My new blog is on its way. Visit www.synapses-music.co.uk to see the new standin site till I get the blog finished, it should be up by the 4th of this month or maybe a day or too later. On this site it will have all the stuff that is on here but more focused on music (hence the domain). At the moment there are two tracks for download at the site so please visit and download them.

Just a quick update for all those wandering about the new track from me, here you go. Its called Wayward from the new album Bending Over Backwards. Ive had to upload it to rapidshare but I may soon have a .mac accnt so all my stuff will be on there.

http://rapidshare.com/files/43310327/Wayward.mp3.html

Please leave feeback at the music feedback page for now cheers.

Ive been working on a new track for some website that a friend frequents, its based on the game Shadow Of The Beast for the Amiga home computer using midi files found around the net. Ive been working on it for some time but seeing as I’m busy with other things time is sparce, you can download a small sample unfinished and un mastered from the link below if you would like.

EDIT
Just updated the track with a little more arrangement and some more mastering, by no means a finished track but its starting to take shape in the DAW.

Shadow Of The Beast MP3

Hi Guys, seeing as this site get a little more traffic that my photo site, thought I would do a bit of self advertising as promote my photo site a bit. Ive decided to take down my flikr widget from this site, so if you want to view my latest pics head over to photo heaven.

Clerks X

Synopsis

Dante Hicks is a clerk at a local convenience store in New Jersey. On one particular Saturday morning, he gets called in on his day off. Once there, he must deal with multiple problems. The shutters outside won’t open. His ex-girlfriend, whom he is still in love with, is getting married. His girlfriend, who bugs him about starting college, has revealed certain, uh…stuff about her past. His boss hasn’t come in to take his place. He has a hockey game at 2 o’clock. Another ex has died, and today’s the last day he can go to her wake. He must deal with customers that aren’t so intelligent. His friend, Randal, a clerk at the video store next door, is even less dedicated to his job than Dante, and is always bothering Dante’s customers. And the biggest problem of them all: HE’S NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE THERE TODAY!! Can Dante manage it all?

(From IMDB)
Cast:

Brian O’Halloran
Jeff Anderson
Marilyn Gjigliotti
Jason Mewes
Kevin Smith
Scott Mosier
Walter Flanagan
Scott Schiaffo
Al Berkowitz

Director:

Kevin Smith

DVD features

Disk 1:Theatrical Version

• cast & crew commentary
• Enhanced playback track
• “Clerks”: The Lost Scene
• “The Flying Car” Short film
• MTV spots: With Jay & Silent Bob
• Theatrical Trailer
• Music Video
• “Clerks” Restoration Intros
• Original “Clerks” Auditions

Disk 2: “Clerks”: The First Cut

• new cast & crew commentary

Disk 3: “The Snowball Effect: The Story Of ‘Clerks’

• “Mae Day: The crumbling of a documentary”
• 10th Aneniversary Q&A
• Outakes from “Snowball Effect”
• Still photo gallery
• Original Kevin Smith journals
• Articles & Reviews (8 of them)

Great selection of extras, most quite interesting, but some a little dull, I wont go into a full blown extra by extra review as this would be boreing, If you can find this on the shelf or the net for a good price, then its worth looking at if your a fan of the film and want to know more about the movie.

Movie:

Well I came to this movie back in ‘95 (I was only 13 & yes I was into movies then) when it hit the streets in the US, and I read good things about it, and saw a trailer which intrigued me even more, but unfortunatly It slipped by and whent under my radar since, until I watched a programme on BBC 2 called “Talking Movies” which did a preview of “Clerks II” which then shunnted my memory to the back of my brain and pulled out the memories of “Clerks”, then while browsing my local HMV I found the 10th Anniversary Edition for £7.99, and I had to have it.

I had mixed feelings about this film, as I had only seen Jay and Silent Bob in “Dogma” and had only knwo Kevin smith for this film, the thing was I loved “Dogma” and liked the look of this movie, but I had heard from a friend who knows his movie stuff, and he mentioned that it wasnt that good, so I had to watch it with an open mind. The first 15 to 20 minutes were a little dull and un eventfull, but I presisted (I gave up watching “Troy” the first time around at this point, But I still hate it).

later on the film picked up and I liked some of the jokes and capers they got into, but I didnt like the vulger side of this movie, and had a hard time swallowing some of the diologue due to the amount of swearing. This side of the film let it down, and seemed to be in there just to prove that they could, rarther than severing a purpose. I wasnt sure what the film was trying to get across, and maybe that was the point, maybe there wasnt a punchline to the film or a morale of the story, but this just let the film down even further for me.

Due to its lack of substance this film was an average movie, the acting was good, some of the script was good, but the way in which it was filmed let if down, black and white didnt work it just made it even more like it was trying to be something it wasn’t, I think this film is a bit too, I dont know… and maybe that was the problem.

To sum it up, I would have to say, if you havent seen it, rent it dont go out and buy it, and then if you like it, get the version I got, as its got loads of extras, this film had good acting and a up and down script. The music and sound were ok but I didnt like most of the music, but this didnt detract from the film, which was a good thing, I think that I may have missed the point of the movie, maybe there are some of the stuff was too American and it didnt translate to me too well, who knows.

DVD Extras: /

Movie: /

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Plot Outline

In LA, while escaping from the police after an unsuccessful robbery, the small time thief Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) is accidentally submitted to an audition for a role of detective in a movie, and invited to a party. He meets the homosexual private eye Gay Perry (Val Kilmer), who suggests him to participate of an investigation to develop his character. He also meets the gorgeous aspirant actress Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), and finds that she was a friend of his childhood for whom he had a crush. Harry and Perry get involved in an intricate murder case with many leads. With the support of Harmony, they find the sordid truth of the case.

(From IMDB)

Cast:

Robert Downey Jr.
Val Kilmer
Michelle Monaghan
Corbin Bernsen
Dash Mihok
Larry Miller
Rockmond Dunbar
Shannyn Sossamon
Angela Lindvall
Indio Falconer Downey
Ariel Winter
Harrison Young

Director:

Shane Black (creator of the “Lethal Weapon” movies)

DVD feature:

Nothing, Nada, Ziltch.

I purchased the basic DVD, it has nothing exept for the standard, interactive menu’s and sene selection stuff like that.

Movie:

I dont know what I was expecting from this film, I wasnt sure if it was going to be bad or good, but one this I was sure of and that was the Direcotrs credability, the “Lethal Weapon” films are great and my type of action movie, I like buddy cop/PI movies too like “Midnight Run”. So with this in mind I watched this film.

The overall film was very good, every little bit from cinematography to the editing and special effects were good, nothing really stood out as exceptional or stunning, but they all seemed to be working along the same lines and made this film feel homely.

The acting in this film was also very good, but nothing oscar worthy (even if that is a mark of good acting,which im not sure it is anymore) but nobody tried to outperform each other and the on-screen bond of the characters was good, almost like you knew the character from a 70’s TV show.

The comic parts were done with a nice finess and made them quite a breath of fresh air compared to the more common and quite tiersome stuff of Vince Vaughn or Ben Stiller. The jokes and one liners were fast and not too elaborated on, which will make for re-watching quite a pleasure, as im sure I missed a few jokes along the way, also the comic timing was spot on and the actors played the jokes well and said the one liners with nice touches in facial and body movements that make those jokes that much more lifelike.

Allot could be said for the direction and wrighting of this movie, and Im going to, because I think its worth bringing it up, that while films are being turned out in hollywood, allot seem to tyr to hark back to the good old action flick mold, but always seem to miss the point and make a really poor movie, but seeing as Shane Black actually wrote one of the best action movies of the late 80’s he has the credentials to make a good movie in the same fashion as those movies but also has had the sense to make this movie a little more up-todate and fresh, but not stray too far from the winning formula.

I would also like to applaude Joel Silver for backing this film, as in recent times he has backed some real let downs like “Matrix Reloade & Revelutions” and “V for Vandetta”, but because of his history with Shane Black he had to make this movie and im glad he did.

To sum up the film, I persoanlly liked it, it filled me with a warm and knowing feeling, from the direction and acting straight through to the standard cinematography and editing, the only thing that had small suprises was the story and script, I didnt know how the stry was going to end and what was coming next, which in todays movie scene is a big change indeed. I also would like to point out the soundtrack, it was very inconspicuous and didnt detract from the movie.

This film was a breath of fresh air in the action/comedy genre and made a change to the stale wannabes of truly poor quaity, for me this is how movies should be made, and I can see myself watching the DVD many times to come.

DVD extras: /

Movie: /

Broken Flowers

Plot Outline

The resolutely single Don Johnson has just been dumped by his latest lover, Sherry. Don resigns himself to being alone yet again and left to his own devices. Instead, he is compelled to reflect on his past when he receives by mail a mysterious pink letter. It is from an anonymous former lover and informs him that he has a 19-year-old son who may now be looking for his father. Don is urged to investigate this “mystery” by his closest friend and neighbor, Winston, an amateur sleuth and family man. Hesitant to travel at all, Don nonetheless embarks on a cross-country trek in search of clues from four former flames. Unannounced visits to each of these unique women hold new surprises for Don as he haphazardly confronts both his past and, consequently, his present.

Cast:

Bill Murray
Julie Delpy
Brea Frazier
Heather Simms
Jeffrey Wright
Jessica Lange
Christopher McDonald
Sharon Stone
Chloe Sevigny
Tilda Swinton
Francis Conroy

Director:

Jim Jarmusch

DVD Features:

• Extended scene
• ‘Start To Finish’: outtakes with Bill Murray
• ‘Farmhouse’: behind the scene with audio commentary from director Jim Jarmusch
• Trailers

The Features arn’t that extensive or great if im honest, but I don’t think the Film or the DVD needed or warented lots of in depth interviews or documentarys. What is included dosn’t lend much to the film and are pretty much the standard of films of this claiber, like “Sideways” or “Lost In Translation”.

Movie:

Where to start with this film? I could start with the fact that Bill Murry is awsome in this film, and put on a show that much like “Lost In Translation” (which he should have won the Oscar) or I could start with the fact that this film is a truly great film in my eyes. Jim Jarmusch proves once again to be a director of boat loads of tallent and quite a delicate touch, “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai” being another of his movies and a great favourite of mine is on the same par as this film in this review, its a slow but well paced film with great small and delicate touches that make the film a pleasure to watch, but also the fact that Bill Murry is a very dry comedian proves to be a great match for this film, the rest of the cast are great too and all put 100% in to this qurky road trip type movie.

For those who love Bill, you are guaranteed to love him in this film, his mannerisms and the way he looks and smiles make it fun to watch, and the little comic touches he brings to the role of Don really make this film for me.

Now for the downsides to this film, for some it may be a little slow, but if you have patiance to stick with it its a great watch. Editing is pretty shabby for me, and makes the movie even slower than it needed to be, the editor had the chance to put in some pace to the film but failed, and left the whole film feeling a little rough around the edges, but again if you can get past this, then you will be rewared.

I dont want to spoil the film by giving away the plot or storie too much, but the ending left a bitter taste in my mouth, I was expecting more for it and it will make the less patiant or none movie fans a little upset and short changed. I on the other hand actully found the ending quite nice and probably the best way to end the film.

I could go on about the other things that go into making a film, but none stand out in this film, onl the directing and acting make the film a good film if not a great film.

On the music front, some people will like the soundtrack like I did, or will hate it like the people that I watched the film with did. But get past it and move on and you should enjoy this movie, I think the final remark for this film will be “you either hate it or love it” and I know this like sitting on the bench and not sticking my neck out, but it proves to be the correct way to view this film, see it with an open mind and with people who enjoy murry and you should have an enjoyable movie experiance.

DVD Extras: /

Movie: /

Need some storage? well Box.net has a free 1GB storage solution, its easy to use and easy to setup Click this link >>My Box<< thats what ive uploaded so far, you can download what you want. Just click the image above and see what im talking about.

Well its official, ive had over 1000 hits on my blog since starting, I know that it isnt much since allot of blogs get 1000’s per month, but its not too shabby seeing as I hardly update it. Thanks to all visitors and Kepp checking for updates.

Ive started a new blog just for my Graphic design stuff, so my Graphic design CV and 2D page will be gone by the end of today. follow the link at the bottom of the post or find it in my links list.

Graphic Design Heaven