SUBMARINE

SUBMARINE is the new British coming-of-age comedy by Richard Ayoade (the guy from 'The IT Crowd, 'The Mighty Boosh' etc. The film follows slightly neurotic teenage Oliver Tate, as he goes about his day to day life trying to get the girl of his dreams, Jordana, whilst simultaneously trying to save his parents shaky marriage. Needles to say, this combo of dilemmas is a tricky one for Oliver to master and his attempts to solve both create a great parallel narrative drive.

But where SUBMARINE really succeeds is in it's stylisation, set pieces and casting. The fIlm is a visual treat, full of wonderfully playful and inventive set pieces and gags that deliver more than immediate aesthetic gratification, and end up resonating as genuine feeling for the (somewhat over stylised) awkward and quirky characters.

There's also a great soundtrack including some new original songs from Alex Turner (supplying some heavyweight crooners) that fit the overall ethos and style of the film perfectly.

A great film for anyone with a big imagination and who has ever been bewildered by what being in love is all about!

SUBMARINE was shown last night (for free) across the country at E4 and Picturehouses Slackers Club and gets a nation wide release on March 18th.

WERNER HERZOG AND WEIRDO THE ROOSTER

I'm currently reading this book:

Herzog on Herzog

Edited by Paul Cronin

In which Werner Herzog discusses at length and in great detail aspects of his life, career and films. Full of astounding and remarkable stories and insights from a man who is a true genius of the film medium.

This is a great little tale from Herzog:

Years ago I was searching for the biggest rooster I could find and heard about a guy in Petaluma, California, who had owned a rooster called Weirdo that weighed thirty pounds. Sadly Weirdo had passed away, but his offspring were alive, and guess what? They were even bigger. I went out there and found Ralph, son of Weirdo, who weighed an amazing thirty-two pounds! Then I found Frank, a special breed of miniature horse that stood less than two feet high. I told Frank's owner I wanted to film Ralph chasing Frank--- with a midget riding him--- around the biggest sequoia tree in the world, thirty metres in circumference. It would have been amazing because the horse and the midget together were still smaller than Ralph, the rooster. But unfortunately Frank's owner refused. He said it would make Frank look stupid.

-Werner Herzog

(above image has no connection to Werner Herzog or his work....as far as I know!)

TROLL 2 + BEST WORST MOVIE (via Picturehouse Culture Shock)

Troll 2 is one of those soooo bad it's actually amazing kind of films! It has, in some place, been called 'the undisputed worst film ever made"!

It's a typical horror tale of a nice family holidaying in small town nowhere to discover the place is full of some kind of man eating trolls (or goblins....)! And sure enough a series of bizarre, trashy, gross out and inadvertently hilarious scenes ensue! (There's a lot of green slim, midgets dressed as 'trolls', crude make up, faces of old men floating in the air, people turning into plants.....)

Written and directed by (possibly crazy) Italian b-movie maker Claudio Fragasso (went by the name 'Drake Floyd' for this production) and released in 1990, it was named named 'Troll 2' in an attempted to cash in on an earlier film called Troll to which Troll 2 has no production or narrative connection.

This only one aspect of the remarkable and haphazard production. More of which is bought to life in the documentary Best Worst Movie. Made 20 years later, it follows George Hardy, local dentist and star of Troll 2 as he finds out that the weird little film he was once involved has slowly gained a massive cult following in various pockets around the world.

Picturehouse Culture Shock have arranged a special late night double bill with both Troll 2 + Best Worst Movie to give you the full twisted experience of what makes certain films and going to the movies so weirdly special.

The double bill is taking place at the following Picturehouse Cinemas:

Cameo, Edinburgh - 5th March

Duke of York's, Brighton - 12th March

Picturehouse at FACT, Liverpool -15th March

Check out Culture Shock on facebook and for where/when you can see more insane and essential cinema.

EDINBURGH - FEBRUARY 2011

I went to Edinburgh. My first time there and first time in Scotland. It's a great place, you should go. Would have been good to be there longer, but I'm sure i'll head back soon...

Great city, great country, great scenery, great whiskey and great company...

Photos by Toby King

Boo Boo Kills Yogi Bear

There's a new Yogi Bear movie out. Mixing live action, the lastest CGI, Dan Akroyd, Justin Timberlake and a blonde actress who's been in things like Scary Movie but it's OK to like her because she was in Lost In Translation and it was ironic somehow.

....anyway, needless to say this new Yogi Bear film is awful looking and I imagine the whole movie is largely unwatchable. Shame, seeing as I have fond memories of the original Hanna-Barbera Yogi Bear cartoons.

But this parody of an alternate ending to the new movie nearly made me laugh and cry at the same time....

A mock up of the infamous legend of the assassination of Jesse James by Robert Ford. The clip even uses Nick Cave & Warren Ellis mesmerizing score from the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

"Don't that poster look dusty"

Thanks to Sam Cuthbert for alerting me to this and consistently keeping me amused, bewildered, confused and concerned at least three days a week! Follow him and his truly profound and essential musings on Twitter here twitter.com/#!/offthecuth. If you're lucky enough to live in or around Brixton, or you often frequent the Ritzy, then you can check out his ramblings in print form in their programme.

Here's one last piece of vital information from the original Yogi Bear himself...

according to sta-sta-stistics!...

MANENTINES DAY by Sam Hiscox & Jack Wells

It was Valentines Day earlier this week. Fuck that!

Sam and Jack figured different. It now and forever will be MANENTINES DAY!

These talented and troubling individuals are here NOW to show what really counts!

Deal with it! It's real!

MANENTINES!

X X X

HOWLIN' FOR YOU!

This trailer, looks amazing!

Howlin' For You

"She'll bang ya, but then she'll hang ya!"

After watching it a couple of times, I wondered why the whole song was in the trailer, and then why the trailer was over 3 minutes long? It was also weird that the song sounded like The Black Keys and those dudes crudely dressed as Mariachi's looked a bit like The Black Keys. So sure enough, this ain't no movie trailer, it's full music video for The Black lips track of the same name in the style of some killer looking action revenge flick!

I think I could handle a whole movie of this...

"I'm pretty sure God would consider it a sin NOT to glorify that ass!"

AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE

I intercepted two of my friends linking this trailer on facebook and now I can't wait to catch this documentary...

AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE

This is about the history of some of seedier, nastier elements of cinema....some say that Grindhosue and Exploitation movies are all but gone (for better or worse) from today's cinema but this doc could show how vital elements of these films still run rampant in the film industry today, and how some of the core themes and messages (if you want to call them that) have carried through to todays Hollywood blockbusters. This is the essential dirty side to all that is great a about cinema and the movies.

The movie has a great website too: www.americangrindhouse.com

Not sure of a UK release date yet, but it will surly find a home somewhere soon.

In the meantime, if this has whetted yor appetite then come down to the Duke of York's this Friday 18/02/2011 for a late night screening of Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse/Exploitation/Revenge/Action/Homage Mash up of MACHETE!

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Check this....

Loads of Big Hype (and an Oscar nomination) around this movie ANIMAL KINGDOM, about an Australian family and the deep criminal underwolrd of Melbourne. A massive win at last years Sundance festival is always a promising accolade to hold when heading into cinemas, and it has also been paralleled in comparison with (amongst other great films) Michael Mann's Heat...strong all round!

And that tune at the end of the trailer is EPIC!

The film is out everywhere 25th Feb

But if you are a Picturehouse Cinemas Member then you can get tickets for a FREE PREVIEW on Sunday 13th Feb.