OdeonFriday 17 – Thursday 23 October In Eastwood’s latest directorial outing, a child playing with two friends is abducted but subsequently escapes. A few decades later the three are brought back together by the death of one of their daughters’ and a murder mystery cum suspense thriller ensues. The ensemble cast display some solid acting. Sean Penn is the characteristically troubled ringleader and produces a strong performance, but Kevin Bacon steals the limelight as a dysfunctional police detective. Tim Robbins also excells as the “basket case” object of suspicion. The outstanding ensemble is, however, let down by an overly-complex script. The film tries to deal with the relationship between victims and perpetrators, but tosses aside these themes without warning, leaving and a muddled viewer withtoo many unresolved loose ends. The intervening two hours flow like the Mystic River itself, with currents only occasionaly convening in their progression towards the conclusion.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

OdeonFriday 17 – Thursday 23 October Cabin Fever is a welcome return to the format of the much loved traditional horror movie. The story centres on five kids who decide to stay in a secluded cabin, for a week of fun, frolics and all things foresty. In true horror movie style this teenage utopia deteriorates when a wandering vagrant infects them with a deadly, flesh-eating virus. Cue the race against time to get out of the woods and find help, with all the classic horror elements – old, dilapidated wooden cabin, creepy skeletal trees and gun-toting yokels. In his directoral debut, Eli Roth is saving the horror genre from disappearing into the realms of the “stalk-and-slash”and psychological thrillers that we’ve seen a little too much of recently. Roth has brought blood, sex and gore back to the horror-loving public and has done it with great panache. If you fancy a seemingly low-budget, blood soaked, bizarrely comedic tale of a road trip gone terribly wrong then Cabin Fever definitely delivers the goods.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

OdeonFriday 17 – Thursday 23 October Thirteen year olds spelling excessively long words is not standard material for an edge of your seat thriller, but director Jeff Blitz is able to muster at least as much tension as any Stephen King flick. The film follows eight hopefuls in their attempts to take the title and the $10,000 prize in the American national spelling contest. The subjects come from a variety of backgrounds, from inner city ghettoes to upmarket suburbs. Some are more charismatic than others, but all have very different reasons for entering a competition of gladiatorial proportions. The format of the events is excruciating; the kids’ faces contort bizarrely as they attempt to spell such monsters as “Logorrhoea”, and “Pococurante”, and any error is immediately punished by the ringing of a little bell and a “walk of shame”. The various mentor figures on the sidelines add another dimension to the film, which highlights America’s viciously competitive culture. By the time the gloves come off, you empathise so much with the kids that you find yourself willing them on in this geeky equivalent to a beauty pageant. Through luck or some genius editing, Blitz is able to count the winner amongst his eight subjects.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

OdeonFriday 17 – Thursday 23 October 1899. The world is on the brink of war as a villain calling himself Phantom reaps doom and destruction across Europe. In response, a mysterious M decides to bring together a group of exceptional men and women that just might have a chance at restoring peace to the world. The troubled production of this film has received much bad publicity, but the plot moves quickly and the action scenes are fast-paced and well coordinated. The film also has some interesting twists. Prepare to be disappointed and be surprised.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Despite the release of two singles ‘Overrated’ and ‘Twist Of Fate’ (both included here), Ms Donaghy is probably still best known as the Sugababe who quit just as the band went massive. However, whereas the rest of the Sugababes have taken advantage of the split to make some of the most hook-ridden, catchy pop music of their career, Siobhan has made the decision to make what is being promoted as a more serious, mature album. Despite the production talents of Cameron McVey (Massive Attack, Portishead) and a clutch of young supporting musicians, her “fresh new direction” for the most part translates as sub-Dido indie-lite. Part of the problem is certainly the lyrics – clumsy rhymes and levels of wishy-washy abstraction last heard on Oasis’ ‘Be Here Now’ abound, along with risible non sequiturs such as “Here’s the paradox / We’re like presents all wrapped up” on obligatory anti-war number ‘Iodine’. In fact the only line to stand out first listen was “For every turd / There’s a turning point.” The fact that I was disappointed that I’d actually misheard a certain word (“turn”) in those lines says a lot about how much my interest was held. Musically she can certainly sing in a competent, ethereal, if non-distinctive way. McVey’s efforts, mostly drum machines, fine guitars with a dose of synths often add up to a pleasant enough track. If ‘Twist Of Fate’ (her most recent single, bordering on the engaging) left you wanting more though, you should beware as it’s the exception rather than the rule. Maybe one for those who have worn out their copy of ‘Life For Rent’ and like inoffensive pop-indie. Just don’t expect to be moved…ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

The 22-20s:05/03Out next week ‘05/03’ is a modern rarity: a live album that does full justice to a very good live act. From the first wails of feedback on the opening track, you know you’re in for a sizzling, full-fat rock feast. The vocals rasp and writhe, cutting deeper with each repetition; slide solos are executed with ear-splitting vigour, and the bass riffs are so slick that you half-expect to find Brylcreem oozing from the CD player. Take for instance ‘Such a Fool’, a 4-minute pounding of blues-rock gristle, which could easily be a passionate Starsailor. Except that it sounds good. Sure, there are a few quibbles. The endless riffs at times start to wear thin, while some of the lyrics seem painfully contrived. But these boys are young, and if this taster is anything to go by, it’s the White Stripes who should be getting worried and the general public who should be excited. 22-20s play The Zodiac, Oxford on 29 October.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003

Travis:12 MemoriesOut now After a promising start to their career, Travis have recently become much more of a poor man’s Coldplay. The uninspiring blend of overly soft melodies and Fran Healey’s wailing vocals that were once so refreshing are now out-dated, familiar and repetitive. Whereas a Travis album was once a ray of indie-pop sunshine breaking through the bleak Glasgow skyline, it is now a grey cloud looming on the horizon. Healey’s charisma seems to have evapourated over the years along with his creativity and Travis’ spark and it is this that they are lacking. ‘12 Memories’ is not a bad album. The catchy chorus and Dougie’s guitar line from recent single ‘Reoffender’ show Travis’ true talents whilst ‘Paperclips’ shows a darker side to Travis’ work. Listening to ‘12 Memories’ you cant help but feel Travis have been left behind. Where once they trod new ground, this follows the same track to unoffensive soft rock. A ‘nice’ album by a ‘nice’ band, but the vital ingredient, passion, is evidently missing.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Electric Six:Dance CommanderOut now You have to love Electric Six, only if for being Americans who actually understand irony. They can’t sing and can’t dance, but, unlike Christina Aguilera, they know it. They trade exclusively on chutzpah, surreal videos and priceless lyrics – “I’ve got something to put in you, at the Gay Bar, Gay Bar, Gay Bar” – pure genius. And so I expected great things of ‘Dance Commander’. I was mistaken. The vocals sound like those on Electric Six’s previous two singles – much earnest shouting by Dick Valentine who actually inserts the microphone into his mouth and, indeed, half-way down his windpipe. However, there’s no backing track to support this – the punchy electric guitar is in short supply. The song is about some kind of communist dance revolution, but I only know this from the press release, since the words are obliterated by a painful synth riff and boring drumming. Most disappointingly, though are the sub-standard lyrics; “You must have been a Dance Commander” just doesn’t equal “Danger Danger” as a chorus or a chat-up line. I was desperate to like this single, but I just can’t do it. Send Electric Six back to the Gay Bar and go listen to The Darkness.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Desert Sessions: Feat. Josh Homme/PJ Harvey Out 3 November Desert Sessions are booked to appear on Later With Jools Holland this year. Can you imagine? Former Marilyn Manson guitarist Twiggy Ramirez, Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, angst queen PJ Harvey… and the uber-shifty Jools cowering uncomfortably in the corner. It’s quite a line-up, but there’s something about ‘Crawl Home’ that doesn’t quite work. The fat, crunching bassline is delicious, as are the insistent, nagging hooks that drive QOTSA’s often overrated stoner rock, but in the absence of a memorable melody, Homme’s falsetto chorus feels extraneous to Harvey’s superior presence. She’s on top form here, all steely sexuality (nicely demonstrated by some urgent orgasmic moaning) and metallic sheen, but ultimately ‘Crawl Home’ veers uncertainly between a storming QOTSA rock-out and a pummelling Harvey track. Still, even Jools can’t possibly play boogie piano on this, and for that we should all be grateful.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Sophie Ellis-BextorMixed up WorldOut now The cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s new single features bright primary colours and lettering that smacks of the over-enthusiastic eighties revival that’s been doing the rounds lately. That would be bad enough on its own. However, start listening to the track itself, and what you get is a fairly nondescript song that wouldn’t be out of place on her last album, overlaid with synthesizer stabbings and vocal sampling that screams ‘Human League rip-off’. Still, this is not necessarily a bad thing; Mixed Up World is the perfect song for dancing around one’s room in pants and hair rollers. If that is your sort of thing, buy this record. If not, save your money. That said, the B-side features the talents of ex-Suede man Bernard Butler, and is really rather good. Tell yourself that’s why you’re spending your £1.99.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003