Saturday 7 December 2013

'The Hunger Games Catching Fire' film review

Remember who the real enemy is

Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Certificate: 12

Warning: Spoiler Alert!
Well the new director certainly has put a darker edge on the already gloomy Hunger Games. This film takes a closer look at the capitol’s harsh ways of law enforcement. The beginning of the film looks at the awful conditions of District 12, and then takes a tour around the other districts, the signs of rebellion everywhere. 

Then we take a high speed train to the capitol, where Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) attempt a marriage but are unexpectedly drawn back into the games. The game makers have a special arena in store for them as part of the 3rd Quarter Quell.

This time around, there is a burning hatred for the Capitol (especially the Peacekeepers) and people are rising up. Even the competitors try to show their disliking for the people who rule their country.

With a grim feeling all the way through, this film is not one to liven your spirits, but with scenes of action and heroism to keep you watching, this is definitely a film worth seeing. It also stays very true to the book. Not adding many scenes, if any. They’ve jammed in all the action and special effects the certificate will allow, really giving you the feeling you got reading the book and the characters behaved, looked and spoke like I imagined. This is the case for most people. I highly recommend this film for people who have seen the first one.

Monday 21 October 2013

'Captain Phillips' Film Review

Captain Phillips is an absorbing film based on a real life story about a cargo ship getting attacked by Somali Pirates looking for a quick pay day. Fortunately the main character, Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) does everything he can to try and stop the small group of Pirates from getting their way. Captain Phillips tries his hardest to protect his crew and attempt to stop the Pirates from getting on board the vessel.

Tom Hanks portrays Captain Phillips as a determined and  heroic character who always puts his crew first. This film will have a tight grasp of your attention from start to finish and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The real Captain Richard Phillips was described as "reckless" by his crew and he told white lies to make himself sound more like a hero when he was swamped in media attention. He is now a published writer who has written a handful of books and who said the film "portrayed my crew very well, and portrayed the work truly. We're not the best dressed, we don't talk the nicest, but we're pretty regular people."

 

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Film Review: After Earth

Earth has been destroyed by climate change and pollution and now humans exist in exile on other planets, but a space-flight with dad and son on board crashes on Earth, leaving the father, Will Smith, injured and the son, Jaden Smith, the only hope of ever returning home. With the promise of a great storyline the film did not live up to its expectations. The danger is shown throughout and therefore is not thought of much when a reaction is actually wanted. Although the action is there in movement, it is not in their faces, both Will and Jaden have the same expression throughout the movie, walking around with a face like a smacked bum. Although the movie is not one I'd recommend, I was strangely intrigued in finding out what happened and was drawn to the movie. I wouldn't watch it again, but I suppose it wasn't too bad. Acting could be improved, as could the themes and emotions used throughout.

By Roxanne Wood

Saturday 8 June 2013

'Attraction' Wins Britain's Got Talent 2013

'Attraction' are a Hungarian group of dancers who have amazed audiences with their stories told through silhetoes so much that they won Britain's Got Talent 2013. The group received the most votes followed by teenage comedian Jack Carroll.
From their first audition both the judges and the audience knew that the performers were something special as they brought Amanda Holden (a judge on the show) to tears with their story about two people falling in in love and then one of them passing away.

'Attraction' were in the press this week since they've also been on Hungarian and German versions of the show. In an interview with Radio 1's Newsbeat Amanda Holden said "I think that Simon Cowell is right when he says we're part of Europe, we embrace the Europeans. I think if they win, amazing, and if they don't they're, going to go on and have a huge career anyway." However there was still also a lot of controversy after the show on social networks since they are originally from Hungary.

One thing goes without arguing though, they put on a great performances throughout the 7th series of Britain's Got Talent and they'll have the unbelievable privilege to perform in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety show later this year.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Book Review: 'Gone' by Michael Grant

Michael Grant’s series of books ‘Gone’ focuses on a scenario every kid has dreamed about. Gone has just about everything in it...suspense, action, mystery, romance, supernatural sci-fi...all that good stuff. The adults disappear and the children are left to rome free and do whatever they wish. It isn’t long until they realise everyone 14 and older who disappears, and the harsh reality of such unreal circumstances isn’t a joyride after all. They have to fend for themselves and try and get along with everyone. They have to care of food shortages, illnesses and all the babies and young ones. After giving everyone in the town a job to do, they think that’s, and they can all settle down, but there’s more to this that they don’t know…After that, things start to drift out of focus. We have a variety of "supernatural" plot elements that turn the whole series down a different path and engaging readers further.
The novels are a series of 6 so far, all receiving outstanding reviews. Grant focuses his audience at ‘young adults’ however catching the eye of people over that age genre. So far I have read 5 of the 6 books and recommended them highly, and I believe it can be aimed at both boys and girls and he contains various themes that are exciting for both genders and most ages. I can see it soon becoming a TV series or Film series.

By Roxanne Wood

Saturday 13 April 2013

PSY 'Gentleman'

(Above) Korean Superstar, PSY 
YouTube legend, PSY, officially released his new song 'Gentleman' at 11:00AM today. If you are wondering why this is so significant it is because PSY sung 'Gangnam Style' which at the end of 2012 became the most watched video on YouTube. It became a worldwide success within weeks.
'Gentleman' is the name of the song which was released earlier today in a concert in Korea called 'Happening' which was also live-streamed onto YouTube. Over 110,000 people tuned into to the channel to hear the new song and most of them liked what they heard.
The concert was held at the Seoul World Cup stadium in South Korea and before the unveiling of the music video for 'Gentleman' he performed some of his iconic songs.
The song was apparently purposely leaked a few days before the official release of the song so people know the tune of the song before they see the music video.
'Gentleman' sounds extremely similar to Gangnam Style and uses some of the same music techniques however critics do seem to like the song and they think it deserves to have the same success as Gangnam Style.

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Bowie is Back (The Next Day)







David Bowie is a pop artist who was most popular in the 1970s and 1980s (so ask your parents about him) however on Monday 11th March 2013 his new album came out.

'The Next Day' which has been much anticipated for months now. Now, I don't know much about music however this album is great despite Bowie having a 10 year break from the music industry. Although he is 66 years of age his new album doesn't feel nostalgic at all - it feels slightly vintage however could easily compete against modern artists. The front cover of the album is actually the cover from his 1977 album 'Heroes' however it has a square box in the middle saying 'The Next Day'.

'The Next Day' is full of potential singles.
It already has two singles; the slow and soothing 'Where Are We Now?' which is already extremely popular and the catchy 'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)' which is about the eternal status of being a celebrity. Both reflect the high quality of the album.

A lot of the songs are about the Medieval time (an era the David Bowie seems obsessed with) and love. There are 2 versions of the album; the regular version (14 tracks) and deluxe version (17 tracks).

In conclusion, I would recommend this album for any previous David Bowie fan and anyone who is looking for some decent music which isn't as mainstream as young pop artists - yet something which is definitely just as good.