The cold, bleak, winter wildernesses is the opening tone for ‘Prisoners’, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and son, Ralph Dover (Dylan Minnette) are out hunting in Pennsylvania, and as the Lords Prayer is being whispered by Keller, his son fires a single round upon an unsuspecting deer. This small segment immediately signals this isn’t a normal kidnapping movie and isn’t using the same formula as recent films in this topic (such as Taken 2 that begins with a happy tone at the start). You can tell this movie is taking its self seriously.

The Dover’s, Keller, Ralph, Grace (Maria Bello) and Anna (Erin Gerasimovich) are celebrating Thanks Giving around their neighbour’s house, the Birch’s, in their quite Pennsylvania town. After the two young girls from either family, Anna Dover and Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons), go looking for a red whistle that Keller had lost some time back, they both go missing and the finger is then pointed at Alex Jones, whose RV was where the girls where playing near earlier on in the film.  

The Birch family, Franklin (Terrence Howard), Nancy (Viola Davis) ,Eliza (Zoe) and the Dover’s Thanks Giving is thrown into turmoil and they then take matters into their own hands when they feel that the cop assigned to their case, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), isn’t doing enough to find their daughters.

‘Prisoners’ is a very chilling film, using suspense to its advantage without spoiling it with a cheap jump scare. This is a very realistic take on a kidnapping; you have both ends of the work going into finding these girls. Detective Loki, has solved every case he has been assigned to and you can understand why with the sheer work he is putting it to find these girls. At the other end of the spectrum you get the vast range of emotions flowing through the families that is explored well. You get the devastation from Grace, the anger from Keller and both are explored greatly whilst balancing this fear that they may not find their daughter.

The cast is one of the best assembled in 2013 so far and they all give very strong performances. Hugh Jackman is the stand out and since being apart of the Oscar Winner ‘Les Miserables’ he is giving it all to every part he is playing. Jake Gyllenhall, Melissa Leo and Paul Dano are equally superb; nothing about their performance could be faulted. Everything these characters are doing is in aid to find their daughters, nothing feels unnecessary and everything has its place to add to the emotions these characters should be feeling.  The one weak point is Kyla Drew Simmons character, as you rarely get to see her emotions after this devastation, but I do feel this is largely down to the short screen time she had compared to the rest of the cast and wasn’t anything to do with her acting capabilities.

‘Prisoners’ does get going fairly quickly, but is extremely long (at 153 minutes) and you do feel that perhaps a few of the repetitive scenes could possibly have been axed from the final cut to shorten the movie. But saying that the movie never drags, and director Denis Villeneuve has done a great job to constantly lead the audience up these different paths, leaving you constantly guessing who has taken their daughters.

Another aspect of the realism is that the police are literally starting with only the bare minimal information that the Dovers and Birch’s have provided, Loki has to explore leads that lead to dead ends as they would in real life, whereas in other movies that use a kidnapping, (using Taken 2 again as an example) they tend to find a vital piece of evidence or a clue at he scene to where the missing person is and they are immediately on the right path. With ‘Prisoners’ you get this layer of realism that overall makes this film more enjoyable than the majority of films in this topic.

Chilling and suspenseful, ‘Prisoners’ is well crafted from start to finish. Not only is it well acted but the sheer emotion pouring out of these characters makes you really feel you are apart of that family and hope they are able to find their daughters. ‘Prisoners’ is engaging from start to finish in the way that you are constantly making up predictions in your head to who the kidnapper is and this makes the two and a half hours easily manageable. Prisoners is undoubtedly a must see and is one of the best films released this year. 

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Crystal Palace v Arsenal

Palace’s home defeat by Fulham on Monday night means that The Eagles are now five points from safety going into game week 9. Ian Holloway’s men have showed plenty of spirit, but have lacked the quality to unlock Premier League defences and to keep out Premier League attacks.

Arsenal’s flying start to the season continued as they thumped Norwich 4-1. The match also showcased what The Gunners can do when they get their passing game going as they scored one of the goals of the season, a free-flowing team goal finished by Jack Wilshere.

The two teams could hardly be any more different. Opposite ends of both the table and the form guide, Crystal Palace v Arsenal looks like a mismatch. Palace will give it a good go, as all Ian Holloway’s teams do, but I can’t see them getting a result on Saturday.

Prediction: 1-2

Aston Villa v Everton

Villa suffered their fourth defeat of the 2013/14 campaign at the hands of Spurs last weekend, but more worrying still for manager Paul Lambert is that three of those have come at Villa Park. The Villans will need to get their home form back on track if they are to enjoy a more comfortable season than the last one.

Everton under Roberto Martinez have been more fluent and attack-minded than they were under David Moyes, and have reaped the rewards for their extra endeavour after an unusually bright start, having lost just one of their opening eight fixtures.

The match pits an in-form side against a team struggling for confidence, particularly in front of their own fans, but both have unimpressive defensive records and plenty of goals in their sides, so I can see this being an exciting, and fairly even, game.

Prediction: 2-2

Liverpool v West Brom

Liverpool are looking a dangerous side so far this season, having won five of their opening eight games. The Reds sit third in the table and will want to put even more pressure on the early pace-setters with a win here.

West Brom have again started the season well under Steve Clarke. A creditable draw at home to Arsenal as well as that historic 2-1 win at Old Trafford has The Baggies sitting securely in mid table, though their stubborn defence will have to be at its best to stop the SAS.

Both sides are decent at the back and have plenty of attacking threat, but, while I think it will be close, Liverpool should have enough to grab the three points.

Prediction: 2-1

Manchester United v Stoke

Manchester United have made their worst start to a season in over twenty years, heaping early pressure onto their new manager David Moyes. Looking weak in every area of the pitch so far, the champions will need to improve rapidly if they are to avoid losing their crown before the new year.

The Potters have also endured a rather disappointing start to the season, having lost half of their eight games, and only scoring four goals in the process. Goals were a problem last season under Tony Pulis, but Mark Hughes’ new side has, as yet, been unable to solve the problem.

Given Manchester United’s superior ability and Stoke’s combination of poor away form and lack of goals makes anything less than a home win difficult to predict, but City may be inspired by West Brom’s heroics, and may well make it a good contest.

Prediction: 1-0

Norwich v Cardiff

Norwich spent big on attacking talent in the summer, signing both Gary Hooper and Ricky van Wolfswinkel for a combined fee of around £14 million, but have struggled to impose themselves on teams, winning only two and losing five of their games so far.

Newly-promoted Cardiff will be fairly satisfied with their start to the season. Malky Mackay’s men have bagged both their first home and away wins within the first ten games, which will take some media spotlight off of them for now, and their home ground is proving to be a challenging place for teams to play.

These two sides have not been blessed with goals this season and both seem to be adjusting to their respective styles and systems. This doesn’t look like being a classic, so I’m going for a stalemate.

Prediction: 0-0

Southampton v Fulham

Southampton’s excellent start to the season has seen them beat Liverpool and draw with Manchester United, as well as impressive performances in wins over West Brom, Crystal Palace and Swansea. Mauricio Pochettino’s team have found their feet in the Premier League and look to be on their way to establishing themselves at that level.

Fulham have bounced back from a miserable start to the season with back-to-back victories over Stoke and Crystal Palace. They needed some luck, and some magic, to do so but consecutive wins are not to be sniffed at in the Premier League, and Martin Jol is now in a more comfortable position than he was three weeks ago.

The Saints boast the meanest defence in the Premier League, having conceded just three goals this season, something which cannot be said about their opponents. Fulham have a lot of quality in their side, but they seem unable to handle some of the physical hustle-bustle associated with English football. Even so, they have shown an ability to grind out results. They were dominated in their home match against Stoke, although they won, and they also pulled off a hard-fought 1-0 away win against Sunderland on the first day of the season. Southampton, however, simply look a better side, and I expect them to win here.

Prediction: 1-0

Sunderland v Newcastle

Gus Poyet was given a baptism of fire as he saw his new charges thrashed 4-0 by Swansea last week. He will have realised the size of the task at hand before that game though: Sunderland have made the joint worst start to a Premier League season, taking just one point from eight games.

Newcastle have been very hit-and-miss this season. Impressive performances against Cardiff and Liverpool have been equalled by collapses against Man City and Hull as well as a shambolic first half display against Everton. Alan Pardew does have quality at his disposal, however, which will probably see them through the season safely.

Already, this game is hugely significant for The Black Cats. If they were to lose against their local rivals, it would be a shattering blow to confidence and morale, not to mention the fact that they could easily get cut adrift with the wrong result. I think it will be a really old-fashioned derby game: blood and guts stuff, and a hard-fought point for each at the end.

Prediction: 1-1

Chelsea v Man City

Jose Mourinho’s return to West London signalled a massive increase in expectation amongst the Chelsea fans, and their strong start to the season has only strengthened their belief. Their flair players are performing, and so are their more defensive players, by and large.

Manuel Pellegrini’s new beginning hasn’t been quite as smoothly navigated as Jose’s, but after a dominant 3-1 win at Upton Park last weekend City are back in the top four and look a very dangerous side when their attacking players click.

The Blues are usually imperious at home, and will be under pressure in what is their second big test of the season, after that 0-0 snore draw at Old Trafford was safely passed. Manchester City have been very patchy away from home in general, but in a game of this size you would expect their players to stand up and be counted.

With so many flair players on the pitch, this game has the potential to be a real classic of the Premier League, and I certainly hope it delivers, given that a lot of games between the big guns usually end up as damp squibs.

Prediction: 2-2

Swansea v West Ham

The Swans have again been largely impressive in their build-up play this season, though they seem to be finding scoring goals a little more tricky this term than last. Their results have been steady though, and they sit just below the top ten with what they will view as a winnable home game coming up.

Sam Allardyce’s West Ham have been very up and down this season. They have found goals and indeed chances difficult to come by following Andy Carroll’s injury, though they showed signs of their ability when they won 3-0 at White Hart Lane a couple of weeks ago.

The two teams meet in similar veins of form, but West Ham don’t travel particularly well, and will probably set up quite negatively to avoid defeat. If they snatch a goal then the result may well be a different one, but if Swansea score first I can see this going only one way.

Prediction: 2-0

Tottenham v Hull

Spurs erased the memory of that 3-0 home defeat by West Ham when they created their own away victory last weekend at Villa Park. Andros Townsend was again in electric form, and Tottenham’s defence again looked impressive.

Hull have made a solid start to their first season back in the top flight since 2010, and Steve Bruce has got his team playing an attractive brand of football combined with stoic defending when needed. Most encouraging for The Tigers is that they have beaten the kind of mid-table teams they will need to in order to survive.

Andre Villas-Boas has turned Tottenham into a clean-sheet machine this season. Had they not conceded against West Ham at all they would have the best defensive record in the league and, in truth, they would have deserved it. They look a classy side, but goal-scoring has been a little more difficult for them, and they have struggled at times to get in behind defences. They will have another tough job of it here, as Hull, being the plucky and at times stubborn side they are, will make it difficult for them to score, but I can’t see past a home win on this occasion.

Prediction: 2-0

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The iPhone 5C and iOS 7 are little over three weeks old now and after now having both of them in my possession for this time period, I have had the chance to get to grips with all the new features, had time to see the usefulness and whether the new OS is a step up from the interface people are use to.

iPhone 5c

The iPhone 5c was released on September 20^th alongside the 5s. The 5c is herald as the budget model that is replacing the 5, though the cost of the phone still starts at £469 for the 16GB model.

The handset is exactly the same as the 5 apart from the “beautifully, unapologetically plastic” (in the words of John Ive) exterior that is replacing the glossily, glass and metal casing we are use to with previous iterations. I would recommend the 5c to people that are still alien to the iPhone or currently in possession of an earlier model than the 5 (4s or before). The phone is still pricey seen as though this is supposed to be Apple’s budget model, and being only £80 cheaper than the 5s (that has a new fingerprint scanner to lock and navigate through the phone, a new 16-bit chip that increases the speed of phone and slow-motion camera), it may be worth you paying the extra to be up-to-date with the latest handset and having those extra features. The slow-motion camera alone is enough to get the 5s after having hands on with the feature, but saying this I’m really happy with the 5c (5c is available in white, red, yellow, blue and green), though if you already have the 5 then there is no need for you to even consider the 5C. instead look to the 5S.

iOS 7

The new OS from apple is the biggest change in their interface and despite this being a pain to download on its release, it has now been available for almost a month and overall I feel it’s a step in the right direction. The new slick simplistic design definitely showcases what Apple is all about, to create simple and well designed products. Near enough everything has been overhauled from the icons to the new dynamic backgrounds.

The dynamic backgrounds that turns the backdrop of your phone into a 3D image as you move the phone is a cool feature that has been added and makes the task of choosing what background you should have that whole lot trickery to get the best out of this effect.

By swiping up on the screen, from bottom to top you now call up the Control Centre that gives you quick access to features such as your music, brightness, camera, Bluetooth, Airplane mode and a flashlight. The spotlight search feature was previously available by swiping to the far left of the phone, whereas now is available be swiping down on the home screen (though not from the very top as this still brings down the notification centre).

The improved multitasking feature is again an improvement. Before to close your apps that were running in the background you would have to tap the little red circle on the top of the icon after double tapping the home button, whereas now you are show all your applications in the middle, simply tap on the icon to open or swipe the page up to close the app.

It was about time that the iPhone camera came along with filters to edit your pictures and with this feature added alongside different photo styles, such as a panoramic picture mode. This is yet another app that has been given the Apple style face lift.

There are many new features that could be named such as the Find My iPhone feature, an improved app store, an improved Siri that now adds in Twitter searches into the functionality of the app. The final cool feature that im excited to get my hands on is iTunes Radio that allows you to find new music relevant to what you are listening to, but this feature isn’t yet available in the UK, the UK release date is said to be around early 2014.

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Newcastle vs Liverpool

The last time that these two sides met at St James’ park Liverpool were rampant, winning 0-6, I don’t think that they will achieve that same score though this time around.

Out of all the signings that Newcastle have made this year, it only seems to be Loic Remy that has made any impact whilst playing for the Toon.

Liverpool will be looking to follow up on their recent good form. They were playing very decent football up until the international break, and I think they will continue that form in this game.

Prediction: Newcastle 1-3 Liverpool

Arsenal vs Norwich

Arsenal were flying high before the international break. They might have been a little worried to see record signing Mesut Ozil limp off against Sweden on Tuesday, but news is he will be fit and ready to play against Norwich on Saturday.

Norwich did well against Chelsea but they were undone in the last 10 minutes. Their unlucky streak will, in my opinion, continue against Arsenal. They are struggling for goals, which is surprising given the amount of attacking options that they have in their team.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Norwich

Chelsea vs Cardiff

Cardiff seem to be in a bit of disarray behind the scenes at the moment with owner Vincent Tan replacing one of Malky Mackay’s main men behind the scenes with a 23 year old, Inexperienced former work experience employee.

It really isn’t what they need as they were doing fine in the League and looked like a very good team, capable of holding their own, but now, it will be interesting if this has an effect on them.

For Chelsea this match shouldn’t be a problem. It has been a mixed start for the club, but hopefully once Jose Mourinho knows his best team, they will settle. They are near the top of the table too, so panic buttons shouldn’t really be pressed just yet.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Cardiff

Everton vs Hull

Hull have been surprisingly better than I expected this campaign, and they haven’t done too badly when it comes to their results either.

They might struggle however against a side in Everton, who only lost their unbeaten start to the season in their last game away at Manchester City.

The likes of Lukaku who scored for Belgium on international duty, and Baines and Jagielka, who will be buoyed by their heroics for England in the break, seem to me will be hard for Hull to contain, although they will give them a good game.

Prediction: Everton 2-1 Hull

Manchester United vs Southampton

This is going to be a tough match for both sides as Man united are very inconsistent at the moment, whilst Southampton are performing very well.

Man United were lucky in their last game against Sunderland, to come away with three points. They would be hoping that coming up against Southampton, they should have a chance to kick start their season, but I don’t think it is going to be that easy.

Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Southampton

Stoke vs West Brom

                                      

Stoke have stalled a bit after a decent start to the season, losing three on the bounce is not good for confidence at the Britannia.

I know Mark Hughes is trying to change the style of their play, but at the moment nobody in their team wants to stick the ball in the back of the net.

West Brom have shown in recent weeks what a good side they are and, after having a rather poor start to the season, Steve Clarke’s men seem to have put that behind them.

This will be a difficult match for them however, with Stoke not having great firepower at the moment it will be a tight contest.

Prediction: Stoke 1-1 West Brom

Swansea vs Sunderland

Gus Poyet will be in charge of his first game as Sunderland boss.

Coming up against Swansea, who have not won at home in the Premier League this season, will not be the easiest first game in charge.

Poyet will be looking for drive, hunger and most of all a real gutsy performance from his new side as they try and search for their first win of the season. They have Newcastle next week, and they will undoubtedly want to win that one.

All in all I think Swansea will win, but you will definitely see a good reaction from the players in regards to this appointment, which will mean better things to come from this Sunderland side.

Prediction: Swansea 2-0 Sunderland

West Ham vs Man City

West Ham will be cautious coming up against Man City, although in my opinion they shouldn’t have to be.

An amazing and well deserved win at Spurs last time out should give the Hammers all the confidence in the world going into this match against a side in city, who have not played very well away this season.

They have re=signed Carlton Cole on a short term deal, but even with this signing, I feel they need a little more option up front.

The visitors only have one point from three games and will have to get their players to step up in order to see this one out, which I think they should.

Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Man City

Aston Villa vs Tottenham

Villa haven’t had a good record at home against Spurs in recent years, and in my opinion I think that will continue.

Christian Benteke should be back for the Villains after injury, but they cannot keep relying on him, their team needs to pull together to keep villa safe.

Yes, Spurs did lose heavily to West Ham last time out but I think that was just a blip and AVB would have told them to forget about it straight after it happened.

With Andros Townsend doing well for England and everyone else back from international duty, which took their minds off that result, I think this one should result in a victory for Spurs.

Prediction: Aston Villa 1-3 Tottenham

Crystal Palace vs Fulham

Fulham fans still persist on wanting Martin Jol to leave. Sure they might not be playing the best football they have every played, but their result against Stoke last time out proves that they can grind out results, which is all you really need in this league to survive.

Palace have lost 4 games in a row and this is a growing problem that Ian Holloway is facing. They really need to get a result here, but I am not overly sure they will.

Games like these they will be looking at to focus on getting three points to keep ticking along. It is going to be a tough season for the Eagles and will be made tougher if they lose on Monday.

Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-1 Fulham

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England are heading to the World Cup in Brazil after a fantastically exciting 2-0 win against Poland at Wembley.

The Three Lions needed to win in order to qualify and keep out Ukraine who had beaten San Marino in their final match in Group H.

Wayne Rooney got the first, a fantastic header from a magnificent cross by Leighton Baines four minutes before half time, with Steven Gerrard sealing the win with a well taken goal, following a surging run in the 87th minute of the match.

Roy Hodgson leapt from the technical area with delight, as he and his backroom team revelled in an unbeaten, and very successful campaign.

Poland were always going to be tricky opponents, especially with over 20,000 of their fans packed into the stadium to show the side, who were unable to qualify for the finals before the game, massive support.

Their main threat was on the counter attack. The pace from winger Blaszczykowski aiding the loan striker Robert Lewandowski to the majority of the away sides chances with two chances ironically coming from England corners.

Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny did well to keep England at bay for the majority of their chances during the night, saving well from Townsend, Sturridge and Rooney throughout the night.

England settled soon after these chances and they were able to cook up various chances much like the game against Montenegro.

Just like in that game, two players who wouldn’t usually be considered first choice. Leighton Baines and Andros Townsend played exceptionally again to aid in giving England’s play width.

And it was Banes who assisted England’s first goal, with pressure mounting on the Poland backline from various attacks by England, they eventually caved to a teasing cross from Banes to which Rooney leapt up and dinked it into the corner past Szczesny.

The second half was a good, open contest between the two sides, with England desperately trying to find a second goal to ensure that qualification was assured. 

As time slithered away, England pressed and rewarded with their pressure as Gerrard made a darting run through the defence and slotted past Szczesny and booking England’s place to Brazil 2014.

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This weeks Football UNI-ted Podcast is a short special where we talk about last weeks England match against Montenegro. On this episode we also give a preview for Tuesday's crucial qualifying match against Poland and what it will mean for England if they miss out on next years World Cup. 


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Football UNI-ted Podcast will be back next week when the Premier League kicks off again after the international break. We will be here to give you a round up of every Premier League game so be sure to stay tuned to The Total Entertainment  we will be looking at the crucial international games over the weekend that determine what nations will be competing at next years World Cup.

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Mike Trevelyan

Conor Rees

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Mike Taylor

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Supported By Wez Watkins of Weapons Grade Walrus

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