Flotsam & Jetsam XIII
Do you like my new flat? It was a bitch to get planning permission, let me tell you. Anyway, first miscellaneous post of the year, just a few things that have been hanging around.
First of all, Scorsese has directed an advert, based on a treatment that Hitchcock drafted back in the 50’s. It’s quite interesting I guess, it’s a nice tribute to good ole Hitch and looks terrific, but I wish Scorsese would get back to actually making some decent films. I have no interest in his Rolling Stones documentary, and I understand that he is trying to get a package together for a biography of Bob Marley. Hmm, OK so he’s made plenty of documentaries in the past including some ‘classic‘ live music films, my problem is that I don’t really have any interest in them as they do not marry my musical tastes. Looking at IMDB it looks like he has a couple of fiction projects in development, so fingers crossed….
Some of my friends may have noticed that I’ve erased my Facebook account, due in part to this – I barely used the bloody thing anyway apart from solving some of the absurdly easy movie quizzes when I was really bored at work so no major loss. Humourless, soulless Communist that I am I want no part of any neo-con constructed marketing wet dream even if the prospect of having blipverts transmitted directly into your cerebral cortex sometime around 2017 might be cool.
Lynch is absolutely right – I think we’ve established that I’m a macyolite but I think that using any portable devices to watch anything other than an episode of the Simpsons or South Park say then yes, you’re a fucking idiot. He’s not too fond of Product Placement either. Vaguely related, here is a brilliant pastiche which is superbly synchronised…
For me the most intriguing project to come out of Sundance this year was this little number, it sounds very interesting and reminds of the interest that built up around this although I see that the guys behind ‘Primer’ don’t appear to have been able to follow up on their intriguing and highly original debut. I like the idea of a SF film set in the developing world, it’s obviously a ripe subject given recent cultural developments and trends – wracking my brains, I honestly can’t think of any SF film set in Latin America or Africa. Oh, spoiler warning but here is a useful visual timeline for ‘Primer‘ in case like me you still scratch your head over the complex strands in the film…
Finally, and sadly I really shouldn’t let this passing go unmentioned. I was and fuck you I’m proud to admit it, something of a Dungeons & Dragons fanatic in my youth, so the natural 1 critical saving throw failure of the godfather of all role-playing games, both paper and silicon, should be mourned. He gave me many, many happy hours playing either Dungeons & Dragons or its many offspring – Traveller, Call of Cthuhlu, Judge Dredd the RPG, Golden Heroes – as well as many of the computer games that quite simply would not exist without his input. Here are some links to some fine and amusing aspects of D&D, rest in peace Gary Gygax you fine 15th Level Magic-User…..<Hey DM, can I loot the body now?…>
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