The Reviews
The Silent House is a short but sweet
movie, following both Laura and her father as they are assigned by their friend Nestor to clean up an old, neglected house. Left on their at the end of (nearly) everyone’s favorite DEAR FRESHERS: WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! own without any electricity, they have to face season, and to show my appreciation for a fear as some bumps in the night leads to very menacing Hello Freshers! Welcome to the summer filled with the breakthrough of several amazing artists, occurrences. Aberystwyth student family! As Editor in people, to work on so many projects and to write so much. All at here is my personal top five albums of the past months. Chief of this student founded arts the same time!! It's been an amazing year and I'm sincerely sad Its main selling point promotes how the entire film was magazine, myself and the editorial 5. Foster the People-Torches-Well, here is a band I thought board promise to bring you fantastic I can't come back and continue the work we started together. would offer only their ultra catchy single "Pumped up Kicks", but conceived in one shot. Whilst definitely appearing to be more pieces of work ranging from Hopefully I will be able to take a temporary withdrawal, for upon listening to the band’s debut album, I was pleasantly convincing than past attempts (Hitchcock’s Rope for example) surprised. Tracks such as "Helena Beat" and "Houdini" give the you cannot help but wonder whether a sneaky cut was made in musical/film/TV reviews to the latest album some real backbone, while the mid albums track "Waste" the dark. The overall affect however is engaging, succeeding in updates from the world of the arts. one/two years, raise some more money and maybe return to ascends to pure musical bliss. Some of the songs may fall flat, becoming more than just a gimmick as we accompany Laura We’re looking for writers and finish what I started in the near future. I mostly miss the green but this is a band to watch out for. throughout pitch black corridors, exploring abandoned rooms photographers to be regular grass and you, my friends. As for the sea, I have never even with only the glow of her lantern to guide her. Moreover, unlike contributors to the magazine. See your 4. Cults -The 60's sound of the New York band has set itself work in print and gain experience whilst touched it! Can't really know how that happened, I love to apart from the surrounding music being offered at the moment. many handheld movies these days, the camera acts as a you learn. If interested, email swim!”- George Gäneart Upon my first listen to the band, I found myself quickly singing witness rather than an actual presence to the events of the film. along to the catchy tunes. "Never saw the point" and "Go Such freedom allows it to plays with audience’s expectations, abercadabramagazine@gmail.com. I want to wish you the best of luck in the following year, don’t be afraid to come and say hi Just want to say that we will miss you very much, and we hope Outside" are by now amongst the 2011 summer anthems (in as it could easily turn suddenly from Laura to something more between Pumped up Kicks and Wetsuit). However a striking. Consequently there are some nail-biting scenes that or to just drop an email to us. We hope that you enjoy it as to see you again in the future. Good luck! disappointing set at Leeds Festival this year has led to a slight are guaranteed to make you jump in fear. much as we did! dislike for the band. Perhaps another live viewing is needed? Year II, Issue 1
26.09.2011
Tazmeena Haque
Distributed free. Read it, pass it.
My Top five albums of 2011: Here we are
3. Vaccines- What did you expect from the Vaccines - Not much needs to be said about this fantastic debut album. "Wetsuit", "All in White" and "Post Break up Sex" are already We have joining us this year Marie Edmonds, our new Creative three of my favorite songs of the year, and here they all are on Director! We want to say welcome to the editorial board! one album. Upbeat and perfect indie beats make for perfect multiple listens. Prepare to have a new favorite band...
PLAYING A NEW PART
GOODBYE GEORGE We’ll Miss You! This year we’ll be saying goodbye to our friend and founder and former Editor in Chief of AberCADABRA Arts Magazine, George Gäneart. A fellow film and TV student, who last year created pieces such as ‘Stick Up’, ‘Aber’s Only Tramp Ever’ and ‘The Runner’, which won Best Drama and Best Direction at the Aberystwyth Film and Television Studies Awards, he is back home in Romania attending a Film School.
“I came to Aber expecting to meet some nice people, learn some more about films
and make some if
”Hi there! I’m Marie, and I’m studying Film and TV. I love Aberystwyth, and if you don’t see me out on a Saturday night it’s probably because I’m hungover from Friday night. Or you just don’t know what I look like. I’m looking forward to helping out with the magazine, and reading all the articles from you wonderful creative people. I’m very fun loving, so I apologise now for anything extremely wacky that appears in this magazine. If it helps, Taz will always have the final say. I foresee many foam-sword fights in our future. On a more serious note, if you have a passion for writing, or just want to express your opinions, please send us your pieces. Bye for now!”
possible and write. (I knew it was a small and quiet town and this usually
Marie Edmonds
allows people to write more than in London, let's say). After one year spent in Aber I am happy to say that all my expectations were surpassed in a fashionable way. I was expecting those things, but I never expected to make so many really good friends, to meet such amazing, smart and dedicated
Attention! AberCADABRA is looking for a website administrator to look after the online issue of the magazine and monitor the viewings. If you think you would be good for the role, please contact us on abercadabramagazine@gmail.com. with a one hundred word paragraph why you would like this position.
2. The Horrors- Skying - Now here is a choice which plagues me ever so slightly. Horrors are one of the best guitar bands in Britain at the moment, no doubt. Their album "Primary Colors" is nothing short of a masterpiece. The single "Still Life" is perhaps the best single this year, yet this album for me was a victim of over hype (mainly by myself). It fails to grab the number one spot because I was slightly disappointed by the albums second half, however songs such as "I can see through you” and "Changing the Rain" are radiant. This missed the top The house itself provides some highly unsettling scenery, from spot by an inch. paintings with blank faces, artefacts evoking a Victorian feel, all complimented with fantastic sound design. Every creak, bump 1. Noah and the and bang are handled precisely to build the suspense even Whale- Last Night on more, whether it’s quietly muffled or a sudden burst, it definitely Earth - Well here is keeps the audience on its toes. Sparse use of childlike music the number 1, and believe me, if you also unnerves the viewer, especially as the film opens to a large were to tell me five field, washed out of colour, where Laura slowly approaches the months ago I would house itself with a brewing sense of dread. name this band as one of my favorites, I Returning to the film’s use of a continuous shot, it acts as a would have been double edge sword for the characters. On the one hand there is horror-struck. This is the acting, which hats off to the filmmakers, required intricate a band I hated for organisation in terms of simple aspects such as positioning and years, ever since the awful "5 years time”. I cues that are pulled off brilliantly. However, at times this means have continually bad that certain aspects are not perfect: when all 3 character’s meet mouthed this band to those that would listen, but then came during the opening, some lines sound rushed and lazy. “Last night on earth”, a surprise equal to that of finding a diamond ring in a Christmas cracker. Here is an album where However, this problem mainly presents itself in the final act, every song is a gem. So well done Noah, going from hated to where the plot draws all elements together for a rather the top is what earns you my number one album of the summer. ambiguous reveal that with the lack of editing, means the twist – Lee Smith
has less impact whilst simultaneously leaving the viewer with a slight anti climax. Despite the twist being easy to realise, the nature in which it is shown adds confusion, and just before we want more answers, the film leaves us with a credits sequence that attempts to give us some more details to speculate on. At the same time however, this might work for some, adding that sense of enigma created from an equally mysterious house, that throughout has used what it has to effectively scare, shock and disturb. – Elliot Mcintosh
Classics Edition – The Usual Suspects and who is Keyser Söze?
MY Aberystwyth But it is in the end Spacey as Roger ‘Verbal‘ Kint who holds court on the screen; despite Byrne’s best attempts at a leading role he simply lacks the required gravitas when compared to I can’t describe the beauty of Aberystwyth, the way the starlings Spacey (which isn’t to say that Gabriel Byrne is in any way fly and make magnificent shapes every winters day at dusk, the lacking as an actor). Sporting a limp and the mannerisms of a way the thick fog envelopes the town in its haze and makes us con man suffering from low self-esteem issues amongst various blind, the way at one point in the day, you will see the sea and smile, because it makes you feel free. other aliments both mental and physical. He leads the plot, the police and the audience along a merry dance, keen to let us all make their own assumptions before finally revealing his own shockingly twisted conclusion. Not wanting to ruin it for any of those who have yet to see this classic piece of film history, I shall move onto the other aspects of its makeup. Despite being nearly as old as myself the film has easily held up against the test of time. The remastered edition feels bright during the daylight scenes and suitably gritty during its darker moments. The opening scene on the boat oozes that classical Gangster feel, making me think back to films like The Godfather (1972) a much older film. The sounds are perfect, with a deep and resonant score playing throughout which only picks up pace when we finally learn the truth behind Keyser Söze. So in the end we have a beautifully made film; sounds great and looks even better with a plot so sharp you could shave with it. Whenever I watch this film I get goose bumps as the final moments unfold; it’s first ending is titillating in its emotional backlash upon Kevin Spacey’s “Verbal” but it’s the true ending which makes you smile to be made such a fool of. In the end all you need to ask is; who is Keyser Söze?
So it’s a Thursday evening, typical British weather has forced me (not so reluctantly) inside to watch one of my latest buys on the high street; The Usual Suspects. Yet as I sit down I feel slightly ashamed of myself in truth… Why has it taken me so long to watch this film again?
- Lewis Allan Gibson-Grainger
Directed by Bryan Singer in 1995 and including a cast whom Thank you to our contributors for these articles. We’re always are easily recognisable as legends, it portrays the recounted looking for new and talented writers, so if you think you have tale of five petty crooks; some reformed and others very much what it takes, get writing! active. As they are embroiled into the schemes and intrigue surrounding the mythical Keyser Söze, a ruthless crime lord whose true identity remains unknown to all but a few. Gabriel Byrne does a fairly good turn as the reformed criminal Dean Keaton, whose attempts at a normal/successful life within society are ruined when he’s brought in during a shakeup by the New York Police. So he’s instead forced to pit in his lot with this merry collection of thieves; played by Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Pollak and Kevin Spacey. Stephen Baldwin and Benicio Del Toro make a nice detour as McManus and Fenster, whose own personal history as working friends make them easily likable amongst the ordered chaos of the plot. And it’s easy to have a real sense of sadness as McManus demands they bury his friend after Fenster’s untimely death. Pete Postlethwaite also stars as Kobayashi the personal Lawyer to Keyser Söze. Though initially his Asian accent can seem a little forced, I fear it might be bias on my own part having grown up with Brassed Off (1996) as a child myself.
Picture in the bottom left hand corner called ‘Aberystwyth’. Copyright 2011 Marian Brosschot, marianbrosschot@hotmail.com, 07532104010. Acrylic print, 59cm x 42cm, limited edition of 100. Available at Aberystwyth Arts Centre Shop (01970 622895) or Oriel y Bont, Aberystwyth (01970 627307)
Things We Wish We’d Known in Our First Year:
The way the hills surround the town as if it were a protector…our own little bubble. The way the sun hides behind the sea wall every evening, leaving a trail of purple, pink and oranges behing, to marvel at the colours it produces. The way the stars come out, one by one, a flicker here, a flicker there, the further onto the hills you go the more you see, stars, planets shine and their lights travel to us, showing the other magnificent worlds out there just like ours, our earth, our little Aberystwyth.
- Photography and Poem by Tazmeena Haque
The seagulls will do anything to get your food. And we mean anything. No matter where you’re going on a night out, take your Aber card and your I.D. Sometimes Yoko’s/Why Not are cheaper to get in to if you have a student card. Also, do you really want to climb the hill half way through the night to get your driving license? Go to your Welcome to the Library talks. (Marie didn’t, and it took her forever to find her department’s books.) Don’t miss your first lecture for any module – it’s when they tell you all the important things you’ll want to know. Start looking for your house for your second year in November – remember you’ll be up against all the second years that are looking for new houses, not just first years. Join a society and go on their socials! Choose a society you’re genuinely interested in and you’ll have loads of fun. You don’t have to just join the society for your course. If you have a problem with your flat, or your course, talk to someone about it. It won’t go away unless you do something about it! Find the rooms where you’ll be having your lectures and seminars before your first one. Otherwise you could be wandering around for a while! Alternatively, arrange to meet your course friends before the lecture and you can all go together. Most of all, have fun. It sounds cheesy, but your second year is going to have so many more modules and will require a lot more of your time. So enjoy! (But also complete your work and study for your exams. Otherwise there won’t be a second year!)
The
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Editorial Board: Tazmeena Haque: Editor in Chief Marie Edmonds: Creative Director Barrie Stott/ Catherine Deering: Copy Editor Suzanne Curley: Associate Publisher Tami Doncic: Photography Editor Catherine Deering: Reviews Editor