Published by thebrownnote
Movie and Music reviews from The Brown Note radio show presented by Julian Brown, recorded unscripted, unedited and live. Also on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggKb5ezgKFT5M27z75jVcQ
Listen on Apple PodcastsI posted that Christopher Nolan's monumental version of Homer's The Odyssey was in danger of being a six out of ten failure, due to a poor script, bad acting and a hokey tone. Boy was I wrong.
My feature on things that were denied classic status on release or have been forgotten about since. The first 5 Ep's by Shoegaze legends, RIDE, have not been forgotten but the band is often painted by their first two albums alone. Another two albums worth of classic material was released across that same brief period.
Finally, after Longlegs, Sinners, Weapons, the monkey one, an "IT" horror movie that finally lives up to the hype and illustrious predecessors like Hereditary. Writer-directory Curry Barker gives a masterclass debut, examining the truth about the relationships between men and women, before letting the horror loose.
This unexpectedly brilliant final chapter in the dub reggae icon's story was recorded in 2019, a few years before his death. You didn't realise how much you needed an 80 year old Bob Marley fronting a 1982 post-punk, new-wave, dub-reggae, krautrock album.
The logical heir to Everything, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Though not as moving, consistent or imaginative, there's still plenty of grist for sci-fi fans and intermittent spells of brilliance.
The Danish titans are one of the best and most consistently great rock acts over the last fifteen years, but their sixth album feels more like a late period Strokes album, with less vitality or potency than previous releases.
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 confirmed these worries, the dialogue and interactions were nearly hokey, closer even to Gladiator 2 than Gladiator, I'll be amazed if I end up giving this over a 6/10.
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 - horror. I'd put it above near ever Conjuring movie.
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.