Flavours of the Month: April 2011...

LOOKS:

Hot Tub Time Machine - still a bloody good laugh. "Great White Buffalo ... Great White Buffalo ... Great White Buffalo."

Event Horizon - I hadn't seen this for years, so it was a nostalgia trip as I used to watch this all the time when I was in high school (when it originally came out). Me and my mates loved it, and the fact that it featured "Funky Shit" by The Prodigy made it all the more appealing to us. I tell you what as well, it's a damn sight better than Pandorum, that's for sure.

Blue Velvet - there's a certain tone and vibe to a David Lynch project that makes them stand out from the crowd, and Blue Velvet is one of his strongest films. I'm rather looking forward to the Blu-Ray release, now that a whole load of deleted content has been recently discovered.

Jackass - I had another skim through the Jackass flicks, being that the third one recently came out on home video, for old times' sake. Now roll on whenever Jackass 3.5 comes out.

Mulholland Drive - I'd not seen it until this month, but the Blu-Ray was released not too long ago, and coming hot on the heels of another viewing of Blue Velvet, it felt like the right time. It looks nothing short of seductive on Blu-Ray, and the extra features (which are mostly in French, somewhat curiously) are intriguing - particularly the one that uses Lynch's own list of 10 clues to decipher what the movie is (most likely) about. I loved it.

MacGruber - I'm totally unfamiliar with the SNL sketch on which this is based, but we laughed hard at the cinema when we went to see it, and I certainly enjoyed it a second time around. "KFBR 392, KFBR 392, KFBR 392."

Iron Man 2 - it was about a year ago that we saw this in the cinema, and we were insanely psyched to see it. It's a shame then that it just didn't live up to the excellent trailer, nor the very enjoyable and well paced first movie. The sequel's pace is too uneven, the final battle with Vanko is bizarrely short, and it gets a bit distracted by establishing the wider Avengers franchise. There's still some cool action, but here's hoping that the third movie - apparently under the tutelage of Shane Black - re-asserts the quality factor of the first flick.

SOUNDS:

CKY "An Answer Can Be Found" - I was a little bet let down by this album back in 2005, but it's definitely better than I remembered it as being. However, Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild, and Carver City, were both superior albums in my view.

The Prodigy "Invaders Must Die" - I think it was the use of "Run With The Wolves" in the trailer for Paul that inspired me to give this a few more spins.

Angelo Badalamenti & BlueBob - there's something about the vibe, that music produced for David Lynch projects, gives off that helps get my mind into a certain place that helps me write.

Foo Fighters "Wasting Light" - after being a little bit underwhelmed by their last two albums (although I still enjoyed them, just not as much as their 2nd, 3rd and 4th outings), this is a return to form in my view. A stripped back sound with catchy songs. Make sure you check out the 'Live at 606' version of the album on the band's official YouTube channel.

Scream 2 - I gave the soundtrack CD, which I bought back in 1999, another spin after seeing Scream 4 in the cinema. It's a rather mixed album - the good comes in the form of "Eyes of Sand" (Tonic), "Dear Lover" (Foo Fighters), "Red Right Hand" (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds), "I Think I Love You" (Less Than Jake) and "She Said" (Collective Soul) ... but the bad comes in the form of the absolutely dreadful opener "Scream" (Master P), and a series of mediocre offerings filling out the rest.

White Zombie "Astro-Creep:2000", and "La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1" - the former is definitely my favourite White Zombie outing. Every now and then I swing by these albums in my collection and give them another spin.

VIBES & FLAVOURS:

Brownies & Apple Juice - a recurring snack choice for this month.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 - it's been a while since it was released, but I got around to it for the PC. It's good fun with some pretty cool levels and a nice sense of scale. Plus, naturally, the sound design is superb, and how could you not enjoy blowing holes in buildings and then rinsing the military occupants with bullets?

Hobo With A Shotgun - trailer contests, trailers, featurettes, music, there's been a decided Hobo vibe to this month.

Allen Bridge - having broken the back of the central idea (which originated in June 2010), I finally got into writing it, and as you'll have noticed here on the blog, I've been doing a series of posts specifically about it. Inspiration has come in the form of Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks, and the music connected to those flicks, but that's not to say that this drama mystery of mine is particularly Lynchian. Those just happened to be the influences that got my mind into a particular space that allowed me to head off into my own directions and generally set a sort of tone ... if that makes sense. Continue to follow my progress with this script here on the blog.

Red Dead Redemption - replaying the story missions, ahead of L.A. Noire out later in May, I really enjoyed heading back to the dying days of the wild west with John Marston. It's possibly the best thing that Rockstar have thus far produced, even if certain elements feel very familiar from the likes of GTA.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - I've seen Blade Runner numerous times over the years, but I've never read the book. Now though I'm into the second half and I'm really enjoying it - especially as it's decidedly different to the film, so it's pretty cool to see how Blade Runner developed out of Philip K. Dick's android hunting paranoid vision.

Quiz Cocktail Supreme - it's that time of year when spring is slowly morphing into summer, and that means cider and pub quizzes. Teaming up with some chums of mine, with a name inspired by a Jackass 3D skit, we've been doing better than we thought we might.

The Royal Wedding - while I wasn't all super-psyched about it, or especially looking forward to it, I remain in favour of the Royal Family for numerous reasons (which I've gotten into elsewhere, so I won't get into it here). I ended up watching the whole thing and actually quite enjoyed it, particularly for the sheer military precision and organisation of the entire event. Besides, it's not often that an event like this happens, and we Brits are reserved in our patriotism - saving it up for grand gestures and events, such as this, every once in a while - and we really show a global audience (estimated at two billion) just how to pull off pageantry properly.

Double Bill Mini (and Cine) Musings: Groundhog Action and Hollywood Dreams...

Source Code:
Duncan Jones didn't half make an impressive splash when he touched down with his wonderfully intriguing and charmingly produced 70s-vibe, existential sci-fi debut Moon, so it's great to see he hasn't suffered difficult second album syndrome with sci-fi actioner Source Code.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays military pilot Colter Stevens who mysteriously finds himself within the titular code, committed to repeat the last 8 minutes of life afforded to a passenger on a train that was just blown up by a terrorist madman who plans to go all-out in the centre of Chicago, which is hurriedly being evacuated. The source code is all to do with residual memory ... or something like that ... the sci-fi element is a touch woolly, but being that the film moves with a swift pace and talented direction, the plot holes and "but what about?" questions don't particularly get in the way.

While some recent movies that repeat a period of time for dramatic effect got a bit grating (Vantage Point), Source Code fortunately keeps things fresh throughout with new ideas to explore. It's an interesting flick that could have easily, in the wrong hands, become a silly paranoid sci-fi direct-to-DVD venture ... but in the hands of Jones, with committed performances from the key players on screen, it's an enjoyable ride with some nifty ideas to keep things fresh and moving along - even if you're left with a few plot holes come the end.


Mulholland Drive:
A decade might be pushing the term "fashionably late", but I know for a fact in January 2002 (when Lynch's mournful Hollywood dream first came to the UK) I wouldn't have been prepared, let alone suited, for viewing it. So I'm glad that I've come to it with an entirely different outlook on life and cinema than what I possessed a decade ago.

Picking it up on the recently released StudioCanal Collection Blu-Ray, it's a regret-fuelled dream/nightmare for the most part, backed up by a scattered reality. Inspired by the golden age of Hollywood, the mysterious charm of the eponymous road, the difficulties of getting a film made, and even the Black Dahlia case, Lynch's film is a haunting neo-noir mystery.

You can't half-watch this film, you can't skip bits, and you shouldn't dismiss it. Fair enough, it's certainly not for everyone, but all you need to do is pay attention and decipher what information you're provided is key and what is extraneous - indeed Lynch released a list of 10 clues to help you understand more about the film. Furthermore, as illustrated on one of the disc's special features, some French fans of the film - using the 10 clues - pulled together a convincing deconstruction of the film's plot. I'd have to agree with their findings (but do see the movie before you watch that featurette) and was well on my way to a similar conclusion after my first viewing - however it's most certainly one of those films you need to see more than once in order to appreciate the myriad of information thrown your way, and how the seemingly disparate mysteries and symbols tie together.

Furthermore it's a beautiful film, both visually and aurally, and it's haunting atmosphere is one that sticks with you afterwards. It rewards, like most of Lynch's projects, active participation and attention from the viewer. You've got to be in the mood, and you've got to have the time set aside (thanks to the lack of a traditional scene selection), but if you're willing to invest in it, and dive into the beguiling atmosphere, you'll remember it for a long time - and quite possibly become obsessed with it.