I think this film will ferment like wine fine eventually resurfacing as a forgotten cult classic. I saw it years ago in the post-pulp fiction hype 1996 and was disappointed by the apparent boredom and mediocrity of its central premise. However I saw it recently and finally recognized it as a satire of film genres very much in the vein of Tarantino's popular films. The characters seem like extras who didn't make it to the final cut of Pulp Fiction, resembling the stoners and dropouts that Jules and Vincent torment and kill in Pulp Fiction - this movie is about a generation who has simply watched too many violent movies. The prostitution, drugs and aids in the film shatter the fantasy that the would-be back robbers have about their plans in the film giving it a genuine sense of misery and apathy that the Eric Stoltz character 'Zed' (aka Lance from Pulp Fiction) fails to register.
The performances are ridiculous, and Stoltz seems to act like he's in the wrong place (or wrong film). Avary enjoys referencing better heist movies like Riffi, Reservoir Dogs, French Connection and Point Break, and distills the film with a morbid sense of dread and confusion that tells us this is not going to end well. The final ambiguous ending where the characters driving off into city of Paris gives the film a final romantic twist that leaves us hoping these losers will clean up, but only suggests that the ride continues - very much like Iggy Pop said in his song the Passenger where he talks about Jim Morrison. You can switch cars and change direction but never actually get out of the car, just make sure you’re with the right people.
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Monday, 23 November 2009
Sydney, AUSTRALIA; Devine Electric punks at the Excelsior Hotel October 2008
64 Favouex Street, Excelsior Hotel 17/10/2008
Line Up features Atomicide, Blackie (from the Hard Ons), Chris Haskett and Devine Electric.
Friday Night at the Excelsior Hotel and the front bar was just packed enough for me to elbow my way around the chairs without causing any unnecessary harm. I came late and arrived a few hours after the doors opened and could hear the thump and crash of wood colliding bluntly against galvanized steel from down the street that told me tonight's entertainment was in full swing. It was still too early for any self-respecting head-banger or punk to get into it and from observing the happy patrons in the bar there wasn’t a shred of ripped denim in sight. I guessed none of them were here to see the bands furiously pulverizing stick in the back room and were content to sit on the stools so just by being close to the noise enhanced an image of coolness. The crowd past the ticket desk was visibly different than the ones outside it, altogether hairier, heavier and leatherier, quite a few bearded bikers and trash babes occupied the main floor or perched on a stool politely staring at the racket on stage. I hadn't heard any of the bands on the line up before but Chris Haskett from Rollins Band gave me some idea what to expect and I later felt rewarded for making the effort to show up that evening.
At first I assumed Atomicide were just another local garage group here to support the headline act but gave everyone a solid show like a hit to the solar plexus. Songs like “Woman I adore”, “TV tried to kill me” and “Cancer” reminded me of 1995's post-grunge, a mangle between the fast bits of Offspring and Foo Fighters with shades of Dead Kennedies. Though they looked like an evil double of the John Butler Trio, the boys in Atomicide still managed a few jokes between bursts of hard playing. Friends and fans in the audience applauded when they hammered through “Ace of Base” for the encore and I felt this was one band who had not forgotten their roots.
The last act to come on was the oddly titled Devine Electric who managed to steal what was left of the show judging from the amount of girls and lip-gloss now falling around the stage and the pelvic thrusts of the groups more seasoned members (Ivor and Zino), perhaps to the displeasure of the more hardcore contingent in the audience . Devine Electric clearly takes it's inspiration from the ironic cock rock of QOTSA and Turbonegro from the other side of the Atlantic and borrow a few chunky licks from British metal gods Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. The fact that the paunch front man ('Shark') resembled both Jack Black and Dom Joly from UK's hit series Trigger Happy as he wailed and tornadoed around the tiny stage gave the show a charisma that most bands fail to impress. For anyone who likes live show that's a bit kitsch and their 80s metal stripped raw, check them out.
www.myspace.com/atomicide Spectrum 8 November
Really Long Link 22 Bayswater Kings Cross 30 October
Line Up features Atomicide, Blackie (from the Hard Ons), Chris Haskett and Devine Electric.
Friday Night at the Excelsior Hotel and the front bar was just packed enough for me to elbow my way around the chairs without causing any unnecessary harm. I came late and arrived a few hours after the doors opened and could hear the thump and crash of wood colliding bluntly against galvanized steel from down the street that told me tonight's entertainment was in full swing. It was still too early for any self-respecting head-banger or punk to get into it and from observing the happy patrons in the bar there wasn’t a shred of ripped denim in sight. I guessed none of them were here to see the bands furiously pulverizing stick in the back room and were content to sit on the stools so just by being close to the noise enhanced an image of coolness. The crowd past the ticket desk was visibly different than the ones outside it, altogether hairier, heavier and leatherier, quite a few bearded bikers and trash babes occupied the main floor or perched on a stool politely staring at the racket on stage. I hadn't heard any of the bands on the line up before but Chris Haskett from Rollins Band gave me some idea what to expect and I later felt rewarded for making the effort to show up that evening.
At first I assumed Atomicide were just another local garage group here to support the headline act but gave everyone a solid show like a hit to the solar plexus. Songs like “Woman I adore”, “TV tried to kill me” and “Cancer” reminded me of 1995's post-grunge, a mangle between the fast bits of Offspring and Foo Fighters with shades of Dead Kennedies. Though they looked like an evil double of the John Butler Trio, the boys in Atomicide still managed a few jokes between bursts of hard playing. Friends and fans in the audience applauded when they hammered through “Ace of Base” for the encore and I felt this was one band who had not forgotten their roots.
The last act to come on was the oddly titled Devine Electric who managed to steal what was left of the show judging from the amount of girls and lip-gloss now falling around the stage and the pelvic thrusts of the groups more seasoned members (Ivor and Zino), perhaps to the displeasure of the more hardcore contingent in the audience . Devine Electric clearly takes it's inspiration from the ironic cock rock of QOTSA and Turbonegro from the other side of the Atlantic and borrow a few chunky licks from British metal gods Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. The fact that the paunch front man ('Shark') resembled both Jack Black and Dom Joly from UK's hit series Trigger Happy as he wailed and tornadoed around the tiny stage gave the show a charisma that most bands fail to impress. For anyone who likes live show that's a bit kitsch and their 80s metal stripped raw, check them out.
www.myspace.com/atomicide Spectrum 8 November
Really Long Link 22 Bayswater Kings Cross 30 October
Saturday, 21 November 2009
Film Review Bright Star 2009 "Portrait of a young Muse as a Feminist?"
Film Review Bright Star 2009 "Portrait of a young Muse as a Feminist?"
Before seeing Jane Campion’s latest feature Bright Star I knew little about the life of the poet John Keats but I appreciate the intimacies of film’s drama beneath the stilted dialogue and stiff costumes. I’m a fan of Jane Campion’s career as a filmmaker and enjoy her idiosyncratic satire of domestic gender roles whether they be set in a gloomy suburb or swish aristocratic estate in central Europe. I particularly liked her last film In The Cut an unusual though but flawed twist on the slasher subgenre; whereby the cop versus killer structure is sublimated by the POV of the female victim.
Campion displays the same auteur craftsmanship as Neil Jordan, Anthony Minghella or Ang Lee, who similarly observe the damaged relationships set against tumultuous social and historical change. Often the words ‘acclaimed’, ‘prestigious’ and ‘compelling’ are liberally overused to describe the sumptuous style and content of Campion’s films that deliver a dose high culture to Hollywood’s arthouse cinema market. When I watched The Piano a few years ago I was impressed by the colourful 19th century design of the New Zealand wilderness and the playful tone of the gothic drama (a mute mother and daughter lost in the woods with Harvey Kietel).
The components of the melodrama are skilfully developed in the use of domestic rooms embroiled in a battle of the sexes, dysfunctional families and political satire (see Harvey Kietel performing in drag for Holy Smoke). Campion’s follow up to The Piano, Portrait of a Lady, starred a pre-Moulin Rouge Nicole Kidman tackling the psychological constraints imposed by Victorian society in the Henry James novel. Her next two releases uneasily straddled mainstream genres where she cast ditzy Hollywood blondes as fierce intellectuals: first Kate Winslet in the screwball road-movie Holy Smoke and then Meg Ryan in the slasher In The Cut, as both were adapted from novels by feminist authors and subverted Hollywood stereotypes. The majority of scenes appear to take place in kitchens, bedrooms, dining rooms and gardens where the actresses are positioned against a maelstrom of family feuds and egocentric male romances.
Where her commercial films showed an experiment with Hollywood by examining the roles of contemporary heroines navigating an identity under the threat of the repressive cultural and social values, a shy and immature Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) slips under the radar without defense. Fanny is portrayed as a romantic seeking to throw off her shackles and struggles with the psychological pressure of being the empowered muse for the burgeoning poet (Ben Whishaw). Here the romance remains frugal and lacks much of the seduction and high drama of the Jane Austen films; portraying the couple as awkward in scenes among polite society. Without the support of his friends Keats is boyish and unsure about how to engage Fanny, in one scene he confesses that he knows nothing about women.
This is more apparent in the relationship Keats has with his close friend and colleague, Charles Brown, played as an arrogant patriarch by American actor Paul Schnieder. A love triangle ensues where emotions and communication lines are drawn and tested. Keats’ poetry is richly applied in the moments where his poems are recited. Here the young poet’s work is shown developing through the troubled love affair with his muse, beginning with the formal verse structures and classic metaphors of the Romantic movement with ‘The Eve of St Agnes’ and then gradually growing into the maturity and self-reflection of ‘La Belle dame sans’ and ‘To Autumn’. This is the film’s most obvious conceit; Keats’ creative maturation directly attributed to the intimate relationship he shares with Fanny.
In fact, the narrative gives away little into the personal life of the iconic poet.
There are few glimpses into the historic background of the period, and omits the most significant parts of Keats’ life, such as his training as a surgeon, the Parliamentary reforms for civil rights and his lower class origins. This is most crucial in the relationship he shares with Brown, whose financial support is dramatically retracted when he must let the property they share in south London after a damaging affair with a maid. Brown’s affluence is reflected by his chauvinism, and one which instigates Keats’ relationship to Fanny. In a confrontation between Brown and Fanny, he bitterly admits his mistake without conceding Fanny’s status. The bitter man’s angry display, while his new born and spouse laugh in the kitchen shows Campion’s fascination with repression and social manners.
Campion juxtaposes these banalities against the drama’s deeper personal conflicts. Fanny in the domestic space with her mother and mischievous sister (an image Campion has used before to represent childhood innocence) are amused but weary of the men’s charm and pretensions, not because she is sophisticated but lacks knowledge and insight until Keats connects with her emotionally. Campion often uses shots of Fanny knelt down sewing and stitching garments; a domestic chore and interest in fashion that Keats initially cares little for. This clash between the sexes through a focus on sewing and poetry reveals a mutual respect, curiosity and distaste for social convention and stereotypes of the period, a subtle anachronism.
Before seeing Jane Campion’s latest feature Bright Star I knew little about the life of the poet John Keats but I appreciate the intimacies of film’s drama beneath the stilted dialogue and stiff costumes. I’m a fan of Jane Campion’s career as a filmmaker and enjoy her idiosyncratic satire of domestic gender roles whether they be set in a gloomy suburb or swish aristocratic estate in central Europe. I particularly liked her last film In The Cut an unusual though but flawed twist on the slasher subgenre; whereby the cop versus killer structure is sublimated by the POV of the female victim.
Campion displays the same auteur craftsmanship as Neil Jordan, Anthony Minghella or Ang Lee, who similarly observe the damaged relationships set against tumultuous social and historical change. Often the words ‘acclaimed’, ‘prestigious’ and ‘compelling’ are liberally overused to describe the sumptuous style and content of Campion’s films that deliver a dose high culture to Hollywood’s arthouse cinema market. When I watched The Piano a few years ago I was impressed by the colourful 19th century design of the New Zealand wilderness and the playful tone of the gothic drama (a mute mother and daughter lost in the woods with Harvey Kietel).
The components of the melodrama are skilfully developed in the use of domestic rooms embroiled in a battle of the sexes, dysfunctional families and political satire (see Harvey Kietel performing in drag for Holy Smoke). Campion’s follow up to The Piano, Portrait of a Lady, starred a pre-Moulin Rouge Nicole Kidman tackling the psychological constraints imposed by Victorian society in the Henry James novel. Her next two releases uneasily straddled mainstream genres where she cast ditzy Hollywood blondes as fierce intellectuals: first Kate Winslet in the screwball road-movie Holy Smoke and then Meg Ryan in the slasher In The Cut, as both were adapted from novels by feminist authors and subverted Hollywood stereotypes. The majority of scenes appear to take place in kitchens, bedrooms, dining rooms and gardens where the actresses are positioned against a maelstrom of family feuds and egocentric male romances.
Where her commercial films showed an experiment with Hollywood by examining the roles of contemporary heroines navigating an identity under the threat of the repressive cultural and social values, a shy and immature Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) slips under the radar without defense. Fanny is portrayed as a romantic seeking to throw off her shackles and struggles with the psychological pressure of being the empowered muse for the burgeoning poet (Ben Whishaw). Here the romance remains frugal and lacks much of the seduction and high drama of the Jane Austen films; portraying the couple as awkward in scenes among polite society. Without the support of his friends Keats is boyish and unsure about how to engage Fanny, in one scene he confesses that he knows nothing about women.
This is more apparent in the relationship Keats has with his close friend and colleague, Charles Brown, played as an arrogant patriarch by American actor Paul Schnieder. A love triangle ensues where emotions and communication lines are drawn and tested. Keats’ poetry is richly applied in the moments where his poems are recited. Here the young poet’s work is shown developing through the troubled love affair with his muse, beginning with the formal verse structures and classic metaphors of the Romantic movement with ‘The Eve of St Agnes’ and then gradually growing into the maturity and self-reflection of ‘La Belle dame sans’ and ‘To Autumn’. This is the film’s most obvious conceit; Keats’ creative maturation directly attributed to the intimate relationship he shares with Fanny.
In fact, the narrative gives away little into the personal life of the iconic poet.
There are few glimpses into the historic background of the period, and omits the most significant parts of Keats’ life, such as his training as a surgeon, the Parliamentary reforms for civil rights and his lower class origins. This is most crucial in the relationship he shares with Brown, whose financial support is dramatically retracted when he must let the property they share in south London after a damaging affair with a maid. Brown’s affluence is reflected by his chauvinism, and one which instigates Keats’ relationship to Fanny. In a confrontation between Brown and Fanny, he bitterly admits his mistake without conceding Fanny’s status. The bitter man’s angry display, while his new born and spouse laugh in the kitchen shows Campion’s fascination with repression and social manners.
Campion juxtaposes these banalities against the drama’s deeper personal conflicts. Fanny in the domestic space with her mother and mischievous sister (an image Campion has used before to represent childhood innocence) are amused but weary of the men’s charm and pretensions, not because she is sophisticated but lacks knowledge and insight until Keats connects with her emotionally. Campion often uses shots of Fanny knelt down sewing and stitching garments; a domestic chore and interest in fashion that Keats initially cares little for. This clash between the sexes through a focus on sewing and poetry reveals a mutual respect, curiosity and distaste for social convention and stereotypes of the period, a subtle anachronism.
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