Carrie Underwood - Missed Opportunities

Carrie Underwood is hands down one of my favourite vocalists of all time. She has the power I look for and the country tone that takes me back to Nashville (I have never been to Nashville physically). She alone takes up most of my iPhone playlist; I have 372 songs that have all been meticulously chosen and Carrie is 39 of them! May not sound like a grand statement - but it is! She holds a very dear place in my heart, I can relate to a lot of her music and also it supplies the one thing I find necessary when listening to music - can I mime to it and pretend I am in a dramatic music video, and yes I can, she delivers like no one else.

However a lot of her songs do not got any attention and I find that incredibly sad, not just for the population, but for me aswell! I want to be able to watch live performances and see music videos for all of her songs; but just like the rest of the music world she only chooses to release around 5-6 of the songs from each album! I WANT MORE!

So as I do, I have a problem and I have found a solution. The missed opportunities compilation album. This can purely be a selection of her greatest non hits or even (and I type this with shaking excitement) a video album! I have selected the 10 songs for the album so Carrie doesn't have to - you're welcome. Also I have named the album 'Relapse' after one of my chosen songs. Also the latin definition for relapse is to 'slip back' - kind of perfect for this style of album don't you think. 

So let us get this track list underway.

1. Relapse - From the album 'Storyteller'

I may be jumping the gun here because this song is on her most current album so there may still be time, however this may be the push she needs to release this single! I can't lose. 

2. Lessons Learned - From the album 'Some Hearts'

An amazing motivational song. Basically every knock you get in life you should appreciate them, because they are (wait for it...) lessons learned.

3. Flat On The Floor - From the album 'Carnival Ride'

This is a toe tapper if I ever heard one! It is about trying to get out of a terrible relationship. Although if you want to get deep it could possibly be about trying to escape an abusive relationship - but I might be reading too much in to it, I do that sometimes. 

4. Forever Changed - From the album 'Blown Away'

This a tear jerker. Emotional doesn't come close to how this song will make you feel. It is a song about a loved one losing their memory as they gets older. I want to assume dementia but it doesn't mention anything. So sad, so beautifully sung.

5. Change - From the album 'Play On'

A nice song to make you feel guilty for not giving to charity. A real thinker to make you evaluate your life choices.  

6. Cupid's Got A Shotgun - From the album 'Blown Away'

A fun country ditty about avoiding Cupid basically. Love that she sings about shooting Cupid herself, that pure nugget just wants love in this world!

7. We're Young and Beautiful - From the album 'Some Hearts'

A beautiful little love song about enjoying life whilst they are young and beautiful basically. It is just a nice, easy listening, sweet song; and we don't get much of them these days.

8. Get Out of This Town - From the album 'Carnival Ride'

One of my favourite type of songs are ones about escape. I love the idea of one day packing my bag and just running. Not in a depressing way, more just to see what else is out there. This song hits that feeling on the head.

9. Starts With Goodbye - From the album 'Some Hearts'

A song about the pain of having to say goodbye, having to leave something behind or even been left behind. So sad, but uplifting at the same time - something Carrie is an expert at doing.

10. Someday When I Stop Loving You - From the album 'Play On'

A very typical country song (that isn't a bad thing), a nice simple music track with some beautiful vocals. Quite heartbreaking to hear her singing about trying get over a break up.

 

Bonus Track

Mexico - From the album 'Storyteller'

I just really love this song right now, up there with 'Relapse' as one my favourites from the new album. Made it a bonus track because she needs to release it as a single yesterday! She could also re-record it and release it as a sequel to 'Something Bad' with fellow country goddess Miranda Lambert. 

There you go Carrie, Carrie's management and Carrie's Record label; I have done all the hard work for you. You have your cover and your tracklist. You already own the songs so just put them together, make me 11 music videos and I will move on. I need to move on. 

Craig's Movie Club - The Sequel

So, no surprise here but I have been watching a few more films. Once again some were a bit lame but some were a bit fantastic. I saw some amazing acting, awesome locations and some inspirational moments - so lets go.

Carrie (2013)
We all know the old adage "Don't fuck with the original". Most of the time I agree. You can't recreate something that was perfect, for example when you make the most amazing meal and you want it again and again - it never tastes the same. Some films should remain untouched. 'Psycho' was one of these - why Vince Vaughn decided to sign on for the remake I will never know. However, 'Carrie' needed retelling. I don't want to insult anybody and diminish anyone's work but the original sucked. It was boring and was too reliant on people becoming invested in the title character. Lets all thank Jesus that someone decided to give it another shot. This movie was great. If you don't know the story I will try and quickly sum it up. Basically Carrie is a 17 year old girl, she is cruelly bullied for no reason, her mother believes Carrie is some sort of descendant of the devil and must be punished and to top it all off she develops telekinesis (the power to move things with her mind).
The ending of the film is beyond perfect, I was in awe throughout it. Carrie goes bat shit crazy when her tormentor drops a bucket of pig blood on her as she is crowned Prom Queen. The effects are top notch. Chloe Grace Moretz plays the title character and she was perfectly cast for the role. Julianne Moore plays her mother and for someone that is so naturally beautiful she plays this haggard role extremely well. This was a great retelling of a Stephen King classic, even though I have a slight moral problem with siding with someone who is basically a mass-murderer.

The Spectacular Now (2013)
When the words 'From the creators of (500) Days Of Summer' is written across a movie poster you know I will be seeing it. Unfortunately for Britain this film came and went without so much as a whisper. I could ask everyone I know about this film and I know only 1 other person would know what I was talking about. The story of the film is mainly based around an 18 year old called Sutter (nope, never heard that name before either), to cut it short he is basically an alcoholic with a lot of issues - he has no father in his life, he is failing some of his classes and his girlfriend just dumped him after a misunderstanding. Then Aimee, the beautiful Shailene Woodley, finds him passed out whilst on her paper route. It sparks up a beautiful little romance.
I have some pro's and con's for this film. It is a beautiful film and the acting is top notch. The relationship between the two main characters in incredibly believable. Some of the shots are stunning and I love all the location choices. The story is a great one and you really pull for Sutter and Aimee. Well now you have had your sugar it is time to take your medication - the ending! What was that? I get so frustrated when there is no closure as I get extremely attached to characters. She is just about to say something and BAM the credits, I even had to message a friend about my frustration. Another thing that kind of irked me was Aimee's character, don't get me wrong she is a great character with some amazing qualities, but she seems to lose some of herself when she gets in to the relationship and she becomes so all about Sutter - she breaks her arm for god sakes and apologises. Anyway regardless of this I thought it was great little film and I will definitely be watching it again.

Elf (2003)
This was my choice for the film to watch on Christmas morning with the fam. It is a great film, but let me get real on your ass for a couple of minutes - I used to hate it. I couldn't watch it, I thought it was stupid, I didn't like Will Ferrell and the story didn't interest me. I don't know what happened, maybe my heart grew 3 sizes Grinch style, but now I love it. It is such a funny film, literally laughing out loud through out, Will is amazing as Buddy and my beautiful Zooey is there. This movie is about a man called Buddy who is raised by elves and Santa Claus. As he is now in adulthood they tell him the truth and Buddy sets out to New York to find his father.
Hilarity ensues as he gets accustomed to life outside of the North Pole. His excitement of seeing Santa in a department store, his introduction to escalators and his many naive moments are what make this film so great. There is one moment that always makes me laugh and I don't think many others notice; he is walking his half-brother home and simply says 'So good news, I saw a dog today'. I think this one line just sums up everything I love about Buddy. So, I want to apologise to everyone connected to this film, I slagged it off to high heaven - but we all make mistakes.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
I had my reservations about this film, and I don't want to sound mean but I just haven't enjoyed much Ben Stiller has done since his one episode stint on 'Friends'. I think he is great at what he does, he makes millions of people laugh but I just don't. However I still went to see it, and thank the lord I did. It was so beautiful. If you are a fan of amazing landscapes and images of places you haven't seen before then this is the film for you.
The story centres around Walter Mitty (surprise), he works for a magazine, the magazine is publishing its last issue but the image for the cover is missing - so Walter goes on this great adventure to track down the photographer and get the photo. That is basically the skeleton of the story, there is so much to it. Walter is an avid day dreamer and imagines himself in amazing situations, but then it often comes crashing down on him as the realisation of his real life dawns on him. So this adventure is exactly what he needs and with it comes a lot of ups and downs. I won't ruin too much for you because you should discover this film for yourself. It was shot with such care for the locations it shows, you see some amazing sights. It is great film and I will definitely watch it again because I am sure I will discover more that I love about it. I am also a sucker for a great quote and this film is literally filled with them.

One Direction: This Is Us (2013)
I will put my hand up with no shame at all - I am a fan of One Direction. I don't understand why I should be ashamed at all. They are harmless, sing great pop songs and lets face it there is nothing wrong with 5 good looking boys looking back at you. When my friend told me she had a copy of the film I had no hesitation with setting a date for when we would watch it together. So, there I was, vodka-lemonade-lime in hand and I was ready to embrace One Direction. What I didn't expect was the film to be so good. I knew I was going to enjoy it but not to the extent that I did.
The cinematography was so good, the shots they chose were great and I really felt that I knew One Direction on such a deeper level then I did before I watched the film. We got to meet the real them, nothing felt staged and I believed everything they said. The film was obviously littered with performances, but I wasn't mad because they sang some of my favourite songs. Will I watch it again? I am not sure as I felt I got everything I could from the film, but I am so glad I watched it.

It's a love story, baby just say yes

Love stories are beautiful. I like watching the build up and the fall out. I like every aspect of a love story. For me the best love stories have a lot of heartbreak. I get heavily invested in them and my heart goes out to the characters. So I decided to write about some of my favourite ones.

Romeo and Juliet
How could a list of love stories not include these two star crossed lovers? It is the ultimate story of tragic heartbreak. There have been a lot of interpretations of this story but my favourite will always be Leonardo Dicaprio and Clare Danes. The modern re-working was beautiful and my god that scene with the young boy singing in the choir - chills. I can't help but feel these two lovers were a tad dramatic, suicide wasn't the answer.

Bella and Edward
Most people look at this love story and scoff. I think it is beautiful. A vampire and a normal girl fall in love, it shouldn't be and it doesn't make sense. However I think it was told well and acted amazingly by Kristen and Rob. Through everything all they did was love each other and try their darnedest to work it out.

Carrie and Big
The middle aged woman inside of me always knew that these would get together in the end. They tried and tried, Big even got married to someone else - but in the end they only had eyes for eachother. My heart, like a million women's I am sure skipped a beat when Big ran to Paris to get his girl from that 70 year old ballerina. A couple who were meant to be.

Tom and Summer
500 days of Summer is one of my favourite films of all time. It is a wonderful tale of an entire relationship in 500 days (get the title now?) Zooey and Gordon are some of my favourite actors. The beauty of this film is that it instantly tells you it is not a love story but it is a story about love. I 100% get that. You want a film with a happy ending for the couple then don't watch this film. This film is realistic to the point of where it makes you feel awkward with how close to real life relationships it is.

Charlie and Sam
Perks Of Being a Wallflower is one of my favourite books and then turned into one of my favourite films. Charlie obviously had a huge crush on Sam. As both a reader and a viewer it was clear to see that these were not going to be a couple - not matter how much I wished they could work it out. They love each other and that is plain to see. Should it have developed past a friendship? I don't know, but I am happy they have each other in their lives (see what I mean when I say I get too invested).

Other notable love stories have to include Carl and Ellie (Up), Hermione and Ron (Harry Potter), Jack and Rose (Titanic) and Buffy and Angel (Buffy The Vampire Slayer).