Top 10 Films Of 2011...

Here's the score, ten films that I first saw in 2011(plus a few others I've liked a lot), they can be made in any year, so feel free to discuss..!

1. Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) - I can't believe how scary this was; the fact that the cameras when the film was set can't capture everything makes it even more haunting. If you don't like the other incarnations, you won't like this, if you like the other films, this is the best one and from half an hour in onwards, it is deeply unnerving.

2. Black Swan (2010) - Darren Aronofsky's latest addition to his library of depressing but exceptional movies, watch as Natalie Portman loses her mind while trying to reach the top of the ballet tree; the film is as fractured and disconcerting as the subject's head, top notch.

3. The King Of Kong (2007) - Even geeks have their untouchable legends and this enables you to watch on in horror, as a bunch of people who have never touched a naked lady fight to prevent lovable family man Steve Wiebe claiming his rightful Donkey Kong World Record score from odious Billy Mitchell, the existing title holder.

4. Juno (2007) - Genuinely amusing tale about a girl impregnated mighty young who decides to keep the baby but to give it to a couple who can't conceive. A lot better than the plot sounds like and a lesson to the people pumping out Hannah Montana and her ilk’s type of soulless teen movies...

5. Hobo With A Shotgun (2011) - Don't show this to your Gran..! Ultra-dark and brutal yet it still somehow manages to squeeze some jokes in too as a Hobo tries to claw back a Town ruled by crimelords from the abyss. Released this year yet it feels like a 1980’s film and is set in the future, it’s an absolute mindfuck and manages to finish with the song from the cartoon series ‘The Raccoons’..!

6. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (2010) - A film featuring computer game-esque sequences throughout, not just in the fight scenes, teamed up with a smart script and a lunatic plotline, it will divide the audience but those that love it will LOVE it! Smart, knowing performances from all the actors (and another appearance from Michael Cera) mark this out as superb as it is original.

7. Touching The Void (2003) - Good to see good old British 'stiff upper lip' is still alive and well, as this documentary talks to two spiffing upper class British climber chaps who not so much escaped death but gave him the V-sign in his face and then dragged their broken bodies down the mountain to safety.

8. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) - Michael Moore exposes yet more truths about American corporations and their unwillingness to pay tax, just imagine if it had come out this year and not in 2009? Personally, it's Moore's best, as his ability to fashion arguments and stay behind the camera seem to have improved with age.

9. Wall-e (2008) - I wasn't expecting this to be all it was hyped to be but it certainly was, a kids film making a very relevant point about World obesity rates, all wrapped up in a story about a cutesy robot, watched by loads of people eating junk food probably missing the point, great!

10. The Wild and Wonderful Whites Of West Virginia (2009) - Some documentaries make you feel uplifted, some show adversity eventually being overcome, this is just a depressing snapshot of what it is like to live in a trailer trash family in the States where you get your kid taken off you more times than you eat a healthy meal and your Gran's 81st birthday features her son putting his arse in her face while you have absolutely no chance of escape...

Warrior (2011) was unlucky, there it was in the Top 10, then I remembered Scott Pilgrim... Is there a better actor in the world at the moment than Tom Hardy? This is essentially 'Rocky' but with Mixed Martial Arts but it's well shot, features actors who are actually talented and somehow maintains some kind of reality.

Also hugely impressing me this year were a clutch of different comedies, from the plain weird Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) and it’s Elvis in a Nursing Home plot tangent, the at times puerile but well observed Your Highness (2011) to the The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) doing exactly what you’d expect very well indeed.

Credit also to Scream 4 (2011), arguably the best one since the original and still very entertaining.

As far as the ‘so bad it’s good’ category, I can thank the lovely Sky Christmas film channel for Santa Baby 2 (2009), a TV movie which shows how bad Jenny McCarthy’s acting is as the character you are supposed to root for, she portrays as a ruthless bitch and you hope that she fucks off back NYC and the elves get cookies while they work..!

Thankfully, it was a long way better than Michael Jackson’s utterly horrible ego trip that is Moonwalker (1988), displaying the deceased popstar’s insecurities for all to see on the big screen and lasting for about 60 minutes too long, worst film of the year, it’s utterly detestable.

Here were 2010's Lords and Ladies...

http://jeffthelion.livejournal.com/181662.html

Top 10 Albums Of 2011...

This was a great intro last year so I'll copy and paste, ha! One band per album, no mentioning of particular tracks if possible, here's my top 10 albums of the year, I don't expect to fully agree with anyone but comment about it, if you like!

1. The King Blues – Punk & Poetry (2011) – A political band that can also write songs that aren’t political?! Well, I never! They should be bloody massive; I really hope they can be... From their earlier more ska and reggae based stuff, they’ve ramped up the riffs while keeping their relevance and at a shade over half an hour, there isn’t an ounce of filler, an utter triumph.

2. Scroobius Pip – Introdiction (2011) – If Scroobius Pip can make this fine an album with the offcuts of ideas he has for his ‘main’ band with Dan Le Sac, I’m salivating just at the thought of that album! Songs are here about Johnny Depp murdering people juxtaposed with a sultry Kate Bush cover duet and a ditty attacking internet journalists collaborated on by Zane Lowe, genius.

3. Lostprophets – Liberation Transmission (2006) – By my reckoning, this makes it 2 outstanding albums and 2 good ones for the Welshmen, I’m actually close to addiction to the last track, it’s like they mine anthems not coal these days in The Valleys!

4. Pulled Apart By Horses - Pulled Apart By Horses (2010) – I’d listened to Vausey go on about a Leeds band for a couple of years before finally caving in and checking them out... They are a revelation, shouty but still creative. Extra respect for the singer completing a festival show whilst vomiting twice during the set!

5. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones (2011) – Frank seems to put out an album every year, I’ve heard criticism that he writes too many songs about travelling or too many songs full stop but personally, I think this is one of his best two albums, it’s a grower and is more country influenced but still as full of verve, thoughts and excellent songs as ever.

6. Royal Republic – We Are The Royal (2010) – It took a sterling Download performance to make me see the guys and what a find they are, imagine The Hives with more tunes. They also do silly covers and make jokes live but they’ve nailed this record so tight to boot.

7. The Streets – Computers And Blues (2011) – Mike Skinner departed the music scene in this form with a lovely album of world wise musings and wide ranging instrumentation. To see such evolution while retaining his own unique style was great, enjoy parenthood, bon voyage, Mike!

8. White Lies – To Lose My Life... (2009) – As long as there’s an England, there’ll always be miserable blokes penning indie songs with downbeat lyrics, the trick is to make it appealing to people outside your mates, this band manage it, they paint lush images with words and hurrah for that!

9. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (2010) – This band are one of the few reasons I still consider myself a fan of ‘indie’, lots of awful stuff like The Klaxons is hailed as great but occasionally, decent indie gets through these days! This magnificent opus is only hampered by possibly having a couple of tracks too many (unlike the beautifully paced debut ‘Funeral’) but is still an absolute treat.

10. Aim – Means Of Production (2003) – This edged out other albums mentioned below here based on the fact that it was never intended to be an album, it’s a collection of lost gems fused together out of loops and samples but it flows, flows sublimely like a decent drink of rum and coke, ace!

As if to prove what I already knew (that I listened to more music then watched films in 2011), there’s more credible contenders for the top 10 in albums than in films, on the heavy side of things, it was the year I finally started working my way through Deftones’ back catalogue with Diamond Eyes (2010) and White Pony (2000) excellent efforts.

Likewise a number of young British bands properly arrived in style; Japanese Voyeurs’ Queen Adreena-ish grunge on debut ‘Yolk’ (2011), Scottish Rockers Twin Atlantic also made their first complete album with ‘Free’ (2011) and potential competition for PABH, The James Cleaver Quintet’s debut EP ‘Ten Stages Of A Make Up’ (????) were all discovered to be joyous.

The Blackout’s ‘Best In Town’ (2009) and The Menzingers’ ‘Chamberlain Waits’ had some awesome songs but couldn’t quite match that quality across the entire album.

In more indie-y waters, Muse’s ‘Black Holes And Revelations’ (2006) wowed me as it did the public at large and Eels showed their more optimistic side with their gloriously upbeat ‘Tomorrow Morning’ (2010).

Mercury Rev flirted heavily with their trance-y dance-y side on the excellent ‘Snowflake Midnight’ (2008) and B. Dolan’s crunching compilation of early beat poetry/hip hop, ironically titled ‘The Failure (2008) completed a very strong field.

And here's a reminder of 2010's tastiest morsels...

http://jeffthelion.livejournal.com/181887.html

My Sleeping Pattern Is Still Banjaxed..!

Had a great New Year's Eve, by the way! Went round Neil and Katie's with Toni, there was such a great vibe and we drank many things (from Champagne to Soju) and stayed up till 8AM!

Now though, I've only just started feeling sleepy and I'm up in 4 hours, eep! Ah well, tonight I'll sleep well as it's the first time we've had a working bed and oven (since the glass front of the oven exploded on Boxing Day!) as we constructed a new bed today to replace the one that's been screwed for months.

Back to work tomorrow, I'm well rested today though as I got up in the afternoon! Night!