The Decade’s 20 Most Memorable Moments in Sport: Part 5

31 Dec 2009: 1: Ipswich 5 Bolton Wanderers 3 (2000) Simply the most exciting football match I have ever had the privilege to watch. Funnily enough, both teams were nervous and the quality of football was rather poor, although we conveniently forget that. Here’s what I wrote at the time: What a night. WHAT A NIGHT. Where to start? Ten yellows, two reds for Bolton. No cards for Ipswich. Three penalties conceded by Bolton. None by Ipswich. So has the chant “X-X to the football team” ever been more appropriate? I don’t know. A mad, mad game. Both teams were completely overcome with nerves, and were just unable to play football. Almost every decent effort went in. We discussed Man of the Match [...]

The Decade’s 20 Most Memorable Moments in Sport: Part 4

30 Dec 2009: 5: David Beckham curls in a free kick, a nation goes mental (2001) The time, the place …how can any team leave World Cup qualification to the 93rd minute and then do this? Like all of the top five here, a sporting moment when I can remember exactly where I was and who I was with …and which still brings shivers down the spine. 4: England win the greatest Ashes series ever (2005) Flintoff’s hand stretched out to Brett Lee, Gary Pratt running out Ricky Ponting …this series had enough great individual moments of its own to make up a sporting top 20. Some of the matches were almost beyond belief. Edgbaston was the best of the lot. 3: Germany [...]

The Decade’s 20 Most Memorable Moments in Sport: Part 3

29 Dec 2009: 10: Europe win the Ryder Cup in Oakland Hills (2004) There was just something about his one. Watched it in a packed bar full of Dads who’d got away from their families for a joyous evening. 9: Usain Bolt saunters past the world 100m record (2008) It was the fastest anyone had ever run, and he was celebrating before the end. Still quite shocking, even if it was only a stepping stone for the man. 8: Liverpool win the Champions League in Istanbul (2005) On my birthday, went out with a few friends to watch this in town. Didn’t expect much. How wrong we were. 7: Lewis Hamilton wins the Formula One title at the last gasp (2008) On the [...]

The Decade’s 20 Most Memorable Moments in Sport: Part 2

28 Dec 2009: 15: Michael Phelps wins eight gold medals in Beijing (2008) When a sport you’re not usually that interested in totally grabs you for a few hours or days, it can only be because something extraordinary is happening. And good grief, this guy was worth getting up early in the morning to watch at the Beijing Olympics. 14: Zidane bows out with a memorable head-butt (2006) Fantastic. A real “did that really just happen?” moment. Not just any old player, but Zidane. In his last match. The World Cup Final. Of course the media wittered on about it all being disgraceful and bringing the game into disrepute, while hundreds of millions of fans around the world thought: “brilliant!” 13: Steve Redgrave [...]

The Decade’s 20 Most Memorable Moments in Sport: Part 1

27 Dec 2009: I should point out, of course, that these are my twenty most memorable moments in sport from 2000-2009. They won’t be yours. But my goodness, there are some moments here that make those long winter nights in between worth persevering with. 20: David Beckham scores against Argentina from the penalty spot (2002) A nation holds its breath. Could there be anything more dramatic, after the history between the teams and the player, than a penalty, by David Beckham, against Argentina, in the World Cup? 19: Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final after five hours (2008) Has there ever been a better game of tennis? By the time this finished, past 9pm, it had become more than just [...]

My 5 favourite movies of the decade (finally)

26 Dec 2009: At last, you get to discover if it was worth the wait. Frankly, no, it wasn’t. If you missed numbers 10 to 6 yesterday, they were here. 5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002) My favourite of the three, if only because of the astonishingly unsettling scene where everyone was waiting before the Battle of Helms Deep. Brrr… Sauron’s forces increase. His allies grow. The Ringwraiths return in an even more frightening form. Saruman’s army of Uruk Hai is ready to launch an assault against Aragorn and the people of Rohan. Yet, the Fellowship is broken and Boromir is dead. For the little hope that is left, Frodo and Sam march on into Mordor, unprotected. [...]

My 10 favourite movies of the decade

25 Dec 2009: OK, there was a lot of jostling to get into these coveted slots, but here are the lucky few which made it. The trophies are on their way to some doubtless pleasantly-surprised directors. 10. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006) Wow. Chilling tale, wonderful pacing, a relatively unrecognised gem. In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child’s birth may help scientists save the future of humankind. IMDb summary 9. In The Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009) Some industrial strength swearing from Malcolm, but there was a lot more to this film than that. Well, a bit more. The [...]

The ones which didn’t quite make the top 10 of my movies of the decade

24 Dec 2009: I liked these movies a lot. Just not quite enough to make my top ten of the decade. I’m sure the directors will be distraught. 20. Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2001) Of course it’s silly. But very, very funny. 19. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) I had no idea where this was going to go, which was what made it so great. 18. The Bourne Supremacy (Paul Greengrass, 2004) Edge of your seat stuff. Best of the series. 17. Son of Rambow (Garth Jennings, 2008) Just really cute. And they showed a TV clip with an old schoolmate on, which made me drop my metaphorical bacon sarnie. 16. The Damned United (Tom Hooper, 2009) A miracle. A [...]

The middle 10 of my favourite movies of the decade

23 Dec 2009: A bit more fantasy in this bunch, and several selections from the many series of films (Potter, Pirates, Star Wars, LotR) which dominated the decade… 30. Bend It Like Beckham (Gurinder Chadh, 2002) Football! Keira Knightley! And very British too! 29. Kung Fu Panda (Mark Osborne, John Stevenson, 2008) My son watched this four times, back-to-back, on a plane. I think it hit the core demographic. 28. Cars (John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, 2006) Another charming Pixar masterpiece 27. Star Trek (JJ Abrams, 2009) Woo hoo! Fanboy! Watched this the first morning it was on release! It didn’t disappoint. 26. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (David Yates, 2009) Hard to pick one or two from the whole Harry Potter saga, [...]

Another 10 favourite movies of the decade

22 Dec 2009: …in which the kids’ movies start to make more of an appearance. Who’d have thought, 10 years ago, this would have happened to me? 40. A Christmas Carol (Robert Zemeckis, 2009) Original Dickens text, a suitably scary ghost …who’d have thought it from Disney? 39. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Steve Box, Nick Park, 2005) Utterly delightful throughout, as if we’d expected anything less 38. Inkheart (Iain Softley, 2008) Why didn’t they do kids’ films as good as this when we were little, eh? 37. Juno (Jason Reitman, 2008) Amazing characters kept you desperate to find out how they developed 36. Shrek (Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson, 2001) Seems a long time ago now, doesn’t it? Best of [...]

My 50 favourite movies of the decade

21 Dec 2009: You didn’t think I was going to leave you there with just my favourite 20 albums of the noughties, did you? Ooh no, there are loads more lists locked away in my failing memory, if I can only dig them out. So today, I turn my attention to the big screen, in the decade where we got a big multiplex cinema built at the end of our road (how convenient), and in which I went on not one, but two ‘recreational’ film studies courses. I’m not sure the lecturer would wholeheartedly approve of this choice though. I’ve not included Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Ridley Scott, 2007) because it’s just a new version, even if it is the best version [...]

Albums of the Decade: No.1

20 Dec 2009: Achtung Bono by Half Man Half Biscuit “Act One, Scene One – Brenda Blethyn gets shot” …in which Britain’s most consistently amusing lyricist, Nigel Blackwell, masterminds Half Man Half Biscuit’s most consistently amusing album to date. Achtung Bono was the tenth album from the band in 20 years, and it’s harder than most to select a highlight. If pushed, I think I’d choose For What Is Chatteris… – the closest “NB57″ has ever got to writing a love song, although as you’d expect, it’s a rather unconventional one: Like a game-bird reserve short on pheasants Weavers’ cottages devoid of tenants A market town that lacks quintessence That’s Chatteris without your presence Achtung Bono takes on most of the familar targets [...]

Albums of the Decade: No.2

19 Dec 2009: A Grand Don’t Come For Free by The Streets “I saw this thing on ITV the other week” NME 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade: No.16 Pitchfork Top 200 Albums of the Decade: No.129 Uncut 150 Albums of the Decade: No.93 When you’ve opened your account with an album which defines an era, and it’s fairly obvious that your musical style isn’t yet ripe for a change, how do you follow it up? With an album containing the soundtrack to a summer – Fit But You Know It – and a story arc, no less, which might have been called a concept album in an earlier age. 2004′s A Grand Don’t Come For Free tells a tale of an ordinary [...]

Albums of the Decade: No.3

18 Dec 2009: Back To Black by Amy Winehouse “And I tread a troubled track” Times 100 Best Albums of the Decade: No.2 NME 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade: No.27 Uncut 150 Albums of the Decade: No.20 When you’ve brought out such a stunning debut record, making the Difficult Second Album even better, as well as changing your sound, is quite some achievement. Amy Winehouse pulled off just that trick in 2006 with Back To Black. The style moved from jazz to soul, and Winehouse proved she could be just as good in either genre. It’s a soul classic, but the lush musical accompaniment diverts attention from some very 21st century lyrics – “What kind of fuckery is this? You made me [...]

Albums of the Decade: No.4

17 Dec 2009: Ovo by Peter Gabriel “And everything that I relied on disappeared” See? I wanted something to really represent the decade, and what could do that better than something to do with the millennium celebrations? Seriously though, if one thing was salvaged from the whole “Dome” thing (apart from learning never to put governments in charge of entertainment), it was the centrepiece show, with this fabulous soundtrack by Peter Gabriel. Released as Ovo, it brought together everything that Gabriel had been doing for the past 15 years. It combines English and Celtic influences with Asian, African and even Australian and European sounds …and how many albums can show off musicians as diverse as the Dhol Foundation and the Black Dyke Band, [...]