Track of The Week: Kristine - Modern Love (Power Glove Remix)

        This week’s track is by Kristine with the song Modern Love taken from her newly release EP of the same name.

        I love the 80s sound she has, both in terms of her amazing vocals (straight out of the era - reminiscent of singers such as Stevie Nicks and Cyndi Lauper) and the catchy synth production that captures the nostalgic sense of optimistic joy that a lot of the music of that decade had.

        In truth, the whole EP is awesome. The original version of Modern Love (presented here with a fan-made 80s bikini contest video) is a joy, as well as the Top Gun featuring video that accompanies The Danger.

        Great remixes of these tracks from Barretso and Mitch Murder are also on Kristine’s EP, but if I had to pick one for my track of the week it would be Power Glove’s remix of Modern Love which you can listen to below.

Kristine - Modern Love (remix) by powerglove

        I’ve been a big fan of Power Glove ever since hearing their work in the film Hobo with a Shotgun, and this remix is just spine-tinglingly awesome. It transforms Kristine’s regular upbeat sound into something dark and brooding, the synth heavy moodiness perfectly accompanies her vocals, making them sound even sultrier than they already are.

        You can hear more of Power Glove’s music HERE.

        Kristine doesn't appear to have a website at the moment but you can listen to more of her stuff HERE. She has collaborated with a lot of artists looking to recreate 80s sounds – aone such highlight being a collaboration with MPM Soundtracks on a track called A Night Like Tonight, accompanied here by a charming Back to The Future video.
       Enjoy!

18 Nov 2012

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Leeds International Film Festival - Fanomenon Anime Day 2012

9.00am

        Alarm goes off, waking me up at an ungodly hour in preparation for a full day’s worth of films at Leeds International Film Festival’s Fanomenon Anime Day 2012.

        Get up. Get ready.

        Give the cat some extra food to last her through the day. Set off.

        Oops - my housemate’s forgotten his ticket at home.

        Turn back, pick up ticket, set off again.

 

11.45am

        Get down to the venue. They haven’t opened the doors yet and there is a bit of a scuffle as a woman hands out tickets for those who needed to pick them up on the door. The Geeks are there in numbers and are growing restless.

        Finally, the doors open and everyone pours in. We decide to head for the balcony seats and make our way up the plush carpeted stairs. Leeds Town Hall is a beautiful venue and pretty huge to boot.

        After a brief intro on stage from a dude in a suit on behalf of LIFF, the first film gets under way.

12.15pm  - Asura

        A tale set in civil war era Japan, Asura is a tale of a feral child who is abandoned after his mother tries to eat him (yeah, times were hard back then and war and famine meant everyone was starving to the point of madness).

        This grim start sets the tone for the rest of the film, as desperation and madness are prevalent themes throughout – the central irony being that even the so called ‘civilized’ people end up being driven to acts of violence and cruelty by their situation, just as the feral Asura has learnt how to survive in the wild.

        Through the various characters that cross his path, he learns to adjust to human interaction and receives lessons of temperance and kindness, although it doesn't always turn out well.

        The combination of cell shaded CG animation combined seamlessly with hand drawn backdrops created a beautifully grim style to the picture, resulting in distinct visuals and a wonderful sense of kinetic movement – especially since Asura often springs about the place like a monkey on crack.

        Voicework from the legendary Masako Nozawa (most famous for playing Goku in the Dragon Ball series) as Asura was the icing in the cake.

        The only thing that was distracting during the film was actually not from the film itself, but from a guy (sitting on his own) in the row in front who uncontrollably burst out in fits of silent laughter at the most inappropriate moments. I have no problem with people enjoying themselves at the movies, but this guy’s laughing was the kind where he was literally flopping about the place. Not only that, but the things he was laughing at weren’t particulary funny. Asura creeps into a house and slays an entire family? – hilarious! A monk cuts off his own arm as a demonstration of self-sacrifice and humility? – side splitting!

        Very distracting…

1.45pm – Wolf Children

        Totally different in tone, Wolf Children is a heartwarming tale of a woman who falls in love with a werewolf and has to deal with the trials and tribulations of life raising her two wolf children. Although it sounds pretty bizarre, it's a sweet tale that, despite the fantastical elements of the central conceit, is largely grounded in reality and deals with the practicalities of the everyday problems of having to cope with children who can transform into wolves at the drop of a hat. One humourous example being when one of the children falls ill, the mother is stuck trying to decide whether it’s better to take them to a hospital or a vet.

        As the film follows the children’s growth over a number of years and their various experiences, you can’t help but feel emotionally invested in them, such is the film’s charm. Also, having lived in Japan, the portrayal of both city and country life in this film is extremely well done.

        Sharing the same vibe in tone and animation style as the excellent The Girl Who Leapt Through Time(by the same director Mamoru Hosada), lovers of Studio Ghibli type anime lovers should definitely seek this one out.

3.45pm

        Cheeky Starbucks break...

4.15pm – Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning

        Based in the near future, the exploits of superheroes are carefully documented with prime-time TV coverage, with points being awarded for various feats (such as first to arrive on the scene, saving citizens, apprehending criminals etc…) with only one of them being crowned ‘King of Heroes’ at the end of each ‘season’. With big money being involved (each hero being branded with a plethora of real-life corporate sponsors) the race is on to see who can score the most points and save the day!

        The central thread of the story follows the old veteran of the scene Wild Tiger, who believes in the traditional view of being a hero, and his clash of personality with a younger rival that he is forced to partner up with named Barnaby, whom he mockingly nicknames ‘Bunny’.

        Tiger & Bunny was the most surprising film of the day for me as this film was genuinely funny in parts due to the great character ensemble of the heroes (all of whom have distinct personalities as well as different powers) and the satirical take on media spin and corporate sponsorship that is prevalent throughout.

        My only gripe was that the film lacked a decent climax – although I found out later that this film was originally adapted from a TV series and that another film entitled Tiger & Bunny: The Rising is due for release later next year.

5.45pm

        Cheeky MaccyD’s...

6.45pm – Berserk: The GoldenAge Arc 1 – The Egg of the King

        Finally, the two films that interested me in doing this marathon in the first place – the Berserk films! Following the exploits of a hard-as-nails mercenary named Guts, Berserk is a fantasy tale based on the long running hit manga series by Kentaro Miura. Featuring epic battle scenes, bloody swordfights and political intrigue – this is great for fans of the genre.

        After a short break, the second Berserk film started…

8.30pm - Berserk: The GoldenAge Arc 2 – The Battle for Doldrey

        More of the same - continuing where the first film left off.

        Now, as a massive fan of Berserk (both the manga series and the TV anime adaptation) I was a little disappointed with these films. Sure, the production values were great – the animation being vastly improved from the TV series and the action scenes were suitably epic – but two things left me feeling a bit deflated.

        Firstly, when the second film ended it was revealed there was to be a third part (not due for release until early next year), which unfortunately left the evening on an unsatisfying cliffhanger.

        And secondly, and perhaps this is a bigger problem – so much was left out of the films in terms of the story - such as the deep characterization and the contextual backdrop - just because the move from TV series to film demanded that so much of the epic tale had to be cut down. This means: little to no origin of Guts, no “blackswordsman” stuff, Casca’s character development is somewhat sidelined, much of the other Band of Hawk’s members lack decent characterization leading to a lack of audience attachment etc…

        Whatever scope they gained from being in a big screen format and having better animation was lost by lack of detail and richness in the story.

        I realize that this was a compromise that had to be made due to the format change, but in my mind there was always a nagging thought – why didn't they just adapt one of the several other story arcs (this was just one out of four completed arcs from the currently ongoing manga series) instead of just choosing to redo one that had already been previously adapted?

        Here’s hoping they will eventually adapt some of the other Berserk story arcs in the future.

10.00pm

        Finished!

        The geeks slowly shuffled out of the Town Hall and quietly dispersed into the night.

 

        So, all in all a good day at the LIFF Anime Day. There were many surprises along the way, with Wolf Children in particular being the unexpected highlight, and me being a little disappointed by the Berserkfilms. It’s not to say they are bad films – I just felt they didn't do the story as much justice as they it deserved.

        Until next year, folks!

13 Nov 2012

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Track of The Week: FOE - A Handsome Stranger Called Death

       This week’s track is by British indie-rock artist FOE with A Handsome Stranger Called Death.

       The first time I heard this track it was actually when I was listening to a lot of 80s chillwave electro and came across a remix of this song by Com Truise.

       There was something insanely catchy about her vocals that fit the tune perfectly as I listened to it whilst enjoyed the warmth of the summer’s day.

       Fast forward a month or two later and FOE were supporting Marina & The Diamondsat the gig I went to. Whilst enjoying their rock sound, I didn't realise who they were…

       ...until the opening lines of this song started.

       Anyway, check out the video below.

       I’ve been listening to their debut album Bad Dream Hotline a lot too, which features more songs like this but also (equally great) heavier material such as Genie in a Coke Can or the faster paced Cold Hard Rock.
       Whilst the themes are often dark and dripping with morbidity, foe’s beautiful vocals are wonderfully entrancing. The use of electronic elements and eerie samples in their songs also add to make listening to FOE a unique experience.

       For more info you can check out her webpage HERE.

       More of FOE's videos can be seen HERE.

10 Nov 2012

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Film Roundup Turbo Edition - Part 3!

 

       And the madness continues! Even MORE films crammed into one article, following from the last one – click HERE if you missed it.

       So here we go… (Deep breath…)

       We will start off with ridiculousness that is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, a historical/horror mash-up that asks the question of what if Honest Abe was actually an axe-wielding scourge of vampires before he became the famous president? With a distinctly comic book style and sleek visuals this could have been great if it had remained tongue in cheek all the way through, but instead its tendency to take itself too seriously at times and the occasional over reliance on CG lets it down. Still, the ‘axe-fu’ is kinda cool. See him shatter a tree trunk with one swing!

       Another film to feature vampires is Underworld: Awakening, the fourth film in the series that really should have died a death a long time ago. Kate Beckinsale looks to be on autopilot and the whole thing is snoozesome, murky and predictable. Seeing her fight giant ‘roided up werewolves is kind of fun but you unfortunately have to sit through the rest of the movie to get there.

       Werewolves also feature in The Howling Reborn, actually the eighth film in the Howling franchise. The EIGHTH! And unless you are a fan of 80’s horror, you've probably never even heard of said franchise, amirite? Well, should have guess it – pretty shoddy. I applaud them going for guys in rubber werewolf suits fighting each other instead of CGI… but here it just looks like… guys in rubber werewolf suits fighting each other. Tonally, it’s basically Twilight but substituting the vampires for werewolves and the big budget for… no budget.

       Also featuring werewolves (yet again) is British film Strippers Vs Werewolves starring mostly washed up soap stars and for some reason Robert Englund. Perhaps the entire budget went on paying for the two scenes that he was in as this film is so shoddy it’s unbelievable. Its bad in all ways imaginable - but perhaps its biggest sin is that for a film that has the word ‘Strippers’ in the title, there is a distinct lack of stripping. Poor show.

       Maybe I shouldn’t watch any more films that have werewolves in… but instead watch one with Piranhas! Piranha 3DD, the rather childishly named sequel to the hit remake Piranha 3D, is at least a bit more fun. But not by much. It's a watered down (no pun intended) version of the first film – its only saving grace being Champ Kind as the obnoxious owner of the featured water park and David Hasselhoff gamely playing a ridiculous parody of himself. The less that can be said of the part where one of the little nippers interrupts a sex scene in the worst way imaginable, the better.

       What is a better way to spend you time is watching Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel, a British comedy that deals with three friends accidentally getting stuck in a time travel conundrum whilst down at the local pub. If you are a fan of sci-fi, British comedy or indeed anything time travel related, then you will love the intricacy and downright nerdery of this one. Anna Faris amazingly guest stars in this as well. Quirky and enjoyable.

       Anna Farris is also in The Dictator, another film featuring a ridiculously offensive character created by the chameleonic genius that is Sacha Baron Cohen. Whilst being largely puerile, a not-so-disguised political satire poking fun at both East and West and, as i mentioned, being repeatedly really offensive, its actually pretty funny and had me guffawing out loud in many places. Make sure you watch the extended version, just for the awesomely ridiculous Aladeen vs Etra fight.

       Plenty of punch-ups of the cartoon variety can also be seen in one of DC Comic’s latest animated movies, Superman Vs The Elite, where Supes has to contend with the rise to power of a new group of superheroes looking to replace him as guardians of the world. Despite some dodgy ‘British’ accents, this offering is pretty decent and is worth a watch if you are a fan of the Man of Steel.

       A similarly worthwhile watch is Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, the first in a two part film adaptation of Frank Miller’s seminal 1986 comic series that sees an elderly Batman coming out of retirement to defend Gotham once again. Very influential back in the day (elements of the story have undoubtedly influenced Nolan’s Batman) and it’s great that they have finally got around to adapting it. Although some of the 80’s stylings of the villains and their slang may seem a bit dated now and some fans expressing a dislike for Paul Weller’s voice acting (replacing Batman regular Kevin Conroy), this film is recommended for any Bat-fans as it nails the essence of the character so well. Having a female Robin is also a really interesting move too that totally works.

       At first glance, Griff The Invisible appears to be just another budget superhero movie, but in actually fact it’s so much more - dealing with disillusion, fantasy worlds and mental illness. Intelligent, sweetly humorous and at times downright heartbreaking – watch it if you are a fan of indie movies, but you probably wont enjoy it so much if you like your superhero movies simple and comicbooky.

       What is very comicbooky is the monumental failure that is Green Lantern. As a fan of the character I was really looking forward to this film but unfortunately it is marred by an unfocused story and drab set pieces. To be fair, Ryan Reynolds has a decent stab at bringing Hal Jordan to life, but it all just seems a bit slow to get going and rushed at the end. When the big finale is a fight against a CGI cloud you know you've got a bit of a stinker on your hands. It's a shame that since it bombed so badly at the box office a sequel (where Mark Strong’s Sinestro would undoubtedly be the villain) is unlikely to happen – not to mention a Justice League movie getting pushed away into the future.

       Also featuring Mark Strong is the adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs epic Princess of Mars, first changed to John Carter of Mars and finally just being released as John Carter. Marketing nightmares aside, this film also bombed spectacularly at the box office despite its impressive visuals, being well acted and with a big name cast to boot. I guess the current climate of movie watchers just isn’t receptive to this kind of thing. Taylor Kitsch is good in the lead despite being yanked around in a harness for most of the movie. Wish I could jump like that…

       Taylor Kitsch also stars in Battleship, an alien invasion film (very) loosely based on the classic Hasbro game of the same name. Whilst being largely dire popcorn nonsense, I liked how the alien ‘ships’ strangely jumped around. Cheeky nods to the game also come in the form of the enemy shells being like ‘pegs’ and a sequence where they literally have to map out the sea in a grid (like in the game) and yell out ‘hit’ or ‘miss’. A few interesting moments here and there but largely forgettable, much like the Transformers films – all sound and fury, little substance. Oh, and Rihanna is in it.

       Also featuring ships on the seas is the new film from Aardman Animations called The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! If you are a fan of Wallace and Gromit, stop motion animation or even pirates in general you will love this. Much like The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, nearly every frame is filled with a sight gag or charm of some kind and the jokes fly thick and fast, enjoyable for both adults and children alike. Thoroughly recommended!

       Also featuring ships is the latest adaptation of The Three Muskateers – but here they’re airships flying in the sky - Final Fantasy style! Whilst sporting a good cast (barring the thoroughly unlikeable portrayal of D’Artagnan by Logan Lerman) the story just feels – well …’meh’ – which is a shame since the visuals and sword fighting scenes are fun and stylishly over the top. Orlando Bloom gets a plum role here.

       Porthos, the ‘brawny’ Muskateer, is played by Ray Stevenson - who also stars in Punisher: Warzone – the latest in the line of adaptations of the brutal Marvel Comics character. The Punisher films have always focused on the character’s no-nonsense brand of harsh justice and Warzone is no exception. Stevenson, who embodies the character perhaps more physically than Tom Jane, puts in a good performance, but his realistic portrayal (they even minimized the skull T-shirt motif) sits at odds tonally with the overblown comic book villain with a patchwork face - played terrifyingly effectively by Dominic West.

       Another film that suffers from a slightly unbalanced tone is Man on a Ledge, which is basically about a man… standing on a ledge of a building threatening to jump. Except (spoiler alert) it’s really just a diversion so that a heist can occur in a nearby building. Although an intriguing premise, it sometimes feels like two different films that don't quite gel so well together. One being a heartfelt drama, the other almost playing out like a lighthearted comedy romp. Still, worth watching once just to find out whether Sam Worthington ends up jumping or not and also for Genesis Rodriguez and her unnecessarily skimpy heist ‘outfits’.

       Choosing the perfect outfit is also what preoccupies Charlize Theron in Young Adult, where she plays a women who, despite her immaculate beauty regimen, doesn't realize that the real problem lies with the lack of her inward beauty as she goes on an ill advised quest to reclaim her high school sweetheart. Who is married. And has a baby on the way. Sounds like a terrible film – but the script written by Diablo Cody and direction by Jason Reitman make the characters and dialogue fizzle, leading to one of my surprise favorites of the year. Theron does well sustaining the focus on her character throughout the entire film despite being a thoroughly unlikeable one and there is strong support from Patrick Wilson and Patton Oswalt. Recommended.

       What I can’t recommend is Chernobyl Diaries, a film devoid of any genuine scares or horror. The set up is a good idea (I have always found abandoned places such as Pripyat to be fascinating) and the build up has a little bit of tension (in a Hills Have Eyes kind of way), but there is no pay off to be had as you don't care about any of the characters and none of them get killed in any interesting ways.

       Equally disappointing is haunted bungalow movie The Pact, which again, despite its effective set up just ends up being really dull for the majority. There are only two genuinely creepy scenes in the whole movie but its nice to see an older Casper Van Dien get a role in this.

       Surprisingly effective is horror anthology V/H/S, a collection of 6 short films based loosely on the idea of them all being filmed on handheld cameras, hidden camera or webcams - and then later converted to VHS. Although ‘found footage’ horror is nothing new, the intimacy of the format works really well here, and as each segment is fairly short the buildup and payoff of each story comes around pretty quickly, effectively maintaining your interest throughout. Fans of low budget horror anthologies will love this. Watching this alone in the dark will surely creep you out.

       Don't Be Afraid of the Dark’s premise is these tiny goblin-like creatures that come out at night and terrorize a little girl in a big house. Despite being produced by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Guy Pierce and Katie Holmes, this film takes a bit too long to get going, however the child actor is strangely effective and the creatures suitable vicious. They are overly reliant on CG for them though and perhaps some puppetry would have added a bit more realism. Still, when they are coming at you with scissors and scalpels they are reet nasty!

       Speaking of nasty, Deadgirl delivers that in spades, as the story is about a couple of kids that find a girl tied to a table in an underground bunker who, much like a zombie, cannot speak and unable to die. At first they just poke and prod out of curiosity, but things escalate quickly to untold horrors. Decent and original movie if you can stomach it – the real monsters in the film being human nature of course.

       Human nature is also studied in Ben Drew AKA Plan B’s big screen directorial debut Ill Manors, which follows the stories of various characters as they cross paths in East London. Taking a look at crime, gang culture, drug dealing and prostitution – it's a very bleak movie indeed and yet Drew continues to keep things interesting, interjecting every so often with his narration via rapping. My only criticism with this is that although he knows how to make individual scenes effective, the film as a whole lacks an overall arc or purpose other than saying ‘look at how bad life is here’. A strong debut nevertheless.

       Red Lights, a film about paranormal investigators debunking psychics and mediums is also an interesting watch with a great central cast of Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver and Robert DeNiro. The ending twist may come out of leftfield a little too much for some, but personally I loved it – I just feel they should have integrated it a bit more into the rest of the movie so it isn’t quite as jarring when it eventually does get revealed.

       Con artists also feature in The Brothers Bloom, a quirky film about two brothers, one of which falls for the mark that they are supposed to be conning. Directed by Rian Johnson, who also directed Brickand Looper (the review of which can be read HERE) this film is probably the weakest of the three but is enjoyable enough – with Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel Weisz all on top form. It’s Rinko Kikuchi, however, that steals every scene she is in as the silent Japanese explosives expert named ‘Bang Bang’.

       The Japanese influence of Battle Royale can obviously be seen in the film adaptation of the hit book The Hunger Games. All the debate as to whether or not author Suzanne Collins did rip off BR aside, the film itself comes across as kind of muted, having to be violent enough to live up to the source material (a story about kids having to kill each other) whilst having to be toned down enough in order to allow the target audience of young teens to be able to go and watch it. For me, watching it was a very so-so experience, but as a BR fan I will admit I am biased. Still, this film was a hit and sequels are inevitably in the works.

       Speaking of hit games, Tekken: Blood Vengeance is a CG animated movie featuring characters from the popular Tekken series. Whilst there are one or two decent fights in there (Anna vs Nina! Three way battle between Jin, Kazuya and Heihachi!), there is way too much dreary filler throughout the rest of the film to warrant taking the time to watch this. Just YouTube the relevant scenes (for example HERE) and save yourself the bother.

       Similarly, is the second Resident Evil animated movie, Resident Evil: Damnation. A little better than the Tekken movie, but still not interesting enough to sustain the feature length running time, in my opinion. The Lickers vs Tyrants at the end is epic and there’s also a female kung-fu president but that's about it. Fans of the franchise should definitely check it out but for those not that knowledgeable about the Resident Evil game series should probably avoid.

       So there you have it – 29 films! …I think I need a lie down…

       Until next time, folks!

8 Nov 2012

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