Monthly Archives: October 2010

Culch.ie Calling Cards - Gigs - November 1 - 7 2010

  By Will | October 31, 2010 - 11:52 pm | Gigs, Music
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GIGS Champ is the second full length album from Toronto’s Tokyo Police Club. They first hit their stride back in 2006 when, straight out of high school, their hyperactive mini-album A Lesson in Crime came from nowhere to prove one of the year’s most refreshing releases. The surprise success of A Lesson in Crime led to relentless touring through the entirety of 2006/07, with appearances anywhere and everywhere, taking in festivals from Coachella to Glastonbury, two TV appearances Letterman and, bizarrely, an appearance on an episode of Desperate Housewives. They are gearing up again to play The Academy, Dublin on Friday 5 November. Following a one-off MTV show with Arcade Fire in Spain, The Temper Trap head across the Atlantic for headline shows in the US and a prestigious three-date support slot with The Pixies in Mexico, before returning to Australia to end a second whirlwind year on their homeland … There’s more →

Sneak peek at Tron: Legacy? Yes please!

  By brogen | October 28, 2010 - 5:26 pm | Featured Post, Movies & TV, The Culch
6 Comments

A select few were invited to a sneak peek of Tron: Legacy this morning, culch.ie were lucky enough to be in this elite group to see 23 minutes of one of this year’s most anticipated films. ‘Electrify the boys and girls if you would be so kind’ - were Michael Sheen’s immortal words in the Tron: Legacy sneak peek, and electrified we were! Tron: Legacy is the follow up to 1982′s Tron. Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is still in The Grid, but has managed to make contact with the outside world. Kevin’s son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) follows his father into the world of Tron and comes face to face with his father for the first time in many years.

Pop Talent Wars - Robyn 5,000,000 : Cheryl Cole nil

  By Éilish Burke | October 28, 2010 - 9:45 am | Music
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I read somewhere today that Cheryl Cole’s last album went triple platinum in the UK and Ireland. Now I’m not even sure how many albums you have to sell to go triple platinum these days (76?), but the fact that the hair extensioned bedimpled one has a career as a pop ‘singer’ when she can barely hold a note annoys me no end. Especially when you have real, proper pop stars out there like Robyn who the mainstream pop establishment largely ignore. Robyn has written one of the best pop songs of the year in ‘Dancing On My Own’. Let’s face it, if this song was sung by someone with long hair and their tits out it would have got to number one. After all Chezzel made it to number 1 with the dirgeful ‘Fight for this Love’. Imagine what would happen if she actually had a good song to … There’s more →

Review - Animal Kingdom

  By brogen | October 28, 2010 - 9:30 am | Movies & TV, The Culch
3 Comments

David Michod’s directorial debut – Animal Kingom – won the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year, and was one of the most popular films of the festival. Animal Kingdom is a dark crime thriller, based around a dysfunctional Australian family. When his mother dies of a heroin overdose, 17-year-old Josh (James Frencheville) is taken in by his grandmother and uncles. The family have been estranged for many years; Josh’s mother kept him away from them because she was afraid of their involvement with crime. Josh’s uncles, Baz, Craig and Pope, are known armed robbers and the police are staking out the family home. While all seems to be holding together at first, as Josh says, “all crooks come undone”, and when things eventually begin to unravel they do so very quickly.

Seán’s Movie Music Magorium: Interview with the Vampire

  By Seanplaywrite | October 28, 2010 - 9:00 am | Movies & TV, Soundtracks, The Culch
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Eliot Goldenthal’s score for Neil Jordan’s ‘Interview with the Vampire’ is dark, frightening, luscious, pensive and evocative. Opening with the piece ‘Libera me’ the story of Louis Pont Du Lac is reflected in the twisted melodies floating over the coast of San Francisco. This movie changed the genre of vampire films for years to come – seeing the story unfold through the eyes of a tormented man, revolted at the nature of his being would lead to countless other vampire-p.o.v. films. This movie has the good fortune to be scored by Goldenthal, who not only composed an Oscar nominated score but did it in three weeks. Listening to a track like ‘Libera me’, it is a display of pure talent. As the credits roll, we are drawn into this world. One sustained note brings us into the score – a drawn out string, leading to a choir of boys joining … There’s more →

Music Interview: Not bad by Halves

  By Éilish Burke | October 27, 2010 - 1:45 pm | Featured Post, Music, The Culch
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A few months ago I went to Crawdaddy to see Brooklynites Bear in Heaven, a band I’ve been mildly obsessed with for the past year. They were great. I was beside myself. But when I look back on that night it’s the performance of their supporting act Halves which sticks in my mind the most. The tiny Crawdaddy stage was a jumble of cables, foot pedals, trumpets, guitars and (joy of joys) that oft-forgotten gem of an instrument, the melodica. Performing as a five-piece on the night, Halves shifted themselves and their various accoutrements around the tiny stage for so long before they got going I began to wonder if they ever would. But get going they did and what an unexpected surprise; they were awesome. And all of those instruments were put to good use as the band brought to life their multi-layered sound on stage. That night in … There’s more →

Review - You Again

  By brogen | October 27, 2010 - 12:12 pm | Movies & TV, The Culch
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Marni Olivia Olsen (Kristen Bell) discovers that her brother is about to marry the woman who made her high school years hell. In the weekend leading up to their wedding, Marni does everything she can to try and get an apology from her ex-nemesis Joanne (Odette Yustman), without much luck. Director Andy Fickman may be best remembered for his 2006 film, She’s the Man… Or 2009s Race to With Mountain… Ok, so neither film is particularly memorable, and it might be best to forget you ever heard about You Again. The idea of the film is a very simple one; Marni’s family all love Joanne, and have no idea that the two girls had such a fraught relationship in high school. In fact, Joanne doesn’t seem to remember either. In a little twist of fate, it turns out that Joanne’s aunt Mona (Sigourney Weaver) and Marni’s mum Gail (Jamie Lee … There’s more →

Gosh, This Doesn’t Half Border on Squee.

  By Lisa McInerney | October 27, 2010 - 12:00 pm | Music
2 Comments

… aaaaand we’re over the hump of the week. Happy Wednesday afternoon, everyone! That bank holiday thing really helps time trot along, doesn’t it? ‘Course, it might have been less holliers our banking sector needed, what with the steaming pile of banjaxment we find ourselves in now. This’ll cheer you up. This is the video for The Water, by Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling. It’s the third single from Johnny’s album Been Listening, and it’s due for release on November 1st, and if you can find a video with a more beautiful song by two prettier people today, I’ll eat my hat, which, conveniently, is made from tiramisu. Aren’t they just darling?

Ad Nauseam: Charity begins on Daytime TV

  By Éilish Burke | October 27, 2010 - 10:18 am | Adverts, The Culch
5 Comments

Being self employed affords me the luxury of making the last minute decision to work from home in my pyjamas, on the sofa with my laptop on my lap and the TV on in the background. Yesterday was such a day. Apart from my mid-morning hit of The Gilmore Girls, I normally avoid anything broadcast pre 6pm though. It’s usually such a pile of mind-numbing poop as to warrant avoidance. Unless it’s a repeat of Project Runway that is. Oh, I’m such a girl! Not watching daytime TV, however, means not seeing all the ground breaking advertising targeted at pensioners, stay-at-home parents and the unemployed. I miss out on all those ads for Vanish Oxy Action, denture adhesive, chair lifts and cash-for-gold rip off merchants businesses. And I also miss the majority of the ads for charities because for financial reasons charities mostly buy the cheapest airtime available (the ‘direct … There’s more →

Review: Super Meat Boy (Xbox Live Arcade)

  By Anto | October 27, 2010 - 10:08 am | Games
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When I first got a mail about this game, I thought it was spam. Well, the title on it’s own in a Subject line could well fool anyone. In reality ‘Super Meat Boy‘ is a bonkers 2D platformer for Xbox Live Arcade. The player takes on the role of a small animated cube of meat named Meat Boy who must save his girlfriend, Bandage Girl, from the evil Dr. Fetus. You need sharp reflexes to guide Meat Boy over buzz saws, up walls and through some very tight spaces. Just watch the blood fly when you get it wrong. The game is split into a number of chapters, with lots of levels within that can be played in any order. When you’ve completed enough of the levels, you unlock the boss encounter, which is much tougher than the levels before it. There are a load of unlockable characters with unique … There’s more →

The Hands of Orlac - Halloween Silent Film at Kilruddery

  By bngr | October 26, 2010 - 11:42 pm | The Culch
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The people behind the annual Kilruddery Silent Film Festival are back hosting a once off special screening for Halloween of Robert Weine’s 1924 the Hands of Orlac this Sunday 31 October at 8pm in Kilruddery House, just south of Bray. The film, which will be accompanied on the piano by Vyvienne Long, is a macabre thriller about a famed concert pianist who after having his hands amputated in a train accident, has them replaced with the hands of an executed murderer with sinister repercutions. If you liked Noseferatu and Metropolis then you’ll like this. Set in a candlelit Kilruddery, with Halloween themed drinks after the screening, the atmosphere should be great. Tickets cost €20 including complimentary drink. Booking essential, call William Kinsella on 087 4198674. For more information and details of how to get to and from Kilruddery see here.

Review: Fable III Game

  By ellybabes | October 26, 2010 - 9:08 pm | Games
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If you were a fan of Fable and Fable II, then today has probably long been circled on your calendar, as Fable III finally launched, just over a year since it was first announced. Now, full disclosure here, I’m not a big gamer overall, but when I was given a copy of Fable II, I fell in love immediately. The Fable series is characterised by a mix of fighting, solving puzzles, finding hidden objects and deciding if you want to be good or evil. The gameplay is of the style that leaves you begging for “just five more minutes”, and suddenly you look at the clock and bedtime was 3 hours ago! In Fable III, you pick up 50 years after Fable II, as the brother (or sister) of the current king, Logan. I say current as the first part of the game focuses on your path to becoming King … There’s more →

Swords Comedy Club

  By Peter | October 26, 2010 - 12:52 pm | Gigs
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Next Gig - this Thursday October 28th @ 9pm There’s a what, where….? In a world gone mental with Vincent Browne, Pat Kenny and Miriam O’Callaghan all involved in some sort of celebrity death match with the X-factor and The Spice Girls…. Now Andrew Stanley gets to walk home after his gig and keep it a little bit North-side Dublin. I deserve a laugh and a taxi journey that doesn’t cost the same price as a car rental and a hotel room including 2 dinners and one evening meal. I’ve seen Stanley and Rooney live before. A tenner is decent value for those two names alone. Didn’t know George Fox was moonlighting under a very similar pseudonym The comedy club is also on facebook. That I’m aware it’s a tenner if you book online or €12 on the door. [I'm open to correction on this one] Book your Swords Comedy … There’s more →

Culchie Calling Cards - Gigs - October 25 - October 31

  By Will | October 25, 2010 - 11:29 pm | The Culch
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For the first time in his career Greg Dulli, The Twilight Singers frontman, will embark on a solo tour which will see him make stops in five different countries for a total of 29 shows. Its approved by American rock magazine Spin. His Irish dates are Whelan’s Dublin on Wednesday 27 October, Spring and Airbrake Belfast on Thursday 28 October, Roisin Dubh Galway on Friday 29 October and Cyprus Avenue Cork on Saturday 30 October. These shows will also mark the debut of several brand new songs from the forthcoming Twilight Singers album scheduled for release on Sub Pop Records next year. The last release from the group was five years ago. Following a one-off MTV show with Arcade Fire in Spain, The Temper Trap head across the Atlantic for headline shows in the US and a prestigious three-date support slot with The Pixies in Mexico, before returning to Australia … There’s more →

The Apprentice Liveblog Week Six

  By Darren Byrne | October 25, 2010 - 6:14 pm | Apprentice, Apprentice, Movies & TV, TV
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Welcome to the sixth of this year’s Apprentice Liveblogs. If you’re unfamiliar with liveblogs, it’s simply a place to chat about the show while we’re watching. It’s one big moderated chat room for The Apprentice. You can follow it below on Culch.ie or you can launch a stand alone window and follow it there. It’s simple and fun, so please come join us. The Apprentice Ireland 2010 Week Six Click Here to Launch in a Separate Window