Catching Fire: Film Review

Having read the first two novels in The Hunger Games trilogy prior to the first motion picture being released, I had high hopes for the overwhelmingly anticipated sequel. 

With the assistance of author Suzanne Collins, the producers, screenwriters and many, many others in the creative team kept the gripping story of Catching Fire as true to the book as any fan could hope for. 

Despite the minor alterations fans quickly noticed in the first installment of the franchise, this second edition to the series pulled even harder on the heart strings that Suzanne's writing took hold of. With pumped-up CGI effects and the complexity of the all-new gaming arena, amercing audiences in the reality of Katniss' situation, we feel the pain of a repeat-reaping and the determination any person would go to to save the people they love. 

In a sense, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire teaches us and the younger generations life lessons about love and hope -- if you ignore the means to achieving these goals in the form of a bow and arrow. 

One of the most overwhelming features of the sequel shows itself in Elizabeth Banks' character development of Effie Trinket; wild-haired wonder who, in the first film, embodies everything we were made to hate about the Capitol.

Banks' portrayal of her connection with 'her' victors, Katniss and Peeta, shows the real brutalty of these games and the message that this year's tributes stand for. Effie's character has witnessed countless reapings and deaths of Panem civilians, but only now, when Peeta and Katniss must repeat the ordeal they were subject to only one year prior, do we see the mask she hides behind as a member of the Capitol elite. 

The elaborate nature of the Quater Quell's arena made for all-the-more intriguing viewing -- each "timed" scenario and death scene was handled with a touch more elegance than the brutality of the young killers in The Hunger Games. Knowing that these victors sacrificed their own well being for our much loved protagonists warned hearts across throughout the cinema. 

As a dramatic finale unveils the fate of District 12, we are left hanging from our seats, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the penultimate movie -- Mockinjay (Part 1.) With cutting edge technology and tear-jerking moments around every corner, Catching Fire is an unmissable sequel, arguably raising the bar on it's predesecor.

Kingsland Road X Factor Performance Review 26/10/13

As an almost-18-year old Briton, I have spent over half my years on this Earth watching the infamous X Factor on my Saturday nights; this year being no exception. 

As a huge fan of boybands, (what can I say?) I was quickly intrigued to see how they would fair with the likes of One Direction, JLS, and other international successes of the show. 

In the beginning, the common critique was how their synchronised dance moves may overshadow their slightly "weaker" vocals in comparison to their competitors. After being put through to the live shows earlier this month, they have proved to everyone that this is not a title they wish to live up to, and have come out fighting harder each week. 

This week's theme was Movies, and what better way to escalate their popularity with a classic 80s number? 

Kingsland Road took to the stage to perform "(Oh,) Pretty Woman" from the iconic Hollywood hit. 

While at first sceptical of where the upbeat performance might effect their vocals, they pleasantly surprised their star-studded audience; where previous winners Little Mix expressed their fondness towards the boys. 

 

With their hairspray out in full force, their vocals were stronger and their dance moves were slicker. And that gravity defying hair of theirs didn't move an inch. 

I was thouroughly impressed with their improvement, and can't wait to see how the next weeks unfold for the five piece. 

The Day of the Dome : Under The Dome Review (so far)

Over the years we have witnessed many a sensational Stephen King adaption grace our screens, both big and small, and this is no exception for Under The Dome. Teamed up with iconic Directer/Producer mastermind Stephen Spielberg, Under The Dome hit US television screens earlier this year, and quickly moved over to the UK following its state-side success.

Over the last 2 months here in England, the compelling story-line had me hanging off my seat as I eagerly anticipated the roll of the credits each week, and as the season finale edges ever closer, I'm still none-the-wiser on how this suspenseful drama will conclude.

In the normal American town of Chesters Mill nothing out of the ordinary occurred, until the Day of the Dome. With no warning at all a transparent dome, miles in width, hits the town and cutting them off from the outside world, only the local radio station receiving cryptic radio frequencies from the US Army.
As resources start to run scarce, money is no longer the relevant payment for necessities such as water or medication - shop owners demand extra propane and batteries to charge the electricity in their own home.

Throughout the weeks, focus shifts from character to character, with the main basis being the characters Joe McAlister, and Norrie, an outsider who was unexpectedly caught within Chesters Mill with her mothers on the day the dome rocked the town. Both teenagers experience seizure-like episodes, repeating the exact same words, that "pink stars are falling (...) in lines." It becomes evident as the weeks progress that the dome itself seems to be channeling them, as they begin to give off interference frequencies to the radio and are hunted down by journalist Julia.

Joe and Norrie even manage to find the center of the dome, where a dark egg sits amongst fallen lives and it's own miniature dome. When touched with both hands, an apparition of a member of the town appears (Norrie's mother Alice appears and seems to be a distressed call out to her daughter; she runs home immediately sensing danger.)
Drama strikes again as Alice begins to run out of insulin after delivering a local pregnant woman's baby, named Alice after the woman who delivered her. Poetic, right? Until she becomes fatally ill and loses her life in the night, with her wife and daughter by her side. One Alice for another. Even more poetic.

Julia later discovers the egg after Joe mentions it mid-conversation by mistake. She places her hand on the dome and sees an apparition of Joe stating that "the monarch will be crowned," a phrase that circulates throughout the entire episode which ends in a final shot of Joe's sister Angie's (monarch) butterfly tattoo. This creates many narrative enigmas which reflect previous subtle shots of butterflies throughout the series - we begin to realise the significance but still no sign of what they might mean.

Last week's episode which aired on October 14th showed Angie McAlister sharing the same seizures as Joe and Norrie do, stating that "pink stars are falling," which proves significant later in the episode. As it ends, the 3 of them find the miniature dome and egg and all place their hands on-top as if they are "keys" to the answer. The camera zooms out and shows a fourth and final empty handprint, with no clue as to who could fit the lock so to speak.

With only a handful of episodes until the season finale, there are still so many questions rattling in the minds of viewers, which plea to be answered. Who will be the final "key"? How will Angie's relevance to the "monarch" fair in the end? Will we be left on a cliffhanger leading on to the rumoured second season?
Tune in on Mondays at 10pm (GMT) on Channel 5; you'll be shocked, shouting but begging for more.

Insidious 2: Review (no spoilers)

As a huge fan of a good scare fest, I jumped at the chance to see my favourite pair team up for a much-anticipated sequel - Inisdious 2 - on Friday the 13th. 

James Wan and Leigh Whannell found huge success when they teamed up for the smash hit Saw, which proved revolutionary in terms of the storylines in the horror genre; keeping you guessing until the final music plays. 

In 2010 the pair set out on yet another promising project - Insidious. Again, the movie kept twisting and turning until the credits rolled. With the ending finding the family in a deeply rooted cliffhanger, a sequel wasn't even an option, it was a necessity. No more than 3 years later, and picking up from only moments after we left the original movie, we find ourselves back in the Lambert family's home where the same unwelcome entities are taunting and tearing at the very fabric of what is left of Renai's sanity. 

Without giving away the very twists that make the Writer-Director pairing so intriguing to see working together, I can honestly name this one of the most well-planned, and well-executed sequels for a long time. And with a name so haunting it had to live up to its prequel, it definitely did its duty. 

Patrick Wilson, who plays broken and 'possessed' Josh Lambert, portrayed some groundbreaking and utterly haunting acting in a horror movie, that is incredibly difficult to find in such a genre. 

Now You See Me : Film Review

Just last month I was at my local cinema waiting to watch a wonderful Robert DeNiro and saw an advert for a intriguing new piece of film called Now You See Me.  I'd been interested in the concept and practically counted down the days until it finally hit UK cinemas, and finally my time came to see it. 

With one of the largest star-studded cast, stars such as Michael Caine, Jesse Eisenberg of The Social Network fame, budding newcomer Dave Franco, the timeless Morgan Freeman, and various other wonderful cast members, all took to the stage upon the screen to perform one of the greatest cinematic illusions I've ever seen. 

Set across 3 different US states to perform 3 different tricks, The Four Horsemen magicians take Las Vegas and the authorities by storm with deceit and slide of hand, to perform a bank robbery 5000 miles away in Paris, rewarding their personally chosen audience members with the money. 3 million Euro of it. 

With Hulk star Mark Ruffalo on their case as an FBI detective, we follow the story through both sides of the magic; the disbelief and the detailed planning. 

Each scene pulled a new twist from up their sleeves and pushed me back into my belief in magic.. where the magic itself is believing. The final twist concluded what I felt throughout the full 2 hours, that this is truly glorious, gripping, and utterly groundbreaking. 

Film Review : The Purge

For a long time now I've been haunted by The Purge's intriguing concept and dramatic trailer, and finally decided myself to give it a try, after a lot of mixed views on the film.

As an absolute fanatic for a twisting plot in the horror genre I really picked up on this unique storyline and became really interested - I'm not one for needless gore in a film, it's got to keep me gripped. For me, The Purge accomplished this at various times throughout the film; I was invested in thinking "what would I do?"

With the Sandin family on lockdown for the annual Purge, a night of terror and destruction to "cleanse" the community and "sacrifice" its members, we witness the unfolding events as their young son Charlie shows compassion to a wounded outsider, releasing the bolts from the doors and allowing him shelter. Rhys Wakefield portrays the sinister smiler; a leader of a pro-purge group, seeking the sacrifice of the sheltered homeless man the family unconsciously helped. His calm nature makes him only the more terrifying in his quest to hunt down the inhabitants of the Sandin home; threatening and taking action against any and all that get in his way.

While I enjoyed the acting within the film, the anti-climactic nature of many scenes seemed too obvious for such a unique concept; surely with such a twist in film-making, there should be an equal twist in the end to leave us feeling shocked and in awe of such a ground-breaking piece. Let's be honest here; in a film where violence and murder is legal, raise your hand if you think at least 3 characters are going to be violently killed? Well then, you'd be right.
While I believed in the idea of the story, I wasn't sure where it could be taken creatively, and in that sense, I don't think it succeeded in surprising me; I expected violence, death and destruction, but there was no depth to the characters, and witnessing their downfall did not grab at my heartstrings or shock me at all.

The ending to The Purge not only allowed a sense of closure to the evening's events, we are also left hanging in the suspense of a sequel. How will the homeless hostage fair in the next annual Purge as he walks off into the sunrise? Will the Sandin family finally break and themselves Purge? Many unanswered questions are left in the balance with the closing scene, and despite various negative parts, I hope to see them resolved in a second production.

Capital Summertime Ball 2013: Overview / Review

As the many listeners of Capital FM's regular shows on the radio will be aware, their annual Summertime Ball was in full-swing on Sunday June 9th. With me in the golden circle I was up-close and personal with the likes of host and surprise performer Justin Timberlake, Olly Murs, and personal favourites and breakthrough artists of the year; Lawson.

The event began at 4pm with Marvin Humes of JLS completing a full DJ set to get the crowd hyped up with all the ultimate dance anthems that scream SUMMER. All 80,000 of the stadium's visitors were on the feet ready for the party of 2013 to go into high gear.
When his set was over boyband The Wanted emerged as a recent four-piece since youngest member Nathan Sykes' vocal surgery in April, and performed hits such as Ice Age hit 'Chasing the Sun' and new track 'Walks Like Rihanna.' During the silence in the middle of 'I Found You' everyone knew there was something wrong; was there a problem with the microphones? Had they left this space like the physical space between them on the stage to represent Nathan? But behold before we had the chance to question any of this Sykes himself rises up through the bottom of the stage and made his long-awaited comeback with an incredible, infamous solo.

Other acts hit the stage with various surprise guests firing up the audience multiple times, with appearances from Korean sensation PSY, Ed Sheeran joining American sweetheart Taylor Swift, and the legendary Robbie Williams himself closing the show with a confetti storm. The entire night was filled with an electric, dance atmosphere, and a fantastic way to start a sizzling summer of fun, new talent. 

Oz: The Great and Powerful - Film Review

Having left the cinema only half an hour ago, I can't get this film out of my head, I just have to write something about it.

Setting aside my newly emerged love for James Franco, the format of the film was something I couldn't ignore. Every twist and turn pushed me back into the nostalgia of seeing Judy Garland emerge into Oz every Christmas while huddled in front of my television with my family. The black and white into the vivid colour of Oz, the delicate detail of the costume and makeup design and the humour of animated sidekick Finley, voiced by the timeless Zach Braff, I was hooked.

The casting kept me thoroughly intrigued by the characters' individual stories and lives and made me feel like a munchkin in my rather fetching 3D glasses; I was rooting for the good and booing at the bad! The film brought modern character to the classic tale and gave the story life before what we already knew from the 1930s film.

I can't give away much without spoiling the film for you, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loved the original Wizard of Oz; whether you were around for Judy Garland's original performance or are parents with a young child who will be gripped by the colourful scenery and the charismatic animals, you will all find great love and laughs in this film.
And I totally didn't fall a bit in love with that cheeky Franco grin... okay, maybe a bit.. but I'm only human right?

Lawson: Changing the Laws-On Boybands

Ok, cheesy jokes and puns aside, can we take a moment to appreciate how Lawson are such a breath of fresh air in the industry? I may be a little bias in this situation but I really think Lawson are what we need right now; not really conventional in "boyband" terms (apart from maybe the product in that gravity-defying hair of theirs) and more associated with the likes of live bands such as The Script and even Coldplay.

Lawson's Chapman Square tour hit the snowy South Coast last night and of course, I was there to witness the event in all its glory.

Belting out hits such as When She Was Mine and Standing In The Dark, the foursome kept the entire crowd on their toes all night, with a mix of up-beat dance songs, and powerful love ballads, even throwing out an incredible cover of Swedish House Mafia's "Don't You Worry Child"; not to mention the epic Andy Brown taking a solo song on stage, wrenching our hearts with an acoustic rendition of The Girl I Knew that, if it didn't completely pull on your heartstrings until you were swooning for England, you probably weren't doing it right.

With it being drummer Adam Pitts' home-coming show, the atmosphere coming from the crowd and the boys on stage was completely electric. Every song was accompanied by thousands of girls (and a few dads and boyfriends I spotted trying to hide their fan-boy ways in the upper tier) singing in unison, everyone was having the time of their life, and it was obvious no-one wanted it to end.
But like anything great, it must come to an end. Finishing their set with top 10 hit 'Standing In The Dark', the band took out their in-ears, stopped playing their instruments and allowed the silence to be filled with the crowd's chanting of the opening lyrics. Goose-to-the-Bumps!
And with that, they threw their drumsticks and their plectrums into the air for fans to catch, leaped from the stage to the barrier at which I was standing and took in the girls screams and reaches. Finally, they climbed back to their podium, stood in a line, arms around eachother, gave the appreciative crowd a thumbs up and smiles that no-one could hide.

The entire night was full of fun, laughs, love and just an incredible atmosphere; and if post-concert depression isn't a thing, I'm making it a thing. It's definitely a thing.