Nostaligia

Hellloooooo world.

Sorry I’ve been away for so long, I’ve been, busy, you know, somehow…  Anyways, new obsession ( along with John Krasinski)

How many stereotypes does it take to make Pinto? 1 HIPSTER AND A JOCK BABY!

You probably recognize Zachary Quinto ( the one on the left) from Heroes [Sylar], Star Trek [ Spock ] etc. The one of the left, Chris Pine, you’ll have seen in Just My Luck [ Jake] Princess Diaries 2 [ Nicholas] Small Town Saturday Night [ Rhett], Star Trek [ James T. Kirk], Blind Dating, etc. They’ve been compared to Clooney and Pitt, need I say more?

Anyways, I’m officially an all A student! Woo!

Anyways, I just watched a 2009 cinescape, and I’m going to go on a compare/contrast rant.

Movies: In 2009 we were graced with amazing movies like Star Trek, Avatar ( okay, hated the plot and director, but it was amazing), 500 Days of Summer, Julie & Julia etc. This year we’ve gotten, Inception and Unstoppable. Yes, those are the only noteworthy movies. Although, 2010 was definitely the year of indie films, with movies like Small Town Saturday Night owning the critic’s hearts. I’d like to point out a few things though that make 2009’s movies all the more better than 2010’s.

Romances: As far as romance went this year, it was crappy. We were visually abused shown ‘romantic’ films like The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Burlesque, neither of which had any true plot or any reality to them. Where Burlesque does display an interesting view on the more sexually driven dreams of movie-goers, it was a simple copy of 2002’s Chicago. Where Burlesque was lacking in any true romance, there was Eclipse to make up for it. With no distinguishable signs of a romantic plot that wasn’t completely unbelievable or creepy, and no strong plot line, Eclipse seemed to be a fan fiction gone bad. Not only does it promote controlling relationships where the male side is more dominant, it also is completely unrealistic. I will acknowledge that it is classified as fantasy, but this just seems like the original author ( Stephenie Meyer) wanted to create an ‘interesting’ plot line to give the book another genre besides teen angst and teen romance. The entire movie verges on Mary-Sue Fan Fiction and is just generally bad. The acting is unspeakable, rather than spending millions on promoting the film ( which was useless anyways, the entire series has a raging teen fanbase), the production company should have spent money on their lead trio’s acting classes.

Action/Thriller: This year, we had a little bit of good luck in this genre. Some noteworthy films are Inception, Black Swan and Unstoppable. Leonardo DiCaprio made a much-needed come back this year with his blockbuster Inception, the entire film was excellent, and much credit goes to the director, Christopher Nolan. The filming was excellent, and the general philosophy behind it was intriguing. Black Swan, is a psycho-thriller with many sexual and sensual points. Although I have yet to see the film ( I’ve got a good few years before I can legally watch it), I’ve heard nothing but good reviews from those who have seen it, even some very conservative Catholic friends of mine were raving about it. And now, onto one of my favorite films of the year, Unstoppable. As someone who is already biased to any and all Chris Pine films ( with the exception of Just My Luck and Princess Diaries 2, those had terrible scripts), I was pleasantly surprised when I first watched the film. The entire movie keeps your heart-beating intensely and never lets you relax to the back of your chair. The acting is excellent, Chris Pine and Denzel Washington make an excellent duo, although not as good as 2009’s Pine and Quinto ( more affectionately referred to by their fan base as Pinto), and the script was wonderful.

Comedy: Another lacking genre this year, the only good films were Date Night, I Love You Philip Morris and Due Date. An honorable mention is Morning Glory, which was an interesting flick starring Rachel McAdams. As an avid comedy watcher, I was displeased with this years comedies. Date Night, with comedic couple Tina Fey and Steve Carrell was definitely the best comedy of the year. Although their on-screen chemistry isn’t the greatest, that’s what gives the movies it’s charm and appeal, they just simple are awkward. As with any Jim Carrey movie, you will not be disappointed with I Love You Philip Morris, it’s a humorous look into the life of a con-artist. I saw this in the U.K back in March ( I don’t believe it’s come out here in the US yet) and there was rarely a time when I wasn’t laughing. Due Date, with Zach Gail Gale Galiaf Galifinakis and Robert Downey Jr. was hilarious, and anyone production company that can find someone who can spell Zach Galifinakis’ name properly obviously has good resources.

Horror: I won’t even start on this one.

2009: The year of good movies? I would vote it as one. 2009 boasted some of the greatest movies of the decade, and I don;t think anyone was disappointed by the year’s movies.

Romances: YES! I have been itching to talk about this for a while. ( No pun intended). 2009’s romances were realistic in the best possible way. Ending the summer movie season was 500 Days of Summer, starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levvit. It was a refreshing movie about how real life romance works. Person A meets Person B. Person A falls for Person B. Person B falls for Person A. Person B packs up an leaves. It’s a truly funny movie, with some scenes that are so realistic and so relatable, you lose the line between movie and reality. Zooey Deschanel is a quirky actress with awesome capabilities ( Kristen Stewart take note), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a good actor, although I do think he’s more suited for comedic roles rather than romance/comedy roles, but nonetheless he did an excellent job.

Action: Alright, another killer genre this year. With the reboot of Star Trek, Avatar, 2012, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, you can’t have not found an action movie you liked. I’ll start with trek,  because if anyone from my family reads this and sees that I haven’t mentioned Trek, I wont be living in the house any longer ( We’re trekkies, yes, I’ve got a nerdy family, get over it,). Star Trek brought a nearly dead fandom- no, culture, into the 21st century, and JJ Abrams managed to concoct a movie that gave us original Trekkies a series worthy movie, while also making Trek cool again. I went into the theatre on opening day with my dad, and was honestly absolutely astonished once the film had ended, save my initial reaction after it had ended which went something a long the lines of, ” NOOO!! DON’T END! COME BACK!” I was so, so, pleased with this movie. Star Trek had officially become cool. This movie also brought indie actor Chris Pine, and small screen actor Zachary Quinto into the limelight. Their onscreen chemistry is undeniably awesome, and the tenseness you feel between Spock and Kirk in the beginning is great. As the movie progresses, you really feel a reflection of Shatner in Pine’s acting, although he brings a modern and quirky twist to it. In a few shots during the film, Mr. Quinto turns to one side, and he is the spitting image of Leonard Nimoy. Oh, did I mention, THEY BROUGHT BACK SPOCK! Oh yes, Leonard Nemoy came back as ‘Spock Prime’. And the general cast is quite a good looking cast to name a few very good looking people, Eric Bana, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana ( I totally have a girl crush on her, she’s soo intellectual), Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, etc. I’ll fly over Harry Potter quickly because I know you’ve all seen it. Essentially, this movie created a great linking sequence for ‘Deathly Hallows’ and kept the teen angst and raging hormones, to a good medium ( unlike Twilight,). The filming was great, and I loved seeing Dan, Rupert, Tom and Emma expand their acting capabilities, they’ve become quite accomplished actors and actresses. Some of the shots in the film are really haunting, a particularly interesting one is a panning shot of Hogwart’s Castle, where through the windows you can see Draco Malfoy looking awkward and conflicted, Ron Weasley and his new love interest ( Lavender Brown) and Hermione Granger looking rather care-worn. It’s just a charming image, especially for us teens who know what this period is like.

Comedy: Okay, lemme name-drop for a second, The Hangover, Up, 500 Days of Summer, The Proposal, Bruno, Julie & Julia. Need I say more?

 

If I’ve not made my point you need to stop watching Twilight and Hannah Montana and go see something real. then I’m sorry about losing you on that, but I’m sure the music part will win you over.

2010: With strong singers like Enrique Inglesias switching over to the laziness of autotune, 2010 has not been a strong year for pop music either.

Pop: Nicki Minaj. I’m sorry, can this girl even sing? All of her songs are completely auto-tuned, it’s pathetic. Enrique Inglesias switched over to the dark side with his song ‘ I Like It’ and the Bieber Fever has spread, yet he hasn’t gotten any better.

Country: Already, country gets some props, converting acting talents like Gwenyth Paltrow and Chris Pine to the genre ( see Country Strong and Small Town Saturday Night). But with Taylor Swift releasing her new album about, yes you guessed it, any guy who’s ever looked at her funny, country’s lost out.

Punk Pop: Right. The Downtown Fiction have been quite pleasing this year, but it seems like Punk Pop bands have joined the likes of rock and roll bands and gone underground, which is quite a shame, because Punk Pop music is fun to listen to.

Disney ‘Music’: Alright, this is unfair, because when has Disney music EVER been good? But frankly, I’m even more disappointed this year, with Miley Cyrus releasing her overly-sexual music videos for her songs ‘Who Owns My Heart?’ and ‘Can’t Be Tamed’, this girl is spewing skankiness quicker than Octomom and her babies. And the Jonas Brother’s have a lack of music this year, not good boys, not good.

Rock and Roll: Never though I’d say this, but Rock ‘n’ Roll has gone underground, there have been very few Rock chart toppers this year, which is really sad.

2009: Pretty good music this year, lots of MIA artists came back to the spotlight.

Pop: 2009 is the year of Gaga! Releasing her album ‘ The Fame’. Stefani ‘Lady Gaga’ Germanotta, danced her way to international stardom with massive hits like ‘Poker Face’, ‘Paparazzi’ and ‘Just Dance’, the pop world really gained a valuable ally this year. And not to mention Kelly Clarkson and her sugar sweet album ” All I Ever Wanted,”.

Country: Another starlet made it big this year, although I’m not sure I’m happy with it. Taylor Swift topped charts year round with hits like , ” Love Story,” “Our Song”, and “Picture To Burn,” .

Pop Punk: Not many pop punk appearances this year, although Green Day did kick off their tour, which, to say the least, was amazing.

Disney Music: Alright, I have to say props to the JoBros this year, they popped out a pretty good album, and several hit singles ( Fly With Me, Black Keys, Don’t Charge Me For The Crime Ft. Common) and a few good music videos. Miley started her skank trip too.

Alright, enough ranting, but I seriously hope 2011 is better! I already know 2012 will be, the Star Trek sequel comes out!