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