Because Everybody Else Has One

With the blog up and running once more, I thought it was about time to add some brand new original writing to go with the stuff that I take from my "day job" at channel24 and those slightly embarrassing but fun epinions reviews that - and I don't know if you've noticed this - tend to go on a bit. And then a bit more. I could seldom think of a better way to start than with a review of Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba's Daytripper. This 10-issue comic book series has just been released as a very affordable trade paperback by DC Vertigo and there's just no two ways about it: this is a book that deserves to cross the great divide between the somewhat niche world of comics and the significantly less niche world of pop culture. Daytripper doesn't merely belong at the top of the New York Times bestselling graphic novels list (and, seriously, how insanely awesome is it that the freakin' New York Times has a list for the best selling graphic novels) but deserv...

Yet again, I'm posting my original unedited and slightly longer review. And once again, check out the link below for the professionally edited review. As for the film itself, well, read on... But, really, take a wild guess what I think about Big Mommas Part BLOODY 3! From Channel24.co.za (Originally published 25 February 2010) What it's about Big Momma is back! This time with his/her/its rapper-wannabe son in tow as the two go undercover (enrolling in, would ya know it, an all-girl's-school in drag) to retrieve some pretty damning evidence to bring down a master criminal. What we thought Oh where to even begin with this unholy piece of - OK! All right! Deep breaths everyone. Lets try and keep thing in perspective. It's not a holocaust, it's not an apartheid, it's not nuclear war, it's not Keeping Up With The Kardashians. It's just a movie. That's all it is: just a harmless piece of entertainment. It's just a little bit of multiplex fodd...

Now here is one odd duck of a film. I was really looking forward to it and I do largely admire it but I can't really say I enjoyed it. And I don't mean "enjoy" as in "have fun with" because, obviously, Of Gods and Men is not a fun film. When I say "enjoy", I basically mean that I wasn't anywhere near as emotionally engaged as I wanted to be. More about this in the review itself. Also, while I gave the film 3/5 on Channel24, I'm going to refrain from rating it here (yes, those stars are ratings out of 10) because I'm still struggling with whether I actually recommend it or not.  From Channel24.co.za (Originally published 25 February 2010) What it's about:   The true story of a group of monks, living peacefully in the moderate Islamic country of Algeria in the 1990s, whose existence suddenly comes under attack by the rise to power of a very malicious extremist Islamic group. They soon find themselves faced with the choice o...

Neither my editor nor I realized that this was coming out this week until the last minute which is why it's so short. Mind you, there wasn't that much to say about it, if I'm honest. It's basically this year's Piranha 3D - total trash, yeah, but total trash that I adored the hell out of. Also, and I will be doing this from time to time, I have used my original review for the blog. If you want the edited version check out the link below.  From channel24.co.za (Originally written 24 February 2011)   What it's about Nicolas Cage is back as Milton, an escapee from hell (Milton? Hell? Where do you think they're going with this?) who has returned to the land of the living to exact nasty revenge on a cult of wacko Satanic worshippers who brutally murdered his daughter and to rescue his kidnapped granddaughter that the cult intend to sacrifice as a way of bringing hell to earth. Only this time without his head bursting into flame. What we thought Nicola...

I don't know why the hell it has taken me so long to this review. Not only was Scott Pilgrim one of my absolute favourite films from last year - so much so that I saw it 3 times in the cinema - but it tanked at the box office so I'm always eager to try and get more people to give this wonderful piece of work a shot. Not just because I think Edgar Wright, Bryan Lee O'Mally and co. utterly deserve it but because I want to live in a world where something as original and inventive and heartfelt as Scott Pilgrim makes oodles of money. From channel24.co.za  (Originally written 3 December 2010) What it's about: Scott Pilgrimis, more or less, your average 23-year-old guy. He lives in Toronto, Canada, and shares a crummy apartment with his gay roommate Wallace. He plays less-than-great bass in a less-than-great garage band and is dating a high-schooler named Knives Chow. He has no real ambitions beyond this. That is, until Ramona Flowers, literally the girl of his dreams, e...

There are two Nicolas Cage films coming out very soon (or perhaps are already out overseas). One is rather weak and I really, really didn't like it. The other is absolutely, head-smashingly AWFUL and I kind of loved the hell out of it. Go figure. I'll let you know closer to their release dates which one is which but in the meantime I thought I would take a look at a film from last year (or the year before in the UK and US, I believe) that really shows Cage at his gloriously demented best.  From channel24.co.za  (originally written 27 August 2010) What it's about: Set in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, The Bad Lieutenant follows Lieutenant Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage), a policeman who is, by and large, viler and nastier than the criminals. Charged with solving the brutal murder of an entire family of African immigrants, his investigation is constantly sidelined by addictions to drugs and gambling.     What we thought: Nominally, a sor...

Now here's one that's very typical of my old epinions reviews. The writing is often kinda cringe-inducing but there's loads of enthusiasm to make up for it. It's interesting that thought it's been something like 10 years since I first heard Live At Leeds my opinion hasn't changed about it very much at all. Also, while my musical tastes have expanded in those 10 years, "hard rock" is not a genre that I've been all that attracted to. Maybe it's just that once I heard some live Who, all of their imitators feel like exactly that. From epinions.com  (Originally written 20 March 2004)    The Who are a terrific studio band. From the pop of Sell Out to the hard rocking of Who’s Next to rock operas Quad and Tommy, the band have released some of the most well-written, expertly performed music in the short but turbulent history of rock and roll. The simple fact of the matter though is that the Who are not going to be remembered for their studio wor...