Three Favorite Movies

Quarantine - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1082868/

The first time I viewed this movie, I thought that it satisfied almost everything I'd ever wanted to see in a horror-survival theme - A closed, constricted area, with no escape. Limited fire-arm use, and running. The camera work is supposed to be guerilla-style, much like the Blair Witch Project, so it involves a lot of running and jerky shots.

A lot of mystery surrounds the entire film. Even when it's finished, it may take another rewatch to take in all of the hints and details that are presented. Going into the movie, you know that the main character is a news reporter, interviewing a small group of firefighter/paramedics. After a few minutes, they're called into an apartment complex to investigate a loud, blood-curdling scream. Upon entry to Mrs. Espinoza's apartment building, they find that she's been infected with what appears to be a modified strain of rabies. She brutally attacks them, and they manage to subdue her after she bites one of the firemen. Bleeding profusely and requiring medical attention, the firefighter is rushed to the exit, only to find it securely welded shut and bolted, as they've been locked inside by the government, who's desperate to keep the entire incident covered up. Some very interesting camera angles are used to capture their running, more notably when they're on the stairs.

The rest of the movie goes on, as little by little, everyone becomes bitten as the outbreak becomes out of control, the wounded fireman reverting to a primal, feral state. It's revealed that a man in the attic is an activist extremist, who has concocted a disease that spreads rapidly upon contact. As the news reporter and her camera man try to escape the infection, they're forced further and further up the building and into the attic, where they meet their fate. The movie ends.


The Adjustment Bureau - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385826/

The movie is centered around a New York politician, who, at the start of the film, fails to make the latest poll election. Shattered, he prepares to make his speech to his supporters, when he meets a beautiful girl in the men's bathroom, hiding from the building's security. The two begin to talk, and soon find that they're in love with each other, as they have an intelligent conversation and realize that they share most of the same opinions on things as well. She wishes him good luck, and runs off, the hotel security close behind her.

He goes on, with new-found courage, to give his speech. He delivers an exceptional one, and is pushed into the lead with votes for the next upcoming election, for which he decides to run again for. However, he's unable to stop thinking about the girl he met, but continues on with his efforts to be a politician. They meet again by complete chance, and that's when it becomes apparent that there are strange, dark, powerful forces, that will do everything in their considerable power to make sure they can't be together. The forces are represented by humans, wearing suits and special business hats that allow entry to any locked door, along with the ability to take a door to anywhere in the world. They say that, due to the predestined path designed for everybody, the two are strictly not to be together.

It's revealed that she was "adjusted", so that her path would lead her to meet him in a chance situation, in order to boost his confidence, so that he would go on to eventually become president of the United States. She, on the other hand, would go on to be a famous dance choreographer. If they were to be together, than neither of those futures would ever happen.

It's a somewhat original love story, filled with decent camera-work, special effects, and good acting.

Gurren-Lagann (Anime) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0948103/

Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann is set in an alternate universe, and follows the travels of Simon, Kamina and Yoko as they break free of the oppressing laws that state that they must remain underground, in large caverns that house full communities of people. Simon is a hand-drill miner, and his job is to dig underneath the village and expand it further, to avoid earthquakes and the risk of a cave in. It's made clear that he's the most skilled digger in the village, yet he's young and weak, and often made fun of. He often goes off to dig by himself, losing himself in thought as he drills his way through the ground. One night, he discovers a small robot deep underground, a cockpit on the top of it, and a face on the front. Kamina names it Lagann.

Meanwhile, the older Kamina, Simon's self-proclaimed "Bro", once more attempts to break free of the underground life he's confined to. He's always longed to live on the surface, as when he was younger, his father left for it, leaving him behind as he was too scared at the time.

Suddenly, a massive armored mech-robot drops in through the roof of the village, bright sunlight streaming in through the ceiling. Not long after, a girl named Yoko arrives, toting a large 50. Cal energy rifle that she carries and fires effortlessly, despite her nimble frame. She fights the robot for a while, as Simon makes the scene with his new fighter, which he barely knows how to control. In the end of the episode, Kamina, Simon and Yoko destroy the enemy, Simon's mech sprouting a drill through it's head, to which they use to break through to the surface.

The rest of the series goes on, battling their way across the barren, desert-like land as they make their way towards the Spiral King, the man who issued the command to force everybody underground. After they prevail, a time-lapse takes place, which cuts to a 19-year-old Simon. The rest of the series involves upgrading Lagann with larger mechs, as it's revealed that using the drill and connecting to other mechs forcefully, the smaller Lagann can actually consume the machinery, in a way. The entire anime isn't supposed to make too much sense, and is mostly a parody of other Mecha animes. By the end of the series, Lagann has been upgraded to Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, a vast machine that spans the length of 100 thousand Light years of distance.

For being an unrealistic anime, it certainly has some moments that are heart-wrenching. A tragic death occurs, inspirational lines are spoken, and absolutely ridiculous scenarios take place. I thought it was immensely enjoyable.

Prison Song - System of a Down

This song depicts the dreadful situation that the United States of America is currently entrenched in, along the lines of the number of incarcerated prisoners. System of a Down, more specifically some of their newer work, has been focused on the corruption that is the US politics. In this song, they talk about how drugs have became available to anyone, how easy it is to obtain them, along with prostitution as well. They also complain that there are far too many prisons in America, along with the amount of minor drug offenders that fill them, instead of real criminals.

The song begins with a quick thrash of an electric guitar, equipped with System of a Down's (SOAD) signature distortion. Drums also accompany it, along with a soft whispery voice a few seconds later, starting with the line "They're trying to build a prison..." The guitar thrashing continues, along with the beat laid out by the percussion. The bass joins as well.

SOAD's unique vocal capabilities also prove to be used to the fullest extent in this song, like most of their music. The high range of low grunts and throat singing, along with their high squealing and singing that Serj Tankian can produce. The song could be considered metal - A mix of singing vocals, and harsh vocals.

He continues to sing, as they hit a breakdown, in which he explains that all of the successful drug policies show that treatment should be increased, while eliminating mandatory minimum sentences. System of a Down is somewhat of an activist group, and in fact, they filmed an entire music video while marching during a protest that took place. They took quotes from leaders in the protest, and used them as lyrics in the song.

A Little About Me

My name's Alex, and I've lived in Goderich my entire life. I have 3 siblings, all of younger age, and two loving parents. I spend most of my free time researching cutting edge technology, and staying up to date with world news and happenings. Someday, I hope to be computer-savvy enough to start a hardware business, along with providing technical assistance.

I also like to stay up to date with the newest games and software, as I hope to be a retailer of those as well. I'm an avid PC gamer, attached to such classics as Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike:Source, and Half-Life. I dislike the plump "cash-cow" that is the Halo and Call of Duty series.

Among the lines of music, I enjoy anything that isn't run-of-the-mill ear candy. My musical tastes could be classified as obscure - I like symphonic-metal, or any kind of Scandanavian/European music.

That's about all I can think of disclosing.

Scooter - J'adore Hardcore (EXTENDED VIDEO MIX)(Official Video HD)

1980's Famous Musician

Some say that Black Sabbath was one of the most influential metal bands of the 70's. They were crowned second in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock", and defined the 70's rock scene. With over 15 million records sold in the US alone, you'd have to have been living under a rock to not hear about them.

It started when the band's founding members, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward left their previous band, Mythology in 1968. The pair recruited bassist Geezer Butler, and singer Ozzy Osbourne. Butler and Osbourne had been in a band previously, called Rare Breed. Together, they formed the first version of Black Sabbath, called The Polka Tulk Blues Band. Obviously, their style of music was headed in a different direction at that time, as they had another guitarist (Jimmy Phillips) and a saxophonist (Alan "Aker" Clarke). Eventually, the band's name became simply Earth.

Upon noticing how much money people were willing to spend to see horror films, the band got an idea - They decided to try for the same direction that horror films move in, but with music instead. Darker tones, heavier riffs, and horror lyrics were the focus now. Upon discovering that an English band with the same band name existed, they decided to change the name yet again, to the name of the movie they saw people paying to see. The movie was called "Black Sabbath", and the band adapted the name for good.

Finally, they signed to Philips Records in 1969. They released their first single as well, titled "Evil Woman". It failed to hit the charts, and they were given two more days to record their debut album. Deciding to record the album live to save time, they breezed through the songs they had written with minimal retakes.

Their first album, Black Sabbath, was released on Friday the 13th, February 1970. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart, gaining similar popularity on the US and Canadian boards as well. Quickly, they returned to the studio that following year to record another album, one that they had originally planned on calling "War Pigs". However, since the Vietnam War was taking place at that time, they decided to change it to Paranoid, fearing backlash from supporters of the war.

The album hit number 1 in the UK, and reached number 12 in the US. Some cited it as "One of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time", but it received negative reviews as well. The Rolling Stones dismissed the albums as "Discordant jams with bass and guitar reeling like velocitised speedfreaks all over each other's musical perimeters, yet never quite finding synch."

Each album that they released continued to sound better and better, and garnered more and more praise from the critics. One of their memorable breakthrough's include Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, one of their first albums to gain huge success in 1973. The album was the band's fifth platinum selling album in the US.

But not all was well within the band. While in Toronto, Canada, recording Never Say Die!, substance abuse and alcohol ran rampant through the group. "It took quite a long time," Iommi said. "We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We'd go down to the sessions, and have to pack up because we were too stoned, we'd have to stop. Nobody could get anything right, we were all over the place, everybody's playing a different thing. We'd go back and sleep it off, and try again the next day." Critics called the album "A perfect reflection of the band's inner workings, the tense personal problems, and the drug abuse."

Due to pressure from the record label, Tony Iommi made the decision to dismiss Ozzy. Mostly, it was due to his heavy alcohol addiction, along with coke abuse as well. Ronnie James Dio was drafted to replace him.

Black Sabbath is a band that defined the genre of Dark metal. Time Magazine placed Paranoid on their Top 100 Albums of All Time, noting that it was "The birthplace of heavy metal." Black Sabbath went on to release several more albums, each of them gaining more attention than the last. Paranoid went on to become Platinum certified by both the RIAA and the UK's BPI.

1970's Famous Musician

Possibly one of the best adult contemporary artists in existance, Neil Diamond has defined a generation of music unlike any other. Infact, when it comes to the Billboard, he ranks only behind Elton John and Barbara Streisand, both of which are just as talented. His success not only spans through the 60's, but through the 70's, 80's, 90's, and onward. He still tours today, and maintains a large fanbase.

 Born in 1941, Neil grew up in New York, where he was born into a Jewish family descended  from Polish and Russian immigrants. Although moving houses a few times, he attended Abraham Lincoln High School, and participated in the All City Choir (Coincidentally, with Barbara Streisand.) He was active in fencing, specializing in épée. Even today, before going on stage, he's always sure to warm up with a few fencing exercises, as he maintained the swordsmanship into his adulthood. In school, he studied medicines as he wanted to be a laboratory biologist. Fueled by the passing of his grandmother, he desperately wanted to be the one who found the cure for cancer, but as time went on, he was made an offer he couldn't refuse. During his senior year in New York University, a music company offered him $50 a week to write music, which inevitably set him on his course.

In the 1960's Neil began recording under the label "Neil and Jack". It comprised of himself and high school friend Jack Parker. After releasing two unsuccessful singles, "You Are My Love At Last" and "What Will I Do",

1960's Famous Musician

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Presley was debatably the most talented individual to come out of the music industry in the 1950's. Moving to Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 13, his talent was recognized quickly by Sun Records owner Sam Phillips. After realizing his potential, Elvis was signed into a two decade contract with Colonel Tom Parker, who managed most of his career.

Recording his first single, "Heartbreak Hotel", in 1956, it was widely considered a hit. Presley quickly became the new sound of rock, proceeding to release chart-topper after chart-topper, appearing on national television, and becoming famous world-wide. His association with African American music, along with his unmatched style quickly made him popular.

In 1958, Elvis was enlisted in the military for mandatory service. Accompanied by fans and press, he told the recruitment officer that "I don't wanna be treated any differently than any other soldier here." A short two years later, and he was back in the studio, recording songs and albums.

In the 1960's, his agent suggested he took a stab at the movie industry. His movies were moderate successes, but not one of them is particularly noted as a 5-star classic film. Finally, in 1968, he hit the stage once more and went on some more tours, up until 1973 when he aired a broadcast via satellite. It was viewed by about 1.5 billion people across the world, as satellite broadcasting was still fairly new.

Aloha in Hawaii, the concert's name, was the most expensive production for it's time, costing about 2.5 million dollars to put together. The ticket fares were non-existant - Viewers were asked to pay what they could, all of the proceeds going towards the Kui Lee Cancer fund. In total. $75,000 was raised for the fund.

It was noted that by early 1977, "Elvis Presley had become a grotesque caricature of his sleek, energetic former self. Hugely overweight, his mind dulled by the pharmacopoeia he daily ingested, he was barely able to pull himself through his abbreviated concerts." For years, Elvis had been abusing prescription drugs. It should also be known that upon meeting Richard Nixon, the current president at the time, he took the opportunity to voice his out-spoken contempt for the pot-smoking, LSD-tripping hippie community. Because he was getting his drugs from a doctor, he didn't view himself as a dirty junkie, getting everything off the street.

Then, on August 16, 1977, he was discovered on the floor of the bathroom in his hotel, unresponsive. He was announced dead upon arrival to a hospital. Many symptoms could have attributed to his death, such as glaucoma, high blood pressure, an enlarged colon, and liver damage.