The Brown Note Movie Review

Bad Boy Chiller Crew: Disrespectful (2022) - Album Review

The North of England lads were an absolute blast with 2020's most fun and ebullient debut album, Full Whack No Brakes, but there was always a worry their shtick could grate - sadly realised by a second album that's twice as serious and half as fun. Though there are occasional brakes (sic) in their tried and tested post Robin S - Show Me Love bassline house, its more often than not like being hit over the head with varieties of the same mallet.

It Chapter Two (2019) - Movie Review

Alongside the review of Ghostbusters (2016), catching up on a couple of films I deliberately missed through sheer lack of interest but recently caught up on and had surprisingly strong reactions to. After not falling for the first IT film at all - especially the portrayal of the clown - I couldn't be bothered with the sequel, yet it's long, meandering, episodic nature felt far closer to the novel. Unexpectedly satisfying.

Ghostbusters (2016 - Movie Review)

Alongside the review of IT: Chapter 2, catching up on a couple of films I deliberately missed through sheer lack of interest but recently caught up on and had surprisingly strong reactions to. I assumed this first reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise would be a fairly decent film, shot down by the egregious toxic masculinity that preceded it. I was wrong, its an abomination.

The Adam Project (2022)

Ryan Reynolds feels a bit jaded this time around, like Netflix is really flogging his persona to death in this unbelievably rote and derivative sci-fi. Some pretty pictures and a mainly likable cast, that are occasionally moving but a paper thin plot and zero imagination.

Fresh (2022)

One of the years "IT" horrors with strong reviews, ends up being very "meh". Throws a lot of interesting and contemporary ideas up in the air but doesn't really land any of them and after a promising (Young Woman) start, peters out a bit into nothing - plus its lightness of tone makes it difficult to imbue any sense of seriousness to, on paper, very dark themes.

Rosalia - Motomami (album 2022)

The Catalan superstar builds on the stunning success of her minimalist breakthrough, El Mal Querer, with a maximalist follow up that sums up the entirety of the near dominant urban Latino music world, again, without ditching her traditional Spanish roots entirely and never pandering to mainstream success. A triumph of experimental contemporary music. Thank god it's a lot closer to that second album than I dared hope and not awash with Drake and Travis Scott features.

Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (Album 2022)

The fifth studio album from the Adrianne Lenker's indie darlings - worshiped like saints by the likes of Pitchfork - follows the huge critical acclaim of U.F.O.F. If I thought that album was half brilliant but a bit overrated, I've moved the dial along to mostly brilliant but still a bit overrated. Certainly the final third contains some inessential tracks.

Beach House: Once Twice Melody (2022 - Album Review)

If some acts like Bowie change and reinvent with every album, others (like Japanese sushi chefs or The War on Drugs) refine one perfect thing, over and over. The meticulous Baltimore dream pop duo, Beach House certainly do the latter but the 4 EP presentation of their 8th studio album, is itself the most fascinating change this time around for an always great album's band.

The King’s Man (2021)

After the British director (who I'm still up in the air about) Matthew Vaughn, breathed fresh air into the genre/franchise market with the sometimes near obscene and always wild and free, first installment of the Kingsman, he followed it by trashing everything great about the first film with an obscenely bad second installment. Given the poor reviews and reception of this third films, I prepared for the worst. Don't believe the hype, this is vastly superior than reviews suggest and has nothing at all in common with the previous film.

A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

A belated - strong - review of this near excellent sensory horror sequel. Like Alien/Aliens or Terminator/T2 it replaces the creeping low key dread of the original with more a more bombastic action film, but to near equal effect. And who knew the always getting better, Cillian Murphy would make such a great Appalachian woodsman.