Live / The Gaslight Anthem, Troxy, 29/03/13 + 30/03/13

The Gaslight Anthem capture an oddball crowd. Both of their shows at London’s (nicely carpeted) Troxy venue this weekend pull in pierced punk rockers,  long-haired thrashers (read: me) and, most prominently, those looking to replicate the band’s care-free New Jersey good looks. And yet this is a band with little in the way of strained solos and ballsy riffs, begging the question of just how they’ve gathered such a varied following. But under the spell of Brian Fallon’s all-American vocals the answer becomes clear as everyone seemingly gels into one category of happy, bouncy youngsters looking to have a good time and sing their hearts out.

Game / Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

You could quite justifiably go up and down the score board with Metal Gear Rising. It’s a game that, in the hearts of the dedicated Platinum fans and action game elite, has all the makings of a perfect score experience, yet possesses the challenge, obscurity and downright weirdness to turn away even the most devoted of Metal Gear fans.

Live / Stereophonics, Brixton Electric, 04/03/13

The Stereophonics haven’t really been away since the release of 2009’s Keep Clam and Carry On. The three years between that and this week’s Grafitti on the Train have been filled with intimate tours and one-off shows that have highlighted the band’s extensive (and underrated) discography, including full performances of earlier records, Paul Weller-shaped guest spots and rarities that will likely never reach an audience again.

Game / Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch

Visually stunning, aesthetically charming, thematically endearing and hopelessly cute, it’s all too easy to declare Ni No Kuni an instant classic. But while Level 5’s latest JRPG is indeed a whimsical joy to behold, it finds itself struggling to keep up with other genre staples from this generation – never really losing its training wheels and thus falling short of the bar that Nintendo’s Xenoblade Chronicles set a few years back.

Live / Bloc Party, Earls Court, 22/02/13

Back from the dead, back with a stunning new album, back at the very same venue they raised the roof at four years ago; Bloc Party’s return to Earl’s Court was a recipe for success. And yet the indie rockers are here for just one night only as opposed to 2009’s pair of headline sets, and pre-show buzz doesn’t seem to be reaching the peaks that it did back then. Perhaps not everyone has stuck with them through the last few years; what with an uneasy hiatus that saw rumours of a complete break up accompany the release of frontman Kele Okereke’s solo work.

Live / Brad, 02 Academy Islington, 10/02/13

That it’s taken Brad some 20 years to make it to the UK is no surprise. While the Seattle band has found time to put out five albums since its inception in 1993, frontman Shawn Smith is kept busy with two other projects and a solo career, while lead guitarist Stone Gossard gets more than his fair share of worldly travels done with that other band of his.

Game / Dead Space 3

There’s a line of thinking that just because a horror game isn’t scary, said game is, as a whole, rubbish. The Dead Space series is a common victim in this argument, often barraged by ‘brave’ gamers, beating their chests about their nerves of steel and clean underwear. But I’ve always thought that’s a touch unfair.

Movie / A Good Day to Die Hard

I’m glad A Good Day to Die Hard exists. I remember when it was originally unveiled, some of my friends were upset that the studios were marking a fifth film out of the classic franchise, but I was ready to abandon my anti-cash cow snobbery welcome the return of John McClane. Having seen it this week, that’s no longer the reason I’m happy it’s been made. Instead, I’m delighted that my brother and I no longer have to argue about which is the worst film in the series, because it is easily A Good Day to Die Hard.

Movie / Lincoln

It was more with a sense of duty than anticipation that I went to go and see Lincoln a few weeks ago. I’m a big fan of awards season, even though I rarely fall for the same films that the more prestigious film viewers among us choose to nominate. With a mind-numbing 158 minutes ahead of me, complete with patriotic scores and ‘award-winning’ performances that involve some crying here and some shouting there, I was convinced Spielberg’s latest wouldn’t buck this trend.

Movie / Django Unchained

It’s taken me a whole week of tossing and turning on Django Unchained. I saw it last Sunday, but to truly unravel my thoughts on it has taken the better part of the week. Which is funny, really, because, at its core, Django adheres to the most simplistic of Tarantino rules: funny, vicious, unique and yet overly-long, with far too much fluff to ever truly be considered a classic.

The week in comics 16/01/13

Please note that SPOILERS may be present in this article

The Superior Spider-Man returns this week in not one but two new adventures, propping him next to other Marvel heroes that the regular Spider-Man shares a great deal of history with.

The week in comics 09/01/13

Please note that SPOILERS may be present in this article

When Miles Morales took up the webs in the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man, readers breathed a sigh of relief. Peter Parker may have been killed, but he lived on in the spirit of this new hero, a hero that managed to recapture the magic of a young, inexperienced vigilante that dealt with relatable issues like self-doubt, family troubles, and the internal struggle to do the right thing. It didn’t take long for fans to accept the newest member of Spider-family.

The Superior Spider-Man – now replacing the real Peter Parker - is not going to be as easy to welcome in.

Movie / Gangster Squad

A weird sensation washed over me this morning. I clambered out of bed after a victorious weekend sleep-in and fumbled my way downstairs for breakfast/lunch. As I poured my overly-sugary cereal into a bowl, I remembered something I hadn’t thought about in about 12 hours.

I watched Gangster Squad last night.

Movie / The Impossible

I usually come out of real life disaster movies feeling a bit hollow. There’s no denying that these tales of brutal loss and extreme survival can be powerful and emotional, but I can never shake the feeling of it all being shot through the eyes of an accolade-hungry director, looking for an easy path to movie stardom.