Matthew Beckett Reviews

After not getting round to an album review last week here is the first of two (hopefully) this week, my wife chose the album for this review and is the album LSD a collaboration between British singer-songwriter-producer-musician Labrinth, Australian Singer-songwriter Sia and American DJ-producer Diplo. Considering I have enjoyed the majority of each artists music it is not surprising that I was really excited about their collaborative album and it certainly lived up to expectations being an incredible blend of the three styles. Unfortunately this album under performed in the charts despite the power of the group, it peaked at number 44 in the UK, number 49 in Australia and 70 in the US. From the moment I heard that this collaborative album was happening I got very excited and intrigued as to what they would come out with. Then I heard the first single Genius and it proved everything I was expecting, incredible psychedelic dance pop with powerful vocals and interesting lyrics, throu...

In this weeks film review I am reviewing the 2016 romantic comedy Me Before You directed by Thea Sharrock and adapted by English author Jojo Moyes from her 2012 novel of the same name. The film stars Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin in the lead roles with the supporting cast including Steve Peacocke, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance, Brendan Coyle, Jenna Coleman, Samantha Spiro and Matthew Lewis. Before I go further I will say that there will be spoilers, so if you intend to watch the film and don't like spoilers wait to see the film first. Two years after Will Traynor (Sam Claflin) is paralyzed from the neck down in an accident Lou Clark (Emilia Clark), a happy and outgoing woman, is hired as a his companion. She has no experience but Will's mother (Janet McTeer) believes her cheery personality will lift his spirits. Will spends most of his time with his nurse Nathan (Steve Peacocke) who assists him with everything physical and helps Lou to understand everything. Although h...

For this weeks album review I am reviewing the brilliant second album by the American heavy metal band Bad Wolves, the album is called N.A.T.I.O.N. and follows their incredible debut album Disobey. I can easily say that Bad Wolves are one of my favourite bands and definitely a family favourite with my toddler doing a head bang and dance every time they come on. This album hasn't been as successful as their first album, it did not chart in the UK (Disobey peaked at number 51), it charted at number 78 in the US while Disobey peaked at number 23 and in Australia it peaked at number 46 where Disobey hit number 9. I must say that from the moment I first heard their cover of The Cranberries Zombie I have loved everything Bad Wolves have done and we definitely listen to them a lot. Their first album Disobey is incredible, making it a tough act to follow, however their second album almost matches perfectly and is an amazing second album. There are several things that make this band stan...

For my film review this week I am going to review the neo-noir action film series John Wick so far, of which there are three, with a fourth due for release next year. Directed by Chad Stahelski the series follows the titular character, played by Keanu Reeves, who is a famed assassin living in New York that retired to spend time with his wife (Bridget Moynahan) who has passed away from a terminal illness. Before I go further I will say that there will be spoilers, so if you intend to watch the film and don't like spoilers wait to see the film first. John Wick: Chapter 1 The first instalment of the series stars Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Willem Dafoe as the supporting cast. The film begins shortly after John's wife has died and her final gift to him is a puppy called Daisy to help him cope with his grief. Soon after a Russian gangster called Iosef (Alfie Allen) breaks into John's house, knocks hi...

Time for my weekly album review and this week I have chosen the most recent album by The Chainsmokers called World War Joy. This is the third album from the electronic duo made up of friends Drew Taggart and Alex Pall and they are keeping up the great quality of music they have always done. While this isn't their most successful album, not charting in the UK, peaking at 65 in the US but reaching 19 in Australia, I think it may be their best. I have really enjoyed everything I have heard by The Chainsmokers and it seems each album is not only better but also presents a new aspect to their sound. This album presents The Chainsmokers usual production style but also incorporates more of the featured vocalist or DJ's style that usual, in addition to Drew being even more prominent vocally too. This album contains more collaborators than their previous two albums, making the album more diverse, the collaborators include 5 Seconds Of Summer, Bebe Rexha, Blink-182 and Ty Dolla $ign. ...

For my film review this week I and reviewing the 2013 fantasy film Oz The Great And Powerful, which is a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz, directed by Sam Raimi and starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff and Joey King. The film was hugely successful in the cinema's taking nearly $500 million worldwide and was the 13th highest grossing film of the year, this is particularly impressive because that same year Frozen and Iron Man 3 were released and are among the 50 best selling films of all time. Before I go further I will say that there will be spoilers, so if you intend to watch the film and don't like spoilers wait to see the film first. The film follows Oscar Diggs (James Franco) aka Oz who is a magician and conman in a travelling circus, he is transported to that Land of Oz in a tornado. Once he arrives he meets a witch called Theodora (Mila Kunis) who believes him to be the wizard that was promised to save the Land of Oz and become...

Time for my weekly album review and this week my wife picked for me, it is another soundtrack from the film The Shack. I am keeping to just doing the soundtrack this week as we haven't gotten round to re-watching the film yet, however I will say the film is amazing and based on an incredible book, so you can imagine the expectations for the soundtrack were pretty high and it definitely delivered. The album was released in February 2017 and had modest success in the US, peaking at number 40 but did not chart anywhere else, this is fairly surprising considering the people who feature on the album. The soundtrack is primarily christian music with a lot of country music artist contributing. I absolutely love this collection of songs, most of which were written for or inspired by the film, they capture the feel of the story line perfectly. It is always refreshing to see the soundtrack to a Christian film containing several Christian artists like Skillet, Hillsong UNITED and NEEDTOBR...

Time for another film review and this week I am reviewing the 2018 spy thriller Red Sparrow based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jason Matthews. Directed by Francis Lawrence, staring Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton and Matthias Schoenaerts with Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, and Jeremy Irons among the supporting cast. Before I go further I will say that there will be spoilers, so if you intend to watch the film and don't like spoilers wait to see the film first. Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is a famous Russian ballerina who supports her ill mother, until her leg is broken in a career ending accident. Her uncle Ivan Egarov (Matthias Schoenaerts), deputy director of the SVR (The Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation), tasks her with seducing a Russian gangster in return for her mothers continued care, the gangster is killed in front of her and she is given a choice as a result; become an SVR operative, or be executed....