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MOVIES

Captain Philips

Captain Philips recreates the events of April 2009, when the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden, was captured by Somali pirates who escape on a lifeboat with the eponymous Captain Philips as their hostage. Paul Greengrass, director of the Bourne trilogy, returns with his signature style of close up, shaky camerawork that he has made a staple of the action genre. This, almost documentary style approach to filming, is perfectly suited to the often cramped and confined locations used, and lends a sense of reality to the extreme events that take place. Reality is a sore point however, as the film treats Philips as somewhat of a hero, when the multiple law suits against him from his crew would argue otherwise. There is a great debate as to whether he sailed the ship too close to the coast to save time, thus endangering his crew, or whether he followed common practice. Unless you have a deep knowledge of merchant sailing or piracy, this means little and the decision is up in the air. The film, on its own, is an excellent example of how to create suspense even when the ending is already known. Dawa Tshering

Gravity

In space, adrift and running out of oxygen, what do you do? How do you survive? After a series of catastrophic events, Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Matt Kowalsky (Clooney) find themselves in this very situation. Director, Alfonso Cuaron, famous for his long extended shot style of filmmaking, has brought about a paradigm shift in visual effects. In an industry saturated by overblown CIG and bolt on 3D, Gravity has made all competing effectsdriven films look infantile. See it on the biggest screen; if possible Imax. Pop on your glasses and prepare for your jaw to drop. The sheer beauty of Earth from orbit is astounding. When disaster strikes, the ensuing chaos caused by exploding space shuttles and satellites is breath taking, but controlled in such a manner as to never be overwhelming. The cinematography is exquisite with each YFX shot having to be painstakingly planned and executed in advance, long before the actors step on set. Weightlessness has never been captured on screen like this – in particular, scenes aboard the International Space Station will highlight just how far ahead of the field this film is in its use of 3D. Performances from Bullock and Clooney are strong; they need to be to stop the film being simply a YFX showreel. Their constant terror and panic are contrasted well with quiet breaks that allow the characters to develop. Special mention has to go to the sound design which helps to make the vastness of space feel intensely claustrophobic from inside a space suit. Ewan Colledge

Thor: The Dark World

With Thor’s Brother, Loki, imprisoned at the end of Avengers, peace has been brought to the Nine Realms. But obviously not for long... that would be boring. New villain, Malekith, an army of Dark Elves and the all-powerful Aether are on hand to cause havoc, and it’s up to Thor to stop it. For the third Thor outing in three years, director Alan Taylor has made sure that he hasn’t simply repeated the same film. There is a brooding darkness to this new instalment, and although still extremely funny in places, the ‘fish out of water’ jovial nature of the first film has gone. Thor’s love interest, Jane Foster (Portman), has been transported to Asgard by Aether and he must fight to protect both from the evil Dark Elves. In his desperation, Thor turns to help from his imprisoned brother, and here is where the fun starts. The moral ambiguity of Loki is one of the more engrossing aspects of the film, and the back and forth between the two brothers, by this point, is a highly polished act. Funny and scathing, the bickering forms the basis of their relationship; one that is really the heart of the film, more so, to be honest, than Thor’s love interest subplot. There’s enough here for both fan-boys and casual viewers alike, and both Hemsworth and Hiddelston make the part their own. This visually stunning film is sure to be enough to keep Marvel churning out sequels - just be sure to watch the credits to the end. Ewan Colledge

Ender's Game

After a hard fought alien invasion that was only repelled by great human sacrifice, humanity is preparing for the next attack. The best and brightest children are chosen to train in specialist schools to become elite commanders in charge of Earth’s defensive fleets. Asa Butterfield takes on the role of Ender, one of the chosen children, and the film follows his journey through his training and eventual combat. Based on the popular series of books by Orson Scott Card, now greatly distanced from the project thanks to his outspoken and bigoted views, the film focuses on the morality of war and fascist military rule. However, for a movie focused on such heavyweight issues, it handles them in a shallow and lightweight manner. The enemy bug-like aliens draw a striking resemblance to those of Starship Troopers; a film which deals in a similar subject matter and does a much better job, even as an overblown satire. Ender’s Game is just awash with CGI and mumbling rhetoric that goes nowhere. A slight reference is made to why children are put in charge of humanities armies, something to do with their brains being able to process more complex information, but it’s basically a ploy to attract children to a shiny new franchise. With poor child acting and gruff, clichéd performances from Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley, expect pre-teens to love it. Anyone looking for more than a CGI buffet (which is completely outshone by Gravity) should avoid it.

Andy Harrop

BOOKS

Shanghai Blink- Ines Breton and Vincent Prudhomme, Les Xerographes

Shanghai Blink is a photo book that concisely represents two expatriates’ chronicle of the most striking behaviours and visual patterns, which they have come to associate as being typically Shanghainese. From stacks of cardboard balancing on flimsy bicycles to underwear that hovers proudly on clothing lines decorating public walkways, Ines Breton and Vincent Prudhomme have dedicated themselves to compiling each motif. These repetitive pictures are presented on a single or double page like sardines in a can, crammed together in a way that is, by no accident, reminiscent of chaotic life in this city. The nature of this book is concentrated and fast-paced, with no text to break your speed, and it successfully induces a similar sensory overload that overwhelms any foreign visitor via the medium of print. While selfies at the Bund may suffice for social media pages, this book documents the pictures that can effectively relay the Shanghai experience to friends and family back home, making the coffee table style book a thoughtful gift. It also guarantees Shanghai old hands a healthy dose of nostalgia, humour and familiarity with the turn of every page. Natasha Ovely

Junkyard Plant- Adam Minter, Bloomsbury Press

Junkyard Planet tells the story of the world’s recycling chain and, spoiler alert, it is surprisingly more commercial than the naïve amongst us may have originally thought. Shanghai based Adam Minter grew up as the son of a scrapyard dealer in US. Currently, America can either export its recycling waste or place it in landfills. Over the years, China has become America’s recycling export destination of choice and Minter is expertly placed to discuss the topic in intimate detail. Minter’s passion for the subject matter is infectious and at one point he even lets slip that when travelling to different countries he always makes time to visit the local junkyards. Minter explains the intricate process of unwanted materials traveling through the recycling chain form America to China, whilst telling the stories of ingenious, industrious and entrepreneurial middlemen as they profitably sort through the materials before they, almost certainly, end up back where they started. Junkyard planet will inevitably make you feel a whole lot more obsessive about recycling, as you start to understand the economic and environmental importance of the global recycling chain on a worldwide scale. The book goes someway to prove Minter’s point that globalised recycling, however environmentally unfriendly as it may seem, is definitely the most logical, if not the greenest way to recycle… after reducing and reusing of course. Isabel Rose

RECORDS

Reflektor- Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire return with their fourth album that gleefully incorporates the band’s ever growing and eclectic range of influences into a new sound that bares, on first inspection, little resemblance to their previous work. The album was co-produced by LCD Soundsystem’s, James Murphey, whose electric influence is clear. The oft-anthemic nature of previous records has been subverted slightly but is still wonderfully present. Reflektor has, at its heart, a concept of light and dark, of contrast and opposites. As with all of Arcade Fire’s albums, the structure has been carefully considered; each element coherent and related to the overarching message. With new bassy tones and disco references present throughout, the sound is described as “a mashup of Studio 54 and Haitian Voodoo”; a distinct level of strangeness it undoubtedly presents. Lyrics are highly introspective and demand a lot of the audience, with Butler’s crooning voice being, at some points, the only recognisable feature of Arcade Fire. Underneath, the various musical levels weave their way between each other in a magnificent display of musical ability, resulting in a deeply layered motif of sound that carries the listener along with its sheer power. The only weakness is that perhaps the songs are slightly too long. This hugely anticipated release from one of the world’s most popular bands proves to be a great success. Different at first, but not in a negative manner, the carefully constructed album is sure to have you, well… Reflekting?
Andy Harrop

Shulamith- Polica

Named after the late feminist philosopher, Shulamith Firestone, Polica return with their second album full of the distorted vocals and synthpop wonderment that drew so many fans the first time round. Though named after a philosopher, the album is not some preachy manifesto, and wears any agenda it may pose lightly. Instead, we are given a sculpted soulful sound with the vocals auto-tuned to an almost undecipherable level at points, where it’s used more as another instrument rather than verbal communication. Think The XX meets Sigur Ros, waves and waves of sound role over you in a most desirable fashion. Two drummers working in tandem drive the beats along, playing off each other, creating a mesmerising foundation for the electronic melodies to build around. One issue is that the distorted vocals, although beautiful, are unintelligible at points which means that some of the more insightful meanings are lost under layers of sonic wizardry. As a development on their previous album Given To The Ghost, Shulamith succeeds by proving the vocal distortion to be more than just a gimmick and by bringing a greater sense of clarity to tracks that, in the earlier album, they could have let run away from them. Ethereal soundscapes flow over masterful beats in an album that provides a step forward for a band that has much promise for the future. Filling the gap between alt-pop and R & B, Polica has a sound that is unlike any other; just let it wash over you. Ewan Colledge