Just some brief thoughts on one of my favourite albums so far this year.
Yes Crowded House are BACK after an 11 year absence since their last album Intriguer in 2010, with both a new lineup and album. The house has been renovated. The band’s new lineup now includes original members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour along with Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy Finn and original producer Mitchell Froom.
The band’s new linup for 2021 – Nick Seymour, Elroy Finn, Mitchell Froom, Neil Finn and Liam Finn.
The new album, Dreamers Are Waiting, is a fantastic and delightful listen from opening song Bad Times Good to closer Deeper Down. Once again, it defines Neil Finn as a timeless outstanding singer songwriter, with the unique ability to reinvent the band’s sound not once, but twice since the band’s original lineup in the 1980s and 90s.
Needless to say this album was produced and recorded before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, and some of the themes reflect this about darkness, escapism and disappearing into other worlds on songs such as To The Island and Show Me The Way. The album is complemented with some fantastic, strange, and sometimes sinister acoustic sounds and melodies, which are complemented by Neil’s entrancing and relaxing voice. Listening to the album in full gives one a hypnotic and relaxing feeling both at once.
Dreamers Are Waiting is a fantastic return album for Crowded House with some excellent sounds and melodies and is my pick for Album of the Year so far for 2021.
Also big shoutout to bassist Nick Seymour for some AMAZING album artwork.
Favourite songs: To The Island, Sweet Tooth, Goodnight Everyone, Show Me The Way, Real Life Woman.
'I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.'
Upon its release back in 1982, the film Blade Runner was widely perceived by critics as a failure, which slowly over the years gained a cult following through its various different cuts and home media releases. Upon re-examination by critics and the public through the years, it has now evolved to become one of the greatest science-fiction films of all time, and today has a major influence on pop culture and modern society.
Ryan Gosling as K in Blade Runner 2049.
Now, some 35 years later, the story continues with Blade Runner 2049. Set 30 years in the future after the original film, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a Blade Runner, uncovers a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. His discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who’s been missing for 30 years.
The major strength of Blade Runner 2049, as opposed to other sequels, is that not does it builds on the events of the first film but also creates coherent, engaging and satisfying storyline that will question our beliefs in what it really means to be ‘human’. This is a story in its’ own right – you do not need to see the original film to understand the film, although it certainly helps. Also, in today’s Hollywood society bereft of original ideas and obsessed with reboots and cinematic franchises, Blade Runner 2049 is charismatically naturalistic – it is a standalone film, without trying to set up another film in a franchise.
Almost everything else about the film is top-notch and outstanding. Director Denis Villeneuve, after his outstanding work on Sicario and Arrival, and cinematographer Roger Deakins, have created a film that is strong on visual language and small on dialogue – adopting a ‘show-not-tell’ technique of storytelling. The audio and visual effects in this film are jaw-dropping outstanding – they have created a world that feels real, a world which you can breathe the air, feel the raindrops and dust, and see the grit and grime of a dystopian Los Angeles. In particular, the cinematography of an abandoned Las Vegas with an orange sky is breathtaking.
Praise must also be given to the fantastic cast. Ryan Gosling gives one of the greatest performances of his career in Officer K, while Harrison Ford also gives one of his best performances in recent years. Of the supporting cast. Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks and Robin Wright also give great performances in their characters and make them feel three-dimensional.
Some viewers may have some issues with the somewhat complex plot and storyline, and its rather long runtime of 163 minutes. There are times in the film where it does drag with some scenes that could’ve been shortened, but overall these are minor gripes in a fantastic film. Blade Runner 2049 is thus undoubtedly one of the greatest sequels and sci-fi films of all time.
Addendum: To coincide with the film’s release back in October 2017, three short films were released that explored the events between the original film and 2049. They are titled Black Out 2022, 2036: Nexus Dawn, and 2048: Nowhere to Run. These are available on YouTube and all home video releases.
At the 90th Academy Awards in 2018, Blade Runner 2049 won 2 Oscars, for Best Cinematogaphy and Best Visual Effects.
It is no secret that The Godfather Part III is often maligned when compared to the previous two Godfather films, by both critics and fans alike. Released in 1990, its mixed reviews focused in particular on the convoluted and uneven plot; the acting from Sofia Coppola; and its disappointing resolution to the Godfather saga.
Behind the scenes, the film had a rushed and troubled production in order to meet its release date for Christmas 1990, with director Francis Ford Coppola and screenwriter Mario Puzo only given six weeks to complete the final script. As a result, the film’s storyline and narrative often feels incoherent and confusing. It also suffers significantly from the absence of the character of Tom Hagen, due to actor Robert Duvall refusing to participate due to a pay dispute. The late withdrawal of Winona Ryder for the part of Mary Corleone also forced Coppola to cast his daughter Sofia at the eleventh hour.
For the film’s 30th anniversary, Coppola has thus released a new recut version of the film, titled The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. This new cut includes several changes to the original film, being notably a new beginning and ending, as well as edits and changes to several scenes, shots and musical cues. The film has also been digitally remastered from the original negatives and features fantastic picture and audio quality. In particular, the climactic opera scenes look and sound outstanding.
The film’s narrative as a result thus feels more natural and straightforward, allowing the viewer a better understanding of Michael’s business affairs involving the Vatican Church, and the key characters involved. Whilst the new cut isn’t that different to the original cut, scenes deviating from the original plot have either been shortened or removed, making the story more compact and coherent. The film’s original ending however, feels more powerful with the revised ending feeling somewhat diminished due to Michael still being alive.
The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is a solid improvement on the original film and is thus worth a watch.
Tolkien is a biographical drama film directed by Finnish director Dome Karukoski about the early life of J. R. R. Tolkien. The film explores the early years of Tolkien – his youth and adolescence, his time at Oxford, and his experiences in WWI – all of which foreshadow his career as an acclaimed writer of the fantasy genre.
Good points:
The young ‘fellowship’ of Tolkien’s school friends and his romance with Edith Bratt is a story that is told very well – there is some good character development in these relationships, with good humour and camaraderie.
The development of Tolkien’s love of philology and fantasy stories is explored in detail with care and attention.
The WWI scenes at the Somme are masterful, visceral, and horrifying imagery.
Fantastic cinematography, music and visual effects.
The acting and direction overall are decent. Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins deliver fine performances, with good chemistry.
Bad points:
Nothing really ‘stands out’ in the film – this is still a pretty standard, generic biopic.
The links to his foreshadowing masterworks, such as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion are negligible. This was what I was most interested in and wanted to see – but this film hits the bare minimum in terms of telling this story.
There isn’t much in this film that most Tolkien fans wouldn’t know already – most of the story in this film can be found elsewhere in books and online.
Some of the supporting characters (such as his school mates) could’ve had some more character development.
It seems that every few years a new book is published about the Wars of the Roses, a civil war that occurred during the 15th century between the Houses of Lancaster and York for the throne of England. However, Thomas Penn’s The Brothers York: An English Tragedy offers a new and dynamic retelling of an old story by examining the relationships and strife within the House of York, and in particular its three brothers: Edward IV; George, Duke of Clarence; and Richard III.
The book covers the period from 1461 to 1485, from Edward’s victories at Mortimer’s Cross and Towton, to Richard’s defeat and death at Bosworth Field. It opens with a background into the state of England under the woeful role of Henry VI, where lawlessness, anarchy and discontent against the government had been brewing for years. This was the result of England’s losses of its French territories in the Hundred Years War, and the widespread corruption and profiteering from the government’s noblemen, who, led by William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk; Edmond Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and Henry’s wife Margaret of Anjou, ruled England with Henry VI as a puppet monarch.
The majority of the book covers the rule of Edward IV, and the major events that occurred within his reign. Penn in particular examines the business of government and administration, with a heavy emphasis on foreign policy and the relationships between England, France and Burgundy. In particular, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick is given a central role as Edward’s administrator in maintaining order within the country, negotiating alliances and trade deals, and ensuring taxes and revenue flows into the government’s coffers. The rest of the book covers the seismic events of the brief reign of Richard III. Somewhat disappointingly for Ricardians, Penn adopts the familiar narrative by the Tudors and Thomas More by painting Richard as the traditional usurper and murderer of his nephews.
What makes The Brothers York different to other books in this area though is two main points. One is the excellence in academic historical research that Penn has written – the book examines the administration and events of the Wars of the Roses more extensively and comprehensively than before, giving the reader an excellent understanding of why and how people acted as they did, and how the seismic events of the Wars unfolded. The other is the excellent writing style that Penn has adopted, in being able to summarise and discuss complex and confusing political events into plain English that the average reader can understand, whilst also making the book exciting and a joy to read.
The Brothers York: An English Tragedy is an outstanding book covering the events of the Wars of the Roses and is thus highly recommended.
Three brothers … from left: David Oakes as George, Max Irons as Edward and Aneurin Barnard as Richard in The White Queen (2013). Photograph: PR
My name is Andrew and I work in banking. This blog will be the place where I discuss and review the stuff I like – namely books, films, television shows and music. And the occasional news and sporting events that I watch.
Book genres I read: History, Politics, Cricket, Crime, Sci-Fi.
Film and TV genres: Action, Biopics, Crime, Historical, Sci-Fi, War.
Andrew Reviews 