Locke

On paper, Steven Knight's Locke doesn't sound like one of the best films of the year (so far), but that is, in my opinion, exactly what it is. The basic plot is that Ivan Locke, a well respected construction manager, see's his life unravel in the space of a 90-minute car journey from somewhere around Birmingham to London. What makes the film so unique is the fact that there is only one face in the entire movie, Locke himself (Tom Hardy). That is why it doesn't instantly leap out as a gripping emotional thriller, but it is.

Tom Hardy keeps all eyes firmly on the screen, giving an undeniably brilliant performance. Every emotion, every twist and turn that his life makes on the journey, you are right there with him. Surely, realism at its most real. The rest of the small cast is made up through voices only, and although they aren't unknown actors (Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott, and Ruth Wilson are the bigger names in the small voice cast) so putting a face to a voice isn't hard, the fact we only see Locke is what makes the film so special.

The visuals are not dull either, as could have easily been the case on a nighttime drive across English motorways. The cinematography is kept interesting, with different angles and styles created with the motorway lights. I was also pleased that, while there was some obvious product placement, it wasn't a 90-minute advert for BMW either.

What this film is, is a film that deserves a great deal of recognition for being brave and taking a risk that really paid off. I highly recommend Locke.

Alkaline Trio - 19/04/2014 & 22/04/2014

So this week I did something I've not done before which is go to more than one date of a tour. The band was Alkaline Trio, who are my favourite bands, so if it had to be any band they seemed to be fitting! It was interesting though for me to see how the two compared.

Leeds Met - 19/04/2014

The last time I saw Alkaline Trio in 2012 was at Leeds Met, it isn't my favourite venue by a long shot, and with the (much bigger) Leeds Academy a stones throw away I don't know why they didn't go there! Anyway, the openers for the night were The Murderburgers, who are a punk three-piece from Scotland. They're a funny bunch, they don't speak much, in fact they barely stopped between songs to allow for applause!

Next up were Bayside, who as a support slot were a pretty big band. I admit to not having listened to much of their stuff, in my mind I had them pinned down as nothing like they actually are, and I really quite enjoyed them! They were fun, and you could tell a few crowd members had gone along really to see them which was nice.

Then came Alkaline Trio. Having seen them twice before I had an idea of what to expect from the show, and having peaked at the setlist I was pretty excited! They opened with This Could Be Love and moved into Hell Yes, two older songs which were bound to get the crowd going, but Leeds seemed to be lacking energy. I was on the barrier on the far right hand side but there was barely any crowd movement at all! Perhaps this was the beginning of their bad mood. By the time they got onto the fourth song, Every Thug Needs A Lady (one of my favourites), Dan Andriano was having trouble with his bass, he didn't stop the song and he sorted it out but you could tell that it had annoyed him, as it would any musician who was handed their instrument on stage and it wasn't properly tuned.

You could tell they weren't in a great mood, barely talking to the crowd, but they played on and they were great too. Leeds Met sound quality isn't anything special either. Then came "thumbs down guy", during Balanced On A Shelf, and Dine, Dine My Darling, (two newer songs) some guy kept putting his hand in the air with his thumb down. Matt Skiba noticed this, and was less than impressed. The guy did get thrown out, but after that, the mood was sour. I felt really bad for them, and couldn't get my head round why someone would pay £20 to see a band to then thumbs down them! So stupid.

They ended on Radio, as they always do, and everyone sang along. So while I left the gig on a high, I couldn't help but feel that it was a real shame those things had put them in a bad mood, and I was intrigued to see how Manchester would turn out.

Manchester Ritz - 22/04/2014

As a venue, I liked the Ritz, it's bigger but more built for purpose than Leeds Met. For this, my brother and I were situated on the balcony which was a good move really. A good view, less people and after Leeds really hurt our ears being directly in front of a speaker stack, we decided it would be better to keep our distance.

The Murderburgers and Bayside gave similar performances to Leeds, I think I enjoyed them more because I was more familiar with the songs this time. Then Alkaline Trio came on. It was plain to see they were in a much better mood! The crowd in Manchester were also full of energy, with mosh pits and crowd surfers aplenty. The setlist was exactly the same, but with more energy, so it made for a better show overall.

While I normally could never afford to go to multiple gigs of a tour, this has made me realise that sometimes it's worth it, and it's not something I would rule out doing again!

The Double

The Double is Richard Ayoade's latest film. It is based on the book by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I won't pretend to know anything about Dostoyevsky, but you don't really need to going in.

The film stars Jesse Eisenberg as Simon James, he is quiet, struggles with his identity, and feels pretty much invisible. He is overlooked by everyone, including his elderly mother, and Hannah (Mia Wasikowska), his love interest (whom he watches from his apartment with a telescope, instead of talking to her, until the suicide of a man who was following Hannah causes them to have an actual conversation). The arrival of James Simon (also Jesse Eisenberg) at work causes Simon James much distress. James Simon is his exact double in looks, and his exact opposite in personality and demeanour. At first Simon and James are friends, James offers to help Simon with his crippling low self esteem issues, but soon James begins to take over Simon's life. Thus ensues Simon James' identity crisis, struggling to cope that this double was everything he wanted to be and everything he hated at the same time, yet he was powerless to stop his behaviour, stop him taking credit for his work and stop him pursuing Hannah. 

Visually the film is very interesting, a very dark colour scheme (lots of browns and blacks), everything is square, and the film has no sense of time. Sometimes it feels very old fashioned, and sometimes it feels like it is set in quite a dystopian future, which only adds to the overall sense of uncertainty that carries throughout the film for the viewer. Saying that, it isn't challenging to watch nor is too confusing. Fans of Ayoade's first film Submarine will notice the inclusion of pretty much all the main cast in some small way which I have to admit to it being a nice little touch, and just shows they must have all enjoyed working with Ayoade enough to come back even for a bit part.

While The Double is strange, it's enjoyable and quite humorous in places, so I would say if that's your sort of thing then don't miss it!

Bronson

Last night I watched Bronson (2008) for the first time. I'm a big Tom Hardy fan, I think he's brilliant, and Bronson is no exception. The film is a loose biopic of Charles Bronson, Britain's most notorious prisoner. He got himself a reputation for being incredibly violent towards other prisoners and officers and got moved around the prison service and even had a stint in psychiatric hospitals such as Broadmoor. The film is very entertaining, if you don't mind quite a lot of violence (and a bit of nudity), then definitely seek it out. The film is quite stylised, with parts that show Bronson in front of an audience telling his story, which gives it a good edge and makes it different.

I definitely recommend it!

New Music: Lana Del Rey - West Coast

I quite like Lana Del Rey, and her new single is pretty good. I much prefer the style of the verses to the chorus, mainly because I can barely understand what she's saying in the chorus!

An Apology

I've been crazy busy recently, and so some features have fallen by the wayside! I have therefore decided to have a little change around of the way my blog will go from now on. It's going to be like a diary of all things entertainment.

I will now try keep regular updates about
- any movies I watch including new and older releases
- any adverts that catch my attention, which may remain as ad of the week if I remember!
- any music I'm loving, album reviews, playlists etc
- any TV shows I'm watching, I'll be doing more What I'm Watching posts and maybe TV reviews and recommendations
- any comedy I see, either live or on DVD

I feel this will make for more consistent posts as well, so hopefully, starting from today, my blog will be back up and running regularly.

:)

Ad of the Week

This week my ad is the new one from Clipper, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, it's for teabags, but you wouldn't know it. What I particularly like is that during ad breaks, they show little snippets which just say the caption 'she's having an affair' so you become intrigued and want to watch. Very clever!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Marvel's latest offering, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, is the second instalment in the Captain America series. The story follows Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans) in modern day America, as the now-thawed super soldier continues to get to grips with the modern world, as well as working for S.H.I.E.L.D alongside Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

Fans of the previous Marvel films certainly won't be disappointed by this film. It is a little more serious than the likes of the Iron Man or Thor franchises, and it does lack the sass and quick dry wit of characters like Tony Stark or Loki, however it won't leave you feeling bored for a second. There are some laugh out loud moments, and a pretty decent twist as well, which I shan't spoil for anyone although I'm sure it's already all over the internet!

It's a fast-paced action adventure, the sort of film that gets you out of your head for a couple of hours and doesn't leave you with any questions at the end. Sometimes, that's just what you need!