Sunday 30 November 2014

Bibliography III

Films
Coraline (2009) Henry Selick
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Robert Wiene
Eraserhead (1977) David Lynch
Hocus Pocus (1993) Kenny Ortega
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Terence Fisher
Horns (2014) Alexandre Aja
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Robert Wise
The Matrix (1999) Andy Wachowski / Larry Wachowski
The Mummy (1959) Terence Fisher
Beauty and the Beast (1991) Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
Star Wars (1977) George Lucas
Get on Up (2014) Tate Taylor

Books
"Act 1" (found in Macbeth) by William Shakespeare
"Grownups" (found in It) by Stephen King
"July of 1958" (found in It) by Stephen King

Friday 21 November 2014

Moments before 1am. In Belfast you normally have rain to listen to. Which I like.

But what if it's a clear night? Usually a weekday? And no drink fuelled singing star is performing to their sleeping audience?

Then you listen to cars.

Count them like sheep.

And wonder why they're being driven at this time of night.

Monday 17 November 2014

Lykke Li

I have fallen behind. Don't think less of me. But instead read more of me.

Am writing this from the spare bedroom of my friend Hester's house. Her family have been very kind and have given me the red room for the night. It's such a comfortable place. Safe from the rest of the world.

I miss the Midlands. It's got such easy access to all of England. Which is a wonderful country for culture. And atmosphere. And in various cases, acceptance.

This has given me something to really think about.

Last night I was in Manchester.

My goal was Lykke Li.

And ever since I've been playing her cover of Fleetwood Mac's Silver Springs.

Her movements were strange. Her voice eased into perfection after the first song. And her blatant refusal to sing songs from her first album tells me that she can let go. Eventually.

Her last album I Never Learn is the concept album anyone brokenhearted needs. Rather than stoop to how bad one feels or how cruel love is, Li tries to see the other point of view. She tells it like it is. Her voice is ripe with hurt.

Soon enough you're dealing with as close to a David Lynch Romantic Comedy as you're going to get.

Could I claim to be over my last love interest? To a degree. I certainly feel that I'm trying to keep myself collected.

There is no answer to 'The One'. And you can't force someone to like you. Once I get back to Belfast I'll be giving time to think of new interests. And potentially a new lifestyle. A new setting.

And Lykke Li is welcome to join.

Sunday 26 October 2014

Bibliography II

Films

Carry One Screaming! (1966) Gerald Thomas
Magic Mike (2012) Steven Soderbergh
Ghostbusters (1984) Ivan Reitman
Dracula Untold (2014) Gary Shore
Life After Beth (2014) Jeff Baena
An American Werewolf in London (1981) John Landis
Gone Girl (2014) David Fincher
The Devil Rides Out (1968) Terence Fisher
Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Jonathan Demme
The Exorcist (1973) William Friekin
Annabelle (2014) John R. Leonetti
The Maze Runner (2014) Wes Ball
'71 (2014) Yann Demange
Nightcrawler (2014) Dan Gilroy
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) John Boorman
The Exorcist III (1990) William Petter Blatty

Books

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
"June of 1958" (found in It) by Stephen King

Thursday 25 September 2014

Bibliography

Films

Let's Be Cops (2014) Luke Greenfield
The X-Files (1998) Rob Bowman
If I Stay (2014) R. J. Cutler
The Boxtrolls (2014) Annable / Stacchi
The Deerhunter (1978) Michael Cimino
Solomon Kane (2009) Michael J. Bassett
Pride (2014) Matthew Warchus
The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014) Lasse Hallstörm
The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013) Mikkel Nørgaard
The Guest (2014) Adam Wingard
Before I Go To Sleep (2014) Rowan Joffe
Pacific Rim (2013) Guellimoro del Toro
A Most Wanted Man (2014) Anton Corbijn
The Wrestler (2008) Darren Aronofsky
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) Kevin Smith
Nikita (1990) Luc Besson

Reading List

"The Stand" (found in The Stand) by Stephen King
"Holston" (found in Wool) by Hugh Howey
"Proper Gauge" (found in Wool) by Hugh Howey
"The Shadow Before" (found in It) by Stephen King

Saturday 6 September 2014

Long Read the King

Finally finished reading Stephen King's The Stand.  I won't tell how long it took.  It's too painful thinking about it.  One has a suspicion that it took me longer to read it than King took to read it.

Usually I split up gigantic novels into sections.  Easily done with The Stand as there are headed parts.

For Don Quixote, The Lord of the Rings and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell; my plan was to ease my digestion of them.  But for King I felt I should tackle this one feat in one go.

But I also went for it in one pace.

My manager Simon encourages me to read Stephen King's It next.  Or at least closer to Halloween.

Have you seen the size of It?  The book is huge.  You certainly get your £9.99's (Waterstones price) worth.  And with the promise not to buy any more books until I finish my current collection, to the library it may be.  Considering they only lease the book for three weeks, I'll have to speed up my pace and almost calculate how many pages per day I should read.

This does meet the over thinking standards of a Virgo.

On Wednesday Michelle, Conor and I had dinner at Chopin Grand Cafe.  Joanna the owner, and personal friend, wasn't present.  But with cheap champagne and loose sexuality morality (I'm talking completely of myself here) our night was sweet.  Our sophisticated banter should be Scissor Sisters' song any day soon.

And another happy note.  Natalie bought me Adventure Time Monopoly.  That's sure to brighten up any day or night.

Even if I play by myself.

Late birthday presents are the best.


Sunday 31 August 2014

Legal Insomnia

Foolishly took a nap when I got home from work.  

Now it's past midnight.  On television there's a documentary on Blondie's Parallel Lines.  Have consumed a number of Pistachios.  I can see myself up until 2.00am.

Thankfully the Vinyl / CD player my mother got me for my birthday will come in use.  I would read.  But I think I've accepted that Stephen King's The Stand will have me reading until my death.  Maybe I can get another thousand years of life prescribed by the NHS.

Briar and I went to see If I Stay last night.  My weekly Pepsi (I have to cut down) and Chloe Grace Moretz.  On all accounts making it a Sweet Saturday.

The film was all right.  The first half was pretty generic.  In my head there was a vision of Moretz in conversation with her agent.  He looking at her and saying;

"OK doll.  You got what it takes.  But to tie you over you gotta make a teenage movie.  Something with a bit of love.  You seen what that other studio got?  Fault in Our Stars shit.  Load of girls bawlin' the lamps out cause some girl is dyin' or somethin'.  You could do that no problem.  I said it.  I says, 'Joey this kid got it.  She'll make 'em laugh, make 'em cry... She's terrific!'"

Chloe Grace Moretz rolls her eyes and accepts the first script available.  

There is a moment in the film between Chloe Grace Moretz and her character's grandfather.  For such a teenage movie that ensures it ticks its expected boxes, this moment stands out.  There is a suspicion that if the film focused on this relationship as opposed to a love interest, I would have flooded the final row of the cinema with my tears.

However I would choose The Fault in Our Stars over this.  No stigma towards Moretz.  Because she's wonderful.  And beautiful.  But Fault had a unique performance from Shailene Woodley.  And it wasn't forced.  It made me laugh for the characters, cry for them when needbe.  And when was the last time I could say that about that characters?

Doctor Who.  Tiptoeing around the first episode with Peter Capaldi, I did find myself with the second episode.  Into the Dalek.  Directed by Ben Wheatley I saw.  Which excited me.  

Doctor Who has bored me of late.  I have had complete faith in Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.  But it's Stephen Moffat's writing that makes me fall by the wayside.  But the latest episode did make sit up and pay attention.  Moments were very much like Jon Pertwee / Tom Baker times.  Possibly because of Capaldi's presence.

So I may continue with it.

But ultimately my attention should fall on my huge DVD collection.  The X-Files and Twin Peaks.

Now Patti Smith is playing in the background.  Should revisit Marilyn Manson's cover of Rock 'n' Roll Nigger.  Some people think that song's racist.  And yet Patti Smith is said to be one of the most open minded people on earth.  I can see that.  For someone who busked in Paris and played the New York scene.  

She's seen things man.

In Northern Ireland we've had a very clear view of narrow mindedness.


I may not fall asleep for another hour.  So Stephen King may be my activity.

Which will then flow into my dreams.

Making them nightmares.

Pushing me to reach for the light of alertness.

Before it's too late.


I can't wait for Halloween!