Songs for your iPod

The Swimming Song - Loudon Wainwright III

(A great song I found on pursuitoffolk blog. A happy folk song to get you in a good mood.)



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Fall - Single Gun Theory

(A nice electronic song by an unknown Australian band I feel deserve more attention)



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I'll Fight – Wilco

(In my opinion this song could go down as a classic in a few years. Time will tell)




Any thoughts on the songs, readers?

Opening of George Washington

(This is an amazing opening to a movie, a pity the rest of George Washington (2000) was kind of boring. As faithful readers will know, I'm a sucker for voice-over)

Film review: Inception (2010)

No spoilers in this review. Let me start off by saying this movie had so much hype and anticipation, which increased with the early reviews and #3 ranking on IMDB. Reviewers were saying it lived up to the expectations. I don't watch too many blockbusters these days, but this I had to see, I'm a big fan of the director.

I thought it was a pretty good and entertaining blockbuster, but for me not a truly great film. Let me try and explain why I felt this way:

I was impressed with the visual effects, the terrific score, and the ideas put into the script. However, the characters left me cold and when that occurs, I don’t care what happens to them. Especially characterization of the supporting cast was underdeveloped, we hardly hear any background details about their lives. I had a similar reaction to Scorsese’s Shutter Island, some good twists and visuals, but lacking in deeper, emotional character study.

It’s an inviting invitation that we the audience should work out what is dream or reality like a puzzle, but I feel like I spent some time and energy figuring out what was going on in Inception, but there was no intellectual payoff, no surface message, wouldn’t you expect this from a supposedly clever movie? At times it felt like a mess, and I had no idea what the director's message or messages were. The ideas only work tacitly, which I feel is disappointing and an easy way out for the filmmakers. I would have liked some quieter sections to catch my breath and reflect like there were in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The non-stop suspense and overall pace made it difficult for me to ponder Inception’s themes and ideas during the movie.

Even after subsequently reading some of the threads about the twists on the web and watching some interviews, I still feel the same. I felt it had the potential to be a masterpiece, but maybe being a summer blockbuster aimed at making spades of cash held the studio back from making something deeper.

I’m glad I saw it in the cinema and appreciate the effort gone into the making, and I still recommend you watch it as a piece of entertainment, Inception is an above average blockbuster, a great thrill ride. But just don't expect the third best movie ever made.

I may grow to like Inception more in the future, but presently I prefer some of Nolan’s other work. I felt in Inception the action scenes didn't nessesarily serve a purpose 100% of the time.

I'll be rewatching Inception, I might have missed stuff, the movie moved so fast, maybe too fast. Although, to me, it's not a movie you can ever say, I get it now 100%. The ending is open-ended, which I like in movies.

Any thoughts on Inception, readers?

IMDB

rottentomatoes

Trailer

Songs for your iPod

Edge Of The Ocean (Duotone Mix) - Ivy

(This song reminds me of Madonna's Ray of light album, however the music video I feel takes away some of the magic and mystery, better as pure audio.)



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True Faith - New Order

(My favourite New Order song. Some of their electronic songs are somewhat dated now, but several of their greatest hits hold up well. )



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The White Album - The Beatles

(If you’ve always postponed listening to The Beatles, like I have, here are the first 3 songs from their famous 1968 white album:
1. "Back in the U.S.S.R."
2. "Dear Prudence"
3. "Glass Onion"
You can listen to part 2 and so on, if you click on the video. Many people call it their masterpiece, some have named this the best album of all time. The track ‘Dear Prudence’ is so amazing.)



Readers, any thoughts on the songs?

Film review: Talk Radio (1988)

I really liked this film, apart from the last line in the script, which was not the kind of ending this gem deserved in my opinion.

Definitely a film I will be rewatching, the story is simple, but the script is full of unique dialogue you can get your teeth into. The main character may not be the most endearing or lovable person, but his motor mouth is very seductive and I couldn’t stop watching. I particularly enjoyed the scene where the radio host becomes vulnerable and the camera spins around his head, the people phoning in begin to get under his skin, and he shows some of his true self. The performance by the main character is very memorable.

It’s more or less a radio program made into a movie, so you could argue the reason for making it into a film, but I am glad to have witnessed the characters facial expressions, which I feel add much emotion to the audio.

I hadn’t even heard of this small Oliver Stone directed movie until recently, it appears to have been overshadowed much like Scorsese’s ’After Hours’ was by more mainstream 80s pictures such as Wall Street, Platoon and Born on the 4th of July. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised how good Talk Radio was, as Oliver Stone could hardly put a foot wrong in the 80s and early 90s.

A little slow in the middle part, but I give this underrated movie a solid 8/10.

IMDB

Rottentomatoes

Trailer

If you have watched this movie, let me know what you think in the comments...