Chl├Âe Howl ÔÇô The Angel Hotel At just 18 years of age, Chl├Âe Howl writes the sort of brutally honest, cynical lyrics about what it is to be young that youÔÇÖd expect from someone whoÔÇÖs lived through it already. Her talent as a synth pop artist was clear from the outset, with opener Rumour from her EP of the same name: high energy and a … Continue reading S┼Án Festival: Thursday
Traveller’s Tales have already tackled big film franchises such as Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter, but the Lego series has struggled to replicate the same ingenuity since the realise of 2005’s Lego Star Wars. Marvel offers a huge universe of characters and decades’ worth of intricately woven story lines in which Lego Marvel Super Heroes can draw from in order to … Continue reading Review: Lego Marvel Superheroes
Amy Pay reviews Face 11, the latest bar and eatery to open in the heart of Cathays ┬áUp until a few months ago, the corner between Hirwain Street and Cathays Terrace was occupied by Mango, a tapas and licensed shisha bar. MangoÔÇÖs windows were plastered with posters detailing their offers and stickers from awards they won some years ago. Although it apparently ticked the culinary … Continue reading Review: Face 11, Cathays Terrace
This month saw the publication of Autobiography, the long-awaited memoir of Morrissey ÔÇô bequiffed singer, lyricist and iconoclast famed for fronting the 1980ÔÇÖs alt-rock band The Smiths. Owen Spalding tells us his views on the Penguin Classic Usually reserved for such literary luminaries as Plato, Hardy and Nabokov, Autobiography was published, at MorrisseyÔÇÖs request, by PenguinÔÇÖs venerable Classics imprint. The news that the memoir would … Continue reading This Charming Man
Reviewed by Sam Lloyd In accordance with its supreme popularity rise over the last 10 years or so, stand-up comedy has arguably become bland. Everyone can probably recite a thoroughly planned-out routine from their favourite comedian that theyÔÇÖve seen on TV. This is exactly what stand-up has become to many comics and comedy fans: a recital. Its newfound exposure has perhaps meant that gags and … Continue reading Review: Tom Stade, The Glee Club
Reviewed by Matthew Lee Schneider Comedy. ┬áIt manifests through seemingly infinite methods and mediums, all striving towards one goal: to be funny. ┬áWhen oneÔÇÖs divine judge manifests in the form of fifteen minutes of memorized material alone in front of a dimly lit sea of strangers, one will find arguably the most daunting form of comedy, stand-up. In the world of stand-up, the common theme … Continue reading Review: The Invisible Dot New Wave Tour 2013, Chapter
Charlie Andrews is granted Level 7 access to review Marvel’s new TV show ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’ With MarvelÔÇÖs Avengers Assemble! standing as the third highest grossing film of all time and every frequent release being another smash hit, the company has undoubtedly mastered the art of box office success. But now they have turned their attention to the small screen with a desire to rival … Continue reading Review: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
Film and Television Editor Oliver Richards leaves the office to explore out of space for his review of Gravity Gravity is a beautiful film, make no mistake. Director Alfonso Cuar├│n (Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men) and his cinematographer Emmanual Lebezki (Tree of Life) lovingly craft a vision of such, ahem, gravity that it is hard to resist. Co-written with his brother Jonas Cuar├│nÔÇÖs script … Continue reading Review: Gravity
Imran Bukhari takes a gamble and reviews Runner Runner For a film about online gambling, Runner Runner ironically takes not a single risk. The movie follows a safe, tried and tested formula dealing with the theme of innocence being corrupted. Think The DevilÔÇÖs Advocate but in Costa Rica. Justin Timberlake stars in the lead role as Richie Furst, a genius Princeton student whose tuition money … Continue reading Review: Runner Runner
Reviewed by Vaiva Seskeviciute Ballet Cymru challenged itself by producing an adaptation of ShakespeareÔÇÖs most famous masterpiece, Romeo and Juliet, at Wales Millennium Centre this November. The Weston Studio was fully seated and excitement was felt in the air. Classical strings music opened the show as the characters were introduced. Even though Romeo and his relatives owned the stage for the first few minutes, throughout … Continue reading Review: Romeo and Juliet (Ballet Cymru), WMC
Chase & Status’ mixture of aggressive beats and influences from hip hop and reggae has enthralled audiences across the UK. The duo have gained a following that has rocketed them away from the genreÔÇÖs underground into arenas around the country. Fresh from the release of the Brand New Machine album last month, how would the Chase & Status live show translate to this arena environment? … Continue reading Live Review: Chase & Status – Motorpoint Arena – 7.11.13
Alec Evans reviews the highly anticipated┬áThor: The Dark World Coming from the same company that gave us the Iron Man and Avengers Assemble films, the first Thor film produced by the franchise (2011), featuring Chris Hemsworth as Thor, was largely well received commercially and critically, despite some criticism of being more commercially-minded than true to the original Marvel creation. It will please many comic book … Continue reading Review: Thor: The Dark World
James Ayles reviews Captain Phillips The long-anticipated big screen retelling of the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama does not disappoint, with veteran director Paul Greengrass offering up two hours of brilliantly played-out tension, as the action moves from the darkness of the ships engine room to the creeping claustrophobia that engulfs the latter part of this epic and intense film. With the Bourne Ultimatum … Continue reading Review: Captain Phillips
Now in its 6th Generation, Nintendo’s series of Pokemon games have made their jump┬áinto 3D. Francesca Hepburn sees if the latest offering live up to the series’ reputation. If there is one Nintendo franchise that never seems to grow old, it is most certainly Pokemon. Whether you fell in love with it through the video games, the TV series or the trading cards – for … Continue reading Review: Pokemon X & Y
┬á Rhys Thomas Elliott rediscovers the whimsical charm of 2D platformers with the crazy and colourful┬áRayman Legends.┬á ┬áOrigins was a game that resonated with many. The tight 2D platforming coupled with a cutesy aesthetic and musical charm was a neat throwback to the good old days. Rayman Legends builds upon the foundations Origins created, and then some. However, Legends had a bit of a rocky … Continue reading Review: Rayman Legends
Anthony Coote goes to Hell and back with the most phallic gun you’ll ever fire in the 2011 grindhouse extravaganza Shadows of the Damned. ‘Shadows of the Damned’ is a game produced by Suda 51, Grasshopper studios and EA for the PS3 and Xbox 360. The game centres round Garcia ‘fucking’ Hotspur as he refers to himself, who travels into the underworld to save his … Continue reading Review: Shadows of the Damned
This month, Adam Bown looks at the spiritual successor to Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain. Is it worthy of being called an autumn blockbuster? Sometimes expectations can make or break an opinion on a piece of work. For instance, the original ending to Mass Effect 3 caused controversy when it brought to a close a series as anticlimatically as possible, almost like waiting for the encore … Continue reading Review: Beyond: Two Souls
Reviewed by Amy Pay If you look up “scary theatre” on a search engine, youÔÇÖll see that The Woman In Black is widely held as the most frightening show.┬á HeadlongÔÇÖs adaptation of 1984, though, is by far one of the most disturbing pieces of theatre created during our lifetime The success of the play is largely down to OrwellÔÇÖs inventive dystopian novel on which it … Continue reading Review: 1984, Sherman Cymru
Reviewed by Vaiva Seskeviciute To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the award winning National Dance Company Wales presented a dynamic programme created by Stephen Petronio, Angelin Preljocaj and Eleesha Drennan. Performed by a team of 12 international dancers, three exhilarating compositions – Virtual Descent, Noces and Water Stories – were brought to the stage in Wales Millennium Centre on the 5th of November. The first performance … Continue reading Review: National Dance Company Wales, WMC
A soft-rock ballad is probably the best way to describe the latest release from BirminghamÔÇÖs alt-rockers┬áEditors. In other words, itÔÇÖs incredibly dull. A strange choice of single from the band, the track results in not much more than a slight swaying of head and lowering of eyelids. The addition of a brass section gives the tune a slight glimpse of excitement but other than … Continue reading Single Review: Editors – ‘Honesty’
