Usually, an original artist has the best version of their song. These are the exceptions.
5. Respect-Aretha Franklin (Originally by Otis Redding)
That's right, Aretha Franklin's signature song is actually a cover of a song by Otis Redding. Otis' version is okay, but not in the same league. The roles are reversed in Franklin's version, and a lot more soul is to be found here, plus a lot of music is actually added. It's a lot more prominent for a reason, it's better. Sorry Otis, we respect you man, but your version just doesn't stack up.
4. Between you and Me-Relient K (Originally by DC Talk)
The DC talk version isn't bad, but it's overproduced with a very Boys II Men feel, something DC Talk suffered from a lot. While Matt Thiessan is not the singer Michael Tait is, this cover feels a lot more heartfelt, more emotional and more real. It's just a better song, and that's all there is to it.
3. Mad World-Michael Andrews and Gary Jules (Originally by Tears for Fears)
While the original new-wave song by Tears for Fears is fun, nostalgic and catchy, Michael Andrews and Gary Jules bring the song to the next level. It's slow, meditative and emotive. You can't not love it. The original, well it could turn some people off and doesn't make you think as much as it perhaps should have. Andrews and Jules take this song and make it great.
2. Electric Feel-Justice (Originally by MGMT)
Enough old folks music, let's talk about stoners! MGMT's version of this song is enchanting amazing, and can probably give you a contact high. It was one of my favorite songs ever. Then I heard the Justice version and wow. I'm not even a big Justice fan, this is their best song, and it's a doozy. Insanely dance-to-able and unforgettable. The original seems a little uneventful by comparison, and considering how amazing and layered the original is, that's saying a heckuvalot.
1. Hurt-Johnny Cash (Originally by Nine inch Nails)
You saw this coming. If you didn't you're stupid. Nine Inch Nails does a fine job okay, but the changes that Cash made make the song 10,000 times better. It goes from a fairly good piano-based rock ballad to a world-shattering experience. Reznor emphasizes the wrong words, his vocals are overly breathy and he makes it much more laborious than it should be. Cash lets it come from his soul, every moment is pitch perfect. It's rumored that he finished the video within hours of his death. While I don't think that's true, if you can get through the video with dry eyes, you have no soul. NO SOUL!!!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The top 10 DVD's of 2010
A lot of emphasis is placed on box office figures these days, and are treated like the only indicator for a film's success. Commentators may briefly mention DVD sales when it comes to a film's profitability, but the numbers aren't as readily available, or as broadly promoted as box office figures. So here's the top 10 DVD's of 2010, and their sales numbers, according to the-numbers.com.
10. The Hangover-4,356,314 Sold. Released 12/15/09
The only movie to make the top 10 from 2009. The Hangover is quite possibly the most popular R-rated comedy of the last decade, or even all time. (this total doesn't include the copies sold in 2009, overall it has sold over 10 million copies)
9. The Princess and the Frog-4,514,936 sold. Released 3/16/10
This may seem surprising, since the movie didn't do all that well at the box office, but Disney is the king of selling DVD's, and this one has time on it's side, being released in March. That's not to say we should dismiss 4.5 million sales, but it should be taken with a grain of salt.
8. Iron Man 2-5,065,079 Sold. Released 9/28/10
Seems like a lot right? Well consider that the first movie sold 8.4 million in a similar time-frame. This reflects the disappointing nature of the second movie, and backs it up for my #5 slot as worst of the year. Still, 5 mil is nothing to sneeze at.
7. Despicable Me-5,167,066 sold. Released 12/14/10
Despicable Me was probably one of the year's biggest surprises, a movie from Blue Sky Studios (best known for the Ice Age movies) that didn't suck. The DVD sales are tremendous, and I expect them to continue well into the new year.
6. How to Train your Dragon-5,344,798 sold. Released 10/15/10
Animated kids movies tend to do well on DVD, and this was a year they did well at the box office as well. How to Train your Dragon came in second for animated films on DVD, and it will undoubtedly be surpassed by Despicable Me in terms of total sales, but nonetheless, this is a great success for Dreamworks, a studio who has a very mixed history. (also worthy of note is that it outsold Shrek Forever After by nearly 3 million copies)
5. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse-7,133,878 sold. Released 12/4/10
You saw this coming. Moving on.
4. The Blind Side-7,266,726 sold. Released 3/23/10
Perhaps the biggest box-office success story of 2009, the Blind Side excelled on DVD, which shouldn't really be surprising, but it's good to see here anyway, as it was a very good movie.
3. The Twilight Saga: New Moon-7,829,939. Released 3/20/10
New Moon outsold eclipse? Does this mean that the Twilight Saga is losing steam? Well probably not, since New Moon had about nine months on Eclipse, and the difference is a menial 700k. In a few months, their totals should be nearly identical.
2. Toy Story 3-9,035,368 sold. Released 11/2/10
If you didn't expect this, you aren't very smart. The best received and highest grossing movie of the year, will of course sell a boatload of copies. Make that an aircraft carrier load of copies.
1. Avatar-10,156,458 sold. Released 4/22/10
And of course, at #1 is perhaps the biggest cash-cow in the history of cinema, Avatar. They are really milking this for everything it's worth. When the original DVD edition came out in the spring, it was a single disc with literally no special features. I'm surprised how little criticism it was faced with. Clearly they were planning to release another version, to make more money. And they did, but not before a short run in theaters. Soon, there'll be a 3D version, for more money, and no doubt a fourth version is being planned in the darkest reaches of Fox studios. They have a hit and they're milking it for all it's worth. And they'll do the same with the inevitable sequels. Prepare to see a lot of blue people at comic-con for years, perhaps decades to come. Lame.
Other Various Notes:
-Scott Pilgrim may have been my favorite movie, but it didn't make the top 100 DVD sales. It sold around 730,000. That makes me sad.
-Milo and Otis is #93 with over 800k sold this year, despite being over 10 years old. That makes me happy.
-Beauty and the Best comes in at a disappointing #64. I think this is due to most people already having it on DVD. I'm betting the Blu-Ray did a lot better, relatively speaking.
-Inception sold less than 3 million copies. I think the hype might finally be dying on that one.
-Top TV Shows:
#1. The Pacific (Ranked #44 overall)
#2. True Blood Season 2 (Ranked #61 overall)
#3. Glee Vol. 1 (Ranked #76 overall)
#4. Glee Season 1 (What a rip-off right? See Avatar. #84 overall)
#5. Dexter Season 4 (Ranked #85 overall)
#6. TV Christmas Classics (ranked #92 overall)
#7. Lost Season 6 (ranked #100 overall. Take that JJ Abrams!)
-#1 Straight to DVD was Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (#20 overall)
-#1 Christmas Movie: Disney's A Christmas Carol (closely followed by Search for Santa Paws)
10. The Hangover-4,356,314 Sold. Released 12/15/09
The only movie to make the top 10 from 2009. The Hangover is quite possibly the most popular R-rated comedy of the last decade, or even all time. (this total doesn't include the copies sold in 2009, overall it has sold over 10 million copies)
9. The Princess and the Frog-4,514,936 sold. Released 3/16/10
This may seem surprising, since the movie didn't do all that well at the box office, but Disney is the king of selling DVD's, and this one has time on it's side, being released in March. That's not to say we should dismiss 4.5 million sales, but it should be taken with a grain of salt.
8. Iron Man 2-5,065,079 Sold. Released 9/28/10
Seems like a lot right? Well consider that the first movie sold 8.4 million in a similar time-frame. This reflects the disappointing nature of the second movie, and backs it up for my #5 slot as worst of the year. Still, 5 mil is nothing to sneeze at.
7. Despicable Me-5,167,066 sold. Released 12/14/10
Despicable Me was probably one of the year's biggest surprises, a movie from Blue Sky Studios (best known for the Ice Age movies) that didn't suck. The DVD sales are tremendous, and I expect them to continue well into the new year.
6. How to Train your Dragon-5,344,798 sold. Released 10/15/10
Animated kids movies tend to do well on DVD, and this was a year they did well at the box office as well. How to Train your Dragon came in second for animated films on DVD, and it will undoubtedly be surpassed by Despicable Me in terms of total sales, but nonetheless, this is a great success for Dreamworks, a studio who has a very mixed history. (also worthy of note is that it outsold Shrek Forever After by nearly 3 million copies)
5. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse-7,133,878 sold. Released 12/4/10
You saw this coming. Moving on.
4. The Blind Side-7,266,726 sold. Released 3/23/10
Perhaps the biggest box-office success story of 2009, the Blind Side excelled on DVD, which shouldn't really be surprising, but it's good to see here anyway, as it was a very good movie.
3. The Twilight Saga: New Moon-7,829,939. Released 3/20/10
New Moon outsold eclipse? Does this mean that the Twilight Saga is losing steam? Well probably not, since New Moon had about nine months on Eclipse, and the difference is a menial 700k. In a few months, their totals should be nearly identical.
2. Toy Story 3-9,035,368 sold. Released 11/2/10
If you didn't expect this, you aren't very smart. The best received and highest grossing movie of the year, will of course sell a boatload of copies. Make that an aircraft carrier load of copies.
1. Avatar-10,156,458 sold. Released 4/22/10
And of course, at #1 is perhaps the biggest cash-cow in the history of cinema, Avatar. They are really milking this for everything it's worth. When the original DVD edition came out in the spring, it was a single disc with literally no special features. I'm surprised how little criticism it was faced with. Clearly they were planning to release another version, to make more money. And they did, but not before a short run in theaters. Soon, there'll be a 3D version, for more money, and no doubt a fourth version is being planned in the darkest reaches of Fox studios. They have a hit and they're milking it for all it's worth. And they'll do the same with the inevitable sequels. Prepare to see a lot of blue people at comic-con for years, perhaps decades to come. Lame.
Other Various Notes:
-Scott Pilgrim may have been my favorite movie, but it didn't make the top 100 DVD sales. It sold around 730,000. That makes me sad.
-Milo and Otis is #93 with over 800k sold this year, despite being over 10 years old. That makes me happy.
-Beauty and the Best comes in at a disappointing #64. I think this is due to most people already having it on DVD. I'm betting the Blu-Ray did a lot better, relatively speaking.
-Inception sold less than 3 million copies. I think the hype might finally be dying on that one.
-Top TV Shows:
#1. The Pacific (Ranked #44 overall)
#2. True Blood Season 2 (Ranked #61 overall)
#3. Glee Vol. 1 (Ranked #76 overall)
#4. Glee Season 1 (What a rip-off right? See Avatar. #84 overall)
#5. Dexter Season 4 (Ranked #85 overall)
#6. TV Christmas Classics (ranked #92 overall)
#7. Lost Season 6 (ranked #100 overall. Take that JJ Abrams!)
-#1 Straight to DVD was Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (#20 overall)
-#1 Christmas Movie: Disney's A Christmas Carol (closely followed by Search for Santa Paws)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The Best of 2010 (A top 5 from what I saw)
Self-explanatory. If your favorite movie isn't on here, it's probably because I didn't see it. Or it sucked.
5. True Grit
Okay, so I've never seen the original, but who cares? This was amazing, not a moment I didn't enjoy. Okay, the ending was a little drawn-out, but seriously, who cares. The story was well-constructed, the characters well-developed, and it had all the elements of style you could every hope to expect. This one's still in theaters, go see it NOW if you haven't already.
4. Inception
What the What? Number 4? Yeah. I know. Let's just say it was a good year for movies. While Inception is a smart, tight and fun action movie, it isn't quite what the fan-boys would have you think. Upon further reflection, it is a bit silly. That's part of what makes it good though, that you don't think about it while you're watching it. Definitely worth seeing, at least once.
3. Toy Story 3
I thought a lot about this. There is an element of the film I don't appreciate. It's so commercial. It basically glorifies consumerism and reinforces a desire for more stuff. But how can you not love it for everything else? It's so much fun, and has a bit of bite to it too. Despite a few nitpicks, this deserves to be on every top 10 list, and I'm sure it will be. (except for Armond White, a major IRL troll, and everyone knows it)
2. The Social Network
Now here's a film with which I have no complaints. Everything is perfect. It tells a real-life story, but remains unpredictable and engaging. It has a great poignancy and raises big questions about the modern age, without actually raising them. Aaron Sorkin's script is beyond genius, and should be taught in film-school as a shining example of excellent screen-writing. All of the actors perform there jobs well, but Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield both deliver award-worthy work. Simply amazing.
1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
I think the reason I hated Tron so much was because I saw this movie first. It's smarter, faster, cooler, and just way way better. Funnier than Toy Story 3, more of a mind-frag than Inception and the most fun I've had all year. Is it really that good John? Yes, yes it is.
Honorable Mentions:
-How to Train your Dragon
-Let me In
5. True Grit
Okay, so I've never seen the original, but who cares? This was amazing, not a moment I didn't enjoy. Okay, the ending was a little drawn-out, but seriously, who cares. The story was well-constructed, the characters well-developed, and it had all the elements of style you could every hope to expect. This one's still in theaters, go see it NOW if you haven't already.
4. Inception
What the What? Number 4? Yeah. I know. Let's just say it was a good year for movies. While Inception is a smart, tight and fun action movie, it isn't quite what the fan-boys would have you think. Upon further reflection, it is a bit silly. That's part of what makes it good though, that you don't think about it while you're watching it. Definitely worth seeing, at least once.
3. Toy Story 3
I thought a lot about this. There is an element of the film I don't appreciate. It's so commercial. It basically glorifies consumerism and reinforces a desire for more stuff. But how can you not love it for everything else? It's so much fun, and has a bit of bite to it too. Despite a few nitpicks, this deserves to be on every top 10 list, and I'm sure it will be. (except for Armond White, a major IRL troll, and everyone knows it)
2. The Social Network
Now here's a film with which I have no complaints. Everything is perfect. It tells a real-life story, but remains unpredictable and engaging. It has a great poignancy and raises big questions about the modern age, without actually raising them. Aaron Sorkin's script is beyond genius, and should be taught in film-school as a shining example of excellent screen-writing. All of the actors perform there jobs well, but Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield both deliver award-worthy work. Simply amazing.
1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
I think the reason I hated Tron so much was because I saw this movie first. It's smarter, faster, cooler, and just way way better. Funnier than Toy Story 3, more of a mind-frag than Inception and the most fun I've had all year. Is it really that good John? Yes, yes it is.
Honorable Mentions:
-How to Train your Dragon
-Let me In
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Worst Movies of 2010, well that I saw.
This list is from worst to best, cuz I wanted to. Deal with it.
Keep in mind I don't go see that many movies, and I typically go to movies I think I'll like.
1. The Worst Movie of the Year--Grown Ups.
This was a waste of a good cast. Wait, no it was a waste of a bad cast. There was nothing to waste. Just a horrible movie, only one laugh in the whole thing, and it was like 2 minutes in. A truly miserable experience.
2. The Last Airbender
Predictable? Well it was really bad what can I say? Way to ruin a good show, and I've finally given up on Shyamalan. Took me long enough though, didn't it.
3. Robin Hood
Wow, just wow. What a horrible mis-fire. Everything they could have done to make this a good Robin Hood movie, they did the opposite thing. Just horrible.
4. Tron Legacy
BOOOOOOOOORING! Seriously, the most boring light-show I've ever paid to see. Aside from some cool scenes at the beginning and a nice soundtrack, this is a total waste of time and money.
5. TIME FOR CONTROVERSY!-Iron Man 2
You know it. Had to have a little controversy. Nothing happened in this movie, nothing. Nothing. Nothing. It wasn't boring, but it was meaningless. Such a disappointment after the first movie.
Dis-Honorable Mention: Prince of Persia Sands of Time
Yeah, this should have been #5, but I put Iron Man 2 to be controversial. Sue me.
NEXT TIME: The top 5 Best movies of 2010 (that I saw in 2010.
Keep in mind I don't go see that many movies, and I typically go to movies I think I'll like.
1. The Worst Movie of the Year--Grown Ups.
This was a waste of a good cast. Wait, no it was a waste of a bad cast. There was nothing to waste. Just a horrible movie, only one laugh in the whole thing, and it was like 2 minutes in. A truly miserable experience.
2. The Last Airbender
Predictable? Well it was really bad what can I say? Way to ruin a good show, and I've finally given up on Shyamalan. Took me long enough though, didn't it.
3. Robin Hood
Wow, just wow. What a horrible mis-fire. Everything they could have done to make this a good Robin Hood movie, they did the opposite thing. Just horrible.
4. Tron Legacy
BOOOOOOOOORING! Seriously, the most boring light-show I've ever paid to see. Aside from some cool scenes at the beginning and a nice soundtrack, this is a total waste of time and money.
5. TIME FOR CONTROVERSY!-Iron Man 2
You know it. Had to have a little controversy. Nothing happened in this movie, nothing. Nothing. Nothing. It wasn't boring, but it was meaningless. Such a disappointment after the first movie.
Dis-Honorable Mention: Prince of Persia Sands of Time
Yeah, this should have been #5, but I put Iron Man 2 to be controversial. Sue me.
NEXT TIME: The top 5 Best movies of 2010 (that I saw in 2010.
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