AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

'with great power comes great responsibility'

In 1962 Stan Lee, ably assisted by Steve Ditko created the Amazing Spider-man; the comics industry would never be the same. In the world of the superhero capes, mysticism, aliens and fantasy held sway up to that point, with the creation of Spider-man the avid reader was introduced to an identifiable hero. Peter Parker was an average Joe; in fact he was a proto-nerd who was bullied and never got the girl. Upon being bitten by a radioactive spider all that changed.

If Batman (that other benchmark in comics) is a hard nosed vigilante who abides by the law, in the mould of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, Spider-man is the Woody Allen of Superheroes; a neurotic who uses humour to cope with the world.

Over the years he has been the glue that holds the Marvel (the company that publishes his exploits) Universe together. What Spider-man represents is the every man, the reader. A character who is always trying to do the right thing but needs to pay the bills, look after his Aunt and deal with the fact that he is to blame for his Uncle's death. Teen angst, guilt, anxiety and insecurity are all part of Spider-man's day to day experience, and it is these traits that make him identifiable to the reader.

He frequently misses paying his rent, loses the girl and ends up making bad decisions but despite all this he is heroic. What underpins that heroism is his need to make amends for the errors he made when he first gained his powers.

The Spider-man origin story is one of gain,loss and redemption and as such is as pertinent now as it was in 1962.

The fact remains that Spider-man is a mythical character that has much to say about power and responsibility. Spider-man also is a reminder that power in itself does not necessarily equate to contentment. In this respect Spider-man is far more the archetypal superhero than Superman. He is us; that's his appeal.



SAM MALONE RAPS



http://youtu.be/QxaQ9cKYQXo

"this has been just one guys opinion"

Sam Malone gets a job as a Sports broadcaster with disasterous results;

Comedy gold from Cheers

GRAYSON PERRY-A RAKES PROGRESS

Grayson Perry's latest work, The Vanity of small differences, is a set of tapestries depicting the taste of the different classes and they are incredibly rich works that are ful of detail, wit and beauty. His engaging programme on Channel 4 looks into

 his method and his inspiration; interesting stuff

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/in-the-best-possible-taste-grayson-perry/

ONE DAY IN LONDON

“You have been attacked by a monstrous enemy but you never flinched or wavered. No one ever asked for peace because London was suffering. London, like a great rhinoceros, a great hippopotamus saying “Let them do their worst. London can take it.”-Winston Churchill May 1945

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01kl0yv/7_7_One_Day_in_London/

7 7 One day in london-BBC iPlayer

Remembering July 7th 2005; a day I recall vividly as a Londoner working in Camden, I am reminded that Many have tried to bring violence and terror to our City Streets before, and you know what? London can take it!

PET SHOP BOYS PLEASE

Beneath the minimnilist sleeve lies a layered and significant British album. Lyrically saying a lot about the UK of the past and its present, Please is a notable album which contains some superb songs; possibly the best work of their careers. 

Pop hit's flourished from within and Pet Shop boys became household names following the runaway success of West End girls http://youtu.be/p3j2NYZ8FKs. The album is up there with The Kinks, The Who and The Jam with it's Britishness but it has an international sound; a vibrant electronic pulse that is part Moroder, part Kraftwerk, part Arthur Baker and a full on pop sensibility with melancholia alongside subtle humour.

Released in March 1986 it crystalises a time and place beautifully. Stand out tracks are Opportunities, the superb Suburbia http://youtu.be/-VCqAjYO3NM,the understated Violence, Two divided by Zero http://youtu.be/kPqyDm7FFug, the soaring Tonight is forever http://youtu.be/dQycRzcxsSM and my personal favourite of theirs, Love Comes Quickly http://youtu.be/QHaA1beOwrY. In fact all the tracks are excellent.

Please is an album that is worth revisiting, an album that ultimately is one of the great British Debuts.

MOVIE FACE OFF #1 Starring Star Wars v Flash Gordon

Some movies have remarkable symetry and stand comparison, often that comparison leads to some interesting and no doubt controversial conclusions; let battle commence

Suture

v

Seconds
Both films are about ideas of identity. Frankenheimer's Seconds is a little seen movie with a great central performance from Rock Hudson. Suture is a more questioning film about identity and leaves the viewer to draw their own conclusions
RESULT: DRAW 

Flash Gordon

V

Star Wars

Flash Gordon is a purer movie than Star Wars IV and because it doesn't take itself seriously, unlike Lucas' space opera, it has none of the analytical trappings and contrivences.

WINNER: FLASH GORDON

City on Fire

V

Reservoir Dogs

One cannot, on the one hand, praise Welles for learning his cinematic trade from watching Stagecoach or The french New wave directors for their Hollywood influences,or Noir for it's German Expressionism roots, and then criticise Tarantino for being a magpie. obviously City on Fire is basically the blueprint for 'Dogs' but both films work as two versions of the same story.

RESULT: DRAW

The Terminator

V

Hardware

Suprisingly both had relatively small budgets but Cameron's Terminator trumps Stanley's Hardware in the inspired casting of Shwarzenegger; perfect for the part.

WINNER: THE TERMINATOR

Jezebel

V

Gone with the wind
Vivian Leigh and Bette Davis are superb in each movie, however what Jezebel lacks is Clark Gable. Both are great movies and 'Wind' always puts Jezebel in it's shadow. Gone with the wind is, however a heavy weight champion of a movie.
WINNER: GONE WITH THE WIND

Get Carter

V

The Limey
Vengeance, wrath, quiet fury; both films have these attributes in abundace. Both owe a great debt to Boorman's Point Blank. Stamp and Cane are equally as impressive in their lead roles but Get Carter edges it due to the terrific ensemble cast.
WINNER: GET CARTER

Darkman

V

The Invisble man
Seperated by decades and directed by free spirited directors both films riff on the mad scientist but in differing ways. There is a twisted humour in both movies and the lead actors are far better known for serious roles. Both are tongue in cheek and tremenfdous fun.
RESULT: DRAW 

KISS meets the Phantom of the Park

V

Phantom of Paradise
Gothic horror and sledge hammer Rock 'N' Roll make strange bedfellows and these two movies are utterly insane but hugely enjoyable for their cack-handedness.
RESULT: DRAW

The Dark Crystal

V

The Lord of the rings
Pomposity, pseudo religion, grinding seriousness, all absent from the Dark Crystal. There are scarey moments, action, adventure and charm in Henson's puppet tale which can be watched without the feeling you are attending a state funeral, unlike The Lord of the Rings.
WINNER: THE DARK CRYSTAL

Duel

V

The Hitcher
Spielberg is a phenomenal director who is strangely unpopular amongst those 'in the know' his debut Duel is an excellent stripped down thriller. The Hitcher is equally lean and is perhaps Rutger Hauer's best performance.
Yes Duel is like the face that launched a thousand imitators, but The Hitcher has a raw power that is hard to better.
WINNER: THE HITCHER

http://veehd.com/video/4693721_The-Hitcher-1986-Original-version-Rutger-Hauer

MY HIT LIST-VEEP



http://youtu.be/ZUnAbwaDYr0

Sky Atlantic, since its arrival earlier this year has become the home of quality TV. Currently they are showing the Holy Trinity Mad Men/The Sopranos/The Wire and the channel has bought us Hit& Miss, Game of thrones, Curb your Enthusiasm and recently has seen the return of Alan Partridge and Kathy Burke’s Walking and Talking. The latest show that Sky Atlantic has bought to us is the superlative Veep.

http://youtu.be/lUbg5fg9SdU

Written and directed by the extremely gifted Armando Ianucci along with Simon Blackwell Veep is a wonderful political satire with some of the best and wittiest dialogue on TV; you almost need to watch each episode twice so you don’t miss anything. Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Vice President of the United States Selina Meyer along with a tremendous cast, who are uniformly good, playing her entourage and other Capital Hill personnel. Veep is an outstanding show because it combines intelligence with ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ dialogue that is both funny and true. prescision timing and spot on characterisation compliment the word play perfectly. TV viewing does not come much better than this.

link to episodes 1 & 2

http://go.sky.com/vod/content/SKYENTERTAINMENT/Browse_by_Channel/Sky_Atlantic/content/default/promoPage.do

 

MY HIT LIST: BRYAN FERRY-LET'S STICK TOGETHER

http://youtu.be/Z9EbR0ckb40

What makes the song and in particular the video so stylish? The anti style of Ferry's backing band; a motley crew of what appear to be session men (including Chris Spedding) accompanied by Ferry in an Anthony Price suit and an Errol Flynn moustache. The appearance of the lithe Jerry Hall. The mouth organ solo that sounds like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's horn. The empty theatre staging. All the elements somehow come together to create an ultra cool ultra stylish video to accompany Ferry's no nonsense song

MOVIE MEN

James Cagney & Humphrey Bogart

http://youtu.be/MgcQaCnOEj4

Yes there was a time when male movie stars were real men; unsanitised, average Joe's in the looks departments, carrying timber, grizzled or dashing, charming or curmudgeonly, but men, real men. There are some I would not imagine being stars today as they don't fit a view of perfection, but these guys were huge stars and they appeared in great, great movies. Often they came to the movies via some strange and obscure routes, but they had enough about them to make it in an actors world.

 Here's a sample

Spencer Tracy

Edward G Robinson

George Raft

William Holden

Gary Cooper

Gene Hackman

Yul Brynner

Lee Marvin

Sean Connery

Charles Laughton

Robert Shaw

Burt Lancaster

Antony Quinn