#Neil Dickson

[fourorfivemovements]

Films Watched in 2023: 101. The Murders in The Rue Morgue (1986) - Dir. Jeannot Szwarc

[denver-carrington]

Neil Dickson (Gavin Maurier), Catherine Mary Stewart, James Farentino (Nick), Joan, and Peter Holm at a screening party for Sins (1986).

[rwpohl]

sins, douglas hickox 1986

[moviecorner]

Welcome to the Movie Corner

(Originally Published in THE ALPINE TIMES - Issue 21)

RUSS GOMM – local filmmaker, photographer, writer and cinephile – shares his movie memories, knowledge and love of the cinema with you, dear reader.

Hi! Welcome to the first ever Movie Corner, I’m your host – Russ Gomm! I’ve been working in film for more years than I can remember (well, nearly thirty years!) and I’ve had a great passion of all things cinematic since I was taken to the Canon Classic Cinema in Herne Bay by my mum when I was three years old to see Return of the Jedi. She secretly hoped it wasn’t for me as she had no inclination to sit through a two-hour science fiction film, but it turned out I loved it and it started me off on my life long journey through film.

 …and yes, Jedi is still my favourite of the original trilogy.

I’m looking forward to sharing some of this journey through film with you in future issues of this wonderful publication The Alpine Times, but for now I’d like to take you back in time for a retrospective look at a film that is very dear to my heart…

BIGGLES

Biggles (1986) also known as Biggles: Adventures in Time (for the 1988 American release where audiences were unfamiliar with our British hero) is not your father’s take on the classic adventure stories by William Earl Johns - himself an English pilot during the First World War -but rather a flashy 80s action adventure crafted by veteran British filmmakers for the then upcoming MTV generation. Regardless of this I have fond memories of my own father and I together enjoying this new take on the wartime hero who was introduced to us via the wonders of the local VHS rental shop.

With the success of Back to the Future (1985) the production team for Biggles were keen to add a time-travel twist and an American sidekick, along with a fabulous soundtrack - featuring Jon Anderson (from Yes), Deep Purple and mötley crüe. A brilliant score by polish composer Stanisław Syrewicz (still a long awaited release by fans of the film) helped bring an edgy and exciting tone to the film, one that was designed to gain interest from new, younger audiences.

In the film, Jim Ferguson (Alex Hyde-White) finds himself transported from New York in the 1980s back to the Western Front in 1917 in order to assist our hero Biggles (Neil Dickson) in his mission to save the day! Much of the charm of the film comes from the humour of the obvious culture shock, the ridiculous 80s fashion and the slang terms that Ferguson brings with him on the trip – Biggles himself also gets to deliver some gleefully over the top wartime English dialogue. That’s not to say the film is a joke (as much of it is quite serious), rather the jokes make the characters (especially Ferguson) much more fun and endearing. There is plenty to keep your attention with fine locations, great action, fantastic aerial dogfight photography and very importantly our own dear Peter Cushing in wonderful form in what would be his final appearance onscreen.

Alongside Cushing there is another connection to Hammer Films as the film is directed by John Hough – a British director known for his work in the horror genre with films such as The Legend of Hell House (1973) but who also worked for Hammer Films and in particular directed Twins of Evil (1971)

As I have mentioned the film is great fun and is one I have revisited many times over the years on VHS, DVD and now even on Blu-Ray! There’s just something special about this one-of-a-kind motion picture, with so many memorable scenes and a great atmosphere of excitement and adventure which always takes me back to childhood. Sadly no other Biggles films were made. It would have been great to follow these characters on further adventures. I always wondered what it would have been like to see a war film based purely on one of the books, played straight with Dickson returning as Biggles. The closest we ever came was a scene starring Dickson as a very familiar character in all but name in the Pet Shop Boys video It Couldn’t Happen Here (1988)

The film divided audiences, some loving the somewhat cheesy playful tone and some hating it, but those who loved it remain loyal fans to this day. Chocks Away!

Since you are reading a publication with a ski theme I’d now like to welcome you to a small section I like to call SNOW-CAPPED CINEMA, in which we take a quick look at films set in the snow!

 Dumb and Dumber (1994) starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly (in their debut - four years later they would strike back with There’s Something About Mary)  has some of the goofiest snow set scenes I’ve seen. Chaos ensues during the finale of the film as our two “heroes” Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) arrive on the ski slopes of Aspen after a cross-country journey to return a missing briefcase. Who can forget the snowball fight between Harry and Mary (Lauren Holly) and of course Harry’s frozen tongue!

 I watch a LOT of films and it’s always great to uncover a HIDDEN GEM, and in this issue I’d very much like to introduce you to Come True (2020) directed by Anthony Scott Burns (also a synth musician under the name Pilotpriest) I first heard of the film through the amazing band Electric Youth, who had written some songs for the soundtrack (They had also scored his previous film Breathing (2018) but after Burns left the project it was retitled Our House and rescored – it’s also worth a watch though). I don’t want to say too much about the film – only that it is a clever and creepy sci-fi horror, with a decadent dash of synth and neon. Come True is a visually stunning and atmospheric piece, the presence of which stayed with me long after the film had finished. If this sounds like your cup of tea I highly recommend it to you. It is available on Blu-ray or currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Enjoy.

Now, it’s time for some MOVIE TRIVIA!

Did you know that Return of the Jedi was originally titled Revenge of the Jedi, but at the last minute director George Lucas decided that it wasn’t fitting for a Jedi to seek revenge! Posters had already been sent out to cinemas with this original title – some of them now being worth serious money!

Composer John Williams enlisted the help of his son Joseph Williams (lead singer for Toto during the 1980s) to help with the score of Return of the Jedi and to write lyrics for the Ewok songs!

Steven Spielberg was the original choice of George Lucas to direct Return of the Jedi but was unable to due to restrictions as a member of the Directors Guild!

 TRAILERS

We’ve got some great films coming soon to the big screen, in particular I just can’t wait for Evil Dead Rise, a new chapter in the franchise helmed by brilliant upcoming Irish director Lee Cronin - check out his previous feature The Hole in the Ground (2019). Nicolas Cage stars as Count Dracula in Renfield, Ben Affleck directs and stars in Air – the story of Michael Jordan and Nike – also starring Matt Damon. Also heading our way is a remake of Salem’s Lot, Oppenheimer (from Christopher Nolan), and lots more sequels including Fast X, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and finally Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (Part One).

 EPILOGUE

That’s all the time we have for this issue, but be sure to join me next time for a look over the career of one of the greatest British directors of all time as we spend a year with Alfred Hitchcock. There’s just time to join me with a glass (perhaps even a glass of our very own Rock Lodge Lager) to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Olympus Has Fallen, the 20th Anniversary of Kill Bill, the 30th Anniversary of Demolition Man, and of course - the 40th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi.

 Cheers, May the Force be with you!

[moviesandmania]

THE QUANTUM DEVIL (2022) Review of sci-fi horror

‘Welcome to Hell’ The Quantum Devil is a 2022 science fiction horror film about a team of scientists who are summoned to a remote location in eastern Europe in an effort to breach the quantum barrier and travel to another dimension… Directed by Larry Wade Carrell (The Darkside of Society; Girl Next; The End of April; 200 Degrees; Altered Perception; She Rises) from a screenplay co-written with…

[mutant-distraction]

Neil Bockoven

OTZI THE ICEMAN - SOME FACTS YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

1) It took ten years to figure out how he died. The 5300-year-old remains of Otzi were discovered by two hikers in northernmost Italy in 1991, as he melted out of a glacier. First thought to have died from exposure, Otzi was found in 2001 to have an arrowhead in his shoulder that had cut a key artery.

2) He was a wreck - he had severe arthritis, ulcers, whipworms, gallstones, blackened lungs, atherosclerosis and rotten teeth. He had a frost-bitten toe, broken ribs, and genetic markers indicating the world's earliest known case of Lyme disease.

3) He was in shape - pollen studies indicate that, even though in his mid-40's and suffering from multiple ailments, he'd climbed from high elevation to low, then back again, perhaps as much as 8500' each way, all within 33 hours (Dickson et al. 2019).

4) Recent genetic work by Wang et al. (2023) indicates more than 90% of Otzi's ancestry came from Anatolian farmers, and he had dark eyes and skin. Rather than a forehead, Otzi had a five head (i.e., genes for male pattern baldness). These genetic indicators match up with what's seen from the mummified body.

5) Otzi had a relatively high level of Neanderthal genes - some reports saying more than 5% compared to a ~2% average for Europeans today.

6) Otzi may have been a part-time coppersmith. His possessions included one of the oldest-known copper axes, and analyses of his hair indicate that it was heavily contaminated with copper and arsenic, a pollutant associated with copper smelting (Brothwell, 1995).

7) Lead isotope and trace element studies indicate the copper in Otzi's ax came from ores in central Italy's Southern Tuscany region more than 300 miles away. The flint used for his arrowheads came from about 100 miles to the south. This suggests an extensive trade network.

7) Otzi had traces of cannabis on his tools, clothing and in his digestive system. The traces probably stem from its use for pain relief and/or from working with hemp fibers for rope or clothing (Wacker et al. 2019).

It's amazing what all we've learned from the wonderful discovery of Otzi!

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 20/07/2024 (Eminem's The Death of Slim Shady, Ice Spice/Central Cee)

For a seventh week, Sabrina Carpenter tops the UK Singles Chart with “Espresso”, right above her other track, “Please Please Please” at #2. Other than that, it’s Eminem, football and a whole lot of nothing. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, discussion of sexual predators and misogyny

Rundown

As always, we start this week with our notable dropouts, which are songs exiting the UK Top 75 - the region I cover - after five weeks there or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid farewell to: “Tobey” by Eminem featuring Big Sean and BabyTron thanks to self-cannibalism from his own album, “Mind Still” by Sonny Fodera featuring blythe, “Pick Up the Phone” by PAWSA featuring the late Nate Dogg - not that it matters since there’s a near-identical song still charting, “Close to You” by Gracie Abrams, “She’s Gone, Dance On” by Disclosure (unfortunately), “one of wun” by Gunna and finally, “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay because of course it was here in the first place.

So, naturally, the Euros happened recently and like much of what the UK’s been doing, the England team got close to saving face but ended up embarrassing itself at the final hurdle to the international community. Naturally, we don’t have that massive of an impact on the charts since we lost, and we lost on a Sunday, which means for most of the tracking week, they’ve been falling but some still notched impressive landings on the chart. I’ve discussed the vast majority of these - though not in the same way I do legacy hits now - in the episodes from July 2021, where I even go into some detail towards the making of the songs and why they’re football anthems. There’s even a full review in one of those because a “new” song considered a football anthem had debuted. As for this week though, I’ll briefly mention “World in Motion” by New Order at #53, “Vindaloo” by Fat Les at #46, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond at #44, “3 Lions” by Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds at #8, as well as one I haven’t touched upon, the classic “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen. England fans have adopted the Boss’ 1984 hit to sing the praises of a specific player, leading it to scrape the top 40 at #36 this week. It peaked at #4 in 1985, with “I Know Him So Well” by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson sitting at the top spot, and a smoother cover by Big Daddy - yes, really - would serve as the title track for an EP that peaked at #21 on the singles chart the month after. The original was at #27 that week though we all know which version has stood the test of time.

As for, well, everything else, there’s not too much to discuss, but we do see solid, notable boosts for “Lies Lies Lies” by Morgan Wallen at #58 - great - as well as “Apple” by Charli xcx at #42 and “Move” by Adam Port, Stryv and Malachiii at #39, which are otherwise completely fine songs.

As for our top five, we have many a familiar face: “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish at #5, “Houdini” by Eminem at #4 (more on him later), “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey at #3, and of course, the two aforementioned Sabrinas. Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the episode: my exhausted ramblings on whatever new entries happen to appear in the top 75. Let’s go.

New Entries

#74 - “Alibi” - Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar and Yseult

Produced by Sevdaliza, Matthias Janmaat and Mucky

I’m vaguely familiar with Pabllo Vittar through her collaborations with artists such as Rina Sawayama and Charli xcx, though I’m surprised to see her chart at all, let alone with two people I’m even less familiar with, so I was wondering what the deal was here. Vittar is a Brazilian drag queen who seems very successful in her home country, and means a lot to the LGBTQ+ community there, but I had to look more into Sevdaliza and Yseult. The former is a Dutch singer born in Iran who has been active and relatively successful since the 2010s, working with some experimental Latin artists as of recent. The latter is a French singer who won a reality TV competition and eventually they all banded together for a trio single, the first of two consecutive female trios (kind of, Vittar goes by male pronouns in his private life but not in her public persona). This track makes use of a classic Cuban song “Rosa, qué linda eres” and brings a Brazilian funk rhythm for what, if translated correctly, seems to be a about a ride-or-die girl who she loves and acts in some way as her alibi once she murders this guy, basically saying that this… ahem, close female friend, will be the reason she is able to kill him because of her loyalty, or at least that’s what I got out of the translation that could very well be wrong. The multilingual song brings the intensity of baile funk and its mechanical-sounding synths and drums to a pop format that is pretty refreshing, and Sevdaliza’s vocals, though they don’t always hit as intimately, feel fittingly breathless and sensual, before a sample of the chant from the classic Cuban “Rosa” acts as the anthemic hook. I might prefer how playful, albeit repetitive, Yseult is with the instrumental, it feels like she’s right in each pocket it’ll force her into, and that’s really compelling when the instrumental is this unconventional. If I have a problem with anything, it’s probably Pabllo Vittar not feeling necessary to the track or the weird groove that it has to settle on in the chorus to fit all of the elements, that hits a weird note even if that warped, looming bass is there to steer it. Overall, I’m surprised this charted but I completely understand why even if it’s unlikely to stick around. It’s a good song with some very obviously viral elements and I hope that some of these gals at least land some kind of presence elsewhere on the chart.

#63 - “My Oh My” - Kylie Minogue, Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo

Produced by Steve Mac

Okay, so I have mixed feelings on all of these artists but they generally range towards the positive. I’m just confused to how you can successfully land all of these artists on one song, with a typically quite generic producer at the helm, without overwhelming the mix, and the answer seems to be by writing a pretty bare-bones song with an annoying hook, Auto-Tuning the Hell out of it so that Kylie becomes a robot again - though not nearly as effectively as on, say, “Padam Padam” where that was part of the appeal - and delivering a pretty bog-standard house drop that doesn’t even feel like it belongs in a specific genre. It’s kind of tropical, mostly a future house sounding bass, kind of has a slap house feel to it, probably can be considered a deep house song, but it all coalesces into a whole lot of nothing by just not having that strong of a hook or even performance from Kylie, who phones it in and is so awkwardly crushed in the mix that when the more organic vocal production and subtler delivery from Tove Lo comes in, it feels really out of place. It should go without saying that my Queen Tove Lo kind of just steals this song entirely and there’s a reason why they kept her for last. Bebe’s lyrics are quite cute, I love how they all play off their star signs and use a similar pre-chorus structure, but she doesn’t stick out in the mix as much and ends up kind of vanishing, but Tove seeps her backing vocals into the post-chorus before she appears and just through having a lot more natural charisma than these two decided to approach the song with, as well as a clearer multi-tracking effect that actually distinguishes the takes really nicely, runs away with the whole song as the only presence that actually matters or has a lasting impact. The song’s fine, if teetering towards over-produced schlock, but at least I can find some elements of it that I enjoy and could see working, which is honestly not what I expected. I was fully guessing it’d be a “too many cooks” situation where everyone collides into a mess, but it keeps itself together decently well overall.

#47 - “WOMAN’S WORLD” - Katy Perry

Produced by Dr. Luke, Vaughn Oliver, Aaron Joseph and Rocco Did it Again!

We did not need to do this. That’s the one thing that keeps pestering me about this song, its rollout, its credited writers. We just didn’t need to have this happen. It seemed like Katy’s Vegas residency was doing well, that she was back doing some more EDM features that were okay but at least drew a bigger name than say, Bebe Rexha. She hadn’t worked with Dr. Luke for the better half of a decade, she hadn’t really needed to put out more pop music for the past few years, but after Witness, now a certified pop music history book staple for curating the modern idea of a “flop era”, she did continue to release music that really didn’t need to do well, it just needed to show that she wasn’t done. I am not sure if that has worked, the general opinion of the public on Katy Perry isn’t one that has once mattered because her personality, whilst quite evident in those songs, wasn’t the driving factor behind their success. It was that they were great pop songs. Even the ones I didn’t like had such painfully obvious reasons to why they were successful. Not only could Katy Perry live off her catalogue, so could Dr. Luke.

So why have he and his cronies - who I’m convinced do all the work anyway - found their way into Katy Perry’s credits again? I hear a lot of gossip about paperwork, contracts, and some kind of legalese that’s preventing her from NOT working with Dr. Luke but from what the public knows from trusted sources, and really from the song itself, this is a conscious effort to perform, release and promote a feminist anthem written and produced by someone who, and I say this with the lightest quote marks known to man, “allegedly” raped and abused Kesha, whose single did not crack the top 75 this week, probably because she’s gone independent and no longer has the support of the spineless but pocketed industry behind her. Katy Perry, however, has that support. She has a promotional EP featuring remixes of this song, labelled after different “types” of woman - “doing the most woman”, “transcendental woman”, “naked woman”, etc.  She released the single on Capitol with not just a music video but a behind-the-scenes video on X which she seems to have had cocked and ready to go for when people see through the thin attempt at faux feminism. If this is satire, Katy, it doesn’t explain the choices you made on who to work with for it - in fact, it makes it a whole lot worse that you are so flagrantly allowing for a group of men, let alone including Dr. Luke, to belittle the idea of female empowerment in order to fill their pockets and yours. Is there no shame in that?

You could very much make the argument that it doesn’t matter who worked on it or what happened behind the scenes as long as it’s a good song, but I’ll make the same argument I used for Ye: even if it’s not explicitly in the text, the creation of a text and its authors inform its content. Sure, it’s more obvious when Ye says that he keeps a few Jews on the staff now, but the video for “WOMAN’S WORLD” contains very little in the way of empowerment or diversity in what women it represents, and especially less in what roles they’re being displayed in, particularly because none of it is new or even progressive for this kind of cause. Masquerading as a Suffraggette on a construction site is heavy-handed and awkward when you spend a great deal of the video in robot legs (for some reason) just… looking at women, living in a world where women can do anything they please. That’s great and all, but Katy barely participates - at some point she flies over this new world on a helicopter - because why should she? If anything, by creating and promoting this song with such a video, she’s participating in Dr. Luke’s predatory scouting for young women to capture them in villainous record deals, she’s not participating in feminism. An activist, or really, any person, does not need to be perfect and some of the greatest fighters for justice have been messy, messy people, but it’s worth spotting that when it appears because those nuances, those small mistakes, are more telling of the person behind them than whatever performance they put on.

Speaking of performance, the song is garbage. Katy sounds okay though she’s never truly been the powerhouse vocalist she wants to be, and it’s not like this staccato song is giving her much to work with. The verses work in list format, repeating themselves and calling strictly to both male gaze and the male gays (“mother” is weaponised in a Trainoresque way here), when they’re not coughing up generic platitudes that ring meaningless on an ear who has read, seen, heard or watched anything else. Even “Roar” at least has a cohesive conceit and doesn’t insult your intelligence. The chorus is stiff and does the bare minimum to count as a chorus whilst producing possibly the least catchy lead single Katy has ever put out, and there’s not even an extended version to complete whatever that pointless bridge tease is at the end. The song just peters out after some vocal riffing on what I assume counts as a post-chorus, like it’s ashamed of its own existence. I’ve communicated with people who don’t actively know or keep up with pop music, and they expressed their distaste for this. Thanks to her sticking by a predator, and thanks to an industry lifting up that predator’s failed clinging attempts for relevance that have unfortunately been successful and Grammy-nominated, she has released a single that disestablished whatever goodwill she had. For whatever you can say about her music or her fanbase, she absolutely had the general public, who don’t listen to the albums, don’t care about the credits and will just bop along to a catchy tune in their car. Now, Katy stands on a hill built on the dregs of her fanbase and people that just don’t care. Men may have produced and written this song, but this woman made the world that she lives in now, and not only is it not pretty, it won’t be kind to her either.

#15 - “Did it First” - Ice Spice and Central Cee

Produced by RIOTUSA, Lily Kaplan and Nico Baran

Part of me feels bad for Ice Spice. She was making songs with her fun personality and her slightly above mediocre producer RIOT, and that virality really propelled her to a stardom I don’t think anyone would want so quickly, especially since Ice Spice really isn’t a great vocal talent or presence. She can rap, but she’s clearly still somewhat of a beginner who can’t find the pocket perfectly on much of her production, which is often minimal or at least interesting, which harms the end result so much more when she’s not really prepared for it. She was really attempting for her equivalent of rapping rapping on “Phat Butt”, or at least showing some improvement in her skill, but I still worry for this upcoming album, as she hasn’t had the time to really improve technically or even as a vocal presence, as she can still be whispery or unconfident in a way that doesn’t always feel purposeful, and all this time in the limelight, which she’s smartly extended not by improving but by out-memeing her last single, can’t go too well for her when it’s based purely on virality and character that she’s yet to confidently prove on record.

This song with her boyfriend Central Cee - who really should probably spend some time alone for a bit considering his relationship songs - demonstrates much of the same. It’s partly a revenge song that involves him cheating and Ice Spice cheating in response but also celebrating the toxic relationship and all the sex in a way that is just mindless and not very interesting from Ice Spice, who is so locked into one boring flow and sounds like she’s having no fun with it, saying the same things she’s always been saying despite the existing narrative of the song. As stiff as he is, in many ways, Cench’s verse is self-aware and has a cute line about the time he takes to finish his verse, it’s probably a highlight, but overall, this is definitely a half-baked product that sounds rushed to capitalise on the relationship going viral for… a lot of the wrong reasons. “Doja” was actually about his bisexual girlfriend, it was a semi-autobiographical piece if you will, so anything about Central Cee claiming himself as selective and smart about who he’s messing with just hits a weird note, since so much of that relationship drama ends up in the music. What saves this from being completely worthless is the beat, which takes Lily Kaplan’s vocal and stutters it below a Jersey club beat with a lot of filtering and gunshots that appeals to me just on a basic sonic and aesthetic level. I like how the beat sounds, but not much about the rest of this is giving me much to enjoy. Very much not excited for that album coming soon.

#13 - “Renaissance” - Eminem

Produced by Luis Resto and Eminem

As I said last week, I wrote in detail some of my first-listen thoughts on Eminem’s new album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace), on my RateYourMusic listening log (account name: exclusivelytopostown). I have revisited and come away with even more thoughts on this, but the songs that debuted didn’t really give me much to chew on. I expected “Brand New Dance” to show up, which would be great because that might be top 10 favourite Eminem songs for me… and it’s also recorded way back in 2004. It does a lot better of a job than the songs we see here in demonstrating the appeal of this record, probably best exemplified in “Guilty Conscience 2” - the first half and a bit is a massive joke, wherein an aging Slim Shady, who is no longer nearly as interesting or biting as he once was, is trying to take one last bout of energy and nuisance within the new, “mature” Eminem, who of course is indistinguishable so the two are conflated, realise they’re kind of the same person, just the parts that Em regrets are still part of him, and this leads to Em killing Slim and spending the rest of the record trying to prove himself… posthumously, maybe, the timeline’s a bit unclear, to both his family and the rap game. That sounds fascinating and also a mess, and it is quite frankly, so much more of both than I was prepared for, but it’s also a fun, surprisingly short listen for an hour-long comedy bit in rap form. Em’s always been known for his commitment to bits, and this is the most he’s committed to anything, but you can also hear some more classic Eminem beats on here, some great features, and the uncanny way he sports his earlier voice against his newer tone, with them overlapping and rubbing against each other the whole time. It’s an album with a lot to discuss, and I’d love to get into “Evil”, “Lucifer”, “Antichrist”, “Road Rage”, “Temporary”, even “Bad One” (and half of these songs I’m not even too crazy about - Hell, I don’t like “Road Rage” or “Bad One” at all), but no, as most fans will listen to the record in its intended order as both is normal and good, as well as what Em instructed on his Twitter, we get some of the more straightforward tracks as they’re the first two.

Our first track is the not-even-two-minutes-long introduction, “Renaissance”, which doesn’t signal a return to Slim Shady as much as it does a focused and clear-sounding Eminem, one that’s more on point than we’ve heard since 2013. Part of it seems like it was written and/or recorded earlier in his career, but with the smoother delivery and cinematic production, Em’s moaning about the rap game and his own fans comes off much less like whining and bitching than it does a more triumphant walk away from Slim Shady’s gravestones with bars as intricately placed as ever. I love when he rattles off of complaints people make about other rap albums instead of listening to them and evaluating them based on valid reasons, comparing it to people refusing to understand the art of Picasso and hence picking them apart based on their own ignorance rather than an understanding of the work. I hated J. Cole’s last record, I’m harsher to Kendrick than most and VULTURES 1 just made me sad, but my criticism comes much more from empathy and wanting to enjoy the music and hear where it’s coming from than it does a complete dismissal, which I hope shows in the fact I’m giving a passage most would write off as an old man waving his fist at clouds a fair shake and optimistic interpretation. I don’t need to tell you how slick the rhyme schemes are, it’s Eminem, and every bar is loaded with content, references and double-meanings, in such a constant flow that it reminds me of his Encore and The Eminem Show verses where he would just go on and on even if he lost track. Thankfully, this song cuts out before it can do so and seamlessly transitions into…

#11 - “Habits” - Eminem featuring White Gold

Produced by White Gold, Eminem and Narza

It’s fine. It’s not a single, for sure, considering it’s five minutes and starts with a skit before going straight into semi-offensive Slim Shady rants that basically explain the entire conceit of the album, including its dumber ideas like “PC court”. White Gold, a new staple to the typical Eminem feature list, sings the chorus and has a kind of confusing role but ultimately gets off the idea that both Eminem and the fans both miss and need the Slim Shady persona, with this song supposed to lead into that idea until it becomes painfully obvious through his repeated jokes and lame punchlines wearing you down - in a pretty funny way - that he’s full of shit. I love the bridge adding some needed depth to the song so it actually makes sense outside of the record, and the flows on the third verse are crazy, both the slower, pretty hilarious sing-songy way it starts and the most on-point “fast-rap” passage he’s ever had. He talks about pronouns, Caitlyn Jenner, misogyny, and little people, his main focuses on the album within this persona, and it almost grates on you before this track is finished even. I even don’t think the South Park sample is too on-the-nose, and if it weren’t so attached to the album’s concept or it had a better chorus, or Hell, even if it had the “Trouble” interlude properly latched on to add some more depth, it would probably get into good territory. For now, I’ll stick to my preferred tracks, which, apart from “Fuel” with JID, have all been mentioned across these two reviews and the top five. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a more accessible track from Em debut next week.

Conclusion

This wasn’t exactly a week full of surprises and it should be clear that Worst of the Week goes to Katy Perry for “WOMAN’S WORLD” and whilst I see less purpose in that Ice Spice track, on a pure sonic level I think “My Oh My” by Kylie Minogue, Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo is less appealling to me so it gets the Dishonourable Mention. Both are ultimately serviceable disappointments anyway, and Best of the Week should also be plainly obvious: Eminem grabs it with “Renaissance” whilst a surprisingly close Honourable Mention is granted to “Alibi” by Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar and Yseult. As for what’s on the horizon, Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall is the last to go solo, that should make moves. For now, though, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy, and I’ll see you next week!

[yoel-o-fellow]

idk if this has been asked before, but do you have any voice headcanons for the malignant remedy characters?

Oh man, oh man, lolol. I know exactly what these characters sound like in my head, but it's really hard to find exact voice representations. I will try to find a few though.

Also, thanks so much for the question, Sara! I love having an excuse to talk about MR~ ;u; 💚

Zephry

To me, Zephry sounds something like the standard "cynical male" voice (Stephen Russell) in Skyrim; really gravelly. Except, Zephry comes from a family of immigrants who speak the guttural Sverenne equivalent to Yiddish, so if you can imagine this voice, but a little more Jewish, that's what Zephry would probably sound like.

Morchesso

Morchesso's voice is low, soft, and kind of breathy. Even though he was born in Myr, he adopted the accent of the Druwolise which is something in between a British accent and a Mid-Atlantic accent. The only voice I could find that sort of comes close is Micheal Fassbender's in this very specific scene, but I dunno, personally I wish it was even deeper!!! ;n;

Evelyn

Finding a voice for Evelyn will drive me mad because their voice is so hyper-specific in my mind and literally nobody speaks like they do. To me, the Maizar sounds like what a snake would sound like if it could talk, except sharper, a little smoky, and a lot more sass. Maybe one day I will find a good match for them, but not today. D':

Wintrem

Wintrem's voice is husky and a little melodic. Wintrem lived in Woxardam her entire life, so her accent is Druwolise and very upper-class (equivalent to a posh brit). The closest voice I could find is that of Sophie Okonedo's, which is not a bad match, honestly. If only the music in this clip wasn't drowning her out.

Izammar

Izammar would sound something in between Neil Dickson's voice and Ramon Tikaram's voice; smooth, deep, a little airy, but severe. He speaks with a posh Druwolise accent which had been drilled into him for ambassadorial purposes. His true Ottoneshan accent would have a lilt similar to what we hear in Farsi (the Ottoneshans have a very sing-songy language that loosely borrows from both Middle-Eastern and East Asian languages). So hints of his old dialect spill into his speech from time to time.

[ohwhatthefuck]

after seeing neil gaimans library i feel the need to share one of my favourite libraries i’ve ever been in which is Cornell’s Andrew Dickson Library because just look at it

[hellogrinbearfilms]

CROSSROADS : Life in the Resilient City from Nils Clauss on Vimeo.

Please click the "CC" tab in the low right side corner of the video player for English or Korean subtitles.

Five cities. Five stories. This documentary looks at the urban experience from the perspective of people living at the interface of the changing world. In New York, Seoul, Mumbai, Paris and Nairobi creativity and imagination is necessary to survive and thrive as the cities they live in constantly evolve.

** Narrative based on CROSSROADS : Building the Resilient City Dominique Perrault, General Director of Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021

** a CONTENTED production in association with SEOUL BIENNALE OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM 2021

** LEADING PRODUCTION TEAM

executive producer GREEN KIM & JEONGWOOK CHA producer NILS CLAUSS director NILS CLAUSS & NEIL DOWLING writer NEIL DOWLING, NILS CLAUSS director of photography, editor, colorist, re-recording mixer NILS CLAUSS composer YEHEZKEL RAZ additional music THE WORLD OF HAPPINESS by DAE-SOO HAN, MARCH FOR JUSTICE by TENCHER graphic designer DADEUM GEUM subtitles ANNEX

** NEW YORK SEGMENT PRODUCTION

main cast CARLOYN KANG additional cast GIULIA BALDINI, IMAN CHAN, CASIANO HAMER, NIA IMANI, GLORIA JUNG, ALICE CHARLIE LIU, SELENA LIU, CHANTEL NICOLE, NATSNET MEHRETEAB, SEBASTIAN MONTALVO, DANIELLE OKPARAOCHA, CHELI SMITH, TOBIAS WONG, JENNIFER XIONG, ALEX ZHANG

segment producer CAROLINE PARK segment director EILEEN YOON segment DoP DANIEL CHANG sound recordist PATRICK ZIMMON production assistant AUSTIN EDER

** MUMBAI SEGMENT PRODUCTION

main cast ISHAN SINGH additional cast KANAK GARG, NISHA KHAIRE, LEENA LALJI MANGE, PRIYA MATHPAL, NAAZ A. SYED

segment director/ producer TAHIR AHMED QURESHI segment DoP ADITYA DESAI sound recordist PREM YADAV production assistant KAMLA PRASAD PAL

** SEOUL SEGMENT PRODUCTION

main cast JAEJIN PARK additional cast AARON CHOE, SOOHWI JO, SUYEE JUNG, SANGHEE KANG, SOLMIN KANG, SEUNGYEON KIM, JONGEON WON

segment producer BONNIE KIM segment director NILS CLAUSS segment DoP SEUNGJI LEE sound recordist MJ LEE, HYUNSOO JEONG

** PARIS SEGMENT PRODUCTION

main cast FREDERIC BURET additional cast LORNA BENNOU, ALAN BOUTELEIX, MORGAN DiFELICE, CERSTIN HENNING, ROMAIN NALYSZA, ANA NOVOA, LILY MALYOZA, ALAIN MAUREY, ALICE O’DONNELL, JULIETTE O’DONNELL, ANTHONY OHANESSIAN, CAROLINE PEREZ, LILLY-AMBRE PEREZ, MATHILDE ROCHE, TARIAN SCOTT, JEAN LUC SEREPHIM, JOANA SERAPHIM, VICTOR SOCK, CHLOE VERSIARI

segment producer/ director / DoP NEIL DOWLING sound recordist LOIC JOYEUX production assistant NATHALIE O’LENSKIE

** NAIROBI SEGMENT PRODUCTION

main cast SHIVISKE SHIVISI additional cast RAJAB BAHMARIZ, SAN MAINA, TONNY BRIAN MUTUMA, DAVIS MWANGALE, , MARY WAITHERA, MARGARET WANJIRU KAMINJA

segment producer/ director MUCHIRI NJENGA production manager MICHAEL J. MWANGI segment DoP SHURIA ABDI art director DICKSON KALOKI sound recordist JOHN KAMICHA production assistant CLINTON KAIDA

** HOSTED BY

Seoul Metropolitan Government

DONG GU KIM Director for Urban Space Planning KYUNG SUN PARK Team Leader, International Relationships of Architecture and Urbanism SUN JAE KIM Project Manager, International Relationships of Architecture and Urbanism

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021 General Director DOMINIQUE PERRAULT General Director RICHARD NGUYEN Biennale Coordinator CAMILLE ABEILLE, ENRICO SALVO Coordination Team

** with special thanks to

AREX AIRPORT RAILROAD, CHEEZE CAM (SEOUL), QUENTIN GALLIC, ALBRECHT GERLACH, SPORTS MONSTER, UDO LEE, CHARLOTTE PERNIER, HUGO PERNIER, PHOTO CINE RENT (PARIS), SIDDHI VINAYAK RENTAL EQUIPMENTS (MUMBAI)

with sincere thanks to

VINCENT AHN, SUYEE JUNG, ABRAHAM LIM, YOUNGSOOK KIM, ANTHONY SEABOYER, HARRISON WINTER

[denver-carrington]

Happy Birthday to Neil Dickson (Gavin Maurier), who turned 73 today.

[montysworld]

adidas originals | Rivalry from Matvey Fiks on Vimeo.

director's cut.

credits:

featuring: @dey.richards @eeazy__ @guin_gui @queencutsnroses @ayannaheaven @lovie.world

agency: johannes leonardo @johannesleonardo production company: artclass @artclasscontent director: matvey fiks @fiksey director of photography: matthew ballard @m.lballard executive producer/managing director: rebecca niles@rebeccaniles executive producer: kat garelli @katgarelli head of production: sparkle jones @sparkjones producer: sean gordon-loebl @seanglobal production supervisor: neil sauvage @neilsauvage commercial coordinator: ruby bell @rubybell commercial coordinator: laura belpedio production designer: luke carr @wolfdiamond art director: jessica ellis 1st ad: gabriel blom @gabrielblom stylist: cece liu @cc_looo casting: jennifer venditti @jv8inc casting assist: ivy pham second unit dp: doug durant @dougdurant locations: adam atenasio @adamatenasio sound: philip kim hmu: agnes lin

post: cut & run @cutandrunedit executive producer: ellese shell @ej.shell producer: sari resnick @sweetandsari editor beau dickson @beauadickinson assistant editor: chrissy doughty @chrissyforever

music: csisterna @csisterna.sound

sound designer: raphaël ajuelos @rphljls foley: nathan bonetto @bricks_theme mix: barking owl

color: aubrey woodiwiss @aubrey_woodwiss senior color producer: james gooding @gooding75

cg & finishing: jogger @jogger.studios vfx producer: evan sanyour lead flame artist: joseph grosso

[blackpoolhistory]

A view up North on Dickson Road showing the Odeon building in 1963. Today the building exists as Funny Girls.

Photographed by Neil Clifton. Copyright Alan Murray-Rust.

[moviesandmania]

THE QUANTUM DEVIL (2022) Review of sci-fi horror

THE QUANTUM DEVIL (2022) Review of sci-fi horror

‘Welcome to Hell’ The Quantum Devil is a 2022 American science fiction horror film about a team of scientists who are summoned to a remote location in eastern Europe in an effort to breach the quantum barrier and travel to another dimension… Directed by Larry Wade Carrell (The Darkside of Society; Girl Next; The End of April; 200 Degrees; Altered Perception; She Rises) from a screenplay…

[randombusinessoflawthoughts]

Issue 362 of the Weekly Digest

Issue 362 of the Weekly Digest went out to subscribers earlier today.

Some of the contributors to this week's Digest include:

👉 'AU Legal Industry Optimistic Despite Recession Threats' Legal Practice Intelligence

👉 'Are You Trending Towards Becoming OBSOLETE?' Patrick J. McKenna

👉 'How to respond to RFPs like your company depends on winning them' Carl Dickson

👉 'Panel gains' Joanna Goodman

👉 'No matter how much you analyse pricing, no matter what systems and software you use, someone has to talk to the customer….' Mike Wilkinson - The Value Selling Expert

👉 'Fee-share firm to give retiring partners 10% of clients’ fees for life' Neil Rose

👉 'Consistency essential to the success of law firm blogs' John Grimley

'The T-Shaped Lawyer: Ask Yourself These Crucial Career Questions' Peter Connor

...and others.

Take a look and enjoy a good read over the weekend!

Feel free to DM me if you want to subscribe or you can also send me an email to richard@rws01.com

[littlemissskuld]

Time for some Skuld ramblings;

I see all these posts of the books people have read, but it's what is considered "classics" growing up. Where I on the other hand grew up purely on Fantasy and Science fiction.

My Mum read to me for a loooooonnng time and she introduced me to some of the best- in my opinion- best authors.

Here is as many as I can remember; with examples

Diane Duane - Book of Night with Moon is my fave

Mercedes Lackey- By the Sword,The Oath

Anne McCaffrey- The Dragon Riders of Pern

Tamora Pierce - The Woman who rides like a man, The Bone Doll's Twin

Pierce Anthony- The Xanth series ( this was one of the earliest I can remember)

Gordon R Dickson - The Dragon and the George

Jim Butcher- The Dresden Files

Zenna Henderson - The People series

Tad Williams- Otherland

Marian Zimmer Bradley- The Dark Over series and the Chick's in Chainmail short stories

Naomi Novak- the Temeraire series

Robin McKinnley- Spindle's End

Neil Gaiman - Coraline, and The Sandman series

Elizabeth Haydon - The Rhapsody series

And that's barely scratching the surface.

Feel free to add your non conventional childhood authors.