The Event - Issue 171

Event the

12th January 2005

Issue: 120

The Hollywood Makeover

Contents 03

Full Contents Features

Sections

Film Features: Alexander Heralds Music................................p. 12 & 13 the Return of the Epic...................p. 7 Albums..............................................p. 12 Swords and sandals are back, and this time they’re bigger than ever. The Event previews new epic Alexander...

Top 12 Films of the Year................p. 9 That’s one great film for every month of the year 2004. The Event recommends the best of the best...

The Residents, Commercial Album; Hood, Outside Closer; The Naked Apes, Teflon Man; Jay-Z/Linkin Park, Collision Course; Adam Green, Gemstones; 7 Seconds, Take it Back, Take it On, Take it Over!; The New Breed, Off the Beaten Path Side column: The Single: RIP?

TV Feature: Rory Bremner Comes to Singles...............................................p. 13 Town............................................p. 8 The Music, Breakin’; The Glitterati, Back in Power; Puscha, Master satirist Rory Bremner tells The Event about his world of many voices

Show Me What Love Is; Breed 77, Shadows; Soulwax, ETalking; The Chemical Brothers, Galvanise; Kasabian, Cut Off; Smother, Use; Green Day, Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Music Features: Hip-Hopping into Live Reviews: Muse; No Comply + The Mercy League Rock.............................................p. 4 Film The Event infiltrates the non-conformist, independent hip- Cinema.........................................p. 14 hop scene to find out what this bright new trend is all about...

Ray, 2046, Team America World Police

The Secret Life of a Musician........p. 6

DVD/VHS......................................p. 15

The Event takes a peek at the double lives led by underground punk band Buzztone...

The Heathers, Memories of Murder, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence

Arts Features: Vikram Seth, an Equal Arts.........................................p. 16 Music.............................................p5 Book Reviews: Spliffs, A The Story of Film, If...

The Event looks at the work of Vikram Seth, author of the longest single volume in the English language...

Centre Spread: Biopics........p. 10-11 Following the releases of Finding Neverland and The Aviator, the biopic is the big movie trend of the moment.

The Event profiles the lives behind the pictures...

Competition Corner

Theatre Reviews: Pass the Port

TV & Digital............................p. 17 TV Preview: Celebrity Big Brother DVD Reviews: ER Series 3 Soap News: Hollyoaks and Neighbours.

Digital Stuff: EyeToy: Chat

Heathers

In this issue:

IS: concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Philip Sainty concrete.event@uea.ac.uk Tim Barker & Sarah Edwardes concrete.eventeditorial@uea.ac.uk Proof Readers: Katharine Clemow, Dean Bowman, Ross Grainger concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk Editor: Luke Roberts Assistant Editor: Niki Brown Writers: Dean Bowman, Susan Vitery concrete.film@uea.ac.uk Editor: Dean Bowman Writers: Mark Simpson, Priya Shah, Anthony Jackson, Dan Peters, Lucy Mowatt, Kate Bryant, Sebastian Manley, Henrietta Burgess, Luke Roberts, Victoria Legett concrete.music@uea.ac.uk Editors: James Banks & Ben Patashnik Writers: Hayley Chappel, Suzanne Rickenback, Charles Rumsey, Simon Griffiths, Alistair Laurence concrete.tv/digital@uea.ac.uk Editor: Kate Bryant Writers: Amy Lowe, Martha Hammond, Kim Howe Creative Writing Editor: James Conway Writers: Alan Ashton-Smith, Robert Frost, Zoë Neville-Smith, Luke Roberts, Amy Lowe Design Consultant Nathan ‘gone again’ Hamilton The Event is published fortnightly by Concrete: Post: PO Box 410, Norwich, NR4 7TB Tel: 01603 250558 Fax: 01603 506822

(Please send your answers to concrete.event@uea.ac.uk)

E-mail: su.concrete@uea.ac.uk Printed by: Archant

Plain Dirty

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nother term begins and another issue is being finished. The Event is back, like some over drugged OAP with too many opinions and no one to hear them over the Holiday we now have you, our adoring captive audience to sit down in front of us and witter to till we fall asleep.

Happy New Year and all that, we have a packed issue for you full of very important stuff to help entertain you on these cold winter days, in between/during lectures. In fact you can burn The Event for heat if you need to, (though we advice you not to do this during a lecture). Not that all we are to you is a combustible heat source, no we’ll be blowing plenty of hot air at you as well to keep out the cold.

So take care of yourselves this term try not to drink too little, and keep on reading, their will be something to entertain you shortly.Yours, a befuddled editor.

Pg. 4

We also have three copies of the classic eighties teen film Heathers (Anhor Bay UK), which is available to buy from the 31st January 2005, if you answer this tricky question who was the male lead in Heathers? a) Christian Slater b) Jeremy Clarkson c) Dobby

Pg. 6 Thanks to the people at Mosaic Entertainment we have three copies of Plain Dirty to give away if you can just answer this question: What number am I thinking of? a) 5 b) F c) elephant

Dellacasa have another meal giveaway for all you hungry returning students.

Just answer this question: How do you spell Dellacasa?

Pg. 10-11

Editorial

Pg. 8 12.01.05

04 Feature

Shape of Punk to Come...

Welcome to underground Hip-Hop.

Sage Mount Doom

Slug Danger Mouse

Alistair

Lawrence takes a look at the disparate, non-conformist, electrifying network of talent busy rebelling against the mainstream.

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ext month sees something of a musical first.

Epitaph, the punk record company who have released genre defining albums by the likes of Bad Religion and NOFX, not to mention The Offspring’s Smash LP which, at 11 million copies and counting, remains the most successful album on an independent label ever, release their first hip-hop album by an artist signed exclusively to their label. The artist in question, Sage Francis, and his latest offering, A Healthy Distrust, may not attract the kind of multi-platinum success that’s seen Epitaph signings grab headlines in the past, but it remains significant for the fact that it sees two subcultures brush up against each other in an unprecedented fashion.

It’s a shrewd move on Epitaph’s part.

Far from being a household name, Francis is nonetheless a revered slampoet and MC whose albums sales to date total approximately 130,000 worldwide, a feat made all the more impressive considering that four of the six albums that combine to make that total are self-released. Also, Epitaph had something of a dry run at this; in 2003 they licensed Atmosphere’s Seven’s Travels to watch it go on to be certified ‘gold’ in America.

Thanks to that success, Atmosphere are now the most prominent members of the American indie hip-hop crop currently being harvested to go ‘overground’. A two-piece whose producer, Ant, is replaced by the shaven-headed and heavily pierced Mr. Dibbs for live shows, the group are unarguably driven by their libidinous and wise-cracking frontman Sean Daley, otherwise known as Slug, who was also integral in setting up the Rhymesayers label that house them and whose roster has amassed a cult following, operating out of their native Minneapolis since its inception in the early nineties. It was Rhymesayers who struck a deal with Epitaph for the distribution of both Seven’s Travels and E&A, the sophomore effort from their labelmates Eyedea & Abilities.

Refreshingly for a rapper, Slug is acutely self-aware about both how he is perceived and what part Atmosphere play in representing hip-hop. Plus he does it

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all with his dry sense of humour pushed to the fore. “I’ve had hundreds of comparisons to Eminem already,” he shrugs.

“It’s inevitable and I don’t mind it, provided people realise I’m a lot taller than him and can’t afford to pay all my bills like he can.” He’s similarly unaffected about his perceived elevation to being

On being compared to Eminem “I don’t mind it, provided people realise I’m a lot taller than him and can’t afford to pay all my bills like he can.”

Understandably, he appears much more impassioned when talking about his latest work. “I would hope that upon listening to this album it influences people to be radical in some sense,” he brightens. “I wanted to re-affirm something that they know deep inside but never really address, whether it be love, revolt or a rejection of the things that hurt society.” His closing volley of optimism seems to reveal the heartbeat that propels him towards his goals: “Overall, I want to evoke the general sense of ‘wow, this is straight shooting and I get it’. Also, ‘hell yeah’ and ‘about time – I’m so sick of…’ whatever. Both rock and rap are missing strong, knowledgeable voices right now.”

the hip-hop poster-boy that it’s ok for inthe-know indie kids to like. “I’m gonna try to turn that criticism to my advantage and make Atmosphere the ‘doorway drug’ to gets kids who wouldn’t otherwise touch hip-hop into it,” he insists.

“Who knows, maybe if they start off smoking a little Atmosphere this year they’ll be snorting (cult underground New York acts) Cannibal Ox and Aesop Rock next.”

Sage Francis is a less-straightforward proposition. Shorter, stockier and less inclined to write love stories into his rhymes (in fact his first solo album, Personal Journals, is a concept piece containing 18 broken-hearted invectives so visceral it invented the term ‘emo-hop’ overnight), he’s arguably more perceptive than any of his peers when it comes to any subject you care to mention: dodgy politics, dodgy relationships and any predictable criticisms that may come flying his way once the platform on which he performs becomes bigger. “I don’t like when people assume that my target audience is white kids,” he frowns. “That isn’t true and it never has been. The majority of my fanbase is white, but the majority of the people in my country are white, a majority of hip-hop listeners are white and the majority of the Wu Tang Clan and Public Enemy’s audience is white, too.” The fact he’s a teetotaller only forms another set of preconceptions he seems happy to tear down.

“I’m really sick of being defined by the fact that I don’t drink or smoke,” he sighs. “I might as well start smoking crack to prove that my personality has nothing to do with that.”

enerally speaking, you can navigate the cliques in America’s underground hip-hop scene by going from label to label.

Type Rhymesayers, anticon, Definitive Jux and Stones Throw into Google and you’ll be greeted with a list of the most prominent camps of hip-hop’s outlaws.

Where Sage Francis has little company is that he’s aligned himself with none of them for too long, releasing an album and collaborating with certain artists before quickly moving on. Perhaps the only true peer he has in that respect is MF Doom. The ‘MF’ stands for ‘metal face’; the large, cumbersome mask he wears to cover up his visage as he moves from project to project and alias to alias. His next album will be his Danger Doom collaboration with producer Danger Mouse, who now-famously spent last year unintentionally infuriating EMI by deconstructing every note on the Beatles’s White Album and building it back up again behind the vocals of Jay-Z’s Black Album. Unbelievably for an artist who prompted his work to go ‘illegal platinum’ by having fans champion his cause and download his Grey Album en masse after its official release was halted by EMI’s cease-and-desist order, Danger Mouse has kept a low profile since. Save his trademark furry mouse suit, obviously.

As his and Doom’s brainchild whets the appetite of their respective die-hard followings on the back of practically no publicity, a previous interview with MF Doom for Canada’s MTV equivalent, MuchMusic, that features as an extra on Stones Throw’s commemorative 101 CD

The Offsprings album Smash was the album that established Epitaph as the biggest independant label ever.

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and DVD mixtape set manages to distil the appeal of all of him, his contemporaries and the scene that’s sprung up to deftly undercut the crass bling-bling culture that puts most people off hiphop. “To me, hip-hop is one of the directions where it’s, like, damn near onehundred percent is on everything besides the music,” he rumbles from behind his metal mask in his trademark, low-end murmur. “It’s what you look like, the sound of your name, what you wearing, what intoxicants you choose to put in your body: everything but what the music sounds like. The mask is really testament to, yo, it’s not about none of that: all that matters is how you spit and if the beats is raw – that’s what it’s about.”

Epitaphs previous signings; NOFX, Pennywise, and Bad Religion...

Feature 05

Are we too Cynical?

Susan Vittery finds an exuberance that is free from cynicism and parody in Vikram Seth’s novel An Equal Music...

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he twenty-first century, we are told, is a sceptical era.

We are supposed to think/speak/ write ironically – or to be self-ironising if we are writing about ourselves. Sincerity is a parody, not an original. And Love and Beauty are, to be quite frank, somewhat high-flown ideas that could do with being robbed of their capital letters and portrayed with the help of a little caustic humour. After all, it would not do to be too romantic (read soppy and sentimental) and it would certainly not do to take ourselves too seriously. This is the year 2005.

This is, of course, a grotesque generalisation, otherwise Vikram Seth’s unapologetically emotive novel, An Equal Music, could not have been so successful. The title of the novel is an automatic draw for anyone interested in music. For those not in the know there is always the CD – cunningly released shortly after the novel – to fill you in, but if that’s not your thing then fear not, it isn’t compulsory listening. This is not only a book for musicians.

Set in London, the narrative follows Michael Holme, the second violinist of the Maggiore String Quartet, from his home in London to Vienna, where the quartet is soon to perform. Vienna, however, was also the setting of his relationship with fellow musician Julia – a relationship that ended abruptly, painfully, and without any of the loose ends being neatly tied. Michael has never really got over it…

Yes, shock horror, we have come to the love story, but in this case it is neither formulaic nor sentimental. Its success relies on the

fact that it is two-pronged, and that the pain of reviving an old but unresolved relationship is only one half of the equation. The other is the pain experienced by Julia as she learns to live with the fact that, even though she is a musician, she may never hear music again. This is the most crushing loss in the novel and its intensity is invariably well sustained.

It is not so much the subject matter of the novel, however, as its location on the luscious borderline between poetry and prose that makes it so compelling. In a novel about music it may sound facile to praise the lyrical quality of the language in which it is written.

Such praise is, however, unavoidable. This is not to say that anyone who reads it will find themselves adrift in a sea of adjectives. On the contrary, the tone is highly variable. It includes gritty realism, as Seth describes the struggle of a working class boy from Rochdale to become a musician. It also contains pages of dialogue that is often acrid, or funny, or both, as the tempers of eccentric musicians clash.

“Love and Beauty are, to be quite frank, somewhat high-flown ideas that could do with being robbed of their capital letters.”

Nonetheless, impressionism remains the chief mode of the novel. The emotionallycharged atmosphere is conveyed by means of a wash of sensory images, many of which

Vikram Seth: the widest smile in the business

have a slightly old-world feel. Light, flowers, birds, water, scent, and, of course, music all abound, giving a tinge of the pastoral to a book which is, after all, set in London. The falling leaves in the park are more prominent than the sound of traffic; reflected sunlight on the lake supplants car headlights or flashing neon signs.

Most strangely of all, perhaps, the love of music – of sound – is mediated through images that are strikingly visual, rather than aural – testimony to the poverty of our language when it comes to describing sound. However, it is more because of these seeming oddities than in spite of them that the riot of images combines into something of an extended poem. The final quarter of the novel, in particular, achieves the quality of a sensory mirage as the central character draws closer to breaking point, and all the disassociated scenes from his past, now painfully juxtaposed, begin to close in on him.

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f this isn’t to your taste then it is worth noting that An Equal Music is Seth’s third novel and that the previous two employ quite different modes. Seth has lived in England, California, China and India, and so it is perhaps unsurprising that his versatility is one of the most prominent features of his fiction.

This is true of the locations he writes about: The Golden Gate is set in the USA, A Suitable Boy in India, An Equal Music in the UK, and From Heaven Lake follows his journey through Sinkiang and Tibet. It is not only his settings that are wide-ranging, however, but also his fictional modes. The Golden Gate is a novel in verse, which may sound dauntingly high-brow but is actually highly lucid and frequently hilarious. It comes across more in the manner of a continuous stream of limericks (albeit in sonnet form) than that of a dense and complex epic poem. As for A Suitable Boy… well, that requires a paragraph (or a whole newspaper) to itself.

A Suitable Boy is Seth’s most epic, and best-known, work. It took ten years to write and, at approximately 1350 pages, it is the largest single volume ever to be published in the English language. In its mushrooming narrative Seth incorporates parodies of politicians’ speeches as they wrangle over the Indian government’s proposed confiscation of vast private estates; he describes religious conflicts between Muslims and Hindus in post-partition India; he details Hindu religious festivals; he depicts scenes in rural villages, urban shanty towns, and mansions; he describes the lives of old landed-families, social climbers, middle men, peasants and professionals. And he combines this vast sweeping view of the social fabric of India with an individual girl’s love story, and her family’s search for ‘a suitable boy’ for her to marry. The scope of the project is undeniable. This should not, however, put you off.

Although the novel is a little slow moving at times, the temptation to accept defeat and put it down is never present.

One of the novel’s great achievements is that the characters are never deflated into stereotypes, despite their sheer number, but always remain multi-dimensional and complex. The same applies to the treatment of religious and political issues, and their incorporation into the fabric of the

novel complements, rather than conflicts with, the individual nuclei of attention.

Given that the social pressures operating on the characters heavily influence the choices they make, it would be impossible to isolate the story of one particular family, much less an individual, from the overall framework. A suitable boy, after all, is deemed appropriate or otherwise according to criteria that are contextually created. It should be added that although the inclusion of this overall framework necessarily makes the book a long one, it does not follow that it is difficult to read. In fact, it is narrated in a very straightforward manner and readers never seem to find finishing A Suitable Boy too much of an effort. It is picking it up in the first place that is the problem, and this is merely a psychological barrier to do with its size. It is a barrier worth overcoming.

The delights in store do not end even here, however. A Suitable Boy was released in 1994 and An Equal Music in 1999, so by the time you have finished reading this feature, and the 2000 or so recommended pages of fiction, the next book might well be on the way. The film rights for An Equal Music have also been sold, so that could be another one to look out for.

Alternatively, it could be one to avoid like the plague if this beautiful novel is turned into a mushy film.

At this point we could be forced to join the supposedly caustic, parodic, self-ironising, cynical, emotionally-sterilised twenty-first century. Until then, however, The Event will persist in recommending this book. Enjoy!

An Equal Music is published by Phoenix and available at www.amazon.co.uk from £5.59.

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06 Feature

Two Lives are Better than One...

By day they are office workers, but at night they become underground rock gods, setting the world alight with their fast and furious punk sound. Ben Patasknik speaks to Buzztone about the double life of being in a band.

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ho are you? “In the real world, or from 9 to 5, I’m S i m o n Hall, in an office staring at a computer screen.”

And at other times? “I sing and play guitar for Buzztone.”

According to comic book lore, living a double life has always been fraught with difficulties. The jarring clash between normalcy and secrecy is what makes such stories compelling.

However, it could come as a surprise to learn that this way of life is common among members of the musical underground, the bands that constantly hope to kick down the door of the big leagues but are always on the peripheries of the mainstream. Simon spells it out: “Living like this the drudgery of the awful, turgid rat race is all the more apparent, as is the mundane pointlessness. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been at work the day after a late gig, trying to work through a fatigue-induced daze with only a desk fan and caffeine to keep me going.”

Buzztone formed in Swindon in 1998

and have been on the peripheries of England’s punk scene ever since.

Completed by Simon’s brother Matt on

“I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been at work the day after a late gig, trying to work through a fatigue-induced daze with only a desk fan and caffeine to keep me going” lead guitar, Justin Haggett on drums and Simon Doust on bass, Buzztone have been through various line-up changes over the last seven years to reach the stage they’re at now, bolstered by some stunning songs but without the financial means to allow the respective members to commit their lives to the band. So they have to work day jobs while writing and recording the songs that they hope will elevate them into the national consciousness.

“I’m fairly realistic about what Buzztone can achieve, but I want us to take it as far as we can. I’d happily live in

a transit van and pootle up and down the country every day scraping a living from playing music... I’d do that tomorrow.” Even though it might not be as financially rewarding as having a career? “It really isn’t all about success or fame for us. If it were then we wouldn’t play the sort of music that we do. We love what we do. What other possible reason can there be for enduring 2am load outs in January while rain is pouring down and you have work in the morning 150 miles away?”

Conviction is not the issue, because it is evident that the band are strongly dedicated to the music they make from even the most cursory listen to Buzztone’s vibrant output. Crunching guitar riffs and Simon’s soaring vocals characterise their particular brand of punk rock, and their last release From Beer To Paternity won the critical acclaim that it so richly deserved. So why is Simon still hunched over his keyboard? “Punk is a funny thing. Almost all b a n d s want to get more successful and have more people ‘get it’ in terms of what they want to say.Yet any degree of commercial success is frowned upon by the holier-than-thou Punk Militia.” Surely that is hypocritical? “Definitely. It’s easy to be a proper punk when you are not dependant on gigs and t-shirt sales to stay afloat.”

“We do it because we love it. It’s a cheap and cheesy answer but it’s the truth.”

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ven with the recent boom in alternative cultures, Buzztone are still unable to take advantage of the situation.“In some ways the alternative scene is another mainstream business and to many it’s all about money. These days the word ‘punk’ is used to refer to the style of a band rather than any message that band may have or standpoint they may have taken.

Punk has changed.” But rather than be disheartened by the hordes of bandwagon-jumpers that have choked the scene in the last couple of years, Simon reasserts his reasons for being in Buzztone.

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“I’m still in Buzztone because over the last two to three years we’ve finally evolved into the kind of band that can play what we really like. I will be attempting to write the music I love forever, whether there’s an audience to listen to it or not.We do it because we love it. It’s a cheap and cheesy answer but it really is the truth.” And here the conversation comes full-circle - Buzztone will continue writing songs because they adore playing live and meeting people, no matter the consequences for their wallets.

Persevering for almost seven years without ever being within sniffing distance of Cat Deeley and CD:UK is as clear an illustration as possible of the desire that Simon and his band have to keep doing what they do best.

Obviously splitting his life between what he wants and what he needs to do is hardly ideal, but that is how it has to be. “I hate spending most of my time in an environment where people are stabbing each other in the back just to claw their desperate grasping selves one more rung up the greasy corporate ladder,” he stresses.

“The day after a great gig makes the booted-suited, shitty jargon and banter seem all the more cringeworthy.”

But in that case, why torture yourself? Simon smiles. “It’s precisely at these times that I’m so grateful that I have the band. At least I have an outlet for the pent-up resentment of my lot. At least with the band we are part of something that’s real and that belongs to us.

We alone own it and we alone turn the wheels. If people watch us it’s because they want to and not because we’ll sack them if they don’t.”

There is no single rational answer to the question of why Simon spends most of his day behind a desk and only a few hours doing something he loves, but Clark Kent never explained why he put up with his disguise when he was always Superman underneath. There is no explanation, but without heroes like Simon, clambering on stage every night to pour his heart out for the sake of a roomful of strangers, we’d all be lost.

Feature 07

It’s the Size that Matters

David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia: One of the influences of Oliver Stone’s Alexander... Except without the trains

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Anthony Jackson takes a look at the rebirth of a classic genre.

he 7th January sees the release of Alexander; an Oliver Stone film that follows the Macedonian King, Alexander the Great, as he conquers 90% of the then known world.

This release signifies more than just another chance for us to witness large battles and Colin Farrell’s poor attempt at anything other than an Irish accent. It signifies the possible culmination of the rebirth of the epic film. Very few major ‘epics’ appear to be on the horizon and so 2005 provides an excellent opportunity to look back at the re-emergence of the classic genre.

When discussing the subject of ‘epic’ movies controversy and disagreement rises amongst the scholars of film.

There is an argument to suggest that the new breed of ‘epic’ films do not qualify as actual epics. The genre originated in the 1920s with ancient films like The Ten Commandments (1923) and Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1926). The legendary director Cecil B. De Mille continued this biblical trend with Samson and Delilah (1949) and a widescreen Technicolor reshot version of his original The Ten Commandments in 1956. For a film to be categorized as ‘epic’ some argue it must be grounded in the bible. This would in effect leave epics a little lost in the late 50s/60s where the genre reached its height. In this period Charlton Heston became the archetypal epic actor as he starred in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and the flagship epic Ben Hur (1959). These films were all long with religion key to the plot. But they were also spectacular impressing audiences with great action sequences. However movies such as Spartacus (1960) and Antony and Cleopatra (1972) were not steeped in the bible yet are hailed as films from the epic genre.

Many modern films, like Grease, have borrowed from these old epics.

The car race at the end with the spiked wheel trims is just a modern version of the violent chariot race in Ben Hur. Perhaps the greatest director of the epic was the British director David Lean, whose vast depopulated landscapes were influenced by the westerns of John Ford and demonstrated the artistic potential of the new widescreen ratio.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) remains one of the greatest epics with its human

The Spirit of the Epic: One Man and his Landscape

characters dwarfed by their natural environments, a composition that remains fundamental to the epic and can be seen reflected in films such as Alexander. It would appear for a film to be become more than just an action/adventure it must be made up of several elements that include; a historical setting, composition, extravagant special effects and large battle sequences.

These elements were what made the epic popular in the past. The original epics were a way to demonstrate the possibilities in film and in the 50s/60s they were an attempt to combat the emergence of the television. Cinema-

Although SFX help fill the cinemas an involved story is still needed to make a movie any money. The next major epic did not come until 2000 when Gladiator graced our screens. If any film can be said to relight the old flames of the epic it is this one. Gladiator perfected the balance for a great epic; modern technology was combined with a strong narrative. It demonstrated that a mixture of grandious battle sequences and intimate character based stories, which include themes of love and sacrifice are required for a successful epic. Gladiator is the benchmark Alexander will be hoping to hit on its release. A similar element of realism and historical setting will draw inevitable comparisons and Oliver Stone and Colin Farrell will be hoping they provide as much action and interest as their Roman predecessor.

After Gladiator the epic gates were flung open as a new variety was introduced to the old genre. In 2001 the first in the trilogy Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring amazed audiences with its revolutionary battle scenes. Lord of the Rings struggles to be classed as an actual epic due to its fantasy element however it follows similar themes to the likes of Braveheart, Gladiator and Alexander. More importantly it changed the way epic battle sequences were constructed. The introduction of CGI graphics to create a computer generated landscape of hundreds of thousands of warriors enabled modern epics to surpass the older generation in terms of specta-

Both grandious battle sequences and character based stories, including themes of love and sacrifice, are required for a successful epic. going declined after the war but a road show blockbuster, like Ben Hur, could attract a large crowd with its superior SFX and elaborate sets. However epics were not a guaranteed success and when Antony and Cleopatra flopped in 1972 it almost bankrupted 20th Century Fox. This disaster saw studios lose confidence and signalled the end to epics until the late nineties.

So does the current batch of new ‘epics’ fall under the heading of the old genre? Well the dictionary definition in relation to film states epic as “A literary or dramatic composition that resembles an extended narrative poem celebrating heroic feats.” The old epic narrative poems, Homer’s Odyssey, were all presented in an elevated language and followed a traditional hero. In terms of film this translates to a big budget blockbuster that stars a man’s man as the hero. This seems to ring true for the modern epics.

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n 1995 the studios kick started the rebirth of the genre with two Scottish epics in Rob Roy and Braveheart. While Rob Roy lost out to Braveheart at the Oscars both were successes for the epic genre. With a big budget and major advances in make-up and special effects the action and battle scenes drew in audiences as blood and swords scattered the screens.

cle. However Troy (2004) and King Arthur (2004) suffered because of an overdependance on CGI as audiences become evermore numb to it.

In 2003 Tom Cruise starred in The Last Samurai providing an eastern perspective. Once again we were treated to large scale battles but this time a conflict was found as the ancient Japanese warriors took on an armed force. Issues of loyalty, love and honour were intertwined with some visually pleasing sword play and shooting. Also in 2003 Russell Crow, by now a staple epic actor, took up another epic role as he played Captain Jack Aubrey in Master and Commander. This time a naval story that followed the hero leader against the mighty French fleet and Napoleon. Finally in 2004 the tale of Achilles and the Greeks was told in Troy which saw Brad Pitt take on an action role.

Yet the most high profile epic of 2004 reverted back to the past religious trends as Mel Gibson directed the Passion of the Christ. Controversy surrounded the film, branded Anti-Semitic and excessively violent, yet none can argue against the epic nature of the movie. Although no major battle sequence was included one of the most horrific torture sequences ever left many audiences stunned.

So what now for the rebirth of the epic? Alexander provides a more traditional escape for film goers to be entertained with war and love. In 2006 there are plans for another Alexander project with Baz Luhrmann strangely at the helm. Mel Gibson is also producing the historic Warrior that follows the rise of Queen Boudica.

However with no less than six superhero films planned for 2005 and 2006 it appears the time has come for the epic genre to take a backseat as the studios place faith in Batman, The Fantastic Four and Superman to name a few.

Cinefile After Life

no. 50

After Life? Sounds intriguing, what’s it about?

This is a Japanese film by Hirokazu Koreeda and released in 1998. The basic premise of the film is showing what people have to do after they die. In this case, the recently deceased are taken to an agency that helps them decide what one memory from their life that they wish to relive forever. Once a memory is decided upon, the agency re-creates this memory in their studios and films it for the person in question. The film follows a group of people deciding what they want to remember for the rest of eternity.

What if you can’t decide on a particular memory?

Then you work for the agency and help others until you decide upon one memory. One such person is the protagonist, Ichiro Watanabe (Taketoshi Naitô), and throughout the course of the film the audience can see him slowly change his mind. The film also shows the reluctant youth Yusuke Iseya (Yusuke Iseya) who does not want to choose a memory.

Give me an example of the memories that are chosen.

One young woman, Kana Yoshino (Sayaka Yoshino), wants to remember going to Disneyland. A member of staff points out that a lot of girls think of that memory. There is a businessman, Kenji Yamamoto (Kotaro Shiga) who wants to remember when he once flew a plane.

The group chooses diverse memories that range from extremely personal to everyday and mundane. The audience sees these characters discuss potential memories and what they meant to them.

Is there much religious talk in this film?

Not really, but this is a good feature rather than a negative one. By keeping religion to the sidelines, anyone can watch this film and relate to these characters. Whilst the film does not set out to be anti-religious, it shows an alternative that concentrates on the individual. This is part of the beauty of the film; that we have the ultimate choice in deciding what we do for eternity in the after-life. By not including religion that much, Hirokazu Koreeda can avoid answering which religion is the ‘true’ one and can instead concentrate on the characters. The film gives the audience an uplifting view of death and how it is not the end of your life but merely a step on the way to eternity.

No dramatic encounters with the Grim Reaper then?

There are none but this film is not about action.

After Life is a character-driven film that is deliberately slow-paced to show how these characters cope with their death and how they decide which memory to eternally remember. The acting is wonderful subtle and naturalistic, and the filmmaking style is more akin to documentary rather than mainstream Hollywood. Subtitled foreign films put off many viewers but this is an intelligent and emotional film that, unfortunately, has hardly been seen in this country.

Wandafuru raifu (After Life) is available on video and Region-1 DVD. Mark Simpson

12.01.05

08 Feature

Rory Bremner, Seriously Funny

With his new book You Are Here going down a treat, Rory Bremner chats to Amy Lowe about Bush, cheap laughs and liberalism...

Y

ou get the impression, excuse the pun, that Rory Bremner is functioning at a different speed to everyone around him. He comes across as a frantic, almost hyperactive man so you’ll understand why The Event was bowled over when meeting him to discuss his new book, You Are Here. Before the interview has even started he has thoroughly explored, analysed and evaluated the room and its contents, particularly the furniture – leather, mastermind-style chairs that look as if they could belong to a world statesman, or a Bond villain. A discarded piece of paper, somewhat worryingly entitled ‘Proposals to save the House of Lords’, causes much comment, as you might imagine from a political comedian.

Finally Bremner sits down long enough for The Event to ask him some questions.

With his energy and enthusiasm it is clear that he is a driven man, perhaps with a message to put across.

Does he, then, see himself primarily as a satirist, rather than a comedian or entertainer? Bremner is not keen to be pigeonholed, “it’s only a problem when it comes to your passport. Do you put entertainer, performer, or writer? Labels are something other people apply to you. I started out as a comedian. Now it’s evolved.

It’s ‘engaged comedy’.”

John Bird and John Fortune he believes, somewhat modestly, are much better satirists. “Satire is not something you can lay claim to. Its’ something people

12.01.05

have to discover as a voice for their own anger or despair. It’s the same with the book; I don’t write it for a particular audience, I just follow my own sense of anger or humour or curiosity. That’s what the book is about really; curiosity running amok.” The book, he continues from his seemingly characteristic perch on the edge of his seat, “is open to interpretation. People are free to take from it what they will. The book doesn’t have one voice; sometimes it’s angry, sometimes farcical; and that’s what I like about it really. Its not a book about how much we know either; its really just about how so much of the material that came our way over the last couple of years was just so fascinating-the raw material in itself…I should have called it ‘Beyond Parody’, because it is really about a world and a Government that are beyond parody.” The book, then, seems to be much like the show. It puts into the arena the raw material of government policy and invites the reader to see the madness of it for themselves.

“John Bird and John Fortune have always got some of their biggest laughs by reading out Government policy exactly as it was.” However, like the show, the message is clear, and the satire sharp. “Of course I’ve done it from my own point of view; I think John Bird and John Fortune have radicalized me in a way in terms of helping me as a comedian to find a voice - its not just jokes any more; there’s an underlying viewpoint.”

P

erhaps having a young family h a s helped Bremner in this political radicalization. “Weirdly, I find myself on a journey travelling further left as time goes by.” It is perhaps not something one would have guessed from his background; “I wasn’t the son of a miner, I was the son of a

The name’s Bremner...Rory Bremner minor public schoolboy.” He insists that this is not a crusade – he refuses again to be labelled. “At the moment I’m just going where curiosity takes me. In a couple of years I might stop doing this kind of stuff altogether and go back to translating…I’m just looking for greater fulfilment. I started off doing variety and that was fine, and then it started to seem very superficial, so I went deeper and embraced the political level. But then you get bound up in the day-to-

“When you’re faced with someone like Bush, what is the best weapon to use?

Is it ridicule? The trouble is that he’s so good at doing it himself” day politics, in understanding politics, and that can be quite tedious to be honest, and it all feels a little bit linearchasing the news and politics. But then another aspect comes into play with the history, and the story and characters that emerge when you look at the history can be really interesting.” The book, then, is perhaps an attempt to bring in the history that goes into the T.V. sketches. “We did a special about two years ago called Between Iraq and a Hard Place, which was the first time we felt we were being confronted with genuine historical material…Suddenly I was aware that there was other material out there which was really interesting and fascinating in its own right, and I carried that on into the book. The book is part-analysis, part-satire, part-entertainment. It’s fascinating to look at the back-stories.” The book, then, according to Bremner, “could act as a factsheet for the last couple of series, in some ways.”

Seeing the paradoxical nature of modern life and politics as he does, one could be forgiven for thinking that Bremner might be driven to pessimism by his work, but he insists that the opposite is true. “I tend to think that

most things can be resolved in a basic human way. That’s where I think there’s a Conservative and old Labour division. I think there is something in Conservatism that has a fundamental pessimism about human nature, whereas I associate liberal values with a, possibly naïve, opposite approach that fundamentally people can be trusted and should be dealt with fairly.” It is an attitude that seems to demand a strong sense of justice.“I just like to see people treated fairly, really. I might not include John Prescott in that.”

This optimism was more than a little strained by the re-election of George Bush. “The trouble with political jokes is that they do get elected, as someone once said.” In the light of the election, he must question the efficacy of satire. “Are we actually doing a disservice by making people laugh about the things which they ought to be getting angry about? I haven’t really got an answer. I suppose the programme tries to draw attention to these things and tries to not always go for the cheap laugh – they’re often quite expensive laughs once all the props have been made, etc. What’s the alternative?

When you’re faced with someone like Bush, what is the best weapon to use? Is it ridicule? The trouble is that he’s so good at doing it himself.We’re back to ‘beyond parody’ again…”

You Are Here, like Bremner himself, is a mixture of satire, commentary and entertainment. Bremner seems to want to be understood, and listened to, and yet at the same time he wants people to make up their own minds; he wants to believe people are capable of seeing the truth for themselves. He is caught up in the inevitable fate of anyone working on the left – to see life in shades of grey, to try and understand everyone’s point of view (even if you strongly believe they should be punched in the face for holding it) and to have faith in human nature, that people would make the right decision if only they could be faced with all the facts. Yet at the same time his strong sense of justice, of right and wrong, leads him to want to put across his own strongly-held beliefs. In the end, however, he must leave it up to the audience to take from him, and his book, “the parts that interest them”.

Feature 09

The Event’s Top Films of 2004 After exhaustive calculations the Event Presents its list of the top films of last year. Who needs Time Out? almost as good as the books themselves and avid Potter fans will eagerly await the future instalment of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire due for release in late 2005. We are taken on an adventure into the soaring imagination of J.K Rowling and the fantasy world she created for thousands of people. A very well crafted film at its best.

Priya Shah

was both at times subtle and absurd and the ending leaves you trying to catch your breath. The only disturbing aspect was that I left the cinema fancying a man who frequently wore a dress. Oh, the power of cinema.

Victoria Leggett

June

Finding Neverland, a biopic of Peter Pan creator, J. M. Barrie, is a must-see film.

Although not an accurate portrayal of the playwright’s life, the audience soon becomes wrapped up in the story. The fantasy sequences that bring Barrie’s imagination to life help the film stand out from the crowd. Also worthy of note is the portrayal of Barrie by Jonny Depp, who is well supported by 12-year-old Freddie Highmore as the ‘real’ Peter Pan - Look out for both of them in July’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Finding Neverland deserves to be recognised at this year’s Oscars.

Dan Peters

The Return - Andrei Zvyagintsev

Lucy’s suggestion that Bridget Jones was the film of the year did not garner much enthusiam from her collegues...

January

Big Fish - Tim Burton

Big Fish was undoubtedly one of the most striking films of the year, it allowed itself to be quirky yet have all the familiar traits of the best childhood stories you’ve ever heard. With the engrossing dynamic drawn between protagonist Ed Bloom and his son (who spends the duration of the film resisting the temptation to get carried away with the carnivalesque yarns spun by his father), Big Fish manages to remind audiences that Tim Burton is one of the best and most distinctive directors of his time. A truly enchanting film that accomplishes the rare feat of being different yet inviting.

Kate Bryant

February

The Dreamers - Bernardo bertolucci

The Dreamers Following the burgeoning relationship between three young cinema lovers, Dreamers explores sex, young love, control and above all, the art of cinema. The setting is Paris in 1968 during the student riots – a perfect backdrop to the often-anarchic views of the main characters. The three protagonists, eschewing the protests, spend their days exploring each other’s beliefs, film knowledge and bodies. Worth watching just because of the expert cinematography, The Dreamers portrays the beauty of close friendship and the destruction of loyalty in the face of jealousy.

Although at times perhaps a little over ambitious, it is overall a challenging and well-crafted film.

Henrietta burgess

narrative that reshuffled all those dubious twists of fate and emotional flareups into something unexpectedly moving, something watched with a realisation that we can never quite know whether things are falling apart or coming together, and that perhaps there’s hope for us either way.

Sebastian Manley

April

Carandiru - Hector Babenco

Charting the real life experiences of Doctor Drauzio Varella, who undertook Aids prevention social work in the notorious state penitentiary of Carandiru situated in São Paulo, Brazil, this is a real ‘must-see’ piece of cinema. It is a film with many strands, following a number of the inmates’ lives before they were incarcerated and examining how they dealt with life once imprisoned. The climax (the real event took place in 1992) is when, in order to smother a rebellion, the Police slaughter 111 men, many of whom were posing no threat.

Intense and often humorous, this This year we rewards frequent re-viewing.

Henrietta Burgess have mostly been watching... Films!

May

Harry Potter 3 - Alfonso Cuarón

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, filled with enchantment, mystery and fantasy, was the film of 2004 in my opinion. This series of films are

November

The Incredibles - Bradd Bird

July

Fahrenheit 9/11 - Michael Moore

Michael Moore’s critical documentary on the Bush administration following the Twin Towers tragedy on the 11th September 2001 is definitely a highlight of 2004. Moore uses his satirical wit to ridicule the Republican President at times whilst also raising some very interesting questions.

Moore has a talent for getting people to make themselves look silly and suspicious.

Although the film is very speculative and sometimes becomes over sentimental it can still be hailed as a great success. This is supported by the coveted Palme d’Or it was awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.

Fahrenheit 9/11 will guarantee a giggle and have you asking yourself how Bush ever got a second term.

Anthony Jackson

August

Memories of Murder - Joon-ho Bong

See Page 15 for a full Review.

September

Stage Beauty - Richard Eyre

The Incredibles Pixar scored another huge success with The Incredibles. The CGI is awe-inspiring, especially the characters and settings, and once again ups the ante for all other animation companies. Whilst the storyline may not be the most original, it can be seen as a love-letter to the super-hero genre. There are obvious nods to Alan Moore’s Watchmen, Marvel’s Fantastic Four and to the Man of Steel, Superman. The characters are well defined, the voice acting is superb and the action is constantly exciting. It is also one of the funniest films of 2004, especially the montage sequence about why super-heroes should not wear capes. The Incredibles is the best super-hero film of 2004.

Mark Simpson

December

Garden State - Zach Braff

March

Stage beauty

21 Grams - Alejandro González Iñárritu

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s second feature starred a trio of Hollywood stars that any film would be lucky to rally, but even the sum talents of Penn, Watts, and Del Toro – each with a dazzling performance – did not outshine the work of a director who deals in sensationalist melodrama and TV soap clichés. 21 Grams brilliance lay in a stacked-jigsaw

With The Return director Andrei Zvyagintsev recalls the work of Andrea Tarkovsky with his themes of spirituality and paternity. When the father of two boys mysteriously returns and takes them on a trip to the wilderness in order to instill some masculine values into them, disaster eventually ensues. The film operates as an incisive critique of male machismo, but its triumph is its use of the child’s perspective and its mixing of the generic conventions of the thriller into a seemingly domestic drama in order to probe the issue of father/child relationships.

Dean Bowman

October

Finding Neverland - Marc Forster

21 Grams

Stage Beauty is one of very few films I’ve seen that left me thinking ‘wow’, a film which in my view is far more worthy of Oscars than The Lord of the Rings. The cast, predominantly British, were all fantastic and the sets were equally impressive. It ticked all the boxes: period drama, romantic (if a somewhat odd idea of romance) and funny. The humour

Garden State is the most thought- provoking, amusing and original film of the year. It is a remarkablly visualised debut film for Zach Braff who has written, directed and also stars in it. Natalie Portman shows she can actually act in a romantic lead, alongside Braff. The script is full of quirky characters and there are some stunning set pieces such as the bottomless pit. The psychology driving the narrative is refreshingly complex. The portrait of estrangement from family and old school friends is exquisitely carried off. There are some very funny moments. Not least Andrew’s old school chum who has become a knight and clunks around a party in full armour.

Luke Roberts

12.01.05

12 Music

The Single: RIP?

Albums

Will 2005 signal the death

Ratings:

Sunny

Fair

Stormy

The Residents

knell for the single as we know

Commercial Album

it? The Event hopes so...

How to review this, the most commercial offering from one of, if not the most obscure bands of all time? Where to begin? A brief blurb within the CD booklet cites these 40 tracks as a step in a “brighter and less demanding” direction for this avant-garde quartet. The title is more than a simple stab at breaching the mainstream, but in fact a clever metaphor for a venture the band were experimenting with at the time - music videos. During the 1980s, The Residents flirted with the fledgling medium, creating a short film for each track on the album. The songs themselves, lasting no more than 90 seconds each, were identical in length to the average television ad, and thus the Commercial album came into being.

Musically, it's not great. In fact, even the most open minded of musical aficionados are likely to find The Residents utterly impenetrable. Nonetheless, the concept and delivery of this piece are best viewed as a work of modern-art, and a highly original one at that. Perhaps most importantly, this 25th anniversary reissue proves that The Residents have succeeded where many of their more "commercial" counterparts have failed - they have stood the test of time.

Without the single, this man would never have found employment.

Simon Griffiths

The New Year has drawn upon us faster than anyone was expecting. The year is always supposed to feel different and fresh, but no matter how many years go by you are still left with the sour taste that the Christmas Number One has left in your turkey-filled mouth. Well this year is no different except that by the time you read this, the 1000th number one will have been awarded to the 'artist' that has satisfied the Coca-Cola sponsored chart criteria. At the time of writing, the newspapers have been declaring that Elvis Presley will be awarded with the honour. This makes you wonder if the British charts are actually worth the paper they have been printed on and the airwaves they're broadcast on.

No doubt Sony wants to hijack this momentous occasion by putting their biggest artist into the history books - as if the horrendous fact that Elvis was able to 'officially' posthumously steal the Beatles' record of number ones wasn't enough, through that awful remix by Junkie XL. Do not be fooled into thinking that Elvis's achievements are being underrated; just stand back and think for one moment. A man, who is blatantly American, is hijacking the British charts and taking away the one thing that people were always proud to announce when they brought a single - the fact that the Beatles had the most number ones and were British. Although the blame can not be placed onto Elvis's corpulent shoulders, Sony is doing their best to baptise Elvis as a British chart hero. They have launched "the most ambitious singles release campaign in the history of the UK record industry" by releasing an Elvis record every week.You can even buy an Elvis box to put every single in for the small price of…wait for it…eight pounds. When you multiply this by the cost of the disc itself and by the number that are going to be released and you have a very expensive hobby.

Does having a Number One actually mean anything any more? Geldof's one-stop cash cow (a.k.a Band Aid [insert number here]) has fallen out of the charts to the bloke who won the X-Factor. Don't we all just care…? In HMV next to the singles stand there was a six-foot pile of the Band Aid singles that most likely have not sold. The rules to enter the chart are so strict anyway as to lose the point of actually buying the single - earlier in 2004, Franz Ferdinand had to quickly drop their original single release of Michael because it was one track too long. So all of the thousands of CDs that had been printed effectively became waste as otherwise Franz Ferdinand would not have entered into the charts. Of course, then the record companies would be pissed off as they couldn't add another award to their back wall. So back to the point. Once you have a number one, what do you do next? Well of course you go onto TOTP, a show so institutional that it has now been moved to a Sunday slot so that it has at least some chance of being seen. But appearing on CD:UK or TOTP means exactly nothing - by the time you have seen your artist perform on TOTP, in this new age media world, you probably have already seen the band play the song live a thousand times. And anyway, do bands actually sound or look good like they use to? Just watch TOTP2 where bands would actually be proud to play. So what will 2005 be? The death of the single and the death of the charts - hip hip hooray.

James Banks

12.01.05

Hood Outside Closer There must surely come a time when a respectable musician decides that rather than trying to make music that reaches for the stars and manages to thrill and excite people they've never met before, the route marked 'Pointless Introspection' is followed.

The fact is that Outside Closer is an album almost totally devoid of life or meaning, plodding along with the urgency of a brick but without the defining features that make bricks so memorable.

Without the acrid passion of Conor Oberst or the innovative streak of Bjork, Hood are destined to fade into the obscurity from whence they came. Or are they? Truth be told, there is a way to approach Outside Closer that will transform it from lifeless collection of staid songs to a lifestyle accessory for the effortlessly sexy intelligentsia.

Use it as a really shiny coaster.

Ben Patashnik

The Naked Apes Teflon Man I must reiterate that however positive this sounds, you CAN'T buy this album, as it sounds like Andrew WK's lame pop-punk brother. As the giggles start, your instincts will tell you that something is wrong and that the more you listen, the more your brain cells are being killed. It's obvious that no deep thought or further meaning has been part of the creation process when the Apes were writing Teflon Man, and this will probably

appeal to those below the (mental) age of 16. They stick to the typical formula that has been processed by the recent onslaught of MTV-friendly punk-lite bands - beer, sex, poo and being a loser. Which sounds fun, and is at the time, but is more cheap thrills than lasting humour. If you're looking for quality then it’s better to listen to the Naked Apes' obvious influences (NOFX) rather than them.

Suzanne Rickenback

Jay-Z/ Linkin Park Collision Course Linkin Park have been criticised for stretching their debut album tracks to the limit with Reanimation followed by a live album, and Collision Course takes this one step further (or closer). However, it is hard to find the negative in this compelling collaboration.

You may not like either protagonist but you cannot deny the seamless combination of nu-metal and rap which Mike Shinoda has strived to achieve, even though no party has any greater influence over the other. The album only contains six tracks but is accompanied by a DVD which provides insight into the intricacy and detail which has lead to such a revolution in the usually oceans apart genres. Collision Course may only really glitter to those familiar with the original tracks, but MTV's "mash up" is a radical step towards broadening the urban music scene.

Charles Rumsey

Adam Green Gemstones Adam Green is a name you may not be so familiar with at the moment, but it will definitely be on your lips soon. He is one half of the stunning lo-fi group The Moldy Peaches who performed in Thundercat costumes a few years back at Reading, and who fantastically wrote about a goat in a boat in a moat, and that same humour shines through on his latest album Gemstones. However, you can't just knock this down as another 'Peaches album, as he is able to take the warped humour of his mind and make some of the best 3-minute anti-folk-pop songs that you will have ever heard. This album defines Adam Green as an artist in his own right, since each of the fifteen songs will move your facial muscles into a smile that you will not be able to extinguish for a good few days.

James Banks

7 Seconds Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over!

Anyone looking for rocket science needn't bother with this one, but anyone who wants a purely positive hardcore album should start queuing right now. Breaking News punches along with a thrilling speed that slips easily into yet another hummable chorus while Rules To Follow could indeed be The Descendents circa Everything Sux, such is the indubitable command of melody and harmony set to breakneck speed.

While Take It Back… obviously has its roots in the late 80s hardcore scene it manages to come as a breath of fresh air today - I'm not going to start a treatise on the evolution of hardcore in the early 21st Century, but it is undeniable that there are very few bands around right now playing this style of music with this much competence and ability. With this in mind I cannot recommend this album highly enough to anyone despairing of black eyeliner and make up.

Ben Patashnik

The New Breed Off The Beaten Path A year or so ago the number of bands willing to try something different was meagre at best, and strangely enough here’s a fantastic band that fits firmly within the punk rock category because of their lack of pretensions and charming simplicity. Bombs For Oil and Actionare are storming songs that move with the grace of a zeppelin, but nevertheless contain a heartening number of subtleties and a strong sense of personality. Little vocal tics or guitar lines elevate Off The Beaten Path above the sum of its parts because they are so embedded within the music, rising above the surface now and then only to reassert the confidence and comfort of the album. And that's another point - rather than being a collection of songs, this is a coherent album that functions as such. It's not going to change the world, but it'll brighten it up for an hour or so.

Ben Patashnik

Music 13

Singles

Live Reviews No Comply + The Mercury League Arts Centre 06/12/04

The Music

Breakin’

Remember when Oasis played their Tenth Anniversary gigs and their bratty Northern support band said that the Gallaghers should be “honoured” to share the stage with them? Remember the first time you heard Take The Long Road and Walk It and started trying to ape Robert Harvey’s trademark flailing limbs? Or even when the last single Freedom Fighters threatened to justify all the hype generated by their stunningly-constructed eponymous debut album?

Unfortunately The Music’s best moments appear to be in the past, and while Breakin’ is a solid single it doesn’t come close to the hedonistic heights of what we’ve come to expect from Kippax’s finest export. It feels like Adam Nutter used all his best ideas on Freedom Fighters and was left with a few half-baked riffs with which to try and claw back some attention from the glut of distinctly groove-less bands that have taken residence in the public consciousness - it’s not bad, but it’s just not The People.

Judged in isolation it’s still a world ahead of the pack but it’s not special enough to really merit any particular attention, especially when placed next to their earlier output.

Ben Patashnik

The Glitterati Back In Power There's a pungent stench of arrogance permeating this song that only makes you want the disc to stop spinning. If it was Aerosmith, Motley Crue or in fact any band apart from them, then their primary concerns with sex, drugs and power wouldn't be an issue.

But when you begin to imagine them posing and pouting their way through this song it becomes obvious that despite their self-important attempts, it lacks any excitement or real attitude. They are essentially singing out their desires in this boring, vain and annoying waste of a record buyers' money.

Breed 77 Shadows

The Chemical Brothers Galvanise

Smother Use

Breed 77 can't be criticised because they are a homegrown act that shows a lot of development from their roots while displaying a strong command of pop and rock; perhaps the British System Of A Down? This single is a reemphasis of their ethnic roots and the combination of numetal and flamenco would make even the most diehard Machine Head fan sit up and think "hang on, there is something more to music". And besides, you can't truly play guitar until you can freestyle flamenco riffs on a beaten up Spanish without an A string.

Shadows may not sparkle in melody but it shines with quality.

This comes as the best late Christmas present ever.

Shooting back into the best of form, The Chems have come up with one of the most violently catchy loops in recent memory, and with Q-Tip rapping over the top they’ve ensured that their credibility isn’t going anywhere.

Perfectly danceable without resorting to cliche, this signals a startling return for one of this country’s most consistent artists. Hearing Galvanise for the first time is just like the first time the opening to Hey Boy Hey Girl slammed into your frontal lobe - if forthcoming album Push The Button is even half this good then we’re in for a treat.

This is one of those songs that reminds you of something after you have heard it. There is something about Smother that smells like a copy, but the comparison is just out of reach. The lead singer transforms from a viciously angry nutter to a skag-angel when singing the chorus and although the guitar hooks have got to be commended, the record sounds almost two years too late - especially in a world where even garage-rock now sounds dated. The b-side is promising, but unfortunately turns into the most annoying song ever. If only I could smother my eardrums.

Charles Rumsey

Ben Patashnik

Where did The Mercury League come from, and how the hell are they this good? Screaming from the blocks in an orgy of crunching guitars and soaring vocal melody, the punk rock quartet put in one of the best support performances The Event has ever seen while the rough edges only increase the charm.

This band are seriously special and will mature into one of England’s brightest hopes.

In the best way possible, No Comply are precisely what they’ve always been - astounding. Honed by months of constant touring, NC’s main appeal is in their genre terrorism best summed up by Future Template and Stories that manages to include metal, punk and cinematic horn lines that cannot be written off as simple ska punk. With a rare dynamism, the live show is an exercise in How To Blow Minds, swerving and crashing in perfect time as Jon Dailey’s guitar lines usher in the spirit of Rock itself. Watching six people throw themselves around with a distinct lack of care for their own personal safety is hugely exciting, and when they make as perfect a noise as this it’s hard to resist. Go and see this band, or live a worthless life.

Ben Patashnik

Muse Earls Court, London 19/12/04 Suddenly the drugs all kicked in at once.

James Banks

Kasabian Cutt Off

Suzanne Rickenback Puscha Show Me What Love Is

“I’ll huff, and I’ll puff...”

Soulwax E-Talking

You really want me to? OK love is toast in the mornings and tea in the afternoon, Sundays in bed, mixtapes, familiar underwear and bad breath kisses. Love is comfort and ease, terror and blind optimism. Love is most definitely not a sleazily derivative art-punk song that feels like it’s been knocked out in the time it takes to rewind a Kinks tape. It’s worthless to the point of being painfully mundane and only succeeds in confirming how awful guitar music can be. Full of maddeningly lazy images and dull, grey guitar lines, Show Me What Love Is deserves to be kicked under the bed in embarrassment while a new partner nervously removes their coat.

Soulwax are living a musical double-identity. By day they are the purveyors of guitarbased techno rock, while by night they are 2 Many DJs, the self-proclaimed kings of the remix party tape. E-Talking is their former incarnation, which offers the best of both worlds. E-Talking provides perfect scope for the band's unmistakably metallic guitar sound, but enough of their dance-mastery persists to make even the most cynical of heads nod to the beat.

Precious few of today's bands manage to achieve a winning balance between the worlds of guitar and electronica, and Soulwax just might be a taste of music's future.

Ben Patashnik

Simon Griffiths

For those of you who haven't heard the fantastic amount of hype, Kasabian are the latest in a long line of cutting edge bands to get oh-so excited about. Forgive the cynicism, but there is nothing astounding about Kasabian's sound.

Cutt Off is a good, dance-worthy tune but there is little to be found that is substantive or even particularly original since Kasabian's sound seems to be comprised from mainly 90s-era Brit-pop bands. While it is no crime to attempt an enjoyable dance-rock sound, there are plenty of bands around who can do it better.

Don't believe the hype.

Simon Griffiths

Green Day Boulevard of Broken Dreams How can something sound so mournful and yet so snotty at the same time? Even at his most reflective, Billy Joe Armstrong has managed to shoehorn in generous helpings of bile and anger, making Boulevard of Broken Dreams one of the most effective Green Day songs since 86 or Scattered. It might be effortlessly radio-friendly but then again that’s always been one of the Day’s best weapons.

With the same melodic nous that put them on the top of punk's pile at the tail end of last century (!) this is the sound of a band with the ability and confidence to do whatever they want.

A huge venue, sold out for two shows, but is it big enough to contain Muse’s ego? Once again, Muse’s eccentricity shone through the night, much like the swirling logo that flashed across the London sky as we left the venue. Supported by Soulwax and The Zutons on the first night of the two dates, Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard entertained the baying masses in the only way they know how.

With a ZAPP!-like intro and the fan excitement of a possible DVD release, Muse excelled beyond the boundaries that even they have created. From the opening chords of Hysteria to the closing ring of Stockholm Syndrome, stopping off to play “the new one”, the trio managed to drop balloons during Plug In Baby and squeal through Dead Star. Muse’s live show is one that will never cease to amaze, provided you’re not sucked into the dangerous oblivion of the moshpit. Love them or loathe them, live, Muse destroy the rulebook they wrote on performance. Astounding, breath-taking, cliché-ridden; there are no words to describe the egotistical Muse experience.

Hayley Chappell

Ben Patashnik

12.01.05

14 Cinema

The Other Screen

The Main feature

2046

Ray

ong Kar-Wai sits top of the art-house tree at the moment, widely admired for his lush but tender melodramas, and increasingly recognised as a rare master-director with full creative control. The four filmless years that have passed since In The Mood For Love have only strengthened the director’s reputation as an uncompromising artist, a stickler for quality whose work takes as long as it takes. 2046 will put no dents in Kar-Wai’s professional persona – there is more exquisite yearning here than ever before – but it does raise some interesting questions about creativity and the illusion of control that seem strongly related to the business of filmmaking, and add a welcome dimension to Kar-Wai’s brand of art-cinema.

The film opens in a wash of pale neon: this is the first of the part-animated 2046-set sequences that slot into the narrative as representations of writer Chow’s (Tony Leung) work-in-progress sci-fi novel.

Everything here is bright and gleaming, with Hong Kong rising up like a set from Blade Runner as our hero rides a train crewed by immaculate androids towards a place where nothing changes. It’s a peculiar opening for a Kar-Wai film – not a seedy apartment in sight – but it moves and shimmers as well as anything in the director’s back-catalogue.

musician. However Ray seems to offer more in spectacle and narrative than the other two. This is maybe because the subject offered a more exciting story to tell or because the director took artistic license to an extreme; either way Ray manages to absorb the audience into the life of a man some people have described a minor miracle. The viewer is taken through the meanderings of Ray Charles as he battled his blindness and all the pitfalls that came with this. Hackford cleverly manipulates the audience’s feelings of sympathy and shock and does not shy away from documenting the uglier side to Ray’s life. Ray Charles had a well documented drug problem and the film shows this in detail, indicating how this came about and the effect it had on his life and his music. Possibly the more shocking scenes are those that involve his womanising and bizarre logic of love. These areas grab your interest as the musician breeds jealously and hate in his various women while attempting to maintain a ‘family’ with his beloved Della Bea. One of the great successes of Ray is the way in which Hackford tells the story. Rather than a simple womb-totomb narrative we are given a series of vibrant flashbacks to Ray Charles youth as the origins of his inner demons are gradually unfolded to the audience.

There is great pleasure to be found in the mixture of settings as we are taken from dark smoky rooms to the colourful days before his blindness set in.

Whether you are an avid fan of Ray Charles or ignorant to his music the film offers interesting angles on how he overcame simple problems in relation to his blindness and how songs came

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Outside the story-within-a-story episodes, 2046 takes place in 1960s Hong Kong, with journalist Chow working his way through a series of doomed affairs.

This is the same Chow that tangled with Maggie Cheung in In The Mood, but now, haunted by the memory of true love lost, he has become a cynical playboy: charming and thoughtful but defiantly closed-hearted. Tony Leung does it all magnificently, expressing Chow’s suite of contradicting emotions with a smouldering look or a sudden change of temperament, and striking different notes with each of his five female costars (Gong Li and Crouching Tiger’s Ziyi Zhang among them). As the only character to remain in-picture throughout the film, and a writer, Chow also represents Kar-Wai as an artist-director. He writes stories, and they come up on the screen. He tells us what he’s thinking, but we’re not always sure what he means.

Most significantly though, Chow comes across problems in the creative process, and his writing is often held up by circumstance or writers block. One of the film’s funniest sequences shows a pen held over a blank sheet of paper as its owner waits for inspiration; an intertitle reads ‘1 hour later’ and we cut back to exactly the same shot, pen still hovering expectantly.

Kar-Wai must know the feeling; 2046 began production before In The Mood did.

Whatever pre-release problems Kar-Wai and his team had (and these included a shut-down due to the SARS epidemic, and extended cast-rescheduling, at the very least) there has been no obvious damage done to the finished film. 2046 unfolds in a dazzling glow of deep reds and honey yellows, extraordinarily bold yet full of grace. Kar-Wai and regular cinematographer Christopher Doyle hold onto the framing devices used so expressively in In The Mood, frequently blocking off half the screen with a darkened wall or shooting figures through doorways. Just as striking is the decision to view talking characters from behind or cut off at the neck - a stylistic device that emphasises the artful composition and gives a strange ambiguity to some of the dialogue.

It all makes for a stunning two hours, and perhaps 2046’s greatest achievement is that the lavish aesthetic doesn’t end up smothering a poignant meditation on love’s promises and missed opportunities. Credit for this to the sparkling cast – Zhang Ziyi and Faye Wong in particular – and the untiring efforts of KarWai. Here’s wishing his Nicole Kidman-starring Lady From Shanghai a smoother production, and a similarly triumphant outcome.

Sebastian Manley

12.01.05

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irected and written by Taylor Hackford (An Officer and a Gentleman, Devils Advocate) Ray is a biopic that follows the incredible life of the versatile blind musician Ray Charles. The film is a celebration of the hall of fame jazz singer but does not turn away from showing the darker and seedier aspects of his life. Jamie Foxx (Collateral, Ali) was the man chosen to play Ray alongside the other recognisable faces of Regina King (Jerry Maguire) and Harry J. Lennix (The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions) who stars as Ray’s manager.

In many ways Ray is similar to the previous musical biopics that were released at the end of 2004 (De-Lovely, Beyond the Sea). It is long, with an interesting star in the lead role and it follows the life of an even more interesting

about. Hackford manages to create the idea that the audience is getting a secret, unseen view of the musician’s life on many occasions. There are also several comedic moments that bring relief from the often surreal and darker episodes of the movie. Here we are shown the entertainer Ray Charles we have read about and seen on television.

The major draw of the film is definitely the musical scenes. Whether it is Ray performing in an underground nightclub, a theatre or just in the studio the whole screen is brought to life as the camera sweeps over rolling fingers and his shaking head. There is a great passion conveyed and the importance and originality Ray Charles placed on music is put across strongly. One of the main reasons for the success of these scenes is undoubtedly the performance of Jamie Foxx. Having played support in a number of films alongside Dennis Quaid, Will Smith and Tom Cruise, it is refreshing to see him take a lead role and repay the faith placed in him. There are talks of a possible Oscar nomination for his role as Ray and they are not unjustified. It is difficult to produce a good acting display when you are imitating another star. It can come across as an impression rather than a performance. However Foxx manages to mix Ray Charles’ quirks with his own acting ability and in the musical scenes he really excels.

Ray is released on the 21st January

by Universal Pictures. It is a long film that requires patience but can be enjoyed by anyone. It is an excellent film to watch whether you want to learn about or remember Ray Charles.

Anthony Jackson

B-Movie

Team America:World Police

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fter watching Team America: World Police, reciting the most amusing lines and wondering how Trey Parker and Matt Stone are getting away with it all, most of us will begin to wonder just how ridiculous it would be if it weren’t for all the film’s characters being marionettes. The worrying thing is that there is really nothing essentially different about Team America: World Police to the next big budget Hollywood flick that contains a bit of nuclear threat to humanity.

The film’s characters blow things up,

have journeys of self discovery and save the day at the last possible instant, all to a blasting soundtrack and fast editing. To the naked eye, there are no hard and fast rules that say where the line between heroic and moronic is. It’s worrying how much we need the knowing winks to feel right laughing at what’s in front of us.

Before you decide to spend your hard earned fiver on tickets for The Phantom of the Opera instead, be aware that Team America: World Police does manage to make some valid points and get up a few rather snooty noses. The film begins with protagonist Gary Johnston being drafted into Team America because of his amazing acting ability. The question of what on earth an actor would know about international terrorism is briefly raised but not before Alec Baldwin, chief of the Film Actors Guild (F.A.G.) takes an antiTeam America stance and proceeds to tell the world how they should deal with the war on terror and various other issues. One could even stroke their worldly chin and claim that the use of puppets underscores the puppetry of world leaders; of course this would shirk any mention of the fact that the film is actually very funny when it wants to be.

Ultimately, any film that has “from the makers of South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut” on its poster has to live up to certain expectations. This may be where Team America: World Police falls

short in comparison to the other work of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the musical numbers are amusing but thin on the ground and the profuse swearing manages to be funny for about an hour before it gets hackneyed.

Unfortunately, these failings can’t be bolstered by the films albeit interesting comments on the state of the world today in the face of the war on terror, it’s just too much to ask audiences to look for deeper meaning in a film that looks like Thunderbirds. It’s far easier to watch a Michael Moore documentary and be told what to think, than by a 12” spandex clad puppet. Although perhaps neither is really a suitable fountain of wisdom, at least Team America:World Police doesn’t try quite so hard to be one.

The film is encountering a great deal of criticism for being anti-everything to some extent, yet it seems this is the only approach it could take with any degree of gusto. Team America: World Police is fun, and definitely worth a watch if you’re in the mood to chow down on a monster vat of popcorn and drink far to much of a sugary beverage but don’t wait for a clear set of ideals to creep up on you. If anything, the only point the film truly seems to make is that we shouldn’t need to be able to see the strings before we can laugh at something because if anything the film might be more ridiculous without them.

Kate Bryant

DVD/VHS 15

Play Movie

Director’s Commentary

Memories of Murder

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espite telling the true story of a unsolved spate of rapes and murders that gripped South Korea in the Eighties the tone of Bong Joon-Ho’s dramatisation Memories of Murder is radically divergent from its material. Where one would expect a dramatic crime thriller in the vein of Eastwood’s Mystic River we instead get an absurdly surreal dark comedy, but this is a Korean film after all and that means expect the unexpected. As Tony Rayns notes in Sight and Sound the country’s film industry is currently in a ‘volatile state… [having reinvented itself] almost from scratch… against the backdrops of a rapidly changing society’, it is none-the-less a powerhouse of creativity; Memories of Murder being a prime example.

The film focuses on the two seedy provincial cops, the slovenly Park (Song Kang-Ho) and the psychopathic Cho (Kim Rwe-Ha), who are assigned to the case and who, despite indiscriminately utilising unproportional violence and extreme prejudice on a regular basis,

somehow come off more as lovable rogues than deeply corrupt cops. The investigation is extraordinary in its incompetence, as the murders are committed the detectives sit in their office attributing significance to the most seemingly banal clues, such as the insight that all the victims were wearing red and were killed in the rain. Likewise the suspects are also anything but usual and include a man who was found masturbating at one of the crime scenes. As the number of killings notch up the two must reluctantly accept the authority of a detective from the capital, Seo (Kim Sang-Kyung), who is at first amazed at their ignorant and brutal methods but as he becomes more emotionally involved in the case begins to conform to their mould.

The use of ultra-stylised slap-stick violence, reminiscent of the worst (or best) excesses of Takeshi Kitano, not only works but is highly effective in constructing the film’s moral dynamic, for as exuberant as the film is there are ethical issues raised. Most obvious is

Heathers

the manner in which the film operates as a satirical expose of the barbarism of the Korean police force in the eighties.

For instance the cops’ first response is to pull in a convenient and vulnerable scapegoat, a mentally retarded boy who has often been seen following the first victim around and, although it is unlikely he committed the crime, he may have witnessed it. Park sits calmly talking to the ‘suspect’ assuring him that his partner who will arrive shortly is a nice guy but prone to short bursts of temper, no sooner is this said when Cho enters the frame in a fly-kick, knocking the suspect to the ground where he commences to kick him as Park carries on smoking his cigarette as though nothing out of the ordinary is occurring.

This is the first of many such unpredictable moments of slap-stick violence and the audience response is stunned laughter closely followed by a pervasive sense of guilt. Bong’s ability to create laughter at such inappropriate moments is an impressive feat in itself, but when we then consider that the after effect is a moment of introverted self assessment in which we ask ourselves why we are laughing at such horrendous things, then it becomes clear there is more substance to Memories of Murder than the trivialising tone at first suggests.

Finally Memories of Murder ends with a highly ambiguous and appropriately cynical ending, which completes the film’s probing into the darker more sadistic aspects of humanity by concluding that the serial killer was just ‘a normal looking guy’ and so, by implication, could have been any one of us.

Dean Bowman

English. Hara has been condemned to death by the Allied victors in an act as arbitrary as anything the Japanese were responsible for earlier in the film, confusing the boundaries between good and evil still further. As Lawrence finally asserts ‘you’re the victim of men who believe that they are right… the truth is of course that nobody is right.’

Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is released on DVD by Optimum on 24th January.

The film was released in the late eighties, so many are likely to have seen it on video or on TV before. The DVD will still be popular though, as apart from the film’s cult status and it now being newly remastered, watching Heathers again you can’t help but spot some genius you missed the first time around. Those who are unfamiliar with it, meanwhile, are also likely to enjoy what is a remarkable film.

The audience is asked to sympathise with a young character who literally gets away with murder, and the film actually manages to pull this feat off. This is in no small part down to the performance of Ryder, supported by Slater, who brings a devilish, Jack Nicholson-esque quality to his character. Such performances are somewhat unexpected, bearing in mind Winona was just 15 years old when shooting began and Christian was likewise just starting out in the film business. Meanwhile, this was director Lehmann’s first feature film and writer Daniel Walters’ (Demolition Man; Batman Returns) first film script.

Winona Ryder almost never took part in the project after her agent begged her not to do the movie.

Meanwhile, the film itself was almost never made due to New World’s financial difficulties. The studio went bust shortly after the film was released. It is a good job that Heathers was made, as not only does it contain some truly classic lines (“Grow up, Heather. Bulimia’s so ‘87”), the dry humour is superb, but Heathers is also a biting satire about teen suicide, an issue that was frequently being featured in American news headlines at the time. Such a controversial and difficult subject matter, however, is expertly dealt with and a valuable comment is made on the extremely ironic situation of unpopular teenagers becoming popular following their suicide.

Those who enjoy the film will be pleased by the extras included. These consist of an audio commentary (obsessives only) by director Michael Lehmann, producer Denise Di Novi and writer Daniel Walters, as well as an all-new 27-minute documentary featuring interviews with the stars and crew members. Finally, the screenplay’s original ending is included, which was changed because the studio considered it too dark.

Heathers is released on DVD (£16.99) by Anchor Bay UK on 31st January 2005.

Dean Bowman

Dan Peters

Extra features

Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence

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truly distinctive and unusual cinematic classic, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence was directed by legendary Japanese director Nagisa Oshima (In the Realm of the Senses) and stars Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano (Hana-Bi, Zatoichi) in one of his very first acting roles alongside David Bowie. Out of the many POW films that have been made few have attempted to give such an engaged portrait of the Japanese, fewer still have been co-productions of this sort. Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is a truly international effort and is perhaps in this sense unique, possibly only comparable in its thought provoking intelligence to David Lean’s Bridge Over the River Kwai.

Kitano plays Sergeant Hara, a sadistic yet roguish Japanese guard in a prisoner of War camp in Java during world war two. Major Lawrence (Tom Conti) is one of the prisoners, but is marked apart due to his ability to speak Japanese, as a result Lawrence’s military superior and moral antithesis Colonel Hicksley (Jack Thompson), a rather narrow minded stiff upper lip sort, is suspicious of this closeness to the enemy. Bowie plays Jack Celliers a guerrilla soldier sent to the camp after being saved from the firing squad thanks to the intervention of captain Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto).

When Celliers’ radio is discovered in the camp Lawrence, who is known to be innocent of the crime, is to be killed as an example. However at Christmas

time a drunk Hara, in the scene from which the title derives, insists that he is Father Christmas and so releases Celliers and Lawrence, subsequently proving his humanity and blurring the bounadary between friend and enemy.

The casting cleverly plays British rockstar Bowie off against Japanese rockstar Ryuichi Sakamoto, who also created the evocative soundtrack to the film. This perhaps helps to explain the strange fascination that Yonoi has for Celliers, yet this being an Oshima film there is also a complex and enigmatic suggestion of latent sexuality between the two men. Bowie famously said of acting in the film that it was the ‘most rewarding experience in my career.’

Lawrence is able to maintain a level of empathy with the Japanese in spite of everything and his conversations with Hara often seem to boarder on friendship, and demonstrate two opposing culture’s attempt to understand one another’s vastly divergent value systems despite the pressures of war. ‘I’d admire you more if you killed yourself,’ says Hara to Lawrence, not able to see why his enemy finds suicide cowardly.

Kitano’s performance is amazing in its emotional subtlety, and establishes the taciturn style he has pioneered since then.

The epilogue, set after the war, takes these themes to an extreme by cleverly reversing the power roles with Hara as the prisoner and Lawrence the jailer; significantly now Hara speaks

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eathers may appear to be yet another typical American high-school teen flick; Exclusive cliques, vicious pecking orders and psychological torment all feature. The film, however, is more than this, bridging and subverting a range of genres.

Predominately a black comedy, it starts off bright and cheerful but, much like the private life of its star Winona Ryder (Girl, Interrupted; Alien: Resurrection), it soon becomes much darker. The turning point is the arrival at Westerberg High School of J.D. - a mysterious biker played by Christian Slater (True Romance; Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves). Death and suicide, strangely accompanied by comedy, ensue in this thoroughly enjoyable Michael Lehmann (The Truth About Cats and Dogs; Airheads) film.

The film’s title refers to a group of three girls at the school – Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty), Heather Chandler (Kim Walker) and Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk) – who have bullied their way to the top of the social hierarchy.Viewers are likely to recognise all three characters from their own time at school. The fourth member of the group is Ryder’s character, Veronica Sawyer, who secretly doesn’t like her friends and wants to be free from all that being a Heather involves. When she confides this to the psychotic J.D. he is much more eager to do something about it than her, and the result is the murder of Heather Chandler.

Veronica and J.D. manage to cover their tracks by writing a fake suicide note but this death becomes only the first of many at the school.

12.01.05

16 Arts

Theatre Reviews Engelbert Humperdinck’s

Hansel & Gretel by Pheonix Opera

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t was obvious from the start that a lot of hard work went into this amateur opera performance at the Playhouse, with its huge cast and excellent costumes.

However – ‘amateur’ is the correct term to describe this performance.

The opera began each of its three acts with a narrator giving an overview of the story. It’s a good job he did or the audience would have been a little lost, especially as the story of Hansel & Gretel fades from memory as we leave childhood. So to remind you – Hansel & Gretel is about two young children, who are sent out to gather food. On the way they stumble upon a house made entirely of sweets that is occupied by a wicked witch who turns children into gingerbread men and eats them.

The witch captures Hansel and Gretel but they manage to push her into her own oven thus breaking the spell and all the gingerbread men turn back into real children.

Pass the Port reviewed by Luke Roberts at the Maddermarket

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he musical opened with the bellow of the ship’s horn and the crying of seagulls. The lights came up on a scene of embarkation with suitcases dragged across the deck and final waves to well-wishers on the wharf.

The journey from Shanghai to London on the legendary P & O 1930 ferry is dramatised through a collection of musical numbers and rhyming verse. The script and a number of the songs are written by Noel Coward, with musical contributions from Gershwin, Puccini, Novello and Joyce Grenfell.

The script is extremely witty. It affords a glimpse of that antiquated, imperial British society of clipped accents, beautiful pronunciation and rigid etiquette. The narrative dips into brief episodes in the lives of many eccentric characters, much like a soap opera. “In mangrove swamps where the python romps,” and many other exotic locations, the audience is treated to the idiosyncrasies of Mrs. Frobisher, Colonel Winteringham, Countess Mitzi, Mr. Frith and Singapore Sue. The journey takes the audience from Shanghai onto Hong Kong, Singapore and Bombay. The atmosphere on board ship

By Niki Brown

12.01.04

The intimate nature of the Maddermarket auditorium suited the cast of two. Michael Lunts, is a talented pianist, full of life and cheeky expressions. His style is slightly reminiscent of Dudley Moore and he boasts a pair of acrobatic eyebrows. He spent the whole play on stage, either seated at the piano or giving forth Coward’s sparkling observations of society on board ship.

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usan Flannery played a greater variety of characters. She seemed a little uncomfortable with some of these roles, but shone as the lascivious Countess Mitzi.

Costume change was minimal and kept extremely economic. Assorted hats and scarves were hanging up on hooks centre stage. This central piece doubled as a costume wardrobe, with Flannery repeatedly disappearing behind it and emerging as a new character. The musical shows just how crafty you can be with words. Lunts and Flannery do it justice with impressive vocal ranges and happy timing for the many comic moments.

Watch this space for a preview of Coward’s Relative Values.

Book Reviews

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Niki Brown delves into cannabis culture in Spliffs 2 by Tim Pilcher

fter the first Spliffs book which delved deep into the history of cannabis culture, Spliffs 2, although still very informative, is more light hearted and comical, with chapter headings such as ‘The Stoner’s Guide to Smoking Accessories’ and ‘Cannabis Cocktails.’ The book also contains many pictures and lots of pages devoted entirely to

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he casting was not ideal as the actress playing Gretel was over 60, and until Hansel called her by name the audience was quite confused as to who she was. In general the voices of the operatic singers were not loud enough, often overpowered by the orchestra. This made it difficult to know what was going on, as the words couldn’t be understood. However, Elizabeth Lorenzo, who played Hansel, portrayed her character very well and had all the characteristics of a young mischievous boy. Alan Weyman who played the father was excellent. He had the strongest voice and was the only one who could be heard properly over the orchestra. Ros Wright made a fantastic wicked witch.

After a clumsy scene change, the second act began with the ballet dancers coming on too early before the narrator, they made a hurried exit, the narrator came on, then they reentered and began act 2. The audience during act 2 had the pleasure of another set of ballet dancers, however, it wasn’t clear who they were supposed to be. After a quick reference to the programme during the interval it was determined that they were probably meant to be Guardian Angels – we think. It was a nice sequence with an effective fall-out at the end but they were not always in time with the music or each other. The scenery was good, full of bright colours and the house of sweets, though out of proportion, was excellent. The end sequence with the oven, the explosion and a massive gingerbread witch complete with pointed hat, was a comical and lovely finish to a tremendous effort.

changes remarkably as the crew and passengers move from Asia, through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean. A storm hits the ship in the Bay of Biscay and the cabaret singers are forced to retire to the safety of sick buckets. As the cliffs of Dover draw near a restless ambivalence seizes the passengers.

After such a journey they are unsure of how one should behave upon re-acquaintance with one’s homeland. The strength of the script is such that little needs adding from individual performance.

quotes. In general, the book is a humorous one – obviously very much appreciated by the great potheads of this world but a bit daft to the rest of us.

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he book begins with a chapter about the plant itself, its many different varieties and how it can be turned into fabric.

The chapter moves on to how to grow cannabis – if you don’t know how to do it – you will after you’ve read Spliffs 2. There are also tips to avoid being busted by “the thorn in the side of any potential herbal horticulturalist.”

Furthermore the book points out many famous stoners including Jennifer Aniston, Bill Clinton, William Shakespeare, and of course Prince Harry. Even Scooby ‘Doobie’ Doo gets a mention.

After reading Spliffs 2 you will be an expert on the wide range of bongs available on the market, including the two and four man bong…why wait for your mate to finish? Also a guide to different types of grinders and

vaporisers and the best accessory of all…cannabis flavoured lollies. But ‘to toke or not to toke,’ is not the main question here. Is the idolised status of the famous smokers a message that should be dressed up and sent out as a form of harmless amusement? The disclaimer on the back of the book “..you should understand that this book is intended for private amusement, and is not intended to encourage you to break the law” is amusing in itself that a single sentence is all that is required for this type of material to be allowed on the market.With the argument to make cannabis legal running strongly through the book and quotes like “the drug is really quite a remarkably safe one for humans…” who can say it isn’t encouraging? Let’s hope this book is just used for ‘private amusement,’ yeah, whatever…fancy a reefer?

Dean Bowman discovers The Story of Film by Mark Cousins

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ith The Story of Film (published by Pavilion Books Ltd) the former director of the Edinburgh Film Festival, Mark Cousins, has produced an ambitious and eye-opening work, inspired by E.H. Gombrich’s classic The Story of Art. In its five hundred pages it attempts to recount the history of film and its key artists by focusing on innovative developments of the medium, an approach encapsulated in the formula ‘schema plus variation’, which he applies throughout. Using this formula Cousins is able to approach his subject from an international perspective, ‘cutting’ between nations to show how Hollywood and world traditions do not exist in isolation but as a complex dialogue, a balance of influence and resistance.

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ousins demonstrates a startling breadth of knowledge throughout, placing cinematic movements and individual films in their national and international contexts with great clarity and insight, for example he shows how Akira Kurosawa was influenced by John Ford’s Westerns and

rejected Italian Neo-Realism. Bringing Britain into the narrative he then compares the epics of David Lean with those of Kurosawa and finds in the latter a central humanism absent in the Lean’s ‘depopulated’ landscapes.

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lthough his focus is mainly upon world cinema traditions in creative opposition to the Hollywood studio system Cousins gives directors such as Billy Wilder, John Ford and even Steven Spielberg their dues and ends the book in an optimistic celebration of postmodern and digital cinema, which he sees as reinvigorating and revolutionising the medium the most it has been since its conception. This is refreshing given the tone of stubborn pessimism that usually exists in contemporary critical culture and allows Cousins to end the book by asserting that ‘far from being at an end, the history of this great art form is only beginning.’

Cousin’s pitches the narrative he constructs to an ‘intelligent general audience’ and manages to avoid an elitist tone whilst daringly focusing on lesser known films (for example there are large sections on Iranian and African cinema) over popular or critically cel-

ebrated works.

But what shines through more than anything is his enthusiasm and passion for the medium about which he is writing, which makes The Story of Film anything but a piece of dry erudition.

Whilst Cousin’s extreme range of material makes the book a little unfocused at times it is perhaps unparalleled as a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the diversity of the art of film. The book is also filled from cover to cover with hundreds of crisp film stills, which not only serve to illustrate his arguments but make the book one of the most beautifully produced works on the subject yet published. To cut a long story short, this is a book that needed to be written, and one that anyone interested in film needs to read.

TV/Digital 17

TV Preview: Celebrity Big Brother Invading a telly near you

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hannel 4 have decided to kick off the new year with a real treat for audiences.

That’s right, you’ve guessed it – Celebrity Big Brother. What other show could contain all the ingredients for our optimum entertainment per televised moment?

Alright, so perhaps this isn’t the most revolutionary addition to our telly boxes, but there is a new found enjoyment to be gleaned from Big Brother.

Now in it’s millionth year, it has managed to surpass any quality filters our viewing may impose on other programming. It is and always will be an over

Germaine excited mess of live television and we seem to love (or at least endure) it, huge belligerent warts and all. It defies comparison to any other TV phenomena.

This time, amongst the more interesting of the contestants are Germaine Greer, John McCririck, Caprice and Bez (inane dancer from the Happy Mondays). Racing tipster and lunatic Mr MrCririck has taken up position as the official annoyance of everyone else in the house thankfully stirring up some much needed tension between people who want to appear more level-headed and squeaky clean than humanly possi-

Bez

John

ble. He’s already explained the benefits of cleavage sex compared to the more common alternative, and advertised the health enhancing nature of picking one’s nose. Lasting for only eighteen days, hopefully the breakneck pace of this particular Big Brother mutation will stop any staleness creeping in and spoiling the all-too-camp fun. It might not indicate the most exciting year’s entertainment, but its a solid start and the optimist in all of us remains eager to see what else Channel 4 have got up their sleeves.

It’s all go in soapworld! Jake’s in hot water with Becca and Izzy is in for a bit of much deserved karma...

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icole Owen is causing a stir in Hollyoaks, not satisfied with her illegal tipple in The Dog on Christmas Eve she is determined to prove her new found maturity by going to town on her birthday. The event doesn’t go entirely according to plan and she will no doubt be in trouble with her mum again. However, anyone who is surprised by Nicole getting in trouble again should probably be watching something less taxing, like paint drying perhaps.

Other Chester residents are sure to be in hot water with their folks soon.

Lisa and Jake’s fling is needless to say ill timed, with Lisa’s brother Dan’s sudden

ER complete series 3 four-dvd boxset Released: Jan 31st

Kate Bryant

Soap News: Hollyoaks and Neighbours death and Jake’s parents recent break up, the Hunter and Dean households already have enough to deal with.

There’s also the matter of what Becca is going to say when she discovers that Jake’s been cheating? Like father like son (just a suggestion.)

Unlike Debbie, Steph is having no problems moving on now that Dan is ‘unavailable’. In the coming weeks she wastes no time in attempting to woo sport stud Stuart. Is he really stupid enough to fall for her charms? Watch and see.

Down under, in Ramsey street, Serena has the difficult task of explaining to her ex-boyfriend Luka that he is also her half brother and that their mother, Liljana, is dying. Don’t envy her that one.

Is Izzy Hoyland’s pregnancy the most troubled in soap history? Hardly a week goes by when she is not either in ‘danger’ or having to lie to cover up her secret. Sad as it is when a tragic accident puts her and her baby’s life at risk, it is hard to feel sorry for her after the heartbreak she has and will continue to cause. Oh what tangled webs we

TV DVD: ER Series 3

weave, when first we practice to deceive.

The Ramsey Street activist and oddball, Sky has a touch of the green-eyed monster when Lana goes on a date with Buffy, editor of the curiously titled ‘Lichen’ magazine. As yet she is unable to admit her feelings for Lana but it can only be a matter of time before the truth is revealed.

Martha Hammond and Kim Howe

Sky Mangle, played by Jason Donnovan’s half-sister dontchaknow?

Phwoar-geous George!

C

ontaining all twenty two episodes from ER’s third series, buying this mammoth DVD is more or less admitting that you are either totally addicted to ER or that you have no wish to leave your sofa for a number of days. Many of us shamefully scoff at the number of hours we’ve spent vegetating in front of episodes of Friends but ER really takes the cake when you consider the sheer volume of episodes it has under its belt. With this said, very little telly can hold a candle to ER in terms of easily digested bites of drama with car crashes and surgery thrown into the bargain.

Series three sees the introduction of Laura Innes as the always ill-tempered Dr Weaver, and still has gorgeous George in it. Of course, what makes ER so attractive to the casual viewer is that each episode is mostly self-contained, meaning you can pick it up at any point and still have something to sink your teeth into. There’s also the bonus with the DVD of being able to peruse the special features, which include deleted scenes and audio commentary on some episodes.

Unfortunately, because ER is such a massive beast of a show, attempting to collect all the series is a major financial commitment and not an entirely worthwhile one when ER is rarely off our screens.

Kate Bryant

Digital Stuff: EyeToy: Chat Before you throw away your old EyeToy to buy some bizarre new gadgetry, have a peek at this...

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he new EyeToy: Chat is a rather fun little addition to the EyeToy package. There’s something very satisfying in knowing that the normally awkward world of technology is actually making rather customer friendly titles, with a handful of games all using the EyeToy and not requiring sneaky little technical add-ons that bump up the price. Everything that’s been done so far has just been a rather fun variation on a theme, but the EyeToy: Chat is definitely a step forwards, turning something frivolous into something function-

al. Whether this is the ideal use for the EyeToy is a different matter.

Although it requires a broadband internet connection, EyeToy: Chat allows you to turn your PS2 into a video phone and converse with anyone else who has an EyeToy and the right software. You can also create video messages and play a number of simple games online. There is nothing particularly exciting in the package in terms of playability, suggesting that the EyeToy is hankering for a more mature image.

The idea is very exciting, yet relies

entirely on a lot of people buying EyeToy: Chat which could easily prove to be its downfall. There’s no point in being able to yak with anyone in the world if no one else is able to. It also destroys the anonymity that so many people relish when chatting on the internet, after all nobody particularly wants to have an intimate chat with a stranger if they have to look them in the eye. This leaves the EyeToy becoming something of a glorified telephone.

Kate Bryant

Screen capture from EyeToy:Chat

12.01.05

18 Listings

Listings Film

Vera Drake (Dir: Mike Leigh, Cast: Imelda Staunton, Richard Graham) White Noise (Director: Geoffrey Sax, Cast: Michael Keaton, Chandra West)

Releases from 14th January: 2046 (Director: Kar Wai Wong, Cast: Tony Leung, Li Gong) Closer (Director: Mike Nichols, Roberts, Jude Law) Colin Farrell in Oliver Stone’s Alexander, now on general release

Cinema City Ladies in Lavender (Director: Charles Dance, Cast: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith) Friday 7th to Wednesday 12th January House of Flying Daggers (Director: Zhang Yimou, Cast: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Ziyi Zhang) Saturday 1st to Wednesday 12th January

Special Screening: Enduring Love (Director: Roger Michell, Cast: Daniel Craig, Samantha Morton) Including Q&A with producer Kevin Loader Monday 17th January, 6pm

Releases from 7th January: Alexander (Dir: Oliver Stone, Cast: Colin Farrell, Aneglina Jolie ) The Aviator (Dir: Martin Scorsese, Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett)

Cast:

Julia Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers can be seen this week at Cinema City

Elektra (Director: Rob Bowman, Cast: Jennifer Garner, Goran Visnjic)

Jesus Christ Superstar Monday 24th January to Saturday 29th January, 7.30pm

Million Dollar Baby (Director: Clint Eastwood, Cast: Morgan Freeman, Hilary Swank)

Playhouse Jazz Tête à Tête: Featuring Kit Downes on piano and George Crowley on saxophone, “In Conversation with Friends” Thursday 13 January, 7.30pm

Team America:World Police (Director: Trey Parker, Cast: Trey Parker, Matt Stone)

Music The Waterfront Hi-On Maiden Sunday 23rd January The Dears Tuesday 25th January

The Ferry Boat Pixelface Saturday 15th January 65 Days of Static Tuesday 25th January

Iron Maiden tribute band Hi-On Maiden play the Waterfront on the 23rd January

Norwich Arts Centre Howlback Hum Wednesday 12th January Kent DuChaine Thursday 13th January Acoustic Strawbs Friday 14th January JUNKtRUFFLE Saturday 15th January Michael Messer & Ed Genis Thursday 20th January Cortez Friday 21st January

Painted Horse Theatre Company presents Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen Friday 21st/Saturday 22nd January, 7.30pm

Maddermarket Relative Values Thursday 20th to Friday 29th January Moving Well : An Introduction to Laban Movement Saturday 22nd January, Cost £25 (Concessions £20) An introduction to the dance, therepeutic and educational principals of the great innovator Rudolf Laban.

For more information see: www.maddermarket.co.uk

UEA LCR Henry Rollins: Spoken Word Friday 21st January

The Others Saturday 22nd January

Arts Theatre Royal The Kings of Swing Monday 17th January, 7.30pm Sing-a-long-a Elvis Tuesday 18th January, 7.30pm

12.01.04

Henry Rollins continues his Spoken Word tour at the LCR on Friday 21st January

Creative Writing In Association with d i t t o / In love he'd fallen with a queen And for her traveled he and warred.

With podgy arms, double chins And huge lopsided breasts.

I pray to the Lord Almighty Holy Dollar To keep me rich and others in squalor.

I need that extra Ferrari to roar Past the slackers who are just too poor To afford anything of decent class, Some of their houses don't even have glass In the windows of their poky holes, Oh, one hates to descend amongst the proles.

In youth under King Black he'd grown, Who was a devil man and wizard.

A greater fear can not be known Than that of men when turned to lizard!

A bunch of buxom mannequins Stood proudly in their place Will show how garments really look If you're a human shape.

For when King Black wanted some leisure, In such small beasts men he'd convert.

So Kenny's village lived in terror, For King Black menaced this and worse!

A mass of mammoth mannequins Contempt across their faces Make known the style's unsightly cuts It clings in shameful places!

...to be continued?

Boycott skinny mannequins Be envious no more It's all a big conspiracy To make us insecure.

- Andrea “The Moth Killer” Tallarita The Tragic History Of Kenny (an excerpt)

Fat Mannequins (inspired by January sales)

All peregrines may reach someday The Black Mount Town where dwellings cluster.

Although there's much to see in one stay, Don't miss the road named Henry Huster.

I want to see fat mannequins I want to see them there Posing in shop windows In lacy underwear.

In Henry Huster's road you'll meet The beggar known as Legless Kenny.

If he be weeping in the street, Pray do not deny a penny.

I want to see fat mannequins At every pane of glass Curves and shelves of plastic flesh All tummies, thighs and arse.

Legless Kenny once had been A glorious knight and fear ignored.

I want to see fat mannequins In every style of dress

AN UNDERLING TO SILENCE He stops himself from saying anything; The situation is the same each day.

He thinks of all the things that words might bring He leaves them as he starts to turn away.

He wonders how it is that an array Of talkers can assemble in a ring Of conversation, but in that affray He stops himself from saying anything.

Descending Amongst The Proles (A witty riposte to any lower class persons)

- Composed and realised by Luke SmedleyPinkerton-Blenner-Hassops-Roberts

Creative Writing 19

The talkers go through every single thing About which they have anything to say; And when they've no more speech left, then they sing The situation is the same each day.

A tendency to silence is his way Of life. When frantic talk is burgeoning Around him in a loud verbose display, He thinks of all the things that words might bring, And casts them all aside, an underling To silence, trapped within its dumb decay.

And when the talkers start their chattering, He leaves them. As he starts to turn away, He stops himself.

Wear what makes you comfortable Give the world a grin Lean dummies aren't attractive As beauty lies within.

- Alan ”Mostly Myth” Ashton-smith Forgive, oh lord, my little joke on thee And I’ll forgive thy great big one on me.

I want to see fat mannequins It's just a dream, I know But I've no shame in being real There's more to me than show.

- Zoë Neville-Smith

- Robert Frost

Send contributions to: concrete.event@uea.ac.uk and/or concrete.turf@uea.ac.uk

12.01.05