Yearly Archives: 2014

Jonas Knutsson And Johan Norberg, Norrland. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is nothing better than being lost. Whether it is in thought, the moment, in Time or perhaps in the physical world of an abundant forest, being lost can be quite liberating. Once the panic subsides, once the feeling of dread of the unknown passes by, the taste of the forest can come alive and the chance to revel in an adventure can become apparent. After all, the only ones who ever truly lost are those that don’t want to be found.

Battlefield 4 Final Stand DLC Review, X-Box, Playstation and P.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

As Battlefield 4 comes to its natural conclusion, the prospect of a new dawn in the series starts to creak its door open.

To show that the publishing company, DICE, care about the Battlefield players and the franchise, this DLC (Down Loadable Content) takes place before Battlefield 2142 as a prequel. Fans of the genre may find themselves wondering how a new DLC will link with a game that was made nearly nine years ago, however as the makers did not go into too much detail on how the war in 2142 started, there is a tremendous scope for a back-story to be enjoyed, and after all DICE do like their surprises.

Brit Floyd, Gig Review. Echo Arena, Liverpool. (2014).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It is a problem that can flummox the most ardent or even the most casual of music lovers in Liverpool, that nowhere in the U.K., with perhaps the possible exception of London with its network of collected villages all rolled up into a Westminster empiric bag, can offer so much music in one night to its populace that audiences can be split through loyalty, nostalgia and shared love.

Paddington, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Nicole Kidman, Michael Gambon, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Imelda Staunton, Matt Lucas, Madeline Harris, Samuel Joslin, Matt King, Tim Downie, Geoffrey Palmer, Jim Broadbent, Michael Bond, Alice Lowe, Simon Farnaby, Dominic Coleman, Will Smith, Javier Martez.

In even the most unassuming of people, there is the potential for greatness and joy. The tales of Paddington Bear are amongst the most loved in children’s literature television, and yet the stories are so well imagined and presented, that like all the best characters from British Literature they appeal right across the age spectrum and the latest incarnation for the cinema is just as enjoyable and just as much fun as an audience member could ever hope for.

The Hobbit, The Battle Of The Five Armies, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Richard Armitage, Lee Pace, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Billy Connolly,  Graham McTavish, Ken Stott, Ian Holm, Sylvester McCoy, Ryan Gage, Peter Hambleton, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Adam Brown, Aiden Turner, Manu Bennett, Hugo Weaving, Dean O’ Gorman, Christopher Lee, James Nesbitt, Stephen Fry, Mikael Persbrandt.

The Whereabouts, I Don’t Care. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It seems such an interminable age since the position vacant sign went up on the door, group of young energetic lads from Ireland who can actually play decent Rock and Roll and who has rhythm engrained throughout their souls. The call becomes a shout, a bellow and an unremitting plea and like Manchester City in the mid-1990s in search of a manager who actually could do the same fine job that Peter Reid was on the verge of creating, the appeal seems to have kept falling upon deaf ears…until the listener finds a band from County Cavan has been plugging away and The Whereabouts make introduce themselves with honour.

The Truce, E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It is remembered as a point in time in which Humanity gained a little perspective in a world that had gone completely and utterly insane. The leap of faith in which hundreds of soldiers, who only hours before had been shooting at each other in a conflict that none of them truly understood the reason for which it was being fought, met in the middle of a scrap of Earth called No-Man’s Land and declared a truce that would have lasting repercussions and the small smile of peace installed in the hearts of generations to come. The Truce was the moment in which peace broke out and man put down his weapon against all that had gone before him.

Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions (PS4), Game Review

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions is a twin-stick shooting game available for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4. Geometry Wars started out life as a mini-game upon the release of Project Gotham Racing 2 on November 17th 2003 and was accessible via the in-game garage, which due to the positive reception it received from players was spun off into its own game called Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved and has since continued as its own successful series of games. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions was developed by Lucid Games who rose from the ashes of the unfortunately disbanded Bizarre Creations that had developed the Project Gotham Racing series and began the Geometry Wars series as well as some excellent titles through the years such as Formula One, Formula 1 ’97, Metropolis Street Racer, Fur Fighters, The Club, Blur and James Bond 007: Blood Stone, therefore proving Bizarre Creation’s and Lucid Games’ pedigree as excellent games developers and one of the best Liverpool based developers of all-time in the videogames industry.

The Who, Gig Review. Echo Arena, Liverpool. December 2014.

The Who, Echo Arena, Liverpool. December 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

The Who, Echo Arena, Liverpool. December 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It’s a wonder at times that the River Mersey doesn’t grumble at the thought of another band making its way to the Echo Arena and producing a cacophony of sound that seeps through every pore of the audience’s being. The dynamic ebb and flow, the underlying fury that drives the water down to the Liverpool-Manchester Canal and hits the rocky shoreline of Ireland with a brutal but much loved smack takes second place to the sheer resonance produced when rock legends such as Peter Gabriel, Status Quo and The Who come to Liverpool within a week of each other.

Men, Women And Children, Film Review. Picturehouse@ F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Cast: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Gardner, Rosemarie Dewitt, Judy Greer, Dean Norris, Emma Thompson, J.K. Simmons, Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Crocicchia, Kaitlyn Dever, Ansel Elgort, Katherine C. Hughes, Elena Kampouris, Will Peltz, Travis Tope, David Denman, Dennis Haysbert, Tina Parker, Shane Lynch, Phil LaMarr, Jason Douglas.