Rushmoras

I'm almost at the end of James Clavell's Tai-Pan. Overall, I like it less than Shogun, primarily because it seems that it's more drama than action. Struan is all talk, but when push comes to shove nothing happens or his enemies are dispatched off screen by other forces.

Oh, damn, I never watched the trailer just seen the poster. I thought that commenters were just taking the piss due to the poster, but it seems that they really made a movie about monkey-Williams. 🤣

Read through Part V of James Clavell's Tai-Pan.

Oh, yeah, Alizee; the only songs of her I know are in these vids (Moi Lolita was probably the most played song everywhere on radios and TVs (at least in Europe) in 2000s). Well, and with soundtrack album (made for a film, which starred Natalia Oreiro in 2016), completed her discog "Gilda, No Me Arrepiento de Este Amor" (2016). Overall, apart from her first album, her songs are quite catchy; I mean its pop for a reason, it's very easy to get into. As usual, subjective assessments of each album: 1. Natalia Oreiro (1997) - 5.8/10 [Best songs: Me Muero de Amor; Cambio Dolor; Valor; Vengo del Mar; Huracan] 2. Tu Veneno (1999) - 8.7/10 [Best songs: Como Te Olvido; Aburrida; Estamos Todos Solos; Basta De Ti; Mata Y Envenena; Si Me Vas A Dar Tu Amor; Que Pena Me Das; Caliente] 3. Turmalina (2002) - 8.2/10 [Best songs: Que Digan Lo Que Quieran; Amor Fatal; Alas De Libertad; Cayendo; Por Verte Otra Vez; No Va Mas; Mar] 4. Gilda, No Me Arrepiento de Este Amor (2016) - 8.5/10 [Best songs: No Me Arrepiento de Este Amor; Corazon Valiente; Se Me Ha Perdido un Corazon (Acustica); Te Cerrare la Puerta; Solo Dios Sabe (feat. Angela Torres); No Me Arrepiento de Este Amor (Remix); Corazon Valiente (I) (feat. Ruben Rada)] Average album score: 7.8/10. Next stop: something from my home country that I can find on spotify... might post it here, might not.

Well, it's been quite a while since my last post here. Finally had the time, the mood and the patience to watch a movie, and decided to continue with Akira Kurosawa. This time, I watched his 1949 movie called "Stray Dog", about a rookie homicide officer that got his service pistol stolen en route to work. In this movie, the main character is plagued by heavy conscience for crimes committed with his gun. All in all, I guess this was a pretty decent Kurosawa movie (thinking that he finally got his groove with countless of so-so movies that were back then IIRC a subject of censorship), however, as with most Kurosawa films, to me it was simply too long; I mean, there is a scene, in which a policeman is calling someone, and it takes them like a minute to decide whether to answer or not. And these kinds of scenes that serve no purpose are all over the place... 7/10.

Yep, that's a Lady Gaga music video alright 😀 The song is a banger, though.

Continuing on with Natalia Oreiro discog, penultimate album "Turmalina" (2002). Pretty good.

Second Natalia Oreiro album "Tu Veneno" (1999). Significantly better than the first one.

Well, started Natalia Oreiro's discography. First self-titled album from 1997. I expected worse, honestly, but I liked half of the album, however the other half was not my cup of tea.

Speaking of covers and Laura Branigan (from another topic) [out of those that I specifically know]: Forever Young cover (I think by Alphaville first sung) The Sweet Hello, the Sad Goodbye (by Roxette first sung)

Final album of Laura Branigan "Over My Heart" (1993). Um, songwise, one of, if not, her best albums released. Barring one song that I really found meh, almost a 10 out of 10 album. However, listening to it, I couldn't shake the feeling that I've heard handful of songs in it from somewhere. So, I googled it, and it appears that at least three of the songs in the album are covers; probably, there are many more covers in the album, it's just that they do not have links on wikipedia to know for certain. As always, subjective assessments of each album: 1. Branigan (1982) - 7.8/10 [Best songs: All Night With Me; Gloria; Please Stay, Go Away; I Wish We Could be Alone; Maybe I Love You] 2. Branigan 2 (1983) - 7/10 [Best songs: Lucky; How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?; Mama; Don’t Show Your Love] 3. Self Control (1984) - 7/10 [Best songs: Self Control; Ti Amo; Heart; Silent Partners; With Every Beat of My Heart] 4. Hold Me (1985) - 8/10 [Best songs: Spanish Eddie; Forever Young; When I’m With You; I Found Someone; Tenderness] 5. Touch (1987) - 9.2/10 [Best songs: Shadow of Love; Shattered Glass; Whatever I Do; Spirit of Love; Statute in the Rain] 6. Laura Branigan (1990) - 6/10 [Best songs: Moonlight on Water; Smoke Screen;Turn the Beat Around] 7. Over My Heart (1993) - 9.2/10 [Best songs: The Sweet Hello, the Sad Goodbye; It’s Been Hard Enough Getting Over You; Is There Anyone Here But Me?; Didn’t We Almost Win It All?; Mujer Contra Mujer] Average album score: 7.7/10 Next stop... Natalia Oreiro (yeah, that telenovella actress from the 90s-early 2000s) 😆

And hers penultimate album "Laura Branigan" (1990). I think, it's one of her weakest from those that sound modern.

Fifth Laura Branigan album "Touch" (1987). So far, her only album that I can confidently say that to me it's almost 10 out of 10. The production quality is modern.

Fourth Laura Branigan album "Hold Me" (1985). In terms of production quality, so far its her best one yet. Definitely better than the last two.

Third Laura Branigan album "Self Control" (1984). Yeah, three albums in three years really does show in terms of quality I guess. Kinda meh album in general, but nothing overly bad. Best song was probably With Every Beat of My Heart.