Pendulum and Marie Antoinette

So a little update for you. Or myself. I am really just talking to myself on here, but hey - it passes the time. Thursday night was the long awaited return of Pendulum at Fu (albeit without their much heralded live performance from Fabric in October.) Links to that performance can be found here and here. What we did get though was the added bonus of Chase and Status. Well really just one of them as the other was over playing in Europe - kind of makes sense when you can cover two bases at once - or three in Pendulum's case. Still, it would be so much more awesome if we could have had both of Chase and Status and all three of Pendulum. Ticket prices would have been close to $70 but what the hell.

I had tried to con my flatmate into going with me but unfortunately he is still convinced Pendulum has been thrashed to death even though they have released a whole album since he decided that heh. I did get Campbell to come and one of his mates, along with a whole bunch of NZRavers and assorted acquaintances. I got to Fu at just on 11pm to be greeted by a bunch of desperate onlookers who had neglected to get their tickets ontime. Thankfully what I thought was a big fuckoff queue was just the doorsale waiting list so I walked straight in. Headed down there and paid my $2 coat check (Yes, fuck you Studio et al with your $4 charge grr) and grabbed the customary beer and took in the surroundings - had a chat with the regulars and nabbed my spot on the dancefloor.

I tend to go to the left hand side of the dj booth and then slowly work my way towards the front without being too aggresive. You look a bit too eager if you walk right up to the front when the dancefloor is only 1/3 full heh. There is actually quite a bit of strategy involved in timing your approach, wait just 5 minutes too long and if the person infront is a real head then you have no shitshow in hell of getting inthat front row until 4am. Thankfully everyone (everyone sane that is - counting me out) needs water so I tend to get a decent spot after a while even if I have to wait for ages.

Bulletproof was playing when I went onto the dancefloor. Not really my style but he did play a few smashers like TC - Gameover. Considering Fu is normally dead until 12.30am the fact that it was full to the brim by 12 shows how huge Pendulum have gotten since their last tour here - and this was on a Thursday night! Next year with the live show it will have to be somewhere like Studio or St. James - the demand is that huge. Chase + Status were up next at 12am in his debut appearance on NZ shores. Well they certainly made an impression. I was a little surprised at the fact he (don't know which one of them came over) was playing a pretty heavy set with only a few liquid tunes. In Love feat. Jenna G got played of course - and got an insane response. My favourite tune of his set though has to be The Funktastics - Honey, gotta love that vocal and then probably Mutt - Hot Lick Squeeze. That is what liquid is about right there. Mmmmm.

Pendulum stepped up just before 2am and the response was unbelievable - I had screaming voices coming at me left right and centre combined with one of the speakers that was about 2metres away from my eardrum - talk about post-gig ringing in the ears! From memory most of the Hold Your Colour album got played combined with a heap of classics - Another Planet, Vault, Voyager etc even though some of them were just teases - such as Spiral. Dissapointed that Masochist didn't get played but such is life. Blood Sugar was insane, but I was a bit let down that they didn't really have any new material for us. TC - Game Over got played again (not only did Riddle play it just as I walked in, but also Bulletproof, Chase and Pendulum!) It's a heavy tune though.

About halfway through the set there was a pause for a bit of breaks, prog and even some Rage Against The Machine!! Was good for a change from the norm I guess. The only let downs were the lack of new tunage and a few of the doubledrops and mashups ala Andy C's sets didn't quite work. It was Gareth who played and he was originally a producer. El Hornet is the badman dj - pity he didn't come down to. Ah well - who am I to complain? It was an INSANE gig. Up there with the best of the year. Have a look at this YouTube video of 'Number 1' and some pics showing just how rammed it was. It doesn't convey the hotness though but the fact I could actually get water out of my shirt afterwards shows how damn hot it was in there.



It's hands in the air time:





















Spot me:p





















And onto the next thing: Marie Antoinette. I have been waiting for this for a good few months now after seeing that awesome, awesome trailer. The New Order song that plays over the top of the trailer fits it so pefectly - it may even be my favourite trailer this year. Despite the movie getting some badish reviews after its Cannes premier my curiousity wasn't going to go away easily so of course I was going to watch it within the first few days of release - even if I did still have ringing in my ears from Pendulum the night before.

Basically it's a very loose (in terms of historical events anyway) representation of the life of Marie Antoinette, a teenage Queen of 18th century France who was remembered for her excesses. The film begins in Austria just before she gets married off to Louis XVI in a bid to consumate the Franco-Austrian alliance. It then follows her as she settles into life at Versaille and works through the cold reception she initially gets from Louis, ending at the start of the French revolution and their fleeing of Versaille.

If you go in to Marie Antoinette expecting a traditional Merchant-Ivory sort of costume drama then you will be dissapointed, maybe even shocked. It is very much a modern take on Marie Antoinette's experience, something that has a lot more in common with the characters in her previous efforts, Lost In Translation and The Virgin Suicides. Artists that feature on the soundtrack include Aphex Twin, Air, The Strokes, New Order etc so that shows what sort of vibe the movie is aiming to portray. Sofia is much more concerned in conveying the sense of isolation Marie felt living in a strange court far away from her home and the pains and joys of adolescence.

The use of modern music works in its favour and against it - sometimes the song choices work brilliantly like 'I Want Candy' by Bow Wow Wow being played over the 18th century equivalent of a girls night in. God the food on display was gorgeous. Which is very much what the film is about - display, surfaces and apperances. Coppola serves up a visual feast of sumptuous display where everything on screen looks like it took hours to prepare. The costuming and set design warrants a viewing on their own. Kirsten Dunst is good as Marie, especially in shots where she is lying on her bed with just stockings and a fan - talk about sexy! That's more to do with her beautiful body than acting ability though. Which she doesn't really have to work on considering the film is pretty minimal on dialogue - choosing to tell it's story through visuals alone.

Would I reccomend the film? Yeah probably. I admit I was a little dissapointed as the whole modern take on things didn't completely work as some elements were jarring. The visuals on display are amazing though and stopped the movie from being a complete dissapointment. It would be interesting to see what a more traditional take on things would have been like though. So go see it if you have a penchant for stunning costumes, gorgeous palaces and decorative pastries :p Don't see it if you want another traditional costume-drama or can't handle the lack of dialogue and deliberate pacing. I would write more on the film with more coherence but this is just an off the cuff post that I am making on hardly any sleep. The film won't be in my top ten of this year but will get an honourable mention.

Next up is The Queen, Night at The Museum and Happy Feet. Possibly Deja Vu. I am aiming to see them all before the end of the year as I have been awfully slack of late watching movies. Probably because I just stormed through season 1 of Lost in less than 72 hours. Now I know what I have been missing out on!

Crank

So having exhausted all my options at the local cinema all that was left was Flushed Away, Crank and Unaccompanied Minors. Flushed Away was probably the best bet but I wasn't in the mood for a animated feature today. I chose to go see Crank, Jason Statham's latest vehicle which couldn't be any more mindless if it tried.

I guess the concept pretty much determines what sort of movie it's going to be. A guy gets drugged with the 'Beijing Cocktail ' - a posion that causes you to die the moment your adrenaline isn't anywhere near redlining. Chev Chelios, freelance assasin (Jason Statham) is the unfortunate victim thanks to a hit gone wrong and he has only a few hours to take out the guys responsible - who are dumb enough to leave his apartment with a DVD titled 'FUCK YOU' in capital letters.

I won't go any further into the plot (which when talking about a movie like Crank is borderline oxymoronic) and instead go on to the thing that pissed me off the most about the movie. I was prepared to go with the setup and the mindless action and thrills that I knew was inevitable. What I wasn't prepared to go with was the consistently frenetic over-the-top stylising of the directors. Flash forwards? Check. Slow-Mo? Check. Split-screen? Check. Titlecards? Check. Illogical subtitles popping up? Check. I didn't think it was possible but they have outdone Tony Scotts' Domino for sheer ADD directing. If you ever wanted to know what Grand Theft Auto: The Movie would feel like - Crank is the answer. The sad thing is that this is actually a reason some people would go see it. Dear me.

Aside from the interesting concept the movie doesn't approach anything near originality, containing pretty much every action cliche in the book. It's almost as if the directors are going through the motion ticking everyone off as they go. Mexican bad guys with stupid haricuts? You bet. Gratuitous tits and ass? Of Course. Gravity defying car chases? Without question.

I would only recommend it if you are on ADD or enjoyed Tony Scott's Domino, as this one has a lot in common. If you enjoyed Domino you probably have ADD anyway :p That or you just want to see Amy Smart get banged doggystyle in public.

The Departed

So I finally got to see this after being turned off by its $15 blockbuster tag.

Definately recommend it if you haven't seen it already. A return to form for Scorsese after the good, but not great Aviator and Gangs of New York.

For those of you who haven't seen Infernal Affairs (the chinese crime thriller on which it is based) the plot revolves around all of Scorsese's trademark themes: Family, Religion, Trust, Betrayl, Identity etc but more specifically about two rookie cops working for either side of Boston's crime world. William Costigan (Di Caprio) is determined not to follow the crime ridden steps of his family and upon graduating he is sent to work undercover for Boston crimelord Frank Costello (Nicholson) in the hope of bringing him down (The police believing his criminal background would give him some credibility). The other, Colin Sullivan (Damon) has been raised by Costello since he was a young boy and now wants to pay him back by giving him inside information that will save his ass and keep the cops from busting him. Eventually both parties learn that they have a rat, who inform their informants. As each side tries to out the rat before the other the tension reaches boiling point and Di Caprio and Damon give us some of the best cat and mouse games I have seen at the movies in a long, long time.

The acting is excellent across the board. Di Caprio seems to get better in every movie I see him in and he totally nails his character. Damon's performance is also up there with his best and Alex Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg prove an excellent supporting cast, injecting the film with some much needed humour to counter the increasing tension.

There are some great scenes in it, particularly the rooftop face off between Damon and Dicaprio and the vibrating phone call between them as well - one of the most intense scenes I have seen this year.

Soundtrack is excellent, including 'Gimme Shelter' by the Rolling Stones and 'Comfortably Numb' by Van Morrison.

I forgot to mention Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello who is almost a shoo in for awards season. His performance is so extravagant though that it does threaten to enter the realm of parody. Thankfully it never quites get there and we are left with another great performance. The guy is a complete fucking psycho, whether he is obseriving at how someone he shot in the head 'fell funny' or whether he is waving a dildo around at a blue movie theatre. The guy lives and breathes violence. He also gets some of the best lines in the movie, e.g 'I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want the environment to be a product of me.'

So yeah, if you're a fan of Scorsese or a decent crime thriller, go see it :p

Only warning I would put on it is the level of violence - not for those of slight sensibility. The last 20minutes in particular are extremely shocking and oh so brutal. One character (I won't give it away though:p) got headshot out of nowhere, BOOM motherfucker, you're gone. Yup. dead. Fuck...

Solid 8/10 I reckon.

The Grudge 2

Well, exams are over for 2006. I can finally breath a long overdue sigh of relief and begin my three months of professional bumming. I have some extra hours lined up at Video Ezy but only enough to pay my bills so expect to see more regular updates as I sit at home with no money heh. Anyway, on to the topic.

I hadn't originally planned on seeing The Grudge 2 today. I went down to the cinema with the intention of seeing Scorsese's latest - The Departed (a remake of the chinese crime thriller Infernal Affairs) but upon learning that it was at blockbuster pricing and therefore I couldn't use my six dollar discount card I opted for the aforementioned. I kind of regretted buying a ticket straight after though, especially considering I had only just been warned off the movie by a friend of mine. His thoughts can be viewed here. I decided to throw caution to the wind and go watch it anyway.

So, how was it you say? In short - A dire remake and sequel that hurls yet another kick in the balls to a genre which is rapidly losing any originality it had left. Movies like Saw come out and wow people with their original storylines and intense psychological mindgames but then become diluted by Hollywood's desire to capitalise on anything that shows even a hint of originality, cue Saw 2, Saw 3 and the just announced Saw 4. Does anyone seriously think that a fourth Saw movie is going to have one ounce of the smarts and freshness that made Saw so succesful in the first place? Or that a second Grudge movie is going to find any interesting new material that wasn't already covered in the pretty mediocre original? Under the current production system - not a shitshow in hell. The sad thing is though is that these movies continue to make money and only encourage Hollywood to keep piling them out on its production line. Kids continue to go see these movies based on their slick advertising campaigns and flashy myspace pages. It irks me to no end. Hell, I went to see it too so I guess I can't be too pissed off at them.

I think there are two major problems with the movie. The first is the three different storylines driving the plot which seem to come and go with no apparent connectivity until right at the very end of the movie. We have three schoolgirls who go to the haunted house of the first movie to pull a prank on one of the unpopular girls at the school, with predictable results. Then there is the family in Chicago who have to deal with the problems of step-moms while there is some seriously creepy stuff going on in one of the neighbouring apartments. And finally we have Audrey Davis (Amber Tamblyn) and a journalist who are in Tokyo investigating the reasons behind her sister Karen's death (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who was the principle character in the first movie. They don't exactly lend themselves to an interweaving storyline. As the movie progresses the film constantly cuts between the storylines without any narrative or artistic motivation. Five minutes of one storyline then 15 of another followed by 3 or 4 of the third one then back again. All the changes between locations and storylines were increasingly pissing me off at the films lack of focus. And when I was just about ready to scream at the screen the director closes the film with a rapid montage that is meant to satisfy the chaotic mess that has gone before it. Sorry mate, it doesn't work like that. Inteweaving narratives can work amazingly. Crash, Traffic, and to a lesser extent Syriana, are all excellent examples. However none of them are horrors.

The other major problem is that essentially, the film relies on the same type of horror the whole way through the movie, and it hasn't really changed from the first movie either. Ok sure jump-cuts and fast edits of creepy looking kids will make you jump the first few times you see them but it quickly becomes tiresome. Even the best sound design can't help lengthen the scare factor of these creepy kids. The law of deminishing returns applies big time to this movie. I imagine I wasn't alone in my dissapointment at the films reluctance to explore other scare tactics than the ones established in the first film. It isn't hard to pick when the creepy kids are going to emerge after the first few minutes. Showers, mirrors, dark rooms, scenes with only one character on screen all scream 'here comes another pasty kid with black overlong hair making croaky cat hissing noises'. After about twenty minutes the joke is up. The Grudge 2 is a one trick pony.

There are other problems with the movie - way too long is spent trying to flesh out the backstory of the curse, too many characters get thrown to the wayside in the balancing (hah!) act of the different storylines and the stupid sidetrack to Kayako's mother. But to be honest I really don't want to waste my time writing about them when the other two points have already gotten my feelings across.

The best horror movies are ones that don't try and balance interconnecting storylines. They focus on individual characters or a small group trapped in one place, forced to deal with increasingly complex psychological issues and the ever present threat of the unknown. I am thinking of films like Saw, Hard Candy and The Descent. While Saw has sold out Hard Candy and The Descent are beacons of hope for the horror genre, showing that it is still possible to find some originality in this abused genre. I just hope like hell that Hollywood doesn't end up abusing these two either.

Final Verdict: 4/10. If you liked the first one you will find the second one passable, even if it doesn't have one inkling of originality. To be honest if you want to watch a good horror movie your only option at the moment is to go to the video store as there is nothing of note playing a the cinemas. Wait till Hard Candy comes out on the 23rd November. Don't waste your money on this one.

Little Miss Sunshine

Been a long time since my last post. Sorry about that.I have had a shitload of work with uni. Why do they have to plan it so that all the assignments for my various papers are due within a few days of each other. It results in many missed lectures and an acute lack of sleep. Anyway, enough about University, on to more interesting stuff.

Well tonight I finally got my ass back down to a movie theatre and went and saw 'Little Miss Sunshine', the darling of last years Sundance Film Festival. Before I heap a whole load of masturbatory praise on this little gem I have to acknowledge that for the first 20minutes I was questioning all the hype this film has been getting since Sundance. I will go into my initial ambivalence later but in the end all that matters is that Little Miss Sunshine may well be one of the funniest and most endearing films of the year.

The film begins with an extended montage introducing us to the different members of the Hoover family, complete with all their eccentricities. We have the cranky grandfather with a penchant for heroin, the suicidal uncle who has just been released from hospital, a Nietzche reading depressive teenager vowed to silence, an overbearing father determined to live his life by a yet-to-be published generic self help mantra, the beauty pageant obsessed Olive and a mother who is desperate to hold this dysfunctional family together. If that ain't a dysfunctional family then I don't know what is.

I know dysfunctional families are becoming a bit of a cliche in indie movies nowadays but this one really works. After the brief introduction setting up the characters the film launches us on a 700 mile road-trip to California where Olive will compete in the 'Little Miss Sunshine' beauty pageant. Olive won the regional under-10 pageant after the original winner had to pull out, only there is no-one to take her. The family cannot afford to leave Frank on his own when he is meant to be on 24/7 suicide watch but at the same time Olive has been wanting this dream too much to not let her follow it. Naturally the whole family crams into their bright yellow VW and heads to California. Over the course of this 700 mile road-trip the Hoover family will go through a whole host of trials and tribulations, from a stolen corpse and a hilarious encounter with the law to multiple emotional breakdowns, a desperate scooter journey in the middle of the night and a VW that is stuck in 3rd and 4th gear (cue a hilarious running joke). To say this movie is offbeat is an understatement.

The acting is uniformly excellent. Steve Carell proves he is more than just a comic actor, showing his dramatic range and getting laughs without reverting to his more familiar persona. Alen Arkin's comic timing is excellent and steals almost every scene he is in. Abigail Breslin gives us one of the best child performances in many years, achieving that elusive goal of being utterly charming without that saccharine cuteness that seems to plague many young starlets. Paul Dano makes the most of a role which gives him little dialogue, communicating everything through his body posture and facial expressions. As the parents of this dysfunctional family both Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette give strong performances, determined to keep this family unit together.

The soundtrack has been largely composed by Devotchka, whose song 'How It Ends' featured on the trailer of Everything Is Illuminated. 'Till The End of Time' fits the movies offbeat wandering core to a tea while contributions by Sufjan Stevens, Rick James, Score and Tony Tisdale round out what will surely be one of the best soundtracks of the year. If the Hollywood studios have any sense I would expect to see Devotchka popping up a lot more in the future.

Offbeat indie movies have a tendency to be a bit hit and miss, with some episodic scenes falling out of place with the overall tone of the movie. This is what I was thinking during the beginning of the film and is one of the only problems I have with it. The scenes at the Hoover household felt a bit mis-matched and set up an offputting disjointed tone to the movie. In retrospect though, by the end of the film it is obvious that these early scenes are always working towards setting up the hilarious and heartfelt crescendo of the final act.

When the Hoover family finally get to California they are greeted with something that far outweighs anything they have had to put up with on the long road to get there. As the movie satirically points out, for all their dysfunctions the Hoover family is starkingly ordinary in relation to the image obsessed families of these beauty pageants who are little more than dressed up barbies. I don't want to spoil the ending for you because it is best experienced without prior knowledge but let me just say that it turns this disturbing sexualisation on its head in one of the most hilarious and satirical final acts I have seen in recent memory. As you leave the cinema you just try not walking out with a grin from ear to ear, safe in the knowledge that perhaps being perfect isn't all it's made out to be. In a society obsessed with winning it is important to remember that it is our peculiarities and dysfunctions that truly bind us together.

Final Verdict: A solid 8/10. It is rare to find a movie these days that manages to be hilariously funny yet without sacrificing the deeper issues that surround the film.

Lady In The Water

Lady In The Water marks the 7th feature film by M.Night Shyamalan and the 4th since he smashed his way into the Hollywood A-List with The Sixth Sense, and possibily the greatest twist in recent memory. After the massive critical acclaim heaped on The Sixth Sense admiration for Shyamalan seems to have gradually petered out, especially after The Village came out 2 years ago, polarising audiences everywhere. Fans of the director hoping that The Village was just an anomoly, a small sidetrack on his path to greatness will be dissapointed to hear that Lady In The Water is going to be recieved just as ambivalently as The Village was. Indeed after watching Lady In The Water i have begun to wonder whether Shyamalan might just be a one-trick pony. For those of you looking for that well hidden twist, stop now. There isn't one. This film is completely unlike anything you could imagine from Shyamalan. Indeed parts of it are so far out there in left field that one has to wonder, what WAS he thinking?


The basic outline of the movie follows Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti), a superintendent working in an apartment building who one evening rescues a woman from the swimming pool. Only she is no mere woman, she is a NARF from the 'Blue World', come here to spread enlightenment and re-awaken mans lost innocence. It is up to Cleveland and his friends to protect her and ensure she fufills her quest and makes it back to her world. To do this they must find the guardian, the healer, the guild and the symbolist who will protect her from the Scrunt desperate to stop her. Bizarre? Well that barely scratches the surface.

Many people are going to hate this movie, not dislike, but utterly dispise. Whether you enjoy the film or not will depend largely on whether you buy into the premise in the first place. Afterall, this is a 'bedtime story' as the promo would have you believe. However last time I checked bedtime stories didn't have Paul Giamatti curled up in the foetal position with a milk moustache eating cookies. Yes, that is in the film. Scenes like the above are really going to strech most peoples ability to go with the film. I am not even going to into the intepreting cereal boxes scene. It is for this reason that a large proportion of the audience laughed through most of the reason. Shyamalan makes it SO hard for you to immerse yourself in such a bizarre world. It is much easier to just sit back and laugh at the outlandishness.

It's not all bad though, Christopher Doyle is in charge of the cinematography (of Hero fame) so you know we're in comfortable hands. The film looks excellent and the acting is good for the most part, managing to overcome the limitations of the script. Giamatti and co try so very hard to hide the inherent humour in some of the lines but at times it's just impossible not to laugh.

One particular aspect that I did enjoy was the continual dig at the movie critic character. I wouldn't be surprised if Shyamalan put him in because of the critical reception to The Village. As one would imagine, the critic doesn't come off to well by the end of the movie. Speaking of Shyamalan he continues his Hitchcockian habit of appearing in all his movies only this time its extended to a full on supporting role. 'Delusions of grandeur' come to mind when thinking of his character, you could easily extend that out to the movie as a whole unfortunately.

Shyamalan had 100% creative freedom on this one, with next to no interference from the studios. Its very rare for a director to get final cut these days, with good reason. While i do feel Hollywood bigwigs are a pain in the ass they at least stop some of the more downright bizarre ideas of directors getting past the editing process. Something Lady In The Water is desperately in need of.

2 1/2 Stars.

Shapeshifter - Soulstice

I have had this album for a week now and it's still on heavy rotation. I must say if you haven't already bought it yet go out and get it. You won't be dissapointed. It's a real step up from their last album, Riddim Wise. There is a greater musicality and depth to each of the songs and this album has more crossover appeal to the non drum and bass crowd.

They are playing on Saturday September 16th @ the St James with the Auckland Philharmonia. The last time they played with them was at Groove In The Park Feb 2005 to a crowd of 20,000+. Was an amazing gig and I have no doubt this one will be as good if not better. If you haven't got a ticket yet then I am afraid you missed out. Fear not though, due to the unprecedented demand they have scheduled a second gig the following night at Studio. This one is without the Philharmonia though.

Here is the tracklisting for the album:

New Day Come
In the Rain (featuring Ladi 6)
Earth
Bring Change
Electric Dream
Equinox
Southern Lights (featuring KP)
Heat of the Moment (featuring Kye)
Stryka
One
The Ride
Summer Haze

I can't fault any of these. Bring Change has been around since Sept 05 and has been getting airplay on George for the last few months. This one will go off live I can tell. My other favourites are In The Rain, Electric Dream, One and Summer Haze. Although the whole album is excellent. In The Rain is less of a drum and bass tune and more a roots/soul one. Love it. Electric Dream is electro drum and bass, as the title suggests. Works really well. One has to have the best lyrics on the album by far, "Don't you go and let the world weigh you down.. should you ever fall.. I will be around to pick you up and keep you away from harm.." Beautiful. I expect to see a few teary eyes in the crowd when this gets played at the gig. I will endeavour to take some video clips and then upload to Youtube and link via that onto the blog. Heres hoping anyway.

So, yeah - Go buy the album! Support NZ artists!

United 93

Wow. Fucking Wow. Is about all i can say. That may well be the most intense cinematic experience i have ever witnessed. And that is saying something when it was previously Grave of The Fireflies. I don’t see how you can possibly say it was boring, but some people have. My only thought is that the docudrama approach didn’t appeal to them? God we are so caught up in hollywood classical realism that anything that seems even remotely different prevents us from an emotional engagment with it? Come on.. If you have seen Bloody Sunday which was also directed by Greengrass in the same manner then you will know what to expect.

Personally i think by shooting it as a docu-drama with no name actors and some people even playing themselves makes it so much more intense. And the fact that we know what happens only makes it worse. The sense of dread is almost unbearable. Especially when we learn of little details such as the fact that United 93 was still on the ground waiting to take off when the first plane hit the trade centre.

I was wondering whether i would cry when i watched this, and for the first hour i thought i wasn’t going to. I mean i felt awful and i was completely riveted but it wasn’t until their calls to their loved ones that the gravity of the situation was finally brought home to me. These people are never going to see their children/grandparents/wifes/lovers again. Ever. Just listening to their messages and quiet dignity about accepting their fate made it so tragic. And then the passengers who decided to take action and try and stop them from taking it over.. fucking hell. You have to think, would you have done that if you were in the same position?

Perhaps that is a problem, their predicament is so far out there beyond my imagining that i can’t possibly begin to even think about what it would have been like to experience that flight. I only have what we see on screen. But boy what a document we have.

More about the look and feel of the film. Basically the film is shot in real-time with no sound and no big name actors bringing in any extratextual baggage into the film. A completely realist, cinema verite approach. Greengrass isn’t forcing you to feel emotion, he is simply presenting the facts as best he can given the evidence we have about the event. There is no crescendo of music with the planes hitting the tower or close-ups screaming at us to cry. The grief just comes naturally, in waves and waves and waves. I had to turn away from the screen it was that intense. I had my eyes closed and my hands clasped over my mouth trying to hold in my sobs.

I think you get the picture. This is an incredible experience. It is NOT entertainment. If you go there looking for entertainment you will be dissapointed. As i sat there in the theatre and heard the crunching of popcorn i just had to grimace. United 93 cannot be any further away from a popcorn movie if it tried. Don’t these people understand there is something implicitly wrong with fucking eating popcorn and munching on ice-creams from the candy bar when watching something like this? Their indifference really disturbed me.

I don’t doubt that some of you will find it boring. Its a sad result of the prevalence fo classical narrative cinema in Hollywood. The way it is shot will prevent a lot of people from finding some sort of entry point into the film. However i also feel that a lot of people are going to be really affected by this film and that it will act as a way to work out some sort of suppressed grief over what happened that day.

9/10

Go see it. But for godsake don’t take in popcorn.

24 - Season 5

Hell Yes. I am SO amped. Jack Bauer is the man, not just the man but THE MAN. The James Bond movies could really learn a thing or two from the likes of him as it would give the series a much needed adrenaline boost. The last few bond movies have been dissapointments for me, I am still waiting for another Goldeneye.

Anyway 24, is there a better TV Show right now? I am kicking myself for not getting into it right from the start. It took my 7th form English History teacher of all things to get me into it! Thank god for him, i started with Season 2 and haven't looked back. Finally got around to watching Season 1 a couple of months ago which was pretty damn good. The show has come along way since then though. My enjoyment could have been lessened by the fact I already knew Nina was the one who killed Jack's wife. Still, i can't believe they managed to hold back that MAJOR twist until a couple of hours before the days end. Damn good scriptwriting. Thats what 24 is renowned for though, managing to keep every second of every hour of that single day so engaging.

My personal 24 highlight would have to be when Jack was ordered to kill Ryan Chappel in Season 3 (?) Man, that rivals anything i have seen on FILM. Period. Maybe this is why I am so excited about the return of 24? The only downside is that I will be staying in a lot more on Friday nights. In a way that is a positive though - less money spent on Shisha etc.

The only other gay thing is that the 2 hour Season Premiere starts Friday night, and guess what? It's the second day of the 38th International Film Fest. Ah well. Film fest comes first, as much as I love 24. I will just have to catch the encore screening on Saturday night after i come back from the Shortbus screening.

Speaking of the Film Fest, I cannot wait! It seems like aaages since last years one, by far the best two weeks of moviegoing from 05. The fact that i still play the Tarnation theme on a weekly basis over a year after seeing the film is just one example of how good last years selection was. This year promises to be almost, if not just as good as last year. The only downers being the absence of Volver and Babel. I am sure they will come out soon after though.

I have decided on the rather suicidal plan of watching 20 movies at the fest, 9 more than last year. How on earth am i going to get any university work done I wonder? I mean my devotion goes so far that I have even decided to skip a lecture to watch OilCrash. But I believe the information contained within that documentary will far outweigh any insight gained in a couple of hours of lecture time. Aint Peak Oil a bitch.

I am running out of things to talk about, aside from the sheer awesomeness of Jack Bauer. I mean the guy actually DIED and they still couldn't kill him. Thats right. DNT that shit mofo! Everytime the preview trailer gets shown on TV3 atm you will find me going Ooooorah! Yeaaaah! [insert any other appropriate aaah]

Only 14 hours 45minutes until the Film Fest 'opens' I put it like that because the official opener is The Wind That Shakes The Barley. The first screening however is The New World. I am seeing both. Aren't I cool? Other films i am seeing over this weekend include The Valet, a french farce from the master, Francis Veber. Dave Chappel's Block Party by Michel Gondry and Jet Li's last foray into martial arts - Fearless. That was just Friday. On Saturday I am also seeing Iraq in Fragments, a documentary on life in Iraq from multiple perspectives. Then Shortbus, possibly the most sexually explicit film to come out in a mainstream release, lets see how it compares to Baise Moi. Finally on the Sunday - An Incovenient Truth with Al Gore, showing just how periously close to devasting climate change and Brick - a neo-noir set in high school. Hows that for an original idea?

The next 2 1/2 weeks are a movie geeks wetdream. With the added bonus of 24 what more can I ask for? Well maybe Volver, come on organisers! please! please! I am begging here..

Shakira

Has anyone seen her Hips Don't Lie music video? Well take a look...

Warning: May or may not be the real thing. You have been warned.

Warned. Ok?

Good.

Now go look.

Christiano Ronaldo

I fucking hate this muggy little cunt. He is a pansyboy crybaby no cock anal raping piece of shit. Seriously. I hope United sell him next season, he doesn't deserve to be in the same team as Wayne Rooney. It all went wrong for England this morning :( Rooney getting sent off in the 62nd minute, Beckham playing crap again, Lampard playing worse than crap - and why the fuck did he take the first penalty? We all knew he was going to miss. Grr. Credit must go to Owen Hargreaves who played out of his skin, Aaron Lennon who proves once again why he is so vital to Englands chances. And the defence, Terry, Rio and Cole all played excellent. Shutting down Portugal when we were with ten men so that they were reduced to long range efforts.

Now more than ever i wish England had got Big Phil instead of McLaren, he has beaten us three times now. Did i mention i hate Ronaldo? Grr, he purposely aggravated Wayne Rooney hoping he could get him sent off, then he goes and winks at the bench all happy with himself.. little shit. I can even offer proof of him winking after Rooney got sent off.. have a look at this video, courtesy of YouTube:



He goes down easier than a K'Rd hoe and when England have Lennon brought down in the box with a clear penalty... oh look the Argie ref turns a blind eye. Ronaldo - You are a piece of shit and i hope France kick Portugals ass in the semis. Come on Henry, Viera, Wiltord. Arsenal V Portugal. You are going down bitches.

Superman Returns

Don't listen to the fanboys - It's good, but not great.

I saw it last night at the newly refurbished IMAX 3D theatre (formerly Megascreen) so i was very excited about seeing it not only because Superman is one of my all time favourite superheroes but also because IMAX 3D is uber cool. At least it;s meant to be. For the first 20 minutes the audience sat there looking at no picture as the projectionist repeatedly had to restart the movie and try and fix it - ffs you would think they would test it before running it wouldn't you? And then when we finally got picture, the sound went. Grr, i am thinking of going down today to get a refund because it totally spoiled the opening ten minutes which looked amazing.

Anyway onto the film, I had relatively high expectations when going into the movie because i had seen some absolutely glowing reviews from AICN and a number of other sites although in retrospect perhaps i should have paid more heed to the naysayers like Roger Ebert who only gave it 2 stars. I wouldn't go that far but it certainly isn't perfect. There are a number of amazing action sequences, especially the one with the plane crash but overall the story lacks depth - when you think about the plot and the method of Lex's global takeover - real estate? come on.. Kevin Spacey was good, not quite what i expected from him though.. he plays it rather straight instead of having fun with the role. Brandon Routh is good also but besides looking frighteningly similar to Christopher Reeve i didn't feel any connection with him. Unlike Batman Begins where the story (imo) was much stronger and privaleged over the set pieces Superman Returns works the other way round.

Also Lois's son, they could have done more work on that subplot.. i am sure it will play a role in the sequel but aside from the piano incident they didn't really go into much detail about it. Reminded me of that conversation Brody and TS have in Mallrats re Superman and Lois haha.

One more thing - It's long, almost King Kong epically long. 157 minutes, and it did at times feel that long. Some movies can get away with a long running time because the story has depth and draws you into the world but this one is more a number of excellent action sequences dotted around a slow and unimaginative plot. This could have been exaggerated by the uncomfy seats in the IMAX theatre, I don't know. Just a warning.

I do like it though, whenever the Superman Theme kicks in i went all giddy and started banging my feet on the floor, it is so fucking EPIC. One of the all time great movie theme songs, trust me whenever that score kicks in it takes the movie to a whole new operatic level of kickass.

The 3D thing felt more like a gimmick to me, maybe that is because this was the first time i had ever seen a feature film in IMAX 3D - the technological spectacle was destracting me from the narrative. I am sure once i have gotten used to the technology it won't stop me from immersing myself with the story. I might have to watch it in one of the normal screens to reasses my perspective. There are only 4 or 5 sequences from memory which utilise the technology, the second sequence being by far the best. Is it worth $20? Hmm, maybe for novelty value.

So overall a high 7, low 8/10. It's interesting in that all the fanboys hated on X-Men 3 because it went so far away from the story while i loved it and they have been having group wanks around this one proclaiming it the greatest superhero movie of all time, which i disagree on. Its a hell of a lot better than most of the comic book adaptations but i still rate Spiderman, Batman Begins, V for Vendetta over this one.

+ Score
+ Brandon Routh really looks like Superman
+ Some amazing action sequences
+ Did i say the score? Oh? I did? Thats because it's fucking epic!
+ Just seeing the man in tights on screen again after a 19year hiatus

- Simplistic Plot
- Under utilised minor characters
- Characters seeming to not have any fun with the role
- Running time

Click

Saw Click yesterday. Not bad surprisingly. Superman Returns opens on Thursday night, cannot wait! Especially seeing as i am going to see the 3D Imax print. So freaking cool.

Anyway heres a review of Click:

I will admit this – I Don’t like Adam Sandler. I Just do not find him funny, maybe it is the style of comedy that he does but the only comedy of his that I have enjoyed is Happy Gilmore. The only other exception being Punch Drunk Love, an indie drama that he was great in.

So it was with a wee bit of trepidation that I went into the film. I can happily say that Click far exceeded my (low) expectations and I was actually rather taken by it. I certainly doubted I would be enjoying another Adam Sandler comedy that’s for sure.

The basic premise behind the movie is an interesting, if unoriginal one. Tired of having too little time and never getting a lucky break, Michael Newman (Sandler) cracks and goes in search for a universal remote to just make life that little bit easier. Up pops Christopher Walken in a nice bit part and answers his prayers. Little does Michael know that this remote literally is universal. Imagine the possibilities, its almost like playing God.

This is where we hit a problem… haven’t we seen this all before only a few years ago in the form of Bruce Almighty? Granted, there may be a few differences but the premise, character arc and moral of the story are the same. Michael at first abuses this wonder gadget and on the surface it makes all his dreams come true. But at what cost? What do we lose by fast forwarding through life, missing all of its eccentricities and peculiarities? I don’t need to tell you how the film ends, we already know what will happen as we watch the movie – it is a Hollywood film after all. Nevertheless, even though I knew where it was going I was still moved by it.

Click has a surprisingly tender core and is actually more of a drama than a comedy, perhaps one of the reasons it appealed to me. It is by no means an out and out comedy, which is my impression of Sandler’s standard fare. The dramatic elements of the story are a bit hit and miss but when I found myself getting emotional towards the final act – in an Adam Sandler movie of all things – well I have to concede it must be working on at least some level.

Other plus points come in the form of the beautiful, gorgeous, ravishing [insert superlative] Kate Beckinsale. It’s amazing, she actually looks hotter the more the make-up crew aged her. Seriously, those Grey tints are smoking hot! Don’t believe me? Try arguing against it after having seen the film. Seriously, hot. I was also very surprised and very happy when James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films) popped up with a voice over cameo, excellently integrated into the ‘commentary’ function of the universal remote – absolute quality. Something of less quality but equal humour – Sean Astin in Speedos. Funnier than it sounds.

Would I recommend it? Grudgingly, yes. It’s by no means perfect but you could do a lot worse with your money.

Final Verdict: 7/10

Fans of Bruce Almighty, Adam Sandler movies, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken and playing god should really enjoy it. People like me, who despise everything the Adam Sandler comedy represents, might do well to check it out also. I am not saying you will love it, but you might be surprised.

Finding Neverland

Those wondering about the name of my blog, it's pretty simple really. Finding Neverland was by far my favourite film from last year, and believe me - I watched a lot of films. There is something universal about its themes that i find totally appealing. Anyway as my first post i thought i would attach this long and sometimes mastobatory review of Finding Neverland from last year. Here goes...

This movie struck me at my very core, the very soul of my being, that’s how emotionally affecting this movie is because it awoke my slumbering inner child, and reminded me how important it is to never lose touch with innocence. That is the most important thing to me about this movie and it’s the message I take with me every time I watch it. Innocence. What is innocence? How does one define it? Is it important? What is more important, innocence or experience? Is it possible to have both at the same time without losing sight of either one? I don’t know, but those are the questions I find myself asking when I watch this movie.

The movie does so many things perfectly, if I was to list them all I would end up writing a 2000 word essay just on this one movie which I am sure none of you want to read, but I absolutely loved how they showed the flowering of the Peter Pan story by adding these little fantastical touches to scenes with the Llewelyn Davies family, like when the grandmother is bossing the children to go to bed and she grows a little hook on her hand, or when Barrie envisions the boys flying out of their beds into the sky when they are meant to be going to bed and keep jumping up and down on their beds etc

This applies to showing Barrie’s own fantastical imagination too, like right near the beginning when we see his previous play, suddenly it starts raining in the theatre as we obviously know Barrie is thinking the night has been a washout etc. And other scenes when he is just playing with the children like the cowboys and Indians shootout, and you see Peter already losing his childhood prematurely “that’s crazy, Indians can’t fly”

How adorable are the children?!!?!?!? They put the English children from Narnia to shame, I mean… one look at Michael is enough to melt your heart, he is just far too cute! And his accent… aww “Can we have him for supper?” “Have him to stay for supper, we’re not cannibals” I love his unwitting honesty and how he speaks the truth when no-one else would have dared “Is he in trouble? Because I’ve been with grandma alone and know what its like”

And Peter, played by Freddie Highmore.. has there ever been a better child performance on screen? Every scene he is in he threatens to steal the show from Depp and Winslet, he really is that good! In fact he is so good that his performance carried on into the next film I saw him in which was Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, and I am not alone on this one as the friend I went with found this problem too. He was so affecting in Neverland that for the first 30 minutes of Charlie I was on the verge of crying simply by the mere act of looking at the boy, now that’s what I call acting. Even though the tone of the movie was completely different and I shouldn’t have been feeling any sort of emotion like that I couldn’t help it.. all I was thinking about was that final scene in Neverland on the park bench (and by the way, if you don’t shed a tear on that scene then you really are soulless.)

There are so many memorable scenes that I have from this movie between Barrie and Peter (of course the most memorable is the park bench scene but there are dozens of others) Like when he gives Peter the book to write down his adventures “Talk about the talking whale” “What whale?” “The one that’s trapped inside your imagination waiting to get out” ahh… or how about “Stop lying to me! Im sick of grown ups lying to me” I wont be made a fool!”

The whole cast is excellent as well as the children, Dustin has a number of great scenes and Radha Mitchell plays the isolated housewife/ambitious social climber to a tee. No-one comes close to Peter though, not even Depps remarkable performance. His accent was perfect, as far as my knowledge of Scottish accents go :p but not once was I thinking of him as Depp the movie star, only Barrie, the creator of one of the most timeless stories of the twentieth century. Depp has a remarkable chameleonic quality to his acting that few others can match.

Anyway, other aspects:

I love how they contrast the playful and supposedly meaningless things that Barrie gets up to with the Llewelyn Davies boys against 19^th aristocratic life in London, for example all the talk of “future prospects” and “social contacts” now come on, life would be rather dull if that was all there was too it, it reminds me of Oscar Wilde and how he so expertly satirised these retarded social conventions. What do such phrases mean anyway, they are just empty words to me…It’s a pity that society back then valued such things over childhood, innocence, wonder, play etc.. far more important things in my opinion.

What about the cinematography, and the score? It rightly deserved the Oscar for best soundtrack, the theme music has stayed with me the whole year and I am listening to it now as I write, it so perfectly complements the sense of childlike wonder that people feel when they experience Peter Pan for the first time on the stage. There is some lovely shots in the movie as well, like when Barrie spies the boys through his newspaper (which had a hole in it from the nurse cutting out bad press reviews of his latest play lol) and OMG, what about that amazing shot during the opening night, when Peter and Wendy are stuck on the rock with the water coming up around them.. yet the kite can only hold one of them, so Wendy gets on the kite and at that moment the camera makes a glorious swoop around the audience and then zooms in on Peter to show how amazed everyone is with the story, it really captures the sense of wonder that is on display.

Barrie really was the boy who never grew up, there is an excellent line after the opening night when the audience discover that Peter was the inspiration for Peter Pan only for him to say “Im not peter, he is” (talking about Barrie) And it was a stroke of brilliance to put the orphans scattered around the theatre, their laughter and amazement bringing the adults into the magic as well and getting them reacquainted with their inner child.

Having watched this movie three times now I can say with fair authority that thankfully unlike some films Neverland is not subject to the law of diminishing returns, each time I have watched it by the time the ending comes around I am bawling like a baby, pretty much from the opening night through to the end credits I am choked up with tears and can’t breath through my nose because all that crying has blocked the passageways. The private play for Sylvia is really moving… “That… is Neverland” It was really touching how the Grandmother was the first to clap when Peter uttered that famous line, watching the special features on the DVD that line has never failed in a live audience.

And thinking about that line as I watched it a third time the other day, It became clear to me that fairies are a metaphor for innocence, how they are nearly all dead because children became preoccupied with other things and forgot about them, it’s the same thing as what happens to innocence when we grow up, it reminds me of Wordsworth and his poems of experience and innocence, comparing the two states and seeing whether they co-exist or can only exist as to separate entities… In this day and age I think it is more important than ever to hold on to that innocence, at least some of it anyway.. because without it the world would be a really boring place. I yearn and yearn for those years back when I was 5-8, Micheal and Peters age, when you didn’t have to deal with adult problems and everything was so magical and wonderful, I was reminded of this even today when I saw Chicken Little and I could hear this little child behind me getting all worked up and laughing and screaming with the movie “go chicken little, go, you can do it” etc, It actually enhanced the experience for me to no end as It reminded me of those times long ago when I first went to the movies and was wowed just like this little child was being today.. I couldn’t help but smile as I listened to him.

Go see it now and get reacquainted with your inner child, this is a truly magical film.