Keep It Fresh

I’ve been trying to figure out an angle as to how I should write this piece for a few days. I’ve struggled. However, I want to get some word out about VBS because I really am a fan of it and this blog is about sharing new discoveries and things that interest that hopefully interest the readers.

VBS is an internet television station from Vice (as in Vice Magazine). Given that it’s Vice and it’s the internet rather than main stream TV, VBS does things a little differently.
The shows are a lot more real and honest. They do have a few funny and light hearted pieces but some of the shows are really shocking and provocative. The Vice guide to Travel which was originally a feature length documentary is now split up and is something that really should be watched. I don’t really want to get into critiquing shows but my recommendations are below. The best thing to do is to really have a look at the site and find out what you like yourself.

www.vbs.tv
Thumbs Up! - my favourite show.
Vice Guide to Travel - check this out too.

And for something really fucked up that you will never see on mainstream television (or TV at all really: This! *You really shouldn’t watch this if you’re sensitive about animals or probably if you’re in anyway squeamish but it’s real. It’s the second part of a segment from the Vice Guide to Travel show - which is actually a feature length documentary.

- Kieran

amazing…

from the artists/filmmakers: “it’s a short stop motion film. there is no digital image manipulation in it! everything you see has really been wheatpasted!”

thanks to the wooster collective 

I enjoyed the TV series (it ran for 4 seasons so someone must have liked it) but my god I can’t believe how bad the film is. If you’ve seen the trailer that really is about as funny as the film gets. Some interesting cast cameos put a smile on your face with some mild laughs throughout but sometimes I found myself laughing because I felt I had too. With one of the film’s biggest laughs ruined by the trailer the film come to a miserable flop of an ending. I haven’t seen a film this bad in a long time. The leap from 20 minute episode to feature film has gone so wrong here I’m really starting to question the fate of the up coming Simpsons feature.

On Friday night I entered the Fast Forward Film Festival which has resulted in me sleeping for the last 14 hours. I’ve loved every minute of it. The basic idea behind the festival is that bunch of crazy people get together at 5pm on Friday, are given a few basic briefs and then have 24 hours to write, produce, shoot and edit a three minute film. There were 15 films submitted in total which ranged from the hilarious to the totally bizarre. For anybody who’s ever worked in film you’ll know that putting a film together in 24 hours is no mean feat. All the entries were screened last night at The Back Loft and I was really impressed at the overall quality. Nobody is gonna put together a fully polished film in 24hrs put you can have alot of craic trying. You can see the fruits of our labour by clicking the link below. Major thanks to everyone involved. Look out for the directors cut soon! There’s a few odd bits in the film (well the whole thing is odd) as certain things had to be included in the film as part of our brief…like a lock of hair for example.

*** WARNING: This film contains a semi-naked me ***

Fast Forward Film - The Breakout

Okay both films that have been out for a while and both films that I wanted to see upon their initial release but you know how it is? Between one thing and another you just don’t get to see what you really want to see and end up spending 12 yos on an impulse trip to the cinema and end up sitting through a pile of crap. Anywho, I rented these two last night for a bit of a double feature (look I know I’m a film buff). It was money well spent.

16 Blocks

From Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner comes 16 Blocks. “An aging cop (Bruce Willis) is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness (Mos Def) from police custody to a courthouse. There are however forces at work trying to stop prevent them from making it.” If Willis wants to continue acting into his older years then these are the kinds of roles he needs to taking (not Die Hard 4!). Def impressed me in ‘The Hitchhickers Guide To The Galaxy‘ and complete won me over as the ‘theif with a golden heart’. The script is engaging and intelligent and reminded me of the likes of ‘Inside Man‘, ‘Phone Booth‘ or TVs ‘24′. Donner knows how to shoot an action film well so this coupled with good acting and an intelligent script makes 16 Blocks a popcorn muncher worth watching.

(check here if you like Google Earth. They’ve mapped the actual route taken in the film with movie clips as tags. May contain spoilers)

Brick

Since leaving TV Joseph Gordon Levitt has in my opinion hit gold with his recent film roles. Firstly playing a teenage hustler in the highly recommended and very intense ‘Mysterious Skin‘, and again in 2005’s Brick. Brick had me interestedfrom the get go, with unique teaser posters, winner of the Sundance Special Jury Award and the word’s ‘film noir set in a high school’ floating around it. But of course I never caught it’s limited cinema run and now wish I had made good on my resolve to check it out sooner. The plot is typical of film noir, with our main character following lead after lead each one bringing up more questions. Levitt plays teenage loner Brendan, who beings to delve into the underworld of a high school crime syndicate after discovering the body of his ex-girlfriend. With excellent performances all around from a fairly young and fresh cast, Brick pins you to your seat from beginning to end. Beautifully and simply shot and with an ending to rival that of ‘Lost In Translation‘, Brick is a sure fire cult classic. I will be buying the DVD.

Side Note: This pretty much sums up my day.

Okay so I know this is technically a ‘music blog’ but I cant help it if the odd movie post creeps in. Yesterday myself and a mate from work had an unofficial ‘manly day of manly things’. We we’re both on delivery shift (6.45am start) so hit McDonalds for breakfast. Mickey D’s has already put a double egg McMuffin on the menu (thats two sausage burgers and egg McMuffin in a bun) but we had always found that it just wasn’t enough…so we asked if theyd slap us up a triple. After a breif pause and some clarifcation on what exactly we wanted the meal was created for on 70 cent extra. We even got kudos from the boys in the kitchen. The triple egg mcmuffin come highly recommended.

To continue all things manly we decided to hit Miami Vice after work. I have been majorly looking forward to this flick and I’m happy to report that it delivers. Continue reading ‘Miami Vice and other manly things’

I like movies. I like music. I VW vans. So when they all come together in the form of Little Miss Sunshine it gives me a film to really look forward to (the last one was Miami Vice…thats out Thursday and it better deliver!). The stoyline is simple, a family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. The trailer is promising and it did well at Sundance, with the film taking the form of a sort of ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’,’ Garden State’ and ‘The Squid and The Whale’ mash up. This can only be a good thing. Problem is I have no idea what sort of Irish release its getting.
The soundtrack was composed by DeVotchKa, a group I had never heard of until now and the music is absolutly fantastic (the fact that only three tracks on the soundtrack are not by DeVotchka and two of them are Sufjan Stevens songs, gives you some idea of what to expect from DeVotchka).

The film also stars Steve Carrell. I like him too.

Watch trailer.

Buy soundtrack.

Listen to DeVotchKa - How It Ends