a screen life

the edge of heaven (2007)

2008-06-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

imdb.com: A Turkish man travels to Istanbul to find the daughter of his father's former girlfriend.

so i made it to the movies today. and figured that it was time again to post something on this page.

this film is broken into three parts. the death of two and the life of another. this film is really all about relationship and the discovery of love.

the movie is over 2hrs long and is in German, Turkish and English.

i stand: liked the film as a whole but would of love to see somethings come together alittle better at the end.

a very quick roundup of the films i see lately

2007-12-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL(2007)
imdb.com: A delusional young guy strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.

i stand: thinking it the best movie i saw all year. just my type of movie. dark but not that too dark, and dealing with everyday people. i love laughing out loud in theaters.

MARGOT AT THE WEDDING(2007)
imdb.com: Margot and her son Claude decide to visit her sister Pauline after she announces that she is getting married to less-than-impressive Malcolm. In short order, the storm the sisters create leaves behind a a mess of thrashed relationships and exposed family secrets

i stand: thinking everyone in this film delivered a great performance...i'm thinking oscar noms. Jennifer Jason Leigh was!

GRACE IS GONE (2007)
imdb.com: Upon hearing his wife was killed in the Iraq war, a father takes his two daughters on a road trip.

i stand: Love John but the movie was a little boring. sad yes.

NEW MUSIC!!!!!!!!!

2007-11-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

So i have a new mix again. so to everyone that does know me, it's simply means that I'm have time on my hand to make it being that I'm unemployed right now.

November 2007 - STRIKE SHUFFLE..... i want to be a world traveller.

tracks:
1. Mumm-Ra - Out of the Question
2. Georgie James - Need Your Needs
3. ediT - Arsty remix (feat. The Grouch)
4. Tellison - New York New York New York
5. John Vanderslice - White Dove
6. Miss Fairchild - Vanilla Place
7. Benji Cassa - Sunset
8. Bon Iver - Skinny Love
9. Yael Naim - New Soul
10. Vicious Vicious - Don't Let Me Down
11. Elias and the Wizzkids - The Dance (radiomix)
12. Action Camp - Best I Can Do
13. Summer Darling - Little Armenia
14. Chaz Jankel - Get Myself Together
15. Asa - No One Knows
16. MGMT - Time to Pretend
17. Tim Fite - No Good Here
18. Rogue Wave - Like I Needed
19. Band of Horses - Is There a Ghost

HERE WE GO AGAIN...fresh off the boat of life (new music april 2007)

2007-04-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

here's the one year mark of christina mixes enjoy!

tracks:
1. the national - fake empire
2. andrew bird - heretics
3. gruff rhys - candylion
4. alela diane - pieces of string
5. battles - atlas
6. fanfarlo - you are one of the few outsiders who really understand us
7. miracle fortess - this thing about you
8. the ponys - double vision
9. mixtapes and cellmates - quiet
10. le man avec les lunettes - could i call you i can honey
11. lucky soul - the great unwanted
12. je suis france - that don't work that well for us
13. handsome furs - dead + rural
14. dntel - roll on (ft. Jenny Lewis)
15. mother mother - dirty town
16. mandrew - hotwax
17. tigercity - other girls
18. 1990s - you're supposed yo bemy friend
19. the answering machine - the hold up
20. jeremy - make love not war

blades of glory (2007)

2007-04-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

imdb.com:In 2002, two rival Olympic ice skaters were stripped of their gold medals and permanently banned from men's single competition. Presently, however, they've found a loophole that will allow them to qualify as a pairs team.

i don't even want to write anything about this.

i stand: NOT LAUGHING.

amy winehouse - back to black and mika - life in cartoon motion (2007)

2007-04-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

buy them. buy them both. England is just pumping out some of the best music right now. mika's life in cartoon motion is by far my favorite CD of the year.

i stand: ONCE AGAIN ROLLING IN THE CAR WITH THE IMPORTS BLASTING!

BIG NEWS...it's back!!!

2007-03-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

So it's been some time since I've done this but there is a new mix of month old songs....I've pretty much have had this mix done since December but have done really nothing with it.

but to not keep you waiting here it is:

KEEPING A HEARTBEAT.....annie's going to hate this cd and maybe everyone else will too.

tracks:
1: josh ritter - girl in the war
2: apostle of hustle - my sword hand's anger
3: castledoor - burn the maps
4: eric james & the new century - long road for the lonely
5: hillside manor - my half
6: first coat - try again
7: gasoline heart - paralyze
8: kk and his weathered underground - hey momma
9: loney, dear - I am john
10: Matthew Friedberger - the pennsylvania rock co. resignation letter
11: rosie thomas - all the way to new york city
12: takka takka - we feel safer at night
13: thailand - this officer's life
14: the battle royale - oh martha
15: the long distants - we meet by accident
16: the panda band - eyelashes
17: the rosewood thieves - los angeles

bonus: jill cunniff - lazy girls

i make a promise that there will be a new mix at the beginning of next month....i have to be on top of this i know!

i can't wait for this!

2007-02-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

music and lyrics (2007)

2007-02-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

imdb.com: A washed up singer (Grant) is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for an admiring teen sensation. Though he's never written lyrics in his life, he sparks with an offbeat younger woman (Barrymore) with a flair for words.

so this movie is just so bad that it's funny. if you want to laugh go see this MOVIE but know that you're laugh at it and not with it. there are some lines in this movie that have you thinking did they really just say that....do real people talk like that and the answer is yes and no at the same time.

i stand: THINKING THAT I'M GLAD I SAW IT WITH PEOPLE THAT LAUGHED THE LOUDEST.

josh ritter - the animal years (2006)

2007-02-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

Idaho making some good music. i could listen to this album over and over again.....this event did take place recently because of a very long road trip.

the music is a folker sound then my usual dancer music but it tugs at my heart.

i stand: LISTENING TO IT NOW! YOU SHOULD TOO.

dreamgirls (2006)

2007-02-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

imdb.com: Based on the Broadway musical, a trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960's.

so here is another film that i have made marion apologize to me for seeing. it started all well and fine. but then it got boring really quickly......i just kept thinking that this would be amazing if i was seeing it live.

jennifer hudson has a amazing voice in the film and did a pretty good acting job....but come on that can't be the base for the whole movie.

i stand: THINKING THAT MARION ISN'T ALLOWED TO PICK THE NEXT MOVIE WE SEE TOGETHER.

GOODBYE 2006...hello the new year!!

2006-12-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

so well this blogger is going on a little trip to the east coast for awhile....be back next year with a few post for sure. see you all in 2007.

but first how could I not have an end of the year list. so without further ado.

TOP TEN SONGS OF 2006:
1. Cold War Kids - Hospital Beds
2. Phoenix - Long Distance Call
3. Regina Spektor - Fidelity
4. Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks
5. Teddybears - Yours to Keep
6. Headlights - Put Us Back Together Right
7. The Gaskets - Hold Steady (Hot Weather)
8. The Hourly Radio - Crime Does Pay
9. Maxi Geil & Playcolt - You Can't Kill Us Man (We're Already Dead)
10. The Sounds - Tony the Beat

some others that I couldn't do without this year. SO I guess TOP 11-20 Songs of 2006:
The Annuals - Brother
The Format - Dog Problems
Say Hi to Your Mom - Blah Blah Blah
Art Brut - Good Weekend
Sound Team - Your Eyes Are Liars
Tilly and the Wall - Rainbows in the Dark
The Flesh - Compulsion
Scanners - Lowlife
The Lovely Feathers - In the Valley
Danny Malone - The Gunfight

the sounds w/shiny toy guns (the wiltern 12.02.06)

2006-12-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

thanks anthony for the invite.

here's the music video for "tony the beat".

going out of town. write more later.

wanda sykes: sick and tired (2006)

2006-12-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

wanda's new stand-up dvd. it's this simple. see it.

i stand: LAUGHING AT THE GREATNESS OF WANDA!

time square (1980)

2006-11-28T20:46:00.000-08:00

imdb: Two girls run away from a mental institution and forge a relationship on the streets of New York. They soon begin enjoying their punk-rock life until the powers that be start nosing around, looking for them, unsettling their already delicate mental states. Will the Sleez Girls be torn apart? Or will they tear themselves apart?

so i try to see everything that allan moyle directs. he did bring us pump up the volume and empire records. and i'm a sucker for any movie that is about rock bands/group and a bigger sucker for ones about girl rock bands. i pretty much was in heaven. it's gritty and it's new york. plus hello tim curry co-star.

i stand: EIGHTIES PUNK ROCK RULES MY WORLD.

meatloaf: bat out of hell 3: the monster is loose. (06)

2006-11-07T22:20:00.000-08:00

meatloaf is back.

jonah matranga (the makeout room Nov 4, 2006)

2006-11-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

so what can I say??? if anyone is a regular reader of this blog knows that I'm a huge Jonah fan. Pretty much love him. The songs are amazing but a mere bonus to his overall passion and worldly outlook.

video clip for the show at the makeout room.

there's always a song that means something to me and this time it was "#1 Defender". I can't really say why this time but....it was. "smile" was a very close second.

i stand: TAKING IT ALL IN AND ENJOYING IT.

the prestige (2006)

2006-11-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

saw it. great. more when I'm not about to run out the door. but i say it's the weekend and if you want to see a film. see this one.

i stand: FEELING GOOD ABOUT A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE. THIS HASN'T HAPPENED IN A LONG TIME.

PACKING A LITTLE MORE PUNCH ... i'm connected to another year (new music nov 06)

2006-10-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

so there wasn't an october mix and i know that some of you were a little unhappy about that. i think and i quote lauren "you're fired." i know that i was all in joke but i worked hard on this one. yet as always there are some save songs that i know people will like but there are others that i question. but who really cares i can always redeem myself next month.

thanks guys for understanding the hold up.

PACKING A LITTLE MORE PUNCH...i'm connected to another year.
1. kings of prussia - campaign kids
2. the sharp ease - hands
3. the living things - bom bom bom (boyz noize remix)
4. planningtorock - think that thought
5. honeycut - shadows
6. coluor revolt - mattresses underwater
7. alec k. redfern & the eyesores - valse
8. supersystem - white light white light
9. lovelikefire - a million pieces
10. mansfield, tya - mon amoureuse
11. danny malone - the gunfight
12. patrick wolf - accident and emergency
13. love is all - talk talk talk talk
14. gabriel rios - broad daylight
15. maxi geil & playcolt - you can't kill us man, we're already dead
16. bryan scary - the ceiling on the wall
17. the hourly radio - crime does pay
18. benjy ferree - in the countryside

cover bonus
19. rasputina - fire and ice (pat benatar)

holiday films (oct-dec)

2006-10-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

october- Hocus Pocus
november - Home for the Holidays
december - Little Women

every fall/winter these are the three films that I have to watch. It's ingrained into me.

infamous (2006)

2006-10-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

another review that i will write sometime soon. mainly wanting to say that sandra bullock made the movie for me. i loved catherine keener last year in the same role. but sandra was amazing, just amazing.

more to come. this time i promise.

i stand: LIKE THE OTHER ONE BETTER

lily allen (the troubadour 10.14.06)

2006-10-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

so the concert was good. she sounds just like she does on her tracks. her cd will be released in the usa come three months from now.

the set was really short only 45 mins and that was us waiting maybe three of those minutes for her to come back for a two song encore. i like lily allen alot but i don't think that she can play a venues anything bigger from the troubadour. she still young just 21. she just needs to work on her stage performance.

the dj/act before lily was amazing. check out mark ronson.

i stand: GOOD SEEING HER BEFORE SHE REALLY THAT BIG OF A THING.

shortbus (2006)

2006-10-14T01:27:00.000-07:00

imdb: A group of New Yorkers caught up in their romantic-sexual milieu converge at an underground salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.

Yes. This movie has real sex in it.

But what's great about this film is that it a very complelling storyline. The characters are very human and endearing. this film made me laugh. Director John Cameron Mitchell has a way of taking a very taboo subject and creating this very heartwarming story about love and relationships.

i stand: HAPPY I TOOK THE REAL BUS TO SEE A FILM MADE WITH LOVE. WILLING TO MAKE THE TRIP AGAIN.

the science of sleep (2006)

2006-09-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Michel Gondry.

Just going to dive right into it. the dream world of this film gets a little boring. it keeps repeating itself over and over again. i found that i was interested in the parts that the main character was awake for. the relationship that is developed in this film is what i connected with not some much the "flashy" (i'm using that word very loosey) effects. those are the times when this film shows that it does have heart even if the story really isn't developed.

i stand: WISHING THERE WAS MORE STORY/KAUFMAN.

how to lose your lover (2006)

2006-09-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

the title of this film was just to great to pass up. and the description on the back just sounded retarded. i thought at least i would get a good laugh out of it. but I was wrong.

i stand: REMEMBER WHEN I SAID THAT I WOULD BE BETTER ABOUT MY RENTAL CHOICES. I WASN'T. PAYING FOR IT.

SEARCHING FOR MISSING PEOPLE...thinking too much. (new music sept 06)

2006-08-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

ok there's the deal with this mix. it has the same rock feel as always but this time if i liked two songs but the artist i would add them both.

tracks:
1. annuals - brother
2. chad vangaalen - gubbbish
3. born ruffians - this sentence will ruin (save your life)
4. the blow - pile of gold
5. as tall as lions - ghost of york
6. chad vangaalen - flower gardens
7. de novo dahl - subject of the kill
8. eskiimo - pretty
9. black bear - black bear
10. the blow - parentheses
11. heartless bastards - searching for the ghost
12. michael franti & spearhead - yell fire!
13. eskiimo - patience
14. brazilian girls - jique
15. black bear - i believe in immediacy

annie bonus: sunblock - i'll be ready (baywatch club version)

quinceanera (2006)

2006-08-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

is i haven't been to a theater in awhile. but yesterday i made my way over to the los feliz 3.

the story was very compelling. the acting was good, there were some parts here and there where the acting is very well...bad. but i think that comes just from casting either young or non-actors.

it was kind of fun to see places around my neighborhood that i see everyday. yes they're in echo park and I'm in los feliz. but we're all right here.

i stand: GLAD I WENT. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT FILM.

prime (2006)

2006-08-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

so this was not my rental choice. a little melody rock picked this out. she has now lost all rental rights.

the was no chemistry between the leads. who the hell is the main character?....no one could answer that question. it was very, very slow. i didn't understand why some of the shots were handheld.

meryl, you're amazing but this movie just sucked.

i stand: IT WAS MORE FUN TO PICK OUT ITS FLAWS THEN ANY THING ELSE.

2006-08-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

world, remember when i was a slacker? well as of right now I'm very much that. christinaortiz.com is in slack mode for right now. updates later this week on all sites. watch out!!

WAITED OUT THE HEAT...relaxing for once (new music aug 06)

2006-08-09T01:14:00.000-07:00

So this one is a little late but here it is people. the theme is just me wanting to finish it. hold all comments to the end of your first listen of the whole cd. thanks.

tracks:
1. land of talk - speak to me bones
2. the idle hands - loaded
3. dark fiction - i spread the disease
4. james rabbit - birds rush in
5. arrah and the ferns - emo philips
6. autovaughn - once more time
7. panurge - black box
8. catfish haven - crazy for leaving
9. scissor sisters - don't feel like dancing
10. boat - last can of paint
11. favourite sons - hang on, girl
12. tap tap - 100,000 thoughts
13. teddybears - yours to keep
14. boat - holding all the globes
15. jonah matranga - a new england
16. holy hail - born of a star
17. say hi to your mom - blah blah blah
18. shitdisco - i know kung fu
19. sunparlour players - talk it to death

so that's it. august now has some music.

regina spektor - begin to hope (limited/special edition)

2006-07-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

see "i stand" statment below.

i stand: BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REGINA IS AMAZING. HANDS DOWN FAVORITE ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

regina on conan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aI-NB4pEtc

the rachel papers (1989)

2006-07-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

the Pedro Almodóvar film series is on hold because all the dvd versions of his films were not at Video Hut yesterday....i'm not watching the VHS version if I don't have to.

So I when with a bad 80's movie instead..By bad I was hoping that it would be painfully funny to watch late at night.

here comes the direct quote from the box: Nineteen-year-old Charles Highway (Dexter Fletcher) has developed a computer program that can attract any women he fancies. But despite his computer know-how, Charles' current project, the sweet and beautiful Rachel Noyce (Ione Skye, Say Anything) refuses to download her affections!!!

I could go on but it only gets worse. So the film is nothing like the description, plot wise. Well, it is a bad teen 80's movie but this time a British one. Which I have come to understand means that you can have cursing and nude in it. i did like Jonathan Pryce's performancee at the weird brother-in-law to our hero. James Spader is wasted in this film, I feel that he did this movie as a favor to someone. i did also see Eric Stoltz in a cameo in a large group scene. I have nothing to say about the two leads because I really can remember anything important enough to write about. oh well.

i stand: THINKING THAT IF YOU READ THIS REVIEW AND WANT TO WATCH THIS FILM DON'T DO IT. WATCH AN AMERICAN TEEN COMEDY THEY'RE BETTER...I VOTE FOR HEATHERS!! ANYONE WITH ME?

TEST DRIVing MY LIFE...which is the brake? which is the gas? i guess i'm floating through yellow lights (new music July 06)

2006-06-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

this mix is a little.? Let's just say that I don't know how well received it will be by my four faithful listeners.

tracks:
1. phoenix - long distance call
2. hidden cameras - learning to lie
3. the format - dog problems
4. hello saferide - the quiz
5. peter bjourn and john feat. victoria bergsman - young folks
6. lily allen - little things
7. pela - present
8. office - the big bang jump!
9. the wildlife - electric slide
10. cansei de ser sexy (css) - alala
11. joan as police woman - eternal flame
12. lily allen -LDN
13. brothers and sisters - one night
14. dat politics - turn my brain off
15. be your own pet - adventure
16. cavil at rest - who's there?
17. the cat empire - hello
18. dirty little secret - guns guns guns
19. the waifs - london still
20. band of horses - the great salt lake

as of 6/29:

Director Series: La Flor de mi secreto aka The Flower of My Secret (Spain 1995)

2006-06-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

This summer Columbia/Tristar is releasing six Pedro Almodóvar film on dvd. I have decide to watch as many of his film(rewatching some) as I can and yes as always review them right here.

first up The Flower of My Secret.

imdb: Leo Macias writes sentimental novels with great success but hidden under a pseudonym, Amanda Gris. She is unhappy with her professional life and with her husband, a soldier working in Brussels and Bosnia that is never at home. She will try anything to change her life.

so i think that is was not the right film that I should have start with in the series. But here we go. The acting was great and the mood and locations added the the characters' heartbreak. However, i feel that the story wasn't completely engaging. It lack some of the humor that Almodovar likes to throw in there to take some of the harshness out of his dramas.

as always cinematography amazing.

i stand: GIVING THE FILM A "SO SO" KNOWING THAT I HAVE 14 OTHER FILMS TO REVIEW

going to rank his films
THE LIST:
1. The Flower of My Secret

next up either: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! or Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown will see what Video Hut has in stock.

rings (2006)

2006-06-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

so i'm not a big myspace fan. this might be the only time that you will ever see me post a plug for that site. but yes justin had made a myspace film page for his film "rings".

stop on by and see the trailer for the film.

paste function working at it's best: In Rings, a controversial wedding draws the ire of a conservative town, while a mysterious armed man rushes to the church to do what the raging mob would never dare.

Directed by Justin Simien, starring Robert Petrarca and Kiki Haynes, Rings delves into the volatile issue of marriage rights and begs "are we moving forward?"

what can I say I'm a big Justin Simien fan. And proud to have been a part of helping Justin create his vision.

i stand: READY TO MAKE THE NEXT ONE

AN 80's STYLE SUMMER....(new music June 06)

2006-05-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

title: AN 80's STYLE SUMMER... or maybe just my excuse to have electropop on a CD

this time I will nunber the tracks. get ready to dance in your car!

tracks:
1. regina spektor - fidelity
2. the flesh - compulsion
3. fujiya & miyagi - collarbone
4. scanners - lowlife
5. the lovely feathers - in the valley
6. the gaskets - hold steady (hot weather)
7. sambassafeur - kate
8. hockey - reading to an elephant
9. grand ole party - look out young son
10. hot chip - no fair state
11. mystery jets - the boy who ran away (riton re-rub)
12. situation leclerq - shiny boots
13. saints and lovers - like it was yesterday
14. havana guns - n.y.c.s.
15. the gaskets - earthquake
16. alias & tarsier - dr. c
17. ladytron - destroy everything you touch
18. the ark - this piece of poetry is meant to do harm
19. walter meego - keyhole

as of June 1st:
copy #1 Justin S.
copy #2 Maileen W.
copy #3 Annie W.
copy #4 Lauren R.

art school confidential (2006)

2006-05-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

imdb: Starting from childhood attempts at illustration, Jerome pursues his true obsession to art school. But as he learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him.

Had high hopes for the pairing of Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes....but felt that the film was never really sure of itself. It started but never find it's pace or really anything.

i stand: PUTTING GHOST WORLD ON REPEAT OVER SEEING THIS AGAIN

nada+ (cuba 2001)

2006-05-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

imdb.com: In Havana, a post office branch is more than a place of bureaucratic rules and regulations to ensure effective public services. This is where Carla Perez works. A young dreamer, this government employee transforms boredom into a 'crossroads of feeling in writing'. More than merely sending and receiving letters, she aims to help her companions in finding happiness and love by rewriting their personal letters. Such good will can not go un-rewarded.

So Cuba thinks it can make a film that is both simple yet have very over the top characters and get away with all this in black and white with a few hints of color here and there. Well it almost does. done with review.

i stand: CUTE LITTLE MOVIE BUT NOT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO RUN TO THE VIDEO STORE TO RENT RIGHT AWAY.

Jonah Matranga - there's a lot in here (2006)

2006-05-16T01:14:00.000-07:00

here is a DVD/CD collection from Jonah. I've already told you what I think of Jonah.

so here's a little paste action from a review I found on amazon.com:
Jonah Matranga has spent the last decade in the music industry and has approached every step of the way by his own terms. After recording with Far, New End Original, Onelinedrawing and Gratitude, Jonah has taken it upon himself to release music for his diehard fans (which include Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda). Jonah even contributed his voice to two songs on Shinoda’s latest Fort Minor album. His years of touring and prolific indie pop songs continue to add new fans each and every day. For the last year Jonah has recorded music by himself and released it through his own website. His appetite to create music was so intense that he wanted an additional outlet and partner for his continuous outpouring of recordings to reach more fans. Equal Vision saw the potential in this gifted songwriter and the first release for the partnership with EVR is his CD/DVD There’s A Lot In Here. The CD contains some of his greatest songs and most rare recordings all in one place. The DVD features two complete live shows and 11 videos, one for each song off of the Onelinedrawing album The Volunteers released on Jade Tree. Consider this the first of many releases from the person that will play a show in a sold out club, or outside for three fans that couldn’t make it in. Jonah gives it his all every time, regardless of the amount of people in attendance. There’s A Lot In Here is interactive, explosive and heartbreaking. Jonah Matranga is an artist with a fresh outlook on what a songwriter is and can be. Just wait, there’s a lot more to come.

i stand: ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ALL YEAR.

little radio (dot) com

2006-05-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

if you want to listen to some great streaming indie music just *click* on the image above. If you call and I say that I'm just listening to music, more then often I'm listening to little radio.

recommend: jax and heather's set Mondays noon-2pm

i stand: HOOKED ON INDIE MUSIC

HOUSE, md (fox tue 9:00pm)

2006-05-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

so this is the first time that I have done a television show on this blog. I started this as mainly a movie and music blog, but I do have to word tv in the above title of this blog.

so here it is. I have been watching HOUSE for a while now. and yes it is smart television. the casting it right on. Hugh Laurie and Jennifer Morrison are standouts.

that was easy.

i stand: I STAY IN MY HOUSE JUST TO WATCH HOUSE.

ONE YEAR in Adulthood....a leap (new music May 06)

2006-05-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

ok here is the latest cd collection of new music for May. Last month's had more of a rock vibe while this month's is dancer/pop...maybe a little punky.

tracks:
the little ones - cha cha cha
birdmonster - balcony
i'm from barcelona - treehouse
scanners - raw to the core
director - last time
art brut - my little brother
the cinematic - chase
the wombats - derail and crash
bell x1 - flame (chicken lips remix)
the streets - pranging out
beirut - postcards from italy
birdmonster - spaceman
bromheads jacket - when you wasn't famous
division day - tap-tap, click-click
men, women, & children - dance in my blood
bishop allen - flight 180
starlight mints - inside of me
the presets - are you the one?

copy anyone?
as of June 1st:
Copy #1: Annie Wildmoser
Copy #2: planned to give to Lis Gilot
Copy #3: Justin Simien
Copy #4: Lauren R.
Copy #5: Maileen W.

stick it (2006)

2006-04-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

so it friday night and I'm off to see a movie. Movie of choice "Stick It" from the writer of "Bring it On" Jessica Bendinger (now also director).

imdb: After a run-in with the law, Haley Graham (Peregrym) is forced to return to the world from which she fled some years ago. Enrolled in an elite gymnastics program run by the legendary Burt Vickerman (Bridges), Haley's rebellious attitude gives way to something that just might be called team spirit.

Short and simple: Overdone on the visuals to the point of music video world/lastest sports ad. Story lacked fluidity. Performance lacking everything. Dialogue retarded.

I did laugh because of how bad everything my eyes and ears where forced to intake. I was hoping for something good and funny, but this movie don't even come close to what "Bring it on" is.

i stand: IF THIS IS WHAT HOLLYWOOD IS GIVING HOW MANY MILLIONS TO MAKE WE'RE IN TROUBLE. OR AT LEAST WHERE CAN I GET MINE SO I CAN MAKE MY CGI TINA TURNER MOVIE.

JOB, MONEY, FRIENDS.....now broke(new music april 06)

2006-04-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

I've created a new album of new music entitled JOB, MONEY, FRIENDS...now broke.

tracks:
ima robot - creeps me out
scissors for lefty - next to argyle
margot and nuclear so and so's -skeleton key
art brut - good weekend
schaffer the darklord(std) - craig's list
sound team - your eyes are liars
cold war kids - hospital beds
the cloud room - blackout!
roisin murphy - sow into you
ghostland observatory - piano man
headlights - put us back together right
pine*am - get a choco
scissors for lefty - ghetto ways
tilly and the wall - rainbows in the dark
cold war kids - we used to vacation
street to nowhere - waste my life for you
sia - sunday

if anyone wants a copy just let me know.

as of 6/1:
copy #1: Lis Gilot
copy #2: Kyle Klutz
copy #3: Annie Wildmoser
copy #4: Justin Simien
copy #5: Kristina L.
copy #6: Maileen W.
copy #7: Lauren R.

hard candy (2006)

2006-04-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

still trying to get my head around this one. but the word amazing will be used many times.

imdb: A provocative drama about a 32-year-old man who takes home a 14-year-old girl he meets on the Internet--with surprising consequences.

Thinking back now, when was the last time that I was so uncomfortable in a movie theater. It has been a long time maybe not since happiness. But I haven't laugh out loud in a theater as much since jesus is magic. the film was great/amazing. there are only five actors and two locations in the film. It's has everything that is needed to make a student film. But this time I can sit through the whole thing and not think to myself that I could of made it better. not that I think of that all the time.

the digital colortiming changes in the film were a little distracting. but maybe the general audience won't notice. the film is very stylized. Most of the film takes place in a Hollywood hills home. a location that could of got boring very quickly but will a little creativity in camera the scenes are always different.

acting in the film is amazing. ellen page is someone that the world is going to have to look out for, or maybe you can all just go see her in the new XMen. you choose.

i stand: WILLING TO GO SEE IT AGAIN

pink-i'm not dead (2006)

2006-04-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

review to come once I finish a listen. so far two good ones.

ok that took a long time to get back to you internet lookers. ok I'm pretty much hooked on this album. Granted that it's not the best thing ever but i love it. I've always said that if I had to be one pop star it would be pink.

i stand: IT REALLY HASN'T LEFT MY CAR CD PLAYER SINCE I BOUGHT IT.

nine lives (2005)

2006-04-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

so here the short end of this film. It's nine stories that are filmed in a single continuous take per character. So there are nine 12 minutes stories.

it has great characters and the cinematography is amazing if you think about it. this is the third film(things you can tell just by looking at her, ten tiny love stories) from cinematographer turn writer/director Rodrigo Garcia that I have seen. I'm really a big fan of his. He understands women characters very well. Plus I'm a sucker for character movies.

Holly Hunter and Robin Wright Penn give outstanding performance but the surprises performance is from Mean Girls' Amanda Seyfriend as a teen trying to comfort her distant parents.

i stand: RENT IT AND THANK ME LATER FOR THIS

a little something different

2006-03-27T22:23:00.000-08:00

i know that it not a review, but...

watch and listen, people. this is why he is amazing.

junebug (2005)

2006-03-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

ok reason for see this film was because of Roger Ebert's all oscar season saying what a great job Amy Adams did(sorry I still think Catherine Keener should of won) and I think that there was even a endorsement from Justin. Here's my take:

I like the style of the filmmaking. It was about real people and took place outside of LA or NYC. It was a family drama/comedy. Every situation in the film could of really happened. However, i was bored for most of the film. I really couldn't wait for it to be over.

Mr. Ebert's one performance can not save a film, I sorry.

i stand: THERE WERE SO MANY TIMES THAT I JUST WANTED TO GET UP AND TURN IT OFF.

stateside (2004)

2006-03-07T01:35:00.000-08:00

so I was walking through video hut looking for something to watch and this is what I found. One thing that got me to rent this: Rachel Leigh Cook as a schizophrenic I had to see that for myself.

imdb: Forced to straighten out their lives, privileged Mark is sent to join the Marines and Dori, a wild actress and singer, is admitted from schizophrenia into a mental hospital. In the midst of life's chaos, Mark and Dori are drawn to each other.

From just that description I should of known.

the story is somewhat ok, but really it's the dialogue that brings this movie down. Sometimes I had no idea what there were saying not because I didn't hear them, but the simple fact that they're we talking b.s. who ever wrote the dialogue just like to hear himself talk, there is no reason for the high level of grammar/whatever in a film like this.

i stand: I SHOULD REALLY THINK MORE ABOUT MY RENTAL CHOICES AND STILL CAN BELIEVE THAT THE TAGLINE FOR THIS FILM WAS Love is a battlefield...

born into brothels (2004)

2006-03-01T00:10:00.000-08:00

as always here is a short plot summary (thanks once again to imdb): This film is a chronicle of filmmakers Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's efforts to show that world of Calcutta's red light district. To do that, they inspired a special group of children of the prostitutes of the area to photograph the most reluctant subjects of it.

I'm really stuck on docs right now. These kids have it hard. I can't even think what I would do if that was my life. Their photographs are amazing. I really want to go out and buy the book, if nothing else then to just support them.

The film is very personable, the filmmakers are characters themselves. They care about these kids and their futures. Most of the time it is very heartbreaking to see the everyday lives that these children deal with. Photography is really their only escape. Technically I'm not going to talk about anything. I'm still dealing with the everything else. I think I just like the ideal that photography somewhat saved these kids, if not forever but at least for sometime.

i stand: ART IS TRULY UNIVERSAL.

jonah matranga (at chain reaction)

2006-02-25T01:55:00.000-08:00

so Jonah is/always will be my favorite songwriter/singer/man that there is. I've see him perform many times and every time it's wonderful. Each time I go to his show I'm at a different stage of my life and always a different song that speak to me. It always depends where my head/heart is at. Last time I saw Jonah I had just graduated from college, had no job in sight, was pretty broke, and other junk. That show was one of the best things that could of happened to me at the time and the song that made it was "Better Than This".

However, this last show was great two times over. I was front rowing it. The songs were great, but I think the best part was just the humble way that the inbetween of songs went. From Religion to War to just being true to yourself. Jonah always speaks from his heart and makes everyone feel included. Jonah played a little bit off of every record and covered two Prince songs and Kelly Clarkson's Since You Been Gone.

After the show was over there as another little show on the sidewalk outside of chain. Six songs, one being "#1 Defender". But I think that last night song for me was "The Greatest Gift"which was another sidewalk song. Another big highlight was "Lukewarm".

Can't wait for another show, who knows where I'll be and what song will mean so much to me.

i stand: AMAZING. BEST SHOW EVER.

tell them who you are (2005)

2006-02-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

a film about legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler by his son Mark Wexler.

Wexler's works: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, American Graffiti, Coming Home, Bound for Glory, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Days of Heaven

This film dealt mainly with the father-son relationship of these two. There are many interviews with famous people that Haskell has worked with over the years. The greatest part was to see interviews with Conrad Hall. About their friendship over the years and the relationship they have with each others families.

There's nothing tech about this film. It's not really a profile but a son trying to understand his father through the eye of a lens.

little side note....watched the whole thing then at the end saw that Mike Kowalski did the sound design for the film.

i stand: GOOD TO SEE THE REAL LIFE OF A BIG CINEMATOGREAPHER

imagine me & you (2006)

2006-02-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

Plot Summary (thanks comingsoon.com): "Imagine Me & You" is the story of a girl who falls in love on her wedding day...But not with the man of honor. At the church, Rachel catches the eye of an unexpected guest. In that moment, she realizes that maybe Heck isn't the one for her. Of course, they will never know for sure unless they give it a shot.

it's a cute film. The plot is very straightforward. As you watch it; you will always know the next move. As always the characters are what win you over. Both Piper Perabo (Rachel) and Lena Headey (Luce) give good performances. If anyone is a sucker for lite romantic movies this one is for you. The question becomes will the girl get the girl or lose her to the guy???

One thing that gets me is that everyone's so nice. They always think of each others feelings. What is that all about??? Example: Luce wants the girl but does want to break up Rachel's marriage, she really wants to save it and not be the homewrecker. "Luce if you really want Rachel she going to have to leave her husband...You can't have it both ways I'm sorry. You're going to have to be somewhat the bad guy/girl to get her" -that was my train of thought during some of the film.

for a British film the cinematography was amazing. I'm serious about this. I think that romantic comedies are so hard to make look good and not go over board was something like fog filters. As for the British comment, sometimes they're a little too washout for my taste. But this film looked beautiful...There is one shot that the lighting isn't so good, but that just me being a geek.

p.s. there is no Lifehouse's song "You and Me" in this film, just in the trailer. i was a little sad about that.

I stand: THINKING ABOUT LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT AND HOW THIS MOVIE REAL WANTS TO MAKE ME A BELIEVER BUT I STILL DON'T KNOW

with all deliberate speed (2004)

2006-01-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

subtitled: a look at the landmark brown vs the board of education.

this is a film by peter gilbert (producer of Hoop Dreams and Stevie). the film reunites many of the leaders and children that were involved with all the court cases that lead to the supreme court case of Brown vs the Board of Ed. When looking at docs I always have to deal with them on a more personal level. It's a form of education you have to remember. I being a citizen of the US knew the general notation of the case but not the circumstances that leaded up to it or the outcome/long time that on a state level kept putting off desegregation. One school district instead of integrating schools just closed all public schools for a period of five years before being forced to reopen them.

The film does take a short look at how this case has effected schools today, but also that the same may be continue just this time no dealing with race but with class.

the film is somewhat long and at sometimes unfocused. but I think that the message is there and a education/lesson is told and unstood.

i stand: A HISTORY IGNORED IS A HISTORY REPEATED

morningwood-morningwood (2006)

2006-01-28T12:52:00.000-08:00

morningwood is what their name implies. a funny rock/punk/new wave band out of NYC. the lyrics aren't that serious. it's a band to drive to, something you don't have to think about.

standout tracks: jetsetter, the nth degree and televisor

I stand: ROCKING BUT IT COULD BE ANY BAND

something new (2006)

2006-01-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

so this isn't a movie that I would normally see, but there were two reasons that got me to the theater. One free screening. Two Focus Features.

so here we go. I really did like the film. It was funny and well written. It's universal in language, so don't think you have to be black to see this film. If I got all the jokes so will you. Yes, thinking about it the basic audience for this film is going to be women. It's a romantic comedy. It was just a fun time. Sometimes you just need a movie like this.

I stand: LAUGHING WITH EVERYONE ELSE, IN A GOOD WAY

jenny lewis with the watson twins- rabbit fur coat (2006)

2006-01-24T21:54:00.000-08:00

jenny lewis.....jenny lewis.

this album is very much in the vein of some of the more country-like songs that are hidden on Rilo Kiley records. But there is a rawness the stains the record. Her voice is what keeps you listening and listening. jenny has made an album that is in first person unlike many rilo songs that are stories of others.

still like rilo kiley's sound a little bit more.

standout tracks: the charging sky, rabbit fur coat, and handle with care

I stand: JENNY LEWIS! HIGH FIVE

the family stone (2005)

2006-01-10T16:20:00.000-08:00

ok this review took forever for me to put up:

I liked it. it was what I thought it would be a nice holiday movie. There are funny moments and sad scenes. I don't think that SJP should of got a golden globe nom for it. She was good but there were better performances this last year that should of maybe been considered.

I stand: WILLING TO ADD IT TO A HOLIDAY VIEWING SCREENING NEXT CHRISTMAS

memiors of a geisha (2005)

2006-01-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

It was boring from the first ten minutes of the film and had to sit through the next two and a half hours of this junk. The story is very flat. Our hero is not someone to root for, I very much could careless about anything that happened to her. This was one of the worst things that I have seen in a while. SO much so that I think that I am adding it to my all-time worst movie list. Mr. Marshall go back to the theater, please!!

I stand: STILL HAVING MARION APOLOGIZING FOR MAKING ME SEE THIS FILM.

breakfast on pluto (2005)

2005-12-23T00:49:00.000-08:00

just skip breakfast all together and have yourself an early lunch.

Neil Jordan's latest film had me thinking that it was going to be good maybe even great. But no, I'm still an a little confused about what happens in the film if anything happens at all. All I know is that I enjoyed the music!! if I just listening to the music and don't care about anything else then there's a problem there, Mr. Jordan.

there was no need to give the name of every chapter of the plot as if it were a book. It's not like it helped me out in the long run. But I guess they just wanted it to be done before the DVD comes out. Dude, who gets to name the chapters on DVDs and where can I get that job!

I stand: BORED AND THINKING THAT BOOKS SOMETIMES CAN NOT BE FILMED

king kong (2005)

2005-12-21T22:05:00.000-08:00

this film is just for entertainment only. There are many parts of this film go on forever and sometime I was just sitting there thinking to myself "I get it, let's move on". Three Hours! Three Hours!!! I still can't believe that this film was only rated PG-13.

I won't lie. I was a little uncomfortable with the ape/woman love story.
Now don't get me wrong I was entertained through most of the film, but it's nothing new.

i stand: LOOKING AT MY WATCH.

brokeback mountain (2005)

2005-12-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

I will say that this is/was the best film that I saw all year. The film takes on the task of telling at its core a very involved love story among two cowboys. The two leads give great performances in the evolution of character/love. This film doesn't dwell/drill the fact that it has a gay theme, because powerful storytelling makes the love story very universal. Hats off to Mr. Ang Lee. The film is slow in pace(maybe too slow in some parts "really my only negative comment") but overall the pace suits the film's emotional drive.

The small guest appearances from some notable actors were a grand surprises. As well as good performance from newcomer Kate Mara. Michelle Williams delivers big, however Anne Hathaway is a little odd, and maybe missed casted.

Plus, my guy Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC (the film's cinematographer and my favorite) makes a guest appearance as the Mexican prostitute.

I stand: GRATEFUL FOR HAVING STOOD IN LINE FOR AN HOUR TO SEE A FILM AND NOT A MOVIE.

the squid and the whale (2005)

2005-12-08T00:15:00.000-08:00

ok saw it.

it has good characters in it and a good enough reason why to watch. But the outcome/change took forever. I was waiting and waiting for the oldest son to finally wake up. There were moments that I could of cared less, but there were others that had me.

i stand: BEATEN OVER THE HEAD WITH A STICK

pretty persuasion(2005)

2005-12-07T23:32:00.000-08:00

short plot(thanks IMDB): A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.

so I love dark comedies....it's my favorite genre. So when Pretty Persuasion was an option to rent I grab it up. Forget what I almost rented?

I didn't laugh as much as I wanted to. I don't think I laughed at all. Yes, it was dark in subject matter and it was shocking in parts. But I wanted to laugh.

Evan Rachel Wood was great at being evil but not a funny evil. I think I was just thinking that IT was going to be something else. Something more like Heathers or Saved!. There are many elements that link it to these films but the humor is lost. You can't have a dark comedy with the comedy I'm sorry.

i stand: OK WITH THE SHOCK. SAD ABOUT THE LACK OF FUNNY.

bloc party-silent alarm(2005) vs. bloc party-silent alarm remixed (2005)

2005-12-06T01:23:00.000-08:00

So I've had Bloc Party's debut album for a little while, so I figured I get the remix of it.

Explain: bloc party allowed a number of producers/musicians to remix every track off their debut album.

So I'm doing a verses review.

Here's all you need to know. Bloc Party is part of the European dance-punk that is filtering into the states right now ie. the killers and others. However, they're a little darker and not as dancey. Man, do I love the drum beats on this album. Who else has come out with a song about the rising cost of gas??? Plus, i'm a sucker for a real rock band that's fronted by a black guy.

Their first six songs on the album are excellent. excellent is the only way to describe them.

standout tracks: 4. Banquet 2. Helicopter 6. Blue Light

Now, the remixed version. Only buy it if you're a fan, and if you are you should really have to like them to buy it. The original is still the better of the two. I myself like to listen more to a band then instruments that come out of a computer. But it's not that bad, just different then the way I like to listen to the songs.

i stand: VERY HAPPY WITH THE ORIGINAL

transamerica (2005)

2005-12-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

Transamerica still leaves me a little confused. Not about it's transsexual subject matter. But by the filmmaking itself. It's nothing great, it's nothing terrible.

Desperate Housewives' Felicity Huffman gives a very convincing performance as a male-to-female transsexual days away from her final operation that will complete her gender reassignment. However, she has fathered a son seventeen years ago.

I do love a road trip movie and this is one that yes does have all the elements of a transformation of its characters (no pun intended). However I don't think it's a big screen story, I see it more on a little screen. As in something that I should have rented. There are some funny one liners in the film. The audience I did see it with clapped after the movie was over, not sure if they clapped because of the movie or the subject matter.

i stand: IN THE MIDDLE

metric-live it out (2005)

2005-11-29T22:45:00.000-08:00

Toronto has been me thanking them for the the band Metric. A little new-wave, a little punk, got some rock to it.

You may have to listen to the album a few times to really hear the beauty in the rhythm, lyrics as well as tone. Frontwoman Emily Haines' delivery keeps me just driving on. All the songs have there own take, there are no repeats of the same song like many other bands where their music all sounds the same. But with saying this, Live It Out is a complete album.

Standout tracks: 1.Empty (ok start there and let the ride begin)

i stand: DRIVE FAST WITH THE VOLUME UP

walk the line (2005)

2005-11-28T22:42:00.000-08:00

i walked away with nothing, but the fact that it was a long time to sit hoping that June Carter would hurry up and add the Cash to her name so I could leave. walk the line= ray. so i guess that means Oscar for the two above. ok it's a character movie that had good acting but lacks a creative plot to back it. Example of other films like this are: Monster and Ray i guess I could even add Boys Don't Cry but that might be pushing it. However, Capote was a good charactrer film.

i stand: OUTSIDE OF WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO THINK

jesus is magic (2005)

2005-11-28T22:38:00.000-08:00

yes people the rent review will come before this one and I promise that most of my review besides RENT will be very short and to the point.

review: Sarah Silverman's comedy act. It's racial jokes. It's funny. It's a funny racial time! with musical numbers thrown in. if you have a problem with any of that, then well ok. I still feel the Margaret Cho's I'm the One I Want is better. But it a completely different subject matter. So i guess Sarah wins with the racism.

i stand: LAUGHING SO THE WHOLE THEATER CAN HEAR

rent (2005)

2005-11-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

The picture to the right is a guide to help you out with names and junk. You would normally have this in your playbill. I had to make my own. This is a very rushed review. I think that I'll write a more formal one later.

RENT: a community that has evicted nothing but should have thrown out some of the old for the new.

Rent is a musical. It's that simply. There are characters that sing. Rent has to be the most straight from stage to screen version of any other musical that has ever been made. I would have to say that the overall screenplay credit should go to Jonathan Larson, the playwright, himself. There were times in the theater that I would find myself mouthing exactly what was coming out of the characters' mouths. Yes, in the stage version most of these lines were somewhat sung/spoken but does that mean they have to be turned into the actual dialogue and changing just one word doesn't make it that different. Example time: well I can't think of one right now but there were many.

So the film opens now with a song that uses to open the second act of the stage version. Do something on the stage, dammit!!!! These should have been the time that most of the audience should have been introduced to the characters and what there relationships are to one another. Or if anything their names: Example: Yunus: that handsome guy he had AIDS, right? Me: Roger? Yes. (this was midway through the film)

Because who knows if a first timer is going to remember all their names. There are seven main characters. Taye Diggs doesn't count. This is another problem that will be attacked later.

"dec 24, nine p.m. 1989" I'm over the date that the film takes place in. I have come to terms with it. But were there ATM's then?? I looked it up and yes there where since the 60's.

The CAST:
Rosario Dawson: Mimi (dancer/drug user/AIDS)
Taye Diggs: Benny (landlord/former friend to all)
Wilson Jermaine Heredia: Angel (drag queen/AIDS)
Jesse L. Martin: Collins (comp. teacher/AIDS)
Idina Menzel: Maureen (performance artist)
Adam Pascal: Roger (musician/AIDS)
Anthony Rapp: Mark (filmmaker)
Tracie Thoms: Joanne (lawyer)

There are no standout performances in RENT. In regards to standout, I'm talking about career defining or Oscar junk. Now there where some good ones and there were some bad ones Good: Rosario and Jesse. Bad: Taye and Adam. the other's were ok.

There's a big problem that I guess I should attack now. There are too many main/key characters in this movie. I hate to say this be I wished that Chris Columbus, the director and rewriter of the screenplay yet didn't give himself credit for in the end, sure have remembered that seven is alot for a film. There's never enough time anywhere to fully see these beautiful characters. It's as if to keep everything like the stage version we have to give up emotion/depth. I love the musical to death, but come on. In the world of film, somethings have to be cut out to make a better film. I had to say it. The whole musical is too big for this film to hold and keep everything, so really all you're get is a rushed visual. So in regards to talking about performance everything I'm about to say with a grain of salt.

Rosario and Jesse were the only two individual that I didn't have to keep remaining myself that they are theater actors and let things slide. I believe in both of their performances. The part of Mimi is not an easy part to get your head around. But I feel that the subtle looks and manners that Rosario played with help to see Mimi as a person up on screen. You have to remember that your head is two stories tall on screen then the right size on the stage. Anthony Rapp do you hear that!!! Vocals could have been better, I will say that about Rosario.

Oh Jesse, you're funny. Your voice is amazing. Good line delivery

The bad in shorthand: A bad waste of Taye and Adam can't act out emotion to save his life.

Heredia, Menzel, Rapp, Thoms: well done, you did it.

yes, they are ten years too old. At their ages, they should at least have some sort of day job.

Here's one thing: Roger has AIDS. Did you the audience know that??? Or was it something that you had to somewhat guess on your own. What the....You shouldn't have to guess this part of the plot. But I guess it doesn't help when some important plot points are left out of the Roger backstory. Just to help you along. Roger had a girlfriend named April. She killed herself because she got AIDS for needle sharing, therefore giving Rogar AIDS...Thats why Roger won't leave the house and it so hard for him to love again and his hatred of drugs and needle hence why he yells at Mimi for her drug use.

The music is what keeps things going in this film. You have to love the music if not for anything else. I first fell in love with the music before I even saw the play for the first time.

One of the best numbers in the film that works is Tango: Maureen. Now I know that there’s a dream sequence. But the way that it is staged is great. So you have the two of many lovers of Maureen, the recently dumped Mark and her current lover Joanne. It starts out as a battle back and forth. But the dream sequence (which I have to say is some smart filmmaking), you get to see their point of view of Maureen, but also very important character traits of Maureen’s. Come on, die hard RENThead could you watch just tango or was it funnier and character developing to see the dream. I think so.

Numbers that didn’t/don’t look good on screen:
Today 4 U and Over the Moon…didn’t work at all.

Just need a lot of work:
What You Own and Another Day

The worse put together part of Rent…..editing/cinematography is on the number Today 4 U. Now I have a few idea’s why. Wilson/Angel movement are too fast on screen as well as some of the weirdest cuts and angles…..I have a feeling that this was just a son of a bitch to film and edit for a tech point of view ….plus it a little long and boring on screen.

Over the Moon is write for a stage not a screen. I was bored and it one of my favorite parts of the musical. Because it lacking the main thing that it needs to work a live audience in order to fuel the performance. Moo...I don't think so. But I give Menzel a plus for sing/performing it live.

Oh yeah. This film has no direction because it’s pretty much the play. Sorry Chris. You could have made a great film, not just an OK one.

Not some much the theme’s of RENT but the subject matter is very dated/seen before. But it didn’t have to be. AIDS isn’t that hot of an issue right now but that doesn’t mean that there a cure yet. There should still be the awareness of AIDS. Are we as a public not aware that there are people out there dieing of AIDS still? From the reaction on the thirteen year old I sat by the second time around, I don't even think she understood AIDS for the common cold. Or at least didn't understand the reason behind the AIDS subject matter. More on AIDS later.

Homosexuality! It seems that regardless of what time I saw it (one, two or three) there will always been someone that it shocked by the fact that there are men kissing men and women kissing women. However most of these people were still in high school. Not that I saying that this is a dated issue. But I have seen more gay action/(what stand you want to add here on gay issues) on cable television then in RENT.

Yes, people, that brings me to another issue that RENT lacks. Where is the sex???? RENT: there’s these sexuality beings that live and breathe. Yes I got the fact that they are all friends. But it’s to love who you love and there is more sexual tension on the stage then there is onscreen. Come on Mr. Columbus it not everyday that I call for more sex.

Where are all the Asian people in this film…..for a film that is about love and communities? You’re missing a pretty big one.

Rent takes on way too much….Chris should of let it become the mini-series that it almost was….I think it would of served the American audience better to get to know and understand the depth of these character that we don’t get to see on screen because of the fact that there is so much singing to get through. I had to say it but RENT could have been a better movie, if in fact it wasn’t a musical.

But will all that said and done I still has fun. See it if nothing else to get you gear and ready for the next time RENT comes to town. I think of it as an added bonus to the days that I don’t get to see RENT on the stage. It will keep me entertain just like my soundtracks.

I end with a statement by Jonathan Larson: In these dangerous times, where it seems that the world is ripping apart at the seams, we all can learn how to survive from those who stare death squarely in the face every day and [we] should reach out to each other and bond as a community, rather than hide from the terrors of life at the end of the millennium.

where is that movie....i want to see that one. it makes sense to me about the themes of RENT could so help the world today. It's just that the leap to the big screen was nothing more then a bad copy of the original. There just two different mediums.

there are many things that I haven't talked about yet. So I don't feel that this is the end of my rave yet. However it will have to work for now. I do have some good things to say as well, maybe later.

One thing I glad about is a young audience does get to see this film because to them nothing is out-dated.

i stand: IN THE MIDDLE TORN