Enchanted

I am not going to pretend I am the biggest Disney fan in the world, but from the first time I saw a trailer for this I just knew I had to see it. The fractured fairy tale has become its own genre as of late, thanks in part to those overrated trash filled Shrek debacles, but this one looked charming, almost sweet in its treatment of all those princess fairy tales Disney has made famous. Amy Adams won my heart in Junebug and James Marsden proved he could be campy and fun this summer in Hairspray and Patrick Dempsey, well Patrick Dempsey, with those eyes, is made for fairy tale love movies. So with great hope I set out to the theater hoping to not be disappointed.

Set in the animated kingdom of Andalasia, Giselle(Adams) is trying to put together a model of the man of her dreams. She sings about true love's kiss and has a bunch of animals helping her try and find the right lips. In the middle of her song we cut to Prince Edward(Marsden) who is a troll hunting Prince. The Troll he captures has some familiar qualities, of say a famous ogre we have all come to know as Shrek. It is a nice one time dig at the movie who made its money throwing cheap shots at Disney. Edward is also looking for true love and he hears Giselle singing and he set off to find her. The Troll gets free, chases Giselle and Edward rescues her; they will be married the next day. However, Edward's stepmother(Susan Sarandon) doesn't want to relinquish her crown so she finds a way to ruin the wedding; she tosses Giselle down a well. On the other side of the well is New York City and Giselle finds herself alone and lost, looking for a castle. After losing her Tiara to a homeless man and getting rained on she meets Robert Patrick(Dempsey) and his daughter Morgan(the beyond adorable Rachel Covey) and while Robert is skeptical of her story about being a near princess and looking for her prince, he agrees to help her by getting her a cab from his place. Well it doesn't happen and after sleeping on the couch, Giselle wakes up to a messy place and calls on the animals to help her clean it. Edward also goes down the well to try and find Giselle and he is met by the stepmother's minion, Nathaniel(Timothy Spell) and a chipmunk named Pip. Giselle spends the movie trying to convince Robert to believe in true love and Robert tries to explain to Giselle that fairy tale love does not make sense. People need to date first and try and find out if they are compatible. Robert is dating Nancy(Idina Menzel, who doesn't sing at all, bummer) and they have been dating for four years but it doesn't feel like they are really in love. A love story that I didn't see coming happens in the movie and alls well that ends well, right?

Aside from being an infinitely charming story, this movie is plenty funny, as well. The movie pokes fun at Disney movies, but not in a heavy or ironic way, really. It is more an homage, or a throwback to those Princess fairy tales. The movie believes in the power of true love's kiss but it also believes in falling in love the right way. The movie only has 3 or 4 songs in it but each musical number is a fun and vibrant lift, especially the big number in the middle of the movie, "That's how she knows." It is a catchy and fun song and it gives Patrick Dempsey a chance to be funny. It gives the movie its only sense of irony and it gives all of us musical theater people hope that it is possible to bust into a random song and have people catch on right away. The 2D animation at the beginning of the movie really made me realize how much I miss movies being animated in that way and it gives me hope that in the future Disney will go back to creating these fun and magical movies. Don't get me wrong I love the Pixar stuff, but there is just something special about the classic animation movies and Enchanted is the perfect way to bridge that gap and remind people how great Disney Princess movies can be. The movie has laughs, thrills, great physical stuff for the children (The chipmunk stuff didn't do it for me, but the kids were dying) and of course, true love. It even has a dragon!

Amy Adams owns this movie. Really she does. Her star quality should shoot through the roof here. Forget Reese Witherspoon, Adams is the spunkiest and mot adorable actress out there. Her voice is perfectly suited for the songs and she gives the right attitude for the role of Giselle. She is never ironic because what makes a parody or satire funny is that the characters believe whole heartedly in what they are doing. Adams believes fully that she is a princess in a lost world and her smile, winning charm and unbelievable honesty really take this movie to new Heights. Marsden looks incredibly ecstatic to be smiling recently after years of playing the tormented Cyclops. He is winning, charming and funny and while a little dumb, he isn't stupid. He believes in love and honor and he will go to any great lengths to find it. Dempsey is perfect here. Yes, I do have a man crush on Patrick Dempsey and I am perfectly okay with it. His eyes, those swoon worthy rays of sunshine, are perfect for a fairy tale love. He is built for true love's kiss and he plays Robert with the right amount of cynicism as a single father who is also a divorce attorney. But he is not above getting wrapped up in Giselle's story either. He is a man who believes in logic, yes, but he is also a man who wants to believe in something more. Sarandon doesn't really appear in the movie much, except as an animated witch but she is having all kinds of fun hamming it up as a evil queen.

The movie does get a bit bogged down towards the end as it tries out too many CGI effects for this kind of movie, but it never takes away from the fun the movie has. It is impossible not to get wrapped up in the story because everyone on screen is having an enormously fun time. This is the kind of movie that you just leave with a big smile on your face. Movies like this are the reasons little girls wear Princess dresses and dream of being swept off their feet. I know that for hardcore Disney fans there are all kinds of homages to older movies. Homages in character names, copied shots and even some of the actors in the movie provided voice over work in some of the animated movies, but those of us who aren't crazy can still enjoy the movie for what it is- a fairy tale that exists in fantasy but grounded in the reality that true love can exist. And I was buying entirely what they were selling.

Fred Clause

Last December a teaser came out for this movie and it just had Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti sitting on a couch bickering and in that moment I thought "Well, this could be a Christmas movie actually worth watching." Of course, a teaser does not a movie make. As the trailers showing actual movie clips started coming out my excitement turned into disappointment and eventually a resolve to not see the movie. Well things don't always work out the way you think and my father wanted to spend some time with me and since he would not see Beowulf, our only real option was Fred Claus. I set out for it hoping it would be more like the teaser and less like the trailers made it look, so how did it work out for me?

Beginning in story book form we meet Fred(Vaughn) and Nic(Giamatti) Claus as young boys. At first Fred, the older brother, loves and cherishes his younger brother Nic, but soon that love turns to jealousy as their parents obviously prefer Nic. Oh and a bit of the new Santa Mythology, when someone becomes a saint, I.E St. Nic, the whole family kind of freeze in time, never aging past a certain age. Of course, this mythology has all kinds of holes in it shown throughout the movie. We cut to Fred as an adult and in true Vince Vaughn fashion, Fred is a fast talking, quick schemed, light on his feet charmer. He is a bit rude, but he is funny and that is why long time girlfriend (Rachel Weisz, totally slumming it here) cannot stay mad at him, even though it is obvious he forgot her birthday. After a very funny chase scene involving Fred running from a gaggle of Santas, Fred has to call his brother for bail money, and another $50,000.00 for a business deal. He knows Nic or Santa Claus cannot say no because he is a saint, but Santa practices tough love and tells Fred he has to come work for the money. Next thing you know Fred is on a sled headed for the North Pole. The North Pole is a very magical looking place, but Fred is not prepared for all the Christmas stuff. He loathes his brother, loathes the idea of Santa Claus and hates his mother. The big conflict of the movie is that some unnamed corporation who has some job that is not ever actually explained has sent a quality control man, Clyde(Kevin Spacey) to manage something or other. It isn't entirely clear, but if Santa gets three strikes he is fired from Christmas. Fred tries for a while to do the job correctly but after a while he gets disgusted at this naughty and nice business and the entire operation gets sabotaged. It is a PG family movie though, so it is not difficult to figure out how it ends.

I have the urge to compare this movie to Elf because they both star a big name actor in a family Christmas movie, but I prefer Vaughn to Ferrell so I preferred this movie. I think Vaughn's brand of fast talking humor works most of the time and while the movie is full of cliches something worked for me in it. It is possible Elizabeth Banks in a pointless role of Santa's helper dressed in the sluttiest of North Pole clothes (How does she stay warm?) helped in some way or that the friendship forged between Fred and one of the elves, Willie, was just funny and honest enough to help show Fred as a good guy. Of course it could also be the fact that the acting of the movie is way above what one would expect. I mean Giamatti and Spacey are far too good for something like this and their moments together really shine above the rest of the movie. On the negative side, the sound effects are a bit overly cartoonish, the CGIed Ludacris head and voice are not funny or cute, in fact, they are creepy and odd looking and it throws off the few moments he has. The story stretches itself out over too long a time and the logic behind some of the antics is never fully explained because, well kids movies don't need logic. There are two or three just absolutely hilarious moments, a few genuinely touching moments a few other funny moments but this uneven movie seems to have been written by a few different people because of how different the jokes are throughout. Overall I would never watch the movie again, but it wasn't a horrible way to kill nearly two hours and while it is no The Santa Clause, it is better than Elf.

Dan in Real Life

When I first saw a trailer for this movie I was about half interested, but not interested enough to watch it. However, my parents saw it and loved and then 4 or 5 other people I know saw it and absolutely enjoyed it. Then, I started to see more reviews and they were almost all positive. I started to get a little more interested, but still something wasn't making run out to watch it. Well Monday I had an awful morning and I needed to see a movie to cheer me up. I had a free pass that was expiring Tuesday so I had to use it. I could not use it on Beowulf and the only other movie playing at the time I had was this one. Obviously not the ringing endorsement going in, but I have been pleasantly surprised by movies before. Of course I have also been disappointed in such movies as well. SO which would it be this time?

Dan Burns(Steve Carrell) is a widowed advice columnist for a local newspaper. He is also trying to raise his 3 daughters- 17 year old Jane(Allison Pill), 14 year old Cara(Brittany Robertson) and 8 year old Lilly(Marlene Lawston). He is doing the best he knows how, but from the very beginning it is clear he is having issues. Jane wants to drive but he is too afraid to let her and Cara has fallen in crazy teenage love with a boy and Dan attempts to keep the love sick teens apart. The movie takes place almost exclusively at a giant cabin for a family reunion with Dan's family. The family is incredibly tight knit group who put on skits, do crossword puzzles and eat every meal together for this 3 day tradition. Actually, tradition is exactly what this family is. This is a family where the brothers hug, parents still worry and everyone gets along. But they are not without teasing each other as well. Anyway, one morning Dan is told by his mother to go out and get some fresh air and in a ridiculous adorable moment Dan meets Marie (Juliette Binoche). They chat for what seems like hours but Dan does all of the talking and hopes he can continue the conversation at a later date. She doesn't believe that is possible because she has a boyfriend and when she leaves him, he heads back home in a daze. Well it turns out she is dating Dan's brother, Mitch(Dane Cook). The rest of the movie is full of awkward hilarity, melancholy sadness and an overwhelming sense of love. Dan loses himself in trying to stay away from Marie and in the process disregards his daughters, especially Lilly, but since it is a heart warming tale, things never get too out of hand.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. Carrell plays Dan with the likability we are accustomed to from him, but he also grounds him in a very real sadness and a very honest delirium at the situation. Yes, he does the awkward white guy dance he must do in every movie, but he is a very honest actor and the moments with his three daughters are wonderful. Binoche is a beautiful actress and really opens herself up to a different kind of movie. She adds a sense of grace and intelligence to her character, which is great but it doesn't help us try and figure out why she is dating a guy like Mitch, who has always been a womanizer. The daughters all play their roles very well, but Brittany Robertson has the best stuff as she gets to really overdo it as a teenager feeling like Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. It is over the top yes, but it also feels like a real 14 year old love affair. All of the members of the family play the parts they are supposed to, but none of them really raise above just a supporting character with a few lines.

There is something comforting about a movie that manages to be sweet and sentimental without being overly cheesy. This could have come off like Cheaper by the Dozen, but it feels too real. Never once did I question this big familial weekend and never once did I think families couldn't do this. We live in a cynical world and it was refreshing to see a family who really cared for each other no matter what happened. It was nice to see a family who got together and put on funny and ridiculous skits and when two brothers wrote a song teasing Dan it was done in love. Nothing in the movie is outrageously new or fall on the floor funny, but there are some very funny moments and enough laughs to keep the movie moving. It is also a very nice love story. The only thing that really feels contrived is the climax, but I am not sure it could have been done any other way.

Writer/Director Peter Hedges likes these family tales, as he did Pieces of April and About a boy(only wrote it) before this and it seems clear that he has found his niche. The family is big and at times some of the people get lost in the shuffle, but he never loses sight of the goal at hand. He isn't a genius with the camera or anything, but he captures everything he needs to, especially in a scene where Dan is playing guitar for Mitch as Mitch tries to sing for Marie and he can't remember the words and so Dan sings it instead, putting a mountain of emotions behind it. We learn that Dan hasn't played a guitar since his wife died four years earlier. This is a movie that believes love can happen instantly, that a family can be your best friend and that ultimately good things happen to good people who are trying to make the best out of life. 6 years ago I would have loved this movie, 3 years ago I would have hated its overall message of happiness above everything else but now, well now I appreciate what it is and what it stands for. It isn't entirely fresh, but it does everything well and it is put together with love and care. What is not to respect about that?

No Country for Old Men

From the first time I saw the trailer for this movie I was hooked. This is the movie film fans have been clamoring after since the Coen's finished O Brother where art thou. After dabbling in nonsense bad comedic tales for a few years- Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers- it looked like the Coens were ready to come back over the dark side. Taking on a book that many claimed was unfilmable, the Coens were after blood. I had not anticipated going into a non summer movie this much since The Lord of The Rings Trilogy hits us. This was going to be the movie that blew everything else out of the water. Needless to say this movie had a lot to live up to. And how did it do?

Llewelyn Moss(Josh Brolin) is a poor hunter in a little town in Texas and while he is out hunting he comes across a bleeding dog. Instead of going towards the dog, he goes towards where the dog had just been. When he does that he stumbles onto a massacre. There are bodies , shotgun shells and guns everywhere. Moss is a smarter than he looks though as he is able to discover someone had to get away from this mess and he uses his hunting skills to find a dead body grasping onto a satchel. He rips the satchel away, opens it and finds stacks and stacks of money. It seems simple enough, get the money and thinking everyone involved is dead, escape Scot free. If only life were so simple. Anton Chigurh(Javier Bardem) is one bad ass killer and he wants his money. We see him strangle a cop to death and basically orgasm during it and we see him kill people using an oxygen tank and a rifle that has a massive silencer attached to it. He also determines the fate of people with a coin toss. He is soulless and vicious and he is looking for Moss. The game of cat and mouse weaves through the story as Moss continues to prove he is not nearly as stupid as people think he is and Chigurh every bit as crazy as he looks. Trying to solve the multiple murders and put a stop to the madness is town sheriff Ed Tom Bell(Tommy Lee Jones). He is a laconic man but what few words he uses have either a profound meaning or a very clever funny meaning. He is a man painfully aware of his own mortality and he knows he is on the edge of being pushed aside. The world has become more violent and he laments in the opening of the film "When my dad was sheriff they didn't even wear guns."

This movie is akin to telling someone to punch you in the face and closing your eyes and waiting for the punch. You know it is coming, but you are never sure when it will happen. This movie builds so much tension your joints tighten and your head starts to pound and so often it gives a false sense of release that you never get to fully relax because you are still left waiting for the punch to connect to your jaw. There is a noticeable lack of score that really accents the tense nature of each and every scene. So often we hear nothing but breathing, wind, tires and guns. There are even entire scenes with no dialogue, but they are still so intense I needed a nap when the movie was over. There are shots in this movie that you wish you could take home put on your walls and admire forever, but they so often lead to another amazing shot that you have to forgive them moving on. Each individual scene is so perfectly flawless that you can't help but sit in amazement that something like this could be crafted. The Coen brothers have truly outdone themselves in crafting a movie that leaves you feeling like you just went through the rigors of a natural disaster and somehow survived to tell about it. Never has watching a man sitting at the edge of a bed waiting felt so all consuming that you need a timeout, but the second you think nothing is about to happen you are finally punched, but the punch is not with a fist but with a semi truck. And the semi has hit you and knocked you into a brick wall and on top of that brick wall was the Statue of Liberty and it also come crashing down on top of you.

Beyond the intensity though are some incredible performances as well. Tommy Lee Jones gives life to a character that has been in a ton of movies, but has never moved beyond single dimensions before. His face, as sadly expressive as ever, really lends itself to the role. Josh Brolin ends his breakout year with a role so layered, so multi dimensional that you cheer for him and call him stupid, sometimes at the same time. He looks perfect for the part and his good ole boy charm is off set by an inner thought process that gives the character credibility at being smarter than he looks. But the real winner here is Javier Bardem. With the world's gnarliest hair cut and some of the most bad ass weapons for an assassin, Bardem has created a villain that should live on in the hearts of film goers for a long time. Like Hannibal Lector and Keyser Sose before him, he is ultimately human, but in the movie he feels other worldly. Woody Harrelson shows up for two scenes as another hitman type of character and he is the best he has been in many many years and Kelly MacDonald plays Moss' wife and she really shines in one scene toward the end of the movie.

There are copious complaints about how the movie ends and I don't want to give it away, I just want to comment that I left entirely satisfied. I would have flipped the last two scenes personally but I understand the point of the movie is mortality, not about a chase, so it works. Plus, why would anyone expect conventionality from the Coen Brothers? Whether you see movie as a movie about the consequences of our choices, or a movie about what we are capable of when faced with death, or as a movie about what happens when we get too old to remember the innocent days of youth, this movie just works. The violence is not overwhelming or gratuitous but it gets the point across that the world is a dangerous place, especially where greed is involved. It is a movie that could be discussed and devoured until the end of time and people will always go back and forth about final 20 minutes or so, but that is one of the main aspects that I love about it. This is the kind of movie I want to discuss with people who have watched it to help enrich my understanding and appreciation of it. I believe this is the kind of movie that grows with each viewing and a movie I know I can love forever. It is a masterpiece, a truly telling, timeless work of art that deserves to be praised, cherished, debated and loved.

Alicia Keys As I am album review

For some reason, when I think of the word Goddess, I think of Alicia Keys. There is just something about this woman that feels more than human. I am not sure if it is that she is beautiful, has incredible style, her attitude or what but this woman is a Goddess. Oh that's right it is her incredible song writing and singing skills! Anything she puts her seal of approval on, I am there. From singing, to playing piano, to producing tracks for others and even her poetry, it all raises me on the spiritual scale. Luckily for me, as my spiritual side of life was draining, Alicia would bless the world with another album.

As I am (Intro)- As with her first two albums Ms. Keys starts playing a classical piece on the piano and then infuses it with a hip-hop sounding beat to perfectly meld the two worlds from where she lives. It is a short but sweet introduction to the album but ultimately not anything new. 2/5

Go ahead- Alicia Keys getting her empowerment on with the first track as she kicks her man to the door with a sense of pride and funk. The beat drips of confidence and a brash sense of confrontation, which lends itself perfectly to Alicia screaming at her man "You knew you was wrong." Her voice sounds powerful, sexy and is capable of matching the beat when it gets to the bridge and breaks down for her to vent over. Her ad libs get a bit over the top at the end, but it gives the song a sense of new found freedom to express ones pent up feelings. 4/5

Superwoman- Another woman empowering track and none of that Pussy cat dolls taking-off-your-clothes-and-grinding-on-a-pole is empowering nonsense. Alicia is soulful about her dripping with sincerity as she sings "For all the mothers fighting For better days to come/And all my women, all my women sitting here trying To come home before the sun." This is the kind of song you wish you could sing for all the women in your life. Alicia has owned her womanhood and is now trying to help women everywhere be proud of who they are and what they endure. The music is kind and optimistic and Alicia gets to rip her piano up too. 4.5/5

No one- The lead single with the distorted keyboard that drips of love and passion. Her voice blends perfectly with the light piano at the beginning and even better when her keyboard gets a bit distorted when the song really gets going. The lyrics are rich with unadulterated love like "When the rain is pouring down And my heart is hurting You will always be around This I know for certain." The music on the track follows her perfectly and she really shows off the big voice here as she proclaims a love so deep and so pure that nothing can come between them. The bridge is just as beautiful and everything really comes together on this track. 5/5

Like you'll never see me again- The upcoming second single off the album Alicia begs her man to "Kiss me like you’ll never see me again" over a very soft melodic bell and snap beat. The music is a haunting background for a gorgeous yet ultimately sad track about wondering how much time we really have together with the ones we love. Alicia provides a new dynamic to her voice- a lilty quiet, and subdued beautiful soprano. The lyrics sometimes go into cheeseville with "I don't want to forget the present in a gift" but the underlying message of the song is beautiful and is done very well as the first real ballad on the album. 4/5

Lesson Learned- John Mayer helps out with his blues guitar and his unusual voice and it really works here. The song has a very emotional blues feel to it as Ms. Keys laments over a love lost. She is trying to look on the bright side though as she learns her lesson. The verses are broke into little couplets and as the song goes she gets just a little bit more into them like her emotions are finally really getting to her as she goes through the verses. It feels like this is a little ways away from the relationship and one starts to look at things clearly. Her piano playing is probably at its most prolific up this point int he album and it blends nicely with the feel of the rest of the song. Mayer doesn't try and overpower anything here as he seems content to just chill and let Alicia do her thing. 5/5

Wreckless love- This song is about celebrating the first few months of a new love. The times when you were wreckless with your love, when you couldn't keep your hands off of each other. This song is about how she wants that kind of love back, that wreckless love. The horns on the track add a fun flirty almost sexy quality to the beat and Alicia has lightened up her voice, like she is flirting with all of her listeners and I am buying everything she is selling. The hook is an infectious jingle that goes as follows "Have that wreckless love/That crazy love/That off the wall won't stop til I get enough kind of love/I need that love/So baby, let's go." Does that kind of love not sound like an amazing place to be in life? 5/5

The thing about love- Alicia has love on the mind. She also has the downside of love on the mind, but she prefers to try and put a positive spin on love. The fact that love always comes back in one's life. The words start right as the music hits without an intro and the first word is "love" so it is easy to see where this song is taking us. The piano is gorgeous and understated, just like the vocals. Then right before the chorus comes in there is a very faint violin sounding thing that happens that really gives the song an extra dimension as it comes and goes through the rest of this slow, haunting track. Then about half way through the track, it picks up steam and Alicia belts it out as she is finding her soul again and realizing she doesn't need a man to be powerful and does not need a man to shine. No, no she really doesn't. Preach on Ms. Keys! 5/5

Teenage love affair- This is my song right here. Somehow Alicia found a way to recapture perfectly that high school love, that puppy dog love, that innocent, yet kind of flirty love. The music stays perfectly with her in creating an old school feeling track about falling in love in high school. The chorus is catchy as hell, as I have been humming it for almost a week straight now. With fun flirty, puppy dog lyrics like "want u to be my first my last my ending and beginning/ i write your name in my book your last name my first/ I'm your Mrs it is impossible not to smile your way through the entire song. Then when she starts talking on the track and gets even more flirty and then it hits it's peak when she starts singing about the bases. Oh we all know the bases. I love it! 6/5

I need you- This sounds like a very danceable track with heavy drums and a nice baseline throughout the song. But the song is rich with personification of inanimate objects with human emotions. The metaphors are rich and beautiful, like she was outside on the beach writing this song. Lyrics like "the sand loves when the waves come/ the sky can't wait for the light of the sun." This is the ultimate love song as she wails "there will never be two things that go together better than you and me." There is a sense of sadness as she worries if her man doesn't see it the way she does, but the passion with which she sings seems to erase any doubt that she and her man are meant to be together forever, "like the desert needs rain and like and like joy needs pain" these two people need each other. 5/5

Where do we go from here- This is a song about a relationship clearly at the end. With sadness Alicia knowingly sings over an amazing sample of "After laughter comes tears." The sample is incredibly morose and sad but also energetic and and almost mean at the same time. Alicia is crying all over the track, letting her soul bleed through her words, through her agony as it pierces the listeners ears. The emotions feel all to real when it gets to the chorus of "Where do we go from here?(We go)/ All I can do is - follow the tracks of my tears." The music perfectly captures her pain and remains pretty funky all at the same time. It is a pretty remarkable track. 6/5

Prelude to a kiss- This is a short little interlude, but might find Alicia at her most introspective right off the bat with opening the opening lyrics "Sometimes I feel Like I don’t belong anywhere/ And it’s gonna take so long For me to get somewhere." It is just her and her piano here as she is incredibly vulnerable about how guarded she is and while the track only lasts two minutes, it is an excruciatingly sad song and really shows that even Goddesses question life. My biggest complaint is that it is so short and the only track with just her and her piano. 4/5

Tell you something- I think this is a song for everyone who lost someone before they got to tell that person how they felt. It could be a significant other, family member or even a best friend, but this song is for us. It is a very slow and melancholy song that drips of regret and promise of something better afterwards. The drums add a nice touch during the chorus but never pull focus from the simple but poignant lyrics as Ms. Keys wonders "Imagine there was no tomorrow and I couldn't see your face." This is really a song just telling everyone to tell those you love that you love them and cherish them. 5/5

Sure looks good to me- It would not be an Alicia Keys album without one last uplifting, beautiful track and this is it. This is a song about turning the negatives into positives and just enjoying the life we are given and to let everyone else enjoy their lives too. With uplifting lyrics like "I wanna risk it all, the freedom to fall" and "So don’t rain on my parade Life’s too short to waste one day" I feel like I could do anything after listening to a song like this. The music is essentially just her piano at first and it provides an empowering background for a song that I picture she wrote while sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking some gorgeous landscape of nature. This is the equivalent of a William Blake poem or William Wordsworth poem. Then the track gets quiet and the builds to a great climatic moment where Alicia is throwing caution to the proverbial wind and really letting loose all over the song. It is the perfect album closer and really lets the listener into where Alicia is as an artist these days and it sure looks good to me! 6/5.

Yet another brilliant album to add to her already impressive discography, As I am is actually her tightest, best, most honest album. Her voice is incredibly mature and expressive and the songs really fit with the one before and the one following. It isn't perfect, but it is close enough to make this an easy top 5 of the year album!

Dane Cook is rough around the edges.

Dane Cook can no longer be considered a stand up comedian. He has shed that label over the last few years and no it isn't because he is an actor because 1 good movie in 3 does not an actor make, but, Dane Cook has become a Rock Star. He is worshipped by millions and hated by millions. He seems oblivious to the charges that he is only out for himself and that people think he has disrespected the profession of stand up comedy. People think he used his looks and charm to make people forget he has no talent. Before I go any further I do not believe he is talentless. But that is something his critics hit him with. True, he is not social commentator and a good portion of jokes lack the traditional punchline, but what he has been is the funniest guy at the party. He weaves interesting stories replacing punchlines with catchphrases and when they end you feel like he was sitting on your couch in front of a few friends telling stories. That is his true appeal.

Yesterday brought the release of his new album/DVD, Rough around the edges and while it is a comedy concert it plays very much like a rock show, in my opinion. Hence, Dane Cook the Rock Star. Right off the bat, as soon as his name is mentioned the crowd erupts in a chorus of screams from people who seemed to have been waiting for years to see this man live. Madison Square Garden hasn't probably been that loud for quite some time. To lead off Dane says that this night feels like a party and that he came from the back and someone "has shit on all the coats." Just like a rock star, you want to start with something people know. This joke comes from his most popular album and he doesn't do the whole joke, but it sends the audience into fits of screams like they are all experiencing orgasms at the same time. The rest of the album plays very much this way. With the new jokes we get a lot of what we already know, some familiar themed jokes that let his fans know celebrity hasn't changed him.

His energy is still high like a rock band who is playing their first stadium tour, but he also tries his hand at some one-liners and different joke telling tactics. Like a rock star tired of being typecast with his music, Cook wants to be something more than the funniest guy at the party. The results are mixed as his "civil war" joke starts as a total tank but then half way through he finds his rhythm and ends it on a high point, but the high point is apparently what you see not what you hear, so like any live album, we miss something just hearing it. This is often times not a common thing in a comedy album. If you were to listen to Mitch Hedberg, you can laugh at every joke fully just listening to it because we all know he just stood there and dead panned his genius one-liners. Cook is not that cerebral, but his physical presence on stage is part of his joke telling. Much like Tom Morello is a good guitarist but is loved for the tricks he can do with a guitar (better when seen live, Trust me!) Cook is best served with a helping of DVD, or in person, I imagine. The CD is also ripe with references to his old jokes. He isn't relying on things like "banana sandwich" to get cheers but he knows they will get a reaction, much like at a rock concert when the artist puts the name of the current city to get that eruption of cheers.

Also, Dane Cook understands his 15 minutes didn't start at the same time his career started and he was not content to let some of his older jokes go by the wayside just because he told them before. See, not all of his fans went back and watched everything he had done. So he throws in some stuff for those of us who have been behind him for quite some time. We get "You know you are drunk when you think the cab fare is the time" much like a musician might hit you off with a song from their album that was released before their major deal. Consider these "B-side" jokes. Also, about a year ago he performed a few jokes at some special and it was obvious these were feeler jokes, new jokes that hadn't matured fully. Well they show up on the CD as more fully realized jokes. The "Oprah" bit added a whole new dimension to it. To me these jokes are Dane's version of the first single. Often times when we hear this lead single on the radio we think it sounds rushed but when you hear it live, they have more fully figured out where they want the track to go.

Dane is not oblivious to his biggest fan base though- screaming girls. Like Usher removing his clothes, Dane understands there are things his audience demands. They demand jokes about sex, but not sly or slick commentary about sex, but jokes that require him to mimic sex. Like a rock show he is not afraid of the pelvic thrusts and like a rock show he is not afraid to throw them all over the place (this is just a guess by the outbreak of female screams at random moments). He does however fight back when he calls all the screaming girls sluts, in what might be one of the few moments that truly are "Rough around the edges." He seems to have sex on the brain as a good portion of the jokes have a focus on sex. This is not a bad thing as his sex jokes have brought lines like "Smell my eye" and a nice joke about singing the super mario brothers theme during certain alone time. Now we get "the condom fairy" and in describing a broken condom "you look down and it is just a ring and one bit of the condom waving around like a flag from Pirates of Penzance."

This may not be his best material but everyone goes through down spots. There are still flashes of the comic hilarity Cook has provided his legions of fans especially during his bit about needy children, but there are also some moments that sound like they need some fine tuning, like perhaps he should not have rushed to capitalized on the wave of success he is having. Comedy Cds are unique in that they are best when listened to without skipping around, but this one might require some skipping for people. Also, Cook has a unique circumstance even within his profession of stand up comic and that is he is probably the most famous stand up comic ever, in the realm of stand up comedy. People like Dave Chappelle or Jerry Seinfeld are surely more famous than Dane Cook but their fame came from T.V shows, but Cook got famous based on stand up comedy. That presents a problem when touring because everyone has heard everything already and like writing a new song, writing a new joke takes time, so sometimes you have to just understand that you will have heard all of his jokes when you see him. Of course, he is such a Rock Star he could do the exact same set he did two years ago and his fans won't care. When I see him in December I might actually feel a little cheated if he doesn't do "I Want that!"

Jay-z "American Gangster" album review

Jay-Z had nothing left to prove a few years ago when he retired. However, he could not let the rap game go. He had an itch he needed to scratch so he came back last year with "Kingdom Come." It was a surprisingly mature album that was met with a kind of indifference. People did not want to hear someone rap about how life was good and how he hung out with Bono and Gweneth Paltrow. Jay licked his wounds and wasn't sure when he would release another album and then he saw American Gangster. The movie spoke to him and in a matter of weeks he had a whole new album of music ready to be heard. It is a concept album based strongly on the life of Frank Lucas and of course the life of Shawn Carter A.K.A Jay-Z. He promised the album sounded more like his classic Reasonable doubt album and while the drug game can be tiresome to listen to, I like the way Jay tells it, so I was excited for it.


Intro- This is a haunting track that doesn't feature Jay anywhere on it. It fuses audio clips from the movie and a man, a narrator of sorts, talking about what it is to be an "American Gangster." The track comes across harder than I would have expected, but I hate tracks that don't feature any rapping, so it doesn't feel necessary. 2/5


Pray- Beyonce does some talking over the track as the beat builds into a throw back, funky early 70s sounding backdrop for the reemergence of Jay-Z to rap prominence. Jay comes on the track and just tears it apart, beginning the story over an incredible Al Green sample. The main character is a kid getting ready to become a man. He is off to school but all he sees around him are drugs and unhappiness. But on the other side of drugs he sees riches. He is setting the scene for the audio movie but at the same time, starts off with a cautionary tale with jewels like "I'm trying to beat life 'cause I can't cheat death." The song is gem after gem of rap lines, delivered with that usual confidence Jay is a master of the game, pure and simple. 5/5


American Dreamin- Marvin Gay provides the backdrop here as Diddy provides Jay with another deeply soulful instrumental for him to rip apart. This is the next part of the story. A young man dreaming of what he can become in the drug game. This is the dream the young men in the projects have of trying to sell drugs. But at the same time there is a sadness in Jay's voice as he tells his mother "Mama forgive me, should be thinkin 'bout Harvard/ But that's too far away, niggaz are starvin." The marriage of Jay's voice and the track is perfect and Jay really is more comfortable in this kind of song. He recounts his days of a young man perfectly. 4.5/5


Hello Brooklyn- Lil Wayne is on this track and nearly ruins it for me, but the track, the Beastie Boys sample and Jay's swagger save the one bad track on the album. The song is about Jay's home, his first love, the place that raised him. Jay's ability to allow his listeners to visual his lyrics remain amazing as he paints a picture of Brooklyn that includes "Brooklyn we crazy, look how you made me Razor blades in my mouth walkin 'round behavin/ Or demented black hoodies and Timberlanded." The beat has a deep bass and doesn't sound like a typical Jay-z track and it is rumored the song was going to be used on Wayne's album first, but it fit the story of American Gangster. I think Jay could have found a better track to fill this quota for the album, but he saves it mostly, mostly. 3/5


No Hook- This might be the best and most real track on the album. Diddy provides a Barry White sample and Jay-z opens the song with some of the most real stuff ever, "Poor me, dad was gone, finally got my dad back/ Liver bad, he wouldn't live long,/they snatched my dad back/God as I never had that, streets was my second home
Welcomed me with open arms provided a place to crash at". This whole song is a quotable honestly. The track is haunting and Jay is really just letting his heart and soul bleed all over it. It is essentially one extremely long verse. It is a stream of consciousness rap that really messes with rhyme schemes and rap patterns to a great effect. It is one of his most personal tracks to date. And it might be his most interesting track in quite some time. 6/5


Roc Boys- This is the one party type song on the album. it is the only real commercially acceptable track with blaring dope horns accenting Jay living it up as his character just broke through with his first million. When Jay does this kind of song, it is believable because he really does have this kind of money, but he isn't lazy in his verses still dropping punchlines like "think OJ/ I get away with murder when I sling yay." The track is boastful, yes but Jay's swagger is built for this type of song. It is the one real upbeat song on the album and really resonates as the album gets deeper and less happy and celebratory. It is the anomaly on the album and that makes it work so much more. This is the height of it all but it is only track 5 out of 12. 4/5


Sweet- Back to the soul funky sampling here. The drums and horns provide an interesting foundation for Jay-z to spit his life over. He understands that his life is not perfect and that he has been a bad example, but he doesn't make apologies for it because this is the hand he was dealt. It is a fairly basic, straight forward song with Jay not doing too many verbal gymnastics on it. It works in its simplicity though because the words are what matter here. It is hard to hate when he gets real on a track, even if I do not agree with his words. 4/5


I Know- The Neptunes are back with a vengeance here. Jay and Pharrell have always had a great chemistry and the beat here provides the perfect music for Jay to weave a metaphorical tale about drugs. In this song Jay-Z raps as if he is Heroin. It is not the first time a rapper has done this, but it might be the most effective. After spending two songs talking about how drugs are the way to make money, Jay switches it up and starts to talk about how addiction can be harmful. He is speaking of drugs of course, but this could be any addiction and at the end of the track the addict finds strength and the drugs call after him/her "Now your body is shakin' trying to free it of me/ And your soul is in control, trying to lead it from me
/And your heart no longer pledge allegiance to me/Damn, I'm missing the days when you needed the D." Even in an album draped in drugs and drug money, Jay finds the human condition strong. It is a beautiful thing. 5/5


Party Life- This is the most laid back song of the year. Using a sample of a song I had never heard of, Jay-Z switches his flow yet again, adopting a sing song laid back, snoop dogg type flow and it puts the listener in a trance. He also drops some cocky type rhymes and backs up his cocky rhymes with little laughs and arrogant taunts. The second verse is dedicated to Beyonce and how no one can treat her the way he does. This is the kind of song that could make a guy want to smoke a joint, just to catch the feeling of the song. I actually think I get high off the vibe of this disgustingly groovy track. Each verse or couplet is still dope and he still gets some of those dope in rhyme patterns to prove he has not lost a single step. 4/5


Ignorant shit- This track is two years old, but Jay lets Beanie Seigel add a verse and the way it is put int he album it actually fits with his theme, even though he modernizes it to get some present day social commentary. Jay's last verse is new and he is going after the media hardcore in it. But any track that starts with "Yes sir~! Just the sound of his voice is a hit" you know you are in for a treat. He doesn't disappoint with the closing of the song "I missed the part when it stopped bein 'bout Imus/ What do my lyrics got to do with this shit!/ "Scarface" the movie did more than Scarface the rapper to me/ So that ain't to blame for all the shit that's happened to me/ Are you sayin what I'm spittin/ Is worse than these/ celebrataunts showin they kittin, you kiddin!." Just dope beyond words. 5/5


Say Hello- This is the song that really starts the downfall of the character int he story. He is paranoid and a bit crazy. Jay is coming after the lies and rumors about how he is the bad guy. He also infuses some more social commentary for the present day. The song has an old school feel to it, like the rest of the album, but it is very much a present day song. I can picture a character sitting alone in a room with a gun just ranting about this stuff. However, the arrogance is what keeps a man like this going. A man so brash as to boast "I'm an extraordinary nigga." The rhyme schemes are pure dopeness here and Jay comes so raw all over the track but he seems to know how to perfectly close songs with these lines here:
And if Al Sharpton is speakin for me
Somebody, give him the word and tell him I don't approve
Tell him I remove the curses
If you tell me our schools gon' be perfect
When Jena Six don't exist
Tell him that's when I'll stop sayin bitch, BEEEITCH~!6/5


Success- Jay and Nas together on the same track, again. WHOA. This is big baller music. This is clash of the titans music. This is that raw uncut dope chronic shit. This song feels like the beginning of something big, like a Jay-Z and Na album! Taking a page from Eminem's book this is a song about the trappings of success, but at the same time it is celebrating that success. It is a nice juxtaposition. The track is a funky, with some organs sound accenting the severe dopeness being spit by both these legends. Each guy is in top form here and the track just oozes awesome. Both of these guys are at their cocky and arrogant best with this Jay line "I got watches I ain't seen in months Apartment at the Trump; I only slept in once Niggas said Hova was ova, such dummies Even If I fell I'll land on a bunch of money" and this Nas line "Old cribs I sold, y'all drive by like monuments Google Earth Nas, I got flats in other continents." The game is a WRAP! 6/5.


Fallen- Here is the downfall of Shawn Carter the hustler, the collapse of the drug empire. This is the part of the movie where he gets what is coming to him. A dramatics sample is perfectly fused with Jay-z's tale featuring lines like "And ya can't get up/All you do is push-up/ Pull-up sit-up." This presents a picture of a man behind bars working out because he has been caught. This is the morale of the cautionary tale. This is what makes stories like this important. Jay-Z is earnest in his story and he presents albums like this about drugs and drug dealing to hope to show what bad comes out of it. This is a great song to end the story on. 5/5


Blue Magic- The first of two bonus tracks, this is the first thing anyone heard from this album. It opens with a Frankenstein sample and goes into a sparse 80's sounding Neptunes track where Jay-Z strips down his own flow and rips the track 80's style, big time. Jay is getting his Rakim on with a deliberate slow flow, accenting each word. He respects this era of rap and this is his homage. It is a dope track and it would have worked as part of the story, except for the era, I think. The title of the song refers to the drug Frank Lucas was selling because the track can be very addictive. 5/5


American Gangster- This track could be the character's out of prison song. Sampling Curtis Mayfield it fits the funky soul samplings of the rest of the album and it is just one verse. This is a man who will not let go of his grip on the top until he has everything. This is a resolute man who believes he still has tons of accomplish. Jay-Z sounds refreshed here and it makes me think Jay has still got a few great albums up his sleeve. Lyrically it isn't astonishing, but it works because it is about the feeling of the song more than anything else. The album closes perfectly with these lines "Here's to the man that refused to give up, I want the sky!" 5/5


I am admittedly a Jay-Z fan so maybe I am a bit Biased but this is an incredible album. It has a little of everything I love about Jay-Z as an artist. It is musically different form what Jay is doing and it might be his least commercially viable album ever, which makes me happy. Gone are the songs about clothes and girls and just celebrating to celebrate. Each song on this album has a purpose and it furthers a story. It may not be the most complex concept album but it works at every turn. It is not the best album released this year but it is in the top 3 for sure.

The Darjeeling Limited

Wes Anderson has a very distinct style in his writing and directing. The visionary of such great movies as The Royal Tanenbaums, Bottle Rocket and of course Rushmore brings dry wit, quirky characters, a great soundtrack and interesting thoughts on family and friendship to each of his movies. He has a group of talented actors that seem to follow him where ever he goes and his has a fan base willing to do the same. I consider myself a fan, a big fan actually, but his last movie, The Life Aquatic, was a total mess and I was concerned about this one because Adrien Brody doing comedy just didn't seem like something natural. Why couldn't he just get Luke Wilson? But, one bad movie after three great movies doesn't mean he has lost it, so I went in with a sense of optimism. How was my optimism rewarded?


Francis(Owen Wilson), Jack(Jason Schwartzman) and Peter(Brody) are brothers on a "spiritual journey." Francis is the mastermind behind the journey and the goal is to get the brothers to be as close as they were before their father died a year ago. This is the first time the brothers have seen each other in a year and the reason being that they do not trust each other. Each brother brings his own individual baggage to the trip. Francis, a bizarre turn of art imitating life, tried to kill himself, Peter is about to be a father but has always believed he would get divorced and is worried the kid will cause new issues for that and Jack is hung up on a girlfriend and is obsessed with checking her messages. The brothers are taking their joinery through India by way of a train called "The Darjeeling Limited" and they promised to experience everything possible and always say yes even if it scares them. Wanting to surprise his brothers, Francis does not tell them that their ending destination is to see their mother who has joined a convent somewhere in India. She didn't make it to their father's funeral and they have not seen her in years. That is the basic story and while an interesting twist happens in the second half, this movie is really a study on family.


Wes Anderson returns to form with this movie. It is a very funny, often poignant, and very real feeling movie. His usual slow motion camera tricks are employed but mostly he lets his screenplay do the talking. He is confident with his camera and even more confident in telling this story. He trusts that his audience will allow him to be hilarious one moment and then bring something very serious to the table in the next moment. While this movie is not as all out funny as the previous ventures I feel like this is the best movie of the group. Anderson has a great story to tell about whether family can really be friends or if they are forced to be just because they are related. I admit I understand the story because I have two brothers and as the brothers in this movie are often times very different and often times very similar, I am that same way with my siblings. Anderson takes his time telling the story, never rushing a single moment with the three brothers. A lesser director might not give us as much of the bitchiness within the familial conversations.


The 3 brothers are all fantastic together. Wilson is perfect as the out there, kind of crazy big idea having brother. Schwartzman captures the arrogance, yet insecurities of the dead pan would be writer brother and I have to say that while Brody's Peter gets the least of the funny bits, he is perfectly in tune with that Wes Anderson style of acting. Brody believes in giving characters mannerisms and this movie is no different. His constant messing with his glasses really lends something to his character and makes him feel more real. The three actors have a great chemistry which is good because this movie rides on their collective shoulders. Angelica Houston shows up as the boys' mother and does her usual Wes Anderson thing and lends some support to why the brothers are the way they are, but none of the cameos really make the movie. Sure having the movie open on Bill Murray is funny, but the movie can stand on its own, and it does.


This movie has a sense of being the most metaphorical Anderson movie as the brothers carry their emotional baggage in suitcase after suitcase and it is only after the drop their actual baggage that they start to grow as brothers and as friends. We get the sense that the brothers were never as close as they wanted to be and that the entire family failed at being a real family and they are hoping to some how correct that with this voyage. The movie has some great side bits involving drugs, a snake and a possibly kleptomaniac brother but at its heart, this movie is a very interesting study on the dysfunctional family and while is succeeds in being slyly funny, a bit pretentious and too hip for words, it also succeeds at telling and interesting story with interesting characters and yes, a kick ass soundtrack.

The ten movies I loved the most growing up

With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, I always go back to being a kid. There is something about the last two months of the year that make me relive my youth and with that in mind I started to think about my favorite movies growing up. So what follows is a list of the ten movies I loved to watch and re-watch from the age of 7 until the age of about 13. Granted some of them I still love to watch every so often.


10. Flight of the Navigator- A boy goes looking for his brother in the woods in 1978 and ends up unconscious. When he wakes up it is now 1985. He has no memory of what happened but he is taken on an awesome journey by a spaceship with a personality. It is a terrific sci/fi family movie and it sent me looking for woods in which I could get abducted. It is funny, has a nice sense of adventure and features a young unknown Sarah Jessica Parker who is absolutely adorable in this. I know I will be showing this movie to any children I have or any children any of my siblings have.


9. The Neverending Story- Fantasy stories do not get much cooler than this one. Plus, it promotes reading, something I loved to do as a kid and still love to do. The main kid is a picked on his whole life by bullies but inside the book he is a hero, or least he helps a hero. After becoming part of the story he meets a big flying dog thing and us as viewers meet a big talking rock monster and countless other crazy creative characters. The story is one of good triumphing evil and shows us how to face our fears and overcome anything. I didn't grasp the philosophical aspects of the film when I was younger but now that I do, I gain a whole new respect for this movie.


8. Oliver and Company- This is my Disney movie. I will never fully know why I gravitated to this one so much but there was something about this movie. It may have been the awesome music that I went around singing for years or maybe it was the nice Oliver inspired story. "Why should I worry" became the new "Bare Necessities" and then of course transformed into "Hakuna Matata" for the Lion King and Billy Joel was just having so much with Dodger. It is a funny movie but it also had some great action sequences and got a bit dark when it needed to be. Cheech Marin provided the perfect comic spark as a high strung dog. I still love listening the music featured in the movie.


7. Masters of the Universe- So maybe it isn't a great movie, or even a good movie, but I still love it. Yes it is a far cry from the He-Man cartoon I grew up on, but that was kind of the appeal. None of the acting is any good and most of the effects are pretty corny, but there is still something I loved about the movie. Frank Langella made a very sinister disgusting Skeletor and the movie was actually a very dark kind of gruesome movie. It really is a perfect example of the 80's from the fashion to the music to the action. I have not seen this movie in quite some time, but we used to watch it almost weekly.


6. G.I Joe: The Movie- The cartoon TV show of this was one of a few that I watched all of the time and when the movie was made it became a staple as well. I don't remember everything about it now because I probably have not watched it in a decade or longer but I know I used to watch it more than once a week. The action was exciting and the animation was exactly like the cartoon, but I didn't have to sit through those Public Service Announcements at the end of the movie. The story is massive and it introduced us to a whole new breed of Joe's because all of the ones we loved were either hurt of immobilized. Duke was supposed to die, but after the bad reaction to Prime's death in Transformers they changed it.


5. Transformers: The Movie- The thing most talked about in this movie is who died. Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Ratchet, Prowl, Brawn, Wheeljack, Windcharger, Megatron, Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Shrapnel, Kickback and Bombshell all are killed or changed into other characters in this massive epic of a movie. I can still remember being absolutely devastated when Prime is killed. I was shocked and still have a sense of shock when I watch the movie these days. The movie was supposed OT bridge the gap between seasons 2 and 3 of the show and it introduced the word "shit" to me. It is a crazy adventure movie featuring some of the craziest transformers and it spanned quite a few worlds. This movie still lives on for me as one of the monumental movies of my life.


4. Bill and Ted's Excellent adventure- This movie really had it all for me- time travel, historical figures, hilarious dialogue, air guitars, water slides, and Genghis Kahn going hog wild in a sporting goods store. The premise is silly, the bits wacky and the action is fun but most of all it is the dialogue that gets me. Keanu Reeves became an icon to young people everywhere and this movie really helped "dude" become a staple of the lexicon of young America. Even is the depths of danger the movie never loses its fun moments and any movie that has Napoleon at a water park can't be bad at all.


3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 and 2- The turtles supplied me with a Halloween costume on 3 or 4 separate occasions and these movies personify why. These heroes were just like me- they said "dude", ate pizza and loved having fun. They could kick some serious ass. With a great villain, funny one-liners and great action sequences- a shopping mall, anyone, these two movies were perfect for my youth. After watching them we used to go into the backyard and start ninjaing the crap out of each other. Add to the mix a tremendous Vanilla Ice cameo and song in the second movie and an interesting Mythology about Splinter and the ooze itself and you really have a wonderful few hours. I can still quote both of these movies fairly well and I will be watching them for years to come.


2. 3 Ninjas- I admit that I have not seen this movie in a very long time but when it first came out in theaters me and my two brothers saw it 3 times in the first two days it was released. Yes, we saw it twice in the same day. That is how much we loved this combination of Teenage Ninja turtles and home alone. Of course we also liked it because there were 3 brothers and we were 3 brothers. We spent hours trying to come up with traps as cool as the kids did, just in case someone broke into our house. There are some great fight scenes, hilarious kid stuff and of course an 11 yr old boy who can slam dunk on a ten foot basketball hoop! The three guys tasked with kidnapping the children are equal parts dumb and hilarious and this movie is just 100% young boy escapism.


1. The Goonies- I am not sure this comes at a surprise because this is the true perfect young boy movie. It has adventure, comedy and a dead pirate's treasure. No young boy I know saw this movie and didn't go right out and search for caves to search in hopes of finding treasure. If you haven't seen this movie I do believe something is wrong with you because this belongs up with Indiana Jones in terms of adventure movies. With a great cast of kids spanning all different kinds of kids banding together due to them being outsiders and a great trio of villains, this movie is fun for everyone. Also included is a crazy eyed giant of a man who eventually helps the young men. It is about loyalty, sticking together, friendship, family and of course the ultimate adventure. There is nothing not to like about this movie. I watch it about once a year and will probably do it forever because nothing reminds me of how much fun it was to be a kid more than this movie.


So there you have it,the ten movies that best represent my childhood. What are yours? What are some of the movies you grew up on and helped raise you to be the person you are today?

American Gangster

From the very first time I saw a trailer for this movie I was hooked. Denzel Washington is a legend and the last time he played a villain he not only scored Oscar gold, but he also infused a charm into a purely evil man. Here, Washington was taking on a real life gangster and from the trailer it looked as if he was infusing this man with charm as well. Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington and Ridley Scott all together in a $100,000,000.00 epic gangster movie? Consider me sold! Having heard that Jay-Z loved the movie so much it inspired him to record another album? Consider me sold! With my expectations so high would this disappoint like Eastern Promises or exceed what I had hoped like We own the Night?


After his mentor dies of Natural causes, collection man, driver and hitman Frank Lucas (Washington) sees chaos happening in the streets of New York in terms of the drug trade. The mob is trying to hold it down and every other wanna-be hustler is trying to sell their own product as well. Even the corrupt cops are getting in on the action by taking drugs out of evidence, knocking down the purity and selling it back to the mob at an insanely high price. Lucas is determined to bring order back to the drug game in New York and he plans to do it by offering a better product at a lower price. It is basic economics. To find the good stuff he flies over to Bangkok and gets the 100% pure heroin directly from the source, cutting out the middle man, calling it "Blue Magic" and collecting all of the profits. Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam war, Lucas was able to bribe anyone he needed in order to get 100's of kilos of heroin smuggled inside the coffins of dead American soldiers. His rise to the top was quiet and brutal. In the movie and possibly in real life, Lucas killed a man in the middle of the street in the middle of the day, just to show his power. Lucas believes in family over everything else and soon his entire family is up in New York working for him. Everything seems to be going Lucas' way. He is considered a savior to the ghetto and a hero to his family.


By Contrast detective Richie Roberts (Crowe) is living a life that is spinning out of control. He turned in a million dollars and now no cop trusts him. His ex-wife wants to take away his custody rights by moving to Las Vegas and his partner has just overdosed on a new brand of heroin called "Blue Magic." He is tasked with heading up a narcotic task force challenged to make only big arrests and big busts. He gathers a small group of trustworthy cops and they are trying to find out who is responsible for Blue Magic because the grade of heroin is so strong and so pure that it is killing people every day. At first he, like everyone else believes the mob is behind it but in a particularly brilliant scene at a boxing arena Lucas shows up on radars everywhere. First Detective Trupo (The brilliant Josh Brolin) attempts to extort money from Lucas which turns out not to be such a good idea, then Roberts finally gets a picture of him. At first it appears Lucas is merely a middle man but soon it becomes clear Lucas is running the New York drug trade. His blue magic has a monopoly and it has forced the mob to sell his product and take less profit.


This movie is nearly flawless in its execution of every single scene. The movie runs at 2 hours and 40 minutes but it never feels that long. Every scene is crisp, tight and intense. It takes a while for the plot to get moving because Scott is allowing us to get inside the lives of Lucas and Roberts. Often times we see the two of them doing the same things but it shows us Lucas on the top and Roberts struggling to make it. Washington and Crowe are both in top form here. Washington is effortless with his Lucas and plays him as a man who is smooth and charming but also as a man who can lose it over the smallest things. His loud breakdowns are jarring because he comes off so smooth over big things, which makes him that much more dangerous. Crowe for his part gives a nuanced, fidgety, low key but brilliant performance as one of the few good guys left. Crowe loses his trademark swagger fully with Roberts. Every supporting role is perfect and even every cameo is executed to perfection. Inf act my only gripe in this whole movie is that Roger Bart is only on screen for like 3 minutes. Playing an United states attorney he pops with an insane energy that is both shocking and exciting. Sadly most of his stuff is in the trailer, but his short moment on screen is so incredibly memorable.


I have a love-hate relationship with Ridley Scott, but here it is an all out love fest. Taking his time to set up both sides of the law here and then BAM hitting us over the head with a brilliant shoot out, a great little chase. But best of all he teases us for over two hours with Washington and Crowe never putting them on the screen at the same time and then finally giving us what we wanted- Crowe and Washington together. And it is so worth the wait. Crowe sets his camera up and lets the two geniuses work. It is like watching Chess masters feel each other out, showing a little bit of what he can do, just waiting for the moment to pounce. It is movie perfection. Scott has paced the movie well and injects the New York drug life into scenes of his movie by showing the slums getting high and dying. It is a great contrast to the life Lucas was leading off those addictions.


I know there is criticism that this movie glorifies the gangster lifestyle, but does it really? Lucas spends the last half of the movie worried someone is going to kill him. His wife is shot at and his entire world spins out of control. Lucas was caught and lost everything. Is that really glorifying this world? This is the best movie I have seen this year and I hope I can get out see it again, if just to watch two masters of acting. Or maybe just to watch Cuba Gooding Jr. remember how to act. The movie is off to a great start with a 46 million dollar opening and I am sure that this will be featured heavily in the awards season, but don't miss it, it is worth every second.