The Icelandic band, Sigur Rós, has a very loyal group of followers scattered throughout the word, so when lead singer, Jón Þór Birgisson, announced he was to create a solo album, there was understandably some reservations held within that camp. Well, that album is now here. Released under the name of Jónsi, we have the album, Go.

Firstly, I should mention that I am one of those Sigur Rós fans. I also should mention that I really enjoyed their latest album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, which was criticized for being too commercial. In any case, I was also concerned, as I always am when a lead singer goes out on their own, as to how this album would turn out. Would it be nothing like the band’s music and difficult to connect with, or, paradoxically, would it be so similar to their material that there would seem little point in not just creating the album for the band. I think that Go actually manages to tred that fine line, as it is both easily recognisable as Jón Þór Birgisson, but is enough of a departure from Sigur Rós, for it to stand up on its own. …read more

In March of 2008 Zooey Dechanel and M. Ward, together known as She & Him, released their optimistically named, debut album Volume One. Now, almost two years to the day comes the follow up, Volume Two.

I love Volume One. Even two years after its release, it is regularly played from start to finish at my work and home. Volume Two offers more of the same; delightful indie folk tunes with a retro twist. And while Volume One has a couple of those songs, that while not unlikable, you could easily skip, Volume Two has no such tracks, making it a great boppy album that perhaps even surpasses its predecessor.

The first single In The Sun, is a lovely, bright, melodic song, which includes backing vocals by Tilly and the Wall. The album also features covers of both NRBQ’s Ridin’ in My Car and Patience and Prudence’s Gonne Get Along Without You Now. Both of these songs slot in beautifully with the original tracks written and recorded for the album. …read more

Despite being quite let down by Tim Burton’s form in recent years, I was very excited to see his take on this old favourite, Alice in Wonderland. Not a remake of either Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or its sequel Through The Looking-Glass, the film sees Alice return to Wonderland thirteen years after her childhood visit, a visit Alice remembers through dreams, she in fact believes the memory to be a dream.

As a child, Alice, is very close to her father who understands and encourages her whimsical nature, but as a Alice enters adulthood, and after the death of her father, she finds it very difficult to conform to the Victorian society she must become a part of. Enter the White Rabbit and Alice’s adventure begins.

Many of the characters we grew up with once again join Alice beneath the surface: Tweedledee and Tweedledum, The Cheshire Cat, March Hare, The Dormouse, The Red and White Queens, and of course, The Mad Hatter. The story sees Alice and company on a quest to fight the fabled Jabberwocky and restore the land to the White Queen’s rule.

Alice in Wonderland looks amazing. Combining live action and animation, with 90% of filming being done with the use of green screens, so much more is achieved than would have been possible with conventional filming. From the Red Queen’s bulbous head, to Alice’s fluctuating size, to the Knave of Hearts’ stretched out frame, it’s all wonderful. …read more

The Hurt Locker sees an American Army’s elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad in some very intense situations. Staff Sergeant William James takes over the team and he’s not what the other members are used to. His cavalier attitude has them fearing that, in the last few weeks of their tour, he will kill not only himself but them too. At times, it’s hard to tell if he’s incredibly brave or just a bit mad and this seems to be the issue his team has too.

While it’s obviously and American film about American soldiers during the beginning of the current Golf War, to its credit, The Hurt Locker doesn’t take sides. It doesn’t follow a clear narrative either. Sure, there’s a new guy in town and you have the feeling that it’s not going to end well, he clearly has issues and these have to be addressed, but the film is essentially a series of highly intense situations, most of which involve the handling of home made bombs or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). There also isn’t a great deal of character development but there are moments throughout the film where certain characters are shown in a very vulnerable light. This definitely helps the audience make a connection with them and offers a shift in mood from the edge-if-your-seat stuff of bomb disarmament. …read more

It seems nowdays, that a thriller movie guaranteed to “scare you senseless”, is released every week. Rarely do they live up to their promise and they mostly always follow a generic formula that has been tried and tried by the previously released films of the same genre. Then along comes Eden Lake.

Eden lake starts off as most thriller movies do and yes, it does follow a lot of generic thriller movie formulas, but it’s the content in Eden Lake that makes it so powerful. It opens with a young couple, happily in love, heading off on a trip to get away from their everyday lives. Steve (Michael Fassbender) and Jenny (Kelly Reilly) come across Eden Lake, a bushland situated just outside a small local town that is currently under development. While relaxing lakeside, they encounter some local youths playing loud music and letting their dog run amok. A situation that everyone in their lives would encounter in one way or the other. In an attempt to retain some of the lakes calming atmosphere, Steve approaches the youths and kindly asks them to turn the music down and to pay a bit more attention to what their dog is doing. After what turns out to be an extremely hostile encounter, Steve cuts his losses and goes back to Jenny. The youths eventually leave and Steve and Jenny finally relax, believing that this is the much needed getaway that they both wanted, unaware of the terror that is just hours in front of them. …read more

Power is a mine worker from a small New Mexico town who has a fairly unconventional passion. After not having enough money as kid to buy drums, he takes up the highly skilled and very unpopular hobby of air drumming. Seen as a bit of a freak by most of the towns folk, except for one young Mexican kid and his Aunt Joni (played by the brilliant Jane Lynch), Power still believes that air-drumming is the way forward and the answer to a brighter tomorrow.

Power gets wind that there are other people out there with air drumming in their veins and sets out on a cross-country trip to find a place where he fits in and to ultimately succeed in his journey. The usual trials and tribulation that accompany any underdog and his pals on a quest for glory are present here, and while there are certainly no surprises when it comes to basic storyline, Adventures of Power is still a lot of fun and there are some truly hilarious moments.

Adrian Grenier is great (in an absurd way) as Power’s big competition, a “real” drummer who, much to his father’s distaste, has air drumming in his heart. Ari Gold, who also wrote and directed the film, is endearing as the cereal loving Power. …read more

The Apocalypse, is finally here.

In what has to be one of the most anticipated games of the new year, Darksiders sees War, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, banished to earth by the Charred Council, on a journey to discover the truth behind why the Apocalypse has been activated early, to find who is responsible for the chaos and to bring them to a swift and bloody justice.

Featuring Creative Director Joe Madureira, who will be familiar with comic book fans due to his artwork with titles such as X-Men and Deadpool. Darksiders is a visually striking game that stands immediately on its own feet in terms of presentation and production. But, the game also holds its influences close to its heart and is not afraid to show them.

Does the gameplay in Darksiders match up with the brilliant production values to create one of the must have titles on Xbox 360 and PS3 for 2010?

Read on to find out. …read more

Marvel Super Hero Squad features characterised versions of the Marvel Comics characters who appear in the Marvel Super Hero Squad toy line and the consequential television show. The characters are: Iron Man, Falcon, Wolverine, Hulk, Thor and Silver Surfer as well as the evil Lethal Legion: Doctor Doom, Modok, Magneto, Mole Man, Abomination, Juggernaut and Sabretooth. The game can be played in story mode or battle mode.

The story:

Doctor Doom attempts to transport the Infinity Sword to Earth and use it for evil, Iron Man manages to intervene and during the ensuing battle, the sword is shattered into pieces that are scattered throughout the Super Hero City. These fractals hold immense power which Doctor Doom intends to use once they have all been collected and the Super Hero Squad must fight to prevent this from happening.

The introduction level serves as a tutorial for the rest of the game. Even though this is the case, it its well worth reading through the short game booklet before commencing as some things are not explained well enough in game, therefore you could save yourself some time later on if you have the knowledge from the get go. …read more

I’d never heard of Wake in Fright before, so when a review copy made its way to my doorstep, I did a little bit of research to see what the film was about. In most cases Wake In Fright was known as an Australian cult classic - a film that portrayed the brutal aspect of the Australian outback. I was intrigued to see if the film lived up to its Australian classic status that it seemed to achieve.

Released in 1971, Wake In Fright becomes an important Australian film for several reasons. The film is Jack Thompson’s first major film role and it is also the final film that Chips Rafferty made. Sadly, he died shortly after the film was completed. These aren’t the main reasons that Wake in Fright is such an important film though. Wake In Fright, is a confronting, no-holds-barred look at the Australian outback. Once thought lost forever, Wake In Fright has been painfully restored digitally, frame by frame for its DVD and Blu-Ray re-release and the effort really does show.

Wake In Fright is centered around one man, John Grant. A disgruntled school teacher based in a small school in Tiboonda, situated in the barren Australian outback. …read more

There are a lot of Zombie games to choose from - no doubt about it. Left 4 Dead/2, Call of Duty: World at War’s “Zombie Mode” and Dead Rising. All have played their own part in preparing us for the impending Zombie invasion. But is there room for another title?

Nihilistic Software believe so. Zombie Apocalypse attacks the Zombie genre with a slightly different approach. Using the gameplay methods of classics such as Smash TV, Zombie Apocalypse provides a frantic, yet fun, arcade experience.

But is this where your hard earned Zombie slashing dollars should be spent? …read more