herbiehancock

No 43 – The Big Lebowski Directors – Joel (and Ethan) Coen When I was a lad, Nu-Metal was all the rage; and though it tickles me to think of it now (as my musical tastes fall much more in to the twee and lo-fi bracket), at the time I would take great pleasure listening to the big, loud, discordant, screamy people. Besides the bands one might have listened to on Kerrang ! there were also the local bands of Oxfordshire . Namely, Centre Negative (too weird, even for me) and Coma Kai (who I quite liked). ‘But how does this fit into a whimsical sweary comedy about identity?’ I hear you ask… Well, when I bought the Coma Kai EP , the first track opened (after a prolonged Peter and the Wolf remix) with Walter’s insane shouting. “Do you see what happens Larry? Do you SEE what happens Larry? Do. You. SEE what happens when you FUCK a STRANGER in the ASS?” So those tenuous elements of my fifteen year-old life lead to my first aural dabble with The Big Lebowski . It ...

No 266 - Ghost World Director - Terry Zwigoff As comic book films become more popular and as every comic book ever becomes a film, it is only natural that the less usual comics become films too. However, I am surprised that this film made it so high up the list, and that the more exciting and daring types of films didn't get onto the list at all - I don't think this film is quite as good as American Splendour for example (though that may stem from a huge admiration of Paul Giamatti ). So, here we have a film which relishes in the fact that not much happens. A film about isolation and a film about growing up. A film, in which the protagonist is really really annoying. For whilst we may follow both Enid ( Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson ) - Rebecca kind of fades out of the equation and it is Enid who is the key character in this film. She is also a bit of a twat. The problem with Enid is that she believes herself to be better than everyone and her superiority ma...

No 198 - Fargo Directors - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen When a horror film states that the film is nothing more than 'found' footage, you kinda know that it isn't true. Cloverfield , Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project are all obviously not real. We know that; but is part of the story telling. It is part of the fun. However, when a film begins with a disclaimer that it is based on a true story - you kind of expect it to be at least partially based on a true story. I think it takes a certain ballsiness and a pretty weird sense of humour to put that in - and Fargo begins with a disclaimer stating that only the character's names have been changed. But then, the Coen brothers are ballsy people with a very odd sense of humour which is littered throughout this film, despite the dark subject matter. I mean in the closing credits, Prince is listed as having a cameo in the film. He doesn't. Beyond the really odd (and essentially nonsensical) additions before and a...

No 343 - Monsters Inc Director - Pete Docter (Co Director David Silverman ) I am a very vocal fan of Pixar and yet I feel I had criminally neglected this film. The last time I saw it was at the cinema. 9 years ago (cripes). So I sat down to watch it and I loved it. Probably loved it more now then I did then. - Now I admire not only the cracking story (which I'll discuss below) but also the amazing visuals. What I like about Pixar is that they constantly challenge themselves. Whether it is with the story telling side (can they make a silent movie about a lovable robot) or on the animation side of things. In the same way that Finding Nemo was a challenge to animate water, or A Bug's Life was about organic shapes - here the challenge was Fur. And in the example of Sulley they manage it beautifully. I'll chat about the characters later. Lets begin with the story. It continues the Pixar tradition of being all about story telling and cracking central concepts. This time it...