It is something I would eventually face in my lifetime, but I wouldn't think it would be that soon. There are three music artists that were the very first musicians I ever love and were the introduction to contemporary music when I was as young as three: The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. And I know the amount of exposure I had from these musicians. I was a little bit exposed to the Beatles, was moderately to Frankie S, but with Michael Jackson... I was fully exposed to all of his music, dances and videos. Michael Jackson was the very first favorite music artist in my life. Whenever Michael Jackson was on radio, I would listen and dance and invent many silly things in that time. He was the energy. He was the moves. He was the sound. He was my first influence to pop culture. He was the first pieces that shape my identity and personality in years to come.
It really amazes a lot of people that Michael Jackson just got famous at a very young age, just being the front-man of the Jackson 5 band. Blessed with an outstanding voices and the energy of 3 professional dancers, young Michael was already thrown into the limelight and he never stopped getting bigger. He has reached up to the point where he is labeled as the biggest megastar to ever walked on the face of this planet. He became what every child dreams of ever becoming...
... except he never was a child before...
It is tragic indeed that he became what everyone rarely touch, yet never experience a very special part of life everyone else go through. It is really a give and take. After being labeled as the biggest megastar, he also became the butt of so many jokes with the many trials of plastic surgery, bizarre lifestyles and the accusations of child molestations. During that time, I was in high school and listening to Michael Jackson was kind of a taboo. While I was drifting off and trying some new music, his music stayed with me throughout my life and I have never abandoned it. Even if a tiny part of his music was there. If somebody ask me if I think Michael really was a child abuser, I would say I don't believe it. I sure disapproved his ever-changing face with plastic surgery, making him look like a freak every time I take a look at him. But I never believe him as a child abuser and it is a big mystery. But a grown man who can't relate to a child and is as timid as a butterfly would never do that to a child. And I have so many things about it that EVERY fault goes to his father, Joe Jackson. As much as he is partly responsible for Michael's fame, his abuse to him made a huge damage on Michael's mentality and emotions.
I really remembered how I came about the news and it was one of the most surreal moments I had in my life. I remember waking up very late in the afternoon and it was a message from my girlfriend, plain and simple, "Michael Jackson is Dead". I was in total shock and I needed confirmation of his death and sure enough, he was actually gone. At the age of 50, it is still very young to go. It was something I knew I would face in my lifetime, but not this soon. My very first icon, gone before my eyes. It was a sad day for me as well for millions of people around the world. No doubt he is immortal as he will be living forever in our hearts through his dances and music.
So Michael Jackson.... Thank You... and God Bless You...
The King of Pop
I present you two things of Michael Jackson:
One of my most favorite and most important Michael Jackson's songs
Remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic, this film really did attempt to be as faithful and as modern as it can be. Keanu Reeves is a perfect choice for an emotionless alien, however all the other human characters acted the same way as he did. The first half of the film was great until the film became rather boring and less engaging. While they tried to convey the message that was addressed in the original, it didn't live up with the droning and dullness of the characters. And Jaden Smith's performance was very irritating and annoying, I forced myself to shout to the screen "Shaddup Kid!" every time he speaks. The ending wasn't even that effective as well. Its a nice try though...
Its that time of the month where I give my Top Ten on ANYTHING!
This month's theme of the month is the new Transformers movie - Revenge of the Fallen, which will be playing in theaters this month. And no, I didn't think the first Transformers movie was even that great. It was fun to watch and it is meant to be fun. Granted that if they developed the story more as well as the dialogue, it would have been "good". For this month's top ten list, I would have taken the easy route like giving you a Top Ten on robots or 80s cartoon series. But me wanting a challenge, I made the list that gave me a hard time honoring this one person, Michael Bay.
No, I don't think Michael Bay is that great of a director. Maybe he isn't destined to make a well-thoughtful and intelligently-written movie. If he can make people happy by blowing stuffs up, then that's great for him. But he isn't one of my favorite directors, nor he is a good director in my eyes. And none of my films or works are among my favorites. But hey, this is a fun and challenging list for me to do. But I will be washing my hands after making this list because I couldn't believe I wrote onscreen. And yeah, he has only directed 7 films so I will be including all of his works. Films that are produced by him and music videos he had done.
Lets get on it shall we?
10. PEARL HARBOR
This is no way a good movie, but not a low terrible one. And hey, there are only about 8 of Bay's movies. If there is only one thing I find something good about the film, the battle of Pearl Harbor is stunning to look at. Which really should be the entire focus of the movie, not the 2 hour sappy melodrama romance that precedes the event that is the title of the movie.
9. THE ISLAND
As much as I don't expect much from a Michael Bay movie, there is a ray of hope that a movie by him will take seriously and be actually good. First seeing the trailer of The Island, I thought to myself "This may have a shot at being the first Michael Bay movie to be thought-provoking and cleverly-written". I didn't see it in theaters, but I rented the movie one day. No, it wasn't that good. It tried to be smart, but it just didn't make the mark. Though we have a cool car chase.
8. ARMAGEDDON
Ok first mistake of the entire movie - the title. "Apocalypse" is more fitting for the title as it really means "end of the world". "Armageddon" mean the epic war between heaven and hell. And there is no literal or metaphorical battle of heaven and hell nor there is nothing epic about the battle between a group of miner astronauts and a meteor. But hey that Aerosmith song has more drama than this movie.
7. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
Produced by Michael Bay, I have seen a little bit of the original and I luckily caught some parts that scared me. Going in with the thought that this film will suck as most remakes and reboots do, I was pretty surprised that this film is not bad, if not the same as the original. And its great to see Jessica Biel in this film. She's hot!
6. "FALLING IN LOVE" BY AEROSMITH - MUSIC VIDEO
Michael Bay was actually a music video director before he became a megastar in Hollywood. So its understandable that he works better in music videos than in big Hollywood films, (why can't he be like Michel Gondry, doing awesome in both films and music videos?". Aerosmith is a great band to listen to and at least Michael Bay did something we would never see him do again - being artistic. Its probably the closest thing to a Michel Gondry standard, which is still very very far.
5. BAD BOYS
During that time, the producers thought to themselves "Who the people really want to see?..... That black guy from House Party and that black guy from Fresh Prince Of Belair.." What would they do in this film? They talk bullsh*t to each other in the car, talk bullsh*t to each other in a house, talk bullsh*t to each other in the city and they shoot people. And it sounds like a stretch for it to work, but hey it actually worked. I did actually enjoy watching them giving wise-crack jokes and gangster phrases while shooting people. The world will be knowing Will Smith for a very very long time and they will know Martin Lawrence for a while.
4. BAD BOYS II
AKA "Talking bullsh*t in the car - The Sequel: Talking bullsh*t in Cuba". I really don't know the real reason to make a second one. But when the producers feel they're running empty, get them back and milk it more than usual. But its not a bad movie to watch and its a little better than the original. Will and Martin amped up the bullsh*t and the action scenes were ridiculously to look at. I had mixed feelings when one scene was replicated of one of my favorite Jackie Chan movies. I wouldn't be surprised if they do a third one. People love to see these guys talking bullsh*t to each other.
3. TRANSFORMERS
When you add Michael Bay and a cartoon based of giant robots that turns into automobiles and beat the crap out of each other, you will think it will actually work. And thankfully it did.... by a scratch. While it was a fun film to watch, I can't help myself but be bothered by the many dumb things that went on in this movie. The annoying characters, the sometimes poorly-edited battle scenes, stupid and lame-executed humor, terrible dialogue and the hip MTV-style slangs and lingo most characters spout out. Maybe because I wasn't a fan of the toy line and the cartoon series (I'm a Turtles guy), but its great to see the CG Effect work beautifully with bits and details. Thus making it the very main focus of the film, and thus lies the problem.
2. THE ROCK
This is probably my first exposure to Michael Bay when at the time, I thought it was directed by John Woo. While the writing, plot and editing were horrible as usual, the action were not particularly that ridiculous. While Nicholas Cage was both fun and embarrassing to watch, F*CKIN Sean Connery was what everyone wanted to see. And it is arguable that he saved the film. Even at an old age, Connery uses his awesome Connery powers and charm to make anything, good or bad, priceless. And Connery can still kick f*ckin ass! Too bad, his awesome Connery powers and charm couldn't save League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
1. "I'D DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE" BY MEATLOAF - MUSIC VIDEO
I think most people (including me) didn't know that Michael Bay directed this music video. One thing, its F*CKIN MEATLOAF! That guy, no matter where he goes, is still a f*ckin badass. But what surprises me is that the music video has something that we never see in any of his big Hollywood film - it has a good story! A good story? in a Michael Bay work? Thats unbelievable! Sure its not that original, but it sure is inventive. The whole Beauty and the Beast narrative really fits the song and the art direction. Plus we see Meatloaf as a f*ckin badass beast, that is a cross between a giant rat and a vampire. Plus the song is epic and it f*ckin rocks! Its a classic for sure. Too bad most of the whole world don't see Michael Bay as a creative artistic artist but a Special-Effect-First Plot-Development-Last Money-Guarantee agent of summer blockbusters.
Watched this instead since Quarantine is just the American exact copy of this film. This is probably the second Spanish film to ever scare the crap out of me (first would be The Orphanage) and this film is really f*ckin scary. Using the same method from Cloverfield, the horror comes from the dark settings and atmosphere and narrated through the one perspective, giving a great mystery, tension and insanity. The beauty lies in having two threats, The Infected and the authorities sealing up the building, making the characters in between really screwed. Watch this if you dare. This is the first handycam film to ever scare the f*ck out of me at many times. Not the Blair Witch Project, that film was stupid!
It ain't happening. The plants sure are deadly killers, but they are still as boring as hell. Not bad as Lady In The Water, but still not among M. Night Shyamalan's good films. Not even close to Sixth Sense or Unbreakable. The plot is very slow and basically just moves from one place where people get killed to another place where people get killed. Actors are ranged from dull and embarrassing. Though we are treated to some gruesome deaths. But yet it is not a huge impact on the protection of the environment and this film will be forgettable. 2 out of 5 stars
Liam Neeson kicks major ass in this film. While this film isn't new and is pretty much basic, what really works are the characters, the pacing and the brutal action. Especially Liam, who made his character very interesting to watch for with his cold, calculative and very much deadly persona, making him a little different from any action stars. The badguys are downright scums and you know they are needed to be wipe off the face of the eath. Its an no-nonsense action movie that is guarantee to give you a good time.
Unlike No Country For Old Men, this film actually has an ending. Its very much a hard and haunting look at one man running the oil business from the early 1900s, running along the themes of greed, family and power. Daniel Day Lewis acted his ass off in this film, as he easily made us invested our time on this character and his trials through his life as an oil man. The dialogue and writing are delicious as ever and the cinematography are great too.
Still a Lord of The Rings ripoff, but slightly better. The action and war scenes are amped up for the better and the story is slightly matured for this one. Though even though this is written by C.S Lewis, it is so unfair that you have humans... with no powers whatsoever... fighting against mythical and fantastical creatures, animals, giants, drawves, pans, a mouse with a sword and a lion with freakin Jesus powers. So unfair, that is not entirely interesting to watch. In fact, it is also a Disney film. So no matter how violent and epic and serious it gets, its still a Disney film. And you know what that means. Oh well, at you get to see a mouse stabbing people. Something Mickey have been wanting to do.
Along the hipsters teen vibe of Juno, this is just a pretty much standard romance teen flick filled with the "cool" "hipsters" culture references set in the after hours of New York City. You have the jock teenagers and you have these geeky hipster teens out to find the most indie, alternative and hipster music bands in the world. And even though the playlist isn't that infinite to me, you have great alternative and indies playing throughout the movie. Michael Cera is just being Michael Cera as always and Kat is pretty hot as an quirky alternative girl and the gay guys are in between annoying and fun. The cinematography shows the beautiful less-glamourous no-Manhattan-style punk, grunge side of New York, following these hipster kids in their night to remember.
A charming, quirky and witty film, starring the always dry Ricky Gervais. Not an all-out humor but more of quiet and witty. Its a very pleasant thing to look at.... Thats all...
Is it really bad? Oh yes it is. Is it tolerable bad? No its not. Is it really the very worst movie of the year? Oohhh not really. That one goes to Disaster Movie. Really I would have gotten something out of Michael Meyers after many years offscreen. After his Austin Powers run. This movie is the Austin Powers with the left-over jokes. With a tiny couple of good chuckles and ha, all of the jokes ain't working. Only immaturity, innuendos, toilets and stupid stuffs with no hint of cleverness. All of the performances are really bad and I MEAN BY GOD Ben Kingsley. SIR Ben Kingsley. I know he's an oscar winner and a f*ckin knight, but he's still nothing but a joke! If you are really, AND I MEAN REALLY, into stupid immature films, knock yourself out with this one..
![[Rec]](http://content6.flixster.com/movie/10/52/28/10522876_pro.jpg)
