Movie Review: The Expendables 3

Let's be honest, nobody goes to The Expendables film expecting superb acting talent or deep storytelling. It has always been about the variety of brain dead action scenes, cheesy one-liners and some real throwback excessive violence in heaps from our action legends. So when The Expendables 3 took that away, things just became a mess. Sure, there were still a couple of incredible action set pieces here and there, and the final showdown was quite nifty, but the decision to add new young members in the group was a little problematic. They hog much of the screen time, which could've been easily given to Wesley Snipes or Antonio Banderas or Harrison Ford. This was also a complete stylistic departure from previous films as this installment didn't feel like an ensemble, but more of a Stallone film with his buddies. It took itself a bit too seriously that it ended up as a pretty drab affair. Truth be told, The Expendables 3 was still pretty entertaining, but with the addition of fairly unknown stars, I felt it took away some of the core. Such a shame. 5.5

Movie Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles wasn't as bad as I expected, but there was nothing particularly memorable about the film either. Other than the well executed visual effects and some humorous banter between the turtles, the movie was just underwhelming. The premise was inherently corny - although that's expected since this was about talking ninja turtles - the script was poorly written, the action set pieces lacked some sense of fun, the camera work was too fast and tight, and there was just way too many Megan Fox scenes that the turtles somehow became secondary. Although there's really no point of over analyzing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - enjoy it for what it is - it was still a generally mediocre film. Nothing spectacular. Hit and miss humor. Predictable story. Less heart. 4.5

DAM NATION: August 2014 Playlist

Whoa! Too many freaking songs to choose from, but with only have limited slots this month! Anyway, here's the list 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. Oh, and a couple of them are carry overs from last year, but I digress.

So, there! Enjoy!

1 Bang Bang Jessie J, Ariana Grande, & Nicki Minaj

2 Habits Tove Lo

3 Must Be Love Christina Grimmie 

4 Silent Tori Kelly

5 Anaconda Nicki Minaj

6  It Was Always You Maroon 5

7 Shower Becky G

8 The Big Bang Katy Tiz

9 Come Get It Bae Pharrell Williams (ft. Miley Cyrus)

10 This Is How We Do Katy Perry

11 Don't Ed Sheeran

12 Just Kids Alex & Sierra

13 Flawless Beyonce (ft. Nicki Minaj)

14 Chains Nick Jonas

15 All About That Bass Meghan Trainor

DAM NATION

Password: The comment I wrote in Guardians of the Galaxy movie review

Movie Review: Lucy

Lucy left me in a very weird place. Until now, I still don't know what to think of it. Yes, the film started out with an interesting story, it was visually entertaining, there were some marvelously trippy sequences, and Scarlett Johansson was pretty awesome, but it ultimately turned out to be quite a dud. There was something about the entire premise that came off a little flimsy and stupid that things just didn't make sense. The plausibility was utterly absurd it pulled me out of the film and that ending was too strange that I didn't know what it even implied. Somehow, I did get the appeal of Lucy, but at some point, I wasn't really sure who I should care about or if I should even care. Get it? No? Me too. Haha. 6

Movie Review: Into The Storm

Into The Storm took what could've been a genuinely intriguing disaster movie and turned it into something perilously shallow. Sure, this was a good example of a film made purely to showcase awesome special effects with a simple plot concocted to hold it all together, but the story was just pure soap opera nonsense. The characters were a throwaway that it was laughable that the film even tried to infuse personality - mostly annoying - in them. Oh, and don't get me started with how most of them managed to outrun and survive a bunch of tornadoes. The actors were mostly bland, the script was ironically dry, and the found-footage approach felt more of a gimmick than anything else. Where the film did succeed was delivering spectacle, but if you look for anything else, you'd be sorely disappointed. Into The Storm was perfectly entertaining just for the tornadoes and nothing else. 4.5

Movie Soundtrack: Guardians Of The Galaxy

It's been years since I posted a movie soundtrack in this blog, Sucker Punch if I remember correctly, and this is just the third soundtrack here in this site. I've decided to share this just because I find the compilation pretty awesome. So, enjoy!

Oh, and I'm also thinking of uploading soundtracks of two more movies released this year. Watch out for the updates! 

1 Hooked On A Feeling Blue Swede

2 Go All The Way The Raspberries

3 Spirit In The Sky Norman Greenbaum

4 Moonage Daydream David Bowie

5 Fooled Around And Fell In Love Elvin Bishop

6 I'm Not In Love 10cc

7 I Want You Back The Jackson 5

8 Come and Get Your Love Redbone

9 Cherry Bomb The Runaways

10 Escape Rupert Holmes

11 O-o-h Child The Five Stairsteps

12 Ain't No Mountain High Enough Marvin Gaye

DAM NATION

Password: The grade I gave Guardians of the Galaxy

Movie Review: Guardians Of The Galaxy

Out of all the Marvel movies, Guardians of the Galaxy was probably the least likely one to succeed. Not only did it feature a fairly unknown set of characters, it also had a pretty unusual cast. None of it seemed very promising on the onset but as it turned out, the movie was actually one of the better, modern, Marvel flicks out there! The story, though nothing groundbreaking, was interesting without being overly convoluted, the action set pieces were fantastic, the musical score was brilliant, there was a plethora of incredible visual effects, and well-timed humor sprinkled throughout the film. Oh, and cast were pretty exceptional. The villain wasn't as complex as I would've wanted, but I digress. Guardians of the Galaxy was a genuinely entertaining movie on all accounts. Unexpectedly stellar. 9

Idol News: American Idol's Michael Johns Dies At 35

Terrible news. American Idol alum, Michael Johns, has died at 35. He finished 8th during Season 7 in which David Cook won the title. According to reports, Johns died due to a blood clot on his ankle.

THR - Michael Johns, a finalist on American Idol season seven, died on Aug. 1, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed via multiple sources. The cause of death is believed to be a blood clot in his ankle. 

The singer competed on the Fox music show in 2008 and came in eighth place. He followed with a full-length album, 2009's Hold Back My Heart, that included single "Heart on My Sleeve." 

"Michael Johns was an incredible talent and we are deeply saddened by the news of his passing. He was a part of our AMERICAN IDOL family and he will be truly missed. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time," read a statement posted on the show's official Facebook page. 

It's very sad to learn about Michael Johns' untimely passing. Yes, I didn't know him personally, but he's part of the reason why this blog exists. American Idol Season 7, to me, will always be the best season EVER that it had me put up a blog and take things a little further than the usual American Idol fan. That season will always have a special place in my heart, so this tragic news is shocking.

Rest in Piece, Michael Johns. Thank you for the music!

It's All Wrong, But It's All Right


The Letter with Carly Smithson


Life Is Okay with Brooke White

Movie Review: She's Dating The Gangster

To be perfectly honest, I'm still not quite sure what made She's Dating The Gangster different from other Star Cinema romantic comedy films - it's still heavily flawed with a slightly faulty premise - but there's something about the film that's undeniably charming. Much of the credit goes to the two leads, who managed to deliver surprisingly layered performances, especially Kathryn Bernado, and a palpable chemistry. The direction was solid, the pacing was just right, and there was a nice balance of goofy comedy and drama. Yes, the story was not without the unnecessary complexities and it somehow relied on some contrived conflicts, but somehow it worked. She's Dating The Gangster was NEVER in my watchlist, but this was a surprisingly delightful entertainment. Quite watchable. 6.5

Movie Review: Step Up All In

Let's face it! Nobody goes to a Step Up film expecting some real character development, top notch acting, and groundbreaking storyline. If you do, I will personally slap you in the face! Haha. The Step Up franchise had always been all about the big spectacular dance sequences and nothing else. So it was pretty surprising that Step Up All In ended up to be the most underwhelming of all the Step Up films. The choreography was surprisingly bland, the editing was a mess, and there was nothing remotely memorable unlike its predecessor. It was such a shame as they've been getting better and better with every sequel. I left my intellectual standards out the door - as I always do with all Step Up films - and yet came out still disappointed. I mean, if they can't deliver on the dancing, what's there left with the film? Sadly, Step Up All In was just a long bland shambles of a film. 4