The best review community on LJ. No, really.

870 pages = 1 week
It is as heavily-plotted as it is thick.
Inescapable thought.. Harry is immature for not choosing to believe the truth when Dumbledore himself tells Harry what's behind his (Harry's) false accusations on Snape. (He felt pleasure in blaming Snape all the time.)
Luna Lovegood is more than just "Loony" Lovegood. I felt her the most, being part-oddball meself.
Very good characterization of course, they are all well-defined by their actions and thoughts, etc.
The climax is very grippind I had to cover the lines below with my bookmark to keep myself from reading what's ahead. Heh.

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Have always thought Sirius = Aragorn. Smart, long-haired and quite indifferent most of the time. Viggo would have played as Sirius well. :D

*sigh* This little pet community is nearly defunct! But I shan't let it die without a fight. Two more reviews for you, hot off the press.

Bringing Out the Dead.
Firstly, don't see this movie if you don't dig Scorcese films (Casino, Raging Bull). The camera angles and effects aren't quite as vertigo-inducing as Oliver Stone's, but he throws enough loops in there to have you running for the Dramamine. Anyway, the story involves Frank (Nicolas Cage), a five-year EMT paramedic losing control of his sanity. He's plagued by many of the lives he's lost, particularly the case of an 18-year-old homeless girl named Rose. He becomes involved with Patricia Arquette when he barely saves her father from a heart attack. Becoming mixed up in a world where the innocents die freely and the homeless refuse to go, he meets an array of lunatics that start to skew his perception of reality. A great feature of this film was the ability to make the viewer feel like they were also victims of insomnia and repetitive routine, just like Frank. With a strong supporting cast including John Goodman, Ving Rhames and Tom Sizemore as crazy paramedic partners, and several inventive tricks (especially check out the sequence where the snow is falling upwards), this crazy movie is worth a look. But be warned, it will make you think.

Bad Santa.
This movie sure got its money's worth out of the same running joke: Excessive profanity is hilarious. I must admit, it really is. I caught myself thinking, "When will I get tired of him using more 'fucks' and 'shits' than other words in a sentence?" But, it never came. The plot is strung together surprisingly well, with a few predictabilites juxtaposed with a largely creative story. Billy Bob Thornton (hate him if you must, but I believe he's very underrated) plays the role of "Bad Santa", and Bernie Mac has a hilarious role as a closet-case, constipated, chain-smoking mall security chief. Of course, there's a moral to be found, as a lonely overweight (and sickeningly optimistic) child teaches us the real meaning of friendship and giving, yada yada yada. As much as you hate the kid, *vomit*, you do have to pity the poor bastard. And he's just innocent enough for the real dichotomy of Thornton's miserable character to work. Throw in John Ritter in one of his last performances before his untimely death, and you've got a movie well worth its fare.

I honestly think that Marilyn Manson is a genius.

Smart lyrics, deep and powerful.

There's definitely a bunch of Christian bashing. It makes the album even more lovable. My favorite song on it is probably "Lamb of God", I just like how the song flows.

The sound? The industrial stuff I was into when I was in middle school. Lovable, no doubt.

If you really want me to really review the Holy Wood album, I shall per your request. Peace.

Bowling for Columbine:

Let me say this - Never before have I rented a movie, then found it so fantastic that I went out twelve hours later and bought it. Yep, I did just that for Bowling for Columbine. Oh, you say, does it replace your beloved Fight Club? Of course not - BUT - it did slide into the top 5 list, right under Memento. Now to the actual movie itself -- It's a movie about gun control and violence in America, something I've always had an interest in, due to my radical belief that guns are completely and utterly unnecessary. If you look back a few weeks on my personal journal, you'll see my attack on people who use the Second Amendment as a crutch. Michael Moore, a lifetime NRA member and a skilled marksman, leads the questioning throughout the movie. Statistics are thrown around like confetti, and as always, the numbers don't lie. For example - Every major developed country in the world has a gun-murder rate less than 350/year. Like, Germany has 340 something, Australia has 40 something, our snowy neighbors to the north Canada had about 32/year. America? It has over eleven thousand gun-murders a year. I don't want to give away too much more of the film, so just go out and fucking buy it already. It's humorous, it's serious, it's high-impact.

X2: X-Men United:

The second in the terrific X-Men series, this movie can't seem to go about three minutes without having a major conflict. However, it pieces enough drama together to keep it from feeling like a choppy ride. The movie starts out with the introduction of Nightcrawler, a pretty kickass character who speaks German, too! I tried deciphering what he was saying, but I could only figure out some of the words, sorry. They also show more of the talents of the children at Xavier's school. The opponent this time comes from William Stryker, the man who performed the adamantium experiment on Wolverine. He's planning on abducting Professor X (which seems to be a recurring theme) and tricking him into using his own form of Cerebro to kill all mutants. Some of the plotlines are incredibly predictable, and there are so many characters that it feels like some of them are rushed into the picture (see: Cyclops, Rogue, Lady Deathstrike). However, the special effects have been upped again in this movie, somehow, and it's fantastic. If you don't want to watch the movie, at least check out these three scenes: The opener where Nightcrawler shows off his teleportation in the White House, the scene where Storm creates hundreds of tornadoes to try and stop the fighter jets, and the scene where Pyro gets pissed off at the cops and starts wrecking their shit. Magneto's back in this film, too, playing the incredibly likeable villain-hero he always does. Overall, it's a bit formulaic, but the supernatural powers mixed with a real political issue (replace the word mutant with blacks, gays, Communists and you'll understand) and the end result is a substantial movie.

Alright, I first discovered Kill Hannah when they were featured on something that was on MTV, one of those first showing things of coming artists. Then recently, I got an e-mail from mp3.com so I decided to check out what was featured in that e-mail, a link to hear their song "Kennedy". Listened to it, absolutely loved it.

Ian, I know you don't like female lead singers, but how about settling for a male lead singer that sounds somewhat like a woman? Haha.

If you've heard Cycle Fly, I think that the vocals of Mat sounds very much like the lead singer of CF. Airy and soft vocals, almost haunting and sucks you into a trance. With lyrics of heartbreak, "Somehow it strikes me, I need a new heart for Christmas, 'cause you broke it all apart". It's all so tragic, but so beautiful. I find that there are the dreary and sleepy songs, while there are those which are more up beat which makes the CD diverse and un-boring. "She fell like a meteor onto the planet, said your world, it brings me down."

The sound of Kill Hannah? It's hard to describe. It has rock mixed with some video game-ish techno in some songs. For the most part though, think of Abandoned Pools I really can't think of a band that might sound like them. Industrial?

Just buy the CD. I recommend it. I only spend money on CD's worth buying. It was only $9.99 at Best Buy. It really was a Best Buy. If you're hesitant to take my word, go to mp3.com and look up Kill Hannah and listen to whatever songs they have there.

I listened to this on the way home from the mall, because Nate had bought it. Let me say upfront, that I am not a Blink fan whatsoever. In fact, they recently made my "Sucks List". However, their self-titled eighth CD (really? eight? Damn, I didn't know they had that many) starts off with a lotta promise. The first three tracks are original, inventive, and even catchy. However, just like all of their CDs, it spirals downward after that, with each song sounding like a carbon copy of something they've already done. Travis Barker has yet to learn that fast drumming does not always good drumming make. Tom what'shisface has shitty vocals, why am I the only one to recognize this? He's nasally and whiny, and doesn't have a very good range at all. Blink's carousel of bubble gum punk is getting exhausting; it's time for them to really reach out and realize that there are more than three chords.

Three Days Grace self titled album reaks of the generic rock that has bored the hell out of Americans everywhere. TDG's first release "I Hate Everything About You" sounds catchy, seems original, but when you listen to the rest of the album, every song sounds the same, which helps me conclude that this band will go nowhere fast.
Almost every song deals with teen angst, or so it seems, with lyrics that seem to be borrowed from every "I hate my significant other" song ever, as well as marijuana. This band definitely sounds good at first, but when you strip away the repetitive chords, you're left with repetitive lyrics, track after track.
The only way that one can truly be happy with this album is if it was re-recorded backwards. That might make it at least a bit more interesting.



and.. Hello!

Yes, I know this CD came out in 2001, but recently, I have been listening to it over, and over, and over again. It truly is one of those CD's that you could listen to on repeat and wouldn't get tired of it early on.

Shirley Manson? Lovely girl. Lovely voice which resonates throughout the CD. Her voice carries well, whether it be to the music of 50's retro or 80's pseudo-new wave.

Songs like "Cup of Coffee", "Drive You Home", and "So Like a Rose" are filled with emotion and absolutely beautiful songs. They'll make you reminisce about your vulnerability.

On the other hand, "Shut Your Mouth" is so full of 'tude that you'll want to shut the fuck up, bee-yotch. Rock \m/

"Cherry Lips", totally my personally favorite. It makes you want to get up and "go, go!" Funky, hip, totally dance and sing-alongable.

"Androgyny" and "Untouchable" have attitude, but more of the street 'tude and in your face, kind of like, I'm all up in your grill. Not sure what to say, but I enjoy them. Makes me get the funky-vibe and I'll do a shoulder brush-off. Hah.

Fantastic CD. I definitely recommend purchasing this CD and blasting it in your car or home. A beautiful compilation, far from garbage. Two words, bloody brilliant.

Okay so jiveturky already made the official Welcome post but I just wanted to say hi, as the silent moderator. I really suck at being silent hrm. Anyway, I encourage everyone to get started posting, even though we're moobs and dont have any reviews up so far.

Enjoy yourself and be brutal. :D

Welcome to bizrants! The conception of this community began with me searching for an LJ community where I could read and write reviews about movies. The results were less than enthusiastic, so with the help of the lovely the_mime, we've created this haven for people that love to pick apart, analyze, critique, and/or dissect movies, music, and literature. These are three major crutches for the entertainment industry, and a vital part of making our lives enjoyable. They deserve lotsa attention, y'all, and we're doing the peoples a favor by tellin' em what's good and what aint. Mostly, I expect to have some fun, I hope you all do too.