The Big Lebowki

Few films have such a cult following as the Big Lebowski. Maybe that’s because of The Dude; a rambling, stoned Jeff Bridges who chews through his scenes while having a great time. He mumbles daft one liners, buys milk at petrol stations with checks and just generally fucks everything up. Or maybe it’s because of Walter; the moronic Polish-Catholic-Jewish Vietnam veteran who probably didn’t go to Vietnam and definitely isn’t Jewish who goes about swearing, yelling ill informed opinions on everything and just generally fucking up. Perhaps it is because of Donny, who says nothing what-so-ever and fucks everything up. Or the German Nihilists, who fuck everything up. Or the millionaire who fucks up hiring the wrong person. Or the aid that helped him. Or his porn directing sister who fucks up getting pregnant.

That pretty much summarises the plot, a lot of weird people fuck up all at the same time and the thing is hilarious. It has a silly but deftly witty feel to it, a lot like Monty Python but much more hit than miss. Everything here is weird, but the quality of dialogue is amazing and ramping absurdity makes this film hilarious.

I think the real reason so many people adore this film is the fun that can be had watching it. You could watch it over and over and still not notice everything. Everyone has their personal favourite scene, because it’s so hard to choose which one is best. The Coen brothers films fluctuate all over the place, but the Big Lebowski is played straight for laughs and doesn’t fall as flat as, say, Burn After Reading. Check it out, because everyone need more Lebowski quotes in their life.

The Royal Tenenbaums

Director Wes Anderson burst into the spotlight, atleast, critically, in the 90’s with the excellent Rushmore. His follow up, The Royal Tenenbaums, updates the quirky humour, eccentric characters, strong heart and confident direction of its predecessors.

The first few scenes are an absolutely perfect introduction; Alec Baldwin narrates a 4 minute skit, accompanied by a very gentle organ version of Hey Jude, whereby the Tenenbaum family are gently introduced. A family of incredibly talented personalities, through years of problems eating away at them, reunite in their dreamy New York home. Royal Tenenbaum, the absent roguish father who had left them at 12 years of age, feigns cancer in an effort to worm his way back into the family.

All the characters are great. They feel more like human charactures than people, with their adult sized versions of outfits they wore as children, but fantastic performances and real emotions bring them to life. The whole film has a dreamy, surreal quality to it. Every book look likes it is from the 1970’s, all the taxis are the same, Danny Glover and Bill Murray have ridiculous beards etc. The soundtrack is a marvellous compilation of semi-obscure 1960’s pop that shouldn’t fit, but with all the oddness going on it holds the film together. Wes Anderson has a gift for creating iconic scenes by merging clever editing and music, there are countless times like this I could mention, but the Judy Is A Punk scene is possibly the standout funniest moment in the film, just from a clever idea.

The thing is for all the quirk, this film has a touching emotional core. Royal is phenomenal, a well written character that Gene Hackman absolutely nails. He clearly, deeply loves his family but is too much of a rogue; lazy, insensitive, reckless and self-centred to be a real father. The film can be seen as therapy for all involved, however the problems are decades old and, for the most part, are Royals fault in the first place.

It’s hard to sell this film as a comedy, for all intents and purposes there isn’t a single joke, the humour is derived from far out behaviour amongst the cast. But this film is incredibly funny, more so is the feel good tone the film instils. A lot of tragedy happens over the course of the film and it can get fairly heavy, but the mood stays light and the laughs come in a steady drip. The ending is one of my favourite scenes in any film, as many years on we revisit the somewhat better family, and the humour, tragedy and happiness work together to tug on your heart strings. I’ve bawed my eyes out like a baby to this scene about 4 times already.

Wes Anderson has a strong catalogue, and Rushmore is definitely funnier, but the Royal Tenenbaums is a unique mix of humour, drama and talent that you owe it to yourself to track down.

Attack & Release-The Black Keys

The Black Keys have always been a fantastic rock band. Their style of no-nonense blues, ultra fuzzy riffs and soul-rock crooning define them as a mashup between The White Stripes and the album “Let It Be” by The Beatles.

Attack and Release is their best album for a number of reasons. Firstly is the step up in vocals, Dan Auberch has a cool hum and the lyrics reflect a spooky but mellow tone that is very hypnotic. It is the harmonies, however, with super producer Danger Mouse that take this album to a higher level. This echo adds to the other worldly feel and the absolute catchiness to all the songs.

The production, in fact, is top notch even by DM standards. He finds an appropriate extra something to mix into each song. With such a no nonsense, refined band finding these sounds is essential to giving the tracks character, with which he imbues with expert confidence. “Psychotic Girls” incorporates a banjo in the back, giving it a deep southern vibe and, I can’t help but feel, harping back to that scene in Deliverance. “Strange Times” has synth quietly blurting in the background giving a post-modern, almost futuristic thrill. And “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be” features an organ, complementing the slouching, morose guitar riff. The way he picks up on every sound in these cocktails is also impressive, nothing overpowers or takes centre stage, but somehow the melodies, riffs and fantastic drumming all shine clearly.

Like all of The Black Keys records though there is no substitute for good old fashioned virtuoso playing, and the duo give perfect performances. Every fill, beat and riff is spot on and the strength of the music means the hooks can get very deeply into your brain.

This album is a textbook example of how to make a slow burning, rhythm and blues record. So if the childrens yapping and yelping is getting on your nerves, this is the perfect substitute.

Odelay-Beck

Beck may just be the coolest guy ever. I mean c’mon, the guy raps nonsense in monotone, croons like a deflating airbag, does frigging samples and somehow still rocks something awesome. I think what sells him so thoroughly is he is not some try to hard obnoxious slacker, this guy is the real deal. On Odelay Beck delivers a platter of cool, funk and apathy. This man specialises in fantastic odd sounds; Hotwax begins with a banjo before moving into bouncy bass, with rap and electric guitar. I swear one of the bridges is an accordion. The drums that hold the whole album together are just as eccentric; while they can sometimes be hit and miss the sheer volume of fills and beats means each song has atleast one you’ll love.

Becks white rap is as far removed from “Gangsta” as possible. He sings about “community service with a silver mac”. The man said it the best himself in an episode of Futurama “Hey Bender, when I’m sad I write songs about what just happened. Like on Devils Haircut, wait, what is that song about?” There is one them on this album and that is cool. You could bring this album out in a party, “Where It’s At” is a masterpiece in Prince-esque pop. The extreme bredth of fresh, new, crazy sounds make this album feel brand new even today. Cleverly, no artist has yet dare to try and beat Beck at what he does, and Odelay is Beck doing his thing at his best.

Beck is like that quite, confident, modest kid at the back of your science class; some think he’s a bit weird but everyones confident he’s a good character. Odelay then is his doodled textbook, a flurry of unconscious from someone who’s brain is fundamentally interesting. 

Star Trek (2009)

OK, I admit it. I’m a cinema snob. It’s not that I hate Hollywood or anything, but foreign films are more inventive and indie films have more heart and liking obscure films make you sound far more intelligent than you really are. Having said that though sometimes a big budget and a winning formula will reap amazing results.

However, Star Trek would seem like a daft thing to give the Hollywood treatment to. The Star Trek films has never made a lot of money at box office, remakes scare people away (well maybe just me) and taking a rabid legion of fans prized franchise, ditching the cast and replacing them and then completely updating everything. The franchise is built on dodgy set design, overly complicated plots and a general lack of action. J.J Abrams tackles this with a deft reboot that navigates the typical pitfalls and manages to deliver a proper action film.

Having said that the film not only works, but does everything fantastically well. It cleverly cuts off from the Star Trek lore with a time travel/alternate reality story, basically allowing it to introduce the ensemble in the most effective way without having to argue with the series. The cast is spot on, when I first saw the list I thought they were too . . . well young. This whole film has a youthful spin on itself though; the plot follows a very young version of the crew, starting all the way back from baby Kirk. The benefits of this are a real freshness and the ability to be damn sexy. Kirk lives up to his lothario image bedding babes, getting in fantastic fights and, in one so ridiculous it kinda works scenes, joy riding a mustang against the police to the Beastie Boys.

I have to praise the cinematography so much here as well. Everything is shiny and crisp, and while the lens flair is now a cliché, it gives the film both glamour and a documentary effect. Remember the way in Star Wars everything looked foreign and used and like it had a sense of place? Star Trek has that same excellent set design but this time shiny. The series was always very cool, about dashing people “Boldly going where no man had gone before” in their velour uniforms, flirting with one another around a cool deck with an awesome view. The films biggest achievement is picking up on the tone of the series and morphing it into a film properly. Abrams juggles serious drama with pinches of humour, deftly scattered around for maximum effect.

Science fiction has always been a setting, not a genre. I guess because of the expense and normally heady themes today Sci-fi is a very adult affair. This film is very different from the other sci-fi films in that it takes a more light-hearted look at space exploration; the retro, go anywhere, be cool feel that the 60’s swam in.

Thankfully this film made a lot of money and is absolutely prime for sequels, which does put it in the dubious position of rivalling Wrath of Kahn, but not only should you see this film but keep an eye out for the sequel sometime next year probably. Abrams last film, Super 8, looks very good. It may be too early, but I think I can compare this director to Steven Spielberg in that he creates films that are immensely enjoyable without being slushy. And if that isn’t a ringing endorsement I don’t know what is.

Porco Rosso

This could very easily turn from a review of one film to an open love letter to Studio Ghilbi; the Japanese animation company who may just be up there with Pixar in terms of quality output. Unlike Pixar, who make kids films adults will love, Ghibli make films for adults that make them feel like kids. The colour palettes are always bright and the tones are innocent, little dramas with feel good endings. I think the critics favourite Ghibli film is Princess Mononoke, mainly because it has larger scope and metaphors galore. Girls will love My Neighbour Tortoro because it has a really cute . . . thing? at its centre and a cat that is also an invisible bus. Artists will love Spirited Away the most because on that film the studio go loopy with the fictional characters; while the artwork is as good as ever they introduce more and more wonderful, mythical creatures. But for me, my favourite has got to be Porco Rosso.

Porco Rosso is a boys own adventure type film about a sea-plane pilot who fights pirates in the Adriatic in the years after World War I. It is entirely incidental that the lead is a pig, apart from some clever quips and personality traits this is merely a quirky design touch. This film has an effortless cool about it, Porco himself is a gruff antihero in the Indianna Jones mold. He begrudgingly goes about his business saving the day, leaving a trail of swooning women in his wake and approaching all situations with a sigh, whether it be repairing his planes engine to a dog fight to the death.

It feels daft remarking about what makes this film so good. It is trademark Ghibli, the whole thing is unbelievably pretty and inventive and everything from the plot to the dialogue works effortlessly. I recommend the English dub over subtitles because a) most of the action doesn’t show the characters mouths b) the dub is excellent, especially Michael Keaton as Porco who brings a more cool gruff than the Japanese mumble and c)for American audiences they added more wisecracks.

I think the reason I love this one the most is as a cynical male I relate much more to Porco than some whining little brat. The tone is ever so slightly darker, it takes place somewhat in facist Italy and there is a real feel of danger and death throughout. The finale focus on a dog fight between a properly dangerous foe and the build-up and drama in that is exquisite. This is a slow burning film, by no means would I describe it as action, but the finale is an edge of seat delight.

Finally I cannot emphasise how goddamn cool this film. It’s got adventure and wonder men will love, none of this forest spirit bollocks but airplanes, and beautiful ladies, and machine guns and danger. The world is populated by rogues and antiheroes, even schoolgirls are maniacally evil. The direction lingers and takes it time, more than that though this is a slow film that many qualities stop it ever dragging.

Anything by Ghibli is an absolute must watch, but this particular film is one of my all-time favourites and you should definitely check it out. It is also perhaps the most western friendly and the good dubbing mean people who are not fans of subtitles can easily get into it.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

Any game with a budget instantly goes for the all-out epic approach, trying to throw the kitchen sink and some kind of cataclysmic event that only you can face. Ninja Theory wisely spent their budget instead on an intimate, highly polished little game. It feels like it starts after some kind of epic, with the planet completely abandoned, killer robots prowling the street and the protagonists in shackles. After an impressive first level the plot of the game is set up. Is it to eradicate the robot foes that plague the surface? Are we escorting an atomic McGuffin to centre of the enemies base? No, instead two characters work together to make it home.

For such a sparse narrative almost all weight is taken by the leads. Monkey is a muscled rogue; capable, cocky and appropriately world weary. He is played by Oscar winner Andy Serkis, aka Gollum from Lord of the Rings, and the high quality of his voice acting absolutely nails the role. On top of this Monkey is one of the best animated characters in any game, I remember how impressed I was with the seamlessness in Assassins Creed but this game puts that to absolute shame.

Monkey is accompanied by Trip, a smart but weak young girl who imprisons him to make sure she gets home. Again her performance is spot on and much against the trend of female characters in video games she is neither a super powered heroine nor damsel in distress. Across the game she saves the duo as often as the male. The writing has also gifted the pair with realistic humanity and the inevitable romance is done the best in any video game.

Visually the game indulges in palette greens and blues, with gorgeous vistas. The character models are superb and the art style is amazing, wait until you meet the perfectly designed Pigsy, with a flappy robot ear, snout, roles, sweat, a hoof and a bandana.

There is one major criticism, this is an unbelievably linear game and the platforming is practically impossible to fail as you can only jump when the game lets you. That’s not to say it’s boring, it keeps everything brisk and fair, but the hand holding every now and then can get on your nerves.

I’d also like to praise the fantastic DLC, that does something completely different while having the same level of polish as the main game. It’s unprecedented for a game to make me cry, but for the £6, 5 hour add on to have me balling like a baby is nothing short of a miracle.

Like anything creative and innovative in the game industry Enslaved failed to sell at all, it just managed to shift its 700,000 copy. The good news is you can buy this game on the cheap, I got it for £6 on eBay 3 months ago and its money very well spent. It isn’t perfect all of the time but I guarantee you haven’t played anything quite like this and also that you’ve spent much more money on worse games. If you like your games with a story and fluffless, this is the game for you.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

It upsets me substantially, as a smartass myself, that not enough action films wisecrack these days. Maybe that Michael Bays fault, who has taken summer blockbusters by the balls despite being only capable of coming up with awful scripts. The man can’t make a bloody plot, let alone dialogue.

Once upon a time though, aka the 80’s, action films were like Lethal Weapon and Beverly Hills Cop where the action was indistinct from the comedy. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a sharp tongued, clever and inventive thriller from a few years back that revisits this style very well.

Robert Downey Jnr. plays the lead but is a million miles away from the suave, charismatic heroes he is type cast as today. Here he is a petty crook, completely incompetent except for some amazing luck. Without the glamorous clothes, tightly trimmed beard and tan he looks like a legitimate bug eyed loser but his face is ever expressive and he makes a fun anti-hero. He also narrates the movies with a dry, witty and sincerely funny spark “Ah, fuck, I forgot to tell you about the giant robot, y’know, like when your Dad tells a joke? Fuck this is bad narrating”

He is accompanied by “Gay Perry”; “Are you, *ahem*?” “Gay? No; I’m knee deep in pussy I just like the name so much/sarcasm/”. He is cranky and spits off one liners with perfect timing. It feels like the role Val Kilmer was born to play and the chemistry between the two leads really holds the film together.

Michelle Monaghan is “that girl”, both damaged and feisty, it doesn’t hurt she is wickedly smart and beautiful in equal measure across the film. It feels daft explaining the plot, it twists so often any detail would be a spoiler, but this has more than a wink and a nudge to old noir thrillers. Suffice to say, mistakes are made, baddies are killed, twists are twisted and jokes are fired off in abundance. The action here is spot on and peppered evenly and generously throughout. The screenplay gets great mileage out of the brilliant script and performances. This film is easily better than any of the Lethal Weapon films and the smart-alex tone is refreshing and done to perfection.

For all the sarcasm and self-referential humour this film has a feel good quality and is a quality watch with a friend or two. You can watch it now if you have Lovefilm, if not it’s not hard to find and is great fun.