my "100 fav films evar" list

i was asked to compile a list of my fav 100 films, which is hard. the hard part isn't naming the films, but trying to decide the order. so the top 7 are pretty solid, but the rest of em are pretty interchangable.
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01. punch-drunk love
02. solaris (Clooney/Soderbergh version)
03. teenage mutant ninja turtles (the original live-action film)
04. bill & ted's bogus journey
05. they call me trinity
06. trinity is still my name
07. the last boyscout
08. double trouble
09. american psycho
10. fear & loathing in las vegas
11. watch out, we're mad
12. eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
13. donnie darko
14. barton fink
15. gattaca
16. l.a. story
17. kuffs
18. zeitgeist
19. the dark knight
20. fulltime killer
21. beerfest
22. event horizon
23. dead man
24. confession of pain
25. odds & evens
26. batman beyond: return of the joker
27. city of god
28. heat
29. benny & joon
30. charlie wilson's war
31. hero
32. the crow
33. oldboy
34. bangkok dangerous
35. waking life
36. dark city
37. unbreakable
38. swingers
39. spaced invaders
40. angel heart
41. batman: mask of the phantasm
42. what's eating gilbert grape?
43. before sunrise
44. before sunset
45. happy gilmore
46. batman begins
47. don juan demarco
48. legionnaire
49. o brother, where art thou?
50. brick
51. lord of war
52. pulp fiction
53. the abyss
54. i'm for the hippopotamus
55. kindergarten cop
56. 2001: a space odyssey
57. insomnia (Chris Nolan version)
58. lord of the rings: the return of the king
59. harlem nights
60. the matrix
61. two missionaries
62. men at work
63. three amigos
64. the thirteenth floor
65. perfume: story of a murderer
66. good morning vietnam
67. the machinist
68. forget paris
69. fletch
70. clerks
71. ed wood
72. bulworth
73. lord of the rings: the two towers
74. return to oz
75. another 48 hours
76. collateral
77. who finds a friend finds a treasure
78. fight club
79. super troopers
80. go for it
81. hotrod
82. toys
83. troublemakers
84. serenity
85. mallrats
86. wonder boys
87. se7en
88. earth girls are easy
89. secretary
90. dead poet's society
91. once upon a time in america
92. interview with a vampire
93. chasing amy
94. children of men
95. men with brooms
96. mo money
97. tape
98. crime busters
99. kiss kiss bang bang
100. jarhead

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V.

as i lay down to die

24/07/2008

never again to know the touch or smell
forever in the dirt, a world away from hurt
the nothingness expanse
no heaven, no hell

regrets aplenty? for you maybe
fear of the unknown? not me, not i
for when i die, religion man-made will not have tainted
the one, the only TRUE life i haved lived through
suffered, enjoyed
highs, lows
drugs, hos
ok maybe one regret?: breaking my nose

death comes for us all, but hope
take from it the inspiration to live, you'll cope
smoke that weed, pop that pill
don't be slave to the dollar bill
as a celestial body bound to this plain
i can only hope to reform and join the universe once again

universe, star-stuff: father/mother to us all
spare me your holy schtick
i am free in mind, conscience is clear
things i hold dear you will never understand
i am consigned to being a wandering mind, a one-man band
among a bevy of cohorts who see me, but simply don't understand

the purpose of life? up to you
make it up as you go along
do what feels right, brings you and others joy and fulfilment
heed no one's call, follow your own
live, love, fuck, fight
and in the end you'll die:
and everything will be alright.

V.

Bert & Ernie Rap (Sped-Up Version)

the now-infamous Bert & Ernie Rap, but with a hilarious twist.

V.

Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul (Video)

my favourite song off their new album, and their latest single, and one badass video. i love it.

V.

The Dark Knight

if you've been online in the last couple of weeks, you would have already noticed that not only is the Internets now flooded with talk on The Dark Knight, but also every single person you know in real life is hearing about this film and wanting to see it. a good thing?

sure.

it at least guarantees the film will enjoy a huge, if not record-breaking, worldwide box-office take, almost ensuring a third film in the future. but if you're just the casual fan of the franchise, and of the Batman character and all those associated in its universe, your main motivation for seeing the film has no doubt been the much talked about film-stealing performance of Heath Ledger as The Joker.

and it's not a motivation i scoff at. i'm a huge fan of the Batman mythos, and of the character itself. but without a doubt, Batman's ultimate adversary has been and always will be The Joker. he's the villain that never dies, always pushed Batman's buttons, and always eggs him on to break his one rule: the rule being that Batman does not kill. in the film, it's something The Joker takes delight in punishing Bats for. he knows he can do pretty much whatever the hell he wants, and the caped crusader will only go so far in stopping him. he'd never step over the line, a weakness that Joker uses to his full advantage.

it has to be said, with all the hype surrounding the film and of Ledger's performance in particular, especially after his sudden and unfortunate death, the film really does deliver on every single bit of that hype. sure you may be able to discern some plot holes, Christian Bale's bat-growl may sound dumb and some of the dialogue can be overly-corny, but the overall package results in a completely satisfying experience. personally, i have been anxiously awaiting this film for over a year, even before Heath's death made it into an inevitable juggernaut, keeping up-to-date with set photos and insider info. y'know, the usual fanboy shit.

i got my first taste of The Dark Knight last Tuesday at an afternoon session @ IMAX, which in my humble opinion is unequivocally THE BEST WAY of watching this film. it will blow your mind and leave you, quite literally, breathless. we sat only 4 or 5 rows from the front, and when the opening shot of Gotham City was unleashed onto the 8-story tall screen, everyone in the sold-out theatre gasped: it FELT like we were floating over the top of the buildings.

at a running time of 2.5hrs, a lot of people have had the requisite, cliched complaint that "had it been 30mins shorter, it would've been better". i call bullshit on this criticism. this is a film so rich in content, so visually striking, with one massive standout performance and a bevy of major and minor characters to work with, that 2.5hrs didn't even do it justice. the film felt more like an epic crime drama than a "comic book movie", and deserves to be 3.5hrs.

if i could make one complaint (and in a review, one must always make at least one), for a film titled The Dark Knight, Batman didn't get as much shine. he played second-fiddle to the real star of the film: The Joker. but, on further reflection of this, i think back to the animated series. anytime Joker was involved, the focus was squarely on him. he stole the show. that's who he is and what he does as a villainous character. in this regard, it makes sense that Batman took a backseat this time around.

this film is going to be absolutely massive, if it isn't already. go see it. the end.

V.

Soul Deep - Lollipop (feat. Mista Vee)

i was trying to think of the best way of introducing this cover me and the Soul Deep Live band did last week of the Lil Wayne classic, "lollipop". but the best i can do is this:

"so last week everyone got stoned and we made THIS!"

meh. s'good enough.

so here 'tis, the epic live cover which runs for an excrutiating 13:57, and features urs truly on vocal duties. halfway through the song lead singer of Soul Deep (Gav) jumps in while i go for a smoke break, and i come back at the end to finish it off. if u got the time (and the infinite fucking patience), have a listen ;)

soul deep - lollipop (feat. mista vee)

Raff on keys.

Jeremy on geetar.

Baby J on drums.

Jase on bass.

Mista Vee & The G.A.K. on vocals.

V.

The KLF - Justified & Ancient

who feels like goin to Mu-Mu Land?

I DO.

V.

Jazzanova - Absolut Kravitz

so apparently Lenny put out this new song called "breathe" for a new Absolut Vodka ad, and Absolut put the video and acapella out there for anyone to remix and re-edit. there's a whole buncha remixes out there. this is Jazzanova's stab at it, and i gotta say, they sound reeeealll good together.

V.

Lil Wayne - Lollipop (feat. Static Major)

i know i'm late, but i love this goddamn song. i may have just become the newest Lil Wayne fan. he looks like a black Aphex Twin.

R.I.P. Static, i'll have more ruminations over the death of this cool artist later.

V.

Naked Music - Re-Creation

while we were all sleeping, Naked Music quietly dropped this album of new songs. all produced by Jay Denes (aka Blue Six), it's apparently in honour of Naked's 10th anniversary as an underground music label powerhouse. the 11-track album features signature voices of the Naked sound, such as Catherine Russell, Mark Anthony Jones (of Summerland), Dave Boonshoft, Saul Rubin and newcomer Tabitha Fair. from the snippets i've heard, it sounds like another solid release.

01. pleasure seeker

02. this time around

03. love only one

04. hurry (blue six dub)

05. heroin chic

06. samba contigo

07. sticky situation

08. face the day

09. hurry

10. heroin chic (dub reprise)

11. re-creation

check out Amazon or the Naked Music website for some snippets.

V.

Vahé Presents...The Leisure Suite: 010. Mashed Potatoes Vol. 2

so it's been a while, and i was in a random mood. the Mashed Potatoes series is all about trying to cover as many musical bases as possible, but without ruining the flow of the overall mix. so, like the first one, i've stuck at least a few tracks of each genre so it flows, as Bruce Lee put it, "like waaaaater, my friend". this volume mainly covers contemporary funk n soul, experimental jazz fusion, 80s funk, reggae, downtempo, poprock, acoustic & hip-hop. enough genres to poke, or even jab, a stick at.

tracklist:

01. maxwell - the urban theme (unfaded) (4:50)
02. grooveman spot - 1,2,3,4 (feat. jeru the damaja) (4:50)

03. mista grimm - ebonics (2:58)

04. lefties soul connection - funky chick (3:29)

05. dimitri from paris - strong man (for real) (5:21)

06. ladybug mecca - show the world (3:35)

07. jamiroquai - slippin' n' slidin' (3:36)

08. citizen king - safety pin (3:44)

09. mulatu astaqé - yèkatit (3:52)

10. sam sparro - clingwrap (3:58)

11. dj peril - rock ya baby (original) (feat. rahsaan patterson) (3:58)

12. michael franks - a robinsong (3:43)

13. as melhores orquestras do mundo - airport love theme (2:51)

14. randy's all-stars - guns in the ghetto (3:25)

15. kaidi tatham - demo unnins (3:03)

16. finley quaye - even after all (3:54)

17. blue six - i've given enough (feat. aya) (3:57)

18. amos lee - lies of a lonely friend (3:19)

19. owusu & hannibal - watch watch (girls) (6:07)

20. the tallywood string quartet - teardrop (tribute to massive attack) (3:59)

total runtime = 78:29.

:::DOWNLOAD:::

V.

GONZO: a Hunter S. Thompson documentary

this is the man who penned the awesome literary work which became the awesome film (starring Johnny Depp & Benicio Del Toro, directed by Terry Gilliam): Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas. Johnny spent a lot of time with Hunter when learning how to play him on screen, and subsequently they both became pretty good friends, which (i assume) is why Johnny's reading that quote at the start of the trailer. the important thing is, they're both cool cunts and i'm not :( ...

oh yeah! doco!

go watch it!

V.

Esperanza Spalding - Precious (Live @ Letterman)

this woman is the truth. i'm listening to her album as we speak, very beautiful stuff. GO GET IT.

V.