Our Hero, Balthazar review

This film has had quite a strong online promotional presence and like many when I first saw one of the Bboy Malone videos pop up on YouTube I thought it was real; some kid literally crying about the state of the world and its not as unlikely a sight as you’d think. It was only when they kept appearing and its subject seemed equally distressed about all kinds of things that I twigged it was for the film. These videos and clips have got crazier – Balthazar is the first ethical feminist to become pregnant! – yet in terms of the film they may be giving a slightly misleading impression. As a campaign it worked though as it led me to the film itself yet while Our Hero, Balthazar has some dark humour it’s an intriguing look at characters that society- whether at the top or near the bottom- overlooks.

Top of the Pops 15th August 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Gary Davies: “Hello. Very good evening to you. Welcome to a hot summer night’s edition of Top of the Pops and of course we are in stereo on Radio 1FM. In the studio tonight we have Right Said Fred, and Sophie Lawrence, and PM Dawn, and we start off with the second highest new entry in the charts. At seventeen, Level 42, Guaranteed.”

 [17] LEVEL 42: GUARANTEED. Level 42 have been away. They last appeared briefly on Top of the Pops in 1989 when their song Tracie was a breaker on the 26/01/1989 edition. When did they last see the inside of the Top of the Pops studio? That would be 01/09/1988 when they performed Heaven In Your Hands and even on that occasion Mark Goodier described how they “have been away for a long time”.

Grand Designs!

 

I wanted to recommend two artists whose work now features prominently in my house which I’ve recently been having redecorated room by room. One of the aspects I really wanted to freshen up were the wall hanging pictures. Previously there was an assortment of various images of different vintages whereas I wanted to have something more in line with the new furnishings. And that’s how I found two artists whose work I think is excellent and wanted to do a little to promote it in case you, too, were pondering over what art to put on your walls.

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...