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The Weeknd - Twenty Eight.

- Israel Lattiboudeaire 

Twitter: @IzzyLatti 

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Lil Wayne feat. Drake & Future - "Love Me"

Single off of "I am Not A Human Being II". 

- Israel Lattiboudeaire 

Twitter: @IzzyLatti 

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Tyler, the Creator Announces the Release of Wolf, Toronto Tour Date Announced

Today, Tyler, the Creator, announced the release of his sophomore album, Wolf. The highly anticipated album will be released on April 2nd and will be going on Tour to promote the album throughout March and April. He will be touching down in Toronto on March 22nd at the Opera House. Head over to www.golfwang.com to grab your tickets and pre-order the album now. 

03-12 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall 03-15 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Small's 03-16 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle 03-17 Norfolk, VA - The Norva 03-18 Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall 03-20 Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom 03-21 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club 03-22 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House 03-23 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg 03-24 Philadelphia, PA - TLA 03-28 Paris, France - Trabendo 03-29 Berlin, Germany - Festaal Kreuzberg 03-30 London, England - Islington Academy 04-02 Los Angeles, CA - TBA 04-03 San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit 04-05 Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre 04-07 La Jolla, CA - Porter's Pub 04-08 San Luis Obispo, CA - Slo Brew 04-10 Seattle, WA - Neumos 04-11 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre

 - Israel Lattiboudeaire 

Twitter: @IzzyLatti

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Tyler, The Creator - "Domo 23"

Tyler, The Creator's sophomore album will be released on April 2nd.

- Israel Lattiboudeaire 

Twitter: @IzzyLatti

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J. Cole Releases Yours Truly, New Single Coming This Week

J.Cole releases new music in the early hours of the morning. The collective is called Yours Truly. He also states he'll be releasing a new single for the album this week. See below for his message to his fans. Head over to dreamville.net to download.

"It’s time.

I appreciate you giving me the time I needed to grow, experiment, and find the direction for my 2nd album.. And I have. Along the way I’ve recorded at least 4 albums worth of material, lots of it being unfinished demo versions waiting to be polished up, some of them are great songs and important stories that just won’t make the album (either they don’t fit Sonically, don’t fit Theme, or there’s just not enough space) .

Tonight, I want to give you a few of these songs because you deserve them. It’s hard as fuck for me to keep all this music from you for so long, so I know it’s been hard for you to wait. Thank you for your patience. Vibe out to these songs in their raw form, no polish.. just a lot of my soul..

The wait is over.

Truly Yours,

Born Sinner

Truly Yours

PS- 1st single coming this week. The album is hands down my best work yet. Can’t wait to share."

http://www.dreamvillain.net/blog/

- Israel Lattiboudeaire 

Twitter: @IzzyLatti

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Complete List of 2013 Grammy Winners

The Grammy's is one of the most exciting night in music. It is truly the music industry's night to shine. Below is the list of winners from the event. Congratulations to all of the winners and keep making great music that we all love. 

Album of the Year Mumford & Sons, Babel

Record of the Year Gotye featuring Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used to Know”

Song Of The Year [awarded to songwriter] “We Are Young,” Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Fun. featuring Janelle Monae)

Best New Artist Fun.

Best Pop Solo Performance

“Set Fire To The Rain (Live),” Adele

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance “Somebody That I Used To Know,” Gotye featuring Kimbra

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Kisses On The Bottom, Paul McCartney

Best Rock Performance “Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance “Love Bites (So Do I),” Halestorm

Best Pop Vocal Album Kelly Clarkson, Stronger

Best Rock Song “Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys

Best Rock Album El Camino, The Black Keys

Best Alternative Music Album Making Mirrors, Gotye

Best R&B Performance “Climax,” Usher

Best Traditional R&B Performance “Love On Top,” Beyoncé

Best R&B Song “Adorn,” Miguel

Best Urban Contemporary Album Channel Orange, Frank Ocean

Best R&B Album Black Radio, Robert Glasper Experiment

Best Rap Performance “N****s in Paris,” Jay-Z & Kanye West

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration “No Church In The Wild,” Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream

Best Rap Song “N****s in Paris,” Jay-Z & Kanye West

Best Rap Album Take Care, Drake

Best Country Solo Performance Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”

Best Country Duo/Group Performance “Pontoon,” Little Big Town

Best Country Song “Blown Away,” Carrie Underwood

Best Country Album Uncaged, Zac Brown Band

Song Written For Visual Media “Safe & Sound” (From The Hunger Games), Taylor Swift, John Paul White, Joy Williams

Short-Form Music Video “We Found Love,” Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris

Long-Form Music Video “Big Easy Express,” Mumford & Sons

Best Spoken Word Society’s Child: My Autobiography, Janis Ian

- Israel Lattiboudeaire 

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Drake - Started from the Bottom

Lead Single off Drake's new album, "Nothing Was The Same", due out this summer. 

- Israel Lattiboudeaire 

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Long.Live.ASAP

      The LONG. LIVE. A$AP album is something that most of us have been anxiously awaiting for more than a year. Now the album is finally here but whenever there is a lot of anticipation it is never possible for an artist to fulfill all of the public’s desires. LONG. LIVE. A$AP is going to be the set up for the rest of A$AP Rocky’s career for the foreseeable future unless he changes something drastically. LONG. LIVE. A$AP isn't much of a departure from the A$AP Rocky that we have become accustomed to, he still keeps the same style for the most part. Lyrically A$AP doesn't offer anything new at all and the products are still very solid as we've become accustomed to from A$AP rocky. With all that being said, A$AP still finds a way to create an album that you won't have any issues listening to; it's not going to be album of the year, it's far from there, even though it won't be in contention, the areas where the album does well will have you pressing replay over and over again.

    Before I would have said its just the productions on the album, but I was fortunate to enough to hear the beat for "PMW" before A$AP dropped his vocals on it and it was a nice beat but what he did to it was just astonishing. Leads me to believe there is more to A$AP than just the crisp productions and hard one-liners. He's able to bring his confidence to each and every one of his songs, and even when the execution isn't there the confidence that he has in his flow is enough to bring him through a song. Though this doesn't work well on every song on this album leaving a disconnect throughout. My initial listening experience left me wanting a lot more from this album than I received when I finished it at first. I was rather critical of what the finished product was and disappointed to be honest. After waiting for almost a year for an artist to release an album, I could see how my expectations might have become inflated so I decided to give LONG. LIVE. A$AP some more time to grow on me. This is something that I've realized a while ago with albums; you just can't judge them right away. I've had the album for a while now and I’ve been waiting for the album to finally hit me. I was waiting for that moment where I would love the album like everyone else, I was waiting for that moment where I would go “oh darn wow this is really what I was waiting for”, that moment never came. Though the album is still a solid album for the current period of hip-hop that we live in.

     LONG. LIVE. A$AP is more of a street album than it is anything else. This album does allow A$AP to build his street credibility very well, as well as there are tons of club bangers on this album. There are no tracks that give you a greater insight into who A$AP Rocky is as he pushed out the same material that he had on his much acclaimed project, Live. Love. A$AP, which was great but the fact is that nothing is ever as good the second time around. I've heard all of it before and I was looking for an evolution of A$AP Rocky but what I heard from him was just material progression. There are bright spots of the album where A$AP still manages to amaze with tracks that's aren't normal ‘A$AP rocky style’ such as “1 Train” and “Ghetto Symphony”, but other than that not so much. Overall I was left with a feeling of ‘OK’ and that's what I am going to rate this album as. It's just an ‘OK’ album at best. I still believe in A$AP rocky and hope for his future projects are still high. This project just left me feeling not as satisfied as I believed I should have felt from such a highly anticipated project. Only time will tell what ASAP will release next, my hopes are that it's just better than LONG. LIVE. A$AP.

- Jason Williams

Twitter: @JaesonWilliams

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I/O's Isolation

         Have you ever liked something and you knew that you really liked it but you were unsure of how to explain what you liked and why. I have had the hardest time attempting to explain why I like I/O’s Isolation album/mixtape. Isolation is a mixtape but it sounds like an album. From beginning to end Isolation is a wonderful journey; it's a short story worth listening to. The depth that you find on Isolation is not common for this period of urban music. I almost feel that I am pigeonholing the album by lumping it into the urban music sphere; maybe calling it an electronic experimental album would be better suited to what it really is.

     The electronic sound is futuristic while still maintaining a familiarity that you can't quite put your finger on. The album has a very clear direction which is something that I am very appreciative of because much too often nowadays albums and mixtapes sound like there was no thought or consideration when it came to the direction or the theme of the album. There is no such issue with this album. With a clear theme running through from beginning to end, the continuity is something to be praised, it's much like getting into a mood and staying in that mood or state of mind for the entirety of the album. There are a few different topics that are discussed which give the listeners a diverse listening experience. These topics or ideas are all connected almost like branches of a tree and the product of this tree is fruitful to say the least. The album doesn't have many songs it could do without, everything fits nicely together each song making the other sound better and each song allowing the listener to better understand the story being told. One or two songs don't belong but they still don't detract from the overall experience or direction of the album.

     I/O is able to create a masterpiece of an album without the use of any features, which I would say, is great. We've touched on the sound of the album, which is electronic in influence, but not overly electronic where you would think that I/O couldn’t sing. The electronic sounding productions are excellently done and from what I can tell there were no big name producers on this project making it more of a feat. There are no issues with any of the transitions, beats or the tempo at all. Isolation is just a testament to the little guy that could. I/O set out to create something great and that's what he did, no big names just himself, his voice and the story that he wanted to tell. His story was one of those stories that never gets old, it's one of those stories that once you've heard it you want to share it with someone else. After the isolation album I/O released a song titled “You Slay Me” and it's fanatic. Finding great artists on the come up like I/o is one of the main reasons I love writing about music. Being able to share something that most people don't know about is something I love to do and I've been trying to characterize I/O and his Isolation album as appropriately as possible. I just hope I did it justice and you like it as much as I do.

- Jason Williams 

Twitter: @JaesonWilliams

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Rotten Apple: An Open Letter to Apple Inc.

Dear Apple,

I have been a loyal consumer of your products for the last 10 years. Ever since I was able to openly choose which computing platform to use, you have provided me with quality operating systems, iDevices and hardware to use and create on. Yet, over the last 2 years, your lack of innovation and banking on your extremely loyal fan base to continue to fuel your sales has been concerning me. When you first unveiled the original iMac, you wowed audiences. The iPhone created the Smartphone revolution and has been the most consistent seller in the mobile community since it was released. The Mac Book has taken over university campuses, the world over and has caused learning programs to be geared towards exclusively using Mac Books with in the classroom because of their reliability. The iPad has crippled the net book community, basically rendering it obsolete. But, what is next? This is the biggest question consumers are asking and possibly the biggest reason why you find your stock dropping so rapidly. We as consumers have gotten use to innovation and you wowing us. The iPhone 5 is an amazing device but it wasn’t truly revolutionary. The iPad mini seems to be completely designed to compete with the Amazon Kindle, not bring in new tablet users and while we all love the Mac Book with retina display, how many students and industrial professional are actually going to pay huge sums of money to increase the capabilities of their screen over the processing power? This seems to have become a relationship of expectations. One side we as the consumer expect new, innovative and exciting product and on the other side you expect us to buy any product that is released without criticizing and truly taking in what we are buying. On both sides, we are wrong and need to do better. Gone are the days when you can rehash products and simply upgrade the design and call it new. A good example of this is possibility to there being an iPhone 5S this year. This could possibly be the biggest and most critical mistake Apple can make. Young consumers have gotten tired of the small change and slit upgrades. We demand innovate products. The “rumored” lack of interest in the iPhone 5 has dropped your stock to the lowest it has been since February 2012. This goes to show you that, we the consumers have become tired of same products. We need something new to remind us of the love that we had for this company. Always remember why you have your fan base. Not just because your product are top-tier quality, amazingly designed, or are reliable. It is because you have always kept our minds wondering what you will do next, and wowed us with the new products you delivered to us. Always remember that.

A loyal consumer wanting to have the old Apple back,

Israel Lattiboudeaire

Twitter: @IzzyLatti 

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A Call For Canadian Patriotism.

As someone who wasn't born in Canada, being a Canadian and being able to be a citizen, in what is quite possibly the greatest country on this earth, is something that I can't be anymore proud of. I know everyone says where they come from is the greatest place on earth, and everyone thinks that their country is the best country but Canada is the land where all are equal. Equality and fairness are core values of Canadian society, tolerance if not outright acceptance is what we preach as Canadians. With these virtues that we hold as Canadians I also believe that we do have some shortcomings as well.

At times blind acceptance and inclusiveness can be to the detriment to a country, to the national identity and to the unity of the nation. For Canadians, is a certain nationalistic pride that we do not possess, we do not have that one thing that bounds us together like other nations. I would describe the current level of Canadian patriotism as such: a large group of people living in the same neighborhood’s without community. As Canadians, we are a nation of individuals and there is no sense of unity though as a nation we are not as divided as our American counterparts by any means. We know what we believe and we are united in certain beliefs. I also believe we are amongst the most humane people on this planet; we stand up for each other when it comes to oppression, and we believe that everyone is equal. We have taken strides to ensure that men and women are paid the same, and though this isn’t the ultimate goal for this issue we have made great strides. When is comes to equal rights for those of us with a different sexual preferences, we have come together and decided that anyone can get married to whom ever they want to because, as Canadians, we don’t let those things bother us, we try not to really bother with what other people are doing with their lives.

For the most part there is no issue when it comes to what other people do when it comes to their own lives, except when it comes to issues of national unity. As Canadians, we are too individualistic. There needs to be a requirement for every Canadian in terms of Canadian pride. With other nations, their pride for their country isn't something they think twice about. Once you move to that country you take their identity, you become what that country embodies and you wear that country on your sleeve. As Canadians we do some disrespectful things to our country. I don't believe you should forget where you came from because where you came from is a representation of who you are. Where you came from will always be a part of you, but where you came from is no longer where you live. You decided to leave that country and come to this one for a better life. Canada is the place that has given so many people opportunities that they wouldn't have had otherwise. The lack of celebration and thanks that people show for this country isn't becoming of a nation so great. If you go to America, new Americans give lots of praise to their new nation because they recognize the great opportunities that have been given to them. We don't have a military culture like the Americans do, but their children, regardless of what they believe join the military in mass because they believe that it's their duty to serve their country; there is no such call or feel of responsibility in this nation. In my many trips to the United States, if you ask anyone what their nationality is, with no hesitation the reply “America”, that is what I feel we need to have. Instead, Canadian residents would reply, “oh I'm such and such” followed by “I moved here at such time”. If they were born here, they claim the country in which their parents or grandparents came from. This simple act is one that I find insulting as someone who loves this country.

The most deplorable act I believe is when it comes to the summer Olympics, as Canadians we are the first to cheer for other nations before we cheer for other countries. It's a simple act that some may say is harmless, I view it as insulting and disrespectful. We may not be a good as the other nations athletically, but if the athletes take the mentality that they are not required to compete for Canada how will ever get better. If you go to a bar, you'd think you're in a neutral site the way that people are cheering for other countries instead of cheering for Canada in an event that Canada is taking part in. You walk the streets and people are flying flags of countries other than the Canadian flag, or they are flying more of the other counties’ flags than they are Canadian flags. Flying flags alone isn't a big deal, but it is once you combine it with the lack there of ownership for this nation by the people that inhabit it. This brings up a larger problem that is plaguing the country, when people are coming here with no desire to love Canada, or coming here not to lay down roots, but people are just coming here to escape where they came from. They came here to move to a little ethnic community and pretend that they are in little where ever and not Canada instead of building up our communities.

The lack of passion for what goes on in this country can be summed up by how much Canadians pay attention to Canadian politics. The level of interest for the people that run the country is little to none. While in other nations, it's seen as your duty to know what's going on, it's seen as your duty to protect the ballot and insure that only the parties and the people with the best interest of the country are allowed to hold office. In Canada many don’t feel compelled to vote or insure that the union and our freedoms are protected. As Canadians we need to take ownership of this country and show more pride. We live in such a great country and we need to have the people that live here show that they at least respect our country.

- Jason Williams 

Twitter: @JaesonWilliams

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Looking back at the Music of 2012

Every year we take the time, at the end of the year, to review what has gone on in every genre and make up lists for the best songs, albums and mixtapes of that year. For 2012, it was easy to figure out what the number one album would be, but after that it got a little harder to figure out what should follow on the list. It wasn't because there was too much to consider, even though there were a lot of releases that came out this year the issue was that a lot of it wasn't very good. Artists that you expected to release phenomenal work didn't deliver. Much of the music this year was void of creativity as a lot of artists just made what they knew would sell or get played. 2012 was another year when we saw the great ship of hip-hop take on more water which makes em unsure of whether or not hip-hop will be able to make it out of 2013 as a viable genre which creatures classic albums.

For the first time in two decades a rap/hip-hop album failed to sell a million records. Aside from the masterpiece that we received from Kendrick Lamar, hip-hop/rap is stagnant, stale and for the most part forgettable. Looking forward towards 2013, there might be some hope and it might not be all doom and gloom for some of the other genres. Female R’n’B and adult contemporary are on the rise with lots of fresh talent and some of the veteran artists in this genre are also slated for returns from a year off. New logos is looking forward to Melanie Fiona, Jesse Ware, Rihanna *yeah I said Rihanna* she is at a magical place in her career and she is finally combining her image with her music. Lana del Rey released a fantastic project this year and we anxiously await what she does next. Lana del Rey wowed with her vocals and visuals in 2012. She is in a position where she can solidify herself with a great follow up project. The males had a great year in 2012 as well; Frank Ocean released a well-received debut project, though for us the project was missing a few things in regards to consistency we look forward to Frank fixing that and continuing with the momentum he has had this year. JMSN as a male R’n’B pop artist broke out in 2012 with a fantastic solo debut album that was iTunes release only. It would later be released for free after being featured heavily on the classic Kendrick Lamar album of 2012 and on The Games album ‘Jesus Piece’. 2012 was a solid year for music, it wasn't the most special year that I have ever witnessed, but whenever there is a down year there is always a rebound year to follow. The rebound year is what we are hoping for 2013 to be. With great projects expected from A$AP Rocky, a pretty good mixtape out right now by Wale which we will have a review for soon, the return of Beyoncé and Adele, as well as J Cole and Drake. Also with future releases, 2013 is bound to be a comeback year for urban music.

- Jason Williams

Twitter: @JaesonWilliams 

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2012 : The Year That Was

Well 2012 is  complete and it has been a year of awesome and tragic events. We as a people have seen amazing happen and also had to deal with heavy news.  With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the big social issues of 2012, and some big newsmakers. 

Rob Ford

This guy was a big issue this year, and I am not just talking about weight wise. The Mayor of Toronto has become the butt of many jokes. From his interference on the TTC's agreement with the province to improve transit, to his conflict of interest case. The mayor has turned Toronto into a laughing stock. In November Toronto Police on behalf of the mayor requested 2 TTC buses as shelters for Ford's football team after a game got a little heated. Couple all of Ford's gaffes and his removal with the fact that the province of Ontario currently does not have an active government, it looks as though Toronto has no mayor or premiere. Rob Ford however does have one thing to his credit. He gave us one of the funniest gifs in recent history, when he fell down while playing touch football during the grey cup celebration.

Obama Returns

Sticking with the political theme, this year saw America hold it's election again this year. Mitt Romney represented the Republican party to go against the current President Barack Obama. It was a very tense campaign leading up to election night in November, however Obama proved to hold enough of the votes to return to office. This time with even greater issues surrounding him. The economy, gun control, unemployment, Iran. Just to name a few. However Obama has the ability to unite and be able to get a few issues under control before the next election comes up.

Shootings

This past year featured some real messed up shootings. The most recent being in Newtown Connecticut. A lone gunman entered into an elementary school and opened fire on children and adults in the school. America has a serious gun problem and the world is watching as President Obama looks to find a solution to curb the rising issue of gun violence in America. Of course he will have to deal with the NRA on the issue.

The world ends?

Remember when everyone thought the world was supposed end last week? You know the world was going to explode and stuff. Well that did not exactly happen, in fact nothing happened. People woke up and went to work and lived life exactly as they did the day before and the day after.  

Movies

This year saw some pretty notable movie releases. We got to see a new Spiderman movie, which was alright, and of course their was the Avengers. However when it came to anticipation nothing could beat the Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale's last foray into the world of Batman was nothing short of spectacular with Tom Hardy providing a great Bane and Anne Hathaway surprising everyone with a great performance as Catwoman. However the movie that may have the most talk is the new Quentin Tarentino film Django Unchained. It has been criticized heavily by notable film director Spike Lee for its overgenerous use of the N-Word, however Django Unchained is a phenomenal movie. Failures this year include Dredd and Battleship as movies that were hyped and fell way short of expectations.

Music

My favourite story in the music business in 2012 was the Gangster Disciples threatening Rick Ross. If you hadn't heard, Ross used the name of the gang's creator in a song and used a symbol on his mix tape. The Disciples did not take to kindly to that and decided to threaten Ross forcing him to cancel some concerts in different cities. However the biggest story of the year is Psy. K-Pop is becoming famous in North America after the hit song Gangnam Style, which became the most viewed video on youtube of all time, knocking off Justin Bieber.  2012 was also the year of Adele even though her album came out in 2011 she continued to sizzle winning in 6 categories at the Grammys and producing the title soundtrack to 007 Skyfall.

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2012 Artist of the Year: Rihanna

Every year there is one artist that takes the music industry by storm. Sometimes it's a new artist and sometime it's an artist that has been around for years that finally made the leap from obscurity to the big times; this year it's neither. Rihanna has always been a fairly big artist. She has had countless #1 singles and for a while it seemed like that was the only thing she could do. She was always releasing great singles; even those of us who we weren't fans of her, like myself, can admit that. Rihanna has always pushed the boundaries of her limited musical ability. Rihanna did make great strides to improve her singing and her album Unapologetic was her first #1 album and it was a pretty damn good album as far as I am concerned. Rihanna didn't have the best album of the year but it was the most interesting album I believe. It was what I would call a calculated mess; you have classic Rihanna pop on the album, while also having the club bangers that will be played for along time, and she gives us songs that address the Chris brown and Rihanna relationship saga which she can't get away from. She addressed her relationship with Chris brown like only Rihanna could and you know what she said, “It’s nobodies business” and that is exactly what it is.

  Rihanna is one of the most interesting artists in the music industry. She isn't just an image, Rihanna is the real deal and she is what you look for in a artist; she gives you art, she gives you her life, Rihanna is a personality on to herself. Yes, she is a loose cannon and she has twitter blow ups but she is a superstar, not to add she has an unparelled relationship with her fans that I don't believe any artist has matched. She caters to her core fans, the “Rihanna Navy”, while making music that everyone has seemingly fallen in love with. She can be called the converter, pulling people that would have never listened to her music in the past. I am confident in saying that 2012 was a magical year for Rihanna. Her street credibility rose to new levels with three of the tracks she did this year. She has become hard with swagger and bravado almost like a male artist, while maintaining the image of a sex symbol. Rihanna’s hard image was uplifted with songs such as “Fresh Off The Runway” and “Pour It Up”, which might be one of the hardest club bangers of the year dethroning “Pop That” and “Bandz”. Finally her feature with Atlanta based trap rapper/singer, Future, exposed both of them to audiences that seemingly didn't mix. Rihanna has taken what's been selling for her in year’s prior while also taking chances which lead to her music industry takeover. She seems to be calling her own shots while still maintaining success being the person she wants to be and controlling her career. We'll see what bad girl Riri has in store for us in 2013, but in 2012 she showed us that you could be hard and vulnerable at the same time. Rihanna showed us that you could go back to the past and find love where love escaped you. She showed us that an artist can be who they want to be and still be successful raging against the machine and making it work for her and because of all of this I dub Rihanna Artist of the Year.

- Jason Williams 

Twitter: @JaesonWilliams 

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The Top Film of 2012: #1 Moonrise Kingdom

The #1 film of the year is, Moonrise Kingdom. This charming film by Wes Anderson was not a love story but a story of first love. The story is about a young couple that decides to runaway to be together. While the story seems simply, it is the simplicity of the story that everyone can relate to. It also possessed a critical acclaimed cast of big name actors and actresses such as Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, and many more. In 2012, film audiences were surrounded by big budget productions and Hollywood blockbusters, Moonrise Kingdom proved that the quality of a film has nothing to do with quantity of money you throw at a film but with the quality of storytelling and how much the audience can relate to the story being told. 

- Israel Lattiboudeaire

Twitter: @IzzyLatti

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#2: Django Unchained

Django Unchained is a great example of Quentin Tarantino at his best. The film is about a slave named Django, turned bounty hunter who is out to save his wife from a ruthless plantation owner. Quentin Taratino is a cinephile. His love and passion for the medium comes out in his work. Django Unchained is an example of Tarantino’s excellent storytelling ability.  All of the classic Tarantino motifs are present within this film and lovers of his work will be fully entertained. Acting is what truly drives this film. Leonardo DiCaprio does an amazing job as the lead villain, Calvin Candie, and will be remembered as one of the great on-screen villains of the decade. This film came in the 11 hour of the year and has made a huge impact on the film industry in a short period of time. From critical acclaim to accusation of racism, Django Unchained has caused a storm of opinions and discussions about what is on and off limits in Hollywood. Tarantino’s film tackles a variety of concepts and themes such as a slavery, racism, exploitation and segregation. Themes, that in American culture, are more commonly forgotten and dismissed than addressed through the usage of film. Django Unchained is #2 because it was not only a great film, but it successfully turned Hollywood on it’s head by removing everyone from their comfort zone and showcasing a truth that is commonly dismissed as a distant memory.

- Israel Lattiboudeaire 

Twitter: @IzzyLatti

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#3: The Dark Knight Rises.

The Dark Knight Rises was the end to the Batman Trilogy that was started over 7 years ago. Director Christopher Nolan revived the Batman franchise with his release of Batman Begins in 2005, looking to give a more realistic take on the caped crusader. The follow-up, The Dark Knight, became one of the biggest films of all time and made the world realize how brilliant Christopher Nolan truly is. With The Dark Knight Rises, we saw just about everything in the series upped in scale, even the main villain. Tom Hardy’s portrayal of Bane was intense, as he was able to captivate audiences through his display of raw power and terrifying monologues. Anne Hathaway also starred in the film as one of batman’s greatest foes/allies: Catwoman. While many doubted her ability to play the role, she aced it, arguably giving the best performance in the film. The Dark Knight Rises was a great conclusion to one of our favorite franchises of the all time, and because of that it is #3 on our list. 

- Israel Lattiboudeaire 

Twitter: @IzzyLatti