Oh So Geeky

photography: ALASDAIR MCLELLAN There once was a day when my drive to school was only thirty minutes. Finances and landlords being how they were, my family made a considerable move further from our closest campus: two hours away, to be exact. Since my schedule synced with my sister's, we did a lot of driving together. Though we make for a good pair of compatible road trip buddies, thankfully, we had some good tunes to keep us sane during traffic jams. While driving home from school the other day I was thinking about how much music impacted my time in school; songs that entertained me during the drawl commute, kept me up late at night to study, and relieve stress. Hope you enjoy this list of memorable songs from my good ol' college days. Feel free to share! What songs did you love or are memorable from your college experience? Adele - Rolling in the Deep Let's be honest: any hit song from her 19 or 21 record could be on this list.

For a teenage-dystopian film in a sea of teenage-dystopian films, how does it stand out from the crowd? As a person, how do you accept your individuality in a world that shuns your differences, or in Tris Prior's case hunts you down? Insurgent addresses these ideas as it reunites us with the franchise created by author Veronica Roth. Civilians of a futuristic Chicago are sorted into a faction system based on five virtues; honesty, amity, selflessness, bravery, and intelligence. Heroine Tris Prior, who defies the norm by qualifying for more than one faction, is on the run from the power-hungry leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet) trying to eradicate those similar to Tris. The clash between an immeasurable hero and the society that can't confine her will inadvertently unlock secrets about the fate of their secluded world. Taking us back to the Divergent world established by director Neil Burger in 2014, director Robert Schwentke separates this sequel from its predecessor. Every se...

The young adult fandom is vast and growing, and there are a number of young stars moving up in Hollywood's ranks. While it's hard for many to pave roles in projects outside of their television or movie franchise, Shailene Woodley is a leading lady paving a path for young adult stars. Despite her rising popularity status for starring in films like Divergent and The Fault in Our Stars , Shailene Woodley got an early start in show business As the central character in ABC Family's  The Secret Life of an American Teenager, it could be said that my fandom for her started there. However, having never watched the show's episodes in their entirety, I might have seen clips of her characters' scenes on The Soup (an E!  television clip show that pokes fun at Hollywood's best and worst entertainment moments).   Throwing teenagers into one cliche debacle after another was often how the show was regarded, Woodley came through the show's five-year running, she seeme...

Feeling euphoria from a film can be a rare experience. We go through a lot of bad, mediocre, and semi-good movies to discover the golden nuggets. The true gems remind us why we fell in love with movies as a kid or why we became movie bloggers when so many movies throughout the year can just plain stink. Most of the really good films are hard to get off of our minds because a certain moment touches us unlike any other. As fellow blogger Fisti describes, it can be the way powerful music fills a scene, an actor bares his all, how scenes are seamlessly edited, and a grand climax to an adventure. Cinematic moments is the inspiration for his latest blogathon . The rules are super simple, so simple they may as well not be rules, just suggestions.  1) Pick a number between 1 and 100 (any more than 100 is just gaudy) 2) Choose that many cinematic moments that are either your all time favorites or ones that could, on any given day, be your all time favorites 3) Post them on your bl...

Photo Credit: Before Sunset / Warner International Pictures After a chance meeting on a train  nine years earlier , Jesse and Celine reunite in  Before Sunset  with an opportunity to catch up on an evening that defined both of their young lives. The former published a novel about their brief intimacy, while the latter committed to her humanitarian efforts and struggled to find meaning in lasting relationships. In film, a popular yet seemingly unrequited tale is how two people meet and fall in love by happenstance. The characters and circumstances run the gamut of cliches while also remaining monotonous and repetitive. Rather than feeling fulfilled by such movies, their endings are usually painfully ambiguous in leaving the audience to their imagination about whether or not such a chance encounter could have a happily ever after. As the  Before  series treks the path of storytelling brilliantly, it marvels not only over the chance encounter but its aftermat...

Photo Credit: Birdman / Fox Searchlight Pictures Is it the act of creation that gives us fulfillment, of living in the moment, or how big of an audience we reach?  Questions like this not only taunt artists but everyone to a certain extent. In such a media-based world, it's easy to wonder, obsess, or curiously peek into what is said of "the thing". So often we cross a line over living in the constant comparison of high notes to our accomplishments, the success of others, and past pinnacles of success held up by generational prestige. We all get lost in expectation and admiration. The whole world is striving to be relevant yet can't shake the state of mind that constantly questions how and which ways we truly matter. Best known for having starred in a fictitious  Birdman  franchise, Riggan Thompson's career (Michael Keaton) and his personal life has fallen into shambles. Trying to matter again, he is directing, starring, and producing in his own Broadway show...

Indie film "Hearts and Cash" is about to debut at Sundance film festival. Diva and lead actress Jill, slacker production assistant Dave, amateur director Jim, and ambitious producer Hannah Rosner document their raucous road trip from Santa Monica, California to Park City, Utah. Things start off on the wrong foot from the get-go; their car runs out of gas. If anything can happen, it does. Once on the road again and finally landing at Sundance, their obstacles only rev up. Ready for hard-earned success to finally pay off, their adventure takes a turn for the worst when their only 35mm film print is lost a few hours before their world premiere. Park City is a smart comedic exploration on a young filmmaker's attempt of trying to open their work up to more audiences and take friendly jabs at the chaotic world known as show business. It was in fact this approach that I was led to watch this through a private screening. The approaching premiere at Sundance and the film...