Essential August

Essential viewing:
- Quentin Tarantino is back with his long awaited WWII fable Inglourious Basterds. Not the nonstop bloodshed many might expect, even though it certainly has its share of that too, as always with Tarantino the action here lies within the dialogue. From its dazzling opening to its gunblazing finish this picture is filled with treasures. A great cast with Christoph Waltz stealing the whole movie from under Brad Pitt's feet. The third act might be a bit weak and we don't get the massive payoff we feel we deserve, but this is still a great return to form for Tarantino, after the disappointing Death Proof (2007).
- Michael Mann returns to crime, this time in 1930's America with his new film Public Enemies. Johnny Depp plays John Dillinger and even though the story is hardly original it is an interesting study of an era where criminals were considered heroes for fighting against the bankrupt government. The style might throw you off at first (the entire film is shot on an ultra high resolution format) and you might reap more rewards upon a second viewing, but Mann once again proves himself a master of the medium.
- I Love You, Man is one of the best comedies of the year so far. Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are becoming best buddies in this sharp and informal flick and they have enough appeal between them to make you laugh all the way through. It is director John Hamburg's fourth film and easily his best one yet.

Essential listening:
- Broken is the new album from Soulsavers, the English band with strong ties to singer/songwriter Mark Lanegan. Lanegan features on several tracks on this album too alongside other contributors such as Richard Hawley and Mike Patton. A raw and lovely mixture of rock, country and (obviously?) soul. With autumn approaching this is the perfect soundtrack for long walks in the dark. And everything else actually.
- After dabbling with fellow rockmate Jack White with The Raconteurs, Brendan Benson is back on his own with his first solo album in four years, and boy is it good! My Old, Familiar Friend might be his strongest outing yet. A wonderful collection of pop and rock songs with terrific lyrics. It is obvious that after his spell with The Raconteurs, Benson has been missing the opportunity to release his own brand of catchy tunes with playful riffs and headnodding beats. One of the finest albums of the year so far.
- Arctic Monkeys return to the spotlight with "the difficult third album". The title is Humbug and might be a gutpunch to the expectations themselves. However, they have nothing to fear because they are still doing their job well. Having turned to Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme for producing duties, there is still enough rock to go around, but also a surprising amount of more old style popular tracks. The Sheffield quartet has deliverd a strong album and might be demanding to be taken a bit more serious after establishing themselves as the favorite band of urban rock teenagers. Appearantly there is more to these punks than meets the eye.