Playlist of the Week #3: New Years Edition

New Year's is coming up!  We all need some good music to listen to at your New Years Parties.  Why not put these very different songs on your playlist and watch people complain about your DJing!?

1. 'See Me Now' by Kanye West feat. Beyonce, Charlie Wilson, and Big Sean

You should listen to it if: You're 9 Jello shots in, because that's the only time you'll think your rendition of the Beyonce part is good.

2. 'If I Had a Tail' by Queens of the Stone Age

You should listen to it if: You're making a workout playlist for the 2 weeks that you're going to participate in your "Go to the Gym" New Year's Resolution.

3. 'Ladies of Cambridge' by Vampire Weekend

You should listen to it if: You and your friends are sipping a fancy Italian wine and eating an assortment of aged cheeses that can only be enhanced by some sophisticated, well-crafted lyrics.

4. 'Only the Good Die Young' by Billy Joel

You should listen to it if: You're at a New Year's party and the average age of people is 41.

5. 'Poetic Justice' by Kendrick Lamar feat. Drake

You should listen to it if: You want a song to put that cute girl across the room in the mood to be swooned by your smooth moves.  You got this...oh wait that's a chair.  Maybe it's time to call it a night.

6. 'Video Games' by Lana Del Rey

You should listen to it if: You're spending New Year's with a case of Mountain Dew Voltage, a bean bag chair, and your Xbox One.

7. 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light' by Meat Loaf

You should listen to it if: See 'Only the Good Die Young'.

8. 'Love Game' by Eminem feat. Kendrick Lamar

You should listen to it if: You're drunkenly talking about why you're single and how 2014 is going to be THE YEAR that you find someone for you.

In All Seriousness:

1. 'See Me Now'

Most songs with Beyonce on the hook are gonna be pretty great.  This is the bonus song on Kanye's album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy which is one of my favorite albums of all-time.

2. 'If I Had a Tail'

This song gets me pumped up when the opening guitar riff comes on.  I can see myself using this in a movie or video sometime for sure.

3. 'Ladies of Cambridge'

One of Vampire Weekend's best songs when I saw them live this year.  They're my favorite band so that's high praise yo.

4. 'Only the Good Die Young'

This song is a jam and a half.  If you're not singing along to this song every time it comes on then you're crazy.  Or you don't know the lyrics.

5. 'Poetic Justice'

This year I became a fan of Kendrick Lamar, and he's impressed me a lot with all of the stuff he's done so far.  This is one of my favorites from his most recent album.

6. 'Video Games'

Lana has such a cool, mellow voice.  I'm a big fan of her music, it's very calming.  This is one of my favorites by her.

7. 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light'

This is a REALLY long song, but it's an awesome song to listen to at a party or in the car.  It has 2 parts and both are equally good.

8. 'Love Game'

By far my favorite song off of Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP 2.  The lyrics are great, and the beat is a little different from the usual Eminem or Kendrick Lamar songs, but I love it.

~Ryan

Review: Saving Mr. Banks

Tom Hanks is back again in this sequel to Saving Private Ryan.  Tom Hanks's character must fight to save Mr. Banks a.k.a. Agent Cody Banks (played by Frankie Muniz) from the Germans after a secret mission goes wrong.  The action is abundant in this film that mixes the war, spy-thriller, and musical genres together.  If you told me you wouldn't see this movie, I would call you a liar.

In All Seriousness:

Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Written by: Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith
Starring: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, BJ Novak, Jason Schwartzman

It may be easy to overlook this film about Walt Disney's struggle to adapt the novel Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, being that it is up against box office hits such as Anchorman 2, Frozen, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug...damn how has anyone seen this?  Well despite the tough competition it has, Saving Mr. Banks is doing solid at the box office, which is fitting because this is a solid film.  It didn't blow me away as I usually would hope from a potential Oscar nominated film, but it also didn't underwhelm me.  My expectations were pretty on par with the outcome.

Saving Mr. Banks goes back and forth between Mrs. Travers (played very strongly by Emma Thompson) and Walt Disney (played by the always entertaining Tom Hanks) both trying to get Mary Poppins made (or not made) the way they want, and flashbacks of Mrs. Travers's childhood.  While it is important to the story, I found the flashbacks much less interesting than the present day timeline.  Maybe I'm in the minority, maybe it's because I'm vastly interested in the making of films, but the flashback sequences were the weakest part of the film for me.  Despite this fact however, Colin Farrell gave a great performance in these scenes.

Technically this is a rather average film.  The strengths of this film are more in the story and performance category than anything else.  The cinematography is not worth talking extensively about, because it's just okay.  The editing is decent, but there is one scene sticking in my brain as being exceedingly good.  The scene I'm referencing is the one where the Sherman brothers (Jason Schwartzman and BJ Novak) and Mary Poppins screenwriter Don Dagradi (Bradley Whitford) are performing for Mrs. Travers the song 'Fidelity Fiduciary Bank', and it's intercut with a flashback scene of Colin Farrell talking about the bank he works at in front of a crowd.  The energy and cohesiveness of the actors is at it's peak in this thoroughly enjoyable scene.

While there are plenty of films currently out that I still need to see, I can recommend Saving Mr. Banks as a safe choice for anyone who is unsure of what late December film is worthy of their hard-earned cash.  However, give some thought to the other box office and Oscar contenders that are currently playing in theaters, because there could be a different film that you would consider great rather than just good.  Or you could wind up seeing a huge pile of trash, and regret not seeing Saving Mr. Banks.  But that's just part of the excitement of being a film goer.

Rating: 7.5/10

~Ryan Moncrief

Netflix Pick of the Week #6: The Polar Express

Last Netflix pick of the week before christmas, so I decided to go with another christmas film.

The Polar Express (2004)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tom Hanks, Tom Hanks, Tom Hanks, Tom Hanks
Premise: In this animated film, Tom Hanks plays a train conductor who invites a boy onto a magical train that also has a homeless Tom Hanks living on it, and is heading to the North Pole to visit Santa who is also played by Tom Hanks.
Quote: "And for you little boy, a copy of Forrest Gump on Blu-ray!" - Santa Claus (Tom Hanks)
One Sentence Review: In my opinion, you can never have too much Tom Hanks.

In All Seriousness:

My girlfriend recently had me watch this film with her because it's her favorite Christmas film.  It was my first time seeing it, and I was really impressed.  The animation in this film is fantastic, and that's a crucial part of these films.  That sounds like a silly comment, but when you can create anything you want with computer-generated image, the animation has to be top notch if it is going to remain effective.  Almost 10 years since this film's release and I was impressed with the animation as if it came out this year.  On top of that, The Polar Express tells a great story to get everyone (who celebrates Christmas) in the mood for Christmas.  This is a great film to add to your yearly list of Christmas films to watch between December 1st and December 25th.

~Ryan Moncrief

6 Comedians You Need To Know

As a huge fan of stand-up comedy, I consider myself pretty well versed in the world of stand-up comedy.  I know a lot of the not as famous comedians that even some fans of stand-up comedy might miss out on.  So without further interruption, here are 6 comedians that I think more people should know about.

For the comedic part of this post, I will be heckling the comedians that I list.  Yes, I will be heckling pictures of comedians, alone on my computer, for your amusement.  I need a life.

Mike Birbiglia

Hey, Mike Birbiglia!  Is your last name the name of a bone in the human body or gibberish that your uncle yelled at you in a drunken rage?

Tig Notaro

Hey, Tig Notaro!  More like Tig Hamtaro!  Because you're as tiny as a hamster!  This reference will be understood by like 3 people.  So pretty much the number of people who read this blog other than myself.

Kumail Nanjiani

Hey, Kumail Nanjiani!  Are you holding up a finger for every person including your mom that thinks you're funny!?

Dan Cummins

Hey, Dan Cummins!  Are you making that face because you just realized you look like a cross between a gopher and the long-haired dude from Criminal Minds!?

Hannibal Buress

Hey, Hannibal Buress!  You're a skinnier, more handsome Randy Jackson!  Crap, that's a compliment...I think?

Chelsea Peretti

Hey, Chelsea Peretti!  You're a girl!  And your last name sounds like an italian sauce!

In All Seriousness:

Man I really hope if on the off chance that one of these comedians googles their name and winds up at this blog that they make it to this part so they know that I actually really enjoy their comedy.  All of these comedians you can find all over youtube, as well as on different podcasts or HBO/Netflix/Comedy Central specials.  Below I'll put a youtube clip of each of them doing stand-up so you can get a taste of what they're like.  Also this doesn't even scratch the surface of good comedians, I'm leaving out all of the big name comedians obviously, and there are also a ton of lesser known comedians that are becoming more popular as time goes on.

Mike Birbiglia

Tig Notaro

Kumail Nanjiani

Dan Cummins

Hannibal Buress

Chelsea Peretti

-Ryan Moncrief

Playlist of the Week #2: Finals Week Edition

I think I forgot to do this last week because I was swamped with work since the end of the semester is here.  And now that it's Finals week, I figured I'd distract myself by writing a blog post, which in turn will cause all of my friends to become distracted from their finals because they all read my blog posts.  Right?  RIGHT!?

1. 'Simple Song' by The Shins

You should listen to it if: You just need something simple to listen to while you're trying to bang out a 10-page paper on the anatomy of bearded pigs.

2. 'Temple' by Kings of Leon

You should listen to it if: Finals are making you want to shoot yourself in the temple.

3. 'Over Seasons' by Authority Zero

You should listen to it if: You want to learn how to sing as fast as this song instead of researching Hamlet for your Play Analysis Final.

4. 'R.I.P.' by Childish Gambino

You should listen to it if: You're considering death as an option rather than reading all of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man in one night because you decided not to flip past the first page all semester.

5. 'Foreplay/Long Time' by Boston

You should listen to it if: You're one of those kids who doesn't have any finals and you have time to listen to an 8 minute song.

6. 'I'm In It' by Kanye West

You should listen to it if: You're in it.  And by it I mean in a state of panic and depression due to finals that only binge eating spoonfuls of Nutella can cure.

7. 'The Scientist' by Coldplay

You should listen to it if: You think you're gonna ace your Chemistry final tomorrow.  Hey guess what?  You're not.

8. 'Levon' by Elton John

You should listen to it if: You need a song to fall asleep to as you lay on top of your peppermint hot chocolate soaked Anthropology notes.

In All Seriousness:

1. 'Simple Song'

I fell in love with this song when the creators of How I Met Your Mother geniusly used it in the finale of last season.  This song gets intense and gives you chills when his voice gets really high.

2. 'Temple'

Kings of Leon played this song on SNL this past weekend, and it's an awesome song.  Kings of Leon changes their sound a little bit with each album, and I like it.

3. 'Over Seasons'

My roommate Frank got me into this song.  It's just really fun and impossible not to bop your head to.

4. 'R.I.P.'

This is potentially my favorite Childish Gambino song.  Those who know me well will know that Childish Gambino is my favorite rapper, so needless to say this song gets high praise from me.  Also I love the use of Kavinsky's Nightcall as the hook.

5. 'Foreplay/Long Time'

This song is relatively long, but flies by every time I listen to it.  The guitar solo of Foreplay and then the smooth falsetto of Long Time just really does it for me.  Gotta have that falsetto baby.

6. 'I'm In It'

I didn't like Yeezus very much at first, but after additional listens it grew on me.  This is one of my favorite songs on the album, also any song with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon is something I can get down with.  My friend and one of my roommates here at Hofstra University, Reed, wrote a good blog post about his experience front row at a recent Kanye concert on his blog here.

7. 'The Scientist'

I love Coldplay and this is my favorite song by them.  Lyrically and musically just a really great song.

8. 'Levon'

Elton John will always be a favorite of mine.  This song I feel like is not one of his most known songs, but it should be.

~Ryan Moncrief

Netflix Pick of the Week #5: The Nightmare Before Christmas

I'm a little late on this one, because the end of the semester is here.  So work, and papers, and finals.  But here it is anyway.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Starring: A skeleton thing, a ghost dog, a wolf, a spinny head guy, a melting guy, a boogeyman, a girl that's sewed together, a weird scientist, kids with weird noses, Santa Claus, vampires, a fat clown lady
Premise: A skeleton becomes bored of Halloween so he kidnaps Santa Claus and gives everyone crappy gifts.  Also this is a kid's movie.
Quote: "Here little boy, have a dead rat.  Merry Christmas." - Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon)
One Sentence Review: Fun for the whole family, if you don't have anyone younger than 13 in your family.

In All Seriousness:

My favorite part about The Nightmare Before Christmas is that it's socially acceptable to watch around Halloween AND Christmas.  In it's 20th anniversary year this film still holds up, and remains one of my favorites of all-time (not just one of my favorite Halloween or Christmas films).  The songs are catchy and the animation is some of the best of it's time.  Recommended viewing for anyone who hasn't seen this film before.

~Ryan Moncrief

Playlist of the Week #1: Burnt Up

This is a new weekly feature I'm introducing today.  Once a week towards the end of the week I'm going to post a short playlist of songs that I've been listening to over the week and would like other people to listen to.  So here's the first one.

1. 'The Wire' by HAIM

You should listen to it if: You're a cool mom, or you want to try to be.

2. 'Ms. Jackson' by Outkast

You should listen to it if: You made someone's daughter cry, and you're sorry about it...woooooo.

3. 'Slow Motion (Live)' performed by Panic! At the Disco, originally by Third Eye Blind

You should listen to it if: You like messed up lyrics, and want to re-live your middle school days of loving Panic! At the Disco.

4. 'Bulls on Parade' by Rage Against the Machine

You should listen to it if: You're angrier than a kid who just found out his dad made a Twitter.

5. 'Dirty Paws' by Of Monsters and Men

You should listen to it if: You're running in slow motion on a college campus or city street.

6. 'Burnin' Up' by The Jonas Brothers

You should listen to it if: You're a human being and you like music (Everyone).

7. 'Summer Love' by Justin Timberlake

You should listen to it if: You have some pants that are in need of being danced off.

8. 'Tangerine' by Led Zeppelin

You should listen to it if: You want to stick it to all of those loser orange and grapefruit fans out there.

In All Seriousness:

1. 'The Wire'

After hearing HAIM perform this song on SNL I became a big fan of them and this song.  Looking forward to what this cool group of ladies will do in the future.

2. 'Ms. Jackson'

One of my favorite rap groups of all-time, and probably their most popular song (other than Hey Ya).  This song is a jam, and it's nice to re-discover some of the jams that you used to love every now and again.

3. 'Slow Motion (Live)'

My roommate Frank showed me this cover by Panic! at the Disco.  I immediately loved it and have been replaying it a lot recently.  It's not only a good cover, but an excellent live performance as well.

4. 'Bulls on Parade'

This is my favorite Rage Against the Machine song.  Really intense, and always a go-to workout song for me.  But since I haven't seen the inside of a gym in months, I listen to it while I do other things instead.

5. 'Dirty Paws'

Discovered this song in the first trailer for the film 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.'  It works really well for that trailer, and is an excellent song if you're looking for something calm and relaxing.

6. 'Burnin' Up'

Yeah I was serious about this song.  This is one of my favorite guilty pleasure songs, and I have no shame in stating how much I enjoy it.  RIP Jo Bros.

7. 'Summer Love'

If you hear this song and don't want to dance or have a Grease-like summer fling than you are an actual crazy person.  One of my favorite songs from an artist I enjoy thoroughly.

8. 'Tangerine'

Led Zeppelin is easily a band I wish I was able to go back in time to see.  This song has been getting a solid amount of plays from me recently.  Fantastic vocals, and some of Page's best guitar work in my opinion.

~Ryan Moncrief

Netflix Pick of the Week #4: Hard Eight

Hard Eight (1996)

Starring: Young Phillip Baker Hall (still old), John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson, Phillip Seymour (Butts) Hoffman, Gwyneth (no middle name or initial listed) Paltrow
Premise: A prequel to Boogie Nights about a porn star with a slightly smaller wiener.
Quote: "This old guy gave me a Hard Eight!  I'm talking about craps.  We were playing craps." - Young Craps Player (Phillip Seymour Hoffman)
One Sentence Review: More like Hard GREAT!

In All Seriousness:

Hard Eight is not actually a prequel to Boogie Nights, and it also is not about the porn industry.  It is however, directed and written by my favorite director: Paul Thomas Anderson.  This was his first feature film, and probably his worst.  But in my opinion his worst film is still very good.  Despite the studio and producers giving him a really rough time throughout the entire production of this film, PTA still wrote and directed a really solid crime-drama.  The entire cast give commendable performances, and the writing has a mixture of dark comedy and drama, which is expected from a PTA script.  Although probably his least personal film due to the major studio interference, it still looks and feels like one of his films.  For fans of Anderson, I'd say it's a must-see to be able to understand how he progressed since this first film of his.  To anyone just looking for a good movie on a Tuesday night, I personally would say it's worth the hour and forty minutes.  Then again, maybe I'm just biased.

~Ryan Moncrief