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Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Inspiring documentary on the legendary cinematographer.
29th Sep 2010
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Promo Promo: Misunderstanding
Another slice of literal translation into video form, with Phil Collins having some kind of Misunderstanding in 1980's LA. It's now a nostalgia piece, featuring a bearded, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing Phil singing in the rain down a telephone, plus many sites of LA - including the demolished drive-in where DeNiro and his gang had a shootout in Heat.
28th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Promo Promo: Everyday Is Like Sunday
Morrissey's classic single Everyday Is Like Sunday is back on the digital record shelves today, in support of the upcoming Bona Drag re-issue. So, here's the classic video that accompanies the track - featuring a literal depiction of nearly every line in the song, with added walkman-sporting-moody-teenager and freeze frame ending. Love it.
27th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
RIP Leonard Skinner (aka Lynyrd Skynyrd)
the PE teacher who inspired Lynyrd Skynyrd to come up with their name (after telling them to cut their hair in high school) has died...
22nd Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
...although I'm tempted to award an extra half for the freeze-frame ending.
22nd Sep 2010
Read on TwitterThe Taking of Pelham 123
Over-cranked but dull remake of the Robert Shaw classic.
22nd Sep 2010
Read more 2.5 star reviews#Spotted: NZ Greg from FOTC as a tough talking suit in 'The Taking Of Pelham 123'.
22nd Sep 2010
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ABC Rolls Out iPad App for Interacting With 'My Generation' TV Episodes http://t.co/ClgmYg3 via @MacRumors
17th Sep 2010
Read on TwitterRoad to Perdition
Sam Mendes' cold and calculated 30s gangster flick. With great photography from Conrad Hall.
17th Sep 2010
Read more 3 star reviewsRT @RiversCuomo: U spelled "dependent" wrong @pitchforkmedia on Weezer Hurley:"the lows aren't as low or as frequent as http://bit.ly/9h9fQF
17th Sep 2010
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Wilco
Royal Festival Hall, London
Another sparkling performance from always-on-tour chimp favourites Wilco. I won't bore you with too many details - see here and here for some context.
Despite their repetitive schedule, the band are always in high spirits and tonight's show was littered with theatrics - from comedy introductions and explosive drum sections, to a bizarre, unexplained 80's keyboard cameo, to Jeff Tweedy's comparison between the Festival Hall and Star Wars' Galactic Senate.
The 40s+ post-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot haters were in force at the sit down venue, hanging out for Heavy Metal Drummer or a chance to hug their girlfriends when Jesus Etc was played ... which must put a strain on any band trying to move forward, but they were well satisfied with the YHF-heavy set. Personally, I wanted more from A Ghost Is Born....
15th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviews
Black Mountain
Wilderness Heart
With album number three, Vancouver's Black Mountain may be threatening to hit the mainstream ...and with an output history this solid and thrilling, they deserve nothing less.
While 2008's In The Future was a decade highlight for me, Wilderness Heart proves to be something of a departure from it's predecessor - eschewing that early 70's monolithic rock sound for something a little more modern. Circa 1978. Synths and keyboards litter the sound with hidden flourishes, while Amber Webber gets more time in the lime light on these concise, deceptively simple tracks.
Opener The Hair Song exudes a swaggering confidence, while Old Fangs is built around a riff worthy of AC/DC themselves. Empires are smashed, tempos are shifted and War of the Worlds-style synths rule in one of many mini epics on the album - where no tracks head far north of 5 minutes.
Rollercoaster dips before Webber's vocals soar. Let Spirits Ride takes the band on a freight train of their most thundering thrash to date, complete with electrifying guitar and keyboard solos. A calmness decends with the orchestral overtones of Buried by the Blues - but throughout the album Josh Wells' drumming is again a magnificent highlight, running in and out of the layered and intricate guitars and keyboards and providing a muscular and spine tingling backbone.
Title track Wilderness Heart is the highlight, cramming a ten minute epic into just under four minutes as all the elements magically come together perfectly: thunderous intro, duelling vocals, pneumatic waves of drumming and a soaring coda all weaving in and out of each other into a towering, all-conquering masterpiece. Thrilling.
13th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviewsOnce Upon A Time In The West Midlands
Dissapointing sub-Mike Leigh antics from Shane Meadows.
12th Sep 2010
Read more 2.5 star reviews#Spotted: Reeves & Mortimer as brawling clowns in 'Once Upon A Time In The Midlands'.
12th Sep 2010
Read on TwitterJudge Dredd
Underrated, but far from classic comic book sci-fi from Danny Cannon.
12th Sep 2010
Read more 2.5 star reviewsDistrict 9
Disappointingly unsubtle sci-fi, extrapolated from Neil Blomkamp's innovate short 'Alive In Jo'burg'.
12th Sep 2010
Read more 3 star reviewsWatching @charltonbrooker on 8 out of 10 Cats. Looks like he's been styled.... He scrubs up well.
10th Sep 2010
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Trailer park: Back to Back To The Future
Back to the Future is getting a re-releases in UK cinemas next month, in honour of its 25th Anniversary. It's a digital print, re-mastered especially for the upcoming Blu-Ray release by the sound of it - and it has been described as 'breathtaking' by writer/producer Bob Gale. Need I say more?
Via AICN
10th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ad Nauseum: Ikea's Cats w Mara Carlyle
New Ikea cats ad soundtracked by the lovely mara carlyle.
10th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Blade Runner revisited
for all of you who thought you were Blade Runner fans... an intense re-edit from François Vautier:
"An experimental film in tribute to Ridley Scott's legendary film Blade Runner (1982)
This film was made as a unique picture with a resolution of 60.000 x 60.000 pixels (3.6 gigapixels) It was made with 167,819 frames from Blade Runner."
10th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Rebel Without A Cause
Beautifully shot, acted and directed - Nicolas Ray's masterpiece is still ahead of it's time.
Halliwell says: The first film to suggest that juvenile violence is not necessarily bred in the slums, this somewhat dreary melodrama also catapulted James Dean to stardom as the prototype fifties rebel.**
#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF
#Halliwell
8th Sep 2010
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Viral Exorcism
Check out this clever/creepy viral promotion for The Last Exorcism. The viral played on the potentially dirty minds of users of Chat Roulette - a webcam site that hooks you up with a random other user...
8th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Come Around Sundown
Those Kings of Leon are nothing if not productive. In between their never-ending London gigs, they still manage to record new albums. Come Around Sundown is due on October 18th, first single Radioactive should be hitting the radio waves today.
The identity crisis continues however. That's the US cover above, UK below.
8th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Promo Promo: The Hair Song
Black Mountain may be edging towards the mainstream with their release of new album Wilderness Heart, with their recent Jimmy Fallon appearance heading the charge.
They are now filming promos with actors and everything.... though the 'boy meets girl and watches Black Mountain in ruins vibe' is still keeping it real. Or was it all in his mind?
7th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet
Training Day
Twisting thriller with a typically OTT performance from Denzel. Better than I remembered.
7th Sep 2010
Read more 3.5 star reviewsI could watch This Is England anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Just perfect.
6th Sep 2010
Read on TwitterSteve Albini Speaks
Steve Albini is perhaps one of only a few musicians who could challenge Jeff Tweedy at an open mic night at the Stand Up Comedy Club. Great interview over at VBS.tv showcasing his many unique viewpoints on music and more.
Via Sound Theory
Also, check out two previous Albini classics:
Steve Albini Has A Problem With Music
6th Sep 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet