Reviews from the Edge

Hello cruel world.

 I am again spending my Sunday, completing tasks for work. As it is too early to bring my bottle of wine into my office (when you have a husband who rarely drinks and a judgmental one-eyed rabbit in your midst), I will sedate myself from my boiling rage by stringing together some poorly written reviews for the interweb to ignore. 

The Magdalene Sisters (2002) 

The Magdalene Sisters is the story of four teenage girls sent to the Magdalene Asylum, a home for "fallen" women", condemned by their families for flirting with boys, getting pregnant, or being raped by your cousin. It is the type of film that as a semi-decent human being of the female variety, fills me with rage at the way women/human beings have been treated (and continue to be treated) in our history. I was raised in a roman catholic household and attended catholic school, I was also an altar server for many years at my local church, and I'm not ashamed to say I loved it. I loved it indeed until I was old enough to understand how we, as people, ruin religion through the very organisational structures and twisted perceptions we come to worship.

The reason I finally watched the film was thanks to my partner in crime, Mark and the necessary fulfillment of one of our many traditions  The tradition I speak of is watching torturous/painful movies together at his aunty's holiday home, lovingly referred to as "Utopia". It all began back in the early 00's when we watched The Accused and Requiem for a Dream. What had been a carefree night of dancing to La Bouche and wearing homemade "Papa Giuseppe  hates we cut out of the back of the cardboard pizza box, quickly turned into a night of screaming "trauma" in varying accents at the television screen.

While this particular viewing may have been influenced by the humour of our tradition and Mr "leave me out of this" Mark's disappointment that the film wasn't a documentary and then subsequent shock that filmmakers could find actresses which such awful teeth to fill the roles, it was nonetheless a much needed and heartbreaking reminder of our recent history.        
****1/2

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Lets be straight here, Baz Luhrmann's film adaptation of F.Scott Fitzgerald's novel is not for everyone. Most of the reviews, particularly coming from American critics were extremely harsh, citing a fundamental lack of 'understanding' of the story, replaced with a bombastic orgy of excess, CGI party scenes and the musical stylings of Jay Z and Lana Del Ray. If the thought of such treatment bestowed upon what many regard as a literary masterpiece sends a shiver down your spine, then I suggest you avoid this film like the plague.  If you're a Baz Luhrmann enthusiast (and I am one of them), sit back and prepare to embrace the spectacle of one of the few Australian auteur directors still making films in Australia with excellent actors. Leo DiCaprio may be the brightest star of the bunch, and he is extremely  charismatic as Gatsby, however I found the likes of Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Jason Clark, brought the most Luhrmannesque spark to their small roles. Much has been said about the performance of Tobey Maguire, most of it very unflattering and in my humble opinion unwarranted. The performance of Maguire as the wide-eyed narrator Nick Carraway is a solid one from a solid actor, sure it's not a great performance by a great actor, but he manages to convey the vulnerability and naivety required for the role well, and his longtime friendship with DiCaprio gives the two an instant chemistry on screen which anchors the film within the spectacle.
****

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (1985)
Helen Hunt is a badass  I never thought I'd make such a statement but that was my exact thought after the first 15 minutes of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, the tale of Janey (Sarah Jessica Parker) a new girl at school who befriends Lynne (Hunt) an 'out there' girl who shares her passion for dancing. The two girls compete for a spot on the hit television show "Dance TV" and along the way must tackle Janey's disapproving military dad, a classic 80's bitch and a blossoming romance with a feather haired fellow dancer. You might be asking, so why is this called "Girls just wanna have fun"? Well I presume it was just an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the song, it's not all fun and games, but the girls do dance and shop in a montage featuring the Cindi Lauper song that can best be described as the kind of clip that a talk show host would drag out of the vault to make the future "Carrie Bradshaw" cringe. OK so now that we have the title out of the way, you may also be asking, what am I doing watching this film? Well this is what happens when two best friends since primary school get together to watch a movie, eat pizza and slide on a polished floor with our socks on. It was great. 
**
Side note-The film is awarded an extra half star for this hat.....



and for featuring the only woman I would ever consider sleeping with....Shannen Doherty, 



But not in 1985, I'm talking circa 90's 



Documentary Sunday 

Over the last few years I have aimed to watch a documentary once a week, usually on a Sunday. Most of my doco Sunday's consist of watching slightly dodgy conspiracy theory films and/or  true crime stories (that's right....line up boys). I promise I will try and keep my review of such films to a minimum and focus on documentaries people might actually be watching. 

The Invisible War (2012)

An example of a good doco Sunday, I was so devastated by Kirby Dicks's 2012 film exploring the epidemic of sexual assault against women and men in the U.S military, that I did what any sane person would do, immediately force someone else to watch it. The film features interviews with veterans from all branches of the military and in some cases their loved ones. These interviews are inter-cut with talking heads from the military and "experts", as well as one family's journey to receive medical compensation for an injury obtained during a sexual assault and the lead up to a civil suit against the department of defense. While hearing the women and one man tell their stories is heartbreaking, an edited in a manner that creates a tension to the story without being overly manipulative, the real blows come from the film's exploration of the department of defense's "prevention program", as if pulled from our blame the victim headlines, the experts in charge of this program have long titles and no clue. When asked if they spend any of their time and sizable budget on addressing and preventing the behaviour of the perpetrators of sexual assaults, they simply stare vacantly at the screen and repeat their scripted description of "prevention methods". The final gut punch comes in the form the outcome of the civil suit, dismissed because 'rape is an occupational hazard of military service'. This is a film everyone should watch and discuss. 
*****


Exporting Raymond

An example of a not so good doco Sunday is my purchase of the DVD Exporting Raymond, which chronicles Raymond creator, Philip Rosenthal as he travels to Russia to help create a Russian version of his hit show. 

Right off the bat, I am not a fan of Everybody Loves Raymond, I won;t deny i have chuckled at it in passing, probably due to fever but that's about it. I actually find it mildly offensive. I mean Debra seems miserable all the time because Ray and his family are horrible yet she stays... why???????  Either shit or get off the pot. Not to mention his parents are meant to be Italian? I mean no offence to Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle, but my chihuahua comes across more Italian than they do. That always got on my nerves.  

The story of how I stumbled across this documentary is more insightful than the documentary itself. You see when I;m feeling like depression and negative I enter a shameful youtube spiral, spending hours upon hours alternating between searches for "animals attacking humans", tsunamis and other miscellaneous natural disasters, Oscar acceptance speeches, DIY "smokey eye" make up tutorials and any new interviews featuring Joshua Jackson.  On the way down one such spiral I stumbled across some clips of the Russian version of The Nanny, which I of course watched. The whole episode can be found here for those also suffering from mental health issues :

What I had hoped would be an insightful and humorous look at the challenges facing a well known producer translating his work for a different cultural audience, quickly became an uncomfortable 86 minutes with Raymond (I mean he is pretty much the character he created) as he makes fun of Russia and  tackles most of the films challenges from a typical American attitude that my way is the only way. This is particularly prevalent in the first of 3/4 of the film, only easing off slightly near the end to wrap the whole adventure up in a nice little 30 minute sitcom bow.  
*1/2 

Next time on Reviews from the Edge...

• Pacific Rim
• Before Midnight
• Spring Breakers
• This is the end 

From the Vault - Badbladderitis and Gottogopeealotta.

I feel the need to write a new blog post, but to be honest, I can't be bothered. So, here's something that I'm sure all writers do sometimes - look at me, calling myself a writer like I am a Golden God or something - and I'm going to recycle old material. It's nothing exciting, just a bunch of old blogs that I've raised from the dead from thescientistmrj's blog on LiveJournal: The Human Equivalent of Penicillin. 

Back then, it was Andy - Boy of Destiny writing. He was a fan of American Psycho, just like current day Andy is, so therefore, the comments section had 'Go Return Some Videotapes' for the ability to leave a comment, and 'X Problems In Sri Lanka' for the amount of comments. The X in the equation is the amount of comments left on that particular blog. I routinely think about reviving that old beaten up blog, but then I remember that's a fools errand and nobody uses LiveJournal anymore except people who still use MySpace and make jokes about Tom. 

For example, what would happen if Tom from MySpace got into a fight with Mark Zuckerberg? 

I don't have an answer to that, but that's the hypothetical build up somebody would use if they were still making jokes about MySpace's Tom. I'm not very good at making jokes, just like I'm not very good at creating legible sentences, but alas, I still keep trying. 

Anyhow, I digress. You're currently sitting at your computer wondering two things: A) When was the last time I watched Almost Famous and why do I have Tiny Dancer in my head and how did Kate Hudson get an Oscar nomination and why did people think she was going to win that year when it was obvious she wasn't going to win because getting sold for a case of beer isn't as sad as an abused partner of Jackson Pollock and will Kate Hudson ever get another Oscar nomination, and B) where is this remnant of an old blog post that Andrew was talking about, and is he just making me read all of this crap because he wants to talk about crap, in fact, I don't have to take this crap from him because I'm not getting paid to read this blog, I'm not even getting a spiritual enlightenment like I thought I would from reading this blog, I don't know what I'm doing and I really need to get out more and stay away from the internet, I mean, really, I won't have anything to do on the internet now that the UK is requesting people to mark down whether they are going to look at porn or not, how do I live without porn, I want to know, why I have the theme from Con Air, in my head right now, and I also want to know how Con Air is a two time Oscar nominated film? 

So, whilst you're thinking those things, I've busily gone across to my old blog and copied the following text. I'd say enjoy, but I know you have probably skipped to the end to see if there was a gif of Alison Brie or not. (Spoiler: There isn't.)

November 21st 2006

It wasn't too long ago - I'm thinking, about four or five months - that Bernadette warned me of the pangs of badbladderitis, or otherwise known as gottopeealotta. It's currently something that doesn't have a cure, only prevention - in the form of Tena Lady and a catheter. Today on my way to Vet Nursing, I picked up two iced coffee's - harking back to the days where my car was littered with iced coffee cartons, some dating back a year ago - and drank both in the car. Flash forward forty five minutes and my bladder was screaming at me. 

Flash forward another two hours after relieving myself and my bladder started screaming at me again. This time I responded, hey! I haven't even drunk anything yet! How can you need to go again? What have I done wrong to deserve this? 

So, I relieved myself. Flash forward another two hours. Still not having drunk anything, my bladder exclaims, excuse me, please, may I be excused? 

I excuse it. 

Scratch my head. 

A few hours after that I leave, I arrive home. Still no additional drinks, just food. I sit down after changing the cat water, putting biscuits out for her, and I think, time to relax for a second. Then it screams, you aint fuckin' doin' that buddy! And off it goes again.

Why didn't I fully listen to Bernadette's warnings before and ask for it to be surgically removed before all this trouble started? Why? Why have bladders in the first place? 

Who knows. That, for me, is a greater mystery than what is the meaning of life or which road did Tom Hanks take at the end of Cast Away.

3 Problems in Sri Lanka:

Leadingdog - So true, I swear my bladder became bad overnight, one day I was bragging to myself about how I could hold it for ages, and mocked those who braved the cold nights to wake up and pee, and now I am one of them and there is nothing I can do to get my old bladder back. 

signed..no more forghorn.

threedimensions - 42 andy...

and the road to unequivocal millions (in americano dollars)

Anonymous - It's probably the caffeine. The frequent need to urinate is also a sympton of diabetes.

One time I held my urine in for two days, I swear. I don't want to explain why, just that I did it. It amazes me today, I probably did some horrible damage that I will only know of later.

Six days later I reviewed the following films: 

Borat - ****
Slums Of Beverley Hills - ***1/2
8 Below - *****
The Prestige - ****
Shaun Of The Dead (Edgar Wright & Shaun Pegg Commentary) - *****

And I'd say that's that mattress man. 

Hotline Miami - In Which Andrew Jumps the Gun and Calls it Game of the Year.

Hotline Miami is one of the best examples of telling a story through gameplay. The main character - nameless in the game, but fans have dubbed him Jacket - is speechless, and besides the masks used for perks in the game, you never see his face. There's no glorious shot of him on the front cover of the game with the American flag behind him holding guns ala Bioshock Infinite. It's just a man with a pig mask on and a girl in his arms. It's sinister, it's haunting, it's the cover of one of the best games of this generation. 

Spec Ops: The Line tried to show the disconnect of first person shooters with its dire and dark trudge through a sand filled Dubai. It's a fine game, and an interesting example of how to question the implications of the violence on screen. Hotline Miami takes this one step further and presents you with a throbbing score which provides the soundtrack to your violent detached murders. 

Each episode begins with a dark phone call to Jacket in his apartment. A voice appears and tells you to go somewhere - the reason changes each time, but never overtly suggesting that you're going off to kill someone. Off you trundle to your Delorean - the vehicle of choice which shows exactly how eighties the game wants to be - and a short loading screen later, you're at your soon to be crime scene. 

Where Hotline Miami excels perfectly is its ability to give you the dizzy feeling of having killed someone. Or a room full of people. (Full disclosure, I have not actually killed someone so I have no idea how it feels to actually kill someone.) Deaths come quick - yours and your enemies. If Jacket dies, a quick button press and he's back in going through it all over again. Dying is a natural process in the game and how quickly it happens is at first frustrating and annoying, then you learn the layout of the room and the feeling of being in control and clinically taking down Jacket's enemies becomes the norm. 

Because death is so quick for Jacket, you are at first very cautious - your first few kills actually cause Jacket to vomit and the screen goes a little hazy - then as Jacket progresses the killing becomes easier. The twitch style gameplay - similar to Super Meat Boy's insta-start-again - is perfect at giving you a dizzy feeling. The desire to get it right and get it perfect is there - getting that oh so vital A+ at the end of each level requires you to be quick, to be as brutal as possible, and to have as much variety as possible as well. It's a strange feeling, but eventually you become cold and disconnected from the deaths, it's all about taking the meat down and taking them down quickly. 

That is, until you walk out and past your carnage. The stark reminder of what Jacket has done - you have done - appears on the screen with a throbbing bass beat. It's nauseating, it's disturbing. Half of a man that you took down with a samurai sword may be lying on the other side of the room - blood and brains sprayed all over the floor and wall. The top down aspect of Hotline Miami shows how brutal and vast the carnage is. It's the first time that I've seen a game actually show how much blood there can be after a death. The first to show the brutality of death. No bodies disappear after ten seconds. They remain in pools of blood until the level is over. 

The deaths themselves are surprisingly realistic. If Jacket manages to knock someone down with a baseball bat hit to the head, they'll crawl away with blood pouring out of their head. Or there's the beheading's with swords where the victims head rolls away, them grasping at their neck and blood spurting out. It's gruesome, but not gratuitously so. Where you'd think that the level of gore on hand would border on gore porn levels, there is a meaning behind it all. The cold reminder at the end of each level followed by the (at first questionable) score tally of who you have killed is the heart that pumps Hotline Miami along. 

Spoiler Territory

The game ends with the people behind the voices on the phone being revealed. They're just two janitors who are controlling everything. They talk about taking down Russian gangsters and taking back America - a minor comment on the eighties recovering from the Cold War. But it amplifies what you've just taken Jacket through. It condones the violence. It says, this is ok as long as someone else is telling you to do it. You have a choice to say whether you - as a player - agree with what has happened, or to question the violence you've just perpetuated. 

Hotline Miami excels at making you feel what it must feel like to kill - a trait which in a lesser game would have caused to be brought up as a game that agrees with violence in video games encouraging violence in the real world - and it makes you realise that this is not right. It makes you question what you're doing in video games. It makes you question your characters motivations. And that's why I bring the Bioshock Infinite comparison back. 

Bioshock Infinite is a gruesome, slightly over the top, ridiculously gory game. Booker DeWitt is a great character, as is Elizabeth. But the disconnect with the narrative and the players actions takes away from the heart of the game. The narrative happens around you, rather than you as the player having an effect on the narrative. Where the violence in Hotline Miami progresses the narrative, the violence in Bioshock Infinite (and many other games in fact) works as a way to titillate. You want to jump off the zip lines and nail that guy in the face with your sky-hook. There's no connection between what DeWitt is intending to do as a character and what you intend to make DeWitt do with his weapons. 

Roll Credits

And that's where Hotline Miami excels - and for me, is my current game of the year. It explains the violence on the screen. It gives your actions meanings rather than telling a story around the actions you take. This is twitch gameplay at its finest. Bite sized brilliance with a great punch, or crowbar to the head, or silenced pistol through a window, or a boiling pot of water... to the face. 

10 dismembered bodies out of 10.

Films - Dogs.

Earlier this week we had to say goodbye to one of our great dogs, Scully. She was an amazing dog who gave us a lot of joy over the five years she was with us. 

I'm not going to write a long blog about her, however, I will write a blog about a few dog related films which I feel are worthwhile watching at a time when you've lost a furry friend, or just need a polite reminder as to why dogs are the best companions. 

What's this? A Paul Walker Disney film being first off the ranks? Well, yes. Eight Below is not only one of the best films about dogs, it's also one of the finest examples of the enduring spirit of dogs. Based on a true story, this is the tale of dogs surviving in Antarctica alone. Thankfully, for a Disney film, they don't give the dogs voices, and you're left to see their struggle to survive - after having saved their human companions - without cheesy voice over. Put all Paul Walker reservations aside and check this out.

Red Dog is just like Eight Below in the sense that it displays the pure resilience of dogs. Red Dog is a real dog who inspired a region, and who's spirit can still be felt in the region. Whilst Kriv Stenders film takes a very colloquial look at the Pilbra region, he manages to retain the heart of the story which is Red Dog's ability to bring a community together. The sting in the tale of the story is that Red Dog's death comes at the hands of someone who has poisoned him. It's also worthwhile noting that Koko who played Red Dog was a rescue dog - something which anyone who is considering getting a dog needs to consider. Rescuing a dog is one of life's great joys. 

Lady and the Tramp is an enduring Disney classic. The basic story shows the love and bond between two dogs and in typical cheesy Disney style, it shows perfectly how dogs don't judge. They don't care if one is a pedigree, or a rescue, or a stray random dog, just that they have someone besides them.

 

Full disclosure - I have no seen Umberto D, but I'm aware of the story. Umberto D and Wendy and Lucy are very similar films - they deal with rundown out of luck people who both have dogs who they love dearly but as they can't provide the right life for their dogs they need to rehome them. Where in Umberto D, Umberto tries to rehome his dog Flike and realises that he and the dog are bonded together, Wendy in Wendy and Lucy spends the film trying to find Lucy again. The heart breaking ending of Wendy and Lucy where Wendy sees Lucy in a yard playing and having a great life and she decides to leave her there instead of not being able to provide for her is powerful and shows how brilliant an actress Michelle Williams is. 

No films about dogs list is complete without the inclusion of the great Bombon: El Perro. An underrated and underseen film for sure, this is a light film which shows one of the most feared breeds of dogs - Dogo Argentino - being one of the nicest and docile dogs. There's a moment in the film which is pure comedy. A must see. 

Dean Spanley is, in my opinion, the greatest film about dogs and the greatest film about the bond between a dog and their owner. Sam Neill gives the performance of his career here. Peter O'Toole is also equally fantastic. It's a slow burn film that reveals itself perfectly as it progresses with fine comedy and one of the most heart breaking finales I've seen. 

The Year is Half Full. Or it's Half Empty. Or it's Non-Existent.

I go This time last year I had already seen my two favourite films of the year - The Cabin in the Woods and Young Adult (a brief note on that list, I will reassessing it in the next week or so to include a few films I'd missed out on and shuffle things around a little). It's only fair then that at this point of the year I look back and see what is on track for films, music and television. I used to include books in this but it's been a while since I've read a book that came out in the year it was published.

Film

The downside of living in Australia is that the great films from the end of 2012 that were released in America only just make their way onto our screens at the beginning of 2013. I could list films by their international release date, but that's not a feasible thing to do. It makes the early part of the year top heavy with great films, and then the end of the year there are a smattering of good to great films. 

This year there have been at least three immediate classics and a few great films. Here they are:

Amour - I absolutely love Michael Haneke's films. Watching Haneke's films now as they arrive - one masterpiece after another (the only American director that I can compare him to in terms of quality is Darren Aronofsky) - is what it must have been like to see Truffaut's films when they first screened. A cinematic slap to the face. Amour is probably the greatest film that Haneke has made - it's his warmest, his most human, his most heartbreaking film. Emmanuelle Riva gives the finest performance of the year (although her competition is pretty fierce.) 

Rust & Bone - Just like Amour, I wept in this like a little baby. I knew absolutely nothing about this film going in other than it had Marion Cotillard and a killer whale. These facts alone had me sold on the film. I went in and was quite simply blown away. This is a powerful amazing film that challenges and grasps you in your seat and never lets go. Cotillard gives the performance of her career - she is subtle, and yet so strong. 

Zero Dark Thirty - This film was like watching Speed for the first time. I was young when I watched Speed, and my experience with high tension films wasn't great, but I sat on the edge of my seat throughout the whole film. Zero Dark Thirty was exactly the same. I was riveted, amazed, stunned. I didn't care if what was on the screen was true or not. I didn't care about torture and my personal feelings on it or not. What I was seeing was an instant classic. It was a film that partially redeemed Kathryn Bieglow's Oscar win. Without the poor The Hurt Locker, there would be no Zero Dark Thirty. The depth in this film is astounding - the characters appear cold, but are so very human. Zero Dark Thirty is a film I will love revisiting over and over. Whilst I'm sure people will mention Argo here and there as a good Oscar winning film (and it is very good), Zero Dark Thirty is the film that should have won this year. 

Life of Pi - I am not a religious person at all, but this overly religious story moved me quite a lot. Whether it was the inclusion of damn cute meerkat's, or one of the most intense scene's of the year involving CGI animals, or the best quote in a film of this year (and quite possibly the decade - 'No Richard Parker, that is my tuna!'), Life of Pi proved that Ang Lee is one of the most eclectic and versatile directors around. The performances he gets from two first time actors is jaw dropping - Suraj Sharma is perfect as the young Patel, but the mostly CGI tiger steals the show throughout the film. Whilst I side with Christopher Doyle on Life of Pi's cinematography win (The Master is the better shot film) - it's a visually amazing film, but none of that is achieved in camera - its computer assisted cinematography helps soar the film above the basic 'boy and tiger in a boat for two and a half hours'. 

This is 40 - I was not a fan of Funny People. I thought it was good, but was in serious need of an editor. This is 40 manages to maintain a bloated length, but Apatow fills that length with probably his finest work yet. Knocked Up will still be my favourite Apatow film, but This is 40 works as a great follow up to that. I feel that Apatow is finally reaching the stage in his career where he understands how to straddle comedy and drama perfectly in his films. I feel I could easily rewatch this again at any stage - just like I do with Knocked Up at least once or twice a year. 

Music

I've been a little disappointed by the international music on offer this year. Maybe I've been listening to Kiss My Apocalypse and I See Seaweed too much to notice anything else. The albums I have listened to I've initially loved - The National's new album, Eels Wonderful Glorious - but I've forgotten them and not returned. Yeezus exists and is a slap in the face but I'm not sure I want to be slapped in the face every time I listen to music. Ian Ball's new album is good, but I'm not in love with it - just the same as his last album. At the end of the year I have a feeling that The Lone Ranger soundtrack will be on my top ten album list simply for the fact it's got a Gomez song with Blacky singing. 

Kiss My Apocalypse - Abbe May - There's no denying that Abbe May is one of the finest musician's Australia has to offer. I firmly believe that right now she is the best female Australian vocalist and musician at the moment - and that's with some fine competition from Sarah Blasko and Adalita who are both still producing some of the best music of their careers. Kiss My Apocalypse is like nothing Abbe May's ever done before. It's sex-synth driven pop that gets in your mind and just doesn't stop grooving. There's not been a day since this album dropped that Sex Tourettes or Perth Girls hasn't been in my mind. It may not be my favourite Abbe May album - that honour still belongs to Design Desire - but this is a different beast altogether. 

I See Seaweed - The Drones - It's been five years since the Best Album of All Time (Havilah) dropped, and Gareth Liddiard feels like he hasn't missed a beat. I See Seaweed is one heck of a blistering listen. It reaffirms that Liddiard is Australia's finest song writer - his lyrics are acidic and blistering with their brilliance, and the way Liddiard spits them out as he sings is nothing short of astounding. The more I listen to The Drones, the more I feel they're probably the finest Australian act to exist. I See Seaweed sees the band evolve for the first time in their career and include a piano to the mix, and it's as perfect an addition as having a visible brass section with Gomez or having Pip whip out a fantastic violin solo during Deja Vu for Something for Kate. I've already been through two copies of Havilah I overlistened to it so much, I expect about the same for I See Seaweed.

Push the Sky Away - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Nick Cave is another great Australian songwriter, and Push the Sky Away is one heck of an album. I feel like I'm not qualified enough to write about how great Nick Cave is, there's enough words about how brilliant he is out there on the internet. I'll just say that the first time I heard Jubilee Street this year I just had to listen to it another six or seven times. It's a song which is right up there with Into My Arms and 15 Feet of Pure White Snow for me. Also, this album takes the album cover of the year hands down.

Television

Last year saw the arrival of Lena Dunham's perfect television series Girls. This year saw it continue with brilliance in a season which I think is better than the first. I'm excited to see where Dunham takes this show as I think it could easily become one of the most enduring shows of recent times. 

Fringe finished its run - thankfully it reached five seasons - and I still can't accept it. I'm not sure when I'll watch the series finale, but I'm going to guess sometime near the year 2028. 

Happy Endings also got pushed over the cliff like an unwilling lemming. 

The best new show to hit this year is easily Hannibal. Visually it's a beautiful show, but more importantly, it takes the subject of Hannibal Lecter and gives it to people who respect the character and the mythology - something that Thomas Harris hasn't been able to do since he started writing Hannibal. Mads Mikkelsen gives a great performance as Lecter and Laurence Fishburn has quickly turned in one of my favourite characters in a crime show. 

Games

Out of all the subjects so far, I think my favourite games list will be the one that changes the most. With the arrival of a new console at the end of the year, and most importantly, a new Rayman game, my short short list so far will be shuffled around a bit. 

Guacamelee! - I can't gush enough about how great this game is. It's fun from start to end, it's rewarding, it's genuinely hilarious. I had probably the greatest amount of fun I've had playing a platformer since the first (and second, and third) time I played Rayman Origins. The creators of Guacamelee! know what makes a perfect platformer and they deliver in spades. Right now this is the one to beat, although...

Hotline Miami - ...takes a pretty good shot at stealing Guacamelee!'s crown. This is addictive perfect gameplay. It's gameplay that pulls you back in after each short round. It's like Super Meat Boy in top down form. It's speed running and pulse driven gameplay at its finest. Whilst you're blitzing through rooms and getting blown away in return, your quick return desire strikes and you fly into the room again, building the pressure and anxiety to high levels. I haven't even mentioned the pitch perfect soundtrack - it's an 80's aural throbbing ball of bliss. 

Bioshock Infinite - I still controversially love Bioshock 2 the most in the series. I've completed it three times and to me it's the most complete game out of the lot. Bioshock Infinite is a fantastic game, but I'm finding myself increasingly noticing the distance between gameplay and narrative that occurs outside the gameplay. Where games like Guacamelee! and Hotline Miami has narratives, they're pure games at heart. Bioshock Infinite's narrative is great, and the characters are interesting, but there is a ludo-narrative feeling in the difference in what is going on as a player and what is going on as a character. I still think it's one of the best games of this generation, it's just unfortunate that this is the game that is making me see even more flaws in first person shooters. The difference between a narrative being dictated at you, and the narrative evolving because of you...

The Last of Us - ...which is something that The Last of Us does perfectly. I'm only eight hours into the game, but it's a game which evolves as you progress through it. The environments that you transverse are the narrative. The villains your fight are the narrative. The characters you interact with and the way you interact with the world makes up the narrative. Naughty Dog have always created perfect stories and immersive gameplay (as much as I dislike that term), and The Last of Us is them at their finest. It's like they took the already perfect The Walking Dead and made it into a third person shooter/stealth. Everything that The Last of Us does, it does better than its competition. I liked Dishonoured last year, but I felt that the ludo-narrative of that game was just too much (and the ending was appalling). The stealth in Dishonoured was good, but not great. The Last of Us though, there is a genuine need to play this game stealthy - you care about the characters and you feel their deaths each time you fail at being stealthy in gruesome detail (the worst is when Joel gets his jaw ripped open by a clicker - a scene which puts Dead Space's deaths to shame.) There is so much to love about The Last of Us and so much to praise about it.

Dead Space 3 - If there's one space opera trilogy I've loved the most in this generation, it's Dead Space 3. Dead Space 2 is one of the finest games I've ever played - and a true 10/10 game in my eyes - and Dead Space 3 almost holds up to the heights of Dead Space 2. It's a bigger, better, more explosive, more action packed game, but it's not a weaker game because of that. It's still got the scares that Dead Space and Dead Space 2 had, but it's also got some great characters and great great moments. I hope that this isn't the end for Isaac (I haven't played the DLC yet, even though I should) and his necromorph pal's, I've grown quite fond of his over the top gruesome deaths. 

And that's it so far. The complete lists of my Top 25 Films and Top 10 Albums and and Best TV Show of the Year and Top 10 Games will hit January or so next year. 

Random Question Time.

In a bid to make it seem like I live a social life, I have googled 100 Random Questions. I do realise this does not give the illusion that I have a social life. In fact, I would hazard a guess and say that googling things makes it that you don't have a social life. 

Anyhow, I digress. 

I have found a useless website which has 100 Random Questions. I will endevour to answer these questions dilligently and as truthfully as possible. I won't answer any RIGHT NOW, but I will answer some sometime. If you have any questions, then really, don't hesitate to ask me something. This is not an ask me anything thread. It's an ask me something post. Here are the questions:

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4. 'Mr Miawaka owned a few restaurants.' The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. Great. Now I've been spoiled. I haven't even started reading it yet.
2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can, What can you touch?
3. Before you started this survey, what were you doing?
4. What is the last thing you watched on TV? I just watched this weeks At The Movie's. I'm glad they mentioned the Revelation Film Festival. It'll be a week until Suspiria live with Goblin. I think it'll be the best film experience ever. I think I'll do a list of the best cinema experiences I've had. They also had an ad for Progressive Car Insurance. I hate that woman in the ad. I would slap her if I had the chance. Who puts cake in someone's pocket? 
5. Without looking, guess what time it is It's now 10:45pm. I don't have to look, or even guess, the TV just told me. 
6. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time? I don't have a clock. If you'd ever take the time and actually come over to my house, you'd see that. I don't like clocks and I don't like watches. I distinctly hate watches. I hate anything around my wrist. 
7. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
8. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
9. Did you dream last night?
10. Do you remember your dreams?
11. When did you last laugh?
12. Do you remember why / at what?
13. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
14. Seen anything weird lately?
15. What do you think of this quiz? I think there are too many questions and it would be easier if they answered themselves instead of requiring me to answer questions. 
16. What is the last film you saw?
17. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
18. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
19. Tell me something about you that most people don't know.
20. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
21. Do you like to dance? No, my ability to dance is about the same as an epileptic's ability to thrash around whilst watching Pokemon.
22. Would you ever consider living abroad?
23. Does your name make any interesting anagrams?
24. Who made the last incoming call on your phone?
25. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
26. Last time you swam in a pool?
27. Type of music you like most?
28. Type of music you dislike most?
29. Are you listening to music right now?
30. What color is your bedroom carpet?
31. If you could change something about your home, without worry about expense or mess, what would you do?
32. What was the last thing you bought?
33. Have you ever ridden on a motorbike?
34. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
35. Do you have a garden?
36. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? 
37. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?
38. If you could eat lunch with one famous person, who would it be?
39. Who sent the last text message you received?
40. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
41. What time is bed time? Bed time is a constant time which is in a state of flux. Bed time is always happening and thus is not a specific time. Yet, whilst bed time is now, it is also in an hours time. Bed time, is, essentially eternity. 
42. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?
43. How many tattoos do you have?
44. If you don't have any, have you ever thought of getting one?
45. What did you do for your last birthday?
46. Do you carry a donor card? No, don't get me into why I'm not a fan of organ donation. However, I am a fan of blood donation. Vampires for the win people.
47. Who was the last person you ate dinner with?
48. Is the glass half empty or half full?
49. What's the farthest-away place you've been?
50. When's the last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
51. Have you ever won a trophy?
52. Are you a good cook?
53. Do you know how to pump your own gas?
54. If you could meet any one person (from history or currently alive), who would it be?
55. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school?
56. Do you touch-type?
57. What's under your bed?
58. Do you believe in love at first sight? Without a doubt. Let me present to you a scenario: A young girl has been blind since birth. Later in life, doctor's find there is a way to restore sight to this young girl. Throughout the preparation for the procedure, she is talked through it by a soothing male voice. 'It's going to be ok. It will be strange at first, but soon your eyes will adjust.' After the procedure, she remains with bandages over her eyes, the same voice assisting with her recovery. Finally the day arrives that her bandages will be taken off. The voice is in the room with her, right there, explaining what will happen to her. Explaining a moment of brightness, an overpowering hit to the senses. To not look into the light as it will sting. She listens as the bandages come off. She keeps her eyes shut and waits til the voice says, open. She opens her eyes and there in front of him is the most beautiful man she has ever seen. The owner of the voice. The man who has helped her all along. She already had feelings for him, but seeing him for the first time her heart just swoons with love. 
59. Think fast, what do you like right now?
60. Where were you on Valentine's day?
61. What time do you get up? That's an oddly personal question. I guess you did wait until question 61 to ask it though, so that's ok. I get up usually between the fourth and the sixth alarm ring. 
62. What was the name of your first pet?
63. Who is the second to last person to call you?
64. Is there anything going on this weekend?
65. How are you feeling right now?
66. What do you think about the most?
67. What time do you get up in the morning?
68. If you had A Big Win in the Lottery, how long would you wait to tell people?
69. Who would you tell first?
70. What is the last movie that you saw at the cinema?
71. Do you sing in the shower?
72. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
73. What do you do most when you are bored?
74. What do you do for a living?
75. Do you love your job?
76. What did you want to be when you grew up? I didn't know it then, but I know it now. Ron Swanson.
77. If you could have any job, what would you want to do/be?
78. Which came first the chicken or the egg?
79. How many keys on your key ring?
80. Where would you retire to? 
81. What kind of car do you drive?
82. What are your best physical features?
83. What are your best characteristics?
84. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go?
85. What kind of books do you like to read?
86. Where would you want to retire to?
87. What is your favorite time of the day?
88. Where did you grow up?
89. How far away from your birthplace do you live now?
90. What are you reading now?
91. Are you a morning person or a night owl? This question feels kind of redundant. I am a person, thus it makes it impossible for me to be a night owl. Day owl's don't properly exist as owls are nocturnal animals. So, there is only one correct answer to this. I am a morning person, but in the evening I am still a person. Just the same as a night owl is still an owl in the morning. 
92. Can you touch your nose with your tongue?
93. Can you close your eyes and raise your eyebrows?
94. Do you have pets?
95. How many rings before you answer the phone?
96. What is your best childhood memory?
97. What are some of the different jobs that you have had in your life?
98. Any new and exciting things that you would like to share?
99. What is most important in life?
100. What Inspires You?