2020s

To say this film was polarizing upon its release would be an understatement. Friendly terms such as 'the worst film ever made' began following this film around almost as soon as the first weekend's screenings were over. Fans of the comic book genre were baffled. Fans of the first film were baffled. Critics showered it with scourn. Yet among the noise there have been a select few offering their praise, notably one Quentin Tarantino whose opinion on film is respected almost acr

Al Pacino. You know him. You love him. You've attempted to impersonate Tony Montana's famous line "Say hello to my little friend!" in Pacino's utterly absurd Cuban lilt. You've gone wide-eyed and yelled "She's got a...GREAT ASS!" when you've had too many drinks and the term "Just when I thought I was out....they pull me back in" has become almost ubiquitous at this point. To put it in simple terms, Al Pacino is a Hollywood legend and not only is he responsible for some of the

2024 was a big year for Kendrick Lamar. After winning the softest rap battle ever with Drake ("You need therapy", "No, you need therapy"....what ever happened to 'that's why I f**ked yo' b**ch, you fat motherf**ker'), and being announced as the Superbowl halftime show headliner, things were already shaping up quite well. Then, out of nowhere, he dropped this album just in time to claim back his throne and remind everyone that is the best rapper in the game. All in all, quite

To give fair warning, this review may turn into somewhat of a self-meditation or, more accurately, a psycho-analytical breakdown of my own personality. Because, in attempting to correctly surmise how loathsome this TV series is, I am continually faced with the existential question of 'why am I still watching it?!' Is there something deep in my psyche that somehow enjoys self-flagellation? Is it being a child of divorce, wherein my inner infant thinks that the disintegration o

The films of Alexander Payne usually feature a few things. Typically there is a male lead, somewhere in their middle ages, quite often kicked around by life and verging on full-blown curmudgeonism. Whether being played by Matthew Broderick ('Election' 1996), Bruce Dern ('Nebraska' 2013) or George Clooney ('The Descendants' 2011), there tends to be a similar protagonist at the core of most of his work. The most memorable of these characters, in my book, was Miles Raymond - por

'Romance' is the fourth studio album from the Irish outfit and marks their first big swing for the fences. Previously they had made their name with moody angst-ridden post-punk anthems but, while some of that is still present here, this album branches out into grander landscapes and is all the better for it. Supporting Arctic Monkeys on a vast US Tour has apparently widened the band's scope. Singer Grian Chatten is quoted as saying "I didn't want to write, like, a 'Champagne

I once heard a joke that the Irish are the only race of people who would be so light-hearted that they can name a bloody thirty-year conflict "the troubles". Most of the battles took place in the city of Belfast, a place still staunchly divided today between Irish and British nationalists and one of the major losses of the war is the slow decline of the Irish language itself. As this film points out, there are only 6,000 native Irish speakers in the whole of Northern Ireland

Since the release of their debut album (2017's 'Brutalism'), Bristol-based IDLES have steadily ascended the musical ranks with their defiant style of angry rock (but don't call it punk, they don't like that), culminating in a magnificent headline set at Glastonbury 2024. While they built their name on predominantly boot-stomping riot starters, over time the band have started to explore the quieter side of their capabilities. So much so that legendary producer/atmosphere maste