In The Loop, a darker Yes Minister for modern times
by 
|A less clever but much blacker version of Yes Minister, this political comedy farce does excel when it comes to insults. The communication director in the British Government reels off some of the best combinations of expletives I’ve heard in quite a while, and later in the film is equalled by American foes. In terms of content, In The Loop tells of a rush to war in the Middle East and how easily a UN resolution can be manipulated on the back of manipulated information. In a blur of meetings and arguments, educated opinions or arguments are rare and only seem to happen in passing, and this movie presents a terrifying vision of politics. I much prefer The West Wing and its clever, hard-working politicians. Considering the stupidity of Bush and co, however, this piece is probably much closer to the mark.
Tagged: In The Loop
Also by XAVIER TOBY
Australian movie A Few Best Men
With all the gross out jokes and silliness of the common comedy romp, you’d think making them would be easy. Well, it’s not. It’s actually really difficult. Writing a joke is one of the hardest tasks anyone can undertake. Read more
Melancholia: a film by Lars von Trier
I wish there were a lot more of the types of films made by Lars von Trier. Each is very different but still distinctly von Trier, and each is superb. Melancholia is the follow up to the wonderfully confronting Antichrist. This is all about the end of the world, and told with an honesty and pacing that is probably much closer to the actual end of the world than all the Hollywood crap would have you believe. Read more
We Need To Talk About Kevin: based on Lionel Shriver’s novel
A delightful uncomfortable film, told from the point of view of a broken woman. Kevin’s just not right, and that’s obvious from the outset as mother Eva battles to bring him up in a world where the onus is put squarely back on the mother. The intensity is poured on throughout, as tragedy seems imminent. Read more
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Caldwell Tanner has created the ultimate visual guide of Superheroes as Hipsters. Strange thing is that I’ve seen a few of these characters parading down Brooklyn’s Bedford Avenue recently. Read more
We love this idea. When was the last time you sent a letter? Ivan Cash wants to do something about it. He’s kicked off a project to revive the art of actually handwriting letters. He’ll take any email you send him, handwrite it into a letter, then actually mail it to anywhere in the world. All for free. This art project only lasts a month, so get cracking. Read more
Oh man, my eyeballs feel like they’re dropping out of my head. This clip is pyschedelic in a way that platform shoes and polyester shoes could never be. The Faint are the shizz, and that’s the truth.
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No, this is not a still from a Dr Who episode. It is, instead, the facade of the Wotruba Church, built between 1974 and 1976 and located in the beautiful Austrian suburb of Mauer, the 23rd district of Vienna. Now, if only all religious buildings were so damn adventurous. It would kinda make Christmas mass more enjoyable. Read more
Breakbeat duo, Evil Nine’s new album, They Live!, is one of the standout releases of the year. They Live! is powerful second album after 2005′s, You Can Be Special Too, its gruesome lyrics paying homage to all those misunderstood zombies out there. The duo — Automatom and Pardytron — compiled a Secret Playlist for us, writing about their eight favourite songs right now. Their first selection? Why, Toto’s Africa, of course [listen below]: ‘The epitome of smooth music, words can’t express how much this song rules! When the synths come in and the drums echo in the night, I’[m immediately transported back to my youth. Some people might say this is a guilty pleasure, but I don’t feel no guilt. I just stick it on and bask in their mellow might’. Read the rest of the Evil Nine Secret Playlist.
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Things continue to improve for New York’s metal scene, if Batillus are any indication. The sludge/doom trio from Brooklyn offer crushingly heavy, down-tuned and down-tempo instrumental riffage that sounds like what a mutant that has crawled out of Newtown Creek might have on his iPod. The band recently added vocalist Fade Kainer of Inswarm (Jarboe’s touring band) to its line-up.
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Anytime you find Houndstooth and Hoody in the same sentence you know it will be a good day. Well, today has been a great day and New Dandyism, the lovechild of a conglomate of lusty designers — Sons by Obedient Sons, wood wood and Call of the Wild — is the reason. It’s a surprisingly coherent and articulate project for one cooked up in a kitchen filled with chefs. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Never ever, ever, ever, ever park here
Some friendly advice for the neighbours, who simply don’t get it, or street art? You decide which one it is.
Baltimore Mural by Josh Van Horne
My friend Josh Van Horne, a local Baltimore artist, did this amazing mural in our neighborhood that depicts the history of this warehouse-laden area.
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. Read more
Nerd-attack! Man, this TARDIS zipper robe is so much cooler than any Star Wars crap people are hawking this days. This is for the true gangsta nerd.
In 2008, graphic designer Becky Edgington and illustrator Sarah Beetson created two limited-edition packs of playing cards featuring images from Beetson’s exhibition, 50 Bucks: Bring On The Sluts. The images were selected from almost 500 small artworks created on moleskine paper, inspired by vintage pornography and a trip to Japan. Read more
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