FrightFest Movie Haiku - Black Water

www.blackwatermovie.com

Dir: Andrew Traucki & David Nerlich

Cast: Diana Glen, Maeve Dermody, Andy Rodoreda, Ben Oxenbould


Sitting in a tree
teasing mister crocodile
where'd that oar come from?

soulmining rating: **

FrightFest Movie Haiku - Black Sheep

www.blacksheep-themovie.com

Dir: Jonathan King

Cast: Nathan Meister, Danielle Mason, Tammy Davis, Peter Feeney


When good sheep go baaaaaaaad
New Zealand lambs eat farmers
reach for the mint sauce

soulmining rating: ***

Broken DVD Review

Nadja Brand in Broken

"Nadja Brand gives a bold and brave performance in what must have been a difficult and challenging role..."

"There's no denying that Broken is an unpleasant film... yet it never revels in its brutality..."

"Like it or loathe it, it is compelling viewing and will spark debate..."

You can read my full review at Eat My Brains website here.

Movie Haiku - Eagle vs Shark

www.eaglevsshark.co.uk

Dir: Taika Waititi

Cast: Loren Horsley, Jemaine Clement, Joel Tobeck, Craig Hall


Alien versus
Predator is not like this
quirky funny geeks

soulmining rating: *****

Foo Fighters at the Concorde

Foo Fighters - Brighton Concorde 2

So this is how it played out. Bennett and I get to the venue around 4:20pm. Massive queues at the bar. Large television camera point towards the rear of the hall so the capacity must be reduced to around 400 lucky punters. We move to the left hand side of the stage as there seems to be plenty of room there. Zane Lowe is DJing behind us, warming up the crowd. At 5pm on the dot Chris Moyles comes on to introduce the Foo Fighters - the place erupts. We've got the larger band for this show - Pat Smear is back on guitar and there's a new cellist with them called Jesse. They open with new single The Pretender and it's immediately clear this is going to be something special. The sound, the lights, the atmosphere and Dave's banter with the audience... well, it just doesn't get better than this, especially when you're up that close. "I've been here since 7:30 this morning," Dave announces early on, then adding, "It's not the first time I've been at a bar at 7:30 in the morning, but it's definitely the busiest bar I've been to at that time." They play a number of classics from the just re-issued album The Colour And The Shape including See You, My Hero and Everlong and surprise everyone with a storming cover of Arcade Fire's Keep The Car Running. There are also a few new songs getting an airing - "This is the first time we're playing a lot of new stuff," says Dave. "I hate to think of it as a rehearsal, but it is... But it's the best rehearsal ever!" He also says that the band love playing these tiny gigs and that they'd like to play in Brighton again soon (well, we can hope...). The 70 minute set concludes with a triple whammy of Monkeywrench, Best Of You and All My Life which has everyone moshing and singing along. And that's it all over. 6:10pm - time for another pint and then back out into bright daylight. Unquestionably the best gig of the year.

You can catch some of the Foo Fighters show at the Concorde 2 on BBCi from Monday.

Movie Haiku - The Bourne Ultimatum

www.bourne-ultimatum.net

Dir: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Matt Damon, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Paddy Considine


Meet at Waterloo
assassin hot on his heels
find who enrolled him

soulmining rating: ***

The Dandys go Electric

www.myspace.com/thedandywarhols

The Dandy Warhols are playing at the Camden Electric Ballroom in October... woo hoo!

Phil & Rob's Birthday Bash!

Me and Rob in the Phoenix Artist Club

This year I decided to do something different for my birthday. Since my friend Rob - who also shares the same birthday as me - has recently moved to London, it seemed like a good idea to organise a little get together, especially as we have a number of mutual friends through FrightFest. So we arranged a little party at the Phoenix last night...

FrightFest crew: Paul, Amanda, Me, Ian and Dave

Eat My Brains team: David, Me, Mike and Russ

Still haunted by my drunken display a year ago, I kept a sensible head and managed to catch the 1am train back to Brighton relatively unscathed!

As a final postscript, Happy Birthday to Sean in Cape Cod too!!

Play It Cool in August

Autumn approaches, new albums appear, it's all good... Right, stuff to do, people to see, so let's get on with this month's recommendations for your listening pleasure:

• Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks (Fiction)
• Remi Nicole - Go Mr Sunshine - The Remixes (Island) single
• The Duke Spirit - Roll, Spirit, Roll (City Rockers)
  
• Bjork - Medulla (One Little Indian)
• Asobi Seksu - Citrus (One Little Indian)
  

Guess who's coming to Brighton?

www.foofighters.com

First it was on, then it was off, then it was moving venues, then it was definitely not happening... but now it is. On Friday.

Foo Fighters @ Brighton Concorde 2

They're playing an hour long set from 5pm which will be recorded for radio and television. Tickets went on sale at midday and I made it down to the wet and windswept queue just early enough to secure a pair. I am so excited!

The gig is part of a Radio 1 weekend in Brighton; The band will spend the whole day with Radio 1 on Friday, from the breakfast show and the Live Lounge onwards. They will play two live tracks on the Chris Moyles Show from 7am and chat to Chris. On Jo Whiley's show from 10am, they will perform an acoustic version of their new single The Pretender plus a very special cover version. The exclusive gig at the Concorde will be broadcast on Radio 1 from 6pm to 7pm. Then from next week, you can also watch highlights of the gig online and by pressing Red on any BBC TV channel. (20-24 August, scheduled times vary).

I have also been invited to "a very special evening" at the venue from 9pm. A further set from the band perhaps?

Tegan & Sara at the Komedia

Tegan & Sara - Brighton Komedia

Mention Tegan & Sara to 99% of my friends and they'll have no idea who you are talking about. So I wasn't expecting their show at the Komedia to be a hot ticket, but lo and behold it was a sell out and the venue was packed with rabid fans. Brighton, perhaps? It has to be said, the Canadian twins do tend to attract a certain kind of audience. Anyway, let's clear this up once and for all - that's Tegan on the left and Sara on the right. It only took me about half an hour to figure that out. Twins, eh? The gig then... good; I'd wanted to see them ever since I discovered their If It Was You album about three or four years ago, and reports of their witty between-song banter was right on the mark. Musically they trade vocals, Tegan occasionally moving to play keyboards on some songs. They opened with You Wouldn't Like Me and played quite a lot of stuff off their So Jealous album (including Walking With A Ghost, naturally) but the new songs from The Con (currently only available on import in the UK) sounded equally strong, especially current single Back In Your Head. Good stuff - those 99 friends don't know what they're missing.

Movie Haiku - Rush Hour 3

www.rushhourmovie.com

Dir: Brett Ratner

Cast: Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, Hiroyuki Sanada, Max Von Sydow


Tucker won't shut up
Jackie puts on a brave face
viewers lap it up

soulmining rating: **

Doomsday is coming to FrightFest

www.doomsdayiscoming.com

Here's a nice little bonus for those people who'll be attending FrightFest over the August Bank Holiday weekend at London's Odeon West End. On the opening night (Thursday 23rd August) Neil Marshall, director of The Descent, will be on hand to show the first trailer and exclusive footage from his forthcoming apocalyptic thriller project Doomsday and answer questions from the audience. This late addition to the programme will take place directly after the 9:30pm screening of the Aussie crocodile movie Black Water - which is also preceded by a special 28 Weeks Later event to promote the forthcoming DVD release - making it an unmissable triple-whammy of terror!

Movie Haiku - Waitress

www.foxsearchlight.com/waitress

Dir: Adrienne Shelly

Cast: Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Jeremy Sisto


Bakes delicious pies
drunk hubby gets her knocked up
prefers her doctor

soulmining rating: ***

Tokyo Pinsalocks at the Engine Room

Tokyo Pinsalocks - Engine Room, Brighton

Andy suggested that we check out Tokyo Pinsalocks at the Engine Room last night. Japanese electro-pop you say? I'm sold. It was a good shout as it turned out... Naoko (vocals & keyboard), Hisayo (bass) and Reiko (drums) played an entertaining set and received a warm reception from the crowd. Whatever the songs were about they must have been good as we all bought their Plutonium EP from the merch desk on the way out!

Movie Haiku - The Hoax

www.thehoaxmovie.co.uk

Dir: Lasse Hallström

Cast: Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis


Write Howard Hughes book
but he's never met the guy
gonna get caught out

soulmining rating: ***

Movie Haiku - The Simpsons Movie

www.thesimpsonsmovie.com

Dir: David Silverman

Voices: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith


Dumps Spider-pig crap
now must save polluted town
Bart shows his willy

soulmining rating: ***

Murder Party DVD Review

The cast of Jeremy Saulnier's Murder Party

"The most superficial, self-obsessed characters I've seen on film in a long time..."

"Some effective scenes and impressive make up effects..."

"Any enjoyment to be had is dependent on being part of a booze-fuelled group of like-minded fans..."

You can read my full review at Eat My Brains website here.

Movie Haiku - Daft Punk's Electroma

www.electroma.org

Dir: Thomas Bangalter & Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo

Cast: Peter Hurteau, Michael Reich, Ritche Lago Bautista, Daniel Doble

Wear robot helmets
they want to become human
but sun melts their skin

soulmining rating: ***

Cronenberg and Coens for TIFF

Leelee Sobieski and Tricia Helfer in Walk All Over Me

I've just been reading through the list of already announced titles for TIFF trying to decide what other films I ought to see in addition to the aforementioned Midnight Madness programme. Here's what's caught my eye so far (apart from the above picture):

THE BRAVE ONE (Dir: Neil Jordan, USA/Australia)
Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster stars in a bracing thriller from filmmaker Neil Jordan (BREAKFAST ON PLUTO, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, THE CRYING GAME). New York radio host Erica Bain (Foster) has a life that she loves and a fiancé she adores - and it all is taken away when a brutal attack leaves Erica badly wounded and her fiancé dead. Unable to move past the tragedy, Erica begins prowling the city streets at night to track down the men she holds responsible. Her dark pursuit of justice catches the public's attention, and New York is riveted by her anonymous exploits. But with the NYPD desperate to find the culprit and a dogged police detective (Terrence Howard) hot on her trail, she must decide whether her quest for revenge is truly the right path, or if she is indeed becoming the very thing she is trying to stop. Also starring Naveen Andrews, Nicky Katt and Mary Steenburgen.

CHRYSALIS (Dir: Julien Leclercq, France)
In Julien Leclercq's action feature debut, a lieutenant returns to the line of duty to hunt down a dangerous smuggler behind a series of murders, including his wife's own. The investigation leads him to a state-of-the-art clinic where memories are a precious and highly coveted commodity. Starring Albert Dupontel, Estelle Lefébure, Marie Guillard, Marthe Keller and Mélanie Thierry.

CONTROL (Dir: Anton Corbijn, UK/Australia)
Dutch photographer Corbijn moves into filmmaking with the story of the life and death of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis.

EASTERN PROMISES (Dir: David Cronenberg, UK/Canada)
Acclaimed director David Cronenberg reunites with his A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE leading man Viggo Mortensen for a new thriller. EASTERN PROMISES follows the mysterious and ruthless Nikolai (Mortensen), a Russian gangster tied to one of London's most notorious organized crime families. His carefully maintained existence is shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Naomi Watts), an innocent midwife who accidentally uncovers potential evidence against the family. This sets into motion a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution, with Nikolai at the apex of it all. EASTERN PROMISES also stars Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinead Cusack, and Jerzy Skolimowski.

HELP ME EROS (Dir: Lee Kang-sheng, Taiwan)
From acclaimed actor Lee Kang-sheng comes a darkly comic and sexually daring tale that follows a young, penniless stock broker (Lee) who consoles himself with marijuana grown in his apartment closet. In his misery, he calls a suicide help line and falls for his counsellor, then sets a love triangle in motion when he projects his fantasy of her onto another girl who sells nuts at a nearby stall.

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH (Dir: Paul Haggis, USA)
From acclaimed Canadian writer/director Paul Haggis (CRASH) comes the story of a young soldier who goes missing upon returning to the U.S. from Iraq. When his war veteran father (Tommy Lee Jones) and his mother (Susan Sarandon) begin questioning the circumstances surrounding their son's mysterious disappearance, they embark on a journey to piece together their son's final days, enlisting the help of a police detective (Charlize Theron) to aid in the investigation. Also starring Jason Patric, Josh Brolin and James Franco.

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL (Dir: Craig Gillespie, USA)
The socially inept Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) lives a nondescript life in a small, equally nondescript Midwestern town, working a generic job in an office cubicle and living a bland existence in a garage apartment. But all that's about to change when Lars meets the girl of his dreams: a stunning Danish-Brazilian missionary from the tropics named Bianca - who also happens to be a made-toorder, life-size doll. From writer Nancy Oliver ("Six Feet Under") and emerging filmmaker Craig Gillespie, the film also stars Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner and Patricia Clarkson.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Dir: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, USA)
Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) finds a pickup truck surrounded by a sentry of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law - in the person of aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) - can contain.

PLOY (Dir: Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Thailand)
Ratanaruang (INVISIBLE WAVES) returns to the Festival this year with an erotic psychological drama which sees three strangers locked inside a hotel room.

RENDITION (Dir: Gavin Hood, USA)
Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard and Alan Arkin head an all-star ensemble cast in RENDITION, a compelling thriller from Gavin Hood, director of the Academy Award-winning TSOTSI (winner of the TIFF 2005 People's Choice Award). Witherspoon plays Isabella El-Ibrahimi, the American wife of Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) who disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington. Isabella desperately tries to track her husband down, while a CIA analyst (Gyllenhaal) at a secret detention facility outside the U.S. is forced to question his assignment as he becomes party to the man's unorthodox interrogation.

THEY WAIT (Dir: Ernie Barbarash, BC)
Inspired by true events, the skillful and stylish THEY WAIT tells the terrifying tale of one family's encounter with angry spirits during Ghost Month, a traditional Chinese festival. After living in Shanghai for three years, Sarah (Jamie King) returns to North America with her family for a funeral. Soon after they arrive, her son falls ill and she must save him from the grip of a tormented spirit. Also starring Cheng Pei Pei, Terry Chen, Henry O, Colin Foo, Regay Oey and Michael Biehn.

WALK ALL OVER ME (Dir: Robert Cuffley, AB/MB)
Starring multiple Golden Globe nominee Leelee Sobieski, WALK ALL OVER ME is the story of Alberta (Sobieski), who runs into serious trouble when she takes on her friend's identity as a dominatrix (Tricia Helfer) in order to pay the bills. Alberta's soirée with her first customer is interrupted by a trio of criminals and she soon becomes targeted by one of them who believes that she has their money. Also starring Lothaire Bluteau and Jacob Tierney.

www.tiff07.ca

August Live

I'm slightly disappointed all that speculation about Foo Fighters playing a V Festival warm-up in Brighton this month seems to have come to nothing... nevermind, here's what is on the calendar for August:

07/08 - Bit of a jump into the unknown this one, but Andy suggested seeing Tokyo Pinsalocks at the Engine Rooms. Three Japanese girls playing electro-pop you say? I'm there!

13/08 - Gig of the month? I've been wanting to see Tegan & Sara for ages and now they're over from Canada to play at the Komedia in support of their brand new album The Con. Often tagged as the lesbian sisters, what you perhaps won't know is that no less than The White Stripes covered their Walking With The Ghost track.

15/08 - Actually my birthday, but where better place to plug it? Eschewing the normal piss-up in Brighton, instead I will be celebrating in London (alongside fellow birthday boy Rob) at the Phoenix Members Club on Charing Cross Road. All friends are welcome - contact me for further details. Meanwhile back in Brighton, Martha Wainwright and Terra Naomi are playing at St George's Church.

18/08 - Another weekend, another festival... Brighton chips in with Loop, a digital music event at Victoria Gardens headlined by The Go! Team.

23/08 - As the Bank Holiday weekend beckons I'll be making my annual trip to London for the FrightFest event at the Odeon West End. Running from 23rd to 27th August and taking in a whopping 26 films this year, it looks like being the best yet!

27/08 - Affiliated to FrightFest, but worth a separate mention here, Bank Holiday Monday begins with our Zombie Walk World Record Attempt in Leicester Square before a screening of The Zombie Diaries. You can find more details on this event at www.myspace.com/zombiewalk.

Argento and Miike films added to TIFF

Asia Argento stars in Mother Of Tears

Two big name directors complete the Midnight Madness line-up at TIFF this year; Dario Argento's Mother Of Tears, the third part of his 'Three Mothers' trilogy (following Suspiria and Inferno) and Takashi Miike's Sukiyaki Western Django, his first English language film featuring a certain Quentin Tarantino, have now been confirmed for the festival. Dates are yet to be confirmed but it looks as if Argento's film will open the strand on Thursday 6th September, whilst Miike's film will screen the following Thursday night.

www.tiff07.ca

Movie Haiku - The Walker

www.thewalkermovie.co.uk

Dir: Paul Schrader

Cast: Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall, Ned Beatty


Hangs out with ladies
investigates a murder
it's a mystery

soulmining rating: **

Aimee Mann at The IndigO2

Aimee Mann - The IndigO2, London

It was Steve's birthday last week so I thought I'd surprise him with a ticket to see Aimee Mann at The IndigO2 in London - cue much amusement as Chrissy and I tried to convince him that we were really going to see Scissor Sisters who were playing at The O2 next door! Once we'd managed to get to the venue in one piece (Steve avoiding the floods in Oxford, us being sardines in the tube and surviving a fellow passenger's panic attack when we stopped between stations...) we were able to relax, grab a drink from the bar and take in the newest live music venue in the city - and it's pretty impressive; about the size of Brighton Dome, modern, and with a crystal clear sound-system. Jenny Owen Youngs supported and was pretty and kooky, lots of amusing banter and a bizarre cover of Hot In Here to finish - definitely worth seeing when she plays at The Barfly in October. As for Aimee and her band, well, they were fantastic! The set spanned a variety of albums including most of the tracks from her best known work, the Magnolia soundtrack - although she totally fluffed Momentum. There were also choice cuts from The Forgotten Arm and Lost In Space, the best of which was Today's The Day which sent a shiver down my spine. Another great track was the uptempo Freeway, one of two new songs she premiered that night. For the encore she just about managed to get through Telescope after a bit of help from the audience, and then ended the show with Wise Up. One of the best gigs of the year so far!

The Boys and the 'Babes

Cotton, Bennett & myself with the Sugababes

Look who we bumped into at the launch of Brighton Centre's 30th Anniversary exhibition on Thursday evening...

(Yes, we had drunk quite a few glasses of wine by this time!)

The Bravery at the Concorde

The Bravery - Brighton Concorde2

I was out with Andy last night to catch up over a couple of pints and check out The Bravery. We were quite surprised to find the Concorde was sold out as the band had pretty much vanished from view since their debut album, and appeared to be in crisis with release of their new album The Sun And The Moon getting put back in the UK. Support came from The Cinematics who were quite good in an Editors kind of way. The Bravery opened with Fearless (their best song on the night) and started well - Believe and This Is Not The End from the new album making an immediate impression. Other songs were less good, all a bit plodding to be honest with Sam Endicott's vocals coming across a little strained. Still, he makes for a good front man and some of the older tunes (including An Honest Mistake) certainly got the crowd going. A partial success then.

Night Junkies DVD Review

Giles Alderson and Katia Winter in Night Junkies

"A nocturnal vision filled with hookers, hoodlums and the disaffected..."

"Puts the well-worn vampire character into a thoroughly modern context..."

"The cinematography, production design and moody lighting combine to make Night Junkies an extremely stylish picture..."

You can read my full review at Eat My Brains website here.

Midnight Madness at TIFF

Béatrice Dalle stars in Inside

I'm headed for Canada in September to cover this year's Toronto International Film Festival for Eat My Brains which is going to be an exciting challenge for me. Today eight of the ten films making up the Midnight Madness strand were announced, and I'm delighted to see that both Inside (À l'intérieur) and George A. Romero's Diary Of The Dead are amongst the films being shown. The eight films confirmed so far are as follows, with the final two due to be announced on 31st July:

• Friday 7th - Frontières (Dir: Xavier Gens)
• Saturday 8th - Diary Of The Dead (Dir: George A. Romero)
• Sunday 9th - Vexille (Dir: Fumihiko Sori)
• Monday 10th - Stuck (Dir: Stuart Gordon)
• Tuesday 11th - The Devil's Chair (Dir: Adam Mason)
• Wednesday 12th - Flash Point (Dir: Wilson Yip)
• Friday 14th - Dainipponjin (Dir: Hitoshi Matsumoto)
  
• Saturday 15th - Inside (Dir: Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury)
  

www.tiff07.ca

Movie Haiku - Evan Almighty

www.evanalmighty.com

Dir: Tom Shadyac

Cast: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman


The floods are coming
God tells him to build an ark
everybody dance

soulmining rating: **

Movie Haiku - Transformers

www.thetransformersmovie.co.uk

Dir: Michael Bay

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Jon Voight


Robots in disguise
things turn into other things
fight over a cube

soulmining rating: ***

We Love Space!

Gia models the Icarus II jacket worn by Corazon (Michelle Yeoh)

Further to my purchase of a costume used in Danny Boyle's Sunshine - which still causes much amusement in our office - The Prop Store are now auctioning off another batch of items to tie in with the movie's release in the USA and Canada this week. You can check out the latest items here - happy bidding!

To highlight this event the lovely Gia has posted photos of the two of us, wearing our Icarus II gear, over on the official Sunshine website. Cool!

Jay & Jimbo's Excellent Adventure

John Cusack stars in 1408

First up, an addition to the already packed FrightFest line up, with 1408 (Dir: Mikael Håfström) now confirmed for August's event. The film will screen on the Friday afternoon followed by a Q&A with the director, with Adam Mason's The Devil's Chair now switching to a late Thursday night slot. If you pick up the current issue of The Dark Side magazine then you can read an article by Alan Jones looking back over the last eight years of the UK's premier horror festival.

By chance, in the same issue you will also see a feature by the esteemed Jay Slater chronicling his exploits with James over at the Fantastic Fest in Austin Texas last Autumn. So go and buy a copy - it's issue 128, the one with Bruce Campbell on the cover.

The meat sweats start here...

Back In Action!

With my parents on their Ruby Wedding Anniversary

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, largely due to the fact that I have been up in Northumberland visiting my family. And they are still without broadband at home which makes using the internet a real pain in the ass. Mind you, my parents don't own a DVD player either...

It's good to be back! More updates soon...

Play It Cool in July

I'm up in Northumberland this week so am offline most of the time, hence the delay in posting my monthly list of top tunes. Without further ado then, here's what I've been listening to:

• Kate Nash - Foundations (Fiction)
• New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom (Modular)
• Chungking - Stay Up Forever (Institute)
• Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope (WEA)
• Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm (SuperEgo)

Movie Haiku - Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

www.harrypotter.co.uk

Dir: David Yates

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes


They deny dark lord
he must train friends for combat
Hogwarts to hogwash

soulmining rating: **

Zombie Walk - World Record Attempt

www.zombiediaries.com

To celebrate the forthcoming release of The Zombie Diaries in the UK we're going for the World Record for the biggest ever gathering of zombies (currently standing at 894, for a gathering at the Monroeville Mall in the USA).

The event will take place on the morning of Monday 27th August (Bank Holiday - don't worry, you won't be at work!) in central London. The Zombie Walk will start at Waterloo Bridge at 9:30am (tbc) and will culminate in a huge zombie gathering in Leicester Square prior to a screening of The Zombie Diaries at the Odeon West End as part of this year's FrightFest event.

We all love zombies so lets make London the zombie capital of the world! Join the facebook group and spread the word...

"Braaaaaaaaaains!!!"

Fantasy Football Cup Winner 2007

Cup winner Steve Piper receives his trophy from Darren Marks

Congratulations to Steve Piper who was officially crowned our Fantasy Football Cup Winner 2007 yesterday afternoon. Cup organiser Darren Marks conducted the trophy presentation ceremony at Fantasy Footy HQ which was followed by celebratory drinks at the Waggon immediately afterwards.

Movie Haiku - Die Hard 4.0

www.diehard4.co.uk

Dir: Len Wiseman

Cast: Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q


Protect the hacker
kill helicopter with car
yippee kay yay mo-

soulmining rating: ***

Movie Haiku - Hostel Part II

www.hostel2.com

Dir: Eli Roth

Cast: Lauren German, Roger Bart, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips


This time it's three girls
bathe in blood or saw to face
it's kill or be killed

soulmining rating: ***

Suzanne Vega at the Dome

Suzanne Vega - Brighton Dome

Monday night I ended up going to see Suzanne Vega at the Dome with Kelly. I have to say, I really enjoyed the show - I went in with no expectations (not really knowing a lot of her material) and as it was a fully seated show it meant I could really focus on her performance without any other distractions. Opening and closing her set with Tom's Diner she played a varied selection of songs from her back catalogue plus new material from her current Beauty & Crime album. Highlights for me were Luka and Blood Makes Noise which were played with solo accompaniement from her bass player. After the rather disappointing Manics gig the other week it was a relief to discover the acoustics were excellent this time, with a crisp sound and clear vocals throughout. A pleasant surprise!

FrightFest 2007 line up announced!

The really sleepy queue outside the Odeon West End

Tickets for this year's FrightFest event (August 23rd - 27th at London's Odeon West End) went on sale this weekend with passes costing £140 for the five day festival. The full programme has been announced with a total of 26 films confirmed at present, and of course there will be the usual mix of special guests, short films and surprises. Here's the provisional timetable:

Thursday 23rd August:
19:00 - Black Sheep (Dir: Jonathan King, NZ)
21:15 - Black Water (Dir: Andrew Traucki & David Nerlich, AUS)

Friday 24th August:
10:30 - Hatchet - live commentary (Dir: Adam Green, USA)
12:30 - The Devil's Chair (Dir: Adam Mason, UK)
14:45 - The Sword Bearer (Dir: Filipp Yankovsky, RUS)
17:15 - The Signal (Dir: David Bruckner, Dan Bush & Jacob Gentry, USA)
19:45 - P2 (Dir: Franck Khalfoun, USA)
22:00 - All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (Dir: Jonathan Levine, USA)
00:15 - Shrooms (Dir: Paddy Breathnach, UK)

Saturday 25th August:
11:00 - Cold Prey (Dir: Roar Uthaug, NOR)
13:00 - Joshua (Dir: George Ratliff, USA)
15:00 - 28 Weeks Later - special event (Dir: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, UK/USA)
16:00 - Storm Warning (Dir: Jamie Blanks, AUS)
18:30 - Wrong Turn 2 (Dir: Joe Lynch, USA)
21:15 - Disturbia (Dir: D.J. Caruso, USA)
23:45 - The Devil Dared Me To (Dir: Chris Stapp, NZ)

Sunday 26th August:
11:00 - The Girl Next Door (Dir: Gregory Wilson, USA)
13:15 - Botched (Dir: Kit Ryan, USA)
15:45 - Postal (Dir: Uwe Boll, CAN/GER)
18:30 - Seed (Dir: Uwe Boll, CAN/GER)
21:00 - Waz (Dir: Tom Shankland, UK)
23:30 - Skin Walkers (Dir: James Isaac, USA)

Monday 27th August:
11:00 - The Zombie Diaries (Dir: Kevin Gates & Michael Bartlett, UK)
13:15 - KM 31 (Dir: Rigoberto Casteneda, MEX)
15:45 - Spiral (Dir: Adam Green & Joel Moore, USA)
18:30 - Day Watch (Dir: Timur Bekmambetov, RUS)
21:15 - The Orphanage (Dir: Juan Antonio Bayona, MEX/SP)

Kate Nash at Pure Groove

Kate Nash - outside Pure Groove, London

So, originally Kate Nash was going to be doing an instore at Resident here in Brighton on Tuesday but that got pulled due to recording commitments. Then, as luck would have it, I discovered that she was doing an instore at Pure Groove in London on Friday - when coincidentally (yes Darren, it was pure coincidence...) I was going to be in town meeting up with folk for the FrightFest launch. So off I went... Pure Groove is a tiny little record shop in North London and with Foundations about to hit the charts at No.2 it was absolutely rammed. So full in fact that Kate decided to break her performance midway to go and play a few songs outside for those who couldn't get in. After a thirty minute set that included Merry Happy and Foundations (inside) and Birds and Caroline's A Victim (outside) she then hung around to meet her fans and sign copies of her single. Lovely stuff.

Me 'n' Kate at Pure Groove

Transglobal Underground at the Komedia

Transglobal Underground - Brighton Komedia

I ended up at the Komedia on Thursday night with Steve to see what Transglobal Underground are up to these days. Back in the mid-nineties we were both big fans of their Dream Of 1000 Nations and International Times albums, but haven't really dabbled with their music since sometime-vocalist Natacha Atlas departed to persue a solo career. The band have always had a revolving door policy towards their line-up and in 2007 this centres around the core members of Alex Kasiak, Hamid Mantu and vocalist Tuup. From opener The Drums Of Navarone it was obvious they have lost none of their appeal, and the audience were dancing like crazy from the off. I must confess I didn't recognise any songs from their early days, but the new stuff - from new album Moonshout - was good enough for Steve to buy the CD directly afterwards. Totally different from my usual indie-guitar bands, but a welcome change!

The Hamiltons DVD Review

Cory Knauf, Samuel Child, Mackenzie Firgens and Joseph McKelheer in The Hamiltons

"The intriguingly monikered writing / directing duo of Mitchell Altieri & Phil Flores are in fact neither brothers, nor indeed butchers..."

"The Hamiltons are the epitome of a dysfunctional family..."

"Whilst the cover art suggests this is just another bandwagon-jumping slice of ‘torture-porn’, the reality is actually somewhat different..."

You can read my full review at Eat My Brains website here.

July Live

Hello July! A quiet month ahead I'm thinking, with the traditional festival season dominating the live scene for the Summer. Maybe it's time I did another music festival, it's been 11 years since Phoenix, so I reckon I might go for Latitude next year. Anyways, here's a few bits 'n' bobs coming up this month in and around the city:

01/07 - Guitar Wolf, stars of the cult Asian movie Wild Zero take to the stage at the Engine Rooms. I'm not sure quite what to make of this Japanese metal/punk band but my mate Alex loves them!

02/07 - I was toying with the idea of another trip up to London to see The Hold Steady play at Shepherds Bush Empire, but instead I'm going to remain within the familiar confines of the Dome where I should be seeing Suzanne Vega instead.

03/07 - A tiny warm-up show for Athlete over at the Komedia - last time they were in Brighton they played at Brighton Centre, so this will be a very intimate setting to hear some new material ahead of a full tour in the Autumn.

17/07 - I'm away in Newcastle at this time which is a shame as I'd like to check out Reverend & The Makers who are performing at the Concorde - current single Heavyweight Champion Of The World seems a cut above the usual yob-rock doing the rounds at the moment.

22/07 - Looking for a bit of comedy this weekend perhaps, so the Krater Comedy night at the Komedia seems ideal with a line up including both Will Smith and Mark Watson.

25/07 - It seems a long time ago that An Honest Mistake was hogging the airwaves... since then The Bravery have rather dropped off the radar, but now they're back with a new album and a reportedly new sound. Hmmmm... whatever, I'll go and have a peek when they play at the Concorde.

27/07 - Steve, if you're reading this you're going to spoil your birthday surprise! I'm going to be in London to see Aimee Mann which will also give me the opportunity to check out a new venue, the Indigo2 which is part of the huge 02 arena in Docklands.

28/07 - Another newcomer to the singer/songwriter bandwagon, Scottish youngster Amy MacDonald will be playing at The Hope promoting her new album This Is The Life which gets released this month.

Movie Haiku - Captivity

www.captivitymovie.co.uk

Dir: Roland Joffe

Cast: Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies, Michael Harney, Laz Alonso


Jack's stupid daughter
captive for eighty minutes
audience is not

soulmining rating: **

(Inspired by David Hall's review at Eat My Brains)