The Shortlist: Best Of 2015

As the year of 2015 comes to an end, I am yet again faced with my annual task of compiling my favorite things of the year into a list, which always proves to be a very difficult and time-consuming but fun task. The past few years I've stuck to films only, but 2015 was a bit different. I found myself reading a lot of great books and listening to quite a bit of music in my spare time, so I wanted to include these elements on my shortlist as well. The only rules I gave myself before making this list is that every movie, book and song included had to be released or published sometime in 2015. I also made sure that I only selected one song per artist and one book per author, as I wanted my shortlist to be as diverse as possible. With these parameters set, I began the task of selecting my 2015 favorites, and here they are. Share your favorites for the year in the comments!

BEST MOVIES OF 2015:

Ex Machina

Alex Garland

★★★★☆ (Read my review)

Mad Max: Fury Road

George Miller

★★★☆☆

It Follows

David Robert Mitchell

★★★☆☆ (Read my review)

BEST BOOKS OF 2015:

Vanishing Girls

Lauren Oliver

★★★★☆ (Read my review)

The Girl On The Train

Paula Hawkins

★★★★☆ (Read my review)

It's What I Do

Lynsey Addario

★★★★☆ (Read my review)

BEST SONGS OF 2015:

Realiti (demo version)

Grimes

[Listen]

Down Side Of Me

CHVRCHES

[Listen]

Black Sun

Death Cab For Cutie

[Listen]

Warm Blood

Carly Rae Jepsen

[Listen]

Sorry

Meg Myers

[Listen]

Haunting

Halsey

[Listen]

Lifted Up

Passion Pit

[Listen]

Wasteland

VÉRITÉ

[Listen]

Circadian Rhythm

Silversun Pickups

[Listen]

Can't Deny My Love

Brandon Flowers

[Listen]

Album Review: Art Angels

Canadian musician Grimes recently released her newest album Art Angels, and I thought it would be a good time to give my opinion on it. I can say that overall, this is my favorite album from Grimes. Perhaps as an artist she is still a bit "out there" for many people to get on board with, but slowly and surely Grimes is begining to pave her way into the musical world. Art Angels is the perfect bridge that will undoubtedly start pulling more individuals toward becoming fans of Grimes' music.
Many of the songs on Art Angels are quite refreshing in the sense that they are very unique, blending distinct aural elements into a relatively cohesive package. However, I think that this is also somewhat of a blight on this album. For example, the overt aggression in the song "SCREAM" sharply contradicts the almost angelic, orchestral quality of the intro track "laughing and not being normal." It is these opposing sounds that make Art Angels a little confusing for the listener.
However, there are certainly elements of this album that shine and make the musical talent of Grimes clear. For one, I really enjoy how Art Angels makes Grimes' vocals more apparent than many of her previous songs. The lyrics can actually be mostly understood, but they still don't detract from the instrumental components of the tracks. This album also strikes me as being more accessible to a wider audience. Her upbeat tunes such as "Flesh without Blood," "World Princess Part II," and "Kill V. Maim" seem like they were made for the sole purpose of getting stuck in your head for days. It's this catchiness that will make Art Angels appeal to more people and become an album that many will listen to. I was also impressed with the way Grimes changed her demo version of "Realiti" to fit the sound of her whole album. Although I do still prefer the original, I think that the album version of the song fits into the framework of Art Angels much better.
Although falling short on a few aspects and having several songs that I personally don't love, overall Grimes' newest album is something refreshingly different and possesses a unique sound that the radio does not provide. Blending musical elements that few artists would dare attempt to mesh together, Grimes has largely succeeded in composing an enthralling sound with Art Angels. I will admit that it took me several listens of the album to really start enjoying some of the songs, but I think Art Angels is worth giving a chance. It might not be musical perfection, but it sure is musical creativity to the max.
Artist: Grimes

Genre: Art pop/Synthpop

Number of Songs: 14

Release Date: November 6, 2015

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Movie Review: Liberal Arts

One recent night I found myself caught in a movie trailer vortex on YouTube, a very dangerous place for myself to be. After watching the trailer for the 2012 film Liberal Arts, starring Josh Radnor and Elizabeth Olsen, I figured I would check Netflix to see if it was available there, and seeing that it was I opted to give it a watch.

This quirky comedy drama opens with Jesse, a college admissions officer living in New York City, traveling back to his liberal arts college in Ohio to attend his old professor's retirement ceremony. There he meets Zibby, a student attending the college, and they quickly form a strong friendship. Once he returns to New York, Jesse stays in contact with Zibby through exchanging letters with her. Zibby asks him to return to Ohio so she can see him, but upon arriving is apprehensive about continuing a relationship with Zibby who is 16 years younger than him. The two must help each other figure out the complexities surrounding their wide age gap and the feelings that they have for each other.

To put it simply, this movie was certainly odd. From "the hat guy" (you'll know exactly what I'm talking about if you watch Liberal Arts) to the awkward chemistry between Jesse and Zibby, I found this film to be somewhat uncomfortable to watch. Sure, there were some elements that did work and buried among all the awkwardness were several truly funny moments. But overall, I was pretty disappointed with Liberal Arts.

To begin, I thought the movie was slow to evolve and get to its point. The plot itself is pretty sparse; a guy travels to his college town and falls for a girl much younger than he is. That's pretty much it. I feel that to compensate, Liberal Arts just throws a bunch of unrelated stuff into the mix that just doesn't seem to mesh with the main storyline. This movie also bounced around between comedy and drama, never quite establishing what it is suppose to be. A last negative point I want to make about Liberal Arts is just how disjointed the characters all seem from each other. While I was watching the film none of the people in it seemed to really connect to the other actors. It's hard to explain, but the best way I can describe it is that the actors didn't seem authentic. There was an emptiness behind their words and actions in this movie.

As I said above, there are a few positive elements. Not only are there several comedic scenes that were pulled off pretty well, there were also some heartwarming moments. Ultimately, for me Liberal Arts was like a blank, dull canvas with a very unsubstantial plot punctuated by brief yet vivid moments that were done well. I certainly didn't love this movie, and found myself to be bored and sometimes a bit bemused by parts in it, but I also didn't hate it. Overall, Liberal Arts is not a movie that I would go out of my way to advocate watching, but if you are so inclined you may find it to be more enjoyable than I did.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Run Time: 97 minutes

Release Date: September 14, 2012

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Book Review: Vanishing Girls

I've been reading a lot of books lately, and I'll be honest: I've hit kind of a slump in the sense that most of my recent reads have been pretty mediocre. That is, until I read Vanishing Girls. It was just the edge-of-your-seat exciting thriller that I was hoping for. It managed to pull me out of my recent reading rut and made me hopeful of what the other books that I have yet to read might have in store.
Vanishing Girls is narrated from the perspective of two sisters, Dara and Nick. Although once very close, a car accident that left Dara injured has rendered their relationship tempestuous, with Dara and Nick avoiding each other as much as possible. Meanwhile Madeline Snow, a young girl, has gone missing in their hometown. Nick's suspicions surrounding a possible connection between Madeline's disappearance and her sister are aroused when Dara goes missing as well. Nick then sets out to discover the truth to the secrets surrounding the disappearance of both Madeline and her sister.
To begin my review, I just want to quickly say that the one minor issue I had with this book was the changing point of views that were used to narrate the story. I found myself having to flip back to previous pages to figure out who was who, and to a degree it rendered Vanishing Girls to be a bit confusing. However, I can appreciate what Oliver was attempting to do by writing the story from different viewpoints, and I think it was a creative direction to take the book in. However, it might take a second read-through to really grasp and make sense of the story line of Vanishing Girls because of the numerous point of view changes.
Getting into the elements that really made me like this book, I'll begin by saying that it does a great job of mixing genres. There are strong elements of teenage angst, sibling and familial relationships, romance, mystery, psychological thriller, and it's surprisingly not too much. All of these genres are bundled together really well within the pages of Vanishing Girls. I particularly enjoy when a book can pull this off, as I often get bored with books that are clearly just focusing on mystery, or just on romance, for example. A second positive thing going for this book is its deftness at capturing characters with a lot of layers; that is, complex and occasionally conflicting personalities that are not one-note. The two sisters, Dara and Nick, are especially skillfully created by the author and their shifting emotions make them seem more real to the reader. This also creates a very complex yet strong bond between the two sisters, which is clearly evident. Lastly, I want to make note of this book's surprise ending. I obviously will not say anything specific as I don't want to spoil Vanishing Girls for any potential readers out there, but I'll just say that I was caught by surprise and it made the book even that much more layered and complex. In retrospect the book makes a lot more sense knowing how it ends, but until the twist was revealed I did not see it coming at all.
To conclude my review, I feel that Vanishing Girls is an exemplary psychological thriller. It not only has all of the required elements of one, but goes beyond this by having complex and interesting characters and a twist ending that I, at least, was not expecting at all. I would strongly recommend this book, especially if you are a lover of mysteries and thrillers like myself.
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Psychological thriller/mystery/YA

Pages: 357

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Molly's Music: Entry 2

It's been a while since I've written a music-related post here on my blog, so I thought that it would be an opportune time to share some of the songs that I've been listening to lately. Enjoy my list, and feel free to share some of your own current favorites in the comment section, I'd love to give them a listen!

Stateless - Bloodstream:
This slow, melodic song by the alternative rock band Stateless was introduced to me via Kawehi's cover on YouTube. It's a great song to listen to right before you fall asleep; it kind of puts you in a trance.


CHVRCHES - Playing Dead:
I've been a fan of CHVRCHES' music for a while, and liked this song from the first time I heard it play on my Pandora station. It's not one of the band's more well-known songs, but it should be!


Sofi de la Torre - Give Up At 2:
I just discovered this song a few days ago, again via my Pandora station. It's a slower song, very reminiscent of contemporary R&B singer Banks. If you're looking to add a unique-sounding musician to your musical repertoire, it's worth a listen.


Flesh Without Blood - Grimes:
I discovered the musician Grimes through her song Realiti, and although this newest song of hers doesn't quite add up (in my opinion) it's still pretty catchy.

Book Review: Dead To You

I know, yet another book review. What can I say, I've been quite the bookworm lately. My most recent read has been Lisa McMann's young adult thriller Dead To You. Overall I felt that this book had a mix of both good and bad elements, and I wanted to share my thoughts with anyone thinking about giving this book a read.
To give a quick overview of the plot of Dead To You, it begins with sixteen year old Ethan arriving at a train station. Having been abducted and missing since the age of seven, he is meeting his family for the first time in nine years. At first things go relatively well with his new family, and everyone is begining to adjust to his reappearance in their lives. But when something comes to light, something that Ethan can't deny because of his poor memory of his past, the truth of the events surrounding Ethan's identity are exposed for what they really are.
Overall this book was enjoyable to read and kept me interested from start to finish. Having read another one of McMann's books before, Cryer's Cross, I have found that she is really adept at writing page turners. The chapters were short and always ended with me wanting to know more, so I would just keep reading and reading. I also liked the characters in this book; they were all dynamic and interesting in their own ways. I didn't find myself singling out any one character as the "bad guy" or the "good guy," not even Ethan's vexed younger brother Blake who treats him terribly. I simply saw him as a teenager trying to deal with a big adjustment in his family.
There are a few cons with Dead You You as well. Namely I want to point out that it took a long time for the plot twist to become apparent to the reader. This book is still a good read before its storyline takes an unexpected turn, but I wish that this twist had come a bit sooner in the book. Because of this, I don't really see this book as much of a thriller, but more of an account of Blake's personal story. The other somewhat negative aspect of Dead To You [minor spoiler: is that it has a cliffhanger ending. If you typically don't like loose ends left in the final pages of a book, do not read Dead To You. It leaves a lot left to the imagination of the reader as to what happens next.]
So ultimately I walked away from Dead To You pleased with what I read. This book definitely occupied much of my time over the past several days, and it's a fast read that will suck you in and spit you out only until you finish reading. However, there were enough negative elements that would keep me from recommending this book to everyone. If you enjoy young adult books that have elements of psychological thriller, suspense, and even a bit of romance, then this book is probably for you. Otherwise, I'd advise you to pass on this read.
Author: Lisa McMann
Genre: Psychological thriller/YA

Pages: 243

Year Published: 2012

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Book Review: The Girl On The Train

The Girl on the Train is a book that I've been meaning to read for a while now, as I have seen it listed on several book lists floating around on the internet. Basically, it seemed that a lot of hype was surrounding this book and I wanted to see if it lived up to what people were saying about it. Overall, I can say that this was a very thrilling book to read, and it managed to hold my interest and keep me on the edge of my seat through the entirety of the plot.
First, I'll give a brief summary of The Girl on the Train. The book begins by introducing you to the character of Rachel, a divorced and jobless woman with a drinking problem. She spends much of her time riding the commuter train between her home and London, and every day she looks out the window at the same couple who are always outside on their deck. She paints them as the "perfect couple" in her head, and even nicknames then Jason and Jess. But one day Rachel sees something shocking happening on the deck, and suddenly finds herself caught up in a massive mystery that reveals the truth behind this flawless duo and everyone involved in their life.
I will admit that when I first picked this book up to read it, I was fairly skeptical as to how good it was going to be. However, it turns out that The Girl on the Train has a lot going for it. First of all, Hawkins does a fantastic job creating a plot that very quickly engrossed me. It only took a few pages of reading before I found myself very interested in what was happening. To put it simply, this book is a real page-turner, and I found myself thinking about what might happen later on in the book when I wasn't reading it. The Girl on the Train is also written very well; I like how the commentary switches between characters (Rachel, Megan, and Anna), and the author is very deft at descriptive writing. She gets in the heads of her characters, and creates a cinematic setting where the plot unfolds.
Overall I thought that The Girl on the Train was a very entertaining and thrilling work of fiction. However, there were some things that fell short for me. The first is that every single character in this book I just wanted to slap, to be blunt. Every main character is equally unlikable, and I found myself shaking my head at their ridiculous antics throughout the book. The other negative note that I want to mention is that the last quarter of The Girl on the Train lost me a bit. The majority of the book, especially towards the begining, was masterful at pulling me into the plot and I found myself constantly wanting to know what happens next. However, towards the end when the storyline starts to become clear to the reader, it almost became too over the top and simply was too unbelievable to connect with. I felt that this book quickly deescalated from being a really good thriller to an exaggerated, overblown and almost comical novel.
Ultimately, I found myself torn on what to rate this book. I came so close to giving it 3 out of 5 stars, but in the end I opted to give it 4 simply because it's just so addictive. It's a speedy book to read; despite its over 300 pages in length, I guarantee you'll blow through it in a few days. I would highly recommend this book if you typically enjoy thrillers, and even if you don't I think it's at least worth a read.
Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: Mystery/thriller

Pages: 323

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Book Review: Buried

I've been really getting into reading a lot more lately, and so after finishing MacCready's book Buried I felt compelled to write a review for it.
Buried introduces you to the character of Claudine, a teenager living in Maine and suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder from living with her untidy alcoholic mother. After her mother goes missing, Claudine begins to wonder where she could have gone. Her OCD begins to spiral out of control, and she must face the harsh reality of the truth that she has always tried so hard to conceal.
Overall, I found Buried to be a very solid read. By this, I mean that it kept me engaged and interested in the characters and the storyline of the book. I will admit that it took me several chapters to really get into this book, but was pleasantly surprised with how much I was invested in it by the end.
One thing that I really liked about this book is that it's main focus is on the character of Claudine. She is the only person that you really get to know, and this makes it easier to see her bizarre obsessions involving her OCD as normal. You're not an outsider looking at her; this book gets into the mind of Claudine. I also loved the setting of this book, and feel that the author did a really good job of evoking it in my imagination. Everything, from the New England beaches and desolate coastline of Maine to the hurricane that comes ripping through Claudine's hometown just perfectly suit the feel of this book.
In terms of what I didn't like, there are a few elements that didn't work for me personally. One is that, as I mentioned before, the plot took some time to build when I first started reading the book. I had to read several chapters before I began to get invested in what was happening to the characters in Buried. The other negative that this book has is that even after I began to get into the plot, I still didn't feel completely lost in the story unfolding. It held my attention, but didn't have the magic that some other books do of really sucking me into another world unfolding in my mind. Was I interested in the story and the characters? Yes. But this doesn't mean that I lost myself to the author's written world.
Overall, I found Buried to be a great Young Adult read that delves into the mindset of what it's like living with a mental illness like OCD. It also serves as a snapshot into the life of teenagers that share a home with a loved one who is an alcoholic. It's not an A+ book in my opinion, but it is certainly worthy of your time if you typically enjoy books of a similar genre.
Author: Robin Merrow MacCready
Genre: Psychological thriller/mental illness/YA

Pages: 198

Year Published: 2006

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Book Review: A Thousand Miles To Freedom

I just recently finished reading Eunsun Kim's autobiography A Thousand Miles To Freedom. I was first introduced to this book through this National Geographic article and was compelled to read the entire book myself. Overall, I found it to be an incredibly eye-opening read that introduced me to a topic that I didn't know a lot about.
A Thousand Miles To Freedom tells the story of how author Eunsun Kim, at the young age of 11, escaped the country of North Korea with her older sister and mother. More than simply an escape, Kim's harrowing journey takes her across China and Mongolia, through many hardships and perils, and takes many years to complete.
Now getting into my review, I want to start with what I didn't like as much about this book. The two main points that I want to make is first that parts of the book I personally didn't find overly interesting to read. The story detailing Kim's escape from North Korea was quite riveting, but the occasional flash forwards detailing her recent pursuits and current life in South Korea I thought were slightly dull. The second negative about A Thousand Miles To Freedom is that some parts of it are written with little substance. By this, I simply mean that sometimes certain sentences are short, and simple descriptive words are used. I actually feel bad critiquing this part of the book because I understand that the author is not a native English speaker, and so the English writing is not going to be on a level of brilliance.
Now onto the positives, because overall A Thousand Miles To Freedom was a really good book that I actually feel bad critiquing! The biggest thing going for this book is that it tells a stunning story of a young girl's journey, a story that few have told or written about before. It provides a window into the lives of people living in North Korea, and what the people who choose to escape this country go through. In addition to the story, I also enjoyed the voice of the author. She is relatable and doesn't at all evoke a tone of superiority through her writing. You may expect someone who has endured so much hardship and survived, and gone on to write a book to be a bit cocky, but on the contrary Kim comes of as being very humble and gracious in the pages of her book.
All in all, A Thousand Miles To Freedom was a good read and told of a world completely unknown to me. Although it may not be the best book I have read, I would certainly recommend it if you enjoy nonfictional stories about people and their lives. It will certainly give you a new outlook on life, and hopefully it will help inspire all of us to make this world a better and more peaceful place.
Author: Eunsun Kim
Genre: Autobiography/memoir

Pages: 228

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Movie Review: The Gift

The new psychological thriller The Gift is certainly no gift to the world of film. Quite frankly, I found it to be very disappointing for a movie that I expected loads of suspense from. Maybe I'm just not scared easily enough, but I'm pretty certain it's just because this is a lackluster film.
So, what is The Gift even about, you may be wondering. It opens with a husband and wife, Simon and Robyn, looking for a new house to buy in the Los Angeles area. They end up buying a mid-century modern house with way too much glass. After moving in with their pet dog, they go house shopping and run into Gordo, an old childhood classmate of Simon's. In the following days Gordo becomes persistent at spending time with Simon and Robyn, leaving gifts at their doorstep, having dinner with them, and showing up to help fix things up at their house. At first they shrug off Gordo's odd behavior, but things come to a head when past events surrounding Gordo begin to surface.
Before I get into what didn't work in The Gift, I first want to address its positive elements. Although not as much as one would expect, there was a degree of suspense that this film brought to the table. I would have appreciated more, as The Gift is classified as a thriller, but there was at least enough to keep me watching. I also thought that the plot was fairly creative and fresh; I don't know of any other movies that have a similar storyline. The acting was also done well, especially on the part of Joel Edgerton who plays the creeper role pretty well.
Now it's time we move on to what didn't work about The Gift. First I should address the fact that, although creative, I just didn't find the storyline to be all that engrossing. On the contrary, I predicted a lot of what ended up happening in this film, and my head was already guessing as to what would happen later in the plot. Adding to its predictability, I also found The Gift's plot to be a bit slow; it took some time for things to really get underway and for the main twist of the storyline to be revealed. The last point I want to make is that it was also incredibly hard for me to empathize with any of the characters in this movie. Even the people that are not portrayed as "bad guys" are simply empty shells; that is, there's no backstory about them that strongly connects them to the audience. I didn't root for anyone in The Gift, because frankly I didn't have any emotional investment in their character. I just wanted to watch and see what happened out of sheer curiosity.
So, as my closing statement for this movie review I will say that The Gift is probably not worth the price of a movie ticket to go see. Although it has a few positive elements that some of you may quite enjoy, for me it just was not very impressive. Maybe I'm the one missing something here, because this movie has rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and other movie review websites. But I'm only here to tell you what my opinions are, and put simply my opinion is that The Gift is a bit of a disappointment.

Rating: R

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Run Time: 108 minutes

Release Date: August 7, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review: Paper Towns

The recent film Paper Towns, based on the novel by author John Green, was playing at my local theater and so I opted to go see it. Although I didn't have many expectations for this movie, I left the theater slightly disappointed about what I had just watched. I'll explain in further detail below, but first I want to give a quick summary as to what Paper Towns is about.
The film centers on the character of Quentin, who was close friends with his neighbor Margo until they enter high school and grow apart. One night while he is sleeping, Margo breaks into Quentin's bedroom and convinces him to help her go on a mission to get revenge on everyone who has wronged her. The next morning, Quentin goes to school and realizes that Margo is missing. He begins to follow clues that he finds in order to track down Margo's whereabouts, and eventually recruits a team of his friends to help in the search. Through his searching for Margo, Quentin experiences things that would normally fall outside of his comfort zone, and he begins to question his relationships and his life.
What this film did bring to the table was both a good portrayal of teenage confusion, and an interesting plot that managed to hold my interest through the entirety of the movie. I suppose John Green should be credited for this particular aspect; after all, the film is based on his book. In spite of the shortcomings that Paper Towns has, the storyline was still good enough to make me want to keep watching and see what happens in the end.
But despite these two positive elements, Paper Towns managed to underwhelm me in nearly every other aspect. First, I want to address the acting, which I thought was somewhat mediocre. Although nobody who stars in this film did a terrible job portraying their characters, nobody really shone either. I especially didn't feel much of a genuine connection between the two main characters, Margo and Quentin, played by Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff. Also, despite the unique plot, there was an element of ennui throughout the duration of Paper Towns that just never seemed to go away. I can't say I was completely bored; the plot was interesting and did hold my attention. But there is just a certain lackadaisical element that has a strong hold on this film. The bottom line is that there's just a thick enough thread of a story to pull you into Paper Towns, but hardly any impact beyond that, emotional or otherwise. I found myself not really caring what happened to the characters or how the film would end, I just wanted to see it through simply to know what happens.
So the bottom line is this: I expected more from Paper Towns and overall was disappointed with what I ended up watching. It's certainly not a terrible movie, but it really lacks the depth or character connection that transports a movie into an award-winning classic. If you're still adamant about watching Paper Towns, at least wait until you can view it somewhere cheaper than a theater.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Mystery/Drama

Run Time: 109 minutes

Release Date: July 24, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review: Max

Filled with high hopes, I recently went to go see the family flick Max. However, I ended up leaving the theater with mixed feelings about this film. Although it's truly a heartwarming movie about a boy and his dog, in my opinion it most certainly did not live up to its full potential.
Before I get too far into the details, I'll catch you all up on what Max is about. After Kyle, a dog handler in the U.S. Marines, is killed in Afghanistan, his German Shepherd Max is sent back to the states. Max is is extremely distrusting of and violent towards other people, but shows an affinity towards Kyle's younger brother Justin. Because of this Kyle's family takes Max in, and Justin begins training him with the help of his best friend's cousin who is good with dogs. However, things take a turn when Kyle's friend Tyler begins to get closer to Kyle's family. Eventually, Justin must rely on Max to help him find out the truth behind Tyler and what secrets he is hiding.
First, I want to state that Max proves itself to be a good film that perhaps older kids can get something out of. It might not be the most appropriate movie to take your four-year-old to see (there are some violent scenes), but I think most children around age 10 or older would thoroughly enjoy Max. It's quite rare these days for a non-animated movie that is child-friendly to be released, but this film is one of them. Families aside, I think that anyone who is a dog-lover could appreciate this movie for the story that it tells, as it is a good depiction of the strong bond between a boy and his dog.
However, there are some numerous negative aspects to Max as well. Firstly, this movie didn't quite know what it wanted to be and never really made its genre evident to the audience. It could easily be a patriotic war movie, filled with action scenes and the quintessential "catch the bad guy" plot that accompanies most action movies. However, it can also be labeled as a coming-of-age flick, where the relationship between a young teenage boy and his family and friends are put to the test. Take your pick, because Max does not make it clear at all. Overall, there's just too much content weaved into the relatively weak plot that this film centers on. Another negative is that I personally found this movie to be a bit slow, even slightly boring at times. It also had an extremely predictable plot, to the point where nothing at all surprised me while I was watching Max. Perhaps this is because it's a family film, and so the plot should understandably be a little bit easier to follow because kids will be watching it. But adding to this point, I do want to say that Max is actually a bit of a violent movie for younger children. I'm not a parent, so perhaps I have no right to step into this realm of movie critiquing, but in my opinion there were several action scenes that would make me think twice about taking younger kids to see Max (think war scenes, shooting, dogs fighting each other, and throw some explosions in there too). The last negative point that I want to make about this film is the acting. I personally wasn't moved by any of the characters in this movie, and despite their eldest son Kyle having recently died in war, his family didn't show much believable emotion over his death. Just in general, I thought that no one who acted in this film did an amazing job.
So there you have it, perhaps a bit harsh but my truly honest opinion for the 2015 movie Max. Maybe it's because I was expecting this film to be really good that it fell pretty short for me, but maybe one of you will enjoy it more. It's not a motion picture that I would recommend going to see, but I wouldn't tell you to not watch it. Maybe just wait until it's on DVD and rent it for a dollar instead of paying the big bucks at the movie theater.

Rating: PG

Genre: Action/Adventure

Run Time: 111 minutes

Release Date: June 26, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review: Every Secret Thing

I was initially compelled to watch the crime drama Every Secret Thing for two main reasons. First of all because I typically like movies that are mysterious and suspenseful, and also I enjoy several of the actors that were cast in this film. Let me cut right to the chase: I was not very thrilled with this movie. Although it did have some elements that were done right, it fell short on almost every aspect possible. I will elaborate further, but first let me give you a quick synopsis of what Every Secret Thing is about.
The movie begins as two young girls, Alice and Ronnie, go to a pool party together. They are distant from each other and only hang out together because Alice's mother doesn't want Ronnie to feel left out. Walking home from the party, the girls steal an infant from the porch of a house and attempt to care for it, but the baby eventually dies and the girls both go to prison for seven years. Soon after their release, a local toddler goes missing from a furniture store and Nancy, the same police detective that worked on Alice's and Ronnie's case, is also assigned to this new one. Upon further investigation, Nancy suspects that the two events are linked, and that Alice and Ronnie might be involved with a second missing child case.
Let me begin with the pros of Every Secret Thing. What drew me to this movie in the first place were the actors that are in it, and honestly they all did a good job portraying their individual roles. I especially liked the characters of Ronnie and Nancy, played by Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Banks, respectively. I also thought that the storyline of Every Secret Thing was unique and very original, and I was somewhat drawn into what was playing out onscreen. However, this is pretty much where the positives stop for this film.
Despite the unique plot, it didn't provide me with a lot of surprising moments or truly thrilling "on the edge of my seat" scenes. The story that Every Secret Thing centers on is also quite unbelievable in the sense that an unattended infant is just randomly snatched up by two young children who have absolutely no reason to do this. This is just something that is fairly inconceivable in reality. But the glaring issue of this film is simply its slowness. The plot is like proverbial molasses, slowly lumbering along and taking much longer than necessary to get its main points across to the viewer. Every Secret Thing is not a long movie, but despite this its hour and a half run time still seems much too drawn out.
So in conclusion, I would say that Every Secret Thing is probably not a film that I will be recommending anytime soon. I wouldn't adamantly try to stop you from seeing it, as it does have some good elements. I would simply warn you that, in my opinion, it's probably not worth your time or money.

Rating: R

Genre: Crime drama/mystery

Run Time: 93 minutes

Release Date: May 15, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review: Ex Machina

Going completely off of someone else's recommendation, I went to go see the science fiction thriller movie Ex Machina at my local theater a few days ago. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised by what this movie brought to the table.
The film begins as Caleb Smith, a young programmer, wins a prize which grants him a visit to the facility of prestigious CEO Nathan Bateman. Once arriving, Caleb learns that he is expected to take part in a Turing Test to evaluate Nathan's humanoid robot called Ava. As Caleb becomes increasingly enthralled by Ava, she proves to be more capable and intelligent than either man could have ever imagined.
The positives of this film outweighed the negatives significantly, and overall I really enjoyed Ex Machina. I found it to have a very unique storyline that I haven't seen in any other movies before, and the fact that it's Alex Graland's directorial debut is pretty impressive. Another positive aspect of Ex Machina is the fact that it has an extremely limited cast, but still manages to pull off a very compelling and engaging plot involving only these few actors. In fact, there are only three actors in the entire movie with speaking roles, and all of them did a respectable job portraying their individual characters. Another element that I regarded as a plus for this movie is its very clean-cut plot with no offshooting stories that can all too often weigh a film down. Ex Machina cuts right to the chase, expending all of its time and energy into the main plot. The last element that I liked about this movie is the fact that the questions and topics that it brings up can directly be applied to our modern world in regards to technical innovations. I found it to be a thought-provoking film that is all too real in regards to the future of society.
Regarding the negative elements of Ex Machina, I would say I have two main issues with it. The first is that it is somewhat of a slow movie in that nothing major really goes down throughout its almost two hour run time. I'm not saying that it's a boring movie; on the contrary, the plot was actually very intriguing to me and held my interest. It's just that the scenes were slow, the setting never changed, and aside from the three main actors nobody new was introduced to the film. You'll know what I mean if you go see Ex Machina. I didn't find it dull to watch but it just had an odd lethargic feel to it. The other negative part of this movie is its unrealistic elements. I can't say too much here without revealing spoilers, but my issues lie with the fragility and power source for Nathan's robots.
All in all, Ex Machina was a very interesting, unique, and enjoyable movie to watch for me personally. I would recommend going to see it, whether at your local theater or later when its released on DVD. It's not only an engaging movie but also raises some interesting questions that will make you think about the modern world that we all live in today.

Rating: R

Genre: Science fiction/thriller

Run Time: 108 minutes

Release Date: April 24, 2015

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Under The Radar Musical Artists

The music that I listen to is all over the place, and the artists that I enjoy not only vary by genre but also by popularity as well. Sure, there are many well-known artists that I enjoy listening to, but there are also some unknown singers flying under the radar that I enjoy just as much. So I thought that I would devote a post here on my blog to these little-known musical artists that I feel deserve some more recognition for their talent. If you want to listen to any of the songs of these listed artists, just click the little music note next to their name. Let me know in the comments if you've heard of any of them, and also if you have some favorite under the radar artists of your own!

♫ BANKS:
Jillian Rose Banks, or more commonly known by her stage name BANKS, is a vocalist that I've been familiar with for about a year. Known for her unique style and sound, she blends the genres of R&B, electronic, and pop into a cohesive collection of songs. Her vocals are on the darker, moodier side of the musical spectrum, and so far she has released one album, Goddess. I'm clearly not the only person that enjoys her music, as BANKS is seemingly on the up and up and is definitely worth a listen!



♫ VÉRITÉ:
In my world, if an artist does not have a Wikipedia page than they are really under the radar! This is the case for the electronic pop musician VÉRITÉ, who I only recently started listening to. Although she has yet to release a full album, the songs that VÉRITÉ has released so far are full of potential and are certainly worthy of playing alongside the modern hits of today.





♫ Years & Years:
This British electronic pop band has managed to make nearly every single one of their songs into something extremely catchy. They have a way of making their music sound very unique, but also manage to turn their songs into earworms that get stuck in your head for days (in a good way). I've only been listening to Years & Years for several months or so, but they've definitely risen quite a bit in popularity since then. In other words, Years & Years is sure to be a mainstream band in the near future.



♫ Grimes:
The Canadian artist known simply as Grimes has managed to carve her eccentric sound into today's music scene. Her uniquely-sounding tracks can be quite different from each other, and Grimes is truly a musician that jumps between genres. Because of this, she has released some songs that I don't personally enjoy as much, but others that I love. It's this variety and musical creativity that makes Grimes one to watch, and even if her music is just a bit too "out there" for some, there is no denying the fact that Grimes is a very unique artist.


♫ Kawehi:
Another Wikipedia page lacking artist is Kawehi, who has a large YouTube audience and creates lots of unique covers to songs of well-known singers. In addition to making some extremely creative covers, she also has released several albums with her own songs through Bandcamp. Go listen to some of Kawehi's songs and covers on her YouTube channel, and see what you think!





♫ PVRIS:
PVRIS is a rock band that I only discovered recently, but I have already become hooked on their music. With one album already under their belt, they are proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the alternative rock world. I'm looking forward to exploring their music further, and I only see PVRIS getting more and more popular with time.



♫ Jetta:
This musician hailing from England is clearly talented and has some killer vocals, but she is still relatively unknown to many. Jetta's musical style blends indie, rock, and pop and her three extended plays feature songs that showcase these differing genres. Perhaps many of you have heard Jetta already without knowing it, as her cover of I'd Love to Change the World has been featured as the song for several movie trailers. Due to her unique sound and embrace of many different genres, Jetta is an artist that is sure to generate a large fanbase.

♫ Panama Wedding:
The last band that I want to shed some light on is the electronic group Panama Wedding. I first heard one of their songs playing in Starbucks, and I've been a fan of theirs since. They make great "feel-good" music, as all of their songs are quite upbeat and have a very distinct sound. Panama Wedding has released one extended play called Parallel Play, and they've also performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live. They've started out with a bang and I can see Panama Wedding becoming a favorite musical artist among many in the near future.

Book Review: It's What I Do

I suppose I'm well overdue to post something here on my blog, and so I figured that I would write another book review for you all. Last night I finished up reading the recently published autobiography by Lynsey Addario called It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War. Overall I was impressed with this read, and so I wanted to share my general thoughts about it in this review.
It's What I Do is an autobiographical memoir that focuses on the life and career of photojournalist Lynsey Addario. It specifically details her personal struggle between maintaining a budding career as a war photographer and simultaneously having romantic relationships and starting a family.
Overall, I thought that this was an extremely insightful and interesting book to read, and I found it hard to put down. Addario does a good job at giving readers a glimpse into the personal side of the life of a photojournalist, and the numerous sacrifices that they must make in order to further their careers. Photojournalism has always been an interest of mine, but until reading this book I had never considered just how much these people actually go through to capture images for a story. I also found this book to have a good mix of humor, emotion, and action that really held my interest in what was happening. One final positive element of It's What I Do is its design. Not only are Addario's photographs quite striking (the image of Kahindo and her children on page 189 is my favorite), but in addition the font, margins, and text size made this book that much more enjoyable to read. Kudos to Claire Naylon Vaccaro, who is responsible for the book design!
Alas, I also must mention the negative aspects of this book as well, although they are quite minimal. Firstly, I found the first two-thirds or so of this book to be more interesting to read, and I felt more compelled to continue reading towards the begining. Perhaps this is due to the fact that this portion of the book addressed the start of Addario's career when she was just breaking into photojournalism, and so it was more interesting to me personally. Another negative aspect of It's What I Do, although admittedly the book probably would have been much too long otherwise, is that many elements were skipped over briefly and were hardly mentioned at all. For example, Addario mentions going to places such as Senegal without going into much detail about why or what happened there. As mentioned before, most likely it simply was not possible for the book to explain every single assignment that she went on, but nonetheless it was something that I noticed. One last small issue I had with this book is the occasional narcissistic tone that it seems to take on. On several occasions while reading it, I found myself wishing that the author would go into more detail about the local civilians and victims of violence that she photographs, but instead she tends to explain what she is feeling and how she is giving them a voice. I don't know if this is necessarily a negative aspect of this book; it is about Addario's life after all, so it is reasonable as to why it focuses more on her. I only wish that more had been said about the subjects that she photographs with such passion.
In conclusion, the positives far outshine the negatives of It's What I Do, and I was thoroughly engaged in Addario's life story as presented within its pages. I think that it's a must read if photojournalism, or even photography, is a career that you're trying to enter into or even if it's a personal interest. I found this book to be informative, eye-opening, and most importantly inspiring, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a new book to delve into.
Author: Lynsey Addario
Genre: Autobiography/memoir

Pages: 357

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Molly's Music: Entry 1

About a month ago, I published a blog post that listed some of my current favorite songs and artists. It got me thinking that maybe I should start blogging more about some of the music that I listen to. This will give me the opportunity to not only share some relatively unknown singers with as many people as possible, but also introduce you all to some new songs that hopefully you'll enjoy.

Although at the moment I don't intend on making this new series of music-related entries a regular part of my blog, I do want to create the possibility to expand on the topic of music on here in the future. So in short, we'll see where this series goes. I'm also looking for this to be a two-way discussion; that is, I would love it if any of you share your own current favorite musical artists and songs in the comment section.

But that about does it for this post. Here is a rundown of some of my current favorite songs. Enjoy!

AURORA - Runaway:


Brandon Flowers - Can't Deny My Love:

Brandon Flowers - Lonely Town:

Meg Myers - Sorry:

VERITE - Wasteland:

VERITE - Weekend:

VERITE - Heartbeat:

VERITE - Colors:


VERITE - Strange Enough:

Mental Music

The past several days I have clocked quite a few hours of studying, as I have three exams that I have to take this week (and it's not even finals yet!). But the upside to this is that since I often listen to music when I study, I've discovered a lot of rad new music lately. Basically what happens is I get listening to a song on YouTube, and the new autoplay feature will automatically start a new song. It's usually a track that I've never heard before, so I have managed to stumble across quite a few new songs in the last few days that I've been listening to a lot lately. None of these songs are all that mainstream, so I figured I would share them here on my blog for you all to listen to. Go give these artists some love, enjoy the tunes, and let me know what some of your current favorite songs are!

Years & Years - Worship:


Tei Shi - Bassically:


Mai Kino - Burn:


Grimes - Go:


Glass Animals - Holiest:

Childhood Movies

I'm sure that every one of us has specific movies that we remember fondly from our childhood, and every time we re-watch them nostalgic memories will come flooding back. Anyway, I though that I would compile a relatively short list comprising the most memorable movies from when I was younger. These movies aren't neccesarily favorite movies of mine; they're simply the ones that really stand out in my memory from when I watched them as a child. I do want to note though that as I am still a fairly young person, these movies may seem pretty recent in the eyes of many people reading this list. If any of you want to share your own "favorite childhood movies" list, don't hesitate to leave a comment. But without further ado, here is my list of the most memorable movies from my childhood:

The Pacifier

The Pacifier was a movie that I loved when I was younger, and I remember watching it numerous times. In all honesty, this film would probably be a hit with just about any kid simply because it's directly marketed for a younger audience. I actually just recently looked this film up on Rotten Tomatoes, and was pretty shocked to see that it only had a 20% rating. I know The Pacifier isn't an amazing movie, but it certainly delivers on providing a pretty good family film that clearly resonated with my childhood self.



National Treasure

I think it's safe to say that National Treasure was probably my favorite movie growing up, and actually still remains one of mine today. This adventure movie clearly appealed to my 8-year-old self, as I remember watching National Treasure many times with my family and truly loving it. Much like the previous film on this list, it has a fairly low rating of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes, but this just goes to show that movie critic reviews clearly have no impact on the mind of a child. Kids just like what they like!




The Core

As a child, I thought The Core was the most epic movie ever. After recently re-watching it, I can truly say that it's probably one of the cheesiest sci-fi movies ever. That's not to say that I don't like it anymore; on the contrary, it's probably my favorite "bad movie." I know that there are so many elements of The Core that make it truly ridiculous, but I can still watch it today and really enjoy it probably because I liked this movie so much as a kid.




The Last Samurai

Okay, now I can fully acknowledge that The Last Samurai is probably a fairly unconventional movie for a young child to watch (it is rated R, after all). But I honestly don't remember being bothered by any of the scenes in this movie when I watched it as a kid. In fact, I remember really enjoying it as a film, and in retrospect this seems a little strange. The Last Samurai is certainly not a film that attempts to appeal to young kids, but for some reason I loved it as a child and still enjoy it today as well.




Left Behind

I don't know where to start with this film. Perhaps the first thing that I should acknowledge is the fact that my childhood memory of watching Left Behind is that my family had it on a VHS tape, and we actually had to rewind it when we finished the movie! I know, right? I'm truly from the age of the dinosaurs. But anyway, in terms of the movie itself I cannot say that I enjoyed it as a child, but it's probably one of the most memorable. When I first saw this movie as a kid, I remember thinking it was a bit strange and really funny. Now, I haven't seen Left Behind in years, but if my memory serves me correctly than I don't want to re-watch it. As an innocent child it seemed like a comedy to me, but today I realize that this film is truly messed up in a number of ways. Left Behind is certainly a memorable movie from my childhood, but maybe that's not a good thing...

Movie Review: It Follows

I made the very hesitant decision to go see the 2015 horror flick It Follows a few nights ago. Although I don't consider myself a huge fan of horror movies in general, every now and again they can surprise me and so I decided to give this one a chance. And overall, I can come to the conclusion that it did indeed deliver on this promise.
The film It Follows focuses on the character of Jay, who after sleeping with her boyfriend Hugh is informed by him that she is now haunted by a curse where she will constantly be followed by people who are trying to kill her. She is told that in order to stop herself from being cursed, she must sleep with someone else and pass it along to them. Although shaken from the experience, it's only until Jay starts to notice strange people walking slowly towards her that she starts to believe Hugh. She confides in her sister and friends, who all agree to help her try and put an end to the curse.
My overall impression of It Follows was a good one, and I was thoroughly entertained through the entirety of the movie. I do want to note that for me personally, this movie builds. After the opening scene of the film I was sitting in the theater rolling my eyes at the absurdity of it, but the movie markedly improved as time went on and the plot progressed. But despite the many positive elements that I thought this movie delivered on, it had its fair share of shortfalls as well.
Wanting to end this movie review on a positive note, I'm going to start by explaining what did not work well in It Follows. First, I feel that the overall plot of this movie fell a bit short. Although It Follows certainly delivers on presenting a unique plot that I haven't seen any other horror movie have, it could have been executed much better. Just the fact that this movie is entirely based on a curse that's spread by sex seems ridiculous, almost a bit juvenile. In my opinion it takes this movie down to a slightly lower level than what it had the potential to achieve. Another element of this movie that may be perceived as a negative to some is that It Follows was not scary at all. To me, I would almost classify it as a thriller instead of a horror movie for this reason. To me, a horror movie should make your skin crawl, and give you scares that will make you jump out of your seat. This was not at all the case for me watching It Follows. Although it had an eerie quality to it and could maybe pass for creepy, this movie is nowhere near the level needed to be scary.
Okay, now onto the positives, because there are actually a lot in It Follows. First up, I did appreciate that the plot was refreshingly different from other horror films. Although I think it could have been tweaked a bit to make a better movie, to a degree the unique storyline is a positive element of It Follows. Also, all of the actors were above par in the film, and I especially thought that the lead actress who plays Jay did a good job portraying the uneasiness and fear that her character has throughout the film. But without a doubt, my favorite elements of It Follows are both the visuals and the music. The whole movie has an awesome old fashioned vibe to it, and this adds a really unique filter to the film that somehow makes it seem a bit creepier. Adding to this, I think the decision to film It Follows in Detroit was a great choice. The establishing shots of the dilapidated neighborhoods that are rampant in the area just suited the whole feel of the movie perfectly. One last positive element of It Follows that I want to emphasize is the soundtrack. This was probably my favorite part of the whole movie, just because I've never seen a movie use music in the manner that It Follows does. The music, composed by Rich Vreeland, makes up a huge part of this film. It gets to the point where the soundtrack is in-your-face loud during certain scenes of the movie, but it works well. The music also carries a distinct 80's vibe to it, which perfectly suits the visuals of It Follows.
Ultimately, this movie would not be nearly as effective of a film without its soundtrack.
So to conclude, although I personally enjoyed It Follows I wouldn't recommend it to everybody. However, if you are a thriller/horror movie fan or are just looking to see a movie that's a bit different from most today, I would highly suggest you give it a watch. If nothing else, just go listen to its soundtrack.

Rating: R

Genre: Horror/suspense

Run Time: 100 minutes

Release Date: March 13, 2015

My Rating: ★★★☆☆