Flavours of the Month: July 2011...

LOOKS:

Futurama - season 6 is underway and it's great to have this hilarious and intelligent show back!

Carnivale - missed it entirely the first time around, but thanks to Sky Atlantic, I've just gotten into this show. I'm only a few episodes in to it, but it's slowly pulling me in. It's a very, very, very slow-paced show, but it's also surprisingly good at luring you into it's mysterious web.

Last Man Standing - I haven't seen this Bruce Willis actioner in well over a decade, so it was a bit of a nostalgia trip to see it again (and, at last, in the correct aspect ratio).

The League of Gentlemen - I missed the boat almost entirely when it was originally airing (I had only ever seen the Christmas Special before), but I'm glad I finally hopped on board (albeit more-than-fashionably-late).

Uncle Buck - this John Hughes comedy from 1989 is a beloved flick from my early years. When I was a kid I loved the mayhem that John Candy's titular uncle caused, and especially loved his bombed-out old car. While I still love those things, being much older I appreciate it in a whole new way - and it's a surprisingly sweet and touching movie.

SOUNDS:

Ringo Deathstarr "Colour Trip" - shoegaze music from a band I've been waiting for what seems like ages to release an album (admittedly I totally forgot I was waiting for their album, as it was taking a while, so it was a nice surprise to discover that it was already out so I could hop right into it). "Do It Everytime" and "Two Girls" would have to be my favourite tracks.

Foo Fighters - live performances on the telly and their brilliant new album "Wasting Light".

M83 "Echoes" (sample), "Midnight City", and "Saturdays=Youth", "Digital Shades Vol.1" - with news that a double-album is coming soon from M83 (with a sample track that debuted on YouTube), I figured it was a good time to get the French shoegazer back into my CD auto changer.

New Order "Age Of Consent" - I can thank the end credits of Skateland for this. What a spiffing track.

Mohr Stories Podcast - a new podcast on the SModcast Network from comedian Jay Mohr, and it's bloody good fun. Episode Four was especially hilarious.

This Mortal Coil "Song To The Siren" - as heard at a haunting moment in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones.

VIBES & FLAVOURS:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - it's a stupidly brief game (4 to 5 hours for a play through of the single player campaign), but nevertheless it's a wonderful action game experience, so it's not surprising therefore that this was my sixth play through.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - Assassin's Creed II kicked arse, but it wasn't without it's flaws, and it's follow-up - Brotherhood - is much the same. One thing to note - it feels overlong with padding, and the structure of a number of missions leaves a lot to be desired. Indeed there are many annoying little nuisances either within certain missions, or the game in general, that really (much like in ACII) start to spoil the whole experience. That said, you do get more of what you loved about ACII. Let's hope that they get rid of all the silly nuisances, that have so far been endemic in the franchise, in this year's Assassin's Creed Revelations.

Mark Kermode "It's Only A Movie" - my film critic of choice. I got this for Christmas, but with a stack of other books to get through, I've only just given this a look-see, and despite a couple of chunks that aren't hugely involving, the majority of the book plays well to a fellow film fanatic. Most specifically, the chapters on Kermode's event-filled trip to Russia, and his time interviewing Werner Herzog, make for fascinating reads.

The Walking Dead: Season 2 Teasers - as a huge fan of the zombie genre, The Walking Dead has been the best thing to happen to zombies since Day of the Dead, and with season two fast-approaching (it debuts in mid-October), the preview trailers have made for fervent excitement amongst us zed heads.