One thing I can’t appreciate Zombieland for is its soundtrack - as films go, it’s fairly standard, using all the jarring chords and high-pitched strings that you’d expect it to.
Apart from this beauty of a track at the end.
Don’t let the Italian name put you off - this was just perfect as an accompaniment. It gives the impression, with the scene from the film, of being a last stand - of course it later turns out that they’re all fine, but there’s that uncertainty of will-they-won’t they when it comes to them dying horrifically. The piece itself is a beautiful combination of guitars, Western riffs, soaring symphonic energy and - believe it or not - opera singers.
I nearly didn’t see An Education, the adaptation of Lynn Barber’s memoir of the same name - an overrunning Amnesty meeting meant I had a choice between running back to my room, grabbing my glasses, running over to the student cinema and getting in before they shut everything up or walking back and missing the whole thing. I chose the first on a whim, and now I’ve seen it I’m glad I did.
That said, I can’t make my mind up if I liked it or not. It’s difficult to explain… there’s something about strong, borderline arrogant female leads that tends to set me at a sense of unease, and no doubt it’s probably some subconscious misogyny in me. But bearing that in mind, there’s no question that Carey Mulligan in the lead role of Jenny Miller (an inspired choice) is endearing in her own way, and there’s a great deal of empathy. Perhaps it’s the contradiction that comes out of caring about a character and wanting to see them get their comeuppance. The fact that she eventually gets it is something of a consolation, then, and by the end of the film all the elements of Jenny that set me a little on edge had been swept away.
It’s not just that either, though - An Education is superbly acted on all fronts, even with the bit parts, and it’s an intensely personal story. At points, just because every emotion feels real, you find yourself not sure what to do in the same situations that the characters are unsure of how to behave. Of course, at the same time you laugh at the moments of hilarity, cry at the inevitable heartbreak and smile at the sort-of happily-ever-after ending. Something so human will inevitably have its ups and downs.
All in all, it’s an excellent coming-of-age film, and probably deserves the Best Picture Oscar (though there’s others that probably deserve it more - I’m looking at District 9 and Up In The Air, and if Avatar and/or Precious get it I’ll probably spontaneously shit everywhere, then post it straight to the Academy). However, there are elements that are easily ignored - the cinematography’s nothing special, oddly enough I didn’t think about the soundtrack once, and there’s nothing amazing about the directing either. Where this films shines is with its actors - at least three, and possibly up to around eight pitch-perfect performances are what make An Education shine.
" This harp and beat-box gig still turns me on more than any big slick willy production band I’ve heard lately. We will have a laugh at them in their big busses as they struggle their way through the deep sand looking for fuel after the apocalypse. The talent show will end soon and only the sneaky will survive. "
Holy hell! Son of Dave’s back, with a new website and album hitting shelves in March. I’ve mentioned him numerous times before - he’s by far my favourite artist, combining beatboxing with blues, a one-man-band like none other around today. Imagine if Seasick Steve was a younger man, an underdog, and had bigger balls, and you’ve got Son of Dave. Here’s the trailer for his latest album, Shake a Bone:
Exciting stuff. You can pre-order the album here - the first 50 copies are signed, so snap ‘em up soon.
Well, no. But in terms of skin pigmentation and cultural awareness, I’m just not. Mind you, really like 20th century Harlem poetry, stuff like Langston Hughes, but part of it comes from viewing it from the outside.
Anonymous asked: Are you willing to hint at who, if anyone, you plan to vote for in the general election. I personally feel a green vote is a waste, ukip - ill-informed, tory - immoral, lib dem - bizarre, bnp - detestable and that labour is the least worst option.
Lib Dem. Quite happy to be bizarre, happier to answer. And I’d vote Lib Dem because they’re boring, and politics needs to return to being boring. There’s too much emphasis on appealing to the public, and popularity - especially in America - but that’s not historically how politics has worked, nor how it should be working. While the policies of the Lib Dems might be a bit askew, they can probably at least calm down the Tory and Labour heavyweights.
Anonymous asked: What's your favourite book and why?
It’s one of two - either The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson, or On The Road by Jack Kerouac. Both for the same reasons - the way they’re written is so freeing, so visceral, so heady that you can’t help but get immersed in them. It’s hard to pick between the two, because each one outweighs in the other in one regard. With The Rum Diary, the writing style’s that much more lucid. Hunter S. Thompson was at his best when he deviated from the truth, so when he sat down and wrote novels - like this one, or like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - he was at the top of his game. Every word of The Rum Diary, you’re forced to feel at gunpoint. On the other hand, it’s indisputable that On The Road has more literary weight, and with good reason - Hunter S. Thompson was a journalist first and foremost, who just happened to write a couple of fantastic fiction pieces. Kerouac was a writer first and foremost, but you can’t argue that he injected his own experiences into his writing. In a way, though, with On The Road the experiences are matched by the style and sense of completion - it feels like a more fleshed out work. The Rum Diary, though… while it sparks at the ends, it’s a live wire start to finish.
Writer of surreal fiction (and author of a book), currently in the middle of an English and Philosophy degree at the University of York. Fantasises about the apocalypse, despises organised religion, and enjoys screaming in the middle of deserted fields.
I'm like a monk with the internet, a sense of humour, and no real defined spirituality.
