“To’hajiilee” is an example of how Breaking Bad plays its audience like a musical instrument. The bulk of the episode stretches its viewers taut like a finely-tuned violin, ratcheting up the tension inexorably, whether it’s subtle bits of (potential) foreshadowing like Saul wearing pink (and a bullet-proof vest), Pinkman enacting a fugazi portrait of death…
“Human life was cheap. Film was cheap. It was a great place to make a picture.” Machete Maidens Unleashed! is Mark Hartley’s follow-up to his debut, Not Quite Hollywood, which was an oral history of Australian exploitation (“Ozploitation”) films. Similarly, Machete Maidens is an entertaining romp through B-movie history, now focusing on films made in…
Trent Reznor has always thrived on the uneasy border between pop and industrial music, his best work demonstrating his commingled talents for evoking sinister atmosphere and writing taut, catchy tunes. The former felt increasingly left by the wayside prior to Nine Inch Nails’ recently-aborted hiatus; both Year Zero and With Teeth hewed closer to pop…
Halloween may not been the first masked killer movie (arriving four years after Leatherface), but the implacable Michael Myers’ shadow stretches long across the genre; establishing many significant tropes (the killer is invulnerable until he is unmasked. A perfunctory backstory that doesn’t disguise how the masked man – it’s always a man – stands in…
Hot Fuzz is a modern classic of the comedy genre. It’s the kind of film we’ll point to decades from now with a toothless grin and say, “See! They don’t make ‘em like they used to!” It’s widely loved and yet woefully underrated; this can be blamed on the marketing, which frames the film as…
I came to The Exorcist III on Isaac (of Isaacs Picture Conclusions)’s recommendation, expecting a B-movie. The film is awash with B-movie characteristics: the script is a hodge-podge of supernatural and serial killer clichés, with a climax that feels tacked-on because it is (the studio demanded the film end with an exorcism, and you can…
“Rabid Dog” sets the table for the final four episodes, pairing Jesse and Hank to tamp the flames of the former’s fury and give direction to the latter’s thirst for justice. This partnership may have a short lifespan (and some narrative holes – why aren’t Hank and Steve following procedure, if Hank’s so worried about…
Underbelly: Squizzy was a show of limited potential, and yet never met even the low benchmark it set for itself. Despite its scant charms (though I suppose “ample” is the better word for Gracie Gilbert’s appeal), Squizzy will be remembered as a series that falls short of mediocrity. Where can the blame be laid? Jared…
Japandroids’ gig at The Zoo formed a well-articulated argument for seeing your favourite bands at their own shows, rather than festivals. I found Japandroids enjoyable but unexceptional at Laneway earlier in the year, but their ninety minute set (at their last Australian show) last night exceeded all expectations. After a loose Velociraptor set (which was…
Bernie is an odd film; an odd story about an odd man. It tells the tale of Bernie Tiede (Jack Black), a funeral director unfailingly described as “nice.” The kind of man who looks you in the eye and listens to everything you say as though it’s the most important thing he’s ever heard. We…
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