Movies
Directed by Sofia Coppola, this interestingly artistic feature re-tells the story of The Bling Ring, a group of kids who took Hollywood by storm- and by Hollywood, I mean a good hunk of Hollywood's belongings.
"Like, I don't even know what I did wrong."
This not-so-mainstream film stars Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Israel Broussard, and Katie Chang as the main thieves, breaking into celebrities' houses and thinking they're living 'the life' as they wear Paris Hilton's clothes and consider taking her dog.
LOL WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG
While this movie could use a bit more story and less house-robbing (because really, we get it. Don't worry), I did honestly think it was interesting to see the events portrayed by some pretty well-known young actors. Watson, while she wasn't necessarily the main character, stuck out as her character craved the spotlight. Her stuck-up, all-about-me attitude was both annoying and hilarious. It was really Israel Broussard, though, who stole the most screen time, and like I said, these characters were interesting, but seeing more about them instead of what they eventually ended up doing would have been better for the movie as a whole.
Trailer:
One of my favorite directors returns with another ghost story- this time, he goes above and beyond to frighten the hell out of his audiences. James Wan, known for Saw and Insidious, has an extremely creative mind when it comes to terror.
Horror is my favorite genre, so you can probably guess the moment I saw the first trailer for this movie I was all over this one. Honestly, the best thing about this movie wasn't even the scares. It was the atmosphere, the tension building up to said scares. Wan captures the darkness so eerily, drawing you in to basically guarantee a jump. Most of the time after jumping, I'd laugh because the ghost looked like this:
Ok that was mean...
She actually looked like this:
My grandmother is scarier than that.
I'll be honest that's the only picture I can find of the old lady from the movie, and I was confused because you see her in every trailer, so it's not like I'm spoiling anything for you...
But I let this old lady demon monster thingy slide because James Wan provided us with the perfect set-up to a villain like her. I'm just not scared of elderly people who seem to have forgotten how to bathe and that no, you can't have your house back- you're dead.
You can keep the kids, though. Even the mother is considering it in this screenshot.
The Conjuring stars Bates Motel's Vera Farmiga (one of my favorites, as well as sister of Taissa Farmiga of The Bling Ring and American Horror Story), and Insidious's own Patrick Wilson as Lorraine and Ed Warren, famous paranormal investigators, as well as Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston as the Perron family.
Trailer:
Music
Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith are back with the quirky band Panic! At The Disco. Forming in 2004 and preparing to release their fourth studio album entitled Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! in October, Panic! and their fans are booming with excitement.
Drummer Spencer Smith (left) and lead vocalist/guitarist Brendon Urie (right)
The band just released their first single for the forthcoming album, Miss Jackson (feat. Lolo). It's not nearly as witty as their original album was in its entirety, but this track is much more powerful. I found it to be catchy and both lyrically and instrumentally different.
Through it all, the members' talents remain, as they always will. I find it great that the band is delving into new styles, while other fans find it too much like the new music by Fall Out Boy, with whom Panic! are touring late 2013. What many people don't understand is: if we picked apart every song that sounded remotely like another song, we'd have no music. None at all.
Exactly. So shut it.
And for those of you who throw around the word 'sheep' like it's supposed to offend me, you can also shut it because the sophomore album from this band called Pretty. Odd. was pretty. Bad.
Right.
I'd say to give the song a listen if you haven't already and see for yourself how fun and catchy the new tune is. I'm just happy that Panic! is back, exclamation point and all, and they don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Video:
2. Palms
Very instrumentally-oriented, Palms is a band who just released their first, self-titled studio album in June 2013. It only consists of 6 tracks, but the album takes you on a slow, spiritual ride through the senses, guided by none other than Chino Moreno of Deftones.
The album was set to be released in 2012, but was pushed back over a year. The other three members of the band, Jeff Caxide, Aaron Harris, and Bryant Clifford Meyer are former members of the band Isis.
Palms is: Chino Moreno (vocals, guitars), Jeff Caxide (bass), Aaron Harris (drums), and Bryant Clifford Meyer (guitars, keys)... Not in any specific order because it's hard to make out faces other than Chino's in this photo, second from the right. (I take my work very seriously)
Each song ebbs and flows smoothly, giving a relaxed and artistic vibe compared to much of today's popular music both in the rock genre and mainstream radio tracks.
Audio for Tropics:
Books
Okay, listen- I know this book isn't new by any means, having originally been published in 1985, but I'd heard a lot about the sci-fi novel, so I thought I'd give it a shot. After reading the story of Ender Wiggin, a young boy who climbs the ladder of education in outer-space war tactics staggeringly quickly. Seen as both a prodigy and a freak by his peers, Ender never fits in, but his teachers in the Battle School that he's sent to see him as the perfect strategy for the upcoming Formic invasion. Formics, commonly referred to as "Buggers," are an insectoid alien species who have been at war with Earth twice, and plan on returning a third time.
The author, Orson Scott Card, is the winner of two Nebula awards and three Hugo awards, making him the only author to win both of science fiction's top two US prizes in consecutive years.
Ender's Game was definitely a gripping read; what struck me the most was Card's spot-on knowledge of the human mind, being able to understand a child's mindset in such an advanced and stressful situation. Ender never knows his own strength, being sent to the Battle School at young age of six. The author places you right in the mind of this young boy, solving puzzles and figuring out different war tactics to take down his enemies. He is elevated in rank at an alarmingly fast pace, and before he knows it, Ender is more important than he realizes, yet he saw it coming all along.
Ender's Game is coming soon as a feature-length film, starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, and Viola Davis, in theaters this August.
TV
I know, I know- this HBO show is nothing new, and the latest season ended in June 2013, but I've finally caught up with the series and it's safe to say I'm hooked.
The show takes place in the mythical Westeros, in which seven noble families fight for the Iron Throne to rule all seven kingdoms. That is literally the simplest I can put any summary, because there are so many characters and story lines to follow that by the end of each episode, my head is throbbing, yet I want more.
I'll say this about this intense series: try your best not to get too emotionally attached. Or at least be decent about your emotions being brutally played with, because the twists and turns this television show takes are absolutely insane. Characters either murder or become murdered, and all you can do as a fan is watch in horror. But dragons soar, swords clash, and so do families as the Iron Throne is sought by many contenders.
Game of Thrones is based off the book series A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George R.R. Martin. The first installment, entitled A Game of Thrones, was published in 1996, and since then, the series has won the Locus award in 1997, the Hugo award in 1997, and the Ignotus award in 2003. Author Website
When it comes to the series in general, I am so invested at this point and happy I jumped on the crazy train of murder and greed. But as for these twists and unexpected deaths of some of the best characters, I'll use my favorite character to express my feelings:
Game of Thrones season 4 arrives in 2014, and the latest in the book series, A Dance With Dragons, is in stores now.
Until next time-
Don't answer him.
Honorable Mentions
Movies: Despicable Me 2 - IMDb
Music: The Ocean of the Sky EP -The Used
Switchblade Serenade EP - Switchblade Serenade
TV: Hannibal (IMDb), Season 1
