Liverpool have signed Stewart Downing for 20m pounds. Does this mean that Luka Modric is worth 35m or 40m pounds. Could Cesc be worth 50m pounds?
One needs to remember that Downing was a lynchpin at Aston Villa...
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Kylie Minogue Aphrodite - Princess becomes Queen in Sun City
Long-time fans of Australia’s pop superstar, Kylie Minogue, would have been wowed by her slick performances this weekend at the Sun City Superbowl. She played nearly all of her hits and wore extravagant costumes designed by Dolce and Gabbana. A slightly weaker voice from over-use, or just too long a tour, was supported by two excellent backup singers. The audience was also transfixed by spectacular dancers and a stage with people swimming under water on it.
Minogue, who is 43-years-old, launched her singing career in 1987, releasing her first album, Kylie, in 1988. Her latest tour was for her 11th album, Aphrodite. In her 24-year career, she had not set foot on a South African stage until last weekend.
I do not want to call time on her career, but chances are slim that she will visit our stages again, at least not in the next few years. This is why it was pleasing to hear strong renditions of her songs covering pop trends in the 1980s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s.
Highlights of her Saturday show included Better The Devil You Know, Love At First Sight, Confide In Me and In My Arms.
Of course, there were plenty of tracks from Aphrodite, including all of the singles released off of the album so far, Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love), Better Than Today, Get Outta My Way and All The Lovers, which she closed with. They all worked very well live.
She really likes her audience. During her acoustic, If You Don’t Love Me, she paused for a while, looking overwhelmed by the energy of her performance on the night. The thinness of her voice did hinder her on this song though. She may have been slightly tired. SA’s shows are the last of her 77-show worldwide tour. Nevertheless, the golden circle crowd, especially moved to the vibe of the show, even if the seated folks could have jived a bit more.
Miss Minogue also asked the crowd for a request. She said she heard a call for it and sang her cover of Little Eva’s The Loco-Motion, while wearing hot-pants. Yes, her bum still looks decent, for all those who wanted to know. She also covered the Eurythmics’ There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart), which showed off a decent, slightly waning voice.
Some people will have been turned off by having to travel to Sun City from different parts of Gauteng and other provinces to see her and by ticket prices ranging from around R450 to just under R1800, adding to that cost.
Concert ticket prices pay for all sorts of aspects of as performance, with artists normally receiving about 10-15% of the takings, British studies have shown. In Kylie’s case, much of the takings would have gone to her superstar costume, set designers and dance troupe.
Her dancers, who have become a famous part of her live shows over the last decade, were mostly men scantily dressed in Ancient Greek-inspired outfits, for this tour. She credited them, her band and also two brilliant back-up singers, who often out-sang her, and who, I assume in their twenties, could move onto solo careers too.
Alistair Anderson
Minogue, who is 43-years-old, launched her singing career in 1987, releasing her first album, Kylie, in 1988. Her latest tour was for her 11th album, Aphrodite. In her 24-year career, she had not set foot on a South African stage until last weekend.
I do not want to call time on her career, but chances are slim that she will visit our stages again, at least not in the next few years. This is why it was pleasing to hear strong renditions of her songs covering pop trends in the 1980s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s.
Highlights of her Saturday show included Better The Devil You Know, Love At First Sight, Confide In Me and In My Arms.
Of course, there were plenty of tracks from Aphrodite, including all of the singles released off of the album so far, Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love), Better Than Today, Get Outta My Way and All The Lovers, which she closed with. They all worked very well live.
She really likes her audience. During her acoustic, If You Don’t Love Me, she paused for a while, looking overwhelmed by the energy of her performance on the night. The thinness of her voice did hinder her on this song though. She may have been slightly tired. SA’s shows are the last of her 77-show worldwide tour. Nevertheless, the golden circle crowd, especially moved to the vibe of the show, even if the seated folks could have jived a bit more.
Miss Minogue also asked the crowd for a request. She said she heard a call for it and sang her cover of Little Eva’s The Loco-Motion, while wearing hot-pants. Yes, her bum still looks decent, for all those who wanted to know. She also covered the Eurythmics’ There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart), which showed off a decent, slightly waning voice.
Some people will have been turned off by having to travel to Sun City from different parts of Gauteng and other provinces to see her and by ticket prices ranging from around R450 to just under R1800, adding to that cost.
Concert ticket prices pay for all sorts of aspects of as performance, with artists normally receiving about 10-15% of the takings, British studies have shown. In Kylie’s case, much of the takings would have gone to her superstar costume, set designers and dance troupe.
Her dancers, who have become a famous part of her live shows over the last decade, were mostly men scantily dressed in Ancient Greek-inspired outfits, for this tour. She credited them, her band and also two brilliant back-up singers, who often out-sang her, and who, I assume in their twenties, could move onto solo careers too.
Alistair Anderson
Sunday, July 3, 2011
DVD Review: Toy Story 3
Rating: 8.5/10 - Excellent
Poster picture courtesy of Wikipedia.org
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Toy Story 3 may be a seen as a child's film about talking toys but it was made for adults who grew up with its predecessors. The first film in the trilogy was groundbreaking for its use of 3-D animation and well-written story. The second was a decent follow-up. The third finishes the tale well. It may make some adult viewers feel nostalgic but will also gain some new child fans, who could then watch the first two films.
Director: Lee Unkrich. Screenplay: Michael Arndt. Story: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich. Producer: Darla K. Anderson. Cinematography: Jeremy Lasky and Kim White. Editing: Ken Schretzmann. Studio: Pixar. Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures. Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Blake Clark, Estelle Harris and Jodi Benson. Age Restriction: PG. Running Time: 103 Minutes.
Toy Story 3 features Andy, the owner of the toy characters in the film. Andy is leaving for university, which makes the toys worry that he will throw them away. Andy decides to take Woody with him and puts the other toys in a garbage bag for storage in the attic. But the toys are accidentally thrown out when Andy's mom finds the bag and puts it on the curb with the trash, causing them to think they are no longer wanted. They escape and climb in a box to be donated to the Sunnyside Daycare. Woody, the only toy who saw what really happened, is forced to follow the others and tries to explain they were thrown out by mistake, but they refuse to listen.
The lovable characters are back, including the cowboy, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, the cowgirl; Jessie, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Dinosaur and Barbie.
In its 15 year life from 1995 to 2010, Pixar made 11 films. These films are basically a list of classics. They are Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL E and Up. Toy Story 2 was the eleventh. Cars 2 is due out in SA this year.
Verdict: Toy Story 3 is an entertaining film with various themes and strong character subplots within it. One of the most entertaining is how Barbie meets Ken. They were designed for each other but the film makers make their courtship rather cute. Essentially the movie forces its characters and the viewer to grow up. That is not to say that a child watching the film will not be a child anymore when it ends but those who watching Toy Story at the age of ten, when it was released in 1995, may break out into tears.
Alistair Anderson
Poster picture courtesy of Wikipedia.org
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Toy Story 3 may be a seen as a child's film about talking toys but it was made for adults who grew up with its predecessors. The first film in the trilogy was groundbreaking for its use of 3-D animation and well-written story. The second was a decent follow-up. The third finishes the tale well. It may make some adult viewers feel nostalgic but will also gain some new child fans, who could then watch the first two films.
Director: Lee Unkrich. Screenplay: Michael Arndt. Story: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich. Producer: Darla K. Anderson. Cinematography: Jeremy Lasky and Kim White. Editing: Ken Schretzmann. Studio: Pixar. Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures. Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Blake Clark, Estelle Harris and Jodi Benson. Age Restriction: PG. Running Time: 103 Minutes.
Toy Story 3 features Andy, the owner of the toy characters in the film. Andy is leaving for university, which makes the toys worry that he will throw them away. Andy decides to take Woody with him and puts the other toys in a garbage bag for storage in the attic. But the toys are accidentally thrown out when Andy's mom finds the bag and puts it on the curb with the trash, causing them to think they are no longer wanted. They escape and climb in a box to be donated to the Sunnyside Daycare. Woody, the only toy who saw what really happened, is forced to follow the others and tries to explain they were thrown out by mistake, but they refuse to listen.
The lovable characters are back, including the cowboy, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, the cowgirl; Jessie, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Dinosaur and Barbie.
In its 15 year life from 1995 to 2010, Pixar made 11 films. These films are basically a list of classics. They are Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL E and Up. Toy Story 2 was the eleventh. Cars 2 is due out in SA this year.
Verdict: Toy Story 3 is an entertaining film with various themes and strong character subplots within it. One of the most entertaining is how Barbie meets Ken. They were designed for each other but the film makers make their courtship rather cute. Essentially the movie forces its characters and the viewer to grow up. That is not to say that a child watching the film will not be a child anymore when it ends but those who watching Toy Story at the age of ten, when it was released in 1995, may break out into tears.
Alistair Anderson
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)