MOVIE REVIEW: The Fault In Our Stars

Given that I went to see this movie this past Saturday, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to switch things up for a change.

Alright, for those that don't remember, I reviewed Boom Clap by Charli XCX a while back, and was really impressed with it. Even before I heard that song, though, I was really interested in that movie, and wanted to see how things would play out. So, since I finally received the chance to do so, I immediately opted to do so. What'd I get?

Holy crap, this movie is awesome. Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie yet, you're missing out big time.

Everything about this incredible peace of cinema works. The pacing is phenomenal. Each step of the way feels like you're seeing things through Hazel's eyes. It doesn't rush right in to anything, which is perfect because you really cannot do that with a movie like this. Everything has a slow build up, and the pay off is always satisfying and/or shocking/unexpected. Never once does it ever come off as too weak or too strong.

Each character is given incredible amounts of personality. You really feel like you know who each character is inside and out even though you've only seen them for just over two hours. They all develop wonderfully and move at just the right pace. All of them are really relatable and all work perfectly.

Not to mention the production and cinematography in this movie is superb. Every shot really fits the mood of what's going on at each particular moment from the beautiful, sunny days to the romantic moments between Augustus and Hazel to the scenes where each of them are sent to the hospital. The emotion is truly unprecedented.

Along with the cinematography, we also have the soundtrack, which again, fits each scene's mood perfectly. It's light and fluffy when things are all good yet dark and emotional when tragedy strikes. What else can I say here? It really works.

Next, we have the dialogue between each character, and again, it all fits together perfectly. Every word spoken strikes you with intense passion and emotion and comes across really naturally. They all sound really in character and very rarely ever stray from that. It starts off great and progressively gets even better as the plot continues on.

And the ending? Oh, you'll have to check that out for yourself. I'd say something about it, but that would just ruin the surprise, now, wouldn't it?

If I were to have one complaint, I guess it would be that some of the characters can be unreasonably dickish sometimes. For example, in one scene, Hazel's father tells her about maybe having to put her in an orphanage, and I'm not sure if he's being serious or not, but he comes off as a little forced and out of character. Another example is when they go to visit Van Hauten, and he's nothing more than a vindictive, drunken prick. He's really unlikable, which you wouldn't have guessed from what built up to it. Still, these moments are easily forgettable, and they quickly revert back to normal.

Overall, The Fault In Our Stars is an amazing movie, and it really makes no difference who has or hasn't read the book because it satisfies all no matter what. It's definitely a very strong 5 out of 5 from me.

REVIEW: Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

                                            www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM


Ok, I gotta confess something: Taylor Swift is one of my guilty pleasure artists. What that means is I enjoy her singles as a guilty pleasure. This includes the singles that others don't consider to be very good such as We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, 22, and I Knew You Were Trouble. She's always been someone who I liked way more than I should, and I can attribute to how much charisma, energy, and emotion is brought in to each of her songs, both from her and the production and instrumentation. I'm not even a little mad at her sellout switch from country to pop. In fact, unpopular opinion here, I think it's the best decision she could make. The instrumentation backing her might've had a country sound to it, but she always felt more like a pop singer if you ask me, and I feel like the more poppy, dubsteppy production she's been fond of lately is really doing her a lot of favors.

Now, with all that said, what do I think of her new song, Shake It Off? Well, I do like it, but not quite as much as I'd like to. It isn't that bad, though, and here's why.

First off, the production and Taylor herself are full of energy, and the song is extremely catchy. Taylor seems to be really enjoying herself on this song, and really does a good job at getting the listener pumped up.

However, there is one major thing holding this song back, and that is that Taylor is trying way too hard here. Seriously, Taylor is doing her best to make a "forget the haters" anthem, and not that she's doing a bad job or anything, but I just can't see her as that type of person to be as in your face like that, so it becomes pretty jarring.

Still, this song is definitely worth a listen. I'm giving it a 3 out of 5 for now, but I can definitely see it growing on me and think this song has a lot of potential.

EDIT: Man has this song really grown on me. Looks like I was right. Now I don't even care how hard she's trying. It's just a really fun song with a lot of goofy moments in it, and for a song about haters is actually pretty mature. It's now definitely a 4.5 out of 5.

REVIEW: Black Widow by Iggy Azalea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3u22OYqFGo



That's right, folks. Iggy Azalea has another top 20 single this year, and just like with Fancy, it's awesome. Alongside that, she brought along amazing vocalist Rita Ora to add to how good the song is. Really, this review's gonna be covered majorly with praise, so just sit back and enjoy the positivity.

To start off, this song has a really dark feel that works incredibly well with the lyrics displaying Iggy's incredible ability to show vulnerability. Speaking of the lyrics, they're able to show how mad at the guy in question she is and how heartbroken she is that the relationship didn't work out without outright demonizing him, and any song that's able to do that automatically has my respect.

Rita Ora's chorus adds to the dark feel of the song and really gives her the ability to show off her vocal abilities. It's her work on songs like this and I Will Never Let You Down that really fit her style, and she should definitely do more songs like that and less like generic crap like How We Do (Party).

As for the production, it's minimalist, but also ominous and interesting enough to keep the song from being boring, which really lends the song a lot to work with.

If I had to have a complaint about the song, it is that Iggy's flow is a bit choppy and disjointed, and that can get in the way a some points in the song. Still, it's not a major hindrance, and doesn't keep the song from being as great as it is. I give it a 4 out of 5, and am comforted in the knowledge that it's songs like this that continue to prove how awesome Iggy Azalea is.

(Also, sorry for how incredibly late this review is. I completely forgot about it last Thursday and just recently started my senior year of high school. Don't worry. There will be a new review this Thursday.)

REVIEW: This Is How We Roll by Florida Georgia Line & Luke Bryan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbxuXq_981s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KctTCSLLXKQ



Bro country, die. Just...die. You are useless, and we no longer need you.

So yeah, Florida Georgia Line, what is there really to say about them? They started off pretty decent with songs like Get Your Shine On, 'Round Here, and heck, I even like the original version of Cruise. However, over time, they just became more and more generic and lost the qualities that made them decent.

This brings us to This Is How We Roll, the song on the table today. Did I mention that bro country needs to die? Well, it does, and songs like this are a prime example. Songs like this are nothing more than homogenous and generic crap talking about the stereotypical country music topics of women, trucks, beer, etc., and pandering to the masses that only care if those topics are mentioned. It's not that good of a song. The instrumentation is clunky, the lead singer sounds like he's forcing a southern accent, Luke Bryan (an artist who I think is pretty good) barely gets any time to sing, and it all fails.

Of course, I'm sure FGL, Luke Bryan, and anyone involved with the making of this song knew that, so what do they do? They make a remix of it. Gee, didn't see that coming. This time they recruit Jason DeRulo (dammit, DeRulo, why do you keep doing this to me?). Normally, I wouldn't have a problem with this, but there's just one problem: THE SONG ALREADY HAS A GUEST ARTIST!!!!! Seriously, as much as I like Luke Bryan, wasn't he enough? Once again, just like with what happened with the remix of Cruise, unnecessary autotune, overly used synths, and EDM beats are added to make it a more poppy song. The difference between this and Cruise (Remix), however, is the core song here wasn't that good to begin with. And do I even have to mention how irrelevant DeRulo's verse is? I thought Nelly's verse on the remix of Cruise added nothing, but at least he stuck to the topic of the song. In this case, however, FGL talk about them picking up chicks because of how country they are whereas DeRulo talks about picking up chicks because of how "gangsta" he is. News flash, DeRulo: YOU'RE NOT GANGSTA!!! Even worse, he takes, like, half of Luke Bryan's verse. Bryan wasn't given that much time to sing in the original, and Jason DeRulo really had no business taking any of it. Besides, no matter how much you like or hate Luke Bryan, you have to admit that he is a much better fit for the little interlude he does than DeRulo will ever be.

Overall, I give the original a 2 out of 5 for at least being somewhat catchy, and the remix a big, fat 0 out of 5.