Top of the Pops 8th August 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 Nicky Campbell: “Oh, very good to see you. Thanks for joining us. Listen, tonight’s show is wonderful. Rock and roll up for the greatest pop show on Earth, Top of the Pops and prepare to marvel at the line up tonight. Truly incredible. Let’s start off with three fun loving guys from Amityville. The phenomenal De La Soul.”

 [22] DE LA SOUL: A ROLLER SKATING JAM NAMED ‘SATURDAYS’. Henry Barber is still doing the Lighting and it looks great. Lots of colour. Lots of studio atmosphere. Good use of the hand held camera operators by Stanley Appel. Yes, this is a really positive start to the show. I could do without Nicky Campbell quoting the Zip-a-de-doo-dah lyric at the end. When he does it, it’s not cool.

Top of the Pops 25th July & 1st August 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 25/07/1991

 Mark Goodier: “Hi. Good evening. Welcome to the UK’s number one hit music show, Top of the Pops with stereo sound on Radio 1FM. We’ve got Danni Minogue on tonight, we have Cher, we also have OMD, and we start with the brilliant Shamen. Rapping, scratchin’, and singin’ live on Move Any Mountain.”

 [9] THE SHAMEN: MOVE ANY MOUNTAIN. It’s all a bit flat. Stanley Appel directs Vision Mixer Ben Fuller to mostly bounce between static camera angles when a song like this needs energy and oomph. It needs panning cameras and constantly moving handheld camera shots. It needs more dynamic lighting and atmosphere. Where are the strobes and the spotlights and the smoke? Why are we limited to flashing banks of orange and blue lights along the studio roof? Basically, why is this all a bit boring? It should be brilliant but somehow the direction and staging sucks away all the life.

Move Any Mountain is a great single. This is three minutes of a bunch of blokes doing their best but being offered no support. It’s as if Stanley Appel expects the viewer to be so impressed by a live vocal that no other work is required. It’s like offering someone a cake and dumping eggs, flour, milk, and sugar on the table. Additional work is required.

Spider-Man - Brand New Day review

 

Brand New Day, as the title attests is a relatively fresh start. What you need to know is neatly summed up at the time you need to know it and even though most of the main characters are not new, they feel fresh again. People are saying this is the best of the current era of Spiderman films which may be true though we should acknowledge the excellence of the previous three has created the platform on which this one can triumph. Brand New Day is a joyride to experience and by a comfortable distance the best new film I’ve seen this year so far.

 Some Spidey Spoilers contained in this review....

The Odyssey review

 You never really know what you’re going to get with a Christopher Nolan film. I remember wondering before both Dunkirk how he could find a new way to present a familiar story. With Oppenheimer I imagined it wouldn’t be very exciting yet it was even though it was mostly conversational. As for Inception and Tenet, they are strange out there movies that work even though they shouldn’t. The Odyssey is I suppose the original story, or at least one of the first great tales. Its credited to Homer though he may just have been the first person to write down a story that, like many of that time, were passed on by word of mouth. Can Christopher Nolan reinvigorate yet remain true to such a venerable work? Spoiler- yes!

 

Heartstopper Forever review

It’s only been four years yet it seems longer since we first met Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring tentatively starting their relationship and I would imagine only those who watched the previous three seasons will check this finale. What's really changed though in that time is that it feels like the accepting atmosphere in which a series like this could thrive has been challenged.  While even some of its loyal audience have to admit that Heartstopper has sometimes been the frothiest confection that may not even fully represent the generation it is supposed to, the fact that it is being made at all is important in itself. However, that does mean the show has had something of a free pass in that aspects that would have received criticism had they appeared in other series were overlooked. On the flip side it has been a welcome change to have a drama unafraid of brightness and joy rather than the seemingly endless parade of dark thrillers that seem to make a lot of the running these days. This feature length conclusion closes off the story in a satisfactory though not outstanding manner. 

Spoilers after the break...

 

Top of the Pops 18th July 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Jakki Brambles: “Hello, good evening and welcome along to Top of the Pops on BBC1 and you can hear us in stereo on Radio 1FM. Well, it’s an all star line up on tonight’s show. We’re starting off with a lady who’s knocking ‘em dead on both sides of the Atlantic. Will you welcome, in the studio, Cathy Dennis.”

 [28] CATHY DENNIS: JUST ANOTHER DREAM. A very high concept start to this performance. Kathy Dennis stands singing while dancers wearing black raincoats and Fedoras turn and pretend to take photos of her. It’s all terribly symbolic and I’m sure its a marvellous metaphor for something or other but I don’t know what. Kathy doesn’t seem to be disappointed by the attention and why should she when she’s wearing a one-piece hot-pants suit covered in sequins. Fortunately for everyone concerned the dancers disrobe to reveal underneath their raincoats they are all wearing neon-coloured bikini tops and hot pants. 

Why don’t I have dreams like this? I get nightmares about rats attacking me on the bog*.

*Curse you, James Herbert!

Dating Amber (2020)

 

This overlooked, light hearted film set in 1995 is about two closeted Irish teenagers, Eddie and Amber. Tired of the homophobic jibes they have to endure, they conjure up a plan to pretend to be a straight couple. While initially this eases the pressures on them and also means they are meeting familial expectations it leads to other more complex problems. David Freyne’s delightful film turns what could be a serious topic into something altogether more comedic with some pin sharp observations and two characters whom the viewer soon gets to like. In a way it’s a romcom without the `rom` as the duo’s pretence leads to each of them discovering more about themselves.

 

Top of the Pops 11th July 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Bruno Brookes: “Good evening. Welcome to another sizzling Top of the Pops. All hot stuff on the show tonight. Later on we’ve got Bryan Adams for you. INXS, Billy Bragg, and Bros to name a few. First of all at number twenty eight is D.J.H. featuring Stefy. You need it. And you love it!”

 [28] D.J.H. featuring STEFY: I LIKE IT. The shape of the new-look Top of the Pops is being assembled in the background. We’ve had Michael Hurll’s changes to the way the charts are presented. And, as a side effect of this, the interstitial graphics for the Top 40, Top 10, and Breakers have been retired. Oh, and the Top 5 Albums countdown has been quietly dropped as well. There’s also the green screen and separating the host from the audience.