Weekly Witch Hunt: The Avalanches 'Wildflower' & Skiptrace

We decide what artistic endeavour passed approval to earn the Scorcher label from the past seven days & what also had the dishonour of being that week's Torture...

I seriously considered including one of the Now You See Me films for this week's torture after giving them back to back viewing.  I had seen the first one before and gave it a flogging; but I thought it deserved a revisit prior to seeing the sequel.  My opinion didn't change.  The second one, while being sillier unbelievable hokum, was actually more entertaining.  However neither one is worth my ire as I decided to hang another terrible, terrible film instead...

The Scorcher

The old adage of 'good things come to those who wait' should be fully applied to The Avalanches album Wildflower.  Sixteen, yes sixteen, years in development since their debut album Since I Left You.  There are some albums that have a profound effect on a person and that debut was one such record for me.  It opened up a whole new avenue of music and possibly changed my perceptions and definitely broadened my musical horizons.
To say that I had given up all hope of ever hearing any new material from The Avalanches would be an understatement.  There had been so many rumours for years about possible releases; that I thought it was just record companies trying to maintain some interest in a band that had given up after one huge hit album.
All of a sudden from out of nowhere comes this new record with only two original band members still on board; all the others having left in less than good circumstances over the years.
I haven't rushed this record; I have taken a bit of time to get into it.  I normally put a new album on repeat for a few days to really familiarise myself with it; but after waiting for this one for so long I wanted to savour the experience.  So it was only over the weekend that I finally gave it a few repeat listens to immerse myself in the experience.
Wildflower does not disappoint.  Let's get one thing clear, it was going to be impossible to hit those lofty heights of Since I Left You again; so I had already tempered my expectations.  I was hoping for something in a similar vein, with some subtle differences.  On the whole Wildflower delivered on these hopes.
The first half of the album is definitely the strongest part with songs like Because I'm Me and Subways; both of which would not be out of place on Since I Left You.  There are psychedelic influences peppered throughout; especially songs like The Noisy Eater.  Frankie Sinatra has more of a European flavour which makes me want to drink Sangria and dance the Zorba!
The theme of the record and overall effect that it has is one of happiness and joy.  Since I Left You invoked the same euphoric feelings.  This is one record you can put on for a summer party and just watch as people start to tap along as the playful mood infects them.
It is a glorious return from obscurity and I only hope we don't have to wait so long for another injection of pure musical pleasure from these artists.

The Torture

 Let me start off by saying that I am a big fan of Jackie Chan and his particular style of Action/Comedy movies.  Being someone who particularly enjoys Asian cinema, it would be hard not to like one of its greatest exports.  That is why it was such a big disappointment to see just how low Jackie Chan's star has fallen after viewing Skiptrace.
This film is awful on so many levels, in fact nearly every level it is hard to know where to begin.
Johnny Knoxville is passable in his role and Chan's acting is still mostly enjoyable but on the whole the acting is diabolical with so many caricatures, especially the villains of the piece.  Eve Torres does a terrible mock accent which is a mix of evil Russian and evil German; but never settles on either.  Incidentally she is playing a Russian but obviously the East Berlin kind from before the wall came down.  All the Asian bad guys are from the Fu Manchu school of villainy.
It is left to the audience to guess who the mysterious 'Matador' kingpin is leading this gang of hoodlums.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out who this is either for anyone who has seen a misdirection trope in any action film.
The comedy has all the common racial stereotypes you can imagine; it abuses the customs, diet, dress and economy of the region.  There is also a smattering of misogynistic and homophobic jokes throughout.  These might have been mildly amusing thirty years ago from a film set and made in the 80's but none of them hit the mark in this day and age.
Guess what though?  The film will let you know when you are supposed to laugh by playing some cute little ditty in the background that sounds like it was lifted straight from a Bugs Bunny cartoon.  This happens from the first minute to the last; there is hardly a scene where there isn't some music playing.  And don't get me started on the Adele singalong; cringe worthy is an understatement.
Regardless of all this criticism; the one thing above all others that annoyed me was how much the action seemed staged.  There were scenes where you could see the combatants waiting for their cue to throw a punch or swing into the fight.  This to me is the worst offence one of his movies can commit.  Unfortunately it is probably a result of our main action star being in his early sixties but still wanting to put on a show of someone at least twenty years younger.
Jackie Chan was The Man when it came to doing his own stunts and performing fighting feats that would leave you breathless.  Age has caught up with him and he looks like an old man trying to recapture his glory days.  It would be such a shame if he continues along The Expendables route.  Please Jackie don't ruin your legacy by continuing to appear in more appalling movies of this nature, let us remember you from films like The Young Master, Project A or Armour of God instead.