Super-bassist Thomas T Gobena aka Tommy T, is best known for his membership with multi-ethnic Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello from the Lower East Side of New York. Much of that band’s sound emanates from their love of Gypsy music because its core members are immigrants from Eastern Europe.
It would be very easy for Mr T to keep the Gypsy faith; instead he’s gone off at a totally different tangent, with dazzling results.
Read the review from
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchester Showcase Cinema can be found on this page, and won't differ
much from what's on in the rest of the country.
The new films out include: Leap Year, The Crazies, Everybody's Fine, Extraordinary Measures, From Paris With Love and My Name is Khan.
Jack goes head-to-head with Bazhaev as the 8th Season continues...
Yes, there's fuel rods up for sale, or "nuclear materials in play" as the President says, but what can Jack do about it
when he's strung up barefoot from a pipe, electrocuted via a knife wound in his torso?
Find out what DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Dan Owen made of this episode in this new review,
which premiered on his excellent site, Dan's Media Digest.
A review of
24 Season 8: Episode 8
is online and the next episode is on Sky 1 on Sunday at 9pm.
Underrated entertainment in Last Action Hero on Blu-ray...
Out now :
Last Action Hero was Sony's big 1993 summer movie and up against Universal's Jurassic Park - and we know how that fight turned out.
Okay, so this film took a real beating in critical terms, but I still really enjoyed it and it's a great piece of entertainment, but due to the occasional violence in it, it ended up getting a 15-certificate which stopped it from appealing to the kind of 10-year-old kids we see in Danny (Austin O'Brien).
Laura Veirs is a late developer who's come of age on CD...
Geeky-looking Laura Veirs has many music fans in the music business, apparently garnering a cult following which hasn’t crossed over to the mainstream.
Now on her seventh album, July Flame may go some way in addressing that problem, though, in terms of the UK, it might prove a much tougher call, despite the potential radio-friendliness of the tunes. In truth it’s in the hands of the gods, or some ‘alert’ programme producer cum playlist compiler.
Read the review from
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
The Unit Season 4 (39.99 DVD, 99.99 Season 1-4 DVD, Fox)
Wings Of Desire (19.99 Blu-ray, Axiom)
Without A Trace Season 5 (39.99 DVD, Warner)
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (14.99 DVD, Disney)
Michael Jackson: This Is It
Michael Jackson's This Is It is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts at London’s O2 Arena.
Chronicling the months from April through June 2009, this film was produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson’s This Is It captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his planned final London shows.
An action-packed adventure, director Shane Acker’s animated fantasy epic 9 is the feature-length expansion of his Academy Award-nominated 2004 short film of the same name. The screenplay for the feature is by Pamela Pettler (Monster House); directors Tim Burton (Beetlejuice) and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) are producing .Set in the near future. The world’s machines have turned on mankind and sparked social unrest - decimating the human population.
But as our world falls to pieces, a mission begins to salvage the legacy of civilization, and a group of small “stitchpunk” creations is given the spark of life by a scientist - and they successfully survive the apocalypse! With their group being so small, these creatures must summon individual strengths well beyond their own proportions in order to outwit and fight against the still-functioning monster machines. 9 dynamically explores the will to live and how one soul can change the world.
Packed with explosive action and edge-of-your-seat suspense, The Unit delivers a nonstop blast of spectacular thrills and hard-edged excitement. Risking their lives on deadly undercover missions around the globe, the Unit is a highly skilled, ultra-secret contingent of special forces soldiers operating outside the traditional chain of military command. In the final season, the hunters become the hunted as the team and their families are targeted by a deadly and far-reaching conspiracy forcing them to relocate and assume new identities. Follow the complicated day-to-day lives, intricate military operations, and extraordinary heroism of the world’s finest counter-terrorism strike force – The Unit.
Demon possession, devilish cheerleaders, and satanic rock stars are all on the chopping block with this horror comedy from the production team behind JUNO. Screenwriter Diablo Cody provides the script, with producing duties handled by Jason Reitman and Dan Dubiecki. The story centres on Needy (Amanda Seyfried – MAMMA MIA!), an impish high-school student, who has to protect her town against her beautiful but dangerous best friend Jennifer, (Megan Fox - TRANSFORMERS), whose lithe body hides a hungry demon.
After being bedevilled by a Satan worshipping rock band, the sexy cheerleader develops a taste for human flesh and starts targeting male students, while the seemingly powerless Needy looks in terror. GIRLFIGHT’S Karyn Kusama directs this Fox Atomic production that also stars Adam Brody, J.K. Simmons, and Amy Sedaris.
Now on his sixth album in six years he’s obviously in a rush to get his songs out-and-about, all fourteen of them,
packed into just over 30 minutes.
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
likens Adam Green to Jonathan Richmond meets Lou Reed meets Jim Morrison...
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchester Showcase Cinema can be found on this page, and won't differ
much from what's on in the rest of the country.
The new films out include: Solomon Kane and The Lovely Bones.
Jason Bourne goes looking for answers, violently, in the Bourne Ultimatum on Blu-ray...
Out now :
With his girlfriend still dead and Wade Abbott having topped himself, it seems just about everyone else is a target for
a sniper bullet in the final film whether it's that coming from the baddies or a new government program, led by CIA
bigwig Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) and opposed by CIA fusspot Pam Landy (botoxed Joan Allen), just so the former
doesn't have to get a decision from Washington every time and lose the chance and offing a suspect.
But will Jason eventually find what he's looking for?
(500) Days of Summer goes by too fast on Blu-ray...
Out now :
(500) Days of Summer is an anti-love story.
Well, it certainly isn't conventional, but we begin with Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who works at a
greetings card company trying to come up with new holidays to celebrate, but really he trained to be an architect.
It's like a lot of people in life - they just can't get a job following their dream. One day, Summer Finn (Zooey
Deschanel) enters his life as a secretary at the firm...
These were the songs that graced the airwaves of Radio 1 during the late ‘60s, ‘70s and early ‘80s.
Just checking the tracklisting will give you those inevitable ‘romantic flashbacks’ to either old flames or current
partners. Scattered around the whopping 65 tracks across 3 CDs, you inevitably find your personal favourites,
and by definition, there’s plenty to choose from.
Valentine's Day may have just passed, but if you're in need of a late present, then
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
has the ideal choice for you.
Online THE PLUG can be found at
CalonFM.com. On the home page you’ll find a "LISTEN LIVE" link, but if you want to hear it at a time to suit you, open the LISTEN AGAIN link at the top of the home page and go to THE PLUG and see Latest Shows or Previous Shows.
Elly would love to hear readers / listeners comments via his email address – elly2000@freenet.co.uk
THE PLUG online MONDAYS 2-4 PM (UK time) at www.calonfm.com
Valentine's Day may have just passed, but if you're in need of a late present, then
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
has the ideal choice for you.
Once again, we look at a few titles in more detail.
The titles of note are the following, but read on for further details about the highlights:
Adam (19.99 DVD, Fox)
Attack On Leningrad (15.99 DVD, 19.99 Blu-ray, Metrodome)
The Avengers Series 3 (59.99 DVD, Optimum)
Blur: No Distance Left To Run (17.99 DVD, EMI)
Gangland Season 1 & 2 (29.99 DVD, History Channel)
Halo: Legends (15.99 DVD, 24.99 Blu-ray, Warner)
Life on Mars US: Complete Series (29.99 DVD, Fox)
Murdoch Mysteries: Series 2 (39.99 DVD, ITV)
Ong Bak: The Beginning (15.99 DVD, 22.99 Blu-ray, Sony)
The Rivals Of Sherlock Holmes Series 2 (39.99 DVD, Network)
Up (19.99 DVD, 26.99 Blu-ray, Walt Disney)
Up
Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest.
But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Junior Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life. Up takes audiences on a thrilling journey where the unlikely pair encounters wild terrain, unexpected villains and jungle creatures. When seeking adventure – look Up. Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Junior Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life. Up takes audiences on a thrilling journey where the unlikely pair encounters wild terrain, unexpected villains and jungle creatures. When seeking adventure – look Up.
No Distance Left To Run is the feature length documentary film telling the story of Blur as directed by 32 (Dylan Southern & Will Lovelace) and includes a second DVD of the two hour Hyde Park concert in London from summer 2009. The main feature in was filmed throughout the band’s 2009 rehearsals and acclaimed summer tour, No Distance Left To Run finds all four members of Blur together for the first time in nine years.
With previously unseen archive material alongside new interviews and reportage, the film recounts the highs and lows of a very British band from the late 80’s to their headline return at Glastonbury and Hyde Park. The result is a musing on Englishness and identity and a portrait of friendship and resolution.
Blur: No Distance Left To Run is out now on
DVD (£23.48).
Halo: Legends
It already dominates the world of gaming, and so it was perhaps inevitable that the Halo franchise would one day launch an assault on other media. And while talk of a full Halo movie remains tempered, there’s nonetheless this series of seven animated tales in the shape of Halo Legends.
The seven stories are all set against the backdrop of the Halo universe, and range in length from 10 to 20 minutes. Each was commissioned from a renowned maker of Anime, and the collection does vary quite a lot in style as a result. That’s not a bad thing, though, as while the quality is also a little inconsistent, you’re never very far from something really quite interesting.
The films that form Halo Legends originally debuted on the Xbox Live video service, but they appear to have found a more natural home on disc. They weave themselves with some style into the background narrative of the games, and while they’re clearly aimed more at the hardened, enthusiast game, even the casual viewer may find themselves pleasantly surprised. Something a little different, and all the better for it…
Muay Thai martial arts master Tony Jaa returns to deliver a bone-breaking barrage of knees and elbows in this action opus that finds the star not only delivering blows in front of the camera, but calling the shots behind it as well. Despite the title's indication of this film as a sequel to 2003's ONG BAK - THE THAI WARRIOR, this movie has no narrative connection to the events of the earlier work, despite the fact that both films star Jaa.
Tian (Jaa) is the heir of a noble dynasty in ancient Thailand. When his father, Lord Sihadecho is killed, Tian’s family falls from grace and he eventually ends up being subject to the slave traders responsible for his parent’s death. Tian endures long and inhuman torture until he is miraculously rescued by a group of guerrilla pirates. The rogues’ chief, Cher Nung, a martial arts master, immediately spots Tian’s immense potential, and so decides to train him and transform him into a deadly machine. With his newly acquired lethal skills, Tian embarks on a journey of vengeance to find and eliminate his father’s assassins.
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchester Showcase Cinema can be found on this page, and won't differ
much from what's on in the rest of the country.
The new films out include: Percy Jackson & The Lightening Thief, The Wolfman, Ponyo and Valentine's Day.
Renee gets to kick ass in 24 as the 8th Season continues...
Jack sitting things out a bit at the moment, as Renee comes to the fore in order to set up a deal to sell some
nuclear fuel rods, or something like that (it gets a bit silly sometimes :)
Find out what DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Dan Owen made of this episode in this new review,
which premiered on his excellent site, Dan's Media Digest.
A review of
24 Season 8: Episodes 5 & 6
is online and the review of the next episode will be online shortly.
Is it a 'Sin' not to like Sin Nombre on Blu-ray...
Out now :
Sin Nombre features two lives meeting by chance on a train with more in common than they think. Willy, aka El Casper
(Édgar Flores), is part of La Mara, one of a number of Mexican gangs with egos bigger than their brain cells, always
out to kill "chavalas", aka their rivals, and stop them from intruding on their turf.
Someone else who wants out of Mexico is Sayra (Paulina Gaitan, right with 'Casper'), who's trying to escape to New
Jersey with her family. Their lives cross in a way which, to reveal here, would be a big spoiler, but from that it
turns into a road movie. Will Sayra and her family get to their destination? Will Casper manage to get away from
his pursuers?
Sin Nombre
is online and out on Blu-ray and DVD now.
A double dose of Dolly Parton on CD and DVD...
When country music legend Dolly Parton comes to town, you should brace yourself. Parton is well known for two things
- DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts knows what you’re thinking -
her simple country gal personality, end her, ahem, huge bust. But behind that image, there’s a killer songwriter.
She’s written some of the most memorable country / crossover songs of all-time. If you can put up with some family
history ramblings and interview drop-ins, you’ll probably enjoy this show.
Doctor Who: The Masque Of Mandragora (19.99 DVD, BBC)
Eastenders: Last Tango in Walford (15.99 DVD, BBC)
Harper's Island (34.99 DVD, Paramount)
How I Met Your Mother Season 2 (24.99 DVD, Fox)
I Love You, Beth Cooper (15.99 DVD, Fox)
Kamikaze Girls (14.99 DVD, 19.99 Blu-ray, Third Window)
Love Happens (19.99 DVD, 24.99 Blu-ray, E1)
Stephen Fry's The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive (15.99 DVD, BBC)
The Time Traveller's Wife (19.99 DVD, 24.99 Blu-ray, EIV)
Wallander Series 2 (24.99 DVD, 49.99 Series 1 & 2 Blu-ray, BBC)
The Time Traveller's Wife
A Chicago librarian suffers from a rare genetic disorder that sends him hurtling through time whenever he is under extreme duress; despite the fact that he vanishes at inordinately frequent and lengthy intervals, he attempts to build a stable future with the beautiful young heiress he loves. Eric Bana (CHOPPER, MUNICH) and Rachel McAdams (SHERLOCK HOLMES, RED EYE) star in this dramatic fantasy, which is directed by acclaimed German filmmaker Robert Schwentke (FLIGHTPLAN) and based on the best-selling book by author Audrey Niffenegger.
The mythical city of Camelot, in a time before history began, is a fantastical realm of legendary beasts and mysterious peoples. In this dangerous world, magic has been banned by the ruthless tyrant, Uther Pendragon. Merlin, a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers arrives at the gates of Camelot as a young man, sent by his mother to start a new life. Though bright-eyed with wonder, the young sorcerer quickly makes enemies, including the heir to Uther's crown, the headstrong Prince Arthur. This collection brings together all the episodes from show's second series.
Kenneth Branagh plays Swedish detective Kurt Wallander in three new detective dramas based on the best-selling books by Henning Mankell - an international publishing phenomenon with over 25 million copies sold worldwide. Sidetracked, Firewall and One Step Behind follow Inspector Kurt Wallander – a disillusioned everyman – as he struggles against a rising tide of violence in the apparently sleepy backwaters in and around Ystad in beautiful Southern Sweden.
Baffling crimes and seemingly motiveless murders are investigated by Wallander leading to surprising and shocking discoveries in these compelling films. Includes all three feature-length episodes from second series.
This collection brings together all the episodes from the MASQUE OF MANDRAGORA saga, an arc that finds the Tardis captured by the dreaded spiral of energy known as the Mandagora Helix.
Doctor Who: The Masque Of Mandragora is out now on
Blu-ray (£12.88) and
The release dates for singles and albums go up until late March 2010.
Will President Hassan meet his maker in 24 as the 8th Season continues...
Jack's bad day is continuing and now so is President Hassan's as an assassination attempt is about to be made on
his life.
Find out what DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Dan Owen made of this episode in this new review,
which premiered on his excellent site, Dan's Media Digest.
A review of
24 Season 8: Episodes 3 & 4
is online and the review of the next episodes will be online shortly.
New films at this cinema this weekend...
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchester Showcase Cinema can be found on this page, and won't differ
much from what's on in the rest of the country.
The new films out include: Princess and the Frog, Holy Water, Youth in Revolt and Astro Boy.
The old masters at play in U.S. Blues Tour ’63 on DVD...
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
confirms that, if like him, you love watching the old masters at play, then you’re in for a real treat.
Household names like Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Otis Span, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon feature alongside
lesser stars such as Billy Stepney, Victoria Spivey, Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy and Big Joe Williams.
How will The Hurt Locker make you feel on Blu-ray...
Out now :
The Hurt Locker begins with a robot examining a suspect package after the town has been evicted. Uncovering the item,
we see that confirms it contains a bomb. However, upon taking back some explosives to deal with it, a wheel comes
off the cart and one of the soldiers dealing with it has to go out there and do what the robot can no longer achieve.
Alas, a resident still in the area triggers the thing... And for the soldier having to run like hell away from it?
Well... find out.
A host of unknowns is led by Jeremy Renner as the maverick Staff Sergeant William James trying to get the job done.
Settle down with the shrink for In Treatment Season 1 on DVD...
Just when you thought your life was sufficiently full of dvd boxsets comes In Treatment.,
You’ve probably already got The Sopranos and The Wire, maybe West Wing and Mad Men too. And this one has
to be next on your list. As if the whole idea of a boxset wasn’t addictive enough, the very concept of
this series completely and utterly demands the viewer is pulled into its self-contained world.
For each 25-minute episode is a self-contained session with a shrink, so you can watch the different patients
across each week, or perhaps follow a particular character from week to week, jumping from disc to disc across
their sessions.
Settle down on the couch and let
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Helen M Jerome
tell you all about it.
Jack's back and he's having yet another bad day in 24 as the 8th Season begins...
Released today :
Yes, there's been less of a wait for Jack this time, but Kiefer Sutherland returns and there's a threat on the
life of the President of what passes for Iran in this world.
Find out what DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Dan Owen made of this episode in this new review,
which premiered on his excellent site, Dan's Media Digest.
A review of
24 Season 8: Episodes 1 & 2
is online and the review of the next episodes will be online shortly.
Youtube highlight: Matthew Wright gets confused about 'dog sex'...
The woman phoning up was actually talking about 'dogging' but she didn't quite get her point across...
CHARTS: Owl City vs Katy Perry - Who got the new No.1...?
Once again, we look at a few titles in more detail.
The titles of note are the following, but read on for further details about the highlights:
Aliens in the Attic (19.99 DVD, 28.99 Blu-ray, Fox)
Broken Embraces (19.99 DVD, 28.99 Blu-ray, Fox)
Crash (22.99 Blu-ray, Fox)
The Day Of The Triffids (2009) (19.99 DVD, Showbox)
Doctor Who: Dreamland (12.99 DVD, BBC)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (19.99 Blu-ray, Paramount)
The Firm (2009) (15.99 DVD, 26.99 Blu-ray, Warner)
Halloween 2 (19.99 DVD, 24.99 Blu-ray, EIV)
The Impressions Show with Culshaw & Stephenson (15.99 DVD, IMC)
In Treatment Season 1 (44.99 DVD, HBO/Warner)
The Invention of Lying (19.99 DVD, 24.99 Blu-ray, Universal)
Last King of Scotland (22.99 Blu-ray, Fox)
Michael Clayton (22.99 Blu-ray, Fox)
Mo (19.99 DVD, 4DVD)
The Peter Serafinowicz Show (19.99 DVD, 4DVD)
The Royle Family: The Golden Egg Cup (17.99 DVD, ITV)
Sin Nombre (17.99 DVD, 24.99 Blu-ray, Revolver)
The Soloist (19.99 DVD, Universal)
Surrogates (15.99 DVD, 23.99 Blu-ray, Walt Disney)
Who Do You Think You Are Series 5 (24.99 DVD, Acorn)
Wild At Heart Series 4 (24.99 DVD, Acorn)
Surrogates
The filmmaking trio behind the hit sci-fi sequel Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines re-team to explore a future in which humans live in isolation while only communicating with their fellow man through robots that serve as social surrogates and are better-looking versions of their human counterparts. Bruce Willis stars as an FBI agent who enlists the aid of his own surrogate to investigate the murder of the genius college student who invented the surrogates.
As the case grows more complicated, however, the withdrawn detective discovers that in order to actually catch the killer he will have to venture outside the safety of his own home for the first time in many years, and enlists the aid of another agent (Radha Mitchell) in tracking his target down. Jonathan Mostow directs co-screenwriters Michael Ferris and John Brancato's adaptation of the graphic novel by author Robert Venditti and illustrator Brett Weldele.
Alan Clarke's 1989 seminal tale of football hooliganism in Thatcher's England is transposed to the early '80s in this creative remake. The film follows Dom (Calum McNab), a young man caught up in the enticing world of firms--football gangs who make merry and spar with the supporters of rival teams. Bright and funny, Dom is easily welcomed into the ranks by the firm's leader, Bex (Paul Anderson). But as Dom is drawn into the escalating violence of his clique, he decides to back out.
Doing that, however, is easier said than done. Written and directed by Nick Love, who made the similarly themed THE FOOTBALL FACTORY, THE FIRM's greatest departure from the original is following Dom--a relatively minor character in the original--rather than Bex, originally played by Gary Oldman.
Written by Phil Ford, DREAMLAND sees the iconic TARDIS touch down in the desert in the USA. Stumbling across a mysterious alien artefact in a local diner, the Doctor is led to Area 51, also known as Dreamland, the US' most secret base. He then finds himself on a momentous mission to rescue Rivesh Mantilax from the threat of the ruthless Viperox and the clutches of the American military.
Doctor Who: Dreamland also comes with Doctor Who Greatest Moments--A 3 x 60 minute retrospective, taking viewers on a journey through time and space to relive action from the legendary sci-fi show from 2005 onwards, featuring exclusive interviews with key actors offering unique insights on the classic moments.
The Royles return in the feature length special The Golden Egg Cup.
There’s a new buzz in the Royle Family household as it’s a special time for Jim and Barbara and a celebration (including hoola-hoops, twiglets and scotch eggs) is planned. Poor Mary from next door can’t be present though as, sadly, she has lost all bladder control and has leaked in both the Pound Shop and John Lewis.
The Royle Family: The Golden Egg Cup is out now on
Blu-ray (£10.98) and
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
