I think it was Billy Connolly, most likely during one of his numerous appearances on Parky, who I once heard use the phrase ‘shortbread tin view of Scotland’. In essence, the views of Scotland on shortbread tins were idealised and far from the reality of current day Scotland. Even today, if you find an image…
Ever since their debut album Close But No Cigar dropped in 2018, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio has been one of the most consistent bands on the Colemine Records roster, pumping out instrumental jazz-funk that recalls the greats from the 60s and early 70s. The deceptively simple setup—which also features guitar slinger Jimmy “Scratch” James and…
Thirty years ago, Tom Cruise played a cock-sure, gung-ho naval pilot in the classic Top Gun. Now he plays another hot shot pilot in American Made. This bizarre story about drug smuggling, gun running and money laundering again proves that quite often truth is far stranger than fiction. Cruise plays Barry Seal, a disenchanted pilot…
Fear is a powerful motivator. As we’re seeing at the moment, decisions based in fear can have profound effects. Writer-director Riley Stearns explores similarly dire consequences – along with the price of toxic masculinity – in The Art of Self-Defense. Mild-mannered Casey Davies (Jesse Eisenberg) lives alone with his dachshund and works as an accountant….
The hype has been enormous, but does Barbie, the movie, live up to expectations? Well, some elements do and others not so much. The film is populated by the Barbies and Kens of Barbieland, where women rule the roost and men trail in their wake. The chief Ken (bleach blonde Ryan Gosling, with a six-pack…
Based on a true story this drama about industrial pollution and environmental damage caused by giant chemical companies. Minamata explores their greed, corruption and refusal to accept responsibility or take action. This puts the film in the same wheelhouse as films like Erin Brokovich and Dark Waters, although it is nowhere near as provocative or…
Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine) is back as he turns his attention to examining Donald Trump’s election win on November 9, 2016 (that’s 11/9 in American parlance). Moore travels across America to get a sense of the social, economic and political impact of the Trump presidency amidst the chaos of the new administration’s provocative tweets,…
Winner of the Best Screenplay at the Cesar Awards (the French Oscars), The Innocent is a comedic crime caper mixed with romance. Sylvie Lefranc (Anouk Grinberg) is a 60-year-old prison drama teacher that can’t help herself. She has a habit of falling head over heels in love with and then marrying the inmates, which inevitably…
Since their formation in 2016, Sydney’s psych-rock band Kimono Drag Queens have released a string of singles, and have been slowly leading up to finally releasing their debut, Songs of Worship. It’s taken the seven-piece two years to record but I believe it was worth the wait as Songs of Worship is full of surprising…
The moving Australian-produced drama Lion is based on the true story of Saroo Brierley, a young Indian boy from a poor rural family who, the age of five, became separated from his older brother Guddu in his native village and who eventually found his way home a quarter of a century later. Saroo (played by…
