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Review: Suicide Squad

  It’s fair to say that assembling a gang of super villains to use as a weapon in case of an emergency is a terrible idea, but that is the idea that introduces us to the Suicide Squad. Made up of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and Killer Croc ( Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje ), the Suicide Squad is a frightening mix of criminals, psychopaths and people with supernatural powers. Blurring the line between good and evil, we find ourselves sympathizing with the villains and realizing that not everything is black and white, even in Gotham.  For those of us who are unfamiliar with the comics, we get a brief glance into the backstories of Harley Quinn, El Diablo and Deadshot while the other characters act as filler for the rest of the team. Joining the main team we have Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), the leader of the squad; Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), the brains behind the whole operation; ...

Review: Ghostbusters

I am just going to preface this by saying that I do not like the idea of remakes. Usually an unnecessary exercise, they remake classic movies or TV shows and do a terrible job. They remade Footloose for fuck's sake, FOOTLOOSE! A classic, one of the best movies that the 80s has to offer and they decided to remake it. How dare you disrespect Kevin Bacon like that. I refuse to watch it. And don't get me started on British/Australian TV shows that America has to remake. Can you not just enjoy the original series of Skins? Why does everything have to be Americanised? So anyway, getting back on track, I wasn't super excited when I first heard that Ghostbusters was getting a revival. It sounded like a gimmick to have an all-female cast and I wasn't sure about how it would turn out. I really wanted to see it though because after it came out it seemed like people had some really good things to say about it, and they turned out to be right. Ghostbusters was hilarious. It...

Review: UHF

I love 80s movies. Pretty in Pink, St Elmo's Fire, Dirty Dancing, Footloose, Cocktail, there are so many good (and so bad they're good) movies from the 80s. Of course, having been born in the late 80s myself, I have discovered them later, and so have missed out on some cult classics. While anything with Molly Ringwald or an amazing dance sequence lasted the test of time, these other films that have slipped through the cracks and been lost in that colourful decade are bewildering at best, unwatchable at worst. UHF falls into the former category. UHF has the bizarre factor, where you ask yourself 'what the hell is happening?' at certain points throughout. Luckily, it's made watchable by balancing this out with lots of funny moments and a surprisingly good plot. It also has a great cast, with appearances from a young Fran Drescher and Michael Richards. The story revolves around George Newman (Weird Al) who finds himself unemployed after he is fired fr...

Review: Vinyl

Vinyl is one of those shows that you binge watch in a couple of days and then wish you would've taken your time because the next season isn't out yet and it will be forever until you can get your next fix. I haven't actually heard much about it, I can't even remember how I came across it, but I think once more people start discovering it, it will become a much-talked about, must-see series. With all the drugs and murder it's not surprising when you find out that Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese are the creators (along with Rich Cohen and Terence Winter). The quality you would expect from these big names, as well as the incredible cast, is there as well. There is a lot going on in the show, but somehow it blends seamlessly together to create cohesive storylines and keep the audience's interest. The show's main focus is on Ritchie Finestra. Founder of record label American Century, we see his relationships with his partners begin to disintegrate as ...

Review: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

You probably have a general idea of what you're getting yourself into when you start reading this book. It's been around for a long time, so you have an idea of the premise, maybe even seen some of the movie. You might be totally into Law & Order, Dexter and biographies of serial killers. You might be interested in psychology, and have a natural curiosity for what makes people tick. All of these reasons are valid, and contribute to my reasons for wanting to read it. However, as much as all these things are interesting, it is still confronting to read. It isn't the number of people he kills, or the emotionless way in which he does, but the horrific methods that he uses. Prepare for some graphic details of murder and sex. That's not to say it isn't readable or you shouldn't attempt it at all, just a warning for those who get a bit queasy in the face of gore.  It is a strange read, not quite what I expected. The book is from the point of view of ...

Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I chose to read this book because, like many books before it, it has been made into a movie. I don't know about you but I find it incredibly difficult to read a book if I've already seen the movie. I already know what's going to happen, and the characters and places have already been determined as looking a certain way, leaving nothing left to my imagination. So, Me Before You is set in England and is from the perspective of Lou, a girl in her late twenties who gets herself a job as a carer for Will; a young man in his mid-thirties who is paralysed and wheelchair-bound. Before his accident, Will was a very active person; travelling, participating in extreme sports and being amazing at his fancy job in London. As expected he is in a bad place mentally, with his independence and life as he knew it stripped away. Enter Lou, a bit of a quirky personality, who has found her life in a rut, living with her family and not really having any major ambitions. I won't give...

Review: Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn

I have read many biographies, in fact I would say that about half of my book collection consists of assorted biographies, memoirs and autobiographies. I'm not particularly fussy about them either, actor, writer, singer, politician, sportsman, serial killer, it's all good. Manson really stood out to me though, and not just for its subject matter. I think Guinn did an amazing job of researching Manson's life and presenting all the events in a diplomatic, in-depth way, despite having to put all the pieces together from many different people's accounts. Guinn sets the scene for us, describing the hippy culture and political issues of the era, which gives us insight into what the world was like at the time for these atrocities to occur. He explains the mood of society at the time, and how it got to that point, somehow drawing our interest in rather than making us feel we're back in high school history class. I personally didn't actually know the details of ...