Best Horror Movies of the Decade

To be honest, this wasn't a great decade for horror.  We saw lots of trends - J-Horror, Zombie mania, Torture Porn, 3D, and endless, mindless remakes, but not many memorable installments into the horror movie hall of fame.

Here are the lone standouts:

Let the Right One In - the vampire tale finally told from a personal perspective.  Quiet, reflective and chilling to the bone.

The Ring - the best of J-Horror transferred to the states. A compelling ghost riddle with a great ending.

 The Devil's Backbone - Del Torro's haunting ghost story.

The Orphanage - another foreign language pitch-perfect ghost story.

The Host - the best monster movie in a long time.  Great characters - a fun ride.  What Cloverfield and Monsters wanted to be.

The Mist - best Stephen King adaptation since Shawshank.  Builds up gradual tension and then crashes you with a brutal Lovecraftian ending.

Drag Me to Hell - Raimi returns to his manic Evil Dead roots, but with a more toned-down approach.  Fun, funny, scary and always entertaining.

28 Days Later - Danny Boyle's brilliant zombie reboot for the 21st century.

Saw - yes, it launched a torrent of horrible torture porn, but as a standalone low-budget horror movie Saw remains as a great example of what you can do with minimal sets, a couple actors and one nasty idea.

Paranormal Activity - lots of haters with this one, but I loved the setup and bought most of it - except for the flaming Ouija board - ok, that was kinda silly.



Let's see, a top ten list where 5 out of the 10 are foreign made (remember, 28 Days Later is British), another one (The Ring) is a remake of a Japanese film and two of the American-made movies were indie films, far from the mainstream studio system.  Really, a pitiful showing from Hollywood, where dollar signs led them to blindly rehash old favorites in a desperate attempt to generate revenue - instead of developing great new horror talents.

It's obvious the foreign and indie markets will continue to drive this genre.

The best of the rest:

The Mothman Prophecies
REC
Hostel
Trick 'r Treat
1408
The Last Exorcism

"Happy New Yerrrrrrr!!!!" Peace & Blissing From The Kool Skool!

To all the people who have been supporting The Kool Skool we wish you a Happy and safe New Years!!!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a wonderful and Happy New Year.  Remember, it's not only a new year but it's a new decade, may it be one of prosperity, good times, excellent health and amazing style! 

http://thebeatdetective.blogspot.com - "These Are Some of Our Favourites"

http://thebeatdetective.blogspot.comis a production based blog and part of http://www.dailydiggers.com keeping Beat Digging alive and well in the U.K.

Check out the dope new trailer for the upcoming film KING OF THE BEATS NYC here. Featuring Casanova Rud, Ultramagnetic MC's TR Love & Moe Love, Bronx Producer, MoneyBoss Minnesota and from the Beatnuts Psycho Les..

For some of The Kool Skool's other favoutites check here

Kru Challenge 1:

Start your New Year off proper just like your Ajahn Suchart would with a morning or afternoon run. Make the distance a challenging one. 10k - 21k.

After set your goal in kilometers for the year and spend the whole year obtaining and surpassing them!

Feel free to post pictures and stories of your New Year's Run to our facebook page!

Kru

Vogue January 2011

Love the car, love the look head to toe, this is my kind of retro.  

Photo: Peter Lindbergh

'Women's Studies' Available to Watch Online via Amazon!

I just wanted to let you know that Women's Studies, Ningen Manga Productions' independent horror feature about homicidal feminists, is available to watch online via Amazon's On Demand service. 

Only $1.99! We get like three cents of that!

Check it out at the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Studies/dp/B00444M6RI

Happy New Year from all of us at NMP!

Monique Lhuillier Pre A/W '11

Here are two gorgeous looks from Monique Lhuillier for next year, both are pretty dreamy but I think the first is an actual personal neccessity.  (Although I want the gown as well, I just need to find somewhere to wear it..)

Gorillaz Discography

INFO:
Gorillaz is a musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of the Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters. This band is composed of four animated members: 2D (lead vocalist, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboard, and occasional vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). Their fictional universe is explored through the band's website and music videos, as well as a number of other media. The music is a collaboration between various musicians, Albarn being the only permanent musical contributor. Their style is a composition of multiple musical genres, with a large number of influences including: dub, hip hop, alternative rock, electronic and pop music.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

Artist's Website: http://gorillaz.com/


Plastic Beach (album) [2010]



Tracklist:
1. Orchestral Intro
2. Welcome To The Worlds Of The Plastic Beach
3. White Flag
4. Rhinestone Eyes
5. Stylo
6. Superfast Jellyfish
7. Empire Ants
8. Glitter Freeze
9. Some Kind Of Nature
10. On Melancholy Hill
11. Broken
12. Sweepstakes
13. Plastic Beach
14. To Binge
15. Cloud Of Unknowing
16. Pirate Jet

Download
discogz.blogspot.com
Alternate Download


Demon Days (album) [2005]



Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Last Living Souls
3. Kids With Guns
4. O Green World
5. Dirty Harry
6. Feel Good Inc.
7. El Mañana
8. Every Planet We Reach Is Dead
9. November Has Come
10. All Alone
11. White Light
12. Dare
13. Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head
14. Don't Get Lost In Heaven
15. Demon Days

Download
discogz.blogspot.com
Alternate Download


Gorillaz (album) [2001]



Tracklist:
1. Re-Hash
2. 5/4
3. Tomorrow Comes Today
4. New Genious (Brother)
5. Clint Eastwood
6. Man Research (Clapper)
7. Punk
8. Sound Check (Gravity)
9. Double Bass
10. Rock The House
11. 19-2000
12. Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo)
13. Starshine
14. Slow Country
15. M1 A1
16. Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix)

Download
discogz.blogspot.com
Alternate Download

Best TV Shows of the Decade

I decided to skip over the Top 10s of the year and go right for the big daddy - the Best of the Decade.

First up - Television.

 This last decade of TV represents for me, the golden age of television.  Simply put, it is the best television has ever produced:




The Wire - The best. Ever. David Simon's brutally honest dystopian vision is the gold standard.









 





The Sopranos - The one that started it all - and relaunched Journey's career.

















 
Breaking Bad - Fearless. Bold. Funny. Visionary. Brutal.















Mad Men - Tone-perfect subtle portrayal of the pivot point of a decade and a man's journey to find his authentic self.
















Deadwood -  David Milch's foul-mouthed Shakespearean western is a multi-layered tour-de-force.

Band of Brothers - Epic portrayal of the realities of war in the mid-century.

Dexter - Puts all those CSI clone shows to shame.  Michael C. Hall carries the show with nothing but subtle facial expressions.














 
Curb Your Enthusiasm - Seinfeld synthesized into a crack-like addictive journey into Larry David's warped vision of ultimate social discomfort and humiliation.















Battlestar Gallactica - Sci-Fi told on an epic scale while maintaining its focus on character.

Rescue Me - Foul-mouthed.  Daring.  Brutally honest.  Went head-first into post 9-11 territory that no one else with a sane mind would touch.  Thank you Dennis Leary.















These brilliant and revolutionary shows easily match up against the best television of any decade - perhaps even the best narrative dramas of any medium.  If will be interesting to see if the next decade can live up to these achievements.  Clearly the most creative minds are now working in television - where the showrunners (usually writers) can maintain control of their vision.

Not one of these shows was produced by traditional network television.  And no one cares anymore - the era of the networks is dead.  My children couldn't tell a network from cable or pay tv or YouTube or hulu or Netflix.  It is all simply visual storytelling that comes to them from a box in our home - or on a mobile device on the go.  The revolution is already over.

The best of the rest:

Six Feet Under
The Office
Rome
Entourage
Generation Kill
Friday Night Lights
30 Rock
True Blood
Survivor
The Daily Show With John Stewart
Lost

Next up:  Best Horror Movies of the Decade

S By Max Mara

These S By Max Mara jackets for S/S '11 are so cute, perfect for those brisk days in the fresh spring sun, I think I need them both.  Also, what amazing ad campaign shots, they look like they belong in a gallery.


Photo: Max Farago

The Greatest Round Ever...?

A while ago, Kru Jen posted an epic round of famous boxers Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti.

A similar round in Muay Thai can be seen in this fight between two Thai legends: Sakmongkol Sitchuchoke and Jonganan Fairtex.

I've posted this fight before, but this round itself distills all the action and heart into its deepest essence.

What you see in this clip isn't the most technical fight, but a display of raw
energy and desire to win.

PS. If you think you've seen elbows, you haven't seen this clip.

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhwHe4W6K2Q

THE KOOL SKOOL "Remix Pressure" Radio Show (Listen/Free Download)

*THE KOOL SKOOL "Remix Pressure" Radio Show* - Listen/Free Download HERE

DJ Shucks One The Idiot hosts a rare Remix only special The Kool Skool Radio Show originally recorded Itch FM on 26/12/04. This episode features music by: Doctor Dre, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5, Howie B & DJ Krush, Funky Four + One More, Eric B & Rakim, Stetsasonic, Mantronix, Roxanne Shante, Run D.M.C., MC Lyte, Audio Two, Big Daddy Kane, MC Shan, Queen Latifah, K-Solo, Rodney-O & Joe Cooley, E.P.M.D., Ultramagnetic MC's, King Sun, Public Enemy, Compton's Most Wanted, Lord Finesse, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, M.O.P., 50 Cent, Eazy-E, Tupac, The Game, Capone, Biggie, Tupac & Gangstarr. Includes the BREAKS FOR DAYS BEATS FOR WEEKS rare Kid Dynomite Remix of Big Daddy Kane "Set It Off"

Exclusive to Sensei.fm

"F**K THA BUFF!!!!" Getting Rid of Graffiti (Rare 1992 Book Scan)

Top: Karm, Kue, Clas & others Pedestrian Subway

Bottom: Kis42

"F**K THA BUFF!!!!" Getting Rid of Graffiti (Rare 1992 Book Scan)

It has been said before that a healthy Graffiti scene reflects a cultural city. London had in the past a very vibrant and unique Graffiti style, in the 70's with a fashion Skin Head and Punk graffiti and later the "New York Graffiti". To outsiders it would appear that those days are long gone. Nowadays with mandatory 18 month Prison sentences, wipe clean panels and texting the local council will get a buff team out within 24hrs, will it ever be the same?


Getting Rid Of Graffiti - 1992 Rare Technical Textbook on the Removal of Graffiti

This book is an Industry insiders book looking at the various techniques, all the photos are from London and from about 1988.


Dressed to Kill
Above: Cak1


Above: Poze, Scan1 and others in a classic pissy Estate Stairwell

Bottom: Yardies Crew, Mobism, Scrawl, Jay, Cade and others


Top: Freek DVA with traditional London style Throw-up

Middle: Justice, Imase, Rave, Cal, Hive, Live and others in Talgarth Road Pedestrian Subway
Bottom: Unknown


"Now lemmie take trip down memory lane..."
Event, Dize, Era, Car One, Fear, Prime and others in Covent Garden Tube?


Above: Buses used to ALL look like this

Below: Keep SAS and others Trackside

Only McQueen

I love that this is the picture you see when you go to Alexander McQueen's website, so much art mixed with so much elegance.  I know I'm a bit obsessed but Sarah Burton is my 2010 hero, she's done an impeccable job taking over the label under such tragic circumstances and created absolutely beautiful clothes.  She not only kept the McQueen genius we love alive, she did so with compassion as my bff Molly put it and I for one am excited to see what comes next...The art of fashion lives on!

Spring 2011

Photo: Vogue/ Patrick Demarchelier

John Pilger's - The War You Don't See *MUST SEE DOCUMENTARY*

War Jounalist Action Figure


Disclose.tv - the WAR you don't see , John Pilger 1 of 6 Video

The War You Don't See

John Pilger investigates the media's role in war. He traces the history of 'embedded' and independent reporting from the carnage of WWI to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
97MINS

Jasiri X-tra

Jasiri X-tra

MARI INUKAI

http://mariinukai.com











www.marillanokichi.blogspot.com