collective indecision

Robin Williams dies aged 63.

Said to have been battling depression, he was found earlier today in his California home passed away due to an expected suicide by asphyxiation. His spokesman, Mara Buxbaum, had the following to say:

“Rob passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”

Digimon recently celebrated it's 15th anniversary with a major announcement for any fans of the series.  Digimon is coming back!

The characters from the first season of Digimon Adventure are returning for a brand new series. Main protagonist, Tai, is now 17 years old and, with his trusty sidekick Agumon, will be taking on high school in a "new story... for all the DigiDestined in the world."

Ricky Gervais took to his Facebook yesterday evening to answer some fan questions.

In between all the trolling, egocentric self-promotion, and promising to tour Australia and the US; we did find out three rather significant pieces of information. Two perhaps more expected than the other.

Firstly, we find out that Gervais is working on a Derek special, which he promises is amazing. Secondly, he announces he still plans to perform a stand up tour entitled ‘humanity’. The blockbuster announcement, however, is that Gervais has plans to create a new film. A documentary film about David Brent trying to become a rockstar.

Capcom announce a next-gen HD remake of the original Resident Evil.

Producers, Tatsuya Kitabayashi and Yoshiaki Hirabyashi speak on the game’s development, stating that every effort is being made to retain the atmosphere, pace and gameplay of the original. Resident Evil set the standard back in 1996 for the survival horror video game genre, and it has been slated in recent outings for losing sight of this.

The updated version will allow gamers to choose between playing the game in it’s classic 4:3 ratio or in 16:9 widescreen, and whether to use classic Resident Evil controls or a more updated scheme utilising the analogue stick.

Comedy Central have announced that South Park is set to return for season 18 with a premiere on September 24th.

After an assured return to form in their seventeenth season and the release of South Park: Stick Of Truth, which received praise from gamers and fans of the series alike, expectations are high for the latest installment of television’s edgiest cartoon.

It was announced that Studio Ghibli would be temporarily closing down production within their animated movie department today. The decision, no doubt, influenced by Hayao Miyazaki’s recent retirement. Sad news for anyone who’s been touched by their tales of whimsy and delight. Hopefully this doesn’t mean the end.

The premise of collective suggestion is that we each propose one piece of media to the other in order that it be absorbed, digested, interpreted and ultimately reviewed.

This time around Stewart suggested that I listen to Wilco - Yankee, Hotel, Foxtrot. I suggested that Ash listen to Paolo Nutini - Caustic Love. Ash suggested that Stewart listen to Alice Clark - Self Titled.

Following are each of the reviews:

Dayve reviews: Wilco - Fun with Phonetics

Stewart gave me the task of reviewing Wilco's 2002 studio album release: Yankee, Hotel, Foxtrot. On first consumption, the album captivates and enchants. The opening track eloquently fuses piano melodies, brass bells, acoustic riffs, heavy distortion, and all manner of percussion with vocal melancholia. This all marries into a 7 minute symphony vagariously transporting you from whimsical bliss to the edge of terror and back again. Allow yourself to be swept away and enchanted. This record has a story to tell and you had better listen up. The album progresses along a similar vein, the musical composition is forever exquisite. This is rock and roll repackaged and subgenred as alt-folk or blues-pop or post country alternative rock. Regardless of pedantries, Wilco's craft is sublime. 'War on War' is a deceptively psychedelic country anthem, who's crunching guitar fuzz contrasts aesthetically and yet blends effortlessly into the quaint strings of 'Jesus, etc.'

Wilco really flex their rock muscles with 'I'm the man who loves you'. Not in any conventional sense, but with what appears to be a trademark country vibe and just a little dash of funk thrown in for audial spice. The sheer variety of song styles should bemuse upon analysis, but is tied together so expertly by an undercurrent of what I can only describe as "Wilco's own flavour", that it plays like a classic novel reads from start to finish. We close the album with 'Reservations' in much the same place, musically, as we started. The melodious segment of the journey having come almost full circle as we are played out with another gorgeous symphony of noise led by an enigmatic piano arrangement. Lyrically we couldn't have come further, from the tempered metaphors soaking 'I am trying to break your heart' to the hopeful utterance of "I've got reservations/About so many things/But not about you". This album is, to me, an honest and choatic journey towards optimism. Lend it your ears and have it steal your heart.

In reflection of my first piece (Reviewing Her), I decided to conduct a little research into the band, reassess my thoughts and opinions and append my review accordingly. It turns out, the album's creation/production was heavily mired in controversy and has a backstory as enthralling as the music itself. So enthralling, in fact, that it was filmed and documented by one, Sam Jones. I, instead, propose that Ash take the film/documentary as his next assignment for review. In hope that we might all enjoy a more sensical and grounded opinion than I can offer.

The film is entitled 'I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco' and I would like to close with a quote from Jeff Tweedy, allowing an insight into the artistry of Wilco: "We generally go for a pretty straight definitive version of what the song sounds like it should be, and then deconstruct it a little bit and see if there's a more exciting way to approach it. There's no reason, at all, not to destroy it. We made it, so it's our's to destroy and that's liberating and exciting in a really creative way."

Wilco - Yankee, Hotel, Foxtrot (album) - 9/10 Listen to: I am trying to break your heart; Jesus, etc.

Ash reviews: Paulo Nutini – Caustic Love

Having heard bits and bobs of older Paulo material on the radio I had always lumped him in with the T4 On The Beach crowd. His fan base being hordes of pre pubescent girls, screaming their innocent little faces off to whatever artist was on the latest music report that June Sarpong was bumbling her way through. However, after catching part of his set at Glastonbury I found myself in the hazy mindset of a fourteen-year-old girl. Singing “Funk my life up!” a snippet of the lead single ‘Scream (Funk My Life Up)’, to any passer by that would give me the time of day, and even those who wouldn’t. I’d like to attribute this to my alcohol intake and the general ‘feel good’ vibe that festivals invoke. Nevertheless, when I was tasked with reviewing his latest release I was quite eager to listen to what he had to offer.

The album kicks off with ‘Scream’ a funk-tastic opening track to get your feet a tappin’. We are then taken on a thirteen-track exploration of musical genres such as soul, blues and r+b, as well as songs that hark back to his earlier, more ‘poppy’ roots. For the most part I actually enjoyed the album. He knows what he’s doing and he does it well. It’s not necessarily new or original but in this day and age I think it’s becoming increasingly difficult to not sound somewhat derivative. There are moments of brilliance in the form of the slow-burning ‘Iron Sky’ as well as the earnestly worded ‘Better Man’. Nice little ear treats come from ‘Let Me Down Easy’ a semi-cover, semi-reimagining of a Bettye LaVette number and the charming ‘Someone Like You’ to top off the album. Despite all this I couldn't help but think there was something awry.

I’ve never been a great fan of sampling in songs. It can sort of work in hip-hop but otherwise I remain unconvinced. Samples are rife throughout Caustic Love. One track in particular ‘Bus Talk’ sounds like Alvin is telling Simon and Theodore about some chipmunk hoes whilst descending into a k hole. Further examples turn up, rather disappointingly, halfway through the otherwise fantastic ‘Iron Sky’. Not that I dislike Charlie Chaplin, but putting part of his speech from The Great Dictator midway through a song puts the “queso” in “A Queso-tion of Sport” (close enough). It’s as though Paulo’s suddenly started caring about the world and felt the need to jam in the iconic allocution wherever possible. Funnily enough this was the first time that Chaplin spoke on screen. Nailed it. Anyway, back to P Nitty. It’s a shame he feels he has to inject the piece with dialogue because in the rest of the song he conveys the message coherently enough in his own words before taking on a “bam a bit of speech in there” attitude. I think that’s my main gripe about the album, there’s an air of immaturity about it. ‘Superfly’ could be an interlude in Sesame Street and ‘Fashion’ explains that supermodels have personalities too. It’s all too reminiscent of the T4 barmy army for me.

He experiments with different genres because I don’t really think he’s found his own sound yet. To be honest though, I don’t think this is a massive problem. From the little I’ve heard of his other material this album is a step in the right direction. He’s still young and he deserves credit because it’s a solid album that definitely warrants multiple listens. Paulo has partly done gone funked my life up.

Stewart reviews: Alice Clark

Before we begin I need to explain that the incompetent boob who uploaded this album to Spotify mislabeled 60% of the content, he also threw in a grammatical error or two for good measure. I can only assume we have the laws of probability to thank for the 4 correctly listed tracks. Luckily nearly all of the songs contain their titles within their lyrics and I believe I have been able to decipher my way through this quagmire by actually, you know, listening to the album. (Please see table below). Unfortunately, I am still left clueless as to the actual ordering of the tracks and my holistic views on the record may be have been somewhat warped, but we soldier on.

*For the review I will be using the given track numbers with the actual track names.

Alice Clark’s self-titled album is a solid soul record with impressive vocals and an inspired use of the horns throughout. Although, each track offers some individual pleasures, many of the songs follow a similar, confidently accomplished format. Commonly the tracks start off more reversed, sometimes bordering on the balladesque and/or slightly soppy, but the bold trumpeting promises something more. Sure enough the vocals step up and build until Alice is wailing along in musical euphoria with her brass section. A particular highlight of this occurs in the track ‘I Keep It Hid’ where upon hitting the word “hey” her voice immediately explodes into a crescendo of bliss.

The premise of collective suggestion is that we each propose one piece of media to the other in order that it be absorbed, digested, interpreted and ultimately reviewed.

This time around I suggested that Stewart review Radio. Stewart suggested that Ash review Claire's Knee. Ash suggested that I review Her.

Following are each of the reviews:

Stewart reviews: Radio

All we hear is Radio ga ga Radio goo goo Radio ga ga All we hear is Radio ga ga Radio blah blah Radio what's new? Someone still loves you!

…And it seems that someone really does, as despite being heavily panned by the critics this unwanted lovechild of Coach Carter and The Waterboy, managed to find an audience - preforming reasonably at box office. But that begs the question does Radio deserve its critical derision? And if so how has it managed to garner a ‘fan-ship’?

It was year following the 2002 travesty that was Boat Trip and Cuba Gooding Jr. was looking to claw back some credibility. He decided to go the Simple Jack route and take on the role a mentally disabled individual by playing the title character in this film Radio.

*Sorry had to be done

Based on the Sports Illustrated article "Someone to Lean On" the film follows the real life story of James Robert ‘Radio’ Effinhimer Kennedy as Head Coach Jones embarks on extraordinarily tireless and frankly obsessive endeavour to include Gooding in high school life, helping him form some community ties and eventual self-actualise.

One can pick up pretty quickly on why the critics were put off. The film's  full of quirks and everything feels just that little bit hammy. Whether it’s Jones meeting in a barbershop with the player’s dads after every game, or it’s the inappropriately foreboding music playing while a group of sport men are made to run a few more widths of a field than usual, it can all be really quite twee.

Furthermore, beyond following Radio as he makes friends with the school-body, the film doesn’t really go anywhere. The football results are a secondary concern and the obligatory estrangement that develops between Coach Jones and his daughter barely registers as a footnote – she seems to pretty much sort herself out, making her a rather admirable character, pity she didn’t get much screen time. Aside from having to win over a few minor school bullies, entitled parents, confused cops and judgmental school inspectors Radio’s path to integration goes smoother than one might expect, with Coach Jones not having to do much more than raise his voice on a handful of occasions.

So what does Radio have going for it? In a word; optimism. It’s got an incredibly positive view of human nature, a vision of kindness and the ability for one tenderhearted individual to unite a community. That's the major ethos of the film. The movie doesn’t contain any major twists or spectacles because, like its main character, it doesn’t have pretenses. It is simply trying to be an honest film about man with an innocent disposition devoid of deceit, who because of (not in spite of) this is able to befriend and enrich an entire town.

It’s pretty much making the same point as the series Derrick although, lacking the involvement of Ricky Gervais, it doesn’t feel as smug when relaying this reasonably basic concept. In the end Radio’s not exactly spell bounding, in all honesty it’s bang average, but it’s feel-good and it’d probably suit the mood of a sleepy sunny afternoon.

Ash reviews: Claire’s Knee

“I’m sending you in like a canary”

There was a lot hinging on this film. On a basic level was my enjoyment. But more importantly was the friendship and mutual respect that Stewie and I have developed over the years. When we began this blog the idea was to choose an album and a film for the other two to review *disclaimer – basis of blog subject to change* Albums which the designator enjoyed that maybe the reviewer hadn’t heard, films that had stuck in the minds of the picker but had eluded the pickee. So I was intrigued when I was asked to review Claire’s Knee. Having never heard of it before I had a quick flick through IMDb to find it was a French film and winner of the 1970 Prix Louis Delluc for best film of the year. I asked why this particular film had been chosen only to find that Stewie had gone all John. J. Rambo on the rules. His reply went something like “Heard it talked about, wanted to know if it was any good”. It’s my turn to pick Stewie’s next film so before I even began contemplating Claire’s Knee I trawled through numerous ‘worst’ and ‘longest’ films lists in the event that it was tripe. Armed with an arsenal full of Rob Schneider classics and eight-hour epics I sat down to watch the film.

Claire’s Knee revolves around Jerome who’s spending his last holiday as a bachelor at Lake Annecy before he returns home to marry his fiancé. Whilst at the lake he runs into an old flame Aurora, a writer, who explains she would like to make him the protagonist of her latest novel. In the interests of her story she encourages Jerome to enter into love games with the daughter of one of the neighbours. He willingly obliges, sweeping the sixteen-year old Laura off her feet and relays all to Aurora. But before long Jerome becomes fixated with her older sister Claire and more significantly, her knee.

When I first read a blurb, quite similar to the one I’ve just written, it sounded like it was going to be a seedy French film from the 70s with the main character being some sort of suave Benny Hill. How wrong I was. Claire’s Knee is so much more than that. Essentially it is just about a sophisticated bachelor who wants to get the final temptations of single life out of the way before he settles down. But in actuality what we are presented with is a fantastic character study that poses issues relating to courtship, love and life that people deal with every day. The way in which the film addresses the intimacies of interpersonal relationships and discusses philosophies of life whilst managing to keep light and entertaining is nothing less than brilliance. It’s clear that the director, Eric Rohmer, has thought about all his characters inside and out. They’re all portrayed well but Jean-Claude Briarly shines as Jerome and Béatrice Romand gives a stand out performance as the younger sister Laura.

I get the horrible feeling that if this film were made today it would be a derpilicious love triangle rom-com featuring the man that talent forgot, Dennis Quaid, with horse-face Jessica Parker as the writer and co starring Megan Fox and whatever other tits and ass they could afford with the remaining budget. Thankfully it’s not. I think one of the only other directors able to pull this off would be Woody Allen and I think that’s why I enjoyed the film so much. I’m a big Allen fan and Claire’s Knee put me in mind of his work quite a lot. It’s simply shot with few cuts but that doesn’t matter. It all rests upon the dialogue and performances, both of which are great. I wanted to hate this film, I really did, if only to put Stewie through viewing purgatory. But I couldn’t bring myself to write anything bad about it. This is film number five of a six film ‘moral’ series so I’ll definitely be making a point to see the rest. If you’re not a fan of a lot of talking in films then this isn’t for you, there’s a shit-ton of it. Otherwise if you enjoy pondering philosophies of life and don’t mind reading subtitles (unless you’re fluent in French) then check it out.

Dayve reviews: Reviewing Her

My first assignment is to review the movie 'her'. A film I know absolutely nothing about and; as any professional, dedicated writer would; I conduct zero research into the film before viewing... Even so much as a plot synopsis might serve to influence my opinion or alter the way in which I digest this audio/visual feast. I want my mind to remain the proverbial blank canvas, and so I dive right in like Erik Weihenmayer: bold, brave and blind.

The film begins with a dark screen and an eerie tone, I find myself immediately unsettled, the film's title 'her' centres the screen in an etchy font. Perhaps this is a horror movie, or even a deep, psychological thriller. I now fear, after all of 5 seconds, that knowing nothing about the film might be an unneccesary distraction as my mind wanders and I try to deduce what kind of film would open with such a feel and indeed who 'her' might refer to... Is she a murderer? If there's a dead body, I'm almost certain 'she' did it.

The unsettling tone is quickly displaced by Joaquin Phoenix's sweet moustache. I am a relative fan of Joaquin Phoenix and his work. I am a huge fan of glorious facial hair. He is writing what sounds like a love letter. The camera backs up to show him seated in an office of other writers doing the same. Overwhelming confusion. Further eerie tones serve only to confuse and unsettle me further. This movie has only been on for 2 minutes and it is already a bewildering rollercoaster of emotions. This time my fragile mood is rescued by what sounds to be Chris Pratt's voice. Confirmed. Chris Pratt on screen also rocking a bodacious 'tache. I am a huge fan of Chris Pratt and, again, I am a huge fan of glorious facial hair. I decide to settle down and allow the answers to find me.

Theodore (Joaquin) seems vacant. He requests that his interactive earpiece play melancholic music to him. The earpiece reads his emails and he is referred to as a mopey version of himself in one of the messages. Who hurt him? Was it her? The only sensible theory at this point is that he has been harmed by 'her', the titlepiece of the film. Theodore appears to live alone in this modernised world, where he has a rather cool looking holographic virtual reality video game. However, for all of its technological prowess, the gameplay does appear to be somewhat lacking; but then that is, arguably, the direction that video games seem to be going in... I digress.

Theodore sans moustache. A flashback to happier times with a certain 'her'. His ex, we will have to assume. An insight into Theodore's current mood. Memories of joyous events and happier times juxtapose his current lugubrious solemnity. He lays in bed and uses his interactive earpiece to scan a chatroom for women who can't sleep. He enters into what I shall catchily refer to as; an "interactive earpiece cybersexual experience" with a less than mentally sound woman. She coerces him into vocally simulating choking her with a dead cat for sexual gratification. I am left with a prodigious feeling of guilt and shame at my own arousal. Emotions not dissimilar, I'm sure, to Theodore's own. Well played, director, well played.

Theodore will later replace his old operating system on his computer/interactive earpiece with a more updated version of artificial intelligence. After a few short personality questions to generate an appropriately personal AI he is presented with Scarlett Johansson's sexy tone. A definite win in terms of computer generated operating system voiceovers. It will become more and more apparent as the movie progresses that the 'her' t'whit the title of the movie refers is, in fact, the AI OS self-dubbed "Samantha" and voiced over by Scarlett. To anyone who has seen this movie; has any prior knowledge of this movie; or has even so much as seen a trailer for this movie and has read up to this point; I offer my sincerest apologies. Hopefully, now that I possess a fundamental understanding of the plot as it unfolds before me, I can provide a more pallatable review from this point onward.

The movie explores the development of a relationship between a sentient man; complete with cognitive ability, emotions, a functioning digestive system etc.; and an artificial intelligence, described as being made up of DNA created from the personalities of all the programmers who developed it, but complete with intuition and an ability to grow through experience. Evolving emotionally in much the same way as man.

This calls into question much of what we understand about the real world. What is it, specifically, about the homosapien that distinguishes it as justifiably more "real" than an artificial intelligence? If it is indeed the presence of a soul, does this ability to grow and develop emotionally quantify a soul? If man is procreated by taking equal parts DNA from each parent and subsequently, after birth, continues to evolve and develop due to environmental experience; is this so different to the process by which Samantha was created and develops?

As the film continues, Samantha becomes increasingly more self-aware. She has desires, thoughts and an internal monologue of her own, which she is admittedly embarrassed about. Not before long the relationship between Theodore and Samantha becomes sexual and they perform an act of cybersex even more difficult to comprehend than the earlier episode. For the second time in less than an hour I find myself confusingly and ashamedly aroused.

Morning comes around and there is a notable tension, an awkward atmosphere following their sexual encounter. I find myself willing Theodore to delete Samantha and download a new OS. Things can surely only end poorly when you start to develop an emotional involvement with the artificial intelligence controlling all of your sensitive data. What does this say about my own commitment issues? Best not to dwell. Theodore interrupts Samantha and states that he's not in a place to commit (to a machine..?). Samantha responds: "Don't worry, I'm not gonna stalk you!" - Alarm bells. At this point I know Theodore is in too deep and I only wish I could be there to pull the plug on his behalf. Alas, he is in too deep and what follows is the account of their twisted love story.

The film intelligently depicts, in what is perhaps a statement on actual modern society, the blossoming relationship between man and machine and; thanks to a stellar performance from Joaquin Phoenix, I find myself utterly entranced at points and willing this to end as pleasantly as any inter species relationship can. The supporting cast all play their parts convincingly and entertainingly (and did I mention Chris Pratt..? with a moustache!?) and, although we don't see Scarlett Johansson, she provides much of the film's emotion with her fine vocal work. Ultimately, a very entertaining motion picture. Around the one hour mark, I did find myself wondering how I was less than half way through and where we could possibly be going from here, but that speaks more about my own attention span (or lack therein of) than of the movie's quality. GO SEE THIS FILM! Take snacks. It's long.

The year is 2014; the Internet now not only assists and maintains, but influences and controls many aspects of modern society.  It acts as a source of information, entertainment, frustration, procrastination, education, grocery shopping and companionship.  All the while remaining impartial, unbiased and tolerant.

It is, then, the only true modern hero. A role model. That is, it displays characteristics and behaviour t'whit we all should strive.

It is a platform on which anyone with so much as a single thought process can be expressed an entire world over.  It encourages sharing and thrives on infinite social input.  It is a sycophant's soapbox, a pedestal to the pompous, a breeding ground for contempt and the only plausible home to cyber bullying.

This uniquely powerful tool has simultaneously made information more readily available than ever before in history and served to illustrate a global incompetence and illiteracy.

With so many websites and such a wealth of information and entertainment at your beckon call, where do you begin?  We couldn't say, but we did put this blog here to contribute to the chaos.

We only hope you swing by and enjoy our dilly-dallying, our shilly-shallying, our collaborative dithering, our joint uncertainty. Our collective indecision.

We're not sure what makes you come here, but we know you're a fool not to look around.  Get educated.  Be entertained.  Stay indecisive.