Dizzee Rascal & James Corden
Shout For England
With no official England anthem for the first time since 1966 there has been a raft of even more dodgy unofficial ones (more than usual) of which this is probably amongst the best. It’s no Three Lions though and more disappointingly its easily the least catchy single the recently popified Rascall has put out in some time with the whole thing feeling like something of a rush job. Having said that, the chorus – Tears for Fears cover, if hadn’t guessed – is appropriate shout-a-long-able (even if it’s hard to imagine it being picked up on the terraces); James Corden is surprisingly/suspiously tuneful and with Corden & Rascall’s royalties going to Great Ormand Street Hospital it’s hard to not to recommend if you feel you have to buy World Cup song
Kylie Minogue
All The Lovers
Kylie has such an in-built fan base that you already know if you’ll like this all not. As ever it’s a professionally crafted slice of pop, with Kylie’s dreamy laid-back vocals underscored by 80’s style synths that have become something of a trademark. But’s it’s also perfectly forgettable and rather middle-of-the-road, but at a time when most pop songs seem to be by teenage girls telling the world how hot or rubbish their love life is, middle-of-the-road is almost refreshing. Almost.
Lady Gaga
Aljeandro
Lady Gaga’s personality disorder schtick is starting to get old and perhaps in recognition she returns with something approaching a ballad reminiscent of early-era Madonna and with the crazy dialled right down although she can’t resist throwing in names like Fernando and Roberto into the song as well, as though she’s forgotten who she’s singing about. Ballards are never very hummable and as with a lot of people who project larger-than-life personalities, you begin to suspect it’s because there’s little personality behind it.
Paul Weller
Find The Torch / Burn The Plans
Pleasantly anthemic and summery light rock from the “Mod Father”. I’m not a huge fan of Weller but I found my foot quietly tapping along, even if my fist wasn’t waving in the air.
Delphic
Counterpoint
The latest from the up-and-coming Manchester dance/indie band is a perfectly serviceable slice of drunk student dance shuffle. If Skins was on now, I’m sure this would be on the soundtrack somewhere
Kele
Tenderoni
Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke goes solo and the result is a Bloc Party song with added Armand Van Helden unsch-unsch-unsch. It’s a solid dance number that should please the Bloc Party faithful but it’s unlikely to crossover the way that Bloc Party’s dancier numbers like “Flux” managed.
Katy Perry & Snopp Dogg
California Gurls
Former gospel singer and try-hard bad girl teams up with gangsta rapper Snoop Dogg for a track proclaiming the joys of California, sadly without Arnie’s vocal support. Predictable, half-hearted double-entoundres from Perry and lazy vocals Dogg combine to create a summer track do insipid it’s guaranteed to be played on a continual loop local radio stations and supermarkets from now until September
Eminem
Not Afraid
A typically angry release from Detroit’s preimier whiteboy rapper, but surprisingly soulful too, as Mr Mathers wraps about overcoming his “demons”, putting out a disappointing album and being a better father. Comedy fratboy rap this aint.
Fire With Fire
Couldn’t get hold of Sorry.
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Sunday 4 April 2010
Film Review: Alice in Wonderland
Future generations will probably be able to divide Tim Burton’s better and lesser efforts not by whether or not they star Johnny Depp but rather his other muse Helena Bonham-Carter, with his weaker films tending to feature his real life partner. Lest I be accused of claiming her as some kind of Yoko Ono, It would probably be fairer to place the dividing line of quality at his curiously ham-fisted Planet of the Apes, a film whose biggest cultural legacy has been to put “re-imaging” into the Hollywood lexicon as way of saying “pointlessly remaking”. Sadly his new take of the classic Lewis Carroll story does little to buck the trend after Sweeny Todd's return to form in 2007.
The slightly re-jigged story sees a late-teenage Alice (wide-eyed newcomer Mia Wasikowska) – but possibly not the right Alice - as she escape her dreary Victorian existence and an unwanted arranged marriage by falling down a rabbit hole to Wonderland where she meets all the classic characters, including Depp’s Mad Hatter and Matt Lucas’ Tweedledee and Tweedledum and eventually accepts her destiny to overthrow the Red Queen (a film stealing Bonham-Carter).
The largely British cast (most of whom lend only their voices), including Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Christopher Lee, Barbara Windsor, Paul Whitehouse acquit themselves well, in particular a scenery chewing Crispin Glover and the peanut-butter-and-jam casting (weird but it works) of Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat. Depp’s much publicised Mad Hatter falls curiously flat, however; a disappointing hodge-podge of his two previous Burton creations, two parts Willy Wonker to one part Sweeny Todd, only without the threat of the latter or the other-worldiness of the former.
Similarly, as with most of Burton’s post-millennial films, he seems curiously un-involved in the story itself, with most of his creative juices seemingly being spent on creating a breathtakingly weird Wonderland filled with giant mushrooms and curious creatures. The film has a striking look of it’s own and a brilliantly original use of CGI to misshape and deform many of the human actors, from the Red Queen’s bulbous head and Matt Lucas’ rotund bodies to Glover’s stretched and spindly Stayne. The 3D is used far less imaginatively – it might have been nice for the real world to have existed in 2D and only opened up into 3D when she enters Wonderland, for example – while the 3D technology itself compares unfavourably to other recent 3D efforts (*cough*Avatar*cough*) with only Cheshire Cat really amazing.
Also disappointing is Burton’s other frequent collaborator, Danny Elfman who provides a score of such dispiritingly workmanlike blandness (as he tends to these days – see also Terminator: Salvation, Wanted and the Spider Man franchise for further examples) that by the Futterwhack dance at the end I was convinced that they had hired someone who was trying to sound like Elfman and doing a bad job of it.
Ultimately Alice in Wonderland provides decent, easy, uncomplicated Easter entertainment that proves, if nothing else, that Burton is still one of the most visionary filmmakers (a term too-widely banded about these days) in Hollywood, but its otherwise workman like direction, unengaging, familiar, semi-sequel narrative and a mostly C-list cast it feel more like a direct-to-DVD sequel to an unseen Burton classic than the real return to form many might have hoped.
The slightly re-jigged story sees a late-teenage Alice (wide-eyed newcomer Mia Wasikowska) – but possibly not the right Alice - as she escape her dreary Victorian existence and an unwanted arranged marriage by falling down a rabbit hole to Wonderland where she meets all the classic characters, including Depp’s Mad Hatter and Matt Lucas’ Tweedledee and Tweedledum and eventually accepts her destiny to overthrow the Red Queen (a film stealing Bonham-Carter).
The largely British cast (most of whom lend only their voices), including Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Christopher Lee, Barbara Windsor, Paul Whitehouse acquit themselves well, in particular a scenery chewing Crispin Glover and the peanut-butter-and-jam casting (weird but it works) of Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat. Depp’s much publicised Mad Hatter falls curiously flat, however; a disappointing hodge-podge of his two previous Burton creations, two parts Willy Wonker to one part Sweeny Todd, only without the threat of the latter or the other-worldiness of the former.
Similarly, as with most of Burton’s post-millennial films, he seems curiously un-involved in the story itself, with most of his creative juices seemingly being spent on creating a breathtakingly weird Wonderland filled with giant mushrooms and curious creatures. The film has a striking look of it’s own and a brilliantly original use of CGI to misshape and deform many of the human actors, from the Red Queen’s bulbous head and Matt Lucas’ rotund bodies to Glover’s stretched and spindly Stayne. The 3D is used far less imaginatively – it might have been nice for the real world to have existed in 2D and only opened up into 3D when she enters Wonderland, for example – while the 3D technology itself compares unfavourably to other recent 3D efforts (*cough*Avatar*cough*) with only Cheshire Cat really amazing.
Also disappointing is Burton’s other frequent collaborator, Danny Elfman who provides a score of such dispiritingly workmanlike blandness (as he tends to these days – see also Terminator: Salvation, Wanted and the Spider Man franchise for further examples) that by the Futterwhack dance at the end I was convinced that they had hired someone who was trying to sound like Elfman and doing a bad job of it.
Ultimately Alice in Wonderland provides decent, easy, uncomplicated Easter entertainment that proves, if nothing else, that Burton is still one of the most visionary filmmakers (a term too-widely banded about these days) in Hollywood, but its otherwise workman like direction, unengaging, familiar, semi-sequel narrative and a mostly C-list cast it feel more like a direct-to-DVD sequel to an unseen Burton classic than the real return to form many might have hoped.
Friday 5 February 2010
On famous people playing famous people.
Okay so I said I was going to review ‘Invictus’ and ‘Up in the air’ but I didn’t. No excuses. Just plain old laziness. However I do want to write on an ‘Invictus’ related topic so I guess I’m not quite as bad as originally thought.
In a nutshell here is my ‘Invictus’ review: I don’t like Clint Eastwood films. I quite liked this Clint Eastwood film. What an amazing review eh? But who cares about reviews anyway Robot Socks world? I want to talk about something far more interesting.
It seems that every year when the Oscar nominations come out we have at least one familiar face nominated for portraying another familiar face. Needless to say I was less than staggered when Morgan Freeman got the nod for his depiction of Nelson Mandela in the aforementioned ‘Invictus’. I will not quibble with this decision as I thought Freeman did a commendable job as Mandela. What I will question however is why we are so interested in seeing famous faces playing famous historical figures.
I will confess that whenever I hear of a project based on a famous figure such as ‘Invictus’ I am immediately intrigued. All the questions that run through my mind relate to the depiction of this character. Will they get the voice right? Will they accentuate the positives of this figure too much? Will they have the correct physicality? Amidst these questions there is no assessment of what the film itself will actually be like. And I guess in a way this is not necessary as we most likely know the basics of the story beforehand. For example I wanted to see ‘The Queen’ not because I didn’t remember what happened when Diana died but because I did remember it and I wanted to see how well it was presented. Is this a legitimate reason for seeing a film?
Then once you have seen the film the next question arises; did I actually enjoy it? Invariably I will come out of a film like say last years ‘Frost/Nixon’ and say, ‘Langella really nailed Nixon’s voice’ but I won’t say ‘I liked the arc of the story’. My point is that something of the film gets lost because we are too busy scrutinizing the mimicry for its accuracy. A prime case in point is Oliver Stone’s drab George Bush flick ‘W’, which featured an array of hammy caricatures and little else. There seemed no aim to Stone’s film other than to showcase a grotesque parade of impressions from Thandie Newton’s infuriating Condoleeza Rice to Jeffrey Wright’s frustrating Colin Powell. In this case I was so bombarded by impersonations that I lost any interest in the story whatsoever.
I’m not saying that these films shouldn’t exist I’m just trying to find out why the focus needs to be on performance rather than story. Although it was inconsistent, and at times incoherent, I was fascinated by Todd Haynes’ ‘I’m Not There’. It didn’t try to do an impersonation of Dylan and it didn’t even care about his race or sex. Instead it attempted to capture some of his spirit, which meant that the stories in the movie were more prevalent than the performances that peppered them. However just to throw another spanner in the works I should note that I am not a fan of Dylan and have pretty much no knowledge of his life or work so maybe I was just viewing ‘I’m Not There’ from a different perspective to say ‘Invictus’ or ‘The Queen’.
I suppose there is no resolution to my plight. I will undoubtedly rush to the movies the next time Michael Sheen plays Blair and I will sit there judging Dennis Quad as he imitates Bill Clinton in ‘The Special Relationship’ (released later this year). And beyond question some esteemed actor will receive a nomination for their portrayal of some esteemed historical figure at next years Oscars. And without a doubt I will still be asking myself the same questions.
Please my dear Robot Socks friends help me with this problem. Tell me how I can avoid this cycle of interest and disillusion. I need you.
In a nutshell here is my ‘Invictus’ review: I don’t like Clint Eastwood films. I quite liked this Clint Eastwood film. What an amazing review eh? But who cares about reviews anyway Robot Socks world? I want to talk about something far more interesting.
It seems that every year when the Oscar nominations come out we have at least one familiar face nominated for portraying another familiar face. Needless to say I was less than staggered when Morgan Freeman got the nod for his depiction of Nelson Mandela in the aforementioned ‘Invictus’. I will not quibble with this decision as I thought Freeman did a commendable job as Mandela. What I will question however is why we are so interested in seeing famous faces playing famous historical figures.
I will confess that whenever I hear of a project based on a famous figure such as ‘Invictus’ I am immediately intrigued. All the questions that run through my mind relate to the depiction of this character. Will they get the voice right? Will they accentuate the positives of this figure too much? Will they have the correct physicality? Amidst these questions there is no assessment of what the film itself will actually be like. And I guess in a way this is not necessary as we most likely know the basics of the story beforehand. For example I wanted to see ‘The Queen’ not because I didn’t remember what happened when Diana died but because I did remember it and I wanted to see how well it was presented. Is this a legitimate reason for seeing a film?
Then once you have seen the film the next question arises; did I actually enjoy it? Invariably I will come out of a film like say last years ‘Frost/Nixon’ and say, ‘Langella really nailed Nixon’s voice’ but I won’t say ‘I liked the arc of the story’. My point is that something of the film gets lost because we are too busy scrutinizing the mimicry for its accuracy. A prime case in point is Oliver Stone’s drab George Bush flick ‘W’, which featured an array of hammy caricatures and little else. There seemed no aim to Stone’s film other than to showcase a grotesque parade of impressions from Thandie Newton’s infuriating Condoleeza Rice to Jeffrey Wright’s frustrating Colin Powell. In this case I was so bombarded by impersonations that I lost any interest in the story whatsoever.
I’m not saying that these films shouldn’t exist I’m just trying to find out why the focus needs to be on performance rather than story. Although it was inconsistent, and at times incoherent, I was fascinated by Todd Haynes’ ‘I’m Not There’. It didn’t try to do an impersonation of Dylan and it didn’t even care about his race or sex. Instead it attempted to capture some of his spirit, which meant that the stories in the movie were more prevalent than the performances that peppered them. However just to throw another spanner in the works I should note that I am not a fan of Dylan and have pretty much no knowledge of his life or work so maybe I was just viewing ‘I’m Not There’ from a different perspective to say ‘Invictus’ or ‘The Queen’.
I suppose there is no resolution to my plight. I will undoubtedly rush to the movies the next time Michael Sheen plays Blair and I will sit there judging Dennis Quad as he imitates Bill Clinton in ‘The Special Relationship’ (released later this year). And beyond question some esteemed actor will receive a nomination for their portrayal of some esteemed historical figure at next years Oscars. And without a doubt I will still be asking myself the same questions.
Please my dear Robot Socks friends help me with this problem. Tell me how I can avoid this cycle of interest and disillusion. I need you.
Sunday 24 January 2010
State of Hip Hop
2009 was not a vintage year for hip hop, rather it was a transitional phase, although with that being said there were several notable album releases. New York was notably absent from the hip hop top table in 2008 and the first half of of 2009, only a Nas album in late 2008 representing for NYC. I think all 'heads' like to see MCs representing NYC having a significance influence on the game to keep hip hop tied to it's roots and thankfully the second half of 2009 saw NYC back where the should be. Hov released the best selling album of the year (although it was rubbish), Raekwon released the best album of the year by far, Blaq Poet released an album I have been waiting for about 5 years for, straight-up thug music, and OC & AG released a very solid effort, Mos also dropped his best album for a decade, surprising me as I thought he had lost his appetite for music. Fitty also released an album, not many people bought it, I did not listen to it; I wish he would cease and desist making rubbish music.
It was a quiet year for the South, I can't think of releases by any ATLien of note apart from Gucci Mane, I loved his album and I just do not understand why he has so many haters. Weezy toured 'Tha Carter III' for most of the year and constantly pushed back the release of 'Tha Carter IV' and his rock/rap crossover 'Rebirth', although amazon.com shipped it in error; I tried to listen to it, but gave-up after six songs which were awful. Not much released on the album front from the Mid-West either; Brother Ali released two very good albums, which you should all have; Brother Ali is perhaps the most consistently good rapper of the decade and he deserves far more success and recognition than he has received. Virginia's finest, Clipse, released a rubbish album, I have removed it from my iPod as it saddens me to think that artists who have released two of the greatest (including THE GREATEST) albums of the previous decade can no longer do it; The Neptunes have run out of beats and Pusha T & Malice lack ideas.
Detroit had a big year! Black Milk, Guilty Simpson (woah, just seen that 'Ode to the Ghetto' came out in 2008, was it really that long ago?), Elzhi (best of the bunch) and Royce da 5' 9". Em released an album for some reason, I listened to it once, I wished he had not bothered. Let us hope the good music keeps flowing from Motown going into the next decade.
West Coast? Ev released a good EP, Fashawn probably released the best album out of the Bay Area, probably best out of the whole of Cali, I cannot even think of anymore! Snoop released some dross that I did not even bother to listen to. West Coast rap is not in the best of shape, although there green shoots of hope, as we will come to later.
2009 was also the year of 'emo-rap', which I lack enthusiasm about; if you need music to wet the bed to, listen to some Coldplay! I cannnot hate though; Wale, Kid Cudi and the aforementioned Fashawn all dropped really good albums. Fashawn is not really part of the same scene as the others and his album 'Boy Meets World' is vastly superior, the genuine depth and heart that he put into his songs really got to me. The boy needs to man-up though!
Looking forward to what we can expect in 2010, I am very optimistic. There a few new kids on the block who released fair to good mixtapes in 2009 and have set high expectations for their upcoming albums and a lot of established artists are scheduled to release albums. Firstly, let us look at the newcomers:
Everyone knows that 2010 is supposed to be the year of Drake; I thought his mixtapes from last year were fairly good, but I think he is being too over-hyped by Young Money/Cash Money; they turned a med-school drop-out from Hounslow into a Billboard chart topper, so I am not betting against Drake becoming a massive success, but do not expect his album to make my year end top ten.
My great hope for 2010 is for Freddie Gibbs; he is old school 'gangsta', his rhymes and flow are second to none and he is doing more for West Coast rap than anyone, despite being from Gary, Indiana, no matter what the haters at XXL say. If any of you have somehow missed his mixtapes from 2009, stop reading this and go DL them now! We have a new mixtape to look forward to soon and an album is sure to follow, although it will be interesting to see how he releases it considering the nightmare he had while being signed to Interscope.
Of the rest of the new kids, I expect Pill, J. Cole, B.o.B. and Pac Div to release good albums and we should also expect good music from Jay Electronica (although not a conventional album). Chip The Ripper and Travis Porter are due to release albums and they might be good, but I have my reservations.
Thankfully, there is a long list of hip hop heavy weights scheduled to drop albums this year, and in no particular order, they are: Reflection Eternal, Common, Bun B, Young Jeezy, Lupe Fiasco, The Roots, Dr. Dre, Black Milk, Evidence, Immortal Technique, Big Boi, Nas & Damien Marley, Beastie Boys, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, I have heard that Ghostface, Raekwon & Method Man are doing an album together and if Weezy if released from prison before the year is out (although he has not even gone in yet) we might get 'Tha Carter IV'. That reminds me, if Gucci gets out this year, I reckon he will push out an album too, T.I. is schedule to come out in March and will porbalby release something later in the year. Yo Gotti will also finally release his first major label album too, which expect to be great based on his Cocaine Muzik mixtapes. I have high expectations for the albums from all of the aforementioned artists; NYC, Detroit, Cali, Chicago, Atlanta and Phili are all well represented, but it looks like the Mid-West and South are going to have a particularly strong year. I must confess to be most looking forward to music by Freddie Gibbs, Big Boi and Young Jeezy and of course Dr. Dre, although I hope NYC surprises me with some strong releases.
That about wraps things up, please leave comments below about what you are looking forward to most in 2010.
Holla!
It was a quiet year for the South, I can't think of releases by any ATLien of note apart from Gucci Mane, I loved his album and I just do not understand why he has so many haters. Weezy toured 'Tha Carter III' for most of the year and constantly pushed back the release of 'Tha Carter IV' and his rock/rap crossover 'Rebirth', although amazon.com shipped it in error; I tried to listen to it, but gave-up after six songs which were awful. Not much released on the album front from the Mid-West either; Brother Ali released two very good albums, which you should all have; Brother Ali is perhaps the most consistently good rapper of the decade and he deserves far more success and recognition than he has received. Virginia's finest, Clipse, released a rubbish album, I have removed it from my iPod as it saddens me to think that artists who have released two of the greatest (including THE GREATEST) albums of the previous decade can no longer do it; The Neptunes have run out of beats and Pusha T & Malice lack ideas.
Detroit had a big year! Black Milk, Guilty Simpson (woah, just seen that 'Ode to the Ghetto' came out in 2008, was it really that long ago?), Elzhi (best of the bunch) and Royce da 5' 9". Em released an album for some reason, I listened to it once, I wished he had not bothered. Let us hope the good music keeps flowing from Motown going into the next decade.
West Coast? Ev released a good EP, Fashawn probably released the best album out of the Bay Area, probably best out of the whole of Cali, I cannot even think of anymore! Snoop released some dross that I did not even bother to listen to. West Coast rap is not in the best of shape, although there green shoots of hope, as we will come to later.
2009 was also the year of 'emo-rap', which I lack enthusiasm about; if you need music to wet the bed to, listen to some Coldplay! I cannnot hate though; Wale, Kid Cudi and the aforementioned Fashawn all dropped really good albums. Fashawn is not really part of the same scene as the others and his album 'Boy Meets World' is vastly superior, the genuine depth and heart that he put into his songs really got to me. The boy needs to man-up though!
Looking forward to what we can expect in 2010, I am very optimistic. There a few new kids on the block who released fair to good mixtapes in 2009 and have set high expectations for their upcoming albums and a lot of established artists are scheduled to release albums. Firstly, let us look at the newcomers:
Everyone knows that 2010 is supposed to be the year of Drake; I thought his mixtapes from last year were fairly good, but I think he is being too over-hyped by Young Money/Cash Money; they turned a med-school drop-out from Hounslow into a Billboard chart topper, so I am not betting against Drake becoming a massive success, but do not expect his album to make my year end top ten.
My great hope for 2010 is for Freddie Gibbs; he is old school 'gangsta', his rhymes and flow are second to none and he is doing more for West Coast rap than anyone, despite being from Gary, Indiana, no matter what the haters at XXL say. If any of you have somehow missed his mixtapes from 2009, stop reading this and go DL them now! We have a new mixtape to look forward to soon and an album is sure to follow, although it will be interesting to see how he releases it considering the nightmare he had while being signed to Interscope.
Of the rest of the new kids, I expect Pill, J. Cole, B.o.B. and Pac Div to release good albums and we should also expect good music from Jay Electronica (although not a conventional album). Chip The Ripper and Travis Porter are due to release albums and they might be good, but I have my reservations.
Thankfully, there is a long list of hip hop heavy weights scheduled to drop albums this year, and in no particular order, they are: Reflection Eternal, Common, Bun B, Young Jeezy, Lupe Fiasco, The Roots, Dr. Dre, Black Milk, Evidence, Immortal Technique, Big Boi, Nas & Damien Marley, Beastie Boys, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, I have heard that Ghostface, Raekwon & Method Man are doing an album together and if Weezy if released from prison before the year is out (although he has not even gone in yet) we might get 'Tha Carter IV'. That reminds me, if Gucci gets out this year, I reckon he will push out an album too, T.I. is schedule to come out in March and will porbalby release something later in the year. Yo Gotti will also finally release his first major label album too, which expect to be great based on his Cocaine Muzik mixtapes. I have high expectations for the albums from all of the aforementioned artists; NYC, Detroit, Cali, Chicago, Atlanta and Phili are all well represented, but it looks like the Mid-West and South are going to have a particularly strong year. I must confess to be most looking forward to music by Freddie Gibbs, Big Boi and Young Jeezy and of course Dr. Dre, although I hope NYC surprises me with some strong releases.
That about wraps things up, please leave comments below about what you are looking forward to most in 2010.
Holla!
Monday 4 January 2010
The White Ribbon - Review
Michael Haneke's 'The White Ribbon' has received much praise in 2009, I enjoyed 'Hidden' (2005), although I am not sure I understand it even after post viewing research, so with this in mind I was expecting to find the film to be another obscure parable. What I found was a beautiful and subtle film, however, unlike 'Hidden', Haneke is quite clear and direct about what he wants the viewer to take from his film.
The film masterfully captures an idyllic agricultural village in Germany just prior to the outbreak of the First World War in which a series of unfortunate happenings occur. It becomes apparent that these events are related and viewed in hindsight affords us an understanding of what is to come in history.
Despite the idyllic backdrop, Haneke portrays the village as a society addled with sinister malevolence and immorality, largely ignored by the puritanical Lutheran pastor. The pervasiveness of evil spreads unchecked, vanquishing innocence (which is represented by a white ribbon).
Last year the first film I saw was 'The Spirit', which was one of the most awful films I have ever seen, this year begun for me with 'The White Ribbon'; I have a good feeling about this year, although I suspect it will be a long time before I see a film better than this.
Saturday 2 January 2010
Top tens galore.
Okay so I'm a little slow. 2009 has gone and the whole best of lists thing is a bit out of date. But you know what - I'm gonna do it anyway. It's pretty hard to compose these lists. As Nic pointed out it's damn near impossible to see all the promising movies from the past ten years so any list is a little inadequate. Perhaps the answer is to limit your scope and only watch one film a year. That way at the end of the decade you won't have to think too hard. Just a suggestion.
Anyway here are my top ten movies of the past 10 years:
10.United 93
9. 21 Grams
8. Junebug
7. Lost in Translation
6. The Wrestler
5. The Squid and the Whale
4. The Dark Knight
3. Before Sunset
2. Eternal Sunsine of the Spotless Mind (Philip - how can you not like this movie?)
1. There Will be Blood
I also want to give honourable mention to City of God, Assassination of Jesse James, Anchorman, The Royal Tennebaums, You Can Count on Me, Into the Wild, Knocked Up, Downfall, Life Aquatic, Babel, Zodiac, American Splendour, Sideways, Superbad, The Bourne Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, and all the other ones I've forgotten.
I'm also going to throw my two cents in on the hip hop front. Here are my 10 favourite hip hop albums of the past 10 years:
10. The Ecstatic by Mos Def
9. Food & Liquor by Lupe Fiasco
8. The Love Below by Outkast
7. Rising Down by The Roots
6. The Renaissance by Q Tip
5. Late Registration by Kanye West
4. Nas by Nas
3. Game Theory by The Roots
2. Ear Drum by Talib Kweli
1. Be by Common
So there you go the definitive selection. I'm sure there will be no disagreements with any of these choices.
I will be back shortly with reviews of the new Clint Eastwood film 'Invictus' and the new Jason Reitman movie, 'Up in the air'. Stay posted Robot Socks world.
Anyway here are my top ten movies of the past 10 years:
10.United 93
9. 21 Grams
8. Junebug
7. Lost in Translation
6. The Wrestler
5. The Squid and the Whale
4. The Dark Knight
3. Before Sunset
2. Eternal Sunsine of the Spotless Mind (Philip - how can you not like this movie?)
1. There Will be Blood
I also want to give honourable mention to City of God, Assassination of Jesse James, Anchorman, The Royal Tennebaums, You Can Count on Me, Into the Wild, Knocked Up, Downfall, Life Aquatic, Babel, Zodiac, American Splendour, Sideways, Superbad, The Bourne Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, and all the other ones I've forgotten.
I'm also going to throw my two cents in on the hip hop front. Here are my 10 favourite hip hop albums of the past 10 years:
10. The Ecstatic by Mos Def
9. Food & Liquor by Lupe Fiasco
8. The Love Below by Outkast
7. Rising Down by The Roots
6. The Renaissance by Q Tip
5. Late Registration by Kanye West
4. Nas by Nas
3. Game Theory by The Roots
2. Ear Drum by Talib Kweli
1. Be by Common
So there you go the definitive selection. I'm sure there will be no disagreements with any of these choices.
I will be back shortly with reviews of the new Clint Eastwood film 'Invictus' and the new Jason Reitman movie, 'Up in the air'. Stay posted Robot Socks world.
Friday 1 January 2010
Top 10 Hip Hop albums of the decade
I fell out of love with Hip Hop early in the decade and only came back to it in the past few years, so the middle of the decade does not feature highly in my top ten, but we have had a good decade of rap, although perhaps not as good as the previous. My top ten is:
10. The Recession (2008) Young Jeezy (Corporate Thugz Entertainment/Def Jam)
9. Food & Liquor (2006) Lupe Fiasco (1st & 15th/Atlantic Records)
8. Quality (2002) Talib Kweli (Rawkus/Universal)
7. The College Dropout (2004) Kanye West (Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam)
6. The Fix (2002) Scarface (Def Jam South/Universal Records)
7. Let's Get Free (2000) Dead Prez (Loud Records)
6. The Mouse and the Mask (2005) MF Doom & Danger Mouse (Epitaph Records)
5. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II (2009) Raekwon (Ice H2O/EMI Records)
4. Phrenology (2002) The Roots (Geffen)
3. Stankonia (2000) Outkast (LaFace/Arista)
2. Electric Circus (2002) Common (MCA)
1. Hell Hath No Fury (2006) Clipse (Re-Up/Star Trak/Jive)
I know number 10 is a bit controversial, but I love that album! 2002 was the strongest year by far, three classic albums dropped. Only two NYC MCs made the list, which reflected how the decade went, but 2009 was the comeback year for the home town of Hip Hop and the next decade looks rosy for them.
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