Movie Review: Mother’s Day (’16 Garry Marshall)

Starring: Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis..
Director: Garry Marshall
Genre/s: Drama, Comedy

When you put together these fantastic actresses in one film, you expect at least some degree of solid film making but like any other occasion themed films, Mother’s Day falls to a problematic setting. The story telling is shallow. The film had some problems in its transition and I thought the overall script is just flawed. There are parts that were funny but mostly it is predictable and corny. I don’t know, I just think that the movie didn’t really work and sell what it wants to do. 4

The Voice US 10: Top 11

What is happening?! I am starting to think that this could end up to be a dud season to be honest. The competition is just boring me now to be honest. I don’t know. I am starting to feel disconnect and unexcited about the season.

Anyway, here is how I rank the top 11.

[11] NICK HAGELIN
Your Body Is A Wonderland
Team CHRISTINA

– Yikes. It’s official, Nick is such a cute guy. That’s it. 4

[10] DANIEL PASSINO
Time After Time
Team PHARRELL

– Stop all this cheesy breezy karaoke-ness. 4.5

[9] SHALYAH FEARING
The Climb
Team ADAM

– Seriously Adam? After going up to the mountain last week, you made her sing about her “climb”?! What’s for next week? Going the distance? Haha. Look, the song choices were just on the nose for me but more than that Shalyah’s technique is really flawed that I wish Adam would concentrate in helping her that. Her vocal control is ridicuously non-existent. 5

[8] OWEN DANOFF
Fire & Rain
Team ADAM

– I had high hopes from Owen and then I fell asleep. 5

[7] BRYAN BAUTISTA
Just The Way You Are
Team CHRISTINA

– Why Christina, why?! I appreciate the idea of making it his own but instead of making this contemporary song go to the next level of awesomeness, Bryan got stacked to this retro vibe going on with the Bruno Mars ditty that I personally think didn’t really work at all. I miss Bryan and how he effortlessly nails his performances prior the live shows. Bring it back!!! 5.5

[6] ADAM WAKEFIELD
Lights
Team BLAKE

– Did I prematurely declare him as a dark horse last week when suddenly he gave a decent but very disconnected performance tonight? Vocally it was still good but then I felt cold after watching his performance. 6

[5] MARY SARAH
Johnny & June
Team BLAKE

– Decent but I am not sure if Blake is really giving her the right song choices that will highlight her vocal techniques and how potentially would place her in the competition. Because right now? She is a decent, generic but forgettable country singer from Team Blake. 6

[4] ALISAN PORTER
Stay With Me Baby
Team CHRISTINA

– Yikes. After her solid performance last week, Alisan delivered a very disconnected yet vocally strong performance. I think it is due to her not really wanting this song to sing but she suck it up although I could really feel how she didn’t really connect to this. 6.5

[3] LAITH AL-SAADI
Make It Rain
Team ADAM

– Woah! The bluesy-jazzy feel backed up with that grit and beautifully phrased verses from Laith just saved the whole night of underwhelming performances. I didn’t expect this from him. 8

[2] PAXTON INGRAM
Break Every Chain
Team BLAKE

– Interesting. I am so ready to write him off but then again what do I know when he survived last week’s elimination despite some poor itunes rankings and performing early. But then he turned it around this week and delivered this passionate vocal performance. No it wasn’t perfect but I am pleased. 8

[1] HANNAH HUSTON
I Can’t Make You Love Me
Team PHARRELL

– While I thought it could be better if she took it more in a tender, intimate version, for what is worth, this is still a solid, beautifully phrased and gorgeously sang performance. 8.5

Movie Review: The Huntsman: Winter’s War (’16 Cedric Nicolas – Troyan)

Starring: Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Emily Blunt…
Director: Cedric Nicolas – Troyan
Genre/s: Science & Fiction

The Huntsman: Winter’s War is a delightful visual treat. The joy I had with how I was fascinated with the colors, cinematography, visual effects and overall visuals is evident throughout the film. But the film lacks depth or control to its story telling. I find it all bombast of eye treat but nothing about it is really standing out. Not to mention, it boasts a crop of really heavyweight casts but it didn’t somehow suffice what is lacking to its story. At some point, I find the film quite shallow and to its extent – unnecessary. 5

New Track: Rihanna – Needed Me

As planned, Rihanna also drops her music video of Needed Me since it is also the single in which Riri and her team planned to impact pop and HAC radio this month. As of now, both (the other one is Kiss it better) are doing pretty good on radio and gaining upward taction. While I prefer Kiss it better, the urban vibe Needed Me video boasts mostly some explicit stuff and the single actually showcases the quality of Rihanna’s tone that is a very recognizable one for her.

Check out the video (although you need to sign in first due to explicit stuff) and single below:

Movie Review: The Jungle Book (’16 Jon Favreau)

Starring: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba…
Director: Jon Favreau
Genre/s: Fantasy

Who would’ve thought that the Jungle Book could be this good? Let me be honest, I’ve never been a fan of it but somehow the 2016 version was made more than tolerable. To be exact, this exquisite film is bursting with impressive visuals and solid phase that I was kept entertained all throughout the film. It wasn’t dragging, though the film isn’t anything perfect at all too. But then again, with its simple storytelling being backed up by talented casts (and voices) and an absolute eye candy of visual and cinematography, Jungle Book is a joy to watch that I personally think transcends to all ages and generations. 8

New Track: Little Mix (ft. Sean Paul) – Hair

Little Mix has dropped their third single and music video from their latest album. While Secret Love Song is more of a ballad feel collaboration from the power UK pop girl group, Hair takes them back to the pop radio friendly single that will give them another opportunity to crack in US radio. I think this is a better radio single to be honest if their label is planning to give a pop radio impact soon. This song is yet another collaboration one but this time with Sean Paul.

Check out the video and single below:

The Voice US 10: Top 12

At some point of tonight’s episode, I am thinking if we really had the right final 12 people but then I digress. Tonight was a mixed bag for me. The usual artists delivered while some were either settled with terrible song choices or was just really underwhelming.

Nonetheless, here is how I rank the Top 12:

[12] NICK HAGELIN
Mine Would Be You
Team CHRISTINA

– His vocals faded away in the background, I’m starting to wo der if he moved forward only because of his good looks. Nick needs to find a song that will suit him more than him trying to fit in the song. 5

[11] PAXTON INGRAM
Hands To Myself
Team BLAKE

– It’s an interesting song choice and I like that Paxton is entertaining the audience with this upbeat vibe he has going on but his vocals were just really inconsistent with most of the time, I find the performance more on the annoying side na. 5

[10] DANIEL PASSINO
Human Nature
Team PHARRELL

– It’s so cheesy, I suddenly had lactose intolerance. 5

[9] MARY SARAH
So Small
Team BLAKE

– I have been pointing out how Mary Sarah is sounding like Carrie but then once she took this Carrie song, she fails miserably. Her high notes was sharp. She hit a couple of flat notes and somehow she got me uninterested with her. Probably if she took the song to a more intimate level, that would highlight her generic but capable voice. 5.5

[8] OWEN DANOFF
7 Years
Team ADAM

– Owen is a good storyteller and on paper, this should be a homerun but somehow it just didn’t work. His vocals were shaky. His performance is bland and on the edge of boredom – if not – already a snoozefest. 6

[7] LAITH AL-SAADI
Born Under A Bad Sign
Team ADAM

– Nothing really bad about this but thag tone of his is keeping me off track. It just for me isn’t an appealing sound. And probably it is with the song choice too. I just wasn’t got excited. 6

[6] BRYAN BAUTISTA
Kiss From A Rose
Team CHRISTINA

– Christina, where’s the guy who sang “Sorry”? This was in no way a bad performance but it just suck out the things that made Bryan one of the dark horse of the competition. 6.5

[5] EMILY KEENER
Lilac Wine
Team PHARRELL

– While not great, it wasn’t bad too. The vocals were fine albeit some sleepy moments but I digress. 7

[4] SHALYAH FEARING
Up To The Mountain
Team ADAM

– Control. Shalyah could’ve been that dark horse if only Adam could coach her the right techniques and essential in having a flawless vocal performance. While not bad, there are parts that made this performance a bit off. 7

[3] HANNAH HUSTON
Something’s Got A Hold On Me
Team PHARRELL

– The consistency of Hannah is quite a pleasure to watch and this showed a more upbeat side of her and it proved that she can do versatility. Now if only she is singing something more contemporary because she’s been doing classics that I feel like the younger audience isn’t connecting with her yet. 7.5

[2] ADAM WAKEFIELD
Soul Shine
Team BLAKE

– Woah! Adam is really something rare that I enjoy listening too. His vocals here is gorgeous. His control is lovely and the phrasing is just wonderful. 8

[1] ALISAN PORTER
Stone Cold
Team CHRISTINA

– Great! Finally something that she had control on vocally with great nuances and right amount of power. Her ad libs sounded gorgeous and it didn’t felt like she was showboating. 8.5

The Voice US 10: Live Playoffs (#TeamPharrell)

What. just. had. happened. I’m speechless. We do know that Pharrell has the tendency to give his artists the most boring, outdated song choices but how his whole team crash and burn on this episode is beyond me. Even with the ones I expected to deliver wasn’t able to do so.

So with no further adieu, here’s how the night went.

[6] CAITY PETERS
I’ll Be Waiting

– Yikes! WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE GIRL WHO ASTONISHINGLY DELIVERED A SOLID KNOCKOUT PERFORMANCE. Bring her back!! 2

[5] LACY MANDIGO
Love Is A Battlefield

– Clearly, Lacy is too young for this but the main thing is I don’t really think she and the coaches knew what kind of artist she fits in. Lacy became the cannon fodder that she was pegged on in the first place. 3

[4] EMILY KEENER
Still Crazy After All These Years

– I seriously dozed off halfway of her performance that I had to rewatch it again. Yup, that’s how boring it was. 3

[3] MOUSHUMI
Love Yourself

– Song choice, I thought would be a good fit for Moushumi but the arrangement and performance itself is painful – at least for me. Her tone sounded uneven. Her notes were inconsistent. But the whole thing was a big blah. 4

[2] DANIEL PASSINO
When I Was Your Man

– For a comeback artist to perform better than more than half of Pharrell’s team, you know that Pharrell is making interesting choices this season. Haha. Daniel is a capable singer and his take on this song is decent but a bit forgettable. 5.5

[1] HANNAH HUSTON
Ain’t No Way

– I had high hopes from Hannah especially after she time to time keeps om impressing me but tonight she fell short from what I expected and her inconsitent vocals made me think that her voice is choosing particular song choices that will masterfully make her shine. Tonight, Hannah hit a couple of sharp and flat notes and her phrasing sounded a bit uneven. 6

APRIL 2016 Playlist

Wow, I can’t believe we are now at the 4th month of the year and there has been really a lot of good music released recently that I am very happy to share with you so you can consider them on your monthly change of playlists.

So here you go, 15 songs that I personally and currently fancy that I think you can consider for your playlist.

1 Bahari – Wild Ones
2 Bebe Rexha (ft. Nicki Minaj) – No Broken Hearts
3 Benny Benassi (ft. Chris Brown) – Paradise
4 Carly Rae Jepsen – Boy Problems
5 Drake (ft. Wizkid & Kyla) – One Dance
6 Fantasia – Ugly
7 Iggy Azalea – Team
8 Jason Derulo – If It Ain’t Love
9 Jennifer Lopez – Ain’t Your Mama
10 Justin Bieber – Company
11 Nick Jonas (ft. Tove Lo) – Close
12 Pentatonix (ft. Jason Derulo) – If I Ever Fall In Love
13 Rihanna – Kiss It Better
14 Taylor Swift – New Romantics
15 Will.I.Am (ft. Pia Mia) – Boys & Girls

New Track: Pentatonix (ft. Jason Derulo) – If I Ever Fall In Love

Pentatonix released their newest single and video and it is a collaboration with Jason Derulo. Hey Jason has been collaborating a lot with other artists no? Anyway, it’s amazing how this group has been doing with their mouths – no pun intended – and the sound is just radio friendly and pop tunes!

Check out their newest single below: