Films I have seen in 2015 (So far)

I am often asked by people in both a joking and non-joking manor if I have seen every movie that is out in cinemas at the moment. Sometimes I feel like I do but more often to not, I like to think that I have become much pickier lately.

Don't get me wrong, I still see a lot of movies. So I decided to list all the movies that I have seen this year. Most of them are movies that have come out this year. Some are movies that are from year's past that I saw for one reason or another.

So without further ado, and in the spirit of the list the Steven Soderbergh creates on his website, here is the list of movies that I have seen this year. Presented here in no particular order.

Ex Machina 

2001: A Space Odyssey (Seen this with a live orchestra) 

Mad Max: Fury Road 

Blackhat 

Taken 3

Kingsman: The Secret Service 

It Follows 

Back to the Future Part II 

Inherent Vice 

McFarland, USA

Run All Night 

Wes Craven's New Nightmare 

The Gunman 

Get Hard

John Carpenter's In The Mouth of Madness

Avengers: Age of Ultron 

Ant-Man 

San Andreas 

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension 

The Big Chill 

Seconds 

Badlands 

Spy 

Jurassic World 

Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation

Dope

Minions

Terminator: Genisys 

Southpaw

Straight Outta Compton 

Black Mass 

Sicario 

The Walk 

The Martian 

Bridge of Spies 

Selma 

Whiplash 

Furious 7 

The Gambler 

Third Person

American Sniper 

John Wick 

Jaws

Foxcatcher 

Hours 

Black Sunday 

Black Sea 

Photos from 2015

2015 has been a great year for me in terms of the photos that I have done. I have a had a chance to do a wide range of photos and I hope to continue to do many more as the year comes to a close. Here are some of my favorite photos that I have taken so far this year. Enjoy!

- Hash

All pictures Copyright Steven Hash 

Songs from Soundtracks That Don't Suck #4: Talk Show Host by Radiohead from the Soundtrack to "Romeo + Juliet"

Today's song comes from Chelsea Gorham, a director at LEX 18. To be honest this is actually a really great pick from her. It comes from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack. The soundtrack was huge at the time of the film's release in 1996 with a lot of memorable songs coming from it. But for many people, "Talk Show Host" by the band Radiohead, remains their favorite song. 

For one thing, the whole tone of the song just fits the film. Baz Luhrmann's interpretation of the William Shakespeare play is wild and very angsty at times. This song perfectly fits into the angsty part of the equation. 

The part of the film that the song plays in is very appropriate. Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Romeo, is walking along the fictional Verona Beach. He is in despair. The growing feud between his family (The Capulet family) and another family (The Montauge family) is tearing him apart inside. The scene starts with the family, minus Romeo, looking upon him from their limo as he walks along the beach alone.

We see it in the ruins all around the beach, which clearly has seen better days. The music matches Romeo's mood and the ruins that surround him. "Radiohead" lead singer Thom Yorke's voice sets the tone right from the first line in the lyrics: 

I want to, I want to be someone else or I'll explode

I mean, those lyrics are just spot on for this moment! Not just in mood but in what Romeo is feeling inside his head. You could read those lyrics as exactly what Romeo is thinking about in that moment. 

Luhrmann does a great job directing this scene as well. He lets the camera follow DiCaprio around and also gets some shots of the decaying area around him. It's angsty and moody but it is just the RIGHT amount of angsty and moody. 

Of the film overall, I am not enamored with it. It is too over the top and the characters get lost in the scenery at times. But this scene however is a gem. Most of all it captures the mood of what Luhrmann was trying to go for in the film. It really is attuned to where Romeo is right at the start of the story. 

The last lyrics of the song, (I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready I'm ready) sound like something that Romeo would say if anyone was standing there with him at the moment in time. Considering what is to come Romeo soon in the film, those lyrics are a fitting end to the scene in more ways that one. 

- Hash