(If you haven't, of course, already been bombarded with links on Facebook.)
- Saturday, May 25, 2013
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- Saturday, May 25, 2013
- 0 Comments
It hit the $1 billion (I know!!) mark this week and reignited our shameless love for superheroes. Released almost exactly one year after the marvel that was The Avengers (see what I did?), Robert Downey Jr made a spectacular return to the silver screen in what is supposedly Iron Man's last solo film. Avengers 2 out next year, Spiderman 2 being filmed, a Superman reboot, Captain America 2, Thor 2...we really do like our men in lycra don't we!? Luckily, Iron Man is a man of metal and he's back for what I really think is the best in the trilogy by far.
Is it a good film? Yes. Does it live up to the standards set by it's predecessors? Yes, and raises it by one giant iron bar. Former Playboy Billionaire Man is now in a committed relationship with sassy Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and just when you think things are smooth and plain sailing, The Villain comes along. Yep, in every film regardless of genre you're going to get your Hero and Villain. This one's particularly interesting though. Disaster is being struck by bombings with no forensic evidence left at the scene, and The Mandarin is to blame, played by the fantastically versatile Sir Ben Kingsley. At the same time, poor Tony Stark hasn't fully recovered from his ordeal (remember the falling from the sky?) in New York. In fact, the very words "New" and "York" are potentially more dangerous than the villain! I exaggerate.
The cast is superb, and I simply cannot imagine Iron Man/Stark being played by any other actor. Downey Jr slips in and out of the suit seamlessly, and not just in the metaphorical compliment sense. Funny, cocky, and insanely clever. Gwyneth Paltrow takes centre stage and even gets to wear the suit - Iron (wo)Man...she's not just the pretty love interest. Jon Favreau, who directed the other two films and plays butch security man aka Pete From Friends aka Ultimate Fighting Champion, provides some light humour as a universally likeable character. Not to mention returning Don Cheadle as Rhodey, the other guy in the other iron suit. His is slightly more decorated though... The new cast members, notably Rebecca Hall and Guy Pearce are extremely significant and bring about a sci-fi edge with potential dangers and an important back-story. And also, a very cute kid who is undoubtedly the best sidekick in the world. Speaking of stories, the whole plot is genius. There's a twist (did you hear about the twist?) and a story that takes you up in the air and all the way back down in a weird but effective human paper chain. You'll see. The villain and his own sidekicks are kinda indestructible which makes it all the more interesting to see how Iron Man & co. deal with it. Interesting and clever.
Visual effects are superb and no less; Iron Man, aided by JARVIS (more than just a cool voice) is getting technologically better and more advanced, and it's interesting to see a lot of screen time of Tony Stark minus metal suit. Aided by scientific advances, and not giving too much away, the bad guys use a lot of CGI to make them so...bad(ass).
So yes, it is another superhero film. Yes, there is a threat to destroy the world. Yes, it's up to the hero to save the day. But it's SO much better than three yes's. You'll laugh, cry maybe, and be treated to a two-hour-and-a-bit extravaganza reminding you why, for most people, Iron Man is the most popular Avenger. You'll have to do more than take my word for it; go to the cinema and see for yourself.
- Monday, May 20, 2013
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I use Youtube for a variety of reasons. Watching music videos, catching up with the latest "Viral Internet Sensation", looking at cute videos of cute kittens, and listening to covers from talented, unsigned and up-and-coming singers. The fact that anybody can record a song in their rooms, upload and share with the world means that the window to talent is as easy to access as accessing the Internet itself (aka, easy peasy lemon squeezy). Just because an artist hasn't been scouted by Jay-Z or auditioned for the X Factor or signed to a multinational record label, it doesn't mean they don't deserve recognition. As a new Beview feature, every so often I'll be sharing my favourite Youtube covers and artists....starting now!
Bev-iew-tube (pronounced Bev Youtube, clever eh?)
Cassandra Farrar - Radioactive (originally by Imagine Dragons)
This has been one of my favourite songs of the past few months and Cassandra's version is a beautiful cover with her own twist on the song, as Simon Cowell would say. Check out her channel of over 100 videos, featuring many enchanting original songs, some sounds vaguely reminiscent of Taylor Swift before she went all Avril Lavigne-Dub Step-Angsty Pop, and a guitar I want! Radioactive is one of her most popular covers, but there are some very underrated special gems in the collection.
Sam Knight - That's Life (originally by Frank Sinatra)
Ok, so we see loads of indie covers and pop covers and guitar covers around, but it's so much rarer for a jazz and swing song to be covered these days. Sam Knight happens to be a friend of mine, whose smooth voice and unique style definitely makes him stand out in a sea of young artists on Youtube. That's Life (can you believe it was originally released in 1966!?) is one of several covers on his Youtube channel which is well worth checking out.
There'll be more from the wonderful world of Youtube, plus reviews of Iron Man 3 (I finally went to see it!), Doctor Who and The Apprentice coming soon on Beview.
Bev x
Ps. If you're wondering what the aforementioned "cute videos of cute kittens" refers to, look no further.
Bev-iew-tube (pronounced Bev Youtube, clever eh?)
This has been one of my favourite songs of the past few months and Cassandra's version is a beautiful cover with her own twist on the song, as Simon Cowell would say. Check out her channel of over 100 videos, featuring many enchanting original songs, some sounds vaguely reminiscent of Taylor Swift before she went all Avril Lavigne-Dub Step-Angsty Pop, and a guitar I want! Radioactive is one of her most popular covers, but there are some very underrated special gems in the collection.
Ok, so we see loads of indie covers and pop covers and guitar covers around, but it's so much rarer for a jazz and swing song to be covered these days. Sam Knight happens to be a friend of mine, whose smooth voice and unique style definitely makes him stand out in a sea of young artists on Youtube. That's Life (can you believe it was originally released in 1966!?) is one of several covers on his Youtube channel which is well worth checking out.
There'll be more from the wonderful world of Youtube, plus reviews of Iron Man 3 (I finally went to see it!), Doctor Who and The Apprentice coming soon on Beview.
Bev x
Ps. If you're wondering what the aforementioned "cute videos of cute kittens" refers to, look no further.
- Wednesday, May 15, 2013
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It's that time of the year again...the return of the boardroom, the 16 capable candidates, and the "I could do that so much better!" screams from your living rooms. The Apprentice (UK) has treated us to not one, but two, episodes from the latest 9th series. We've watched as eager beavers jumped the gun straight into the crossfire (we're talking about Apprentice...gotta have some cliches!) as the teams tackle selling stuff, and making beer. Since Tuesday, the forums/social networking sites have been spreading comments like wildfire along the lines of "The Apprentice has had it's time." I disagree.
***Firstly, if you don't like spoilers and have not yet watched this week's episodes? Stop reading now! I will tell you who's fired, and you won't like me for it. Run whilst you still can***
So, they all get fired. (Only joking; seriously, stop reading.) The first episode showed the ultra-super-ridiculously cringey "I'm the best" candidate statements...we had likenings to Jessica Rabbit and Napoleon, amongst other quotes that will make you want to hide behind a pillow - not out of fear. Candidates include silver-haired fox Myles Mordaunt, whose name alone conveys power, sucess and wealth (or is it just me?), doctor Leah Totton who I think totally disproves the "dumb blonde" concept and I reckon will go very far, Sophie Lau who reminds me so much of Susan Ma, Francessca who is Stella English, impeccably educated Jason Leech, Alex "Those Eyebrows" Mills, and Luisa Zissman who apparently asked fellow candidates who "the President of England" was. And of course, we got the cheesy team names: Endeavour and Evolve. I'm just waiting for the day they run out of those inspirational words and choose something more obscure...like "Beliebers4Lyf". Just imagine the look on Lord Sugar's face!
Episode 1 involved selling a container-load of goods including lucky Chinese cat plastic figures, loo roll, bottled water and leather jackets. Already, both boys and girls were bickering like there's no tomorrow. Leading the girls, we had enthusiastic Jaz, a name undoubtedly shortened from "JazzHands", whose eagerness was admirable but ended up patronising her colleages as 5 year old kids at school. I was particularly impressed by Leah, who has a smart aura about her, and especially annoyed by Luisa (have you seen the horrible tabloid party photos published? Definitely not Apprentice-friendly). Anyone who uses "no offence, but you're just a doctor" as an insult is definitely on my "Fired" list. On The Apprentice, there are a lot of "With hindsight, we would have done this..." moments - this team's included going to Chinatown to sell overpriced cats only to find all shops closed. "Is it a Chinese holiday?". No, silly, it's 9am. The boys also encountered cat problems, wasting time shoving batteries in, in order to make their sale. Neil, who looks like either an actor or football manager, tried to claim his crown as Alpha Male of this series; from past viewing experience, he'll do well and go far.
In the boardroom, the usual talking over each other occurred (when does it not!?) and we said goodbye to Jaz instead of Logistics Uzma and Quiet Sophie. Just when you think it's over, real life Tigger, Tim, makes a plea that would feel better placed in the firing line... Big mistake!
Leading onto Episode 2, making and selling beer, where Tim leads the girly team (pretty sure I heard Luisa say something like "come on girlies!") and Quiet Kurt is PM for the boys. Blame the editing, but I saw Kurt in Ep1 so rarely I didn't really know he existed. After choosing a rhubarb and caramel flavoured beer, the girls were making a mess...literally. I wanted to look away and run a mile, after watching them completely mess up simple calculations and standing around like clueless children instead of capable business-owners. Maybe I'm being harsh, but Lord Sugar should be going into business with someone who can do ratios and numbers, right? The boys, similarly, made errors including telling someone who didn't even drink in the brewery. And sending people to a business pitch without the product. Here, have a sniff. The bottle smells alright so buy some! Hmm... The standout perforance, however, came from Jason. Zeehan is close to closing a deal, and Jason suddenly jumps in with a lower price. He's sworn at, poor guy, and treated like a child told to sit in the corner and not speak unless spoken to. With the games, malice and tactics of The Apprentice, unless he has a supreme business plan, I don't think he'll be cutthroat enough to compete with the other spiky characters.
After the boys win by quite some margin, the other boy Tim is fired. Only the project managers have gone so far, kind of showing that you can sit in the backseat for the early episodes and go through (what did Sophie and Jordan do?). I'm left feeling sad about Tim's departure; I picked him out as my favourite during the first episode, and really think he'd be a series standout if he made it a few weeks longer. The fired candidates from the early weeks are never really remembered, which is a shame.
Anyway, two episodes...verdict? The Apprentice has had me shouting at my screen on more-than numerous occasions. I've questioned the BBC's "casting" decisions quite a bit as well. I'm sure some of these people are more likeable in "real life" than they're portrayed to be, and although I'm not currently convinced, I'm sure their business acumen will shine through too. (Having said that, it's a general consensus that they are all about "selling". I think they'll need to prove they're not just good salespeople to impress the viewer.) But when it comes down to it, The Apprentice makes good TV. It gets you ranting (see all above!!), debating, shouting, tweeting...and the controversial candidates are there for a reason. Good TV and guilty pleasures... Welcome back!
Before next Wednesday's episode...Whos' Who? Enjoy some seeing double :)
(Jason Leech, Alex Epstein. Francesca MacDuff-Varley, Stella English. Susan Ma, Sophie Lau.)
- Thursday, May 09, 2013
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