The Mirror and the Scene

Duncan Jones' 'Moon' is a classy homage to Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' and a tasteful and subtle love letter to science fiction. You could say that with 'Moon', Jones boldly wears his influences on his sleeves but I think this embrace of cliché is one of the film's strengths. We know the

Considered as the first of the Ealing Comedies, Hue and Cry (1947) is a socio-realist thriller for children set amongst the rubble of post-war London. Scene after scene show swathes of a crumbling city. The ruins serve as a playground for the children and in an odd way a nurturing ground. Hue

It's a Barnum and Bailey world Just as phony as it can be But it wouldn't be make-believe If you believed in me 'It's Only A Paper Moon' - Harold Arlen (1933 Utilising black and white much as with The Last Picture Show (1971), Peter Bogdanovich goes vintage again and captures the

1. Another Woman (1988)      "I wondered if a memory is something you have or something you've lost"  'Another Woman' is an example of life as deception, that to go on living we must deceive ourselves on more than one level and that some of us have a larger capacity

I saw The Untouchables for the first time tonight. Bond always gets the best lines and the Oscar is well deserved even if his mastery of a Boston Irish accent sounds suspiciously Scottish Robert De Niro's depiction of Capone is comic, verging on camp, but definitely a classic role.  It's

I am relatively new to Chris Marker, having seen only Sans Soleil (1985) and I feel almost shameful that his work has passed me by. Luckily (perhaps not for him) he died recently and so I was encouraged by a friend to check out his work. Sans Soleil reminded me of Koyaanisqatsi (1981) and Baraka

 (Bruce Springsteen, Stadium of Light, Sunderland, UK. June 20th 20012) OK so yesterday I made love to Bruce Springsteen for 3 hours and 4 minutes. The thing is there were at least several thousand others partaking as well. Bruce Springsteen may be the last 'great' rock star. I hate to call

Recently I've been going through quite a Paul McCartney phase. Some might even say that is ill advised. I came late to The Beatles 'proper', having been initiated by my friend Steven when I was fourteen or fifteen but with the result of only liking the occasional track, which in most cases were

There is constant twittering about Bob Dylan and Plagiarism and I've often found myself on both sides of the argument, at first on the wrong side, until I come to my senses that is.  There is a link somewhere on the expectingrain.com forum for Classic Interviews Vol.3 which cover the periods

I came relatively late to the great Richard Thompson, and was even later in discovering how great a band Fairport Convention were. I remember watching him play beautiful lyrical guitar flourishes alongside a sleepy whimsical Bob Dylan at the Guitar Legends show in Seville,

I first heard Paul Brady's music about ten years ago while visiting my friend Peter Stone Brown in Philadelphia. One night up in his office-come-music-treasure-trove he said, "you have to hear this" and proceded to play me Brady's interpretation of Arthur McBride. I can't be sure, but

Alongside Dylan there are not many contemporaries who still stand up even now as a live performer or songwriter. I know some might dispute that, but I can tell you now, Dylan is still a formidable force when you see him perform. Leonard Cohen's initial 2008 concerts were a revelation for those who