T:mac Art Show Review 2009

T:mac Art Show Review 2009

The t:mac Art Show 09 was indeed spellbinding. It offered a unique and immense collection of stunning, classic artwork, including fine art textiles, 3D studies, photography and graphic design, all spanning a wide variety of completely original wonderful ideas, produced by GCSE and A level students.

Photography was a key element infused in almost all the visual masterpieces on display, and could be seen besides some of the drawings as a valuable and fascinating insight into the making of these brilliant, almost exact copies.

Of course, not everybody would fully appreciate all the artwork on show, but I must insist that there was ultimately a section for everyone. No one could pass by the exhibits and not stop or pause momentarily, to gaze engagingly towards at least one piece of artwork, all the exhibits being on show daily from 9am-5pm. for public viewing, from 23-25 September.

I must say, that I personally was impressed with most of the artwork on show as it was all designed with a strong creative instinct, bursting with tons of thoughtful ideas. Some particularly arty and well-dictated comic strip ideas, fixated on communism in Russia, caught my attention straight away as they honestly looked exactly like something you would buy from a comic book store!

Exact copies of human faces from photographs amazed me instantly, for the detail was perfect, and instantly recognisable, this being a gift possessed by truly talented artists to be admired by future generations. Much better than all this new fangled modern art in my opinion, but thankfully not much of that was presented.

Sea life, featuring crabs and intricate looking shells were also shown, as well as copies of roller coasters and theme park rides. These only further helped to impress me as I wandered round the vast and intense collection of artwork.

I was amazed, astonished and awestruck by the quality of all the work on show. Congratulations to all the students involved and I can’t wait to see the t:mac Art Show 2010!

Paddy Johnson 10S1

Torn Curtain Review

Before you see this film, do not expect it to be absolutely brilliant just because it’s directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is certainly not one of his most famous, or best films for that matter, nor, in my opinion, is it particularly well made. That said, it does feature the odd exciting moments, the music is up to its typical standard for a Hitchcock film, and not all the acting is that bad.

The plot is quite good, and starts off with the main character, Michael Armstrong, a top US scientist, flying off to (supposedly) defect to East Germany, in order to get a secret formula in the possession of enemy scientist Gustav Lindt. The problem is, his fiancée has grown suspicious and follows him on the plane, forcing him to involve her in his double agent game.

Alfred Hitchcock’s 50th film, features hit and miss actors/actresses, including the convincing, innocent Julie Andrews (who I expected to burst into song any minute!), and the painfully effortless Paul Newman. An extended and rather unrealistic kitchen scene depicting how difficult it really is to kill a human being, is rather memorable, and I can see how see how it may have seemed shocking at the time. Nevertheless, this was a welcome return to Hitchcock’s usual style. Spot the cameo of the man himself inside the hotel!

The last half generally livens up more than the first, but that doesn’t stop the obvious fake sets, slow plot and depressing atmosphere detracting from the film. Action fans will be rather disappointed, as there are only a few scenes, which build up tension
(eg. in the kitchen and on the bus).

Overall, a film for only the most devoted Hitchcock fans, which won’t entirely welcome any newcomers!

6.5/10.

Guitar Hero Pearl Jam Game Cover Design

I created this Guitar Hero Pearl Jam design myself using images from google and song/album information from wikipedia.

The set-list is made up of what I see as Pearl Jam's classic and best songs, plus some great bonus tracks.

The encores are by other brilliant grunge/rock bands including Nirvana, Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden, The Who, Candlebox and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, plus boss battles against Pearl Jam's own guitarists, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready.

The information on the design is rather hard to read, so I have copied/enlarged it below:

Guitar Hero Pearl Jam is the perfect collection spanning the history of one of the most important and crucial bands in the grunge movement.

Contains 40 set-list songs, and 10 bonus songs including:

Tremor Christ
Who You Are
Black
Dissident
Far Behind
Once
Given To Fly
Blood

Even Flow
Spin The Black Circle
State Of Love And Trust
Deep
Alive
Animal
Satan’s Bed
Leash
World Wide Suicide
Better Man

Please comment or let me know what you think of my design.

Thanks,

Paddy

ST. Anger Review

Metallica St Anger Review

Metallica’s 2003 album is hard hitting, relentless and aggressive, driven by low-pitched heavy guitars, fast drumming and dark influences. A catchy, if slightly repetitive album that incorporates plenty of their old school techniques, but this time, it’s much longer…

Good Points:

A return to Metallica’s older, classic, heavier sound which will no doubt be warmly welcomed after the more hard rock influences demonstrated in Load and ReLoad. It has style and is certain in it’s appeal and direction. In other words, St. Anger is heavy in all ways possible, maybe even heavier than Metallica’s earlier albums, which won’t appeal to everyone, but will certainly attract most heavy metal fans.

Bad Points:

Some songs seem to go on a long time, no matter how good or catchy they are, and may bore some metal fans. All the songs are over five minutes, and the whole album lasts 75 minutes, so some people may believe that they have saturated their style by the end of the disc. Their return to a heavy metal sort of style may not appeal to everyone, especially non-metal fans.

In conclusion, although Metallica’s St. Anger may not appeal to everyone, most metal fans will be satisfied. A welcoming and quality album, which makes the most of Metallica’s original classic metal sound.

8/10

Days Of Glory DVD Review

Days Of Glory DVD Review

To start off with, do not be put off by the fact that this film is in French and subtitled. This may annoy some viewers more than others, but certainly didn’t spoil the film for me. The acting is very good from all those involved and the action scenes intense and thrilling. The plot and cinematography only help to excel the movie’s brilliance and ambition to become a classic foreign war film, superior even to the excellent “Downfall” and spellbinding “Letters From Iwo Jima”.

The film starts off with Muslims from French colonies enlisting to fight for France in World War 2. Saïd, the main character, comes from a background of total poverty, but soon proves himself useful on the battlefield when he successfully kills a German machine gunner with a grenade. He then becomes an assistant to Sergeant Roger Martinez, and meets Messaoud Souni (a marksman) and Yassir (who is fighting along with his brother to raise some money).

The French army is supposed to treat every soldier equally, but this is certainly not the case, as discovered by the soldier Abdelkader, a private who has leadership over Said’s group. This leads to several circumstances, some of which include a small uprising over what food each soldier receives, and a fight between Abdelkader and Martinez.

As the film progresses, Souni meets Irene, a French woman who he promises to marry after the war, many lives are lost, and the main characters form a solid and valuable friendship.

This is a way above average war film, with a talented cast and decent plot to match. Time is allowed for the characters to fully develop so that, by the final shootout you care immensely about their fates. As for action, there are about two major battle/shootout sequences, which should impress most people looking for action packed war films.

Some people say that this film is quite similar to “Saving Private Ryan”. Although I do not wholly agree, I can say that “Days Of Glory” is far superior.

Overall- between 8.5-9/10

Pearl Jam Vs. Review

Pearl Jam VS Review:

To start off with, VS is completely different to their debut album, Ten. Overall, it presents a more outgoing, punk-like, raw sound than their previous album. But is this alteration good or bad?

Here are the good points:

VS presents a whole new style of music from pearl jam, a style driven by distorted grunge-style guitars and hard rock riffs heavier, and certainly louder than ten. Some of these elements are best shown in catchy songs such as Blood, Animal and Leash, which promote a more funky sound than the quiet, reserved sound demonstrated in Ten. These songs, along with talented and brilliant guitar solos drive the album along with a newly found hard rock style, while experimental songs such as Go, and powerful acoustic ballads such as Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town fill in the gaps. Due to this some songs are relaxed (Daughter), while others are heavier (Dissident), and some are halfway between the two (Rearviewmirror). All the songs work well and seem to get better every time you listen to them.

Here are the bad points:

VS presents a clumsier, more carefree style to Ten and is ultimately not as good as Ten in execution. Although some songs are still slightly similar to that of Ten (Daughter, Elderly Woman, Rearviewmirror etc.), others present their own unique style (Blood, Leash, Glorified G). These songs may work well, but definitely not as well as those of Ten. The resulting album is not disappointing, but certainly not as effective as their debut and slightly fails Pearl Jam’s unique style as brilliantly depicted in Ten.

8/10

Korn

Korn Album Review:

Korn’s first and self titled album is nothing but a maze of eccentricity, each song becoming weirder and weirder on every listen. Catchy, deep base line riffs and powerful, heavy guitar leads help to draw you in towards the album, while aggressive, dark, and sometimes downright offensive vocals help to deliver and only pursue with Korn’s signature alternative “Nu” metal style.

Good Points:

For starters, all the songs on the album are reasonably good (however bleak they might sound), and characteristically reflect the mood of the band. Some songs are catchy (blind), some different (daddy), and some very strange (clown). Although Korn’s style does not lighten up a song, they do show very little signs of other influences and are at least unique in those respects. Their heavy riffs and grim lyrics will nevertheless appeal to some metal fans.

Bad Points:

Although the songs may all be reasonably good, they will certainly not satisfy any new normal metal fans, only intrigue people who find an instant appeal to Korn’s own styles. Offensive lyrics, downbeat, bleak guitars, heavy drumming and slapped base eventually tires towards the end of the album, and some listeners may feel fed up with the album by then. Basically, although Korn’s style may be catchy, different, and appeal to some metal fans, their style is repeated many times on the album.

In conclusion, the album comes across as unique (or different), strong and determined to show the world their Nu metal style, but will not appeal to every metal fan out there.

Overall- 7.5/10

District 9 Review

District 9 Review

Before I ventured out to watch District 9, I had read a couple of reviews on the film stating that it was excellent. The Daily Mail Friday review, gave it five stars out of five, more than any other movie in the past month or two. After seeing it, I thought that five stars were slightly generous. The film incorporates originality, good acting, a decent plot,blood and gore, as well as many other aspects to attempt to satisfy its viewers…

The film starts off, to my surprise, as a documentary style news broadcast, concerning recent events which include a large alien mothership hovering over Johannesburg, and the place suddenly being inhabited by aliens. When I say aliens, what I actually mean is ten foot prawns from a distant galaxy!

New tents are set up in a camp not far away from the mothership for the aliens to inhabit, in an area now called district 9.

The problem is, that, the aliens do not wish to correspond with the authorities and instead, decide to roam freely around the more slum like parts of Johannesburg. The main character in the film goes with the news team and some armed forces, to try and reason with, or if not, kill the aliens.

The first third of the film therefore acts as a sort of documentary stating events as they have already happened. People who want to see action in this part of the film will be somewhat disappointed, although it is interesting, and does a great job in explaining the plot and filling you in on the main character.

Unfortunately for him, the main character is involved in an accident and his arm subsequently begins to transform more and more into a prawn’s arm as the film progresses. He is sick quite frequently, until his friends and family take him to seek help for his condition.

This “help” involves him being forced against his own will to fire alien weapons activated only by a prawn’s touch. After the medical staff decide that all they need from this now inhuman being is his heart, the main character decides that he has had enough. He breaks free from their clutches and becomes a fugitive, hunted down by the authorities and talked about everywhere, even on the radio and TV. News.

By this time the film is about half way through. Before the medical incident, there hasn’t been much action at all (which will no doubt disappoint action cravers visibly, but not everyone else), save a few small shootouts and scrambles.

Now, the action happens more frequently, with our hero having to take refuge in the slum houses inhabited by the aliens, where he forms a bond with one of them and the prawn promises to cure him.

Shortly after this, the last third of the film is the most explosive, action packed, visually impressive and emotional part, with some quite large shootouts. Finally an extended and fantastic final shootout will fully satisfy the action fans. Eventually the ending enables you to care about the characters fates, and discover the nature of the prawns is not bloodthirsty or violent, but instead harmless and kind. They do not wish to harm anyone, but only act in self-defence against the seemingly cruel and ruthless humans.

Strong acting talent, especially by the lead also boosts the film and remains faithful to the end, as does many other aspects including direction, cinematography etc.

As for violence, although there is only some violence in the film, the violence is quite strong and graphic, resulting in blood splatter from most of the deaths. The medical scenes and the transformation of the man’s arm are also quite intense and disturbing, but these exist primarily in the middle of the film. There is quite a lot of strong language, which becomes rather persistent, as well.

Overall, the first two thirds of the film were good, but the last third appears the most effective and truly makes the film that extra mile better. Very good acting, a decent plot, pleasant cinematography and a sense of originality also make District 9 enjoyable.

8.5/10

BACKSPACER

Pearl Jam's latest album Backspacer is due to come out on the 20th September!

If you have not heard a Pearl Jam song before or even not heard of the band, I strongly urge that you listen to them immediately!

Films

Film’s I’ve Seen During The Holiday…

Zodiac
Day Of The Jackal
Downfall (Der Untergang)
The Dark Knight
Bridge Over The River Kwai
Terminator Salvation
Harry Potter 6

And some more I can’t remember the names of!

Simon Drew

Guess what? I’ve met Simon Drew, famous artist and comic genius stationed in Dartmouth, while I was on holiday there. I took one look into his shop window and was instantly hooked, and amazed at his artistic and humorous masterpieces! I felt compelled to venture into the shop immediately and as I walked in noticed a rather eccentric looking man with a very peculiar dress sense and alternative spectacles. Lets say he was the kind of person who would definitely stand out in a crowd. Anyway, five minutes later he asked if he could help me and my parents.

You see, I was looking for a rather inventive and equally as thoughtfully brilliant greeting card containing smart wordplay (as most of his work incorporates) in the form of “Jimi Hen Drinks”, which refers to both the famous guitarist and a drinking hen at a local pub.

It turned out that the product had been discontinued because of the bizarre reason that it had become too popular! I can certainly understand why. Luckily, he still had a crate full of the item, and produced one for me to buy. Not only had he gone to the trouble of fetching the card, but he was also immensely generous in giving me his latest book filled with fifty pages of pure genius absolutely free!

He also owns another shop further down Foss Street run by his wife, where you can purchase mugs, tea towels, tee-shirts etc. with his prints on them.

If you are interested in his works, here is the address of his website:

www.simondrew.co.uk

Terminator Salvation Film Review

Terminator Salvation Film Review

When I went to see this film, at first I did not know what to expect. Although Arnold Schwarzenegger has been replaced by another actor, I knew that Christian Bale is usually reliable in his choice of films, so I decided to go along with it…

For starters, if you aren’t keen on special effects, almost non- stop violence and a quite basic plot, turn away now. This is most definitely not the film for you. Although I did enjoy the action bits, they became rather tiresome, and I felt as if I longed for something of a bit more complex plot towards the end of the film.

That said, the acting is quite good. As usual, Christian Bale plays a solemn, dead serious character, and the terminator quite similar. I wouldn’t say that, although the film is set in a dark, depressing environment, it is a particularly depressing film. The action is fast paced and in actual fact, keeps the film alive even if it is sometimes too often.

Overall, a sturdy film with good acting and loads of action, but a bit of a failure when it comes to a complex plot. Only really for a certain type of audience: male!

7.5/10

Imperial War Museum North Review

Imperial War Museum North Review

When some people think of history museums, or most museums for that matter, they instantly think, “ boring ”. A long, tiring and uninteresting, perhaps even pathetic way to spend a day, which could, regrettably be so much better. But this is not the case for the Imperial War Museum North.

Firstly, you might be interested to know that the museum is a very strange building indeed. Set out to represent broken shards of the earth shattered by war and conflict, it is a rather lets say, unusual design, but none the less visually impressive and eye catching. The entrance is also rather strange, as it is not obvious where it is. The three shards are Air, Earth and Water, representing war in the air, on land and at sea. The architect Daniel Libeskind was the designer.

As you reach the air shard and walk into the entrance you will notice a lift at the bottom, which will take you up to the viewing point. I should warn you that, if you’re scared of heights it is probably best if you do not look upwards while you are in this shard, as the very top of the building is visible surrounded by metal poles all the way down, and this may put you off the viewing experience slightly.

I must admit that, I myself am quite afraid of heights, but nether the less, entered the lift. I was rather shocked to notice that, the lift shook rather noticeably on ascent but to my relief, it did not have glass windows or a glass floor! When it reached the viewing point, I was surprised yet again that we weren’t as high up as I expected. I walked now, quite relaxed towards the viewing platform and looked out. Everything was fine until I looked down...

Anyway, that’s enough about that. The other two shards were the water shard (an eating area) and the earth shard. The actual museum part was split up into two parts, both fantastic and equally as interesting. The smaller one was filled with prisoner of war (or POW) information, artefacts and activities. The artefacts were fascinating including a wooden horse (remember The Great Escape?) and a reconstructed plane made out of prisoners’ sheets .

The larger section contained plenty of helpful facts and information, whilst keeping younger people entertained with hands on activities. Regular videos ingeniously projected onto almost all of the white painted walls were an extra treat and helped to simplify the information for those who don’t have time to or don’t want to read all the text. Various model exhibits such as a Harrier jump-jet and a Russian Tank are also featured in this section.

A guided tour was also brilliantly informative, explaining the meaning of the building’s structure. The gift shop was very well stocked and overall it was a very interesting and enjoyable trip, with added bonuses in the viewing point, guided tour, and projected films.

9/10.

Lowry Gallery Review

Lowry Gallery Review

When I entered the Lowry gallery, I expected there to be tons and tons of information, paintings and other interesting things to do concerning the artist. Instead, the gallery contained about a handful of what I had expected, and was quite a great deal smaller than what I imagined it to be…

Don’t get me wrong, the gallery was very interesting and informative about the artist. The dancing section didn’t do much for me either, but I can appreciate how it could seem interesting to certain people. There were seemingly fun and enjoyable activities to do with balance etc, and films, which showed you what dancers, needed to do to dance properly.

Speaking of films, there was a twenty-minute film on in a separate section to the gallery about Lowry himself. It was very interesting, with quotes from narrators and Lowry himself and studied various aspects of his work, eg that following his mother’s death, he became quite depressed and painted pictures to keep his mind off mourning for her.

I found some of his pictures quite disturbing, especially the “cripples” painting, which depicted characters with disabilities such as a man with a hook for a hand, and another man without legs wheeling around in some sort of bizarre trolley. I did like most of his paintings though, as the designs seemed simple, yet effective.

An upstairs section proved short, but relatively interesting with some different artistic ideas. Downstairs from that, there were wonderful viewing points of the canal with chairs to sit down on. I wasn’t very keen on the modern art in that section, though.

Overall enjoyable and interesting, but short (about an hour and a half to look round it all) and a bit disappointing in size.

Overall:

6.5/10

By Patrick Johnson 9S1

National Media Museum Review

National Media Museum Review

I must admit, this wasn’t the first time I had visited the National Media museum. About two years ago, I went on a school trip to the museum with the Turton media club. I could not remember much about the outing, only that it was an exciting and wholly worthwhile experience, which ventured into quite a few aspects of film, television and media. I also felt that the first time I went, I did not fully explore all the areas of the museum and only spent time on some of the higher upper floors instead of spending equal time on them all.

I must say that, for anyone, even people who may not be that interested in the media, this museum is a spectacular day out. It’s immense exhibits demonstrated on each floor are fascinating, my favourites being “the Kodak Gallery”, “Experience TV and TV Heaven” and the “Animation Gallery”.

Although a lot of the museum is hands-on experience, just as much is about looking and learning about things as well. For example, while most of the brilliant TV Heaven section encourages you to take part in various activities, eg. being the key reader in a news broadcast and super imposing yourself against a blue screen to create your image on different backgrounds, the equally compelling “Don McCullin: In England” gallery is more a visual experience which includes black and white photographs and an interesting video about both the photographs and Don McCullin himself.

Although I did not see the IMAX movie showing Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince this time, I did see a rather stunning Egyptian documentary on screen the first time I came and remember it quite clearly as an awesome experience.

I did, however attend a guided “insight” tour, around the three million items the museum holds behind closed doors, including the world’s most important photographic collection and the largest collection of TV technology and cinematography in the country. I saw different sized cameras and other objects from past years in various rooms such as the “Large Object” and the “Small Object” rooms. Some very early sixties televisions, and a few of the earliest games and game consoles/computers
plus an excellent tour guide curator, all helped to make the tour even better.

Café food was good, with a quite wide selection and buffet type of routine. There was also a picnic section for people who had brought their own lunches.

Overall, a brilliant and entirely worthwhile experience suitable for anyone no matter how interested in the subject:

9/10

Patrick Johnson 9S1

Salford Museum and Art Gallery Review

Salford Museum And Art Gallery Review

I went to visit this museum on the same day I visited The Lowry, and must say that Salford Museum and Art Gallery was far superior. While the two may be roughly similar in size, Salford Museum had its very own remade Victorian Street, some large valuable paintings and even a musical Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs section! The Lowry had about a hundred pictures, a twenty minute video, a brief dancing section and an also rather short upstairs exhibition. I’m sure you can at least guess now why I preferred Salford Museum.

Firstly, lets talk about the paintings section of the museum. Once you have entered the museum and walked up the stairs past some small but rather interesting modern artworks, you will notice a room to your left. This is the first of two medium sized rooms covering two very different but fascinating topics- paintings and music. Once inside the room, you will no doubt notice about 25 brilliant and rather large paintings, some pottery and rather fine furniture. Don’t just think that this section is for adults though, as there are plenty of activities for children too, including replicas of olden day’s hats to try on and some activity sheets to keep them busy.

Moving on into the second room, the Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs musical section, you will find that your surroundings have changed dramatically. The paintings have been replaced with a fascinating collection of memorabilia spanning the decades.The pottery replaced with album art covers and photographs, and the fine furniture with a rather large juke box and a piano. The exhibit starts with the 1950’s and ends with the 2000’s with lots of colourful album art, gold discs, a teddy boy outfit and a juke box also adds to the musical feeling with songs from bands spanning from the 50’s all the way to modern day.

Finally, downstairs the Lark Hill Place or Victorian Street is an enchanting attraction, with original shop fronts and some authentic noises to add to the effect. Children will love this part, as it contains plenty of Victorian style costumes they can try on. There’s a horse drawn carriage at the far end, the Blue Lion pub and a chemists shop window. The street has apparently been used for filming television programmes.

Overall: A genuinely worthwhile and interesting place which tries it’s hardest to keep the adults and children happy. A great morning out for the whole family especially the Quiffs Riffs and Tiffs if like me you’re interested in music.

8.5/10

By Patrick Johnson 10S1

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince Film Review

When I went to see this film at the cinema, I knew it would be worthwhile. So far, all the Harry Potter films have been brilliant, especially the earliest ones. Each film seems darker and more grown up than the last, with more disturbing moments, visual effects and wizard action. But is this a good thing? Lets find out…

Firstly, I would like to point out that the latest Harry Potter film features spectacular special effects and wand fights, but I can also regrettably say that they were in quite small supply. Although there isn’t exactly no action at all in the film, I expected, especially towards the end, a little bit more thrilling sorcery.

This aside, the acting was top notch as usual for a Harry Potter film, the plot was strong, but perhaps not as strong as some of the previous films, and the cinematography was stunning, with some scenes posing darker environments, and others shedding fabulous light on the screen.

A few matches of quidditch helped to boost up the film in my expectations, as these matches are always thrilling and exciting. Added love interest, but not as much as some people say there is, with Ron the centre of attention this time around. When Ron falls for another girl, Hermione becomes jealous and is at loggerheads with this girl every time she sees her.

WARNING: THIS NEXT SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS

The death of Dumbledore came of no surprise to me, as I clearly remember the event from the Half Blood Prince book. This scene was well done, with Dumbledore falling from a great height to the ground below. Shortly afterwards, the dark wizards and witches suddenly disappear for some reason, and the wizards and witches at Hogwarts raise their wands as a salute for their fallen headmaster. The death mark sign in the sky (I must say, it did look rather effective) is vanquished and Hogwarts is left at peace, for now…

END SECTION

Overall the film is great, well acted, with a compelling plot and brilliant cinematography, but perhaps I expected something more…

8/10