Notebook Letters 8.

As mad as Depp's Hatter

I've seen some glimpses of Depp's Mad Hatter- wow! How many more characters are living inside his head? And where's his Oscar? Max, Kettering

Adam, leeds- I love The Devil's Rejects. It echoes RBK but it's a lot darker. But, what do you expect from Rob Zombie? Joe, Northampton

The Haunting In Connecticut is possibly one of the worst horror films I have seen. Paul, Stockton-on-Tees

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of October, 2009; 3/6.

Informative commentary

Anyone who is interested in martial arts/ Asian cinema should check out any DVD with a Bey Logan commentary. He's very informative and being British he gives a Western perspective on the films. Ong-Bak, Hard Boiled, Fist of Fury and City On Fire all feature his illuminated thoughts. Rich,, Aylesbury

Recommendation for Swan. Near Dark is a good departure for the vampire genre, also Lifeforce and 30 Days of Night. Jim, Portsmouth

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of October, 2009; 4/6.

No scary vampires?

Apart from Let The Right One In, I can't think of a scary vampire film. Sean, Raglan

Why is Michael Jackson's This Is It film only getting a two week release? Is it coming out on DVD and Blu-ray in time for Christmas? Michael, London

Any films that leave you wondering, what happened next? For example, did Mr Pink get away with the diaminds in Reservoir Dogs? Matthew, Islandmagee

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of October, 2009; 5/6.

Film 2009... with Mark Kermode?

I cannot watch Film 2009. The problem is Jonathan Ross kisses his guests' backsides on his Friday Night show, always saying "I've seen the movie and really enjoyed it" (even if he didn't), so can't then go and criticise it better.

Case in point, The Invention of Lying. No review, just a chat with his 'mate' Ricky. I would love Mark Kermode to have his own chat show instead. Andy, Chelmsford

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of Octiber, 2009; 6/6.

What's Proyas up to?

Dark City has to be one of the most underrated films ever, and it's fantastic. Any ideas what director Alex Proyas is working on now? Barrie, Scotland

Vortex: Knowing (due 2009) is in post-production. Nic Cage plays a professor trying to stop predictions coming true.

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 1/6.

Swords and sobs

The film that had me snorting into a hankie, was The Seven Samurai. It upset me to see my favourite samurai killed in their bid to protect the village from the marauding bandits.

Poignant at the end to see the surviving three leave the graves of their fallen comrades. (Sob!) Rosie, Andover

Vortex: End of AI is a sob-fest.

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 2/6.

Cross of Iron fan

As I prefer my war films to be more about the war and its effects on the soldiers rather than the politics and flag-waving, my two favourites are Hamburger Hill and Cross of Iron. Ronnie Bradley, Wishaw

How about Cinderella Man for a weepie? When he has to beg for some cash, it gets me every time. Col, York

Pasolini's Salo left me with a phobia of Italian films. Louise, Suss*x

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 3/6.

Fave Nicolas Cage films

My favourite Nicolas Cage films are some of his more underrated features like Wild At Heart ("This snakeskin jacket represents my belief in personal freedom") and vampire's Kiss ("I'm a vampire, I'm a vapire, I'm a vampire"). If it's "Blockbuster Cage" then it's hard to beat Face/ Off or The Rock. Can't say the same about Con-Air or Ghost Rider. Damien, Birmingham

Vortex: Catch the wicked Con-Air jokes in How To Lose Friends...

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 4/6.

Clown-phobia from IT

Ultimate weepie has got to be The Champ. And I have a phobia of clowns ever since I watched Stephen King's IT years ago, now they frighten me to death! Bev, Liverpool

The Descent would get my vote as one of the worst films of all time. Zombie/ vamp fans, try the HK comic horror classics Encounter of The Spooky Kind or mr vampire, genius! Gav, Chatham

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 5/6.

Volcano raved over

In response to your DVD review of Under The Volcano. In filming Malcolm Lowry's unfilmable novel, John Huston and writer Guy Gallo produce a remarkable film with an astonishing performance by Albert Finney. One of the all time great '80s films. David, leeds

Jaws is a great film. It has scares, humour. Ricky Gervais thinks no great British films have been made since 1950. Kes? Emma, Rothesay

Vortex; Teletext 817; 7th of October, 2008; 6/6.

Penny Lane/ Strawberry Fields Forever being kept off No 1 by Engelbert Humperdinck was at a time of only TV channels, and his crooning appealed to mums and grans. Bit like The X Factor now. But Sgt Pepper won the war and, as word spreads, so will Oasis' new album even though the new single has lost out to Pink.

Mind you, I love new album track Falling Down too. How can Earls have dissed it so? Derek Power

The Void; Teletext page 827; 7th of October, 2008; 1/7.

Whilst I'm no great fan, it's irritating when people attack Kaiser Chiefs' lyrics having only paid attention to the chorus from Ruby. They're some of the best lyricists in pop, more interesting than others' wave of banality. Listen to The Angry Mob or Love's Not A Competition for evidence. Mark Muldoon

Never mind No 1 singles, the biggest chart travesty was Il Divo keeping Kate Bush's Aerial off No 1 LP. PJ-Neuhuse

The Void; Teletext page 827; 7th of October, 2008; 2/7.

I was smiling to read that Dirty Pretty Things have run their course, only to find that The Von Bondies are back. Also, why did Earls waste six pages on reviewing the new Oasis album? "Still awful" would have sufficed. Jazzy

If you're looking for inane lyrics, how about "Woman/ Ah, ah, ah" by alleged genius John Lennon? All singalong choruses have inane lyrics. At least the verses are good on Ruby. You can't judge Kaisers on one line. Efils God

The Void; Teletext page 827; 7th of October, 2008; 3/7.

It amuses me that people have so much bile for Kaiser Chiefs. They're the new Madness and, yes, that's a compliment. Just because they don't pretend it's torture to record an album or sing sixth-form lyrics about satan, it doesn't mean they don't make great records. Adam Syntax

The new James Bond theme by Alicia Keys and Jack White is non-descript. Come on, Amy Winehouse, let's hear what you would have done. Valerie Dawson

The Void; Teletext page 827; 7th of October, 2008; 4/7.

To be a pedant, Pulp's Common People was kept off No 1 by Robson & Jerome, not Outhere Brothers. But, yes, it is the biggest chart travesty that it only reached No 2. It's the definitive song of its era, both musically and culturally. Any tory MP hearing it roared out at Glasto in 1995 must have realised the game wasup. Matt Bartley

Melee were brilliant in Glasgow. How Built To Last only got to No 57 is beyond me. Andy McGarvey

The Void; Teletext page 827; 7th of October, 2008; 5/7.

Top 10 uncool but excellent albums

1) Middle of Nowhere Hanson
2) We Are Shampoo
3) She's So Unusual Cyndi Lauper
4) A Private Heaven Sheena Easton
5) Whose Side Are You On? Matt Bianco
6) Branigan Laura Branigan
7) Calypso Harry Belafonte
Eight) Whitney Houston Whitney Houston
9) More of The Monkees
10) It Hurts To Be In Love Gene Pitney

Kevin Lee

The Void; Teletext page 827; 7th of October, 2008; 6/7.

Manda Rin gets fruity

By John Earls

"It's been a while since my last record, but I've still put out three albums with my band and a solo album by 31. Not bad, eh?"

Indeed not, especially since Manda Rin's sleek disco debut My DNA will surprise most who tried to pigeonhole her old band Bis as lo-fi.

"I started by quietly putting songs on MySpace," says Manda. "Everyone's been amazingly enthusiastic ever since."

1/6.

Rather wonderfully, Manda has been too busy running her badgee firm Wee Badgers to make an album before.

"Badges were rubbish when I was in Bis, so I started making ours.

"Friends started asking me to do them, and it's grown from there. I do badges for Editors, Mogwai, The Duke Spirit. Some of the bands know about my past, but I don't like to boast about time I've had in the spotlight myself."

2/6.

Manda insiss My DNA isn't too far removed from the final days of Bis.

"One of the reasons Bis split is because nobody would give us a fair hearing.

"We'd progressed a lot, but people still automatically wrote 'lo-fi pop band.' The album continues the synth stuff we wrote by the end. Hopefully I'll get a fair trial now!"

3/6.

Manda often DJs around her native Glasgow, but sees that as separate from her own music.

"My DNA is quite dancey, but that's down to my DJing. I'm not a proper dance DJ at all, I just play records one after the other and hope the sequencing works."

"And it's often not dance songs I play. The perfect DJ set-opener for me is Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

4/6.

Manda is relieved to have recently finished her first solo tour.

"In Bis, I'd hide behind my keyboard to one side of the stage. As a solo musician, you have to take control, about every last detail both on and off stage. I quickly loved it.

"Except London, where the posters read 'Miranda Rin, formerly of The Bis.' Now, that's a cheeky humour. The man who did that could have showed his face."

5/6.

One song on the album is called Guilty Pleasures. What are Manda's?

"Collecting menus. If a new restaurant opens, I have to get the menu, even if it's a take-away leaflet. The bottom drawer in my kitchen is full of them. It's quite weird, isn't it?"

What about the title track of DNA? "It's the one everyone seems to love. Some of my friends couldn't believe it was me, they love it so much!"

6/6.

7th of October, 2008.

Best Holocaust film

Schindler's List is my second favourite film (after ET), but an even more powerful film about the Holocaust is a documentary called Into The Arms of Strangers: Stories of The Kindertransport. No nazis, no emaciated victims, but the few survivors speak to all that was lost. Peter, Ossett

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 1/6.

Weepy films named

Best weepy is Moulin Rouge. Ewan McGregor should have received an Oscar nomination. As for great British films, how about Trainspotting? Lizzy, London

Stand By Me has to be my No 1 weepy film. It always has me in bits. Have also shed a few tears for The Shawshank Redemption and Leaving Las Vegas. Gemma

Best weepy: Love Story. Who couldn't cry at it? Marie, Chesterfield

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 2/6.

Dalton was best Bond

I agree with the comments regarding Timothy Dalton as James Bond, his version was bang on the money, yet fans and critics always slate him. Craig gets all the credit, but Dalton was the best ever. Will, Coventry

Worst director: Albert Pyum created the worst film ever, Omega Doom. He's obsessed with cyborgs! Most shocking scene: man put through the mincer in The exterminator. Yuk! John, Darlington

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 3/6.

Exorcist 3 shocker

John Paul. You know quality scares when you see them! That hospital scene in Exorcist 3 is THE most frightened I've been whilst watching a horror flick. And I know my horror films. Dan, Ess*x

To John Paul from Liverpool, I agree Blade Runner was no weepie, but to say it was rubbish shows you don't have a clue about great films, but I guess you proved that by your excitement over Exorcist 3. Paul, leeds

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 4/6.

VO's short attention span

So Victor Olliver prefers the new Brudeshead film to the "interminably boring" TV series. An example of short attention span in critics? Sal, Coventry

There are more films about dracula than any other character except Holmes. Why choose Coppola's version when it's one of the worst? Marc, Salford

Vortex: Any views on the dracula sequel, dracula: The undead (2010)?

Vortex; Telextext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 5/6.

Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Eli Roth are the worst directors ever. They trade violent p*rnography and controversy. They are tasteless and talentless. Paul, Edgware

No decent Brit films since the '50s? What about The Wicker Man and A Fish Called Wanda, both classics. David Werboweckyj, Yorks

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 7th of October, 2008; 6/6.

Some of the songs on Oasis' new album are awful, the first time they've had more than two sub-standard songs.

Nature of Reality shouldn't have made the cut, and High Horse Lady is a waste of four minutes. I'm not sure why I'm Outta Time is getting such a positive response either, as it's just Little James with better kyrucs and a few more la-la-las. Much of it is fantastic, the playing is of a high standard, but it's worse than the last album. DJ Dave

The Void; Teletext page 827; 7th of October, 2008; 1/7.

I agree with Hahn that most radio DJs are infantile. New on Kiss talks laughable nonsense, always gushing about how hot Justin Timberlake is. Take a cold shower and go to college. Nina L

To the Voider who claims seven songs on Oasis' new album are worth 10/10: um, really? Opinions are fine, but come on. Are they truly great? On a par with I Heard It Through The Grapevine or Heroes? That good? No. Rob Hunt

The Void; Teletext page 827; 8th of October, 2008; 2/7.