This has no real plot; essentially it's just a loose chronicle of what I get up to on regular Fridays and Saturdays (I usually reserve Sundays for taking it easy, you see), but with my real-life friends replaced with some of you guys.
DISCLAIMER: Any negative depictions are in no way meant to be representative of the truth.
Friday, 11am. I’m about to go through the front entrance to my local town library to return some items when I see ESTEFAN coming out with some newly-borrowed books in his hands. I wave at him, and he notices me. “Oh hey, Jarred, what’s been happening?” he says to me. “Ah, just finishing off assessment, working, you know, the usual. What books did you get?” “Well, just these ones…” he holds them up to me. They’re The Complete History of the Walt Disney Company and the 2009 edition of Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide. “Fine picks, man, fine picks! You can always trust Maltin,” I say. “Oh absolutely. Well, Jarred, I’d love to chat, but unfortunately I’ve got a heap of study to do for next week, so I’ve gotta keep going. Sorry, Jarred.” “Hey don’t let me keep you!” I concede. We bid each other goodbye, and I venture into the library.
Once I’ve returned the two books and four CDs, I look at my watch, and realizing, I have time to kill, I decide to have a look through the collections for the millionth time. While I go around the aisles in the classical fiction section, I overhear two clearly well-read people having a discussion in the aisle in front of me about Austen and Dickens. Out of curiosity I peer through a gap between three books and they are AIDEN and MATT_THE_SCOT. I waltz around the corner to surprise them. “Hello, hello!” I say cheerfully. Aiden and Matt turn around. “Jarred! How are you!” Aiden exclaims. I tell her I’m fine, then ask her how she is. “What’s up?” Matt says to me, he and I shaking hands. An awkward silence ensues for about ten seconds, until I come up with an icebreaker: “What are you two doing here, besides, you know, finding stuff to read and listen to?” Aiden explains to me that she and Matt both arrived separately but they wound looking for stuff together after they learned they each have an appreciation for the classics (Aiden slightly more so). Matt asks me which author I prefer out of Austen and Dickens, but I say I don’t know because I’m not that cultured. After about ten minutes of talk, Matt politely leaves to avoid being late for work, and Aiden asks me if I’d like to have lunch with her at an up-market café which I’ve never been to. I oblige.
Not being as cultured as she at this café is not so confronting, however she does help me when I embarrass myself by struggling to pronounce the name of an exotic meal I like the sound of in front of the waiter as we order. Over lunch Aiden does most of the talking, and although many of the subjects she brings up are admittedly not overly interesting to me, her enthusiasm is engaging. In amongst this she tells me about a production of The Tempest happening tonight at the theatre in which she’s playing Miranda. I have no other plans so, as a show of solidarity, I tell her I’ll attend. After about an hour of conversation she has to leave for a dress rehearsal, and we each pay half the bill.
It’s now 12:30, and I walk along my local mall looking for things to do on my day off. I come across a busker, TYLER, playing a John Mayer cover on his guitar. I get out my wallet, take out a five-dollar note, toss it in his guitar case, put my wallet back in my pocket, kneel down in front of him, touch him on the shoulder and I say without any sarcasm, “Never stop chasing that dream, mate.”
As I go on walking through the mall, the first store that takes my interest is Jay Jays, a clothing store. I go in, and as I’m sorting through the men’s shirts on the $10 bargain table I see a familiar, like-minded guy doing the same. “KRENN?” “Jarred, how’s it goin’ dude?” he says, noticing me. “Well, I’ve got the day off work today so I’m just down here tryin’ to kill time, maybe buy some sh!t. You?” Krenn says he’s doing just that, too. In the women’s section on the other side of the store, Krenn and I both spot CARLEN and MARISA all on a shopping spree together. Both having picked out two outfits we like, we ask the girls to tell us if the clothes suit us, after we put them on in the changing rooms. Krenn’s first gets their approval, and my second one does. Mine is a black mesh shirt and dark green three-quarter pants. I decide to buy it, then the five of us go our separate ways.
Next I go to Sanity, a music and DVD store. As I look through the rock CD collection I turn around to find CHRIS and SONIA comparing and contrasting each other’s taste. Sonia notices me and calls out to me. I go up to them, say “Hello, how are things?” et cetera and they each ask me which of them has superior taste. I say, “Aw, geez, do I really have to choose? (pause) Sonia, you’ve got better taste in movies, but Chris, your taste in music trumps hers. I’m on the fence, guys.” For five minutes or so we have a similar discussion to the ones I just had with Krenn, Aiden and Matt, until once again we all have to keep going. Before I leave the store I go over to the manager, a very cool and knowledgeable guy named IBRAHIM, and ask if he has any copies of Help!. After doing a mainframe search he concludes he doesn’t so I put an order in for one, and as I leave I say, “Thanks, mate. Have a good one!”
That night, after the production of The Tempest, I meet back up with Aiden in the theatre foyer and I say she acted everyone else off the stage. She responds very fondly to this, but she says she can’t go out for the night because she has to rest and prepare for tomorrow night’s performance. I remind her here that I’m not trying to force her into anything. After five minutes of chatting, we each decide to part for now.
9:30pm. I meet up at the movies with BRIAN, MIKE and DUSTIN for a late screening of My Bloody Valentine. As it turns out, the film is about as scary as a litter of labrador puppies. However, instead of walking out, we each decide to stay for it all as we’ve already paid for it: Brian pretends to be asleep, Dustin plays with his phone, and Mike and I laugh at all the people in the theatre with us who scream. By the end, none of us apologize for picking the film because none of us want to admit to picking it. I ask them if they want to go out for drinks, but they all have to work in the morning. I respect that, so we bid each other goodbye.
Now, it’s 11:25pm, and as I’m walking back through the mall to the nearest bus stop, a person’s hands cover my eyes. I stand still. “Guess who!” the American voice says. I turn around, and it’s STARBUCKS. Happy to see him, I go, “’sup, dude!” We high-five each other. I notice he is wearing a black golfers’ cap on his head. “Ferris Bueller would approve, man,” I say. “Darn tootin’! That’s why I bought it!” he laughs exuberantly. “Say man, I’m on my own now and looks like you are too – wanna go get some coffee from my namesake?” I tell him I don’t drink coffee, but I could definitely go for some doughnuts. Half an hour later, he and I are sitting in Starbucks, he with a cup of coffee and I with a tray of iced doughnuts and a cup of tea. He mentions briefly how there are so few Starbucks outlets in Australia as opposed to America when suddenly PAT and his girlfriend enter and go over to the counter. They haven’t noticed us yet, so I lean over to Starbucks and whisper in his ear (in a mock Rick Springfield singing voice) “You know I wish that I had Patrick’s girl…” He chuckles understandingly. Pat and his girl now receive their order, and turning around to leave for the door they now notice us. They then go over to our table and greet us. For the next hour or so, the four of us sit there discussing alternative rock and the frustrations of dating from the perspectives of both genders. At around 1am, all of us feeling very tired, we bid each other goodbye and go our separate ways to get some shut-eye.
Saturday, 11am. I arrive at the beach where I meet up with MATTY, KIM and his girlfriend. After an hour-long swim followed by lunch, Kim and his girl understandably want some time to themselves, so Matty and I decide to have a look around the nearby rockpools. We get to the top of a five-metre high rock wall, when we see a lone figure sitting there like a statue on the edge of the cliff, presumably just taking in the scenery. “MITCH?” I ask. Without facing us, he simply says, “Hello. (long pause) I love this spot. It’s so utterly serene… so unspoilt.” Matty asks, “Been for a swim yet, mate?” Mitch says no, there are too many people down there. “Ah don’t be so antisocial, it’ll be good for ya, trust me!” Matty says encouragingly. After Matty and I nag and nag him for a few minutes, he relents, and joins us on the beach. After another swim, we all come together for numerous games of beach volleyball. By now it’s 4pm, the lifesavers are closing up and we all decide we’ve spent enough time in the sun for one day.
That night, at 7pm, I arrive at the pub, where I meet JOSH, ROBIN, EOGHAN, NATE and MATTY again. I tell them they’re in my neck of the woods now, so it’s my shout. We enter to find WAGGY and TYLOSAUR on stage as a comedy duo doing a gig. Some of the audience members are crying with laughter. We order dinner for ourselves and form a group for the pub trivia contest. With our combined brain power and competitive streaks, we easily blitz the field. After that, we all go wild: Josh and Nate tear up the dancefloor, Eoghan works the karaoke machine, Matty and Robin verse each other in dozens of games of pool and pinball, and I alternate between all these activities.
At midnight, we decide to move on to the nightclub down the street. Whilst going there, we pass a Subway outlet across the street. I tell the others I’m going to get some cookies for a midnight snack. As I leave the store with my cookies, I see ERIC sitting by himself at one of the sets of tables and chairs with a large drink, reading the newspaper. He looks like he wants company so I go and sit across from him. “Eric! Why so downbeat all the time?” For the next few minutes he rants about societal problems like homelessness, prostitution, and drug and alchol abuse until I interrupt him with, “Eric, me and the guys are hitting the clubs right now. Why don’t you join us?” “He says, “That’s exactly what I was waiting for you to say.” We get up, leave and rejoin the others.
Twenty minutes later, we finally get in to the club. The song currently playing is Billie Jean. As we enter the main party room, a familiar-looking guy is getting down on the dancefloor: ALL_ABOUT_DAVE. I shout out his name so he notices me, and when he does he walks over to me and we high-five each other. Then, we verse each other in a dance-off, however we decide to end it after one song because we’re both so drunk that we keep crashing into each other. For the next four hours, the eight of us sit in the main bar lounge upstairs and engage in a long discussion about everything from our favourite shows as kids to our most guilty film and music pleasures. Now it’s Sunday, 4am. The club is closing, so we all finally bid each other goodbye and head home. Once I get back to my place, I open the front door, go in, go into the kitchen to get an ice-cream bucket just in case, go down the hallway to my room, and I crash onto my bed. Content with the activities of the last two days, I’m out like a light.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Saturday, February 2, 2008
You've seen my favourite movies...now here's my top 10 favourite albums!
1. Oasis – (WHAT’S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? (1995)
This was the first album I ever owned (but please don’t ask me what the first album I ever BOUGHT was…lol, that one I’m taking to my grave), and over the years my love for it has only gotten greater as I've grown up. Noel, Liam and the boys crafted an album that’s one glorifying anthem after another – “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” “Champagne Supernova,” the single that should have been but never was, “She’s Electric.” If I went on, I’d end up mentioning every track on the album. And you can throw “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Under the Bridge” or “November Rain” at me, but for me “Wonderwall” was THE song of the nineties. With this masterpiece, the Gallaghers proved they deserve to be as arrogant as they are. Perfection. The best album of all time.
2. KISS – GREATEST KISS (1996)
KISS have to be one of the top five bands in music history, in my opinion. They’re so enigmatic, yet so in your face (if that makes a bit of sense) and I have nothing but the utmost respect for them. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are the most underrated songwriting duo in music history, Peter Criss is one of rock’s most robust and talented drummers and very, very few can make a guitar talk quite as well as Ace Frehley can (his probable Nazi sympathies aside). There’s not one song here that’s less than awesome. All in all, the perfect example of how enjoyable glam-rock can be.
3. The Beatles – THE BEATLES 1 (2000)
Look, I know by rights I should cite one of the studio albums (of which I have three – "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The White Album" – in my collection, in my defence) but for me this album represents the mythology of the Fab Four. And indeed together they were incapable of writing a bad song. This is a whole “Greatest Hits of the ’60s” album in itself, and the youth of today can discover "The Beatles 1" and go away knowing exactly why they remain the biggest-selling act in the history of recorded music.
4. AC/DC – BACK IN BLACK (1980)
Arguably the biggest comeback in rock history, with this knockout AC/DC did what so many other successful groups (like Nirvana, T-Rex and The Doors) could not: they picked themselves up after the death of their lead singer and only improved. "Back in Black" is everything a rock album should be: short, loud, brimming with attitude and featuring riffs that every guitarist wishes they wrote themselves. And it was the album Kurt Cobain used to teach himself how to play the guitar.
5. Bon Jovi – SLIPPERY WHEN WET (1986)
The big hair aside, "Slippery When Wet" is like a recorded museum of pop-metal and power ballad classics. There’s probably only one album that can make one raise their fists in the air more, and that's Back in Black. But "Slippery" is still a fine example of a truly great rock album. “You Give Love a Bad Name” is the song almost every guy plays to his ex-lover after they’ve dumped or cheated on him, “Livin’ on a Prayer” is my second-favourite song of all time (after “Hey Jude”) and “Wanted Dead or Alive,” a country rock anthem the Eagles would be proud of, features a lyric that fully sums up the incredible frontman who is Jon Bon Jovi: “I’ve seen a million faces and I’ve rocked them all.” You certainly have, Jon.
6. Michael Jackson – THRILLER (1982)
Has anybody ever given something else the crown of “Best Pop Album of All Time” over "Thriller"? This album’s brilliance is such that it continues to override MJ’s other erratic endeavours. If this was the eighties, I’d contemplate not even bothering listening to side two of the vinyl version because (as wonderful as “Human Nature,” “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” and “The Lady in My Life”all are) everything between “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” and “Billie Jean” makes tracks seven through nine seem superfluous. This won eight Grammys and has outsold every other music album ever released for a reason. And even for the ’80s that lit-up sidewalk is just so cool.
7 (TIE.) Good Charlotte – THE CHRONICLES OF LIFE AND DEATH (2004)
This is no doubt going to stop many people reading further (laughs) but they’re entitled to dislike GC if they choose to. While "The Young and the Hopeless" was the one album that really spoke to me and got me through a very hard time in my early life i.e. the negatives of puberty (and I know how pathetic that sounds, by the way (laughs)), "The Chronicles of Life and Death" tops their previous effort with its much darker tone and songs with more painfully honest subject matter. Plus, it reminds me of a lot happy times and defining moments in my life. But Joel, Benji, Paul or Billy (if any of you are actually reading this – fat chance), why didn’t you guys release “The Truth” as a single?
7 (TIE.) Green Day – AMERICAN IDIOT (2004)
Possibly the biggest rock comeback since "Back in Black," "American Idiot" helped Billie Joe, Mike and Tré gather a whole new army of young fans (like myself, to a certain extent) and with it they pulled the rug out from underneath the feet of practically every new band that burst onto the scene since Green Day's 2000 release "Warning:." With genius tracks like “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Holiday,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” (Billie Joe’s finest hour, period) “Jesus of Suburbia” and the title track Green Day nailed the inner feelings of 21st century youth and made political statements that helped to prove that protest music is more potent than ever. Sid Vicious would be proud. And does it not feature one of the coolest album covers ever?
9. Nirvana – NEVERMIND (1991)
I feel so predictable citing this because almost every person born between 1968 and 1993 would put it on their lists. Just as "(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?" defined the Britpop movement in the UK in the nineties, "Nevermind" of course defined the Seattle Sound. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”…has there ever been an album with a better opening track? And for the first time in decades, with "Nevermind" arrived a musician who was just messianistic. In death, wherever his music is played Kurt Cobain continues to touch disenfranchised young people who are saved by his music and a lot of them have subsequently been inspired to pick up guitars themselves. Believe the hype.
10. James Blunt – BACK TO BEDLAM (2005)
This is probably going to alarm a few people (laughs). Again this inclusion has much to do with nostalgia (indeed the first time I heard “You’re Beautiful” it struck a very deep chord with me) but that nostalgia aside, I think this is the perfect album to listen to just before one goes to bed (I very rarely actually play it then, mind you, but it’s brilliant any time of day). It’s not boring, but it just puts you in a really calm, sedate mood. James has such a childlike but nonetheless powerful falsetto that it makes his singing about such dark adult themes to be really trippy. Lovely.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Eminem – THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP (2000)
Various Artists – FORREST GUMP: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE (1994)
Elton John - GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD (1973)
The Beatles – SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (1967)
AC/DC – HIGHWAY TO HELL (1979)
Nickelback – SILVER SIDE UP (2001)
Good Charlotte – THE YOUNG AND THE HOPELESS (2002)
U2 – THE JOSHUA TREE (1987)
Guns n’ Roses – APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION (1987)
Bruce Springsteen – BORN IN THE U.S.A. (1984)
Alanis Morissette – JAGGED LITTLE PILL (1995)
This was the first album I ever owned (but please don’t ask me what the first album I ever BOUGHT was…lol, that one I’m taking to my grave), and over the years my love for it has only gotten greater as I've grown up. Noel, Liam and the boys crafted an album that’s one glorifying anthem after another – “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” “Champagne Supernova,” the single that should have been but never was, “She’s Electric.” If I went on, I’d end up mentioning every track on the album. And you can throw “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Under the Bridge” or “November Rain” at me, but for me “Wonderwall” was THE song of the nineties. With this masterpiece, the Gallaghers proved they deserve to be as arrogant as they are. Perfection. The best album of all time.
2. KISS – GREATEST KISS (1996)
KISS have to be one of the top five bands in music history, in my opinion. They’re so enigmatic, yet so in your face (if that makes a bit of sense) and I have nothing but the utmost respect for them. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are the most underrated songwriting duo in music history, Peter Criss is one of rock’s most robust and talented drummers and very, very few can make a guitar talk quite as well as Ace Frehley can (his probable Nazi sympathies aside). There’s not one song here that’s less than awesome. All in all, the perfect example of how enjoyable glam-rock can be.
3. The Beatles – THE BEATLES 1 (2000)
Look, I know by rights I should cite one of the studio albums (of which I have three – "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The White Album" – in my collection, in my defence) but for me this album represents the mythology of the Fab Four. And indeed together they were incapable of writing a bad song. This is a whole “Greatest Hits of the ’60s” album in itself, and the youth of today can discover "The Beatles 1" and go away knowing exactly why they remain the biggest-selling act in the history of recorded music.
4. AC/DC – BACK IN BLACK (1980)
Arguably the biggest comeback in rock history, with this knockout AC/DC did what so many other successful groups (like Nirvana, T-Rex and The Doors) could not: they picked themselves up after the death of their lead singer and only improved. "Back in Black" is everything a rock album should be: short, loud, brimming with attitude and featuring riffs that every guitarist wishes they wrote themselves. And it was the album Kurt Cobain used to teach himself how to play the guitar.
5. Bon Jovi – SLIPPERY WHEN WET (1986)
The big hair aside, "Slippery When Wet" is like a recorded museum of pop-metal and power ballad classics. There’s probably only one album that can make one raise their fists in the air more, and that's Back in Black. But "Slippery" is still a fine example of a truly great rock album. “You Give Love a Bad Name” is the song almost every guy plays to his ex-lover after they’ve dumped or cheated on him, “Livin’ on a Prayer” is my second-favourite song of all time (after “Hey Jude”) and “Wanted Dead or Alive,” a country rock anthem the Eagles would be proud of, features a lyric that fully sums up the incredible frontman who is Jon Bon Jovi: “I’ve seen a million faces and I’ve rocked them all.” You certainly have, Jon.
6. Michael Jackson – THRILLER (1982)
Has anybody ever given something else the crown of “Best Pop Album of All Time” over "Thriller"? This album’s brilliance is such that it continues to override MJ’s other erratic endeavours. If this was the eighties, I’d contemplate not even bothering listening to side two of the vinyl version because (as wonderful as “Human Nature,” “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” and “The Lady in My Life”all are) everything between “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” and “Billie Jean” makes tracks seven through nine seem superfluous. This won eight Grammys and has outsold every other music album ever released for a reason. And even for the ’80s that lit-up sidewalk is just so cool.
7 (TIE.) Good Charlotte – THE CHRONICLES OF LIFE AND DEATH (2004)
This is no doubt going to stop many people reading further (laughs) but they’re entitled to dislike GC if they choose to. While "The Young and the Hopeless" was the one album that really spoke to me and got me through a very hard time in my early life i.e. the negatives of puberty (and I know how pathetic that sounds, by the way (laughs)), "The Chronicles of Life and Death" tops their previous effort with its much darker tone and songs with more painfully honest subject matter. Plus, it reminds me of a lot happy times and defining moments in my life. But Joel, Benji, Paul or Billy (if any of you are actually reading this – fat chance), why didn’t you guys release “The Truth” as a single?
7 (TIE.) Green Day – AMERICAN IDIOT (2004)
Possibly the biggest rock comeback since "Back in Black," "American Idiot" helped Billie Joe, Mike and Tré gather a whole new army of young fans (like myself, to a certain extent) and with it they pulled the rug out from underneath the feet of practically every new band that burst onto the scene since Green Day's 2000 release "Warning:." With genius tracks like “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Holiday,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” (Billie Joe’s finest hour, period) “Jesus of Suburbia” and the title track Green Day nailed the inner feelings of 21st century youth and made political statements that helped to prove that protest music is more potent than ever. Sid Vicious would be proud. And does it not feature one of the coolest album covers ever?
9. Nirvana – NEVERMIND (1991)
I feel so predictable citing this because almost every person born between 1968 and 1993 would put it on their lists. Just as "(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?" defined the Britpop movement in the UK in the nineties, "Nevermind" of course defined the Seattle Sound. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”…has there ever been an album with a better opening track? And for the first time in decades, with "Nevermind" arrived a musician who was just messianistic. In death, wherever his music is played Kurt Cobain continues to touch disenfranchised young people who are saved by his music and a lot of them have subsequently been inspired to pick up guitars themselves. Believe the hype.
10. James Blunt – BACK TO BEDLAM (2005)
This is probably going to alarm a few people (laughs). Again this inclusion has much to do with nostalgia (indeed the first time I heard “You’re Beautiful” it struck a very deep chord with me) but that nostalgia aside, I think this is the perfect album to listen to just before one goes to bed (I very rarely actually play it then, mind you, but it’s brilliant any time of day). It’s not boring, but it just puts you in a really calm, sedate mood. James has such a childlike but nonetheless powerful falsetto that it makes his singing about such dark adult themes to be really trippy. Lovely.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Eminem – THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP (2000)
Various Artists – FORREST GUMP: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE (1994)
Elton John - GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD (1973)
The Beatles – SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (1967)
AC/DC – HIGHWAY TO HELL (1979)
Nickelback – SILVER SIDE UP (2001)
Good Charlotte – THE YOUNG AND THE HOPELESS (2002)
U2 – THE JOSHUA TREE (1987)
Guns n’ Roses – APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION (1987)
Bruce Springsteen – BORN IN THE U.S.A. (1984)
Alanis Morissette – JAGGED LITTLE PILL (1995)
Friday, June 22, 2007
Some shameless promotion of the best films to come out of Australia.
We Aussies know how to make great cinema, and you would be wise to remember that. Regarding my inclusion of Romper Stomper, I would just wish to stress that I am NOT a white supremacist in any way whatsoever. It found its way onto this list because it's one of the very few movies ever produced in Australia which held a mirror up to Australia and dared to expose the darker side of Australia without pulling any punches.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Why '80s cinema reigned supreme
The '80s. For our parents it was a time of peace and hope between the ominous shadows of two immoral wars. For us, it is an era we can laugh at, what with its one-hit-wonders and appalling fashions. Now, having popped out of my mummy's tummy in 1988, obviously I have no recollections of the '80s except for what I've seen on television, but movies and music are two things that never die (although with each decade there are bad examples of each).
Back in the '80s, the news headlines were dominated by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Bob Geldof's historic Live Aid concerts and the explosions of the Challenger space shuttle and the Chernobyl power plant. Synth-pop and power ballads ruled the charts. And at the movies, Michael J. Fox travelled through time in a plutonium-powered DeLorean, a space turd and a lonely ten-year-old boy rode past the moon and created a logo, and Luke Skywalker found out he was the descendant of the same man he wanted to kill (but, seriously, didn't we all feel that way about our father at least once when we were young?)
The 1980s remains my favourite decade for film chiefly because for me it heralded an awakening in film. Sure it didn't produce as many talents as the '70s or saw as much rule-breaking as the '90s, but in the '80s the talents that came out of the '70s saw their impacts flet the most, and their followers paved the way for filmmakers who came out of the '90s. Also, it was arguably the last time in which cinema could for the most part be enjoyed by the whole family.
Steven Spielberg had perhaps his most consistently great decade, starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), followed the year later by E.T. (which would become the highest-grossing movie of all time until He welcomed us to Jurassic Park in 1993), before going into "serious" mode with the terrific The Color Purple (1985) and the sadly forgotten Empire of the Sun (1987). His mentee Robert Zemeckis stormed on through with Back to the Future in 1985, before becoming the first filmmaker to successfully blend animation with live-action with Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), which today is rightly cited as one of the most technologically groundbreaking movies in history. Marty Scorsese, by this time a recovering drug addict, opened the decade with his best film, Raging Bull (1980) and then poured his talents into a number of projects not originated by him. His most noted inheritor was Oliver Stone, who established himself as different from the pack by exposing the other side of America, something no other filmmaker was then willing to do. Also, James Cameron gave us action films that finally had substance, and John Hughes created the genre we all love to hate: the teen comedy (and he's still the only person to have made truly brilliant examples of those).
Closer to home for me, the '80s was when Australian cinema went international. While in the '70s it enjoyed a renaissance, in the '80s the legacy of that renaissance was felt most, just as the renaissance for American film in the '70s. Members of the Australian New Wave like Peter Weir, Gillian Armstrong, Bruce Beresford, George Miller and Mel Gibson all gained work and success overseas, and the Aussie cultural landmark that became Crocodile Dundee (1986) grossed $45 000 000 Down Under and more than $300 000 000 worldwide (you little ripper!).
The 1980s, while not as artsy as the '70s or as confronting as the '90s, remains my favourite decade for film, for the reasons I've stated above. I'm sure you can tell I'm one for blockbusters (and the '80s were the heyday of the popcorn blockbuster). The fashion of the '80s were, indeed, cringe-worthy, but the films of the 1980s (mostly) are so great they wipe away all awarenesses of '80s fashions for us not young enough to remember the '80s, and for our parents they are like old friends.
I hope I have argued my point well.
Back in the '80s, the news headlines were dominated by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Bob Geldof's historic Live Aid concerts and the explosions of the Challenger space shuttle and the Chernobyl power plant. Synth-pop and power ballads ruled the charts. And at the movies, Michael J. Fox travelled through time in a plutonium-powered DeLorean, a space turd and a lonely ten-year-old boy rode past the moon and created a logo, and Luke Skywalker found out he was the descendant of the same man he wanted to kill (but, seriously, didn't we all feel that way about our father at least once when we were young?)
The 1980s remains my favourite decade for film chiefly because for me it heralded an awakening in film. Sure it didn't produce as many talents as the '70s or saw as much rule-breaking as the '90s, but in the '80s the talents that came out of the '70s saw their impacts flet the most, and their followers paved the way for filmmakers who came out of the '90s. Also, it was arguably the last time in which cinema could for the most part be enjoyed by the whole family.
Steven Spielberg had perhaps his most consistently great decade, starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), followed the year later by E.T. (which would become the highest-grossing movie of all time until He welcomed us to Jurassic Park in 1993), before going into "serious" mode with the terrific The Color Purple (1985) and the sadly forgotten Empire of the Sun (1987). His mentee Robert Zemeckis stormed on through with Back to the Future in 1985, before becoming the first filmmaker to successfully blend animation with live-action with Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), which today is rightly cited as one of the most technologically groundbreaking movies in history. Marty Scorsese, by this time a recovering drug addict, opened the decade with his best film, Raging Bull (1980) and then poured his talents into a number of projects not originated by him. His most noted inheritor was Oliver Stone, who established himself as different from the pack by exposing the other side of America, something no other filmmaker was then willing to do. Also, James Cameron gave us action films that finally had substance, and John Hughes created the genre we all love to hate: the teen comedy (and he's still the only person to have made truly brilliant examples of those).
Closer to home for me, the '80s was when Australian cinema went international. While in the '70s it enjoyed a renaissance, in the '80s the legacy of that renaissance was felt most, just as the renaissance for American film in the '70s. Members of the Australian New Wave like Peter Weir, Gillian Armstrong, Bruce Beresford, George Miller and Mel Gibson all gained work and success overseas, and the Aussie cultural landmark that became Crocodile Dundee (1986) grossed $45 000 000 Down Under and more than $300 000 000 worldwide (you little ripper!).
The 1980s, while not as artsy as the '70s or as confronting as the '90s, remains my favourite decade for film, for the reasons I've stated above. I'm sure you can tell I'm one for blockbusters (and the '80s were the heyday of the popcorn blockbuster). The fashion of the '80s were, indeed, cringe-worthy, but the films of the 1980s (mostly) are so great they wipe away all awarenesses of '80s fashions for us not young enough to remember the '80s, and for our parents they are like old friends.
I hope I have argued my point well.
Monday, May 28, 2007
The twenty greatest films of all time, according to me
These are in no order. I shall attempt to sum up my love for each of these films in just one sentence:
STAR WARS/THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK/RETURN OF THE JEDI (George Lucas, 1977; Irvin Kershner, 1980; Richard Marquand, 1983) (as one film)
No words to say...these films were the films that sparked my interest in cinema.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003) (as one film)
In attempting to turn a novel deemed unfilmable even by the man who wrote it into a movie - and there would be a carpark sitting where New Line Cinema's studios are now if this had failed - Peter Jackson took cinema into the twenty-first century.
PULP FICTION (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
It revived one career, catapulted three others, and blasted a massive hole in conservative '90s cinema.
SCHINDLER'S LIST (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
Everyone with eyes needs to see this movie - not just because it documents an historical issue that must never be either repeated or forgotten, but because it's a perfect example of the the kind of magic people can conjure up when armed only with a movie camera.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (Frank Darabont, 1994)
For my money the most inspirational movie of all time.
FORREST GUMP (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
As a disaffected kid who got bullied throughout his entire school career, this film taught me everything I needed to know about life.
DEAD POETS SOCIETY (Peter Weir, 1989)
What can I say, I discovered it at the perfect time and it resonated with me.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (Milos Forman, 1975)
This movie has more layers than a machine has cogs.
BACK TO THE FUTURE (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
A whistful, timeless comedy adventure from the king of genre-fusion, Bob Zemeckis.
BLADE RUNNER (Ridley Scott, 1982)
An intoxicating fusion of cyberpunk and future neo-noir that only gets better with age.
RAGING BULL (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
This is the closest Marty has ever come to making a cinematic exact replica of the Mona Lisa.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
One of the most ideal examples of what happens when gifted actors work with a great director on great material.
THE SHINING (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
The best horror film of all time.
KILL BILL (Quentin Tarantino, 2003-2004) (as one film)
My favourite director letting his imagination run wild on a martial arts action epic...my dream is complete!
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
There really is nothing like escapism, and Spielberg, Lucas and Ford are the Three Wise Men of escapist fun.
ON THE WATERFRONT (Elia Kazan, 1954)
It coulda had phoniness, it coulda had shallowness, it coulda been a bomb... instead of a timeless masterpiece, which is what it is, let's face it.
E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
An eternally moving and uplifting testament to the power of friendship, peace and tolerance.
THE LION KING (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, 1994)
A great deal of this one's importance to me is purely sentimental, as it was the first film I ever saw (as far as I can remember, that is) but my awareness of its incredible thematic richness has only increased as I've gotten older - it's the most profoundly moving, yet joyful animanted film there's ever been.
TAXI DRIVER (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
Undoubtedly the most unflinching and accurate cinematic depiction of urban malaise and isolation ever commited to celluloid.
THE MATRIX (Larry & Andy Wachowski, 1999)
It's cyberpunk for the post-grunge generation, and whether you love it or not it's one of the most parodied movies in history - that has to amount to something.
STAR WARS/THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK/RETURN OF THE JEDI (George Lucas, 1977; Irvin Kershner, 1980; Richard Marquand, 1983) (as one film)
No words to say...these films were the films that sparked my interest in cinema.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003) (as one film)
In attempting to turn a novel deemed unfilmable even by the man who wrote it into a movie - and there would be a carpark sitting where New Line Cinema's studios are now if this had failed - Peter Jackson took cinema into the twenty-first century.
PULP FICTION (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
It revived one career, catapulted three others, and blasted a massive hole in conservative '90s cinema.
SCHINDLER'S LIST (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
Everyone with eyes needs to see this movie - not just because it documents an historical issue that must never be either repeated or forgotten, but because it's a perfect example of the the kind of magic people can conjure up when armed only with a movie camera.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (Frank Darabont, 1994)
For my money the most inspirational movie of all time.
FORREST GUMP (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
As a disaffected kid who got bullied throughout his entire school career, this film taught me everything I needed to know about life.
DEAD POETS SOCIETY (Peter Weir, 1989)
What can I say, I discovered it at the perfect time and it resonated with me.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (Milos Forman, 1975)
This movie has more layers than a machine has cogs.
BACK TO THE FUTURE (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
A whistful, timeless comedy adventure from the king of genre-fusion, Bob Zemeckis.
BLADE RUNNER (Ridley Scott, 1982)
An intoxicating fusion of cyberpunk and future neo-noir that only gets better with age.
RAGING BULL (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
This is the closest Marty has ever come to making a cinematic exact replica of the Mona Lisa.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
One of the most ideal examples of what happens when gifted actors work with a great director on great material.
THE SHINING (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
The best horror film of all time.
KILL BILL (Quentin Tarantino, 2003-2004) (as one film)
My favourite director letting his imagination run wild on a martial arts action epic...my dream is complete!
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
There really is nothing like escapism, and Spielberg, Lucas and Ford are the Three Wise Men of escapist fun.
ON THE WATERFRONT (Elia Kazan, 1954)
It coulda had phoniness, it coulda had shallowness, it coulda been a bomb... instead of a timeless masterpiece, which is what it is, let's face it.
E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
An eternally moving and uplifting testament to the power of friendship, peace and tolerance.
THE LION KING (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, 1994)
A great deal of this one's importance to me is purely sentimental, as it was the first film I ever saw (as far as I can remember, that is) but my awareness of its incredible thematic richness has only increased as I've gotten older - it's the most profoundly moving, yet joyful animanted film there's ever been.
TAXI DRIVER (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
Undoubtedly the most unflinching and accurate cinematic depiction of urban malaise and isolation ever commited to celluloid.
THE MATRIX (Larry & Andy Wachowski, 1999)
It's cyberpunk for the post-grunge generation, and whether you love it or not it's one of the most parodied movies in history - that has to amount to something.
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