Perfect Saturday night movie!

This film is made up almost entirely of pastiche, homages, satires and movie and modern culture references that 30-40 somethings' will get.

A very sharply, and economically written blizzard of humorous references that blend more than one genre, into a single very tightly made, fun film. Often people talk about "pacing" in a movie, often when there's a lack of it in certain sections, that feel a bit saggy or slow, but this has no such issue, as it would be less appropriate to use the term "pacing", as "tempo"...

...For this just starts quick, and hammers on to the end in a fashion that doesn't spare the horses, and gets all it wants done in just an hour and a half.

The basic premise is that a rather competitive suburbanite and his equally suited wife have "Game nights" which they host at their home for friends, and one day, his apparently perfect brother turns up to one, with whom he has a real inferiority complex, and is evidently the source of his competitive streak, and invites him and his friends to one at his house - a game night with an edge, and a reality they are not prepared for.

Already you can see the inspiration from David Fincher's The Game, but wrapped around Cluedo / Clue, and as it spirals out of control, and unfolds the many twists and turns, along with host of other movie plot points too numerous to name, and as quickly gone as done...

...It has a feel in the initial instance of being like a horror / slasher movie setup, then tones of Superbad, there's a stated and demonstrated Fight Club reference, but all done knowingly, and deliberately as much to satirise certain tropes as to pay homage to them.

It's great fun, and often funny, but without perhaps being side-splittingly funny...

(Maybe moves too quick for it's own good in this regard)

...But the entire cast has perfect delivery and timing, and in particular, over and above the excellent casting of Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, who are also perfectly cast together - excellent chemistry - the always brilliant, and under-rated, and underused in film - Jesse Plemons gives an astounding performance as the ultimate in dead-pan humour, super creepy, yet hilarious.

This, therefore, doesn't re-invent the wheel in any respect, and probably will never be considered a classic, or all time great, but it is absolutely ideal for a fun Saturday night watch, when you need a more - "up" and fun hour and a half.

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It looks like a corny TV-movie -- and it's still perched up on its self-righteous high horse, but nowhere near as heavy-handed as the previous Billy Jack flick. Laughlin claims the Nixon White House had this film blocked from release because the public couldn't handle the political realities herein. If you have the misfortune to see it, you'll know that is just stupid. Even in 1977, this film was bound for the shelf because word of mouth would kill any remaining interest in the series. The fact remains that after the sermonizing final choruses of "Give Peace a Chance" filled up the final reel of The Trial of Billy Jack, audiences were done with Billy. The reason for the success of the first two BJ movies (The Born Losers and Billy Jack) was that they were exploitation films that had sex, violence, and over-the-top bad guys. The Laughlins believed it was because the of their political subtext. Wrong.

The good news? This is where the story ends.

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Yet another flawed indie movie, dragged down by an over-emphasized performance from Michelle Monaghan, who appears to be posing for promo shots in every scene. Like so much modern product from the "new independent cinema", every seemingly normal convention is turned around in an attempt to show gritty reality, and like standard Hollywood cinema, it's so riddled with clichés that it's no more believable. The camera shots, music selections, language -- all meticulously staged and artificial. Benjamin Bratt and Jimmy Bennett deliver good performances in spite of the lousy material.

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The Bourne Revelation!

Another of my snapper case DVD acquisitions...

Wasn't overly inspired by the whole Richard Chamberlain in the role concept, but mostly because of my familiarity with the more recent Matt Damon, Chemically enhanced super-ninja take on the character and story that somewhat overshadows this now.

(Thankfully Damon's Bourne did kick the Brosnan era Bond movies into touch, and make them look twee, and highlighted their ridiculousness thereby killing off that rendering of the franchise - yay! :)

However, this version still has more than a lot to offer, in spite of suffering by comparison in terms of action and pizazz.

The story is essentially the same - assassin type gets donked on head, loses memory, and battles to recover identity against unknown forces.

But where this wins out, is that this is more of a story, in the true, international espionage / conspiracy thriller / intrigue sense... more like what I would image the book to read like... a proper unfolding of a story, in the style of an investigation.

Much of the detail here in the story and concept you realise has been jettisoned in the Damon version, in order, presumably, to tighten it up, and make those films crack along in a more cinema friendly, spectacle kind of way, whereas this, across its original three hour (two separate, hour and twenty "miniseries" event format, takes it's time, and is more of a slow burner.

But there are many things here that make you go: "Ah!.. now I understand what that is, and what this means!" - not properly explained or resolved in the Damon movies - like what the deeper, truer meaning, and concept of the very title is: "The Bourne Identity" is not purely a name, or mask identity for a dude with no memory, but is a key concept at the bottom of the plot, and is significant to the story in asking questions about the nature of identity itself here, as the revelations are presented - am I who I was, or who I am now - more myself without my memory than with it, and who and what is that?

(There's even a neat little twist within that - which I won't spoil!)

The concept of Treadstone is integral to this too, and is quite something else than the recent films made of it.

But even this, is wrapped around another entirely abandoned central plot point, that the whole point of the exercise is to capture semi-mythical super-villain assassin: Carlos The Jackal.

And to cap it all, the final revelation of who he is / was, has more backstory, whereas the Damon films only give you a name, but not a reason why, or who that name was as a person.

All this is found here though... And if you prefer your spy thrillers a bit more absorbing, and intriguing and a little less hyperactive and actiony (more La Carre than Captain America) then you'll probably love this more than the Damon film(s).

While overall, this style feels like it was probably a little dated even at the time of first showing compared to what was around it (the production feels more like 70s, or at most early 80s), and Chamberlain is a little hard to accept as a Bourne straight off...

(Looking a bit like the ridiculous Roger Moore of his later Bond years - an ageing man lumbering around action sequences with frequent and obvious stunt double cuts)

... he gets into his stride as it goes along, and is even a bit handy (within reason) in later action segments.

The other dynamic that has been altered, that is greatly to this version's benefit, is the relationship between the Bourne character and the female lead character (Jaclyn Smith)... there's more substance here... While in the newer versions, she is basically a damsel in distress, there only to bear an awed witness to what Damon can do with a rolled up copy of Woman's Weekly (tee-hee :), or maybe even a toothpick or pool noodle to his ill starred adversaries...

(Anything in Damon's hands is a lethal weapon folks!)

...here, she starts off as the abductee, but becomes over time an investigative partner, and even instigator of certain scenes... so they end up as almost a n equal pair in the whole matter.

Some great scenes between the pair with good dialogue, and well acted.

(Saphire and Steel, or Dempsey and Makepeace kind of thing?).

So while Chamberlain is struggling initially with a flight of stairs, or the concept of "jogging", while Damon's doing cartwheels on the moon, this is more substantial, makes more sense, and action aside, is actually, probably a better "movie"! - more rewarding, story wise anyway.

Damon's version(s) can't be beat for a high intensity, bad-ass, arms and legs revolving like a squid in a washing machine kung-fu fest, whilst leaping from rooftops and all that jazz...

...but if you want something more real, this is better.

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On first listen this sounds like the John Barry compilation I've been waiting for all these years.

Absolutely brilliant stuff and a perfect selection of the big hits and the more obscure.

I'm already hoping there's a second volume in the works!

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Connie won a laurel award for this film.The film is funny and Connie carries it nicely.


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A basic Scream franchise knock-off / cash-in movie...

(Possibly a straight to DVD one too!)

... But it's not that bad for all that. If you like the Scream films, you'll probably like this.

It doesn't give the impression of having had the biggest budget, looking and feeling more like expensive TV (very redolent of Buffy The Vampire Thingy - probably why rent-a-moody-dude / hunk-type Boreanaz is in this), and peppered with actors / actresses not perhaps cast for their acting skills... Denise Richards is....er... Denise Richards, and does what she is expected todo in any movie she is in.... be Denise Richards.

...But the people making this clearly know how to use a camera, and make a film, even on peanuts, as it looks as slick as money would allow, and the story is a pretty solid, time honoured riff on the Halloween - masked slasher movie, wrapped around an equally reliable - who is it / who-dunnit affair.

It's not very gruesome, for all that, not frightening at all, or inspirational in any sense, just a fairly solid walk through of tried and trusted ground - someone from the past knocking-off former schoolmates for some injustice done by gang of hot girls to geeky kid... but is all as it seems?

...Hmmmm?

>Queue spooky music<

It does have a mixed bag of acting, from the quite good, through OK, to the decidedly eek moments, but it does have other brief flashes of genuine goodness, bordering on brilliance, comedy wise (thankfully intentional, it seems).

Mostly pedestrian, picks up a gear in the final act to be quite good, and it filled the screen for an hour and a half one evening, for entertainment purposes, so like a nice screen saver for my telly, with dialogue.

(Strange how Katherine Heigl has no problem with being in this, to some extent, but hates Knocked Up (?))

>I only got this as I've started buying up snapper case DVDs, as having once been quite ubiquitous, they seem to be getting, if not rare, certainly thin on the ground now, although still fairly easy to find - I reckon most must be in landfill by now, and those that remain, are pretty beaten up... and I also decided to get them as nobody else is seemingly after them, so cheap easy hobby - back up that helps randomise my film watching habbits :) <

Nothing much else to say about it, except:

...Oh, and Denise Richards is in this also.

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Jeepers Creepers, where d'ya get those peepers...

:)

Oh dear, what a mess.

Had high hopes for this, being initially attracted to the fact that Robert Rodriguez was directing... And while it is every bit as violent as you'd expect for one of his films, in his own inimitable style, this doesn't sit well with the production design of the movie, and it's overall style, seemingly aimed at the Disney-kid market.

(This isn't, therefore, for kids!)

No, this is another one to be ranked alongside the failed attempts of Hollywood to "Hollywood-ise" Manga.

Sanitised, lashings of bright sparkly CGI (really hate this style of over-done CGI now), lots of movement, colours, shapes, and other things that attempt to distract you from how awful this movie is.

If I didn't know it was Rodriguez, I'd have said it was Michael Bay, Roland Emmerich, Zach Snyder, of one this crowd of adolescent film-makers who produce this kind of ill judged sensibility in the script, flabby poo that doesn't know what market it's after, and so fails to satisfy any of them - too extreme in it's violence for kids, too childish and incomprehensible for adults.

And in spite of the copious CGI, some of the sets, and costumes still look cheap and nasty.... Occasionally, the Facial CGI for Alita looks decidedly ropey too... not good if the girl with the Anime eyes is the central focus of your movie!

Casting wise, it's always good to see Christph Waltz in anything, but he can't save this sprawling visual splat of a movie, neither can Mahershala Ali, who has real presence...

(Wasted here, but in a more serious movie, he'd be truly great - next bond villain perhaps ? :)

...Rosa Salazar is terrific too, able to carry a movie and lead the way, even in spite of her CGI impediments (If not for her, the character, and the film, would have fallen apart completely, and would have been truly shocking in it's awfulness).

I couldn't figure out why Jennifer Connolly is in this, either her as an actor, or her character... just kind of... there... occasionally.... for some reason....(?)

And then, after struggling to hold my concentration for the duration, it just kind of.... ends.

No resolution, no reason, just - that's enough, bye!

A quick look at Wikipedia after, tells a tale though...Produced by: James Cameron. Who also wrote the story, then handed it to Rodriguez, and said basically: "Try and cut this monstrosity down to something sensible".

He couldn't, despite a valiant effort, and only proves that we can rank Cameron now (sadly) in the same category as those other sensationalist, crappy film-makers previously mentioned... no sense of drama, structure, and can't write a story or script for toffee!

(it becomes apparent that James Cameron's day job used to be making films, and is hobby was deep sea exploration, but now is evidently the other way round - not only that, he needs top notch writers to make something of his stories... he can't be left to his own devices, or he goes to the dark side... For this reason, I'm going to be bold, and call "Turkey" on Avatar 2 even before it comes out (I predict an epic fail!)

This might have been good.. or at least better, if they'd picked a style, and gone with it, grunged it up a bit, tightened the story, perhaps made it noir, or full Manga style - you know, put some art into it, not just science and dazzle.

As it is, it's even worse than the Hollywood attempt at Ghost In The Shell, but sits on the shelf alongside it, in ignominy.

(On the basis of these, Please, for the love of God Hollywood, leave Akira alone!!!)

Forgettable, tedious, unintelligible, borrows from to many other movies (badly - think I saw a knock- off ED 209 in here somewhere!)... dull.

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Listening to the Nunc Dimittis Tertii Toni by George Malcolm on the radio last week I assumed I was hearing another of the choral works of Gregorio Allegri, so I was surprised to hear that it was by George Malcolm, whom I only knew previously from his clever "Bach"-style fugue on the Sailor's Hornpipe, first released on a 78 in 1953.

This track is like a Part II to the Allegri "Miserere Mei, Deus": the booklet notes are a wealth of analysis of the tracks, and in the case of the Nunc Dimittis they say:

"George Malcolm's harmonisation of the third-tone Nunc Dimittis is an object lesson in spiritual minimalism. The unadorned chanting of the lower voices is answered by upper voices in simple three-part homophony, the harmony resolving into a quiet unison as Simeon's soul slips gently into eternal rest"

Such a pity then that none of the individual tracks are currently on YouTube, but this video is a set of samples: track 1 (Plainsong), track 5 (Palestrina), track 7 (Plainsong), track 8 (Giovanni Croce), track 12 (Colin Mawby):

[YouTube Video]

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Like Scarface, The Godfather, and Goodfellas, all rolled into one, and set in the slums of Brazil.

...And it makes a fair stab at being as good as those too!

I've been meaning to watch this since release, so was pleased to find it in the charity shop as part of my five DVDs for a pound :)

Quite long, but is a very rewarding, epic tale of the establishment of a criminal network operating in the slums (their own word) of Rio, born to absolute poverty, and set against an fearful, corrupt police, an Us and them mentality creates a perfect environment for a group of children both through necessity and ambition, to adopt a law of the jungle ethos, and follows them as they grow up, through all the hopes, hopelessness, and the tragedies of their relationships and circumstances, amongst a gang ridden battle ground of a city were life is very cheap indeed.

Principally, it follows Rocket, who just wants to be a reporter - and get laid - as he narrates the tale of this group along their way, and the divisions of the film into individual character based episodes of narration is very Tarantino / Reservoir Dogs inspired.

It's grim... very grim, a grim existence, in a grim city, and there are quite distressing scenes of children killing children, so not for easily upset... and all, evidently based on a true story.

But shot entirely on handheld cameras, the very kinetic movement of the camera gives it a semi-documentary style, appropriate to the place and subject, but with all the colour and feel of Rio, which is highlighted by only occasional pieces of brilliantly choreographed and shot cinematography which punctuate this earthy budget style, but are seamlessly integrated into it.

It's one of those that took me a while to tune into in the early stages, but gradually mesmerised me and took me along to the end.

Well worth watching if you like the kind of films I've mentioned previously.

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A young woman travels to a mysterious, unnamed island to find out why her belated father funded a strange monastery.

Dark Waters has disappeared off the planet. I wouldn't have known about it had I not read Mark Kermode's autobiography. I'm also a fan of the Tartan Video and they put out this one as a limited VHS release in 1995. Dark Waters is similar in style to the Italian Giallo films, especially the more atmospheric ones. It reminded me a bit of early Mario Bava and Soavi's The Church. The film is very atmospheric with excellent lighting and cinematography which hide its small budget. The film has drawn comparisons to Lovecraftian fiction with its use of religious themes, the unknown and suspicion of outsiders. There's further comparisons to be made to The Wicker Man. Dark Waters gets jumbled up in it storytelling and becomes lost in its own ambiguity. This is a film were a longer running time would be beneficial to iron out some of the creases.

Dark Water is a stylish and interesting horror film with some scares and some strong violence. Sadly the plot is messy and the brief bloody scenes can't save what is effectively Giallo-lite. The film is not some hidden gem or lost masterpiece. It's an above average stylish horror film that came out at a time when the market was over saturated with Straight-To-Video slashers. The film has had a Blu-Ray release which features a nice albeit soft matte picture and crisp, clean sound. There's also a rare 2-disc DVD with a replica of the stone amulet.

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An enjoyable dogs dinner of a film but only for those of us who love trash cinema.

As a regular film this fails on almost every level. It's troublesome production is all too clear (see notes) and the repetition of a white man in a suit unconvincingly overpowering another white man in a suit becomes as confusing as it is boring.

In true exploitation fashion though enough s**t has been thrown against the wall that there's enough dumb fun to enjoy here. There was also budget enough at some stage to employ Nelson Riddle to provide a cool theme song (not that it really fits then final film!?)

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Continuing in the fine tradition of romantic comedies established by the great Nora Ephron... almost.

...But not quite.

By rights, this should sit happily alongside When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle, and You've Got Mail, in that it is the same kind of movie... The same feel, look, humour, and plot theme, and it almost is worthy of the distinction, but it has a somewhat almost fatal flaw (which actually ought to have been the that which sealed the deal:

Meg Ryan.

Odd to think of it really, being that Meg is the reason, and the heart of why those other great movies have won a place in everybody's hearts, but here she really is too much on occasion, so as to be off-putting.

But I don't think she is to blame, so much as perhaps the director, who wanted an overly hammy, over-acted performance from her, thinking that's what she did in those others (and why it was a no brainer to cast her in this), after all, she gets it spot on in all of those,so why should she suddenly decide to go overboard here?

I think the essential reason is the absence of Nora Ephron herself here... Nora had a subtlety and nuanced power of astute observation, and knew how to get the best out of Meg Ryan and all who worked with her on her films, that was just bang on... funny, charming, witty, and with a very lightly handled intelligent humour.

Most of which is here... they have the story, the great lead actor in Kevin Kline, and the whole set-up is there to be knocked out of the park (again), but, as I say, it seems the director over eggs it, asking Meg to give frequent moments over-doing it that would probably make Nicholas Cage blush!

In a word, she's obnoxious, and really annoying... the more so because it's not all the time, rather she gives her usual high standard (what you'd expect) through most of the movie, but this only serves to highlight the extreme nuttiness of those over the top moments.

The story is a good premise: Meg's character is looking to settle down to a new life in Canada with non-committal fiancé Timothy Hutton, who wants to go travelling to Europe and live a little (more), but Meg is afraid of flying, and so stays behind...

...But upon receiving a phone call from him from France, that he has somehow, suddenly been struck by lightning and fallen in love with a new woman, Meg decides to overcome her fear, board an airplane, and go win her man back.

It all goes wobbly for her from there on, after meeting a scoundrel type French man on the plane, who is up to no good it seems, she gets stuck in France with only him to help (not altruistically) her find her way around, and hopefully find her missing Fiancé and get him back.

Of course, unspoken romantic tension begins to blossom between Meg and Kev in the time honoured rom-com tradition, and it's an otherwise engaging, charming film shot around Paris and the French countryside, and Kevin Kline gives a great comedic performance in a somewhat broad stereotypical role, ably supported by Jean Reno (always great).

But those "Mega-Meg" moments... damn woman.... dial it down a bit!

Very jarring in the first watch (or two), but I've found that a few watches irons it out a bit :)

In the round, quite easily worthy of being considered as something to watch after those more masterfully made movies, and if not for those "Acting" showcases, might have been an 8 or even a 9 out 10, but loses a couple of points because of it for me.

I feel Meg Ryan was done a bit of a dis-service here by whoever told her to "go-for-it!" in these scenes.

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Going to do something a little odd here, and review just one song on this.

(This is because it doesn't seem to have been released as a single, so can't review it, except on an album)

It's one of those songs that has been kind of "with me" for a while, but mostly somewhere in the background of my mind, and I've only relatively recently become consciously aware of it, and sought it out.

The song in question is: Can't Find My Way Home which although not overtly, made quite an impression on me when first hearing it in one of my favourite films: Benny And Joon.
Having recently re-watched it (again! :) I decided I wanted to find the track at long last, did a search on the internet... To my surprise, I saw it was written by Steve Winwood, and moreover, was done so, and performed by him for the "Supergroup" album: Blind Faith - That whole Clapton ensemble thing with the front cover controversy.

It surprised me, as I had heard that whole album some years before even seeing the film that brought the song to my attention, and remember having been distinctly underwhelmed by it - very disappointing album given the people gathered on it especially. I remember a largely flat, tuneless affair that made no impression on the memory...

...So I decided to re-listen to the Blind Faith version of the song again on Youtube, and yup, a very lifeless, thin sounding song came forth - really amazed at this, as Winwood sings, and gives a very thin, whiny vocal, not at all like his earlier or later stuff, which we know he is capable of, and even famed for - that natural Bluesy voice that he can belt out at whim... No the original Blind Faith one is crap.

I tried for another version, perhaps a re-record from later years by him, ,maybe giving it a little extra oomph, but no, just a couple of live versions just as weakly rendered, but this time, acoustic, and solo.

Very disappointed, I then discovered an Eric Clapton live version, also somewhat floppy and vague sounding.

Finally, I came back to Joe Cocker, but couldn't seem to find the version from the film - the versions I happened upon were from the Cocker album: Organic, which, if anything, seem to go too far the other way - too throaty, too guttural sounding for me.

At last, I found this version on this album, which is the version from the film, but does not seem to appear on the soundtrack album...

(Grrrrrr... I hate it when they do that, have a song prominently feature in a movie, then leave it off the soundtrack album! - Grrrrr again!)

...It's not quite lived up to my expectations or hopes, but not far short.

But this is truly an excellent song I think, and I feel that maybe the definitive version is yet to be made by.... someone.

[YouTube Video]

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Annotation:

How is popular music culture connected with the life, image, and identity of a city? How, for example, did the Beatles emerge from within Liverpool, how did they come to be categorized as part of Liverpool culture and identity and used to develop and promote the city, and how have connections between the Beatles and Liverpool been forged and contested? This book explores the relationship between popular music and the city using Liverpool as a case study.

Firstly, it examines the impact of social and economic change within that city on its popular music culture, focusing on de-industrialization and economic restructuring during the 1980s and 1990s. Secondly, it considers the specificity of popular music culture and the many diverse ways in which it influences city life and informs the way the city is thought about, valued and experienced. Cohen highlights popular music's unique role and significance in the making of cities, and illustrates how de-industrialization encouraged efforts to connect popular music to the city, to categorize, claim and promote it as local culture, and harness and mobilize it as a local resource. In doing so, she adopts an approach that recognizes music as a social and symbolic practice encompassing a diversity of roles and characteristics: music as a culture or way of life distinguished by social and ideological conventions; music as sound; speech and discourse about music; and music as a commodity and industry.

Michael Brocken

Source: The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide To The Literature - Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis (The Beatle Works Ltd., 2012), with acknowledgement, and used here with permission from the authors for educational and historical purposes only.

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Annotation:

How is popular music culture connected with the life, image, and identity of a city? How, for example, did the Beatles emerge from within Liverpool, how did they come to be categorized as part of Liverpool culture and identity and used to develop and promote the city, and how have connections between the Beatles and Liverpool been forged and contested? This book explores the relationship between popular music and the city using Liverpool as a case study.

Firstly, it examines the impact of social and economic change within that city on its popular music culture, focusing on de-industrialization and economic restructuring during the 1980s and 1990s. Secondly, it considers the specificity of popular music culture and the many diverse ways in which it influences city life and informs the way the city is thought about, valued and experienced. Cohen highlights popular music's unique role and significance in the making of cities, and illustrates how de-industrialization encouraged efforts to connect popular music to the city, to categorize, claim and promote it as local culture, and harness and mobilize it as a local resource. In doing so, she adopts an approach that recognizes music as a social and symbolic practice encompassing a diversity of roles and characteristics: music as a culture or way of life distinguished by social and ideological conventions; music as sound; speech and discourse about music; and music as a commodity and industry.

Michael Brocken

Source: The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide To The Literature - Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis (The Beatle Works Ltd., 2012), with acknowledgement, and used here with permission from the authors for educational and historical purposes only.

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Another of those which I had not seen since I first watched it at the time of release, and only an impression of it remains...

(Probably since skewed by other people's generally negative opinions)

...And on the face of it, it would appear to be one of those "moving films about "mentally disadvantaged" people" that has since become firmly ensconced in public consciousness as a meme, trope, or typically Hollywood style exploitation movie / opportunity for leading Hollywood actor to win an Oscar -type thing, which has since become thought of as unacceptable to do; To be filed alongside the likes of My Left Foot, Rain Man, or more recently, the hilariously self aware, and brilliantly cynical Tropic Thunder.

However, this is not that, as Nell - Jodie Foster's character does not have any condition or "impairment", and this is not a movie that focuses on these kind of issues.

Instead, it's another kind of movie, one of those where someone read something bizarre but strangely true in a newspaper article about one of life's odd ocurrences, and decided to make a film about it:

"Boy raised by wolves", and the like.

Nell has been living alone with her mother for a number of years in the woods, in total isolation from the outside world, and one day, inevitably, her mother dies, and Nell is left alone, only to be discovered by a local who usually brings supplies to the property.

Of course, it's a big scientific and potentially media sensation, an opportunity to observe one of nature's "Wild Child" type of people.

Liam Neeson is the scientist brought in to study her in order to determine if the state, under court order, should either allow her to continue living alone (if she can take care of herself), or if she is to be taken into "care", for her own good.

But Neeson's rather modestly resourced scientist faces competition from the better funded and subsidised Natasha Richardson, and all the inevitable consequences follow from these above mentioned circumstances.

It actually fares a whole lot better than I was expecting it to be... not a severely dated, toe curling exploitation movie I was expecting, but rather an actually quite lightly handled and sensitive portrayal by Jodie Foster, which is more of a sweet, and even magical movie, with the stunning cinematography of the beautiful woodland landscape around the lake, expertly directed by Michael Apted, and making for a film with an almost fairy-tale like, mythical feel, that's very engaging to watch.

Still quite moving, and more than a little sentimental, as you'd expect, but if you like those kinds of movies, you'll like this.

2 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

A young woman (Lauren Ashley Carter) takes the job of nanny in an old townhouse, rumoured to be haunted.

The film has garnered a lot of praise for its visuals and it's justified. It is a striking looking film with high contrast black and white photography. The plot is minimalist with minimal dialogue and relies more on atmosphere. The film draws comparisons to early Polansk,i particularly Repulsion, but it's nowhere near in the same league. There's been a slew of indie demonic possession films like The Devil's Candy and A Dark Song and I honestly preferred those. For me beyond the art and sound design it's just a bit mediocre; not as complex or as intriguing as Repulsion, not as chilling as Takashi Miike's domestic horror Audition. It also suffers from bad tropes of the time popularised by films like Paranormal Activity which is an over reliance on jumpcuts and milisecond cutaways to messed up scenes.

I wanted to like this film more and in my opinion it has been overrated by a lot of horror fansites like Bloody Disgusting. The film is interesting and there has been a considerable amount of work and talent which has gone into it, but it just left me cold.

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Review by Ernie Sutton in Issue 80 of the British Beatles Fan Club Magazine (with acknowledgement):

This new book looks at the life of Paul McCartney. It is a book that I would not recommend. At £14.99 it is overpriced and is poorly written in parts. It says in the book that Paul's marriage to Heather Mills was divorced in London in 2008. This should read dissolved. There are also factual errors in the book. An example of this is that it states Ringo and Paul worked together on the Concert for New York City. Ringo never appeared at that show.

This is one of the worst books I have read. One to avoid.

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Annotation:

Peter Grant is a renowned arts and entertainments journalist based on Merseyside. This low-priced monograph with a soft cover was produced by the publishers of the Liverpool Daily Post and Liverpool Echo newspapers, for whom Grant worked for many years. It is essentially an adequate picture book with a modicum of narrative and is for Beatles book completists only.

Michael Brocken

Source: The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide To The Literature - Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis (The Beatle Works Ltd., 2012), with acknowledgement, and used here with permission from the authors for educational and historical purposes only.

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I remember this concert so well, but to my shame, I have no recollection of Richard and Linda Thomson - could I have been in the bar??? I was so pleased to get seats only two or three rows from the front. Gerry was his usual uncommunicative self - "Hallo Aberdeen" and "Good night Aberdeen" but the concert was great. I remember the concert because it coincided with the start of my hearing loss - seats at the front turned out to be a mixed blessing. Gerry had a large and very loud brass section. I recall the 12 minute version of Baker Street - with the sax solo repeated three or four times. When I emerged on to Aberdeen's Union Street I thought someone had pressed th mute button - the traffic was strangely quiet! I had ringing in my ears for a couple of days and my hearing never really recovered. A warning for today's concert goers! Ach well, it was worth it.

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Out of all the 70s K-Tel albums that's my favourite based on tracklist.

For me - and this is my personal opinion of course - the only really duff track is Y Viva Espana (but to be fair that's probably only because we went on a package holiday to Spain that year when I was a child and every singer in every cafe / bar was singing it.)

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Vintage brilliance.

Miles is not OK...

...He's a glum, depressed, high-minded (pretentious) intellectual who's life circumstances don't quite matchup to his expectations...

...A wannabe writer (one of those you feel, wants to be an author the next "Great American Novel") but is struggling to get published, and having had a messy divorce, now lives alone in small, run down apartment block while working as a School-teacher... he hates life, and it shows.

His one passion, even obsession, is with wine, about which, you could justly call him a mega-nerd... and he's excruciatingly exacting and pretentious about that too! (Which makes for great comedy :)

With friends like these...

This weekend is different though, as he's taking his friend Jack on his stag weekend before a marriage rehearsal the following week, which Miles has perfectly planned notions of being a very civilised journey through the wine growing regions of California, some golf, a dinner out, and good conversation... a chance for himself too, to get away from it all too.

...Unfortunately, Jack's a lad! - And has other ideas for the weekend, and wants have a blow out, and get laid.

A flaky, impulsive, vulgar man-child and struggling bit-part actor, he is the absolute antithesis of Miles, and almost immediately starts sabotaging Miles's plans, and getting him into various troubles, with often hilarious and painful to watch consequences.

Maybe this will break Miles, or be the forceful and perhaps necessary breaking of the big dark cloud of gloom and despair that Miles has hanging over him, and carries with him everywhere he goes.

This has a n air of Frasier about it, in that it is very sharp and intelligent (Intellectual) comedy, which is consistently and deliberately undermined by the crass, vulgar humour and scenarios that occur.

It was very much talked about and praised at time of release, but seems to have drifted somewhat off the radar since then, and fully deserves to be watched again, as it has aged very nicely :)

The only criticism I have of it, is that Miles is one of those characters I hate to admit, I see too much of myself in at times (yikes!)... and often some of Jack too!!!

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A fascinating insight into a great man's mind, whilst in the midst of great historical events.

This is an "autobiography" constructed from Martin Luther King's personal writings, articles, and letters, and assembled in chronological order, that very much feels like a pre-planned memoir or autobiography, and certainly offers a very open, honest, and candid testament of a great man of peace.

The abiding impression that you take from this, is that he was far from a superhuman icon of the ages, which most of us will only see as an historical figure, but rather, quite simply, a man...

...A man of course, of great conviction and faith, but weak and fragile too... having had a great path laid before him, he often has his moments of doubt, about how to walk that path, or even if he should, as well as struggling with the odd moments of ego, that comes from being lauded constantly as the great hero.

And so, his true heroism as he himself presents it here, is not that of being infallible, or not susceptible to fear, but finding the courage to endure, and overcome his own fears and doubts, even when those around him were wavering and seemingly were prepared to abandon a non-violent path to freedom, and also the very evident self-awareness of his own ego, which left unchecked, might have gotten the better of him, as it has many other great men of "destiny"...

...Indeed, this for me, is the most impressive thing about him that I took form this book, his constant self examination, recognition, and correction of his faults... a constant self-redeemer.

The steadfast support of family, friends, colleagues, his faith, and the teachings of Ghandi, which he frequently references, also deserve the credit he bestows upon them.

A great opportunity to look at such a figure from the inside out, rather than the more traditional presentation of a cardboard cut-out archetypal hero, or worse, a self-mythologizing piece of self promotion, as and when such megalomaniacs occasionally choose to confer a testament of their own perfect brilliance on us.

A great read too, about the events around him, as witnessed from his point of view.

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The recordings made at Birmingham Town Hall (UK), 30th March 1948 and issued on Esquire were among the very first made of British Be-Bop jazz.

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The Love Epidemic is a series of comedy vignettes about sexually transmitted disease spliced with serious medical footage and doctors explaining the risks of unsafe sex.

This is considered an Ozploitation (Australian Exploitation) film. You will never convince me this is a serious educational film. It was simply an excuse to get nudity and sex past the censors to make a few bucks at the box office.

It is very funny in places and it draws comparisons to Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask (a better film). There's a really fun sketch with two ignorant men in the pub talking; "one day you're just going about your business then the next thing you know your tool drops off". Or syphilis and gonorrhoea represented as two blokes in boiler suits inside the factory of the human body drinking beer and talking about the good old days of WWII VD. Or the prostitute who makes the punter wash his "old man" in the sink. It's all very silly stuff and Brian Trenchard-Smith even manages to sandwich in a kung fu fight and a medieval battle.

This is far from a great film, but it delivers on what modern viewers expect. A fair amount of nudity including some full frontal, simulated, but lengthy sex scenes and some laugh out loud moments. It's not as good or as polished as the aforementioned Woody Allen film, but for a low budget Australian comedy it does deliver on inventiveness and laughs. Be warned there are some graphic scenes of the symptoms of VD so don't watch it if you are having your dinner.

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Teenage brat, Kathy (Scarlett Johansson) finds her brother George (Nick Fuoco) annoying. She plays a prank on him to get him into trouble with their cool babysitter, Matilda (Eva Mendez). He gets turned into a pig after accidentally activating a Mexican voodoo spell. They travel to Mexico to find a way to break the curse while their parents are on a cycling trip in France.

There a host of famous faces here. Judge Reinhold was the big name. He isn't in the film for very long and plays the wise cracking father, a role he's played many times. Scarlett Johansson is particularly annoying and comes across more as a bully than a cool girl going through puberty. Dee Bradley Baker voices the pig, he's best known for providing the voices for many hit Cartoon Network shows; he's only given a few lines, none of them good. Eva Mendez was around 25 at the time of the film's release. She doesn't look significantly older than Scarlett and plays a sort of big sis role, she's decent. Alex D. Linz deserves a mention as he is given the best lines and nails them.

I wanted to like this film more. Sadly it feels like a TV Movie at best and an overly long episode of a Saturday morning sitcom at worst. The characters are never really developed and feel a bit unrealistic. I didn't really feel Kathy had an annoying younger brother; I felt more sorry for him. His big crime is making a giant bowl of ice cream and trashing a kitchen. There's supposed to be some sort of comment on the brother and sister age gap; one is growing up, the other is still a kid. This theme is often explored in PG rated comedies, but it's not done as well as in say, Fudge (Fudgeamania).

The fantasy theme, not fantastical enough and the voodoo style curse never really explained. The special effects are bad even for 1999. The climax was a letdown as well given the film had been building for over an hour by that point.

I think it is a good film, but far from a great one. I didn't find the acting to be bad, just the characters underwritten. Compared to high marks of family films like Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire, My Brother The Pig falls way short. That said there is something enjoyable about seeing a pig shaped mountain and there's a few funny lines. This film can't shake off dated Mexican stereotypes, but it did try to blend the two cultures before Dora the Explorer got it right.

Availability: The film is available on DVD in the UK rated PG uncut. It's quite rare. The DVD has nice picture quality and sound I'm fairly sure the film has been broadcast on terrestrial TV albeit 20 years ago. It's an ok 90 minutes timewaster, but even children will want a more meaty film.

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Annotation:

The subtitle reads: '500 questions and answers about the Beatles, their lives and times and contemporaries in the pop world and their home city of Liverpool' - not strictly' Beatles', then! This small quiz book is one of a series of three, all conceived, designed and researched by Pam and John Blanchfield of the Ellesmere Port-based Keyprints Press (Little Sutton being a district of that Cheshire town) and published during Liverpool's European Capital of Culture year 2008. It was mostly for sale in and around Merseyside shops and sold rather poorly. The text therefore, was not widely distributed, which is a pity for it is a well-researched and nicely designed volume of some 60 pages. There are one or two interesting errors, however! If you can pick up a copy, see if you can spot them. Not to be taken overly seriously, yet these Keyprints texts are actually a lot of fun (and better than most).

Michael Brocken

Source: The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide To The Literature - Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis (The Beatle Works Ltd., 2012), with acknowledgement, and used here with permission from the authors for educational and historical purposes only.

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it's a balmy evening, and the ss splendide is taking her customers on a leisurely cruise through tropical seas; unfortunately, their chief cook is the former head chef of the hotel splendide the crew'd rescued from the sea as they were passing the place where the alien who'd abducted him had dumped him;

- and - once again - it is the night of the full moon. . .

a multi-plotted novel told in full-colour, double-page plates without words - and a second tour-de-force.

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Annotation:

Kevin Courrier has, since 1990, been a writer/broadcaster and film critic at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He is also the author of three best-selling books: Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion with Susan Green (1997); Dangerous Kitchen: The Subversive World of Zappa (2002), which won the Finalist Prize for Best Biography at the 2003 Independent Publisher's Awards; as well as Randy Newman's American Dreams (2005). Courrier currently contributes movie reviews to Box Office magazine in Los Angeles, and has written about film and popular culture for both The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.

Courrier takes as his starting point February 11, 1963 when the Beatles recorded 'There's a Place'. Courrier argues that this song firmly laid a foundation on which a vast utopian dream of the 1960s would be built. However his thesis suggests that within that dream, there also lay the seeds of a darker, dystopian vision that would emerge from the very counter-culture that the Beatles and their music helped create. Courrier posits that the disillusionment with these unachievable goals of the 1960s and the rock myth directly associated with the Beatles, culminated in the attacks on John Lennon and George Harrison by deranged and obsessive fans.

In 'Artificial Paradise' Courrier examines how the Beatles helped not only to create the promise of an inclusive culture built on the principles of pleasure and fulfillment, but also develop the potential for arrested development among those adherents who were clinging to the wreckage of the ill-formed messages emanating from the 1960s counter-culture. By taking us through the Beatles catalogue, Courrier illustrates how the group's startling impact on popular culture built a bond with audiences that was so strong, many today continue to either nostalgically cling to it, or struggle (sometimes violently) to escape its influence.

This is an interesting exposition - well written and lucid, that demands the attention of those who might still see the Beatles as demi-gods, and the 1960s as a kind of second romantic era, without looking at the dystopian realities offered by such 'utopian dreams'. Its major problem is that it does not carry a proper historical perspective, concentrating rather too heavily on the Beatles' North American profile rather than their status in Britain.

Were one to consider matters more from a British perspective, one might discover two important areas that do not effectively support his thesis: firstly, that much of the British counter-culture of the late 1960s had all-but abandoned the Beatles as representatives of authentic youth culture, preferring instead the more Marxist-Leninist interpretation that mass produced youth culture was a passive false consciousness (the highly politicised British folk revival was at its most virulent at this time). Secondly, that the erosion of adulthood of which Courrier speaks did not manifest itself in Britain in the same way as it did across North America. British youth has always been less' loyal' to their popular music icons than their American counterparts - hence the 'arrivals' of new icons Slade, T. Rex, David Bowie et al in Britain as the new decade dawned. Notwithstanding the above, this is definitely worth a read.

Michael Brocken

Source: The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide To The Literature - Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis (The Beatle Works Ltd., 2012), with acknowledgement, and used here with permission from the authors for educational and historical purposes only.

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Annotation:

This is an interesting oddity, written by the author of The Marilyn Scandal. Shevey interviewed John and Yoko in the very early 1970s and recorded over four hours of material. She then proceeded to do nothing with the interview for the rest of the decade only to rediscover the source in the 1980s. Shevey used it as the basis for a text, and proceeded to track down other interviewees such as David Nutter, Eleanor Bron, Virginia Harry (one of her very rare interviews), John Junkin, and Sid Bemstein. All of this sounds extremely promising, but we are mysteriously disappointed by a flimsy, inaccurate piece of work that, in the first case, does not contextualise the interview material at all well (it transpired during Lennon's most bitter period, perhaps?) and secondly does not cross reference or check the ethnography. The result ('I do still like him but it's like saying you like Hitler') is a tired piece of work with innumerable factual errors – a lost opportunity, to be sure.

Michael Brocken

Source: The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide To The Literature - Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis (The Beatle Works Ltd., 2012), with acknowledgement, and used here with permission from the authors for educational and historical purposes only.

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Unexpected item in the modern comedy classic area!

I caught this on BBC Three the other night, and was completely blown away by it.

I was expecting just another movie about those sinless millenials I've been hearing so much about recently, but this belong on any list of seminal Graduation / End of term / coming of age / growing up and moving on movies that define the subject for their generation...

...In fact, you can strike a line straight through, from (off the top of my head) American Graffiti, Dazed and Confused, Ghost World, to Superbad and the like. And you detect a strong whiff of all of those movies in this, especially the last one, as two overly-studious girls who feel they have wasted their school years studying too hard and not having any fun, decide to have a bit of a blow out the night before graduation to make up for it.

This follows these girls as they try with desperation to find a party, and a kind of odyssey ensues (a lot like Superbad) to get there.

What elevates this, is firstly the dialogue is Blackadder sharp, with a note of Withnail and I, but very naturally, and easily done (it doesn't feel forced), and the story cracks along in a very watchable way; And then, crucially it's very funny, with some moments of genuine comic genius - The Stop motion segment where, having taken some undefined illicit substance, they turn into barbie dolls is pure brilliance.

This sharpness does give way at the right time to more feeling, and drama without feeling clunky, and the whole film is just excellent.

Special mention must go to director Olivia Wilde...balancing all these elements perfectly, without losing the thread, and has great feeling for, and sensitivity to these characters and the cinematography makes this feel like a Michael Mann movie!

(Michael Mann does The Inbetweeners!!!)

A surprising and unexpected nugget of a movie, that adds another fine chapter to a great tradition.

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Danny Kirwan's final album Hello There Big Boy is quite a bittersweet album, because it was the last one he would ever make and the sessions coincided with his mental health deteriorating to the point where he could no longer continue his music career after the album's release.

He did sing and play rhythm guitar, but it's unlikely that he played any lead guitar, although two songs, ironically, feature his own Fleetwood Mac replacement Bob Weston playing lead guitar. Bob Weston (I'm using his full name to avoid confusion with Bob Welch) did remember that Danny had totally fallen apart, because he could still play rhythm guitar, but incapable of playing lead guitar.

The first track "Wings of a Dove" has a very Rumours-like production sound and even ex-Fleetwood Mac manager Clifford Davis, who produced it, described the album as so bad and said that Danny had to finish it for contractual reasons.

It's very sad that Danny fell victim to alcoholism, mental illness and homelessness and never made any official return to music, not like Brian Wilson or Peter Green.

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Villeneuve strikes again!

As with Blade Runner, I kind of groaned when learning of the intent to make this (again), but having witnessed the brilliance of what this director did with Blade Runner sequel (and all his other work!), I breathed a little sigh of relief.

That said, unlike Blade Runner, this is not a sequel, but a remake (of sorts), or more accurately, a new attempt at the original Frank Herbert novel for the big screen... And as someone who, despite it's many, many faults, dearly loves the Lynch Dune movie (mostly it's quirky Lynch-ian oddness is why I love it), and who has read the vast and complex and subtle novel which has many prescient themes woven intricately into it's fabric, I was worried it might still be biting off a little more than even Villeneuve could chew...

(After all, in terms of influential books that HAD to be made properly one day for cinema, there's The Lord Of The Rings, and then there's Dune!)

...And while I'm a bit sketchy now about the details of the novel, the overall impression remains, and this finally feels like it's living up to that epic tome... In both the scale, look and feel of the work, and it's essential themes and message (more of the subtlety than Lynch was able to shoe-horn into his available contracted space).

I was also worried that, having read the book, and seen the previous movie attempt, this would offer nothing new... No surprises, and it would just be a more careful run trough of what I already knew - pointless watching if you know all what's coming! But some of the story-telling choices, and visual devices used still managed to carry me along with it.

There will, of course, be some ardent fans of the novel who are not satisfied, because they are unwilling to concede that this is a different art form, and whatmay work in a book won't work on screen, so the director / film-maker has to TRANSLATE it into something that will work in that medium, which this does.

And much of Villeneuve's style does the story-telling without having to literally copy the text. A lesser, or even a different director who is more concerned with details might get bogged down, and overwhelmed by this, but here, Villeneuve is the RIGHT man for the job, in the same way that Peter Jackson was the RIGHT director for Lord Of The Rings, even if, it were arguable that a "better" director were available - Chris Nolan, for instance, might well have spiralled down into a thick morass of endless detail and complexity if he'd tried this.

It is, of course, more of a tale akin to The Godfather, than a Star-Wars-esque flashing light and action festival, in that it is a slow paced, (although occasionally active) epic, depicting the cosmic power struggles between families / dynasties and factions, with economics, ecology, philosophy, mysticism, prophecy and political manoeuvrings at it's heart, so more like The Godfather, or war and Peace in space... and Messianic overtones.

But the two and a half hours do fly by, as you are engrossed in the stunning visuals, the good script and pacing, and Timotheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (however you pronounce that, I don't know, 'cause I'm a dunce :) Chalamet has a lot of burden to carry in this movie, but does so with impressive ease, even though the role in this first part, is largely subdued, as a kid with a lot of expectation of him, and the weight and heft of earthing this story is done by the super solid performances of the "supporting" cast of reliable perfomers like Brolin, Rampling, and others.

(Jason Mamoa deserves a lot of credit for his performance that offers a lot of levity and charisma to the film)

The only real complaint I have, is that it's a split film, leading up, only to when Paul and mum take up with the Fremen, because I was was so wrapped in the movie, I didn't want it to end!

(I could have sat through another three hours quite happily, in order to see the story through to the end)

And as for the music, it's that man Zimmer again, knocking it clean out of the park with another esoteric abstract brain crusher of a score, perfectly complimenting the visuals... Brilliant.

Cannot wait for the next part, which had better be forthcoming Warner Brothers, or I will not be happy!

In short, this will take your brain to another dimension... so pay close attention :)

[YouTube Video]

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"Joie de ma jeunesse", un disque rempli de l'esprit nouveau

De tous les temps, les disques religieux n'ont pas atteint la popularité des classiques ou des chants à la mode. Pourtant, il en est qui manifestent bien l'esprit nouveau, qui sont excellents au point de vue technique et fort agréables à entendre pour peu que l'on soit dans le vent de l'oecuménisme et du renouveau liturgique. Tel est le cas du disque "Joie de ma Jeunesse'

Disons tout de suite que cette série de chants rythmés ne se veut pas des modèles du genre, mais nous croyons qu'ils peuvent servir d'inspiration aux chorales de jeunes qui affectionnent ces chants vraiment dans le vent.

Les chants suivants : Seigneur, prends pitié; Saint, saint est le Seigneur; Seigneur, tu es présent nous ont plus particulièrement. La voix sobre de John Littleton, le soliste, est bien appuyée par une chorale de jeunes. La musique est bien rythmée mais demeure généralement douce, bien différente d'une musique de cabaret. Pas de tambours trop éclatants, l'orgue demeure l'instrument de base.
(Père Emile Legault c.s.c., La Presse, samedi 21 septembre 1968, page 25)


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This album is originally released in 1957, and co-written by the late Bamber Gascoigne [of University Challenge, but sadly passed away on the 8/2/2022]. Also, this album launched the show rising careers of Kenneth Williams and Dame Maggie Smith. I`ll treasure this album as a tribute to Bamber Gascoigne [who`s my favourite quiz master].

4 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Must try harder is all I can say about it...strikes me as a bunch of under-developed ideas, there's barely a song worth talking about other than "Hopper"...

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This is a no budget British horror film. Allegedly made for £50, whether that is true or not it sure looks like it.

A young woman goes to a fancy dress party and finds she is to be sacrificed as part of a satanic cult.

The film is influenced by classics like The Exorcist and has some slasher elements like a knife through the throat (best gore effect in the film).

The budget shows and the film looks like it may have been shot on VHS or Hi-8 as it doesn't have the clarity of 16 or 35mm. The film first appeared on VHS tape with the director's other film The Last Night. I was convinced this was a video nasty, but it's a pre-cert that was never re-released in the UK. It does have a DVD release in USA. This film is not recommended but it is a rare curiosity of British horror.

Michael J. Murphy or MJM went onto write and direct a series of straight to video cheapies in various genres: slasher, sex, fantasy. He died in 2015.

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Ingegneri became maestro di capella to the Cathedral of Cremona in 1573 in response to the changes to the Catholic Church following the Council of Trent in 1593, itself a response to the growth of Protestantism around Europe.. Until that time the music of the cathedral was Gregorian chant with the singers led by the priest. The new requirement was for polyphonic music for choir and instruments, composed specifically for use in Services. The combination of Ingegneri's music and the artistic adornments made to the building brought Cremona to the forefront of Catholic worship in Northern Italy.

The main work on this CD is the Missa Laudate Pueri Dominum cum octo vocibus, which takes its theme from Palestrina's motet Laudate Pueri Dominum. The first track is Cantate et Psallite Dominum, a setting for three choirs (12 voices) and orchestra. This impressive work makes a good introduction to the style and performance of the CD as a whole.

[YouTube Video]

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Shrooms takes bits of the stoner comedy movies which saw a resurrection in the 00s with "Dude Where's My Car?" and the Harold and Kumar films and adds it to Folklorean slasher conventions.

It doesn't do anything particularly well. The characters are a bit annoying and underwritten. However, Sean McGinley and Don Wycherley as Bernie and Ernie are brilliant playing the yokels who live in the woods, giving darkly humorous deadpan delivery to some truly silly lines.

It suffers from editing choices that date a lot of 00s films; high contrast photography, grainy flashbacks and jarring jumpcuts, not to mention handheld camera shots.

The film has some funny scenes, but it could have done with a few more jokes. The film delivers just enough gore, but it goes for more of a supernatural angle, which doesn't quite work as the plot get jumbled near the end.

This was borderline between a 5 and a 6 for me, but I think there is just enough to recommend it. It was made for 3.5 million Euro, but it doesn't in anyway look cheap. The DVD and Blu-Ray are also very cheap to buy at present and in abundance.

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There was huge trend starting in 00s to remake old slasher films and bring them to an emo audiences of teenagers who liked Slipknot and Marilyn Manson. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Ghost Ship (Death Ship) and even House of Wax. A Nightmare On Elm Street is either a reboot or remake depending on which way you look at it. It was universally panned by critics and slasher fans alike, but it's not that bad.

Coming out in 2010 it has a clinical, cold, dark look to it which seems to still be a popular aesthetic choice seen in films like Us (2019) , maybe it became popular with films like The Cell (2000) and In Dreams (1999). I personally preferred the neon dayglo of 80s slashers and the "blue light" effect of 90s horrors like Necronomicon (1993) and Two Evil Eyes (1990).

The deaths in A Nightmare On Elm Street are gory enough, but lack the humour and outrageousness of even the first A Nightmare On Elm Street. The acting is decent enough, with the teens not being annoying or boring and Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger is a fine choice; but he is nowhere near as imposing as Robert Englund or as funny. In a nutshell it's just a bit "meh" like a lot of 00s slashers "Cherry Falls", "Jason X" and "The Pool (2001)" . Had it not carried the Freddy brand I believe it would have had a fairer roasting by critics. It's not a must see, but it's perfectly acceptable as a popcorn horror.

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Set in an Orwellian vision of the future were sex is banned, a couple try to escape from the "Big Brother" society to be together.

This film is another take on the 1984 theme with sex added to the mix. There's been UK TV Movie "The Year of the Sex Olympics" - a much better albeit much more serious film and "Barbarella" exploring some of themes and a much better film. Cinderella 2000 is very kitschy in the style of Barbarella, but can also be viewed as (largely intentionally) camp in the same way "Buck Rogers", 70s "Dr. Who" or "The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy" can. Beyond that it's got some OK songs, some above average acting and some of the setpieces like the robot are quite fun, but that's it.

Al Adamson is a decent director who manages to craft interesting films from ultra low budgets. Cinderella 2000 doesn't have much to offer modern audiences, it didn't in 1977. Those looking for sex would be able to see hardcore pornography like Deep Throat around the time this film came out and there are much better sexploitation films of the 70s like Emmanuelle. As mentioned for camp, kitschy films: Barbarella and the like do it better. It's a tough sell these days, beyond a weird B-movie curiosity piece.

Blu-Ray from Severin is quite nice, but sadly has some damage and soft colours, but it's more than acceptable. Audio is HD upscaled 2.0 mono.

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Trilogy of short films with slasher influences.

The first story "That's The Way To Do It" is about a children's entertainer who puts on Punch & Judy shows in what I think is Brighton. He spends more time with his puppets than his family. His stepson is an abusive bully, his wife "doesn't know why she married him". I think this is supposed to be a black comedy, but it's played as straight as is possible with some good acting. It's also the best story of the bunch, about 15 or R rated in terms of violence with most of it off screen.

"Dreamhouse" is about a couple who are gifted a nice house as a wedding present. The wife develops second sight and sees horrible visions of people being murdered in the house. This is the goriest of the bunch with a fair amount of claret. It's also the most boring with slow pacing and no real characterisation.

"Do You Believe In Fairies?" A good looking young man who works at a gentleman's clothes shop gets a weekend job as a gardener/handyman to pay back a £400 loan. He maintains a country house for eccentric biddies who have a bizarre gnome collection. After seeing the ladies counting a wad of cash, he decides to burgle the place with his grease monkey mates. They find a treasure chest filled with diamonds and money. The consequences are bloody. This one feels a bit like a fantasy kid's TV series like "The Queen's Nose". It's too silly to take seriously and the violence is a bit jarring.

These are held together by a bunch of idiots watching stolen VHS tapes in a New York Apartment. To the credit of the filmmakers it was actually shot in New York (Lower East Side?) rather than using archive footage.

Screamtime is rare. It might be available on Prime in USA and it appeared on VHS in the UK on Pre-Cert and USA unrated. The film comes recommended, even if it isn't great it's interesting enough and has some recognisable faces, good acting and direction. Why it has become buried is a mystery.

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Annotation:

A fully illustrated catalogue accompanied this McBean exhibition. The catalogue included an interview with Paul McCartney about the photographers of the 1960s - which makes it of interest to the researcher and somewhat collectible. It retailed in 2006 for £25, with a Gallery price of £20.

Michael Brocken

Source: The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide To The Literature - Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis (The Beatle Works Ltd., 2012), with acknowledgement, and used here with permission from the authors for educational and historical purposes only.

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This is great fun!

It's one of those superhero movies that is how a superhero movie ought to be: A good, light heart, FUN, family movie.

There's the occasional joke / wink to the older audience, like the reference to the Tom Hanks movie: "Big" and the odd innuendo, but nothing that will set your teeth on edge.

Doesn't take itself too seriously.

The best coupple of hours of superhero movie you can have since Spiderman - Into the Spider-versy- thing.

Shazam!... I am entertained!

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Some adventurous and 'interesting' contributions by the contemporary composers, including the fine Fauxbourdon settings by Paul Christison Edwards composed in 1979.
[YouTube Video][YouTube Video]

Purcell's settings are always a delight, but the most compelling setting for me here is by Sir John Stainer.

[YouTube Video][YouTube Video]

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Annotation:

What might appear at first glance to be a fairly lightweight, superficial coffee table book actually reveals upon closer examination to be rather more than that. The author was at pains to use authentic primary sources to depict the group's pre-fame years rather than relying on regurgitated, inaccurate information and shares his collection of original material, programmes, tickets, correspondence and private interviews with some of the key players. Of great interest is the record collection of one female fan who purchased the entire Beatles live set, prior to their recording deal, via the 45rpm releases by the original artists - thus making the originals, the 'covers' (as it were). This is a truly fascinating perspective on the semiotic power of the Beatles' live act in Liverpool. Written several years ago, it can now no longer be described as a 'definitive' text, with further sources having increasingly thrown new light onto certain topics. Nevertheless, Pawlowski's work is definitely worthy, despite the irritating absence of an index.

Angela Ballard, Michael Brocken

Source: The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide To The Literature - Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis (The Beatle Works Ltd., 2012), with acknowledgement, and used here with permission from the authors for educational and historical purposes only.

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A family swap houses for a vacation and end up in a town occupied by Trolls\Goblins who can morph into human form. The trolls try to feed them "green goo" to make them transform into edible plants.

It has to be said Troll 2 is a truly terrible film. These films are made for teenagers that rented VHS tapes of Charles Band's Full Moon films or Troma for a few laughs with their friends. Troll 2 delivers on laughs, awful special effects, but it lacks a bit in the gore department.

It's worth pointing out in every bad movie there is at least one good actor. Michael Paul Stephenson as Joshua, the little boy who is sort of the lead role is better than most of the adult actors apart from Deborah Reed who plays a Troll Queen and really goes for it, hamming it up, every facial expression really turned up to the Nth degree, knowingly giving viewers exactly what they expect and being sexy with it.

A documentary was made by actor, Michael Paul Stephenson and is favourably reviewed. I do like guilty pleasure films and try to see the good in most films, but while far from the worst film ever made it is difficult to recommend because it's bad on every level.

On Censorship: The film was passed in the UK uncut with an 18 certificate for VHS. It was downgraded to a 15 for DVD. For comparison the film has less violence than 15 rated Final Destination.

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Une jeune chanteuse québécoise qui en est à son premier microsillon. Même si la chanson Alabaloné qui tourne beaucoup actuellement et qui figure dans plusieurs palmarès ne le laisse pas deviner., Linda Mailho possède une formation classique Mais elle ne commet pas pour cela que des chansons "intellectuelles". Elle essaie plutôt de toucher à tous les genres de manière à rejoindre le plus de monde possible. Elle a été "découverte" lors de son passage à l'émission "L'Ami Boulanger"

Un album qui plaira aux amateurs de danses sociales puisqu'ils auront l’occasion, au fil des chansons, de "pratiquer " un peu ce qu'ils auront appris à leurs cours de danse. En plus du "meringue" de Alabaloné. il y a la samba de "Un soir" et plusieurs autres rythmes à la mode. La voix est belle, parfois prenante et cette jeune chanteuse pourrait faire son chemin. Une autre pièce à signaler. "Le musicien" sur un rythme un peu Antillais
(Bernard Custeau - La Tribune, samedi 12 avril 1980, page E4)

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The Trollenberg Terror is a film that plays on Cold War paranoia with a theme of radioactive monsters from other planets. The merging of Sci-Fi and Horror was hugely popular in the 50s with films like Godzilla, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms and Them!

Since the home video market these films have gained a cult following. I'm sure that in the 1950s cinema goers will have had the life scared out of them. Now these films are seen as being campy, party movies; a few beers and a lot of laughs.

Trollenberg Terror was a low budget British production featuring American actors. Due to the budget constraints the special effects are truly terrible. Painted backdrops of mountains, mountain scenery made of fibreglass with the actors walking on scaffolding boards, Airfix airplanes and the creature effects really deliver on comedy value. That said the film has a lot of charm, with the actors playing it straight and some good acting. The film has gone onto gain cult status with John Carpenter professing to being a fan and I can see some influences being used in The Thing (itself a remake of The Thing From Another World).

Sadly for me the sticking point was an incredibly slow pace and despite the end payoff being good it was a bit of a slog.

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