Wednesday, 31 May 2023

EMILY THE CRIMINAL (full article at The Guardian Australia)

This gripping and nerve-twisting crime thriller from the writer-director John Patton Ford is packed with nervous energy and spiralling misfortune, moving at a relentless pace all the while taking potshots at the gig economy, student debt and the justice system.

Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is struggling under the pressure of unmanageable debt repayments. She works casually for a catering company, delivering and setting up food for corporate events and offices. She has an assault charge in her history, which continually prevents her from securing any permanent employment. 

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/31/emily-the-criminal-aubrey-plaza-makes-it-easy-to-root-for-this-credit-card-scammer

IMDB: Emily The Criminal

Sunday, 14 May 2023

INFINITY POOL (full review at Screen Realm)

Infinity Pool is the third feature from writer / director Brandon Cronenberg, and as you might expect if you’re a fan of either Cronenberg Jr or Snr, it is an imaginative science fiction / horror hybrid that asks some interesting questions around the nature of wealth, privilege and accountability.

Struggling author James (Alexander Skarsgård) and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are holidaying in the fictional country of Li Tolqa. Staying in a high end resort, shielded and fenced off from the local populace, they befriend another couple, Gabi (Mia Goth) and Alban (Jalil Lester’s) and sneak out of the resort to enjoy a drunken day at the beach. On their way home, a local man is struck and killed by their car. Panicking, they flee the scene.

Read the full review at Screen Realm:

https://screenrealm.com/infinity-pool-movie-review/

IMDB: Infinity Pool

Wednesday, 10 May 2023

POSSESSOR (full article at The Guardian Australia)

Brandon Cronenberg’s new movie, Infinity Pool, is out this month so why not take the opportunity to revisit his second film, Possessor, a blisteringly imaginative science fiction / horror movie that engages your thoughts and messes with your brain.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/10/brandon-cronenbergs-possessor-is-one-of-the-most-exciting-horror-films-of-this-century

IMDB: Possessor




Wednesday, 5 April 2023

LANGUAGE LESSONS (full article at The Guardian Australia)

During Covid lockdowns, while many of us were glugging wine, projecting our insecurities on to our pets and pretending to read a lot, Natalie Morales and Mark Duplass were putting their time to much better use, collaborating on the excellent film Language Lessons. Morales’s 2021 directorial debut is a story of platonic friendship, adversity and mutual support, told entirely through video calls and messages.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/05/language-lessons-a-film-about-video-calls-sounds-like-covid-revisited-but-it-will-grab-you-by-the-feels

IMDB: Language Lessons


Tuesday, 7 March 2023

UNDERWATER (full article at The Guardian Australia)


Underwater’s charms are simple: sea beasts attack an ocean drill site, people try to escape, everyone has a bad day. It’s not complicated, and nor does it need to be, because this 2020 film is an overlooked genre treat that’s lean, mean and submarine.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/08/lean-mean-and-submarine-underwater-is-an-overlooked-genre-treat

IMDB: Underwater



Wednesday, 22 February 2023

HELL OR HIGH WATER (full article at The Guardian Australia)

David Mackenzie’s film Hell or High Water is, by turns, exciting, ambiguous and downbeat. Transcending the simplicity of its cops and robbers setup, this tale of last resorts, capitalist injustice and moral grey areas leaves you constantly unsure whom to root for – if you’re even supposed to root for anyone in it at all.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/feb/21/so-good-its-criminal-the-ambiguous-brilliance-of-hell-or-high-water

IMDB: Hell Or High Water

(alternate poster below, by Ignacio RC)



Tuesday, 3 January 2023

2022 REVIEW - RECORDS

In no particular order, these are my top records and reissues from 2022, about half of which are actually from 2021 and I was just a bit slow off the starting blocks to include last year.

Best Records of 2022

  1. Gauze - 言いたかねえけど目糞鼻糞 LP
  2. Unidad Idealogica - S/T LP
  3. Algara - Absortos En El Tedio Eterno LP
  4. Stingray - Feeding Time 7”
  5. Home Front - Think Of The Lie 12”
  6. Spectral Wound - A Diabolic Thirst LP
  7. Mournful Congregation - The Exuviae Of Gods - Part I 12”
  8. Drowning Horse - Meghalayan 12”
  9. The Flex - Chewing Gum For The Ears LP
  10. Speed - A Gang Called Speed 12”
  11. Vacuous - Dreams Of Dysphoria LP & Katabasis 12”
  12. Slime Lord - Moss Contamination LP
  13. Mortuary Spawn - Spawned From The Mortuary  12”
  14. Sinnesloschen Inc (aka Deadly Avenger) - Polybius LP 


The final Gauze record got a vinyl release this year and while my favourite material is still the fourth LP, this is still a fitting note for them to end things on. Fast, utterly raging, and all over before you realise what just happened. What a band.


The Algara lp was well worthy of all the praise I was hearing, Unidad Idealogica LP was a ferocious blast of fast Colombian punk and the burly aggro of Stingray and catchy synth melodies of Home Front meant those records did not leave my turntable for months.



Spectral Wound’s A Diabolic Thirst LP was feral blast of raw,  frosty Canadian black metal, but was impossible get ahold of in 2021. It took me until the middle of this year to locate a copy of the repress. Meanwhile Adelaide’s Mournful Congregation served up some huge chunks of melancholy funeral doom that hit the mark nicely. Perth doom/drone outfit Drowning Horse returned with their Meghalayan 12” which was a nice heavy, slow surprise as I assumed they had called it quits. Saw them play with Space Bong several years ago and they were great.


The Flex’s Chewing Gum For The Ears LP was a swift dose of fast, ripping hardcore that was just what I needed, while Speed’s Gang Called Speed 12” brought back memories of early Knuckledust or Set it Off-era Madball - despite (or should that be IN spite of) their ludicrous videos showing off their boxing moves.


The backslide into metal was completed by Vacuous’s vicious new lp, Dreams Of Dysphoria, and their Katabasis 12” which I discovered earlier in the year and lucked out when I discovered an Australian distro was still carrying it. Despite being from 2021, the festering, atmospheric death metal of Slime Lord’s Moss Contamination lp and Mortuary Spawn’s, Spawned From The Mortuary, got their vinyl debuts this year. I picked up both when we went home in June.


Finally, on the electronic / synthwave side of things, Deadly Avenger released the excellent Polybius lp,under the somewhat confusing alias of Sinnesloschen Inc, and seemingly inspired by Poltergeist and TRON and a strange urban legend.


Reissues



  1. Dischord First Six Records box 
  2. Sleep - Dopesmoker box set
  3. T.H.E Rutto - Ei Paluuta 7” & Ilmastoitu Painajainen 7”

On the reissue front, Dischord’s anniversary box set that reproduced the first six 7”s released by the label (plus a bonus record) was an incredible release and probably my favourite out of everything I picked up this year. Third Man’s expanded, deluxe box set treatment of Sleep’s seminal Dopesmoker record was too good to pass up and makes a nice companion to my first press on Tee Pee. T.H.E Rutto from Finland had their two classic 7”s reissued and they made for an excellent upgrade from the bootleg I’ve had for years. I remember being at the Grosvenor with Ralf and Darren when Paco described T.H.E Rutto simply as Finnish punk that sounds like they cant play their instruments. We each bought a copy immediately!