johnke.meYou know, it might be a bit hokey, but I’m so glad that the JCB song from Nizlopi is number one in the UK charts the weekend before Christmas. It really shows the power of viral marketing - so many people have sent me the link to the video over the past few months - and now it’s finally made it to the top of the charts. I don’t know if it was the well-deserved success, the amazingly touching song or the fact that I’m a complete pussy, or some combination of these, but I genuinely got teary when I saw them on Top of the Pops.
And it’s keeping the Crazy Frog off the top, so that’s another reason to celebrate.
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I have to say, I wasn’t too impressed with The Virgin Suicides, but I really enjoyed Lost in Translation. So I’m willing to give Sophia Coppolla the benefit of the doubt when it comes to her new movie, Marie Antoinette, a biopic about the life of… well, Marie Antoinette. Right now, it looks like Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon set to some 80s New Wave music.
And even if the trailer didn’t attract me (and it does), the cast is eclectic enough to pique my interest, with Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, Steve Coogan, Marianne Faithful and Kirsten Dunst all running around in period costumes. I’m looking forward to it.
Ricky Gervais has started a series of podcasts for Guardian Online. And they’re off to a tremendous start. The story of how they taught a monkey to fly a spacecraft had me crying with laughter. Some very, very funny looks from around the office. Those few minutes were laugh-out-loud funnier than the entire series of Extras.
(While we’re on the subject - the uh.. extras.. on the Extras DVD were also funnier than the show)
I was in San Francisco less than 24 hours before a gun was pulled on me. I think that must be like some kind of record.
Yesterday, I took some time out from my aimless wandering to worship at the church of Apple. This place is scary-cool. It’s easy to see why people are so devoted to the Apple brand when you see this much care and love in one place.
They managed to include Dead Man’s Shoes, so I’m happy
I didn’t want to like this movie. Fifteen minutes in and I had made up my mind that this was just Spellbound meets The School Around the Corner by way of Come Dancing and I was too old and too cynical to be taken in by such a cheap ploy.
But then, around the thirty minute mark, something remarkable happened. These kids stopped being precocious little brats and started becoming likeable creatures. Watching Cyrus’ reaction to the results of the initial competition sealed the deal for me. Believe me when I say that we need to watch this kid closely because he is wise beyond his 10 years and almost certainly an evil genius in the making (the director says that when she first met him and discussed her movie with him, he asked if she had secured a production deal yet).
Against my will, I had become emotionally invested in these kids. Their different personalities began to shine through and, by the time of the dancing final, I felt like I was joinging their teachers on the emotional rollercoaster they were riding. And the swell of pride I began to feel watching the kids put in some amazing performances was almost embarassing. It’s only a movie, it’s only a movie.
Funny without lacking sincerity, sentimental without being po-faced. In spite of myself, I ended up liking this movie.
Dammit.
I am completely in love with this video. It suits the song so well.
Found a copy of Ghostwatch lurking in Tower records the other day. 13 years since its first (and only) broadcast, it still manages to scare the pants off me.
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