Notebook Letters 13.

Best death scene mulled

Best- or should I say most imaginative- screen death is the woman who has had her head dunked in liquid nitrogen, then smashed, in Jason X. Best quotation: "Get away from her, you b****!"- Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Karl, Barnsley

Does anyone know if there is going to be a finale to Kill Bill, or is Tarantino leaving it as a mark of respect to the late David Carradine? Matthew, Islandmagee

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 10th of November, 2009; 4/6.

Will DVD soon be obsolete?

Is anyone concerned their DVD collections may be made obsolete by Blu Ray, just like VHS was by DVD? I like collecting DVDs but don't want them to become redundant and Blu Ray is way too expensive at present. What do others think? SR, Cheshire

Last word on the Star Wars prequels- they collectively grossed a whopping $2.5 bn! Somebody liked them. Matth, Wakefield

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 10th of November, 2009; 5/6.

Studio memories

For any Sheffield readers, the first film I saw was Raiders of The Lost Ark at Studio 567, on the Wicker. Sniper, Sheffield

Being housebound is difficult, but losing my daily dose of Vortex will be even more frustrating. Are there any alternative forums? Max, Kettering

Saw V felt like the end, but one question: what was in the box given to Jigsaw's ex-wife? Herbie, Fairford

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 10th of November, 2009; 6/6.

Jumping the gun

It's hardly surprising that A Christmas Carol flopped on its opening weekend. Why would you release such a Christmas-y film in early November? I want to see it, but will be waiting until a week or two before Christmas. Andy, Chelmsford

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 11th of November, 2009; 1/6.

Monroe underrated?

Peter- Monroe had always been a unique and tragically underrated actress whose more impressive performances were under the radar. People should check out her work in Niagara and The Misfits. In The Prince And The Showgirl, she displayed a deft comic ability and blasted Olivier off screen, a fact that the great man himself admitted before his death. Dave, Newbury

My first movie- first Indiana Jones. My dad took me, I'm 34. Pete, Aston

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 11th of November, 2009; 2/6.

Dropped the ball

Can't believe you left out Scrooged from your Christmas Carol list. Second only to the Alistair Sim version, surely? Bob, Slough

Some film recommendations viewers should see include The Station Agent and Thank You For Smoking. If you like independent films with charm and intelligence, you will like thse. Also, we had some great times, Vortex, so great I can't remember half of them. You will be missed. Spirogyra

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 11th of November, 2009; 3/6.

Money, money, money

You can't gauge how good a film is by how much money it makes. Some of the best films make no money at all. Tom, Northampton

Some people are equating box office takings with quality, but many poor films have made huge takings. Transformers, for example. Ray, Durham

Herbie- The box is explained in Saw VI. It contained... go see for yourself- you will love it! Ryan, Belfast

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 11th of November, 2009; 4/6.

Is it nearly over, yet?

How long do Voiders give a film before realising it's pure tripe and turn it off? Forty minutes is my limit. Prime examples recently are Die Hard 4, Next and Quarantine. The latter two were half an hour. The worst £15 I've spent in ages for these turkeys! Chris, Hamilton

Blu-ray players can also play DVDs. I personally only buy big blockbusters such as Transformers and The Dark Knight on Blu-ray. Taz, Stockport

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 11th of November, 2009; 5/6.

It's all in a name

Movies named after their characters are less snazzy than regular titles, but they still make great films. Jackie Brown, Carrie, The Notorious Bettie Page and Dolores Claiborne are great films. Rich, Aylesbury

Jeremiah Johnson- Robert Redford's portrayal from greenhorn to fur trapping, Indian fighting mountain man was excellent set against a backdrop of stunning scenery. Terry, Aberdeen

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 11th of November, 2009; 6/6.

The "perfect Aryan child" in Nazi propaganda posters was Jewish.

* The best way to protect your headphones from tangling in your bag is to join the ends together.

* Chris Packham writes a letter ever year to the makers of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! to complain about the show's treatment of animals.

* Yorkshire and Humberside are as red-headed as Ireland.

* Eating an apple a day can boost s*xual pleasure in healthy women.

* The Yo mobile app is used to alert Israelis about rocket attacks.

* Historically, the perfect age to be a player in the World Cup is 27.5- it's also the mean age of the 32 teams that played in the group matches at Brazil 2014.

* Small receptors are found in the heart, liver and gut, and aid the healing process.

*Guantamo detainees smuggle food into the recreation yard to feed Princess, the camp's cat.

* One in five US high school seniors has smoked hookah, and most of them are under the impression it is healthy.

10 things we didn't know last week; 11th of July, 2014.

Pugwash finally sails out

By John Earls

"I thought I was destined to be a glorious failure."

The Duckworth Lewis Method's concept album about cricket introduced Britain to the chrams of Thomas Walsh. It's finally given him the impetus to release Giddy, his first album here under the name of Pugwash.

"Musicians loved my first three albums," says Thomas. "But the public weren't able to buy them."

Duckworth Lewis succeeded at the point where Thomas was starting to think about quitting music.

"You can only bang your head against a brick wall so long before it collapses," says Thomas, 39.

"I'd had a rough 18 months, both with music and personally, and Neil Hannon was having record company problems too. We made it without caring one iota what became of it."

Giddy compiles the first Pugwash albums, which began in 1999, and is released on Andy Partridge's Ape label.

"It was put tugether before Duckworth," Thomas explains. "I let Andy pick the tracklisting, largely because I'd lost hope and couldn't see the point.

"Andy did a brilliant job. I thought I'd be thinking 'Really? That song?' but he's chosen as fair a summary as he could of my songs."

Pugwash specialises in ELO-flavoured psychedelic pop that sounds effortlessly dreamy.

"I don't want to sound too tortured here, but I sweat blood to get my songs written," says Thomas.

"I write in a weird way. I won't pick up the guitar for a year, then I spend the next two months vomiting out everything that's built up, before going back and honing it."

For an album released on a tiny label, Giddy's packaging is incredibly lavish- boxed, gatefolded, hidden artwork...

"It's because I'm a collector myself," says Thomas. "Andy told me we could go with a regular sleeve and make more money, or really go to town on the art.

"I thought 'Let's do something people will really want to own.' It was put together in Romania- they do amazing album art there, relatively cheaply."

Revitalised and with a proper Pugwash album out here next spring, Thomas is delighted that Brian Wilson is a fan.

"A friend in New York knows Brian's manager and gave him my last album," he grins. "Brian's family usually don't let him play music in the car, but they all loved my song It's Nice To Be Nice.

"I met Brian after a gig in Dublin. He said 'You're the Nice To Be Nice guy! Great song!' It doesn't get better..."

Teletext page 824; 12th of November, 2009.

Not a Scrooge

I too love Scrooged, along with Groundhog Day, with the ever more beautiful Andie MacDowell. Paul, Hants

Herbie- Can't tell you what's in the box without giving away the ending to Saw VI. Gothic Fairy, Nottingham

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 12th of November, 2009; 1/6.

DVD extras?

Can anyone confirm that on Alistair Sim's 1951 version of Scrooge DVD that the Seymour Hicks 1935 version is on the disc as an extra? I read a review saying it was but there are no details on the case. Peter, Saxmundham

Dave- My thoughts exactly. Other Marilyn Monroe gems include Bust Stop and The Seven Year Itch. Great performances and a film that still cracks me up after all these years. Kirsten, Runcorn

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 12th of November, 2009; 2/6.

Hollywood's blonde bombshells

Some Vortexers reprimand Hollywood's typecasting by underrating Marilyn's acting abilities as a "dumb blonde". Then why did blondes like Debra Paget, Grace Kelly, Barbara Eden, Lana Turner, Doris Day et al manage to get good roles without scrutiny? Typecasting, perhaps? Nina, London

Marilyn Monroe is in The Seven Year Itch and Some Like It Hot- brilliant. End of. Tony, Salisbury

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 12th of November, 2009; 3/6.

Marilyn's just Marilyn

I do think if she'd survived, Marilyn would have matured into any part she wanted. I've always wondered what she would have done as Joyce Summers (Buffy's mother). Pete, Aston

Meryl Streep immerses herself so intrinsically in her roles you forget she's Streep, whereas Marily Monroe never extricates herself from being Marilyn first and foremost. Rossetti, Sudbury

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 12th of November, 2009; 4/6.

Summer of 567

Sniper- I remember Studio 567 well, but can't tell you what the last film I saw there was. Mick, Sheffield

SR, Cheshire- Don't worry, your DVDs won't be made redundant by Blu-ray. Firstly, all Blu-ray players play regular DVDs. Also, whilst Blu-ray picture and sound quality is definitely than DVD, it's not the huge leap that there was from VHS to DVD. Dave, London

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 12th of November, 2009; 5/6.

Caine recommendation

I enjoyed Kate's piece on Michael Caine. Can I recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet, The Cider House Rules, with Caine doing a passable American accent alongside Tobey Maguire, who is a revelation. Mondo, Cornwall

Best death? It's got to be King Leonidas in 300. Bishop getting torn in two in Aliens is pretty brutal too. Matthew, Islandmagee

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 12th of November, 2009; 6/6.

Cinematic memories

The first film I saw at the cinema was the animated One Hundred And One Dalmations, when I was very young, and I was scared of Cruella de Vil. The first blockbuster I watched was Star Wars on original release a few years later. Stuart, Hardy

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 13th of November, 2009; 1/6.

Marilyn's defence

Marilyn had a great flair for comedy, for example The Seven Year Itch and Some Like It Hot. Peter, County Durham

In the history of cinema, I can think of no other actress able to exude on-screen pizzazz combined with nuanced angelically pensive sadness more than Monroe. Even playing the bad-girl in Niagara, she had you rooting for her. With an IQ of 168, 150 being gifted, Marilyn was anything but a dumb-blonde. T Rivers, Suss*x

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 13th of November, 2009; 2/6.

Two faced

There are two kinds of good actor: those that play any role convincingly and those that play a version of themselves in a believable situation. Chris, Welwyn

Matthew- Technically, Bishop didn't die in Aliens, he was an android and stopped Newt being sucked into space after being ripped into two. Best death? John Travolta's in Pulp Fiction. Johnboy, Farnham

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 13th of November, 2009; 3/6.

Massive impact

Mick- The last two films I saw there were Lethal Weapon and Aliens in 1986. Remember the ABC on Angel Street? Massive screen. Sniper, Sheffield

Michael Caine is a legend. Law and Stallone don't come close. He's an icon and we should cherish the iconic living legend. Pete, Aston

One of the greatest deaths is Harry Lime in the sewers in The Third Man. Ger, Omagh

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 13th of November, 2009; 4/6.

Remember Laserdiscs?

Does anyone else remember Laserdiscs? I bought a player in '96, a couple of years before DVDs were launched. The commentaries were more erudite and technical. Menace II Society's LD was far superior to the new Blu-ray edition which merely tells anecdotes about the LA 'hood.

The most brutal fight has to be Arnie Vs Jesse Ventura in The Running Man, and best villain goes to Scarface. G Rizz, Birmingham

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 13th of November, 2009; 5/6.

Misogynistic films?

What does everyone think is the most misogynistic film? I think The Last Seduction is definitely one of them. Lee, Fife

Matthew- I read a few years ago that Kill Bill Vvol 3 was in production. A prequel of how The Bride became deadly, the entire film is to be made in Japanese manga. If true, that could explain the long wait. Haze, London

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 13th of November, 2009; 6/6.

By John Earls
Top 50 albums of 2008

6) HOT CHIP Made In The Dark

So much for buckling under the pressure of trying to create another Over And Over, this was stuffed with songs carrying just as much dancefloor chaos.

Alexis Taylor's newly soulful vocals ensured the ballads were sweet respite, but it was their punding, heart-stopping, all0out dance songs that really excelled. They were often very funny too, not least the ode to wrestling on Wrestlers.

1/6.

Top 50 albums of 2008

5) M83 Saturdays = Youth

With a nostalgic nod to singer Anthony Gonzalez's early teenage parties in Paris in the mid-'80s, it was saved from retro posing by avoiding the era's usual influences.

Instead, he paid homage to the likes of Tears For Fears and A-ha, wrapped up in his own melancholia. The results were by turns elegant, moving and poppy. The one certainy on an unpredictable record was that it was never dull.

2/6.

Top 50 albums of 2008

4) TV ON THE RADIO Dear Science

Everything was in place for them to make a step up, after the word-of-mouth praise had reached a tipping point.

They duly delivered. Although it's their most commercial, you could hardly call such a head-messing set of futuristic pop a sell-out. Staying a step ahead of the pack, it was a whip-smart set that combined accessible soul vocals and disco grooves with their own lysergic visions.

3/6.

Top 50 albums of 2008

3) THE MAYBES? Promise

Nearly five years after we first raved about a jaw-dropping London gig, the best band in Liverpool this decade finally delivered their debut album.

It didn't disappoint. The heavenly melodies of Shack were further boosted by some shamanic playing that climaxed in the 15-minute instrumental title track, which combined all the city's worth of dub, dance and hard rock into one jam. Still sensational live, too.

4/6.

Teletext page 823; 20th of December, 2008.

Duffy, Burke best-sellers

Rockferry by Duffy is the best-selling album of 2008.

Sales by chart compilers OCC show Take That in second place, followed by Kings of Leon, Leona Lewis, Coldplay, Rihanna, The Killers, Girls Aloud, Pink and Scouting For Girls in the Top 10.

Hallelujah by Alexandra Burke managed to be the best-selling single after just two weeks, with Hero by The X Factor Finallists in second place.

1/7.

Pet Shop Boys? Yes, please

Pet Shop Boys return on March 23 with new album Yes.

The follow-up to 2006's Fundamental, it's produced by Girls Aloud cohorts Xenomania and is preceded by a single, Love Etc. Guests include Johnny Marr and Bob Stanley. String arrangements on Legacy and Beautiful People are by Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy.

The duo receive the Brits' Outstanding Contribution award on February 18.

2/7.

Elbow are critics' faves

The Seldom Seen Kid by Elbow has been named as the most popular album of 2008 in a poll of magazines and newspapers.

HMV's compilation of publications' Album of The Year lists saw Portishead at No 2, followed in the Top 10 by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, TV On The Radio, MGMT, Bon Iver, Glasvegas and Hot Chip.

Elbow were No 1 in Time Out, News of The World, The Fly and The Daily Star.

3/7.

Viva la freebie

Coldplay are giving away a Stuart Price remix of Viva La Vida at coldplay.com until January 5, in his Thin White Duke alias. The site also has footage of Simon Pegg playing Jingle Bells with the band at their London 02 gig.

Mariah Carey has been criticised by Sense About Science, after saying her album E=MC2 stood for Emancipation= Mariah Carey times two. David Leslie said "Mariah has misread the algebra. The C is squared, not times two."

4/7.

$100K for smashed Cobain guitar

A guitar smashed by Kurt Cobain on Nirvana's first tour has sold for $100, 000 at an auction.

The Fender Mustang was smashed on stage in New Jersey. Cobain swapped it for a working guitar with Sluggo, guitarist with The Grannies, who were on the same tour.

Sluggo kept the guitar, which is held together by duct tape and has several doodles by Cobain on its face.

5/7.

The return of Royksopp

Royksopp are giving away new song Happy Birthday at royksopp.com to mark their 10th birthday. It's the duo's first new song since 2005's The Understanding album. Details of their album are due early next year.

London Astoria owner Melvinn Benn has said the venue will be replaced after construction work is finished on a new rail link. The venue closes on January 15, with a club night by Manumission as the final event.

6/7.

Lennon's laptop ad

John Lennon is appearing in an advert, after Yoko Ono gave her permission for a speech of him to be used by the charity One Laptop Per Child Foundation.

The charity aims to supply solar-powered laptops to give poverty-hit countries access to technology.

In the advert, Lennon says "Imagine every child, no matter where in the world they are, could access a universe of knowledge."

7/7.

Teletext page 821; 30th of December, 2008.