What makes Christmas Christmas? For a lot of people it’s the turkey, the trimmings and the cranberry sauce. It’s the uncle you hate and the relative whose defining characteristic is the amount of money’s you find in whatever tacky card they decide to send out this year. Yet even though we seem to be decided on what constitutes a Christmas song (Fairytale of New York, … Continue reading Films For the Christmas Spirit
Attack on Titan has taken the anime world by storm, Sophie Lodge immerses herself in the epic. This summer the anime world has been obsessed with two stunning new debut shows from Japan; ‘Free’ and ‘Attack on Titan’ (Shingeki no Kyojin). If you are “down” with the anime scene and you haven’t heard of Attack on Titan you must have been living under a rock. … Continue reading Review: Attack on Titan
A jam is a highlight in any b-boy or b-girlÔÇÖs diary. ItÔÇÖs an event for breakdancers to showcase their skills often with a live DJ and a big audience. Sophie Lodge tells us about Battle Time 3, a jam that recently took place in Newport. My expectations of a jam were what I had seen on terrible street dance films from the 2000s; bad 90s … Continue reading Battle Time Breakdancing
Velour is an essential in everyoneÔÇÖs party wardrobe this winter, just like the last couple of winters. With high street stores and designers alike including the fabric in their collections year after year, itÔÇÖs becoming a bit of a classic. So what keeps drawing us back to this cheeky little look? Most definitely it has something to do with the air of luxury that velour … Continue reading Trend watch: Velour
WeÔÇÖve all been there, a couple of weeks of partying. A couple of weeks of falling asleep in your make up, of shaving of tweezing of not enough sleep and grab and go meals. Christmas is not kind to your skin. But itÔÇÖs nearing the end, the big day draws closer and youÔÇÖll have just under a week for some intense skin rehab before a … Continue reading Skin ache
The gig was opened by The Kix, a female rock trio from Aberdare in South Wales. Having only a limited amount of material, they only played for around twenty minutes, but they were well rehearsed and keen, making them an enjoyable opening to the night. A medley of Queen tracks including ÔÇÿBohemian RhapsodyÔÇÖ and ÔÇÿWe Will Rock YouÔÇÖ, finished their set on a high whilst … Continue reading Live Review: Electric Six, The Glee Club, 9.12.13
It is 7pm and everyone in line is in high spirits but anxious to enter the warmth of the venue. Finally, doors open and everyone filters into the venue. Only a few people gather by the stage. Most are at the merch table; meeting band members who are hanging around, multi-tasking between meeting fans and selling merchandise. Devin Oliver from I See Stars informs me … Continue reading Live Review: The Word Alive, CF10, 4.12.13
‘Avatar: The Legend of Korra’ is taking the animated world by storm, Sum Sze Tam explores the elements behind the success. Sequels have a reputation for being miserably awful. It├¡s hard to build a new storyline that holds itself together for the same characters when you’ve already established an ending. So when Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the genius duo behind Nickelodeon’s popular cartoon series … Continue reading Review: Legend of Korra
Is there any better way to raise awareness of mental health than to put on a multi-venue inner-city festival? No, is the answer. So, thatÔÇÖs exactly what Cardiff-based charity MIND did. For over 65 years MIND have been committed to ensuring that those experiencing mental health problems receive the help and support they deserve. Local promoters God Is In The TV Zine, Rockpie and Red … Continue reading Review: MIND Fest, 23.11.13 – Undertone & Four Bars
The Christmas holidays. Most students start counting down the days to this frenzy of seasonal television, Baileys and pyjamas as legitimate daywear in mid-October. However, not everyone at university is fortunate enough to be able to go home and re-bond with their family and pets for four weeks over winter. Whether itÔÇÖs because they have to stay to maintain a job, or because they are … Continue reading Cardiff at Christmas
Kathryn Lewis endured some pain to review this testosterone filled film, but did she gain anything from the experience? Sitting down to watch Pain & Gain I must admit it wasn’t my first choice of film to watch on a Saturday evening but unfortunately I owed the boyfriend a favour.┬á I wasn’t expecting anything more than a few cheap “lad” jokes and some seriously ‘roided … Continue reading Review: Pain & Gain
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was tipped to be a blockbuster hit. Mark Williams was on hand to see if it was on target The sequel to the surprise 2012 hit begins with the return of Katniss Everdeen suffering from post-traumatic stress, and the strange dystopian world on the edge of rebellion. The malicious President Snow seeks to put an end to the growing tensions, … Continue reading Review: Catching Fire
Iron Patriot bulks up the Avengers ranks in the upcoming sequel. Charlie Andrews explores the announcement Don Cheadle as Iron Patriot in Iron Man 3 Earlier this week Don Cheadle was nominated for a Golden Globe for his Showtime series House of Lies. And during the flurry of awards coverage that followed, a report emerged indicating that the actor will be appearing as his┬áIron Man … Continue reading Don Cheadle to Suit Up in Avengers 2
Robert Knepper has been cast in Arrow and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. ItÔÇÖs a good time to be Robert Knepper. It has been a great time for Robert Knepper. The former Prison Break bad guy has been cast in both Arrow and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Knepper, who you may remember as T-Bag in Prison Break and Samuel Sullivan in the final season of Heroes, … Continue reading Arrow: Prison Break Actor Cast as The Clock King
Huge, interconnected Marvel TV shows announced for Netflix. Charlie Andrews explores the proposed plans and presents the announced characters Marvel is about to go big on the TV front. Really big. Avengers Phase One is complete and with, the release of Thor: The Dark World, Phase Two is well on its way to completion and with it Marvel’s success on the big screen is unprecedented. … Continue reading Marvel Series Coming to Netflix
Most movies could start by saying that the protagonist is a normal person like you or me. Carrie, however, is not a normal girl: she is awkward and unhappy, and her peers are not afraid to rub those facts in. She also has incredibly potent psychic powers. Acclaimed author Stephen KingÔÇÖs first published work, the original adaption of Carrie in 1976 was a welcome addition … Continue reading Review: Carrie
With the advent of social media, everybody can simultaneously produce and consume media. Lubna Anani looks at how this has helped trans* people represent themselves and reach out to each other through YouTube Teenagers struggling with their sexual orientation often find solace watching shows like The L Word and Queer as Folk which, while flawed artistically, present a range of different storylines dealing with real … Continue reading Speaking Trans*
Reviewed by Matthew Lee Schneider Splashing legs sweep with forceful grace, weaving droplets of rain into curtains which drape across the audience. ┬áA relentlessly rotating rainbow of umbrella navels frolic up and down, left to right, round and round. ┬áTwirling, swirling, tapping, clapping, falling (in love), dancing, jumping, singing, yelling; this is SinginÔÇÖ in the Rain. ┬áArriving at the Millennium Centre by way of the … Continue reading Review: Singin’ In The Rain, WMC
Your music has been described as ÔÇÿThe Stone Roses flapping at Echo and the BunnymenÔÇÖs long coats and mussing Robert SmithÔÇÖs hairÔÇÖ. How close in general would you say critical perception of your musical style has been in relation to the bands you are influenced by? Ben Romans-Hopcraft (vocals/guitar): ItÔÇÖs all over the placeÔǪ I think some elements are correct, bands like The Stone Roses … Continue reading Interview: Childhood
Bullet For My Valentine have been marking WalesÔÇÖ place on the heavy metal map of the UK for some years now, a show at CardiffÔÇÖs Motorpoint Arena seeming an appropriate finish to the Bridgend bandÔÇÖs ÔÇÿRule BritanniaÔÇÖ arena tour. But after FebruaryÔÇÖs disappointingly received ÔÇÿTemper TemperÔÇÖ, would Bullet be firing blanks in the live environment? First on are Buckinghamshire-based melodic rockers Young Guns, who from … Continue reading Live Review: Bullet For My Valentine, Asking Alexandria, Young Guns – Motorpoint Arena – 06.12.13
