An Idiot Abroad

If you've enjoyed Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchants radioshow The Ricky Gervais Show and can't get enough of their sidekick Karl Pilkington then you're going to love An Idiot Abroad. It's Karl going around the world visiting the Seven Wonders of the World in his own pessimistic, dark humoured and weird way. I wasn't a big fan of him on The Ricky Gervais Show, but I think I will stick around for a couple of more episodes of An Idiot Abroad.

Scratch

I remember when I first moved to Gothenburg back in 2001. I just loved the hip hop shows that I was able to attend. First at the legendary club Fat Milk and later on at Scratch. This weekend Scratch is celebrating it's 8th year. Really impressive and I salute them. I will however not go there. I stopped going to that club for quite a while now. Why? Firstly because I don't think they bring any interesting artists anymore. They are keeping it kind of safe with reliable names. Totally understandable, but it's only interesting to go and see Swollen Members, Ill Bill and posse so many times. I wish they would bring more artists such as Duplex which they used to but I guess those days are over. Secondly I've just reached that point where hip hop shows don't really do it for me any more. One out of perhaps every 20th show I go to is interesting. The rest of them just bores me. The last time I went to Scratch was when Army of the Pharaohs played. I left after like two songs. One thing that I know though is that I won't miss Scratch when I leave Gothenburg. Happy birthday though!

Date Night

Date Night

Review: I've always liked Tina Fey and I think that Steve Carell has his moments. That's the reason why I decided to check out this movie. And sure, they both are charming. But the movie is not. It's really a dime a dozen crazy comedy. Easily forgetable.

Family Guy & The Simpsons Season Premieres

Ah! Life ain't really the same during the time of year when there is no new episodes to watch of either The Simpsons nor Family Guy. So now I'm glad they're back for their 22nd and 9th season. Even though The Simpsons has lost some of it's appeal after all these years, the show is still like on old dear friend. Family Guy on the other hand is still as good as ever. Btw, fans of Flight of the Conchords need to check out the first episode of the new season of The Simpsons.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Review: Ever since I first heard of this remake of Wes Craven's classic movie I've been shaking my head. I don't believe in remakes and my initial thought was to skip this movie all together. I mean, a remake that is done without any kind of assistance or co-operation of it's original creator can't be good. But then I thought: Hey, who am I to skip movies? And I'm also a believer in the idea that I can never diss a movie, book or record before I've checked it out myself. So today I sat down to watch the movie.
If I was to compare to any horror movie out there it's actually an ok flick. But since it's a remake of a classic it really isn't ok at all. Sure, it's gory and well made. But Jackie Earle Haley in the role of Freddy Krueger is far from what Robert Englund made into an horror icon. And I just can't see the point in this movie whatsoever. Except to make money of course, but that is rarely what makes a movie good. So can I recommend this movie to anyone? Well, perhaps fans of the franchise that wants to see it all. Otherwise it's pointless. If you haven't seen the original movies, watch them instead. They are way better.

Soundtrack of Week 38

Breaking Bad & Supernatural

I don't know for how long I've had season one of Breaking Bad at home without watching it. Quite a few friends love the show and I'm sure it's good. I really don't know why I haven't got around to sitting down to watch it yet. But I promise, one of these days I will.

Another show that I've just seen a couple of episodes of here and there is Supernatural. What I've seen I've liked, but I haven't been sure whether or not I will watch the entire series. Especially since I for example saw how season 5 ended. But I've decided. I will give it a go.

Sapient - Universal Diorama

New video from Sapient of Sandpeople's great new album Barrels for Feathers.

$#*! My Dad Says

I just watched the first episode of the new sitcom $#*! My Dad Says. It's a show based on a Twitter feed (Shit My Dad Says) and is starring William Shatner. I'm not really crazy about sitcoms but decided to give it a try for 3 reasons.

- My friend Kristian mentioned it.
- A show based on a Twitter feed sounds so stupid I have to watch it.
- William Shatner, need I say more?

So how was it? Quite boring actually. Might check out one or two more episodes but I don't think I will follow this show. And btw, I really hate canned laughter!

Get Him to the Greek

Get Him to the Greek

Review: The madman himself, Russell Brand, is back. In this spin-off sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, he's once again doing the character Aldous Snow. Here we once again get a dose of Russell's over the top personality, sprinkled with a lot of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. I didn't really have any expectations about this flick, but I liked it. It's not in any way memorable, but worth checking out. At least if you like Russell Brand. Otherwise you need to stay away.

MC Homeless - Dream World

New video from MC Homeless. Dream World is taken from his upcoming album 27 which will be released on Milled Pavement later this fall.

Chuck Season 4

A good thing about autumn. Season premieres of tv shows. And I'm glad to see the birth of season 4 of Chuck. In the next week it's also time for new seasons of Family Guy and The Simpsons. After that all I have to wait for is the second season of Misfits.

The Wait is Over!

I've been waiting for the premiere of Boardwalk Empire for over a year now. The combination of HBO, Steve Buscemi, Martin Scorsese and the storyline itself has kept me longing. And today I saw the first episode. What did I think of the first episode? It blew me away! It was beautifully made, great cast and acting and I can't wait to see the rest of it!

Get Up, Stand Up!

It felt really good yesterday to see 5000 people march in the rain against the racists in our Parliament. This is only the beginning!

L'immortel

L'immortel

Review: I've always been a fan of Jean Reno, and have always prefered him in French movies instead of American ones. L'immortel (or 22 Bullets as the international title is) is a quite boring action movie though and easily forgetable.

A Dark Day for Sweden

2010-09-19 was the day when Sweden voted and got a racist party with nazi roots into Parliament. A dark, scary and sad day indeed. Let us all fight against the Sweden Democrats and a narrowminded society! No fascists on these streets!

Soundtrack of Week 37

Read of the Day

Zombie Women of Satan

Zombie Women of Satan

Review: There is always something special about sitting down to watch a zombie movie. I almost always know that the movie will be bad, but that is all part of it all. It's the low budget, crappy screenplays and bad actors that make them enjoyable. Of course there are really good zombie flicks too. But Zombie Women of Satan is not one of them. It was just as bad as I kinda hoped and knew it would be. Quite frankly, it was terrible but I walked away satisfied.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

Review: Sometimes it's just nice to lay back and watch an animated superhero movie. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse might not be the best I've seen, but it filled it's purpose. It's also nice to see Darkseid, the main villain for the tenth and final season of Smallville, as the bad guy here.

Das Racist - Sit Down, Man

New free stuff from Das Racist! Download their mixtape here and enjoy the sounds of Das Racist, El-P, Diplo and Dame Grease amongst others.

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Review: First off I will have to say that I didn't watch the 3D version. I watched the telesync. So I won't get into any of the technical quality here. This is the fourth movie in the Resident Evil franchise. The fifth if you're counting the animated Resident Evil: Degeneration from 2008. Here we once again have Milla Jovovich in the role of Alice slaughtering the evil and the undead at the same time. Is it any good? No, not really. Is it worth checking out? Yeah, if you enjoyed the earlier movies it might do something for you. Otherwise you can easily skip it. Now I will watch Zombie Women of Satan instead.

Machete

Machete

Review: I've been waiting for this movie for quite a while now, and I know my oldest brother has too. For all of you who remembered the fake trailers that accompanied Grindhouse a couple of years back might recognize this. This movie, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis, is an expansion of one of the trailers. So what do we get? We get an ultra violent movie with actors such as Danny Trejo, Robert DeNiro, Steven Seagal and Don Johnson amongst others. It's tasteless, brutal, messy and raw. It's also one of the most entertaining movies I've seen this summer, and is all that I hoped it would be.

Community

Between the end of The Sopranos and the premiere of Boardwalk Empire, I think I'll try something lightweight. So I will give season one of Community a try.

The End of The Sopranos (for me)

Just saw the final episode of The Sopranos. Feels a bit empty now, but also pleased. It was a great show, but it ended just in time if you ask me. Now we'll see what show I will watch next.

Soundtrack of Week 36

Cold Souls

Cold Souls

Review: Paul Giamatti. I just love that guy! I don't think I've ever seen him in a movie and not liked his character in some way. Paul Giamatti is also the one who saves Cold Souls from being nothing more than a pale copy of a Charlie Kaufman movie. Because it couldn't be more obvious that director Sophie Barthes is a huge Kaufman fan. She doesn't quite pull it off however. Nice and entertaining try though.

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass

Review: When it comes to superheroes you don't really get cooler than Kick-Ass. I totally dug this flick and needs to check out the comic book that it's based on. Aaron Johnson and Chloe Moretz is awesome in the roles as Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl. Oh, and guess what people? Nicolas Cage is actually entertaining in this movie. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed seeing him in anything. It was probably in Adaptation back in 2002. I do however looking forward to one movie with him in that comes out next year. Captain America: The First Avenger is going to be the shit! But enough about that now. Watch Kick-Ass, it...kicks ass. Yeah, I know, that was lame.

Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard @ Koloni

I'm really looking forward to tonight's gig with Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard @ Koloni. I've been a fan of him for a couple of years now so it will be fun.

Sons of Anarchy Season 3

I'm a happy camper! Season 3 of Sons of Anarchy is finally here! Now I don't have to deal with the withdrawal symptoms any longer.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Review: If you're a fan of street art and people like Shepard Fairey, Banksy and Space Invader, you're going to love Exit Through the Gift Shop. It's Banksys own movie and I totally love it!

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2

Review: I'm always in the mood for superhero movies so sitting down to watch Iron Man 2 was a treat. Movies like this are far from always good, but thanks to good acting in the form of Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke made this 2 hours of good solid entertainment. Nothing I will remember in the long run, but a nice little escape from reality.

Cemetery Junction

Cemetery Junction

Review: A bit of a charming comedy and drama by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It's an ok movie, a bit lightweight and very predictable but charming nonetheless.

Review: Halftime FM

In the beginning of 2010 I mentioned that the radioshow Halftime FM would begin broadcasting on Gothenburgs Student Radio. I really never got around to writing anything more about it after that. So today I decided to listen to it and see how the show is and how it holds up to its predecessor Come Clean Radio. The show just premiered its second season and it's been a few changes in the line-up. Lisa, one of the original hosts, has dropped out and is now replaced by Johannes Torstensson and Tobias Hillén. Sebastian Pettersson is still onboard as the founder of the show.
Hmm, I wonder how I should start this. Perhaps beginning with the negative aspects of the show and then to end of with positive stuff.
It's kind of sad that this show uses exactly the same mould as it's predecessor CCR. Both shows chose to pick its name from classic hiphop songs. Lacks a bit of imagination if you ask me. Both shows use the concept of playing two songs, talk some, two songs, talk etc. They also seem to make every single show a theme show. It would have been better to see them do something more fresh and more their own.
What's good is that Halftime FM seems like a more democratically run show than what was the case with CCR. Here all 3 members of the cast seems more equal and that is a very positive step forward. I know that I sound very critical, but that's not my intention. I'm really glad that Sebastian decided to keep broadcasting after CCR's demise and I tip my hat for that. I also think that including Johannes was a really good move because he manages to sound natural and relaxed on the air. I'm glad to hear my man Tobias on the air too.
I guess I really should say something about the music that they play too. I don't really have to much of an opinion about that since music is a question of personal taste and I don't have that much in common with their tastes. The selection of music do however very clearly shows exactly what these guys listen to themselves at home. That's both good and bad. The good thing is that they have quite good taste in music. The bad thing is that it gets a bit too narrowminded and the same artists, crews and labels keep popping up over and over.
All in all though, good work guys! Gothenburg needs a hiphop show and you're the ones carrying the torch. Will I listen next week? Naaw. Why not? Quite frankly because this kind of show is not for me.