Garden State (2004)

It's been quite some time since I reviewed anything, let alone a movie. So what better way to get back into the swing of things then to discuss one of my personal favorites. Garden State, written, directed, and starring Zach Braff (that's pretty damn impressive in my opinion), is essentially a coming of age movie that centers around themes of identity, self discovery, love, friendship, family, the idea of home, loss, and destiny. The film has such strong feelings of humbleness and contains a heartfelt presence emanating. It feels like you're watching something that someone really put their heart into. I think that's what really makes this movie succeed. It doesn't try to be anything more than it is. It has comedic elements to and it has dramatic elements, but no matter what part of the movie you are watching you feel like you are a part of this carefully created world.

I really want a bike like that. Seriously.

The plot centers around Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) returning home for a funeral. It is his first time being home in quite some time. During his stay there He meets a woman named Sam (played by Natalie Portman, yeah I was kind of shocked she was in this movie. I'm not quite sure why.) who ends up playing a massive part in this story. Along the way Andrew discovers what has changed about his friends, his hometown, and begins to make realizations about his family, specifically his father, and living life in general. The bulk of the movie comes in the form of the interactions between Sam and Andrew. The two of them are near opposite personality-wise and they make you, the audience, identify with them. Second to that would be the interactions between Andrew and his father. The tension between the two of them is intense. Throughout the movie I actually felt a bit awkward seeing the two of them speak. It made me feel like I was in the room with them.

That is where Garden State succeeds as a film. I know I keep talking about that it made me feel like I was in their world. Well I'll elaborate on that. The movie contains a bunch of other characters all of them being Andrew's old friends. While they do serve as important to the plot and enhancing the themes I listed before, they also help make the movie into something people can relate to. As I was watching I couldn't help but notice parallels between Andrew's friends and my own. I mean come one we all have that one friend who always puts us in odd situations. But when all is said and done they also give us fantastic stories to tell for years to come. Though I will admit this could be due to the fact that I identified with Andrew quite a bit, which was probably due to Zach Braff's acting as Andrew. Zach Braff does such an excellent job acting that I find myself identifying with quite a few of his roles. I think that can be credited to his charisma. He's just such a likable guy. I can't help BUT like him. Natalie Portman, however, outshines his acting in my opinion. She was spectacular as Sam. Trust me, when you see how quirky Sam is you sort of start to think Natalie herself is just as quirky.

There are reasons why this movie is one of my all-time favorites. The heartfelt presence emanating from it combined with the plot and the themes present in it left me thinking about life. As soon as the end credits started I found myself reexamining  my life and thinking about well everything. In my opinion, if a piece of media makes you think. Then it's a good piece of media and that is something that is somewhat rare in today's world. Most things lack passion and are only done for money. Luckily Garden State is just full of passion and that is what makes the movie stand out. It also has an amazing soundtrack. I read that Zach Braff picked the music. Well he did a damn good job! I get the feeling he and I would have some similar taste. Though I doubt he would like some of the bands I listen to...hmm.

BAM!! See I got him as he's eating

I think I made it clear how awesome this movie is. If I haven't made you want to see it maybe this odd and random piece of trivia will. Do you like Jim Parsons? If you do he has a very small part in this movie. I wont spoil what it is, but trust me its random as hell when you see him. If you don't believe me I have a picture of him just to prove it.

So that's my review of Garden State. Go watch it if you haven't already.  By the way, if you're wondering why this picture is so odd. It's because I have a weird gift for pausing movies at juuust the right time when someone is making a really weird face. Maybe one day I'll share some of the ones I have...hmm maybe. Alright that's all for now. Thank you for reading this and have a great day!

Theodore (Sofia Fasos)

I'll start this off by being completely honest. I don't read much. The most recent book I've read would have to be umm hmm.....You know I can't even remember (Yeah that says a lot about me doesn't it?). Anyway when I do read I try to make a general effort to make sure it's a good book at least.Usually one that is recommended to me by people. So that brings me here with Theodore by Sofia Fasos. Now this book was not recommended to me. In fact it was required reading for a class I'm taking right now. My expectations for it were kind of low I'll admit. I was expecting it to confuse me. Leave me wondering "why the hell was this mandatory reading?". Or something along those lines. But you know what ended up happening? The book left a huge impression on me. Something I was not expecting at all. I found myself intrigued by it. I needed to keep reading to see what would happen next.

In a nutshell the book is great. Definitely one of the most intriguing books I've read in a long time. Now you may be asking yourself "Gee what exactly makes this book so good Phil?" Well, to start off it has a very diverse set of characters. Each one shrouded in their own secrets. Obviously you have a young man named Theodore and the book mostly centers around his life and whats going on with his immediate family. Specifically his mother, Medea. The two of them have such a, let's call it "unique" relationship. Reading to see how the two interact is one of the best things about the book. There are plenty of other characters in the book and it would take me far too long to list each one of them. But in my opinion, what happens with them pales in comparison to the interactions of Theodore and his mother. Of course with such a huge cast of characters it may get just a bit confusing remembering who these people are or who's married to who but by the end of the it you should be more or less familiar with them.

The novel also does a fantastic job of showcasing the Greek culture. I mean you could use it as a window to Greece. From the in depth details of the locales to the explanation of customs and culture. Sofia Fasos really wants the reader to learn about Greece. It carefully and explicitly explains the customs, words, and locales. To be honest I felt like I had just took a trip to Greece, met a disturbed family, lived with them for a brief period of time and left knowing I had a bunch of stories to tell for the years to come. That should illustrate to you how vivid the writing is. The book is very detailed. Especially in the darker parts of the story. Ahh yes. The novel is dark. Very dark. It starts off with a pretty weird and detailed scene that left me wondering if I even bought the right book (and that's all I'm saying about that...).

My favorite aspect of this book ,however, has nothing to do with the characters or anything about the setting. Simply put I love the amount of charm that is present in the book. Sofia Fasos really did a great job with the writing. As I kept reading I noticed that the book itself did not really feel like a book. After a while I felt that the book served as a blueprint to what could possibly be a really interesting movie. (Hopefully an independent movie since well Hollywood is....actually let me not get into that now. I'll rant on for hours...OK back to the review!) In fact it reminded me a lot of Garden State and The Royal Tenenbaums. I first felt that way when i noticed early on in the book that every chapter introduced a new character. This confused me a lot in the beginning. I remember thinking back and saying to myself "Who are these people?! What happened to the people at the end of the last chapter?!" As I read on of course I saw that every chapter could be a transition of scene. That by the middle of the book everyone came together. Like a web, there are many strands in this massive Greek family. So each chapter early on ended up being dedicated to introducing the reader to a different family member and how they impact other main characters.

Within this lovely novel are issues of homosexuality, social identity, and perhaps the most important theme, self. You see Theodore figure who he is and most importantly what he isn't. It's really what makes the novel so interesting. Trying to figure out and guess where Theodore will ultimately end up. There is also murder in the book so really it lends itself to anyone with even a remote interest in books. Hopefully this review made you curious about the book. I can't recommend it enough. I believe there is something here for everyone. It's not a long book either so that's even better! I do have to thank my professor for making this mandatory reading. Otherwise I would have missed out on this gem of a novel. So do yourself a favor and buy yourself a copy. You won't be disappointed. You will also have a deeper appreciation for hamsters. I'm not kidding about that.

It's been a looooong time (so here's some nostalgia)

Geez, the last time I posted anything it was....woaaah back in November. Damn, that's a loong time. Well to be honest, I sort of got overwhelmed towards the end of my semester and I just wanted my vacation to start so that I could try out different things for my reviews. As you can tell, I was unsuccessful. I sort of lost the spark I had when it came to my reviews. In other words, I had a lot on my mind. For one thing, I sort of freaked myself out with the realization that I'm 20 years old and in a few more months, I'll be 21 (I can totally buy booze, hooray). I felt like I was losing my sense of identity. I remember being a kid and playing games. Where did that go? I remember having a blast as a senior in high school and now I'm in my third year of college. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!?. Yeah this is what was going on with me all winter break. However, because of that I discovered just how important memories are and how powerful nostalgia can be. See, no matter how old I get, no matter how scattered or lost I feel, there's one thing that will always calm me down. It's one of my greatest treasures...As a kid I loved this game. It pretty much defined my years before high school. The music, the messages, the characters, they all really impacted me growing up. It was chock full of humor combined with an epic story of a kid saving the world with the help of some truly loyal friends who fought with him through thick and thin.

My greatest treasure. My initials included

OK ok alright....I'm talking about Earthbound for the Super Nintendo. That game amazes me even to this day. It's the one familiar thing I can count on in from my childhood that hasn't changed. It has been and will probably always be my favorite game. Now that doesn't mean I don't like any other games. Quite the contrary, in fact I love me multiple games. Hell if you want, I can go in depth for like 4 hours talking about Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (or "Snack Eater" if you prefer....he does eat a lot in the game after all) and how it's about life and stuff like that. When I got my wisdom teeth removed and I was drugged up on Vicodin, I played Red Dead Redemption somehow and got me the American Standardbred horse....though to be honest I really have no recollection of doing that. My friend had to tell me that I did that because I kept sending weird texts about horses that didn't make ANY sense (it's especially weird when after you run out of Vicodin you turn on the game only to have a black horse run at you and you're like where the hell did this come from?!?!). But I digress, my point here is that although Earthbound is my all time favorite game, I have love for a LOT of games. For example the Mario, Zelda, and Kirby games hold a special place for me because they got me into games. My earliest memories consist of sitting on my mom's lap while she played (or rather TRIED to play) the first Zelda game. She also showed me how to play Mario. But Kirby...that was all mine. I played that game a lot more than the others. I don't really know why. OH WAIT I KNOW!!! It was because of the ball power. I thought it was the coolest thing. ANYWAY Nintendo has made such a huge impact on my life with pretty much anything they have made and continue to make and I'm sure that this is the case for the millions of people who buy their systems and games. For me, when I pop in a Zelda game and hear that all too familiar song of figuring out a puzzle or discovering a hidden chest, I feel my old self laughing and smiling at that. When I play a new Mario game and see Mario himself running and jumping, I feel the same way, as is the same with Kirby ('cept for Epic Yarn....well almost, since the last world is what saved it for me).

The point of this post isn't so much a review as it is a lesson. Don't let life sneak up on you. Don't let time speed on by. Don't walk away from all the things from childhood. Nostalgia is a hell of a thing. It keeps the kid inside of you alive and it helps put things in perspective. It allows one to smile in a truly imperfect and cruel world. I'm sure there's something from your childhood that you miss. Go find it. Take a trip down memory lane. It helps....especially if you're feeling lost and freaked out by the fact that you're suddenly so old.

Seriously I ask "What's my age again?" because surely, I'm not a normal 20 year old....I sound like an old man lol. Welp, I guess it's part of my charm. If you read this whole thing you have my thanks. Now go experience some nostalgia and have a great day/night/afternoon/etc etc and come on by for my next review...which will be.......I don't have a damn clue lol.

Remember when games looked like this?

Ahh Nintendo.....

My Thoughts on Megan Is Missing

A dear old friend of mine called me up about an hour ago to ask me to watch a movie called Megan Is Missing. I had never heard of the movie but going off the title I guessed that it had something to do with a kidnapping. Naturally my hunch was right. However, I had no idea the amount of depth the actual movie would have. I'll be honest I only saw the last 22 minutes of the film. The reason being because after doing some research on the movie, (and by research I mean typing Megan Is Missing into google and seeing what came up and then clicking around for information like any pro detective would do, right?) I discovered that a lot of people were in shock of how the last 22 minutes shaped the film. So naturally I wanted to do the same. I just watched the last 22 minutes and let me say that was one hell of a 22 minutes. The extreme low key lighting combined with oblique camera angles and a lack of proper viewpoint really gave the movie a haunting atmosphere. This movie wants you to WANT to see what's going on but guess what....it doesn't allow you to and it'll drive you crazy not seeing, but only hearing what's happening.

I'm not sure if it would be considered taboo to review a movie based on seeing 22 minutes of it, so I won't call this a formal review. However you should know that Megan Is Missing was made for a specific reason: to bring about more attention to a problem that we as a society seem to not really care about, or at least do not know how to combat. It tackles the issue of the over-sexualization of young girls on the internet and specifically how often they are the targets of predators appearing to come off as "the right guy" who pretend to care and listen when all they want is to use these women in the worst possible ways. It may not be the greatest movie ever. Hell just based off the little I saw of it, I could tell you that the production value was very low. It's also not a movie for everyone that's for damn sure. However if you do watch it, whether or not you enjoyed it, you have to at least agree that it did give you something to think about. Any media that does that is, by my definition, great media.

I'd like to thank my old friend Liann for asking me to watch it. I'd also like to say that thanks to those 22 minutes I will eventually watch the whole movie. Probably not for a looooooooong time. The college life is a pretty busy one and I don't always feel like watching something. But rest assured I will watch this movie in it's entirety. Well thanks for reading my thoughts on Megan Is Missing and I wish you a great day!

Big Fish (2003)

Veteran's Day just passed and as I do on every Veteran's Day, I think a lot about my father and how he fought in Vietnam. Of course that leads me to think of how different he and I are and that leads me to think about Big Fish. Then that leads me to think about Yellowcard (for a good reason!). They have a song on their Lights And Sounds album called "How I Go" and it's inspired by this movie! Anyway Big Fish, (for anyone unfamiliar with this film) was directed by Tim Burton (which kind of shocked me). It's a movie essentially about the relationship between a father and a son. The story focuses on Edward Bloom (played by Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor), a man who takes pleasure in telling stories about things that have happened to him. A lot of these stories tend to be really abstract in nature and completely devoid of any logic or realism which is in fact the beauty of his stories. Although the stories are a major part of the film, the actual plot revolves around Edward's son William (Billy Crudup) and his coming to terms with the relationship he has with his father. Specifically, he wishes to fully understand his father and his desire to tell such exaggerated tales about his life. As the audience, you experience William's frustration with his father, while at the same time, seeing just how imaginative and beautiful the stories Edward tells. In Big Fish, a father and a son who don't really understand each other finally become close. 

The stories themselves are what make this movie stand out to me. For a Tim Burton movie, this movie is actually anything but dark. Its colorful, imaginative, beautiful and surreal. I have two favorite umm, let's call 'em "story moments" in this movie. One of them is where Edward recalls the day he proposed to his wife. He filled a field with her favorite flowers. I'm not sure why but the way that field looked with all those daffodils, it just...I dunno, it made something warm up inside of me. The other "story moment" I loved was when Edward was driving a car and suddenly was underwater. The water looked so beautiful and serene. I really felt like I was with Edward as he went through that experience.


It's kind of funny to me when I think about how long it took me to actually watch this movie. I've had it for many years now. Hell, I'd go so far as to say I've had it since 2003 and didn't actually watch it until 2011. I'm not quite sure why I kept putting it off. But I'm glad I did. This movie will warm your soul and make you want to actually get close to your father. I related to it right away because like William, I sometimes feel like I don't know my father at all. Thanks to this movie, I find myself making more of an effort to know him better. The funny thing is that although my father and I are nearly total opposites in some ways, I've learned that he and I are much more similar than I had previously thought. If seeing this movie once made me want to do this, then I think it's safe to say that it's an amazing film.

OH I nearly forgot to talk about the actors. Ewan McGregor is in this as the younger Edward Bloom. I found his performance to be quite entertaining. He knows how to get into his character and really play him well. Now that isn't to say that no one else did a good job because believe me, all the acting was superb. But Ewan's just stands out to me. He has such an energy in this movie. I'll end this review by summing it all up. Big Fish is an imaginative, unique, kindhearted, and beautiful movie. There really is nothing else like it around, even 8 years later. Plus as an added bonus it's probably the only movie I can think of with Danny DeVito's butt (Oh did I not mention he's in this movie too?? Well now you know!). So I would think that should give you an incentive to watch it if you haven't already. Well that's all I can think of for Big Fish. I hope my review was entertaining or helpful and I wish you a great day!

Neighborhoods

I don't think there are words that properly describe just how excited I was to hear that after all this time with Blink not making music, that finally they were making a new album. Now with all that excitement there was also some fear. Would Blink lose their unique identity? Would this new album sound more like Angels and Airwaves? Did they still have it in them to create another amazing album? Had too much time passed? I'm happy to say that all my fears have been alleviated. Since the album came out and I received my copy, I've been listening to it nearly nonstop. Simply put, I love this album. I had a lot of expectations for it and somehow Blink-182 just blew me away. Essentially they took their sound established in 2003 and used that as a springboard to evolve it into something even more unique. There are elements of everything Tom, Mark, and Travis have done over the years of being apart which blends together beautifully. I don't think there was any other way to make this album better.

Properly describing this sound is difficult for me. As I stated earlier it's a fresh new sound stemming from the work they made in 2003. What is amazing however is that this album shows just how radically different Mark, Tom, and Travis are nowadays. This album is more than a blend of ideas. It's also a compromise so to speak. Take "Ghost On The Dance Floor" as an example. The beginning sounds like something that belongs on an Angels And Airwaves album. Yet as soon as you hear Travis' drumming come in you know it's Blink. The combination of Tom, Mark and Travis' differences is what really makes this album come alive. I know I'm not making much sense but trust me if you listen to this album knowing what happened before it, you'll understand.

I believe it was Mark Hoppus who said in an interview that he thinks this is the best Blink-182 record. After much thought I agree with him entirely. I believe this because if it's one thing this album has in vast amounts, its creativity. The level of it is so damn high. I LOVE it. it doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard before and yet it sounds just like the Blink-182 I know and love. This is the band that I grew up with and learned from. The band that impacted my life and made me wanna teach myself to horribly play bass (which i should get back to doing hmm). The band that always had a song that I could relate to no matter how I was feeling. I'm glad Blink-182 is back. I hope they continue to make great music for years to come.

Self Titled and Greatest hits

Ahh Blink-182's self titled album. Memories are just flowing back to me. I remember listening to this album in it's entirety one summer while I was home playing some games. I have a lot of memories tied to this album. First, it was the second Blink-182 album I ever listened and the first i bought (I wouldn't own Take Off your Pants And Jacket for another 2 years.....damn what the hell was I thinking waiting like that?!). I remember how my friends and I discussed how great this album was. For me it was everything I remembered about Blink amplified to a whole new level.

I know i said in my earlier reviews that Blink had a punk sound. I described it as such to give a newcomer a way to gauge what to expect from early Blink-182. With this album however, they established a new level of sound. I know that's redundant but try listening to Take Off Your Pants And Jacket and then listen to this album and you'll know exactly what I mean. I feel like this album was Blink beginning to grow up. It sounds radically different from their earlier works and yet retains that Blink quality. There are all sorts of new elements to it. Darker lyrics, more romantic lyrics, sounds of outer space which combine together for a truly unique blend that no one else can mimic (not to mention their new kick-ass smiley face logo that I cannot get enough of!!).

The most difficult thing i find when trying to discuss music is describing the sound. I mean how many different ways can you explain how a song sounds? For me it's damn near impossible. I tend to over-think things and this is no exception. I feel that the moment you label a band as something that you're indirectly limiting the amount of creativity and diversity from their records. For that reason I don't like to label music by genre or by anything really. Either I like it, love it, or hate it like the plague. As I said earlier, the only reason I even used the words "punk" or "pop punk" in my earlier reviews was to give newcomers an idea of what to expect. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble here......Blink-182's self titled album is by far one of their best simply because of the new level of sound and maturity they've established. I feel that everyone should listen to and give it a try if you haven't already.

OH I almost forgot to discuss their Greatest Hits album. There really isn't much that can be said about it. All it is is their popular songs put on a single album with a couple of bonus tracks. The bonus tracks are why you would want to get this album. "Not Now" is in my opinion one of Blink's truly unique songs in that you can kind of form a story while listening to it. You know whenever I think of their Greatest hits album it kind of makes me sad because it reminds me of how i felt when I found out that Blink-182 broke up...I think that just makes the album as a whole bittersweet to an extent. Anyway that is all i have to say on that.