All reviews - Movies (39) - TV Shows (20) - DVDs (1) - Books (6) - Music (14) - Games (15)

Do we even need the Gym anymore?

Posted : 4 months ago on 7 May 2008 08:31 (A review of Wii Fit)

This 'game' is just like having your own personal trainer.

It will calculate you BMI, tell you what type of excercise/routines to take and what level to start them. It allows you to pick a weight loss 'goal' and marks your progress toward it.

Perhaps, more interestingly it measures your posture and centre of gravity; with an array of games to improve and moniter your balance skills.

The main categories covered are:

Aerobics
Muscle building
Balance and posture and
Yoga

You can choose which area you focus on, the more time spent on the game; the more levels and games made available in each category.

I highly recommend this, not just for the body conscious or the fit freaks. Its a great way to measure your fitness progress. Its similar to Brain training in many ways; but be prepared to work up a sweat!

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Schindler's List review

Posted : 4 months, 1 week ago on 27 April 2008 09:23 (A review of Schindler's List)

I have watched this film many times and it never lost its emotiveness or poignancy.

The whole film is like a stab in the gut; scene after scene of terrifying acts of genocide, racial hatred and sadism that defined The Holocaust.

Filmed with art and dignity; it is by no means a gory 'snuff' film like 'The Passion'. Filmed in black and white throughout and thrown into colour at the end; when hundreds of present day Jews (many of them Schindler's workers) come to pay their respects to him.

Liam Neeson acts superbly throughout; after all his work Schindler feels nothing but guilt at how many more he should have saved. This scene in particular had me reaching for the cleenex.

There is no obvious happy ending as is typical with Spielberg. Despite Schindler's work, we are still left with the overwhelming loss of people and the devastating effect the nazi regime had on those who did survive.

This film raises the deepest levels of disgust in me for the acts of the nazis; while simultaneously evoking a pride and respect for those suffered through the regime. It is the real and disturbing subject matter, dealt with so well, that puts this film head and shoulders above any act of fiction.


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Cooking Mama: Cook Off review

Posted : 4 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 April 2008 07:16 (A review of Cooking Mama: Cook Off)

I had to babysit my 10 year old cousin the other week; she bought this game to my house. After about five minutes I had to throw down the wii stick. The object of the game is to cook a meal; ironically my cousin was too busy playing this game to help me cook the actual meal we were going to eat that night.

This type of game is so vapid and dull and damaging a young generation of women, who will think that this is as good as it gets. I have said before, the point of a video game is to do the things you cannot do. This game is just the un-doing of hundreds of years of feminism.

I have a programme for women who want to get into real gaming:

Mario>Spyro>Zelda>Tomb Raider>Call of Duty.

It certainly doesnt involve this farce of a game.

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A firm favourite

Posted : 4 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 April 2008 06:34 (A review of Call of Duty)

My favourite FPS, I must have played COD a thousand times. The maps are outstandinding, each an important real-life location for the allies in WWII, detailed and full to the brim with nazis.

The scenes are awesome and in places create a real sense of tension and fear. In one particular epic level, which requires the player to blow up oncoming german tanks with a set of badly damaged panzerfausts, the wait for reinforcements is genuinely tense and wearing (I'm obviously not real war material).

Each level is so different, requiring different skills. Some are machine gun based, some require a stealthy crawl into enemy territory, some say hello with a grenade in the face.

Anyone who like FPS should love Call of Duty; and there is no better platform to play it on than the PC. It also offers an epic multi-player/online link-up mode.

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Absolutely shite

Posted : 4 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 April 2008 06:02 (A review of Scouting for Girls)

Just going to reiterate what is said below; I burst out laughing when I saw the TV advert for this album...every single one of the songs they bosted sounded the same.

How they can have the audacity to charge £11 for this 'album' is beyond me, it should be sold as a single, there is definately only one track on this album. The bost benign, droning and repetative album I have ever had the misfortune to hear.

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Boring and samey

Posted : 4 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 April 2008 05:35 (A review of Beautiful World)

Gary Barlow: We have one alright track for our comeback album....how do we fill the rest of it? I dont have the talent to right another 10 good tracks.

Music Manager: Dont worry Gaz; you've not got any real fans anyway, you're running on the publics nostalgia and fear of growing old. Fill it with covers and a series of forgettable songs that all sound the same and sound like they were written by 'The Fray'. People will only listen to 'Patience' anyway.


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Like a fine wine.

Posted : 4 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 April 2008 05:02 (A review of South Park)

Southpark was bad; it was crude, it relied on fart jokes and poos to make its humour; at this point everybody left it an tarred it for life.

After season 3 however, it did a u-turn. Matt and Tray themselves have admitted they felt the need to make a more relevant, intelligent and satirical series.

Now in its 11th series, South Park is one of the funniest, and often most intelligent programmes on television. The average show only take a week to make; so it stays much more relevant and can deliver up to date satire at the drop of a hat.

Everything has evolved so much about the series now; that it is hardly recognisable as the same show in its early seasons. If you wrote SP off back in the day, you have to give it a chance again....you might be pleasently suprised.


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St. Trinian's review

Posted : 4 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 April 2008 04:52 (A review of St. Trinian's)

When I heard that the remake of St Trinians was going to be a 'revamp' for the 21st century...I cringed.

Much luck though; it has not been cheapened or ruined at all. The same tongue in cheekiness is there, in the same camp Ealing studios style...the plot has been changed to include 'Chavs' and 'Emos' to incorporate the modern british school mentality.

Rupert Everett made sure the film stayed tongue-in-cheek with his drag act of the headmistress Miss Fritton, not played wackily or over the top; but as a slightly essentric, middle class spinster.

The girls are still up to their old tricks, fermenting their own alcohol, cheating at hocky and plotting a heist.

I definately recommend this film; it might be a bit too british in places for the foreign to grab, it is very colloquial in places. In my opinion though it is the best British film made in a very long time; and for once it was actually British, lottery funded, Ealing studios and no token american in it for sales.

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Moulin Rouge review

Posted : 4 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 April 2008 04:14 (A review of Moulin Rouge)

Moulin Rouge is a feast for the senses; the score, the plot,the costumes, the choreography, the acting, the set design and attractiveness of the protagonists...all work together to make one of the greatest love stories of all time.

Courtisan Satine, of the Moulin Rouge falls in love with a poor writer Christian and a whirl-wind romance insues; which must be kept secret from 'The Duke' a client of Satine's and bank roller of the musical which will finally make her an actress.

I absolutely love the soundtrack to this album; the songs have replaced the 'power ballad' for my drunken outbursts. Most notably, what I love about this film is its ability to unify all of woman-kind. Furthermore Ewan Mcgregor and Nicole Kidman have remarkably good voices.

Moulin Rouge, chews up and spits out every other romance/rom-com ever made. Its the pinnacle of its genre.

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The Mousekewitz's

Posted : 4 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 April 2008 03:44 (A review of An American Tail)

You dont notice how clever this film is untill you watch it as an adult. On a childish level..ooh look mice are wearing hats; but on an adult level it is a sophisticated representation of cultural conflict, racism and immigration.

A family of Russian mice emmigrate to America, fleeing cats. Labouring under the misconception that;

'There are no cats in America, and the streets are paved with cheese'

Unfortunately Fievel becomes separated from his family on the way; and finds himself alone in New York; surrounded by the cats they tried to leave. I wont go as far to say its a direct mirror of the flee from facism...but there are certainly many similarities.

Not only is this a fun and imaginative film, well animated and reeking of Don Bluth's genius; it is very well written and makes you think.

If you're not impressed by its 'message' a set of enjoyable and memorable songs throughout, will brighten your day.

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