A decade ago, The Strokes saved Rock and Roll from the clutches of an unknown evil and have been on a steady downward spiral ever since. While I wasn't blown away by Is This It like NME or the rest of the universe was, I knew it had some notable tunes and was a fun record.
Two years later, The Strokes remixed and released the same album and called it Room on Fire. OK, that's not strictly true but the album, while praised at the time, lacked the same ambition as it's predecessor and showed no evolution between records. It didn't have as many tunes and a bit too much filler but the band were still in it's early days and many hoped for some real progression with the inevitable third album.
Three years later, First Impressions of Earth reared it's confused head, got an unjustified number one slot in the UK charts and was a record that, like Room on Fire, had a few notable excellent tracks (the first three) but far too much filler and went on for what seemed like a dog's age.
After this and touring non-stop for what seemed like an eternity (but what was actually just over five years), the band went on a fashionable hiatus and went on to pursue different projects. Then after much arguing and new creative directions, the band became whole again and here were are, a decade after Is This It with album number four; Angles.
Does it return the band to the wonder years of garage rock or have they continued the strange and bendy road of influences in prog rock?
Neither, they've embraced synthpop.
Like The King of Limbs, Angles has a lot in common with Jullian Casablancas' solo album Phrazes of the Young with it's synths and song structures. Of course it still retains the key elements of The Strokes (far more so than Radiohead's latest album) but the drive and ambition seems to have evaporated into something that has been released for the sake of being released.
The problem with the record is it lacks cohesion. The band revealed that their previous writing process was thrown out the window for Angles and it shows (and not in a good way). Casablancas lyrics sound like an after thought and the music sounds far too generic throughout. It's difficult to differentiate tracks like Games and You're So Right because they aren't memorable and once you've heard one of the tracks, you can rest assure you've heard them all.
Like it's predecessors, there's a few hints of something greater trying to emerge from the filler. Under Cover of Darkness is the best example of the band evolving but retaining the same spirit as their former selves.
Two Kinds of Happiness emerges immediately after; the music is rocky, the vocals are strangely quiet but then transform into a jumbled but strangely satisfying mess for the chorus and it's entertaining throughout.
The album really gets together by the end with Gratisfaction; a Thin Lizzy soundalike which shows the bands playful side (which takes far too long on a record which doesn't take itself too seriously).
Metabolism, like Under Cover of Darkness, shows us again the band can change and sound good doing it (with special credit to Casablancas for some truly great vocals). The album reaches a close with Life is Simple in the Moonlight, with bizarrely depressing lyrics and a lot more in common with songs off of First Impressions of Earth. It's a great closing track that really sticks out on the album.
But minus these little moments of fun; Angles is a thankfully short and generic album nowhere near waiting for five years. It's a strange (though heavily hinted) direction for a band that want to change but have no idea how to, but with a fanbase who simply want the glory days of the band who made being in a rock band fun reignited.
Only time will tell if The Strokes will go beyond the strange year of 2001 when their simplistic but memorable debut was the soundtrack of the indie kid. I just hope we don't have to wait another five years for something this disjointed and disappointing again.
5/10
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Monday, 21 March 2011
Radiohead - The King of Limbs Review
2011 is the year of the entity. Oh sure, you could say that like every other year there might be one record that stands head and shoulders above the rest, chest pushed out, standing tall like a god whilst it’s contemporary counter-parts cower behind the mountains of shit, hoping for a breakthrough or crack to appear that they can fill the void.
I say this as the aptly titled The King of Limbs, the long awaited release from alternative band Radiohead finally saw release two weeks ago to the screams and adulation of its increasingly devoted/demented fanbase. As always (well, since Kid A), no one had any idea what to expect other than perhaps the greatest thing released ever.
So, now that time had past and we can get past the confetti and deafening screams, what does The King of Limbs bring to the table?
Minimalism, no structure and the least accessible album since Kid A.
So yeah, what was hinted as a heavily acoustic-piano based record with around twenty known songs in the pipeline has evolved into eight (count ‘em, eight) tracks, running just over half an hour and with no real instruments prevalent.
It’s a strange scenario as The King of Limbs has more in common with Thom Yorke’s solo debut than any Radiohead album before it. Opening track Bloom, a scattery, non-structure relative to OK Computer's Airbag begins our strange journey through the proverbial woods. It’s a decent opener, if a bit too long.
From there, the songs get gradually easier on the ears. Morning Mr. Magpie; an Amnesiac left-over which began as a Beatles-esque acoustic pop song has morphed into a nervous, jittery wreck. Little by Little, one of the only radio-friendly songs on the record brings themes raised in Jigsaw Falling into Place from In Rainbows with Yorke’s strangely playful voice telling a lover how they work well together.
The album gets to the halfway point with Feral which in an album of relations, is a much more pleasant descendent of The Gloaming. Although there are vocals, they’re incomprehensible and utilise Yorke’s previous comments on using his voice as an instrument.
Finally, five songs in, we reach Lotus Flower, the first song with a common structure of verse, pre-chorus and chorus and it’s hear the record finally becomes to the same standard of Radiohead we’ve come to know and love.
In the theme of keeping things similar but different, we come to Codex (or Pyramid Song part two). It’s a slow, sombre piano song with the occasional French horn. Give Up the Ghost, a live favourite finally makes its studio appearance, Another slow but sombre song with Yorke’s voice sampled throughout.
The album quickly reaches a close at Separator (or formally known as Mouse Dog Bird). The song starts off slowly but picks up around the middle with lyrics hinting at a continuation (or what isn’t clear at this stage but optimists are hoping for new tracks).
So, upon first listening, The King of Limbs isn’t anything particularly special. It sounds intentionally difficult to listen to and even after an eleven year gap, Radiohead have somehow made Kid A easier on the ears.
If however you’re like me, you’ll give it a second listen immediately and from here, the record sounds different and far more pleasant. It’s a strange experience as the album isn’t droning enough to be classified as drone music but the ambience and brief breaks beyond the repetitive beats and difficult structures are far more noticeable. Eventually after multiple listens it becomes easier on the ears and can be looked in a favourable light.
The biggest problem with The King of Limbs is it doesn’t feel like a band effort. There’s nothing here that suggests the band is working as a cohesive unit and anything here could have just as easily been used as a follow up to Yorke’s solo effort The Eraser.
Another is anyone who’s listened to electronica recently will see similarities between songs on the record and the sound of other artists. Lotus Flower, one of the best songs on the record is an amalgamation of anything Four Tet have released and Feral sounds like a proverbial cover of The Gloaming by Burial.
It’s not the first time Radiohead have done this and to be honest, all music is basically inspired from one another but I can’t help but think, if this wasn’t a Radiohead album, it wouldn’t have received the same adulation and praise and simply would have been left in the dust.
So where does this leave The King of Limbs? Is it the best Radiohead album? Not by a long shot (that accolade will probably remain with OK Computer forever). Is it the best album they’ve released using a laptop? Only time will tell.
Is it good? No, it’s very good but it lacks the organics of In Rainbows or the revolution of Kid A and after a four year wait, it’s only just worth waiting for.
8/10
I say this as the aptly titled The King of Limbs, the long awaited release from alternative band Radiohead finally saw release two weeks ago to the screams and adulation of its increasingly devoted/demented fanbase. As always (well, since Kid A), no one had any idea what to expect other than perhaps the greatest thing released ever.
So, now that time had past and we can get past the confetti and deafening screams, what does The King of Limbs bring to the table?
Minimalism, no structure and the least accessible album since Kid A.
So yeah, what was hinted as a heavily acoustic-piano based record with around twenty known songs in the pipeline has evolved into eight (count ‘em, eight) tracks, running just over half an hour and with no real instruments prevalent.
It’s a strange scenario as The King of Limbs has more in common with Thom Yorke’s solo debut than any Radiohead album before it. Opening track Bloom, a scattery, non-structure relative to OK Computer's Airbag begins our strange journey through the proverbial woods. It’s a decent opener, if a bit too long.
From there, the songs get gradually easier on the ears. Morning Mr. Magpie; an Amnesiac left-over which began as a Beatles-esque acoustic pop song has morphed into a nervous, jittery wreck. Little by Little, one of the only radio-friendly songs on the record brings themes raised in Jigsaw Falling into Place from In Rainbows with Yorke’s strangely playful voice telling a lover how they work well together.
The album gets to the halfway point with Feral which in an album of relations, is a much more pleasant descendent of The Gloaming. Although there are vocals, they’re incomprehensible and utilise Yorke’s previous comments on using his voice as an instrument.
Finally, five songs in, we reach Lotus Flower, the first song with a common structure of verse, pre-chorus and chorus and it’s hear the record finally becomes to the same standard of Radiohead we’ve come to know and love.
In the theme of keeping things similar but different, we come to Codex (or Pyramid Song part two). It’s a slow, sombre piano song with the occasional French horn. Give Up the Ghost, a live favourite finally makes its studio appearance, Another slow but sombre song with Yorke’s voice sampled throughout.
The album quickly reaches a close at Separator (or formally known as Mouse Dog Bird). The song starts off slowly but picks up around the middle with lyrics hinting at a continuation (or what isn’t clear at this stage but optimists are hoping for new tracks).
So, upon first listening, The King of Limbs isn’t anything particularly special. It sounds intentionally difficult to listen to and even after an eleven year gap, Radiohead have somehow made Kid A easier on the ears.
If however you’re like me, you’ll give it a second listen immediately and from here, the record sounds different and far more pleasant. It’s a strange experience as the album isn’t droning enough to be classified as drone music but the ambience and brief breaks beyond the repetitive beats and difficult structures are far more noticeable. Eventually after multiple listens it becomes easier on the ears and can be looked in a favourable light.
The biggest problem with The King of Limbs is it doesn’t feel like a band effort. There’s nothing here that suggests the band is working as a cohesive unit and anything here could have just as easily been used as a follow up to Yorke’s solo effort The Eraser.
Another is anyone who’s listened to electronica recently will see similarities between songs on the record and the sound of other artists. Lotus Flower, one of the best songs on the record is an amalgamation of anything Four Tet have released and Feral sounds like a proverbial cover of The Gloaming by Burial.
It’s not the first time Radiohead have done this and to be honest, all music is basically inspired from one another but I can’t help but think, if this wasn’t a Radiohead album, it wouldn’t have received the same adulation and praise and simply would have been left in the dust.
So where does this leave The King of Limbs? Is it the best Radiohead album? Not by a long shot (that accolade will probably remain with OK Computer forever). Is it the best album they’ve released using a laptop? Only time will tell.
Is it good? No, it’s very good but it lacks the organics of In Rainbows or the revolution of Kid A and after a four year wait, it’s only just worth waiting for.
8/10
Monday, 7 March 2011
The Social Network Review
Imagine a world without Facebook. It’s a premise that has set the standard for just about every review for The Social Network but it does create an interesting proposition.
The site, now in it’s eighth year of life has spawned a new medium of social interaction, a new ground to debate upon and has no doubt, brought you closer to people who you would have probably said farewell to at the end of High School.
But how did it all begin I hear you ask? This is where David Fincher's tale of betrayal, arrogance and hacking drinking games comes in with The Social Network. Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires, the film shows us how Facebook came to be and how you may never want to hear the term poking again.
The film’s framing device plays between two court cases. The accused is Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg; a borderline stereotype of Aspergers Syndrome who speaks a million words a minute and only finds consultation when using source coding.
In one case is Mark’s apparent best friend Eduardo played by future Spider-Man Andrew Garfield. Eduardo is by far the most likeable character in the entire film (which might come down to him being the only person to give information regarding the outcome of the suits) but doesn’t have any real negative traits.
The other case has our other two main characters, twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss played by Armie Hammer (yep, the same actor). The two are behemoths who enjoy rowing and are far too used to having things go their way. Unlike stereotypical twins who are basically the same person, the twins have different opinions but a common goal of acknowledgement, one that Zuckerberg can provide them with but ultimately, doesn’t.
To set-up the story, in a nutshell; Zuckerberg is dumped by his girlfriend and crashes the Harvard servers by creating a website that asks which campus students are better looking than their peers. The twins, impressed by Zuckerberg’s skills, enlist him of their venture to create a Harvard only site for connecting students called Harvard Connect.
From here, the film takes many twists and turns as theFacebook (as it’s then known) takes off and quickly becomes an online phenomenon that turns co-workers into advisories and friends into enemies (as demonstrated by the quick cuts to the court scenes which shows how damaged the relationship between the characters is).
So yeah, a rip roaring tale about the joys of hacking, website building and dialogue so fast, you’ll wonder if the editors accidentally had the entire film on fast forward. It’s not exactly your stereotypical summer blockbuster and the only special effects seem to be making the computers look like actual computers running regular software.
But beneath the premise which only a small handful of people would be interested in a
character drama more in the mould of Wall Street than computer hacker films like…well, Hackers.
It’s a film built purely on exchanges. You can guess the outcome because Facebook is
still going strong and Zuckerberg occasionally shows his real life persona. What we do get however is a growing trend escalation. As the film continues from the first, brilliant ten minutes, the website grows quickly, finding our characters desperately trying to adapt to the changes that are spiralling out of control.
All goes well to begin with but when Napster founder Sean Parker, played ironicallyby Justin Timberlake enters the fray, everything falls apart and yet, gets better. By the end, we’re left with a film where two wronged but undeserving brutes are awarded compensation, the only likable character is rewarded for fighting back (literally) and Zuckerberg is left as the world’s youngest billionaire with no friends and only his laptop to keep him company.
It’s a strange but memorable film built on the foundations of interaction. While cinematography is minimal (dorms look like dorms and company offices look sleek and sexy), the soundtrack by NIN frontman Trent Reznor is another classic in a year where soundtracks reign supreme. Fans of NIN collection Ghosts I-IV will enjoy the slightly newer versions of older songs whilst the rest of us can enjoy a nice soundtrack of sampled rock and electronic beats.
When all is said and done, The Social Network is a strange but engrossing tale of greed and betrayal with fantastic acting and an engrossing plot. For anyone’s who’s been poked or wanted a reason not to, this one’s for you.
8/10
The site, now in it’s eighth year of life has spawned a new medium of social interaction, a new ground to debate upon and has no doubt, brought you closer to people who you would have probably said farewell to at the end of High School.
But how did it all begin I hear you ask? This is where David Fincher's tale of betrayal, arrogance and hacking drinking games comes in with The Social Network. Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires, the film shows us how Facebook came to be and how you may never want to hear the term poking again.
The film’s framing device plays between two court cases. The accused is Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg; a borderline stereotype of Aspergers Syndrome who speaks a million words a minute and only finds consultation when using source coding.
In one case is Mark’s apparent best friend Eduardo played by future Spider-Man Andrew Garfield. Eduardo is by far the most likeable character in the entire film (which might come down to him being the only person to give information regarding the outcome of the suits) but doesn’t have any real negative traits.
The other case has our other two main characters, twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss played by Armie Hammer (yep, the same actor). The two are behemoths who enjoy rowing and are far too used to having things go their way. Unlike stereotypical twins who are basically the same person, the twins have different opinions but a common goal of acknowledgement, one that Zuckerberg can provide them with but ultimately, doesn’t.
To set-up the story, in a nutshell; Zuckerberg is dumped by his girlfriend and crashes the Harvard servers by creating a website that asks which campus students are better looking than their peers. The twins, impressed by Zuckerberg’s skills, enlist him of their venture to create a Harvard only site for connecting students called Harvard Connect.
From here, the film takes many twists and turns as theFacebook (as it’s then known) takes off and quickly becomes an online phenomenon that turns co-workers into advisories and friends into enemies (as demonstrated by the quick cuts to the court scenes which shows how damaged the relationship between the characters is).
So yeah, a rip roaring tale about the joys of hacking, website building and dialogue so fast, you’ll wonder if the editors accidentally had the entire film on fast forward. It’s not exactly your stereotypical summer blockbuster and the only special effects seem to be making the computers look like actual computers running regular software.
But beneath the premise which only a small handful of people would be interested in a
character drama more in the mould of Wall Street than computer hacker films like…well, Hackers.
It’s a film built purely on exchanges. You can guess the outcome because Facebook is
still going strong and Zuckerberg occasionally shows his real life persona. What we do get however is a growing trend escalation. As the film continues from the first, brilliant ten minutes, the website grows quickly, finding our characters desperately trying to adapt to the changes that are spiralling out of control.
All goes well to begin with but when Napster founder Sean Parker, played ironicallyby Justin Timberlake enters the fray, everything falls apart and yet, gets better. By the end, we’re left with a film where two wronged but undeserving brutes are awarded compensation, the only likable character is rewarded for fighting back (literally) and Zuckerberg is left as the world’s youngest billionaire with no friends and only his laptop to keep him company.
It’s a strange but memorable film built on the foundations of interaction. While cinematography is minimal (dorms look like dorms and company offices look sleek and sexy), the soundtrack by NIN frontman Trent Reznor is another classic in a year where soundtracks reign supreme. Fans of NIN collection Ghosts I-IV will enjoy the slightly newer versions of older songs whilst the rest of us can enjoy a nice soundtrack of sampled rock and electronic beats.
When all is said and done, The Social Network is a strange but engrossing tale of greed and betrayal with fantastic acting and an engrossing plot. For anyone’s who’s been poked or wanted a reason not to, this one’s for you.
8/10
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Zombiethon '10: Dawn of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead can be summarised in two words: Consumerism and Materialism. It can also be placed amongst the small group of sequels that are better than their predecessors which was quite a feat even back in 1979.
It's also a strange sequel as the only things that carry over from Night... is the premise. None of the characters from Night... or anyone related to them make so much as a references in Dawn... which not only means you can watch Dawn without worrying about dangling plot threads, but it also means that like Night..., no one is fully safe and anyone can die at any given time.
Set an undisclosed amount of time after the initial outbreak, the world is slowly going to hell, martial law has entered several American cities and the dead are still rising. Two SWAT members and a couple decide to flee the cities and end up hauled up in a mall.
From the offset, Dawn... is a much better film than its predecessor. All the dread and tension of the first is still there, but there's a much greater sense of urgency and the action is a lot more fast paced which is much easier on the eyes.
All four main characters are intensely likable this time around which also raises the audiences hope that they'll make it through an ever decreasing situation. Tom Savini (who was drafted to Vietnam and missed out on Night...) is on hand with the special effects which must have been mind blowing at the time. Even now in retrospective, there's a real beauty in his work (even with the bright red blood).
On the whole, Dawn... is not just a great zombie flick, its a great film, easily one of the best in the horror genre. Although again like Night..., it has aged, it has a certain unmistakable charm to it that even after repeated viewings, it doesn't wane or bore, it simply becomes more entertaining which after the initial scares, is something to be cherished in a horror film.
Social Commentary:
Materialism is the obvious one. Our heroes spend the majority of the film in a shopping mall which is full to the brim of items they need and don't need. But once the excitement disappears and they have everything, they become bored and desperately want to leave.
Consumerism is again tied to the shopping mall. Our group constantly race to different stores in order to get the things they need or luxaries. The zombies are stuck outside, sometimes even clawing at the glass desperately trying to enter (although not for the products, but more the people themselves).
Racism is touched upon at the start of the film with the apartment block with one SWAT member gradually going insane and wondering why they get to live in an apartment in the first place.
Sexism is briefly touched upon with Fran finding herself left out of the boys plans to be rid of the zombies and secure the mall. Eventually Fran is trained to fly the helicopter (which becomes crucial in the final moments of the film).
The ethics of death are also prominent. The initial attack on the apartment block is down to people not handing over their deceased loved-ones as Peter puts it "they still believe there's a respect in dying" with a reverend holding several zombies in the basement. When Roger is bitten, he suddenly finds himself in the same position as someone terminally ill and is also treated in the same manner.
There's also the prospect of bombing major cities with nuclear weapons as a means to be rid of the zombies. Dawn... was created during the middle of the Cold War where similar apocalyptic scenarios were a constant threat.
Zombie Evolution:
The zombies appear to congregate at the mall as "it was a special place to them" according to Stephen
There are several segments with people debating on television about the zombies. A Government doctor is keen to point out that the zombies attack only the living and thus their behaviour isn't cannibalism as cannibalism implies an inter species activity.
Whilst in Night..., the government believes the zombies may be the result of a satellite from Venus burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, Peter believes the outbreak might be more akin with a doomsday scenario. He chillingly references a warning his grandfather (a voodoo priest) gave him when he was younger referring to the dead walking.
The zombies show far less intelligence here than in Night... (almost to the point of comedy).
When Stephen returns as a zombie, he remembers where the others were hiding upstairs and possibly, inadvertently, leads a group of them to where Peter and Fran are hiding. Memories will become a massive feature in then next film of the franchise; Day of the Dead.
It's also a strange sequel as the only things that carry over from Night... is the premise. None of the characters from Night... or anyone related to them make so much as a references in Dawn... which not only means you can watch Dawn without worrying about dangling plot threads, but it also means that like Night..., no one is fully safe and anyone can die at any given time.
Set an undisclosed amount of time after the initial outbreak, the world is slowly going to hell, martial law has entered several American cities and the dead are still rising. Two SWAT members and a couple decide to flee the cities and end up hauled up in a mall.
From the offset, Dawn... is a much better film than its predecessor. All the dread and tension of the first is still there, but there's a much greater sense of urgency and the action is a lot more fast paced which is much easier on the eyes.
All four main characters are intensely likable this time around which also raises the audiences hope that they'll make it through an ever decreasing situation. Tom Savini (who was drafted to Vietnam and missed out on Night...) is on hand with the special effects which must have been mind blowing at the time. Even now in retrospective, there's a real beauty in his work (even with the bright red blood).
On the whole, Dawn... is not just a great zombie flick, its a great film, easily one of the best in the horror genre. Although again like Night..., it has aged, it has a certain unmistakable charm to it that even after repeated viewings, it doesn't wane or bore, it simply becomes more entertaining which after the initial scares, is something to be cherished in a horror film.
Social Commentary:
Materialism is the obvious one. Our heroes spend the majority of the film in a shopping mall which is full to the brim of items they need and don't need. But once the excitement disappears and they have everything, they become bored and desperately want to leave.
Consumerism is again tied to the shopping mall. Our group constantly race to different stores in order to get the things they need or luxaries. The zombies are stuck outside, sometimes even clawing at the glass desperately trying to enter (although not for the products, but more the people themselves).
Racism is touched upon at the start of the film with the apartment block with one SWAT member gradually going insane and wondering why they get to live in an apartment in the first place.
Sexism is briefly touched upon with Fran finding herself left out of the boys plans to be rid of the zombies and secure the mall. Eventually Fran is trained to fly the helicopter (which becomes crucial in the final moments of the film).
The ethics of death are also prominent. The initial attack on the apartment block is down to people not handing over their deceased loved-ones as Peter puts it "they still believe there's a respect in dying" with a reverend holding several zombies in the basement. When Roger is bitten, he suddenly finds himself in the same position as someone terminally ill and is also treated in the same manner.
There's also the prospect of bombing major cities with nuclear weapons as a means to be rid of the zombies. Dawn... was created during the middle of the Cold War where similar apocalyptic scenarios were a constant threat.
Zombie Evolution:
The zombies appear to congregate at the mall as "it was a special place to them" according to Stephen
There are several segments with people debating on television about the zombies. A Government doctor is keen to point out that the zombies attack only the living and thus their behaviour isn't cannibalism as cannibalism implies an inter species activity.
Whilst in Night..., the government believes the zombies may be the result of a satellite from Venus burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, Peter believes the outbreak might be more akin with a doomsday scenario. He chillingly references a warning his grandfather (a voodoo priest) gave him when he was younger referring to the dead walking.
The zombies show far less intelligence here than in Night... (almost to the point of comedy).
When Stephen returns as a zombie, he remembers where the others were hiding upstairs and possibly, inadvertently, leads a group of them to where Peter and Fran are hiding. Memories will become a massive feature in then next film of the franchise; Day of the Dead.
Zombiethon '10: Night of the Living Dead
The grandaddy of them all and the only film on this list you can legally watch on Youtube, Night of the Living Dead is the first in Romero's Dead series and sets all prerequisites needed for the franchise including social satire, buckets of blood and gore (or in this case, chocolate syrup and roasted ham) and somewhat slow zombies.
On face level, Night... is a throwback to the fifties Saturday matineé horror movies; you have several damsels in distress, a level headed antagonist surrounded by people who should have died long ago from a severe lack of functioning brain cells and bizarre monsters.
On that same face level however, the film is notoriously gory and horrifying for something from the sixties. Radio broadcasts constantly update the group of characters (and us for that matter) on what exactly is going on beyond the farmhouse with each becoming more horrible than the last (with each update being recreated soon after).
There's a huge amount of tension and dread throughout the film. Our heroes (if you can call them that) are trapped in a somewhat haunted house, the ongoing threat outside is amassing and as time goes by, any chances of escaping deplete by the minute.
It's strange watching Night... now because like many older horror movies, it's difficult to watch due to it's age and the fact its in black and white. With time however, the film's horror has been replaced with a retrospective bleakness which does, in a strange sense, seem fresh and new.
On the whole however, it's an OK film. It does have some cheesy moments and a few bad editing choices but it's worth seeing, just to see where the modern day zombie shambled from.
...and just to show how fantastic of a sequel Dawn of the Dead is, which is thankfully coming up next.
Social commentary:
The Vietnam war for the ongoing broadcasts and updates against the antagonists.
Film historian Robin Wood believed the zombies represented a look at capitalism (with devouring other people being the obvious evolution of that, I guess).
The main protagonist (and easily the best character) Ben is black which was strange for the late sixties (even when you take into account Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were prominent during the sixties). He doesn't run into any direct racism but the ending of the film is sadly ironic.
By the end of the film, it shows the army and several rednecks seemingly gaining control of the situation by shooting everything on site. Remember folks, at the end of the world, grab your gun and your best hat!
Zombie Evolution:
Foundations are set folks; the recently deceased are somewhat slow (although the very first zombie gives off a pretty good chase to Barbra), can crudely use tools and eat living people (although one strangely eats maggots).
A bite from one to a living person will turn that person into a zombie. They have apparently no comprehension or memories of their previous lives and will attack anyone, family included.
Only severe trauma to the brain can stop a zombie or completely incapacitating it (in this case, lots of fire).
On face level, Night... is a throwback to the fifties Saturday matineé horror movies; you have several damsels in distress, a level headed antagonist surrounded by people who should have died long ago from a severe lack of functioning brain cells and bizarre monsters.
On that same face level however, the film is notoriously gory and horrifying for something from the sixties. Radio broadcasts constantly update the group of characters (and us for that matter) on what exactly is going on beyond the farmhouse with each becoming more horrible than the last (with each update being recreated soon after).
There's a huge amount of tension and dread throughout the film. Our heroes (if you can call them that) are trapped in a somewhat haunted house, the ongoing threat outside is amassing and as time goes by, any chances of escaping deplete by the minute.
It's strange watching Night... now because like many older horror movies, it's difficult to watch due to it's age and the fact its in black and white. With time however, the film's horror has been replaced with a retrospective bleakness which does, in a strange sense, seem fresh and new.
On the whole however, it's an OK film. It does have some cheesy moments and a few bad editing choices but it's worth seeing, just to see where the modern day zombie shambled from.
...and just to show how fantastic of a sequel Dawn of the Dead is, which is thankfully coming up next.
Social commentary:
The Vietnam war for the ongoing broadcasts and updates against the antagonists.
Film historian Robin Wood believed the zombies represented a look at capitalism (with devouring other people being the obvious evolution of that, I guess).
The main protagonist (and easily the best character) Ben is black which was strange for the late sixties (even when you take into account Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were prominent during the sixties). He doesn't run into any direct racism but the ending of the film is sadly ironic.
By the end of the film, it shows the army and several rednecks seemingly gaining control of the situation by shooting everything on site. Remember folks, at the end of the world, grab your gun and your best hat!
Zombie Evolution:
Foundations are set folks; the recently deceased are somewhat slow (although the very first zombie gives off a pretty good chase to Barbra), can crudely use tools and eat living people (although one strangely eats maggots).
A bite from one to a living person will turn that person into a zombie. They have apparently no comprehension or memories of their previous lives and will attack anyone, family included.
Only severe trauma to the brain can stop a zombie or completely incapacitating it (in this case, lots of fire).
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Zombiethon '10
In a break from discussing Nintendo games and Doctor Who, Halloween is almost upon us and this year, your dynamic duo at Retcon-Nation have taken it upon ourselves to scare/laugh ourselves stupid with a monstrous undertaking.
This year, we'll be watching all six of George A. Romero's Dead films, it's spoof Shaun of the Dead and British collumist Charlie Brooker's take on the zombie mythos Dead Set.
Seven films, one mini series, a thousand corpses and more social commentary than Wikipedia, join us all over the weekend for sporadic updates, reviews, thoughts and more in Retcon-Nation's Zombiethon!
This year, we'll be watching all six of George A. Romero's Dead films, it's spoof Shaun of the Dead and British collumist Charlie Brooker's take on the zombie mythos Dead Set.
Seven films, one mini series, a thousand corpses and more social commentary than Wikipedia, join us all over the weekend for sporadic updates, reviews, thoughts and more in Retcon-Nation's Zombiethon!
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Film review)
OK folks, confession time; I had never heard of Scott Pilgrim until earlier this year. Now I know a lot of you will be shocked and appalled by this development and realise that I have no journalistic integrity to review a movie based on a hugely successful comic franchise built upon decades of development with no knowledge of the source material but alas, work with me, I'm only human!
Translated from sarcasm:
Like you, I had never heard of Scott Pilgrim until Michael Cera and Edgar Wright's names appeared in the original teaser trailers several months ago but I was intrigued by the prospect and wanted to know more. Afterall, I'm one of only say, eight people who can still tolerate Cera playing the same character for the past five years and like many of you, I think Edgar Wright is an underrated genius for his previous definitions of cult classics Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
So when I discovered the film was an adaptation on an American faux-manga which was pretty much a love letter to video-games (mainly from Nintendo and Sega's first two home consoles), well, I was engulfed in the hype. It looked and sounded amazing from the trailers and further advertisements of a faux-8bit console game based on the manga for the PS3 and Xbox 360 (with hopefully a review on that soonish).
So August has shown it's sunny face on the calendar year, the film tanked at the American box-office for having the balls to face off against The Expendables but I remained hyped as hell for this thing. Surely something has to give, only The Dark Knight has ever lived up to it's level of anticipation and that was The Godfather of comic book movies.
So, is it good? In a nutshell, yes.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is at it's core a rom-com. The story from which is six volumes long and has taken as many years to complete is the story of it's titular character, a twenty-two year old inhabitant of Toronto who is the very definition of no-hoper.
Scott (played by Michael Cera) has no real ambitions, no real job (minus being the bass player in garage band Sex Bob-omb) and lives with in a one bedroom apartment with his absolutely fantastic roommate Wallace Wells (played by Kieran Culkin).
After being brutally dumped by his girlfriend, he finds himself in a surreal relationship with seventeen year-old high schooler Knives Chau (played by Ellen Wong) which his friends and bandmates object to. One day while dreaming, a purple hair girl catches his eye who eventually turns out to be a real person called Ramona Flowers (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstrad) an Amazon delivery girl who ends up being the figurative girl of his dreams.
However, Ramona comes with baggage in the form of seven evil ex's who Scott must defeat in video-game style fashion to stay alive long enough to keep dating her.
That's the film; there's twists, there's turns, there's small pop up boxes for extra character notes/lulz but again, in it's purest form, it's a boy meets girl story.
What makes Scott Pilgrim vs. The World a far more entertaining rom-com then say, anything Jennifer Aniston has starred in for the past decade is that the film is pure fun from start to finish. Despite the absolute insanity of guy having to physically destroy seven people in order to get to third base (or possibly 2nd & 1/2 base as Wallace advises), the film's universe and characters are a fantastic, memorable bunch and are all well developed.
You can mostly thank Bryan Lee O'Malley's original story for this but credit has to go to Wright and screenwriter Michael Bacall for condensing a six volume story into a two hour film. Yes for purists of the original story, things are obviously trimmed or omitted completely, but the main story remains.
One of my only gripes of the film is that the latter half of evil ex's seemed rushed compared to the first three but I put that down Wright and Bacall having more time to work on them as they were the older volumes but to be honest, Brandon Routh peaks as the best evil ex with Jason Schwartzman and Chris Evans behind, but minus the twins, they're all memorable villains.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World also holds the accolade of being the most quotable film of the year by far. A pre-warning, you might wanna get on IMDB after seeing this one, a few of the phrases are going to be popping up in conversations for years to come.
So, it sounds like a treat, but what about the look. Simply put I have never seen a picture like this. Sure, it's neon bright for the action sequences and picturesque for the more quieter scenes (like Scott and Ramona's first "date") and yes, after three television series and two films, everyone is used to Wright's frantic pace of cuts and cues but, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a close as any comic book based property will ever get to looking like a live action comic (without it being completely animated).
Visual puns, contradictory text boxes, narrations, exaggerations, the whole works is up on the big screen and it works a treat. Compared to our modern day fad of media being real and gritty, Scott Pilgrim's universe is the complete antithesis and it's an absolute gem because of it.
If you've ever listened to Beck or any form of garage rock regardless of how terrible it is, you'll be wanting to get the soundtrack afterwards too. Whereas the film looks colourful and vibrant, the music is stereotypically messy and at times, hilariously simplistic.
Beck's take of Ramona, Scott's song he wrote for...Ramona sounds like a b-side off of Sea Change for anyone who likes Beck but the rest of the music is slow acoustics for drama, chiptunes for battles and garage rock for band battles, which is fine for me.
So afterall all this, where does this leave Scott Pilgrim vs. The World? Earlier this year, it looked different, but in a good way. After being sucked into the hype and seeing the adventures of this twenty-two year old Canadian slacker and his crazy cast of friends and enemies, I can safely say;
If you grew up with video-games of the early ninities or want a zanny rom-com, it's the most fun you'll have in the cinema all year and I'm in lesbians with it.
9/10
H
Translated from sarcasm:
Like you, I had never heard of Scott Pilgrim until Michael Cera and Edgar Wright's names appeared in the original teaser trailers several months ago but I was intrigued by the prospect and wanted to know more. Afterall, I'm one of only say, eight people who can still tolerate Cera playing the same character for the past five years and like many of you, I think Edgar Wright is an underrated genius for his previous definitions of cult classics Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
So when I discovered the film was an adaptation on an American faux-manga which was pretty much a love letter to video-games (mainly from Nintendo and Sega's first two home consoles), well, I was engulfed in the hype. It looked and sounded amazing from the trailers and further advertisements of a faux-8bit console game based on the manga for the PS3 and Xbox 360 (with hopefully a review on that soonish).
So August has shown it's sunny face on the calendar year, the film tanked at the American box-office for having the balls to face off against The Expendables but I remained hyped as hell for this thing. Surely something has to give, only The Dark Knight has ever lived up to it's level of anticipation and that was The Godfather of comic book movies.
So, is it good? In a nutshell, yes.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is at it's core a rom-com. The story from which is six volumes long and has taken as many years to complete is the story of it's titular character, a twenty-two year old inhabitant of Toronto who is the very definition of no-hoper.
Scott (played by Michael Cera) has no real ambitions, no real job (minus being the bass player in garage band Sex Bob-omb) and lives with in a one bedroom apartment with his absolutely fantastic roommate Wallace Wells (played by Kieran Culkin).
After being brutally dumped by his girlfriend, he finds himself in a surreal relationship with seventeen year-old high schooler Knives Chau (played by Ellen Wong) which his friends and bandmates object to. One day while dreaming, a purple hair girl catches his eye who eventually turns out to be a real person called Ramona Flowers (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstrad) an Amazon delivery girl who ends up being the figurative girl of his dreams.
However, Ramona comes with baggage in the form of seven evil ex's who Scott must defeat in video-game style fashion to stay alive long enough to keep dating her.
That's the film; there's twists, there's turns, there's small pop up boxes for extra character notes/lulz but again, in it's purest form, it's a boy meets girl story.
What makes Scott Pilgrim vs. The World a far more entertaining rom-com then say, anything Jennifer Aniston has starred in for the past decade is that the film is pure fun from start to finish. Despite the absolute insanity of guy having to physically destroy seven people in order to get to third base (or possibly 2nd & 1/2 base as Wallace advises), the film's universe and characters are a fantastic, memorable bunch and are all well developed.
You can mostly thank Bryan Lee O'Malley's original story for this but credit has to go to Wright and screenwriter Michael Bacall for condensing a six volume story into a two hour film. Yes for purists of the original story, things are obviously trimmed or omitted completely, but the main story remains.
One of my only gripes of the film is that the latter half of evil ex's seemed rushed compared to the first three but I put that down Wright and Bacall having more time to work on them as they were the older volumes but to be honest, Brandon Routh peaks as the best evil ex with Jason Schwartzman and Chris Evans behind, but minus the twins, they're all memorable villains.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World also holds the accolade of being the most quotable film of the year by far. A pre-warning, you might wanna get on IMDB after seeing this one, a few of the phrases are going to be popping up in conversations for years to come.
So, it sounds like a treat, but what about the look. Simply put I have never seen a picture like this. Sure, it's neon bright for the action sequences and picturesque for the more quieter scenes (like Scott and Ramona's first "date") and yes, after three television series and two films, everyone is used to Wright's frantic pace of cuts and cues but, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a close as any comic book based property will ever get to looking like a live action comic (without it being completely animated).
Visual puns, contradictory text boxes, narrations, exaggerations, the whole works is up on the big screen and it works a treat. Compared to our modern day fad of media being real and gritty, Scott Pilgrim's universe is the complete antithesis and it's an absolute gem because of it.
If you've ever listened to Beck or any form of garage rock regardless of how terrible it is, you'll be wanting to get the soundtrack afterwards too. Whereas the film looks colourful and vibrant, the music is stereotypically messy and at times, hilariously simplistic.
Beck's take of Ramona, Scott's song he wrote for...Ramona sounds like a b-side off of Sea Change for anyone who likes Beck but the rest of the music is slow acoustics for drama, chiptunes for battles and garage rock for band battles, which is fine for me.
So afterall all this, where does this leave Scott Pilgrim vs. The World? Earlier this year, it looked different, but in a good way. After being sucked into the hype and seeing the adventures of this twenty-two year old Canadian slacker and his crazy cast of friends and enemies, I can safely say;
If you grew up with video-games of the early ninities or want a zanny rom-com, it's the most fun you'll have in the cinema all year and I'm in lesbians with it.
9/10
H
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