Let's Talk Music!: Fall Out Boy - Save Rock and Roll

The title of their album seems apt enough.

But to be honest, I really didn't know what happened to Fall Out Boy. I didn't even know they sort of had this hiatus going on. The last thing I heard from them was "Folie a Deux" and then nothing.

But I was equally happy and surprised when I saw that they were going to release new stuff. It kinda spread like wildfire all over the web..well, mostly on Tumblr.

They released the first single [along with its video], "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark [Light 'Em Up] and from there I was hooked. I didn't count how many times I've raped...*cough* click the Replay button but it was that damn good and catchy too.

...and then the day came and the album was out...

I really couldn't stop listening it to it.

The whole thing starts with a strong song with a very apt title [The Phoenix] and then eases in a bit with the first single [MSKWYDITD..yea, I abbreviated it LOL] and then from there branches into more songs that are new but also are somewhat expected from FOB. Awesome guitar riffs and catchy lyrics, it's more than enough to make your head bob along.

The album has 11 new songs and awesome collabs namely  Courtney Love [of Hole] and Elton John. The whole album makes you feel like FOB never left  the scene and makes you fall inlove with them again. The songs [for me at least] are refreshing and are very upbeat. They will definitely put you in a good mood while going through your daily routine.

I like every song on this album but my fave faves are The Phoenix, MSKWYDITD, Alone Together, Rat a Tat and Save Rock and Roll.

The Phoenix is prolly one of the best first songs of any album I've heard in a while. It starts out very ominous and heavy then picks up a bit into the chorus. It definitely will get you pumped and excited to hear more of the album.

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark [Light 'Em Up] is the first single to come out from the album and immediately follows after The Phoenix. So from the initial song you are immediately thrown into something more familiar but very, very catchy. From the start to the end, it's either you'll clap or sing along. The next fave faves is also the 3rd song of the album and comes after MSKWYDITD. 

Alone Together's title seems pretty weird. I mean, how can you be alone but together? Then you hear lyrics and listen to the song and then you'll understand. 

Rat a Tat and Save Rock and Roll are the last two songs and are also collabs with other artists. Rat a Tat is a collab with Courtney Love and brings her alternative style into the song. The song goes fast and hard on Courtney's parts and then it sort of levels out on Patrick's turn.Save Rock and Roll is a collab with THE Elton John and is also the last song in the album which I think is very fitting. The song is one of FOB's slower songs and melodic.Elton John is pretty much Elton John and  provides a more "regal" tone to the song.

The only negative I can prolly say about the album is that it feels short even though the whole thing runs around 41 minutes. I mean, even the cover art looks so bad-ass! But I must say that it kept me wanting more and with this I do hope future albums would be as much awesome. Also whether or not Fall out Boy did "Save Rock and Roll" this time around, it's pretty certain they did a good job making rock and roll hang around.

Whether or not you're a fan, this is definitely a good add to your music library.

Let's Talk Movies!: G.I. Joe Retaliation

The original screening for this movie was for June last year [as stated in the old poster above] but due to a whole lot of things [making it 3D, initial preview screenings flunked, needed moar Duke, etc] the movie went back to semi-production and made fans wait a year till it came out.

Of course everyone was disappointed, maybe even angry but they did what they had to do. Once the movie did come out locally, I managed to catch it at the first showing on the first day. I was pretty excited the night before that I couldn't sleep.

The movie picks up where it left off at the end of Rise of Cobra but it does leave a whole mess of plot holes. Here are a few:

~ What happened to the other Joes [Scarlett, Ripcord, Heavy Duty, Breaker, Stone, Hawk]?
~ What was the "Nano-mite Wars"?
~ If Cobra Commander was in jail in Destro, who were the Joes fighting in said Nano-mite Wars [it couldn't be just Firefly]?
~ How did Storm Shadow survive?
~ Baroness?

Those were a few things running through my head during the first part of the movie. Moving on...

The storyline is split with what happens to the Joes to what Snake Eyes was doing with his free time. It was a nice back and forth thing and I think it meshed well.

The main story basically is that Pres. Zartan decimated the Joes and gets info in order to release Cobra Commander and then rule the world. Simple enough and it stays true to the Joe theme going back to the animated shows which was Cobra tries to take over the world and the Joes stop it. They did add a few more things and easter eggs to spice the movie up. The easter eggs however can only be seen and recognized by the purest of Joe fans or at least those who have watched alot of cartoons.

Anyhoo, so Pres. Zartan decimates the whole Joe team along with their bases and such but a few survive and now has to work underneath the radar in order to clear their names [Renegades plot line much?]. Meanwhile Snake Eyes is paired up with Jinx and goes to collect Storm Shadow under the orders of the Blind Master. Then the whole gang meets up and teams up to defeat the plans of Cobra.

With that said, the whole movie is pretty much a great and fun watch. They did a great job with going further than what they did in ROC. Although there are still rooms for improvement.

Character time!
~ I kinda liked The Rock's portrayal of Roadblock, he didn't go rhyme much but he was big and menacing. ~ Adrianne Palicki was a good choice for Lady Jaye. Sure there were scenes of uber fan service which was out of character for Lady Jaye but it was still a nice portrayal.
~ Speaking of portrayals, I think they messed up on how they should've portrayed Flint. D.J. Cotrona was great but the character he was doing almost felt like it was more of Falcon than Flint. Falcon was more of a young and brash soldier and that what how I saw D.J. I mean Flint a free-runner? And another thing, Lady Jaye gets to have a small backstory talk and we don't get one for Flint [or even Fireflly]?
~ As for Firefly, Ray Stevenson did an excellent job. I didn't expect the accent though, I don't remember Firefly talking like that on the animated cartoon.
~ Speaking of accents, Jinx seemingly looks asian but doesn't...and she sounds a bit british. Oh well.
~ Rza as the Blind Master, well sure he looks and speaks the part but was he really necessary? Some say he isn't, some say he does. For me it's a bit 50/50, I think he's there mainly to act as Snake Eyes' voice when they were conversing with Storm Shadow.
~ Byung Hun Lee was the 2nd best guy out there. His portrayal of Storm Shadow was spot on and you could see that he worked out to get his body buff.
~ It was interesting to see Bruce Willis casted as Joe Colton. But being the aging action hero that he is, being cast as Colton seemed like a fit.
~ Ray park as Snake Eyes. Still awesome, nuff said.
~ Cobra Commander...looked and sounded more like the Cobra Commander we know. I liked his look in this one, part warlord part well-dressed boss.
~ I think the best actor for me in this movie is Jonathan Pryce aka the President aka also Pres. Zartan. You could tell he had to make two separate individual traits for the two characters he was portraying even though it was the same one.
~ There were ALOT of other characters that have been named on the cast list but didn't have any significant effect on the movie. I was surprised to see a few notable characters on the cast but didn't see them at all, will wait for the Blu Ray I guess.


When the movie ended, we get treated to a song saying/asking "How do you like me now?". It made me feel like it was a deliberate thing Jon Chu added. My response to that is "I like you a little bit now but make the next one without any glaring plot holes".

There's action, guns, explosions, ninjas, a little but of fan service, some comedic moments, a few more ninjas and The Rock and Channing Tatum talking about panties. What's not to like about this movie? Sure it still felt a bit lacking and that the one year wait didn't produce enough but it still has its moments.

Whether you're a fan of the franchise or not, it's still a nice movie to go and watch. It's still way better than Rise of Cobra and with a 3rd movie being greenlit, hopefully it'll get way more better.

I loved it, it was a great movie for me. There are only two words left to say, Yo Joe!

Let's talk Movies: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

I have never seen any previews or trailers for this movie but by just seeing the poster and the cast, I knew I had to see it. It has been awhile since I've seen great comedians in one movie. Anyhoo, I was lucky enough to have catched it last weekend.

Short spoiler free short summary:

It starts simple and a bit cliche'd where a young Albert Wunderstein [played by Steve Carell] is bullied and finds an escape [and popularity] by studying and performing magic tricks thanks to a Magic Kit he got on his birthday. Whilst performing a simple trick during school lunch, he meets a sickly Anthony Mertz [played by Steve Buschemi] who was amazed at his trick. From then on, the two became best friends and spent time practicing and doing magic together.

Fast forward to the future and you see the duo as famous magicians in a casino in Las Vegas as The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton. But nothing is what it seems between the two and their chosen career.

Amidst their own troubles, in comes Steve Gray [played by Jim Carrey] who is a very edgy charismatic street magician who is getting alot of attention and fans with his new but often dangerous tricks.

With a new hotel/casino looking for entertainers, will Wonderstone and Marvelton be able to edge out Steve Gray or will they fall into obscurity?

The Review:

This is a very funny movie.

It has been awhile since I've laughed so hard and so loud watching a movie. From the obvious [the bright performances of Carell, Buschemi and Carrey] to the most subtle things [Jim Carrey's character has a show named "Brain Rapist"] it was certainly a funny movie from beginning to end.

It was also great to see Alan Arkin in a comedy movie again. He has this certain charisma that makes you love him and the characters that he plays. Olivia Wilde is also great but her performance [to me] seems lacking. Also, since Steve Buschemi is in the movie, I was kinda on the lookout for minor appearances of either Ben Stiller and/or Adam Sandler since Steve Buschemi also cameo's a bit in theirs.

The storyline is a bit cliched but the comedy and the execution of it brings a bit of freshness in it. Although it's your typical comedy, it's really not. Also it has its usual moral lesson and despite some of the edgy tricks Carrey performs, the whole movie can be enjoyed by all ages. Comedy AND magic are both universal and you don't need to be a genius to appreciate both.

Catch it if you can while it's still in theaters, it really is a funny movie.

Let's Talk Movies!: The Man with the Iron Fists

I like this poster better, very minimalistic yet awesome.

*as always, spoiler free*

We all know how the Wu-Tang clan are so into martial arts that in one of their albums, it almost sounds like it was a martial arts film. From narration to the typical background music played during kung fu fight scenes.

It wasn't that much a surprise to me when I heard that RZA would be in a martial arts film since I was already surprised that he's playing Hard Master [martial arts master] in the coming Gi Joe sequel. 

The movie starts simple enough. In Jungle Village, RZA is their resident Blacksmith. Judging by how much orders he gets, it seems he is rather good at his job. Although it is shown that he dislikes making weapons for killing. But still he does it so he and his love, Lady Silk [played by Jamie Chung] would be able to leave and and have a life of their own. They were about to realize their dream however after a series of unfortunate events, both are dragged into a whole mess of trouble between the gov't., lions and ladies of reputation.

The story seems a bit of a mess at the start but it can be just simplified to a story of greed and power. The flow of the story was moving at a fast pace although the flashbacks of the Blacksmith [named Thaddeus] seemed a bit long and dragging. It was a bit weird how an african american from a plantation came to China even with an elaborate explanation on how he did but oh well, it's the movies.

They have a very strong and well known cast for this one. My biggest surprise was Dave Bautista whom we all know and love/hate as Batista from WWE. I seemed to have neglected seeing him in the main poster but I really loved his character [Brass Body] and his ...certain ability. It was really awesome to see. They also had Lucy Liu [as Madam Blossom] who was also magnificent. Any movie with Lucy Liu kicking ass in it is always a plus. It was nice to see Byron Mann again. He's much known as playing Ryu in the old Street Fighter movie. I must admit, he seemed to have been having fun in his role as the villain. I think Russel Crowe was something of a "meh" for me. His character [Jack Knife] was cool but I feel that they could've done better casting another actor...maybe, Woody Harrelson?

The fight scenes were completely awesome. It's pretty much action-packed with alot of actual martial arts since a few of the actors are actually masters or is really practicing martial arts in real life. Some were really fast [X-Blade's first fight scene] while some were totally out there [Brass Body Vs. X-Blade and the final fight of Brass Body Vs. the Blacksmith]. Still there were a few more elegant ones like Lucy Liu's fight scene and the Gemini's Vs. the Lions one. All were pretty much jaw dropping and a sight to behold. Although most people who've watched alot of martial arts movies might not see anything new, they didn't do anything that seems so out of this world.

If you're looking for an action movie filled with martial arts well, this won't disappoint. This movie pretty much has alot of it. If you're looking for a story, well...this movie has an okay storyline. It's not much but at least it still attempts to be linear and doesn't go overboard.

Let's Talk Movies: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Sooo....where's Scott Pilgrim?

*as always, this is going to be spoiler-free*

This movie surprised me. I did not expect a few things that happened but was right when I pegged this as another "coming-of-age" film. As if the term, "Wallflower" wasn't a dead give-away. 

I haven't read the book or the wikipedia entry or any reviews of it *I read a post from girlfriend about it though but it didn't give much away", so I watched it unprepared. I was kind of putting of watching it as it didn't seem that much. My girlfriend did consistently tell me to watch it and also asked a few times if I already did.

The movie is all about Charlie, played by Logan Lerman of "Percy Jackson" fame. I kinda liked him more on the "Gamer" movie. Anyway, it all starts out with his first day of highschool. Nothing much happens and it seems like he was going to be one of those silent loners until he gets the courage to talk to a "quirky" Patrick [who was played magnificently by Ezra Miller] and introduced to Pat's step-sister, Sam [played by Emma Watson]. From then on one thing leads to another as Charlie's highschool life gets better AND worse. 

The whole movie, as I found out, was set around the 90's. Which explains the lack of more...high end tech as well as more recent music. I didn't mind, being a kid of the 90's it seemed almost perfect.

My only question is...where the hell was this movie during MY highschool years? Ahahah~

Seriously, if I could've watched this during those times then my life would've so better. It's not that I could relate to the characters but at some instances all of us could relate to that dreadful first day of school where you don't know anyone at all. To those unsure feelings of awkwardness, as well as those feelings of happiness and loss. 

There are a few plot points in the movie that wasn't touched upon if you've just seen the trailers and haven't spoiled yourself in reading the wiki entry or haven't read the book itself. I think that those things made the movie more compelling and a bit dramatic. For me it would've been a bit dull if they didn't have it.

It's nice that they had an awesome selection of songs for this movie. Although I know most of them via covers by other artists, it was still awesome to hear them and used in moments that seem most opportune. Speaking of music, it was also awesome to see an old hobby again which was creating mixtapes. Prior to the technological advancement of selecting your playlists, you had to do it by yourself at the time and it was really hard.

Speaking of music, this made me remember a song entitled, "Wallflower" by Caroline's Spine [Yay 90's music!]

Take a listen, it's pretty awesome:

Anyhoo..

I've made a few mixtapes way, waaay back and it was both fun and a pain. But I digress...

Watching this movie makes you feel nostalgic of the time you've spent in highschool. Not only that, it then delves deeper and it will pique your interest. The best thing is, they do it at a slow pace. Slow enough to not give it away all at once and slow enough to let it just flow naturally within the story. It typically deals with the "love and loss" theme and a bit of a "boy meets girl" theme ala 500 Days of Summer [haven't watched that? then go and watch it then!]. There will be points of the story where you'd prolly wonder what was going on and what's going to happen next. All of those doubts and questions will mostly be answered as the story progresses.

All in all, it was really a very great film with a few characters that has a bit of depth.I think that Ezra Miller had more of a fantastic performance than Logan or Emma. Watching Mae Whitman in a movie was a delight [i've only seen her in Scott Pilgrim] and seeing Paul Rudd act the way he is is also nice. I dunno, i'm beginning to like him.

Since the author of the book was also the director of the movie, I think fans of the book will enjoy the movie as much as the book. I haven't read the book [maybe someday] and I've enjoyed the hell out of this movie. It's definitely worth a watch and a re-watch....because sometimes, we feel the need to be...infinite.

Let's Talk Movies: Silver Linings Playbook

First and foremost, I will post no spoilers :D Feel free to read on then..

The first time I heard about this movie was when I was browsing the 'net. It caught a bit of my attention because of two things...and no, it wasn't the ones on Jennifer Lawrence [LOL]...1.] Bradley Cooper - because I loved his performances in the Hangover films, A-Team and Limitless. Number 2 would be that this movie is also starring Robert De Niro which has to be one of my favourite actors of all time.Of course, I couldn't leave out Jennifer Lawrence as my girlfriend likes her. We both laugh at how she's so not like her serious characters when she does interviews.

Anyhoo, in this movie Bradley Cooper plays Pat who finished his "time" in a Mental Institution for a serious breakdown [don't worry I won't spoil anything here]. He then lives with his parents played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver [who was brilliant]. He tries to "re-make" himself and live right so as to rekindle his marriage to Nikki, his wife of course. Along the way Pat meets Tiffany [Jennifer Lawrence] who also seems to have problems on of her own. Tiffany agrees to help Pat out with his issues as long as she gets something in return.

The movie is a bit hard to track as it jumps right in the story. You'll only get to see what happened before via flashback. But that doesn't ruin it at all, you can still piece it together slowly but surely.

I also liked how it tackles other subjects than the main storyline [Pat's story], like how his family is coping with him coming back. Robert De Niro played a stellar job [in my eyes at least]. His characterization of Pat's Dad will let you know that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This also the first time I've watched Bradley Cooper do something more serious and dramatic. Although his character almost always had some sort of blank expression on his face. Jennifer Lawrence was as great as Robert. It was more mature than most her her movies [LOL I've only watched Hunger games]. There are times where I think she was kinda like a living breathing Daria Morgendorferr due to her low voice [the director told Jen to lower her voice] and attitude in the movie. Her role as Tiffany won her a Golden Globe. Watching her performance here makes me think that she really should win. I wish she did more movies like this or she'll be typecasted for her role in the Hunger Games just like Daniel Radcliffe was for Harry Potter.

The story is somewhat the ol' "boy meets girl" arc but with a few complications along the way. It's not that it's boring but the story isn't really something new. There are a few more things added to the story to prolly sort of liven it up or spice things up but ultimately it still goes back to a tried and tested formula. In the end it was still great story and movie, I just recently found out it had 8[!] Academy Award Nominations. 1 award more than Argo [which i'll prolly watch next]. Best part of the movie for me? Brad and Jen dancing! Why were they dancing? What kind dance? Watch it and find out :D

It's a worthwhile watch for me. I'd recommend you to go see this movie, sure there's alot of big named stars in it but it really is a very good movie...I mean why else would it be nominated an Oscar for Best picture right? Right.

Unexpected.

As mentioned a few blog posts back, my 1TB external HD is in somewhat of a stasis. Now recently, my camera's shutter button was failing. I managed to get in one more shoot before it almost failed to to "click" every time. I went to the service center a few days back and while inspecting my gear they noticed my kit lens was having problems as well. It was going to take a few weeks [since it was the holidays] and money I didn't have at the moment to get it fixed. I just told them i'd be back in January.

On the way home, I was contemplating to ask my sister for funds just incase she had extra cash. My younger sister came home from Singapore to celebrate the Holidays with us. Lucky for me, she knows how to save her money. Even luckier, she agreed to lend me the funds I needed and I could still use the camera [but only in Manual settings] during the New Year celebration.

Moving on...

I woke up early this morning and everything felt normal.

We had prior plans to go to Manila and spend the day with Granma and our sister and then go back home along with them but the plan changed. Due to the fact that the places we wanted to go were mostly likely jam-packed with people. We can't go around much with a senior citizen in tow. We moved it this coming sunday and hopefully we can settle on where to go.

During the time they [Mom talking to my Granma on the phone] were still talking, I turned on my PC thinking of squeezing in a few hours of time online before going to Manila.

Suddenly, something went wrong.

The screen got stuck at the "Verifying DMI Pool" screen. A few restarts later, as well as mini heart attacks, it was still the same. I borrowed my older brother's iPad and googled about the issue. It seems that something was wrong with either the software or hardware. I read a few troubleshooting tips and a few articles about the issue but it didn't help.

I was irritated, frustrated and dumb founded as to how it happened. Good thing I posted my problem in a particular facebook group of old friends from a former workplace. I knew that they had enough knowledge to help me out.

While waiting for replies on my post, my older bro also researched on the issue and was trying to help me out. He tried getting me a copy of my operating systems' installer CD as it contained a recovery program. When I read my friends' replies, most of it was the same thing. One of my more tech savvy friends suggested I take out my internal HD and try running it externally on another PC. I could've done that ASAP but I was afraid to find out if ever the HD was the one that's borked or not. My older bro suggested we wait for the CD, so I did.

Before we went about the business of trying to fix my PC, me and my siblings went out a bit and visited the nearby mall. We had my younger brother's PC fitted a new RAM and got a few things and then went home. On the drive home we came across an accident. A military man was face down on the ground, his motorcycle broken near him. A few early responders were at the scene trying to take care of him and talk to him. It seems he was sideswiped by a car [the said car and driver/passengers were still at the scene]. As we drove by, it looked like he was moving a bit and talking. We all hoped he was going to be okay.

I then realized how small my current problem was and how I fretted over something trivial. Sure it was an unfortunate and unexpected occurance BUT it could've been worse.

In the end, we found out that my C drive somehow got corrupted and we had to reformat and reinstall everything. Good thing 80% of my data is in my D drive. So it wasn't a total loss. I just hope that it doesn't happen again.

I can't take these unexpected and unfortunate events.




moving on..
~ the alansong ~