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DVD Review: H2 (Halloween 2)

hello@thefourohfive.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:07:52 +0000

Director: Rob Zombie
Release Date: 1 February

Review by Paul Metcalf

I like Rob Zombie’s style. I like what he tries to do with his movies and I think he has a good future as a director. One thing I don’t like though is when he gets it wrong. A lot of people will say he gets it wrong with all his movies of course but I thought. House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects were two good movies and paved the way for him to make bigger Hollywood movies; these being Halloween and now H2.

Zombie’s style is evident throughout and that’s a good thing. But that’s about it. The story is a mismatch of non-entertaining violence and a storyline that seems to be sewn together just to get Sheri Moon Zombie back on the screen again. I’m sure it was seen as a good idea that Michael’s psychosis makes him hallucinate that his mother has returned to him, pushing him to reunite with his sister once more, but it feels unnecessary when we could just get straight back into the killing.

We are left with surreal, confusing scenes pushing Myers to his goal. As Michael has these visions so does his sister Laurie. Obviously she’s rather messed up by what has happened to her but we are spoon fed the fact that she has some mental connection to Michael, and that these visions affect her too. We are even given the pleasure of seeing Michael eating a dog and having Laurie vomit as she appears to taste his latest meal. Hardly a subtle way to show a connection really.

This movie is missing something very important compared to the first and that is character development. This time Zombie wants to get down to surrealism and, to steal a phrase from A Clockwork Orange, ultra violence. The characters are two dimensional, existing either to be killed by Michael or to be just plain annoying. Malcolm McDowell and Brad Dourif are wasted here, their characters appear to lack any true goal. We are also made to believe Dr Loomis is now a fame hungry heartless hack who has used the Myers story for fame, no matter who he hurts in the process. This won’t sit well with fans of the original. Donald Pleasence’s Loomis was a far more likeable character.

Horror violence is meant to be entertaining, cartoonish even but in this movie it is pushed to an uncomfortable realism. Watching a man have his face stamped on until it’s a mushy mess is not entertaining at all and brings into question whether we need horror violence to be so realistic. I love gory movies but there was a point in this one where I wondered if it just went too far and too harsh. The scenes just lacked a certain presence leading them to just become violence for the same of violence.

I can see what this movie was trying to do, but it in my opinion it has failed. The surrealism was not needed; Sheri Moon Zombie was only done to get her into another of her husband’s movies and the story was a mess. I just hope Zombie’s next movie is not such a trainwreck and that he is given the time he needs to make a better movie. What’s his next movie you ask? Oh yeah a remake of The Blob. Damn.

Rating: 4/10

Un Prophete / A Prophet

hello@thefourohfive.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:39:04 +0000

Director: Jacques Audiard
Release Date: January 22

Review by Tara Judah

Expectations of writer/director Jacques Audiard have been set high since the success of both Read My Lips (2001) and The Beat that My Heart Skipped (2005), but A Prophet (2009) doesn’t disappoint.

A Prophet is the story of a young, uneducated man, Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), who, when faced with an issue of ethics: kill or be killed, embarks upon a simultaneous fall from grace and rise to power. Everything Malik becomes originates from that one moment and Audiard’s treatment of its causal effects result in an incredibly powerful film that elucidates the brutal realism of a corrupt prison system and subtly metaphors the capitalist world where commoditization continuously controls.

From the very opening of the film, Audiard establishes an air of ambiguity; shot hand held from inside a transport vehicle, Malik arrives for incarceration, and though the details of prison procedures appear exact, the crime he has allegedly committed is only ever referred to and his state of innocence is never truly established. Attempting to keep to himself, Malik is unwittingly selected by Corsican gang leader Cesar to take the life of a new Muslim inmate. After exhausting all the official avenues to no avail - appealing to corrupt guards and acting out with the hope of being confined to ‘the hole’ - Malik resigns himself to commit the crime. All throughout this sequence of events, and indeed for the most part of the film, Malik is portrayed as an alienated individual cut-off from family, friends, community, religion and any other ideological institution that might render him attached or conflicted in his motivations and indeed actions. Resultantly, Audiard reveals a character that is much like a canvas: though subject to the actions of others there is no certainty or finiteness as to what will ensue.

Audiard understands, perhaps better than any other filmmaker, the importance of language and the art of communication. A recurring theme in his work is the idea that communication is the key to liberation; in Read My Lips it is a deaf woman’s ability to lip read that allows her to move beyond the limitations of her staid life, and in The Beat that My Heart Skipped it is the language of music that offers Thomas a way out of his life of crime. So too in A Prophet it is Malik’s ability to learn to speak three languages that frees him from his servile position.

Throughout the film as Malik rises within the world of crime there is a definite aspiration towards consumerism. At first it is just some cigarettes, then it is a better cell, a fridge, a television and so on until finally he is granted leave days where he can go out and earn money itself. Malik’s advance within the capitalist system is concurrent with the education he receives from inside it; learning language and economics Audiard reveals the key to surviving an oppressive system is not necessarily to opt out but to take from it a tool with which to fight. Ultimately, the utility of language in A Prophet is a form of commerce.

In addition to the intelligent story and moving character studies Audiard exemplarily conveys, A Prophet offers an unusual and striking combination of realism, astutely reflecting contemporary race relations in France, and existentialism, exploring the interiority of the individual with regard to, though not bound by, religion and spirituality as pertaining to both the public and the personal.

An outstanding achievement in cinema, A Prophet is Audiard’s greatest work to date, and the real prophecy that the film brings is the promise of so much more to come. Not yet at the pinnacle of his career, just as Malik reveals himself a free man, so too does Audiard reveal himself to be France’s finest contemporary auteur. Though it is only just February, I write assuredly that A Prophet will be a tough contender for the best film release of 2010.

Rating:9 /10

The 405 News In Brief (Tuesday)

hello@thefourohfive.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:42:30 +0000

Today's 'News In Brief' is sponsored Field Day anouncements and paid vacations.

Field Day announces first acts for 2010! Phoenix will headline the festival (SATURDAY 31 JULY 2010 @VICTORIA PARK). Heres the first wave of acts:

AMIINA / BETH JEANS HOUGHTON / CARIBOU / CHILLY GONZALES / CORSANO AND FLOWERS / GOLD PANDA / ESBEN AND THE WITCH / HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE / JAMES HOLDEN /JOKER AND MC NOMAD / MAX TUNDRA / MEMORY TAPES / MOUSE ON MARS / PANTHA DU PRINCE / SILVER APPLES

Head to http://www.fielddayfestivals.com for more info!

*****MORE NEWS ADDED DURING THE DAY*****

Peggy Sue's album, Fossils and Other Phantoms will be released on April 5th.

PEGGY SUE supporting LOCAL NATIVES:
24th Feb - Bristol, Thekla
25th Feb - Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
26th Feb - Brighton, Concorde II
27th Feb - Leeds, Brundunell
28th Feb - Norwich, Arts Centre
2nd Mar - London, Heaven
3rd Mar - Birmingham, Academy
4th Mar - Manchester, Club Academy
5th Mar - Glasgow, King Tuts
6th Mar - Newcastle, Academy
10th Mar - Dublin, Academy
11th Mar - Belfast, Limelight

PEGGY SUE HEADLINE SHOW:
29th Mar - London The Garage
Ticket £8.50 / Ticket + Album deal £14

Thus:Owls are playing just ONE UK show at the Camden Black Heart on Tuesday March 2. Their album, Cardiac Malformationsis out on March 1st.

Wild Beasts’ have released a new video for their song “We Still Got the Taste Dancin’ on Our Tongues.”

Wild Beasts’ have just commenced a US tour following dates in Australia. The band release ‘We Still Got The Taste Dancin’ On Our Tongues’ on Monday the 22nd of March and return to the UK and Ireland for the following dates:

03 March - Portsmouth, UK - Wedgewood Rooms *
04 March - London, UK – Koko *
11 March - Warwick, UK - Warwick Uni *
12 March - Bournemouth, UK - 60 Million Postcards *
13 March - Leicester, UK - Uni Queens Hall *
15 March - Norwich, UK – Waterfront *
16 March - Exeter, UK – Phoenix *
18 March - Liverpool, UK - Academy 2 *
19 March - Newcastle, UK – Cluny *
20 March - Manchester, UK - Academy 2 *
22 March – London, UK – Koko – with support from Everything Everything and Esben And The Witch
25 March – Galway, Ireland – Roisin Dubh – support TBC
26 March – Cork, Ireland – Cyprus Avenue – support TBC
27 March – Dublin, Ireland – Academy – support TBC

Introducing #21 Jeans Wilder

hello@thefourohfive.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:59:44 +0000

Hey, my name is Andrew Caddick, I live in San Diego, and smoke a lot of pot.

Even in it's brevity, it goes a long way towards describing the Jeans Wilder sound. It's sunny like his location but with more than hint of discontent, or cynicism. The drug aspect is a pretty easy target. It's dreamy stuff. Like being trapped in a jar full of smoke.

MP3: Jeans Wilder - Sea You

The words "You're such a motherfucking tough guy" are never sung more sweetly than on 'Tough Guy', a surfery track without the waves. Here's a "harsher" version of the track for you to look at/listen to:

jeans wilder "tough guys" from Left | Right Hand on Vimeo.

It's not really a video that sums up his recording nature but I would imagine this is the sort of area it would go down in a live environment.

So there you have it. Another Lo-Fi, dreamy, messy underground star. Aren't we just sick of it?

Nope.

Jeans Wilder Mypace

ABBA My Ar$e! Sweden: A Playlist

hello@thefourohfive.com — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:17:44 +0000

The second in a series of location based playlists takes us from Scotland across the North Sea to Sweden.

Sweden is renowned for having a ridiculously attractive population, giving the world (semi-stylish) flat pack furniture, and boxy but safe cars in the shape of Volvos. That much, I think is agreed. What has been more a bone of contention was their musical exports... Until relatively recently the Swedish musical outgoings were pretty dubious to say the least. ABBA, Ace of Base and Roxette... hmm... Of course things picked up in the 90s with The Cardigans, The Hives and Soundtrack of Our Lives hitting the airwaves.

Since then the Swedish music scene has gone from strength to strength...

Below is a playlist of 25 tracks from new(ish) Swedish artists for you to enjoy.

What have I missed out on?
Like it? Then download a copy of it for yourself right here. (Beware, it's a pretty huge file).

Jamie Lenman Interview

hello@thefourohfive.com — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:17:19 +0000

Experience as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, illustrator and graphic designer is not something everyone can put on their CV, especially not before they reach thirty. Jamie Lenman, former frontman of the rock band Reuben, is currently illustrating for The Guardian, as well as working on additional projects, such as cartoon strips in Rocksound and Doctor Who magazine, and being the voice of the fireman on a children’s educational website. Jamie lives and works in London.

The 405 got in contact with Jamie for an email interview; we asked him questions about his illustration job, album artwork, Reuben, the Queen and Christmas, and he gave us some interesting answers.

Okay, just a general question to start off with - how's life?

Life is pretty good. I'm sorry that's a boring answer - what can I say? If you bang on about the great things it sounds like you're boasting and if you list all your complaints you sound like an arse. I'd say I have a good mix going on. Does that make me a boastful arse?

As an illustrator and designer who spent ten years in rock 'n' roll, which do you identify with more?

Well it's funny, I was drawing way before I was playing music, I was always 'the guy who draws the cartoons' and only recently became 'the guy with the band', so I think I've always really felt like an illustrator. Now that I've stopped rock and rolling for a while, I almost forget I even did it. It seems like a ten year side-step.

Centrefold illustration for Very Fast Very Dangerous, the second Reuben album

What do you enjoy most about your job now?

I enjoy the company best. I work with a really great team of people, all a similar age, all geeks. Most people complain about their bosses giving them a hard time - my boss gives me chocolates and even the occasional cuddle. It's a bizarre environment, no one has any hang-ups.

What inspires you most - musically and artistically?

That's a difficult question because these things are difficult to get a grip on but I think it's attention to detail, in both areas. I love to see a drawing of a figure with a few cursory hairs on the arms or a bead of sweat on the forehead, I love to hear songs where that little riff from the beginning winds its way back in at the end in a slightly different form...but at the same time, I also love slap-dash, totally spur-of the moment stuff.

If you had to rewrite one Reuben track in retrospect, which would it be and why?

I think if I have any regrets about Reuben tracks it's usually in the way we recorded them, rather than how they were written. You know, could have sung better there, should have dropped the strings out here, etc etc. Although I did make a little change to 'Stuck In My Throat' when we played it live, to build it up a bit more and make it more exciting. You can see that version on the Download set (video below). We had a song called 'Push' which wound up on a B-side, but I wrote it when I was fifteen and the chorus goes 'I killed Kurt Cobain' which I thought was clever and shocking at the time, whereas later I cringed a bit about it. (Writer’s note: I love that song). When we recorded it, I considered changing the lyrics cos I was worried what people would think, but in the end I thought it was better to stand by what I thought when I was fifteen, who I was when I wrote the song, and just went ahead with it. I think you have to honour the choices you make, good or bad. So...ah! That's a story about me NOT changing things! To sum up then, I suppose...I don't believe in correcting things. I think your mistakes are as important as your successes.

Stuck in my Throat, Reuben - Download 2007

What is your favourite film and band around at the moment?

I'm currently listening a lot to band called 'Nostromo' who are fucking intensely heavy but I'm not sure if they're all that recent..it takes ages for stuff to filter down to me and I'm not that impressed with anything happening at the mo...as for films, I saw 'Precious' the other day and I thought that was brilliant. Heavy going.

In Nothing We Trust, cover of Reuben’s third studio album, by Ashley Wood

What is your favourite album artwork ever, and why?

The first one that springs to mind is White Zombie's 'Astro Creep 2000', cos there's so much going on. I loved the fact that the singer Rob drew it all and the way that there's a little tableau dedicated to each song. I love the cover for 'Pinkerton' by Weezer, and I have to say I loved the artwork for Reuben's third album cos they're all paintings by one of my favourite artists, Ashley Wood.

Pinkerton, Weezer

Which is most important in music - talent, originality, attitude, image, or something else?

I think it's attitude, really. You can make great music if you're not particularly talented, and great music doesn't always have to be original, although it helps. I think all you need is the desire to make great music instead of the desire to get groupies or be in magazines, and then you're on the right track.

Illustration for the now defunct Hideous Records website

When did you first discover you could sing/draw and how did you develop?

Well my mum is both musical and 'artistic' so that helped a lot. Both my parents, even though my dad wasn't artistic at all, persuaded me to get lessons on piano, euphonium, saxophone etc, and eventually guitar stuck cos it was easy.

My Uncle John had a loft full of old Snoopy books and I read all of them, which is probably when I started drawing cartoons all the time. Then I got a dodgy cassette tape copy of Queen's Greatest Hits from a market in Bulgaria when I was about 9, so that's when that took off.

When I was at school I got into trouble for drumming on the desks and drawing all over my books. I often think how funny it is that I've ended up making a career out of those two things instead of all the maths or science I was supposed to be learning.

If you had to design something for the Queen, what would it be? Why?

This is easily the oddest question I've ever had in an interview. Funnily enough one of the tasks in my graphics GSCE was to design a logo for her 50th Jubilee, and I remember being pretty pleased with that. I got an A* so it must have been quite good.

Where do you see yourself going from here? Are you going to keep making music?

Honestly I have no idea where I'm going. There are so many things I want to do and so little time...I'm sure it's the same for everyone. I'll probably finish the songs in my head at some point and put them on an album, but not just yet. Watch this space!

Finally... was Christmas awesome?

Christmas was awesome, Christmas is awesome, Christmas will always be awesome.

Jamie Lenman’s website can be found here, complete with many more examples of his work. While Reuben are on indefinite hiatus , the website is still functional at www.wordsfromreuben.com, with an incomparably cool ‘Time Machine’ option so you can see all of Reuben’s past websites. It makes for brilliant boredom browsing, Reuben fan or not – and if we're on general advice, you should be. I'm definitely 'watching that space'.

The Plastiscines - About Love

hello@thefourohfive.com — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:51:08 +0000

Out: 8th February
Label: NYLON Records
Website: Myspace
Buy: Amazon

Being the owner of a fully functional set of bollocks as I am, reviewing About Love, the second full-length release from french indie hipsters The Plastiscines, is fraught with danger. Danger of being labelled a typical sexist bloke. Danger of being labelled racist and coming across somewhat Anti-French. Danger of even sounding down right out of touch, cynical and overtly negative. Despite this potential minefield, I strapped on my headphones and went over the top and prepared to take one for the team...

Let's get this out of the road early on. This record is going to split the vote. Some will love it. Tweeny-bopping girls will be singing into their hairbrushes and dancing along in the mirror to the infectious choruses on show here. Pubescent boys can 'enjoy' the videos in the privacy of their bedrooms thanks to Youtube et al. Then again, some will absolutely hate everything about this album.

There is nothing outright terrible about this record and equally there is nothing terribly new or fresh about it either. It has simply been done better by a hundred other bands in the past.

Having said that, on the positive side, what The Plastiscines can offer their listeners is a collection of very well produced guitar-pop songs with ridiculously infectious choruses. The Plastiscines are entry level pop-punk and sound more than a little like The Donnas, (perhaps unsurprising, given the album producer was heavily involved with them too).However, this is Pop-Punk for pre-teens. If Girls Aloud learned to play some instruments and spent a month listening to Green Day and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, they might start to sound a little like this. More Serena Van Der Woodsen (Gossip Girl) than Beth Ditto (girl from The Gossip) really.

Whilst the tracks all follow a standard formula they have one common element, a great hook. 'I Could Rob You' is an upbeat sing-along starter which helps set the poptastic tone. 'Barcelona' is bouncy glam-pop that packs the immortal couplet of "Let's get down in Barcelona, tonight we're dancing like no tomorrow..." and there are another ten equally catchy numbers on here.

However catchy doesn't necessarily mean good. Chlamydia is catchy. Whilst it would be unfair to go as far as suggesting this record is the musical equivalent of a yeast infection, it can be a little uncomfortable and grating in places. Unfortunately on more than one occasion the lyrics let the side down. Recent single 'Bitch' is a prime example. In case you are in any doubt, the lead singer is a self proclaimed bitch. Check it out here:

Yes, that's right. She's a bitch, spelt B.I.T.C.H....You never caught that? Well not to worry, it's repeated 30 times in three minutes... Perhaps it's a case of lost in translation...

This then begs the question... Why do they sing in polished Anglo-American accents given they are all French? The answer is pretty simple. It's a lot more commercially acceptable. Despite the fact that the songs in their native tongue have them sounding a lot more convincing, they have plumped largely for style over substance. This would seem to be an understandable decision. They are, let's face it (and cue the sexist retorts) a good looking and easily marketable group of girls. This is something that has not gone unnoticed. They are fast becoming the 'indie' darlings of fashion magazines - both NYLON and Vogue have been raving about them recently.

The commercial nature of this record doesn't stop with the image and styling though and there are a host of songs on 'About Love' that are destined to feature in American teen movies starring Sean William Scott. You'll find them appearing in Hollyoaks and provide the soundtrack to your shopping experience in Topshop and Urban Outfitters...

Despite my many reservations, perhaps there is still a place for this type of music. In all honesty, as a twenty something male, I'm probably not really the right age or gender to 'get' The Plastiscines, but if their music helps a few folk progress into pop-punk level two, and bypass the likes of Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and co then it's not all bad.

Listen: Barcelona (Lifeline remix)
Skip: Bitch
Twitter Review: The Plastiscines' second album is hook filled pop punk for pre-teens. Style over substance but can it start the downfall of Miley Cyrus?
Pigeonhole: The Donnas, The Gossip, Katy Perry