At the start of the year I rather dramatically sold about 400 DVDs, I thought this would be a tough decision, but it was surprisingly easy. In short shift thereafter I gave notice on my job as a baker and my flatshare in Cardiff so I could move to Brighton. This was an unexpectedly sudden move on my part, though I had been accepted onto a MA at Sussex University it wasn't due to start until September and I thought I'd move later in the year. However, I found a house that appealed and took a risk...
So, on the 24th January I moved to Brighton, and on my second night there got extremely drunk and fell asleep in the pub. Drunkeness would be a large part of my time in Brighton. In the first week of living there I got a job in a coffee shop, started going to the University's creative writing society, began assisting at after school writing classes for primary school children and saw a gig by the excellent Cardiff based band Threatmantics; bumped into then guitarist Ceri whilst walking back from buying some shoes and thus went straight to a pub and I had to spend the evening with a pair of shoes tied to my belt. It was a good look.
The following week it snowed a lot, and me and some housemates had a snowball fight inside and outside the house. I got very drunk as well. I went to my first poetry night (Hammer & Tongue) and saw the film Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, which resulted in me having a school-boy crush on Kat Dennings. I nipped back to Cardiff to bare witness to Attack + Defend's one and only gig of the year and do some goodbyes.
On the day before Valentine's Day I had my first ever piano lesson (I only had nine in total due to financial issues), the following day I attended a very hippy-ish poetry and music night at the wonderful raw food cafe Manna. It was a nice evening but I felt quite out of place and very self-conscious when we all had to hold hands and make a group poem...
I felt a bit more shamefully self-conscious after a house party I went to the next Saturday, as I don't have a complete memory of the evening, but I have a memory from the party that I may have dreampt, and if it's true I apologise! I blame the vodka jelly. With very little hangover I went to Brighton Zinefest the next morning with some copies of my ill-fated film-zine Seat 13, we sold out at the fest and I can't remember if I collected the money, which may explain why the magazine didn't get a second issue!
March 10th, I had an interview with Jean-Paul de Claite Rosse, who offered me the role of a bartender who finds himself homeless and alone in a short film he was directing. I also met with Gary Mepsted who was directing a play celebrating the works of Alan Bennet and then on the 5th April, two days before Jean-Paul's film began shooting, I had an audition for Henry Scriven's zombie-comedy To Let and discovered that Henry was to be the A.D. on Jean-Paul's film. Later it transpired that Gary Mepsted's house was used as one of the film's locations.
In amongst attending a few gigs, rehearsals and filming days I had a short story published in an anthology and went to London to be part of the audience for Q.I. (the episode airs in March, I think?!). I then had a press pass for the Great Escape festival in May, which coincided with an auditon for Boot Camp theatre's production of A Few Good Men. Then out of the blue on June 17th I accidentally discovered I had a ticket to Glastonbury, so had to make some desperate last minute lift blagging and - squeezing in rehearsals, a day of filming on Broken, a house warming in Canterbury, the filming of To Let and an ultimately life-changing interview for a position at the Job Centre - went to the festival and got to see an incredible array of bands I dearly love live.
On the way back I was asked to come back to Cardiff and shoot a music video for Los Campesinos!'s new single, which I then edited the following day. Finally on the 8th July we did the last day of filming on Jean-Paul's Broken.
August was a quiet month until performances of A Few Good Men on the 20th, 21st and 22nd; after which I went to London for my birthday and to see my friend Kirsty for the first time in a year or so. In the middle of this birthday treat week, on my actual birthday no less, I had to dash back (thanks to my good friend Carl driving) to Brighton to find out the status of my dormant job at the Job Centre, which I had got and been CRB checked for, but had not yet received a start date. After milling around for three or four hours I was told that the Head of the Job Centre, that very morning, had decided not to take on any new staff. This suddenly put my personal financial and housing situation in to no small degree of turmoil, and meant I had to make some snap decisions. So, on the 31st August I gave notice at the house in Brighton and three days later moved to East Dulwich where I had a nice comfy sofa to squat on.
A couple of weeks into my time in London I went down to Dorset to the magnificent End of the Road festival, and in the following weeks got to see a few plays such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Title of the Drama About Ante is Written Here... and Kurt & Sid. I also had the most bizarre job interview request of my life when a franchised donut company (that shall remain nameless) based in a well known London department store in Knightsbridge asked me to provide a stool sample. Fortunately two weeks later I began work in the retail department of the Natural History Museum and didn't have to give anyone my poo poo (thought I've kept the collection kit for a potential Christmas gift).
At the start of October I met up with Joel, formerly of the band Muarena Helena, who I had begun talking to via Myspace under my 'band' guise. Whilst I was in Brighton, Joel and I had collaborated through e-mail on seven songs and he'd given me some degree of confidence in the 'music' I was making, this eventually led to me, Joel and bass player Andy even having a jam session; which is something I never imagined I'd have the guts to do at this point.
I also had a press pass to the Times BFI London Film Festival, and though work commitments stopped me from seeing as much as I would've liked, I did get to see advance screenings of Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Men Who Stare At Goats, A Single Man and The Road.
Once again Los Campesinos! drafted me in to come down, to Oxford this time, and film a live performance for them, I also provided some photo montages for their album artwork ('Romance is Boring' out in February).
In all I reviewed 139 demos and records over the year, saw 53 films at the cinema. The 10 best of each are as follows:
Best Records of 2009.
1. Monster Island - The Anchor
2. Untied States - Instant Everything, Constant Nothing
3. Animals + War - Self-Titled
4. Them Squirrels - Them Scribbles
5. Cate Le Bon - Me Oh My
6. Das Wanderlust - Horses For Courses
7. Attack + Defend - Theme
8. The Keys - Years Are Made Of Seconds
9. The Victorian English Gentlemens Club - Love On An Oil Rig
10. Colourmusic - Yes!
Best Films of 2009.
1. Up
2. Synecdoche, New York
3. District 9
4. Star Trek
5. Moon
6. Pirate For The Sea
7. Coraline
8. Fanastic Mr. Fox
9. Where The Wild Things Are
10. Knowing
To be totally honest 2009 has been an odd year, and a turbulent one in a mild, buffeting kind of way; not like a full on seastorm, but it hasn't been smooth sailing. Saying that, my year ended on a positive note, well, a positive ellipsis.
The first Quack Spout of the year will be online very soon. But until then I hope you've had a great end to 2009 and a wonderful start to 2010...
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Saturday, 14 February 2009
My Traditional 'Most Anticipated Films' List - Part Two (Preview)
Well, having just moved to Brighton and being a tad full of activity and procrastination and part-time employment, there's been a slight delay getting this list out there and - as a result - I've seen some of the films I was eagerly awaiting come the end of 2008 (I shall include them and my thoughts, and I've added a couple of other flicks that have entered my interest). Anyway, without further ado and in no particular order...
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
This has been on my 'most anticipated' list for a few years now, it's one of those ones that has - understandably now - been pushed back and back, it shall always be tagged as Heath Ledger's last film, but I'm hoping it's another on form Terry Gilliam movie, the concept sounds wonderful, the look of the few stills and set-snaps released so far is great and it has Tom Waits in it as the devil!
Where The Wild Things Are
Another delayed release, Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's book looks to have captured the kind of magic that the Jim Henson company bottled for Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, with a bit of the fluffiness of The Neverending Story thrown in for good measure. Jonze also seems to be keenly aware that a good children's film is dark and grown-up whilst still being fantastical, and hopefully he will get to fully realise his vision and all those talks of studio worries are just hearsay.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Here's one film I have now seen, I've been keeping an eye on this project for a while and seen a few director's names attached to it, the story appealed to me generally and I thought Fincher was a fine choice of helmsman. In the end the film is a technical marvel, visually stunning but a little cold emotionally. Many have compared it to Forrest Gump, but I felt that Gump managed to push the emotional buttons a little better than Button, though I think Fincher never intended to make something as sentimental as Zemeckis' Oscar winner.
Synedoche, New York
Charlie Kaufman, the writer of Being John Malkovich, returns with his directorial debut, and another film that seems - like Benjamin Button - to examine an entire life, albeit here in a more linear yet no less bizarre fashion. I'm still not entirely sure what the film is about, all I know is I can't wait.
JCVD
It's out on DVD now and hopefully I'll get around to watching it soon, but this film has been received raves recently for the film's look and - shockingly - the performance of Jean Claude Van Damme as he honestly and self-deprecatingly dismantles his own life and career in a darkly comic heist movie!?
The Box
There's something about Richard Kelly's follow-up to Donnie Darko - Southland Tales - that keeps me going back to it, it's awfully paced, ropily acted, the plot's a mess and it's way too long, but I find myself watching it more than most movies. I'm hoping he's put together a genuinely good film here, spring-boarding from a Richard Matheson short into a 70s-set thriller starring the dependable James Marsden and Cameron Diaz.
Sherlock Holmes
I'm not a Guy Ritchie fan, but I do love Robert Downey Jr. and Sherlock Holmes and foggy Victorian England romps, so hopefully this'll gel together nicely with this spin on Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective. I'm hoping this'll be a nice counterpoint to the brilliant and under-rated Young Sherlock Holmes.
The Brothers Bloom
I haven't seen Brick, I know I should. This looks like great fun and stars the always watchable Adrien Brody and the equally always watchable Mark Ruffalo as two con men, it seems to have an easy, quirky charm.
Milk
Sean Penn's performance eclipsed this film, which is - as I have seen it - a very well made biography of the first openly gay politician Harvey Milk, it has a fabulous supporting cast including Josh Brolin and James Franco, and a genuinely moving story and hopefully will pick up a few awards come Oscar season.
Kick-Ass
Matthew Vaughn directed the over-looked and magical Stardust, one of the best subversions of the fairy-tale genre since The Princess Bride and now he's turning his hand to superheroes with this graphic novel adaptation from the creator of Wanted. It looks barking mad from the few photos released and hopefully will mark the turnaround of Nic Cage's career (he has a supporting role).
The Spirit
Another one I've already seen, read my defense of it by CLICKING HERE!
Religulous
I enjoy a good documentary and this one looks like a funny investigation of how different people approach religion. It seems to be getting a bit of stick from some critics for being a bit too light, but I see this as a nice primer before having a look at some other interesting and thematically similar docs; check out Jesus Camp, it will scare you stupid!
Crank 2: High Voltage
The first Crank is (just over Taken) the finest guilty-pleasure of the 21st Century thus far, and hopefully this sequel will deliver more lunatic charm as Jason Stathan's presumed-dead hitman Chev Chelios finds his heart replaced by some kind of battery powered contraption that needs constant jolts of electricity to keep him ticking. I wasn't too sure about the recently released trailer, but I won't feel as ashamed as I probably should when I go to see this on opening day!
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Stop-motion is in good stead this year with this and the critically adored Coraline on the way, not very much is known about how this is good to look yet, I'm feeling quite certain this may end up on next year's most-anticipated list, but I really hope it comes out this year. It's being directed by Wes Anderson and, of course, is an adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's book.
Knowing
Always dangerous looking forward to a Nic Cage movie, but with this and Kick-Ass on the way I'm hoping this is a better year for Cage than having Ghost Rider, Next and The Wicker Man in quick succession! Knowing, I hope, also marks a return to form for Alex Proyas who directed the excellent The Crow and Dark City but has floundered of late with I, Robot and Garage Days.
Watchmen
Another project I've had my peepers on for a while, it was one that Terry Gilliam developed for a time and ultimately decided it should be a mini-series. Then Paul Greengrass took the helm and got very close to a version I really, really wanted to see. Now Zack Snyder has actually managed to film the thing and I'm curious but uncertain; the cast is great, the visuals look good, the marketing has been smart but I was not a fan of 300 though Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake was surprisingly effective.
The Wrestler
I was dissapointed by this, Mickey Rourke's performance is great, though his face is distracting at times, but overall the film was rather bland and Marisa Tomei is awful in her supporting role, alongside some very heavy-handed and terribly written scenes that layer on religous allegory with a trowel and Baseketball-like use of songs as Rourke drives around. I guess this is what happens when nobody goes to see a film as beautiful and heart-breaking as Aronofsky's previous effort The Fountain.
Star Trek
This looks like good fun, I don't really care about what they 'do' to Star Trek, I just hope J.J. Abrams puts together a ride as entertaining as his entry into the Mission: Impossible franchise and I'll be happily munching popcorn.
The Year One
Jack Black and Michael Cera are cave-men in this high/low-concept comedy from Harold Ramis who seems to have assembled a good cast to pull him out of the doldrums of fare like Bedazzled and Analyze That. I'm not expecting a classic here really, just a good solid laugh.
Che
I saw part one and it was pretty good; an interesting historical document but we learn next to nothing about the man the film is named after. I'm looking forward to part two, but I understand why - after it's Cannes success - this film has kind of drifted off of awards radars.
Hamlet 2
A Sundance hit last year, Steve Coogan plays a teacher who tries to revive his flagging career by putting together a brazen, brash and bonkers musical sequel to Shakespeare's most famous play.
The Princess and the Frog
Hand drawn 2D animated Walt Disney returns with this New Orleans set fairy-tale update, which looks like a throwback to the early 90s-era of Disney animation (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, etc.).
Terminator: Salvation
Charlie's Angels director McG seems to have put together a welcome continuation of the man vs. machines saga, finally taking us to see what all this Future War stuff is about. The recently released trailer looks like the action is being handled well, and the cast will hopefully lend it some gravitas and, regarding his recent outburst, though he over-reacted I'm on Mr. Bale's side.
Bruno
Sacha Baron Cohen puts his neck on the line again this time as gay TV host Bruno, he'll be exposing people's dormant prejudices once more in faux-documentary style and hopefully it'll be as successful as the surprisingly enjoyable Borat movie.
Up
Pixar's next, it looks interesting, though very little has been revealed thus far beyond a brief look at the character dynamics of the grumpy old man and the eager, wide-eyed boy scout; but it should be fun.
Coraline
Henry Selick returns to feature length stop-motion animation after mixing live-action into the pretty good James and the Giant Peach and the misguided but interesting Monkeybone. Here he adapts Neil Gaiman's spooky children's story, filming it in 3D for a film that some critics are already hailing as a classic.
Nailed
I am always interested in David O'Russell's work, I've enjoyed every film he's done so far, with each new release out-doing the one before; I don't think he can top I Heart Huckabees in my opinion, but I look forward to see what he's come up with.
Extract
The new Mike Judge film after the unfairly treated cult-classic Idiocracy, the man really knows how to put together a sharp, wry and strange comedy so this should be worth a gander.
Moon
David Bowie's son directs two Sam Rockwells in this wonderfully mad sounding sci-fi that seems to be picking up the mantle where the 70s left off and delivering something truly different.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
This has been on my 'most anticipated' list for a few years now, it's one of those ones that has - understandably now - been pushed back and back, it shall always be tagged as Heath Ledger's last film, but I'm hoping it's another on form Terry Gilliam movie, the concept sounds wonderful, the look of the few stills and set-snaps released so far is great and it has Tom Waits in it as the devil!
Where The Wild Things Are
Another delayed release, Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's book looks to have captured the kind of magic that the Jim Henson company bottled for Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, with a bit of the fluffiness of The Neverending Story thrown in for good measure. Jonze also seems to be keenly aware that a good children's film is dark and grown-up whilst still being fantastical, and hopefully he will get to fully realise his vision and all those talks of studio worries are just hearsay.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Here's one film I have now seen, I've been keeping an eye on this project for a while and seen a few director's names attached to it, the story appealed to me generally and I thought Fincher was a fine choice of helmsman. In the end the film is a technical marvel, visually stunning but a little cold emotionally. Many have compared it to Forrest Gump, but I felt that Gump managed to push the emotional buttons a little better than Button, though I think Fincher never intended to make something as sentimental as Zemeckis' Oscar winner.
Synedoche, New York
Charlie Kaufman, the writer of Being John Malkovich, returns with his directorial debut, and another film that seems - like Benjamin Button - to examine an entire life, albeit here in a more linear yet no less bizarre fashion. I'm still not entirely sure what the film is about, all I know is I can't wait.
JCVD
It's out on DVD now and hopefully I'll get around to watching it soon, but this film has been received raves recently for the film's look and - shockingly - the performance of Jean Claude Van Damme as he honestly and self-deprecatingly dismantles his own life and career in a darkly comic heist movie!?
The Box
There's something about Richard Kelly's follow-up to Donnie Darko - Southland Tales - that keeps me going back to it, it's awfully paced, ropily acted, the plot's a mess and it's way too long, but I find myself watching it more than most movies. I'm hoping he's put together a genuinely good film here, spring-boarding from a Richard Matheson short into a 70s-set thriller starring the dependable James Marsden and Cameron Diaz.
Sherlock Holmes
I'm not a Guy Ritchie fan, but I do love Robert Downey Jr. and Sherlock Holmes and foggy Victorian England romps, so hopefully this'll gel together nicely with this spin on Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective. I'm hoping this'll be a nice counterpoint to the brilliant and under-rated Young Sherlock Holmes.
The Brothers Bloom
I haven't seen Brick, I know I should. This looks like great fun and stars the always watchable Adrien Brody and the equally always watchable Mark Ruffalo as two con men, it seems to have an easy, quirky charm.
Milk
Sean Penn's performance eclipsed this film, which is - as I have seen it - a very well made biography of the first openly gay politician Harvey Milk, it has a fabulous supporting cast including Josh Brolin and James Franco, and a genuinely moving story and hopefully will pick up a few awards come Oscar season.
Kick-Ass
Matthew Vaughn directed the over-looked and magical Stardust, one of the best subversions of the fairy-tale genre since The Princess Bride and now he's turning his hand to superheroes with this graphic novel adaptation from the creator of Wanted. It looks barking mad from the few photos released and hopefully will mark the turnaround of Nic Cage's career (he has a supporting role).
The Spirit
Another one I've already seen, read my defense of it by CLICKING HERE!
Religulous
I enjoy a good documentary and this one looks like a funny investigation of how different people approach religion. It seems to be getting a bit of stick from some critics for being a bit too light, but I see this as a nice primer before having a look at some other interesting and thematically similar docs; check out Jesus Camp, it will scare you stupid!
Crank 2: High Voltage
The first Crank is (just over Taken) the finest guilty-pleasure of the 21st Century thus far, and hopefully this sequel will deliver more lunatic charm as Jason Stathan's presumed-dead hitman Chev Chelios finds his heart replaced by some kind of battery powered contraption that needs constant jolts of electricity to keep him ticking. I wasn't too sure about the recently released trailer, but I won't feel as ashamed as I probably should when I go to see this on opening day!
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Stop-motion is in good stead this year with this and the critically adored Coraline on the way, not very much is known about how this is good to look yet, I'm feeling quite certain this may end up on next year's most-anticipated list, but I really hope it comes out this year. It's being directed by Wes Anderson and, of course, is an adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's book.
Knowing
Always dangerous looking forward to a Nic Cage movie, but with this and Kick-Ass on the way I'm hoping this is a better year for Cage than having Ghost Rider, Next and The Wicker Man in quick succession! Knowing, I hope, also marks a return to form for Alex Proyas who directed the excellent The Crow and Dark City but has floundered of late with I, Robot and Garage Days.
Watchmen
Another project I've had my peepers on for a while, it was one that Terry Gilliam developed for a time and ultimately decided it should be a mini-series. Then Paul Greengrass took the helm and got very close to a version I really, really wanted to see. Now Zack Snyder has actually managed to film the thing and I'm curious but uncertain; the cast is great, the visuals look good, the marketing has been smart but I was not a fan of 300 though Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake was surprisingly effective.
The Wrestler
I was dissapointed by this, Mickey Rourke's performance is great, though his face is distracting at times, but overall the film was rather bland and Marisa Tomei is awful in her supporting role, alongside some very heavy-handed and terribly written scenes that layer on religous allegory with a trowel and Baseketball-like use of songs as Rourke drives around. I guess this is what happens when nobody goes to see a film as beautiful and heart-breaking as Aronofsky's previous effort The Fountain.
Star Trek
This looks like good fun, I don't really care about what they 'do' to Star Trek, I just hope J.J. Abrams puts together a ride as entertaining as his entry into the Mission: Impossible franchise and I'll be happily munching popcorn.
The Year One
Jack Black and Michael Cera are cave-men in this high/low-concept comedy from Harold Ramis who seems to have assembled a good cast to pull him out of the doldrums of fare like Bedazzled and Analyze That. I'm not expecting a classic here really, just a good solid laugh.
Che
I saw part one and it was pretty good; an interesting historical document but we learn next to nothing about the man the film is named after. I'm looking forward to part two, but I understand why - after it's Cannes success - this film has kind of drifted off of awards radars.
Hamlet 2
A Sundance hit last year, Steve Coogan plays a teacher who tries to revive his flagging career by putting together a brazen, brash and bonkers musical sequel to Shakespeare's most famous play.
The Princess and the Frog
Hand drawn 2D animated Walt Disney returns with this New Orleans set fairy-tale update, which looks like a throwback to the early 90s-era of Disney animation (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, etc.).
Terminator: Salvation
Charlie's Angels director McG seems to have put together a welcome continuation of the man vs. machines saga, finally taking us to see what all this Future War stuff is about. The recently released trailer looks like the action is being handled well, and the cast will hopefully lend it some gravitas and, regarding his recent outburst, though he over-reacted I'm on Mr. Bale's side.
Bruno
Sacha Baron Cohen puts his neck on the line again this time as gay TV host Bruno, he'll be exposing people's dormant prejudices once more in faux-documentary style and hopefully it'll be as successful as the surprisingly enjoyable Borat movie.
Up
Pixar's next, it looks interesting, though very little has been revealed thus far beyond a brief look at the character dynamics of the grumpy old man and the eager, wide-eyed boy scout; but it should be fun.
Coraline
Henry Selick returns to feature length stop-motion animation after mixing live-action into the pretty good James and the Giant Peach and the misguided but interesting Monkeybone. Here he adapts Neil Gaiman's spooky children's story, filming it in 3D for a film that some critics are already hailing as a classic.
Nailed
I am always interested in David O'Russell's work, I've enjoyed every film he's done so far, with each new release out-doing the one before; I don't think he can top I Heart Huckabees in my opinion, but I look forward to see what he's come up with.
Extract
The new Mike Judge film after the unfairly treated cult-classic Idiocracy, the man really knows how to put together a sharp, wry and strange comedy so this should be worth a gander.
Moon
David Bowie's son directs two Sam Rockwells in this wonderfully mad sounding sci-fi that seems to be picking up the mantle where the 70s left off and delivering something truly different.
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