Shy One – 6 Years

Artist: Shy One

Album name: 6 Years

Released: 2010

Genre: Horrorcore

Tracks: 16

Featured artists: Shy One (16 tracks), Psycho Jesus (1 track), CIAas (1 track), Hec (1 track), Smallz One (1 track), Nickelz (1 track), Sir Tones (1 track), The Perrywinkle Massacre (1 track)

My thoughts: Shy One has been inactive for six years (hence the name of the album) and since then, I’ve been following him on Facebook and following him as he’s taken part of the band The Perrywinkle Massacre, of which is featured a preview as the last track, but he hasn’t made any new material for himself. He has done some shows here and there in Texas but I haven’t seen any new songs released by him. Then, on a glorious day, he announced 6 Years to be released and on an even more glorious day, he released it! Living in Sweden with not a lot of money, it was hard to get my hands on but I eventually got it and listened through the whole album.

Now, I don’t know exactly what Shy’s been up to these past years, but I do know that whatever it is, he’s become hell of a lot better! I have always liked him, from the first time I heard his music (which was EIBON a couple of years ago) and I have since had the pleasure of talking a bit with him through MySpace and Facebook, and I have been looking forward to his next CD.

On each track, he delivers that special flow that only he can, and he truly is a master in combining fast rap with a bit slower, more smooth, rap. He picked the perfect guest-artists for the CD and he has become a lot better in mixing his songs, and keep in mind that he was really good even before. This is by far his best CD so far, and I have no doubt that he will continue to grow as an artist and each CD will be better than the one before.

Grade: 10/10 – There is nothing at all to complain about. This album is as good as it gets without having studio-equipment for millions of dollars, and the lyrics and how he delivers them are amazing as always. I have only one thing to say: Somebody, sign this man!

The Crow

Name: The Crow

Released: 1994

Genre: Action/Drama/Romance

Director: Alex Proyas

Cast: Brandon Lee, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson, Ling Bai, David Patrick Kelly, Laurence Mason, Michael Massee, Sofia Shinas, Michael Wincott

Plot: One night before Halloween, and one night before their wedding, Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) and Shelly Webster (Sofia Shinas) are brutally murdered and, Shelly also gets raped, by T-Bird (David Patrick Kelly) and his gang. One year after the murder, a crow awakens Eric Draven from the grave. After he finds his former home in ruins, the memory of what happened to him and Shelly is starting to come back and he sets out to avenge Shelly and to get his own revenge on the gang that killed him and his fiancé.

My thoughts: This movie has become a classic over the years, and with the death of Brandon Lee during the recording, it has become a very talked about film. The cast are good, the plot is intriguing and Alex Proyas really was the perfect director for this movie.

Grade: 9/10 – This is a brilliant movie, and I can understand that it has reached the classic status that it now has. The acting in particular is brilliant, and the fight-scenes aren’t overwhelming in numbers but they sure are in technique and scripting.

Lil Wayne – Rebirth

Artist: Lil Wayne

Album name: Rebirth

Released: 2010

Genre: Rapcore

Tracks: 14

Featured artists: Lil Wayne (14 tracks), Shanell (4 tracsk), Eminem (1 track), Kevin Rudolf (1 track), Nicki Minaj (1 track)

My thoughts: This is the first rapcore-album by world-wide rapper Lil Wayne and most of his fans have responded negatively on his transition from mainstream gangsta- and club-rap to raping over rock and metal, but I have to say that it’s a step in the right direction for him. Sure, some of the tracks aren’t even worth listening to and he can’t really pull this of live, but most of his tracks, like Prom Queen and Paradice are way better than his usual crap. He has an amazing voice for rap so it’s a shame that he’s almost only done mainstream music, but the lyrics on most of his song from this album are lightyears better than his ordinairy lyrics.

Grade: 8/10 – This may by far be the best album ever to come out of Lil Wayne’s sleeve, but some of the songs are still as horrible as his usual work. But it’s ´worth listening to, without a doubt.

Hotel Rwanda

Name: Hotel Rwanda

Released: 2004

Genre: Drama

Director: Terry George

Cast: Don Cheadle, Xolani Mali, Desmond Dube, Sophie Okonedo, Tony Kgoroge, Hakeem Kae-Kazim

Plot: This movie takes place in Rwanda and it’s about the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 between the Tutsi and Hutu. Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) owns a local hotel with his wife Tatiana. Paul is Hutu, but his wife is Tutsi, and that was not usual nor accepted in Rwanda at that time, so the couple, their kids and their friends get into a great deal of trouble.

My thoughts: It was a while since I saw this movie, so my memory is a little blurry. But I do remember the feeling I had throughout the whole movie. The feeling of pure disgust against mankind. The confusion I felt when I realized that there actually exist people who kill other only because they are born into the wrong families. The hatred I felt against those grownups killing children simply becuase their father and mother are Tutsi. And also, their was a feeling I can’t describe. But there was something about that movie. To use a cliché, I don’t know what It is, but that movie had It!

 

Grade: 10/10 – This movie shows, without exaggerating, the full potential of human evil. This movie is touching, this movie is serious, this movie is fun, this movie is brilliant! If you haven’t seen it, you absolutely must! I know the cover looks like a snooze-fest, but believe me when I say that you do not want to miss this movie!

Room 1408

Name: Room 1408

Released: 2007

Genre: Horror/Thriller

Director: Mikael Håfström

Cast: John Cusak, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub, Len Cariou, Benny Urquidez, Lily Gracy Alexander (only in director’s cut)

Plot: A writer named Mike Enslin (John Cusak) is writing a book about haunted hotels. He finds out about a hotel named The Dolphin Hotel in New York that’s said to have a room where the last 50-something guests have commited suicide within one hour. He calls the hotel and tries to book the room but he is not allowed to by the clerk on the phone, so he drives down there and convinces the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson) that if the room is not occupied then he should, by law, be able to book it. The manager tries to convince him not to take the room by showing him photos of the recent suicides. He takes the room anyway and scary and messed up things are starting to happen; a psychopath with a hammer, sees himself across the street, living corpses and many other, worse things.

My Thoughts: Since the movie is based on a novel by Mr. Stephen King, I expected the movie to be real good, and I was right. It’s an amazing movie with an intruiging plot and great acting from John Cusak. It’s a horryfieing, cruel, thrilling and, most of all, real movie. Don’t get me wrong, the movie can’t be called a “true story”, but the feeling when you watching the movie makes your skin crawl. The Swedish director, Mikael Håfström, really found a way to put the people watching the movie into the movie. Big thumbs up!

Grade: 10/10 – This movie was just about everything I had expected from it. I was ready for a horryfieing experience that Stephen King, like no other, can create and I got it. I was expecting good acting by Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusak and I got it. I expected a good script and I got that to. I got everything I wanted. Therefore, this is the first review that I give grade ten.

In other words: If you like Stephen King’s books and movies, and if you like horror and thriller and if you like to get scared out of your seat, too scared to go to bed, then watch this. And stay away from hotels afterwards, just in case.

The heart is deceitful above all things

Name: The heart is deceitful above all things

Released: 2004 (2005 in France)

Genre: Drama

Director: Asia Argento

Cast: Asia Argento, Jimmy Bennet, Dylan Sprouse, Cole Sprouse, Peter Fronda, Ornella Muti, Kip Pardue, John Robinson

Plot: Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennet) is a seven year old boy who lives with a foster family. One day, social service takes him away from his foster home and hands him over to his real mother, the twenty three years old Sarah (Asia Argento). She is a disturbed, bizarre, twisted, low-life, broke train wreck of a person. She smokes a lot (and later you discover that she does drugs as well), moves around, goes from guy to guy who, all of them, beats her up and sometimes Jeremiah as well. One day, when Sarah is away, her boyfriend-at-the-time rapes little Jeremiah so bad that he ends up at the hospital where his grandmother (Ornella Muti) picks him up and takes him to her over-religious family. Three years later, when Jeremiah is out on the streets preaching about God, his biological mother Sarah finds him and, once again, drags him away on her insane journey to show that she is, without a doubt, the worst mother ever to walk the earth.

My Thoughts: This really is a movie that makes you think. My mind wandered of to the book A Boy called It by David Peltzer, since the real theme of this movie is child-abuse, both mentally and physically. Young Jeremiah, only seven to ten years old throughout the film, is living the worst life you could ever imagine that a child would be in.

And some of you may have noticed how it says that Marilyn Manson stars in this movie, but I did not bother to type his name in as a lead actor here, since Mr. Manson is in the movie only for about five short minutes (although his appearance and acting is really good).

Grade: 7/10 – Do I think that you should see this movie? Well, let me put it like this; if you can get your hands on this movie you should watch it. But if you can’t, you shouldn’t spend half of your life looking for it. And I also want to warn sensitive people about this movie, because it shows a harsh reality for some kids in the world.

Crime Life: Gang Wars

Name: Crime Life: Gang Wars

Released: 2005/2006

Genre: Action

Platforms: PC, PS2 & X-Box

Plot: You play as the character of Tre, a new member of the gang Outlawz. Once you get dragged into the gang-wars in Grand Central by the leader of Outlawz, you get dragged into a world of drugs, murder, money and assaults each day and night as you fight the rival gang Headhunterz.

My Thoughts: I really thought that this game was going to be a smash hit, at least for me. I bought it, I installed it… And I don’t want to do it again! Sure, it contains good RnB and rap-songs preformed by unnamed artists, such as Mnemonic from Germany, and also music and voice-acting by D12, who play a lot of the main Headhunterz, but the game is bad! You can’t change the hight of the camera (which can annoy the crap out of almost anyone), the fighting-system is uncanny and the feeling of the game is just awful. The only good thing about the game is the storyline.

Grade: 2/10 – The game has a real good storyline and good music. But the only time I’ll play it again is if I get a gun to my head. In fact, I think I’d choose death.

Twilight

Name: Twilight

Released: 2008

Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Romance/Thriller

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Patinsson, Billy Burke, Ashley Green

Plot: This movie is based on the first of a series of books and it is about a teenage girl named Bella (Kristen Stewart) who lives in a small town with her father. She just moved there and when she starts in her new school, she meets a teenage boy named Edward Cullen (Robert Patinsson). She realizes that he is a bit different from him and others when she finds out that he has incredible speed and strength. She falls in love with him and later, she finds out his big secret; that he is in fact a vampire.

My thoughts: The movie is a hit. It’s exciting, funny, romantic and it’s really unpredictable at times. I really think that it’s one of the best movies released this year and I look forward to the other movies based on the later books.

Grade: 8,5/10 – It is a really good and well-made movie who has almost everything you can wish for. But, beeing the vampire-enthusiast that I am, I was really dissappointed about how they portrait vampires in this story.