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    Sunny

    Sunny

    Jason Reynolds

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    Book

    Sunny tries to shine despite his troubled past in this third novel in the critically acclaimed Track...

Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (2004)
Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (2004)
2004 | Comedy
Just Too Much Damn Fun
“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” In Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story a gym on the verge of bankrupt decides to enter a dodgeball competition to gain the money.

Acting: 10

Beginning: 10
The first few minutes introduces us to the main antagonist Dwight and his cronies over at Globo Gym. It’s hilarious how absolutely ridiculous they are. The set up for the rest of the movie is quick and entertaining.

Characters: 10

Cinematography/Visuals: 7
No, the movie isn’t winning any awards for amazing cinematic work, but it does have its moments. I particularly love how they depicted the local competitions, including one between Average Joe’s gym and a girl scout troupe. The national tournament feels like a real sporting event albeit extremely comical. I also appreciate the different personalities of each team which kept things fresh. You have a team of sumo wrestlers, a hip-hop team, lumberjacks, you name it. I appreciate director Rawson Marshall Thurber’s efforts to keep things interesting and light-hearted.

Conflict: 10
I don’t know how they did it, but they managed to keep the stakes interestingly high with this dodgeball tournament. Average Joe’s is at risk of losing everything and there are a number of times where you think they just might. It’s not a straightforward narrative as there are a number of bumps and bruises along the way that keep things entertaining and give you something to root for.

Entertainment Value: 8
You can’t help but not have fun watching this movie. We all remember what is was like to peg people with one of those magenta balls or catch a ball to save one of your friends and bring them back in the game. The feeling of nostalgia you get from watching this movie is unmistakable.

Memorability: 10

Pace: 10

Plot: 3

Resolution: 5

Overall: 83
There are a plenty of movies that come along where you say, “There is no way in hell this is going to be good.” Most times, you’re right, but in the case of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story it ends up being surprisingly good. With a number of memorable lines and getting to watch people repeatedly get pegged in the face, this movie has a delightful replay value.
  
Strange Little Birds by Garbage
Strange Little Birds by Garbage
2016 | Alternative
5.7 (3 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"With some of the other songs here I said ‘I wish I’d written that song’, but I did write this one. I figured I had to at least put in one song I wrote, so if nothing else it’s a guilty pleasure. “‘Even Though Our Love Is Doomed’ had a long birth on Strange Little Birds and it’s an important song to me. I came up with the title when I was driving. I called Shirley and said ‘I have this title’ and she loved it. I said I’d work on it but all I had was the idea for the chorus and for the longest time it just sat around. I made all these different demos of it, an alternative-rock one, a clubby techno one, another sounded kind of hip-hop and a folk version and I hated all of them. Shirley asked what happened to it and I told her I hadn’t found anything that fitted what I’d heard in my head, so she said I should just bring in a simple demo to hear. I got home that night and panicked, because all I had was the chorus, I figured I had to put an arrangement together, even if it was just a temporary holding pattern. I picked up a bass and played the riff at the start and for some reason I wrote all the lyrics, they just came out in five minutes. The lyrics work on a bunch of levels. It refers to our band, the things that we have to work through, trying to survive and understand what’s going on, and it works for me in terms of my personal relationships with people where there’s been difficult times. That’s really what the song is about, trying to realise that it’s worth fighting through difficult times if something’s worth holding on to. It’s a really personal song to me. I liked the sonic template of it and that was a big inspiration for Strange Little Birds. We wanted to make more of a cinematic, atmospheric sounding record and less of a rock record. I liked the way the sound of the music and Shirley’s voice worked together. The song is important to me in that sense and the lyrics mean a lot to me, they’re about people I know, our band and myself."

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Emeli Sande recommended track Big Brother by Stevie Wonder in Talking Book by Stevie Wonder in Music (curated)

 
Talking Book by Stevie Wonder
Talking Book by Stevie Wonder
1972 | Jazz, Rock
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

Big Brother by Stevie Wonder

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"Stevie Wonder has been one of my biggest influences as a songwriter. His ability to tell a story and still move you, and still entertain you, and still make you want to dance, I just think is complete genius – and then watching his concerts and watching him switch between different instruments! ""At the same time, what I have the most admiration for is that he managed to put a socio-political message into his music. 'Big Brother' is a beautiful song to listen to, but he’s also saying very important things and speaking to his people. I just think, what an amazing man, and what an amazing song. He’s speaking about government and politicians, and these bureaucratic arguments that are happening – the reality of life and what impact these decisions people are making in an office are having on real people; how many people are dying, and the conditions people are living in. I think he’s really shining a light on the reality of the ordinary person, and particularly on the black community – how flippantly some decisions may be made, and the gravity of what that means for the ordinary person. ""With Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone, the commitment to being the spokesperson for the community is so admirable. The point of music, in many senses for me, is that you speak for people who may not necessarily have a voice. If you have this platform, you have this amazing ability to express yourself through music – which has so many colours to express in. ""I love how eloquently he made his points, with this simple, memorable melody. I love hip-hop so much, and there’s different ways to have a message and to express different emotions, but to do it in such a melodic way that you could sing along to? I just thought that was so clever: to express frustration and anger, but to find beauty in it at the same time. ""His reference to Big Brother also speaks of now so much more than then, in the sense of technology. He prophesied it. And he says “I live in the ghetto / You just come to visit me 'round election time” – that manipulation speaks of the times we’re in now. It inspires me – there could always be more reflection on the very unique times we’re in"

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    Walking for Weight Loss PRO

    Walking for Weight Loss PRO

    Health & Fitness and Lifestyle

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    Now your walking will make you lose weight. Reach top results in less time by combining walking and...