Take note M. Night Shyamalan (The Last Airbender, The Happening) if you hadn’t of lost your way over the last few years then you would be making films like Take Shelter… actually given the brilliance of your early career, you should be making films this good. Yes, that’s right Take Shelter is a brilliant film for those that don’t mind there films a little slow and a little left of centre.

Curtis (Michael Shannon – Machine Gun Preacher, The Broken Tower) and Samantha (Jessica Chastain – The Help, The Tree Of Life) are just your average, everyday couple. Curtis works for a drilling company, Samantha works from home and they both love and care for their deaf daughter, Hannah (newcomer – Tova Stewart). However, things begin to change when Curtis starts to premonitions of a giant storm (with tornadoes) heading their way. Positive that it is about to come true he begins to ‘add-on-to’ an old storm shelter at the back of their house. However, when people begin to judge him, including his friend, Dewart (Shea Whigham – This Must Be The Place, Lincoln Lawyer) Curtis realises that it may not be a message a God but rather the early symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, from which his mother also suffered.

Director/screenwriter, Jeff Nichols has followed up his brilliant debut film, Shotgun Stories with a film that deserves all the praise it can get. Take Shelter is an absolute gem that totally captivates you. Nichols script really has you wondering whether Curtis is going crazy or whether he really is receiving messages from God. Nichols really understands suspense and when (if you’ve seen the film you’ll know what I mean) Curtis is about to open the storm-cellars’ door you really do wonder what you are about to see in front of you. Nichols’ characters are beautifully written and you really do start to feel for Curtis, Samantha and Hannah… and this only adds to the suspense of the story.

The other thing that Nichols needs to be congratulated about is the way that he has written Curtis’ premonitions. Each one of them is well crafted and original, and it is clear that the special effects team loved what they had to work with… the birds falling out of the sky are a standout.

Michael Shannon really does step-up from his performance in My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done. In Take Shelter Shannon is at the top of his game, his performance is faultless and the scene in which he confronts and warns the town’s people of what is coming shows that he is worthy of an Oscar nomination. He is also well-supported by Jessica Chastain who is on a role with fine performances at the moment. Together Shannon and Chastain play a believable couple and both need to be congratulated for their work. Newcomer, Tova Stewart also shows that she is somebody that should be listed as a future star.

Take Shelter is a terrific film that keeps you guessing from start to finish. Beautifully written and directed this is one of the best films you are likely to see in 2011.

Year: 2011

Director: Jeff Nichols

Stars: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart, Shea Whigham

Classification: M

Runtime: 121 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

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Beth, can you tell us a little about yourself and also who the members of The Hemingway Collective are, and their roles?

The band features Beth King on vocals, guitar & keyboard, Tin Hemingway on vocals, guitar, sax & keyboard, Matt Moras on guitar, piano accordion & piano, Catherine Dow on flute, sax & clarinet, Frank Pearce on double and electric bass, vocals, guitar & percussion, and Jessie-Lee Mills on drums & percussion.

How long have you been playing together? Can you tell us how you originally formed?

Tin and Cat met playing saxophone together, and started playing together with Beth in 2009 after the three met doing volunteer work with Melbourne-based NGO Friends of Kolkata. Then in 2010 Jessie-Lee, Frank and Matt joined the party after Frank recorded our first album for us. We went on tour together in September last year, and the rest is history.

The band cut their teeth performing at a number of leading Melbourne venues including the Espy, Rainbow Hotel, Hi Fi Bar, Wesley Anne, Empress Hotel, Great Britain, Fox Hotel, Workers Club, Gertrude’s Brown Couch and various community and benefit gigs. We launched our debut album ‘Powerfully, Silently’ to a full house at Bella Union Bar, Trades Hall in May 2010, and in September of that year embarked on an East Coast Album Launch Tour, sharing our music with audiences in regional Victoria, Canberra, Sydney, Nimbin, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Maroochydore and Newcastle. The band is excited to be launching our new album ‘Outside, Looking In’ on Saturday 15 October at the John Curtin Hotel after returning from our current East Coast Tour. It is a collaborative project and our first with this new six-piece line-up – it promises to be something special!

Where did the name The Hemingway Collective come from?

 Well, Hemingway is actually Tin’s last name, but we welcome comparisons between our lyrics and the other Hemmingway of the literary genre!

Re the Collective part, it’s always been about a collective of people building something together that they couldn’t have done on their own, and a celebration of what can happen when people get together like that. We all feel that music is a great way to get across what we feel is important, with messages that are both personal and political. Through sharing our thoughts and experiences, we want to achieve a greater awareness in a non-political forum of some of the things we really feel need to change, for example Australia’s policy on asylum seekers, which comes through in Tin’s song Christmas Island, the hypocrisy of the G8 in Toy Soldiers, and issues surrounding treatment of the homeless and indigenous Australians, among many others!

How would you describe your sound?

Our sound is earthy epic folk.  We’ve been told that we draw comparisons to Joni Mitchell, 70s prog rock, the Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper and Traffic. Our sound is a melting pot where pure, expressive vocals, captivating harmonies and unassumingly intricate guitar work are melded with funky sax, bass, keys, drums and flute. Boasting 6 talented multi-instrumentalists, we’ve been described as ‘a mighty sounding band’ (Richard Fields, 3CR), combining whimsical folk ballads, challenging roots-flavoured political tunes and funky songs that will have your toes tapping. ‘It’s clear that this is a band rich with talent.’ (Simon Forman, www.perfectpitch.com.au).

Who are your influences?

Tracey Chapman, Ani de Franco, Liz Stringer, Cat Stevens, Beatles, Chris Cornell, Pink Floyd, Jose Gonzales, The Waifs, Sarah McLachlan, Astrud Gilberto, Feist, Iron & Wine, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Medeski, Martin and Wood.

You have your CD launch coming up very soon how are nerves?

We’re currently touring the East Coast to warm up and fine tine for the big gig, which is really exciting.  By the time we get back we should be a well-oiled musical machine!!  We’re looking forward to an awesome night, with great support from Charles Baby and Pleasing Anna.

If you could share a stage with any band in the world who would you choose?

Can we have one band each?!

The Dave Matthews Band, Ani De Franco, Jethro Tull, Bonjah, Liz Stringer, The Waifs, John Butler Trio.

What are Beth King & The Hemingway Collective’s career highlight so far?

Launching our first album last year was a definite highlight. We packed out Bella Union Bar in Trades Hall, and used the opportunity to showcase our amazingly talented friends by displaying their artwork and sharing their circus and contemporary dance talents! Since then, finishing our first studio album with our full band, a choir and a string quartet and touring the East Coast twice have been major highlights for us.

If a crowd comes to see Beth King & The Hemingway Collective perform live what will they go away remembering?

The incredible diversity of musicianship, with people constantly swapping instruments, fantastic harmonies and the infectious energy and excitement of six friends making beautiful music together, playing with passion and just having an awesome time! Their toes will be tapping their way out the door and hopefully they will take some of the lyrical messages with them too.

You’ve just released a new CD (Outside Looking In). What can people expect to hear on it?

The unexpected! This is earthy, epic folk, tinged with elements of funk and rock. No two songs are alike in instrumentation or feel, but they all tie together to form a narrative, filled with passion, questioning the world we live in, calling for action and giving hope.  Captivating harmonies, intricate guitar work, a string quartet and rousing choir, beautiful flute melodies, funky bass, cruising congas, tasty electric guitar, aching cello, an extreme sax solo and the biggest D Chord ever known.

What was the process like putting together the album?

It was a huge project! This time the process was more involved than for our first album because of the complexity of the songs and the collaborative writing process.  We workshopped all the songs before (or during!) recording, and the album features songs written by three members of our band – Tin, Beth and Frank. We were excited to share this experience with friends from our community who participated in the recording adventure as newsreaders, in our choir and string quartet, and the amazing artists and designers who produced our album art. Tin and Frank (from Squid Studios) were amazing, putting in long hours with the mixing, mastering, tracking and production which have really paid off.

Where do you hope Beth King & The Hemingway Collective ends up in 2012? What are you short term goals? What are your long-term goals?

In the short term, we are hoping that lots and lots of people love our album!!  In 2012 we’d love to play at some more festivals and continue gigging and sharing the stage with other amazing musicians.  It would be awesome to play some support shows for bigger acts we admire, and we’re looking for a booker or manager to help us out with the organisation side of things.  In the longer term – well, wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to travel Australia and the world sharing our music!!!

Aside from your album launch do you have any regular gigs where people can come and see you perform?

Yes! We have a gig coming up at the Great Britain on 15 December, and will have many more over summer so like our page on Facebook if you want to be kept in the loop!

Is there anything else you would like people to know about Beth King & The Hemingway Collective?

We love playing at community events and benefit gigs for a good cause so if anyone is looking for a band, please send us a message or email!

Do you have a website people can check out?

Yes we do! It’s www.bethkingandthehemingwaycollective.com

Dave Griffiths

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Not much can be said about the illustrious history of this most iconic and interesting of metal bands that hasn’t already been said. Suffice it is to say that they have been making truly unique progressively orientated metal music for over two decades now, and their reputation truly precedes them.

The present and immediate future of Opeth is extremely interesting however. They have just released their tenth full length studio album, appropriately titles Heritage, and as ever they have pushed the boundaries of their sound and what heavy music can be. The difference this time is that they’ve pushed those boundaries to almost breaking point, and created a work that is as unexpected as it is controversial, especially to their long term fans. Heritage, to the as yet uninitiated, contains no death metal growling vocals, and nary even any distorted guitars and pounding drums. In fact, it can scarcely be called ‘metal’ at all. It hearkens strongly back to the 70s progressive rock days that main man Mikael Akerfeldt holds so dear, throwing in some jazz, folk and other elements besides, and the man himself gave Beat his thoughts regarding this quite profound change of direction recently.

“I love it,” he enthuses in his rather understated manner, “at the moment it’s the one Opeth album that I listen to, of course. I listen a lot to our records when they’re done, and then I reach a point where I’m just done with that record. I won’t actually listen to it again until I need to learn how to play it again. But right now I’m still listening to it quite a lot, and well, I’m loving it! I think it was the right time for us to do an album like this, and it was basically the only choice for me. I was writing these songs and it was a matter of this or nothing to be honest.

“I wrote a couple of songs that were a continuation of the stuff we did on (previous album) Watershed,” he recalls, “and it didn’t work, I didn’t feel those songs. So I started from scratch again. I wrote these songs and they’re different, we’d never done anything like this album before. And so, it’s special because of that.”

And the fact that the lack of heaviness and death metal orientated vocals on the album may be causing a little consternation and controversy amongst the band’s fans and the heavy music media seems to be weighing extremely lightly on his shoulders.

“I’m assuming that that’s going to be the case,” he states, “but for me, it’s not really that much of a big deal to be honest. We’ve done the Damnation album in the past, we have had clean vocals from the very first album in ’94, I mean I don’t really know what the big deal is. People think it’s some type of statement that we’re never gonna have those type of vocals again, which, I don’t know what’s gonna happen on the next record. They might come back, there might be only death metal vocals for the next album, you never know. That’s the beauty of this band, you never know. And the thing is that having that type of vocals on this record would completely ruin it, and it would be bad taste. And everyone who heard this album would probably agree, there’s no place for that type of vocals on these songs. It’s as simple as that.”

The album contains a tribute to a fallen hero of the Metal scene. Slither is an ode to the diminutive but mighty vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who fronted classic heavy music acts such as Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own band Dio. He was a true inspiration to Mikael, the music of Opeth and the heavy music scene in general, but was tragically taken from us in May last year.

“Yeah he is,” Mikael agrees, when asked if Dio was a massive influence on his work, “I didn’t know him well, but I did meet him once. I spent an evening with him, having drinks with him in Japan once. It was amazing. He was an amazing guy and I love him. We came into this bar in Tokyo, and it was completely empty next to Ronnie and his drummer Simon Wright. I came in there with Mendez, our bass player and Peter our guitar player. And he just stood up and said ‘Guys! Come sit with us!’ And I was like ‘Yeah, right, that’s a mirage or something’. But it was Ronnie sitting there, he was asking me to sit down with him! And I was like ‘fuck, that’s crazy’, but of course we sat down with them, and I was so shy, I had to down a few drinks, and then I just bombarded him! He was just very gentle, and very nice, very human. He didn’t have any of that type of ‘rock star’ thing. I don’t know why you expect those things from those types of people, but I grew up with him. He’s always been there, and it’s such an important part of my musical upbringing. And up til his death he was always relevant. I love him like a family member. When he passed away it was a devastating blow for me, and that’s why we’re doing this song.”

 

Since our chat, Opeth have announced yet another Australian tour. It seems we can’t get enough of the Swedish legends. They play The Palace on Sunday, December 18^th.

Rod Whitfield

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Say what you want about 2010 X Factor winner Altiyan Childs, but there has never been someone so intriguing and just plain incredible in the Australian music industry. As a fan of nearly 7 years, I recently had the honour of speaking with Altiyan about the new single ’Ordinary Man’ as well as the album he has been waiting 24 years to release. I also spoke to him about his much loved fans, the East Coast tour in August this year and what the future holds for this bright star. At the end of the day it was all about the music, which is what matters most above all else.

Altiyan’s second single simply entitled ‘Ordinary Man’ was released digitally on September 23rd and will have a physical release on October 21st. Despite its lack of airplay on commercial radio, this doesn’t seem to have affected Altiyan all that much. He says “I’ve never heard of a winner of a singing reality show to wait this long for a second single. It’s a deep sigh of relief that it’s out there”. True to form the song suits Altiyan perfectly and can best be described as a song that has an r’n'b back beat alongside some “really nice sexy rocky guitar riffs” Childs says. Whilst the song lyrics seem to speak of the power of love, the song lyrically is more or less about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. This is something which is of particular significance to Altiyan who seeks to do just that on a daily basis. It is a very effortless song which belongs on the radio. Childs’ hopes for the single is that it can make people feel what he feels from it. It is a song that has the power to touch people and reach out through the thicket of the radio airwaves.

The song is in fact a good indication of the sound of the album that has been 24 years in the making, an album which has as yet not even been recorded. But there is hope, with another single to be released in roughly 8 weeks. But as far as the overall sound of the album to come, Altiyan is quick to point out that he plans on “bending the rules”. As with the current single, everything for Childs comes back to a matter of effortlessness. You can’t force something which has been so long in the making.

For the first time, Childs’ East Coast tour in August gave him the chance to bring more originals into the light. These included songs known as ‘Driving’, ‘New Romance’ and ‘Space Train’ which has the poignant line in the chorus of “Only love can bring you a revolution”. Such songs as these will eventually be recorded and feature on the album to come. They will sit alongside reworked Masonia (Childs’ orginal band) songs, such as ‘Madness’. Anyone who has had the chance to hear these songs will know all too well that they showcase just how amazing Childs is as a songwriter. He comes from a different place than most in that way and it is this that makes him such a unique asset to the Australian music industry. When asked to pick a favourite of all of his originals which he has written over the years, Altiyan chooses two. One being the somewhat Masonia classic which came close to commercial success (reaching #41 on the ARIA Charts) in the absolutely stunning song known as ‘Simple’, “it has always captured me, it’s timeless” Childs says. It is easy to see why with a close look at the lyrics such as “Every morning I open my eyes. My first heartbeat is for you”. They are the kind of the lyrics which take you on a journey if you let them. It is as relevant today as it was upon its release in late 2004. The other being a song called ‘Driving’ for the fact that its a song that’s been affecting him recently.

The East Coast tour, mentioned previously, was something of a serious gamble for Childs and indeed Sony. It was as if Altiyan had been living in the musical wilderness for the better part of 6 months thru no fault of his own, but the response was overwhelmingly positive. Of the tour, Altiyan says “I was touched and really blown away. The passion still seems to be alive in the fans and that helped me heal. I can never give up on them
because they haven’t given up on me”. It was no surprise then that when asked Altiyan was quick to say that Sydney’s Enmore Theatre was his favourite venue of the tour, for the simple fact that it is a place he had dreamed of playing for years. It would have happened sooner, if it had been available and booked as part of the Somewhere In The World tour earlier this year. It seems that the phrase ‘everything happens for a reason’ applies to Altiyan time and time again.

Speaking of the fans, which helped sell out venues such The Enmore Theatre in Sydney on the most recent tour; their love for Altiyan is reciprocated by the man himself. In fact, the relationship he has with his fans is more akin to an extended family in many ways. This is yet another element that sets him apart from almost anyone else. For Altiyan, his fans are his direction and his everything. He goes on to say that “they are my oxygen, I couldn’t breathe without them. I can’t explain how much I love them. They are at the top of the pyramid”. This should come as no surprise for the man who openly admits that he is hopelessly in love with the human race.

As mentioned before, the phrase ‘everything happens for a reason’ applies to Altiyan more so than anyone else. This is especially true when you compare his ability to deal with the fickle fame game now and when he was with Masonia. For when he was with Masonia, Altiyan says “my
heart wasn’t ready”, which is obvious when you listen to the 2005 album ‘World On Fire’, its a very dark album to say the least. Nowadays though, he owes his success to a TV show which is rather ironic when you think about. But then again “there is a good reason for everything”, Childs says.

With the second single ‘Ordinary Man’ finally released, it is now time for the song to take charge. It is up to the song to steer the ship that is Altiyan’s music career. Meanwhile Altiyan is doing what he does best. “I am trying to stay in touch with the divine”, he says. The songs are ready to go, they are just waiting to be recorded. Right now there is just quiet time.

But it won’t be quiet for long. With the undying love and support of his fans from not only Australia but across the world, Altiyan Childs’ music career will continue to go from strength to strength. It will be the music at the end of the day which will speak the words others are afraid to say. Altiyan Childs is above all else an incredible, fascinating and endearing human being and it is these qualities which are the strength of his music prowess.

Maggie Sapet

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A wise writer once said to me “that everybody has the ability to write an autobiography, but not everyone has a life or story interesting enough to make people want to read it.” I don’t think I ever fully understood what he meant until I saw Higher Ground. Based on Carolyn S. Brigg’s memoir poor old Higher Ground may raise some interesting points but for the most part putts along like a midday TV movie.

The film follows Corinne (Vera Farmiga – Source Code, Henry’s Crime) as she struggles with love and faith in the Bible Belt of America. She learns about God from an early age but doesn’t really become religious until her and her husband, Ethan (Shark Night 3D, Treatment) nearly use their first child in an accident. Ethan and Corinne then become deeply religious, however Corinne still desperately struggles especially as she tries to be as ‘religious and righteous’ as her best friend, Annika (Dagmara Dominczyk – TV’S The Good Wife & Suits).

Vera Farmiga makes her directional debut with Higher Ground and it’s unfortunate that she didn’t have a better script to work with. She does bring an interesting feel to the film and the scenes involving the baptisms is enough to show that Farmiga has her own style (and an interesting one at that) when it comes to filmmaking but unfortunately the script is a real let down. The relationship between Corinne and Ethan is an interesting one and introducing characters such as Liam (Sean Mahon – TV’S Then When We Got Help! & Army Wives) only makes it more interesting, however there just simply isn’t enough in the film to keep you interested the whole time. Corinne’s struggle with faith is a great centre-point but apart from that there is little other ‘meat’ to the film and the ending is frustrating beyond disappointing.

Acting-wise Farmiga does a wonderful job… and she proves that she is one of the few people out there that has the skills to direct a movie that she is also acting in. She is well supported by Joshua Leonard who steals most of the scenes that he is in. The same can be said for Sean Mahon who uses his role to scream out to Hollywood to sit up and take notice of him as a romantic lead.

Higher Ground really could have been a better film but unfortunately it never lifts itself above the TV movie feeling. The faith struggle will hold interest for some, but it is hard to see this film gaining a legion of films. This is one of those films that you simply wait for to come out on DVD.

Year: 2011

Director: Vera Farmiga

Stars: Vera Farmiga, Dagmara Dominczyk, Joshua Leonard, Sean Mahon

Classification: M

Runtime: 111 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

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Okay, there is certainly gonna be a lot of angry people out there over this one, many will argue that a classic film like The Lion King need not be re-released in a 3D format, and a large part of me wants to agree with them. Should someone’s childhood fave be ruined in a bid to make a few extra dollars?

For those that didn’t see The Lion King 17 years ago it tells the story of Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas – The Extra, Thru The Moebius Strip) a young Lion whose father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones – Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey) is a proud King. Jealous, of his brother’s position Scar (Jeremy Irons – Prohibition, Eco-Hollywood) devises a plan that sees Mufasa killed and then blames a young Simba for the death. Simba flees until he meets Timone (Nathan Lane – Astro Boy, TV’S Modern Family) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella – Listen To Your Heart, Beyond The Lengend: Timone). Flash forward a few years and the three are still close friends, but everything changes for them when Simba (Matthew Broderick – Margaret, Beach Lane) runs into his childhood friend, Nala (Moira Kelly – TV’S One Tree Hill & Numb3rs) and she informs him that Scar taking over as King has ruined the Kingdom for everyone.

In its day The Lion King was an absolute classic… and deservedly so. It’s story is captivating and it’s soundtrack contains tracks that will go down in Hollywood history, however re-releasing this film was not one of the brightest things that Disney has done over the years. Bringing 3D to this film does nothing at all and worse still people viewing the film for the first time (think today’s young people) will be appalled by the animation. In it’s day The Lion King looked spectacular, but that was 17 years ago, in that time animation has come a long way and re-watching the film today only makes you stop and think how ordinary the graphics look compared to what we have these days.

Still, the story of The Lion King is enough to win over even the most hardened critic and it is still an enjoyable watch that is guaranteed to create thought amongst your children. But still the question remains, did it need to be released? The simple answer is no, as I have previously said the 3D does nothing the film and 17 years later seems an odd time for Disney to re-release the film… surely they would have been better off waiting until the 20 year mark… and not brought 3D into the picture.

The Lion King is still worth a watch and is great to sing-a-long to, just be prepared for a brief shock when you see how the animation has aged. A family favorite that isn’t enhanced by a 3D makeover.

Year: 2011

Director: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff

Stars: Matthew Broderick, Niketa Calame, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jeremy Irons, Moira Kelly, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg

Classification: G

Runtime: 89 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

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Drive is proof that some of the world’s best movies can come from a film that you least expect from. A quick read of the premise of this film and you could be excused for thinking that it is simply a Fast & The Furious style movie… instead what you get is a flawless movie that is going to be a classic and should be mentioned fairly often during Oscar season.

Driver (Ryan Gosling – The Ideas Of March, Crazy Stupid Love) is a Hollywood stunt driver or doubles as a criminal in the form of a getaway driver. His rules are simple – if you do a job with him you have 5 minutes to do the crime and then he is out of there. Working with friend, Shannon (Bryan Cranston – Contagion, Larry Crowne) Driver rarely messes up, but then he meets his new neighbour, Irene (Carey Mulligan – Shame, Never Let Me Go) a young mother whose husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac – Sucker Punch, Robin Hood) is in jail. However, as Driver and Irene get closer Standard is released in prison, but his debt soon has Irene and her son in trouble. Desperate to help them Driver agrees to help Standard with a job that sees them steal $1 million. However, things don’t go to plan and soon Driver has Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks – TV’S The Simpsons & Weeds) and Nino (Ron Perlman – Conan The Barbarian, TV’S Sons Of Anarchy) coming after him.

Director, Nicolas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising, Bronson) has taken Hossein Amini’s (Shanghai, Kill Shot) script and given a really ‘strange’ feel to it. The titles, music and general feel of the film gives it a really 1980s feel while the film’s storyline (and subsequent violence) makes you feel like you are watching a classic like American Psycho. The great thing Refn does though is bring an arthouse feel to the film, this prevents the film from taking a trip down the usual action film route, and using this feel doesn’t take any of the thrills out of the film… you will actually find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat throughout the film.

Drive should guarantee Ryan Gosling an Oscar nomination and on the back of Blue Valentine really should be showing people that he is one of the world’s best actors at the moment. The role of Driver is not an easy role and Gosling pulls it off easily. Also remarkable is his on-screen chemistry with Carey Mulligan. They are believable as a couple and you actually do feel for them when they can’t be together. But as I have already mentioned Gosling is faultless and easily steals the show with a faultless performance.

If you can’t stand on-screen violence than Drive isn’t for you, but then again if you miss it you will be missing one of the best films of the year. Drive is an amazing film that deserves a massive amount of awards… it is certainly one of the best films of 2011.

 Year: 2011

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, AlbertsBrooks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac

Classification: MA15+

Runtime: 100 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

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As a general rule I’m not a fan of remakes that do nothing to differ from the original… but for some reason I am feeling differently about Footloose. Perhaps it’s because there is no cover-up here, it’s a remake and nobody is trying to hide it. And despite the fact Footloose is set in modern times there are little nods (like haircuts) throughout the film that give a shout out to the original.

For those that never saw the original Footloose the film tells the story of Ren McCormack (Kenny Wormald – Centre Stage: Turn It Up, Clerks II), a young man who arrives in a country town after the death of his mother. Upon arriving he discovers that the town lives under a number of rules introduced by Rev. Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid – Beneath The Darkness, Soul Surfer) whose own son died in a car accident on the way home from dance. The rules include no listening to loud music and no dancing within town limits, they just happen to be two things that Ren enjoy. With his new friend, Willard (Miles Teller – Rabbit Hole, TV’S The Unusuals) and love interest, Ariel Moore (Julianne Hough – Burlesque, TV’S Disney 365) in tow Ren sets about changing the town’s opinion of him and the rules.

While so many modern remakes try to disguise the fact that they are indeed remakes director, Craig Brewer (Black Snake Moan, Hustle & Flow) does no such thing. Kenny Wormald’s haircut throughout the film is a shout out back to the original while the soundtrack is made up of songs from the original along with some great new tracks. And with a handy script at hand the other important thing to take notice of is whether or not the dance sequences work… and to Brewer’s credit they do, although you can’t help but think of that that classic line from Not Another Teen Movie (‘isn’t it great how all the kids here are professional dance students) when all the kids who haven’t been allowed to dance for years get up and are perfect dancing.

As I mentioned, the script works… and works well. The great thing about Footloose is that it has a story to back up the dancing. Whether it be centering on Ren coming to terms with his mother’s death or the fact that Ariel is in an abusive relationship with Chuck (Patrick John Flueger – Mother’s Day, TV’S Scoundrels) there is always enough drama going on to keep the non-dance fans happy. Credit must be paid to the screenwriters at hand as well as the script is actually well-written.

Another plus for Footloose is the fact that the cast can act as well as dance. Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough are certainly stars on the rise, and they are well backed up by Miles Teller, who plays the comic relief character perfectly, and Ziah Colon (Road Trip: Beer Pong, TV’S Drop Dead Diva) who put in some credible performances. As you would expect Dennis Quaid is once again on-song.

There are going to be people that say Footloose doesn’t hold up to the original, but don’t let them fool you. As far as remakes go this one is pretty good. It’s certainly enjoyable and you can’t really ask for more than that.

Year: 2011

Director: Craig Brewer

Stars: Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, Ziah Colon, Miles Teller

Classification: M

Runtime: 113 mins

Rating:

Available on DVD from 9th February, 2012

Dave Griffiths

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The Metalcore train left the station about four or five years ago, and these guys may have missed it. If these guys had released Heartbound in 2005, they would have been a chance to (momentarily) dominate the world, such is the quality of what they do. These Aussie boys do the melodic metalcore thing about as well as anyone on the planet right now, it’s just that they might have to be content with joining the overpopulated ranks of a sub-genre long past its commercial peak.

All that aside, Heartbound is absolutely killer. It does exactly what good metalcore should do, and it sounds amazing doing it. When it’s heavy, it’s really very heavy. When it’s melodic, its pop hooks soar to the heavens and stay in your ears for long moments afterwards. Lead vocalist Marcel Gadacz handles the howls and the cleans with equal aplomb. The production and musicianship are world class, and touches of electronica are appropriately subtle and add atmospherics and dynamics, never overdone, which is exactly as it should be.

These guys have crafted almost the perfect metalcore album. Hopefully they can still carve out a solid slice of the pie for themselves in international metalcore. If a melodic Parkway Drive sounds like your thing, avail yourself of this album. Now. And support Aussie music.

Rod Whitfield

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It always happens, I open my review books to find volume 2 of a series and then have to dig through the reading pile to find out if I have book 1. And in this case I did, and embarrassingly, this time it was there, bearing a publication date of 2010. So you may have to hunt for this book in your local bookshop, that is, if you still have a local bookshop.

This book is a real adventure fantasy, with the emphasis on adventure. Lenk, our hero, has scraped together a band of adventurers from many different races. The tale begins at sea with the pirates attacking. The battle is full on, and gradually each of the team is introduced and gets to demonstrate their individual skill and personality. None of this long explanation of setting and character, we are right into the action. Once the pirates are dispatched, it is revealed that they got away with a very important book of magic. This book must be located and regained before the gates to hell are opened and demons are released into the world. Imagine, the future of the world depending on a book! The adventurers track down the pirates, or what is left of them, to an isolated island where each of them must fight for their lives, sometimes alone and isolated from their friends.

I wasn’t really surprised to find that the author of this book was only 25, and he started writing this when he was 17. I mean an adult author would know better than to spend 200 pages on a single battle. The plot goes nowhere all that time. Then suddenly, almost magically, they are at the site of another battle and that one goes on for another couple hundred pages. There has got to be more to a book.

The publisher’s hype about this was incredible. Dropping names like Joe Abercrombie or Stephen Deas is bound to attract attention. But sorry, I think we were ripped off.

And did I race off to read volume 2? Well it came out of the review crate for a while, but now it has been packed away again.

CS Sutton

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