Comics, Craig and Martin Freeman If you can afford to tear your eyes away from all the athletes prancing around on the telly, you’ll find there’s actually a glut of great films scheduled for release in 2012. Here are the 10 that we’re most looking forward too 10. The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists Yes, it’s a kid’s film. But it’s the first stop-motion film that Aardman Animations has made in seven years, and by all accounts it’ll be the funniest movie they’ve made since Curse of the WereRabbit. With a cast including Hugh Grant, Imelda Staunton and David Tennant, this looks like Aardman at their finest. 9. The Amazing Spider-Man Finally, a chance to forget Tobey Maguire and make a decent Spider-Man movie. This time it’s Andrew Garfield who’s donning the tight red outfit in an adventure that looks far truer to the original comics. Plus Emma Stone’s in it. And she’s blonde. 8. The Avengers Iron Man, Captain America, Thor; what could top these excellent Marvel movies that have been springing up in recent years? Putting all of the heroes into one film, of course! But seriously, with Joss Whedon directing, this could be one of the best movies of the summer. Or it could massively suck.
7. Brave The inevitable (but not unwelcome) Pixar outing this year is set in bonny Scotland, and features voice talent from Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly and Kelly MacDonald. Interestingly, it looks like a darker and more mature outing than usual for the studio. If nothing else, let’s hope it makes up for the huge cock-up that was Cars 2. 6. Skyfall It almost didn’t happen, but MGM sorted out its money troubles and Bond is back. Little is known about Daniel Craig’s 23rd outing as 007, but since Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem both have important roles and the return of Q is confirmed, it can’t be all bad. 5. The Great Gatsby Baz Lurhmann, director of such romantic drek as Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet and Australia is apparently turning his (ahem) talents on one of the greatest American novels ever written. Oh dear Still, at least he has a decent cast, including Leo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and… Tobey Maguire. Oh dear. 4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Peter Jackson taking the helm to do the prequel to one of the most successful film trilogies of alltime – what’s not to like? Martin Freeman looks ideal to play young Bilbo Baggins, and it’s recently been announced that his
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Friday February 17 2012
I will always love you... and so will the media
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Sherlock co-star Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing Smaug the Dragon. A perfect pre-Christmas treat for geeks everywhere. 3. Django Unchained Quentin Tarantino’s latest film sees Jamie Foxx playing a freed African slave who, with the help of Christoph Waltz, treks across America to seek revenge on his sadistic master, played by Leo DiCaprio. Expect buckets of blood, lashings of violence and a few dozen expletives thrown in for good measure – just like a Tarantino classic. 2. Prometheus Nerds across the globe have been drooling with excitement ever since Ridley Scott’s prequel-to-Alien-that-isn’t-aprequel was first announced. Details harder to find than a stray facehugger, but with Ridley back at the helm this will undoubtedly be a movie to remember. 1. The Dark Knight Rises Without doubt one of the most anticipated releases of the last decade, never mind the coming year, Christopher Nolan looks to be pulling out all the stops for the final part of the Dark Knight saga. Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy join the fun for what’s increasingly looking like the greatest superhero movie ever made. And that’s without Michael Caine. Phil Bayles On February 12, the music world was rocked by the death of music legend Whitney Houston, which was a very sad event. Then the world continued to be rocked for the next 18 hours, as news stations across the globecontinued to cover the story. Their websites were inundated with thousands of comments mourning the singer – to say nothing of the millions and millions posting on Facebook. That wasn’t sad. That was just annoying. Now, before I go any further let me make one thing abundantly clear. I am not saying I was totally unmoved by Whitney’s passing. It’s a sad thing; death always is, especially when someone with a lot of talent dies before their time. And I’m not saying that it shouldn’t have been reported on the news at all – news in the entertainment world is still news, and coverage of the death of someone famous is just as vaild (if not as necessary or urgent) as coverage of, say, the current economic crisis or wars. What I object to is the sheer circus of it all. Hours and hours of stock footage - footage of fans weeping in the streets with passion that would make Kim Jong Il green with envy. It just becomes ridiculous. There’s no denying that Whitney made good music. Great music, even. Everybody knows the song from the end of The Bodyguard by now; that scene has been paraded and reparaded so manytimes that it’s
pretty firmly embedded in popular culture. But a lot of the people of my generation, including myself, would struggle to name many more songs after that. And you have to wonder what certain fans are lacking in their lives when they mourn someone that they don’t know, that they’ve never even met, as if she was one of their own parents. Especially when those same people will watch with much more subdued emotion as the news shows us reports of soldiers killed in Afghanistan, or rioters killed in Syria. It’s a clichéd argument, I know, but that doesn’t make it any less true. And for same reason the media, even in supposedly sensible outlets like the BBC, insists on milking this for all its worth. A lot of my heroes in the arts – including Christopher Lloyd, Roger Daltrey, John Hurt and Terry Pratchett are getting on a bit, and when they shuffle off this mortal coil I shall, for a moment, take pause. And I’ll be sad - after all, they’ve shaped my life and experiences through their art, and it’ll suck when they aren’t here anymore. But I’m not going to wear black for a year, or refuse to eat out of sheer force of grief. I’m just going to have a drink to their memory, and get on with my life. It seems like the sensible thing to do. Phil Bayles
Editorial
Here at Fuse we like to celebrate the best of things and thats why we are holding the Fuse Awards. We have complied the best games, films, music and art productions of 2011 so that you can make sure you didn’t miss any of them. Still we are in 2012 now and the year looks set to be even better than its predeccesor. The Oscars are coming up as well as a few huge game releases, including Mass Effect 3 to look forward to. So, enjoy the past and look forward to future. By the time you have read this and yes you will read it, Valentines Day will have been and gone - a chance for couples everywhere to bask in their happiness and for the rest of us to order pizza, watch films and celebrate being single. But if you did feel a bit down this Valentines Day, here is a picture of a furry cat to help cheer you up. Oh and it’s wearing a melon on its head. James Garrett Rachel Dixon
F
use caught up with indie-pop lovelies Allo Darlin’. Close friends who found eachother and the music they make in the big smoke.
We’re a couple of months into the new year; how’s your 2012 shaping up so far? It’s looking pretty busy. Exciting things on the horizon, going to places we’ve never been. We’re very happy our show in Sheffield has just been moved to the Queens Social Club from Shakespeare’s. There’s great support bands too with Standard Fare, This Many Boyfriends and The Passing Fancy. I have a good feeling about this one! Did you make any New Years Resolutions? No not really. I do make resolutions all the time though, so that’s probably why I didn’t feel the need to make any particular ones for 2012. Last year I became vegan and gave up drinking, but I’m not
SHORT FUSE
Q&A : Allo Darlin’
very good at sticking to either of those things. I try though. Do you feel any pressure with the new album to avoid a sophomore slump? Not in the way you might think. I think we were just completely overwhelmed with the response to the first record, when we didn’t really expect anyone to hear it. It was just the awareness of an audience that was different this time around. We didn’t want to let people down. Hopefully we won’t. What kind of musical influences can we expect to hear on the album? Bands we talked about during record were The Go-Betweens, Kirsty McColl, Felt, Teenage Fanclub and Yo La Tengo. Make of that what you will! Are there any specific themes to the new album? I don’t want to put too fine a point on it,
but yes there are. The songs are much more interconnected than on the first album. I would say the idea of “home” was a pretty strong one.
What do you when you’re not being Allo Darlin’?
Can you tell us more about the ‘twee’ argument you had recently with a journalist on Twitter? And do you think things like Twitter help or hinder a band?
If you could tour with any band, alive or dead, who would it be?
Not much to say about it really - it wasn’t that exciting! I like Twitter, it’s a good thing for bands like us. But it can be addictive, so I need to check myself out of it every now and then.
I mail-merge!
Hmm good question. Well, The Wave Pictures are supporting us when we go to America in April - I can’t think of another band I’d rather play with every night for a month. Finally, what music have you been enjoying lately? Been to any good gigs?
Do you think people will already have an idea of what to expect from you simply because you’re signed to Fortuna POP!?
Moustache of Insanity at the Winter Sprinter was pretty mind-blowingly awesome!
Nope I don’t think so. Sean’s put out lots of different albums over the years, I don’t think I could say I knew what a Fortuna POP! band sounded like. I’d bet it was good though.
Coral Williamson
Allo Darlin’ are playing Queen’s Social Club on February 24; don’t miss out!
Fuse Musings
Sally9258/Flickr
Fuse is very excited... over the return of the incredibly irritating, yet addictive My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. The series began with two sisters wearing bright blue and green dresses resembling palm trees and pineapples. It’s outrageous, ridiculous and we love it.
Fuse was amused... with how sensationalised MIA’s hand gesture at the Super Bowl.
How did something so minor take attention away from Madonna’s amazing performance or, the actual event itself, and the New York Giants win?
Fuse is a little upset... with Adele’s plan to take a fiveyear break from music following her six-time Grammy success. The Tottenham talent has said she would like to spend more time with her boyfriend and return to the industry when she can write a happy record.
Fuse was shocked by the rumour... Osama Bin Laden wanted to marry Whitney Houston, as his former friend Kola Boof has claimed. Apparently he constantly spoke of how beautiful she was, what a nice smile she had and how truly Islamic she was but was just brainwashed by American culture and her ex-husband Bobby Brown.
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Fuse is in stiches... after hearing that a 48-yearold Company Director had stripped to his underpants and crawled out onto the ice over a frozen river, in a desperate rescue mission to save his dog. Malcolm Jarvis crawled out on the ice and then fell through, before managing to save both himself and Bentley the Jack Russell.
Friday February 17 2012
Photo: Jonathaart
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GAMES
Feature.BEST OF 2011 We look back on your favourite videogames of the past year...
10. Dark Souls
Yes, it was insanely difficult. Yes, there was no pause button and your health did not regenerate while enemies continually did. There was something ultimately so very satisfying about getting through an hour of gameplay without dying once. Compared to so many overly easy modern games which might as well have the AI play it for you, the challenge offered by Dark Souls was almost a welcome one. Ellen Jurczak
8. Battlefield 3
Like a very fine painting, your appreciation of Battlefield 3 depends entirely on your perspective. Judge it on it’s singleplayer campaign and you’re likely to come away unimpressed. Play the shallow co-op mode and you’re also likely to feel a sense of emptiness. Load up the multiplayer portion however and you’re likely to find one of the greatest online experiences of not only 2011, but the last decade. The franchise has always been renown for it’s multiplayer, and Battlefield 3 is no exception. It is, like it’s predecessors, top of it’s class. Arnold Bennett
6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
For such a beloved game, it was always going to be hard for Miyamoto and co. to make a reboot work. But they made it look easy. Older fans of the N64 version were happy to revisit an old classic, and younger kids were introduced to a game that hopefully, will become a staple for them too. After all, nothing bridges a generational gap more than complaining about a goddamn fairy that follows you around everywhere and does nothing but shout at you. Coral Williamson
4. L.A. Noire
9. Super Mario 3D Land
Mario games are, in all honesty, fairly predictable. Oh look, Princess Peach has been kidnapped and needs rescuing from Bowser’s castle: must be Tuesday. But this latest addition to the franchise was the breath of fresh air it needed, being remarkably fun, innovative and with a challenging yet manageable difficulty curve. More impressive still, it actually made good use of the 3D element and incorporated it well into the flow of the game. It’s almost worth all the headaches. Ellen Jurczak
7. FIFA 12
Given that Wayne Rooney’s orcish mug has been staring at us from game covers for about eight years now, you’d be forgiven for thinking the FIFA franchise has become a bit tired and repetitive. You would, of course, be wrong; as FIFA 12 is the greatest leap forward in sports gaming since Jamie Redknapp agreed to endorse the Wii. FIFA 12 really is a master class that simply can’t be overhyped. The franchise is getting progressively better, and we only have to wait until November when FIFA 13 strolls along and revolutionizes the genre all over again. Tom Fletcher
5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The dazzling lights of Shanghai. A bloodstained apartment, its occupant missing. Hacking into their email I find that he was an anti-government activist who was running, scared for his life. The conspiracy thinkens. I didn’t have to be in there, the first time I played I never even noticed it, but through curiosity I found a whole new layer to this visceral world. Some games would call it an easter egg - Deus Ex calls it a backstory. Comparisons to its older brother are mute (that was revolutionary in a very real way) but put DE:HR next to a modern shooter or RPG and you’ll see why it takes 2011. Long live the single player. Ben Williams
L.A. Noire was fairly unique in 2011 due to it not being a sequel; yet my roommate complained the game was too slow, lacking excitement and over-compensated with Mad Men cameos, which I feel missed the point entirely. L.A. Noire is essentially a more refined version of the puzzle based adventure games of old. The game’s distributor believes that L.A. Noire has the makings of “a powerful new franchise.” I hope they are right in thinking that this is just the beginning of something new. Adam Page
2. Portal 2
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Following on from 2009’s insanely brilliant Batman: Arkham Asylum was always going to be a difficult, if not insurmountable, task for developers Rocksteady. But, amazingly, not only did they meet the exceedingly high standards of the original, they completely obliterated them. The epic story, packed to the brim with Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery, was nerve-wracking and unputdownable; the graphics were some of the best of 2011, with Batman’s costume becoming increasingly tattered as the plot progressed; and the gameplay, set in a cordoned off section of Gotham City, made you believe that you were Batman, even if you were playing in your boxers while skiving from lectures. And there can be no higher praise than that. Tom Wardak
Building on the unexpected success of the first game, Portal 2 was bigger, better and more challenging. The main story, with Stephen Merchant as A.I. Wheatley adding plenty of comedy and charm, sees you face a whole series of new puzzles using a variety of new techniques. The two-player is great fun too, forcing you and your partner to work together as test robots Atlas and P-Body through a variety of complex test chambers. Doing well ends in happy robot high-fives; try and leave your buddy behind, and they may well just rip your little robot head off. Ellen Jurczak
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Friday February 17 2012
3. Batman: Arkham City
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
What else? The game everyone seemed to be talking about towards the end of last year – regardless of whether they considered themselves a gamer or not – Skyrim was in such a league of its own that it almost seems unfair to compare it to anything else that came out, even with all the bugs. The graphics are astonishing, the world created utterly immersive, and the sheer scale of it is breath-taking. It doesn’t matter how many hours you sink into gameplay, there will always be more books that need reading, side-quests that need completing, wood that needs chopping and dragons that need slaying. Forget 2011, this game may well win 2012 too. Ellen Jurczak
Painting the Apocalypse
John Martin was one of the most popular artists of the 19th Century. Yet so few people have even heard of him. Painting the Apocalypse was the first major show of Martin’s work in over 30 years; it is currently touring Tate Britain after appearing first in Sheffield.
From University productions to national touring exhibitions; it has been a strong year for art in Sheffield. Rowan Ramsden recaps the highlights.
ARTS
Feature. BEST OF 2011
BEST Forgotten Spaces of 2011 Equus
For years, Kid Acne has been synonymous with the urban landscape of Sheffield. After exhibiting work all over the world, it seems fitting that his hometown is playing host to his first solo show, Kill Your Darlings. The exhibition provided the rare opportunity to trace the development of an artist’s work in one exhibition.
Kill Your Darlings Tim Minchin
Selling out arenas at £40 a ticket, Tim Minchin’s come a long way from his early days at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Stewart Lee
After deserving recognition for years, Stewart Lee won Best Male TV Comic at the British Comedy Awards. Whether he welcomes this new found familiarity is another matter entirely.
Alexi Kaye Campbell’s The Pride tells the story of three people who imagine their lives in different time periods. It is a powerful tale of changing attitudes to sexual freedom across five decades. Claire Price won Best Supporting Performance at Theatre Awards UK for her role in The Pride.
Othello Shakespearean tragedy met psychological thriller in Daniel Evans’ traditional adaptation of Othello. Starring big names Clarke Peters and Dominic West, Othello provided the Crucible with a performance of great depth and eloquence.
Fuse.
Comedy
Probably the most in demand female comedian around right now.
The Pride
Friday February 17 2012
Sarah Millican
Complex, intense and thought provoking; SutCo’s adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s psychological exploration proved an immense success. Credit must go to the exceptionally strong ensemble cast.
Theatre
Art
Forgotten Spaces was an exciting collaboration between the Royal Institute of British Architects and Sheffield Hallam University. From small plots of land to underpasses and empty buildings; itt looked for new and innovative proposals to transform the forgotten spaces of the city.
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SCREEN
Feature. BEST OF 2011 The 2011 Screen Awards
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Friday February 17 2012
ith the BAFTA Awards a not-sodistant, and quite honestly painful, memory and the Oscars slowly rising on the horizon, the 2011 Awards season is drawing to a close.
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And, much like every other season in recent memory, it has been morosely predictable, dominated by ‘award bait’ films like the admittedly brilliant The Artist and The Iron Lady, which was an unmitigated train-wreck of a film, with critically acclaimed
and commerical juggernauts like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Drive, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo left unfairly by the wayside. Enter the Fuse Screen Awards. The most important awards of the season (probably).
BEST ACTOR - Gary Oldman
f the BAFTAs are any indication of how the Oscars will pan out and they usually are Gary Oldman will leave the 2011 Awards season without any official recognition for his portrayal of George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. That isn’t just a crime. It’s an absolute bloody travesty. Gary Oldman has always been an actor of extremes, a chameleon that subsumes himself in whatever role he is in, whether it be Sid Vicious or Dracula. Yet he was always cast in supporting
or antagonistic roles. Tinker Tailor was Oldman’s first real opportunity to show his prowess as a leading man. And, rather surprisingly for Oldman, George Smiley is not an extrovert. Oldman here is weary, aching, aging, and cynical, expressing his emotions not through wide-eyed gesticulations as we have previously seen from him, but instead a subtle flicker of emotion across his otherwise motionless face or a miniscule shift in his body language.
Watching Oldman play Smiley really is like watching a masterclass in acting. He becomes the character, he inhabits it, and nothing appears put on or false. He commands the screen whenever he is framed but he does not displace his co-stars as some leading actors inevitably do. It is without doubt the most believable and masterful performance not only of 2011, but of Oldman’s lengthy and illustrious career.
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Words: Tom Wardak Here we award those who deserve to be awarded, not those whose work was crafted solely to win statues. We don’t share the same prejudices as the Academies. We do not accept bribes (officially).
We just love film, in all of its shapes and forms, and merely want to show our appreciation for the best (and worst) of the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Eleven.
BEST ACTRESS - Rooney Mara
here is a certain degree of respect that must be accorded to an actor who is daring enough to take on a role based on a real person, like Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady, but what about an actor who takes on a role that has already been perfected by another? There were raised eyebrows aplenty at David Fincher’s choice of the fresh-faced Rooney Mara to play Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon
Tattoo, with many calling for Noomi Rapace whose consummate performance in the Swedish originals won her widespread acclaim - to reprise the role that made her famous. Thankfully, Fincher stuck to his guns and Mara proved herself to be an incredible actress, undergoing a bewildering physical transformation and compromising her own modesty for the sake of the character as in the now-famous and eyewateringly painful-towatch anal rape scene.
But beyond that, her performance in Dragon Tattoo’s more conventional dialogue scenes is impressive. Her Swedish accent is pitch-perfect (the same cannot be said about her co-star Daniel Craig) and her gradual emergence from her anti-social shell throughout the film is believable and genuinely affecting. Watch this space because we guarantee there’s a lot more to come from this young actress.
SCREEN
The best of the rest Best Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Best Soundtrack Cliff Martinez (Drive)
Best Special Effects War Horse
Best TV Show Game of Thrones (HBO)
Biggest Disappointment Cowboys & Aliens
Best Supporting Actress Elle Fanning (Super 8)
Best Cinematography Guillaume Schiffman (The Artist)
Best Animated Feature The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Worst Film Seeking Justice
The “Thank God It’s Over” Award The Harry Potter Franchise
without doubt the best directed film of 2011. Fincher is able to construct an intense, pacy, and suspenseful narrative like no other filmmaker working today. Compare his Dragon Tattoo to Niels Arden Oplev’s 2009 version and this becomes blatantly apparent. There is something delightfully unsettling about the way Fincher tells his stories. He is unflinchingly uncompromising as a filmmaker and his adaptation presents a much more faithful
version of Larsson’s work than Oplev’s version, which appears sanitised by comparison. Yet he wasn’t afraid to tweak the original story to better serve his own stylistic idiosyncrasies, making his Dragon Tattoo far from the stereotypical, lazy, made-for-money American remake. Simply put, Fincher is one of the most talented filmmakers working today and even though the Academies refuse to recognise him, we certainly won’t repeat their mistake.
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ven though we awarded a rare and illustrious perfect score to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in Issue 37, it’s hard to give the Best Film of 2011 Award to anything other than Nicolas Winding Refn’s fantastic heist-gonewrong movie Drive. This sun-kissed, neondrenched love letter to the cinema of old features Ryan Gosling in a career-defining role and is an expertly crafted mish-mash of genres, from Kurosawa’s samurai epics to Leone’s operatic spaghetti
westerns, with a bit of Bullitt thrown in for good measure. But The Transporter this is not. Anyone expecting a rip-roaring torrent of bloody carnage will leave Drive disappointed. Drive is a throwback to Classic Hollywood storytelling, with simple characters and simple stories well told without having to rely on spectacles of violence to compensate for a lack of plot. But when the violence does eventually come - and boy does it it’s visceral, brutal,
and actually serves a narrative function. Refn pushes Drive further into art house territory than any other mainstream film in recent memory has dared to go, and perhaps Drive’s biggest achievement is that it panders to both the film snob crowd who can pinpoint each of its plethora of cinematic homages and the mainstream market who just want to see Ryan Gosling and some skillfully-directed car chases. It really is a jawdropping film.
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avid Fincher is fast becoming one of the preeminent film auteurs of his generation. He may not exude the same kind of star persona that Spielberg and Scorsese do, but he doesn’t need to. He is simply a fantastic storyteller who consistently makes one solid film after another. His adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo might not be his best film - that honour probably goes to The Social Network or Se7en - but it was
BEST FILM - Drive
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BEST DIRECTOR - David Fincher
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MUSIC
Feature. BEST OF 2011 Fuse’s Albums of the Year 10
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Explosions in the Sky
Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
ike a soundtrack to your life, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care constantly moulds itself to romanticise the memories it evokes. The gentle blending of guitar and drums create timeless crescendos as the band remind us that they have been, despite their own protest, one of the leaders of the post-rock genre for years. The beauty of this record lies in its uncertainty; the absence of vocals and changing force of the album challenges the listener, allowing them to place it with any of their varying emotions with its effortless malleability. JD
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on Iver’s self-titled second album starts with a simple guitar riff. For an album characterised by its epic scale, the moments of restrained beauty such as the first minute of ‘Perth’ and the acoustic intricacy of ‘Holocene’ demon-
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ith the self-titled debut album, SBTRKT brought the art of blending to 2011. Behind the infamous mask lies Aaron Jerome, producing an LP which effortlessly subverts genre.
SBTRKT combines dubstep, RnB and two-step as the tracks induce curiosity, changing in pace and tone, never letting you lose interest. The constant changes in direction provide sombre melodies with brooding undertones that slowly lift you up, as SBTRKT creates a wide landscape for diversity. The album’s quality resonates from the faultless cohesion between their mix of electronic and pop culture. The debut album offers all the innovation and originality of a new artist, however SBTRKT’s immaculate execution demonstrates a mature control of style and production. JD
8 Los Campesinos!
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here are three types of people in this world. Those who haven't heard of Los Campesinos!, those who absolutely adore them, and heartless bastards. Now, this may seem a bit harsh to some at first. We can assure you however, that it is entirely true. Especially with their recent efforts abandoning the frivolous, exuberant zest of their earlier songs, Los Campesinos! have a knack for capturing every little meaningful bit of life's details and blowing it up to silver-screen proportions with both wit and empathy. Hello Sadness follows this general pattern, but it has one distinct quality: It is unabashedly a breakup album. Despite sly opener “By Your Hand” being quite possibly the catchiest song of 2011, the rest of the album is a rising tide of sadness, with the waves of despair crashing violently onto the listener's, erm, beach. Terrible analogies aside, the al-
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Hello Sadness
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ong gone is the musical drought of the noughties, a decade that inspired little better than Britney Spears and S Club Juniors. We are now well into a new decade (although we’re not sure what you call it; The Teenies? The Tenties?), a decade that has brought with it some astounding music. So, as Fuse recounts the highlights of 2011, Eabha Doherty, Max Goldbart, James Dale, Martin Bottomley and Mike Hedges count down the year’s very best albums.
SBTKRT
SBTRKT
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Bon Iver
Bon Iver
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St. Vincent Strange Mercy
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n close inspection, Strange Mercy reveals more depth, intricacy and warmth than a first listen might reveal. The weird synths and wiry guitars of opener 'Chloe In The Afternoon' sound cold, but swirl around Annie Clark's soothing voice and warm, fuzzy guitar work as complementing forces. And then the lead single 'Cruel' sets in. With its incredibly catchy chorus and 50s-drama-styled interludes, St. Vincent captures an elusive balance between accessi- right choice: Unspectacular, unassuming, ble, enjoyable songs, musical com- but quietly brilliant is probably the most plexity and beguiling lyrics. apt description for Strange Mercy. And, what at first seems like an MB unlikely contender for a Top 10 list, reveals itself to be exactly the
5 bum profits from the thematic focus and channels the band's famed witty, expressive lyric and lush arrangements with unrelenting drive, making this album possibly Los Campesinos' best, but certainly placing it in our top 10 for 2011. Only heartless bastards (yes, yes you are) could resist the wave of goosebumps you get from the title track's climax: “Goodbye courage, hello sadness.” MB
strate that Bon Iver are, first and foremost, a band capable of provoking a remarkable emotional response. The grandeur of their arrangements sometimes begins to cloud this, but they do not prevent the finished product being far short of the perfect indie-folk album. Over the course of the album, Bon Iver demonstrate the growth that has taken place between the release of their debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, and offers little reason to suspect that they won’t continue to improve as a band. MH
Ben Howard Every Kingdom
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f there is to be a folk revival of 2012, then it is surely to be masterminded by the new wonder-kid of the music business Ben Howard, guided by his first solo LP Every Kingdom. Each song on the album is an entire LP in itself, beginning with soft lulling undertones and ending with varying degrees of crescendo. Album closer ‘Promise’ personifies the simplicity of modern folk opener ‘Old Pine’; the most underplayed single to be released from the album speaks of a want for a life of rural dwelling,. Each song resonates with a simplistic beauty. It’s an album of pure uninterrupted bliss. MG
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hostpoet skilfully draws from the ambient soundscapes of the likes of James Blake, Burial and Massive Attack before adding his distinctively delivered, poetic lyrics. However what has prompted Ghostpoet to receive both critical and commercial success is not just the engaging intensity
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of tracks, such as album opener ‘Run Run Run’ and ‘Us Against Whatever’, but the evidence he shows for knowing his way around a really good hip-hop track. ‘Liiines’ is the record’s stand out track; a song with an air of inspirational optimism and a gorgeously simple chorus. It’s a fitting end to an album that consistently defies expectations. MH
Ghostpoet
Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam
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n solid ground and flaunting her riot girl roots once again, Harvey has shown that she is willing to not only modernise and update what she creates and how she creates it (in a church in Dorset in this case) but also responds articulately and artistically to the place she finds herself in now, 22 years into her career. This place, Harvey sings in ‘The Last Living Rose’ is, “beautiful England.” However, this love of England is undercut with uneasiness as she describes also living in a world where “soldiers drop like lumps of meat.” With war and crises defining the years leading up to this album’s re-
Wild Beasts Smother
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ild Beasts built upon the success of 2009’s Two Dancers to create a musical masterpiece which has been incredibly well received. Two Dancers propelled them to success, allowing them to become far more dynamic and experimental for their third effort, album closer ‘End Come Too Soon’ is almost eight minutes long. The new-found confidence emanating from the LP is typified in this move to a new, far more spacey genre, and one which suits their playing style perfectly. What has always been so unique about Wild Beasts are the constantly interchanging vocals of guitarist Hayden Thorpe and bassist Tom Fleming, not seen carried out so successfully since Messrs
Barat and Doherty of the Libertines. This heavily contributes to the success of the album, especially on epic opener ‘Lion’s Share’. Other highlights on the album include lead single ‘Albatross’ which delivers a newly found simplicity and beauty and the eloquently soulful ‘Deeper’. With Smother, Wild Beasts have cemented themselves as one of the most underrated and unique-sounding rock bands of today and hopefully will deliver with even more outer-reaching LPs in the not-too-distant future. MG
lease, Harvey has embraced the flawed world she finds herself in, creating as a result a hauntingly beautiful capsule of the times. Perhaps why this album has received such attention and admiration is because it does exactly what we expect good music to do - comment on life in a way that we cannot express otherwise. This album is on the terra firma of music that can be returned to again and again for its feisty, rollicking sounds. The true test of its brilliance, however, is that in years to come, it will indisputably be capable of shaking things up more than it already has now. ED
PJ Harvey
Let England Shake
The English Riviera
musical medium of an organ and a guiro, whilst ‘Some Written’ will have you pondering how on earth you could be gyrating wildly to something not far from the theme tune to one of your favourite childhood TV shows. Best of all, these bites of Joseph Mount’s musical memories from growing up on the coast fit together seamlessly. Those lucky enough to catch their sell-out Sheffield show in September can vouch that the The English Riviera tracks fitted spectacularly well between earlier instrumental Pip Paine tunes and the band seemed better than ever. Metronomy are the best proof that a little bit of everything is the best thing for you. ED
Fuse.
Metronomy
ust when all lovers of pulsing home-grown electro were nearing a full recovery from the thrilling heaviness of 2008’s Nights Out, Metronomy surfaced again to treat us to the refreshing tide of The English Riviera. And what a beauty it was. An album of extreme scope, sweeping from sad to mad (usually ending up with a beautiful combination of both) and managing it with what appears to be not as much as a smidge of effort. Metronomy have always had a knack of making their listeners question their own taste in music, and The English Riviera is simply the best example of it. ‘She Wants’ is a deep, sexy pelvic-thrusting homage to the 80s, ‘The Look’ describes flirting through the
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Feature. BEST OF 2011
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MUSIC
Reviews.RELEASES The Ting Tings
Sounds From Nowheresville Columbia 6/10
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omething about The Ting Tings screams manufactured tween pop. It could be the repetitive lyrics, it could be their penchant for releasing nonsensical yet unashamedly addictive singles like ‘That’s Not My Name’ or it could be their slightly alternative, but actually fairly contrived, image. Whatever it is though, ‘tween pop’ is far from an accurate assessment of the Salford-based duo’s second album. Sounds from Nowheresville has been a labour of love. After they completed work on an LP, the record execs had a listen and loved it, which was apparently justification enough to throw it out and start again
from scratch, or so the story goes. Perfectionists or divas? You decide. But let us not labour too long on the story because fundamentally, their difficult second album is jam-packed with chart happy, pop-rock tracks that are as infectious as the classic ‘Hands’. You know? The album’s 2010 lead track that Calvin Harris produced? No one? Never mind, you can only get it on the deluxe release anyway. Repetition is the order of the day on Sounds from Nowheresville. Very few choruses are constructed from more than one very simple sentence but this lyrical simplicity is all a part of The Ting Tings’ charm, so don’t be surprised if these echoing reiterations eventually hammer their way into your head. ‘Guggenhiem’ and ‘Give It Back’ are shouty, punk-riddled album highlights that thrash their
way from start to finish with driving guitar and angry drums. And similarly, ‘One By One’ charms with simple elctro elements that hark back to late 90s house music. Occasionally Katie White reels in the shoutiness and offers some heartfelt, gentle lyrics like on ‘Help’ and ‘In Your Life’ but it never feels more than album filler when this happens and you can’t help but wait for the angst from earlier tracks to return. ‘Soul Killing’ is an aptly named low. Crude squeaking samples irritate throughout the whole song as both White and Jules de Martino layer “ah ah ah’s” over it. On the whole though, Sounds from Nowheresville is a reasonably satisfying second outing from The Ting Tings. It’s energetic and full of singalong pop tracks that never get too serious. Sam Bolton
Gym Class Heroes The Papercut Chronicles II Atlantic Records 3/10
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fter quickly realising that a short-lived solo career could not sustain ‘Travie’ McCoy’s tattoo habit, he’s back with his ensemble Gym Class Heroes and their fifth LP The Papercut Chronicles II. Adopting a similar title would suggest similar depth, originality and well-written verses like those of 2005’s The Papercut Chronicles I; however, that just isn’t true. After a brief introduction, which combines electronic samples and acoustic instrumentation and shows vague promise of a decent hip-hop album, it becomes something very different.
Now Playing ith the abundance
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Lambchop City Slang 8/10
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r. M is the eleventh studio album by the country rock, turned lounge, turned indie folk band Lambchop. It’s a harmonic mix of indie and white soul with a country twang that makes for easy and tireless listening. The band originated in Nashville in 1986, and since their beginning have had a continual change in members, with frontman Kurt Wagner as their creative visionary, moving the band from strength to strength. After the death of long time friend Vic Chesnutt, Wagner turned to painting to let out his creativity, and it was in a painter's studio that Mark Nevers approached Wagner about
Fuse.
Friday February 17 2012
Mr. M
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another album, and thus Mr. M was born. The track names are somewhat misleading and often not explained in the songs, but the lyrics, whilst minimalist, are surprisingly beautiful and fit the backing in perfect harmony. Album closer ‘Never My Love’ is a great example of this, and shows how the album does not lose any of its charm from start to finish. Every song is individual and there are no weak links. The orchestral composition of ‘Betty's Overture’ is quite different to the rest of the album, which mildly resembles the soul sounds of Otis Redding, whereas the ‘The Good Life’ has a definitive country rock feel to it. Don't let the bizarre artwork put you off Lambchop’s latest release; the relaxed feel and country charm make Mr. M a pleasure to listen too. Hamilton Jones
of new releases each week it can be difficult to sift through the shit in search of the gold so Fuse has handpicked some of the musical highlights for you. It’s only February, but we’ve already decided what our pop track of the year is going to be. Alongside her debatable Superbowl performance, which has become more famous for her swearing than her actual singing, M.I.A. has bestowed upon us ‘Bad Girls’, a fantastic tune that reminds us why we loved her in the first place. The fact that it was produced by Timbaland protégé Danja makes it all the
‘Martyrial Girls’ is not only a poor track because of its annoyingly alternative spelling of the word ‘material’ (yeah, we get it, it’s using the word ‘martyr’, how fucking witty), but also because the lyrics that seem to contradict McCoy’s previous views on the value of money are drowned by the Linkin Park-inspired power chords and bellowing dynamics. Elsewhere on the album, we have the radio-friendly ‘Stereo Hearts’ which features vocals from Adam Levine of Maroon 5. Though this track is a crudely inoffensive jingle, the musical prowess that both Gym Class Heroes and Maroon 5 have shown off in their time bears no resemblance to what the rest of the album is trying to create, let alone what Travie and his boys have written in the past. Similarly, ‘Ass Back Home’ has
nothing to brag about as a second single and can be easily deciphered by simply glancing at the title. The Papercut Chronicles I worked because of its musical subtlety and As Cruel As School Children worked wonderfully as a concept album that was laced with catchy hooks. However, after the fourth LP The Quilt, the album that spawned the atrocious single ‘Cookie Jar’, it seems that Travie may just be trying to be making a feeble attempt at a comeback after a solo outing that left him a one hit wonder, whilst simultaneously bringing his band down with him. Tristan Shorrock
better. And while we’re on the subject of amazing women in music right now, we should tell you that we’ve been listening to Azaelia Banks a lot. NME may have left many puzzled when they crowned the 20-year-old queen of the ‘Cool List’ for 2011, but for once they were clearly just ahead of the curve. ‘212’ is amazing, and not just because it gives us an excuse to swear when we talk about how great the lyric “I guess that cunt gettin’ eaten” is. Her UK tour later this year is sure to sell-out. You might not have been able to stay up to watch it all, but the 2012 Grammys have proven a brilliant way to discover new music. We’re particularly enjoying the self-titled album from Bonny Bear. It’s easy to see why
they beat Skrillex and Nicki Minaj to winning ‘Best New Artist’, although we also understand it might not have been fair, considering Bonny Bear had an album in 2008, called For Emma, Forever Ago. Who knew? We’re also loving the cracking new single from This Many Boyfriends. ‘Starling’ is a delightful jangly indie-pop ditty, and we’re looking forward to seeing the band support Allo Darlin’ at Queens Social Club on the 24th. Finally, Los Campesinos! have released - on Valentine’s Day, because they’re such romantics - the video to their latest single, ‘Songs About Your Girlfriend’. There are pole dancers and frankly we can’t remember much else about it, but it’s a fantastic song and well worth looking up.
Follow us on Twitter @ForgePressMusic
Kaiser Chiefs O2 Academy
Monday February 13
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ome might say that Kaiser Chiefs have faded into obscurity in the last couple of years. After releasing their third album, Off With Their Heads, the Leeds-based quintet took a brief hiatus before returning with their brave, yet questionable, fourth release, The Future is Medieval. The album, whilst excellent, didn’t quite spark the same level of public interest that Yours Truly, Angry Mob did with its lead single ‘Ruby’ back in 2007. However, The Kaiser’s energetic performance at Sheffield’s O2 Academy will hush the naysayers. Having arrived on stage to the climactic tones of Dire Straights’ ‘Money For Nothing’, the band launched into a synth-heavy version of ‘Every Day I Love You Less and Less’, before moving onto some newer tracks. Ricky Wilson, the man that famously used to vomit before every live show, is still as strong as
Kaiser Chiefs: Jodie Kershaw
Young Guns Corporation
Tuesday February 7
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irst up in Corporation’s side-room were hardcore newcomers Polar, who stormed the stage with all the might in the world, successfully influencing the crammed audience enough to make them get up off their feet and have a good time until the long awaited main event. Following on were Tonight Alive all the way from Australia, with over enthusiastic rock songs that struggled to get the audiences attention at the best of times. After a short wait, the lights went out and Gustav and co. ran up on to the stage kicking straight in to their UK smash hit single ‘Bones’ with everyone in the audience attempting to overpower his unique voice. You could see straight away why the band decided to embark on this ‘Bare Bones Club Tour’ by their nostalgic smiles and sense of
totally enormous extinct dinosaurs Plug
Saturday February 11
joy. It’s clear that they could see the next year is going to be the biggest of their careers to date. Not only were brand new songs included in the set, but the band even dipped into their back catalogue throughout the show with ‘Weight Of The World’ and ‘Crystal Clear’ which the young audience welcomed with euphoric cheers. The overall show was one of the best Corporation has seen in the smaller club room, considering the limitations they faced with the stage and lighting. However, this wasn’t why the tour was booked; it was about getting back to their roots and seeing how far they have come since they started touring. Vocalist Gustav Wood has explained, “This record is a rebirth for us and with that in mind we’re heading back for a special one-off tour of the small venues to cut our teeth to”. Everyone who has seen them before would agree, the best is yet to come. Lawrence Russell electric from start to finish. The stage lighting really added to the atmosphere, and the colourful laser displays received a very warm reception from the crowd. Every so often a pair of brightly haired women with tails would prance around the stage, but this seemed oddly fitting with the trance music and colourful lighting. Orlando Higginbottom (the man behind TEED) had adorned an eclectic native American headdress that, whilst somewhat ques-
similar reaction from the crowd. Towards the end of the set Kaiser Chiefs reworked some of their classics into rambling, explosive, borderline progressive, 10-minute monsters. ‘Man On Mars’, a track from the new album, recieved an exteneded play and was perhaps the highlight of the new material they treated us to. An extended rendition of ‘Oh My God’ brought their encore to an epic climax and proving that they still have a lot left to give. Sam Bolton Check the next issue of Fuse, out Friday March 2, for our exclusive interview with Kaiser Chiefs’ Simon Rix. More reviews online Read more reviews online at: www.forgetoday.com
Young Guns: Mark McKay tionable looking, only added to his confident stage presence. Lighting, dancers, and clothing aside, the music was fantastic. The mix of electronic dance and trance had the entire audience captured, and the setlist included a few tunes from his better known EPs together with his less known work, which made for a varied and exciting performance. Hamilton Jones
Leadmill
Monday February 13
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ewer than 50 people stood in front of the stage in anticipation for the main act of the night, David Giles. He walked through the crowd to get to the small stage, acquiring a monkey hat on his way, which only added to his bizarre attire of shabby shorts and a tweed waistcoat. Declaring that this was only his second ever show in Sheffield, he didn’t waste any time before blasting into his first song of the night, belting out the line “British high streets are full of coffee shops that just don’t get it right”, as part of a song dedicated to his love of tea. The vast majority of Giles’ songs were fast-paced and incredibly chirpy but after a while very predictable. Nonetheless the crowd seemed to love it and he was a captivating and genuine performer; you can tell he
enjoys every single moment he’s on stage. Giles’ relationship with the rest of his band added a lot to the overall performance and their mockery of each other throughout the show was quite amusing. A new song, ‘She Dances While the Music Plays’, which is apparently about a stripper, featured a harmonica part and sounded like a real hit; easily the best track of the night. Although David Giles’ music is a bit too twee for a lot of tastes and isn’t exactly deep and meaningful, it does have its merits and he does put on a very engaging show. A cover of Five’s ‘Keep on Movin’’ was a surprise and got everyone singing along. Giles is all about interacting with the crowd and by the last song he everyone was sitting in a circle on the floor whilst he performed in the middle on a ukulele, ending the night on a great high.
Fuse.
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs: Talie Eigeland
Dave Giles
Friday February 17 2012
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otally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (TEED) is a one man electro musician and DJ. Starting out as a music teacher, he has own made his way into the music industry and has released several EPs in the last year. The performance at Plug was
he ever was. Effortlessly leading the fairly diverse crowd, Wilson brought an energetic performance to the sold out venue. Even when technical problems plagued keyboardist, Peanut, the majority of the crowd was oblivious as Wilson lead them in a brief pantomime of distraction. The set drew equally from old and new albums. Classics like ‘Na Na Na Na Naa’, ‘I Predict A Riot’ and ‘Angry Mob’ kept the crowd satisfied between brief soujourns into new material. “Pretend this is the best song you’ve ever heard,” Wilson instructed before treating us to the first completely new track of the set, “Because in six months you’ll think it is the best track ever and you’d look stupid if you didn’t act like it now”. On the surface that may have seemed fairly self-indulgent, but the subsequent three and half minutes saw the crowd singing along with lyrics they didn’t know and throwing arms carelessly in the air. The second new song of the night came in the form of ‘Listen to Your Head’ which recieved a
MUSIC
Reviews.LIVE
Lianne Williams
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Reviews.
THE WOMAN IN BLACK Dir: James Watkins 6/10
Fuse.
Friday February 17 2012
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n paper, The Woman In Black appears to have all the ingredients necessary for a chilling ghost story: eerie music, the classic haunted house setting, and most importantly, many moments that will have the audience jumping out of their seats. Aside from these fleeting moments of excitement however, there’s frankly very little to engage with in director James Watkins’ latest film. Based on both Susan Hill’s novel and the famously terrifying stage production of the same name, the story centres on the experiences of Arthur Kipps, a widowed solicitor. Kipps, played by Daniel Radcliffe, is dispatched to a small and gloomy town to settle the estate of the recently deceased Mrs Drablow of Eel Marsh House. However, upon his arrival, it becomes clear that the residents of the town are extremely suspicious of his presence there. Noticing their bizarre behaviour, Kipps quickly begins to realise that there is a dark history to both the house and its former owner. Moreover, he begins witnessing an apparition of a woman
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THE MUPPETS
Dir: James Bobin 8/10
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n their first big-screen outing since 1999’s Muppets From Space, Kermit, Piggy, Fozzy, Gonzo and the rest are back. The Muppets takes the characters back-to-basics in a move away from their fantastical space/pirates/Dickens phase in the 1990s. When three muppet fans, including Jason Segel of How I Met Your Mother fame and his puppet brother, Walter (Peter Linz), discover an evil oil baron (Chris Cooper) plans to demolish the disused Muppet theatre to drill for oil, they seek out the help of Kermit the Frog (as himself) to reunite the old gang for one last fundraising show. Once the basic premise is established, the plot can be fairly easily guessed at, particularly for those familiar with 2002’s It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. It’s formulaic, yes, but also self-aware enough that it doesn’t matter. Hilarity ensues with laughout-loud moments coming thick and fast. The number of selfreferential moments make this both a fitting tribute to the original Muppet Show and a clever comedy with enough celebrity cameos, in-jokes and cultural references (Honeydew and Beaker working at the LHC, anyone?) to keep people of all ages thoroughly entertained. It puts other family musical comedies such as Alvin and the Chipmunks to shame, with genuinely funny, catchy and moving songs, compared to the rodents’ ear-bleedingly awful renditions of pop hits. dressed entirely in black, an omen that strikes inexplicable fear in the hearts of the locals. Intrigued by these strange events, Kipps takes it upon himself to uncover the truth behind the mysterious woman in black. To its credit, the film is beautifully shot from the very first scene; in particular, the dimly lit settings of Eel Marsh House are successful in evoking an atmosphere riddled with tension. As a result, we as an audience are constantly on edge, waiting for the jumpy moments we know are lurking just around the corner. However, it seems that Watkins places too much emphasis on creating these masterfully crafted shocks, unfortunately leaving little space for interesting dialogue. Subsequently, there is a distinct lack of character development in the film, and barely any plot advancement. Indeed, an attempt to rid the town of the woman in black is introduced and then hastily wrapped up, all within the last 10 minutes of screen time. Radcliffe himself is also a little bit disappointing. Finally free from the Harry Potter franchise he was part of for over 10 years, Radcliffe should have given this new role his all. However, he is rather restrained in his acting, maintaining the same melancholic, weary expression throughout the film,
and showing no fear whatsoever when coming face-to-face with horrifying ghosts; perhaps a little unrealistic. The rest of the cast are also fairly mediocre, although the elderly Daily couple (Ciarán Hinds and Janet McTeer) acted
their roles as parents distraught by the loss of their young son very convincingly. Finally, if grisly horror is your thing, then you should probably give this one a miss. It makes you jump, yes, but that’s about as far as it goes.
The journey of uber-fan Walter is akin to that of Segel making the film in real life. A fan of the show, he wanted to see the Muppets brought to a new generation so approached Disney to write and star in the new film, and his enthusiasm shines through without overshadowing his brightly-coloured co-stars. In many ways this is homage to the original show, as Segal attempts to do for the Muppets what JJ Abrams did for Star Trek, but with a better understanding of black holes. He pays tribute to a time when children’s entertainment didn’t need to gross out its audience to get laughs, and has a few jabs at the media along the way. It’s not perfect. Fans of Rizzo the Rat will be disappointed that he gets only a few seconds of screen time, and there are moments of borderline-schmalz. The cold-hearted may also bemoan the inevitability of the plot, as well as the unnecessary romance of the two human protagonists which is all-but forgotten about then hurriedly concluded in the final act. Fox News branded it socialist propaganda (“Are liberals trying to brainwash your kids against Capitalism?”) for having a message that there are more important things in life than money, and if that doesn’t make you want to go and see it, nothing will. All-in-all this is an outstanding return to form for characters who are older than most actors in Hollywood, and anyone who doesn’t leave the cinema with a smile on their face must be either dead inside or a Fox News pundit. Alex Chafey
Unfortunately, you know the horror just isn’t up to scratch when the most disconcerting part of the movie is simply seeing Radcliffe without his trademark Harry Potter scar. Olivia Middleton
Wednesday, 10pm Channel 4
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t’s safe to say that the first series of 10 O’Clock Live was a bit of a disappointment. A satirical news show in a market that is saturated by panel games would have been brilliant at the time, especially when it was hosted by the team that brought us Channel 4’s Alternative Election Night. The result, however, was much like trying to make a bacon and chocolate sandwich. The ingredients were brilliant on their own but it was clear from that first episode that it wasn’t going to work. A combination of badly paced interviews, dodgy sketch work and an inability to really deal with the latest news stories
(incredibly important given the show’s ‘Live’ status) meant that 10 O’Clock Live never really lived up to its promises. With the new series comes the opportunity for the production team to listen to these criticisms and improve. The question is: Have they done just that? With this first episode at least the answer seems to be, sadly, no. The format is indistinguishable from last year’s. The awkward one liners of Jimmy Carr, Lauren Laverne’s not-quite-funny ‘exposés’ and the dire sketches where a silly accent is put in place of any material are all still there. The roundtable discussions and Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe style report on the BBC’s worship of the Queen in light of the upcoming jubilee got the most laughs from a disturbingly stony
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faced audience. The best elements are either improvised or very much based on the presenters’ previous work rather than adding anything unique to the show. David Mitchell doesn’t fare much better. His own section for doing what he does best, ranting, has been sadly removed entirely, at least for the first episode. The overall impression is that this second series hasn’t developed or learnt anything from the faults of the first. Small gems of potential are still there but they are lost amongst a format that doesn’t ever quite seem to work and a nagging sense that each of the personalities running it work better, and have shown that they do so, on their own. Tom King
Cult Corner. THE ARMANDO IANNUCCI SHOWS Year: 2001
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A DANGEROUS METHOD Dir: David Cronenberg 8/10
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Sam Holden
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more going on inside. Even Keira Knightley is outstanding, relishing every word in her Russian accent. It would be a mistake not to mention the frighteningly charismatic Vincent Cassel, who does what he does best; the creepy foreigner, completely stealing his few scenes in the process. As with all but one of Cronenberg’s films, the excellent score is by Howard Shore, which works alongside picturesque shots of Switzerland to give the film its impressive atmosphere. Even the scenes in which people are just sitting in rooms talking about psychoanalysis are interesting, thanks to a combination of Hampton’s screenplay, Cronenberg’s direction, and of course the three central actors. A Dangerous Method, while lacking the visceral power of Cronenberg at his best, is an excellent drama with excellent performances at its heart. His fascinating vision of reality and self-destruction shine through, and the film maintains David Cronenberg’s position as an important director with intellectual ideas; with a way of seeing the world, with something to say and a unique way of saying it. Dan Meier
Friday Friday February October 17 2012 7 2011
Dangerous Method is the intriguing new drama by David Cronenberg, master of body horror turned master of films starring Viggo Mortensen. Here, Mortensen plays Sigmund Freud alongside Michael Fassbender’s Carl Jung. A Dangerous Method explores the relationship between the two psychoanalysts, and the impact, both personally and professionally, of Jung’s patient Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley). Cronenberg’s films are always interesting, and this is no exception. Based on the play The Talking Cure by Christopher Hampton, who also wrote the screenplay, A Dangerous Method is an engaging and challenging look into the lives of these three characters, and into the curious world of psychoanalysis. This may be a departure for Cronenberg dramatically, but not thematically. His sci-fi and horror films tend to be based around the idea that there is something inside us which needs to get out… and it usually does, graphically and horrifically.
Here, this idea is dealt with in the context of Freudian repression, exploring how we bury our memories and desires, and then the ways in which they later manifest themselves. In the case of Spielrein, this manifestation is masochism, believing that true beauty emerges from pain; “Only the clash of destructive forces can create something new.” This is a fascinating idea, but one which was examined much more effectively in Cronenberg’s hugely controversial Crash. Ironically then, A Dangerous Method is not dangerous enough. At times it feels stuffy, particularly in long sequences of exposition in which Freud and Jung are simply reading and writing letters to each other. Cronenberg has made a drama about psychology, not a psychological drama, like his brilliantly haunting film Spider. That said, a subpar Cronenberg film is still a superb film. Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender are currently two of the world’s best actors, with the world’s best names. Mortensen takes all his roles very seriously and gets right under the skin of Freud, never without a cigar. Fassbender’s Jung is a classic Cronenberg character; cold and distant on the surface, with a whole lot
he only series written by Armando Iannucci, and actually starring himself, was broadcast in September 2001. He himself concedes the series was overlooked for good reason in September 2001, but with the ensuing conflict that followed 9/11 now completely resolved; the time to re-discover this series is upon us. Any pretensions one might have of Iannucci based on his legendary works like The Thick of It or Alan Partridge will be completely banished upon viewing this series, it is vastly different from the octane sweary satire of the former and the impeccable character comedy of the latter. Iannucci himself says that this is the series he is most proud of. With the way it so openly and gratifyingly deals with the mundanity of working life, the concepts of personal inadequacy and social awkwardness, and an episode about ‘twats’ so perfect it probably ought to be enacted through Government legislation, it comes as very little surprise. The series itself combines sketches, mostly one-off but some involving recurring characters such as the East-
end thug who belligerently fixes faulty electrical equipment by threatening it, or Iannucci’s nonsensical anecdote reciting hairdresser with on-screen monologues from Iannucci delivered at erratic locations. The result is a near flawless comedy series which merges surrealism with refreshingly noncrass observations on humanity in a genuinely innovative and entertaining way. Iannucci is so immaculate in the series, and it is so perfectly written, directed and crafted; it’s sad to think his talents have largely since been limited just to writing. If you think contemporary British comedy is in a healthy state like the despicable oaf that you are, then you should watch The Armando Iannucci Shows to help you re-evaluate that sentiment. But if virtually every piece of contemporary television falling under the bastardised umbrella of ‘comedy’ fills you with a disappointment so vitriolic it arouses nausea and murderous rage, then you must watch this series to remind yourself that no matter how much incomprehensible evil mankind is capable of (Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Day special is as good an example as any). At least the more virtuous among us are capable of making a series as wonderful as this.
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GAMES
Reviews. Editorial.
BATTLEFIELD 3: BACK TO KARKAND
CTHULHU SAVES THE WORLD
9/10
8/10
Nos-talgia noun a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.
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t’s that time again folks. That point in the year when game releases slow down to a punishing crawl. When there’s more excitement to be had from watching indoor gymnastics than there is perusing release lists for the upcoming week. Not that we do either, they’re both equally strange. As a poignant example of this we’ve decided to review an expansion, an iPhone game, an indie title and a cult classic from 2005. I say ‘we’ve decided’, 2K ignored our emails when we requested to review The Darkness 2, and Metal Gear Solid HD doesn’t really have enough new content to make us part with the cash Student Finance gave us. And really, would reviewing Metal Gear Solid HD feel like anything other than a substantial Retro Corner? We didn’t think so, unless we talked about how crisp the HD visuals look, which is both tedious for us to write and boring for you to read. But don’t let this put you off. In man’s most desperate hours they’ve produced their greatest work; such as sending a living, breathing human to leap about on the moon. It’s with this achievement in mind that we’re about to make the flimsiest of metaphors. Whilst we have barely any new games to review, just like the USSR appeared to be crushing the US in the space race, we’ve gone and produced four excellent reviews for games you either may not have heard of, or hadn’t thought to try. We’ve put a man on the moon. Kind of. Arnold Bennett Ellen Jurczak games@forgetoday.com
PC/XBLIG
PS3/360/PC
uch a definition aptly describes Battlefield 3’s first expansion pack, titled Back to Karkand. Included as a free download for owners of the Battlefield 3 Limited Edition, or as a paid expansion for everyone else, Back to Karkand whisks players back to the fan favourite locales of Battlefield 2. Central to that game and this expansion pack is the map Strike at Karkand, by far the most popular map in the franchises history; ‘Karkand’ tasks those playing as US Marines with assaulting the heavily defended town of Karkand to capture the harbour at its rear. The recreation of Strike at Karkand, as well as the expansion’s three other maps: Wake Island, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula all remain fairly faithful to the originals, in a gushingly nostalgic way. The expansion also includes iconic weapons and vehicles
from Battlefield 2 for players to unlock. The addition of destruction changes the way the returning maps flow however, with structures now vulnerable to both projectile and explosive damage. This is both jarring and empowering, but ultimately a positive. Advances in lighting change how the maps look too, which it could be argued removes some of their charm. ‘Karkand’ was renown for the dusty fog that filled its streets, a visual trick employed to hide the limitations of 2005’s PC hardware. Now there’s no such fog, because such limitations fail to exist, but it looks strange to see one end of Karkand from the other. Not to mention less ominous. It says a lot that my biggest complaint with Back to Karkand is that DICE didn’t include the original theme songs associated with each iconic map, which originally played as they loaded. As criticisms go that’s incredibly petty. And that’s the point. Back to Karkand is the near perfect recreation of a set of near perfect maps added to a near perfect game. It’s nearly perfect then.
A
nyone familiar with H.P Lovecraft’s work will recognise the character Cthulhu, the apparent lord of the underwater city R’lyeh and the source of mankind’s anxiety. A game featuring this evil entity must be a chilling experience akin to the Penumbra series right? Indie game developers Zeboyd Games defy such expectations. Cthulhu Saves the World is full of Lovecraft references but the framing of its narrative twists such references into tongue in cheek jokes. The main protagonist Cthulhu finds his typical role of master of insanity reversed as a mysterious character strips him of his powers. The only way a dejected Cthulhu can regain his previous mastery is to become a true hero, a paradigm of virtue. The manner in which Cthulhu references the players as a separate entity, often belittling the player and the other character NPC’s ensures humour is at the heart of
Jonathan Webb Cthulu Saves The World will be available on Mac, iOS and Android in the near future.
Arnold Bennett
TEMPLE RUN
FAHRENHEIT
7/10
RETRO CORNER
iOS
PS2
H
G
ames come in many forms: Some attempt to tell a carefully written story, whilst others excel through their sharply honed game mechanics. Temple Run is definitely the latter. The iOS platform is one of limitation after all. You control an Indiana Jones style character as he propels himself through an Aztec environment to outrun a horde of murderous monkeys. That’s about as much story as you’re given. And it’s all you need. Your repertoire of actions in Temple Run involves a range of swiping and tilting as you maneuver through a range of obstacles. Swipe down to slide under a wall of flames, swipe up to leap over hanging branches and small gaps, and tilt your device to squeeze through small crevices afforded by the crumbling environment. Tilting is also used to collect op-
tional coins that litter the environment and tempt players to pursue more adventurous avenues than those they’d perhaps prefer. These coins can be spent on numerous powerups that augment your abilities, including speed boosts. These power-ups can be upgraded multiple times for steeper fees, giving you an incentive to keep playing as well as greater opportunities for higher scores the longer you do. It’s an effective way of drawing you back into the game after each failed attempt, especially as each new game ramps up quickly enough to counter any frustration you may feel. And that’s the beauty of Temple Run. It never lingers long enough to truly cause annoyance, and it’s mechanics are simple enough to execute on a train, bus, or while your pasta boils. It won’t ever feel like more than an entertaining distraction, but that’s the definition of a video game after all. Arnold Bennett
the game. Cthulhu Saves the World is at its core an RPG game akin to Final Fantasy I and as such offers a typical turn based RPG combat system. This system never really reaches its full potential but it fulfils its basic functions and the game itself will offer at least six hours of solid gameplay with incentives such as “Overkill” mode enticing players back for future play throughs. By framing Lovecraft in a traditional Japanese RPG, Zeboyd Games have created a unique concept. The game mechanics may prove drab for some but for Lovecraft fans the game is a must.
eavy Rain, made by French developer Quantic Dream, is probably one of the most revered and innovative titles available for the PlayStation 3 right now. However, very few people know about Fahrenheit; the studio’s main effort for the PS2. And that’s a real shame. Because, without Fahrenheit, Heavy Rain probably wouldn’t exist. Fahrenheit takes place in New York, where random citizens are becoming possessed and killing innocent strangers for seemingly no reason. The player is put in the shoes of four alternating characters: There’s Lucas Kane, one of the possessed murderers who’s trying to figure out what happened to him; Lucas’ brother (a priest named Markus), and detectives Tyler Miles and Carla Valenti who are investigating the murders. This idea of multiple, wildly
varied paths in the story (and radically different endings) was what made Fahrenheit so innovative. It also gave it massive replay value; you felt compelled to play it through again and again, in order to take every possible path and see every possible ending. Not only that but this was also the first time that you were given real control over every single movement the character made, whether it was jumping out of the way of a car or simply opening a door. Everything was controlled through little twirls and nudges on the analog stick. It was fiddly but fun, and it set the game apart from everything else out there. Not everything about it was amazing – the dialogue felt a little clunky at times, the camera was just awkward, and the story devolved into ridiculousness about two-thirds of the way through, ending in an epic battle between an ancient cult and – wait for it… the internet. No, I am not kidding. But don’t focus on the negatives, because, even though it didn’t quite work, Fahrenheit was still an important video game. Quantic Dream took a gamble and, taking fan feedback into account, they worked on it. And all the tweaks and improvements they made became Heavy Rain, a unique and essential title for anyone who owns a PS3. Philip Bayles
the beatles in hamburg Spencer Leigh 8/10
T
he Beatles in Hamburg gives you a whirlwind tour of some of the most exciting, character forming and musically demanding years of the young performers lives. John Lennon is quoted as saying that The Beatles were born in Liverpool, “but grew up in Hamburg”, it does not take much reading to realise the truth in the statement and the importance of the Hamburg years. The Beatles played in the city’s red light district in many clubs including the Kaiserkeller and The Top Ten which helped to spiral the boys to success. The smart suits and respectable haircuts that they showed off
Controlled chaos Jeff Dunham 6/10
I
f comedy is the new rock ‘n’ roll, ventriloquism is The Village People; cool in the olden days, but now it’s just creepy. Not according to Jeff Dunham; after becoming a YouTube sensation a few years ago with ‘Achmed: The Dead Terrorist’, the 49-year-old has gone from strength to strength, and his latest DVD – Controlled Chaos – shows that his star won’t be fading any time soon. It’s a showcase of Dunham’s greatest characters – grumpy old man Walter; Peanut, the purple-skinned lunatic; José the Jalapeno (on a stick) and, of course, Achmed. The opening stand-up proves Dunham is just as funny without a puppet, tackling some embarrassing photos from his formative years and a recent divorce with just the right amount
The Way of the world CRUCIBLE 9/10
Lianne Williams
of self-deprecation. And when the puppets come out, he’s a comedic tour de force. Dunham is an equal opportunity offender. No matter what your gender, race or religion, he will lay into you like a ton of bricks on the front of a freight train. It’s never subtle, but it works, the dummies seem to take the edge off – it allows Dunham to join the audience in looking horrified at what’s coming out of his own mouth. Secondly, as a ventriloquist, Dunham is extremely talented. His great sense of timing leads to some fantastic moments between himself and the puppets, and the finale involving four different puppets on stage at once is inspired. Despite the occasional esoteric quip that only Americans will understand, Controlled Chaos is a great show. Ventriloquism is cool again, and Jeff Dunham looks set to take England by storm when he returns this spring.
LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL Lyceum 7/10
O
pening with an infectiously chirpy number entitled ‘Omigod You Guys’, you wouldn’t expect Legally Blonde: The Musical to deliver a particularly deep message. But deliver it does. In fact, much of the storyline surrounds the protagonist Elle Woods’s ambition to be taken seriously, in spite of her famously fair locks. Elle seemingly has everything; the perfect sorority-girl lifestyle, and more importantly, the perfect boyfriend - Warner Huntington the Third (Ray Quinn). What’s more, she’s certain that Warner is about to propose. But when Warner actually ends the relationship in order to pursue a more ‘serious’ life as a Law student, Elle concludes that to win Warner’s heart once more, she must follow him to Harvard Law School and prove how serious she really is. Whilst at Harvard, she befriends the endearing attorney Emmett Forest (Iwan Lewis), but struggles to reclaim Warner from the clutches of his deliciously bitchy new girlfriend, Vivienne Kensington (Charlotte Harwood). She also at trac ts t h e
attention of Professor, Callahan (Les Dennis), the man whom holds the key to furthering her career, although at what price is unclear. What is clear, however, is that every single member of the cast carries the great enthusiasm necessary to make the show a success. Capturing Elle’s sunny personality exactly, understudy Amy Ross shone and sparkled almost as much as her rhinestone cheerleading outfit, just one of many extravaga nt (and of course, pink) costumes in the Legally Blonde wardrobe. On the other hand, Quinn seems seriously miscast in his role as the misogynistic Warner. His baby-faced looks and gorgeous but nonetheless boy-band style voice only support the argument that he should have been cast as Emmett Forest instead.
which is belted out by a strong chorus, and of course ‘Bend and Snap’, adapted from the famous scene of the 2001 movie. Some of the scenes are also technically s tu n ning, particularly during the number ‘Whipped Into Shape’; fitness instructor Brooke Wyndham (Hannah Grover) and a crew of dancers sing flawlessly whilst essentially conducting a Davina workout with skipping ropes. With its witty lyrics, brilliant staging, and surprisingly empowering message about overcoming stereotypes, it’s obvious why this production went on to win the 2011 Olivier Award for Best New Musical. A totally uplifting production which will delight all round, no matter what your hair colour is. Olivia Middleton
Phil Bayles Lloyd-Hughes) clash with the equally complex schemes of his counterparts Fainall (Leo Bell) and Marwood (Daisy Lewis) in their quest for love, but more importantly, fortune. The result is two and a half hours of snaking plot played with enough humour to have you ‘laughing like a chorister at a christening’. A mo ngs t a youthful ye t
With regard to the music itself, there are a number of stand-out songs to watch out for, including the aforementioned ‘Omigod You Guys’, the n u m ber ‘What You Wa n t ’
seasoned cast it is very difficult to pick out any stand-alone performances, speaking for the brilliance and sheer quality brought to the stage
by Sarah Bird’s casting. Despite a typically difficult restoration plot, there is more than enough skill present to both keep the audience on board whilst keeping the comedy at the forefront.
Fuse.
Mention must however be given to Deborah Findley’s Jennifer Saunders-esque portrayal of the delightfully ignorant Lady Wishfort which is on a par with Samuel Barnett’s absolutely fabulous depiction of the foppishly camp ‘weathercock’ Witwoud. The cast’s performance was further embellished by Naomi Wilkinson’s minimal set design, which drew attention to the action and script whilst remaining decadent and authentic enough to give the production a sense of historical setting. Similarly the gamble to set thoroughly contemporary costume and song against the set was enormously successful – never would I have thought I M would most enjoy Lady Gaga’s ‘Edge of Glory’ in the confines of an 18th century romp. The Way of the World won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for an evening of light-hearted yet less current entertainment you will be hard-pressed to beat it. Tim Wood
Friday February 17 2012
T
hree centuries on from the restoration of the British monarchy it’s no surprise that Restoration comedies don’t enjoy the attention of production companies or extended stays in the seasonal schedules of major theatres. Based on the Crucible’s staging of The Way of the World, they should. Sticking with William Congreve’s original script, despite some worthwhile ventures into the contemporary, director Lyndsey Turner and a wonderful cast stage a marvelous display of everything that makes Restoration comedy still accessible and hugely enjoyable. Displaying all the tropes of debauchery, cuckolding and verbal jousting, The Way of the World sees the desirous ploys of the handsome Mirabell (Ben
when they emerged with ‘Love Me Do’ seems from the sex, drugs and excessive drinking experienced by the young Liverpool men in Hamburg. Spencer Leigh documents so many events and people that many fans may know little about and it is this that makes The Beatles in Hamburg such an enjoyable and rewarding read. The short life of Stuart Sutcliffe, the former bassist and one of the great artists of his time if it not had been for his untimely death , is also mentioned throughout. This book is a must read for any Beatles fan as the Hamburg years were such an important part of their lives where they matured, refined their sound and became great performers whilst getting themselves into a fair bit of trouble.
ARTS
Reviews.
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LISTINGS
Film Unit
Tickets: £2.50
GIAG: Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt Come and take part in this fabulous Scavenger Hunt around the city centre. Just like the Harry Potter films you will be ‘sorted’ into different houses. Once in your house your team will be given clues to solve by one of the Harry Potter characters. You will then move round areas in the city to find the next clue. The aim of the hunt is to complete the route in the quickest time possible. Points will be awarded for the quickest times. There will be Harry Potter style prizes for the winning teams!
All films are shown in the Students’ Union Auditorium.
Atkinson, Matthew Broderick and Jeremy Irons.
Tickets cost £2.50 and can be bought from the Union Box Office or Union Shop.
Sunday February 19 Jane Eyre; 7:30pm
Saturday February 18 The Lion King; 7:30pm
Saturday Feburary 18: 11am- 3pm @ The Crucible Theatre; £3.50
The re-release of one of Disney’s finest films. Simba the lion must live up to the legacy of his father and take his place as the King of the jungle in this timeless animated tale of family and loss. Winner of two Academy Awards and one of the most heartfelt films of its time, it features music by Elton John and the voices of Rowan
Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska take the lead in this latest adaptation of the class novel. The director, Cary Fukunaga, makes the most of his actors’ talents and compliments them with his unique cinematic vision to deliver what feels like a tremendously fresh approach to a well told story. Jane, a young governess, is sent to the house of Mr. Rochester where they develop a friendship that threatens to be undermined by Rochester’s dark past.
Monday February 20 Dr. Stragelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Nearly 50 years old but scarcely less relevant now than it was on the day of its release. Filmed around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, with Cold War tensions straining by the day, Dr Strangelove depicts the severe consequences of the actions of a crazed General with the powers to commence nuclear war. The reactions in the war room are hilarious, but the impact on the world could be horrific...
Fuse’s four for the fortnight Richard Herring: Thursday February 23 @ Sheffield City Hall; £15; 8:00pm
SBTRKT Wednesday February 22 @ Plug; £11; 7:00pm SBTRKT is no stranger to writing, recording and releasing music. To date he’s had multiple releases on Brainmath, Numbers, Ramp, Monkeytown and his home label Young Turks. Thoughout the years SBTRKY has worked with collaborators both sonic and visual to emphasise his ideas and vision, and of course always feature his unique tribal mask. SBTRKY debut album pulls off a series of impressive feats; it’s bursting with fresh ideas, and yet sounds immediately familiar. Its sound-patterns and rhythms can easily soundtrack the ecstatic hands in the air dance floor moments, as well as reliving the monotony of the morning commute. Its influences are incorporated with subtlety and sophistication: dense enough to interpret, light enough to dance to.
Fuse. Fuse.
Friday Friday February September 17 2012 16 2011
Richard Herring – What is Love, Anyway? Does anybody love anybody anyway? So asked insane, Welsh, poet philosopher Howard Jones in 1983. Finally someone dares to answer. Having sorted out religion (Christ on a Bike), politics (Hitler Moustache), the star of the award winning podcast “As It Occurs To Me” and Radio 4’s “Richard Herring’s Objective” seeks to define and destroy love - before love destroys him. Again. Does Richard’s dry-cleaner genuinely love him? Richard Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double act, Lee and Herring. He is described by the Britsh Theatre Guide as “one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy.’’
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Creating-Connecting-Composing: Friday February 17 @ Showroom Cinema; Free; 1:30pm-5pm Showroom is holding a special event for filmmakers, digial artists and composers. Ever wanted brand new music for your film? Ever wanted to write music for film? This is the event for you. At Showroom on February 17, you will have the opportunity to share your work and talk to filmmakers and composers exchange ideas and make contacts that lead to creative output. The event lasts all day and so attendees can expect to gain a good insight into the creative process of film making. Guest speakers include Heather Fenoughty and others, but the event is popular and as such you need to RSVP to rob@syfn.org to secure a place. You are advised to include in your email a short description of what you do. Anyone with a remote interest in the music of films or in composing their own soundtracks should definitely check this event out.
Grouplove: Saturday February 18 @ Leadmill; £6; 7:30pm
Standing firmly on the middle ground between the quirky, staccato attack of Modest Mouse and the spirited, arena-ready roar of Arcade Fire, Los Angeles-based indie rock outfit Grouplove came to fruition in the late 2000s around the talents of Hannah Hooper, Christian Zucconi, Sean Gadd, Ryan Rabin, and Andrew Wessen. Yorkers Hooper and Zucconi, through sheer kismet, forged a friendship with the latter three members while attending an art residency in Greece on the island of Crete. Before returning to their myriad homelands, the future quintet members began hashing out plans to meet up again and put some of the music they had been working on to tape, resulting in whirlwind trips to Rabin’s Los Angeles studio, where the five friends decided to make their relationship official. Grouplove’s eponymous debut EP was released by Canvasback in 2010. While touring alongside Florence + the Machine early the following year, Grouplove managed to finalize plans for their full-length album Never Trust a Happy Song.