fan the fire magazine #31 - may 2010

8/9/2019 Fan the Fire Magazine #31 - May 2010

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ISSUE #31 // MAY

FAN THE FIRE

PLUSSXSW 2010, AUSSIE MUSICAND FRONTWOMEN FEATURESFOALS, THE NATIONAL AND

WE HAVE BAND ALBUM REVIEWSPREDATORS, SCOTT PILGRIMAND GREEN LANTERN PREVIEWSIRON MAN 2, CENTURION,AND THE LOSERS REVIEWSART BY DAVIDE DAMBRA, DAVE MEADAND VINCENT BOUSSEREZSTYLE BY CHRISTIAN RIOS,

SHE IS FRANK AND PATRICK HOUI

DIAMONDS

IN THE DARKKARINE BASILIO LIVES THE NEW YORK CITY HIGH LIFE


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0 0 2 FAN THE FIRE MAY 2010

EDITORS LETTER

At a time when the creative in-dustries are seemingly crum-bling at their own eet, its been

a hugely productive period or Fan TeFire, despite taking a month o. Overthe last 8 weeks, the superb Kick-Asswhimpered to just take number one inthe US box oce, some $10m below

expectations, while the lacklustre ClashO Te itans proved to be anotherunjustied 3-D success, raking in over$60m in the opening weekend. Its anunortunate position the Hollywoodnds itsel in, with cash-hungry execs.throwing numerous release into theartistically devoid 3-D retrottingprocess, and new projects that ar romdemand it, handed an enorced extradimension too.

On a positive note or us in cinema,weve at last been accepted into theRotten omatoes critics circle, soexpect to see our reviews contribute tothe omatometer rom here on it.

Tough the stage o limbo in lm ismarked, or magazines, were at the

tipping point already. Te iPad wasannounced some months ago to theexpected anare, but now with thedevice in hand, its obvious just what

Apples new tablet could do or jour-nalism. I you ollow us on witter(@anthere or those who currentlydont), youll know weve got an iPadapp in development, taking the con-cepts o our iPhone app on leaps andbounds. Many o the magazine iPad

apps in the store at the moment aremerely a downsized recreation o theprint edition. Te articles and layoutarent ormatted or the iPads gor-geous screen, which on the given size,using tap to zoom should be a thing othe past. For the couple o magazinesthat are trying something innova-

tive, the early versions are promisingcertainly, but we eel weve got some-thing a step on again, and a new way oconsuming digital magazines designedspecically with the iPad in mind.Were well on track to hit the AppStore beore the iPads UK launch, andat this rate, will also be the rst Britishpublication available on the device.

Sam Bathe

WHERE MEDIA IS HEADED

(WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT)


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Its been a long time coming but our brand

new website is here at last.

Music

Te hottest new bands, the most exciting

gigs and the best new tracks

Film

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and exclusive eatures and clips

Art

Breathtaking works, undiscovered

illustrators and imaginative projects

Style

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Season round-ups, extensive previews and

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MAY 2010 FAN THE FIRE 0 0 5

101620

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MUSIC

FEATURESSXSW 2010

Australian Music SceneFrontwomen

ALBUM REVIEWSAlbum round-up, including Foals, LCD Soundsystem,Te Golden Filter, Te National and Te Dead Weather

FILM

PREVIEWS

PredatorsGreen LanternTe ExpendablesTe Chronicles o Narnia: Te Voyage O Te DawnreaderTe ree O LieScott Pilgrim Vs. Te World

REVIEWSIron Man 2Te LosersHot ub ime Machine

A Nightmare On Elm Street

CenturionDate NightKick-AssRepo MenTe Ghost

DVD REVIEWSDVD round-up, including Avatar, Law Abiding Citizen,Its Complicated and How I Met Your Mother: Season 3

AR

FEATURES

Wish You Were Here: Part #2Face/OPlaying GodMen At Work

SYLE

FEATURESSuit YourselPenthouse BehaviourForest FireFight Club

MAY 2010

PAGE 10PAGE 32

PAGE 48PAGE 110

CONTENTS


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EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sam Bathe

FEATURES WRITERS

Nick DeigmanNathan May

STAFF WRITERS

Kat Bishop, Jon Bye, Andrew Dex, Anna Felix, Rob Henneberry, Dan Hopchet,Mansoor Iqbal, Patrice Jackson, Laura Vevers, Asher Wren

SUB-EDITOR

Chris Dempsey

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Eva Alexandra Liu

ART DIRECTOR

Sam Bathe

ADVERTISING MANAGER

David [email protected]

+44 (0) 1614 085 921

OPERATIONS ASSISTANT

Michael Evans

CONTRIBUTORS

Davide DAmbra, Karine Basilio, Vincent Bousserez, Will Bramlet, Patrick Houi, Damir Hurtic,Zoi Hy, emoor Iqbal, Dave Mead, Carlos Nazario, Carlos Pena, Christian Rios, She Is Frank

COVER BY KARINE BASILIO

ONLINE: FANTHEFIREMAGAZINE.COMBACK ISSUES: FANTHEFIREMAGAZINE.COM/BACKISSUES

FAN THE FIRE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY.CONTENT MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT

WRITTEN PERMISSION OF FAN THE FIRE MAGAZINE. FAN THE FIRE MEDIA LTD 2010

MUSIC EDITOR

Alex BrammerFILM EDITOR

Martin Roberts

FAN THE [email protected]
http://fanthefiremagazine.com/http://fanthefiremagazine.com/backissuesmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://fanthefiremagazine.com/backissueshttp://fanthefiremagazine.com/


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MUSIC


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DAY ONE

First up were Te Morning Bendersat Emos, and similarly to last year,the rst show was one o the mainhighlights o the whole estival. Teir

spritely indie-rock-pop has a bit o aRadiohead to it, minus the psychedelicedge, and on new albumBig Echo, havemade a big step up rom earlier mate-rial, and live, theyre ull o energy, themusic sounding more mature and al-ways thoroughly captivating on stage.

Moving onto Red 7, Tose Dar-lins had been getting a good deal o

hype but the three quarter all-girl rock-ers were orgettable to say the least.Teir songs were bland and direction-less, and while they could be a lottighter on record, live they need to putin a bit more work.

Te main attraction at Red 7was Real Estate. A pick in our recentbands to look out or in 2010, the our-piece play slower-moving, catchy indierock, and while they arent instantlyimpactul, the music grows on you astwith a grand eel and strong guitar.

Dawes opened up the eveningshows at Club de Ville, easily the top

pick o the ocial shows that night.Ater catching Dawes at the rouba-dour in LA the week beore, which wasinstantly catapulted into the top 5 gigsIve ever been to, their SXSW openerwas every bit as good, only with the set

time a little trimmed. Teir heartulslow moving indie rock debutNorthHills eatured in a bunch o top tenlists last year, including our own, andwith good measure.

Ater Dawes we raced over toWave Rootop to catch Princeton. Aan o their album, Princetons light,breezy indie rock is easy to listen to

2010

SXSW 2010

IT TOOK ALMOST A WEEK TO RECOVER FROM, AND ITS NO SURPRISEWHY, AUSTINS SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST IS JUST ABOUT AS HECTIC AS ITGETS ON THE FESTIVAL CALENDAR. FOR THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, THIS ISWHERE BREAKING BANDS BREAK AND UNKNOWNS BUILD HYPE. THEBANDS YOULL FALL IN LOVE WITH NEXT YEAR, WERE AT SXSW THIS YEAR

WORDS SAM BATHE


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though it struggled a little to stand outin the over-packed estival.

As midnight struck, Warpaintwere next and the our-piece put on agreat show at Emos Jr. Te band allsomewhere in between Battles andFever Ray, though or a SXSW set, canbe hard to get into. Tey do denitelyhave something dierent though.

One o the big hype bands inmusic, nevermind at SXSW, SurerBloodwere a tting end to the rst dayin Austin, but they were a huge disap-pointment. Teir debut album is bril-liant, but live they are underwhelming,and came across as ar too arrogant ortheir stature. Tey are hugely hyped,

but theyrenot big yet.Long

day over,lled withthe magicyou onlyget at SXSWthough. Rollon day two.DAY TWO

Tursdayat SXSW isalways thebusiest; everyone is in town, theyveacclimatised to the estival and areready to really throw themselves intothe (mostly) organised mayhem.

First we caught ijuana Pan-thers, and seeing the three-piece romLong Beach was a long time coming.Tough the sound wasnt the best at

railer Space Records, the band bringsur up to speed or the modern dayand with tracks like Summer Fun sureto be breaking into the mainstreambeore too long.

Indoor at Palm Door, Yacht werenext; a heavy, dancier White RoseMovement, though they were a littleheavy going, and with Te Growlers

due straight ater, their set was a littletoo long. Te Growlers though wereworth thewait. Play-ing psyche-delic indierock witha Beatles-yeel, theyhave a greaton stagepresence,the leadsingerespecially.Teir songs are up to scratch, pushingijuana Panthers all the way or per-

ormance othe day.Delta

Spirit,thoughhadntplayed yet.Runningthrough ahandul oold tracks atthe Lustre

Pearl, an oldhouse con-verted intoa bar, Delta

Spirits new stu caused equally biggroundwaves. FromBushwick Blues toWhite able,the crowdquickly gotinto the un-amiliar ma-terial, with

excitementquicklybuilding orsecond al-bum HistoryFrom Below.

Payinga visit to the Austin Carniville, TeWalkmen closed the day at SXSWs

unocial playground. o a backdrop ocarnival rides, their classic slow drawl

was right onorm, withnew songsdebuted tothe crowdgoing downa storm.

Keepingan LA eel,or our rstshow at thehuge out-door Stubbs

venue, we caught Robert Francis ashe opened the evenings shows. Backed

by a motley band, including riendo Fan Te Fire, ex-Shys bassist AlexKweskin, Robert Francis plays heartulcountry rock and its no surprise hesalready been snapped up by a majorlabel, and set or a big nationwide tourlater in the year.

Ater Robert Francis, and a quickbite to eat, we raced over to CedarStreet Courtyard or She & Him.

Apart, Zooey Deschanel and M. Wardhave huge reputations; one a lmstar

and the other a amous musician, buttogether theyre still somewhat ndingtheir eet.

Cedar Street Courtyard, was how-ever, still always going to be packed,and ater unintentionally jumping the

entire queuewe only

just joined,werentprepared orthe letdown

that wouldensue.

Puttinga no pho-tos pleasenotice outover the PA

beore they emerged, then playing innear darkness with just a couple o

SXSW 2010

One o the big hype bandsin music, nevermind atSXSW, Surer Blood were atting end to the rst dayin Austin, but they were ahuge disappointment.

Backed by a motley band,including riend o Fan TheFire, ex-Shys bassist AlexKweskin, Robert Francisplays heartul country rockand its no surprise hes al-ready been snapped up by

a major label.

Running through a handul

o old tracks at the LustrePearl, an old houseconverted into a bar, DeltaSpirits new stu causedequally big groundwaves.


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SXSW 2010

THE WALKM@ CARNIVI

THE GROWLERS @ PALM DO

ROBERT FRAN@ STUB

THE DRUMS @ STUBBS


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SXSW 2010

red lights illuminating the stage, withZooeys moviestar demands they killedthe atmosphere, appearing 30 minuteslate and playing seemingly shortenedversions otheir songs.Teir lightcountryolk candraw youin on theirrecords, butlive theywhere un-derwhelm-ing.

For the

nal showo a packed day two, we headed to TePhoenix or We Are Scientists. Arriv-ing a little early we caught the band be-ore, Te Chapman Family, a Britishheavy rock/scream band, and never-mind going against my aim to try andavoid all British perormers (as I can

just see them in London) they wereawul, leaving the audience praying orsilence rather than another long set.

We Are Scientists, however, did

not disappoint, and with an amaz-ing on stage presence and charismabetween rontmen Keith and Chris,the packed venue were in rapturesater every song, and in every breakinbetween tracks. Whats more, theirnew music is sounding great, and clas-sics rom the rst record and equallyimpressive ollow-up are just as goodtoday as they were when released.Phew, long day.

DAY THREE

Te third day at SXSW is always theday you crash. Hungover, starved osleep and energy, and with ears thathad to quickly get used to a hell o a loto music, Tursday is always so hecticthat on Friday you have to take it easy.

Compared to the day beore, our

third days showing in Austin wasthereore airly lite. First up wereLemonade at Lovejoys. In the sweaty,small venue, you had to hold your nose

somewhatas you ap-proachedthe centralstandingarea but theband put ona good showwith an elec-tro soundsomewherebetweenMGM

and HeartsRevolution.Ater Wavves stormed SXSW last

year with their lo- charm, it was onlyapt that we checked out this yearshyped lo- trendsetters. Dum DumGirls though were a disappointment,mixing gothic overtone in with a witha very ull sound. Teir songs thoughwere a little nondescript, and while inthe studio they might display someindividuality, live, each track aded

into the crowd.Ater

the disap-pointmento DumDum Girlswe went insearch osomethingwith alittle moreenergy,

and HolyF*ckperectly tted the bill. Blending tracksto curate a perect 30 minute set, theirprog-electro style had the crowd in awein minutes, as Holy F*ck are set to atlast really break into the mainstream.

Ater sitting through a dreaduland grossly misplaced perormance

rom rapper Chiddy Bang, Te YoungVeins nished o the day. One hal othe now splintered Panic! At Te Disco(with the other two members stillrecording under the same name), Te

Young Veins, led by Ryan Ross and JonWalker, is the ully-blown end result oRoss push toward Te Beatles. Panic!slast album, Pretty. Odd., was disap-pointing to some or ditching theirelectro punk roots to turn down theeclectic indie olk route, but Te Young

Veins are ull-on Beatles-inuenced,down to the clothing and instruments.Sadly it doesnt really work as wellas Ryan Ross would have hoped, andthe barely semi-excited SXSW crowd

was proo already that theyre goingto have to go someway to matchingPanic! At Te Disco when Brendon andSpencer release new material likelylater this year.

Early nish, but it was necessaryto regroup or the nal day.

DAY FOUR

With a cold ront landing on Austin,nevermind a little more unwanted

rain, the SXSW crowd were taken-a-back on thenal day,but thatdidnt meanthe line-upwas anyless impres-sive. Whilethe outdoorstages werea little more

empty, theday show at

Galaxy Room, was hal-indoor, and theinside stage boasted some o the bestbands at the estival.

First up we caught Plants & Ani-mals, a three-piece with a catalogueull o quick indie rock, touched by

Americana. Te band were quite simi-

The Young Veins are ull-onBeatles-infuenced, downto the clothing and instru-ments. Sadly it doesntreally work as well as RyanRoss would have hoped.

Hungover, starved o sleepand energy, and with earsthat had to quickly getused to a hell o a lot omusic, Thursday is alwaysso hectic that on Fridayyou have to take it easy.


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SXSW 2010

lar to Caliornias, Eastern ConerenceChampions, which is certainly a goodthing, and the new tracks debuted rep-resented a step on rom their already

impressive releases to date.Te real reason to be at Galaxy

Room, however, was up next, and romthe minute Local Natives took tothe stage,it wasobviousthe eclec-tic bunchout oSilverlake,LA, are

soon to besomethingspecial.West Coastindie-rockmixed withthe adven-ture o Animal Collective, their debutalbum Gorilla Manor is one o the

best releases so ar this year and live,theyre even more entertaining. Foranyone who hasnt seen Local Nativestheyre a must catch when they go on

tour later this year.One o our big hopes or this

years SXSW, ater at last grabbingsome BBQ at Stubbs, we headed to

Mohawk tosee urboFruits. Aterhearing greatthings aboutthe energeticthree-piece,and being a

an o two othe mem-bers ormerband Be YourOwn Pet, webraved thecold to catch

their set. Sadly it was a bit o a letdownand urbo Fruits could only pump out

song ater song o generic rock, withlittle individualism to their tracks.

Massively hyped across the col-lated press, it was tting that Te

Drums were the band to close outour SXSW. Playing to a airly packedStubbs outdoor stage crowd, thebands indie-pop-sur has demamdeda new light since the release o break-through Lets Go Surfng. Tough theband seemingly won over parts o theaudience, their music certainly doesntwarrant the billing theyre being givenboth at and outside o SXSW. Teirlive perormances were over-curated,although they do just about pull it o,

and despite a touch o Joy Division totracks o EP Summertime!, theyre go-ing to have to step up their game whenthey put out an album in the summer.

And with that it was over. iring,but packed with a heap o bands, someorgettable, but as always, a thrillingexperience. Same time next year.

West Coast indie-rockmixed with the adventureo Animal Collective, LocalNatives debut album

Gorilla Manor is one o thebest releases so ar thisyear and live, theyre evenmore entertaining.

DAWES @ CLUB DE VILLE


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WHILE THE MAJORITY OF THE WORLDS MUSIC PRESS HAS BEEN FOCUSON THE USA THIS PAST FEW MONTHS, WE DECIDED TO BREAK THE MOUAND PAY SOME ATTENTION TO ANOTHER PART OF THE GLOBE WHIIS OFTEN OVERLOOKED FOR EMERGING MUSICAL TALENT. AUSTRAL

WORDS ALEX BRAMMER & ANNA FELIX

LISA MITCHELL

FULLY SICK BEATS, MATE


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Tey may say silly things like sunbake, ute and esky andhey think thongs are ootwear, but over the past ew years

Australia has been quietly but consistently churning outreat new indie bands.

Last summer Te emper rap and Empire o the Sunelped ll the void in a declining live scene with Sweet Dis-osition scoring almost every love scene lmed in 2009 and

Walking On A Dream sound-tracking many a music loversestival experience.

Tese two are just the tip o the iceberg and its unor-tunate that the majority o good Australian music rarelymakes it o their shores, nevermind across the pond.Instead were stuck with bands like Jet whose latest albumwas so entirely orgettable, most o their anbase didnteven know it was release.

As the southern hemispheres summer draws to a close

we took a trip down under to blow the lid on some o theAussie music scenes best kept secrets.

ART VS. SCIENCE (BELOW)

ince Dat Punk, you would be hard pressed to nd aroup that Australians would be more unanimously agreedpon than Art Vs. Science. Teir current single Parlez-Vousrancais tore up the recent estival season, and even now,pproaching autumn, the song is still rapturously received

verywhere rom radio stations to house parties, indie clubso sports bars.

Te dance-punk three-piece, consisting o Dan Mc-Namee, Jim Finn, and Dan Williams, hail rom Sydney andormed rom the remnants o punk project Roger Explosionack in 2008. Ater releasing their sel-titled debut EP in

May last year, the trio have taken this summers estivaleason by storm, with Parlez-Vous Francais named numberwo in riple Js hot 100 o 2009.

Whilst their inuences may dier drastically, it woulde easy to compare Art Vs. Science to Te Rapture, Klaxonsr Te Whip, all our quintessentially playing dance music.

However, they are much more inuenced by recent trendsin electro than their predecessors. Teir juxtapositionbetween crunchy, distorted guitars and the clean, soaringkeys is almost identical to that o French electro artists likeJustice and DAA, who have each dominated the club sceneover the past ew years.

Indeed, the rst three minutes o second single Hol-

lywoodsounds like the backstreet boys perorming a mash-up o Justices Waters O Nazareth with the soundtrack toStreet Fighter, beore building to a crescendo and meta-morphoses intoAerodynamic by Dat Punk. It only becomesobvious that a band is playing when you encounter theirundeniably catchy, i not downright annoying, vocal hooksthat make Art Vs. Science so distinctive.

Teir renetic live show, packed ull o showmanshipand Aussie bravado hits the UK starting May 1st, kicking oat Camden Crawl. I youve already got a ticket, we recom-mend you to check out their MySpace in preparation, andget ready to dance.


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Tere you have it: dance, olk, indie,and pop, and you thought all Aus-tralia had to oer was Rugby League

and Wolmother. I you want tokeep up to date with whats goingon musically down under, check outcult radio station riple J and havea listen to their inamous hot 100mix tapes. Alternatively you canslap on some sunscreen, put a ewstubbies in your esky and driveyour ute to the next local gig tocatch some ully sick Aussie beats.What a bloody rippa. Mate.

unky vibe is as delightul as it is melancholy, captured perectlyn their enigmatic live shows. But whats so special about theseuys is how magically they work together; constantly swappingarious instruments during their mesmerising stage perormanc-s, eortlessly demonstrating their diversity and talent. Asiderom their instruments, their haunting vocals and cryptic lyrics

re really what capture the imagination. I two hippie olk singersrom the 60s were to die and come back to haunt the stage, thiss what they would sound like. Listen to Wastedrom their debutlbumA Book Like Tis, released in 2007, to see what we mean.

With celebrity ans including Natalie Portman, and havingust completed a string o sell-out shows in the UK, Angus & Ju-a Stone are starting to get the wider acclaim they deserve. Morehows are in the pipeline or Europe, the US and Canada andheir sophomore album Down Te Way was released in March thisear, with lead single, Te Beast entering the Australian charts at

number #1.

LAST DINOSAURS (BELOW)

Hailing rom the tropical state o Queensland, Last Dinosaurs are a guitar-driven our piece who are starting to turn morehan a ew heads. Tink Vampire Weekend i they had spent a little less time in a New York library, and a little more timen Brisbanes South Bank beach.

Te comparisons with Ezra Koenig and chums isnt restricted to just music, take a look at these equally complicatednames. Lost Dinosaurs are; Sean Ryusuke Caskeyionni (guitar/vocals), Lach Kyohei Caskeyaretta (guitar), Danjuro Rens

Koyamancini (drums) and Sam Gethin-Jonesiccioni (bass). Te boys released their stellar debut EPBack From Te Deadonebruary 26th and have already been getting heavy airplay on Australias amed riple J radio station.Tough guitar driven, this band are ar more than your run-o-the-mill indie throwaways. Last Dinosaurs are able to

onjure up great sonic depth with the use reverb-drenched vocals and haunting delayed-driven guitars. EP opener, Honoluluerectly showcases the groups ability to take you on a journey rom jumpy, muted guitar licks to stirring vocal hooks, allia a soaring tremolo strumming numerous times in their our minutes doses o tropical sunshine. Other songs to look outor are personal avouriteAlps, a summer anthem in waiting that displays Caskeyionnis genuine ability to carry o someousing choruses, and EP track Saturn, which will no doubt draw comparisons with ellow countrymen Te emper raps

monster hit Sweet Disposition.Last Dinosaurs are currently touring their homeland in support o their debut EP and may not come to UK shores or

ome time. However, they were too good to not eature this time around, and i you download Back From Te Deadromunes we guarantee it will perectly soundtrack those balmy summer nights which are just about on the horizon.


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F E M M E S

F A T A L E S2009 WAS THE YEAR OF THE FRONTWOMAN. FLORENCEGAGA, LA ROUX... THE LIST GOES ON. BUT DID THEY DE-SERVE ALL THE ACCOLADES? NATHAN MAY THINKS AGAIN

u5 9=/U[ITB3,jQkW

hen you look back, LadyGaga hit the headlines lastyear or well, or having an

unusual wardrobe I guess. Certainlynot all or her music, and I dont thinkyou can claim it was or originalityeither. Madge and Grace Jones mighthave something to say about that.

Although Florence Welch put the

hours she must have covered themost stage miles in 2009 certainly some o that time could have been putto better use in the studio. As a liveperormer, there is no questioning hertalent, but Lungs was ultimately disap-pointing. A handul o great songs,let down by a bunch o over-producedalso-rans. And when a choreographeddance routine crept into single releaseRabbit Heart (Raise It Up), the all rom

grace was complete.I think 2010 could actually be

the year o the emale lead, with 2009eeling like a warm-up in comparison.

Alexis Krauss ronts Sleigh Bells, thelatest double-act to come out o New

York. Currently embarking on a UStour in support o Yeasayer, the bandare making a name or themselves with

their own unique brand o distortionpop.

Krauss rst sung in girl-popgroup RubyBlue, and in stark contrast,guitarist Derek Miller plied his tradein post-hardcore band Poison Te Well,beore they came together to ormSleigh Bells. Tis duality runs throughtheir songs, but rather than eelingthrown together, it works perectly.

What the band lack in numbers,

they make up or in noise. On rstlisten, it will seem like your iPod hasrun amok. Te songs are brutally loud;the kind o loud that actually hurts alittle bit. But while you search or thatvolume limiter setting, a transorma-tion occurs, and you wont want it tostop. Ever. Dont just take my word orit; check out the video orInfnity Gui-

tars on their MySpace page, which is soloud that the speakers on the handheldvideo camera must have just given upcompletely.

A/B Machines starts at a ranticpace, Krauss chanting over somethinglike an industrial alarm, its quite anopening statement, but one that worksbrilliantly. Te catchy, relentless repetition really rams home their intentionsImagine Metronomy, only angrier, and

FRONTWOMEN


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on speed.Crown On Te Groundhighlights

Sleigh Bells unique harmony, withlight-hearted pop lyrics that mighthave come rom the likes o 1990s popoutt Shampoo. Millers cutting guitarris and his MacBook complete thedeal. Conrming Sleigh Bells sig-nicance is standout track Ring Ring,

which is notably lighter than the otherhead bangers.

Catchy lyrics rom Krauss againhark back to her girl-group days,Wonder what you boyriend thinksabout your braces/What about them?Im all about them.

Te intriguing dual themes thatplay out at a Sleigh Bells gig are bothenticing and bold. During the show,you would be orgiven or moving away

rom the speakers, and even or hop-ing on a short-ish set, but as you walkhome you will be planning a Spotiyplaylist in your head, and I bet it willstart withA/B Machines.

Zola Jesus, real name Nika RozaDanilova, also promises to come outon top in 2010. Hailing rom Madison,Wisconsin, the opera-trained singer

has released a six-song EP, Stridulum,that sounds exactly how Lungs shouldhave. All this at the tender age o 20,and in between studying French andPhilosophy at university.

Exposed to the likes o alkingHeads by her ather at an early age,Danilova explores the more uncom-ortable side o music and her haunt-ing vocals oat over the lo- beats shecreates in her bedroom.

Her voice certainly echoes thato Florence, but here is where thecomparison ends. Zola Jesus turns tothe dark side with this EP, and wouldmore likely have been riends withFever Ray and Sian Alice in the schoolplayground. Songs likeI Cant Standand Sea alk create an atmosphere sopowerul it instantly sucks you into

another dimension. Also worth a listenis Danilovas version oSomebody oLove on MySpace. Her unique take onthe classic will give you a good idea oher almost-goth vibe.

op trackNight begins withotherworldly whisperings, building allthe time with tribal drums. Te song istruly beautiul, and with more like it,Zola Jesus will ll the dark-opera nicherather nicely.

SLEIGH BELLS

FRONTWOMEN


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ALBUM REVIEWS

Something o a im

Burton o the alt. rockworld, theres no doubting Jack Whites talentsas a musician, but when

all o his projects sound exactly thesame, you just wish hed try somethinga little dierent. Sea O Cowards mightnot be that expansion but at leastits a little more gothic and suggestshes interested in moving orward,even i he doesnt ollow through onthe promise just yet. For that reason,

Sea O Cowards eels a little tired, itdoesnt do anything new rom thebands debut LP, and though undoubt-edly theres quality in there, it quicklydraws rustration. Tere are a coupleo highlights; the awesomely titledImMadbeing one o them, but on thewhole Sea O Cowards is orgettableand eels aged rom the rst listen.Please, oh please, Jack, try somethingnew next time around.

THE DEAD WEATHERSEA OF COWARDS

THE MORNING BENDERSBIG ECHO

In a year o lo- its rereshing tohear a ull-bodied, expansively pro-duced album, and with lead singer

Chris Chus voice sounds like BrianWilson at points, especially in a handul o standout tracks, Promis-es, theres plenty to get you on board.Big Echo is ull o those indiemelodies that seem to only exist in Caliornia, and will certainlysee the young band ollow in the ootsteps o Cali-alumni LocalNatives, Fleet Foxes and Delta Spirit. Te album grows grander andslower as it progresses, arguably making the second hal oBig Echoar less accessible, but even more rewarding on repeated listens.Now selling out middling venues across the States, Big Echo is thealbum to propel Te Morning Benders to the next level.

RELEASED MAY 10

Bringing gypsy-

punk to the atten-tion o more thanjust gypsy-punks,Gogol Bordello shot

to ame ater the release o theircritically acclaimed 2007 album Su-per aranta! Making use o a widerange o instruments rom guitarand violin to accordion expansivepercussion, genre title gypsy-punkalmost perectly sums up rans-Continental Hustle. Te album

has a non-stop pace to it, barelygiving you a moment to catchyour breath, and thats one o thealbums nest qualities. Toughyou could imagine Gogol Bordellosoundtracking Borat 2, rans-Con-tinental Hustle eels wholeheart-edly serious in tone and you wontdoubt it or a minute, insteadurged to get to your eet and dancenon-ironically to the music.

GOGOL BORDELLO TRANS-CONTINENTAL HUSTLERELEASED APRIL 26

WE HAVE BANDWHB

Promising debut rom the Lon-

don electric three-piece signed toNaive. WHB is a collection sample-heavy tracks, each with as manysimple, catchy guitar ris thrownin as possible, backed by an eec-tive bassline and drum beat.

From latest single Divisive todanceoor stomper Hear It In TeCans, We Have Bands best workis their up-tempo tracks, thoughin between they have careullycurated a handul o slow-burner,

including closer Hero Knows, togive WHB a well rounded eel.

We Have Bands debut is anenergetic and danceable LP, withthe way each member shares vocalduties adding extra some vibrancyto it all, although its the endlessmusic layers to each track thatreally sets them apart. Listen tothis and youll already be lookingorward to album #2 as well.

RELEASED OUT NOW

RELEASED OUT NOW

LCD SOUND-SYSTEMTHIS ISHAPPENING

At only nine songs, youd have cause or com-plaint towards LCD Soundsystem or theirhighly anticipated new album, thats i morethan hal the tracks werent over seven min-utes long. Announced as his last album as LCDSoundsystem, theres no doubt James Murphywill continue to make music, although Tis IsHappeningeels like an apt last stand.

RELEASED MAY 17


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Te Predator ranchise is oten coupled

with that o Ridley ScottsAlien universe be it tantalising reerences at the end othe original sequel or the two diabolicalAliens Vs. Predator lms but has neverenjoyed the same level o critical acclaim.Indeed, comic books and computer gameshave adapted to the potential crossovers othese ranchises ar more successully thanthe silver screen.

Director Nimrod Antal (Vacancy,Armoured) will be hoping that Predators (sonamed as a reerence to both the humans

and the creatures themselves) can be thelm to buck the trend. Te original lmmanaged to ree itsel rom its overlymacho leanings and stock characters tobecome a cult classic. It did this by having agreat antagonist, in the orm o the Preda-tor, and by choosing its location and setpieces wisely. Predators makes a calculateddecision to go back to the jungle, distanc-ing itsel rom Predator 2, and subtlyignoring the act that it ever happened.

Also intriguing is the cast, which includesAdrian Brody and Laurence Fishburne.One assumes, and hopes, that somethingabout the script encouraged big name ac-tors to get involved.

Te Predator ranchise (as ar as cin-ema is concerned) is something o an odd-ity: it is well loved and enjoys cult statusbut has actually only produced one goodlm in our attempts. Tat means Nimrod

Antal has about a 25% chance o giving ussomething worthy o our money. Fingers

crossed.

PREDATORSRELEASEDJULY 9 (USA) JULY 22 (UK)


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Sylvester Stallones orthcoming actionmovie is about as testosterone drivenas they come. Packed to the raterswith layer upon layer o macho silli-ness, its very much a throwback. Stal-

lone, who stars in as well as directing,is backed up by a cast that includesJet Li, Jason Statham, Bruce Willisand Mickey Rourke. Man mountainand governor extraordinaire ArnoldSchwarzenegger even shows up in acameo role.

Te setup promises much andwhilst the prospect o seeing all theseaction heavyweights running aroundblowing stu up is undeniably excit-ing, theres always the whi o a gim-mick in the air when the cast list o alm attracts more attention that the

project itsel. Tat said, the trailer is aguilty pleasure, and the lm looks likea blast (even i its only on a very literalevel).

Te Expendables are the great-est mercenaries on the planet, sent toSouth America on a deadly mission,but they quickly begin to suspectsomething is wrong, and that theremay be a traitor hidden amongst them

As he story plays out, its sae to expecmanly banter, plenty o killing and lotso exposed torsos in this 80m retroblockbuster.

THEEXPENDABLESRELEASED AUGUST 13 (USA) AUGUST 20 (UK)


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Te third entry in the Chronicles ONarnia series comes to us on a waveo trepidation. On the ace o it, andgiven current box oce trends towardsranchises and sequels, C.S. Lewisbooks should have made a seam-

less transition to the big screen andbrought in the big bucks. Unortu-nately, particularly when ullling thelatter, they have been something o adisappointment.

Prince Caspian, the darker sec-ond entry whilst hardly a box oceailure grossed signicantly less thanits predecessor, leading distributorsto believe that these massive budgetprojects may turn out to be a sinkingship. 20th Century Fox replaced Walt

Disney Pictures in early 2009 aterbudget disputes, meaning there will bea degree o nervous waiting when thelm, on its reported 140m budget, isnally released.

Neither the rst nor the secondentry in this series were great lms,but they were generally better thansome other projects released in thesame period that grossed a lot more.Tus, Dawn reader could be the

making or breaking o the series as acinematic beast. Tankully the bookis regarded as one o the better entriesin the original series, meaning thelmmakers have had lots to go on, anddespite the debating, the budget hasremained high.

Unlike the previous two lms, inwhich all our Pevensie children areinvolved, this time it is primarily theyounger siblings, Edmund and Lucy.Tey travel back to Narnia and are

reunited with Caspian (Ben Barnes),now King, who is on an epic voyageto save their land rom a terrible ate.Te lm, realistically, is unlikely tobe a box oce op the second lm,whilst comparatively unsuccessul, stillearned over 400m worldwide andit has all the elements to draw in thecrowds; an epic voyage, universal ap-peal and the addition o talking mouseReepicheep (Bill Nighy).

THE CHRONICLESOF NARNIA: THEVOYAGE OF THE

DAWN TREADERRELEASED DECEMBER 10


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Based on the comic series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee OMalley, ScottPilgrim Vs. Te Worldstars Michael Cera as a slacker who must learnto become a hero in order to win the girl he loves, Ramona (MaryElizabeth Winstead). o do this, he must deeat her seven evilexes who are determined to eliminate him as a potential suitor. AsRamona tells us in the trailer, everyone has baggage.

Te lm comes to us rom director Edgar Wright, well knownor his collaborations with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost producingtwo excellent eatures up to this point; Shaun O Te Deadand HotFuzz. His track record, then, seems to suggest that he is comort-able with the mixture o action and comedy required or a project

like this.Te lms trailer shows o elements o a very comic-book-

esque aesthetic, with onomatopoeic words popping up to describethe on-screen action, and plenty o over the top, pantomime ghts.Te lm eatures a varied supporting cast that includes ChrisEvans, Jason Schwartzman and Superman himsel Brandon Routh.Hopeully Wright will be able to inuse this lm with wit andlaughs as well as action, creating an adaptation that will compli-ment the original material.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLDRELEASEDAUGUST 6 (UK) AUGUST 13 (USA)


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Te eagerly anticipated ollow up toone o the most successul, and, out onowhere at the time o release, mosthyped comic book movies ever made,Iron Man 2 is more o the same, and apleasing development o the ormulathat worked so well the rst time.

Picking where Iron Man let o,

with ony Stark (Downey Jr.) revealingto the public that he is the man behindthe superhero mask, the governmentand press put him under great pres-sure to share his technology with themilitary, or the good o America. Butconcerned it could all into the wronghands, Stark remains undeterred thathe, and only he, should put on theIron Man suit. Claiming the rest o theworld is years behind in developingsimilar, armoured weaponry, Starks

sel-branded mission to privatise worldpeace is an unabashed success; that isuntil his latest oe reveals himsel.

Sneaking into an illustrious eventattended by Stark at Monaco streetraceway, Ivan Venko (Rourke), with hisown vendetta against our superhero,reveals a suit o his own and attacksthe billionaire inventor when he leastexpects it. Ultimately ailing to killStark, Venko does though expose aweakness in Iron Mans seemingly im-

penetrable armour. With the vulturesin government already circling, when

Venko is then provided with an evengreater pool o resources, it seemsStark once again will be let as the onlyman that can save the day. And theonly way he knows how is with a lot ocrashes, explosions and steel-on-steelmayhem along the way.

While in many o the comicbooks, Starks main problem is a lack

o sel-control and the struggle to dealwith a drinking problem, it was ru-moured his alcohol abuse would makean appearance here. Instead, however,inner turmoil comes rom the verydevice that is keeping him alive. Withshrapnel in his bloodstream, in IronMans rst outing Stark builds an elec-tromagnet and miniature arc reactorto stop the deadly substances reachinghis heart. But powered by a toxic ele-ment itsel, the device is slowly killinghim meaning aside rom saving theworld, Stark must also engineer a newcore to save his lie.

Whilst the original was a greatdeal o un, being the rst in the seriesit was always going to be held backby the obligatory origin story plot

points. With the audience now amiliarwith each o the central roles, directorJon Favreau and screenwriter JustinTeroux had the reedom to crat alm with much greater depth, produc-ing a much more rounded and interest-ing experience; at least as ar as youcan with a lightweight comic book ac-tion movie. While it would always be apleasure to join Iron Man or the ride,its captivating to see how side charac-ters intermingle with the central nar-

rative, providing mini sub-stories thatkeep things ticking along perectly.

While Downey Jr. is again greatat ony Stark/Iron Man, to Favreauscredit, the lm isnt played out as theStark show. Central prominence is ocourse given to the suited hero, andmost o the plot developments eitherwork around him or involve Starkdirectly, but it eels like everyone elsein the lm is o equal importance too.

Across the board the talent is cast

perectly and provides a widespreadcharisma that makes it tough to takeyour eyes o the screen, even whenIron Man is o camera.

As Pepper Potts, Starks personalassistant, Gwyneth Paltrow shareswonderul chemistry with DowneyJr., Scarlett Johansson, playing a newrecruit at Stark Industries, is great inher role, and with more revealed aboutthe character than rst meets the eye,

its no surprise spin-os are alreadybeing talked about. Mickey Rourke, nodoubt cast ater becoming man-o-the-moment around the time o his Oscarnomination last year, is a devilishlycalculated villain, simmering beneaththe surace and with the eeling younever really know what he might becapable o. He suits the lm perectlyand I cant think o anyone who couldhave done a better job.

Tough we shouldnt be surprisedgiven the acting talents displayedin his many roles to date, it is SamRockwell that almost steals the show.

As Justin Hammer, a rival industrialistto Starks global weapons domination,and one o the men at the centre othe governments demand or Stark

to hand over his Iron Man technol-ogy, Rockwell bring his usual quirks,at times providing a little comic relie,and elsewhere revealing a man on theedge. Rockwell is something o a rev-elation and Id be delighted to see moreo him as Hammer in urther lmswithin the Marvel universe.

While the rst Iron Man lm wascriticised or turning into a metal-on-metal ght or the entire nal act, herethe action sequences are again well

played out but used more eectively.Directed with greater tension andstyle than in any o Favreaus previ-ous work, the excitement and expanseo the nale is expected, but in closequarters, a corridor ght sequence andattack on the Monaco streets, Favreaureveal a great understanding o how toeectively implement action.

Intertwining elements that againpoint to Paramount/MarvelsAveng-ers lm, a superhero super-group, Iron

Man is primed or the 2012 release,with introductions to Tor and Cap-tain America due next year.

Iron Man 2 might not have thepower or tone o the recent Batmanlms, but thats not what the lmmak-ers were ater, and crating a thrill ridethats so easy and accessible to take in,itll be tough to nd a more un way tospend a couple o hours.

DIRECTED BY JON FAVREAU STARRING ROBERT DOWNEYJR., GWYNETH PALTROW, MICKEY ROURKE, SCARLETTJOHANSSON, SAM ROCKWELL, DON CHEADLE, CLARK

GREGG, GARRY SHANDLING & SAMUEL L. JACKSON

IRON MAN 2

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REVIEWS

Sylvain Whites Te Losers is an exam-ple o that most rustrating o genres,the action-comedy, which so oten ailsto deliver on its obvious potential.Based on the Vertigo comic book serieso the same name, Te Losers is a rareexample o the genre done well, andwhilst it isnt perect by any stretch othe imagination, its head and shoul-

ders above much o the competition.Te Losers are a bunch o ve US

Special Forces operatives who discover in a rustratingly over-stylised introthat threatens to derail the lm beoreit can get going that they have be-come the targets o a plot rom withinperpetrated by a mysterious voice onthe radio known only as Max (Patric).From there, the Losers must nd theirway back home having been declared

killed in action to win back their ree-dom and their reputations.

Te plot is a little derelict at times the antagonists motives are rus-tratingly ambiguous but thankullythe characters that inhabit the plotmake it worthwhile. Te lms opening

scene in the Bolivian jungle tries hardto introduce the Losers in a urry ostylistic quirks that initially serve toannoy but thankully settles down asthe lm nds its eet. It soon becomesclear that Te Losers is playing withconvention and poking un at actionmovies whilst at the same time em-bracing them. By the end, it becomes asurprisingly eective combination.

Tis is thanks, in most part, tothe cast; an ensemble o stars that, as

yet, arent quite movie sellers on theirown, but perhaps will be in times tocome, and we get a rostrum o amiliarand not so amiliar aces that are allwilling to play their part. Jerey DeanMorgan, as Clay, proves that he hasthe charisma to play the lead, whilstZoe Saldana holds her own amidst themachismo. Idris Elba, now cropping upmore and more as a deserved o-shooto his perormances in Te Wire, adds

some grit, whilst Chris Evans (recentlycast as Captain America) steals theshow with his comic solo inltrationhalway through the lm. I the castare to be thanked or raising this lmabove standard air, then so too shouldthe writers be. Te script is much un-

nier than most people will expect, andhave created a duo o villains that getsome decent screen time as well as theprotagonists. Teir comic qualities dorather dilute their threat actor but itsworth it as theyll have you in tears.

Whites direction develops a bitmore subtlety ater the opening salvo(though there are some slow-motouches here and there that the lmcould do without) and pulls all the ele-ments together into a lm that, in the

end, just about manages to justiy itssequel-baiting conclusion. Its deriva-tive at times and not entirely withoutault, but the lm gets by on con-dence and relies on the strength o itscast to gloss over the more generic ele-ments. In the end its simply a un ridewhich is more than can be said o mostexponents o this genre, and as such it

just about earns its ourth star.

RELEASED OUT NOW (USA) MAY 28 (UK)

DIRECTED BY SYLVAIN WHITE STARRING JEFFREY DEANMORGAN, ZOE SALDANA, CHRIS EVANS, IDRIS ELBA,COLUMBUS SHORT, OSCAR JAENADA & JASON PATRICK

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Hot ub ime Machine tells the storyo three men (Adam, Lou, Nick) oncebest riends, long since separated who are reunited when one o theirnumber apparently attempts to killhimsel in a depressed binge. By wayo rehabilitation, the three o them,accompanied by Adams geeky nephew(played by Kick-Ass Clark Duke) travelto the lodge where, in the 80s, theyhad the best holiday o their lives.

So ar, so drama, but this is a

comedy, and things take an unex-pected turn when the our o them getdrunk in their hot tub and travel backin time to that very same winter break,lled with youthul vigour and exuber-ance. Tis is a lm as derivative as it isoriginal, weaving humour rom a broadrange o sources into a patchwork thatis unnier than it has any right to be.

A lot o the time it orgets to use itsbrain (there is a nice idea behind it, de-spite the B-movie trappings) and sinks

into lowest common denominatorterritory theres a toilet joke in theopening montage and someone vomitson a squirrel but the chemistry be-tween the oursome oten manages toovercome an irksome sense o havingseen a lot o it beore.

Unlike a lot o buddy comedies,Hot ub ime Machine chooses not tospend too much o its energy in tell-ing a heart-warming story and opts

instead or brie moments o character

interspersed with large stretches o hitand miss silliness. Te renetic and al-most unrelenting pace means the gagsy by quickly, resulting in a lm thatwill keep you entertained regardless oits missed opportunities.

Te lms concept is purpose-ully stupid indeed, when it is raiseddirectly between the characters, CraigRobinsons Nick Webber gives thecamera a knowing look but that isnta undamental problem. Te our leads

perorm their roles with admirablevigour, propelling their stock charac-ters into more likable territory, thoughthe swit pacing and compact run timegives them little more to do than oaaround. Hot ub ime Machine wontchange your mind about this type ocomedy i it doesnt appeal to you, butyou could do worse than choosing tosee it i comedy is what youre ater.

RELEASED OUT NOW (USA) MAY 7 (UK)

DIRECTED BY STEVE PINK STARRING JOHN CUSACK, CLARKDUKE, CRAIG ROBINSON, ROB CORDDRY, SEBASTIAN STAN,LYNDSY FONSECA, CRISPIN GLOVER & CHEVY CHASE

HOT TUB TIMEMACHINE


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Rebooting the 1984 classic Wes Cravenslasher movie ranchise, notably withoutCravens input or endorsement,A Night-mare On Elm Street ollows a similarstory to the original.

Following a group o high schoolriends, in turn they start to experi-ence scary and particularly disturbingdreams. Each attacked in their night-mares by a disgured, knie-handedkiller, its no surprise the dreams eelwholly realistic because when theynally awake, the pain and injuriescarry over to the real world. Fearing ortheir lives, the students struggle to stayawake and try uncover why its happen-ing to them, though ghting an impos-

sible battle against their bodies, theresonly so long each can stay awake beoreacing up to their worst nightmare.

While the original certainly hadits air share o tense moments, it wasmore o a slasher than a straight-up hor-ror lm; this reboot, however, pandersmuch more towards the scares. In therequent dream sequences,A NightmareOn Elm Street racks up double gures ortimes when youll jump out o your seatso i scares are all youre ater, it at least

does a decent job. For everyone elsethough, itll prove a remarkably hollowexperience.

Platinum Dunes seem set on abusiness model o buying the rights tolegendary horror and slasher lms, andrebooting them; or more accurately, ru-ining them. Its a tried and tested ormu-la that has made the studio a remarkableprot over the last ew years, with answooed by the amous titles and new,

slick Hollywood values. Film ater lmthey bring in a hip music video directorto work behind the camera, and a cast oattractive young actors to put in ront oit andA Nightmare On Elm Street cer-tainly doesnt break the pattern.

One o the most iconic charactersin cinema, recasting demonic villainFreddy Krueger was always going to becrucial to this reboots success. ToughJackie Earle Haley is a very talentedactor, sadly his casting as Freddy isnt assuccessul as he producers might havehoped. Given a gru, deep, Batman-esque voice, and with a tissue scar eectthat eels a little too perect, the newKrueger eels like a cheap knock-ocompared to the original. o compoundmatters, or large spells o his dialogue,

Kruegers speech doesnt sync up withthe movements o Haleys ace, com-pletely taking you out o the scene.

While or the villain the soundediting is remarkably slack, in the tensedream sequences it is purely the scorethat has you jumping out o your seat,so the sound team claws some creditback beore the thing is over.

Ater the enjoyable Te Last HouseOn Te Let remake, I had high hopes orthisA Nightmare On Elm Street update

but it was disappointing on almost everylevel. When hiring an overly stylisedmusic video director to take charge,even i with Samuel Bayer they had ahighly regarded, and award-winninglmmaker, the nished product is blandand lacks imagination. Tough some othe tracking shots and eects are visu-ally pleasing,A Nightmare On Elm Streeteels entirely devoid o personality, withBayer unable to handle the ow o aeature lm, stuttering rom dream to

dream without cohesion.With a trilogy planned, and Haley

already signed on or two more movies,it wouldnt surprise me i this horrorreboot did reasonable box oce num-bers, but or the sake o the legendaryranchise, I hope Platinum Dunes callit a day at just this one and leave otherclassics rom receiving the Hollywoodtreatment too.

DIRECTED BY SAMUEL BAYER STARRING JACKIE EARLE HALEY,KYLE GALLNER, ROONEY MARA, KATIE CASSIDY, THOMASDEKKER, KELLAN LUTZ, CLANCY BROWN & CONNIE BRITTON

A NIGHTMARE ONELM STREET

RELEASED APRIL 30 (USA) MAY 7 (UK)


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Kick-Ass is a lm about doing somethingspecial with nothing but your own airhands to get you started. Tough notonly does the plot ollow this route, butthe lms path to production. Based onMark Millars comic book o the samename, lm rights were bought beore thetitle was on shelves. Director Matthew

Vaughn then held a couple o dinner par-

ties with his wealthy riends and beorelong Kick-Ass rumoured $70m productionbudget was raised, an astonishing achieve-ment or an independent lm, even given

Vaughns increasing clout in Hollywood.His third outing in charge behind

the camera, Vaughns Kick-Ass is about atypical teenage boy. ired o merging intothe crowd, and bored o his current lie,Dave Lizewski (Johnson) decides to dosomething about his rustrations. Aterbuying a costume online, the comic-book

crazed Dave takes crime-ghting intohis own hands, and under the monikero Kick-Ass, sets out to become a real liesuperhero.

Somewhat predictably, Daves rstexcursion as a vigilante doesnt go well;hes badly beaten, stabbed and hit by a car,though with damaged nerve endings, isnow let with a slightly above average abil-ity to take a beating. Hardly a superpower,but its a start.

Kick-Ass second time on the streets

is somewhat more successul, and inter-vening in a gang ght outside a diner,Dave beats o three men, all lmed on acellphone rom inside the restaurant. Sureenough the video is posted on the inter-net and he becomes an overnight star.Dave, however, soon unwittingly crossesone o the New Yorks biggest mob lead-ers, and its only so long beore hes out ohis depth in trouble, with nothing morethan two trusty batons to ght or his lie.

Controversial or its portrayal o ex-cessive violence and swearing, especiallyrom ellow vigilante Hit Girl, played byChloe Moretz who was aged 12 at the timeo lming, Kick-Ass is Te Dark Knight-meets-Superbad, and pulls it o with per-ect aplomb. Te action is ast and hard-hitting, with a sleek style it was alwaysapparent Matthew Vaughn was capable oater his work on the promising, i awed,Layer Cake.

Kick-Ass perectly blends comedywith action, without orgetting to developthe plot along the way, and Vaughn andJane Goldmans screenplay deserves greatcredit. Te dialogue is witty and incisive,capturing realistic one-liner conversationsbetween teens without ever eeling akeor orced. Te plot also boasts an amaz-

ing depth and narrative that you wouldntexpect rom a largely teen and youngadult-targeted lm.

Crossing paths along the way, ellowheroes Big Daddy and Hit Girl, played byNicholas Cage and the aorementionedMoretz, plus copycat crusader Red Mist,played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, llup the caped-character quotient, sharingthe limelight to produce a multi-layeredattention eld. Te success o each, andurther the lead Kick-Ass and villain

Frank DAmico (Strong), is down to somewonderul perormances across the board.Mintz-Plasse has at last moved beyond hisMcLovin role rom Superbad, alongsideTe Bad Lieutenant, this lm gets NicCages career well and truly back on track,while Mark Strong has quickly become thego-to or creepy baddie and Aaron John-son has now made a name or himsel.

With a jaw-dropping sequence toclose the lm, Kick-Ass is remarkablyun and endlessly entertaining, even the

clichd love story keeps you guessingand wont draw a yawn. Te pacing is justright, and though the story struggles a lit-tle in the second act, thats barely a minorgrumble.

Ever since early ootage screenedat Comic-Con last year, the buzz sur-rounding Kick-Ass has been building toever-pitch, and or once, its thoroughlydeserved, and then some.

DIRECTED BY MATTHEW VAUGHN STARRING AARON JOHNSON,CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE, CHLOE MORETZ, NICHOLAS CAGE,MARK STRONG, CLARK DUKE, LYNDSY FONSECA & EVAN PETERS

KICK-ASS

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Repo Men is a conounding movie.Lurching awkwardly between com-edy, action and ultra-violence, thelm never quite nds its eet, leavinga nished product that isnt entirelywithout merit, but remains ultimatelyunsatisying.

Te lm is set in the near uturewhere a corporation called Te Unionenjoys a monopoly on perectly crated but extortionately expensive ar-ticial organs. Suering clients areencouraged to buy organs that theycannot aord, on credit. Its that ordeath, right? Wrong. Because, as JudeLaws Remy explains in an introduc-tion reerencing Schrodingers cat,those who cannot pay are likely to

all victim to the Repo Men, a teamo hunters sent to repossess theorgan back. Te repossession processis brutal and carries no regard or thewellbeing o the client; so pretty much

the rst thing we see Jude Law doingis listening to his iPod whilst he carvesopen the torso o a stranger to extracthis mechanical liver.

Tis sort o thing is common inRepo Men. Audiences not knowingwhat to expect are likely to be bafed.Te lms high concept is not in itsela problem; at times the lm hoverssurprisingly close to interesting satireon healthcare and appears more intel-ligent than it looks. More oten than

not, however, it is rather less intelli-gent than it looks, and suers or it.

Te Guy Ritchie-esque senseo humour and arantino-inspiredmusical choices come and go too t-ully to establish a reliable tone thecomedy itsel is hit and miss andalthough the two lead actors (Law andWhitaker) are likable in themselves,their characters are not given a hugeamount to play with. Tis is satire that

tries to make its point with large brushstrokes rather than nesse, and thatsne, but its too much an amalgama-tion o styles to be truly gripping.

At times the action is well staged

a pointless but strangely satisyingnod to Old Boy included and the lmmanages (just about) to maintain itsmomentum through a bloated mid-section to a nale that some will ndsatisying and some will hate. I, orone, didnt hate it, though the debt itowes to a certain other lm (homageor not) is clear.

Served up in a high-conceptsoup, Repo Mens morally dubiouscharacters (Whitakers perormance

is strange but eective) and divisivesplatter elements (a grimly sexualisedscene towards the end in particular)will certainly sour the tastes o someviewers. But unortunately Repo Mensreal problems lie in more undamentalareas like pacing, script and consist-ency. Te lm is not a complete ailurebut it does resonate as something o aailed opportunity.

RELEASED OUT NOW

DIRECTED BY MIGUEL SAPOCHNIK STARRING JUDE LAW,

FOREST WHITAKER, ALICE BRAGA, LIEV SCHREIBER, CARICEVAN HOUTEN, CHANDLER CANTERBURY, RZA & LIZA LAPIRA

REPO MEN


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REVIEWS

Te Ghost dives straight into an eerieatmosphere in a somewhat similar

ashion to Shutter Islandwhen, aterbeing oered 250,000 by his agent towrite the memoirs o the mysterious,and ormer UK Prime Minister, AdamLang (Brosnan), Te Ghost (EwanMcGregor) jumps on the next plane toLangs secret hideout on a remote andunnamed island.

Adam Lang is on trial or warcrimes against his own country, leav-ing him in an ironically opposite state

to director Roman Polanski (pre-ar-rest); unwilling to leave American soilor ear o reprimand, and meaning amemoir that sheds Lang under a posi-tive light is his top priority.

Whilst working on Langs mem-oirs, Te Ghost uncovers that theprevious writer apparently committedsuicide, alling o the back o a boat,and when suspicious events occuragain in the residency, Te Ghost iskeen to nd out what really happened

to his predecessor, no matter what hemay uncover.

Tough Roman Polanskis l-mography is amongst the nest inhis generation, its air to say that TeGhost is up there with some o his bestworks. Perhaps not as great as the2002s indomitable Te Pianist, the twoare dierent animals, setting out toachieve dierent goals, and Te Ghoststands up or its own strengths.

Ater meandering around Hol-lywood without a role to captivate hisobvious ability, Pierce Brosnan takeso the reigns in Te Ghost and deliversa great perormance. Perhaps his con-viction varies at times, but in pockets,this is the best rom Brosnan since hisgolden years as Bond.

Diverging rom Sex And Te City,Kim Cattrall will do well continuedown this road. Bringing somethingdierent to the plot, playing a secre-

tary who obviously knows more thanis leading on, she brings a dark charac-teristic to the role very well.

Tough it will likely be over-shadowed by the on-rushing summerblockbusters, and the warm-ups justgone, Te Ghost oers something di-erent and a welcome getaway romthe eather-lite narratives were all tooused to in modern cinema.

RELEASED OUT NOW

DIRECTED BY ROMAN POLANSKI STARRING EWAN MCGRE-GOR, PIERCE BROSNAN, JON BERNTHAL, KIM CATTRALL,TIM PREECE, JAMES BELUSHI & OLIVIA WILLIAMS

THE GHOST


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TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE OF WINNING, SIMPLY ANSWERTHE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

WHAT IS THE NAME OF JOSH RADNORS DIRECTORIALDEBUT, WHICH HE ALSO WROTE AND STARS IN?

A. SADNOTHANKSLESSNOWB. HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASEC. LEGEN, WAIT FOR IT, DARY

COMPETITION

SEND YOUR ANSWER [email protected] 14/05/10

TO CELEBRATE THE UK DVD RELEASE HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: SEASON 3

WERE GIVING YOU THE CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF THREE BOXSETS


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FACE/OFFPHOTOGRAPHY DAVE MEAD (DAVEMEAD.COM)
http://davemead.com/http://davemead.com/


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PLAYINGGODILLUSTRATIONSWILL BRAMLET (BRAMANDSONS.COM)
http://bramandsons.com/http://bramandsons.com/


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MEN AT WORKPHOTOGRAPHY VINCENT BOUSSEREZ (TWENTYONEHUNDRED.FR)

http://twentyonehundred.fr/http://twentyonehundred.fr/


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SUITYOURSELFPHOTOGRAPHY CHRISTIAN RIOS (CHRISTIANRIOS.US)CLOTHES NATIVE SON FALL/WINTER 2010 COLLECTION

MODELS JAMES CHUTER (NEW YORK MODELS), JASE BEARD (ADAM), LUKEHOGAN (DNA, FORD), JAMES HOLTON (NEW YORK MODELS), BRIAN PATRICK

(MAJOR, AIG) AND TANNER SARFF (ADAM)GROOMING KEVIN PERRYMANMAKE-UP SARAH APPLEBY

http://christianrios.us/http://christianrios.us/


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PENTHOUSEBEHAVIOUR

PHOTOGRAPHY KARINE BASILIO(KARINEBASILIO.COM)

STYLIST CARLOS NAZARIOMODEL DANNA (FROM ELITE)
http://karinebasilio.com/http://karinebasilio.com/


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FORESTFIRE

PHOTOGRAPHY SHE IS FRANK (SHEISFRANK.COM)

http://sheisfrank.com/http://sheisfrank.com/


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FIGHTCLUB

PHOTOGRAPHY PATRICK HOUI(PATRICKHOUI.COM)CONCEPT, ART DIRECTION & STYLING ZHOI HY

(FELDHOMMES.DE)HAIR & MAKE-UP ARNOLD WATTIMENA(BALLSAAL.COM)MODELS THERESA & ANNE (MODELWERK.DE)SPECIAL THANKS TO STEPHAN DIMU & CLAUDIAMIDOLO FROM MODELWERK
http://patrickhoui.com/http://feldhommes.de/http://ballsaal.com/http://modelwerk.de/http://modelwerk.de/http://ballsaal.com/http://feldhommes.de/http://patrickhoui.com/


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NEXT ISSUEAVAILABLE MAY 21ST


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fan the fire magazine #31 - may 2010

Documents