Caught this over the long Eid Mubarak holiday:-

Do you like Hitchcock?

Argento's 2005 made for TV movie. As such, don't expect him to hold back. One murder is very gory. The voyeurism is at least 18 certificate. Generally not as taut as the movie he references, mainly Dial M For Murder, Strangers on a Train and Rear Window. The little bits and pieces are too blatant to make it into suspenseful Hitchcockian territory. As a giallo, though, it's not too bad. Generally a big WTF? moment when the two killers are revealed but I won't spoil that for you. Even has a morality thing at the end - voyeurism is bad, ya hear. Has some Argento-style delirium but few and far in between.

Basic Instinct 2

Shed of the first one's noirish pretensions, this is actually a pretty ok psychosexual thriller. Basically Catherine Tramell's adventures in London, this one follows her as she torments a good-looking psychiatrist. The ending doesn't particularly gel, as she's known to be a liar. And Stone's days as a sultry sex vixen is long gone. My favourite character is David Thewlis' crooked cop, unfortunate he gets so little screen time.

Repulsion

I don't like this much. Much of the surreal hallucinations are too misantrophic and misogynistic to watch. Lotsa rape surrealism. Not much in the way of sympathetic characters, with the only one being killed early. The "arms-coming-out-of-walls" scene is pretty frequently cited in other movies, and yeah, it is chilling. Catherine Deneuve looks arresting though, spending most of the movie in a see-through nightie.

Siouxsie & the Banshees - Through the Looking Glass

Got this mainly I loved their cover of "This Wheel's On Fire". A pretty pleasant collection of covers, though there are some misses. Here's a track by track rundown:-

This town ain't big enough for both of us - Pretty predictable Sparks cover as this is the catchiest song on "Kimono My House". The reproduction is pretty faithful, with just the chiming guitars substituting the synth lines. Can't comment much as it sounds too similar to the original.

Hall of Mirrors - Interesting choice of cover. This Kraftwerk song is my favourite on "Trans-Europe Express". However, it doesn't really work that well, Siouxsie sings the verses whereas the original were spoken. However, the bass replicating the synth-bass line is haunting.

Trust In Me - One of my favourite songs from "Jungle Book". Preserves the sinister undertones of the original song, if you can remember, this is the song the Cobra King sings to Mowgli, while hypnotising him to be eaten, maybe. I'm glad they didn't cover "Bare Necessities".

This Wheel's On Fire - There hasn't been any bad cover of this Dylan song. And this is one of my favourites. A synth-goth reworking of that song, with really strong vocals and some chugging guitar lines.

Strange Fruit - Of course, you can say Siouxsie cannot reproduce the vocal inflections and phrasing of Billie Holiday but this is a strangely eerie and effective cover of that anti-racism theme. Mellotron-ish sings back the verses while the middle is a funereal jazz dirge. Good!

You're Lost, Little Girl - Pretty throwaway Doors cover. As it doesn't have the carnival atmosphere of Manzarek's organs, something is lost in translation. They should have picked a poppier song such as "Love Me Two Times" or "Hello I Love You".

The Passenger - Now this is a bad cover. Done in an uptempo and happy mood, this one doesn't convey the original's feel, as Iggy Pop sang it in a sarcastic sneer, probably not mentioning the old lady being mugged or a junkie shooting dope as he's enjoying the view. Bad bad bad.

Gun - This a bona-fide goth-garage classic. I haven't heard the John Cale original but this is a raucous rockin' slab, my brahskis. Siouxsie probably does it better than Cale's monotone.

Sea Breezes - Also a bad choice for a cover. The Roxy Music original doesn't have much melody and the middle section (the most interesting part) is way too short. Should have gone for either "2HB" or "Ladytron" or even "virginia Plain".

Little Johnny Jewel - Also haven't heard the original Television. Doesn't really catch my ear. Nothing much remarkable. Should have gone for either "Elevation" or "Torn Curtain", which are more compelling songs.

Bought this over the weekend:-

Flags of our Fathers

Mostly an examination of that impact of that famous photo of soldiers raising the flag in Iwo Jima, what happened subsequently and the nature of heroism. In the wake of that capture of that pivotal strategic point (which was rendered rather redundant by the A-bomb a few months later anyway), studies three of the surviving flag-raisers - Ira Hayes, the troubled Native American, Rene Gagnon, the opportunist and "Doc" Bradley, a medic who felt impotent during the raid which took so many lives. Most of it is just a contrast between the old "war is hell" adage and the gaudy commercialism taking place at home in trying to raise funds for the war. Good and atmospheric in parts, although not to the point of "The Thin Red Line". And I'd wish the battles are as frenetic as the intro and climax of "Saving Private Ryan"

Letters from Iwo Jima

The same battle as the above, but told from Japanese eyes. Centres on Private Saigo, a reluctant soldier who would rather be at home baking confectionery. The commander of the defence is one General Kuriyabashi, who was stationed in America so there's a lot of adoption of American warfare, such as the refusal to order the soldiers to suicide after losing a waypoint. Is a rather fine examination of Japanese honour and the code of warfare. As again, beautifully atmospheric. The sad fate of the ex-Kempeitai (secret police) is tragic. Paints a balanced view of Jap officers and soldiers. Not all bad, not all good. I loved both this and the one above.

Valkyrie

Rather a let-down after the two great war movies above. Concerns the plot to assasinate Hitler. Scant details on why is there a motive for doing so by all involved in said plot. The pace is rather hurried, as the plan is only shown in fast-moving frames in a ten-second montage. As everybody should know the outcome of the attempt, there's also not much tension. The remainder of the movie focusses on securing Berlin, which admitedly, is not that interesting. Tom Cruise has a nice 'do, though. Not really recommended.

Rage Against the Machine - Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium

Didn't get it the last time cos the setlist is similar to "The Battle of New Mexico". The vocals are mixed way too low for my liking. And the drums are not mic'ed properly, producing rather feeble thuds. Otherwise, there's not much difference from the studio versions, as all the riffs and solos are meticulously reproduced. There's a cameo by Cypress Hill on "How I Could Just Kill A Man". "No Shelter", a song not found on any album, is the gem here. Otherwise, the "Kick Out the Jams" cover is fairly mediocre. Also contains the "National Democratic Convention" show, which is a sonic sludge. And has the video for that Cypress Hill cover(boring) and alternate video for "Bombtrack" (educational).

Pink Panther 2

And this is total crap. I'd thought the first remake had at least some laugh out loud moments. This one is so forced at its humour that at the most, it can elicit one giggle? Or not. The jokes (all slapstick) are really bottom-barrel and displays not much invention, and I suppose amateur clowns in the circus can come up with better routines than this. Dear God, I hope they're not remaking a third one. Can we resurrect Sellers now?

Radiohead : In Rainbows From the Basement

Basically the ITunes podcast on DVD. It's a line of Nigel Goodrich's series of live performances without an audience. This one's shot at the Hospital Studio in Covent Garden. As I've said before, I didn't like the "In Rainbows" album that much. But it is quite a soothing album, and live, with minimal instruments, it is even more soothing. I do hear some overdubs on "Nude". Otherwise, pretty good performance.

Suicide : Live at La Loco, Paris 2005

Is this a reunion or something? I only have their first two albums. Did they record more? The show is pretty minimalist, just a keyboard, a looping machine and a mic. The first album's songs are different here, using different loops. And I've noticed Alan Vega is a terrible singer. Martin Rev just pumps each song with discordant, jarring honks from the keyboard. And the last song is even Techno. Enjoyable, but only just.

The last in a long run of my first pen-drive contained torrents:-

Nas - Illmatic

Not much of a hip-hop fan. But my rock collection is starting to sound trite so on the recommendation of the DOK (a poster on the message board I go to), I got this. This is a nice and mellow collection of rhymes, punctuated by articulate and almost poetic nuances. Might be a bit jazzy, albeit not to the extent of A Tribe Called Quest's first 2 LPs. Pretty ok but floats by rather airily.

Geto Boys - We Can't be Stopped

This is pretty much a spiteful album, with the Boys spitting their vitriolic phelgm at just about everything. The rhymes, though, are rather simplistic and brings to mind the less wordy Public Enemy rants and are chock-full of the f word. I thought the shouted reworked bits of Sly's "Don't call me Nigger, Whitey" a bit distasteful, with no respect to the source material, which is far more worthy that the Boys can muster. Good representation of the Texan sound, although I'll be damned to venture further.

The Ramones - Halfway to Sanity

Just for completion's sake. Again, a poppy retread of the first album, as usual, without the saccharine songs of Joey's usually love-lorn meanderings. Some are reworkings of earlier covers - "Go Li'l Camaro Go" is just "Surfin' Bird" redux. "Bye Bye Baby" is another of Joey's 3 chord wonders.

The Ramones - Mondo Bizarro

And this completes my set. My copy doesn't have "Spiderman". Strange cover here also - The Doors' Take it As It Comes. And also, with the departure of Dee Dee, there are more Joey songs, and as a result, the entire album is poppier and more melodic than your average Ramones. Similar in feel to "Subterranean Jungle" but I prefer the pseudo-metal production of "Brain Drain", their next album.

And one CD:-

Paul Young - No Parlez (double CD 25th Anniversary version)

Relistening to this just makes me wonder why the younger me had such appalling taste in music. One of my childhood favourites, this relisten just points out the shitoid production values, chockful of 80s cliches and the tinny sounds of the instruments. The covers are gruesome, murdering the greatness of the originals. And no, Paul, you can't top Joy Division, Marvin Gaye, Nicky Thomas or Don Covay.

In fact, now he sounds to me like a cross between Kermit the Frog and Minnie Mouse. On the bright side, Paul's own songs, written with his ex-Q-Tip member, Ian Kewley, aren't that bad and "Sex" is a real gem here, with its Devo-ish vocals and fluffy synths. The second disc is mostly a throwaway - 3 12" mixes, a coupla covers that sound painful and a coupla live tracks that just wander listlessly. Only gem here is the acoustic version of Tears for Fears' "Pale Shelter".