The Brown Note Movie Review

Ridley Scott gave his baby new life with the premise of Prometheus, massively expanding the context of the whole Alien universe, then promptly killed it dead with Covenant abandoning that story entirely. This new film has been hailed as an excitingly fresh rebirth, but I don't see it. The production design is superb, but other than the lead, the acting is pretty dire. The biggest problem though, i...

I've nothing but respect for the band's talent but I've rarely heard an album more self-sabotaged than this (despite rave reviews). Almost every song - many of which are very decent - have a math-rock violent interlude half way through, that is often annoyingly goofy and usually stops everything they've built up to that point dead. This makes it all a hard listen, I'd struggle to go back to.

Sometimes in the relentless recycle and repackage world that is modern Hollywood, timing can be everything. No one asked for a sequel to director Tim Burton's breakout 1988 film but it was a hugely welcome return anyway. There's a lot of love for re-pairing the originals leads, Winona Ryder and surely the least disliked legacy actor out there, Michael Keaton. Burton too is back delivering his trad...

No one has ruined more films than Guillermo del Toro, by not directing them. But this time I fell the second attempt at rebooting the Hellboy franchise doesn't deserve the appalling reviews. It's refreshing to see the relentless barage of $200 million failed franchise movies give way to something far more low budget and weird, and the Appalachian horror setting is kinda great.

I feel this Brad and George star vehicle was slightly maligned on release. It remains a high quality outing for the platinum-plated pair and very well made. Plus not reliant on relentless high octane action, at least at first.

If ever there were a case of following your own imitators. The XX alumni's debut, In Colour, helped set a template that Coachella-esque electronic music has tried to follow ever since, making this sophomore album lack the lightning in a bottle aspect of its predecessor. Though a lackluster first half gives way to a much stronger second, particularly when the soul samples and collaborators are in t...

For the first time since the first album review on this channel, Black Country, New Road's Ants From up There, a BIG FAT TEN OUT OF TEN, for the latest album from the Canadian Post-Rock titans. Some of their most stadium worthy rock to date, whilst feeling closer to a symphony by Gustav Mahler. And in case you were wondering. as of 25 October 2024 42,847 dead. 16,765 of those children.

Writer director Coralie Fargeat announces herself in manner akin to Quentin Tarantino, with her second film. Being both unbelievably don't give a f*ck bold and hugely literate in the history of cinema, wearing a dazzling array of influences across this amazingly wild schlock horror. Margaret Qualley and an awards-likely Demi Moore are fearless accomplices. One of the years best, most controversial...

Like its predecessor - Live Drugs - I'm left with the same feeling that I wish half the song choices were different, as at its best, the opening a closing salvos, it's fantastic and a fine representation of one of alt-rocks great bands but much of the middle run is a bit too flat an samey. Def one for fans only. Though Under the Pressure is one of the finest 10 mins of music this year.

Although it wont stand on quality as being one of the esteemed Dan Snaith's finest, as either Caribou or his other alt Daphne, Honey will go down as one of the most important and challenging albums of this era. The use of AI in music is already a hugely controversial topic and one Snaith hits head on by using AI to turn his own voice into a variety of female singers.

My infrequent series on albums, movies or bands that were either denied classic status on release or have been forgotten about since. I've gone on at painful length about my anger at The House of Love - the first exciting and original British indie guitar band since The Smiths - never being included in conversations about either Shoegaze or Britpop, despite being more foundational and sooner for b...

A quick shout out of total respect to the Internets busiest music nerd, The Needle Drop, AKA Anthony Fantano. His recent posts on Macklemore and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, have been amazing in a world where so many journalists and socially conscious artists avoid the genocide in Gaza like the plague. Link below https://youtu.be/oInyT46gNHE?si=VvN9SJfON9Y6_6n8

Outstanding meta commentary, charisma between the leads, humor. Actual film and story - quite slight.

It's been a while between drinks (Madame Web I think) but we're back and firing with a BIG FAT ZERO out of ten for this well loved and warmly received remake of the overrated but hugely influential original. Here, FKA Twigs (with apparently BOTOX in both her face AND emotions), plays a talentless aspiring musician, with model looks, who hangs around in rich people's apartments >cough< whilst...

Nepo baby and first time director, Zoe Kravitz, takes on what's becoming quite a trope lately - rich people on an island behaving badly, in one of 2024's IT horror movies. Despite some strong ideas thematically, compared to the likes of Infinity Pool or The Menu or even Knives Out 2, it's nearer the back of the pack.

The honorable Sam Shepherd returns with his raviest Floating Points album yet, and probably the years best electronic release.

Auteur of the moment, Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos shuns his recent foray into Hollywood royalty (The Favorite/Poor Things) with a return to the punishing uncomfortable art-house of The Killing of the Sacred Deer. For nearly three uncompromising hours, across three deliberately bleak and obtuse stories. It feels like either an attack or a challenge on the viewer but Jessie Plemons is a career b...

Their 18th studio album unexpectedly turns the unfortunately thrilling second act of Nick Cave into the maximalist, away from the brilliant abstract, avant experimentalism of Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen. There's plenty to adore in Cave's battle with the God's, though the heavyweight first half of the album is more compelling than the more resigned and conventionally composed second half.

We are all of us blessed to have lived in the same time as the deity Nicolas Cage, bathed in his magnificence. Now no longer viewed as an A list actor who went off the boil, his modern filmography contains numerous low key classics. My ten favorite Cage films from the last twenty years.

Director Jeremy Saulnier continues his strong run of idiosyncratic films, with this inspired take on one of cinemas most overused tropes, the mysterious (and tough) stranger, walks into a small town and comes into conflict with the authorities. With top notch casting and writing, it may get to the same place as nearly every one of these post First Blood films, but the journey there is a hell of a...

And in an era where music festivals are dying, featuring rote pop acts as headliners, with no musicians and backing tracks, how the Oasis reunion could save music, by bringing back the band.

In the first banner year for the rap album in a decade, another great album. This time with a wild foray into Death Metal and Death Grips, from one of the biggest mavericks in underground Hip hop.

The White Stripes supremo drops his most exciting solo project yet and it feels perfectly timed. With the Oasis reunion in full swing, this fabulous album, harking back to the heady early garage rock days of his most famous band could not be more on point.

What's most startling about this low-rent big-budget Mission Impossible rip-off is how vastly superior the panned Gal Gadot movie, Heart of Stone, is in every way.

Arguably the year's It horror movie was far closer to upper mid-tier than I'd hoped. It's well crafted and has a strong mood, but is relatively insubstantial and has a lacklustre lead. Though a mad-cap Nicolas Cage (barely in the movie) makes you wish for a Pearl like origin story.