Posts Tagged Film
Archive
July 30, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Destroyer: DVD
Destroyer Director: Karyn Kusama Madman Destroyer is so well named – it should wreck you. The performances – in particular Nicole Kidman’s tour-de-force, the writing, the filming, the shape of the film, it’s all a slow-burn thrill-ride. And if there’s a best supporting player to Kidman’s scene-stealing/chewing/destroying role it’s the overall grit of the film, its dirty soul, its […]Archive
July 24, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Rutger Hauer
Rutger Hauer has died. Sad news to wake up to – he was one of my heroes. Everyone talks about Blade Runner and fair enough – but the role that really blew me away was The Hitcher. I could watch that movie every day I think. The coldness, the surface-calm of a true maniac. I reckon that’s Hauer’s masterpiece. But […]Archive
July 18, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Lion King: Film
The Lion King Director: Jon Favreau Walt Disney Pictures/Fairview Entertainment This version of The Lion King is so technically dazzling, so bereft of heart, so wide-missing of any emotional mark, so utterly digital and soulless that even though I knew Jon Favreau was the director going in I was still stunned to not see Peter Jackson’s […]Archive
July 4, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
V/A: Vox Lux [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Various Artists: Vox Lux [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] Three Six Zero Recordings/Columbia Records Straight up, I’ll tell you that I fucking loved this movie! And I would have been prepared to love the soundtrack just for the Scott Walker score. And when I say that I mean just for exisiting – I was on board with the idea before hearing it, or […]Archive
June 25, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Matangi / Maya / M.I.A: DVD
Matangi / Maya / M.I.A Director: Steve Loveridge Madman The Amy Winehouse documentary was devastating – of course. But what was amazing about it – as is the case with documentary subjects that came of age across the last two decades – was the gathered footage. Home videos, goof-offs, early social media…Archive
June 20, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast # 173: Tim Batt
Welcome to episode 173 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T, Yeastie Boys and La Petite Chocolat. Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual platforms (this site, soundcloud, iTunes/Apple) you can now get to Sweetman Podcast on Spotify – follow it there and have it saved in your Spotify library. Tim Batt is a comedian and podcaster. We’ve corresponded a […]Archive
June 19, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Jeff Beck – Still on the Run: DVD
Jeff Beck: Still On The Run Director: Matthew Longfellow Eagle Rock Ask any guitarist – they’ll tell you Jeff Beck is one of the greatest. Many will tell you he is the greatest, certainly he’s peerless in terms of his quest for exploration and expression given he’s forever linked to his Yardbirds-colleagues Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. […]Archive
May 29, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast # 170: Gregg Bissonette
Welcome to episode 170 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T, Yeastie Boys and La Petite Chocolat. Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual platforms (this site, soundcloud, iTunes/Apple) you can now get to Sweetman Podcast on Spotify – follow it there and have it saved in your Spotify library. Here’s a 35-minute conversation I nabbed with […]Archive
May 17, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Wine Country: Film
Wine Country Director: Amy Poehler Paper Kite Productions/Netflix Wine Country is funny and sweet and thoughtful, both light-hearted and subtly impactful – but it’s getting the pass-mark only from a lot of critics, damned by faint praise because the expectation is Bridesmaids.Archive
May 9, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Bret Easton Ellis: White
White Bret Easton Ellis Knopf; 1st Edition edition “Stop whining, take your medicine; grow the fuck up” – this is Bret Easton Ellis’ advice in his first effort at non-fiction; a book written to largely justify a series of individual tweets and then all-out Twitter brawls, a book that starts promisingly as actual memoir and then shifts just as surreally […]Archive
April 18, 2019 by Simon Sweetman