Finally DJ Earworm has unleashed his remix mash up of this years 25 biggest hits and it’s sounding awesome! Brilliant to hear Alex Clare in there 🙂 Methinks it’s the best one for a while!
Mr Earworm has now updated the link to download the mix you can get it from soundcloud or you can download in the soundcloud player below the video.
I haven’t read James Patterson’s books based around the character Alex Cross and I’m not sure how closely linked this film is to them. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. What I do know is that this film is one hundred minutes of my life I’ll never get back.
Where to start. Alex Cross is directed by Rob Cohen (The Fast and The Furious) and features Tyler Perry as psychologist cop, Alex Cross. Yes, I know I didn’t say stars. It also features Matthew Fox, he of Lost as the baddie and Edward Burns as Cross’ cop partner. Piacasso (Fox) goes on a killing spree and Cross and his partner have to figure out what’s going on and try to stop him from getting to his next victim.
Ten minutes into the film, it’s already apparent the story is flat. The characters are two dimensional and hard to relate to, it’s hard to feel anything, good or bad, for any of them. There’s not enough back story for us to empathise with the lead character, despite getting good news in the opening scenes, there’s nothing here to bring you into the story. The first segment of the film also moves from Cross’ home life to that of the bad guys but we’re not given how the two are related at all. It all just leaves the viewer cold. Plus, for all the detective work going on, Cross comes across as a complete know it all, again without the likeability factor that Gil Grissom has in CSI.
There are, at times, when it’s obvious that the cop pairing are trying to work jokes and a certain amount of humour that the Lethal Weapon films possessed. Here, they just don’t work as we don’t have a loveable Riggs character. It’s hard to know whether to pick fault at the direction of the film or place the blame solely on the script. There are some well-shot scenes, one in particular in a disused movie theatre stands out.
I made myself sit through the film and the longer it went on, the more it reminded me of mid week nights in the early nineties when you’d head down to the video shop and all the good movies were gone. You’d pick a random movie, occasionally striking gold but more often than not getting a complete dud. This was one of them.
I’m not sure how movies like this get financed when there are so many more up and coming talented film directors and script writers that could do a lot more with less of a budget. Avoid.
Let’s face it, side projects can be real fun. A little break away from your main musical outfit lets an artist spread their wings and reveal a side that we may not of known about. Frank Benbini is drummer with Fun Lovin’ Criminals and along with Naim Cortazzi and a band of merry-men make up Uncle Frank, a band who fuse hip hop lounge and funk influences.
The EP opens with ‘Irresistible You’, a slow smooth track with Benbini stepping out from behind his kit and taking over the mic. The track builds quite a vivid picture of a Sunday morning with a loved one and features some beautifully placed sound effects with brilliantly add to the vibe. Benbini’s vocals are backed by layers of harmonies and the track remains subtly subdued for great effect.
‘Desperate Town’ is an obvious stand out track and highlights Benbini’s vocals with an intense delivery to match the production of the song. Starting out with Benbini’s vocals, subtle keys and bass, ‘Desperate Town’ slowly builds to a understated refrain in contrast with the vocal performance of the verses. Terrific song.
The tempo is lifted and a little funk is added to proceedings with ‘Gravy Baby’. Given the talent involved in this project, including Boy Kid Cloud on Drums, it’s not surprising that the production is top notch. Clever string arrangements, the main vocal line backed with a female vocal and a easy relaxed rhythm make this memorable.
There’s always room for a bit of fun, and ‘Poonani’ does just that. It’s sexy and fun and just a little bit naughty, it kinda makes you want to get up and do some slow dirty dancing type stuff, or maybe that’s just me. Either way, it’s catchy as hell.
This is a really enjoyable EP and highlights the different sides of Uncle Frank really well. As the EP cover suggests, this is a smooth sexy bed of roses, with an added dash of fun. Check it out.
Firstly, thanks to Andrew for pointing this out on Twitter. The band are Hey! Hello!. I know nothing about them exccept that this track, ‘How I Survived The Punk Wars’, is rather awesome and I love how it’s a ‘How To..’ for musicians in the music industry today. Top job!