When I first began HSB, I was publishing posts at least five days a week. While I long to get back to my old writing schedule, right now it is next to impossible. One way that I was able to keep up with my daily posts was through various reviews. Mondays were usually dedicated to songs or reads, and Thursdays to film. That left only Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for other topics (sort of like what I do now). I think that every blogger can relate when I state just how hard it is to find, create, photograph, and put together imaginative, fun, and engaging posts 3 days a week. Even if you are full of drive, sometimes the inspiration is just not there. Rather than writer’s block, we get blogger’s block, and it can be a bitch to pull yourself out.

I am probably the worst reviewer on the internet. I rarely ever get the double meanings or subliminal messages that are often hidden in movies and music. I prefer to write about what parts I did or didn’t like, and to hear your opinions as well. I am still somewhat amazed that I was able to pull off a twice-weekly review, but I’m considering doing them again. Would you guys like that?

What I do like are Coen brothers movies. I love their wide angle camera shots, the grittiness to their films, their dark humour, and the fact that they are often inspired by great literature. Even more so, I love folk music from the 1960s. Inside Llewyn Davis should therefore have been a winning film for me. However, I think that in the end I preferred the music over the movie itself. Oscar Issac brought a modern slant to old folk songs, and because each one was filmed live, it added more to the film than pre-recorded songs ever could have. Most were heartbreaking, some were playful, but all were incredibly soulful. I think what I didn’t like was that the star studded cast was too distracting, and I couldn’t relate to any of the characters themselves. Watching it made me feel as if I was thrust into a time machine and would come out to either witness a fight or a dramatic situation. Then, just as I would turn back to enter the machine for safety, someone would begin to sing (usually Isaac), and all would be peaceful again. 

In my opinion, the music is what saved the film. At the same time, maybe that was the point, because there was no way that you could make a movie about the pre-Bob Dylan era without having it filled with tumultuous conditions and just really amazing music.

Emory