MAJOR LAZER

Diplo's side project.
Aka  Thomas Wesley Pentz

This is why I love Diplo.

PROMETHEUS RIDLEY SCOTT

PROMETHEUS

 Prometheus was an 8^th century Greek myth constructed by the poet Hesiod as the underdog to challenge Zeus’s omnipotence known to his mates as “Father of gods and men” to every one else ruler of Mount Olympus and god of the sky. Prometheus to his eternal regret saw fit to play a trick on Zeus, which handed meat back to man and the bones to the gods so when Zeus in his rage hid the fire like you do when some jumped up little up start takes the piss out of your omniscience and omnipotence “ I am the ruler of gods and man that cheeky little bleeder going to get such a slap” so you can imagine his reaction when Prometheus found the fire and gave it back to man, so Zeus did what any self respecting god would do and chained him to a rock for eternity.

The modern re-invention of Prometheus was through the NASA space project and the finding of volcanic rock formations and active volcanoes on Jupiter enter the daddy of sci-fi Ridley Scott with his version of Prometheus this looks like being the biggest film of the year and with the pre-release hype already looks like being a sci-fi classic on a pare with the neo-noir Blade Runner released exactly thirty years ago doubt that’s a coincidence but who cares because no one understands the sci-fi genera better than Ridley Scott he understands the need for strong story lines an emotional connection to the character whether that is one of sympathy or repugnance,  he wants the audience to go on a journey with his characters hence his always brilliant trailer teasers and the trailers for Prometheus are no exception.

Check out the TED teaser sheer brilliance.   

Oh and before I forget keep your eye out for Manchester's own Benedict Wong.

DO IT YOURSELF DOODLER

DO IT YOURSELF DOODLER

This intriguing little book by David Jablow is the product of found material, some bodies visual musing of unfinished outlines of a nude woman, he subsequently went on to produce 39 drawings as a response to the DO IT YOURSELF DOODLER and compile the images in picture book form.

TUPAC

TUPAC HOLOGRAM

This is possibly the best example of digital hologram technology. It felt almost as if he was there at the 2012 Coachella, this is not the first time hologram technology has been used on such a large scale as the Gorillaz pioneered it a good seven years ago and Japanese pop groups have been playing with the concept for years. That aside I don't want to jump on the neo-necromancy band wagon as this form of tribute looks like becoming a permeant fixture especially after such a great display at this years Coachella which is famous for its ground breaking mixture of music art and multimedia interactivity. so if you couldn't get to Indio check out the performance.

   

DALEY

DALEY


On the rise British soul sensation Daley has captured the imaginations of soul fans across the country. So I felt it my duty to check him out and so can you click on the video below.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON (AVENGERS)

SAMUEL L. JACKSON

With the imminent release of Avengers the movie I couldn’t help myself I just had to re-watch my favourite movies featuring or starring Samuel L. Jackson.

1.   Goodfellas directed by Martin Scorsese (1990)

Starring Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta

Samuel L. Jackson played Stacks Edwards

2.   Afro Samurai directed by Fuminori Kizaki and Jamie Simone

Written by Takashi Osazaki

Starring Samuel L. Jackson

Animated series

3.   Johnny Suede directed by Tom Dicillo (1991)

Starring Brad Pitt

Samuel L. Jackson played B-Bop

   

4.   True Romance directed by Tony Scott (1993)

Starring Christian Slater Patricia Arquette

Written by Quentin Tarantino

Samuel L. Jackson played Big Don

5.   Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino (1994)

Starring Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield with John Travolta and Uma Thurman

6.   The Long Kiss Goodnight directed by Kenny Harlin (1997)

Starring Samuel L. Jackson as Mitch Henessey and Gina Davis

7.   Jackie Brown directed by Quentin Tarantino (1997)

Starring Pam Grier and Samuel L. Jackson as Ordell Robbie

8.   Shaft (the remake) directed by John Singleton (2000)

Starring Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft

9.   Kill Bill Vol .2 directed by Quentin Tarantino (2004)

Starring Uma Thurman and David Carradine

Samuel L. Jackson played Rufus

10.                 The 51^st State directed by Ronny Yu (2001)

Starring Samuel L. Jackson as Elmo McElroy and

Robert Carlyle 

GRIMES

GRIMES

I got into the artist musician and filmmaker Grimes around 2010, with the Geidi Primes album, which was originally released on cassette in 2010 through Arbutus Records. Later in the same year, Grimes released her second album, Halfaxa, which I snap up just as quick telling any one who would listen just how great she is. In 2011, Grimes released a split 12” with D’eon titled Darkbloom this was a harder find as I am based in sunny Manchester but thank god for the internet. Grimes got busy again in 2012, with the release of her third album Visions in January just giving me chance to save up my pennies. This time a more melody driven mature sounding album.

The album Vision has been lorded over from Canada to Cambridge. Her song "Oblivion" from the album received five star reviews across the board. Grimes described the emotions behind the writing of her new album in a recent interview as being "equally enjoyable and tortuous but I feel like the fact that it was really hard was part of the reason that it was really good, you know? I definitely look back on that time with fond memories, even though I remember crying and being like “I hate everything!” at the time! (Laughs) But I recorded it in my room in Montreal and it was a really good way to work”.

As a fan I don’t care how tortuous she finds it as long as she keeps writing, Grimes is the cool thing to come out of Canada since, oh well Avril Lavigne, maybe not lets forget the Canadian link just check out the record.

Albums

Geidi Primes (Arbutus Records, 2010/No Pain in Pop, 2011)

Halfaxa (Arbutus Records, 2010/Lo Recordings, 2011)

Visions (Arbutus Records Canada/4AD US, 2012)

OBLIVION.  

ON THE ROAD

ON THE ROAD

The seminal 1950’s beat classic ‘ON THE ROAD’ has been adapted for the screen by Jose Rivera and directed by Brazilian Walter Salles (motorcycle diaries), executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring British born Sam Riley (Control), Kristen Stewart (Twilight saga, The Runaways), Garrett Hedlund (Tron) and Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia) Tom Sturridge (The Boat That Rocked).

In the first completed adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the road’. It has long been said the book was inspired by a rambling thousand-word letter from close friend Neal Cassady (author of The first third). Based on a sort of truth turned examination into the creative process, Kerouac made notes as he went on his expansive road trip, turning his notes into spontaneous prose and unconscious streams of thought which played out like a John Coltrane jazz improvisation. He wrote the novel in three weeks (almost as long as one Coltranes' tracks) typing continuously onto a 120ft sheet of paper it was this process of working that became synonymous with Kerouac’s work. And a blue print for a generation of artists from poets to filmmakers the work of John Cassavetes being a prime example of beat movie making.

Carlo Marx was based on Allen Ginsberg.

Old Bull Lee was based on William S.Burroughs.

Sal Paradise was based on Jack Kerouac.

Dean Moriarty was based on Neal Cassady.

Sam Riley - Sal Paradise

Garrett Hedlund - Dean Moriarty

Kristen Stewart - Marylou

Tom Sturridge - Carlo Marx

Viggo Mortensen - Old Bull Lee

Kirsten Dunst - Camille


Due for release in the autumn. 

BERLIN

URBAN EXING IN BERLIN

The seeking out and filming of derelict buildings has been an interest of mine for some time, some are of historical relevance and some are just of visual interest. The building I filmed in Frankfurter Berlin was a derelict institution  from the 1930's.
The sound design was created to give the viewer a sense of isolation.

 

ONLY GOD FORGIVES

ONLY GOD FORGIVES

The Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding Refn bromance continues unabated by the DRIVE Oscar snubs, they crack on with their next ultra dark thriller ONLY GOD FORGIVES.

Here’s a quick breakdown to wet your appetite Julian (Ryan Gosling) runs a Thai boxing club in Bangkok, where he escaped to ten years earlier after killing a cop. The club is a front a very organised drug operation, even though he has the respect of the underworld he feels empty a shell of the man he once was.

So when his brother murders a prostitute and a retired cop Chang (also known as the Angel of Vengeance) exacts his own kind of vengeance by allowing the father of the dead prostitute to kill her killer after which he then restores order by chopping off the fathers’ hand. So when Julian’s mother Jenna (Kristin Scott Thomas) the matriarchal figure of the criminal dynasty orders him to find his brothers killer his obsessions turn into soul searching and the search for spiritual release so Julian challenges Chang to a boxing match which Chang goes onto win. And there sets the stage for a brutal trail of vengeance by a furious mother. Will Julian find redemption or will mummy get revenge? Remember there are no happy endings in a neo-noir thriller just closure some times.

Anticipation rating:  off the scale.

  

RAMPART

RAMPART

Director:  Oren Moverman

Writers: James Ellroy and Oren Moverman

Starring: woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Ned Beatty, Ice Cube, Robin Wright, Cynthia Nixon, Anne Heche.

Set in 1999 in the Rampart division of the Los Angeles police department, Rampart centres around veteran police officer David Brown who is caught on camera brutally beating a suspect. This act of brutality sets in motion the professional and emotional downward spiral of David Brown and in light of the current department corruption scandals combined with his past sins, his struggle to pull himself from swamp of his own creation seems immense even his nickname has the stench of corruption DATE RAPE DAVE.

Brown attempts to conceal his work life from his family life soon start to unravel. Which in its self is a usual living arrangement between himself and his two ex-wife’s’ who happen to be sisters (Ann Hech and Cynthia Nixon) and his two daughters. Internalizing his growing paranoia, anguish and fear of the on coming tidal wave of excrement about hit the fan he turns to aging mentor Hartshorne (Ned Beatty) who regularly dispensing him bad advice while relieving him of his cash which he is hemorrhaging at rapid rate, in his search for escapism he turns to drugs, alcohol and random sexual encounters, and its on one of his many cruising expedition he meets Linda Fentress (Robin Wright) the lawyer sent to entrap him, Joan Confrey (Sigourney Weaver) sits and waits holding the rope as his life starts to spin out of control and the rope starts to tightens Browns grip starts to loosen. Woody Harrelson portal of David Brown an aggressive chauvinist misanthrope exhibiting sexist, homophobic and racist tendencies somewhat clashes with his attraction to black women and his sometime hedonistic outings’ and the emotional support he gains from his gay daughter. Brown is an un-sympathetic and brutal character on the surface but thanks to Ellroy’s writing he leaves an open window into the complexity of Browns so even though you hate what he represents you may find yourself sympathising with his predicament.

I can’t leave this review without mentioning the cinematography of Bobby Bukoski the tight claustrophobic camera angles the intense use of colour. A prime example was his drug fuelled bender the vivid colour saturation the intoxicating lighting and ripping sound design layered with the visual intensity of the club scene managed to translate his emotional state of mind to the audience and that is what any great cinematographer should be able to do, not forgetting the amazing editing skills Jay Rabinowitz.

RATE: TWO THUMBS AND A FINGER

 

                                

SCREENINGS AT CORNERHOUSE AND AMC




WOODY'S TOP FIVE


1. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - CARSON WELLS 
       (DIRECTED BY THE COEN BROTHERS)


2. NATURAL BORN KILLERS - MICKEY KNOX
       (DIRECTED BY OLIVER STONE)


3. WELCOME TO SARAJEVO - FLYNN
        (DIRECTED BY MICHAEL WINTERBOTTOM)


4. THIN REDLINE - SGT KECK
       (DIRECTED BY TERRENCE MALICK)


5. THE PEOPLE VS LARRY FLINT - LARRY FLINT
       (DIRECTED BY MILOS FORMAN)

            

GORILLAZ

GORILLAZ


No wonder Damon Albarn looked so haggard and drained at the Brits Awards, he was only working on yet another project this time with pump royalty Converse, collaborating on a set of limited edition Gorillaz Converse pumps and not one to do things by halves he's produced an epic thirteen minute track DO YA THANG along side LCD sound systems James Murphy and Andre 3000 to complement the trainers. Check out the making of the video and the video below.


MY RATING: TWO THUMBS AND A FINGER

                                    

BLACK GOD WHITE DEVIL

BLACK GOD WHITE DEVIL

Director: Glauber Rocha

Writers: Walter Lima Jr., Glauber Rocha, and Paulo Gil Soares

Cast: Geraldo Del Rey (Manuel) Yona Magalhaes (Rosa) Lidio Silva (Sebastian)

Country: Brazil

Release date: 1964

Aspect ratio: 4:3 PAL

Language: Portuguese

Shot in Sertao the arid north-eastern region of Brazil BLACK GOD WHITE DEVIL tells the story of Manuel a poverty stricken cowhand hoping for a miracle, his life takes a turn for the worst when he kills his corrupt an abusive boss in a fit of rage.

His actions force him to flee his home after his boss’s henchmen come after him. After his attempted capture goes horrible wrong including the death of his mother he tells his wife “We have nothing to take but our destiny” and so their journey begins.

 As outlaws they soon join up with self-proclaimed saint Sebastian who condones violence in the name of god, and preached some very disturbing doctrines followed blindly by his parishioners. Manuel soon becomes his lieutenant carrying out his every whim in the vain hope he will one day be blessed when they reach their promised land. A land only his wife believes dose not exist, her scepticism leads her to be ostracized by the not just Sebastian’s followers but also by Manuel who is compliant in the sacrifice of their baby son by Sebastian to rid Rosa of the devil. This single act of infanticide then sets off chain events that lead Manuel and his wife Rosa having to flee yet again when the assassin Corisco is hired by a senior priest to assassinate Sebastian he accepts the job with a very heavy heart, as he himself holds Sebastian in high esteem. But when Corisco turns up to find this great man already dead he massacres the camp and turns his attention to seeking out Manuel, pursuing him and his wife across the arid deserts of Brazil.  Not alone for long they seek shelter in the arms of gang leader Antonio and his heavily depleted gang. This is where the WHITE DEVIL in the title comes into play as Antonio changes Manuel’s name to Satan. As he battles with his faith Manuel moves into a life of crime as a member of Antonio’s gang who wages war on the wealthy landowners viewing their crimes as part of the fight against the ruling classes in the name of the oppressed, with Corisco in hot pursuit Manuel lives in constant fear of capture.

            

As a visual experience the film takes its style from the images of the Mexican Mural Movement the public arts movement from the1920’s lead by Jose Orozco and Diego Rivera whose murals and paintings inspired by the Russian socialist realism movement went on to document a generation. Glauber Rocha use of these paintings as visual blueprints married with a washed out hand held camera with its disjointed framing, experimental use of lighting, extensive use of symbolism (the rotting horse carcass in the opening shots) the most obvious use this visual prop was in the boulder scene where the messianic preacher Sebastian has him carry a boulder up a hill, this scene is clearly based on the Greek myth of Sisyphus who was condemned to a life of conducting the meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain then down again. Rocha has taken the absurdity of the story and applied it to the question of belief and what makes someone follow someone or something blindly with no real end in sight just the repetitive act of pushing a metaphorical boulder up and down a hill searching for meaning and clarity.

This idea is brought sharper into focus with the amazing folk sound track with the folk singer acting as a narrator as he lyrically charts the fortunes Manuel and Rosa and their journey to find their destiny. With the stirring melodies of Bach the atmospheric sound design which detaches and reattaches to the image, and on many occasions allowing sentences to just hang in air. The beauty of this style is what feels like out of sequence sound editing is in fact the abstract sound mixes and the magnification of the ambient sound married with direct sound that gives the film a surrealist bend that intensifies the spiritual elements of the film eluding to emotions that couldn’t be reproduced in pictures. These creative touches became the staple diet of what became know as CINEMA NOVO. A Brazilian filmmaking movement who were heavily influenced by the Italian Neorealist cinema (which was also a strong creative influence for the French New Wave film movement) lead by the great Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini where religious humanism communism and poetic realism feature heavily in their work. These themes make regular appearances in the CINEMA NOVE films within a Brazilian and Portuguesa context. Many of Glauber Rocha films deal with class conflict and social inequality mixing none verbal representation with cultural symbolism, the brooding man with the silent women looking on with a powerless sense of frustration. Rocha’s follow up to BLACK GOD WHITE DEVIL was ANTONIO DAS MORTES in 1969 also known as THE DRAGON OF EVIL AGAINST THE WARRIOR SAINT. A continuation of the historical tale of class conflict set against the arid backdrop of the Brazilian Sertao in theatre of absurdities.

Brazilian film history is littered with these little gems, so get digging you never know what you might find.

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE


Directed by: Sean Durkin
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes


This incredible first feature from writer/director Sean Durkin tells the story of Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) who's story begins at the end of her ordeal as we watch  Martha escaping from what looks to be a rural commune, which as the story unfolds is revealed to be an oppressive cult where young girls are brought in and then enslaved by the male leaders limited to one meal a day and sexually abused on regular bases this regressive cult has damaged our protagonist to an irreconcilable degree in desperation she seeks shelter and hopefully protection from her sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and we the viewers are asked to piece the past together.


The beauty of this film is that it goes about telling this very horrific story in such a quiet an understated way, so rather than hitting you in the face with the horror of it slowly peels away at it layer by layer showing you the grooming process in a believable context answering those question that we all ask ourselves when we read about these said same cults. How could they have been so gullible? This disquieting feel runs through the film played out most convincingly between the two sisters. Lucy's vapid border line obsessive compulsive, self analytical  preening and her emotionally stunted materialistic career obsessed husband Ted (Hugh Dancy)  clashes with Martha's ideology developed over her time in the cult as she constantly references ex-cult members and her experiences at the cult as if it were some kind of crutch to help her cope with life out side the cult. As she struggles to integrate into the outside world and her new life with her sister the slow release of her abuse at the hands cult starts to manifest its self in her behavior and her moods become more erratic from lying on the bed as her sisters bed while her sister and partner copulated beneath the sheets through to bouts of incontinence, as the story reveals how she became complicate in the grooming process showing the hunted becomes the hunter the film cleverly calls Martha's victim status into question as she herself begins to seem unsure of what is real and what is imagined it calls into question the validity of her recollections.


Patrick (John Hawkes) the cult leader is cleverly underplayed to a powerfully convincing degree as an abuser he comes across as seducer mesmerizing while in the same breath terrifying, controlled and restricting but still coming across as freeing.  By crafting Patrick in such away the director makes it impossible for you completely make up your mind about him as the subtle abuse is mixed with the (the changing of her name to Marcy May) overt acts of sexual abuse and by doing so making for a very ambiguous ending.


Summing up the director took a difficult subject and humanized it reframing from hysterics in favour of strong character studies.


RATE: TWO THUMBS AND A FINGER.

Screenings at CORNERHOUSE, AMC, ODEON

MADONNA'S HALFTIME SUPERBOWL SHOW

MADONNA


Madonna still wont go quietly as she put on one of the most spectacular halftime shows in Superbowl history wheeling out LMFO, M.I.A, NICKI MINAJ and CEE LO GREEN. Like the cool auntie refusing to grow old gracefully she showed the kids how it done (LADY GAGA watch and learn) she even managed to throw in a bit of controversy into the mix without it overshadowing the main event, with a little help from M.I.A flicking the middle finger and slipping out a curse word well rehearsed. she may not be able to make a film but she sure knows how to put on a show. YOU GO GIRL
Oh and Vogue don't forget to say thank you for the impressive free advertising. 


REVIEW: TWO THUMBS AND A VERY BIG FINGER

And before I forget NEW YORK GIANTS beat NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 21-17.

THE 2 BEARS

THE 2 BEARS - WORK


CHECK IT OUT

The 2 Bears, a side project of Hot Chip's Joe Goddard Well known from his recent hit 'Gabriël' has teamed up with dance-floor veteran Raf 'Daddy' Rundell to make an album of South London deep house reminiscent of late 80's early 90's house titled 'Be Strong,' tipped to be one of the debuts of 2012.
The final prelude to the release of they're highly anticipated debut album, 'Work' is the new single from The 2 Bears. 'Work' provides working-class poetry sounding like club music for grown-ups wanting a decadent summer of love return without their troublesome kids tagging along. Already hammered in clubs and on radio by the likes of Andrew Weatherall, Erol Alkan, Annie Mac and Pete Tong.
Mixes by courtesy of Toddla T, Oliver $, Supabeatz and Franky Rizardo.

RATE: TWO THUMBS AND A FINGER guaranteed floor filler

MATTHEW'S DAY OFF ADVERT

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF ADVERT


Rumour has it Matthew Broderick going to reprise his role as Ferris Bueller the iconic slacker created by John Huges. Produced for a comparatively small amount by todays standers it went on to be highest grossing film of 1986. Many have tried to replicate the Ferris formula but with little success, if anyone remembered the television spin off with Jennifer Anistion best we forget, I can't see anyone attempting it any day soon. The cleverer teasers by HONDA have done exactly what they were supposed to tease a generation who grew up in the 80's and now have teenagers of their own. The 80's and John Huges invented the teenager so why not take one of the most recognizable characters of that period and put him in advert and ask Todd Phillips of "The Hangover" fame to direct it. The advert will mimic famous scenes from the film and is due to be showcased on the night of the Super Bowl. Who knows if this goes well next year we could have Molly Ringwald advertising Stannah Stair Lifts.


Remember advertising's all about stealing from the creatively rich to sell to the financially poor.