Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
The first time I saw Bring Me the Horizon they were supporting Machine Head and were treated with something just a bit short of disdain. Yet those snotty punks gave as good as they got and that got my attention. In the years since a lot has changed and as they walked onto stage at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange it was clear that this crowd adores them.
Continue reading “Bring Me the Horizon w/ Neck Deep and PVRIS, Edinburgh Corn Exchange”
Making a film about the recently deceased can be difficult. It can easily descend into a cynical cash grab, taking advantage of people’s sudden need to honour a dead person they didn’t care about much when they were alive. These biopics are often long, dull and sentimental as they desperately spread their legs towards the Oscars in an attempt to gain critical acclaim. Steve Jobs somehow manages to dodge this problem. Directed by Danny Boyle and scripted by Aaron Sorkin it avoids the clichés of the biopic genre and creates something genuinely interesting.
The Hunger Games franchise has been a revelation for young-adult cinema. Dark and intelligent, it has taken issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and propaganda and put them on-screen for millions of teenagers around the world. It’s also proven for any idiots out there that still believe otherwise, that a female character can lead an action series and still make shitloads of money. With The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, that all comes to an end, as we find out whether Francis Lawrence can overcome the weakest book in the series to give us a satisfying conclusion.
Continue reading “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)”
Putting two people in a cabin, dropping them into the woods and then turning it into a film worth seeing in 2015 is a hard job. The cabin in the wood genre has been done to death and unless you are offering up a comic or intelligent alternative, the odds are any attempt to get it out there will end up dropping straight onto DVD. The Hallow is far too good for such a fate. Directed by first-time director and horror fanatic Corin Hardy, it is a creepy monster film that points towards one hell of future.
The Lady in the Van is an unusual film. On one hand, it’s a warm, funny and very British film that will make you laugh and leave you with a smile on your face. On the other, it’s a slightly darker affair. Stuffed with self-reflection and an annoying central character. Sadly, director Nicholas Hytner struggles to have the two co-exist.
My musical education took off when I discovered the Metal Hammer Podcast. It was the show that kindled my love of hardcore and introduced me to a whole host of bands that I still love today. When it ended, I was genuinely gutted. It was a weekly insight into heavy music provided by a group of guys who knew what they were talking about. Therefore, I was rather chuffed when Terry Bezer and Stephen Hill, who were both on the aforementioned podcast, started That’s Not Metal. A new podcast which is looking to fill the gap the death of that show left in my life.
Brooklyn’s trailer would have you believe it was a po-faced drama. The kind of weepy period piece that we see come in and out of cinemas several times a year and are perfectly acceptable to people that are into that kind of thing, but to most are something that can be safely ignored. Sadly, that depiction has probably robbed a lot of people from seeing a wonderful piece of cinema.
It all starts so well. Spectre‘s opening set piece, set in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead had been much hyped before its release and there is a reason for that. The long tracking shot that kicks things off, followed by a brief fire-fight and a chase through the crowded streets. Finally, Bond and his enemy battle it out in a tumbling helicopter high above the screaming crowds below. It’s gorgeously realised and seems to set Spectre up for one hell of a showing. Sadly, that doesn’t prove to be the case.
There’s a common misconception that Skindred are purely a live band. While there is no denying that you haven’t truly experienced Skindred until you have seen them live. It does hide the fact that they have one hell of a back catalogue. While their last album, Kill the Power, seemed to be an attempt to shoot for the stars and may have failed (although I personally quite liked it) their discography to that point had been near flawless. Joining those lofty standards is Volume and it’s unsurprisingly brilliant.
The day after Terry Pratchett death wrote about the effect a man I had never met had on my life. I also made a decision, I decided to go back and read every single Discworld book. It could be argued reading them in order of publication is not the best way to do it, but it is what I decided to do. Nearly eight months later I, this morning, finished The Shepherd’s Crown, his final work and the one which will end the Discworld series. 41 books later and I’m honestly not sure what I will read next but before I make that decision I want to talk about these books.
Ramblings About Wrestling 