Category Archives: Lists

Monday Movie Mentions #5…

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The NeverEnding Story (1984)

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Falkor – the cutest dragon in cinema.

I was never a great fan of fluffy fantasy movies, not then and not now, but this was different, although perhaps more importantly, I was different. It was probably the first movie in the genre that I really had an affection for.

Cinema was a lot more innocent in the early eighties, and The NeverEnding Story, which came out in 1984, was a product of that time. It was a golden period for my memories, and like a lot of families then, we had a library of movies that had been recorded onto video (back in the dark VHS days) and I probably wore the tracking out on this one more than any other.

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To avoid awkwardness, the Empress at a more appropriate age.

The fantastical plot appealed to me at the time. Bastian, running away from some school bullies, opens a mysterious and ancient book (in an even more mysterious bookstore) and, well… falls into the world created within. Who amongst us hasn’t wanted to do that at one time or another?

But it was the characters that made this adventure so enjoyable – from Falkor, the least frightening dragon in the history of everything, to the similarly soft Rock Biter, it was all very muppet-like. It was unashamedly a movie for kids.

And yes, just in case you bump into my sister, I’ll have to admit that I did fancy the Childlike Empress, the Queen of Fantasia, played by Tami Stronach… but even though she was just a little girl at the time, I was three years younger than her, so I should get a pass on that.

Typical – I always have liked older women.

Sunday Song Suggestions #5…

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I Remember You – Skid Row – 1990

Skid Row had a few hits in the late eighties and early nineties, but unfortunately for them, they were around at the same time as mainstream rock juggernauts Bon Jovi and Guns N Roses, so that was never going to be good for their longevity or success. Now they are little more than a footnote in the history books.

Having said that, I Remember You, which is taken from their self-titled 1989 debut album, and is quite possibly their most widely known song, is unequivocally one of the best power ballads of the year. It didn’t crack the top 5 in the US, barely made it into the top 40 in the UK, and topped out at number 12 in Australia, which is where I learned to love this song as a teenager… back when the charts meant something.

Yes, as you would expect, the song is all big hair and sweeping guitar solos, but give it a chance if that’s not your thing – lead singer Sebastian Bach’s soaring vocals are up there with the very best in the hard rock genre.

Friday Fiction Fixes #4…

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Battle Royale by Koushun Takami – 1999

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The minimalist UK cover.

If you’ve seen (or read) The Hunger Games you will have a fair idea of what this very good Japanese novel is about, because author Suzanne Collins did a stellar job of ‘borrowing’ some of the themes and plot points for her decidedly more child-friendly dystopian work. It’s a shame, because Battle Royale came out almost a full decade earlier and often falls into the shadow of Ms. Collins’ piece, and as a result, doesn’t really get the credit it deserves.

The story is simple. As part of a student programme authorised by the Japanese government, a class of high school students are taken to a deserted island, provided with weapons, and forced to kill each other until only one of them is left. It’s not Dickens, but it is effective.

The translation is not perfect, and sometimes it reads a little awkwardly, and you can tell a phrase hasn’t made the jump from Japanese to English with the greatest of ease, but the bones of the story are universal. At over 600 pages it’s quite a long novel, but once the action starts it rarely lets up.

It would also be prudent at this juncture to issue a caveat. Battle Royale may very well have been the inspiration for The Hunger Games (although Collins denies it) but don’t let the connection fool you. Takami’s novel is extremely violent and disturbing, so if you’re going to read it… you have been warned.

Tuesday TV Testimonials #4…

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Batman (1966 – 1968)

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The classic crimefighting duo.

Adam West who played the titular character in this self-referential and campy sixties show, died a few days ago at the age of 88, so what better way to honour him than with a brief write-up on a blog nobody reads?

Batman was repeated throughout my teenage years, and I used to watch it in the mornings over breakfast before going to school. Forget Michael Keaton and Christian Bale (and absolutely forget Val and George) – those guys were just pretending to be the caped crusader. To me, growing up, Adam West, in his brightly coloured, sexually-repressed world, was Batman. And Burt Ward as Robin was the nerdy sidekick we all secretly wanted to be captured every episode.

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I promise you, it wasn’t the outfit I liked.

It was a show that knew it was silly and enjoyed poking fun at itself. It never took itself seriously. From the fight scene overlays of ZAP and KAPOW, to the measured walks Batman and Robin took up the sides of buildings, where celebrities of the day would often greet them from their windows for no reason – the show was always laughing right along with the viewer at its own absurdity.

Who was the greatest Batman villain? Well, Joker had his crazy moments and The Riddler was always fun to watch, but it’s hard to overlook Julie Newmar as Catwoman. She was… well, she had the best criminal mind of the whole lot of them, didn’t she?

And over fifty years on from when Batman debuted, there are very few theme tunes that are more widely known than this one.

I hope Adam West is doing the Batusi in the afterlife.

Monday Movie Mentions #4…

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Eddie and the Cruisers II (1989)

All right, this may be an an obscure one. I’ve never been able to discuss this movie with anyone outside my own family because nobody else seems to have seen it.

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My dad was a singer – in much the same way that I’m a writer – and he loved this movie along with the prequel. The first one from 1983 is good, but the sequel, released six years later, speaks to me a little more. Neither are critical darlings, but both are cult favourites.

The arching narrative of the two films tells the story of legendary musician Eddie Wilson, who fakes his death in a car crash once his band makes it big in the sixties. Nobody sees or hears of him for twenty years, until he is discovered rekindling his love for the music in a seedy Canadian bar.

Rick: You said, “Play more intense!”
Eddie: Louder ain’t more intense.
Rick: Then what is? What is more intense?
Eddie: I was in the desert once, out in the middle of nowhere, absolutely nowhere. Just me, the sand and silence. But if you know what to listen for, it ain’t silent out there. I heard a music out there I never heard before. In the silence. That’s what I’m after, kid. That’s intense. You dig down deep and touch something like that, people are gonna listen. They’ll listen to you because you got something to say! Not just something to show. You understand?
Rick: Yeah, I think I know what you’re talking about.

The performances are not great, and there are elements of it that expose it as a low budget excursion, but Michael Pare is perfect in the central role, bringing an intensity and grit to his character that succeeds in elevating everyone else around him.

The soundtrack for both movies is performed by John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band, and it is fantastic. Video footage even exists of me and my sister in the late nineties lip-synching to this song – complete with me pretending to rock out on my electric guitar, and my sister playing a broom-saxophone.

Good times!

Sunday Song Suggestions #4…

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Hard to Say – Sawyer Brown – 1993

In the early nineties there was a cable channel called CMT – Country Music Television – and if I wasn’t watching anything else, CMT would be on in the corner of the room.

Country music had moved on from when it used to be known as country ‘n’ western, and everyone wore stetsons and spurs. Sure, you still got that, but in the early nineties it was trying to align itself more with modern pop stylings.

Sawyer Brown was my favourite band in the revitalised genre, and they often had a very tongue-in-cheek approach to their songs. Their tenth studio offering, The Outskirts of Town, from 1993, is the only country album I have ever bought. Hard to Say is not their best track – it’s not even the best single released from this album – but it did play on high rotation at the time, and it reminds me of being a teenager.

…and you have to admit, Mark Miller is wearing a fantastic suit.

Friday Fiction Fixes #3…

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Motel by Ed McBain – 1978

It’s no secret: I’m a big fan of Ed McBain. I’ve read and enjoyed dozens of his novels over the years, but I want to put in a good word here for Motel – originally published in the German edition of Playboy back in 1978. It’s a timeless character study and probably the finest short story of his I have read.

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The man and the myth.

Motel is a thirty page short detailing the brief romance between Frank and Millie, the only two characters in the story. It’s set entirely in a motel room and is about how they come to terms with the stale marriages they are caught in – Frank with Mae, and Millie with Michael – while their relationship with each other changes. There is no murder, no sex, and no swearing. There’s no action of any kind. In fact, nothing really happens at all. Sounds great, right?

McBain has the keenest sense of realistic dialogue I’ve ever read in fiction, and I say that having been a huge fan of Stephen King since I was fifteen… but McBain takes it to the next level. Conversations are so simple, but beneath the surface he manages to create intrigue, depth and subtext that you just wouldn’t think possible with how basic his writing is.

And that’s not a slight on his ability – that’s genius. Prose like that is incredibly hard to write.

 

Tuesday TV Testimonials #3…

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The Crystal Maze (1990 – 1995)

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The classic map.

Now that I’m thinking about it, The Crystal Maze was probably the only pure game show of the nineties that I made time to watch, and it’s at least in part thanks to the zany personality of Richard O’Brien; including his constant asides to the audience at home, his chatter about Mumsey, and those semi-regular moments when he would break out his harmonica for a few bars.

The only thing I didn’t really enjoy about The Crystal Maze was the final round, because all the fun stuff happened before. Trying to catch those pesky pieces of gold paper in the Crystal Dome against the clock just seemed like letting the air out of a balloon slowly after all the ingenuity and originality that went into the four zones leading up to it.

O’Brien really was the lifeblood of the show… as evidenced by the fact that when hosting duties were handed over to Ed Tudor-Pole – who seemed to me to be doing a bad impersonation of his predecessor – at the beginning of the penultimate fifth series, I lost interest and stopped watching.

The show is making a comeback this year, so it will be interesting to see if it can recapture the magic of its original run, although without O’Brien’s enthusiasm, that may be a tough ask.

Monday Movie Mentions #3…

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When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

When I still lived at home in my early twenties, I changed the outgoing message on our answerphone to the infamous orgasm scene from this movie – you know, this one…

All these years later I still find it funny, even though my mum doesn’t seem to share the joke, especially as her mother had called from Australia one day and swiftly hung up because she thought she was… well, interrupting something.

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The morning after the night before…

But this movie is more than just a trailer for Meg Ryan’s two minute fake-out. If I’m asked to name my favourite romantic comedy, this is invariably the movie I offer up. It’s a genre traditionally aimed at females and is often loaded with sentimentality and somewhat safe humour.

While it’s fair to say that rom-coms have somewhat saturated the market in recent years, When Harry Met Sally… still feels fresh nearly thirty years on. Released in 1989, the movie manages to swerve the syrup and (for the most part) avoid the potholes of the genre.

Harry: Had my dream again where I’m making love, and the Olympic judges are watching. I’d nailed the compulsories, so this is it, the finals. I got a 9.8 from the Canadians, a perfect 10 from the Americans, and my mother, disguised as an East German judge, gave me a 5.6. Must have been the dismount.

Sure, everyone lives happily ever after by the time the credits roll, but the journey to get there feels real and earned, thanks to its biting and pointed social commentary – usually pitched perfectly by Billy Crystal.

Sunday Song Suggestions #3…

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Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden – 1994

Grunge was a very big deal in the early to mid-nineties, but it wasn’t for me, and I didn’t shed a tear when Kurt Cobain took himself out in 1994. Having said that, Soundgarden was one of the biggest proponents of the genre, and I got along with their music. This song was making waves around that time and I’ve always liked it.

Black Hole Sun would have been a fine tune without the apocalyptic video to go along with it, but the freaky and surreal visuals elevate it to something that even a jaded rocker like me can appreciate. Sure, the words may be complete nonsense, but this song is about feel rather than lyrical depth, and the haunting melody is something that has stayed with me since this song came out.

After the unfortunate death of lead singer Chris Cornell a couple of weeks ago, it seems like a fitting time to bring it up, and to celebrate (probably) my favourite grunge track.