Band Of Brothers

Finished watching Band of Brothers last night, left me with that happy/sad melancholy when you've finished something really good: it was brilliant and you're glad it's finished in a nice way but you kinda wish it wasn't over

Top 10(ish) Tracks/Albums of 2009

1. Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
Monsters of Folk
(Monsters of Folk)

2. Beijing
Patrick Watson
(Wooden Arms)

3. Blood Bank
Bon Iver
(Blood Bank EP)

4. Wall of Arms
The Maccabees
(Wall of Arms)

5. My Door Is Always Open
Noah and the Whale
(The First Days of Spring)

6. The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)
The Decemberists
(The Hazards of Love)

7. Ticket Taker
The Low Anthem
(Oh My God, Charlie Darwin)

8. White Blank Page
Mumford & Sons
(Sigh No More)

9. Fitz and Dizzyspells
Andrew Bird
(Noble Beast)

10. While You Wait For The Others
Grizzly Bear
(Veckatimest)

11. Brother Sport
Animal Collective
(Merriweather Post Pavillion)

12. Dog Days Are Over
Florence + The Machine
(Lungs)



To be honest I find it hard to separate most of these from each other.

(Should be noted this also effectively acts as my best albums of 2009 as well.)

Christmas DVD's

Having effectively just got a massive box full of dvd boxsets (TV programs and films) for christmas I'll keep on blabbering on about stuff I've been watching from them

Have been slowly working my way through Big Train, series one and it's gooood, anyone who likes Spaced or anything else done my simon Pegg/Mark Heap/Graham Lineham et al (I like to think of them as the new(ish) generation of comedy writers, otherwise known in my head as channel four gold).

I also got the previous generations equivalent on dvd: Not The Nine O'Clock News, and while some of the more topical stuff goes straight over your head (which is unsurprising considering it was made before I was actually born) it still gold, the combination of the comedians just produces such good stuff.


I've also been watching Band of Brothers and am about halfway through. Again abslutely brilliant TV, think Saving Private Ryan, but over hour long episodes. Like whereas in Saving Private Ryan D-day is the first 20 minutes there's an entire episode on it. Also admittedly it's from the Airborne rather than the beach landings but it's stupidly engaging stuff nonetheless. Note should also go to the cast who are uniformly great, even David Schwimmer playing a hard ass Captain seems normal after you get over the initial humour of Ross being such a hard ass for no good reason (actually he get accross the cowardliness of the man very well),
in particular Damian Lewis who plays the Captain of Easy Company (well Lieutenant at first), who the program follows is just brilliant. He's massively underrated and has been a favourite actor of mine since I saw him The Forsythe Saga years ago and it's really nice to see him get a big part. In I think Spielberg's words, he's the best ginger actor of his generation, which I think is a fair comment.

Will probably post again on Band of Brothers as the series progresses I've just watched an episode and I think some really heavy shit is gonna kick off so I look forward to watching the rest

Avatar

A stupid amount has been written in praise of Avatar and there's not a huge deal I feel I can to add other than simply saying it's as good as everyone says it is, a flawless film. I think the thing that really made it for me was there was just so many points that it just made me want to watch every good film I've seen again. It was everything cinema should be.

As I don’t feel I can write a full review/comment on films unless I’ve literally just watched them because half the time you gotta feel it in the moment after you’ve just finished watching the film and it’s still washing over you; all the emotions, and the effect it has on you I will make a few brief comments about films I’ve watched recently before deciding to make this blog:

- Full Metal Jacket

A stunning film. First and foremost absolutely horrible and really not the film to watch at the end of Christmas day, but brilliant nonetheless. Stunningly well acted, with particular mention having to go to Vincent D’Onofrio as Private Pyle, the private who snaps as a result of the Marine Corps training, but quality round the board. Kubrick as ever is meticulous and recreates unbelievably well the hell of vietnam considering it was shot entirely in England. Some of the tracking shots are just jaw-droppingly good. Levels of satire I’ll need a couple more viewings to fully comprehend-everything you’d want in a movie. A positive outlook on the human race aside perhaps.


- The Darjeeling Limited

Absolutely brilliant I love Wes Anderson and his films never cease to make me happy. Same trademark visual style, plus with the bonus of Anderson having left his native America for India with completely lovely results. Had a tad more emotional clout I felt, for reasons you’ll understand if you’ve seen the film. Uniformly excelent acting, the usual Anderson regulars (you can’t have a Wes Anderson film without Bill Murray and his 4 minutes or so on screen are as ever a joy) plus a few others (I love Adrien Brody and he was brilliant as usual), notably Owen Wilson, who has never been absent from a film by Anderson (they have been friends since college), who Anderson continues to bring out the best, playing the possibly less obviously psyhologically damaged of the three brothers who make up the films core. If you’ve seen his other work and don’t like his almost picture book visual style (an almost over reliance on tracking shots, one might argue) and haven’t enjoyed them you’re not going to like this one much more. Me, hoever, I’m a complete sucker for it, love it, and will quite happily eat it up by the ladleful (I realise the metaphor doesn’t entirely work but you’ll forgive me). Anderson’s use of music/slow motions sequences is as ever brilliant if you enjoy that sort of thing, I could wax lyrical about this film.Anderson’s work for ages, but I won’t because that would be tedious, and inevitably end in me babbling more than have done already. Also put simply: Adrien Brody-BEST. ENTRY.EVER

(Note should be made of the short film Hotel Chevalier which accompanies the film, which is effectively everything that’s good about Wes Anderson in a nutshell, while at the same time when viewed with ‘part 2’ of The Darjeeling Limited (Hotel Chevalier itself counting as ‘Part 1’, give a much deeper emotional pay off in the main film.)


Apologies for the shoddy writing will improve as I go/have films fresh in my mind

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new."