Flavour of the Week

So over the summer i've been on a bit of a retro kick, picking up CD's for INXS' albums X and Kick, Texas' Southside, a several by Nina Simone, and several more artists. And then (a year late to this particular party) I came across Franz Ferdinand's self titled debut. The high energy songs really get you feeling good, and were just what I've been looking for recently. Best of all, their new album is out tomorrow, but for the rest of this evening its time for Elvis! Don't ever say my musical tastes/moods are predictable :-)

I picked up a copy of Kar Wai Wong's film Chungking Express on DVD the other day. The commonly used summary of 'a story about two lovelorn cops' does not do the film nearly enough justice - its is so much more than just a story. The cinematography is second to known, with over saturated shots creating an intense visual experiance which, although I've never been there, seems to fit one's impressions of Hong Kong. The soundtrack rocking along in the background complements the visuals perfectly. The film is split into two distinct stories, each dealing with life of a different cop, with a fairly abrupt switch from one story to the other just under halfway into the running time. The stylistic continuity, however, ensures that the flow of the film doesn't feel in the least bit disjointed as one might assume it would. The development & interaction of the characters from each story is a pleasure of watch, and often quite entertaining - ok outright funny. Don't pass up an opportunity to watch this film - its certainly one of Kar Wai Wong's most accessible & entralling films.

A little over two weeks back I made my first (yes really!) trip to the ICA cinema to see Cafe Lumiere. There's not really any significant plot to speak of, but then that's not really the point of this film - its all really about getting to feel the know the regular, everyday life of the lead character - the very cute Yoko. As someone who's never been to the far east, let alone Japan or Tokyo, just observing the cinematography was satisfaction in itself, giving the viewer access to a slice of Tokyo life altogether different from that shown by Lost in Translation

The grandure of its title, led me to expect this to be a somewhat more intimate film than it turned out to be. In fact, given the lack of details on the story in the various reviews, the title was about all there was to go on when deciding whether to spend time to watch it. After watching the film, however, I can now understand the difficulties reviewers must have had when trying to write something about it, for this is a film that works best when you know little to nothing about its story. There is a strong focus on style and camerawork, and indeed at first this appears to be all there is to it, there being very little story at all, but over the duration, little sequences here & there let slip & hint at details of the lead character's background & life. Eventually details in the present & past tie up showing you the full picture of his life, at which point the film moves into its final sequence and a rather unexpected and shocking climax. You might be left wondering in the end, what the title was all about, but give it a little while to sink in and it'll all become clear. So was it any good ? I wouldn't say it was perfect by a long shot, and I'm not sure it would bear repeated viewings (since as I said earlier, it works best when you've no knowledge of whats to come), but if you like more experimental / unorthadox films then its certainly an interesting watch, and give you a little to think about after the fact.

Before I go, just mention, that while browsing around I came across the White Stripes' cover of Jolene - fantastic.

I remember watching KT Tunstall appear on Later with Jools Holland at the end of last year, and thinking she had a fantastic voice, not to mention musical talent and was someone to look out for in the future. Well, a few months later and I've got hold of a copy of her debut Eye to the Telescope, and its certainly a good one, although it doesn't quite have the electric feel of the raw live performance on Later.