Monday, July 22, 2013

The World's End (Film)



Six years have passed since “Hot Fuzz” and Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright have all enjoyed a variety of different successes since then. One might be fearful that the international fame would compromise the quality of the third instalment in the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, or that too much time has passed since the three last worked together. Fortunately such fears are unfounded, as “The World’s End” is a highly entertaining, well-paced sci-fi action comedy, which fittingly rounds off the Cornetto Trilogy.

Whilst the previous two films within the trilogy had a sense of ensemble to them, they were largely built around Pegg and Frost, “The World’s End” still has those two at the centre but the ensemble is given more of a chance to shine throughout. The basic premise of the film revolves around a group of five friends reuniting twenty years after leaving school in order to complete the Golden Mile pub crawl in their old home town, which they’d been unable to finish back in the day. This conquest is interrupted by an alien invasion, yet the group are determined to finish what they started.

Simon Pegg plays the protagonist Gary King, and is on fine form rattling off quick-fire dialogue as the boozed-up man-child, constantly earning the ire of his companions, yet is far too entertaining to ever be unlikable. The rest of the group all act as suitable foils to their eccentric leader, having all moved on from their adolescence long ago, whilst he never did. The early scenes in which Gary ropes in the other members of the gang are all highly entertaining, and do a fine job of establishing a believable history between these characters. 

Everyone brings something to the table here, there is no dead weight within the main cast; Eddie Marsan, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine and Nick Frost all have roles to play within the narrative, and they have very strong chemistry as a group. Rosamund Pike also has an important part within the film, beyond simply being the token woman within a heavily male ensemble. I actually became really invested in the pub crawl aspect of the story, prior to the alien invasion, and in many ways would have been fine just watching this group argue their way through twelve different pubs.

Some of the established conventions within the trilogy continue here, such as the fast editing style used for scene transitions, and also the use of foreshadowing in the early scenes. There are also plenty of recurring gags and subtle nods to the previous films, which are well integrated as opposed to feeling awkwardly crow-bared in. The jokes come thick and fast as well, which means that these throwbacks only make up a small fraction of the humour. The Cornetto-joke comes in a different form than what audiences have come to expect, but it is creatively done. 

There are also appearances from a variety of familiar faces who had appeared in one or both of the previous films, and another former-Bond actor (not Timothy Dalton this time) puts in an appearance. 

Overall I found “The World’s End” to be a highly enjoyable film, one that I’d be more than willing to re-watch. If this ends up being the last film made by the Wright-Pegg-Frost trio, then they have gone out on a high.

Show Me The Wonder (Single) - Manic Street Preachers



The first official single from the Manics’ forthcoming eleventh studio album is now available, and just like the previously released non-single ‘Rewind The Film’ (feat. Richard Hawley) it showcases a different musical direction for the Welsh trio. Both tracks dispense with the heavy electric guitar which has been particularly prevalent on their most recent albums – evident on singles such as ‘(It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love’, ‘Jackie Collins Existential Question Time’, ‘Your Love Alone Is Not Enough’ – and instead creating a more atmospheric and thoughtful sound. 

‘Show Me The Wonder’ replaces the electric guitar with trumpets and horns, an instrument previously used on the group’s 2001 single ‘Ocean Spray’, although here the tone is significantly more upbeat. The electric guitar’s absence is certainly felt, Nicky Wire stated in an interview that he thought the track might be the first ever single from the band to not feature James’ guitar. As the first verse progresses with James Dean Bradfield’s vocals over a drum beat it almost sounds as though the electric guitar sound has been lifted out in the studio. 

Such a notable change allows the single to take on its own identity, and is less comparable to previous singles as a result. With that said, the track doesn’t feel entirely new, and there is certainly a feeling of familiarity about the way it sounds. The trumpet and horns sections in the chorus especially (as well as the later verses when they truly take centre stage) elevate the tone of the track. This combined with the upbeat nature and simple structure could very well gain a lot of radio exposure, and as such it makes sense for this to be the lead single. Hopefully the band’s dedicated fans will not be put off by the more acoustic feel of these new tracks.

The horns sections, along with the occasional acoustic guitar picking riffs remind me of ‘Waterfall’ (from James’ 2008 album “Hey Ma”) as well as R.E.M.’s ‘Uberlin’ (from “Collapse Into Now”). Both of those tracks came from band’s that were also quite far into their careers, with their sounds firmly established. The Manics have pretty much done it all by now, “Journal For Plague Lovers” would have satisfied the lovers of their earlier, angrier work, and “Postcards From A Young Man” was their “last shot at mass communication”. With such albums already under their belts “Rewind The Film” can be whatever the band wants it to be, and the tracks released so far seem to demonstrate that.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Walking Dead - Season Four: Trailer



The fourth season of The Walking Dead is now just a couple of months away, and there is now an action packed trailer to satisfy fans of the show, as well as open up speculation concerning what the hell is going to happen next.

I will say first of all that I am a fan of the show who has not read the comic books, therefore any speculation that I make is based only on what the trailer appears to show. 

The finale to the third season saw Rick Grimes’ band of survivors take a whole new community of Woodbury’s citizens into their prison stronghold. If the show’s history is anything to go by I imagine that the majority of these new (expendable) characters will not last very long once the new season begins. I could be wrong about this, but generally the main characters are safe as long as there is a wall of nameless faces to shield behind; when a horde of walkers descends and there aren’t any expendable characters around to take the hit, it is usually a sign that business is about to get serious!

The trailer opens with a group of the survivors preparing to gather supplies from a store. They are shown to be operating efficiently as a unit, lead by Daryl (everyone’s favourite character, surely). There is a moment of bonding between Tyreese and Sasha, in which she demonstrates some keen leadership skills. This bond between the two siblings doesn’t exactly bode well for their characters, as the show has a habit of shattering the status quo within character relationships.

There is an appearance from a new character: Bob Stookey, played by Larry Gilliard Jr. who fans of The Wire will recognise as D’Angelo Barksdale. He is now the second Wire-Alumni to join the cast of The Walking Dead (the first being Chad Coleman, AKA Tyreese). The two never crossed paths on The Wire but in this trailer they are seen sharing scenes together, which should be fun. Bob declares that he wants to “earn [his] keep” and I’m hoping that he genuinely means it, even though the music in the trailer takes on an ominous tone when he says it.

The group are still holding out at the prison, but the trailer seems to suggest that they won’t be there for much longer. After several attacks in the previous season, the once seemingly-impenetrable fortress doesn’t seem like such a safe place to hole up. Carol is seen giving a damage control report to Daryl, Rick is seen desperately attempting to hold up a collapsing chain-link fence, and there are several shots of walkers inside the cell blocks. The verdict is not announced here, but it’s surely only a matter of time before the group leaves the prison for new surroundings.

There are several shots of the survivors looking grief-stricken or shocked, which could literally be in response to anything from a major character death, to a massacre of ‘red-shirt’ characters. One such shot is of Tyreese, and the trailer lingers on this for slightly longer than the others. Could this mean an early exit for Sasha? Only time will tell.

Hershel gives several speeches during the trailer, which certainly illustrate that the stakes have been raised. Things are getting pretty dire for the survivors, and something as simple as taking a drink of water is now supposedly enough to put one’s life at risk. Speaking of Hershel, there are several shots in which he appears to have grown a new leg. This may just be something that needs to be rendered in during post-production, but if he has been able to re-grow his leg then perhaps things aren’t quite so dire for the survivors after all!

There is no sight of The Governor in this trailer, but the threat of his character is still very much present. Several characters declare that the prison has been deliberately assaulted, and Hershel states that during an attack two of their group were killed in cold blood. These could be Governor-related or perhaps just red herrings. David Morrissey is set to return in this upcoming season, but the circumstances of his return are being kept a secret. This should add an extra layer of intrigue to the new season.

At some point in the upcoming season there will be a scene involving Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese and Bob, trapped in a car that becomes surrounded by walkers. Several snippets of this scene are shown, and one particular moment stands out: Tyreese facing insurmountable odds as he’s surrounded on all sides by walkers and attempts to fight them off single handed. At the end of the trailer this same group are seen driving along when a mysterious message plays on the radio, with the word “sanctuary” being decipherable. Whether this scene will occur before or after the car gets overrun by walkers, will remain to be seen.

One final point, I was surprised by how this trailer didn’t show a lot of Rick, instead opting to showcase various other characters a lot more prominently. Rick certainly has his fair share of appearances, but he isn’t placed at the centre of things this time around. This might not actually mean anything, but I did think that it was worth mentioning at least. Maybe Rick will take a less prominent role this season, or perhaps the trailer just didn’t show many of his scenes.

Overall this trailer has got me excited for the next season of The Walking Dead, which is exactly what a trailer should do. I’ll hopefully be able to start writing weekly reviews for the new season once it begins.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Titus Andronicus - Theatre Review



As soon as I found out that the RSC’s current season included a production of Titus Andronicus, I knew that I wanted to see it. I don’t get to see RSC productions as often as I’d like, but the rare nature of a production of Titus Andronicus was one I did not want to miss out on. 

Before the show begins the stage is occupied with the corpses of three of Titus’ sons, being prepared for burial. The battle-weary Titus – compellingly played by Stephen Boxer – then appears, along with his son Mutius, to silently bid farewell to his dead sons. This wordless scene was well handled, as it allowed for a bond to be established between Titus and Mutius, which is something the text does not provide. It was also very thought provoking as Titus gave a half-hearted military salute after paying his respects, which drove me to think about the effect that the deaths of one’s sons would have upon one’s faith in a greater cause: at this stage Titus has lost nearly twenty sons in his servitude of Rome.

The opening scene unfolds at a fast pace, and does a great job of making sense of the manic nature of the plot. Katy Stephens manages to make Tamora’s motivation for revenge against Titus completely sympathetic, through an anguished cry upon the execution of her eldest son. The unflinching manner with which Titus murders his own son Mutius is almost enough to depict him as the villain of the piece, but such is the nature of the play, and the motivations for revenge will drive the audience into switching sides as the narrative continues to unfold.

The design of the production combines traditional (albeit extravagant) dress, with much more modern styles. There is a fascinating image when Titus’ sons stand together in full battledress with swords in hand, facing off against roman guards dressed in riot-squad uniforms and wielding truncheons and plastic shields. For most of Shakespeare’s plays this type of eccentric design wouldn’t work, but for a play as mad as Titus Andronicus it works. 

Director Michael Fentiman gets the tone of the play right, knowing when to go serious, when to play for laughs, and when to showcase the madness of the story. If the production was entirely serious then it would be too horrific and depressing for audiences to handle, but there are enough tell-tale signs in the text that ‘serious’ is not the tone to go for. The most obvious sign being the fact that the story becomes completely ridiculous around the point when Titus cuts off his hand as ransom for his sons safe return, only to receive their decapitated heads moments later. If this isn’t enough of an indication, then Titus bursting into laughter and conferring with his sons heads (which is hilariously done in this production) should remove any doubt. This doesn’t mean that the production is devoid of drama, far from it, but it knows what tone to go for and when to flick the switch. The resultant piece is engaging and compelling throughout its two hour forty-five minute running time.

The production takes advantage of the gory nature of the story, and with it creates spectacle. Blood is used sparingly in the early stages, but this allows later scenes to use excessive blood to a greater effect. The deaths of Chiron and Demetrius are very impressive, Titus’ removal of his hand (with a hacksaw) was done in full view of the audience, and the finale was so visually impressive it would be worth re-watching the entire show just to see that scene again.

Stephen Boxer and Katy Stephens – who I’d previously seen playing leading roles in Taming Of The Shrew and As You Like It, respectively – are both on top form, bringing forth the humour and insanity of their roles. John Hopkins does a very good job as the ineffectual ruler Saturninus, confident yet insecure; and Matthew Needham brings enough strength to his portrayal of Lucius (one of the more ‘normal’ characters in the story) that he remains interesting and doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. 

For me the standout performance goes to Kevin Harvey as Aaron. Always an engaging presence whenever he took to the stage. Every monologue is delivered like poetry, and the character remains calm and unflinching almost throughout. His mere presence in scenes with Chiron and Demetrius is enough to undermine the pettiness and immaturity of their motivations and attitudes. The calm nature of his portrayal means that when he finally shows his fiercer nature over the protection of his son, it is completely convincing. I hope to see him in more shows after this.

I mentioned before that the show made use of scenes without any dialogue to great effect, and the final image before the lights go down takes full advantage of this, one that is certain to leave a lasting impression.

This show is running until 26th October, and I would recommend it to anyone who happens to be around Stratford before that time. If I get the chance, I’ll see it again!

Rewind The Film (Single) - Manic Street Preachers



I haven’t been keeping up to date with the Manic Street Preachers for quite some time, mainly because their last full studio album “Postcards From A Young Man” back in 2010, was accompanied with claims that the band would be going on hiatus for a while. This claim was further justified by the release of the retrospective collection “National Treasures – Complete Singles” a year later. It was quite surprising therefore to suddenly discover that not only was there a new album in the works, but its release date was not far off.

“Postcards From A Young Man” included guest appearances on several tracks, from artists like John Cale and Ian McCulloch. That trend seems set to continue on this album, and this track (not actually a single) features Richard Hawley. Hawley is no stranger to making guest appearances on other band’s albums, having lent his distinctive baritone vocals and guitar playing style to ‘The Fix’ on Elbow’s “The Seldom Seen Kid”, but I have to say I was surprised by just how heavily featured he is on this track. One might almost be mistaken for thinking this was actually a Richard Hawley single, with a guest appearance from the Manic Street Preachers!

James Dean Bradfield doesn’t appear on this track until about half way through, but when he does the Welshman’s vocals erupt triumphantly from the depth of Hawley’s much lower vocal tone, making the wait seem worthwhile. Bradfield’s rare vocal appearances are also accompanied by a string section, which elevates the shift in vocal tones even further. 

The track is deliberately paced, taking its time at over six minutes in length, but there is enough variety in the instrumentation that the lengthy running time doesn’t feel laboured. Both the band and Hawley are given time to shine, and on the rare moments when the two vocalists sing together, their voices blend really well. 

The general tone set by this track is much more atmospheric and acoustically driven, as opposed to being more rock-oriented. The upcoming album has taken elements of its predecessor, but the band is no longer pursuing a sound as commercially accessible, which should result in something entirely different. At this stage in their career the band are pretty much free to make whatever kind of record they want.

The first proper single ‘Show Me The Wonder’ is due out in September, and should give further indication of what can be expected from the upcoming album.