The seemingly endless procession of superhero comic cinema adaptations continues with the second Thor film, Thor: The Dark World. The first Thor film was a passable mythic adventure yarn in which the eponymous Norse thunder God and Marvel Comics legend bashed his way through some gruesome looking fiends in the other dimensional world of Asgard. Exactly what the hell is
Read moreWith their homage to 1960’s and 70’s Mexploitation movies, grind house cinema and ultra-violent 1980’s video nasties, Robert Rodriguez Machete films should be outrageous thrill rides and rollicking pop-cultural parodies that push the boundaries of popular taste. Unfortunately, Machete and now its sequel Machete Kills wind up as predictable, juvenile, occasionally grotesque but emotionally inert throwaway action films. Like Machete,
Read moreThis week on Built For Speed we pay tribute to the late Lou Reed, with a selection of tracks from his Velvet Underground and solo days. There’s also plenty of new music from Australia and overseas. We also take a look at Steve Coogan’s latest cinematic effort as he takes his famed TV character Alan Partridge to the big screen
Read moreSet in France in 1915 as the First World War grinds to a close, the sumptuous but slow-moving Renoir describes the later life of renowned French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The film also portrays the stirring of passion for the cinema in his son, Jean (who at the time was a convalescing war veteran) and the effect on both their lives
Read moreFew directors have captured the trauma of violent conflict as powerfully and realistically as Paul Greengrass has with films like United 93, Bloody Sunday and his contributions to the Jason Bourne saga. His latest film Captain Phillips is no different. This superbly made maritime thriller, which sees heavily-armed Somali pirates take over an American cargo ship, has all the white
Read moreBefore the magnificent cringe comedy of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Ricky Gervais’ The Office was Steve Coogan’s Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge a TV talk show parody in which the eponymous host was as contemptible and hilarious as Larry David or Gervais’ David Brent. The superbly vain, egotistical, spineless and conniving Partridge later appeared in radio
Read more