TheCity

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  • Film Review: Sully

    Film Review: Sully

    By Luke Carry 

    Friday sees Tom Hanks crash land on our screen as Captain Chesley Sullenberger, pun intended. Hanks’ newest movie, Sully, sees him take on the role of Sullenberger, the hero responsible for saving all of his passengers during an ill-fated flight from New York.

    sully-thecity
    Source: Wikipedia

    Based on a true story, it’s hard to forget Sullenberger’s real life heroics of landing the aircraft in New York’s Hudson River. The story at the time sought to make a celebrity of a man who, for all his heroic efforts, never really seemed to want the limelight.

    In this respect, Hanks is expertly cast. Playing the role with great humility he lets us explore the human side of Sullenberger, which is really what this film is about.

    A supporting cast of Aaron Eckhart, as co-pilot Jeff Skiles, works well with Hanks to create a very real feeling during the in-flight sequences. Hanks always seems to have a warmth to his characters that transcends most boundaries. Similarly to that, Sullenberger is a hero for all. This performance helps to carry the film through its faults.

    The National Transport Safety Board are the villain here, trying to pin the incident on pilot error which would in effect, end Sullenberger’s career. Or at least they are portrayed to be.

    Clint Eastwood directs at a pace that will keep the audience captivated and entertained throughout. The film does at times try to be something it’s not. It all gets a little muddled when we delve into the investigations taken against Sullenberger and his crew. While these events took place, and are part of the true narrative, they seem to try to matter more than they ever could. The real story is Sullenberger.

    While not living up to its full potential, Hanks and Eastwood have enough experience to carry the film to a rather safe landing.

    Sully is an enjoyable tale of the everyday man achieving the extraordinary and triumphing in the face of adversity. Suitable for all the family and at just over 90 minutes it makes for an easy enjoyable ride.

  • Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour Wows Dublin

    Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour Wows Dublin

    By Kieva McLaughlin

    Justin Bieber brought his Purpose World Tour to the 3 Arena on the 1st and 2nd of November.  It was his first time touring since 2012-2013 with his Believe Tour.  Both dates sold out within minutes with overwhelming demand from fans across Ireland.

    14938072_10154163248394385_1591353730_n
    Source – Wikimedia

    The tour has previously made headlines when the ‘What Do You Mean’ singer was perceived as being bratty and stroppy.  During his Manchester gig he stormed off stage after his fans wouldn’t stop screaming while he was talking.

    Justin began his Dublin concert while donning an Irish flag on the front of his t-shirt, with ‘Dublin’ written on the back.  He appeared in a glass box with a very energetic, heavily choreographed ‘Where Are U Now’.

    Over the course of the concert Justin began to lose some energy, which can be forgiven because of his elaborate dances that would be sure to take it out of anyone.  Justin’s back up dancers were superb and gave it their all throughout the whole show.  Lasers, lights, and pyrotechnics accompanied almost every song.

    Justin showcased his natural ability to sing when he took to stage, with just himself a couch and a guitar.  He sat down with the effects stripped back and played ‘Cold Water’ and ‘Love Yourself’. The 22- year old singer was apparently eager to show off his instrumental skills, and later in the show he played a surprisingly good solo on the drums.

    jb2-wikipedia
    Source – Wikipedia

    Justin began most of his songs with a quick-witted intro. For his song ‘Company’, the singer began by telling his fans, “Imagine being on the road for a year, away from friends, away from family.” He then thanked his fans for being there to keep him company through it all, during this, a platform trampoline came out of nowhere and hung from the ceiling.  Justin and his dancers ran up the stairs to it to start the song.

    A standout song on the night was ‘Children.’ A competition had previously been run to find skilled Irish child dancers to take part.  They absolutely nailed it and after the song they were all smitten, as Justin addressed them all individually.

    Justin closed his show with the highlight of the night, “Sorry.” A long black blow up was put on stage and the Canadian singer and his dancers performed while rain lashed down on them.  Everybody left the concert feeling elated and wanting more.

  • You Me At Six does not disappoint at The Academy

    You Me At Six does not disappoint at The Academy

    By Rachel D’Arcy

    It’s tough to break the ‘emo’ mould, but Surrey quintet You Me At Six managed to unleash a brand new, gritty edge at their first Dublin show in three years.

    yma6
    (Source: Rachel D’Arcy)

    If you’ve never heard of You Me At Six, I wouldn’t blame you. Despite never having particularly hit the mainstream in Ireland, they achieved top ten status with their last two albums at home in the UK, as well as embarking on a sold-out arena tour early last year. Having locked themselves away for a bit to write their newest effort, ‘Night People,’ the five lads embarked on their smallest tour in five years, taking in a night at The Academy last Monday.

    You Me At Six haven’t played Dublin since a sold out Olympia Theatre show just over three years ago, so anticipation was at a stratospheric high. Despite it being an 18+ gig, queues formed along the cold, dark street of Middle Abbey Street over an hour before doors at 7pm. With under 18’s and those without ID turned away, those lucky 500 that made it through the doors were treated to what was definitely You Me At Six’s best Irish show yet.

    While the ‘Stay With Me’ hit-makers kept true to the classics, sticking to what they knew best, front man Josh Franceschi’s almost guttural vocals brought a new dish to the table. Even ‘Underdog’ and ‘Reckless’, two of the more pop-infused tracks of their back catalogue, were given a darker, more adult revision.

    An impressive lighting rig only added to the already impressive show, with blues, reds and strobes brightening the faces of Franceschi (and most importantly, Franceschi’s fantastic two-step during ‘Safer To Hate Her’), bassist Matt Barnes, guitarists Chris Miller and Max Hayler, and drummer Dan Flint. Drum beats were illuminated, riffs electrified and vocals emphasised all by the impressive light show, only adding to YMAS’s talent as performers.

    For someone who frequents gigs at The Academy, I’d never seen an audience more in unison than at this gig. The lyrics were screamed along to by all the twenty-somethings reliving their teen years, and by those who are impatiently anticipating the upcoming album. Strangers threw their arms around one another, while friends sat on each other’s shoulders. It was a sight to see, only amplified by the energetic display put on by the band themselves.

    With Franceschi teasing a return to Dublin in early 2017, it won’t be one that fans of the band – past or present – will want to miss out on.

  • He Named Me Malala makes for fascinating viewing

    He Named Me Malala makes for fascinating viewing

    “One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution”

    The highly anticipated documentary, ‘He Named Me Malala’ has just opened in cinemas and it is most definitely worth the wait.

    Global children’s charity, Plan International Ireland, hosted a preview screening of the much talked about ‘He Named Me Malala’ in The Light House Cinema on the 28th October.

    The City went along to see if it lived up to all the hype, and we can safely say it did.

    The documentary, directed by the renowned Davis Guggenheim, follows the life of 18-year-old human rights activist, Malala Yousafzai. Malala made headlines back in 2012 after she was shot in the face by the Taliban in response to her acting as an advocate for girls’ rights to education in her home town in Swat Valley, Pakistan. The shooting attracted media attention from around the world, turning Malala into an overnight celebrity.

    Guggenheim tells her remarkable story in an engaging and relatable manner. He focuses a lot on her family life and allows us to get an insight into the world of the Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

    The focus on her family life makes for fascinating viewing. We see her squabbling with her siblings, struggling with her physics homework and worrying about her GCSEs – not something you’d think a girl of such influence and caliber would be doing.

    Although Guggenheim has focused a lot on her family and her life in general, the focal point of Malala’s empowering message remained the focus throughout the documentary.

    It is evident that Malala is wise beyond her years and she won’t let anything phase her, even when speaking to the United Nations after the shooting, she didn’t victimise herself. She showed herself to be dedicated, selfless and determined, stating that, “They thought the bullet would silence us, but they failed.”

    The documentary definitely did justice to Malala’s cause as well as her endearing, quirky personality. There won’t be one person who leaves the movie theatre not feeling a little more empowered to change the world we live in.

    Plan International

    David Dalton CEO of Plan International was delighted they could host the exclusive preview screening of this inspiring documentary, as part of their global Because I am a Girl campaign.

    “Malala’s story is intrinsically linked to Plan International’s Because I am a Girl campaign, and to be able to host this event is great for us. Together, we advocate for a girl’s right to education,” he said.

    Because I am a Girl is the world’s largest gender equality movement, so Plan International thought it would be fitting to host the screening of He Named Me Malala, as they share a common vision with this inspirational activist.

    “Here at Plan International, we share her vision for change. We recognise that a girl in the developing world faces overwhelming odds from the day she’s born – she is denied basic rights, is more likely to suffer from malnutrition than her brother, can be coerced to marry a man she has never met, let alone loves and worse.

    “Yet at Plan International, we know the solution. It’s school. It’s learning. It is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. When girls are educated, communities thrive and economies grow. Already, we are seeing success in our programmes and we want to do more,” concluded Dalton.

  • Have a holly jolly #GamesMas

    Have a holly jolly #GamesMas

    Christmas should be a time for casual idleness on the couch, where vigorous action requires little more than a stern digit on the R2 button. Here are three games that our readers will be playing this holiday season.

    Far Cry 4


    This year, jump into virtual action in Kyrat, a region perilously perched upon the Himalayas and ruled by a deranged king with an unhealthy interest in your recently deceased mother.

    Where the Far Cry series has previously excelled, the fourth installation sneers dominantly. The game is ruthless; voluminous side-quests and tangential missions exist with the sole purpose of luring the player away from the main story.

    “Far Cry 3 was a stellar roaming game,” says DJ Campbell (21). Although he hasn’t played the fourth title in the series yet, DJ is looking forward to taking a blood splattered selfie with Kyrat’s leader Pagan Ming.

    “The third game was a massive jump up from the second,” DJ said. “If this game is in any way like the third one I will be happy, but obviously I am hoping that it is going to be better.”

    Cast as both the hero and target, the main protagonist Ajay Ghale, travels to Kyrat to realise a promise made to his mother on her death bed to return her ashes to her home country. The latest instalment in the series creates an even headier and immersive environment and just like Far Cry 3, there’s something lethal lurking around every corner.

    Kingdom Hearts HD II.5 ReMIX

    Released just in time for the Holidays, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix is a re-mastered compilation of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix. The games, which had previously been exclusive to Japan, are now available for the first time across Europe.

    Re-mastered cinematic cuts from the Nintendo DS title Kingdom Hearts Re:coded will also be included in the compilation for Playstation 3.

    The Kingdom Heart series heaves elements from the Final Fantasy titles and fuses them with the world of Disney. Sounding like both an uplifting and ridiculous basis for a game, this imaginative JRPG has long polarised players.

    For Aaron Corentin (22) it’s this combination that he finds appealing about the games: “It combines three of my favourite things; Disney, games and the Final Fantasy Series.”

    Aaron says that the 2.5 ReMix has been his most anticipated game of 2014, as he has long been an enthusiast “I’ve been a major fan since 2003.”
    Controllers

    Jak and Daxter

    ‘Tis the season for nostalgia and while everyone else is watching Miracle on 34th Street for the 34th time, many gamers are sitting down to review their favourite titles.

    “I’ve always been a fan of platform games,” says Cian Cowley (22), “like Spyro, Crash, Sly Racoon and Ratchet and Clank.”

    Cian expects to be playing Jak 3 by the time Christmas rolls round; once he tires of GTA: San Andreas of course. The first Jak title was released in 2001 and the series has featured a consistent story-based platform showcasing a healthy mix of action, racing and puzzle solving.

    Jak 3 represents the pinnacle of the series to many, having received unholy support when it was released back in 2004.

    “I was about 12 when the Playstation 2 first came out” he said, “…so it has a bit of nostalgia.”

    Write to us at @TheCity_Dublin and let us know what games your going to be playing this #GamesMas! 

     

  • Live it up in Lisbon

    Live it up in Lisbon

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    Cheap food, fine wines, boutique hostels – Lisbon has it all. For budget holidaymakers, it doesn’t get much better than this.

    Located only 30 minutes from the beach town of Cascais, Lisbon is a great destination if you’re after a short, cultural city break and want to get your share of beach time as well.

    If you can get it, that is. When I arrive in the Portuguese capital, it’s a washout, but my guide Carmo promises temperatures of up to 30 degrees during the summer.

    First off, accommodation: The Independente is your best bet any time of the year.

    Located near Bairro Alto (the heart of Lisbon’s nightlife), the trendy hostel is run by the three S’Eça Leal brothers. The price is very agreeable: an average night in one of the bright dorms with the cork bunk beds costs €12.

    What’s more, The Independente’s restaurant, The Decadente, boasts an excellent menu and hipster-friendly décor. A three-course lunch will set you back a mere €10 and coffee costs 60c. Need I say more?

    Tram 28 is one of the most popular ways of getting around the city. Or you can opt for the Yellow Bus tour, which will bring you to the usual touristy spots as well as the more off-the-track attractions. Bottom line: Lisbon is a city of seven hills, so prepare for some serious hill-walking. The tiled paths can be slippery in the heat, so good footwear is essential.

    The city is relatively small, so it won’t take you long to find your feet. And besides, Lisbon is the birthplace of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost articles, so if you do get lost, pray to him and he’ll help you find the right path.

    If you’re looking to get your fill of culture, pay a visit to the wonderful Belém district, where your first stop should be the Jeronimós monastery. It is one of the oldest structures in Lisbon and survived the famous 1531 Lisbon earthquake and subsequent tsunami and fires.

    Colloquially known as “the pepper monastery”, Lisbon’s history is literally written on its walls. All the motifs that appear on the tiles that line Lisbon’s streets are here – sea monsters, elephants, lions, etc. – and the tomb of Portugal’s greatest explorer Vasco da Gama is housed at Jeronimós.

    While you’re in Belém, grab a Pastéis de Belém pastry at Antiga Cafeitaria. Sprinkled with cinnamon and icing sugar, these custardy, flaky treats will melt in your mouth. But watch your timing: cruise calls bring hundreds of tourists to the café and it can get pretty full around lunchtime.

    Although Lisbon is the oldest city in Western Europe, its architecture is quite diverse. Modern buildings sit comfortably alongside traditional structures.

    Juxtaposed to the 15th century Jeronimós is the very modern Museu Coleçao Berardo. The Berardo collection is home to some of the 20th century’s greatest artworks. Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and David Hockney all find their place in the permanent collection, which is free to visit.

    On the way back, stop-off at the LX Factory in Rua Rodrigues de Faria. It mightn’t look like much from the outside, but this former printing factory is home to some of Lisbon’s most unique cafés, restaurants and shops.

    Around 150 companies have set up camp in the LX Factory, making use of its old warehouses, cafeteria and shops to create a trendy haven. You could easily spend half a day here, wandering around the impressive Ler Devagar bookshop-café, admiring the artwork in Studioteambox Gallery and filling up on Landeau chocolate cake.

    Comercio Square in the city centre is a popular meeting point for tourists, and the Lisboa Tourist Board has given the square a revamp by renting out spaces to new restaurants and attractions like the Lisbon Story Centre. The multimedia experience takes about 50 minutes to complete and tells you all you need to know about Lisbon’s rich history.

    Rua Augusta, one of Lisbon’s busiest shopping streets, leads off Comercio Square. The pedestrianized street offers the usual high street shops as well as a couple of unique design shops like Typographia, a shop that sells Portuguese themed t-shirts by Lisboan designers.

    If you head away from Lisbon’s historic centre and visit Parque das Nações, you’ll find that the former Expo 98 site has been put to good use with attractions like Oceanário de Lisboa aquarium.

    In Lisbon, cod is king. It’s said that the Portuguese have invented 365 different ways to cook cod (one for every day of the year). I sampled only six but can confirm that if you’re banking on cod alone during a week’s holiday, you’ll do just fine.

    One of the most delicious dishes is served at Restaurante 5 Ocenaos: sea bass cooked and served in salt and a white wine.

    The most exciting cod dish is the incredible bacalhau à bras with exploding olives by Michelin-star chef José Avillez. The young chef owns a string of restaurants in Lisbon, including Pizzaria Lisboa on Rua dos Duques de Bragança – a unique experience to be served pizza from a Michelin-star chef.

    One of the biggest nuisances for tourists is the constant hassle from “drug dealers” at every corner in the city centre. They constantly pick on visitors to buy “hashish”. If partial to a joint, don’t be fooled: what’s on offer looks suspiciously like green tea.

    Apart from that, there’s very little bad to say about Lisbon. It’s cheap, it’s cheerful, it’s a platter of culture. What more could you want?

    Conor McMahon travelled to Lisbon courtesy of the Portuguese Tourism Board and Ryanair.

  • ‘One Million Dubliners’ Review

    ‘One Million Dubliners’ Review


    Aoife Kelleher’s One Million Dubliners is a beautiful homage to the people of Glasnevin Cemetery – living and dead.

    Resident historian Shane MacThomáis, the obvious star of the show, is our guide throughout the documentary.

    With great wit, he tells the stories of Parnell, de Valera, Collins, Markievicz, Behan and the many other 19th and 20th century heroes buried here. He recalls the stories of ordinary Dubliners too, with equal charisma and passion.

    There are more people under the ground at Glasnevin than walking the streets of Dublin today. That neat little sum is plugged throughout the film as proof that the cemetery serves as Ireland’s national burial grounds; modern Irish history can be mapped out simply by the names and ailments listed on the death register.

    As we quickly learn, Michael Collins’ grave draws the most interest from visitors. He gets flowers for Valentine’s Day (while de Valera gets none).

    We meet the “mysterious” Frenchwoman who regularly visits to place roses by Collins’ graveside. She has fallen in love with him (or rather, Liam Neeson’s portrayal of him in the eponymous biopic). She vows never to marry because no man can live up to Collins.

    Far from being the oddball we might expect, the woman actually offers a unique insight into our devotion to heroes and how we celebrate the lives of the dead.

    Her Vietnamese friend offers the best quote of the film: People are not truly dead “until the day I forget them”.

    What really makes the film is the chirpy cast of characters: the florists; the gravediggers; the funeral director. They guide us through the history of the cemetery, with MacThomáis at the helm.

    Kelleher beautifully captures the spirit of Dublin and explores the mysteries and sadness of death without being over sentimental.

    Footage of the Angels Memory Garden, the resting place of thousands of stillborn infants, makes for the most difficult viewing. Such tragedies have affected many families in Ireland and Kelleher handles this sensitive topic with such care.

    One Million Dubliners is naturally very moving and emotive, but it also bluntly answers some unspoken questions: What happens to the body when it is cremated? How does a gravedigger go about his work? Do funeral directors harden to death?

    A must-see, One Million Dubliners will get you thinking about the big questions — and it will lift your spirits

    One Million Dubliners is showing at the Light House Cinema until November 27 or catch it on the RTÉ Player

  • Is this goodbye for King Nidge?

    Is this goodbye for King Nidge?

    Ado, Nidge, Fran and Elmo (c)Rte
    Ado, Nidge, Fran and Elmo (Photo courtesy of RTE)

    Last Sunday night saw more than 1 million people across the country tune into RTE’s Love/Hate season 5 finale.

    The finale was a bit like the Red Wedding episode of Game Of Thrones as no one was safe.  First we saw poor Janet (Janeh) meet her maker as Terence told Nidge that the “rats” he kept on about needed to be taken care of. However, Nidge didn’t seem to feel too guilty as his shiny new King Nidge runners from Trish soon took his mind off things.

    Then Siobhan, ever the rat, told Detective Moynihan about Git’s death. Well, at least her own embellished version of what happened. Moynihan got mad and went from good cop to bad cop as we saw him pull over Nidge on the side of the road and chew up his tax disc. Sound.

    Meanwhile, Fran the man was spotted by Nadine who promptly ratted him out to the guards and it wasn’t long before he was back in the ‘Joy. Things went rapidly downhill for Fran from here and let’s just say he’ll be walking like John Wayne for a while, if he ever walks again.

    The final scenes of the finale all happened very fast. Siobhan called over to Trish for a cuppa where she admitted to a devastated Trish that Nidge was behind Janet’s death all along. Sneakily, we also saw Siobhan plant her rapist’s finger bone in the bathroom in a bid to frame her evil uncle.

    As she left, Siobhan met Nidge outside where she finally flew off her rocket and confronted him about the beating that left Tommy in a coma. She then revealed that she was the rat all along and that she had framed him for Git’s murder and that the Gardaí were on their way.

    Needless to say uncle Nidgey got mad, real mad, but before all hell broke loose between the two who arrives only Patrick in a Ford Transit with all guns blazing. He takes down Siobhan as he aims for Nidge and almost gets little Warren (Wardin) too as he chases Nidge around the back of the house.

    With only one wear out of his new runners, a bullet to the chest sends Nidge to the ground and with one last look at his son, a second shot is fired into his chest as Patrick finally gets his revenge.

    And that was it, the nation’s jaws all dropped to the floor.

    So what’s next for Love/Hate?

    Mary Murray has said she knew her character Janet’s demise was ‘imminent’, but was delighted she made it to the last episode of the season.

    Tom Vaughan Lawlor, who played Nidge, looks set for bigger and brighter things as he released a statement saying; “The last five years working on Love/Hate have been an incredible and unforgettable journey for me…I’m hugely grateful to the show and to its fans and I am equally looking forward to the new challenges ahead for me both on screen and stage”.

    Johnny Ward, who played Paulie, will “swap the guns for tights” as he is to take on the lead role of Peter Pan in this Christmas’s panto in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin.

    However, there is a tiny glimmer of hope for Love/Hate fans as when the Head of drama at RTÉ, Jane Gogan, was asked on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland if this is the end of Love/hate she simply stated; “That decision is yet to be made” before adding “It’s a very big world and it can extend far beyond what we’ve seen so far…it can go in all sorts of directions”.

    All we can do is cross our fingers and hope Stuart Carolan hears the cry of the people for more. Or you never know, Tommy could wake up and it could all just have been a bad dream.

    But for now, to deal with our Love/Hate withdrawal symptoms, what can we be tuning into on TV?

    Unfortunately we have to wait till April for Game of Thrones to return to our screens, however the new series of The Big Bang Theory is on RTE2 every Wednesday at 7pm, The Flash has only started on Sky1, and the new season of House Of Cards is out on Netflix in February. A new series, Fortitude, is starting on Sky Atlantic in January, and both The Walking Dead season 5 and Greys Anatomy Season 11 will also be back on RTE in the near future.

    On top of all this we have plenty of Christmas flicks to look forward to in the coming weeks too.

  • Inquisition helps Dragon Age back to its Origins

    Inquisition helps Dragon Age back to its Origins

    It’s reasonable to assume one of the most popular Internet searches of 2012 may have been ‘games similar to Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.’ Moving on became a must when predicting the next load screen was more entertaining than slaying an Elder Dragon with little but a Cheese Wheel; but where to move on to?

    Of course, Dragon Age II emerges as one of the top results for similar games. Yet, the lackluster second installment in the series compares about as flawlessly as an Argonian to a Dunmer.

    Whilst it is unintelligible to compare two games so crudely, the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition draws ever closer, and BioWare’s inspiration has allegedly been drawn from the revolutionary 2011 fantasy epic.

    Speaking to Wired.com, Ray Muzyka (BioWare co-founder), confirmed Bethesda’s influence over the upcoming game by revealing that designers were “checking out aggressively” games such as Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

    One of the most woeful weaknesses of Dragon Age II was the inability to choose between multiple character races. Fans slammed BioWare’s new direction as they were cast into the body of the blandly human, Hawke.

    Wisely so, DA: Inquisition harks back to its origins by enabling the player to select from four race sets. Intriguingly, Bioware has proclaimed that the Qunari will be added as a playable race. It should prove interesting to see how they have resolved the question as to why a Qunari would become an Inquisitor.

    Among other things, DA: Inquisition marks the return of the tactical camera. This will be particularly cherished by heightening tactical capabilities during heated battles as the player is able to pause the action and micromanage their party members with the enemy’s information in mind.

    Although developers appear weary of tagging the game with ‘open-world’, it presents expansive landscapes and a new level of immersion that was impossible with previous titles. Inquisition centers on freedom for the player – but not enough to get lost in, the tight storyline that is typical of BioWare should wrap everything together nicely.

    Whilst the influence of Elder Scrolls: Skyrim cannot be denied, to accuse BioWare of rehashing the ideals achieved by Bethesda would be naïve. Rather, Inquisition has imbibed the knowledge of the fantasy role-playing criteria set by its rival and primed to surpass them.

    Perhaps the New Year may embark a new quest for gamers to find a title similar to Inquisition – and we might just end up back in Helgen.

    Dragon Age: Inquisition will be released November 21.
    Video and Images courtesy of EA games. 

    Dragon Age: Inquisition Screen courtesy of EA
    Dragon Age: Inquisition Screen courtesy of EA
    Dragon Age: Inquisition Screen courtesy of EA
    Dragon Age: Inquisition Screen courtesy of EA
    Dragon Age: Inquisition Screen courtesy of EA
    Dragon Age: Inquisition Screen courtesy of EA
    Dragon Age: Inquisition Screen courtesy of EA
    Dragon Age: Inquisition Screen courtesy of EA
    Dragon Age: Inquisition Screen courtesy of EA

  • The Drop Movie Review

    The Drop is a thriller set in Brooklyn, which sees Tom Hardy play the role of Bob the barkeeper alongside his cousin Marv, played by James Gandolfini, who owns the bar. We learn from bitter conversations that the bar has now changed ownership to the Cechen gangsters of the neighbourhood, who took the bar over to act as a “drop bar.” This means that the bar is used as a location to drop and exchange dirty money out of sight of policemen.

    Hardy proves himself to be an extremely versatile actor, starring alongside the late James Gandolfini, in Dennis Lehane’s first adaption of his very own short story. As we are brought into a spiralling world of crime and violence, we learn that Marv seems to fancy himself as a tough guy while Bob is more the unwilling partner. But as they say blood is thicker than water and Bob stays beside his cousin but isn’t as innocent as he seems. He attends the local church, but never takes communion, letting on that there is more to his story then just being a simple barkeep.

    As the characters’ own stories begin to unfold, a robbery takes place at the bar. And Chovka, the leading gangster, is not happy. He wants his money back immediately, and indicates that the responsibility of this stolen cash is now on the two cousin’s heads.

    Whilst all this sets up the main action plot, another sub plot unfolds.  Bob finds a beaten-up pit-bull puppy in a woman’s trash can. Bob and this woman, Nadia, played by Noomi Rapace, strike up a friendship. As he learns about the animal and begins to love it, the original owner shows up and demands his dog back, but Bob refuses. The stranger starts harassing Bob, pranking him and threatening him, leaving Bob in a fragile and watchful state.

    As all these different plots begin to thicken and all the characters begin to tell their own stories, we learn that everything is not as it seems. Some things are connected in unexpected ways and Hardy, in probably one of his best roles to date, has no problem keeping the audience guessing. As Bob’s character begins to darken Hardy’s performance is captivating.

    The Drop gives the audience a strong, gritty, dark atmosphere where a sense of dread is felt at all times. This is a film that where the plot twists and turns in unforeseen ways. As for James Gandolfini, plays Marv, the man who feels he had his big dreams ripped away, perfectly. As Gandolfini’s last acting role before his death it he showcases his pinnacle of talent when it comes to playing what he knows best as the misunderstood tough guy who will keep you on your toes. The combination of Hardy and Gandolfini together brings nothing but pure movie magic.