SOV Recommends

Hi folks it's time for part two of our weekly recommendations blog. As always please add your own reviews or recommendations in the comments section below (otherwise I'll be tempted to start anonymously commenting on my own blogs..and that would be sad...talking to yourself is one of the first signs of madness...)

Anyway onto this week's picks!

Movie Of The Week: Come And See

I came across this absolutely mental Russian World War II film by chance last week and it has certainly left a lasting impression. Released in 1985 and directed by Elem Klimov the story follows a young soviet boy who witnesses the atrocities of war during the Nazi occupation of Belarus. The oppressive atmosphere, haunting soundtrack and amazing camera work gives the film a brutal realism that I have not experienced in a war film before. This is a far cry from your typical Hollywood/US Army recruitment movie. There are no action hero's to be found here, just a lasting understanding of the true horrors of war. This is now in my top 5 war movies so would highly recommend a watch. Be warned though it's disturbing imagery is not for the faint hearted. Check out the trailer below or for more info see the IMDB page here.

Album Of The Week: Plan B - ill Manors

Ben Drew aka Plan B  released the soundtrack to his directorial debut feature film 'ill Manors' last week. I've not had a chance to catch the film yet but if the album is anything to go by it will definitely be worth a watch. An explosive mixture of hip-hop, dance and soul the album is a series of character portraits which focus on the struggle to survive in an East London world of poverty, drugs and crime. Drew's exceptional lyricism and dramatic narratives combined with his impeccable music results in a masterpiece of British urban storytelling. Definitely worth a listen. Check out the trailer for the film and the brilliant 'Playing With Fire' below:

Or visit Plan B's official YouTube channel here

Tech Of The Week: Windows 8 Release Preview

I know that the developer and release previews for Windows 8 have been around for a while now but I finally decided to take the plunge this week and I've got to say I'm very impressed so far. It takes a while to get used to the new 'Metro' style start screen and the lack of a windows button is frustrating, however the overall experience has been a rewarding one. A giant leap from previous Windows iterations, the operating system has been overhauled to work seamlessly across both PC and tablet platforms and it is easy to see how this will be a success. Having owned a Windows Phone for a while now I'm used to the concept of 'Live Tiles' but they seem to be far more effective on the PC platform than the mobile one. There are far too many new features for me to discuss in this short review but having also upgraded to Mac OSX Mountain Lion this week I can honestly say that the new windows platform is winning hands down for me so far.

See the full feature set of Windows 8 here:

Adiós for now.

Image and info courtesy of the web

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