Paul Schiernecker

Category: Reviews

  • The Amazing Spider-Man – an almost review.

    I have a theory that Andrew Garfield plus either an alga-rhythm or a pretty young lady makes for a good film. I base this on the fact that every film I have seen him in has one of those elements at least. The Amazing Spider-Man has both, and is therefore brilliant.

    I was as skeptical as anyone else when I learnt there was going to be a new Spider-Man film so soon after the Toby Maguire series. The fears were entirely unfounded and the new film works well to avoid comparison. There are the obvious similarities in the opening story; we know that Peter Parker will be bitten by a genetically enhanced or radioactive spider and we know that Uncle Ben must die. Once those are out of the way the film works hard to avoid comparison in content and style. There was a nice bit of Parker family history thrown in amongst the opening scenes The love focus this time around is Gwen Stacey who if my comic book knowledge serves me correctly was always a lot sassier and challenging than Mary Jane Watson.

    I don’t know if I’m just viewing Maguire’s Spiderman through the opposite of rose-tinted glasses (which I am dubbing shit-tinted glasses) but Garfield just makes the character a lot cooler. My lasting image of Maguire will be him sobbing like a baby, I believe that still image has since taken the Internet by storm as a meme (and i feel obliged to add it to the bottom of this post). The difference is that Garfield is a lot more likeable, he’s not completely disabled by his geeky ways, there are hints of it but he’s not at a complete loss like Maguire seemed, even the suit seems to fit better. I found myself gazing at him dreamily, wondering if anyone could make out my expression in the dark cinema before I had time to adjust it.

    Emma Stone is also a welcome change as Gwen Stacey. Mary Jane was always just a massive cocktease so it’s nice to see Parker getting some attention without that beautiful bastard Harry Osborn jumping in and ruining everything. There’s always a worry with females in superhero films, if they don’t have any powers themselves they tend to be a bit dull, and just act as possible fodder for the male dominated field. That isn’t the case here. I think it helps that Emma Stone is a beautiful young woman, and has excellent comedy timing. There were times when I wasn’t sure which of them I wanted to replace so just ended up rigorously rubbing my own thighs like Vic Reeves.

    Rhys Ifans is also noteworthy for his portrayal of Dr Curt Connors/The Lizard Trust a Brit to take on the bad guy role and you’re guaranteed a success. He cleverly harnesses a Jekyll/Hyde type performance to show that Connors ultimately does want to help and is a good person but gets wrapped up in doing it for the wrong reasons. It’s a positive angle when a lot of super-villains just seem content on smashing shit up for the sake of it.

    One of the best elements of The Amazing Spider-Man is the first person shots of/as Spider-Man. It’s no secret that a lot of the appeal of the comics and films is the powers and seeing those firsthand was an excellent call by the filmmakers. The magic of the film is that it manages to maintain a 12A certificate whilst keeping me entertained for over two hours, it shows that films can be clever and cool without excessive violence, gore and language.

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  • Jack White – Hammersmith Apollo.

    I’m sat on the Hammersmith & City line. I’m as far west as it is possible to go, I have lost most of my weight in sweat and have just witnessed one of the best gigs of my life.

    It took me back to the first time I ever heard Hotel Yorba, it wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced. I knew it was new but it wasn’t the new metal or pop punk plaguing MTV2 and Kerrang, it sounded like an anthem I had heard before, it was so simple and yet so brilliant. Tonight I heard it live alongside tracks from White’s solo album Blunderbuss and hits from his previous incarnations The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. It felt like a gift to my former self to hear those songs live, something that pained me when The White Stripes split because I never got the chance to see them.

    The most noticeable thing on display tonight was White’s leadership, he knows exactly how to play to a crowd, how to draw people in and it isn’t by introducing every song with a corny story or by drawing the whole thing out, he just lets his brilliant songwriting abilities and his expert guitar playing do everything that needed to be done. His supporting band did not drop a beat, they were gathered around him, and watching like hyenas, ready for anything.

    It was a joy to be a part of, and White does things with a guitar that keep most musicians up at night.

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  • Mr Nice.

    Last night I finished reading Mr Nice, for the second time. Like Charlie in Perks I will always try to read a book twice to make sure I get it all, to capture it better in my memory. The book got me thinking about marijuana and the way it is seen in the eyes of the law.

    Mr Nice is the story of Howard Marks, an Oxford graduate turned marijuana smuggler in the late 60s. It’s an incredible story encompassing a rock n roll lifestyle with daring and narrow escapes and eventually the long arm of the law. Throughout Marks maintains that he is just transporting beneficial herbs, and that what he is doing is nowhere near as deadly as the alcohol or cigarettes markets which are legal in Britain and throughout most of the world.

    I can’t help but side with him. While what he did was illegal the way he justifies it makes you realise just how ridiculous the law is in this field. I know plenty of people who have fallen foul of the law while in receivership of marijuana and like Marks their punishments didn’t really match the crime. Marks spent seven years in a US penitentiary with murderers and rapists, and to me that doesn’t make a lot of sense. I believe that the real reason for such stringent laws on marijuana smuggling is that the governments know they should be getting a fat chunk of that in tax. That if it were legalised it would limit the cost added to the seller as the means by which it would be obtained wouldn’t be illegal and dangerous and as such a tax could reasonably be placed on its sale. Then again maybe that’s just this whole hippie brain of mine, but it would certainly solve the recession.

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  • Moonrise Kingdom – an almost review.

    I should probably begin by saying that this post may be biased, and if it is I will not be apologising because I cannot praise Wes Anderson enough, he does incredible things with film.

    Moonrise Kingdom is the new comedy-drama co-written and directed by Anderson (who it is fair to say is one of my favourite directors). The film stars an incredibly varied cast including Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel and Jason Schwartzman but the main stars are newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward who play teenagers in love (Sam and Suzy) on the run in a New England town. The story centres around that feeling of being young and foolish and falling for someone completely regardless of the circumstances.

    The film is earmarked by Anderson’s dry sense of humour, the characters are interesting and flawed, the landscapes are all beautifully devised and it has such a sense of escapism that I’m struggling to recall my thoughts on any moments or scenes that grabbed me in particular. The enjoyment I got out of Moonrise Kingdom is mostly down to the relationship between Sam (Gilman) and Suzy (Hayward). The dynamic between the two perfectly displays that combination of being old enough to feel you can do adult things and yet at the same time holding on to those precious things from childhood that define you through. An example being the books that Suzy reads to Sam as they settle down each night round the coast of the island New Penzance. The attention to detail through out is exactly what is needed, and the film feels very personal, although somewhat elaborated upon, as though this is the feeling of a first love being captured forever.

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  • Prometheus – an almost review.

    I’d better start off with the usual warning that I’m going to spoiler the crap out of this so if you haven’t seen it and are planning on seeing it in the near future then don’t read anymore.

    Prometheus is loosely linked to Alien, and is helmed by Ridley Scott, a winning combination in many eyes including my own. It’s set at the end of the 21st century as a group of scientists and engineers head out on a two year snooze to the Earth-like planet that they believe spawned us. As a fan of the Alien films I was filled with a childlike sense of glee at the setup, the slow build towards the inevitable action, a cyborg who loves Lawrence Olivier, brilliant. It should be noted that the cast are strong throughout. It’s nice to see Roomi Napace doing something other than kicking dildos up people’s arses. Charlize Theron in a catsuit is worth the ticket price alone and Idris Elba holds his own as the ‘no shit’ captain. The problem I had with the film once I had fully digested it, was how everyone seemed to have an alternative agenda for the trip.

    The scientists wanted to disprove Dawinism, Weyland (Pearce) wanted to meet his maker before he met his maker, David (Fassbender) seemed to just like touching buttons and it all got a little bit lost. As soon as the masks started to fall away the film did as well, interesting little character stories fell by the wayside as Scott just matched on for guts and glory. Don’t get me wrong visually it was absolutely incredible, and scenes harked back to the wonder of the original Alien and it’s noteworthy sequels but this felt confused, like Scott was trying to keep too many people happy at once and not really getting the message across.

    I’m not saying its a failure because the alien pregnancy scene is still replaying in my head in much the same way that John Hurt’s alien belly does from the original, but there is just something that jars about it. It’s worth a watch regardless.

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  • The Great Gatsby

    I figured I should get this article in before people start getting involved in the film. For those of you who think books are boring (mugs) The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel set in 1920’s New York which is currently being adapted to film; for the seventh time, by Baz Luhrmann.

    The book follows Yale graduate Nick Carraway as he makes his first steps into his chosen career while chaperoning a number of affairs back and forth across Long Island. I thoroughly recommend it, considering its getting on for being a hundred years old it’s remarkably contemporary as well, it holds up against a lot more modern works.

    I came across the book as the result of reading other great American authors, namely Salinger and Thompson. The book is mentioned directly in Salinger’s Catcher and I know through research that Thompson would type out the manuscript to The Great Gatsby just to get the feel for it.

    What I will say is that while I’m sure it is safe in Luhrmann’s hands I worry I’m going to lose my vision of Major Jay Gatsby to DiCarpio forever later in the year.

  • There Are No Innocent Bystanders – an almost review.

    MASSIVE DISCLAIMER.
    Don’t read this if you’re planning to watch it, I don’t want to reveal the magic?

    The first thing it is important to note is that I am a massive Libertines fan and therefore (and rightly so) pledged to have the documentary by Roger Sargent released on DVD. That makes me (and hopefully others) feel like they’ve invested in it.

    I guess the first disappointing thing is that it doesn’t feel like there is too much new footage in there, the reunion was covered across all mediums, the rehearsals were shot by NME, and I was present at their slot at Reading 2010 (and then watched it back about ten times on BBC). One of the highlights was Carl’s whistle-stop tours round their old haunts, and his anecdotes therein which again have been covered to a greater extent in a variety of different ways previously.

    It does however break my heart to see Pete and Carl interviewed separately and blaming one another for the reason that it fell apart, when they are destined to be together, and they were but I put it forward that it definitely wasn’t for long enough. The sad thing to note in the documentary is the way it treats the band like a historical attraction, and lessens the impact the reunion should have.

    Having said that I’m greedy for anything they throw up so this will satisfy for a little longer.

  • Shantaram

    I jumped into this book knowing very little about it which I believe is always an agreeable experience, if you haven’t read it I would recommend going and doing so before you read any further which somewhat depletes this being any kind of review, which means I’m writing for myself, which I believe should be the first bulletpoint on a list of why anyone writes.

    Shantaram is the story of ‘Linbaba’ to give him the title he assumes for most of the book, an Australian convict who escapes his sentence and makes it to Bombay where he becomes tied to life there – (See, still keeping it broad, don’t want to give too much away)

    At this stage I don’t know how accurate the information contained in the story is, I’m really hoping its not another Million Little Pieces because it broke my heart to learn that wasn’t entirely true or it wasn’t the writers experience or however else the lie was worded. What I will tell you is what I took away from reading it, hence ruining any chance of this being considered a review.

    There is something so incredibly brutal and unforgiving about the protagonist, he’s done time, he sees no issue with busting skulls or asserting himself but at the same time he has the kind of soul that isn’t usually worn quite so on the sleeve, he’s as hard on himself as he is on his competition, he has a strong moral code (of his own devising) and stands by it when everyone else has clearly gone made. What I’m trying to say is that this guy has the ability to kill and the ability to love and the joy of the book is that you never know which you’re going to get. I imagine that when Hollywood get their hands on it Tom Hardy will be short listed for the lead.

  • Now that’s what I call a first novel (an almost review of Less Than Zero)

    It’s hard to review a book you’ve read at least ten times because you’re instantly hung up on it all when you start. A friend (the same one who couldn’t work out why he didn’t have an Aston Martin) asked me how I could possibly read the same book more than once. Friend is a strong term actually, especially considering he said that.

    The wonder of Less Than Zero is just how stark it is, all of the characters may as well be Clay [the protagonist], everyone is blonde, tan, thin, high. The things he sees and experiences don’t seem to register and it’s hard to like someone who is so non committal to an opinion (I know that’s ended relationships for me in the past). What makes it work is that everyone is so rich and thin and tan and young but they’re all complete fuck ups. That’s the real joy of it. I done know much about Easton Ellis’ approach to research for the novel but it feels personal and I can only assume he knows these kids, or knew these kids, and they’re a similar breed to what pop up in his other work (even American Psycho has a crossover with Camden).

    I’d tell you to go and pick up a copy, but assume everyone has read it. It makes me think of the Beatles lyric: ‘I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love’. The characters carry on in their eighties vision of ownership and material worth and it’s so empty, they might as well be fucking a crack in the wall.

    Read it though, it’s very interesting.

  • Transformer

    What an absolutely sublime album. Say what you will about his recent dabble with Metallica, listening to prime time Lou Reed is hard to beat.

    I only own Transformer because a girl on a bus overheard me talking about the Velvet Underground and told me it was one of the best albums she had ever heard, wherever that girl has got to know I would like to thank her for being so right.

    It just has everything you could ever want from an album. It’s produced by David Bowie, it has references to drugs, prostitution, New York city, it features Mick Ronson, I simply don’t know why that wouldn’t make you fly out to buy it, or download it (if you have to).

    I think I’d like it played in full at my funeral.