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Movies

Jobs (2.5 stars)

Development of this Steve Jobs biopic began around the same time Apple’s founder and CEO had to step down due to a cancer diagnosis and his corpse was barely cold when the film went into production. The rush was on to capitalize on his headline grabbing death. With Ashton Kutcher in place to fill his black turtleneck, jeans and sneakers, the film looked set to be the definitive retrospective on Jobs’ life and career. But with a week script and poor direction, the film functions as a shallow once-over of one of the most influential people of the last century.

The trials, tribulations and eventual successes of Apple are well known. It was hoped instead that this film would focus on Jobs’ life and grant us an insight into how he led Apple. He was an infamous leader, known for being insufferable and tempestuous with the film painting him as such. However, whilst managing to display his unrelenting and amoral tendencies, the film fails to give any real insight into how this helped him build the world’s most valuable brand. It seems to say, treat everyone badly and you will have meteoric success. The script delves no deeper than this.

Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder and long-term friend of Jobs has refuted much of the film’s content. So, overall, it’s a lightweight, and potentially falsified portrayal of a difficult character. The performances are unremarkable and hobbled by an awful script. Perhaps more depth can be found in the recent iJobs mock biopic or if that’s not your cup of tea, an Aaron Sorkin adaptation is on its way. Dawa Tshering

Prisoners (4 stars)

In the current political climate, steeped in the wake of US sanctioned water boarding scandals, the discussion on the morality of torture could not be a hotter topic. Enter Prisoners, one of the most tense and disturbing dramas of the past few years that cuts to the heart of the issue, the question is, how far would you go to protect the ones you love?

Set in a greying suburban America, the plot centres on the disappearance of two young girls. When the main and apparent suspect is released for lack of evidence, one of the fathers, in an act of desperation, takes extreme measures in an attempt to rescue his daughter. What follows is a dark journey into the murky depths of conscience; what would you do, or rather, what wouldn’t you do to protect your child?

The moody atmosphere of the film weighs heavy throughout, shot beautifully in the most depressing of pallets. Each scene oozes anxiousness with the pacing of every twist and turn rarely allowing a moment of calm to collect yourself. Performances from the experienced cast are excellent, with Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of a desperate and heart broken father coupled with Jake Gyllenhaal’s sullen detective anchoring the film perfectly.

Hard hitting and with a divisive subject matter, Prisoners is not a film easily forgotten. Although it stumbles slightly in its third act with some marginal plot holes, the film’s pacing easily allows for these to be ignored. Its edge of the seat viewing that is not to be missed.  Andy Harrop

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (3 stars)

The original Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs film was loosely based on a 1978 children’s book of the same name. It was an unsuspected hit with audiences and, as such, warranted a sequel.

The first film sees Flint Lockwood, a troubled inventor, create FLDSMDFR, a machine that produces food out of nothing. Due to an accident when testing the machine, it is launched into the sky where it rains food on the island town threatening its destruction. The film ends with him finally able to stop the machine. This surreal storyline was fine for one feature film, however, they now have to carry it forward. The book upon which it is based has its own sequels. They are children’s picture books and stories can afford to be looser. As such, the writers have chosen to go completely in their own direction, but with such a wonderfully nonsensical base to work from, what they’ve gone for is pretty unimaginative.

FLDSMDFR has survived and Live Corp, a suspicious company headed by Chester V, under the guise of an environmental clean up crew, is after it. Once more the gang has to save the day. Be prepared for plenty of humor and great animation but nothing out of the ordinary.

There is enough new content here for children to thoroughly enjoy themselves. They’ve taken a successful film and added more of the same, just bigger; a tried and tested Hollywood technique for animated films. Ewan Colledge

The Fifth Estate (2.5 stars)

For a website devoted to the divulgence of secret information, it is ironic that the history of Wikileaks founder should be so shrouded in mystery. The Fifth Estate attempts to tell the story of Julian Assange and the development of Wikileaks, yet is based mainly on two heavily disputed books. What truth you take from it, therefore, is up to you.

With Assange currently a global celebrity, holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, both the media and the film have chosen to focus on him rather than the important ramifications of the leaks he has enabled. The film’s narrative jumps back and forth through a series of flashbacks to Assange’s youth trying to give a portrait of a man who is now the face of Internet activism, and in some ways, it seems to take dramatic license to liven up what mainly took place on laptops and through emails. The direction lacks proper pacing with an overuse of montage that leaves the story feeling rushed in places. This being said, Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Assange is excellent; both creepy and enthralling in equal measure. How true to life this character is though, is up for debate. Assange himself has condemned the film, yet to trust him would be misguided.

The foundations of the story are shaky, the script and direction weak, with Internet privacy such a political hot topic right now, we should expect more from a film covering one of the most controversial players in our new digital age. Ewan Colledge

Books

Bridget Jones Diary: Mad About The Boy (3 stars)

Helen Fielding

Jonathan Cape

Starting off as a newspaper column back in 1995, Bridget Jones was the 90’s ‘it girl’; a stereotypical, thirty-something Londoner. Awkward, love seeking and a walking disaster zone, she was used to satirize the culture of a decade.

Soon after the column followed two books, made even more famous by their film adaptations staring Renee Zellwegger. We join Bridget once more, but this time in the present day. The most important thing to know about the story line is that the book starts five years after the death of love interest Mark Darcy. Widowed and with two growing children, Bridget has decided to get back into the dating game.

The death of the much-loved Darcy has divided critics, with many claiming that his removal has destroyed the entire dynamic of the books. It could be said though, that Bridget, now fifty-one, would probably not bring much to the table, story wise, as a married woman. There are other narratives she could have employed but this seems like it maybe one of the more interesting options.

The comedy flows thick and fast, covering all aspects of modern digital life. Adjusting to online dating, texting and twitter provide many opportunities for awkward cock-ups. However one problem is that a lot of this material has been covered before. Mad About the Boy seems to have arrived a bit too late to the party to really capitalize on the humour.

With a darker tone and aging cast, this book feels a lot more desperate than the others. There’s plenty for fans to enjoy but the book smacks of missed opportunity. Andy Harrop

Sycamore Row (4 Stars)

John Grisham

Hodder & Stoughton

It has been twenty-four years since John Grisham published his first novel, A Time To Kill, and seventeen years since its film adaptation staring Mathew McConaughey. Now, with a Broadway version debuting this month, a sequel is finally being released. Set three years after the events of A Time To Kill, we return to rural Ford County for another high tension, racially motivated court case.

After the suicide of an old man, the inheritance of his surprising twenty million dollar fortune is under dispute. His black housemaid has in her possession a handwritten will bequeathing all his wealth to her whilst an earlier will left with his lawyers hands it to his children. Once more, Jake Brigance finds himself defending a black client both inside and out of the courtroom in a Deep South town suffering from the blight of racism. Brigance is still feeling the effects of A Time To Kill with some of those who threatened him and his family’s safety still at large. The weight of what he is stepping into is known to him and he is weary, but he’s still the only man for the job.

John Grisham is a master of the legal thriller. He writes with clarity based on a wealth of experience and asks deep and searching questions of our moral convictions. Whilst Sycamore Row may lack the same levels of intensity seen in A Time To Kill, the sequel is still an excellent example of what a legal thriller can be. Ewan Colledge

Records

Mechanical Bull (3 stars)

Kings Of Leon

No matter how much you may wish for it to be true, it seems that Kings Of Leon will never match the majesty and charm of their first two albums. Like countless other bands before them they have sunk into repetition and predictability.

Naming their sixth album Mechanical Bull may be a tongue in cheek way of calling out the elephant in the room and, after a three-year hiatus, hopes were high that maybe they had acknowledged and solved their problems. In some senses this is true. There is an attempt to rekindle their youthful vigour with the occasional move away from the programmatic stadium anthems they have churned out over the last few records. However, these repetitive tracks still define the album, which seems to lack any of the yearning, so earnest and absorbing, that made us fall in love with KOL originally.

Tracks like Comeback Story seemed to promise a return to form for the Followill boys - they are acutely aware of their problems. Perhaps Wait For Me is a truer representation of the album though, as this is not a comeback, however there are signs of improvement. Maybe we can hope for a true return next time. Maybe.

Mechanical Bull still functions as an adequate album. For the millions of people who bought into their stadium filling pop rock, there is more of the same to enjoy.  It just lacks the insightful lyrics, hard hitting riffs and cutting soulfulness that was so enjoyable ten years ago. Andy Harrop

Days Are Gone (4 star)

HAIM

After the 2012 release of their hugely successful EP, ‘Forever’, followed by a series of standout live performances over the last year, Haim have finally released their debut album. Comprised of three Californian sisters, the band mixes 80’s folky rock with 90’s R&B into a raucously fun and catchy pop sound.

Instead of immediately bouncing off the back of their initial successes, they have taken their time to produce a beautifully crafted album. The original R&B influences have been tuned out slightly in favour of a more pop based aesthetic, and the tempo has dropped slightly. The first three singles from the album have all been huge hits, however there is no filler here. Each track has the sound of a potential single. Lyrics are simple but fit beautifully as they weave through the music with each sister singing and playing multiple instruments. 

Their sound is constantly compared to Fleetwood Mac, however the girls insist their tastes are more modern even though they made their bones in a family band playing 70’s covers with their parents. The sisters moved on to various other musical endeavours before coming back together to form Haim, but their rich wealth of experience, no doubt, is the route of their inherent confidence.

With a wondrous 80’s vibe and soulful flair, this is an extremely confident debut from a highly talented trio of sisters. Expect and hope for a lot more from them in the future. Ewan Colledge