#god she really is such a standout performance in that film

[willowcrowned]

God you're right though. I can't stop thinking about sad empty nester Liam Neeson. This is the love actually sequel we all need

IT'S SO COMPELLING

[quincywillows]

a scattered and overall supportive review of percy jackson season 1

let me just say first of all, it's extremely fun to be enthused about a tv show like this again. the adaptation isn't perfect, but it's a lot of fun, and you can tell there's plenty of heart and good intention behind what they're doing. i'm very much enjoying tuning in every couple of episodes and catching up -- and avoiding the relentless commentary of the internet while i do so lol.

but now it's time for MY commentary!! to preface, i was a huge fan of the books when i was younger, am a stalwart long-term advocate of the original five books as some of the best children's lit of our lifetime, but i also enjoyed the films a decade ago for what they were and think people (including cough rick cough) are way too harsh about them. justice for logan lerman. anyway

i'm not going to do like a play-by-play, but in summary, here are my takeaways from the first season -- what i thought worked, what did not, and things i'm optimistic about going into the future seasons.

the good

for an adaptation of the original series (which, to be fair, i have not reread in years), i felt this was honest and faithful. there were tweaks, obviously, but none that took me too out of it or felt irredeemable. there was a lot to like about this show, so i want to start right from the top with my highest highs.

the worldbuilding / production design. i absolutely loved getting to see how they imagined certain iconic characters, locations, and sequences from the books. it was so exciting to get to see camp halfblood for the first time on screen (at least, in this adaption) -- that moment in episode two definitely felt like a turning point where we picked up from the somewhat laggy pilot episode. i especially loved the design of mount olympus, aspects of the underworld (hades and his upside down castle were baller, though how did percy and grover get up there lol; and i absolutely loved the choice for asphodel and the ghosts being rooted like trees, i never would've thought of that myself but it was so chilling and unique... just wish i could see it better through the terrible lighting, but we'll come back to that), and of course, camp. even down to the small details, like the camp beads... it's just very cool to see it come to life.

the casting. i wasn't sure about some of the casting when the news was breaking, but i'm very happy to have been pleasantly surprised all around (and have majorly avoided people bitching about every single thing). there wasn't any role where i felt like someone was horribly miscast, and you could tell that everyone involved really wanted to be there and committed. i thought the casting of the gods was especially inspired at times. some of the highlights for me personally:

adam copeland as ares. i had no idea he was apparently a wrestler turned actor until my sister told me, but i thought he was absolutely spectacular. very charismatic, with just the right amount of cringefail that ares needed. i found him thoroughly enjoyable in all his scenes.

lance reddick as zeus. having just played horizon zero dawn recently, oh my lorde was this an inspired choice. he was absolutely brilliant. i'm so so sad about his passing, i don't know how they're going to recapture his performance, but i have faith now that they'll find a way.

timothy omundson as hephaestus. i love that they took a softer, more mad scientist approach to his role than like ugly basement blacksmith vibes... i just thought it was really refreshing. his scene with annabeth, where we got so much humanity from him in such a short span of time, was one of my favorite scenes of the season.

jason mantzoukas as dionysus. i mean. what else can be said. obvious choice, but he was so fun lol. i hope they give him more to do next season.

other standouts beyond the main youth cast for me were jay duplass as hades (his brief appearance in 107 was thoroughly enjoyable) and dior goodjohn as clarisse (she was by far the acting standout of the first couple episodes to me). also very happy to see jessica kennedy parker and sinclair from the 100 get work, lol.

walker as percy jackson. it was really wonderful watching walker grow as an actor even just through the first eight episodes. the difference from 101 to 108 is almost night and day. you can tell how much he cares about the project and percy as a character, and he upped his game with every episode. i cannot wait to see what he turns out in the coming seasons. to be fair, i thought all of the youth cast did a decent job, and i'm giving them a lot of leeway and room to grow since they are literally child actors -- it takes time to hone your craft, and im optimistic they're all going to do a great job as the series goes on. but walker was, definitively and thankfully as the protagonist, the standout.

charlie bushnell as luke. i was so excited when i heard he got cast because i loved him in diary of a future president, and he did not disappoint. i kind of wish he had more to do, but all of that was forgiven in the finale when he had his final confrontation with percy. oh, the acting popped off then -- i can't wait for him to get to chew up the scenery more in the coming seasons.

grover and percy's friendship. it was so sweet to see this come alive, and i thought walker and aryan had excellent natural chemistry together. they were so endearing, and i really believed their friendship basically from the start (them swapping their sandwich fillings is a tiny detail from the pilot that has stuck with me since; i just loved that choice so much). they definitely provided a lot of my favorite moments in the season, and i think evoked the most genuine "aw wow" moments from me.

percy's relationship with sally. since sally was, understandably, absent from the original novel, it was awesome to get the flashbacks here that allowed us to more deeply understand their bond. i thought walker and virginia did a great job with this, and the young actor who played little percy also did a surprisingly great job (he was actually one of the stronger youth actors in the pilot imo lol). you totally understood why percy was doing everything he was, because that mother-son bond felt believable. big shout-out to the absolutely baller line "i am sally jackson's son." one of the first writing moments where i was like oh snap!

the music. a good score really can't be understated, and this one did not disappoint. did just what it needed to do. i also loved the closing title sequence and the art direction there with the epic music -- just such a nice touch that i'm so glad they included.

some of the writing. i'll get more into some of my qualms with the writing below, but there were definitely some great moments that deserve their flowers. i thought they did a great job weaving in some early themes without being heavy-handed about it (percy having to define who he is for himself, mostly). there were some genuinely funny moments that made me laugh out loud, including "i am impertinent," annabeth's "i'm multitalented," and the entire exchange on the road side when the trio to ares are like no... we're fine... ahaha bye... oh and percy trying to drive the taxi out of the garage at the casino was absolutely hysterical.

pivotal scenes hitting their mark. when the show needed to deliver, i thought they really delivered. i absolutely loved the staging and acting in the final luke and percy confrontation -- the lighting of the fireworks was such a cinematic touch. percy's arrival at olympus and scene with zeus was also a big standout. i loved a lot of the st. louis arch episode, and thought the hephaestus golden chair sequence was really well done. overall, the episodes i thought were strongest were without a doubt 104, 105, and 108.

expansion where expansion was welcome. one of my favorite aspects of the series is how it's giving more nuance to the monsters and "villains" of the books. i loved that we got a little more motivation for alecto beyond evil -- that she clearly wanted to accomplish her own mission and retrieve the helm, whether out of loyalty or fear. i loved how medusa got much more depth and humanity, that we're sort of reexamining the fairness of how myths are told rather than just taking it all at face value. i'm really looking forward to seeing how that continues in the next seasons.

the decent

percy and annabeth. to be fair, i think my issue with this is more on the fan reaction than the show itself. i think the show is doing a decent, if somewhat awkwardly paced job, of building their friendship and offering small little hints of what could blossom in the future in classic youth awkward ways -- unexpected hugs, banter, etc. i think walker and leah are both doing a good job, and i look forward to seeing how it develops. but my god, people on the internet are really jumping the shark so hard here. i can't handle seeing more "uwu percy is in love" posts when it's like. y'all. THEY ARE 12. THEY JUST MET. LET THEM ORGANICALLY BECOME FRIENDS FIRST... i just hope the creators don't feed into that and also jump the shark. like yes, we all know where this is going, but can't we enjoy the actual journey to get there instead of forcing what isn't there yet? in any case, on the positive side, some of the moments between them i really enjoyed: the conversation on the train when grover was asleep, the hephaestus chair sequence, annabeth giving him her camp beads before going to olympus (that was a slay... that was a legendary slow burn start moment worth hyping up), the way percy smiled at her in their last scene... that's the good stuff. let's not rush through what we're getting folks. the water is fine.

lin manuel as hermes. here is the thing. i thought lin did a good job. i thought his casting was apt, and fun, and he did a great balance of hermes charisma and like, a darker edge. it's just... the thing about lin manuel is that he's lin manuel. and this is coming from someone who likes him, but it's like he shows up on screen and i'm just like. hey it's lin manuel. it's a bit of a "takes you out of the moment" stunt casting, but i'm not mad about it. i wouldn't call it a bad thing. hopefully it'll wear off (though i doubt it). i guess i'm just deciding that hermes is just lin manuel, which honestly, would kind of track.

the youth acting. mentioned this above, but again, some of that early delivery was rough. but i am giving a lot of grace, and i think they've already improved plenty in the first eight episodes. i felt the same way about shadowhunters back in the day when i thought kat mcnmara was hard to watch in season 1, but by season 3 she was my absolute favorite cast member and came so far. i have no doubt these kiddos will do the same. so very much looking forward to that.

the not so great

the pacing. this was definitely the weakest part of the story writing wise. it wasn't irredeemable, but it did hinder the first half of the show (which didn't lock in for me until about 104, when the stakes truly shot up at st. louis). and that also affected how dynamics and plot points were able to unravel. the biggest victim of this...

the luke reveal. from the start, i was worried about this. since luke was only really in episode 2, i had doubts about whether the reveal of his betrayal would be at all satisfying or earned. i don't know that i can speak on it for sure, since i knew what was going to happen as someone who read the books, but i still feel we should have gotten more of those luke-and-percy-bonding scenes and convos earlier in the series rather than tacked onto the finale as flashbacks. it worked there, but i think it could've been better. thankfully, all of that didn't hinder the delivery of the finale confrontation, which as i said, was a standout moment for me.

the fight scenes. with rare exception, i was pretty underwhelmed with many of the monster battles and confrontations this season. given that's such a huge gimmick of the novels, i hope they're able to revisit and polish up the pacing of these in the future... i just felt that scenes like the museum clash with dodds were so rushed and anticlimactic. or not even confrontations at all, like the scene with crusty. we got a bit more of this at the back half of the season, in the sword fights with ares and luke, but i wanted more of that epic feeling throughout. i'm hoping it's maybe just a budget concern and that it'll improve in the coming seasons -- especially as the bosses get bigger and the stakes get higher -- but i'm not sure i'm optimistic just yet.

some of the dialogue. it was... wooden, to say the least. i think the worst moments of this were when they were trying to force Kid Bants -- which just felt stilted in the earlier episodes -- and whenever they were explaining greek myths point blank to the audience. there were moments it worked, but many where it didn't, and i hope they flesh out how to better info dump in the future episodes. i didn't mind the change of having percy be more familiar with the myths and thus more aware, but they could afford to finesse how they relay that information to us in the audience without basically reading from wikipedia in percy's voice.

the ugly

oh my god i can't see. i can't SEE. this show went to the teen wolf academy of employing one lightbulb and it's actually criminal. there were so many scenes where i really wanted to see what was happening because the stakes were high or the scenery was so pivotal -- the entry into the underworld for the first time, the vastness of medusa's basement of stone, THE FIELDS OF ASPHODEL -- but the lighting was so god awful i legitimately couldn't see a thing. in asphodel i literally could barely see the trio's expressions, it was that bad / flat. the audience is smart, we understand it's dark out. we can suspend our disbelief so you can add some visibility to this thing. i was turning up my brightness constantly but it wouldn't go any higher. please, disney execs, rick, anyone -- GET ANOTHER LIGHTBULB. i'm losing key immersive aspects of the show to this and it's a bummer. when they were walking through waterland for the first time and annabeth was like "wow can you believe this craftsmanship" i was like i don't know, girl, I CAN'T SEE ANY OF IT. begging on my knees that they fix this next season.

well, that ended up longer than expected, but oh my gods it is so nice to be writing paragraphs about a tv show again. all in all, i'd say 7.5/10 from me in this first season. there's so much to be keen for here, and i'm really happy with how it's going so far.

friends and fellow demigods, what did we all think?

[adamwatchesmovies]

Constantine (2005)

Constantine comes from the era of comic book film adaptation when we were just happy to get ANYTHING. This allowed writers, directors and executives to do whatever they wanted to make the stories and characters more accessible and bankable without mobs coming to their doors with pitchforks and torches. Unfortunately, this often resulted in generic, forgettable films. The less familiar you are with the Hellblazer comics, the more likely you are to appreciate this less-than-faithful take on the character. I enjoyed it just enough to give it a mild recommendation while hoping a better adaptation will someday leave this one in the dust.

In LA, cynical occultist John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is surprised to find a demon attempting to enter our world through its possessed host, rather than simply puppeteering her the way demons usually do. Meanwhile, Detective Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) is shocked when her twin sister, Isabel, commits suicide. Isabel knew this mortal sin would condemn her to Hell, which prompts Angela to suspect she was actually murdered. These strange events are somehow linked to a strange spearhead discovered in a ruined church in Mexico that possesses a man (Jesse Ramirez) while granting him near-invincibility.

With his American accent and black hair, this Constantine feels a lot more like a traditional cynical hero than the blonde from Liverpool you'll find in the pages of DC/Vertigo's comics. There are worse things your movie could do, but it doesn’t help make the story memorable. There's got a mystery that leads to a big threat, which is a good spine to build your skeleton upon. We’re introduced to several rules about the world. Turns out that God and the Devil (Peter Stormare) are competing for mankind’s souls and that neither demons nor angels can directly interfere; they only “influence” people. “Half-breed” angels and demons can walk around doing what they want, however, and when they go too far, Constantine puts them back in their place. He’s doing this to win himself a spot in Heaven. Our favorite exorcist has terminal lung cancer - that’s what you get for smoking non-stop. Maybe this case will be the one to get him his golden ticket. I dunno. Doesn’t it feel like more could be done with this? When you boil it down, Constantine isn’t much deeper than End of Days with Arnold Schwarzenegger and is that really where we want to be?

It’s the details of the world that wind up interesting us in the end. The visions of Hell we see are unique. It’s like a perpetual nuclear sandstorm ripping apart a parallel Earth, with damned souls squirming in agony below while demons prowl about. Getting there requires you to perform simple but convincing-looking rituals, which is one of the standout moments. Rachel Weisz and Keanu Reeves have some pretty good chemistry, even if it would be a cliché for her to fall for a man who didn’t even hold the elevator door open for her the first time they met. Pruitt Taylor Vince as Father Hennessy has an inventive encounter with a demon. Shia LaBeouf plays Chas Kramer, Constantine’s driver and apprentice but he’s gone for such large chunks of the movie you wonder why he was even included. Tilda Swinton has a memorable but small role as the Archangel Gabriel. At this point, I feel like I’m just going through a list of things about the movie, which anyone could do… but maybe that’s all there is to say. How does the movie make you feel? Excited while Constantine is shooting demons with his cross-shaped gun or punching them with holy brass knuckles, I guess. Intrigued when we’re piecing together the clues behind Isabel’s death, I guess. Not exactly a rousing endorsement but the film is not boring. It moves, you want to see what’s coming next and once it’s over, it’s out of your mind.   Could it be that I’m nostalgic for Constantine? I do remember seeing it when it was released on DVD. In fact, I specifically remember buying it. I went to HMV looking for V for Vendetta. This was going to mark my official transition from VHS to discs and when I got to the store, I saw they had an exclusive 2-pack that included Constantine for free. Maybe that’s what's tipping me over the scale; the fact that I didn’t have to pay anything to see this film. If you decide to check it out, stay all the way to the end of the credits for a bonus scene. (August 16, 2022)

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Road to El Dorado

So to begin with, let me just say I fucking miss Dreamworks 2d animation. Like the way they animated and designed characters in 2d was just... wonderful and I long for them to return to it almost more than I long for Disney to go back to 2d animation. As for Road to El Dorado, its a major case for why they should. This movie is a fun, fantastic romp that is utterly enjoyable all the way through.

Staying on animation for a sec, the colors in this movie are insanely vibrant and the set designs, especially in El Dorado itself, are outstandingly gorgeous. The character designs are top notch (bless Chel oh my god fuck whoever designed her was so horny and I'm so thankful for them) and the animation is as smooth as butter. The facial expressions, much like in Prince of Egypt are so damn well done and convey exactly how the characters are feeling so perfectly.

As for the characters, the cast is great! Miguel and Tulio are a perfect dynamic duo of scheming conmen, though the difference between them are clear. Tulio is more along the lines of being selfish and greedy (and horny, incredibly horny, this whole movie is horny), but he's still so damn likable anyway. Miguel is the idealistic optimist who just wants adventure and excitement. And the way they play off each other is so fast and smooth and expertly written and acted, their bromance truly is one to behold.

Of course, that bromance is broken a bit when Chel comes into the picture. God DAMN this woman is just... (*whistles*) 2D Dreamworks women were just Built Different holy god she is beautiful. And hilarious imo she's a good source of comedy (and conflict) throughout.

The other characters are... ok. I like the chief, but the priest is just an... ok bloodthirsty unhinged villain, but nothing really special. Cortes is a nothing character, barely an antagonist force whatsoever, and outside of them... well there's not much focus anywhere else. Which is a good thing! The movie's plot is tightly focused, simple to understand and follow, and the characters motivations and development is very clear throughout.

As for said plot, I suppose there are a few problematic things about Two White Men showing up and claiming to be gods in a Native ancient civilization, but it never feels like they're exploiting the people of El Dorado for anything more than gold? Like they even stop the priest's attempts to sacrifice people in their name, so I guess that counts for something??? Really though, the main focus of the film is that dynamic between Miguel and Tulio and how two things come between them (for Miguel, its falling in love with the people and culture of El Dorado and for Tulio, its falling in love with, well, Chel). In the end though, they do come back together in a natural and believable way in the midst of a genuinely exciting climax.

The humor is also very sharp in this movie, leaning more on the adult side (like I said, this whole movie is so horny) but never in the gross or annoying way that Antz did before it. It relies more on physical comedy and witty banter, and both of them are carried strongly through the voice acting and the animation. It's no wonder why this movie produced so many famous memes imo

The music is Fantastic. It takes the Tarzan approach where most of the songs are non-diagetic (and mostly performed by Elton John), with the standout exception of Its Tough to be a God which just... completely fucking slaps. Seriously I was boppin along to it the entire time, it goes so hard ya'll.

Overall, Road to El Dorado is a simple movie with a simple plot and premise, but its carried by a really memorable main trio and a great soundtrack and top shelf animation. Give it a watch if ya haven't, its def worth it.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Verdict: Getting caught doing the Nitty Gritty with Chel

Previous Review (Prince of Egypt)

Next Review (Chicken Run)

[emblazons]

I don't usually go to tumblr to talk movies, but I know people are interested in this one because of Finn, so I'll attempt some thoughts more like I do other films (with irl friends, mostly).

My WYFSTW thoughts (in no particular order + a clip)

under the cut, not because I really "spoiled" anything but because I write a lot haha

I really enjoyed this, surprisingly. I kind of expected it to ring a little more hollow than it did based on the reviews, but I think the fact that I've spent a while seeing/reading all the interviews Jesse & Finn did (combined with the fact that I listened to the audiobook) made the characters feel more fleshed out in my mind than they might for other people on screen.

To be honest...this is basically a movie about mommy issues, and if you weren't trying to be understanding, it's really easy to write them both off as unlikable. And I won't lie: in a lot of ways, they well and truly are the most irritating kind of people—they are two sides of the same obnoxiously disconnected (and narcissistic) coin, where neither one of them is self-aware enough to realize how they come off, and both of them expect all of their good intentions to be met with open arms in spite of how much they overlook the wants, desires and interests of others.

That said...their inability to connect to others because of their self-absorption while still desiring deep connection, to me, is something i think everyone can relate to at least a little. The unspoken emotionalism of Ziggy and Evelyn—the way they started searching for each other in other people—was both really heartfelt and heartbreaking, and while I know Finn repeatedly said he felt like he related to Ziggy and honestly (in more remembered than present way) so can I. Somehow, I feel like I am in the space in life between him and his mother: still looking to prove yourself, but also aware of how intense and laborious and full of struggle the wider world can be.

Alisha Boe has the most withering gaze I've ever seen (good for her) and it plays so well into making you want to hug Ziggy despite you knowing he's such a pain in the ass in reality—and the scene between him and his mother in her little "enviro friendly" car where he's asking her for help becoming someone worthwhile only for her to unintentionally insult him up and down...god. You feel so much for Ziggy even when you want to fade into your seat trying to avoid his awkwardness, and Finn's ability to be deadly earnest and endearing doing the most insanely cringe things (lmao) is a power I have to commend him readily for.

Evelyn is much tricker. I would have hated her a lot if I was younger, and I think she deserves a lot less empathy than Ziggy in every situation we find her in (though, in so many ways, we realize they are the same...which makes their relationship all the richer. At least to me). Her attempts to project the relationship she wants with Ziggy onto someone else were insanely brutal to watch knowing how much Ziggy longed to connect with her...and the way Kyle wasn't the son she wanted, despite the one she wanted being right there.

Speaking of...Billy Byrk as Kyle was phenomenal. Like. Good enough to make me want to watch more of his movies, and earnest in a way I really wasn't expecting from a secondary character. He was a standout performance right alongside Finn (unsurprising that they are best friends who make movies and do projects together lol) who I definitely think carried some of the empathy you eventually feel for him and Ziggy in regards to Evelyn, which...yeah. I loved him in this.

All and all, it was a solid movie—flat out hilarious at times and full of that kind of upper middle class suburban nonsense you see in a lot of movies laced with emotions I wasn't expecting to feel. You definitely need to have a good gauge of reading expressions to appreciate this movie because a lot of its weight lives in the unspoken, but. I definitely think most people who enjoy indie / A24 and coming of age films will like it. I know I did.

Bonus thoughts:

the scene of ziggy in his room people were talking about was very tame, especially compared to what happened in the audiobook. Its a little awkward, but nothing you couldn't cover your eyes for like 10 seconds and avoid. It's not explicit in any way.

I cannot understate how funny this movie was at times. There were two older people next to me in the theater and we were all laughing consistently the whole 88 minutes lmao

For some reason, Ziggy performing for people and having it mean nothing irl felt a lot like being on Tumblr in some ways. NOT IN A BAD WAY, but maybe that made me extra empathetic to him LOL

FINN LOOKS AT ALL HIS LOVE INTERESTS THE SAME WAY. Its exactly the same with Ziggy with Lila as Mike with Will because that is Finn's "enamored with you" face, and it was intentional in both WYFSTW and ST. I will accept no arguments.

Prepare to be hurt if you have mommy issues I'm TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW because I felt pain and I don't even HAVE those 😭

...I am open to literally any questions about it / thoughts you may also have lmao my DMs are wide open :) also here is a little snippet of Ziggy wisdom I caught LMAO

[puppetshowdown]

Any favourite info-dumps? <:O/genq

I love all of them! But here I'll share a few that really stood out to me! -The Julia one I mentioned before!: "I just….. I am love her. I was SO happy when she was introduced. Her first episode is my comfort media. Autistic representation where it isn’t framed as a bad thing is SO rare in children’s media, and “she does things a little bit differently, in a Julia sort of way” made me CRY. She is so much like me and she makes me so happy. The happy flaps when I saw her on the Sesame Street float at the Macy’s parade nearly hurt my wrist I was so happy. She is the best girl and deserves the best. Her puppet was designed to have a set of arms specifically so that she can stim, and she has a comfort toy like I do and doesn’t like the way paint feels like I don’t and loves to sing like I do and gets overwhelmed by sirens like I do and I just love her SO MUCH. (I didn’t link a picture because there are so many good ones! I like the one where she is looking at a feather, and also the one from the cover of the picture book she initially appeared in <3)" -Audrey II: "want to preface: either the stage version or the '86 movie version works, as both are portrayed by puppets! although neither is canonically a puppet in the story. i couldn't tell from the rules if this was disqualifying or not. BUT if i could get a word in for the movie Audrey II: WHAT A GORGEOUS PUPPET… or should i say SERIES of PUPPET/ANIMATRONIC HYBRIDS! there's somewhere in the ballpark of a dozen Twoies in the film to represent the different growth stages of the plant. they're all beautifully painted with vibrant detail, perfectly matching the high camp tone & setting! the mechanics of the puppet are also intricate and innovative; especially the MOUTH those lip syncs are so accurate and expressive! the largest puppets were actually so heavy that in order to remain accurate to the audio, they had to be operated along to the tracks and filmed at half speed, then sped up in editing… which means that when the actors appear with the plant in those scenes, they're ALSO performing at half speed! the stage play versions are (by necessity) less technical than these puppets, which were fabricated by the Jim Henson company btw, but lots are still really cool; a unique standout is the one from the Pasadena Playhouse production! whew. all this and i didnt even talk about the character… Audrey II is an alien plant that was beamed down to Earth and wants to take over the world. it sings some catchy songs about that. they can fit so much queercoding and slay into this plant. it's a girlboss it's a drag queen it manipulated a young man into committing several murders. we stan." -Spamton: "Hee heehee I am so obsessed with this silly puppet guy. I love how he went from an absolute snazzy lil salesman dude with his red tux, and just gradually turned into a complete disaster of himself. I like how little detail is actually shared about his past, so you're left to wonder if he was actually brought down by circumstances out of his control, or if he brought his failures upon himself and just doesn't want to accept that. I want to give him a hug and he would no doubt try to bargain for my soul in the process"

-Riley Ruckus: "SHES SO GENDER OH MY GOD SHES THIS COOL EVIL SCIENTIST WHO WAS MADE TO BE LIKE. A KIND BUT SLIGHTLY AGGRESSIVE SCIENCE TEACHER FOR A KIDS SHOW, BUT AFTER COMING TO LIFE HAD THAT TWISTED INTO MAD SCIENCE, AND SHE CARES SO MUCH ABOUT HER DOGGO AND SHES SO PRECIOUS AND WOULD ALSO RIP U APART AND IS SO VERY GENDER"

And honestly so many others! I love all the infodumps! From the long passionate paragraphs to the more silly jokey ones They're all so much fun to read!

[pingwen]

Okay I have a lot of these and I kind of want to list them out bullet-point review style

CONICICAL MONOCLE by PRETTY BALANCED: This album is amazing, surreal, sometimes absurd, always ethereal. The opening song is one of the most beautiful musical compositions I've ever heard; the second song is a lovely excersise in almost seussian whimsy, and then the album just keeps going. Every single song feels distinct and yet they all form a coherent single vision; I can't imagine any of these songs in any other album, they just fit together. You have a song written from the perspective of an extremely pissed twelve-year-old. You have a two-part song about a person who drinks acid and then dies from drinking acid. You have a song about the visceral fear of death that makes you feel it, which comes right after an instrumental piece that sounds like the music itself is dying. This album is the first one I think of when I think "albums where I like every single track." I love every single track here.

COUNTERFEIT ARCADE by SHAYFER JAMES: Hey, do you like villain songs? I really, really like villain songs. This album is eleven discreet, grandiose, villainous compositions, all menacing and fun in equal part. This is one of the more fun albums to sing along with in the car, obviously. I feel like I'm devaluing it somewhat by calling it "just villain songs," but, y'know, I absolutely mean it as a compliment: This is an entire album in an honest-to-god musical genre you usually only hear one song at a time in.

DANIEL POWTER by DANIEL POWTER: Do you rember Daniel Powter? You know, the "you had a bad day, you're taking one down, you sing a sad song just to turn it around" guy? So, it turns out all of his songs are just kinda Like That. Daniel Powter by Daniel Powter has absolutely no variety, but if you like Bad Day, you're going to like this entire album. Every single song is just sort of a slightly different spin on Bad Day. It's fantastic.

TEMPORARY RESIDENT by IMAGINARY CITIES: Marti Sarbit's vocal performance absolutely makes this album. She brings such a wistful, almost antiquated blues-rock sincerity to every last track. Temporary Resident is the soundtrack to the pretentious coming-of-age film that exists only in your mind. Temporary Resident is the music that the universe plays whenever someone boards a bus without knowing where it's going. Temporary Resident sounds the way staring out a car window feels. This album gets the "I paid for the mp3s to this album with real money, not even seeking out a physical copy, merely because I wanted to thank the people who made it" award in the field of excellence.

SUPERORGANISM by SUPERORGANISM: Quick qualifier: when I first got this album, the song "Nai's March" came up on shuffle way more often than literally any of my other songs, and now I like it less than the rest of the album. That's not the song's fault, though, that's just a fluke. Superorganism is such a delightfully unique indie-pop showcase. It's so fun and easy to listen to, while not being afraid to sound weird, throwing in sound effects and aimless musical tangents that make everything so much more interesting. I can't imagine you'd ever get bored of any of these songs - not even "Nai's March."

A BNNY NGHTMR II by BNNY RBBT: Everybody's favorite seven-foot-tall musical rabbit is at the top of his (agumented reality) game in his first(?) Halloween album. Halloween music slaps, always, and this album is a must-have on anyone's Halloween playlist. Listen to this every October, or listen to it now, and let it become October in your ears. On most of the albums on this list, I can't pick favorites, but here, Halloween Quiet and Guillotine are clear standouts.

[project1939]

Day 85- Film: The Importance of Being Earnest 

Release date: December 22nd, 1952. 

Studio: Javelin Films 

Genre: Comedy 

Director: Anthony Asquith 

Producer: Teddy Baird, Earl St. John 

Actors: Michael Redgrave, Michael Denison, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Dorothy Tutin 

Plot Summary: An adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s 1895 play, this story is about two male friends, two amorous women who love the name Ernest, and an uppity old Aunt who must give her consent to one of the marriages. 

My Rating (out of five stars): **** 

I will admit with some shame that I had never seen any version of this work by Wilde before. I’m very glad I got to watch this, though- it was delightful and highly amusing. The two things that most stood out to me were Wilde’s witty and cheeky writing and the virtuoso performances of all the actors. There’s little to criticize here. 

The Good: 

The play itself. When I watch movies for the project, I usually jot down any interesting quotes as possibilities to use in my daily opening post. Five minutes into this movie, I had an entire page filled! That just gives you an example of the preponderance of sparkling witty dialogue. 

Every single performance in the film. Everyone was so good; it was an acting masterclass. They all looked the part as well, except for the fact that the two male leads were clearly older than their late 20s. 

Joan Greenwood as Gwendolen Fairfax. I want to highlight her performance especially. Other actors in this got more notice, I think, but she cracked me up more than anyone! Her tone and delivery were so odd and unexpected and hilarious. Any time she spoke, I smiled. 

Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell. She’s generally the one most people list as the standout, with good reason. Every line she spoke was a comedy gift. 

The costumes. They were colorful, elaborate, and beautiful. 

The Technicolor. I was really surprised when the film started and it wasn’t black and white, much less in Technicolor! Thank god it was, though, because it made the costumes so much more stunning and impressive. We also got to see Redgrave’s piercing blue eyes.  

The Bad: 

Like a lot of filmed versions of plays, the camerawork isn’t always the most exciting. It has that kind of “talky” static feel sometimes. But it isn’t severe, and it doesn’t detract from one’s enjoyment of the film. 

[protagonistheavy]

Mario movie. Wahoo! I liked it. It perfectly met my middling expectations.

By no means a revolutionary or epic film, it's just what I wanted. A very pretty and cute romp through the Super Mario world. I'm easily entertained by little references and jingles from all across the games. My most hype moment was seeing King Bob-omb at the wedding, literally pumping my arm in the theater, it's just so great to see that guy -- wish he'd be included in a game. But noticing things like Bob-omb Battlefield, the Wreckers Crew references, Punch-Out pizzeria, even just walking through the sandland of Odyssey, it's all so pretty and smooth. If there was an annoying or overbearing reference, I don't even remember it, I was smiling through the whole movie.

Performance wise yeah the Pratt choice absolutely sucks but not in an offensive way. It's passable enough to get through the movie, I wish he had more energy and that perhaps also the script simply allowed him more energy. Idk why they went with such a downtrodden Mario, I guess because IT'SA THE MOVIE so it has to be moody like this. Uhg more on that later. I felt everyone else was fine, though nothing beats the original voices, I guess I do have to admit that since they went with such a generic-movie tone, it WOULD be pretty silly to hear the original cast acting so theatrical/serious, if that makes sense. Uh yeah and obviously Jack Black Bowser is a huge standout, carries everyone else, any scene with Bowser brings out the best from the other characters. I really hope that in a potential sequel, they include Bowser on the hero's team, to face off a bigger threat like........ Wario. Underrated shotouts to the voice of Kamek and the Blue-Shell Koopa, I actually wish we had more time to see them on their own. Blue-Shell Koopa in particular had a lot of potential, shame he literally fucking dies I guess. Legit I'd like to even see him sneak his way into Mario Kart as a real character -- why the fuck not? He definitely feels like he belongs, and the Bowser-faction needs a more competent figure in their ranks.

Yeah the plot, a lot of weird decisions that I feel are just so capital-m Movie. Not the worst way they could have done things but it begs so many questions, opens up so much weird lore that gets overlooked. Like fucking Mario's family, holy spaghetti, theyre just gonna heap that onto us. It's so weird to see Mario in a "disappointing my dad" plot, especially when it's so shitty, like yeah whoops your dad really did see you as a disappointment, sincerely, up until you became a literal super hero and impressed him. I really think it should've been more about Mario's self, and his feeling of inadequacy in the plumbing business, or feeling like he doesn't belong the way he is, or he's underappreciated by his community -- real plumber things! I do love Luigi's presence in this, I love his weight on emotions with feeling like he's dragging Mario down and Mario feeling the same for him. God I love these brothers and their bond, it was a PERFECT idea separating these two and making that the driving force, to reunite them. I loved the Super Star scene, that first kick from Bowser where they're untouched, OOMPH, I love shit like that. That final fight was definitely satisfying, I guess I only wish we saw Bowser rampaging more -- such a missed moment to not just give him a Super Mushroom and let him become big, or let him feast on power-ups to become crazy powerful, just to fall to the Star. Lots of ways the climax couldve been much better overall, but still fun enough.

Most disappointing aspects... First and foremost, how dare they tease us with Pauline at the beginning, and then don't even bring her back for the conclusion. How hard would it have been to have her be there in the crowd congratulating the Mario Bros, maybe she gives them a sash or the key to the city lmao. Something!! Uh otherwise I feel like Toad is the awkward uninvited friend for a whole road trip, really didn't add anything, had no character arc, felt like a waste of time. I like that Toad is HERE, because yeah, it's Toad! But this was a real boring take. Oh and wtf, where's Toadsworth? Who the fuck is this not-Toadsworth? Little things like this peeve me the most because it's like, what? You have a little guy for this exact role already. Bring him in, he wants to be in the movie! The characters of Mario are so iconic, it's most disappointing to see the places they couldve been, but just... weren't. I guess they didnt want to hire that many celebrity voice actors hahahahsdnbahdnn ahahhhhh AAAAA

Make a sequel, please, I feel like it'd be so much better being able to write its own identity and not be so bound to being the First Movie. Make Wario the main villain, he'd be a fantastic threat and personality to follow-up with, he'd be perfect for animation. Include Princess Daisy and have her use a Mega Mushroom, that's important. Rosalina can swoop in as well, might as make it so there's a Coalition of Princesses or Royalty to help raise the stakes. The sequel writes itself so I really hope it gets it, again I have no high expectations for any Mario movie, but I love Mario and seeing him come to life from the hands of a capable studio is fantastic for me.

[the-velvet-worm]

So... I saw The Batman

Spoilers below the cut 

There was seriously so much good about this movie that anything negative I might be able to say about the story being predictable and the dialogue being a bit basic kind of aren’t worth mentioning. This is not a perfect film, but it is a perfect Batman film. I knew Robert Pattinson was going to crush this role, but he completely exceeded my expectations, the same can be said of Zoë Kravtiz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, John Torturro, and of course, Paul Dano. The Riddler was exactly as fucked up and terrifying as everyone says. 

The cinematography was as flawless as I expected it to be, even the few scenes where I could complain things were too dark to see, were done with a very specific purpose, and allowed for what little color we did see to really pop out. Maybe it’s just because I saw it in IMAX, but the sound design was fucking perfect in this movie. That first scene with the Batmobile, the engine revving up... holy shit, I felt that. I felt Batman’s footsteps, his punches, every little detail. 

I had very high expectations for this Selina Kyle, as she is one of my favorite DC characters, and my god did Zoë deliver. In every sense of the word, she nailed the character. She felt like the most human, the most vulnerable, and the most relatable character in the entire story. Not just for me, the audience, but for Bruce. I actually cannot get over those subtle moments where Bruce/Batman experiences true empathy and human connection with Selina, Alfred, and even with the mayor’s son. Call me a sap, but one of my favorite - and in my eyes the most important - relationships that Bruce Wayne has is with Alfred Pennyworth. I saw a lot of people complaining that Andy Serkis wasn’t in this movie enough, but I don’t agree. When Alfred got blown up I kinda shook my head a little at how reminiscent it was of Aunt May getting blown up by Green Goblin in the first Raimi Spider-Man movie, but it lead to one of my favorite scenes in the movie, one of the ones in which I think Bruce exhibited the most character development. It was truly touching and emotional. 

Another thing I loved that I kind of saw some negativity toward was the third act of the movie - it was legitimately one of my favorite parts. It was tense, exciting, anxiety-inducing, and that’s after the main villain had already been caught! That’s insane! Almost every character got a massive moment to shine at the end too, most notably, of course, (for me) Selina and Batman, and to a lesser extent Bella Reál, a character we got surprisingly little of, but one I admired and enjoyed nonetheless. My two big standout moments of the end, though? Selina saving Bruce and Bruce helping civilians. The latter being the moment that the movie really all came together. That was the exact glimmer of hope the film needed to cap it off. That moment where he helped the woman onto the stretcher and she grabbed his hand for comfort? Goddamn. What a beautiful moment for the film and the character. So many little things that add up to a bigger picture of humanizing Bruce, and Bruce’s journey of learning how to be a better human by being a superhero/vigilante. His worldview was so narrow until he encountered Riddler, until he met Selina, until he almost lost Alfred, and now, he finally understands who he is, and who he - and Batman - should be. This is a Batman I can see with a Robin. This is a Batman I can see with a lot of strong rogues. This the kind of character development you can’t fake. Rob carried it so, so well too. 

Overall I have almost nothing negative to say besides, there was a bit of a slump in the middle for me, but it picked right back up for the end. I guess I should talk about the Joker in the room... I’m not thrilled but I’m also cautious about the introduction of a third cinematic Joker in such a short time. I think Barry Keoghan can certainly pull it off and make the character his own and deliver a great performance, but I don’t want the sequel to this movie to feel too much like The Dark Knight. People are already making comparisons between this movie and Batman Begins, even though there is virtually nothing similar about the two films aside from the Joker tease toward the end lol. If I had to give this movie a score... 10/10. Seriously. It’s that good. I want to go again already but I’ll probably have to wait until next week. I can’t wait for it to be on HBO Max next month (perhaps with a  4-hour cut, if rumors are true) and I can’t wait for more from this movie’s Gotham and wider universe! 

[mrs-gucci]

my thoughts (and thots) on “House of Gucci”

I just wanna put this out there, before we begin: I’m in no way a film guru or a cinema buff of any sort, nor do I really know anything about all the technical stuff. I’m just an Adam Driver fan and person who enjoys watching sexy humans & talented actors on-screen. 

and, just as a reminder: these are my own personal thoughts & opinions. everyone’s entitled to their own thoughts & opinions, and I ask that you please be respectful of mine, even if you may not agree with them :)

**obviously, there will be MAJOR “HOUSE OF GUCCI” SPOILERS ahead. consider yourself warned.**

I guess where I’ll start my “review” of sorts is with the fact that, for what it’s worth, the movie was indeed a bit overhyped (again, in my opinion). that didn’t come as a huge shock to me, necessarily, and I did come into the theater with that in the back of my mind.

now, with that said, I still very much enjoyed the film and I thought it was a very good movie experience. but it certainly wasn’t as “revolutionary” or as utterly mind-blowing as it was made out to be in some of the reviews I read beforehand. 

obviously, Adam and Gaga were the two standouts in the film in terms of acting performances. they truly stole the show and had fantastic on-screen chemistry. I think Adam pulled a bit ahead of Gaga in terms of acting on this one, but perhaps that’s just because I love him and I really, really fell in love with his character.

so...the infamous sex scene. suuuuuper overhyped, sorry y’all. was it hot? yes; I mean, it’s Lady Gaga and Adam Driver. but it was really, really overhyped. (and for anyone wondering, Adam wasn’t the one making the “animalistic noises”. that really, for me personally, was the biggest let down of the whole thing lol)

okay, now let’s talk about Maurizio because I need to talk about this adorably awkward, dorky, sexy cutie pie!!!! heart eyes doesn’t even begin to describe it, y’all!!

my heart literally EXPLODED. I couldn’t stop smiling at him throughout the movie, especially at the beginning. he is one of the cutest, sweetest and dorkiest (but in a very endearing way) young men I’ve ever seen!

when he was on the scooter outside the library and Patrizia asked him whether or not he was gonna ask her on a date, and he was so shocked that she wanted to go on a date with him...I nearly melted right there.

when he showed up at Patrizia’s parent’s house with his belongings and said, basically, “I have no money and I have no job, but I’m in love with your daughter and I’d like to marry her”...I just...I combusted with fluff overload. 

but then, when he slams her up against the wall and kisses the fuck outta her and pounds her like an animal...goddamn😩his entire facade melts and he just turns into this dominant sexy god, I fuckin died 🥵🥵

he’s the best of both worlds, truly. 

now, obviously, I can’t go without mentioning his older and more mature persona. Patrizia is obviously a very manipulative person and a very toxic influence in his life, and she changed him. but he’s still Maurizio, and I never once stopped liking him during the film. I felt bad for him because it was painfully obvious how much she had manipulated him.

he certainly lost himself quite a bit, but I think that he started to find himself again at the very, very end of the movie. unfortunately, he had that opportunity ripped away from him when he was murdered. but, he did begin to sort of come back to himself.

in conclusion: I love him, all phases of him throughout the film, and he is one of my favorite Adam characters. I think Adam did an amazing job with him, in all phases, and I just...I love him, your honor.😍😍🥰🥰

get you a mans that can do both, that’s what I’ll leave y’all with 😏😏

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

i watched the killing eve finale again just now (it’s possible i fast forwarded through all the carolyn bits) and here’s some thoughts!

it’s too bad this show went out with such a whimper, because i would have LOVED to hear more of sandra & jodie’s thoughts on filming this episode and what it was like to finally get to portray eve and v actually hanging out together and being in love. i’m pretty sure all we got was their thoughts on the ending in that elle article? which, i’m guessing they’re both just busy now, or they anticipated that the finale was going to be very poorly received and decided to just go quiet about it, but I WANT TO HEAR THEIR THOUGHTS! i want behind-the-scenes deets!!!!

i think there’s something interesting in how the setting was so wild/rural for this final episode where they’re finally together, since i think a lot of the trappings that kept them apart and gave them obstacles did feel really rooted in the city and in cosmopolitan life, if that makes any sense whatsoever. like, villanelle being very into material things at the beginning, and eve being very accustomed to normal life in her normal flat with her normal husband. i kinda like how we see all that stripped away alongside all the obstacles that were keeping eve and villanelle apart. (but i love anything set in rustic nature, so i’m biased.)

i wonder if there was a deleted scene that showed them going to sleep in the shared sleeping bag, because you KNOW that must have been a very loaded moment.

don’t ... don’t you want me?? (super obsessed with how the lyrics they feature in this scene really do describe the whole villaneve history pretty spot-on)

i’d like to give a shoutout to villanelle stealing that guy’s phone charger and then being like “can i use this??”, which was a true standout hilarious moment for my bf and i the first time we watched it. oh, villanelle! there will never be another one like ya!

it’s so sad to see villanelle genuinely happy to see carolyn and greeting her like you’d normally greet a friend. it’s another one of those little instances of getting to see her more in touch with her humanity and, considering what comes after, IT SUCKS.

i am also struck by how this episode doesn’t have much super memorable, high quality dialogue, since i tend to think of this as a show that has a lot of really iconic dialogue exchanges between eve and v. i think the bill conversation and eve’s wedding speech are both really resonant, but it’s weird to realize how much of the vitality of this episode really just comes from the performances that sandra and jodie are serving up.

i just cannot unsee villanelle as death and eve as the sun in that killing/dancing montage. that had to be on purpose, right?

i was hoping the ending would hit me harder this time around -- that maybe i would shed a tear! -- but it’s just so WEIRD in terms of pacing that i again was just like “???????? i guess????????” did they really just do it all so villanelle could have the blood wings mirroring those shots of her at the start of the season?? say it ain’t so!

the visual of villanelle disappearing is also super strange, in that it simultaneously looks like she’s sinking downwards and floating upwards. also: what even caused that to happen???

how am i supposed to live with the fact that the final lines of dialogue on this very quick-witted show are “jump, eve!” “oh, shit!” “jolly good.” “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” ???

i feel like the interpretation that villanelle knows she’s walking out to her death is not a baseless one; watching that moment, it just really feels like she thinks she’s knowingly looking at eve for the last time.

god, this feels so much like a season finale! i’m trying not to be a “requiem” truther, but life’s just not letting me, hahaha.

(can you believe this show had the nerve to romeo + juliet us at the beginning of the season and titanic us at the end. in a way i respect it because why, yes, villanelle DOES have the heartthrob powers of a 90s leo dicaprio! still, pretty depressing because SHE AND EVE NEVER GOT TO WATCH MOVIES!)

[stylesnews]

“Feeling good in my skin/ I just keep on dancing,” Harry Styles sings in his latest single, “Treat People With Kindness.” And in the song’s exuberant music video -- which has garnered 17 million YouTube views and counting since its debut on New Year’s Day -- he does just that: Wearing a sequined jacket and bow tie, he chassés, spins and flutters jazz hands like an MGM musical star (with a little help from his equally debonair partner, Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge).

Styles shot the video in early 2019 after several weeks of training with choreographer Paul Roberts, a collaborator since his One Direction days. “I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this could be something special,” says Roberts, a veteran stage director and choreographer who’s worked on videos and tours for the likes of Sam Smith, Katy Perry, Diana Ross, and the Spice Girls (their Spiceworld stadium tour).

Watching the explosive fan reaction to Styles’s little known dance talents -- including from the Spice Girls, who've “sent lovely messages" about the video -- Roberts says it seems like "Treat People With Kindness" arrived at the precise right moment. “Most people’s comments are, ‘I’ve not felt that happy for three and a half minutes in a long time,’ or ‘I smiled from ear to ear the whole way through.’ It’s a positive light.”

He spoke to Billboard about Styles’ intensive training process -- and why he wouldn’t be surprised to see him dancing onstage again.

There’s been one pretty overwhelming reaction to this video: “This is the guy who was in the group that insisted they couldn’t dance?!” Did you expect this kind of reaction to Harry dancing? I’ve been with Harry for 10 years: I was with the One Direction boys from the beginning the whole way through their career before they took the hiatus, and they always made a very conscious decision that they didn’t want choreography as part of their brand -- but they did want a kind of disheveled organization in order to allow the cameras and the lighting to stand a chance in terms of presenting them in the best manner possible.

What was very evident to me was that all five of them, and then it obviously became four, they’ve all got their own magic. The only time I’ve experienced that was when I worked with the Spice Girls. I always knew that they had special skills aside from what they were in One Direction, whether it was movement, songwriting, being able to handle the business side of things. For such young lads they were very astute and very decisive.  So, getting together with Harry -- he’s a bit of an alchemist, is Harry. Everything he turns his hand to turns to gold. Where did the initial dance-centric concept come from? Harry and the directors, Ben and Gabe [Turner], sent me a video link to the Nicholas Brothers scene from Stormy Weather and Harry asked me, "How long do you think it would take to dance like this?" I was like, "OK, are you being serious?" "Yeah, I’m being serious."

That is probably one of the most standout dance sequences ever captured on film -- so I knew we were aiming high. I said, "Why don’t we go into a studio and let’s workshop some choreography, some moves, some short sequences, and see what your ability is, see how we can tailor this to make you look the best you can possibly look." Obviously it would take some investment in terms of rehearsal and commitment, I told him it would be mentally and physically exhausting, but I thought, "My God yeah, let’s do it; this will be an adventure."

How long did the whole process take? We started in mid-January 2019, and we rehearsed and workshopped for about four to five weeks before the shoot, every day. Both Harry and Phoebe had other things going on, so, for instance, Phoebe was working on the new Bond movie in Canada, so I sent my assistant to Canada to work with her. I stayed in the U.K. with Harry, and then we went to L.A. where Harry shot two more videos, for “Watermelon Sugar” and “Falling.”

At the end of the “Watermelon Sugar” shoot, he wrapped, got in his car, came to the dance studio and we rehearsed into the night. Knowing how short a time you sometimes get with artists even for really big performances, I thought the rehearsals would dilute and we’d lose momentum, but both Phoebe and Harry were so committed.

What was the process in the studio like with Harry? We didn’t even use his [vocal] track to begin with -- we used different big band songs, some contemporary alternative music. It was just about finding his [movement] language first and foremost.  Then we developed the choreography and sent it to the directors, who gave us feedback. We enhanced the work a bit more, and then once we had some really solid sequences, Ben and Gabe storyboarded the scenes against the timeline of the music.

At this point Harry and Phoebe were still working separately, and then we joined forces in London, where we really started to refine these sequences of choreography we’d developed, trying to find the finesse and the style, almost making sense of the movement for them so they felt they had a dancer’s way of working the movement through the body. You’ve worked with a wide variety of artists, many of whom aren’t dancers first. How do you find, as you put it, the “language” of movement that makes sense for each of them as individuals?

I think the general answer is really communicating -- listening and understanding what the artist’s desire is. And also collaborating, so you don’t get too lost in yourself as a choreographer. What looks good on you might not transcend to the artist, or even necessarily the dancers.

With Harry, what was important within the language of the choreography was that it felt joyful and had personality. Him and Phoebe, with the work she’s done with Fleabag, you associate them and what they do with a sense of style, a real confidence, but at the heart of it it’s entertainment. And with the amount of time and budget we had, which was such a luxury in this day and age, we wanted to do something that pushed both of them out of their comfort zones. We tried to make it as athletic as possible but without compromising them as artists and becoming too comedic. We wanted it to be a bit quaint and cute in places, but we definitely didn’t want it to be thought of as nonsensical or silly.

Harry’s movement in the video is so crisp and precise, even his hands and arm extension look very dancerly. Did that come through a lot of specific work with you? As a songwriter and artist, for Harry it’s about detail, about pushing yourself to be the best. He’s always got questions: "Why are we doing that? Should we be doing this?" We got to a point during the rehearsal period where I brought in a ballet teacher, really to just get Harry and Phoebe to open themselves up from behind their shoulder blades, have an idea of extension, the lines that extend from your center all the way to the tip of your finger. I’d be saying, “Your arms Harry, your arm line!” Asking him to push his shoulders down, lift his carriage up, extend through his breast. And when he hit those lines, he’d be like, “Oh yeah, that feels different.” It’s funny: We spent a couple days apart -- he had to go off and do a gig somewhere -- and I was like, “I hope you’re rehearsing when you’ve got some downtime, dude!” And he sent me a picture in the gym with his arms in the most beautiful balletic arm line! I was like, "Yes, by George, you’ve got it!" Besides the Nicholas Brothers, did you have any particular dance references in mind for the feel of the choreography? I just delved into the MGM archives. Obviously [Fred] Astaire and [Gene] Kelly, the two greats -- especially with Astaire, we loved how sometimes it seems so effortless yet a bit throwaway, not totally totally perfect always.  We enjoyed the moments from him of “I’ll just do a bit of this,” “I’ll just walk off camera left,” the dropping in and out of movement.  We loved the duet “Moses Supposes” from Singin’ in the Rain, for Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor -- we loved the camaraderie between them, which felt a bit goofball at times, and just that wry smile, the look to the left, knowing your partner is there and has got your back. It feels fizzy, it feels joyful.

And yes, there was a massive core of MGM-ism, but at the same time an absolute huge dollop of Harry-and-Phoebe-ism. It was important to us to feel a bit more contemporary, so again we stay true to Harry and Phoebe as artists. Has Harry indicated any interest in dancing more going forward?

We had a conversation back at the end of the summer about how much we enjoyed the process, and I know he was doing another project where choreography was involved, so we were just talking about it and how he felt. Coming from where he came from to what he was about to do, he felt he could be pushed even further. I don’t know if he got the bug, or if it’s just the way he is as a person, very inquisitive and wanting to keep elevating himself. There’s now been some talk on social media that it can’t be long before Harry does Broadway. What do you think?

I mean, I think with Harry Styles, anything is possible, is it not? I mean, I’m sure because he’s tasted the dance, he’ll inject that along the line in his career. It won’t necessarily be out-and-out dancing, but I guess it’s a bit like Bowie used to do, isn’t it? It’s the showmanship and presentation of the performance. Who knows? He’s just so open-minded and open-hearted — and because he’s so open it allows the universe to come back at him and he’s able to do anything he sets his mind to.  

[tapedecking]

MIXTAPE #4 (15/08/22)

Rapture - Blondie

Album: Autoamerican

Year: 1980

Track: Single (Post-Release: 1981)

As I’ve said before, I don’t collect vinyl due to it being a costly hobby, but I do like having physical media, and so I’ve amassed a sizable collection of CDs. This is thanks, in no small part, to MusicMagpie’s 4 for £8 offer. And so whilst I was in Australia, in addition to the stack I brought home with me, I also ordered around 10 CDs that were waiting at home for me upon my arrival, one of which was Blondie’s Greatest Hits. It’s a fantastic compilation, and whilst listening through, I realised, for the first time, just how long Rapture is. Also whilst in Australia, my girlfriend and I did karaoke to this song, because she knows the entire rap off by heart. After she had shown off her rapping skills, we skipped to the next track, and I think that may be why I never realised how long this song is - all anyone ever remembers is the rap. To be fair, it is the best part.

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They’ll Soon Discover - The Shins

Album: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Music from the Movie and More...

Year: 2004

Track: Album Track

As a kid, I was never that big into Spongebob. I liked it, and I’d quite happily watch it, but only if there wasn’t anything better on Cartoon Network. But as a kid, I did really connect with the movie. And it’s a fantastic animated movie - just a couple years back I rewatched it with a couple of friends, and not only does it still hold up, but some of the gags I genuinely found hilarious. The standout for me was when Dennis the Bounty Hunter takes off his sunglasses to investigate something, only for there to be an identical pair of sunglasses under them, which he leaves on. A joke funnier in execution than description for sure, but it’s a great film, with a surprisingly great soundtrack. The soundtrack has contributions from such a range of artists, including Avril Lavigne, The Flaming Lips, Wilco and Mötorhead, as well as songs from the film performed by the characters’ original voice actors. This Shins track has got to be my favourite off the soundtrack, although I’m pretty sure it never made it into the film proper.

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Scarlet [The War on Drugs Remix] - The Rolling Stones feat. Jimmy Page

Album: Goats Head Soup (2020 Reissue)

Year: 2020

Track: Single (Pre-Release: 2020)

I’m sure I’ve said it on here before, but I’ll say it again, I love odd, obscure songs. And my favourite odd, obscure songs are collaborations between artists that A) you wouldn’t expect, or B) just had no clue existed. This track falls into both categories, and - as a bonus - is a three-way collaboration. After recording a set with Led Zeppelin back in 1974, guitarist Jimmy Page stuck around and recorded a few tracks with the next band booked in for that day - you guessed it, The Rolling Stones. This fun, classic rock ditty went unreleased until 2020, as it was deemed “not a Rolling Stones song”, and when it finally was released, it was remixed by both The Killers and The War on Drugs. Anyone from the UK under 40 would know The Killers - no party or club night is complete without an appearance from Mr. Brightside, but The War on Drugs I had become familiar with after my girlfriend recommended Lost In the Dream to me. I think that their remix of this track is the best version released, with this version feeling the most lively and energetic.

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Into My Arms - Nell Smith & The Flaming Lips

Album: Where the Viaduct Looms

Year: 2021

Track: Album Track

Speaking of odd collaborations, in my aforementioned Australia CD stack was The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, an album consisting of collaborations between The Flaming Lips and an assortment of eclectic artists, including Ke$ha, Bon Iver, Tame Impala, Nick Cave and Yoko Ono. The standout on the album for me was the inappropriately titled but surprising sweet sounding “Helping the Retarded to Know God”, which featured Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. However, I can’t put that track in this playlist, as the album isn’t on Spotify in my region, and so I’m going with a different weird Flaming Lips collab. This album by relative unknown Nell Smith is a Nick Cave tribute album that features The Flaming Lips as her backing band on every track. This song, as well as Chain Reaction by Joy Downer feat. Beck, makes me wonder how these unknown artists manage to work with such well known, established artists. They have the talent, no doubt, but what was the impetus for the collab? Same record label? Knowing a guy who knows a guy who knows Wayne Coyne? It seems odd to me, but I’m not complaining.

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Sugar Water - Cibo Matto

Album: Viva! La Woman

Year: 1996

Track: Album Track

I’m you’re a big ol’ nerd like I am, you may be aware that the Saturday just gone was the August 2022 Pokemon Go Community Day! My girlfriend got me playing whilst we were isolating with Covid, and ever since I’ve been absolutely hooked, so much so that I’ve committed to participating in every Community Day and to completing every special event research and all that stuff. And so on Saturday, I spent 11am to 2pm roaming about a local park, catching hundreds of Galarian Zigzagoons, and whilst doing so, I listened to a few albums, including this one. I was introduced to Cibo Matto through Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the best television show of all time), when this track was performed live at The Bronze. I then encountered Cibo Matto again whilst listening to the Jet Set Radio soundtrack, which features Birthday Cake (also off of this album). Having enjoyed both tracks, I began diving into their records starting with Stereo Type A, and then moving onto this, their debut album. Both albums showcase such a range of musical styles, whilst always feeling fun and interesting, and this album in particular feels so cohesive - the theme of food is so prevalent throughout, it almost feels like a concept album.

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Goody Two Shoes - Adam Ant

Album: Friend or Foe

Year: 1982

Track: Single (Pre-Release: 1982)

Also whilst in Australia, my girlfriend and I began watching The Umbrella Academy together. She had already seen it, and, me being an aspiring TV writer, she wanted to see what I made of it - she knew I enjoyed superhero shows, and she said that the soundtrack would be right up my alley. Having finished the first season together, I think the season is pretty awful - boring main characters (Five excluded), clichéd plots, and metric tonnes of missed opportunities - but I’ll tell you what, she was right about the soundtrack. Netflix went all out with the licenced tracks for the show, with the likes of The Kinks, They Might Be Giants, Queen and Nina Simone all being heard in just the first few episodes. Unfortunately the stacked music line-up doesn’t make up for the subpar writing, with the most egregious decision to be giving Klaus major character development off-screen, inbetween episodes! Would it have been so hard to cut some of the filler from the other episodes (perhaps the entirety of The Day That Wasn’t?) and dedicate an episode to showing Klaus’ growth and his falling in love with David in Vietnam, giving him a focused character development episode all to himself, a la Buffy’s The Zeppo?

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I Just Threw Out the Love of my Dreams - Weezer

Album: “The Good Life” single

Year: 1996

Track: B-Side

Whilst going through a very rough breakup a few years back, there were a few albums I’d listen to on repeat, and Pinkerton was one of them. I loved the Blue Album when I first heard it, but it took me a few listens to connect with Pinkerton, but once it hit, it became one of my top ten albums of all time. I loved the sound and the uncomfortably raw and honest lyrics, and so I sought out every Weezer song from that era, before they shaved off any and all honesty for the Green Album. I listened to every Pinkerton b-side, and this track was my favourite of them - in fact, it became one of my all time favourite Weezer songs. And it was such an odd one - a relic of Pinkerton’s former identity, Songs From the Black Hole, with lead vocals not by Rivers Cuomo, but by That Dog’s Rachel Haden. I’d listen to the song, and the title lyric, and I’d wonder if the girl I was no longer with was thinking that about me. And it felt like it was my little song, all for me, in a way. Sure, I shared it with friends, but this obscure, weird little b-side was MY discovery. And then, something happened. I have no idea why or exactly when, but the song became a TikTok meme. I remember my girlfriend showing a TikTok she had found, and saying to me, “recognise the song?” The song blew up for some reason, and is now number seven in Weezer’s top tracks on Spotify, with over ten million listens - a far cry from the almost-million it was at back when I first stumbled upon it. It’s great that such a brilliant and unknown b-side is now receiving the popularity it never got back in ‘96 (not dissimilar to what happened with Harness Your Hopes by Pavement), but alas, what of my pretentious music cred?

[365days365movies]

Horror October IV: The Wolf Man (1941) - Review

Have I mentioned how I started watching horror movies?

I watched Animal Planet almost exclusively as a kid. Hell, I still watch some shows (love The Zoo, lemme tell ya), but this was back in the Golden Age of Animal Planet, the early 2000s. Emergency Vets, Animal Cops, The Most eXtreme (OH MY GOD THE MOST EXTREME THAT WAS MY SHIT); and let’s NEVER forget The Crocodile Hunter and The Jeff Corwin Experience. God, those were the days.

But they’d also occasionally have non-animal related content, usually related to the Discovery Channel networks. One of these programs came around Halloween-time, and it was a countdown of wild horror movie moments hosted by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. And I was, like 13, and Elvira was...I mean, it’s Elvira. I was a dumb hormonal teenager, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME

Anyway, in said countdown was a clip of a remarkable transformation. I think it was near the top, maybe even number one of the list. And that was a scene from the 1981 John Landis horror comedy An American Werewolf in London. A few years earlier, I’d accidentally picked up the film in a library and watched it, not realizing that...well, if you haven’t seen it, there’s a LOT of blood in that movie, and child me hadn’t been ready. But now, teenage 365 was ready to see this scene from that movie. And lemme tell ya...I was all in.

If you haven’t seen the transformation scene from An American Werewolf in London, you should. Even if you don’t watch the entire film (and it’s good, so feel free to do so), that scene is astonishing. Because of that, werewolves stuck with me throughout y adolescence, until I finally watched the film in my later teens. And, yeah, I loved it. The film started my minor foray into horror, and that eventually started my foray into film appreciation in general!

But that’s not the only reason werewolves have a special place in my heart. In case you couldn’t tell from that last post, wolves have a special place in my heart as well. Some of you older folks may remember a craze in the ‘90s where you could adopt wild animals. You can do that now with the WWF (please go here to do so), but the craze back then was adopting wolves. And lemme tell ya, I had a wolf poster in my room for years, with a picture of the wolf I had “adopted”.

I also read a lot of wolf-based fiction as a kid. I always loved The Jungle Book, and do to this day. Jean Craighead George’s Julie and the Wolves was one of my favorite books, as were its two sequels. And I remember that one of the things I most wanted to see as a kid was a real, live wolf. And even though I actually ended up studying birds primarily, wolves have always been special to me. And so, with that said...

What about The Wolf Man? I did like the movie...but...

Maybe you should read the Review below. If you want to, check out the previous two posts (Part I | Part II), which contain a recap of the film!

Review

Cast and Acting: 7/10

So, uh, hear me out. Compared to Lugosi and Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr. is...worse. He’s worse than them, I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I liked him fine enough, yeah, but he’s nowhere near as charming. And for most of the movie, whenever he appeared, I thought two things. It was either: “Man, when is this dude gonna turn into the Wolf Man?”; or it was: “How in the hell am I supposed to believe that Claude Rains is this dude’s dad?” Because, yeah, what the fuck? In fact, with the exception of Rains, what the hell was with the casting in this movie? It takes place in Wales, and I had to look that up to be certain. And yet, Rains is the only person who really TRIES to do a British accent (mostly because he’s British). Evelyn Ankers, also British, tries for a hot second until basically giving up. Otherwise, she’s fine. So is everybody else, even Chaney. He’s just not the standout performance for me. And who was? Well, Rains was fantastic, as was Bela Lugosi for the five seconds he was on screen. But surprisingly...

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Maria Ouspenskaya? Really? But she’s got a bit part, and she’s barely in the movie! And what about Chaney’s performance as the Wolf Man? Wasn’t that great? Well, yeah, actually, Chaney did great in make-up, and I really enjoyed it when the Wolf Man was on screen. That was cool. But in terms of characters that have a line, and that make an impact in the film, for whatever reason, Maria’s performance as the Romani Maleva really brought me into the movie! She exudes the atmosphere necessary for the film to feel the way it does. Other than acting as the deus ex-position of the film, she’s also got this haunted air about her that she REALLY puts to good effect! Yeah, for whatever reason, Maria Ouspenskaya is actually my hold-out performance! It’s her in first, then Chaney (as the Wolf Man) in second, and Claude Rains in third. I know, I’m surprised too!

Plot and Writing: 7/10

This is maybe the most generic plot you could have for a werewolf movie. And, uh..it works. Seriously, it works! If it ain’t broke, right? The writing isn’t perfect, but Curt Siodmak still did a pretty good job with it. Sure, there are a few plot holes and dropped ideas now and then. We bring up Larry’s dead brother and never do anything with it, for example. Also, why was Bela clearly a wolf, but Larry was a Wolf Man? And for a town that knows about werewolves, how does nobody from the town actually believe in them? So, yeah, not perfect. Still quite engaging, though, and not badly written by any means. Not bad, Curt, not bad at all. Also, I didn’t mention this, but hearing the slur word for Romani so many times eventually offended ME, a black guy. I know it was the 1940s, but...goddamn, man, they said it a LOT.

Directing and Cinematography: 8/10

Honestly, I dug Robert Waggner’s direction and Joseph Valentine’s cinematography! Especially when Chaney’s being shot through the transformation. I can’t claim that this film is groundbreaking, or even particularly exemplary, BUT...doesn’t mean it’s bad! Like I said, I enjoyed it, and I don’t have any issues with it! Moving on, since I don’t have much to say for this one.

Production and Art Design: 10/10

Does the Wolf Man look like a dude in a lot of makeup? Absolutely he does. However...GODDAMN DO I LOVE HIM. I’m serious, Chaney does FANTASTIC with acting through the makeup, which is partially on his acting skill. However, the makeup itself is still great-looking to me. Clearly artificial, but still somehow convincing! It works with the performance to make the human-animal hybrid that the film was meant to feature.

And let’s not forget the sets! Set mostly within the forest for these scenes, it brings us into a realm of folklore and mystery, steeped in fog and drenched in blood. It works. Goddamn it, it works! Maybe it’s not the best ever, but shit...it enveloped me really well. I think all of these films have done that, even if I know they’re shot on the Universal Studios set. What can I say? I love me a good classic!

Music and Editing: 8/10

Music by Hans Salter, Frank Skinner, and Charles Previn is good. Editing by Ted Kent is also good, and the abrupt ending actually really works this time for me. And, uh...yup. Sure are pretty good. I, uh...I actually just don’t have much to say? They’re both good, but nothing really stuck out to me. Plus, while the Wolf Man’s climactic leitmotif is nice, it’s also not particularly identifiable. Call me spoiled by villainous leitmotifs in film, but it’s all pretty standard for the time period. It’s good. That’s, uh...that’s what I gots.

It’s an 80%, and I feel bad. Because, again...

...I really do like this movie! However...it may not make it to my annual traditions. Yeah, sorry, I like it, and I’ll gladly watch it again, but...it’s not my favorite of the Universal Monster movies, sadly. And honestly...I think that’s fitting. Because this one’s a good Universal Monster Movie to stop on. 

Not for the month, mind you, but for these kind of films. Time to move past the monsters, and onto something else. It’s funny actually, because I’ve covered almost all of the cereal monsters! You know what I mean, right? Fruit Brute, Franken Berry, Count Chocula, those guys?

Yeah, those guys! Didn’t do Fruity Yummy Mummy, but that one was discontinued anyway. But yeah, I’ve done all of the three big ones! Chocla, Franken Berry, and Boo...oh. OH. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

Next: Poltergeist (1982), dir. Tobe Hooper

[newmusickarl]

Album & EP Recommendations

If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power by Halsey

Halsey’s evolution across her career has been quite something to witness. Having begun her career in pure pop territory, her artistry has developed over time with each new record seeing the American singer-songwriter up the ambition and scope of her music. Now with this her fourth album, Halsey has gone bigger than ever, teaming up with Nine Inch Nails members and Oscar-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for her boldest work to date.

Produced entirely by Reznor and Ross, Halsey describes this new record as “a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth.” Naturally with any concept record there is going to be a cinematic feel, however Halsey has gone one step further and even delivered a full theatrical film to accompany the album, the trailer for which you can watch above. Although I am yet to see the film, there is no doubt that the musical portion is a mightily ambitious and accomplished project, with each song seamlessly segueing into the next despite the array of styles and genres across each track.

It may still be a pop record at the heart, but with the masterful touch of Reznor and Ross, Halsey also brings in some industrial rock elements, as well as a bit of pop punk in places too. However, it is not just sonically that Halsey pushes the boundaries but also thematically as well, using the album’s concept to press the issue of feminism and misogyny within the lyrics. Arguably what’s most striking about this record though is how tightly constructed everything is here – under the watchful eye of Reznor and Ross, the dramatic production is inch-perfect.

Most importantly, the songs here are just fantastic, from the religious imagery and glistening synths that lace the wonderful melody of Bells of Santa Fe, to the raw, grungy guitars of You asked for this. There’s also the atmospheric piano ballad 1121, where Halsey really flexes her impressive vocal cords. Pulsating, stylish electro-pop single I am not a woman, I’m a god is another standout. Once you have been amazed by all of this, the gentle plucking and raindrop like xylophone of stunning closer Ya’aburnee arrives to really blow things away.

In a year packed full of outstanding pop records, Halsey has delivered, for my money, one of the best of the lot. With Reznor and Ross holding the reigns, they help Halsey deliver on her epic vision with both style and control. It’s one thing to attempt a record like this, it’s another thing to pull it off as expertly and vibrantly as this – hats off for this one!

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Screen Violence by CHVRCHES

Also delivering their fourth album this week was Scottish synth-pop group CHVRCHES who, whilst predominantly maintaining their vintage sound, have lyrically pushed themselves into darker territory on this new record. Probably their finest work since their debut, frontwoman Lauren Mayberry takes no prisoners as she tackles sexism and misogyny, calling upon her own experiences within the industry to really illustrate the issues being put front and centre.  

This is highlighted best on electric single Good Girls, a track Mayberry wrote “after listening to some friends arguing about the present-day implications of loving certain problematic male artists – I was struck by the lengths that people would go to in order to excuse their heroes and how that was so juxtaposed to my own experiences in the world.”

Other highlights include He Said She Said, a glistening synth-driven pop banger that’s contrasted against razor-sharp lyrics with a defiant message at its core – catchy, but also powerful and thought-provoking. There’s also the superb collaboration with The Cure legend Robert Smith, How Not to Drown, which is a moody, atmospheric, and synth-soaked belter of a track. Although it is incredible right the way through, the real spine-tingling moment comes during the song’s outro thanks to the ghostly vocals of Smith being cast over some hauntingly melodic guitars. Outside of the singles, the rawness of heartbreaking closer Better If You Don’t leaves the biggest impression.

All in all, this album ranks amongst their best work and although it may not be quite as dramatic or impressionable as Halsey’s album, there’s still plenty to which you’ll want to digest and ultimately keep returning.

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How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? By Big Red Machine

The National’s Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon have certainly kept themselves busy over lockdown. It seems they weren’t satisfied with just taking Taylor Swift’s music to incredible new heights on 2020’s folklore and evermore, as they have now also released their second album under their Big Red Machine guise. The most noticeable thing about this second record is that the duo have extended their collaboration further this time around, bringing in renowned artists such as Ben Howard, Sharon Van Etten, Lisa Hannigan and Fleet Foxes, as well as two more collaborations with Miss Swift herself.

Given the talent involved, it is no surprise that this makes for a really special and stunning collection of songs. There’s wonderful electro-folk track Mimi, which sees singer-songwriter Ilsey Juber join Justin Vernon on lead vocal duties. Phoenix sees Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes and Anaïs Mitchell join in for a wonderful, horn-backed number. This track in fact isn’t the only time Anaïs Mitchell steals the show, as her beautiful, soothing vocal performances on opener Latter Days and closer New Auburn arguably provide the two best moments of the entire album.

The two tracks with Taylor Swift are also fantastic, with Renegade offering a sweet, pop cut that wouldn’t be out of place on either of Swift’s last two records. The better of the two though is Birch, a piano-driven, string-tinged ballad which sees Swift simply providing back-up vocals to Vernon’s haunting folky croons. It’s stunning and possibly my new favourite collaboration between the three artists.

Ultimately this is just a superb album, with Dessner and Vernon thriving alongside their chosen collaborators for a collection of songs that will frequently both move and astound you.

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Donda by Kanye West

Easily the most talked about album of the week, after several launch events and many, many delays, Kanye West finally released his long-awaited tenth studio album, Donda. Now anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of excessive, bloated albums, so with Donda clocking in at almost 2 hours long it was always going to struggle to win me over.

As expected, this is another West project that struggles with inconsistency, with moments of brilliance balanced out with plenty of moments that ultimately underwhelm. Although it has more high points than Ye and the production is more polished than Jesus Is King, there is no track as good as Ghost Town and sonically I found it less inspired than Jesus Is King in many ways. I’m not sure just yet if this is indeed the worst West album, but it is certainly down there in the bottom half for me.

That said, there are still some great moments to be found here. Once you get passed the massively irritating Donda Chant opener (honestly, so painful!), the Jay-Z featuring Jail offers an anthemic rock-influenced gem to get the album started properly. From there The Weeknd featuring Hurricane, the Lauryn Hill sampling Believe What I Say, the heavenly melody of Kid Cudi feature Moon and the organ-backed closer No Child Left Behind provide some of the other highlights. However possibly the finest moment comes in the form of Jesus Lord, a 9-minute epic that sees West deliver some of his best bars in years, returning to the social-consciousness that made him a star in the first place.

If you are a fan of West’s recent gospel-influenced work, then this album will reward you for your patience if you stick with it. For me, although there are some moments I enjoyed, the length was just too much, with this album having the same inconsistency problem that The Life of Pablo had but without reaching the same heights as that album did when it was at its best. Disappointing, but still somewhat worthwhile.

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The Awesome Album by Mouse Rat

And finally on the albums front, if like me you are a big Parks & Recreation fan, you’ll be pleased to hear that Chris Pratt’s fictional band from the show, Mouse Rat, have finally released their debut album this week. Featuring classics such as 5,000 Candle In The Wind and The Pit, this one is a lot of fun for fans of the show.

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Tracks of the Week

Good Ones by Charli XCX

Coming off the back of the definitive lockdown album How I’m Feeling Now that earned her both a Mercury Prize nomination and a place in my Top 5 albums of 2020, Charli XCX has returned with a new synth-driven banger that packs in an insanely catchy hook and wonderful 80s vibes.

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Family Ties by Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar

Also making his return this week was King Kendrick who delivered a fantastic new collaboration with his cousin Baby Keem. Over a brilliant horn-driven beat, the two family members go toe-to-toe and bar-to-bar across this concise hip-hop banger.

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Alone by Rag N Bone Man & Nothing But Thieves

A remix of a track from Rory Graham’s latest album Life By Misadventure, this version sees Conor Mason of Nothing But Thieves join in on vocals, along with some triumphant rock production that replaces the stripped back nature of the album cut.

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Spirit Power & Soul by Johnny Marr

The brilliant first track from his forthcoming new EP, Spirit Power & Soul finds legendary guitarist Johnny Marr in fine form, sonically calling back to his days with Bernard Sumner in Electronic. Built on a masterful central riff, pulsating synths and a big anthemic chorus, it’s a belter!

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Nothing Else Matters by Chris Stapleton

And finally this week, we’ve had plenty of great, unique covers of Nothing Else Matters by Metallica already this year, with Miley Cyrus and Phoebe Bridgers already offering their own take on the classic song. However, I’ve always got time for another and this 8-minute epic from country singer Chris Stapleton is just as dazzling, thanks to some amazing bluesy guitars and his textured vocal performance.

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