12 metrolife Friday, January 29, 2010 D About Town THE HOTTEST TICKETS IN TOWN We have two pairs of tickets to see MR SCRUFF tonight at TriPod, 10pm For a chance to win, e-mail your answer to the question below to life@ metroireland.ie by noon today with Hot Tickets in the subject line. With your answer, please include your name, address and a number where you can be contacted between 1pm and 3pm. Strictly one entry per person; entrants must be age 18+. Q. Which rapper features on Mr Scruff track Nice Up The Function? A MF Doom B Roots Manuva The winners of yesterdays tickets to see Rod Stewart are: Barbara McGrotty & Paul Lee Mr Scruff Boasting more energy than a Duracell bunny, Manchesters tea- loving endurance DJ returns for a wiggle-inducing five-hour set of soul, funk, breakbeats, disco and his trademark jaunty visuals Tonight, TriPod, Harcourt Street D2, 10pm, 20. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.mrscruff.com Tom Russell Returning from a three-year hiatus after having apparently backed themselves into a tight indie-band corner, the Sunderland band have hit the road to promote their album Field Music (Measure) released on February 15. The line- up has changed since 2007s sublime Tones Of Town but brothers Peter and David Brewis remain linchpins of a group whose expansive sound undulates between orchestral and soft-rock via falsetto harmonies, soaring melodies and electronic noodlings qualities that led Snow Patrol to invite them on tour a few years ago but which they turned down. Hopefully theyre now ready for the success they deserve. Mar 5, CrawDaddy, The PoD, Harcourt Street D2, 8pm, 12. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.field-music.co.uk Book Now Field Music metrometro lifeStaying In & Going Out GIG Malcolm Middleton Discovered in a New York taxi by guitarist Andrew Hardin and Grateful Deads Rob Hunter, the former cabbie-turned-folk veteran released his 24th studio album Blood And Candle Smoke last autumn. Now thats longevity Tonight, CrawDaddy, The PoD, Harcourt Street D2, 8pm, 15 to 20. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.tomrussell.com Gemma Hayes The Tipperary chanteuse released a cover of Kate Bushs Cloudbusting on her website last month catch her live at this intimate seated show where shes sure to dust off old faves Let A Good Thing Go and Home Tomorrow, Mill Theatre, Dundrum Town Centre D14, 8pm, 15 to 18. Tel: (01) 296 9340. www.gemmahayes.com Going Out Films Diamond deep in the Precious (15A) Running time: 110min Youre 16, youre in junior high school and youre pregnant again, sighs her head teacher. However, Preciouss problems dont stop there. Shes also illiterate, morbidly obese, battered by her mother and what Teach doesnt know is that both Preciouss mentally challenged first- born and the baby inside her were the result of repeated rape by her own father. This film is so raw and powerful it split me open is exec producer Oprah Winfreys graphic declaration on the poster. But if this in-your-face drama, based on the novel Push by Sapphire, plays more like a hard-hitting, miserablist episode of Oprah than a movie, it has confounded studios by not only breaking US box office records, but becoming an unlikely Best Film contender for the Oscars. So why? Part of it, you uncomfortably feel, is the compulsive car crash appeal pull of reality TV, our guilty relish in wallowing in other peoples dirty washing from the safety of our cosy seat. Passionately told with mega-bucket- loads of compassion, this is a film thatll have you moaning no, no, no! at the screen as Preciouss grotesque mom (a Golden Globe-winning MoNique) cruelly hollers, I shouldve aborted you, you fat bitch, at her. Bring man-sized tissues this is guaranteed to reduce anyone to a blubbering wreck. However, its box office appeal is also undeniably down to the astounding performances director Lee Daniels (Monsters Ball) beats out of his remarkable cast. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe sturdily holds the heart of the film, as the almost monosyllabic Precious, and how terrific to finally have a young leading lady that bursts out of the skinny Cameron Diaz-type mould. But the real revelation is Mariah Carey, unrecognisable (ie, non-orange and not displaying her chest) as Preciouss care worker, a part rejected by Helen Mirren. As Precious joins a literacy course and encounters ye olde inspirational teacher (Paula Patton) this becomes your familiar, triumph against adversity tearjerker but hey, whaddya expect? Its an Oscar contender. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh Andy Serkis may be best known as Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings but all thats about to change. His energetic turn as real- life Brit punk rocker Ian Dury, the man behind such hits as Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick and the titular 1977 anthem, has already landed him several award nominations, and there will be more to come. Serkis inhabits his rebellious role with vigour, capturing Durys trademark tone and mannerisms. Stricken with polio as a child, Dury had a pronounced limp, but refused to be limited by his disability. The film follows his formation of the influential New Wave band, Ian Dury And The Blockheads and his offstage dramas with long-suffering wife Betty (Olivia Williams) and feisty lover Denise (Naomie Harris). However, the main focus is Durys relationship with son Baxter (Bill Milner), a consultant on the film. While Milner is excellent as the wide-eyed youngster thrown into a world of foul-mouthed, pill- popping punks, this concentrates on him, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (18) Running time: 115min almost to a fault. Were given glimpses of Durys wife and daughter but not enough to give a full picture of his life. Still, its a peppy, funny and ultimately inspiring biopic with enjoyable supporting turns including Ray Winstone. Worth seeing for Serkiss powerhouse performance alone. Anna Smith Edge Of Darkness (15A) Running time: 117min From his controversial Jesus movie The Passion Of The Christ to those pesky drink-driving/ alcohol abuse charges, things have gone increasingly wonky of late for actor-turned-director- turned-bad-celebrity-joke, Mel Gibson. So its no surprise his first major front-of-camera appearance for eight years finds him gunning so shamelessly for our love. Tapping into our Lethal Weapon nostalgia, this type-casts the graying but Adoration (no cert) Running time: 101min still firm-jawed Mel as maverick cop Craven whose beloved only daughter is killed in a drive-by shooting (cue muchos, manly Mel tears). Craven assumes he was the rightful target until he starts digging into the murky goings-on at the nuclear corporation where said daughter worked. A silly remake of the original 1985 BBC TV series, this features the sort of tough- guy dialogue not growled since Arnie bowed out of cinema. Though you cant help be entertained by a plot that doesnt merely take you to the edge of reason but pirouettes over the top of it waving two AK47s. LI-Z Director Atom Egoyan may have sidled towards the mainstream recently with Where The Truth Lies and the upcoming Chloe, but here goes back to his art house roots with a highbrow, non-starry drama. Alas, its a bit of a dud, or more charitably, a noble failure. If misery truly loved company, then Malcolm Middleton would be headlining The O2 by now. Back in his Arab Strap days, the Fife native had a hand in music so unremittingly bleak and self-pitying you sometimes suspected it was a subtle pastiche of student disco moochiness. Now on his fifth solo album, he continues to work through his love life and career frustrations in public, with songs that question why, with a mainstream breakthrough further away than ever, hes even still trying to make a living from music. This makes him sound like hard work. In fact, his best material rises above the gloomy subject matter, courtesy of twinkling melodies and lively chamber pop arrangements that suggest a one-man Belle & Sebastian. Certainly for anyone who knows him only as Arab Straps sulky guitarist his stand-alone output is a revelation. Throw in Middletons dry, if rather sombre, wit and you have a songwriter who deserves better than the modest success he has enjoyed post-Arab Strap. With illegal file sharing eating into his already relatively modest income, he has let it be known that new LP Waxing Gibbous (advertised on his website as being almost as good as Def Leppards Hysteria) may be his last for quite some time. We can only hope this isnt the case. Eamon de Paor Tonight, The Academy, 57 Middle Abbey Street D1, 8pm, 16. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.malcommiddleton.co.uk index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html