Great Movies You Probably Didn’t See

There are so many good movies that have come out that most people didn’t see. It’s a shame that these movies don’t get more recognition or bigger releases because they are much better than what’s at every corner movie theater. I mean, come on, The Hills Have Eyes 2? Are you kidding me? There are a few movies I’ve found because of Netflix or Blockbuster Online. Some of my favorite movies are independent movies that aren’t really independent. When I’m talking about independent, I don’t mean Clerks or Pi where the budget was in the thousands. These have budgets that go through more money than I’ll ever see in my life (The Boondock Saints had a $6 million budget). These numbers are still relatively small compared to the $300 it takes to make movies like Superman Returns. Some of the best ones that I think more people need to see are movies like Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. This movie had such great performances by Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer. Not only were the performances great, but the story was great as well. Another small-time movie that I loved was The Salton Sea. This one also stars Val Kilmer. People don’t give him enough credit as an actor. He is really good. One movie that had a large budget with well-known actors but didn’t last long in theaters was Lucky Number Sleven. I’m not really a fan of Josh Hartnet, but he was excellent, as was Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman. The story was such a good story as well. Everything about that movie I like.

10th and Wolf was basicallyThe Departed or even the failed TV show The Black Donnellys on a smaller budget with lesser-known actors. Same type of characters with the same setting. A Scanner Darkly was a great movie based on a great Philip K. Dick novel that should have enjoyed a wider release. It amazes me that great movies like these go unseen by many while crappy movies get released to every major movie theater and make millions. I guess that should say something about the general public.

My Birthday

So, my birthday is coming up on April 6th. My sister Lisa keeps bugging me asking me what I want. I have no idea. There is nothing at the top of my head that I want. I have no ideas for her. I could go with the generic gift card to Best Buy or somewhere, but I don’t really buy anything from anywhere anymore. I really am at a loss for what I want. One good thing is my b-day falls on the first day of Fort Zumwalt’s spring break, so I won’t be working on my birthday. I’ll sleep late and chillax a little. I might have to call some friends and go out that night. Maybe hit up Ameristar or chill at the bar near my house, Kokomo’s. Last year, I hung out with Heather and my friend Mike, who shares the same birthday as me, at Kokomo’s. Mike is now living it up in Chi-town now so I bet he’s got some nice plans. Most of my friends live in other cities now so it makes it difficult to see them and make any kind of big plans. I shall give it some more thought.

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This is Why I’m Hot

No, not because I’m a rapper named Mims, but because I’d changed my site to this sexy new theme. The front page is still basic format as the changes I made a few days ago, just using a new theme. (and yes, it took me like 2 or 3 hours to mod that front page when it would have taken Kristin only like 15 minutes. Oh well, we learn as we go along I guess). And I must say, it would have been so much harder to do this if not for having my own web server and wp install on a usb stick. No uploading, just saving and refreshing. Very nice.

An Ambitious Goal

I have set a goal for myself. It is quite an ambitious one. One that will take lots and lots of time. While listening to Jaguar Skills’ mix 1979-2006 I decided to obtain all 800 songs he used in his 46 minute mix. These are some of the best songs in hip hop history. Let’s hope I can get them all. The newer songs will be easy, especially since I already have them on CD or mp3 format. I’ll keep updating my progress in this long task. If you are interested in what songs are in the mix, in order, they are:

King Tim III (Personality Jock) – The Fatback Band
Sugahill Gang – Rappers Delight – The Sugar Hill Gang
Rapping & Rocking The House – Funky 4+1
Zulu Nation Throwdown – Afrika Bambaata And The Cosmic Force
High Powered Rap – Crash Crew
8th Wonder – The Sugar Hill Gang
The Breaks [Long Version] – Kurtis Blow
Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll – Vaughan Mason & Crew
Monster Jam – Spoonie Gee & Sequence
Apache (version) – The Sugar Hill Gang
That’s The Joint – Funky Four Plus One
Genius Rap – Dr. Jeckel
Super Rhymes – Jimmy Spicer
Heartbeat – Taana Gardner
Rockin’ It – The Fearless Four
The Message – Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Buffalo Gals – Malcolm McLaren
Scorpio – Grand Master Flash & The Furious Five
Magic’s Wand – Whodini
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Cut Chemist- The Garden

speaker Many of you may recognize the name Cut Chemist from the superb hip hop group Jurassic 5. He’s also worked with Ozomatli and ska band Less Than Jake. He recently came out with his first full-length album entitled The Audience’s Listening. The album is an amazing blend of samples and scratching taking you on a trip through some music you probably haven’t heard before. I really enjoy this album, and this song The Garden has some great samples in it. This isn’t rap, it is hip hop. For those who don’t know the difference, turn on the radio and listen to what’s being played. That is rap. This is hip hop, or at least one aspect of it. So give it a listen and check out this amazing album.

[audio:http://pieceofshep.com/audio/04-The-Garden.mp3]