Look! It's That Guy! From That Thing!

This, ladies and gents, is Clancy Brown. He has been in many films and TV shows, a few of which you are very likely to have seen, yet he's probably one of those faces whom you'd struggle to put a name to. I shall help you do this.

Here he is as Byron Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption. If you don't know him from this, you are a horrible human being.



Here, he has a big beard, from being stuck in a hatch for ages, as Kelvin Inman in Lost.



Thinking he looks like the guy who killed Sean Connery and tried to decapitate the Frenchman with the worst Scottish accent ever in Highlander? Yep, that was Clancy Brown too, as the Kurgan. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!



Hi-lariously, he's also in Starship Troopers, as, according to Wikipedia, the "brutal Career Sergeant Zim." Shame the film was so mind-numbingly shite. Awesomely mind-numbingly shite, mind you.





No, this isn't a mistake. He actually does provide the voice for Mr. Krabs in Spongebob Squarepants.



I couldn't help myself, sorry...

Now back to Clancy. I hear he was on this amazing show called Carnivale, but I can't find boxsets/episodes online anywhere. If anyone comes across something, can you drop me a comment? Ta. When I found out he was Mr Krabs, I had to YouTube it up, I couldn't believe it. But there we are, it's 100% truth!

In other, more game-related news, I'm finally doing rather well in the Scott Pilgrim tie-in game. It really is just awesome, the best tie-in game I've ever played, and it's only eight quid. I paid forty for the Lost game a couple of years ago. I've listened to IGN ever since. When it comes to the SP game, think of an even more epic Streets of Rage and you're getting very close. I hear SoR is actually up on the App Store, so those with iPods, Pads or Phones, buy that shit up!

Also, look at this. This is why 90s wrestling was so fantasticly shite.


Robocop in WCW Capital combat 1990
Uploaded by marshal99. - Discover the latest sports and extreme videos.

Good thing Robocop was always the hero in the films, etc, because if he was the villain, you could just walk a wee bit faster than him and you're free and clear! He's got scanning stuff in his eyes, you say? Lead vests! Might slow you down a bit, but you'd be protected. Wait, that's from nuclear experiments. Might not help against thermal vision, you'd still see hands, head and feet. LEAD BODY SUIT! There we are. Just run for your life and you'll be fine.

I need to stop torturing myself with these hypothetical situations, it seriously stresses me out coming up with answers. Be glad you don't have my stupidly awesome imagination.

And finally, let this be shown to every fucking idiot far-right Tea Party bastard in America. Keith Olbermann, I salute you.



Darren out, saying I'll take out your junk, and I'll crush it down...

"We Are Sex Bob-Omb And We're Here To Make You Think About Death And Get Sad And Stuff!"

Right, you'll need to watch this on YouTube, it won't let me embed it on here. Just thought I'd save the hassle of copy-and-pasting a link ('Cos I'm nice)

That song right there is one, of many, many reasons you need to go see Scott Pilgrim vs The World. First off, I'll write about the soundtrack for a while. Beck's compositions for Sex Bob-Omb's songs (Scott's band) are good, but in a weird way. It's not that they're so bad, they're good, but they have some kind of hypnotic quality that makes them easier to listen to the third or fourth time round. Garbage Truck is probably the best, because the lyrics are just so random.

Metric, who wrote Black Sheep, the song for The Clash At Demonhead, seen in the video above, has probably the best item on the soundtrack. It's been tweaked for the film, as the actress who plays Envy Adams, Brie Larson, sings on the film version, with the Metric original on the soundtrack CD. I'm not sure which is my favourite, but I'd say the original edges it ever so slightly.

Scott Pilgrim, by Plumtree, the song that started the whole thing, is also rather good, but I've not listened to it enough to describe it properly.

Even the original score, composed by Nigel Godrich, best known as Radiohead's producer, is top-notch. From the moment the retro 90s game-style Universal logo and theme came on screen, I was enthralled. Just from start to finish, the acting, music, effects and game references kept me on the edge of my seat. Just... Wow. What a film. Best of the year, that's it. Better than The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Better than Eclipse. Better than Toy Story 3, and that made me cry. Edgar Wright, Bryan Lee O'Malley, thank you.

The cast was such a perfect fit for the film as well, I don't think I could have imagined anyone but Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim. Mary Elizabeth Winstead finally loses the mantle of "Bruce Willis' daughter in Die Hard 4" and gains "Ramona Flowers." A very good trade. Despite this, in my personal opinion, Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells stole the show in the majority of the time he was in the film. It's just a shame that he kind of disappears after Evil Ex 4! (Thanks Paul, for bringing that to my attention, I was a bit too into the film to notice!) According to Wiki, he's Macaulay Culkin's brother! Kinda makes sense, now I know his name...

For those that get the reference, I lesbians this film. I lesbians it so much. It is now, in actual fact, my favourite movie ever. I have seen it twice in two days, and plan on seeing it again next week in Dundee!

Away from the film, and onto the books, I bought number four, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, on Saturday, and finished it this morning. Turns out, the more I read it, certain characters or events have been changed around, or missed out completely. I'd liked to have seen Knives' dad cut through a bus with a samurai sword in the film. That'd be awesome.

Well I'm off to bed, I still have three seasons of Seinfeld to get through, and they're not going to watch themselves!

Nacht! xxxxxxx

Darren out, saying "I'll take you to the dump, 'cause you're my queeen..."

----------------
Now playing: Sex Bob-omb - Garbage Truck
via FoxyTunes

I'm A Loser Baby, So Why Don't You Kill Me?

If you weren't aware already, I managed to get myself a ticket to see Arcade Fire at the SECC in December! Even though it's a seating ticket, it's still square in the middle, so it could have been much worse. Yeah, I've broken my most important rule for going to gigs (NO SEATING), but tough. It's ARCADE FIRE. I really don't care.

And in other fantastic news this week, Scott Pilgrim's out next Friday! I don't have enough cash to go and see it on Wednesday, I'll be in North Berwick anyway, but whether I'm there or back home on Friday, I'm going to see it. If anyone sees it before then, and happens to give me spoilers, I swear to Science, you're going in the communal hole...

I'd better explain the communal hole very quickly. It's basically my Room 101, and people/things I hate go in it. For example, neds, people who go out of their way to say the new Arcade Fire album is "shite," (when it quite clearly isn't), Florence Welch, Dappy, David Guetta, whoever came up with the Clubland CDs (seriously, 15(ish) is more than enough), and Axl Rose. The good thing about the communal hole is that it's always got room to expand!

Back to Pilgrim! Anyway, I downloaded the accompanying game from the Playstation Store, and it's well worth the £7.99, or at least it will be when I get paid, currently playing the demo at the moment. Think of it as a comic-book, less violent, yet twice as awesome version of Streets of Rage, and you're about halfway there!
The music in the game takes you back to the games of the early 90s as well, which I like. I miss my Mega Drive.

The film soundtrack is really intriguing as well. First off, the score's been written by Nigel Godrich, who's best known as the producer for Radiohead. Next, Beck, who I've so lovingly referenced in the title (and signoff) has written the songs for Sex Bob-Omb, Scott's band, while being given the brief by Edgar Wright that you shouldn't be able to tell whether the songs are "awful or awesome." CONFUSION!

Also, I have a new film to add to my Favourites List: The Royal Tenenbaums. Directed and written (with some help from Owen Wilson) by Wes Anderson, who also directed the sublime Fantastic Mr Fox, it's about three child prodigies who lose their talents over twenty years after their mum and dad separate. Bill Murray's in it. Kinda the only reason you need to watch it. Hey, it's why I ALMOST liked Garfield! The cast is superb though, with Owen and Luke Wilson, Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Stiller. Like I said before, I've only seen two of his films, but Wes Anderson is now probably my favourite director. When you look at the DVD extras, you see the work he puts into the films, such as meeting with Roald Dahl's wife and recording dialogue outdoors for Fantastic Mr Fox, it's great to see, instead of your Michael Bays (who also needs to go in the communal hole) who just take the money and cause explosions, then piss off again.

Also, give Beck a listen, particularly Odelay and Modern Guilt. Two very good albums.

My pre-excitement for seeing the Manics has started already, with the free download of "I'm Leaving You For Solitude," a B-side for the first single from their new album. Check out www.thequietus.com to find it. Excellent stuff.

Well I'm going to Dundee this afternoon, so I'd better head and actually get ready!

Darren out, saying I've got a devil's haircut in my mind!

----------------
Now playing: Beck - Devil's Haircut
via FoxyTunes

Arcade Fire's Deserved Chart Success, Camping, and Scott Pilgrim (Again)

Yeah, it's been a while since I last wrote, apologies. I've been away, saving up for this one mega-post of awesome!

First up, ARCADE FIRE are playing the SECC on Sunday, 12th of December. For my own sake, I have to be there. There's absolutely no way I'm missing this. If I have to go myself, I will. I'm thinking of it as a Christmas present to myself. Problem is, I have to be up before 9am, after Calum's night out, well, the night before. Tough, I'm getting a ticket. I've never been so adamant, with the exception of Pearl Jam, to get a ticket. And if I don't get one for Glasgow, to Manchester I go!

Second, still in the realm of Arcade Fire-related news, The Suburbs is Number One! Finally, for a week at least, the record-buying public of Great Britain has seen sense! There's no reason it shouldn't be Number One, it deserves to have awards thrown at it, left right and centre. From start to finish, this is a flawless album. I can't say it's any better than Funeral or Neon Bible, because I really can't choose between the three. They're all such good albums. Like Sgt. Pepper, or Born In The USA, The Suburbs is just one of those albums that I just feel like a better person for having listened to it. Maybe it's just because it puts me in a fantastic frame of mind, or that it makes want to make music myself. I come straight back down to earth, mind you, because I know no matter how much I practised, I could never come close to making anything as good as this. And in a way, that saddens me. So really, all I can do is sit back, pop the CD in the hi-fi, and press play.

I finally saw Toy Story 3 last Thursday, and I've said it before on Facebook, but I'm not gonna lie. The ending made me cry. Unlike certain blogs/websites/idiots at work, I'm not going to spoil the film for you if you haven't seen it yet, silly sausages that you are. Just don't think it's all going to be exactly how it was. That, my friends would make for a shite end to a trilogy. Godfather Part III and X-Men: The Last Stand have already done that. I'm going to say it's among the best sequels I've ever seen, and it's such a fitting end to the trilogy as well. Don't take my word for it though, just go and see a testament to Pixar's truly consistently excellent storytelling.

And in extremely awesome news, I'm going camping tomorrow! So what if the weather's probably not going to be fantastic, but I don't care! It's not going to put a dampener on things at all! (Ah, well, literally, it will, but... you know what? New metaphor!) It's not going to rain on our parade! I give up.

Anyway, the five of us go to CALLANDER tomorrow, and I really can't wait. It's been ages since the five of us were all together, with the exception of tonight of course, which basically involved us walking around Asda in Cumbernauld (what's it called?) with a trolley full of disposable barbeques. And cider. With a bottle of Midori thrown in as well. Jakes that we are. Also, my Little Nicky impression was also put to good use: "Deep South!", and I got disappointed by the lack of the re-release of Rated R in Asda. I'll buy it at some point tomorrow if it's out. It's just such a good album, and it seems weird that it's ten years old already! Listen out for Monsters in the Parasol, Auto Pilot, Lightning Song, The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, In The Fade and Better Living Through Chemistry. Yes, I've listed half the album, but it's that good. Just ignore Josh Homme's dickishness, and just listen to the music. Bloody fantastic album.

SCOTT PILGRIM'S OUT ON THE 25TH AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT!!!

Cera-gasm over, but I can't stress enough how much I'm looking forward to this film. I've got book 3 coming tomorrow, and I know I've not finished them all yet (You never know, Larbert Library might have them...) but I honestly think it's going to be a better film than Kick-Ass. Now I loved that movie, and they're different on so many levels, but I've hyped this up so much, is has to be perfect.



Also, I'm buying this. It's just so damn cool!

Darren out, saying from the window, to the wall! (to the wall...)