Cate Blanchett gives an Oscar nominated performance as Lydia Tar, an *EGOT winning composer and conductor who is starting to spiral in real time. Written and directed by Todd Field,the film is an intense and claustrophobic study of genius, identity, cancel culture and the corrosive effects of social media. The camera acts effectively as aContinue reading “Film Review : Tar (2022)”
Tag Archives: Pop culture
That Mitchell and Webb Look- Series 1(2006)
The first series of ‘That Mitchell and Webb Look’ is by far the best. It came along at exactly the right time, 2006, when sketch comedy shows seemed moribund. Melding their contrasting ‘Peep Show’ personas with outright absurdism, it was very silly and often inspired. There was ‘Numberwang’, the quiz show with no discernible rules;Continue reading “That Mitchell and Webb Look- Series 1(2006)”
The Generation X Problem
There has been a lot of discourse lately on us, the forgotten generation. We’re Generation X, late forties- mid fifties. We grew up with landlines, power cuts, Yuppies, Kylie in ‘Neighbours’, and the “me first” hedonism of Thatcherism and Reaganomics. We were only just becoming computer- literate and mobile phones were but a distant dreamContinue reading “The Generation X Problem”
Boom! An Explosive Farewell to River City
Angus and bestie Boab (Scott Fletcher and Stephen Purdon) Top: Frank Gallagher as Lenny Murdoch. Bawbags, burrrds, dysfunctional families and gangsters: few TV soaps cut to the heart of Glasgow humanity like ‘River City’. But alas, it is no more, and last night’s episode was the final, after twenty four crazy years. A few spoilersContinue reading “Boom! An Explosive Farewell to River City”
Should’ve Been A Hit: Addis Black Widow- Innocent
There was a period in the mid-nineties when De La Soul’s positive hip hop permeated through to other artists. There was the cheesy but loving (Arrested Development, Dream Warriors’ later era) and the more credible (Jurassic 5). They mined the sunnier side of funk jams and yet the lyrics were still spicy. So it wasContinue reading “Should’ve Been A Hit: Addis Black Widow- Innocent”
Tim Curry Was Hot
Said it before and I’ll say it again, the Rocky Horror film is overrated shit, but for Tim Curry, the naughty tomcat. RIP, TC.. Top Cat! The purr, the pout, the sass, the strut, the mangled RP pronunci… ation. No one could come close to his Dr Frank -N -Furter. Nobody would dare. Props tooContinue reading “Tim Curry Was Hot”
Farewell, Polka Dot Queen 🎨
Id been thinking a lot about the great Yayoi Kusama lately, about how indefatigable she was. Now she’s passed away at the age of 97 and I wished I’d written about her sooner. The Polka Dot Queen is dead. She represented modernity in art like few others, painting garish polka dots and pumpkins onto prettyContinue reading “Farewell, Polka Dot Queen 🎨”
Dolly Forever
Dolly has left us. What can we say that hasn’t already been said? Singer, songwriter, philanthropist, icon, champion of LGBTQI rights, Grammy Award winner, Hollywood Star of Fame winner, actor, theme park creator. 100 million records sold worldwide, endlessly quotable, forever recognised, and not bad for a lil gal who grew up- the fourth childContinue reading “Dolly Forever”
Film Review : Bardot
Quelle desastre! Alain Berliner’s documentary on Brigitte Bardot, which traces her turbulent childhood in a straitlaced Catholic family, to becoming the ultimate French sex siren, to animal rights activist living in La Madrague, St. Tropez in her dotage, is an utter hagiography. You’d think she walked on water. Rushing through her childhood , where weContinue reading “Film Review : Bardot”
Kate Bush’s Influences
Pics of Kate Bush: John Carder Bush J W Waterhouse, ‘The Lady of Shallot’. Kate Bush was always upfront in her literary and artistic influences. She essayed The Brontes of course, but also Tennyson, Shakespeare and John William Waterhouse. Her Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic was unique in a time of punk, prog and so on, but theContinue reading “Kate Bush’s Influences”
Hit The North 