Poetry In Static
I Get Bigger
Original Zbop Design
I made this design for you ladies… nah I’m just playing. But seriously I made this to show defiance. When life cuts you down, do better, work harder, grind, then grow. If something doesn’t work out for you then take a step back and rethink your idea, make it bigger, more detailed, and go after that fucker. Recently, if we’ve been in touch you probably already know I’ve had a couple of setbacks. But nobody I know, would ever say that I let it get to me. This design represents my sunny disposition, the explosion shows my energy, and if you don’t already know. I’m about to get a whole lot bigger.
I’m out of the closet
You’ve been thinking it, I’ll finally just say it, I’m a Messi fan ever since I saw him playing with Ronaldinho in his first Clasico game where he lobbed Casillas. I mean how can you not love a pro athlete, that’s probably on the Asperger’s spectrum, making millions of dollars, with a smoking hot wife, and literally a billion fans. Gives hope to the rest of us. Speaking of Asperger’s here is one of my favorite quotes ever “opening yourself up to this great big ball of shit that we call life, and what’s the worst that could happen? You get bit in the ass. Well let me tell you: my ass looks like hamburger meat, but I can still sit down.” – Lewis Black.
Once I traveled over to Barcelona I became a secret band-wagoner of the team FC Barcelona. So on this day I want to come out and tell everyone what I really think. That FC Barcelona is a better club than Real Madrid is and ever will be. And they will hopefully go on to win the match…
Green Book
This is a story about two men with very different backgrounds and perspectives going on a long musical tour in the 1960s. Viggo Mortensen (AKA Aragorn from Lord of the Rings) plays a street smart Italian bouncer with no filter quite convincingly… especially considering he’s Dutch. Mahershala Ali (AKA Cottonmouth from Luke Cage) plays Dr. Don Shirley, a highly educated and prodigious black pianist with a troubled past. The two form an “unexpected” friendship during the tour that allows them to expand their horizons and become more well-rounded people because of it.
The ultimate feel good movie of the year with a ton of highlights. It made me smile, laugh, cajole, etc.. even though it didn’t break any conventions or push any boundaries. It is a story that stands the test of time, and was done exceptionally well without being too preachy. This movie had layers: family, culture, honesty, dignity, respect, stereotypes, racism, music, and fried chicken. The musical scenes were exceptional, especially the last one where Don Shirley plays classical Chopin in a swing bar.
The Green Book will always get one of my strongest recommendations to watch.
Rating: 8.8/10
Black Panther
Marvel’s origin story for Black Panther has an unbelievable start full of great costumes, bright colors, and inventive set designs. It begins when the heir to the king, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns back home after his father’s death to claim the throne of Wakanda and assume the position of the Black Panther. This movie contains some extremely entertaining villains such as wisecracking Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis – AKA Smeagol from Lord of the Rings) and the insanely charismatic Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan – AKA Adonis Creed – not to be confused with the basketball player).
The first two thirds of this movie were very entertaining from my view. With good action scenes, well placed humor, and a very imaginative new world. Unfortunately, the finale couldn’t live up to the rest of the movie as it felt very rushed. Black Panther is meant to be a tad politically charged, but it was easier for me to enjoy with my brain turned off. Overall an entertaining action movie with an all-star cast and a great soundtrack from Kendrick Lamar is a good way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Black Panther gets a recommendation to people that enjoy superficial action flicks, you know who you are.
Rating: 7.0/10
Dunkirk (Previous Entry)
Christopher Nolan does it yet again. His style of providing the greatest practical effects, loudest sound, and most visceral experience in the industry is used to masterfully in his newest movie, Dunkirk. A story about a legendary rescue mission in WWII that plays out less like a war movie and more so a story about survival. Nolan pulls no punches when covering topics such as the brutality of combat, the desperation of survival, the nature of war, and the treachery of surviving on a human level.
Even though the viewer knows the outcome of the story it is impossible to keep your eyes off the screen. The characters are tested by one atrocity after another in a very out of the frying pan into the fire type of way. The suspense of the set pieces is unbearable at times and I found myself jumping out of my seat whether at the sound of unexpected cracks of enemy gunfire or the unstoppable approach of an enemy torpedo. All of these situations timed with an anxiety producing sound track that contains the incessant tick of a clock reminds us that the characters have only a certain amount of time before the enemy closes in and all is lost.
Nolan also takes an interesting artistic direction with Dunkirk that makes it standout from other war movies that I have seen. It is unique in the way that he portrays the protagonists (of which there are many) where he keeps dialogue to a minimum and prefers tense and strained silences. The characters are often nameless, yet this does not affect the story negatively, because there is no time to get too attached. This lack of characterization allows the audience to put themselves in the shoes of the characters on screen, while also portraying that the story following the main characters was the same for many men that were trapped on that beach.
For all the greatness contained within the movie I believe that it is doomed to be one of Nolan’s more forgettable projects. It is so mostly because the plot is not character driven. The characters have no development, they are merely reacting to each situation they find themselves in. People remember great characters, and this movie had none. Additionally, the movie experience was intended to be in IMAX surround sound where every gunshot hurt the ear. In a home movie theater where the screen is significantly smaller, the volume is normal, the movie and production value will be less impressive. Since the movie does not focus on the characters or the plot, it loses its replay value especially when not viewed in its envisioned medium.
The movie was excellently made but did not utilize the incredible acting talent of Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, and Harry Styles? Yes, this movie was his acting debut.
Rating: 7.7/10
MovieGoerz 