Album Review: The Diving Board by Elton John

My experience with Elton John is a bit limited. I've only listened to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road all the way through and I've heard all the other singles he's put out. I love Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and really enjoy the dynamics and direction of that album. The Diving Board is a bit different seeing that the entire album is strictly piano, drums and bass and of course Elton's vocals. I guess its not really fair to compare the two albums considering Yellow Brick Road is regarded as the best album he ever wrote. I'll try my best not to deadlock them together.

I do like Diving Board a lot. It was a nice change of pace on my iPod. I was just surprised that it was so mellow and so piano oriented. I do appreciate the fact that the lead instrument is a piano. Many have tried to lead with a piano like Ben Folds, but no one really does it like Elton John. His piano "licks" are unique and completely non-generic. He even throws a few musical interludes throughout the album which give you a break from the solemn tunes. I was hoping for at least a few tracks that resemble Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting. I like the upbeat Elton John tunes as much as his ballads, but this album was severely lacking that rock and roll feel. I have to wait until track 13, a song called Mexican Vacation, to get a song that was faster paced. That is way too long to wait.

As I said before there are an abundance of ballads on Diving Board, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Home Again particularly played on my heart strings and it conveyed a message that I've always believed in. You can always come home, no matter where you are, you are always working your way back home. The other song that really took me by surprise and was extremely relevant to my current situation was Can't Stay Alone Tonight. I love when you can find a song that goes into your mind and really portrays what going on in your mind at that time. Well done Elton.

While Elton really drove it home with a handful of songs, I think the "filler" could have been a lot better. He beautifully paints certain parts of a portrait and the rest is just bland so it doesn't feel like a complete piece of art to me.

I've read that someone close to Elton suggested that this album recorded in a certain fashion. Namely just being the piano, drums and bass. I don't know if I agree with that formula, but allegedly this was Elton's style when he first started playing so I can dig that he wanted to get back to his roots. I'm sure if you are en Elton John fan, you will grab this one up. At least get Home Again, Can't Stay Alone Tonight and Diving Board if you want the best tracks. It's worth at least a listen.

I give The Diving Board by Elton John 3.5 out of 5 Burning Lariats

Album cover provided by amazon.com.

Movie Review: Pain and Gain

I feel like this movie got panned and I believe it was wrongfully so. The second I saw the trailer, I thought, man this has some potential even though Michael Bay is directing it. I say this, because its well documented that I hated all three Transformer movies, and am deathly afraid of what he will do with the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. I do love Armageddon though. Can't get enough of that Aerosmith tune. Anyways Pain and Gain was perfectly cast. It was great to see Tony Shalhoub in a role that isn't Monk. I almost jumped to my feet when Ed Harris showed up on screen, but it was 11 at night and my bed is really comfy. I had no idea he was in the movie, I guess I could have read the cast on IMDB or the DVD case, but I enjoyed the surprise.

Synopsis: Mark Wahlberg's character, Danny Lugo, is a ex-con who becomes a personal trainer. Lugo is sick of the rich business men who come into his gym and aren't in shape. He believes that since he is at his tip top shape that he deserves the american dream. He just wants a lawn to mow. It seemed that he was a nice guy deep down and just wanted what everyone else had. He attends a conference headed by a motivational speaker and decides to take action and achieve that american dream. His plan is to kidnap Tony Shalhoub's character, Victor Kershaw, and extort him for all he is worth. Kershaw is the owner of a Schlotzky's deli in Florida. By the way, this movie is based off of a true story. I don't know how close it follows the true tale, but some latter scenes in the movie are hard to watch and I hope some are exaggerations.

Lugo recruits Paul Doyle, played by the Rock, who is also an ex-con but also a reformed Christian. He is working at the local church and working out with Lugo at his gym. Doyle can't find a job because of his record so he is persuaded to join the team. The third and final piece of the puzzle is Adrian Doorbal, played by Anthony Mackie. I've seen Mackie in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Adjustment Bureau, and Gangster Squad and have enjoyed his work thus far, and this movie is no exception. Doorbal is a member of Lugo's gym and has been shooting steroids to get "swol." He finds out that he now suffers from ED and needs money for the medicine to get him up and going again. The three of them are hilarious together and play the muscle bound dummies to a t.

Of course, they struggle with the kidnapping and go through several plans before achieving their goal. After kidnapping Kershaw, they try for weeks trying to get him to sign over all of his belongings. Doyle, being a born again Christian disagrees with a lot of the methods being used to extort him. The Rock has come a long way as an actor. I remember the days of the Scorpion King where he didn't say a word and just had to swing a sword. I knew he was capable of more considering I've seen his entire wrestling career and know he can talk. But Pain and Gain showed me that he play a whole range of characters in one movie. The nice polite muscle bound Christian, tough convict, dopey sidekick, enraged coke addict and much more. He really spread his wings on this one. Lots of craziness and hilarity ensues. Its a very dark comedy and I think its worth a watch or two. My favorite part is when the Rock is BBQing some severed hands, waves to the neighbors and a graphic comes on the screen stating, "Yes, this is still a true story." Awesome.

I give Pain and Gain 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats

Rated R
Run-time 129 Minutes

Movie poster provided by amazon.com.

Building a Solid Heavy Metal Collection: Part 4 of 25

System of a Down is one of the most talented bands I've ever come across. They are brutal yet catchy and overall amazing musicians who have really perfected their craft. Many people regard Toxicity as their best album and I agree that it is fantastic. Blender magazine regarded it as one of the 500 CDs you must own. Rolling Stone ranked it 44 out of the top 100 CDs of the 2000s. It was great at the time, and it holds up but Mesmerize is just a beautiful crescendo of metal. It shows growth as musicians and human beings. I wish I could include Hypnotize since it's technically a double album. The two back to back is like listening to a modern symphony. It plays with your emotions and it makes you think, which is rare for music these days.

Mesmerize opens with a heart-wrenching introduction Soldier Side, which gives you a small dose of the raw emotion that lies ahead. B.Y.O.B. comes in and knocks you right on your tush. It was also the first single released from Mesmerize. I'm glad they released B.Y.O.B. first, they could have easily picked a more radio friendly tune like Radio/Video or Sad Statue. Instead they took one of the fastest and heaviest song on the album and said "Hey, up yours."

Revenga is a sweet track that really reaches deep down in me, and my secret love for Polka music. It's a fun track to sing along with even though it's about getting revenge on a former dishonest lover. The highlight of this track is the ending where the tempo just keeps getting quicker and quicker. It really gives you a chance to really rock out to a Polka beat. Finntroll is pretty infamous for this too.

The final four tracks really tie the entire album together. Question! is the highest point of tension on the album and you can feel the CD start to wind down after that. Sad Statue has a great chorus and really reflects the state of the country at that point in time. Their lyrics have always been politically driven which brings forth the passion behind their music. Mesmerize is as the title suggests a mesmerizing album that pulls you in. It's a quick 33 minutes long so follow it up with Hypnotize and enjoy the beautiful madness that is System of a Down.

Key tracks No.3 - Revenga, No. 8 - Question! and No. 11 - Lost in Hollywood.

Album cover provided by amazon.com.

Movie Review: The Conjuring

I've heard a lot of buzz for this movie and have been waiting a while for it to come out on DVD. The Director James Wan has a pretty decent resume coming into this one including Saw, Insidious 1 and 2, and Death Sentence. I haven't seen Insidious 2 but I know it will be as good as the first one. The cast was great. Everyone performed perfectly, every cast member added to the movie and nobody's performance took away from this bone chilling tale.

A lot of movies lately have been about spirits and demonic possession, and a lot of them have been absolutely great. The Conjuring is probably the best to date. It was terrifying. What made it the most terrifying is that it was based on a true story. I know a lot of movies make this claim, and most of the time I believe it. I buy into it and I feel it makes the movie watching experience that much more enjoyable.

The movie starts off with a back story of Warren family in the early 1970's. They were pioneers of "Ghost Hunting" and went around to Universities with their findings in paranormal activity. The story they told was about a possessed doll named Anabelle. I don't know what it is about possessed toys, but it creeps the hell out of me. It was a perfect way to set the tone in this movie and laid a nice back story.

The Perron family has moved to a country house to accomadate their five daughters and move away from the city. Strange happenings start to occur at the house and leave everyone frightened. The mother, Carolyn Perron, attends one of these sessions taught by the Warrens and asks them for help. Seeing the seriousness of their problem, they agree to help.

The story of the house and the occurrences that shaped this evil house are more horrific than I could imagine. The entire movie is intense, but the last fifteen minutes has my hair raising and goosebumps all over my body. If you are looking for a good scare, this is the movie for you.

I give The Conjuring 5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Rated R
Run-time 112 Minutes

Movie poster provided by amazon.com.

#fatbucks

I finally was able to get dressed up for Halloween 2013. It was my brother's 30th birthday so we had a big post Halloween costume party bash. Per usual I dressed up as a professional wrestler. I think this is the 4th or 5th year in a row. This year my buddy Adam and myself dressed up as the greatest tag team in the world right now, the Young Bucks. It was a great time had by all, there were some Ninja Turtles, some X-Men, a leprechaun, a cat, an old couple, and many, many more at the party.

The coolest event of the weekend was what transpired on Twitter and Instagram. Adam posted our picture on Twitter and tagged the Young Bucks so they can see our awesomely sweet costumes. Within minutes they retweeted us. It definitely made my night. What made the situation way more awesome, was that Matt Jackson, one of the Young Bucks, put our picture on his Instagram account. His brother, Nick Jackson, commenting  that we had the best costume ever. We had over 100 something likes on the Gram, from other professional wrestlers and followers. It was a really cool experience. It shows how cool the Jacksons aka the Young Bucks are, and that they really appreciate their fans. They are on a tour of Japan right now and I'm sure are busy with their wrestling schedules and they gave Adam and I a great story to tell.It was a Halloween miracle.

These guys should be making millions of dollars in the "Big Leagues" because they are so damn talented. I'll link up a video. Follow them on twitter @MattJackson13 and @NickJacksonYB
Follow them on Instagram http://instagram.com/youngbuckmatt
I'm not sure what their names on The Vine are, but they have some great stuff on there as well.
Young Bucks Video check out this video on Youtube and see what I'm talking about. Their home promotion is  PWG where they are the current tag team champions.

You're probably wondering why the title of this entry is #fatbucks. Well the internet is the internet and there are always smartasses, but that was one of the comments on our picture on Instagram. I actually found it pretty damn funny myself. Remember check out the Young Bucks! They rule!

Building a solid heavy metal collection Part 3 of 25

Alas! The first thrash album to show up on the list! And boy is it a doozy. Death Angel has been around the block a few times. Their first album being released in '87 when I was one year old.

The Filipino thrashers have been on and off over the last twenty some years because of injury, personal issues and label conflicts. Their style has changed over the years as well. They started off as almost a punk thrash similar to Suicidal Tendencies have now become an epic thrash band.

Relentless Retribution was released in September of 2010. I remember the day I bought this CD. I was browsing Best Buy, as tradition on Taco Bell Tuesdays, and I saw the cover. My inner monologue saying, I didn't know Death Angel put out a new album, I didn't know they were still together and man that cover is completely badass. It's not unusual for metal bands to break up and form back together after 10-15 years, so I decided to pick it up. Right off the bat, its a relentless assault of metal in your face, but its so well crafted you don't mind being bludgeoned by their killer riffs. Every track has its distinct characteristics which is rare for a thrash album. It's easy to get caught up in a formula in this genre. Death Angel showed me that you can be brutal and beautiful at the same time. Take for instance, track number 2 - Claws In So Deep. The verses are thrashy as ever, the chorus is catchy, the bridge and solo bring it all together into a perfect symphony. The best is yet to come though. When the dust settles, you are left with a beautiful acoustic guitar medley performed by famous acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. This CD shows how much thrash has evolved and how many cool things you can do within the genre without sacrificing the brutality and speed.

Key tracks: No.1 - Relentless Revolution, No. 2 Claws in so Deep, and No. 7 This Hate

Album art provided by amazon.com.

Movie Review: Ender's Game

I hope everyone had a pleasant Halloween. Mine was spent at home watching Wrestlemania 9 in my pajamas with a pitbull sleeping on my feet. I wish it didn't rain all day, we only had 4 trick or treaters. Oh well, at least I was able to cap off the evening with a trip to the cinema and an enjoyable night watching Ender's Game.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is regarded as one of the best Sci-Fi books ever written. Some schools require reading it as part of their curriculum because of the underlying message, which I will touch on later. I haven't read any of Card's novels, and as a librarian, I am a bit ashamed of this fact, especially after seeing this movie.

Card has several book's in the Enders Saga, but this was the very first, published in 1985. Card has won many awards for this book, including the Hugo Award for best novel.

I had the privilege to view this movie on an IMAX screen and enjoy the beautiful and sometimes thunderous HD sound system. This is a large scale movie that really takes advantage of the huge screen and wonderful sound. At points I felt my seat shaking during a massive air battle, awesome! If I were to build my own house from scratch, there would be two rooms an IMAX screen and a decent sized kitchen with a griddle so I can make hashbrowns and omelettes easily without dealing with crappy spatulas and a small frying pan.I could sleep on a cot on the ground level of the screen. Is is too much to ask for in life?

Let's get back to the part of the blog when I mentioned that this was a big movie. The plot itself was pretty massive, but not too complex at all. Over fifty years ago the Earth was invaded by an alien race known as the Formics. They are an insect looking race and killed millions on that day. Mazer Rackham, an Earth pilot, finds a weakness in the formic army and they are sent packing back to their home planet. The Earth's army swear that they will never be invaded again and seek revenge on the Formics. The government starts recruiting talented youth and try to find a way to eliminate the threat once and for all.

Andrew Ender Higgin is a gifted child enrolled in Battle School. Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) sees massive potential in Ender and starts to test him in ways that other students aren't be tested. Naturally Ender passes because of his perfect balance between compassion and violence mixed with tactical genius. He inherits his compassion from his sister Valentine, in which he has a very strong bond with and plays a pivotal part of the story. His violence and anger issues are contributed from his brother Pete, who is just a complete ass. Ender gets promoted quickly through the ranks of Battle School into Command school and eventually becomes commander of his own army because of his tactical skills. Ender finds himself in a crucial point of the Earth/ Formic war.

I feel that there are a few ethical questions that are raised by this movie. The government is willing to exploit their youth to protect the entire world. How can any child be raised normally after dealing with all the stress and mental anguish of the rigorous training of battle school. Ender is constantly put into situations that wears on his mental stability. The tactics they use to test the students of battle school are very unethical and sometimes downright devious.

So the story was great, how was the delivery? I will tell you how it was, pretty fantastic. The CGI was spot on. Nothing looked cheesy, which can easily happen in a Sci-Fi space oriented movie. The creature work was probably my favorite aspect of the movie. It reminded me of District Nine or something Guillermo Del Toro dreamed up. The special effects and sound were remarkable. I wonder if it was the IMAX experience or that they did a really great job with this movie. I'll just say both to be safe. The acting was competent and consistent. Asa Butterfield played Ender really well and toed the line between brilliance and insanity.

The only gripe I have, is the lack of back story between his sister and himself. They are extremely close and I want to know why. Maybe I'll just have to read the book, which is totally cool with me. I highly recommend seeing Ender's Game and if you can see it in IMAX, do it. Don't be scared of the $15 price tag and $2 convenience fee, it's well worth it.

I give Ender's Game 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Rated PG-13 Runtime 114 Minutes

Movie poster provided by imdb.com.

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