Leaning on Jesus

A short post to describe one of the finest films I've ever seen. Night of the Hunter, starring Robert Mitchum and based on the David Grubb novel, it is in equal measure terrifying, wild, murky and enchanting. The story follows two children pursued by a villanious preacher man, who looks set to steal the money that their father robbed before he got thrown in the can. The film is at times a chase thriller and proto horror whilst also a debate of how one seperates religious devotion from cult worship. Robert Mitchum's Rev Harry Powell quotes scripture and gospel with a bellowing solemnity but his eyes, wide and motionless, reveal his empty pleas as false. He is a complex and haunting presence, more a hypnotist than a healer.



The cinematography and direction traces a blood line from Lynch style noir. Wide pan shots of angular rooms & dark vistas, the eery tension of a wholesome town dismantled by a lurking demon and an entire cast of characters that teeter on the brink of madness - it will strike a chord with fans of Inland Empire and Eraserhead.



 Mesmeric in so much as you're never quite sure what you're seeing is real, especially given how modern the film was and still is;  it's a crying shame as well that child performances have rarely matched the quality of Sally Jane Bruce and Billy Chapin either. A dominating, shocking and gorgeous film.



Thanks Katie

"I don't want no sugar in my coffee"

Watching No Direction Home for the first time yesterday, I was struck by a reworking of an old blues song "Bald Headed Woman" by Harry Belafonte. Belafonte was a huge star during the late fifties and early sixties, with songs like Day-O and Island in the Sun.

 Belafonte has been seen more recently promoting a new film that charts his career and perhaps more importantly, his voice in the civil rights movement. Currently premiering at festivals across the U.S the film follows the journey he took to become an artist in his own right instead of a "black performer".



Filled with rare stock footage, interviews and performances, Sing Your Song looks set to highlight the showmanship and struggle of this fantastic musician. In the meantime, please follow the link for Bald Headed Woman. A penetrating, abstract take on chain gang melodies; Belafonte's baritone here is a striking example of his artistic versatility and a microcosm of his quiet brilliance. Much like his politics, when this guy pounced, he'd take the crowd down with him

Harry Belafonte – Bald Headed Woman

Insert Disc

                          Having recently burnt another several days away playing computer games, I decided it was time to expand my free time towards something more constructive. I'm an avid writer and the fear of missing usually throws me into action. Articles are written, published and begin to relax. However, when given time to myself and with no routine or pressing engagement, I mess around. I walk in circles, I lose my focus and I game. If it hadn't had been for writing, I'd be drowning  under a pile of cartridges and controllers; my vision twisted from hours of pixellated bliss.

                  This isn't something to be ashamed of  but it's time to get real. I'll have turned 23 by Wednesday and a demon's telling me that if I don't do something about my default obsession with home consoles, my only personal development would be my high scores.

              In an effort to combat this, Time To Groan was created. I haven't made any decisions about what to write about, or who to write for so this will mostly be made up of collected opinions, rants and streams of consciousness for the time being. I hope you'll take my hand as we try to find a voice in this Time to Groan.