Issue 639

Versus - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Thu 10 Sep

15 Sep 2009

Take three bands, throw ‘em on a stage before a like-minded audience, mix, match, mess and stir things up occasionally with a mid-set special guest or two, then bask in the cut n’paste none-stop, occasionally erotic cabaret that ensues. This, then, is…

Northern light - Dornoch Castle Hotel

11 Sep 2009

‘One thing we’ve noticed this year,’ says Colin Thompson, owner and manager of the Dornoch Castle Hotel in the Highland tourist haven of Dornoch, ‘is that there have been many more young couples and families staying with us.’ It seems the ‘staycation…

DVD box sets roundup - Vera Lynn, Audrey Hepburn, Monty Python

11 Sep 2009

Let’s hear it for the girls. The East Ham-born ‘Forces Sweetheart’ Vera Lynn was not really known for her work in cinema, but such is the power of nostalgia capitalism that here comes The Vera Lynn Collection (Sony) ●● featuring three patriotic wartime…

Nick Hornby - Juliet, Naked

11 Sep 2009

(Viking) Never meet your heroes, we are told, they’re bound to be a disappointment. But what happens when you’re going for a run in a dead-end English seaside town and you bump into an ex-girlfriend who introduces you to your all-time, number one icon?

Dorian Gray

11 Sep 2009

Oscar Wilde’s only published novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is tricky to adapt cinematically, requiring a deft balance between its sparkling wit and the Faustian darkness at its core. As the author himself wrote, ‘man sees his own sins in Dorian, what…

The Avengers - Series 1 & 2

11 Sep 2009

(PG) 1520min (Optimum DVD retail) What joy! Every surviving episode from all six series of the marvelous cult British television show The Avengers, originally broadcast between 1961 and 1969, are to be released on DVD over the course of the next…

Away we go

11 Sep 2009

After Revolutionary Road, director Sam Mendes takes a turn for the worse with this naff impersonation of an independent American comedy road movie written by publisher and memoirist Dave Eggers and his Mrs (Vendela Vida). Expectant parents Burt (John…

The Agent

11 Sep 2009

Four months after submitting the manuscript of his second novel Black, author Stephen Parker (Stephen Kennedy) decides to pay a visit to his literary agent Alexander Joyce (William Beck). It transpires that the latter is not a fan of the new work, which…

Amsterdamned

11 Sep 2009

(18) 105 min, Dick Maas’ 1988 Dutch thriller with elements of gory horror has the great merit of not taking itself too seriously as it bops along, and adds to that an admirable visual inventiveness about its striking locales. In it, a wetsuited…

Yellowbeard

11 Sep 2009

(12) 96min (Optimum DVD retail) On paper, Mel Damski’s 1983 comedy has everything going for it. With a cast that includes four of the Monty Python crew, as well as Marty Feldman, Spike Milligan, Peter Cook, Peter Boyle and a host of other comedy…

Dynamic: 01 - The Best of DavidLynch.com

11 Sep 2009

(15) 116 min (Scanbox DVD retail) Watching these sketches and skits that were first shown on David Lynch’s subscription-based website, we might think he is the Francis Bacon of film. In his features Lynch is the master of the tension between…

Miss March: Generation Penetration

11 Sep 2009

Crude American teen sex comedy (is there any other kind?) about a kid played by burgeoning talent Zach Cregger who awakens from a four-year coma to hear his once virginal high school sweetheart (Raquel Alessi) is now a centerfold in Playboy. So he and…

Whiteout

11 Sep 2009

Antarctica-based US deputy marshal (Kate Beckinsale) must investigate the frozen continent’s first murder before winter begins, but dealings with a UN operative (Gabriel Macht), also investigating the murder, making things complicated. Directed by…

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3D

11 Sep 2009

Vivid and likeable animated version of Judi and Ron Barrett’s 1978 children’s book set in the town of Chewandswallow, where the weather comes three times a day, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan and Bruce Campbell give…

Three Miles North of Molkom

11 Sep 2009

Serio-comic documentary about the Angsbacka No Mind festival in Sweden, an adult playground of shared consciousness. See feature, page 30. Selected release from Fri 18 Sep.

The Thing

11 Sep 2009

John Carpenter’s excellent 1982 monster flick revived on digital big screen projection. Selected release from Tue 15 Sep. (18) 108min

Easy Ryders - Kasabian interview

10 Sep 2009

It’s taken a while, but Kasabian are finally as big as they always thought they deserved to be. Jonny Ensall chats to singer Tom Meighan and finds out that fame and critical validation have calmed one of the biggest egos in rock

The house that Jaxx built - Basement Jaxx interview

10 Sep 2009

From the home front, Basement Jaxx have been uncharacteristically quiet for the last three years. They’ve kept out of view, retiring into studious production mode and, while they say they never went away, they can’t deny they have, at least, been…

Giant steps - Little Boots interview

10 Sep 2009

Little Boots is mid-fib when her phone signal cuts out. She’s on the motorway, heading towards the Reading Festival, and she is livening up her early morning interview by colouring in a few of her answers. She was just explaining where she got her…

John Hughes - Some kind of wonderful

10 Sep 2009

John Hughes never meant much to me as a kid. Put it down to timing. I was ten when The Breakfast Club came out, the perfect age for Back to the Future, not for a bunch of high school stereotypes hanging out in detention. Sure, I liked Weird Science…

Ocean Size - Twin Atlantic interview

10 Sep 2009

The popular Glasgow rockers Twin Atlantic pack an onstage punch, and have more than enough ambition to follow it up, finds Camilla Pia

What the puck? - Hockey interview

10 Sep 2009

Rob Dabrowski speaks to Hockey, the American new wave renegades ready to ramp up the enthusiasm on indie dancefloors

Hear this! - Upcoming gigs and albums Autumn 2009

10 Sep 2009

SEPTEMBER 14 Sep Jay-Z The Blueprint 3 After ‘retirement’, Glastonbury and gigs converting Coldplay fans to the joys of rap music, his masterful album trilogy is now complete. 14 Sep Muse The Resistance The band’s fifth album, it’s tinged…

Upcoming gigs in Scotland: Autumn 2009

10 Sep 2009

Scotland, as we all know, is a hub of great music, great venues and great live audiences. Which is why so many of the world’s great acts forget about the poor weather and poor diet and play here. Add to that list alt-country sorts, and favourites of…

Sweden's No Mind Festival - Three Miles North of Molkom

10 Sep 2009

It’s 5pm on a Monday afternoon and I’m crying. I’m sat on the grass mat floor of a big tent and I’m weeping on the shoulder of Carine, a beautiful Swedish lady I have known for only a few days. She’s crying too and our waterborne grief and guilt is…

Down under - Glasgow's South Side

10 Sep 2009

The West End might shout louder and jangle its designer bracelets more ostentatiously, but for its many residents, the gigantic, sprawling mass of the South Side is the true heart of Glasgow. As many local historians and geographers have observed…

Lights go out as Glasgow's Lighthouse closes

Flagship architecture and design centre closes

10 Sep 2009

The Lighthouse remains open for visitors, following the sad news that the institution is now in administration. Sources close to the Lighthouse were keen for the public to keep showing their full support for the building until a decision has been made…

Taste Test - Edible flowers

10 Sep 2009

Nasturtium With their brilliant sunset colours and distinct peppery flavour, these are probably the most popular edible flower. They’re very easy to grow from seed and are common on the fringes of veg patches or hanging baskets. The flowers have a…

Change your life! - Courses

10 Sep 2009

Dear List’ll Fixit, I’m getting married in nine weeks’ time, and last year, in a burst of optimistic depravity, I blew almost all of our savings on the most fabulous Vera Wang frock. Trouble is, I’m still two sizes too big for it. I’ve got to get fit…

Naked ambition - Naked takeaway

10 Sep 2009

Too often in Scotland home-delivered food is a substandard equivalent to anything you can cook yourself. A lukewarm pizza, luminous curry or MSG-packed sweet and sour chicken are the traditional, and often only, options. Convenient? From the depths of…

Adventureland

10 Sep 2009

(15) 106min Follically challenged Superbad director Greg Mottola writes and directs his first feature since 1996’s subtle and funny Manhattan road movie The Daytrippers with sweet and funny results. It is the summer of 1987 and English lit…

Fish Tank

10 Sep 2009

Andrea Arnold’s remarkable second feature, following her Glasgow-based debut Red Road, is about Mia, an angry and aggressive 15-year-old who wants to be a dancer. When she’s not practicing in her room in the flat she lives in with her single mum and her…

First word - Stix Zadinia of Steel Panther

10 Sep 2009

Stix Zadinia from glam parody rockers Steel Panther flexes his muscles to talk sex, drugs and rock‘n’roll

Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2009 launches

10 Sep 2009

Singer Karine Polwart is just one of the many names putting her name – and voice – behind this year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. Now in its third year, the festival explores mental health in its broadest sense with almost 200 events…

Music hitlist

10 Sep 2009

Cocoon Counter Culture Weekender, Steel Panther, Coldplay, Jay-Z and White Lies, Gang of Four, Stereo Open Day, Tinchy Stryder, Islay Jazz Festival.

Side Dishes - Food News

10 Sep 2009

● Before heading out to Erskine to run the restaurant at Mar Hall, and with a track record of stints at Rogano, Nairns and One Devonshire Gardens, chef Jim Kerr ran a small venture on Byres Road called The Dining Room. Not too many restaurants…

Glass half full - 42Below cocktail world cup

10 Sep 2009

It was a battle of the ages. A dozen warriors armed with silver shakers, crushed ice and angostura bitters striving to become the finest cocktail creator in the world. The Glasgow and Edinburgh heats of the 42Below Vodka cocktail World Cup took place at…

Topic records

10 Sep 2009

The world’s oldest independent record company has reached 70. Topic Records started in 1939, and has been a powerhouse of the British folk landscape ever since. With a back catalogue stretching from Pete Seeger to Eliza Carthy, Topic has always…

Indiana Jones All-nighter

10 Sep 2009

Insomniac fans of the iconic adventure hero played by Harrison Ford will be happy to learn that Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade will be showing back to back in this good old fashioned…

The River

10 Sep 2009

Described by Martin Scorsese as one of the most beautiful films ever made, Jean Renoir’s 1951 adaptation of Rumer Godden’s novel about a British family’s colonial experiences in Bengal in the last days of the Raj brings a short Jean Renoir retrospective…

Agantuk (The Stranger)

10 Sep 2009

Indian cinema legend Satyajit Ray’s final film (before his death in 1992) receives an all too rare screening. A comic dissection of familial trust, honesty and fragile belief systems, Agantuk is a major work from a Bengali great (based on one of Ray’s…

Sin Nombre

10 Sep 2009

Last chance to see Cary Fukunga’s debut feature, an accomplished and powerful Mexican social thriller which centres on the themes of belonging and escape. When a city gangbanger tries to escape his murderous gang and a Honduran girl tries to sneak…

Fresher's week club nights

An evening's entertainment for student sorts

3 Sep 2009

Although Edinburghers might not notice it quite so much thanks to their fancy festival throughout the month of August, the clubbing scene does tend to go into a state of semi-hibernation over the summer. And there’s one over-riding reason you just can’t…

Circle of friends: Dot Allison

The muse-for-hire finds her own voice

3 Sep 2009

There can be few better kept secrets in music than Dot Allison. The Edinburgh-born singer songwriter has been involved in exciting new music for over fifteen years, collaborating with all kinds of different artists as well as producing four acclaimed…

Thomas Hirschhorn - It's Burning Everywhere

3 Sep 2009

‘It’s burning everywhere / It’s burning far away – / it’s burning in my neighbourhood, / It’s burning in the “conflict zone”, / my house is burning, / I am burning myself, / there is no escape from it, / because I am the “conflict zone”.’ The…

The House of Bernarda Alba preview

Rona Munro on her latest theatrical endeavour

3 Sep 2009

It’s been a big year for Rona Munro. Just weeks after the premiere of The Last Witch at the Edinburgh International Festival, the Scottish playwright is gearing up for the first performance of her adaptation of The House of Bernarda Alba, by revered…

Richard Dawkins - The Greatest Show on Earth

3 Sep 2009

Right, pay attention at the back. You boy, straighten your tie. Now, you all know why you’ve been called back for detention with Professor Dawkins and, frankly, you’ve only got yourselves to blame. He explained it all very carefully in The Selfish Gene…

The Glasgow festival experience

After Edinburgh it's time for Twestival, Trongate and the Merchant City Festival

3 Sep 2009

It is a truth universally acknowledged that August is dead time in Glasgow. The rest of the year is a different story, of course, and September means the gloves are off, with so many massed gatherings of the city’s creatives that they’re in danger of…

The Beggar's Opera preview

3 Sep 2009

The publicity images for Vanishing Point and the Royal Lyceum’s new adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera don’t look like your average promotional material for a classic work of 18th century satire. In fact, from a first glance, the backlit…

Profile: John Krasinski from Away We Go

3 Sep 2009

Name John Krasinski Born 20 October 1979, Newton, Massachusetts Background After a series of bit parts in films and TV shows, Krasinski landed a key role in the American version of The Office alongside Steve Carrell, and has been a US…