Far-Cry 2 remains the most immersive game I’ve ever played. The entire game was constructed to feel as real as possible: maps that you had to look at without pausing, rusty guns that jammed at the worst possible moments, and a huge game world completely bereft of useful fast travel. These elements didn’t necessarily make…
David Lynch is one of my favourite filmmakers, so I thought Wild at Heart, which left me cold on first viewing, warranted a second chance. I’ve heard many others unimpressed by Lynch’s work, even masterpieces like Mulholland Drive, describing them as simply random events strung together. Sadly, Wild at Heart puts me in their shoes.…
A horror “classic,” starting Wes Craven’s career, The Last House on the Left is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a good film. The cinematography and editing can be generously described as amateurish, the screenplay (a loose reinterpretation of The Virgin Spring) decides that the best thing to play against a harrowing rape/murder sequence…
Velociraptor sound great on record but really need to be experienced live. They’re apparently a twelve-piece, but at The Rev ten players (including both members of DZ Deathrays) took to the stage. They all performed with a rambunctious, infectious energy, swapping instruments roles regularly, everyone singing along (whether there was a microphone in front of…
Another horror movie remake! This one tries is particularly faithful to the Wes Craven original, even recreating a number of scares shot-for-shot. Not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose, but the new interpretations are pedestrian interpretations, without flair or creativity. There’s no emotional throughline in the first half; the film focuses on one character for…
“Archangel” is unquestionably the peak of Burial’s sophomore dubstep album Untrue. The track is a haphazard dirge, with a shuddering, jolting baseline under clipped vocals and melancholic instrumentation. It’s glass breaking gently underwater; it’s simultaneously sad but optimistic, heartfelt but detached. It’s a personal vision which makes it a particular challenge to cover, but Chet…
Once again I seem to have picked the wrong horse in Triple J’s Hottest 100: it seems inevitable that “Oblivion” is going to outperform “Genesis” by a significant margin, which is a shame as the latter is by far more interesting. “Genesis” feels unique; though it’s clearly the sum of familiar parts – a meandering,…
The Mist is a good movie that could have been great. The first element that lets it down was inescapable with its low budget: the special effects. The film is intended to be serious, meaningful and to capture real fear, and the acting and composition support this, but the creature special effects appear goofy and…
You pull the trigger and watch the white clouds flare with mute curiosity. You’ve done this before. Over pastoral fields in Western Russia, the urban maze of Steelport. But you were someone else then. Red reticules flash and quiver and you jolt from one target to another. You pull the trigger again. People – targets…
I recently saw someone complaining on Twitter about the use of “cerebral” as a polite way of dismissing music. I don’t agree with the complaint; for me, “cerebral” music is a good thing, music that requires effort to engage and understand, music that is challenging, rewarding and interesting. So “cerebral” isn’t at all synonymous with…
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