Control by Anton Corbijn

Control is the biopic about Ian Curtis, late vocalist of English post-punk band Joy Division. The film is based on Deborah Curtis book "Touching from a distance" and is directed by acclaimed rock photographer Anton Corbijn. Starring are Sam Riley (Ian), Samantha Morton (Deborah) and Alexandra Maria Lara as belgian mistress Annik Honoré.

It presents Curtis' troubled short life that ended in May 1980 by the way of suicide. It covers from his early days as a Manchester lad in love with Bowie, his early marriage with Deborah, his absent parenthood to Natalie, the forming of Joy Division (first named Warsaw), his epilepsy and seizures during concerts, his affair with a Belgian groupie, his depression, his problems with Deborah and finally his struggle with fame in the verge of their first USA tour.

The film shows also contemporary bands like Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols and even a cameo by punk poet John Cooper Clark that gives a real edge to the film. It is very well photographed with Corbijn's trademark black and white shots. The soundtrack, full of the band's classics, was played by the real actors. And Riley's performance was outstanding. He portrayed Curtis was a depressed young adult who felt so much guilt by his actions that decide to end his life and become a rock n roll martyr.

Agent Orange at Madrid

Agent Orange, the surf-punk legends from Orange County, played at the Wurlitzer Ballroom in the spanish capital. The opening act was The Shitty Limits from the United Kingdom who played energetic hardcore-punk ala Surf Nazis Must Die. Their singer was within the crowd roaring the fast skate-punk blasts as the rest of the band lay on stage to play rapid fire guitar riffs and out-of-control drums. Very impressive band. After this good set, came the spanish heavy rock/punk band Zero 5 who played a couple of tunes reminiscent of Motorhead, but not that good.

At last, came the southern california power trio lead by vocalist/guitarist Mike Palm. They sounded tight and powerful even though the venue's sound is not the best. Their usual instrumental surf tunes were between the faster punk songs. Some of the songs played were "Bloodstains", "Too young too die" (dedicated to the late Lux Interior of The Cramps), "The Last Goodbye", "No Such Thing", "Living in darkness", "Pipeline" and "I kill spies". Also they played two covers: "Police Truck" by the Dead Kennedys and "Message from the Underworld" by The Weirdos. Great set overall, energetic as it gets but with some chill out surf tunes to listen.

Picture by MCJ Photography (c).

Stiff Little Fingers at Madrid

The infamous northern irish punk rock band, Stiff Little Fingers, played at the madrilean venue Joy Eslava. The opening act was Delincuencia Sonora, an early 80s punk rock band from Madrid, who were kinda disappointing. Music-wise they are ok but the frontman does not have any kind of energy and his voice sounds too monotone.

At ten o'clock, the legendary band from Belfast came on stage. Their frontman/lead guitarrist, Jake Burns, had an accident after their previous show in Bilbao but that did not stop him of performing. Along with original bassist, Ali McMordie, the SLF rocked the stage with energy. Jake's voice is still sounding great and the music was tight and powerful.

They played classics like "At The Edge", "Suspect Device", "Barbed Wire Love", "Nobody's Heroes", "Tin Soldiers" and "Alternative Ulster". Also, two covers: "Johnny Was" by Bob Marley and "Doesn't Make It Alright" by The Specials. And some of the newer songs like "Liars Club" (dissing Bush and Blair) and "Guitar and Drum" (making fun of American Idol) proved that their politically-charged punk rock has not lost its edge. In "Strummerville" they paid homage to The Clash's leader, a band they have been compared to in the past. Their catchy pop hooks and energetic punk rock, that have influenced later generations of punks like Screeching Weasel, Blind Pigs or Rancid, is still relevant and fresh as in 1977.

Picture by MCJ Photography.

The Buzzcocks at Madrid

As part of the "Another Bites" 2009 Tour, the almighty Buzzcocks, from Manchester, played in the infamous venue "Sala el Sol"(from "La Movida" days) in Madrid to a capacity crowd of punkers, rockers and old-timers. The opening act was the punk rock outfit from Seattle, Cute Lepers (formed by Briefs' guitarrist/vocalist, Steve E. Nix). They played a quite energetic show with some good rocknroll tunes with catchy choruses, accompanied by two female background vocalists. In their repertoire they did "Fall in Love" by The Vibrators.

After this good start, the pop-punk pioneers from the 77' UK Punk Class came on stage. Main vocalist, Pete Shelley, with lead guitarrist/singer, Steve Diggle, began their performance with the intro of their classic "Boredom", which they played only the music(this song was originally sang by original line-up singer, Howard Devoto, that after their first EP, Spiral Scratch, left the band). In their first set, they performed classics like "I Don't Mind" and "Ever fallen in love" along with some lesser-known songs. After a short break, they came back to play all their hits like "Orgasm Addict", "What Do I Get", "Promises" and "Oh Shit". The Buzzcocks, after 33 years playing, are one of the best pop-punk outfits ever.

Picture courtesy of MCJ Photography.

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is the latest film by versatile english director, Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, etc). The screenplay, adapted by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty), was based on the novel "Q&A" by Vikas Swarup. The story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an orphan from the slums of Bombay, who is playing the indian version of the game show "Who wants to be a millionaire". He earns 10 million rupees by answering all the correct answers but when the final question comes, only the destiny will tell if he is going to win.

Boyle created one of the best films of the new century. A visually striking and deeply moving story of the destiny of a young orphan who is in search of the love of his life, a girl named Latika (Freida Pinto). It evolves around the development throughout the years of the city of Bombay in India, when a pair of brothers, Jamal and Salim, grew up alone and having to survive the tough life in the streets. The game show serves as focal point to tell the story of Jamal as a homeless kid who learn from life itself, the things to survive. These things learned are luckily the answers for the game show, for him the destiny was written.

The storytelling is original, told from the point of view of Jamal, in the game show and in the police station, explaining how he knew all the answers and how was his life prior to appearing in the show. It is constructed as a journey through the colorful streets of India. From the Taj Mahal to the dirtiest slum from the poorest house to the wealthiness of today's indian economic growth. It has a City of God-esque feel to it with the violence of the streets but with comedy elements and the feel-good scenes of a good "Bollywood" film. The music goes great with the images and the story is well-connected in every sense. It is a celebration of living without fear, never giving-up and hope, that any human being can relate to. Boyle proves being a great film-maker who can adapt to any kind of story or environment.

The movie won 4 Golden Globes (Best Movie, Best Screenplay, Best Music and Best Director) and is nominated for 10 Academy Awards.

Revolver by Guy Ritchie

Revolver is Guy Ritchie's last movie before his latest one, Rocknrolla. It has not been widely released or distributed anywhere (besides the UK). Starring are Jason Statham (also appears in Ritchie's: Snatch and Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels), Ray Liotta, Vincent Pastore (of Soprano's fame) and Andre Benjamin (from hip hop group, Outkast). It is written and directed by Madonna's ex-husband and the screenplay adapted by Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita).

The story is about Jake Green (Statham), a man who is released from prison after 7 years, and in a span of two years begins winning a lot of money gambling. Casino owner, Mr. D (Liotta) invites him for a game, when he loses and gets insulted wants to kill Green. Zack (Pastore) and Avi (Benjamin) are loan sharks who are willing to protect Green from Mr. D in exchange for all his money.

Ritchie presents his most thought-provoking film to date. The major theme in the movie is the human ego. Both leading roles are people who have giant egos, Green is a consistent winner at gambling and Mr. D is a powerful casino owner with a lot connections in the underworld. As the story evolves we get to know that Green is not that perfect of a gambler and Mr. D is not as powerful as he thinks he is. The thesis of this film is that our enemies don't exist and they are only an imaginary creation of our ego. Our ego is what makes us take decisions of whether to continue living in peace or expose ourselves to the dangers of life. At the end of the film, Ritchie uses testimonies from several experts (M.D.'s, P.H.D.'s and scientists) in the field to support his thesis.

Regarding the style of the film, is a well-developed script. His trademark elements are there: visually great looking with fast editing, great music, a narrator who in this case serves for knowing what the minds thought and use of rare camera shots for flashbacks, dreams and dialogues between characters. He adds the use of animation for the sake of a more entertaining storytelling. Also the actors are a mix between brits and americans with Statham being the usual suspect from previous Ritchie flicks. The film is well-written and directed, it has that witty british humor we all love and at the end it leaves us thinking about Freud, egos and human imagination; What else can you ask for?. 9/10 stars!