This series has taken too long… we’ve been busy. Here are Jonas Bjerre’s favourite movies in horror and thriller genres.

“Heeere’s Johnny!”

The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

Based on Stephen King’s novel, The Shining contains some of the best shots ever created to a horror film. What else can you expect from a perfectionist like Stanley Kubrick? The camera takes you on a terrifying tour at the Overlook Hotel. There’s something fishy about the wintry location, but do you think the caretaker Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) loses his mind a bit too fast? The American version of the film runs over 20 minutes longer, but adds very little to the story. Somehow author King didn’t like this movie at all. He later adapted his book into a terrible miniseries which you should avoid.

The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)

An American novelist (Joseph Cotten) arrives in post-WWII Vienna only to find that the friend (Orson Welles) who was waiting for him has been killed in a peculiar traffic accident. The novelist is determined to solve the mystery behind his friend’s sudden death when hearing about his involvement in the black market. Some of the stories are just too inconsistent. This British film noir classic deservedly won Oscar for its Cinematography.

Ringu (Hideo Nakata, 1998)

Major motion picture in the current wave of Asian horror. Ringu may or may not be scarier than the American remake which is still surprisingly well-made. The cheaper production costs make it more interesting at least, and Japanese girls arguably look scary. And they know it. Director Hideo Nakata has since contributed the series with Ringu 2 and its American remake… plus The Ring Three has been announced for 2011 release with Nakata once again behind the camera.

Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)

Trying to name just one Alfred Hitchcock thriller above the rest is no easy task. Rear Window is one his absolute best and has been copied multiple times since (more visibly in the recent Disturbia). A photographer (James Stewart) has been confined to his small apartment in a wheelchair with a broken leg. He “spies” on his neighbours from his window to kill time and is fully aware of the dramas in the neighbourhood. When the invalid wife of a salesman suddenly vanishes, our lead character believes the man might have killed her. How close to the suspect is he and his girlfriend (Grace Kelly) willing to go?

Mew will play at Sweden’s Siesta Festival this May (in Hässleholm), but also in the city of Borlänge a month later. Peace & Love Festival is one of the fastest growing festivals in Sweden and this year it will be held on June 28th – July 3rd. We don’t know the exact date for Mew yet. Norwegian and Finnish summer festivals are yet to be announced, but we’ll see what happens since Mew are already playing two shows in both countries next month. Denmark has announced two shows for the summer so far, but it is expected that there will be more.

According to an interview with Bo Madsen (from Finnish music magazine Rumba), Mew will play two festival shows in America this spring/summer. First up is Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (April 16th-18th) in Indio, California. Second one is Bonnaroo (June 10th-13th) in Manchester, Tennessee. As these are unconfirmed at this point, we will not list them on our ‘upcoming gigs’ -section yet. Anyway, if these turn out to be true, there’s your long-awaited show in a Southern state.

Bo also listed his favourite indie bands from 2009: Bat for Lashes, Animal Collective, Miike Snow and Dirty Projectors.

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Mew have been nominated for P3 Guld in the category of Best Live Show for their 2009 concert at Roskilde Festival. You can vote for them here. And… the video for Beach is not yet here, but maybe this will do for now?

EDIT: Coachella confirmed.

Mew have released new interesting items for sale. Among them, their very own 4GB-capacity USB Memory Stick (priced 30 euros!!!) plus something for the cold winter nights. The new headgears like this (for 13€ each) should keep you warm and, according to Mewsite, they will release a special Mew-related snow globe very soon, too. With songs like She Came Home for Christmas, Snow Brigade and Snowflake, it kind of makes sense. Doesn’t it?

Jonas Bjerre is composing film music once again. As you may know, writer-director Rune Schjøtt made the short films Pandasyndromet (2004) and 4 Unread Messages (2008) with Jonas composing the music to them. Schjøtt’s first feature-length motion picture, the rather low-budget Skyscraper (picture: above right) began principal photography two months ago and it is expected to be released the following November. Jonas should jump in during post-production.

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Vote for Mew at the 2010 Zulu Awards. They are up for Danish Album and Danish Male Singer. In 2005 Mew won big time here. They took home the prizes for Danish Album (for And the Glass Handed Kites), Danish Hit Song (for The Zookeeper’s Boy) and Jonas was awarded with the Danish Male Singer -trophy.

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If you’re interested in purchasing the documentary Reclaiming the Blade (2009) we talked about over a year ago, you may do so here. Even though the trailer had Comforting Sounds in it, the actual film contains (pretty short) snippets from Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years, Chinaberry Tree and Why Are You Looking Grave.

Also, the music video for Beach is on its way, I swear…

Here are Jonas Bjerre’s favourite movies from science fiction-, adventure- and fantasy genres.

“Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?”

2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

The dawn of man, a mysterious monolith buried on the moon, a quest to solve the mystery, a self-thinking computer going berserk… Stanley Kubrick’s unique masterpiece is as slow-moving as movies can be and it may not be for all tastes. It’s still the only science fiction film that is about ‘everything’. You will be challenged. It probably raises more questions than it answers to. State of the art visual effects that never cease to amaze.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)

Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Harrison Ford. With the latest installment in Indiana Jones adventures, we know now that with this aforementioned trio you can miss, but Raiders of the Lost Ark is – and probably always will be – the best adventure film of all time. No need for plot details here – you know it, you’ve seen it.

The Dark Crystal (Jim Henson, Frank Oz & Gary Kurtz, 1982)

A 1000 years ago the Dark Crystal was damaged and an age of chaos began. If the Crystal is not healed, the control of the evil Skekses will last forever. The orphan Jen must embark on a dangerous quest to restore order on the planet. Not for the youngest viewers, The Dark Crystal seems to be the most influential movie for Jonas’ own artistic imagery. The author of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien would have loved this.

E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)

The most beloved Spielberg film here. Despite being about a friendship between a boy and an alien, it is Spielberg’s most personal project. It’s about his own childhood. He grew up in a suburb like in this film, his parents separated and he lived in a fantasy world of his own… Add John Williams’ magnificent (and majestic) score and you’ll have a family film at its best. Get some tissue, you will cry.