Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Selfish, shabby and nasty are not words usually associated with Charlize Theron. Yet that is exactly what we see in her latest film as her character, Mavis Gray, returns to her hometown as a ghost writer and divorcée determined to relive the golden years of high school.

The acting is good by all, in particular Theron who is frighteningly authentic in her spiteful, mean-spirited role. Seeing such a popular actress in a role far removed from her own image gives the viewer a similar glee to that which an actor might feel when indulging in playing the ‘baddie’. While it’s amusing how uncomfortable Theron’s character makes everybody feel, it’s not without a growing sense that it will all end in tears.

Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody, you would anticipate any film this dynamic duo are involved in to be daring in one way or another. Yet the storyline feels half baked, with several indicators pointing to a bigger event that never happens. With a slow start and a storyline that never quite kicks in, the viewer leaves the cinema wanting more and without the warm fuzzy glow familiar with more satisfying films.

In the same way you have to be in the right mood to listen to an emo song, you have to be in the right frame of mind for this disheartening film, which seems to be a warning on how not to live life. This is a surprising outcome from the pair that brought Juno, its optimistic and plucky counterpart, with Young Adult’s storyline a darker, more malicious alternative for the quirky hit.

That said, this film does show intelligence, at times having fun with the audience and with bold irony and satire throughout.

Image Source: http://www.youngadultmovie.co.uk/photos.php

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Through years of Hollywood indoctrination, we know that at least one bad fling stands in our path to True Love – but that one day someone will appear who makes all others pale in comparison. In Alice and Tommy’s case, it pops up on a rainy night. Terrified magician Tommy (Philip Kingscott) has run away from a mistakenly booked heavy metal gig and bumps into Alice (Anna Guthrie), who’s been stood up. Over the next few months, they magically find each other between the nightmare episodes in their rocky love lives.

Everything is in place for “new romantic comedy”, Passing Through. The secret ingredients to a rom-com are all in the name, but Alistair Rutherford’s script fails to deliver the two vital elements promised by the genre. What comedy there is hinges on cliché; while Alice bemoans her sci-fi obsessed boyfriend who pays more attention to the tire tread in his BMW, Tracy, Tommy’s girlfriend, ditches him for a hairy biker (she’s wearing a red feather boa lest we be in any doubt that she’s a floozy). Magic puns and jokes about Harry Potter are rife, with these hackneyed devices having a chilling effect on the chuckle count as well as the romance. The characters are 2D stereotypes whose mutual hostility melts to affection with no explanation; the plot lacks any shred of believable connection between the various couples.

Andy Corelli’s elegant, stripped-back staging puts the actors in the middle of the cafe/bar performance space, with nothing but a ghetto blaster soundtrack and a few props. This intimate setting has potential for audience empathy – but is ruined by overacting. Any touching moments are made into an elaborate meal straight from the drama school canteen, and the big kiss moments are cringey affairs. A few highlight moments of audience participation are a missed trick that only accentuate how the real-life experiences of the spectators would throw up funnier, more romantic gems than Passing Through.

So perhaps the play lives up to its rom-com status after all; it has all the hallmarks of a summer Hollywood Blockbuster with its robotic, emotionless characters going through the motions, coupled with depressingly laughable attempts at comedy.

Peapod Productions Official Website

Scottish Storytelling Centre

Image Source: www.peapodproductions.co.uk 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Martha Marcy May Marlene tells the tale of a young woman, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen), recently escaped from a violent, oppressive cult in the Catskills. Moving in with her elder sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and Lucy’s husband Ted (Hugh Dancy) into an enormous, deluxe holiday home in Upstate New York, she finds herself at odds with Lucy’s opulent, ‘conventional’ lifestyle. Her state of mind grows ever more fractious as memories of the cult life bleed into the present. As tensions flare, Martha’s behaviour crosses sexual and societal boundaries, and it soon becomes apparent she isn’t truly free of the cult.

Intelligent and compelling, Martha Marcy May Marlene is hauntingly beautiful to look at; a flurry of sun-drenched tableaus and falling shadows. The flashback structure aptly illustrates the unravelling of Martha’s mind and, by teasing out the backstory of what happened at the cult, the film remains consistently intriguing. While some have lauded the film as a horror – no doubt because of its genuinely unnerving climax – it’s more unsettling than horrific; this is a drama with teeth.

Much of the film’s power comes from new-comer Olsen’s perfectly observed performance. Played with restraint and maturity, her blank, impassive face draws the viewer in, giving just a hint of the pain and confusion boiling under Martha’s surface. John Hawkes is similarly riveting as the cult leader Patrick. Whippet thin, he turns from easy charm to a sinewy, sinister brutality within moments, and it’s easy to believe one could be seduced, and then subdued, by this man.

If Martha has a flaw, it is in the depiction of her sister and husband, whose characters lack any real depth and are purely there to serve the plot. Martha disapproves of their yuppie lifestyle, a total contrast to the communal living arrangements of the cult where everyone shares clothes, beds, food – and their bodies. In this way, the film takes a few weak swipes at social commentary but they feel way off-mark; pointing out how venal consumerism is pales when placed next to the ritualised rape and patriarchal oppression of cult life.

Primarily, however, the film is preoccupied with Martha’s fractured state of mind and her steadily dissembling sense of self and trust, and in that regard it is both assured and fascinating. Here is a film that will haunt your imagination and linger in the mind for days to come.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 Capturing the energy of a gig is never easy. It’s made even harder when the band in question is The Chemical Brothers. The electronic titans are renowned for the scale and intensity of their shows, with startling visuals accompanying their ferocious beats on huge screens behind their hive of equipment on stage. But that is the challenge that debut filmmaker Adam Smith has taken up as, for one night only, the magic of live music is transported into cinemas across the world.

 The film’s simple narrative follows the duo’s headline set at the 2011 Fuji Rock Festival. While this concept may sound simplistic and dull, the results prove vivid and exhilarating. The dynamism of their live show really shines through, aided by some fantastic camera work and immersive crowd shots. The responsive Japanese crowd seem oblivious that their every move was being filmed, with expressions ranging from the comedic to the profound, explaining more about the music than a thousand words ever could. The band’s visual projections really bring the show to life, none more so than on tracks such as Horse Power with its prancing white stallion, and Galvanise with a sinister clown head accompaniment. These projections are also cast out into the crowd and surrounding area, leading to some beautiful shots as onlookers try to determine the source and reality of what they are seeing.

 But this film is more than just smoke and mirrors. It is the band’s music that proves the lifeblood of the piece. Twenty years of experience has taught them how to manipulate an audience and given them a wealth of material to draw upon, which the film highlights beautifully. Whether it’s the iconic Believe, hyperactive Hey Boys, Hey Girls or set closer Block Rockin’ Beats, Adam Smith perfectly captures their energy and essence and makes it seem as if he’s giving you a window into the best gig you were never at.

 That said, not everything about this film is perfect. By the end of the 90 minutes there’s a sense of frustration at having failed to gain any further insight into the men behind the music. It demonstrates rather than explains their brilliance which, for non-fans, may prove a problem. But any film that can cause spontaneous raving in a cinema (and I do genuinely mean raving) is well worth its ticket price.

Joseph Blythe

Editor of Buzz Magazine 2012

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

It’s Lord of the Flies in a chic New York condo in Roman Polanski’s latest tension-builder, with mankind’s basest instincts simmering just below the surface, waiting for the first opportunity to burst out. When one young boy breaks the teeth of another, their respective parents meet in a demonstration of civility to discuss how the incident should be dealt with. Over espresso and dodgy pear cobbler, polite conversation quickly gives way to petty recriminations, brutal assessments of marital mores, and some spectacular vomiting.

With a cast of heavyweight actors and written by celebrated French playwright Yasmina Reza, Carnage certainly has impressive credentials. But the involvement of such big names comes as something of a surprise, considering how disappointing a film this is.

The whole thing has the smug air of a piece of art which thinks it’s a great deal cleverer than it actually is. The “insights” into human nature are trite and jaded at best, and not funny enough to smooth over the general lack of profundity. The action, transposed from stage to screen from its original conception as The God of Carnage, is staid and feels irritatingly contrived; you just don’t believe these people would spend so long tearing strips off each other. Polanski has done little to open the action up or render it in any way cinematic.

There is some pleasure to be derived from the two male performances, with John C. Reilly mining his genial-goofball-with-slightly-backwards-views persona, and Christoph Waltz turning in more of the sinister, loaded charm that is becoming his stock-in-trade. Jodie Foster, however, is so relentlessly shrill and shrieking she’s almost unbearable to watch. Kate Winslet causes less offence but barely registers as the poorly-defined Nancy – remarkable, given how brilliant the actress usually is.

Late into the piece, when a bottle of whisky is broken out and the two men begin to bond over shared misogyny, the wit of the dialogue shines more brightly and the easy affability of this new alliance gives everything a much-needed lift. Waltz and Reilly work off each other’s rhythms well – indeed, their interaction is downright charming, and, crucially, funny. Yet this respite is not enough to redeem the entire film, and only shows how good the material could have been if given a more lively treatment. Sadly, Carnage seems to be the best description for what has been done to the celluloid.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Good things are worth waiting for.

Despite forming four years ago while studying at Edinburgh Art School, this is the band’s first full-length release. A splattering of striking singles and impressive live-outings have certainly built expectations, with the London four-piece consistent regulars on ‘One To Watch’ lists.

And they don’t disappoint. Their sound has a uniqueness to it that is sadly lacking in so many of their contemporaries. They are able to seamlessly fuse warm electronica, distinctive vocals and guitars that can only be described as mariachi in intent.

Hail Bop, the album’s first track proper, gives a glimpse into the band’s world. Swooning guitar lines and stacked harmonies help bring some soul to this futuristic-sounding ambient landscape. This is followed by Default, the album’s lead single and one of its strongest offerings. Sounding one part mad and one part brilliant, it’s the type of track that only improves upon further listening, with its modulated chorus giving it a persuasive twist. In an ideal world this would be Number 1.

Firewater sends the band off in yet another change of direction, with a sound that’s about as conventional as Django Django are ever likely to be. But any fears that they have settled for the middle of the road are quickly dispelled, with Waveforms’ basic rhythm contrasting beautifully with singer Vincent Neff’s soaring vocals.

Love’s Dart proves an exemplar in subtlety and leads perfectly into the double whammy of stalwart tracks Wor and Storm. While both tracks have been around for a while (the latter was released as a single back in 2009), it would have been truly criminal not to include them on the band’s crowning achievement to date. The former begins as if heralding the outbreak of World War Three, with its razor sharp guitar lines leading the listener through a myriad of twisting lyrics. Storm, the ying to Wor’s yang, sees the band at their most synchronised, as vocals, guitars and drums whirl competitively while in complicit unison. Silver Rays rounds off the album in fitting fashion and a salute to a job well done – with a healthy dose of synths and melody.

With 2012 shaping up as a great year for albums, Django Django’s offering will be able to hold its head high in any company. It sounds like the soundtrack to the best Spaghetti Western never written – and in the outlandish world of this band, it wouldn’t be surprising if that was what they were aiming for.

http://www.djangodjango.co.uk/

For around $100, take a three-day cruise on a traditional Asian junk boat through the beautiful 2,000 limestone islands of Hạ Long Bay.

This includes food (but not drink), accommodation, all activities and a pick-up service from your hotel.

2. Angkor Wat/Angkor Thom – Siem Reap, Cambodia

The Angkor Wat temple is the largest religious building in the world, and the nearby complex of Angkor Thom is so vast it’s breathtaking. The best way to see everything is to hire a “tuk tuk” guide to take you around for five days. Hotels in Siem Reap begin at around $10 per night, with a tuk tuk guide costing around $6 per day.

3. Cameron Highlands – Malaysia

A hidden treasure, the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia offers beautiful waterfalls and impressive tea plantations that cover the vast area.

There are regular buses from the major towns, and a hotel will cost around $15 a night.

4. Hoi-An – Vietnam

Also known as “Tailor Town” for its many tailors, Hanoi is a picturesque little town, offering great beaches and good cheap food, drink and accommodation ($5 per night for 3/4 star hotels).

It’s almost in the middle of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, so it makes for the perfect stop-off.

5. Tubing in Vang Vieng – Laos

Float your way down the Vang Vieng’s river on a large rubber ring, while stopping at the bars that line the banks on the way, and taking advantage of the rope swings and zip lines that run into the water. The ultimate party town! Requires a three-hour minibus trip from capital Vientiane, with hotels around $10 per night.

The production of scripted television shows has dramatically decreased in the last decade due to the reality television machine and the vast increase in internet viewing. To put this into perspective, more people have watched Susan Boyle audition for Britain’s Got Talent than watched Den divorce Angie on Eastenders’ Christmas Day episode, 1986 (the most watched episode of all time on British television). Pair this with the 70m requests hits on the BBC iPlayer during the month of October alone, and the image is suddenly very clear.

Industry experts believe we are in a time of creative growth in the television world, as there has been a 4% increase in viewership since this time last year. Yet broadcasting companies are ignoring the fact that unscripted television is dominating peak times and less and less of the population are tuning in to programming with literary creativity.

Tess Alps, chief executive of television viewership statistics company Thinkbox, commented on the increase in viewing figures saying: “Anyone who doubted the continuing importance and popularity of broadcast TV in the UK should hopefully be convinced by these new figures”. Yet she doesn’t mention that, when judged against new episodes of scripted television, reality television actually makes up over half of this figure per week.

Television now is a lot more than the old fashioned spindle of antenna wires and lift-from-your-leg equipment. Now it’s about sleek, energy-efficient sets and HD quality that makes you feel as if you’re mere feet away from Cheryl Cole’s pearly white grin. But television should be more than this. Original programming should make you fall in love with a character, make you plead for a relationship to work, and have you in tears when a beloved actor departs from a show. Let me take you on a journey that can only succeed in highlighting the sad decline of what was once a beloved pastime.

Standing the test of time

The reason why people fell in love with television in the first place was its ability to tell a story. It invoked drama, comedy, action and, more importantly, gave us characters we could love or hate. In a way, television became lazy literature. It filled our quotas of drama, plot and intrigue and so, instead of reaching for a Shakespeare or a Brontë or a Dickens, generations began reaching for the remote. Bad example to signify quality script writing but the show is doing something right to pull in an average 35% to 45% share of the air time.

More often than not, those remote-reachers are switching to Eastenders.

Thesoap pulls in consistentlyhigh viewership figures. This is just one example of the resiliency of our favourite soaps. Soap operas have always been hugely popular in the UK and they remain the strongest testament to the draw of scripted television, despite their perception as “common telly”.

Former chief scriptwriter of Eastenders, Tony Jordan, has said in the past that soap operas lack in creativity: “If you’re producing two and a half hours of television a week, it’s basically a movie a week, and some things suffer.” And yet these shows still manage to pull in an audience week after week after drama-filled week.

Part of this, of course, is due to their intense marketability. Networks love soap opera ad sales and therein lies, arguably, the most realistic reason for the countless hours they appear on our screens. Soap operas aim to consistently return a target audience so that networks can continue to market them to the nines. This is why, at times, the writing seems so repetitive, the acting so off-kilter and the extravagance of the cliff-hangers so unbelievable: networks would do anything to keep their audience firmly glued to the couch and to keep raking in the profits. Arguably, the BBC should have less of an issue with advertising, it’s true. But the BBC, like every network, has the desire to be the most watched channel, so they’re not afraid to offer the willing viewer some precipitous cliffs from which to hang.

Frills & Stills

The networks have all begun to battle it out for the latest technological advances: HD and 3D are the latest crazes. HD is probably here to stay (and I, for one, am not about to start complaining about crisp shots and flawless images) but 3D is, more than likely, just a passing fad. So which programmes are suffering to make room in the budgets for 3D programming? It’s difficult to know the extent of the effect that changes like these are having on schedules, but it brings us to the question: what was so wrong with good old 2D?

Despite repeated dalliances with 3D movies, the concept of 3D television was very much a part of the world of tomorrow even just a few years ago. But now, due to the fierce competition in the industry, it is likely that more than half of UK television programming will be 3D by 2014. Co-Founder of 3ality, the company behind Sky’s 3D technology, Steve Schklair, believes the UK is “further along than most other countries” in 3D television production.

Maybe you see this as cause to rejoice. I will admit that the excitement surrounding the advent of 3D is irresistible. But let me highlight what is to be sacrificed in favour of a more in-depth television experience. Shows will start to concentrate on adding features intended to look pretty in 3D. They will substitute intelligent writing with aesthetically pleasing visuals, and character interaction will become stilted as the actors are forced to move unnaturally to best optimize the 3D experience for the viewer.

What ever happened to the quick quips in M*A*S*H* being enough to keep the public glued to the set? What happened to the outrageous comical situations of Only Fools and Horses sufficiently entertaining us? Did these shows need 3D? Would our enjoyment have been any more enhanced had Del Boy suddenly pranced from our screens to sell us his wares in our very own homes? Yes, 3D TV may have a novelty factor, but give me the Fawlty Towers box set (in lowly 2D) any day.

A Classic Whodunit?

No murder would be complete without a prime suspect, and all eyes should be on reality television, in the lounge, with the spanner. The vast plethora of shows that come under the umbrella of reality television is astounding. When you include game shows, makeover shows, talk shows and hidden camera TV, the definition of reality television takes on a whole new meaning and it’s no wonder that it’s forcing scripted television off the air.

But the most virulent of all of these reality shows, the one that takes up most airtime, is the classic style: the competition format. And the first name that springs to most people’s lips at the mention of competition style reality television is that of Simon Cowell. For a decade now, Cowell has ruled the world of reality television. During 2000’s Pop Idol he became a household name and, 10 years later, he is raking in over £60m a year.

You have to wonder why the public are so eager to religiously follow reality television. Why are viewers so willing to throw all of their attentions behind these competitive shows when there are stories out there being hand-crafted for them; stories that don’t involve the use of a telephone for their continuation? And why are we so concerned about what our celebrities’ Cribs look like or who should Date my Mom?

Is there hope?

Programmes like The Inbetweeners, Misfits, Shameless and Skins represent a generation that didn’t necessarily grow up with the classics. These shows, and their writers, are continuously praised within the industry and yet, arguably, signal an end for higher standards. Gone are the glory days; the genius of Are You Being Served? and Blackadder.

There are rare glimpses of talent in Britain, however, as shows like The Office and Extras give hope to a dying medium. Yet the problem remains that there just isn’t a high enough quantity of quality programming to fill our airtime. With low episode orders per season, these pearls are getting lost in the ocean of reality television. So we are constantly subjected to the huge episode count that shows such as Big Brother or I’m a Celebrity… deliver to us.

Transatlantic television shows do seem to be extremely popular in the UK but the viewership isn’t sufficient to topple reality television. For the most part, this is due to the increase in internet-based viewing. The problem is a catch 22: in order to save scripted programming, people have to watch programmes on television but, in a bid to avoid the reality shows, viewers are avoiding scheduled programming in favour of the autonomy of watching online.

We’re all in this together

We are hardly a nation of overly active outdoor enthusiasts, so it is no surprise to learn that viewership is increasing in the UK. But this comes on the back of specifically designed television that we love to hate. Reality television is slowly nudging out original programming, and iPlayers and pirate downloads are ruining the chance for many great shows to get a fair run.

Seth MacFarlanes’ Family Guy debuted in 1998 and had the short lifespan of three years due to a comparatively low viewership. In America, the reality show is king. But the show’s quick wit and creativity soon found an audience via DVD sales; so much of an audience that Fox ordered a new season four years after its original cancellation. It is now one of the highest rated shows in the US with average viewers of nearly 8 million per episode and four Primetime Emmys to display. The creators have also had two successful spin-offs: American Dad and The Cleveland Show.

Shows like Brothers & Sisters and Glee serve a purpose: they highlight important political and sociological issues, all the while remaining light-hearted and entertaining for the family. Shows like 30 Rock or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, similarly, raise important questions while framing them within a lens of observational comedy, making them relevant to ‘Joe Public’.

It’s stories like these that make me believe scripted television can win in the battle against reality TV and the internet. Television is literature for the new generation and, for great writing to survive in the face of these assaults, it must find all the support it can.

Could 2011 be the year of the older woman? Miriam O’Reilly challenged our attitudes towards ageism when she won her employment tribunal against the BBC after being dropped from the TV show Countryfile. Latterly coinciding with this landmark case, round-neck blouses, tweed skirts that hover at a sensible mid-length and low-heeled shoes are making a comeback. Labelled “granny chic,” could it be that it is time to acknowledge that Mum does know best and that Granny got it right too?

Illustration by Jen Collins

As attitudes towards age change, it is no surprise that what was once deemed old-fashioned is now seen as retro. Knitting, once firmly in Granny’s domain, is currently being enjoyed by women (and a few men) in their 20s and 30s. As a result of this knitting renaissance, and heralded by a string of A–list stars from Cameron Diaz to Sarah Jessica Parker, knitting groups have been popping up in the UK and here in Scotland. It is so popular, it is like the new yoga. Nowadays knitting is a social affair that gives knitters a chance to be creative and express their individuality.

For Claire Knowles, craft group enthusiast, it was a chance to “meet up with friends and be inspired by what others are making”. For Clare Sherwin, a member of a knitting group, it means having access to knitting expertise “It’s a really nice feeling to be part of a group with a shared interest too. My knitting group have kept me motivated, not to mention taught me a lot about knitting.”

Budgetary constraints are not necessarily the reason people are returning to crafting. Knitting is not a cheap hobby, so perhaps this current trend is more of a backlash against mass production as well as a pride in making your own.  “I think knitwear is fashionable again – after a long period of it not being so,” says Sherwin “It’s part of the whole return to the vintage movement as well – everything old (but with a modern twist) is ‘in’ these days and I think knitting and making your own clothes is part of that.” Knowles agrees “I think people want to make their own items and to be more individual.”

It is something that wool shops have picked up on. Denise Deutsch, marketing manager for Mandors Fabric Store (which offers knitting materials in its Glasgow branch) echoes the sentiments that knitting has become popular again “It definitely has. I think it became quite cool because a lot of celebrities were doing it. People are trying to make personalised gifts.”

The scope for this creativity has increased as the technology improves. “Technology has made a lot of difference as they can now make the most amazing yarns,” says Lucy Bailey, managing director of the Edinburgh wool shop McAree Brothers. “We have one that knits up automatically into a Fair Isle pattern. Also the designs are much more trendy these days. A lot of the top brands issue patterns that imitate the catwalks. Rowan recently issued a book of pattern designs by students at the Royal College of Art in London.”

Community Knitting

For those who want to take the community spirit further how about knitting for the CoolWool project? Part of the Leith Festival taking place in Edinburgh from 10 – 19 June 2011, CoolWool is a guerrilla knitting project that aims to get people knitting woolly jumpers for the trees in Leith Links. Guerrilla knitting is a form of graffiti, decorating the urban environment with wool. CoolWool is asking those who want to get involved to knit 6” x 6” squares that will be sewed together to decorate the trees of Leith. At the end of the festival the “jumpers” will be recycled into blankets and clothing.

If you are interested in joining the CoolWool project, please contact Adele Conn on adele.conn@leithfestival.com to give her your contact information – name, address and contact number.