ccpopculture’s First Birthday!

One year ago today, I began this blog with a handful of two-hundred word posts (about an Alfred Hitchcock film, the Big Brother finale and a Radiohead concert). At the time I had no idea if I’d still be banging away a year, or even a month later. The idea to set up a blog…

On the Road (2012)

The appeal of Kerouac’s On the Road isn’t its story – a loose, rambling journey across America featuring lots of drugs, sex and hitchhiking. The power of the novel is its prose, the way it encapsulates the optimism and possibilities of youth. To its credit, Walter Salles’ adaptation gets that. The plot is unimportant and…

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

Have you ever been at a party and found a stranger a particularly compelling speaker? They’re mounting an argument, and their eloquence is both engaging and convincing. But just when you’re totally in their corner, they reveal that they’re not who they seemed to be – what seemed like satirical wit is revealed as unfortunate…

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Originally posted on You Talkin' To Me?:
Review by Dave Crewe of CCpopculture Robert De Niro is an undeniable icon of American cinema, an actor who casts a long shadow. He’s renowned as a versatile, idiosyncratic method actor who has given vivid life to some of the most memorable characters of the last half-century. It…

Ja’mie: Private School Girl (Episode 3)

One of the things that has always elevated Chris Lilley’s satire is his refusal to mock his characters in character. Sure, his bit is mostly about pointing out the ridiculousness of a given type, but while you’re supposed to laugh at Ja’mie, Lilley takes her very seriously. Ja’mie: Private School Girl takes this a step…

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor: The Dark World is a film all about gods but, like its predecessor, it’s at its best when it focuses on the foibles of humanity. The film’s first half is spent primarily on Thor’s plane of Asgard – and somewhere called Svartalfheim (Gesundheit!) – and it’s mostly a slog. There’s some overly-serious exposition about…

Arcade Fire – Reflektor (2013)

I guess I’m just going to have to get used to being an Arcade Fire contrarian. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guys. I have a beard and wide-rimmed glasses and I wear skinny jeans, what did you expect? But I always found the smoky neo-Springsteen stylings of Neon Bible just that little bit…