Monday, 2 February 2009
Developed by Valve Corporation
Genre First person survival horror
Platform PC, Xbox360
Release date(s) 18th November 2008
Now I want you to think about that film 28 Days Later. Remember that? Man that was a sweet film. Now I want you to imagine playing that film in a videogame form. Then you probably have a pretty good idea what this game is like.
This is a survival horror, where you control one out of a small group of survivors (either online with friends or offline on your own) and attempt to survive a zombie onslaught. These are no shuffling Resident Evil type zombies mind, this is more like 28 Days Later 'infected', running towards you in massive packs at high speed like a snarling animal and then lunging their teeth right into you. Your team consists of Bill, an aged, ex vietnam vet with a gruff demeanor and an ass kicking attitude; Lou, a regional assistant at some tech company with lots of pent up rage ready to be unleashed; Francis, a bad ass biker to whom a zombie invasion is like Christmas, Easter and New Year's combined; and lastly Zoe, a hot college student who watches too many horror movies.
You will end up fighting hundreds of these guys in open spaces as well as in claustrophobic corridors as you desperately attempt to make your way to the next safe house, and to do this you have access to all manner of goodies, double pistols, shotguns, assault rifles. It's incredibly frenetic, tense, and will shake you to your core. It's bloody brilliant.
Whilst clearly designed to work as an online game in your team of four, the single player will still keep you entertained for ages, thanks largely to some really excellent AI work, though I did encounter one or two glitches, players getting stuck and the like, but it ends up not mattering anyway as you can immediately start at any stage of the game from the moment you get it, as opposed to the usual mechanic of having to unlock new levels to play.
So what's wrong with it? Not a whole lot. I suppose some more could have been put into the single player mode, maybe some cutscenes tying together the individual chapters rather than making them so disjointed and abrupt, and as I mentioned I did encounter some AI glitches now and again. And of course, the game is really a bit short, not that that's a surprise for a game mostly intended for online play, but still.
Overall this is a very fine game and a must have for any fan of Valve or of zombie movies. Very exciting, very gory, very good.
song of the day: "First Time High (of Chicago remix of Eluardian Instance)" by "Of Montreal"
thing that makes me smile today: Arsenal slip sliding away out of the top 4, maybe even further
pic of the day:
IN:
Lost
Aston Villa
Snow!
OUT:
Heroes
Arsenal
No snow!
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
As I start to write this out, I am sat in the library at a hospital in London. I'm watching the inauguration on this rather nifty facebook/cnn collaboration, and I am bloody loving it. As someone who has been following and supporting Obama since the beginning this is no surprise. What even I could not forsee is the reaction all around me. The library, normally completely empty is absolutely packed full of English doctors, nurses and even a few patients, all watching the exact same thing around the various computers.
Millions crammed into DC to watch the inauguration, another 3 million watched it live on Facebook, many millions more watched it on tv all over the world. It was without a doubt the most watched live event of all time. It is a fitting end for a journey that has been groundbreaking and history making every step of the way, and indeed a sense of near universal pride has overcome Americans everywhere, something they're not used to in recent times.
Indeed it is a proud day for us all. Bush is finally gone, and I think we can all say good fucking riddance. The only good thing about his presidency is that he has now so completely trashed the Republican party that the Democrats can look forward to a very bright and dominant future, and indeed it would seem to most observers that pretty much the entirety of the next generation of Americans has been so alienated by this corrupt douche, and so won over by Obama that the GOP is screwed for the foreseeable future, barring a complete image make over, a complete overhaul of high profile members and ideology, and some catastrophic blunder on Obama's part. And that of course is great news for the entire world.
Most heartwarming of all was to see Teddy Kennedy keep his promise to be here the day Obama gets sworn in and see the torch handed over to the next generation of inspirational Democrats. The only black spot of the day was Teddy's fatigue related collapse shortly afterwards, though we hear that he is ok now and alert again. There goes a great man, and one who hopefully will still be around for a while yet.
So the new world begins today. A world where science and technology is at the forefront, not hate and warmongering; a world where 'intellectual' is not a fucking derogatory term! A world where we work with our allies, not against them (i know, what an idea) and a world where we can finally admit that global warming is real and needs working on! A world where the national debt goes DOWN instead of exponentially UP (is it really a coincidence that it always goes down with a democrat in charge and always goes up with a republican?) A world where we realize that there are more important things than putting extra cash in the pockets of the oil tycoons, and that like it or not, oil WILL run out and we need to find an alternative. I could go on and on for ages such is the extent of ridiculous republican policy that we are now FREE from.
9 in 10 people across the world are deliriously happy today, I hope you're one of them.
Well, for anyone who thought America could really afford to disregard the value of science and progress for a decade and still remain at the forefront of development, this article is a wake up call. A team of frontier researchers in Glasgow have recently announced that they are to start a trial designed to examine the usefulness of embryonic stem cells in treating stroke patients.
Stroke patients show damage to tissue in the brain as a result of a disruption of of blood supply. This invariably leads to a decline in brain function.
The difficulty in treating this is that brain tissue naturally doesn't really have a repair or renewal function, which means that once damage is done, it can not be repaired.
One hypothetical way to fix this is by using the base stem cells that our brains develop from after we are born to generate new brain tissue and neurons. It is a technique that has been shown to be effective in animal testing, but clearly use on people is an entirely different matter.
However, now for the first time we are going to see trials on actual human patients to see if it works. I don't have to explain to you that this could be huge, with the potential to help many many people, not just those with strokes, but those with other conditions involving neuronal damage, and if the principle is sound, other unrelated conditions.
It is an exciting time for medical researchers, and most will tell you that we are currently going through the medical equivalent of the industrial revolution. Stem cell research presents perhaps the most interesting of these frontiers with near limitless potential that could extend life expectancy for several years, hypothetically able to treat any systemic damage.
And yet these exciting developments are being made in Scotland, as opposed to the biggest and richest (and formerly most cutting edge) nation on the planet. We have Bush and his bible waving cronies to thank for that, and as Obama takes office with the intent to return American scientists to the forefront of research one can only wonder what the world would be like today if we had taken this approach eight years ago. Sigh.
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Written by Dustin Lance Black
Starring Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin
Release date(s) 26th November 2008
Running time 128 minutes
In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. Scoring a massive victory for gay rights, Milk became one of the icons of civil rights, up until his assassination in 1978. This is the film about his short lived political career.
This film, directed by Gus Van Sant, who you may know as the director of Good Will Hunting and Elephant, tells the political story of Harvey Milk and the legacy he left after he was killed, so powerful was the movement he inspired.
Van Sant's direction is typically accomplished, and Brolin gives a memorably layered performance as Dan White, but it is without a doubt Sean Penn who steals the show here, with a performance that will without any doubt earn at least a nomination for the oscar for best actor.
Penn doesn't try to present the eponymous Milk as a hero of any real sort, but as a real person, with good qualities and bad qualities, who just stood up at the right time for what he believed in. The heartfelt credibility Penn brings to this role is particularly impressive for such a difficult character. An actor trying to play such a liberally gay man without turning into a cartoon character is not easy, but Penn pulls it off with aplomb and manages to play the part with a certain strength and determination that suits the character perfectly.
It's a film that's hard to criticize, but it's still not the best film of recent times. It doesn't really do anything wrong, but at the same time, there have been recent films done with more style and panache, there have been recent films that hit harder emotionally and there have been films that are more exciting, more fun. So while this is an excellent piece of cinema that ticks all the boxes, it is perhaps a little too much so, and doesn't really push the envelope in any sense.
A milestone moment in American political history has translated into an impressive piece of cinema, and one that is sure to be appreciated in some form at the academy awards. This is certainly one of the highlights of this recent season of films, even if it perhaps doesn't hit home as hard as some other recent films.
Now I have brought many unknown up and coming bands to your attention over the years, and as you know I like to find artists who sound a bit different, fresh and unique. Well this time, more than perhaps any other, I can certainly deliver that.
So today I present a band destined for great success in the coming year, Passion Pit!
When you first listen to them, you'll likely be thinking, what the hell am I listening to? And don't worry, because I thought the same thing. It's jarring and strange, but frankly it might also be genius.
I hate to be one of those guys who describes a band by likening them to someone else, but just to give you some idea of what they roughly sound like, think the Postal Service on acid, with a hint of the Avalanches. Really it's hard to compare it to much else as it is a very unique sound.
Such a unique sounding band also comes with a unique origin story. Michael Angelakos created a set of songs in his bedroom on really basic technology for his former girlfriend as a belated Valentine's Day gift. After hearing how exceptional the set of songs was the present ended up finding it's way around his college campus and became quite popular. Out of this small success, Angelakos formed himself a band and earned a record deal.
His full album is due early this year, and will not include any of the songs on his EP, instead being an entirely new piece of work.
Now this is basically an amateur demo album, far from a finished product, but the potential is there for all to see. This guy has something about him for sure.
So what songs should you check out?
Better Things
Sleepyhead
I've Got Your Number
song of the day: "Better Things" by "Passion Pit"
thing that makes me smile today: CNN and Facebook partnering up to let people watch the inauguration live online.
pic of the day:
IN:
Obama
Biden
National Pride
OUT:
Dubya
Dick
The Last 8 Years
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Directed by Danny Boyle
Written by Simon Beaufoy
Starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan
Release date(s) 26th December US, 9th January UK
Running time 120 minutes
Whilst he has long been one of the more under-appreciated film makers in the business, Danny Boyle is well known among connoisseurs of cinema, having made cult classics such as Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and the Beach, each of which was a master class in direction (the first half of the Beach anyway).
Despite this, Slumdog Millionaire almost passed me by unnoticed when it was released, with such little hype being made about it in the months building up to the film, unlike nearly all of its peers in this year's awards season. However as soon as I found out about it (just before New Years) I made sure to go see it as soon as possible, and I can safely say it was worth my time.
Boyle brings his distinctly kinetic and stylized directing to India this time for what can only be described as a modern fairy tale. Jamal (Dev Patel) is a formerly impoverished street child who has made it to the final question of the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. As no one living in India's strict caste system can believe that such an uneducated 'slumdog' could know so much, he has been accused of cheating and is being interrogated by the police, to whom he proceeds to recount the story of his experiences that have led to this moment.
What follows is an exhilarating celebration of life as we follow the fates of two young children on the streets of Mumbai, torn between the exuberant innocence of unsupervised freedom and the harsh reality of the limited world they grow up in. Bullies and gangsters are stood up to, life lessons are learned, and a sweet childhood love story develops across the years as we watch these lives unfold in front of us.
The acting is superb, particularly from the young children playing Jamal and his brother Salim, as well as the smarmy and sneaky tv show host played by Anil Kapoor that makes you wonder if Chris Tarrant is really as nice as he seems. But what really makes it work is the clever and touching screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, and, as I have already mentioned, the slick and beautiful direction of Danny Boyle.
This film puts doubt in my mind over my earlier claims that Frost/Nixon was the best film of the past 12 months, this might well top it. And if top Brit Danny Boyle doesn't get the oscar for best director this year (having just won the golden globe for the same honour) it will be a travesty.
Directed by Sam Mendes
Written by Justin Haythe (screenplay), Richard Yates (novel)
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet
Release date(s) 26th December 2008
Running time 119 minutes
Directed by Sam Mendes, director behind the uniquely spellbinding classic American Beauty, Revolutionary Road sees the Brit return to his now familiar cinema surroundings, plunging the dark depths of American suburbia. This outing comes from excellent source material, the well renowned novel of the same name by Richard Yates. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, it is hard to see how this film could fail, and indeed I even had it listed on my hot tips for 2009, following in the footsteps of my notoriously accurate predicting from last year where I had 100% spot on. The film even picked up a Golden Globe.
The story follows the lives of a newly wed couple played by the two stars with a relationship that is seemingly idyllic on the surface being shown to their neighbours and friends, but underneath brews the murky waters of discontentment and ennui, all set in the naive isolation of a 1950s suburbia.
So what does the film do well? Well the direction is typically excellent as you would expect from Sam Mendes, although he will find it difficult to make a film that stands out after the success he achieved with American Beauty, and this is clearly not it. It's not stylistically different enough or original enough to earn him the same kudos he found with that project. The acting, particularly from the two big stars, is simply top notch, and definitely the best thing about the film. Leo is excellent as he reminds us once again that he is much much more than the pretty face who made girls cry in Titanic.
That is where my congratulations have to end however. The real key to a book like this is the passion in every seen, and the twisted workings inside the minds of our two fairly unlikable characters, and this screenplay simply does not do that justice.
Mendes' direction, though technically excellent, feels almost sterile for most of the film, like he's there just doing a job rather than bringing the inner conflict to life. And because none of this makes the screen, frankly not a whole lot happens for the duration of the film and it's basically two hours of Leo and Kate bitching at each other over every little thing, without much substance to make it meaningful.
There is also an over-preponderance to dwell on for far too long on each overblown emotional segment and largely bypass the actual meat of the story that goes on in between these scenes within each of the characters.
In the end this is not a bad film, but it's not particularly great either, and a bit of a disappointment considering how good it could and probably should have been. This is the sort of film that critics are going to be highly divided on, and will probably only be liked by the most pretentious of critics, which the academy loves, so expect to see this make an appearance at the Oscars despite it not being as good as a number of recent movies.
song of the day: "Sweet Disposition" by "the Temper Trap"
thing that makes me smile today: CNN's big "Puppedential Debate" to determine who should be the next "first dog" - breaking news, Obama's endorsement has gone to a labradoodle.
pic of the day:
IN:
iPhone apps
Slumdog Millionaire
Gambling Refs
OUT:
Facebook apps
Revolutionary Road
Bad Refs
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Well it's that time of year again. The holiday season is upon us, with Christmas eve parties, Christmas parties, boxing day parties, and also parties in between. This is a wonderful time, as it is only under the influence of alcohol that people feel compelled to tell me how much they enjoy reading this website, and in particular last year's Debbie awards were a big big hit.
I have now completed the foundation portion of my BSc and so far so good. If current grades are anything to go by I should be heading for an upper second or possibly even first class degree, which would just be phenomenal. If I manage that then I am automatically qualified for a post degree PhD should I want to, and I'll probably write a book or something.
That's in addition to my novel I'm still writing. Done about 100 pages so far but hit a snag recently, just not so inspired at the moment, too busy actually having a life and doing things, which is clearly a shame.
In a few short days I will be off to Paris for another kick ass New Year's celebration like last year's, so before then I felt it would be appropriate to once again sum up all the highs and lows of the past year b
y announcing the winners of the 2008 Debbies.
On top of this I will also look ahead to the coming year at the films, bands and events that you should all keep an eye on, and look back at last year's predictions to see how close I was (it looks like I was spot on with pretty much all of them).
So without further ado, here are the 2008 Debbie Awards:
1. The Debbie for Best Videogames Console
Winner: the Nintendo Wii
Runner up: Xbox 360
Meanwhile the Xbox360 gets the runner up prize. Even though Microsoft are ignorant and useless scumbags who can't do shit right, their console happens to have a lot of good games available. The PS3 right now is completely without redemption.
2. The Debbie for Best Videogame
Winner: Grand Theft Auto IV
Runners up: Super Smash Bros Brawl, Spore
Super Smash Bros on the other hand was the exact opposite, a celebration of everything arcadey and pure about videogames, whilst simultaneously embracing the heritage of the last 30 years of gaming. The multiplayer experience is second to none.
Meanwhile Spore attempted to go in a different direction, videogame as a vehicle for self expression and creativity, and if not for a myriad of technical problems it could well have pushed GTA4 for this year's Debbie.
3. The Debbie for Best Party of the Year
Winner: International Man of Mystery House Party
Runners up: Josh's Summer Party, Cardiac Arrest at Diva Beach
4. The Debbie for Douchebag the Year
Winner: Guy who tried to steal my money on eBay
Runners up: My Driving Instructor, Phil Dowd
Don't ever try and steal money from me, especially if it's a lot. Let's just say vengeance is sweet.
Meanwhile my driving instructor was just not suited for teaching adults, and Phil Dowd is the childish clown who reffed the Chelsea game the other day and booked any Chelsea player who talked to him, even for legitimate reasons such as "Can you check if the wall is 10 yards back?"
5. The Debbie for Good Guy 2008
Winner: Jeremy Debate
Runners up: Ben Fitzgerald, Alex Roberts
Don't get me wrong, a lot of my friends could have made this list but some dudes are a few particularly good solid people that I can really respect, and that's not something that happens too often. So here's a pint for you dudes.
6. The Debbie for Good Girl 2008
Winner: Sophie
Runners up: Clio, Louise, Jenny
Sophie's a standup gal, and it's good to stay friends with someone after dating a few months. The runner ups here deserve a mention too, some of whom i've known for ages, other's i've only just met. Clio deserves kudos for putting up with me as flat mate for an entire year.
6. The Debbie for Best Restaurant 2008
Winner: Gallopapa
Runner up: Caprice
Gallopapa is, in my opinion, the best restaurant in the world, located in the picturesque tunnels under the quaint Tuscan village of Castellina. The chef is a genius, he can take any ingredients in the world and create something that sounds awful but looks and tastes absolutely divine. So much so that I was even moved to hug him after my last meal there, well done sir!
7. The Debbie for Best Theatre Production 2008
Winner: Ivanov
Runners up: August: Osage County
Meanwhile I went to see August: Osage County at the National, pretty much just to see Gary Cole (Office Space, Dodgeball, Entourage) for a laugh, and was treated to one of the best written plays i'd seen in a long while. Witty, cutting and multi-layered, it was a smash hit, and despite being more than 3 hours long, the time just flew by.
8. The Debbie for Best Album 2008
Winner: Day & Age - The Killers
Runner up: Feed the Animals - Girl Talk
Meanwhile Girl Talk's infectious and brilliant mash up album gets the runner up prize and narrowly beat Coldplay's Viva La Vida and the Last Shadow Puppets' The Age of Understatement.
9. The Debbie for Best Debut Album 2008
Winner: The Age of Understatement - The Last Shadow Puppets
Runner up: Oracular Spectacular - MGMT
MGMT came close to snagging the prize with their synth heavy electro-rock album Oracular Spectacular. This album is a real experience and really almost tempted me to award them the Debbie.
10. The Debbie for Best Song 2008
Winner: Time to Pretend - MGMT
Runners up: Death and All His Friends - Coldplay, Sing the Changes - The Fireman, This is Your Life - The Killers
Coldplay's fantastic Death and all His Friends came close too, being one of the finest few minutes of music Coldplay have ever produced. Also in the running was Sing the Changes, a song that reminds us of the ever lasting genius of Paul McCartney, even after a staggering 40 years. And of course, the best song from the new Killers album This is Your Life (linked earlier ^)
11. The Debbie for Best Television Show
Winner: House
Runners up: Lost, Ashes to Ashes
Lost almost took the award, being awesome, and one can't help but be even more impressed with Lost seeing now how all the imitator shows (heroes, fringe) have become so poor by comparison, standing as a testament to the quality of the show and its writers. Ashes to Ashes meanwhile was a bit of a disappointment, despite being a smash hit, as I predicted last year, but then Life on Mars was always going to be a tough act to follow.
12. The Debbie for Best Film
Winner: The Dark Knight
Runners up: Frost/Nixon, Cloverfield
Frost Nixon, meanwhile, is an adaption of the play by the same name, telling the story of the David Frost interviews of ex-President Richard Nixon. I will post a full review soon, maybe today maybe not, but it is truly excellent. Cloverfield, another hotly tipped item on my list last year was another massive hit and was a real experience in the cinema, absolutely unforgettable.
13. The Debbie for "That Defining 2008 Moment"
Winner: Barack Obama Wins the Presidential Election
No contest. Rarely is there a moment where people all over the world are so joined in a moment of pure joy and celebration. People singing and dancing in the streets of New York at 1AM, and simultaneously in London at 6AM.
And now let us cast an eye forward to see what's coming up in the next year that will change the world, be a hit, or just plain awesome. But first, let's have a quick look at last year's predictions and how they fared: New Year's 2008 Post
First the obvious: the writers' strike did end, thank God, and Bush is about to leave the white house, to be replaced by a man so great it almost makes the last eight years of wasted time and devolution seem worth it.
Then we have Ashes to Ashes, the sequel series of the sublime Life on Mars. While Life on Mars was always going to be a tough act to follow, hopes were high for Ashes to Ashes. Sadly it disappointed slightly, achieving mixed reviews despite the consistently high ratings. Fortunately the last few episodes of the series were fantastic and provide hope for the next two seasons that the show is scheduled for.
Cloverfield was an categorical success and a top notch film to boot, and the promise of a franchise beckons should JJ Abrams choose to take it.
Duffy, MGMT and Glasvegas were also highly successful, all with number one singles and high charting albums. I'll be shocked if you've gone the year without hearing songs by at least two of these artists. I think we can look forward to seeing more of these guys in the future, even though I think MGMT is the only one with real lasting power and quality.
So pretty damn good eh? Nostradamus rating: A
Music
- Empire of the Sun are set to achieve great things. Their EP walking on a dream promised a lush psychedelic synth sound similar to MGMT and are hotly tipped to make it big this year. Check out the song Walking on a Dream.
- Kyte. Top band from Leicester whose recently released EP sounds seriously awesome and has put the music world on alert for the next year. These boys have talent and SHOULD be huge next year. Make sure you check out the song Eyes Lose Their Fire and start counting the days til their next album.
- Subliminal Girls. Another hot new British band recently featured in one of my posts. Sound like they could well be one of the best British pop-rock groups in years, highly reminiscent of the Lightning Seeds. Make sure you check out the song Self Obsession is An Art Form, an absolutely golden tune.
- the Temper Trap. This band is already big in Australia, now it's our turn. Grand guitars, driving rhythm and sweet vocals with an almost ethereal sound, they have a lot going for them. Check out this song Sweet Disposition.
- White Lies. Last but certainly not least, this band could well be the new Killers. Coming equipped with a distinctive eighties sound and a talented lyricist, Brandon Flowers himself recently declared White Lies the band he is most excited about. Check out this song Death, listen to the lyrics and make sure you let it get to the end. Top song.
Cinema
- Revolutionary Road. While technically released in 2008 (tomorrow), this is merely a technicality. They're just giving it a small limited release so that it gets considered for the oscars before being properly released in the new year. This is the new movie from American Beauty director Sam Mendes (awesome movie) and stars Titanic duo Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet (crappy movie). Treading the familiar territory of suburban angst from American Beauty, this film is hotly tipped for the oscars and to be a smash hit. Catch me if you Can and the Aviator showed that Leo is actually a good actor, so be excited.
- Watchmen. The most celebrated graphic novel of all time, and yet it's likely you've never heard of it unless you're into such things. But then again you probably never heard of Sin City or V For Vendetta before they became movies either. Created by Alan Moore, who also penned the aforementioned V for Vendetta novel, Watchmen was written 20 years ago and since then has always been the subject of potential film deals, but was deemed too deep and ambitious for a film. This year that film will become a reality and it looks amazing (see trailer). Sadly will probably not have as big an impact as it would have done in a pre Dark Knight world.
- Avatar. Saving the best for last, Avatar is the ambitious new project from film legend James Cameron. The man only makes a movie like every 10 years, and each and every time he does it changes the world of cinema and sweeps oscars. In short you will see this movie at some point, just like everyone's seen Terminator and Titanic (his films), if it comes out in time that is. This film is also going to be a ground breaking milestone in terms of technology, using some revolutionary mix of live action and cg in a way that's never been seen before... and more than that... in actual 3D. The big wait on this film is waiting for enough cinemas to be fitted out with new 3d screens, but when it gets here, you better be ready for it.
And of course!
The start of the Obama Presidency that has redeemed America in the eyes of the world, and promises to finally get us back on track for the 21st century style progress we've been missing for the past 8 years.
Happy New Year Everyone!
James x
Directed by Ron Howard
Written by Peter Morgan
Starring Frank Langella, Michael Sheen
Release date(s) December 5, 2008 [limited], January 9, 2009
Running time 122 minutes
Veteran director Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon is the film adaption of the stage production of the same name written by Peter Morgan, who also penned the screenplay for this film. The play was in London fairly recently at (what you all probably know by now is) my favorite Theatre the Donmar Warehouse, and it was pleasing to see the fantastic cast of the stage version recruited for this film, with Frank Langella as Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as David Frost.
The subject of this tale is Richard Nixon, and the famous interviews he did with David Frost after he had resigned from the white house. Disgraced and with a reputation in tatters, Nixon sees an opportunity to rebuild his career and image by doing an interview with David Frost, a soft talk show host with a reputation as a playboy. The original interview is an iconic part of television history, and I'm glad to say the film definitely does it justice.
What follows is one of the finest duels in cinema, a compelling stew of mind games and delicate jousting between the inexperienced yet cocky brit Frost as he tries to pick apart a highly experienced operator in the ex president Nixon.
Howard is at the top of his game here as he builds the hype and tension like a championship boxing match, documenting the struggles of the underdog Frost in organizing and funding the interviews without any support or credibility and delivers one of his best movies in years.
He is backed up by two truly fantastic oscar worthy performances, with Langella giving us the best ever take on Richard Nixon, spot on with his mannerisms, speech and demeanor; but especially with Michael Sheen's Frost, which is absolutely perfect capturing the smarmy essence of Frost without doing a direct imitation of him, in my view Sheen gives us the best acting performance of the year, and it's even more impressive when you see Sheen in other things and realize how unlike his performance in this film he really is.
But one of the biggest stars of the film is Peter Morgan's script, which rather than presenting Nixon as the cartoon character that is so popular in the media these days, it shows him for what he really is; a criminal sure, a despicable person sure, but ultimately just an insecure, flawed and unstable individual who succumbed to his paranoia. It is a testament to the sharp writing here that one will actually end up walking away from the movie with a tinge of sympathy for this man rather than just contempt.
Masterful and hard to fault, Frost/Nixon is one of the best movies in a long time, and one of the best movies this year certainly. Possibly the best thing about this film is that it's presented in such a way as to be accessible and entertaining, even for people with little interest in politics
song of the day: Eyes Lose Their Fire" by "Kyte"
thing that makes me grimace today: Arsenal manager Wenger preparing his fans for a season if disappointment before Christmas
pic of the day:
IN:
Drogba
Frost/Nixon
Bag of Hurt
OUT:
Anelka
Bobby
Can of Whup-Ass
Sunday, 7 December 2008
It's always been an issue in sports and football in particular, this issue of referees getting things wrong and ruining games and often making or changing history. From Maradona's insane hand of god (mitigated slightly by the unbelievable piece of dribbling beforehand that may have dazzled the ref too much) to Robert Pires' famous dive against Portsmouth that allowed Arsenal to claim an unprecedented (and arguably undeserved) undefeated season, referees have always made idiotic clangers that have big consequences on the sport.
It has become even more of a pressing issue with the inevitable advent of video replay technologies being used in just about every other sport as to why such progress isn't being harnessed in football to ensure cheaters don't prosper. And indeed while football alone as a sport continues to insist on allowing ridiculous referee blunders to influence a game, it becomes harder and harder to avoid such ideas.
What is particularly alarming is that English referees seem to be particularly bad. At the world cup in 2006, famously moronic blunderer Graham Poll was sent home in disgrace for awarding a player three yellow cards before eventually sending him off, and at Euro 2008 englishman Howard Webb was... err... sent home in disgrace for awarding a ridiculous injury time penalty.
Similarly we live with a league where jokers like Rob Styles, who has been dropped from the Premier League twice in the past year (1) (2) is inexplicably still given the biggest games with the big four teams. We live with a league where utterly inept überscrotes like Mike Dean can get away with horrendously screwing up not one, not two, but three different title deciding matches in a single year (1) (2) (3) and still be given big games over and over. And frankly it has got to stop.
I am not the first person to say this by any means, but it is clear that the governing body set up for the purpose of running the ref's guild is not doing it's job.
I 'get' that refs do a hard job and all that, but there is some serious ineptitude being shown amongst english refs in particular and I think the blame can only be placed squarely at the referees' association who does absolutely nothing to maintain high standards amongst its ranks, and shows absolutely no desire to hold refs accountable for their cock ups. Every other league in the world does this and so it is not a shock that the standard of reffing in most countries is far superior to over here. Perennial morons like Styles and Dean need to be sacked permanently if they can't step up their game.
At the very least there needs to be some more accountability. If a player messes up in a game it's all over the press, the fans pour vitriol on him and in serious cases the club can take action against him. If a manager fucks up he can lose his job and gets thrust in front of the press mere minutes after a match where he must defend himself in front of millions. Refs have none of this and frankly they should do. They should have to account for their mistakes, they should have to apologize when wrong and they should certainly not be allowed to act like a div and then just walk away from it with no consequences.
This is seriously absurd and needs to change.
