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topweeklyupdate · 6 years ago

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TØP Weekly Update SPECIAL TRENCH EDITION (10/6/18)

Ya’ll have had time to listen to the album. Some of you have it memorized already. So let’s pick apart Twenty One Pilots’ latest project track-by-track, explore the new themes and sounds that the band is exploring in this era, and also catch up on all of the latest news to come out in just the last two days.

This Week’s TØPics:

A Complete Look at Trench

My Blood Music Video

Twenty One Pilots to Return to the American Music Awards

New Interviews About the Album

Picking Fights with Gaga? (Not Really, No)

And MORE!

Track Analysis:

Before we get started, we should acknowledge Trench’s wonderful liner notes, which besides boasting some stellar artistic design reveal a great deal of important information about this album. First, the overall cohesion of the album, like with all of the band’s albums save for Blurryface, can be attributed to the shared vision of the same production team on every track. The impact of Paul Meany on this entire album should not be understated: Paul co-produced every track save for “Levitate”, which he is instead given main credit for with Tyler listed as co-producer. He is also given writing credit on half of the album for his arrangements, again including “Levitate”. We musn’t forget the other heroes: the album was mixed by Adam Hawkins and mastered by Chris Gehringer. Also, the “thank you”s are both touching and occasionally very funny (“And to our haters, we know you liked stressed out.”)

I’ve already expressed my thoughts and reactions to the four previous singles in prior updates, so feel free to look back at them to fill in the gaps.

“Morph” starts us off real strong with an absolutely stellar groove (thanks, Paul). Lyrically, the track features Tyler ruminating on death, considering its inevitability, worrying over its proximity, and questioning what comes after. It’s the most he discusses faith on Trench; Tyler considers looking “above” for answers a “blind belief”, but he still chooses it anyway, with some reservations. Ultimately, Tyler resolves to “morph to someone” else, to stay on the defensive against the insecurities leveled at him by Nico and keep moving forward. The song also features a “Judge”-esque shout-out to our boy Josh Dun within the stellar ending run- fitting, considering just how good his drums sound on this track in particular.

“Chlorine” is a definite highlight off the album, as it constantly mixes up flow and structure while never losing it’s laid-back psychedelic groove and its consistently excellent metaphorical examination of Tyler’s strained relationship with fame. I’ll be singing that hook forever. And the bridge. And that ending break-down that definitely sounds like a No Phun Intended sample. This thing’s a bop, potentially the best track on the whole project- and that’s really saying something.

“Smithereens” is an odd duck that feels like it doesn’t quite fit in on Trench but is nonetheless a very sweet and enjoyable tune. I mean, it’s love song that snuck onto this album that’s literally about writing a love song and sneaking it onto an album; I have to commend Tyler for being ballsy, clever, and artistic with his grand romantic gesture. I also have to commend Mr. Meany for sneaking that beautiful woodwind section in.

Before I even heard the album, I knew “Neon Gravestones” was going to be the stand-out track for a lot of folks. Rock Sound had promised that this would be the song that saves people’s lives, and hopefully it will. Tyler’s spoken word musings regarding celebrity suicide were always going to be controversial, and publications like The Atlantic and Alt Press have already questioned exactly what he means to say with the song. As someone who just recently lost a loved one to suicide, even I’ve struggled with this song’s message somewhat. Does Tyler disrespect the memory of those that have passed by telling us not to glorify them in death? It skirts close to the line a bit, and he certainly could have gotten a bit more specific in how he suggests we should react. But he reigns it back from the edge, as Tyler so often does when discussing mental illness, by placing the focus on his own lived experience. “If I lose to myself” is the most gut-wrenching lyric Tyler’s written in ages, and it really sells that this idea is something that Tyler truly wrestles with in dark moments. We really do have to de-romanticize suicide if we want to have a chance against it, and I’m proud of Tyler for taking those steps in a public way that can also help others. And the production? Simply bone-chilling.

“The Hype”, aka “Wonderwall” meets “Bittersweet Symphony”, is another highlight. Simple lyrics, sure, but comforting ones. Particular praise goes to the ending, when the echo effects layer onto the vocals and the ukulele comes into mix. One of many great “night-time driving down the highway” songs on this half of the album.

“Cut My Lip” is pretty easily my least favorite song on the album, which is not meant a harsh criticism at all. The overall vibe is very enjoyable, and I especially love how Tyler says “contusions”, but the song is just twice as long as the lyrical content actually warrants. It really is largely saved by Josh’s intricate drumming and Paul’s intervention with the reverbing psychedelic synths: it sounds just as sick as the rest of the album in those respects.

The last two minutes of “Bandito” may just be the best part of the entire album; Paul (I assume it’s Paul) really outdid himself with that composition. The rest of the song is great, too, with “I’m still not sure if fear’s a rival or close relative to truth” in particular standing out as an all-time Tyler Joseph lyric. I can’t wait to hear this live... God, I hope this is played live...

“Pet Cheetah” is... weird. But with a name like that, we expected as much, and it only makes all the more sense when considering the subject matter: writer’s block. Tackling that subject head on really seems to have given an extra boost to Tyler’s creative energies: his rap verse is straight-up fire in terms of both wordplay and passion. All in all, a fun curiosity to come back to when we want to remember that time Tyler wrapped about naming a cheetah after acclaimed British action star Jason Statham.

“Legend” is one of those songs that really is beyond criticism by virtue of its subject matter: Tyler mourning the loss of his grandfather. I do wish the song was given a bit more polish around the edges, but it still boasts a gorgeous horn section, and the rough sound helps demonstrate that this was a deeply personal project that we’re privileged to be able to hear at all.

“Leave the City” is the perfect ending note for this project. As Zane Lowe said, it never fully reaches the crescendo it seems to be building to, and all the better for it. The inclusion of a call to “stay alive”, now directed inward toward Tyler himself, remains a powerful rallying cry of hope, even while it expresses a sense of resignation to knowing our personal battles may never end. There’s no clear answer, only the promise that we are not left alone to face what the future holds. And that’s enough.

Taken all together, Trench was not the album I was expecting, and not at all in a bad way. There was relatively little in the way of “Jumpsuit”’s harder edge, nor was it as obtuse and concept-dedicated as the initial marketing had indicated. But it was still incredibly daring and ambitious, tackling song-structures and concepts that few pop artists (if we can still call them that) would dare approach. While I would have loved an album much more strictly dedicated to telling the story of Dema, I don’t know if most people would have, and that kind of railroading would have prevented Tyler from getting as personal and deep as he does here. There are ideas and individual lyrics on this project that have left their mark on me like few pieces of music have since... well, Vessel. It might not match that album in my own heart, but it might also objectively be the best thing they’ve ever done.

Major News, Releases, and Announcements:

Shockingly, we’re not even close to done. As reported in the last update, the album’s release was accompanied by the release of an all new music video for “My Blood”. Unlike the prior three videos, this narrative takes place completely outside the world of Dema and Trench, featuring two rebel brothers dealing with all that suburban teen white boy angst (been there) and attending a real funky Halloween party in skeleton onesies, all leading up to a satisfying Fight Club revelation.

The video is also the first one since “Tear In My Heart” to not be directed by Mark Eshleman or Andrew Donoho. The Clique’s new friend Tim Mattia has been directing some major music videos since 2012, including Troye Sivan’s Blue Neighborhood project, Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen”, and major singles from The 1975, Zedd, Chris Stapleton, and many more. You can definitely tell the difference from the aesthetic (particularly Tyler and Josh being relegated to a glorified cameo). Still, it was a refreshing change of pace, and I look forward to seeing if it helps the song pick up any momentum at radio.

Upcoming Performances:

American Music Awards, Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, CA

Capacity: 7,100

On Thursday, we reported that Tyler and Josh would be signing copies of Trench in Hollywood this coming Monday. Turns out they weren’t just looking for some California sunshine- they’ll be performing at the American Music Awards. This marks their first professionally filmed performance this era and their first award show performance since... well, the last AMAs, where they put on a stellar show. Current reports state that the band will be playing “Jumpsuit”, but I would not be at all surprised if they mashed it up or tried to do something clever and attention-grabbing. Whatever they play, seeing the boys back playing live will certainly do wonders for promoting Trench- and it will definitely make me happy.

Other Shenanigans:

Oh, we’re still not done. Irish radio station Today FM aired an interview they held with Tyler back on the Complete Diversion media day. The interviewer is brilliant and asked a bunch of thoughtful questions that show that he’s done his homework and cares for the band and its fans. Highlights include:

Tyler says that he doesn’t want to talk too much about the “easter eggs” of the marketing campaign (probably referring to dmaorg.info) because he feels it might take away some of the punch.

Tyler shares some very wise words about being aware of the cyclical nature of mental health and self-improvement. He didn’t end the album with a definitive answer because he has recognized that, in our individual journeys, we regularly get sent back to Square 1 and then are left all the more discouraged because we feel the effort is futile. Tyler suggests that awareness that will happen in advance- and that we are all doing it together- will help us to get back to the place we fell from more quickly each time.

Tyler says that it’s incredibly “heavy” to hear fans say they saved their lives, and that he’s tempted to brush it off rather than deal with that weight. However, they recognize that their platform has given them a responsibility to serve their audience.

When confronted by the possibility that folks wouldn’t like the new imagery, the band had to fall back and just do what they thought was cool. They were so relieved by how well the Complete Diversion show went and how receptive everyone was to them.

The band will absolutely be moving forward with this Trench story- it’s not done yet, not by a long shot.

Australian music site Music Feeds also published a text interview with the band that’s another must-read:

Tyler discusses how Trench is largely meant to represent the “space between spaces”. He was particularly feeling strange about leaving Blurryface to approach this new album, so he channeled that struggle with finding yourself in a liminal space into the music.

He’s hinted at it in the past, but I believe this is the first time Tyler bluntly says that Blurryface is Nicolas Bourbaki.

Tyler jokes that they filmed in Ukraine because the workers don’t take lunch breaks and it saved them money.

Tyler says that all of the songs on the album “completely destroyed him”, but says that “Legend” was the hardest of all because of the subject matter and how he was still developing it as his grandfather passed.

Josh is looking forward to playing “Morph” live because of how different the drum pattern is from their previous work.

Tyler’s still listening to a lot of Death Cab for Cutie, while Josh is mostly just listening to podcasts like Lore.

“You can’t touch a hole.”

Also, in case you missed the title image, the band made a cute joke about A Star Is Born, whose soundtrack is increasingly looking like it will knock Trench away from a #1 debut. Some Lady Gaga stans are mad about it, I guess, but come on, that picture is hilarious.

Listen. We’ve been here for a long time. You’ve done a lot of reading of my inane ramblings. I was going to sum up some of the early reviews for the album, but I think I’m going to save that for the next time. Hopefully I’ll be able to include the opinions of a certain Melon... Catch you Friday.

Power to the local dreamer.

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theconservativebrief · 6 years ago

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Since Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film Jaws first ushered in the era of the summer blockbuster 41 years ago, sharks have been among summer cinema’s favorite perennial villains. They rank right up there with the alien from Alien and Sadako from The Ring in terms of habitually recurring evil forces with a single-minded purpose: to destroy everything in their path.

There’s something so elemental and irresistible about the shark movie that over the course of the past few decades, it has become one of Hollywood’s most well-trodden paths to terror. The genre now spans a wide range of films, from classics like Jaws and Deep Blue Sea (yes, Deep Blue Sea is a classic) to serious indie projects like The Reef to sillier D-movie affairs like the Sharknado, Mega Shark, and Shark Attack franchises. And if you’re among its many fans, you know that the only thing that can cure shark movie fever is more shark movies.

A friendly shark chomp from The Last Shark (1981).

Lucky for you, there’s always another shark movie on the way. The genre’s newest man-eating — or in this case, Jason Statham-eating — entry swims into movie theaters this weekend, with the opening of the tongue-in-cheek mega-shark movie The Meg — just days before the sixth and final installment in the Sharknado franchise arrives with Sharknado 6: It’s About Time.

The poster for Shark Exorcist (2015), in which a Satan-worshiping nun summons a demon to inhabit the body of a great white.

But why sharks? Ordinarily, the prospect of watching Statham try to survive an oceanic disaster scenario would be only a so-so draw for moviegoers. But if you throw in a battle to the death against a giant megalodon — the huge prehistoric shark which has, in recent years, outsized the great white shark in terms of appeal — then obviously, we’re hooked.

In real life, sharks are mainly non-aggressive creatures who barely resemble the evil killing machines they morph into onscreen. They’re anything but an unstoppable force — humans kill a staggering 100 million sharks each year, or 11,000 sharks every single hour, a jaw-dropping statistic that mainly results from the high demand for shark fin soup in some parts of the world. You’re statistically more likely to die from a lightning strike or a toppling vending machine than from a shark attack.

So why are we so fascinated by shark movies, even though they barely represent reality and their plots tend to be incredibly repetitive?

Oh, there are so many reasons.

This scene from Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002) has become an internet-meme mainstay.

You may believe sharks are limited to the sea, but you are wrong.

Thanks to the magic of cinema and the relative ease with which a shark fin can be CGI’d to pop out of something and move ominously toward the viewer, we don’t just have sea sharks. We also have sand sharks. Avalanche sharks. Sharks in a sharknado! Sharks in a sharkcano. (That one really happened.) Sharks in a blizzardnado! Sharks on land! Sharks in shark lake. Sharks in swamps. Sharks in the bayou. Sharks in apartments! Sharks at Sea World! Sharks on the Jersey Shore. Sharks at the Golden Gate Bridge! Sharks at the supermarket! Sharks in Japan. Sharks in bathtubs and puddles. Even sharks in the sky.

Just your routine apartment shark, as seen in My Super-Ex Girlfriend (2006).

Megalodon takes out the Golden Gate Bridge in Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009). A shark takes to the skies in Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus.

Much like the 2006 Samuel L. Jackson film Snakes on a Plane relied on the surprise factor of slithering reptiles wreaking havoc at 30,000 feet, a crucial component of shark movies is sharks’ seemingly inherent knack for appearing where and when you least expect them: Just where are the sharks going to be lurking today?

Spoiler alert: They are everywhere.

If you don’t think your average shark is a super genius hell-bent on avenging the atrocities perpetuated against its species by the human race, you’ve never watched Jaws 3-D (mama shark seeks revenge against SeaWorld for killing her baby), Jaws 4: The Revenge (shark seeks revenge against Lorraine Gary’s character Ellen Brody, ostensibly for killing its shark family but more broadly for the sad and rapid demise of the entire Jaws franchise), Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus (shark seeks revenge on Jaleel White for Jaleel White’s entire acting career), or Deep Blue Sea (shark seeks revenge against scientists for experimenting on it).

To wit: Please enjoy the following GIF from Deep Blue Sea, in which a shark holds a stretcher-bound Stellan Skarsgård captive underwater so that it can throw him against an underwater window in order to spite his grieving girlfriend:

Deep Blue Sea (1999). Yep. That happened.

I mean, come on, who among us hasn’t wanted to throw Stellan Skarsgård against a window? Bring on the shark uprising!

The shark can do what no other villainous horror movie creature really can: In addition to engaging in epic bite-offs against other creatures, it can combine with those other creatures to create animalia supervillains. Sure, Hollywood will invent a demonic vampire here and there, but you can’t really give a demonic vampire tentacles. That’s simply not the case with a shark. In the world of shark movies, if you create an undead demon sharktopus, that’s just the first act.

Would you like your shark with one head or two? How about three? Would you like an actual prehistoric mega shark? How about a giant robot shark?

Spidey-shark concept illustration by Calene Luczo

Few, if any, animals have enjoyed such creative big-screen depictions as the noble shark. There are demonic sharks! Sharks with tentacles! Zombie sharks! This shark-horse! Ghost sharks! A shark that walks on land! And coming later in 2017, there will be flying sharks controlled by Nazi zombies!

In other words, if part of the fun of any shark movie is rooted in the nervous anticipation of where and when a dangerous shark might appear, a significant number of shark movies up the ante by combining their shark threats with other things. Not only does this approach allow the sharks to travel farther and kill harder, it ensures an endless supply of shark movies, because Hollywood will never run out of shark-based combination hazards. Killer koala shark from Down Under? Done.

Shark movies can be as minimalist or as full-scale as you want or need them to be.

As Blake Lively illustrated in 2016’s The Shallows, shark movies can be a one-woman-versus-one-shark show where the shark is a threatening but largely implied presence. They can involve just two people facing off against a small but deadly herd of sharks (47 Meters Down, Open Water), a tiny ensemble of stranded swimmers trying to avoid getting picked off one by one (The Reef), or a full-scale cast with big-budget shark action like Shark Night 3-D or Dark Tide.

The giant shark from last year’s The Shallows wasn’t even huge by shark movie comparisons. Javier Zarracina

And one of the best things about shark films, regardless of their scope, is that shark size has no correlation to shark excellence — as anyone who actually saw Shark Night 3-D or Dark Tide can attest. The bigger shark doesn’t always have the better bite. In fact, films like Open Water and The Reef can succeed without showing any sharks at all. Believing they’re there is all that matters.

On the other end of the spectrum, the first appearance of a shark — it’s always bigger than you were expecting, no matter the film — never gets old:

Jaws (1975).

This is a pretty obvious reason, but it remains the most compelling of all. Stories pitting man against the terrors of the deep have always been a mainstay of human folklore, from the biblical fable of Jonah and the whale to nautical tales of the great kraken, from Moby Dick to The Old Man and the Sea to Lovecraft’s tentacle monster Cthulhu to Disney’s Pinocchio.

Super Shark (2011).

Each of these narratives involves great sea creatures that provide opportunities for heroes to face their fears, come to terms with their humanity, and, you know, be manly men who fish and hunt and conquer the wilderness.

But as formidable opponents, many of these sea creatures lack a significant, shall we say, bite. Giant squid generally stay too far below the surface to really pose a viable threat to humans. Even a big swordfish is no match for a skilled modern fisherman — and the swordfish wouldn’t want to eat you anyway. As for whales, the bigger they are, the more peaceful and harmless they seem to be. Even the ones with teeth are passive and don’t really want to hurt you (unless they’ve been subjected to lifelong animal cruelty).

Sharks, by contrast, are big. They have teeth — sometimes really big, really sharp teeth! They come into the shallow parts of the ocean where humans like to swim and play. Because they are drawn to loud noises and activity in the water, it’s possible, if not probable, that they could be lurking in the water where your loved ones are splashing around. They’re durable and intimidating, and even though in real life sharks are almost never aggressive toward humans, the biggest ones have the power and the potential to chomp you in two.

The Last Shark.

In sum: Like all man-versus-nature tropes, man-versus-shark movies — and man-versus-sharks-versus-other-creatures movies — can reveal important truths about human nature and serve as fascinating, in-depth character studies. Unlike most other man-versus-nature tropes, they do it with a side of terrifying, razor-sharp teeth.

Sharks combine mankind’s desire to conquer nature with its fear of and fascination with the mysteries of the ocean. Even in this modern age, when we’ve been able to plumb the depths of the seas, we still know surprisingly little about sharks. Jaws’ famous description of a shark’s “cold, dead eyes, like a doll’s eyes” in the film’s USS Indianapolis monologue (which was based on the real sinking of a US World War II Navy ship and subsequent shark attacks on its sailors) is still a testament to how unknowable they are.

In essence, in fiction if not in real life, sharks are the perfect scary force of nature: an ever-present threat waiting to happen, in a deep blue setting that humans are still learning to navigate.

But when all is said and done? As with all great horror movie villains, ultimately we’re always rooting for the shark.

Original Source -> Why we love shark movies

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

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sandratabra-blog · 7 years ago

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Este 1 mai. In mod neoficial, a inceput vara. Vremea s-a incalzit, lumea a incepe sa se gandeasca la weekend-uri prelungite sau la concedii, pe tarabele din piete incep sa apara fructele verii, retetele pentru deserturi usoare si proaspete sunt scoase din sertare, copiii deja isi fac planuri pentru vacanta de vara. Intre timp, altii, putini la numar, incearca sa se trateze. De ce? De o raceala banala care, in loc sa fie legata de o perioada cu vant rece, temperaturi scazute si eventual ploi, a decis sa vina dupa prima saptamana cu temperaturi mai de vara. Imi e greu sa ma concentrez, nu prea am chef de nimic, ce am de facut este facut cu greutate si greseli… Vreau sa scap de raceala si sa imi reintru in ritmul zilnic obisnuit. Ma bucur totusi ca anul acesta au fost mai putine flori si astfel nu mi s-a activat prea rau alergia la polen.

Avem parte de un weekend prelungit, insa nu am plecat nicaieri. Am ales sa stau acasa si sa ma refac. Intr-una dintre seri, mi-am amintit de un film de care stiam de multa vreme si auzisem ca e amuzant, insa nu il vizionasem inca.

Sunt un mare fan al cinematografiei britanice, pentru ca mi se pare ca filmele englezesti au o atmosfera diferita fata de alte filme. Atmosfera este regasita si in acest film, inca de la inceputul sau.

Povestea este simpla: un fost fotbalist este condamnat si ajunge in inchisoare, alaturi de multi alti criminali. Bineinteles, unul dintre sefii inchisorii are nevoie de un profesionist pentru a antrena echipa de garzi a inchisorii , iar fostul fotbalist este perfect. Insa, de la un punct incolo, perspectiva se schimba, iar cei condamnati ajung sa formeze o echipa de fotbal care sa joace impotriva echipei garzilor.

Filmul este un remake a filmului “Cea mai lunga pasa” (“The longest yard”) din 1974, cu Burt Reynolds in rolul principal. De aceasta data, rolul principal este interpretat de Vinnie Jones, fost jucator de fotbal pentru cateva mari echipe de fotbal din Marea Britanie. Exista cateva asemanari intre el si rolul pe care il interpreteaza in acest film, el fiind condamnat si in realitate pentru violenta, de cateva ori. Tot violenta a fost trasatura care l-a definit si pe teren, jucand intr-un mod agresiv si chiar atacand unul dintre jucatori in 1987, moment ce a cauzat un mare scandal in presa de la acea vreme. Vinnie Jones a avut probleme cu legea si datorita consumului de alcool. In 1998, el si-a facut debutul in actorie in cadrul filmului “Jocuri, poturi si focuri de arma” (“Lock, stock and two smoking barrels”) regizat de Guy Ritchie. De altfel o buna parte din actorii care au jucat in filmul din 1998 au jucat si in acest film, rolul lui Guy Ritchie ramanand cel de producator.

Mi-a placut mult faptul ca prima parte, in care fostul fotbalist “da cu capul” de realitate, este foarte bine facuta, astfel incat personajul este pus in postura de a primi lectii mai din toate partile, fortand in acelasi timp ca partea umana din el sa iasa la suprafata. Personajul principal, Danny Meehan, nu era un om rau in esenta, insa se pierduse cumva pe sine in rusinea cu care a plecat din fotbal si bautura consumata in exces.

Partea a doua a filmului, in care are loc meciul dintre echipa condamnatilor si echipa garzilor, este cea mai amuzanta parte. Meciul este comentat de doi tipi condamnati care au aceleasi prenume si nu sunt intotdeauna pe aceeasi lungime de unda. Pe teren se fac multe gesturi neregulamentare, dar foarte amuzante. Portarul, un condamnat de temut, are momente in care parca intra intr-o transa si isi imagineaza cum ii anihileaza pe toti din calea sa. Detinutii care nu joaca in echipa si nici nu au voie sa intre pe teren sa asiste, se bazeaza pe comentariul celor doi “Bob” si compun imnuri pentru momentele in care sunt inscrise goluri contra garzilor. Bineinteles, Danny este pus din nou in aceeasi postura de a aranja meciul sau nu, de aceasta data fiind santajat direct de seful inchisorii. Momentul este punctul de cotitura pentru Danny, iar alegerea facuta de el reprezinta momentul in care se maturizeaza si ajunge sa fie si mai respectat de condamnati.

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It’s the 1st of May. Unofficially, summer has begun. The weather has warmed up, people are starting to think about long weekends and holidays, summer fruit starts to appear in the markets, recipes for light and fresh desserts are being taken out of the drawers, children are already making plans for the summer holiday. Meanwhile, others, very few, are trying to get treatment. Against what? Against an ordinary cold which, instead of being caused by a cool and windy time, with a splash of rain, decided to come after the first week with warm, summer-like temperatures. I’m having a hard time concentrating, I’m not in the mood for anything, what needs to be done is done with difficulties and mistakes… I want to get rid of this cold so I can go back to my normal daily rhythm. Even so, I have to admit that I am glad that there were fewer flowers this spring and my hay fever wasn’t so bad.

We have a prolonged weekend, but I didn’t go out of town. I chose to stay home and get well. One night, I remembered a film I knew about for a long time and heard it was funny, but never got to watch.

I am a big fan of British cinema because I think that British films have a sort of atmosphere that is different from all the other films. It is an atmosphere we can find in this film as well, from the very beginning.

The plot is simple: a former footballer is convicted and ends up in prison, alongside other criminals. Of course, one of the chiefs of the prison needs a professional footballer to coach the guards’ team. From one point on, the perspective changes and the prisoners end up forming a football team to play against the guards.

This film is a remake of “The Longest Yard” (1974) in which Burt Reynolds played the lead role. This time, the lead role is played by Vinnie Jones, former midfielder for several large football clubs from Britain. There are several similarities between him and the character he portrays, since was also convicted a few time for violence. Violence was a defining mark for him on the football pitch as well, playing football in an aggressive manner and even assaulting another football player in 1987. This caused a big scandal in the British media at the time. Vinnie Jones also had problems with the law due to his alcohol consumption. In 1998, he made his acting debut in “Lock, stock and two smoking barrels”, directed by Guy Ritchie. In fact, many actors from the 1998 film appeared in this film as well, where Guy Ritchie was only a producer.

I loved that the first part, during which the footballer has a taste of reality, is very well made, so that the character is given many lessons, forcing the human side of him to rise to the surface. The main character, Danny Meehan, was not a bad man deep down, but he kind of lost himself somewhere along the way between the shame he had when he walked out of playing football and all the alcohol he drank.

The second part of the film, the match between the inmates’ team and the guards’ team, is the funniest part. There are two sports commentators, both named “Bob”, both of them prisoners who don’t always see eye to eye. On the field, everybody acts as if there are no rules, creating the perfect context for funny scenes. The goalkeeper, a fearful convict, has moments in which he enters in a trance and imagines how he annihilates everyone in his path. The convicts who are not part of the football team and cannot come on the field to watch the game, rely on the comments made by the two Bobs and make up hymns for each goal the inmates score against the guards. Of course, Danny is faced with the same choice: to rig the game or not. This time, he is blackmailed by the prison chief himself, making everything more difficult. This is a turning point for Danny and the choice he makes represents the moment he grows up and ends up being even more respected by the other prisoners.

Regia / Directed by: Barry Skolnick

Scenariul / Written by: Tracy Keenan Wynn (“The longest yard”), Charlie Fletcher, Chris Baker, Andrew Day

Distributia / Cast: Vinnie Jones, David Kelly, David Hemmings, Ralph Brown, Vas Blackwood, Robbie Gee, Geoff Bell, John Forgeham, Jason Statham, Sally Phillips, Danny Dyer, Jason Flemyng, Jake Abraham, Stephen Walters

Mean Machine / Un meci pe cinste (2001) Este 1 mai. In mod neoficial, a inceput vara. Vremea s-a incalzit, lumea a incepe sa se gandeasca la weekend-uri prelungite sau la concedii, pe tarabele din piete incep sa apara fructele verii, retetele pentru deserturi usoare si proaspete sunt scoase din sertare, copiii deja isi fac planuri pentru vacanta de vara.

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