All posts by David Mensah

Since the broadcast of the original TV series in 1966, Star Trek has had so many sequels, reboots, re-inventions and spin offs that it becomes quite laborious to calculate. But never has the franchise received the widespread appeal given by its JJ Abrams (Director) reenactment, which began with his aptly titled Star Trek (2009) and [...]

Somewhere under the multiple layers of aesthetic beauty that shimmer away on the surface of Beasts of the Southern Wild are a number of very, very familiar stories; a father struggles to find the momentum to raise his rebellious daughter, a community consistently on the brink of collapse struggles to maintain uniformity, a child whose [...]

It’s probably no mere coincidence that ill Manors, the third studio album by rapper, singer, songwriter and film director Plan B, has emerged at the height the Olympic euphoria evoked by the London 2012 games. Where the event’s opening and closing ceremonies aimed to congratulate the multiculturalism, talent, creativity and all round success of the [...]

Advance warning: this review will not contain a rigorous nor thorough comparison of The Dark Knight with The Dark Knight Rises – A) because the former was fiercely in a league of its own and we’re not going to see another movie like it, possibly for years, and B) you’ve most probably already been informed [...]

One half of London based duo Native Sun is bilingual rapper Mohammed Yahya, who has collaborated with Dead Prez and Saigon; while the other is fashion designer, songwriter and vocalist Sarina Leah, who is well known for her album-stealing input on producer Eric Lau’s debut New Territories. The convergence of the two musician’s styles on [...]

It can be difficult to determine the start of the summer in this part of the world. One obvious clue is the clocks going forward by one hour and the other slightly more obvious hint is the sudden emergence of superhero movies made with gargantuan budgets in multiplexes all over the Northern Hemisphere. Fortunately, with [...]

Trying to describe the music of London born Bolton bred Clarinettist Arun Ghosh, like trying to describe the colours in a lightening bolt while you’re being struck by it, generally isn’t a good idea. But for the purposes of informing you of his second LP Primal Odyssey, I am, of course, going to have to… [...]

In some respects three piece Ruby and The Vines are the result of what happens when the multiculturalism of London surfaces as a musical style. Part West African Highlife, part melancholy and lethargic post-Punk, part ’80s Reggae and, most importantly, part exuberance and allure. The band were at West London’s Archangel on June 21 to [...]

Traditionally speaking, a major movie franchise that began almost eleven years ago and has currently re-emerged with an almost entirely different cast and production crew would be refereed to as a franchise reboot. The term, however, seems far from apt at describing X-Men First Class. The right expression, for the new addition to the film [...]

For Hollywood this officially is the year of the comic book. And with Spiderman 3 and The Dark Knight ranking as some of the biggest (and fastest) grossers in recent years, who can blame the studios involved for investing in the lives of bedraggled mutants, transforming immigrant robots from outer space and a general mesh [...]