Culture Diary, Week Commencing 02/05/2011

Mon 02/05

Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
Mike D, MCA and AD-Rock return with their confusingly titled eighth studio album (no Hot Sauce Committee Part One exists). Now in their fourth decade, the boys output never strays too far from the familiar - HSCP2 sees the Beasties revisit their old skool roots. It's familiar in the way a favourite meal or pair of slippers is. Not breaking too many boundaries these days then, but still relevant and more importantly, still good.
http://beastieboys.com/

Thur 05/05

Psychoville BBC2 @ 10pm
It's not that theview doesn't like TV (some of it is on a par with the best cinema) but it's the one thing I've always left off the blog. It wasn't really a conscious decision, more of a given almost. But today all that changed, I learned Psychoville was returning to our screens and with it all those maladjusted (and brilliant) characters of the first series - terrifying childrens 'entertainer' Mr Jelly is probably my personal fave. Be excited, but mostly be afraid!!!

Fri 06/05

Macbeth @ The Everyman
Son of the Everyman, David Morrissey returns to the theatre where it all started for him, playing the title role of the murderous and paranoid King of the realm, opposite Julia ford as Lady Macbeth.
http://www.everymanplayhouse.com/show/MACBETH/521.aspx

Hanna
Directed by Joe Wright (of Atonement fame), Hanna tells the tale of a 16 year old girl, raised by her father to be the perfect assassin (for reasons which become clear). A strong ensemble cast features Saoirse Ronan as Hanna, Eric Bana as her father and Cate Blanchett as the corrupt CIA agent Hanna must eliminate, this movie promises thrills and spills aplenty.
http://www.hannathemovie.com/

Culture Diary, Week Commencing 25/04/2011

Wed 27/04

Thor
Marvel's Norse God Thor gets the big screen treatment. This latest comic book to movie adaptation is helmed by Kenneth Brannagh and stars relative unknown Chris Hemsworth as the God turfed out of Asgard to live amongst humble human kind. Natalie Portman provides the eye candy for those of us unmoved by Chris.
http://thor.marvel.com/

Moves 11 @ Bluecoat
Featuring challenging and dynamic work from more than 20 countries around the globe, the 7th International Festival of Movement on Screen opens at the Bluecoat this Wednesday. Running until 1st May, the works deal with challenging traditional conventions of screen art.
http://www.movementonscreen.org.uk/page.asp?id=2878

Johnny Foreigner @ The Shipping Forecast
Signed to Alcopop! Records, this three-piece hailing from Birmingham specialise in a kind of raucous, knockabout indie-pop not a million miles away from the style and energy of Los Campesinos! Wednesday sees the band arrive in Liverpool as part of a national headlining tour promoting the new EP.
http://johnnyforeignerband.com/  

Fri 29/04

Dylan Moran : Yeah, Yeah @ The Royal Court
Famous curmudgeon and much loved star of Black Books, Moran brings his brand of cheerful and charming miserabilism to The Royal Court this Friday.
https://royalcourtliverpool.ticketsolve.com/shows/126510972/events
  

Culture Diary, Week Commencing 18/04/2011

Mon 18/04

Tron/Tron Legacy DVD and Bluray release
The movie Daft Punk were born to soundtrack, Tron Legacy is out on DVD Monday, available on its own, or bundled with the original 1982 release. Each stars Jeff Bridges, and while Legacy isn't exactly breaking the same technological boundaries of the original and its contemporaries, it is at least interesting as a representation of where we've ended up as a result.

Yuck - Get Away
A band in thrall to a previous generation  of American alt rock, tomorrow sees the release of the newie off their self titled debut album. Derivative they most certainly are, but at least they have (very,very) good taste.  

Thurs 21/04

GZA @ The Kazimier
Sometime member of seminal hip-hop outfit The Wu-Tang Clan and all round legend in his own right, GZA brings his characteristic brand of rap to the Kazimier, performing a mixture of Wu-Tang classics and material from his latest Liquid Swords record.
http://www.thekazimier.co.uk/listings.htm

Fri 22/04

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec
Best loved and revered for earlier films such as La Femme Nikita and Leon, French writer/director Luc Besson is never better than when pouring his creative energies into a powerful yet human (even in the case of 1997's The Fifth Element) central heroine. One hopes the same can be said of his latest offering, bringing to the big screen the adventures of an intrepid journalist come adventurer, in his adaptation of Jacque Tardi's cartoon strips and books.

HOLIDAY!!!!

theview is taking a well earned holiday this week and as such there will be no Culture Diary (it's okay, you'll cope), but rest assured, normal service shall be resumed as of next weekend.

XXX

Culture Diary, Week Commencing 04/04/2011

Mon 04/04

The Kills - Blood Pressures
The Kills seem doomed to be perennially written off as a band choosing style over substance, but this Monday sees the release of their fourth long player, Blood Pressures, for Domino Records. That kind of relative longevity suggests there's more to this band than cool literary references, killer guitar riffs and a sexy vocalist - though they possess these things also.

http://www.thekills.tv/bloodpressuresstream.php

The Man Who Fell to Earth
Nic Roeg's somewhat overlooked science fiction allegory about an intergalactic outsider (played with supreme detachment by David Bowie) trying to find a way to save his dying planet is granted a much deserved remastered release.

Fri 08/04

Living Apart: Photographs of Apartheid @ The International Slavery Museum
40 years of South Africa's troubled recent history are condensed into some 100 powerful and iconic images documenting tragedy and hope, from photographer Ian Berry.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism/exhibitions/livingapart/