April 2010
2 posts
March 2010
4 posts
February 2010
61 posts
UNSEEN ACADEMICALS by Terry Pratchett (R295, Doubleday)
Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: Jared Orlin
Pratchett scores again with the 37th tale from his fictional Discworld universe. And the timing couldn’t be better for South Africans as the novel is about soccer. The plot involves the sloth-like wizards of Unseen University who are forced to play soccer or else they’ll get only three meals a day (Heaven...
JOB TITLES
Gardener: Landscape executive.
Housemaid: Family environment upkeep manager.
Receptionist: Front-office manager/office access-control specialist.
Messenger: Business-communications conveyer.
Window cleaner: Transparent wall technician.
Temporary teacher: Associate tutor.
Tea lady: Refreshment overseer.
Garbage collector: Public sanitation technician.
Security guard: Theft...
YOU trauma counsellor Debbi Rozowsky has this advice for recognising the warning signs of teens in distress.
Self-harming. Check for cut marks if your teen suddenly starts wearing long sleeves or covering up unusually. Cutting is a symptom of deep distress.
Pattern changes. Changes in eating and sleeping patterns are indicative of depression.
Bad influences. Teens will emulate their friends’...
People who spend a lot of time on the internet are more inclined to show symptoms of depression, say psychologists at the University of Leeds in England. They found some internet users developed a compulsive internet habit and replaced personal contact with people with visits to chatrooms and social networking sites. It seems this addiction can seriously affect your mental health. The study also...
Turn teatime into a special occasion with this tasty but easy banana loaf recipe.
Makes 2 loaves
LOAF
INGREDIENTS: 500 ml (2 c) cake flour; 5 ml (1 t) baking powder; 250 ml (1 c) caster sugar; 2 ml (½ t) salt; 125 ml (½ c) sour cream; 1 extra-large egg, whisked; 5 ml (1 t) bicarbonate of soda; 80 ml (1/3 c) softened butter; 5 ml (1 t) vanilla essence; 80 ml (1/3 c) milk; 250 ml...
PS3. 2009. 18+
Rating: 3/5
Reviewer: Terence Fullex
Pay attention to the age restriction – this game isn’t for the faint-hearted and definitely not for kids. You have to engage in mind-bending puzzles and horrific, brutal traps in an old, abandoned mental asylum. Go against the insane Jigsaw and overcome his riddles and traps and you’ll feel as if you’ve overcome your PS3 dark side! If you...
ALBUM REVIEW
Animal
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Jared Orlin
Critics may be divided on Kesha’s debut album, Animal, but we think it’s a breath of fresh air with its upbeat tracks. She sounds a bit like Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne and Pink rolled into one and the music combines pop, electro, rap and rock influences. We love all 15 songs but you’ll want to pay attention to Tik Tok, Blah Blah...
Local comedy. With Carl Beukes, Lionel Newton and Jena Dover. Director: Craig Freimond. 13L. Opens 27 February.
Rating: 3/5
Reviewer: Leon van Nierop
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A geeky comedian loses his sense of humour in Johannesburg, the fast-paced city of robbers and riches. He ends up in an institution where he desperately tries to get his head back together. Then he decides to escape.
WHO WILL...
We love Mia Wasikowska
- Alice in Wonderland lead actress Mia (20) once dreamt of becoming a ballerina and would spend 35 hours a week practising before the acting bug bit. “The thing I took issue with was having to have the perfect body. There wasn’t any room for fault or imperfection. Film is a lot more about life and so it’s all about the things we do that are imperfect. That really interested...
THE INFORMANT!
Dark comedy. 2009. 104 min. With Matt Damon and Scott Bakula. Director: Steven Soderbergh. 16L.
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Willem Möller
Erin Brockovich and Traffic director Steven Soderbergh knows how to make riveting films based on true events. But this story – of how the FBI nailed a global food additive price-fixing scam in the early ’90s – is set apart by the fascinating...
It’s morning in Los Angeles and thousands of people are making the mad dash through the traffic to get their kids to school and themselves to work on time. It’s an everyday routine – even for A-list soap star Kristian Alfonso.
The actress, who plays Days of Our Lives heroine Hope Williams Brady, has just dropped her son, Jack, at school and is on her way to the set in Burbank, California, when we...
“I’ve wanted to come to South Africa for years,” she drawls in a thick Southern accent. “I’d actually planned a safari three years ago and was so upset when I had to cancel.”
We’re chatting to US pop star KELLY CLARKSON on the eve of her All I Ever Wanted world tour which includes a three-city stopover in South Africa. It will be the 27-year-old singer’s first time in the country and she can’t...
All eyes were on singer STEVE HOFMEYR at the recent SA Film and TV Awards as he walked the red carpet at Pretoria’s State Theatre with his new girlfriend, attorney SUNÉ MEYER.
His kykNET talk show, Dis Hoe Dit Is Met Steve, won the Best Talk Show category. The controversial Afrikaans entertainer appears to be madly in love for the first time since his divorce woes. “We’ve been together just over...
When she burst onto the pop scene with a catchy song and a wacky wardrobe there was much muttering about her being a one-hit wonder. The recipe was there: she was over the top, she’d released only one single (the chart-topping Poker Face) and she seemed to crave attention by doing things such as buying fish and chips in what appeared to be her underwear.
But 15 months later critics are eating...
Picture: Jane and Okkert Brits
Some call it focus, he calls it rhythm. Call it what you like, it’s something that was drilled into Okkert Brits for 20 years and it kicked in again within minutes of being on the Survivor island.
The former Olympic pole-vaulter’s blue eyes are shut tight and his right hand taps rhythmically to each word he utters as he thinks back to the first day on the...
Romantic comedy. With MERYL STREEP, ALEC BALDWIN and Steve Martin. Director: Nancy Meyers. 16. Opens 26 February.
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Leon van Nierop
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A divorcée starts a relationship with her ex-husband when his new marriage to a younger woman doesn’t work out. Then she meets a charming older man who’s also divorced.
WHO WILL ENJOY IT?
Anyone who has gone through the hell...
1. He’s the hitmaker behind Whatcha Say and In My Head.
2. Jason’s debut single, Whatcha Say, topped charts in America and featured in the third season of the hit TV series Gossip Girl. The song is an electro-pop spin on a sample of British singer Imogen Heap’s 2005 song Hide and Seek and the lyrics were inspired by his brother, who called him right after his girlfriend broke up with him.
3. He...
RATCHET AND CLANK: A CRACK IN TIME
PS3. 2009. 10
Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: Muneeb Adams
Whether you’re an adult or an adolescent you’ll find there’s something special about Ratchet and Clank. The latest instalment in the popular series picks up from where the last game left off. Clank has disappeared and it’s up to Ratchet to rescue him and foil the plans of Dr Nefarious.
Along the way we uncover...
OVERCOME by Alexandra Burke
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Themba Makamo
This debut album brings a fresh feel to the R&B scene. The British-born singer has used internationally renowned producers and songwriters, including Stargate, Red One and Louis Biancaniello. There’s the generic-sounding Bad Boys to start off and Good Night and Morning, a duet with Ne-Yo, has potential. Stand-out tracks are...
OVERCOME by Alexandra Burke
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Themba Makamo
This debut album brings a fresh feel to the R&B scene. The British-born singer has used internationally renowned producers and songwriters, including Stargate, Red One and Louis Biancaniello. There’s the generic-sounding Bad Boys to start off and Good Night and Morning, a duet with Ne-Yo, has potential. Stand-out tracks are...
YOU advice columnist Dr Louise has this advice:
PHYSICAL REACTION
If you’re afraid of snakes your heart rate will increase if you see one. With a phobia your heartbeat becomes irregular, you feel dizzy, get sweaty palms, have trouble breathing and can’t think clearly.
EMOTIONAL REACTION
Fear is characterised by the fight or flight response. Phobic fear is paralysing and often people don’t...
This week YOU has several tasty dishes made with fresh cheese – it’s versatile and works well in sweet and savoury dishes.
Buy large chicken breasts on the bone for this recipe. Carefully lift the skin and remove the bone so you’re left with a large piece of skin to fold over the stuffing. Remember to remove the cocktail sticks before serving.
Serves 4-6.
INGREDIENTS: 8 large chicken breasts...
BUMPER STICKERS
- I don’t suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.
- I used to have a handle on life but it broke.
- Don’t take life too seriously; no one gets out alive.
- I’m not a complete idiot; some parts are just missing.
- Your gene pool could use a little chlorine.
- Consciousness – that annoying time between naps.
- Ever stop to think and forget to start again?
- Being...
FORD COUNTY by John Grisham (R298, Doubleday)
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: André P Brink
This collection of short stories is set in the fictional town of Clanton, Mississippi. Out of a population of 10 000, 51 are lawyers. It’s the sort of town in which Grisham lived and practised law for nearly a decade.
Some of the seven stories are poignantly funny. In Blood Drive three young guys pile into a...
Taking ginkgo biloba, St John’s wort and other popular herbal supplements could be risky for those on heart medication, especially the elderly, according to a review published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The review says some herbal remedies may increase the potency of prescription drugs for heart disease or make them less effective and that mixing herbs and drugs also...
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are suing a British newspaper for reporting they’re on the verge of splitting. And in the wake of frenzied media speculation that their relationship is on the skids Hollywood’s once-golden couple are also engaging in very public displays of affection. But appearances aren’t everything and in YOU magazine this week renowned Hollywood writer Ian Halperin, author of...
She cuts a glamorous figure with her gleaming waist-length hair, immaculate make-up, manicured nails and long, lean limbs. Her silver-haired husband, who’s 21 years her senior, must have been the envy of many when he married her.
Yet PRIMROSE CROUS’ marriage hangs in the balance after she became embroiled in one of the most talked-about love triangles in South Africa after her husband, Theunis...
Seven nervous young men headed for the Los Angeles premiere of Invictus in a gleaming limousine. The car stopped, the doors opened and they were confronted by flashing cameras.
Then they heard a familiar tune from the loudspeakers. The song 9 000 Days is from the movie’s soundtrack – and the seven guys from Gauteng make up Overtone who perform nine of the film’s 18 songs.
Emile Welman (24),...
She’s Survivor’s little loudmouth, short in stature but big on telling it like it is. And what you see on Survivor South Africa: Santa Carolina is the real her, feisty SADE GILIBERTI says.
“It’s me to a tee. I’m the kind of person who always speaks the truth, which a lot of people don’t appreciate. You either like me or you don’t. Either way I don’t care.”
Her role in the Chibudu tribe quickly...
He has always had a big mouth but this time JOHN MAYER might have gone too far. In an interview with Playboy magazine the singer used the N-word, described his penis as a “white supremacist” and referred to gay people as fags. Then, just for good measure, he bragged about his sexual encounters with singer Jessica Simpson and insulted Jennifer Aniston.
Here’s a sample of what he said:
About black...
HOW TO PAINT A DEAD MAN by Sarah Hall (R189, Faber & Faber)
Rating: 3/5
Reviewer: Claire Reddie
Told by four people from different generations and backgrounds, this novel by the Man Booker shortlisted author will certainly intrigue you. The first storyteller is a dying painter in ’60s rural Italy, the second a young blind girl who was once taught by the artist, the third perspective is of a...
PARKING PROBLEM SOLVED
A man walks into a Johannesburg bank and asks to see the loan officer. He tells the man he’s going on holiday to India for two weeks and wants to borrow R10 000. The loan officer says the bank will need security for such a loan so the man hands over the keys of his new BMW parked outside the bank. After checking the details the bank agrees to accept the car as...
Make a pre-mix then use it when you need to rustle up this treat in a hurry.
BASIC READY-MIX
Makes 1 130 ml (enough for two loaves)
INGREDIENTS: 500 ml (2 c) mealie meal; 500 ml (2 c) cake flour; 80 ml white sugar; 25 ml (5 t) baking powder; 5 ml (1 t) salt.
METHOD: Mix the ingredients in a bowl and spoon into clean, dry containers. Store the ready-mix in a cool, dry place for...
Mall walking has become a serious exercise option for senior citizens, US author Sara Donovan says. In her book Mall Walking Madness: Everything You Need to Know to Lose Weight and Have Fun at the Same Time, she says older people and parents of young kids should take advantage of the time they spend in shopping malls to have a workout by walking briskly.
DEPRESSION IN PREGNANCY
Stress, a history...
YOU trauma counsellor Debbi Rozowsky has this advice if you think you’re being followed.
Take initiative. Give yourself enough space and in a firm voice ask, “Are you following me?” Do this only when you are in a busy area where your safety is assured.
Be intimidating. Take a photograph and make sure the person sees you doing it.
Stay safe. Walk in the middle of the road – the stalker isn’t...
Two of Hollywood’s hottest young actors join forces in the new romantic tearjerker Dear John. We can’t wait to see it!
The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks, also the author of the popular romantic novel on which the film The Notebook was based.
Dear John follows John Tyree (Channing Tatum), a soldier who comes home for a short break and meets Savannah Curtis...
This guy takes overachieving to a new level: the frontman of Grammy-nominated US pop-rockers OneRepublic, 30-year-old Ryan Tedder, has also penned a few memorable songs for other artists.
“I started writing for other people to pay my bills and support the band,” he says. “I’d sell songs to anyone who’d have them but at least I can now be choosy about who I work with.”
Ryan started playing piano...
Animal drama. With THABO MALEMA, John Kani and JAMIE BARTLETT. Director: Michael Swann. PG. Opens 19 February.
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Leon van Nierop
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A wise old man sits at a campfire and tells the tale of a white lion cub, Letsatsi, who has been kicked out of his pride and must face all kinds of threats to survive alone. A young man, Gisani, quietly follows the cub – but...
GRAMMY NOMINEES 2010 by various artists
Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: Jared Orlin
This compilation shows why the 2010 Grammy Awards ceremony was said to be one of the best yet. The album features 20 of the biggest hits. Stand-out tracks include Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling, Taylor Swift’s You Belong with Me, Pink’s Sober, Green Day’s 21 Guns and Kelly Clarkson’s My Life Would Suck without You.
...
Teen comedy. 2009. 93 min. With Josh Henderson, Jenna Dewan and Tom Arnold. Director: Scott S Anderson. 13S.
Rating: 3/5
Reviewer: Elmari Rautenbach
Even if it looks like yet another High School Musical this movie has a sparkle that sets it apart – plus two leading actors with great chemistry and a truly vibey soundtrack based mostly on Josh Henderson’s debut album.
Adam (Henderson) is a...
There’s something about Betty. Maybe it’s the dishevelled hair, frumpy patterned jerseys, hideous comfy shoes and shiny braces that flash when she gives one of her broad smiles. Whatever it is, fans of popular comedy series Ugly Betty just can’t seem to get enough of Betty Suarez.
In the first season of the hit show, currently on SABC3, the woefully unfashionable personal assistant to the...
Isn’t it funny that every time there are BRAD PITT and ANGELINA JOLIE break-up rumours they respond by choosing a very public place for a display of affection?
You have to wonder why they’re trying so hard. This time has been no exception. Days after stories started circulating they were on the verge of splitting, Brangelina put on a show of unity worthy of an Oscar as they attended the Super...