MY 2011 MOVIE GUIDE AND RATINGS

Here is My 2011 Movie Guide & Ratings (in alphabetical order).The rating is based on how I enjoyed the movies and how good I think the movies were. And this is how MyRating works:  YYYYY = EXCELLENT  YYYY     = VERY GOOD  YYY          = GOOD  YY             ...

Top Ten Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune & Pluto Songs

OK, following Earth, Mars, Venus and Mercury, I struggled to make a decent Top Ten with any of the other planets in our solar system. So here's the best of the rest, with two caveats...i) There are no decent Uranus songs. For obvious reasons. And yes, I do include 'Rocket To Uranus' by The Vengaboys when I make that statement. ii) I know Pluto isn't considered a planet anymore by those who know far...

Book Review - Stonemouth by Iain Banks

Many, many years ago, when I was doing my A Level English, I had one of those rare teachers who inspire you. Back then (as now) I spent a lot of time writing stories and I used to submit them as part of my coursework whenever I could. One day, the teacher asked me if I'd ever read any Iain Banks. From the sort of (slightly weird, character based) fiction I wrote, he thought Banks would be an author...

Waiting On A Sunny Day - Bruce Springsteen Live in Manchester

On a day when the North West was drowning under torrential rain (yet another "wettest June on record", as though it's now become a contest), we were prepared to be Lost In The Flood at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band returned to town. We'd been lucky at previous outdoor Bruce concerts in Manchester, enjoying rare sunny days at both the Lancashire County...

Coming Attractions: More Sex & Violence plus some Peculiarity

Too Much Sex & Violence #4 is heading towards completion and will hopefully be hitting the streets sometime in what we're laughably calling this "summer". To whet your appetites, here's the front and back covers... a couple of wonderful arty homages from Nige & Dave... But that's not all... my other new comic, Department of the Peculiar, drawn by the amazing Rob Wells is also nearing completion...

Top Ten Mercury Songs

Back into space, this week with ten songs about (or very loosely connected to) the smallest, hottest planet in our solar system...10. Long-View - FurtherOK, I'm stretching the rules, but this is from the debut Long-View album, called 'Mercury', and it's a nice enough noise.9. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - On MercuryThe Chilli Peppers go ska. I'm not the world's biggest RHCP fan, but I love the fact that...

Comic Review: Video Nasties

I've been hearing good things about Chris Doherty's Video Nasties for some time, so when I found out there was a collected edition of the whole series available again, I had to give it a go. Mighty glad I did.Evan is a teenager with a healthy addiction to "video nasty" horror films. I've been there. There's nothing more exciting to the average teenage lad than watching nubile young things meet their...

Book Review - Luther: The Calling by Neil Cross

I'm a huge fan of the BBC crime drama Luther, starring Idris Elba as the eponymous hardbitten London cop, so I was eager to read the prequel novel written by series creator Neil Cross. It reveals the investigation of which John Luther is still feeling the fall-out when the show began, both professionally (via internal affairs) and personally (his wife left him for another man during the case). You...

Top Ten Astronaut Songs

Leftover from my collection of Spacemen and Spacewomen Songs, I realised I had enough tracks to make an Astronauts' Top Ten too. And I think it's gonna be a long, long list...(Sadly no Sleeper in this list, but their debut album cover seemed appropriate.)10. Clint Boon Experience - Andy Gill Astronaut / Tiger Woods AstronautI couldn't find either of the above tracks from Clint Boon's seminal 1999...

Comic Review: The Rainbow Orchid Volume 3

And so we finally reach the end of the road, the finale of Garen Ewing's epic Rainbow Orchid trilogy, a book I've been both breathlessly anticipating... and quietly dreading. Could this really be the last we see of Julius Chancer and co?For anyone as yet unacquainted with Garen's masterpiece, The Rainbow Orchid follows Chancer's quest to seek out the legendary flower of the title so his employer can...

Top Ten Space Alien Songs

I know, I promised you my Top Ten Astronaut songs this week... but with the release of Prometheus, this one seemed too good an opportunity to miss.This Top Ten is also dedicated to the late Ray Bradbury, one of my favourite authors. Something Wicked This Way Comes is among the greatest novels ever written.10. Arctic Monkeys - Space InvadersA Monkeys rarity. Can't remember where it came from. It's...

Movie Review: Prometheus

The lukewarm reviews did Prometheus a favour. They helped puncture the biggest bubble of hype to surround any movie in recent memory. It's been impossible to take a breath over the last few weeks without someone trying to ram Prometheus down your throat. Complete three minute TV ad breaks devoted to one monster trailer. "Special cinema featurettes" interviewing the entire crew, right down to the big...

Book Review: The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

Reading Jon Ronson's latest book led me to conclude, with some relief and also a whiff of sadness, that I am not a psychopath. If I learnt one thing from his investigation it's that psychopaths don't care what other people think and don't suffer any remorse over the way their actions impact the lives of others. While there's a part of me that always says "I don't give a monkey's", I know deep down...

Comic Reviews: Points West / The Whale House

My old pal Andrew Cheverton is spoiling us this month with the release of not one but two outstanding new comics.First up, Jerusalem West returns in his latest adventure, Points West - another atmospheric shot of mystery and bloodshed in the old west, this one fleshing out a small moment from a previous adventure, adding more to our understanding of the title character, yet working as a stand-alone...

Movie Review: The Raid

All the critics loved Indonesian action movie The Raid. Listen to them bleat..."Remember your first time with Hard Boiled? Die Hard? This is how it's done - a clean, hard, constant hit of adrenalin." (Empire)"High octane excitement from start to finish." (5 Live)"You have never seen anything this AWESOME." (Twitch Film.)Even the normally reserved Peter Bradshaw at the Grauniad chimes in with..."The...

Top Ten Spaceman & Spacewoman Songs

We're still up in space... but before we visit any more planets, here's a few songs about the men and women who might be making the journey alongside us.10. Babylon Zoo - SpacemanIf you remember the 30 second jeans ad that made this song a hit, you might remember being rather confused on hearing the full-length version. The rest of the song sounds very different to the bit everybody knows. Watching...

In Which I Dream Of Balls

Last night, I dreamt my mum told me that radio and TV presenter Zoe Ball was 80 years old. "Don't be silly," I replied, but she insisted. She'd heard it on the radio so it must be true. "But, Mum," I told her, "Zoe Ball's married to Fatboy Slim. He was a teenager when he was in the Housemartins - so he's probably just a few years older than me. Why would he be married to an 80 year old woman?""What's...

Comic Review: The Almighties #1

My old mate Sam Johnson has recently premiered his new comic The Almighties, a timely, action-packed spoof of a certain other A-rated superteam doing the rounds at the moment. Here's Sam to tell you a little more...Just in time for THAT movie - Almighties Amass!Nick Fury is currently assembling Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the Avengers movie – but what if a more questionable character put together...

Oh My God - They Killed House!

You bastards!(Spoilers ahead, obviously.)I actually thought they'd done it too. Last episodes are always tricky things to get right. There are certain fundamental elements the audience wants, expects, demands. And top of that list is a happy ending. We've lived with these characters, followed their adventures... laughed, cried, got angry and shared every other emotion with them... for eight whole...

Top Ten Venus Songs

Hey, I never said my journey into outer space was going to take me in a straight line. From Mars, we slingshot back round Earth to our other nearest neighbour, the one a little closer to the sun. Things are hotting up, although the Venus we'll be hearing about through most of this list is a hot, heavenly goddess rather than a big blue rock surrounded by carbon dioxide and sulphuric acid...10. Low...

Movie Review - The Dictator

On exiting Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator, I decided to play a little Generation Game memory test, recalling as many of the broken taboos that had trundled past me during the previous hour and a half on this Conveyor Belt of Wrong...TerrorismMurderRapeSuicide BombingTortureChildbirthRacismSexismCapitalismCommunismLiberalismFeminismHomophobiaDisabilityMasturbationBlow JobsDefecationUrinationNuclear...

Book Review: Supergods - Our World In The Age Of The Superhero by Grant Morrison

Over the 30+ years I've been reading comics, Grant Morrison has written some of my all-time favourites. Animal Man, Doom Patrol, The Invisibles, Arkham Asylum, All Star Superman... books I'd hold up among the best the medium has to offer. He's also written a fair few books I just didn't get, a smattering that disappeared (albeit with sporadic enjoyment) up their own backsides, and some that left me...

Top Ten Mars Songs

Our next stop on my musical journey into space is Earth's closest neighbour, the red planet. Watch out for little green men... and the God of War.10. The Boss Martians featuring Iggy Pop - Mars Is For Martians'Nuff said.9. Grinderman - Honey Bee (Let's Fly To Mars)So that's what happened to all the bees - Nick Cave took 'em to Mars! One of the less obscene Grinderman records.8. The Flaming Lips -...

Apocalypse Girl

My movie-making pals over at Special Order 937 have completed their masterpiece, Apocalypse Girl - a 10 minute shot of dark, druggy, nihilistic depravity that's definitely NSFW or those with weak stomachs / easily offended moralities. Have no fear, Apocalypse Girl is here... god help us all....

Everyone Loves A Nice Crisp Biscuit...

My old pal and comic collaborator Rob Wells has recently put out another excellent collection of humour strips from his Crisp Biscuit Blog. Included in this issue...The Green C**k Ring's Final Crisis! The True Story of Christmas!The return of Jack Bowser in Twenty-Bore!Whatever Happened To The TV Stars of Our Youth?Halloween at Rob's house.Michael J. Fox IS Stuart Little.And some X-Factor spoofs I...

Not Every Book I Read Deserves A Review

Here's a few I just couldn't be bothered to write about in depth... or even get all the way through. Life is too short.Child 44 was a gripping classic.The Secret Speech was a disappointing, though still entertaining, sequel.It's a good job Agent 6 was the final book in the series because I wouldn't have bought any more. I skim-read this one and still found it over-written, rambling and self-indulgent....

Top Ten Man On The Moon Songs

OK, let's get back into space after last week's unrelated diversion... and where's the first stop on our journey?There are far too many songs about the big blue cheese button to narrow down a Top Ten Moon Songs... so instead, here's 10 solely about taking a trip there. 10. Radiohead - Sail to the Moon (Brush the Cobwebs Out of the Sky.)See, I might consider that bracketed subtitle pretentious......

Movie Review - The Avengers

How much more I enjoyed watching The Avengers in 2D rather than through the mud and blur and migraine of threedy. I felt like a partially sighted man suddenly given the gift of 20/20 vision. "Look at how beautiful it all is!" I cried at the cinema screen. "The colours so bright and vivid, the action distinctive, the background detail actually visible... I can see - I CAN SEE!" In truth, The Avengers...