This breathtaking and riveting film is based on a novella of the same name by Jonathan Ames. As the title suggests, it is the story of a man (Joe) deep in the throes of an existential crisis.
We see him hovering on a train platform evidently contemplating suicide and in a very real sense he is already half-dead inside. Ramsey described Joe as “a ghost in his own life”. Continue reading
It goes without saying that David Lynch divides audiences. His surreal visions of the world and the tall tales he weaves are never going to be to everyone’s taste.
The naysayers continually complain of the absence of linear narrative in his work, or point to the wilful weirdness, the stilted dialogue and the wooden acting. Actually, a lot of the time, all these criticisms are valid but what count as weaknesses in other auteurs turn into strengths in the Lynchian universe. Continue reading
After the feel good pleasures of The Artist (which I blogged about yesterday) Lynne Ramsey’s We Need To Talk About Kevin is guaranteed to bring you down to earth with a jolt. It proves that you don’t need graphic violence to make an effective horror movie.
In a non-linear narrative, episodes from Eva Khatchadourian’s life converge as she tries to piece together the events before and after her 15 year old son commits horrific Columbine type murders.
In Lionel Shriver’s novel Eva’s grief and psychological torment unfold through a series of letters to her husband Franklin. The only way to render this in cinematic terms would have been to have a voiceover from start to finish, a device which Ramsey and co-scriptwriter Rory Stewart Kinnear wisely reject. The central perspective remains that of Eva, superbly played Tilda Swinton, but this is largely conveyed in visual terms. Continue reading
John Lennon claimed to have no idea why he called his song Norwegian Wood, but it is not hard to see why Haruki Murakami chose it as the title of his novel (now also a movie).
Thanks to the popularity of their current album, ‘ Veckatimest’ , Grizzly Bear are the latest band to challenge the top slot currently held by fellow Brooklyn-ers Animal Collective on of my New Weird America Last.Fm group chart .
They are not particularly ‘weird’ and, despite their name, there’s nothing fierce or threatening about their music. On the contrary, their richly melodic and meticulously structured sound could almost be called cuddly – more ‘Teddy’ than ‘Grizzly’. Pitchfork calls Veckatimest “compositionally and sonically airtight”.
Jonny Greenwood is a big fan and this helped the band to land a prestigious support slot on Radiohead’s North American tour in 2008. There may be a cultural divide between these two bands, but they both inhabit the more studious strand of contemporary music – a kind of swot-rock.
Grizzly Bear are ostensibly an Indie band, albeit one whose pop/rock sound covers more territory than your average chart combo. The choral interludes, for instance, would not be out of place on Phillip Glass’ Koyaanisqatsi .
Animal Collective may retain the crown as number one New Weird crossover band but the widescreen pop of Grizzly Bear (along with similar groups like Fleet Foxes) emphasises how modern day Americana makes a genre like Alt. Country look very outmoded.
 | Anonymous on No tears for Mark Lanegan |
 | MaleFriends on IN PRAISE OF THE HAIRY CHEST |
| Anonymous on COPYCAT KILLER IN DUMB MOVIE |
