There's a teleportation battle of the centuries in Jumper on DVD...
With whizzo special effects and characters leaping about from location to
location without so much as a by-your-leave, a battle between good and evil
across the environments sounds like a winner, especially with a cast including
Hayden Christensen, Jamie Bell, and Samuel L Jackson, but as
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Dan Owen
confirms, it's got its big share of problems.
Jason Bourne returns in The Bourne Conspiracy on Xbox 360...
The Bourne Identity was a fantastic film and you can't help thinking that
it'd be ripe for making a game out of it, but after a trilogy of movies you'd
expect Matt Damon's character to feature in escapades from all three rather
than just the first one, but it's a case of the latter that we'd got here, and
it's not the most wonderful game around.
The review also features some in-game footage in a number of different clips.
Eli "Paperboy" Reed is a superb self-styled Soul man on CD...
Mentioning this artist in the same breath as Otis Redding and James Brown,
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts
is seriously impressed with Eli "Paperboy" Reed when it comes to both the
vocals and the performance from him and the band for this new soulful offering.
In a slight change from the norm, we look at a few titles in more detail, as there's not a lot out at the moment.
Katherine Heigl stars in 27 Dresses, a romantic comedy about a selfless young woman who is trapped in the role of perennial bridesmaid.
Set in New York City, the film opens with Jane (Heigl) racing by cab to appear in two friends' weddings in the same night.
She is the maid of honour for both fetes, and she rushes back and forth. She meets Malcolm (James Marsden), a cynical young man
who, unbeknownst to her, writes for a newspaper's wedding column. Malcolm is intrigued by the sheer number of times Jane has
played bridesmaid, and he secretly decides to write a story about her. To further complicate Jane's life, her younger sister
Tess (Malin Akerman) has just come to town and ensnared Jane's longtime crush, George (Edward Burns). When George and Tess
become engaged, Jane faces the humiliating prospect of playing bridesmaid in the wedding of her sister and the man she loves.
Meanwhile, Malcolm continues hounding Jane, and Jane's life and closet soon explode in a taffeta-tangled mess that forces her
to make some big changes.
Burn Up is an environmental drama set in the upper echelons of politics and big business. When a group of geologists are
murdered in Saudi Arabia, it sets off an unexpected chain of events that has global implications. The murky politics of government and commerce are explored in this drama, starring Bradley Whitford (The West Wing), Marc Warren (Hustle), and Neve Campbell
(Scream).
Combining comic book style and geeky in-jokes, Heroes Season 2 is a stellar series that draws comparisons to fan
favourites such as Lost and The X-Files. But thanks to its well-drawn characters and intricate plot, this drama reels in
more than just superhero fans. Heroes revolves around the premise of seemingly ordinary people developing fantastic powers.
There's Claire (Hayden Panettiere, Ice Princess), a cheerleader who can't appear to be injured or killed. Matt (Greg Grunberg,
Alias) is a cop who can read minds. New Yorker Peter (Milo Ventimiglia, Rocky Balboa) has the power to adopt other heroes'
abilities, while his politician brother (Adrian Pasdar, Judging Amy) has a special power of his own. Though the show boasts
many other characters, its secret weapon is Hiro (Masi Oka), a Japanese office worker who is delighted to discover he can
move through space and time.
Set four months after the end of series one, the second series of Heroes thrillingly builds on the previous events, introducing
a variety of new characters including Honduran twins Maya (Dania Ramirez, The Sopranos) and Alejandro (Shalim Ortez), the
devious and lethal Elle (Kirsten Bell, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), and Hiro's idol, Takezo Kensei (David Anders, Alias).
And the first two series are also together on
DVD (£52.50).
Paris Hilton stars as the titular beauty in this romantic comedy. Nate (Dodgeball's Joel David Moore) is an unlucky in love
man who has adored the gorgeous Cristabel (Hilton) since he was a child. As an adult, Nate moves to Los Angeles in order to
track down his life-long love. He succeeds in finding her but she refuses to leave the side of her less attractive friend,
June (Christine Lakin, Step By Step), until she finds a man.
In order to win Cristabel's affections, Nate helps June embark on a life-changing makeover in order to get her dates. Some
surprising results occur as Nate's friendship with June blossoms. Former Dawson's Creek writer Heidi Ferrer makes her feature
film debut with the script to this romantic comedy. The comedic aspects of her script combine well with the more serious message
that she is trying to get across; that a person's inner beauty is much more important than superficial appearances.
The Hottie and the Nottie is out now on
DVD (£9.98).
Seth Lakeman: The Poster Boy of Folk releases a new CD...
He's been around a few years and is certainly doing well to find his feet in
the industry, especially here with some Jimmy Page influences. It's certainly
not Seth's best, but as
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
confirms, it keeps moving.
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchcester 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: Baby Mamma, Angus Thongs & Perfect Snogs and Batman: The Dark Knight.
With many classics under his belt including Loser, Devil's Haircut, Sexx Laws
and Deadweight, can he pull it off again with his latest release?
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
thinks not. Find out why in his review.
Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey are bad girls in Heavenly Creatures on DVD...
Widely regarded as one of those classics, for me this one ran out of steam
as it went on far too long, but this film from Lord of the Rings director
Peter Jackson, starring Kate Winsley and Melanie Lynskey, was released in 1994
and then put out on DVD in the USA several years later - a few years after
DVDs came into being. As for a UK DVD? No sign of that yet.
Read the review of this tale of teenage rebellion
and whether you agree or disagree, please leave a comment and vote for the film out of 5.
Last Monday,
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts
went to see this long-running band who've been around for more than 40 years,
and whose biggest hit was Light Flight, in Liverpool at the Philarmonic Hall,
and it was a fantastic gig.
Heroes or Villains - which side will you choose, on PC DVD...?
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Gaz Williams
is a massive fan of World of Warcraft and rising up and chomping at
the bit for some MMORPG action is City of Heroes/City of Villains,
which allows you to play on both the good and bad sides of the equation,
but does it have what it takes to be a WOW-beater?
Thanks to those who entered the recent comps. The winners have been selected
and will be notified when the prizes are sent out, which will be shortly after
we receive them from the respective PR companies.
The answers were as follows:
CSI Miami 5.1 & CSI NY 4.1 on DVD: Gary Sinise played Lt Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump.
Queer as Folk Season 3 on DVD: Russell T Davies was the creator of the original UK version of the series.
CHARTS: Dizzie Rascal vs. McFly - who got the No.1...?
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchcester 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: Meet Dave, Donkey Punch and Wall-E.
The release dates for singles go up until mid September
with albums also until September 2008.
PS. Apologies for the lack of updates this week. Just having a week off work
and enjoying a few days doing other stuff. Normal service will be resumed soon, probably now, actually.
Wesley Snipes completes the trilogy in Blade Trinity on DVD...
Okay, so this came out many moons ago but it's the summer and there's not
much new stuff coming out, so I took a look at one of those films I meant to
watch ages ago, and this one completes the Blade trilogy, which is one I've
always enjoyed, and for anyone buying it now, Snipes will certainly need the
cash as he's locked up in jail for tax evasion.
With some help from Whistler as always, Blade is joined by some new recruits
including Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel as they go after the Daddy of all
vampires - Dracula!
With a career spanning 30 years, Billy Idol has made many a class track,
so how does
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts
think this new compilation stacks up?
Please enter the competitions listed below by clicking on the packshot
on the right.
CSI Miami 5.1 & CSI NY 4.1 on DVD
Queer as Folk Season 3 on DVD
North Wales' biggest dance music club event Freak is back!...
North Wales’ biggest dance music club event Freak is making a long awaited
comeback after a year in the wilderness! From 2003 to 2007, Freak held some now
legendary events at Wrexham’s Central Station nightclub, flying in some of
the world’s top DJ talent to appear, gaining Freak a reputation across the UK
as one of the top nights in the country. Freak was voted number 2 club in
West and Wales region of the UK in the Mixmag dance music awards in 2005, and
was featured as the House Rules ‘Club of the week ’ on Pete Tong’s Friday
night Essential Selection on BBC’s Radio One.
"One of the best club nights in the country, bar none!" – Mixmag Magazine, 2006.
"One of the most talked about underground club nights in the country" – I-DJ Magazine, 2006
After almost a year’s break, Freak returns to Wrexhams Central Station on Bank Holiday
Sunday August 24th, bringing back the extreme party vibe, soul shaking atmosphere
and incredible production that made Freak so special in the years gone by.
Freak have secured the services of one of the all time Freak favourites, Jon Carter
to headline the event. With this event being so highly anticipated, a very
special headline DJ was required and we can think of no one better than Jon to
head things up. Many Freak regulars will always remember the time Jon Carter
made his debut at Freak’s second birthday, which will always go down as a
defining moment for the club and one of the best parties ever witnessed.
Jon has made time for Freaks return, for which the Wrexham club will also be
joined by hot new Drum n Bass club night Crunch in the second room & Live
Electro bands in room 3. Freaks ethos is to provide a venue for clubbers who
don't want to listen to mainstream dance and cheese, and it fits his approach
perfectly.
After carving out a career as a DJ inspired by the acid house explosion of the
late 1980s, Carter soon became disillusioned with the way the genre was going
early in the next decade, stifled by increasing commercialisation of house music.
He struck out playing a brazenly individual style, taking his influences from
dancehall, reggae, hip-hop and funk.
"House music and clubbing in general was in a really stale phase. It was
just a case of trying to find something different. Reggae was an obvious
influence, because really all clubs owe a lot to reggae because that's where
the sound systems came from."
The result was a sound that was a big influence on the big beat movement of the
late 1990s and is still causing waves on the club scene now.
"It wasn't a risk, because I had nothing to lose," he says.. "But it
was definitely great being with a bunch of people like The Chemical Brothers and
Fatboy Slim who were all doing the same thing."
Carters projects in the past include remixes for the likes of U2 and the Manic
Street Preachers, as well as his band Monkey Mafia, who released their album
Shoot The Boss to critical acclaim in 1998, but he also admits to enjoying playing in
"sweaty clubs where they play dirty, deep house."
"There's a lot of good music
about now - my set at Freak is going to be very acid-y because there's a
lot of good acid about now. The ethos is very like punk in that it's being
made so quickly and easily. It's going back to the original energy of acid."
So what can clubbers expect from Jon's set at Freak?
"I play damn good, exciting, dynamic music. If you've not heard me before,
come down and hear some new s**t."
Joining Jon Carter in the main room at Central Station in Wrexham will be
Freaks founder/resident Mark Barnes & resident DJ’s Tom Maddicott and Harvey.
Representing Crunch in the second room will be Colak & Tom Swindel, mixing
up the finest Dubstep and Drum n Bass. In Room 3, Neal Thompson will be
hosting Yales with his Indie Rock n Roll club featuring live Electro bands.
Creamfields after-party!
Creamfields dance festival is being held on the same date as Freak. As Creamfields
closes at 11pm, Freak are offering anyone wishing to attend Creamfields prior
to entering Freak the reduced door price of £5, when shown a valid ticket
stub for the Sunday Creamfields event.
Event Details
Date: Bank holiday Sunday, August 24th
Event times: 9pm – 4am
Admission: Over 18’s only. £7 advance tickets, £8 on the door before midnight, £9 after. £5 on the door when showing a valid ticket stub for Creamfields (Sunday tickets only).
Line up: Jon Carter, Crunch DJ’s, Tom Maddicott, Harvey, Neal Thompson, Live Electro bands tbc.
Venue: Central Station, 15-17 Hill St, Wrexham LL11 1SN. 01978 358780.
Contact: mark@freakonline.co.uk
For the website click on the Freak image (above-right)
For more information, please contact Mark Barnes on mark@freakonline.co.uk,
+44 (0) 7917 691697.
For information on Central Station, contact Aled Owens at office@yales.fsbusiness.co.uk
or on 01978 358780 or see
centralstationvenue.com
CHARTS: Dizzie Rascal vs. Basshunter - who got the No.1...?
Sigur Ros release another Icelandic instant hit on CD...
There are some classic ambient tracks on their latest album, which went straight
into the Top 10 on its week of release, and while it's not quite as good as
last year's release, it's still a great blend of the eccentric with a touch
of the mainstream.
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchcester 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: Mamma Mia, Forbidden Kingdom and Journey To The Centre of the Earth.
Before now, Tim Daniel's written songs for Lemar, Delta Goodrem, and he's also
supported Take That, but now it's time for his debut album and,
as
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
confirms, it doesn't all come together quite how it should.
The album title may be harking to the past but this music is definitely
worthy of present-day listening, as confirmed by
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
as this band bring back tunes from many years ago by the likes of Matthews
Southern Comfort, Townes Van Zandt and Hawkwind.
Having the ability to see two minutes into the future sounds like a blessing,
but for Cris Johnson it's a curse, although the FBI want in on his secret in
order to help them track down some bad guys. Will he help them, and what's with
this gorgeous girl he keeps seeing in his mind?
Last Tuesday,
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts
went to see Mick Hucknall live in concert at the Summer Pops in Liverpool
where he did a set mostly containing tracks from his recent 'Tribute To Bobby'
album, and it went down a storm.
Doctor Who: The Doctor reached the end of the road on BBC1...
Or so we thought last week as David Tennant started to regenerate... but
then Russell T Davies hit the Big Red Reset Button and saved the day by
having the Doctor use his 'handy spare hand' in an episode that stretched
credibility even further and threw in even more characters including Mickey
and Jackie Tyler. Did it all work?
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Dan Owen
brings you his review of the episode.
This review was first posted on his site:
danowen.blogspot.com
and you can join in the discussion on that site with a direct link from this
review.
The Doctor return on Xmas Day with more cybermen...
You Will Get Well Soon - odd name, fantastic CD...
Band names don't get much stranger than this one, but
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
confirms that with a mix of electro, folk, tango and classical overtones, this
is one that the real music fans will love to bits.
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
