Movie Review: Monsters University

While Monsters University didn't reach the same caliber as its predecessor, which is probably one of my favorite Pixar films to date, this was still an animated film with bucket loads of charm, personality and neat little jabs of humor. The animation style was vibrant, the backdrops were exquisitely rendered and the characters had excellent detail with an impeccable fluidity in their movements. The film offered nothing new in terms of story though and I felt like some of the humor may have gone a little old, but I liked the fact that the movie also had no clear antagonist, which was pretty refreshing. Monsters University was pretty basic and predictable at times, but I certainly had a blast and that's more than enough of a reason to see these monsters once again. 8

Movie Review: The Heat

I never thought much of this movie prior to viewing it, but this was actually a pleasant surprise. Yes, The Heat was yet another cop movie pairing ill-matching personalities who learn to buddy up and beat bad guys together, but somehow, the odd pairing dynamics of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, which threw most of the humor, was too palpable that it actually overshadowed its tired plot point of the movie. They just made a pretty hysterical comic duo. The script was neatly written, the direction was good, and the pacing was just about right. It started a bit slow and there were moments where I felt like it lost steam, but that's just some minor quibbles. The Heat will never be an eternal comedic classic, but it was a mindlessly fun popcorn flick filled to the brim with laughs and some reckless action sequences. 7.5

DAM NATION: 10.11.12

I admit, I don't usually share anything personal here because DAM NATION is ultimately an entertainment blog and I know for a fact that people who visit this site don't really care much to read endless whining, which I'm fond of doing on other social media sites. I mean, everyone's got problems of their own, so they don't need the extra burden of other people's pitiful tales of woe.

Today, however, will be quite different as I'm posting this without a purposeful point - at least to the readers - other than me venting emotional stuff, so I don't blow up. You know, a self-indulgent post by medium of a compilation just to give a semblance of this blog's purpose - and yes, because songs are oddly so much more potent when you're heartbroken! 

1. Teenage Dream Glee Cast

2. Greenback Boogie Ima Robot

3. A Thousand Years Christina Perry

4. Always Switchfoot

5. I Miss You Incubus

6. I Won't Give Up Jason Mraz

7. Never Say Never The Fray

8. Mine Glee Cast

9. Just Give Me A Reason Pink (ft. Nate Ruess)
10. Sad Maroon 5

11. I Need To Know Kris Allen

12. Say Goodbye Katharine McPhee

13. Don't You Wanna Stay Jason Aldean (ft. Kelly Clarkson)

14. Cry Glee Cast

15. The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack Liars
16. War Is Over Kelly Clarkson

17. All Cried Out Kree Harrison

18. A Little Bit Stronger Jordis Unga

19. My Kind of Perfect David Archuleta 

20. Today My Life Begins Bruno Mars

10 11 12

Movie Review: World War Z

Zombie films are a dime a dozen and while World War Z didn't really present anything that I haven't seen before, this was still pretty solid. Yes, the film was absurdly flawed from the predictable storyline to the annoyingly shaky camera work to the lack of tension, blood and guts - gory violence is a necessity in zombie films! - to the ludicrous ending that looked more like a Pepsi commercial than anything else, but there's also something very compelling about it. I thought that it gave one of the most visually spectacular sequences this year - the hordes of zombies allowed for some extremely impressive scenes on a large scale - and the pacing was actually pretty good. Brad Pitt also performed expectedly well. World War Z wasn't as startlingly violent like its contemporaries and it may disappoint some, but this was still a moderately entertaining summer flick. 7

DAM NATION: June 2013 Playlist

Again, apologies for the late post of this month's playlist. Anyway, here's another set of 15 songs that I (personally) fancy, that are already doing good on it's own and maybe some new singles from different artists that will probably - or maybe not - be hits in the next coming weeks in whatever format.

So, yeah! Enjoy!

1. Pusher Love Girl Justin Timberlake

2. We Own It (Fast & Furious) 2 Chainz (ft. Wiz Khalifa)

3. Really Don't Care Demi Lovato (ft. Cher Lloy)

4. Love Somebody Maroon 5

5. Treasure Bruno Mars

6. Gentlemen Jessica Sanchez

7. I Need Your Love Calvin Harris (ft. Ellie Goulding)

8. I Want Crazy Hunter Hayes

9. Tie It Up Kelly Clarkson

10. Wasting All These Tears Cassadee Pope

11. Grown Woman Beyoncé

12. Ooh La La Britney Spears

13. Counting Stars OneRepublic

14. Miss Movin' On Fifth Harmony

15. We Can't Stop Miley Cyrus

DAM NATION

Password: The score I gave Star Trek Into Darkness Movie Review

The Voice 4: Finale Results Show

Umm, yes, I saw Danielle Bradbery's win since May and, to be honest, I'm not all that mad about it. Sure, she has yet to learn how to be less dull and acquire a more definable personality as a performer, but that was the same thing that has often been said about Carrie Underwood during her stint on American Idol and look at her now.

Danielle Bradbery has a clear quality to her voice that's pretty fantastic, she's incredibly charismatic, her grasp with pitch is superb, and she's in a popular genre. True, I'm getting tired of the country singers almost always winning these reality singing shows, but at least, she will actually come to the country format as a legitimate country singer. Yes, I'm looking at you Cassadee Pope! Haha.

Oh, and let me just say that this has been a GREAT season! There were moments where I was actually upset with how the competition went, but that's a good thing because for the first time in the show's entire run, I ACTUALLY CARED! Haha. The contestants were extremely talented and hiring Usher and Shakira was a great move. Good job!

As for you Michelle Chamuel, I love you!

RESULTS after the jump!! 

The Voice 4: Finale

At times like today, I was hoping Adam and Shakira had people in the Finale as I just couldn't take the Blake overload. There was just too much of him and it wasn't even funny. If nothing else, I've developed a deeper appreciation for Usher as an artist and a person from this show though. Usher's connection with Michelle was very genuine and I hope he'd have her right after the show.

Without further ado, let's see how everyone else did for the last time this season! Shall we?

Movie Review: Man of Steel

Was it wrong for me to expect too much from Man of Steel given the cast and director? As a single movie for a bit of Hollywood entertainment, yes, this was perfectly watchable. I thought Henry Cavill was a good fit for the title role as he was both charming and intense and Zach Snyder's visual flare somehow worked for this reboot. The visuals, as expected, were spectacular and highly extravagant, almost to a fault. The action sequences went too over the top that it felt like one heavy-handed, mind-numbing explosion extravaganza. It became repetitive and tedious that it began to lose impact after a while. The pacing was also problematic as the random flashbacks made the movie seemed disjointed in parts. Oh, and the movie was humorless with very little joy behind it. Man of Steel was fine. I didn't hate it, but I felt empty after watching it. 5

Movie Review: The Hangover Part III

You know that one self-destructive joke you tell at every gathering you attend to? It was hilarious the first time, so you kept on repeating the joke over and over again until it eventually loses its charm. Yes, The Hangover Part III was THAT dreaded joke. The original Hangover, at that time, was a refreshing film with an absolutely hysterical premise and a great cast with some pretty solid writing behind them. The second installment was an irritating carbon copy of the original, and while this one tried to be different, it still didn't stand out as a great comedy. The plot was insipid, the humor was lacking, and the idea to focus on the annoying Mr. Chow did nothing but point out how dead this franchise had become. The Hangover was probably one of the most unnecessary film trilogies in recent memory and how I wish they stopped at Part I. 5

Movie Review: Now You See Me

There's an indelible sense of coolness to Now You See Me. Despite the rather thinness of it's plot, the premise was actually pretty refreshing, remarkably enjoyable, and fairly sophisticated for a heist film. I liked that there's a playful energy that radiated around the film, the stunts were pretty good, the special effects were fantastic and not overpowering and some of its set pieces were probably among the most elaborate I can imagine. There wasn't much depth to some of the characters though, which was a bit unfortunate, and I didn't understand why they had to explain EVERYTHING, but that's just minor issues I had with it. Now You See Me was a thoroughly engaging and unexpectedly solid piece of entertainment. It's not the best, but I was pretty shocked at just how much I enjoyed it. 7.5

The Voice 4: Top 6 Results Show

Surprise! Surprise! A country act FINALLY went home tonight and it was all sorts of predictable. I'm not exactly complaining because I'd rather have this than a big shocker like last week. I wonder why they've decided to just eliminate one no?

Oh, and Cassadee Pope, The Voice Season 3 Winner, performed her single Wasting All The Tears. The itself isn't bad and it does sound like a lot of other songs that get country radio play, but nothing I hate more than sell outs. Her decision to go country after continually proclaiming during her run on The Voice that she was a pop/rock artist. Oh well.

RESULTS after the jump!

The Voice 4: Top 6

I guess, The Voice mantra now is, "If you can't beat them, join them!" Haha. Seriously. Adam taking Amber country on both of her songs was one thing, but never ever thought I'd see Sasha Allen and Michelle Chamuel a country song. Haha. Everybody's trying to blatantly steal a little bit of the country vote from Blake no?

On to the rankings!!