Music
Black Gold: Best of Editors: Birmingham's finest current tunesmiths have released this greatest hits album with a few new songs and it's enjoyable stuff. The band have dabbled in both soaring and brooding guitar anthems, a bit of pop and lo-fi electronica, and it's not an unpleasant experience listening to the best bits of their back catalogue. Their new tune, Frankenstein, is also good stuff. But a new album of new material would be smashing.
Three Chords and the Truth by Van Morrison: I genuinely don't like criticising a Van Morrison album. The majestic Astral Weeks was the soundtrack to my first great love and I've been an admirer for some time. But this latest offering is thin stuff. It's like a VM impersonator decided to do a passable pastiche of other VM album fillers. On the plus side, I went back to Astral Weeks and loved every second of that.
Giants of All Sizes by Elbow: The thinking man's Oasis are back with another album of mellow and tune-filled contemplations on all manner of things. It's both familiar and new and moving and comforting, like a lovely warm winter coat that will keep you toasty warm when it's pissing down with Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage outside.
Three Chords and the Truth by Van Morrison: I genuinely don't like criticising a Van Morrison album. The majestic Astral Weeks was the soundtrack to my first great love and I've been an admirer for some time. But this latest offering is thin stuff. It's like a VM impersonator decided to do a passable pastiche of other VM album fillers. On the plus side, I went back to Astral Weeks and loved every second of that.
Giants of All Sizes by Elbow: The thinking man's Oasis are back with another album of mellow and tune-filled contemplations on all manner of things. It's both familiar and new and moving and comforting, like a lovely warm winter coat that will keep you toasty warm when it's pissing down with Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage outside.
Film
My Name is Dolemite: A wonderful comedy drama telling the tale of 1970s comedian and unlikely film star Rudy Ray Moore, who carved a new niche for himself and his motley band of friends in the world of Blaxploitation cinema. Eddie Murphy is great in the lead role and Wesley Snipes is excellent as his serious actor-turned-director friend. An absolute hoot of a movie.
Replicants: Keanu Reeves goes into 'quiet-voiced serious actor' mode to manfully chomp down on a limply grim cock of a sort of modern Frankenstein sci-fi script. The whole thing is gag-reflex-inducingly bad and even the Speed, Matrix and John Wick fella can't make it seem palatable. And, fuck, how I love Keanu, despite him and several other creatives I adore, including Anthony Hopkins, Richard E Grant, Winona Ryder, Gary Oldman and Francis Ford Coppola, driving a shit-stained stake right through the concept of filming Dracula in 1995.
Replicants: Keanu Reeves goes into 'quiet-voiced serious actor' mode to manfully chomp down on a limply grim cock of a sort of modern Frankenstein sci-fi script. The whole thing is gag-reflex-inducingly bad and even the Speed, Matrix and John Wick fella can't make it seem palatable. And, fuck, how I love Keanu, despite him and several other creatives I adore, including Anthony Hopkins, Richard E Grant, Winona Ryder, Gary Oldman and Francis Ford Coppola, driving a shit-stained stake right through the concept of filming Dracula in 1995.
Comedy
Stewart Lee: Tornado/Snowflake: A constantly brilliant performer brings his latest show to the Leicester Square Theatre. Funny, smart, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted. An utter joy. I love him. Buy a ticket. The best stand-up I have seen.
TV
Stewart Lee: Tornado/Snowflake: A constantly brilliant performer brings his latest show to the Leicester Square Theatre. Funny, smart, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted. An utter joy. I love him. Buy a ticket. The best stand-up I have seen.
TV
The Boys: Season One: Amazon's adaptation of the blackly humorous rip-comic-lore-to-pieces graphic novel series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Simon Pegg puts in an appearance as unlikely secret operative Hughie's dad. Karl Urban, Jack Quaid and Erin Moriarty steal the acting honours in a superior ensemble piece. The second season is already slated to appear next year. Can't wait.
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