Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 review

We are family?


The highly anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was finally released yesterday (at midnight, to be precise), but did it live up to the standards set by its prequel?

The answer, in short, is a massive yes. It's a rare thing for a sequel to be as good as the original film, but this one certainly reached that level.

Vol. 2 saw the return of the Guardians - Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and, of course, baby Groot (Vin Diesel) - in all their glory. This time, the storyline is an entanglement of a feud between the Sovereign people and the Guardians (thanks to Rocket's thieving), and helping Peter Quill find his true heritage.

Kurt Russell plays the part of Ego, Peter Quill's celestial father, but all it not what it seems as Peter soon becomes hypnotised into working with Ego to fulfill his evil plan of making every planet in the universe a part of himself.

Peter Quill's parentage is not the only family-orientated plot line, as Gamora and Nebula (Karen Gillan) continue their childhood conflict but eventually seem to learn to accept each other. Drax becomes close to Ego's 'pet' Mantis (Pom Klementieff) but does so in pure Drax-style. After being the definite bad guy in the first film, Yondu (Michael Rooker) becomes sentimental, having a heart-to-heart with Rocket and finally making the biggest sacrifice for Peter so he understands his past. You'll change your mind about him for sure.

It's got all the action you'd expect from a Marvel film, and all the little nuggets of humour that pop up every so often (just wait until you see Rocket, Yondu and Draglin travel through space...). There's a Ravenger funeral (spoiler?) which tugs at the heartstrings and plenty of moments that will have you at the edge of your seat.

There are two surprise actors as well, as David Hasselhoff and Sylvester Stallone make appearances. Director James Gunn even wrote Hasselhoff his own song, Guardians Inferno, which appears in the film's credits.

As with all Marvel films, there are mid- and post-credit scenes, the best one being Groot's teenage bedroom. If you're yet to see the film, make sure you stay right until the Marvel logo appears on screen so you don't miss anything.

Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a fantastic film. It is set to the backdrop of its own soundtrack, Awesome Mix Vol. 2, which has some huge songs including Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' and Cat Stevens' 'Father and Son', so you're guaranteed to have a good time watching it.

It's a brilliant sequel but also an amazing film in its own right. There is a hint at a third installment to the franchise shortly before the credits, so let's hope that one lives up to its two predecessors.

Picture credit: Marvel Studios

Fall Out Boy announce new album, M A N I A, and release new song

Two years after their huge American Beauty/American Psycho, Fall Out Boy have dropped the news that they will be releasing a new album, M A N I A. Not only that, but they also released the first song from the new album, 'Young and Menace'.

M A N I A will be released on September 15th via Virgin EMI UK/DCD2 Records. You can pre order it here.

The first song, 'Young and Menace', was dropped at 5pm tonight. You can watch the music video below. Spoiler, it's incredible.

The band posted the following on their Twitter

Welcome to M A N I A - a Fall Out Boy LP pic.twitter.com/IGrNESldQv

— Fall Out Boy (@falloutboy) April 27, 2017

It also seems that the band have released the album artwork for M A N I A  as their profile picture is the following image.

It's a sure thing that between now and September there will be more exciting craziness from the band, so stay tuned for more info as soon as it happens.


Photo credit: Fall Out Boy/Kerrang!

Emma Blackery releases Nothing Without You music video

Emma Blackery has released the first single from her upcoming Magnetised EP, 'Nothing Without You', along with the accompanying music video.

The single was released at midnight and the music video released at 8pm this evening (April 11). You can watch the video below.

This is definitely a song that will be played over and over again!

The Magnetised EP will be released on May 26. You can pre order it now, and when you do you'll automatically get 'Nothing Without You'..

Blackery is also heading on tour for the EP. You can catch her at the following dates:

May
27th Button Factory - Dublin
28th O2 Academy2 - Liverpool
29th Tramshed - Cardiff
31st Northumbria University - Newcastle

June
1st Garage - Glasgow
2nd Waterfront - Norwich
3rd O2 Institute2 - Birmingham
4th O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire - London

Hannah Witton- Doing It book review

Yesterday (April 6) saw a very exciting and desperately needed addition to book stores, as Hannah Witton's first book, Doing It, was released.

Being the avid YouTube and book fan that I am, I purchased a copy for my Kindle and devoured it in two sittings. As cliche as it sounds, I couldn't put it down.

The book is aimed at people age 14+ and discusses all the important aspects of life at that age and after, including sex, sexuality, body confidence and everything that comes under that category.

I've described Doing It as 'desperately needed' as its content goes above and beyond what is usually available for young people, and although sex education will now become compulsory in England's schools, my experience of it still leads me to believe that it might not cover everything that's necessary for today's society.

I endured the sex education that was given to primary schools in 2006/7, and that which was delivered in secondary schools in 2009. It was optional and many students didn't attend the classes, which begged the question of what they were learning about it and where. But that wasn't all that I found wrong with it, as the given perception of sex was that it would be painful and would definitely lead to STIs, and there was a lot of censored talk about periods where the boys had to leave the room. On the whole, my experience, and the collective experience of most people my age and older, was that anything to do with sex was negative. And as far as Witton herself is concerned, her experience was very similar, as she discusses in the introduction.

Which leads me onto this book and how magnificent its whole existence is. Not only does Witton openly talk about sex in a positive and caring way, sharing her own experiences and allowing her readers to make up their own minds about it, she also includes information about areas which are silenced in most sex education classes.

With handy chapters dividing the book, Witton includes information about sexuality and LGBTQ+, which I feel should be included in the proposed compulsory classes given in schools. This section alone, I believe, will give young people the knowledge they need and answer so many questions to help them feel comfortable identifying however they want to without the fear of feeling like an outcast. 

Other sections in the book include consent, porn, STIs and virginity. However, the content isn't solely related to sex, as there are also chapters discussing body image and self confidence, as well as healthy relationships and how to communicate with partners.

In addition to Witton's own knowledge and input, there's also a lot of content and advice from other YouTubers, health professionals, charity workers and even members of her own family. It's a goldmine of information not only for young people but for everyone. Witton talks about everyone who contributed to the book in the following video:

The new sex education classes given in schools should use this book as a template as there is everything that is necessary to be delivered to young people perfectly complied inside. The last few pages are filled with other sources and contact numbers/helplines so you can feel confident that this book is giving you everything you need to know.

So whether you're 14 and feeling self conscious about your body, whether you're 16 and thinking about having sex for the first time, or whether you're 21 like me and just want to know everything there is to know, you'll love Doing It.

Witton uses her YouTube channel to talk about everything included in the book, and has described herself as an 'online sex educator'.

Hannah Witton will be taking Doing It on tour, accompanied by fellow YouTuber Lucy Moon, at the following dates: 

11th April - Bush Hall, London
12th April - Glee Club, Birmingham
13th April - Academy 2, Manchester

Doing It is also April's book for the Banging Book Club, whereby Witton, Moon and Leena Norms read a book each month relating to sex and gender. You can find out more by heading to the Banging Book Club's Goodreads and Twitter.



Image copyright: Hannah Witton/Anna Morrison/Wren and Rook