Burning in paradise

Tag: reviews

  • mio in the shore

    over the weekend as i was surfing the web, i came across a still image with a quote at the bottom. i read the quote and for whatever reason, the quote stuck a chord in me. i looked a little deeper and found that the image was actually a screen grab for a movie called, mio on the shore. thats usually enough for me to check out a strange movie.

    so i found it online and watched it over two days.
    the main character is 20 year old mio, who is super reserve and rarely speaks. super timid, even if she’s in the midst of a conversation it just head nods and innocence gazes. seemingly when the movie starts mio hasn’t really found her way in the world. she still lives at home under the guidance of her grandmother.
    i got the feeling that her family was very understanding of mio and her timidness. they just accept her for who she it. anywhere else in the world they may have got to a doctor and say, “something wrong with my daughter.” even while watching a question if there was something wrong with mio, thank you western medicine. in this world is people who don’t fit into a certain set of parameters are sent to the doctor to be “fixed”. but beautifully for mio she just allowed to be her.
    it touched me to find a character than can unapologetically themselves and not be a huge personally like clint eastwood or Samuel l. Jackson. and no one’s trying to change her, her friends aren’t trying to make her more out going, her sister at one point just sit with her in silence as the stare off into the distance. there was a huge sense of patience for mio, she given a lot of grace and time to figure herself and find her words. as i watch i almost envied her a bit. even if she was silent no one imposed on her.
    in my experience being quiet and timid can be enough to get bullied or taken advantage of. it seen as a weakness where i’m from. family member would find it rude if i didn’t speak to them, friends may take it as you’re trying to act high and mighty, like you’re too good for them. its really quite an odd phenomena when you think about it. people don’t know what to make of your silence and the easiest thing to do is thing negative of nothing.
    as the movie goes on she leaves town and start to branch out a bit, she encounter so really good people. strangers and neighbors that you would want to live next to in real life. these strangers, later friends, open mio’s world and exposing her to what community can be with the right people as she help run a bath house.

    nothing wild and adventurous happens, there is no shoot out or revenge plot. i don’t really think there is a plot. but its great movie to watch about a young lady trying to blossom.

    to watch click here: https://geo.dailymotion.com/player.html?video=x8hpf6k

    oh i almost forgot, i took some screenshots of scene i thought were cool and looked good.

  • Do The Right Thing

    Do The Right Thing is a movie I’ve heard about for years now and I finally made my way to see it. Spike Lee’s movies are always powerful with what feels like a hidden message if you’re sharp enough to catch it. Mookie, the main character played by Spike Lee, works at Sal’s Pizzeria delivering pizzas around the neighborhood on foot. As he makes his deliveries we meet the neighbors(or supporting cast) which all play their part in communicating Spike Lee’s many messages throughout the movie.  

    Mookie, the main character, is a hard working young man that tends to play peacemaker throughout the film. He focused on making money and though he’s not like the majority of the people in the neighborhood without a job, he still has his own sets of issues when it comes to responsibilities and maturing as an adult. 

    The three elders, as I call them, watch from across the street observing and criticizing the neighborhood, amazed at how the Korean shop owners have done so much in such little time since their arrival to the neighborhood. One of the wise men says that in time he’s going to save up his money and do the same thing as the Korean shop owner. But quickly the one of the other elders confronts him telling him that he isn’t going to do anything. That he’s just all talk. 

    Tina, played by Rosie Perez (Mookie’s baby’s mother), complains about Mookie not doing enough for her and the baby but also is continuing to see Mookie for good times. When Mookie tries to leave she quickly switches back from loving partner to angry baby mother.

    Each character has a message or a theme that they are trying to communicate either directly or indirectly through their actions. If you haven’t seen Do the right Thing, I suggest you give it a watch and see if you can catch all the different themes and messages that the cast is trying to communicate to the viewers. I feel a lot of these characters are still around in modern day. 

  • Yo, Remember Leon Thomas?

    If you’ve been tuning into the radio show, you may have picked up on some of the songs we played from Leon Thomas. Honestly I wish I could just play you the entire album “MUTT”, Leon’s sophomore album. It was a surprise to me to know that he was actually making music when I rediscovered Leon Thomas. When I saw Leon Thomas’ face I quickly realized that he was the actor on Nickelodeon that was always carrying a guitar. I believe he had played some performances on Victorious but I hadn’t heard anything as far as a personal album ever come during that time or anything after his period on Nickelodeon. Plus that was over 10 years ago at least. Leon has gone from a child actor to a full blown artist as well as a grown man. Even if he had made an album I don’t believe that it would be as soulful as MUTT is today. Artists need time to live and understand a bit of pain and love to make an album like MUTT. 

    This morning on February 20th, 2025 Thomas’ performance at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert was released on Youtube. Showcasing what years of carrying around that guitar and life experience has culminated into.

    WOW, Treasure in the Hills if definitely going into the library for me.


    Set List

    “VIBES DON’T LIE”

    “YES IT IS”

    “MUTT”

    “Breaking Point”

    “Treasure In The Hills”

     If you like me and you hear an artist, love their music, and instantly want to know more about them, I found an interview with the Breakfast Club from a month ago where Leon Thomas sat down and spoke about his time on Broadway and Nickelodeon, his production and his history that most of us probably aren’t familiar with.

  • My Albums of 2024

    My Albums of 2024

    I hadn’t looked up John Mayer in a while but John never disappoints, he’s always got something for me to sing along to. Something that catches me before I understand why I like the music. Imagine being in middle school and everyone’s listening to rap and your bumping John Mayer. No one was asking me for music recommendation. But from this latest album my favorite song is Wild Blue. It almost sounds like you’re underwater

    Shaboozey had a hell of a year. I first came across him in Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter but I think we all came to know him for his rendition of J-kwon’s Tipsy, putting a new flavor on an old song. I have a few songs that make my end of the year playlist but if I had one to share with you guys it would have to be Annabelle off his premier album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going

    I’m a new comer to country music, can you tell? My friends Sonia set it off with an invitation to Morgan Wallen’s Homecoming at the VOLS stadium this fall. Definitely a weekend to remember.

    Since that weekend, we’ve been exchanging country song and I sent her a live performance of Paralyzed by Kevin Smiley on On The Radar’s Instagram. Someone commented saying that this was “crazy out country” which I found hilarious but interesting enough to go check him out on Spotify and listen to the rest of the singles he had on his profile. I’m glad a few months later he released his first album, Hurts Worse. Still have Broke as My Heart playing weekly.

    Vince Staples has been one of my favorite artist in the last few years. He always delivers on thought provoking music that makes me reflect on what the fuck I’m doing in my life. You know what Vince is so special to me I’ll share my favorite song by him off the first project I ever heard from him. Producer by the late great Mac Miller, Stolen Youth, has a gem that always makes me stop what I’m doing and rap.

    Just in case you wanna rap along too: https://genius.com/Vince-staples-and-larry-fisherman-stuck-in-my-ways-lyrics

    Knxwledge and Anderson .Paak did it again with another NxWorries Album to follow up the cult classic of Yes Lawd. You know that the beats are funky and Anderson .Paak has a way with words that damn near hypnotizing. It’s hard to pick my favorite on this one because there’s no skips on here for me but Distractions is one of them songs that you wish was longer

    I know I’m late to the party on MIKE but I’m usually late to everything when it comes to music. To be honest I haven’t even listened to Kendrick’s GNX album. But MIKE caught me with this snippet of No Curse Lifted (rivers of love) I heard of instagram earlier this year. It’s GTA Vice City type dance sample that makes you wanna two step and Big MIKE gets down

    Anthony Santos has been playing in my parent’s homes since I was a hair on my father’s nut suck. This year I finally decided to listen to his album Enamorado and it’s definitely a get up and move album. Get up and get something done. It’s Rum, Romance and Nylon Guitar strings at it’s finest. My favorite’s Esa Me La Doy Yo

    I’m not really a Beyoncé fan, I think this might be the first album I’ve heard from her in it’s entirety and I loved it. I don’t really have anything say. Beyoncé just delivered on the years of hype I’ve been hearing about her. My top two are Blackbird and Bodyguard and I’m definitely going to take a deep dive into her discography this year.

    Sir’s Chasing Summer album has been awaiting a sequel and for years it seem fans have been waiting on him to drop another album or project, something to supply the demand. And I believe Heavy fulfilled that, the vibe is a bit different because Sir himself has taken a new path of health and wellness. But understanding that you give an artist room to show us what he now has to say with this new perspective. I believe Poetry In Motion shows that the best. It’s a blend of the old with the new.