Beveridge Super Review: Oak Flavoured Milk drink 600mL varieties

Oak's 600mL varieties are quite a treat. Just the mention of an "Oak" and I get excited. Here are the flavours.

Strawberry
Often referred to as the "homosexual" of the flavours, strawberry really isn't that bad. Actually, it's one of the best flavoured milk drinks I've tasted in my time, and Oak is definitely my favourite strawberry flavoured milk drink. It's probably the most sickening, but if nothing much is to be done in the two hours after consumption, there shouldn't be a problem.

7.5/10

Iced Coffee
Iced Coffee has progressed a lot over the years, but Oak's stuck with the classic single flavour, single strength coffee. Not my favourite Iced Coffee but Dare has set the bar very high with their Mochas and Espressos. Definitely not my favourite Oak flavour but still a good drink.

6.5/10

Chocolate
Chocolate milk. The mother of all milk drinks. Pretty much any brand of chocolate milk is delicious. This being said, you can't get much better than Oak. The chocolate milk that tastes like a paddle pop and is to die for when icy. Can't get much better.

9/10

So there you have it. In comparison to other variety flavoured milk brands, like Breaka and M, Oak reigns supreme.

The Awesominator

We're Back

You may have noticed that the team at Critical Euphoria has taken a bit of a hiatus. However, we are back from our day jobs as male strippers and astronauts and we are revamped, ready to bring you the reviews that matter. Not only are we going to keep the film and music reviews coming, we are going to review everything. Everything. So enjoy.

Review: Last Dinosaurs - In a Million Years

The last few years has spawned more Aussie indie rock groups than ever before, and in a genre with such little variety, it's quite hard to pick a great indie band when they all sound the same. Brissie group Last Dinosaurs had a go earlier this year with In a Million Years, their debut LP. The album opens with one of the main singles, 'Zoom', which is an alright song, but after that, most of the songs just merge into one giant indie rock monster. All songs have that distinctive mellow guitar, tricky hi-hat rhythms and uninspired bass, along with vocals that offer a little variation from the everyday indie rock tracks. Some other stand outs include 'Andy' and, my favourite, 'I Can't Decide', which is a welcome change that goes into the heavier rock areas of music. When most songs sound not only like other songs on the album, but every other indie rock song in existence, it's just not quite there.

6/10

The Awesominator

Super Review: Batman Trilogy

In 2005, Christopher Nolan made the brave decision to reboot the Batman series. Many were sceptical, their concerns being that this would not live up to the bar set by Tim Burton's Batman. Here's what we think.

Batman BeginsThe Wayne family, Bruce and his parents,  were a rich, well-respected family who worked for charity and pretty much owned Gotham City, until a desparate mugger ended the lives of Bruce's parents in the backstreets of the dark city. Bruce relocates to Asia, where he is trained by the mysterious Henri Ducard and Ra's Al Ghul on how to fight the forces of evil. Upon finishing his studies, he decides what these people stand for is wrong, preveting their plans and heading back to Gotham. He still has the desire to fight crime in Gotham, and creates the masked icon known as Batman, striking fear in anyone defying the law. But not Jonathon Crane, The Scarecrow.
This reboot is very nicely made, changing just the right amount of content that needed to be changed from the original. All actors are great, Christian Bale as the millionaire superhero, Micheal Caine as his butler and Cillian Murphy as the insane Dr. Crane with some great support from Gary Oldman and Katie Holmes. Batman Begins is one of the best Batman movies to date and a great starting point for the rest of the series.

8/10

**SPOILERS**

The Dark Knight
Crime is worse than ever in Gotham City. The Mob and many other crime organisations are making a mockery of the justice system and Batman doesn't like it. With the help of Lieautenant Jim Gordon ad new District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman, slowly but surely, put many of these crims behind bars, tearing these organisations to pieces, but there is one man in the way. The Joker, played chillingly well by Heath Ledger. He is the most insane person in Gotham City and won't stop at killing anyone in the city.
The Dark Knight, in my opinion, is one of the greatest movies of the 00s. It just all works so well. Gotham City is a more realistic city than in Batman Begins, filmed in Chicago. Christain Bale plays Bruce Wayne/Batman really well, probably my favourite Batman, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine reprising their roles nicely and Heath Ledger in his last film was perfect. The Dark Knight, other than the disappoiontingly anticlimactic arrest of The Scarecrow, is a perfect movie.

10/10

**SPOILERS**

The Dark Knight Rises
Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises introduces a new terrorist leader, Bane. Bane and his associates come to Gotham City, forcing Bruce Wayne out of retirement, bringing back Batman and trying to take down Bane, with the help of Catwoman, but only to be brutally beaten in the fight. With the absence of Batman, Bane takes over Gotham, turning it into a warzone with an unfairly biased justice system to prosecute those who do not follow Bane's new way of life. Will Bruce Wayne rise from the depths of hell on Earth and take Gotham back?
Bane's voice is the most annoying thing about this movie. The trailers depict his voice as deep, dark and difficult to understand, but this is not the case. It's still dark and distorted, but his tone will vary far too much for my liking. Sore he looks scary enough but once (I assume) he opens his mouth, It just loses me. Tom Hardy's performance is still relatively good along with Christian Bale, Micheal Caine and Gary Oldman all returning to their roles and playing them well. Anne Hathaway is a welcome introduction as Selina Kyle or Catwoman. There are no stand out performances, some pretty bland writing and, plus some other little problems, ends in a pretty messy film. The villain is just not scary enough, plus there's no mention of The Joker and where he ended up. Last I remember he was left hanging down the side of that building, but what can you do? It's alright, pretty deep but just doesn't compare to The Dark Knight and even Batman Begins.

7.5/10

So there it is. All-in-all a great reboot series that just doesn't end the way it should have.

The Awesominator

Review: Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album)

In 1994 Los Angeles power pop band Weezer release their seminal debut. The Blue Album specializes in hard hitting power chords and great pop song-writing.  While everyone in 1994 was busy trying to be the next Nirvana, Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo just wanted to make some fun rock pop.  But don't let the appearance of most of the Blue Album's songs fool you, although on the surface most songs sound as though all is well in Cuomo-land, there are much deeper meanings to songs like 'Say it Ain't So' and 'Buddy Holly'.  And mostly those meanings link to teenage angst, father issues and the like. Album highlights include the aforementioned  singles, 'In the Garage' and 'Undone - The Sweater Song'.  While not every song is pure pop genius, most have a red hot go at trying to be. In summary The Blue Album really was Cuomo's first chance at showing the world how good he was at pop song-writing and although modern day Weezer may not be half the band they once were, we can still revel in what was.

9/10

Tomm

Review: Ted

'Ted' is the début feature from Seth MacFarlane (of 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad' fame).  The film follows the story of a foul mouthed, bong smoking teddy bear (voiced by MacFarlane himself) and his owner John (Mark Wahlberg) and as things start to get serious with his girlfriend  Lori (Mila Kunis), John is forced to choose between his best friend and his lover.  It's a story we've all seen by now, but most people going into this film aren't going to expect a deep plot and complex characters, all they are looking for is the laughs which this film definitely delivers on.  The sense of humor in this film will definitely tailor to those who are fans of MacFarlane's television efforts and those who aren't will be left in the cold wondering why so many people are laughing at a talking teddy bear.  But being a fan of 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad' I had to laugh some of the at most of the absurd situations John and Ted got themselves into.  The acting is all fine with nothing too outstanding and you can tell MacFarlane is a geek at heart with a plethora of pop culture references and a massive 'Flash Gordon' homage.  Overall this movie succeeds in what it set out to do, and although it never quite reaches the hilarity of recent comedy greats it is still a good laugh.

7/10

Tomm

Review: The Amazing Spider-man

Spidey's back. Slinging webs, catching baddies and cracking wise once again. This time, it all starts with a six year old Peter Parker and his parents, Richard and Mary. When a rock finds its way through the office window of Richard's home office, it sends the parents on a panicked dash to get away. Peter is left with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Years later, Peter (Andrew Garfield) is going to highschool, where he is considered a nerd and has no friends. In an attempt to find out what his father was studying before he left, Peter intrudes an intern tour at Oscorp, where his father worked. This is where he is bitten by a genetically enhanced spider that gives him superpowers. Peter is misunderstood for a criminal and has the police after him. A problem arises and Peter feels obliged to help the city from destruction that is to be brought by The Lizard, a human-turned-giant lizard. And, of course, there has to be a girl. This time it's Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), who just happens to be the Police Captain's daughter.

Although it seems a little early for a Spider-man reboot, this version feels new and refreshing. I found Andrew Garfield to be a much more relatable Peter Parker than Tobey MacGuire and Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy well. There were also some other big names like Martin Sheen, Sally Field and Denis Leary, and watch out for another hilarious Stan Lee cameo. It might just be me, being a huge Spider-man fan, but I quite enjoyed this film and, although there are still some questions to be answered, I think Marc Webb did a good job.

8/10

The Awesominator

Review: M83 - Saturdays = Youth

Number five for French electro-pop outfit M83 and they were still yet to establish a widespread fanbase. They had not charted in most countries yet and this album was no different, although I found it quite enjoyable. Opening with the psychedelic and album-filler-esque "You, Appearing", it's the next song that makes a fairly large impact. "Kim & Jessie" just reeks of classic M83: unusual but no less cool synth lines , vocals that may be dull but take nothing away from the song, the sort of song found all over the place on Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. "We Own the Sky", "Skin of the Night" and "Graveyard Girl" are some other noteworthy songs. Also, "Up!", an R'n'B insprired single in which Morgan Kibby's soft, soothing vocals are used perfectly, but my album highlight was the 8 and a half minutes of dreamy, mysterious, synthy awesomeness that is "Couleurs". The album closes with the anti-climactic yet slightly amusing "Midnight Souls Still Remain", but I won't spoil anything for you. Saturdays = Youth is an enjoyable album filled with songs that, from start to relatively close to the finish, can be enjoyed by anyone.

8/10

The Awesominator

Review: Brave

Some would suggest that after 2010's magnificent 'Toy Story 3' the quality of feature films coming out of Pixar have been on the decline.  But to be honest I thoroughly enjoyed 'Cars 2'  and thought it didn't deserve anywhere near the amount of hate it received.  But unfortunately I do have to somewhat agree with the naysayers on Pixar's latest outing.  It follows the much worn tale of a Princess (Kelly McDonald) who accidentally curses her strict mother (Emma Thompson) in a bid for freedom.  Quirky characters are all throughout the film and the team do deserve credit for making use of a good cast of voices especially Billy Connolly as the king.  Also needed to be applauded here  is the absolutely beautiful animation,  artistic flourishes are everywhere and it would be possiblee to lose hours just staring into the Princess' curl red hair.  Where this movie does falter though is in its plot and often generic dialogue.  'Brave' is by no means a bad film and it does stand out in a lot of places,  but it just doesn't feel like it lives up to that Pixar name.

6/10

Tomm

Review: Nirvana - Bleach

Nirvana's much forgotten 1989 debut is something of a typical punk album, its very riff heavy and Kurt Cobain's course vocals about girls and authority are all throughout.  'Bleach' really is a nonstop thrill ride, unlike the albums that followed it 'Bleach' has no slower tempo songs to break up the constant head banging which isn't necessarily a bad thing on an album like this. It opens with 'Blew' which is a very fun and thrashing tale, following that 'Floyd the Barber' keeps the same formula up.  Album highlight 'About a Girl' is a poppy and Beatles-esque change of pace.  Although drummer Chad Channing is sufficient he really doesn't reach the highs made by Dave Grohl after Channing's departure. Other album highs include 'Negative Creep', 'Big Cheeze' and 'School'.  Although not as compelling as 'Nevermind' and 'In Utero', 'Bleach' is still a solid debut in anyone's books.

7.5/10

Tomm

Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games has become huge, as does any teen-orientated novel-turned-film (Tomorrow, When The War Began, Harry Potter series) and the books have only become more popular since the movie was released. The Hunger Games follows Catniss Everdeen in a war-torn future America referred to as Panem. Panem is divided into 13 Districts and The Capitol. At one stage in Panem's history, a rebellion took place against The Capitol, in which The Capitol were victorious (and 13 was destroyed). To show their power, The Hunger Games are established. A male and a female from each district are selected at random and thrown into an arena to do battle where only one can come out and for the nation to watch on their nearest televisions. Catniss Everdeen is just another average girl who lives in the Seam, hunts outside the barriers of 12 and trades at the Hob to provide for her father-less family, until she is selected, under unusual circumstances, to represent 12 in The Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games has one of the greatest plot lines I've heard of. Genius. Yet it wasn't as well pulled off in the movie as the books. The acting isn't bad but not outstanding, the special effects are pretty good but there is a problem I have with this movie. The closing scenes are way too rushed to set up for the sequel. It feels a lot like a "Next time, on The Hunger Games" sort of thing and it just doesn't suit the pace of the rest of the movie. If you haven't read the book, this movie is probably going to be a lot more enjoyable than if you have. But if you have, there's still some enjoyment to be had here.

7/10

The Awesominator

Review: The Temper Trap - The Temper Trap

After the Temper Trap's breakthrough debut album 'Conditions' immensely high hopes have been developed for their self titled follow up. All of the staples established on 'Conditions' still remain here, lead singer Dougy Mandagi's ever present falsetto is all throughout here and so are the depressing lyrics about all kinds of heartbreak.  The album opens with the somewhat happy 'Need Your Love' and continues onto one of the records more ambitious tracks 'London's Burning' which samples various news reports about the recent London riots,  the track succeeds a little but just gets a bit stale towards the end. Guitar solos are less common here as the album seems to nod a lot to 80's synths and culture, although on 'Dreams' and the epic 'Rabbit Hole' Lorenzo Sillito's guitar playing is used to very good effect.  Album highlights here include the aforementioned 'Rabbit Hole', 'This Isn't Happiness' and 'Trembling Hands' which nearly succeeds in recreating stunning feel of breakthrough hit 'Sweet Disposition'.  Some of the lesser songs include 'The Sea Is Waiting', 'Where Do We Go From Here' and 'I'm Gonna Wait' which are all just rather dull.  Although the Temper Trap do have a more mature sound here, it is hard to know whether that is for the better or not and it will be interesting to see where they go next.  There is some good stuff here if you dig for it, but generic lyrics and meaningless filler bring this album down.

6/10

Tomm

Review: The Pirates: Band of Misfits

It's that time of year again. The Pirate of the Year Award and the Pirate Captain (voiced unrecognisably well by Hugh Grant) wants this award more than anything, taking on the more successful pirates Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz. His quest to win the competition takes him from the exotic shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of London. With his unusual crew forever by his side, the Pirate Captain takes on a pirate-hating queen and teams up with scientist Charles Darwin who needs more than a little help with the ladies.
There's laughs to be had from word go in this film-but when I say laughs, it really depends on what age you are or, more appropriately, what age your comedic taste is. I found this movie very funny, even the name of the Pirate Captain's crew are hilarious - The Albino Pirate, The Pirate With Gout and , my favourite, the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate who is indeed a woman pretending to be a male pirate. The geniuses (or genii?) at Aardman have struck again with a movie not as good as the classics they are known for but a great movie for the whole family, despite the surprising down-shirt jokes.

7.5/10

The Awesominator

Review: Snakadaktal - Snakadactal EP

Winning triple j Unearthed High must be a dream come true for budding high school bands, but some winners have failed to further their success, unable to release a song since their winning track. But less than twelve months since winning, indie five-piece from Melbourne have defied this curse and released their debut, self titled EP. With soulful vocals, soothing guitars and synth, rhythmic bass and the subtle-yet-annoying tempo changes of "Chimera", this EP is a real success. Although "Chimera" consists of said tempo changes, it is quite an enjoyable song, along with "Carnival (Lobster Mobster)", "Skin" and the 22nd best song of 2011 (according to triple j's Hottest 100 of 2011), "Air", but I enjoyed every song on here. This is a truly good release and a joy to listen to.

8/10

The Awesominator

Review: The Avengers

Possibly one the most awaited superhero films ever, 'The Avengers' finally hits our screens after seven years and five 'prequel' films.  Impossible as may seem director Joss Whedon has delivered a film that meets all expectations and sets the bar for superhero movies in the future.  'The Avengers' follows the story of villain Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his plight to bring the human race to its knees (Loki mightn't seem like a typical bad guy, but Hiddleston plays the part well and for all its worth).  In order to stop Loki and his plans, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) puts the previously scrapped "Avengers Initiative" into practice,bringing together the combined power of Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Dr Bruce Banner or the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.).  Where 'The Avengers' really shines is its ability to bring every superhero and their positives together and give everyone moment to shine, even S.H.E.L.D. agents Black Widow (Scarlett Johanssen)  and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) have some killer moments in the limelight.  Although each superhero had their drawbacks in their own movie, here they're all just forgotten about as the spotlight moves from one superhero to another before each of their weaknesses can show.  Also worth noting is Mark Ruffalo's fantastic debut as the Hulk, Ruffalo really nails the part and is a common audience favourite.  To summarize Whedon has fantastically blended all these complex characters into one of my favourite movies of the year so far.

Tomm

9/10

Review: The Naked and Famous - Passive Me, Aggressive You

'Passive Me, Aggressive You' is the debut album from indie rock outfit The Naked and Famous.  It made quite an impact upon its 2010 release with the lead single 'Young Blood' which is, quite a song.  It's songs like 'Young Blood', 'Punching In A Dream' (which sounds suspiciously similar to MGMT's 'Kids'), 'Girls Like You' and 'Jilted Lovers' that really make this record what it is. 'Eyes' is another good song that has quite a nice 80's vibe. The remainder of the songs are either alright or really quite bad.  The have either boring synth lines or harmonies that are in a word, annoying.  But just like most albums, you have to take the good with the bad and this one is predominantly good.

7.5/10

The Awesominator

Review: Captain America: The First Avenger

'Captain America: The First Avenger' focuses on the story of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a scrawny boy from 1942 America with a burning passion to serve his country.  After he is declined entry to the army many times, he is finally let in as he is to participate in the army's 'Super Soldier' Experiment. In the midst of all this, the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) is hiding out in Norway constructing a super weapon.  While this movie is enjoyable, it just didn't reach the heights I was expecting it to.  The acting all round is good, Chris Evans is a good fit for Cap, but going for over two hours it just seems to drag on a little.  While Captain America's special effects are dazzling, it just seems like there is a lot more brawn then brains on show here. As I said previously this movie is enjoyable, but it just can't help but feel like an extended trailer for the Avengers.

6/10

Tomm

Review: Jack White - Blunderbuss

After many years of waiting Jack white has finally released a solo album, now that the Dead Weather and The Raconteurs have both put out two LP's and the White Stripes are gone for good he has managed to find some time for himself.  White digs down to roots here with the record mainly taking on a bluesy feel, album opener 'Missing Pieces' kick things off to a good start.  The album's next track and thrashing second single 'Sixteen Saltines' sounds like something of a mix between the White Stripes and the Dead Weather. Other early songs of note include the bad ass riff heavy power of 'Freedom at 21' and the album's first single 'Love Interruption' which is a great twisted ballad.  There really is some fantastic piano on this record as well, it is used to great effect on songs like 'Hypocritical Kiss' and 'Trash Tongue Talker'.  Some of songs I didn't get into that much were 'Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy' and 'On and On and On' which is one of the slower, softer songs on the album.  All together though this really is a fantastic album, and a great way to start off Jack White's solo career.

9/10

Tomm

Review: Thor

Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), challenges his brothers ayre to the throne, and as punishment for his arrogance, is sent to Earth to live among the humans and loses his power. While on Earth, he falls in love with the scientist that found him, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Falling in love teaches him humility and gives him a new strength that he is required to use when an evil force is sent from his homeland of Asgard by his brother, Loki, who has taken over the throne and used it for his own evil purposes. I've always found Thor one of the more boring of Stan Lee's creations. He's just not as cool as the likes of Spiderman, Iron Man or Wolverine, and the movie keeps my opinion of the character as stable as ever. There are some fairly solid performances from Hopkins and Hemsworth, but Portman just doesn't make the impact you would expect. Thor just doesn't work as well as other "Marvel Studios" classics.

6/10

The Awesominator

Review: Skrillex - Bangarang EP

Skrillex is becoming ever more so popular, with his recent small swag of Grammy's for his previous EP, Scary monsters and nice Sprites,  and his new release, Bangarang, seeping into main-stream radio. At the moment, Skrillex is dominating "Dance music" and many of it's sub-genres, and it's not hard to see why. Bangarang seems to have a whole new feel to it. While many tracks do have the classic dirty basslines Skrillex is known for, there just seems to be a whole new...optimistic feel to it. Opening with the average "Right In" (the only song on the EP in which Skrillex has not collaborated with anyone), Bangarang goes onto some of his best work in "Bangarang" (featuring Sirah) and the surpringly "normal" sounding "Summit" featuring Ellie Goulding. There's the mediocre songs like "Breakn' a Sweat", in which Skrillex collabarates with Members of the Doors, and "Kyoto" featuring Sirah, and then there's those songs that you just can't wait to end.

Skrillex has succeeded in bringing us an alternative to and a new take on the ever-so-repetitive mainstream dance/electronic music. Bangarang is another solid and consistent performance from that side parted devil we call Skrillex.

7/10

The Awesominator

Review: Iron Man 2

The first Iron Man was released in 2008 to wide critical acclaim, for taking a somewhat different approach to the superhero genre, but mainly for Robert Downey Jr.'s performance and after that a sequel was inevitable.  With original director Jon Favreau at the helm, it is a much similar affair to the first movie, with Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) admitting to the world that he is Iron Man.  But not all is well at Stark Industries, for one Tony is now looking for a replacement core to use his arc reactor for his old one is poisoning him.  Tony also has physicist Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) plotting revenge against Stark Industries for the mistreatment of his father many years ago.  Along with all of that, the US government is on his back about turning the Iron Man suit  into them for use as a military weapon.  If you can keep track of all that until about halfway it will all start to come together as part of a bigger picture, with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) dropping in to tease us about the Avengers and more references to Marvel's other superheroes.  Robert Downey Jr. really does steal the show as Stark and the actors aren't bad ether.  The dialogue is smart and witty bar Stark's close friend Rhody (Don Cheadle) who truly does get some terrible lines.  But  altogether this is an enjoyable popcorn flick that is pretty much on par with the original.

7.5/10

Tomm

Review: The Shins - Port of Morrow

James Mercer's indie rock project The Shins haven't been around since their relatively successful 2007 album 'Wincing The Night Away', during that break Mercer teamed up with producer Danger Mouse for 'Broken Bells' which produced a great album and an EP,  But after five years The Shins are back with 'Port of Morrow'.  'Port of Morrow' opens with 'The Rifles Spiral' which is nice little doozy, it then leads into the album's great first single 'Simple Song' which is full of interesting lyrics and a terrific melody.  'It's Only Life' is a nice acoustic ballad, 'September' is very reminiscent of their breakthrough 2001 single 'New Slang' and 'No Way Down' is enjoyable but one of the album's less compelling songs.  The album's final and best song, the title track has a very laid back feel and could have easily been a Broken Bells song.  With 'Port of Morrow' against all odds The Shins have made a very triumphant and fun return to the music world, but also produced one of their best albums.

8/10

Tomm

Review: The Incredible Hulk

A military experiment aiming to create a "super soldier" goes horribly wrong and leaves the test subject, Bruce Banner, with a unique condition where, under emotional stress, he becomes the large green monster we all know, The Hulk. While on the run from the government and military, who are seeking his capture, Banner is searching for a cure. Upon becoming close to the cure, a terrifying creature with strength matching The Hulk's, The Abomination, makes himself known. Banner must summon the beast within to save New York City from total destruction.
The Incredible Hulk is actually a pretty good movie. The acting was pretty good and the special effects were also very nice. I think Edward Norton's depiction of Bruce Banner would beat Eric Bana's any day. I sure do look forward to the sequels to come (if they ever come).
The Hulk has always been one of my favourite comic book characters, with his brute strength and lack of sense and reason. I do like the wise-cracking, agile superheroes but Hulk was a welcome change. The Incredible Hulk will go down as one of those film's that was pretty good but everyone forgot about.

7.5/10

The Awesominator

Review: Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Bon Iver's first album 'For Emma, Forever Ago' was released to wide critical aclaim, it was just a man in a cabin pouring his heart and soul into an accoustic guitar.  Lead singer/songwriter Justin Vernon could have easily went down that path again, but in a strange move, he didn't.  His follow up self titled album is full of eary layered vocals and haunting soundscapes and a lot of it gels. Take the opening track 'Perth' it builds up beautfully to a thundering drum beat and a great horn section.  Some   Nearly every song on this album is evidence of the great songwriting talent this man possesses.  'Holocene' and 'Calgary' are two of the best songs of last year, and even songs like 'Minnesota, WI' that seem like filler at first serve their purpose as you gain a better understanding of them after every listen. One thing a lot of people will notice is how hard the layered vocals are to understand and if people really want to get to the root of what Vernon is singing about they will have to resort to lyric finders on the internet, though that is just a small gripe to have seeing as you will just get absorbed in this album, forgetting about everything except the wonderfull msic at hand.  On this album Bon Iver really have reinvented themselves and grown out of the indie folk shell they blossomed in, it was a daring move but if you put time into this album and give it a few listens it will pay off.

9/10

Tomm

Review: Iron Man

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr.) is a genius. He is the head of Stark Industries, a military weaponry company inherited by his father. While taking a trip to Afghanistan to witness the demonstration of a new weapon, Stark is wounded and captured during an attack. A fellow captive builds an electromagnet, powered by an electric generator called the Arc Reactor, to keep the shrapnel in his chest away from his heart. They capture Stark in order for him to build the terrorists a Jericho missile, which by doing so he will apparently earn his freedom. He escapes using a suit of armour he and the other captive secretly built. Upon his return, Stark announces that Stark Industries will no longer manufacture weapons. In his workshop he begins construction on an improved version of the suit he escaped in, and a more powerful Arc Reactor. He discovers that his father's old business partner and second in command, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), has been selling the terrorist group weapons. He returns to Afghanistan to take down the terrorists and stop Obadiah Stane from taking over Stark Industries.

Iron Man really is a good movie. Robert Downey Jnr. plays a really good rich playboy turned superhero and, as usual, everything Jeff Bridges touches turns to gold. There are also some really good supporting roles from Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard as Starks two good friends. The special effects are also spectacular. Of course, there are little niggly flaws, but that's the case in most movies. Iron Man introduced a whole new audience to the superhero and probably helped overtake Spiderman as Marvel's most liked superhero.

8/10

The Awesominator

Superhero Movies of 2012

2012 is set to be a big year for superhero movies, with the releases of three of the biggest superhero movies yet, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spiderman. These three movies all have preceding movies, whether they be in the same series or not. Critical Euphoria are going to do some superhero specials, reviewing all of the movies setting the scene for these three*. The first of these three movies to be released is The Avengers (25 April), therefore we will review the five movies leading up to The Avengers in order of release, but don't worry we will still keep up our music reviews.

*In the case of The Amazing Spiderman, we will review the Sam Raimi series.

Review: Various Artists - ReWiggled: Tribute to The Wiggles

I have always had a special respect for the Wiggles. To think that an '80s rock band that never really made it as much as some could turn into children's entertainment band is just awesome. So when I heard that there was going to be a Wiggles tribute album, I just couldn't wait. With Aussie bands like Bluejuice, Architecture in Helsinki, Frenzal Rhomb, Spiderbait and The Living End, excitement was an inevitability. Bands like Architecture in Helsinki are more suited for the record, with their former experience with whistles and other fun sounding instruments, but others like Frenzal Rhomb put a real spin on the classic songs we all know and love. The stand-out songs on here are The Living End's Rockabilly "Hot Potato", "Wiggly Party" done in true Architecture in Helsinki style and a welcome change to a harder "Captain's Magic Buttons" from Frenzal Rhomb. But a real standout to me on this compilation was "Getting Strong!" done by Jebediah. I'm not really a Jebediah fan but they really did well with this song. Steve Lane and the Autocrats made an awesome distorted guitar riff out of "Fruit Salad". But the album is full of covers that just don't work: when I heard Bluejuice were doing a song, I was expecting an fun party song but I got a slow, acoustic Latin-esque waste of time. Spiderbait had a female singer and some of the others just weren't on the spot. And I was very disappointed to see that my favourite Wiggles song, "Rolling Down the Sandhill" didn't get covered. Anyway, this is quite an enjoyable compilation of some great bands covering some great songs.

7.5/10

The Awesominator

Review: Napoleon Dynamite

Depending on who you ask, Jared Hess' 2004 comedy 'Napoleon Dynamite' was either hilarious or agonizing and I tend to agree with the former. The movies's story follow high schooler Napoleon (played hilariously by John Heder) throughout part of one of his school years. The movie starts with Napoleon finding out his grandmother has been put in hospital due to an accident while dune buggying and he has to be looked after by his weird uncle of which he very much so dislikes.  What follows is a very funny series of events that start with Napoleon meeting Pedro, a foreign student and deciding he should run for school president.  The plot pretty well based around Pedro's run for presidency, but most of the laughs come from Napoleon's terrible social skills and his off beat brother.  Not everyone will enjoy this movie, but if you do love the humor you'll find this movie a delight.

8/10

Tomm

Review: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Holocaust. A horific moment is the history of humanity. A time of death, despair and fear. Plus, it's a great topic for a movie.

Bruno (played by one of the greatest child actors of our time, Asa Butterfield) is the son of a Shutzstaffel officer whose family move from Berlin where his father, Ralf, is promoted to Commandant of a Nazi concentration camp. Bruno is told to keep away from the camp, from which he lives only a couple of miles, a rule that he disobeys. He befriends a young Jew named Shmuel through the barbed wire fence of the concentration camp. They meet there every day where Bruno brings his friend food and games to play through the fence. After building a strong friendship, Shmuel asks for Bruno's help in a plan to find his lost father inside the camp.

 Mark Herman has done a beautiful job bringing this book to the big screens. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is one of the best Holocaust films you could choose to see and the friendship between Bruno and Shmuel just shows you that nothing can stop friendship. An great movie.

9/10

The Awesominator

Review: Bluejuice - Company

I wasn't particularly excited anout Bluejuice's third record.  Don't get me wrong Jake and Stav from the band are hilarious and seem like nice people, but their songs are quite samey and struggle to have any real lasting impact.  Although 'Act Yr Age' is a good party starter and fun song but it just seems Bluejuice's whole aim was just to recreate those fun pop vibes.  Some of the better songs on 'Company' are 'The Recession' , 'Shock' and 'On My own', less memorable songs are 'You Haven't Changed', 'Aspen, New York' and 'Kindaevil' sounds like it came right out of a crappy nightclub. Bluejuice are like an iPhone game, fun to pick up and play occasionally but if you binge on them for too long you will cringe at the sight of them for the next few months.  Nothing is wrong with an upbeat pop song and these guys have nearly got it mastered.  If you aren't looking for much mental stimulation and just a bit of fun 'Company' will do you well.

7/10

Tomm

Review: Transformers

Hasbro's classic battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons had a cinematic reboot with the release of Transformers in 2007. The Transformers' home planet of Cybertron is destroyed by a war that broke out between the Autobots and the Decepticons, who once lived in peace. Both sides are looking for the All Spark, the Autobots to end the war and rebuild Cybertron, and the Decepticons to destroy the Autobots and take over the universe. The war is taken to Earth, where a highschool student named Sam WitWicky holds the coordinates to the All Spark without knowing (the coordinates are microscopically engraved into his great-great grandfather's glasses). Sam buys a Camaro (Bumblebee) and Bumblebee leads the Autobots to Sam and he helps tham find the All Spark.
Transformers is visually great. The use of CGI is perfect. The story is not too bad and the acting also not too bad. So all-in-all, this is a movie that isn't great but it is worth seeing.

7/10

The Awesominator

Review: Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

In 2010 American duo Sleigh Bells had created a new sound with their debut 'Treats' that consisted of Alexis Krauss' sweet teen pop vocals over Derek Miller's thrashing heavy metal guitar riffs, and their follow up 'Reign of Terror' builds on that.  Sophomore albums can be hard to pull off, but I think Sleigh Bell's may have done it, although a lot of territory they covered on their debut is present 'Reign of Terror' still sounds quite fresh.  It opens with 'True Shred Guitar' a nice little live intro to the beast of an album that follows.  It is not all the same here Sleigh Bells do delve into some new territory like the power waltz 'End of the Line', another of my picks would be 'Demons' which is probably one of the heavier things Sleigh Bells has ever created. Some of my other highlights were the singles 'Born To Lose' and 'Comeback Kid'.  But If Sleigh Bells are still to remain relevant for their third album they probably should try and do something different, maybe even getting a real drummer instead of a machine.  Although most of 'Reign of Terror' is familiar territory  it's still very fun noise-pop.

7.5/10

Tomm

Review: M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

M83 spawn across many almost unheard of genres, including Electropop, Indietronica, Dream Pop and Shoegaze. Honeslty, I have no idea what some of these mean, but they've got to be good because Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is absolutely outstanding.
M83 never really impacted the music scene until the release of Midnight City, in my opinion the best song of the year, and coming in No. 5 spot in triple j's Hottest 100. They followed the single with this album, a piece of synth-y awesomeness.
Opening with the appropriately named Intro, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming takes you on a mystical journey with some of the best songs of the year, in the forms of Midnight City, Steve Macqueen and Reunion. I will admit, Anthony Gonzalez' bold vocals can get a bit irritating, but the rest of the instrumentals cover it up perfectly. And how can I go past the sax solo in Midnight City... What a song.
Somehow, M83 has the ability to make me want to dance... and I hate dancing.

9/10

The Awesominator

Review: The Descendants

The Descendants has been getting a lot of award nods of late and I think it deserves.  Alexander Payne's new film is a very likable one, It follows the story of Matt King (George Clooney) and all of his family woes.  It starts off with his wife falling into a coma and him having to step up and look after the kids. On top of all this he has to decide what to do with the family estate in Hawaii.  All of this creates great tension between him and kids and him and his relatives. Seeing as it is shot in Hawaii, the scenery is just breathtaking and the Hawaiian music was a nice touch as well.  The acting is very good all round especially from Amara Miller who plays Matt's youngest foul mouthed daughter. All in all this movie is great.

8/10

Tomm

Review: Black Sabbath - Paranoid

I was lucky enough to hear Paranoid on vinyl ... what a treat. Only Back Sabbath's second LP and they couldn't get this more right.
Paranoid opens with "War Pigs" and continues on with argueably some of the best metal music created. With heavy, distorted guitar riffs, disturbed lyrics sung by a disturbed lead singer (what all heavy metal bands are missing these days), this album is the epitome of Metal music. With songs such as "War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Iron Man" and I also like "Planet Caravan", which has a very psychadelic feel which I just loved. Classic 70s Metal that just can't be beaten.

9/10

The Awesominator

Review: The Muppets

The Muppets is the long awaited reboot of the popular children's TV show of the same name.  I think James Bobin (best known for Flight of the Conchords) has done very well in his feature debut. It follows the story of Walter and his quest to be a muppet. After a rather funny intro Walter, his brother James (Jason Segel) and his girlfriend (Amy Adams) head off to LA. But when Walter finds out the Muppet's Studio is going to be demolished by an evil oil baron (Chris Cooper) he finds Kermit and they go on a quest to reunite the Muppets, save the studio and make as many self referential jokes as possible.  Although the story isn't that creative, that isn't what the Muppets are about.  They're about going back to your early childhood memories and reliving what is great. Most of the cameos are good and Bret McKenzie has done a great job with the music.

8/10

Tomm

Review: Boy & Bear - Moonfire

Moonfire is Sydney five-piece Boy & Bear's debut LP and won five of the seven ARIAs it was nominated for, including Group of the Year and Album of the Year. It opens strongly, with numbers such as Lordy May, Feeding Line (which came number four spot in triple j's Hottest 100 of 2012) and Milk & Sticks. But it really drops quality from there. Not that the songs are terrible, they just don't follow the strong opening through. But I did like the rocking they did in Big Man, which is about the heaviest they ever got. Moonfire also came in number 3 spot in triple j Album Poll of 2011.
A lot of the songs also have the same feeling to me. It's not a bad album, but I think there were more places to go then where they went.

6.5/10

The Awesominator

Review: The Black Keys - El Camino

'El Camino' is The Black Key's wonderful seventh album. Hip hop mistro Danger Mouse is back producing and it is for the better, he produced their fifth album 'Attack & Release' and gave it a bit of an arty tinge. As with every Black Key's album 'El Camino' is full of awesome blues rock jams. It opens with the great first single 'Lonely Boy', and follows on with the not as great but still good 'Dead & Gone'. One of my highlights in this album was the future single 'Gold On The Ceiling' which is full of fuzzy guitars and and a sweet as organ riff. Another album highlight would be 'Little Black Submarines' which goes from a soft acoustic ballad to thrashing guitar halfway through and you'd swear Jimmy Page wrote it. Though the second half of the album is a little bit weaker it is still thoroughly enjoyable with songs like 'Sister', 'Stop Stop' and 'Nova Baby', along with many others. 'El Camino' would have to be one of my favourite albums of 2011. It's great driving music and every song is worth listening to.

8.5/10

Tomm

Review: Hugo

I will admit, I didn't have the highest expectations for Hugo, but these expectations were definitely exceeded. Hugo follows Hugo Cabret (played perfectly by Asa Butterfield), a 13-year-old orphan living in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. He owns an automaton, or a mechanical man, that is supposed to write with a pen. His father, a master clockmaker, found it in an old museum. His father had taught Hugo about clockmaking and they were fixing the automaton before Hugo's father died. Hugo went to live with his alcaholic uncle, who maintains the clocks in the train station. After his uncle leaves, Hugo is left to keep the clocks running, all the while stealing food to survive and parts for his automaton from a toy store without getting caught by the station inspector (played nicely by Sacha Baron Cohen). He makes friends with girl who also romes the station, but happens to be the god-daughter of the toy maker (Another great performance by Ben Kingsley). Together they uncover many secrets to the toy makers past and a link between the toy maker and Hugo's father.
Hugo is directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese, who won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director for Hugo. He really has done well with this. There is the odd innacuracy in this film that I won't go into, but it doesn't pull the quality down one bit. Also a must see in 3D.
Great visuals, great acting, great story...Great movie.

8.5/10

The Awesominator

Review: Foster the People - Torches

Foster the People have followed up their huge hit single "Pumped Up Kicks" with their debut album, Torches, and the rest of the album really follows suit. It's full of psychadelic, poppy tunes with heaps of synth, bass and some nice, strong beats. "Pumped Up Kicks", "Houdini" and "Miss You" are the best on the album, but in saying that, there really isn't a bad song on there. There a few songs, such as "Life on the Nickel", "Call It What You Want", "Don't Stop (Colour on the Walls)" and "Waste" that do have, for lack of a better word, awkward introductions, but these develop into some really catchy and original tunes. Foster the People have really done well in writing this record and bringing us one of the best albums of the year.

8.5/10

The Awesominator

Review: The Adventures of Tintin

When I went to see Tintin I had high hopes, you'd have to looking a the people behind  it (Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Edgar Wright, among many others). Those expectations were definitely met. From the moment you step into this world you know it's going to be something special.  The opening titles are great, they follow Tintin and Snowy around through some of their previous adventures in silhouette backed by a great theme from the master, John Williams. After the delightful intro we get into the story, when Tintin purchases a model ship things start to turn pear shaped as he finds out that the ship has the secret to finding a lot of treasure. Along the way Tintin meets Captain Haddock (Played very well by Andy Serkis) and they develop a friendship.  Haddock is where a lot of the laughs come from and most of them are hilarious. One of the only gripes I have with this movie is the way Tintin looks but I certainly get over that once the story pulled me in. All of the voice acting is great and level of detail amazing. Spielberg and Jackson have definitely pulled it off.

9/10

Tomm