COMICS - The Left Bank Gang

The Left Bank Gang is one of many graphic Novels produced by Norweigian Artist Jason.

It is a story of F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Ezra Pound and Ernest Hemingway living in Paris and working as comic artists, who decide to commit a robbery. It has an ending that would make Quentin Tarantino proud.

Drawn in Jasons clear line style similar to Hergé, Jason uses cartoon animal depictions of the characters. For me this focuses the readers attention on the actual story, rather than the art (which is deceptively simple but show a masterful understanding of sequential art), similar to Maus by Art Spiegelman.

If I had to recommend just one Jason book to a non reader, this would be that one.

FILM - Raising Arizona

Probably my favourite Coen Brother film. It is a hard choice considering each of their films are modern classics (well maybe there is a couple such as the Ladykillers and intolerable cruelty that dont meet the overall high standard of their work).

Its a comedy that revolves around love, kidnapping, blackmail and a very scruffy bountyhunter.

This was the Coen Brothers version of a Roadrunner cartoon come to life. Nick Cage is like the coyote, with his eye twitching as he gets bashed throughout the film.

Watch it and love it like I do!

PHOTOGRAPHY - The Grand Canal Theatre

I recently took a trip to Dublin and discovered that the Grand Canal Theatre (or the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre as it is known presently due to its sponsorship by the Irish Gas board. Terrible name I know.) was just around the corner from me.
The Theatre was designed by the famous Architect Daniel Libeskind who se buildings resemble futuristic angled cubes. But what fascinated me more was the landscaped area in front of it. This was designed by an American Landscape Architect, Martha Schwartzand it compliments Libeskinds design using angular raised areas for seating and planting, along with a red carpet which has upright bright red poles. At night the area is lit by LED lighting of green and red.

I have 'borrowed' some of these ideas for a redevelopment of a dilapidated quay. Its in design stages at present, but I'm hopeful of recreating some of the magic I found at the Grand Canal!

See more photos here.

FILM - Star Trek into Darkness

I had arranged a few months ago to see this with an old friend who shared my passion for Sci-Fi movies.
I enjoyed the first J.J. Abrams Star Trek film and looked forward to seeing this.

There is nods to films like Indiana Jones and Star Wars (fittingly as Abrams is lined up to direct the new Star Wars films).

The story has a couple of good twists, and the set pieces are fantastic. Also the comedy moments are excellent and some good laughs are had at Spocks lack of humour and Simon Peggss Scotty.

It lived up to our expectations and was visually a treat for the eyes. 
Here's a trailer on Youtube.

TV - Batman the animated series

 

As a kid I loved this series. As an adult I still do. The stories were well written and the art was unique for its time.





I treated myself to the DVD collection of season one of 'Batman - the animated series' recently. It is amazing watching it again because its really dark for a cartoon show. 

 

Its nice to relive those days of coming home from school and catching the latest episode.

COMICS - Tangents

I first saw Miguelanxo Prados work in the british anthology Crisis, which was a british comic that set out to use comics to tell more mature stories and used european artists work because they explored relationships in comic form. I loved Prados chalk drawings on brown paper.

The writing isn't bad either. Tangents explores relationships and the stories usually do not have happy endings. Jealousy, unrequited love, old flames long extinguished are just some of the subjects. 

A book that should be read, and shows just what comics are capable of. Available from Play.

 TV - The Lost Room

 I have decided to upload things in my life that have inspired me (for better or worse!) in the hope that it will inspire someone else. I uploaded some of these articles on another blog, but now I am trying to get everything into one place, so it will all be here nice and neat, long into the future! Maybe it make for interesting reading for the 80 year old me.

To start off heres The Lost Room. Once in a blue moon a TV show comes along like the Lost Room. In the tradition of The Twilight Zone, this pilot mini series examines ordinary people in extra ordinary circumstances. The premise behind the show is that an accident occurs at a motel room which affects everyday objects in the room. The objects get supernatural powers ranging from invincibility to controlling time. I got the DVD collection the other day and I'm hoping to watch it again soon. Run time is 252 minutes, so thats going to be a long evening!
 Unfortunately it didn't get a reguler series.

I got it on Play at a good price! Catch the opening title on Youtube.