New Tricks: Last Man Standing. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Dennis Waterman, Denis Lawson, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tamzin Outhwaite, Anthony Calf, Tracy Ann Oberman, Amy Nuttall, Bernard Cribbins, Larry Lamb, Garry Cooper, Nigel Cooke, Nigel Betts, Adrian Lukis, Michael Shaeffer, Samuel Oatley, Samuel Collings, Kevin Bishop, Leon Williams, Ishia Bennison.

It may have come too late for New Tricks to be come back after this particular run, the last words have pretty much been said on what has been a tremendous drama, however in Last Man Standing, the two part opener to what is the last series, the team have arguably their finest moment in the sun.

New Tricks: Last Man Standing. Television Review. full post

(437 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

There Is Only A Trillion Years Left To Live.

The Universe is dying,

the scream of the victim

and the whimpering quiet pleading

has been heard since it was born

against its will and left urgently

on the doorstep

of the nearest milkman

to deliver on his rounds.

 

Long since has it passed the anger and frustration

of youth and its quiet dogged resistance to Middle Age

in which it lost its maidenhead to Entropy

in a quick fumble beside the sea of forever

and the loss of the phone number hastily scribbled

There Is Only A Trillion Years Left To Live. full post

(181 words, estimated 43 secs reading time)

D.C. Comics Zero Year. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Every tale of heroism has a beginning, every superhero a back story in which the reality of their true nature shines through and the grip on the reader’s imagination starts to take hold.

The one huge problem with graphic novels and comic books is how time outstrips the development of the character. One Fantastic Four reader wrote to Marvel in the 1970s and explained how one year in time in their Universe was worth three to four in the real world, by which logic the average reader has moved on and only leaving the dedicated to follow the story line on ad-infinitum.

D.C. Comics Zero Year. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(468 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

Mama Roux, E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

That voodoo that they do so well really does set the feet tapping beyond the expectation of what the ears demand when asking to be stimulated and encouraged to try something new.

It is in the art of the story teller that such songs come bouncing out of the cage like a pent up fighter seeking to land the first punch but to whom the necessity of doing so causes grief, much better that the tussle between mind and ear be mutual and one of understanding and it is to this that the four track self titled E.P. by Mama Roux really gives its life and respect too.

Mama Roux, E.P. Review. full post

(376 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Paul Smith And The Imitations, Contradictions. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

A contradiction should always be used for a basis of an argument when the truth is as shady as a large canopy spread over a wide area and with the Sun and the rain both beating down on it with vigorous ambition. Contradiction should not be employed when discussing Maximo Park’s Paul Smith’s latest project with the Imitations, the musically absorbing Contradictions.

Paul Smith And The Imitations, Contradictions. Album Review. full post

(383 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

For Sale.

For sale:

One fairly careful,

but sometimes under-valued owner

prone to breakdown on occasions

when the weather and temperament gets too hot,

has rust spots where lack of full thrust

and fifth gear has only ever been imagined

but never put in practice.

Right headlight needs work,

best not try on full beam as photophobia

may upset other users.

Stereo works well, too well, sometimes

only available on loud, especially when

the mood hits and the upbeat open road

seems clear of clutter, place objects in way,

For Sale. full post

(516 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Life In Squares, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Eve Best, Phoebe Fox, Catherine McCormack, Lydia Leonard, Jack Davenport, Rupert Penry-Jones, James Norton, Ed Birch, Christian Brassington, Lucy Boynton, Andrew Havill, Sam Hoare, Eleanor Bron, James Clay, Deborah Findlay, Ron Heaps, Guy Henry, Edmund Kingsley, Anton Lesser, James Northcote, Emily Bruni, Edmund Digby-Jones, Guy Henry, Finn Jones, Adam Palsson, Simon Thomas, Elliot Cowan, Rosie Ede, Jenny Howe, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Marianne Oldham, Simon Thomas, Al Weaver.

 

Life In Squares, Television Review. full post

(447 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Snark Busters: High Society (PS3), Game Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9 out of 10

Snark Busters: High Society is a hidden object finding puzzle game available for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS3. The game initially launched for the P.C. in May 2012 with an iOS version arriving in November 2012 before making its way onto PS3 in November 2014.

The story revolves around the lead character Elizabeth Hughes, a world famous photographer, who announces her engagement to a gardener called Nicolas Fortright, but has her happiness cut short by Duchess Daffington who accuses Nicolas of having stolen a precious family heirloom; prompting Elizabeth to set out in an attempt to prove her fiancées’ innocence during her own investigation.

Snark Busters: High Society (PS3), Game Review. full post

(1452 words, estimated 5:48 mins reading time)

Vesbim, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Gig Review. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Beneath a blaze of lights and lasers, backed by a boom of energised electric guitar and the thumping drumbeats provided by the superb Phil Westwood, Vesbim announced their arrival on stage at The New Brighton Floral Pavilion to perform their magnificent representation of Pink Floyd’s iconic 1979 album The Wall in grand style, and never for a moment let the pace slip.

Vesbim, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Gig Review. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton. full post

(384 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Partners In Crime: The Secret Adversary. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

Cast: David Walliams, Jessica Raine, James Fleet, Matthew Steer, Alice Krige, Clarke Peters, Jonny Philips, Paul Brennen, Mary Roscoe, Andrew Havill, Richard Dillane, Madeline Appiah, Catherine Harvey, Peter Vollebregt, Bentley Kim, Robert Whitelock, Samuel Oatley, Robert Horwell, Julian Rivett, Camilla Marie Beeput, George Taylor, Peter Gordon, Jamie Taylor, Ian Hogan.

The world has ever been thus mad and in a world of such insanity, where men’s alliances to their country and their values are turned upside down; the only thing to do is keep the faith and believe that all will come right in the end, not something that instantly comes to mind as the B.B.C. adapt the lesser of Agatha Christie’s works in Partners in Crime for the 21st Century audience.

Partners In Crime: The Secret Adversary. Television Review. full post

(618 words, estimated 2:28 mins reading time)