DVD's- 'End of Watch' and Jo Nesbo's 'Jackpot'

Does anybody rent DVDs these days? With the closure of 20 of Xtravision's 152 stores across Ireland earlier this May and the company going into receivership I guess the facts speak for themselves. Viewing has changed; we stream films and TV series, subscribe to Netflix for all its faults and have Sky or other cable networks. So I guess the answer to my first question is "No". Despite this my local DVD rental store is always busy with browsing public who leave with a couple of discs and for the bank holiday weekend we rented '3 for the price of 2' of which we have viewed two.

  

End of Watch starring Jake Gyllenhall and Michael Pena as two South Central California cops is a very real and sometimes disturbing journey as the two cops with an extremely close 'brother in arms' relationship patrol the neighbourhood holding their own camcorder to document their watch. The success of their busts is their ultimate downfall as they mess with a big Mexican cartel involved in drugs and human trafficking. Sometimes hard to watch it is violent, rough and disturbing as the gangs pitch themselves against their enforcers but it is the relationship between Gyllenhall and Pena as Brian and Mike, the cop car banter and the more personal exchanges that carries the story. A very rewarding rental.

 

Jackpot, based on the Jo Nesbo story was an unexpected joy. Violent, rough, disturbing and .....funny, it was one of the funniest black humour movies I have seen for a while. The arrest of Oscar Svenson played by Kyrre Hellum in a strip joint/sex shop after a violent shoot out allows the detective in charge, Solor to question him and get to the bottom of the event. Oscar works with ex-offenders and is roped into getting into a football betting pool as the fourth person. The unexpected win leads to a chain of events carefully explained by the innocent Svenson. The four main characters, Svenson, Thor Eggen, Billy and Dan Treschow work perfectly together as the combination of psych vs innocent vs stupid vs the loyal con. All of this is balanced out by the cool questioning by Solor whom we never quite know whether he is being serious or sarcastic. The outcome is most satisfying.

Two dvd rentals recommended should you wish to support an ailing industry!
  
 

Festivals and Rock - Summer 2013

For festival goers the summer of 2013 looks set to be a great one. They are a great place to see up and coming bands being given the opportunity to play to a big audience and also to see some of the big names. Oxegen (David Getta, Rizzle Kicks, Rita Orra, Snoop Dogg) and Electric Picnic (Arctic Monkeys, Bjork, Fatboy Slim, Franz Ferdinand) have announced their line up to add to Kasabian, Primal Scream, James Blake and Chic at Forbidden Fruit and Vampire Weekend, The Maccabees, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kraftwerk at Longitude.



For the rockers out there Ireland is being spoiled. First up, this June, following their great performance at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, The Who arrive in Dublin to perform "Quadrophenia and More". They will play their 1973 album Quadrophenia in its entirety to be followed by a greatest hits selection. To fans of this particular album this is the music event of the year. Anyone who grew up during the 1979 mod revival will be familiar with this album and the film with Phil Daniels as the tragic male lead Jimmy and Sting as the miscast too-old-for-the-role Ace face.
  

Next on the rock list is the visit of the old Canadian rock god Neil Young and Crazy Horse to the RDS. With a history of working together since the late 60s this is a group of musicians so used to playing with each other you wonder have they become one machine. Frank "Poncho" Sampedo has played with Young for 40 years and at 64 is the baby of the band. Reputed to be playing unexpected tracks and shaking the band up, expect the unexpected and prepare yourself for some long guitar jams.


The final rock show not to be missed is the Boomtown Rats reunion at The Marquee in Cork. What we expect we just don't know but we want to be there to find out! It's 26 years since their final show was performed in 1986 after becoming one of the biggest bands of the late 70s/80s and were the first Irish band to have a number one UK hit. Geldof is quoted as saying; "we fancied getting up there and playing those songs again for the sheer joy of it and we hope some of you would like to hear them from the band that made them. Anyway it'll be good to be back and better to see everyone again!" 
 

BREADBOY Teenage Kicks and Tatey Bread - What Paperboy Did Next by Tony Macaulay

This is a grand wee book so it is!  It is in his colloquial Belfast voice that Tony tells the story of growing up on the Shankill Road. It is 1977, Elvis is dead and even Big Duff, the hard man of the paramilitary is seen to shed a tear. On his bread round in Leslie's van brings him in contact with all members of the community and as a teenage pacifist Tony tries to take everyone as they come. Culture is on the edge of the punk explosion- we experience the Saturday Night Fever and Grease mania at the Westy disco DJ'd by Tony's dad before disco dies for a new expression.

 
Breadboy is just alive with the culture of the late 70s. It's got the music, the TV programmes, the movies, the changing fashions and even the food (fish fingers and smash). For anyone who grew up in these years  this book is just spot on with its innocence and excitement. You'll nod your head and chuckle at references to the films you watched and the aftershave or perfume you wore (Denim or Charlie!). Despite the backdrop of the 'The Troubles' and its ever present threat to the community, this is merely an aside to Tony's job delivering bread from the Ormo Mini-Shop and his aim of making Judy Carlton fall in love with him.



This is Tony's sequel to his first book Paperboy. Growing up on the Shankill Road he has worked for many years for peace and reconciliation and is a writer, broadcaster and contributor to BBC Radio Ulster. His humour and his voice call off the pages to the reader to laugh and share the story of a teenage boy as he grows up in the shadow of sectarianism but who puts all this aside for the Bee Gees, Star Wars, Wonder Woman Lynda  Carter and Farrah Fawcett Majors.

Breadboy is published by Blackstaff Press www.blackstaffpress.com