2005 Movie Haiku Index

So as the year draws to a close I thought I'd publish a handy index of all the films that I've seen at the cinema this year - yes, all 113 of them - alongside my star rating for each. Click on the film title to read the haiku... and review, where applicable.

• 2001 Maniacs (****)
• 2046 (*****)
• The Amityville Horror (***)
• Antibodies (****)
• Arahan (***)
• Assault On Precinct 13 (***)
• The Aviator (***)
• Batman Begins (****)
• Be Cool (**)
• A Bittersweet Life (***)
• The Bodyguard (***)
• Boo! (**)
• Boogeyman (***)
• Born To Fight (****)
• The Brothers Grimm (*)
• The Cave (***)
• Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (***)
• The Chorus (****)
• The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (***)
• Closer (*****)
• A Cock And Bull Story (***)
• The Collingswood Story (***)
• The Constant Gardener (****)
• Constantine (***)
• Corpse Bride (***)
• Crash (****)
• Criminal (**)
• Cursed (*)
• Dark Water (**)
• Day Of The Dead (****)
• Day Of The Dead 2: Contagium (*)
• Dead Meat (**)
• The Descent (*****)
• The Devil's Rejects (****)
• District 13 (****)
• Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist (***)
• Domino (****)
• Doom (**)
• The Dukes Of Hazzard (*)
• Elektra (*)
• Elizabethtown (****)
• Evil Aliens (**)
• The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (****)
• Fantastic Four (***)
• Flightplan (**)
• The 40 Year Old Virgin (****)
• Four Brothers (**)
• From Beyond The Grave (***)
• Goal! (****)
• Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (****)
• The Hidden Blade (***)
• Hide And Seek (*)
• A History Of Violence (****)
• Hitch (***)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (****)
• Hostage (***)
• House Of Flying Daggers (****)
• House Of Wax (***)
• Howl's Moving Castle (****)
• In Good Company (****)
• The Interpreter (**)
• Into The Blue (****)
• The Island (****)
• The Jacket (***)
• Jenifer (***)
• King Kong (****)
• Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (*****)
• Land Of The Dead (***)
• The Leader, His Driver, & The Driver's Wife (****)
• The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (****)
• The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (*****)
• Lord Of War (**)
• Los Debutantes (***)
• Lower City (***)
• The Machinist (****)
• Marebito (****)
• Maria Full Of Grace (****)
• Meet The Fockers (***)
• Million Dollar Baby (****)
• Millions (***)
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith (**)
• National Treasure (***)
• The Neighbor No. Thirteen (*)
• Nightwatch (****)
• Oceans Twelve (**)
• P (****)
• The Proposition (****)
• R-Point (**)
• Red Eye (***)
• Revolver (*)
• The Ring Two (**)
• The Roost (***)
• Sahara (***)
• Saw II (***)
• The Sea Inside (**)
• Serenity (****)
• Shallow Ground (***)
• Sideways (****)
• Sin City (*****)
• The Skeleton Key (***)
• Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge Of The Sith (****)
• Stealth (*)
• Team America: World Police (***)
• Transporter 2 (****)
• Unleashed (***)
• A Very Long Engagement (****)
• Wallace & Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (***)
• War Of The Worlds (***)
• Wedding Crashers (****)
• White Noise (**)
• Wild Country (***)
• Wolf Creek (*****)
• xXx2: The Next Level (*)

I actually saw 116 films in total at the cinema - I ended up seeing The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The Devil's Rejects and Born To Fight all twice - so beating last year's total by nine.

Only seven films attained the coveted five star rating, although in hindsight The Devil's Rejects should have been given the maximum rating, but I missed the last fifteen minutes of it on my first viewing. Looking back, I stand by all my star ratings except perhaps for The Aviator, Be Cool and Fantastic Four who appear to have benefited from some overly generous reviews and in retrospect ought to lose a star each. And I only walked out of two films this year - The Sea Inside and Day Of The Dead 2: Contagium.

2005 Review - Films of the Year

Okay, so my final list is going to cover my favourite - and least favourite - films from the past twelve months... And I've had a lot of films to choose from this year!

(2004 Winner - Oldboy)

Best films of 2005:

1. DiG!
2. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
3. The Devil's Rejects
4. The Descent
5. Wolf Creek
6. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
7. Sin City
8. 2046
9. Into The Blue
10. Closer

Oddly enough, DiG! was the one film that I didn't actually see at the cinema, as I'd already imported the US DVD by the time it got released in the UK.

Worst films of 2005:

1. Revolver
2. Stealth
3. xXx2:The Next Level
4. The Dukes Of Hazzard
5. Cursed

Tomorrow: I'm going to publish a handy index of all the films that I've seen at the cinema this year.

Immi & Nerina announce Brighton dates!

Wahey! Two of my favourite female singer / songwriters - who both made it into yesterday's Albums of the Year list - have just announced Brighton shows for 2006!

Imogen Heap will be playing at the Komedia on Wednesday 5th April.

Full tour details on www.imogenheap.com

Meanwhile Nerina Pallot will be playing in town the following month when she appears at St George's Church, Kemptown on Saturday 27th May.

Full tour details on www.nerinapallot.com

What with Juliana Hatfield playing her first live UK show in ten years at London's Bush Hall on Wednesday 8th March, it's looking like 2006 could be another bumper year for great live music!

2005 Review - Albums of the Year

Right, following on from yesterday's Songs of the Year, here's my list of favourite albums from the past twelve months.

(2004 Winner - Nouvelle Vague - Nouvelle Vague)

Best albums of 2005:

1. The Duke Spirit - Cuts Across The Land
2. Coldplay - X & Y
3. Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself
4. The Dandy Warhols - Odditorium Or Warlords Of Mars
5. Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth
6. Joy Zipper - The Heartlight Set
7. Louis XIV - The Best Little Secrets Are Kept
8. Nerina Pallot - Fires
9. Madonna - Confessions On A Dancefloor
10. Goldfrapp - Supernature

Tomorrow: Films of the Year

Warming Up with Richard Herring

"But surely Jesus got the best view, getting the hilarity of both the drinking cat and the fat defecating man."

This is the funniest story I've read all Christmas... you can enjoy the full post here!

2005 Review - Songs of the Year

Moving on from yesterday's Gigs of the Year, here's my list of favourite songs from the past twelve months. In my opinion only two of these artists managed to release consistently good albums this year, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out who they are!

(2004 Winner - U2 - Vertigo)

Best songs of 2005:

1. Gorillaz - Dare
2. Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
3. Ladytron - Sugar
4. The Bravery - An Honest Mistake
5. Mylo - In Your Arms
6. Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek
7. Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch
8. The Subways - Oh Yeah
9. Gemma Hayes - Happy Sad
10. Madonna - Hung Up

Tomorrow: Albums of the Year

Do you speak Engrish?

Thanks to Troy who pointed me towards www.engrish.com over the Christmas break.

"Engrish can be simply defined as the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design."

Here's some of my favourite examples from their website:

• Cute curry containing "cheerful hamster"
• 'Eggs of Sacred Crane' chocolate
• 'Waiting for you' top
• Peach flavoured 'Coolpis'
• 'Eric Crapton' compact disc
• 'Execution in progress' warning sign

Check it out, there's a new addition every day...

2005 Review - Gigs of the Year

It's that time of the year when everyone looks back at the past year and publishes lots of lists, so over the next few days I thought I'd post a few of my own, starting today with my favourite gigs that I've been to this year.

(2004 Winner - The Soundtrack Of Our Lives at London Astoria)

Best gigs of 2005:

1. Soulwax at Brighton Concorde
2. Heather Nova at Shepherds Bush Empire
3. Nine Inch Nails at Brixton Academy
4. Emiliana Torrini at Brighton Komedia
5. Goldfrapp at Brighton Dome

Tomorrow: Songs of the Year

Christmas Dinner

Spit-roasted barbecue pork with potato wedges, barbecue beans, corn fritters and a tangy apple sauce... mmmmm, delicious!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you all have a happy and peaceful Christmas Day.

I'd like to thank a few friends who've helped to make my Christmas extra special:

Troy & Rom for taking me in on Christmas Day.

Steve & Chrissy for lunch on Boxing Day.

Kelly for making Fairytale Of New York the first song I heard this morning.

Gary at HD2 for my festive viewing and listening pleasures.

Rich for the exceptionally tasteful present.

Sincerely Kate

It's my last afternoon at work before Christmas and I've been randomly blogging, seeking inspiration. I pinched this little Q&A from Kate's blog...

my name is: not soulmining

childhood ambition: to be a writer

fondest memory: nine months in cape town when I was six years old

soundtrack: twenty years of vinyl & cds

retreat: a good book

wildest dream: travelling the world with my best friend

proudest moment: graduating in brighton

biggest challenge: lack of confidence

alarm clock: hello kitty

perfect day: a good movie, hanging out with loved ones, live music

first job: stock room in woolworths

indulgence: world cinema

last purchase: ong-bak on dvd

favorite movie: dazed and confused

inspiration: other people's words

my life: is only just beginning

Taller In More Ways?

So, after six years together and four number one hit singles in the UK, the Sugababes have lost a second founder member.

So it's time to say goodbye to the rather scary-yet-weirdly-sexy Mutya Buena (centre)...
...And say hello to Amelle Berrabah (right).

Hmmmm...

Quite how the band will survive with only one of its founder members still in its line up remains to be seen... but I guess it didn't harm them last time, did it?

BKKIFF is Go!!

I've always been keen to attend some events at the Bangkok International Film Festival ever since Dave and I stumbled across the world premiere screening of Ong Bak there back in January 2003.

So this year, while thinking ahead to my Winter break, I thought I'd try and time my holiday to coincide with the 2006 BKKIFF in February. And then I had an even better idea - since I've been contributing some reviews to Eat My Brains this year, why not try and apply for Press accreditation? Since August I've been in contact with a lady in their Press Office who's been really helpful - advising me to send my application directly to her, bypassing their London office altogether - and with the help of Mike from EMB I submitted the relevant documents, buoyed with the news that fellow contributor David had just successfully secured a Press pass for this year's London Film Festival.

Finally yesterday, the news I'd been waiting for: my application has been approved! I am a bundle of nervous energy... I'm so excited about this, yet at the same time, absolutely sh*tting myself! I've no idea what's in store for me, but you can be sure that I'll be blogging about it here in February...

www.bangkokfilm.org

Celebrate Good Times!

Okay, so who'd like a chocolate?

My drawer is currently full of Celebrations as I appear to be the only person in the office who is able to exercise self-restraint when it comes to eating chocolates.

Some time later...

Hmmm... well, they were in my drawer but the office gluttons seem to have exercised a mutiny.

Christmas Party

Me, Darren and Dom (photo by Helen)

I've just found a picture of me from last week's office Christmas meal down at the Seattle Hotel.

I was full of the 'space virus' at the time so I'm going to be well up for our proper Christmas party when it finally takes place in January...

Movie Haiku - King Kong

www.kingkongmovie.com


Dir: Peter Jackson


Cast: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Jamie Bell


They find a big ape

doesn't want to be on stage

so goes plane swatting


soulmining rating: ****

Brighton Pier

While strolling home along the seafront last night in a rather melancholic frame of mind I felt compelled to take a photo of all the pretty Christmas lights.

More Kitson Gold

Daniel Kitson is touring again.

A show about balloons, unmanned sheepdogs, comic shops that stay open until 3am, and leaves.

If you haven't seen Dan perform his maverick brand of stand-up comedy before then you should go and see him.

And if you have seen him before, well, you should go and see him again.

Little Britain Live at Brighton Centre

photograph courtesy of www.davidwalliams.com

There's no denying that Little Britain Live is a slick stage show, with its moving furniture and video backdrops lending an overtly theatrical feel to the comedy creations of Matt Lucas and David Walliams. This new ninety minute production showcases the most popular characters from the three television series, with Lucas's portrayal of Vicky Pollard, Fat Fighters' Marjorie Dawes, and Daffyd Thomas (the only gay in the village) receiving the greatest applause from the rather subdued audience. The inherent problem with a sketch show transferring to the live arena is its over-familiarity (see also: The Fast Show) and so it proved to be here, with some sketches - especially the newer characters - just being exact copies from the current series. I found more enjoyment watching some of their earlier creations make a welcome return, notably Scotsman Ray Cooney, hypnotist Kenny Craig, and children's comic Des Kay - with the latter's game of 'hide the sausage' with two members of the audience proving both hilarious yet excruciating to watch! The biggest cheer of the evening came during the encore when the show was interrupted by Denise Van Outen (with film crew in tow) who came on stage to present Matt and David with their British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy - which was being broadcast live on ITV at the time!

Play It Cool In December

I've been listening to a lot more music this past month and have been spoilt for choice with my top five picks for December. Narrowly missing the cut were Gorillaz, Tristan Prettyman, The Decemberists, Bird, Athlete and Bloc Party, but maybe they'll feature next month if I'm still listening to them then... here's my top five CDs then:

• Madonna - Confessions On A Dancefloor (Warner Bros)
• The Dissociatives - The Dissociatives (Eleven)
• Erin McKeown - We Will Become Like Birds (Parlophone)
• The Brian Jonestown Massacre - We Are The Radio (Tee Pee)
• The Beta Band - The Best Of - Music (Regal)

With any luck Arcade Fire will be in January's list!