Shakira - Empire (Lyric Video)

New in for this week is the lyric video for Empire, by sultry Colombian singer, Shakira. The video (which you can watch below) is probably one of the best, and most atmospheric lyric videos (no weird graphics and menagerie of pointless images here, folks) and also actually fits the song - shock horror. The problem with some lyric videos is that they can be so off-topic it begs the question as to why they even bothered. But fortunately, which ever clever clog designed this video knew firmly which direction he should take, and the output is a poignant and delightful video featuring nature. 

Relating to the theme of worlds, unity and being alive; 'Empire' features a beautiful showcase of things coming 'alive' as Ms Shakira belts out her track. The track evokes a rather feel-good sensation and is one of the more uplifting songs that reflects more of Shakira as an artist, than some of her more recent works. 'Let the empires of the world unite, we are alive' is particularly invigorating verse which, paired with the images of nature being alive, is pretty inspiring. So, if you're feeling a bit down and want to perk yourself up a bit, then this is probably a pretty good choice. It's interesting to see what the music video for the track will end up looking like, considering the lyric video pretty much sums up the whole general premise and feel of the song - so stay tuned to see our comments on that! 

Once Upon A Time - Season 3, Mid Season Spring Premiere - 'New York City Serenade' [Review]

 Oh yes, it's back! The spring premiere of Once Upon A Time graced our screens last night, and oh boy, was it full of surprises. Sassy Regina was out in full force, hook was in full stalker mode trying to pursue Emma (you know, to save her family and stuff...) and Neal and Belle were totally convinced that Rumple isn't dead (seriously, we know he 'died' but come on, he's still in the posters, so he's obviously coming back). And in case that wasn't enough for you, there's an eerie air of green mist lurking over the Enchanted Forest, New York & Storybrooke (did we mention there's flying monkeys?!). Let's start from the beginning. In the fall finale, we saw that Hook had managed to crawl his way back to New York, and was in pursuit of Emma and trying to get her to remember her 'past.' Well, it didn't exactly go well, but this time Hook manages to stalk Emma to a restaurant where she is dining with some creepy looking dude who proposes to her through her dessert. 

Give me a break - he's so not right for you Emma! As her date leaves the table, Hook sits down (thank god) and tries to convince Emma that her life is built on lies. He gives her an address and tells her that if she wants to remember, then she should go there. He tells her that he will wait in central park for her if she goes there and has more questions. Prior to this (exactly one year ago), Aurora and Prince Philip are getting cosy in the woods, when - low and behold - the Storybrooke residents arrive! 

Throughout the episode we switch back on forth between a year ago in the Enchanted Forest and present day in New York with Hook, Emma and Henry. In New York, Emma temporarily rejects Walsh's proposal and asks for time to think. Back in the Enchanted Forest, Snow and the gang agree to head to Regina's old castle. Aurora and Philip reunite with Snow and Aurora is pregnant. Regina is needless to say 'overjoyed' - so much so - to the point on nausea. She has a pretty classic line here which just highlights why so many people love the Evil Queen (displayed through this gif below). 

However, when they head to leave, Aurora argues with Philip about how they have to tell 'her' or she will hurt their unborn child. Back in New York, Emma arrives home and tells Henry that she didn't answer Walsh's proposal and he encourages her to take a chance on him. Back in the Enchanted Forest, Prince Charming gathers the troops and advises them to all head to the castle, and notices Hook leaving separately. He approaches the dashing pirate and asks him where he is going. Hook exclaims that he has always been a pirate and needs to return to his ship, as according to the Evil Queen, all belongings should return to their owners in the Enchanted Forest. This inspires Neal, who believes that Rumplestiltskin's dagger might return and him and Belle talk over the idea that Rumple might not be 'dead'. They agree to swing by Rumple's old castle to search there. 

In New York, Emma plucks up the courage to go to the address while Henry is in school. She arrives at the address and realises that the apartment belongs to Neal and finds a bloody rag there (left by Mr.Gold/Rumple) and Henry's camera (from their trip to the apartment previously). This leaves Emma confused and she heads to central park to meet Hook. Hook tries to convince her to drink a memory potion that he has acquired, but she refuses to believe him and has him arrested. In the Enchanted Forest, Snow finds Regina burying her heart because she is struggling to deal with the pain of losing Henry. Snow advises her that it will pass and she will find happiness; something Henry always wanted for her. Regina puts her heart back in her body. Upon leaving, Regina and Snow are attacked by a flying monkey, who cuts Regina's arm. The monkey is shot by Robin Hood and flies away. Robin Hood (who was said to be Regina's true love by Tinkerbell) offers his hand to Regina to help her up, but she declines and also mocks him for not calling her 'majesty'. Back in New York, Emma drops Henry off at her apartment and opens an envelope from the drug store. She is visibly shocked and heads over to the jail to bail Hook out. 

She confronts him with the envelope, which contains pictures of them in Storybrooke and New York. She exclaims that he could have photoshopped them (but he has no idea what that even means) and he encourages her to take a leap of faith and take the potion. She eventually agrees, and remembers everything that had happened before. 

Back in the Enchanted Forest, Robin Hood reunites with Belle and Neal and Regina and Snow discuss Robin Hood. Snow exclaims that he is 'cute' and Regina exclaims that he smells like forest. Classic. The gang reach the castle but Regina is surprised to find a green force shield replacing hers. They cannot pass, but Robin Hood offers them refuge in his camp. Regina looks like she wants to stab a bunch of people, and she swears revenge on whoever did this to her. Back in New York, Hook and Emma discuss how they are going to explain this to Henry, as there is not enough memory potion for him to drink (convenient). Emma then realises that Henry has invited Walsh over for a romantic meal while he is at a friend's. Emma goes up to the roof to tell Walsh that she can't marry him. 

Walsh looks put off - until he tells her he wished she didn't drink the potion, and proceeds to turn into a giant winged monkey. Hands up if you knew the guy was bad news. Emma wrestles the monkey off the roof and he turns into a cloud of smoke. Hook arrives on the roof and Emma says that her life could never be what is was because she is the saviour. Hook tells her that he family is trapped in a new curse in Storybrooke but he doesn't know who's behind it. The next day, Emma tells Henry they will be going on a trip to Maine to solve a new case and that he will miss school for a while. Emma says that she just needs one thing before her journey - which turns out to be her lucky (or unlucky) red jacket. The games have officially begun! 

Henry, Emma and Hook arrive in Storybrooke and Henry has fallen asleep in the back of the car. Emma and Hook exit her car and Hook triumphantly puts on his hook and Emma tells him to try and avoid giving Henry nightmares. Emma goes off to find her parents. She arrives at Mary Margaret's/Snow's old apartment and finds David/Prince Charming and Mary Margaret there. Charming and Snow reveal that Snow is pregnant - like we didn't see that one coming. They say that they cannot remember the last year of their life. Back in the Enchanted Forest, the flying monkey that attacked Regina earlier returns to a woman who asks him if it is the Evil Queen's blood. The monkey gestures yes, and the woman says that she will get her revenge, dropping the blood into a potion bottle. She then turns to face the mirror and says that whilst the Queen may be Evil, she is Wicked, and Wicked always wins. 

Phew! Now wasn't that an intense episode. Overall, it was great to see Snow and the Evil Queen teaming up for Team Storybrooke/Evil and Team Wicked being helmed by this episode's new addition of the Wicked Witch of the West. It was interesting to see how they incorporated Ginnifer Goodwin's pregnancy by making Snow pregnant as well - certainly makes for a convincing baby bump! Of course, the Evil Queen was back on tip top form, making a whole heap of sarcastic and snide remarks about her fellow travellers and reminding us all why she is number one (at least while Rumple is gone). It was terribly bittersweet to see the life Henry and Emma could have had together, and her having to give it up was pretty poignant. Although, it was a life built entirely on lies and a bit of Regina magic. Hook really brought the charm to this episode and adds a touch of leathery sneakiness to the series (seriously - he must be boiling in that outfit). In other news, the Wicked Witch of the West looks seriously prepared for a fight, leaving everyone to question who will win out - Evil or Wicked? (and of course, how many episodes will pass until Rumplestiltskin returns.) 

Tune in next Sunday to see the next episode, entitled 'Witch Hunt'. 

Iggy Azalea - Fancy [Official Music Video] (+ Review)

Time to kick it like Marty McFly and enjoy a blast from the past, with this Clueless-inspired video from Iggy Azalea. The track entitled 'Fancy' features Ms Azalea rocking some seriously old school attire, inspired by the aforementioned sleeper hit (look its Dionne and Cher all over again!). In case you aren't familiar with the 1995 film, a quick google search can fix that. Iggy really brings home the nostalgia with her seriously inspired costumes and scenes. Whatever you might think of the rapper, this is pretty clever and a whole heap of fun, and I'm loving the checked yellow ensemble! The video is fresh, vibrant and colourful and fits in with the nature of the track. In other news, a nice surprise addition on the track is Charli XCX (who did a kick ass track with Marina from Marina and The Diamonds) who sings the chorus in her usual manner. Bottom line - they all look like they are having a blast and no doubt die hard fans of Iggy's and Clueless will appreciate this video. In case you haven't already watched the video, you can check it out below: 

The track (which has already been released in the UK and North America) will be available worldwide via Digital Download on the 6th April. 

The Big Bang Theory - Season 7, Episode 17 'The Friendship Turbulence' [Recap + Review]

 Friendships went for a bumpy ride on the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory, with Sheldon and Howard trying to make their friendship more amicable and less, well, insulting. Go figure! The episode kicked off with good ol' Penny informing the gang that she had recently turned down a role in a sequel to that awful(ly funny) ape movie that we saw when Leonard went on his expedition. Penny was dead certain that the film wasn't right for her future career, but Leonard (forever the optimist) reminded her that she actually has no money, and therefore has no right to be picky. Rather unsurprisingly, this angers Penny, who storms off with Leonard rushing behind her. 

Meanwhile, Sheldon takes to insulting Howard (as per usual) until Bernadette asks why he would do such a thing. Sheldon then proceeds to reel off several occasions where Howard was mean to him, which makes Bernadette angry at Howard. 

Oops. In the saga of Penny & Leonard, Penny's car breaks down and in this moment, she realises she may have to return to the cheesecake factory, or risk severe debt. She prepares herself to go back to her old job, until herself and Leonard get outside and it is revealed that Leonard bought her a new car. Penny is overjoyed at the fact that she doesn't have to drudge it all the way back to her former house of employment and hugs Leonard excitingly. 

Meanwhile, Howard has been guilt-tripped into inviting Sheldon on an out of town trip to Houston, and the two end up on a plane together. Howard notices that Sheldon still refuses to acknowledge him as the successful astronaut (sort of) that he is - that is until, the plane starts to exhibit some turbulence. And when we say 'some', we mean a whole heap of turbulence. Sheldon grips on for dear life, whilst Howard pretends that he is fine with it because he's been in space (we all know how well he coped up there), until he eventually breaks down too. 

They both join arms in solidarity and whilst experiencing the turbulence admit to each other that their friendship matters and their lives would be empty without each other. Awww. Whilst this is all going on, Raj and Amy have a little 'adventure' together. And by 'adventure' we mean 'Raj tries desperately to pursue women via online dating and Amy's help'. Raj exclaims to Amy that he has found a nice girl on his online dating profile, but is too scared to talk to her himself. He persuades a reluctant Amy to talk to her and try to convince her to go out with him. Amy does so, but finds she has more in common with the woman than Raj and ends up going out for coffee with her, which makes Raj jealous. 

The woman in question is named 'Emily' and rejects Raj because she views him as too shy and passive. Later, whilst Emily and Amy are having coffee, Raj bursts in and starts to make a scene until Emily makes a bee-line for the exit and ditches both Amy and Raj, leaving Amy frustrated, as she had hoped to go to a Chaucer reading with Emily later that week. And thus ends another chapter in Raj's sketchy love life and Amy's quest to find more friends. The overall episode was pretty classic - some good snide comments from Amy about her lack of a sex life, some classic Sheldon facial expressions when he is on the plane (his face is a picture of inner woe and sheer terror), and it was nice to see Howard and Sheldon spending some bonding time together, which gives us more insight into their friendship (after all, we've seen the whole Leonard/Sheldon relationship, what about Howard?). We give this episode 7 'big' bangs out of 10. The next episode is entitled 'The Mommy Observation' - so - who's mother do you think we will be seeing more of? Place your bets now! Tune in on March 13th to see the next episode of The Big Bang Theory. 

The Lego Movie (2014) Review

You may think a movie made entirely about Lego would be too commercial, boring or gimmicky. And rather surprisingly, you’d be wrong. Whilst the premise of the film might seem bizarre and a little ‘out there’, The Lego Movie reassures audiences with a double dose of creativity and sharp animation.

Chris Pratt stars in the leading role as Emmet, a conformist, who can’t seem to get by in life without specific instructions. No, really. This is until Emmet gets mistaken for the ‘special’, a person who is prophesized to stop Lord Business (Will Ferrell) from using a super-weapon called the ‘Kragle’. Ordinary Lego construction worker Emmet is now thrust into a world where he meets new friends in the form of WyldStyle (Banks), a creative master builder, Uni-Kitty (Brie), Benny (Charlie Day) and a wizard named Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), who possesses the creepiest glowing eyes you’ve ever seen. Also along for the adventure are a whole heap of Lego superheroes, including Batman (Arnett), Superman (Channing Tatum), Green Lantern (Jonah Hill) and Wonder Woman (Cobie Smulders). The cast is everything you’d want and expect from a ‘Lego’ movie and Pratt doesn’t disappoint with his spot-on portrayal, whilst Banks shines.

Considering how many feature animated films can fall short in the script department due to heavy reliance on special visual effects, The Lego Movie is a whirlwind of vibrant colours and slick computer animation which rivals even the Toy Story saga. In a movie where creativity thrives and flourishes through the master builders, it would appear that the ‘master builders’ in this case are indeed the creators of this piece. The film contains an abundance of laughs, quirks and cheeky moments (everything about the quirky Vitruvius to Emmet’s easily fixable hair, and of course, Good Cop/Bad Cop) which fuel the film and will appeal to the adults watching the flick. Fear not – the amount of pop culture references will particularly resonate with any viewers watching who may have written this movie off as an unfunny commercial for toys.

The plot is fairly thought-provoking for a movie essentially about construction toys. The overall social commentary on conformity is an engaging one. But this does not detract away from the anarchic, chaotic fun that sets the film alive at its core and ignites in it an imagination amongst all ages. Visually electrifying and suitably smart, The Lego Movie does what so many movies fail to do – dazzle and engage its audience.

4 stars

This review has also been published online via Concrete, which you can check out at the following link:

http://www.concrete-online.co.uk/lego-movie-review/

Check out the trailer for this Lego-Tastic adventure below!