Episodes
Another 4K retro review and a real eyeopener. Perhaps my idea of this film had been sullied by subsequent sequels but it is far less goofy or zany than I remembered, and far more thoughtful and, often beautiful. It also hews far closer to the original of these films, the classic Out of Sight. With as charismatic a cast as modern films get, an iconic soundtrack from David Holmes, a surprisingly brilliant script, and more style than is even fair, it rivals The Sting as the greatest heist movie...
Published 05/03/23
I swear these films are getting worse. Removing anything remotely charming or funny about the first two films and with a main cast that appears tonally to be acting in different movies, this is an objectively worse film than the awful Shazam 2, but a brilliant Jonathan Majors villain, Kang, and some pretty pictures, save it from a big fat zero out of ten.
Published 05/03/23
An overview of the iconic, yet somehow awful festival - including the elephant in the room (that isn't Frank Ocean). Consider this - on the biggest night of the biggest music festival in America, the four biggest acts on the biggest stage - in a row - did not feature one single musician playing an instrument. Half the acts sing over the top of backing tracks and some even mimed their entire sets. This is a disgrace and for the biggest live music festival in the USA, there's disturbingly...
Published 04/20/23
I swear the comic-book/super-hero movies are getting worse, in what maybe their long downward spiral. Amazingly this universe-connected film is even worse than Black Adam - by miles. Incredibly unambitious story, mid-to-bottom tier characters, barely passable acting and the most monumental air of will this do yet. Awful on every level.
Published 04/20/23
The Adam Driver/Young Gomora(!!!) starring sci-fi got royally trashed by critics, but due to a great premise and some nice production design, just about limps over the line for a once through.
Published 04/20/23
A perfect 10/10 for the greatest Western of the last forty years, with a special emphasis on the career best - and Breaking Bad relatable - performance from director Clint Eastwood's finest hour.
Published 04/11/23
After acquiring a big TV, continuing my journey back through widescreen classics. Here Martin Scorcese's luxurious follow up to the greatest gangster film of all time, Goodfellas. Another classic no doubt but the main takeaway from this review is that it isn't better than that film, as I and many others have often claimed.
Published 04/11/23
Finally! a review of one of the biggest movies of all time and also one of the most inexplicable successes. Once I watched it, I realized why - it's solely aimed at 12 year old boys, and no one is talking about how sexualised the blue girls are. It's basically a $400 million dollar blue alien fantasy for 12 year old boys. It also is visually like a gaudy Saturday morning CGI kids tv show, with 90's slang, flat acting, awful writing, next to no story and its acclaimed visuals representing a...
Published 04/04/23
A slightly odd story about being TV shamed, has led me to the world of giant 4K TV's and subsequently, re-watching widescreen classics. Here Ridley Scott's genre re-birthing sword and sandals epic stands up well for it's great, dynamic, propulsive screenplay and a superb central cast of characters and performances. It's also probably more relevant to modern politics and populism than ever.
Published 04/04/23
The two beloved stalwarts of underground weird rap are a logical combination - and a possible next level Run The Jewels (which is literally a track name here). It's wild, imaginative fun, swerving minute to minute - but the mixing on the vocals can be off. Still probably the best rap album so far this year and a blast.
Published 04/03/23
Their fifth album has a great sound stage and strong moments but a lot of the songs are under developed and it can get sonically quite repetitive. Not as flat out brilliant as the last two.
Published 04/03/23
Our lady saint Lana del Rey returns with her massive ninth album, and after the seismic breakthrough of NFR! was followed by two slightly lesser works, a record that stands nearly as high. Her most personal and confident description of who she is garners my highest score for a while.
Published 04/02/23
The 73 year old outsider artist has pivoted towards music in later life, with the opening of his bio on Wikipedia reading, "He was born the 7th of 27 children during the Jim Crow era and claims to have been traded for a bottle of whiskey when he was four". This though is highly accessible and in no way off-puting music, that at its best draws a link from 1800's slavery to modern variants.
Published 04/02/23
This fabulous little film has double what it needs to get over the line story wise. Completely undemanding, quite thrilling and for older people, deeply distressing - kids don't even clean up after parties anymore, they just google it!
Published 03/28/23
Brandon Cronenberg's psych/body horror sadly lacks the X factor and substance his esteemed father brings to the table, but is still well worth it for fans of depraved, explicit, transgressive JG Ballard-esque societal horror. But none of that matters. We are but peasants for the goddess Mia Goth, the new Bridget Bardot - and a far better actor.
Published 03/28/23
It's a bear. On Cocaine. Can you believe this hype machine cost near twice as much to make as Everything, Everywhere all at Once?!?!? It looks like it was shot on a 90s cam-corder. As with any film like this, you will ask yourself if it had enough to justify sitting through it, the answer is not quite.
Published 03/28/23
The music of 100 Gecs is not a crime against humanity, but against all living species on earth. I was fooled into believing this new album was a development in their sound - that, was a lie. I advise only professional music critics with support networks, subject themselves to hearing this. You may develop some form of cancer from hearing it.
Published 03/26/23
The still anonymous, South Korean shoe-gaze/emo independent artist expands on their breakout, To See the Next Part of the Dream album, in every way - for a massive and intensely melodic slow burn and of the best albums of the year.
Published 03/26/23
Guy Ritchie's latest still isn't doubling down on the career high of The Gentlemen, but whilst the luminescent Aubrey Plaza or an irascible Hugh Grant are on screen, this appallingly rote spy-flick is elevated.
Published 03/21/23
One of this years major Oscar contenders is a total tour de force, with an already well celebrated lead actor. It is also an unexpected foray into the world of post #MeToo and cancel culture.
Published 03/21/23
Sweden's The Knife alumni turns in by far their most compelling solo album (out of three) and the best new album I've heard this year.
Published 03/21/23
Probably this years most acclaimed album so far, is, for me decidedly mid, lackluster, dated and often boring, oh dear.
Published 03/21/23
Perhaps an ironic title for this crushingly bleak finale to probably the TV event of the year - and a fitting strong episode that is centered on a massive moral question - would you sacrifice the person you love the most to save everyone else in the world.
Published 03/14/23
I suspect that Ukraine played a big part in the awards success of this German anti-war film, which even the Germans called "Shallow, cynical and horny for Oscars", because other than the awards-worthy cinematography, sound and score - everything else is decidedly mid-tier. Almost as basic and trite as a modern war film could be without being directed by Steven Spielberg.
Published 03/14/23