11 Months Later

Alright people, after exactly 11 months I have decided to be back. Blogging. Speaking my mind to no acclaim, avail, or financial reward. What has happened? Where have you been you old rascal? I hear you hark. Let me tell you friends, it has been a wild year. Oh wait, no it hasn't. 

So, moving on, here's my top 10 films of the last calendar year. Feel free to fuck off if you disagree. 

10)  Locke (dir. Steven Knight) - A film that takes place entirely inside a car, features only one character on screen and a phone on loud speaker. The plot, on paper at least, seems almost custom-designed to bore; a Welsh bloke has to drive to London while overseeing a very important concrete pour back home. However, a completely engrossing performance from Tom Hardy and some fantastic twists and turns make this an excellent hour and a half on the M4. 

9)  Muppets Most Wanted (dir. James Bobin) - This inclusion is entirely for personal reasons as A) I love the Muppets irrationally, B) Ricky Gervais is in it and C) Constantine is the new funniest Muppet of all time. I watched this on a plane and people thought I was mental from laughing so much. 

8)  Chef (dir. John Favreau) - It's really quite a testament to the state of the movie industry today when I watch a film like this and go all "gee, they don't make 'em like this anymore". In the 90's, you couldn't move for earnest, humanist, comedies of this ilk. Now they are like the bloody northern lights. I digress. This film is funny, touching, simple, and thoroughly enjoyable. Enough said. 

7) Boyhood (dir. Richard Linklater) - Is this film a towering, groundbreaking cinematic landmark? Yes. Can I honestly say I didn't get a little bit bored? No. However, such is the strength of previously mentioned achievement that it has to be included on absolutely every end of year list. You just can't leave it out. 

6) Interstellar (dir. Christopher Nolan) - Although somewhat maligned by critics, at least by old Chrissy "money machine" Nolan's standards, I seriously think this film will be considered a classic in years to come. Owing much to Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", Nolan takes us to an entirely new dimension and back in what is the single most high-concept plot I have ever seen (and I've sat through some weird stuff, let me tell you). It is almost impossible to fathom in one sitting. The physics alone were enough to send my brain packing off to tenerife for the summer. However, I found this film an extremely ambitious, moving, mind-bending, awe-inspiring piece of brilliance. I can't wait to see it again. 

5) The Rover (dir. David Michod) - The second film by the director of my fave film of 2010 "Animal Kingdom", this is a brutal post-apocalpytic, Mad Max-esque look at the not too distant future. Guy Pearce plays a man hell-bent on retrieving his car from thieves (for reasons unknown until the very end) and the only way to do so is to rely on the mentally challenged man he picks up along the way - brilliantly portrayed by Robert Pattinson, who is proving to be quite an actor. Very violent, very harsh, and strangely moving, Michod is becoming a director to watch for in the future. 

4) Edge Of Tomorrow (dir. Doug Liman) - Basically groundhog day in the future. Tom Cruise being typically great. Doug Liman directing like the master that he is, and Emily Blunt - who would get it. Large. What more could you want? A proper popcorn film of old. Not Michael Bay shite. 

3) A Most Violent Year (dir. JC Chandor) - Set in 1981, New York City's most violent year on record (get it?), you'd be easily mislead into thinking this was a gangster flick if you watched the trailer. It's not. It's far more complex than that. Oscar Issac gives a star-making performance as the lead - a man trying to make an honest living under very dishonest circumstances - the cinematography is amazing and there is a classic New York chase scene, up there with The French Connection or Carlito's Way. Cracking film. 

2) Whiplash (dir. Damien Chazelle) - I'm not even gonna talk about this film. Just go and watch it. Right now. Don't read any more. Go. 

1) Foxcatcher (dir. Bennet Miller) - Could easily have lost to Whiplash, however it's my list and I thought this was the best film I'd seen all year. Dark, cold, atmospheric, unbearably tense, at times unwatchable, I couldn't stop thinking about this film for many weeks after watching. Steve Carell is nothing short of terrifying. A masterful study of human behavior at it's most odd. "Did you catch the fox, mother?" still sends a shiver down my spine. And not in a good way. Brilliant.   

JB.

Tunes Currently Mowing My Lawn

1) Cavalier - James Vincent McMorrow
2) Ten Cent Pistol - The Black Keys
3) Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams - The Velvet Underground
4) Raw - Big Daddy Kane
5) #88 - Lo-Fang
6) Standing Next To Me - Last Shadow Puppets
7) Use Me - Bill Withers
8) What Is This Thing Called Love? - Leo Reisman
9) Staircase - Radiohead
10) Pour Out A Little Liquor - 2pac

Top 10 Films of 2013

Hello and Happy New Year to you all. My sincere apologies for being away for so long. Lots of menial stuff to be written in this here 2014 but let's start with the most hotly anticipated 'best of' list on planet earth:

10) Fruitvale Station - Sundance darling and true story of the last day of Oscar Grant, who was killed by the Oakland transport police. From the opening shot, which is real footage of the incident itself, the lump in your throat starts to form and never lets up. At the end, I was positively in tatters. Beautifully directed and featuring an outstanding lead performance from Michael B. Jordan.

9) Mud - This story takes place in the deep backwoods of the Mississippi river, where two young boys befriend a love-sick hobo. Sounds ridiculous. It's not. It's actually a pretty wonderful coming-of-age tale by Jeff Nichols (who is fast becoming one of the better directors out there) and a great cast, including Matthew McConaughey doing almost his best work (see #5)

8) Only God Forgives - As I mentioned previously on this blog, I loved this film. Many didn't. Many find it to be offensively bad. It is a completely perplexing, ultraviolent, enigma wrapped in a mystery of a film, and certainly not an easy watch, that is for certain. However, I liked it. A lot. That's pretty much I can say.

7) Before Midnight - The third of Richard Linklater's "Before..." trilogy which follows Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy's romantic journey together. The first film we watched them meet, the second they rekindled, the third (this one) they are together, married, parents of two children and struggling to hold it all together. This film is about people talking, and talking, and talking some more. Yet when the dialogue and acting is this good, I found myself totally engrossed the entire time. It is literally like being a fly on the wall into someone else's relationship. You want to watch through your eyes at times, but overall you'll be glad you did. Beautiful film.

6) Prisoners - To this day I am completely baffled by the lack of award-season recognition for this film. It may be down to the subject matter at hand, which we can safely call "dark". There is not one facet of this film that's not excellent. The cinematography and performances of Gyllenhaal, Jackman and Dano being most noteworthy. First-class stuff.

5) Dallas Buyers Club - I went into this film thinking it was going to be an "oh, look Matthew McConaughey's got AIDS, watch him lose weight and affect all of our lives with his heaviness. However, I could not have been more wrong. An outstandingly directed, life-affirming bit of cinema done in the least cheesy way you could imagine and McConaughey's performance is nothing short of iconic. Jared Leto is also excellent...but then aren't we all when wearing a dress.

4) Nebraska - Black and White ultra-slow burner about a borderline senile man trying to claim a fake lottery win? Surely that can't be good, can it? Turns out it can, with Alexander Payne proving once again that he is the absolute master of making films about middle-aged men that somehow get right under your skin. Well played all.

3) Behind The Candleabra - This film does something which I personally think is a very hard thing to pull off (no pun intended) it paints a very dark tale in a bright and shiny package. Obviously it's hard to not be bright and shiny when telling the story of Liberace (played by Michael Douglas who has rarely been better), but make no mistake friends, this is a dark, dark, tale about the trappings of fame and fortune. Matt Damon brilliant as always and will be overlooked again. Oh, by the way, this film is extremely gay. Makes The Birdcage look like Fight Club.

2) Her - Joaquin Phoenix lives in the future and falls in love with a computer, which sounds ridiculous but this is one of the most original, moving and funny films I've seen in recent memory. Similar to "Lars and The Real Girl" in the sense that the sheer preposterousness of the plot goes immediately out of the window due to the quality of the film-making. I aspire to make something this good one day, which is about the highest praise I can give it. In fact, any other year I'm certain this film would be #1 on my list. This year however, all bucked under the weight of...

1) 12 Years A Slave - It's hard to say I enjoyed this film, such is the nature of the subject matter and the way it's portrayed, however it's harder not to bow down and respect a truly magnificent piece of work such as this. 12 Years... tells the true (incredibly) story of Solomon Burke, a free black man tricked and sold back into slavery, and it is every bit as harrowing, stomach-churning and awful as you'd expect. Obviously I didn't cry because I'm a bloody bloke and that's not what we do. However, my eyes happened to get very sweaty multiple times during this film, resulting in what looked like tears pretty much continuously running down my face. If Steve McQueen and Chiwetel Ejiofor don't win every award under the sun, then there really is something wrong with the world. An absolute masterpiece in every way. See it. At once.

There you have it. The world can breathe again.

Let's see if I can keep up this blogging lark for 2014.

Onwards.

John.

Great Reads: 'High Fidelity' by Nick Hornby

I first read this book back in the late 90's. I'd left school and found myself an impressionable working lad with no education in my future and hours to kill sweating on trains commuting to and from my place of work - which was undoubtedly some shithole on the other side of London. I think it would not be overstating the matter to say that, at that time, this book completely changed my life. For reasons I shall explain hereto. 

Hornby's second novel, released in 1995 after the monumental success of gooner-supporting "Fever Pitch", tells the tale of one Rob Fleming; a man who enjoys music, film, and lamenting his status in the world when it comes to money, power and, most of all, women. Rob owns a fledgling record shop in North London where he and his two friends sit around and make lists of stuff that they like. In fact, such is Rob's affinity for lists that the book begins with the opening heading: "Top Five Break-Ups Of All Time", wherein he begins to tell us the reader about the pitiful state of his previous failures with members of the opposite sex. All of this serves to provide the back drop to what is currently going on in his life - another break-up with a girl he loves - and there the story begins.

“What came first – the music or the misery? Did I listen to the music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to the music? Do all those records turn you into a melancholy person?” 

What follows is an absolutely hilarious, honest, unflinching portrayal of the modern man and let me tell you friends, it is a masterful depiction. Hornby writes with a sort of light-hearted scathing cynicism which, despite sounding like a massive contradiction, sets the perfect tone for the book. I defy any man on planet earth (well, at least, a middle-class white bloke from the western world) to read this book and not find yourself going "yep, I've done that". Indeed there are few subjects in life which fascinate me more than male patheticism and this book has it in spades. 

A little exercise for you -- pick a man. Someone you deem to be the coolest man on the planet. James Dean, Paul Newman, George Clooney maybe? All of those people, every last one, will absolutely turn into an insecure, whimpering, paranoid wreck if and when placed in the hands of the right (or wrong) woman. Of course, this is just my belief but it's a belief and that's all that f*cking matters, got it? Good. 

“Over the last couple of years, the photos of me when I was a kid... well, they've started to give me a little pang or something - not unhappiness, exactly, but some kind of quiet, deep regret... I keep wanting to apologize to the little guy: "I'm sorry, I've let you down. I was the person who was supposed to look after you, but I blew it: I made wrong decisions at bad times, and I turned you into me.” 

Now, how did a book about a bunch of music geeks eeking out an existence for themselves change your life? I hear you ask. Well folks, after reading this book, for the first time in my 19 or so years of existence (I think) I had the inspiration to write. I could hear my voice on the page. It was a work of art that spoke directly to me. Me?! I had never experienced that before. The characters were interested in things I am, talked the way I talk, thought how I do about stuff (if you read this blog ever, you'll know how much I f**king love writing a list for a start). Suddenly I felt the need to put pen to paper for the first time to express how I feel. For fun. Suddenly I had a thirst for knowledge and a yearning for experience that my shite office job which took me two hours to get to every day and night could not provide me. I felt a tidal wave of culture engulf my being. I mean, it was only the third book I'd ever read up to that point but we've all got to start somewhere, eh?

The following month, I handed in my notice at work, packed up and went to university and the rest, as they say, is history. Not necessarily history in the sense that anything profound or important happened on a global, national or even local scale. But a personal history was made, right there and then and here I am today as a result...writing, for nothing more than the interest of personal expression. Something that just wasn't an option until my eyes crossed this little gem. 

If you ever want to know anything about me, or indeed men in general, read this book. At once. That is all. 

“It seems to me if you have music (and books, probably, and films, and plays, and anything that makes you feel) at the center of your being, then you can't afford to sort out your love life, start to think of it as the finished product. You've got to pick at it, keep it alive and in turmoil, you've got to pick at it and unravel it until it all comes apart and you're compelled to start all over again. Maybe we live life at too high a pitch, those of us who absorb emotional things all day, and as a consequence we can never feel merely content: we have to be unhappy, or ecstatically, head-over-heels happy, and those states are difficult to achieve within a stable, solid relationship.” 

Nick Hornby -- High Fidelity (1995)

Cheers, 

JB.

Tunes Currently Licking My Lollipop

1) No Money - Kings of Leon
2) No Other Plans - Sunny Levine
3) Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday
4) M.a.a.d City - Kendrick Lamar
5) I'll Slip Away - Rodriguez
6) Do I Wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys
7) Castles In The Air - Don McLean
8) Lovin' I Lost - Common
9) Everything Means Nothing To Me - Elliott Smith
10) (You) Got What I Need - Freddie Scott

JB

Tunes Currently Tempering My Psychosis

1) Breakers - Local Natives
2) Finger - TY Seagall
3) Get Lucky - Daft Punk
4) Reverse Running - Atoms For Peace
5) Glad Tidings - Van Morrison
6) The World Is A Ghetto - George Benson
7) Winter Birds - Ray Lamontagne
8) Begin The Beguine - Artie Shaw
9) Seek It - Richard Hawley
10) Daytona 500 - Ghostface Killah

Tunes Currently Waxing My Surfboard

1) Life In A Glass House - Radiohead
2) I Ain't The Same - Alabama Shakes
3) "P" Is Still Free - KRS One
4) Jesus Children Of America - Stevie Wonder
5) Trouble Town - Jake Bugg
6) For Heaven's Sake - Wu-Tang Clan
7) Love Me Two Times - The Doors
8) Second, Minute or Hour- Jack Penate
9) Yellow Ledbetter - Pearl Jam
10) It Was A Very Good Year - Frank Sinatra


JB.

Top 10 Films of 2012

Well folks, it's that time of year again. All in all I found it a difficult year for film in general. I can't tell you how many times I went in thoroughly excited and came out thoroughly disappointed (see: "Django Unchained", "Silver Linings Playbook", "Seven Psychopaths" and mostly "The Dark Knight Rises" - which I found offensively bad). However it wasn't all disappointment. Here's my list of 2012. Thoughts and comments are welcome.

10) The Hunger Games - Yes, you read that right. I had absolutely no desire to see this film upon it's release, largely because the trailer made it look like Twilight shite. However, when I finally happened upon this film over xmas, I found it a thoroughly satisfying experience, and a pretty dark one at that. Which is more than I can say for several big movies that came out last year. Also, Jennifer Lawrence would get it. Large.





9) Beasts Of The Southern Wild - This film was made on a shoestring budget and features a fairytale-like story about a bunch of people living beyond the bounds of normal society in deepest post-Katrina Louisiana. Apparently the two leads (a man and his daughter) aren't even actors, which makes their performances all the more remarkable. A truly original film.

8) Beats, Rhymes & Life - An absolutely fascinating documentary about A Tribe Called Quest - pioneering hip-hop act from the 80s/90s and one of my favorite bands of all time. Beautifully illustrates just how difficult it is to maintain boyhood friendship when money and fame get involved. Also features the best soundtrack of the year. Obviously.

7) The Hobbit - Now, as mentioned prior on this here blog, it's hard for me to be unbiased about anything remotely involved with Lord of the Rings. However, after watching this film twice (both in HFR 3D and Regular plain ol' 2D, I can safely say that I think this film is great and another massive achievement for Mr. Peter Jackson. I wasn't bored once. Why it's gotten so much bad press mystifies me, but hey, what do I know. I also thought Martin Freeman did a fine job as Bilbo.

6) The Sessions - A lovely little film based on the true story of Mark O'Brien, a man largely immobilised by polio and spending most of his waking hours in an iron lung. However, at aged 38, Mark decides that he'd like to lose his virginity before he passes to the afterlife. So he hires a sex-surrogate and there begins one of the better stories I've seen all year. John Hawkes gives the performance of his life, as does Helen Hunt. It made me laugh, made me cry, made me want to do better work...all good things, people. All good things.

5) Life Of Pi - This is one of the rare occasions, in the age of information in which we live, where I managed to completely avoid anything to do with this film before I went in. As a result I was completely blown away. A great story, yes, but the visuals were by far the best thing I have seen on a big screen up to this point. Absolutely jaw-dropping. The reason this isn't further up the list is purely for the fact that I'm not sure how good it would be without the spectacular use of 3-D. TBC.

4) Argo - Ben Affleck's third film as a director is a belter. There's a good 45 minute stretch where my arsehole was well and truly puckered. I also thought Affleck did a pretty masterful job directing. The story is one-part CIA thriller, one-part kooky comedy and could have gone so horribly, horribly wrong. However the subject matter is balanced just right and fully deserves all the accolades it is getting.

3) End Of Watch - Another f**king film about the ins and outs of the LAPD? Please God, no! Or at least that's what I initially thought. However, this film was amazing. Shot as a sort of fly-on-the wall mockumentary type affair, we follow Michael Pená and Jake Gyllenhaal around LA's mean streets and, more interestingly, the inner workings of their personal lives. Both of their performances were utterly brilliant, as was the directing - again, handling the old "Reality Style" very well indeed. It irritates me greatly that this film gets no respect for Awards season, as it is vastly better than most everything nominated. Bravo to everyone involved. Bravo.

2) Amour - Now, this was a tough one. This film deals with a little French octogenarian couple in the twilight years of their life. The wife becomes ill and the story goes from there. It was one of the more harrowing experiences I've ever had watching a film (and I paid 15 quid to watch "Batman & Robin"). It is largely bleak, mostly heartbreaking and completely unflinching in it's portrayal of her decay and his suffering as a result. However, what makes this film a work of genius is simply it's title - "Love". What it means to really love someone. What lengths you'd go to for that love. Basically a look at the ugly side of the notion. A place few dare to tread. Genius.

1) The Master - I will admit, I have seen this film 4 times. However, if ever there was a film that merited re-watching, it is Paul Thomas Anderson's sixth effort. Largely because I was completely baffled by it the first time around. The story is of Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a rather troubled young man coming home from WWII. After getting into various scrapes and with his life seemingly destined for disaster he happens upon a quasi-religious  group called The Cause, led by one Lancaster Dodd, played brilliantly by Philip Seymour Hoffman. From there, one of the most twisted and bizarre relationship stories begins. There are plenty of technical things to enjoy - the performances which are unanimously magnificent, the cinematography - shot on glorious technicolour 65mm film, and the soundtrack - another deeply unsettling effort from Jonny Greenwood. However what I love most about this film is the simple fact that the story isn't spoonfed to you. This film requires you to think, begs for debate afterwards, leaves everything open for interpretation and bows to no-one. In this day and age, where everything has to be wrapped up in a bow and delivered on a silver platter in order to sell some tickets, this film stands absolutely head and shoulders above the rest. Proving, once again, that no Hollywood director is even close to the work that Paul Thomas Anderson is doing. No-one.

Peace and Love,

JB.

10 Underrated Classics

Evening all, here is my list of 10 films which, despite being utterly brilliant, get no props at all, from anyone....ever. I highly suggest you go out and watch with immediate effect.

1) Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino, 1997) - Everyone's least favourite Tarantino film is nothing short of brilliant. Great acting, beautifully directed and one of the best soundtracks you're likely to hear. Also, features one of the best DeNiro performances of the 1990's and the line "I hate to be the type of n*gga that do a n*gga a favour and then bam, hit the n*gga up for a favour in return, but I gots to be that type of n*gga". Marvelous.

"Go on...pull my finger"

2) Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan, 2000) - Got shat on for not being the next "Sixth Sense" but this is actually a rather genius re-telling of a superhero story, and Bruce Willis gives one of his best performances in it. Great film.

3) Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979) - One of the great comedic performances of all time from the absolutely deadpan Peter Sellers, playing the savant-like Chance - who, after the death of his boss, is forced to live in the real world for the very first time. Forest Gump properly ripped this film off (to great effect, I must admit) so if you like the "idiot man-child" genre, look no further my friends.

4) The Running Man (Paul Michael Glaser, 1987) - Or, as it's now known, The Hunger Games. This was by far the best Schwarzenegger flick of the 80's and is, in my opinion a very well-done commentary on a world where entertainment reigns supreme. Also gets eerily more prophetic every time I turn on ABC and Shark Tank (or any other reality show) comes on. Plus Arnold is in top, top form.

5) White Men Can't Jump (Ron Shelton, 1992) - Features a dazzling array of Mum jokes which, frankly, kept me going through my teenage years and a riveting buddy story centered around street basketball in LA. This film is absolutely hilarious, and I defy anyone not to get involved in the action sequences. Makes me want to go out and shoot hoops immediately.

"Your mother....etc."

6) The King Of Comedy (Martin Scorcese, 1983) - This could take the top spot for most underrated film of all time. Go and watch it. Now. A work of genius.

7) The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) - Coppola made this gem between making part 1 and 2 of The Godfather series, which one might be tempted to call a bit of a "hot streak". This film, about a surveillance expert who gets in too deep on his latest case, is tense, dark, and very strange. In fact it's almost a bit of an independent art-house type affair, something old Francis is definitely not usually associated with. Also, a must if you're into sound design....which I'm guessing you're not.

8) Road To Perdition (Sam Mendes, 2002) - One of the greatest gangster films ever made, this film was pretty much written off for casting all around nice guy Tom Hanks as cold-blooded assassin Michael Sullivan, however miss this film at your peril. It features Hanks in fine form, and Daniel Craig being absolutely mental and, most of all, the legendary Paul Newman giving my favourite performance of his life as the leader of the Chicago Irish Mob. The cinematography is breathtaking, as is Thomas Newman's score. Should have won every award under the sun. Didn't win shit. Annoying.

9) The Game (David Fincher, 1997) - The Fincher film that no-one ever mentions. Michael Douglas stars in this bonkers film about a corporate fat cat who signs himself up for a service that promises to give him the thrill of his life, only for his life to then completely go down the shitter. The twist at the end is worth your time alone.

10) Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 1999) - Hands down one of the most certifiably insane stories ever committed to celluloid. I personally believe that anyone who aspires to one day become a screenwriter watch this film and see just what can be done when's one's imagination is left to roam free. Half the film takes place in Malkovich's head and there's even a bit where Malkovich enters his own conscience. Madness! Absolutely classic film.

"Malkovich, Malkovich?"

There you have it folks. Netflix should be your next click.

JB.

A Playlist To Help You Fall In Love With...

...one of the greatest bands, in any genre, of all times. Responsible for three (yes, three) of the greatest Hip-Hop records ever made, including my personal favourite - The Low End Theory. I give you...A Tribe Called Quest.

1) Excursions - (The Low End Theory - 1991)
2) Luck Of Lucien - (People's Instinctive Travels... - 1989)
3) Award Tour - (Midnight Marauders - 1993)
4) Buggin' Out - (The Low End Theory - 1991)
5) Bonita Applebum - (People's Instinctive Travels... - 1989)
6) Oh My God - (Midnight Marauders - 1993)
7) Youthful Expression - (People's Instinctive Travels... - 1989)
8) Jazz (We've Got) - (The Low End Theory - 1991)
9) Lyrics to Go - (Midnight Marauders - 1993)
10) Can I Kick It? - (People's Instinctive Travels... - 1989)
11) Check The Rhyme - (The Low End Theory - 1991)
12) Electric Relaxation - (Midnight Marauders - 1993)
13) Scenario - (The Low End Theory - 1991)
14) God Lives Through - (Midnight Marauders - 1993)

Download these tracks and I guarantee aural pleasure beyond words. If you don't enjoy it, you probably don't have a soul.

JB.

Tunes Currently Melting My Ice Caps

1) Wake Up Alone - Amy Winehouse
2) Children's Story - Slick Rick
3) Film - Aphex Twin
4) 1957 - Milo Greene
5) Tchiki Tchiki Tchiki - Make The Girl Dance
6) Loco-Motive - Nas
7) The Needle and The Damage Done - Neil Young
8) Iron Swallow - Jonny Greenwood
9) I Wanna Be Where You Are - Michael Jackson
10) Sally Hatchet - Father John Misty

Tunes Currently Tinkling My Winkle

1) Kathy's Song - Simon & Garfunkel
2) The Daily Mail - Radiohead
3) Can I Live? - Jay-Z
4) Carnival of the Animals XIII: The Swan - Saint-Saens
5) Won't Wash - Hot Chip
6) Come Clean - Jeru The Damaja
7) Road Trippin' - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
8) Holding Back The Years - Simply Red
9) Singing Softly To Me - Kings of Convenience
10) Getaway - Dr. John

Tunes Currently Boiling My Biscuit

1) The Way Young Lovers Do - Van Morrison

2) Moonglow - Artie Shaw

3) Lonely Boy - The Black Keys

4) A Minor Incident - Badly Drawn Boy

5) Victory - Puff Daddy & The Family

6) Cocaine Blues - Johnny Cash

7) Danse Caribe - Andrew Bird

8) The Imperial March - John Williams

9) Night Train - Louis Prima

10) Calgary - Bon Iver

Best Films of 2011

Good morning and a very happy and prosperous New Year to you all. I myself am still in rainy, windy old England. So what better way of ringing in the new with a quick celebration of the old. Here are my top 10 films of the past year:

10) "Senna" (dir. Asif Kapadia) - A completely mesmerising documentary about the legendary Formula 1 driver (famously killed during a race). It made me laugh, cry, and marginally shite meself when watching the "Helmet-Cam" sequences. Brilliant.

9) "Rango" (dir. Gore Verbinski) - A kids film, yes. However, few films delighted me more last year. It's a classic western, but told through the eyes of a big-dreaming lizard. Features a razor-sharp script and a completely charming performance from Johnny Depp.

8) "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" (dir. David Fincher) - Masterfully directed by the almighty David Fincher, this film is bleak, gritty and absolutely gripping from start to end. Rooney Mara should get an Oscar nod too, for my money.

7) "The Guard" (dir. John Michael McDonagh) - A foul-mouthed, offensive, absolutely hysterical story of a small town policeman in Ireland pulled into a massive drug smuggling plot. Features a performance from Brendan Gleeson that is nothing short of brilliant. Don Cheadle is also excellent as the FBI agent out of water.

6) "Drive" (dir. Nicolas Windig Refn) - Despite having some very odd musical choices, it's fair share of extreme ultra-violence and a pretty thin plot, this film was executed with such perfection that it's hard not to bow down and show respect. It helps of course to have Ryan Gosling in peak form. Also, the opening sequence is one of the best you'll see.

5) "Shame" (dir. Steve McQueen) - Beautifully shot and displaying the best performances I've ever seen Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan give. It is a look at the lonely, desolate world of sex-addiction in the modern age. A quiet, dark, unflinching film. Lots of boobies too...always helps.

4) "Take Shelter" (dir. Jeff Nicols) - The criminally under-rated film of last year. It tells the story of a man (played by Michael Shannon) haunted by apocalyptic visions. As the visions get worse and worse, his loved ones become increasingly worried, but is he delving into insanity? Is he a prophet? Who knows? For the budget this was made with, a quite stunning effort.

3) "The Artist" (dir. Michael Hazanavicius) - When I saw this, I had no idea this was a silent film. So when, after the trailers had finished and the screen began to shrink, I was a little confused. I then spent the next 90 minutes with an enormous smile on my face. An absolute delight from start to finish and a massive reminder that words aren't always necessary to get your point across.

2) "Submarine" (dir. Richard Ayoade) - For anyone who read the original version of this list, ignore it. Technically this film came out in the UK in 2010, however it wasn't out in the states until 2011 so I've decided to include this in my list. An absolutely beautiful coming of age tale about a young boy growing up in rural Wales. It is hilarious, gorgeous, heartbreaking and few films have ever made me as nostalgic about my youth. To think this is Ayoade's first film as well. Bravo sir, bravo.

1) "50/50" (dir. Jonanthan Levine) - A comedy about cancer. Dangerous ground for anyone to encounter. However, this film (based on the real-life experience of screenwriter Will Reiser) was simply the funniest, most touching, poignant film I saw all year. The central performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a joy to behold and if there was any justice in the world, this film would be nominated for a bucket-load of academy awards. So go and watch it. Now.

Feel free to disagree my pedigree chums.

Peace and Love

JB.

Tunes Currently Sizzling My Schnitzel

1) Poor Boy - Blind Pilot

2) Charlie Brown - Coldplay

3) Sex Prayer - White Denim

4) Guillotine (Swords) - Raekwon

5) Daughter - Pearl Jam

6) Tuesday Heartbreak - Stevie Wonder

7) Let It Loose - The Rolling Stones

8) Caroline, No - The Beach Boys

9) English House - Fleet Foxes

10) I Can't Make You Love Me - Bon Iver

Enjoy,

JB.

Tunes Currently Pulling My Plonker:

1) Little River - The Tallest Man On Earth

2) Chop Suey - System of a Down

3) So You're Leaving - Al Green

4) I Want The One I Can't Have - The Smiths

5) England - The National

6) Janglin - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

7) Let's Roll Like We Used To - Kasabian

8) Because - The Beatles

9) Warning - The Notorious B.I.G.

10) Ball and Biscuit - The White Stripes

The Hilarious Truth...

JB.

Tunes Currently Filling My Satchel

1) Wedding Bell - Beach House

2) In My Bed - Amy Winehouse

3) The Ecstasy of Gold - Ennio Morricone

4) The Girl From Back Then - Kings of Convenience

5) Freestyle (Yo, That's That Sh*t) - Diamond D

6) Let's Get Really Honest - Just Jack

7) The Rip Tide - Beirut

8) Information Age - Wiley

9) First Watch - King Creosote

10) Sweet Virginia - The Rolling Stones

Reasons Life Is Worth Living (Part II)

Coffee. Louis Armstrong. A good smile. American Tabloid by James Ellroy. Bill Murray. Slow Motion. Getting it right. Getting it wrong. The Open Road. My Bed. Kelly Brook. Commando. Conspiracy Theories. Stanley Kubrick. "You Shall Not Pass". Gymnopedie #1. Acoustic Guitars. Irvine Welsh. Grand Piano. Catcher In The Rye. Words. Marion Cotillard's Oscar Speech. Total Silence. "Asspen". San Francisco at 7am. Home made Tacos. Toad In The Hole. Girls in Yoga Gear. Paul Thomas Anderson. The Truth. A well fitting T-Shirt. A Warm Ocean. A Good Haircut. Toffee Ice Cream. Darren Lamb. Mexico. A Good Set of Speakers. Air New Zealand. Leslie Nielsen. Inner Calm. El Mariachi. Chomsky. Language. Bread and Butter. South Park. On The Road by Jack Kerouac. David Brent. The Cuban Revolution. Pacino. A Well-Oiled Machine. A Good Photograph. The Voice of Reason. Scorcese. Rupert Pupkin. Hot Showers. Pitch Blackness. Space. Jim Morrison. Scent Memories. Ice Cold Stella. Lee Mack. The Sound of a Swish. Jack Lemmon. Florence. Latin Women. "Romulus" by Sufjan Stevens. An Airplane Landing. The first 25 minutes of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Joe Pesci. Maradona. Messi. Mabbutt. 1920's Paris. Pub Lunch. Dogs. Fresh Fruit. Heavy, Heavy Rain.

Tunes Currently Chasing My Dragon:

1) Wash - Bon Iver

2) Library Pictures - Arctic Monkeys

3) Don't Think Twice, It's Alright - Bob Dylan

4) Sons & Daughters - The Decemberists

5) Ghetto Dreams - Common (feat. Nas)

6) Enter Sandman - Metallica

7) Let's Stay Together - Al Green

8) Chan Chan - Buena Vista Social Club

9) Youthful Expression - A Tribe Called Quest

10) Kettles - Arcade Fire