This Is It Movie Review

Author's Note: I have always been a fan of Michael Jackson's music, so I was intrigued to see this movie. Also, I knew that many people were kind of on the line on if they want to see "This is It" so I decided to write this movie review to give people a bit more background knowledge of the movie.

"This Is It" is a movie that is a tribute to the musical phenom Michael Jackson and his tour entitled "This Is It". The tour never happened due to Michael's death but there still was a good amount of film from the rehearsels.

My thoughts that it was an interesting thing to see because all we ever see are his music videos and songs. We never get to see what goes on behind the scenes and what goes into bringing each song to absolute perfection. I got a sense of appreciation for all of the hard work that happens.

This film also captures that attitudes and personalities of Michael and his co-workers. Michael is a complete perfectionist and he is very specific in how things are done, because he has a vision of what needs to happen. Kenny Ortega, the director of the feature and a big part in bringing the concert shows together, is a huge suck up and makes sure things are the way Michael wants it. It's actually quite comical.

Overall, I would say that the movie is a bit slow moving and repetitive, but is a great tribute and I would give it 2 1/2 stars out of 4. I recommend this movie to all lovers of Michael Jackson's music and all lovers of music.

Favorites

Author's Note: This is a little section where you can see some of my favorite things.

Food:

1. Chicken Noodle Soup

2. Bacon Cheeseburgers

3. Pasta

Drinks:

1. Root Beer

2. Green Monster

3. Green Izze

Books:
1. The Name of This Book is Secret (Pseudonymous Bosch)
2. The Giver (Lois Lowry)

3. The View from Saturday (E.L. Koingsburg)

Movies:

1. Love Guru
2. The Breakfast Club
3. Land of the Lost

Airplanes

Author's Note: I am not the biggest fan of airplane rides, so I wrote this poem to express my mixed emotions about it. I actually wrote this on a plane on my dad's laptop so the experience was very fresh in my mind. I hope you  can relate to this and have fun reading it.

You wake up early in the morn'
With anticipation bubbling inside
You get ready for the fun
To take you away to somewhere new

As you get to the airport security is endless
And your neck gets sore from the strenuous lifting
But finally you make it to the gate
And you sit and wait and wait and wait

You're finally on and you get to your seat
You stare out the window, at the scene you'll be leaving
And think to yourself
"What could possibly happen?"

The engine roars alive
And you start down the runway
Adrenaline pumping your veins
As you take off into the sky

You go up and up
And see the world go minute
Gasping silently at the beautiful sight
Atop the world you feel at peace

The clouds surround you
And you look at the scene
A beautiful one that you only see in a picture
You stare and stare at perfection for what seems to be a never ending moment

As you rise above the clouds
You wonder
About this, about that
About life as we know it

You continue on and you start to get bored
You think
"Why can't I just be home?"
You stare out the windows and count the seconds

The pain starts in your ears
An ever burning pain
That make you wince greatly
You chew some gum to help subside the pain, but that never helps

Your starting to go down
But the pain does the inverse
Rising and rising
You plead for mercy but none comes your way

Finally you land
When the pain is almost unbearable
You can't wait to get off
Into open air

You get up and get your bags
You power walk down the aisle
Only feet away
From the open air

Finally your free
At last, at last!
With good and bad memories
From the airplane ride

The Beatles

Author's Note: In Forensics, we had to write a speech to give to the class about something to do with history. I took a look at my knowledge of the past and my interests in the past and decided that I wanted to write about this very influential band. I hope you enjoy this piece and learn some new things about the one and only "Beatles".

Depression and sadness was a common behavior in the England areas and in many other regions of the world, too. This was, because of the Vietnam War that was taking place in the world’s midst. The world needed somebody, something, to pick up its spirits and propel it into a happier place. If only someone knew it would be a band called the Beatles.

John Lennon, James Paul McCartney, James Harrison, and Richard Starkley (also known as Ringo Starr) were average kids growing up in the distraught town of Liverpool. Liverpool was located in England and was hit hard by the bombings of the war. There were virtually total strangers and it seems nothing more than fate brought them together. This is how it happened.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney both played in Skiffle groups which were unsophisticated bands that played a mix of jazz, rock, and folk. John was in a band that called themselves John and the Quarrymen. Paul then introduced John to George Harrison, a guitarist two years younger but was very talented, and he soon became a member. To finish off the group, there was Stu Sutcliffe, John’s friend from art college, and Pete Best. At this time, Ringo Starr was performing at many of the same events for a band called Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.

But they could not stay together as Stu died and the band decided to get rid of Pete Best. Then they decided that they would like to introduce Ringo Starr into the Beatles. Even though the Beatles welcomed Ringo, the fans did not always do the same. “Pete forever, Ringo never” could sometimes be heard and concerts and other events the Beatles were at.

Later, fighting and controversy started to get in between the band but they became a very popular band in Europe. Their success elevated as they headed into America. It became very big news when they landed at Kennedy Airport and then were on Ed Sulliven. They were so popular sometimes females would actually faint at the Beatles concerts. At the last American concert you could barely even hear the music being played because the crowd was so loud.

They made to movies entitled A Hard Day’s Night and Help. These were both very popular. Then when John Lennon made a comment about how he thought that they were more popular then Jesus, protests were made, and records were burnt. This chipped into the Beatles popularity and caused some serious issues. These issues came through in their 1966 album called “Revolver” which had a little bit more of a somber tone to it.

Unfortunately, the Beatles got involved with drugs and other things and their next two albums were not as soft as the previous ones. Songs on the new albums included “Yellow Submarine” which was a childish cartoon, but had powerful political references woven into it. They also came out with the song “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band” which suited the attitude of the world perfectly.

The Beatles then came out with the song “All You Need is Love” and changed the mood in their songs again. “All You Need is Love” was actually the first world satellite broadcast to be shown in across the globe.

In 1968, John’s girlfriend, Yoko Ono, became a great influence on the Beatles but not always in a good way. Much of the fighting in the songs was in result of Yoko’s participation in group decision making.

The Beatles later came out with maybe their most famous album “Abbey Road” and a couple of other albums but that didn’t stop Paul from leaving them. The band quickly broke apart and went on their own paths.

That was the end of the road for them but they definitely left a huge footprint on the music business and on the world.

Favorite Quotes

Author's Note: These are my favorite quotes.

Favorite Quote:

"Do not go gently into the good night, rage, rage, against the dying of the light."

~Dylan Thomas

"The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways- I to die, and you to live. Which is better, God only knows."
~Socrates

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
~Michael Jordan

"If winning doesn't matter, why do we keep score?"

~Vince Lombardi

"All a writer can ever choose to write is his own experiences,"

~Truman Capote

"An unexamined life, is a life not worth living,"
~Socrates

"Vote for Pedro,"
~Napolean Dynamite

"Tigers love pepper... They hate cinnamon"
~Alan Garner

"It's where I keep all my things. Get a lot of compliments on this. Plus it's not a purse, it's called a satchel. Indiana Jones wears one."
~Alan Garner

"Oh, you know what? Next week's no good for me... The Jonas Brothers are in town. But any week after that, it's totally fine."

~Alan Garner

"Doc, none of us could remember anything from last night. Remember?"

~Alan Garner

"And we're the three best friends that anyone could have!"

~Alan Garner

"There is a jungle cat in the bathroom!"

~Alan Garner

"Classic"

~Alan Garner

Ryan's Thoughts #1: Is Mr. Rogers Being a Good Neighbor? Well You Think So Because That's What He Says

Author's Note: Hi, in my brain many things go on. To the average person they would not make sense. Usually they don't even make sense to me. But anyways I was thinking that it would be fun to blog about what I am thinking. So, here it goes. My first ever edition of Ryan's Thoughts...

When we all grew up, we did four things. Eat, sleep, dispose of "waste", and watch Disney movies/PBS. The first three were very essential things. Yet as it turns out the last one seems to be quite important. I mean we learn life lessons with those shows. For example, Mr. Rogers shows us how to be nice and other cool things like a slide whistle. That Count Dracula guy from Sesame Street taught us how to count. With Bambi, I honestly don't exactly know what it taught me but I do know it taught me something. This isn't PBS or Disney, but for me, I got good at math from playing Yu Gi Oh cards. Sad but true. Can you see how all these things are important in life?

Now, that was only half of what I was thinking. My messed up, slightly psycopathic brain turned that into this...

I was thinking that if they were teaching children things, wouldn't they be able to mold there brains into what Disney or PBS wanted them to be. In an odd way they are both almost as powerful as the US Government. It is kind of creepy if you think about it.

So, that is my view on children's television and I would like to thank you for listening. Reading for that matter.