August 2010

Hmmm, I need to update more often. It's been August for a loooong time and I want to say I've been busy, and I have, but not too busy for this.

Life isn't hectic, actually it's kinda sedate. I could brag about results but I shall not, I could talk about personal matters but again shall not. Instead I'm just going to say I'm going to Reading Festival this weekend which should be a lot of fun. Lot's of great bands.

Then I shall recommend a lot of albums that have been awesome this year:

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Beach House - Teen Dream

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles II

Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (personal favourite)

Frightened Rabbit - Winter of Mixed Drinks

Gorillaz -Plastic Beach

Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid

LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring

The National - High Violet (personal favourite)

Sleigh Bells - Treats (personal favourite)

Spoon - Transference

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway

I know this isn't a normal monthly post, but I kind of wanted to get my first half of the year album post out of the way (even though it is now slightly over half the year).

Apologies for not updating more often but ahh well all the Chinese spam is what keeps me going. Spambots you guys rock!

Of Lost Season 6

I've been sat on this post for months. I've gone through my head about how I'm going to put my feelings about Lost Season 6 down. Was it Lost's best season? No, that stands as either Season 1 or 4. Was it good? Of course, great even. I even stand by the finale as being on the best episodes the show has produced. Sure so many questions are left open but I found myself completely un-caring. The character and emotional story overrode all annoyance over the mystery. I still find myself not caring why Walt's powers were never explained. Why Libby was important and so many small inconsequential things. The End will make my favourite episodes of television this year, as may Ab Aeterno and a few others. But the reason why I can't put my thoughts down is because Lost is over. I've spent 5 years (not 6 due to differences in the UK and US) following and adoring the work of Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and now I don't know if I'm quite ready to let go.

Lost is probably the most important piece of fictional work that I'll ever experience. Before Lost I was a gamer but then Lost opened me to so much more. I'd have never gotten into movies, comic books, books, music and most important of all television had it not been for television show. I read Watchmen because of Lost. I read The Stand because of Lost. I listened to some of my favourite albums ever because of Lost. I watched Veronica Mars and the Wire because of Lost. Not all of the direct links but the world online which Lost opened me up to was so vast that I've coasted along watching and experiencing so much. Actors works, blogs critiquing Lost, music inspired by Lost. Lost was a gateway drug to what has become my entire life.

To me Lost is by far the most important piece of popular culture ever conceived. To me.

Lost isn't perfect. There are too many narrative dead ends (the Temple), characters been underused (Frank), characters having no reason for existence (Nikki and Paulo (no matter how good Expose was), Bai Ling) and ultimately the flash sideways universe probably not playing as well on second viewing (particularly those before Desmond makes his triumphant return). But that's ignoring what Lost did so well. So many perfectly crafted characters from Locke, Ben, Desmond, Richard, Daniel, Mr. Eko, Sawyer, Juliet, Hurley and Jack. It gave us 'Not Penny's Boat', Flashfowards, flashbacks, new otherton, Sayid being generally awesome, Sawyer's nicknames, the smokemonster, Jacob, hatches and buttons and mind blowing plot twists. Also it gave us The Constant. Never has there been a more perfectly crafted episode of television (apart from maybe Lost's very own Through The Looking Glass).

So far this hasn't been much about Lost season 6, but the show overall. I apologise but now it's over I can't talk about this single season on it's own. Lost is longform narrative pure and simple, each season benefits from the preceding season. Sadly the nature of television means that it's impossible for Lost to be perfect, actors aren't available, budget, strikes etc. But the achievement of Lost is that despite all of these problems it was still insanely watchable, addictive, well crafted, well written, well acted. Lost is an anomaly in television. It's success will never be repeated and what it did should never be tried again. It needs to stay as it is. Would I like if Lost could have been made exactly as Damon and Carlton had envisioned? No constraints? Of course, but sometimes it was the idiosyncratic that made Lost so enjoyable.

Lost has it's place in my heart as being the piece of work that has defined my teenage years. That's a place that can never be taken by anything. I can't wait for this final epilogue on the DVD. I can't wait to see what the actors go onto do. I especially can't wait to see what Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse do. I'll be following Jack Bender and Michael Giacchino. I cannot overstate how much I love and adore this show. Maybe I'm a fanboy but Lost in many ways was my first love. The emotions its made me feel. Pure joy, sadness, excitement, tension.

But Season 6 then? It isn't perfect. The flashsideways would have benefited from Desmond coming in earlier on, the temple whilst necessary due to fan anticipation amounted to little more than a detour, the lack of answers to some questions will of course be frustrating. And the flashsideways probably won't play out as well on second viewing. But who gives a fuck?

Season 6 was all about the memories. Getting all our favourites back (particularly the spectacular and heartbreaking finale), giving a satisfying conclusion to the island story. It was a season where Jack finally became the true hero (and to a lesser extent chose Kate). The smoke monster became a main character. We found out who Richard was. Claire and her squirrel baby. Lapidus and his shirt. The Black Rock blew up. Ben finally got his revenge of Charles Widmore. Sawyer mourned the death of his true love. Desmond actually got his happy ending. Hurley proved how irreplaceably awesome he was. Jin, Sun and Sayid died within 10 mintues of each other. And so much more.

Then there was the finale. That perfect finale Everyone came back (minus a few notables) and we got the heart felt goodbye. One of the series most important lines was subverted, changing from 'Live Toghether, Die Alone' to 'Live Together, Die Together'. The finale was an encompassing of everything that made the show great, the characters. Everyone got their moment to say goodbye, and I was reduced to tears multiple times (Claire giving birth, Sun/Jin realising, Sawyer and Juliet, Jack's death). Even the controversial ending was perfect in tone. Then there was the mirroring of the series first ever scene as Jack lay dying in the bamboo he woke up in six years ago. Those final seconds were a perfect farewell to the show I loved for my teen years. I don't think anything will top the feeling I had being sat in my living room at 8 in the morning watch Lost end in such a cathartic way.

Lost was an irreplaceable force in my life. Whilst Lost Season 6 'only' gets a 9/10 the show overall merits a complete 10/10 for sheer personal and emotional resonance. Nothing I view will hold me, engage me in the same way. But at least I was able to experience it as happening and I'm deeply jealous of those who will be embarking on the Lost journey in the future because they might experience one of the greatest achievements in entertainment history with fresh eyes.

'See you in another life Brother' - Desmond Hume

Of Breaking Bad Season 3

Last year I put Breaking Bad at number 2 in my best shows of the year. In some ways that may have been one place too low. This year, unless Mad Men has a breathtaking season (which to be honest is still highly likely) Breaking Bad is the best show I'm going to see all year. Season 3 may have been better than Season 2 in terms of just about everything. And since Breaking Bad Season 2 was no slouch that's saying something.

After the somewhat controversial end to Season 2, Breaking Bad came back with a string of slower more meditatively paced episodes to bring us back, Walt is still reeling from guilt and wanting to leave the drug business and Jesse still recovering from addiction and the death of Jane. Jesse decides that he is fundamentally evil and Walt wants to still believe he's a force for good. Whilst putting these two at loggerheads may not seem the best way, it lead to some incredible moments such as Walt's criticism of Jesse's cooking style and of course the scene in the 'Fly' where Walt almost admits to his role in Jane's death.

Of course I can wax lyrical about how fucking incredible both Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are on this show but if you don't know that these two can own any scene their in you clearly don't watch the show (in which case FUCKING GO!). But Season 3 gave us a lot more depth to the other characters. Hank got a showcase in the seasons early episodes leading to the sublime 'One Minute'. This episode is by far one of the greatest hours of television I've ever watched. Aaron Paul owns the shit out of every scene in the hospital all leading to the concluding scene in the parking lot with Hank. It is by far the tensest I've been watching anything since 'No Country for Old Men' in 2007. Even Skylar gets her own depth having to deal with divorcing Walt as well as slowly being pulled into the drug world. She shows herself to be just as cunning as Walt showing maybe that these two were meant for each other more than originally expected.

Of course, if you can't tell the meditative pace of the early episodes soon gets burned away and we go from one explosive moment to the next. Walt of course goes back to drugs (working now for Gus who is another character that chews the scenery) and shit goes down. Breaking Bad is a tower of cards on the constant verge of collapsing and Vince Giligan makes everything feel like it could explode at any second.

I'm trying to say so much about Breaking Bad without delving into too many specifics which I've already failed at). Just know Breaking Bad is television at it's best and needs to be viewed by as many people as possible. If you don't watch it you'll never see so many insane moments (including why I never want to get on the wrong side of Mike following the finale), monologues, amazing cinematography, great acting, writing and just about everything else.

Overall if you aren't watching Breaking Bad you owe it to yourself to do so. It's the best show currently airing. Quite often tense, very often hilarious, dramatic, heartbreaking. The hyperbole I could spout about this show is never ending. As good as you think you're favourite show is, Breaking Bad is better no question. After a spellbindingly good Season 2, Breaking Bad continued on an upward streak, making Season 3 one of the greatest seasons of television ever. Now I just need to sit and wait till fucking next July to find out what happens next to Walt and Jesse.

10/10

Of July 2010

Well what do you know I'm late once again...

Apologies, pretty much all my past week has been spent celebrating the fact that I've broken up and finished with all my friends at various gatherings. Now I'm into the idea that I'm going away this Sunday for 10 days, should still have access to the internet.

I'll be starting drafts of my blog posts today and will then set them up to maybe post whilst I'm away. We'll see how that goes anyways.

This month has a ton of awesome films coming out, mostly in the form of Toy Story 3 and Inception. Also planned is a drunken trip to see Eclipse, should be interesting (I might even be able to live tweet if my iPhone arrives...)

Currently Listening to: Sleigh Bells - Treats, Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Currently Watching (TV): Justified Season 1

Of June 2010

Well it's still technically June, so it's not that late.

Apologies I haven't been blogging much. Exams whilst not getting on top of me kinda stopped me from blogging for a while. Since I finished almost two weeks ago though I've had no excuses other than the fact I've been having too much fun relaxing, listening to music and playing Assassin's Creed 2.

But now I come to rectify the issue!

I will be reviewing Supernatural, Lost, Chuck, Breaking Bad, Doctor Who, Glee, Sons of Anarchy and a whole host of comedy shows in he coming days. But I also have a small matter of leavers of socialising and drinking which may result in some posts being delayed a bit more. By the weekend they should all be up (I promise).

I always am toying with the idea of reviewing Assassin's Creed 2 (great, great game) as well as doing a post recommending Six Albums for the first Six Months of 2010. But we shall see.

Other that, I've finished my exams!!! Yayness. I've also managed to chip a cap off of my tooth and now I look like a complete chav. Should be getting it fixed in the next few days (hopefully before leavers as I do not want to have that remembered for me looking like a boxer).

Well see you in about 2 days for the July post (unless I'm late then as well).

Currently Listening to: Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

Of Iron Man 2

Well this is late....apologies, more about why in my next blog post.



So Iron Man 2. It takes place a few months after the first film and deals with Tony Stark having just revealed that he is Iron Man to the entire world. So this being an Iron Man film we get plenty of weapon contracts, government involvement and a corporations are dicks message. Really you aren't going to see this film for the plot. It's to watch Robert Downey Jr. play a suave and slightly douchey yet ever hilarious playboy. And giant robots beating the shit out of each other.

Iron Man 2 delivers in spades on one of those and the other, whilst present is neglected a little bit. Iron Man 2 is bigger in every way than the first film and whilst this helps the actions scenes immensely, it takes away some of the spark of what made the first film great. Iron Man 2 isn't bad, but when the first Iron Man so fun and witty and didn't need to rely on huge action set-pieces, it feels a bit out of place this movie improves a weak area of the first film at the neglect of what was working in the first place.

Robert Downey Jr. is still Tony Stark but because the world has increased in scope, he gets slightly less screen time. Luckily the likes of Sam Rockwell (proving he makes all films better by just being in them) and Mickey Rourke are able to shoulder scenes without Downey being in them. But the movie doesn't just rely on those three actors, and whilst no one else is 'bad' you do wish that we'd go back to the others. Even when Tony Stark is embroiled in the Shield parts of the film, which are only there to build mythology for the Avengers movie, he still shines.

I don't want to be too overly critical of this film. The humour is still there, the action is very well done. The balance and tone are great, far better than the shit heap that is Transformers 2. But it lacks a spark of what made the first film rank up there with Dark Knight and Spiderman 2 as truly great comic book films. Maybe it's trying to pack in technically two franchises into one with set-up for Avengers as well as dealing with plot lines from this own franchise. Or maybe a distinct lack in movement of this franchise. I would have loved to be building towards the Armor Wars or the Demon in a Bottle storylines but there didn't seem to be much expansion beyond what we found in the first film. Maybe it's being left for Joss Whedon's Avengers film but I would like to see something set up for an Iron Man 3.

Overall Iron Man 2 is a very fun film. Great action, good acting, particularly Downey, Rockwell and Rourke (Cheadle wasn't brilliant though). Sadly the spark of what made Iron Man 1 a fantastic film has lessened a little bit. I'm still super excited for Thor, Captain America and The Avengers but my excitement for Iron Man 3 isn't burning as strongly as before. I'm sure in roads will be laid in the Avengers film but that movie is still 2 years away. Iron Man 2 could have been one of the greatest comic book movies ever (especially due to the normal comic book movie rules) but sadly it's been bogged down by trying to appeal to two different franchises. When it focuses on or the other it works a lot better, so lets hope Iron Man 3 will be free from the tethers of having to work within the time frame of The Avengers 2.

7.5/10

Of May 2010

Normally I try to multiple blog posts, but I guess I kinda fell behind this month. Probably something to do with the election and that I didn't anything overly interested (apart from see Iron Man 2 which I shall review!!!)

Well the election happened a few days ago and I think it's fair to say that it would be impossible to be happy with the result. But (to briefly go political) it does show how we need to use a Proportional Representation system. When a party gains almost 25% of the votes and yet only gains a sixth of the seats, then surely that shows that there is something severely wrong with the system.

But avoiding politics. We've hit sweeps!! In other words we're gearing up for finales and therefore almost every show will be ending. Supernatural bows out this Thursday so expect a review of Season 5 very soon. This will soon be followed by some sort of comedy show post, purely because I can't analyse comedy as well as drama. But stay tuned for a mini ranking of 2009/2010's best comedy shows.

Currently Listening to: LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening and The National - High Violet. Two of the best albums so far released in 2010
Currently Watching (TV): Party Down Season 2 Episode 3