cos i promised, and cos i like the idea of a bet, i'm gonna give my predictions. i spent a whole load of time and effort on this year's Oscars (not that its not been fun!) so i feel a list of predictions is definately in order...My predictions are in capitals, and my personal choice is in brackets...



Best Motion Picture of the Year

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Milk. Really strong field this year, and how Benjamin Button was seen as being better than Revolutionary Road, Doubt or even Vicky Cristina Barcelona I will never know, but there you go. This may become a theme...)

-------------------------------------

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

SEAN PENN for Milk (Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road. How he's not been nominated I'll never know. This is a really strong field for 08, and in any other year Mickey Rourke would walk it, as would Sean Penn, or Frank Langella, or Benicio Del Toro (Che). That Leo isn't even nominated - seriously, Brad Pitt? - says a lot about the strength of the competition. I would say Philip Seymour Hoffman too for Doubt, but he's up for Best Supporting Actor, when he's clearly the male lead. No idea on that one at all.)

-------------------------------------

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

KATE WINSLET for The Reader (Kate Winslet for The Reader. Or Revolutionary Road. Just give her one, it might result in her keeping her top on for once in her bloody life. You too Kidman...Trust though, she is amazing in it. I also will take this opportunity to nominate Rebecca Hall, who was immense in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, as well as being 16 million kinds of fit.)

------------------------------------

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

HEATH LEDGER for The Dark Knight (Ben Kingsley for The Wackness, but thats not even nominated, so Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road)

-----------------------------------

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

PENELOPE CRUZ for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Amy Adams for Doubt)

------------------------------------

Best Achievement in Directing

DANNY BOYLE for Slumdog Millionaire (Can't disagree, though there were some beautiful scenes in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen) and Revolutionary Road (Sam Mendes) that might sway me. Tis the only thing I'm gonna give Slumdog so best leave it as that.)

------------------------------------

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

MILK (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, though In Bruges is close behind, as is The Wackness. I don't think biopics necessarily count, as its not a completely original screenplay, though both Milk and Frost/Nixon were excellent.)

------------------------------------

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

THE READER (Doubt, which is so obviously based on a play that I feel the film is almost wasted in that I'll never get to see what must undoubtedly (geddit) be a magnificent piece on stage.)

------------------------------------

Best Achievement in Cinematography

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Revolutionary Road, which isn't even nominated, a travesty...)

-----------------------------------

Best Achievement in Makeup

BENJAMIN BUTTON (Easily one of the best things about the increasingly over-rated Benjamin Button. WOuld give credit to "Jim The Plasterer" for his work on The Joker in The Dark Knight too :D)

---------------------------------

Best Song

"O Saya" by A.R. Rahman and MIA (Bruce Springsteen for "The Wrestler" from The Wrestler, even though M.I.A is sickkkk and fits the tone of the film really well, theres nowt that can compete with a truly heart-wrenching song, written by Jersey native Springsteen, about his own state, about his own friend, Mickey Rourke. A little aside, btw, AR Rahman is the 5th biggest selling musician of all time. No joke. Thats actually amazing.)

--------------------------------

Best Foreign Film

WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex)

Film History Essay

heres a wee taster of my film history essay, due on tuesday (the 25th). its not finished, cos i'm writing it at home and thus i can't get on to the Nexis referencing thing to properly include quotes etc. the form is a pitch for an historical film to be included in the syllabus for next year's module. for a flavour of whats currently on the module, its basically all about the way in which films portray historical events (technically its called "Film and History"), so theres the usual suspects in terms of historically relevant epics - Birth of a Nation (gash!), Battleship Potemkin (ace!), Triumph of the Will (gash!). so here it is, my essay...

A film I believe should be considered for the module is “24 Hour Party People”, a 2002 UK film, directed by Michael Winterbottom, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and starring Steve Coogan, Paddy Considine and Shirley Henderson. “24 Hour Party People” charts the life of the Factory Records imprint, through the eyes of its driving force, local TV presenter and impresario Tony Wilson, from its inception in 1976 to its collapse in 1992. When the film was first released it received broadly positive reviews, with many critics noting the unusual manner in which real footage and direct recreations of events were spliced with urban legends, fictional scenes and outright fantasy.

 “24 Hour Party People” follows the story of Tony Wilson, a real-life music impresario and television presenter who owned (or, as the film suggests, nominally owned) Factory Records, the record label which would change the way in which British music was created (by introducing the “Madchester” sound), communicated (by focussing not the artist or band, but the medium by which they were conveyed; the DJ) and even packaged (almost all Factory-released records were designed by an in-house graphic designer). All characters in the film are based on real people – including notable bands such as Joy Division (who became New Order) and the Happy Mondays - and the majority of settings are real places, such as Manchester’s Hacienda nightclub. The film depicts a key period in the history of both British music and of Manchester. The early scenes make reference to this, as dramatic content is mixed with archival footage to emphasise the factual nature of the events depicted – the film opens with a piece from Manchester’s local news, and merges the actual television report from 1976 with a stylised monologue delivered by Steve Coogan, the actor playing Tony Wilson, who, despite his success in the music business, was a constant fixture on regional television in the North West until his death in 2007. The monologue at the very beginning foreshadows the main themes of the film; “Icarus” states Wilson, referring to the Greek myth of the man who flew too near to the sun and fell to his death as the heat melted the wax that held his wings together. Factory Records is presented as being more than just a music record label, but as a cultural movement, which encompassed Situationist and post-modernist thought in its attempts to glorify living in the moment, and which was inexorably linked to its physical roots; to Manchester. Indeed, the narrative arc on which the film operates holds that, in keeping with its roots, by not “selling out”, and by living for today, a situation is created in which it cannot last – the fabric of the label, and of the movement, is pulled apart at the seams, like Icarus’ wings, by flying too high; success inflates egos, raises tensions and attracts unwanted attention, such as from the drug dealers who force the closure of Factory’s flagship nightclub, the Hacienda, and from other record labels, who covet the stars unearthed by Wilson and the Factory staff.

What makes this film interesting is not necessarily the history it portrays, but the way in which it is portrayed. The ethics of the Factory Records imprint are exemplified in the production of the film. It is often cited as an example of postmodernist cinema; characters frequently break the fourth wall (Tony Wilson, played by Steve Coogan, keeps a steady dialogue with the audience), contemporary documentary footage is mixed with dramatic re-creations of the same events (such as the scene which depicts what many consider the birth of the “Madchester” scene, the 1976 Sex Pistols gig, in which Tony Wilson introduces the audience to other concert-goers, who include future members of Buzzcocks, Joy Division and Simply Red, as well as a postman), and real people being portrayed make cameos into the fictional representations of their own lives (Howard Devoto, singer in Manchester bands Buzzcocks and Magazine, left watching a fictional version of himself have sex with Tony Wilson’s wife, comments “I definitely don’t remember this happening!”). The lack of a single true narrative is also a key postmodern aspect of the film, as the film makes little or no differentiation between factual events, urban legends (the truthfulness of which remains in doubt) and complete fiction; all are presented in the same manner. Indeed, whilst the film is nominally centred on Tony Wilson, he readily admits to being a “minor character in his own film”. Factory Records’ values, those of liberation from the staid nature of modern life, of living in the moment and of the self-awareness of the creators of beauty, are exemplified in the presentation of the Factory Records story.

The contemporary nature of “24 Hour Party People” is also evident. It was released in 2002, only ten years after the climax of the events of the film, and it includes actors who lived through the period, and in the same geographic area as the events, such as Steve Coogan (Tony Wilson), Ralf Little and John Simm (Joy Division’s Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner) and Peter Kay (club owner Don Tonay). Similarly, the people who form the basis for the film’s characters were by and large still alive when the film was being made, and thus could provide valuable input into production, which ensured authenticity. Doubtless few other films could claim that their novelisation was written by the central character, as Tony Wilson did after the film was released in 2002; essentially an autobiography based on a dramatisation, and, in effect, the full culmination of the post-modern ideals of the film. 

so yeah, its not complete, but its basically gonna be that. please disagree, or agree, or whatever. should have my Oscar films review up soon, i've seen almost all the nominees so its a bit of a waste not to write summat about them, and in more depth than the gash!/ace! analysis of above.

peace out.

08 is over, long live 08.

It's unavoidable, it just happens. The Coke trucks are ploughing through Pixar snow, the sleigh bells are ringing in the Asda jingle and the "Santa is a ^insert football team here^ fan" hats are out in force across the lower leagues - its official - 08 is on the way out. With it goes a pretty damn fine sonic year; one which this humble blogger/journo/poster (delete as applicable to wherever you're reading this) feels needs commemorating - if for no other reason than to set out his/her/its opinion prior to the inevitable arguments. So here it is - the top 10 tracks, in no particular order, of 2008, one for every month we've had so far:


#1 - The Gaslight Anthem - Even Cowgirls Get The Blues
A return to proper blues, proper roots, proper riffs...NJ natives The Gaslight Anthem could've come from nowhere else. Steeped in feedback and stewed in its own distortion, "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues" resurrects the spirit of Springsteen and flings it head first into the 21st century with a tale of small town loss that the Boss himself would be proud of, if he grew much more hair. Also features a key change of Eurovision proportions, though don't let that put you off.


#2 - Mystery Jets - Young Love
One of the stand out songs of the summer I missed. Even for those of us who left college without hearing "Young Love", the combination of inexperience and longing that those cheap hookups left us with is all too short in the memory. A wonderful track, from a wonderful album, by a wonderful band, who deserve to be heard more widely, though sometimes you feel that would piss their fans off no end.

#3 - Glasvegas - Flowers And Football Tops
There really int very much to say about "Flowers And Football Tops" (as youtube assures me it is actually called - not "floors an fitba taps" as I thought) that can't be ascertained from just putting it on and listening for yourself; its raw, its topical and its frank. It stings like a Frankie Boyle punchline and, if you can find it, theres a demo version that's as tortured and powerful as anything else heard this year.


#4 - MGMT - Electric Feel
Probably the most commercially successful entry in this list, and a bloody good thing too; "Electric Feel" is the kind of song that I don't mind dickheads liking - DJs are dickheads and I want to hear this when I'm in a club. It's a compromise of sorts. MGMT's album was the most danceable of the year, and this is its most danceable track; the greatest complement I can pay to it is that when I'm at work I bang on "Oracular Spectacular" and it makes my day go that little bit quicker, which, I'm sure you'll agree, is what its all about.

#5 - The Dø - At Last
France's premier folk/indie/Bjork tribute act, The Dø are, as their Facebook group proclaims, "la revélation musicale de l'anneé", and, if that means nothing to you, then I suggest you skip on to the next paragraph because they're probably not your kind of band. They're inconsistent, inaccessible and, as "At Last" proves, occasionally brilliant. The most telling criticism of them is that their songs never appear on French radio, or French TV, and (as far as I could see during my time amongst Les Francais) are generally disliked by the few French who've actually heard them, which, whilst it may not do wonders for their career prospects, is, in my mind, a ringing endorsement.

#6 - We Are Wolves - Magique
It should be said straight off the bat that I'm no great fan of electro. I'll walk a mile to avoid an electro night. I once threatened to punch a man who said he was going to play "minimal tech house". However, "Magique" is on permanent Ipod repeat, and it's beyond me why. Quite possibly the most unique, quite probably the most unusual and certainly the catchiest song of the year, I can only recommend that you listen to it yourself and, as you undoubtedly will, back me up. Magick? Les Klaxons? Qui?

#7 - The Just Joans - Bellshill Station
One would think that Glasvegas would top anybody's "Most Scottish Band of the Year 08" poll, but not mine; The Just Joans douse them in Buckie and deep-fry them out of that particular rhetorical device. I'm assured that "Bellshill Station" was released in 2008-but their LP sold out completely, their myspace makes no mention of it, and the only youtube video I can find is a live version, so you'll just have to listen to that and ask for my copy of the mp3 - its well worth it. Roll on the 18th of Dec at the Twisted Wheel.

#8 - Sigur Rós - Gobbledigook
I'll confess straight away - Sigur Rós are my favourite band. Which was why, on first hearing this, I was not overly impressed. It doesn't sound like Sigur Rós. Where was the ethereality (a word?), the soundscape, the gradual build? However, "Gobbledigook" has grown on me immeasurably, and in doing so, has only further cemented the Rós' position in the Mike Wood pecking order. It's a response, a reply to those who derided our favourite Icelanders for playing safe on previous records; and a superb song in its own right. Also, when ending gigs with it, about ten grand's worth of confetti falls from the roof, and you'll never hear me complain about confetti.

#9 - Vampire Weekend - Ottoman
I've tried - at great length - not to gush about Vampire Weekend. Its hard. I've tried to describe them, but again, it difficult to categorise their output; "upper west side Soweto" in the words of the band, "the whitest band in the world" says a fellow blogger (if anyone else knows where I read that, do get in touch...), myself? I've taken to describing them in terms of my first meeting with their music - stood in the pouring rain in Arras, with 40,000 uninterested French people, desperately trying to get them to show some interest in the wonders taking place on stage. Indescribable then, but I feel obliged to try. "Ottoman" itself is probably not their best song. Its merely what I'm loving at the moment. I had the "Bryn" phase, the "Mansard Roof" phase; in fact, pretty much every track on the album has a corresponding phase. Needless to say, I could go on, but I think you get the drift.

#10 - Los Campesinos! - Death To Los Campesinos!
Los Campesinos! are a band I should hate. I hate pretty much everyone else I know who likes them. The lead singer's voice is, by all accounts, hugely irritating. They're hideously uncool, at least in circles where coolness isn't measured by "pin-the-tache-on-Nick-Cave" contests. Yet LC! are infectious, joyous, and, if their Leeds Fest set is anything to go by, riotous. Moshing to a band with violins is not on. Neither is making your own "YOU!ME!DANCING!" banner. Neither then, is liking Los Campesinos! then, as these are the irrational things they inspire in me, and never more than during their stand out track, "Death To Los Campesinos!".

That's it then. It's late. I'm going to bed. Doubtless I'll be back :)

p.s. There is a provisional #11 spot allocated for the inevitable Diana Vickers winning single, which doubtless I'll greatly enjoy watching. Listening, I mean listening...