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Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
2009 | Drama, Fantasy
9
6.8 (31 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A film adaptation of Maurice Sandak’s beloved childhood tale of the same name, “Where the Wild Things Are” brings to life the worlds of Max a very imaginative child coming to grips with the emotional changes in his life. From his mom’s new boyfriend to his sister’s move into the teen years, Max is feeling very alone and runs away to a place where his needs are the first priority. In his world, Max is crowned king and he begins to deal with the issues of his real life through interaction and play with a variety of wildly imaginative monsters.

Taking a short children’s book and turning it into a compelling full-length film was the job of screenplay writers, David Eggers and Spike Jonzes, who also directed the picture. Among the film’s producers was Sandak and it shows. The film is seamlessly consistent with the original book while providing new and exciting content.

The roles are strongly cast from the lead of Max played by the up and coming Max Records, to that of the monster Carol voiced by James Gandolfini. The visual fantasy presented combines real and digital elements smoothly enough to accurately depict Max’s imagination while remaining realistic to the point of believability. Additionally, the fun yet abstract soundtrack manages to highlight the ups and downs of childhood exploration.

Seeming more like a masterpiece from Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki than an American created live action children’s film, the detailed crafting and imaginatively honest perspective created by “Where the Wild Things Are” takes viewers back into their youth. A delight that is enjoyable, heartfelt and true to the spirit of the book, “Where the Wild Things Are”, is a must see film for any child inside or out.
  
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
2009 | Drama, Fantasy
6
6.8 (31 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Let’s face it, as children we have all been there, we went a bit wild at some point in our life! We made up our own games and talked to people that we knew were not there, but for us it felt like another world.

It was a world that we could escape to, forget our fears and problems. For Max (Max Records) it is the same, a child with a vivid imagination he is sent to bed without any tea and so he runs away. Climbing into a boat he sails off and lands on an island full of large, if somewhat scarily looking cuddly creatures that make Max their king.

The film itself is based on the book by Maurice Sendak which if anyone had any sort of a childhood it will have been on their book case. The adaptation from book to film is brilliant, although there are a few things missing out.

There will be no forest growing in Max’s room, or the appearance of an aggravated sea monster which rears up beneath Max’s little yacht as he approaches the island. If you look closely enough at the film, and the world and creatures that Max has created you will realise that each creature is a character trait of Max himself.

His main friend on the island is Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) who is Max’s creativeness. As Carol is closest to Max, he also plays the monster who presents the greatest physical challenges, and the anger that threatens to consume him.

KW, is Max’s love for his family in particular his mother and sister, the two people who give him the most structure in his life and who help to become the support that his absent father can’t give him.

The other personalities are Judith (Catherine O’Hara) who is his spitefulness, Ira (Forest Whitaker) his calm side, Alexander (Paul Dano) his insecurity, Douglas (Chris Cooper) his reason, and the mysterious unnamed bull his sadness.

The setting of the island is nothing short of picturesque, with a changing in Max’s mood twinned with the surrounding atmosphere. One minute it’s snowing and then blossom is falling. The overall feel of the film is juvenile, there is the odd way in which the creatures all like to sleep in a pile, to the big dirt clog fight that inevitably ends up with someone getting hurt.

Where The Wild Things Are is a film for anyone who has ever felt like re-living past childhood memories, the ones that our closest to our wild hearts.
  
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
2009 | Drama, Fantasy
9
6.8 (31 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Max is a boy who possesses something that fades away for most as they grow older and that's a young child's incredible imagination. His only dilemma is that he doesn't really have any friends of his own. He builds an igloo out of snow and tries to share it with his older sister, Claire, who seems more interested in hanging out with her friends. Max's mom embraces Max's imagination and even asks him to tell her stories, but everything falls apart when Max tries to save his mom a seat in the fort he just built that would save them from hot lava while she's on a date. Things quickly spiral out of control and Max winds up running away. He finds a boat by the water and takes it out into the sea. As he explores the open water, he becomes astray while he succumbs to the relentless weather and crashing waves of the ocean. That is until he stumbles upon an island where an incandescent glow of a small fire catches his eye. He finds that the island is inhabited by large, hairy, horned creatures. He's discovered where the wild things are and he will be their king.

This film is nothing short of amazing. As the film progressed, I found myself looking back on the memories of having the book read to me as a child. The film manages to capture the magic contained in the book and elaborate on it. The movie really made you feel like you were looking at the world through Max's eyes. It was almost like watching a world within a world. I found myself overcome with emotion by the time those credits showed up on the big screen. That's a special experience in itself.

Just about every aspect of the film is enjoyable. They really did a fantastic job stretching a ten sentence story into an hour and a half film. The writing is fairly superb as the pacing really flows once the ball gets rolling and the dialogue seems like it's straight out of the mind of a young boy. Max Records couldn't fit the Max role more perfectly. His range of emotion and the way he's able to have that look of innocence in his eyes is spectacular. Every action that Max made just felt so heartfelt.

The wild things are what really steal the show. The way they were pulled off just makes them look so realistic. Jim Henson's Creature Shop did a really phenomenal job on them. Despite the wild things being unhappy the majority of the film, it's really just a joy to watch them walk, move, talk, or smile.

As extravagant and imaginative as the film is, it did seem to have one flaw. The beginning of the film seemed to drag a bit. Everything leading up to Max finding the wild things just seemed to last a little too long. I realize they did all that they could with the source material and their efforts are extraordinary given how short that material is, but from a film critic's standpoint the beginning of the film dragged slightly.

Where the Wild Things Are is one of the most heartwarming and whimsical experiences at the theater I've ever had the pleasure of sitting through. If you read the book when you were younger, then this film will really hit home. You won't want it to end. You'll want King Max and the wild things to continue sleeping in a pile, having wild rumpuses, engaging in wars, building those glorious forts, and having Max stay there forever. I highly recommend seeing this wonderful film.
  
Afrodisiac by Fela Ransome-Kuti & The Africa '70
Afrodisiac by Fela Ransome-Kuti & The Africa '70
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I found a very interesting thing out about Tony Allen. I was thinking, ""How did he get to that music?"" In my opinion, Afrobeat really grew out of his drumming more than anything else. I mean, Fela was of course totally important to it and realised what you could build around that, but I think there was nothing else you could find that sounds like Tony at that time. So I was asking a friend of mine about this, Joe Boyd, the record producer, and he said that the story with Tony was that he was the only subscriber to Downbeat magazine in West Africa when he was about 18 or 19. In one edition there was a supplement by Max Roach, the jazz drummer, about hi-hat technique and Tony got completely fascinated by this article about how you balance the hi-hat with the rest of the kit. So Tony came from the history of Nigerian drumming and then he saw this article by Max Roach and that was the sort of thing that galvanised him really. Afrodisiac has four songs and they're all absolutely brilliant. There's no disappointment on the album at all. On later records there's quite a lot of fat, the pieces go on and on and sometimes they're a bit aimless, but Afrodisiac I suppose was being made as an attempt to push Fela over here, so instead of a piece taking a whole side it takes only half a side. I used to go to this record shop just off Tottenham Court Road called Sterns and that was a place where you could buy records from other countries, so a lot of Africans went there because you could buy West African records there. I used to sniff around there as I was just fascinated by all the covers. All these people with amazing headdresses on and you think, ""Christ, I really want to hear that record, I wonder what that sounds like."" So I saw that cover and bought it entirely on that. I thought, that sounds good, it's got the cheesiest title you could have. I took it home and just thought, fuck, the vigour of it and the Nigerian strength [laughs], the rudeness of it. The horns, when I heard them, I had this picture of these huge trucks on the Trans-African Highway and they have these enormous compressed air horns and that is what the horns on the record sounded like to me. They were so un-glamourised. They didn't have that kind of 'jazzy' soft, smoochy sound, they were just ""fucking get out of my fucking way!"" When I first met Talking Heads, the first meeting I ever had with them, they had been playing in London and they came over to my flat to talk about me working on their next album. So I said, ""This is the future of music"", and I played them Afrodisiac, and to their credit they were incredibly impressed by it. If you listen to the third album we did together (Remain In Light) it's so influenced by that. It's sort of shameful in a way."

Source
  
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012)
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012)
2012 | Drama
Oskar Schell (Horn) and his father Thomas (Hanks) share a special bond, the pair seem inseparable. They spend most nights together reading books and solving puzzles with Thomas regaling stories of a mysterious sixth borough once part of New York.

When the 9/11 attacks tear the city apart it also rips apart the the Schell family as they come to terms with the loss of Thomas. Sandra Bullock supports as a grieving wife and a mother that has seemingly lost all control over her son. Oskar is himself a unique individual blessed with high intelligence he struggles to fill the void left by his father, but when he gains the courage to venture into his parents bedroom and his father’s closet he finds a key which leads him on a journey of self discovery and ultimate closure.

I have a bit of a gripe when it comes to child actors, their talents are almost so good it is beyond their own age and their performances can be over elaborated. Horn delivers a performance with gusto and it’s a credit to him. If occasionally annoying at times. Oskar’s journey takes him all over New York city, through its boroughs and interacting with its inhabitants all of whom have been affected by the terrible tragedy in someway.

Oskar links the key to the name Black, believing this to be a person he creates himself a map and intricate catalogue of every individual in New York by this name.He sets himself the goal of speaking to every last person, no matter how long it is going to take and records everything in a journal with photographs to accompany his experiences with them. Bullock gives an assured performance as a grief stricken and desperate mother

Max von Sydow joins him on his quest as a mysterious old man who doesn’t speak and only communicates through a notepad and pen. He himself has his own set of personal problems and its obvious from the outset just who he is. Von Sydow gives a typically brilliant performance even without the use of dialogue. The film is drawn out, too long for its own good. We’re desperate to understand just where this key fits and when the pieces of the jigsaw are finally complete we feel about the same disappointment as Oskar does.

That’s not to say the film is without its merits, and director Stephen Daldry and writer Eric Roth deal with the implications of Oskar and his problems extremely well, using flashbacks you can really begin to unravel the complexities of the 11-year olds inner psyche. I enjoyed the film but wouldn’t say I was completely comfortable with it for some parts, the ending, while closing the narrative, left me feeling somewhat annoyed and that’s a feeling that sticks with me long after the credits go up.
  
The Life of Pablo by Kanye West
The Life of Pablo by Kanye West
2016 | Hip-hop
8
6.3 (4 Ratings)
Album Rating
Kanye West is an iconic rapper from Chicago, Illinois. Not too long ago, he released his seventh studio album, entitled, “The Life of Pablo“.

ULTRA LIGHT BEAMS
The opening track functions as a Sunday-morning church revival, where Kanye is the ordained minister. He’s standing in the pulpit, preaching a time-sensitive sermon to his loyal congregation.

His message: God over Satan, keep the faith, pray for Paris, pray for parents, and we’re living God’s dream.

West sets the tone and declares where he stands on religious and socially-driven issues.

A Gospel choir emerges. The Dream and Kelly Price reinforce West’s message by singing verses of encouragement, leading to a heartfelt testimonial by Chance The Rapper.

While the collection plates are being filled with hopes of a better tomorrow, Kirk Franklin concludes the service by praying for everyone. He uplifts those who feel they are not good enough or have said, “I’m sorry,” too many times.

Father Stretch My Hands (Pt. 1)
A spiritual figure, Pastor T.L. Barrett, ushers in the second track with praises to The Most High. Future appears for a brief moment and Kid Cudi delivers a stunning chorus.

A liberated West returns to the pulpit and gives a brief, but somewhat explicit testimony of his past and present relationships to Amber Rose and Kim Kardashian.

Father Stretch My Hands (Pt. 2)
West continues his testimony and raps about his personal experiences. He speaks on the importance of returning his wife’s phone calls and not wanting to make the same mistakes his father made. Also, he mentions the passing of the mother in Hollywood, being broke, and the reason why he broke his jaw.

West’s words hit home, making room for another liberated soul to tell his story of triumph.

Desiigner, a newly-signed artist of G.O.O.D. Music, emerges from the underbelly of the ghetto. He raps about getting money illegally, drugs, and violence-familiarized by urban-street hustlers.

Though his grim subject matter contradicts the song’s hopeful message of liberation, it somehow adds mysticism or substance to Kanye’s brutally-honest testimony.

Desiigner, blessed with a futuristic flow, highlights a few things that West’s congregation needs to examine in order to be totally liberated.

FAMOUS
Whenever an important event occurs in an urban community, an after party is sure to follow. And a host of celebrities are always on standby to attend it. The Life of Pablo is no exception.

The fourth song features Rihanna and legendary-producer Swizz Beatz. Also, it contains timeless vocals from Sister Nancy and Nina Simone.

West, no longer in church clothes, stands out lyrically with witty, braggadocios lyrics.

Whether that statement is factual or not, it’s doesn’t really matter because West believes it is.

FEEDBACK
The fifth song serves as a transformational period, where West shows signs of the old Kanye.

West doesn’t need a psychiatrist to diagnose his problems. He does that himself by wearing them on his sleeves.

LOW LIGHTS
On the sixth track, West wrote via Twitter, “I put Low Lights on my album just thinking about all the moms driving their kids to school, then going to work.”

Listeners can now relate to the everyday struggle that mothers endure.

The song features an acapella sample from “So Alive” by Kings of Tomorrow.

The woman gives a grateful-testimony of God’s graciousness over a laid-back, simple piano groove. Her honesty is felt. Also, she sounds liberated because her Creator has accepted her for who she is.

HIGH LIGHTS
From lows to high, the seventh track is in direct correlation to “Low Lights”.

West and Young Thug put on their festive robes because it’s time to celebrate life. El Debarge and The Dream chime in, and West addresses a lingering issue.

But this is only the beginning. West finishes strong with more thought-provoking lyrics.

FREESTYLE 4
The eighth track features Desiigner. Again, when he and West are together, all hell breaks loose.

The once festive scene transforms into a grimy underworld filled with a prostitute that West is explicitly lusting after. The temptation makes it difficult for him to stand on his opening statement of Jesus over Satan. But the power of darkness is more powerful than West thinks. So, he subconsciously indulges in sexual misconduct.

I LOVE KANYE
On the ninth track, West realizes that he’s at war with himself. The old Kanye, known for chopping up soul records is fighting against the new Kanye that everyone hates. But Kanye wants to go back to being sweet again if that’s even possible. His multiple egos are fighting for control over the ‘real’ Kanye.

WAVE
West doesn’t stare in the mirror for too long. On the tenth track, redemption happens. Chris Brown, disguised as an angel, comes to West’s aid by providing much-needed light.

Miraculously, the sun emerges from the shade, a bird flies out its cage, and a nostalgic feeling is felt.

West realizes that nothing is impossible because waves don’t die and feelings don’t really go away.

FML (FOR MY LADY)
On the eleventh track, West realizes what’s really important to him and that’s his wife. Someone he won’t jeopardize for no other woman. Also, his children are all layers of his soul.

The Weeknd appears in the form of West’s conscience.

West remains focused and listeners can feel the positive aura of God surrounding him. He is determined to remain faithful to only Kim, no other woman.

REAL FRIENDS
West continues his introspective outlook and raps about trust issues that everyone can relate to. His honest, down-to-earth lyrics, mixed in with Ty Dolla $ign’s vocals, paints a vivid picture. Also, it forms a collectible souvenir that hangs nicely in listeners’ collective memories.

WOLVES
The thirteenth track provides a cooling effect with wild emotions and bizarre-sounds.
The setting, maybe an extraterritorial realm in West’s subconscious mind. Perhaps, it’s the Milky Way Galaxy or a dream-state of Saturn.

A time for relaxation, preparing listeners for a surprise guest.

SILVER SURFER INTERMISSION
The fourteenth track features a phone conversation between incarcerated Max B and French Montana. Also, Max voices his gratitude to West for showing him love.

30 HOURS
On the fifteenth track, West takes a trip down memory lane and raps about an ex-girlfriend that he used to drive 30-hours to see. He used to drive from Chicago to St. Louis, St. Louis to Chicago. He recalls the good times they shared. But unfortunately, her infidelity was the reason why they broke up.

NO PARTIES IN L.A.
The sixteenth track will go down in history as a legendary bar-fest between two elite emcees. Kendrick Lamar and West rap with dope punchlines and clever metaphors over a Madlib-produced track. Once again, West is flowing like the old Kanye that people love.

FACTS
The seventeenth track is a standout anthem where West brags that Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman. He’s in boss-mode, talking that big-money talk.

FADE
The final track features Post Malone and Ty Dollar $ign. The song has a reoccurring sample from Rare Earth, “Your love is fading/I feel it fade.”

The Eli Linnetz-directed video shows Teyana Taylor explicitly dancing.

CONCLUSION
Kanye West’s “The Life of Pablo” is a memorable hip-hop album with solid content and heavy replay value.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/kanye-west-life-pablo/