I love Todd Phillips (no homo)

I recently decided to re watch a whole bunch of Kevin Smith movies(the good ones, not Chasing Amy or the Jersey Girl) I've always liked Smith's movies but have often wondered why a director like Todd Phillips doesn't have the same status as someone like Smith. I suppose it could be put down to a timing thing, Clerks being something new and exciting at the time. In a way Clerks and Mallrats goes far far beyond the usual comedy film. I did also look back at a few films by Phillips and thought that Hated (the doco about GG Allen and the Murder Junkies) was awesome! Not to mention Old School and The Hangover which I thought shits on any Judd Apatow movie out there. If you haven't seen any of Todd Philips movies give them a try. Just stay away from Starsky & Hutch, he must have been having an off day.

Batman: The Movie

When I was a young lad all I wanted to be when I grew up was...Batman. Lucky for me my dreams came true. It was this 1966 movie with Adam West as Batman that really sold me on the idea. In comparison to today’s versions in which Batman sounds like he needs a throat lozenge, Robin is an annoying little shit and the Bat Suet has nipples, the original Batman movie is a clear winner. This film will make you laugh and cry (from laughing). The film is about Batman fighting the forces of evil…no surprises there. However, this time he is up against all your favourite super villains, a submarine and exploding sharks. I’d like to see Christian Bale pull off great one liners like Adam West can. I think screenwriters should get their pad and paper ready to take notes when watching this one because Batman: The Movie is one of a kind.

Long Time No See

My apologies for the lack of posts lately but I have been very busy filming a documentary and trying to organise my impending move to Germany. I managed to find time to go see The Goonies on the big screen last week. I think they are still playing it at a few places around Auckland, buy a ticket it was freakin sweet.


A few days ago I went and saw Henry Rollins do a spoken word show in Auckland. He was really amazing. I'm always riveted by what he has to say. He spoke for about 3 hours and then I caught up with him after the show and had a long chat.
If Henry is coming to your town, make sure you get yourself a ticket, you won't regret it.

Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life

Douglas Wolk of Pitchfolk said that "Fucked Up are arguably the best hardcore album band of at least the last 20 years" I must say I agree with him there. Not to mention they have one of the gnarliest front men in hardcore history. As most new hardcore bands seem to be playing the same old tunes, Fucked Up has been taking hardcore to new places. It's great to finally see a hardcore band that can think outside the scene and bring together different influences yet still produce one of the most rad hardcore albums of the 2000s. The Chemistry of Common Life is the album for you if you love hardcore and you're not afraid to step outside the box.

Dead Man's Shoes

A few years before the release of This Is England, director Shane Meadows made a film that I consider to be one of the most haunting and confronting films ever made. Dead Man's Shoes is the story of Richard and his brother Anthony. Richard is a disaffected soldier that has returned home in order to for fill a promise and punish the local thugs that bully his brother.
The film is very confronting but remains dignified and beautiful through its simplicity. Meadows manages to combine a shocking yet riveting storyline with a well cast group of actors. Paddy Considine is truly sublime as Richard and pulls off a performance that is up there with DeNiro's portrayal of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. The Midlands backdrop adds a real feeling of isolation that echoes from the characters souls into their surroundings.
If you enjoyed This Is England, Dead Man's Shoes is a must see.

Monkey News

I watched these today and actually fell out of my chair from laughing so hard.

Revenge of the Nerds

Now this is a movie you will never forget. I first saw this film in my early teens and loved it. After watching it again recently, its charm, humour and 80s film goodness is as good as ever. If you are Goonies, Gremlins, or a Todd Philips fan then Revenge of the Nerds is for you. Two lovable nerds begin their college life by being thrown out of their dorms by The Jocks and grouped together with the rest of the social fuck ups, nerds and exchange students. The Nerds decide to start their own frat house and while doing so plot their revenge against The Jocks.

They just don't make them like they used to...

Rad Tatts

happy zombie jesus day!

I have some time off work to draw, relax and cook yum as vegan food. I've been drawing lots of Chest pieces.... so many ideas not enough space.
Trying to design the ultimate chest piece is harder than I thought. So after looking for some inspiration i came across this some cool sites.

The good the bad and the ugly -knuckle tatts...bump it
http://www.knuckletattoos.com/

Owls they are cool because they are smart and it looks speical when they turn their heads...these people agree with me.
http://owltattoos.blogspot.com/

if you have any ideas let me know...

The Best Vegan Recipes You'll Ever See

Vegan Baking and Cooking. You name it they've got it at

http://iheartvegan.wordpress.com/

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Old school Nintendo games rule! If you like them you should watch this. It's the feel good movie of the year.
"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" is a documentary that is centred on one man’s quest to become the worlds best Donkey Kong Player. Steve Wiebe is a high school teacher who decides to take on the challenge of beating the world record holder (Billy Mitchell) for the highest score in Donkey Kong. In order to achieve this he must, not only, beat Mitchell’s score in public but he must also gain the acceptance of the gaming community in order for his record to be taken seriously and to gain their respect. You will laugh, you will smile, you will cry (with laughter)

An Oldie but a goodie: La Grande Illusion (Jean Renoir 1937)

1937 LA GRANDE ILLUSION TRAILER RENOIR GABIN FRESNAY CARETTE
Uploaded by kirivalse. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

La Grande Illusion was on TV last night and I managed to set aside enough time to watch it before going out. I fuckin loved it! The film is the story of Capt. de Boeldieu and Lt. Maréchal and their lives in a WWI P.O.W camp. Jean Renoir manages to portray an insightful reflection into class structures of French and German society at the time. He also manages to express the common humanity of man through a brilliant performance by Jean Gabin and interesting cultural comparison between Pierre Fresnay(Capt. de Boeldieu) and Erich von Stroheim (Commander. Von Rauffenstein). La Grande Illusion was such a killer movie and is often said to be one of the greatest films ever made. Go watch it! You might learn something

She's Just The Girl...Just The Girl...The Girl U Want

This was a top notch directorial debut for Drew Barrymore with Whip it. The film focuses on an ex-beauty pageant contestant named Bliss (Ellen Page) who decides to throw her crown in the trash and join a roller derby team. Fuckin Aye!!! Whip it stands out from the crowd of other coming of age films that seem to saturate the DVD store shelves and cinemas (if they are lucky). This is due to the combination of a brilliant script, adapted by Shauna Cross to screen from her novel Derby Girl and its rad supporting cast Kristen Wiig, (New Zealand’s own) Zoe Bell, Eve, Juliette Lewis, and Barrymore herself...Whip it reminds us to find something in life that you are good at. It’s great to see girls kickin’ some ass and doing it in style. It’s not arty, it’s just a fuckin good movie.

Dead Kennedys - 1983 - Plastic Surgery Disaster

This really is a must have album. Get it before you become a zombie!!!

http://freemusic07.blogspot.com/2009/11/dead-kennedys-1983-plastic-surgery.html

Dark Days (2000)

Dark Days grabbed me by the throat from the get go. It's characters are not only interesting and engaging but they are REAL. These are real people sharing their stories and their struggles in life. If you watch this film, you will never forget it. If you have seen it before, watch it again.

Things That Are Awesome

It's always cool to be able to just kick it with awesome people after a busy day. Vesa and I went out for coffee yesterday and I had the best chai latte I've ever had. I asked the dude what kind it was and he said it was Pheonix Chai. I guess I'll have to find a way to make my own Chai on my travels.


Had to run back home in the rain, eat, then ran up to Two Hands. Hanging out in a Tattoo shop at night and just kicking it with cool people is another thing that is awesome. It also gave me time to get some work done. Josh came up with a new way to tattoo and have a ginger beer.
If you wanna mean tattoo, he’s your man and I'd just like to point out that if more people were as nice as Josh the world would be a better place.


Ruby came up to see me at the shop and we walked home at about 11. Josh told us that The Pixies were playing down the road So like magic as we were passing the Powerstation we heard The Pixies playing "Where is my mind!" They sounded fucking rad. I can now say I have actually "heard" The Pixies live. That is an actual photo of me, by the way. It was a long journey but I feel like I’m finally free again.



I woke up early this morning at took the dog for a walk along the beach.


These rock carvings where at the end of beach. Street art is taking over at least I hope it does.

All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain

I found an awesome Bladerunner poster at a junk shop today. I must re watch this movie, it still give me chills



also got my hands on a Asahi Pentax and a Minolta. They still work perfectly! I'm gonna clean them up tonight. Such an rad find!



Then I went for a chill in the park and thought about which Uni I wanna go to for my final year of my MFA after I'm finish my first year in Germany. So many choices, the world is my oyster

Tomorrow the sun will rise, I can vouch for that

I started reading "Black Spring" by Henry Miller today and it reminded me of this passage I once read that seems to make me feel very calm each time I read it.

"Tomorrow you may bring about the destruction of your world. Tomorrow you may sing in Paradise above the smoking ruins of your world-cities. But tonight I would like to think of one man, a lone individual, a man without name or country, a man whom I respect because he has absolutely nothing in common with you- MYSELF. Tonight I shall meditate upon that which I am."

Henry Miller, 1934

Das weiße Band

Boy by Taika Waititi

Go see this movie it's chooooice as!!! March 25th

I'm back.....back from the dead.

This week I got the chance to see the great Pavement and A Wilhelm Scream perform two different but amazing shows. Monday night Pavement blasted the Town Hall with a great set list of all your favourites. It was great to see Malkmus and Spiral Stairs back on the same stage together. Two days later A Wilhelm Scream killed it as usual. If you haven't seen or heard of them before be sure to get your hands on "Ruiner". If you haven't heard of Pavement then you are probably dead or a monk or something without ears