Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Avengers



So lets do this thing...the first MEGA blockbuster of the year, how does it fare you ask, well its pretty good says I.

We all know the score so why review it, the 'backup' films to this entry were all solid to great films with most having their favourites, my personal fav is easily the Iron Man films. So with all the guys together for the first time the film does start at a slow pace...for quite some time its gotta be said, I was getting a little twitchy in my seat. Allot of dialog and pacing around very metallic looking military facilities with a whole load of comicbook sci-fi jargon I really don't understand haha. The team are introduced one by one and things feel familiar a they should, a quick bit of action from 'Black Widow' does help though, for the overall pacing and control of the film.

Honestly the film didn't really kick into gear for me until we get our first 'Hulk' moment on board that huge flying aircraft carrier thingy (a bit too G.I.Joe there?), this is our first team action and its good, its very good :) everyone looks good and the action is sharp, slick and clear.
For me the whole film is all about certain characters and how they come across in battle, in general all the team battles in this film are really very good, as said by many all the characters get their time to shine and no one is left in the cold but clearly some characters just work so much better.

The finale is a firestorm of cgi action and really does blow you away with non-stop Avenger action, its not even hard to follow either, you can see what's happening and there's no silly shaky camera to make you ill, its all precise. Best action from a character goes to 'Hulk' for me with some earth shatteringly pumped destruction going on, they really nailed him good in this one, of course 'Iron Man' gets second spot. The cgi overall is excellent but its not like we haven't seen this kind of thing before though ;) its hardly ground breaking but it looks way better than the 'X-Men' 'Spider Man' 'Fantastic 4' films, I also liked the huge flying alien metallic dragon things, some nice design work there, the alien soldiers didn't look much (never got a good look really) but those big space dragons were really impressive.


As for the superheroes well they all look spotless, 'Iron Man' as I said is my personal best and looks awesome, 'Hulk' is a close second looking the best he's ever been here and actually appearing like Ruffalo facially so you can actually believe he transformed into this green monster, 'Loki' hasn't changed much from 'Thor' and looks good whilst 'Thor' also stays pretty much the same and looks fine. , 'Black Widow' (Scarlett Johansson) looks amazing, My third Favorite Avenger. A nice shot whilst she speaks with an incarcerated 'Loki' I enjoyed muchly.
Now this is where I get picky folks, 'Captain America'...what the in the world did they do to his suit!? it was fine in his first film so why make it look so childish looking for this!? the hood part looks dreadful, thought so when I first saw pics of it. We all know of Fury so this leaves 'Hawkeye', probably the dullest looking character, I didn't like him.




The other thing was 'Loki' and his alien buddies, I presume 'Loki's' exile was him falling into that abyss at the end of 'Thor'? how did he meet that alien race? how did he get to earth through the portal or get to the portal? and why does he even want to rule Earth? what does he get out of it?
I must also ask what the 'Chitauri' are exactly, when 'Iron Man' downs the big mothership they all just drop, so are they robotic? or somehow connected to a central brain or something?. Trivial but hey that's how I roll.

So yes, this film is incredible and probably the best its gonna get for superhero team flicks and even superhero flicks to a degree, and when I say superhero flicks I mean superheroes which involve magic, sorcery, space, aliens etc...'Batman', 'Blade', 'Punisher' etc...are different beasts. Definitely a historical moment as we get the first real superhero team movie, I can't see 'Justice League' topping it.

Ps. No need to stay right to the end of the credits, but don't leave straight away ;)

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die Track By Track Review


1. Born to Die
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Very different from most of the songs on the album, this is probably the best song on the album in terms of lyrical ability and melody. From the very beggining of the song you can hear the powerful sound of Lana's amazingly unique voice backed by one of the most beautiful background orchestra on the entire album.

"Walking through the city streets, is it by mistake or design?"

5/5
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2. Off To The Races
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Almost completely different from the first song, this catchy and somewhat silly song adds further emphasis to the "Lolita" theme of the album. This song has many references to the book throuhout the song. Including a direct quote: "Light of my life, fire of my loins" and many other references.

 "You are my one true love"
 3.5/5
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3. Blue Jeans
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Very beautiful melody but feels repetitive and generic. This song could have benefited from a different verse or change up in the middle becuase both verses feel empty. 


"I will love you till the end of time"
 2.5/5
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4. Video Games

Incredible lyrics combind with a breathtaking melody. It's rare to find a song in this decade that mixes it up to keep from being repetitive while still feeling genuine. Not only is it easily one of the best songs on the album, it's probably one of the best songs ever composed.


"It's better than I ever even knew. They say that the world was built for two"
5/5

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 5. Diet Mountain Dew
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Not confused with "Diet MNT Dew" a much slower paced song that most original fans are used to. "Diet Mountain Dew" has a beautiful melody. The verses feel fresh and original and have a 1960's feel (as much as the rest of the album). The song almost burns out towards the end but it ends long before that and will keep you pressing "replay".

 "Do you think we'll be in love forever?"
4.5/5
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6. National Anthem

With the intro often Compared to "Bittersweet Symphony", National Anthem has that familar, beautiful and signature background violin. This song Doesn't quite have the lyrical depth of some of the previous songs but it still holds up as a fun summer song. The verses in this song aren't meant for Reinventing Shakespeare but The song does what it's supossed to do and it does it very well.

"Red, white, blue's in the skies, Summer's in the air and baby, Heaven's in your eyes."
4.5/5
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7. Dark Paradise

The different layers of her voice are really emphasized in this song.
With an original melody and hypnotic synths, this song will instantly get you automatically
addicted from the minute you listen to it.

"No one compares to you. I'm scared that you, won't be waiting on the other side"
4.5/5
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 8. Radio

 One of my favorite songs on this album, I cannot imagine what they were thinking not making this a single. Soothing, too short to be repetetive although it could have benefited from a slight change up.

"I dont even notice how hard life was,I don't even think about it now because,
I've finally found you."
4.5/5
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 9. Carmen

 "Carmen" is a dark tale of pretty-girl psychosis and warns of the negative side-effects in livingin living said lifestyle. Not my favorite song from the album but it's definitely not bad. Although slightly repetitive and does not really hold up after multiple listens.

 "It's alarming honestly How charming she can be
Fooling everyone Telling them she's having fun"
 3.5/5
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10. Million Dollar Man

This song is absolutely genius.- Intrigue, danger and clichés ("One for the money / two for the show"), this song doesn't really bring any thing new anything new to the table that previous tracks before it pull off better. It still has one of the better chorus' on the album.

"I don't know,
You're screwed up and brilliant,
You look like a million dollar man,
So why is my heart broke?"
3.5/5
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11. Summertime Sadness

Probably My least favorite song on the album. This song is very slow, boring, and suffers from a heavy dose of unnecessary repetitiveness. Not really much to be said about this piece. The only redeeming factor is the bridge that accours about 2:14 in but that's only about 30 seconds.

"I think I'll miss you forever
Like the stars miss the sun in the morning skies
Later's better than never
Even if you're gone I'm gonna drive, drive"
1/5
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12. This Is What Makes Us Girls

I'm happy to say we can end this review on a positive note. Last but defenitley not least, TIWMUG.
Another one of those songs where the verse is better than the chorus. The hard-edged production really makes this song, along with the melody of the verses some of the best on the album.

"This is what makes us girls
We all look for heaven and we put our love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's our curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it"
4.5/5
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00. Album Overview

Positive: Overall this is a really enjoyable album. The production is top notch, the lyrics are unique and fresh.  I would definitely recommend buying this album.

Negative: This album can be a bit repetitive at times, nothing too major. Some of the lyrics can feel incomplete and silly at times.

Overall Score: 8.9