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All reviews - Movies (77) - TV Shows (17) - DVDs (8) - Books (9) - Music (53) - Games (4)

A Fearless Monstrous Album

Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 27 August 2012 01:45 (A review of Immortal)

The young hardcore quintet men from Iowa strike with relentless songs striking down all evil in it's path. For Today delivers an untouchable 4th release this 2012 year. They recently signed with Razor & Tie Records and they hold nothing back. Some bands change their sound or create a repeated album under a new record company but For Today informs the world that they're not changing anything and they're hear to stay.

The guitars can move mountains much like the band's faith and bring catchy, intriguing and creative riffs throughout the album. Some people may oppose so many breakdowns but their fans will not considering..well...if you know For Today already then breakdowns are essential and known in their songs. The melodic chorus riff in "Stand Defiant" gets my bones rattling and wanting to rip satan's throat to a demise with righteous fury. The guitars set that whole mood for me throughout the album.

Breakdowns flourish throughout and cannot be stopped nor should they. You listen to get pumped up..you may be releasing anger, Praising God or grooving, either way the breakdowns are choice.

Vocally Mattie Montgomery adds some lower gutturals whilst diminishing some highs which standout on their first release: Ekklesia. I miss some of the highs but upping the fuel with some low ferocious vocals get's me ready to fight! Guitarist Ryan Lietru adds some melodic vocals to a couple of the choruses causing the listener to join in on the wonderful catchyness. This is apparent on the track "Fearless"

The drums are pretty solid and suit the bands' needs quite well. The fills keep my ears listening and having to repeat tracks over to make sure that I really DID hear something awesome! The BASS drops on the pummeling breakdowns and causes dupstep to go somewhere else and leave it to hardcore.

The lyricism on IMMORTAL goes hand in hand with the music. For Today is all about spreading Christ's Gospel through their hardcore, metal infused music and they won't stay shy about it and why bother keeping quiet? This band knows what it stands for and wants to "give you fans what you deserve to hear" as I have heard Mattie say live at this year's Warped Tour in MA. For Today loves their fans and everyone else..except the devil and desires to make him tremble in fear..because For Today has something to say that will scare the HELL out of everyone and that's that Jesus Christ adores you and I

'He made us IMMORTAL! ...Everyone Dies but not everyone truly lives."-Immortal


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"You Have to Go."..Okay

Posted : 11 years, 7 months ago on 27 August 2012 01:21 (A review of Paper Man (2009))

--Emma Stone is a favorite actress of mine and I came across it on netflix and decided to give it a go. Paper Man consists of greats like Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Daniels. The film is dark with a lot of thought put into conveying how Daniel's character's mind is functioning. He plays an author (Richard Dunn) struggling to come up with a fiction novel. On the way to starting his book Richard becomes stuck on the character's name and the film takes off from there. He awkwardly befriends Abby played by Emma Stone and they begin a strange yet interesting friendship.

We learn from the trailer scene alone that Richard has an imaginery friend Excellent Man!(Reynolds) and Dunn's still adolescent behavior is revealed and his quest for a non-failing novel with some growing up to do..ensues.

I enjoyed Emma Stone's role because she was convincing and believable as Abby and conveyed great emotion whether it was happiness or sadness. The balance of drama and humor was there but it was a tad more dramatic than I anticipated. Either way I'd recommend people to watch it and I would buy this easily to have in my collection..A job well done :)

Rating: (8.1/10)


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Forget Idols Embrace This Righteous Throne

Posted : 12 years, 6 months ago on 16 September 2011 10:58 (A review of Dead Throne)

Normally I have to pee my pants whenever The Devil Wears Prada release an album, in anticipation. The metal sextet from Dayton, Ohio have been bringing on the brain melting fury since 2005. Their maturity supersedes bands with lengthier careers and they are considered to be one of the best live bands among the metal/hardcore and..yes even scene community. With the release of Dead Throne, as vocalist Mike Hranica states that the album has to do with anti-idolatry. He also said it's the "heaviest and most aggressive album to date".

Having listened to this album at least 3 times a day for the past week, I must agree with him on this one in almost every aspect of the album. Vocally this release is not my favorite of Mike's style, but it's the rawest and most passionate. The track "Chicago" showcases Hranica's passion and aggression at his best. I still prefer the insanity of Mike's vocals on Prada's first two albums: Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord and Plagues. Jeremy Depoyster, the rhythm guitarist and singer of the group, showcases a more improved singing style and with their lyrics: it's as catchy as the mid-evil plague!

The guitars on Dead Throne are magnificent and ferocious! On the my two favorite songs "Forever Decay" and "Constance", there are some riffs that are more complex than their previous releases and the main riff in "Constance" sounds very much based of the Egyptian scale and boy is it beauteous! I have to admit that the style on Dear Love is put aside, but I'm not concerned, nor will due to the fact that this is such a tight, killer album.

The drums by Daniel Williams are excellent. I'm not a drummer but the fills on this album change to the more progressive end of metal compared to Prada's other albums. I do wish Adam D(producer) turned the frequencies of the drums at some parts higher, but nonetheless they're spectacular. My standout track, drum-wise, would have to be on "Forever Decay".

The songs' structure overall is top notch and hard to conquer. It has some of the catchiest choruses of this year, other than the deathcore band: The Crimson Armada..in my opinion. If I don't recommend another heavy album besides this one...that's perfectly okay. Don't worship or put up false idols before The Almighty Lord people! If you disagree read these lyrics and man...mosh your way to some of the most killer tracks.

Rating: (9.9/10)



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Ultimate Avengers review

Posted : 12 years, 6 months ago on 16 September 2011 10:11 (A review of Ultimate Avengers)

I enjoy these types of films, however this was not ultimate by any stretch of the mind. The plot was decent, however it bored me in a way that should not have been present at all! The Avengers are an amazing group of superheroes and this didn't have enough action and friggin' Thor wasn't given his righteous beard ! The scenes involving the Hulk were probably the most decent thing about this film..maybe I'm just bitter, but this could have been improved greatly. Watching the other films associated with this film is causing me to be very skeptical now. I don't feel like going in to very specific flaws and examples because this film isn't really worth it.

Rating: (5.3/10)


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Captain America: The First Avenger review

Posted : 12 years, 6 months ago on 13 September 2011 12:23 (A review of Captain America: The First Avenger)

I found this film to be quite excellent and well made. The acting was above average and with little flaw. Concerning the accuracy to the comics, it was pretty solid and accurate. I liked the action simulations and appreciated them. Chris Evans is the ideal Captain America and the idiocy of saying he can only play as The Human Torch is not necessary and childish. He pulls off a very believable Steve Rogers and I was well pleased with the fighting and of course Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull is righteous and I just wish there was more fighting but hey, the character development was solid and I'm really stoked to buy this on dvd. Along with that, I really want to see The Avengers movie now!

Rating: (8.9/10)


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Uh Why Does My Brain Hurt?

Posted : 12 years, 7 months ago on 25 August 2011 06:09 (A review of Adventure Time)

Adventure Time is the queerest show my eyes have looked at. Most of the time I'm laughing a lot and end up wondering "How in Jupiter was this conceived and put on to tv?!" I'm not complaining but sometimes it's really stupid. If every show were to be intelligent...well Earth would be less boring and amusing.

The two main characters: Jake(the dog) and Finn(the human, go on adventures, yea...but the thing is these "adventures" confuse me and can occur in a quest like course or just in some character's freaking mind! The show's creator: Pendleton Ward lives in some drug, Inception infested world that I never want to explore. He's the most bizarre individual creator, writer, idea developer I'm aware of. I don't know whether or not if he's a genius or a deranged weasel. The crazed, hysterical, concoctions dialogue...is brilliant and out of this world. Who, in their right mind could ever think of a vampiric-character that eats the color red?! Insanity I tell you! No matter what you think of the show, considering the fact that it is geared for "kids" is mind-boggling and makes you wonder.

I can't stop watching this show, I'm addicted to it and I'm always intrigued by how strange, weird and retarded the next 11 minutes of each episode is. If you hate or love someone, show them this show and the roles might reverse.



Rating: (9.3/10)


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Mind-Numbing Death Metal

Posted : 12 years, 7 months ago on 25 August 2011 05:49 (A review of Skepsis)

These metalheads from South Carolina tear my brain to shreds with this highly anticipated deathcore album: Skepsis. It's been 3 years since Malice and their fans, including me were very anxious for this release.

These ten tracks are furious and well produced beyond my highest expectation. In fact this album, lyrically is one big concept! I don't have the lyric book, so I'm not quite sure what it's about. What I gather from the lyrics I have looked up, is that in the character's mind...chaos and Dementia and other conniptions ensue. Well my brain was also turned to some lovely gunk of joy. I adore this death metal record. It's the vocalist's lows that put the album into overdrive and sends your mind flying. The guitars are, as I say for the heaviest albums: pummeling!
The breakdowns would make any scene kid groove and believe me this is NOT scene kid music by any means haha.


The only flaw present to my ears was the constant use of the double bass drum. I love me some double bass, yet these sound to artificial for my listening. Other than that there are no other flaws in my view.

Skepsis is a key to one of my many inspirations for writing any death metal riffs. Death metal and deathcore fans will really head-bang to these 39 minutes and crave more and eventually float into...Skepsis.

Rating: (9.5/10)


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Matisyahu at Stubb's!

Posted : 12 years, 7 months ago on 25 August 2011 05:28 (A review of Live at Stubb's: Austin, TX 2/19/05)

Recently my appreciation and listening time towards Matisyahu has increased quite a bit. I may not be into a lot of reggae, however Matisyahu hits a key for me and I really enjoy all of his releases so far.

This live album is quite interesting. First of all I was not expecting any improvisationals whatsoever. The album is quite lengthy clocking in at an hour. For most of music being put out in the "top 40" world, that's DOUBLE the time. I enjoy lengthy albums and this one was quite alright. The enjoyment factor was not as high for me, due to the fact that I just wasn't expecting the particular arrangements for each track. I think it's worth listening to, of course! What am I saying?! It's musically put together very well. My favorite song on the album would have to be King Without a Crown. It was the best put together and sounded excellent.

Since this release, Matisyahu has put out another live cd at Stubb's. This is going to be an interesting cd and I look forward to it and other releases he decides to do.

Rating: (7.0/10)


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Well It Caught Me...By Surprise

Posted : 12 years, 7 months ago on 23 August 2011 03:23 (A review of Tangled)

Disney/Pixar and frankly most animated films usually leave me disappointed. Sure once in awhile there's a solid animated film, however this is a rare occurrence in my opinion. Tangled takes it up a notch and gives me hope in animated films to come.

The story of Rapunzel is fantastic for children yet, holds nothing special for other age groups. After watching this I loved the story and thought this film made it extravagant and well worth my time! Throughout the film I didn't get bored at all and enjoyed the characters along with their personalities.

My favorite aspect about Tangled was the humor. Sometimes cheese moments occur, but the majority of the humor is quite hysterical and well thought out. Another part I enjoyed would have to be the score and the musical numbers. Its songs were catchy, filled with surprisingly tasteful talent and humor. I don't know maybe I'm building the film up, but I believe that it truly deserves it! Shortly as soon as I can, I will be buying this on dvd...yes an animated film on dvd hahaha. Anyone with that lump, that looks like the balls in Wanton soup, in their skull should view this flick.

Flaws: Should not have ended.
Rating: (9.4/10)



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An Excellent Oscar Deserving Emotional Ride

Posted : 12 years, 7 months ago on 13 August 2011 08:46 (A review of Creation)

"Do you not care that you and I may be separated for all eternity?
That one line drives the emotion behind this biopic film about Charles Darwin. Emma Darwin played by the lovely and excellent Jennifer Connelly, projects this hard hitting line to Charles(Paul Bettany) during one of their many struggles and arguments. Creation revolves around Charles Darwin during the time of his construction of, the uber-famous: The Origin of Species. Darwin struggles with coping the loss of his eldest daughter and it shatters his belief in God or a "god". He continues to conflict with his dearest wife Emma, who does not wish Darwin to produce such a book. Emma is a Christian or Catholic(whatever you can derive from the film) and constantly wants Charles to repent and turn back to God, in most loving way possible...most of the time.

Director Jon Amiel does a splendid job of making this film memorable. Scenes flow into each other quite well and for such a film keep you wondering how the next scene will pan it out. This film has surprising visuals and some of the high speed camera and realistic "food-chain" sequences capture the films emotion, gripping the viewer. I honestly wasn't expecting anything of the sort, but I must give Jon props for his direction of the film.



Paul Bettany..wow he was the best part of the film. I was looking for wife Mrs. Connelly to take the prize, however Bettany dominates with no flaws. Scenes jumping from past to present explode with different and rather difficult emotions most actors wish they could dream of pulling off. One line he seems insane and in the next sad or happy. When talking about his daughter's death, it's quite sad and even got me "teary-eyed" in some scenes. Paul was brilliant and deserves an award for this film. His performance was worthy of an Oscar nomination.

Creation deserves to be viewed and is quite under the radar and underrated. I'd advise this film to those loyal of Bettany and drama films in general. The scenes are magnificent, visually excellent and leaves you with the feeling of "Wow that was a sweet film!"

Rating: 8.8/10


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