POWER OF POP

HER (MOVIE REVIEW)HER (MOVIE REVIEW)

Her (stylised in lowercase) is a 2013 American science-fiction romantic drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Spike Jonze. It marks Jonze’s solo screenwriting debut.

THANKS FOR SHARING (REVIEW)THANKS FOR SHARING (REVIEW)

Thanks for Sharing is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Stuart Blumberg, who co-wrote the screenplay with Matt Winston.

AMERICAN HUSTLE (MOVIE REVIEW)AMERICAN HUSTLE (MOVIE REVIEW)

American Hustle is a 2013 American black comedy crime film directed by David O. Russell. It was written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell, inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

47 RONIN (MOVIE REVIEW)47 RONIN (MOVIE REVIEW)

47 Ronin is a 2013 fantasy action film directed by Carl Rinsch in his directorial debut. Written by Chris Morgan and Hossein Amini from a story conceived by Morgan and Walter Hamada, the film is a work of Chūshingura (“The Treasury of Loyal Retainers”).

12 YEARS A SLAVE12 YEARS A SLAVE

12 Years a Slave is a 2013 biographical drama film directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by John Ridley, based on the 1853 slave memoir Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup.

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUGTHE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a 2013 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. The sequel to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), it is the second instalment in The Hobbit trilogy, acting as a prequel to Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

PoP ARTPoP ART

PoP Art is a PoP feature where we examine the influence on ART on rock and pop music, in particular album covers.

Today we look at Pop art, a movement that began in UK and the USA in the 50s. The dominant figure in this ‘genre’ is probably one of the most influential artists in contemporary art – Andy Warhol.

Released in 1967, The Velvet Underground & Nico may not have sold many units but it’s enduring significance cannot be over-emphasized. What was also unique about the album design was that early copies of the album invited the owner to “Peel slowly and see”, peeling back the banana skin revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath.  Recently, there was a legal battle between the Andy Warhol Foundation of Visual Arts and the band over copyrights over the cover design.

ENDER’S GAMEENDER’S GAME

Ender’s Game is a 2013 American military science-fiction action film based on Orson Scott Card’s 1985 novel of the same name.

THOR: THE DARK WORLDTHOR: THE DARK WORLD

Thor: The Dark World is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios.

HEAVEN KNOWS I’M MISERABLE NOWHEAVEN KNOWS I’M MISERABLE NOW

HEAVEN KNOWS I’M MISERABLE NOW – THE SMITHS (1984)

When Paul Weller broke up The Jam in 1982, there was a huge vacuum in my life that his follow-up project The Style Council could not quite fill. I needed a band that could mean the same thing to me as The Jam did. In early 1984, the ever-dependable John Peel was championing a new band called The Smiths (viz. Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke & Mike Joyce) who had just released their third single (“What Difference Does It Make”) and eponymous debut album in January and February of that year respectively.

MACHETE KILLSMACHETE KILLS

Machete Kills (also known as Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills) is a 2013 American action exploitation film directed by Robert Rodriguez.

WHITE LIES: INTERVIEW THAT NEVER WASWHITE LIES: INTERVIEW THAT NEVER WAS

In 2011, I interviewed White Lies‘ Jack Lawrence-Brown ahead of the trio’s debut performance in Singapore. However, the concert never happened. Two years later, I will be watching White Lies playing at a private event and thought it would be a good time to dig out the interview that never ran at TODAY for the sake of completeness.

WHEN DID INDIE POP BECOME A BAD WORD?WHEN DID INDIE POP BECOME A BAD WORD?

In this opinion piece, we discuss when indie pop become a bad word.

GRAVITYGRAVITY

Gravity is a 2013 science fiction thriller film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who also co-wrote, co-edited, and produced the film. It stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as American astronauts who are stranded in space after the mid-orbit destruction of their Space Shuttle, and attempt to return to Earth.

RUSHRUSH

Rush is a 2013 biographical sports film centred on the rivalry between two Formula One drivers, the British James Hunt and the Austrian Niki Lauda[11] during the 1976 motor-racing season.

RIDDICKRIDDICK

Riddick (also known as Riddick: Rule the Dark) is a 2013 American science fiction action film and the third installment in the Riddick film series. Produced by and starring Vin Diesel as the title character, Riddick is written and directed by David Twohy, who previously wrote and directed the first two installments, Pitch Black (2000) and The Chronicles of Riddick (2004).

THE WORLD’S ENDTHE WORLD’S END

The World’s End is a 2013 science fiction comedy film directed by Edgar Wright from a screenplay by Wright and Simon Pegg. It is the third and final instalment in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, after Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007).

KICK-ASS 2 (REVIEW)KICK-ASS 2 (REVIEW)

Kick-Ass 2 is a 2013 black comedy superhero film written and directed by Jeff Wadlow.

PACIFIC RIMPACIFIC RIM

Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim is the latest in a recent line of original scifi blockbusters that more or less began with the phenomenal success of Christopher Nolan’s Inception. And if like me, you thoroughly loved the creatures in Hellboy 2, then you would have a heightened sense of anticipation for del Toro’s take on the classic ‘giant robot vs monsters’ genre.

MAN OF STEELMAN OF STEEL

Man of Steel is a 2013 superhero film based on the DC Comics character Superman.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESSSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

Star Trek Into Darkness is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof.

IRON MAN THREEIRON MAN THREE

With the Disney+ streaming being made available worldwide in February 2021, and with most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies collected in one convenient place, we take this opportunity to revisit past reviews of these geek-worthy movies. Here’s one from 2013 : Iron Man Three! 

Iron Man 2 was only half a movie, in our humble opinion. The first half was quick-paced and exhilarating but then the wheels came off and the movie came to a tired conclusion. The sequel did well at the box office but one sensed that director Jon Favreau had lost interested in the franchise that he had kickstarted. So when it came to talk about the third movie, Favreau passed and Shane Black came onboard.

OBLIVIONOBLIVION

Truth be told, I was excited when I saw the first trailer for sci-fi Tom Cruise action movie vehicle Oblivion. It looked intriguing. Of course, a trailer really does not tell you anything about the movie itself. I was also excited by the fact that Oblivion was an original premise (based on a story co-authored by director Joe Kosinski) and perhaps was hoping that it would be as good as District 9, Moon or Inception.

THE SERIAL KILLER AS HEROTHE SERIAL KILLER AS HERO

An analysis of The Serial Killer as Hero follows.

ANDY PARTRIDGE – FUZZY WARBLES VOL.1 & 2 [REVIEW]ANDY PARTRIDGE – FUZZY WARBLES VOL.1 & 2 [REVIEW]

An Andy Partridge review from 2002.

ANDY PARTRIDGE Fuzzy Warbles Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (APE)