The Brown Note Movie Review

I do love Germany's DJ Koze, and ranked both his previous long form behemoths, Amygdala (2013) and Knock Knock (2018) as my second best albums of those respective years. The same cannot be said for his third. A beautifully produced and effortlessly classy affair, that is almost never compelling, sadly.

I think this is an all time first for me, an album where I hated the first half and actually liked the second half. The "UK Bass" artist has one of the most acclaimed albums of the year, I suspect in large part to music critics rating anything that mentions gender or sexual identity higher than it deserves. The first five tracks of yelping vegan Death Grips are interminable, yet the next five are...

The most mind-blowing album I've heard in years. This psychedelic journey through a club apparently owned by Cthulhu, by Bolivian-American siblings, encourages you to invent a new genre at every turn. A colossal monolith of dayglow noise that is, in an already exceptional year for albums, my new reigning album of the year (sorry Deafheaven/Darkside).

This years brightest new indie attack, levels with octopus armed percussion and a sound like no one else. Music to attune to (like Trout Mask Replica) before all its glories are revealed.

This latest and most rote Stephen King adaption has 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. How. Following on from last years tepid, flat and overrated Long Legs, the same director is getting kudos for an even worse film. Far far worse. It's utter garbage.

The superb Deafheaven, always welcomed by the COMPLETELY REASONABLE gatekeepers of Death Metal, sound reborn on their masterpiece sixth album. The only questions being, is it their best release yet? (possibly) and is it my album of the year so far? (yes).

Mike Hadreas, aka Perfume Genius, was expected to follow his last collection with a return to the his perfectly sculpted run of albums, so why does this feel more like another disjointed collection, when compared to his best work?

Or more accurately an EP review of a minor, yet still excellent collection of music the esteemed Canadian electronic composer has made for films.

The British TV drama has become a lightning rod for a burning issue, shining a spotlight in the online spaces turning young boys into misogynists. It's also artistically brave in its structure, superbly shot and directed and features some of the best acting you'll see on TV. The follow up https://brownnote.podbean.com/e/adolescence-what-to-do-about-a-problem-like-jamie/  

The Russo brothers latest attempt to turn as much cash as possible into a bad movie, is nowhere near as terrible as the reviews suggest. Its a pretty watchable, near remake of Bumblebee - with everything a bit worse.

This side quest to the excellent A Quiet Place sci-fi horrors, is immaculately made, directed and acted. So it's rare for me to trash it - I just can't remember seeing a film with so little reason to exist.

Mel Gibson puts his director hat back on for an unusually small project for him. It's really just three people in a room - or in this case a plane. It's been pretty trashed by critics but as a low key B movie actioner it's worth a once through.

Maestro Nicolas Jaar is one of modern music's MVPs. His long run of solo albums plus the two superb AAL albums plus the Pink Floyd analogous cat-nip Darkside project, with guitarist Dave Harrington and now winningly drummer, Tlacael Esparza. Possibly their best album in this now The Smile analogous collective. Continually restless and evolving - often in one track - and always hugely listenable, m...

Noah Lennox - aka Panda Bear - has long established himself as the most prominent offshoot of the erstwhile Animal Collective band. I have found recently albums - even with the (godlike) Sonic Boom co-album Reset - to be too simplistic and over acclaimed. That's half true here, where songwriting, melody and sequencing get it over the line. I do miss the wild abandon and inspiration of Person Pitch...

One of the most fascinating aberrations ive ever reviewed. Will Oldham (aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy) has an impeccable thirty year discography, with some of his best and most interesting work in recent years. He is undoubtedly one of the finest songwriters and lyricists in modern American history. So for some reason he has decided to release a generic modern mainstream country album. The lyrics are...

One of the buzziest internet-rap stars of the last couple of years, makes distinctive wall-of-sound melodic rap, that is very post Chief Keef, even more Playboi Carti and a little Salem. It's pleasant stoner music/head music but could do with a wider variety of attack.

It's a set up and environment worthy of a computer game, with two high class leads and being beautifully shot and produced. However the tonal shifts and a world that doesn't seem explored enough, along with a lot of plot conveniences to facilitate the story, it's only just worth it.

I'm a huge fan of Gerard Butler tilting towards being a B movie action titan in mold of Liam Neeson or Jason Statham and loved the grimy, flawed Heat via Training Day via Bad Lieutenant charms of the original. Happily this seems to now have morphed into a franchise, though shifting in tone to a near buddy comedy, it still does enough.

In an immortal era for British indie guitar music, out of the holy trinity of BCNR, Black Midi and Squid - they are now the only ones with either their original lead singer or who haven't split entirely. Their excellent third album is every bit as good as their first and a tiny bit less so than their classic second. Another cohesive, oblique look at the absolute state of society and the world arou...

Abel Tesfaye's last outing as The Weeknd, allegedly, caps a magnificent modern pop trilogy. It may be a little more diluted than After Hours, or Dawn FM due to its incredible length but it still showcases a the most thematically fascinating modern pop star and his peerless voice, melody and production.

Another of the big Oscar contenders and one of the most unexpected. What I thought would be some dour indie love drama, is actually the funniest screw-ball comedy in years. It's laugh out loud hysterical throughout with a mega-watt powerhouse lead. Though if you've a low tolerance for hardcore sex/nudity/drug taking and swearing, you might want to give it a wide berth.

Writer-Director Brady Corbet enters the big league of hugely ambitious auteurs, with this intermission requiring epic, chronicling the post WW2 life of a holocaust surviving Jewish architect. A near masterpiece and understandable front runner at this years Oscars, though if the astonishing acting masterclass given by Adrien Brody gets beaten by nepo baby Timothy Chamalet's Bob Dylan impersonation...

Thoughts on the most tepid Oscars in modern history. What's been missed - from a stellar year in horror to high profile performances by veteran actresses (Pamela Anderson, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst) that were all ignored. The issue of category fraud (I'm looking at you best supporting) finally gets talked about and why the only thing I really care about is nepo baby Timothy Mid-strength Chamalet...

This immaculately made drama about anointing a new Pope, is far from dry or austere, but exciting and entertaining. More like House of Cards in its evocation of the behind the scenes political machinations and deal making involved in the process. Sadly a couple of very distracting and misguided story elements arrive right at the end, in an almost ruinous manner. SPOILER ALERT as I discuss that end...

Scottish Post-rock titans, Mogwai, have been on a fine run of pretty decent new albums in recent years. However, though they sound very much alive, one of their only genuine peers, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, have been making relevant and vital music that rivals the best they've ever done. Here is a godlike band, dipping their toes into very inconsequential and unambitious music that in no way is...