Just like every week we have a free write, I never know what to write about. So I’ll just do what I always do and review a movie. Since that was once our blog topic, I figure it is appropriate enough to blog about. I am going to review a movie called Memento. This movie is my favourite psychological thriller that I have ever seen. The movie is about a man whose wife is killed. The man is on an endless hunt to catch and kill who is responsible. However, the man suffers from short term memory loss which makes tracking down the killer very hard. In order to remember information, he takes Polaroid pictures of people and places and adds a short description to remember who they are. For very important information, he has it tattooed to his body. The movie begins at what is portrayed as the end of the story. Throughout the entire movie, it shows what steps were made to reach that point in the story. The plot works backwards in this sense. The movie is full of interesting twists that will keep you guessing until the end. In fact, the end of the movie reveals a secret that you will never see coming. I was blind sighted by the outcome of the movie and it was a very well thought out plot. This movie is nothing short of brilliant. This is a type of movie in which you must focus on the development to understand how it actually happened, but if you can concentrate to the end, the outcome proves to be very worth it. I have not met anyone who has watched this movie and not liked it. It was easily the best movie of the year (2000). I give this movie 9.5 stars out of 10.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
the new jazz
The jazz age also known as the roaring twenties, paved the way for new music in America. Alchohol was under prohibition at the time which lead to many clubs selling illegal alcoholic beverages to become popular. These venues also provided live entertainment most commonly was the new music known as jazz. However, most people were not fond of the new jazz. Some people unbelievabley feared that the music was promoting the immoral and illegal acts people were commiting during the roaring twenties. Professor Henry Van Dyck of Princeton University wrote “...it is not music at all. It’s merely an irritation of the nerves of hearing, a sensual teasing of the strings of physical passion.” Over time, people began to enjoy the music more and more. Typical jazz groups would consist of brass and string instruments and in some cases a piano as well.
Many reputable jazz musicians appeared during the roaring twenties such as Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong. During this era Paul Whiteman wrote the famous “Rhapsody in Blue” which is personally my favourite piece of jazz music. These musicians influenced many swing artists who appeared in the nineteen thirties ushering a knew era of jazz music.
The music of this time was unlike anything anyone of the time had ever heard. The music was very loud and syncapated featuring a saxaphone sound mostly. Many aspiring young people would buy sheet music to learn to play their favourite tunes just as their favourite jazz heros would. Jazz began taking over dance clubs due to its smooth rythems and beats, the music was very enjoable and easy to dance to. Soon, no one could go out any given night with out becoming a slave to the rythms and sounds of the new jazz. Jazz music is what made the roaring twenties what it was.
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