Natural Born Killers

Today i rewatched "Natural Born Killers" for the first time in maybe a decade. When it first came out I loved it, but I didn't care for it so much this time, probably for two main reasons.

a) The mixed media look (black and white to colour to grainy colour to animation) seemed really interesting ten years ago, now it was just annoying.

b) Juliette Lewis. I've enjoyed a lot of her movies (Cape Fear, From Dusk til Dawn, Kalifornia, Strange Days) but I don't think she's added anything positive for me to any of those films. This one was no exception.

Quentin Tarantino wrote the script for this movie, but later distanced himself from it, and I think was so unhappy with the final version that he asked to have his name removed from the credits as scriptwriter, and replaced with "story by". The funny thing is that even though this is pretty average, it's not even close to being his worst film. To find out what is, read on (or just scroll to the bottom if you're lazy/not interested).

And now, my favourite Tarantino films, in order of 1 to 10 (Natural Born Killers comes in at number 9).

1. True Romance

Where I saw it: On video, early to mid nineties I suppose. Why it's a Tarantino movie: Written by Quentin, but directed by Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Deja Vu). Why it's possibly the best movie of all time: Christian Slater, Dennis Hopper, Patricia Arquette, Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, Samuel L Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Rappaport, and Tom Sizemore. Just a once in a lifetime cast, although some of them were pretty unknown back them, so if you blink you might miss them.Best performance from a star of a crappy 80's sitcom: Balki from "Perfect Strangers" plays an assistant to a big time Hollywood producer who gets caught in the middle of a botched drug deal. He shines in every scene he's in. Best performance from a future star: Years before he played Tony Soprano, James Gandolfini makes a five minute appearance as a truly frightening hitman. Best scene: When Chritopher Walken confronts Dennis Hopper trying to find out where his son is, and Dennis tells him a lengthy story to bait him into killing him quickly before they get the info.

2. Kill Bill Volume One

Where I saw it: At the movies I think with Murray and Corey? Or might have been Wheelie. Man my memory sucks. Best scene: Either the final fight where Uma takes out roughly 500 swordsmen over about 20 minutes, then fights with Lucy Liu in a snow covered garden, or the animated sequence covering Lucy's traumatic childhood and development into an assassin for hire. What I could have done without: The scene with Buck in the hospital. The crazy Japanese master sword maker and his saki seemed out of place too. Why you possibly shouldn't watch this movie: If you're sensitive about violence in films, this is kind of extreme, even for this genre.

3. Kill Bill Volume Two

Where I saw it: At Arndale with Corey and Bek. Just before we got our car broken into, but after Corey got into a knife fight with someone at the Candy Bar.Why it's better than Kill Bill Volume One: The dialogue is great, and Michael Madsen is great as a faded tough guy who's ready to go. Also David Carradine is fantastic as Bill. Best scene: The climax of the movie when Uma finally reaches Bill and is about to enact her revenge, and he goes into a lengthy speech about Superman. What could have been left out: The entire sequence where Uma is mentored by the crazy ageless asian guy. That was kind of stupid.

4. Pulp Fiction

When I saw it: At the movies, December of 1994, at Academy, back in the days when people used to go to town to see movies. Saw it with Wheelie and Gav. I'm pretty sure I turned 18 like a week or two before and had to show my ID to get in.Why this movie is awesome: A great script with humourous conversations about McDonalds and the metric system, back before these types of random, quirky discussions became prevalent in movies. A narrative structure that was ahead of it's time too, with the story told in chapters out of chronological order, but all tying together in the end. Career peformance for Samuel L Jackson. Even though a lot of his movies are pretty average these days, thanks to his performance in this he'll always occupy a page in my cool book. The funniest scene ever filmed which involves someone being shot in the face. A great cameo from Christopher Walken who just pops up to tell a story about a watch. Why this movie occasionally sucks: Because the whole Uma Thurman storyline is a bit boring. And because now I know what a gimp is, and I kind of wish I didn't. And what happens in the basement of a pawn shop should stay in the basement. Also Bruce Willis' girlfriend in this movie is possibly the most annoying female character in any movie, ever. Finally, it's kind of long. This is just nitpicking really though, this one's a classic.

5. Sin City

Where I saw it: At the Reading Cinema at West Lakes with Cors, on a preview ticket. The host MC went a little far in his introduction to the movie, and started giving away key plot details, until everyone told him to shut up. Ah good times. Why it's a Tarantino movie: Because he's credited as a "guest director", directing the Clive Owen/Benicio Del Toro chase scene. Why it rules: Because it looks unlike any other film - shot in black and white with a mixture of filmed and painted backgrounds, so it looks like the comic books it came from, with spashes of intense colour (mainly red for blood). Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson. Elijah Wood in an especially creepy performance. Because most movies based on comic books totally suck and this one doesn't.

6. Reservoir Dogs

Where I saw it: On video, probably soon after Pulp Fiction. Funniest scene: Steve Buscemi complaining about his nickname "Mr Pink". Best performance: Michael Madsen. He's a career B-movie actor but always good in Quentin's films.

7. From Dusk Till Dawn

Where I saw it: At the movies in Queensland on holiday with Ando and our respective families in 1996 or so. Why it's a Tarantino movie: Written by Quentin, but directed by Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Sin City). Why it rules: The first half of the movie is awesome - George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino on the run, kidnapping Harvey Keitel and his family, and heading for the border. Clooney is cool, Quentin is creepy and they've got a really great rapport - it's like taking the Jules and Vincent part of Pulp Fiction and extending it into a whole movie. Why it kind of sucks: Because about half way through vampires appear, and it turns into a horror movie, and not a particularly good one. Damn vampires, always spoiling everything.

8. Jackie Brown

Where I saw it: I honestly can't remember. I'm pretty sure it was at the movies but I can't remember where, when, or with whom. Surprising casting: Robert Deniro playing against type as a slow witted excon. Is this a Tarantino movie: It was written and directed by him, but seemingly has no connection to the style of his other movies.

10. Four Rooms

Where I saw it: Probably on video sometime in the mid-90's. Why it's a Tarantino movie: It's split into four parts, each written and directed by someone different. Quentin does one part, Robert Rodriguez does the other, and a couple of nobodies do the other two. It's set in a hotel, and I think it's allegedly a comedy. Should you watch this film: Hell no. It's a piece of rubbish.

Damien Rice

I'd been waiting all week for last night's Damien Rice concert, and to be honest, my expectations were really high. I think I may have put forward on more than one occasion that I was expecting the best live show I'd ever seen.

Well I definitely wasn't disappointed. The concert was, in a word, amazing.

The show opened with Damien walking onto the stage, acoustic guitar around his neck, and launching into a new song (well one that's not on either of his two albums at least). The reaction of the crowd was pretty weird - because he's not in a lot of magazines, or featured in videos, I think a lot of people weren't really sure it wasn't a roadie until he opened his mouth. In fact, Narelle's friends were sitting up the front and to the side, and said afterwards they saw Damien trying to get backstage before the concert and the security guard wouldn't let him. He responded with "but I'm in the band" and eventually got through.

After the first song finished, his bassist and cellist joined him on stage for the next one. After that one finished, his backup singer Lisa Hannigan walked onstage, and was greeted with more applause than he was when he first appeared. They then played Volcano, which was one of the early highlights, and then 9 Crimes, with Damien moving from guitar to piano for this one. I'm not sure if she'd be all that great as a solo artist, but I found myself looking forward to the verses where Lisa would sing on her own.

Perhaps the only downside to the concert was that they didn't bring their drummer along with them. "Tommo" was, according to Damien, off doing something "important and beautiful". I assume that meant he was having a child, but who knows.

Anyway, I thought I was going to really notice the absence of drums but it actually didn't bother me all that much. It definitely gave the other instruments more room to shine. Damien's guitar playing was just amazing, the sounds he was getting out of the one acoustic guitar and a few pedals, it was like a one man band.

The band played most of the key songs from the two albums - my favourites were 9 Crimes (especially the first verse with Lisa, which just gave me chills), I remember, Woman like a man and Volcano. What really stuck out though was how many of their songs I didn't know - often they would segue into a new song, and I would wonder where it came from. To be honest, I wouldn't have been overly surprised if someone told me they made up half the stuff backstage.

The dynamics of the show were great too - one song Lisa sang a capella, and the cellist performed a solo version of Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes near the end - stuff like this broke the concert up nicely and stopped it from becoming too same-ish. Within the songs too there were a lot of different dynamics - going from loud and chaotic to quiet within a few seconds.

Definitely the best show I've been to in a long time, if ever. And if you still need further encouragement to get on the Damien Rice bandwagon (there's still some room at the back), check out this live version of 9 Crimes . . .

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tEGT_5IkrgE

Extras

I probably spend too much of my time watching TV. But to paraphrase Homer Simpson, it gives so much and asks for so little in return.

Still, I have to recommend a show - Extras - by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, aka those guys who did The Office. Season two starts on the ABC this Wednesday at 8.30pm, and unless you live in the UK or have a pretty good broadband connection, you probably haven't seen it. The show follows Andy (Ricky) and his friend Maggie as they work as extras on movies, with Andy constantly trying to wrangle his way into a speaking part.

Series two starts with Andy finally writing and starring in his own TV show on the BBC, but only after having it dumbed down by the "suits" to the point where he's ashamed of what was meant to be his big triumph.

Series two is a lot darker than the first - it's still really funny, but it's squirm in your seat funny. In some ways the show is like the Larry Sanders Show, not only with the celebrity cameos, but in the way that both shows find humour in stripping away the polite conventions of modern society. Anyway, check it out . . .

Poker, movies, and other weekend related activities

Friday night was poker night at the Hunter mansion. The lineup included myself, Murray, Amanda, Alen, Jessie, Narelle and Ando. In other words, all the regulars other than Corey who was absent due to a babysitting job.

I got off to a great start in the first game, with a run of 5 or 6 hands in a row with at least an ace. I turned 70 chips into about 200 pretty quick, but knew it wouldn't last. I even asked Alen to stop me just before I did something stupid and gave all my chips away, but that didn't help. I lost about 100 chips in the one hand to Amanda "Chops" Huber, basically just because I was hoping she didn't have the hand she was representing with her betting. I was wrong.

Chops went on to win that game, after beating Narelle and Jess in the final three. The second game wasn't much better for me. My good cards dried up, so I had to rely on my poker skills even more, which seem to have deserted me lately. Anyway, I didn't last long, and Amanda won the second game as well - big night for her! After that we moved onto darts at the Huber residence, which was good fun. I've noticed I seem to be better early on in games of darts, after that I steadily lose my touch until I've got a 50/50 shot of just hitting the board each time.

Saturday morning Amanda used her poker winnings to buy Murray, Alen, Jess and I breakfast at the Lipson Street Cafe in Port Adelaide. It was delicious.

From there I went to Ash's house to lift weights for a while. I took some photos of this too, but after talking to Ash have decided to save them for our upcoming 2008 calendar. Or perhaps 2009.

Then it was back to the hood for an auction in New Street. No real interest in buying, just curious to see what kind of price it went for. Michella and I went through a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty dodgy, and the owners would be lucky to get the $260,000 they wanted. Anyway, after the auctioneer went through his ten minute spiel about the house, he called for bids. Silence. He then made a vendor bid of $230,000. More silence. When he didn't receive any more bids, he made another vendor bid of $245,000. This seemed confusing to me, as noone appeared to be interested at $230,000. Anyway, there were no bids, the house was passed in, and the auctioneer seemed slightly annoyed that the 20 odd people who turned up were all just curious neighbours.

Had a bit of a hit of tennis at Murray and Amanda's, a couple of drinks and some tasty barbecue.

A quick dip in the pool back at my house, then went to the Botanic Gardens to see Children of Men at the Moonlight Cinema with Michella.

We took dinner in with us. One of us ate a little healthier than the other. I'll let you guess who.

I didn't care for the movie that much. I do like Clive Owen, and the premise (in the near future all women become infertile, and the world goes 18 years without a baby being born, and chaos and anarchy ensues) sounded interesting, but I found the whole thing kind of boring. I don't really like futuristic movies that much, or movies set in the past. A couple of weeks ago Michella talked me into hiring a movie that was both futuristic and historical - about a group of people who travel in time back to the middle ages to do something. I think it was called Timeline. It was the worst movie I'd seen in a long time. Anyway . . . Children of Men wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that good either.

Music I Like

I've currently got about 3,000 songs on my ipod. I think I probably listen to about 200 of them. There are a few though that I listen to almost every day though, here are some of my current favourites.

Ryan Adams - Sweet Illusions

If Ryan Adams were an actor he'd be Samuel L Jackson. Some of the stuff he does is absolutely brilliant, and then he'll go on a run of releasing absolute crap. Cold Roses is my favourite of his CDs - it's got three songs that are practically genius - Sweet Illusions, Magnolia Mountain and How Do You Keep Love Alive - another that's quite strong - Meadowlake Street - and then some above average filler. I guess the album is what you'd describe as alt-country - he seems to vary between that and alternative rock from album to album. Although lately on his website he's branched off into Beck-style hip hop, which I'm not really a fan of.

The last few weeks Sweet Illusions has been my favourite of his songs - I love the melody, and the way his voice breaks at just the right moment(s), reminiscent of early Chris Isaak. It's also got my favourite lyric on the album - "You never knew me but I did my best, I'm just lonely inside I guess."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL6PzYjJBHQ

Tool - Vicarious

I've been on a major Tool binge since the Big Day Out. This is the song that seems to come up the most often on my ipod- the first minute is fantastic. It starts out with a slowly building intro before breaking into a great riff, which the band plays a few times, before bringing out an even better riff. This to me is just another example of how great these guys are - they've got more interesting musical ideas in the first song on their album than some bands do over an entire cd. In typical Tool fashion, this one runs to about 7 minutes in length too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2lWoFS5bZc

Damien Rice - I Remember


The last six months I think I've listened to Damien Rice almost every day. This is just a brilliant song - well it's really two songs, the first part sung by his back up singer Lisa Hannigan has almost nothing to do with the second half which he sings himself. I've included a link here to a live version which is just amazing. If I had to describe it I'd say that the first half is like a quiet sunset over the water on a peaceful night, while the second is more like a vicious storm with thunder, pouring rain, lightning, the whole package. They're both beautiful but for totally different reasons. OK, maybe that's a bit corny but you get what I'm saying right? Seriously, if you haven't heard this guy, check him out. He gets two thumbs up from me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEV5WSBmhIA

Big Day Out 2007

Went to the Big Day Out yesterday. Here's what happened:

We got there in time to see the end of My Chemical Romance's set. Sounded pretty ordinairy to me. Next up were Eskimo Joe. They were alright I suppose. For some reason the singer wore a red hankerchief around his neck.

My favourite point was when - after playing a ballad - their singer told the crowd it was time to rock, and played a song that sounded almost exactly the same as the last, although maybe just a little bit faster. At this point I turned around and saw Corey standing next to me - what are the chances eh?

Next band was the John Butler Trio. I'm not a huge fan of his, but it wasn't too bad. He got points in my book for stealing Ribar's wardrobe circa 1999. Corey pointed out that he only played a few songs, but I think he played more, they just all sounded the same. He was a bit quiet too - any time you're 30 metres from the stage and can have a normal conversation with a friend standing next to you, that means the band isn't loud enough.

I'd really been looking forward to The Killers, but sadly they were a bit of a let down. The performance was OK, but the sound was horrible. It might have had something to do with the fact that they had their keyboard/guitar ratio all screwed up - two keyboards and one guitar is not a recipe for a rocking performance. It did improve a little bit during their set though.

Also, I'm pretty sure I spotted my old Temple College classmate Kevin Sheldrick on bass.

When I saw that Jet had the 6.30pm spot right after The Killers, I thought it was a bit strange. I wasn't wrong. Almost noone stayed around to watch them, their 15 minutes is well and truly up. For some reason they actually had really good sound, just not good songs. Lots of people threw plastic bottles at them. About half way through we moved to the other side of the oval to wait for Muse, and found there were more people sitting in front of an empty stage waiting for them to start than were on the other side watching Jet. I saw Tim Pearce, and attempted to catch up on three or four years in a five minute conversation.
I was really surprised with the reaction to Muse. My friend Mirjana is a big fan, but I'd always suspected that she was perhaps the only one. But they got a really good response. They did play really well, Time is Running Out was a definite highlight. Pretty good light show too.

Finally, the band I'd been waiting for, Tool. We got a pretty good spot near the front, but about five seconds after the band started playing all hell broke loose. That's why I hate festivals, a bunch of kids get all drunk and excited and decide to jump all over each other for no good reason. Anyway we moved back a bit and found a slightly more suitable spot. Only slightly, because I had some fool dancing Peter Garrett style next to me, bumping into me every few seconds. It wasn't enough to ruin my enjoyment of Tool though, who were absolutely brilliant. Every other band there yesterday was a collection of musicans - guitarists, bassists, drummers, singers, sometime keyboardists - but Tool live are so in sync its like you're just listening to the one instrument.

I wondered how bands like My Chemical Romance could watch these guys every night and not want to quit music. They really were so good it made the other bands on the bill look amateurish. Deep, hypnotic grooves, huge riffs, great vocals - by far the best performance I've seen by a band at the Big Day Out before (in case you're wondering, the worst was Hole I think in 1999, where Courtney Love claimed she was bitten by a bee on stage and left the rest of the band to go on by themselves after she stormed off. Ah, good times).

So that was my Big Day Out in 2007. Not the best I've been to, but one I'll remember thanks to the headline act. Now just two weeks till Damien Rice, a month or so until the Mars Volta, and apparently Tool are going to be back later this year. I'll definitely be there.

Darts

So last night I went round to Murray's house for a few drinks. Of course, drinks led to pizza, then more drinks, then for some reason, darts . . .

I have to admit, I was pretty sceptical to start off with. But it was actually pretty cool, and much less boring than I thought it would be. It didn't hurt that Alen and I were a lethal combination, and totally wiped the floor with our competition. Not quite sure if we were more skilled, or just more sober, but it was fun anyway.

Pictorial evidence below:

Alen lining up his throw for Team USA

Murray celebrates his bullseye (note: this shot may have been staged. I can't quite remember)

Michella before her go - note the excitement and anticipation . . .

Michella after her shot . . .

Bonus pic: Alen when he thought noone was looking.