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...