Review: Billy Joel Concert

I've always loved Billy Joel. He's amazing, and has amazing music. Ever since I was little, my parents played Billy Joel in our houses and cars, and I have yet to find a song I do not like.

When my boyfriend gave me tickets for Christmas to the concert in Columbia, SC at the Colonial Center. I was so excited! We drove up on Wednesday afternoon, Valentine's day. We got there an hour early, and found our floor seats. It was amazing how great our seats were! Floor left, in the center aisle. Billy Joel put on a great show, and had a great set list. We really had an amazing time, and it's one I will remember forever. I will post more about this show in the future!

The picture displayed is one I took from my seat...great seats, I told you! :)

Review: Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson is classic. Even though his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales, came out in 2001, it seems like he's been around forever.

Johnson was a surfer before he became a singer, but once his talent was realized, he was unable to hold back. He's put out a few more albums, but none have been as great as that first one, Brushfire Fairytales.

The album has wonderful songs with amazing lyrics. His lyrics are moving as well as passionate. In "The News," Johnson confronts the indifferent attitude newscasters have towards world events. He sings, "A billion people died on the news tonight/But not so many cried at the terrible sight/Well mama said/It's just make believe/You can't believe everything you see/So baby close your eyes to the lullabies/On the news tonight...Why don't the newscasters cry when they read about people who
die?/At least they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their
eyes."

His work is amazing, and the greatest thing to listen to while stressed.

Review: Nintendo 64

Way, way back in 1996, Nintendo put out a state-of-the-art entertainment system, a 64-bit graphic system called Nintendo 64. It was revolutionary, and premiered with a few games, such as Mario 64.

Today, such a system seems like a dinosaur. The jaunty moves, poor graphics, the lack of many colors, and the mono sound causes one to laugh at how high tech the game system...wasn't. In the midst of the laughter, though, I can't help but love the system for it's lack of sophisticated technology. It's a fun system, and it's very easy to understand. So many games today are so complicated, it's impossible to follow them.

The only problem I have with this system is the reliability of it. It's 11 years old, so I understand that it won't be working exactly like it did when it first came out. I have to turn the system on and off again and again when I want to play it, and it gets really irritating after a while.

Otherwise, a great system, and fun to reminisce with :)

Review: Mario 64

While reminiscing the other day, I realized how much I used to love the game Mario 64. I was never really into video games, but my little sister and I really enjoyed a few Nintendo 64 games.

I went online to the website craigslist.org, and asked if anyone had a system and games. A guy wrote me, and said that he had one with a few games and controllers for 25 dollars. I traded him a Wal-Mart giftcard, and drove home with my system.

I started playing Mario 64, and became sort of hooked. It's a really fun game, with varying levels of difficulty. I have to use walkthroughs to get through a lot of the levels. Whether or not you use walkthroughs or not, if you can't beat one level, you can go on to another, and beat those. All in all, you need 120 stars to beat the game. There are around 6 games in each level, and each gives you a star.

Mario 64 is a good game, except for the camera angles. There are so many times in which you're almost unable to see what you're doing, just because of the camera angle. If Mario stayed in the middle of the screen, all would be fine, but he moves around with and/or against the camera.

Review: Marie Antionette

I watched the DVD "Marie Antoinette" last night. We chose the film because we will be visiting Versailles in less than two weeks. I felt like we should have at least a small knowledge of the place. The movie has been touted as "Gidget in Versailles," so I thought it would be interesting. In general, the movie is very boring. It is slow, with very little plot points. Kirsten Dunst shines in her role, though. She is perfect for the role of Marie Antionette, and does a great job playing the spender, the young, fun queen. I think that the movie was slow because it focused on the historical aspect of Marie Antoinette and her life, rather than taking a major plot issue and making a big deal of it. All in all, this is a great movie for historical purposes, but not so great if you want an interesting movie.

Review: I Love New York

While flipping through channels this evening, I happened to fall upon VH1. A show called "I Love New York" was on, and because I didn't have anything else to watch, I stayed on the channel.

"New York" is Tiffany Pollard, a reality tv star who first showed up on VH1's "Flavor of Love." The public liked/hated her so much, she ended up with her own show.

The show started out with 9 guys, all fighting for New York's attention. They are almost all African-American, except for a random white guy. He is called "Mr. Boston," and played out to be a huge dork. His nasal voice, mixed with his "geeky" clothes pinpoint him as a target.

The guys have to split up in 3 groups, and make New York's chihuahua a doghouse. The men who build the best one will go on dates with her later that night. She ends up picking 3 guys, and the leader of that group gets "something special." New York plays it up to be sexual, but as a viewer, I figured that it was just innuendo. Strangely, she and one of the winners is seen in her bedroom in sexual poses. I guess it wasn't innuendo after all.

All in all, the show pretty much stunk. It was yet another reality show that wastes channel space.

Review: Hotel Rwanda

Gardner-Webb shows different movies on a closed-circuit channel each month. This month has a great lineup in store, and Hotel Rwanda is one of the better movies that are playing. It stars Don Cheadle, and focuses on the conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi in Rwanda, Africa. The genocide was horrible, and the movie really showed what it was about.

Hotel Rwanda is incredible. Paul, a hotel manager, and his family are documented as they try to save themselves, without sacrificing friends and family along the way. They use the hotel as a safe house for refugees, and end up housing over 1000 by the end. The people are abandoned many times, by all sorts of armies, even the UN.

The filmography in this movie wasn't exceptional, in my opinion. It was average work, but it didn't need to be greater than that. The storyline carried the film, high-paid actors and filmographers were not needed.

I almost want to say that the movie was too neat and tidy. I feel as if everyone who you really, really wanted to live, lived. Since the movie was based on a true story, it's understandable, but I felt as if parts of it were hard to believe.

All in all, this movie is a winner. Be prepared to cry.