A Luxurient Bubble Bath Of – er – Shit

If the four previous films I saw over the Easter weekend made up a long, but definite shower of shit, it is difficult to categorise Crank 2: High Voltage. Because, yes, on many levels it too is shit. But it knows that going in, and therefore has no excuses about that. Whilst it spends nearly every minute of its running time being nihilistically violent, offensive, sexist, racist, homophobic and eyeachingly difficult to watch, it embraces all of these things with such gusto that it is hard to actually be offended. Jason Statham’s Chev Chelios is a force of nature, like a hurricane, and whilst none of his actions are in anyway justifiable there is an inexorable charm to his gonzo adventures (and the fact that the villains are even more cartoonishly evil). Indeed Chev is not evil, you just get the feeling he wants to be left alone. more »

Pete Baran in Do You See /FT • No Comments

SURVIVOR – “Eye Of The Tiger”

#507, 4th September 1982

Before I talk about Survivor I’m going to talk about me a little. Skip down a few paragraphs if you don’t care.

There. Now, I was lucky enough to have a happy childhood. And from mid ’82 to late ’84 it was at its happiest. Not dramatically joyful or anything, not eventful even – just the simple, hassle- and hormone-free happiness of the boy of 9 or 10 who knows what he enjoys and has the space and security to get on with it. Simple, nerdy stuff. Books. The BBC Micro. Camping trips. School projects. Youth theatre groups. Doctor Who. Dungeons & Dragons. The radio. more »

Tom in FT /Popular • 73 Comments