2012 NBA Finals Preview

Miami Heat v. Oklahoma City Thunder

My prediction first before position by position analysis. Heat in 5

Mario Chalmers/Russel Westbrook - Advantage Oklahoma City. Obviously. Westbrook has his flaws but is in general under-appreciated. Chalmers always seems to be the type of guy who scores 21 points when Miami loses.

Dwayne Wade/Thabo Sefalosha - Advantage Miami. Harden takes a lot of minutes so it may not fair to not include him but he technically isn't the starter. Sefalosha is a good defender but is not in the league of D-Wade

LeBron James/Kevin Durant - Advantage Miami. LeBron can do everything Durant does (outside of perhaps outside shooting) better. Durant is not on LeBron's level. He gets a lot of positive pub since he seems to be a good guy but he isn't in LeBron's class.

Chris Bosh/Serge Ibaka - Advantage Miami. Bosh is a guy who has gotten so much criticism its to the point where he is underrated. Ibaka is a good player but he gambles a lot on defense and while his block numbers look impressive he isn't all that great of an all around defensive player.

Udonis Haslem/Kendrick Perkins. Advantage Oklahoma City. I'm not a Perkins fan but he is a good defender and has Finals experience.

Bench: OKC advantage and a substantial one at that. Harden is a game changer and much better than anyone on Miami's bench.

Coaching: Draw. Don't think Erik Spoelstra is that bad of a coach and I don't think Scott Brooks is worthy of Coach of the Year honors. I've seen OKC at end of games and they haven't been all that impressive. Durant has bailed them out a lot.

Intangibles: OKC advantage. Seems like Miami is almost cursed and OKC has far superior fan support.

Game 1: OKC Wins
Game 2: Miami Wins
Game 3: Miami Wins
Game 4: Miami Wins
Game 5: Miami Wins

I think we are going to see Game 6 ECF LeBron and that LeBron is near impossible to beat. When LeBron is going by himself and not trying to be selfless he is pretty hard to beat. Add in Wade and Bosh and OKC's inexperience and Westbrook's selfish tendencies its not going to be close. I can't even count the number of games where OKC goes away from Durant in the 4th. LeBron and Battier are quality defenders so it may be difficult to get his looks.

Casting The Movie: Fifty Shades Of Grey

I just finished reading the Fifty Shades Of Grey Trilogy by E.L. James. I can't say they were the best books ever but they were quite addicting and a quick read. Compared to other sensations of late these were certainly more ameturish and of a lesser literary quality. The lack of polish both helps and harms the trilogy. Some of the things in the novles were charming but other things were just annoying. On the annoying side things like the unique subject lines on each email and the repeated use of "laters baby" became grating over time. That said the characters were likable enough and I was really invested in the storylines. If I had to grade the trilogy I would say it was in the range of a "B". Extremely readable. It is hard to put down and a page turner despite having almost no stakes. Its easy to rip the books for its flaws but it was on the whole a fun book to read. I enjoyed it despite being so far out of its target market. As I was reading the ebooks I kept casting the movie in my head. I thought I would post my fan-casting of the book on my seldom used blog. So here it goes. This blogger template is a pain to use so if this looks terrible my apologies. 


Christian Grey: Michael Fassbender. Who else exudes so much power and charisma? And Fassbender has already got experience playing a similar characters in "Fishtank" and "Shame". Fassbender has so much natural charisma and is one of the most powerful actors in the world. I cannot imagine anyone other than Fassbender playing the role. Fassbender would be the best case scenario since he is arguably the best working actor under 35 in the world. The only downside is he might be a few years too old for the part.

Anastatia Steele: Shailene Woodley. She was terrific in "The Descendents" and I think she would be perfect for the mix of innocence and confidence needed for the role. She is the perfect age too for the role and I think the contrast between her and Fassbender would be great. She is undeniably good looking but not in a model type way which is how I envisioned Anastasia. 

Elena: Charlize Theron. After watching "Young Adult" there is no doubt she can play an icy bitch. I think she would be perfect for the role and she has a cold, distant, detached presence. She might be a little young for the role since she doesn't look much older than Fassbender. 
Kate: Leighton Meester. From what little I've seen of Gossip Girl she seems confident and manipulative. She is obviously attractive as well so I think its a good fit. 

Elliot Grey: Armie Hammer. I think Hammer has a likable screen presence and he has played a charming wealthy young man well before. He is a good match with Fassbender in terms of being a similar build but more friendly looking. 
Mia Grey: Anna Kendrick. I thought of the character as taller but Kendrick can do bubbly really well and I think that is more important. Kendrick is also a really likeable actress so that is probably a good match for the character.

Jose: Gael Garcia Bernal. Seems artistic enough. Maybe a little too attractive for the role. I sort of imagined Jose as more round but I think Bernal would work.
Taylor: Dean Norris. I think he can exude the loyalty and toughness of Taylor well. And it keeps the casting somewhat realistic. A Listers aren't going to be playing the 10th lead. Again age might be an issue since he is too old to have a young child but whatever. I think he is a good fit outside of that. 

Leila: Chloe Sevigny. I remember her character in Zodiac being very drab and pathethic. I think its a good fit for Leila. I think she could play a submissive well. I never came away with the impression that Leila was gorgeous so its a good fit. 
Jack: Jason Sudeikis. A little bit of a left-field choice but Sudeikis can do creepy as well as anyone.

Grace: Blythe Danner. This is sort of her meal ticket type of role. Warm motherly figures to neurotic adult children. She has done it well countless times before and I am sure she could do it again. 
Carrick: John Terry. He was great on LOST and I think he could do a blue blood type role well here. He had this aloof but still personable demenaor on LOST and I think it would work for Carrick. 

December 2011 Music Reviews

The Horrible Crowes, Elsie (2011)

8 out of 10; Best Individual Songs are "Sugar", "Behold The Hurricane", and "Black Betty & The Moon". The Horrible Crowes is an offshoot band of Brian Fallon's (the lead singer of The Gaslight Anthem) and the band is very similar to The Gaslight Anthem. It's a little bit darker and slower than The Gaslight Anthem and there aren't as many anthem type songs on the album. I thought there were some great songs on the album and a few duds midway through the album so it was a little bit disappointing. It isn't a bad album by any means though - just not as great as "The 59' Sound" and some of The Gaslight Anthem's other work.

Jay-Z & Kanye West, Watch The Throne (2011)

7.5 out of 10; Best Individual Songs are "Otis", "No Church In The Wild", "Murder To Excellence", and "Niggas In Paris". This was bound to be a disappointment considering the massive hype it had. There are a few amazing songs (namely "Otis") and then there are a quite a few songs that are just meh. This is definitely more of a Kanye West Featuring Jay-Z album too (which is not a bad thing). I would put "Watch The Throne" somewhere in the same league as "Graduation". It is nowhere near as good as " My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" and doesn't hold up well to further listening.

Florence + The Machine, Ceremonials (2011)

9 out of 10; Best Individual Songs are "Only If For A Night", "Shake It Out", "Seven Devils", and "Heartlines". Ceremonials is as good as Florence + The Machine's debut album and is really a wonderful album. The entire album has a bit of a dark, gloomy mood towards it that I really enjoyed. The album has a powerful feel to it that almost makes it feel Opera-like. There are a lot of tracks on the album (15 in total) which makes it a little long but that is a minor complaint. 

Chris Brown, F.A.M.E. (2011)

8.5 out of 10; Best Individual Songs are "Deuces", "Yeah 3x", "Next 2 You", and "Beautiful People". I think something that was forgotten in the whole Chris Brown saga is that the guy is legitimately talented and may be the best mainstream R&B singer working today. F.A.M.E. was a huge surprise for me and a terrific album. The pedigree of some of the featured artists are surprising too - Justin Bieber, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, The Game, etc. This might have been one of my favorite albums of 2011. 

Spring 2011 Film Reviews II

The Green Hornet (2011): B+

The Green Hornet is disappointing if one expects a deep, dark, and thrilling Comic book film. It’s not The Dark Knight or Iron Man or even X-Men. The most apt comparison for The Green Hornet is Seth Rogen’s 2008 comedy Pineapple Express or other similar comedies. The Green Hornet is far more concerned with being funny than being serious or believable. That holds The Green Hornet back from being a great film but it makes The Green Hornet a really fun movie to watch.

I can’t imagine The Green Hornet resonating with people that aren’t familiar with and fans of Seth Rogen’s comedy. I’ve loved pretty much everything Rogen has done starting from as far back as Freaks & Geeks. The humor is pretty much in line with what its in a traditional Appatow comedy. The Green Hornet was probably the funniest film I have seen in the last calendar year - which is unexpected considering the genre of the film. The fight scenes are absolutely hilarious and the banter between Kato and Rogen’s character is quite enjoyable. The funniest character in the film by far was Christoph Waltz’s Bloodnofsky.  His character is incredibly violent, cruel and heartless but at the same time self-conscious, attention craving and jealous. Bloodnofsky’s annoyance at not being famous or hated despite being far worse than The Green Hornet is enjoyable to watch.  The Green Hornet’s not really believable always but it’s a really fun ride (much like Kick-Ass).

The film is a bit over the top with violence. Rogen’s character Britt Reid and his sidekick (who does 99% of the work) seek out affiliates of a gang boss early in the film. They find a group of semi-menacing guys on a street corner and kill them before verifying even if they are actual gangsters.  Looking back after the film its confusing and kind of troubling but during the film its fun and humorous. The sheer body count of the film is partially what makes it so funny though. I would estimate the amount of people killed as a result of the heroics of The Green Hornet at well over a hundred.

Rogen does a perfectly acceptable job as Britt Reid in the film and if you think about it there is no reason that every superhero has to fit the same exact mold. Every major superhero is a young, athletic, smart, white man. Rogen is young and white but his character is somewhat fat, not that smart, and not at all athletic. The character of Kato was similarly good but not great. I did love Christoph Waltz as the main villain – a middle aged, eastern European, self-conscious mob boss. James Franco is also terrific in his five minute cameo in the beginning of the film. Also excellent is the actor who plays the District Attorney; the guy was great as a foil to Waltz’s maniac character and to Rogen. Cameron Diaz played a secretary who is also an expert in history and urban crime. Her character was uptight and shrewish and had capabilities that no secretary has ever had. It’s simply ridiculous to think that a Temp worker will be an expert in the fields that the character seems to be. Honestly it felt like the character was just shoehorned into the film so that the film could have another “name” actor. The movie would have been much better off without the Diaz character.

The whole conspiracy with the District Attorney, newspapers, and the Mob was a little hard to believe and all crammed into the final fifteen minutes of the film. I couldn’t understand how one small revelation could get the Reid character to switch his hate of his father to pure adoration. The character starts the film by beheading the statue of his late father and ends with him nearly dying for his father’s ideals. These flaws would be a bigger deal to me if The Green Hornet was a serious dramatic film. I’m willing to deal with minor continuity flaws if the film is consistently funny as The Green Hornet is.  

I understand why The Green Hornet had such middling reviews (46% on Rotten Tomatoes). The humor in The Green Hornet is strictly targeted towards a younger audience – I can’t imagine 62 year olds finding humor in the macabre of The Green Hornet.  Considering the numbers The Green Hornet pulled in at the box office – 98 million in the US and over 225 million globally a sequel would seem to be warranted. After all far worse superhero movies have seen sequels like the Fantastic Four, Hulk, and Ghost Rider. The Green Hornet fits a niche of a superhero movie that is actually funny and not overly sincere. 

The Green Hornet is far from perfect but it is never boring and always funny. To me a film is satisfying if it’s an enjoyable experience on the whole and The Green Hornet was an absolute joy to watch.

Spring 2011 Film Reviews I

Herafter (2010): A-

Herafter is one of the most touching movies I have ever seen and is near perfect for close to seventy percent of its run time. The film has three separate story lines that converge at the end of the film (much like Crash or Love Actually). The film follows three separate characters: George a troubled man with psychic abilities, Marcus a young orphan who has lost his twin brother to a horrible tragedy, and Marie a French journalist who has had a near death experience. When Hereafter is about Marcus or George it is mesmerizing - when it follows Marie it is mediocre. 

Matt Damon is billed as the lead of Herafter but he is really in only half the film. Damon plays George a psychic who can communicate with the dead. His character had used this ability to make a living in the past but has quit the business because of the emotional toll of constant contact with dead people. George’s brother tries to get him to move on from his low paying construction job and back into the psychic business but George refuses. George cannot make or maintain relationships with people and his gift (which he refers to as a curse) ruins a potential romance. George cannot have a normal life because of his “gift” and he seems to resent even having the ability.  

The second character in the film is Marcus. Marcus is the heart and soul of Hereafter. Marcus is a young child (9-12 in age) who lives with his junkie mother and twin brother Jason. Marcus and Jason are really more than brothers; their mother has seemingly no positive effect on the children and together they raise themselves. Jason is chased by a gang of hoodlums and killed when he is struck by an SUV (he has gone to pick up medicine for his mother). Marcus’s mother than gives up custody of Marcus for a year “until she is ready” and the boy is put into the British equivalent of Foster care. Within months Marcus has lost his brother and his mother who are literally the only people in his life. Marcus is like a dead child walking for most of the film. He has no emotion or heart – which is understandable considering the tragedies that have faced the character. Marcus makes it his mission to speak to his brother who he misses greatly. Marcus encounters numerous charlatans who are clearly just making stuff up about communicating to the dead. The boy grows more and more despondent over the course of the movie. One scene seems to suggest the possibility of a higher power when by chance Marcus is saved from the bombings of the London underground. Marcus meets Matt Damon’s character (who is a legitimate psychic) when the character of George takes a vacation/break from his life to London. George does not like doing readings – the character is hesitant to use his gift in the film and only uses it after intense pressure. Anyways Marcus runs into George and begs him to read him and George refuses. Marcus (who has nothing to lose really) stalks George back to his hotel and waits outside the building for hours. George finally offers him the reading Marcus so badly desires and lets him talk to his brother for one final time. The scene is heartbreaking and played well by both Damon and the young boy.

There is a third character in Hereafter who is a French journalist that has had a near-death experience during the Asian Tsunami. In my opinion this character brought absolutely nothing to do film and was just a distraction from the two other genuinely compelling stories. The woman named Marie is vapid and somewhat arrogant throughout the film. Her character was supposed to have had a life-changing experience but instead she came across as crazy and insane. The woman is dismayed when she is not featured on billboards and not on TV (her “problems” pale in comparison to the tragic life of Marcus). In one scene she sells a publishing company on the idea of commissioning a book about some French politician – she then proceeds to submit to them a book about a completely different subject. When the publishing company voices their surprise and displeasure she acts as if she has been persecuted (when in reality the company just wants her to give them the product she promised). The character eventually writes a non-fiction book about the denial of a hereafter (or afterlife) and how it certainly exists.

Hereafter is on the whole very calmly paced and is in no hurry to tell its story. This can be frustrating I guess if one wants an action thriller type film (which some may expect based on the trailer and first ten minutes of the film). I suppose the three story lines converging at once can be kind of hard to believe but it is a movie about the afterlife. You have to be willing to suspend some disbelief to enjoy the movie. What held Hereafter from being one of my all-time favorite movies is the French journalist storyline. Subtract that from the movie and it is near perfect. I have never felt more depressed watching a film than when I was watching the tragic life of Marcus. Its kind of frustrating to have to leave the engrossing story of Marcus and even George to go back to the minor troubles of some privileged French woman. A lot of credit to making the film so touching has to go to the Clint Eastwood (who directed the film). Its kind of funny that such a perceived tough guy like Eastwood is able to make such sad and touching movies like Hereafter and Changeling. Hereafter is certainly better than what its middling reviews would suggest (46% on Rotten Tomatoes) or soft box office numbers ($33 million domestic box office). I would put Hereafter in the top five of films I saw released in 2010 behind only The Social Network, The Town, and Inception. 

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Review

Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010): 9/10

Kanye is just heads and shoulders above any mainstream pop/rap/hip-hop artist out there. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was in my opinion really similar in the layout of the tracks to the College Dropout in the sense that there were a number of skits, spoken word poetry, ballads, and was at times really crude.  That’s not meant as a complaint though; College Dropout is one of the best albums I have ever heard.

I sort of wish Kanye West didn't release like half the songs before the album came out because it takes away from the enjoyment of hearing them. I've been listening to Power (which might be the best song on the album) for the last like six months. I'm kind of used to how great the song is so when I hear it on the album its more meh. 

I think Kanye could have cut out a couple songs - 13 is one or two too many in my opinion. My favorite songs in no particular order were: "Gorgeous", "Power",  "So Appalled", "Blame Game", "Runaway", "Who Will Survive in America", and "Lost in the World".  There weren’t any bad songs on the album - I didn't love "Monster" but even that was ok.  "Blame Game" would have been my favorite song if not for the unnecessary Chris Rock skit that was crude and not that funny. The first two/thirds of "Blame Game" is as good as anything Kanye has done and brought back memories of "Family Business" but the last third ruined that. My complaints are really minor though; My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is easily in the top 5 rap albums I have ever heard. The level of creativity that has to go towards making something of this caliber is mind-blowing.  I would argue Kanye surpassed Jay-Z on this album; Jay-Z was pedestrian at best in the two or three songs he was in. There was no creativity or excitement and compared to the energy and creativity of Kanye its not even close. Seriously a line about a dark knight feeling? I probably could have written that with any/all due respect. The greatness of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is even more apparent when you compare it to other albums out by "Radio" artists.

Favorite lines from the album:

• "Sex is on fire, I'm the king of fire. I'm the king of Leona Louis"
• "Too many Urkel's on your team that's why you're winslow"
• "Penitentiary chances, the devil dances and eventually answers to the call of autumn, all of them fallin' for the love of ballin', get caught with 30 rocks, the cop look like Alec Baldwin, inter century anthems based off inner city tantrums"
• "What's a black beetle anyway, a fucking roach"
• "Is hip-hop, just a euphemism for a new religion"
• "Screams from the haters, got a nice ring it. I guess every superhero needs his theme music"
• "They say I was the obamanation of Obama's nation. Well that’s  a pretty bad way to start the conversation"
• "Address me as your highness. High as United, 30,000 feet up and you are not invited"

Winter 2010 Film Reviews II

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010): A-

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 was in my opinion up there in terms of being the best film of the franchise.  As a fan of the books I couldn't really imagine the film being better - it was exciting and faithful to the novels. 

The Half Blood Prince was just terrible in my opinion; that film cut out most of the storylines with young Tom Riddle and glossed over so many of the things that went down in the book. It was a shame too because The Half Blood Prince was the best book in the series.  Unlike The Half Blood Prince, The Deathly Hallows seemed to follow the book closely (or as close as one could expect).  

The only things I didn't enjoy with the film was the abbreviated first fight scene when the Death Eaters chase Harry out of his house.  They only showed what happened with Harry and in the book that scene is so much longer and more exciting. They also didn't really provide the closure for the Dudley's that the book provided.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1 on the whole maintained a level of excitement through the entire film (which is not that easy considering that the first half of the Deathly Hallows is mostly just Harry and company roaming around the forest). The movie was also surprisingly funny and even a little moving with the parts with long time characters getting hurt.  I am really looking forward to the final chapter and if its anything like Part 1 I think I'm going to enjoy it. The second half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is so much better than the first half in terms of action and excitement so if this movie was this good without anything big going on, how great is the final one going to be? 

Cyrus (2010): B

Cyrus is just one weird movie. Its so unbelievably awkward to watch and is as painful to watch as parts of Borat/Bruno and the worst moments of The Office (like Scott's Tots).  The movie is about a miserable divorced middle aged man (John C. Reilly) who meets a woman at a party and starts a relationship.

The relationship is fraught with problems because of the woman's grown (like 22 year old) son who is manipulative and dependent on his mother. The son, played by Jonah Hill, is just an evil character who really is completely unlikable. Cyrus (the son) just wreaks havoc on the relationship and screws with the character John C. Reilly plays. The movie is kind of funny because of the reactions of Reilly to the crazy shit that Cyrus pulls.

This wasn't a huge issue for me but the movie is somewhat unrealistic in terms of how they present the relationship between the man and Cyrus's mother. How that relationship is set up would never happen and never work but it’s a movie and I get that they have to come up with some device for them to meet and date.  The acting is solid throughout and I thought Jonah Hill (from all of Judd Apatow's movies) was really impressive - he killed as this weird, messed up man/child.

The League Season 1 Review

The League Season 01 (2009): B-

The League is kind of like a poor man's It's Always in Philadelphia but with fantasy football instead of a bar. The weakest parts of the show are those involving fantasy football - the show is best when it deals with the friendship between the characters. Even in Always Sunny where the characters are undeniably evil they are still developed and somewhat likable. The characters in The League are just totally one dimensional and kind of douchey. I feel absolutely no warmth or compassion to any of the characters on the show. In Always Sunny where the characters do some really heinous things (like ruin and torture the lives of the waitress and Rickety Cricket) the characters are compelling. In The League the characters are just privileged immature middle-aged men with way too much time on their hands.

Some of the characters are a little better than others like Andre who is in my opinion the funniest guy on the show (played by Paul Scheer who has been on Party Down and Parks & Recreation). Part of it may be sympathy for the continued ragging he suffers from the other members of the league. There is just an awful character called Taco on the show who doesn't like football, is really stupid, and is perpetually stoned. And this guy is portrayed as some combination of Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, and Charlie Sheen who can bed women in minutes despite the previously mentioned traits. Add in the fact that the guy is not that good looking and it becomes even more confusing and frustrating why he is portrayed as such a ladies man. The other characters on the show are not as poorly developed as Taco but aren't that compelling or funny.  The actor who plays Kevin, the commissioner of the league is prone to overacting and in my opinion really over does basic emotions.

The show's fantasy football elements are weak at best. There are some inaccuracies in regards to the characters playing fantasy football - there are a couple players too few (at least). Most fantasy leagues have ten teams at minimum where as The League has five players that we see on screen and apparently some off-screen players. The guys are cocky and arrogant about their expertise in football and it seems a little unbelievable that they are such pros. The show gets away with only having 5 cast members and just mentions "out of towners" who play in the league but are rarely mentioned.

The show is semi-scripted (like Curb Your Enthusiasm) and the conversations between the characters generally flows well and comes across as realistic. The humor that works is really standard stuff that doesn't rely on the fantasy football element. One of the better jokes in the season involves one character dressing up as a cartoon character because another character's daughter is obsessed with the cartoon and the guy dressed up is supposed to scare the girl but instead robs the house. The rest of the successful humor comes from the character of Andre awkwardly say things that he thinks are cool like "child please" after comments by others and his attempts at picking up women through methods like negging women.

The best episodes of the short (6 episode) season was "Mr McGibblets" (E04) The second season is somewhat improved from the first but the show's characters are still universally unlikable and completely one-dimensional. I probably wouldn't have watched the show if not for the fact that it airs right after It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Thursdays. The show isn't great but its usually fairly funny - it has rarely ever been hilarious though (by my count there was only one amazing joke/gag in the first six episodes).  Watching the show is a fine way to pass 22 minutes but its nothing to go out of one's way to watch. 

Music Reviews November 2010

Neon Trees, Habits (2010)

7 out of 10

Best individual songs are "Sins Of My Youth", "Love And Affection" and "Girls And Boys In School". Its a really short album (only eight songs and a run time of about a half hour) with no awful songs but no great songs either. I guess its preferable to do 8 good songs than 12 or 15 mediocre songs. Neon Trees sound a lot like The Killers - I could have been convinced that the album was  a Killers album. The album is above average - it doesn't or hasn't really been anything more than just somewhat enjoyable.

The Gaslight Anthem, Sink or Swim (2007)

8 out of 10

Its hard to single out one or two songs as being significantly better than any others on the album. Some albums play out as just a bunch of unrelated songs put together but "Sink or Swim" really only works if all the songs are listened to together in my opinion. The final track, "Red At Night" is a nice change of pace and is terrific. The Gaslight Anthem sound sort of like a really angry Bruce Springsteen - there is not as much of the inspirational or upbeat elements as in Springsteen's music and there is more of a punk type anger. Still the album does sound at parts similar to Springsteen (especially in "Red At Night").

James Blunt, Some Kind of Trouble (2010)

6 out of 10

James Blunt is not a great or transcendent artist. His music is simply pleasant - its nice to hear about but is kind of empty. That said I think Blunt does this empty, smooth sounding, and pleasurable type of music better than anyone. Best individual songs on the album are "Stay the Night", "Best Laid Plans", "Dangerous", and "Superstar". It should be said that this album sounds a lot like Blunt's last album (1973) - its almost like a Part II.

Patti Smith, Easter (1978)

6.5 out of 10

Best individual songs are "Because The Night", "Space Monkey", and "Ghost Dance".  "Because The Night" which was written by Bruce Springsteen is just an amazing song and is heads and shoulders above anything else on the album. It might be that the genre of music (Punk Rock) is not really my preferred genre. The album was kind of crude and explicit at times - its not offensive or even troubling at all, just a little surprising. Here is Patti Smith performing "Because The Night" in 1978: 

Winter 2010 Film Reviews I

The Kids Are All Right (2010): B

The Kids Are All Right is about the domestic struggles of an unorthodox family. The film's title suggest that it is about the trials and tribulations of the children in the family but that is not really the case. In the film the teenage children who are raised by lesbians search out for their sperm donor father. The family's struggles when the sperm donor father becomes involved in the family is what the film is about.

Despite the uncommon or rare family structure in the film its fairly relatable and certain scenes were emotional and kind of touching. The film is billed as a comedy and its really not hilarious or even funny - there are humorous situations but the film's goal is clearly not to make you laugh. My biggest issue with the film is the lack of any real character depth or development. This is most pronounced in the supporting characters but also exists to some extent within the five lead characters. For example there are the stock characters of a geeky, socially awkward friend, outspoken, slutty friend, and another friend who is dumb, violent and crude. These characteristics define the characters; there is nothing to do characters than the fact that they are dumb or awkward. 

The character of Paul (the sperm donor father) who I guess is supposed to be the villain of the film was in my opinion the best part of the film. The character is fully developed and the character doesn't just do one thing. Watching the movie you can tell how twisted and confused he is and how he is not unsure of what he should do. Paul changes through the film; for the most part none of the other characters grow or change.

At the end of the film the struggles of the family are more or less pinned solely on Paul. Looking at it from the perspective of the character (who is an outsider and not part of the family) he is repeatedly used by the family and once they no longer need him they just throw him away. I felt like that his treatment was more than a little cruel. Mark Ruffalo (who plays Paul) is just extraordinary in the film and the actors who play the two kids do a nice job as well. There are a lot of things to like in the film like the dialogue for example flows really nice and is realistic. I never once though I was watching a movie and there weren't any ridiculous lines that people don't say.  Overall it is an enjoyable film and is a moving family drama that succeeds despite some of its flaws.