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As You Were by Liam Gallagher
As You Were by Liam Gallagher
2017 | Indie, Rock
Vocals Sound Great (3 more)
Musically Well Written
Good Production Level
High Energy
Predictable Lyrics (1 more)
Too Many Cheap Shots At Noel
Straightforward and To The Point
This record can be summed up in one work: simple.
This is a simple record both for the better and for the worse. This record contains some straightforward rock n' roll bangers, - songs like Wall Of Glass, Paper Crown, For What It's Worth and Bold - as well as some absolute derivative drivel - such as Chinatown, I Never Wanna Be Like You and I Get By. Luckily I'd say the record is about 70% good tunes and 30% garbage.


In terms of the record's sound, I was hoping for something similar to the stuff that Liam penned during the late era of Oasis. I'm Outta Time, from the last Oasis record is one of the best things Liam has ever written in my opinion, so I was hoping for that sort of sound and on this record I got it, (well for 70% of it anyway.) There is also undoubtedly a defiant energy present throughout the album as well, which carries some of the lesser songs on the album and saves them from being totally skip-able. As much as people have doubted Liam in the last few years, due to the underwhelming Beady Eye records and subsequent split and everything that has occurred in his personal life etc, he clearly still believes in himself very firmly and you can feel this brilliant sense of resilience throughout the record's runtime. That's another thing this album has going for it, it is very light on its feet and it never overstays its welcome. The total runtime is just shy of 45 minutes, with each of the fifteen songs hitting around the 4 minute mark, all either slightly above or below that duration which creates this great pace that compliments the album's energy perfectly.


For those of you that were doubtful about this record, as you've already heard what Liam without Noel sounds like in the form of Beady Eye, rest assured; this record is a million times better than either of the Beady Eye records. One thing that surprised me on this record, even though I know how Liam is, was how many times he takes a shot at Noel on it. Every second song is a pop at him and he's not even subtle about it. I know Liam is famous for his big mouth, but I naively thought that this time he was more focused on making a decent record than just slagging off his brother, which he does every day on Twitter anyway. Another downside is the lyrics on some tracks, you can see the next line coming from a mile away and some of the words he uses to rhyme are cringe-worthy. Don't get me wrong, there are some moments of potential greatness on this album as well and at times, it does reach the euphoric heights of some of the old Oasis tracks in terms of the way it makes you feel as a listener.


The production value is well done on this record as well, in the sense that Liam's voice sounds youthful and powerful on the record in contrast to how his voice sounds fairly used up during live gigs, but this is a review of As You Were as an album, not a review of Liam Gallagher's singing voice. The musicianship is also solid throughout with some drum beats you can't help but tap along to and some mega guitar solos.


Overall, I think that this record proved a lot of people wrong and took more than a few people by surprise. Sure, Liam didn't write many of the songs himself, but he does have something to say with this record and it feels impactful. Even if you don't like the music on a technical level, it's hard to fault the guy's resilient, defiant energy that he suitably weaves into this record.
  
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
2019 | Action, Comedy, Horror
The best Zom-com since its predecessor!
When "Zombieland (2009)" first came out, I was sceptical about it, as it looked like it would be nothing but a gore-fest packed with silly and cringe-worthy cheap laughs. But then it started and 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' began playing and I knew I was in for a treat!

Fast-forward a decade, and I entered "Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)" with similar scepticism. I was concerned the studios were going to take what had become a modern classic and simply rehash it in a poor attempt to cash in on its previous success. But then it started and 'Master of Puppets' began playing and I knew I was in for a treat!

Picking up seamlessly where the first one left off, both in terms of story and tone, Double Tap begins with the our group of heroes approaching the White House, which they decide is a good place to lay down some roots in the post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world they find themselves in.

It isn't long before the youngest member of the group, Little Rock, tires of their attempt at normality, desperate for interaction with any survivors her own age. After Wichita and Columbus fall out, the sisters take off, prompting a road trip for Tallahassee and Columbus to bring them back.

This is a masterclass in how a comedy movie should be executed. Laughs are frequent but not forced. The script is well-written and packed with the same sharp, witty dialogue found in its predecessor. And it manages to maintain its pacing for the duration - something few films can pull off. Too often, comedy films start off with an hilarious first act, but then runs out of steam by Act 2 before ruining the final act by trying to be too serious.

Yes, I'm looking at you "Baywatch (2017)"!

But Double Tap doesn't suffer from any of that. It retains the heart that made it stand out the first time around, whilst building on the laughs and relationships between the characters.

I found this film a little more meta than I remember the first one being. Lots of references to Zombie pop culture, like "The Walking Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead" - both of which Columbus refers to as unrealistic, which is ironically funny.

Of course, being a sequel, you need to introduce some new faces. The first one is Madison, played brilliantly by the beautiful Zoey Deutch. When the airhead blonde stereotype first appears, you immediately cringe and worry she's going to be the annoying tag-along that hopefully dies... yet the character is written in such a way that she effortlessly fits into the group and quickly becomes a likeable addition.

Next is Nevada, portrayed by the ever-reliable Rosario Dawson. She's a hard-hitting, Zombie-killing, Elvis-loving beauty who is an immediate and obvious match for Tallahassee.

And speaking of him, Woody Harrelson again steals the show with his incredibly funny, heart-warming and cringe-inducing turn as the violent Redneck. His lines are hilarious, even when they're not meant to be, and they're delivered inch-perfect every time.

The soundtrack is spot-on, and the visuals fit the type of movie this is trying to be. Overall, this film is a real treat. It flies by, provides many, many laughs, and also tugs on the heart strings just a little bit. It has everything that made the first one great, and it adds just enough to make this feel like more than just a remake.

Oh, and without spoiling things, it ain't over 'til the credits stop rolling... just saying! :-)

Not to be missed!
  
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy in Video Games

Jun 19, 2019  
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
2018 | Platform
When news first arrived that the crash empire would be releasing a new game. The whole world went nuts. It was a childhood favourite for so many households across the world. It was rolled out onto the PS4 platform on the 30th of June 2017. It smashed pre sale records, with tons of people choosing to put a deposit down in order of not missing the game. It consists of three of the crash games; Crash Bandicoot, Cortex Strikes Back, and Warped. The three most iconic of the crash series. All three had a major face lift, which was going to be obvious due to sheer jump in technology and graphics we’ve had. Yet nothing about the actual game has really changed. The levels, characters, and sounds have all stayed the same. Here’s a review of what the game was like to play.

Game Play

The first thing that a lot of people pointed out is, the game is hard to play. Well, harder than when most of us were kids and attempting it. But this shouldn’t be classed as a negative. It added excitement to the game, and if anything, made game play last longer. The graphics were incredible. Everything was so sharp and defined, it really made the characters and scenery pop to life. It also sort of made the game easier to play. Although the levels were hard, moving through them was easy. There were no annoying glitches, the characters were extra responsive to movements, and it really just had a smoother feeling compared to its very older brother. This game was review on a standard PS4, the graphics would have been 10x better on a custom gaming pc, it would have been interesting to compare the difference.

The attention to detail that Vicarious Visions (the developer) has gone to is outstanding. One huge improvement is the enemies. In the first lot of the three games, the enemies were always so hard to kill. It is very noticeable that in the new series, enemies move more fluidly, and are easier to kill or dodge. There’s no lag what so ever during the game which is perfect. The sounds are also crisper, with additional noises such as feet crunching on the floor, or the wind blowing have been added. It doesn’t affect gameplay, but it’s a nice additional touch. The best of the three games is definitely Cortex Strikes Back, it’s much more fun, crash is able to move around better, and it’s just generally more engaging.

Characters

All of the original characters still appear in the new games. There’s Aku Aku, the mask that appears making the funny noise. Crush, Crunch, Coco, Doctor Neo Cortex to name but a few. As with the scenery of the game, they’ve all had a little face lift too. It’s so much easier to see the features of the character’s. They look so crisp and clear in the HD platform. They all play exactly the same role as they did in the beginning, and seeing them all together in a high definition view really offers something nostalgic. Crash still remains the main character throughout the game.

Price

The price of the game when first released was around $35-$55 depending on which store you got it from. It has now rapidly reduced to around $20-$30. There’s also cool collectable extras to take a look at. You can get model figures of most of the main crash characters from the internet. If you can collect all of them, they might be worth something a little more in the future!

Negatives

There’s only two negatives of this game. One being the fact it is only available on the PS4 platform. Many xbox lovers weren’t too happy about this, but at the same time, crash has always been on playstation. It wouldn’t be right to release it on all platforms. If they had done however, there profit could have been exponential compared to what it was. Although this didn’t have PS4 lover’s complaining. The second issue is just how damn hard the levels were. Yes it’s good to have a little bit of a challenge, but not three whole games worth of rock solid challenges. It did anger a lot of people, especially parents. The game was simply just too hard to play for some children. I think if they had the chance to do it again, they should have options that let you choose game play difficulty. That way it’ll be suitable for all ages. But even so, the game did need to be toned down a bit.

http://sknr.net/2017/10/11/crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-review/