Holy Motors demonstrates the limitations of my self-imposed 200 words restriction. I could spend 200 words summarising the plot, perhaps by detailing the overall narrative (that is difficult, since there arguably isn’t one) or by picking out individual moments to emphasize the film’s “craziness” (a naked man is cradled by Eva Mendes in a burka…
The Bay isn’t the best found footage film of 2012 – that was Chronicle, which told its fairly standard teen superhero story by pushing the boundaries of the genre – but unlike Chronicle, The Bay plays fair. The context is an environmental-horror tale of a small town decimated by an (initially) unknown pathogen, framed as…
My votes for the Triple J Hottest 100 2012 (in a rough order – better songs at the bottom) Tyler Touché – Baguette? Japandroids – The House That Heaven Built (not in my personal top 10, but I’d love to see these guys do well) Lisa Mitchell – Bless This Mess The Vaccines – No…
Like Lisa Mitchell, this is a song that I didn’t expect to like as much as I do. It’s a dance-pop song without a great deal of originality or depth to it, anchored with a silly vocal sample. But it’s just a really fun song, and unlike most dance-pop songs that seem to be entirely…
I prefer Hot Chip when they’re mellow. A great deal of their music, particularly their earlier work, has a sharpness, an angularity; it suits plenty of songs (I can’t imagine “Over and Over” working as a ‘softer’ song) but my favourite Hot Chip songs tend to have a warm sentimentality to them. Their sound over…
Japandroids’ music feels like the embodient of velocity. Each song has a forward momentum, the feeling of the wind rushing by (it’s dangerous driving music). Their songs are about having fun, the possibilities of youth, but there’s also a distinct pang of regret beneath the dynamic façade. The Japandroids aren’t racing to anything; they’re racing…
When a Stranger Calls is, essentially, two well-produced, scary scenes bracketing a meandering, uninteresting private detective movie. It’s a shame, because the premise is actually interesting: introducing a faceless psychopath then treating him with some sympathy, revealing him to be a real, irrevocably damaged, person. This premise is executed without effort or imagination. The opening…
This is not the kind of song I like. I have a problem with the contrived singing voice that Lisa Mitchell, like many other singers nowadays, adopts. It reminds me of that silly baby voice that people put on around young children, a vocal style that would sound ridiculous if used in everyday conversation. And…
I was skeptical coming in to Season 2 of Homeland – the first season had been excellent, but the writers had put themselves in a difficult position at season’s end. The start of Season 2 allayed my fears, with a spectacular opening batch of episodes. The early reveal of Brody’s tape was a genuine surprise,…
“It’s extremely personal. When I wrote the things that I’m singing, I didn’t expect anyone to hear it, or know it, or say it.” – Megan James1 When discussing music, the word “intimate” is generally reserved for the discussion of gentle, crowded-sounding music. Acoustic guitars accompanied by fragile singing, that sort of thing. But an…
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