José González at the Dome

Last night I was working on the José González show, so I managed to catch the end of his performance and he sounded pretty good actually, bearing in mind I've only ever heard that single before. It was the first night of his UK tour and there was a quiet, respectful atmosphere inside the Dome as José went to work with his acoustic guitar, accompanied solely by a couple of mates on percussion duties. For the encore he covered Kylie's Hand On My Heart and Massive Attack's Teardrop before the inevitable solo finale of Heartbeats.

[ Sorry for the lack of posts recently but I've been hit by a particularly vicious strain of 'space virus' (© James Moran) which has been busy eating away my throat, pounding my skull and generally giving me sleepless nights. Abnormal service will resume shortly, I hope... ]

Movie Haiku - The Dark

www.whatisannwyn.co.uk


Dir: John Fawcett


Cast: Sean Bean, Mario Bello, Maurice Roeves, Sophie Stuckey


Sheep jump over cliff

daughter is trapped in annwyn

last five mins spoil it


soulmining rating: ***

Movie Haiku - An American Haunting

www.anamericanhauntingonline.com


Dir: Courtney Solomon


Cast: Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, James D'Arcy, Rachel Hurd-Wood


Haunted by own ghost

cos daddy did the dirty

that's a poor plot twist


soulmining rating: **

Play It Cool in April

It's been a slightly weird start to 2006 musically for me as for some reason I really seem to be struggling to discover any new music that grabs me... I've hardly bought any CDs this year, and the ones that I have purchased have generally been on release for a while and I've only picked them up as they're on special offer - Fopp and Music Zone are doing some great deals week in, week out since establishing themselves in Brighton. So here's what I've been playing this past month... maybe there'll be some new music to celebrate next month?

• Longview - Mercury (14th Floor)
• Serena Maneesh - Serena-Maneesh (Honeymilk)
• Feeder - Pushing The Senses (Echo)
• Frou Frou - Details (Island)
• Brakes - Give Blood (Rough Trade)

Dazed And Confused gets the Criterion treatment!

What's your favourite film? I hate that question... I've always got a rolling list of films that I love and can watch time and time again, but if I had to choose just one movie then I'd probably pick Dazed And Confused. So I'm delighted to read that it's due to get a DVD release from Criterion in June. Unlike last year's rather disappointing Universal edition, this brand new 2 disc set is mooted to include a decent array of special features, such as a commentary track from Richard Linklater, a 50 minute 'making of' documentary, original interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and coverage of the 10th anniversary cast reunion. With The Criterion Collection setting the benchmark of DVD quality, this is simply an essential purchase.

On a related note, I've discovered that Wiley Wiggins - Mitch in Dazed And Confused - has his own blog entitled News of the Dead, so I've added that to my links and you can read it here.

Movie Haiku - Alien Autopsy

www.alien-autopsy.com


Dir: Jonny Campbell


Cast: Ant McPartlin, Declan Donnelly, Bill Pullman, Harry Dean Stanton


London not Roswell

can't believe they fooled the world

eat my haggis brains


soulmining rating: ***

Jim's Big Night Out

Cocktails in Valentinos to celebrate Jim's last week working in our office... I unwittingly end up ordering the campest drink on the menu! Until Morgan arrives that is...


Afterwards we move on to the casino for some roulette and then go back to Holly's flat for more booze and the opportunity for Dom to show off his breakdancing skills...

The Grand National - Feed The Pony's Tips

Yes, it's that day of the year where I put my reputation on the line and try and pick the winners of The Grand National, taking place at Aintree this afternoon at 4:15pm. Traditionally I've been pretty lucky on this race and indeed last year I picked Hedgehunter to win and came up trumps, so I'm feeling over-confident with my selections today - perhaps not a good omen as I was on a losing streak at the casino last night! Anyway, these are my three tips for today:

• Garvivonnian 16-1
• Lord Of Illusion 25-1
• Le Duc 40-1

I've got a £2.50 Each Way bet on all three horses, plus a straight £10 to win on Garvivonnian, making a total stake of £25. I've also drawn Ballycassidy in our winner-takes-all office sweepstake. Check back later to see if I'm celebrating or cursing...

[ Updated 4:40pm ]

So here's the winning horses:

• Numbersixvalverde 11-1
• Hedgehunter 5-1
• Clan Royal 5-1
• Nil Desperandum 33-1

Gambling then - it's a mugs game. Unless you're Dom that is. B*ll*cks! Right, I'm counting on my free bet on tonight's Irish lottery now...

Imogen Heap at the Komedia

Wednesday night found me, Rich and Kelly downstairs at the Komedia to see Imogen Heap on the Brighton date of her first UK tour for eight years. I'd been waiting to see her play live for ages and she didn't disappoint - this turned out to be an early contender for gig of the year in my opinion. What was particularly cool was that the audience directly in front of the stage remained seated on the floor throughout, which allowed those stood at the back and sides to see clearly - always a problem downstairs as the stage is only a foot high! Immi was joined by cellist (and support artist) Zoe Keating for a couple of songs, but otherwise did everything herself, with her bank of keyboards, samplers and laptop. Her amazing strong voice carried each song perfectly, sending shivers down my spine during Hide And Seek, and I was surprised at how well the tracks translated live. Her setlist was dominated by songs off Speak For Yourself but she also played one track from the Frou Frou and I Megaphone albums, her song from the Chronicles Of Narnia soundtrack, plus the new b-side from her forthcoming Goodnight And Go single. A fantastic evening!

Immi's setlist in full:

• Just For Now
• Goodnight And Go
• The Walk
• Let Go
• Loose Ends
• Can't Take It In
• Clear The Area
• Headlock
• Come Here Boy
• Hide And Seek
• Have You Got It In You
• Speeding Cars
• Daylight Robbery
• The Moment You Said It

Immi and me

Yes, she really is that tall!!

You can see more photos from the Brighton gig and the rest of the tour on Immi's moblog here.

Graham Coxon at the Concorde

Having blown out his secret gig at Audio last month in favour of seeing James's Severance flick up in London, I was glad to get a second chance to catch Graham Coxon on his current live jaunt, touring his Love Travels At Illegal Speeds album. I wasn't overly impressed when I saw him at the same venue two years ago, but this time around he was much better - leaner, tighter and with a more solid vocal performance. The set list too was stronger, mainly comprising his more poppy / punky tracks from his last two albums rather than the lo-fi noodlings of his earlier material. Considering most of his songs don't last more than three minutes this was a value-for-money ninety minute set, plus he returned for a five song encore. And support band Duals also impressed.

Wanted:

Taxi for Thaksin

Fantastic news just in from The Guardian's website:

"The Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, is to resign from office in the face of mass protests calling for him to depart after Sunday's disputed election."

You can read the full story here.

This is long overdue; Thaksin is an evil, dishonest, corrupt little man.

I've been tagged...

Yesterday I was tagged by Kelly, so here's my responses to her set of questions...

What were you doing 10 years ago?

[ This is where keeping old journals etc. comes in handy! ]

I’d just moved into the coldest flat in Brighton and was working as the Assistant Box Office Manager at Brighton Centre. On 4th April 1996 we had Black Grape (minus Bez) in concert and I got my It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah! CD signed by the band.

What were you doing 5 years ago?

I’d just been made redundant via email while on holiday in Thailand (nice, huh?), so I’d decided to stay out there for an extra month. On 4th April 2001 I woke up in a basic wooden house in a tiny village in Lamphun province, having met (my Thai girlfriend) Am’s parents for the first time the day before and staying the night at their place. In the morning we paid a 6000 baht (about £100) deposit on a brand new Honda Dream, then rode to the local temple to have the bike blessed by the monks. Later in the day we made the 2-3 hour ride back to Chiang Mai, then in the evening I caught up with a couple of mates in one of the local bars - both of whom were down in the dumps experiencing women trouble.

What were you doing 1 year ago?

Much the same as today, on 4th April last year I was here in the Box Office selling tickets for Brighton Festival. I was logged onto MSN in the afternoon chatting with Nikita about recurring dreams, and spent the evening watching the first few episodes of series three of Millennium on DVD with my friend Steve.

5 Snacks you enjoy:

Bacon sandwiches
Belgian buns from Forfars
Doritos with a hint of lime
Hot buttered toast
Millie’s cookies

5 Songs (you think) you know by heart:

Bohemian Like You – The Dandy Warhols
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
This Is The Day – The The
West End Girls – Pet Shop Boys
Wonderwall - Oasis

5 Things you would do with a LOT of money:

Give some to my colleagues so that we could all leave work
Give some to my close friends and family
Buy a house
Become a season ticket holder at Everton FC
Travel around the world with my best friend

5 Things you would never wear:

A ‘Same Same But Different’ t-shirt
Sandals
Short shorts
Vest tops
White socks with shoes (sorry Sean)

5 Things you should have never worn:

A 70s tan leather jacket which had been handed down to my Dad by one of his friends
A Belinda Carlisle sweatshirt
Black shoes with red laces when I was a student
Glasses from the age of 10 – 17
Multi-coloured shirts which looked like an explosion in a paintbox

5 Things you enjoy doing:

Catching the morning screening of a good film, sat in the far corner of a quiet cinema, armed with a large coffee and doughnuts
Discovering new music
Flying to foreign countries
Foreplay
Writing

5 Bad habits you have:

Blogging at work
Buying DVDs that I’ll never watch more than once
Indecisiveness, I think
Interrupting friends before they’ve finished speaking
Using ‘…’ in emails and posts all the time…

5 People you would like to do this:

Adz
Courtney
GG
James
Kumquat

Movie Haiku - Firewall

www.firewallmovie.warnerbros.com


Dir: Richard Loncraine


Cast: Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Mary Lynn Rajskub


Too old for Indy

stealing cash online is dull

why hold dog hostage?


soulmining rating: *

Movie Haiku - Basic Instinct 2

www.sonypictures.com/movies/basicinstinct2


Dir: Michael Caton-Jones


Cast: Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, Charlotte Rampling, David Thewlis


What a dirty mouth

I don't care if she's guilty

put some clothes on, luv


soulmining rating: *

Corinne Bailey Rae at the Concorde

Summer arrived early yesterday as I strolled down to the Concorde in the late afternoon sunshine for Corinne Bailey Rae's first live appearance in Brighton. Which was somewhat appropriate as the music on offer was well suited to those long Summer evenings. James Morrison got the crowd going with a lively set of pop songs and ballads - hardly my kind of thing, but he did it well and I won't be at all surprised to see his name in the charts later in the year. Corinne too had the talent to back up her recent chart success; after a rather hesitant beginning she soon found her rhythm and by four or five songs in she had the crowd in the palm of her hand. Her set comprised, perhaps unsurprisingly, largely of tracks from her debut album, but she also sang an inspired cover of Led Zeppelin's Since I've Been Loving You. Of course, the most popular tracks were Like A Star which she'd performed on Later last year, and current single Put Your Records On. It's just a pity there's no Glastonbury Festival this year as she'd be an ideal choice for the main stage on the Saturday afternoon, but with other festival appearances lined up this Summer I'm sure they'll help cement her growing reputation. A confident, assured debut and on this evidence we'll be hearing a lot more from Corinne Bailey Rae in 2006.

April Live

Blimey, we're into April already so maybe things will start warming up a bit and we can say goodbye to that horrible wintery weather we've been having. Right, onto this month's live bits and pieces...

01/04 - Tonight we've got the hotly tipped Corinne Bailey Rae taking the stage at the Concorde. I've only heard Put Your Records On, but her debut album has already hit the top of the charts so this will probably be a rare chance to see her in such an initimate venue.

03/04 - One of the few 'pop' bands it's okay to like, The Sugababes, are playing at Brighton Centre - although quite how good they'll be now that there's only the one original member remaining is open to debate! Otherwise you could see Oom playing an acoustic set at The Globe on Middle Street.

04/04 - Graham Coxon makes a swift return to Brighton after his 'secret' gig at Audio last month. This time he's back at the Concorde touring his new Love Travels At Illegal Speeds album.

05/04 - Gig of the month for me I reckon is Imogen Heap at the Komedia. I fell in love with her voice after hearing the Frou Frou album a few years ago and her solo album Speak For Yourself made my top ten of 2005. Meanwhile over at Brighton Centre, Little Britain return for three more nights of their sold out live show which I saw back in December.

09/04 - After two sell out shows at the Dome in February, The Mighty Boosh move to the bigger Brighton Centre for two further live performances of their cult television show.

10/04 - Fresh from their support slot on Rufus Wainwright's autumn tour, The Guillemots are back in the city for a gig at Audio.

12/04 - Rescheduled after he had a sore throat (or something equally lame), comedian Paddy McGuinness finally takes to the stage at the Dome. He better be bloody funny now after all the hassle he's caused us!

20/04 - Jose Gonzalez makes a quick return to Brighton, still cashing in on the success of his single Heartbeats. Is he a one hit wonder or not? Judge for yourself at the Dome.

21/04 - I'm going to be in London seeing The Cardigans at Shepherds Bush Empire, having missed them last time they played in the capital. Meanwhile back at the Dome it's the turn of The Ordinary Boys, enjoying a bit of a revival since Preston's appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.

23/04 - If you fancy a bit of comedy this month you could do a lot worse than check out Will Smith at the Komedia. He's doing his Misplaced Childhood show, centred around his love of the band Marillion which he performed at last year's Paramount Comedy Festival.

25/04 - One year on from their gig at the Concorde The Kaiser Chiefs have now moved into the big league and are now headlining at Brighton Centre.

26/04 - At the risk of opening myself up for ridicule I'll admit that I really liked Hilary Duff's debut album Metamorphosis. With her second album Most Wanted on release she's now doing her first UK tour stopping off at Brighton Centre. Don't worry, I'm not planning on going... well, not unless someone offers me a free ticket!

Movie Haiku - 13 (Tzameti)

www.13themovie.com


Dir: Gela Babluani


Cast: George Babluani, Pascal Bongard, Aurelien Recoing, Fred Ulysse


Overdose in bath

takes his place in deadly game

unlucky number?


soulmining rating: ****

Stephen's Gay Car

My friends Stephen and Caroline woke up to find this piece of graffiti on their car the other morning. Yes, Southampton's finest wit had been at work overnight with a black permanent marker pen. I love the fact that he actually bothered to clean the dirt from the centre of the bonnet before he scribbled his oh-so-hilarious comment...

The Great Escape

www.escapegreat.com

Looks like there's a new music festival in town...

I can't believe I hadn't heard any mutterings about this until I spotted the poster this afternoon, I must be losing my edge!

Random Monday Things

Hey, it's Monday 27th today so happy birthday Courtney, I hope you have a fun and alcohol-fuelled day... everyone go and visit her site and be nice to her!

We had a big chuckle this morning at work when we found out why Dom had turned up an hour late... guess who'd forgotten to put his clock forward an hour on Sunday morning? Dom had to buy us all pies as punishment, mmmmm.






I sorted out my Bic vs. Nerina dilemma today. I've decided to see Bic Runga at the Spiegeltent in May since she's on tour promoting a new album Birds (which I've just ordered) and I'm going to see Nerina Pallot at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in September instead. Cool.

Finally, the Massive Attack 'best of' CD Collected is released today so please go and buy the special edition double CD / DVD version as my friend Debbie sings vocals on the track Joy Luck Club. Thanks!

Movie Haiku - Inside Man

www.theinsideman.net


Dir: Spike Lee


Cast: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer


Doesn't want the cash

how can he walk out front door?

Jodie called a c***


soulmining rating: ****

Movie Haiku - Syriana

www.warnerbros.co.uk/syriana


Dir: Stephen Gaghan


Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper


George gets fat, grows beard

ambitious look at oil trade

Traffic was better


soulmining rating: ***

Brighton Festival Fringe Launch Party

Jim and Lucy

Thursday night saw the launch of this year's Brighton Festival Fringe. Jim, Lucy, Hannah and I blagged ourselves some invites and made our way to the party down at Brighton Marina's West Quay. What followed was a hilarious evening of drunken debauchery...

Helen and Jim

Hannah, me and Sam

After quaffing some free champagne we ran into Sam and Helen and got invited out on a boat trip around the Marina. Maybe it was the booze, maybe it was the freezing cold weather and sea spray, but we found this to be the funniest thing ever and laughed all the way...

"Look at the dolphins, they're magnificent! The ducks are glorious!"

Back on dry land we discovered the very reasonable bar prices and retreated upstairs to mingle with some of the other Dome and Festival faces. And then the fun really began...




She Said Boutique's fashion show

Jim and I had been contemplating leaving early but then the live music kicked in downstairs and we found some more champagne to drink. Oh, and She Said Boutique put on a fashion show - well, lingerie parade - for our entertainment. We suddenly found ourselves perking up a little after that. Strange, huh?


Hello sailors!

Several drinks later we were back upstairs on the makeshift dancefloor with Lucy, Hannah, Polly, Holly and her Fringe team wearing sailor hats which we'd been given by a couple of the Fringe girls, dancing our asses off to the DJ's cool tunes...

I think we finally piled into a cab around 1am, drunk and exhausted - with Jim still wearing his sailor's hat!

Big thanks to Holly for organising such a great party xx

Snakes On A Logo

It's the new Snakes On A Plane logo! This will look cool on a t-shirt...

Bic Runga vs. Nerina Pallot

I got all excited at lunchtime when I discovered that Bic Runga will be performing at the Spiegeltent in Brighton. However, she's booked to play on Saturday 27th May - exactly the same date that Nerina Pallot is performing at St Georges Church! What kind of bad planning is that? Two great female singer/songwriters in the same town on the same night! How do I decide who I am going to see?

Secret Machines at the Concorde

On Monday night I decided to check out Secret Machines down at the Concorde. I'd heard very little of their stuff, but their sound had been described as psychedelic, progressive rock so I thought they'd be worth a look. Live on stage I felt they came across more like Muse; they really rocked out, but their songs eschewed the verse / chorus / verse structure in favour of long meandering epics. I did recognise a couple of familiar tracks from Now Here Is Nowehere whilst the rest of the set comprised tracks from their forthcoming Ten Silver Drops album. What was particularly impressive was the light show - the best I've ever seen at the Concorde, which made me feel like I was watching a Brixton Academy show in my own living room. With huge banks of lights back-lighting the band, and a constant supply of dry ice, the effect was stunning. They really deserve to be performing in bigger venues, and on this evidence I'm sure it won't be long before they are.

www.thesecretmachines.com

Movie Haiku - V For Vendetta

www.vforvendettamovie.co.uk


Dir: James McTeigue


Cast: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, John Hurt


He keeps his mask on

wants anarchy in UK

big bang for Big Ben


soulmining rating: ****

Movie Haiku - The World's Fastest Indian

www.theworldsfastestindian.co.uk


Dir: Roger Donaldson


Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Dianne Ladd, Paul Rodriguez, Aaron Murphy


Old man with old bike

can he beat land speed record?

guessed that from title


soulmining rating: ****

FrightFest - Hostel Day

The FrightFest drunks ™ (photo by Ian Rattray)

Saturday saw me back in London again for FrightFest's 'Hostel Day', a one-day appetiser for August's main event. The day began bright and early with Ian leading some of us forum regulars to a nearby greasy spoon for a much needed fry up – and the opportunity to chat and finally put some faces to some familiar names. With our bellies full we trooped back to the Prince Charles for the first film of the day, Death Trance, from the action director of Versus – and it showed. Far too many repetitive fight scenes and not enough plot to make it a classic, but it certainly had its moments (the bizarre stop-motion dolls, the pulsating sword that suspiciously resembled a dildo) and happily it didn’t overstay its welcome with its brief ninety minute running time.

As much as I love The Wicker Man, I was planning to have a day socialising as much as I was watching films, so I skipped that screening in favour of a couple of pints in the nearest pub with Steve and the rest of the Eat My Brains guys. I then returned to the PCC where I chatted to Kim Newman (and complimented him on his review of Evil Aliens in Empire) and then dashed off with Ian and the FrightFest drunks ™ for another quick pint before Mortuary began. I’d decided to pass on Tobe Hooper’s latest effort having been unimpressed with the footage we’d been shown last year, so made a swift circuit around Chinatown and then headed back to the cinema where I was greeted with the rather peculiar sight of ex-Eastender Anna Wing sat at the bar, until I realised she was in David McGillivary’s short which had just screened before the film. I’d already warned the FrightFest drunks ™ about the dubious quality of Mortuary and had to smile when they walked out half way through! It was really good catching up with Ian and he was telling me all about Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon, the first film to be confirmed for August, and it seems like they're also keen to secure Art Of The Devil 2 on my recommendation, even though my screener copy is yet to turn up. With Ian, Steve, the drunks, James and a few others filling up the bar area - I even bumped into one of the journalists I'd sat next to at the Oliver Stone Q&A in Bangkok! - there was a very convivial atmosphere in which to discuss movies… and of course, drink more alcohol.

This wasn’t a problem until I took my seat up in the circle to see Reeker. As soon as I’d watched the excellent Silent Hill trailer I could feel the effects of half a dozen beers kicking in, and it wasn’t long before I was drifting in and out of sleep. Which was a real pity as what I saw of Reeker I really liked – a simple idea, well executed and I particularly loved the shimmering effect as the Reeker went about his business. It was only after the film finished and we were discussing its merits outside that I realised just how much I’d missed… String? What string? Who died? When did that happen? [Note to self: Lots of booze followed by a movie is not a good idea… unless it’s a Tobe Hooper film]

Thankfully there was enough time to grab some food in the break, so by the time Hostel began I’d sobered up and was wide awake again. Eli Roth’s film was a real FrightFest pleaser with plenty of gross-out moments to entertain us. Was I the only person shouting “just stick it back in the socket… don’t cut it… oh, too late” during that eyeball scene? And the kids with the rocks, well, that was just hardcore! A suitably nasty film to end the day with – as I had to miss Theatre Of Blood in order to get back to Brighton – and the culmination of yet another enjoyable FrightFest event for me. I'm looking forward to August already!

FrightFest Movie Haiku - Hostel

www.hostelfilm.com


Dir: Eli Roth


Cast: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonnson, Barbara Nedeljakova


The girls are easy

the boys get tortured with tools

wasn't in Rough Guide


soulmining rating: ****

FrightFest Movie Haiku - Reeker

www.reekermovie.com


Dir: Dave Payne


Cast: Devon Gummersall, Tina Payne, Derek Richardson, Michael Ironside


Stalks kids at motel

what string? who died? I missed that

six pints, fell asleep


soulmining rating: ***

FrightFest Movie Haiku - Death Trance

www.deathtrance.us


Dir: Yuji Shimomura


Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Takamasa Suga, Kentara Seagal, Yuhki Takeuchi


Fighting for coffin

wakes Goddess of Destruction

sword looks like dildo


soulmining rating: **

Snakes On A Plane! Clips On The Internet!

Oh yes, it's a happy day... the first footage from Snakes On A Plane is now online! According to New Line, this is not the official teaser trailer, rather an assemblage of clips - and the CGI effects shown aren't finished, just work in progress...

"Enough is enough, I've HAD it with those snakes!"

Click here to view those snakes on a plane!!

Movie Haiku - Severance

www.jamesmoran.blogspot.com

Dir: Christopher Smith

Cast: Danny Dyer, Laura Harris, Tim McInnerny, Toby Stephens

Office trip goes bad

team slaughter not team bonding

where's his severed foot?


soulmining rating: ****

I ought to say a few words about Severance. This is the film that my friend James wrote (you can read my interview with him here), and yesterday was the first screening of the finished film since all the post-production work, picture grading and sound mixing was completed. It's always a little daunting seeing something where you've got a personal connection, but thankfully I really enjoyed the film. It manages to balance its comedic and horrific elements very effectively - a difficult job to pull off successfully - and the casting works surprisingly well. I don't really want to say any more at the moment as the film is still some way from general release; as you'll see from the above, there's no official website or poster images available yet, let alone any publicity stills. Talking to James after the screening it's looking like Pathé are aiming for a 'late Summer' release and they're hoping to get a 15 certificate, although on this evidence I reckon it'll be a borderline decision! Anyway, it deserves to do well when it comes out so keep your eyes open for it later in the year...

In the meantime I spotted an interview with Danny Dyer in this month's Maxim magazine where he mentions Severance:

(Warning - contains minor spoilers)

Maxim: Do the clothes you're wearing affect how you play a role?

Danny Dyer: Oh, definitely. That's quite a major thing for me. You turn up in the morning, you're knackered, got the hump, a bit snappy, might not even be in the mood for working for a while. You go into your trailer, and slowly you start to come round when you're putting your wardrobe and make-up on. The last two films I've done, one was a horror film, so the clothes are soaked in blood and ripped and muddy. It was winter and we were filming at night - it was minus-two and I've got bloodsoaked clothes on - and it's vile, but it helps with the role.

Maxim: What film was this for?

Danny Dyer: One of them's called Severance - that's the horror film. That's about terrorists and was filmed in Hungary. It's really gory and filthy, and I'm the one that survives. I'm the last man standing, you know?

Play It Cool in March

It's weird, most months I'm spoilt for choice when it comes to publishing my list of listening pleasures, but these past few weeks I've hardly been playing any CDs. In Bangkok I was so busy that I rarely spent any time in my hotel room unless I was asleep, and since I've got back I've been spending most of my free time catching up with cool TV shows like Life On Mars, 24 and Shameless. I think I need to discover some exciting new music next month, but for now here's my picks for March:

• Anggun - Luminescence (Sony BMG)
• Madonna - Sorry (Warner Bros) single
• Soulwax - Any Minute Now (PIAS)
• Zero 7 - When It Falls (Ultimate Dilemma)
• Depeche Mode - Precious (Mute) single

Movie Haiku - The Hills Have Eyes

www2.foxsearchlight.com/thehillshaveeyes


Dir: Alexandre Aja


Cast: Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, Vinessa Shaw, Emile De Ravin


Don't like strangers much

welcome with pick-axe and guns

not tea and biscuits


soulmining rating: ****

Movie Haiku - The Matador

www.miramax.com/matador


Dir: Richard Shepard


Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall


Likes booze and hookers

burnt out hitman needs some help

march of the speedos


soulmining rating: ***

Two Jethro fans...

True story:

We had a Joan Baez concert here at the Dome on Monday evening. A couple turned up with tickets for Jethro Tull which happens to be on here next Monday. So they'd got the wrong date, which was a little unfortunate as they'd driven all the way over from Southampton and had also booked a hotel for the night. What made it even more unfortunate was that they'd turned up expecting to see the Cornish comedian Jethro and not the seventies rock band Jethro Tull in the first place...

Genius.

Juliana Hatfield at Bush Hall, London

Any objective, incisive review of this gig went out of the window the moment I met up with Mike and we decided to head to the nearest pub. A couple of hours and four pints of cider later...

I'd never been to the Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush before, but I managed to find the venue easily enough and it's pretty cool - quite ornate and intimate, and the sound wasn't bad either. Juliana Hatfield was playing her first UK show since she toured with Teenage Fanclub back in the mid-nineties and it was just her and her guitar, that's all. She played a good mix of material from her early days in The Blake Babies and The Juliana Hatfield Three through to new songs off last year's Made In China album. She promised to return with her full band again soon - let's just hope it doesn't take her quite so long to come back this time!

The Like at the Komedia

This photo clearly demonstrates the pitfalls of trying to take a picture of a band as they're performing on a low stage when there's a very tall bloke standing directly in front of you.

I like The Like. You can't beat girls with guitars, always works for me. They only played a short set but it made me curious to check out their debut album Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? which is released next week. I still don't know what happened to Giant Drag, the billed support, but The Bright Space filled in admirably - although I really think they ought to reconsider their band name.