Living in New York is an expensive exercise for an arts student, and yet there is one person in Nat’s class who seems to have it all together as everyone else is scrounging for a buck. The world of Sugar Daddies, and their lovely young Sugar Babies, is at first oddly appealing to read of…
Moving from cinema releases to Netflix hasn’t really slowed Adam Sandler’s production company Happy Madison. They currently have 14 movies in the pipeline. But the latest HM production to make it to the small screen is The Wrong Missy. This crashingly predictable rom-com fails on just about every level – but completely unpredictably unearths a…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 3 July 2020. Folk darlings Mandolin Orange didn’t think they would ever release a live album. It didn’t make sense for a band that loved to tour and play. While it might sound silly now, they couldn’t figure out…
Like his style or not, Spike Lee always has something to say. His latest epic (clocking in at 2 and a half hours), Da 5 Bloods, is no exception. This sprawling exploration of the ties that bind was originally slated for a cinema release; but COVID-19 scotched that. So Lee has released the film on…
A ripping yarn and a grand adventure, The Personal History of David Copperfield delighted me. It highlights just how magnificent a writer Charles Dickens was. The movie (penned by Armando Iannucci and Simon Blackwell, with direction from the former) re-imagines Dickens’ classic ode to perseverance through a largely comedic lens. Copperfield (Dev Patel) narrates his…
In the near future, a child is created using the DNA of three parents; mother Stacey, father Isaac, and a long deceased ancestor of mankind. This child will not be able to hold a passport, live a normal life, or even be issued with a birth certificate. She is Fauna. Stacey and Isaac, a young…
Avoiding the sophomore album slump is a monumental task for any group that had a successful debut, like Melbourne-based band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Hope Downs (2018) had the college jangle at times like R.E.M., which then combined with the raw rock of The Replacements. This guitar indie rock was a breathe of fresh air…
This long “lost” Neil Young album was recorded late in 1974, two years after his classic solo, commercial breakout album, Harvest, which contained some of Young’s best known and loved songs – “Heart of Gold,” “Are You Ready for the Country,” “Old Man,” “Alabama,” and “The Needle and the Damage Done.” Somewhat overwhelmed by his…
The Current War concerns the development of the electric light. But that prosaic premise belies a voyage of discovery, filled with intrigue and subterfuge. The race against time begins in 1880. On the one side is Thomas Alva Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch); and on the other is George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon). Both are men of principle…
It is quite possible that every generation needs its own version of High Fidelity to hit the screen. Very broadly based on the 1995 Nick Hornby novel of the same name, this new adaptation is also set in a record store, Championship Vinyl, chronicling the relationship heartbreaks of its young and determined owner, the adorable…
