The Weekly Review: 15/07/2012

A weekly round-up of what I have been watching, listening to and discussing. Rather than just posts about film, this is a bit more all-encompassing as I think my interest in cinema and art crosses over and between a variety of sources...

A day late! Well, it will get worse as (unless I am exceptionally organised) I doubt there will be one next week as I shall be sunning it up in Ibiza. Happy days indeed. Bring on the holidays!

Highlight of the Week

Spending the weekend on a canal boat couldn't have been better. Simply outstretched on the top of a boat gently sailing through the Staffordshire countryside and stopping off for a Guinness and exceptionally cheap beer (good ol' non-London prices...) was just what I needed. Hats off to Tom-o to getting married!

DVD's/Blu-Rays/Cinema

A Star Is Born: Since I watched a documentary on Judy Garland (A great special feature on The Wizard of Oz DVD), I have wanted to see this film. James Mason has become my new favourite actor - yet I have only seen him in this and North by Northwest. A must-watch as it is a pessimistic version of the story that is preented in The Artist. But without the silent-to-sound era context.

Batman Begins: Rewatching in preparation for The Dark Knight Rises. Anyone who hasn't, needs to check out my writing on the film on either this site or Man I Love Films. It proves how skilled a filmmaker Christopher Nolan is.

The Dark Knight: Guess what this week's 'Modern Classic' is discussed in detail...

Music/Podcasts

Reel Insight: Managed to catch up on the Michael Fassbender episode. I'm (a) shocked that the ladies disliked Hunger and (b) love the slick-ness of the show. I think the 10-film limit is great as it ensures a concise and quick pace to the show. Especially as, if you haven't seen the film, its not a problem. Even the segments are effective and interesting. The fact that the next one is Jimmy Stewart ... woo hoo!

Graceland: Paul Simon's seminal album. I am desperate to watch the London Sundance Opening film, Under African Skies, as it details the huge controversy that surrounded its release. But, having said that, I would also strongly recommend the follo-wup album, The Rhythm of the Saints. Flawless albums.

Now Playing: Having covered the four Spiderman films, they are just about to get back into the Batman series. They spent almost an entire year discussing every Marvel film available and it culminating in a scathing attack on The Amazing Spiderman. I think the Raimi comparison is neccessary but unfair - but the boys really argued their point well as to how problematic the film is. But, I think it was Stu, who noted that it will be worth giving Andrew Garfield one more chance. I couldn't agree more.

TV/Theatre/Art Galleries/Books/Misc

The new Empire, Sight & Sound and Little White Lies arrived. Always a good time of the month. Sight and Sound even has many pages discussing Christopher Nolan's back catalogue alongside lots of writing about Hitchcock. A great month of reading material. Even more importantly, Nick James writes about how this is the 'last edition' of the current version of the magazine. Its exciting - what chasnges await us next month. One thing though, is the subscribers recieve access to the full digital archive. Fantastic!