Friday 19 June 2009

What's been happening

Let's just cut to the chase, i haven't been going to press shows for a while. It looks like they have taken Voice 21 off the press list for reasons i don't understand. Personally if i had my way I'd get rid of the management team at Cineworld cos' lets face it they suck.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back on the press list sometime soon. i like writing film reviews and i hope I'll be writing more soon. What you will see i go to events like Memorabilia,Collectormania stuff like that so I'll post my ramblings on what i think of shows like that.
That's it for now.
N

Monday 20 April 2009

Doves gig on Friday night....




I had the Friday off last week and I went to see one of my favourite bands Doves a band from Madchester AKA Manchester. I’ve been fan of their work since their first album “Lost Souls” came out in 2000. I don’t what it is about the music they do but its life affirming and great chill out indie music. I often think that if there was a soundtrack of my life I’d have too add some songs from the band.

I don’t usually go to gigs there’s very few bands I like out there I don’t how many how many of many of you are seasoned gig goers out there, but I hate standing up for a long amount of time my legs just kill me! Recently I’ve been getting some back problems and I’m going to get it checked out.

This marks the third time I’ve seen the Mancunian band. The first time I went too see them was in 2002 I bumped into drummer/guitarist Andy Williams when I was queuing he signed my ticket which was quite memorable.

I really like the first two albums they did the second one being “The Last Broadcast” as for the follow ups “Some Cities”(2005) and the recent Kingdom of Rust there just a slight notch off the previous two but they are both entertaining.




When I got there some support band were playing and I wasn’t much interested in them. When the main act came on I got a good view of still, I noticed that there was a small seating area above me and I kept thinking “I wonder if can get a seat or are they just for the press?” Another which thing irritated me were a pair of Liverpudulian lads they were far too loud and were moaning that one of their favourite song wasn't played.

Whilst the band was playing there some kind of scuffle in the audience which led to a funny remark from the lead vocalist and guitarist, Jimi Goodwin! With the attempted beat em up swiftly packed up by security the band played on.


From the set list they played quite a lot from the new album mixed with their back catalogue. I didn’t mind the new stuff in retrospect; I’m really starting to have a better appreciation of the new album. Tracks that stick out are as "Kingdom of Rust","Snowden" "Words" and the classic "Here It Comes" which was performed with footage from a Northern Soul disco!


The last encore track was "There goes the fear" along with the concertgoers i was getting caught up the enthusiastic atmosphere they really should hand out Maracas and Samba Whistles when this is performed in future gigs cos' its brilliant and a great end to an amazing night out.

I think the next time i go to a gig i think i'm going to have to look for a seating area...

Wednesday 11 March 2009

Flash of Genius

Starring Greg Kinnear,Lauren Graham,Dermot Mulroney,Alan Alda,Jake Abel, Daniel Roebuck and Mitch Pileggi

Directed by Marc Graham.

Originally today i was going to watch a Clive Owen film called Duplicity they didn't have the print. Instead they put this on, its about an inventor called Bob Kearns(Kinnear) who creates an automatic windscreen wiper for cars back then it was a big deal. He takes his pet project to the Ford motor company, but they soon steal his idea. Furious that they stole his invention he begins a lengthy legal battle that almost costs him his sanity and his marriage.




OK i missed i don't know a few minutes of the film i couldn't quite into it properly and its the kind of movie that's probably best suited as a TV movie of the week. My initial thoughts were it was going to be a comedy since Kinnear is known for doing fluffy romantic comedies. The main problem with it is its too dull and let's face it, whose going to watch a film about a man who creates windscreen wipers. On a side note you've got appearances from actors like Mitch Pileggi and Bill Smitrovich who appeared in 90's shows The X Files and Millennium.



With FOG I liked Kinnear's turn as a professor who goes all nutty when his idea gets nicked by the end of it i couldnt help noticing he looks like the spitting image of TV detective Inspector Sledge Hammer! I expected him to get a 44 magnum and shooting executives and jurors in the courtroom. Okay that didn't happen. I wonder if you lot remember the comedy series? Probably they should get Kinnear to play the role of the aforementioned TV tec' if someone decides to do a remake.

Furthermore, trust me i know what i'm doing!

Monday 9 March 2009

Watchmen the final word.



Starring Patrick Wilson,Malin Akerman,Matthew Goode,Billy Crudup,Jackie Earl Haley,Carla Gugino and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Directed by Zack Snyder.

Right now theres probably billions of opinions and reviews that are related to this film i thought ive give my two cents or two pence on what i think about it. As a fan of the graphic novel i can safely say that Snyder and co have done a really faithful job of transferring it to the big screen with a few exceptions here and there most notably the original ending to it.



The actors are bang on in their portrayals as their four colour incarnations in particular Jackie Earl Haley as Rorshach. Ive got to give kudos to Patrick Wilson who plays one of my favourite characters, Dan Dreiberg aka Night Owl.


The film currently no 1 in the U.S box office charts although its fallen short of the film companies expectations. I was talking to a freind who went to see a friday night showing and he told me some people left halfway I guess a lot of people wanted to see a slam bang action pic judging by the bombastic trailers. Another reason i bet parent's in the USA didn't want to take their kids to see a computer generated willy.To top it off its almost three hours long. There's also not many comic related films that have an eighteen rated certificate.



I've often thought that Watchmen is more like a drama which looks at the implications of having costumed characters in the real world. Originally back in the late eighties film maker Terry Gilliam was lined up to direct it he backed out claiming rising production costs and it would take five hours to tell the story properly.



Even Alan Moore, has distanced himself from the film adaptation claiming its unfilmable and its best suited to its graphic form. Since Gilliam's attempt other's have tried and failed at one point Bourne Supremacy director Paul Greengrass was going to set the story in the current day as opposed to its early eighties instead of one single film it would be part of a trilogy i don't think it have would worked as it would have made a mockery of the source material and treated fan's of Watchmen like dirt.


I saw Watchmen with a mate whose not into comics and he enjoyed it and he commented on the film's climax which he liked and he thought it was thought provoking. Although i would have liked to have seen original ending as it is the graphic novel, where a giant alien type squid kills 15 million New Yorkers. The writer David Hayter altered it because of what happened in the terrorist attacks in America several years ago.

The ending just a minor gripe but i'm glad that its done by someone who didn't want to make vast changes, contemporise it, or even have Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dr Manhattan. Film's that are based on comic books are fast becoming a genre in their own right and Watchmen has become a welcome addition to it.

Its really late and i'm off to bed...

Sunday 11 January 2009

Slumdog Millionaire Pictures



















These are just a few picture's that i took when i interviewed Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor at Birmingham's Odeon cinema....

The man shaking Anil's hand is my Team Leader/editor, Sultan Ahmed, who on that day was a little nervous meeting one of his Bollywood idols. Me on the other hand i was unfazed by all the razzle dazzle i got the feeling that Anil was aloof i think this due to me being too jovial and upbeat when i met him. Then again, i'm just making a personal observation....

Monday 5 January 2009

Slumdog Millionaire





Starring Dev Patel, Frieda Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan.

Directed by Danny Boyle.

I'm not the biggest fan of Bollywood film's i was force fed them when i was little, the singing, the dancing, and even fake action sequences, don't even get me started on the melodramatic acting! I do admit that they are an important part of Indian culture and yeah, Bollywood actress are fit! I just don't think it's for me. If there's one Indian film i like its got to be Slumdog Millionaire.


Jamal Malik(Patel) is arrested and accused of cheating by police Jamal(Patel) a contestant on "Kaun Banega Crorepati" the Indian version of "Who Want's To Be A Millionaire". Having answered almost all the question's, Jamal(Patel) begins to tell the inspector of how he knew all the answers and how they tie in with his life. After living a life filled with heart ache and sorrow Jamal doesn't care about the money all he care's about is getting the girl of his dreams back. A girl called Malika(Pinto) his childhood sweetheart who was cruelly taken away from him. He's just hoping that's she's watching the show....


I'm normally a cynic i don't do movies that share tagline's like "heart warming" and "uplifting". But the film's pure genius in my view. This is a Bollywood film seen through the eyes of an Englishman. The cinematography is stunning and breath taking, Ive always wanted to go to India this makes want to go even more... With a film like this, you're wondering "ain't there no big name stars?!" Well... with a film like this, its best not to.... For an actor like Dev Patel, fresh from his appearance in the T.V series, Skins he not only proves himself as a capable leading actor, but also as the emotional heart of the film.


Like i said when i reviewed Transporter 3 it had a model who made her debut as an actress, it failed but on this occasion SD has the stunning Freida Pinto who plays Jamal's love interest, Malika. She looks like she's been acting for years and she's a natural in her performance. The rest of the cast ain't that bad either I've got to add that the perfomances by the child actors are noteworthy considering the fact they have experience in acting along with the fact, that they are actually from the slums. After filming wrapped up the director Danny Boyle ensured that they went to a school for the very first time. Later this week I'm hoping to interview two of the stars from the film, so I've got to start writing some questions. I'm hoping my review of SD has got you going to the cinema go on, i know you'll be surprised like i was...