Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Everyone has a prison, a jail cell or gaol of their own making; it is how they deal with the thoughts inside that surrounding wall that set them apart from others. Sometimes your mind and imagination are the only Freedom Within The Prison.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Every outstanding Graphic Novel or superhero requires a back story, there is a law somewhere, probably laid down by story teller supremo Stan Lee on a scrap of paper in a rest room and the flourished signature witnessed by Jack Kirby. The paper, possibly now residing on a wall in Marvel offices just below the enormous Captain America drawing that greets visitors to the building in New York, is surely seen by all aspiring writers and artists, none so more as Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez and in the book Clockworks.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Martin Freeman, Bob Odenkirk, Keith Carradine, Joey King, Susan Park, Gary Valentine, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Chantel Perron, Andrew Neil McKenzie, Amanda Guenther.
There is always one television series that stands out each year and Fargo could well be it for 2014. If they never make another series then the writer, the Coen brothers and the actors who have been associated with this terrific endeavour will have more than amply done their jobs.
For many years, I made a point
Of standing somewhere amazing
When the Summer Solstice Sun rose Making a bit of a song and dance
As the Sun came up
Bog eyed and bleary
As the first dawn rays hit
I’d play a bit of music
Sing an ancient song
Probably
Sumer Is Icumen In
Wicker Man stylee
But without all the human sacrifice
And definitely no Edward Woodwards.
And it was good.
But there are other ways
To show your gratitude
For the miracle of Sunlight
And they don’t all need
A lot of rigmarole
You can say Hooray for Summer
Anywhere at all
Any time of day
So long as you feel joy
In the warmth of the rays on your face
And to that end
Taking the dogs to find the Sun
At the far edge of everything
Where the land gives way to the sea
And the path of the Sun glistens
Turning rolling breakers into gold
Now that’s a fine place to
Celebrate the Summer Solstice
Even if the dogs don’t know or care That’s what we’re doing.
The simple happiness of dogs
Splashing about
In the glittering sunlit water
Enjoying every moment
Sings a new version
Of Sumer Is Icumen In
Sings it straight to your heart
From mine.
First published by Ace Magazine, June 2014.
There are moments in which a single image can transcend any sport, any encounter and make it almost meaningless but also be seen as the pinnacle of humanity’s endeavour to push ourselves harder and better each time we wake up in the morning. The very human emotion of shedding a tear in front of a watching world, perhaps even letting the floodgates open and letting grief take its natural place in the world, not to let it bottle up inside as you would expect a robot to do. This enduring image was captured by television cameras inside the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha as Ivory Coast midfielder Serey Die showed the world exactly how much a person he was during the national anthems before this open ended, superbly evenly matched game between the Ivory Coast and Columbia.
First puiblished by Ace Magazine on line. June 2014.
In the end it came down to two moments in which Luis Suárez, the talisman of Liverpool, shined brighter than anything else on the field. Two moments in which genuine class showed and in which he joined the likes of Beckenbauer, Cruyff and Pele as reasons to admire him as a footballer, even if some of more personal habits leave a sour taste in the mouth.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Simon Wan, Tina Malone.
The richness of Liverpool’s cultural heritage is forever blessed because of every single person that has made their way to Liverpool. No matter how far, no matter the reason, like New York, it is a city built upon the history of strangers coming from far afield and giving a little piece of their home. That history inspires, it moulds an area and its people and yet occasionally the lives that have been touched by meeting somebody new is destroyed by ill thinking by Government agreements.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The turning of the year, perhaps in some ways even more important, more evocative to those who live by the natural setting of the Sun than the human construct of December 31st and January 1st, the day when for those in the North; the clock starts to slide towards the darkness once more. The minutes start to chip away from both ends until the chaotic beauty of the world becomes shrouded in darkness for a few months.
Spending time listening to acclaimed songwriter Alan O’ Hare talk is one of those great pleasures in life. Passionate about his craft, the city of Liverpool, justice, truth and making sure people understand what Liverpool means as a place of music and art, Alan O’ Hare gives forthright answers with absolute honesty and candour.
Having crafted ten incredible songs for the new album From Muddy Water To Higher Ground at Crosstown Records with Million-selling producer Jon Lawton, Alan O’ Hare is entitled to feel relaxed and content with life if he so wishes but there is a tremendous feel to the man’s world that suggests seismic change, the ability that erupts from under the surface of a very talented wordsmith is never far from exploding and taking down viable targets with it.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Mike Birbiglia, Lotte Verbeek, Willem Dafoe, Milica Govich, David Whalen, Ana Dela Cruz, Emily Peachey, Emily Bach.
It is rare, actually arguably near impossible, to find a film so heart-warming and yet so completely devastating at the same time. The dichotomy of the love that you feel for the two main characters trying its best to cope with the tears you feel running down your face in the type of constant movement that the M25 would love to be able to achieve on a Friday night during Rush Hour. Yet the dichotomy exists in stunning equal measure and creates a harmony of emotion that you just have to live with or ignore, there is no other way to handle The Fault In Our Stars than by giving in to it completely and utterly.