Flavours of the Month: March 2012...

LOOKS:

The Walking Dead Season 2 - the second half of season two has been a storming success with Glenn Mazzara as the new showrunner. The scale of the look of the show has expanded, the pacing has been perfected, the drama has been ramped up even more, and boy-oh-boy did we zed-heads get some amazing zombie action too. I absolutely cannot wait for season three!

Deadwood - spotted it on sale, so figured I'd give it a spin and now I love this show. The first season is superb, as is the second (even if the dialogue became overly complicated and verbose ... as if the writers ran every word through a thesaurus), and while the third season lacks some of the propulsion and intrigue of the first two seasons (until the final three episodes when it gets nail-bitingly tense), you're so invested in the town and its residents, you don't mind that the final season has been a slower-paced affair with several vague subplots that never really developed. An excellent show all-round and I dearly hope we can finally get the much-talked-about, but never realised (thus far), TV movies that were intended to wrap up the storylines properly.

The Evil Dead - I've got it twice on VHS (cut & uncut), once on DVD (the 'Book of the Dead' edition), and now I've got it on Blu-Ray. It's a bit of an annoyance that we in Region B didn't get the original aspect ratio and a few other additional extras (as found on the now out of print limited edition that Region A got), but it's a spiffing way to catch up on some missed extra features from releases past, and get a remarkably good-looking spruce-up of the print.

Flavours of the Month: June 2011...

LOOKS:

Tron and Tron Legacy (Blu-Ray) - the original was a huge artistic and technical leap at the time (as illustrated plentifully on the disc), but in terms of the script it was a bit lacking. I feel that the sequel is definitely superior in this regard, and while it's not the technical cinematic landmark that Tron was, I still really, really dig it. A solid and focused plot married with superb visuals and a fantastic aural experience courtesy of Daft Punk.

Hatchet - sifting through the DVD extras, it certainly looks like it was a fun time making the movie, but it's a real shame that the passion didn't translate into anything remotely original. The movie itself is a grab-bag of moments from the Friday 13th franchise, and while modern horror debuts such as Eli Roth's Cabin Fever are oftentimes chock-full of references, the best ones use these references are a genre-fan aside. Cabin Fever referenced everything from Last House on the Left to Dawn of the Dead, The Evil Dead, and beyond, but the spark that lit the fire under Roth to make the movie was from personal experience of a flesh eating virus. Adam Green's Hatchet, however, has flawed goals from the off. You can't set out to deliberately make a loveable anti-hero horror rogue. None of the horror icons were intended to be icons, they just happened to become that over time ... this demonstrates the disappointing and misguided purpose behind Hatchet. At least they had a fun time making it.

Psychoville 2 - about as jet black as black humour can get, this series from two-thirds of The League of Gentlemen has been a very memorable viewing experience. I don't think I'll ever think of Tina Turner's "Simply The Best" in any other way but that of Maureen Sourbutts' horrifically comical rendition.

Paul Merton's Birth of Hollywood - as a student of film, this proved to be a fascinating three-part documentary series detailing the, well, birth of Hollywood. Scouring the arrival and increasing drawing power of silent cinema, the truth behind Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle's fall from grace, and the arrival of sound, Merton's series told this fascinating story with expertly balanced passion and humour.

Paul (Blu-Ray) - the disc is, compared to that of Scott Pilgrim (also from Universal), is somewhat lacking in the extras department (indeed it's curious that some of the production video blogs are missing - most notably the other half of the Frisbee blog, the first-half of which was featured on the Pilgrim Blu-Ray). However, a handful of silly asides, an enjoyably friendly commentary, and a solid making-of keep the end up. As for the film itself, it's still thoroughly entertaining.

Top Gear: The Great Adventures Vol. 1-3 - while Volume 1 is a bit of a mixed bag outside of an extended Polar Special (thanks to a rather disappointing treatment of the U.S. Special), the second and third volumes decidedly pick up the slack. Commentaries give a jovial insight into the production of Top Gear (and just how un-set-up it actually is, despite the protestations of its curiously always-vocal detractors), and the extended footage provides more meat for folk like me - huge fans of the world's number one motoring show.

L.A. Confidential (Blu-Ray) - inspired by L.A. Noire, I picked up the Blu-Ray on the cheap. It's a five-star film all the way, and one which just gets better with age and repeated viewings. You can clearly see where many influences came from with Team Bondi's game.

Raising Hope - I've really come to love this follow-up to the cancelled-too-soon My Name Is Earl. I do hope a second season is given to this show as, much like Earl, it elicits audible guffaws from me even when I'm watching it by myself.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World - what with finishing the graphic novels, the natural next step was another viewing of Edgar Wright's superb adaptation. I've seen it six times now, and even still I'm finding new things to appreciate. This time around it was the sound design - particularly the real world everyday sounds that are used to punctuate the dialogue and humorous moments. When I first saw it, it somewhat stumped me - yet I still enjoyed it - but I recognised that it was a somewhat niche 'thing' to get into. Something that would decidedly benefit from reading the source material - and I was proved right in that regard - as reading the books has given me a richer appreciation of the SP world and the film itself (and plenty of entertainment in-so-doing).

SOUNDS:

Nine Inch Nails "Year Zero" - it's taken me quite some time to get around to getting into this album, but I'm definitely into it now.

Anamanaguchi "Mermaid" - I found this via Edgar Wright's blog and I absolutely loved it. Stylistically it's like a modern twist on the music you used to hear on 8bit and 16bit videogames.

Tame Impala "Lucidity" - it's got a bit of a 1960s vibe to it. Heard it on a Top Gear episode from Christmas. Digging it; might have to look into getting their album.

UNKLE "Caged Bird" and "Follow Me Down" (Instrumentals)

Beck "Ramona" - there's been a distinctly Scott Pilgrim-shaped vibe to this month, and this wonderful track features on the movie's end credits.

Trent Reznor ft. Karen O "Immigrant Song" - as heard on the pounding trailer for David Fincher's version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Hopefully they release a full version of this arse-kicking cover soon!

VIBES & FLAVOURS:

The Walking Dead: This Sorrowful Life (Vol. 6) - the dialogue still has a propensity for exposition, but in terms of the artwork, and the situations that Robert Kirkman establishes for the characters to deal with, are jaw-dropping. The last few volumes have been increasingly shocking (in a good way), and this volume certainly had some particularly stunning moments.

L.A. Noire - well I've wrapped up Team Bondi's detective sandboxer and as I said last month, while it's flawed, it's a bold and involving step in a fresh direction.

Scott Pilgrim - "and the Infinite Sadness (Vol. 3)", "Gets It Together (Vol. 4)", "vs The Universe (Vol. 5)", "Finest Hour (Vol. 6)" - it's been since January that I last read the first two volumes of Brian Lee O'Malley's superbly entertaining and visually arresting graphic novels, so it was about time I resumed the series, and what do you know, I ended up barging the remaining four volumes. I consumed them voraciously and frequently laughed out loud at the dialogue and the artwork (in a good way). If you dug the movie, but haven't read the books yet - check out the books.

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare - Rockstar San Diego's wild west sandboxer was my gaming highlight of 2010. It was a beautifully crafted (aside from a few minor bugs and glitches) game with an involving script, and it featured a new gaming icon - John Marston - a character that I genuinely cared for. Last year the DLC was released - basically Red Dead Redemption with zombies. It's relatively brief, but certainly not skimpy. New missions, side quests, strangers, random events, weapons and locations - plus it's crammed full of flesh-hungry undead and mythical beasts. I really enjoyed it, and while the original game is naturally better, it's a must-play for RDR fans. I even, for the first time with a sandboxer, got it to 100% completion. Let's hope that the fifth GTA is just as involving as RDR was.

Mark Kermode "It's Only A Movie" - Kermode was a figure of film criticism that I identified with strongly during my formative years. He appeared in numerous documentaries and film seasons on television (often regarding my beloved horror genre), and to this day I routinely watch/listen to his movie reviews. While the book so far has a tendency to meander and ramble in equal measure - like the man himself on BBC Radio 5 Live - that's also what makes it a personal journey through a life spent watching films for Kermode. I've particularly identified with his fascination with horror movies and other 'forbidden fruits' during his formative years.

As I've written about before, my formative years sat on both sides of the 1999 liberalisation of the BBFC. So on one hand there was the slack-jawed magnetic pull of the horror section of the video rental shop (remember those?), and the heavily cut version of The Evil Dead ... and on the other there was a whole list of genre milestones, freshly unleashed uncut (for most of them) onto the British public during my mid-teens ... the perfect timing, really. It's a time in my movie-watching history that I'll cherish forever - and it's that sort of love of film that this book exemplifies.

Allen Bridge - after a month-long break, it was time to head back to my drama/mystery screenplay. A tidying up of Act II first, and then proceeding onto Act III which is where, at the time of writing this, I currently reside.

Flavours of the Month: May 2011...

LOOKS:

Treevenge - after their contest-winning Hobo With A Shotgun grindhouse trailer, Jason Eisner & Co sought to make a short film to prove they could handle a narrative, and they did just so quite nicely with a witty little short that could have sat nicely amongst all those themed horror movies you used to see as a kid scaled high up against the wall in the video shop entitled "Horror". Knowingly over-the-top, this takes the notion of getting a genuine Christmas tree for Christmas in a whole new gore-ific direction. If you're easily offended though, you might want to skip the last five minutes, otherwise get yourself onto YouTube and have a look for yourself.

Scream 1-3 - the original movie was a decided breath of fresh air for the genre which, in the mid 1990s, had descended into the torturously dull. It's a shame therefore that Wes Craven & Kevin Williamson's meta-thriller with a horror outlook was picked upon like a vulture's roadkill lunch in the proceeding years with a series of self-aware 'slasher thrillers' which dispensed with scares and, ironically, originality and smarts, in favour of sub-Scream copycatting.

The first sequel had something to say, commenting on both itself and the first movie simultaneously. There was still life and ideas in the franchise, particularly in Williamson's scripting (although the line in Aliens is most definitely "Get away from her, you bitch!"), and while it lost momentum in the final act, it was a solid entry.

Sadly, the second sequel - a Hollywood-set trilogy-closer - royally jumped the shark. Williamson was fed up, and it shows painfully in the quality of the final script, which contains none of the crafted 'who dunnit' intrigue, nor the sexy and playful self awareness. Dull, boring, lame, witless, with little in the way of redeeming features - at least they gave Neve Campbell something of substance to bite into, mind.

This all coming on the heels of seeing Scream 4 at the cinema last month, my thoughts on which you can find HERE.

The Losers - not as enjoyable the second time around, but still softcore action fun nonetheless. Chris Evans remains the highlight of the movie for me. His tech guy Jensen was easily the best character out of the lot.

Get Him To The Greek - I had a mixed response to it in the cinema (I much preferred Forgetting Sarah Marshall, from which this was a spin-off), and I must say that the second time around wasn't much cop. A few funny bits here and there, but for me it was a damp squib this time.

Jean Claude Van Damme: Behind Closed Doors - I don't really 'do' reality TV, but I ended up watching this show about The Muscles From Brussels, and it was curiously intriguing. On the one hand it's a bit strange in a good way, and on the other the makers turn every minor incident into an epic drama when they say apprehensively "coming up next" as dramatic music and editing works it's magic (kinda).

Campus - I never got into Green Wing. I tried to initially, but I was at uni at the time and had a hard enough time remembering what day it was (because they all blended together, not because of booze or whatever, you cheeky monkeys), let alone when the show was airing. Now though, thanks to the wonder of the Hard-Disk-Recorder, I made sure I cued up the entire series of this follow-up from the makers of Green Wing. It's essentially the same show, but at a university, with the same brand of askew humour and general sense of oddity.

Doctor Who - the latest series is underway, and it's a mixed bag for me. They continue to 'do' the Doctor well, but some of the episode plots are a bit underwhelming - not least this Island-esque two parter about some sort of white gloop that can generate clones. Plus, for goodness sake, if you're going to keep referring back to a developing series-long plotline (the Postive/Negative thing, the appearing/disappearing slide window thing), actually develop it each time we see it. At least they finally gave us something more at the arse-end of that rubbish two-parter.

The Sopranos - I'm now into the second season, having totally missed this show the first time around, and I continue to thoroughly enjoy my weekly dose of New Jersey mafia business.

Machete - a second viewing of Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse spin-off has elevated my opinion of it. Not that I didn't have a blast with it at the cinema, it's just that I was so insanely looking forward to it that I could only end up feeling a twinge of disappointment. However, a few months down the line and I could enjoy it on its own terms, and it was damn enjoyable - even if it remains about 10 minutes flabby around the edges.

Scary Movie - I gave this spoof another spin as it was on one night and it's okay. It's no Airplane by any means (but the scattergun pattern of gags and parodies is decidedly similar), but then it's no Scary Movie 3/4/Meet The Spartans/Disaster Movie/whatever load of old utter-and-total crap either.

Wild At Heart - I haven't seen David Lynch's incendiary road trip flick since I was a teenager, but I think now that I'm much more familiar with his work (and cinema in general) that I 'got it' much more than I did way back when. The tale of two young runaways (Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern) seeking a better life is a typically dark and twisted offering from Lynch - most notably in its clash of 1950s Americana and the era in which it was made (1990).

U-Turn - it's been years since I've watched Oliver Stone's telling of Sean Penn's indebted loser having the worst day of his entire life, but it's still good. It's what I'd call "an everything just keeps getting worse" movie. It just goes to show what Stone can do with the right script, but it also makes me wonder what on earth has happened to him of late with the likes of World Trade Center, and W.

The Black Dahlia - working the homicide desk in Team Bondi/Rockstar's L.A. Noire got me in the mood to re-watch Brian De Palma's novelistic film adaptation. It's impressively stylish and the stuff closest to the titular case is the most interesting, but it's when it strays from that central path and attempts to explore various interconnected sideplots and back stories within its two hour running time that it runs into trouble.

Short Circuit 1 & 2 - I had a bit of a nostalgia trip with these two flicks. I used to watch these constantly as a little kid, and they've not lost their charm. I dearly hope they don't do a remake, and quite frankly, with WALL.E essentially being a re-incarnation of Johnny 5, what would be the point?

SOUNDS:

The Black Angels "Directions To See A Ghost"

Daft Punk "Tron Legacy"

Moby "First Cool Hive", Dillon Dixon "I Don't Care", Birdbrain "Youth America", SoHo "Whisper To A Scream" (from the soundtrack to Scream)

HIM "Venus Doom"

White Zombie "Super Sexy Swingin' Sounds"

Rob Zombie "American Made Music To Strip By"

45 Grace "Partytime" (as heard in Return of the Living Dead)

Airborne "Runnin' Wild" and "No Guts, No Glory"

VIBES & FLAVOURS:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - I finished Philip K. Dick's book, which later became Blade Runner, which was a decidedly different telling of basically the same story in mostly the same sort of world (bar the distinct difference in population numbers from one to the other). I really enjoyed it.

New educational DVD - the editing cap is back on for a new DVD project, this time on the issue of Abortion. Considering the topic we've had to think a bit harder about how to approach it visually, and so far some of it is moving in a more metaphorical, even mystical, direction which has proven successful so far. Finding footage and photographs has even extended to me digging through all my old sketch pads from my days of GCSE and A-Level art for any drawings, paintings or photographs that could possibly be of use somewhere. Plus, when talking about things like when does "life" truly begin, I've been able to get a little bit 'out there' with some of the visuals too - so this should prove to be a good creative opportunity.

L.A. Noire - Team Bondi's sandbox detective thriller, published by Rockstar, has really grown on me. I've been intrigued by it ever since I saw the very first teaser trailer years ago when the project was first announced, and the last few months have really cranked up the anticipation. While it's imperfect in some respects, the fresh approach is a welcome change of direction - and who wouldn't want to play as a 1947 L.A. detective? Cruising the detailed period streets of Los Angeles, scouring crime scenes for clues, and interrogating suspects to discover the truth has led to some genuinely exciting chase sequences, and genuinely tense interrogations (that piercing note that hovers in the background as you decide whether you do or don't have evidence to prove someone's lying has inspired the odd sweaty palm gripped around the controller, I have to say). It's a bold step in a different direction, and an extremely stylish and involving one to boot. At the time of writing I'm onto the second case of the Vice Desk, situated in the Hollywood Division, and I can't wait to get even deeper into the twisting tales and devious crimes that need deciphering and solving. It's like a videogame version of L.A. Confidential, and what's not to like about that?