Ahhh, Peter Capaldi, the dapper, mild -mannered thespian and for a whole generation, forever ‘Dr Who’. But undercover of darkness, he transformed into Malcolm Tucker, godfather of spin, Beelzebub in a suit, and *wink* not at all based on Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair’s right-hand man. ‘The Thick of It ‘, created by the brilliant ArmandoContinue reading “Malcolm Tucker’s Rough Guide to Lyrical Profanity”
Tag Archives: Satire
“It’s Alright”… A public announcement from ‘The Day Today ‘
Who, prithee, can we count on in times like these? Who’ll be there in our hour of need, when all seems lost? Russell Brand is struggling to find appropriate pages of comforting verse in his bible; Trump is struggling in general, and the world remains as divided- and divisive – as ever. Let us turnContinue reading ““It’s Alright”… A public announcement from ‘The Day Today ‘”
Lost In Music: The Shamen- Jesus Loves Amerika
And lo! Trump did heal the sick, the poor, the needy and the liberal… Anyone else enjoying the mass trolling Donald Jesus Trump is getting right now? ” I wasn’t Jesus, I was a doctor”, he insisted, and the world collectively guffawed in response. Which doctor are we talking here? Who? Zhivago? Pepper? Beat? Finally,Continue reading “Lost In Music: The Shamen- Jesus Loves Amerika”
Overlooked Classic: To Die For
Ordinarily, there’s something about Nicole Kidman that gets under my skin. Perhaps it’s the vocal fry, the somewhat tired vampish persona, or the fact that she’s really rather limited as an actor. She lacks a little presence, she seems vapid and a little dead behind the eyes onscreen. So perhaps this is why the onlyContinue reading “Overlooked Classic: To Die For”
It’s War!!!
The French have a saying: “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme”, which translates as “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. So it is with politics. Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris remain two of my favourite satirists and their classic 90s news parody The Day Today still holds up well, asContinue reading “It’s War!!!”
Donald Trump Photo Dump
Happy Valentine’s Day,y’all. Some of his finest looks for you to savour in perpetuity… sorry ladies,he’s spoken for. Sorta. Dominick Reuter/Reuters Cartman when he discovers irony. Carlo Allegri/Reuters Making a bigly fist of politics. Carlos Barria/Reuters That time a journalist asked him his opinion about the separation of church and state. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Uncle DonContinue reading “Donald Trump Photo Dump”
Vintage Film Review: Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things (1972)
There is a reason that some film directors are regarded as maestros of the genre, whereas others are relegated to cult status, and so by extension are their products mere cult fodder. This 1972 film sits firmly and comfortably in the latter category. With all the scares of ‘Scooby-Doo’, plus some of the wardrobe, directorContinue reading “Vintage Film Review: Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things (1972)”
Film Review: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On
Dean Fleischer Camp and Jenny Slate’s mockumentary is one of the most lovely family films I’ve ever seen. In the hands of Disney, it probably would have been a treacly exercise in trite sentimentality, but leave it to independent filmmakers to create something pithy, poignant and rather beautiful. Marcel (adorably voiced by Slate) is indeedContinue reading “Film Review: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On”
The Film Surprise Of 2025
Yet again, I’m in the minority, it seems. Most sequels, albeit with a few exceptions, are not very successful. The recent Todd Phillips ‘ Joker sequel and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice weren’t blazing triumphs, although I liked the former very much, as I felt it explored the nature of celebrity earned through notoriety very well, and IContinue reading “The Film Surprise Of 2025”
Alan Partridge Is A Prophet
I realise that it’s officially silly season, and that Andy Warhol beat Alan Partridge to the curve with his assertion that “in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes”, but it seems that the fictional broadcasting dickhead also came up with some prophetic words. Okay, sure, his most recent TV series, ‘How AreContinue reading “Alan Partridge Is A Prophet”
Hit The North 