sourALBUMS: The Dream's Love vs. Money

Thanks to The Dream, we now have another hip hop/R&B album about girls and money to go with all of the other ones. Sometimes we're blessed with albums like these from artists like Usher and Justin Timberlake who give us something worth listening to. This is not one of those albums.

We felt like we were listening to one continuous song. We think The Dream has a little note on his refrigerator that reads as follows:

1. Begin with the phrase "RADIO KILLA" or "ROCKIN'".
2. Add onomatopoeic vowel sounds. (i.e. AH, OH, EHH, or OOH)
3. Make sure this song sounds like the previous one.

If you sit down and listen to the entire album (which by no means are we encouraging you to do so), you would probably agree that this is the formula that The Dream follows for each of his songs.

Now, we didn't set out looking to hate this album. As a matter of fact, we were really hyped because we had become familiar with tracks like "Rockin' That Shit" and "Walkin' on the Moon" on the radio and we really liked them. However, once we got past those songs right at the beginning of the album, it just all seemed to go downhill. "My Love" was a great song, but we realized it was all Mariah and no Dream, so we should have realized the rest of the album would suck. The synth beats and the unimaginative lyrics just got worse and worse as the album continued, culminating in the final track, "Kelly's 12 Play", which is the epitome of suck.

We also noticed that once we got past "Walkin' on the Moon" (which is only the second song on the album), there were only slow, downbeat songs. We're sorry, but The Dream is not Usher, who actually can make a living off of lyrics and beats alone. He tried to spice it up with a synthesizer in some places, but it just didn't work. It actually sounded like the synth threw up all over the tracks. Basically, we agreed that if The Dream were to just stick to upbeat hip hop songs, then he might actually be able to create a successful album. Until then, we don't plan on picking up his next CD.

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Corey's Rating:
- It started off good but lost steam quickly, leaving me feeling like I wasted an hour of my time.

Marielle's Rating:
- Dream, you disappointed me.

sourCULTURE: Sushi-O

Sushi bar and the beautiful dining room.

Marielle here:

This new Asian bistro on Route 1 in Edison, New Jersey serves the best sushi I have ever tasted in my life. Prior to my visit to Sushi-O, I used to HATE sushi. Thanks to my friend Lisa Ho for bringing me here, now she's got me obsessed. After taking ONE bite of the Cancun roll, my mouth was suddenly begging for more.

As you enter the restaurant, your eyes will have an orgasm. The atmosphere is absolutely stunning. The entire place is dominantly dark, but has cool blue lights hanging from the ceiling and sleek, modern furniture. They also play some interesting alternative Asian tunes, which completes the fun, modern, and Asian-inspired theme. The owner definitely wanted to have a hip and trendy feel to the restaurant, but that doesn't mean adults can't come in and enjoy some Japanese cuisine.

But don't be intimidated with the atmosphere because their prices aren't going to make a hole in your pocket. For a classic Spicy Tuna roll, it's only $5.25, and their Signature Rolls (which are basically their specialty sushi rolls) can range from $10.25 to $12.25. If it's your first time trying sushi, I suggest you in buying a signature roll. It may be more expensive, but for your first time you'd want to try something extravagant. Without a doubt, it's worth the extra bucks.

Since they just opened a few weeks ago, they serve you a salad to start with, and the best part is that it's ON THE HOUSE! It was called the "Kengi Salad" because the chef who made it is named Kengi. It was simply scrumptious. It had crunchy fried crab on a bed of shredded lettuce drizzled with a tasty, creamy dressing.


Notice how nicely they present their food.

My friends and I ordered 3 signature rolls -- the Cancun, Orange Dragon, and Samurai roll. My favorite one was the Cancun roll which consisted of eel, egg and crunchy inside, and topped with avocado and shrimp. Their sushi was so fresh and tasty! And for those non-sushi lovers, they also have other delicious Pan-Asian items on the menu such as Udon noodles, hibachi fried rice, or Pad Thai. There's something for everyone here.

Their sushi was so epic that I ordered a Cancun Roll to go. However, when I got home, they gave me the wrong roll. So I called them, and the manager who I talked to on the phone kindly took my name down and told me to enjoy the roll that they accidently gave me, and that the next time I go there, I'll receive the right roll without charge. A few hours later, I headed back to Sushi-O to retrieve the right roll, and they happily made it for me. Their employees definitely go the extra mile to please their customers. I was extremely happy with my experience at Sushi-O that I came back within the next week with a whole different group of friends. This place just goes to show that the right atmosphere, excellent customer service, and fresh sushi make people happy.

My rating:
- Next time you want sushi, go here! It's an A+ sushi restaurant for any occasion.

sourCINEMA: The Last House on the Left

Attack of the Hipster Criminals!

The Last House on the Left is pretty much your average thriller directed by the famous horror master Wes Craven. The plot is an interesting one, but a little strange. The story follows Mari, a champion swimmer, and her two loving parents, one a doctor and the other owns the BEST. TOP. EVER. Seriously, we love her top in this movie and whenever she was on screen it was the only thing we noticed. Anyway, the three of them go on vacation together to their secluded summer home, their first vacation since the death of Mari's brother, Ben. Mari runs off with the car, leaving her mother furious and her father strangely calm as to the fact that their daughter, only 17 years old, just ran off with the car. Mari meets up with her friend Paige, a slut and pothead, who convinces Mari to take part in the sluttery and potheaddery with her. They meet a guy who offers them pot, and Paige's eyes light up. They run off with him, and before they know it, they're being raped and killed. Remember kids, pot is illegal and wrong.

Long story short (too late), the murderers look for shelter and end up at Mari's summer home, where her parents take them in. Not much longer after that, Mari finds her way home seven-eighths dead and her parents discover the people in their guest house raped and tried to kill their daughter. Mom and Dad, in a fiery rage of passion, forget to dial 911 on their cellphones and decide to get revenge on their houseguests.

* * *

The plot got us into the movie, but after a while we just couldn't take it anymore. Why the hell were these two civilized people running around killing people for revenge. Didn't their parents tell them not to stoop to other people's levels? And don't anybody dare say that it was a "act of passion" because that is CRAP. They own phones. They can call the police, the SWAT team, the NATIONAL GUARD, anyone - but no, they took matters into their own hands. And frankly, there's not too much to be scared by here. In most slasher/thriller films, the audience is left not knowing what will happen to the protagonist. "Who's chasing them?" "What if they're waiting for them in that dark room over there?" "DON'T GO UPSTAIRS YOU'LL GET CAUGHT!" All of these ideas that come into the audience's head when watching this kind of movie go out the window for this particular film because we know where the killers are at all times. We also know that the prey has no chance of survival, so where's the suspense? Instead, we're pretty much watching torture and chase scenes, not unlike Saw or Hostel.


Mom and Dad are pissed.

And Wes Craven, holy crap, stop pretending you're some creative artsy dumbass. Starting the movie with different views of tree bark for like three minutes is not very interesting. Just please, make a horror film, not an art film. So many little scenes were unnecessary and it just was ridiculous to go from a suspenseful chase scene to watching Sara Paxton get dressed. Seriously. Come on. It's hot, but this is not late-night cable porn.

In any case, we were kept entertained by the film in general. It was a good mix of drama and horror, and it was pretty well done. It serves up gore, but it also serves up some suspense, so it should please horror fans of all types. The performances were pretty good, especially Sara Paxton. We really thought she was getting raped because that scene was BRUTAL. Marielle couldn't help but feel she was being raped vicariously through Sara.

Corey's Rating:
- Would I watch this again? No. But it is definitely Friday-night-out thriller material.

Marielle's Rating:
- I don't know why, but this is one of the funniest horror movies I've seen.

sourVIDEO: Australia

Unfortunately, we can't really give a you a summary for this film because we couldn't finish it. Hopefully Australia was more appealing when viewed in a theater. The movie began in a comical manner which seemed incongruous to the remainder of the movie we actually sat through, which was very serious. We understand that being a little nutty is a natural part of director Baz Luhrmann's aesthetic, but he can't change his mood like that mid-film or he loses the audience. The plot (or rather, what we had seen of the plot) asks viewers to take the action on screen seriously. But how can they be expected to do so when the film conditions the audience right off the bat to expect humor?

Anyway, we know the movie took place in Australia, had something to do about cattle droving, and that Hugh Jackman looks really buff. That's about all we can grab because so little information is given to the audience that we hardly knew what was going on at any given point of the film. Frankly, an hour and forty-five minutes into the movie, and we were so lost that we became disinterested. Not only do we wish we knew what was going on, but we also felt that we hardly got to know the characters. We know we gave up an hour before the end, but shouldn't we have already developed a connection to the characters by then? It didn't happen. As a matter of fact, we didn't feel connected to the movie. Period.

In the movie's defense (not that it deserves it), the visuals are stunning, but that's hard to screw up when you're filming in the wide-open, beautiful Outback. Acting is good, and so are Hugh's abs. Uhh, okay, that's about it. And Hugh's abs.

Sorry for blunt review, but frankly, be glad we forced ourselves to sit through the first half of the movie so that you didn't waste your time doing so. You're welcome.

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Australia on DVD

Corey's Rating:
- Boring and uninteresting.

Marielle's Rating:
- It took half a Monster Lo-Carb to get me quasi-interested in this movie.

DVD Special Features:
- Two deleted scenes? That's it? Where's the director's commentary? Or anything else? We felt used.

sourALBUMS: Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted

If P!nk, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and The Fray all had a bastard child together, this album would be it. Unfortunately, we lose a lot of Kelly’s originality in this because so many of the songs made us feel like we’ve heard them before. We know Kelly is a pop star, but there’s no reason for her to have to make herself sound like every other song off of your Top 40 radio station.

Furthermore, we found ourselves straining to hear Kelly’s beautiful voice over the unnecessary guitars and drums. Seriously, Kelly, you don’t need a loud band to back you up – your voice is so perfect without it! We couldn’t believe to it took sitting through 13 tracks to finally reach “If No One Will Listen”, which is the only song that seems to remind us that Kelly is actually known for singing, not yelling over your next door neighbor’s garage band. Kelly’s vocals also seemed to get lost within the scarily bad lyrics. “Ready” left us ‘ready’ to fire the lyricist by the end of the song. “Save You” is, without question, the worst song off the album up to the point that we couldn’t listen to the entire thing or we would have destroyed the stereo.

Despite the album’s downfalls, there is still a thin sliver of a silver lining. Kelly’s attitude is still that of the hopeless romantic, reminding us of the Kelly we fell in love with at the first listen of “Breakaway”. In some songs, the guitarist was generous enough to actually let us hear Kelly’s voice, especially on tracks like the piquant “All I Ever Wanted”, the effective ballad “Already Gone”, and the moving “If No One Will Listen”. In retrospect, some songs were catchy, even amazing, but most of the songs left us scratching our heads, wondering why Kelly Clarkson is trying so hard to fit in when she already does.

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Corey's Rating:
- I wanted so badly to love this album, but only a choice few of the tracks really delivered the Kelly I wanted to hear.

Marielle's Rating:
- There’s no reason to go out and buy this album when you can listen to practically the same songs right now if you turn on your radio.