Flavours of the Month: February 2011...

LOOKS:

Breaking Bad: Season One - FX repeated the first season over the last several weeks, so I took the chance to finally check this show out. I'm gradually getting into it, and I look forward to seeing season two.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation - for some reason I had a hankering to see this woeful sequel again, but despite being utterly rubbish, there are numerous aspects to the film that are actually quite good, but blimey is it a cobbled together hash of old tat for the most part.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - yet another show I never saw during its original run that I'm now catching up on, thanks to Sky Atlantic, from the very first episode. Cringe-inducingly good.

Piranha 3D (Blu-Ray) - I've blogged about it already, so go and read that post.

The Sopranos - I missed it entirely during its original run, so I'm catching up from the very beginning on Sky Atlantic. Three episodes in and I dig it.

Clerks 2, Zack & Miri Make A Porno, Zodiac, and Twin Peaks Making-Ofs - I guess it must be all the SModcast network shows that I listen to during the week that inspired the first two, finally getting to see Fincher's latest for the third, and requiring some inspiration for the last one.

The Social Network (DVD) - I've also blogged about this in an earlier post, so have a read of that.

Dead Island Official Announcement Trailer (and music) - a wonderful teaser trailer, with heart-string-tugging musical accompaniment. Let's hope the actual game lives up to the memorable trailer.

The Oscars 2011 - another year, another four or five hours of content to skim through on Sky+ the morning after (having avoided practically the entire internet, and television, due to the tidal wave of spoilers that nobody gives a shit about putting out there ... I mean, it begins airing in the UK at 1.30am - nobody is watching it live in the UK, so come on already with the bloody spoilers!) Christopher Nolan getting overlooked was ridiculous, Hailee Steinfeld getting nommed for Supporting Actress instead of Leading Actress was bizarre, and Melissa Leo dropping the "f-bomb" was highly enjoyable. At least Inception did well on technical awards, Aaron Sorkin got a win, and Toy Story 3 was always going to walk it - but it's no less well deserved. Generally speaking it was another year of few surprises, but well, it is kind of like the Superbowl for movie fans, so I enjoy it all the same.

SOUNDS:

Foo Fighters - from their first to their most recent, in anticipation of this year's new album, I've had a retrospective tour through Grohl & Co's awesomeness.

Green Day "Warning" - this month got off to a very bad start with the death of my Aunt, so in my own little personal tribute and source of rememberance, I listened to this album several times. Why? Because in 2000 she bought it for me as a present (my first Green Day album to boot), and it was one of the albums that came along at that point in my life when my musical horizons were expanding - indeed prior to that point I hadn't been much into music - so the album meant a lot to me already, but it has now taken on an extra special meaning.

Basement Jaxx "Dracula" - as heard on the advert for the Audi A7 Sportback. Particularly enjoyable in a cinema setting.

The Social Network - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross most definitely deserved that Oscar.

Eric Prydz vs Pink Floyd "Proper Education" - the original track is a classic, and I recently was reminded of this remix, which I also quite enjoy.

VIBES & FLAVOURS:

Crackdown 2 - got it cheap and bashed through it. A mixed bag - all the orb gathering and city-leaping stuff is as fun as ever, but the "Tactical Locations" aren't in the least bit tactical, the inclusion of Freaks isn't a particularly interesting plot (or gameplay) device, the aiming system is frequently annoying, and it can at times be rather frustrating ... and yet it's still addictive, and can still be jolly good fun. If only they'd put some more thought and effort into it all - let's just say that I'm very glad I got it cheap.

"The Man In The White Suit", Ben Collins - The Stig speaks, and while he's not the greatest wordsmith, I found his book and enjoyable and surprisingly interesting read, particularly as a huge Top Gear fan. I don't in the slightest bit begrudge him revealing he was the man behind the world-famous helmet, particularly after eight years of loyal and influential service to the show. A combination of his career behind the wheel professionally, as well as during his time on the vastly successful Top Gear, and his army training - the latter of which proved to be actually quite interesting, not to mention impressive to read.

"A Simples Life: My Life & Times", Aleksandr Orlov - I couldn't give a stuff about the website these meerkats are supposed to be advertising, but they have proved to be the most consistently entertaining adverts on television. If only all adverts could be this welcome on my television screen. As for the book, it's a fun little extension of the whole thing.

"The World According to Clarkson Vol. 4: How Hard Can It Be?", Jeremy Clarkson - another year, another collection of Clarkson's musings on life, the universe, and everything. Good as always.

Allen Bridge - returning to a screenplay idea that's been brewing gradually over the last several months hasn't been easy, but it has been fruitful as I begin to claw back my creative juices after a rather bad start to 2011. This is shaping up to be my most interesting, but also most complex and difficult-to-figure-out, script to date.

Double Bill Mini-Cine Musings: Stoner aliens and Amber Heard in 3D...

Paul:
Compared to the comedic writing style of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (which is often intricate and fast paced in terms of call-backs, observations and references), that of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (who co-wrote this action/comedy/sci-fi/road movie) isn't so much about intricacies. Rather it's more about a central concept - two British nerds (Pegg & Frost) go on a road trip across America's alien-related sights after their visit to fanboy central (the San Diego Comic-Con), and end up having to escort an alien - named Paul - to a certain site (kudos to those who figure out the loving reference an hour before it occurs) so that he can get home.

Where Paul shines are the characters - from Pegg and Frost's loveable duo of alien-obsessed nerds, to Kristen Wiig's Darwin-denying Creationist (whose entire belief system is exploded in one moment), to a certain sci-fi legend cameo that's damn good fun in the third act. In between it all though, for added enjoyment, are a series of cameos and bit-parts ... and then there's Paul himself, as voiced by Seth Rogen - possibly the most fun-loving alien ever on-screen.

While it may not have the wall-to-wall, frenetically-paced chuckles, guffaws, and gaspers of Shaun of the Dead, or Hot Fuzz, it's a movie that can't just be slotted into the comedy genre and left. It's as much a road movie as a comedy, and there's a decent slice of action, and sci-fi, drizzled on top.

It's bloody good fun, and I'm hoping that there'll be an extended cut for the home video release - because by the end of the film I wanted a little bit more of the little character moments and interplay that no doubt had to be left on the cutting room floor for the theatrical release - so we'll have to see what's what, but this is a definite DVD/Blu-Ray purchase no matter what.


Drive Angry 3D:
Using 3D like it's supposed to (shoving guns, baseball bats, skull fragments, and bloody stumps deep into the lens), this romper stomper of a genre flick is good fun from-the-get-go. It's not meant to be deep, so if you were expecting anything remotely like that, then you're a fool - it's clearly about muscle cars, guns, Nic Cage doing his badass thing, and Amber Heard in Daisy Dukes ... in 3D.

Speaking of which, even though the 3D is a bit of fun, I'm really starting to lose interest in it. It's not just the bloody glasses you have to wear, nor is it just the damned cheek of charging a considerable slab more on your ticket for 3D, but it's just how damn-near-pointless 3D is. If a movie is shit, it's shit, be it in 3D or not, and vice versa. 3D isn't necessary to tell a story either, far from it, so it becomes either unimportant or a gimmick - and neither path is going to mean it properly taking off.

Moving on though, Drive Angry 3D was - at times - a little disappointing. William Fichtner's "The Accountant" is a thoroughly entertaining baddie, but there needed to be more of him throughout, meanwhile all the Satanic Cult stuff wasn't as developed (and therefore not as interesting) as it could have been, so that all became a case of generic bad guy cannon fodder for the third act. What does work are the exploitation elements - the cars, the sex, the violence, and the black humour.

Compared to Lussier & Farmer's previous 3D outing (the underwhelming remake of My Bloody Valentine, also in 3D and also featuring genre icon Tom Atkins), this is a decided step up in all respects ... it's just a shame that the pacing and plotting faltered throughout, and that some of the dialogue seemed lazy ("I'm going to kill you" - intentionally ironic in its simplicity or not, such lines came off as damp squibs when the audience was all expecting a much more creative kiss-off).

The flick would at times have a real sense of purpose propelling it forward, but then it would inexplicably lose it from time-to-time throughout (times when I'd be waiting for Fichtner's scene-stealing Accountant to turn up). Indeed, the aforementioned Satanic Cult was the most undercooked element of the script, lead by a one-note bad guy, who was entirely trumped by, yep, Fichtner's grin-inducing Accountant-from-Hell.

So it's a mixed bag, but ultimately it gets a thumbs up from me because - several scripting and pacing faults aside - it's just a bloody good time. It is called Drive Angry after all, and features sexy cars, sexy chicks, badass dudes and pounding jolts of violence ... in full-on gimmick-driven 3D.

Double Bill Mini Musings: The Good Tenenbaums...

The Good German:
If it wasn't for the post-war-cinema period aesthetic of Soderbergh's intriguing drama, it might not have been quite such an interesting film. That's not to say the plot was boring - far from it - post-war Berlin, divided into a series of zones, is a powerful thematic element, and one which was perfectly employed in the wonderful The Third Man. However, Soderbergh's flick can at times feel a bit like the style is taking over from the sometimes-tricky plot. Is it an exercise in cinematic style more than anything else?

However, when it comes to style - staying really quite true to the aesthetic of 1940s black and white post-war cinema - The Good German handles it deftly. Clearly taking major inspiration from the aforementioned The Third Man, it's a joy to see the original Academy Ratio (4:3), the limitations (a relative term, really) on sound recording, lighting, and camera moves, but all done in a way that shows the same creativity and arresting vision that the likes of The Third Man demonstrated. The one big difference however, is Soderbergh and Co. weren't working under the strictures of the Hays Code ... so the language is salty and the sex isn't metaphorical.


The Royal Tenenbaums:
It's an odd thing, I've gone so long without seeing any Wes Anderson movies, and then all of a sudden three come along in quick succession - Fantastic Mr. Fox, Rushmore, and now The Royal Tennenbaums - in which an oddball, well-to-do family, replete with a host of early-blooming children, is broken up and brought back together by Gene Hackman's obtuse and selfish patriarch.

Like the other two, Anderson's approach to filmmaking is ever-present, as is his quirky humour and presentation. From the cinematography, to the choices in the editing room, it feels every bit a Wes Anderson-guided product. I don't particularly laugh out loud at the comedy present in these films, rather I sit pleasantly amused by proceedings and, come the end credits, I'm thoroughly glad I took the time to watch.

A decade ago I don't think I would have liked these flicks, but a decade is a long time, and that degree in film certainly expanded my cinematic horizons and appreciation to no end.

"Just War" in Borderlines Film Festival 2011...

Just got word that Just War (read about it here) will be showing at the 2011 Borderlines Film Festival.

I'll pimp relevant links as-and-when.

Speaking of Borderlines, here is a pic of Joe and I, from last year's festival when Gaia & Genesis was shown.

Quadruple Bill Mini Musings: Two Very Good, One Decent, One Dreadful...

Rushmore:
I've been aware of Wes Anderson for quite a while, but for whatever reason I'd never seen any of his stuff - until recently - with Fantastic Mr Fox, and now Rushmore. The latter is less a cohesive A-to-B plot (with similarly structured subplots) than it being more a collection of generally-related sequences and characters, but all underpinned by a slightly skewed humour, and awkward intelligence - which is well portrayed on-screen by Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray. Odd and charming at the same time, the central plot of a student attending a posh school who falls in love with a teacher, gets kicked out, and faces rivalry from an elder gent has been done before - or elements of that, in certain ways at least - but in the hands of Anderson & Co it feels fresh and satisfyingly quirky.


The Social Network:
It's David Fincher, so I was going to watch it no matter what, but the idea of Fincher making "a movie about Facebook" was a particularly odd-sounding thing, however it's not a movie about people poking, tagging, liking and generally annoying each other with embarrassing photos from the night before - it's actually about how an idea can at first be generated, then evolve, and go on to not only change the world (and how hundreds upon hundreds of millions of people interact daily), but also destroy friendships along the way.

The Social Network isn't the true story, but then it's not a false story either. Nobody will ever know the truly true story, so it's a version of the story - and a well told, and skilfully performed one at that, replete with blisteringly fast dialogue and off-kilter scoring, that helps turn a story about entrepreneurs and legal battles into a passionate tale of the fragility of human interaction.

Far from making any of the players heroes or villains, Sorkin's script is complex and subtle in its shaping of your opinions of these characters - in that it merely guides you to make your own opinions along the way, and then modify them continually. In lesser hands it would just be a tale of 'some nerd screws his friend out of a shedload of money and gets insanely rich doing it' - but Sorkin's script, Fincher's direction, and the cast's performances elevate it far beyond such simplicities.

Stylishly precise, like all of Fincher's work, it's a surprisingly fascinating flick that deserves to be held well above the dismissively ill-informed "Facebook Movie" moniker it initially attracted.


Miller's Crossing:
Being that True Grit was just released, a handful of Coen brothers flicks are appearing on the movie channels at the moment, and this was one I hadn't seen. A prohibition era gangster tale of a right-hand-man who gets caught between two warring factions as he struggles to pay off his gambling debts. To be honest I struggled a bit with the characters along the way, getting lost with which name belonged to who, and how everybody fitted together, and indeed I didn't find the plot particularly enthralling. However, it is the Coen brothers, so it was still worth watching, but it wasn't one of my favourite flicks of theirs. I've seen it once, so that'll do me.


Clash of the Titans (2010):
Heaven's above, this was shit. Sometimes a movie can bore you into reading a magazine, or staring out the window, but this movie bored me into nothingness. A bunch of limp set-up happens, then some CGI, then some giant Scorpions, then some travelling, then some manky old hags holding an eyeball (the Stygian witches), then a laughably fatal encounter with Medusa, and then the Kraken (or "Craaah-kehn" as Hades keeps pronouncing it) makes a lot of noise and gets killed pretty damn quickly. The end.

I haven't seen the original in many, many years, but I'd much rather watch that with it's charming and skilled stop-motion animation, than this modern-day load of old cobblers. I mean bloody hellfire was it dull.

...

Oh and by the way - this is blogpost #600.