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A Ribbon of Dreams
Sopranos mastermind David Chase has another project in the pipeline for HBO. A Ribbon Dreams will follow a couple of aspiring film makers through the history of cinema, as they cross paths with the likes of D.W. Griffith, John Ford and Bette Davis. AICN has the details.
20th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
42 Million 'Mishandled' Bags
Apparently, airlines 'mishandled' 42 million bags last year - resulting in more than a million never returning. Easy to get annoyed perhaps, but perhaps easy to be impressed that they get your bags anywhere at all.
20th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Away We Go
Over-cute looking trailer up for another Sam Mendes film - Away We Go - just weeks after Revolutionary Road has landed.
19th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Tokyo
Trailer up for the Michel Gondry/Leos Carax/Bong Joon-Ho omnibus triptych movie Tokyo.
Michel Gondry has also directed an episode of Flight of the Conchords, featuring soon-to-be-classic track "Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor".
19th Mar 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Streetview UK
Google Streetview is finally live for the UK, following some mild invasion-of-privacy type discussion. Here's a quick sample - the old skatepark in Bedminster.
19th Mar 2009 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
R.I.P. Natasha Richardson
R.I.P. Natasha Richardson, aged 45. BBC / IMDB
19th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Raiders of the Lost Transcript
Mystery Man on Film has a nice write up of brainstorming meetings that led to the production of Raiders of the Lost Ark - including a transcript of the entire process. Amazing that such a transcript exists from the pre-PC era the film evolved in (i.e. 1978), let alone the fact that they have got hold of a copy.
18th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Must Everybody Get Stoned?
Not sure where I stand on the prospect of a Stone Roses re-union. While the Ian Brown-does-Stones-Roses concert in 2004 was fantastic, having some of The Seahorses support him spells trouble....
18th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Alien vs Predator: Grandslam
Loving these Alien vs Predator promo posters from New Zealand. AICN has the scoop.
18th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Love The Beast
Trailer up for the Eric Bana directed documentary Love The Beast, about man's (or men's) obsession with automobiles - and including contributions from car nuts Jeremy Clarkson and Jay Leno. The film also follows Bana's own car ('The Beast' of the title), a 1970's Ford Falcon as it competes in a gruelling cross-country race.
There's a website where you can add your own car too, so I've added a photo of my 1970's Ford Falcon, bizarrely also called 'The Beast' according to the guy I originally bought it from. That's where the similarity ends.
F.Y.I., don't look for "Love The Beast" on Google Images. N.S.F.W., as Paris' B.B.F. might say. T.T.Y.N!
17th Mar 2009 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Status Update
Potential lawbreaker Gary Waters has managed to get off the hook, thanks to his lawyer calling up the arresting officer's Facebook and Myspace pages as evidence. Officer Vaughan Ettienne's status update to "Vaughan is watching ‘Training Day’ to brush up on proper police procedure", and his mood change to "devious" managed to convince the judge their may have been more to the arrest than met the eye.
17th Mar 2009 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Explanation of urges
integrallife.com has a possible explanation for My Morning Jacket's recent change of direction (and My Morning Jacket's thought process in general), through a Jim James interview with thought guru Jim Weiber.
17th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Party free-for-all
iTunes has had a number of features added with the recent bump to version 8.1, including an opportunity to open control out to the floor. Anyone with an iPhone can queue up tracks for a potentially democratic/disastrous desert island disco. Wired has the details.
17th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Autestic
Roll back your computer to 2001 and head over to Wired to take the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, designed to measure the extent of autistic traits in adults. BW scored a sane 19, while I rated 29. Borderline Rain Man / certified obsessive.
16th Mar 2009 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Instatorrent
The problem with this phone/barcode scanner/download instigator is you actually have to go to a shop to scan the barcode. How tedious.
16th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Indie Celebracion
With all the free music bonanzas going on these days, more and more bands are getting into the whole going-to-a-record-store-and-buying-vinyl thing.
My Morning Jacket have another EP en route - titled Celebración De La Ciudad Natal - but this one will not be available digitally, only through your local record store - in support of April 18th's Record Store Day.
It's a live release, with tracks culled from an in-store performance at Ear-x-tacy in Louisville and a live show at Waterfront Park.
Nice little promo video too.
13th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
It's Blitz!
The new Yeah Yeah Yeahs record It's Blitz has hit the waves early, to combat an unauthorized torrent leak. Yeah Yeah Yeah.
Check it out on iTunes and Spotify (with more 'bonus tracks' than the Torrent!). It'll hit the actual stores on March 31st, if that's still your kind of thing.
12th Mar 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Dude Turns to Twitter As Guy Breaks In His House
Gawker's title says it all, with an added WTF.
12th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ten More
Not sure how I overlooked this, but Pearl Jam are kicking off a series of re-issues leading up to their 20th anniversary on 2011.
On March 24th Ten will start things off, getting the redux treatment through Legacy Recordings.
There's a variety of different versions: a re-mastered/re-mixed version with six bonus tracks/b-sides from the era, a version that includes the band's previously unavailable Unplugged performance, a vinyl version and then a super-deluxe version with all of the above, plus a live show from 1992 Settle, a cassette replica of the band's original demo tape and a reproduction of Eddie Vedder's composition note book. Basically, a shitload of Ten.
The band's website has also been re-launched - presumably in anticipation of this release, and this year's expected new studio album. There's also a website for www.pearljamtengame.com, which I can't imagine the band is too stoked about. You can unlock various bits of the site to hear some tracks from the album or something.
11th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Le Hornet Vert
With Stephen Chow reducing his involvement to merely playing Kato next to Seth Rogan's lead, Michel Gondry may be stepping in to direct the long-in-development big screen version of The Green Hornet. Fingers crossed it will have more of a sting in its tale than the declining quality of his last two efforts.
11th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
TVOTR on Tour
TV On The Radio have a new single on the way - Crying - as well as dates for a full European tour:
Saturday 11th July - Punchestown racecourse, Ireland @ Oxygen Festival
Sunday 12th July - Kinross, Scotland @ T in the Park Festival
Monday 13th July - London, England @ Brixton Academy (BUY!)
Wednesday 15th July - Lyon, France @ Les Nuits de Fourviere
Friday 17th July - Carhaix, France @ Les Vieilles Charrues
Saturday 18th July - Angouleme, France @ Garden Nef Festival
Sunday 19th July - Valencia, Spain @ Benicassim
Fri 24th July - Nyon, Switzerland @ Paleo Festival
Saturday 25th July - Lavel, France @ Les 3 Elephants Festival
Sunday 26th July - Cologne, Germany @ Live Music Hall
Monday 27th July - Vienna, Austria @ Open Air Arena
Wednesday 29th July - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
Thursday 30th July - Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser Medis
Friday 31st July - Ostersund, Sweden @ Great Lakes Festival
Sunday 2nd August - Helsinki (Vantaa), Finland @ Ankkarock Festival - Vantaa Stage
11th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
New Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals will be unveiling their new album next week, via a webcast on their site where they will play the record through live, in it's entirety. Dark Days/Light Years will then be available to purchase through the site - well before it hits the 'shops' on April 13th.
Album tracklisting as follows
1. Crazy Naked Girls
2. Mt
3. Moped Eyes
4. Inaugural Trams
5. Inconvenience
6. Cardiff In The Sun
7. The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
8. Helium Hearts
9. White Socks / Flip Flops
10. Where Do You Wanna Go?
11. Lliwiau Llachar
12. Pric
10th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Obamicon Me
Get your own Shepard Fairey-ized photo here. There's not really much more to say on this.
As a side-note, Fairey was recently arrested on his way to a Boston ICA launch of his show - shortly after making a poublic appearance with Boston's mayor. I love you. I hate you.
10th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Kindling for the Master
It's US only for now, but Amazon has released an iPhone interface for their Kindle online bookstore, allowing mobile users to buy, download and read a huge range of books on the go. I still need convincing that the screen will be big enough, but we'll see.
If you can't wait, you can always head over to Google books and read Mad Man Don Draper's favourite Meditations in an Emergency right now.
9th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Wireless Hot Spotify
Despite a minor security scare, Spotify is continuing to gather a major following after their UK launch - with a load more labels now getting on board (most notably Sub Pop). Still a few big names missing (The Smiths anyone?), but it's fast become a totally viable storage-free alternative to iTunes.
The obvious drawback remains not having the files on your iPod, making listening on the move a problem - but the big news hitting the nets is a possible mobile client, and as shown in the video an iPhone client (More info: Wired / Techcrunch). The best feature? The app is designed to cache music you have lined up, meaning there's music available when you drop out of signal range.
Of course, Apple may not allow the app onto the iTunes store, but they do allow Last FM on there - and even highlight it in their iPhone adverts on TV. Apple could, of course, launch a similar service themselves - and have recently begun offering season pass-type subscriptions, similar to Top Spin's business model. They'd probably need another round of negotiations with the labels, but with many indies now working as a fifth pseudo-major label that shouldn't be all that complicated (p.s. note, Merlin have our inside-man Matthew Herbert as their poster boy).
Some bands are even taking the matter into their own hands, with No Doubt giving away their entire catalog when you buy a tour ticket and The Presidents of the United States offering four of their albums in a handy app for $3. Ex-President Dave Dederer has even gone so far as to become involved in a company offering such apps, as well as the Nutsie service - which promises to deliver your iTunes music to your phone, other PCs and even Facebook.
That social networking aspect is integral to all these services - and sites are springing up all over the place allowing you to share your playlists and so on (1,2), but none can beat this old-school front end for actual browsing.
Exciting times.
6th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Leap of Faith
Bit slow off the block reporting this one, but late 80's pioneers Faith No More are following Axl's lead and getting back in the ring - starting with a tour of Europe, that includes Donnington's Download festival.
6th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
CYE vs Seinfeld
In a much more exciting development than Jerry Seinfeld's own new series, it turns out that the cast of Seinfeld will all be featuring in a story arc spaning several episodes of the new Curb Your Enthusiasm season.
All except Kramer have popped up over the years in various stories, but not all together. Pretty, pretty good.
6th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Do It Yourself - The Story of Rough Trade
There's a documentary about Rough Trade airing next Friday on BBC4 at 9pm. Covering the history of the label from it's beginnings in a West London record store through bankruptcy to it's current successful state, the doc will feature contributions from such luminaries as Johnny Marr, Jarvis Cocker ...and Duffy.
6th Mar 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
The National Go Large
The National have announced a handful of European shows for August, including a headline spot at the Royal Festival Hall.
Pre-sale for Royal Festival Hall tickets has started, by phone only on 0871 663 2500. Quote the password "Dark Was The Night".
Links
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5th Mar 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
The Humans Are Dead!
Great article over at The Big Picture to bring you up to speed with the current status of the robotics industry.
5th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Public Enemies
Trailer up for Michael Mann's new movie - Public Enemies.
Heat with Tommy Guns. What's not to like?
5th Mar 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Rap Maps
"You want to head Straight Outta Compton, take a left at Crooklyn and stay on that road until you hit the North Memphis Area".
Rap Maps is putting Rap on the map. Literally.
4th Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
CYHSY
Missing-in-action favourites Clap Your Hands Say Yeah seem to be slowly recovering from the disappointment of the relative critical backlash aimed at their second album - and have lined up an appearance on tomorrows Jimmy Fallon show to play a new song.
Directly after the show, the track will be available for download via their website. No free Dr. Pepper though.
3rd Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Terminator Salvation
We've run the previous trailers, but now there's another good-looking full theatrical trailer up for this summer's Terminator Salvation movie.
3rd Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Flashmorph
A plasticine flash-mob invaded Tate Modern over the weekend - in tribute to the legendary Tony Hart.
BBC has the story. Photo nabbed from Pryere, check out more on Flickr.
2nd Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Show Your Colours
...with a "Stringer Bell School of Business" T-shirt.
2nd Mar 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Pint Price
Forget the old Big Mac Index (oh so 80's) and base your currency valuations on the much more dependable price of a pint. £2.51 in Canada, but a whopping £4.45 in France. Med.
27th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Robert Pollard
4 New Albums
It's been a while since I checked in with former GBV frontman Robert Pollard's release schedule (June 11th 2008 in fact) and a belated effort to do so now quickly unearths a whopping 4 new records. The kind of output that makes even John Frusciante look lazy. With Pollard's usual hit-rate in mind, I was expecting at least four new tracks for my ever expanding best-of-Pollard playlist.
Boston Spaceships - Brown Submarine - Sept 16th 2008 - 3 Stars
First up is the debut album from Pollard's 'new' band - the Boston Spaceships. A collaboration with former GBV band mate Chris Slusarenko (also featured in The Takeovers) and Decemberist John Moen, the band marks an effort to re-capture that 'full band' sound that has been missing from many of Pollard's post-Guided By Voices projects.
Go For The Exit starts the record with a slice of classic Pollard, as thoughtful lyrics wind over a simple guitar, before exploding into power chords - while Ready To Pop threatens to re-visit the successful magic of GBV's final album, but somehow never quite takes off. There's little in the way of experimentation here, so the simple-but-fun Rat Trap provides a welcome break from the otherwise even footing of much of the album, which is generally operating on cruise control, with only two songs even building beyond the 3 minute mark.
Circus Devils - Ataxia - November 11th 2008 - 2 Stars
The Circus Devils has been a longer-running side-project for Pollard, partnering with producer Todd Tobias and brother Tim Tobias. Ataxia marks the sixth full-length from the project and like a musical desk drawer, the record is packed full of sound bites and ideas while largely remaining a little incomplete.
Not dissimilar to one of Pollard's own art collages, the record has countless moments that catch your attention and a scattergun approach will always hit a few targets. The meandering epic Fuzz In The Street fails to gain any traction, while promising moments appear with the unfulfilled mystical intro to He Had All Day or the Procol Harum-esque spoken word of Stars, Stripes and Crack Pipes.
Just as your patience may be wearing a little thin however, another bonifide gem is polished out of the album's rough diamonds - as the gentle intro of The Girls Will Make It Happen gives way to a pounding drums and hypnotic lyrics that thunder along at a relentless and engaging pace.
Robert Pollard - The Crawling Distance - Jan 20th 2009 - 2.5 Stars
After the excellent albums Off To Business and Normal Happiness, Pollard seemed to be finding his stride in a world without GBV and the hit rate was soaring. Sadly the magic has momentarily gone again and we're back to the plodding middle-lane driving of tracks like No Island or It's Easy. Lyrically, as ever, there's plenty of interest - but without fully developed musical backing there's little to really grab your attention.
With the turbulent peaks and troughs of most Pollard records there's nearly always a killer track but, unfortunately, here the sea is calm and little breaks the surface. As a consequence, there's no real stinkers either, but I'd gladly drop a couple of tracks in return for that one diamond.
Boston Spaceships - Planets Are Blasted - Feb 17th 2009 - 2.5 Stars
A mere five months after their debut, the Boston Spaceships are back with a sophomore effort - Planets Are Blasted. Rather than build on the strengths of the original however, the record unfortunately misses the mark, lacking muscle and falling back into the one-dimensional trap that plagues much of Pollard's projects. Big O Gets An Earful tries to build up a wall of sound before fading away and Canned Food Demons makes a brave effort to bring the album up a notch, but it's too little too late. Sounding like it was recorded in parts, the record again lacks that power generated by a full live band holing up in a studio for 9 months. Or 9 days for that matter.
Circus Devils - Gringo - April 14th 2009 - 4 Stars
Before I'd even finished writing this review (quite literally) details of another Circus Devils album arrived in my inbox - their seventh album, Gringo, due out on April 14th on Happy Jack Rock Records.
It's arrival was not a moment too late. Forget the descriptions ("1970's Morricone-esque with a South Western flavour") and focus on the music, as Gringo is the easy highlight of this current run of releases. The album's more acoustic bias immediately dispels the tinny studio sound that has marred many of the releases cover here and in stark contrast to the Circus Devils' last record there's a full sound with a cohesive approach and multiple layers of interest. The epic Monkey Head takes the prize for album highlight, with a sprawling - almost prog - approach played out through booming acoustic guitars. Thumping sing-a-long Easy Baby ebbs and flows beautifully while Witness Hill wraps up an engaging record with suitable style.
Thanks Bob, I'll check back in six months.
27th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3 star reviews
Star Status: Michael Caine
The whole star status formula was concocted one evening in the pub following a discussion about the patchy career of messrs Connory and Caine. Connery has a career so patchy he only scored a 28.8% hit rate, while Michael Caine's career is so schizophrenic that he couldn't collect his Oscar for Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters, as he was busy filming Jaws IV: The Revenge. A low in the entire pantheon of cinema, not just one man's career.
So, how does Michael Caine (A.K.A. Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr.) rate in the Chimpomatic Star Status Movie Maths Generator?
It's 10 points for a Hit, 5 for a Maybe and 1 for a Miss... No TV movies, just cinema releases to date.
In the spirit of full disclosure I should also tell you that I've been a little presumptuous and started the count with Zulu (1964), as prior to that it's a barrage of uncredited roles and TV bit parts. As he's a man with 139 credits on his IMDB page, there's plenty I haven't seen, for which I've taken some advice from the often over-generous IMDB ratings.
Is There Anybody There? (2008) - MAYBE
The Dark Knight (2008) .... Alfred Pennyworth - HIT
Sleuth (2007) .... Andrew - MISS
Flawless (2007) .... Mr. Hobbs - MAYBE
The Prestige (2006) .... Cutter - MAYBE
Children of Men (2006) .... Jasper - HIT
The Weather Man (2005) .... Robert Spritzel - MAYBE
Bewitched (2005) .... Nigel Bigelow - MISS
Batman Begins (2005) .... Alfred - HIT
Around the Bend (2004) .... Henry Lair - HIT
The Statement (2003) .... Pierre Brossard - MAYBE
Secondhand Lions (2003) .... Garth - HIT
The Actors (2003) .... Anthony O'Malley - MAYBE
Quicksand (2003) .... Jake Mellows - MISS
The Quiet American (2002) .... Thomas Fowler - HIT
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) .... Nigel Powers - MAYBE
Last Orders (2001) .... Jack - HIT
Miss Congeniality (2000) .... Victor Melling - MAAAAYBE
Get Carter (2000) .... Cliff Brumby - MISS
Shiner (2000) .... Billy 'Shiner' Simpson - MAYBE
Quills (2000) .... Dr. Royer-Collard - HIT
The Debtors (1999) - MISS
The Cider House Rules (1999) .... Dr. Wilbur Larch - HIT
Curtain Call (1999) .... Max Gale - MISS
Little Voice (1998) .... Ray Say - HIT
Shadow Run (1998) .... Haskell - MISS
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997/II) (TV) .... Captain Nemo - MISS
Mandela and de Klerk (1997) (TV) .... F.W. de Klerk - MAYBE
Midnight in Saint Petersburg (1996) .... Harry Palmer - MISS
Blood and Wine (1996) .... Victor 'Vic' Spansky - MAYBE
Bullet to Beijing (1995) .... Harry Palmer - MISS
World War II: When Lions Roared (1994) (TV) .... Joseph V. Stalin - MAYBE
On Deadly Ground (1994) .... Michael Jennings - MISS
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) .... Ebenezer Scrooge - HIT
Blue Ice (1992) .... Harry Anders - MISS
Noises Off... (1992) .... Lloyd Fellowes - MAYBE
Bullseye! (1990) .... Sidney Lipton/Doctor Hicklar - MISS
Mr. Destiny (1990) .... Mike/Mr. Destiny - MISS
A Shock to the System (1990) .... Graham Marshall - MISS
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) .... Lawrence Jamieson - MAYBE
Without a Clue (1988) .... Sherlock Holmes - MAYBE
Surrender (1987) .... Sean Stein - MISS
Jaws: The Revenge (1987) .... Hoagie Newcombe - MIIIIISSSSSSS!
The Whistle Blower (1987) .... Frank Jones - MISS
The Fourth Protocol (1987) .... John Preston - MAYBE
Half Moon Street (1986) .... Lord Sam Bulbeck - MISS
Mona Lisa (1986) .... Mortwell - HIT
Sweet Liberty (1986) .... Elliott James - MISS
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) .... Elliot - HIT
The Holcroft Covenant (1985) .... Noel Holcroft - MISS
Water (1985/I) .... Governor Baxter Thwaites - MISS
Blame It on Rio (1984) .... Matthew Hollins - MISS
The Honorary Consul (1983) .... Charley Fortnum, Consul - MISS
Educating Rita (1983) .... Dr. Frank Bryant - HIT
The Jigsaw Man (1983) .... Philip Kimberly/Sergei Kuzminsky - MISS
Deathtrap (1982) .... Sidney Bruhl - MISS
Escape To Victory (1981) .... Capt. John Colby - HIT
The Hand (1981) .... Jonathan Lansdale - MISS
The Island (1980) .... Blair Maynard - MISS
Dressed to Kill (1980) .... Doctor Robert Elliott - MAYBE
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979) .... Captain Mike Turner - MISS
Ashanti (1979) .... Dr. David Linderby - MISS
California Suite (1978) .... Sidney Cochran - MAYBE
The Swarm (1978) .... Dr. Bradford Crane - MISS
Silver Bears (1978) .... Doc Fletcher - MISS
A Bridge Too Far (1977) .... Lt. Col. John O.E. Vandeleur - HIT
The Eagle Has Landed (1976) .... Colonel Steiner - HIT
Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) .... Adam Worth - MISS
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) .... Peachy Carnehan - HIT
The Romantic Englishwoman (1975) .... Lewis Fielding - MISS
The Wilby Conspiracy (1975) .... Jim Keogh - MISS
Peeper (1975) .... Leslie C. Tucker - MISS
The Black Windmill (1974) .... Maj. John Tarrant - MISS
Sleuth (1972) .... Milo Tindle - HIT
Pulp (1972) .... Mickey King - MAYBE
Zee and Co. (1972) .... Robert Blakeley - MISS
Kidnapped (1971) .... Alan Breck - MAYBE
Get Carter (1971) .... Jack Carter - HIT
The Last Valley (1970) .... The Captain - HIT
Too Late the Hero (1970) .... Pvt. Tosh Hearne - MAYBE
Battle of Britain (1969) .... Squadron Leader Canfield - HIT
The Italian Job (1969) .... Charlie Croker - HIT
The Magus (1968) .... Nicholas Urfe - MISS
Deadfall (1968) .... Henry Stuart Clarke - MISS
Play Dirty (1968) .... Capt. Douglas - MISS
Billion Dollar Brain (1967) .... Harry Palmer - MISS
Woman Times Seven (1967) .... Handsome Stranger (segment "Snow") - MISS
Hurry Sundown (1967) .... Henry Warren - MISS
Funeral in Berlin (1966) .... Harry Palmer - HIT
Gambit (1966) .... Harry Tristan Dean - HIT
The Wrong Box (1966) .... Michael Finsbury - MAYBE
Alfie (1966) .... Alfie Elkins - HIT
The Ipcress File (1965) .... Harry Palmer - HIT
Zulu (1964) .... Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead - HIT
HIT 28
MISS 22
MAYBE 44
So that's a generous 434 points out of a possible whopping 940.
Michael Caine: you have scored 46.1%
If you dare make a purchase, you can do so here, allowing Chimpomatic to profit from his loss. Check back soon for more Star Status movie maths. Same Chimp Channel, same Chimp Time...
26th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Seinfeld Gets Back In The Ring
It's been 11 years since Seinfeld finished on our TV screens, but now Jerry Seinfeld is back with a new show. The Marriage Ref is the title of the somewhat dubious-sounding non-fiction show, which will "feature opinionated celebrities, comedians and sports stars offering commentary and advice to real-life couples enduring "classic marital disputes.""
Variety has the details. Gawker is less that impressed.
26th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
FlickrSync
It's not just Mac with iPhoto that are feeling the Flickr-sync love. Check out the aptly titled FlickrSync app for PC's that marries folders of photos on your machine with sets uploaded to your Flickr account.
26th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
What's With The Matter?
Jet packs, re-useable spaceplanes - what's next, teleportation?
25th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Zeros To Heros
The Guardian have an excellent article up about the recent Zero Boys revival (more on them here), written by The Hold Steady's Craig Finn.
25th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: S. Darko
I forgot all about this Donnie Darko sequel being lined up - and now there's a trailer. Looks like straight-to-video fayre, but a damn site more promising than Southland Tales.
25th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Do The Collage
There's been a torrent of new releases from indie rock legend Robert Pollard recently (report soon), but that doesn't mean he doesn't have time for extra curricular activities. Check out his website for a nice run-through of his recent art exhibition in New York, and head over to Spin for additional data. While the original art works sell for a highly-collectible $3000 or so, you can buy a great limited edition print (top) over at Hard Pressed Studios, for a thoroughly reasonable $100.
24th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
A Meeting of the minds
Ear-drum bursting old-timers Dinosaur Jr have another post-reunion album on the way - and have signed with killer label Jagjaguwar to release it.
23rd Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Get Spotify. Now.
If you're not on board already, head over and register for a free account at Spotify and download their player now. Building on Nokia's badly presented, but solid concept of 'comes with music', the program works like iTunes, or a totally unlocked Last FM - but stores no music on your hard drive. Music is all delivered legally over the www as and when you play it, at a bitrate comparable to decent mp3 compression. A basic account is free, with the only concession being the occasional advert. And currently that is occasional - with only about 3 ads playing over 8 hours of continuos use at the moment, and most of them were for Spotify's own premium service. For that premium service you can pay 99p a day, or £9.99 a month for advert-free listening - which is hardly extortion.
The concept has come a long way since I last checked in, with the selection now being pretty thorough. Some of the usual cautious big-hitters (Beatles, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Metallica) are absent, and a few labels are obviously not quite there yet (e.g. Sub Pop, Jagjaguwar) but on the whole the catalogue is on a simlar footing to iTunes - and they even have a few exclusives, like a one week heads-up on U2's new album.
Search for an album, press play and you're off. So easy it's ridiculous.
We're already using it heavily at Chimp HQ - particularly thanks to the built in support for Last FM, which lets us keep our charts up-to-date with minimum hassle - and I dare say this app (or at least the concept) will undoubtedly define the future of music, just as Napster, iPods and iTunes all have. You have been warned.
23rd Feb 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Nice Work If You Can Get It
It's the Oscars this weekend, but while Mickey Rourke may be holding back on signing a deal for Iron Man 2, plenty of people around the world are already hard at work.
The Big Picture has an excellent round-up of where else the Mickster could be by now.
20th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ditch Yourself
Check out this incredible Google-earth re-enactment of Flight 1549's miraculous landing on the Hudson river. The files will take you through the landing, with audio between the control panel and the tower.
Google Maps Mania also has a video clip, see below.
20th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet