The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

Valley of the Boom / Halt and Catch Fire

by Leave a Comment

There seems to be a tech season on Wednesday on the National Geographic channel so there could be good docs to watch every Wednesday for a few weeks.

There is a 6 episode drama (with doc elements) with high potential about the late-90s tech bubble called Valley of the Boom. It starts Wed 16/1/19 on National Geographic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_the_Boom

Also this Wednesday, as part of the tech season, at 9pm is a 2 hour doc about a failed 1994 Apple company called Magic.

PS I strongly recommend a show called Halt and Catch Fire (drama about creating 80s tech companies) if you have an Amazon Prime streaming account.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series)

Sleepwalker (2017) – on UK Netflix

by 7 Comments

A woman with sleeping problems joins a medical programme and starts waking up in alternative realities.

I’d never heard of it so I had no idea if it was going to explain its mysteries, or if it was not even going to attempt to do so. For once it’s a weird movie that has a proper story that reaches the end without resorting to random weird **** that doesn’t mean much of anything. It keeps it together and tells the one joined up genuine story from start to end. The final overall explanation was clichéd and deeply unremarkable but it was acceptable, and they added in other revelations that were mildly original. I give it a big thumbs up for just getting to the end with coherence so a competent explanation is just a cherry on top.

It is very reminiscent of David Lynch but without the overt artiness. The upside to the less arty nature of the film is that the story is told with a good pace and conventional plotting. Conventional storytelling might be a little prosaically plodding but it’s generally more satisfying for the end viewer. The downside is that it lacks the flamboyant off » Continue Reading.

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

by 29 Comments

As seen on BBC2

Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) directed documentary about the British experience of World War 1.

The big deal is that he’s taken creaky black and white footage and colourised it and dubbed on recreated soundtracks (including dialogue identified by lip readers). The intention is to make the Charlie Chaplin figures of war documentaries come alive and feel less like old people from a very long ago time. The technique works and looks great (if a little 40s Technicolor) with only the very occasional odd looking moment (one man’s black hair looked like an oil slick). It achieves the desired effect and brings the footage to life with an immediacy that it previously lacked. A large portion at the start (circa half an hour) and a small section at the end (circa five minutes) are in black and white with maybe an hour in the middle made up of newly coloured material.

The soundtrack is made up of voiceovers by servicemen reminiscing about their experiences. I assume they were recorded several decades after the events described. These voiceovers dominate and we get very little of the newly dubbed soundtracks, but little is said by » Continue Reading.

The Surprising History of the ’80s Teen Movie by James King

by 6 Comments

This looks promising at only £4 on the Kindle (£9 just a few days ago).

Fast Times and Excellent Adventures: The Surprising History of the ’80s Teen Movie by James King

Take a trip back to the era of troubled teens and awesome soundtracks; of Reagan, rap and Ridgemont High; of MTV, VHS and ‘Axel F’; of outsiders, lost boys and dead poets; of Bill and Ted, Brooke Shields and the Brat Pack; of three Porky’s, two Coreys and one summer when everyone called her Baby . . .

Fast Times and Excellent Adventures goes behind the scenes of a genre where cult hits mingled with studio blockbusters, where giants like Spielberg and Coppola rubbed shoulders with baby-faced first-timers and where ambitious future superstars Sean, Demi and Tom all got their big break. Music, comedy and politics – all play a part in the surprisingly complex history of the ’80s teen movie. And while the films might have been aimed primarily at adolescents, the best tackle universal issues and remain a magnet to all ages. Time of your life, huh kid?

From a late ’70s Hollywood in flux to an early ’90s indie scene that gave youth cinema a timely » Continue Reading.

Do you channel surf anymore?

by 11 Comments

I as good as never do. Streaming, Tivo boxes etc. mean I never watch live broadcasts so there’s never any reason to flick around channels looking for something to watch.

Prompted by watching a movie that was a series of sketches designed to simulate someone channel surfing on late night American TV.

Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)

Comedy sketch film by two writers and various directors (most notably John Landis and Joe Dante).

Sadly it suffers from being made from weak material. You could see the concept for the joke but it was rarely fleshed out into an actual solid joke, or augmented with additional jokes. The invisible man sketch for example does nothing more than show a deluded naked guy think he’s invisible when he’s not. No additional jokes are added to it to flesh it out. It’s very disappointing. Some of the sketches didn’t even have a strong conceptual idea (Jack the Ripper was really the Loch Ness Monster is not only a weak idea, it’s the complete content of the whole sketch). Some sketches seemed almost without jokes (the spoof sci-fi 50s movie that is returned to multiple times could barely rub two jokes » Continue Reading.

FYI new David Hepworth book

by 18 Comments

Probably very old news to most but I just found out. I’ve seen no mention of it here already.

Nothing is Real: The Beatles Were Underrated And Other Sweeping Statements About Pop

Hardcover – 1 Nov 2018

Pop music’s a simple pleasure. Is it catchy? Can you dance to it? Do you fancy the singer?

What’s fascinating about pop is our relationship with it. This relationship gets more complicated the longer it goes on. It’s been going on now for 50 years.

David Hepworth is interested in the human side of pop. He’s interested in how people make the stuff and, more importantly, what it means to us.

In this wide-ranging collection of essays, he shows how it is possible to take music seriously and, at the same time, not drain the life out of it. From the legacy of the Beatles to the dramatic decline of the record shop, from top tips for bands starting out to the bewildering nomenclature of musical genres, with characteristic insight and humour, he explores the highways and byways of this vast multiverse where Nothing Is Real and yet it is, emphatically and intrinsically so. Along the way he asks some essential » Continue Reading.

One day only digital magazine deals (as far as I can tell)

by Leave a Comment

Cheap digital magazine subscriptions on Amazon.

SFX for £14 (usually £28 but sometimes £19.59). FYI I subscribe digitally to SFX and read it without any problem on my Kindle.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/browse/ref=gbps_tit_s-4_0be3_86069eb8?ie=UTF8&node=5384495031&lo=digital-text&pf_rd_p=9a5e355c-e58f-43b0-9747-daf9abc80be3&pf_rd_s=slot-4&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=gb_main&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=KZE5CWR5VJMJEY8MBVX2

Does a reviewer watch all episodes of a very long TV show?

by 14 Comments

I read a short review for the three seasons of the original 70s Battlestar Galactica TV show in SFX magazine. They gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and called it a bit boring (I’m writing all this from memory FYI). It raised a question in my mind that I’ve often wondered. When a professional critic for a magazine (who has other things to watch, read and write) writes a 300 word review of a 20+ hour TV show, how much do they actually watch? Obviously they don’t watch it all. Or do they? Did this reviewer likely watch all three seasons or did they watch a few strategic episodes to cover each season and a few key episodes? The implication in the review is that they watched the whole thing but that seems unlikely. If they didn’t watch it all, shouldn’t the review explain this, or even given a comprehensive description of what was watched and not watched?

FYI Some might have noticed I’ve posted a lot about reviews. It’s just that I’ve been reading lots of magazines lately.

Reviewers bloating their word count (how Jack White wrote his new material)

by 46 Comments

Jack White wrote and demoed his new solo album on his teenage-era four track recording machine in a rented Nashville apartment.

Apparently this is so significant to our understanding and appreciation of his new music that every reviewer feels a need to mention it. Or at least the four or so I’ve read.

I understand the setting of how some songs are created is of interest and is worth mentioning if it’s exotic or unusual. In this case I’m just not seeing it. Famous musician famous for lo-fi methods writes and demos in a spartan lo-fi way doesn’t seem very noteworthy.

Have you read any professionally published reviews that doesn’t mention that Jack White wrote and demoed his new solo album on his teenage-era four track recording machine in a rented Nashville apartment?

Pointless blog post about a dream (apropos to nothing)

by 10 Comments

I woke this morning at 5am with the memory of a dream in my head. In it I brought home about eight cows and took them up to my kitchen and fed them milk from a tap.

I thought to myself: there is no way that dream means anything. That is truly totally random nonsense and no thread of reason or purpose can be found in that.

Ten minutes later I recalled that I’d eaten a whole tin of Heinz-branded beans as part of my dinner and I was concerned that I’d be ‘windy’ the next day.

The cow dream suddenly developed a line of logic that I could trace back from my subconscious to my waking concerns.

There’s no bad music, films or books according to Uncut magazine

by 42 Comments

I’ve just finished reading the new issue and almost everything got a score of 7 out of 10 or above. Only about two things got a 6 out of 10 score. It’s possible there was a solitary 5 out of 10 given but I’m not sure. Frankly I doubt it. The previous issue was also similarly generous with its scores. I haven’t read previous issues before that one to comment on how consistently generous they are.

If everything (or almost everything) is given a score of 6 and above then what use is this scoring system? Their recommendations have no weight when they’re so generous. Without the occasional 3 out of 10 then something getting an 8 means little. I recent-ishly read a self-published book of horror movie reviews (taken from various blogs) and it suffered from the same problem. He was so generous and forgiving that his recommendations were dubious to useless.

Elon Musk biography

by 4 Comments

The best book I read in 2015 is one of the Kindle 99p books of the day.

There’s also a Charles Manson book. I watched the Netflix show Mindhunters and bought and read the book it’s based upon so I’m not in the mood for more serial killer stuff.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SIDCSWY/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_1_w?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=M785VHTXWSVN08PQJ7J8&pf_rd_r=M785VHTXWSVN08PQJ7J8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2e1d5198-3183-4a99-baaf-15b15d290265&pf_rd_p=2e1d5198-3183-4a99-baaf-15b15d290265&pf_rd_i=5400977031

Jack Reacher – Your Thoughts and Opinions

by 31 Comments

I’ve just finished the book Reacher Said Nothing by Andy Martin. It’s an interesting book about the creation of the twentieth novel (Make Me). It’s worth a read if you’re interested in behind the scenes stories.

I’ve not read any of the Reacher novels as I’m not into airport genre fiction. They just don’t do anything for me. Someone said they’d get their hands on a book for me so I can give it a try but I doubt it will hold my attention.

I feel there’s a blog post to be made about the books despite my own lack of useful input. So, any opinions on the books you want to share? Favourites or hated books.

I watched the first movie for the second time. My review:

Jack Reacher (2013) Nomadic ex-military policeman Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) becomes involved in investigating a mass killing by a sniper.

I don’t know if it’s the original book by Lee Child or if it’s this film’s writer-director Christopher McQuarrie, but there’s a strong sense of an intelligent person overseeing what is a rather nuts and bolts pulpy story. It has an authority to it that elevates it a notch or two » Continue Reading.

Society (1989)

by 1 Comment

Society (1989) is a vaguely interesting oddball horror film of some note. It’s on the UK Horror channel tonight at 12:20am. They do not broadcast in HD. My review:

A paranoid 17-year-old high school kid (Billy Warlock) feels increasingly uncomfortable about his wealthy family.

I had very low expectations for this as I tried to watch it circa twenty years ago and gave up with boredom after about half an hour. It was a fair bit better than I expected. It was clunky and awkward with technically weak direction, iffy acting and a sluggish pace but I was expecting it to be much worse than it was. The script is underdeveloped and tells its small story in a plodding, obvious way with too many questionable moments of character behaviour, as well as several unexplained moments. It’s a script that feels like it could have done with another rewrite to add flesh on the bones. If you’re expecting a conventional horror movie it will disappoint as very little happens in the first hour, and there’s no shock scares or suspenseful sequences. It’s not a scary film. It’s too cheesy to be creepy. Despite how clunky and artless the whole thing is, » Continue Reading.

Looking for something to read? – Kindle Unlimited

by 10 Comments

LOUDspeaker on Books

Kindle Unlimited is a £8/$10 monthly subscription on Amazon that allows you to borrow books to read. The catalogue is extensive but it’s mostly self-published. I have dipped in twice many months apart (it’s easy to cancel). Going over the archived list of my borrowed books I picked out these as the better ones I’ve read. They might interest you.

Tiger Tracks – The Classic Panzer Memoir by Wolfgang Faust (author), Sprech Media (translator) Fascinating first-hand account of the hell of the Eastern front from a German’s point of view. I highly recommend this.

The Last Panther – Slaughter of the Reich – The Halbe Kessel 1945 by Wolfgang Faust (author), Sprech Media (translator) Fascinating first-hand account of the hell of the Eastern front from a German’s point of view. I highly recommend this.

D DAY Through German Eyes – The Hidden Story of June 6th 1944 by Holger Eckhertz (author, editor), Sprech Media (translator) Collected verbal recollections from the German point of view transcribed from interviews conducted in the 60s.

D DAY Through German Eyes – Book 2 – More hidden stories from June 6th 1944 by Holger Eckhertz (author, editor), Sprech Media (translator) Collected verbal » Continue Reading.

Wicker Man inspired music

by 5 Comments

I’ve just discovered the existence of a fourth Blood Ceremony album. The vinyl version (with MP3) is currently £10.70 on Amazon for the next two hours as a lightening deal. If I did vinyl I would have bought it. I haven’t heard a note so I have no idea how good or bad it is, but the previous albums are truly excellent. In the past they sounded like Black Sabbath meets Jethro Tull, but in a good way.

From the Amazon product description:

Taking it’s title from this fascinating slice of religious history, Blood Ceremony’s fourth album evokes pagan rites and the bizarre mystical underbelly of rural Britain. Embracing the psychedelic and progressive in their indelible songcraft, guitarist Sean Kennedy, bassist Lucas Gadke, drummer Michael Carrillo and triple threat vocalist/flautist/organist Alia O’Brien have created what Kennedy calls “a very English album,” despite the band’s very Canadian heritage. Recorded to analogue tape with producer Liam Watson at Toe Rag Studios in London, Lord Of Misrule possesses a timeless quality within the rock epoch: It could stand alongside a Shocking Blue or Deep Purple record as easily as it will take it’s place among 2016’s finest albums. Lord Of Misrule conjures a » Continue Reading.

Where the Truth Lies (2005)

by Leave a Comment

Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth are a 50s comedy and musical double act who split after a murder scandal. Fifteen years later a journalist (Alison Lohman) is writing a book about them.

I’m rather so-so on writer-director Atom Egoyan. His films are a bit bland but at least his early work was interestingly odd. His later work became more conventional, but I assumed his identity as an unusual director was lost. I saw Chloe (2009) and thought it was his best film despite being much less ‘interesting’ than his earlier work. Somehow I’ve just kept to my assumption that he was a spent force creatively after The Sweet Hereafter (1997). The trailer for this made it look boring, and the 50s comedy double act subject matter held no appeal. I was happy to skip it for over a decade.

So I started this film with very low expectations. It was significantly better than I expected. Straightaway I was hooked. The film is brilliant. It’s by far his best movie. It’s got a great plot, good dialogue exchanges, the acting is good and it’s visually lavish. I was fully engaged throughout and thought it was a fascinating movie.

» Continue Reading.

Another Video On Demand Classic

by 6 Comments

As seen on the UK version of Netflix:

The Last Heist (2016) Bank robbers end up in a tense hostage situation with the police when a simple bank robbery goes wrong. To make matters worse they are trapped with a notorious serial killer who is on the loose inside the building.

This was stunningly bad. It’s only three or four notches away from The Room (2003) level of ineptitude. It’s not comically bad with endlessly quotable dialogue and twisted logic, but it’s not that far from it. Its problem is that it’s deeply amateurish. It feels like a movie made by fifteen-year-olds who need at least another ten years of maturing and artistic development. The creative minds responsible for this film have obviously seen too many movies but don’t have the competence or the artistry to craft anything of value. As it is they have made a risible movie full of tin-eared dialogue, bad acting, bland TV visuals and sluggish editing.

It’s all so fake looking on all levels. It’s a toxic combination of everything not working and not cohering into something with any hint of realism or at least its own internal BS movie logic. You can » Continue Reading.