Nightcrawler Movie Review
25 years ago the Hoodoo Gurus released , a song about the ever increasing prevalence of violence in the mass media. Of course, even then it was by no means a new concept. Indeed the song references the ancient Romans as ‘taking out all the guesswork’ in the formula.
With the advent of motion pictures it was inevitable that violence would become a fundamental element of the medium; unsurprising, of course, given violence is a primal staple of human drama. Fewer, though, are the films ...
Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion Exhibition at GoMA
Japanese fashion made an enormous impact on world fashion in the late 20th century. Designers such as Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto revolutionised the way we think of fashion today.
Their works will be shown alongside examples by the techno-couturier Junya Watanabe, a protégé of Kawakubo, together with the pioneer of the 'Ura-Harajuku' movement Jun Takahashi, and the new generation of radical designers including Tao Kurihara, Hiroaki Ohya, Matohu, ...
The Dark Horse Movie Review
Pretty as a picture in his cardigan, trackie daks and red Crocs, Gen's severe bipolar disorder sees him frequently institutionalised as he struggles with the norms of society. Released into the care of his brother, Gen is thrust back into the violent gang environment into which he was born but his iron determination to overcome his disability and help others sees him use his substantial chess playing ability to help disadvantaged youth avoid an inevitable path of violence and crime.
The ...
Moraine – Groundswell Album Review
Dennis Rea and the mob that make up the group Moraine have such an overabundance of music skills, it is more of a matter of taking ideas out of the mix than showcasing all the prodigious amounts of musical proficiency present. This approach gives the music at hand a razor sharp focus. The instrumental pallet this time includes bass, drums, guitars, sax, flute, violin and that old standby the Mellotron.
The moods on Groundswell are forever changing and the band dips into some very ...
Freewheeling: Cycling in Australia Exhibition at Queensland Museum
Freewheeling: Cycling in Australia exhibition traces the changing shape and character of the bicycle, and its impact on Australia’s social, economic and political life. The exhibition features a wide range of material culture related to cycling in Australia, including different types of bicycles, cycling fashion, advertisements and promotional posters, and trophies and medals won by some of Australia’s most successful cyclists. Freewheeling: Cycling in Australia is a touring exhibition from ...
Tohpati Ethnomission – Save The Planet Album Review
With a deep understanding of both his local musical roots as well as the global pool of exploration and utilizing a collection of exotic instrumentation, the 11 songs here constantly surprise and captivate the listener. Calling it jazz-rock-fusion severely understates the synthesis of styles here.
The guitar is often the lead instrument and its effect on the overall sound is great but it’s the percussive elements underpinning the songs that give the tracks so much impact. With the ...
Interstellar Movie Review
Environmental disaster is coming and our days are numbered on Mother Earth. Unfortunately the world is also consumed with an incongruous mixture of hyper-cynicism, conspiracy and hopeless optimism: living day to day, hoping for the best, shunning technology; existing in a perpetual state of damage control, rather than seeking new horizons. In the words of traumatised ex-test pilot, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), we have become caretakers rather than explorers and pioneers. In what appears to ...
Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Album Review
Helping to celebrate Dylan’s then 30 years in the recording business was a collection of powerhouse friends as well as a few artists somewhat new to the scene. The line-up was also not so genre specific, so Country legends Johnny and June Carter Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson shared the stage with newbie’s (at the time) like Eddie Vedder, Sinead O’Connor and Tracy Chapman. The common denominator was the songs by Bob Dylan.
Well-known tracks are everywhere but along side ...
Augie March 2015 Australian Tour
This very welcome news was swiftly followed by the announcement that the band had quietly been creating a fifth studio album, Havens Dumb, in Hobart and Melbourne over the preceding three years. The band’s return to the live stage came in the form of playing at Howler, a few streets away from the scene of their first-ever show sixteen years earlier, in Brunswick Victoria. They ended up doing five nights in a row by popular demand. It was indeed a triumphant return, with the band in ...
Whiplash Movie Review
Every now and then a film comes along that reorganizes your mind in regards to the obtainable level of acting performance. It forces you to raise the bar in your mind and reassess how powerful the art form known as acting can be. The film Whiplash provides just such an example.
The story of a young prodigy musician joining a demanding music school and running headlong into its most obsessive teacher becomes the canvas on which actors J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller paint one of the most ...
