Top 10 Albums of 2019

2019 was an oasis in the desert. Call it a renaissance. The charts had been mostly depressing for three years; 2019 came out swinging with a bright, optimistic mood that even the most cynical oldhead couldn't help but appreciate. The songs getting played on the radio were the best they had been in years, with new acts Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish topping the charts and influencing the charts to this day. "Old Town Road" and "Bad Guy" were a nice complement to the more dark tracks that had stuck around, and old acts had brightened up too. Typical sludge loser Post Malone decided to sound happy for the first time with "Sunflower" and "Circles," both massive hits. Panic! At The Disco likewise returned to the top 10 with "High Hopes" and "Hey Look Ma, I Made It." These songs may not be good, but they reflect a great optimism that seems strange and almost naive knowing what was to come the following year. None of these names will be appearing on this Top 10 list; I hate happiness. Even so, I think the overall sound of this year can be categorized in a distinct binary between happiness and despair. These two themes will be recurring in my retrospective of 2019.

High Fidelity Movie Review

I watched this movie with the bros because I thought it was going to be a funny haha movie about music nerds. Boy, was I wrong.

This movie is, in my mind, a contrast to Mud. Mud teaches that sometimes you can do everything right, and love still falls apart. High Fidelity teaches that sometimes you can do everything wrong and still end up with someone who loves you.

This movie means a lot to me for 2 reasons. First, Rob Gordon is a despicable person. He's self-centered and dumb. He is drawn to people solely by desires of the flesh. He treats people like garbage. Second, Rob Gordon is like me. He's self-centered and dumb. He is drawn to people solely by desires of the flesh. He treats people like garbage. And he lives on his wider-than-average knowledge of music history.

It makes me happy to see Laura come back. The bros and I were conflicted over it though; did Rob truly grow? After all he had done, is there ever a good reason for Laura to go back to him? Did he take advantage of her dire emotional situation? Do I deserve happiness after the way I've treated people in my past? 

I think that, whether or not he deserves it is besides the point. He has her and he is working to be better. That's the real point. Laura may be naive, but she is the best person in the movie. Forgiveness is a beautiful thing. 

8/10. I'm gonna go cry now.

Top 10 Albums of 2021

    Sure, the list might be a bit late. But I'm glad I waited. Some of these I didn't recognize until recently. I certainly wanted to make sure I knew what I was talking about. It wasn't due to being lazy. 

This Is The End Movie Review

 

Matt, Mario, and Zac wanted to watch This Is The End immediately after my Curious George (2006) watch party.

A review of This Is The End (2013) starring a bunch of Hollywood narcissists.

Last time on Icystorm's Igloo, I watched Oz The Great and Powerful. A 2013 James Franco movie that wasn't very good. This Is The End has all those traits but even more so.

It's more 2013 - the effects look even worse, there's a Gangnam Style scene, dudes are wearing snapbacks... What a nightmare.

It's more James Franco - He's a main character in this movie, playing James Franco. So there's more James Franco than ever before. Most of the movie takes place in his ugly 2013 house.

And it's even more wasn't very good - This Is The End is terrible and not funny. It's a bunch of raunchy garbage for 2 hours. All of the jokes except for a small handful are predictable and, considering the target audience, safe.

The rapture is not Christian doctrine; but since some Christians teach the rapture as doctrine, we can suspend disbelief for the sake of the movie. But getting into heaven by being good, without faith in God, is doctrine that no Christian believes. Such an understanding of salvation paints Christianity the same as all the other faiths, where you trick God into thinking you're good enough for him. If you see this movie as famous atheistic Hollywood elites raised in the Jewish tradition trying to write a movie about a faith they don't believe in, it makes a lot of sense. Jews believe that you are loved by God when you follow his law really well. Christianity teaches that you are loved by God, despite your inability to follow the law, and are saved through faith in Christ's saving work, and not your own works. Nobody in the movie believed in Jesus, and they only used his name in vain the entire time. Yet they got saved anyway because they sacrificed themselves or whatever. It's the most milquetoast pop culture understanding of the rapture you could put on paper.

Their interpretation of heaven is just as uninspired. You walk around on clouds and you can have whatever you want. 72 virgins anyone? You could hand a chimp a crucifix, a piece of paper, and a box of crayons, and ask him to draw heaven. His idea would not only be more interesting, but also likely more accurate. 

This movie is dated, ugly, unfunny, uncreative, and I hate celebrities with every fiber of my being. 1/10