Movies and Critics

I will say this once:

I do not always agree with the critics on movies.

Sometimes, the critics will love a movie I hate and sometimes they will hate a movie I love, though other times I do agree with them. However, I would never make a decision to see a movie soley based on the critics reviews.

Often, if I on the fence regarding whether to see a movie or not, I will check the reviews. For example, I did this for the lego movie. I saw the previews for it and thought I might like it, but really wasn't sure. I am not a big lego fan, but it did look kind of interesting. So I read the reviews and it appeared that the critics liked the movie, so I saw it.

And guess what?

It was 'just ok', I am not going to write a full review of it, but the storyline wasn't all that great, and the song "Everyone is Awesome" is annoying, however, it is cute in some parts, and it funny at times, but I could easily live without seeing it (Well movies aren't food, water or air, so no one literally needs them to survive but you know what I mean).

I'd probably give it a 6.5/10 or maybe even a 7/10 at the highest, but I certainly wouldn't rate it as high as the critics rated it.

That's just a recent one. There have been some movies that the critics gave GREAT reviews, but I didn't like. For example, As Good as it Gets. The best thing about that movie was that the dog was cute and the when the guy started getting attached to him/her (sorry, can't remember the gender, if it was even stated). The plot was boring, the characters were annoying and they made mental illness seem funny and I think the movie kind of made people with mental disorder seem 'bad', but the critics liked it.

Oh, and then there was The Kids Are All Right. The humour in that one really wasn't my type. It also included stereotypes about homosexuality, which is not my think at all. I'd give about a 3.5/10 or maybe a 4/10. Yet, it was nominated for best picture and received very positive reviews. What?

There are numerous other examples including Chicken Run (I think I walked out of that one) and Black Robe (that I had to watch for school, and I missed it in class so watched on my own and turned it off because it was so boring).

Also, there have been some movies that I really liked, that the critics did not.

For example, I really like The Outsiders, but that did not great reviews, I also really liked the movie 'About Time' and that only received mixed reviews. Same with the Lorax and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie trilogy.

You may be thinking 'Do you EVER agree with the critics?'

The answer to that is yes, but not all the time. For example, I really liked Catching Fire and so did the critics. We both thought Saving Mr. Banks was a pretty good and neither of us liked Yours, Mine and Ours (2005). We also both agreed that 'Good Boy' (I don't know if anyone remembers this movie, it came out about about 10 or 11 years ago), was just okay.

But do reviews influence my desicion to see a movie? Usually not. If I am interested in seeing a movie,I will see it no matter what the reviews say and if I have no interest in seeing a movie, the reviews will not change my mind, but if the movie sounds like it might be good, but it easily go they other way as well, the reviews may have some influence on whether I choose to the movie or not, but not a ton. I will ask other people what they think, see if anyone wants to go with and find out more about the movie from other resources (eg: Kids in Mind)

Thanks,

AP

Album Review: Help Your Self (Sean McCann)

More than a month ago now, Sean released his third solo album, 'Help Your Self'. I have listened to it a few times, and I think it is his best work so far, musically.

Before I review, I would like to explain what the album is about.

This album is about Sean's 'road to recovery'. He quit drinking about 2 years ago and now, he has a album that tells the story of his rehabilitation. As the title suggests, he used self-help methods. He has mentioned writing songs, to be "therapeutic".  For more information on this album (and for why he left Great Big Sea), check out this article right here: http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2014-01-25/article-3590233/Helping-himself/1

The songs are pretty good, very personal, but doesn't mean bad (and it should never). The album opens with the song "Fire. A slower, mellower song, that probably has deeper meaning. But I can't figure it out. After this song, the album gets longer. Drinking is discussed in (obviously) Red Wine and Whiskey. The album gets to it's darkest place in Hold Me Mother, a very sad song that he describes as "a love letter to (his) mom". "Wish You Well" is about his departure from GBS (see previous post or telegram article in the paragraph above). He then goes on to "Help Him Self" in the title track, "Help Your Self". There are few more songs, and then the album ends with "For a Long Time Now"; a song about his wife.

Overall, a good album, not one song I dislike. 4.3/5.

Sean's Great Big Sea Departure

A couple months ago, I got the news that one of the members of my favourite band Great Big Sea, Sean McCann would be leaving. This was shocking because Great Big Sea is 20 years old and has only lost one member (Darrell Power, back in 2002). Fans reactions varied from "blessed" to "angry". Fans immediately started speculating on why he was leaving. Originally, many people assumed Sean was leaving Great Big Sea to spend more time with family, just like Darrell did. However, Sean released a song called "Goodbye Old Friend" on the last night of the tour and though I am not going to post it here (those interested can look on sound cloud), people are not sure because the lyrics imply something else was going on. He doesn't seem to be happy in the band.

Out of respect, I will not speculate on why Sean is leaving GBS, but I will talk about how I feel. To be honest, I feel sad. When I was about 2 or 3, my dad used to play the song "Mari-Mac" for me. (I misheard the lyrics and thought they were saying 'piggy back') and when I was 6, we went to Edmonton and my dad made me a tape (Hey come on, this was 2001!). In summer 2002, I went to a friend's birthday party and had to leave early because we were going on vacation. I remember very little of the birthday party, I remember listening to Road Rage on the way. I was 9 when I went to my first concert, which is not what I excepted. I thought everyone would just sit there, but no, everyone got up and danced! I was too short to see so I stood on a chair.

3 years and 4 concerts later, I met my first band member, the bass player, Murray Foster. I was 12 and my hands were shaking. I had never been so nervous in my life. I saw him standing to the side of the stage after the show and we called him over and he actually came! (I was surprised) It was about a year later when I met Kris, the drummer. I remember Kris asked my mom's cousin from England, to hold his laptop. We brought Union Jacks to hold up during one of their songs, called "England". It was a year later before I met Alan Doyle, the leader singer, and about a year and a half later before I met Sean at one of his solo songs.

Even though Sean is leaving GBS, he is still continuing his solo career. He has released two albums, Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes and Son of Sailor. Now, he is releasing an album called "Help Your Self", which comes out at the end of the month. He has posted some "teaser" videos and one full song. In the videos he has posted, he seems happy, which is good. I'm glad Sean is happy and doing what he really wants to do. Though I am sad he is leaving Great Big Sea, I don't want him to be unhappy in the band. I like his solo stuff and am glad he is continuing with that. Oh, and there is a still chance GBS might continue, though they are taking a break.

In conclusion, Great Big Sea has been a big part of my life for 10 years and I am sad to see Sean leave, but I'm excited for his solo album and I'm glad his doing what makes him happy.

Hello!

I am a 19 year old female studying psychology at my local community college.

This blog is intended to be a place where I discuss my opinions about everything; from autism to ugly shirts, but beware: They can be strong and uninformed (based mostly on personal experience). I will try to update about once a week. In my postings, I will try to be respectful of other people's opinions and may even try to understand the other side of things.

I understand people may not agree with my opinions all the time, but if choose to comment, please be respectful. No comments, with name-calling or offensive, racist, homophobic or otherwise like be posted.

Well, thanks for reading and I hope to get started soon!