Untrained Monkey Musings

Download 2007 Redux

2007-06-12T19:34:00.000Z

And here's the third review, it's a long one from 'the_bunster':

The Bunster’s Download 2007 Review

DAY 1
After arriving early afternoon and sorting out the basic necessities – Beer tokens and food (Damn, those Burritos were good!) – the first band we headed to see was MEGADETH on the main stage. This was a great start to proceedings and got everyone pretty well warmed up for the weekend. It was a bit of a surprise to see them on so early but I’d say they’ve definitely still got it – some would say got it back - playing a number of songs off both the recent United Abominations and Rust In Peace and leaving well alone most of the stuff in between. The 45 minutes allocated to them flew by but definitely worth catching again in the near future – the ticket price was already looking good value.

After that it was into the Tuborg tent (the smallest stage) for all-girl group THE HEDRONS. I thought these were great and the best “find” of the festival bands that I didn’t previously have much awareness of. They describe themselves as the love child of Joan Jett and the Foo Fighters and it was just the kind of high-energy punk metal that I love. The album is already on order and I suspect it will be played to death over the next few weeks. If you want a preview, I suggest visiting the site (http://www.thehedrons.com/) and having a listen for yourselves.

THINGS THAT PASSED OVERHEAD ON DAY 1: A few empty plastic bottles, a hundred planes and the lead singer of The Hedrons – If you’re going to have a lead singer crowdsurfing over you, I recommend a petite rock-chick over the beer-bellied biker every time!

As Jon and Tim stayed at the main stage to watch DRAGONFORCE (I’ll ask their opinion on that) can I say just one more time that they missed out on The Hedrons? – Yes, One More Won’t Kill Me!

After that it was back to the main stage for WOLFMOTHER and then VELVET REVOLVER. I enjoyed both of these without being blown away but then I don’t really know much material of either of them. I think Wolfmother would be good fun in a smaller arena with a crowd that knows all the stuff and whilst Velvet Revolver threw out a couple of Guns N’ Roses covers (It’s So Easy / Mr Brownstone), hearing Slash play guitar again was the high point and just made me pine for the good old days!

After this it was back to the Tuborg stage for HAYSEED DIXIE, which I enjoyed immensely. It’s the third time I’ve seen them and, yes, they are the same every time but it’s still just good fun and the old rock classics still sound great played on Banjo.

The main reason for turning up on day 1 though was for MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE. The down side of the day was to see them bottled by festivalgoers who didn’t think they were big enough to headline. [If you don’t like them, just f*ck off to the bar or one of the other stages]. Despite that, I enjoyed MCR as much as I thought I would – I love The Black Parade and they played it virtually in order with very little of the older stuff thrown in and that was always a winner with me. Were they big enough to command the main stage as headline act? Possibly not quite but I don’t know who else there over the three days could have done a better job. The set was maybe 15 minutes short of what it could have been but another album the same standard as the Black Parade (not a given!) and they will truly belong – I for one will look forward to seeing them again.

Overall, Day 1 belonged to MCR and Megadeth – big acts who went a large way towards paying back the admission fee – and The Hedrons who proved it’s worth digging around the smaller stages to listen to new bands.

DAY 2
After sorting out the Burritos and Beer for starters it was off to the Dimebag Darrell stage for AS I LAY DYING. These sounded pretty decent but were just too damn heavy for my taste. ANATHEMA were next with an alarming brand of Ginger Rock accompanied by a woman in a floral print dress – very metal!

After seeing the first half of the surreal Anathema It was off to the main stage for BOWLING FOR SOUP. These were a great act for the main stage in the afternoon as they were just out to have fun and encourage the crowd to do likewise, including the welcome request for female flesh. Hooray for Boobies!!!

Over in Tuborg it was time for LEZ ZEPPELIN. The name alone told us these should be worth seeing. They were far above a novelty act, however, playing superbly and making you wonder whether Whole Lotta Love should have had a female lead in the first place. A definite must when the album comes out next month and the only criticism was that it wasn’t long enough – I could have watched these for twice as long.

Back on the main stage and it was time for MARILYN MANSON. I’m not a great fan and it’s more theatre than Rock N’ Roll but I enjoyed it all the same and he at least looked as if he believed he belonged on the main stage playing second fiddle to the main act, something Velvet Revolver and Evanescence never really managed.

Then came the hardest decision of the Festival. I chose MOTLEY CRUE over Linkin Park because I knew without doubt I’d enjoy it and was not disappointed. It was like a greatest hits album and although it may be due to the amount of beer, I can remember only one song released later than the early 90s (Sick Love Song). Great hits like Dr Feelgood, Live Wire, Home Sweet Home (Lighters out!) and Primal Scream – to name a few – came fast and furious and were only interrupted by the need for Tommy Lee to come out from behind the drums to encourage the crowd with more than a few well placed f-words. They finished with Girls, Girls, Girls and Kickstart My Heart and you just wanted more – I’d say these guys were “still Kickin’ Ass”. Critics may say they’re milking it for all they can and to be honest they looked as if they knew they were but they didn’t try new material – just hit after hit for the festival crowd. I caught the end of LINKIN PARK and they sounded as if they were pretty good and filled the main stage well enough but sadly I can’t be everywhere at once and I’m not disappointed with my decision.

THINGS THAT PASSED OVERHEAD ON DAY 2: More planes, a few nearly empty plastic bottles and my own arse when I went A.O.T. on the way out – still, it was dark so I’m sure no one noticed, I think I got away with it!!!

For me Day 2 was about Lez Zeppelin and especially the Crue – 15 years ago they’d have been headlining which I doubt they would have got away with now but the crowd still loved every minute and the smile never left Vince Neil’s face.

DAY 3
More Burritos and new Iron Maiden T-Shirts and we were all set for day 3, which for me started with PAPA ROACH on the main stage. If all the bands on the main stage had have worked the crowd like these guys it truly would have been an amazing festival. Tireless in their efforts to get the crowd going and playing fast and loud, these were definitely for me a band that have gone up more in my estimations than any other. I wasn’t a great fan before but now I’ll certainly make an effort to listen to them more as they just acted as if they belonged – a rare feat.

A number of bands then passed by in a bit of a blur. DEVIL DRIVER was interesting. They were full of energy and very entertaining, especially the stunt of moving the crowd back only to have them charge at each other when the next song started. Remember kids – “we’re all family, so if anyone falls, pick ‘em up”. Didn’t hear of any deaths but I suspect the first aid tents got busier. Next up was ORANGE GOBLIN who I only heard from a distance though Jon was impressed. I’ve already forgotten PARADISE LOST, they made that little impression and then it was just a wait for a band I really wanted to see.

What can I say about WITHIN TEMPTATION? I love the albums, expected them to be good live but it turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the festival. Technical problems reduced the set to 15 minutes and that just wasn’t long enough. I don’t think it was really their fault and there was enough evidence in the 4 tracks they played to suggest they are worth another chance. They return to the UK later in the year and I’m sure I’ll be there – it just didn’t happen today.

Then back to the main stage for the big two acts that I came to see. First let me say EVANESCENCE didn’t disappoint. The music was well executed and Amy Lee’s voice was clear and powerful. The downside was that they seemed aware of the fact that some of the crowd were only getting into position for Maiden and seemed daunted by it. Bigger acts than these have received worse treatment at Donington in the same position and I thoroughly enjoyed the music which is what I was interested in – if only some others felt the same.

THINGS THAT PASSED OVERHEAD ON DAY 3: More planes, an inflatable penis and, in the wait between Evanescence and Maiden, a million nearly full plastic bottles. I had to explain to the young girl next to me that there was really no need to sniff the contents of the offending bottle - the fact it wasn’t warm told her all she needed to know!

So last up, IRON MAIDEN. What can we say? They started off with a number of tracks off A Matter Of Life And Death, which didn’t really get the crowd off to the flying start they could have done. I suspect most Maiden fans know what they want to hear and I suspect, like me, it isn’t most of the new stuff. By halfway though we were at full pace and from then it was relentless until the end. I’d made up my mind years ago that Number Of The Beast was my favourite album so it was pleasing to see virtually everything off this album was played, excepting, bizarrely, 22 Acacia Avenue. Run To The Hills, Fear Of The Dark, The Trooper and 2 Minutes To Midnight are always going to be crowd pleasers and they finished on my personal favourite Hallowed Be Thy Name so for that I’ll forgive them the fact that they want to play their newest stuff early. Easily the only band of the three days that could truly carry the main stage with such force and makes you wonder if the days of the big metal bands like these is coming to an end. I loved it; the rest of the crowd seemed to as well although I suspect Billy Talent didn’t enjoy playing against them in the other arena – Maiden were PURE CLASS.

Day 3 – belonged to Maiden – enough said!

Top 5ish Bands of the Festival:
Iron Maiden – Awesome.
Motley Crue – The more I look back the more I realised how much these guys rocked.
Evanescence – Great music, just need more belief.
My Chemical Romance – No great depth of material but the stuff they played was always entertaining.
The Hedrons and Lez Zeppelin – small bands, smallest stage, great atmospheres.

EDIT 23/7/07: Here's a photo of the guest bloggers. Cheers guys!

Download 2007

2007-06-12T11:06:00.000Z

I spent this weekend at Donington Park at the Download Festival. Rather than write up my thoughts on the festival, I've 'employed' some guest bloggers to do their reviews of the festival.

Here's the first from Jonboy:

"Download 2007 - three days, ninety-six bands and four muppets with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of beer, donuts and burritos to bring you all the reviews...

Friday

Megadeth
So I was a bit worried about seeing Megadeth. Whilst their early stuff is still some of my favourite metal, they had recently turned out a number of really sub-standard albums. Still, the last album indicated a bit of a return to form, so I was happy to give them a go. Anyway -turns out I needn't have worried. Megadeth rocked Donnington with a mixture of mainly 'Rust in Peace' material and some new stuff - whilst deftly avoiding the numerous duds that now little their back catalog.They were awesome and the crowd loved 'em. 9/10

Dragonforce
My big concern with Dragonforce was whether their blisteringly fast playing would just end up distorted and muddied coming out of the main stage and sadly that was often the case. The guitarist from Hong Kong was amazing, and I suspect the other guitarist was too - but I couldn't hear him properly. Still - despite that they did great - I'd just like to see them in a smaller venue with better sound. 7/10

Paramour
Me and Tim's trip to get some beer lead us in to see Paramour in the Dimebag Stage. Pretty middle of the road emo punk band from the States with a pop sound that I'm sure will prove a big hit with angst ridden teenagers everywhere. Anyway - they were going down pretty well - but not really my cup of tea. 7/10

Hayseed Dixie
Having heard a couple Hayseed Dixie rock song covers in their trademark country and western style, I thought they would be a 'must see' of the festival. However, after arriving outside the tent and listening to a couple of their songs the novelty factor soon wore off and I decided to go elsewhere. A couple of rock tracks done in a country style is amusing. A whole concert? Hmmm..... 6/10

Velvet Revolver
I quite like Velvet Revolver's album - it's pretty good. But they really need to sort their stage show out. They were weak at Live 8 and they were weak here too. Lead singer Scott Weiland comes over not so much as a rebel but more as a complete prat. The world has moved on from Guns and Roses and The Stone Temple Pilots. Velvet Revolver need to move on as well. 7/10

My Chemical Romance
It's easy to see why no one likes MCR. Their manufactured image is that of the outsider, of the kid that doesn't fit in. The irony is that they seem to want to play that image alongside being an extremely successful rock band. And the result is that they just come over as being somehow phoney. And lead singer Gerard Way doesn't help with all his preaching about how he feels the pain of not fitting in. For all that the music was fine, although again they didn't endear themselves to the crowd by not playing a full set. 7/10

Saturday

Anathema
Otherwise known as 'the band that turned up by mistake' - fronted by three Mick Hucknall look-a-likes. Actually they weren't too bad, but by no feat of the imagination were they heavy metal. They did finish of the set with a rousing rendition of Hurt by Nine Inch Nails -although sung very much like the Johnny Cash version. 7/10

Lez Zeppelin
A Led Zeppelin cover band consisting of four lesbians sounds like a bit of a gimmick. But these gals from New York sounded fantastic. In fact it wasn't until I heard them that I realised how suited Led Zepplin is to a female vocalist, especially during the semi-improvised voices parts such as in the middle of 'Whole Lotta Love'. They were great and I could have listened to them for much longer than the half-an-hour they were given. 9/10

Bowling for Soup
Seems every festival has one - the average band who's inter-song banter is like a second show going on at the same time. These guys reminded me a bit of 'NOFX' at Reading - the band who famously had an argument on stage when one of the songs ground to a halt half-way through. The songs were your average punk-rock fare, but the guys infectious sense of fun and pursuit of 'boobies' had the crowd on side from the start. 7/10

Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson was pretty much exactly what I expected. And you get the impression that his shows normally involve a lot of theatrics. However, stripped of a large part of that on a festival stage you felt you were only getting a part of the Manson experienced. Still he rocked along nicely and kept the crowd entertained. 7/10.

Linkin Park
Linkin Park were a bit of a last minute decision over the "Motley Crue for a laugh" alternative. Three quite different albums had got me wondering if I actually liked Linkin Park's sound. Or indeed what that sound actually was. But their performance was excellent. And although I sensed they were a bit nervous at the start, by the end I was thoroughly satisfied that I had opted for them over The Crue. Plus the lead singer IS my mate Peanut. Great stuff. 8/10

Sunday

Papa Roach
I love Papa Roach and their set certainly didn't disappoint. Front-man Jacoby Shaddix certainly knows how to work the crowd and put so much effort in, that despite their early billing, they soon had the crowd jumping around with them. Even if some of the more elderly members of the crowd (Tim) were complaining that it was too early in the day to be doing anything energetic! Great. 8/10.

Devil Driver
Whilst being a bit heavier than I normally like, Devil Driver already had the Dimbag Stage going mental by the time we got there. Not satisfied with the two cycle-pits he had going already, front-man Dez Fafara decided it would be fun to clear a huge open area in front of the stage and then let half the audience charge into it when the last song started. Not surprisingly the ensuing mosh was carnage. Ever-caring Dez did issue a would of caution - "If someone falls over- pick them up." Thanks Dez. 7/10

Orange Goblin
I was actually outside the Dimebag stage having a drink with Tim when I overhead this band and decided to check them out. Inside the tent they sounded great, with a kind of Motorhead meets Black Sabbath type sound. Gotta say - one of the 'discoveries' of the weekend. 8/10

Paradise Lost
My mate Pit once told me that all the best Goth-rock bands come from Yorkshire. Hmm... you sure about that? Paradise Lost really need to ditch their front man Nick Holmes. He's just useless. I know it's Goth and he's not supposed to be the most cheerful bloke in the tent - but seriously - the guy has all the charisma of a soggy donut. That, coupled with the fact you could barely hear him for half the set, made his presence on stage doubly pointless. The rest of the band did fine, pumping out their middle-of-the-road goth-rock sound. 7/10

Within Temptation
...and welcome to Oly, who I guarantee has just scrolled down past all the other reviews to read this one first. (Hello BTW). Okay - here's the deal - I think they were just unlucky. What ever the technical problem that delayed them playing and reduced their set to fifteen minutes was, I am sure that would have played more if they could. I have to confess that my already battered ears couldn't pick out any problems with their sound, and indeed the songs they did play I thought sounded great. 9/10

Evanescence
Ok - here is my problem with Evanescence. Wrong band, on the wrong stage, at the wrong time. Evanescence should have headlined the Dimebag Darell Stage - that place is smaller, better suited and had a great atmosphere - and I am sure they would have gone down a absolute storm as alternative to Maiden playing on the main stage. Hell even the soggy donut front man of Paradise Lost managed to get the crowd going in there and Evanescence were waaaay better than them.

However, by going on the main stag as warm up to Maiden, they had a large, hostile crowd to win over - a large proportion of whom were there only to see Maiden anyway. And you could tell that they were on the defensive from the start with comments from Amy Lee herself about whether they deserved to be there.

That said the set was flawless and sounded great. It's just half the crowd weren't interested. Still... 8/10.

Iron Maiden
What can you say. Maiden playing at home. They rock. We loved 'em. 9/10."

A couple of points on Jonboy's review:

Firstly, for those of us actually in the tent for Hayseed Dixie, the audience lapped it up. As the band pointed out it's unlikely that any other band would get away with playing both Download and the Cambridge Folk Festival in the same year...

Secondly, thus far the members of Lez Zepplin have carefully avoided answering questions on their sexuality. The band's name, may just be a clever play on words...

I have to agree with Jonboy that Evanescence would probably have been better headlining on the Dimball Stage - I for one would have chosen them over Maiden! (They and My Chemical Romance were my main reasons for attending Download. Are those cries of "Sacrilege!" I hear?)

Here's a second rundown of the weekend's acts from Tim:

"Yeah great weekend. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute. So good to let our hair down :)

Back to the daily grind today has been a shock to the system. I should have had 5 pints, 2 hotdogs and 5 dognuts by now.

Here are some comments on the bands I think I saw...

Paramore
- erm, can barely remember now but it was great to get some early atmosphere from that stage with the bar conveniently placed - nice one

Megadeth
- Job done with some precision playing and a alternate mix of new stuff and favourites from Rust in Peace and Peace Sells.... Could have done with a longer set and I would definitely like to see them on tour. Possibly deserved to be higher up the lineup.

Dragonforce
- Didn't disappoint in reproducing the fast licks from the album with some showmanship thrown in from the Hong Kong guitarist. Great vocals as well.

Velvet Revolver
- Was fairly hammered by the time they took to the stage so can't remember much. Seem to recall Slash & co. doing a good job as always.

My Chemical Romance
- A bit squeaky clean, a bit all over the place and not enough material to headline. Not particularly impressed.

As I Lay Dying
- erm, can't remember.

Anathema
- Daft name, take themselves too seriously and some dubious Mick Hucknall haircuts. Nice vocals from Mick's Mum though. They can play but I would never listen to them.

Lez Zeppelin
- oh yes. Definitely good viewing close up and you can feel the hormones coming off the stage. Great renditions of the old classics. Shame they didn't get longer. Would like to see live again....soon :) One of the Saturday highlights.

Bowling for Soup
- definitely what you need during a festival, especially after Anathema. A bit of American rock interspersed with light-hearted banter and a booby show. Great stuff.

Marilyn Manson
- Chick band.

Linkin Park
- Started off a bit ropey but definitely improved and were probably one of the best acts on all weekend. Great variety and vocals with solid backing. Damn good. The first band I listened to on the way home.

Papa Roach
- The up tempo tracks are great. Stay clear of the slower ones. 10/10 for effort though. The lead really goes for it and good to see him giving something back to the crowd.

Devil Driver
- Best orchestrated mosh up of the weekend. "If someone goes down, pick the f**ker up". Great entertainment, from a safe distance :)

Orange Goblin
- not bad. Worth a listen.

Paradise Lost
- Lost momentum in between tracks but also not bad. Didn't really entertain.

Within Temptation
- Shame they lost time up front and had to cut the set short. Despite that, were loved by the faithful fans.

Evanescence
- I guess you either like 'em or you don't. Too much of the same for my liking and a nervous performance didn't help. They did better than most will probably give them credit for.

Iron Maiden
- well you know you're getting with Maiden and they didn't disappoint. Plenty of the older stuff thrown in although it's a little predictable. Total carnage up front and managed to get within about 6 people of the barrier - I've now decided this is the only way to see Maiden. A true headline act which I think we're running a bit short of these days."

Mobile Phone Warnings

2007-05-29T08:19:00.001Z

Now this is the sort of thing they should have running at the cinema before the film...

Pirates Ahoy!

2007-05-22T22:39:00.000Z

Just a few days until we find out whether the 'Pirates' trilogy goes the way of 'The Matrix'...

Here's hoping not!

Eurovision 2007

2007-05-12T18:43:00.000Z

With Switzerland's "Vampires Are Alive" being knocked out in the semi-finals, tonight I'll be supporting Bulgaria's offering "Voda (Water)" by Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankoulov.

28 Weeks Later

2007-05-03T16:47:00.000Z

I had mixed feelings going into the preview screening of "28 Weeks Later". On one hand I really enjoyed "28 Days Later" - a fresh take on the zombie movie - and I really liked the trailer for this film. On the other hand, I was aware that the original creative team (Danny Boyle & Alex Garland) were only on board as Executive Producers, none of the original cast were in the film and that the directorial reigns had been handed over to someone with relatively little directing experience - Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. It had potential disaster written all over it!

Fortunately shortly after the film started, I realised all my fears were for nought. The claustrophobic opening sequence - a group of survivors (including Robert Carlyle's Don) holed up in a cottage - sets the heart racing and lets you know what's in store... (Giving you a reminder of how terrifying the 'infected' are!) After this initial adrenalin shot, the pace slows down in order to set the scene for the film: Britain was ravaged by the Rage epidemic, the infected have died of starvation, the US Army has moved in to start clearing up the mess, in the process they've created a quarantined repopulation zone for the few survivors in London's Docklands.

However, just as everything starts to seem rosy - Don is reunited with his children (Imogen Poots & Mackintosh Muggleton) who were abroad when the virus hit - it appears that the infection isn't as dead as everyone hoped...

From here on, the film becomes one long adrenaline-fueled roller-coaster ride.

"28 Weeks Later" is to "28 Days Later" what "Aliens" was to "Alien"; there's a lot more action in this film than the original, but it still retains the feeling of being part of the same story. The film manages to crank up everything that I enjoyed from the original - the 'infected' seem more vicious (enhanced by Fresnadillo's documentary-style direction), the shots of a deserted London are much wider in scope (the main characters have to travel from the Docklands to the new Wembley Stadium avoiding packs of 'infected' and over-zealous military-types) and it's held together with John Murphy's score which replays themes from the original film. The cast are great; I have yet to see Carlyle in something I haven't enjoyed, Rose Byrne (fresh from "Sunshine") is good as an American doctor, but kudos should go to Poots and Muggleton, the film's real stars, who really shine in their roles.

Having sat through four days of horror films at 'Dead By Dawn', I can safely say that "28 Weeks Later" is as good as the best films I saw at the festival; Fresnadillo knows how to write and direct a great action horror film. Boyle has (jokingly?) talked about the possibility of "28 Months Later", if that's the case I'll be back for another visit to the apocalyptic nightmare that they've created...

Film Of The Month - April: Sunshine

2007-05-01T15:31:00.001Z

This month I've been torn between 'Sunshine' and 'The Lives Of Others', both which I really enjoyed for different reasons.

Unlike the previous 'Film Of The Month' posts, I hadn't decided which was going to 'win' until I started the post. In the end I've gone with 'Sunshine' purely because it's rare that you get a well-made sci-fi film that's based around character rather than spectacle.

I had planned on catching 'Sunshine' a second time at the cinema but that never happened, I'm now looking forward to watching it when it comes out on DVD.

Dead By Dawn 2007 - Shorts

2007-05-01T07:44:00.000Z

I've spent the past couple of days in Edinburgh for the 'Dead By Dawn' Horror Film Festival. Had a great time and I'll run through the highlights of what I saw in two parts, starting with the festival's short films:

Hitch - A serial killer gets a surprise... (You can see it on AtomFilms)

It Came From The West - My favourite short of the weekend mixing zombies and Westerns with puppets to hilarious effect. The phrase "weak pisser" has now entered my vocabulary. You can see more of this madness at http://www.zombiewestern.com/.

L'Instant Avant - The one short I didn't watch... This short smashed through my comfort barrier and right out the other end! Once I could tell the direction it was heading, my eyes were firmly shut... I can tell you that it involved coat-hangers and elicited quite a vocal reaction from the audience... I opened my eyes again when the applause finished. (If you're braver than me, watch it on AtomFilms. They label it 'Mature', you have been warned...)

Monster - What happens if there really is a monster in the closet? (You can see it on AtomFilms)

The Love Craft - A funny little spoof of TV's "The Love Boat" meets Cthulhu, in the same vein as the spoof trailer for "The Shining" as a rom-com that's on the net.

Far West & Carlitopolis - Two inventive shorts from French 'animator' Luis Nieto, to say any more would spoil the surprise. (You can see the latter on YouTube)

Cutting Edge - The festival's short film competition. The winning film was "The Fifth", which highlights the difficulties some people have in trying not to mix business and pleasure. There were some other great entrants including "Mime Massacre" (does exactly what it says on the tin - yay! http://www.mimemassacre.com/), "Nose Hair", "Blind Man's Alley", "Lump" and "Anaesthesia" (the last two would make you think twice about going to the hospital for surgery any time soon...)

The Lives Of Others

2007-04-22T19:21:00.000Z

Directly after the visual 'excesses' of "Curse Of The Golden Flower", comes a film that couldn't be any more different... Set in 1984 East Germany, "The Lives Of Others" is full of muted browns and greys.

This critically acclaimed political thriller (meaning I won't be able to add anything about the film that you won't already have read), written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, beat "Pan's Labyrinth" - one of the films that made my 2006 Top Ten - to the 2007 Best Foreign Film Academy Award. It comments on the extent and methodology of surveillance that the Stasi employed to keep tabs on East Germany's populace during the height of the Communist era. Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is loyal Stasi agent who starts doubting his work when he is ordered to monitor a playwright and actress couple (Sebastian Koch & Martina Gedeck) who are suspected of having Western leanings, but then learns that they are under surveillance because a member of the Party elite is attracted to the actress and wants the playwright out of the way.

I watched this film on a Sunday afternoon, which is usually a disastrous time for me to watch films as I have a tendency to snooze through them. It's testament to the power of "The Lives Of Others" that I was engaged from the start to the end of its over 2 hour long running time, not once did I feel like 'closing my eyes for bit'. The film starts with a chilling classroom scene, where the tutor explains the tricks that can be used to prove a suspect's guilt during interrogation, from that moment I was hooked. I found the film both gripping and moving, this is largely down to Mühe's performance as Wiesler; a man who desperately tries to protect the couple that he is under pressure from his superiors to dig up dirt about.

Curse Of The Golden Flower

2007-04-21T17:13:00.000Z

"Curse Of The Golden Flower" is the last 'segment' in director Zhang Yimou's wuxia trilogy, the previous two films "Hero" and "House Of Flying Daggers" were films big in spectacle and this is no different.

Set in 10th Century China, the film follows the political machinations of various members of the royal family and household as they vie against each other in a power struggle in the lead up to the Festival Of The Chrysanthemum; the Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) is slowly poisoning the Empress (Gong Li), she's having an affair with her stepson, he in turn is sleeping with one of the servants, meanwhile his brothers are being sucked in, to varying degrees, to a number of plots to overthrow the Emperor.

"Curse Of The Golden Flower" is one of the most colourful films I've seen for some time. The palace interiors are a riot of colour - vivid colours 'tastefully' contrasted with gold... The word 'garish' springs to mind! One of my big problems with "House Of Flying Daggers" was that it was slowly building towards a giant battle at the end of the film, but this disappointingly never materialised. "Curse Of The Golden Flower" goes some way towards redressing the balance by staging battles that wouldn't have looked out of place in Peter Jackson's "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy. There is a fight between soldiers and ninjas, which is quickly followed up by a battle between two armies - one in gold armour, the other in silver. Throw in some blood and chrysanthemums and you have another colourful feast for the eyes on the screen.

While the screen is bright, the film itself is dark. It feels very Shakespearean, while watching it I was constantly reminded of such tragedies as 'Macbeth', 'King Lear' and 'Hamlet' - this link is strengthened through comparisons with Kurosawa's takes on Shakespeare: "Throne Of Blood" and "Ran". As the film plays out you can foresee the bloody mess that will be left at the end. No character is truly innocent, each of them plays a part in their own downfall.

It's the strength of the lead performances that stops the film from feeling like a shallow melodramatic spectacle. Chow Yun Fat is an actor who I've liked ever since I saw John Woo's "The Killer" on video during the early 90s*, here he is utterly convincing as the ultra-cool but ultra-brutal Emperor - in fact he's so cool in this film that even his hair gets its own 'billow whoosh' moment. I've never been too sure about Gong Li as an actor before, but I've been prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt and put it down to the material rather than her; she seemed like the weakest link in "Miami Vice" as Colin Farrell's love interest - however female characters tend to be poorly served by Michael Mann - and she wasn't great in "Hannibal Rising", but then, little was... In "Curse Of The Golden Flower" she proves why Zhang has chosen her as his leading lady before, she gives a suitably understated performance as the Empress who wants to overthrow the Emperor and install her son on the throne before she succumbs to the poison slowly destroying her mind, while at the same time unable to act overtly.

If you're looking for a piece of ripe melodrama to 'brighten up' an afternoon, especially if you've enjoyed Zhang's earlier films, you'll enjoy "Curse Of The Golden Flower". You may want to take some sunglasses for the interior scenes though...

*Thanks HJ!

The Messengers

2007-04-19T16:54:00.000Z

I had really hoped to see "The Messengers", being a fan of The Pang Brothers' earlier work (they wrote and directed the Hong Kong horror film "The Eye" - and its sequels - and Danny Pang worked on the "Infernal Affairs" series). However, time constraints got in the way of me getting around to see it.

Upon reflection this may have been a lucky break, as I received the following review from a friend, who didn't mind me posting it:

"Word to the wise…. caveat emptor!!

IMHO even using your ‘free’ unlimited card you will regret the loss of 1¾ hours of your life with this incredibly poor film. I appreciate that many ‘horror’ films follow well worn genre templates but you would expect the writers/directors to at least attempt a new angle on familiar plot themes or some clever visuals etc. This film didn’t have anything to lift it out of soul destroying mediocrity. It wasn’t even remotely scary, mainly relying on occasional shock tactics (sudden edits with pumped up sound etc) to wake you out of your stupor. And the lame ‘plot twist’ could be spotted a mile off!"

The Hills Have Eyes II

2007-04-09T08:05:00.000Z

A squad of National Guard trainees are dispatched to deliver supplies to a group scientists working on a top secret mission in the New Mexico desert. They arrive to find the scientists missing...

Over the next 90 minutes, the soldiers are slowly picked off one by one in a series of gruesome ways by the mutants that live in the desert.

There isn't any depth to this sequel of a remake, despite the script being co-written by Wes Craven (the writer and director of the 1977 original). The direction is pretty bland, in fact the teaser trailer has more directive creativity than the film. The majority of the enjoyment comes from guessing who's going to die next and who is going to survive.

[SPOILER] It came as no surprise to find that the cute blonde and the 'anti-war' soldier made it through the film, while the sergeant was one of the first to die. [END SPOILER]

Sunshine

2007-04-06T09:00:00.000Z

"Our Sun is dying; mankind faces extinction. Sixteen months ago I, Robert Capa, and a crew of seven left Earth frozen in a solar winter. Our mission: Reignite the Sun before it's too late."

That's the basic premise and introduction of 'Sunshine', the new film from Danny Boyle ('Shallow Grave', 'Trainspotting' and 'The Beach') and Alex Garland; the team who previously brought "28 Days Later" to the screen. The crew of the Icarus II are on a mission to create a new star by detonating a stellar bomb in the heart of our dying Sun. Once outside of radio contact with the Earth, the crew pick up a distress signal from the Icarus I, the craft sent out to carry out the very same mission seven years earlier but which mysteriously disappeared. After some discussion, the crew decides to divert from their mission and dock with the Icarus I - two bombs are better than one - with disastrous consequences...

'Sunshine' has similar tropes to 'Alien' and 'Event Horizon' (sci-fi horror) but with the emphasis on sci-fi rather than horror, while at the same time it bears similarities with sci-fi disaster films such as 'Armageddon' and 'The Core' (a team of people out to save the planet). There are many things you can point at from other films - computer with soothing female voice, abandoned spaceships, mysterious distress signals - the influence of 'Alien' is writ large throughout this film. However, what rescues 'Sunshine' from being utterly derivative is its execution. In the same way that '28 Days Later' wasn't 'just another zombie movie', 'Sunshine' isn't 'just another sci-fi horror/disaster movie'. The Icarus II is beautifully realised both internally and externally; the film often cuts from exterior shots of the craft in the darkness of space to the bright but claustrophobic interiors. The sound of the film is great from both the sound design (which generated some great rumbles from the cinema's sub-woofers) to John Murphy & Underworld's score. The performances are uniformly strong, with honours going to Chris Evans, proving he can do more than his brash Johnny Storm in 'The Fantastic Four' (in fact I didn't recognise him initially behind a beard and long hair), Rose Byrne, who provides the film's 'heart', and Michelle Yeoh in a nicely understated performance as the biologist in charge of the ship's 'oxygen garden'.

I found 'Sunshine' a really enjoyable and tense film, from the point where the Icarus I's distress signal is picked up the tension in the film keeps building; I had high expectations going into the film and the filmmakers delivered on them. It may lose its way a little at the end (going into any more detail here would spoil the film), but the journey there by far makes up for its final reel failings.

War, Inc. Trailer

2007-04-04T17:30:00.001Z

I stumbled upon a trailer (and teaser poster) for a film called "War, Inc."

Starring John Cusack this looks like it might be the much vaunted 'unofficial sequel' to "Grosse Pointe Blank". I'm hoping "War, Inc." will be as enjoyable as "GPB", only time will tell...

See what you think.

Film Of The Month - March: 300

2007-04-02T17:51:00.001Z

After last month, where I was spoiled for choice for 'Film Of The Month', March has proven a little easier in that I didn't see much that really inspired me...

However, despite its flaws - most notably a Spartan politics subplot that didn't appear in the original comic - I enjoyed the visual and aural spectacle that was '300', so I'm making it March's 'Film Of The Month'.

(If it were 'Trailer Of The Month' things would be a lot tougher with 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End', '28 Weeks Later' and 'Sunshine' all looking really good!)

300

2007-03-24T09:20:00.000Z

Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name, "300" tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, where a small force of Spartans battled against a Persian army that vastly out-numbered it. Although the Spartans were ultimately defeated, their sacrifice bought time for the Greeks to mass an army that would be able to stand up against the Persians.

Like "Apocalypto" earlier in the year, "300" is an action movie with a historical setting. And like "Apocalypto", it makes no pretense about being 100% historically accurate (although some of the film's more 'memorable' lines - "Tonight we dine in Hell!" for example - do come from classical sources). The film is stronger on action than it is on characterisation - the original comic is not Frank Miller's strongest piece of work when it comes to depth of character; it's partially inspired by the 1962 'sword & sandals' film "The 300 Spartans" which he saw as a child.

Director Zack Snyder (who previously brought us the remake of 'Dawn Of The Dead' - Romero's original concept of 'survivors in a mall' collides with the zombies from '28 Days Later') brings a visceral visual feast to the screen; heads and limbs are removed in glorious slo-mo, the Persian King Xerxes has a tent full of exotic sirens (rarely do you see credits for 'Transsexual Asian 1' or 'Long Neck Woman' at the end of a film), the Spartans are armoured in little more than leather thongs and cloaks. '300' has a 15 certificate, I'd be interested to know how violent a film has to be for an 18 certificate these days...

"300" is filmed using a technique that proved effective for an earlier adaptation of a Frank Miller graphic novel "Sin City". Actors were shot in front of a bluescreen and other visual elements were generated digitally and added in post-production, thus enabling the filmmakers to capture the distinctive feel of Miller's imagery. This give the film an appropriately 'other worldly' feel to it.

Although no flawless masterpiece, I enjoyed '300' for what it was; a big-screen blockbuster.

One thing I should add was that every time I saw (and heard) Gerard Butler as the Spartan King Leonidas I was reminded of Sean Connery's King Agamemnon in "Time Bandits", which has prompted me to give it a long-overdue repeat viewing.

Le Doulos

2007-03-22T15:43:00.000Z

Took the opportunity to watch a 'rarity' on the big screen. Made in 1962 and described as an existential gangster film (or 'angster'* film), "Le Doulos" is a story of betrayal and revenge from Jean-Pierre Melville (who also made "Le Samouraï"); mixing together French new wave cinema and film noir.

Without going into too much detail of the plot (and thus spoiling it), Melville has concocted, from a novel by Pierre Lesou, a tale of two criminals trying to outwit each other with tragic consequences. "Le Doulos" (or "The Finger Man") has all the familiar trappings of film noir - men in hats and trenchcoats, dark shadows, double-crosses, femmes fatales - but has a certain French style to it, for example, every trenchcoat is immaculate and worn tightly fastened.

"Le Doulos" was an enjoyable evening's viewing and it was good to see a film of this age presented in the medium it was made for rather than on TV.

*Thanks Sam

Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End Trailer

2007-03-22T06:40:00.000Z

Roll on 25th May!

(Assuming the film is as good as the trailer...)

Grain & The Dirty Backbeats

2007-03-17T17:02:00.000Z

A night of local talent at The Maze.

Grain: I first saw Grain at last year's Drop In The Ocean - they played at Dogma wearing nothing but aprons! - this (if my addled memory serves me correctly) was the third time I've seen them live. Their musical style is described as "Kung fu hillbilly funk". As ever a fun and enjoyable set from them.

The Dirty Backbeats: First seen supporting Grain at The Maze last year, this time they were headlining. Watching The Dirty Backbeats play is "like going to the circus on acid!" Their lead singer needs to be seen to be believed - his performing style means that you are ever fearful that he'll topple off The Maze's minute stage! It's probably close to six months since I first saw them, but they left such an impression that their songs were instantly recognisable.

If you get a chance to see either of these acts, I'd wholeheartedly recommend it.

Quote of the night: "They ain't mainstream, but they're f**king brilliant!"

Sleeping Dogs

2007-03-17T09:29:00.000Z

"Sleeping Dogs" is a black comedy about relationships and families. Amy (Melinda Page Hamilton) gets engaged to John (Bryce Johnson) and in the spirit of honesty - spurred on by her mother and a co-worker, neither of whom know the details of her secret - tells him of a teenage sexual indiscretion. The film then deals with the fallout of John's inability to deal with Amy's past.

What starts out as a comedy gets progressively darker; the laughs are slowly replaced with smiles and soon even they are a thing of the past. The film was overly long - it could have been covered in half the time just as effectively - and as it progressed I started being distracted by Goldthwaite's direction which, once the laughs had dried up, had a day-time soap 'quality' to it. Hamilton is engaging and sympathetic as Amy; had her performance been weak, the film would have been unbearable as she is in nearly every scene. However, the performance that lingers in the memory is Brian Posehn as the stoner Randy, who has some really nice lines including a bit about monkeys and midgets.

Moral of the film: Don't tell anybody about your teenage sexual experiments if they involved pets!

Inland Empire

2007-03-12T17:42:00.000Z

David Lynch told Variety magazine that "Inland Empire" was a film "about a woman in trouble, and it's a mystery, and that's all I want to say about it."

Having sat through its 180 minutes running time, that's about all I can tell you about the film...

The film is typically 'Lynchian' in its feel; disturbing images, disjointed story-telling, actors playing multiple roles, reality and dream-sequences segueing into each other. It's shot in DV which makes the film feel all the more unsettling. "Inland Empire" makes Lynch's last feature film "Mulholland Dr." seem easy to understand; I was utterly baffled by this one. In fact, during one moment of on-screen weirdness, I suddenly realised I was having a nosebleed! (My most extreme reaction to a film in some time!)

If you want to get an idea of whether "Inland Empire" is likely to appeal, you can watch two of David Lynch's short films - both made in 2002 - on YouTube: "Darkened Room" and "Rabbits". The first short is one of Lynch's first experiments with DV and has a very similar look and feel, while the latter is directly referenced in "Inland Empire".

I'll finish up this 'non-review' with a quote/clue that Lynch introduced the film with at preview screenings: "We are like the spider. We weave our life and then move along in it. We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives in the dream. This is true for the entire universe." (Aitareya Upanishad)

The Illusionist

2007-03-09T17:48:00.000Z

Films about magicians are a bit like buses, you wait for ages for one and then three come along at a same time… (A British film 'Magicians' starring the comedians Mitchell & Webb is due to be released on 11th May)

Although at a first glance the premise of the 'The Illusionist' seems very similar to 'The Prestige' - they're both period dramas about magicians - 'The Illusionist' is very much a different beast. Rather than being a film about rival magicians trying to up-stage and thwart each other at every turn, the film concentrates on the rivalry between Eisenheim the Illusionist (Edward Norton) and Austria's Crown Prince (Rufus Sewell doing his trademark baddie) for the love of a woman (Jessica Biel).

The film is by no means fast-paced, but I felt it had an engaging enough story. The first half of the film I was wrapped up in the feel of the movie; the acting, the cinematography, Philip Glass' score. I spent the second half trying to guess what the film's inevitable twist would be…

Another thing that held my attention was the number of 'Jesus allusions' littered throughout the film; he's the son of a carpenter, he performs miracles (tricks), he 'raises' people from the dead, the establishment view him as a dangerous rabble-rouser, and [SPOILER] he seemingly returns from the dead [END SPOILER]. However, I don't know if this was a deliberate ploy on the part of the filmmakers or if I was reading too much into the film.

Not sure if I would recommend this film to everyone; its slow pacing will bore rather than entertain some people. However, I enjoyed the cat and mouse game played out by Norton and Paul Giamatti as the police inspector out to discover the illusionist's secrets. The film is more of a 'howdunit' rather than a 'whodunit'.

Ghost Rider

2007-03-04T17:42:00.000Z

The first Marvel Comics adaptation of the year - 'Spiderman 3' is out in May, not sure if there are any more to come...

Before starting my review of this film, I'll state up front that my knowledge of the Ghost Rider character is limited to two very basic facts:
1) He rides a motorcycle.
2) He has a flaming skull as a head.

As a result I had fewer expectations/prejudices than usual for a comic book adaptation and my only requirement from the film was that I wanted an enjoyable popcorn movie.

The film starts with a voice-over telling the story of "the Devil's bounty hunter" in the Old West; a ghostly rider who travels the plains collecting on contracts for Mephistopheles. The voice in question is that of Sam Elliott, and if you want someone to provide a gruff Western prologue in a film you'd be hard pressed to find anyone better than Sam (after all the Coen Brothers used him to similar effect at the start and end of "The Big Lebowski"). So that's two boxes ticked for me: "Western" - Check. "Biblical References" - Check. (Three if you include "Sam Elliott voice-over")

The film then jumps forward in time and introduces the audience to a young Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stunt performer who works with his father. Without going into too much plot detail, Johnny ends up selling his soul to the Devil (Peter Fonda, clearly enjoying the chance to camp it up as the ultimate bad guy) - an act that isn't without consequences; as folklore tells us, Old Nick rarely delivers on his end of the bargain without some dark twist. There were two things I particularly liked in this opening sequence. Firstly, Johnny makes his contract with the Devil while stood on a crossroads - Robert Johnson would be pleased. Secondly, in a nice little touch, the actress playing the young Roxanne (the character played later in the film by Eva Mendes) is made up with a mole that matches Eva's.

We then jump forward in time again to the 'present' and meet a seemingly invincible Johnny Blaze (played by Nicholas Cage), a man who performs all manner of motorcycle stunts without any regard to his own safety. Johnny is 'lucky' enough to be watched over by an angel (of the fallen kind); Mephistopheles won't let him die until his debt is paid off in full. Such an opportunity comes about when Blackheart (Mephistopheles' son) tries to wrest dominion of Hell from his old man's hands. Johnny now learns that it is his destiny to become the 'Ghost Rider' - at night, and when in the presence of evil, he metamorphs into the flame-headed hero of the comic books. The film now follows Johnny as he gets used to his new powers (demonic bike, flaming chain and 'Penance Stare'™) and leads to his eventual show-down with Bleakheart in the ghost town (literally) of San Venganzas.

As you can probably tell from the length of this post, I enjoyed "Ghost Rider". It won't win any awards for story or acting (I'm sure Eva Mendes is in the film just to provide a transportation device for her cleavage, which makes an appearance in all but one scene that she's in), but it is still highly enjoyable nonsense - a heady mix of supernatural vigilantes and Biblical elements with a sprinkle of Westerns.

Note: For those of you wondering (like I did) where the usual Stan Lee cameo is, there isn't one...
(Stan had no part in the creation of the Ghost Rider character)

Film Of The Month - January & February

2007-03-01T09:15:00.000Z

Have decided to start awarding a 'Film Of The Month', which should help when drawing up my eventual 'Film 2007' list.

Film Of The Month - February: Hot Fuzz

Not an easy choice this month, it was a close run thing between "Hot Fuzz", "Notes On A Scandal" and the late entry "Letters From Iwo Jima".

The charms of seeing Pegg & Wright doing what they're good at, the supporting cast of British talent they've managed to muster (a combination of heavy-weight thesps and comedians) and a great performance by Nick Frost swung the balance in favour of "Hot Fuzz".

Film Of The Month - January: The Last King Of Scotland

Bit of a 'no-brainer', "The Last King Of Scotland" was the only real contender for January (picking "Casino Royale" again would have been cheating, seeing as it made my 2006 Top Ten). A well-deserved Best Actor Oscar for Forest Whitaker. Have picked up the book to see how the two compare.

DJ BoBo - "Vampires Are Alive"

2007-02-28T15:44:00.001Z

Lordi have a lot to explain...

Take this for example, Switzerland's entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest: A goth dance track!

"The horror... The horror..."

Letters From Iwo Jima

2007-02-27T08:49:00.001Z

"Letters From Iwo Jima" is Clint Eastwood's take on the Battle of Iwo Jima told from a Japanese perspective. It is a companion piece to "Flags Of Our Fathers" which tells the same story but from the American point of view.

Told mostly through the eyes of General Kuribayashi (the man leading the island's defense) and Private Saigo (a foot soldier), the film covers the period from the Japanese army's preparations in advance of the American invasion to their eventual defeat.

Eastwood manages to create a moving (and horrific) portrayal of the battle; in lesser hands it could have come over as "just another World War 2 film", but here he successfully shows the utter futility of war and this is made all the more compelling because it is told from the perspective of the side that is usually portrayed within films as the "enemy". It is an even-handed film, although your sympathies are with the Japanese, neither side is shown as "angels" - both Japanese and American soldiers are shown carrying out dishonourable acts, but these are the acts of individuals rather than nations. Based on the strength of this film, I'd now like to see 'Flags Of Our Fathers', which I missed on its original release, just to see how Eastwood handles the story from the other side.

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations Of Jasper Morello

2007-02-26T16:50:00.001Z

A friend pointed me in the direction of this little gem on YouTube.

Set in a world of iron dirigibles and steam powered computers, this Gothic horror mystery tells the story of Jasper Morello, a disgraced aerial navigator who flees his Plague-ridden home on a desperate voyage to redeem himself. The chance discovery of an abandoned dirigible leads Jasper through uncharted waters to an island on which lives a terrifying creature that may be the cure for the Plague...

Because of its length it's in three parts, here are the links to Part 1 (if you can't use the embedded object above), Part 2 and Part 3.

The Science Of Sleep

2007-02-24T10:09:00.001Z

Following the death of his Mexican father, Stéphane (Gael García Bernal) moves to Paris to be nearer his mother. Here he falls in love with Stéphanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) the girl who lives next door. However, the path of true love never runs smoothly as Stéphane spends much of his time living in a dream world.

"The Science Of Sleep" is written and directed by Michel Gondry, who previously directed "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" - one of my favourite films of 2004 (which is pretty good going considering it starred Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet; two of my least liked actors). In this film Gondry shows that same level of visual flair that he has brought to his other films and music videos, notably the cardboard 'dream TV studio' and the cave brimming with items made from felt, however it lacks the emotional resonance of "Eternal Sunshine".

I don't think this is down to the acting; Bernal and Gainsbourg are both good and they are ably supported by the rest of the cast. For me the problem lies with the script, "Eternal Sunshine" was scripted by Charlie Kaufman - one of the best screenwriters around, having also scripted "Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation." and "Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind" - whereas "The Science Of Sleep" is the brainchild of Gondry alone. The film starts well, full of charm and whimsy, but without someone to rein in Gondry's excesses, I felt the film overstayed its welcome and became dark and depressing towards the end.

Hot Fuzz

2007-02-21T20:05:00.001Z

I went into this film with very high expectations, it's the first film that I've been itching to see in 2007 (others include '300' and 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End'). I'm a big fan of the works of Messrs Pegg & Wright - I've watched 'Spaced' more times than I care to remember and I loved 'Shaun Of The Dead'. (I'll happily admit to watching 'Shaun' at the cinema twice on the first day of its release!)

So, with such high expectations, was I disappointed? No. Although 'Hot Fuzz' lacks 'Shaun’s' brilliance (zom-rom-com), it is still a very enjoyable comedy taking the American action film (guns, cars, big explosions, male bonding) and dropping it in a sleepy English village.

If you've managed to miss the hype for 'Hot Fuzz', this Robert Rodriguez-scored trailer should give you an idea what to expect.

I'm now planning my next viewing of the film...

I-Spy At The Movies: Two Oscar winners have uncredited cameos in the film. Can you spot them?

Babel (The Final Post)

2007-02-20T08:15:00.000Z

Eureka! I've finally found out the name of the piece of music that is used during the helicopter scene.

It's "Iguazu" by Gustavo Santaolalla and the reason why I thought it was familiar is because it's also on "The Insider" soundtrack - it popped up on iTunes on random play this morning.

Notes On A Scandal

2007-02-14T18:57:00.000Z

The scandal in question is an affair between a teacher (Cate Blanchett) and fifteen year old boy, while the notes are provided by a bitter, lonely older woman (Judi Dench).

An interesting drama (psychological thriller?) from Richard Eyre (director) and Patrick Marber (screenwriter) - two people best known for their stage work - adapting Zoë Heller's novel.

Blanchett is good as the idealistic Sheba but the film belongs to Dench who is truly disturbing as Barbara; the film is interspersed with vitriolic narrative rants from her character. She brings the sort of menace to the screen that was sadly lacking from 'Hannibal Rising'.

Hannibal Rising

2007-02-11T20:58:00.001Z

Having finished the book last weekend and seen the film yesterday, this will be a combination on my thoughts on both of them.

"Hannibal Rising", as the title suggests, covers Hannibal's early years. One of the elements missing from "Hannibal" (the 2001 film) that was covered in its 'sister' novel was hints at events in Hannibal's childhood; "Hannibal Rising" fills in any gaps that the earlier novel may have had. (The latest film's/novel's 'shock' revelation will come as no surprise to anyone who has read "Hannibal".)

The story is ostensibly a revenge story; without giving too much away, a young adult Lecter hunts down and kills off those people who wronged him during his childhood. The book and film are almost exactly the same (save a storyline about stolen artworks which appears in the book), which isn't a surprise as they were both written by Thomas Harris (the author of the other three Lecter novels).

If I have a problem with "Hannibal Rising" - the film is watchable and the book flies by at quite a pace - it is that it demystifies and attempts to humanise Hannibal Lecter, I'd rather his past had been kept a mystery. In "Red Dragon" (my favourite of the novels, which spawned my favourite of the films - Michael Mann's "Manhunter") 'Hannibal the Cannibal' is dangerous and manipulative; although you learn very little about him and he isn't the story's main character, he certainly makes the biggest impression. The later Lecter stories (especially the films) paint Hannibal as more of an anti-hero. Now we learn that Hannibal became a monster because of the bad things that happened to him in his childhood. Here he is portrayed as a vigilante; in the orphanage where he grows up he only picks fights with bullies and later he hunts down and metes justice on war criminals. As a fan of the earlier Lecter stories, this seems like one story too many, an unnecessary 'prologue' to the series...

Babel (Again...)

2007-02-09T20:25:00.000Z

One lesson I don't seem to have learnt is that if you don't enjoy a film first time around, don't go to see it again...

Last night I went to see Babel again* and my opinion of it didn't change from my first review. Although one sequence that I really liked, that I forgot to write about first time around, was the helicopter flight sequence (probably because at the time I was trying to work out what the piece of music being used was).

*I should add that I went to see it again as part of an evening course I'm doing, rather than out of choice.

The Decemberists

2007-02-08T18:34:00.001Z

How to describe The Decemberists? A blend of Barenaked Ladies meets folk...

Last night's gig at Nottingham Trent University was a very enjoyable 100 minutes. I'm not totally familiar with their material (I've only listened to one of their albums a couple of times) but that didn't really matter on the night. I wasn't sure how the gig was going to go; were the band po-faced musicians or did they have fun with the audience? My question was answered by the very tongue-in-cheek intro that was performed just before the band came on. From there on out we were treated a really good set, with a fair bit of banter with the audience thrown in for good measure, culminating in the band members swapping instruments for a mad encore. Definitely someone I'd see again.

The Fountain

2007-02-07T17:20:00.001Z

"The Fountain" is the fifth film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky; "Pi" and "Requiem For A Dream" being the best known of his earlier films. "The Fountain" has suffered a troubled history - it was originally slated for production in 2002 as a big budget vehicle ($75m) for Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, but 'creative differences' between Pitt and Aronofsky lead to the production being shut down. Aronofsky then kick-started the project again in 2004 with a smaller budget ($35m) and two new lead actors.

I have a problem writing about this film for the simple reason that I didn't understand it... At the point where I thought I had a good idea of what was going on, the carpet was pulled from under my feet and I ended up leaving the cinema utterly confused.

So what I do know? The film is told through three interwoven story lines set over three time periods: the past, the present and the future. The two main actors Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz appear in all three stories as Tomas/Tommy/Tom and Isabel/Izzi respectively. In the past a Spanish conquistador is on a quest to find the Tree of Life supposedly worshipped by the Mayans, in the present a doctor is looking for a cure for brain tumours (which may come from a rare tree from South America) to save his dieing wife and in the future a man is travelling through space in a giant terrarium with a dieing tree to a nebula (that the Mayans called Xibalba) in order to give it new life.

My confusion comes around what, in the context of the film, is 'real' and what is 'fiction'. The past story line may be fiction, maybe it's the past and the future that are imagined, perhaps it's all real...

Despite my incomprehension of "The Fountain", it was an engaging film. The main performances were strong (and this comes from someone who isn't a Rachel Weisz fan), it is visually stunning (Aronofsky used micro-photography of chemical reactions for the film's nebular effects rather than CGI to give it an organic feel) and Clint Mansell's score compliments the emotions of the film well. Like "Pi" I suspect that this film will probably make more sense following a second viewing.

Rocky Horror Show

2007-02-03T10:38:00.001Z

Yesterday I went to see 'Rocky Horror Show' on stage...

Again...

I'm not sure if this was the third or the fourth time I've seen it, but it's a show that keeps dragging me back for more (pun intended)...

I caught the earlier of the day's shows (6pm), which meant that there wasn't a great deal of dressing-up (and although I was in costume, I have to admit that I didn't go the whole hog myself) and the audience wasn't at its most vocal - lots of 'virgins' I suspect... (Rumour has it that the later show ran 20 minutes longer because of the audience participation!)

Nevertheless, it was (as always) a great show! Due credit has got to be given to Brian Capron as "The Narrator" and David Badella as "Frank 'N' Furter" - it was a close run race over who stole the show. Capron built up a great 'rapport' with the audience, but you could tell that Badella absolutely relished his role; making it feel fresh - not something that's easy to do considering anyone playing Frank lives in the shadow of Tim Curry's original performance. Given an opportunity, I'd quite happily watch another performance of this production.

I suspect it's time for another viewing of 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' on DVD...

Bobby

2007-01-31T19:03:00.000Z

June 6th 1968 - Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy has a date with destiny.

Rather than being a direct Kennedy biopic, ‘Bobby’ follows the lives of a number of guests and employees of the Ambassador Hotel in the hours leading up to Kennedy’s assassination. Written and directed by Emilio Estevez, ‘Bobby’ successfully captures the zeitgeist; the film is peppered with contemporary footage, music and photos giving the viewer an impression of what 1968 America was like. America’s hopes and fears for the future are shown on screen and vocalised by the cast.

However, having assembled a great cast, the film doesn’t do much with them other than help capture the spirit of the time. “22 lives linked by a moment the world will never forget” (as the poster claims) means that not much screen time can be given to each of them; I would have preferred for it to have concentrated more on some stories and while others were dropped. Ultimately ‘Bobby’ is a very average film; it’s not bad, but it doesn’t excel either.

2007 seems to slowly be turning into the “Year of the Ensemble Cast” with ‘Bobby’ joining ‘A Prairie Home Companion’ and ‘Babel’; that’s three in one month.

The Return Of Monkey!

2007-01-30T23:14:00.000Z

Just a quick post to say how pleased I am to see the return of 'Digital Monkey'!

Having languished in the media desert for a number of years, this writer's favourite simian is back on TV and this time he's advertising PG Tips.

It's nice to see PG Tips going back to primates without resorting to dressing chimps up in human clothes - the old adverts never sat well with me!

Just watching the new advert warms my cockles... (It's also rare to see an advert that actually references failure: "when that TV thing went belly up...")

Now off to see if I can get a free mini Monkey!

"Three stirs clockwise, two stirs back, 1¾ sugars, show it the milk"

The Last King Of Scotland

2007-01-27T17:19:00.000Z

Based on Giles Foden's novel, 'The Last King Of Scotland' is a fictional depiction of Uganda following Idi Amin's coup d'etat in the early 1970s.

The film's story is told from the perspective of Nicholas Garrigan - a recently qualified Scottish doctor - who is working in a mission hospital in Uganda as a way of spiting his father's plans for him to join the family practice. Following a chance encounter with Uganda's new president, Garrigan finds himself becoming Amin's personal physician and confidant. The film starts off gently with Garrigan slowly being seduced by all that the charismatic Amin has to offer him; he doesn't take much persuading to move from the sparse mission hospital (even if it does offer the charms of Gillian Anderson) to a plush private residence in Kampala.

As the film progresses, however, Garrigan is slowly drawn into and becomes complicit in the horrors that surround Amin's dictatorship; a vocalised suspicion leads to the 'disappearance' of the country's health minister. Before he realises it, Garrigan finds himself beyond the point of no return and desperate measures are needed if he is to save his own life.

The mood of the film changes almost imperceptibly, what starts off as a vibrantly colourful film slowly gets darker. Like Garrigan, the viewer is lured into the spider's web, with only the occasional glimpse that something is wrong; the true horror of Amin's regime isn't exposed until quite late into the film. This subtle change in mood is similar to that seen in Richard Loncraine's film adaptation of 'Richard III', where you only realise that Richard's army has slowly transmogrified into wearing black uniforms moments before he goes and delivers a Nuremberg-esqe speech.

The film stars Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy as Amin and Garrigan respectively, both excellent in their roles. Whitaker convincingly turns from charmer to monster (sometimes during the course of a scene). As a counterpoint, McAvoy is utterly believable as someone who slowly realises that he maybe beyond redemption; he starts off all 'bright-eyed and bushy-tailed' and ends the film a broken shadow of his former self. The performance of the film's main actors is bolstered by a uniformly impressive supporting cast, to highlight any of them would do a disservice to those that don't get mentioned.

All in all, 'The Last King Of Scotland' is an impressive 'period thriller' and recommended (albeit disturbing) viewing.

Kayu Gangsa

2007-01-25T15:37:00.000Z

I first saw Kayu Gangsa as part of last year's "Drop In The Ocean Festival". Strolling into Nottingham City Council House I heard soothing music floating around the building; a real contrast to the hubbub of the Market Square. Heading into the Council House's Ballroom, I was faced by group of people playing weird and wonderful percussion instruments. Thus was my first introduction to Malayan gamelan; a form of ensemble playing from Indonesia (more about this music form can be found on Wikipedia).

This week, I was lucky enough to catch Kayu Gangsa again at the Lakeside Arts Centre in Nottingham, where they played a set of twelve pieces of music that varied from the classical Malay Court gamelan of 'Timang Burung' to 'Marian's Rambles', which was a gamelan version of four English folk tunes. This concert was a stark difference to the previous 'gig' I went to - Steven Seagal. A relaxing 100 minutes was spent letting the music wash over me, while playing the game 'What instrument is making that noise?'

If you ever get a chance to see a gamelan performance, I can't recommend it enough; it's something you have to experience rather than read about.

Steven Seagal

2007-01-23T00:31:00.000Z

"From the home of the blues to a town near you"

No, you're eyes aren't deceiving you, it's that Steven Seagal, him out of the movies!

Saturday was one of the more surreal evenings of my life as I stood in a sports hall in Market Harborough Leisure Centre and watched Steven Seagal play the blues to a sell-out audience.

It would appear that as well as being an actor, producer and director, Mr. Seagal (aka "Mojo Priest") is also a musician; he has written and performed songs for some of his films (e.g. "Under Siege 2"), he has composed soundtracks for at least two of his films and released two albums ("Songs From The Crystal Cave" and "Mojo Priest").

The gig was Steven Seagal and his band Thunderbox playing a 'Delta blues' set; some interesting songs about scrambled eggs and alligator ass. The performance seemed to be the result of a weird symbiotic relationship; a fairly accomplished but nondescript band seemed to carry Steven Seagal but at the same time his name seemed to carry the band. Having said that, it was a very enjoyable gig, much better than I expected (the three pints I had before the gig may have had added to my enjoyment) and even the most cynical of audience members* were crying out for "Steven!" to come on and do an encore.

In fact the encore really sealed my enjoyment of the gig... Just as the band was about to come back on, the stage lighting failed plunging the venue into darkness. Now I can imagine a lot of bands refusing to come on and do the last number in this situation, however the band came on and did a great cover of "Wild Thing" - with lots of audience participation - lit only by flashes from cameras in the audience and a torch that a roadie had found and was used to 'spotlight' Steven Seagal.

*Here's a potted review from a 'cynical audience member':

"Actually it was pretty good.

Mr Seagal had (quite wisely) surrounded himself with a very talented R&B band, which basically allowed him to sing along whilst rattling off some blue riffs...

He's not gonna be challenging any of the blues greats with his playing, but nevertheless, he could play sufficiently well to carry it off and overall they seemed to go down a storm."

Casino Royale

2007-01-18T17:42:00.000Z

Last weekend I took the opportunity to see 'Casino Royale' for a third time, pleased to say I enjoyed it as much I did first time around. Here's what I thought about it after my first viewing:

"Caught 'Casino Royale' yesterday and have to say I really enjoyed it.

Probably the best Bond for quite some time. As much as I liked Brosnan as Bond, the quality of the films he was in got worse as time went by; after a promising start with 'Goldeneye', the films deteriorated (I have previously said that 'Tomorrow Never Dies' was the last good Bond film).

Thankfully 'Casino Royale' has come along!

Before kicking off with my thoughts on the film, I'll list my top three films to start with so you what floats my boat as far as Bond films go: 'From Russia With Love', 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' and 'Goldeneye'. (The perfect Bond IMHO would have been OHMSS starring Sean Connery)

'Casino Royale' is a "wipe the slate clean" Bond - it introduces the character anew, covering his first mission as a "Double O". Having said that though, it's difficult to talk about any Bond film without referring to earlier films, but here goes... It has the feel of an early Connery movie, i.e. more reliant on plot than gadgets, one-liners or set-pieces. Granted it has all of those to some extent, it's just that the makers have turned down the "volume" on those aspects of the Bond franchise. One thing they really have turned down (praise the Lord) is the amount of CGI in the film; no silly surfing CGI waves or invisible cars in this film! (Hopefully lessons were learnt from the 'Die Another Day' debacle.) Instead the film-makers have concentrated on making Bond seem realistic and gritty; rather than have a CGI laden sequence, they instead opt for a great chase involving a Bond after a character played by a free-runner (those crazy jump from building to building guys from France). This sequence had me on the edge of my seat - A great athlete versus Bond's predatory cunning. Hats off to Martin Campbell for a great bit of directing! (Although I am a little biased as he directed 'The Edge Of Darkness' - one of my favourite things ever made - and he did a good job on 'Goldeneye'.)

Daniel Craig puts in a really credible performance. I have to admit, when I first heard he'd been cast I thought it was the worst choice ever ("Blond Bond WTF!?") especially when Clive Owen walks this Earth. However, I started warming to him when I saw the trailers and having seen the finished product I take it all back; I'll happily see him play Bond again. In fact, I'm looking forward to May 2008 already!

As for the plot, they stick pretty closely to the original novel (which is a short affair) and fill it out and modernise it quite well whilst keeping the memorable moments of the source material. For example, they've swapped Baccarat (who understands that game?) for poker. A "pleasant" surprise is that they've kept the scene with an open bottomed wicker chair - if you've read the novel you know what I'm on about!"

A Prairie Home Companion

2007-01-12T18:12:00.000Z

Robert Altman’s last film is rather presciently a film about things coming to an end and death. The story – written by Garrison Keillor – concentrates on the last performance of a weekly ‘old time’ radio show which is due to close as the theatre it broadcasts from has been bought by a company and is due to be demolished.

Typically for Altman this is a ‘character piece’ more than a ‘story piece’; switching between on-stage music and off-stage drama, all moderated by Garrison Keillor’s ‘GK’. There are some great singing performances; Woody Harrelson & John C. Reilly as Dusty & Lefty perform a nice comedy number called “Bad Jokes”, while Meryl Streep & Lily Tomlin are surprisingly good as The Johnson Sisters. Off-stage the characters are a little stranger; Kevin Kline plays Guy Noir – the theatre’s security manager who comes over like a film noir private - while Virginia Madsen plays a strange woman that not everyone can see, who turns out to be an angel of death come to collect some souls.

Despite some strong performances, I found the film disappointing; I usually enjoy Keillor's mid-West tales either in print or listening to him perform them, however this particular one left me unsatisfied. It was also disappointing that it was Altman's swansong, as it doesn't compare well against his 'greats', such as "MASH" and "Gosford Park".

“Interesting Factoids”:
- The roles of Dusty & Lefty were originally slated for Tom Waits and Lyle Lovett.
- George Clooney almost played the ‘out of place’ Guy Noir.
- There is a credit for Paul Thomas Anderson, who was available as ‘stand-by’ director should Altman be unable to finish the film.

Babel

2007-01-10T17:51:00.000Z

Caught a preview screening of this film yesterday courtesy of The Guardian.

It's the new film by the team that brought us 'Amores Perros' and '21 Grams'. Like the two earlier films, 'Babel' interlinks a number of seemingly disparate story lines and as the film progresses you slowly discover the links that join them together. There are four stories in this film; an American couple are involved in a life-threatening accident while abroad, a Mexican woman wants to get to her son's wedding, two Moroccan boys play around with a hunting rifle and a deaf-mute girl in Japan is trying to get over the death of her mother. As you can see from the descriptions this is a global film, but the stories are all linked.

The film is beautifully shot, taking advantage of the stark contrast in the different locations. One moment you're in the desolate Moroccan desert and the next you're in a busy Japanese cityscape. There are some moments of real directorial flair; two stand-outs scenes are the Mexican wedding and a sequence in a Japanese nightclub where you cut from being able to hear the music to having just the visuals, giving you a sense of the deaf character's point of view. Which leads me onto something I really liked about the film - Rinko Kikuchi's performance; despite not actually being deaf, I thought she was very convincing. And of the story threads in the film, this was for me the most engaging.

The biggest disappointment about the film was the device that links all the stories, it felt very tenuous and unnecessary. The stories would have worked better as separate entities, the need to join them - as per the director's previous films - I felt diminished the power of the film. The actors seemed underutilised - Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Gael García Bernal have all been better and were poorly served by the fact that they were only in smaller segments of a larger film. At least we do get to see Brad do his trademark 'frantic' (see 'Twelve Monkeys', 'Se7en', etc) at one point in the film.

Ultimately, I'm not sure if I enjoyed the film or if I think it is pretentious twaddle... A case of the whole being less than the sum of its parts.

Question: Can anyone tell me, what is the piece of music that is used during the helicopter scene?

Deep Water & Apocalypto

2007-01-05T15:41:00.000Z

A good start to the year...

Deep Water

A documentary relating the events of the 1969 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race - the first solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race - concentrating on the tragic events surrounding Donald Crowhurst, a British businessman and amateur yachtsman.

Crowhurst was woefully unprepared for the voyage, his boat the Teignmouth Electron was a custom-built (and untested) trimaran and the safety devices he planned to install weren't complete, but as a result of sponsorship deals he faced bankruptcy if he didn't launch on the race's deadline of 31st October. After setting off, he found he was travelling less then half his planned speed and estimated his odds of survival as 50/50. He ended up circling the waters off Brazil and Argentina while sending in faked reports of his position and speed. To save face, his plan was to wait until all the ships were on their return journey and to slip in behind the pack and come in last, filing a falsified log book which wouldn't be under much scrutiny as he wasn't going to win either of the race's prizes; the Golden Globe trophy for the first sailor home and £5,000 to the yacht with the quickest speed.

However, events overtook him and he ended up being the only yacht left in the race (Robin Knox-Johnston having already finished); all the other competitors having retired from the race for one reason or another. Receiving news via Morse that he would return to a hero's welcome having completed the fastest journey, Crowhurst knew that his deception would be uncovered. He drifted at sea for a number of days, slowly descending into madness before finally committing suicide.

'Deep Water' comes from the producer of 'Touching The Void' and relies in the main on archive audio and video footage interspersed with modern interviews with key people who have a personal stake in the tale such as Knox-Johnston and Crowhurst's widow and son. The film is an engrossing and sympathetic portrayal of the turmoil that Crowhurst went through; the dilemma of not wanting to let down his family and friends while facing bankruptcy if he turned back too early, the psychological pressure brought about by spending months alone at sea and his eventual suicide upon realising that he would be exposed.

Apocalypto

The latest blockbuster from Mel Gibson, despite its historical setting, is at its (bloody) heart an action-chase movie.

It is the story of one Jaguar Paw, a hunter whose idyllic lifestyle is shattered when his village is destroyed by Mayan marauders. Bound by his captors, Jaguar Paw is forced to march to a Mayan city where the females are to be sold as slaves while the males are to be sacrificed to quench the thirst of the Sun god who has brought famine and pestilence to the Mayans. At the moment when Jaguar Paw's heart is about to be wrenched still-beating from his body and his head chopped off and thrown down the temple's steps, he is 'rescued' by a solar eclipse. (You can tell this is coming as it's on the film's poster, it's just a surprise that the Mayans who were fabled for their ability to tell the time through movements of the Sun and other celestial bodies didn't see it coming!) The film then becomes one extended chase sequence as Jaguar Paw runs pell-mell back to the ruins of his village, intent on rescuing his heavily pregnant wife and young son from the cave that he lowered them into just before he was captured, while being chased by a pack of vengeful Mayans. Oh and then the conquistadors turn up...

If this plot sounds wafer thin, that's because it is! However, that doesn't stop it from being an enjoyable popcorn movie. Yes, I realise it's historically inaccurate. (Here are two things I know of that are worthy of mention: 1) The Mayan civilisation was long gone by the time the conquistadors turned up. 2) Although the Mayans participated in human sacrifice, it wasn't on the assembly-line basis that you see in the film). I should add that it's performed in the 'Mayan tongue' - which means arty style subtitles - but you don't really need to read the dialogue to know what's happening.

After the initial scene setting, the film has three distinct sections. The first is the destruction of Jaguar Paw's village, which plays out like a fight sequence from Michael Mann's 'Last Of The Mohicans', but turned up to 11. The second part, when our hero is transported to the Mayan city, has an 'Apocalypse Now' feel to it; strange encounters had en route to a final destination, complete with a scary prophecy-spouting child. The final section, with Jaguar Paw outwitting his pursuers, comes over like a loin-cloth wearing version of 'Die Hard'/'First Blood' as our hero picks off his enemies one-by-one using his finely honed hunter skills.

I went into 'Apocalypto' with very low expectations, but found myself thoroughly enjoying the film as a piece of pure escapism. Gibson as usual has directed another enjoyable action film that needs to be seen on a big screen, as the story is wrapped up by beautiful imagery and great cinematography - another way that this film is similar to 'Last Of The Mohicans'. The film is by no means flawless, for example, it starts with a quote about a civilisation having to destroy itself from within before it can be conquered from without, and I'm not sure where this central idea disappeared to amongst all the blood.

Warning: It is violent and deserves its 18 certificate, as it is pretty gruesome in places; panther maulings, human sacrifices (did I mention still-beating hearts?), Japanese movie-style blood spurts, artistic blood sprays when clubs hit heads (think of the Sony Bravia advert with the paint bombs exploding around the block of flats). You have been warned.

Film 2006

2007-01-03T22:07:00.000Z

Decided to start the year by setting up a blog where I can jot down my thoughts on the films I see. May also include any DVDs, books, music, etc that I also feel worthy of a mention.

Before posting about new films I've seen, I thought I'd start of with a list of the films I enjoyed last year. In no particular order they were:

Grizzly Man - Documentary meets the darkest of humour. Parts of me suspects (hopes?) we may have been part of an elaborate joke.

United 93 - A film that was utterly moving and realistic. Had to keep reminding myself I wasn't watching a documentary.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Not a great film, but I saw it three times which means I either enjoyed it or I'm a masochist! (Oh yeah, it had pirates in it!)

Thank You For Smoking - A close run with some of the other films that didn't make the cut, but I enjoyed the ensemble cast and the film's sentiments.

Miami Vice - It's a Michael Mann film, and they always have a special place in my heart.

Children Of Men - A great vision of a dystopian future. The single shot combat sequence at the end was the cherry on the icing.

The Departed - Feels strange picking a remake in a year of strong films, but the strength of all the performances ensured its place in my Top 10.

The Prestige - An engaging movie that managed to hide some of its secrets till the end, a rarity for me.

Casino Royale - Bond the way I like it; gritty, realistic, fewer gadgets and less reliance on the sort of CGI that marred 'Die Another Day'. Just hope that the franchise follows this vein.

Pan's Labyrinth - Violent and enchanting in equal measures. At times I wish I was an optimist by nature. Films that involve a twist on the fairy story always piqué my interest.

Films that almost made the list:
- A Scanner Darkly
- Inside Man
- Lady Vengeance
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Slither
- The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada