DEC 2012 - issue (24)

LOCAL BAND FEATURES - REVIEWS - GIGS - EVENTS - INTERVIEWS - GAMING - MOVIES - LIFE(STYLE) - FITNESS

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

Photo by Ambrozjo

Y R R ME UIDE G O G TMAS S I R CH MUSIC

BUZZBUMB / THE SUNSET CLAUSE / RYAN MORECOMBE / NOISE ANNOYS

MOVIES

ARGO / LOOPER / HERE COMES THE BOOM / PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 SILENT HILL / THE SWEENEY / SKYFALL / TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN PART 2

GAMES

ASSASSINS CREED III / FAR CRY 3 / COD : BLACK OPS II / GTA V / HALO 4

LIFE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS LIST / MISS WEST LOTHIAN / APPS CENTRAL TV/DVD COSMOPOLIS / ELF-MAN / RARE EXPORTS 2012 TOP 10 DVD’S / JAMES McC’s XMAS VIEWING FITNESS WITH 2012 MOVIE YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED TOP 10 www.goguidemagazine.co.uk

T.O.D COACHING

CONTENT

THE SUNSET CLAUSE

T.O.D.

Contents

SEP 2012 - issue (21)

- - - - - - - MUSIC - - - - - - THE SUNSET CLAUSE (pg4) NOISE ANNOYS (pg6) RYAN MORECOMBE (pg8) BUZZBOMB - SECONDARY OBJECTIVES (pg9)

NOISE ANNOYS

APPS CENTRAL

- - - - - - LIFE(STYLE) - - - - - -

THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS LIST (pg40) MISS WEST LOTHIAN (pg54) PHONE APPS/GAMES (pg64)

Monster Geeks / Mini Motor Racing / Swiftkey 3 / Where’s My Perry

TECH APPS CHARTS (pg72)

Our top 10 FREE and PAID apps charts for Android and iPhones.

- - - FITNESS WITH T.O.D - - -

RYAN MORECOMBE BUZZBOMB

MERRY XMAS FROM T.O.D. (pg76)

ARGO

A wee messgage from the guys at T.O.D.

FESTIVE BELLS (pg77)

Feature this month is kettlebells.

KETTLEBELL EXERCISE GUIDES (pg81) Some core kettlebell exercise guides.

WORKOUT PLANS (pg96)

Some kettlebell workout plans.

LOOPER

- - - - - - - MOVIES - - - - - - -

ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS LIST

FEATURES

MOVIE NEW RELEASES (pg102)

All the new releases in cinemas this month.

MOVIE ROLL CALL QUIZ (pg103)

This month its a return to our Rollcall quiz - answers on (pg207)

THIS MONTHS BOXOFFICE TOP 10 (pg104)

W

REVIEWS

ARGO (pg106) - LOOPER (pg110) HERE COMES THE BOOM (pg116) PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 (pg120) SILENT HILL (pg124) - THE SWEENEY (pg128) SKYFALL (pg132) - TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN PART 2 (pg138)

GOG on’ wha

2012 TOP 10 BLOCKBUSTERS (pg140)

Wit to h us a

Page 2

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

We stuff

ww

MISS WEST LOTHIAN 2012

- - - - - - - TV & DVD - - - - - - -

TV NEWS (pg146)

NEWS and whats going on.

XMAS TV SNEAK PEEK (pg154)

GoGuide looks at whats on during the holibobs

2012 TOP 10 DVD’S (pg158) JAMES McC’s XMAS VIEWING (pg164) DVD REVIEWS (pg168)

TV NEWS

COSMOPOLIS / ELF-MAN / RARE EXPORTS

2012 MOVIE YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED TOP 10 (pg171) James’ top 10 MYMHM’s

BOX OFFICE TOP 10 DVD’s (pg178) XMAS TV

The Top 10 DVDs of the moment.

- - - - - - - GAMES - - - - - - -

GAME CHARTS (pg180)

Top 10 games across PS3, Xbox and PC. NEWS

XBOX 720 LATEST (pg181) News on the new Microsoft console.

ARMA IN TROUBLE (pg182) Arma 3 developers jailed...

BLACK OPS II STATS REVEALED (pg183) ASSASSINS CREED 3

Some interesting stats in first week of release...

REVIEWS

ASSASSINS CREED III (pg184) FAR CRY 3 (pg188) COD : BLACK OPS II (pg190) HALO 4 (pg196)

- - - - - - - OUT & ABOUT - - - - - - -

O&A - FEATURE - PARADISE ISLAND (pg202) SKYFALL

Who are GOGUIDE...???

Paradise Island fun golf opens its doors in Livi.

O&A (pg204)

Out and about with some great indoor and outdoor stuff to get up to in the local area

CLASSIC MOVIE POSTERS (back page 208) We take a look back at some classic movie posters.

We try to ensure our information is correct before uploading but some details are subject to change. PLEASE check online or with each location directly for fully up to date information.

GUIDE is a local online magazine for the West Lothian area. We are trying to be less focused on local ‘news’ and more a, ‘what’s or ‘happening’ guide to the local area. At the moment we are heavily focused on the whats going on in the local music scene, ats on and good @ the movies and what is happening in the world of PC/Console gaming.

e do have a pretty modern approach to GoGuide content and eventually hope to produce articles on subjects outside our usual ff such as Clubbing, Internet, Lifestyle, Sport and Fitness etc.

ww.goguidemagazine.co.uk - www.myspace.com/goguide - www.facebook.com/GoGuideMagazineWestLothian

th the vast majority of our content sourced from local contributors we are always on the lookout for new people to bring onboard help us provide input to this content hungry mag so if your keen on writing stuff and getting it published in the mag feel free to drop PAGE 3 DEC 2012 - issue (24) a message at content@goguidemagazine.co.uk

MUSIC

FEATURE

THE SUNSET CLAUSE

T

hey’re a witty bunch these boys.

The Sunset Clause is their second name. “Our previous name had been used by a band that had since disbanded… their ex-manager had earned the rights to the name and any profit made under it thanks to a sunset Page 4

clause in their contract...

So we named ourselves after the reason we had to change our name.” Like I said, witty.

The 4-piece have been performing together for around two years now, after coming together from different projects. After working on new material they took their show on the road.

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

They describe themselves as Scottish-Pop-Rock, which I’d say is pretty bang on. Their songs are catchy and tuneful but with enough oomph to make your neighbours complain when you can’t resist playing it too loud. Oh and they’re definitely Scottish. Can’t see why anyone would lie about that.

Earlier this year The Sunset Clause very kindly released their double A side ‘Lover’s Eyes / These Nights’ as a free download. I say very kindly,

www.facebook.com/TheSunsetClauseOfficial

because it’s definitely worth paying for. As there’s only two tracks, this should be a fairly straightforward review.

The first of the two tracks is ‘Lover’s Eyes’. It’s an understated opening of galloping fumbling guitar but quickly morphs into a pummelling

indie rock number. I’m not usually a fan of guitar solos, but as cheesy as this one is it wins me over. Only the second solo to do so since the darkness’ bells end.

‘These Nights’ is a kind of emalgamation of The Dropkick Murphys, Rage Against meets the Fratellis. The effect is like being man DEC 2012 - issue (24)

handled into a pub only to get swept up by it all on entry and find you always in fact wanted to be in this pub. Whilst unfortunately this solo doesn’t win me over, it’s thankfully backed up by a passionate surge back to the chorus.

Mikey Rush for GoGuide Magazine

Music Contributer

PAGE 5

MUSIC

FEATURE

T

alk about setting yourself a challenge.

Noise Annoys have set themselves the intimidating task of creating a genre that their generation can call their own and that their band will be the ones to define that genre. I don’t envy their task and luckily I don’t have to.

Instead I’m going to tell you a little about them. This 4-piece would probably fall into the category of rock, but rock doesn’t quite cover their sound. It’s kinda electronicalternative-post-rock-indie-pop, pinning a

Page 6

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

www.facebook.com/pages/Noise-Annoys/141276489325886 tag on them was never going to be easy given their aims. The guys originate from Bathgate and were formed only a short while ago, in band years, in January. They’ve just released their four track EP and handily, that’s the next item on my writing list. So keep reading lest you miss out on your generations defining sound!

A wailing air raid siren signals the beginning. Closely followed by a pack of heavy bass and hi-hat heavy drums. This is the show that is Noise Annoys’ four track EP. ‘Sack The DJ’ modernises Morrissey’s classic chant of ‘Hang The Dj’ for their more aggressive fans. The

vocals snarl a playground chant of ‘Na na na na na’ that’s halfway between malicious and humour.

Whoever this Dj is, I feel sorry for him.

Second track ‘Dirty Like A Millionaire’ opens with drum machines and lo-fi fuzzed out vocals. A different direction that throws you for a loop. Less snarling, more crooning, although the crooning is more in the Oasis vein than that of Neil Diamond.

Armaggedon takes us back to that hard rock opening to the EP, and although they do at times end up sounding like The Twang doing an DEC 2012 - issue (24)

AC DC cover you can tell there’s raw talent just below the surface. You just have to scratch at it a little. In aiming for their goal of becoming a band that defines generations music tastes they may have bitten off a little more than they could chew. Each song in itself works perfectly well, tbut the album ends up sounding like a melting pot.

Hopefully, once they’ve found their own sound and refined it down, there’ll be a treat for the ears awaiting the play button.

Mikey Rush for GoGuide Magazine

Music Contributer

PAGE 7

MUSIC

FEATURE

F

or a young guy, Ryan Morecombe has an old soul. He’s been, as he puts it, ‘Kicking around’ for about two years now, working his way through venues such as The Roxy171, The Attic and The Lounge. And come December 7th Ryan will be travelling to one of the folk capitals of Europe, Amsterdam for a gig at Molly Malone’s.

I took an almost cartoonish double-take upon hearing one of his tracks ‘Bleeding Dry’. It’s a dusty ol’ Delta Blues number in the vein of Big Joe Williams, or to use a more contemporary comparison Willis Earl Beal. Morecombe even plays a harmonica live to go along with his strumming, humming alter-ego from America’s dirty south. It’s refreshing to hear real blues, not that tacky pub blues your old history teacher used to play being played truthfully and honestly.

If you’re a fan of the classics, and by that I mean The Stones and Bob Dylan, then it looks like you’re about to have a new favourite artist.

Mikey Rush for GoGuide Magazine

Music Contributer

www.facebook.com/RyanAtTheDisco?ref=ts&fref=ts Page 8 DEC 2012 - issue (24)

B

uzzbomb’s Secondary Objectives is their second album, following up Eight The Hard Way, and continues their relentless supersonic blitzkrieg campaign for our hearts and ears.

The 9 track album includes 2 cover versions,(more of which later), but the opening song ‘Disconnected’ does the complete opposite of what the title suggests and drags you into their underworld, and doesn’t let you go until you’ve decided to get a skull tattoo and wear Jerry Only eyeliner to work tomorrow.

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 9

MUSIC

FEATURE

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DEC 2012 - issue (24)

Anyone who has seen or heard Buzzbomb must have seen and heard the influences of The Misfits, Black Flag, et al, but to me, they go well beyond such lazy comparisons and bring a vitality and honesty that our American cousins often fail to engender. They bypass the boring British ‘Second Wave’ punk pantomime Mohawk and studded leather regressionists and serve us up with a lavish feast of high octane punk that is amplified by the imagery, not swamped by hair-dos and posing.

Every self penned song is a delight if you like your music straight and true, with (my personal favourite) ‘Gambling With Souls’, ‘Creepshow’ and ‘Train Of Consequence’ riffing that inch or two higher than the rest. All three members take shots at lead vocals – a luxury few bands have. At times Davie Brett’s drumming is unfeasibly rapid, double kicks aside, the fills make my head spin. Stu Graham’s guitars are a no nonsense assault with more hooks barbing your ears than you can manage in a dozen listens to this record. Billy Ross’s bass holds the whole thing together, even managing to fit in a few lovely wee runs of his own when the drumming slows down to 200mph – I have still got no idea how he does it – answers on a postcard please...

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the band live a few times and was more than delighted that the production on this record was able to capture the sound and energy of their art. It is often easy for a threepiece to get tempted to over egg the pudding, but this is a masterpiece of sonic power by Neil McNaught. The artwork is by comic book creator Partick Goddard who has drawn for 2000AD – a great coup for the band.

I’ll be honest – I don’t particularly like cover versions of songs that I have known and loved for decades. The Valves were a huge part of my youth – along with The Monos, The Freeze and The Skids, they were the only bands that mattered on the East Coast punk scene for years! I saw Buzzbomb play ‘It Don’t Mean Nothing At All’ a few weeks ago and was – admittedly - a little ‘emotionally confused’, but I have been able to give my incredibly deep seated musical snobbery a rest, and say that I love this song and this treatment, although if I had to pogo at this speed, I wouldn’t have made it to 18! Sonic Reducer by The Dead Boys is equally deserving of praise – many have tried it, and this version is as good as I’ve heard – even surpassing The Mystery Girls!

Secondary Objectives is a superb record from a superb band. It’s energetic, exhilarating and exhausting – everything true punk was/is about. Just take it down now and again Davie…

John Innes for GoGuide Magazine

Music Contributer

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

Stu Graham – Guitar/Vocals Billy Ross – Bass/Vocals David Brett – Drums/Vocals www.buzzbomb.co.uk www.facebook.com/buzzbomb PAGE 11

MUSIC

FEATURE

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s ECTRIC MAN return EL r be em ec D th 14 electric-man UPDATE: Fri al.org /events/309eg er at hg at .b w w http://w

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LIFE(STYLE) FASHION - Model Feature

LIFE(Style)

LIFE(Style)

) e l y t IL FE(S

LIFE(Style) Page 36

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LIFE(STYLE)

GOGUIDE’S ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS LIST FASHION - FEATURE

ristine Mctavish

with Mr Suit & Ch

through a bundle of Mr Suit and Christine McTavish guide you doingit, gifts for the Christmas gifts to save you the stress of for everyone. kids, for him and for her... Something

Miss West Lothian 2012 with Mr Suit

Miss West Lothian Mr Suit takes a wee peek at the annual nth. Find out all about competition that hits the county this mo just who will pick up this the event, the people, the entrants and years crown?

APP CENTRAL

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t apps for App Chart and reviews of some of the bes smartphone.

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your

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LIFE(STYLE) FASHION - FEATURE

GOGUIDE’S

E T A M ULTI S A M T CHRIS LIST

stine Mctavish

ri with Mr Suit & Ch

months goguide’s for the past few ine mr suit and christ s er rt po re g n vi ro led the shops, aw tr e av h h is av mct local markets for r u yo en ev d an web not in this years s at h w d an ot h what’s as list’. ‘ultimate christm ose elp you pick up th h to es g pa r ou use d partner or kids an r u yo r fo ts if g l idea rs searching. save all those hou ice ck, crack open a n so why not sit ba ress lax and take the st re e, in w of le tt bo nding something fi of t ou in ra st and ristmas... just right this ch Page 40

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LIFE(STYLE) XMAS - FEATURE

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LIFE(STYLE)

t s e W Miss FASHION - FEATURE

M

iss West Lothian 2013 competition concludes on 5th Dec with their climax event where a new face from West Lothian will be crowned the winner and represent the county for the following year.

An annual event organized by Eddie Anderson and his team, Miss West Lothian is not just a yearly beauty contest, it is so much more. The 18 year old event is just the tip of a pretty large iceberg that sees the brand utilise their entrants throughout the year for various fashion events and have raised tens of thousands of pounds for a number of charitable and good causes in the local area.

A recent instance being when the Miss West Lothian girls presented a cheque to a special needs group after vandals broke in and set fire to the children’s toys just a few days before Christmas. A gesture that certainly went a long way in showing exactly what the Miss West Lothian organisation is all about and the

ethos behind it.

So with a proud history behind them anyone entering the competition should be thrilled to be part of something that has such a great community spirit and an overriding goal to help the people who most need it.

The team want the girls to do well and when you’re part of Miss West Lothian there is certainly no shortage of opportunities to promote yourself, and get yourself noticed. Eddie and his team encourage as many girls as possible to take part in the enormous amount of events they have or take part in throughout the year. This is not only for new faces to the contest but for anyone who has entered in the past as well.

Probably the biggest success story for the team was in 2009 when Ashley Brown was crowned Miss West Lothian and later went on to reach the final four in the TV modelling show Britain's Next Top Model and then on a special TransAtlantic type version of America’s Next Top Model where 7 UK models competed against 7 US models.

Lauren McLeod is the reigning Miss West Lothian and previous winners

2013 Page 54

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

have included 2011 winner Metja, Domenique Whiteford in 2010, back in 2009 we of course had Ashley Brown, 2008 was Jane Gray, and 2007 saw Alison Clinton pick up the crown and 2006’s Leigh Gapinski.

The 2013 crowning is on Wednesday 5th December at Grand Central in Livingston and the Miss West Lothian team of Eddie, Amanda Tinning (co-organiser), Alan Scott (compere) and Melissa Brown will be on hand throughout the night along with a host of beauticians, hairstylists and sponsors.

Entertainment on the evening, as if the bevy of beauties on offer wasn’t enough, includes performances from Jacqueline McSporran, Saskia Eng, Stewart Wilson and Dance Factory.

The judging panel for this year’s event, which includes three former winners, looks like this: Charles Earley, Domenique Cally Whiteford, Francesca, Linda Kirk, Ashley Brown, Lauren McLeod, Andrea Waddell, Nicola Craig, Claire Molloy, Derrick Findlay, Frank Toner, Samantha Marshall, Debbie Mullen and David Park.

This years finalists are:

n a i h t t Lo Abbie Harris - Whitburn

Amie Johnstone - Armadale

Amie Somerville - Murieston

Ambra Franchitti - Bathgate

Becca Stirling - East Calder

Becki Fleming - Ladywell DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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LIFE(STYLE)

t s e W Miss FASHION - FEATURE

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Carly Allan - Broxburn

Cherlyn Simpson - East Calder

Chloe Thomson - East Calder

Claire Middleton - Stoneyburn

Claudia Allen - Bathgate

Danielle Scott - Harthill DEC 2012 - issue (24)

n a i h t Lot S T S I L A N I F 2013 Dennen Healey - Howden

Emma Douglas - Eliburn

Emma Hanley - Bathgate

Emma Louise McBeth - Bathgate

Hayley Galloway - Murieston

Jennifer McCrae - Bathgate DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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LIFE(STYLE)

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Joanna Litwinienko - Dedridge

Kathleen McDonald - Murieston

Kayleigh Pringle - Livingston

Kayleigh Robertson - Ladywell

Kaysha McDonald - Bathgate

Kirsten MacDonald - Bathgate DEC 2012 - issue (24)

n a i h t Lot S T S I L A N I F 2013 Leanne Carrie - Dedridge

Magda Rychlik - Bathgate

Miranda Bailey - Dedridge

Natalie Wells - Livingston

Nicola Sweeney - Longridge

Nicole Serzhantova - Deans DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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Ola Krajewska - Bathgate

Patty Kosciuk - Deans

Roberta Johnstone - Linlithgow

Robyn Robertson - Ladywell

Rochelle McKay - Addiewell

Ruth Young - Bathgate DEC 2012 - issue (24)

n a i h t Lot S T S I L A N I F 2013 Shannen Williamson - Whitburn

Shelby McNee - Armadale

Shelby Mullen - Whitburn

Zoey Miller - Bathgate

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S I R E N N I W E H T D N A ?

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?

C

AGE...

P T X E N E H T N O N O HECK OUT WHO W DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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LIFE(STYLE)

t s e W Miss FASHION - FEATURE

llen

10th Shelby Mu

hantova

6th Nicole Serz

3rd Cherlyn Sim

ley

9th Emma Han

ne

nsto 5th Roberta Joh

illiamson

8th Shannen W

2nd Rochelle M

son

4th Chloe Thom g

7th Becca Stirlin

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n a i h t Lot 2013 NNER IS? I W E H T D AN

mpson

y a w o l l a G y e l 1st Hay

McKay

Photo by George O'Toole

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 63

LIFE(STYLE) TECH - PHONE APPS

I

’m going to start this review with a wee disclaimer – Once you start playing this game you jusyt might now be able to put it down – End of disclaimer.

In Monster Geeks you take on the role as the leader of a tribe. You need to get a wee gang of warriors together to kill off a big red fire breathing dragon boss. This is no mean feat as it’s a hardy dragon that can easily kill off your entire team in one fiery exhale. So before you take on this challenge you wisely drag your crew through a series of gruelling training sessions.

Hard gamers out there may be thinking they have seen it all before here but in a side scrolling fighting kinda game but this one is well worth the effort to get into it.

Your characters weapon of choice is a spear and not long into the game I realized that this game wasn’t going to be a simple matter of button bashing my way through with my spear and the odd jumble of spells, there is definitely a lot more to it than that. You will find yourself needing to switch element charges in and out and fighting sometimes in a supporting role using your crew to your best advantage.

As such the mental requirements for this title are a wee bit higher than your average casual game needs, but mark my words it’s an effort that you will most definitely be rewarded for.

Monster Geeks programmers Alpha Cloud have a track record in producing excellent 2D games and this one is no different. Audio and graphics have not been forgotten about and they marry with a good deal of super fun gameplay mean you’ll probably spend more hours than your life can really spare glued to your smartphone screen… remember the disclaimer!

There is all the usual raising funds and unlocking more characters to help your quest and these days the obligatory connection with Facebook.

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I’m really a fan of simple games on my smartphone but I do have to say that there is a massive amount of people that are not always looking for a quick fix of gaming between tasks/ breaks in their daily lives and those people have higher expectations of their games and are more than happy to invest more time in them.

Monster Geeks is showing great potential to perhaps become the next big player in this genre of game and I can see pretty good upgrade paths with the possibilities of using different leaders, different bosses etc. or even opening up to the world of online multiplayer gaming?

It’s definitely got the foundations spot on.

Monster Geeks £FREE

Category: Games Latest Release: August 10, 2012 Version: 1.01 Size: 33MB

Mr Suit for GoGuide Magazine

Contributer

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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LIFE(STYLE) TECH - PHONE APPS

R

acing games on a smartphone has been a problem for a while now. Sweaty fingers on slipper glass trying to find wee buttons just don’t mix that well. Other devices where you can physically riding a control button or lever will always far more satisfying So it’s certainly a nice change to come across Mini Motor Racing for the iPhone which to all intense purposes controls pretty well, but believe me that’s not all this title has to offer, it looks stunning and has a great balance of free-to-play gaming action with the draw of optional in-game purchases that some other titles don’t quite get right.

So what exactly is Mini Motor Racing? Well laid out as an isometric viewed track racing game your aim is really simple, throw your car around a variety of tracks and win! The choice is yours as to whether you play a Quick Race, or go all out on a proper career mode.

Quick race is as you would expect so let’s jump to Career Mode. Basically, choose one of the four car types on offer; Hatch, Big Rig, Pickup, and Sports. Race across the tracks and earn cash for racing as well as you can. Cash lets you upgrade your car to make it go faster and/or give you better handling. It’s not a complicated process but it does add to the game quite a bit. As well as changing your car you can also change your method of play using multiple control options.

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Sure life’s not perfect in Mini Motor Racing and there are a few wee issues but these tend to be the kind of issues that the smartphone is renowned for due to its overall makeover and little to do with the app itself.

In the game you race through urban tracks, rural tracks, cities and docks. Weather makes an appearance in some tracks and the inclusion of day and night racing is a pretty sweet feature.

There is a saying that ‘the devil is in the detail’ and that is so true this game, little elements that could so easily have been left out are there for you to enjoy and add so much to the overall feel of the game; cars will leave burning rubber trails which remain throughout the race. Flames will spew from your nitro boosts and night races are dark with your car’s headlights cutting through the blackness ahead.

New to the latest versions of the app are the online multiplayer races, where you can gamble your skills against either your friends or click into the Game Center and search for other players online. At the time of the review we did find it pretty hard to connect with anyone other than friends, for long periods it simply tells you it’s ‘Searching’. On the rare occasions we did get to race someone things did go pretty well.

Mini Motor Racing brings little new to the table other than the online options but is a truly solid and really good looking racing game for iOS and Android systems.

Mini Motor Racing £1.29

Category: Games Latest Release: October 10, 2012 Version: 1.6.6 Size: 163 MB

Mr Suit for GoGuide Magazine

Contributer

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 67

LIFE(STYLE) TECH - PHONE APPS

S

wiftKey for those who haven’t been following ours, and probably every other app chart online, and are perhaps not familiar with the award winning replacement keyboard app, it won the Global Mobile Awards much sought-after ‘Most Innovative App’ award in Barcelona back in 2011. It’s been at the top of our chart off and on for the best part of a year and among multi lingual apps of this sort Swiftkey V3 is simply amazing.

starts to predict you next letter, then it interprets what it thinks is going to be your next word before you even begin typing it. It’s an on-going process and Swiftkey programmers have built into the app the ability to learn from not only your SMS but from your e-mail and even your social media posts (if enabled), so after a prolonged period of time it gets way better at making those predictions as you continue to use it.

work actually is and on which of the keys you trip up most on.

I’ve said it’s a keyboard replacement but this is just the tip of the iceberg and you actually get very much more than just a replacement to your smartphones built in keyboard.

One additional thing that lifts this app above all of these kinds of apps is its ability to recognise not only patterns across the things you type, but amazingly how words work together in your writing.

Eventually as it learns its actually quit disconcerting how it really

There is also a full set of very useful tools within SwiftKey all geared towards improving your typing efficiency. Jump over to the settings menu and you will see a collection of quick tips and statistics for you to monitor exactly how effective your typing is. You can check how many keystrokes SwiftKey has saved you, how many typos it's had to fix, there's even a neat wee screen that points out graphically how accurate your finger

I’d recommend SwiftKey as probably the only app of its sort that anyone should be looking at, its highly adjustable and will definitely increase your typing speed and accuracy for a relatively low cost. If your swithering get in there and try the trial version for 30 days and you probably won’t look back.

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DEC 2012 - issue (24)

As usual, and like most of the replacement keyboard/txt apps you can customize loads of options within the keyboard itself; your typing style, the colour scheme, and key height to suit your own needs.

Version 3 of the app gives users some new features including a better overall user interface, larger spacebar and a ‘smart’ punctuation function and they go a long way to helping you even more in speeding up and reducing errors in your typing. Smart Space is also now included which magically lets you omit or mess up spaces in your typing and the app will fix them for you. Oh…. there are also a couple of new colour themes in Cobalt and Holo.

Swiftkey V3 ÂŁFREE (ALL)

Category: Lifestyle Latest Release: Sep 8, 2012 Version: 3.0.4.343 Size: 5.6MB

Mr Suit for GoGuide Magazine

Contributer

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 69

LIFE(STYLE) TECH - PHONE APPS

D

isney's Where's My Water? Is pretty much loved by everyone and the game is a massive hit on all smartphone platforms and actually still ranks pretty high on Google Play. It’s an on-going thing as like Angry Birds there are repeated new levels added by Disney to keep it going.

For those who might be looking for a new physics-based puzzler, perhaps as a wee respite from Swampy and Cranky, Disney has provided us with Phineas and Ferb's ‘Perry’ or platypus spy Agent P to use a Sunday name. There isn’t much difference in the actual gameplay in Where’s My Perry when compared to the gameplay of Where's My Water?

Basically a few tweaks and a mission to create something with just as much fun.

The story kicks off with Agent P being called in to spy headquarters by Major Monogram to receive his latest briefing; unfortunately he keeps getting stuck in his transportation tube. Just like Where's My Water? You mission, should you accept it, is to slice your way through the dirt, melt some ice into water and work your way around a bunch of lasers

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DEC 2012 - issue (24)

called Heat-inators, Cool-inators and Crazyinators) with the aim of getting enough water passed through the transportation tube so Perry can move through to the next level and perhaps eventually get to his mission briefing.

To complete missions with best results you must free 3 gnomes (replacing the rubber duckies) trapped in each level. Rescuing all three gnomes in each level and collect three top-secret files randomly placed somewhere in the missions and you'll be rewarded with the title of ‘master spy’ and unlock a bonus level. With my less than slim fingers I did sometimes find it a tad difficult to clear the exact path required and like all puzzle based games the solution doesn’t always jump out at you.

Being a Disney game the look of the game of a high standard, crisp and clean. For the free game you get just 12 levels and after that you can choose to purchase the full game and fiddle your way across more than 80 levels over four missions. Once you have purchased the game there are plenty of free updates and I’d guess a whole load of additional levels will continue to arrive with the games inevitable hit status.

Where’s My Perry? £FREE

Category: Game Latest Release: October 4, 2012 Version: 1.1.0 Size: 45MB

Mr Suit for GoGuide Magazine

Contributer

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 71

LIFE(STYLE)

PH

TECHNO

CHECKOUT TH 10 FREE AND ANDROID A

iPhone £FREE

iPhone £PAY

TOP 10 APPS

TOP 10 APPS

1

Smash Cops Heat Hutch

1

WhatsApp Messenger - £0.69 WhatsApp Inc.

2

Weird But True National Geographic Society

2

Angry Birds Star Wars - £0.69 Rovio Entertainment Ltd

3

Podcasts Apple

3

Grand Theft Auto 3 - £2.99 Rockstar Games

4

Fun Run - Multiplayer Race dirtyBit

4

iPNP 2012 - £1.99 UGroupMedia inc

5

Snapchat Snapchat, Inc.

5

Earn to Die - £0.69 Not Doppler

6

Find My Friends Apple

6

Bad Piggies HD - £0.69 Rovio Entertainment Ltd

7

Gangnam DanceBooth WiseGecko Co. LTD.

7

Adrian James Boot Camp £0.69 - Six Pack Productions

8

iTunes U Apple

8

Bike Mania 2 - £0.69 AceViral.com

9

Find My iPhone Apple

9

Cut the Rope - £0.69 ZeptoLab UK Limited

10

Hill Climb Racing Fingersoft

10

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DEC 2012 - issue (24)

TETRIS Electronic Arts - £0.69

HONE APP CENTRAL

HIS MONTHS TOP D PAID APPS ON AND IPHONE

Android £FREE

Android £PAY

TOP 10 APPS

TOP 10 APPS

1

Skype - Free

1

SwiftKey 3 Keyboard - £1.49

2

Tiny Flashlight + LED

2

Beautiful Widgets - £1.94

3

Official eBay Android App

3

Camera ZOOM FX - £2.13

4

Advanced Task Killer

4

Tapatalk Forum App - £2.28

5

Lookout Security & Antivirus

5

Smart Tools - £1.77

6

Bible

6

OfficeSuite Pro 6 - £9.49

7

GO Launcher EX

7

Paper Camera - £1.42

8

Dolphin Browser

8

9

Viber : Free Calls & Messages

9

10

ES File Explorer File Manager

10

Skype

Nikolay Ananiev www.ebay.com Rechild

Lookout Mobile Security LifeChurch.tv GO Launcher Dev Team Dolphin Browser Viber Media, Ltd EStrongs Inc.

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

TouchType Ltd

LevelUp Studio androidslide

Quoord Systems Limited Smart Tools co.

Mobile Systems JFDP Labs

MyBackup Pro - £3.85 Rerware, LLC

Tasks - £0.39 Team Tasks

JuiceDefender Ultimate - £1.56 Latedroid

PAGE 73

FITNESS

T.O.D. COACHING

FESTIVE BELLS

T.O.D. INTRODUCES YOU TO THE WORLD OF THE KETTLE BELL TRAINING

HEALTH&FITNESS

& Fit inc Studio Gym

KETTLE BELL EXERCISES A COLLECTION OF EXERCISES FOR YOU TO TRY

WORKOUT PLANS

SOME TRAINING PLANS TO SUIT YOU NEEDS Page 74

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 75

FITNESS FEATURE

T.O.D Coaching and Fit Inc. Studio Gym GoGuide Magazine has teamed up with what we feel is the NO.1 Fitness and

conditioning centres in West Lothian, if not the whole of Scotland. We have got together with the guys at T.O.D Coaching and Fit Inc. Studio Gym for our BRAND NEW ‘Fitness’ section where the guys will strive to bring you the very best in exercise, training, conditioning and bootcamp workouts, diets and eating habits and specialist event training regimes. We look forward to working with owner Brian Fernie and the team for what we hope is a long and benefitial period of time for our readers. To kick off here is a wee bit from Ryan Stewart one of the great Personal Trainers down at the studio...

W

elcome to the December article and our Festive Bells take on kettlebell training.

As the Director of training at T.O.D Coaching Ltd and T.O.D Combat I understand the need for variables in training utilising as many different types of training and equipment to progress both members at Fit inc studio gym and dojo and the athletes we train.

the biggest gain is the toned athletic body (not muscled) you see appear quickly with regular training.

A big thank you from all the team for following us at Go Guide and on Facebook and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Hogmanay Cheers Brian

Kettlebells are a brilliant way of training the body as a complete unit rather than single units working independently. We employ traditional kettlebell training methods rather than the aerobic style fitness crazes that have swept the country over the past few years. One thing with traditional training is that progression for male and females is very quick both in strength and endurance, Page 76

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT T.O.D

Festive Bells

K

ettlebell training is not new it is not magic, although some may have you believe it. The Russians who are at the front of kettlebell sport have used tried and tested techniques for years.

Since the collapse of the cold war, this amazing little weight has once again exploded onto the fitness scene.

The major benefit that you will experience once you start training with kettlebell’s is the fact your whole body works in unison; You will feel the burn in your hamstrings, glutes, quads, back, shoulders and arms and that’s just from the basic techniques such as the KB swing.

Everybody who uses or thinks about using them need’s to appreciate and understand the need to train with kettlebell’s and add them into their training regimes, What does this mean for you the individual and what does KB training do for you

Kettlebell Training Teaches your body how to wo rk as a single unit (it integrates the whole body together) Allows for high repetition wo rk which is phenomenal for fat loss conditi oning Emphasizes the use of the glu tes, hamstrings, spinal muscles and abdominal muscles for maximum power and speed enhancement.

Simultaneously improves both strength and cardiovascular endurance (known as incidental cardio) Improves flexibility (this happen s as a byproduct of training) Boosts your metabolism thus burning more fat Develops incredible hand, gri p and finger strength Improves full body stability and balance due to the dynamic nature of the exercises Burns more energy because of the full body integration

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 77

FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells Many people use kettlebells in their workouts, many stick to the basic swings and clean and press completing reps for strength rather than endurance.

Endurance is important as is all your sessions, at times some people sacrifice technical sessions for strength thinking that two hours strengths is better than metabolic endurance, WRONG! You need to be aware and able to control the effects of (HLA) ,Hydrogen lactic acid, a common mistake is that lactic acid causes cramp and stiffness, we now know that Lactic acid is an energy system and is quickly dispersed through the body on being produced. The body also has an in built bicarbonate system which soaks up some of the hydrogen and other by-products.

The Hydrogen on the other hand is a different matter and is the cause of...

Page 78

• Burning feeling in the muscles • Laboured breathing • Muscle contraction • Muscle inhibition In order to combat these effects and to have effective endurance, we need to train the body to cope with the demands of your sport In order to do this we need to “Address all the components of contact movements in our strength/endurance training so the whole spectrum of motion, flexibility, speed, power and loads that the muscles will see during training or competition” The SAID Principle (Specific adaptations to imposed demands) comes hand in hand with the above statement, and allows us to use everything from bodyweight to kettlebells and more.

One important factor when training with kettlebells is to master the swing properly, this is not a squat motion (please don’t confuse traditional kettlebell training with

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

SET ONE aerobic crazes like kettlercise, which don’t use all techniques properly) rather a thrust type action which incorporates the posterior kinetic chain allowing the bell to swing and catch properly. Promoting greater flexibility in the hamstring erector spinae and glutes and in turn helps power development.

Try the following circuit with kettlebells , complete as many reps of each exercise in thirty seconds with fifteen seconds rest in between reps, each set of exercises is grouped in sets of eight, this will allow you to train for five minutes with one minute rest after each set

At Fit inc studio gym, all of our team are Qualified Personal/master trainers and are registered kettlebell instructors and have a vast knowledge of when and how to use them, our classes such as Hells Bells, K.E.B.A.B are held both at the gym and outside so if you really want to learn kettlebells come and see us!

When training with them please ensure that your kettlebell is of an appropriate weight so that correct form can be maintained for as long as possible, Perform the sets twice a week incorporating them as part of your strength and power endurance, ensure that adequate warm up and cool downs are also used.

Where possible seek advice from a registered kettlebell instructor, with organisations such as OLF, SFO, IIFF, RKC as they are leaders in the industry.

GET SWINGING!

1. Turkish Get-up alternate sides 2. Side press 3. Arrowhead swings 4. Clean and press 5. Alternate arm swings 6. Pistol squat 7. Push Press 8. Goblet Squats

SET TWO 1. Double KB squat to overhead press 2. Bent over Row 3. Alternate swings 4. 1 leg Deadlift alternate legs 5. Weighted crunches 6. Squat holding one KB by the horns in the “steering wheel” 7. Diagonal Snatch 8. Saxon side bends

SET THREE 1. Round the worlds 2. Double kb Swing 3. Clean 4. Renegade row’s 5. Squat Snatch 6. Windmill 7. Bottom up military press 8. Hindu squat

SET FOUR 1. High Pull 2. Burpees (KB’s in each hand) 3. See saws 4. Reaching Lunges 5. Weighted crunches 6. Shooting stars 7. Turkish get up 8. Sumo squats DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells Training Plan/Periodisation

effect by many individuals and teams both amateur to elite level.

According to Bompa periodization is a process of structuring training into phases. In short these are further broken down into

Core Moves Even the basic fundamentals of kettlebell core moves and their variations differ from country to country and training provider to training provider.

• Micro cycles • Mesocycles • Macrocycles

This method uses the following template for periodization

We teach what we believe to be the safest most progressive way of learning and using the kettlebell, though we do abdicate that once familiar and confident with the kettlebell that other methods should be learned and utilised where and if required or possible.

Phase 1 Preparation phase • GPP- General physical preparation • SPP- Specific physical preparation

The main core move from which the majority kettlebell exercises start from is the swing; this can be done in a variety of formats

Phase 2 Transition 1

• Dead start, Hang swing, Double handed Kb swing, Single handed kb swing

Phase 3 Competition

T.O.D as a training providers teach the hang swing method and double and single handed kettlebell swing starts. Firstly we will cover how to...

Linear/western – Tudor Bompa

Phase 4 Transition 2 / off season

ADDRESS THE KETTLEBELL...!!!!

Another highly popular method of periodization is the west side barbell method commonly known as The Conjugate method.

This method allows or attempts to let the individual train close to their competition peak. Cycles are not used in this method, variations of exercises and exercise selection is key.

Strength training example Training week Day 1 Maximal Effort (MEM) Day 3 Dynamic Effort (DEM) Day 5 Repetition effort (REM) Week 1 Acclimatisation Week 2 Acclimatisation/Intensification Week 3 Intensification The models supplied have both been used with great Page 80

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

ADDRESS THE KETTLEBELL • Stand with feet either side of the kettlebell • Ensure both heels are in line with each other • Body is erect and square to the front • Squatting down place two hands around the handle in an ok type grip • Firmly grasp the handle and stand back up • Ensure that the bell is in front of the body, heels in line and shoulders square to the front

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 81

FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells

START POSITION

• Address the kettlebell as previously shown • Feet slightly wider than normal width • Strong grip with arms relaxed • Pelvis in a neutral position • Glutes tight • Chest high shoulder’s back

LOWER POSITION

• Allow bell to pass between legs • Keeping kettlebells as close to glutes as possible • Simultaneously push the backside back (don’t squat) • Chest upright in relation to your spine • Lower back is tight and slightly arched • Knees and hips flexed

UPWARD PHASE

The “Daddy” of all kettlebell exercises

DOUBLE HANDED KETTLEBELL SWING

KETTLEBELL EXERCISES 101

• The glutes drive the hips forwards, thrusting, snapping motion • The kb moves is propelled up from the hips and pelvis utilising the upper body as a guide.

• The kb need only travel as high as the shoulders without lifting from the shoulders • Arms should be relaxed, bent at the elbows and hands in an ok style grip • After the upward phase allow the KB to descend and repeat the lowering phase.

THIS COMPLETE MOVEMENT IS ONE REPITITION Page 82

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

START POSITION LOWER POSITION

Coaching points are the same as for the double handed swing.

However the thumb rotates towards the glutes during the lowering phase, on the upward phase the hand rotates ensuring the palm faces downwards to the floor.

UPWARD PHASE

PROGRESSIVE MOVES - SWING VARIATIONS

SINGLE HANDED KETTLEBELL SWING

The single kettlebell swing is a variation of double handed kettlebell swing with a slight twist in the hand movement on the rearward swing.

This is to ensure full integration of all muscle groups and promote a swinging action, rather than a lift action which happens when the hand is not rotated.

THIS COMPLETE MOVEMENT IS ONE REPITITION DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 83

FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells

START POSITION

The Alternate Hand kettlebell swing is a variation of single handed kettlebell swing with a change of hand at the top of the movement.

HAND CHANGE POSITION

Movement completes when the keetlebell is returned to the original hand on the second upwards swing.

END PHASE

ALTERNATE HAND SWING

KETTLEBELL EXERCISES 101

THIS COMPLETE MOVEMENT IS ONE REPITITION Page 84

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

START POSITION UPWARD PHASE

ARROWHEAD OR AMERICANO

A variation of the double handed kettlebell swing which sees the bell forced upwards over the head.

Coaching points are the same for the double handed swing.

On the upward phase the bell is forced up over the head and the elbows/wrists lock out to momentarily lock the bell in position.

Ensure the shoulders are pulled back

OTHER VARIATIONS INCLUDE • Rotation swing • Walking swing

• Slow swing • Over rotation in shoulders • Arms locked out

COMMON MISTAKES

SOLUTION

• Bent back • Head down • Heels off the floor • Hips and knees not extending at the top (tight hip flexors/weak glutes)

• Hip flexor stretches/glute activation techniques • Demonstrate and practise of wall squats • Demonstrate and practice box/chair squats THIS COMPLETE MOVEMENT IS ONE REPITITION

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 85

FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells

START POSITION

THE CLEAN

KETTLEBELL EXERCISES 101 The clean (commonly known as the rack position) is a move on it’s on although is an integral part of the clean and press, the clean can be done with a single or double kettlebell.

MID POSITION

• Start position is the same as a single handed swing • Lowering phase coaching points as for the single handed swing • As the Kb swings through for the upward phase • Keep the arms and elbows close to the body • The KB/s do not move more than necessary • Speed is of the essence and efficient power • Rack position is complete once the KB is over the hand and resting on the back of the hand • No catch at the knees or knee bend needed

POINT TO NOTE For long cycles and clean and press exercises a knee bend or knee dip can be used.

COMMON MISTAKES • KB racked to high • Lower back pain • KB curled • KB is too far out from the body in all

phases • KB too far away from the body in the rack position.

SOLUTION • Practise wall cleans • Hip snaps • Break down the exercise into phases • Demonstrate and practise the correct position for the rack THIS COMPLETE MOVEMENT IS ONE REPITITION

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START POSITION DOWNWARD POSITION

KETTLEBELL SQUAT

The squat can be conducted with one or two kettlebells. The teaching points are the same apart from one small variation in the double kettlebell squat.

The squat positions shown are the position for a female doing the squat, this owes purely to anatomy of a female. At the bottom is the male position • Clean the KB’s to the rack position by performing a double or single cleans.

• The downward phase should see the torso tight and square, athlete sitting back and where possible the hamstrings on the calves • At the bottom of the downward phase the abdominals re pressurise • On the upward phase the glutes contract, the feet are pushed downwards forcing the body to go upright back to the start position.

COMMON MISTAKES

MALE SQUAT POSITION

• Heels lifting from the floor • Depth is shallow • Knees turn inward or bow • Knees and back hurt • Arms and shoulders tire before the quadriceps SOLUTIONS

Hands are placed one on top of the other or in a clasp like grip and remain so throughout the exercise.

THIS COMPLETE MOVEMENT IS ONE REPITITION

• Practice bodyweight squats • Sitting back • Hip flexor activation techniques • Tight rack position SQUAT VARIATIONS Goblet squat, Front squat two bell, One bell, Overhead squat, Explosive front squat

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FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells

MID POSITION

START POSITION

MID POSITION

THIS COMPLETE MOVEMENT IS ONE REPITITION

START POSITION

GOBLET SQUAT

SINGLE BELL SQUAT

KETTLEBELL EXERCISES 101

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TOP POSITION

START POSITION

The military press can be conducted with a single or double kettlebell/s and is a great strength builder.

COMMON MISTAKES

SOLUTION

• Knees bend • Shoulders tight and shrugged up • Back bends while pressing • Back pain/stress

• Keep eyes forward and don’t look at kb’s once overhead • Practice tightness after clean • Glutes contracted hips extended • Keep shoulders down

TOP POSITION

Coaching points

START POSITION

SINGLE MILITARY PRESS DOUBLE MILITARY PRESS

MILITARY PRESS

• Double clean the kb’s to the rack position • Upward phase- press the kb’s overhead • Torso tight • Glutes tight and hips extended • Shoulders remain down, eyes on the bell, feet driven to the ground • At the top arms locked out in line or behind the ears.

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FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells

START POSITION HIGH POSITION

Used in Olympic Kettlebell lifting competitions, the clean and press is a variation of the Military press and is normally conducted with two KB’s. (for competition two are always used) We have demonstrated the single clean and press below in order to see the phases.

END PHASE

(single KB demonstrated)

THE CLEAN AND PRESS

KETTLEBELL EXERCISES 101

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START POSITION

COACHING POINTS

DOWNWARD POSITION

Start position is the same as for the single KB swing. Downward phase is the same as the single KB swing.

Wrist strong throughout.

As the bell travels up this allows for the push through for the snatch exercise (covered shortly) The KB is an extension of the arm Make sure the drive from the legs, hip snap and pull is sufficient to match the KB weight.

At the end push the bell forward back under control .

COMMON MISTAKES Bell flipping over at top/bottom of exercise Arm travelling to far away from the body Hips and glutes not activating properly at the top of the exercise TOP POSITION

HIGH PULL

The high pull is best taught after the clean press, this way some confusion is avoided with regard to the positioning of the kettlebell, the high pull is a MUST teach pre requisite before progressing onto the snatch.

SOLUTIONS Practice pulling drills such as one arm row And renegade rows.

Hip flexor and glute stretching activation drills

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FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells

THE SNATCH

START POSITION

KETTLEBELL EXERCISES 101 Considered the “King” of kettlebell exercises, if performed correctly this exercise is an excellent fete of strength and power.

COACHING POINTS Pick up the kettlebell as previously demonstrated in address the kettlebell Push hips forward to start the swing Allow the kettlebell to swing back between the legs as previously demonstrated in “Swings” section

MID POSITION

HIGH POSITION

The upward phase is the same as the high pull.

Common Mistakes Kb banging off the wrist Not enough power to get the kb to correct position for the punch No lockout at the top phase

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As the kb reaches the height of the high pull The hand/s are pushed through the handle forcing the bell to curl over the hand and rest on the rest The top position is with the arm and hand locked out and arm forced backwards in line or behind the ear (as with the military press) The downward phase sees the bell travelling down and swung between the legs in on full uninterrupted motion and movement.

Solutions

Snatch variations

Practise the clean and press Practise the swings Practice Military press

Single snatch, Double snatch, Dead snatch, Alternating snatch, Girevoy sport snatch THIS COMPLETE MOVEMENT IS ONE REPITITION DEC 2012 - issue (24)

END POSITION

MID POSITION

START POSITION

THE WINDMILL

One off the best shoulder stabilising exercises there is and also for the torso.

Owing to the full range of movement and recruitment of stabilising muscles of the shoulder girdle this exercises covers flexibility and stability.

Variations • Side press windmill • Overhead press and rotate • Any how’s • Bent leg

COACHING POINTS • Rack one kb and press overhead • Arm locked out tight and contracted to the arm socket • This is the start and finish position • Both legs locked out • Rotate feet 45 degrees opposite direction from kb • Push the bell side hip out causing the knee of the same side to slightly bend • Eyes should be focused on the bell • Arm locked out as previously stated • Lower the body and rotate • Rotate the palm outwards • Eyes remain focused on the bell • Loose arm moves across the body to the kb leg • Slide the hand down the leg as far as possible • Push into the floor • Rotate the body and arm • As you push up to the start position • Eyes continue to be focused on the bell till upright

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FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells

THE TURKISH GET UP (TGU)

START POSITION

KETTLEBELL EXERCISES 101 This is a great all over body exercise in particular the shoulder is placed under a lot of stress forcing it to stabilise the KB as it is in the overhead position throughout. There are also many variations.

COACHING POINTS • Lie on your back kb pressed overhead • Arm locked at elbow and tight in at shoulder socket • Opposite arm outstretched on the floor in line with the opposite shoulder palm down • Kb leg (same side as kb) is bent foot flat on the floor • Eyes focused on the kb

MID POSITION

• Drive the foot of the kb leg into the floor • Push up with the other arm • Move into an upright position • Until on one bended knee • Keep arm vertical • Eyes focused on the kb • drive the front leg into the floor until in a standing position • eyes focused on the kb (until standing then straight ahead) • torso tight, arm locked at elbow, tight to shoulder socket • to return to the start position reverse the steps

END POSITION

Variations

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• Anyhow get up • Double kb get up • Squat get up THIS COMPLETE MOVEMENT IS ONE REPITITION DEC 2012 - issue (24)

END POSITION

MID POSITION

START POSITION

THE DEADLIFT

This exercise takes many forms and variations and is used by Olympic lifters, bodybuilders and the general public. He kb version is no different in its aim, to promote flexibility and strength in the hamstrings and Posterior Kinetic Chain (PKC).

COACHING POINTS Coaching points • feet shoulder width apart • sit back in the hips • heels on floor • head and chest up • legs straight throughout • tighten the glutes when standing up

Variations • double kb dead lift • stiff leg deadlift • Romanian deadlift • 1 leg deadlift

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FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells

KETTLEBELL WORKOUTS You got all the exercises now heres the workouts to go with them...

GENERAL CONDITIONING WORKOUT 1

1.

2.

3.

MILITARY PRESS 3 SETS OF 5 REPS PER SIDE (3X5/5) ROW 3 SETS OF 5 (3X5) 1 KB SQUAT 3X5 WINDMILL 3X5/5 SWING 3 X 15

DOUBLE MILITARY PRESS 3X5 DOUBLE ROW 3X5 DOUBLE KB SQUAT 3X5 WINDMILL 3X5 DOUBLE SWING 3X15

FLOOR PRESS 3X5/5 ROW 3X5/5 SQUAT 3X5 GET-UP3X5/5 SWING 3 X 15

4.

5.

6.

ALTERNATING FLOOR PRESS 3X5 ALTERNATING ROW 3X5 1 KB SQUAT 3X5 GET-UP3X5 SWING 3X15

ALTERNATING MILITARY PRESS 3X5 ALTERNATING ROW 3X5 DOUBLE KB SQUAT 3X5 WINDMILL 3X5/5 DOUBLE SWING 3X15

CLEAN AND PRESS 3X5/5 RENEGADE ROW 3X5 SQUAT 3X5 GET UP 3X5/5 SWING 3X15

For any spefic exercise that you are not sure about or th search online for details on how to go about doing them

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GENERAL CONDITIONING WORKOUT 2

7.

8.

9.

Double Clean and press 3x5 Renegade Row 3x5 Double Squat 3x5 Windmill 3x5/5 Swing 3x15

Get up 3x5/5 Double Row 3x5 Swing 10x5 begin each set at the top of the minute

Windmill 3x5/5 Double clean and press 3x5 Double clean and squat 3x5 Double swing 3x10

10.

11.

12.

TGU 3x5/5 Double clean and press 3x5 Double clean and squat 3x5 Double row 3x5

Clean and press 5/5 Row 5/5 Alternating each exercise begin at the top of each minute for a total of 20 minutes

Squat x5 Swing x10 Alternating each exercise begin at the top of each minute for a total of 20 minutes

hat hasn’t been covered in our previous pages just do a m or drop a wee message over to the team at T.O.D. DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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FITNESS FEATURE

Festive Bells

KETTLEBELL WORKOUTS You got all the exercises now heres the workouts to go with them...

CIRCUIT STRENGTH ENDURANCE

TORNADO 30

Kettlebell training is great when pushed for time. This section contains 30 workouts that can be completed in less than 30 minutes.

1. Get-up 2x 5/5 (2 sets of 5 reps per arm) 2. Snatch 5x10/10 3. 1 arm swings :30 right, :30 left, rest :30 4. Clean and press (C&P) 3x5/5 5. Swings as many as possible in 10:00 6. Pistol 5x1/1 7. C&P 5/5 8. Swing 5x20 9. Squat holding one KB by the horns in the “steering wheel” position 5x5 10. Row 5x5/5 11. Swing 5x20 12. 1 leg Deadlift 5x5/5

For any spefic exercise that you are not sure about or th search online for details on how to go about doing them

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13. C&P 5x5/5 14. Squat holding one KB by the horns in the “steering wheel” position 5x5 15. Snatch- as many as possible in 5:00 16. Row 5x5/5 alternated with 17. C&P 5x5/5 18. Rest 2:00 19. Swing 5x20 20. Row 5x5/5 alternated with 21. Renegade Push up’s 5x5 22. Snatch 5x10/10 23. Windmill 3x5/5 24. Snatch 3x10/10 25. Hindu squat 3x20 26. double Swing 3x25 27. Burpees (Squat thrust) 3x10 28. C&P 3x 5/5 29. Snatch- as many as possible in 3:00 30. Double Swing- as many as possible in 5:00 Rest 1:00 Repeat sets until 30 minutes is complete

hat hasn’t been covered in our previous pages just do a m or drop a wee message over to the team at T.O.D. DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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FITNESS FEATURE

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PAY T.O.D A VISIT AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU!

Fit Inc Studio Gym 1 Simpson Parkway Kirkton Campus Livingston EH54 7BH Tel: 01506 413040 www.tod-coaching.co.uk

Team T.O.D/Fit Inc. and one WBO/WBA Champion Mr Nigel Benn DEC 2012 - issue (24)

PAGE 101

MOVIES

Contents

NEW RELEASES

DEC Seven Psychopaths - 5th Dec - 15 Confession of a Child of the Century 7th Dec - 15 I, Anna - 7th Dec – 15 Life Just Is - 7th Dec - TBC So Undercover - 7th Dec - 12A The Man with the Iron Fists 7th Dec – 18 The Oranges - 7th Dec – 15 When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun 7th Dec - 12A The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 13th Dec – TBC Dead Europe - 14th Dec – 18 Smashed - 14th Dec – 15 Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings 14th Dec – U U.F.O. - 14th Dec – TBC Life of Pi - 20th Dec – PG Boxing Day - 21st Dec – 15 Pitch Perfect - 21st Dec - 12A West of Memphis - 21st Dec – TBC Grabbers - 26th Dec – 15 Midnight’s Children - 26th Dec - 12A Parental Guidance - 26th Dec - TBC Safety Not Guaranteed - 26th Dec – 15

Please check online or with cinema directly for latest information.

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XMAS MOVIE ROLLCALyLcan you ID?

MOVIE STARS when they were younger how man

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SEE I BAC NSIDE FOR K P ANS AGE WER S

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MOVIES

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TOP 10

THIS MONTHS U Twilight Breaking

Dawn Part 2 (eOne Films)

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After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.

Skyfall

(Sony Pictures)

GG

It has been five years since the disappearance of Katie and Hunter, and a suburban family witness strange events in their neighborhood when a woman and a mysterious child move in.

Madagascar 3 (Paramount)

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Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent - Madagascar style.

Argo

(Warner Bros)

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Argo chronicles the 1979 life-or-death operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis-the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades.

The Master

(Entertainment)

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Returning from Navy service in World War II, Freddie drifts through a series breakdowns. Finally he stumbles upon a cult which engages in exercises to clear the emotions. He becomes deeply involved with them, but does it change anything fundamental in his life?

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Information from combined sources including

UK BOX OFFICE TOP 10 Hotel Transylvania (Sony Pictures)

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Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the count’s teenaged daughter.

Taken 2

(Europa Corp)

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In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.

Here Comes the Boom (Sony Pictures)

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A high school biology teacher looks to become a successful mixed-martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to prevent extra-curricular activities from being axed at his cash-strapped school.

The Sapphires (eOne Films)

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It’s 1968, and four young, talented Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship and war when their all girl group The Sapphires entertain the US troops in Vietnam.

Frankenweenie (Walt Disney)

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Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.

g IMDB, Box Office Mojo, BFI, Film Dates etc.

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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MOVIES

REVIEW

B

en Affleck does a pretty fine job of traversing the movie trapezes that is laid out as an actor slash director for his latest flick ‘Argo’. He manages to pretty much nail the pace, humour and suspense perfectly while at the same time managing to pull off a pretty sweet portrayal of Tony Mendez, a top CIA extractor during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 that saw 52 US citizens held prisoner for a total of 444 days.

True this movie is based on actual events, but it’s a Hollywood interpretation of actual events so don’t hold your breath for bullet proof facts and to be honest its not anything that I’d be concerned about given the nature of the movie.

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Mendez recruits a motley crew in order to attempt to get the Americans out of the country having been holed up for close to three months by the Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). A plan is hatched for him to pose as a Canadian filmmaker searching Iran looking for somewhere to shoot his new sci-fi movie Argo… a phoney one of course.

The comedy elements are centred on Mendez and his attempts to make the fake Argo movie seem real, so we see the team run through all the usual movie steps like casting calls, production meetings and even as far as fake posters. Things are stretched even further when he enlists the help of makeup artist John Chambers (John Goodman) and producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), a couple of perfect castings in the real Argo movie we’re reviewing here… just thought, this could get confusing?

The movie really comes to life just after the halfway mark with Affleck really shining in the directorial stakes, no doubt aided by a Chris Terrio script, but they both come together to create what is probably up there as one of the most enjoyable movies this year.

Being based on a true story the actual Argo Page 108

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operation remained classified until Bill Clinton released it back in 1997 but with relations between the two countries never having really improved that much the film still comes over as contemporary. Argo has a drive about it that kinda drags you along with it until its 100 miles an hour finale which will surely leave you out of breath.

Definitely one to go see this festive season, that is if you haven’t already zoomed along to see it.

Mr Suit for GoGuide Magazine Contributor

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LOOPER

MOVIES

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LOO Page 110

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OPER DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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MOVIES

L

REVIEW

ooper is an imaginative sort of sci-fi, time-travelling, suspense, action thriller where a young man finds himself in the predicament where he has to potentially kill a future version of himself. It’s a fresh idea and one that certainly gives this movie a leg up over other movies which is always a good idea.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson who, with only a handful of movies under his belt (Brothers Bloom/Brick), has managed to create a movie that is not only has a pretty neat concept and looks super cool but that also flirts with the subjects of morality and of personal consequences.

In the future murder has been outlawed (isn’t it outlawed already?) and we have discovered how to time travel, which was also outlawed as quickly as it was discovered. As with everything that is outlawed the future ‘mob’ has latched onto it and have found a use for it by sending there would be victims back in time to have someone bump them off thus removing them from future existence.

They use special assassins called a ‘Looper’ to carry out their dirty work and dispose of the body’s in return for a pile of ‘silver’ that is sent back in time with the victim. In 2044 Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt - The Dark Knight Rises, 50/50) is a Looper and he is one of these modern day executioners.

Loopers work until the day they receive a package of gold instead of the usual silver, at that time they are released from their contracted obligations by the ‘mob’ and can freely live their life on the wealth they have acquired over their time as a Looper, snag is after 30 years exactly they will be rounded up and sent back in time to be another Loopers victim… thus closing the assassination Loop.

One day Joe hears from another Looper, Seth (Paul Dano - Cowboys & Aliens/Night and Day) about how his target arrived from Page 112

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the future reciting a song from his childhood which he recognised, he discovered that the target was in fact himself and he was unable to complete the hit and ended up ‘letting his loop run’. Before running away his target explained to him about a new boss man in the future called ‘The Rainmaker’ who is closing all the loops. Seth ends up paying the price for his mistake and the writers do employ an amusing and interesting death sequence in order to get the future version of Seth to their hideout in order to tidy up loose ends.

As you probably guessed the same thing eventually happens with Joe when his future self appears in front of him one day as a target, future Joe (Bruce Willis - Surrogates/Die Hard 4.0) immediately escapes and the true heart of the movie is set racing.

It’s definitely an imaginative story from Johnson and with the biggest budget so far for one of his movies Looper certainly makes excellent use of the measly $30 million budget, when compared to future/sci-fi/ comic stuff like Battleship, John Carter or The Avengers. Rather than placing all its emphasis on achieving futuristic effects it presents a more thought provoking story and engaging characters married with probably just the right amount of well-paced action to hold it all together.

Sure, some could argue that the movie does borrow some small elements from a few other notable movie greats like The Terminator, Twelve Monkeys and even Back to the Future, but it is always in a classy way in order to tell a smart and interesting story. They are used, but in newer and more solidly based ways in order to complement those that have come before.

Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber/ Arachnophobia) plays Abe, sent from the future to recruit and oversee the Loopers, and in his own words, “this time travel sh*t just

fries your brain like an egg.”

Looper sets its story more from a standpoint of being less about altering the physical future and more about how it would perhaps alter individuals. Our semi-hero Joe is never clearly defined as a good or a bad guy and someone who has certain motivations to do certain things and we are left to ponder the rightness or wrongness of those actions and the inevitable question of just how far a person would go to protect the people that they care about.

Having worked with Levitt in previous film Brick Johnson this time round plays down his normal charm and instead opts for a more calmly ruthless persona as for Joe and amazingly managing to recreate those Willis smirks and wee mannerisms that are the Willis DEC 2012 - issue (24)

trademark. Willis is as Willis does and is one of those actors that I always feel ‘plays himself’ too often.

Emily Blunt (The Five Year Engagement) completes the trio of main story characters as Sara, the gritty young mother trying to look after her son Cid (Pierce Gagnon) who ends up playing a major part in the story of now and future Joe. Gagnon is pretty top notch in this and was really amazing for his age and played his part perfectly.

It’s clever, it’s thrilling, it’s pretty original and its super cool. If there is going to be only one piece of sci-fi you see this year… let it be this.

Mr Suit for GoGuide Magazine Contributor

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Here Comes The

Boom Page 116

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T

ime and laziness have taken their toll on Scott Voss (Kevin James), they have robbed him of his motivation or even any real desire to do anything worthwhile. He was a championship wrestler, twenty years ago… he was considered a great teacher, that was over ten years ago… he was even voted as ‘Teacher of the Year’ once for his outstanding work as a high school biology teacher.

m

Country wide budget cuts brought in at his high school cause an idea to pop into Voss’s mind and he decided to try to save the school by becoming a MMA fighter and raising some much needed money for them.

I’m not really a Kevin James fan and in Here Comes the Boom, from Happy Madison, is pretty akin to his others for the move makers although this one is probably nearer the top of the pile then some others.

The aim of this movie heads in the right direction, the point seems to be to let our main man get across his natural likeability, and then to have him work his way through the various mishaps that they decided to throw his way. Those can be physical or mental problems or a combination of both, it depends how nasty the directors/writers are feeling that day. It’s a formula that has DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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been a comedy mainstay for a good few years now and those US comedians from that Saturday Night Live heyday seem to have rode that wave of success ever since… and there doesn’t seem to be any stopping it as the Happy Madison franchise movie list seems to grow and grow each year.

James however, did co-wrote this movie and its measurable how his narrative is getting way better and storytelling might just be good for him. It’s a balancing act after all, and writers need to be able to do that adding just enough of one thing (emotion) against another (comedy) to create a perfect recipe.

Voss is a bum and he goes out of his way not to try hard, preferring instead to try fast-talking his way into a date with super-hot school nurse Bella Flores (Salma Hayek).

This is written with a good balance between the humour and just a Page 118

right amount of feeling, only rarely tottering too far one way or the other. On odd occasions James is however outdone by his longsuffering brother (Gary Valentine) in scenes where we are brought into his family life.

Real MMA fighters feature heavily in the movie and particularly Bas Rutten plays Niko, a former fighter who now trains fighters. For the most part these guys play a pretty good comic roles and never fall in to the wooden category like so many other ‘non’ actors.

The movie does have a habit of darting around amid Voss' struggles with training for his various fights, at becoming a better teacher, dating Nurse Flores and the wee side story of helping students families (well one anyway). That’s a lot of meat on the bone there and for me it just doesn’t hold up to having so much DEC 2012 - issue (24)

and could have done with a bit of the fat trimmed off.

If you’re a Kevin James fan then I’m sure you’ll have a fun time with this movie, he's an amiable dude and Here Comes the Boom uses what he does best, only briefly falling below average. It’s a good giggle at most but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Mr Suit for GoGuide Magazine Contributor

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I

like horror movies, I like zombies, I like ghosts and I like gore… in fact there isn’t much horror subject matter that I don’t like… well perhaps vampires? They seem to be so, ummm… angst’y these days and less about the bloodlust.

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I was one of those who loved the first Paranormal Activity, it was a perfect movie for the subject it was covering. In PA 2 things kinda got a wee bit polished, in 3 it was clear that the movies were struggling to come up with different to show us to the detrement of the whole thing that made the original so good. They were also doing a fairly mediocre job in trying to tell us why all these events were occurring (something that I don’t think we really needed).

On watching Paranormal Activity DEC 2012 - issue (24)

4 I found a movie that resembles very little the originals ideas and feeling. Whereas PA1 relied on just showing you things that might be happening when you’re not looking, in the same room or asleep, our latest offering leans more towards a Halloween style of storytelling with way too many instances of ‘what’s behind the door’ moments.

Sticking with tradition PA4 kicks off where another one of the other movies left off, this time though it’s

from the end of the second movie as if you remember PA3 was a sorta prequel to the original movie?

So, the action kicks off with a wee recap of the ending of the second movie where the possessed Katie (Katie Featherston) snatches her infant nephew, Hunter. 5 years on and we see Robbie (Brady Allen), a creepy neighbourhood boy who goes to stay with the people across the road for a few days while his mother is in hospital. On cue Robbie

starts to act strangely and strange stuff starts to happen around the house. Ben (Matt Shively), is the puppy dog boyfriend of Alex (Kathryn Newton), a typical 15 year old girl and for the most part the action seems to be centred on her and her younger adopted brother Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp). When she tells Ben about the strange things going on he (using his extreme IT super powers) rigs up cameras of various nature to record what goes on and over a couple of days they DEC 2012 - issue (24)

capture a few of the strange goings on in the house and with Robbie.

Her father Doug (Stephen Dunham) and busy mom Holly (Alexondra Lee) pay little attention and it seems that Alex is pretty much on her own most of the time and has to face what’s going on mostly with her boyfriend on webcam as she comes to the conclusion that Robbie might have “brought something with him” into their quiet house. After only a few views of the filmed footage it seems to be forgotten about and no one PAGE 121

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ever looks at it again which I’m sure, if they did, would send them directly to the nearest Travel Lodge.

As usual all the footage we see is through the viewpoint of the various cameras that seem to have an endless supply of battery power.

We see the entire goings on across a number of days/nights and for me it kinda drags a tad in the middle and then hits breakneck speed in the final stages of the movie.

From out of the blue Katie suddenly appears and the theme that Robbie is Hunter is thrown out there and it appears that Wyatt might be next.

Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman and writer Christopher Landon seem to have made a really feeble attempt at following up on the supernatural mythology part of the story and it’s something I’d rather not have had in the movie at all in favour of not really explaining anything about it like how I remember the first one. The introduction of this element really pushed the franchise in a direction that I personably didn’t like, I think it’s at its scariest when you think that it might happen to you but the ‘witches’ stuff just takes it out of the norm for me.

sequence to one big ending scene and little in the way of substance along the way, perhaps aiming for yet another sequel? I’m hoping for a rethink if that is the case. Definitely one for true fans of Paranormal Activity, rather than horror movie fans.

Mr Suit for GoGuide Magazine Contributor

GG

The movie feels like one big setup

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S

ilent Hill: Revelation is definitely not for anyone looking for a wee light evenings viewing or for a touch of comedic pleasantries across the family sized bag of Doritos. It grates on pretty much all levels and it’s a movie you watch for only a couple of specific reasons and those tend to be buried pretty deep in the viewer’s psyche.

I actually went back and re watched the original movie on DVD before writing this review and some will be glad to hear that this time round there does seem to tick a few other boxes along the way. So from a decent, nail biting, action packed, gorefest of a horror movie, there isn’t much wrong with this movie at all. It is totally a worthy follow up to the original 2006 offering.

The story kicks off several years after the original (QUICK RECAP: child rescued from Satanic goings on in town of Silent Hill, her mother Rose (Radha Mitchell) sacrifices herself to allow her husband Christopher (Sean Bean) and daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) to escape an evil alternate dimension. Since then our second movie takes up the story of the father and daughter’s constant evading of the law and their jumping from one town to the next, changing names as they go.

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Eventually they stay put long enough to attempt to celebrate Sharon, or should we say, Heather's 18th birthday and, yep, you guessed it… things start to kick off. Turns out that this year is right of passage year and she must return to reign in Silent Hill, with her other dimensional demon father.

The story, kinda like the original is pretty much a collection of scatterbrain ideas, some that work, some that don’t, but narrative is really not the overall reason for choosing to watch this movie.

Like a lot of these type of movies the general idea is that we are somehow supposed to form some sort of caring connection with our onscreen heroin but to be fair the main character is portrayed in such a unattractive and negative teenager manner (Kevin and Perry without the comic value) that I’m pretty much on the fence whether she survives or not. There are more mentions of Facebook here than at a Facebook convention and there is an over use of pointing out the obvious to us. On cue Heathers love interest hits the screen and he, Vincent (Kit Harington), seems to be lumbered with Page 126

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a heavy burd

Young Direct seems to kn across in film visuals is sim Pyramid Hea ominous. Of of the movie Robbie the R zombie nurs up. Bassett m of your child head and tw immensely f I began to w and stuff like was a kid.

So, overall S definitely no if you’re loo but it will alm craving for h and weird st Mr

G

den of stupid dialogue.

tor Michael J. Bassett sure now how to get his ideas m and the onslaught of mply outstanding. Good old ad has never seemed so f course there is the return e/game favs mannequins, Rabbit, and light activated ses to keep the gore count manages to turn wee bits dhood memories on their wists them into something frightening and threatening, wonder just how fun clowns e that actually was when I

Silent Hill: Revelation will ot satisfy your literary needs oking for a gripping narrative most certainly curb those horror, theatre, gore, blood tuff.

Suit for GoGuide Magazine Contributor

GGG DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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SWEEN T

MOVIES

REVIEW

THE

o my recollection this is about the second or maybe third try at capturing the magic that surrounded the 70’s television series. I wasn’t a big fan of it so can’t really comment, think I was a bit young for it? If I do recall anything about the show it was that although it was about the grittier side of London police work I do remember that fans of the show always had a

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soft spot for the two main characters.

Based around the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad it seems that this new attempt by writer and director Nick Love still can’t quite truly capture the essence of the show or the chemistry of John Thaw and Dennis Waterman as Regan and Carter. I’m not sure if it’s just nostalgia, but I think this movie will probably not be to the core fans cup of tea, however it might just bring in a whole new audience with its cast list of movie royalty and new cutting edge British talent like Plan B (Ben Drew) Regan (Ray Winstone) plays the part as much more of an overweight slob

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

than Thaw ever did, Thaw being more of a typical man’s man, ok… maybe just a wee bit harder than a man’s man. Carter (Drew) is just a wishy-washy pale imitation of a character Waterman managed to turn into a household name.

So it seems that somewhere the decision was made to perhaps forego a good story line for a darker more threatening version of the TV show. On the plus side, Love is a proper director in a distinctly British fashion with a few credits to his name including The Football Factory, The Business and The Firm to name but a few so there is a reason for the film to look, feel and play out in the manner it does. There are plenty of smooth action and fight

NEY DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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sequences done in a modern manner using plenty of de-saturated views of London as its backdrop.

A couple of scenes that grate a little on me are the embarrassing sex scenes between Regan and his slightly younger female colleague Nancy (Hayley Atwell), who just happens to be the wife of the internal affairs officer (Steven Mackintosh) brought in ‘observe’ the goings on in the Sweeney department and try to improve matters. For me it takes the movie somewhere it really didn’t need to go.

Paul Anderson plays Allen the criminal mastermind behind pretty much all the goings on in this outing with the eventual suspension and sending to prison of Regan for just a little bit of intimidation.

Over all its an ok movie, with some ok performances, with most of the humour removed it is a different beast to the TV series but suffers from that problem of association with the original and unlike say the Batman or Spiderman movies of recent times not everything can transition easily to the big screen with a ‘reboot’.

Close but no cigar.

Mr Suit for GoGuide Magazine Contributer

GG

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BOND IS BACK...

W

hen Daniel Craig (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Casino Royale) stepped into the shoes of Bond back in 2006 not many people were happy but with Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, he managed to prove those people wrong. Craig stepped up and took to the challenge, becoming the Bond of today’s generation. Skyfall is the same, if not better.

It had been a while since I’d watched a Bond film and the last actor was probably Piers Brosnan (Die Another Day and The World is not Enough) but after watching Skyfall, a new found favourite was put out there. Neal Purvis (Quantum of Solace), Robert Wade (Quantum of Solace) and John Logan (Rango) have written this film brilliantly. They’ve pulled together to give you a unique Bond film and with the award winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) this film surely is a winner.

This isn’t just your typical bond film with the mission to defeat the bad guy and Bond being a lady’s man whilst doing it, no, this is a film that reaches down into the psyche of Bond and shows you what he’s truly capable of.

This film is action packed. There is never a dull moment, and although it could be considered that it may be too much, by the end of the film you feel exhilarated and the most exciting part is noticing the little things. The writers of Skyfall have worked hard to make this a film that links up the recent prequels to the rest of the storyline. It’s been the topic of discussion as to how the current Bond franchise will Page 134

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REVIEW

lead on to the older films especially because the directors have gone back to the beginning and remade one of the very first films Casino Royale (1967). Skyfall is the perfect bridge for the gap between them.

With all the twists and turns in Skyfall, I don’t see how anyone could be bored. When you start to think that maybe this is the end of the film, you’re surprised by a whole new climax that takes the audience on a roller coaster of a journey and yet Bond doesn’t lose an ounce of his ‘cool’. Stepping off a digger on the top of a high speed train and landing inside the carriage and yet his suit is still spotless and Craig retains the dignity and respect that Bond has accumulated over the years.

Natasha Orme for GoGuide Magazine Movie & DVD Reviewer

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MOVIES

REVIEW

TWILIGHT

BREAKING DAWN PART 2

S

ince the release of Twilight in 2008, th final chapter of Be (Kristen Stewart: T Twilight Saga and Snow w and the Huntsman) and Edward’s (Robert Pattinso Remember Me and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) romance has been highly anticipated. Break

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f he ella The white

on: y

king

Dawn Part 2 has made 141.1 million dollars in its first week alone which has boosted it up to rank number 11 of the highest grossing movies of 2012 but it seems that not everyone seemed to be so thrilled by it.

From the very beginning, Twilight was a teen film with a teen romance

at the heart of the story and as the next films had been produced and the popularity of the Stephanie Meyer books was increasing, the fan base grew.

The film itself was entertaining enough. I found it the funniest one so far it was just such a shame that it had taken the writer, Melissa Rosenberg (Step Up and Dexter), five films to finally get it right. And brave to Kristen Stewart for finally learning how to act.

By the time Breaking Dawn Part 2 was released, the only people that were excited to see it were the teens. The reviews on ‘Rotten Natasha Orme for GoGuide Magazine Tomatoes’ website shows all the Movie & DVD Reviewer moans and groans of the parents that were subjected to it and the relief that the Saga is finally finished is evident from their comments.

GG

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N BLOCKBUSTE TOP MOVIES FEATURE

TEN BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES OF 2012

With Natasha Orme GoGuide Movie & DVD Reviewer

TOP TEN BLOCKBUST Page 140

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ER MOVIES OF 10

DR SEUSS’ THE LORAX

GoGuide Rating 3/5

drey and to do so ections of his sweetheart, Au aff the win to e rat spe de is . On his Ted ficial world in which they live arti the of e tsid ou e tre l rea a he must find d yet charming ry of the Lorax, the grumpy an sto the er cov dis st mu he y journe protect his world. creature desperately trying to

9

MADAGASCAR 3:

EUROPE’S MOST WANTED GoGuide Rating 3/5

Still struggling to get home to beloved New York, Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman find themselves in Europe where they find themselves a part of a travelling circus which they reinvent for themselves.

TER MOVIES OF 2012 DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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MOVIES FEATURE

TOP TEN BLOCK 8

TED

GoGuide Rating 3/5

John Bennett ’s childhood wis h came true which resulted in his teddy bear coming to life but later in life when Lori, John’s four-year gir lfri end, wants more from their relationship, Ted an d John’s friendship is pushed to its limits.

7

SKYFALL

GoGuide Rating 4/5

Bond is sent on a mission that will test his loyalty to M when her past comes back to haunt her. MI6 is under threat and there is only one agent that has the skills to save it but will Bond live up to the expectations or will he crumble?

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KBUSTER MOVIES OF 2 6

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2 GoGuide Rating 2.5/5

by, Renesmee, is pire but the life of her new ba vam a e com be ally fin es as lla Be only problem. Will the vampir the ’t isn t tha t bu ri ltu Vo the threatened by h? rt they need or will they peris po sup the e eiv rec d an g on hold str

5

BRAVE GoGuide Rating 4/5

Princess Merida is determined to not be restricted by the laws of the land and refuses to be tied down in matrimony. Granted with one wish she desperately tries to undo what she’s done and restore everything to how it used to be.

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MOVIES FEATURE

TOP TEN BLOCK 4

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

GoGuide Rating 3/5

Peter Parker discovers a myste rious suitcase belonging to his father in his attempts to discover the mean ing of his parents disappeara nce which leads him on a collision course wit h his father’s previous partner Dr Curt Connors at Oscorp.

3

THE HUNGER GAMES

GoGuide Rating 3.5/5

Bond is sent on a mission that will test his loyalty to M when her past comes back to haunt her. MI6 is under threat and there is only one agent that has the skills to save it but will Bond live up to the expectations or will he crumble?

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KBUSTER MOVIES OF 2 2

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES GoGuide Rating 4/5

ed the enemy, ight where Batman is brandish Kn rk Da e Th m fro on g win llo l to stop Fo intervene when the police fai d an in aga th for p ste to ed he is persuad y.

Bane’s plans to destroy the cit

1

MARVEL’S

THE AVENGERS ASSEMBLE GoGuide Rating 4/5

Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D (an international peace keeping agency), brings together Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye to defend earth from Loki and his invading army.

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TV&DVD TV NEWS

LOSES A LEGEND

S

adly this November saw the passing of TV legend Larry Hagman, and it is made even sadder by the success and buzz that has centered around the Dallas reboot has seen in its first series.

Having already completed filming on 6 of the 15 episodes of series 2 to be screened next year producers have decided to incorporate the 81-yearold actor’s death into the show.

The soap will return to Channel 5 in February 2012 and I for one will definitely miss his massive character, it simply won’t be the same, the first series had a few episodes without Hagman and his presence was definitely missing during those.

Hagman, whose role as J.R. Ewing from the original series was carried Page 146

into the new reboot, died from cancer complications in Nov during the shows Thanksgiving break. The actor insisted on working virtually until his death and it is expected that he will appear in all of those episodes already filmed. Production is also ahead of schedule which may signal a script rewrite and additional filming to properly incorporate his passing into the show without it effecting the January 28 US premiere date.

On 21 November 1980, 83 million people in the US and 24 million in the UK watched the original TV show DEC 2012 - issue (24)

to find out who had shot Hagman’s character JR Ewing. The previous season had been left with one of the shows famous cliff-hangers where JR had been working late at his office as the boss of Ewing Oil when suddenly an unseen assailant gunned him down. The season ended with everyone wondering ‘Who Shot JR’, and whether he would survive?

I Dream of Jeannie was Hagman’s first real success on TV when he played bumbling bachelor astronaut Anthony "Tony" Nelson who finds himself master of a glamorous, 2,000-year-old genie (Barbara Eden) from 1965-70.

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TV&DVD

THE DOCTORS

BACK

TV NEWS

Filming of new series of Sherlock delayed.

Filming of the third series of the detective drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman now set to start in March 2013 The stars of Sherlock were pretty popular before they signed up to star in the reboot of the famous detective drams. It’s no real surprise that their stock has raised considerable since appearing in the show, so much so that filming on series three has been delayed until spring 2013 due mainly to the huge workloads costars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have seen themselves rack up.

Executive producer Sue Vertue confirmed via Twitter that a shooting date of January next year will most likely be moved back again until sometime after that.

"To stop further speculation, #sherlock filming has pushed to Mrch for availability reasons," tweeted Vertue.

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Benedict Cumberbatch is currently involved in a large number of productions, from his voiceover work on The Hobbit to a biopic of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. And speaking of The Hobbit, Martin Freeman sits firmly entrenched in the middle of the everexpanding Hobbit movie and the entire publicity machine that goes hand in hand with promoting the massive Tolken machine, recently flying into New Zealand for the world premiere of An Unexpected Journey : Part One. The transmission date for the new series is said to be un-effected by the delay in filming and it is expected to air at its slotted time of late 2013.

Vertue confirmed: "[The change to the filming schedule is] not expected to affect any likely tx dates."

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Doctor Who is back for a Snowy Christmas Special

C

hristmas Eve 1892, and the falling snow is the stuff of fairytales.

When the fairytale becomes a nightmare and a chilling menace threatens Earth, an unorthodox young governess, Clara, calls on the Doctor for help. But the Doctor is in mourning, reclusive and determined not to engage in the problems of the universe. As old friends return, will the Doctor really abandon humankind or will he fight to save the world – and Christmas – from the icy clutches of this mysterious menace?

Starring Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Richard E Grant and Tom Ward.

AN IDIOT ABROAD AGAIN

Warwick Davis joins Karl Pilkington for An Idiot Abroad 3 ‘The Short Way Round’

A

n Idiot Abroad is returns this festive season for its 3rd season, but this time Karl is not alone, nope he’s joined with his good friend, well Ricky Gervais’ good friend anyway, Warwick Davis for his latest epic journey to see strange and wonderful places across the globe.

Warwick Davis to accompany Karl throughout his journey and help him with his homesickness and so he doesn’t get lonely. The right.

In Season 1 we saw Karl travel across the world to see Seven Wonders of the World in the hope of them making even a slight impression on him, needless to say Karl’s overly pessimistic view of these wonders is what the program was all about. For those who had listened to the Ricky Gervais XFM Radio Show and his subsequent collection of Podcasts this wasn’t a new thing as Karl had been airing his take on life throught all those years of broadcasting on the shows and Gervais had on many occasions talked about how he ‘needed to get Karl on the TV’. With the first series a massive hit for SKY Season 2 was filmed which had him attempting to tick of as many things from his made up ‘bucket list’, well, again it’s not really his bucket list and more a Gervais and Steve Merchant created list.

Warwick Davis said: "I'll be following in the footsteps of Marco Polo who, on his deathbed, said: 'I did not write half of what I saw, for I knew I would not be believed.'

That’s pretty much what I thought after I first met Karl."

So roll on Season 3, and Gervais has somehow persuaded Karl to take on an epic journey from Italy to China, attempting to follow in the footsteps of famous explorer Marco Polo. Gervais however has enlisted the help of long-time friend DEC 2012 - issue (24)

“Karl once said to me that opposites attract. Warwick Davis is sociable, hardworking and never complains. They should get along fine.” Said Gervais Pilkington replied: “I don't know how it will work out. Honestly.

Edmund Hillary had that Tenzing fella, Ben Fogle had James Cracknell. I've been given an Ewok.”

It’s a 5000 mile journey taking in Venice to Eastern Europe, India and China and Season 3 will follow Karl and Warwick’s exploits as they sample different cultures and traditions along the way, no doubt peppered with Karl’s trademark observations about the world but also this time round having Warwick’s experiences as a little person in these different countries.

Celia Taylor commented: “An Idiot Abroad has been a huge success for Sky 1 HD and we are thrilled that Karl is back on the channel for The Short Way Round, which with the addition of the brilliant Warwick Davis, looks set to be the most entertaining yet.”

An Idiot Abroad 3 kicks off on Sky1 HD: Fri 30 Nov, 9PM PAGE 149

TV&DVD TV NEWS

EUROVISION

RYLAN

A

X Factors latest reject touted as ‘perfect fit’ for 2013 Euro competition.

fter having been finally kicked off the ITV show that was Rylan Clark’s reply to the question posed to him by the Metro newspaper about him possibly being the UK’s entry into 2013 Eurovision the Song Contest. Well, really…. What else is he going to do?

The X Factor seems to be running a very fine line recently between being a proper ‘singing contest’ or purely an ‘entertainment show’. It has been plagued in the past few years with what I’d call just standard ‘entertainment acts’ like those you would find on poor standard TV entertainment shows, cruise ships or holiday camps. Recent years have been worse than ever with Rylan being the newest contestant that the judges love until they start losing their acts.

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The first real comic contestants appeared in 2005 when Moroccan Chico reached the quarter finals.

Lately we have been infamously plagued by Jedward in 2009, who we all know were kept on the show long, long after they should have been sent packing. They themselves appeared on Eurovision in 2011 and 12.

Jedward are just the tip of a pretty big iceberg as acts that have followed in their footsteps seem to be plaguing the show with Wagner Carrilho in 2010 and Johnnie Robinson droning on in 2011 they probably both should have seen the Euro’s as their best bet at prolonging their careers, I suppose Jedward might have stolen their slot at Euro success. Johnny Robinson should have been on Eurovision. Rylan Clark must, must be on Eurovision.

Our latest chic freak might just be our best bet for a long, long time if this wee plan actually comes off. Sure all of these entertainers mentioned are pretty bad as singers, DEC 2012 - issue (24)

but Rylan has actually shown that on occasions he can actually hold a tune… perhaps not completely through a song, but for most parts he can get away with it. What he is good at is ‘camping it up big style’ and isn’t that what the Euros are all about. He’s also annoyingly funny behind the scenes with his over the top reactions

“If the country wanted me to represent them, then I’d happily fly the flag,”, Rylan Clark.

Maybe it’s a rather fine idea to offer this gig to the previous year’s X Factor comedy flop if the judges insist on putting these types of people through to the Live TV stages of the show. It would also rid the airwaves of those horrible shows like ‘Your Country Needs You’ which helped find Josh Dubovie, who came last in Oslo in 2010.

It’s a plan, let’s make it so.

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TV&DVD TV NEWS

UNIVERSAL MAKES MOVE FOR MRS. BROWN’S BOYS

BBC One sitcom Mrs. Brown’s Boys is all set for big screen

U

nder the working title Mrs Brown D, the £3,700,000 movie ($6m) is all set to be funded by Universal Pictures who had some level of success bringing another BBC show Mr Bean to the cinema in the 90’s.

Oddly enough this isn’t actually the first appearance of the Mrs Brown character on the big screen. Mrs Brown, who’s first steps in to the limelight came on Irish radio in 1992, soon after creator Brendan O'Carroll started writing a few books based around the character and her family. His first book, The Mammy, was then turned into a movie back in 2000 and starred none other than Anjelica Huston and Ray Winstone, it was called ‘Agnes Browne’.

Details are still pretty sketchy and a format has not been decided, or released, yet for the Mrs. Brown movie. Another worry is that of how closely the movie is likely to be based upon the smash-hit BBC sitcom.

O'Carroll began to adapted the original books further and penned a number of stage shows based around the characters due mainly to the success of the feature film.

Those shows went on to tour Ireland, Scotland, and northern England for a many years. Their

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success caught the attention of BBC and RTÉ commissioners in the late 2000s and the first screening of the series we know and love aired in 2011.

Mrs Brown series 3 is currently in pre-production and is pencilled in for broadcast early in 2013.

Along with the sitcom and the up and coming movie, there is also a cartoon series in development and O'Carroll has recorded a game show pilot similar to old favourite Blankety Blank which he hosts while in character as Mrs Brown.

Set for a spring/summer 2014 release the movie is expected to begin shooting during summer 2013 on location in Dublin.

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TV&DVD XMAS TV

GOGUIDE’s CHRIST Downton Abbey Christmas Special – BBC1 Christmas 1919. Downton Abbey is hosting a lavish Christmas party, yet despite being the season of goodwill, tensions are rife and Bates’s arrest has cast a shadow over the festivities.

Will he be a condemned man or will he be found innocent in time to dance with his new wife at the annual servants' ball?

Mary has to consider her future with Sir Richard Carlisle following a contretemps at the shooting party and Violet has concerns about Rosamund, whose new suitor - the dashing but raffish Lord Hepworth, is not all he seems.

Royle Family 2012 Christmas Special – BBC1 The popular comedy will return to the channel’s schedules for the first time in two years this festive period. The new episode - penned by Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash and Phil Mealey - will see Dave (Cash) plot to pitch an idea on Dragons’ Den, while Jim (Ricky Tomlinson) pins his hopes of getting rich on a Christmas scratch card.

Meanwhile, a new neighbour moves onto the street with “an impressive cleavage”, causing a stir in the Royle household, with neighbour Joe (Peter Martin) on the lookout for romance.

Attenborough’s Africa – BBC1 Attenborough’s Africa will see the TV icon exploring the vast and diverse continent of Africa as it’s never been seen before, using the latest in filming technology, including remote HD cameras and specially built HD starlightsensitive cameras.

The Christmas Dragons’ Den – BBC2 The Dragons’ Den one-off will explore the world of Christmas commerce, with nine entrepreneurs representing six businesses descending the stairs to pitch their festive businesses in the hope of securing a much-needed cash injection.

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TMAS HIGHLIGHTS The Snowman and the Snowdog – CH4 A sequel to Raymond Briggs’s The Snowman, which introduces a new character The Snowdog, will air on Channel 4 this Christmas.

As part of the celebrations for the television station’s 30th anniversary, Channel 4 is making a sequel to The Snowman, the children’s classic that has been a staple of Christmas television schedules.

The Snowman and The Snowdog retains the look and feel of the Oscarnominated original. But it features a new character, the Snowdog, who has mismatched socks for ears and a satsuma for a nose.

The adventure is set in the present day - the little boy is not the same one who appeared in the original - with the characters flying over modern landmarks such as the London Eye rather than Brighton Pier. One of the most memorable aspects of the 1982 film, the Walking in the Air theme, will be replaced by a new score.

Mount Pleasant Christmas Special - Sky Living Pauline wishes Charlie wasn’t there, Lisa’s not happy with her present from Dan and there’s a disaster at Bianca’s... will it be a Christmas to remember?

It’s Christmas Day on Mount Pleasant and there’s plenty of festive cheer to go round. Almost. Lisa’s down in the dumps because she misses her parents who have moved to Spain, but surely Dan’s thoughtful presents will cheer her up? If only furry Crocs had been on her list to Santa. And things only get worse when a grumpy Pauline sticks her nose where it isn’t wanted in the kitchen.

The day’s looking a bit more jolly over at Bianca’s, what with her abundance of gifts for Gary. Although she can’t help but be disappointed when the teen refuses to join her in volunteering at Reverend Roger’s homeless shelter. It’s Chris to the rescue, however, as he shows Gary the error of his ways. But their happiness is short lived when disaster strikes at home thanks to an overflowing bath.

A Very JLS Christmas – SKY 1 JLS will be taking charge of a musical Christmas as they organise a festive season to remember. We join the foursome at their very own magical winter wonderland where they get the yuletide shenanigans going with friends, family and fans.

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TV&DVD XMAS TV

GOGUIDE’s CHRIST Trollied - Sky1 Over at Valco, it’s Christmas Eve and mayhem ensues when the turkey delivery fails to arrive and there’s a big party to look forward to where a certain butcher takes on the role of Santa.

Mon 24th December @ 9:00pm

Uncle Wormsley’s Christmas - Sky Atlantic Steve Coogan narrates a cautionary Christmas tale about love, greed and a giant crab.

Uncle Wormsley is a grey, decaying old man with cobweb-like hair and rotten fingernails. A solitary figure who keeps himself to himself, Wormsley dedicates his life to the care of his only friend, a monstrous crab called Crabsley, who lives in a dungeon under his house.

Across town from Wormsley lives Johnnie Goodington, a young boy whose parents are obscenely rich. Johnnie has everything money could buy, from a full-scale replica of NASA in his bedroom to his very own custom-built race car. Unfortunately, the one thing he wants more than anything else in the world is the one thing money can’t buy: a giant crab.

Mon 24th December @ 10pm

CBeebies Panto: Jack And The Beanstalk BBC1 Bringing a sprinkling of magic beans and cries of ‘Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum’ to CBeebies this Christmas is the pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. Join all of the CBeebies presenters as they visit an enchanted land for some festive fun with plenty of pantomime frolics and a few CBeebies surprises!

Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special Parts 1 & 2 – BBC1 With the festive season fast approaching, Agnes Brown finds herself facing her busiest Christmas yet. Spiritual son Trevor is visiting from the missions, grandson Bono is sleeping over on Christmas Eve, and there are three new faces to feed on Christmas Day now that Agnes’s youngest son Dermot is the father of triplets. But first things first – Agnes must finish the simple task of decorating the tree.

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TMAS HIGHLIGHTS Superstars 2012 – BBC1 Gabby Logan hosts this special revival of the popular sporting entertainment show, as 16 of Team GB’s medal-winning athletes from London 2012 compete for this legendary sporting accolade. The Olympic heroes taking part are Alistair Brownlee, Jonathan Brownlee, Mo Farah, Robbie Grabarz, Michael Jamieson, Anthony Joshua, Andrew Triggs Hodge, Peter Wilson, Nicola Adams, Lizzie Armitstead, Laura Bechtolsheimer, Gemma Gibbons, Helen Glover, Katherine Grainger, Jade Jones and Christine Ohuruogu.

Gordon Ramsay’s Christmas Cookalong Live – CH4 Christmas Day It’s Christmas morning. The kids are screaming, grandma’s on her third glass of sherry and you’ve got mountains of uncooked ingredients and no idea what to do with them. You need help. This year help will arrive not in the form of the angel Gabriel but, live from his very own kitchen, Gordon Ramsay will guide you through Christmas dinner step-by-step, sharing his favourite tips on how to get the perfect Christmas dinner in front of your family. There will also be huge helpings of cheeky festive entertainment and celebrity guests for those who are eating, rather than cooking.

For those wanting to take part and cook along with Gordon visit the web site for all the details and what’s needed www.channel4.com/programmes/gordons-christmas-cookalong-live/ articles/get-ready-for-gordons-christmas-cookalong

Mr Stink in 3D - BBC1 A stellar cast of Hugh Bonneville, David Walliams, Sheridan Smith, Johnny Vegas and Pudsey the dog, star in this magical, heart-warming and funny tale, adapted from David Walliams’ bestselling children’s book.

Adapted by Walliams himself with Simon Nye, this 60-minute family comedy tells the story of lonely 12-year-old Chloe (Nell Tiger Free), who invites local tramp Mr Stink (Hugh Bonneville) and his dog Duchess (Pudsey) to hide out in her family’s garden shed.

Homeland Finale – CH4 So many twists. So many turns. So many unanswered questions which need answered. Will they all be answered in the Christmas cracker of a finale?

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We are the night

Proving that not all Vampire love stories have to be for the tween market with sparkly vampires. This follows the story of an old female Vampire looking for someone new to join her fun little gang. It’s an interesting new take on a genre which has been saturated in recent years. Note this film is in German so make sure you can read before you buy it.

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The Human Centipede 2

I know I’m not the only person out there who enjoyed the first one. This time we follow a man who’s infatuated with the events of the first film and has decided to build himself a 12 man centipede. The only bad thing about this film is that it’s cut. Being an adult I like to think I’m more than capable of knowing what I can and can’t watch and it bothers me when the BBFC take that decision away from me.

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

H C O L L U cC r JAMES McCULLOCH in we vie re vie mo r ou om fr Masses of festive fun ATIVE Top 10 DVD’s RN TE AL an on ke ta s hi with e this issue, kicking off a good chance that ther ch mu ty et pr is e er th k it of 2012. As always ve seen before so chec ha t n’ wo u yo at th re u is something on he ive Top 10 of Movies Yo st Fe A r fo t ou ok Lo y. out and give them a tr vie Guide and of course Mo as Xm rd Ha e Di ive st Might Have Missed, a Fe . the usual DVD reviews...

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This year has seen some classic films remastered and reissued. This Fritz Lang classic stars Peter Lorre as a child murderer being hunted down by the police. The DVD set is outstanding with the original british print, a remastered version, 2 commentaries, a documentary on Fritz Lang and a 48 page booklet. Amazing.

Attenberg

From the people that brought you Dogtooth. If you’ve ever heard of Dogtooth this probably tells you all you need to know about this weird little Greek film. We follow Marina as she struggles to deal with people, sex, her dying father and seeing her life through David Attenborough documentaries.

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Livid

Three Musketeers

This French horror from the director of Inside follows Lucy as she begins her training as an at home care giver. I could tell you more but that’d ruin the surprise. What I will say is that the best horror films going are currently coming out of France. If you haven’t tried one, this is a good place to start.

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I’m as shocked as you are that this is making an appearance. I was practically forced to watch the new three musketeers but in the most remarkable fashion it appears to be made of awesome. It’s the age old tale but has enough new interesting stuff and explosions to make it a great watch for a Saturday afternoon.

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The Raid I reviewed this a few issues ago and it still stands as one of the best films of the year. This crazy action film has a group of police officers in Indonesia as they attack a building harbouring a gang and their drug making facilities.

Clearly it’s all going to go wrong. I wouldn’t watch this if you’re a big fan of plot or anything but as an action film it ticks all the right boxes.

Led Zepplin Celebration day

This is one for you music fans out there. IN 2007 Led Zepplin played the O2 arena in London. This DVD has the full gig. Also included is the gig over 2 cds. If you get the special edition it also has a ton of backstage and rehearsal footage. As a Led Zepplin fan it’s pretty much the perfect package.

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The Devils

Following the death of Ken Russell the BFI decided to put together an awesome package for a release of his classic The Devils. It follows a promiscuous local priest, who uses his powers to protect the city of Loudun from destruction at the hands of the establishment. As he does so he suddenly finds himself accused of Demonic possession as the world around him goes mad. This is the most complete print of this film we will ever see and comes in an outstanding package. If you have never heard of it you should get a hold of it. Oliver Reed has never been better.

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H C O L O L NE U C c

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Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 1

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this is by far the best Batman film to be released this year. I enjoyed Nolans Rises, this just blows it out the water. It’s comic book perfection on film. Peter Weller stars as a retired Batman who now seeks his thrills from driving race cars and drinking too much. As it comes close to Comissioner Gordons retirement Gotham city has seen a huge rise in crime from a gang calling themselves the Mutants. Batman is due for a return, but is he past it. Actually I’ll go ahead and say that not only is this the best Batman film released this year, it could possibly be the best Superhero film released this year.

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JAMES McC’s FESTIVE ‘DI FEATURE

F

Some things have to happen in my house or Christmas just isn’ I’m wrapping all the presents. It’s like the greatest tradition a Christmas I’m going to take you through all t

irst up we’ve got Christmas comedies, I love a good laugh at the best of times but the following Christmas films manage to get you in the festive mood and let you have a good laugh while you’re at it. So Home Alone, it gets a bad reputation due to Macaulay Culkin screaming his way through it but John Hughes hits all the right buttons in this fantastic Christmas film. I went to see this in the cinema when I was a teenager, laughed my ass off and I’ve been laughing at it every year since. Awesome.

N

ational Lampoons Christmas Vacation is not only one of the funniest Christmas films, it’s one of the funniest films of all time. Chevy Chase is a comedy genius whether you’re talking Fletch or Community and he was never better than when he was Clark Griswold. He has an awesome back up cast with the exceptionally hot Beverly D’Angelo as his wife, Juliette Lewis as Audrey and a young Johnny Galecki from the Big Bang Theory as Rusty. If it’s been a while since you’ve watched it, what’s wrong with you? Get it watched, it’s Christmas joy in a film.

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ostile Hostages is probably a film you’ve never heard of. It came out back when Christmas films would hit the cinema’s here in March. It made no sense but it was before piracy and we’d have to wait forever to see them. Dennis Leary is on the run after an attempted robbery, he kidnaps Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis as they head home from a rather unsuccessful marriage counselling session. The trouble ensues after he gets to their home and has to pretend to be their marriage counsellor as the family arrive for Christmas.

The family is crazy, the film is great and Dennis Leary plays Dennis Leary. What more could you want?

T

here are so many Christmas Carol films out there.

It’s such a classic story. My favourite is a tossup between Scrooged and A Muppets Christmas Carol. So I watch both, actually now I think about it I also watch Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Three versions of the same story but they’re all so wonderfully different.

From Bill Murray getting hit in the face with a toaster, to Michael Caine singing a song with Kermit the frog. Not forgetting Scrooge McDuck getting freaked out by Goofy as the ghost of Jacob Marley. I could pick just one, but that would be madness. So they all more than deserve their place on my list of Christmas viewing.

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IE HARD’ HIGHLIGHTS

’t Christmas. I have to watch Die Hard at least 5 times, the most important viewing being Christmas Eve while any man could ever have. It’s a Die Hard kind of Christmas. To make sure you guys also have a Die Hard kind of the best Christmas films, TV shows and Cartoons to watch over the festive period... Let’s get our Die Hard on.

A

Nightmare before Christmas, now there’s a Christmas film that will both enthral and terrify your children. What more could you want?

Jack Skellington sings his way through stealing Christmas from Santa and Christmas land. It has Tim Burton written all over it, great songs, and outstanding animation. Just try to forget about all the crazy Goths who run around with Jack Skellington backpacks and enjoy the film for the Christmas classic it is.

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ad Santa has Lauren Graham in it. She’s the hot Gilmore Girl. Not wanting to sound creepy or anything but if you put her in a film. I’m going to watch it. Billy Bob Thornton is just an added bonus. Actually just talking about how hot Lauren Graham is unfair because this is one of the funniest Christmas films ever made. Billy Bob Thornton plays a Santa who plans to rob the Mall he works in. But he’s the worst Santa you could possibly imagine, always turning up drunk and swearing. It’s awesome. Sadly it’s also the last film John Ritter was in before his death. Sad, but he went out on a high.

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ou may feel the comedy list of this section is going on forever, but there’s a load of outstanding funny Christmas films out there. Last up is Elf, Will Ferrell plays an orphan who as a baby snuck into Santa’s sack. He’s brought up by the Elves, but finds out he’s not really an elf and goes out to find his real dad.

It’s heart warming and all the usual nonsense you want from a Christmas film. It also helps that it’s juice squirting out your nose funny. Hi my name Buddy. What’s your favourite colour?

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ow for Christmas Specials, you’re all still here right. I mean I haven’t even got to Die Hard yet and that’s the whole reason I’m writing this.

To let all you guys out there have an excuse to watch Die Hard at Christmas when your wife tells you she wants to watch a Christmas film. So now first up is one for the kids, Beauty and the Beasts Enchanted Christmas.

I remember looking on in disgust as my girlfriend at the time put this on. It’s a Disney film, what the hell do I care about a Disney film. But it has a Jewish axe in it. This film is worth watching for the Jewish axe alone. If you put this on the kids will love you and you will laugh your ass off at the Jewish axe. Just saying, it’s an axe, that’s Jewish.

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nother Christmas special you can enjoy with the kids is A Charlie Brown Christmas. I love the peanuts series. Snoopy and Charlie Brown are two of the most iconic comic book characters of all time. There’s a reason for that. In this Charlie Brown searches for the true meaning of Christmas as he’s repelled by the commercialism around him. It’s a good thing to show kids that want an ipad. You’re a kid, you don’t need an ipad. Get your Hungry Hungry Hippos on and be thankful for what you have.

C

hristmas TV specials make me happy. Currently my favourite show comes from America. The awesome Psych. I have the theme tune as my ring tone, and the best thing about the Christmas episodes is that they make it a Christmassy theme tune.

Squeeeee. The show follows the excellent James Rodan pretending to be psychic so he can help the police with crimes. It sounds like the Mentalist but it was around 2 years before it. It’s also a whole lot funnier with some of the best references known to man. If you haven’t seen Psych I implore you to give it a chance, you won’t be disappointed. There are 3 Christmas specials and each one is better than the last.

I F

’m also gonna mention The Dead Zone Christmas special when Jonny and Alex try to help an old Santa with amnesia find his way home, while trying to find the father of the three young boys they found mugging the old guy. And of course Christmas TV isn’t Christmas without the Doctor Who Christmas special. I know I’ll be watching. inally we get to my favourite section. We’re going to go through all the man Christmas films. Lethal Weapon, First Blood and as previously mentioned Die Hard. Back before he hated Jewish people Mel Gibson was making great films and Lethal Weapon is one of the best. He plays the crazy suicidal Riggs who is partnered up with an old veteran of the force Murtaugh, who’s thinking of retiring. Classic set up, classic film and its set during Christmas so it’s eligible regardless of what the wife keeps trying to tell me.

F

irst Blood is yet another classic action film that takes place over the festive period. It doesn’t really mention Christmas at any point but when Stallone is blowing up the town there’s Christmas decorations in all the stores so it gives you a good excuse to watch it. If that’s not a good enough excuse to pull it out the old DVD collection. Let me remind you that Stallone brings down a Helicopter with a rock... A rock. You know you want it.

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ie Hard, well let’s face it. Who needs Miracle on 34th Street or It’s a wonderful life when you have Bruce Willis running around a building in a dirty vest killing people. This is the ultimate Christmas film and is the whole reason for me writing about the films you should watch. People may argue about angels getting their wings but we all know that Christmas just isn’t Christmas without Die Hard.

James McCulloch for GoGuide Magazine Movie & DVD Reviewer

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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TV&DVD

Paul Giamattii, Samantha Morton and Juliette Binoche after he’s had some crazy car sex with her. It’s based on a book by Don DeLillo so you know there’s more going on in there. I just think the film kind of fails in getting that message across.

DVD REVIEWS

Maybe it’s because they have a guy known as Rpatz in the lead, but you can’t blame him. He’s pretty good in it and shows he can hold his own in scenes with some of the greatest actors around. The long conversations he has with people work and are, for the most part, really good and interesting. The film clearly has a lot to say about the society we live in. Just somehow it falls short. It seems to drag and have real lulls. Some of the scenes really don’t work within the film. Like they’ve magically appeared from another film and plopped themselves down in the middle of this one.

But some Cronnenberg films don’t sit well on the first watch. I could watch this again next year and think it’s the best thing ever. It just doesn’t have the impact I’ve come to expect from him. It is however exceptionally well directed and acted. For some reason, and I’m not even sure what that reason is, it just doesn’t work.

James McCulloch for GoGuide Magazine Movie & DVD Reviewer

D

avid Cronnenberg is one of the greatest directors of all time. The last few films he’s made had the awesome Viggo Mortenson as the lead. This time round he picks up the poster boy for sparkly vampire generation Robert Pattinson in what has to be the weirdest film he’s done in a while. David Cronnenberg making a weird film...

Well that nearly never happens.

The film centres around Pattinson, who plays a Billionaire heading out for a haircut with his favourite barber. It takes so long for him to get there it’s like the guy lives in another dimension. I mean I’ve heard of traffic but it takes him all day to get there. I’ve driven to London quicker than this guy takes to get to his barber. This would be the worst Top Gear challenge ever.

The film follows his journey and pretty much all takes place in his car. People come in talk to him for a while, or have sex with him, he even get’s a rectal examination all within the confines of his giant limousine.

It’s apparently a bleak look at capitalism, and a man losing it as his world slowly falls apart. It’s more just lots of things happening to a guy in his car. I mean I’m sure there’s plenty of subtext and plots lurking around. He has deep meaningful conversations with

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all the buttons for a Christmas film. It’s not Elf or Bad Santa good but you can watch it and not want to claw your eyes out. Which any of you out there with kids know, is a huge bonus.

It’s straight to video, it’s only a fiver and if the other alternative is Santa Paws 2. Then you’re less likely to have no hair by the end of this one.

No talking animals, it’s always an added bonus when you’re watching a Christmas film. There is a demonic looking fruit cake though. I still can’t believe I bought Santa Paws 2. Now there’s a film made of evil. Demon begone.

James McCulloch for GoGuide Magazine Movie & DVD Reviewer

S

o I was looking for Christmas films to watch. I just grabbed a couple off the shelf. So imagine my surprise when I put Elf-man on and it came up Anchor Bay films...

Oooh, suddenly I was like this could be ok. Then it came up Wee Man. I was like, from Jack ass??? Then it came up Jeffrey Combs... Yes, horror legend Jeffrey Combs in a Christmas film from Anchor Bay with Wee man from Jack Ass...

Hell yeah, could this be the Christmas miracle I’ve been looking for? Well it was this or Santa Paws 2 and the knowledge that I should really pay more attention when I’m picking up films.

I don’t know if it’s just because I was expecting the usual Christmas pap, but from the moment this began I loved it. 10 minutes in and I realised this could easily become one of my guilty pleasure Christmas films. But calling it a guilty pleasure actually does this film a disservice. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t really have a budget and Wee Man can’t act but it ticks DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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TV&DVD DVD REVIEWS

A

re you bored of the same old films for Christmas? Are you looking for a film with a group of murderous Santa’s destroying Finland? Well we may have found the film you’re looking for.

This isn’t your usual run of the mill horror. This is a fantasy film from Finland following a group of Reindeer Herders who have their day disturbed by a scientific dig on a nearby mountain. The purpose of the dig is to find the original source of the Santa Claus myth.

However they unearth something rather different.

Okay so I’m not going to go into it too much and ruin the film, but it’s an outstanding, rather low budget film that follows in the footsteps of some of the great films coming out of Scandinavia right now. If you enjoyed Troll Hunter, you’ll love this. If you didn’t, then go to a Doctors... There may be something wrong with you.

James McCulloch for GoGuide Magazine Movie & DVD Reviewer

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WITH JAMES MCCULLOCH

MOVIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED ?

MYMHM 2012 TOP TEN Our awesome movie reviewer JAMES MCCULLOCH brings you a festive top 10 of Movies You Might Have Missed for the holiday season, so if your fed up with whats on the TV and fancy a change why not checkout one of these...

10 John Carter Okay so the chances are you’ve heard of this one and that it ruined Disney. All the negativity around the film fooled a lot of people into thinking the film was a big pile of pants. It was however just the opposite. In a year that included monstrosities like Battleship and Men in Black III this was the best sci-fi film of the lot.

Harkening back to the days of Flash Gordon and dare I say it, the original Star Wars series. If you have yet to see it I urge you to give it a chance.

The only disappointing thing about it is that this will be the only one.

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TV&DVD FEATURE

9 Dark Horse Todd Solondz has been making some of the darkest comedies known to man for the last 20 years. This time the story focuses on Abe, an overweight man in his thirties who lives with his parents and collects toys. He meets and falls in love with Selma Blair who’s decided she should settle as her life is now over since her literary career failed. That’s about as happy as it gets.

The backup cast includes Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow as his parents. It’s dark, funny and more awkward than an episode of the office... Jings.

8 Killer Joe Seems like 2012 was the year Matthew McConaughey decided to make some decent films again. This time he plays a hitman hired

by Emile Hirsch to murder his mother so he can pay back a drug debt. This dark comedy was directed by legend William Friedkin and he has clearly lost none of his edge which made films like The Exorcist and The French Connection such classics.

7 Bernie Jack Black yet again teams up with Richard Linklater to bring the “true” tale of Bernie Tiede to the screen in yet another black comedy.

Bernie is a well respected member of the community who ends up accidentally killing Rich Widow Marjorie Nugent (Shirley Mclean). The film follows the Bernie as he tries to hide her death whilst helping out the community with her money. In the film there are also interviews with people from the actual town the events took place. It’s bizarre how much love Bernie has considering he killed an old woman. Matthew McConaughey appears as the DA after his conviction and I have to give a shout out to Jack Black as this is his finest performance to date.

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6 How I Spent My Summer Vacation Mel Gibson is back on top form as a criminal on the run after stealing money from a crime boss. As he enters Mexico he’s arrested and put into a crazy prison. The film follows him trying to stay alive in there, whilst befriending a 10 year old boy who has troubles of his own. All the while the original boss is after him for his money back... Phew. Basically everyone wants Mel dead and he’s trying his hardest to stay alive and escape against all odds. (Also known as Get The Gringo)

5 Some Guy Who Kills People Okay so this film may have the worst title of the year but it’s an awesome black comedy about Ken Boyd (played by Indie legend Kevin Corrigan) who after his release from a mental institution finds himself working a dead end job, doing some crazy drawings and basically killing people.

See what they did there? Enter the daughter he didn’t know existed and Lucy Davis as his rather unfortunate girlfriend and you get a rather unexpectedly enjoyable little film.

4 Kill List Ben Wheatley’s second film follows a couple of hitmen who are looking for a last big payout.

Just three killings and it’s all over. Like anything is that easy. The film is like a slow move into madness as each killing becomes more bizarre than the last. It follows in the long line of outstanding British thrillers and is well worth picking up.

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TV&DVD FEATURE

3 Being Elmo I wasn’t sure about this film to begin with, but I dare you to watch this film about Kevin Clash (the guy behind Elmo) and not be brought to tears. Whether it’s the look on dying kids faces as they see Elmo come towards them or the look on his face as he realises he’s basically been absent through most of his kids life as he’s tried to bring joy to all the other kids in the world. It’s just an outstanding piece of film making about a man who goes after his dream.

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2 Haywire Soderbergh has done it again. This time he follows the kick ass heroin (real life MMA fighter) Gina Carano as she attempts to discover why she has been left out to dry by the agency she works for. She basically goes through the film beating the hell out of an all star cast and for once we get a heroin that looks like she is more than capable in a fight. The only problem with this film is that the next time you watch a film with Kate Beckinsale beating some big guy up, you realise how ridiculous it actually looks.

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TV&DVD 1 God Bless America FEATURE

You may remember Bobcat Goldthwait as Zed from the police academy films. These days he’s an outstanding director. This time we follow terminally ill Frank, who has decided he’s had enough with how rude and spoilt people are or how ridiculous shows like the x-factor have made society. So he goes on a killing spree with a 12 year old girl who jumps along for the ride. My favourite scene in the film happens in a cinema when he starts shooting people for talking and using their phones. It’s always been a dream of mine.

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TV&DVD DVD TOP 10

1

TED (UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

2

BRAVE (WALT DISNEY)

3

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (SONY PICTURES HE)

4

MAGIC MIKE (LIONSGATE)

5

MICHAEL MCINTYRE - SHOWTIME (UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

DECEMBER DVD TOP 10 6 7

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID 3 - DOG DAYS (20TH CENTURY FOX HE)

8

MRS BROWN’S LIVE TOUR GOOD MOURNING (UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

9

ICE AGE - A MAMMOTH CHRISTMAS (20TH CENTURY FOX HE)

10 Page 178

ARTHUR CHRISTMAS (SONY PICTURES HE)

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

NATIVITY (ENTERTAINMENT ONE)

ONTH...

OUT NOW OR OUT THIS M

new dvds EO SHOP R LOCAL VID AT YOU

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GGGAMES CHARTS

GAMING

CHART

The Top 10 BoxOffice games for Playstation, Xbox and PC this month.

PS3 No1: CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II

X-BOX

GG GAMES CHARTS

1 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II 2 FAR CRY 3 HITMAN ABSOLUTION 4 FIFA 13

5 ASSASSIN’S CREED III

Batman: Arkham City Kinect Sports: Season Two Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure Gears of War 3 Rage FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013

7 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRAVELLER’S TALES 8 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED 9 FORZA HORIZON

10 DISHONORED

6 ASSASSIN’S CREED III 7 THE SIMS 3: PETS

3 THE SIMS 3: SEASONS

8 THE SIMS 3: SUPERNATURAL 9 XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN 10 HITMAN ABSOLUTION

X-BOX

2 FAR CRY 3

4 THE SIMS 3

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6 ASSASSIN’S CREED III

The Top 10 games for Playstation, Xbox and PC as voted by GoGuide2

3 HALO 4 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 FIFAThe 13Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Battlefield 3 FIFA 12 Forza Motorsport 4 HITMAN ABSOLUTION

5 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II

PS3

No1: FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013

7 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED 8 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRAVELLER’S TALES 9 DISHONORED 10 WWE ‘13

1 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II 2 FAR CRY 3

1 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 2 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 4 3 Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception 4 Battlefield 3 5 FIFA 12 5 6 Batman: Arkham City No2: 7FARPro CRYEvolution 3 2012 8 F1 2011 9 Sonic Generations 10 GoldenEye: Reloaded 1

PC

6 BOOK OF SPELLS

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GAMING NEWS

I

XBOX 720 LATEST INFO RELEASED

t’s almost the end of the year and Xbox world are giving out some information for the next generation console, the Xbox 720.

Finally the console will play Blue-Ray discs, which will mean that multi-disk games will finally be a thing of the best for the Xbox.

Xbox World claims that more info will be released and conformation will be released before E3 in June.

Kinect 2.0 will be a part of the console with improved motion and tracking control.

At least 4 USB 3.0 slots The CPU will have four hardware cores plus each of which will have four logical cores, meaning the console will pretty powerful.

The Augmented Reality glasses will not be included but will be arrive sooner than later after its release.

TV input and output which could serve as a DVR or show live broadcast and stream simultaneously.

Sammy S for GoGuide Magazine

Games Review and News Contributer

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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GAMING

ARMA 3 DEVELOPERS JAILED NEWS

Arma 3 developers jailed and refused Bail

by Greek Court

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opular military simulator Arma is in a spot of trouble. Two of their developers for the upcoming Arma 3 have been jailed and denied bail and have had their appeal Page 182

for their charges to be dismissed refused by Greek courts.

The two developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar were arrested back in September on charges of espionage were the two were caught taking photographs of a Greek military installation for research for Arma 3.

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

Due to the problems in Greece the two are finding it hard to move their case forward and spent two months imprisoned without trial. The trail for espionage will go forward but the question is when. Currently their families are seeking help form the Czech government to help and secure their freedom.

Sammy S for GoGuide Magazine

Games Review and News Contributer

CRAZY BLACK OPS 2 STATS Global stat site tracks real-time gameplay

J

ust a few week since Black Ops 2 was released and there have been some insane overall statistics from the week it was released.

The Call of Duty global stat site tracks in real-time tracks gameplay numbers and stats and if you visit I’m sure the numbers now would have increased.

After a week it was released there have been: • 83,350,350 Hours Played • 199,575,450,081 Shots Fired • 167,899,125 Cars Destroyed • $959,118,672 in Destroyed Oil Barrels (at $80 a Barrel) • 1,722,197 Number of Times Players have Prestiged Those are some remarkable figures to have from just over a week of gameplay. So don’t miss out and get yourself a copy of the biggest gaming franchise in gaming history.

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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GAMING

REVIEWS

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robably the most anticipated game of this year Assassin’s Creed 3 has finally been released.

With an all new protagonist Conner, we get to explore

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colonised America during the Revolutionary War and new mechanics that improve gameplay will Assassin’s Creed live up to the hype?

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We say goodbye to lovable Ezio and say hello to Connor, half Native American and half British descent, who plays a vital role of the American Revolution. Connor seeks revenge for the attack on his village and while doing so learns about a plot of the infamous Templars and must stop them by learning the ways of the assassin. Also the game comes to the conclusion of Desmond Miles mysterious path to that may or may not clear any questions that regard the actual plot of the previous Assassins Creed games.

Assassin’s Creed 3 comes with a whole new game engine and I can say it’s a big improvement, free running is now even more effortless with just the push of 1 button. Combat has been improved and can now counter attack up to 2 enemies at once, plus there are many new ways to fight enemies now that combat is never repetitive, Connor can also dual wield weapons its mainly the hidden blade he can use. Connor also seems a lot faster than Ezio and Altair, and can move quick and swiftly through tree’s, you can’t help with the use of the throw dart but to go predator on your enemies and hang them from branches, Connor seems to be the only person able to climb tree’s as other AI will not follow Conner up.

There is also a dynamic weather system and seasons in different memories where you can the landscape is covered in blankets of snow, this also help’s to plan an attack beforehand as running through snow

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will drastically slow you and your enemies down.

Hunting is introduced into the game, any fans of Red Dead Redemption will feel reminded of hunting animals as its mostly similar, and you can hunt animals for meats and their fur and sell the produce.

Another new addition is the naval battles, these are incredibly well done and incredibly ambitious and missions I always look forward to take part in. Intense amount of detail went into something that’s not really big on the game and yet it was one of my favourite moments. It’s rather easy to get used to and fun to control especially the battles, it reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. You can also spend your money on improvements for your ship such as stronger wood, more cannons and better steering. With the campaign and available side quests the game is pretty lengthy with at least 30 hours of gameplay to fire into it.

Visually the game hasn’t improved that much, yes they can fit more objects on the screen but the graphics have had just a tiny improvement, the cinematic scenes on the other hand have had quite an improvement, you cans start to see the emotions more clearly that the characters are meant to be displaying.

If you want a break from the main campaign you can try the multiplayer. Multiplayer is still just as fun to play, issue free you can play with 7 maps and 7 modes to kill can rank up. New multiplayer skins to choose from, you can choose between 14 characters that give something different to the gameplay.

Assassin’s Creed 3 is yet another fantastic game released this year. So far the best of the series, only issue I had was with Connor, he didn’t seem to have much character about him, maybe it’s me, maybe I’m just used to Ezio.

Anyway still the game is brilliant and a definite to buy. If you’re new and or a long-time fan you’ll love the game.

Sammy S for GoGuide Magazine

Games Review and News Contributer

GGGG

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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GAMING

BLACK BLACK REVIEWS

CALL OF DUTY

A

nother year and another Call of Duty game, this year it’s treyarch’s turn for the instalment of the series returning with the Black Ops franchise.

Going is a completely different step from the call of duty franchise the game takes us into future warfare with some missions taking us back the events of Black Ops 1. And just as you expect the game is takes warfare to its limit with adding a little bit dubstep into the mix.

But will the game live up to its name and be yet another brilliant game in the Call of Duty franchise.

Call of duty has always been about the campaign for me, out of all the modern FPS Call of Duty has always came first and this year is no different. In fact this is hands down the best Call of Duty yet. I had my doubts as Black Ops wasn’t my favourite.

You play as Alex Mason, the son of the protagonist David Mason from the first game, who seeks revenge on the man who killed his father Raul Menendez and seeks help from now elderly pensioner Frank Woods, another character from Black Ops 1 and David Mason’s best friend. The main year of the game 2025 but Talking to Woods will send you back to events after Black Ops 1 to lay out and understand the story of Raul Menendez. There are only 4 missions that

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will send you back to play David Mason while the rest you play in the year 2025 as Alex Mason.

Now Multiplayer is a different story altogether, it’s like Marmite to me you either love it or you hate.

Now I’ve more problems playing Cod online than any other games this year. Multiple crashes and connections errors occur a lot plus a few glitches.

These connection errors really effect the gameplay, if you have ever been shot by someone when you were around the corner and watched the kill cam and your weren’t, connection error. Or have you been knifed by someone that was nowhere near you and watched the kill cam and he was right next you, connection error. To me the only way to play online is to out the idea in your head that you’re all playing super soldiers that can withstand a barrage of bullets (most times) but have a tremendous weakness to knives’. But even with all these blunders for some reason it’s addicting, as if it calls to you to play online so if that ever happens make sure you go online with a friend cause that’s what makes multiplayer durable.

Since its Treyarch that makes Black Ops Zombies are back in a big way. Being replaced with large multiple maps is Tranzit mode where 1 – 4 players travel Green Run, a zombie infested town with an erupt volcano spewing lava all around the town (what else could they possibly throw at us). Unless you have Nuketown zombies then you will be graced with 3, rather small, maps to kill the pretty eyed undead each having their own unique perks and weapons. Tranzit mode is no doubt the best mode, starting off in the bus station players can travel to all the maps via a bus or risk it and travel by foot and see what horrors and secrets lie wait in the thick fog. It’s definitely the most ambitious zombie mode yet.

Sammy S for GoGuide Magazine

Games Review and News Contributer

GGGG

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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HALO 4

GAMING

REVIEWS

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T

he most recognisable Xbox franchise Halo is back for another trilogy starting us of with Halo 4 by 343 Industries and maybe even the last on the Xbox 360. So with a new trilogy in mind will the new development team bring Halo to new heights or will they fail to continue forward with the Halo story.

Starting off after the events of Halo 3, MasterChief has been in a cryo-sleep for the past four years when Cortana finally wakes the sleeping beauty, only to awaken to a new threat to the human race. The story of Halo has never really caught my attention but Halo 4 really captivates your interest in the beginning.

Cortana is more of a character now rather than an AI that helps you and the Chief and Cortana’s relation unravels into quite an interesting story.

Halo 4 does strike a pretty picture, starting with vast amount of environments to travel, the lighting has received much needed attention.

The voice acting in the game is superb and believable, it will take some little getting used to MasterChief's voice, you always seem to imagine something different what he would sound like.

Gameplay wise it hasn't really received any dramatic changes, the controls are still simple.

The 8-10 hour campaign is ordinary for a Halo campaign sadly though it does get slightly repetitive at times. To get best experience from the campaign would be to play with friends.

Playing the game cooperatively is where I have

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the most fun. The new Spartan Ops mode gives you and three friends your own story by being presented as episodic content.

Before each combat scenario, you're greeted with brief cinematic depicting the lives of the Spartan soldiers. Sounds like a pretty good idea although it just never seems to get any motivation.

Probably what most Halo players will be looking forward to is the. Your typical modes, matchmaking options, playlists, and social abilities make a return, and it’s still some of the best online gameplay found in any FPS game. The new Flood mode takes the role of zombies, it’s ambitious but it’s more or less Infection mode from the previous games. Finally introduced to Halo 4 is loadouts, where you can choose between Primary and Secondary weapons, grenades, and different armour abilities. As you progress through multiplayer you'll unlock more weapons and abilities and the same remarkable vehicles make a return so fans of the Halo series will see hardly any difference.

Although the game hasn’t really changed much Halo 4 is a great game, the only changes ,apart from the multiplayer, are really the graphic overhaul and an astounding soundtrack to boot, any true fans of the game will really love this new instalment.

Sammy S for GoGuide Magazine

Games Review and News Contributer

GGG

DEC 2012 - issue (24)

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OUTABOUT &

A C O L W E N D BRAN IN WEST LOTHIAN

LIVINGSTON DESIGNER OUTLET

N

ovember 2012 saw the opening of the fourth Adventure Golf complex in Livingston Designer Outlet just across from the Vue Cinema (the old LA Fitness gym building).

There is 2 courses on offer spanning 13,000 sq/ft of adventure golfing paradise. The latest

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site Paradise Island site has even more to offer with a golfing adventure that takes you from a ship wreck through sea caves to a desert island with a lost lagoon. You then make your way to the palm oasis before entering the lush jungle and mysterious tomb of the long dead pharaoh.

The lost monkey DEC 2012 - issue (24)

temple awaits before the skeletons of the abandoned congo camp.

The 19th hole gives all adventure golfers the chance to win a free game at the end of the round. Look out for exotic animals along the way and remember forget crazy golf... this is ADVENTURE GOLF!

N O I T C A R T T A AL

Pictures from various Paradise Island sites

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OUTABOUT &

IN WEST LOTHIAN

The Bennie Museum

The Bennie Museum opened in 1989 as a museum of Bathgate’s history and life. It is run entirely by volunteers under the management of a Charitable Trust. It has been commended by the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions. www.benniemuseum.org.uk 11am - 4pm (Apr to Sep) & 11am -3.30pm (Oct to Mar) - FREE 9-11 Mansefield Street, Bathgate, EH48 4HU 01506 634944

Almond Valley Heritage Trust,

Almond Valley is operated as a popular leisure destination that appeals to a diverse audience and promotes learning through discovery, family interaction and play. We also operate a formal education programme. www.almondvalley.co.uk Millfield, Livingston, EH54 7AR 01506 414957

The Garage Skatepark

The Garage Skatepark is an indoor skatepark based in Livingston which is being improved on constantly to give skaters the best experience around. The park is open to Skateboards ,Inline Skates and BMX. Kids under 16 wanting to ride at the park will be required to wear a helmet. The park also has its very own shop stocking Boards, Wheels, Trucks, T-shirts and other accessories. www.thegarage.zxq.net Mon - Sat: 10am - 10pm - Sun: 10am - 8pm 5D Grange Road, Houston Industrial Estate, EH54 5DE 01506 530892

Bankhead Mountainball

Like many ‘extreme’ sports, Zorbing, Orbing or Sphereing was created in New Zealand back in 1994. The concept is quite simple, you build a human sphere which can accommodate up to two fully grown adults, secure them inside then let them roll down a hill in it (hamsters have been exercised for many years in a very similar way!) www.bankheadmountainball.co.uk Contact for opening hours Bankhead Farm, Dechmont, Broxburn, EH52 6NB 01506 811209 Page 204

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A1 PAINTBALL

A1 Paintball was established in 2002 with one goal in mind, giving their customers an open and honest paintball experience from start to finish and with no hidden extras. They provide only the very best and most comprehensive paintballing equipment and event management.

Haggs Road Wood Burnwynd, Nr Edinburgh, Midlothian EH27 8ED 01501 741709

Funtastic Fantasy Golf Limited

Miniature golf arena but it’s one with a difference it’s BLACK-LIGHT UV which means that not only do the 3D prop’s glow in the dark but also the golf balls and art work on the wall do too. This facility is a fantastic family day out for all ages & abilities with a cafe that sell homemade food made onsite at their cafe ‘Dino Bites’

Mon - Sun: 10:00 am - 10:00 pm 3 St Andrews Way, Livingston, EH54 8HQ 07935 576943

Racing Karts

Racing Karts quickly established itself as a force in Indoor Kart Racing due to its attention to safety, cleanliness and customer satisfaction.

They like to call themselves ‘The Friendly Circuit’ www.racingkarts.co.uk Times: Booking required - call to arrange Arrol Square, Deans Industrial Estate, Livingston, EH54 8QZ 01506 410123

Livingston Skate Park

The Livingston Skatepark opened in 1981, at a time when most commercial skateparks were closing and was one of the most important facilities in Britain during a critical period in the development of skateboarding. It is an example of a free, unsupervised facility which achieved international status.

Daylight access all year round FREE 16 Northwood Park, Opposite Almondvale Shopping Centre, Livingston, EH54 6HR

Deer Park Ten Pin Bowling

Deer Park Bowling Centre is a 16 Lane Bowling Centre with the capacity to hold 128 bowlers. There is a bar and food served throughout. At ‘Late night Glow Bowling’ the lights are dimmed and the lanes come alive with GLOW IN THE DARK, ULTRA VIOLET lighting effects and music. www.deer-park.co.uk Mon-Thur: 4pm-10pm / Fri: 12pm-midnight / Sat: 10am-midnight / Sun: 10am-10pm Golf Course Road, Livingston, EH54 8AB - 01506 446699 PAGE 205 DEC 2012 - issue (24)

OUTABOUT &

IN WEST LOTHIAN

Delta Force Paintball

Delta Force Paintball provides world class paintballing in Scotland. In addition to the scenery, incredible game zones provide players with an adrenalin-fuelled day of paintball action all year round. www.paintballgames.co.uk Weekends + 1 Weekday - check online for details Off Burnhouse Road, Dechmont, Livingston, EH49 6PL 0844 477 5050

Five Sisters Zoo

The Five Sisters Zoo was established in 2005 and is the only wildlife attraction centre in West Lothian. With over 100 different species of animals, birds and reptiles from all around the world your visit will be a fun, enjoyable and educational one - all ages. www.fivesisterszoo.co.uk Open 7 Days a week - 10am - 6pm (5pm Winter half of year) Gavieside, West Calder, EH55 8PT 01506 871 111

Overboard Soft Play

Overboard Soft Play is an exciting indoor Soft Play and entertainment venue for kids aged 0-11 yrs. They have it all, from chutes to ball pits to go-karts to ball cannons. With an underwater theme and seperate play zones for different age groups and abilities, your children are sure to have a great time from the minute they arrive until it’s time to go home. www.overboardsoftplay.com Wed - Sun: 10:15 am - 6:00 pm 3 St Andrews Way, Livingston, EH54 8HQ - 01506 873888

If you own a business that offeres stuff to do in the West Lothian area why not drop us some details and we will try our best to get it added to the Out & About section for both the mag and the web site.

If you know of any activities that are open to the public and don’t feature in mag yet please feel free to drop us a message about them (with a web link if possible) content@goguidemagazine.co.uk www.goguidemagazine.co.uk Page 206

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XMAS MOVIE ROLLCALL

y can MOVIE STARS when they were younger how man

MOVIES QUIZ

you ID?

1

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3

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5

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CLASSIC MOVIE POSTERS 101

White Christmas is a 1954 American musical film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen, and Rosemary Clooney. Filmed in Technicolor, White Christmas features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the title song, “White Christmas�. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film is notable for being the first to be produced and released in VistaVision, a wide-screen process developed by Paramount that entailed using twice the surface area of standard 35mm film. This large-area negative was used to yield finer-grained standardsized 35 mm film prints.

The film was enormously popular with audiences, taking in $12 million at the box office ($84 million in 2011 dollars, adjusted for inflation), making it the top moneymaker for 1954 by a wide margin. The second highest moneymaker Page 208 of that year, The Caine Mutiny, earned $8.7 million.DEC 2012 - issue (24)