Watch The Throne (Review)

Monday night at midnight, the much anticipated Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration effort, Watch The Throne, was finally released. I stayed up that morning listening to it, from start to finish. Including the bonus tracks. And let me tell you, I was blown away.

Watch The Throne gripped me in quickly from the very beginning with the Frank Ocean assisted “No Church In The Wild”. Just like that, I was hooked on the album as if it is a drug. An hour and five minutes pass, and its all over. So I played it again!

The beats on this album are just wicked. The album had very catchy production for the most part with amazing samples on many of the beats that really fit into them and made them even better.

The vocals were all lovely. They had so many big/great names such as Beyonce, Mr Hudson (who is known for singing the chorus of Jay-Z’s “Young Forever”), Odd Future’s Frank Ocean (he ripped not one, but two tracks on the album), Elly Jackson (lead singer of LaRoux) and many more. Each artist provided chorus work that boomed. Each chorus is generally easy to sing along with.

Jay and Kanye’s (now known as The Throne when together) raps were truly brilliant. Some of the best that I’ve heard in the while. They were both able to capture the mood of each beat really well and spit verses that really suited each track’s vibe.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with WTT. It was fantastic from top to bottom. I wasn’t disappointed with any of it. I think that The Throne is the best rap duo since OutKast. And that’s coming from me, a man whos two favorite rappers are Big Boi and Andre 3000. I can’t wait to see The Throne when they come to my city in November, I’m already counting down the days! Good job boys! I will definitely continue watching The Throne!

Verdict: 9. 75, maybe even a ten.

 

Bad Teacher (Review)

I went to the movies on the hottest day of the week the other day. Yes, it was too hot out and I should’ve been outside instead, but at least I got a review out of it.

Bad Teacher is about an unenthusiastic teacher (Cameron Diaz) that is trying desperately to raise money for the boob job that she desires. This movie was extremely underrated. It got terrible reviews, but it wasn’t terrible at all.

I found that the movie had alot of funny parts. Lot’s of them, actually most of them were stupid funny. Lots of sex jokes as well as pot use. Cameron Diaz and Jason Segal were two of the funnier characters in the movie.

In the end. I went into the theater expecting to see some garbage chick flick style movie. Bridesmaids left a bad taste in my mouth. I was happy that my friend payed because at that time (before I saw the movie), I was thinking about how I would never pay to see that garbage-looking stuff. But I left uncontrollably laughing. I thought it was actually really funny. I mean, I’m still happy that I didn’t pay because I’m a cheapo, but I still felt as if it was a really funny and overhated by the critics.

Verdict: 7

U2 360 Tour (Review)

This past weekend in Montreal, U2 was in town to commence the Canadian leg of their “U2 360 Tour“.  80 000 people were in attendance, each night. This show took place at the Hippodrome,  a former horse racing track. This was hands down the best concert that I’ve ever seen.

Everything was perfect about it. They did each song incredibly. All of the songs (with the exception of “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”) sounded exactly as they did on the album. And with a tour like that, you know that the songs were not lip synced. The visual effects were just incredible. They had a broadcasted (possibly prerecorded) message from the ISS Commander Scott Kelly before they went into “Beautiful Day”.  On Friday’s show, after Bono finished the final song, “With or Without You“, it started to pour from out of nowhere. Not drizzle, not rain, but pour! I was drenched! My father picked me up with some towels in the car.

Both concerts were really great. I say both because I loved Friday’s show so much that I stood outside on Decarie to listen to it! I hope they come back soon, perhaps there’ll be a tour for there upcoming album, “Songs In Acsent”. Great job boys!

Below, the amazing introduction:

Beyonce – Year of 4 (Review)

This year, on June 30th, a documentary was released entitled Beyonce – Year of 4. This documentary follows Beyonce’s life from about a year ago right up to last month.

It seems to have been quite a year of Queen, or as she’d now rather be called, King B. She took some time off which seemed to have a positive impact on her life. She also made the bold move of firing her father as her managerf. Then without further adieu, she got straight into the recording process of her new album, “4“. This was followed by the albums post-production, along with video/photo shoots as well as some finishing touches.

This documentary was very different from her 2009 project, “Beyoncé: For The Record“. For The Record seemed to show a rushed and hectic side of Beyonce. But in Year of 4, we can see that it has been a much more calm and organic period of time for her. I also found that she gave much better and in depth answers to the questions being asked, more emotion was put into answering them. A part with lots of emotion that really stood out was when she was crying because of the niceness and passion that the boys teaching her the dance of “Run The World (Girls)“ I think that the whole actual making of the album was more wholesome than some of her previous work. Since the split with her dad as a manager, we really also get to see her be so much more independent.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is that Beyonce is a powerful woman figure that cares and always delivers her best onto every project that she works on. And like her other projects, she’s sure to find her way back on top with “4“, which might I add is currently in stores. Speaking of 4, this documentary gave me much more respect for the new album, as I understand where she is coming from with this almost completely new and unexpected style. Even though it may be a fourth album, it has the feel of a second. I sure hope the rest of the world/critics feel the same way.

Since we are talking so much about the number 4, it would be wrong if I didn’t wish all of the American readers a Happy 4th of July! I hope that everyone had fun celebrations.

Overall, I was very pleased with this documentary. I can’t wait to she what she does next, oh wait, I know whats next, a Destiny’s Child reunion!

Verdict: 7.75 (I really can’t give it an 8, but hey, it’s almost there)

Twitter Account / 2 Mini Reviews (Super 8 and Green Lantern)

Hey everyone. I know that I am loooong overdue writing this, but at least it’s finally getting done. I have a Twitter account where I sometimes do quick reviews, but I hope to start writing full reviews over here in the near future. In any case, my twitter is www.twitter.com/emteeel . Check back soon for new reviews!

Take Care

PS: This is my 40th post on the blog!

PPS: Two little reviews off of my twitter account

 

Bob’s Burgers (Review)

  I always say, “You cannot review a television show based on just one episode”, and I think after 3 episodes of FOX’s new animated sitcom, “Bob’s Burgers”, the public is starting to get the picture on what this show is all about.

   “Bob’s Burgers” follows the life of Bob Belcher and his family as they are “Re-Re-Re Opening” their hamburger restaurant.

  I find that the jokes on this show are very similar to what you can watch on TV both before and after “Bob’s Burgers” time slot, The Simpsons (before) and Family Guy (after). In fact, the raunchyness of the humour is in the middle, just like the show’s time slot! Although I like this sort of humour, it kind of bugs me that it is the same, seeing that it is somewhat unoriginal. You can even compare the fact that Bob’s wife has a strange voice, just like Lois and Marge have strange voices. Although something that “Bob’s Burgers” has not done yet is make any references or jokes about pop culture, something that “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons” often do. But then again, both of those shows also made less references when they started.

  No, “Bob’s Burgers” has not yet gained the title as one of my favorite shows, In fact, I find “Bob’s Burgers” less funny than almost all of the other FOX shows between 8-10:30, except for “American Dad”, (which is not to say that I don’t find “Bob’s Burgers” to be not funny at all). In fact, I would probably not watch it if it was put into the 9:30 timeslot, thus switching places with “The Cleveland Show”. But since it is on, and it is sort of funny, I will still continue to watch it.

Overall Rating: 7, barely, but a 7

Barney’s Version (Review)

   On new years day, I went out to dinner with my family. Since the place we ate at is right next to the movie theatre, we descided to go to the movies after. “Barney’s Version” was the choice for two of us, while the others went to see “Little Fockers” (read my last post for a review on that).

   “Barney’s Version” follows the life of Barney Panofsky (played by Paul Giamatti), a jewish Montrealer that seems to find himself unlucky with love throuout many parts in his life. It is based on the novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler.

    This movie for me was fun to see. I am a Montrealer (Montreal is were the film takes place). The only reason that I was able to see it on New Years Day was because it was released here (I believe here means all of Canada) before anywhere else. So being a Montrealer, I was able to enjoy seeing various locations that I have been in, streets that I have walked, and even people that I know! Believe it or not, two people that I know play extras in the film. So for me the whole setting of the film was just exiting to see. Not many movies are made in Montreal, so that is one thing that really gets me more excited, just to be proud seeing my city on the big screen! I even think I saw a bit being filmed!

   Paul Giamatti was just excellent in this film. I think that is really just the best role that he has done in his career. I never really took that guy too seriously as an actor before ’06 (when “Cinderella Man” came out) I always thought of him as “That guy in ‘Big Fat Liar’”, and that certainly isn’t  one of his standout roles, at all! But with “Cinderella Man”, Giamatti was a supporting role. In “Barney’s Version”, Giamattia proves that he could play a strong leading role. My respect gets deeper than just that because of the fact that he was able to play the character, Barney, throuout many years of his life. Also, good job to the makeup team for being able to make Paul Giamatti look like a 25 or 30 year old, right up until a 70 or 80 year old (I am actually just guessing those numbers).

My final thoughts on the movie are that it is phenominal. I will probaly see it again, and I haven’t seen something a second time in theatres sinces 2005! Forget James Franco, Paul Giamatti is the one that deserves the Oscar!

Overall: 10/10, my most possitive review yet!

Little Fockers (Review)

      Just in time for the Christmas holidays, the long-awaited 2nd sequel to “Meet The Parents” entitled, “Little Fockers” arrived. In this chapter, we see Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) struggling to bring in money for his family, with his father in law Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) still not trusting him as husband to his daughter, Pam (Teri Polo), aswell as father to Jacks grandchildren who are introduced in this film.

     If you have seen the first two movies in the series, then you can see from my mini-description above that not too much has changed plot-wise. But I think that is in a way a good thing because the story with Jack not trusting Greg is what creates the humour in the movie (and the previous ones) due to Greg’s nervousness and insecurity with his father in law, a situation which is vice versa for Jack. Adding Greg and Pam’s kids into the story did little difference in most cases. This film was just as inappropriate as the first two.

    As for Robert De Niro’s appearance in the film, I would have to say that I am extremely unimpressed. Ever since the first film came out, I always said to myself “Why on earth is he in this film, he is such a good actor and I think that he is wasting his time being in this”. I personally think that De Niro is the best in dramatic roles. But yet, he has/had the toughness, and seriousness in him to play Jack Byrnes for three movies, and he wasn’t terrible, I just think that he should’ve been working on something more intense and serious perhaps.

   Overall, I found that this movie wasn’t nearly as good as the other two, but still pretty funny. I think that “Little Fockers” should wrap up this trilogy once and for all.

Verdict: 6.5

127 Hours (Review)

Here we go again! As promised, another review. I am so happy to be back doing this again!

127 Hours is the true story of Aaron Ralston (portrayed by James Franco), a man who gets his hand caught in a boulder while hiking one day near Moab, Utah.

I do not want to say much more because if I do, it will probably spoil the movie for you all. But I think that James Franco’s portayl in this film is excellent. I really felt for him and all the pain that his character was going through. He deserves at least an Oscar nominee, maybe even an award depending how well some of the other nominees do, if he gets a nomination that is!

Just a heads up, there is a very graphic scene. I heard on the radio a report about how some people fainted during the scene. For those of you who know what it is, it isn’t too gruesome, but still a bit harsh. I bet I must really be teasing the people that have no clue about the scene!

Overall, I think that is was a very enjoyable movie. And although it is a drama, it had some very suitable comedic moments. I see some Oscar noms’ in this films future

Verdict:
8.5

I’m Back!

   No, I didn’t go on a long vacation. No, I did not get the flu. In fact, only one problem was stopping me  from writing another review; My Laziness.

    It all started about a month ago. I had to do a quick writing assignment, so I said to myself, “Why not do a review?”. I started to write it, but then I thought “Maybe I should just leave it for the blog”. Which is what I did. I tore the review out of my notebook and threw it away, promising myself that I would post a review to the movie later that week. But I never did.

   Sorry I have been away so long, but I’m back now. I promise you all a review soon. Since I have been away, I have seen 2 films, “Unstoppable” (which I was going to write for my class assignment) and “127 Hours” starring James Franco of “General Hospital”. Also, I’m going to the “TRON: Legacy” premiere tonight, so you all could expect a review on that. Well, that is all for now! Until next time,

Keep on reading!