Top 5 Summer Box Office Review

Summer Movies: The Year of  Disappointment 

1. Finding Dory $479.7 million

2. Captain America: Civil War $407.8 million

3. The Secret Life of Pets $353.7 million

4. Suicide Squad $284.1 million

5. X-Men: Apocalypse $155.4 million

6. Star Trek Beyond $151.1 million

7. Jason Bourne $149.7 million

8. Central Intelligence $127.4 million

9. The Legend of Tarzan $125.9 million

10. Ghostbusters $125 million

Those are the top movies for this years summer movie season and how much money they made (by the last week of august). Some pretty surprising things in this list, mainly that Finding Dory beat out Civil War and that Secret Life of Pets made it all the way to the number three spot, beating out Suicide Squad and X-Men, two big comic book movies this summer and even Star Trek in it's 50th anniversary year. I'm going to do short summaries of all the top 10 movies and how I felt about them. Overall, I found this year to be lacking in originality and full of many disappointing movies that I was very excited for. There were other movies this year that might be worth talking about as well like THE BFG from Steven Spielberg, who used to be the king of summer movies, but THE BFG sort of fell off the map quickly. Horror movies did well this year, LIGHTS OUT, DON'T BREATH and CONJURING 2 all did great and people seemed to really like them. Then there's the big sequels that didn't even make it to the top 10 like NINJA TURTLES 2 and INDEPENDENCE DAY 2, who seemed to be forgotten pretty fast. Then there's Warcraft, which I was very hopeful for being an actual good video game movie, but in the end was just okay. Also the R-rated animated comedy SAUSAGE PARTY, which had a great premise and looked very promising, but in the end was also just another big disappointment with too much focus on curse words and shock value. This year has really been the year of the indie film. Indie films like THE SHALLOWS, THE LITTLE PRINCE, HELL OR HIGH WATER and SWISS ARMY MAN all tried new things and were well liked by audiences that saw them. So now i'll look into the top 10 of the summer.

1. Finding Dory: Finding Nemo was one of my favorite movies when I was younger, so when I heard there was going to be a sequel... Well honestly I was kind of worried considering how Cars 2 and Monsters University turned out. Seeing the trailers for the movie didn’t really help my worries go away, but I was still hopeful. I have to say I was ultimately disappointed in the movie though. It wasn't a bad movie in any way, but it really didn't feel necessary in the end. It really didn't do anything new or take any risks, which is a problem that Pixar seems to be facing recently a lot. Pixar used to be a studio that wowed me with every new film and idea, the great detail and imagination that went into making their new films. I was excited for every new movie Pixar was making back then, but lately i'm just disappointed in all their OKAY sequels. As cute as Finding Dory was, it just didn't have the same impact as other Pixar films have had, like just last year with the amazing INSIDE OUT. Its more worrying now that Pixar is making even more sequels like CARS 3 and TOY STORY 4. Hopefully they have some new ideas for those.

2. Civil War: Just when I think I might be getting tired of all the Marvel Studios films, they come out with the amazing Civil War and bring me right back in. It really shows how much care and work go into all their movies when they keep releasing great film after great film. This movie had it all from great action, great humor and great emotion. The rivalry between Cap and Iron Man was done really well and I was invested in it from the start to finish. Also the perfect introductions to Black Panther and Spider-Man have me really excited to see their solo films. One of the only movies this summer to really live up to its hype, and keep everyone excited for all 100 marvel movies coming out in the next few years.

3. The Secret Life of Pets: Its pretty crazy to think this movie made more money than Suicide Squad, X-men and Star Trek. There really wasn't anything wrong with this film, it was a pretty basic family movie. Nothing crazy or groundbreaking here, just a safe story about talking animals trying to find their way back home. The animation is really nice to look at, very colorful and attractive. The rest of the film is just okay, I don't really have much to say about it honestly. It had a few laughs in it, the voice acting was fine, the story was pretty basic and has been done before. The perfect movie to put on to keep your kid quiet for less than 2 hours! If you DO have anyone younger to watch it with, i'd say it's worth a watch. At least they tried something original and new, one of the only non-sequels or remakes on the top 10.

4. Suicide Squad (AKA The  Deadshot and Harley Quinn Show):  I was so hopeful for this movie to be great. It looked like it was going to be the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY of the DC movies. In the end I feel this movie was actually trying too hard to be Guardians at times. The weird use of music in this movie reminded me too much of Guardians, except with none of the charm and purpose. It felt more like 「HEY! here's a popular song you probably  know! LOOK! WE HAVE COOL MUSIC!」. The story in this movie felt very confusing and pointless, the main villains both felt super generic and lifeless. Like a lot of movies do nowadays, its all about how the villain is going to destroy the world with some weird beam powers of sorts. Also, Joker really felt wasted in this. I would have liked to see more of him and his relationship with Harley, or just not see him at all this time. I did really like the relationship between Harley and Deadshot though, it was the best part of the film. Will Smith and Margot Robbie did a really good job playing those two characters and I hope to see them again soon. As for Jared Leto as Joker, well I don't think he was in the movie long enough for me to say. I can't say I really liked the way Joker was portrayed here, he felt too "gangster" and the scenes he was in felt sort of pointless to the suicide squad story. I think it would have been better to save all that for a Harley and Joker movie instead of putting it here. There was potential for a great movie here, all the characters in the Suicide Squad are fun to watch and work well together on screen. Still the movie was held back by stupid villains, weird music, wasted Joker, cliche ending battle, and confusing story. I'm still hopeful for Wonder Woman though, hope they can turn it around.

5. X-Men: I love X-men so much, and was super excited for this one. I thought this for sure would be my favorite movie of the summer, but instead it was another pretty disappointing one. I still liked this movie, there were a lot of great moments in it, especially most of the actors who did great (except Olivia Munn as Psylocke who pretty much did nothing the entire time). I think the biggest problem was just the villain who (SPOILERS!!?!?) was pretty interesting at first, but slowly turned into another generic 「I want to destroy the world」 bad guy. Complete with explosions and bombs going off in the end and tons of buildings getting destroyed like 30 other movies have done in the last few years. But I still enjoyed a lot of it, even though it could have been a lot better. I'm excited for the next film and to see all the good actors return to play their part, especially quicksilver and cyclops who I though where great in this one.

TO BE CONTINUED WHEN I FINISH WATCHING THE MOVIES I HAVEN'T SEEN YET... SHOULDN'T TAKE MORE THAN TWO YEARS. THREE TOPS.

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Billboard Top 10 (2006) Look Back

Billboard Top 10 from Sep 2006 Review

So after listening to the top ten songs currently in the charts, I decided to review the top 10 songs from 10 years ago. Wondering if pop music was a little more interesting ten years ago… Well here goes nothing!

1. London Bridge by Fergie: I was pretty surprised to see this song at number one, I thought everyone hated this song. So this song is… terrible in almost every way possible. What I can’t figure out though is if it’s supposed to be bad? Did Fergie know this song was terrible? Is that why they added the strange commentary at the end? Was this all just a joke? I don’t know, but honestly they way I feel is: If it was meant as a joke then this song is terrible and not funny and should never have made it to the top 1 spot. BUT, if it Fergie was actually trying to make a song here, then this song is pretty great. It just makes it really funny when I think about Fergie recording this and actually thinking it’s a good song. Overall a terribly cheesy song worth a listen for some laughs. At least she didn’t make this one a Black Eyed Peas song i guess.
2. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley: This song is amazing. One of the best pop songs of the 00’s for sure. I love how different CeeLo Green is from other top pop artists, actually trying different things like this album. This song is so memorable and will get stuck in your head for a while, and that’s not a problem because it’s a very good song. It’s so smooth and oozes coolness, I feel like I cooler just listening to this song. With the nice simple bass line and the nice backing “ooiing” in the background. Then the fun string sounds in the chorus, it all comes together perfectly to make one of the most memorable songs i’ve ever heard. 
3. Promiscuous by Nelly Furtado w/ Timbaland: I remember this song well from back in 2006. I liked it back then and I still like it today for sure. The beat is great with the annoyingly catchy music that follows. Nelly’s vocals are good, it really fits in this song well. As for Timbaland… well I kinda wish they had gotten another artist to do his vocals cause he’s not that great at it, still very passable though. I remember it being kind of weird to see the girl who sang “I’m Like A Bird” be a part of a more risqué song like this, but it totally works and she doesn’t feel out of place at all. 
4. Me & U by Cassie: I don’t remember this song at all, in fact I think it’s the only song I can’t remember from this list. I guess that shows the kind of impression she had with this song. I don’t really have much to say about this… just seems like pretty generic music for back in 2006 by an artist that literally went nowhere after her first big release in 2006. I can see why, nothing special here.
5. Buttons by Talentless group of unknown girls AKA Pussycat Dolls: Who let these girls make music? If talent were measured in how much you can annoy someone in the span of one song they would be the most talented artists of the decade. Annoying Egyptian sounding music and a boring beat with terrible vocals. I’m so glad these girls aren’t around anymore… although they seemed to have been reincarnated as a group called “Fifth Harmony” so there’s that. 
6. (When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me by Sean Paul feat. Keshia Cole: Nope. Still can’t understand Sean Paul after 10 years. This song really had has that 00’s pop music charm though. Like this song could only exists in the mid 00’s and no other time. It’s hard to separate the nostalgia of the music and my opinion of this song now. Would I listen to this song again? no. Would I mind if it popped up on the radio while I was with friends or driving? no.
7. I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic! At The Disco: “Haven’t you people ever heard of closing the God d**** door?”. One of these songs is not like the others, and Panic! at the Disco’s IWSNT is that song. I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who didn’t know this whole song and was able to quote and sing along to the whole thing.  So is this song actually good or just a memorable song based on the time it came out and it's quotable lyrics? It's good. The music and unique vocals by Brendan Urie all work well to give us something really unique in 2006. It's been 10 years since this single and Panic! at the Disco recently released a great album in the "Death of a Bachelor" I really liked. Go check it out, it's catchy as hell. I miss music like this... 
8. Ain’t No Other Man by Aguilera: Wow! A fun song by Christina Aguilera? I forgot that was even possible. I mean it’s not perfect, like those annoying two note moments played throughout most of the song that feel like they stop the song. Still the vocals are good and not annoying like Christina can sometimes do. This song has good energy and has a cool little breakdown at the end. It’s not amazing, but I can see why it would be on the top 10. I wish there was more music like this in the top 10 today, like an “Uptown Funk”. 
9. Sexy Love by Neo?…Ne-Yo: Sexy love as apposed to… unsexy love? This is not my kind of music. Just doesn’t comply with my brain. Is it good? Is it bad? I DONT KNOW! It’s not offensive or terrible. It just is. I think i’m okay with boring lifeless passionless music like this being in the top 10. Boring people need love to right? Sexy love that is. 
10. Shoulder Lean by Young Dro w/ T.I.: SHOULDER LEAN! SHOULDER LEAN! SHULDR LN! SHLDR LN! Raise your hand if you miss dance songs based on one lazy action.  By the way… who the heck is Young Dro?

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Billboard Top 10 (September) First Look

Billboard Top 10 Review

Billboard top 10 Review:

Closer by Chainsmokers ft. Halsey: Just okay, boring lyrics, generic modern music, feels lifeless, Halsey is okay i guess. feeling sleepy now. must change song. Seriously though, songs like these are why I can’t take the pop music charts seriously. It’s all boring and repetitive dance music that feels lifeless strangely enough. Nothing feels special here- and this is the number one song in the country right now. I know pop music isn’t always amazingly creative or groundbreaking, and it’s okay to have this kind of music in the world. I just don’t understand how something like this can be the NUMBER 1 song in the world. Just my taste I guess. Again, I don’t hate it! It’s listenable for sure, just pretty boring.

Cold Water by Major Lazer ft. Bieber: Fun riffs and pretty good music, boring Justin Bieber singing and cliche boring lyrics. Overall if feels very repetitive after a while and gets boring to listen to. You know I didn’t think this song was even bad until I heard another song called “Let Me Love You” by DJ Snake. These two songs sound so similar I though I was listening to the same song again. Okay not really… BUT, seriously these two songs are so similar it makes me wonder how they got away with it. How are two songs that sound this similar allowed to be so high in the charts at the same time? Do people think it’s the same song? I don’t know, but I hope I see more creativity in the next songs. 

Heathens by Twenty One Pilots: I really love Twenty One Pilots. The last two albums they released were great and I can listen to them from front to back easily. This song though… it just feels so boring and lifeless. The lyrics are interesting at least talking about trust issues and letting people in. Still the rest of the song feels slow and boring, not the kind of song i’ll be listening to very often if at all. Hopefully the next music they release won’t be anything like this.

Cheap Thrills by Sia: Rich artists singing about not needing money to have fun and party is kinda my new pet peeve. I do love Sia’s voice, but I feel like they are being wasted with yet another boring song in the top 10. It’s not a bad song, it’s just incredibly meh. I think someone with Sia’s talent should be making much better music. Much like most songs in the top 10 right now, it’s another decent song with nothing special about it. 

Ride by Twenty One Pilots: The best of the top 10 for sure. A fun song with fun vocals and music and interesting lyrics about a person’s thoughts. It’s nice to see a song with originality and some life in it reach the top 10. Of course it makes it more annoying that a good song like this can make it to the top 10 and yet we still get mostly boring generic music up here. Hope to see more songs like this in the future. 

This is what you came for by Calvin Harris and Rihanna: God this song is annoyingly catchy, I kind of hate that I like this song. It’s everything I dislike about pop music of today, but somehow it just works in it’s own way. I’m not sure if it’s Harris’ music or Rihanna’s catchy vocals that get stuck in your head. I guess it’s a bit of both… It’s all so wonderfully catchy and I enjoy all the oohing. Good job Rihanna. Good job Harris. Never thought i’d say those words ever. 

Don’t Let Me Down by Chainsmokers w/ Daya: This song almost worked for me, it was so cloooooose. I love the music and vocals in the intro, verses and pre-chorus and even the bridge. BUT that chorus just kills the whole song for me. The chorus just feels so out of place with the rest of the song, it’s all peaceful and charming and then comes the annoying breakdown with the annoying music and vocals. What’s more annoying is the last chorus fixes that and is a little more simplified with more focus on the vocals. If it had been that way the whole song I would have actually gave this one a pass. I can see myself listening some more times, I do enjoy a lot of the parts. One of the better songs in the top 10 for sure. 

One Dance by Drake w/ WizKid and Kyla: Interesting opening with piano sounds and 1st verse is pretty good. Wait no… the whole song is the same exact thing? never mind. Go away Drake. 

Send my love by Adele:  I honestly don’t know how to feel about this song. Just like most songs on the top 10 it feels….boring. I know Adele is capable of some powerful work or at the very least I’ll be WOWed by her voice. This song just feels like she wasn’t really trying to hard. 

Treat You Better by Shawn Boredes: Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but it just doesn’t sound different at all from his last big hit Stitches. It’s a little slower i suppose, but the lyrics are pretty cliche like most pop songs. It doesn’t bring anything new or exiting to music and really doesn’t deserve any special recognition or fame. How many artists out there can do the same thing if not better things than Shawn Mendes. He just seems very vanilla, and it’s weird to me that an artists like this can beat out so many other bland artists for some reason. Anyway, it’s another mediocre song. Nothing truly bad, but nothing special here, it’s the kind of song that any decent artist or singer can pull off. I find Shawn Mendes so boring that I left his name unbolded in the song title. He doesn't deserve Bold. 

Anyway that's my overdramatic review of the top 10. 

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