MOVIE REVIEW
BRIDES MAIDS
By Orin
We judge movies by their titles, and yes, most of the time we are right, but sometimes names really don't say all. When we first heard the name Mean Girls or How to Train Your Dragon, we didn't think they were going to be superb comedies or brilliant animated work, we pretty much thought of an hour and a half that will go to waste. Similarly, when you hear the name Bridesmaids, you think of weddings, girls, lots of hugging and crying resulting in the ultimate cliché. It's not.
Directed by Paul Feig (Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin) it shows the life of Annie (Kirsten Wiig) a thirty-something who is broke, has a job she hates and lives with roommates she would love to strangle. Her childhood friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is one of the few things that's keeping her sane, but when Lillian announces that she is about to get married and wants Annie to be her Maid of Honour, Annie is thrown into organising the perfect wedding for her friend. The bridesmaids are a diverse bunch of people; while one has three foul-mouthed teenagers at home, another is starting up a fight club, but the one that gets on Annie's nerves is Helen (Rose Byrne) who is gorgeous, rich, multi-lingual, and well-connected and Lillian's new best friend. Jealously sprouts and leads to a crazy adventure.
The lack of male characters in the movie almost makes Bridesmaids the female equivalent of Hangover II. A remarkably good thing about the movie is that it doesn't make being single a crime like it does in other romantic comedies. No handsome prince walks in at the last moment to make Annie's life all better, although a romantic interest is involved. Bridesmaids is refreshingly funny and unpretentious with a bit of gross-out humour here and there. The music won't disappoint you, the storyline gets surprisingly better with time and the acting is good overall.
Bridesmaids is genuinely hilarious, with a new look and a few characters with depth you wouldn't expect to find in a traditional girly movie. It's a 'chick-flick' worth the watch.
Verdict: 7.5/10
MUST WATCH TV
Suits Review
By Munawar Mobin
Suits, a new addition to by USA Network is a comedy-drama about the ins and outs of the legal world as seen through the eyes of a young attorney with a bit of a past and a senior partner at one of New York City's best law firms. Now, it may sound like your usual legal drama with the boring cases and the once-in-a-blue-moon half hearted lame jokes, but it's not like that, so yes, it's better than Boston Legal.
The story revolves around a college dropout, a young attorney, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) with an eidetic memory who used to spend his days taking tests for money, especially LSATS and bar exams, and all that legal stuff. Basically, Mike Ross is great with numbers and even better at remembering them. On the other side of New York resides Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), one of New York's top attorneys, who gets promoted to a senior partner and is asked to hire an associate. One thing leads to another and Mike Ross finds himself in front of Harvey Specter; Ross impresses the suit-pants off Harvey (pun intended) and we reach the climax of the pilot where Harvey hires Ross regardless of the fact that he never graduated.
The story is made richer with the addition of other characters such as the pestering attorney, Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). The fun thing about this character is that he has one of those faces you just can't wait to punch and maim; and of course you need women, so there's the involvement of paralegal Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle) whose budding romance with Mike is made quite obvious, but it's fun to watch nonetheless. To finish it off, there's Jessica Pearson, Harvey's boss, played by Gina Torres.
The show starts off with Mike Ross, associate of Harvey Specter, with no actual law degree but a brilliant mind, taking cases and helping Harvey with his own, while at the same time having to handle his past problems and Louis's constant suspicions. With his shark's smile and damn-care attitude Harvey Specter's character manages to bring anything to his advantage, something that viewers can't help but admire. Mike Ross's intelligence coupled with the fact that he sometimes doesn't know even the littlest bits of law, makes the series highly entertaining and hilarious.
Maybe it's the TV show title, or the script, or perhaps the involvement of the magnificent Gina Torres and this writer's biased attitude towards her due to her 'Firefly' days, whatever the case, this is definitely a show that cannot be missed. It's been on air for a few weeks now and already it's been announced for a second season. Download, or go out and a get a copy now!
BAND REVIEW
Boyce Avenue
By Sabrina F Ahmad
After much screaming ourselves hoarse at the live performance, this week, we look at how Youtube led to three boys from Sarasota, Florida, becoming a worldwide hit and the collective heartthrob of most of the girls on previous RS teams.
Boyce Avenue at a glance: [Text Box]
Genre: Pop/rock
Members:
Alejandro Manzano - vocals, piano, guitar
Daniel Manzano - back-up vocals, percussion, bass, violins
Fabian Manzano - back-up vocals, guitar, keyboard
Jason Burrows - drums, percussion (on tour)
A Cinderella Story
Boyce Avenue started off in 2007 with acoustic covers of popular songs on Youtube, which became an overnight success. The Manzano brothers then hit the studios to record their first self-produced album “All you're meant to be”, which was released in 2008. They began touring the same year, starting with a sold-out standalone show in New York, and going on to various locations in North America, Europe, and the Philippines.
In 2010, Boyce Avenue released a second self-produced album, in collaboration with Universal Records, although they are no longer signed in with that label. Currently, the band, which is touring North America as you read this, enjoys over 300 million channel views and 800,000 subscribers from around the world, making them, according to Wikipedia, 'the second most searched-for band on Youtube, after Linkin Park”'.
Youtube killed the MTV stars
The story of Boyce Avenue's meteoric rise to superstardom is a perfect example of how the Internet levels the playing field for artists with real aptitude. The brothers have been involved in every aspect of the production and marketing of their music. “100 percent written by us, 100 percent financed by us, 100 percent produced by us,” explains Daniel Manzano, of their two albums. This means their words and sounds are in no way dictated by popular trends or record labels who put the business before the music. In a music scene awash with auto-tune and synthetic sounds, their songs provide the listeners with real musical talent and meaningful lyrics. Even in the case of the acoustic covers, the brothers bring a new and fresh approach to the popular hits, relying on Alejandro's smoky vocals (think Gavin Rossdale meets The Fray), Daniel's mastery over non-mainstream percussion instruments such as the cajon and the tambourine, and what Fabian calls 'these beautiful (customised) guitars, played by these beautiful hands'.
Their DIY rockstar formula includes their marketing policies, which means that they have relied almost entirely on Youtube and social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace for publicity. “No television, no radio promos... YOU made this possible by viewing our work online, and spreading the word,” Alejandro shouts out to his cheering fans, numbering in the hundreds at the sold-out show at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver this September. And indeed, their phenomenal success has been entirely due to a combination of great talent, hard work, and the loyalty of a couple million fans around the world. Worth checking out, wouldn't you say?
