MISS AMERICANA Gave Me a New Found Respect For Taylor Swift – Sundance Review

I’ll be honest… I listen to Taylor Swift’s music all the time! Mind you, I have three daughters, so Swift’s music has been playing in our household for years! My girls love her and due to the fact that we listen to her music all the time, I have fun singing along to her music with my kids. Yes, I know the lyrics.

While I knew that Swift is a crazy talented individual, I didn’t really know what exactly she put into creating her music. I also didn’t really know anything about her life as I’ve never really bothered to follow any of the gossip or controversial topics surrounding her. This documentary, Miss Americana, covered all of that and dives into the life of Taylor Swift from charming moments of when she was a little girl showing off her musical skills to where she is now in her life and the incredible journey she’s been on to get here. 

Before seeing the movie, one of the only things that stuck out in my mind about one part of her life is when Kane West interrupted her speech at the MTV Music Video Awards and that whole weird controversy. We actually get some insight into that and how that affected her life at the time. There were also several other life-defining moments where she would take hits that she would have to bounce back from.

The doc mostly focuses on how she evolved into the strong confident woman that she became, especially in regards to speaking her mind involving politics. She was told for years just to smile, wave, and keep her opinions to herself, but that all changed after having to go to court to fight that one DJ guy who groped her. That was a difficult time for her and after that, she emerged not wanting to stay silent about the issues that are important to her. That was a defining moment in her life.

The doc shows the moment that she sat down with her parents, managers, and publicist to tell them she was going to take a political stance and some of them thought it would end her career. Some, like her dad, tried to talk her out of it for fear someone would come after her and try to hurt her. A completely legitimate concern! But, she followed through with it and she had their support.

The doc was actually quite moving, fun and entertaining to watch. I wasn’t really expecting what it delivered, but it ended up giving me a newfound respect for Swift. We get a candid look into her life and what she is like as a person and what her work process is like. We even get to see how she came up with a few of her songs that ended up becoming huge hits and see the “ah-ha!” moments of those songs. 

One thing that I really loved to see is how freakin’ hard Taylor Swift works for her music and to stay relevant in an industry that tends to write women talent off when they hit their mid-30s. She is not a lazy person, she completely works her ass off and she has 100% earned what she has. It’s awesome to have such a great talent, but to constantly work to improve on that talent and continue to up your game is no easy feat, but she keeps doing it!

Watching the doc actually made me more a fan of Swift, and mind you, this is coming from middle-aged white dude. I’m not her target market. My kids are, but I now have a stronger respect for her. It’s not easy being under the microscope and scrutinized for everything you do, every choice you make. This doc shows us what that has been like for her, but no matter what has happened, no matter how low she gets, she manages to pick herself up, dust herself off, get back to work, and create impressive music that wows her fans and shuts her critics up.

Check Out This 5,000-Square-Foot STAR WARS-Themed Basement Filled with Collectibles

There’s a $26.5 million dollar mansion for sale in Los Angeles that comes complete with a 5,000-square-foot Star Wars-themed basement filled with collectibles and memorabilia.

The news comes from The Wall Street Journal, which says that the Star Wars-themed basement can be accessed by an elevator or stairs. The room is made to look like the desert planet Tatooine, and it comes complete with full size Tusken Raider, Sandtrooper, and Jawa.

The basement also features a custom display case that is filled with 30 custom-made Clone Trooper and Stormtrooper helmets, along with a custom-made replica of the Endor speeder bikes from Return of the Jedi.

You’ll also find full-size sized mannequin replicas of several characters from the franchise including a Mos Eisley-inspired cantina recreation with Greedo, a Bith musician, and Snaggletooth. You’ll also find bounty hunters like IG-88, Bossk, 4-LOM, hanging around. One top of that there’s Darth Vader, Darth Maul, a Snowtrooper, a Battle Droid, multiple Stormtroopers, the Emperor’s Royal Guard, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Darth Talon. Another room features countless shelves of mint-in-box action figures, including some complete sets of toys from years past.

Oh yeah! I should also mention that there’s a full size movie theater with eighteen seats and the walls of the theater are modeled after the interior of the Carbon Freezing Chamber from The Empire Strikes Back with the ceiling of the room modeled to look like the window of a Tie Fighter. The theater also features full size mannequins of Chewbacca, C-3PO, and Boba Fett who are all aiming weapons at each other. A full size replica of Han Solo frozen in carbonite is also on display.

Well, shit. I guess it’s good to know that there are some super freakin’ rich Star Wars fans in the world who can buy whatever the hell they want.

DC’s JOKER Gets the Honest Trailers Treatment

As you know, director Todd Phillips’ Joker is being showered with all kinds of love during awards season, and Joaquin Phoenix is pretty much winning every Best Acting award that he’s nominated for. I loved the film, it’s one of my favorites of the years, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to joke around with about it.

That’s where Honest Trailers comes in. They’ve released a new video that breaks down the depressing story and points out the reasons why the movie became a billion-dollar success. That reason being all of the free marketing it got by the media reporting that it was a dangerous film, which obviously made audience more excited to see it.

Check out the Honest Trailer for Joker below and let us know what you think!

Trailer for the Documentary TREAD, Which Tells the Crazy Story of Colorado’s “Killdozer”

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Have you ever heard of the infamous “Killdozer” tragedy that took place in Granby, Colorado in 2004? Well, there’s a documentary coming to Netflix, titled Tread, that details the incident and everything that lead up to it.

A man named Marvin Heemeyer was pushed to his breaking point and ended up fortifying a bulldozer with 30 tons of concrete and steel and embarking on a mission to destroy anyone he believed had wronged him. Here’s the synopsis:

On June 4th, 2004, a sixty-three-ton bulldozer, fortified with steel and concrete, systematically destroyed numerous businesses and homes in the small mountain town of Granby, Colorado. The rampage lasted over two hours and resulted in more than eight million dollars in damage. State and local police were incapable of even slowing the machine. Though it was armed with three high-powered firearms, no one but the driver was killed. His name was Marvin Heemeyer. Tread explores the polarizing perspectives on this man, his motives, and what drove him to the breaking point.

Tread was directed by Paul Solet (Grace, Dark Summer, and Bullet Head), and it will be released on February 28th, 2020. Check out the trailer for this fascinating yet tragic story.