NXNE
June 14-20
Toronto
As
usual with NXNE, too many bands, too little time. Let's
get right to it:
Alphabot
Thursday June 17, 2010
Whippersnapper Gallery
Sporting
a red cape like ‘Dancing Homer’ from an episode
of the Simpsons, and a robot-shaped cardboard box on his
head, the front man of Alphabot told a story about knights,
maidens and robots that weaved throughout their set.
He was the doppelganger for Breakfast Club era Anthony
Michael Hall. Their set for NXNE sounded bizarre, warped
and more like the bar scene from Star Wars than a NXNE
show. Once the music started, the front man acted as a
mad conductor leading the 6 other members down a weird,
odd musical path. The set-up was complex- drums, violin,
bass, laptop, electric and acoustic guitar…and then
add a bunch of effects pedals, megaphone and synth.
Interesting, but it was definitely not for the weak at
heart that might not be able to recognize the art in it.
It truly was structured chaos along the lines of A Certain
Ratio. Alphabot are very entertaining to say the least
– worth checking out if they make it to your neck
of the woods.
Pop Winds
Thursday June 17, 2010
Whippersnapper Gallery
Montreal’s
Pop Winds were late starting their NXNE set which seems
to be because of the electronic equipment that needed
to be set up in the short 15 minute turnaround. The three
piece creates interesting electronic soundscapes and dark
danceable music. They also used video projections managed
by a ‘VJ’ wearing full body, dark leotard.
It was strange since he was situated half way down the
venue. I assume he is usually on the stage with band,
but tonight he was further back. The drum kit was stripped
back and minimal – it got a bit noisy but kept attention
through the first few tracks. One of the vocalists ruined
the sounds a bit because he was not really meshing with
the electronic sounds. Not a fan of the saxophone, but
I have to say it really did work in this case. Video was
minimal to match the set-up, but were cool with live editing
(it may have been boring without the visuals). I would
be interested in checking them out again in a different
venue to see if the vibe will change.
Comanechi
Thursday June 17, 2010
Velvet Underground
This
London-based girl / guy two piece has been lots of hype
in the UK since the drummer is also in The Big Pink. I
was really looking forward to this show since pre-NXNE
there was lots of hype and promo for their 3 sets throughout
the festival. I decided to see their first set at Velvet
Underground which was completely dead with a couple dozen
people at the venue.
Right from the get go, it was heavy, heavy, heavy and
the delivered loud, straight ahead rock'n'roll. The drummer
is adorable - lines like "this is a new song - I
hope we don't fuck it up" said in her sweet Japanese
accent. Not much variation between songs and this got
really boring a couple songs in – this is the flaw
with a drum / guitar set-up – unless you are White
Stripes with the innovation of Jack White, it falls short.
If you were expecting The Big Pink, it would be a disappointment.
The lyrics were hilarious, but I don’t actually
think they were meant to be. Picture Back Sabbath meets
Nina Hagen meets Death From Above 1979 but not as good
as each of those individual parts.
Sorry, Comanechi, I will have to pass next time.
Stop Die
Friday June 18, 2010
Comfort Zone
They were really slow to get started (over 25 mins late)
- which made for a really short NXNE set. Once they finally
started, they announced their name change to Stop Die
(from the original moniker Stop Die Resuscitate, they
have unfortunately dropped the ‘Resuscitate’).
Moving to more guitar than electronics completely changed
their sound, but unfortunately not for the better. Originally
drawing a deep, guttural hip-hop style vocal, it worked
much better for them. After finishing the first song,
the front man stripped off his shirt leaving just a tribal
looking scarf around his neck; this was far too contrived
and failed to impress.
A slow track called Midnight Romance worked better with
heavily delayed vocal. Midnight Romance only worked because
they didn't throw all their instruments into the ring.
Unfortunately, once the track gained momentum, it sounded
rather middle of the road and lost the interesting edge.
Luckily they salvaged the set when they played an older
track which I remember hearing from the first time seeing
them a few years ago at Sneaky Dee's doing live PA for
DJ Shit La Merde. The track Bounce really got people moving
and pulled lead singer into his natural element. One more
note…next time, keep your clothes on.
CATL
Friday June 18, 2010
Comfort Zone
CATL were not my cup of tea with their strong rockabilly
style but I do have to admit that between sets for 20
minutes, they really helped create an interesting atmosphere
at the very ‘divey’ Comfort Zone. They were
located in a dark corner with floor and black lighting
which created creepy shadows on the back wall. This really
worked well and made them interesting to watch and listen
to.
Ten Kens
Friday June 18, 2010
Comfort Zone
Heavy band and the weak vocals were lost most of the show.
The vocalist sounded like a budget Ben Kowalewicz from
Billy Talent. The guitar player was like a circus freak
- his head literally hitting the ceiling and not sure
how tall he was. The vocals were all over the place -
deep at some points and high at other and still coming
up short on their attempted screamo formula.
Unfortunately
didn't keep my interest at all and I had to vacate the
building. Sorry boys - sack the vocalist, and you may
be able to salvage something.
Ten Bears
Friday June 18, 2010
El Mocambo (Main Floor)
Not much to write here – I walked into the venue,
heard a couple bars of their music, turned on my heels
and walked out. It was so middle of the road, my ears
couldn’t tolerate it. No interest…no photo
…no coverage.
Blackout
Friday June 18, 2010
Spadina and Queen Street
I left El Mocambo to discover that there was a blackout
that spread all the way down Spadina. I headed for the
Horseshoe but once I arrived, I found that the power outage
was alos on Queen Street. This forced the NXNEers to stand
on Queen waiting for the power to come back on to continue
the music.
Iggy & The Stooges
Saturday June 19, 2010
Yonge & Dundas Square
Yonge and Dundas was jammed with old punks, young punks
and a bunch of people who probably had no clue what they
were listening to. It was a very hot sweaty mess under
the bright billboards and Iggy was in fine form. The positioning
of promo tents and lack of video screens made it completely
impossible to see the stage, but they sound totally on
point. I think I saw Iggy’s blonde hair fly above
the tents during one of his famous ‘salmon jumps’,
but can’t be sure. My personal highlight was ‘I
Wanna Be Your Dog’.
Avi Buffalo
Saturday June 19, 2010
Lee’s Palace
Avi Buffalo were a pleasant surprise since I was really
only at Lee’s to catch Cold Cave. This band from
Long Beach, CA are already signed to Sub Pop and just
out of high school. They sound a bit like The XX if they
were an American band. I only caught a few songs from
the band, but liked what I heard. I may have to catch
them on their tour with Blitzen Trapper this summer.
Cold Cave
Saturday June 19, 2010
Lee’s Palace
The Philadelphia electronic-pop band (now based in NYC)
were the band I was most looking forward to for NXNE 2010.
I saw Cold Cave last year for NXNE 2009 at Sneaky Dee’s,
and they have come a long way since the last NXNE. They
have new members, new album, new record label (now with
Matador), new confidence, and a new live set.
They started their set with some electronic muscle flexing
in the form of controlled noise which was almost deafening
at points, but once they kicked into gear with IDCK, they
got the chest thumping bass and synth lines pumping and
had the audience pulled right in immediately. They ran
through a number of tracks from their stallar ‘Loves
Comes Close’ full-length. They were in fine form
and delivered bass heavy, dark, dancey tracks through
their entire set start to finish. Cold Cave did not disappoint
– they were solid, catchy and completely danceable.
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Splice
Starring Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley
In UK Cinemas July 23, 2010
Clive
(Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) are a young and
‘hip’ scientist couple living the scientific
equivalent of the rock n roll dream. They’re top
in their field of genetic modification as they try to
isolate an animal protein. They find themselves on the
cover of Wired magazine, and are the company hotshots
at their ridiculously named firm N.E.R.D. (Nucleic Exchange
Research & Development).
The first creatures we witness on screen are Fred and
Ginger… a ridiculous pair of genetically modified
phallis that paves the way for the creation of our main
animal-human hybrid main villain Dren. Dren is the result
of Clive and mostly Elsa’s desire for success notoriety
as they secretly create Dren from human and animal cells,
against the wishes of their superiors.
Dren becomes a surrogate child for the couple, and very
odd and disturbing things ensue. Now, I cannot say anything
further without giving away some important spoilers…
so SPOILER ALERT: This film contains a lot of phallis,
incest, parental rape and beastiality themes. Not for
the faint of heart.
Anyhoo… As sick and twisted as this film alludes
to, it is a good watch. The creature effects, whilst completely
perverse, are very believable and most excellent. Especially
the humanoid DREN who is marvellously played by French
actress Delphine Chanéac and CGI.
The chemistry between Adrien and Sarah is gripping. It’s
great to see Sarah back on the big screen and Adrien in
a film that his odd looks and demeanour are rather suited
for. A psychological gross out film rather than a physical
one.
Worth a watch for the discerning sci fi / horror fan,
if not for anything but to help solve the mystery of DID
THE MAKERS OF THIS FILM ACTUALLY REALIZE HOW PHALLIC FRED
AND GINGER ARE????
4 out of 5 lips
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Around the world and down under in two weeks
of Sydney Film Festival...
The Sydney Film Festival has come to
life, after last year's criticism...with some big names
on the red carpet and a diverse array of film makers on
the big screen, the people of Sydney should be grateful
for the cash injection by the state government which saved
it from the fate that featured in nearly every film I
saw over the two weeks: death and depression...well depression
was more my fate having watched a series of heart rendering
films which give viewers a whole new perspective on what
they have to complain about...
Screenings from 47 countries started with Australian made
South Solitary directed by Shirley Barrett,
which charts the misadventures of a woman (Miranda Otto)
who visits a remote island with her cranky uncle, mourning
the death of her fiance on the World War I battlefields.
A Bridget Jones in the 1920's, this storyline examines
the miscommunications and dilemmas associated with romance,
with a darker tone documenting the strange and traumatic
feelings of a community still scarred by war.
Other films from home soil included Australian-french
co-production The Tree about a family's
grief after a father's death, in Wasted on the
Young showing the disaffected youth in an elite
school, The Waiting City about a couple's
meltdown as they visit India to adopt a child, Three
Boys Dreaming documenting the struggle of three
indigenous Australians as they follow their dream of playing
AFL (Aussie rules footy).
A hefty demand and small theatres sadly made it difficult
to get my hands on passes for the films from down under,
and sadly I missed out on seeing the highly anticipated
British films Four Lions, which follows
some ridiculously un-terrifying terror plots, using comedy
to reveal some uncomfortable truths about the world we
live in, Exit through a gift shop, Banksy's
teasing faux documentary and Roman Polanski’s sleek
political thriller The Ghost Writer ,
based on the best-selling novel by Robert Harris. This
upset me more than words can express as I also missed
the lovely Ewan McGregor who blessed us with his dashing
presence down under on the red carpet at the Australian
premier.
So then...with no prospects of seeing the big boys, I
began my journey of independent films from an array of
cultures with Bahman Ghobadi’s
portrait of young musicians living in Tehran. No
One Knows About Persian Cats gives a glimpse
of the political conditions of the Islamic Republic of
Iran obliquely and since his 2004 film Turtles
Can Fly, Tehran has attracted international attention
as a site of repression and resistance, making his birds-eye
footage of the city (using his own portable digital camera
instead of the State's authorised film equipment) both
risky and rare. The film was shot in 17 days to keep off
official's radar and reveals an anti-American tyrant,
a violent police force, and heroic young rebels of our
generation. Scenes in underground basements and isolated
barns are hastily shot and roughly edited, mirroring the
Yo uTube videos that document the protests. A humorous
insight of the cultural suppression was a line delivered
by one of the locals "Oh, I love indie rock! 50 Cent,
Madonna… they’re great!" however the
film soon takes a dive towards the traumatic consequences
for those caught up in the resistance, with a traumatic
ending which had me not only in floods of tears, but in
shock over the gravity of the political unrest that crushes
so many people's dreams in this world.
Another poignant tale of the aftermath of political battles
came in Iraq's Son of Babylon which follows
twelve year old Ahmed and his grandmother's search for
the boy's father Ibrahim, MIA and reportedly arrested
in 1991. This excruciatingly sad tale brings home the
mind-boggling toll taken by the Saddam years, with more
than one million Iraqis dead or missing, many exhumed
from the 300 mass graves discovered up to now. With graves
tumbling with skulls and bones, this film isn't for the
faint hearted and again the cinema was silenced with sobs
as the credits came up.
I had a little rest bite with two short films - Soul
Boy is a collaboration between a German and Kenyan
production team who hosted production workshops in Kibera,
Naorobi, one of the largest slums in East Africa. In the
compelling film that resulted, a teenage boy tracks down
the witch doctor who stole his dying father's soul in
a quest to save him. Even more joyous was Dyana Gaye’s
Saint Louis, which tells the story of six passengers ride
through the cluttered urban streets of Dakar and down
the dusty roads of Senegal through a Jacques Demy style
musical.
Spain's Cell 211 is an intense prison
drama which shows what happens when the nastiest, most
violent inmates take over the prison, and a rookie played
by Alberto Amman (Spain's answer to James Mc Avoy) finds
himself caught in the middle. The film shies away from
a predictable heroic tale and instead reveals the journey
of one man to the dark side, following the death of his
pregnant fiancé as he turns against the good guys.
Touching on the corruption of the Spanish officials, the
political message was somewhat diluted by the unrealistic
plot, however Tosar's performance is stunning and I for
one will be looking out for him in the future.
One of the highlights came from Omar Rodriguez Lopez (Mars
Volta, At the Drive In) who wrote, directed, produced
and acted in The Sentimental Engine Slayer,
a hallucinogenic film in which a nerdy young guy preoccupied
with '67 Mercury Cougar cars and strangulation, which
connects with the theme of nihilism and tortured sexuality.
Through random fragments that never follow the chronological
order (think Pulp Fiction or Memento), the story is to
some degree unravelled, revealing the perfect bits of
information at the perfect moments. Accompanied with an
outstanding and enhancing soundtrack created by John Frusciante,
the film ends and you think what the f...and walk out
with a confused smile on your face as you digest what
just happened...
Having experienced the traumatic,the unimaginable, the
random and the ridiculous, my last film was entertaining
and easy on the mind...Hesher is a heavy
metal nomad who plays the part of a hyperactive and destructive
volcano who erupts sporadically and emphatically as he
takes over the home of TJ a young boy mourning the death
of his mother. Hesher gives a damn about nothing and no
one, and the insight is offered by the gratuitous provocations
and repetitive vulgarities that are littered consistently
yet understatedly throughout the film. Despite some disturbing
psychological undertones Hesher is amusing and somehow
warm and fuzzy as you try to get inside the psycho in
underpants who shares a tender moment over a bong with
granny and then goes absolutely nuts as he blows up a
car and fills a swimming pool with an array of furniture
in the vicinity of a vacant house.
All
in all the Sydney Film Festival had some fantastic film
pieces from across the world, and I can't wait for the
next one...Perhaps I'll even make it to the red carpet
and find myself confronted with the funniest, happiest
feel good film in the world...I suspect not, for film
festivals are the perfect platform for all of the heartfelt
and unusual films that don't get a pop at mainstream cinema
and this saddens me, so I anxiously await next year's
opportunity to get a glimpse of more genius works from
people who have something meaningful to say for themselves
and the world we live in...In the meantime though I might
go and cheer myself up with the cheesiest rom-com I can
find...I think I have been damaged by the trauma of the
cinematic representation of reality, and all the sadness
it depicts...
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The Harlem Globetrotters
7 June
Wembley Arean, London
Everyone
has heard of The Harlem Globetrotters. Since their inception
in Chicago, 1926, the Globetrotters have been an all-American
basketball team that combines athleticism, drama and most
of all, comedy. Internationally reknowned for their unique
combination of physical skill and verbal comedy, the team
have been a mainstay in popular culture for 84 years and
have even appeared on The Simpsons! That is the
defining moment in anyone's entertainment career of course!
If you haven't seen them live, you're still familar with
their act, their theme tune of Sweet Georgia Brown,
and quite possibly their hilarious mascot Globie
who's been around for 17 years. When you see them live,
all the pieces fit together to form a hilariously entertaining
night of physical admiration combined with pure shits
n giggles. Genius.
While the team were fab, it was Globie's big brother that
stole the show for me. The rubbery larger version of Globie
had me in tears when he came out on the court dancing
to Chumbawamba. Everytime the lyric "I
get knocked down... but i get up again..." played,
this *THUD* echoed across Wembley as
he whacked himself face first onto the court. What is
that if not pure genius? TEARS!!!!!!
Anyway, I'm a crap photographer clearly.... either that,
or they're just way too fast moving for me to capture
on film. Here
are some of my favourite Harlem Globetrotter highlights
from the night.
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The Robot Heart
3 June
St Giles Church, London
The
Robot Heart have just finisehd their debut album which
is released on Bleeding Heart Recordings.
The Robot Heart have been described as "an Icelandic
sounding Beach Boys" and I can totally see why. Influences
range from Mum, Jonsi, Radiohead, Badly Drawn Boy with
harmonies reminiscent of those Wilson brothers. Beautiful
instrumentation from a 4 piece band, with harmonies being
the key feature in their setup. Even more than the melodies
themselves, the harmonies is what sells this band's vocal
styling.
The venue could not have been better. Taking place in
St. Giles Church in London, the audience sat in pews and
listened to the band's harmonies resonate within the church's
ambience. Something quite etheral about the whole experience.
The live gig itself will be difficult to follow up on
album as the band are so amazing live, and the acoustics
were perfection. I look very forward to hearing their
attempt!
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Fol Chen
The Stag’s Head, Dalston
May 28, 2010
One
night they play the celebrated mainstream venue of Shepherd’s
Bush Empire, the next night they’re playing a dodgy
hard-to-find pub in Dalston – The Bullet Holes in
the pub window looked fresh:
Don’t even get me started on the crazy old man who
showed us a kidney stone then started making out with
a photograph of his dead mother.
Supported by a few bands including Luna Belle who my friend
really liked (lusted), Fol Chen finally hit the tiny stage
at about half 11. They rocked the block. They have lots
of energy, fabulous 3-way vocals and cool tunes! They
had the crowd dancing and converted my friend into a fan.
Quite the feat to impress my friend who already had the
highlight of his life earlier that day – meeting
the world’s tallest couple:
My friend in the middle is 6”2.
Their new album comes out on June 14th (Fol Chen, not
the world's tallest couple).
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Johnny Flynn
Electric Ballroom, Camden
May 26, 2010
Johnny
Flynn is single-handedly revolutionizing the English folk
scene (ok… with a little help from his good friend,
and sometimes duet partner, Laura Marling). With strong
influences from Americana and New York’s Anti-folk
movements, Flynn has brought new life and English blood
into a genre normally dominated by Americans.
I think the most alluring aspect to Flynn is the disconnection
between his demeanour and his voice. The man looks about
12 years old with his boyish good looks (real age 27,
although I reckon that’s just his stage age…..
15 tops I say!), when he banters on stage, he is soft-spoken,
shy and has a bit of a meek voice. When it’s time
to play a tune, he becomes possessed by the voice of someone
3 times his age (45) with years of living behind him.
Lyrically
he is poetic and interesting; musically he is intricate,
melodic and energetic. I can’t say anything negative
about Johnny Flynn as much as my jealous side wants me
to slag him off! Good looks, amazing voice, talented poet,
captivating musician - What a bastard!
Johnny Flynn’s album A Larum is worth not
just Spotifying, but purchasing for all music fans of
all genres. His Sweet William EP is also certainly
worth a listen, and his second album Been Listening,
which I am anticipating to be greatness, is out on Transgressive
Records on June 7th.
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Miike Snow
The Forum
May 21, 2010
I
liike Miike Snow. Their album is one of my favourite releases
of the past 7 months. I’ve listened to it quiite
a few times and I have to say that it stands on its own
two legs as a full album… Not a flash in the pan
hit with a few singles to push.
I was quiite exciited to see Miike Snow liive. I was greatly
disappointed. Their songs still hold their own liive,
but they first of all need to fiire their sound guy, secondly
fiire their liighting guy. OMG. You couldn’t hear
a thing. You barely knew which song you were listening
to… it was that bad. The lighting was appalling
as well blinding the audience with overly-ambitious stadium
inspiired bollocks.
The band came on stage wearing bizarre whiite masks inspiired
by Miichael Meyers, and were not the most talkative of
musicians I’ve ever seen on stage. This makes me
wonder if it was the band that was trying to do too much
and not their crew. Either way, they need to sort it and
fast… Festival season is coming up and I want them
to do well for themselves as they have a truckload of
potential… Now all they need to do is start from
scratch on their liive set.
Do buy their album. Don’t see them liive.
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City Showcase
Various London Venues
By N & C
Well
Soho was kinda empty with not much people traffic. Maybe
a weather thing. Every once in a while a few sounds filtered
out of the shops that suggested that these shops were
part of the event. In some ally I found the event organisers,
who could not really tell me who was playing when or where.
I would have expected some more enthusiasm. I personally
would not dare to shop and disregard the bands playing
even for the 20% discount. From an artists point of view,
it must have been quite unrewarding playing at these venues.
As I asked why they had placed the Artists in such venues,
the organisers said it was just a taster for the O2 performances.
I found it not so cool that the Bands playing in the shops
were less advertised than the brand shops. There was a
cool band playing at Zebranos with good folky vibes but
I have no idea what they were called. I thought them to
be the Zebranos:-)).
Tin
Soldiers
The first band viewed were the Tin Soldiers. I thought
they were quite good but being placed among a pile of
clothes was rather distracting and on top of that, the
band kept apologising that they were actually a rock band
and normally did not sound like that. I am sure they are
a great band under normal circumstances. The venue was
just out of place. To sum it up, they did a good acoustic
set with good energy and were on the point.
Conrad
the Scoundrel
Again placed among clothes, here there was a bit of chaos..
Their ipod had a mind of its own and the presentation
was very unprofessional. Again quite a bit of apologising.
If they had not been so cute and probably embarrassed
by themselves. they would have been fun and cool Hip hoppers
. I was reminded of Kid & Play. Songs were actually
quite catchy and I wondered why after about 20mins I could
sing along. My Kid then commented that they were just
repeating their songs. Let;s blame it on the ipod. There
was potential though.
Rebel
Control
Now this band really went off! They probably sprayed some
dancing dust in the air. No one stood still. This time
the venue was clothesless and just the band was on focus
upstairs. They were a highly contagious band oozing with
fine reggae vibes. Writing more on this band might almost
out me as a groupie or a fan. It was a great vibe with
high energy and made the trip to Soho worth its while.
This was the most professional band I had watched that
day. Good fun.
The
City Showcase was in principal a good idea but unfortunately
in practice it didn't do well.
If the idea was to give young musicians the opportunity
to play for large audiences and to hopefully get the attention
from people in the industry, then getting them to play
in shops amongst people browsing was not the best option.
Most of the action took place at the Apple Store on Regent
Street in the heart of uber-busy London. Although the
area was semi sheltered from shoppers, it did not give
the bands and/or solo artist the chance to be heard without
any other distractions.
The 'Feedback' session on Saturday was a useful one for
the aspiring musicians, giving them the chance to play
a tune in front of a panel of industry experts and the
attending audience. But again, the Apple Store location
did not help them make the most out it.
The different locations gave the the festival- goers both
a liberating and frustrating experience – having
seen a few of bands in town to then realise that you had
to go all the way to Greenwich for the rest of the performances
was both a blessing and a curse.
Overall the experience was not as exciting and rewarding
as one would have expected.
The acts were very varied and some of them quite good,
but thanks to the background noise and mood of the surroundings
, their uniqueness was lost in the environment.
----------------------------------------
Four
Lions
a film by Chris Morris
In Cinemas May 7, 2010
In
a post 9-11 climate, with the problems in Afghanastan
and Iraq far from over, and with Pakistani terrorist training
camps still in full use, it's amazing that Chris Morris
even got to make the film that he did with Four
Lions. Taking a low key comedic approach to produce
his satire on terrorism, Morris not only humanizes the
5 main terrorist characters, but also finds the humour
in their ways.
Chris Morris is a British Comedic Institution known for
such classic work as Brass Eye, The Day Today, Nathan
Barley, Jam and most recently the IT Crowd. Being a foreigner,
I can't claim I've ever seen Brass Eye, but feel as though
I have from the amount of time English folk reminisce
about the CAKE sketch... or the Paedophelia episode! Obviously
Morris' work is ballsy and leaves quite an impact on viewers
for years to come. I don't think Four Lions is much different
in that respect as this is obviously a taboo subject Morris
has taken on, which will in itself leave an impact on
viewers.
Humanizing
terrorists and laughing at them and the situation helps
to make such a serious problem not as scary anymore, which
means the effect of terrorism is lessened through the
power of comedy. Sweet.
As
far as comedic value goes, it is most definitely funny.
Not ROFL funny, but there are quite a few Laugh Out Loud
moments that were classic! In my "North American"
opinion, I think this subject matter might have worked
a bit better as a more outright farce with a higher production
value rather than the handy cam style that was used to
shoot the entire film. Not
wanting to make it all flashy and take away from the dialogue,
but it just seemed a bit too realistic, which distracted
from the comedy element ever-so-slightly.
I'm
likely only one of a few to think this of the film, but
that's because I have recently watched the episode of
Dispatches: Afghanistan: Behind Enemy Lines
which is a documentary from within a terrorist camp in
Afghanistan. Not far off from Four Lions, the terrorists
were not only humanized, but there was also comedy to
be found in dire situations. Incidents such as their roadside
bomb not going off while they thought the remote control
was broken, and as they demonstrate how the big red button
doesn't work, the bomb ironically goes off with comedic
timing - Real life terrorist fumbles begging to be parodied.
To stay moderate, the film not only makes fun of the terrorists'
intellectual levels and ability to execute a plot, but
it also makes quite the point on how the British are quick
to generalize and stereotype with harsh judgements. This
isn't honed in too much, but feels rather like an after
thought and device to help along the main characters in
their development.
Anyway, this film is probably more comedy than political
and shouldn't be overanalyzed too much. Definitely funny,
certainly topical, and most surely one to view for our
generation. Not sure it's worth a trip all the way to
the cinema as it's aesthetically more suited for television,
but as I said.... it's one to watch.
----------------------------------------
A Nightmare on Elm Street
In Cinemas May 7, 2010
Since
his first outing in Wes Craven’s 1984 flick ‘A
Nightmare on Elm Street’, Freddie Krueger has become
a piece of pop culture iconography. 7 sequels worth of
imaginative teen slashings, cameos by the likes of Zsa
Zsa Gabor, introduction of Johnny Depp and above all one
hell of a lead actor have all contributed to a sensational
franchise. After all, there is a reason New Line Cinema
is called ‘The House That Freddy Built’.
Sadly, that was all in the past, and in my eyes the past
few years have seen Hollywood gently fucking the horror
lovers with a chainsaw. We’ve all seen how the God-awful
remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween have
stripped away any intelligence (and intelligent use of
campness!) in the genre and I for one was hoping that
the new ‘Nightmare’ would not go the same
way. The basic premise of a deranged paedophile that kills
teenagers in their dreams is certainly powerful enough
stuff to compile a decent story and enough time has passed
to bury the original Krueger and recreate one with a new
twist.
Instead, we are treated to a rehash of the original ‘Nightmare
on Elm Street’ where a number of teens are plagued
by nightmares in which they are chased by a man with a
burnt face and claws for fingers. One by one, the kids
are killed off and it’s down to the heroine to get
to the bottom of it and confront the killer. Nothing wrong
with that basic setup (after all, it’s worked for
so many other ‘nightmares’, but the difference
is that the new one has missed some key points.
First of all, we never establish any sort of sense of
the teenage characters before the slashings begin. Are
they friends? Lovers? Smart? Slutty? These are all important
traits that need to be established before the story actually
gets going and the film fails miserably in doing so.
Secondly, the struggle that the main characters go though
when unearthing the truth about Krueger is never really
touched upon. For example, the original heroine Nancy
is more or less treated like a lunatic and locked up in
her room, with bars put up across her window, making it
impossible for any of her friends to physically help.
In the remake, Nancy simple leaves the parental home at
God knows what hour to drive around and look for the clues.
Finally, and this is the biggest mistake of them all,
the new Krueger is devoid of all personality. Underusing
a great thesp like Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy Krueger
is a shame in itself, but rendering a man with such interesting
features to an unrecognizable state and drowning him underneath
layers of latex that result in an inability to move any
facial muscles is unforgivable. Add to that a rather bad
growling voice that’s been through far too much
mixing and the result is anything but frightening. Instead,
it becomes a case of too much going on for any genuine
emotion to actually shine through. This becomes even more
apparent in the few scenes where Jackie Earl Haley portrays
the human Krueger and is given the opportunity to use
his face and normal voice to portray a sick individual.
Granted, the film does have sections that look stunning
visually and some scenes provide a few good tense moments,
but this glossy Michael Bay production is devoid of any
soul. Damn shame, because working with new writers, new
directors and a new male lead was nothing but a great
opportunity to create a new take on an iconic series.
Instead, we get a third rate remake that makes drawing
parallels to the original impossible. I hate to say it,
but rent the original and have yourself a good night in.
----------------------------------------
Fyfe
Dangerfield
Bloomsbury Theatre, London
April 28, 2010
Guillemots front man Fyfe Dangerfield
released his first solo album Fly Yellow Moon back
in January. Clearly the man has a musical ingenuity that
shines even brighter when he’s the focus on stage,
without a backing band to support him.
Fyfe does seem quite vulnerable up on stage all by his
lonesome and occasionally supported by viola and violin.
His banter was a bit stunted and shy, yet highly endearing
as it had the audience laughing awkwardly even when he
wasn’t being outright funny. Charming indeed.
While the album Fly Yellow Moon is full of solid
songs with quirky and elaborate arrangements, the live
set felt very much stripped down, raw and Stunningly better
than the album even tries to be. Fyfe started off the
gig on the piano, which he plays with much enthusiasm.
Sadly, the piano was facing the back corner of the stage,
which left the audience staring at the back of Fyfe’s
bouffant for a large chunk of the gig. Nonetheless, he’s
so talented, no one really minded. His voice is effortlessly
sung with perfect pitch, power and emotion.
The set was very eclectic in sound ranging from Fyfe on
piano, guitar, synth, fx pedals and the best instrument
of all – the Loop Station. What
a stellar sense of rhythm and co-ordination for such a
tall lanky guy.
Anyway, the praise is endless. Highlights included a cover
of Girls Aloud’s Call the Shots
(which I had to Google extensively until I found out what
that song was). It was very cool and certainly better
than the original, which I only heard for the first time
tonight thanks to Google + Spotify.
Lowlights, besides the bizarrely angled piano, included
the random Billy Joel cover of She’s
Always a Woman To Me…. Not because it was a
bad performance… on the contrary. It’s what
it represents that I find irritating. A credible musician
has to resort to corporate advertising to gain exposure
and make a decent living. Fair enough, he’s got
to pay the bills.. but ARGH!!!!
Buy Fyfe’s new single Faster Than The Setting
Sun and help support musicianship!
http://www.fyfedangerfield.com
----------------------------------------
Owen Pallett
Koko, London
March 26, 2010
For
a relatively unknown name, Owen Pallett has a reputation
that precedes him. Owen, who previously went under the
name Final Fantasy, is the go to guy for pretty much every
good strings arrangement found in music of the last 5
years or so. Owen’s come straight out of the Toronto
scene, having worked in some form with the key Canadian
music powerhouses including Arcade Fire, The Hidden Cameras,
The Stars and even Holy Fuck and Death From Above 1979.
And more recently, he’s worked with international
artists such as Grizzy Bear, The Rumble Strips, Alex Turner’s
side project Last of the Shadow Puppets, Mika (!!??),
and The Pet Shop Boys. He is most definitely the IT
boy for string arrangements in popular music.
Ditching his solo Final Fantasy moniker, Owen Pallet has
just released his latest album Heartland under his own
name, and managed to fill up London venue Koko with little
effort. Having heard a bit of the album, some of his Final
Fantasy work, and a lot of his collaborations, I didn’t
quite know what to expect from Owen’s solo gig in
London. I don’t think there’s any way I could
have figured this one out without seeing it for myself.
This man is a musical genius.
In demeanour, he is quiet, polite, youthful in looks (is
he really 30??? My guess was 12), and overall pleasant.
While featuring the occasional synth part and guest guitarist
who also had access to percussion, the bulk of the gig
was performed by Owen’s voice, his violin and his
loopstation. I was previously unaware that a violin could
produce such sound. He used it as bass, percussion, strings,
the works. His technical skill between his vocals, violin
and rhythmic timing was sensational. Owen Pallett is the
most co-ordinated man in show business.
Owen Pallett puts on one of the best live shows I’ve
ever seen. I entered with no expectations and exited feeling
very emotional and content. I urge you to see Owen perform
live if given the chance. The album is pretty good too,
but I don’t think it demonstrates his genius quite
as well as seeing the man recreate it all live in front
of an audience.
One
Man + One Violin + One Loopstation = The Future of Music
----------------------------------------
Pete Lawrie
Supporting Turin Brakes
Shepherd's Bush Empire
March 26, 2010
Review
by Row
pete
lawrie does not look how he sounds. if you listen to his
voice, you imagine a gruff old man who has been around
the block a few times...when you see him he is boy next
door cute to the point where you would be proud beyond
words to bring him home to meet your mum...at shepherds
bush, he appeared sporting a lovely chequered shirt and
freshly spiked hairdo (which coincidently appears in every
promo photo you will find online) and as the set unfolded
i thought to myself, what a fitting support act for turin
brakes - easy on the eyes and easy on the ears.
his
sound reminds me a little of ray lamontagne, particularly
the husky, raspy vocal delivery, with shades of david
gray (especially when he joggles his head as he loses
himself in his own little world). the songwriting holds
its own, if not for the fact that it is nothing revolutionary
in the world of singer/songwriter acoustic pop. the description
on myspace as folk/blues/gospel implies something a little
outside the arena i discovered, however with a face like
his i would not object to being serenaded by mr lawrie
anytime...this i was tempted to whisper into his ear as
he passed next to me in the bar after his set, looking
for a place to settle to see the band who have clearly
done him a big favour, by opening the doors to a massive
fan base...because lets face it- anyone who likes turin
brakes could be easily wooed by the soothing sound (and
vision) of pete lawrie. and if the music career doesn't
take off then there is always the option of modelling...have
i focused too much on appearance.? oops
----------------------------------------
The
Hidden Cameras
Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
March 24, 2010
The
Hidden Cameras is one of those gem of a bands you are
privileged to know of. A Toronto collective, The Hidden
Cameras aren’t yet quite as well known in the UK
as their contemporaries such as Arcade Fire and Broken
Social Scene, but in all honesty, they are better in many
ways with a career spanning 9 years and often likened
to Belle & Sebastian for a UK Indie Pop reference.
The Hidden Cameras tend to play their finest gigs in unconventional
venues such as galleries and churches, including their
gig at St. Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch last week.
This week’s gig was a bit more conventional by comparison,
in the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, which they filled to
the brim and nearly overheated with their infectious energy.
The venue was the only conventional thing about The Hidden
Cameras’ performance.
Currently on tour in support of their latest release Origin:Orphan,
the 9-piece band put on a stunning performance. Front
man / mastermind / ringleader Joel Gibb lead this motley
crew of musicians with his charisma, flawless vocals,
slick guitar riffs and songs ranging from the beautifully
stunning to the awesomely fun. Backing Joel on the ever-rotating
Hidden Cameras roster were a few familiar faces with a
set up of drums, keys, bass, guitar, trumpet, flute/oboe,
cello and violin.
As well as having excellent material to work with, this
band was tight. And energetic. And fascinating. Each and
every one of these musicians looked like they were having
the time of their lives. Even though I’m a fan of
the albums, I have to say, the live show brings a new
dimension to the music and it is a must see for any fan
of music… of any genre.
www.thehiddencameras.com
Check out our INTERVIEW
with Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras
----------------------------------------
Passion Pit
HMV Forum, London
with Ellie Goulding
March 11, 2010
Passion Pit is America’s answer to Friendly
Fires. Rising amongst the new breed of synth-centric
bands with substance, Passion Pit is catchy, trendy, current
but with lasting power, not unlike MGMT and the
Friendlies… Their debut EP Chunk of Change
and last year's debut album Manners are solid
dance albums that appeal to the Indie / Electro crowd.
What makes Passion Pit stand apart from the other dime
a dozen electro bands is not only the selection of solid
tunes, but lead singer Michael Angelakos’ falsetto
vocals. At first listen it might be a bit off-putting,
but end result is that this makes the band standout and
carries their sound.
With their albums being very solid, Passion Pit had a
lot to live up to for their recent live performance at
HMV Forum. I have to say that we were very surprised by
their performance. In a very good way. The band is actually
better live than they are on album, which is quite the
feat considering how fabulous their recordings are!
The band has serious energy, charisma, stage presence,
musical talent, a captivated audience hyped to sing-a-long
and mosh at will, live falsettos that are perfectly in
tune, and pretty awesome lighting. Their live energy was
feeding off of the audience’s frenzy which you cannot
have on album, which makes seeing this band live a very
special experience and a MUST for any fan. If you get
the chance, you need to make the effort. If the idea of
a gig with a frenzied audience is too daunting for you,
well then you’ll just have to make do with their
album, which is not such a bad consolation prize.
----------------------------------------
Julie
& Julia
Out now on DVD & Blu-Ray
Meryl
Streep strikes again with another glorious performance.
Shame about the whole Amy Adams Julie story arc. Well...
it wasn't that bad... but while I was captivated by Meryl,
I found myself ever-so-slightly irritated by Amy Adams'
whining... But let's focus on the positive.
Meryl Mery Meryl. Meryl Streep as Julia Child - ingenius.
Her impression is spot on and her acting brilliant as
always. It's no wonder she was nominated for the Best
Actress Oscar for a role in a lighthearted film which
would normally be overlooked by the Academy.
Meryl's story arc follows superchef Julia Child's beginnings
as a bored housewife in France who is there to support
her husband's career in government business. She takes
up cooking lessons at a fine French cookery school and
soon surpasses all her male counterparts, in spite of
some sexist bureaucracy. The story then follows her career
to her penning her famed cookbook Mastering The
Art of French Cooking, which is how the film links
the two separate stories of Julia Child with Amy Adams'
Julie.
Based on a true story, Julie is a bored charity worker
who decides to write a blog about cooking every recipe
in Julia Child's cookbook. The Julie story follows her
ups and downs with the recipes and her turbulent relationship
with her husband. Fear not - all is salvaged through her
passion for Julia Child's art of French Cooking.
True Nora Ephron style, this film feels a bit like watching
Sleepless in Seattle meets Julia Child biopic. A bit bizarre,
but works well if you're a fan of Nora and/or Meryl. Overall
a recommended viewing for a lighthearted cinematic experience!!!
And Meryl will inspire you to try out your own Julia Child
impression...
"Bon Apetit!"
----------------------------------------
Artivist
Film Festival
where the artist meets the activist
Artivist
Film Festival, the first international film festival
dedicated to raising awareness for Humanity; Animals;
and the Environment, came to London for 48 hours. Films
with subject matters ranging from asylum seekers to polar
bears, were shown and discussed at The Shaw Theatre.
The festival itself is in its seventh year and has showcased
over 400 films, some of which like Fast Food Nation
have gone on to play for large international audiences.
LLHG went
along for the opening night and attended the screenings
of Out of Sight, Out of Mind and Children
of War. Both docs focused on human rights issues,
with Out of Sight, Out of Mind following three
asylum seeking mothers in the UK and Children of War
dealing with former Ugandan child soldiers. Needless to
say, both subject-matters are important and deserving
of attention and the films themselves offer a good, contemporary
portrayal of these issues.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind has lots of human warmth
to it and the sense of the film makers genuinely caring
about their subjects is at its core. The three women portrayed
in it, all have incredibly moving stories to share and
their presence alone is powerful enough reminder of the
flaws in the system. However, the short format along with
the repetitiveness in narration, made it difficult to
see these stories in a greater context. What do these
women want from their lives on a long-term basis? What
are their future plans? All we knew was the women were
struggling and finding the wait unbearable. Groundbreaking
conclusion? Perhaps not. Important message? Definitely.
Children of War offered its audience more to
think about, and told a number of stories of former child
soldiers and the internal struggles they have to face
during the rehabilitation process at a children’s
centre. Issues like sexual abuse, religion, love of ones
country were all touched upon and combined with the beautiful
cinematography it was difficult not to be moved; even
more difficult not to think beyond the film and impossible
not to wonder what a long term solution could be.
There’s no doubt that Artivist is an important festival
and one would hope that in time, it will expand in size
and draw in bigger crowds in the UK. (not enough folks
attending if you ask me.) Its subject matters aside, one
of the best points about Artivist is the fact that it
showcases films of varying level of technical and artistic
sophistication, making it come across like there is a
forum for the smallest of the indies to make themselves
heard.
Definitely worth a second visit. Please check it out for
yourselves!
www.artivists.org
----------------------------------------
crappy photo i'm trying to pass off
as 'artistic'
Liam
Frost
@ The Lexington
February 22nd, 2010
The
beginning is always a good place to start, and I can’t
write this article without mentioning the first opening
act of the evening – Among The Oak And The
Ash… or ATO&A which
is still rather cumbersome, but quicker to type and shall
therefore be how I refer to them from now on. (Even though
writing that explanation was probably a higher word count
than the one other time I’m going to mention their
name in this article).
So…..
ATO&A are a Country/Folk/Americana band from.. well…
America. Consisting of two lead singers, one of each gender,
this was a very riveting band. Especially during lady
singer’s solo tune. We felt transported to a different
era with their western tunes and Nashville inspired vocals.
Shame Liam didn’t follow on from them and ride the
high, as what happened next kind of ruined the evening
for us.
Jose Vanders. That’s pronounced
Joce with a soft C and not like Spanish
José as she repeatedly reminded us. At
first it was ok… she was quirky, young, cute, fresh,
pretty voice, but oh my goodness she just did not stop.
It was like watching Kate Gash
Nash only younger and ditzier if poss. She was sweet,
but wow, she was naïve with some very bizarre comments
that contained some incorrect geographical/historical
facts. Quite a shame over all. By the time Liam came on
stage, the soul had been sucked out of us.
We were already a bit under the weather (I blame the poor
service the NHS has been giving me lately… including
giving me a penicillin related drug they PROMISED wasn’t
THAT closely related to penicillin…. Um.. SERIOUS
ALLERGY PEOPLE), sorry… RANT! Anyway, we were crashing
hard before Liam took the stage and could only last for
a few songs as the melancholy of it was a bit too much
for us in our fragile states. What we did see, we liked.
Liam’s got a very beautiful voice with some quite
heavy and powerful material. The audience was silently
gripped as he made his way through his setlist. One thing
that I found quite striking, not being overly familiar
with Liam’s songs, is that his singing voice has
a very thick Mancunian accent to it, heightened further
by the audience’s hushed silence as they intently
listened to and watched his performance.
A shame we’re a pair of grannies (sorry Marko, but
we ARE), would like to have stayed to enjoy the silence.
----------------------------------------
Michael Jackson’s
THIS IS IT
Out on DVD & Blu-Ray
February 22
You’d
have to have been in a pretty deep coma for the past 40
years to not know Michael Jackson and his music. What’s
beautiful about MJ is that he had the widest reach of
any modern artist. He broke genre barriers to reach across
to fans that are interested in Indie, Folk, Urban, Pop,
Punk; he has influenced everyone. He is the King of Pop.
And even after his passing, he is still the reigning King
of Pop and I can’t foresee anyone taking his place
for a long long time.
THIS IS IT, the documentary of the preparation for his
comeback staging of the same name hammers home this point.
It is obvious from the rehearsal footage, planning talks
and all the extra DVD special features that this would
have been the greatest live show to have ever been staged.
Combining 3D, world class dancing, visual effects, wardrobe,
and Michael’s music and voice, this would have been
hard to top.
What’s really heartbreaking about Michael’s
death is that his fans never got to see this show. Instead
of THIS IS IT being a great alternative to that, it actually
leaves a bigger void as the fans can now see exactly how
amazing this spectacle would have been and it hurts to
think that Michael’s vision will never be realized
for us to witness.
The film starts last April with the show’s very
emotional dancers being interviewed about what it means
to them to be in MJ’s comeback show. Then BAM. The
pyro, the cinematic visuals, “lightman” crazy
robotic suit, and there is MJ slowly revealed behind the
costume. AGH! Cue screaming fans (if this weren’t
just the rehearsal).
Unlike Whitney Houston’s crack-induced-vocal comeback
recently, it looked like Michael Jackson’s talent
was still intact. His vocals were spellbinding. His moves
were a bit stiffer and robotic than we’ll remember,
but the man was 50 years old and still in progress of
training to get back in top form! Oh yeah.. and a total
drug addict… So considering all that and the still
awesome dance moves he was showing, older MJ can still
dance the sequins socks off of most people half his age!
Lots of HEE HEEs, lots of OWs, and a select few HOOOOOOs….
this was ALL Michael Jackson. Against popular belief,
the man was not incoherent, unintelligible or erratic.
He had FULL creative control, even with show director
Kenny Ortega by his side. It was the Michael Jackson show.
He was a man who knew what he wanted and a man in charge.
This was his creative vision and he was an artistic genius.
THIS IS IT blatantly showed that it was not only his children
that he lived for, but his music. In the DVD’s special
features, his acquaintances often said that the reason
Michael chose this specific time for his comeback tour
was because he was only 50 so still young enough to do
what he does, but his kids were old enough to appreciate
it. He appeared to have so much passion for the art that
he loved. He was laughing, joking, dancing, singing, directing,
choreographing all on great form.
The show itself was going to be the greatest live show
to date. What made it so was the innovative approach Michael
wanted to take with the creative direction. First of all,
the visuals. A number of short films were shot to enhance
the stage antics. Including the use of 3D. Thriller was
to be a full 3D film that converged to the live stage
action, combined with ghostly puppets that were to wander
the aisles in the audience. Awesome. Also for Smooth Criminal,
Michael shot loads of footage of himself inserted into
old classic gangster films with some of Hollywood’s
greats. Classic late 80’s style MJ.
The costumes were also key. The backup dancers had an
array of great duds. Especially all the silly Thriller
zombie outfits. But that aside, the special features section
had “The Gloved One” which was all about MJ’s
costumes that he was going to wear. A lot of the outfits
were reminiscent of classic MJ outfits like the red Thriller
jacket, the black-sequined Billy Jean jacket (apparently
he originally stole it out of his mum Katherine’s
wardrobe??) and some newer outfits based on his military
style, and encompassing his love of Swarovski crystals.
To the max.
One of the coolest costume ideas was for Billy Jean actually.
Not just the homage to the classic black sequined jacket,
but fashion designer Zaldy was working with Phillips’
light technology to recreate the classic Billy Jean video
sidewalk lighting up, but on Michael’s wardrobe
instead. SO COOL!
What’s a Michael Jackson show without world class
dancing! Michael held auditions with the best dancers
from all over the globe and had a personal hand in choosing
the best to join him onstage. Amazing. What enhanced the
dancing further was the classic Sound Effects that accompanied
some key moves. Think back to the BAD video with all those
WHOOSH sounds. ACE!
The voice. Michael’s voice. There has never been
one like it. There were key moments in the set list that
accounted for this and let Michael’s voice alone
be the focus. These moments were beautiful. Even his colleagues
were enamoured with his talent. The dancers would always
be in the audience watching him up close when they got
a break from the stage. The girl singing I Just Can’t
Stop Loving You as a duet with Michael, obviously was
in awe of him and looked like she was hypnotized by his
vocals by the end of the song.
Man in the Mirror was the finale. The film ends on a freeze
frame captioned “Michael Jackson King Of Pop Love
Lives Forever”. Roll Credits.
Either I zoned, or we’re missing Heal The World
and Bad in this? Oh wait.. here we go. After THIS IS IT
in the credits, they play the recorded track of Heal the
World. Still no BAD tho. Hmm….
After all the spectacle, his songs and voice are so good
that I would have been more than happy to have sat through
a minimal acoustic gig with Michael singing his tunes
raw. He was that much of a natural talent. Even though
that’s the case, I must say that This Is It would
have been the most amazing show of all time. R.I.P. Michael.
----------------------------------------
Hadouken!
@ The Barfly, Camden
Next Big Thing Festival
Feb 5-14th
6 London Venues
Next
Big Thing festival is a great idea. Taking the top acts
to come for 2010 and putting them on in various London
venues in the span of a week and a half.
We checked out Hadouken! ‘s big break at The Barfly
in Camden on Friday February 5th. Next Big Thing festival
is clearly aimed at the next big generation to come. The
audience ranged from about 18-21 years of age all dressed
like characters from the hit TV series SKINS. The band
themselves I could appreciate on a musical level, but
they were definitely down with the kids more than the
older non-spring chickens like us and the rest of the
adults who hid at the back of the venue admiring the band
from afar whilst the youngens moshed away and went mental
for their heroes Hadouken!
The band had some great energy, musically fusing influences
from Klaxons, Prodigy, The Streets and Metallica. They
were a bit all over the place genre-wise, but each song
was fierce and had the audience wanting more.
----------------------------------------
Youth
in Revolt
Out in UK Cinemas February 5th
Based
on the Nick Twisp novel by C.D. Payne,
Youth in Revolt sees Michael Cera playing
Michael Cera in a predictable, yet highly entertaining
Michael Cera vehicle.
If you don’t like Michael Cera, don’t even
bother seeing this film. This film is the epitome of a
Michael Cera film. Michael Cera is forever playing the
awkward teen, social outcast virgin who is always using
big words and dialect far beyond his supposed young years,
to a background soundtrack of quirky indie tunes and some
claymation. With Youth In Revolt, this is still holding
up… but for how much longer can Michael Cera play
the awkward teen card?
Hopefully by now you’re playing a Michael Cera drinking
game and every time I write the words Michael Cera, you
will do a tequila body shot off some awkward virgin teen’s
body. ew. Ok… enough about Michael Cera (*burp*).
The rest of the Youth In Revolt cast was absolutely stellar!!!
Starring some serious legends such as Steve Buscemi,
Fred Willard (genius), Ray Liotta,
Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis
(funny fat dude from The Hangover), and Justin
Long, the supporting cast manages to shine through
in spite of the clear focus on making Cera the focus on
screen.
If you like Cera, you know what to expect. But I have
to say that this was one of his better performances and
more entertaining films. Part of what makes this film
so is Cera’s Nick Twisp’s alter ego Francois
Dillinger. Francois was basically the devil on Twisp’s
shoulder, with the classic evil twin look of Cera in a
moustache, with cigarette in hand and the creepiest blue
contact lenses EVER! Oh, and a subtle yet hilarious “deeper”
voice. I think he was trying out his RANGE there.
Not just about visuals, as with every quirky indie film,
notably ones starring MC, the soundtrack was very cute
and catchy. I might check that one out on Spotify!
I don’t mean to be so cynical in this review as
I ADORE Michael Cera, but I just worry that he won’t
be able to play the Michael Cera card for much longer
having done it so many times before. But as I’m
still enjoying his character, I do recommend seeing this
film as it’s as endearing as Michael himself.
If you don’t know who Michael Cera is, but still
managed to read this entire review, you’re a bit
odd…. But to help you out, here’s a stock
A to Z of Michael Cera.
www.youthinrevolt.co.uk
----------------------------------------
Fyfe Dangerfield
Fly Yellow Moon
Guillemots
frontman Fyfe Dangerfield has finally released his long-anticipated
solo album Fly Yellow Moon. The verdict is in. And it’s
a bit surprising…
While the Guillemots albums are usually a bit offbeat
and possibly not something that can grab on first listen,
they entice further listening and are packaged well as
albums with a consistent sound that feels cohesive. Obviously
you can tell where I’m going with this review…
While Fyfe is an extremely talented musician, on first
listen, I couldn’t quite figure out what was going
on here. A very large mish-mash of styles that don’t
necessarily go together. Eclecticism is good though, right?
And Fyfe’s voice does carry the album…. But
on first listen, it just didn’t draw me in.
Luckily it did have a second life and after seeing Fyfe
perform the album live at The Scala my mind was changed.
These tunes are good. Played acoustically, these songs
were beautiful and Fyfe’s voice only enhanced that
fact. So what is it about the album that doesn’t
have the same effect as the AMAZING live performance?
Overproduction and complicated instrumentation is my opinion.
Having gone back and had another listen to Fly Yellow
Moon, I think my first judgement was a bit harsh as I
can now hear the songs for more of what they are at the
core, which is beautifully melodic. But some effort is
required as to filter out all the bizarre instrumentation
that pops up on most tunes. This instrumentation does
vaguely work on Fyfe’s first solo single She Needs
Me. Anything that is reminiscent of Electric Light Orchestra
is ok in my book. But again, it sounds completely different
to any other song on here.
After seeing Fyfe live and listening to the album, I am
gutted Fyfe didn’t make a raw acoustic album as
that would have been more daring, suiting and standout
as an instant classic. As it is, there’s nothing
classic about Fly Yellow Moon, but I do recommend seeing
Fyfe perform in concert if you get the chance. One can
only hope that he’ll release a live acoustic album
of these performances in order to redeem himself…
one can hope…
This all sounds so harsh.. but expectations were high
for this release. I can’t help but be a bit cynical
when delivery falls at all short.
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A
Prophet
(Un Prophète)
Out in UK cinemas January 22nd
Buzz,
hype, awards, praise... French film A Prophet
has been a hot topic amongst the Foreign Film buffs for
quite a while now. It was the winner of this year’s
Grand Prix at Cannes as well as having won the
Best Film award at the London Film Festival.
It was also nominated for Best Foreign Language
film at the Golden Globes, losing to Germany’s The
White Ribbon. Lead actor Tahar Rahim
has also been acknowledged for his gripping performance
with a BAFTA Orange Rising Star nomination, and
there’s still the Oscars to come!!!
A Prophet is good. It’s really good. It’s
gritty, dark, violent, a perfect character study and a
harsh crime story to boot. The story follows inmate Malik
(Tahar Rahim) from age 19 during his six years of prison
condemnation. He arrives friendless and vulnerable, but
soon finds himself drawn into the violent gang warfare
of prison life. Malik is taken under the wing of a big
Corsican mob boss and initiated into the criminal ranks.
This story follows his journey and his character.
Whilst the story was enthralling, characters intense and
mood dark, the only flaw that I found with A Prophet was
its sheer length. There were some bits of the film the
viewer could have done without, and coming in at just
over 2.5 hours, the length of this film is giving LOTR
a run for its money! Not ever fully losing interest, there
were points about 2 hours in that audience members started
to shuffle and squirm, but with 30-60 minutes less footage,
this film could have been perfection. It’s still
worth sitting through the extra minutes to experience
such a classic crime drama, so please don’t let
this bit put you off.
A Prophet = A Masterpiece. Just make sure you pee before
you get settled in.
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