Box Office: Fast cars and some insanity

Fast and Furious 6

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Michelle Rodrigues

Director: Justin Lin

Genre: Action

Running time: 2hr.10 min

The all-star cast of the global hit blockbuster franchise is back on the street doing what they do best causing havoc with their fast cars. In this film Dom’s (Diesel) long love Letty (Rodrigues) makes a return as a ruthless second-in-command of a highly skilled organisation of mercenary drivers, which is hunted by Hobbs (Johnson). Hobbs asks for help from Dom and Brian who together put together a team to face the antagonists.   

Hangover Part III

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha

Director: Todd Williams

Genre: Comedy

Running time: 1hr.40 min

The last film of the crazy, funny and successful franchise directed by Todd Williams isn’t really much made like the first two films. Hangover III has no wedding or a bachelor party, but contains with it funny moments and some level of disaster.

Ashley Mokwena

@ashfonik

Clothing maker from the Vaal

On today’s Couture Corner feature we interview Tshwane University of Technology fashion graduate and owner of  Tsotetsi KL which he runs in South Africa’s capital Pretoria. The young ambitions designer interned at Monarchy Couture a fashion studio based in Pretoria while furthering his studies. 

Tsotetsi was a finalist in the Eco Design Competition in 2010 which he won. Following the achievement Tsotetsi had an opportunity to showcase his creativity in Sweden in 2011. In his final year of studies he interned for one of South Africa’s top designers Clive Rundle and in March 2012 he was the Fast-track Young Finalist and showcased at The Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.  

Who is khothatso Tsotetsi and what inspired you to be a fashion designs?

“I am a young boy originally from the Vaal, who decided to study fashion design technology in Pretoria.” ” I worked my way up and saw a need to live fashion officially.” “I completed my four years in fashion and now I run my own studio at Menlopark, in Pretoria.”

What inspires your designs?

“My designs are differently inspired occasionally depending on the season for collection.” “Though, every design needs to be a creation of class and sophistication.”

Who specifically wears your garments?

“That one woman who is not afraid of standing out from the rest.”  “She must adore being unique and does not feel like it’s an effort to dress up.”  

What makes your garments stand out?

“Every Tsotetsi KL creation by Khothatso is distinct in detail and craftsmanship.”“The vision is to maintain its quality and refine it always.”

What’s your favourite season for fashion?

“Spring/Summer, there is always parts of the canvas exposed and guaranteed to have flow, print and shorts somewhere.”

What’s to be expected from you as a designer in the next 5 years?

“There is always room for growth in every field, and us building a firm foundation for the brand and us ensuring secure clientele for the business.”

Life without fashion would be….?

“Naked”

Ashley Mokwena

@ashfonik

Beat Box: A beautiful voice from Birmingham

A few years back when I was completing high education sitting in an Afrikaans class with a beautiful slender figure of AyandaMasondo who genuinely loved exposing her smooth and soulful voice by singing songs by Brenda Fassie and LettaMbuli. Every time I entered the Afrikaans class I would be filled with excitement anticipating hearing the beautiful voice of a girl who could have been one of South Africa’s brightest musical stars.

Quite recently while surfing the internet for fresh musical talents across the globe, going through hundreds of discologies andYoutube music, and one dark female with a smooth soulful voice caught my attention.

The British soul and jazz artist Laura Mvula’s song ‘Like the morning dew’ caught my musical attention and led me to downloading few more songs by this stunning shy singer from the suburbs of Birmingham. The singer studied music under the guardianship of classical composer Joe Cutler who then introduced her to great music from music brains such asMessiaen and Michael Tippet and Pierre Boulez.

Mvula formerly wrote and sang with Black Voices an acapella band that was set up by her aunt and then went on to form a neo-soul group called Judyshouse were she was the lead singer and writing material for the group. Her music writing skills and sensational sweet soulful voice afforded her the opportunity to go solo and release a stunning album titled ‘Sing to the moon’ produced by Tom Elmhurst.

What I found with her debut album which was released in March is that it tells a cute story which at first I thought did not resonate with me, but listening carefully it got a bit of my heart. If Mvula did not take the route of spreading her music I don’t think we would have been exposed to a great British Voice.

‘Sing to the moon’ reached number nine on the UK Charts and within the top 100 in seven countries together with reaching 173 on the US Billboard 200. Such achievement in a relatively short time has certainly led Mvula to catch an ear.

Ashley Mokwena

@ashfonik

New Albums to check out

Artist: Casey LaLonde

Album title: Through Mountains

Genre:Indie

Artist: Daft Punk

Album title: Random Access Memories

Genre: Electronic Funk

Artist: P-Money

Album title: Gratitude

Genre: Hip Hop

@DaStitchBlog

In social media space

Blogging site Tumblr has being acquired by tech titans Yahoo for an estimated $1.1 billion (R10 billion).

Flickr got rid of the beloved Flickr Pro option that awarded user’s unlimited storage for only $25 (R237.75) a year.

More and more teens globally are ditching popular social media site Facebook for its greatest rival Twitter.

Australian/American media mogul Rupert Murdoch issued a warning that Facebook will suffer the same illness as social entertainment site Myspace.

Social networking site foursquare has partnered up with Microsoft on developing Nokia Lumia’s Exclusive Features App. 

Tech Bite: Microsoft unveils a new Xbox console

Yesterday Microsoft unveiled its new gaming console the Xbox One, described as a beauty that could see the tech titan oust Tim Cook’s Apple out of the living room. With Apple going through its roughest period in a decade, Microsoft may as well claim the crown of the living room from its rival.

The new generation console affords the player the luxury to quickly jump from TV to movies to music and to a game. The Xbox One gets to know the user of the console and learns what it is the user likes or dislikes, it also brings with it a fantastic cinematic world that brings gaming characters more to life than before, one of the reasons that makes the Xbox One a killer creation.

Xbox One Controller

Microsoft with its new baby are certainly sending a strong message to other gaming console makers by offering something that’s engaging and fun to have. Every single Xbox One will come with a Kinect system that responds naturally to a user’s voice, movements and gestures.

As much as it’s said that the Xbox One brings joy in the living room, it must also be highlighted that the console will also connect the world through another Microsoft product Skype which allows for free video internet calling. If you wondering how that will work, the internet will be accessed via a cloud service.

The Xbox One seems like a formidable player to influence the experience of the living room, but for how long?

Ashley Mokwena

@ashfonik

Beat Box: African beat deserves a standing ovation

Over the years we have seen the African beat receiving attention not only on the continent, but across the globe too. Agree or disagree but it has to be highlighted that African music has caught on with modern times and still carries with it a certain characteristic thathas an influence in one’s life. 

Whichever way you look at it, its musicians such as Nigeria’s FelaKuti, South Africa’s Miriam Makeba and Zimbabwe’s Oliver Mtukudzi to mention a few who have in throughout their careers traveling across the global shared what our music is all about. African music has its own signature and style, and for its own uniqueness why can’t it get a standing ovation?

FelaKuti on stage

For the past decade we have seen massive change in African music, and something that we as Africans should do is embrace our music and artists who have and are still being great ambassadors of the mother land.

 The continent has continued to give birth to fabulous musical talent that is representing mother land very well on the global stage, showcasing enthusiasm and sharing the story of Africa. Like any other place on planet earth we have our own glitches, but let’s stand together as Africans and give a standing ovation to our OWN ARTISTRY.

Ashley Mokwena

@ashfonik

Sounds of the moment

“Play hard”- David Guetta featuring Akon and Ne-yo

“That Power”- Will.i.am featuring Justin Bieber

“Power Trip”-J.Cole featuring Miguel

“Get Lucky”-Daf Punk featuring Pharrell Williams

“Hey Now”- Martin Solveig featuring The Cataracs and Kyle

For him to keep warm from this winter chill

The season which most of us probably hate is here and should it happen that you not happy with what’s in your wardrobe then I suggest you visit the nearest boutique in town or if you one of those who also say I’m too busy to be shopping! Why not shop online to rid-off the winter chill??

Allegra K mens stylish long sleeve coat for $28.05 (www.amazon.com)

Levi classic one pocket shirt for R549.00 (www.zando.co.za)

Croft and Barrow Plaid scarf for $30.00 (www.kohl.com) 

Slim fit Just Cavalli jeans for $193.99 (www.zappos.com)

Nordstrom reversible leather belt for $50 (www.nordstrom.com)

Timberland classic 6” premium boots $115.99 (www.zappos.com)

Box Office

Blitz Patrollie

Cast: David Kau, Joey Rasdien, David Kibuuka, Chris Forrest, KagisoLediga

Directed By: Andrew Wessels

Set in Johannesburg CBD, two unfavoured cops Rummy Augustine & Ace Dikolobe are thrown into a case that could change their lives when they accidentally find themselves looking at a drug-hauling case. Unfortunately it doesn’t come easy as they meet many obstacles in their way while desperately trying to get recognised as proper police men. The movie boasts a cast of South Africa’s best comedians who come together to create a laughing experience only they can provide. I would definitely recommend watching it and in so doing supporting local cinema.

Safe Haven

Cast: Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough, CobieSmulders

Directed by: LasseHallstrom

A moving romantic drama based on the book by Nicholas Sparks, the movie follows a young woman running away from an obsessed police officer. She settles down in a small town in North Carolina and pursues an isolated life. Her mystery hides a secret that she desperately tries to keep to herself and while doing so she unexpectedly falls in love with a widowed shopkeeper but she’s soon tracked down and her story starts to unravel in the most dramatic way that poses a danger to her newly found love.

AdhitiNaidoo

Twitter: @AdhitiN

Facebook: AditiNaidoo

Friday night laughter

 

It’s very rare that a young hard working individual like me goes out for a movie on a Friday evening. The preference is to hang out with the boys over a beer or two, or stay indoors for popcorn and PlayStation. This past Friday I attended the screening of a locally made film “Blitz Patrollie” directed by Andrew Wessels and produced by Isaac Mogajane at the refurbished Ster-Kinekor cinema, Sterland in Pretoria. The film stars comedians David Kau, Joey Rasdien, Chris Forrest, David Kibuuka and Kagiso Lediga some of South Africa’s shining funny men.

The hilarious “Blitz Patrollie” revolves around police officers Ace Dikolobe (David Tau) and partner Rummeck ‘Rummy’ Augustine (Joey Rasdien) who struggles to control his ill-mannered mother-in-law. In a poor neighbourhood, Ace and Rummy come across a massive drug scenario together with their clumsy and shooting crazy colleagues, Braam Moerdyk (Chris Forrest) and Jack Makweru (David Kibuuka).

When the drugs get stolen under their noses, the prime suspects in the missing drug tale are none other than the cool and over ambitious Naidoo brothers. Following attempts to recapture the drugs and arresting the Naidoo siblings, Ace and Rummy are suspected by provincial police commissioner who threatens to close the underachieving station down. With the reputation on the lines and threats of losing their jobs, the two officers go on a mission to sort the mess out.

Asking lead actor David Kau before the movie to describe “Blitz Patrollie” he replied by saying “F**cking funny “to no surprise he shared the same view as fellow cast members Chris Forrest and Joey Rasdien.

What one can expect from the comedy star-studded film is laughter and enjoyment from the opening scene to the very last minute of the movie.

Ashley Mokwena

@ashfonik

 

Minding your moolah with STANLIB

Very few South African adults of every income level are financially savvy. I can remember my uncle Tshepo “Bra Zaka” Makofane after retiring from a steel firm as a messenger where he served for 27 Years;received his pension fund and misused it. Not even leaving some for his child’s tertiary education.

The squandering of moolah led uncle Tshepo to a situation which he was not familiar with, facing financial difficulties and eventually losing his valuables. It had obviously appeared that he was not financially literate, because had he been financially smart he wouldn’t have come across problems.

On Wednesday morning I set foot at the beautiful Sandton Sun to attend the STANLIB Smart Bucks event, an event that STANLIB partnered up with companies such as PUTCO, PrimeStars Marketing, The Monarchy Group, Bidvest, National youth development agency and Pureau with the aim to educate South Africa’s next generation on financial literacy. 

Industry leaders such as Ben Kodisang who heads up the Asset Management division at STANLIB, Romeo More marketing Executive at PUTCO, Martin Sweet from PrimeStars Marketing and keynote speaker LungisaFuzile the Director-Gneral of the National Treasury to mention a few shared with those in attendance intrinsic information on Saving MOOLAH in these harsh economic times.

Being financially literate is important to building a positive future… so let’s not emulate what individuals such as uncle Tshepo “Bra Zaka” did and be financially literate. REMEMBER TO ALWAYS MIND YOUR MOOLAH!!

www.stanlib.com

Ashley Mokwena

@ashfonik