Just a short update on how the writing of my book is coming along, because I feel a compelling urge to hassle people about it.
So far I've developed all the characters I've created to the point where I could talk about them as if they were real people, drafted three whole chapters including a prologue and I'm currently drafting a fourth chapter.
The prologue leaves a lot to be desired, I think, and quite honestly I might just scrap it and write it again or expel it all together, tweak the first chapter slightly and jump straight into the main story, but we'll see how things go.
As for chapter one, two and three they're at a stage now where I'm happy with them but not willing to call them done. They can still be worked on and I'm thinking of going through them all and just editing bits here and there where I feel is appropriate (and trust me when I say it really is in places) but on the whole they're not bad I don't think, mediocre is a good word. So far all they've managed to do is introduce the main characters to a certain extent, describe present day London and give a small insight into the city's atmosphere. So not a lot has happened really. But don't lose faith, the forth chapter is going to be a lot more "hands-on" if you like.
I'm thinking of posting the opening chapter on here pretty soon,a demo if you will. Perhaps later this week.
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Bias Film Reviews (3)
What I've been watching this week
Seven (18+)
Seven (18+)
I'd been waiting to watch Seven for an awful long time until just the other day. I had heard various gleaming reviews and countless amounts of good things said about it. And of course, I naturally had high expectations already set for two of my favorite actors of recent times, Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.
The film is basically, cutting it down it's most base form, a police drama. It is the story of two very different policemen (as is usual with films involving the police force), Freeman as the role of William Somerset, an aging murder investigator on his last case before retirement and Pitt as the role David Mills, a young, new-to-the-station detective. The narrative focuses on the hunt for an illusive serial killer who is using the seven deadly sins to map out a series of murders.
Everything in the plot slots together rather well and although Freeman and Pitt aren't exactly a screen match made in heaven, in my opinion, the duo works. Everything one character says is an anecdote to the other, Mills rushed style of surveillance and Somerset's reserved approach to absolutely everything, he even eats dinner while holding his gun (and that's before anything has really even happened).
I have to say that the film, on a whole, more than lived up to my expectations, it was everything I wanted really. The acting was superb throughout, even when it started getting slightly cheesy and even more slightly unbelievable it knew exactly when to cut back to serious acting at just the right points to keep me laughing as well as keeping me in a serious state of mind. The murders were inventive (a lot more than can be said for most police/murder drama these days) and most importantly, unpredictable. Which to be honest you wouldn't imagine given the fact that you know exactly what each of the seven murders are going to be themed on, in what order they'll happen and even in some cases where they're going to happen. But of course that is part of the beauty of this film, it allows enough thinking room for the viewer to speculate about the murders and let your imagination run wild while also telling you just enough facts to keep you on the edge of your seat!
Overall I'd say that as far as police dramas go, and I am a fan, this is one of the better one's that I've seen. For some obvious reasons and for some not-so-obvious reasons. Obvious would be things like, I loved the cast and thought the acting was brilliant all the way through, not so obvious would probably be something like, I thought the camera work left a lot to be desired in some places. But this still didn't really detract from the brilliance of the film. Having said that, I really didn't like the ending. I won't spoil it, but I will say that even though I can see why they did it, I still didn't think it quite slotted into place as well as it should have done. Oh well never mind, better luck next time I suppose.
The film is basically, cutting it down it's most base form, a police drama. It is the story of two very different policemen (as is usual with films involving the police force), Freeman as the role of William Somerset, an aging murder investigator on his last case before retirement and Pitt as the role David Mills, a young, new-to-the-station detective. The narrative focuses on the hunt for an illusive serial killer who is using the seven deadly sins to map out a series of murders.
Everything in the plot slots together rather well and although Freeman and Pitt aren't exactly a screen match made in heaven, in my opinion, the duo works. Everything one character says is an anecdote to the other, Mills rushed style of surveillance and Somerset's reserved approach to absolutely everything, he even eats dinner while holding his gun (and that's before anything has really even happened).
I have to say that the film, on a whole, more than lived up to my expectations, it was everything I wanted really. The acting was superb throughout, even when it started getting slightly cheesy and even more slightly unbelievable it knew exactly when to cut back to serious acting at just the right points to keep me laughing as well as keeping me in a serious state of mind. The murders were inventive (a lot more than can be said for most police/murder drama these days) and most importantly, unpredictable. Which to be honest you wouldn't imagine given the fact that you know exactly what each of the seven murders are going to be themed on, in what order they'll happen and even in some cases where they're going to happen. But of course that is part of the beauty of this film, it allows enough thinking room for the viewer to speculate about the murders and let your imagination run wild while also telling you just enough facts to keep you on the edge of your seat!
Overall I'd say that as far as police dramas go, and I am a fan, this is one of the better one's that I've seen. For some obvious reasons and for some not-so-obvious reasons. Obvious would be things like, I loved the cast and thought the acting was brilliant all the way through, not so obvious would probably be something like, I thought the camera work left a lot to be desired in some places. But this still didn't really detract from the brilliance of the film. Having said that, I really didn't like the ending. I won't spoil it, but I will say that even though I can see why they did it, I still didn't think it quite slotted into place as well as it should have done. Oh well never mind, better luck next time I suppose.
7.5/10
Monday, 22 June 2009
A Work In Progress
Have you ever wanted to create something timeless on paper, only to find that this may be harder, more time consuming or simply beyond your capabilities as a person? I think to a certain extent most people have, although I might be wrong. In any case, something everyone will do from a very young age is read, no matter what it is, in the western world it's just a fact that you'll sooner be a fluent reader before your too old, everyone remembers their first books, it's just another thing that stays with you throughout your life. Chip has a ball, Chip likes Mary, Mary likes Chip and so on and so forth until they become the short stories that we all came to adore.
Now, if you will, fast forward your life from the early days in the classroom to present day life. You are probably around my age or older, eighteen, nineteen, whatever, you've now read thousands, nay, millions of letter, words, texts, books, poetry and anything else that encompasses the written word, it's needles to say that you're somewhat familiar with the workings of the English language, presuming you're out of that stage where you drop letters that aren't necessarily needed to create the correct pronunciation for a word or "TXT language" as it's known on the 'streets', but for arguments sake I'm just going to guess that you are. Anyway, you've got the language you call your own down to a fine tuned point.
By now, you've probably written a lot yourself, but who has read all that you have ever written? A handful of teachers, bound only by a universal grading program? Maybe your parents when you were younger, humoring your new found skills? Or perhaps a handful of people on the Internet, possibly that you don't even know. Think again of all those books you've read, but really think, include every text, not just one's of fiction or fact but everything. Needless to say, it's a phenomenal feat, but personally, do you know one author? One solitary person who has ever had the pleasure to say that they have contributed something of note to the world of literature? If you do you are a luckier man than I.
Because of these somewhat pessimistic thoughts I've decided to turn this into a positive and write something I can be proud of. Not just something that I can post on a meaningless blog on the Internet or show
my parents but instead, just something to let me be humble in the knowledge that I at least gave it a go. And at the end of the day, isn't that what it's all about? I can't imagine Howard Lovecraft just sat down one day without any practice and wrote some of the worlds most inspired horror stories or when John Tolkien came to writing the Lord Of The Rings books he hadn't sat down years before and devised his stories piece by piece, little by little.
Having said this, I think I should mention that I'm not claiming that whatever I do end up spewing out will be anywhere near the level of genius that either of these authors have displayed, but it'll be my attempt at novel writing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not entering into this with nothing, I've been conducting a small bit of research to help me along my merry way. I'd heard of an organization in the past that devised something called "national novel writing month" and that they have an active website, with advice about writing your first novel, everything from help with ideas and opinions right down to how many words I should be aiming for so that I don't send myself cynically insane. According to the website, if you dig deep enough, 50,000 words is an average for a first go. Why not, hey? 50,000 words, that's only about 200 pages. I can do that.
As well as this I've got some rough story ideas floating around the page, I don;t mind sharing these since first off they're pretty lame and second off they are almost bound to change by the time I actually get into this thing.
To start with, we have the general plot (I'm told this is something that I should have before anything I write can be considered a novel), so here goes;
Story
The story is about a lonely car salesman and a sadistic bookstore owner who are friends of convenience. Three years ago both of them were the prime witnesses in a murder connected to the city's biggest organised crime syndicate and have been moved together in a relocation program by the government. It starts in a large city, close to where present day London is situated, somewhere in an undisclosed future.
The earth is now set several miles below sea level due to the after effects of global warming finally taking hold on the environment. In a last ditch attempt to save humanity from certain doom the worlds superpowers joined together into a single communist government and began to encase the worlds most wealthy city's in huge, watertight dome's so they would not be destroyed by the rising oceans. Due to this a large portion of the worlds population was wiped out, anybody not fortunate enough to already be living in these city's or wealthy enough to afford a place in one of the overcrowded slums were drowned, left to starve on boats or killed by pirates.
A continual war wages under the waves between the government forces and democratic rebels, promising a better life under the water.
When the two main characters find out they they are possibly part of a government conspiracy with just as many pros as con's they're forced to choose a side to fight for.
Characters
So far, I ain't got much in the way of character ideas. I've got the two main characters down to perfection and ideas for the leaders of the government and the rebels, but that's it. Anyway, here goes;
Name: Seth Ryan
Occupation: Car dealer
Character traits: Intent on the surface, but aggressive underneath.
Short bio: This guy puts you in mind of a rabid dog. He has almond-shaped black eyes. His thick, scruffy, coffee-colored hair is neck-length and is worn in an unkempt style. He's got a small mustache. He is very short and has a graceful build. His skin is nut-brown. He has a low forehead. His wardrobe is plain, with lots of gray and brown tones.
Name: Elroy grimes
Occupation: Bookstore owner
Character traits: Antisocial and humble.
Short bio: This gentleman reminds you of a raging river. He has beady brown eyes that are like two bronze coins. His fine, straight, sand-colored hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a pile of leaves. He has a broad-shouldered build. His skin is pale. He has large hands. His wardrobe is plain and severe, with a lot of green.
More ideas and characters pretty soon, but that's what I've got so far, so it's not gold, but for a first try I don't think it's too awful. Feel free to comment etc.
And just in case you can't envision the city, I'll help you with some Bioshock artwork, which is where I got a lot of inspiration for the idea in the first place*
*The original idea was to have the city's raised above the ocean on huge floating platforms, but my brother told me that this would simply make the story "unbelievable", which I found rather ironic.
Now, if you will, fast forward your life from the early days in the classroom to present day life. You are probably around my age or older, eighteen, nineteen, whatever, you've now read thousands, nay, millions of letter, words, texts, books, poetry and anything else that encompasses the written word, it's needles to say that you're somewhat familiar with the workings of the English language, presuming you're out of that stage where you drop letters that aren't necessarily needed to create the correct pronunciation for a word or "TXT language" as it's known on the 'streets', but for arguments sake I'm just going to guess that you are. Anyway, you've got the language you call your own down to a fine tuned point.
By now, you've probably written a lot yourself, but who has read all that you have ever written? A handful of teachers, bound only by a universal grading program? Maybe your parents when you were younger, humoring your new found skills? Or perhaps a handful of people on the Internet, possibly that you don't even know. Think again of all those books you've read, but really think, include every text, not just one's of fiction or fact but everything. Needless to say, it's a phenomenal feat, but personally, do you know one author? One solitary person who has ever had the pleasure to say that they have contributed something of note to the world of literature? If you do you are a luckier man than I.
Because of these somewhat pessimistic thoughts I've decided to turn this into a positive and write something I can be proud of. Not just something that I can post on a meaningless blog on the Internet or show
my parents but instead, just something to let me be humble in the knowledge that I at least gave it a go. And at the end of the day, isn't that what it's all about? I can't imagine Howard Lovecraft just sat down one day without any practice and wrote some of the worlds most inspired horror stories or when John Tolkien came to writing the Lord Of The Rings books he hadn't sat down years before and devised his stories piece by piece, little by little.Having said this, I think I should mention that I'm not claiming that whatever I do end up spewing out will be anywhere near the level of genius that either of these authors have displayed, but it'll be my attempt at novel writing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not entering into this with nothing, I've been conducting a small bit of research to help me along my merry way. I'd heard of an organization in the past that devised something called "national novel writing month" and that they have an active website, with advice about writing your first novel, everything from help with ideas and opinions right down to how many words I should be aiming for so that I don't send myself cynically insane. According to the website, if you dig deep enough, 50,000 words is an average for a first go. Why not, hey? 50,000 words, that's only about 200 pages. I can do that.
As well as this I've got some rough story ideas floating around the page, I don;t mind sharing these since first off they're pretty lame and second off they are almost bound to change by the time I actually get into this thing.
To start with, we have the general plot (I'm told this is something that I should have before anything I write can be considered a novel), so here goes;
Story
The story is about a lonely car salesman and a sadistic bookstore owner who are friends of convenience. Three years ago both of them were the prime witnesses in a murder connected to the city's biggest organised crime syndicate and have been moved together in a relocation program by the government. It starts in a large city, close to where present day London is situated, somewhere in an undisclosed future.
The earth is now set several miles below sea level due to the after effects of global warming finally taking hold on the environment. In a last ditch attempt to save humanity from certain doom the worlds superpowers joined together into a single communist government and began to encase the worlds most wealthy city's in huge, watertight dome's so they would not be destroyed by the rising oceans. Due to this a large portion of the worlds population was wiped out, anybody not fortunate enough to already be living in these city's or wealthy enough to afford a place in one of the overcrowded slums were drowned, left to starve on boats or killed by pirates.
A continual war wages under the waves between the government forces and democratic rebels, promising a better life under the water.
When the two main characters find out they they are possibly part of a government conspiracy with just as many pros as con's they're forced to choose a side to fight for.
Characters
So far, I ain't got much in the way of character ideas. I've got the two main characters down to perfection and ideas for the leaders of the government and the rebels, but that's it. Anyway, here goes;
Name: Seth Ryan
Occupation: Car dealer
Character traits: Intent on the surface, but aggressive underneath.
Short bio: This guy puts you in mind of a rabid dog. He has almond-shaped black eyes. His thick, scruffy, coffee-colored hair is neck-length and is worn in an unkempt style. He's got a small mustache. He is very short and has a graceful build. His skin is nut-brown. He has a low forehead. His wardrobe is plain, with lots of gray and brown tones.
Name: Elroy grimes
Occupation: Bookstore owner
Character traits: Antisocial and humble.
Short bio: This gentleman reminds you of a raging river. He has beady brown eyes that are like two bronze coins. His fine, straight, sand-colored hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a pile of leaves. He has a broad-shouldered build. His skin is pale. He has large hands. His wardrobe is plain and severe, with a lot of green.
More ideas and characters pretty soon, but that's what I've got so far, so it's not gold, but for a first try I don't think it's too awful. Feel free to comment etc.
And just in case you can't envision the city, I'll help you with some Bioshock artwork, which is where I got a lot of inspiration for the idea in the first place*
*The original idea was to have the city's raised above the ocean on huge floating platforms, but my brother told me that this would simply make the story "unbelievable", which I found rather ironic.
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Books Of Blood: The Coming Of Tan
Jedi Mind Tricks - Books of Blood.
I love rap when it makes you think and addresses issues other than shooting people, taking drugs, making money and scoring girls.
Unfortunately, this song doesn't actually have a video and I'm not even sure if the picture* used in this video comes of from anything connected to the band, but it's still an awesome song.
"We are all books of blood, for once we are open, we are red"
If you think that's not bad I recommend checking out more 'Jedi Mind Tricks', a couple of good album's to look out for are 'Violent by Design' and 'Legacy of Blood' although I recommend all of thier stuff, especially the older work.
Here's an example of something from way back when, probably one of my favorite songs as well;
*If you were wondering the picture is an ashtray engraved with the iconic free masons emblem, the ashtray is full of shotgun shells and is rested on an open bible. Don't ask me how I know, I just do.
I love rap when it makes you think and addresses issues other than shooting people, taking drugs, making money and scoring girls.
Unfortunately, this song doesn't actually have a video and I'm not even sure if the picture* used in this video comes of from anything connected to the band, but it's still an awesome song.
"We are all books of blood, for once we are open, we are red"
If you think that's not bad I recommend checking out more 'Jedi Mind Tricks', a couple of good album's to look out for are 'Violent by Design' and 'Legacy of Blood' although I recommend all of thier stuff, especially the older work.
Here's an example of something from way back when, probably one of my favorite songs as well;
*If you were wondering the picture is an ashtray engraved with the iconic free masons emblem, the ashtray is full of shotgun shells and is rested on an open bible. Don't ask me how I know, I just do.
Monday, 15 June 2009
Underground Vs. Mainstream
Underground music is cool until it's popularized by the sort of people that wear purple American Apparel hoodies and those neon shades that Kanye West wore that time.
These bands usually make a couple of chart bothering singles then the same kids that brought them into power decide that they don't like 'their flavor' anymore and move onto the next cool band to ruin.
While all this is happening bands that were created with the soul purpose of making it big (not mentioning any names here), they stay on top to a certain degree for most of their professional career, sometimes shadowed by the newest obscure R&B or commercial house track that Kiss FM decide is what people should be listening to that week/day/hour, until eventually the bass player dies in a horrific rock climbing/sky diving/extreme yachting accident and the band decide that he was so much of a creative force that they can't go on anymore and disband.
After this they're left with noting other than their millions and millions of useless pounds they've amounted and are left in the rain clutching a handful of soggy broken marriage vows after that super model wife decides that she preferred that guy who won Big Brother after all. At the end of the day, he's more sensitive and wears crocks.
The big bands will keep a few die hard fans that will hug their favorite album to the grave and everyone else will move on loving whatever replaces them.
The same doesn't occur for your underground scene, since when an underground band gets kicked from the charts they manage to keep face, if not for their niche fan base then for their mums who can't bare to see their beloved sons and daughters go to waste after all those guitar lessons that were payed for, largely on granddads inheritance. So instead they slip back into their skinny jeans and sleeveless Blondie t-shirts and tour the country with their radical new album, complete with what they laughingly call 'a new sound'. Because of this many of their hardcore fans absolutely hate the new album since it's all new and scary, most of them are still recovering from the shell shock of their hero's falling from grace, this all just becomes too much. Many of these hardcore fans will often move on to start their own bands to prove that there are kids who can still 'keep it real' without the help of the media but sooner or later follow exactly the same path as their down trodden predecessors.
And thus the cycle continues.
These bands usually make a couple of chart bothering singles then the same kids that brought them into power decide that they don't like 'their flavor' anymore and move onto the next cool band to ruin.
While all this is happening bands that were created with the soul purpose of making it big (not mentioning any names here), they stay on top to a certain degree for most of their professional career, sometimes shadowed by the newest obscure R&B or commercial house track that Kiss FM decide is what people should be listening to that week/day/hour, until eventually the bass player dies in a horrific rock climbing/sky diving/extreme yachting accident and the band decide that he was so much of a creative force that they can't go on anymore and disband.
After this they're left with noting other than their millions and millions of useless pounds they've amounted and are left in the rain clutching a handful of soggy broken marriage vows after that super model wife decides that she preferred that guy who won Big Brother after all. At the end of the day, he's more sensitive and wears crocks.
The big bands will keep a few die hard fans that will hug their favorite album to the grave and everyone else will move on loving whatever replaces them.
The same doesn't occur for your underground scene, since when an underground band gets kicked from the charts they manage to keep face, if not for their niche fan base then for their mums who can't bare to see their beloved sons and daughters go to waste after all those guitar lessons that were payed for, largely on granddads inheritance. So instead they slip back into their skinny jeans and sleeveless Blondie t-shirts and tour the country with their radical new album, complete with what they laughingly call 'a new sound'. Because of this many of their hardcore fans absolutely hate the new album since it's all new and scary, most of them are still recovering from the shell shock of their hero's falling from grace, this all just becomes too much. Many of these hardcore fans will often move on to start their own bands to prove that there are kids who can still 'keep it real' without the help of the media but sooner or later follow exactly the same path as their down trodden predecessors.
And thus the cycle continues.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Photoshop
Check it out, yo! Some recent stuff. I totally ripped the arm design of some clothing companies "summer range" booklet that they quite ironically slipped through my door, on the wettest day of the year so far.
I sketched up the arm, beefed it up a bit, more contours and thicker fore-arm and added the tattoo's. Admittedly I only actually drew the Black Flag logo on the wrist, the rest were pretty much all Google jobs and some stuff I had lying around in my junk picture folder.
It's pretty sloppy, but it took me the best part of an hour, so who cares. Also my tattoo positioning was mega rushed, hence the clutter, but like I said, whatever.
I might turn this into a stencil if I can ever be bothered, might look cool on a t-shirt!
It 'could' just be coincidence
The word "coincidence" is thrown around a lot more today than people seem to realize.
A poor understanding of probability leads many people to put forward supernatural explanation for events that are far more common than they think.
This video attempts to prove that by showing how probability theory is sufficient to explain even the most seemingly remarkable and unexplainable "coincidences". I think it does it rather well.
Everyone should make room for logic like this.
If anyone is interested, here is a link to the narrators channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/QualiaSoup
A lot of his videos are popular misconception and logic breakdowns (from an atheists point of view, scores points with me)
A poor understanding of probability leads many people to put forward supernatural explanation for events that are far more common than they think.
This video attempts to prove that by showing how probability theory is sufficient to explain even the most seemingly remarkable and unexplainable "coincidences". I think it does it rather well.
Everyone should make room for logic like this.
If anyone is interested, here is a link to the narrators channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/QualiaSoup
A lot of his videos are popular misconception and logic breakdowns (from an atheists point of view, scores points with me)
Monday, 8 June 2009
Wide Awake
Sometimes, I wish that I had more knowledge of how actions while awake impacted my sleep patterns. This is a question that I have been pondering for some times now, having a somewhat scattered past of irregular sleep patterns over the past three or four years.
I have an irritating tenancy to stay awake for much longer than is considered healthy for a person of my age, sitting up in my room or in the living room long into the early morning hours, reading or watching those obscure documentaries that are aired on the 'Sci-Fi' and 'National Geographic' channels at such times. I often wonder how many people are really interested in "The great mysteries of the unknown" at 4 o'clock in the morning, the viewing figures must be through the roof.
I have tried going to sleep earlier at at set times each night to make sure I at least get a certain number of hours sleep but no matter how many times I try and correct the problem, I seem to slip right back into my old habits after no longer than a week or so.
Lately though, I've being trying a lot harder to correct my sleep patterns. You see, every couple of months it seems, I start to have very vivid and detailed dreams, and in some cases, nightmares. Unlike what I would call my 'normal' every day dreams, which are nowhere near as vivid or memorable I might add, these seem to last days, sometimes weeks at a time, only to find myself waking up every morning in the same curled up position as the night before.
The subject matter and setting every night seems to differ widely as well, whereas other people with very much the same problem commonly have blocks or 'series' of similar dreams running over a consensus of night's or weeks mine always seem detached from one another and to show no consistency what so ever.
I could just as easily be roaming the streets of some war torn city as be laying in a hammock on a huge open field.
In a way I find this very distressing. Not only do these dreams deter me from a pleasant nights sleep but they often slowly turn bitter, making the sudden transaction from dream to nightmare. This is indeed the one and only similarity that they all show in common with one another.
Of course these dreams could be caused by a million different things that I'm perhaps doing wrong in my waking life, without the faintest idea. And in that, there lies something very unsettling for me.
Two weeks and four days. I hope this passes soon.
Bias Film Reviews (2)
What I've been watching this week
The Machinist (15+)
The Machinist (15+)
Before actually watching this film for myself I'd only heard very sparse and vague reviews of it, usually by word of mouth or just by noticing a small piece of writing on a website and the like, but despite that I decided that it sounded interesting enough to check out. The story of 'The Machinist' is one man's account of his association with chronic insomnia and how he believes he has become part of an intricate conspiracy against him, the film follows the character through a web of bizarre events and mishaps that have started occurring around his usually quite quiet life. Having said this the story is very much one of speculation and is, in my opinion, one that can differ from person to person, depending on how you viewed the film and what your take on it is.
In any case I thought the film was brilliant from start to end, having went into it with next to no expectations, except probably the hope of some snappy acting on Christian Bale's part and some 'arty' camera work by director Brad Anderson, I've came out of it feeling strangely fulfilled, like this film has almost been some sort of cinematic breakthrough (even though it came out 5 years ago), of course in reality, it probably wasn't all that good but it's been so long since I watched a film that I enjoyed this much. I admire the way that the film can keep establishing new plot points, without it ever feeling tedious or 'strung out' and the way that as the story progresses you feel more and more as if the ending can never justify some of the things that have taken place, but man, does it! Supported along the way of course by some beautiful directing on Anderson's part and a truly stunning performance by Bale throughout, this film really does keep you thinking right up until the end, with a nice juicy plot twist to catch you of guard, just when you think you've got it all figured out.
I think in hindsight, this is probably one of the better films that I've seen this year, without a doubt. I really enjoyed every second of it in some way or another, for me this was just a neat package of everything I like to see in a film composed into something quite brilliant. Of course, I know this isn't every one's views as I'm aware of quite a few people who really hated 'The Machinist' and I guess I can see why in some ways, sure it's over pretentious and Christian Bale is pretty much just waving his anorexic cock in your face for several hours, but to be honest I don't care what you think, I loved it and I'd recommend it to everyone and their mothers!
9/10
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Bias Film Reviews (1)
What I've been watching this week
Pineapple express (15+)
If you've read or heard anything about this film before, it's pretty much everything you expected it to be. The story is quite simple, it's about a casual drug user who witnesses a murder and is linked to it through his dealer, they then both go on the run together to escape some thugs that want to kill them before they go to the police or whatever, you know the type of thing, of course you do, you've seen it a million times over in these teenage comedy type films, so you know what to expect.
To be honest, it was a lot funnier than I thought it was going to be when I brought it (just out of morbid curiosity, you understand), it kept me giggling all the way through to the end, for me that's quite rare with these sorts of films, I've usually tired of all the sexual references and gay jokes by about the second half, but Pineapple express just kept on giving and I kept on lapping it up. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, I'll be the first to admit that the story isn't exactly grade A materiel, but the wide variety or colorful and very likable characters more than makes up for this in the long run, as well as Seth Rogen and James Franco's endless line up of bad taste jokes and trendy drug references.
Overall I think the film was well worth the watch, considering that I wasn't expecting much in the first place it was a refreshing surprise. It lacks anything that a serious movie goer would consider "good" but for the casual comedy fan, it's bound to get a few big laughs. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was high, but what film can't you say that about these days?
To be honest, it was a lot funnier than I thought it was going to be when I brought it (just out of morbid curiosity, you understand), it kept me giggling all the way through to the end, for me that's quite rare with these sorts of films, I've usually tired of all the sexual references and gay jokes by about the second half, but Pineapple express just kept on giving and I kept on lapping it up. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, I'll be the first to admit that the story isn't exactly grade A materiel, but the wide variety or colorful and very likable characters more than makes up for this in the long run, as well as Seth Rogen and James Franco's endless line up of bad taste jokes and trendy drug references.
Overall I think the film was well worth the watch, considering that I wasn't expecting much in the first place it was a refreshing surprise. It lacks anything that a serious movie goer would consider "good" but for the casual comedy fan, it's bound to get a few big laughs. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was high, but what film can't you say that about these days?
7.5/10
The Mist (15+)
Even before watching this I was instantly bias towards it, being a big Stephan King fan as well as a whore for anything Frank Darabont. The Mist is an adaption of a book by King of the same name, basically it's about a group of folks from a small town who because of their circumstances get locked together in a supermarket while some weird mist spreads over the town, the idea is that they never know whats going to come out of the mist next and they all have to fight for survival whilst also fighting with each other, blah blah blah.
I'm quite a big horror/thriller fan so this film, for me, was nothing to far from the norm, despite that there were a few nice little details that I thought shone through the conventions of the average thriller movie, which really helped to give "The Mist" a nice radiant glow for a little while among other recent films of the same genre.
As far as story goes, it's pretty much a mystery right through to the end, the basic plot is set at the beginning, as you would expect, and then Stephan King kindly lets your mind run wild for as long as the film lasts. And even so, the script is flawlessly solid, backed up by some nice acting, especially by Thomas Jane who was bloody awful in the Punisher.
The Mist (15+)
Even before watching this I was instantly bias towards it, being a big Stephan King fan as well as a whore for anything Frank Darabont. The Mist is an adaption of a book by King of the same name, basically it's about a group of folks from a small town who because of their circumstances get locked together in a supermarket while some weird mist spreads over the town, the idea is that they never know whats going to come out of the mist next and they all have to fight for survival whilst also fighting with each other, blah blah blah.
I'm quite a big horror/thriller fan so this film, for me, was nothing to far from the norm, despite that there were a few nice little details that I thought shone through the conventions of the average thriller movie, which really helped to give "The Mist" a nice radiant glow for a little while among other recent films of the same genre.
As far as story goes, it's pretty much a mystery right through to the end, the basic plot is set at the beginning, as you would expect, and then Stephan King kindly lets your mind run wild for as long as the film lasts. And even so, the script is flawlessly solid, backed up by some nice acting, especially by Thomas Jane who was bloody awful in the Punisher.
Overall, yes I liked the film, it had everything I was looking for, so no disappointments. It was suitably "scary" (I suppose), shot beautifully, and the acting was convincing enough for me to care about the characters enough to feel slight remorse when one of them was disemboweled or set on fire. On the other hand, it wasn't what I'd call a breakthrough in horror, or thriller for that matter, despite the boxes ludicrous claims, and I quote, "One of the best horror films ever made, with an ending that continues to shock audiences the world over", so yeah, good luck with that Mr. Darabont, I'd keep on wishing on that star if I were you, besides nothing you ever do ever again will ever be as good as The Shawshank Redemption so you might as well just kill yourself.
6/10
Bias Film Reviews (An explanation)
Sometimes, just sometimes, people do things for no good or rational reason other than for their own sheer amusement, which is exactly what I intend to do.
In the last 9 or 10 weeks I've been watching a lot more films than I have previously done in the past, probably because I have a lot more free time on my hands now than I ever have done before (not that it's a good thing to waste this watching films, but one has to do something, right?), so I thought, "why not start talking about the films that I've been watching?" and why not indeed, sure you can talk about them at the pub or with friends, family, whoever, but that just doesn't give the same level of satisfaction as, say, ranting inanely about them on the world wide web, now does it? No it doesn't. And that's just what I'm going to do, great, huh? *
This is how it's going to work, I'll update this topic every week or so with the running title; "What I've been watching this week", then I'll simply name the films, write a short paragraph about each, saying what I liked, what I hated, etc etc and then I'll score them a number out of ten, one being the most detestable piece of filth ever to grace my television (or indeed, the world) and ten being the new love of my life.
Now, you may have noticed that this article is called "Bias Film Reviews" emphasis on the word "Bias", these film reviews are going to be short, snappy, badly written and above all, composed with no thought for anyone's point of view bar my own (that is a promise by the way). I guess, what I'm getting at here is, don't come to me with your numerous disagreements that you're no doubt going to have about my review on your favorite film, because quite frankly I don't want to hear them. If you do disagree however, feel free to write a "rival" review and leave a link in the comment box or send me a nasty personal message and I won't reply. Well you know what they say, hate mail is better than no mail.
*Don't answer that
In the last 9 or 10 weeks I've been watching a lot more films than I have previously done in the past, probably because I have a lot more free time on my hands now than I ever have done before (not that it's a good thing to waste this watching films, but one has to do something, right?), so I thought, "why not start talking about the films that I've been watching?" and why not indeed, sure you can talk about them at the pub or with friends, family, whoever, but that just doesn't give the same level of satisfaction as, say, ranting inanely about them on the world wide web, now does it? No it doesn't. And that's just what I'm going to do, great, huh? *
This is how it's going to work, I'll update this topic every week or so with the running title; "What I've been watching this week", then I'll simply name the films, write a short paragraph about each, saying what I liked, what I hated, etc etc and then I'll score them a number out of ten, one being the most detestable piece of filth ever to grace my television (or indeed, the world) and ten being the new love of my life.
Now, you may have noticed that this article is called "Bias Film Reviews" emphasis on the word "Bias", these film reviews are going to be short, snappy, badly written and above all, composed with no thought for anyone's point of view bar my own (that is a promise by the way). I guess, what I'm getting at here is, don't come to me with your numerous disagreements that you're no doubt going to have about my review on your favorite film, because quite frankly I don't want to hear them. If you do disagree however, feel free to write a "rival" review and leave a link in the comment box or send me a nasty personal message and I won't reply. Well you know what they say, hate mail is better than no mail.
*Don't answer that
Monday, 25 May 2009
Re: Projects. The fall of "High Rise"
*See bottomWell, it's official High Rise is no longer in the pipe line. It's been terminated due to scheduling conflicts of people involved and me not really having the time or effort required to put into such a film.
If your unfamiliar with this issue, let me explain from the beginning. Whilst at college I and a fellow student were commissioned by the media department to write, direct, produce and edit a short film (10 minutes to be exact, although later we were told the film could in fact be of any length, shame they didn't have the foresight to tell us that at the beginning) . In any case, a short while previous to this task I had been writing a number of different short comedy scripts for another college project, which came in rather handy as one was exactly 10 minutes long, the required amount of time, and fit the criteria rather well. After a lengthy re-writing process the film was ready to start entering production stages, unfortunately I'd been having some rather heated 'discussions' with my head of department about my work rate and just attitude in general and shortly after this, I left the college.
Now, I had still intended to be very much a part of the film and had the media departments blessing to carry on working with it (it is my script after all), even though I was no longer a student, but sadly, I've had little time to contribute lately, what with running a part time job and trying to find full time employment, not to mention writing letters and filling out copious amounts forms and Internet bollocks. Anyway, I felt bad laying the work load all on one person, even though she had extra help at college it just wasn't fair, so after meeting up and talking about it, we've decided that it would be best to discontinue the film, at least until a later date when we both have time for such a project. I won;t say that I'm not slightly annoyed about it all, I was looking forward to filming and final casting etc etc but on the bright side this does give me time to write a follow up, or perhaps extend the current script.
If anyone is interested in reading "High Rise" I'll be posting a link to the script as soon as I figure out how to actually do that. It's a short comedy piece based around the lives of two very different individuals who have ended up sharing a flat together in the middle of a tower block. It's mostly shit, self confessed, but for some reason it got a brilliant reaction in the class reading, hence it actually going into production in the first place, I'd like to think they were laughs of genuine humor, not sarcasm...although that's probably wishful thinking.
*Check out the fucking whack photoshop job on that logo. You just know that shit was knocked up at the last minute as a joke.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Re: Vinyl
In one of my recent posts titled "Vinyl" I promised that I'd share any recent interesting finds and purchases (as well as sales) that I'd come across regarding vinyl.
I thought that this would be a better time than any to update this topic for several reasons. The first of which is that through sheer luck and chance I've came into possession of a large amount old/vintage vinyl records and singles, ranging in genre and age, the collection is huge, I have no idea of exact (or even rough) numbers but lets just say that I'm going to have a lot to look through and listen too in the coming months. I've been assured that collection includes some rare little gems for me to discover along the way, so I'll gradually be posting anything that I may come across. The second reason is that I've been doing some sorting out of my own collection I've came across some odd finds that I hadn't really thought about before now that I'd like to share!
Gallows 7" singles;
Abandon ship 7" with etched B side. (Part one of a two part set)
This 7" set came as a promotional offer from HMV when gallows debut album "Orchestra of wolves" was first released, I think it might have had something to do with me pre-ordering it several weeks previous. In any case it was a bugger to get hold of, the store that I purchased the CD album from said that they did'nt keep them in thier branch, luckly I found myself in Norwich a few weeks later and decided to try my luck at thier branch, by some miraclous stroke of luck they had one left, although at first the cashier didn't seem to have a clue what I was talking about, and it took about 15 minutes and two senior staff to actually find it in some corner of a stock room, presumebly. Worth it in the end though, I'm never one to pass up anything free!
This single is the first part of a two part single release, both singles come together in a neat little sleeve with the iconic 'octopus' artwork by Dan Mumford (who's artwork I'm a big fan of by the way) , the second single in the sleeve is two sided single containing the tracks "Belly of a shark" on side A and the much lesser known B side track "Nervous breakdown", which if I'm not mistaken, is a Black Flag cover (It's actually spectacularly good and would have made a cracking album filler, alas). When the two singles are laid out flat next to each other they look something like this;
Which, I think you'll agree, is pretty awesome. And when the presentation sleeve for the singles is laid flat it looks something like this;
Outer spread:
Inner spread:
Before now I hadn't really considered how common or rare these were, after doing a little bit of research there doesn't seem to be many of them around, I can't find exact print numbers anywhere on the internet or the sleeve or inner sleeve's, neither can I find anywhere on the internet that sells them, either as a pair in the way I have them, or individually. In fact, apart from my copy they seem to not exist at all, interesting.
I thought that this would be a better time than any to update this topic for several reasons. The first of which is that through sheer luck and chance I've came into possession of a large amount old/vintage vinyl records and singles, ranging in genre and age, the collection is huge, I have no idea of exact (or even rough) numbers but lets just say that I'm going to have a lot to look through and listen too in the coming months. I've been assured that collection includes some rare little gems for me to discover along the way, so I'll gradually be posting anything that I may come across. The second reason is that I've been doing some sorting out of my own collection I've came across some odd finds that I hadn't really thought about before now that I'd like to share!
Gallows 7" singles;
Abandon ship 7" with etched B side. (Part one of a two part set)
This 7" set came as a promotional offer from HMV when gallows debut album "Orchestra of wolves" was first released, I think it might have had something to do with me pre-ordering it several weeks previous. In any case it was a bugger to get hold of, the store that I purchased the CD album from said that they did'nt keep them in thier branch, luckly I found myself in Norwich a few weeks later and decided to try my luck at thier branch, by some miraclous stroke of luck they had one left, although at first the cashier didn't seem to have a clue what I was talking about, and it took about 15 minutes and two senior staff to actually find it in some corner of a stock room, presumebly. Worth it in the end though, I'm never one to pass up anything free!
This single is the first part of a two part single release, both singles come together in a neat little sleeve with the iconic 'octopus' artwork by Dan Mumford (who's artwork I'm a big fan of by the way) , the second single in the sleeve is two sided single containing the tracks "Belly of a shark" on side A and the much lesser known B side track "Nervous breakdown", which if I'm not mistaken, is a Black Flag cover (It's actually spectacularly good and would have made a cracking album filler, alas). When the two singles are laid out flat next to each other they look something like this;
Which, I think you'll agree, is pretty awesome. And when the presentation sleeve for the singles is laid flat it looks something like this;
Outer spread:
Inner spread:
Before now I hadn't really considered how common or rare these were, after doing a little bit of research there doesn't seem to be many of them around, I can't find exact print numbers anywhere on the internet or the sleeve or inner sleeve's, neither can I find anywhere on the internet that sells them, either as a pair in the way I have them, or individually. In fact, apart from my copy they seem to not exist at all, interesting.
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Teeth, sweat and tears (not)
Today followed the by-yearly trip to the dentists which was, as I'd expected, as awful and unpleasant as I'd guessed it would be. The dentists is not something that I ever think I've seen eye to eye with, ever since childhood as far back as I can remember I've hated it with a passion.
There's something about the way the building smells as soon as you walk through the door that puts me at unease, a sort of clinical musty smell mixed potently with a foul sweaty odor that's only made worse by the mountains of air fresheners and strong smelling flowers dotted strategically around the surgery . The next thing you notice is the staff, medical receptionists are, in my opinion, among the most bitter, cynical, arrogant and generally unhappy people you could ever hope to meet. When I arrived I was greeted at the desk by a woman in her mid 50's (at a guess) but she could have been 80 or older from a distance, the only presentable thing about her was a disturbingly unfitting blue uniform that she was wearing over a kind of vomit colored turtle neck sweater, I don't think I've ever seen a person look so uncomfortable in their own skin, but having said that this is the stereotype for a lot of medical staff now-a-days (and not just receptionists either), anyway, I wasn't there to see her.
After sitting in a foul smelling claustrophobic waiting room for 10 minutes listening to the only available channel on the tiny television in the corner (some awful learning program for children, you know the type of thing, presented by some creep in a stripey sweater called Nigel) I was called in to the surgery. Now, contrary to everything else, I actually rather like my new dentist, I'd never met him before but I was pleasantly surprised to find that unlike the rest of the staff he seemed quite cheerful and happy to be there, not something often seen in dental surgery's! A rather well spoken fellow with a french accent.
Not that this put me at ease at all, the overall experience was still terrible, something that I'm glad I won't have to endure for another 6 months! Luckily, according to the french bloke, I'd been a good boy and looked after my teeth enough for him to be happy for me to leave without any kind of dentist style death sentence for staining my teeth with tea and chipping them on my old lip rings, oh well, like he said "Eh vot can jou do?".
Vinyl
I've recently started getting interested in vinyl and record collecting instead of buying CD's or downloading albums. Mainly because of the large jump in sound quality, but as a music enthusiast this allows me to buy and listen to a lot of material that I previously hadn't listened to or, in some cases, even knew existed!
From now on I'm going to update this with some of my more rare or valued purchases and sales, along with anything I come across that I feel is particularly interesting. I might also post links to any stuff that I'm selling at the time of the post, if I do, it'll most likely be on eBay.
From now on I'm going to update this with some of my more rare or valued purchases and sales, along with anything I come across that I feel is particularly interesting. I might also post links to any stuff that I'm selling at the time of the post, if I do, it'll most likely be on eBay.
Monday, 11 May 2009
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Projects
As stated in the previous post I'm going to use this blog to help keep up with my current affairs and that for one means current projects that I'm working on. No longer being at college and without a job to go to I often find myself wrapped up in ideas that have usually flourished due to boredom and general arrogance to give up on eventually making something worth while.
Current projects (In no specific order)
As for band organization, this may take some time due to rather complicated individual member commitments and our current distance problem, if it can be called that. A lot of these problems will hopefully eradicate themselves over the coming months as we're all brought closer together, with the coming return of our main guitar player from his long term moving to the outer Hebrides and the coming together of several other local musicians. More on this as it progresses (Also keep an eye open for band member unavailing, planned to happen soon) .
Lyric writing is as of now, a constant process, not knowing how long it is going to take or when final versions of songs will finally take effect, unfortunately this is a rather lengthy and argues task but one that must undoubtedly be finalized before more serious progress with any releases is made, small time or not.
More on all of this as it progresses.
Current projects (In no specific order)
- Organizing first band practice sessions and music tech equipment.
- Filming master edits of my current on/off short sitcom "High Rise" (This includes final character casting and all stages of pre and post production)
- Lyric writing projects. This covers all lyrics for the 4 tracks the forth coming "unnamed" EP to be mastered later in the year.
As for band organization, this may take some time due to rather complicated individual member commitments and our current distance problem, if it can be called that. A lot of these problems will hopefully eradicate themselves over the coming months as we're all brought closer together, with the coming return of our main guitar player from his long term moving to the outer Hebrides and the coming together of several other local musicians. More on this as it progresses (Also keep an eye open for band member unavailing, planned to happen soon) .
Lyric writing is as of now, a constant process, not knowing how long it is going to take or when final versions of songs will finally take effect, unfortunately this is a rather lengthy and argues task but one that must undoubtedly be finalized before more serious progress with any releases is made, small time or not.
More on all of this as it progresses.
Opening statement.
Blogging has, up until now, been something that I have purposely avoided on the internet for several reasons that I don't feel the need to go into now, but never the less it's been seemingly pointless to me (as well as other things), hence I've never looked at it twice. And yet here I am, writing this now, the first installment of what I presume will be many more to come following the unforeseen future.
Of course me being here in the first place means that the previous statement has now changed and I have seen use in blogging. No less than using this blog as an every day account of my thoughts and feelings on certain subjects and recent goings on, as well as other things that I see fit to articulate in this space. This use is, by all means, incredibly conventional and has been done a million times over, but never the less I feel that it's going to help me get some affairs in order, that I feel, need to be swung into some sort of semi-luminescent lighting for others to see, all be it a rather dim one.
Oliver Burton.
Of course me being here in the first place means that the previous statement has now changed and I have seen use in blogging. No less than using this blog as an every day account of my thoughts and feelings on certain subjects and recent goings on, as well as other things that I see fit to articulate in this space. This use is, by all means, incredibly conventional and has been done a million times over, but never the less I feel that it's going to help me get some affairs in order, that I feel, need to be swung into some sort of semi-luminescent lighting for others to see, all be it a rather dim one.
Oliver Burton.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
