Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters Film Review

A Grimm take on a famous fable.

Find my review by following the link below...

http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/hansel-and-gretel-witch-hunters-film-review/

Zero Dark Thirty Film Review

From the director of Oscar winning The Hurt Locker (2008) comes another intense and intellectually challenging film.

http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/zero-dark-thirty-film-review/

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

After a short absence in blog posts I bring you my review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which you can find by following the link below:

Peter Jackson, the director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy bring us another chapter from middle-earth, which sees Bilbo’s first adventure where he stumbles upon something very “precious”.

http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/film-review-the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey/

Skyfall Theme Song By Adele

It's James Bond day today, celebrating 50 years of Bond on our screens, so why not listen to the new Bond theme song by Adele below:

Looper

When Joe fails to shoot, he becomes his own worst enemy.

With the eerie silence that falls upon this film, only to be filled by the tick-tocking of Gordon-Levitt’s pocket watch, Looper is a futuristic Sci-Fi that is sure to thrill and leave you stunned, wanting to watch more.

You can read my review in full below:
http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/looper-film-review-when-joe-fails-to-shoot-he-becomes-his-own-worst-enemy/

Here is the trailer:

ParaNorman

ParaNorman tells the frightfully ghoulish tale of a misunderstood boy, Norman, who has freakish hair and the unnatural ability to communicate with the dead...

You can read more about ParaNorman below:

http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/paranorman-film-review/

It is a must-see for those that enjoy stop-motion animation, zombies, or who are fans of the horror genre.

Here's the trailer...

Racing Dreams

Whether you are a NASCAR enthusiast of not, this award winning documentary will captivate and inspire...

Read more here: http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/racing-dreams-documentary-film-review/
 

Anna Karenina

A romantic tragedy that foregrounds the theatricality of our lives.

“There are as many loves as there are hearts” – Leo Tolstoy.

You can read the review below:

http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/anna-karenina-film-review/

Hysteria

A hysterically funny romantic comedy that is light-heartedly inventive and does not cease to be stimulating with its untold tale.

Hysteria, set in prudish Victorian London, follows a forward thinking young doctor, Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy), struggling to establish his career, in an age when the medical establishment is caught up in the act of bleeding and leeching, when he meets Mr. Robert Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce). Dalrymple is one of London’s leading doctors specialising in women’s medicine and with a waiting room full of upper-class women suffering from “hysteria” he is in need of an extra “pair of hands” to relieve them of their symptoms. Granville is taken under Dalrymple’s wing with the promise of marriage to the successful doctor’s dutiful and proper daughter Emily (Felicity Jones) and the possibility of taking over the practise one day. But just as things seem to be going well for this young doctor, Granville’s hopes are dashed by hand cramps and the meeting of unruly eldest daughter Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal).  

This uproarious satirical comedy tells the untold tale of how the first mechanical vibrator was made in the name of medical science. It would seem that it all stemmed from hand cramps. Alongside this comedic invention, made by Granville’s close friend Edmund (Rupert Everett), the film addresses more serious issues including the first movements made by women to achieve liberation and their regained control of their repressed sexuality. Charlotte, being a social reformer fighting for women’s rights and helping those less fortunate, is considered unruly because she is liberated.

But this heavy topic becomes light-hearted amongst the comedy that unfolds around it. Comedy is deceptively serious as it subverts the situation at which it laughs at. Much of the humour stems from the comments made by the men revolving around their gender assumptions and how old fashioned and absurd they sound to an audience from the 21^st Century. This humour foregrounds how far we have come as a society in the understanding of the male and female body and psyche and ensures that Hysteria is enjoyable to watch.

Despite the predictability that surrounds the narrative structure of a romantic comedy and the ending that could be considered to dampen Charlotte’s fight for women’s rights and independence, this uproarious rom-com, from director Tanya Wexler, will keep audiences entertained by the comedy that stems from such a stimulating topic.

Hysteria is hilariously funny and is a definite must-see. 

Total Recall

With a tough act to follow, Total Recall is not as eye-poppingly charismatic as its predecessor, but it manages to bring this old tale into the 21^st Century.

Check out the review below:

http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/total-recall-film-review/

The Expendables 2

The Expendables are back and this time they are “back for war.”

Check out my latest review of The Expendables 2 below:

http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/the-expendables-2-film-review/

The Bourne Legacy

Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg as Jeremy Renner takes on the new secret agent action role in this fourth instalment of the espionage franchise.

You can read my film review at TQS Magazine: http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/the-bourne-legacy-film-review/

Brave

Disney Pixar brings us this bold princess fairytale that breaks with tradition.

You can check out the review of Brave at the link below:

http://flaneur.me.uk/08/brave-film-review/

Ted

Are you a fan of Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy or American Dad? If so, you have to check out the review below of Ted, his first feature debut!

http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/ted-film-review/

The Dark Knight Rises

There’s a storm coming…

Christopher Nolan’s epic conclusion to the Batman trilogy has finally arrived and it has reached new unprecedented heights.

Nolan has brought us the origin of Batman and Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins as well as Batman's greatest adversary in The Dark Knight Rises. He has given us a dark and gritty portrayal of Gotham and in this defining last instalment he even gives us a critique of our own capitalist ways. This final act brings together the ambiguous loose ends from the previous two films to bring us a conclusion to remember.

Gotham’s reckoning has arrived in the form of the massively hench Bane (Tom Hardy), whose brutal strength and skill is matched and exceeded only by the calmness in his voice.

The Dark Knight Rises picks up where The Dark Knight ended. Batman (Christian Bale), after taking the fall for Harvey Dent’s crimes and suffering the loss of a loved one banished himself, alongside Bruce Wayne, to the shadows and has spent eight years hiding in Wayne Manner. However, his curiosity returns when he meets estranged Selina Kyle (Ann Hathaway), who stumbles upon an opportunity to steal something extremely valuable to Wayne. Although he has aged and has old injuries to contend with that does not hold him back.

Batman enlists the help of his faithful ally Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to face his toughest challenge yet. Batman must stop Bane from turning Gotham upon itself as he “gives the city back to the people” by destroying those with authority and social status. The idealist views leave a resounding truth ringing through the air, as it would seem that Bane offers a critic of our very own capitalist society.

The emphasis on identity still continues to be playfully negotiated throughout this film, especially with the introduction of a hyperfeminine Catwoman, known as The Cat. Hathaway delivers a critical performance, but seems to lack a certain audacity that Michelle Pfeiffer gave to the role in her unforgettable appropriation of Catwoman in Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1991). Bale and Hardy also deliver fantastic performances, emphasising that there is more truth in the mask than the face beneath it.

Christopher Nolan’s epic finale is nothing less than epic as it is hard to imagine it any other way. Nolan playfully raises the idea that we are not bound to our bodies, but, rather, it is our memories and actions that define who we are and who we can become. This is done through the hypermasculine Bane as he points out that "it does not matter who you are what matters is your plan." This idea that identity is fluid and can be 'put on' is foregrounded in all of Nolan's films and leaves a subtle, yet, playful sense of ambiguity surrounding the identities of the characters.

Despite the lack of The Joker and the plot twists and turns that the last instalment offered, Nolan ends the epic conclusion to the Batman trilogy with a film that rises to an unprecedented height as he raises the bar for superhero films.

You are definitely in for a show tonight.

Cinema of the World

If you are interested in World Cinema and like to learn about different cultures and ways of writing and filmmaking then you will be interested in the articles I have written below. 

Here is a guide to the most influential Lusophone authors:

 http://globalartscentral.com/gacs-guide-to-the-most-influential-lusophone-authors/

Here is a biography of Carolina Monte Rosa: 

http://globalartscentral.com/a-closer-view-carolina-monte-rosa/

Are you a fan of independent films? Do you enjoy performances from charismatic, powerful and emotional actors/actresses? Do you yearn to watch films bursting with creativity? Then you will like Carolina Monte Rosa.

Here is a guide to the five most influential Lusophone films: 

http://globalartscentral.com/gacs-5-most-influential-lusophone-films/

Here is a biography of Maríla Rocha:

http://globalartscentral.com/closer-view-marlia-rocha/

Are you interested in independent cinema? Would you like to watch films which explore different aspects of human life as well as explore the various landscapes of Brazil? Sounds appealing? Read our profile on one of Brazil’s best independent film makers Marília Rocha.

The Source (La Source des Femmes)

This fable about the tradition of the water source is not just about the need for running water, but rather, more about the struggle between tradition and modernisation. In times of change, this fable challenges the traditional values of the household in a Moroccan village as the women take a stand to be heard.

You can find this review at the link below: 

http://globalartscentral.com/a-closer-view-the-source-la-source-des-femmes/

This is definitely a film  to watch, so do not let the subtitles put you off, or you will be missing out!

Thanks and enjoy!

Killer Joe

This sadistically dark, yet vibrant thriller from William Friedkin will leave you tense and shocked.


You can read my review for Killer Joe at the link below:
http://flaneur.me.uk/07/killer-joe-film-review/


This is definitely one interesting and uncomfortable film to watch!

Electrick Children

Electrick Children is an eccentric, yet gripping, Indie teen drama that deals with the coming of age story from a completely different approach.


You can find this review at the link below: 
http://www.tqsmagazine.co.uk/film-review-electrick-children/

Thanks and Enjoy!

Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap

“Hip hop reinvented everything”

Ice-T is a world renowned rap icon and has sold millions of copies of records. He has had huge success in the art of rap and has brought us this documentary, which he has directed and presents, that asks the one question that never gets asked to rappers, “How did you do that?”

The Art of Rap is a personal journey for Ice-T as he delves into the roots of the music that saved his life. This definitive documentary portrays how rap is all about craft and skill, as it is an art form and is unique to the place in which it is crafted. Ice-T takes us on a trip around America, starting in New York, in the Bronx where rap first started, to Detroit and then LA, showing us how rap has developed in each place to portray a different message of a different way of life. 

Along the way, this documentary features exclusive interviews and freestyle performances by some of the greatest names in rap, including; Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Nas, Mos Def, Eminem, Chuck D, KRS-One, Run-DMC, Dr.Dre, Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. Each rapper is presented with the question of how they do their work and each individual gives a different answer to how they write their lyrics and what rap means to them. Some write their lyrics as a story, others in a systematic way. What is clear from all of their experiences is that rap is a skill, as you have to have originality. Most of these rappers write lyrics from their own experiences in life and, therefore, their raps are very personal to them.

It was made clear that rap came from the culture in which these people live in, as many of the beats that were once used to rap against were Jazz records. Rap simply gave a voice to a new generation and it even crossed the boundaries of colour, which the film beautifully represents with its multicolour scenic shots of the cities lit up at night. Hip Hop became the voice for anyone that needed it. One of the rappers, Common, stated in the film that “the joy and beauty of being a Hip Hop Artist is that you can truly express who you are and truly be who you are.” For many of the rappers interviewed in this documentary, rap helped to save them in one way or another.

This documentary tries to redefine how people think of Hip Hop, as one of the main problems with such an aggressive form of music seems to be that people do not respect it as an art form. Thus, this documentary gives the public an opportunity to see how rappers craft their lyrics and how much history this music is steeped in. However, the film does not delve very far into the social impact and context of rap which also means that the interviews, where the same questions are asked each time, do get slightly repetitive as not much context is given alongside these.

Despite this, the documentary remains informative and eye opening as it gives rap a soul. It gives people an opportunity to try and understand the art of rap and hopefully a new found respect.

Opens in cinemas nationwide on 19 July 2012.

On Thursday 19th July 2012, fans will have the chance to witness an extraordinary moment in hip hop history when Ice-T performs with rap legends Chuck D, Melle Mel and Raekwon for a one-off performance at the Hammersmith Apollo to mark the European Premier of Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap. The event will be simulcast live at cinemas across the UK.

Tickets are available for purchase via Hammersmith Apollo, HMV Tickets & Ticketmaster:

http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/360048C1F9496566

http://www.hmvtickets.com/events/6503