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DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON ... "REBIRTH"
Lil Wayne's newly-released album "Rebirth" can be summarized by off-pitch singing to Green Day-esque background music, auto-tune and horrible lyrics.
If this doesn't sound appealing to you, don't listen to it. Weezy dropped his single, "Prom Queen," late last January and the album was first leaked as early as June, but its official release was Feb. 2.
"OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, kay, kay, kay, kay, kay, kay," sings Lil' Wayne throughout half of his track, "The Price is Wrong." While listening to this I couldn't help but think of how many words rhyme with "OK," and began to question whether Weezy's cough syrup addiction had finally impaired his vocabulary.
"Prom Queen" and "Knockout" were the only songs on the entire album that I somewhat liked, and even those were mediocre and both were about the same exact thing. Yes, Lil Wayne, we understand that you had problems with women until you became famous and now they all want you. Next topic, please.
The rest of this album is just a horrible tangle of misrepresented musical genres. In hopes of providing the audience with something revolutionary, Lil Wayne left us with an entire album full of something that slightly resembles a cross between Shop Boyz' "Party Like a Rockstar" (they did rap/rock better) and an amateur rapper attempting to freestyle.
Weezy needs to leave the auto-tuning to T-Pain and the "rock" music to Good Charlotte. That being said, this album will leave you mourning the loss of Lil Wayne as a respectable artist, rather than rejoicing in his self-proclaimed "Rebirth." What were you reborn as, tone-deaf?
My advice for all of you Weezy fans: Keep replaying "Tha Carter III," and push any semblance of "Rebirth" out of your memory.
- Olga Mosiychuk
STEER CLEAR OF ... "DEAR JOHN"
John (Channing Tatum) and Savannah (Amanda Seyfried)'s story was disappointing. They were only in a handful of frames together, and even then, their time was wasted. Plot development? Slow and choppy. Flow? Broken. I was definitely not inspired to read the book.
I cried a few times, but now I can't remember why. I expected the couple's love letters to have a significant presence in the film, but that was asking too much. The way John and Savannah's love story unfolded was anticlimactic, especially when he received the letter that supposedly shattered his world. I didn't see the dent.
But I did almost put a dent in the movie screen when John returned from his military duties to discover that their relationship ended due to Savannah's pity for another man. Her choice of men was definitely unexpected. I gave the ending a confused looked and darted out of there.
If you're thinking of a movie for Valentine's Day, and you're feeling particularly friendly with Summit Entertainment, save money and rent "Penelope," starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy in a twisted modern fairytale.
It's a story of mistaken identity and a family's quest to find a blue-blood (McAvoy) who can look at Penelope (Ricci) without running away screaming. Of course, love can break the spell, but it's probably not the kind you'd expect. It's still a chick flick, but at least you'll both be happier.
- Gao Na Yang
