FUTURE INCOMING

Enlish VS Henry Bowers

Quality England VS Sweden battle here from Don't Flop's Blood in the Water 5 event.

1959

ANOTHER lovely remix from Calibre - the guy is on fire : )

Another Earth

I watched 'Another Earth' last week, made sure I caught it as soon as soon as it came out due to it likely having a very limited release. A wonderfully made film, it is deeply philosophical, using the premise of a duplicate Earth suddenly appearing in our skies and the emotional effect it has on a couple brought together by grief. The film portrays 'Earth 2' as both familiar and mysterious, beautiful but ominous. I saw the entire film as a thought experiment really, with the duplicate Earth simply acting as device from which to launch all manner of thought-provoking questions; on the way home I found myself thinking about alternate dimensions, redemption, second chances, regret, positivity. The story was well put together, at times it was also very moving; the person I watched it with found parts of it particularly poignant. Initially I have to say I found it difficult not seeing William Mapother as the evil, manipulative Ethan Rom from 'Lost', but he performs so well in this film alongside Brit Marling he has definitely left that role well behind.

For anyone expecting a science fiction, you may be disappointed. I wouldn't even particularly call it a sci-fi, if defining a genre to this film i'd be more inclined to call it a drama. This recent Guardian article looks into how sci-fi plot devices are increasingly being used as a backdrop to dramas, thrillers and even romantic comedies. (Lars Von Tries' Melancholia employed a very similar plot device to this movie) In any case, please go out and support films like these at your local cinemas, original ideas such as Another Earth really stand out amongst the constant deluge of Hollywood sequels and remakes.

Poster hype

So so so hype about these movies, eagerly awaiting the first trailers! Quality poster design on both of these...

Film The Police

Really well made music video, focusing on the global unrest of 2011 and linking it with N.W.A's 1988 'Fuck Tha Police'...


B. DOLAN's "FILM THE POLICE" pays tribute to N.W.A.'s infamous "F*ck the Police," serving as a call to action for the digitized media movement while responding to the recent explosion of police brutality all across the world.

This free MP3, courtesy of STRANGE FAMOUS RECORDS, features a reconstruction of Dr. Dre's original beat, brilliantly reanimated by UK producer BUDDY PEACE. Label CEO, SAGE FRANCIS, opens the song by picking up the gavel where Dr. Dre left it 23 years ago, introducing a blistering, true-to-style flip of Ice Cube's original verse by SFR cornerstone, B. Dolan. TOKI WRIGHT (Rhymesayers Entertainment) follows up by stepping into the shoes of MC Ren, penning the people's struggle against cops as a case of "Goliath Vs. a bigger giant." Finally, Jasiri X (Pittsburgh rapper/activist) rounds out the track by filling in for Eazy-E, reminding us that police brutality disproportionately affects poor people of color.

With the Occupy Movement bringing various forms of injustice to the forefront of people's consciousness, "Film the Police" is a reminder that cops have been a continued and increasingly militarized presence in public streets. Thanks to the widespread use of smartphones and video cameras, along with the popularity of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, the power of the media has been put back into the people's hands as they document the injustices perpetrated by those who have sworn to serve and protect them.

Pusher

Following on from my previous post about Nicholas Winding Refn's 'Drive', I've since watched his debut series of features, the Danish language 'Pusher' trilogy. I often find watching a directors filmography in reverse an interesting experience, watching how thier style and auteurship develops before ultimately having to adapt to the confines of studio pressure and box-office demands that come with successful big-money movies. Thematically, 'Pusher' has little in common with 'Drive', though the the focus on the lone male protagonist is something that seems to feature in all of his films so far. In the pusher trilogy we almost never see any action away from our main man, taking us on an breathless personal journey that is tense right up until the conclusion.


My favourite of the three is probably the second. I'm admittedly slightly biased as I'm a big Mads Mikkelsen fan due to his performance in 'Valhalla Rising', and the focus of 'Pusher II' is solely on his character Tonny's release from prison and his attempts to restart his life in a meaningful way. I thought the cinematography, colours, and sense of spiralling doom that the second created made it really stand out amongst 1 and 3.


A remake of 'Pusher' is already in production, the action being moved to London. As is usually the case with remakes it really doesn't need to happen, however with London being my home city, I'm looking forward to seeing it!


Lastly, here's a lovely animation made as a tribute to 'Drive'...

Badman Silence

One of the aforementioned videos that really impressed me at onedotzero... 

A Brief History of Grime

Logan Sama - A Brief History of Grime by Insert on Mixcloud

onedotzero 2011

Last weekend I attended 2011's onedotzero event at the BFI. Unfortunately due to a busy week I was only able to reach on the Saturday, but as always it was worth the wait and I was blown away by some of the work showcased. I'm a big fan of onedotzero - whilst at university, during my dissertation preperation I got a ticket for a talk featuring James Powderly of the Graffiti Research Lab. It turned out to be one of the most awe-inspiring lectures i'd ever been to, and I also managed to get some quality research in for my essay. To be a digital designer in London and have a festival of this caliber on your doorstep is a wonderful thing!

Whilst having a beer with my good friend Christian Carlsson we were given free tickets to attend the screening of 'The Spirit Of Apollo', a documentary depicting the creation of an album by production duo NASA, the creation of which involved travelling all over the world to record with artists such as Method Man, George Clinton, Sizzla and Santigold. The aspect of the film that was most interesting was the integration of animation; different artists were brought in to create animated videos for each of the tracks, segments of which were shown cut up with footage of the track being recorded in the studio. Interspersed alongside this, sections of the film suddenly become animated for little reason other than creative flair; for instance, when one of the producers is lying on a bed discussing how tired he is, layers of the image begin to disappear and morph into a bed that grows cartoon wings and flies off into a panorama of the galaxy. I've never ever seen animation used in this way, certainly not for a documentary. In some parts it felt dreamy and otherworldy, reminiscent of the rotoscoped animation style of 'Waking Life', but it all fit in perfectly with the tone and aesthetic of the film.

My personal highlight however was the 'Nightfall 11' screening, which promised an 'adult-rated dose of some of the more extreme, leftfield and damn scary entries into this year's festival programme'. Around 30 works were exhibited, not thematically linked in any way aside from being adult or surreal. The range of styles was incredible, everything from live-action to glossy 3D, through to technicolour hand-drawn animation and stop-motion. Particular favorites of mine were: A short film involving a malevolent car taking three would-be thieves prisoner inside and subjecting them to a deafening assault of cringeworthy dubstep. A superhero story, beautifully illustrated and animated in a graphic novel style. A disturbing short starring John Malkovich with some lovely design and dark art direction. A bizarre sequence in which a deranged mannequin charges aimlessley through the streets. I'll try and find out the names of the creators and post links up here. Please watch the trailer below: