Most have drawn analogies with Roeg, Kubrick and Lynch and for those that thought Only God Forgives was the most divisive film of recent times Jonathon Glazer's Under The Skin takes over that mantle in what is certainly a cinematic experience. In recent weeks I have seen 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle and The Wolf Of Wall Street: all intelligent mainstream movies so this independent was viewed as an opportunity for a sample of nontraditional structure and narrative.
Most are aware of the plot which sees Scarlet Johansson as an extra terrestrial predator but what reviews don't quite get across is the atmosphere that pervades the film. Much credit goes to the score which is compellingly jarring. It's naturalistic and stylised, its irritating and fascinating, its dull and intriguing but above all its unique.
I left not knowing what to conclude but I enjoyed the experience much in the same way I have with the work of Roeg, Kubrick and Lynch so in that sense I await the directors future work with anticipation.
Paul Simonon & Steve Jones Having recently acquired a fine Belstaff Biker jacket I now fancy myself as a rather cool fellow when I'm wearing it, which got me to thinking of how the Bike/Leather jacket combo is ingrained in popular culture with a certain swagger. Here are some examples.
My Top Ten favourite Movie of the year: that’s right not ‘best’ as that
is unquantifiable, but favourite in what has been a pretty god year on the
Silver screen
Gravity-Mainstream magnificence
The Place Beyond the Pines- the
qualities of a great HBO Box set in one movie
Mud-Mconaughey’s renaissance continues in the heat of the
south
Broken-Low key with great naturalistic performances
Stoker-thoughtful and disturbing US debut from Chan-Wook
Park
In A World-Quirky look at the Hollywood voice over business
Only God Forgives-Like Marmite It’s a love/hate
thing Prisoners-Vigilantism through a prism
Filth- A virtuoso performance from James McAvoy underpins
an inventive and original movie
Black Fish-Searing indictment of inhumanity for money's sake
Same applies for the Small Screen, here’s my Top Ten Favourite TV Shows,
and this year I’ve appreciated consistency as some shows have been rather up
and down (Homeland anyone?)
The Fall-Quite brilliant in execution
The Tunnel-Quality Coproduction
Luther-A triumphant return for Season three
Hit & Miss-Novel concept with depth and
heart
Louie- Leading the way in what we regard as situation
comedy
Veep-razor wit and political malice equals Veep
Nurse Jackie-Always excellent
Mad Men-Some didn’t ‘get’ this season: I did
Top Boy-London’s underbelly bought to life
Hannibal- achieving the unachievable: spinning an established
franchise into a success
There is no reason for a
decline in a television series other than a misguided belief that an unwinding
story of any depth can survive on annual renewal: market forces. The great
series are self contained with a beginning, middle and end, and those that aspire
to reaching the heady heights of The Sopranos/Mad Men/The Wire need to be
mindful of these self imposed constraints. Case in point Homeland: a sharp
focused season one followed by a second season that drifted into an uninspiring
and frankly dull third season. Such a promising start has been repeated by a
number of pretenders to the throne. Homeland started out trying to be The
Sopranos and seems to have swerved into Prison Break territory. That in itself
is not a major Issue: I enjoyed the first season of Prison Break and watched
the follow up seasons embracing the silliness, and a show like 24 did exactly
what it said on the tin. This year, by and large, there have been so rather good shows to enjoy.
A current high concept show
that doesn’t take itself seriously yet retains an all important stamp of
quality is The Blacklist, in which James Spader plays a cross between Hannibal
Lecter and a James Bond villain with extreme gusto making the show enjoyable
and unpretentious.
Some of the best television
is actually going on under the Radar: The Tunnel, a French English co production,
is excellent and characterised by a high concept but with real
characterisation. Hello Ladies, Veep and Louie are all first rate and highlight the dearth of
British comedy. Louie in particular is a fine piece of work that requires
thought and consideration as it is so finely tuned that it takes the notion of
Situation Comedy into strange and interesting territory.
The BBC has a gem that is
sadly being decommissioned: Ripper Street, this along with the last season of
Luther, Peaky Blinders and the forthcoming season of Sherlock show that there is a healthy
drama stream at the Beeb,
Suits and The Good Wife
showed that uncomplicated dramatic television can work without overblown complexity
and the I await the return of the superb Nurse Jackie with great anticipation.
Mad Men season five split critics. I thought it was sublime and walked the line between mundanity and profundity (successfully to my mind). Top Boy was able to present a realistic London underworld free of cliche and was also able to make us feel something other than despair. Hit And Miss was a talking point for many and it's Transexual lead character was noticed rather more than the well executed drama contained in this gritty thriller.
For me though absorbing The Fall, which made the supposedly dark Broadchurch seem like The Generation game, was my television highlight of this year. It realised a central conceit superbly, the performances were uniformly excellent and in creating a mood and a protagonist I felt it was unsurpassed.
In 1977 Siouxsie and the
Banshees were causing a stir on the live circuit: thrown together at the 100
Club Punk Festival the previous year the band had transcended that blunt
mission statement and had grown a fierce following based on powerful live
performances and a unique bleakness and attitude. A charismatic lead singer
certainly helped to define them as not just another three minute wonder punk
clone.
John Peel, champion of
several interesting and unique bands did his bit in getting the band signed to
Polydor as they were firmly in the category of ‘what do we do with them?’ for
many in the industry.
The John Peel sessions at
the end of 1977 and the beginning of 1978 were great examples of catching lightning
in a bottle and their sparse raw power perfectly captured the reason why they
had gained such a loyal following.
Most of the eight tracks make up the
lion’s share of their excellent debut album The Scream and it is an
interesting contrast to listen to the two versions back to back. Hong Kong Garden is also featured which was their suprisingly poppie debut Single.
John Peel helped many a band
and in this case he helped everyone to access a remarkable and influential band.
Some times a movie get’s hyped to the extent that suspicion
can creep in. Gravity has been almost universally proclaimed as the film of the
year: many a trusted reviewer has championed the movie and been rhapsodic about
its place in cinematic history.
So it was with a degree of trepidation that I took myself
along to the cinema ticket in hand.
Gravity could have been like a Kubrick movie: technical
prowess with cold detachment, or a Spielberg movie: full of awe and emotional
manipulation, or indeed like a Michael Bay production: all bombast no heart. In
fact Gravity has more in common with Gone With The Wind or Casablanca. It’s
pure cinema with spectacle, jeopardy, philosophical leanings but also a real
beating heart. It is an extraordinary movie and one that, given the reflective
qualities of time passing, will be viewed as classic cinema. The two leads are both excellent: Clooney plays the veteran Astronaut perfectly but it is Sandra Bullock who is the surprise. Often associated with light and airy roles Bullock is a revelation and must be an Oscar shoe-in. Of course the technical qualities of the movie have garnered praise and rightly so but it is not just technique it is how the effects are integral and interwoven into the story. Gravity is the sort of movie that reenergises the viewer and the sort of movie that comes along once in a while that makes you feel that "I was there" feeling: it's that good.
