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I haven’t seen many movies this year, but this would probably be my choice for the Oscar winner. My one criteria for movies that weighs in way above the rest is how moving they are - how much they make me question my own life and think long and hard after the movie is over. This movie made me do just that. Saw it Christmas day and I am still thinking about it constantly. The movie itself wasn’t one of my favorites - not even close… but I gave it 5 stars because it’s a movie I think everyone should see for the psychological and philosophical value.

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Overall I thought this movie was a tiny bit long. Just a tiny bit though. Most of the long, drawn out scenes I felt necessary. But 4 hours? I don’t think any movie should be this long. My only other argument is that for a 4 hour movie I don’t feel like they developed the romance between Stands With A Fist and Dunbar very well.

The main overall message and theme of the movie was delivered flawlessly. It still amazes me not that there was such ignorance in the world back then, but that little has changed today. There are still similar injustices being carried out every day all over the world that are being overlooked or treated in much the same way that the situation with the Native Americans was treated. Like it was just something that had to happen. It had to run it’s course. It couldn’t be effectively stopped.

I try and imagine an America had we befriended most of the natives and fused our cultures together rather than doing what we did - and I see an America that would have been green, energy independent, and more governmentally and economically stable right from the start. Not to mention way less lives would have been lost.

Oh well.

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I’ve been listening to Vota’s “debut” album for a few weeks now, and it’s really starting to grow on me. I was never a fan of Casting Pearls, which was Vota’s name before they changed it due to confusion with Casting Crowns. I think the name change was a great choice, because the new sound and name is like a fresh start for them, and I hope they make it big with this release.

The release is on INO which depresses me a bit because as Casting Pearls, Vota was signed to Inpop, the label I work for. I wish Inpop had released this album, because I love it.

The album photoshoot was done by none other than Jeremy Cowart, my favorite photographer (who I recently met for the first time) in Nashville with a helicopter to make it one of the coolest album covers of 2008 in my opinion…

My favorite song by far is “Hard To Believe” followed by “Love’s Taken Over”, “Be Mine”, “Free To Fail” and “Bye Bye” which has a strong Maroon5 vibe.

I may or may not be designing a tour poster for a newsboys/Vota tour this spring, so keep on the lookout for that!