top 10 CDs of 2005

1. THE ROOKS – The Rooks
I’m gonna cheat a bit here. This album came out in 1993, and was on such a small indie label that locating it (even in the States!!) is nigh on impossible. Even being in contact with the guitarist of this band (oh Myspace, where will I be without you?) doesn’t help much, as the band broke up a few years back. But alas, the good people of The Rooks found a few copies (from the original first pressing!!) of this much sought after power pop classic when clearing their attic and put some up for sale at www.cdbaby.com at a very reasonable price and autographed by their resident genius songwriter, Mr Michael Mazzarella. Yes, this is supposed to be my Top 10 CDs of 2005 list, and this is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a 2005 CD. But this IS the absolute best CD I’ve heard in 2005, hands down!! Their reputation as one of the absolute best of all power pop bands is richly deserved when I heard this debut by them. I have all their other CDs, and loved each and every one of them, but nothing prepared me for the majestic, ass kicking, pop songs I heard here. The mix is outstandingly crystal clear, and packs a major punch as well. The songs rock too, as in early Beatles rock!! I will definitely cherish this CD till the day I die, and I seriously warn all you folks to not even think of nicking this CD if you come visit me!! I will hunt you down!! Now, if only I can persuade them to do a reunion show and let my band open for them when we go tour the States later…

2. THE CRIBS – The New Fellas
Unjustly labelled as knock-offs of The Strokes, I have to say that I enjoy these guys more than I ever enjoyed The Strokes. Great catchy songs, played with great sloppy conviction, with great sloppy production by Edwyn Collins, this is clearly one of the outstanding releases of 2005, if only all you hipsters don’t count too much on what music critics say to pick out the stuff you like.

3. PUFFY – Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi
I’ve been a borderline-pervy fanboy of this cute Japanese duo since 1997, even before there was that cartoon show on Cartoon Network, mainly because of all the great power pop songwriters, producers and musicians they always managed to rope in on every album, like The Velvet Crush, Andy Sturmer (of Jellyfish) and Paul Bevoir. And I can, with a mixture of pride and shame, confidently say that I have all their albums, and can talk Puffy as well as any Trekkies out there can talk Star Trek. This is basically a compilation of their older songs, with a few new ones, and quite a few sung in English. Put this on and I dare you not to want to bop around or bang your head to the ridiculously bubblegummy songs. If you don’t, check your pulse ‘aight, ‘cause you don’t deserve to be here.

4. JASON FALKNER – Bliss Descending
It’s been a long time since his last album, and this is just a 5 song EP. I won’t even say that every song in it is fabulous, but one song, called Moving Up is an absolute stunner for me with its simple, almost embarrassingly obvious lyrics, topped with a gorgeous, gorgeous melody. Actually only one song seem weak to me. So it’s not bad, 4 out of 5, that’s 80%! Favourite romantic lines of the year: “Can I be the one who you give everything to? Oh why do you wait? I swear it’s never too late” – from Moving Up.

5. THE CLICK FIVE – Greetings From Imrie House
Probably the band with the least street-cred (maybe even none whatsoever!!) on this list. Even power pop fans and writers have voiced their fears that this band might inflict even more damage on the already flimsy reputation of power pop than The Knack did in the early ‘80s. Yes, they have dodgily boy-band sounding harmonies and dodgily boy-band slick production. But boy, are the songs catchy or what. They call themselves New School Power Pop, and they drop names like Badfinger and The Raspberries when asked about their influences. And they probably do like power pop, seeing that they chose to use an Adam Schlesinger song, and chose Mike Denneen to produce. Whatever you might want to think, this is still super fun, teeth rotting ear candy to me, especially on songs like Friday Night, Pop Princess, Time Machine and their current single, Catch Your Wave. Resistance is futile.

6. THE PADDINGTONS – First Comes First
Probably the greatest legacy that The Libertines can leave us (apart from their great 2nd album) is this band. Building their name by making friends and spreading out word about their guerrilla gigs on The Libertines forums, The Paddingtons delivered a glorious ruckus of a debut album, reminding us of the glory days of the Buzzcocks and The Undertones, only with an even surer command of anthemic melodies. No one knows how good their 2nd album will ultimately be, but this is one hell of a debut.

7. BRENDAN BENSON – The Alternative To Love
Probably not as jaw-dropping as his previous CD, Lapalco, this is still a solid collection of solid, and sometimes awesome songs, as in the awesome opener Spit It Out and the Phil Spector inspired The Pledge. I may be picky though, as not everyone can write a song as fantastic as Metarie even once in their life, and Mr Benson already did that on Lapalco, so it’s definitely a tough act to follow, and I may have been expecting too much from this CD.

8. HOT HOT HEAT - Elevator
This is a really groovy CD. The Killers may get all the airplay and ink, but these guys are just as good!! Infectious songs you can dance to, it’s really a pity that the hipster crowd again chose to ignore and put this album down, by saying that the band sold out, and failed to improve on the ‘arty’ punk-funk sound of their debut (which, for the record, completely failed to connect with me). Hmmm… is it just me or do you also consider writing tighter, catchier and infinitely more danceable songs a huge improvement over supposedly ‘intelligent’ and ‘arty’ but nowhere near as infectious punk-funk songs with pretentious lyrics? I really can’t see how some stuff can be considered ‘intelligent’ and ‘arty’ while some aren’t. These hipsters!!

9. THE MAGIC NUMBERS – The Magic Numbers
Not a great debut, but filled with a lot of magical pop songs. There’s still a lot of filler and only okay songs to wade through. But the high points soar totally, completely!! The guitar work and lead vocals really remind me of Daryll Ann, a great, great Dutch band that shamefully got lost in the shuffle and never got the recognition they deserved. Let’s hope the same thing never happen to The Magic Numbers, who’ve been getting a very respectable amount of hype and press. And it’s really not hard to see why, as they have truly some of the most gorgeous pop songs of the year, like Forever Lost, Love Me Like You and Love’s A Game. If they keep on writing stuff like these, we’ll definitely have a bona fide great band in our hands, folks.

10. TSAR – Band Girls Money
A true rock n roll monster!! The singer sounds like he’s ready to bite your head off anytime, and the band rocks out like there’s no tomorrow. All of which won’t count for much, if they don’t have the great songs that they do to pull it off. Songs like Wrong and Conqueror Worm will stay stuck in your head long after the CD’s left your CD player. And those 2 songs are definitely some of my favourite rock n roll songs of the year, and I’m already calculating how to best rip off these songs for my own band!!

11. FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE – Out Of State Plates
Okay, I’m cheating again! But I just can’t leave out this 2-disc, 30 plus song B-sides and rarities collection by Fountains Of Wayne, simply because it’s home to what I think is THE best and most complete song of 2005, called The Girl I Can’t Forget. It’s truly a wonder of a song, running through a whole gamut of emotions, from happy to happy-sad, to romantic-happy-sad, and finally to romantic-happy-sad-hilarious!! With the kind of witty lyrics that I can only dream of writing, it’s really the kind of song I wish I wrote. Check it out: “Now that I’m with her, the whole thing seems a bit absurd. But she never fails to tell the tale of the time she had to post my bail. And for giving me a second chance, I’m forever in her debt. Since the night I can’t remember, she’s the girl I will never forget.” Oh so gorgeous!

just like heaven

I've been updating this blog less and less these past few months. Same excuse, been a bit busy. Work and, more interestingly, band stuff. Finally a proper album is on the way. I also have another blog, dedicated to solely review Malaysian films. Check it out at www.cinemakita.blogspot.com. Now off to a non-Malaysian film review.

There's a tendency in present day film criticism to dismiss outright light mainstream films and overpraise independent films, or at the very least overpraise 'serious' mainstream Oscar nominated films. Gone are the days when a light, well made romantic or screwball comedy can receive rave reviews and multiple Oscar nominations, like the days when Frank Capra, Leo McCarey, Ernst Lubitsch and Preston Sturges ruled not only the wallets of audiences, but also the hearts and minds of film critics and awards nights. Of course, classic film buffs will just say that they just don't make movies like that anymore. And in a way, that statement is true. Film audiences have moved on. And so have filmmakers. But I think it won't be wrong to say that they may not make them like that anymore, but the spirit of those wonderful films live on, albeit in different shapes and sizes.

In Just Like Heaven, we get to see 2 lonely souls, David (played by Mark Ruffalo) and Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon), venture into that journey called falling in love, although in this case (readily apparent from the trailer - so you cannot accuse me of giving anything away) one of them literally is a soul. And so they will fall in love, experience some hiccups, and in the end be together again. You know it. I know it. It would take someone really naive (or overly optimistic) to expect anything else from a mainstream romantic comedy starring one of the reigning queens of the box office. But since when is that a sin?

Watching Just Like Heaven, I just can't help but wonder what made so many film critics around the world (even ones that I have great respect for) universally condemn this wonderful, sweet and funny little movie. Yes, it does not dwell on 'important' issues, but has it ever signalled any intention of doing that? I don't think so. It is exactly what it wants to be, a sweet, funny, and sometimes sad take on falling in love. And for succeeding to do so with much delicacy and tact, the film and its filmmakers deserve more credit than I think they will get. The writers have come up with a script so nimble that you just accept everything they throw in your way. Falling in love with a spirit who used to live in your aparment? No problem. Zany exorcism scenes by religious 'experts'? No problem. And all this in a simple, light romantic comedy, which also never lets you forget the fact that death is just around the corner. The acting of the two leads, I just can't praise enough. Mark Ruffalo is simply a star, playing his character with such simple honesty, and being the perfect foil for Reese Witherspoon's uptight character. And the fact that they cannot touch each other physically (one being a spirit) only adds to their wonderful chemistry and to the joy we feel when they finally touch.

And all of this was supervised with the kind of great, confident control of tone that you've come to expect from Mark Waters, the film's director, whose previous works (Freaky Friday and Mean Girls, amongst others) should have alerted you to his talents for crafting comedies both funny and human, without neglecting the commercial aspect of things.

So give this smart little movie a chance. Will it be a classic? Only time can tell. Will you enjoy it? I can't think of any reason why you won't.

(8 out of 10)

weezer - make believe

Wow! It's been 2 months!! Sorry guys if you've been checking out this blog but nothing seems to goddamn happen everytime you do so. As usual, work's been pretty hard. So hard that I don't even feel like typing anything during my free time. That's how sick I am now of typing or drafting stuff!!

Anyway, I just bought Weezer's new album, Make Believe last weekend. Been listening to it ever since. They've always held a special place in my heart, especially with Pinkerton and the Blue album. Their last few releases have not been that great. You get the feeling that Rivers Cuomo's heart seemed not to be in it anymore - like he was just churning out all those tunes just for the sake of it, because his bandmates and his fans keep on asking him to do it, like he'd rather do something else, or not do anything at all, for a while. It's a measure of how great a talent he has that there are still a number of songs that 'get' you, the way the songs in Pinkerton always do.

Like I said before, I've been listening to this album since the weekend, only once right to the end though, 'cause I kept on coming back to songs no. 2 and 3, i.e. Perfect Situation and This Is Such A Pity. Not to say that the rest of the album sucks, 'cause the last 2 songs were spellbinding as well, but because song no. 2 & 3 just 'got' me. I read in some punk reviews website that the reviewer likened this album to something like an 'apology' by Rivers to everyone, a bit like when you have a fight with someone you love and then have a long 45 minute or so apology session with that person. Funnily enough I think it's an apt analogy.

There's an honesty to Rivers' delivery in quite a few of the songs here (the ones I mentioned above included of course!) that I haven't heard in a long time. And I'm so happy for him that it did happen again. Because I also know how that feels - like your heart's not in it anymore. Especially now. Sometimes when the pressures of work get a little too hot to handle, I do get that feeling to just maybe get off doing music for a while, or maybe for a long time. But then, once in a while when a song suddenly comes to me, I know that it would be a shame to stop doing music, because I know I love it, and I know how happy it makes me feel when I'm playing on stage and seeing people grooving to it. And sometimes when I think that that song happens to be quite decent, I realise it even more.

I've been fielding questions about what's happening with my band Couple quite a lot lately. Because even though I know that I have a kick-ass new set of rock 'n roll songs waiting to be recorded, there just doesn't seem to be enough time!!

Anyway, I'm sure I'll get down to recording those kick-ass new songs eventually. I just hope that it'll be in the near future. As for Weezer's Make Believe, thank you Rivers for the wonderful apology. I hope there's more to come in the future, but not apologies lah, because you no longer have to make them, at least not for now!

bangkok - a month ago today

A month ago today, I was in a garishly colourful bus heading to Bangkok. I would arrive in Bangkok at around 10.00 pm, hungry, and getting conned out of 100 baht for a not so long taxi ride to Khao San road, where's I'll be staying at a reasonably priced guest house called Kawin Place. Later, I will be chomping on some divine tasting Phad Thai, that costs just 20 baht.

A month ago tomorrow, I'll be having breakfast at the wonderful Roti Mataba, lunch at the MBK, and dinner at Jey Hoi seafood (I think, or maybe it's the next day?). I'll be spending some of my hard earned money on cheap original Criterion DVDs of the films Down By Law and Trouble In Paradise and some Thai DVDs of films directed by Apichatpong Weeraseethakul. I'm already in love with this city.

A month ago the next day, again I'll be having breakfast at Roti Mataba and lunch at MBK. And again I'll be buying another cheap Criterion DVD and some more Thai films on DVD. God, I love this city more!! That night I'll be going to Patpong and get conned to see some topless ladies just wiggling on stage (where's the ping pong show?!!). Later that night I'll be seeing a high school friend and hang out at a club called Lava and watch gorgeous Thai ladies swarm around drunk white guys, and as for me, all I got was some really dodgy and inviting stares and body language from a few ladyboys!! Ouch!!

A month ago the day after, I'll be trembling with anticipation at going to the famous Jatujak weekend market, and have a stiff neck looking at all those thrift store clothes. I'll be happy as hell to have finally bought the Antoine Doinel box set that day, along with the 2-disc set of Tokyo Story and an el-cheapo DVD of Le Million. Also loved the puff-fried catfish that I ate at Tom Yam Kung later that night. Started to feel a bit sad that the carefree wanderings of the last few days will end tomorrow.

A month ago the day after the day after, I was reluctantly taking a flight back home, wishing I had more money and time and could stay longer in Bangkok. I definitely love that city!!

As I write this and reminisce about those magical days a month ago, I realise it wouldn't even be half as magical if I didn't have my wonderful baby with me to do all that wandering around with. I'm so glad I found you B. I'm gonna go again soon so I can buy more DVDs!!

the life aquatic

Actually the movie's called The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. It's directed by Wes Anderson, the man who did Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. I actually saw 2 other movies last weekend, In Good Company (directed by Paul Weitz) and The Notebook (by Nick Cassavetes), both are worth your money and time, but I'm just gonna write about The Life Aquatic today.
I've been a long time admirer of Wes Anderson. With Bottle Rocket, you can definitely see a potentially beautiful flower blooming, and with Rushmore, it is definitely in full bloom. The Royal Tenenbaums saw him broadening and deepening his usual concerns. And with this new film, I can safely say that Mr Wes is broadening his pallette even more by injecting elements that are hitherto unheard of in his previous films.
If you've never seen a Wes Anderson film, I suggest you start with Rushmore, a film that, IMHO, is just perfect in every way. You can't add anything more nor can you take away anything. It was done just right.
Back to The Life Aquatic. As usual, Mr Wes tells the same kind of story he always tells i.e. the story of a character with a serious character flaw, which is that he is actually a 'failure' of some sort, which deep down inside he might realise, but tries to cover it up with 'success', or at least his petty idea about what 'success' is. And throughout the films you'll get to see how the character come to terms with this flaw in their character, and how they open themselves up and accept what they need to accept and change what needs changing. Owen Wilson played this character in Bottle Rocket, and Jason Schwartzman perfected it in Rushmore, with Gene Hackman refining it in The Royal Tenenbaums. In this movie, the great Bill Murray gets a shot at playing this character, to hilarious and heartbreaking effect, I must add.
As usual with Mr Wes' movies, I can never get the courage to laugh so much during the first viewing, simply because like it or not his stories always have this tinge of sadness and regret just hovering in the air. Only after you've seen them the first time, therefore knowing what happens to the characters in the end, will you have the courage to laugh when you see them again, because only then can you assure yourself that it's okay to laugh. I saw The Royal Tenenbaums twice on VCD before I saw it in the cinema. And by that time I was laughing so hard in the cinema, I'm sure the other patrons found me annoying.
This trend looks set to continue with The Life Aquatic. I hope it'll make it here to our cinemas. The widescreen compositions are just so gorgeous, it would be a sin not to see it in the cinema. Plus, I already laughed quite a lot during my first viewing. So that's definitely a very good sign.
So folks, go see it. You can easily find DVDs or VCDs of this wonderful film at your favourite pirate ship. So go buy it already and treat yourself to a very special film, and thank our lucky stars that we might just have our very own Hal Ashby in Mr Wes Anderson. Two words to sum up the movie: "Hilarious heartbreak."
Rating: 8 1/2 out of 10 stars

clown jewels

Thank god for HVN (Home Video Network, for any of youse guys unfamiliar with buying original VCDs or DVDs. Shame on you! He he). If not for them, I wouldn't have had to dig deep inside my pockets to buy stacks of Jerry Lewis films, and now the Marx Brothers' films. Thank you so much for having the good sense to bring in these movies.

I've already written about The Nutty Professor earlier. So I won't be talking about Jerry Lewis, although I've already seen Cinderfella, The Geisha Boy and The Bellboy, all of 'em Jerry Lewis movies. Instead I'll be writing about Duck Soup and Animal Crackers, 2 Marx Bros movies already in the market here in Malaysia.

I've never seen any Marx Bros films before, so I didn't know what to expect when I bought Duck Soup. All I know is that they're comedians from a long lost era, i.e when people still appreciate slapstick and in turn the slapstick is done with more thought and planning into it than you might think is possible. I put on the VCD and saw Groucho making his entrance into the film. His dialogue is delivered incredibly fast, and the audio, due to it being a 70 plus year old film is terrible and hard to decipher. I didn't laugh much. Have I just wasted my hard earned cash here, I thought. Then came Chico and Harpo. Suddenly the movie springs to life and I was I rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. Suddenly I realised I hit jackpot. Harpo was brilliant. Chico was not as funny as Harpo, but still funnier than Groucho. But I was just amazed at the insanity and lunacy of the film. If there's one word that could sum up the Marx Bros' appeal, it's their lunacy and healthy appetite for anarchic physical and verbal comedy.

Then I saw Animal Crackers. By now I realised that each Marx carries their own persona into each film. Harpo is always silent, and is the most 'physical' of the lot in his comedy. And believe me, he is absolutely bonkers!! Chico has this Italian-Jewish accent thing. And Groucho delivers some the most silly, clever, and sometimes brilliant put-downs you'll ever hear. And the script is full of puns. Some you'll catch and make you laugh, some you'll miss and maybe catch later during subsequent viewings. Examples:

Groucho: "One day I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How it got into my pyjamas, I don't know."

Groucho:"And then I saw a moose. Ah.. the moose. What a splendid creature. I bet you don't know what a moose is. It's those little things running on the floor that's fond of cheese. Yes, the moose."

One character shouts: "Three cheers for Capt. Spaulding! Three cheers for Capt. Spaulding!"
And then Harpo comes in with 3 chairs to give to Capt. Spaulding.

Both films are full of these kinds of moments. Depending on who you are, you may or may not like it. I can definitely say I like it, even love it. But my best friend's really annoyed by them. Well, we all have our choices. Boo!

Anyway, support HVN and go buy these films. The pirates are definitely fantastic in bringing some fantastic films to our very own homes. But HVN is definitely catching up fast.

Rating: Duck Soup (8 out of 10)
Animal Crackers (7 out of 10)

your favourite directors?

Another long overdue post. Been busy with work and making plans for Couple. I can almost surely announce here that for you people lucky enough to get a hold of the limited early edition of Punk Rock For Sissies, those CDs are almost certain to be the only ones that will ever be sold. We only made about 50 copies earlier. So depending on our mood that amount might be increased to 100 copies. But after that, it'll be gone. What will we do with the tapes? After all, we did spend a bit of money recording them. All I can say for now is, you'll see.

Bought a copy of The Life Aquatic on DVD yesterday. Was shocked to see that it's a pristine DVD quality copy, only with words saying that it's the property of some company on the screen. My dear pirates, you definitely never cease to amaze me with your resourcefulness. Still haven't seen it though. Spent last night being disappointed by the lazy Malaysian football players who seem to easily give up. C'mon guys, show more balls!!

Back to The Life Aquatic. Can't wait to see it. In case you guys didn't know, it's directed by Wes Anderson, the man behind Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. I can definitely say, that from the 90s, he's the only director that I would call my favourite. Why? Because like the great Hal Ashby, his movies are always just perfect. Never more, never less. Tarantino? He's good, but sometimes too flashy for his own good. Paul Thomas Anderson, well Magnolia was a triumph, but his others are still not endearing enough to make him my favourite.
Lars Von Trier, maybe. Up till Breaking The Waves, he was absolutely mesmerising. After that, okay lor.

So people. Why don't you leave comments after you read this and tell me who your favourite directors are. Here's my top 3:

1. John Cassavetes
2. Samuel Fuller
3. Hal Ashby

Why these 3? Because John Cassavetes is obsessed with dissecting 'love' (why? - because, in his own words :- People always need a philosophy. "Philos" in Greek means love. "Ophy" means a study of something. So 'philosophy' is a study of love. That's all I'm interested in. That is love), and his films say so much and show so much on how to behave decently towards other people and towards each other. Because Samuel Fuller is the greatest moralist ever to make great films. Because Hal Ashby's films have a tenderness and truth that you can't find anywhere else. And finally because all 3 have incredible command of their technique and what they want to convey with it.

Why no Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppolla or Orson Welles? Because Brian De Palma and even prime Spielberg (i.e. his commercial pop films like E.T and A.I) are more of a master than both Scorsese and Coppolla combined, and Alfred Hitchcock, Nicholas Ray and Billy Wilder deserve more respect than Welles, and even these people can't get into my top 3. Not even the great Charles Chaplin, Satyajit Ray, Yasujiro Ozu or Truffaut can do so.

So there it is folks. My top 3. C'mon, tell me yours. I'll be waiting.

the horror, the horror

Hey folks. It's been a while since I last updated this blog. Well, work has truly been terrible. So much that I don't even want to type anything other than what I have to at work.

Anyway, last weekend I went to Berjaya Times Square to see The Polar Express at the new IMAX cinema there. Guess what, a lot of the DVD pirates there are selling DVD5s at RM10 for 3 pieces! So I simply went nuts and bought a whole lot of stuff then and there. I bought mostly horror films like Poltergeist, The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original one) and The Return of the Living Dead.

I watched The Exorcist last weekend and thought it was a fantastic piece of anarchic 70's Hollywood cinema. But last night I watched The Return of the Living Dead with very low expectations, and was duly rewarded with one of the most entertaining films I've seen in recent memory.

If horror-comedy is your cup of tea, then this could be the very best example you could find. The comedy part is especially hilarious. Observe these lines:

Girl#1: I find death so fascinating. What about you?
Guy: Sure, but I like sex and death. What about you?
Girl#2: Yeah sure I like sex & death, so fuck off & die!!

Guy#1: How do we kill the zombies?
Guy#2: What did they do in the movie... they destroyed their brains, right?
Guy#1 & #3: Yeah, let's do it.
The guys hit the zombie's head and brains... the zombie's still moving.
Guy#2: It's still not dead!
Guy#1: But I hit his brain! Like in the movie!
Guy#3: You mean the movie lied?

He he. Hilarious isn't it? That's just a few things I can remember now. Like a character named Frank who shouts every single line of his (after his first encounter with a zombie) like a shrieking scaredy-cat lunatic. Might not sound funny now. But you hear how he does it, you'll howl for sure. But I'm very sure that guys will love this movie. There's even one female character who's buck naked for almost the whole movie! I'm telling you, watch this. Even your girlfriend has a good chance of enjoying it.
(Rating: 7 1/2 out of 10)

fantasy football

Hey guys. Been quite busy these last few weeks. Saw a lot of films, but kinda lazy to review them, so I'll talk about my latest craze, Fantasy Football.

I've always wanted to play it, free of course, but don't know where. Only found out about Yahoo's free Fantasy Football game 2 or 3 weeks into the new football season. So, by then I can't put my favourite midfield 'hard man', Thomas Gravesen of Everton in my team 'cause by the time I signed up for the game he's already so expensive (because of his excellent performances), I think he'd cost about 46 million pounds or something, almost half the transfer budget of 100 million pounds given to set up my whole team. Thank god Frank Lampard was still cheap then. So in the end I got Frank Lampard, Shaun-Wright Philips, Muzzy Izzet and Patrick Vieira as my midfielders. Decent point winners there.

Ledley King, John Terry, Jlloyd Samuel and Ashley Cole are my Defenders. All regular first team players and decent point winners. At first I got Collins John and Jermaine Defoe (yup, I'm a Spurs fan!!) as my Strikers, but now that Wayne Rooney's back and dirt cheap (only 1 million pounds if you get him today like I did), I got him in place of Collins John. Wowee, I can't wait for the wonderboy to start winning me mega-points after this. Just look at that hattrick against Fenerbahce. Please Sir Alex, play that goddamn kid every week.

My biggest headache is in the goalkeeping department. At first I wanted to get Robert Green, but since the season's already underway I can't afford to get him anymore, too expensive. So I went for Tim Howard, who's kinda cheap since he's been making blunder after blunder this season. But right now he's not playing at all!! So for 2 weeks now I didn't get any points from the goalkeeping department. All the other first choice goalkeepers are so pricey I can't afford them right now. I know that Tim Howard's a very good goalkeeper, but do I keep him and keep losing points or stick by him and hope he'll return to Man U's first team ASAP and kick ass and win me a whole lot of points? Aaarghh, what a dilemma!!

Comments or advice anyone? I need 'em. It's hard being a manager isn't it?

lazybones

Been lazy these last couple of weeks. It's exactly one month since I last updated this blog!! So, have to do something at least.

A lot happened the past month. Ramzi, the original bassist for my band, Couple, went to the UK to do his Masters. Felt quite sad, am definitely gonna miss him and his goofy poses on stage. His little brother, Syukri is now our bassist, did well on our last 2 gigs at Kit Kat Club and Paul's Place.

Finished recording the 10 songs we wanted to do in a proper recording studio. Only 9 hours spent to record the whole damn thing!! Sounds pretty cool, I think. At first we wanted to straight away send it to the factory to be pressed, but an email from Not Lame Recordings asking us to send some stuff to them put all that pro-printing DIY release plan on hold for a while. If it was Sony Malaysia or EMI Malaysia or any other label, we'd have definitely gone through with our DIY plan. But Not Lame is a dream I've long had. Yes, it's only a tiny American indie label that no one's heard of. But for a power pop geek like me, to even be thought of to be possible candidates to be on the same stable with bands like The Shazam, The Rooks, Myracle Brah, Cherry Twister and Michael Carpenter is an opportunity too good to pass. We might not get it after all, but at least Not Lame's boss himself sent an email to me, expressing his interest. That's already pretty damn close to an orgasm!!! He he. Will keep you updated on that.

Did the Pet Projects launch party last weekend. I think it went pretty well. Early birds received a free Pet Projects button. Felt proud of the bands under the Pet Projects gang. Lucy In the Loo and Bittersweet both released their debut EPs that day. Sounded sweet too. Wished Free Love could've made the deadline as well. Their debut EP will be out sometime in the future. Couple released a limited early edition of our debut album, with some outtakes and 'crappy' versions included as hidden tracks. Hope the people who bought it are happy. It's truly a limited edition. Only 50 copies. 33 gone during the gig. So, very few left. Don't know if I have enough to satisfy all the 'bookings' by friends. If not, sorry guys.

Saw quite a few good movies, and one or 2 great ones last month. But I'll write about that later. Cheers!!

random random

Hi guys!! Check out www.nighttimes.com. There's a review of my band's last demo cd, Listening To The Pop there. And it's a pretty good review too, on an American internet magazine! I hope it will open doors for us overseas, as I've long dreamt of getting Couple (my band) released on a pop label that I love like Not Lame Recordings, Parasol or Spinart. Thank you so much Mr Kevin Mathews for reviewing our humble little demo CD!!

We're now attempting to record our stuff properly in a proper studio. A mixture of old and new stuff. Will be in the studio again tonight to brush up on a few songs and re-record one song. Maybe even add another new song, if we have the time, and the mood!! So far, the rough mixes sound promising. I hope we'll manage to pull it off.

Saw Pickup On South Street by Samuel Fuller last week. Finally got the DVD. I saw it once before, but on a really crummy video tape where I can't even hear most of the dialogue properly. But now, thanks to Criterion, I'm finally able to see it in a glorious print, with glorious sound and subtitles as well. And what a little wonder of a film it is. It's got a film noir type set-up and story, but it's interest in the humanity of the main characters, who are all 'crooks' is thoroughly touching. The characters, one's a pickpocket, one's a stool pigeon (i.e. informer), a 'broad' (might or might not be a hooker), are so human, so real, you cannot help but care about them. And the performances are simply outstanding, especially by Thelma Ritter as Moe, the stoolie. This is one film I'm destined to watch over and over again. Tough as nails and tender in equal amounts.
Rating: 9 out of 10.

Also watched Far From Heaven again last weekend. Broke my heart all over again when the breakup scene came. That scene never fails to choke me. Never!! When Dennis Haysbert's character said to Julianne Moore's character, "Have a proud life. Have a splendid life.", it is simply one of the most heartbreaking moments in all of cinema, I think. You folks really have to see this movie if you haven't. It might be an homage to 1950's style melodrama, but the emotional truth is never dated. I've always loved this movie and thought highly of it. But now, after seeing it again, I think it has now knocked the door on my list of favourite films of all time, right up there with films like City Lights, Breaking The Waves, Shadows, Husbands, Rushmore, The 400 Blows, Apur Sansar and Tokyo Story. Movie heaven indeed.
Rating: 9 out of 10

salam cinema

Another post long overdue. Again, work has been hellish, but fun. More challenge. More hearings, more trials coming up. It should get more interesting in the next few months. But, enough of work. I saw The Nutty Professor last week. The original one, written, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It wasn't that funny. In fact, as a comedy, I think it failed most of the time. Only managed to wring 3 or 4 hard laughs out of me. But strangely, as 'cinema', I think it's pretty good!!

Now why would I say that? One reason why I checked it out was that Jean-Luc Godard put it in his list of the Top 10 films of the year when it came out. And if I'm not mistaken, that list included people like Robert Bresson, Howard Hawks and Alain Resnais. If you check Jonathan Rosenbaum's 100 most important American films list, you'll also find The Nutty Professor there, along with works such as The Wrong Man, Pickup On South Street and The Phenix City Story. Now these are no light company to be with.

So I checked it out, and found that 'the clown', Mr Jerry Lewis, might have had higher aspirations than we think he's capable of. The comedy is of course quite a lot of shots of him pulling faces, and that is definitely NOT funny. But the film has this unexpected dramatic tone which is frankly quite disturbing, especially the whole thing about the split personality. Never mind that, but the most outstanding thing about it is the many moments that a simple little shot, or simply an elaborate one, left my jaw on the floor admiring the care and thought put into achieving them. Like Truffaut once said, normally it's hard to find even one outstanding moment of invention in a whole film. But in The Nutty Professor, you'll find quite a few. Believe me.

My only complaint - after about 2/3 into the film, Mr Lewis seemed to run out of ideas visually and things just looked normal.

However, if you do want to check it out, just remember that it is a 'bad movie'. Only, quite illogically, it somehow turned out to be 'good cinema'. Talk about oxymorons!!
Rating: Movie = 4 out of 10; Cinema = 7 out of 10

the great singapore trip

Been a while since my last post. Work has been quite hellish. It kinda sucks being the most junior lawyer in your firm as you just get the most 'rotten' and 'hopeless' of files dumped on you for you to deal with. And that does suck, big time!

Went to Singapore about 2 weeks ago to play the Baybeats Festival at the Esplanade with my band. Still get 'visions' of that wonderful trip from time to time. It was just so lovely, going to play in a different country, with your good friends. Our first trip together, and it was dreamy.

Our show was more than we could've asked for. We played on Sunday, 18/7/2004 at 8.00pm. I heard complaints from other bands about how the monitors suck, or could be better. As for me, the whole band in fact, we just LOVED the fact that we can now, for the first time ever in our quite long career as performers, totally hear ourselves on the monitors clearly. I could clearly hear my voice AND my guitar! Usually it's either one or the other, most often it would be the latter leaving me just gambling and hoping that I'd sing in tune. But not during Baybeats!! So from our point of view it was already excellent.

Then came the crowd reception during our performance, which surprised the hell out of me, and is most definitely a delight to everyone in the band. The crowd cheered, clapped, applauded, smiled, laughed, some sang along, there was even a guy right up front who danced all the way through our set. I then spent about an hour plus after the show just talking to people who came up to say hi or congratulate or buy CDs or ask for autographs!! Almost everyone who came up said that they loved the fact that we sounded so different and so fresh from everything else now. Which kinda of baffles me, but also made sense because no one seemed to WANT to play pop songs anymore right now, especially in Malaysia. So it was definitely a night to remember. We got paid $200 Sing. So $50 for each band member, which meant I had more money to buy DVDs & VCDs!! More about that later.

Stayed at a backpacker's hostel. Cheap too. And filled with beautiful, half naked, tourists walking around with not a care in the world!! It's at a great location to boot. Mamak downstairs, shopping mall & MRT station across the street, bus stop right in front, 7-eleven round the corner, in short it was pretty easy to get around. The soundcheck on Sunday practically robbed a whole day's worth of wandering around. But I did find some great DVD, CD & VCD places. Bought 5 DVDs, Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss, Night and Fog in Japan, Giants & Toys, Band of Outsiders. Also bought 2 VCDs, Divine Intervention & The 400 Blows. Blew a big hole in my pocket, but definitely worth it. I only bought Last Days Of April's latest CD during Baybeats, but it's good. And finally got to buy Love's best of compilation at a 50% discount at Borders, which was a sweet deal.

Wish I'm there right now, wandering the streets. Will definitely go there again in the near future. Hope we'll get invited for another show there, which is a possibility, since I made quite a lot of new friends there. Anyway, till my next post, ta!

movies - double reviews

Watched a lot of movies last week and the week before. So to save time & space, I'll do double reviews!! Here we go.

THE TERMINAL vs. KITCHEN STORIES
The Terminal was directed by Steven Spielberg. You know who he is. Kitchen Stories was directed by Bent Hamer. When I saw Riddick a couple of weeks back, the trailer for The Terminal showed and needless to say I was very excited to see it. From the looks of the trailer it might just be one of my favourite films this year. Despite it being a nice enough film, I can't say that it will be in my top 10 list come the end of this year. Why? Just see Kitchen Stories, a little film from Sweden (I think, or maybe Norway), and you'll see what Spielberg was trying to do with The Terminal and why I think he didn't get it right. If you've seen the trailer or even read a bit about the film, you'll know that Spielberg was trying to do a 'little film' with a little bit of quirkiness and a large dose of humanity thrown in. The film's sweet, funny, human (yes!), but yet you feel there's something missing. I just think he didn't nail the various tones and moods needed to pull it off exactly right. With these kind of films, I think, you either nail it and make a wonderful small miracle, or you end up halfway there, leaving something missing. As for Kitchen Stories, all I can say is, go see it. It has an ingeniously clever idea as a set up, and it takes its own sweet time to tell its story. Just hang in there and after about 15-20 minutes, you'll be hooked, and you will marvel at the simplicity and economy of its storytelling, and how the director gave you just enough to make your own conclusions and observations (it's a film about 'observation', in the most literal sense of the word), without shoving anything down your throat. It's truly a little wonder of a film. Love it!!
Rating: The Terminal (6 1/2 out of 10); Kitchen Stories (8 out of 10)

JIANG HU vs. ENTER THE PHOENIX
The future looks bright for Hong Kong cinema. Wong Ching Po (director of Jiang Hu) and Stephen Fung (director of Enter The Phoenix) are both incredibly young to be film directors of such great confidence. But you've got to hand it to them, they ARE good. Jiang Hu tells a story that's nothing new. It has some sort of a 'twist', but 3/4 into the film, you can kinda see it already. But all that does not matter, because Jiang Hu, first and foremost, is a visually exciting film, where the director is willing to do anything to make the shots and scenes look good. Example? In one scene where 2 people are dining facing each other on a long table, you'll suddenly realise that the background seem to be moving and you'll realise the only way this shot will be possible is for the table to be placed on a wheeled ramp that is moved around. Why go to such trouble, you ask? Isn't it unrealistic? Well, why not? It looks beautiful, so why not? Now that's only one of many fancy camera moves and shots in the film. The massacre at the end of the film is absolutely gorgeous. Shot in the rain and in slo-mo, it rivals some of Wong Kar Wai's most poetic moments. And this guy doesn't even have a Christopher Doyle to help him!! I eagerly await Mr Wong Ching Po's next film, that's for sure. As for Enter The Phoenix, it's also interesting visually, but it's winning point is in the flawless shifts in tone between a normal gangster film, and a spoof of a gangster film. The humor is absolutely hilarious most of the time. My favourite? Karen Mok asks Edison Chen since when did he knew that he was gay. Flashback: We see a doctor holding a thermometer and a young boy's bum in one shot, then pan to the boy's face while the doctor sticks the thermometer up the boy's ass, we see the boy with a satisfied and cheeky smile. Hilarious!! After Tsui Hark and John Woo being gone to Hollywood, it seems like the only hope for Hong Kong cinema would be Johnnie To and the Milkyway Image gang (apart from Wong Kar Wai and Fruit Chan, that is). But here we have now, 2 bright young directors, with a style and personality of their own. Let's hope the money men won't corrupt them.
Rating: Jiang Hu (8 out of 10); Enter The Phoenix (7 out of 10)

rubbish on the radio

Hey there folks! Haven't updated the blog for more than a week now. Got lots of stuff to tell you guys. But first, I'll be organising a gig called 'rubbish on the radio' this coming Saturday. Here are the details:

Date: Saturday, 10th July 2004
Venue: Paul's Place, Uptown (very near to the Kedai Telekom)
Time: Doors open at 4pm
Cover: RM10
Bands playing:

COUPLE
My own band. Kick ass power pop to rock sama lu punya ass!! Think The Beatles meets The Beach Boys meets The Who, and you'll get there eventually.

FREE LOVE
Indie rock darlings from Ipoh. Beloved by both the hip crowd and the 'normal' ones.

BONELESS MAHONEY
Geek rock obsessed band from Gopeng. They used to be mad about Weezer and The Rentals. Lately they seem to be mad about Ozma. Plus I hear they're now singing in Bahasa Malaysia!!

LUCY IN THE LOO
If you happen to like Letters To Cleo and the Josie & The Pussycats movie soundtrack, don't miss this band. Indie pop/rock from Bangi with a female singer. Always a plus with anyone!! And, the singer's got a great voice!!

THE COFFEESHOP
Pop kids from KL & Kajang. Ramzi's brother is the bassist here.

D_VA
I know, kinda lame name. But don't be shocked if you see them in URTV or Mangga anytime soon, 'cause these guys (with a girl singer) have the potential to be big. Indie pop sung in Malay.

NADIA'S PICTURE SHOW
My current favourite local underground Malay language band. Imagine Indo rock tampered a bit with emo stylings. Plus the singer's voice reminds me of Gigi's singer.

RETURN TO FALL
A last minute addition from Singapore. Haven't heard their music, but since they'll be in town and asked to play, I thought, why not? I heard the singer's from Denmark, so a Mat Salleh's presence could always help with the hipster crowd. Plus people say that they play dreamy indie pop, so that shouldn't be so bad.

So, my dear flock of sheep. Why don't you get off your usual diet of The Rasmus and give these bands a try. I assure you, this is prime ass I'm talking about here, if these bands were a girl. So come on down and say hi to me later. Ta!!

'13 going on 30' film review

Saw this movie last night. Saw the trailer a couple of times on other movies' DVDs and thought I'd give it a try. What a surprise it was. I was expecting some kind of dumb comedy, as the trailer surely presented it as one. But it's quite a pleasant little movie. The story, in capsule, is about a 13 year old girl who on her 13th birthday wished she was 30 (Why 30, you ask? Because before that she read an article in a Cleo-like magazine titled "Thirty, flirty and..." something, which was kind of funny). The next thing she knows she woke up as a 30 year old.

The movie could've easily played with this fish-out-of-water situation to comic effect, but surprisingly, after about 20 plus mostly unfunny opening minutes, it settles into a romantic drama mode, with some serious meditation on the kind of values that we young people of today have practically forgotten. What other recent adult or teen movie has its main character saying this to her mom, "I'm sorry I missed last year's Christmas"? With all us young people striving to be more and more 'independent', some of us HAVE neglected to realise the importance and value of family. The importance of being decent human beings towards each other, and even other people. These are only some of the things that this nice little film took the time to let us ponder about.

Yes, it doesn't 'flag' these things or say them out loud, but they're definitely there, if only you'd care enough to look. I won't go so far as to pronounce it as a 'very good' film. But a 'good' film it certainly is. The director, Gary Winick (of Tadpole, which I haven't seen), nails most of the film just right, except for the opening 15 to 20 minutes when the film can't seem to decide what it wants to be.

But the biggest plaudits must go to the 2 lead actors, Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. They just have such a fantastic chemistry together. And they acted out their parts wonderfully, especially Ruffalo. I've been impressed with this guy ever since I saw 'You Can Count On Me'. Which now, come to think of it, the latter part of this film, i.e. after the opening 15 to 20 minutes, definitely has a similar tone to You Can Count On Me.

Closing statement? I came in expecting a dumb comedy of sporadic entertainment. I left feeling entertained and at the same time feeling that it's money worth spending. I also felt glad that I saw it. At least it made me think about a few things that I might have taken for granted before. (7 out of 10)

fringe directors

I saw 3 new films by people I'd call 'fringe directors', i.e. directors who have never really been given much attention in critical circles. Some of these directors make decent box office, some don't even have a good box office record. Examples from the past would be people like Jacques Tourneur, Samuel Fuller, Edgar G. Ulmer, Robert Aldrich, Nicholas Ray (at least not until Cahiers Du Cinema started giving them the ink they deserve) and many others. So here are the films reviewed.

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK
Directed by David Twohy. I'm sad to say that of all the David Twohy films that I've seen, this is surely the weakest. It is quite simply incomprehensible. I've been an admirer of his ever since I saw Pitch Black and The Arrival, both are films with lean and mean scripts, executed with such dogged determination that they become elegantly intelligent cinema despite the genre limitations. Even the submarine flick, Below, was a unique genre picture. But Riddick, I think, is a victim of a big budget and probably the director's own ambition to craft his own space opera in the vein of Star Wars. The surprise success of Pitch Black surely convinced the Universal executives to greenlight this grand project, that is as ambitious as Lord Of The Rings, in its attempt to create a universe all its own. But LOTR had a legendary book as its source, and millions of devotees who'd already known that world beforehand. To try and do it with only a little seen film (Pitch Black) as a source is simply too ambitious for its own good. Somewhere within the first 10 minutes of the film is a scene that people who hasn't seen Pitch Black will find difficult to understand. Hell, even the whole story about Jack/Kyra will baffle those who've never seen Pitch Black. I won't even try to sum up the story for you, as it is pretty bewildering even for a Pitch Black fanboy like me. Let's just hope that he gets a chance to correct this with another instalment in the story of Riddick. (5 out of 10)

MINDHUNTERS
Directed by Renny Harlin. Do you like Renny Harlin? I think I do. At least I've enjoyed most of his films, except for Driven, which was kind of bad. But Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and most of all Deep Blue Sea, I enjoyed a lot. So here comes a new film, starring some pretty young things plus Christian Slater, Val Kilmer and LL Cool J. It's about a group of trainee FBI profilers sent for training on an island where they discover that they're being hunted and killed and need to figure out who the killer is pronto!! It's a fairly simple and predictable premise, but it sure does kick a lot of ass doing it. There are some very imaginative death scenes worthy of the first Final Destination. And the final showdown employs the already done to death Matrix-style bullet time effect, except here it seems logical and will blow your mind away!! And be prepared too, cause Renny just loves pulling a Deep Blue Sea on us viewers (remember how Samuel L Jackson was one of the first ones who died and surprised the hell out of us in Deep Blue Sea?). So folks, just turn your logic brains off and enjoy a spectacular ride, courtesy of Mr Harlin. (7 out of 10)

TIPTOES
Directed by Matthew Bright, who previously did Freeway, Freeway 2, and Bundy. I read that the director disowned this film when it played at Sundance, as he claimed that he was fired by the producers after shooting wrapped and never got to finish the film. I loved his previous films for being fearless and inventive in playing with the themes they're tackling. Freeway was basically a modern retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, and Freeway 2 was a modern retelling of Hansel & Gretel. They're thematically audacious films with scenes that will disturb your mind long after you've seen them. I was very surprised with this film because of its gentle spirit. It's about Steven (Matthew McConaughey) who's in a serious relationship with Kate Beckinsale, who's now pregnant with his baby. What she doesn't know is that Steven has a twin brother named Rolfe (Gary Oldman) who's a dwarf, and that his parents are also dwarves. This is a romantic drama, with a little bit of comedy thrown in, so I was very relieved that the obligatory 'crisis' among the lovebirds does not involve the girl being freaked out, then breaking off the relationship, and finally learning that dwarves are humans too. That would've made me turn off the movie in a heartbeat. But the 'crisis' is with Steven, who grew up amongst the 'little people', and knows first hand what that would entail, mentally and physically. Yes, the screenplay sometimes feel like a class in understanding the basic things about dwarves, but I think as a whole, the script is sensibly written, and the direction wonderfully direct. The film moves to logical and sensible conclusions, and has a generosity of spirit that I think is quite rare today. This film was totally trashed by the Sundance crowd, but I understand why. It is not 'hip', nowhere near 'edgy', it is just a simple story well told. But I love it. And I think this is Matthew Bright's brightest moment yet (excuse the pun!). I saw it yesterday and it definitely made my day. You should too. (8 out of 10)

merry christmas mr zwigoff - 'bad santa' film review

After such a long wait, I finally got to see this film i.e. Peter the Pirate has finally got hold of a copy of its DVD!! Thank god they got it, for this film, along with Matchstick Men, The Station Agent, Mystic River, PTU and a few others I can't list off the top of my head, is certainly one of the best films of last year.

But no, don't run yet. This is in no way a 'slow' movie. Unless you're so PC you get easily offended in case someone says "fuck-stick" or "cocksucker", this movie will entertain you in ways you can't possibly imagine. The script, I simply can't praise enough. It's very, very vulgar, yes. But I howled so much with laughter, I sometimes feel ashamed of myself for doing it. You can't even count how many times the word 'fuck' is used in the film. I assure you, you'll lose count after 10 minutes or so into the film. And what they do with the characters is simply fearless. Lauren Graham (the hot mom in Gilmore Girls, and FYI, is still HOT here), for example plays a bartender who has a Santa fetish that when she shags Santa (Billy Bob Thornton), she makes him wear his Santa hat whilst screaming "Fuck me Santa! Fuck me Santa!" repeatedly!! Santa himself does so many outrageous things, you'll be wondering why in the hell do you think all these things are funny. Example? Well, he tends to piss his pants quite a lot. I know, is that funny? Well wait till you see the movie and then you tell me.

So some of the stars you already know. The director is Terry Zwigoff (of 'Crumb' and 'Ghost World' fame). The script is by the guys who last wrote 'Cats & Dogs'. I know!! Cats & Dogs!! But this one's so good, I'm already tempted to see 'Cats & Dogs' again just to see what I've missed.

The story? It's about 2 criminals whose M.O. every year is to pose as Santa and one of his elves in a department store and then rob it when everyone goes home for the holidays. Santa then encounters one troubled kid who may or may not teach him a thing or two about Christmas. So the story sounds normal enough. But believe me, even the most potentially cliched things, like what makes the kid so troubled and fucked up, is presented with humility, freshness and surprise without a single ounce of the schmaltz we've come to expect from movies of this kind. For me this film is truly a perfect example of when "art" and "commerce" goes hand in hand in perfect complement of each other.

I loved every single thing about the movie. It may be, for the most part, 'mean-spirited' or 'nasty' or 'vulgar', but just when you are about to make up your mind on that, it reveals its spirit and its humanity to you. And you'll love it more after that.
I can't recommend this film high enough. But do yourself a favour and see it. A fucked up darling, that's what I'd call it. (9 out of 10 stars)

'miracle' film review

Saw the film "Miracle", of all things, last night. I know. A lot of you must be scratching your heads, asking, why? It's a Disney movie, so that's usually not a good sign. It's a sports movie, another worrying sign. That's why I was wary at first too. But I read somewhere that this film's getting a 2-disc DVD release. It's not a huge money maker like LXG, or Bad Boys 2, or T3. It's not a critically acclaimed film like Pulp Fiction or anything like that. So there must be something special about it to warrant a release like that. So I checked it out.

First of all, the director is Gavin O Connor, who last did the film 'Tumbleweeds'. And the lead actor is Kurt Russell, who gives a fantastic performance that should've at least won him some sort of acting nomination. I'm not sure what year this film is released in, but if it's 2004, I hope he gets an acting nod in the next Oscars. It would be a shame if he didn't.

The story? It's about the miraculous feat of the 1980 USA Olympics Ice Hockey team beating the Soviets in the semi-finals and later winning the gold. Smell the cheese anyone? I can definitely tell you one thing, this film is so unhip, it hurts. But you'll be surprised how good it is if you see it.

First of all, I think the filmmakers did a little bit of pre-flashing on the negative of the film before shooting because the film has this very authentic washed out look of the late 70s and early 80s films. Sometimes the colours look normal, but more often than not, this muted look is what you'll get. There are no fancy camera moves, but plenty of handheld ones to make it a bit more realistic. I definitely like the 'look' of the film.

The most surprising thing is that the films chose to focus on the coach, Herb (played by Kurt Russell). The players are all young, good looking guys, but the film chose to not dwell in who they are, or what their problems are, thus evading cliches like winning the final = winning back girlfriend, or winning the final = proving to everyone that you're not a dweeb, or winning the final = getting money to fund your terminally ill little brother's operation. Another ballsy move by the filmmakers.

The next thing is, THERE ARE NO VILLAINS!! The Soviet players are not bad guys (in any sense of the word, be it bullies or whatever), they are just another opponent. Even the hysteria (and political and emotional weight) surrounding the US team's dream run to the Gold medal is played down. It is strictly about the coach, and his obsession to build a TEAM. And that's it. If you ask me, that is pretty radical and ballsy in films like this.

You can even say that this film is actually a sort of character study on the coach, which I think is brilliantly done, because he is NEVER presented as a hero. He's obsessed with getting what he wants, can be very insensitive (even to his wife!!), and even downright cruel. You do get a well rounded character here, and as I said before, Kurt Russell is amazing here. You believe him 100%. The film IS centered around him and he carries it effortlessly.

My only complaints are the over-enthusiastic score, the little bit more effort that could be made to acquaint us with the players, and the sometimes pedestrian cinematography, especially during the training and the hockey games.

But all in all, a good movie with a fantastic performance that's worth checking out. 3 out of 4 stars.

public private wish

Sorry folks, someone's away and can't check their email, so this should've been private message is going public. Yeah, baby!! Yeah!!

My DVD wish list:

CRITERION COLLECTION DVDs
1. The Adventures of Antoine Doinel Box Set.
2. Beauty and the Beast (Black & White film, NOT the cartoon version)
3. Tokyo Story
4. Shock Corridor
5. The Naked Kiss
6. Pickup On South Street
7. Ali: Fear Eats The Soul
8. Mr Hulot's Holiday
9. Mon Oncle
10. Band of Outsiders
11. Down By Law

JOHN CASSAVETES DIRECTED MOVIES
1. Shadows
2. Faces
3. Husbands
4. Minnie & Moskowitz
5. A Woman Under The Influence
6. Gloria (NOT the one starring Sharon Stone. This one stars Gena Rowlands)
7. Opening Night
8. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
9. Love Streams

NORMAL, NON-CRITERION DVDs
1. Waking Life (it's an animated movie)
2. Fat City (directed by John Huston, starring Stacy Keach)
3. Divine Intervention (Palestinian film, directed by Elia Sulaiman)
4. American Movie (a documentary directed by Chris Smith)

My CD wish list:

1. GUIDED BY VOICES - Do The Collapse
2. CANDY BUTCHERS - Hang On Mike
3. CANDY BUTCHERS - Play With Your Head
3. SUGARBOMB - Bully

That's all, love. I doubt you'll find even one of the titles I listed above but, should you find more than one, I'll leave it up to you to pick out which one (or 2, or 3, or more!! He he!!) You know better when it comes to budgeting. Anyway, take care over there and buy me lots of stuff from this wish list!!! Ta!

BTW guys, that's the end of the private message right there. So if any of youse guys have some spare cash and want to buy me something, just look at the list above. I look forward to receiving some nice gifts from admiring fans. Ta!!