The Brown Note Movie Review

The most controversial film in the world I tells you! And is legendary gozno-indie film maker, Uwe Boll trolling Elon Musk here? Getting him to promote a film about an evil, sociopathic billionaire landlord? Boll's anti-immigrant spree certainly gives the viewer a big work out.

The latest from the alt-rock legends may not quite be a good as their excellent (and ignored) previous album but it's still got enough to suggest fuel remains in Isaac Brock's tank - I've upgraded to an 8/10 as it's a grower.

Sadly this long awaited comeback album from the Scottish electronic Titans, lacks the imagination, emotion and strangeness of their heyday. 

The greatest truism in movies - trailers never lie. However truncated the format, trailers give a great indication as to the quality of the dialogue, acting and overall tone of a film. My fear was the casting, no not THAT casting. My excitement around such an exciting project was dampened every time announced each new cast member was yet another populist, light-weight actor. The trailer has confir...

The goofily named latest from the James Wan/Jason Blum horror universes is a totally different take on The Mummy story than the Tom Cruise or Brendon Fraser era films. This is a straight horror more in the vein of The Conjuring series through with the harder edge of something like Sinister. It's also undeserving of the critical mauling it's got, being a mainly near excellent, straight - gory - hor...

Maybe only Tom Cruise himself goes as far in earning a paycheck as an outstanding and, no doubt, severely bruised Chalize Theron does in this near great genre thriller. Think the hunting humans as sport genre via Cliffhanger via Wolf Creek.

This years break out floppy-nosed, Aztec-Jewsih folk song prog metal cartoon virtuoso duo have taken the world by storm and loopers have never been so happy.

Abba themselves would be proud of the path fellow Swede Robyn has blazed through melancholic-euphoric pop(TM) this century, but this is more an EP than one of her defining albums.

The eighth album from the anointed queen of sad girl indie feels like a half-a$$ed stop gap, with non of the compositional brilliance of Be The Cowboy and even the poise of her voice feels distant.

The legend that is James Cameron, hasn't made a decent film in thirty-years, instead obsessing over the minutiae of the dead-on-arrival universe of Avatar: Smurfs In Space(Balls). At least this punishingly unending third installment is a fraction better than the last film. 

This fascinating noise-electronic-thrash-avant collective from the UK/France make a fabulous and abrasive second album with a smorgasbord of influences.

The "IT" SciFi of the year so far is made of other film's parts but reverently and is surprisingly epic (and overlong) but thoughtful and intelligent.

James Blake always sounds like he's trying to make the perfect James Blake album, and this is one of his closest efforts.

If you have ever wanted to jump on the beloved troubadour Bill Callahan's train, now is the time. Always great but this time more so in every direction. Already a contender for my album of the year.

After the impossible high of director, Ari Aster's debut, Hereditary, for me the follow-up Midsommar was a complete miss. Since then he's posted two take no prisoners art-house triumphs, Beau is Afraid and this equally wild but very different meta-western. The most analogous film to One Battle After Another and just about as good. Ari is one of the greatest out there right now as is his lead actor...

This much maligned entry into the Chris Pratt is everywhere genre, just about limps over the line to watchable - thanks mostly to its star. Despite an intriguing - if obvious - AI premise it's a better film the more it hews towards standard whodunit fare but consequently less and less interesting as a result.

My internittent series on albums that have over (usually) a long period of time continued to be outstanding. Canada's fabulous Broken Social Scene's second album is a fair contender for greatest indie guitar album in history, certainly in North America.

Finally a review of the Table Tennis movie. The two things that stand out, this is one Safdie brother going solo on this film after the mighty one-two of Good Times and Uncut Gems, and I've not been kind to the "Marlon Brando" of our age, Timothy "Baby-Cham" Chamalet. He does actually give a very good performance here, and it's a fine film - but it's not in the same league as Uncut Gems and could...

My now fairly frequent series on (usually) albums that were either denied classic status on release or have been forgotten about since. Witch House pioneers Salem near qualify for both, back in 2010 their debut album caused a lot of fuss but only mild praise, unlike me giving it album of the year. That rare album that has wielded strong influence since yet nothing else really sounds like it. A sho...

The Danny Boyle/Alex Garland Zombie train keeps running and in pretty fine style. Wildly over-violent at times but with great work from a demonic Jack O'Connell and a soulful Ralph Fiennes. At its best when expanding both the human and zombie world's and with a truly gonzo final third.

My intermittent feature on (usually) albums that were either denied classic status on release or have been forgotten about since. I'm not sure the long delayed, much maligned second and final album by The Stone Roses quite qualifies but it's far, far better than the car crash disaster it's remembered as.

Where the industry led push for Timothy "Baby-cham" Chamalet to win continues and a good but not great film breaks the record for most nominations ever in a pretty average year for movies.

There's no doubt Pitchfork is the most important music criticism magazine this century, once the epicenter of the music world. The last decade or more has seen them slide further away from both their implied mission statement and success. Now a pay wall has gone up and that will likely be the end of many ends. But Vale Pitchfork.

In the worst year of movies I've actually watched since I started doing these reviews. The year in which mediocrity reigned supreme. Featuring Superman, One Battle After Another, Warcraft, Sinners, Weapons and many more.

Exactly what it says it is, in a terrific year for album length releases.