The Revenant (2016)

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The Revenant’s gruelling shoot is already crossing over into Hollywood myth and legend. It endured everything from freezing temperatures to an unusual lack of snow in Canada and saw more than one crew member either walk off the set or be fired. All to bring us the story of Hugh Glass, (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is buried alive and left for dead by his fellow trappers after he is attacked by a grizzly bear. Somehow he survives to pull himself out of his grave and give chase, seeking revenge on those that have wronged him. So the question is, was it all worth it?

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15/01/2016 0

Room (2016)

There are minor spoilers for Room in this review, although they are all revealed in the trailer. If you want to know nothing, you should probably stop here. It’s brilliant, go see it.

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To call Room harrowing is the mother of all understatements. At the start of the film, we find Brie Larson’s Ma living in a garden shed barely bigger than a closet, imprisoned by ‘Old Nick’ who kidnapped her seven years previously. In that time, she has grown to be dependent on him and has also had his child, Jack, who is now five years old. Despite the circumstances of his birth, she has grown fiercely protective of him, letting Nick nowhere near him and raising him best she can in their horrifying circumstances.

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13/01/2016 0

David Bowie and Searching for Heroes

If I am being perfectly honest, I can’t call myself a David Bowie fan. The sole Bowie album in my collection is a Greatest Hits compilation and while it is a pretty comprehensive one, I doubt it does him justice. However, love of his music or not, I had a lot of respect for the man and while I may not have had the personal reaction to his passing that I did to someone like Lemmy, it was still a sad day for music.

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12/01/2016 0

The Danish Girl (2016)

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The Danish Girl marks the second year in a row that Eddie Redmayne has been caught up in all that award’s business due to a transformative performance. While last year’s Theory of Everything saw him playing Stephen Hawking, The Danish Girl has him step into the life of Einar Wegener, who went on to be known as Lili, after she became the first person to undergo gender reassignment surgery.

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11/01/2016 0

Guns N’ Roses

The first time I heard the stomp of ‘Paradise City’ was the moment I thought this rock and roll stuff might be for me. It was a long walk round to cementing that opinion, with a little detour through emo, but it turned out to be a good assumption and the rest of my life was shaped. Yet, for the last few years, I have not given a shit about Guns ‘N’ Roses. I have no time for Axl’s crap and while I still listen to the music, Chinese Democracy being the obvious exception because who can be arsed, the idea of them as a live entity held nothing for me. Because again, who can be arsed?

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06/01/2016 0

Joy (2016)

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David O. Russell, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert D’Niro. Every year seems to bring us a new collaboration from this particular foursome and this one is no different as Joy comes along right on time. While last year’s American Hustle was a great example of style over substance, this story dedicated to ‘daring women everywhere’ will be looking to capture the public’s imagination.

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05/01/2016 0

Top 20 Albums of the Year

Today I am going to tell you my top twenty albums of the year, but before I get to that I think it would be remiss of me to not mention the death of Lemmy Kilmister. There are going to be a thousand people writing a thousand words about Lemmy over the next few days. Most of whom are in a better place to do so than me. However, for my two pence, the man was rock and roll. Few have lived as fast and as loud as Lemmy and none of them have done it until the age of 70. His blend of punk rock attitude with rock and roll has been influential on everyone who likes to play loud and he will he be missed. In tribute today, I suggest you play your music a lot louder and live life just that little bit wilder. Anyway, on with the show.

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29/12/2015 0

Top Ten Films of the Year

2015 has been an interesting year for film. It feels like every second week we have been handed another huge blockbuster, set to make more money than God. While some have been great just as many have failed. Even more importantly, independent cinema continues to show it is just as good as the big budget stuff, with great films coming from all manner of sources. With that in mind, here are my top ten films of the year.

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28/12/2015 0

Top 3 Games of the Year

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We are hitting that time of year again when I, and many others, decide to tell folk their favourite things of the year. Whether you care or not. To kick off this festive season here are my top 3 games. As usual, I haven’t played everything and it is all my opinion, so while you can feel free to tell me I’m wrong, don’t expect me to care about it.

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23/12/2015 0

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

When Disney purchased the rights to Star Wars there was, well, a shitload of emotion. From those loudly proclaiming Star Wars was crap anyway to fans who were terrified that the big mouse was going to ruin the films that they held so dear. In among all that chaos, one thing became certain. It was back and was in the process of setting up a film universe to rival Marvel’s current behemoth (another Disney franchise).

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21/12/2015 1