The Dark Knight Rises review.

Review: 4.5 out of 5.

It is now the end of the Summer Blockbuster season and it is now time for the Bat to shed it's wings on the IMAX reel. No, this has nothing to do with vampires. Forget Twilight, its not for those fang lovers looking to either get eaten or to fulfill a dream that could only be found in erotica or soap opera and romantic novels. This is neo-noir or to put it blunt, a superhero film that blends crime, drama and thriller. High concept writer and director, Christopher Nolan, has carried the Caped Crusader in the space of nearly a decade. The first movie that rebooted the film series was Batman Begins (2005), which aimed for a more realistic tone and explored the origins of the Batman legend based on the DC comics character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Nolan came back, this time with his brother, Johnathan, who co-wrote the script for the second installment in The Dark Knight (2008). This particular movie upped the anti and won 2 Academy Awards. With Nolan to return for the third and final chapter of The Dark Knight trilogy, can he break the rule of three-reel curse?

What's the story, you ask? The Dark Knight Rises opened eight years after the previous film. After Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) took all the blame for Harvey Dent's death and Batman has been missing ever since, Wayne has reduced to a recluse with his company plunging into rock bottom. Meanwhile, Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman) is struggling in keeping the true reason behind Dent's activities which led to his demise. Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) stole Wayne's fingerprints to place a trade in a fit of chance to somehow clear her criminal acts. Gordon promoted John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to detective - to persuade Batman to return as a new threat materialized in the form of powerhouse, Bane (Tom Hardy), who attempts to have the city of Gotham crumble under its own weight.

Good:

As usual Bale captured the man behind the mask and vice-versa profoundly well. It was excellent how Bale shifted through 3 faces of Bruce Wayne: the courageous, warm-blooded man who got trained by the League of Shadows, the enigmatic and irresponsible playboy and finally an incorruptible, driven, symbol that criminals now fear.

I loved the dynamic between the two characters between Batman and Bane, at first I was skeptical of the news that Nolan as the major antagonist in the film due to the treatment made to the character in the Schumacher era. However, I failed to realize how much of a wise decision it was as the character was a huge staple in Batman's history in the comics. Bane is every bit as intelligent and more than a match for The Dark Knight. Nolan envisioned a beginning of the end of a battle against crime and corruption in Gotham. Christopher, Johnathan and David S. Goyer structured a well complex, layered, story with twists and turns, foreshadowing and every device possible to wrap up the last adventure.


The cinematography by Wally Pfister maintained a surreal, urban, grimy look of this city and the choreography of the fight scenes were beautifully handled. The sound and the music by Hans Zimmer were not as great as last time, but it did carry the sequence fine and I can make that an exception. The production design from the costumes, vehicles, sets, aircraft, props, effects and designs are raw, gritty and military/black ops style as opposed to sleek, flashy and sexy. Hathaway's Catwoman has got to be one of the best interpretations of Batman's love interest and nemesis. The supporting cast including Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Oldman had less screen time but were prolific in their roles.

Bad:

Nolan's films tend not to have many flaws, for The Dark Knight Rises, it was quite a bit of technical errors such as Hardy's voice that is not clear throughout with annoying digital ringing to match. Not only that, but the music is not as captivating as the previous 2 films in the series. In addition, there were more than a few plot holes that lay across the screen like bad eggs. I don't want to spoil anything but there are some issues that happen that either aren't clear or don't make any sense e.g. how does Bane or Blake for that matter know Wayne's secret? Even the end had a knot that was quite loose.

Overall:

Apart from the back track in pacing and the fact that Wayne does not don the bat suit until the beginning of the 2nd Act, who could possibly complain? With an impressive cast, great effects work, on the ball dialogue and stunning directing and script that from all of the creative filmmakers that had input towards the final cut. If only they nailed the right pitch of Bane's voice.

- Written by Kbon

The Amazing Spider-Man 3D review.

Review: 3.5 out of 5.

I have reviewed a track record of superhero films in the past and 2 shows on TV with similar themes. In this day and age, it is cool to watch. Due to economic decline and strict guidelines, this genre may shift ever so closer to budget restraints.

Despite the lackluster Spider-Man 3 of the Sam Raimi series, there was high anticipation for a new Spider-Man film. When I heard they had restarted the franchise with another Director and completely different cast, I slipped from eagerness - curiosity as to know how Marc Webb would bring his own vision of the Web Head to the surface - as well as frustration. I mean does this story really need to be retold? After Spider-Man 4 was cancelled due to creative disputes and no commitment to fulfill the target release date for Sony, a safety measure was in place in case this happened.

Written by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves, directed by Webb and produced by Avi Arad, Laura Ziskin and Matt Tolmach for Columbia Pictures. The untold story followed a young Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) who is trying to find his place in life after his parents Richard and Mary Parker (Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz) mysteriously left him as a child. Bitten by a genetically modified spider while he searched in OsCorp Tower for Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), he now evolved and found purpose after the fall of his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) as Spider-Man and now protects New York City from danger.

Good:

First of all, the 3D is spectacular and appears very real and comes out the screen to astonishing quality. Visually and down to aesthetics, this reboot did exceed some of my expectations. Arguably, the tone was a lot darker in themes and the producers aimed for a Batman Begins feel. Garfield did a great job as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, however, I can't say I love his portrayal. I'll get more into that later. Parker and Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, had a lot of chemistry, perhaps more than even Tobey Maguire's Parker and Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson in the Raimi Spidey trilogy. The storyline was great, but felt rehashed and was not the best interpretation of the origin story.

Nevertheless, the performances from the rest of the supporting cast was ecstatic. Stone gave a brave, spunky, life to Gwen that can be memorable. Unlike the past female love interests on the screen in this mythology, Stone's Gwen was less of a damsel of distress and more clever and assertive than Bryce Dallas Howard's Gwen. I grew accustomed to the new suit the studio made and was impressed with the stunts and I felt the CGI animation throughout were just as fluid as the previous 2 installments of the last series. Flash Thompson, in this movie, was more brutal and Chris Zylka pulled this off well. In addition, a wise-cracking hero is what had been missing in Raimi's run-through.

Bad:

The Amazing Spider-Man had some good points but the rating only just scratched a half way point between number 3 and 4 out of 5 stars. I was ill at ease by the pacing of the story. It did not deserve the way over 2 hour running time. Garfield did well as the superhero in the leading role but not so great as the character's alter-ego, Parker. I do not like the Emo Parker, I mean you might as well call him out as a Goth. I see they were trying to aim for an Ultimate Spider-Man rendition of the character from an imprint of the comic book series that re-imagined the web-slinger in the 21st century. Good move but not a better enough product with sustenance. 

Another thing is bad about this movie is it lacked drama. Although there were excellent action scenes, there was feelings of emptiness in parts between some of the interaction of the characters. Not that it was down to them being flat, but  it was more the actor's handle of the role. In one instance (SPOILER ALERT) the scene where Uncle Ben is infamously taken down by a lone gun from the supermarket, Garfield's acting was off. The same can be said to another character who sadly (SPOILER ALERT) passed away. An idea of the Lizard being the main villain wasn't bad, with him being an only threat, not good. He would more perfectly fit the role of a henchman. It needed someone other than him from the Marvel universe to fill his shoes and do the job.

Overall:

With a crispy, hot, production thanks to Sony, a firm script, sweet quips and amazing performances from Garfield as Spider-Man, Stone's Gwen and Ifans' portrayal of the slithery Lizard; the reboot had some flaws from the decision process, but it was rigid enough to stun us with great special effects and action scenes. Webb's version neither outshined or backtracked Raimi's version. 


- Written by Kbon

Avengers Assemble (2012) 2D review.

Review: 4 out of 5.

Before I start, I would like to apologize to readers for not updating with the latest information to you, in regards to material in the entertainment industry. I have been extremely busy these past 6 months as I had work elsewhere. As well as I would love to continue doing these reviews, education and a day/night job are important. There will be some changes on this blog in order to ensure this service remains visible. These will be small changes, although I won't reveal them until we reach toward our last quarter of this year. So, I am back where I started. Now, let's take a look of my newest scribe, shall we? This 2012, it's the moment we've all been waiting for; Avengers Assemble.

Way back in April, I booked tickets at my usual view-in, eager to see the preview of Marvel's all-time motion picture, The Avengers. (From now on, I'm referring to them as this. I think viewers can distinguish a few British spies from 7; minus 4, super-powered team members of a peace-keeping organization). Written by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon, the 143 minute extravaganza was directed by Whedon himself. The film opens with the leader of an extraterrestrial race called the Chitauri, who has plans for the human race. Meanwhile, on Earth, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), head of the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division), and his deputy, Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) arrive in a covert research facility where Dr. Eric Selvig (Stellen Skarsguard) led a team of scientists to conduct experiments on the Tesseract. Many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents including Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) watch as the energy source continued to radiate a strange form of rays.

It appeared that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has now arrived on Earth through a gateway from all of existence by the Tesseract. Loki retrieved the Tesseract and enslaved a number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Selvig and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) using his scepter. With no choice, Fury pushed the proverbial button and activated the "Avenger Initiative" that consist of Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), all brought together by Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Coulson, Fury and co. Now it is up to this group of "remarkable people" to destroy the Tesseract and prevent the wrath of Loki in a war topped off in otherworldly proportions.

Good:

The first 25 minutes of the film were just fast paced and epic. Even though its first act had lagged a bit due to some exposition, it still found its way during the middle. I was interested to know how Whedon was going to pull this one off, but he did it and went full sail ahead. Something 5 films worth (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger) is a lot to put on any director's shoulders and especially in keeping with continuity if we're having to deal with cross pollinating each major character from their own solo movie and merge into a shared universe. The script was tight enough to do that.

I am very impressed by Whedon's take on his characters; Downey's wonder on Stark's charisma and ingeniousness were  indeed applauded. What I loved is Whedon had done the impossible and managed to grant all of the cast some equal screen time. Even the supporting cast attained a level of generous, clear, spotlight. Apart from the majority of team players, who stood out for me the most was The Hulk. As you know, there has been many actors throughout related media who portrayed Banner. On the silver screen, Eric Bana put on the purple pants in Ang Lee's Hulk in 2003, next in line was Edward Norton, who brought a more heroic lite with Louis Letterier at the helm. Ruffalo got the man and more importantly, the creature right. 

Another thing to note is the wave of humour that is ridden in parts of this spectacle. Loki was surprisingly the laugh out loud factor among other punchy antics that have been carefully sprawled around. The story does not take itself too seriously and the action between some of the characters were nothing short of awesome. I praise Seamus McGarvey for strong use of cinematography and elaborate edits by Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek. The huge payoff was Whedon's contentious directing. Each actor had delivered their part well, including Mr. Jackson whose rendition of Director Fury was so well pact down, a true super spy.

Bad:

There was only a few things I had a problem with this movie. I mean you can't expect too much from a popcorn flick like this. Some of the plot points need clarity, mainly towards its final act. Loki has the most powerful object in the world, possibly the universe. Now why use it to distract only his biggest rogues gallery when he could use it to his full potential? I believe this plot device was underused. Plus, this caused Loki to be not much of an unprecedented threat. In fact, I will not reveal too much, but the actual threat is the last ditch effort in those last duration of minutes.

Sadly, although most of the characters had got their screen time, Hawkeye was not fleshed out properly due to the fact he spent most of the time out of character and therefore did not allow the viewers to dig more into his clean-cut, ask-questions-later, attitude. Apart from some dodgy visual effects in places, it is fine. There were some continuity errors but the average movie-goer would not be able to spot them.

Overall:

The Avengers managed to break many records at the box office and earned all of them one by one. With a naturally carved script, which marvelously balanced chipper laughs, fight scenes, drama and clever dialogue the cast all did their part superbly well. All were guided intricately scene by scene through great direction. Save for a few misses, the producers completed Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic  Universe. Time will tell for a next foray of men and hot women in tights, in cellular beat 'em ups.


- Written by Kbon

Still Life review.

Review: 3 out of 5.

Here, another underground artist, the visionary Graphic Designer and Rapper Kieron Boothe has made it with "Still Life". This mix-tape is the demonstration of his artistry. He worked with Aaron London, a singer-songwriter, MC and producer. From East London, Kieron has done well and revealed putting out another mix-tape very soon. My opinion, I have listened and I got to say, the originality is there and the content is quirky. No, that's not the right word for it, I think a perfect term is hybrid. Oh yeah, it's U.K. Hip Hop but this one crossed genres. I spoke to Kieron and insisted Grime is not where he'll go to. That, I can understand, but I'll get to that later.

Good:

Kieron really went all out in this collection of awe-inspiring tracks. Still Life is clearly about the many aspects of his entire life that has shaped up in his work. Every list of music, ripe for the picking, has a taste of who Kieron is as both an artist and the mistakes, problems and willingness to move forward. There are crazy times and other times he would share in this set. The mix-tape has many subjects people from aged 16 and older can relate to, but this ain't the usual school boy aggregation that fuels all of our teenage hormones (twenty somethings included). This is on a whole new level of development, I continue to listen and the hooks really do hold you in place. That is thanks to singer, Amanda Mellid, who sung and hit notes as pleasant as a Robin. Still Life reminded me somewhat of the Wretch 32 album, Black & White, though less about opposite ends of contrast and more of a half way point between vague and exposed. It is balanced and just about right, which bring me to the amalgamation of the crossed genres I said before.

From the rhyming to the production, most of whom composed by Aaron London, the airplay that came to a total of approximately over 32 minutes was amazing. While the crew swung by with songs as uncanny as Awkward, fast enough on point with any beat boxer and Mistakes featuring Mellid herself. This is the ballad or rainy day feel that showed the depth of how far he could plug away and elevate your conscience. On Still Life, the title track of the same set, I couldn't get over that punch line Kieron made "So I went from a boy to a teen, now a teen tryin' tah live a man's dream, Man it's real stuff, then it all went Almond's, real nuts". That was cool and the rest which followed blew up and combined everything neatly. I could go on and on, though it could drag on the whole review. Oh No weren't bad, the chorus was more on the irritating side but Kieron saved about a large majority of the song. Nice touch on the guitar, though.

Bad:

Not much I can say about the negative sides. Most tracks were likable, a couple stood out more than others. The only thing I didn't like was there are too many "fillers" and what I mean by that is a tune used only for the soul purpose of "chilling out" or "raving". Examples of these are Blue Sky, Oh No, Awkward and Dead End featuring Aaron London and Labrinth. While Awkward and Dead End were fine, Oh No was a bit much. I also felt they put a lot in at once, plus they were some that was a downer at times. I needed a high, something upbeat instead of mellow and only steady. It made Mellid not having much to work with even if they did fit her tone. Apart from this, it was a brilliant run and I did enjoy it.

Overall:

Great performance from Kieron, excellent concept and execution by many of the artists such as Aaron, Mellid and Labrinth and well mixed, composed master pieces by XX and again Aaron. I am blown away from the lengths that has gone into this mix-tape. It did come about as overwhelming at certain points and the hybrid flew easily through a pretty reasonable duration of air play. It fell right into place and the ideas didn't encircle. They are close to Karat gold.

- Written by Kbon.

Graveyard Grind (2012) review.

Review: 2.5 out of 5.

My next showcase of music is an underground artist called Igniite, with his mix-tape Graveyard Grind. It was released on the Datpiff website on the 27th January and has so far had quite a few plays ever since. He's fresh on the Grime scene and did a couple music videos you can actually view on his Igniite channel on Youtube. So what's my opinion? Not too bad, actually, but I feel it can be a little bit better.The artist did a lot of work to break through to people in any community about pain, struggle, hard work and happiness. However, I don't think it did enough to move everyone universally.

Good:

The mix-tape did have some parts that were adequate, like the Intro was sonically solid. I thought Igniite's tune was hot but I felt the start could of been more uplifting instead of slow and resolute. In this case, it's the set-up that started the whole part of the air play to a smooth start. "Grind Hard" feat. Young C wasn't too bad. The artist opposite Igniite has some hidden talent, which fell short only by his delivery. Apart from rocks, there is some tunes that speak for the ladies such as the track "She The Type", "My Strength" and "The Business". The last one was better out of all of the three and is well defined for its dreamy melody and finer content.

Bad:

Sadly, there was only a few tracks out of this mix-tape I believed was fine and saw past my judgement but I felt it didn't do enough to make a favourable clash on my I-Tunes library. Igniite promised, or at least attempted to reach to many age groups and barely crossed genders. The tape had a limited resource for content that spoke mainly about street credibility such as grinding, I am saying it's not right and I'm not trying to be a Good Samaritan. It's how you do it: sex, drugs, money and other illegal acts or negative stuff can be dealt with in another light and this was blatant.

Overall:

With a swell choice in selective range of music, cool swag and satisfactory list of guests such as Young C, J.A.Y and Jay Tee it was dampened by a concept that dries up fast. Sometimes it's okay to showboat but other times it can be too much. The statement Igniite made about the tape doesn't prove to me everyone can really connect with it. Graveyard Grind can only target Londoners who just hit puberty or those in their early to mid 20's. Igniite would do better in breaking out of the force bubble he trapped himself in than embracing it, especially in a niche genre as this.

- Written by Kbon.

Take Care (2011) review.

Review: 3.5 out of 5.

October's very own, "Drizzy", is back with his 2nd album, Take Care. Serving as his answer to his debut from the Summer of 2010 from his last album, Thank Me Later, Producer. 40 really knew how to shake things up this time around. It has been evident Drake had been really sticking with studio time rather than chilling in his spare time in-between tours. The first track from Take Care I heard was "Headlines", then "Free Spirit" which featured Rick Ross, "Club Paradise" and lastly "The Real Her" (although Free Spirit and Club Paradise did not make it to the final track listing). I remember the last time I reviewed one of his album's and it seems like such an after thought now.

Good:

Released in November 15th 2011, Drake's transition from his debut has spread and defined who we are dealing with. No longer are we in front of an artist back in Toronto who is fresh, but an artist who carried weight. Not as many artists can be found here apart from The Weeknd, Rihanna, Birdman, Rick Ross, Andre 3000, Lil Wayne and of course Nicki Minaj compared to the large plethora of artists a year back. Many of his songs I actually liked. Sticking with past relationships, family and more about where he came from, where he is now and where he intends to go, Drake touched on how he is dealing with fame and his lifestyle in the fast lane and home. Unlike Thank Me Later, there was more focus, down tempo and is chilling without being too tranquil.

The best songs here was "Over My Dead Body", "Take Care", "The Real Her" and "Practice" for those ladies out there and those who are into neat sounds. I am very impressed with the great recording, mixing and production gone into the LP thanks to 40., T-Minus and Jamie xx. For those who aren't fond of that "sweet boy" Mitzvah don't feel left out, there's always ""Underground Kings", that Lowinski magic with "Make Me Proud" with Minaj and "HYFR" (Hell Ya Fucking Right) with Weezy. His lyrics on his own two feet coincide with his rapping ability. For me, what stuck out for me was "Cameras", "Over My Dead Body", "Underground Kings" and "The Real Her", especially in Andre 3000's verse. I'm a fan of his time from Outkast, he's a beast and he went in.

Bad:

Drizzy is better this time around, but only just a couple notches. My least favourite has got to be "Headlines", "Crew Love" and "Lord Knows". I will come back to these three later but my main issue is his trait of being relative to people as much as its his greatest strength may also be his most greatest vulnerability, lyrically and critically. I mean look at the boycott from Common. What I'm detracted from is when he sings, I can't feel it. I mean I feel the lyrics, but not the rhythm. Not the music, but the vocals. They don't vary, I mean there's only so much a rapper/singer can do. A few songs I began to notice this in was in "Shot For Me" and "We'll Be Fine". Now that we have a clear picture of who Drizzy is, I fear if he continues he might start to fade. How much "Bein' real" can you do? Eventually, you have to dig into the higher reaches than finer things in life. I am not feeling The Weeknd either. All I'm sayin' is he got to try something else, FAST!

Overall:

I haven't forgotten about the tracks I disliked, hold on. Drizzy has enough lyrics to load a shotgun and put out a hit list. Noah "40" Shebib really knows how to put it down, I credit him for topping this one. A descent, steady, collaboration from the likes of Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne and Andre 3000. "Headlines" felt like it was rushed plus there was nothing concrete in terms of rhythm and content while "Lord Knows" has got to be the most controversial, the thing about "Mink coats" and having relations with it, c'mon Ricky. As for "Crew Love", I ain't feeling XO (The Weeknd) to his OVO (Drake) but Drizzy has put out a good LP that will keep us busy for the time being.

- Written by Kbon.

The Darkest Hour (2011) film review.

Review: 1.5 out of 5.

Of all the highest grossing films of 2011 I have watched, the film I reviewed is definitely the lowest, at least critically. The Darkest Hour was so bad, I almost slept throughout the entire film. That is not me exaggerating, I assure you. If any of you watched Skyline, this is a lot worse. I won't go into specifics right now, but I'll go into the background detail along the way.

Released 25th December 2011, a non-Christmas Day Special guarantee, the Russian-American production was directed by Chris Gorak and produced by Timur Bekmanbetav (Wanted) and ran a tedious 89 minutes. The motion picture with its tag line "Survive the Holidays" followed two young American men, Sean (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max Minghella) who travel to Moscow to sell their very own software to the company, headed by a Swedish businessman. Unfortunately, their passion project has been ripped from them (cough Social Network) and were thrown out. Sean and Ben start to woo beautiful women in the company, how convenient both the women they end up with, Natalie (Olivia Thirlby) and Anne (Rachael Taylor) are also American.

Fast-forward 15 minutes later, everyone looked outside at the night sky as a sudden glow appeared just when many aurora balls of light fell down. An invasion began to ensue as invaders protected by force fields ravaged the area, vaporizing every man, woman and child who got in their way. They proceed to consume the humans electrical resources.

Good:

It was hard to note anything great about the film, what I do appreciate is the concept they were going for, which is an alien invasion from Russia's perspective and the fact these creatures are far beyond humanoid and more so another plane of existence, which is raw energy. The length of the production gone into the film was not the best and is satisfactory, but the potential, basic, premise fell very short in the actual interpretation.

Bad:

There were many things that were bad about the sci-fi that is hard to muster in one go. First of all, the script by Jon Spaihts was trite. I hardly think there was any structure at all in this film, it started off fine up until the arrival of the aliens but pacing went completely out of whack and was a drag all the way through. It was noisy, not contained and went hay-wire. Everybody went beserk including the main cast who was frighteningly 2 dimensional in personality, drive and reaction. It is like the actors who did these characters didn't even try. There is really nothing more to say here.

The film was so bad, even through the last half of the 2nd act that I couldn't watch it anymore. The direction was so apalling, by the time some of the characters teamed up with the Russian's and found a solution to their perdicament, that was it for me. If anyone saw this would damn well agree with me. It was undercooked and I grew sick of what they fed me.

Even the music was depressing, balled together with awful screams with sweet, fitting, executions. Sooner or later, you will tire of the executions and could not really invest in the characters. So much that you could hardly care if they lived or died. Most of all, I couldn't take any of the actors or director for that matter, seriously.

Overall:

The film had a descent premise, but was engrossed in trash; flat characters, lazy cast, futile script, poor direction and production that would of been great if a little more thought had gone into the movie instead of screams, overbearing slow pace and less flashing lights. Watch Kanye's music video, he'll give you tips on brightness and contrast. Don't bother watching this on 3D, your better off renting a cheap copy in your local DVD or Blu-ray store just to add to your collection. The next review will be Drake's second outing, Take Care LP.

- Written by Kbon.

The Misfits Series 3 review.

Review: 2.5 out of 5.

Back again with a vengeance, reviewing one of the most infamous shows to ever stalk our TV screens. Said to be a program that is dark but with sharp humour, its Heroes meets Skins. For those who don't know what Misfits is, get on track here and quit living under a rock. Its about a rag tag group of young offenders on ASBO who end up during their community service, getting struck by an electric storm and discover the five of them have super powers. Kind of sweet, don't you think? Well, not if you have limited control and your special abilities are crap to the bone. Now in its Third Season, the ASBO 5; Simon Bellamy (Iwan Rhoen), Curtis Donovan (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), Nathan Young (Robert Sheehan) Kelly Bailey (Lauren Socha) and Alisha Bailey (Antonia Thomas) spent the first two series in community service avoiding suspicion from authority and getting leaked to the public about the missing probation workers they accidentally killed whilst they deal with people who have also been affected by the storm.

On the E4 network, Misfits, created by Howard Overman is now in the penultimate episode to its conclusion. With the absence of Sheehan, I feared this series would fall short, as Nathan's character, let's face it, is the star of the show. The 7th episode before the finale is here. After Series 2 ended with a Priest who masqueraded as Jesus caused pain in the group, they gave their powers away to a dealer named Seth (Matthew McNulty), who has the ability to remove an individual's powers and transfer them to someone else, a cliffhanger left all of them with a possibility of getting new powers. In Series 3, the ASBO 5 (except for Nathan) is joined by Rudy Wade (Joseph Gilgun), an obnoxious yet insecure pain-in-the-butt who got the power to create a duplicate with a separate personality. They return to community service thanks to Rudy and the show has gotten weirder ever since. With a lot more fanatics and mayhem involved, it becomes freaky central as many have the opportunity to sell or buy abilities.

Good:

This episode had Curtis claim a new power called Resurrection from Seth after his old power of changing gender forced him to become a woman permanently (I prefer time manipulation he used to have). In return, Seth wants a favour to bring his deceased girlfriend back to life. Unfortunately, all hail breaks loose as the rebirth has unforeseen side effects, which results in total damnation in a zombie onslaught. Not a bad episode and the punchlines cracked in the right places. Gilgun as Rudy was great to watch. His performance was well conducted and had fit his character spot on.

Story was not great, it fell too much into Shaun of the Dead fields but Overman did correct in measuring the drama and comedy aspect of the TV show. Gore was blown out and gross, laying out the supernatural aspect of the show. The lines were fairly descent and not too out of place but I did feel Simon's knowledge is based on a particular Capcom game and him admittedly stating the zombies are "Gonna keep us until we're trapped in a shopping centre" as the basis and reason for killing all the zombies as opposed to "Keeping off the grid" was quite forced. Although, I did appreciate the irony of cheerleaders in the mix. Mr. Miggles was one of the great additions to this episode. Just the name itself and what he did to that poor old woman is tongue-in-cheek laughter at it's best.

Directed by Will Sinclair, the person who did the 3rd and 5th episode of this Season really knew how to not let the rest go low key. This was just a "filler" as such, but more-so a good attempt to put Kelly's relationship with Seth to the test. I thank Sinclair and Overman for a gritty but fun installment of utter blood-lust and throttling escapades. The majority of the cast did well to react to zombie cheerleaders and their acting was pretty good. Special effects were not so fluid but its not terrible either. I felt Seth's girlfriend was not given much justice character wise and in performance as well but I'll get on to that later.

Bad:

I have watched every single episode of Misfits and this Season lacked a certain balance and focus, which the last two had. Enough of the "Nathan come back charade", Sheehan isn't coming back and not for awhile. In regular TV, it often happens, get used to it. Even if Sheehan was to come back, what makes you think his character would be able to maintain his cheeky gags with a new role as a father? Overman had some ingenious concepts that now reshaped his setting within his universe but the story now adopts this "story arc" way of writing than "character arc". I guess what I'm trying to say is as a whole, this episode and the entire series could have done better with more clear themes that doesn't allow it to go way off. You can tell other writers "chipped in" as the style is different.

The problem I had with this episode save for the creator finding new ways to kill probation workers (only kidding) is it's not that it was not entertaining but it's just that there's nothing here that benefits the series and was really just fun. Silly, but practically a good run. What didn't help is Seth's girlfriend being turned from a likable supporting character that could bust Seth's chops into another "villain of the week" role. Worse off is her urges, although well put on, is pretty flat. Her character wasn't developed enough. Nothing much was going on save for cheerleaders doing their practice on the site, Simon's fetish of dress up, Rudy's inferior fear of cheerleaders and Kelly's temporary break up. I was dissatisfied with the special effects usage on Seth's old flame's Resurrection but the editing and production weren't too bad.

Overall:

A zombie love fest at it's worst, it can beat Lesbian Vampires without swinging a bat. Overman didn't do too bad on script-writing duty, but it could of been done better. I really liked the final showdown with the zombie-cheerleaders even though I haven't got the slightest clue why they're at the centre. The Misfits themselves were bad as hell; Simon as the leader is smooth, Curtis I'm glad is over that shape-shifting mess, Kelly says it like it is, Rudy is just a prat and Alisha I wish had more clout. The visuals was clear-cut, gory and in your face with poor effects, okay-ish acting but nice directing, screams and humour I laughed my arse off. The next and final episode looks promising and I hope I see more Super Hoodie. Next post is back to films.

- Written by Kbon.

Stratosphere 2 review.

Review: 3 out of 5.

Kbon to review yet another music piece, again from one artist up in North, Lil Simz. Stratosphere 2, no it's not an airline people, but a mix-tape. Who is she, you ask? The Princess of Rap does it all; write, produce, dance and act. She is also well known in playing Spirit Warriors on CBBC; my cousin, 7 now, showed me. In my rampage of finding stuff to review, I came across some clip on YouTube from around Summer time and viewed her at an event on stage. "Hold on, this girl's good", is what racked in my brain. I needed to get in touch with her somehow. The next few days, I check out my little coz watching some next Crouching-Tiger-Hidden-Whatsoever, but with kids. Next thing I know, I see a young black woman doing kicks and suddenly I get deja vu. "Wait, ain't that the same artist I saw on YouTube?" It took me a few minutes to recollect, but as the weeks soared, I check she's dropped a mixtape. The rest is history.

Good:

Lil Simz is a decent artist, for all intents and purposes, her mix-tape was enough to get applauds. She did justice to both interpretations of Drake's tracks "Dreams Money Can Buy" of the same name; in more up tempo, semitones plus heavy base and with "Space" inspired by "Marvin's Room". However, I'm not too sure about "Rose" an obvious influence of Eminem. What I found brilliant about the mix-tape is she held out her own throughout the whole set. She didn't bother much about bringing along many artists' on board and I commend out to her that is a very brave thing to do. This shows confidence in her abilities and it allows reverence too. Another thing, which I admired about Lil Simz is her feisty persona and "down to earth" traits and her individuality. She does not try to be anyone else but stay true to who she is. When Simz did get other artists, it actually enhanced the concepts to another stage. An instance of this level-up is "Words I Never Said" feat. Chucks.

This mix-tape had some great tracks and I do relate to what Simz has said. Her punch lines are on point e.g. "They call me an alarm clock, I'mma end your dreams whatever the time" and this one "Turn it up coz you're listenin' to duh mix-tape, whether it be on a train or a whip, who cares? Dem ah act greedy like Hershey's". Those are from the start alone. The soundtracks mostly sound edgy and intense but other times it is more tranquil and mellow. "Rose" did make a point about how you must not always depend on people, even those who are your true fans and telling a story in the character of the fan and as herself but I had a little issue about how this was tackled. No one is perfect, though, so I can't really complain. Simz always manages to pick herself up and come up with something quip and fluid.

Bad:

Stratosphere 2 has some content in it that speaks for itself, but to be honest its not a jaw dropper. At times the music blares out at you which is good for attention but can be a bit much. The lines are catchy but sometimes its quite off. "Adidas Shoes" and "Rose" were the least choices I made. The latter sounds forced and not too convincing, at the same time, I do understand where she is coming from. Nevertheless, the majority of the tape managed to carry its way through. Tracks such as "No Minutes Wasted" make me think otherwise. At least her music is positive, there is more that can be done that could elevate it more. Sometimes less said is more, what I mean in relation to this is I want to be kept guessing and I do not mean subliminal messages. What I'm saying here is to step out the comfort zone and try to go beyond your limits. I just feel Simz is holding back, I'm not sure how. Mixing was fine and the production was okay, but some beats could be spiced up a bit.

Overall:

Stratosphere 2 had some fitting tracks to every young audience, man or woman could enjoy but its shaken a bit with not much expansion on the subjects at hand. Some tracks did better than others and some better melodies on a few beats could be called for. The flow was there, other than that, it is great and "Words I Never Said" is the one track that could rocket into the heavens and proves she can hit stuff way out of orbit. My next review will be Misfits Season 3.

- Written by Kbon.

Black and White review.

Review: 4 out of 5.

Been awhile since I did Chicks and Vans review, but here I am, any person who are fans of this page send me any possible or manageable piece of media, be it films, TV, music and games to review. Now, I plan to review the ground-breaking artist, Wretch 32. The first time I heard this artist was about 4 years ago, when Grime was on a hiatus. I have a few of his mix-tapes which I need to go back to. What I do know is this artist has been in the game for a long time and only just broke to mainstream. He is a very clever MC who has well constructive lines that build with one after the other. As the title suggests, Black and White is about the positive and negative aspects of his experiences, which I believe shows the artists' character, rather than settle with a narrow concept that is to me generic. I think Wretch 32 stands out more than most UK Grime MC's, in that he refuses to be put into a category. Is it enough though? You wretch, he did it!

Good:

Black and White has gone in, working his magic. Luck is not an option he plays as he went out to a whole lot of trouble in finding an retrospective, medium tempo, hard base, electronic but fresh take on British Hip Hop and Pop. Released in August 2011, his single, Traktor was one of my favourite tracks. I saw the music video for that and its very rectifying. Wretch has even added dub step, acoustic and anniversary versions of some of his songs in the deluxe edition, which shows he has an appreciation for other genres of music. Either this, or Wretch became smart and went the "Tinnie Tempah" route and crossed genres in order not to target a particular audience, rendering it a niche in the market. What is great about it, among other things, like being with many artists to name one of them; Chipmunk, he moved to new territory without moving too far from his roots. His work has cut out for him and he shows a strong essence of those he collaborates with.

The one big trait about Wretch 32 is that he is not all that serious, the way he executes his lines at each end of a bar is quite offhand without being so blase and he raises his tone that uplifts you at the same time. Most of his tracks mainly talk about his childhood, teenage years and career. Not only that, but misguidance, financial problems, growing up, his exploits and parent's. You wouldn't really call this Grime at all. In fact, about 10 miles away from it. There is just songs for everyone here, tracks like "Never Be Me" featuring Angel "Anniversary (Fall in Love)" ft Alex Mills and "Please Don't Let Me Go" ft Darren B are nostalgic, dreamy and have a common use of synthesizers and is down tempo reminiscent of electronica in a way. While "Unorthodox" "I'm Not the Man" and "Sane's the New Mad" have a moving quality to it.

Bad:

There's not much downsides to his album, except the style is a little sparse, which isn't a bad thing as such. It just makes it hard to define what it is. However, music is an art form that is expressed through sound. It is not really meant to be contained. On the other hand, there's a point where you have to settle down with subjects or approach that sticks with your interpretation without being unstuck. Another thing is "Black and White" and "Air" were both the least type of tracks I liked. I will not go hard with judgement with Air but the first track I said out of the two has to be, it was the first one on its track listing, hence the reason I've had a crack at it the way I did. It must be a good impression from the start, otherwise the listener may not have a reason to listen to the rest. Black and White (the track not the album, keep up) was a solid intro to everything for what's to come, even some of his words I was thinking "Come on, you can do better than that". It was just slow, flat and could have had a great impact. Although "Dark side of my life", "Light side of my life" were good analogues for the whole concept that drives the piece.

Those who don't have the Deluxe Version, this doesn't apply to what I'm about to say here. Those who do, you can pay attention to what I said earlier on in this review. Wretch added many remixes, if you will, to the album. Now I personally favoured acoustic versions of "Tracktor" and "Don't Go", he even made dub step as well. The other version was terrible, especially "Tracktor" in Friction remix. It gives you a choice though, which I believe the budding artist was aiming for. One more thing, even though Wretch had evident teamwork he did make some bad choices, for instance, Chipmunk featuring on his track "I'm Not the Man" did not add substance. Instead it detracted from the material, away for a bit. I'm not usually this critical over a respected MC's alliance with other artist's, but a few were not good, one of them on "Air".

Overall:

Black and White has got to be one of the best album's this year, while Wretch won't be seen on the "Jeremy Kyle show", I am confident when he comes back with a new album it is just as good. A fresh take on UK Hip Hop, this edition has the best of many different world's including Pop, Dub step and the like. His great strength is his bars, swagger and tracks "Never Be Me", "Please Don't Let Me Go" and of course "Tracktor". A little hiccup with the kind of collaboration he's associated with but he didn't lose focus and carried on until I saw hope. Many can enjoy his second outing into mainstream.

- Written by Kbon.

PUK Chicks and Vans review.

Review: 3 out of 5.

Back again with the next line of music, which is a group call P.U.K, I ain't got a clue what it stands for but I'll ask whenever I get the chance. For now, just shorten it and name them "PUK". Its made up of Teezy; dubbed the Fresh Prince of Hip Hop, Tigger Da Author, J Scripts and Paigey Cakey, think Young Money of the UK. I heard them first on Spiff TV (ain't everyone?) and it was hard. We need something fresh and that is what they got. "Chicks and Vans" was released in the peak of summer in July and its not bad. Its casual and has swagger. Onto the review, does it have what it takes to drive past my keen senses? Well, only just about.

Good:

PUK went right to the point, Chicks and Vans is all its ever about yeah? You're half right, don't be fooled by just the title of the mix tape. "How could I be wrong?" you say, I didn't say you are completely wrong, in fact you're almost right. "No vans, Chicks only"; I just gave them a new title it should of been called. Its essential, think about it. That's a hit already, I can smell it, just playin' but serious talk I enjoyed it. The best tracks on this mix tape I'll share with all of you is "Killn' it (Ayo)", "Love you later" and "Sexiest" above the rest. I just feel those four tracks show more character, the beat on the first I mentioned was fluid and quite experimental but its wordplay was cool even though it did talk about money and *cough* *cough* b@#£*$! Don't be offended by what I say, I didn't say it. I respect women and love them like cherry pie and cake. You find that in most Hip Hop, get used to it.

Moving on, PUK had some good tracks I could hype up to like its single "Money and Girls" or "Pow Pow Pow". These are not up tempo, though one; the first of the two tracks in comparison had some needed adrenaline to it, which if done proper could of blown everyone away. "Money and Girls" had a kick to it which felt almost like you were being played, but the bars fit to some degree. On "Sexiest", the part with Queen Latifah on the intro was a nice touch. While the concept of it was just pure and simple "Who's the sexiest one in the room?" Although, the best one had to be "Killin' it (Ayo)". I blew that tune indoors to annoy neighbours, not really.

Bad:

I will be honest, Chicks and Vans is not the best mix tape out there but then again its just that, a mix tape. I appreciate the fact they have tried different beats for this and is sort of Alternative Hip Hop, but the content does not match up. My expectations were not high, but on the other hand, I wanted more from it. This felt unfinished, indecisive and run of the mill. I wanted something that I can ride with the beat and to affect me in some way as I listen but its just nothing much to it.

PUK went in with some attitude plus some layered in punchlines, but I get nothing much from their character and there is not much variety. I don't have much problem with flow or anything of the sort, even the beat, the majority of them is brilliant. Its just there is so much that can be done with the lyrics that could of fit with the rhythms. The fact that its length only had 8 tracks is not really much of an issue, but I am sure if I heard at least 4 or more tracks I could see what I can get out of the music.

Overall:

It was a short road trip, but it did have an incentive that is basic. Teezy and the gang did excellent on delivery, mixing was standard and the pacing of these beats is not too bad, I'm not feeling the way its put together. It had fluid sounds but the content is poor. If not for Teezy and Paigey the score would have been lower but if I had more variety, it would be better. My next review will be Wretch 32 album Black and White.

- Written by Kbon.

Barnation World review.

Review: 3.5 out of 5.

I'm back everyone,

Last month has been crazy. I left my review scribe of movie reels and settled in, now talking about music. What I have for you people here is a person from up North who I met a few times on set during his videos. He is laid back and is pretty safe. He calls himself Blaze Barnation. I have listened to his mix tape and I heard that he produced some of his own songs. That is a great art to have, considering most wannabe artist's or genuine ones scramble to find producer's and worry about gettin' signed to the best label. Music is not that easy to get into. Forget X-Factor an' that so-called reality-pansy rubbish, it's deeper than River Thames. Anyway, back to Blaze, it's not a bad mix at all. In fact, it can be marketable.

Good:

Blaze really knows how to set the mood as he often variate his tone on a particular beat while still keeping his flow locked. He has a very distinctive style which can go from a monotone to an upbeat Garage, Dub step, pace. You can tell which area his background comes from within this genre. The good thing is that his delivery is quite unique and I'm here scratching my head trying to figure out what artist could he be influenced from, British that is. I'm thinking of maybe Bashy, Ghetts or K-Coke but I could be wrong. Not sure, but I'm not gonna wrestle and rack my brain too much on it. Its better left another day.

There are some great tunes out there, but the good thing about this is its a different story every track. Every track is like a new chapter that progressed until the bitter end. The content is great, but I feel there is something missing. I will get onto the other side of it later, but I want to tell you some of the hardest bars on the mix-tape. I won't spoil it, but even though one of his tracks was not on my top list "A Star" featuring Drea was slow and quite built with electronica, but not hardcore. The beat was decent and had a strong voice from the singer. Blaze spit lines I liked "Tupac was talkin' about changes, something that can uplift our nation" and this one "But just cause I'm stuck an' coulda been ballers, but you're not, your more like a supporter". Those two bars are honest, smack in the middle and had meaning. Yes, Tupac was talking about changes. Another thing is "ballers", living the fast lane don't always give easy pickings and if you support that you are just as contradictory as them. There are more tracks I want to dive into.

The favourite tracks I have listened to is "Sometimes I Don't Want to Be Alive", "Legend", "I Am a Champion", just to name a few. The best guests alongside Blaze was Dominic, Abstrakt E, Blink and Sylvia. It feels more mainstream somehow, but I think it will catch on quickly if it hits the right circuit. The mixing was well put together and goes in and some of the tracks sound almost like remixes of each other, but its not, which is strange but yes, he came out the box. The way he ends on a line is a nice touch, something many rappers tend to do these days. He makes it his own though with his flow. Those are the best things about the mix-tape, as he swung punch lines right in a match.

Bad:

Now, with the highs always come with lows. I will be fair, there is not many tunes I listened to in the UK that are like this. I'm a hard judge, I don't try to go for commercial stuff. Not that there's anything wrong, but it has it's short coming's. One thing I have a problem with is his bars are sometimes not clear. I'm not someone who listens to music just for base, and I admit it's sick but I want to hear the lyrics as well. Those are what get me when I jump and start bopping my head. I need it, otherwise I miss out. Another thing is the tracks such as "A Star", "Let go", "Gorgeous" and "Lost With Nowhere to Go" has base and melody that is almost too similar. People may lose interest quickly, but the rest of the mix-tape such as "hood tracks" like "Rain on dem" help to compensate. I'm not into his other track "R-Kelly", but I think it's Blaze just having fun. I gotta say, the "R-Kelly swagger" is corny but catchy. Not a bad run, it's pretty swell.

Overall:

Barnation World did manage to make you feel at home with some very fitting tracks which can easily hit the mainstream. He is a talented rapper and producer who knows what he is doing, there is respectable delivery that goes right in but I feel it needed more work to push it to the right side of the spectrum. The biggest praise was the acts by Dominic, Abstrakt E and Blink. I think if the singers like Drea and Grace had more qualms, it would have potential to push it into the next wing of success. The next review will be P.U.K's EP and after that, is a surprise.

- Written by Kbon.