There's a reason why Dan Brown sells so many books...

Reading and writing should be for everybody and anybody, we thankfully don't live in times when it was only academics and journalists who were the only ones who did so. But this still has not stopped a sense of superiority of literature critics and English professors who still pride themselves on the old classics, most well educated people hate culture unless it is high culture, and considered 'Art'. Two weeks ago Clive James wrote a scathing attack on Dan Brown's work in the i Newspaper, 'calling it pretentious' among other other things. The column was mot without some merit, and at times quite funny. But I sensed a feeling of envy and intellectual arrogance in his piece.

What intellectual snobs and academics forget, is that most fiction books are now written for a variety of different people, including those that write them. Now of course certain books have more literaturey merit than others, the same way music has more artistic merit than others. The difference with writing a book compared with music is that for the most part a book is an individual piece of work, it's more personal, compared with popular culture music, of which I mostly detest, and of which I am completely snobby about. Of course old classics such as The Colour purple and Lord of the flies should be studied in schools rather than something like Twilight.

But like the Twilight series, Dan Brown's books have a large audience because they are both accessible, readable, and have story's which are engaging. In Dan Brown's case, the books are focused on a central topic, his chapters are short and tightly fitted together, it's easy to see why they have been turned into films. The language itself, the prose, the style is by no means perfect at all, and some of the imagery used to describe situations can be laughable, particularly to those who are hardened readers, and the artsy fartsy literature academics.

But where Dan Brown succeeds, and where all authors have to succeed in, and if they want there books to be read all the way through, is that they have to ultimately be interesting. The narrative and characters have to keep the reader involved, and in the (story driven) genre Dan Brown writes in, the plot changes have to rewards you with the time that you have spent reading.

The great thing about reading is that it invokes emotions while at the same time requires you to use your own imagination. And for all of a book's substance, it has to be entertaining, whether that's with witty dialogue like Oscar Wilde, imaginative worlds and great characters like J.K Rowling, or Dan brown's narrative led mystery/thriller novels.  

True Romance in New York

Are you looking to go away on a short romantic break with that special person, look no further than the Big Apple.

Without doubt New York is the most iconic city in the world, but it also provides the greatest romance stories in the world. Despite most romantic comedy films being set in the Big Apple very few associate it in the same way as Paris or even London.

From the moment you step onto the streets of this city it is easy to feel intimidated but there is no need to be, from the entire buzz and entertainment of Times Square to the soothing and relaxing Central Park, there is something for everyone.

A good way to start is at Central Park, at over eight hundred acres in size it provides the perfect sanctuary from the rest of Manhattan. From here you can walk arm in arm through the peaceful observatory garden, take some great photos at Strawberry Fields, take a rowing boat under Bow Bridge at the Ramble and Lake, or for $35 you can travel in a romantic horse drawn carriage from one end of this lush part of the city to the other.

There is so much more you can do, for the experience it is worth going to the top of the Empire State building, but for the best panoramic view of the city, go to the top of the Rockefeller centre. From here you get to see every inch of the city's skyline for all its glory, although it's tempting to go at night it is best to go during the day so you can see Central Park and the Hudson River.

Away from all of the sight seeing there is plenty of shopping to do, lets face it there is no point in going to New York if you are not going to do a bit of shopping. In Midtown not too far from Times Square you have Macy's, the largest shop in the world, you can pick from every designer brand imaginable, the choice is yours.

But it's at night when New York really comes to life, if you choose to pick a hotel near Times Square it will give you easy access to all of the Broadway shows, there is a wide variety to choose from, but it's
advisable to buy tickets in advance to avoid price hikes and long queues.

If it's not Broadway you are after why not try going out for a romantic dinner, The River cafe is the perfect place. Located at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, it is perfect to watch the lights of Manhattan at dusk before you head off back to your hotel. Remembering that a whole different story begins the next day in the city that never sleeps  

* This is a slightly updated version of travel feature I did in my first year of University. I have been to New York 3 times, the photo in this blog is one I had taken on a boat tour around the Hudson River 

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: A retro review (updated review from my portfolio)

When gamer's were first introduced to Sonic the Hedgehog way back in 1991 they were mesmerised by the game's sheer speed, which had never really been seen before. Gone were the slow movements of a character plodding along the screen waiting for the next pitfall to jump or the next baddie that stood in your way. In Sonic, to progress through the game you had to run up hills, broke through walls, and bounce off baddies in mid air.

But the 1992 sequel does everything the original did but better, from the moment you hear the word 'SEGA!" sound out from the voice-over as the cartridge is powered up, you immediately sense that you're playing a very special game. Sonic 2 plays off from where the first one started, Dr Robotnik once again returns as the villain, at the end of each level you get the pleasure of defeating him in a boss fight.

If you thought the first game was fast the sequel is even faster,  although the level's are generally longer in length they tend to be linear until the last few levels of the game where it diverts from a simple left to right scrolling platformer to a more challenging top down one. The level's are also far more vibrant and colourful compared with the first game, the designers have done an excellent job of making the backgrounds as imaginative as possible, my personal favourite being the Emerald Hill Zone.

As with the first game the funky and iconic tunes return, each level has its own soundtrack and they accommodate one another perfectly, to play the game without the music is unthinkable. The only downside to Sonic 2 is the difficulty, although challenging in the latter third of the game you will not find it long before you master each level with ease on further play throughs. Which albeit there is plenty of, no matter how many times you might complete the game you will always come back for more.

Sonic 2 on reflection was without doubt the pinnacle of the blue hedgehog's heyday, he was still fresh and dynamic, there was quite simply nothing else like it on the market at the time, it sprang up countless clones but it was never and still never been beaten for simple video gaming joy. This truly was the gem in one of the most popular video game franchises we have ever had the joy to play.

Top 5 underrated/guilty pleasure films

I don't usually write lists, but on this occasion I thought it was appropriate. There are always films which are universally seen as terrible, Pluto Nash comes to mind. But there are also those bad films which if you turn off half your brain, and look beyond the surface are actually not as bad as you'd think. There are of course film's which were underrated on release but when you look back on them, they deserved more praise than they got.

1. Super Mario Brothers

Ask any fan of the most renown videogame franchise what they thought of this film and the chances are they will scowl at you, they completely disown it. It's true that it has very little in common with the game, Mario and Luigi apparently live in Brooklyn, and Bob Hoskins in dungarees just doesn't work. However the film is very entertaining, the goombas are a work of genius, and those jet shoes (is that what they're called?) are simply amazing. It's the perfect film to watch at Christmas or on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

2. Final Fantasy- the spirits within

Groundbreaking for its time, it got a mixed reception at the time and spectacularly failed at the box office. The animation is a bit dated now, but the heart of the film is still very sound, and the story is actually very good and at times even quite emotional, the villain is not two dimensional, and at times even sympathetic. But again like the first film in my list it wasn't faithful to its source material, which is why fans of the games disown it. Which is a shame because in my opinion it's still the best videogame movie adaptation in my opinion.




3. Lost in Space

Watch this and try not to think that it's Joey Tribiani and not Matt LeBlanc on screen, it's impossible. But the film is very entertaining, Gary Oldman again plays the campy villain perfectly, the special effects understandably vary in quality, the opening scene still holds up very well indeed. Some of the dialogue is atrocious, 'DESTROY, DESTROY, DESTROY', but it only makes the film even better. It's a shame because the film leaves with a cliffhanger, and because of the film's under performance the planned sequels never happened, and we will never know what happened next. Shame.



4. You've got mail

Unlike some of the others on the list, this film wasn't universally hated on release, it has just kind of been forgotten. But You've got mail is a great New
York romcom, not only is it an original plot it is also a rare film that actually makes you feel better about the world, it provides perfect comfort watching. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are perfect in both roles, on a rainy day put this film and try to be depressed, impossible.



5. Small Soldiers

Tommy lee Jones was born to voice Major Chip Hazard of the commando elite, the great thing about this film is that it's fun and doesn't take itself seriously
at all. If this film was made now it would most probably be done in CGI, which is why it would never work or be made in the current climate of the film industry. Added in with the great action scenes is
plenty of tongue in cheek humour. Small Soldiers was sadly crowded out by the incumbent of CGI kids films.

The Purge- Review

Director- James DeMonaco
Running time- 85 minuted
Starring- Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey



Set in the year 2022, America has become a place of prosperity and full employment, but for one night in the year, for a twelve hour period there is an event called 'The Purge', where all crime is legal and services are suspended.

On this one night the film centres around the Sandin family, who live in an affluent upper middle class neighbourhood, Ethan Hawke and Lena Headley give reasonable performances for what they
are given, from the beginning we see that they represent an idealistic family unit, and 'The Purge' is far removed from their everyday reality as they lockdown their home. The tension builds up until a stranger being pursued by a group who want to kill them turns up at the front door.

Circumstances lead this stranger into the house, and it is from here that a lot of the action begins to take place. The problem is that so much of the suspense leads to nothing, while effective what little action there is is few and far between, and over far too quickly. And what begins with a very good villain ends in total disappointment, and we learn nothing of the group's motives as to why they want to kill this person.

There are too many changes of direction in the last third of the film, and none of it ends up making the film any better, by the time it ends it all felt like a 'meh' experience, although the final scene as 'The Purge' comes to an end, and normality is resumed does have a lot of impact.

For a lot of its faults, the film has a lot of original ideas, it conveys the worst in humanity in a crude way, it will keep you engaged throughout, like most thrillers it will keep you on the edge of your seat, and constantly guessing at the back of your head as you're watching. It's just a shame that all ends up being average.

The Purge plays on the uncertain economic climate that the world still finds itself in five years after the banking crisis, but for all that it has going for it, and with a very good build up, the second half of the film just falls flat on its face. 

2.75/5      

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Director- J.J Abrams

Running time- 132 minutes

Rating- PG

A very enjoyable albeit formulaic Sci-Fi action film

The reboot of the Star Trek franchise into a new film series back in 2009 was ambitious, and to many people a very welcome surprise. It was perfectly cast (all of whom once again return) and had a great blend of storytelling as well as action that is so hard to pull off in science fiction genre.

This sequel does not quite live up to either, and it's disappointing because the trailer was one of the best that I have seen for a very long time. The basis of the plot revolves around a terrorist attack in London, which then leads the Enterprise in pursuit of the perpetrator, an ex starfleet agent, menacingly and brilliantly played by Benedict Cumberbatch, although there is one slight twist in his eventual plans, the narrative of the film doesn't change much, and neither is it any different to anything else that we have already seen.

There's nothing wrong with this, most films are formulaic in some sense, but what they can't be, is being very predictable. Moments of tension and real emotional character interaction fall flat when everything turns out as you expected, each scene is predictably telegraphed into the next. The action scenes are well choreographed and exciting to watch and very large in scale, one particular gunfight with the Klingons in the early part of the film is very good although a little short.

Visually it is one of the best film's I have ever seen, unlike most sci-fi films it has a great collage of scenes that vary in colour, in an often dark and frantic atmosphere that dominates much of its running time. The Enterprise is wonderfully modeled, and showcases what CGI is capable of doing. The cast is again perfect, although understandably the primary characters are Spock and James Kirk, although their personalities clash, the partnership is as intriguing and holds the film together well. Apart from the villain the rest of the characters are nothing more than supporting roles in terms of screen time.

The film ends much like the last film, and most of the episodes of the original series. A final encounter with the main villain followed by the Enterprise going into warp to embark on another expedition, and then for the credits to roll.

If you put aside the fact that it's unoriginal and formulaic, Into Darkness is an enjoyable film, and one which your time will not be wasted on. There is more than enough here to keep you entertained, and to keep you excited for another sequel.

3.5/5

     

Evil Dead Review

A highly preposterous but very enjoyable horror film

Sam Raimi's classic low budget Evil Dead was released in 1981, with the current trend of rebooting horror films in mind, Evil Dead shouldn't be as good as it is. With the rise of torture porn horror films such as Saw and Hostel, real tension and suspense has been forgotten or more often than not completely overshadowed by the graphic nature of the violence in them, no matter what the content is. The good thing about the new Evil Dead is that the brutal violence combines well with the suspense in an effective way.

Like the original the film is centred around a group of friends who go to a remote cabin in the middle of nowhere, where they discover a book in the basement which unleashes a demon once they open and read it. In this film one of the characters is there for the purpose of stopping her drug addiction. Because of the film's correct and short running time of 91 minutes, it isn't long before the narrative of the film plays out and the carnage begins.

With the introduction of the demonic force, one by one we watch the characters physically deform into monstrous killers. Each of their transformations is grisly, and the effects even more so. The film certainly pulls the punches in the blood department, moments of self harm are graphic and a little shocking, but never really upsetting because of the horrid nature of the character's involved. A particular reinvention of one distressing scene from the original that involves rape via tree vines appears.

The secluded setting of the film is never really played upon but we know it exists, when the outside forests of the cabin are shown, they are to heavy rain and grey skies, a vast difference to the opening scene when they arrive at the cabin. Most of the film takes place in the cabin itself, a dark and dingy place with dead cats hanging from the ceiling in the basement.

The pace of the film fits in well with the running time, although the characters are not deep enough to really empathize with, we do care and sympaphise with them, the paranoia and downturn of their fortunes are portrayed well.

The ending has a surprising twist, and one that is different from the original, again preposterous but enjoyable. The film does suffer from a lack of imagination, at times it just felt like I was just waiting for the next person to die in an already seen death, most scenes are predictable, and for a horror film, , although there are scenes of tension and suspense, the scares are very few and very far between.

But Evil Dead is a welcome change from the rest of the torrid horror remakes of late, in part because it takes the essence of the original and adapts it to a new audience. It uses its simplicity as its advantage.

3.5/5