Real Topeka People

The preview to ‘Public Enemies’, director Michael Mann’s new pic, with Johnny Depp as notorious bank robber John Dillinger is here:

The movie also stars Christian Bale as FBI Agent Melvin Purvis the man determined to bring Dillinger down (Sidenote: How many kids born in 2009 will be named Melvin? Six? Four?).

Much of the negative slanted discussion in the comments section at Hollywood Elsewhere is focusing on the digital look of the film, a style of cinematography Mann has embraced since ‘Collateral’. I personally don’t think it will weaken the film, even though it is a period piece. I like the unusual vibe it gives Mann’s films (I thought it was one of the best qualities of ‘Miami Vice’).

I’m happy to see Depp stretching his acting muscles outside of a friggin pirate film. He’s the perfect conduit for Dillinger’s dangerous charm.

Mann is certainly one of the best directors working today (he’d make my top 5, with Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, Scorcese and Darren Aronofsky) and I look forward to seeing how he his Mann-isms work in a period crime drama.

You’ve gotta have a bit of knowledge of the source material to get the humour - here’s an alternative universe version of ‘Watchmen’ had it been made into a Saturday morning kid’s cartoon.

Part of me is laughing at these morons at affiliate TV station WKRC-TV in Cincinatti, but another part of me is pretty certain that this is the exact kind of thing I would end up doing if I was in their position.

“I was actually rapping!”

One of the best albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to is from Sydney band The Devoted Few. It’s called ‘Baby, You’re A Vampire’ and it’s an amazingly varied collection of heartfelt ballads, slinky grooves, balls-out rock songs and poppy singalongs. They worked on the album for almost two years, and it’s paid off; there’s an intimacy and personality to the album that is genuinely affecting. ‘Trigger Fingers’ is the energetic opener, guaranteed to get your feet tapping, but it segues into a crooning chorus that you don’t expect. The album is full of these sudden left turns and diversions during songs, and to the band’s credit they work almost everytime.

‘The Death Of Us’ is an angular, jolting, stream-of-consciousness farewell to a relationship. ‘Don’t Listen To Us’ is sure to be a blistering live song, with its slippery base and insistent chorus. Ballads ‘Tom Said’ and ‘You & Me & Everyone Else We Know’ are beautifully sung, simple yet affecting. ‘We Burn’, apart from being a damn good rock song, is a reminder of how cool a horn line can sound when it’s done well.

The Devoted Few have a dash of Faker, a dollop of Death Cab For Cutie, but ultimately their own diverse and musically literate voice.

You can check out a 4 episode ‘Making Of’ Diary at their official page, or preview the majority of this brilliant album at their Myspace page. I highly recommend you check out ‘The Death Of Us’, ‘We Burn’, and ‘You & Me & Everyone Else We Know’. I’ve also chosen ‘Don’t Listen To Us’ as today’s Song of the Day.

From Sydney Band The Devoted Few, a nice mix of tour diary and live show cut to ‘Don’t Listen To Us’ from their excellent new album ‘Baby, You’re A Vampire’ (mini-review to be posted shortly).

These guys are touring March / April and put on a hell of a live show. Dates can be found here.

The first international trailer for the Transformers sequel, ‘Revenge of the Fallen’:

Not sure if I’ve ever gone into details with my feelings on the first Transformers here, but they can be pretty aptly summed up with the word ‘massivedisappointmentthanksMichaelBay’. The first script was an abomination. Apart from the virtually non-existent plot, the writers also came up with one of the dumbest names for a movie protagonist ever; Shia LaBeouf’s ‘Sam Witwicky’. I was buying early on LaBeouf stock prior to seeing the first ‘Transformers’, but I quickly morphed into the stock trader standing on the ledge after realising his portfolio is worth about as much as a turd. The last Indiana Jones film actually made me jump. I don’t think my opinion of LaBeouf will ever recover.

I liked Transformers as a little kid. I thought the concept could have made for a goofy yet wildly entertaining action movie. I even love some of Michael Bay’s films (’The Rock’ is brilliant). But almost every decision made by the creative team of the first Transformers, from script to cast to production, bled all the goodwill I had going into the movie.

And don’t get me started on the ‘battles’ between the Transformers in the first movie - a ridiculous, physics-defying, cartoony-fake, CGI Cluster F.

Transformers 1 is waiting for a rewatch on my DVD shelf at the moment, and as much as I wish it won’t be doubly disappointing on a second viewing, I have no doubt it will. And unfortunately, with the same creative team behind Transformers 2, I’m expecting the same from ‘Revenge of the Pixels’… I mean, ‘Revenge of the Fallen’.

I know Michael Jackson bashing is a bit passe, but Dear God…. this clip is just ghastly.

How would you explain to a seven year old today that this guy was the genius behind ‘Thriller’ and ‘Off The Wall’? His fall from grace must only be rivalled by Whitney Houston’s, and at least she could blame weed and crack. There’s definite body dysmorphia to blame, but the real culprits have to be his parents, who instilled in him a shame in his black heritage. Such a terrible pity.

A sweet little short film that Alex Lloyd decided to marry to ‘What We Started’, the second single from his new ‘Good In The Face Of A Stranger’ album.

The description for this clip by Brisbane garage rockers DZ says it all…. “2 guys, 1 bottle of Jagermeister, 3 minutes.” No prizes for guessing how this one ends…

Caught these guys playing support for Tame Impala last night and loved every minute of them. Very energetic performance, great stage presence, thundering drumming and howling guitar (though they could go a little easier on the strobe lighting). Definitely a band to look out for.

Check out this clip from ‘Extras’, where Kate Winslet gets spookily prescient with her reasoning behind choosing to star in a ‘Holocaust movie’ (like ‘The Reader’, for which she just won the Best Actress Academy Award):

Clever girl. I’m sure Cuba Gooding Jnr has his agent on the phone at the moment….