2010: The Top 50 Films Of 2010 As Voted For By UK Film Bloggers

Words: Saam Das

In something of a last minute frenzy, I invited UK film bloggers to take part in a poll to show off what films we thought were well good in 2010. I'm glad to report that we had a decent response, with 29 bloggers contributing their top ten films of the year, including bloggers from HeyUGuys, Blogomatic3000, The Incredible Suit and Radio Times film critic/BBC 6Music DJ Andrew Collins.

The rules were pretty simple - a top ten list of films which had been given a general release (rather than simply a festival run) in the UK. The 29 bloggers who took part came back with 84 different choices in total, with over 40 of those films receiving at least two votes. A wide net, indeed.

In compiling the results of the poll, I used a points system whereby first place was granted 10 points, second place 9 points and so on until tenth place received 1 solitary point. In case of a tie, the films were separated first by the number of votes they received and then I came up with a couple of other boring differentials. None of this affected the top 25 films. In the end, only two films were really in the running to come out on top anyway.

The top 50 films are after the jump but first, I want to thank everyone for contributing: Jon Lyus (HeyUGuys), Matt (DarkMatters), Andrew Jones (NonsenseFilm), Jack Kirby (Blogomatic3000), Gareth (Uncle Frank's Film Blog), Nicola Balkind (Uncultured Critic), Neil (The Incredible Suit), Andrew Collins (Never Knowingly Underwhelmed), Sam (24fps), Intermittent Sprocket, Tara (I Heart The Talkies), Glen Byford (Hunchbakk), Ambrose Heron (FILMdetail), Dempsey (TheMovie411), Natasha Hodgson (Best For Film), Vicki Isitt (Veni-Vidi-Vicki), and from Filmshaft - Martyn Conterio, Michael Brooks, and Alan Simmons. Cine-Vue had a strong presence in the poll also, so thanks to Daniel Green, David Sugarman, Rob Savage, Jack Porter, Russell Cook, and Stephen Leach from that site. And finally, thanks to Alicia McBride, Ced Yuen and Jake Tobin who write for this very blog.

Film Review: Chatroom (2010)

Words: Saam Das

'Chatroom' (Release: 22 Dec '10)

Director: Hideo Nakata
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Imogen Poots, Daniel Kaluuya, Hannah Murray, Matthew Beard

Things started off brightly for Hideo Nakata's latest offering 'Chatroom', which premiered in the Un Certain Regard competition at the 2010 Cannes film festival, alongside the likes of 'Blue Valentine' and eventual winner 'Ha Ha Ha'. Since then, things have not been so great.

Having directed a string of acclaimed horror films (namely 'Ringu', 'Ringu 2', and 'Dark Water'), Nakata has been critically burned by the reception to 'Chatroom'. Which possibly explains the slightly odd release date covering the Christmas week. The criticism has been severe, and possibly a little on the harsh side. Not to say that much of the criticism is undeserved however. 'Chatroom' is like a Daily Mail fantasy come to life. But more on that later.

The film charts the online and offline lives of a group of teenagers resulting from their congregations in an internet chatroom, portraying itself as a sort of 'Lord Of The Flies' for the 21st century. William (Aaron Johnson) sets up this chatroom as a means to his malevolent ends, preying on his victims in a misguided attempt to banish his own demons. It all gets a bit messy and the film climaxes with a chase sequence better suited to 'The Bill' than a feature film.

2010: Festive Fifty (Part 2 of 2)

Words: Saam Das

Here's all fifty singles/free downloads that comprise the Festive Fifty. To listen to all of them, you're going to have to check out the first part and then go through the ones here. If you too lazy for that and willing to skip out a couple of tracks (which aren't available), then I have constructed this Spotify playlist for you. Enjoy.

#50 Chew Lips - 'When You Wake Up' // #49 Wilder - 'Girls vs Boys'
#48 Operator Logic - 'Logic' // #47 Weekend - 'End Times'
#46 Tokyo Police Club - 'Breakneck Speed' // #45 Willow Smith - 'Whip My Hair'
#44 Errors - 'A Rumour In Africa' // #43 Sunday Girl - 'Four Floors'
#42 The Unwinding Hours - 'Knut' // #41 Hot Horizons - 'October'
#40 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Skeletons' // #39 Victoria & Jacob - 'With No Certainty'
#38 Disappearers - 'Everything Straight Lies' // #37 Broken Records - 'A Darkness Rises Up'
#36 The Good Natured - 'For The Widows In My Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti'
#35 Spark - 'Revolving' // #34 The National - 'Terrible Love (Alternate Version)'
#33 Mystery Jets - 'Show Me The Light' // #32 OK Go - 'White Knuckles'
#31 Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - 'Love Turns To Hate'
#30 Jukebox The Ghost - 'Good Day' // #29 Stairs To Korea - 'All Of Your Friends'
#28 Foals - 'This Orient' // #27 Seerauber Jenny - 'Push It Away'
#26 Clock Opera - 'Once And For All'

#25-#1, after the jump. Hope it satisfies the masses.

2010: Festive Fifty (Part 1 of 2)

Words: Saam Das

So here it is. My favourite fifty singles and free downloads of 2010, which I guess you can call the "best tracks of the year" if you really want. But that'll only lead to a torrent of abuse when you discover I've left out stuff like 'Fuck You' by Cee-Lo Green. Be a pal Cee-Lo and stop using the n-word. Cheers.

Also, this is only my list and if I'd let the other FG writers join in (as they have done on our "albums of the year" list which will appear soon) then the list would have been somewhat different. Check out the 2008 and 2009 lists too - plenty of hidden gems to discover. As has always been the case, there are no re-releases (hopefully, anyway) and artists/bands can only appear once.

And in a supreme bit of planning, I've just changed my mind at the last minute to chop the list into two. I'm afraid that the amount of embedded stuff might kill any old computers and "death by flash" isn't ideal. The full list will be unleashed tomorrow. Here's #50-#26 though.

BBC iPlayer: Doctor Who (2010) A Christmas Carol

Words: Alicia McBride

'Doctor Who' (2010) Christmas Special: 'A Christmas Carol'

SYNOPSIS: "Festive edition of the time-travelling drama. The Doctor has one hour to save a crashing spaceship and a miser's soul - but what lurks in the fog?" (bbc.co.uk)

After what felt like an interminably long wait the TARDIS came crashing back into our lives on Christmas Day, delivering (for me, anyway) the greatest present of all. It’s true that absence makes the heart grow fonder and this may have contributed to the dialogue seeming funnier, the delivery faster and the emotion more affecting than ever but it is just as likely that Steven Moffat and Matt Smith were on top form.

At a time of year when allusions to Dickens’ 'A Christmas Carol' are rife, 'Doctor Who' managed to do something a little more interesting and unique with the story. The Scrooge-like figure, Kazran (the impressive Michael Gambon), refuses to let a spaceship containing the honeymooning Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) land, meaning that they’ll all die. In a bid to save them the Doctor has to try and change his mind but realising he can’t, decides to change his whole personality instead.

Singles: December 2010

Words: Saam Das
Photo: Butterfly-Boy

December's a bit weak for singles apart from the Christmas #1 campaigns. X Factor reigned supreme once again so the lasting impact of Rage Against The Machine's 'Killing In The Name' is simply a devaluation of its original message. But enough of that.

You'll also have my ("Festive") fifty favourite singles/official free downloads of 2010 on its way in the next couple of days. In the meantime, check out some of the best singles December had to offer. Perhaps you can guess the single of the month from the photo above?

BBC iPlayer: Film 2010 (With Claudia Winkleman)

Words: Saam Das

It's been ten episodes/weeks since Claudia Winkleman took over the reins as host of the BBC's flagship film programme, supported by journalist Danny Leigh and a smattering of cameos from Empire Magazine's Chris Hewitt, the exceedingly glamourous Antonia Quirke, and the man behind Ultraculture, Charlie Lyne. In that time, many of my trepidations (which I wrote about here) have disappeared, and while I still enjoyed the one presenter/Jonathan Ross format a little better, I think the team on 'Film 2010' have done a good job.

There's been claims that the show has dumbed down or become less pretentious since the departure of Jonathan Ross but as 'Episode 3' showed, when Peter Bradshaw dropped the term paterfamilias into his analysis of a film, it's not really all that different. Indeed, while the analytical bite was perhaps somewhat lacking at the very start of the series, it has built up steadily as the hosts have found their footing.

Comment: Merry Christmas!

Words: Saam Das
Photo: fanpop.com

Good evening, everyone. And more importantly, merry Christmas all! Or if you must be offended by what is now an overwhelmingly secular day, then I simply wish you a happy holiday!

I want to thank all the writers who've contributed to the site this year. It's been a big change over the past year as I expanded the blog into film and television and without the writers who've kindly come in to give me a hand, I'm genuinely unsure whether this blog would still exist. So thank you Simon, Paul, Kieran, Ced, Alicia, Sid, Matthew, Jake, Josh, Rajan and Emily. For putting up with my nagging, at the very least. Thanks too to guest bloggers like Nina Bhadreshwar, Glen Hunchbakk and Rob from Little Comets. And anyone else I've accidentally forgotten. Hopefully we'll have many more contributions next year from inside the FG family or otherwise. Drop me an email if you'd like to join in the fun.

I also want to thank every one of you who reads this for coming to visit us this year - we basically doubled the number of hits we had and are now well on our way to half a million pageviews. I hope you've enjoyed at least some of the writing on the site, even if you've respectfully disagreed with the reviewer's opinions.

With all that said, have ten decent holiday tunes (in no particular order) that have been recorded this year after the jump. Have a brilliant day everyone and thank you all again.

Channel 4oD: Misfits (2010) Episode 6

Words: Matthew Paskins

'Misfits' Series 2: 'Episode 6'

SYNOPSIS: "'Misfits' follows five outsiders on community service who get struck by a flash storm and lumbered with special powers. After the existence of superpowers is exposed to the world at large, the gang become celebrity superheroes, known as the ASBO Five." (channel4.com)

This season finale was trailed as the 'Misfits' go public, but we ended up with a big cosmic reset button at the end and a characteristically downbeat finish. During the fame and fortune segment everyone gets done in by the homicidal jealousy of a kid with a really terrible superpower, “lactokinesis”. The gang complete their community service and go for a drink rather than embrace the fame and fortune that are teased earlier on in the episode.

Album Review: Tigers That Talked - The Merchant

Words: Emily Solan

Tigers That Talked - 'The Merchant' (Release: 8 Nov '10)

Full of drama and sweeping melodies from the opening track, 'The Merchant' is the perfect album for long winter nights.

First track '23 Fears' is a whirlwind of strings and guitars, that means that try as you might, you cannot help but be sucked into the song. Lead singer and guitarist Jamie Williams’ unique voice add to the drama and melancholy prevalent throughout the album.

It is with title track 'The Merchant' that violinist Glenna Larsen really comes to the fore, with strings swirling around the raw emotion present. But it’s the next song 'Holy Saturday, Gloomy Sunday' that highlights what a band Tigers That Talked could be. Handclaps, stomping drum beats and uplifting melodies - it’s not amiss of something found on a pop album.

Film Review: Tron Legacy (2010)

Words: Ced Yuen

'Tron: Legacy' (UK Release: 17 Dec '10)

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Sheen

At Tron Night, I saw a short preview of 'Tron: Legacy' and concluded that it looks and sounds very good. Despite knowing what to expect, I was blown away by the finished product.

'Tron: Legacy' is not a perfect film, and nobody will feel otherwise. Some elements of the story are cloudy. The lead actor is a bit wooden. CGI young-Jeff Bridges is a bit hit-and-miss. The famous Light Cycles are underused. The 3D was totally unnecessary. And the product placement for Ducati was unsubtle. However, that is all the negativity that the film deserves. 'Tron: Legacy' has flaws, but these are outweighed by the pure sensory pleasure on offer.

BBC iPlayer: The Wackness (2008)

Words: Saam Das

'The Wackness' (2008)

Director: Jonathan Levine
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby, Famke Janssen

SYNOPSIS: "Coming of age drama. High-school graduate Luke (Josh Peck) is faced with a summer alone in Manhattan, dealing marijuana and listening to his parents argue, before moving on to college. But an unlikely friendship with his therapist (Ben Kingsley) has life-changing consequences for both of them." (bbc.co.uk)

Surfacing: Behold A Pale Horse

Words: Simon Opie

There are a lot of bands looking for success and there’s a lot of bands with horse references in their name. So Behold A Pale Horse are in both these crowded sets and whatever you think of their name, it’s surely better than Savants, which is what they used to be called.

Behold A Pale Horse have just released a split 7” single (with a band called The Dash) and it includes – on the digital release - two tracks 'Queen Bee' and 'To Each Other'. Apparently, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and the same is true of this single, which has faintly psychedelic artwork on the sleeve, whereas the band actually have an angular post-punk sound. In fact, their image maybe needs a sharper focus – given that the photos in the press pack suggest they might be either Billy Childish & The Buff Medways or the Kaiser Chiefs. I suppose with good reason, in that they are somewhere in between and reminiscent of several inmates of the famed Dischord label.

Channel 4oD: Any Human Heart (2010) Episode 4

Words: Josh Blacker

'Any Human Heart': 'Episode 4'

SYNOPSIS: "Jim Broadbent, Matthew Macfadyen and Sam Claflin take the lead role in William Boyd's funny, moving and ambitious adaptation of his best-selling novel, exploring one man's tumultuous and unpredictable journey through the 20th century" (Channel4.com)

This final episode of 'Any Human Heart' wasn’t without one last hurrah on Logan Mountstuart’s part. Despite recovering at the beginning of the episode from being struck by a car at the end of the last, it’s not long before Logan is out making adventure again.

Drawn by his poverty into joining the Socialist Patients’ Kollective - believing it at first to be a patients’ rights group, somehow - he ends up selling the SPK’s weekly propaganda rag on the streets, because every good Marxist revolution needs its own newspaper. Here I think we lose something of the Logan we knew - this Logan is naive and unquestioning, despite his previous background as a journalist and writer.

Album Review: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Words: Kieran Toms

Kanye West - 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' (UK Release: 22 Nov '10)

Kanye West has carved his own myth in the months leading up to 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'. He knows that “success” in this world is more complicated than just being an excellent rapper/producer. Society prizes idols. So he became omnipresent, releasing free tracks off the album on specific dates to feed a communal expectancy, saying crazy things on Twitter to keep himself embedded in culture’s discourse, and releasing an epic mini-film dressed up as music video.

All of this should not matter, but it does. Can anyone break free of the impatient, internet-muddled chaotic maze of public attention, to become one, to transcend it all and become something shared, something by which a generation might define itself? West wants to, you can tell. He knows he is big and he knows he is important. But at the same time, with 30 writers and 12 producers credited on this album, where could Kanye, or indeed the prospect of any semblance of personality or individuality, possibly fit into this?

And even if he did force his self onto it, should it work then anyway? Kanye West is an egotistic asshole, after all, "The abomination of Obamas nation." But what can we do with this information? Tell the world? They know it already. Tell him? He knows it already. He’s trapped in a strange doublethink, paradoxes abound: an artistic genius but he can’t sing, he is feted and hated.....a "21st century schizoid man" as he sings on 'Power'. But surely “rich successful man complains about being rich and successful” shouldn’t work.

You are probably aware that most people think it has worked. They are not wrong.

Film Review: The Tourist (2010)

Words: Ced Yuen

'The Tourist' (UK Release: 10 Dec '10)

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Steven Berkoff, Timothy Dalton

In 2005, Jérôme Salle wrote and directed the César-nominated 'Anthony Zimmer', a Hitchcockian story about a tourist who meets a mysterious woman and finds himself in “a whirlwind of intrigue and danger”. 'The Tourist' is a remake of that film, with the director of 'The Lives Of Others', the screenwriter of 'The Usual Suspects', and the cinematographer of 'The English Patient'. It is also the first ever pairing of megastars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. This has everything it takes to make one amazing film, yet it is one of 2010's biggest misfires.

Short: Filmography 2010

Words: Saam Das

We're at that time of the year where we can assess what has gone on in the past 11 and a bit months and be furious/contented/sad/annoyed etc at the state of film. I'm happy to maintain that as with music, every year has its own ups and downs but ultimately, there's a kind of homeostasis whereby there are always quality releases. But you might have missed them.

And that's where this video comes into things. YouTube user genrocks has made a brilliant mash up video of sorts chronicling 270 of the year's releases - although many haven't reached the UK just yet. It's a handy reminder of some of the best moments in cinema this year, which might be particularly useful for any UK film bloggers whose participation is welcomed in our films of 2010 poll. Check the video after the jump.

Live Review: The Tallest Man On Earth @ Brudenell Social Club

Words: Kieran Toms

Live: The Tallest Man On Earth at Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (25 Nov '10)

Lone acoustic guitar singer songwriters are rarely this captivating. In the sold out Brudenell Social Club, the whole audience is entranced by The Tallest Man On Earth (the moniker of Kristian Matsson). It helps of course that he is utterly charming, a handsome and capable front man, a master of the smouldering glance toward audience members, the wistful stare into middle distance.

Matsson gives off the impression of being completely at ease in front of an audience. As evidenced in his music, despite being a Swedish native his English is spot on, and he banters with the crowd with his shy self deprecating humour to great effect, providing a great release of tension and concentration between songs.

Comment: Golden Globes Nominations 2011

Words: Saam Das

I don't really care much for awards shows/ceremonies (let alone just the nominations) and the Golden Globes are no exception. It is always nice to see things you've supported, or simply liked, be rewarded though. The Golden Globe award nominations momentarily overwhelmed my Twitter feed as everyone felt the need to live tweet their thoughts. Saying almost exactly the same things. As you can imagine, I wasn't overjoyed as I trudged through the tweets. I thought I'd add my thoughts here, instead.

The big news is that basically everyone is gobsmacked that the new Johnny Deep-Angelina Jolie film 'The Tourist' has received three Golden Globe nom noms. The film has been largely panned (unsurprisingly so, it looks pretty awful) although we may have a more charitable review up, as one of the other writers has seen it and said "it wasn't terrible". High praise, indeed.

Channel 4oD: Misfits (2010) Episode 5

Words: Matthew Paskins

'Misfits' Series 2: 'Episode 5'

SYNOPSIS: "'Misfits' follows five outsiders on community service who get struck by a flash storm and lumbered with special powers. Nathan (Robert Sheehan) is violently killed again and he suspects that Jessica (Zawe Ashton), a charity worker from the community centre is to blame." (channel4.com)

I think this was the best episode of 'Misfits' so far. Much of it was taken up with a massive misdirect. During the opening Nathan sees a pretty young woman in her underwear and is then locked in and brutally murdered. Said young woman turns out to be a charity organiser named Jessica, who nervously flirts with Simon (Iwan Rheon). Everyone points out that anyone who's shown an interest in Simon or Nathan has turned out to be murderous or decrepid. Stung by this, Simon asks Jessica out for a drink. There is much sneaking around to see whether or not sweet Jessica in fact intends to cut Simon's throat.

'Misfits' is really good with plots like this, where the characters think they know what's happening and try to play along with some genre conventions which then get subverted – partly because it's so enthusiastic, and partly because misreading situations and cockily feeling they seen it all before is what the characters do, all the time.

Surfacing: The Cordelier Club

Words: Saam Das

Lately, I've been really into synth pop outfits like The Good Natured and Run Toto Run - the latter of whom unleashed an ace new video of 'This Is A Lull' this weekend, also available for free download. The Cordelier Club are another band dabbling in synth pop that have grabbed my attention even though they operate more at the unashamedly pop end of the spectrum.

The band comprise of sibling duo Richard and Alice Smith, who are originally from Cambridge, supposedly the "spiritual home of psychedelic pop". Having visited the city on many a weekend in my youth to visit pals and girlpals, I never really noticed any strong affection with psychedelia. I clearly missed out. Indeed, Syd Barrett used to live in the area, often spotted by Richard and Alice during their childhood.

FAO: UK Film Bloggers

Words: Saam Das

Are you based in the UK and write about film on a blog? Then I politely request your services for a collated poll of the best/favourite 2010 films as voted for by you and your fellow UK film bloggers.

The rules:
- To submit your choices, you must write for a UK film blog/a UK blog that significantly covers film. As for what defines a "blog", I'll leave it upto you - if you think you write on a blog, then I'm happy with that.
- The poll is not limited to one entrant per blog, if several writers are involved on your blog then I encourage all of the UK-based writers to take part.
- The films must have been released theatrically in the UK in 2010, and not solely during a festival run. Thus, films like 'Up In The Air' or 'A Prophet' count as valid choices, whereas '127 Hours' or 'The Kings Speech' do not.
- Submit your top ten choices in order of preference, 1 = your top choice down to 10 = your 10th favourite film of 2010.
- Email your ten choices, with your name and blog title/url to film(at)fadedglamour.co.uk
- The final date for submission is Thursday 24nd December at 19.00 (UPDATED)

I'll be using a points system to collate the entries (most likely - #1 = 10 points, #2 = 9 points, down to #10 = 1 point) before presenting the results (probably) just after Christmas. Each entrant/blog will be credited and if you fancy writing a line or two about each film you chose, I'll try to display your quotes too.

Hope you can get involved - if you have any ideas for the poll or questions, add a comment to this entry or send me an email at film(at)fadedglamour.co.uk.

Channel 4oD: Any Human Heart (2010) Episode 3

Words: Josh Blacker

'Any Human Heart': 'Episode 3'

SYNOPSIS: "Jim Broadbent, Matthew Macfadyen and Sam Claflin take the lead role in William Boyd's funny, moving and ambitious adaptation of his best-selling novel, exploring one man's tumultuous and unpredictable journey through the 20th century" (Channel4.com)

I wasn’t entirely impressed with 'Episode 2', which felt like so much filler between the exciting young life of Logan Mountstuart and all his girls, and 'Episode 3' where Jim Broadbent actually has some lines.

Although the events of the last episode had seemed far too fast to be treated well, this episode seems to have packed in almost as much drama while managing to explore some of the depths of emotion a lot better - as well as packing in a few very funny moments.

TV Review: The Walking Dead (2010) Ep 6 - TS-19

Words: Jake Tobin

'The Walking Dead' Episode 6: 'TS-19'

SYNOPSIS: "Rick and the group are allowed into the CDC, by a strange doctor. But all is not what it seems in their newfound haven." (fxuk.com)

So here we are at the sixth episode, the season finale, of 'The Walking Dead' - for an American series this quite short, but to us British viewers it is more or less standard. The series’ success despite its short run is possibly testament to Frank Darabont’s writing, as with most British shows it has primarily been written by a single screenwriter and the shortness of the season allows for the show to stay succinct and not diverge into too many side plots. It will be interesting to see how Darabont manages in the next season, with more episodes and higher expectations from both the audience and the studio.

Surfacing: Bastille

Words: Saam Das

You might remember that a couple of months ago I wrote about a band called To Kill A King (do check them out, if you missed out at the time). Well, when I was doing my "research" on them, I discovered another band called Bastille, whose majestic sound immediately grabbed my attention.

So much so I actually emailed them/him to see if we could sort out a free download (an "exclusive global download" if you want to be all NME.com) for all of you. That didn't quite work out but it's time to unleash this music further into the world. And thanks to Strummerville, I can even point you to the download anyway.

Behind The Scenes: Little Comets

Behind The Scenes is a series of interviews and guest blogs, where artists give us insight about their work in a specific industry. Here, Rob from Little Comets contrasts his band's experiences on Columbia Records, a major label, and their current independent label, Dirty Hit.

Words: Rob Coles

Hello.... I sing in a band called Little Comets, from Newcastle, there are four of us...

But I think we all have very different functions and interests, which helps us be more of a shape. Even though Mickey knows the architectural strength of a triangle, we are a pretty tough quadrilateral - four insulated sides that have taken an emotionally jaunting set of strides through the past three years, and despite the minor ablutions and rigorous examinations, are still pretty intact.

The last twelve months in particular have been a truly tumultuous time, stemming from our relationship with Columbia Records - a meeting of totally unlike minds...

BBC iPlayer: The Trip (2010) Ep 6 - The Angel At Hetton

Words: Paul Dean

'The Trip' Episode 6: 'The Angel At Hetton'

SYNOPSIS: "Comedy series starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. Steve and Rob visit Bolton Abbey and breakfast at The Angel at Hetton. On their way back home to London they stop off at Steve's parents' house." (bbc.co.uk)

The weather's changed. The sun came out and it dried the jokes up. I'm glad that I watched 'The Trip' and, at the beginning, it made me laugh a lot, but I've just finished watching the final episode and I'll be completely honest with you, it's actually an effort for me to remember what happened in it. I barely smiled once and, without the humour, I've come to realise that there's very little plot to engage the viewer, particularly as each episode follows a very similar structure.

Album Review: Talons - Hollow Realm

Words: Emily Solan

Talons - 'Hollow Realm' (Release Date:  15 Nov '10)

Opening with a simply monstrous track in 'St Mary Will Be The Death Of Us All', we hear everything we expect from Talons and more. With drama oozing from every note, this is the band that Muse should be - sophisticated and not overegged, perfect in every sense.

Sweeping the way through the album, and with it being purely instrumental its not my usual cup of tea, but there are some real stand out tracks. 'Impala' in particular is a very emotive piece, seemingly having the ability to start deep, dark and heavy gradually reaching a crescendo, nearly romping along towards the end.

TV Review: The Walking Dead (2010) Ep 5 - Wildfire

Words: Jake Tobin

'The Walking Dead' Episode 5: 'Wildfire'

SYNOPSIS: "Rick leads the group to the CDC after the attack. Jim must make a terrible life and death decision." (fxuk.com)

As dawn breaks at the start of 'Wildfire', the penultimate episode of the first season of 'The Walking Dead', we are forced to recall Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) promise to Morgan (Lennie James) in the pilot, and the rest of the episode calls back to many aspects of that episode.

EP Review: Howlin Rain - The Good Life

Words: Simon Opie

Howlin Rain - 'The Good Life' EP (Release: 26 Nov' 10)

This swoops out of the sky like a sparrow hawk, grabs you by the throat and carries you into the clear blue yonder. Title track 'Good Life' is an absolute belter that’s followed by a funky cover of the Jimi Hendrix tune 'Burning Of The Midnight Lamp' before 'Hung Out In The Rain' concludes proceedings with a fried gospel workout. Sounds weird? Well it is, but then Ethan Miller’s side project (alongside Comets On Fire) has never been easy to classify.

The ingredients are fairly simple – rough and ready (but expert) guitar, swirling organ, rock steady rhythm section, occasional horns and a raw tho’ classic American blue collar vocal. But the end result takes retro and fits it with a jet engine that fires it way into the distance.

Channel 4oD: Misfits (2010) Episode 4

Words: Matthew Paskins

'Misfits' Series 2: 'Episode 4'

SYNOPSIS: "'Misfits' follows five outsiders on community service who get struck by a flash storm and lumbered with special powers. Ollie (Joshua McGuire), an environmental protester who has the power to teleport, starts his community service but is he really destined to become part of the gang?" (channel4.com)

With this episode I realised how much the super-hoodie character has been looming over the plot for me – in ways I didn't really like. He would swoop in at certain moments, do some rescuing, be mysterious, build up to some conclusion – involving something super-secret and mysterious. And it was all a bit deus ex machina, with our 'Misfits' crew not having much to do. Last episode's revelation made him seem even more central to the plot. And now - well, avoiding spoilers – there's some resolution, which I didn't see coming at all, and 'Misfits' feels as freewheeling and anarchic as it ever did. That's really exciting and I don't have any idea how the season's going to end. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Buried Treasures: New Order - Technique

Buried Treasures is a column dedicated to things we feel have gone underappreciated, often both critically and commercially. We encourage you to seek these moments out and hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Words: Rajan Lakhani

Album: New Order - 'Technique'

Sandwiched between a re-release of their defining single 'Blue Monday' in 1988 and arguably the best football record made, 'World In Motion' in 1990, twenty years later, we perhaps overlook New Order's 1989 album 'Technique'. It still provides the best example of why New Order are seen as alternative music’s great innovators, introducing rave culture to indie and setting the groundwork for the likes of The Prodigy.

With his marriage breaking down, Bernard Sumner, lead singer of New Order, decided to get away to the acid-house haven of Ibiza with his band-mates, where they recorded much of this album. Fusing together synth-pop, guitar-rock and contemporary dance, New Order importantly updated their sound and showed they remained ahead of their field.

The result is a heady, addictive mix of dancefloor anthems ('Round And Round', 'Fine Time', 'Vanishing Point') and melancholy, melodic guitar-driven songs ('All The Way', 'Love Less', 'Guilty Partner'), which means the album never becomes one-dimensional. All of the band shine on this album and everything comes together organically – the beats, lyrics, Peter Hook’s bass, the melodies – in each track, meaning this is their quintessential album.

Singles: November 2010

Words: Saam Das

November saw a preponderance of album of the year lists. I can only assume that this was because music journalists can't count up to twelve. No wonder people are rioting in the streets about the future of British education. Rioters are a bit thick too, of course. Peaceful protestors are okay though. And anyone who heroically saved their best of year list till the final month of the year.

Enough about other people annoying me (we'll be here all week if I go on much further) and onto the best singles from November. We've had another bountiful month, although I have already talked about many of the great singles that have been out - check out some nice words about Rapids and their new single 'Fuses', as well as 'Microlite' by Trophy Wife. Check out the others, after the jump.

Channel 4oD: Any Human Heart (2010) Episode 2

Words: Josh Blacker

'Any Human Heart': Episode 2

SYNOPSIS: "Jim Broadbent, Matthew Macfadyen and Sam Claflin take the lead role in William Boyd's funny, moving and ambitious adaptation of his best-selling novel, exploring one man's tumultuous and unpredictable journey through the 20th century" (Channel4.com)

I couldn’t help but feel disappointed at this second episode of William Boyd’s screen adaptation of his novel Any Human Heart. Perhaps it’s because there was much less sex. But why was that?

'Episode 1' left us with Logan entering his middle age, played by Matthew Macfadyen, with a wife and child in one home, and a pregnant mistress in another, and 'Episode 2' plunges us into a Europe gripped by war. Firstly, the Spanish Civil War, to which Logan is dispatched as a journalist. Here is my first great disappointment.

TV Review: The Walking Dead (2010) Ep 4 - Vatos

Words: Jake Tobin

'The Walking Dead' Episode 4: 'Vatos'

SYNOPSIS: "Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) mission to Atlanta is jeopardized when things go awry. Jim (Andrew Rothenberg) becomes unhinged in camp." (fxuk.com)

After 'Tell It To The Frogs' kept most of the action back at the survivor’s camp, 'Vatos' again splits the action of 'The Walking Dead' into two plots, one in the Atlanta and one at the camp. This double narrative allows the program to examine the psychology of the survivors, both those in the camp away from the city, and that of those who have returned to it and the other people we meet in the city.

The group who have returned to city don’t take long to meet other survivors, though not in the best of circumstances. The others that they find are an interesting group, superficially they are an aggressive gang out to defend themselves over all others, but as the episode progresses we find out that they are actually protecting their elderly and sick relatives. This group give an interesting insight into the human condition in this post-apocalyptic world, despite the situation that all of humanity is in, aggression and self-defence is their first reaction to interaction with other humans, and much of Guillermo’s (Neil Brown Jr) dialogue expands upon this.

Surfacing: Mondrian

Words: Saam Das

Mondrian are an indie-pop band from France, a nation that I am gaining more respect for by the day as they seemed to handle their rejection from hosting the 2012 Olympic Games A LOT better than England currently is/are with the 2018 World Cup bid. Shame on all of you throwing your toys out of the pram. Perhaps Mondrian will cheer you up though.

They put out a 7 track EP called 'Pop Shop' in the summer but dropped me an email with a new song, of the same name, the other day. Now I wasn't really that into it but I do try to listen to a couple of tracks from every band that I get emailed about. That probably explains the vast number of unread messages in my inbox. But if I didn't do that, I would have missed out on Mondrian's joyous twee-pop offerings, such as 'LHG' and 'Tofu Farmer'. These songs are like a stripped back Phoenix, while still retaining all of that band's anthemic glory.

Film Review: Unstoppable (2010)

Words: Saam Das

'Unstoppable' (UK Release: 24 Nov '10)

Director: Tony Scott
Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Suplee

Before going to see Tony Scott's latest train-related film 'Unstoppable', I was already mentally preparing hilarious wordplay...."unstoppably awful", "unstoppably banal" and so on, and so forth. Clearly, I had low expectations. After all, Tony Scott's last film, a not-overly-well-received remake of 'The Taking Of Pelham 123', also starred Denzel Washington and a train. Thankfully, 'Unstoppable' is very much a return to the Scott of old, responsible for the likes of 'Top Gun', 'Crimson Tide' and 'Enemy Of The State'.

'Unstoppable', if you haven't quite figured it out by now, is about efforts to stop a runaway train. The opening sees Randy (Ethan Suplee) from 'My Name Is Earl' transpose his bumbling character from that TV show onto the big screen causing an unmanned train to travel "under power". This transforms the train from an ambling and more easily stoppable "coaster" into a roaring, runaway train travelling at speeds of 70 miles per hour. Worse yet, it's carrying molten phenol. Which does something or another and is generally really quite bad for you.

Live Review: Beach House at Manchester Cathedral

Words: Kieran Toms
Photo Credit: Man Alive!

Live: Beach House at Manchester Cathedral (19th Nov '10)

There aren’t very many gigs which begin with a speech from the Dean expressing his delight about the “young people from America” coming to play, and that there’ll be a collection at the end for the building’s roof, but then Beach House’s show at Manchester Cathedral wasn’t really that typical.

The most striking thing about this performance was the setting, ensconced in the middle of the cathedral, amidst the arches. Different viewing angles led to different stained glass windows being glimpsed in the distance, and the lights from the stage illuminated thousand-year-old patterns on the walls and the ceiling.

Stuff: November 2010

This is just random stuff that Team FG think you might be interested in. Check the tab at the top of the page to see if there's new "stuff" to check out.

Last updated: November 30th.

Comment: The Beatles on iTunes

Words: Simon Opie

So some band called The Beatles have recently hit iTunes and since I’ve heard so much about them I went to check them out. Here’s what I discovered:

They made 13 albums (12 if you discount the film soundtrack to 'Yellow Submarine') that I could see, which is quite a lot for a band that supposedly broke up before their time. Admittedly, albums were a lot shorter in those days. There’s not an outstanding album amongst them, in that they are all flawed – some horribly so – and for every good song there’s a really bad one. More, the drummer couldn’t write a song to save his life but he got one on many of the albums, and the other quiet guy wasn’t much better in the songwriting stakes.

The old stuff seems to be the most popular even if it’s by far the least interesting and the most rooted in its time. There’s no ‘live’ album and apparently they didn’t play that many gigs, particularly once they hit the big time. But here’s the rub – whichever way you cut it there’s some great songs in this catalogue. If there is an album masterpiece it has to be 'Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band', provided you skip the George Harrison song. It has both John Lennon and Paul McCartney at the top of their form.

BBC iPlayer: The Trip (2010) Ep 5 - The Yorke Arms

Words: Paul Dean

'The Trip' Episode 5: 'The Yorke Arms'

SYNOPSIS: "Comedy series starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. Steve and Rob visit the world-famous Malham limestone pavement before eating at the Yorke Arms." (bbc.co.uk)

Perhaps the feature length version of 'The Trip' will be better. The big screen edit that's set to be released in some territories next year will no doubt feature the very best moments of this series, while chopping out the faff and the repetition. I really think that needs to be done, too. Much as I hate to say so, I think this series has stalled and, at times, even come close to outright nose-diving. Its funniest moments came too soon and there are few surprises left for us now.

Not only has the spontaneity gone, but the dialogue is dying too. Though the humour was supposed to come from how mundane and petty the leading duo's quips and quibbles were, they really are verging on the dull now. They crack few new jokes and have little more to say to each other than they did in previous episodes.