Les Misérables Review
Victor Hugo's epic tale Les Misérables has been gloriously adapted for the stage, and now for the big screen. With such big names as Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway, expectations were high - and director Tom Hooper has delivered magnificently.
Emily Capell - Who Killed Smiley Culture EP Review
Emily Capell’s website describes her music as “telling stories of celebrity lust, longstanding musical influences and the ups, downs and rounds and rounds of general adolescence”, which couldn’t be more true in her first EP, Who Killed Smiley Culture.
Life Of Pi Review
Put simply, Life of Pi is a beautiful film. Beautifully shot, beautiful colours, beautiful scenery, and particularly breathtaking animal shots. If you've seen Ang Lee's other films, especially Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain, you'll recognise his style.
Hitman: Absolution Review (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Six long years since the bald-headed, bar-coded Agent 47 last appeared on home consoles in Hitman: Blood Money, there's something to cherish about his return. With a scarcity of truly stealth-driven games at market – where set-piece laden, high-octane action titles are ten-a-penny – IO Interactive have sought to redress the balance with Absolution. It's a genuine shame, then, that it just comes up short.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Review From A Tolkien Nerd
Over a decade after I first saw The Fellowship of the Ring, another Tolkien film is back in our cinemas. Lord of the Rings was such a massive part of my childhood that this prequel had me equally nervous and excited – I was begging Peter Jackson not to fail me. Fortunately, he didn't.
New Myspace Review
Myspace has suffered in its position as the 'punch line' to any Social Media humour. Destroyed by News Corporation, then rendered further into obsolescence by a minor reboot and a subpar software integration into TVs. That is until a certain popstar/star in a movie about Facebook took interest, both financially and mentally. The result is what you see, a complete overhaul.
Has this proverbial phoenix risen from the ashes, or have we fallen for good looks with no form and function?
Crystal Castles: (III) Review
With (III), Crystal Castles entirely abandon the quirky, screechy, bleepy approach that characterized their debut, instead opting to push the darker, softer sound introduced on the second half of their sophomore album.
The Walking Dead: Episode Five – No Time Left Review
The concluding part to Telltale Games' The Walking Dead presents not only an end; but a beginning.
This may seem like the generic vague statement that; but its relevance is strong. One of the best games this year has come to its explosive finale, and a revolution of in-game storytelling has been introduced with it.
Lee Everett's narrative in No Time Left is emotional, terrifying, exciting, and tense all at once, making for a fitting conclusion that will affect even the most hardened of players.
*EDITOR'S NOTE:* While the storyline of No Time Left will not be spoiled in this review, I do write about key plot points from the previous episodes. If you have not played any of the series, you may want to refrain from reading, in order to keep it a surprise.
Deftones - Koi No Yokan Review
With Koi No Yokan, Deftones refine their fusion of the ethereal and the visceral that has remained consistently effective since their inception, whilst continuing to transcend the boundaries of the reductive and frankly insulting 'nu-metal' label so often applied to them.
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Cobra Juicy Review
Like BMSR's previous efforts this is a hazy, sedative affair which leaves you feeling like you've received an injection of pure fruit matter.
The tracks have names like 'Dreamsicle Bomb', 'Psychic Love Bomb' and 'Hairspray Heart', and I can't be sure whether this is satirical or not. BMSR are a band I enjoy in short bursts, which is especially relevant here as this album's accessibility renders it repetitive.
Pid Review
You come to realise that Pid is quite an odd game, emerging from the sea of recent indie platform games with an odd combination of politeness and eccentricity. This gaming premiere of Swedish developer Might and Delight casts you as Kurt, a schoolboy stranded on a distant planet after falling asleep on an intergalactic bus.
Film Review: Skyfall
Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. (Source: IMDB)
There’s a moment in Bond 23 in which Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva asks a dishevelled Bond his preferred hobby, to which he replies “resurrection”. Given we’re now celebrating Bond in his fiftieth year, it’s a trait the Broccoli family has also had to adopt to keep Bond feeling fresh through the years. Over the past half a century – kicking off with Dr. No in 1962 – the franchise has had to continually redefine, reboot, resurrect itself to stay relevant, ticking off the 00's as it goes. Fittingly, it's Skyfall that melds the old and the new together in a modern day Bond perhaps better than any other.
The Walking Dead: Episode Four – Around Every Corner Review
The Walking Dead has been the epitome of Telltale's vision of episodic gaming, and Around Every Corner has the particularly difficult task of playing out the penultimate chapter to this: the first of (what we hope to be) many seasons to come. Book of Eli writer Gary Witta leaves his dark signature upon the piece, tackling child endangerment, burying the dead, and a society where the idea of "survival of the fittest" is taken to inhumane lengths. But the one question remains: does this setup make for an episode that lives up to the finely tuned creations of past?
Flatbush Zombies - D.R.U.G.S Review
Flatbush Zombies' debut mixtape is saved from its trite horrorcore lyricism and occasional awkward flows by an unpretentious attitude and excellent production comprised of slick, memorable synth hooks and eclectic samples.
Taken 2 Review
Sitting excitedly for the return of Qui-Gon Jinn ruthlessly obliterating yet another crime syndicate and saving his family in the process. From the legendary threat of finding and killing the foes of the original film, it's fair to say that many have been anticipating yet another unapologetic action movie. Hell, with a director that goes by the surname of 'Megaton,' expectations are that we're in safe hands. But there is one very simple reason this film doesn't work, and it goes by the two-number-and-one-letter rating of '12A.'
Film Review: Looper
"In 2072, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self." (Source: IMDB)
Kansas City, 2044. “Time travel has not yet been invented, but 30 years from now, it will have been.” So begins Looper, the third film from writer-director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom), a future-noir science-fiction film that oozes style and nearly matches it with high-concept, time-travel substance.
Death Grips - NO LOVE DEEP WEB Review
Well isn't this a nice surprise? Death Grips leaked their second album of the year online for free on Sunday (at midnight, no less) after their label Epic Records wouldn't set a release date until next year. As if this wasn't punk rock enough, there's the fact that the album cover is a photo of an erection. Since MC Ride's existence is essentially an affront to the established order of the universe, I'd bet that it's his.
Cat Power - Sun Review
Chan Marshall's 9th studio release is characterised by a newfound comfort with her own neuroses and the introduction of what sound like default Ableton Live synthesizers. 'Cherokee' starts the album off strongly with a desolate yet soulful piano melody and contrasting vocal registers, but this level of quality isn't totally maintained throughout. Despite some of the opener's more melancholic lines, such as 'Never knew pain like this, everything die', the majority of the album feels happy, albeit in a vague, detached, introspective sort of way. As this is the only kind of happiness I'm comfortable with, I can relate.
UnoTelly Service Review
Let's address the elephant in the room. There is a vast plethora of TV content beyond our grasp in the UK: either available to us many months later, or via the many illegal streaming sites which have sprouted to tackle the issue. The amount of location content locks we come across can become a little more than annoying. It's at this point that I introduce you to UnoTelly.
David Byrne & St. Vincent - Love This Giant Review
'Love This Giant' is, for the most part, even more than you could have expected from a collaboration between artists as accomplished and peculiar as these. Due to the centrality of the brass band its tone never strays too far from the whimsical and jubilant, although it does frequently reintroduce the ethereal elements from St. Vincent's last album 'Strange Mercy', which serve as a great counterpoint.