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.