Almost Famous

Over Thanksgiving break I was driving to Long Island to see my family while my Spotify played on shuffle. All of a sudden, the song Tiny Dancer by Elton John came on and I was overcome with memories of one of my favorite movies that I haven't even seen in the longest time. Isn't it crazy how music can do that to you? You hear it and are instantly reminded of a moment - whether its happy or sad, there is always an association. The movie I immediately connected this song to is Almost Famous, starring Kate Hudson. She is my favorite character in this film as she plays the quirky happy-go-lucky Penny Lane. The movie is based on a young writer who gets hired by The Rolling Stone and travels with one of America's most popular rock band of that time. What I love about this movie is how it incorporates real rock musicians from the 70s such as Simon and Garfunkel and Black Sabbath, but the band being documented is completely made up.The movie does a great job of incorporating Stillwater into the time period and connecting their music style to other ones that actually exist. This movie is an excellent period piece. It documents the 1970s very well along with the lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock n' roll. William, the teenage journalist starts out very naive but after befriending one of the rockstars, Russell and Penny Lane, his life quickly turns around. It is a great story for character development as we witness Kate Hudson's character nearly hitting rock bottom. There are sad moments, but the emotions that will come over you from watching this film are worth it. Directed by Cameron Crowe, it very much reflects his own experiences. He himself was a teenage writer for the Rolling Stone and toured with multiple bands including The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin and The Eagles.  You can definitely tell that this story is written from some kind of personal experience because it touches close to the heart.

New Dog, Old Tricks.

      Continuing on the thread that I can't seem to clip and bring to a stop, the best time of my college life is usually spent on the vastly infinite expanse of Netflix. I was recently given the Australian adventure-comedy show Danger 5 to binge after I finished a few select others over the summer. Well, let me rephrase that. I lost a bet and had to watch the pilot with my boyfriend and, let me tell you, I still have no clue what the hell is going on. I've seen about 5 episodes and the only thing that I can actually tell you is that it was filmed rather recently but looks like it was made in the 70s, both visually and audibly (which btw, is so goddamn cool). I've also learned that every episode they are given a new mission and, of course, they must try and kill Hitler. I think Hitler is trying to steal famous monuments from around the world like the Eiffel Tower and the like. I honestly have zero idea what is going on but it's constructed in such a way that it's coherent enough to look like none of it is nonsense when, in fact, it's literally nothing but pure nonsense.
      While the show is made so it looks like it's straight out of a time that is not this current one, it's clearly got technology on its side. Reconstructing the sets, lights, and the rest of the jazz to look 1000 years old, Danger 5 tends to showcase the type of humour that could easily be from today or the past, which I adore. It's funny with its running gimmicks and jokes but also has gags that poke fun at the era that it's desperately trying to recreate. Spoiler, they are actually doing it better than the poor folks who made the inspirational material in the first place. The show incredibly has enough plot for those who actually want a show to watch with a little bit of weight to it instead of the class 'binge because it's got nothing going on'. Danger 5 does have a running storyline, it's just the fluff around it that's a little crazy. Ok, a lot of crazy. There's a lot of weird puppets and giant animal-headed people but honestly, that sounds like a normal Tuesday night for me. I totally recommend at least watching the pilot and appreciating the hard work that all of the hardworking people at D5 did in order for this show to become a reality.