Sound Of 2013

The BBC's Sound Of...polls are usually bang on the money; it doesn't necessarilly mean that the winning artists will be huge or be around forever (does anyone know where Little Boots has gone? She was great!), it's up to them and their management to add to the status that winning the poll gives them - Ellie Goulding, Jesie J, Adele, etc.

This year's winners are a three-girl band called Haim. As with most winners they've been around for a while, but this win pushes them further into the mainstream. They seem to be a mixture of Fleetwood Mac and the more electronic-fused bands we know of today - Friendly Fires, The xx. Their song "Don't Save Me" is catchy after a couple of listens, but shows how good songwriters they are. They're not going to write very catchy pop licks, that's not their thing.

These girls will be a quiet presence in the coming year - which is good, because they can build up more and more support by doing this.

Can I also quickly mention Sons And Lovers? A brilliant band who opened for Ellie Goulding in Brixton a couple of weeks ago. They sounded better live than they do here, but their songs seem more anthemic and even arguably youthful than Haim.

Btoh awesome groups - bring on 2013 for them.

The 2013 Film List

Happy New Year!

If you've stumbled upon this blog, or if you happen to be someone who's crazy enough to have followed this blog for a certain amount of time (sometimes I get 4 views on an entry - 4 whole views!!) you are more than welcome, and I wish you a Happy New Year!

As is tradition, my resolutions will always, always invole the wish to see more live theatre and more films in the cinema. This will usually fall apart in early February, but there's still hope!

So here, as always, is the Film List for 2013 - the ten films I really, really want to go and see in the cinema - not in any particular order, just ten of them. Bring it on.

1. Les Miserables - The big screen adaptaion of the blockbuster musical - early prediction here that Anne Hathaway will be nominated and may even win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at least, according to early reports. Plus a mate of mine was an extra in it. I could have been but my beard wasn't as impressive.

2. Gangster Squad - Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin take on Sean Penn, who looks like he's on full scenery-chewing mode in the trailer. Could be The Untouchables for the 21st Century.

3. Django Unchained - Tarantino is back, with his take on a revisionist western - he's been on fire recently (not literally) and with Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio and his pal from Inglorious Basterds, Christoph Waltz, this looks to be very decent indeed.

4. Monsters University - Pixar always like to do something a little different; this time they're taking on the prequel. They haven't had the graetest couple of years recently, nothign to match the glories of Wall-E, Up and Toy Story 3; plus a prequel, as history dictates, is notorious in its difficulty at pulling off. But it will be good to vist Mike and Sully again - if anyone can do it, surely Pixar can.

5. Oz: The Great And Powerful - Speaking of prequels, Disney are hoping to do to the classic American legend of Oz what they tired (and sadly failed) to do with Narnia - this is so obviously a franchise starter, it reeks of it. But with a trio of lovelies like Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and the always watchable Rachel Weisz, they may be on to a good thing.

6. Hitchcock - Yes, it's Oscar bait, but at least star Anthony Hopkins is making no song and dance about it for this film, snubbing the usual Academy ass kissing that accompanies such bait. A look into the making of arguably his second greatest work (after Rear Window in this blog's humble opinion), Psycho, this could be a very interesting biopic. 

7. This Is 40 - Judd Apatow revisits two of the supporting characters from his excellent Knocked Up, looking at life for those hitting mid-life. It could just be the start of a more mature catalogue of films from the director/producer/hit maker.

8. The Great Gatsby - Baz Luhrmann's film should have been released last year, but because of studio involvement, it went away from the Awards season and into the Summer Blockbuster pool for this year. This could sink the film or it could be a triumph - the book has an awesome status that the film needs to live up to.

9. The World's End - Finally, finally, we get to see the concluding part of the Cornetto Trilogy of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright; the two films previously, Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, took irreverent looks at genre classics and gave them a brilliantly Brittish twist. Here's hoping that they can do the same with the Apocalypse. They'll make it more cheerful, anyway.

10. Star Trek Into Darkness - I am not a Trekkie. This is not a Trekkie blog. If you are a Trekkie, respect and honour to you. I am not one. The last Star Trek, J. J. Abrams game changing, franchise renewing blockbuster, was one of the most fun and enjoyable sci-fi films I've seen for a long while. It was a Trek film for Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. And Benedict Cumberbatch is in this one. He's the bad guy. Win.

Honourable Mentions:

Wreck-It Ralph; Cloud Atlas; Man Of Steel; Jack Ryan; Passion; Hyde Park On Hidson; A Good Day To Die Hard; Pacific Rim; The Place Beyond The Pines; Byzantium; The End Of The World; White House Down; Movie 43; Robot & Frank 

The 2012 Files - Film

This year has been an immense year for culture; in film we have had stunning blockbuster after stunning blockbuster. And although this writer has not seen as many new films as he would have liked, the list below includes films seen for the first time. The writer likes to think this give the list a particular twist not seen in other lists, which are solely on films out over the past year. But we don't watch films like that - sometimes it takes a lifetime for someone to see a film; how many people, for example, have only seen the great Casablanca for the first time this year?

It's horrendously difficult to put these seven in order, but we shall try:

7. Fantastic Mr Fox

"Purists wont like it, and the very young will probably feel alienated by it, something a closer adaptation might have avoided, but on the whole this is a lovely film, a great addition to Anderson's work."

7/10

6. Brave

"Having watched it in a cinema full of little people who throughly enjoyed it from the gasps and cheers and laughs, one can definitely say that this is the best Pixar kids film the studio has made for some time. But the joy of Pixar's greatest hits is that you can watch them whatever age and find something in them for you. Although the film's visuals are certainly captivating, there is very little else for grown ups here."

7/10

5. Ted

"Family Guy has in recent years been criticised for not being as good as it was in its early days, and that can be certainly true of many episodes, MacFarlane perhaps putting too much of himself into different projects. But Ted is a triumph for the director; and after all, The Simpsons made a film that was three levels above their input in their television series at the time. The same may soon be said of Stewie and the gang."

7/10

4. The Muppets

"One could almost be tempted to argue that anyone who didn't like at least one second of this film is actually a cold blooded reptile with no heart. Because The Muppets will drag you into its world of colour and laughter and, above all, optimism and you will willingly be dragged."

8/10

3. Drive

"Drive is brilliant, evocative and stunning all in one; though it perhaps wastes a couple of the talents involved in it, and is a little too short (not often a criticism for a film), it is still a major production that needs to be seen."

8/10

2. The Dark Knight Rises

"To relaunch a well loved story and do it right is an immense task. To carry the story on and make an even better film in the progress is monumental. To finish that story and do it right is akin to climbing Mount Everest by hopping on one leg. With The Dark Knight Trilogy, Christopher Nolan has done all this and more...He is the rightful owner to the title of Greatest Film Maker of the moment; a modern day Scorcese with a traditionally epic view of films such as DeMille would have been proud of."

9/10

1. Skyfall

"Bond is back. From the very first notes of the score to the last thrilling shot, the Bond franchise has made it through the murk of financial problems...to deliver a superb mission...Such a fantastic work and proof of Bond's hobby: 'Ressurection'."

9/10

Tis NEARLY the season...

This blog has a fondness for the festive season. In fact, it could be argued, come December 1st, this writer is the merriest person you'd ever be likely to meet. Come December 1st, every word spoken is laced with tinsel, every look flashes with electric light bulbs, every beat of the heart is pulsating with hope and Joy To The World. Come December 1st.

Sadly, in this world that we live in, you cannot escape Christmas in November. Today, upon watching television, almost every advert had a festive ring/theme to it, even if the product wasn't necessarily for Christmas. This is not unusual in the least, but it's still rather depressing.

Only two things bring joy to this blog on these occasions. The first is the fact that this season is the season where Cinema really comes alive again. This is not suggesting for a moment that the year beforehand has been disappointing - far from it, with the mega hits of The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall tussling for the top spot in The Culture Section's annual Top Ten to be produced towards the end of the year. But as we approach the season for goodwill, we also approach the season of awards. And so, the big hitters arrive - Seven Psychopaths, Les Miserables, Life Of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook and all the rest, all filtering through as they start their long campaign just to be nominated for awards. This is very good news indeed, and brings the tidings of great joy often promised by the studios, never mind a heavenly choir of angels.

The second reason this blog finds it's ice cold heart in November slightly thawed is this year's John Lewis advert. Over the last couple of years the genius who has obviously been hired just because he/she has amazing ideas specifically for the superstore's festive commercials has produced immense works, often sound tracked by beautiful pieces of music. This year is perhaps the pinnacle, the ultimate triumph. The take of a snowman battling through the elements to buy his snow lady girlfriend the perfect gift she really needs is wonderfully shot and perfectly sound tracked by an awe inspiring cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "The Power Of Love" by new star Gabrielle Aplin. The photography is gorgeous, the music simply beautiful.

This blog would therefore like to anounce two campaigns: first, if you have not seen this advert yet, watch it, NOW, even if you, like this writer, are still a Scrooge up until the December page of your calender. Secondly to John Lewis: this blog believes that you will never, EVER top the wonder of your advert this year. Therefore, this blog suggests you simply repeat it again next year, and the year after that. Make it a tradition. It reduces a friend of this blog to tears every time she watches it. Now that's magic.

Music Round Up

As promised, three reviews of three albums from the last few months.

First, Coexist, the second album from the Mercury Prize winning The xx.

From the first strains of the echoey guitar strings, this album proves to be a case of more of the same. This isn't a bad thing; the eerie sounds of The xx still push them apart from many others on the scene. But, as with their first, arguably better self-titled album, the style of the music they play starts to make all the songs sound a little samey. While their lyrics are still hauntingly beautiful, towards the end you begin to yearn for something a little more. Then again, this is still perfect chillout music.

7/10

In terms of second albums, Ellie Goulding's Halcyon is a revelation.

While Lights, her first, was full of catchy tunes and hopeful optimism, this second album is very open and honest; there's a lot more of an electronic feel to this than in her previous work, yet her gorgeous soprano vocals still cut through and soar: perfect example being "Hanging On". It then towards the end of the album changes gears into a more ballad, piano led atmosphere; the song "I Know You Care" in particular is lovely.  It's a beautiful triumph that just gets better with every listen.

9/10

When it comes to defining a feel of an album, The 2nd Law by Muse proves difficult, for the simple, brilliant reason that every track sounds and feels different.

From the Bond theme-esque opening to the glorious, over the top "Survival"; the funky kick of "Panic Station" to the moody, magnificent "Madness". If ever there wasa showcase for the talents of this band, this album is it. Towards the end the songs are soaked in dubstep, but refreshingly this does not invade the majority of the rest of the album.Muse are the perfect hybridor even, if you want, lovechild, of Queen and Radiohead. Excellent.

9/10  

Election 2012

As the dust settles on the American election for 2012,  we breathe a sigh of relief,though by no means are we convinced that things will be easier this time round. In fact, President Obama now has the daunting and unenviable  task of trying to get his work done and push reforms through a senate that is dominated by a Republican party who have now been beaten twice by the Coolest Man In The World.

But for this blog, the most interesting factor in this election was the vote turnout. Barack Obama and the Democrats won through votes from Hispanics, Women, African Americans and, of course, the younger generation. The Democrats now seem to represent true diversity; they acknowledge the fact that the United States is just that - a mixture of race, colour and creed. The Republicans refuse to accept this (not all members of the party, just the party in general). But through diversity comes true culture, a true cooking pot of music,  dance, art, drama, literature and film that is going to infiltrate the mainstream now and go further than ever before. This blog applauds and supports this; it feels it is vital. Now it turns to its home country, to the UK.

Lets celebrate the diversity in Britain; lets celebrate the culture, the people, their stories. We have a potentially historic turning point coming up in the next two years where Scotland will  have the opportunity to vote whether or not they want to stay in Britain; it's their choice, but lets give them the opportunity to see how wonderful it would be to stay in the UK, and, if not, lets celebrate their culture, their traditions.

Even if you don't believe its true, that you think its all schmaltzy syrupy nonsense from one of the greatest modern speakers of our time, wouldn't it be wonderful for the UK to be truly somewhere that everyone Obama mentioned at the end of his speech last night could call home? This blog certainly does - bring on the diversity! Bring on the culture!

"Skyfall" Review

Bond is back. From the very first notes of the score to the last thrilling shot, the Bond franchise has made it through the murk of financial problems and, more importantly, the underwhelming and complicated Quantum Of Solace to deliver a superb mission.

That's not to say this is business as usual. Though old faces (human and vehicle) appear again after a notable absence, this is a film firmly set in two camps: Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes. The Craig Bond films have been and always will be gritty, dark, edgy affairs, the type to rival the competition of Bourne and other more realistic action films. With Mendes, the first Oscar winning director to helm a Bond film, we get perhaps the most beautiful looking Bond film there's ever been. A gorgeous looking neon set fight scene in China, for example, or the one long shot that heralds the arrival of the film's antagonist, Silva (a dazzling performance from another Oscar winner, Javier Bardem).This is a different kind of Bond film, one that may stand alongside On Her Majesty's Secret Service as a world apart from the usual Bond formula.

Though the film starts with a thrilling pre-credits sequence involving cars, bikes, trains and cranes, the story is very character driven. An important piece of technology has been stolen containing names of undercover agents throughout the world; M's job and soon her very life is on the line. M is the Bond Woman in this film - driven, determined and at times ballsy, Judi Dench proves in her biggest role to date of the franchise just why she is the head of Mi6. Being a Mendes film, there are other suitably brilliant performances too from other British names - Ralph Fienes, Ben Whishaw and Naomi Harris, plus an excellent cameo from Albert Finney.

The action, when it comes, is fast and furious, with as much work done for real as possible, something the Bond films should be commended for (and something that shows up when it isn't, case in point: Die Another Day). The final third becomes a kind of mixture of Bond stripped of everything but the essentials, Home Alone and Straw Dogs, a weird mix that actually works. When it's all over, you breathe a sigh of relief and, more importantly, you're already impatient for the next instalment.

Though excellent, it's not perfect; despite having the best Bond theme for ages from Adele, the score by Thomas Newman is probably something that will grow with time. You miss the Barry-esque qualities that David Arnold brought to the series. As for the Bond theme itself, it feels slightly underused, though fills you with a guilty pleasure when it does kick in. The film could also arguably have been cut a little shorter, but the time really flew by when watching.

Such a fantastic work and proof of Bond's hobby: "Ressurection".

9/10