Flavours of the Month: January 2010...

I'm going to try and make this month's flavour run down a little more punchy, so here it goes...

Music for this month has mostly consisted of the "End Titles: Stories For Film" and "War Stories" (both versions) albums by UNKLE, along with "Invaders Must Die" by The Prodigy, as well as a return to CKY's "Carver City", not to mention the soundtracks to Sin City, Planet Terror, and Death Proof.

Speaking of which, I had a return to Sin City via the excellent 2-disc R1 special edition DVD. Grindhouse was also on the cards again, I seem to come back around to Planet Terror and Death Proof every few months and just gorge myself silly on the two double disc DVDs (still awaiting the double disc theatrical cut DVD that was promised months ago - hopefully it'll appear with the launch of Machete, which I'm also eagerly awaiting).

It's also been a right old month for weather. While nothing like what parts of America (and many other parts of the world) gets, we haven't had a winter this harsh for a good few decades (although it was worse in the 40s and 60s). The snow's now gone, and what we've got left is a bunch of roads covered in pot holes that are either still there or hastily patched over - needless to say the left front tyre of my car succumbed to one monster pothole that sprang out of nowhere - resulting in a bent alloy that needed replacing, as well as a new tyre. It's like driving on the sodding moon, out there!

It's also been a month where I've indulged my Top Gear fandom in the form of the Big Book of Top Gear 2010. Funny stuff indeed (and I've just started the latest Richard Hammond book "Or Is That Just Me").

Naturally January has been a busy month on the DeadShed shorts front - the third I Am Zombie Man film "The Inevitable Decomposition of Zombie Man" has been going through the editing process - and I'm glad to say the muse was with me the entire way and I simply barged it out quicker than I'd expected. It's now in the hands of Gary and Brian, who are doing the music, and as such we're aiming to have "TIDOZM" up on YouTube in the second half of February. So far the music is sounding great - and indeed the first fully completed track (for a montage sequence) kicks total ass.

It's also been a month of nostalgia after nabbing the Criters 1-4 box set for a fiver. I hadn't seen these movies in years, but it all came flooding back. Despite often being considered a Gremlins rip-off (in fact the script was written before Gremlins came along), the franchise still kicks ass ... well, maybe not Critters 4, which seems to really suffer the consequences of making the last two movies, with not enough money, back-to-back (Critters 3 meanwhile was great fun, but 1 & 2 are the best of all).

Finally, I've been barging my way through Nazi occupied France, in the form of The Saboteur. While it may be somewhat undercooked and in need of further polishing, considering I got it less than a month after release on a special offer for £20, it was a bloody steal in my favour. I've really been enjoying yomping around Paris and its environs, sticking it to the Nazis with some sabotage explosives, sniper rifle and Tommy machine gun.

Speaking of games - I've recently become aware of (and obsessed by) Red Dead Redemption (Wild West sandboxing), and continue to grow excited about Mafia 2 (1940s/50s mobster sandboxing) and of course, this year Alan Wake finally gets released. These three are, of course, just the tip of the ice berg as there's a whole bunch of games on my list - some I'll never get around to playing, and others will just have to wait (which also benefits my coffers).

Well ... so much for being punchy ... maybe next month, eh?