Album Review: Arch Enemy-Khaos Legions

Arch Enemy is back! It's been four long years since they have had a new full length (The Root Of All Evil which contained re-recorded material came out in 2009) and Khaos Legions is completely worth the wait. Hell, it might even be their best record to date.

Khaos Legions is a furious, ass-kicker of an album. The album is completely jam-packed with great riffs. Arch Enemy has always had insane guitarwork, but none of their previous material has had this many sick riffs. The speedy solos that Arch Enemy are known for are even cranked up another notch. The intro to "City Of The Dead" will leaver most listeners with their jaw on the floor, the solo is that impressive. There is actually no shortage of crazy solos on this record from the melodic beauty of "Cult Of Chaos" to the thrashy solos on "Cruelty Without Beauty" and "Bloodstained Cross". Khaos Legions is a guitar players wet dream.

Khaos Legions also succeeds with it's near perfect blend of thrash and melodic death metal. The melodic instrumental tracks serve as spectacular introductions. They transition eerily well into the proceeding tracks and add that much more to the album. Angela Gossow's vocals, as usual, are amazing. She is one of the best vocalists in all of extreme metal. Her vocals sound completely perfect no matter what the speed the section of the song is. That takes a ton of talent to pull off and Angela Gossow does it effortlessly.

Khaos Legions is one of the best, if not the absolute Arch Enemy record to date. It has all the trademarks of an Arch Enemy record, just done on a grander scale. It's faster, it's more melodic, it's catchier, and the riffs are even better. If you like Arch Enemy, you will love this record. It's the quintessential Arch Enemy record and it's already very high on my list of favorite records for 2011.

4.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.City Of The Dead
2.Cruelty Without Beauty
3.Cult Of Chaos

Movie Review: The Hangover Part II

In 2009, The Hangover took moviegoers by storm. It was one of the most celebrated comedies of the past decade and became an absolute cultural phenomenon. Two years later, "The Wolfpack" is back for another goddamn hilarious drunken misadventure.

This time around, Stu (Ed Helms) is getting married. Stu is getting married in Bangkok and wants to play it completely safe after what happened in Las Vegas. Of course, that doesn't go to plan. He wakes up along with Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galinfinakis), and Chow (Ken Jeong) in a strange hotel in the middle of Bangkok. They end up loosing Stu's fiance's brother Teddy (Mason Lee) and they run into another series of obstacles while trying to piece their night together and find Teddy.

The Hangover Part II plain and simple is hilarious. It does follow a similar storyline of the first one, but it's not exactly the same. The surprises level of the first one is still very much in tact. The situations they get into trying to find out what happened are just about as funny as they were in the first one. What kept The Hangover Part II fresh was the darker, more outrageous tone. It's definitely a different vibe than the first one and that what's sets them apart. The chemistry of the three leads is still there as well. Watching Helms, Cooper and Galinfinakis together is an absolute treat. These three are all funny in unique ways and their different comedic approaches makes these characters so fun to watch.

The Hangover Part II is able to recapture most of the laughs and fun of the first film without feeling like a complete retread. This is a darker outing and the situations they get into are more vulgar and ridiculous. The lead actors make such a great team and I think they go down as one of the best comedic teams in film history. I think some of the professional critics were grasping for straws to hate this film. All the negative reviews I read just said "It's the same thing over again". I really don't think it matters if it's similar as long as it's funny and The Hangover Part II succeeds at bringing the laughs.

4.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: I Am Number Four (Film Number 2 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

Every year it has to happen. Some film has to take the dubious honor of being the first bad film of the year and I Am Number Four is the lucky film I get to bestow that upon this year. Prior to seeing this, A friend of mine jokingly said that this film caused him to break up with his girlfriend. After seeing I Am Number Four, I now see why he would say that.

I Am Number Four makes the big mistake of false advertising. The trailers made this look to be a sci-fi action flick. Instead I Am Number Four is basically a romantic film with sci-fi elements and a few action sequences. With the sparse amount of the action on display, it means this film is mainly based around the story. Too bad the storyline is not particularly strong. The whole film tries to develop this romantic/ coming of age storyline and it really backfires. On top of the script issues, the acting is pretty bad all around. Alex Pettyfer is one of the bland and boring actors in all of Hollywood. He basically just coasts through this movie with one expression and shirtless half the time in an attempt to sway the teen girl audience. Dianna Argon, of Glee fame, plays his love interest and is equally bad. There are a couple of redeeming action sequences and Timothy Olyphant is good as always (seeing him surrounded by all these horrible actors makes me realize how great he is.) I Am Number Four suffers from a weak love story plot, pretty bad acting, and cheesy (not in a fun way) villains. I can guarantee there will be much worse films than I Am Number Four this year, but for night now this is the worst I've seen this year.

2/5 Stars

Album Review: Hate Eternal-Phoenix Amongst The Ashes

I am going to be completely honest, I lost interest in Hate Eternal for a while. I saw them live two years ago with Hatebreed and they were one of the most disappointing live acts ever. Erik Rutan's vocals were really muddled and it looked like he didn't give two shits about the performance. This was a big factor in why I didn't check out Phoenix Amongst The Ashes right away, but after all the acclaim it had been receiving, I decided to give it a bid. I am really glad I did, Phoenix Amongst The Ashes restored my faith in Hate Eternal and instantly made me a fan again

What really struck about me Phoenix Amongst The Ashes from the start was how fucking heavy it was. "Rebirth" is a perfect intro. This album is essentially the rebirth of Hate Eternal as a death metal force and I could not think of a more perfect opening song title. The fury of the opener carries over to the savage trio of tracks "The Eternal Ruler", "Thorns Of Acacia" and "Haunting Abound". These tracks grab the listener with their extreme heaviness, fret-board melting guitar solos, and melodic tinges. You can tell that Hate Eternal wanted to just massacre the listener from the start and they did just that. The album does take a little bit of dip in quality with "The Art Of Redemption" and the title track. Rest assured, Hate Eternal more than makes up for it with the punishing final tracks (album closer "The Fire Of Resurrection" being the standout of the final bunch of tracks.) This albums ends just as strong as it begins and Rutan saves some of his best solos of the entire record for last.

Hate Eternal has returned to their mighty form with Phoenix Amongst The Ashes. It's a devastatingly heavy effort that provides 40 minutes of crushing death metal. Erik Rutan is still one of the best guitar players in extreme metal, his solos here are among his most impressive to date. I will say that I didn't enjoy Phoenix Amongst The Ashes nearly as much as a lot of people did, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Phoenix Amongst The Ashes rekindled my love for Hate Eternal and this is a must-listen for fans of death metal.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Thorns Of Acacia
2.Haunting Abound
3.The Fire Of Resurrection

Album Review: Arsonists Get All The Girls-Motherland

Arsonists Get All The Girls is one of the most unpredictable bands within in the entire metal scene. Their sound is completely off-the-walls and it's only getting crazier by the record. Motherland is easily their most spastic record to date, but it's also their most polished and absolute best.

Motherland is the most mature Arsonists Get All The Girls record to date. It's still has their spastic roots completely in tact (I would say it's even crazier), but it adds a lot of progressive, electronic and grindcore elements to their sound. This more complex song structure makes this record even more of a treat to listen to. Arsonists Get All The Girls shows the listener right off the bat the direction Motherland is going to take and how much they improved as a band. Album opener "Rise To Fall" opens with a fantastic keyboard hook and melodic riffing. My favorite moments of Motherland is when they throw in insane tempo-changes and surprises. The last two tracks "Will Someone Please Turn Down The Ocean?" and "Tempest" are the two most ambitious and best tracks Arsonists Get All The Girls have ever made. They make first-rate use of keyboards and melodic guitar solos on these tracks that completely stick with you. Another awesome surprise was the instrumental track "West Cliffs". It shows off a side of Arsonists Get All The Girls that hasn't really been seen before and it's a sick instrumental track that serves as a great interlude in the middle of the record.

Motherland is the finest work to date for Arsonists Get All The Girls. It's takes their trademark brand of chaos and evolves into a more complex animal. It really is amazing how much better this band has got since The Game Of Life. This current lineup that has been in place since their last record Portals is the absolute best line-up of musicians has ever had and I can only see them getting even better over time.  Motherland is a catchy, heavy, progressive, spastic, and great record from Arsonists Get All The Girls.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Tempest
2.Will Someone Please Turn Down The Ocean?
3.Dr.Teeth

Movie Review: Pirates Of The Carribbean: On Stranger Tides

The Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise was one of the staple film series of my early teenage years. The first installment in the franchise is still among my favorite films and the two preceding installments are pretty great as well (more so Dead Man's Chest than At World's End.) After a four-year break in the action, Pirates is back and On Stranger Tides is a worthy fourth installment.


This go-round, Jack Sparrow is in pursuit of the Fountain Of Youth. Jack finds out there is an impostor in London claiming to be him and attempting to recruit a crew. Jack soon finds out that the impostor is none other than his ex-lover Angelica (Penelope Cruz), who is also revealed to be the daughter of then notorious pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Jack ends up being forced to join Blackbeard's crew, because he (reportedly) knows the location of the Fountain. But Blackbeard is not the only person in pursuit of the Fountain; a group of British soldiers, led by Jack's old nemesis Barbossa (Geffory Rush), not to mention the entire Spanish Armada, are trying to beat them to the fountain.

On Stranger Tides sticks to the typical Pirates formula, and it's still as fun as ever. The sense of adventure and high-octane action and thrills are still present. The action sequences are not quite on the excessively grand-scale as they were in At World's End, which I think ultimately was a good choice. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed At World's End, but it was overlong and went overboard on some of the action sequences. On Stranger Tides' action scenes are pretty great, especially the sequence where Jack escapes from the custody of the British early in the film

Johnny Depp is still great as Jack Sparrow. Jack is such a great character, and Depp's eccentric wit brings a sense of non-stop fun to the role. It was also great to see Geoffrey Rush back as Barbossa, who is another one of the best characters, and it was a joy to see that he was brought back as well. Ian McShane makes a nice addition as Blackbeard. He was a solid villain and the right choice for the role. On the other end of the spectrum, Penolope Cruz didn't really do much. She wasn't completely horrible, but it seemed like she could have done a lot more with the character. Even though she was one the main characters, her performance made her character seem completely meaningless and inconsequential.

On Stranger Tides is a solid adventure that should please fan of the previous Pirates films. It's very much in the same vein as the other Pirates films, and the sense of fun is still there even though it is on its fourth go-round. It's not as good as the first two, but I would say it's a definitely improvement on At World's End. On Stranger Tides doesn't soil the name of the franchise and I look forward to the next installment.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: No Strings Attached (Film Number 1 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

Well the time has finally come for me to start my goal for 2011 films. For people that don't frequent my blog, my goal for 2011 films is to see just about everything that comes out. I will only be marking the films I did not want to see initially as being part of my goal for 2011 films. I hope this exploration process will broaden my views and further my skills as an aspiring critic. Lastly, these reviews will be not be full-length like my reviews of films I see in theaters, but they will also be longer than the quick reviews I tend to do for films I see on DVD.

No Strings Attached was a film that to me at least,  a film that's trailers screamed generic romantic comedy. Romantic comedies are not a genre that I tend to enjoy, so let's just say I was not particularly enthused to see this film. To my surprise, No Strings Attached was actually pretty enjoyable. It's not really a film the reinvents the wheel anything like that, but it does provide a nice,light piece of entertainment. What really shocked about No Strings Attached was how funny it was. I really wasn't expecting to laugh this much during this film. The cast actually does a pretty solid job. Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman have an undeniable chemistry. It was actually pretty cool seeing Natalie Portman do a film that is such a contrast to Black Swan. It really shows the range Portman has as an actress and I would like to see her in another comic role soon. The greatest strength of No Strings Attached though is the hilarious supporting cast. Kevin Kline especially steals the show as Ashton Kutchers' dad. Seeing Kevin Kline play the role of Kutcher's crazy, drug enthusiast, ex-actor dad was completely hysterical. It's such an off-type role for Kline and he nailed it. I will say No Strings Attached gets sickeningly sappy at the end, which brings it down a bit. Still, No Strings Attached is a surprisingly funny and enjoyable film. It doesn't quite reach the heights of last year's She's Out Of My League and Going The Distance , which I consider to be the two finest romantic comedies in recent memory, but No Strings Attached still does it's job admirably.

3.5/5 Stars

My 100 Favorite Films Of All-Time

This has been a list that I contemplated doing for quite some time. Finally, a few months ago, I sat down and actually made a list of my 100 favorite films of all-time. I put quite a bit of thought into this and it was a very,very hard list to make. I have seen thousands of movies and there are still plenty of notable films that are considered to be among the best ever made that I haven't seen. I am sure there will be some complaining, but that's cool. I value everyone's opinion and feedback. Without further ado, here is the list of my 100 favorite films of all time.

100. Layer Cake
99. Caddyshack
98. This is Spinal Tap
97. Sling Blade
96. Ocean's Eleven
95. Airplane!
94. Meet the Parents
93. Coach Carter
92. Me, Myself and Irene
91. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
90. The Fifth Element
89. The Rundown
88. Borat
87. Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
86. Gran Torino
85. Dogma
84. 3:10 to Yuma
83. Starship Troopers
82. Toy Story 2
81. Step Brothers
80. Clerks
79. Braveheart
78. Remember the Titans
77. Rambo: First Blood
76. Team America: World Police
75. Batman Begins
74. X2: X-Men United
73. Inception
72. Grandma's Boy
71. Predator
70. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
69. The Lion King
68. Saving Private Ryan
67. Friday Night Lights
66. Hot Rod
65. True Romance
64. Clerks 2
63. V For Vendetta
62. Rocky
61. 300
60. Iron Man
59. Kick-Ass
58. Good Will Hunting
57. Lucky Number Slevin
56. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
55. Shaun of the Dead
54. The Wrestler
53. Billy Madison
52. Raiders of the Lost Ark
51. Gone Baby Gone
50. Star Trek
49. Shane
48. The Hangover
47. No Country For Old Men
46. The Hurt Locker
45. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
44. Die Hard
43. The Usual Suspects
42. Transformers
41. Inglourious Basterds
40. Unforgiven
39. Happy Gilmore
38. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
37. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
36. Do the Right Thing
35. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
34. Toy Story
33. Spider-Man 2
32. The Green Mile
31. Trainspotting
30. Friday
29. Office Space
28. 28 Days Later
27. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
26. Hustle and Flow
25. Space Jam
24. Half Baked
23. Donnie Darko
22. Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
21. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
20. Knocked Up
19. Superbad
18. Goodfellas
17. Training Day
16. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
15. Snatch
14. Memento
13. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
12. Gladiator
11. The Matrix
10. Kill Bill Vol. I
9. The Boondock Saints
8. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
7. American History X
6. The Departed
5. The Godfather
4. Reservoir Dogs
3. Fight Club
2. Sin City
1.Pulp Fiction

Album Review: Tyler, The Creator-Goblin

Tyler,The Creator has exploded on in the Internet in the past few months. His popularity really seemed to come out of nowhere. I follow rap pretty closely, so when I kept hearing about Tyler, The Creator, I needed to at least check him out. I'll admit at first, I was a bit skeptical considering the level of popularity he has reached in such a brief period of time. When something like this happens, it tends to me that are extremely generic and mainstream (cough cough Wiz Kahlifa.)  Thankfully, Tyler, The Creator is not in the least bit mainstream and Goblin shows signs that Tyler, The Creator is one of the most promising rappers around.

When Goblin is good, it's really good. Tracks like "Tron Cat" and "Nightmare" showcase his insane, sinister flow. This is when Goblin is at it's absolute best . His lyrics although graphic, are also extremely clever. There where many moments where I was left saying "Holy shit, that line was sick". For me, lyrics are a huge part of rap and Tyler, The Creator definitely does not disappoint in that aspect. Another one of the album standouts "She" was a really nice surprise. It made great use of something I normally hate in rap songs, a sung R&B chorus. I tend to find R&B choruses to be an overdone and horrible cliche, but for whatever reason it's effective on this track.

Goblin is not without it's flaws. First off, there is far too many filler tracks. About four or five tracks on here (especially "Fish", "Her" and "Transylvania") are completely dull and there really isn't anything interesting about them. The production is kind of an issue as well. At times, it's fine, but at others it's really sloppy. Not too many of the beats are really memorable and they kind of seem like they were thrown together in a rush as a kind of an afterthought. Lastly, there are times where this record is too over-the-top. The lyrics are just too much at a few points during the record.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Goblin to fans of rap. Tyler, The Creator is one of the most intense and talented rappers to emerge in a long time. This record is definitely not for the faint for the heart, the lyrics are so violent and brutal that it makes early Eminem look like Will Smith. I think he will only get better over time. He's young (he's only 20) and what he has already accomplished is stunning. Goblin shows the massive potential that Tyler, The Creator has and if even irons out the kinks on this record, we could be looking at the next hip-hop genius.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Tron Cat
2.She
3.Nightmare

I Have Returned

I'm out of school and my computer is fixed(for the moment at least), so let the posting onslaught begin! I need to make up for lost time and the godawful lack of posting that has been going on. I shall have review for the new Tyler, The Creator, Arsonists Get All The Girls and Hate Eternal records hope soon, as well as film reviews for Thor and No Strings Attached(film number 1 on my experiment for 2011 films.) These posts will hopefully all be up within the next few days. I am locked, loaded, and ready to get back to this. It's been far too long. Thanks again to people that are reading this, I really appreciate the support.

Chris Maitland

Concert Review: Deftones, Boston, MA, May 9th, 2011

It was a glorious evening last night at the House Of Blues. I was just stoked to be there after having my friend that was supposed to drive drop out the night before. Thankfully, another one of my friends was able to go and I am beyond thankful that I found someone to drive, it was one hell of a show.

I arrived at the House Of Blues around 7:40. My tickets were supposed to be on the second level, but my friends and I decided to sneak on the floor. It worked out, no one asked to see our tickets. It was a huge plus being able to see this show from the floor. At around 8:00, the first band, Funeral Party went on. I didn't expect them to at this show, I thought Dillinger Escape Plan was the only opener. Funeral Party is a indie/alternative rock band from England. They were actually surprisingly decent. They were an unconventional opener for this show, but they really weren't bad. I am not going to start listening to their stuff or anything like that, but they were a respectable opener for the evening.

The Dillinger Escape Plan was up next. The first time I saw them at Warped Tour last summer, the audience reaction was horrible, but Dillinger was still great. This time around, the crowd reaction was much better and Dillinger's show was even better. They were actually lights out. Their energy is honestly unmatched anyone in the music industry. I would go as far as to say you have not seen an energetic live band until you've seen The Dillinger Escape Plan live. From the opening notes of "Farewell, Mona Lisa" to guitarist Ben Weinman hanging upside from the balcony railing during set closer "43% Burnt", Dillinger's energy was relentless. They are such a fantastic and intense live band that needs to be seen by every metal fan at least once.  I would love to see them headline very soon.

Deftones were amazing as well. I saw them open for Alice In Chains in September and they were great, but this time out they killed that performance. They had one of, if not, the clearest sound mixes i've ever heard live. The sound was completely perfect. Chino Moreno sounded fantastic. His voice is even better live than is on disc. He is one of the very few vocalists I've heard live that I can say that about. The setlist was fucking great. A really great balance of stuff from their entire discography. The set highlight for me was "Passenger" with Greg Puicato from The Dillinger Escape Plan. That song gave me chills live and Greg Puicato does an amazing job with Maynard James Keenan's parts from the original  (personally, I think he does a better job. ) One of the best live songs I've seen this year, maybe even ever.

Overall, it was a spectacular show. Deftones and Dillinger Escape Plan are two of the finest live bands in metal today. They both put on high energy shows and they give it 110% every time out. If this coming to your city, don't miss this tour.

Scores
Funeral Party 6/10
Dillinger Escape Plan 9.5/10
Deftones 9/10

Setlists
Dillinger Escape Plan
Farewell, Mona Lisa
Milk Lizard
Panasonic Youth
Chinese Whispers
Room Full Of Eyes
Gold Teeth On A Bum
Black Bubblegum
Sunshine The Werewolf
43% Burnt



Deftones
Diamond Eyes
Rocket Skates
Birthmark
Engine No.9
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Digital Bath
Knife Prty
Korea
Hexagram
Minerva
Bloody Cape
You've Seen The Butcher
Sextape
Prince
Cherry Waves
Feiticera
Elite
Change (In The House Of Flies)
Passenger(with Greg Puciato) (One of the best single song performances of 2011, if not ever for me)
Encore:
Root
Nosebleed
7 Words

Short Break From Posting

This upcoming week is my last week of college for this semester. I have a lot of work to do this week, so I will not be posting with the exception of a review for the Deftones/Dillinger Escape Plan show that I will attending on Monday. After this short break, expect more frequent posting. I will be out of school and have a good amount of time to compose posts. I have some cool posts planned, as well as the typical film and music reviews.

Chris Maitland

Album Review: Beastie Boys-Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

The Beastie Boys have been through a lot of shit in the past few years. Most notably, MCA was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, which subsequently delayed the release of their new record. Now that MCA is (thankfully) cancer-free, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two has finally seen the light of day and it's a triumphant return for the Beastie Boys.

Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 has been a long time coming. It's the first Beastie Boys's rap record since 2004's To The 5 Boroughs (they released an instrumental album in 2007). The Beastie Boys return to rap is a welcome one. The Beasties let it be known early on they are coming back with a vengeance. "Make Some Noise" is a furious vintage Beastie Boys anthem. It's in your face fun filled with the witty wordplay and manic energy the Beastie Boys have become known for. The entire duration of Hot Sauce Committee Part Two maintains this unpredictable, chaotic fun whirlwind energy. It's truly infectious and you can tell how much fun the Beastie Boys had making this record. On top of the sheer fun, the vast array of beats the Beastie Boys explore on this record is fantastic. From the old-school drum driven "Nonstop Disco Powerpack" to the punk influenced "Lee Majors Come Again" to the reggae stylings of "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win", the Beastie Boys leave pretty much no style of beat untouched.

Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 is a reminder to the entire hip-hop community of how great the Beastie Boys are. Their inventive lyrics and beats are still in peak form with over twenty-five years in the rap game. It's a really testament of how strong of artists they are. I think Nas says it the best on the album's crowning achievement "Too Many Rappers", when says "There's too many rappers, but not enough MC's". The Beastie Boys are still MC's to be reckoned with and Hot Sauce Committee Part Two proves that.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Too Many Rappers (feat/Nas)
2.Lee Majors Come Again
3.Nonstop Disco Powerpack

Album Review: Texas In July-One Reality

Texas In July has easily been one of the most hyped bands in the metalcore community recently. They have picked up a pretty solid following off their debut album I Am which was released in 2009. They recently signed with Equal Vision Records and look to gain an even larger following. One Reality is my first exposure to Texas In July and I have to say I was pretty impressed.

Texas In July reminds me a lot of fellow Lancaster, Pennsylvania Christian metalcore band August Burns Red. Both acts feature a pretty fast, breakdown heavy brand of metalcore with melodic undertones. One Reality does get of to a slow start with "Magnolia" and "1000 Lies". I found these tracks to be pretty forgettable and they felt like they were kind of lacking something. Once "Dreamer" kicked in, One Reality didn't let up in quality. The rest of the album is chock full of catchy riffs, melodic sections, and some solid breakdowns. Album standouts "Dying World" and "Cyclops" make particularly good use of breakdowns. I am not a person that gets overly excited by breakdowns, but Texas In July uses them pretty effectively. The breakdowns actually enhance the song, they aren't just thrown in for fun like some other bands currently on the scene today.

Texas In July is a good young band to watch. One Reality is an impressive second album and I can only see this band getting better. They are pretty much a must listen for fans of bands like August Burns Red. Texas In July blends their metalcore influences with melodic elements seamlessly. One Reality is a heavy and melodic record that provides an enjoyable thirty minutes of music.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Dying World
2.Cyclops
3.Our Freedom  

Movie Review: Fast Five

When it comes to sheer entertainment value, the Fast and The Furious franchise is hard to beat. The franchise has provided consistent fun and action since it's inception in 2001. The new installment, Fast Five,  not only continues the tradition, it's the best installment yet.

Fast Five takes place directly after the end of the previous installment. After Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) break Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) out of jail they head to Rio De Janerio, Brazil. Upon arriving in Rio, they take a job from their friend Vince (Matt Schulze) to steal three cars from a train. The job goes wrong and they end up getting double-crossed by a Brazilian mobster Reyes. Mia was able to steal the one car the mobster wanted which contained a computer chip of all his money-laundering safehouses. Looking for vengeance, they assemble a team featuring a lot of their old friends to steal $100 million from Reyes. To make the hard job even more difficult, Dom, Brian and Mia are being tracked by elite DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Dwanye "The Rock" Johnson) . Hobbs is looking to apprehend them for breaking Dom out of prison and will stop at nothing to capture him and bring him to justice.

Fast Five is one hell of a way to start the summer movie season off. This is exactly the piece of pure entertainment that 2011 needed. Fast Five is the best installment yet. It takes more of a focus on being a action-packed heist film then a street racing film. It doesn't completely abandon racing, the film is just more focused on the heist centering the film. I think this makes the franchise even better and I really like the direction these films have taken. The action sequences are completely beefed up to a grander scale. The fight between Dom and Agent Hobbs is one of the most intense movie fights in recent memory. Even more impressive is the heist sequence at the end of the film. That is the absolute best sequence out of any film I have seen this year. It's one hell of a chase scene and it's a thrilling climax to a fantastic film.

Fast Five is one of the best straight action films I have seen in the past few years. The action scenes are top-notch and the story is engaging and surprisingly pretty good. There is also a surprising amount of laughs to be had. The new found humor adds something that has been missing from The Fast and Furious formula. The cast has good chemistry together and Dwayne Johnson's presence as the new "villain" is a big plus. Fast Five is a more mature, more action-packed, and more fun version of The Fast and The Furious. Fast Five is the best film of 2011 so far as well as the best installment of the franchise.

4.5/5 Stars

May In Film

May marks the official start of summer movie season. May is actually the strongest looking month in a pretty weak looking summer(4 of my top 10 most anticipated films of the summer come out in May). Here are my thoughts on the upcoming releases in May.

Films I Want To See
4.Kung Fu Panda 2(5/26)-This might come as a shock to some people that frequent my blog, but I want to see Kung Fu Panda 2. I watched the first one out of boredom during a free preview of HBO a couple of years ago and it was pretty good. The original cast is back for the most part and this should be a good sequel.

3.Thor(5/6)-Thor isn't one of my favorite Marvel heroes, but this still looks pretty cool. The trailers looks pretty great and it looks to be very Iron Man-esque(blending action with some comedy), which is a good thing.

2.Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides(5/20)-The subtractions of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley and the addition of Ian McShane/return of Geoffry Rush makes me extremely excited for this movie. The trailers looks pretty damn awesome and it looks like it make up for the disappointing (but still pretty good) third film. The only potential red flag is that this was directed by Rob Marshall, who has never directed anything like this before (his previous films include Chicago and Memoirs Of A Geisha).

1. The Hangover: Part II(5/26)-The Hangover is one of my favorite comedies of all time, so naturally I can't wait to see this film. The new trailers look to be more of the same, which makes me even more pumped to see this. This is my most anticipated film of the entire summer and if it's even anywhere close to as good as the original, I will be happy.

Films I Am Unsure About
Bridesmaids(5/13)-I haven't been more split on a film in a long time. On the positive side, it's been getting really good early buzz dubbing it as the "female version of The Hangover" and Kristen Wiig is really funny (she is one of the best parts of Saturday Night Live). On the negative side, the trailers are pretty average and it could too much of a chick flick for my tastes. I'll have to see how it turns out.

Films I don't want to see (but will anyways due to my dedication to see as many 2011 films as possible)
Something Borrowed(5/6)-Generic looking romantic comedy that looks to be eye-gougingly awful, no thanks.

Jumping The Broom(5/6)-Repeat what I said for Something Borrowed.

Priest(5/13)-This look eerily similar to last year's Legion (that can be can explained, it has the same director and writers). It also looks completely stupid. Come on a god damn vampire hunting priest, that's really dumb. The action looks to be dull and the effects aren't even good.