The Pop Culture

Suburban Dub Vol.2

2009-02-16T21:15:13Z

Label: SKP Records Ukraine
Cat. #: SKPSN018
Release Date: 10/02/2009
Format: File, mp3
Genre: Electronic
Style: Dubstep, Dub, Abstract, Dub Techno
Credits: Mastered by Dubmasta
Design: M.U.School

Tracklist:

1. Reixtra - Highlander
2. I Wannabe - Only One
3. Roots Controlla - Stepper
4. VzyalSoundSystem - Cyfral Track (Edit)
5. Dmitry Gren - Garden Of Stones
6. KLP 521 42 inc. - 000.3 Trees (Dubmasta Reshape)

http://skprec.com/

(Game) Fahrenheit

2007-08-30T20:26:54Z

Game: Fahrenheit
Developer: Quantic Dream
Publisher: Atari
Year: 2005
Genre: Adventure / Interactive Story

Fahrenheit (or Indigo Prophecy if you have the censored American version) is a very entertaining interactive story, which excels in several ways, but is unfortunately also let down by the limitations of the gameplay.

The strongest part of the game has to be the storyline. It begins with the lead character, Lucas Kane, commiting a ritualistic murder in the toilets of a café, while in a strange trance. He wakes up from the trance afterwards, not understanding what has happened, and that’s where you take over. From there, the storyline develops in more and more fantastical ways, and to reveal too much about the plot would spoil the game. But it starts off involving murder investigations and ends up involving cults and a bizarre AI.

During the course of the story, you’ll get to control several characters, in one of the games most unique aspects. In the first scene, you’ll be controlling Lucas Kane, having just killed a man and trying to hide the evidence (or just get away quickly, depending on how you play it). In the second scene, you’ll play as both Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles, two police inspectors investigating the crime scene. The choices that are made in the first scene will effect what clues are there to discover in the second. It’s an unusual way of playing, and leads to several interesting situations where you have to decide whether to help or hinder one of the characters.

Despite the fact that there are plenty of choices over the course of the game, and they do have an effect on how various scenes in the story play out, the plot as a whole follows a fairly straight path. Your decisions do affect what scenes you will see though, and the final scene can play out in several different ways depending on how you’ve dealt with the previous ones. There are also three different endings to the game depending on the outcome of that final section.

Lucas Kane’s Thunderbirds impression causes problems for the traffic.

So it’s been established that Fahrenheit is outstanding in story-terms. “But what about gameplay?”, I hear you ask! (I have extraordinarily good hearing you see.) Well, this is where it gets a bit more hit and miss. But we’ll stick with the positive for now. Most of the game is played out in a third person perspective with direct control of the character. Where the game varies from a traditional adventure game is in how actions are carried out. Rather than point and click, or use buttons, various activities are conducted by a system of mouse gestures. At the top of the screen, a row of symbols will appear showing what movement to make for each possible action. Just press the mouse button and make the appropriate movement, and the character will proceed to carry out your wishes. Many of the gestures are quite intuitive, lending the game a natural feel in these sections. For instance, opening a drawer will consist of pulling down the mouse, while closing it again will be achieved by pushing it upwards. You soon find yourself able to control things easily, achieving a fluidity of gameplay without having to break the action to choose options from menus. Conversations take place using the same system, with a short timer, making sure you have to keep the conversation moving and giving a sense of urgency to the situation.

As mentioned at the start of the review, not everything is perfect though. The actual movement controls are clumsy and awkward, and it takes quite a while to get used to them. It’s not a really major deal, since you won’t have to use them for too many action sequences. It becomes most annoying in a couple of stealth sequences, which occur in flashbacks at various points in the game. They’re not especially well done, and are probably the most frustrating points of the game.

Most of the major action scenes are controlled by a series of Simon-style copying games. The action will play out, and lights will pop up on the screen which you have to copy with the controls. The cutscenes carries on, until you make a mistake, at which point you’ll see your character getting into problems. You have a number of “lives” equating to the number of mistakes you’re allowed to make before you’ve failed. Fortunately for the reaction impaired, there’s an easy difficulty mode that shouldn’t cause too many problems. The system of controlling the action actually works quite well. It keeps you involved during the action, while allowing for exciting events that wouldn’t quite be possible under the direct control of the player. It also adapts quite well to the action. In a fast paced fight scene, you’ll be rapidly pressing keys, while playing guitar, they’re rhythmically timed, and while dodging things during a chase, you’ll be pressing buttons to jump out of the way. The major problem with the system is that you end up concentrating on copying the controls and miss what’s actually happening on the screen. Thankfully, the cutscenes can be watched on their own from the menu once you’ve completed them. And they’re some of the most spectacular action cutscenes to be found in any game.

Much harder to forgive are several “track and field” sections, consisting of rapidly alternating the left and right direction keys. This is a gameplay mechanic that should have gone out with the early computer sports games. It does coincide with physical exertion of the character, but that’s just another part of the character’s experience I’d rather not experience first-hand.

The church's pigeon problem was getting out of hand.

Graphically, the game isn’t bad, although it’s nothing special either. It does have a nice style to it though, with a slightly grainy filmic filter to it, which works well for atmosphere. In fact, the whole game has the feel of a film, and urgency is added by split screens showing simultaneous events. You might see the police walking towards you in a small window as you try to hide evidence in the main screen, for example. These things balance out any technical deficiencies.

Finally, I’ll mention that the game does contain adult content, including a sex scene with mild nudity. However, unlike the immature random nudity and sex references of games like Midnight Nowhere, it’s adult in a good way. It has a proper storyline dealing with adult themes, and almost everything is there to serve the plot and develop the characters.

So Fahrenheit is far from perfect. But where it fails, it’s because it’s trying to do something different, and where it succeeds, it’s so good that its flaws are forgivable.

Save System Review: Automatically saves after each scene. Most things don’t need to be replayed however you do them, since the storyline adapts, although there’s the occasional replaying of a minute or two. Nothing too serious.

Arbitrary Final Score: 86%

(Music) A Young Person's Guide New Wave

2007-04-16T20:45:40Z

Due to the popularity of the Britpop guide, here is my definitive guide to the genre that punk created. Enjoy.

The Criteria

New Wave music for the lay person is effectively what happened after punk. The definition of which can vary from the new romantics to the likes of Adam and the Ants. The origins of New Wave are not necessarily found in punk music (many of the acts here were either conceived before or during the punk scene) but, for the purpose of this guide, the songs here tend to have punk simplicity, separating production of individual instruments and a quirky singing style. Or they may simply be a more melodic, less sneary version of their punk cousins.

Public Image Ltd - Public Image.
Where better to start than with John Lydon to send us on our journey of New Wave? This is a good example of the genre in a nutshell - the jangly guitars, punk musicianship and 80s decadence. Nice.

Elvis Costello and the Attractions - (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea
Quirky keyboards, cutting lyrics and a man who looks like the love child of Buddy Holly and Bono. Job done.

Television - Marquee Moon
Not only one of the finest of all of the new wave bands but one of the greatest users of two rhythm guitars ever. Any comparisons with The Strokes will be dealt with harshly.

King Crimson - Elephant Talk
Okay, so they're a prog-rock band, but just listen to it. And that's Adrian Belew! He used to be in Talking Heads you know...

XTC - Making Plans For Nigel
This is technically punk (signed to Virgin as a countermeasure for the unpredictable Sex Pistols) although listening to the production and offset rhythms suggests that this is either New Wave or way ahead of its time.

The Smiths - This Charming Men
Before fleshing out their sound and crafting music that was unique, The Smiths were a new wave act, albeit one that was influenced by the more decadent acts of the early 70s rather than the stalwarts of punk. This gem from 1983 encapsulates this perfectly.

Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
Where would this list be without the late Ian Dury? Juxtaposing rough and raw vocals with the finest house band in the land was a good idea, methinks.

The Jam - A Town Called Malice
Yes, they were ensconced in the London punk scene, but adding the 60s Fender Bass riff and keyboard made this one of the new wave's ballsiest anthems.

Tom Robinson - 2 4 6 8 Motorway
Again, this is more punky than you might expect, but the strong melody of the whole song lifts into into new wave territory. Also, no punk would have ever released a song called Glad To Be Gay.

Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
How can this be ommited from the list?! Perfect song, perfect video, perfect end to this list.

(Music) The Death of Modern Music

2007-04-01T14:00:39Z

Some footage of The Clash from the month that I was born (June '81) which leads me to the question - is it any wonder that my faith in modern music is waning when you think that this kind of performance is over 25 years old and there has been nothing with equal excitement since?

Discuss.

(Film) Hot Fuzz

2007-03-03T23:02:49Z

I finally got to see Hot Fuzz this evening and, as I'm bored in a hotel room, here is my review. Enjoy.

Before entering the ancient Odeon in Canterbury to see Hot Fuzz, I was sceptical. Simon Pegg, writer and star of this high octane action flick, is funny without a doubt, but whether he could pull off this homage Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and make it funny was something that I simply couldn't get my head around.

The premise of the film is pure cliche, both in terms of what it parodies and as a parody in itself. The movie takes PC Nicholas Angel out of his successful London armed responce unit and puts him as a newly promoted Sergeant in the sleepy village of Sandford, where there is no crime. Of course, this turns out to be far from the case as Angel uncovers a huge and shodowy plot of a cult compromising of all of the influencial members of the community who commit crimes "for the common good".

And it is in this setting that my first problem with the film comes into play. Am I really the only one who has seen the "bad shit happens in small and unlikely places" far too many times in British drama and comedy? I know that this is a parody, but even so, one feels that they could have done it with a little more finesse. A little more originality.

The film however does have many a redeeming feature. The way that the story mixes narration with stylised visual flourishes shines out of the screen, making the narrative into a snappy and engaging experience. It is not unlike some of the sequences in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barells, without the excruciating mockney dialogue.

Then there's the acting from the principal characters. Simon Pegg, while not wholly believable, is exactly what the role demands. It was delightful seeing him underplaying the first two thirds of the movie, before emerging in the final action sequences as the role demanding all out hero. Nick Frost also shines as the dim witted but well meaning PC under Angels' wing and the chemistry between them is simply fantastic. Other notable roles of class are Timothy Dalton who is wonderful as the oily supermarket manager and prime suspect for the sinister goings on. His tongue in cheek is so good that you forget that he played James Bond for two movies. Praise also should go to Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall and the "the Andies", two cynical and clearly underworked CID officers who take a hilarious dislike to Angel on his arrival.

The casting is however far from perfect. Hot Fuzz is the nest in a long line of Brit-Flicks that seem to insist on having cameos of actors that we can "relish" in. Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy? Come on Simon, if they could carry off being in a successful movie in their own right then they would be doing it! Then there is the achingly annoying trait of putting popular comic TV actors into roles to prove that they are both hip and street. Kevin Eldon (Big Train) and Olivia Coleman (Peep Show, anything else that vaguely has Mitchell and Webb in it) - I'm talking to you. It's not that the parts or acting was bad per se, just that they were misplaced.

Then there's the action sequences. I must be honest and say that I am in two minds about these. On one hand I thought that they were great, exciting and tense. On the other I thought that they were too long, overblown and detracted from the great comic setup from the beginning. They also simply go on for too bloody long and nothing really happens in them. It's a simple case of characters shooting at each other in slightly different locations. True, some of it is enjoyable and some of it is amusing, but for my money, it simply misses the mark. It bares resemblance to the action sequences in Batman Begins - fine for what they are but surely only there to fill space and please the studio.

And this is where Hot Fuzz kind of becomes unstuck. It is a parody of balls out action films but handles this money shot with clumsiness. For the most part however, Hot Fuzz is a riotously funny comedy movie with some great acting, dialogue and story. It is rare that any movie will induce me to belly laugh, and Hot Fuzz has a good dozen genuine belly laughs. It also has something that I have not seen in a British comedy for quite some time - charm. For this is a truly charming movie that you like because its funny and good but mostly because we made it. It comes as a declaration of the dry sense of humour and self deprivation that we as Brits live with every single day. It's not nearly perfect and could be improved on in a dozen different ways but, damn it, that sums up the British way of life. And for this reason above any others, Hot Fuzz is a resounding success.

4/5

Manga: NANA (first five volumes + adaptations)

2007-03-01T00:10:04Z

NANA is titled for the shared name of two young women who meet on the train to Tokyo and become room-mates and best friends. They couldn't be more different -- one is candid, idealistic and ruled by her turbulent love life, the other is enigmatic, independent and singer in a punk band -- but together they make an for an intense, strong partnership which is more endearing and compelling than any of the romantic relationships in the story. To avoid confusion, one Nana is nicknamed "Hachi" by the other, for her affectionate yet attention-seeking personality, Hachiko being the name of a famous dog in Japan.

The first volume serves as a prologue and introduction to the characters, telling the story of how each of the two protoganists chose to leave their small hometowns to move to Tokyo. The first half of the book tells Hachi's back story, the second half, Nana's. With two separate stories and two years worth of backstory to tell, there are a lot of characters and relationships to introduce, but the strong personalities of the characters make the story very readable and engaging. It is in volume 2, however, that the real magic of NANA begins, when the two girls meet on the train to Tokyo and later become room-mates. For the next few volumes it's Hachi's love life that takes centre stage, but in volume 5 Nana's past becomes a central theme and provides some of the most emotional scenes of the manga so far.

NANA is funny, romantic, heart-breaking, enthralling -- every thing a girl could want from a manga. Though often classed as shojo (for girls), I would say NANA is more josei (for women), centering around young women and their real life troubles of sex, career, and independence. As with her previous work, Ai Yazawa shows she has a creative eye for fashion -- Nana always looks effortlessly cool and Hachi has a variety of styles. Music is another strong theme in this manga. Nana's biggest passion is for her singing, even at the cost of her love life, and the characters of both her band and their rival band play an important part in the story.

Adapations
The anime adapation -- so far at 33 episodes, with a promised total of 50 -- is very faithful to the manga, almost a picture for picture word for word representation which on the whole works very well, but it lacks the immediate excitement of the manga. The first episode covers the two Nanas meeting on the train, and then each girl has two episodes of backstory from the first volume of the manga, before episode six which is simply a retelling of their meeting (apparently to please Ai Yazawa who hasn't happy with the first episode). This makes for a very slow start to the story that could put many people off. To someone who hasn't read the manga and who is getting bored with all the backstory, I would recommend skipping to episode 7 to get a true idea of what NANA is really like and then returning to the backstory later, when you have an interest in the characters. It really is worth the effort of getting into, and if you can't get hold of the manga then this is a very good alternative as it really does do it justice once it gets going. One thing that gives the anime an advantage over the manga, is that you can actually hear the music. The songs used really suit the characters and bands and really bring some of the scenes to life.

NANA was also adapted as a live-action movie. Whilst the actresses playing the lead roles and the music is very good, it really lacks the emotion of the manga. Hachi's stories feel rushed, and she doesn't even get any flashbacks, whilst Nana's story is dragged out and becomes the focus of the movie. If you've read the first five volumes of the manga (or seen the first 21 episodes of the anime) then the movie is enjoyable despite its shortcomings, but if you're new to NANA then the manga or anime will be a much more rewarding experience.

Links
Scans of the NANA manga can be downloaded here. Don't forget that manga is read from top right to bottom left!

All episodes of the NANA anime can be found on YouTube. Here is the first part of the first episode, to get you started:

(Music) A Young Person's Guide To Britpop

2007-02-26T19:44:19Z

With the Kaiser Chiefs' second album out this week, there has been much stirring of a revival in interest (not actual revival, thankfully) of Britpop. Given that I was a music obsessed fifteen year old in 1996, I would like to share with you, via the wonder of YouTube, my top picks that define the era of Britpop. Whether or not you choose to click and listen is kind of irrelevant, I just wanted to feel young again.

The Criteria

To feature in this list, songs must be things that I listened to at the time of Britpop, not discovered afterwards. So things that I genuinely quite like now like Sleeper do not feature in this list. Also, things that did not stick to that magic formula of jangly guitars, lots of hair and an attitude of lad or ladette culture (eg Manic Street Preachers) will also not feature.

Slight Return by The Bluetones
I remember being in my second band, Vacant, and not knowing how to play the bass line for this and my best mate taking over. Great moment. Video footage still exists somewhere of this. It's a great song, one to really show the more delicate side of Britpop.

She Said by The Longpigs
Pretty typical of the Britpop sounds with MASSIVE guitar and squarky singing. I remember have alcohol fuelled sleepovers round Danny Warwick's and playing this loads. Note Richard Hawley in shades playing guitar.

Alright by Cast
This live footage comes from The White Room, which was a great show for featuring guitar bands in the mid 90s (no Jools Holland till later - no pun intended). Cast were disposable and had the longevity of a lit cigarette, but they still got a huge amount of play from us lot back then. Note the Keith-Moon-without-the-talent drummer. The song after is called Sandstorm.

The Day We Caught The Train by Ocean Colour Scene
I remember loving this and buying an acoustic version of the single when on a media studies trip to Bradford. It wasn't a patch on this, the standard version though, which remains as one of my favourite songs of all time.

Alright by Supergrass
Pretty much the anthem for all Britpoppers, just live for the fun of it, smoke Benson and Hedges and try and have fuck off sideburns. Being 15, I achieved two of these things, but I tried.

Ready To Go by Republica
I fucking fancied Saffron from this band so much! This is a great example though, right down to the union jack T-Shirt and the pronunciation of "hurt yor!"...

Becoming More Like Alfie by The Divine Comedy
I was wondering if this is strictly Britpop and it is for the simple reason that it has a huge echo to lounge music from the 60s and a huge link with a Michael Caine film.

Disco 2000 by Pulp
The sound, the look and the setup was pure, uncut Britpop. True, they were more intelligent than most, but they still were a perfect embodiment. And they inspired me and all of my friends to arrange to meet up in the year 2000, on new year's day, on Ashlawn School field. It never happened, although I believe that at least one of us went to have a look anyway.

Champagne Supernova by Oasis
In August, 1997, Oasis sold out two nights at Knebworth, playing in front of 250, 000 people. These days that's no great feat, but back in the 90s, you simply didn't get these kind of crowds for indie bands. At around that time they released (in America at least) this track, over 7 minutes of why they were the biggest and the best in the world. I although I am not much of a fan these days, at the time, I was completely sold. And yes, I was at Knebworth.

Parklife by Blur
Quite simply the song that created Britpop. Everything that you need to know about the look, sound and style of the genre can be found in this song, from the opening chord riff the opens the song, to Damon Albarn's tracksuit top and jeans combo. And it features Phil Daniels, then of Quadrophenia fame, now, alas, of Eastenders.

And that, my friends, is all.

(Music) The Good, the Bad and the Queen

2007-01-17T04:32:47Z

For those of you that don't know, The Good, the Bad and the Queen are the latest project for the team of Damon Albarn and Danger Mouse. That's not the name of the band - they do not seem to have a name. Confusing hey?

And here's 3 quick reasons why I think they're great.

1) They have a mix in styles unlike anything I've heard before. I can best describe this as a mix of raggae, African and vaudeville. Yeah, get your head round that.

2) It's from the same team that brought us Gorillaz. And let's be fair, they're cool.

3) They have Paul Simonon playing bass, who is the greatest bass player in the world. Not because of musical talent but because a) he looked cooler than anyone else playing a bass and b) he was on the cover of London Calling.

Check out their myspace (link below), where you can listen to their whole album, watch an interview or watch an entire gig. That's gotta be worth a look.

The Good, the Bad and the Queen

(Film) Mark Kermode's Review Archive

2006-12-19T02:51:23Z

If you have never heard of Mark Kermode then, apart from wonder what you are doing in this community, I will explain. He is an outspoken British film critic who, I believe, is on a par with Roger Ebert. The fact that he hates Star Wars I think is a good indication of just how outspoken he is. He has a friggin' Ph.D in Horror Fiction, which, almost literally, makes him Dr Terror. You can hear him every Friday at 3pm on Radio Five Live (606MW) and, if you love your films, then I suggest that you try and catch him.

Failing that, you can click on the below link for what I think is the greatest review archive that you can have. And it's audio so you don't even have to read anything. Great eh?

Mark Kermode's Review Archive

(Misc) - The Demise of Popular Culture Though Television

2006-12-18T05:06:35Z

If you are a member of this community (and you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't) then you will probably have an opinion on he following essay.

Let's discuss this!

I heard something that other day on a webcast that made me think. I was listening back to film reviews by the great Mark Kermode on BBC Radio Five Live’s website to see what he thought of the new James Bond film. Before Kermode gets into his reviews of the new releases he goes through the UK’s biggest hits of the week and says briefly what he thinks of them. This particular week, the Borat film was at number one, and Kermode said that this was indicative of the British people’s attitude towards film going. He said that the British didn’t seem to want to go and see films but see an extended TV show where a “public school boy makes Americans look stupid”. And this got me thinking - are we a nation of people who’s spoon feeding of reality TV and soap operas running every night of the week made us into people who cannot appreciate films of worth and instead only crave the banality or sheer dumbness of TV based, “comic” spin offs?

It has, for as long as sociologists have been pondering whatever it is that they ponder, always been a contentious question - do the people choose what media they want or does the media simply choose the people that it wants. Newspapers have for as long as anyone living can remember been able to sway public opinions in order to win favour for principals, politics or even organisations that it’s board of directors have strong ties with. This is no X-Files inspired paranoid assumption, this is more or less basic fact. From William Randolph Hurst to Rupert Murdoch, the newspaper magnates have been able to tell you what to think. But this is fair enough. You choose to read their newspaper and their opinions, no matter what they are, will probably sit comfortably with your own. This is why you read that particular newspaper. If you just wanted to know what was happening in the world then you could watch televised news, look on the internet or check teletext. You read a newspaper so that you can have a confidante, someone who agrees with what you think but doesn’t have any fear about letting the world know. One newspaper’s “paedophile” is another’s “nonce” and yet another’s “animal”.

And this is the way that it’s always been and there is nothing wrong with this. Television however should be more non partisan, less controlling and more balanced. They should tell you the facts without the spin, hype or opinion. And, for matters of most political and social issues they do this. The BBC should for one be applauded for their news (which is probably the best in the world). And yet, in other areas, all television broadcasters are being negligent to the point of abuse. I am, of course, referring to the arts.

Let’s stop there for a second. The term “the arts” in the sense that I mean in pretty much encompasses all facets of culture that are not sport related (god knows that there is no lack of coverage of sports in the media). It is not a term to be scared of or a term that people should think of as being stuffy or pompous. For the purposes of this essay, “the arts” covers more or less everything that one can see on TV that is not news or sport. Which, I think, is reason for us as a nation to be rather worried.

The problem with the arts on television is simple. TV broadcasters care far more about getting ratings than they do giving their audiences quality TV. Big surprise eh? Who would have thought that business was all about making money? True, but when you think that the BBC, still the highest viewed channel in the UK is funded by the people rather than by advertises there is a very strong argument that they owe us, as a nation, something with a little more substance than they give.

The BBC used to be the bastion of all broadcasting corporations all over the world. It remains one of the best known and respected of the companies still, but it has lost this former glory. When there used to be a schedule of quality comedy, drama and documentaries are now cookery programmes, DIY stories, soap operas and docu-soaps. Gone are the days where you could increase your general knowledge by simply watching the BBC (in fact, in a twist of irony, the BBC is the home of the “Test The Nation” national IQ test, where the extent of the dropping standards is paraded for all to see and yet with no solution how to improve).

Elsewhere the scheduling is not any better, in fact, it’s mostly worse. Channel 5 has always been a joke, a place where you can see slightly harder than average TV pornography and terrible imported documentaries about “America’s Wildest Police Chases”. The channel even sunk to a new low by having a programme called “Cosmetic Surgery Live” which you do not have to see to imagine. And it was hosted by Vanessa Feltz. Horrible. ITV, always the champion of the everyman and woman has taken a step down from a once more lofty height. Once a place that was a great showcase for quality drama (Inspector Morse) and “entertainment” shows (Michael Barrymore’s variety of shows) has since reached a new low by the introduction of ITV Play, a channel that takes over at 1pm every night and sees people who obviously can’t afford their phone bills ringing in for promises of vast amounts of cash. It’s not just base and awful, it’s demeaning and frankly insulting for everyone watching it.

This is not the only problem with ITV. Their schedule is crammed full of cheaply made, money spinning programmes that, if taken slightly out of context, would be so obviously rubbish that they would not even get made. These include Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (with it’s new features of texting in the answer to the £500 000 question and receiving a mere £1 000 should you get the answer right) and X Factor (where we laugh at the crap singers and applaud the good singers and then, after we have spent millions texting and phoning in our vote we go and buy these horrible, average, no mark pop albums that get one play before being relegated to the bottom drawer of the dresser). Then there are the seasonal “Celebrity” shows, (…Get Me Out Of Here and Love Island) that sees the very worst and wretched of the Z-List debase themselves even further (after doing adverts for sofas and budget supermarkets) by having insects poured on them in order to earn food or being put in very close proximity so that they can have an excruciating, embarrassing holiday romance, live on air. Suddenly bringing back public executions sounds like cracking entertainment.

ITV’s problems do not even end there. As an aspiring comedy writer I am more than aware that ITV do not commission sitcoms (or comedy shows in general) and they are seen as breaking with the objectives of the organisation. In fact, the most recent sitcom that I remember there being on ITV was the piss-poor Barbara. Considering the comedies that have been on ITV in its history (Till Death Us Do Part and Rising Damp among others) this is a devastating blow to free television. If there is a lack of decent comedy on the television then people lose track of what is actually funny, meaning that all laughs have to belly laughs, it has to be obvious and, in ITV’s case, it must have something to do with Ant and Dec.

Still, we never really had much hope for ITV did we? ITV is for people whose cultural life revolves around the football and those who work hard for many hours and spend time with their families and are not that fussed about what they see because they’d rather be with the kids than watching the telly anyway. But what about Channel 4? The hippest of all television stations it is world famous and virtually invented “Yoof” culture all by itself. They even started up a film production company and subscription channel exclusively for films that a panel of film experts had hand chosen. Surely this must be a channel beyond reproach, a channel holier than thou? Well, no its not. Although it must be said that Channel 4 does fair better than any of the terrestrial channels at the moment, it does have one of the biggest problems currently facing British television at the moment. Have you guessed what it is yet? Well done and give yourself a cookie. It’s Big Brother.

Back in 2000, Big Brother was must watch television. Watching that group of people with no idea how popular the show was or the strains that living under the watchful eye of TV cameras would place of them was truly a joy. There was no hype, no expectation, just face value entertainment. But this is not 2000 anymore. Now the expectation for Big Brother is so high that they can handpick a series of freaks and dysfunction bodies to go into the house, cause arguments and perform like clowns pretty much on cue. We now not only expect the huge viewing figures and hype but we await the endless gossip magazine exclusives, TV guestspots and, gasp, the autobiography. If you are one of those people who thinks that ones life needs to be interesting before one can write an autobiography then you must agree that this is truly a grotesque phenomenon. But even this is not what makes Channel 4 fall from grace. Where that happens is with its absolute and relentless saturation of everything Big Brother for the weeks that its on.

Channel 4 used to have the single greatest late night television around. It even had its own division name, 4Later. There were all kinds of honestly wonderful things that one could watch, if you were inclined to stay up. There used to be The Shooting Gallery, where Mark Kermode (see above) would present us with his choice of the finest short films from around the world. There were repeats NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues and The Sopranos. There were documentaries about music that were far more insightful than anything found anywhere else. There were comedy shows written by and starring aspiring performers and writers that were genuinely off-beat and funny. It was easily the best four hours that could be found on television. And yet, this all came crashing to a stop when Big Brother became the fever pitch of excitement that it is today. Switch on Channel 4 at one in the morning in the summer months (exactly the time of year when you want a bit of late night television) and what do you find instead of these accessible, thought-provoking and stellar programmes? A group of 20 and 30 somethings sleeping off all the cider that they drank the night before. Live. In real time.

And it gets worse too. Although Big Brother Live is easily the most objectionable thing to happen to television in my living memory (and that includes the on air suicide of R Budd Dwyer) it still is not all that Channel 4 do give us constant reminders that Big Brother is on. We get the nightly extended hour long show detailing what the housemates did that day, we get the daily Big Brother’s Little Brother where celebrities (loose term) talk about their favourite bits and Big Brother’s Big Mouth which is a hideous Question Time style show where they discuss vital issues such as showering habits or sleeping patterns. And, if this isn’t enough, viewers can tune into E4 (Channel 4’s entertainment - no news or documentaries - channel) and get Big Brother Live at any time. This is not just moronic, it’s irresponsible.

Is it any wonder then that films like Borat can not only get made but reach the top of the UK Box Office? We have become a nation of spoon fed guppies who watch so much “reality” that we totally loose track of the thought provoking or wonderful. It gets worse too. Borat may be a travesty and an embarrassment to watch, but at least (it could be argued) it has a deeper, more social, political message. But when you think that the multiplexes of this nation were subjected to both Jackass The Movie Number 2 (see? That’s another word for poo!) and Dirty Sanchez: The Movie you cannot help but thing that there is not a whole lot of hope for us. This trend of movies is metaphorical of what is happening in all areas of the arts. I was having a conversation with a work colleague the other day about video artist, Bill Viola, and how good I thought that his work was, both in terms of subject, presentation and aesthetic. She was not convinced and said something along the lines of it sounding “shit”. But when the conversation was changed to Pete, the winner of the latest Big Brother, writing an autobiography she squealed with delight and said “I really hope that I get this for Christmas!”.

There is hope out there and there are shows on both the BBC and Channel 4 that demand attention and will thrill and entertain, educate and enlighten. The BBC has in particular some of the best programmes on television at the moment. Planet Earth, the epic story about how our planet works with a strong undertone of the dangers of climate change and fragility of nature itself which has changed forever the way that nature documentaries are made. Channel 4, when Big Brother is not on, still has some cutting edge stuff, especially in comedy, where you can see Curb Your Enthusiasm, My Name Is Earl and one of the very best British comedies of the past 25 years, Peep Show. When Big Brother is off air, overnight viewing, although less than it once was, is still quite impressive, with the focus now being more on music than anything else. BBC2 should be applauded and praised above all these though as it has The Culture Show - a weekly magazine show that’s shown at prime time on a weekly basis, and a welcome break from the onslaught of the endless soaps that saturate the normal prime time slots, that gives you everything that you could possibly ask for to do with the arts.

The Culture Show is more than a programme though. It’s a ray of hope. Television companies play to an audience (whether they dictate this or not is irrelevant) and the fact that they see that an hour long weekly show about films, art, books, architecture, theatre and music being worthy of such a prestigious slot means that there must be a whole load of people out there who think and feel the same as I do. Our numbers may be smaller than those who tune into the I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here final, but I still think that it’s encouraging.

Maybe your reading this thinking that I’m in the wrong, that Big Brother is exciting and I’m just not getting involved in the drama of it all, and maybe you are right. Maybe I am just an elitist snob who thinks that the arts are for the few. But I do not. I think that the “high” arts can be just as pertinent to someone who follows West Ham and owns a replica shirt as someone who sits on his laptop and writes essays about the demise of society through its lack of culture on television. All it takes is for the arts to be introduced into the mainstream. Then, and only then, can people see that difference between what they like and what is good, and what is just bad. And then, I feel, that it would be a nicer world where people would aspire to be gifted or special, rather than dysfunctional. Now that would be truly a great thing.

(Gaming) Nintendo Wii: Innovative Console (or outdated junk)

2006-12-04T15:07:31Z

The Wii is the revolutionary new console from Nintendo. It might not compete with the other next-generation consoles in terms of power and graphics capability, but it makes up for it with it's wonderful innovation and amazing new control system.

At least, that's what Nintendo is trying to fool people into believing.

Another take on it could be that having a controller that you wave around in the air like a maniac isn't innovation, it's just moronic. It's less precise than a proper controller, and is little more than a ridiculous gimmick shoved on in an attempt to sell a completely outdated console. The Wii is not just underpowered when compared to other next-gen consoles, it's less powerful than the original Xbox. I haven't yet seen anything that looks remotely interesting about the Wii at all. The only game looking even slightly interesting is the new Zelda game, and even that doesn't seem to have moved on much since the N64 days except for having the new control system tacked onto it.

So I guess what the whole point of this is, why is it so inexplicably popular? I can understand kids liking the idea of an excuse to dance around in front of the TV screen, but I just don't see what appeal it has to anyone else. Why do so many people seem willing to pay out about £200 for what is basically a glorified Gamecube with a gimmick attached? Is there something interesting hidden away somewhere that I'm missing?

I do look forward to reports of people who have accidentally thrown their controller through their new £1000 TV screen though!

(Music) The Penguin Cafe Orchestra

2006-11-24T04:42:22Z

You know, sometimes it's nice to be reminded of things.

When I was a young lad, my brother, Simon, who is a bit of a fan of avant garde music, introduced me to the work of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. The PCO are, I think, the hardest group to put into a catagory that I know of. They're mixture of classical, folk, proto-punk and all kinds of other things make them one of the best listening experiences that you can have. Or at least I thought so when I was an impressionable 8 year old.

I neglected the PCO when I "getting into" music in my teens, only remembering them briefly when I was 17 when one of their songs, Perpetuum Mobile, was played over an advert for Knorr. It is only recently that I have regained my interest and, now that I have realised that not all music has to be fast, hard, emotional or stylised to be beautiful I realise how lucky I was as a youngster to have such a good head start.

Maybe it's nostalgia, but to me the PCO offer some of the most stunning pieces of music that it's possible to hear. No matter what kind of music you're into I think that there's something to appreciate in their music. You will find that you will have heard them before (TV companies had to use something before Moby and Coldplay) and I urge you to look a little deeper and you may, like me, find something that you can truly lose yourself in without fully understanding why.

Here are two selections from youtube, purely because I'm too lazy to upload any.

Music for a Found Harmonium by Penguin Cafe Orchestra

Air A Danser by Penguin Cafe Orchestra

(Misc) Funniest moments

2006-11-21T03:50:49Z

I'm a little out of date here but...

...several weeks ago Channel 4 showed the 50 Funniest Moments and the winner was Peter Kaye. How the bloody hell is that a moment? It was voted for by the British public so that gives you a huge fucking insight as to why the entire career of Peter Kaye was deemed the funniest moment. Needless to say that it left me feeling unfulfilled.

So, what is everyone's favourite comedy moments? Here are mine, brought to you with the brilliance that is youtube.

NB: First two clips contain very strong language

Please excuse poor quality of this one

Comment, debate, argue and threaten but please, do not be so fucking anal as to argue the definition of "moment".

(Misc) A Boy and His Bat - My Life With Batman

2006-10-28T00:28:52Z

If you are interested then here is an essay I wrote about my feelings about my favourite superhero. I hope that you read and enjoy.

My love affair with the Batman (or The Dark Knight to give him his more modern moniker) started, strangely, not within the bustling streets of some neo-metropolis but in the relative tranquillity of Devon. I was eight years old and on a family holiday. We rented a house in the tiny village of Tipton St John (so small that it did not appear on any of the Ordinance Survey maps that we had brought along for the trip) and went sight seeing in such places of postcard beauty as Sidmouth, Ottery St Mary and Cricket St Thomas. Though very nice there was little there for me to be truly excited about. In fact, the only things that really stick out in my memory of the trip are the collection of the Readers Digest from the 1970s, and my brother, Simon not only losing his recent purchase of a rare poster in a public toilet in Lyme Regis, but it still being there when he collected it later. The holiday was nice, fun, relaxing, but uneventful.

When driving back we decided to go to the city of Exeter. Now, Exeter is not a city in the modern sense of the word, it’s more of a twee but large town that just happens to hold the cathedral that gives it city status. It has more in common with Ely or Canterbury than London or Manchester. While we were there, my brother, Paul, decided that we were going to go shopping and that he was going to buy me something for a fiver. Paul was the kind of brother that I loved and hated in equal measure. Once he told me that I was the “hardest” person in the world and then proceeded to beat me up, telling me that I wasn’t to cry because I was the hardest person in the world. But on other occasions he would buy me things, spend time with me when no-one else would and openly showed me his porn collection. This was one of those times.

As I was eight years old and clearly a man of the world, I decided that it was time to customise my room and decided that it was a poster that I wanted. Paul told me that this was ideal, posters then (and still do) come in at under a fiver, so I was well away. To the nearest Our Price (RIP) we went quick smart. The posters on the whole did not do much for me. Too old for the cutesy cartoon ones and too young to understand the smut - there was nothing much on offer for me. Then one came into view that I simply had to have.

It showed a man dressed in black, standing next to an equally black car. The car was unlike anything that I had seen before, looking like the land speed record car, Thrust II, but infinitely cooler. The man in black was dressed with a cape and cowl. The cowl had ears on it, a ridiculous notion even for me at that age, but that didn’t matter. This man was the coolest thing that I had ever seen. I simply had to have it. Paul smiled and said “Oh, so you like Batman now do you?” and told me that there was loads of Batman around at the moment because there was a film coming out. I’d heard all I needed to. I bought the poster, which took pride of place on my wall.

The problem was that the Batman movie was certified a 12 certificate by the BBFC (in fact, it was the first ever film to be given the new rating, although I remember it being Gremlins 2) which meant that I had no chance of getting into the cinema to see it. Sure, I was a tall child, but not even I could pass for a child almost twice the age that I was. The hype surrounding the film was amazing. These days you seem to get this every summer when the next blockbuster comes out, but back then this was a new thing. Batman was everywhere, and I was loving it. The Lateshopper store round the corner from my house even started stocking the fortnightly Batman comic, which I duly bought weekly (one to read and one to cut up and put on my wall in a mad DC Comics collage). It really didn’t matter that I wasn’t going to get to see the film any time soon. None of my friends were either, so all was well with the world.

In the October of 1989 I went on another family holiday, this time to Florida. This was more my kind of thing with theme parks and sunshine and crazy golf on a scale that Britain would have scarcely believed. In the Sunshine State I also bought a load of Batman collectors cards (that came with revolting chewing gum that one ate from propriety rather than enjoyment) which showed snapshots from the film. I was also bought, from my parents who were keen for me to have an interest, a making of the film book.

When I returned from this holiday I was the envy of all my friends because, although the Batman cards were available in Britain, they were substantially smaller than the ones that I had brought back from the states. However, my upper hand was quickly slapped away when my best friend, Chris, managed to get himself a pirate copy of the movie on video. This was something so great that it really didn’t matter who had what, it just mattered that we had it. The quality was terrible. In an age now where we can download DVD quality movies from the internet and pirating is as simple as ripping and burning to and from a media player, it is easy to forget just what pirates used to be like. Memories of my brothers trying to hook up two video players to record from one to the other and fusing the house out still sit in my memory. The Batman that we watched had a snowy picture that was bad even for video, sound that kept dipping in and out and a continual hiss that bore into your head like a subliminal message. But none of that mattered. We had seen the film that meant everything to us and we fucking loved it. Batman did not disappoint us.

Sadly the fad of Batman was pretty short lived. Within a year the posters had come down, to be replaced by Teenage Mutant Hero (or Ninja) Turtles, a god awful effort that combined mutant, ninja skilled turtles with crime in the rough back alleys of New York. But hey, I was young and impressionable then. But, unlike my friends, I kept believing in Batman as a hero and kept pining for more. Sadly for me, the only fix that I could get in the short time after the initial hype was the camp and really rather lame TV show from the 1960s. Sure, Batman was at least effeminate and at most, gay, the Joker was not scary and more of a prankster rather than a master criminal and Robin, well, was awful, it still kept the flames of excitement burning.

Unknown to me, in the years before the movie, Batman had been seen as a bit of a joke. In comic book circles he was regarded as an archetype for how superheroes simply should not be. Then came Frank Miller, whose comic series, The Dark Knight Returns, marked not only a return for Batman and made him more frightening and applicable to the cause and struggle of decent, hard working people than anyone before him. And, if Miller’s fantastic comic wasn’t enough to cement Batman’s reputation back into the forefront of the superhero alumni, then Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke did. Moore, possibly the most revered and influential of the modern day comic book writers, gave us the origin story of the Joker in a brilliant but brief story that provided enough inspiration for Tim Burton to make the Batman movie. My time was truly a great time to get into Batman.

Of course, at the time, non of this mattered a hoot to me. I was waiting with baited breath for the new Batman movie, Batman Returns, to be released. When I finally saw it I was both delighted and disappointed all at once. I thought that the places where Burton’s second movie were far darker and scarier than the original but I was in love with the Joker so it simply wasn’t as good. As if Batman movies mapped out my life, I then went to secondary school and forgot all about Batman for 3 years.

My parents separated when I was 14 and I spent a lot of time with my dad, who, though working abroad for a lot of the time, always made efforts for us to do things together when he was around. One of these things was a trip to the cinema to see the new Batman flick, Batman Forever. I was dubious but hopeful about this before going - I had by that time developed a knowledge of films and film-makers and knew that the change of a director could do huge things to a movie franchise. I thought at the time that Batman Forever was great, I loved the new, vibrant Gotham City, I thought that Two-Face was a villain that almost rivalled the Joker, I thought that Nicole Kidman was gorgeous and, although annoyed by his inclusion, empathised with Dick Grayson/Robin’s loss of parents and readjustment into another way of life. Looking back, my parent’s divorce probably gave me more in common with Robin than I then realised.

Of course, with my 25 years old hindsight I now know that the film is a stuffed turkey of a movie, a movie that, although better than its follow up, Batman and Robin, almost put Batman back in the doldrums laid out by 60s TV show. Yes, I thought that the look and gadgets were cool at the time, but they were totally in contradiction to what Batman stood for. After all, he is not known as The Neon Knight.

My interest in Batman waned after seeing Batman Forever. I have never seen (or will see) Batman and Robin on sheer principal and, having left school, been to college, loafed around and got myself a career, I didn’t seem to have a place in life for Batman. I had learned a lot about films and found my favourite era of movie to be the 1970s, where cities were socially dubious and grimy and the protagonists were all anti-heroes, trying to clean up the city in which they lived their way. I especially loved the movies Taxi Driver and Serpico. This is not to say that I lived in the past. One of the best films that I had seen in a long while was Memento, directed by British new hot-shot Christopher Nolan. To see a movie that was not about a character but about memory loss as a psychological condition was both refreshing and terrifying. Nolan was clearly a director to watch. He next movie, Insomnia, dealt again with what a lack of sleep will do to the mind rather than focus on character relationships and developments with equally (though more understated) consequences.

We were now in the new millennium. Some riveted by the new century, some pleased or disappointed that the world hadn’t come to an end, but most of us were bored. In this new millennium, film makers seemed to give the superhero a new lease of life. Sam Raimi’s take on Spiderman made $100 million dollars faster than any movie before it. Then 9/11 happened changing everything that we take for granted in our lives. And once again, the world felt like it needed heroes. Suddenly there was a plethora of these, all new sub-genre of movies. And they had some decent directors too, notably Bryan “The Usual Suspects” Singer and his take on the X-Men. Elsewhere there were films made of Daredevil, Blade (although the original was pre 2000), The Punisher, Hellboy and, more recently, Superman Returns (directed again by wunderkind Bryan Singer).

I was working as a Christmas Temp in HMV when I first heard of Batman Begins. Not all that surprisingly there were a few movie geeks that worked there and I fell in with them and we got to talking about superhero movies. Spiderman 2 had just come out on DVD and I said that, although I thought that the film was okay, Spiderman didn’t do anything for me as a superhero. Too clean cut. Too hormonal. Too keen to please his dead uncle. Allen, the then deputy manager, agreed with me. He said that the new Batman movie was going to be the one to watch. Ha, I thought, I’ve been burned before. But then he told me why it was going to be good. Firstly, it was to be a origin story and have no connection to any of the previous movies. And, more importantly, it was going to be directed by Christopher Nolan.

That night I remember having a rather one sided conversation with my girlfriend about how much I was looking forward to seeing the new Batman movie. But he’s not Spiderman, she had told me. But how did she know how I once felt about Batman? Especially with Christopher Nolan, the psychological director, in charge of proceedings. I was as excited about this as I was about any other film in my life, aside from Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion when I had a massive crush on Lisa Kudrow. Things about the film just got better and better. Liam Neeson was going to be in it, as was Gary Oldman, playing Sergeant James Gordon. Even Michael Caine was in it, playing Alfred Pennyworth. Excitement grew even more when I discovered that Christian Bale was going to play Bruce Wayne/Batman. Forget all that sentimental stuff he did when a younger man (Little Women) - Christian Bale was hotting up to be one of the great action stars. He looked and acted right. The only problem was that he hadn’t actually been in anything all that good in an action role. Reign of Fire was okay, but nothing to write home about.

Batman Begins had so much potential that it was almost guaranteed to disappoint, mainly because no film can be that good. But I was wrong. Batman Begins is not only the best Batman movie by far, not only is it the best superhero movie ever made but it’s one of the finest action adventure films of all time - full stop. Everything about the movie is more or less perfect. Nolan uses his gift of psychological direction to give the movie another disorder - phobia. Nolan skilfully remembers that Bruce Wayne does not love bats, in fact, he’s terrified of them, and it’s this fear that he manages to harness and draw strength from. It makes perfect sense that what scares the shit out of Bruce Wayne is going to paralysis anyone else with fear. Batman Begins also follows many of the long forgotten (or at least long ignored) sides of Wayne - he is a genius who crafts many of the gadgets himself, he has to act the foolish playboy in public so that people do not suspect him of being The Dark Knight. The movie also recognises that Batman is not a man but a symbol and pays homage to the group of people who keep this symbol alive. For the first time on screen we see Alfred as an equal rather than subordinate, we meet Lucious Fox of Wayne Enterprises and believe James Gordon to be a true friend, not foe of Batman.

I watched the film with such delight that when I finished watching it I sat and watched it again. Even sat here writing about it I feel an urge to put on it and enjoy it’s brilliance. My love affair with Batman was back on and it was stronger than ever.

The great thing was that I was, for the first time in my life, socially and financially free to pursue whatever interests that I had. Before, I had been very dismissive of graphic novels (thinking that the term graphic novel was very pretentious. I mean, they’re just comic books surely?) and would not have dreamed of admitting that I liked something as juvenile as a superhero. But then I figured that happiness never really grows up. I began reading the graphic novels/comic books that has been recommended to me by the good readers of Amamzon.co.uk and other relevant websites. The two works by Frank Miller that I read (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One) had a great effect on me and revealed Batman to not be the all conquering hard ass that I thought he had been previously, but being a vulnerable and insecure man who drives himself more on an unhealthy urge to validate himself rather than do the good of the people. I also read Jeph Loeb’s Long Halloween, which again gave a huge insight into Batman’s feelings of the city that he loves, and the criminals that he must encounter in it.

Yes, I had grown up. I managed to feel excited by The Dark Knight without having the need to sleep under a duvet with the Bat Symbol on it or eat my sandwiches from the Official Batman Lunchbox. And I’m quite happy with this. I think that as, as Snow Patrol would put it, “a child of 25”, I am still in need of my heroes. I see the world as a scary place where no-one trusts anyone else and it’s seemingly only a matter of time until something terrible happens to the innocent. But I find comfort in the thought that there is this character, symbolically at least, who will always stare in the face of adversity and kick it in the teeth. That isn’t scared to do what needs to be done despite that moral and ethical ramifications . And who will always do the right thing. Despite being a grown up this still matters to me. Batman, you guided me when I was young and give me comfort now that I am older. I thank you and all that you stand for.

(Film) The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

2006-08-07T20:42:44Z

As the title would suggest, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers is a biopic of Peter Sellers, based on the biography of the same name. While it is a good film, and the performances are fantastic, the film does seem slightly unfocussed and lacking somehow.

The best part of the film is undoubtedly Geoffrey Rush's performace as Peter Sellers. The acting is stunning, as Rush manages to be totally convincing in the role. He manages a competent recreation of several of Sellers' characters (Clouseau, the various Dr Strangelove parts), but it's the off camera Sellers that is the main interest of the film.

Sellers saw himself as having no personality of his own, just an empty vessel for creating characters. On film he was a comic geniusm, but off set he was irrational and had a violent temper. The film doesn't flinch away from showing some of the selfish acts he commited, and it makes for uncomfortable viewing at times. On the other hand, it fails to show much in the way of a good side to his character. It would have been interesting to see some of the contradictions in his life, rather than a fairly one-sided portrayal.

The rest of the cast are mostly good, although none of them have a particularly huge role. The direction is interesting, quite imaginative and surreal for a biopic. But the downside of the film is mostly the lack of focus. The film quickly jumps around various events in his life, never staying on any of them too long, and the choice of what is shown and what isn't seems to be fairly random. It makes the film feel slightly disjointed, and you never seem to really learn much about Sellers as a person, just getting glimpses of some of his extremes.

The film is still highly recommended to any Peter Sellers fans, and would be on the strength of Geoffrey Rush's performance alone. The film is far from a total failure, even if it fails to live up to its possibilities. Anyone who isn't familiar with Sellers work will probably not get much from the film though.

(TV) Lost

2006-08-03T16:31:08Z

Just wondered if anyone else is watching series 2 of Lost, and what opinions are of it. I wasn't sure about it at the start, but I think it's turning out to be as good as, if not better than, the first series. There's just so much happening that they manage to fit in a good variety of stories, especially with the flashback sequences.

Anyway, I love it, anyone else on here watching it?

flash aaaaash dumdumdumdum

2006-07-31T19:58:56Z

well i happened to watch flash gordon yesterday, so i thought why not make that my contribution to this comunity:P

well to start with id like to say that the three movies that scared me the most in my early youth was superman, star trek the motion picture and flash gordon!
its very weird looking back on flash since last time i saw it i was shivering with fear!
now when you look at it you just cant stop laughing affectionately.
but the music is absolutely great and who wouldnt love the wedding march on electric guitars, or a dramatic swede playing an oriental-ish alien in drag accompanied by his beautiful daughter who later played against gerard depardieu in the count of monte cristo as mercedes.
plus my personal second favorite bond person, timothy dalton, playing a robin hood looking chap
i mean all these people seem to have developed a bit in their acting skills since this movie
but then theres poor mr brian blessed who always seem to end up with his huge voice n bristley beard barking out things as
"remaaaaaaaracle mcgyver or as in this case onwards birdmen or something similar. oh i remember a v nice line he did, "i'll send you a homing beam". but i mean who dont want to see brian in all his hairyness in a small leather thing and huge wings n a spikey helmet.

more or less all special effects are like smokey colours that have been stirred in water and coloured smoke.
it all looks like a hippies spiffing gone v wrong! but i really like it. thats whats so nice about it all. i mean everything is terribly acted but they all seem to have alot of fun.

flash gordon is played by a person sam jones, and i cant say iv seen him in anything but he seems to have had steady work to this day, checking him up on imdb

the leading woman, a Melody Anderson, here playing the unfortunate woman who is on the same plane as flash, then crashlanding since ming the swede steals the pilots, since he is a bastard, and flash whos a famous footballplayer, who has also fortunately had flying lessons, crashlands the plane and they are then fooled into a spacerocket, by a semi mad scientist who told em he had a phone they could use to phone for help and ofcourse they shouldnt worry about their plane crashing into his house/greenhouse/lab/spacelaunchthingy.
and they r off to the mad mingy dimension. anyway Dale is just such a pushover. i mean here shes met a man she dosnt know and shes already throwing herself at him at any possible time she has. but its all forgiven after a very pseudo erotic pillowfight with Ornella Muti (mercedes in count monty cristo). theres alot of nice symbolism in scooters and whips and leather gear. what else could you possibly want?

im still amazed how unchanged timothy dalton was though. playing a prince thats running around with a sword in green tights and green marigolds. he looked the same until he got grey, a few years ago if ya ask me.

its just sad to say but the 80s did alot of silly films! at least this didnt take itself seriously. i remember heman from this era, which starred a very young courtney cox and well it might have been the 90s hmm anyway its one of those films ya gladly see when yer a teen boy but today youd feel a bit weird about seeing it. aaanyway.its directed by a man called mike hodges, who also did croupier later on, what an improvement!

its all lovely, like a old star trek episode, with plastic and polyester cloths, and polystyrene settings.
well if you havnt seen it SEE IT AT ONCE im sure you havent had such a fun time in your life!
and you will be humming the themetune for days to be sure
just make me wish id seen the origional from the 30s
they just dont make that kind of thing any m ore
thats all for now
dumdumdumdum flash aaash

</div>

(TV) Peep Show

2006-07-31T10:14:18Z

When you buy the complete first seasons of Frasier, Family Guy and some Channel 4 British comedy you really don't expect the Brit to come out on top. But that's exactly what Peep Show did for me.

Peep Show follows, in all intents and purposes, of the great Seinfeld tradition of being about nothing but takes it a step further by having interior monologues. The two protagonists are Mark (stressed history obsessed desk jockey with an almost autistic attitude to relationships) and Jez (basic layabout with aspirations of becoming a pop star), two best friends living together in a flat in North London. Though different the chemistry between them is both highly funny and, more importantly, believable. True, the storylines are basic, but the fact that you get to hear what each is thinking makes for hilarious viewing.

What makes Peep Show really stand out though is that it has a no bullshit attitude when it comes to sourcing material. Homosexuality is explored in both a detailed and neutral way - something that I certainly can't remember ever seeing before in any comedy show. Then there are no holds barred jokes about terminal illness, mental health and even a sniff of paedophilia.

With British comedy (TV in general) languishing behind America, Peep Show comes as a deep breath of fresh air. I'm not sure that it's for everyone but at just £7 each for the first two seasons you should really check it out.

(Film) Bedazzled

2006-07-30T20:25:45Z

Bedazzled is Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's only true film outing together (discounting the tragic Hound Of The Baskervilles). It's a very funny, if slightly dated at times, satire. Dudley Moore plays Stanley Moon, a suicidal Wimpy's worker, who sells his soul for a chance at seven wishes from George Spiggott, AKA the Devil (AKA Peter Cook).

Of course, in the tradition of wish stories, none of the wishes actually go as expected, leading to what amounts to a series of separate sketches with Dudley Moore trying, and failing, to get the girl he loves. Perhaps the best of these is when Stanley Moon is made into a pop star, only to be upstaged by the next act, a bunch of girls singing as George Spiggott speaks lines like "you bore me" and "you fill me with inertia" in his most bored sounding voice.

Peter Cook's Devil is an hilarious character, and is shown to be mostly a petty practical joker, making the bottom of an old woman's shopping bag fall out, causing parking meters to expire and sending prank phone calls from on top of a telephone pole.

The Devil is funny throughout the film, but the sketches are of mixed quality, and it isn't as consistently hilarious as Cook's best work. The film is still well worth watching though, and contains plenty of laughs with Peter Cook's usual wit delivered in his wonderful deadpan style. And of course, no remake that tries to put Elizabeth Hurley into a Peter Cook role can ever be as good.

(Film) Lucky Number Slevin

2006-07-28T15:17:27Z

Don't be put off by the terrible sounding title. Lucky Number Slevin is a smart, stylish crime thriller that's often funny, and very entertaining. Thanks to a case of mistaken identity, Slevin (played by Josh Hartnett) gets caught between two rival crime bosses, both of whom think that he owes them money. One of them offers him a way out: killing the son of his rival. But there's a lot more going on in the film than there first seems.

The casting is superb, with Josh Hartnett playing the laid-back Slevin with a casual charm, and a cast of top actors playing the supporting characters. The rival crime lords (The Boss and The Rabbi) are brilliantly played by Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley. Sorry, Sir Ben Kingsley. Bruce Willis plays the mysterious hitman, Goodkat, and Lucy Liu plays the nosy Lindsay, who gets herself involved quickly, despite having just met Slevin. All do a good job of creating a group of eccentric characters.

Not much more can be said about the plot without spoiling the film, but it twists and turns throughout the course of the film. The first part of the film will likely be spent in confusion before everything gradually falls into place as the film goes along. The film doesn't make the mistake of taking itself too seriously, and is full of funny dialogue that keeps the film entertaining throughout.

It's debatable whether the film has much rewatch value once you know how the plot turns out, but the dialogue and stylish direction should still keep the film enjoyable. Either way, it's a film that definitely deserves a viewing, and comes highly recommended.

(TV/DVD) Black Books

2006-07-26T22:06:29Z

Featuring the combined talents of two of the best stand-up comedians, Black Books is one of the best British comedy shows in recent years. And running for only 3 series, it stayed fresh throughout and never ran out of ideas.

Dylan Moran plays Bernard Black, the owner of a book shop, who hates selling books and wishes customers would leave him alone; a sort of Irish slob version of Basil Fawlty. Bill Bailey plays his hippy-ish assistant Manny, who's often at the receiving end of Bernard's temper. Finally, Tamsin Greig plays the owner of the shop next door, that sells...um... stuff. To put it in her own words, she sells "a lot of wank".

The main highlight of the show is the dialogue. Practically every line is funny, and the delivery is perfect from all the cast members. Particularly good are Bernard's conversations with customers ("Enjoy. It's dreadful, but it's quite short). Of course, the humour also comes from the (often quite surreal) situations they somehow manage to end up in.

At it's heart, Black Books is a traditional sitcom, but the dialogue is so sharp and the situations so imaginative that it always feels original. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it and is looking for a comedy, especially now the DVD box set of all three series can be bought for under £20.

I'll close with a sample of Bernard's unique way of dealing with customers.

Rich Guy: Those books. How much?
Bernard: Hmmm?
Rich Guy: Those books. The leather-bound ones.
Bernard: Yes, Dickens, the Collected Works of Charles Dickens.
Rich Guy: Are they real leather?
Bernard: They're real Dickens.
Rich Guy: I have to know if they're real leather because they have to go with the sofa.
[Bernard looks confused]
Rich Guy: Everything else in my house is real. I'll give you two hundred for them.
Bernard: Two hundred what?
Rich Guy: Two hundred pounds.
Bernard: Are they leather-bound pounds?
Rich Guy: No.
Bernard: Sorry. I need leather bound pounds to go with my wallet. Next.

(Film) Bill Murray

2006-07-26T10:01:02Z

Wow, not able to post a comment in my own community because of frozen comments. Hmm. Anyway, I'll move on.

Am I the only person that, although they liked Lost In Translation and Broken Flowers, thought that Bill Murray, one of the greatest of all screen comedians, was just a bit, well, flat in both roles?

I understand the importance in him playing the roles down in order for the story to both be believable and developed but throughout both movies I was just thinking this isn't the Bill Murray of Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. I think that he did well in both roles and he was probably perfect for the part, I just think it's strange to see him play these very dry and not laugh out loud types. Here is a list of what I'm missing.

Top 5 Laugh Out Loud Bill Murray Moments

Vaulting the office partition to woo Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters.
Not giving charitably to homeless person on Christmas Eve in Scrooged.
The initial confusion in Groundhog Day.
Gopher hunting in Caddyshack.
Every single second he's on screen in Kingpin.

Now, to have that back - is that too much to ask?

intro thing

2006-07-25T22:24:53Z

well a trailer of what n who i am hmm

well i was born in sweden so alot of music bands and movies iv grown up with, no one has ever herd about.

iv always been a tv n movie buff.
in literature id say my main authors are pratchett, gaiman and fry.

music. well i am a v 80s ish person when it comes to music. i seem to have slept through that era, since i seem to rediscover songs from week to week. i know im sad but i like it!
big aha fan! saw 40 year old virgin and discovered some songs from a group called asia etc.

id say i like movies from airplane and naked gun to the 7th seal and amile from montmart to spiderman and other films of a dubious nature.

at the moment im waiting with baited breath for all the fry and laurie series to come out on dvd!
em thats all for now. if anyone wants to know anythn else dont hesitate to ask

The Passion of the Christ

2006-07-25T14:22:01Z

Director: Mel Gibson

Whilst a film depicting the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth may not appeal to everyone at first glance, this is a film I would seriously recommend seeing.
Arguments over whether the content of the film is history or just a story are superfluous since the point of the film is not to convert the masses, but to be artistic and to show the human side of the story rather than focusing on just the godly aspects. The fine performance of Jim Caviezel playing the role of Jesus, and some rather stunning cinematography really bring this story to life and make it worth while to anyone who appreciates good films.

One major criticism I have heard about this film is that it is all in aramaic, latin and hebrew and as such it is subtitled. I think this is actually one of the strong points of the film as it adds an air of authenticity to an aspect which is most often overlooked.
The film itself is full of flash backs to earlier points in the life of Jesus, so that in a strange way, the film manages to cover more than just the story of the cruxifiction and actually shows the most easily recognizable of the stories from the gospel, covering a significant portion of the life of Jesus. Unlike a lot of flash back films though, you are never too far away from the main plot and it is easy to keep up with what is happening.
As I mentioned in the first paragraph, The Passion of the Christ focuses more on the human aspect of the story and especially the individuals around Jesus.
There are no strict divisions between good and evil in the film, with people on all three sides Roman, Jewish and Disciple showing sympathy or at times hatred for Jesus Christ. This really is a film designed at every turn to instill emotion, and it does so very well, whether it be sorrow, sympathy, hatred or disgust. Special effects play a huge role in the latter part of the film, and the scourging and cruxifiction are not sweetened in any way, but these are more than just shocking because of the fantastic standards of emotive acting in the earlier scenes.

Overall I really liked this film, I don't think enjoyed is the right word, since it is a film about a man being beaten, tortured and (I don't think I'm actually spoiling the story by saying this) ultimatley killed for his beliefs. But I came away feeling that I understood the point of the film and not that I was being patronized or that anyone was trying to force any ideals upon me. Strongly Recommend this film to everyone who hasn't seen it.

(Film) 50 Films To See Before You Die

2006-07-23T13:17:10Z

Well, Channel 4 have done yet another of those film lists, 50 Films To See Before You Die, this time because of the launch of FilmFour. They've done loads of them now, and they've nearly all been rubbish. I never watched the show, and I'm glad I didn't since, from what I've heard, they reveal the endings of all the films on it. How is that supposed to get people to want to see them? Anyway, the list seems pretty mediocre to me, with very few truly great films on it, and plenty of classics missed out. I know best film lists are always subjective, but I think this is one of the worst I've seen in a while. I think it's really a list of films that they just happen to be showing on FilmFour at some point.

Anyway, I just wondered what other people thought of the list, which I've included behind a cut.

2001 - A Space Odyssey
A Bout De Souffle
Aguirre, The Wrath of God
Alien
All About Eve
The Apartment
Apocalypse Now
Badlands
Black Narcissus
Boyz N the Hood
Brazil
Breakfast Club, The
Cabaret
Chinatown
City of God
Come and See
Dawn of the Dead
Donnie Darko
Erin Brockovich
Fanny and Alexander
Fight Club
Heavenly Creatures
Hero
The Ipcress File
King of Comedy, The
The Ladykillers
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
Lost in Translation
Manhattan
Manhunter
Mulholland Drive
Night at the Opera
North by Northwest
Pink Flamingos
Player, The
Princess Mononoke
Pulp Fiction
Raising Arizona
The Royal Tenenbaums
Scarface
Searchers, the
Secrets and Lies
Sexy Beast
The Shawshank Redemption
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
This Sporting Life
Three Colours Trilogy
Touch of Evil
Trainspotting
Walkabout

The Pop Culture

Suburban Dub Vol.2

Suburban Dub Vol.2

Various - Suburban Dub Vol. 2

(Game) Fahrenheit

(Music) A Young Person's Guide New Wave

(Music) The Death of Modern Music

(Film) Hot Fuzz

Manga: NANA (first five volumes + adaptations)

(Music) A Young Person's Guide To Britpop

(Music) The Good, the Bad and the Queen

(Film) Mark Kermode's Review Archive

(Misc) - The Demise of Popular Culture Though Television

(Gaming) Nintendo Wii: Innovative Console (or outdated junk)

(Music) The Penguin Cafe Orchestra

(Misc) Funniest moments

(Misc) A Boy and His Bat - My Life With Batman

(Film) The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

(TV) Lost

flash aaaaash dumdumdumdum

(TV) Peep Show

(Film) Bedazzled

(Film) Lucky Number Slevin

(TV/DVD) Black Books

(Film) Bill Murray

intro thing

The Passion of the Christ

(Film) 50 Films To See Before You Die