Aberystwyth

Hi readers !, just thought I would do something different. In my previous blogs I have mentioned the Student's Union, Arts Centre and the Commodore Cinema whilst pointing out that Aberystwyth is a coastal town in mid Wales. So I thought I'd dedicate this blog to the beautiful coastal town of Aber and its facilities,




The first picture I have taken is the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, with its own cinema, stages for bands, live acts as well as film festivals. Inside, it also has a cafe, upstairs bar, chapel, gift shop and a book shop as well as a dance studio.







The second photo I have taken is of Aberystwyth Students Union, inside there is the Joint that is the venue for Comedy nights, poker, deal or no deal, Reload, Cashback, themed nights as well as accomodating two pool tables and sofas. In Bar 9 is where they hold monday night at the movies which I regularly go to, watch films and then review them for everyone on here.










Now the third photo is more scenic, showing the north end of the bay, with its lovely blue waters and pleasant seaside town making Aber a rare and beautiful find









The next two photos are of the castle ruins which is positioned at the south end of the bay, looking out to sea












Picture six again shows the north end of the bay with greater focus upon Constitution Hill, having walked to the top there is a mini playground and cafe. There is a train to the top for the less active.









This final photo was taken on the bridge, over the main road that leads down into Aberystyth town from the University. The sea is shown as a picturesque backdrop.

Snakes on a Plane

Snakes on a Plane, directed by David R.Ellis

The actual title of the film gives it away but I still wanted to see this film as I am a huge fan of Samuel L Jackson as well as the good old 'plane taken over action movie'. So I went to the Aberystwyth students union on a Monday night with my housemates, having sat down on the comfy sofas the titles rolled with the opening montage of Hawaii and the beautiful sea and sandy beaches. Here we are introduced to a central character called Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips), who witnesses a murder and has to then fly over the pacific ocean to stand as a witness. So we then have the main protagonist Neville Flynn played by Samuel L Jackson, who is there to protect Sean throughout the journey.

However, no one on board could have ever imagined what would be in store because about an hour into their journey there is a timer that releases a variety of poisonous snakes and what makes them stir crazy is the scent of the hula wreaths that the passengers are wearing. As the snakes slither around the plane we have mulitple stories happening as and when the snakes attack. There is a couple in the toilets who are making love and one snake bites the guys 'sensitive area', leaving the entire male audience cringeing. In addition there are other snakes sliding past passengers feet and up their clothes which makes this film a jump out of your seat action movie, keeping you entertained throughout. As always Samuel L Jackson is brilliant as the action hero and it is arguably likely that the audience will always be on his side,whilst at the same time the female audience have Nathan Phillips as the 'eye candy'.

As the film progresses, tensions mount and at breaking point there is the introduction of the python leaving you definitely on the edge of your seat especially when a man throws a dog at the python and it eats the dog. All in all I would definitely recommend this movie if you want two hours of harmless, simple plot, tense action movie starring a cool action hero.

Over The Hedge

Over The Hedge, directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirk Patrick


Over The Hedge is another Dreamworks picture, released in 2006 and seeing as I am a big fan of animation films I was looking forward to this being shown in the Aberystwyth Students Union in early 2007.

The plot centres around Rj who is a racoon (voiced by Bruce Willis) who gets into trouble with a bear and in order to repay his debt he must get certain items for the bear. So he comes across a family of creatures such as Verne the tortoise (voiced by Garry Shandling), Hammy the squirrel (voiced by Steve Carell) and Stella the skunk (voiced by Wanda Sykes), amongst others. He tricks them into helping him go over the hedge and into surburbian human surroundings in order to get the items, however Verne is suspicious of Rjs intentions whilst everyone else is oblivious.

I would have to say that this movie is very funny from start to finish and the voices of the characters are brilliant with a particular mention of Steve Carell, who plays Hammy. Hammy is crazy and even the slightest energy drink will make him hyper, in addition Bruce Willis is ever reliable and he plays the voice of RJ who is sneaky and clever.

The animation is of a high quality and is visually impressive, one scene that stood out was the actual breaking into a house like a 'mission impossible', and a memorable moment is where Stella has to disguise herself as a cat and has to flirt with Tiger (a cat who is guarding the house). After the actual breaking in of the house, RJ eventually gets found out and learns the meaning of friendship and family because he realises that he belongs with them. He feels deep sorrow and tries to save one of the creatures who tried to scam their way to gettin food from the humans.

So the moral messages for children are firmly established, the ideal of family values and how you should stick together, protecting one another but at the same time it is one for the adults as well with more grown up humour. A definite hit and uncontrollable laughs throughout makes this a must see film for people of all ages.

Tenacious D in 'The Pick Of Destiny'

Tenacious D in 'The Pick Of Destiny', directed by Liam Lynch

Tenacious D stars Jack Black which is one of the reasons why I went to see this movie, having heard not much of the plot line I was oblivious as to what the film was about. So I went with two friends to see this movie on a Monday night at the Aberystwyth Students Union whereby meeting a few other people, we all sat down and watched the titles roll.

I have to admit that I have never seen a movie like this before, the opening sequence features the young character of Jack Black called JB who sings abusive lyrics round the dinner table. His mum, dad and brother are inflicted with this torture and from the clear iconography they are morally christian. It is immediately established that rock is his life and purpose, but his family frowns upon it leaving him with no other choice but to run away to Hollywood.

It is then we have a montage of his journey across America with the young boy then turning into Jack Black whereby he comes across a guy called KG who he thinks is a rock legend when really he's a fake. What makes this film flip out of reality is that on Jack Black's arse there is a birthmark 'tena' and on KG`s there is 'cious D', so they call their band Tenacious D believing that fate brought them together to become the ultimate rock band ever. Ok so normality is not here, but that's what makes this film unique, the music is brilliant and it has a great cool rock edge and combined with the talent of Jack Black makes this film reliable plus a good watch. Also Ben Stiller makes a cameo appearance as well as Tim Robins who are both funny and superb in helping to lead Jack Black as the main protagonist.

The plot unfolds as they go on a quest to find a magical guitar pick used by some of the worlds greatest rock stars, but it is housed in a rock and roll museum so JB and KG plan to break in and steal the guitar pick. This pick is supposedly a part of a broken tooth of Satan, so basically the plot is very far fetched.

But even so, the music is fantastic, Jack Black is as funny as ever and the way it was shot kept me entertained for the entire film so all in all it was Rock On!

Children of Men

Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuaron

Children of Men was made in 2006 and was first shown at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre in early 2007, whereby having seen the trailer I thought it looked like a watchable and interesting film so I went to see it with a friend. As the titles rolled the name of the movie appeared and introduced the background to the story that would follow. When it ended my friend asked me what I thought of it and I said it was good and when she asked what bit I liked my reply came, "all of it" when really I was lying.

The truth of the matter is that I had fallen asleep in the movie theatre, the only bits remembered was Clive Owen's character meeting up with Julianne Moore's Character whereby they are both freedom fighters wanting to protect this woman who is pregnant, supposedly in a world where there has been no conception due to a virus. However, the film was shown again at the Aberystwyth Students union and I was determined to give it another try, so I sat there again to watch the film, managing to get a bit further. There were a few touch and go moments but I managed to keep awake for the entire film which was quite an achievement.

I would not class this as a bad movie, the only real problem was the way it had been directed, the shots were overly long and the camera movements were jumpy and unfocused. Also the use of music was mimimal, due to personal preference music is an important part of a film in order to convey emotions and get the audience to feel for the piece. However in terms of acting Clive Owen gives an exceptional performance and is helped by the ever reliable and brilliant Michael Caine, but I felt that Julianne Moore was undervalued as she is an amazing actress but this film did not stretch her acting talents.

Over all, this is an alright film and if you want to see a slow paced mystery of why the world has become infertile then go and see it but personally the trailer was misleading and I would rather watch paint dry. In addition click on the link above to take you to IMDB.

The Queen

The Queen, directed by Stephen Frears


The Queen was released in 2006 and I was not particularly interested in watching this movie, firstly I do not take an interest in Royal affairs and secondly I was adamant as to how the Queen would be represented. But as a favour to a friend I went to see it at the Commodore Cinema and as I sat down with a big box of popcorn to hopefully keep me awake, there was no other choice but to enter this world.

The film starts with a series of events within a montage to give a documenatry style realism, showing the fatal car crash of Princess Diana, her death and then the response of the nation who are in mourning whereby they lay flowers in commemoration. As the film progresses, we see The Queen's reaction to her death and how the nation is accusing her of having no heart whilst the papers are attacking her and claiming she has no remorse. So Helen Mirren's portrayal is of a woman fighting her own personal demons because it has been embedded within her to show no emotion due to it being frowned upon as a sign of weakness within the Royal Family. So sympathy for her was nearly achieved but the greater picture came back to me and the bottom line is that Diana is dead and she isn't, so her portrayal gives the impression that she is in fact a 'Drama Queen', and the hardships of actually saying to her people that it is a tragic loss makes her character seem cold and heartless.

Apart from the actual plot, the way it was directed was a good effort and the quality of the shots and editing carried this movie through along with the dependable and reliable Helen Mirren, who recently won an Academy Award at the 2007 oscars for her role. However, what made a deep and pitiful hole in my stomach was at the end of the movie when she is left talking to Tony Blair and gives a little chuckle. For me, this shows she had learnt nothing about her ordeal with the nation and her duty to be there for them, added to the lack of respect shown for Princess Diana. So for me her portrayal within this movie was negative which re-established my faith in not immersing myself in the life of royalty.

Casino Royale

Casino Royale, directed by Martin Campbell

Casino Royale is the latest James Bond adventure starring Daniel Craig as the new 007, and I would have to say that Bond is definitely back!. I was adamant at first about Daniel Craig being cast, as I thought his image did not fit the role of Bond but that still did not stop me from giving him a chance and watching it at the Aberystwyth students union.

The opening sequence was in pure black and white which immediately established the enigma as to how the visual style of the film would branch out. We see James Bond sat opposite a villain, who are both playing mind games with each other whilst tension builds as to who would outsmart the other. At the same time Bond is recollecting what had previously happened to one of the villain's henchmen whereby there is an action sequence. But this action sequence is arguably like no other because 007 is using brute, animalistic force upon the bad guy, not the smooth suave style that is usually associated with Bond.

So the film is firmly established and the plot centres around one of his early missions as 007. The main villain is Le Chiffre, who is in service to the world's leading terrorist organisations, whereby he plans to go to Montenegro to raise money by playing poker at Le Casino Royale. So Bond's mission is to go to that poker game, defeat him and bring him down. Along the way he travels to Uganda and the Bahamas before finally ending up at the main location where there are some memorable scenes and most notably the rather personal torture scene inflicted upon Bond which undoubtedly made the entire male audience cringe as they could not bare to watch it.

Still, the audience is set upon a clever, high action, smooth stylistic film with the handsome and cool presence of Daniel Craig and the most notable sequence whereby he gets out of the sea in his trunks which is definitely one for the ladies. This is an example of how this new Bond film has subtly changed its formula, providing for both women and men. But the male viewers will not be disappointed with the introduction of two new Bond girls Eva Green and Caterina Murino who are both stunning, Bond however takes a fancy to Eva Green who plays Vesper Lynd who is arguably a definite match for Bond. These two fall in love which is another new mix to a different formula and with the heartbreaking ending, allows the audience to understand why he does not get too close to women emotionally because they will be put in danger.

To sum it up, this is one of the best James Bond films as it has everything, action, suspense, romance, drama and subtle comedy one liners to keep the audience enriched in this cool, stylistic film. To top it all off Daniel Craig is amazing as 007, he has definitley got the presence on screen, the way he moves makes guys want to be him and for women to want him.