The Brown Note Movie Review

One of the years "IT" horrors with strong reviews, ends up being very "meh". Throws a lot of interesting and contemporary ideas up in the air but doesn't really land any of them and after a promising (Young Woman) start, peters out a bit into nothing - plus its lightness of tone makes it difficult to imbue any sense of seriousness to, on paper, very dark themes.

The Catalan superstar builds on the stunning success of her minimalist breakthrough, El Mal Querer, with a maximalist follow up that sums up the entirety of the near dominant urban Latino music world, again, without ditching her traditional Spanish roots entirely and never pandering to mainstream success. A triumph of experimental contemporary music. Thank god it's a lot closer to that second albu...

The fifth studio album from the Adrianne Lenker's indie darlings - worshiped like saints by the likes of Pitchfork - follows the huge critical acclaim of U.F.O.F. If I thought that album was half brilliant but a bit overrated, I've moved the dial along to mostly brilliant but still a bit overrated. Certainly the final third contains some inessential tracks.

If some acts like Bowie change and reinvent with every album, others (like Japanese sushi chefs or The War on Drugs) refine one perfect thing, over and over. The meticulous Baltimore dream pop duo, Beach House certainly do the latter but the 4 EP presentation of their 8th studio album, is itself the most fascinating change this time around for an always great album's band.

After the British director (who I'm still up in the air about) Matthew Vaughn, breathed fresh air into the genre/franchise market with the sometimes near obscene and always wild and free, first installment of the Kingsman, he followed it by trashing everything great about the first film with an obscenely bad second installment. Given the poor reviews and reception of this third films, I prepared f...

A belated - strong - review of this near excellent sensory horror sequel. Like Alien/Aliens or Terminator/T2 it replaces the creeping low key dread of the original with more a more bombastic action film, but to near equal effect. And who knew the always getting better, Cillian Murphy would make such a great Appalachian woodsman.

I'm now including the odd album review - not everything but anything I think is worth talking about. This second release from the British indie band, in an era where British indie guitar music has risen out of nowhere. Even among the slew of great releases from likes of Squid, Black Midi, Dry Cleaning and Working Mens Club, this album stands tall. Like its totemic biggest inspiration, Arcade Fire'...

A belated review of one of the only TV series I've consistently followed this last decade, the always excellent Narcos Franchise. One of the most dramatically exciting, dynamic and rock n roll shows since Breaking Bad. This, the 3rd iterations of Narcos: Mexico and the sixth and final series (for now) overall, doesn't reach the incredible heights of the brilliant Diego Luna starring first two inst...

Underappreciated and definitely hamstrung by the streaming release - as far as box office and the likely sequels go. It's not great but certainly decent and Keanu gives a much stronger performance than he was capable of when the iconic original was released. Flawed but still worth your while.

Del Toro's best written film and significantly better than the wildly overrated Oscar winning Shape Of Water. As Martin Scorcese has stated, one of the only true film noir's of the modern era - not relying solely on wearing the clothes of a private detective and moody lighting - but truly desperate people on the margins, doing desperate things and paying for it. It's brutal stuff. Massively underr...

The best reviewed film of 2021 is, frankly, a bit of an empty let down. A compellingly intense and awful opening gives way to a rather unexpectedly neutered melodrama that wastes the potential of Cumberbatche's malevolent potential. It goes nowhere and ends unsatisfactory, though beautifully made.

SPOILER HEAVY REVIEW. Truth is I've never been a fan of either Spiderman's teen angst and jokey tone or most of the actors to play him, Tom Holland included. This is certainly better than the awful second Holland installment though still very overrated. I get the excitement over the fan service and it's half great. It's also extremely padded out through the middle and the hero's actions and motiva...

Peter Jackson's 'found footage' documentary of The Beatles at a most pivotal point in their history has only one flaw, its length - which does make sections repetitive. It is still completely surreal to spend so much time as a fly on the wall with the most famous band in history and see them in a way that almost no one outside their friends and family ever has. It doesn't even seem real half the t...

I've long championed Adam McKay since I made The Big Short my film of the year, now he has definitive works on the GFC, the destruction of American democracy (Vice) and climate change. He's the most important director in America. This film is polarizing, not because it attacks politicians and the media, but the public too - and none of them like it. Flawed but unflinching and brilliant, it's empow...

After starting last year giving Chloe Zhao my first ever 10/10 for a new release for my film of the year, Nomadland, the opposite end of the scale for one of the limpest ever Marvel movies. A perfect embodiment of the Star Wars/Phantom Menace paradox. That 40 years after Star Wars release, Hollywood still doesn't understand that the number one factor in the public loving a big budget blockbuster i...

Popular opinion #947. In light of Damon Albarn (whose music I don't really rate either) and his nuclear attack on saint Taylor Swift and her writing her own songs, he used Billie Eilish of all people as an example of her opposite. Garbage. Billie Eillish is the most fabricated star this century, a corporate hack who met with both Apple and fashion house Channel to define her image (like all natura...

This biopic of Serena and Venus Williams indomitable father, is obvious Oscar bait but has a decent stab at a worthy subject. Centered by a possible career best from a triumphant Will Smith, after wallowing in a career low for that last few years. The screenplay doesn't match his performance and we could do with a lot more grit but it's certainly emotionally satisfying and exciting entertainment.

I must admit I stand in opposition to the hugely negative response to the most expensive Netflix film in history. It wasn't as cynical or bombastic as I'd been led to believe, it's actually kinda amiable and fun. Even, dare I say it, quite elegant. The mega watt leads are good value, the long form set pieces well executed and I didn't feel that dirty after watching it.

The only achievement this sequel, to a highly lack-luster original, has to its name is doing everything the first did badly, even worse. The charm of Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams withstanding, nearly everything is rubbish, it has half the story and some of the worst CGI $200 million can buy.

Exactly what it says it is, with a worst film of the year guaranteed to be a popular choice.

Working our my usual radio show end of year best-of lists, I was struck by how weak 2021 was - across albums, movies and tracks, the lamest of the century, why?

In the weakest year for albums, tracks and movies of the century.

I've long detested Wes Anderson as the epitome of a director that substitutes kooky and try hard comedy for his lack of artistic substance and 'Dispatch maybe his MOST Wes Anderson film of all. Seemingly a film that consists of no connective tissue and functions far more asa  movie about Wes Anderson movies than about the journalists and writers it tries to celebrate.

Do not believe the hype about this box office bomb. I was expecting more of the turgid, awful Kingdom of Heaven style Ridley Scott than Gladiator Ridley Scott - yet this is his most complex, ambitious and challenging film of his career. Of course it tanked - it's closer in tone to an art-house medieval flick like this year's The Green Knight than something rousing and dynamic like Gladiator. A tim...

What a turn around, and what witchcraft is this?! After hating Edgar Wright's last three films (with a passion - especially Baby Driver) and rating him as a talent-less hack that got lucky off the back of the likeability of his stars over his first two films, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, just like Guy Ritchie did with Lock Stock and Snatch - also like Guy Ritchie with the unexpected triumph The...