Top of the Pops 20th June 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 Nicky Campbell: “Hello. Good evening. Welcome to the brilliant new look Top of the Pops. Prepare to be engulfed in a fiesta of music and colour. Lights and action. Sound and vision. What a show. Five live acts, the best music videos and what a start. Here is the r-r-r-r-Rebel MC.”

 [20] REBEL MC/TENOR FLY/B.LEVY: TRIBAL BASE. It seems a little over the top for Nicky Campbell to describe minor format tweaks as a new look. However, there’s an interesting snippet of news in the following week’s Stage And Television Today.

That news item would have been written in the week the 20/06/1991Top of the Pops was being prepared and recorded. It is possible Nicky Campbell was asked to describe the small changes made to Top of the Pops as a “new look” to throw people off the scent a bit.

Disclosure Day review

 

I suspect that if proof of aliens really was disclosed at this current febrile time the public reaction would be hysterical with calls for them to be locked up, dropped on the Moon or something similarly draconian. This is not presently a world receptive to `others` of the human variety let along extra-terrestrials. The idea of such a reveal is what drives Steven Spielberg’s latest which returns him to the territory of ET and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Disclosure Day lacks the certainty of those earlier movies though and the sense of wonder they created is in shorter supply. I think it’s potentially a good story presented in a way that doesn’t do it justice.

 Spoilers disclosed after the break...

Invaders from Mars (1953)

 

“Gee Whizz!” Big green men invade a small town in this classic sci fi film

 If the plot of Invaders from Mars seems familiar then that’s likely to be because it’s proven to be hugely influential on subsequent generations of filmmakers. The likes of Joe Dante and John Landis are fans while Martin Scorcese has named it as one of the best uses of lighting and colour in film. While it does appear to fulfil its title admirably it also sets a template for future invasion pictures to follow or extrapolate from. Re-released last month with a fantastic restoration, we can have a more vivid experience watching it than even those 1953 cinemagoers did.

 

Top of the Pops 13th June 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 Jakki Brambles: “Hello. Good evening. And welcome to Top of the Pops. It’s a little bit different tonight but you can still hear us in stereo on 1FM. First up, tonight’s show, we have probably the only ever artist who scored five top twenty singles off her debut album and still got dropped by her record label. You can’t keep a good woman down. Here’s Sonia.”

 [11] SONIA: ONLY FOOLS (NEVER FALL IN LOVE). “A little bit different tonight.” That sounds ominous. I’m getting “Great news for all readers inside!” vibes. It sounds like IPC is about to force Top of the Pops to merge with Roy of the Rovers.

Backrooms review

 

Sometimes you can find yourself in one of those shops whose dimensions appear to exceed the space the building occupies. I’ve been in one or two such places and as you start to move away from the hubbub of the entrance, browsing can become a solitary occupation with no other customers around. The further you go, the stranger it can seem. It is this sensation, magnified many times, that Backrooms creates finding scares in such seemingly regular things as walls, rooms, doors and even open space. The debut feature of twenty year old Kane Parsons is an impressively unsettling movie to sit through, one that will make you think twice about roaming off on your own. Like last year’s Weapons it creates an edgy mood that makes the everyday terrifying.

 Some spoilers after the break

 

Spider - Noir review

 For Nicolas Cage to commit to his first television role (apart from appearances as himself or a 1981 pilot) it had to be something special and Spider- Noir definitely is. The phrase `comic book coming to life` is often bandied about but there aren’t many instances where this seems a appropriate a description as with this series. Set in the Thirties, it side steps realism taking inspiration from the printed page and pulp novels to present an absorbing world and a fresh take on familiar material. Even if you’ve seen the Spiderman films, you haven’t seen anything quite like this.

 You can choose to watch in “true black and white” or in what is described as “True Hue Full Colour”. There’s even some guidance as to which format is best for which episodes courtesy of the online fan site Marvel Mania. I’m sure the studio wants us to watch the whole thing twice but it actually works out interestingly to switch back and forth. So, in the reviews below, I’ve noted which format I watched in. In the end, I’d say the black and white edges it making the material look so stylish and adding to its’ strangeness.

Spider Spoilers after the break...

Top of the Pops 6th June 1991

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

Mark Goodier: “Good evening and welcome to Top of the Pops, featuring the world’s most exciting chart the BBC UK Top Forty. There’s lots of variety on the show tonight from Harry Connick Jnr. to the brilliant Northside with their brand new single. This is Take Five.”

 [A quick note for posterity. As I write this, Film is Fabulous have announced the recovery of two lost Beatles performances from the 23/03/1964 edition. It’s 35mm film of them miming to Can’t Buy Me Love and You Can’t Do That; their first appearance on Top of the Pops. If you can afford it, please donate to Film is Fabulous so they can continue their good work https://filmisfabulous.org.uk/the-film-is-fabulous-trust/ ]

 

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Groku review

 

The Star Wars Universe has expanded massively yet despite the undoubted quality of the offshoots (notably the superb Andor) they are a fairly long way from the tone of the 1977 original. Here though is a branch of the tale that indulges in exactly the same fast paced action orientated type of story that lit the fuse.  The Mandalorian and Groku hardly rests, pinwheeling from one place to another frantic to throw our unusual heroes into ever more perilous situations. What you gain from the action you do tend to lose in terms of character but this is a film that brings the fun back to big screen Star Wars.