Source Code is the new film from Duncan Jones, who made his excellent debut two years ago with the powerful Moon. What Duncan Jones managed to do so well with his debut was to make a science fiction film that went back to the roots of the genre, delivering a film in which the futuristic setting is only another means of developing the film’s one character. In this way, the film recalls Andrei Tarkovsky’s masterful Solaris, rather than the dull explosions-in-space and battling-robots films into which the genre descended. With Source Code, Jones continues to bring back the adult sci-fi film, recalling here Terry Gilliam’s bleak masterpiece Twelve Monkeys.
BY MATTHEW MCKERNAN
Cave of Forgotten Dreams is the new documentary from Werner Herzog, following closely on from his powerful Grizzly Man and his beautiful Encounters at the End of the World. This time, Herzog has been granted exclusive access to film the recently uncovered cave paintings in the Chauvet cave, which have been estimated to be over 32,000 years old. With a crew of only four people including Herzog himself, the film was shot in 3-D.
Essential Killing is Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski’s second film in twenty years. With its story of a Taliban political prisoner (played with typically method discomfort by actor Vincent Gallo) on the run from his American captors after a crash in Europe, Skolimowski explicitly avoids getting embroiled in the politics of the situation. As a result, the precise location of the chase as well as the escapee’s name is not revealed. Instead, Skolimowski aims for a much more tame study of what makes us human and how quickly we can lose these qualities.
What did you expect from The Vaccines? Well they certainly surpassed all expectations in the Speakeasy, where this sell out show brought a whirlwind to the stage. The supporting act, John D’Arcy, drew the crowd in and before long the venue was fizzing with anticipation. When The Vaccines finally blasted onto the stage they wasted no time in getting the crowd moving. Justin Young’s energy seeps through the crowd and before long arms are in the air and the fans are chanting lyrics as though they’ve known them for years.
Bell X1 are back on form with a new album, Bloodless Coup. Following a tour earlier this year (and they’re set to hit the road again) the band’s latest studio release is a continuum of the music they’re known for. Along the same vein as Blue Lights On the Runway, with added throw-backs to Flock and Music In Mouth, Bloodless Coup is a solid 10-track album. It has the same story-telling elements typical of their older albums, but the experimental thread has grown and strengthened, proving Bell X1 have more to offer than acoustic commentaries on heartache (though they’re good at that too).