Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
Testament of Youth is based on the First World War memoir of the same name, which was written by Vera Brittain. The novel has been widely proclaimed as a classic, as it represented the one female voice among a plethora of males ones looking at the war. It has previously been presented as a TV production, but this is the first time it has made its way to the big screen, under the direction of James Kent.
Making the leap into the directorial chair has scuppered many respected figures within the film industry. Last year, Wally Pfister made the transition from cinematographer to director with Transcendence, a science fiction film that was universally panned. This year, we see Alex Garland, the writer of films like 28 Days Later and Sunshine, make a similar jump with his debut directorial feature, Ex Machina.
Being Marilyn Manson must be weird. I mean you only have to look at a picture of the bloke to figure that out. Throw in the countless rumours, which have swirled around him since he burst onto the music scene (I’m pretty sure he still has all his ribs), a love of absinthe and an image that is part Voldemort and you end up with a musician whose world probably resembles The Nightmare Before Christmas. Yet that is not even the half of it, because this is also a man who has given us one hell of a collection of music since the release of his debut, Portrait of an American Family, in 1994.
Last year the WWE had Batista win the Royal Rumble and we saw a crowd turn on the WWE. A year on and nearly everyone, myself included, thought WWE could not make the same mistake again. Sometimes, the most obvious story is the best one and last night the most obvious, and best, storyline, was to have Daniel Bryan win the Royal Rumble. Yet, once again, WWE went with their idea of the perfect superstar and a crowd turned on the product.
The Royal Rumble is most wrestling fans favourite PPV of the year. Screw ‘Mania, although we tend to love that too, the Rumble is where it is at. While we have had disappointing Rumbles over the years, it is fair to say it very rarely fails to deliver at least couple of fun moments and it also sets us on the ‘Road to Wrestlemania’. We get to know who will be competing for the big one on the ‘Grandest Stage of Them All’. I can’t think of anymore WWE buzzwords to throw in now, so lets just get onto some of my predictions.
At this early stage of the year, I don’t think it’s a stretch to call American Sniper the most controversial film released so far. It is yet another one based off of a book, this time the autobiography of Chris Kyle, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US History. A title that should probably flash a big red blinking light in the direction of where this film could go wrong.
It would be easy to dismiss Wild by its trailer. It looks like the latest in a long line of self-help films. Movies like Eat, Pray, Vomit, which hide behind some faux spiritualism and in reality are just a load of old shite. Yet, within minutes of this film starting you are quickly stripped of that feeling. As Reese Witherspoon, portraying Cheryl Strayed, pulls the nail off of her big toe, there was an audible gasp around the cinema I was in. For the faint of heart this is not.
After the usual quiet start to the year, the music is starting to flow out again. Big hitters like Marilyn Manson and Fall Out Boy have already dropped new albums and as usual there is a whole new world of music to find out there. One of these new bands, at least for myself, is The Last Ten Seconds of Life who hail from Mansfield, Pennsylvania.
Continue reading “The Last Ten Seconds of Life – Soulless Hymns”
I can’t claim to know much about jazz. In fact, I can barely claim to know anything about it. While I have some fleeting knowledge of most musical genres, jazz continues to be a mystery to me. I also doubt I’m alone in that. Jazz isn’t a genre that gets much love in the here and now. However, no one, and I mean no one, should allow that to stop them going to see Whiplash.
It has become accepted that Slipknot can fill venues like the Hydro. However, when you sit down and think about it, that fact is insane. 9 masked men wearing boiler suits and playing pretty extreme metal, should not be coming close to filling places like this. Yet, here we are.
Continue reading “Live Review: Slipknot w/ Korn and King 810”
Ramblings About Wrestling 