The dust has settled, the winners are in, and I’m here to give my opinion on the outcome, while acknowledging that I haven’t actually seen about the half the films and TV shows that are in the listings yet. So…let’s a-go.
Continue reading “Review: Golden Globes 2023”Minimalist Moments: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Sharks have never really had a great rep in cinematic history. Jaws established the popular stereotype of those big-jawed dudes as fear-inducing, violin-accompanied agents of dread and death. Sharknado probably didn’t help either. Nobody wants to think about a load of those guys attacking you in a weather cyclone, right? I guess there is a positive portrayal of ye olde shark in Shark Tale, but then again, that movie’s pretty shite. Shite Tale, right?
Continue reading “Minimalist Moments: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”Minimalist Moments: Step Brothers
It was only a few years ago that I found out that Catalina Wine Mixers were a real thing. And that they were a real thing thanks solely to Adam McKay’s Step Brothers, in which Will Ferrell’s Brennan delivers an unforgettable rendition of Andrea Bocells’ Por Ti Volare to a crowd of inspired onlookers. Onlookers who are so inspired that they have visions of John C. Reilly’s Dale as a centaur and Brennan as a randy lumberjack. Powerful stuff. It’s a serious event. According to the Catalina Island website, the upcoming one this year has live music, wine tastings from more than 18 wineries, a whiskey and spirits tasing as well as an exclusive wine pairing lunch. It’s kind of a big deal.
Continue reading “Minimalist Moments: Step Brothers”Review: White Noise
After screening a film to his students, one character in White Noise jovially informs his audience that ‘There is a wonderful, brimming sense of innocence – and fun’. Unfortunately, Noah Baumbach’s latest feature doesn’t quite warrant the same glowing praises. Based on Don DeLillo’s celebrated novel of the same name, Baumbach regular Adam Driver plays Jack Gladney, a revered history teacher who witnesses his college take a turn for the worst as it experiences what a title card describes as an ‘Airborne Toxic Event’. Chaos ensues, and his family fall into increasing turmoil as apocalypse approaches.
Continue reading “Review: White Noise”Review: His Dark Materials, Season 3
To say that Chris Weitz’s The Golden Compass was disappointing would be an understatement. It ripped away all the religious themes that made the book great, and it also committed the crime of altering the book’s sad ending. As a director working from prose, you’re inevitably going to have to condense the text, prioritising some elements and getting rid of others. Admittedly, from a commercial point of view, the film almost certainly wouldn’t have performed as well worldwide if it hadn’t removed some of the book’s controversial ideas. But there’s still nothing to justify that changed ending. Roger needed to die not only to bring the narrative to its cathartic close, but also to set up the Land of the Dead storyline that forms a major part of Philip Pullman’s third and final entry. Perhaps the only major outcome of The Golden Compass was its shiny cover in Empire Magazine that ultimately led me to subscribe to the publication.
Continue reading “Review: His Dark Materials, Season 3”