Movie Review

I think that my favorite movie of all time is Inception. The combination of special effects, great plot, great casting and a great score rank it as one of the best movies that I have ever seen. I am shocked at how good it is every time I see it. BUT, I think that it wouldn’t be as cool to review because it was wildly popular. So, I am going to review my second favorite movie, Lucky Number Slevin.

Lucky Number Slevin is a film starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Stanley Tucci and Sir Ben Kingsley. I would describe it as a gangster type of film with sort of a drama, romance, thriller type of feel to it. There is a great cast and they work well together. I first saw the movie in Virginia while there for some sort of family gathering; probably Thanksgiving or something. My family has a tradition of watching a movie every time we go to my Uncle Michael’s house. My mother had already seen Lucky Number Slevin and recommended it to us. I loved the way that it toyed with my mind before clearly explaining everything. It is a slow movie, and there isn’t much action for long parts at a time, but it is wildly entertaining.

I can’t explain too much of the film without giving it away, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone who is a fan of good movies.

Art Review

Art Review

The movie, “Exit Through the Gift Shop” was interesting to watch. I am a huge fan of contemporary art, and that particular style. I admire what those artists are able to do, and the message that they send. I am a terrible artist, so their creativity and craftsmanship is amazing to me. It is truly one of the coolest and most interesting forms of art to me. However, I would have to say that my favorite artist is Ernie Barnes. I do not know much about painters other than what my parents have introduced me to. He is an artist that has been hanging in my house for as long as I can remember, and has really grown on me.

Barnes was born in 1938 in Durham, North Carolina. He was a stellar athlete, and has painted a number of pieces about sports. I love the detail and dramatic effect in his paintings. I originally grew fond of him because of the number of basketball paintings in my house done by him, but he has also done more than that. All of the pieces that I have seen are of black people. In writing this blog, I have found that it is hard for me to explain why I like him so much. But I do. He is without question my favorite artist.

We Have the Right

I imagine this is related to the film, Exit Thru the Gift Shop. I agree that we have the right to express ourselves creatively in whatever way we see fit, however there are limits. For example, if a graffiti artist were to tag my house, I would be pissed. By no means do they have the right to do that. So I'm going to change the direction of this blog. I'm going to say that we have the right to follow our own destiny. I take this to mean that we should be able to be what we want to me, and who we are capable of being.  Unfortunately though, this is not the case.

 I am writing this while reading, The Invisible Man. It is a late blog entry, I know, but I think that it is a perfect blog for the book. The invisible man in the book faces a number of obstacles that preclude him from being the person that he can be. As readers, we do not know what would have happened had some of these events not happened, however we do know that the outcome would have been different.

This is a complicated statement for me to back up because the adversity one faces throughout the course of their life is a large part of what makes them. I am not one that believes that people should not go through hard times in order to achieve their goals. But I do think that it is a tragedy when someone does not reach their full potential because they have not been allowed to follow their own destiny. 

X is Known

X is Known

I think that this is a bit of a false statement. Most people know who Malcolm X was, however, they do not know much more than that. I remember in US History not reading much about Malcolm X. There was a small paragraph, and that was about it. In my experience, the Civil Rights Movement is largely based around Dr. King. Dr. King is the more socially correct figure, and is easier to pick out as the “good guy.” It is hard to understand Malcolm X without having read his works. (Personally, I love MLK. This isn’t a knock on him. I agree with his views on civil rights and his methods of achieving them.)  

Usually, people view Malcolm X as an extremist. They often make the mistake of viewing Malcolm X as the person that hated white people, and was not interested in the same sort of things that other civil rights leaders at the time were interested in. This is in some ways true. However, he was much deeper than that. People are entitled to their opinions. But I strongly feel that if people knew more about him, he would not be viewed in such a way.  This is mainly why I disagree with the statement, “X is Known.”

X Marks the Spot

I am having trouble understanding what I am supposed to write about. Obviously, it is in some ways related to Malcolm X, and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Outside of that, I'm pretty lost. The saying, “X Marks the Spot,” usually makes me think of pirate movies and treasure hunts. Maybe this is your way of saying that Malcolm X was of great importance? Who knows.

My initial thought is that the title is related to the importance of the novel, and/or Malcolm X as a human being. Malcolm was a person who influenced thousands of people all around the world to change their beleifs. He did so in a number of different ways; many of which were controversial. He, for one, changed his ways while he was in prison; he became a religious man, and stopped his life of crime to become a leader in the Nation of Islam. 

The same can be said about the book. The book was one of the most important pieces of literature in the twentieth century. I imagine that is has had a profound effect on a number of readers. There is no way of me knowing whether or not it has changed lives in any ways similar to the way Malcolm did as a person.

Either way, Malcolm was certainly a treasured figure in our history, and his legacy will live on for generations to come.

Album/Track Review

I'm going to go outside of my usual genre of choice, and review a rock song. The song, in keeping with this time of year, is "We Are the Champions" by Queen. I bought this song around this same time of year two years ago from iTunes. It was the day before we played De LaSalle for the secional championship game my sophomore year, and I was nervous. I bought the song, sort of as added motivation so that we could continue our goal of winning a state championship. I'm no fool, and I do not think that the song won us the state championship. However, it is a song that has stuck with me over the years as an all time favorite for my connection that I make with our state run.

I like the overall message. The lyrics relate to me in a number of ways. They basically say that through all of the troubles and hardships, we are the champions. Any team with championship aspirations must have the ability to fight through extreme adversity. I like the sound of the song, but more so than anything, I like the fact that it is preaching winning.

I Knows This Means Something

I imagine that this blog is aimed towards religion, as we are reading Malcolm X. However, I have chosen to write about something a little different. It seems that I have talked a lot about religion over the course of the year in this class, so I will do something different.

Although, I'm at a bit of a loss on what to write about. This blog is being written more than a month late. This is the first blog that I will have written in the second semester. I am writing this during the state tournament. My mind has been completely on basketball as my career is coming to a close. I have a maximum of twelve days left in my career, and I fully intend on playing it out until the end. All that I can think to do with an open title like this is think back on my career. Just as everyone told me, it flew by. I remember the first day of open gym my freshman year as if it was a few weeks ago. Sophomore year was a ride, to say the least. And junior year, like my sophomore and senior years, was full of unexpected twists, turns, and disappointments. All in all, though, I would not trade my experiences as a basketball at Whitney Young for anything in the world. I would be lying if I wrote that there weren't certain things that I do not regret, or wish didn't happen. I think about them every day. However, over the years, I've grown as a person. I've matured. I try to use them as a learning experience as that is the only other logical reaction.

Finally, I don't want this blog entry to seem as if I haven't enjoyed attending school at Whitney Young; I have genuinely enjoyed every day that I have walked through the doors. Nor do I want it to seem as if it is a good bye from the basketball program. 12 days is no time at all, and all the time in the world at the same time. It was just what was on my mind, so I know that it means something.