Reviews

Reviewed: Jonnday ~ One Type of Falling (Film Clip)

Some people reading this would know that after Youth Alive Tasmania brought them down to play at a rally last year, I became a bit of a fan of an Australian group called Jonnday. Their single, ‘One Type of Falling’ has been available as a free download at their website when you sign up to their mailing list.

And hey, anything free is worth it, right?

Well, maybe not anything – but this certainly is.

Anyway, today, Jonnday release the ‘One Type of Falling’ film clip, and I was fortunate enough to be granted a sneak preview ahead of schedule.

And what a privilege it was. I’ve just finished watching it a few hours ahead of the public release. This film clip stands out far above what you’d expect from a Christian band hailing from the Central Coast of New South Wales.

I don’t want to give too much away, because I’d hate to spoil the surprise for everyone else. So I’m refraining from giving away much in the way of details.

What I will say is that there is a level of surrealism to the whole clip that lends itself to something far more epic than I expected. To be honest, my expectations weren’t overly high, not out of a lack of faith or low opinion of the group by any means. I was waiting for one of these more standard ‘first effort’ clips with lots of footage from live performances, things like that.

Certainly not something that seems like it could come out of some Hollywood fantasy film.

The quality of this video is brilliant. I loved the costumes and can just imagine that Jonnday would have had a lot of fun actually making this clip. It rings reminiscent of The Secret Garden or Alice in Wonderland – in my mind, anyway.

Great work, high standard, and just so entertaining. I’m off to watch it again!

Keep an eye out later this afternoon and view the clip for yourself at Jonnday’s Youtube channel!

Worth Dying For ~ Love Riot (Reviewed)

Five weeks ago, I was in New Zealand. I had gone over on a work trip, however instead of flying back on the Friday evening, my boss permitted me to stay on over the course of the weekend and fly back on the Sunday afternoon instead. This allowed me to visit Arise Church in Wellington for that Sunday morning. It was a grey, wet and rainy day and the sermon that morning was being given by a guy from the USA by the name of Jeremy Johnson.

Jeremy and his wife, Christy, had been meant to be preaching in another city that morning, but their flight was delayed, and instead, they ended up preaching right there in Wellington, where I was attending for this one opportunity. After hearing Jeremy’s inspiring sermon about our identity in Christ, and who we are in the kingdom, I don’t believe it was an accident that his flight was delayed.

Christy also performed a couple of songs from the Love Riot EP, a five track sample of the forthcoming album that I made sure to purchase after the service.]

We stand, we rise, we give our lives…

This is the opening line to an album that is not for the faint-hearted. This is not an album for complacent Christianity, or an album for people who are happy to live a Sunday-Christian existence. This is an album that inspires, exhorts and grabs the listener out of their seat, challenging them to take a step into a new experience of Christ.

Destroy, the opening track, is a powerful mix of chords that builds that atmosphere from the beginning. It is overlayed with a mini-sermon that tells the listener straight out, what the story is and lays down that challenge.

A smooth transition then runs through to Saviour, a powerful anthem that starts off the journey in just the right place, building a hunger, a desire and a sense of urgency.

From the pop-rock style of songs such as the title track Love Riot and Stir It Up to the epic ballad that is Higher and through to the songs in the ‘Worship’ segment that carry the same level of hunger and desire while bringing the listener into a softer, contemplative and meditative state; Love Riot, the album, is a journey that challenges the listener to step out of their comfort zone.

This is an album that calls a new generation of Christians to arise. Love Riot throws it out there, inspiring people to get into the battle

That first time I heard Jeremy Johnson speak in Wellington, he preached from Matthew 16:13-19.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ~ Matthew 16:18

Ultimately, Love Riot is a call to arms. No longer is it time to sit back, relax and revel in the wondrous experience that is bathing in the spirit of God. Now is the time to take up arms, to storm the gates. They will not overcome.

Review: Fast and Furious

Does anyone actually go to this movie for the plot and deep storylines?
I didn’t think so.

I certainly didn’t walk in to Fast and Furious expecting deep messages, oscar-winning performances or thought-provoking plot hooks.

This, instalment number four of the Fast and Furious franchise (hey, I can alliterate!) brings everything to the screen that fans of the previous movies want to see. It brings hot cars, hotter babes and high-octane action. What more could you really want?

As a fan of the franchise, going in to watch Fast and Furious is like a reunion. We get to see once again those favourite characters from the first movie. Dominic, Mia and Letty all show back up letting us know what they’re up to five years after they all bolted from LA at the end of the first film.

Let’s be honest with the world, though. This film isn’t about to go out and clean sweep the Oscars. In fact, come award season, it’s probably not even going to be thought about, let alone mentioned. Part of that is that the script is a Fast and Furious script – it’s shallow, unpolished and at times the characters come out with a line that would ordinarily make you groan, it’s that predictable; but that’s what a Fast and Furious script is! Does anyone remember “This ain’t no ten-second race” from Tokyo Drift? It’s what we’ve come to expect from the franchise, and because of that, the lines don’t come off nearly as bad as they would in other films.

Performance-wise, again, it’s Fast and Furious. Walker and Diesel have done what they could with what they were given. When the script only provides an actor with a shallow character, there’s only so much that can be done. They aren’t, though, the stars of the movie and really, they probably never were.

In interviews way back when, throughout the first two Fast and Furious instalments, we heard interviews telling us that the cars were the stars of these films, and that’s once more the case. There’s a reunion felt when we see all the familiar faces, but when you lay eyes on that Charger, it’s like the circle’s complete. Alongside it we see a plethora of new stars, including the latest model STI Impreza from Subaru, which suddenly doesn’t look as ugly!

That’s what we’ve come to see. We haven’t come to watch Fast and Furious for anything deep or profound. We’ve come to see Dom and Brian go head to head again and I can’t help but think that Justin Lin has managed to hit the bullseye of the Fast and Furious target.