TV: SKINS SERIES 4.5 EFFY & FREDDIE

Good grief, but this is a bleak one, I'll keep it short though because it is relatively easy to describe.

Effy and Freddie are lost together in a haze of love, sex, and drugs. Freddie tries to get it together when threatened with expulsion but Effy doesn't seem to care and continues on a downward spiral.

We learn more about Freddie's background when he visits his grandfather (character actor Dudley Foster)  in an old people's home. Apparently his mother, who suffered from mental illness, was put in a hospital by his father where she committed suicide. Freddie blames him for her death which, in part, explains the distance between the two evident in the previous series.

Freddy tries to help Effy, who likes vodka with her cornflakes, but she isn't having any. While he's out she organises an impromptu party and he finds her hiding under their bed. Later, after he's cleared everyone out, he finds Cook who has escaped from prison. By now it's clear that Effy is also mentally ill and she completely freaks out when, running away from Freddie, she encounters a carnival where she is rescued by Cook dressed as a devil and Katie in angel's garb, echoing the bi-polar illness Effy is suffering from.  With Freddie, they take her to the home where his grandfather lives and where she cuts her wrists. At the hospital with Effy and her mother, a despairing Freddie, finding himself in the same position his father once was, can't deal with it and runs away.

I thought earlier episodes were bad but this is the most painful yet which is why I'm writing such a short piece and haven't watched it a second time yet. It's also one of the most focussed episodes with other characters being little more than cameos. The only light relief is singer Will Young as an eccentric school counsellor who attempts to solve problems by asking what would Michael (Jackson) do and finds the answer (or not) in lines from his songs.

Next week's episode should be lighter as it focusses on JJ who is suffering from unrequited love and the trailer looks very funny. Let's hope it is as we need a break.

CD: RING OF FIRE -THE LEGEND OF JOHNNY CASH (SONY, 2005)

Sometimes there comes a time in your life when you're just ready for something that you weren't before. By and large, Country Music is something that's barely on the periphery of my vision, though there is always the odd song which catches the attention and I don't mind the odd bit of country-rock (cf The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo), but for some reason I just felt I needed to have a Johnny Cash CD, as long as it was cheap. After checking what was available on Amazon and reading the various reviews, this seemed to be the best single disc anthology which included his later work.

I've just finished listening to it, the longest I've ever listened to Johnny Cash at one sitting -21 tracks, clocking at around an hour, and ranging from his earliest (Ring of Fire), a couple of his prison recordings, a duet with his wife, the excruciating A Boy Named Sue, culminating with a good selection of his late life recordings with Rick Rubin which include impressive versions of Personal Jesus, One, and Hurt. Apart from Sue, I pretty much really enjoyed all of it.

Needless to say, I'll be getting more. Already on order is the extended 2-disc set of Live at Folsom Prison/Live at San Quentin. I've added a 3-disc set of his Sun recordings to my Wish List (both these sets are only a fiver each), and if I haven't overdosed on JC by then, I may well pick up the Rick Rubin CDs.

Don't know why it's happened, but since retiring a year and a half ago, I seem to be more open to  new music than I've been for decades. Rather than retrenching in attitudes and taste as I get older, my horizons are expanding. I think that's great. At this rate I may even start liking Rap. (Joke.)

PHONE CALLS FROM LILIAN

(Note: this first appeared in my Cat Rescuing blog. Lillian is a special needs person to whom we have given a cat on trial to see how she manages -full story you know where. So far after a week she's fine. Except...)

Saturday:

"Ian, the cat's losing fur."

"Lilian, this is normal. Cats shed fur."

Sunday.

I go up with a cat brush and give the cat a going over and emphasise again that cats shed fur.

"Ian, when are you coming up next?"

Oh oh, warning sign. Lilian is a clinger. This is confirmed by the next door neighbour I meet outside.

Monday.

"Ian, the cat's crying."

"Lilian, it probably wants to be out. Keep it in for at least another two weeks."

Tuesday.

"Ian, how much food should I give the cat?"

I've told her this before. "Lilian, three sachets a day, half in the morning, half at tea time. Always have dried food and fresh water down."

Wednesday.

"Ian, the cat's not eating the food, it's just licking the gravy."

"Lilian, this is normal. Cats often do this. Leave the food down and if it hasn't eaten it by bedtime give it fresh in the morning. Make sure the dried food is there."

Thursday.

"Ian when are you coming up next?"

"Lilian, I'm very busy. I'll try and check the cat out at the weekend." Which I will as I'm going to do this once a week anyway.

Friday.

It's still Thursday but I'm sure she'll ring.

DVD: "A MAGNIFICENT MEGA-BUDGET MOVIE IN THE CLASSIC SCI-FI TRADITION OF 'PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE' AND 'ROBOT MONSTER'"

Yes, it's Battlefield Earth the movie.

But first, a history lesson. The original novel was a late piece of work by L. Ron Hubbard who, in the 1940's, produced some quite decent SF and Fantasy published mainly by John W. Campbell in Astounding Science Fiction and its short-lived but long-remembered fantasy companion Unknown. Hubbard stopped writing fiction when he took his own advice about how to make a million bucks by founding a religion when he published Dianetics which evolved into Scientology and made his rich beyond his own grandiose dreams as well as conning thousands of people world-wide who swallowed his mix of pulp SF and mysticism believing it to be real. Battlefield Earth was his late-flowering epic which I have read but remember nothing about, though I did finish it so it can't have been that bad.

This movie is the result of the efforts of that well-known Scientologist John Travolta who was one of its producers and almost the only thing in it which makes it worth watching, though Forrest Whitaker is pretty good too. The actor playing the hero, however, is useless (all three are shown above, though it may be a midget standing in for the hero) which may not be his fault as the role itself is pretty shitty.

The premise is this: a thousand years ago high-tech alien Nazis with a sense of humour conquered Earth and have been raping it ever since; mankind consists of scattered stone-age level tribes on a starvation diet and slaves of the aliens, also on a starvation diet.

What's bad about the movie is pretty much everything. Johnny, our hero, from an isolated tribe who fears never seen demons, doesn't believe in demons and goes exploring. Within five minutes he's made a couple of new friends who show him a ruined city where they immediately get captured by the aliens (Psychlos). When Johnny figures out how to work an alien gun, Terl the head of security (Travolta) decides to adopt him as a pet and educate him so he and other humans can secretly mine gold. The training machine not only teaches him the Psychlo language, it also provides him with a degree-level education which includes Euclidean mathematics, though what an alien teaching machine knows about Euclid escapes me, and gives Johnny all  the basics he needs to rebel against the aliens. Not unscrupulous and intelligent Terl's best idea it would seem. He then teaches him how to fly one of their craft and leaves him and his buddies (who have increased in number as everyone recognises what an amazing fellow Johnny is) to mine gold. When Johnny cheats and takes some gold from Fort Knox, it never occurs to Terl to wonder where Johnny got the technology to turn the raw ore into ingots or even where it might be. Also during this two-week mining period, Johnny discovers nuclear weapons and learns how to use them, jet-fighters in pristine working condition and his buddies learn how to use them pretty quickly through a training simulator -remember we are talking people previously at a stone-age level of technology. So Johnny and his buddies learn how to use very high tech machinery, fly jets, launch missiles, explode a nuclear bomb, destroy the Psychlo's home planet with one and deceive a highly intelligent race, deceitful and unscrupulous by nature, which has been conquering planets for thousands of years.

And you wonder why this was hailed across the world as a giant turkey of a movie?

And yet, despite despairing of its stupidity, despite loathing Scientology and the idiots who swallow its total pigshit, an despite having barely skimmed the surface of its many stupidities, I really like this film.

I probably wouldn't if it hadn't been for John Travolta hamming it up for all he's worth as the jovial, venal, totally corrupt, egotistical, sadistic villain. He is magnificent in his over-acting, indeed it's almost a master-class in hamming it up. He transforms a truly awful film into a truly awful film that is, nevertheless, somehow endearing in its badness. It isn't just so bad it's bad. It isn't so bad it's good. But it is so bad it can be counted as a guilty pleasure.

Post Script.

Watching this reminded me of two other movies where Travolta plays the villain (thoughl, technically, in one he plays the hero and the villain and the actor playing the villain -Nicholas Cage- plays the villain and the hero). Respectively Faces Off and Broken Arrow, both movies directed by Hong Kong legend John Woo. I've ordered them both, and both are very cheap, today. Expect reviews quite soon.

DVD: KAGEMUSHA

Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior, 152 mins, 1980, is still as impressive as when I first saw it nearly 30 years ago, though perhaps less surprising given that I'm much more familiar with Japanese cinema than when I first saw it.

Now it seems almost like a stately fatalistic dance. Beginning around 1570, The Shingen, a powerful warlord who perhaps senses his impending death, takes on another impersonator to replace his tiring brother. This one is an actor and a thief, low-born from the north. The Shingen does indeed die and his chief aides put into action his plan to hide his death for three years. The actor has to pretend and fool both allies and enemies that he is The Shingen. At first it works but then it all goes wrong and The Shingen's son leads the clan into disaster.

This isn't a subtle film. While there is more depth than I've hinted at in the above brief synopsis, it still isn't a wordy film. It's power comes primarily from its succession of striking images. Some of this are filmed on location, others in the studio, often both are part of one scene. A dream sequence is rich in colour and particularly effective. But then so is the climactic battle when almost all the killing takes place off-screen as wave after wave of soldiers and cavalry charge into a killing field of artillery fire. The aftermath, however, is shown most graphically. The real tragedy is brought home as the now-disgraced impersonator wanders distraught through the killing field.

This is a visually gorgeous and emotionally heart-breaking film.

DVD: AKIRA KUROSAWA

I'm having an Akira Kurosawa season.

Kurosawa is regarded as one of the finest directors in movie history. He had an intensely profilic period from 1943 to the mid-60s which produced movies such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai*, Ikuru, Yojimbo, and Red Beard* (his last collaboration with Toshiro Mifune after 15 films together). After that he barely managed one movie every five years or so though they were generally worth waiting for and included Dodeskaden (1970), Derzu Uzala (1975), and his two late flowering masterpieces Kagemusha* (1980) and Ran* (1985). Of these, I've only seen Dodeskaden and Kagemusha before.

* These are DVDs I've bought and will review as I get through them. Unless, of course, I decide I've had a brainfart and wonder why the hell I bought them in the first place, though I hope not. Assuming I enjoy them as much as I anticipate, I may well be adding other titles.

Toshiro Mifune in Seven Samurai

MEDICINE: HOMEOPATHY -BOLLOCKS OR WHAT?

And the correct answer is -BOLLOCKS!

Here's what Wikipaedia has to say:

Homeopathic remedies generally contain few or no pharmacologically active molecules,^[20] and for such remedies to have pharmacological effect would violate fundamental principles of science.^[11][21] Modern homeopaths have proposed that water has a memory that allows homeopathic preparations to work without any of the original substance; however, there are no verified observations nor scientifically plausible physical mechanisms for such a phenomenon.^[21][22] The lack of convincing scientific evidence supporting homeopathy's efficacy^[23] and its use of remedies lacking active ingredients have caused homeopathy to be described as pseudoscience, quackery,^{[24][25][26][27][28]} and a "cruel deception".^[29]

^{In other words, it's about as useful as powdered rhino horn is to give you an erection or snake and bear bile for whatever they are supposed to be used for by ignorant barbaric morons.} 

^{It has, however, been proven to be as useful as a placebo. A placebo is similar to a homeopathic remedy in that it too contains no pharmacologically active ingredients, which does work in a small percentage of cases because the individual believes it is working and therefore feels better.}

<sup>And I think I've wasted enough space on this rubbish.It's about time homeopathy was consigned to the dustbin of history along with the theory that the Earth is flat.

Post Script


A couple of hours after the above was written I came across the following about homeopathy on the BBC News website.</sup>

The House of Commons science and technology committee said using public money [in the NHS] on the highly diluted remedies could not be justified.

The cross-party group said there was no evidence beyond a placebo effect, when a patient gets better because of their belief that the treatment works. 

 

TV: SKINS SERIES 4.4 KATIE

 Pandora and Katie

With all the attention on the trials and tribulations of the the Naomi-Emily romance, Katie tended to get overlooked or viewed from an Emily-centred perspective. She came over, and indeed was, vain, pushy, selfish, possessive (of Emily), and a bitch. Yet under the hard mask was someone more sensitive. In this episode, while she looks inward at herself, her actions are directed outward. Physically, she now looks quite different from Emily with darker styled hair and different clothes.

Previously we learned that her father was bankrupt and his prized gymn now owned by the bank just as Jenna, Katie's mother, had taken out a loan to establish herself as a wedding arranger. The early focus is on their dealings with a new lucrative client (Jenny Eclair, see previous post) and her pregnant by a footballer daughter. Their demands are outrageous and they treat Jenna and Katie like shit. While Katie has organised the hen night, the bride to be changes the theme without telling her. It ends when Katie, not unjustifiably punches out a friend of the bride and loses the contract. Effy and Freddy with whom Katie has a painful history have gatecrashed and it's Effy who follows Katie out and makes an effort to befriend her.

Having problems with her periods and suspecting she's pregnant, she's gone for tests only to be told that she's suffering from premature menopause and can never have children, which is a real kick in the head and she dumps her moron of a boyfriend. She phones Emily who's unavailable and goes home to try to tell her mother but Jenna is in a rage as she's just discovered the house is being repossessed. Katie looks after her brother when Jenna declares war on their father. Homeless after having grabbed what few possessions they can carry, Katie more or less takes charge and tells everyone that they're going to stay with Naomi and Emily. Emily isn't around but Naomi takes them in.

This isn't a good time for them to be there are things are about as bad as they can get between the formerly happy couple. When Emily arrives back the following morning, she's furious with Naomi for letting them in, still resentful of her mother not accepting her girlfriend. At the barbecue party they hold that same day, Emily, on drink and drugs, is completely obnoxious to Naomi and her own family, culminating in her openly snogging another girl then pushing Naomi into a small plastic paddling pool. Naomi tells everyone why she's like this and what she, Naomi, has done. The party breaks up, Katie spends some time having a heart to heart with Thomas, before going in search of Emily whom she finds on a bed, sobbing her heart out. Katie pulls her twin to her.

The next day she manages to get all the family together in their empty former home where she tells her mother what has happened to her and how upset she'd been that she couldn't get her mother to listen when she really needed her. Her parents reconcile ("Urgh, they're using tongues!") and seat down to eat pizza.

This episode is a very strong contrast to be previous series where Emily was the sympathetic character. Katie has come to an understanding of herself which partly involves her awareness that she shares a volatile and unwanted temperament with her mother but also an awareness that she is changing and her actions demonstrate the maturing of her character. In response to challenges, she copes, unlike Emily who, faced with the problems a serious relationship can bring, is falling apart. While still recognisably Katie in manner there is now a depth and maturity previously unhinted at. She defends Naomi to her mother implying her full acceptance of Emily's lesbian relationship, overcomes her initial urge for physical contact to become friends with Thomas, accepts Effy whom she has every reason to hate, talks to her mother as an equal, and becomes a peacemaker in her own family. All this is done without making her any the less Katie than she was before. It's a very positive episode, even more than the previous one. And the actor portraying also gets out of the shadow of her twin who has until now had all the good bits.

Next week it's Freddie, the character I consider the least interesting of the bunch. Expect a lot of Effy.

TV: SKINS SERIES 4 (SLIGHT RETURN)

I'm not doing a recap/review of last night's Skins, not yet, not until I've watched it a second time. A couple of days ago I read a similar piece on last week (Cook's) episode on the After Ellen website (see sidebar) which was far more perceptive and better written than mine and almost made me want to stop doing them. The extended pieces I did on the previous season were written after I'd watched the entire thing more than once and had a much better perspective on it, so I'm going to watch Katie's episode again before presenting my view of it.

While I'm here, I should note something I've so far omitted which is the continued and effective use of quirky British character actors and comedians in supporting roles. Pauline Quirk played, and did it well, the police detective investigating the girl's death for the first three episodes. Playing Cook's laid-back lawyer last week was Paul Kaye (an understated role is unusal for him) and last night we had comedienne Jenny Eclair in the role of the monstrous mother of a pregnant bride to be.

MISCELLANY

Being a collection of bits and pieces, none substantial enough to have their own entry.

Music.

Not mentioned before but last week I bought Florence and the Machine's Lungs. I'd been waiting for the expanded edition to come down in price from around £12.00, but as it showed no sign of doing so I bought the ordinary edition for just over half that. I've been playing Dog Days Are Over since I first heard it on last year's Skins and caught other tracks as well. It's an uneven album (or that may be I just haven't got all of the tracks yet) but I particularly like the morbidly amusing and catchy My Boy Builds Coffins and the rather lyrically dubious Kiss With A Fist (A kiss with a fist/ is better than none). Love her voice. 

Been weeding out some CDs to sell on Amazon Marketplace. My criterion is: if I don't love it, it goes. So, two collections by Credence Clearwater (one sold within hours), two recent blues CDs by Gary Moore, The Best of Simple Minds double, Echo & the Bunnymen's 2003 Live at Liverpool, and an Ace compilation of 60's girl bands (as opposed to vocal groups) Destroy That Boy.

DVDs

Also going up for sale shortly, and surprisingly, is Kwaidan. It's a beautiful film which I haven't finished watching yet but it is just too slow for me and I'll know I'll never be watching it again. I'm sure this is my loss but there you go. I really hope I don't feel the same about Kurosawa's Ran which just arrived this morning.

Arrived yesterday was a cheapish 3-disc box set of Lugosi's Dracula (1931), Dracula's Daughter (1936) and House of Dracula (1945). But this so-called Dracula Triple is actually a Dracula Quadruple as it also (and rather more quietly contains) the Spanish version of Dracula which is the one I really wanted to see. I'd never heard of this until a few years when all the Uinversal b/w monster movies were re-released in fancy editions of coincide with Van Helsing which they hoped would set the world on fire but didn't. Anyway, this version was filmed at the same time, except at night, on the same sets as the Lugosi version, though the director was American and needed a translator. Barry Norton (as Juan Harker) is Argentinian despite the name, and the names of the female leads were also changed as well. It's also 29 minutes longer. Renfield (who goes to Transylvania, not Harker) becomes and major character and is played by an actor who goes over the top every time. Carlos Villarias is quite effective as an oleaginous and somehow rat-like Dracula. I rather enjoyed it but it did feel a bit too long. I'll watch the rest of the set some other time.

Politics/Society.

When I was out for a drink with Barry a couple of nights ago, he mentioned he'd taken the Political Compass test (see website sidebar) and, unsurprisingly  (to me) he ended up in the middle of libertarian left quadrant  where I found myself the last time I took the test a few years ago and not too far from Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama which is good company to be in.

Basically rather than do a simple left/right, they do a grid with four quadrants of 10*10 squares per quadrant (using geographical terms) authoritarian is north, libertarian is south, left is west and east is right. So, as I said, Barry found himself in the centre of the libertarian left quadrant with an approximate score of -5.00 and -5.00 for his political and social views. Someone completely centrist would be 0.0/0.0.

So I thought I'd take the test again and found it had changed somewhat since the previous time, presumably being refined over the years. This time my score came over as Economic lLeft/Right at 6.38 a little more to the left than before but not by much) and  for Social Libertarian/Authoritarian scale scored -7.38 which represented a noticeable increase in the radicalism of my left libertarian views. I should emphasise here that it is social libertarianism not the American equivalent. It's almost impossible to find yourself in the social libertarian/right quadrant because the two views are impossible to reconcile.

If this doesn't make sense, do please check the website out because it is genuinely fascinating.

POP CULTURE: BACK TO BLAND

A couple of days ago I wrote something incoherent about the nature of my taste in popular culture and was somewhat disparaging of what I call bland. So here is, I hope, something a little more considered and a little more specific about what I consider bland to be.

First off, bland is not neccessarily a bad thing. Bland does not equate with bad, it's just bland, and not-bland doesn't equate with good, it's just not bland. Sometimes it's nice to relax to something which is very accessible and requires little thought. You can chill out to bland. What bugs me is when people prefer bland to not-bland and whose cultural diet consists almost solely of bland. This is not a good thing, people.

So, what is bland?

Pretty much everything on daytime tv: animal programs, moving abroad, magazine shows, cooking, repeats of British and American crime shows like Poirot, Miss Marple, Murder She Wrote, Midsommer Murders. Early evening tv, particularly on weekdays, tends to be bland. Let's go concrete. Merlin is bland, Dr. Who isn't. Strictly Come Dancing is, So You Think You Can Dance isn't. Waterloo Road (despite this being one of my favourite series) is, Glee isn't (just -I want to see a plotline about Kurt dating a closeted jock before being certain). Vampire Diaries is, Buffy never was. The Sookie Stackhouse books (charming but) are, True Blood (the tv series on which they're based) isn't.

Books. Cosy British detectives novels by Agatha Christie and Dick Francis are, P.D. James isn't. Spinoff novels (from stuff like Star Trek, Star Wars, Buffy ad infinitum) are, true SF novels aren't (this last is admittedly a very broad generalisation). Anything inspired by Tolkein is, the original Howard Conan stories aren't. Star Trek the tv series (except for DS9) are, Battlestar Galactica (the remake) isn't.

Pop music tends to be (Take That), Rock music tends not to be (Neil Young). And in a similar vein CSN are, CSNY aren't. Back to the 60's: The Tremeloes are, The Hollies aren't. Truthfully I can't think of many musical examples because the bland stuff doesn't usually impinge on my awareness.

Are we clear now?

CD, DVD, JUST ARRIVED

20 of her best songs with a running time of nearly 79 minutes. This is as good as Rock music gets. She is a goddess.

By all accounts, this is one of the masterpieces of cinema. At nearly 3  hours long and filmed entirely in the studio, it consists of four tales based on stories by Lafcadio Hearn. I've only just started watching it, finishing the first tale and it is impressive and beautifully photographed. The edition I have includes a 70page book which comprises the original stories and an interview with the director Masako Kobayashi which I'll read once I've finished watching the DVD.

Me being me, I've since ordered two films by Akira Kurosawa -Kagemusha (which I saw nearly 30 years ago at the cinema) and Ran. No doubt there will be more Japanese classics to come (Seven Samurai and Redbeard have been added to my Amazon wish list) and for once I'm not talking about Godzilla. 'bout time I treated myself to some proper culture.

BRIEF MUSINGS ON MY TASTE IN POPULAR CULTURE

Just looking at the stuff I review in this blog and the various books, CDs, and DVDs which crowd this room, and disparate as they are (apart from a tendency to the fantastic i.e. SF, horror, fantasy, magical realism which do very much predominate in the visual and written media) is that almost none of it can be considered bland. Most of what I like evokes a strong reaction or emotion.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not equating this with good taste. Let's face it, no-one could claim that anyone who enjoys movies like Street Trash and Zombie Strippers can be said to have good taste. A good appreciation for the trash aesthetic, perhaps.

I tend to like stuff that is painted in broad strokes which is why I prefer Neil Young's loud electric stuff rather than his acoustic material, though I do enjoy both. While I do have a liking for some softer material such as folk/rock as best exemplified by Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention, softer in this case does not mean bland.

In a sense my aesthetic taste mirrors my political leanings. I'm a libertarian democratic socialist who believes in a mixed economy. In other words, while generally on the left, it isn't the hard left and I do have some centrist attitudes. Which, translated back into pop culture, means that my taste isn't generally extremely edgy either. But that's seeing it from my point of view. From other viewpoints I can be seriously weird or middle of the road.

And now, being in danger of vanishing up my fundament, I shall finish. Anyone who considers this pointless, meaningless nonsense is probably correct.

TV: SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

This isn't a show I've discussed with any of my friends, or anyone but Susan, but somehow it's wormed its way into my affections and become one of my favourite shows on tv. The photo above is a still from one of the most astonishing routines featuring a guy who had to drop out of the final after dislocating his shoulder and Charlie who won the series last night.

Dance isn't something I'm particularly interested in. Or perhaps I should say, wasn't. I'm not a fan of musicals which is where you normally find dance routines so in the past I've rarely been exposed to it. My attention started getting engaged by the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing which I started watching because it was on at teatime and Susan liked it so I kept glancing up over the top of a book and gradually became hooked. Then, while trying to avoid Britain's Got Talent, I noticed the ultimate winners -Diversity- whose imaginative energetic routines I just loved and set me up for So You Think You Can Dance.

Actually there was a similar programme on a few years ago. Though I can't remember the name, the format was similar except it involved dance couples and specified varied dance styles. It only had the one series which was a shame.

What I liked about SYTYCD was the sheer energy, the skill, the imagination of the choreographers, often sexuality, the athleticism which all combined, merging into a creative dynamic, into something that might well be called dance but which I would also call art -just look at the frozen image above for only the slightest hint of what it could be like. Not all of it worked on this level but when it did it was awesome. These young dancers also showed up the celebrities of Strictly Come Dancing for the leaden-footed clunkers they are. For me this was an eye-opening show and I'll be glued to screen when the next series starts, as it surely will.

CD: BUDDY HOLLY MEMORIAL COLLECTION

Got this earlier in the week. 3CDs, good booklet, good reviews on Amazon, 60 tracks (which at just over 2 hours could have fitted onto 2 CDs but never mind the waste of resources), rarerities,  and undubbed versions (which are probably one and the same but unneccessary verbiage online doesn't increase damage to the environment). Time I had a Buddy Holly CD in my collection. Didn't realise until I got it that it doesn't have one of my favourite Holly tracks -his version of Bo Diddley (the song by Ellas McDaniel aka you know who). Oh well, I can always download it from Amazon.

I know my soundtrack fan buddy Barry is also a Buddy & the Crickets fan so I emailed him to see if he wanted to borrow it (I won't mention copying because he wouldn't do that and I wouldn't lend it to him if he did). He replied that he did but he thought I didn't like Buddy Holly.

Which is odd because I don't remember not liking him. It may be that back around 1963/64 (see previous post), I was all caught up in the 60's -Searchers, Beatles, Stones, Hollies- but I distinctly remember liking the dubbed versions of Not Fade Away and the aforementioned Bo Diddley by the Fireballs which were UK hits in the early 60's. And I went to see Buddy the Musical a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Still, Barry does have a better memory than me so we'll talk about it when we meet for a drink and a meal next Tuesday.

CD THE HOLLIES GREATEST HITS

As part of my intermittent rediscovery of my youth, from my adolescence and beyond, I bought this CD.

And it's back to 1963 and I'm listening to their first hit (Aint that) just like me which was quickly followed by Searchin' and then by their biggest hit of the three Stay which broke the Top Ten. All three were somewhat raw and unpolished but they had a lot of energy and the sound of a band almost but not quite finding their sound. They nailed it the next year with Just One Look and Here I Go Again when they established themselves as one of Britain's top bands. Never innovative but always distinctive thanks to Allan Clarke's lead vocals and his harmonies with Graham Nash (whose arrangement of their version of Blowin In The Wind -1968-  is a horrendous abortion) and generally possessing a good nose for a great song, sometimes one of their own, they became one of the mainstays of the British charts for nearly a decade, but after 1972, and with the exception of 1874's The Air That I Breathe, they were pretty much a spent force and made a living on the back of their illustrious past.

Ah, but listening to these early tracks brings back my schooldays and the enthusiasm for the emerging rock music which I shared with the other kids in my class, the heated but amicable arguments over the varying merits of our favourite artists. I never actually bought a record by The Hollies, though I always liked them, and it's a pleasant surprise how fresh and energetic many of these songs still sound. Some, as I'm listening, sound better to me than they did at the time and one, which was a particular favourite of mine -King Midas In Reverse- sounds worse. Another, Bruce Springsteen's Sandy (24th July Asbury Park), which I've never heard before is really good and all kudos to them for spotting the nascent talents of the Boss back in 1974.

While they are still touring and recording with two original members of the band still in place (technically it's only as he didn't join until late 63), without the prescence of the retired Allan Clarke I can't see them as anything else but a tribute band. 

Ah, but in their day, they were one of the best.

TV: GLEE

-

An American tv series about a high school glee club. Oh sure, that sounds right up my street. Gotta watch that, gonna be great!

Actually, I can't imagine anything I'd like less. Well I can but that one would be well up there. Yet I kept reading good things about it, plus it had Jane Lynch in the ensemble cast. As it happened, a second showing follows Skins (and I caught it around ep 4, the one where, surprising no-one, Kurt comes out) so I gave it a try and damned if I didn't enjoy it. 

The kids are an interesting mix -the effeminate gay, the sensitive jock, the talented but picked on brilliant singer, the cheerleader pregnant but not by her boyfriend though he thinks it's him, the stutterer, the kid in a wheelchair, and so on -not all are developed yet but there's plenty of potential.

The adults are a fun bunch too. The Spanish teacher who runs the club is a nice guy but his wife is a lying bitch-monster. There's the sensitive teacher who is terrified of germs and secretly in love with our hero. She's played by the engaging actress who played Hiro's early waitress girlfriend in Heroes who was killed by Sylar but is apparently about not to be dead. Jane Lynch runs the cheerleading squad and is a ruthless egotist. There's more, but if you haven't seen this series, do so at once or check Wikipaedia for more details.

It works as an intelligent high school soap because it focusses on outsiders and it's also very funny as well as sensitive. Hell, I even enjoy the musical numbers though I won't -excuse me, make that I won't- be buying any downloads of them.

TV: SKINS SERIES 4.3 -COOK

Actions have consequences and the consequences in this series are coming not just hard and fast but also quickly. This episode opens with Cook having been arrested for the assault seen in last week's show. He's provided with a lawyer, a laid-back youngish guy who shows no interest in anything other than Cook pleading guilty which Cook refuses to do -"There are 83 witnesses who saw you do it!"- and is allowed out on bail pending trial. The snag is he's electronically tagged and has to stay indoors between 7.00pm and 7.00am. And even bigger snag is that he has to stay under the care of his mother.

This is a surprise as I never knew Cook even had a mother. I thought he was a clone of his tosser father. But no, his mother is a famous and rich and extroverted artist in the Tracy Emin vein who one hears, but not sees, her loudly having sex with her boyfriend. Apparently she chucked Cook out because was sick of him stealing her money for drugs. Cook also has a brother (half-brother probably) aged around nine-ish who idolises Cook.

Back in the real world at college, Cook begins to realise his friends are pissed off with him, not least because Ollie has severe bruising to the face caused by Cook at the previous week's party and Cook didn't even know he'd done it. The new college boss, who wasted no time in expelling Thomas for just being associated with a club where a girl died, certainly isn't going to keep someone around who's up on an assault charge.

He's a bad influence on his brother just by being there but definitely not helping when he steals their mother's car, lets the kid drive it, encourages him to smoke, and together they trash the car. He then accidentally wrecks an exhibit at his mother's new show. He talks to Naomi, with whom he has an understanding, but she's in a bad place as Emily isn't currently talking to her because she slept with the dead girl.

Cook finally begins to look at himself and reconsider what he's doing. He goes to see the detective investigating the girl's death and admits to selling drugs to the girl and that no-one, else  getting Naomi off the hook, was involved. At the trial for assault he changes his plea to guilty. Because there may be further charges, he's remanded in custody and there the episode ends.

Despite this description, it wasn't the bleak piece I'd been expecting. Visually it's light. Most of the interiors are in light airy rooms and, offhand, I can't recall any night scenes -if there were any they must have been brief. Also it ends on a note of hope. Cook is finally considering the consequences of his actions and the effects they have not only on others but on himself. By accepting responsibility he now has given himself the chance to change his life for the better. For once I'm really interested in what happens to this character.

Next week the focus is on Katie. In the previous series, we'd seen her mainly in relation to her twin Emily and her dependency on her. I'm looking forward to it because I have no idea what might happen..

THE SCIENCE OF AVATAR

Here's a link to a very interesting article by a scientist on the above topic-

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43440

And no, he doesn't have an answer for the damn floating mountains. But it is interesting, readable and very accessible by the layperson.

CINEMA: AVATAR -REVISITED

 

If you haven't read the review I wrote yesterday, check it out first or this might be a bit incomprehensible.

The review was written in a rush and I had to hurry it towards the end as Susan rang, wanting me down at our charity shop. Now I've had a little more time to process it so here are my thoughts on certain aspects.

One possible criticism is that it takes a human (white man) to save the noble savages and it is something which occurred to me (cf  Dances with Wolves, though in this case he ultimately fails). However the archetype of the Man of Two Worlds is common in SF and probably in myth (though I haven't checked and it's decades since I read Fraser's The Golden Bough) and, in the context of the movie, it's only the Man of Two Worlds who is in a position to save the Na'vi as they can't comprehend the nature of their enemy -to them, the humans are insane. Only the Man of Two Worlds understands both and, ideally, should be able to mediate between the two; but then the movie would have a massive anticlimax.

What I like is that Avatar is a genuinely Science Fiction film which takes as its premise that the alien world has a unifying environmental intelligence. When our hero attempts to get it to attack the human invaders, his lover Neftiri tells him it would only act when the balance is upset -so when the humans blow the shit out of the Na'vi, it's no real surprise what happens next. Cameron develops everything consistently with the premise -though I'm still waiting for an explanation of the floating mountains.

There are subtle references to other Cameron movies, most notably reversing the situation whereby it's the villain in the loader type robot and it's the alien (in this case Neftiri mounted on a savage carnivore) who is the goodie and it's a thrilling sequence as you're urging Neftiri to kill the bastard.

Once open warfare is declared by the humans the result is a series of the most exciting action scenes I have ever watched. That's it. They are and even attempting to describe them would be pointless. But what makes them even better is that Cameron has dragged you into the movie so much that you genuinely care about the characters and those scenes with the leads completely involve your emotions -the scene cited above is a perfect example.

Hmm, maybe it does deserve the Oscar for Best Picture after all, and maybe it is one of the best SF movies ever made. Whatever, I can only echo what millions of other people have discovered: go and see it at the cinema on the biggest screen you can find -it's worth it.

CINEMA: AVATAR

"It aint what you do

It's the way that you do it.

That's what gets results."

Just got back from the cinema and, after making myself a cup of coffee, have sat down to write this, so you can tell I'm stoked (whatever that means).

Best SF movie ever? Hell, no.

Deserves the Oscar for Best Film? Sorry, I can't stop laughing.

So Best Director is out of the question? Actually, no.

Right, it's derivative as hell. From Poul Anderson's 1950's story Call Me Joe, via Pern, the Gaian theory, and probably much more. The Terminator was also highly derivative but a brilliant movie. Avatar isn't brilliant but it is bloody good. He's created a sustained consistent narrative that never flags for the entire length. The characters are engaging and believable. The world he's created is simply amazing in its richness and detail. We are in an earth-like but nevertheless alien environment which is superbly created and completely real and believable. The CGI effects have to be the best ever seen on a screen. This alone makes it a remarkable achievement. It is absolutely breathtaking to look at and you can't begin to imagine how good it is just seeing the trailers on a tv screen. This really has to be seen at the cinema to get the best out of it.

I do think a Best Director Oscar for Cameron would not be undeserved because it really is his creation, his script and his vision.

As for the 3-D, I'm a convert. It takes you into the world of the Naa'vi. It isn't a gimmick, it really does enhance the film. After this, I honestly believe that 3-D is the future of the cinema, though I'm less so sure about tv. The glasses were nice, not the filmsy bit of thin card with cellophane lenses I was used to.

This afternoon was a terrific experience. I'd just like to hear a scientific explanation for the floating mountains.

BOOK, GRAPHIC NOVEL, DVDS: RECENT AMAZON REVIEWS

Rating: 5 stars. 

From 1938 and the golden age of aviation comes -The Rocketeer. The Rocketeer is another wonderful example of the flowering of the graphic novel which began in the 1980's with Moore's Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and Watchmen, Frank Miller's Ronin and The Dark Knight Returns, Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez Love & Rockets, and Howard Chaykin's American Flagg, several of which I've reviewed for Amazon. As different from all of these as they are from each other, The Rocketeer is a pulp adventure romp which moves from the dry sunny skies of California to the dark underworld of New York and it's a delight from start to finish.

Firstly the art by Dave Stevens is delicate in line, detailed and accurate in its portrayal of the period, wryly humorous, almost unique its depiction of people who look real, and particularly gorgeous in its portrayal of beautiful woman. Betty, the heroine, is modelled on the legendary 1950's glamour and exotic pictures icon Bettie Page. I've no doubt that Stevens, who later became a friend of Page, did much to bring her back into the limelight again. But I digress, in the unlikely event that you aren't taken with the story, it's impossible that the art will fail to enchant you. It has also been recoloured, in accordance with Stevens' wishes (though tragically he died of leukemia before he could see it), by Laura Martin one of the very top colourists in the business and whose skills have enhanced many graphic stories. Also reprinted are the many covers of the various magazines in which this story appeared.

As for the story itself, stunt pilot Cliff Secord gets his hands on jet pack stolen by Nazis from its inventor who isn't, as one character thinks, Howard Hughes but a very famous character from the pulp magazines of the period. Lots of action ensues with Cliff distracted by his stunning girlfriend and her career as a glamour model. All doesn't end well and Secord chases her to New York to try and prevent her from going to Europe with her sleazy-sophisticate photographer mentor. There he is befriended by another pulp hero with a very sharp nose as dark secrets of Secord's life are brought into sharp threatening life.

I love this book. I love it for its beautiful art. I love it for its high adventure and thrills. I love it for its humour and I love it for its detail and for so many other reasons. And I love it because I have it in this definitive beautiful hardback edition. And I'm pretty sure you will love it too.

And here are a couple of other images, just because.

Is that goregous artwork or what?

 

Rating: 5 stars.

This is the fourth book from the new Angry Robot imprint which I've been sent for review. Two I didn't like much, one I did, and this... This stands head and shoulders above the one I did like and both, curiously, deal with alternate worlds.

The Bookman's setting is a Victorian Britain where Moriarty is the Poet-Prime Minister, Gilgamesh is an immortal down and out who lives under a bridge, a sentient automaton of Byron conspires, clowns verbally assault Oscar Wilde, America is known as Vespuccia, a Martian probe is about to be launched (though this is in fact a lie), The Bookman is a menace to society, and Queen Victoria is a lizard. And that is just the start.

Following the death of his beloved at the hands of The Bookman, our hero Orphan (he has no other name, though he gains one) is caught up in a maelstrom of conspiracy and strangeness as is the reader as we and Orphan begin to discover the strange and sinister secrets (and there are many as the tale twists and turns) of this unusual world. And all this is helped by marvellously evocative prose which creates this strange living world we find ourselves in, a style, readable yet ornate, which matches the content.

This is Tidhar's first novel, though he has written much short fiction, and he has set himself quite a standard to live up to. A sequel is in the offing and I can hardly wait. I could write much more but I want you to discover this novel's delights for yourself. Do I need to add that this is highly recommended? 

 Rating: 4 stars.

Good grief!

Just to the right of the 18 rating on the back of the box are the words: Contains frequent strong violence, gore, sex, and very strong language. This is not an overstatement and it doesn't mention the copious amounts of female nudity. If anything the text should much larger, in bold, and with a dozen exclamation marks following it. And to think that I thought its predecessor, the simply named Crank, was over the top when in fact it is almost restrained compared to its sequel. Good grief. It isn't so much over top as fits a rocket to its bottom and flies over the top at a thousand miles an hour. Just watching this is exhausting.

I loved it, of course. And it's also very funny if you get the joke, otherwise you'll run away screaming 'I repent! Bring back the censors!'

If you like 'frequent strong violence, gore, sex, and very strong language', then you'll love it too.

Jason Statham as Chev Chelios is a near unstoppable superhuman agent of chaos and mayhem as he maim, mutilates, kills, and destroys anything and anyone which gets in his way. His motivation is his search for his missing heart. The mcguffin is that he has to generate static electricity for his artificial heart by friction, and also any other means. He does this by rubbing up against other people to plugging himself directly into a power plant.

Plus there's the gorgeous Bai Ling as a totally manic hooker and the gorgeous Amy Smart as his girlfriend. And if that doesn't convince you to get this DVD, nothing will.

Good grief! 

Rating: 4 stars.

In which calling women 'maneaters' is not a metaphor

Director Jake West is noted for two previous micro-budget high-gore cultish horror movies. This time he ups his game with what actually looks like a decent budget, employing decent actors like Noel Clarke, has an interesting script, and moves rather creditably into Shaun of the Dead territory.

I'm not completely sure whether this is a celebration of male chauvinism or a cheerful mocking of it -probably the latter- as he has a bunch of mates escaping from shrewish wives or girlfriends or 'I'm sorry, I know we've been out twice, but what's your name?' for a weekend of male bonding and excessive alcohol intake at a dump of a village in the middle of nowhere where Noel Clark's character has an away granny with a cottage. They're not the brightest bunch you're likely to meet but they are pleasant and likeable enough, some of them with reasonably enlightened attitudes towards the opposite sex.

Sadly, and mild spoiler warning here, the government has just tested a biological weapon on the unwitting villagers of Moodley which causes severe brain damage to the women and induces a cannibalistic appetite for male flesh. Within a few minutes of their arrival they begin to notice that something is a little wrong. It might be the scattered body parts or the crazed woman in a bridal gown munching on some raw flesh. The rest of the film is devoted to the group's manic and funny attempts to escape.

And this is a very funny film, partly due to the dialogue (between the all male group, the women just growl) and partly situational (the incredibly obese woman diving from a rooftop onto her prey -you just going to have to trust me that this is funny, or watch the movie). While very gory, it is downplayed by the fact that it consists mainly of body parts laying around, the kills themselves are relatively tame (note: relatively), and the blood is coloured black not red which undercuts the horror somewhat. The women just stagger around growling and screaming and using whatever weapon is appropriate -the hairdresser's (an unrecognisable Emily Booth) twitching hands hold scissors, an old lady uses a shopping trolley, and if the place had been big enough for a library it would have had a librarian attacking with overdue letters and a date stamp.

All in all, a rather jolly affair and for once an ending which just stops rather than concludes seems quite appropriate. Warmly recommended.

TV: SKINS SERIES 4.2

This week the spotlight is on Emily.

Emily and Naomi are now an established couple who hold hands, and sometimes kiss, in public. Naomi has moved into a small flat (which means we don't get to see her nice mother and her teacher boyfriend which is a shame as they were good characters).

Emily thinks something isn't right about the girl's death in the previous episode and starts digging. One of the first things she finds out is that Naomi sold her the drugs to buy a present for Emily who had been given it earlier. Naomi argues that they've all taken MDMA so it's hardly a big deal and Emily, a little reluctantly agrees. But she's really pissed off when Naomi makes them lie to the police.

On a visit home, she meets her sister's bland (not a typo) new boyfriend, learns that her mother has a loan to start a matrimonial business and her mother learns that her husband has been declared bankrupt which comes as a rather unwelcome shock. There is considerable bad feeling between Emily and her mother, mainly over Naomi whom Mum still believes seduced her daughter. Emily goes to Naomi's flat and says she's moving in.

Then Emily discovers that Naomi had met the girl at a college open day which Emily never knew she'd attended. Recovering personal effects by means too complicated to outline in this short recap, we learn that the girl did indeed commit suicide, was gay and that she'd slept with Naomi which is pretty much the last straw for Emily and they split up. Talking to Cook at a party, she asks him how you cope with a breakup and he says you just move on. He then beats up a guy who accidentally jostles him when he sees that Freddie and Effy are a couple again.

After some more soul searching, Emily forgives Naomi and moves back in.

This is really proving to be a much darker and, it has to be said, somewhat less enjoyable series than the previous one as so far Thomas and Emily have suffered dark nights of the soul and Naomi isn't exactly having a good time. Next week it's Cook the most volatile of the group so that's not likely to be a barrel of laughs either.

BORING COMPUTER STUFF

I've had a problem with my pc since I installed Windows 7. When I switch it on on a morning, it cuts out after about 15 minutes. I then have to switch it off at the mains and wait at least 10 minutes before switching it on again. If I do it any sooner, I get the blue screen of death. Recently the problem had been getting worse. Also, the screen wouldn't come on even though the computer was working. It finally got so bad that I had to take it to the local computer shop.

I thought the problem was the bios. Wrong. The answer was simple. It was overheating and need a good cleaning out. Great. Picked it up, turned it on, and the screen was still blank apart from the words -no input. Back to shop. I hadn't actually mentioned this bit to the guy (yes, the one I mentioned in an earlier post as having poor people skills, though he was okay this time. Maybe as long as you don't mention Windows 7.). 

Solution: new mother board, total cost £95.00. 

Result: computer working perfectly for first time in ages.

I'm a happy bunny.

Of course I'm having to reinstall all my data -fortunately backed up on an external hard drive- reinstall the software from disk, and then try and get replacement software that I'd downloaded and paid for off the Internet -one I was able to do with the registration key, another replied very quickly and helpfully to my email, a third I'm still waiting to hear from. I am going to have to download and pay for another piece of software which will allow me to upload all my music from my Ipod because it's a lot easier and faster than doing it from an online backup which isn't up to date and has loads of duplicate files.