Chimpomatic

Burn Up

BBC2

The planet’s in crisis! The ice-caps are melting! The oil industry’s like, really, really bad!

In Burn Up, a new two-part mini-series eco drama, that’s pretty much what we learn, along with other IMPORTANT INSIGHTS like: Don’t trust the Americans. Don’t trust the Brits. And really, really, don’t trust the pesky Chinese.

Rupert Penry Jones (nice English man from Spooks) stars as a nice English man who somehow finds himself promoted to head honcho of some oil company when his father in law decides he’s had enough of getting his hands dirty. For someone who’s obviously been working in the oil industry for a bit, he’s pretty naive about how the whole oil thing is going down. He hires nice wind-farm lover Neve “Scream” Campbell to make it look like his company gives a shit about investing in sustainables (but they don’t really, mwah ha-ha), then seems surprised when he starts to work out that actually she’s the one making sense (around the same time he notices she’s quite hot) and all his nice corporate buddies, like shady Uncle Mack (Bradley Whitford from the West Wing) are actually the real loonies running around the planet, digging stuff up, destroying those nice polar bears and casually killing anyone who gets in their way.

Marc Warren seems to be having quite a good time as an ambiguous British diplomat moving and shaking behind the scenes, scoring points off the Americans and generally being a bit shady. But other than that, it’s all pretty cartoony, one of those message-dramas where they’re so busy cramming lots of IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD that they forget to write a believable drama.

It’s hard to accept that anyone at the top of the oil food chain could really be so uninformed about anything to with the reality of the situation. But more importantly, are we really supposed to buy the idea of a post-Kyoto eco summit where all the delegates are schmoozing in the same after-hours disco, bopping and drinking while images of ice-caps melting are projected on the walls? Hey international delegates! Worn out by all that complicated chat about production caps and carbon trading? I know! Let’s all wind down by going to a rave sponsored by Greenpeace! And as for the final big dramatic bit (I’d say this was a SPOILER, or even a spOILer, but really it’s not giving away much to let you know that this predictable drama ends in a chase) - are we really supposed to believe you can just sneak into Calgary stadium in the middle of the night for some clandestine meetings on the steps just because it makes for a scenic location? What? Security’s so lax in a major city where they’ve got thousands of diplomats and eco-protesters running around that you can break into such a public space? Could you break into Wembley like this on a normal day, let alone one when your city is under international scrutiny? The O2? Koko’s got better security! It’s totally ridiculous.

Obviously it’s good to see that fiction isn’t operating in a bubble, that people are trying to draw our attention to the plight of the penguins etc etc. But this doesn’t really help. Maybe the planet would be better off if we turned off our TVs for the four-odd hours it takes to watch Burn Up...

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#chimp71

22nd Jul 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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Torchwood

Season 2 Episode 1

Didn't really get into the first series of Torchwood - have to admit, Doctor Who's passed me by for the most part, so a spin-off didn't really excite that much. And the ones I watched felt like they were relying too much on the ooh! shock! factor with their swearing/snogging and not enough on either the sci-fi or characters to make it work.

Maybe my expectations were lowered, but the first ep of the second series (on BBC2 Jan 16) is a big improvement on what I've seen before. It's snappier, tighter, and feels like they've listened to the critics and tried to fix the problems. You've still got a Cardiff that's pretty much empty, and the odd shot of Cap'n Jack jumping up on a rooftop (a character trait they point out) and some of the trademark polysexual kissing. But on the other hand, they've drafted in James Marsters - Spike from the mighty Buffy.

Now, it may be that it all goes down the pan again further on in the series when he's not around to beat the crap out of Jack, but it's a pretty inspired cameo, even if he is basically playing the very Spike-like "rogue Time Agent Captain John Hart". He's got real presence, and has obviously got used to delivering lines about odd creatures and made-up fantasy blah with real intensity over the years. He also looks a bit like one of Adam's Ants, circa Kings Of The Wild Frontier.

They also cram in some Star Wars references, a nice "where are the blondes on your team?" Buffy gag, and even almost get you to forget all those annoying appearances from Barrowman on Strictly Come Dancing, Jonathan Ross and BBC Breakfast etc.

Am all in favour of the BBC working on new genre pieces like this, and do think the return of the Who enterprise has on the whole been a good thing - even if it's really more of a teatime kids treat than the multi-level fun that US shows like Buffy managed to create. Hope it continues to get better from here - Captain Spike is back for a few more eps, along w Alan "Jim from Neighbours" and Martha from the Tardis later on.

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#chimp71

4th Jan 2008 - 7 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

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Best of 2007

chimp71

Top 5 albums
1 Radiohead - In_Rainbows
Just instantly sounded better than everything I'd heard for months - and for once in our instant preview/early release/download era, an album felt like an event.
2 Devandra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Love the 70s laid-back vibe here, traversing rock, folk and tropicalia effortlessly.
3 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
Beyond the hipster hype, an album with something to say, and a fresh way of saying it.
4 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Warm rock, the perfect soundtrack to a snow-bound expedition. Great solos too.
5 Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times
They disappointed live, but any album that kicks off with a good 7 minutes of slow-burning driving music is a winner round these parts.

Runners Up:
Justice - +
Demented production, great inventive dance/pop that felt like it could only have been released in 2007.
Brazil 70
OK, it's a compilation of post-Tropicalia freak-outs from 70s Brazilian, but most of it was new to me this year.
Burial - Untrue
Intriguing dubstep with soul
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Bit like eating a whole chocolate cake after a while, but still great in small chunks.

Top 5 gigs
1 The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang - The O2 August 26
They still rule. Billed as the last-ever tour too, glad to have finally caught them.
2 Prince - 3121 - The O2, August 31
Unstoppable showmanship, amazing guitar, huge catalogue of hits to draw on.
3 Wilco - Shepherd's Bush Empire, May 20
Possibly even better live than on record.
4 Beastie Boys - Brixton Academy, September 4
Good to see the BBs again, still got the skills to pay the bills.
5 Black Mountain - Cargo, December 5
Great introduction to a band I'd only heard on one track before - might have been higher in this list if I'd been able to sing along more.

Also: Cornelius/Matmos - Royal Festival Hall
Laptops, psychedelia, rock-outs and pure pop. RFH refurb works too.
The Vitamin Trip reunion, Joyce Is Not Here, September, Hong Kong
Just about pulled it all together again after ten years.

Top 5 films
1 Inland Empire
Unhinged Lynch. Not sure there's anywhere for him to go after this, but it's hard to beat for showing the extremes of cinema possibility; great performance from Laura Dern too.
2 The Lives Of Others
Brutally sharp in its dissection of recent state madness, and the ways people surprise and disappoint.
3 Superbad
McLovin!
4 Knocked Up
Great way to play both sides of the romcom gender split.
5 Disturbia
Enjoyed the tight scale and execution of this MySpace generation Rear Window.

Runners Up:
2 Days In Paris
Night Of The Sunflowers
Zodiac
Smokin' Aces
The Bourne Ultimatum

Most Disappointing threequel - Shrek The Third
Sucked as much as the first two rocked.

Top 5 tracks
1 Seahorse - Devendra Banhart
2 Bodysnatchers - Radiohead
3 Dear Dead Friends - Von Südenfed
4 Keep the Car Running - Arcade Fire
5 505 - Arctic Monkeys

Plus:
Ghost Ship - Menomena
Ponytail - Panda Bear
I Got Lost - Dinosaur Jr
Tenderoni - Chromeo
Love Your Man, Love Your Woman - The Broken Family Band
Veni Vidi Vici (Diplo Mix) - Black Lips
I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance - Black Kids
Is There A Ghost? - Band Of Horses

Top 5 TV shows
1 The Wire - FX/HBO
Just gets better and better. Does it really have to be the last series next time round?
2 Heroes - Sci-Fi/BBC2/NBC
Took a while to put everything in place, but this was one of the most fun shows around this year.
3 Entourage - ITV2/HBO
Vince and the gang are on a roll.
4 Flight Of The Conchords - BBC4/HBO
Jokes? Present. Songs? Present. Something new worth quoting.
5 30 Rock, Five/NBC
Didn't think this would be as funny as it is - Alec Baldwin's timing is great.

Runners Up:
Party Animals - BBC2
Lead Balloon - BBC2
Saxondale - BBC2
Comics Britannia - BBC4
Californication - Five
Five Days - BBC2
The Sopranos - E4/HBO
South Park - Paramount/Comedy Central

#Music
#chimp71

20th Dec 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

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Victor Bermon

Arriving At Night

Hefty

After a full on evening of five-a-side football on a ruddy cold March night, this album managed to find itself warming my cockles, and more to the point relaxing me enough to wind down within about four tracks. It opens with the pleasant Farewell Lunch For Laura which has a slightly smoky jazz orientation with minute snippets of a soft Coltrane sounding sax sample. Victor Bermon's Arriving At Night is aptly titled, as it's one of those ambient albums that many folk will encounter for the first time after a slammin' night, having gone back to someone's house in order to relax some. It's essentially a collection of bright melodic soundscapes incorporating some loosely plucky acoustic guitar and other string instruments, dreamy Rhodesy type Vibraphone sounds and drifting jazzy rhythms. There's actually something a bit TV or film soundtrack sounding about this whole album, and in fact the track Famous Discussion kind of reminded me slightly of the delightful theme music to BBC2's Arena programme.

Photographs Are Not Memories is about as rocking as it gets which is track 3, having thought it was track 2 until I double checked so that may give you the idea of how this album blends together somewhat. In fact if anything it does tend to sound a tad samey but then personally I find most albums in this ambient vein tend to.

This is Victor Bermon's debut album for Hefty Records. Don't rely on it to get you up and out of bed in the morning but it's warm and optimistic. You could certainly do worse than finding this as the soundtrack to your nocturnal arrival at a foreign destination

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#UncleG

25th Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet

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The Trap - What Happened To Our Dream Of Freedom

(dir. Adam Curtis)

BBC2

Another great three-part documentary from Adam Curtis, whose Power Of Nightmares had the weird effect of making me feel both better and worse about the whole war on terror politics of fear climate a few years ago.

This one joins the dots between game theory and the nebulous notion of freedom that blair and bush bleat on about the whole time, while ramping up surveillance culture, chopping away at civil liberties, and generally making the world a less secure place.

Contains lots of great moments (Thatcher hired some dude who'd been responsible for working out US nuclear strategy in the cold war to sort out the nhs) which really give you an insight - and overview - of just how crazy things have got without anyone really noticing

Highly recommended.

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#chimp71

8th Mar 2007 - 16 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

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