy’s running moonshine for their Uncle Jesse and at the same time they are trying not get caught by Sheriff Roscoe P Coltrane and put in jail. I don’t agree with Roger Bert from suntimes.com movie review of the Dukes of Hazzard is was not that good. If you like movies like this than you will like this movie a lot because it is a fast pace movie with a lot of action and car chase scenes in it.

Guest Blogger: Beda J1

Who could possibly forget the movie Forrest Gump?! Forrest Gump is a very character driven movie. Throughout the movie Forrest is telling his life stories, even though he has a low IQ his life stories have made him one of the most inspiring men. When his mother leaves him at an early age he has to choose his destiny. Once Forrest leaves the army he and Bubba start running a shrimp co. He then inspires people to jog and becomes world’s best ping pong player. In all of his successes he is unable to find his childhood sweetheart Jenny. The end is left for you to find out… Tom Hanks staring as Forrest was a great actor chosen for this movie he was able to bring the character to life. Some traits that describe Forrest would be honesty, compassion, and love. He believes is it very bad to tell a lie, along with never giving up on what he believes in. He knows that he and Jenny are meant to be together he can’t let it go. But as for Jenny she is hopeless, she thinks that she needs to experience the most out of life and pays the price of her actions. A good theme would be live life and don’t give up. What people may get from this is that no matter how hard it gets or no matter where life takes you, you just have to keep moving forward. If something is meant to be it will come back to you. My personal overall opinion on this movie is fantastic! I love it, but if you’re a sensitive kind of person I’m warning you it’s a tear up kind of movie. If you don’t feel as if it’s still not worth the money to watch this movie I advise you to go eat at a Bubba Gump sometime in your life someone there might be able to persuade you differently to watch the movie!

Guest Blogger: Austin R1

Sling Blade is a very weird, scary, funny, and crazy movie. It is about a guy named Karl. He isn’t mentally handicapped but I wouldn’t say he is all there. In the beginning of the movie he kills his parent that’s like the base line of the movie. He was let out of the institution after 25 years all he had was some books the Holy Bible and the clothes he was wearing. He met a boy named Dwight he was 11 years old. Dwight and his mom let Karl come over a few times for dinner. He eventually got a job at the car shop and sleeps there at night. After hanging out with Dwight for a few months he has seen Dwight’s mom’s boyfriend and realizes he isn’t a very good guy and pushes the mom around, he also is an alcoholic. In the end Karl makes a very bad decision. Karl’s Character was amazing with the way he talked and the way he talked was incredible. Dwight was also very good his character was very young but very mature for his age. He was a very caring little kid. The theme of this movie is very hard to figure out it’s like just crazy what happens and you’re just so stunned to think straight. I would say it is, Don’t judge people by the way they look. One critic had the exact same thoughts about the movie a critic from the New York Times was saying the same thing as me such as how the Character of Karl was crazy good how perfect he played that character. Same with Dwight how mature a little kid that doesn’t have much growing up can really be a man. In my opinion this movie isn’t for everyone but for some it’s perfect. Yes it is worth your time and money it is a very interesting movie.

Guest Blogger: Austin G1

One of my favorite character driven movies is Coach Carter. It is about a coach who tries to save his team from not going to college. Coach Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) becomes coach to help teach his team and the community that grades are more important than wins. He does this through a series of events that will change his players lives to make them want to learn and go to college. During the season Coach Carter locks the gym to prevent the team from practicing or playing games until they raise their grades. He does this to set an example that grades will take you farther than wins in basketball. Samuel L. Jackson did an amazing job playing Coach Carter. He really captured the intensity that coaches have. He also was an authority figure in the movie. In the movie Coach Carter is an authority figure that tries to give young men a future outside of jail. Throughout the movie he keeps guiding his players to have a future by keeping them out of trouble and putting a huge focus on school instead of basketball. One theme that played a huge role in this movie is education. It is evident that Coach Carter cares more about his players learning than them performing on the court. I read the movie review on http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/, and I agree with most of what it says. It talks a lot about Samuel L. Jackson, but I would rather it talk more about the movie. It did talk a lot about Coach Carter’s message about working hard in school and going to college. In my opinion Coach Carter is one of the best movies out. It has a great message and is appropriate for most age groups. It isn’t terribly long, which is nice. I would encourage everybody to watch this movie.

Guest Blogger: Almedin B1

This blog is about the movie “The Sandlot”. It’s about a kid named Scotty Smalls who moves into a new town and really wants to learn how to play baseball. Smalls meets a kid named Rodriguez and is introduced to his neighborhood friends who all play baseball. During the summer Smalls learns how to play baseball but he also creates many memories with his new friends. One of the main characters in this movie is Scotty Smalls played by Tom Guiry. Tom does a great job playing the typical nerdy/weak boy who just isn’t good at sports. Another big character is Benjamin Rodriguez who is played by Mike Vitar. Rodriguez is one of Scotty’s first friends and he seems like the more grown up type of kid. He is definitely the leader of their group of friends and seems a lot more mature. In the movie you can definitely tell that Rodriguez wants to help Smalls and have him fit in with the rest of the crew. One theme that is easily visible is that life goes on. When Smalls moves into his new house you can tell he didn’t really appreciate the move and believes his summer will be ruined because he doesn’t know anyone. But we soon see that Smalls finds new pals such as Rodriguez and he ends up having a very memorable summer. Another piece of advice we get out of this is to never give up on something that you want. Smalls wanted to play baseball and he did, just not the way he expected it to happen. Many critics would agree that this movie is perfect for kids. I agree, when I first watched this movie as a kid it was easily one of my favorites. This movie is a great watch with the family and has a great hidden message for the kids as I mentioned previously in the themes.

Guest Blogger: Alex L1

The Hunger Games is a movie about 12 districts of the Capital which is in Panem, Appalachia. One girl and one boy every year are selected by a lottery to participate in The Hunger Games, which is a game that makes each participant fight to eliminate their enemy while the entire town watches it on live television. Only one person wins in the end, the one who survives is the winner. The girl and boy who are chosen from District 12 are Katniss Everdeen ( Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), her former school mate. Jennifer Lawrence does a great job at acting the part of Katniss. She portrays her as an innocent yet strong competitor in the games. She has to chose survival over humanity and life over love. These are the common themes in this movie as well as the theme of government control and how the government makes these teenagers take part in such a horrible game. Survival of the fittest is the main theme of the movie. I do not agree with many of the reviews that this movie was poorly done. Many critics believe that the filming was choppy and unprofessional but I did not see that. I think it was a really good movie and always kept me in suspense and wondering what was going to happen next. There is a lot of action and that makes it fun to watch. You don’t know who the winner is until the last minute of the movie . I would suggest you see this movie . It is worth the time and money.

Guest Blogger: Marriah M1

In October of 2000, the movie “Pay It Forward” was released starring Haley Joel Osment (Trevor), Helen Hunt (Arlene) and Kevin Spacey (Eugene). The theme of the movie seems to be helping someone in need, by doing something that they wouldn’t necessarily be able to do for themselves. Trevor Mckinney, the main characters goal in life is to make the world a better place after his teacher gives him an assignment. Trevor really took the assignment seriously and wanted to do everything he could to make things better by “paying it forward” meaning every person he helped, they would have to help three more people and the cycle would never stop. Trevor is growing up with an alcoholic mother and his father seems to not be in the picture and only being 11 years old he seems to be extremely smart and know what is right from wrong. He seems to be the one taking care of his own mother and try to teach her what is right; I mean how can someone who is only 11 know better than his own mother? Online on imdb.com one review said “Pay It Forward is a prime example of what films are supposed to do: make you laugh a little, cry a lot, and profoundly affect you in a way that keeps you thinking about the movie for weeks afterwards.” I couldn’t explain the movie any better than this person did because that is exactly what the movie has to offer. Also how they said it keeps you thinking for weeks after is totally right! The movie brings forth so much passion that there is no way it could be one of those movies you just forget about! I don’t think there could have been any better characters chosen to play in this film; Haley Joel Osment plays as an 11 year old boy and does a phenomenal job of getting the message across to the audience. I would definitely recommend this movie to all my friends and family it is one of my top favorites!

Guest Blogger: Tyler R1

Roaring crowds “uh” and “ah” through the last tense moments of a local football game in Spokane Washington as Matt Eckert, star quarterback for the Wolverines played by Josh Peck, attempts to rally his team to a fourth quarter comeback. Though try as they might, the Wolverines have to settle for an “L” as their kicker shanks the kick wide right. Saddened by the loss Matt trots off the field only to be surprised by the return of his brother, Jed Eckert played by Chris Hemsworth, from a tour of duty with the Marine Corps in Afghanistan. But before anyone can get a grasp of positive feeling the heroes find the country of North Korea invading their homeland and now have no choice but to stand up to their foreign oppressors. Many people find this movie to be a little dry and hold many elements that were irrelevant to the overall plot of the movie but, if you’re looking for a good action movie this is the movie for you. It would appear the writer is trying to make a parallel to American troops arriving in a foreign country and taking over and the crew, soon nicknamed the Wolverines, finds themselves doing many insurgent things such as car bombings and randomly assaulting North Korean troops. Though one might find many of the acting roles a little dry, it’s still a good performance from names like Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki and many more. Still with a decent play from all the cast many movie critics rate this film at only five to six stars, personally I found that the fleeting violence, outstanding effects and numerous car explosions were quiet top-tier and give this movie 8 out of 10 stars. Overall this ninety minute thriller is certainly worth your time and would suggest any movie goer to “uh” and “ah” through the lively take Red Dawn has to offer.

Guest Blogger: Courtney S1

Red Dawn, attack of the communist North Koreans, came to theaters on November 2nd of 2012. The two main characters of the movie are brothers, who don’t seem to get along so well. The handsome Chris Hemsworth plays the mysterious older brother, “high school football star-turned-Marine”. He’s not the type to give up and bow down. Josh Peck’s character is brave and ruthless. His love for his girlfriend ends up putting himself and the others in danger. One morning they wake up to an attack; they quickly adjust to the situation at hand and fight back. With the help of a few others, they start putting a stop to the North Koreans and form their own little militia, the Wolverines. The themes of the movie seem to be a little cliché. There could be more than one theme, but the one that stood out the most is fight for what you believe in. It’s humorous how the main men in the movie are all well known as their other roles from the actors’ previous works. Why doesn’t Thor get his hammer and destroy everyone? Where is Drake, Josh? Did Peeta really just demand for bread? Those are just a few examples of things that might run through someone’s head during the film. However, they didn’t act like those characters. I think they did I very good job on their performances of their characters. Overall it’s a satisfactory movie. It was given a C by Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly; I think that’s what I would give it too. I really did enjoy the movie but in truth, there isn’t much to it. It has its good moments and then moments that just don’t make sense. They should have spent a little more time on the screenplay to give it the depth it is lacking. If you’re the type of person who likes light hearted action war films, then you should definitely check it out. If not, then it’s best not to spend your money on it.

Guest Blogger: Randy T1

The movie Fast Five from 2011 is one of the great sequels to the other Fast and the Furious movie series. In this racing, action packed movie Bryan O’Connor played by Paul Walker and Dominic Toretto played by Vin Diesel with their street racing crew including actor/artist Ludacris, and many more actors they struggle against Rival Street racing crewmembers and a drug lord as well as the law enforcement “The Rock” (Dwayne Johnson) to buy their freedom. Bryan (Paul Walker) played both sides as an undercover agent and street racer throughout the movie sequels. He was giving many chances to tell Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew he was a cop but never did. In doing so Dom never really trusted Bryan and in the Fast Five Bryan no longer is a cop and now is in the other side of the law running to find his freedom with Dom and their crew. Everything changes as Bryan falls in love and has a baby with Dom’s sister Mia Toretto played by actress Jordana Brewster. They break Dom out from Prison during a transfer and hope to earn all their freedom by fleeing to another country while they’re framed for murder. They come up with this plan steal money from the Drug lord who owns the town and dirty police officers that are unlawful and use the money for their freedom and the better cause of the town and spilt it among one another as a final hope for freedom. I agree with most critics, they mostly liked the film and some other Fast and the Furious fans didn’t. It was given 4.5 out of 5 stars, which is pretty good for a rating. This movie is a combination of racing and crime that delivers a flat-out heist movie. If you’re a favorite of car franchise and cops as well as racing, action, crime packed films I recommend you watch this film and the first series of movies. It is definitely worth your time and money it’s a well-put film with talented actors. In the end see how they use their richest and where their freedom takes them.

Guest Blogger: Sharmarke I1

In the movie Flight, Denzel Washington plays a role that takes him to court. Denzel Washington is a well-known actor and I give props to him for this movie. I think it was one of his best acting in his long career. He plays as Capt. Whitaker, a pilot of a plane that crashed but surprisingly only kills about four people. He lands the plane upside down and everybody says it’s a miracle. Denzel gets a lot of praise from the around the country. But there is story behind all of this. There was a malfunction to the plane that could have played a role in the crash. In the movie, Capt. Whitaker also has a drinking and drugging problem. So that is considered a criminal act. I think he made a bad decision to do these things and puts himself on the hot seat. Then it gets worse with a rainy weather conditions that makes it harder for him to fly. After the plane crashes he gets some injuries and is pursued by reporters and detectives that want to know what happened that caused this disaster. Another character in the movie is his lawyer, Don Cheadle that is motivated to hide the lies behind the crash. This actor is also well-known and has made plenty of movies. He hides the evidence of how drunk Capt. Whitaker was and is drug use. I think one theme in this movie is, always think before you do things. Because everything you do will come back to you some way. Flight was received an A by ew.com. I agree, and also think the movie was a journey and enjoyable in every way. I would recommend this movie to anyone that hasn’t seen it yet. It’s worth paying money to see this amazing movie by Denzel Washington.

Guest Blogger: Ryan H1

The movie Avatar is a great movie that has some of the best digital effects that have ever happened to on the big screen. Avatar combines these effects with real life action to create a movie that you’ll be sure to remember. I think the director James Cameron did a great job picking out the characters for this movie, including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephan Land, and Michelle Rodriquez. They all do a fantastic job making the movie really come to life and really add that spark to make the movie feel very real and exciting. In this movie, Jake is a paraplegic Marine whose brother has been murdered so he decides to take his spot. He is then sent to the moon Pandora on orders to destroy their civilization. In return for his Intel for the Na’vi people the Spearhead unit will pay to get a spinal surgery so he can walk again. There he meets another alien that he quickly falls in love with named Neytiri who shows him all kinds of things from her world. In the end Jake has to pick between obeying his orders from the Colonel and saving the place that he really feels at home. I think in this movie Jake really enjoys being on this planet and being an Avatar because he has his mobility back and feels free. I believe that Sam Worthington did a great job at playing this part in the movie, he’s the kind of guy who seems like he’s a tough guy and on the outside he shows it but deep down he actually has feelings and wishes he could have mobility back and while in Pandora he really feels at home. The theme of this story is to always be grateful of what you have because the opening lines by Jake Sully are “When I was lying in the V.A. hospital with a big hole blown through the middle of my life, I started having these dreams of flying. I was free. But sooner or later, you always have to wake up.”. I believe that the theme really shows through a lot in the beginning and the end of the movie. 70% of the critics said that this movie was a good one and I would have to agree with them. The cost of the movie was a little spendy but it ended up being worth it in the end. Overall I think that this movie is completely worth your money and time. If you’re looking to watch a movie that is going to reach out and grab you right away this is the one!

Guest blogger: Chay T1

I have watched a lot of movie, and among that I find a lot of interesting one, but one Korean drama that intrigued me is City Hunter, The story start with the tension between South and North Korea, a group of terrorist attack south Korea causing the 5 high rank in the South plot a secret mission again the North by sending 21 men to assassinate the man behind the terrorist attack. With the warning from the president that whoever takes the action without the command will punished to death, so together the 5 high ranking men have no choice, but decide to have their 21 men killed. Fortunately, one of the 21 men Jin Pyo (played by Kim Sang Joon) survive, but after seeing all his best friends die, Jin Pyo decide to revenge back and kidnap one of his best friend’s son Yoon Shung (Played by Lee Min Ho) with him. Later on in yoon shung life, he is trained to fight, but his kind hearted, he try to punish those 5 men under the law. Lee Min Ho who does an excellent job, he express the emotion really well, he could bring his audiences into his emotion such as sad, anger, pain and happy. On the other hand, Kim Sang Joon also a good actor who can make his audiences into his circumstances, the feeling of his lost and his cruelty. However, he part plays as Jin Pyo, is really selfish and stubborn because his goal is just revenge. Without thinking of Yoon Shung, he puts yoon Shung in dilemma. Yoon shung, with his own determination and pursues his goal in the right way, he try his best to prevent the killing, but to follow his conscience. The theme in the movie is Revenge is nothing, but to keep one in miserable. I really agree with the critic Supernatural Rocks said that “From the beginning you are taken on a roller coaster with so many twists and turns. I was stressed out through the entire series, fearful of what was going to happen next for the City Hunter. Would he get caught? Would he die? Why were people getting in his way? I even found myself shouting, "GET OUTTA THERE!" because I could felt the same thing too.In my opinion, it is one of the best Korean movies that I have seen. I highly recommend City Hunter to everyone; it is really worth your time and money.

Guest Blogger: Nick M1

At first looks a high school English teacher might argue that the latest James Bond movie is in fact not a character driven story, but looking passed the gun shots, fight senses and huge explosions we find that the real focus of the story is the character that after 26 movies we still don’t know all that much about. The new movie Skyfall is all about James growing older and his struggles with athletic performance as well as mental health other problems that men get as they start aging. We also finally get to learn about Bond’s past, where he grow up, what happened to his parents and many other smaller questions us as viewers and James Bond lovers might have. Another person we learn more about is the head honcho of MI6, M, and how her past decisions come back and bite her in the butt, which makes Bond question his value to the agency MI6. For the first time in many 007 movies we see Bond chasing after one main villain, in my opinion he is one of the greatest 007 Bad guy’s that there’s been. Silva, the main villain, is played by Javier Bardem who’s wonderful performance makes us laugh at the things he says and does one moment and then cringe and realize how totally insane he is the next moment. Now after all this I’m sure you’re wondering “what about that great 007 action we all love” well the answer is, it’s still there! We see fight sense that in the past where a mess and sometimes hard to follow but in the movie Skyfall the fight senses are like a very well choreographed dance. Overall the movie Skyfall is a wonderful character pasted installment to the James Bond series which I for one enjoyed with a passion.

Guest blogger: Kelly C1

"Life of Pi" The movie "Life of Pi" is an astounding achievement of storytelling. The movie is based on a worldwide best-seller that many readers thought could not be captured as a film. It is a touching movie to all who have read the book and have witnessed the film. The plot of "Life of Pi” was based on a teenage hero who traveled across the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for 227 days. They find themselves in the lifeboat together trying to seek survival, acceptance and adaptation. The story started off in a small family zoo in Pondichery, India. A young boy by the name of Piscine was being raised there. As his life expanded they nick named him "pee." He was not thrilled with the name so he decided to adopt the nick name "Pi," inspiring a strange ability to write down that exact numbers after 3.14. Pi would never ends it was a limitless number, which related perfectly for this young boy. As the film goes on the audience will see his strength and courage throughout his journey with the Bengal tiger. The actors who play the character of Pi vary there is more than one due to the age as he grows older. One of the strongest actors who played the role of Pi was Suraj Sharma in the beginning of the film. He had lived all his life in the middle-class suburbs of South Delhi with his parents. He had no previous acting experience, Ang Lee the director of this magnificent film casted Suraj for the role of Pi. As a young boy, Suraj displayed a strong ability in music. Suraj Sharma performance in the film was touching to all emotion in the human body. Pi the main charter has a variety of traits and motivations for instance one trait that he has that stands out from all the others is his faith to his religion. That is a strong point in the film due to his journey that he faced. One main motivation throughout the film was survival for Pi. “Life of Pi” is based on survival, acceptance and adaptation. Living creatures will often do extraordinary, unexpected, and sometimes heroic things to survive. However, they will also do shameful things if pushed to their limits. After witnessing the film the audience should take away from it is the survival, acceptance and adaptation that Pi faces throughout the film. According to Roger Ebert, in his article “Life of Pi” he states, “I have decided it is one of the best films of the year”. I would have to agree with him due to how the film is portrayed in different ways. The way that the film is shot and who the characters are makes the film much more entraining and dramatic. My over all opinion about the film is that yes it is worth your time and money if you want to experience every emotion within two hours and six minutes.

Guest blogger: Jason G1

Moonrise kingdom was one of those movies that was ok but got a lot of great ratings and reviews, they never mention why it was good though besides generic complements to it. Moonrise kingdom is best described as on awkward child rebellious love story, which I give props for originality. Some of the well-known actors stared are Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, and Bill Murray. They are all great actors but are sent to being secondary actors to Jared Gilman as Sam and Kara Hayward as Suzy. As I mentioned earlier many critics including Kofi Outlaw talk about how much chemistry the characters have and that makes the movie great, but that is not my problem with the movie. I think the script for the movie could have been improved especially toward the end and that they forced some things. The whole last third of the movie was different than the beginning; it became more fanatic and didn’t seem to follow any sort of story line. It kind of ruined it because the change is so noticeable you feel like the conclusion was rushed and not thought out. When I mention parts being forced is when there is no character development or any thought to characters decisions, like they just decided to make someone do something so that the movie can continue in a certain direction. By the end of the movie there was no connection to any one character or even the feeling of knowing who they are. The point of this movie which if you overlook the details is to contrast the idea and imagination of the world from a child’s point of view to the way adults think of the world. I don’t think it would have been worth it to watch this movie in a movie theater, but lucky for me I rented it which is probably the way to go for this movie because it’s still worth someone’s time to see it because it’s not a generic movie, it is something new and different.

Guest blogger: David K1

The Bourne Identity is a story about a man (Matt Damon) who can't remember who he is after he is found drifting at sea by a fishing boat of the coast of Marseilles, France. He only has two bullet wounds and device that was under his skin with the number for a Swiss bank account. The fisherman gives him money to take a train to Switzerland where before finding the bank, he puts two cops in the hospital, and then tears the bank apart in an action sequence. The movie then goes on to be driven by his actions and desire to learn his true identity. His journey takes him to Paris where he has an apartment that turns out to be a safe house that isn’t really safe. Now that the C.I.A. knows that he is alive and his mission is a failure he must be killed. The C.I.A. sends several trained assassins after Bourne who later reads in a Paris news paper that he is an assassin for the C.I.A. and is being hunted because he has gone rogue and is to be considered armed and dangerous. He and his only friend, a gypsy named Marie, played by Franka Potente head for the French countryside. On the way out of Paris there is an amazing car chase sequence in which we see more of Bourne's training. Once in the country they are again ambushed by another assassin, but again Bourne prevails to continue his fight against the C.I.A. to learn his true identity and to stay alive. He goes on to learn more and the action packed movie depends completely on his decision making. Faced with constant choices, he has to choose which direction will keep him alive. The action is packed in to the movie very well. The cast is great, however the plot is fairly predictable, like most action films, but this one is much more character driven. The ending has a nice little twist to it, so if you haven’t see the movie I highly recommend watching it. Then check out the rest of the Bourne series. I was equally impressed with all of them, and this one doesn’t disappoint.

Guest Blogger: Evan P1

Unstoppable is a 2010 film starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine as train conductors dealing with a runaway train, “#777”. This tells their story of trying to stop it. One of the coolest things about the movie is that Frank Barnes (Washington) is the older, experienced guy, training Will Colson (Pine) the brand new guy. They immediately connect in their attempt to stop this powerhouse of a train 777. Not only is it running at top speed because the conductor thought it was on low power, but it is carrying some of the “most toxic chemicals known to man” and a “missile the size of the Chrysler building.” The great connections between the characters and the boldness of Barnes and Colson working together as experienced and inexperienced make for a solid storyline of tense moments. To add to the story even more, it incorporates the personal lives of the two conductors, as Barnes lost his wife and Colson is banned from seeing his ex-girlfriend (whom he has a child with.) They connect this way as well. The special effects and background in the movie are brilliant. They always have helicopters flying around and news vans all over the area, and make all sorts of newscasts talking about the situation and the danger it is bringing to the approaching city (Stanton, PA) hyping up the action even more than it already is with the toxic explosive missile that is 777 flying along. They always have police cruisers flying by, a helicopter in the air, or a news reporter on scene to make it seem all too realistic. One of the reviews of this movie on “HollywoodReporter.com” says “He hits his target dead-on in "Unstoppable." The best blue collar action movie in who knows how long, this tense, narrowly focused thriller about a runaway freight train has a lean and pure simplicity to it that is satisfying in and of itself.” I agree with everything stated in this comment, how it was focused on one thing, very intense and has a great simplicity to it. There’s a runaway train, it needs to be stopped, and the people at the top think they can do it when Barnes, being experienced as he is, knows the only way to get the job done is a way only him and Colson can. This movie will grab your attention and not let go from beginning to end.

Guest Blogger: Cody S1

The movie that I’m going to my blog on is The Lion King, which is a movie about a lion cub (Simba) who finds out his father (Mufasa) has died so it is up to simba to find his uncle (Scar) and overthrow him from his place as king so that he can take his place as rightful king. The actors in the movie are Jonathan Taylor Thomas as young Simba, Matthew Broderick as adult Simba , Jeremy Irons as Scar, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Nathan Lane as Timon, Moira Kelly as adult Nala, Niketa Calame as young Nala, Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa, Robert Guillaume as Rafiki, Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, Madge Sinclair as Sarabi, Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi, and Cheech Marin as Banzai. All these actors are very good but one in particular is Ernie Sabella as pumbaa because he was so funny and you would laugh at all the crazy things he did like one part where they were traped in a cave with the hyenas and him and timon did the hula and sang a very funny song to distract them while simba and nala escape. Simba is a lion who fights his way to become king. Nala is Simbas childhood friend and joins him on his adventure, they later have a lion cub toghether. Tomoine and pumbaa are probably the funniest characters in the movie because of silly things they do and the famous line from the movie that tomoine says to Simba is hukuna Mata which means no worries. Rafiki is the wise character in story because he helps Simba on his journey to both show him his dad and help find scar. Scar is the antagonist in the film because he is the one who had killed Simbas dad to rule as king. And the Hyenas were henchmen for scar. I agree with other critics because they say that the lion king is the all-time best Disney films of all time and its true because I thought It was very good and had lots of humor and we will remember it as a classic. Overall my opinion is that if you have never seen the lion king you are missing out on one of the best movies ever made it is an excellent movie for all ages so I would highly recommend it.

Guest blogger: Abdi MU1

In the movie Castaway Tom Hanks as Chuck Nolan survives a plane crash, and ends up on a remote island. He is far away from any human contact and is forced to survive on the island. He battles with himself throughout the film. Chuck is challenged mentally, physically, and emotionally in order to survive. Chuck holds on to a photograph of his girlfriend Kelly. Before the crash Chuck was always busy at work. He was so busy as a Fedex manager he was barely home. His hopes of seeing her again are what motivated him to keep on surviving. On the island Chuck realizes there is more to life than just work. He constantly thinks to himself the hope of getting an opportunity to be rescued to turn his life around back home. After 4 years, fate gives Chuck a chance with a wooden raft with a sail that washes up on shore. Will he take his chances by setting off on a risky voyage across the see, or will he stay where he has been stranded on the island and rely on being rescued? Tom Hanks does a great job of acting in this film. Critics were impressed with his performance and the film was nominated for 2 Oscars. I agree with the critics on his performance because he performed well. A main theme in movie is Hope and motivation. When you have nothing you always have hope and you never know what hand fate will deal you. Chuck learns to have perseverance to not give up no matter how many obstacles are in your way. The number one thing I took away from the film is to never quit just do what you have to survive to see another day. My overall opinion is that this is a must watch movie. If you have a chance watch this movie it’s definitely worth it.

Guest Blogger: Severo SV3

In this blog I will be responding to Randy Tankhamvang’s 2nd blog about T.I. In reply to this blog I say it was very well organized very well written also. I agree with what randy said about T.I and he described him as an artist very well, and really convinced me to listen and buy his songs. If he randy would’ve written a little more about T.I ‘s life than I think he could convince more people to listen to his song because after researching and reading about T.I’s I learned a lot of new things about T.I, some good, some bad but everybody makes mistakes don’t they? Anyways as I was saying randy could have talked a little more about T.I’s life experiences and also I have another one he could have talked about, T.I grammy awards and his platinum albums, T.I has many and many of these actually I think that T.I is one of the most underrated rap artist. Yeah he got arrested for drugs and has been in and out of jail but I think people don’t see past that I think they hear about T.I and think ohh he was arrested again who cares. But no he is one of the greatest rappers out there and people should defiantly give him credit for that.

Guest Blogger: Chay T3

I would say I agree with Allyson , Taylor Swift’ songs are classified under pop country music. Taylor swift is really talented; she has the ability of making and creating her own styles which she can give her song the feeling with pop music. She has a wonderful voice and her songs are mostly about the relationship, love and broke up. With her new album Red , the song “we never ever getting back together again” it is an upbeat song, and I like it. Anyway the lyric is a little funny to me since the meaning of the song is about a guy who broke up with his girlfriend, and then want to start with her again. The emotional that produces from that song is happy, but still it is also consist of sadness due to relationship that has been over. Of course, Taylor swift’s songs are what we can connect to our life, and what we have gone through. Yes, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood are similar due to fact that they are both country stars. For me, even though Taylor Swift is not my favorite singer, but I still enjoy her songs and would recommend her album to everyone.

Guest Blogger: Jason G3

Simply put I agree with everything you said about Coldplay. They are a go to band when you don’t know what else to listen to because they are amazing no matter what mood you are in. I’m amazed you found a critic that does not like them I am curious about what exactly he didn’t like or if he was even listening to the right band. I agree with them in the sense that not every song they have is a hit though and some are recycled melodies but when they are good they are great. “Fix it” is one of my personal Coldplay favorites, I heard it first during a TV show and it added so much emotion to the scene that otherwise would have been bland. Saying that Coldplay is like U2 is a decent comparison because they both have this large feel to it that you could imagine being perfect at a huge concert. For me though I would say they are very similar to Snow Patrol because they sometimes are like the same band. Sometimes I’ve remembered the name of a song but didn’t know if snow patrol or Coldplay sang it for example “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol. Basically it is nearly impossible to dislike Coldplay because there is nothing about them that anyone would want to change because it would ruin their song and their style of music. If you were curious about the TV scene I mentioned http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m95qHOmoUXs

Guest Blogger: Evan P3

Lane’s review of the band “Seether” was spot on, discussing their heavy feel and dark lyrics. I also see the comparison between them and Three Days Grace and Nirvana, who also have a darker, heavier feel to their songs and albums. “Remedy,” one of their most popular songs Lane spoke of, is definitely one of their most popular because it’s one of the few I’ve heard, and I like the fast paced but still heavy metal style. I also enjoy their slower songs that have a specific message or meaning, not all of them have to be necessarily heavy. These are especially good if the meaning behind it can be related to, in which case it sticks out more than the other heavier songs and is more important to me, personally. Another big factor that I like about Seether is that they incorporate their current feelings into songs, as Lane said. Negative Spaces is a darker album due to Shaun’s brother’s suicide, but then their album Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray is more upbeat and of the rock style you’d expect. Seether is a solid band and an especially good group if you’re looking for the heavier rock style they put out.

Guest Blogger: D'Von V2

Today I’m going to be talking about meek mills an upcoming rapper in the world. First I would like you to know that he was born in north Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1986. He grew up being known as Robert Williams. He grew up in the hood of Philly where he had no money so he sold drugs to make money which became his life style. He was fist briefly signed to T.I’s record label Grand Hustle but never made it really anywhere with them so he left the label to improve his rapping skills. Also he was a very good lyricist and began to rap and made the mix tape dream chaser which made him famous two other artists had signed him Jay-z and Rick Ross who signed him to his label maybach music. Now days he is one of the big upcoming rappers that everyone like because he spits about his life. One of my favorite songs by him is Meek Mills House party. But before any of these things had happen he had got charge with a gun charge which sent him to jail for about a year and a half. I believe that this influenced him to become a better lyricist having all the time in the world in your hands you can think and learn a lot to increase vocab to have more to say to people is better than saying all the same thing in each of your raps. When he got out jail is when he got his fame from the mix tape dream chaser. The is 2011 is when meek mills started to rise and become a shining star in the music business. And do to his success he started his on record label named dream chaser records in October 26, 2012. This is how meek mills became the star that he is now.

Guest Blogger: Devin P3

I think that what Ryan did was pretty good on what he said about Maroon 5. I can say that I enjoy the band and sing along with them. With their songs they have a couple of good songs to listen to but there are some that I mostly enjoy. I would listen to their songs and go to their concerts but I would mostly enjoy listening to their songs on my I pod because when there is everyone around its kind of hard to listen to the music and when they play the songs live it’s kind of different from their songs on the Cd’s. I mostly don’t care what critics say on the band, I enjoy their songs no matter what people say about them. With their new albums coming out and their new songs I will give it a try and see what I think about the songs. I would also recommend the band it is mostly a good band to listen to and it is worth your time and money to listen to the band and going to their concerts. When they show up in town I a certain that I will go to the concert and listen to them.

Guest Blogger: Courtney S3

When I first heard about Drake, I didn’t think he’d be that great of a rapper. I remember him as the teenager in the wheelchair from Degrassi. Much to my surprise, he has become one of my favorite rappers. I think his sound has a lot to offer and is anytime type of music, whether you’re mad, sad, or happy. I think his best album is Take Care because of songs like “Doing It Wrong” and “Headlines.” I wouldn’t say Drake is the best rapper, there are much more out there, but he does have an amazing talent. In the song, “Look What You’ve Done” you learn a lot about how far Drake has come. He gives his thanks to those who have helped him along the way. He stays modest, knowing that without those people who were there for him, he wouldn’t be where he is now. It was his dream and he accomplished it with one phone call from another well-known rapper in the game, Lil Wayne. He flew him out and Drake became a part of Young Money. He’s worked with many other artists and a lot of those songs become hits. Drake is still making new music and he’s definitely someone to look out for.

Guest blogger: Jamie H3

In response to Joe L’s blog post on Fun I would have to completely agree. They are a newer group that is very Fun to listen to. You can tell when you listen to them, and by the style of their music that there is much more to the lyrics than just a catchy tune. Their song “We Are Young” was one of their hit singles, but the song “Some Nights” in my opinion is much better. It has a great tempo and the instrumentals are phenomenal. Also they provide a type of music that is quite original. They are a type of mix between pop and the singer/songwriter genre. This type of music is really good because it is easy to remix off of. Now, when you say that there is a meaning of war in the song “We Are Young”, it really caught my attention. I never actually knew that, that song had such a special meaning to it. Also I like how you described that adults would like this group more if they understood the message Fun is trying to portray. I think it’s safe to say this group of guys has recently shot up into the spotlight and will probably be in it for a while.

Guest Blogger: Zach W2

Another great artist would have to be MGK. MGK or also known as Machine Gun Kelly is a rapper that is from the Bronx of New York and has grown up in the slums and the ghetto parts of the state. His bases his music off of his life lessons and things he has encountered and he intertwines many of the things that he has encountered into his music. He is a young rapper still he is only 22 and he raps about his daughter in many of his songs. The feel of his songs are up beat happier songs that are about love and hate mainly and how he never looks back or makes the same mistake twice and how his life lessons have got him to were he is today. One of his songs is called “See My Tears”. This song is about how if you cry in the rain, no one will be able to tell so when you do, only do it when it rains because that way no one will be able to see. It shows how even if you are a big tough person that its ok to cry but if you do just do it in the rain because underneath it all were all the same, so he likes to let it rain. Another song is “Half Naked And Almost Famous”. This song is about how he has been trying so hard to get to the top and be known and how he has even gotten half naked and had many crazy nights trying to be known and so far it has began to pay off in the end. In my opinion he is one of the better rappers out there because he doesn’t always rap about the same drugs and drinking and having sex, because after awhile it gets old and he doesn’t always rap about that so he mixes it up tastefully.

Guest Blogger: Xavier R2

This may be surprising but one of my favorite musicians is Taylor Swift. She was born Taylor Allison Swift on December 13th 1989 in Reading Pennsylvania. She found out she had a love for music from a very young age. By the time she was 14 she and her family had moved to Nashville Tennessee so Taylor could pursue her music career. She is mostly known for her beautiful voice but can also play the guitar, banjo, ukulele, and the piano. The label she is signed with is Big Machine. Most of her songs are about her dating life. For example her latest song “We are Never Getting back Together.” It is about a recent break up with her boyfriend and how she used to always give in and take him back right away but she doesn’t want to do that this time. The song has become an anthem to her many fans. Taylor does not only sound good on the radio but she is just as good if not better in person say many of her fans. She is widely known for acting out many of her songs which is great for the audience! The thing that I think makes Taylor different is how great of role model she is. Unlike some of the recent stars of our generation such as Britney Spears, Taylor has a squeaky clean reputation and takes a lot of pride in that and she realizes that many people look up to her. She always says how she loves that young people look up to her and always thinks of that before doing something she may be ashamed of. There aren’t many artists that you can compare Taylor too. She sings catchy pop song like Lady Gaga and she also sings powerful country songs like Carrie Underwood. The critics say that Taylor sings about her love life to much but to that I would say artists sing about what they know and what inspires her and if that’s what inspires her and her fans love it then I don’t think she should change a thing. As long as she keeps doing what she is doing she will continue to be a force in the music industry.

Guest Blogger: Tyler R3

Jason, I agree on your extraordinary review of the meaning-full rock group The Killers. I also share the feelings they are one of the last rock groups in such a once roaring era that is screeching to its end. In your review of the group you found their lyrics brought a full-fledged meaning to their instrumentals but I modestly disagree, I feel it is their smooth sound that has raised the hearts of their fans; which has helped them make a sound worth dying for. Additionally I find that their unique sound creates a surreal feel that can calm the mind of any rabid rock fan. In a statement regarding the groups new album Battle Born you said you found that the group’s songs have “a little bit different of a rhythm for The Killers” and I agree as I believe they are swaying to a different more rapid pace; leaving most of their older, but yet still great, sounds behind. Finally I can’t agree with you enough that this group is worth our time. Their sounds may be evolving but are still outstanding as they pound forwards, stretching the boundaries of the rock gene keeping both an amazing lyrics set and an overall amazing sound.

Guest Blogger: Tyler R2

The rock group Green Day is a stunning ensemble of guitars and drums that shakes the very souls of their punk rock fans. In their anarchist conquest of the ridged music world, the band inspires followers through a clash of musical and vocal genius plus a new wave fast pace and wild tempo. Many say this group holds a similar sound to the rock group Korn but still represents a very different style in their aggressive onslaught of cords. This construct of musical brilliance lead by Billie Joe Armstrong matches the sound quality of Avenged Seven Fold with a lighter tone and a very rebellious spin. One of this group’s most memorable songs “American Idiot” was released in September of 2004, drowning the market with outstanding punk rock sound. The song and Album was an instant hit as it sparked the awareness of most American citizen’s mock able acts, the quell of fame swarmed across the group and massed power to the punk rockers. Another song, released ten years earlier, often associated with these spiky hair non-conformists is “Basket Case” which hit the streets in 1994. The masterpiece told a story of one man’s mental paranoia in his everyday life and his self-reflections on the issues it brought. The critics on Ew.com claim the group to be the start of a revolution, which I agree. Their music brought rise to many other groups which have stepped up the intensity bringing a whole new spectrum of wild music. In my honest opinion I feel that every second of Green Day is worth one’s time. It is a beautiful yet rebellious style of music that shakes the very souls of its fans. Once you get started on this gene of loony free-for-all music you will find that it is amazing too and certainly worth every moment.

Guest Blogger: Tyler K2

When I think of music I think of country music. Country music is one of those types of genres that you can relate to. Jason Andean has been a country singer since 2005, he has recorded for Broken Bow Records, an independent record label which he has released five albums and sixteen singles. Jason’s music is often barely distinguishable from that of peers such as Luke Bryan and Eric Church, but because he’s more famous than they are. His music makes you feel like he knows what you have been through, like he has gone through what you have. Jason’s songs are country but that doesn’t mean that it’s like every other country song. Jason has his own twist that makes it unique. Jason’s voice is a likeable voice not a pitchy voice nobody likes. His attitude in his songs is present but never really fully expressed. In Jason’s single “Dirt Road Anthem” he shows people not use to the south a glimpse into the social activities and recreational activities of the southern youth. I agree with Kevin coyne when he says “ I was shocked to discover that this subculture of American society thrives beyond the paved roads provided by federal and state governments, a stunning statement of independence from the restrictions that we have attempted to construct around such resilient communities.” Because people in the south are more relaxed unlike the people everywhere else. People in the south know how to live their life and they live it to the fullest. I also agree with Mandi Bierly in her review called “Jason Aldean's 'Night Train'” published on the Cnn.com website. This review says “There's an urgency in his voice that gives every driving chorus added heat” because you can relate to his songs. I believe that Jason Aldean’s songs are the songs you would listen to when you just want to be alone and need to think. Saying this I think that his albums are worth the money they cost because what you receive when listening to his songs is greater than what you spent to receive them.

Guest Blogger: Taylor T2

The band Fun. is an American indie pop band from New York City. Nate Ruess, the leader of this band, has his own unique style. Since his debut, the band has released the two albums: Aim and Ignite in 2009 and its latest Some Nights in February of 2012. The band is best known for its hit singles “We Are Young,” and “Some Nights.” “We Are Young” reached number one on the United States Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart as well. Both albums show references to vintage pop and quirky, melodic hooks, which gives these albums an edge. They are very different from most of the music one would hear on the Top 40’s radio today. As a review of the album Aim and Ignite states from PrettyMuchAmazing.com, “Nate Ruess doesn’t really care about traditional structure, tempo, and instrumentation. He doesn’t need to create a memorable, radio-friendly chorus for every song. No, that’s too easy… He much prefers throwing in gospel choirs, swing beats, swelling violins and pulsing drums wherever he pleases, not necessarily where the song requires it. He like to mix it up, play around a bit. He likes to have fun.” Nate does not care about what is going to sell. He doesn’t care what other people are going to like. He sings and produces what he wants because that is what makes him happy. In the reviewers own words, “He likes to have fun.” Nate wants to enjoy what he does, and who doesn’t? Another comment from a critic, “It doesn’t sound like anything else on the radio — it’s fresh,” said Bruce Warren, the assistant station manager for WXPN (88.5 FM) in Philadelphia. “At the same time, though, it has almost immediate familiarity. Obviously the harmonies bring to mind a band like Queen, so there’s a touch point for older listeners.” In Nate's own words , he said his idea was “to take that ’70s songwriting style but modernize it a little bit more.” Personally I think that this is really creative and imaginative. My favorite quality about this band, is that it's music can be interpreted however one may like.

Guest blogger: Lane S2

Nü-metal is a type of music mostly formed by the group KoЯn. The music is heavy, fast paste music with some sort of twist to the music. The newest form is a combination of metal and dubstep in the album Path of totality, the album has been reviewed at 5 out of 5 stars on multiple sites. (artistdirect.com) Dubstep is mostly focused on beats, a form of techno and bass. KoЯn takes this and makes into a very popular music, with a mixture of the drum, bass and guitar with help from Skrillex, Datsik, Feed Me, Excision, and 12th Planet . KoЯn formed in the 1990s and got big quick, leading into the post- KoЯn era of metal. With Jonathan Davis unique voice that took the world by storm. His voice landed his voice a major part in the movie “Queen of the Damned”. He wrote most of the songs featured on the movie along with the lead singer Disturbed. . KoЯn has had a rough history though. They’ve gotten in trouble with drugs and even trashing a hotel room in a party. This causing one the guitarist Munky to leave to band to go to rehab and raise his kid, KoЯn had to make some major adjustments. They hired a new guitarist and been low key with law but still trying to bring out the newest type metal music possible. They give you a explosive mix of rock and dubstep in their concert that reviews are loving. . KoЯn has had a strong following and been hear with great bands and artist such as Limp bizkit, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop dog, Disturbed, and NWA. We may never know what they come out next or their new sound might be, but KoЯn will always be one of the most popular and best metal bands to ever play.

Guest Blogger: Sam W2

Eminem- The genre of music that Eminem produces is rap and R&B .He was born and raised in Detroit. Eminem’s debut album was The Slim Shady. The album exposed his life and willing to put anyone down including his wife and mother. One of my favorite songs by Eminem is Mockingbird. This song is about what Eminem went through as a child and now what he has done to give his little girls a better life along with all the struggles they go through. Also explaining things that have happened to him when he was younger during the holidays and what his mother didn’t do for him. Another one of my favorite songs by Eminem is Like Toy Solider. This song is him saying that he sticks up for his friends when it is needed and will always have their backs no matter what. Even when they are dead. These songs are both similar because they both pertain to his life. Also they show his struggles that he has go throughout his life and where he is now. The differences in these songs is one is dealing with his family and the other id dealing with his friends that are almost as close if not closer than his immediate family. Eminem took a break from rapping 2 years ago in 2011. He said that he needed personal time to get himself together and help himself before he could start rapping. He was addicted to drugs at this time and went to rehab. The good news is he is expected to come back soon! Many people have missed this especially since he has been rapping for 12 years now and doesn’t have that much longer. One last important fact about Eminem is he was one of the only rappers alive the not use the n- word.

Guest Blogger: Mitch M2

Linkin Park has been rocking everyone ear buds, car speakers, and computers for years. Their combination of a rock/hip hop feel has everybody crawling head over heels to get ahold of their new songs. Linkin park is about 80% rock and 20% hip hop while featuring other artists such and Busta Rhymes or even Jay Z has fans of both genres dancing. The feel or emotions that are shown in the music is a sort of anger or pump up song. They make you want to get out there and take care of things in your own way. Linkin Park is very similar to other bands such as Fort Minor or even Greenday. In fact Fort Minor and Linkin Park are so related that the share a singer. Mike Shinoda was the singer for Fort Minor and Mike is also backup vocals for Linkin Park. Linkin Park is very closely related to Greenday in ways such as; same music style, similar sounding music, and even the same emotions evoked in the songs. Linkin parks “In the End” was one of their first songs and also one of their most memorable songs. It has to do with a relationship that seemed like it was great during the entire thing, but at the end he saw how wrong he was and how it didn’t really even matter. The critics are saying that Linkin Park is a very talented music group and are having great success with all of their songs which I agree with because I have loved all of their songs since the first time I heard them. They have multiple sounds to them such as their rock feel with a twist of hop-hop which gets everyone jumping off their seat to listen. Overall, Linkin Park is always a smart investment when you’re looking for tasteful music to buy.

Guest Blogger: Michael B2

Macklemore is an independent hip hop artist who resides in Seattle, Washington. Macklemore is an artist that I have been listening too for about a year now and have seen live. His music varies in how it feels because some of his songs are about his battle that he had a couple years ago with drug addiction and some of his other songs are about celebrating life or about partying. You really have to listen to his songs and the lyrics within the songs to understand what I am trying to say. Some of his songs have some pop beats to them with him rapping over them and some of his other songs have a more underground hip hop feel to them. His lyrics can be inspirational because some of his fans have credited him with helping them through their battle with drugs. Macklemore is clean now from drugs and loves writing songs telling about his rough experiences with drug addiction. Macklemore in his last two projects has teamed up with producer Ryan Lewis and the duo releases their work under the name “Macklemore and Ryan Lewis”. The duo recently released their debut album The Heist. This album was a huge success as is reached second on “Billboards Top 200 Albums” list and sold about 78,000 albums in the first week. This is incredible considering that they are not signed with a record label and release their work independently. They do not want to sign with a record label. For example, a song off The Heist called “Jimmy Iovine” is about how record labels have approached them looking for them to sign and how every time they basically just tell them to screw off. One of my favorite songs ever made by Macklemore would be “Wings”. This song is about shoes and peoples love for shoes. But the real story about it is how America is always driven towards consumerism and is always looking to purchase the top of the line items available. Macklmore is one of my favorite artists and would recommend him to any hip hop fan. His new album has been given really good reviews and I would have to agree with them. His album is well worth the time and money.

Guest Blogger: Marriah M3

I totally agree when Austin says that Florida Georgia Line’s new song “Cruise” instantly became one of his favorites, because it did the same for me! The first time I listened to the song, I wanted to hear it again! It was so catchy and brought me back to a summer night with the lyrics saying “Baby you’re a song that makes me want to roll my windows down and cruise.” The song has so much meaning but in such a fun way instead of just singing some love song, when there are already millions of them out there. I personally haven’t heard much of what Florida Georgia Line has out there for music, but I am starting to get into country music more, and after hearing this song it makes me want to hear everything else. I love the fact that the beat is catchy, like in Austin’s blog, he mentioned that whenever he hears the song he starts singing like he is at a concert, I love when I can really get into a song and love what I’m singing about! Another plus is that he also has an amazing voice, and like Austin said, he sort of has a raspy voice which I definitely adds to my love for the song! I would definitely give Florida Georgia Line an A+ when it comes to their newest song “Cruise!”

Guest Blogger: Marriah M2

Taylor Swift has been around for a long time and ever since the first time I heard her song “Teardrops on My Guitar” on the radio I have been a huge fan. Taylor has had many great albums and songs; one of my favorite is her new album Red. Billboard.com said that “Red is her most interesting full-length to date, but it probably won't be when all is said and done in her career.” I totally agree with this because every album that Taylor puts out is amazing but she always puts out another one that is better. Taylor sings mostly country songs, but some of them are even put into the pop category! The reason I love almost all of Taylor Swift’s songs is because they are so relatable in many different ways. She sings a lot about relationships, good ones and ones that don’t work out, and for some people it can really help them get through the tough times. I would have to say that my favorite Taylor Swift song is “Ours” because I love the beat and the lyrics; everything just fits together so perfectly! And since it is an older song it doesn’t get overplayed and I don’t get annoyed of it. One of her new songs from her album Red that I really like is “State of Grace” because it isn’t one that is played constantly on the radio and the words are extremely relatable for any teenage girl when she sings “and I never saw you coming and I’ll never be the same.” Those words are relatable because when a girl meets a new guy and falls in love she will never feel the same after her first love. Taylor Swift is only 22 years old and I think she is beyond talented when it comes to singing and songwriting. She has so much life ahead of her and I believe she will go far and make huge accomplishments especially because so many people look up to her and she wants to make her fans happy.

Guest Blogger: Mitch M3

I believe that Blake Shelton earned each and every one of those awards. In the music video, “God Gave Me You,” it is realistic because it has people from his life, his wife, Miranda Lambert. Shelton was a slowing growing artist that earned his way up to the top unlike some artist who produce one great hit and then fall off the earth. I also watch “The Voice” and he is such an inspirational singer to many of the contestants. That shows how much of a great artist he is. Many of the young contestants are growing artists and they express more feelings into their songs, which Shelton is there to help them with. The type music he creates is relatable for anyone in any situation and is calm and soothing. Even those who don’t listen to country music can enjoy Blake Shelton’s songs. He does have a country tone to his voice, but it is not a deep, swingy voice that people recognize in a country song. Blake is an inspiring person to many young artists and young adults because his songs are so real and true. He is an artist that should be recognized by everyone from his unique country style.

Guest Blogger: Kelly P3

Taylor Swift captured the teen audience many years ago with her relatable lyrics. At first, I enjoy her music just like any other teen girl, but after 6 years, it’s the still the same old thing. She is the type of artist who will sing about the same love song, with no meaning. Swift is considered to be a pop-country singer and I believe that just because she plays guitar, it is not country music. Her music is played more on pop stations that country stations. If she sang about other things than just her break –up situations, her song would be more interesting and capture and keep audiences’ attention. I am honestly still surprised that a lot of my friends still enjoy her music until this day. Her recent song, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” became a big hit because the beats and instrumental was a lot different than what she is known as, which is slow guitar. I think it is great that she has audiences who have supported her no matter what, but I was just not one of them. Swift makes one song about her having a good time with her friends for every ten song she sings about her break-up. Taylor also uses a lot of computer editing on her voice when it is produced. Watching a live performance from Swift was a big disappointed.

Guest Blogger: Kelly P2

Rascal Flatts is one of many great country bands. In the past, they have been known for slower songs like, “What Hurts the Most.” Majority of “sad” songs talk about their girlfriend/boyfriend leaving them, but in this song, the “sad” factor comes from being open and close to someone. The lyrics itself is different from other typical slow songs. In the song, there are parts when the melody and vocals are soft and quiet and then they emphasize on the chorus. Recently they been playing upbeat songs like, "Fast Cars and Freedom," "Banjo," and "Summer Nights." In the article, “Rascal Flatts Celebrate 7 Million Concert Tickets Sold” by Chuck Dauphin, the band had a tour in Nashville and sold over 13,000 tickets. They celebrated on stage when the Live Nation Country Touring president presented an enormous ticket stating they’ve sold over 7 million. They deserve having this reward celebrated and for others to see how great of a group they have become. He also states that the band has only been getting better vocally and socially. I agree with this because before just this year, it was just a typical band that produced one song everyone loved and then disappeared. This time I believe they will be sticking around longer and will attract more listeners. Another band people would enjoy if they like Rascal Flatts is Eli Young Band. The band has more than one lead singer. Vocalists in each band collaborate with each other to form great harmonic tunes. I think it is worth the money for Rascal Flatts because listeners can always enjoy their music no matter what mood they are in. If someone is not in such a great mood, there is a song to help sympathize with. There are upbeat songs that help brighten up a mood or to just relax.

Guest Blogger: Joe L2

If you are up to date on the music scene I’m sure you have heard of PSY. He is famous for his song “Gangnam Style”. PSY released the single on July 15, 2012. Ever since the music video went viral PSY has been all the hype. PSY was born and raised in South Korea. The Phrase “Gangnam Style” is referring to a fancy lifestyle in the Gangnam district in Seoul, South Korea. Some people say the Gangnam district in Seoul could be compared to Beverly Hills, California. This is pretty funny because actually the song “Gangnam Style” is referring to a perfect girlfriend who knows when to be classy and proper and when to get wild and crazy! In the music video it is far from classy and proper. The song actually is making fun of the people that are posers and are trying to be something they aren’t. Because usually the people that brag about living in the Gangnam district really don’t live there. People don’t usually flaunt the fact that they live there. Personally I really don’t care for PSY and the song “Gangnam Style” I’m not a big fan of that type of music. Half of the time you can’t even understand what the guy is saying, but if you haven’t ever heard it I would suggest going on YouTube and watching the video. Some of the dancing and the outfits in the song are pretty funny. Other than that I don’t think it is really good. That is his only famous song. I think he should release more music before he gets the hype his is receiving right now. A lot of people disagree with me though. People think he is the coolest thing since ice cream. His song is one of the most played songs played on pop radio stations.

Guest Blogger: Jillian M3

The Cab is a pop-rock band with a sound much like Maroon 5’s or Coldplay’s, but despite sounding related they successfully held their own in the album Symphony Soldier. “They say before you start a war/you better know what you're fighting for/Well baby, you are all that I adore/if love is what you need, a soldier I will be.” Starting off the track with song “Angel with a shotgun”, The Cab produced a catchy tune that pretty much set the whole tone for the entire album, meaning, Symphony Soldier is mostly songs about relationships, and though the album as a whole is good, the songs separately are definitely not bad. In one of my personal favorites,” la la” The Cab created a fun funky feel that infects the listener with a song that stays in their head all day. “And there’s nothing I can do/I just gravitate towards you/you’re pulling on me like the moon.” It’s a song you’ll find yourself nodding your head to the beat to, or later in the day singing in your head, mixed with catchy lyrics this is a favorite of many. James Shotwell from Under the Gun Review gave The Cab a 9 star review saying, “The Cab have always done a great job of separating themselves from the cookie-cutter, faceless legion of pop rock bands that plague social media these days. They never “keep it simple” and (shocker) their vocalist can actually sing well without the use of technology which, by today’s standards, makes them nearly deserving of idol worship…” Reviewer Jack Appleby from Mind Equals Blown adds “…Countless bands have fallen away from far less troubles than this group faced in the 1200 days between their albums. Against all odds, the boys from Vegas reemerged with a new disc of gorgeous pop tunes entitled Symphony Soldier...” Personally, I found The Cab’s album Symphony Soldier to be extremely fun, upbeat, and infectious, an easily likeable album. Though there are not too many bad things to say about the album, there isn’t anything spectacular about it either. It’s just a fun group of songs to listen to in the car, but I don’t see it going much further being such a mainstream sounding album. I could see The Cab doing better in the future, but only if they shaped up their lyrics a little and created a more significant uniqueness about themselves and their music.

Guest Blogger: Jillian M2

"You don't know what's in store, but you know what you're here for." Instantaneously with a mix of Abel Tesfaye’s voice and sick beats, The Weekend introduced lyrics that would set the framework of the sultry album, House of Balloons. Though comparable to Frank Ocean and How to Dress Well, Abel Tesfaye has surpassed their music with a sound all his own. House of Balloons is an R&B album with a slightly indie feel that is overflowing with songs of cautionary love tales, tragedy, and heartache. Produced with such emotional honesty and rawness, listeners can’t help but be swayed the music Abel has created. In my personal favorite, “Wicked Games”, The Weekend brilliantly invokes in listeners emotions of tragic pain, defeat, and desperation. With the haunting lyrics, “Bring your love, baby, I can bring my shame/Bring the *****, baby, I can bring my pain/I’ve got my heart right here/I’ve got my scars right here,” Abel perfectly showcases his emotional and painstakingly crude lyrics. In his review giving the album an 8.5, Joe Colly perfectly describes what makes House of Balloons so original and hypnotic, “What makes this whole thing work in an album context is that all the thematic and sonic pieces fit together-- these weird, morning-after tales of lust, hurt, and over-indulgence … are matched by this incredibly lush, downcast music. It's hard to think of a record since probably the xx's debut … that so fully embodies such a specific nocturnal quality. And even though the image of nightlife painted by The Weeknd isn't a place you'd ever want to live, it's one that's frankly very hard to stop listening to.” (Colly, Pitchfork.com). Rolling Stone also gave a worthy 4 star review of House of Balloons commenting, “It can all be disturbingly raw…The wormy hooks and earnest falsettos suggest the possibility of ginormous hits…” In my overall opinion, with the awesome beats that are not lacking in meaningful lyrics, House of Balloons is certainly brilliant: a mix of R&B/Indie album like none I have never heard. There is no less than one object or feeling in each song the listener can relate to and empathize with. I have no doubt that The Weekend has further potential in the future and I am looking forward to future albums from The Weekend.

Guest Blogger: Jenny C2

Michael Jackson was known as the King of Pop, even after his death. Michael Jackson has made many albums. He is also a singer and song writer. One of Michael Jackson albums “Off the wall” consist of 16 songs that has a blend of pop, ballads and strings, smooth soul, soft rock and funk. The feel is all blend in the song, it can be exiting song to a sad song. For example “she’s out of my life” from the album “Off the Wall” is a sad song that brings emotions about a bad breakup. Is where most of his fan can relate to that not only this happens to us, but also to celebrities like Michael Jackson who has once felt this pain. The music that Michael Jackson creates upbeat songs to sad emotional songs to where we can have fun listing to when we’re in a mood or when we’re we want to listing to a good sad song that we could relate to in his music. Michael Jackson is very different from all artists for example like Mick Jagger, Ray Charles, and Bob Dylan. He is different from these artists that I know because he sang all types of genres of music and they stuck to one type of genre of music; like pop to smooth soul, ballads and string, and funk. We all know that Michael Jackson is a talented man. The song “we are the world” has a memorable lyric “when the world must come together” this song expresses that the world would come together to help when another part of the world is in need of help and that every part of the world would come and lend a helping hand. In a review that I have recently read has stated that” there is not a single artist has accomplished so many heart touching and fun relating music like Michael Jackson himself”. I myself agree because Michael Jackson is the king of pop and he has gone through a lot to get where he is in his career that he has made in his life; this is not a bad agreement because he used music to express how a person can feel and we can understand it in his songs. Michael Jackson is worth everybody’s time and money, his words can inspire a person and we should listen to what he has to say because we could feel the same ourselves.