JANUARY REVIEWS

What I've Been Reading

Me by Elton John  - I really enjoyed Elton’s autobiography. A mix of personal, musicality, excess, drugs, recovery, and a whole lot of name dropping…as only Elton can. Some beautiful stories about Freddie, Versace, Diana, some rough ones about Tina Turner, Billy Joel, John Reid, and his family. Lots of lovers, lots of scandal, but told with clarity and honesty and humility. Totally worth a read.

There was still love by Favel Parrett – The story of two grandchildren telling the stories of their grandparents, their grandmothers are sisters. One family is in Prague and the other in Melbourne, it is 1980, there are some flashbacks to the 30s and war. The story is about immigrants and grandparents and no matter where you are in the world and what your life is, there is always and still the love of your grandparents. This is written so beautifully and evocatively by Favel Parrett. She is a master of imagery, words, and suspension. Like the rest of her books, I loved this a lot.

No one is too small to make a difference – Greta Thunberg – this is a cute little book full of Greta’s speeches. It is wonderful to read them all in one place and think about how ground-breaking and amazing she is, in terms of spreading light onto what should not be a controversial topic. It is a very clear and simple representation of what is going wrong and how we can fix it! Everyone should read this

Beauty by Bri Lee – this is a small self-help book to follow-up Bri’s best-selling autobiography (that I have not read). It goes into body image and the obsession  of being thin. It is rather disturbing and it goes into how we (well, not me) have been taken for a ride as a sex in terms of advertising over things like appearances and beauty and  sexuality etc. To be honest this is nothing I didn’t know already, but upsetting to read and see examples of how many get upset about such things. We need to stand up as a group and say enough already! I’m keen to read her autobiography now.

The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie – you can see why this has won so many awards, it is a fascinating read. The story of two girls and their utterly bizarre and horrid parents. Well, at least their mother. Vicki, now living in Australia, gets a call from her sister in Canada that their estranged parents need help. Their mother has broken her hip and their ageing, frail father is at home on the Mid-US property by himself. The girls suspect their mother is slowly ‘killing’ their father and don’t want her to return home. The arrive to sort out the situation and put to rest the ‘stories’ their mother has been telling the small time about her family. Told almost backwards, this is quite a harrowing but also incredibly funny story of families. If you are ever feeling crappy about your family, read this, you will feel perfectly fine.  

The Red Hand Files – This is a website where Nick Cave answers fan mail. But oh my, how he answers the mail is to be seen to be believed. Although completely and utterly unsurprising. This is a man who knows how to articulate what he feels. He can write, we know this through his lyrics. But he has never really given this much of himself out there before and it is a thing of beauty, something to behold. The questions range from deep and traumatic, to religion, to music, to writing, to family, to the humourous and vacuous and he answers them all with aplomb. Sometimes he runs a few in a thread, some are long, some are short, they are humourous and also will bring you to your knees with tears. Mostly he is generous – with his time and insights. Someone asked did he have any spare lyrics lying around they could use for a song, he generously popped up a few paragraphs of something he was working on, but it is all yours now! Imagine!!! I find it such a comforting read, I hope it continues for a long while.

What I've Been Watching

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel S3 – I love this show so very much, whilst S3 is not as great as S1 or S2, it is still heads and shoulders above most other television you will see. Mrs Maisel is a divorced mother of 2 in the late 50s who is a stand-up comedian, much to the horror of her Jewish parents. The dialogue and story is sharp, fast paced, and witty thanks to the Marvellous Palladino’s (writer/creators, formerly of The Gilmore Girls) and the set design and costumes (especially the costumes) are to die for! This season Midge (Mrs Maisel) is on the road touring with a well known singer, her parents are trying to manage without a home or money, and her ex-husband is opening a night club in a dubious neighbourhood. This is so thoroughly entertaining, it is the pure definition of must watch television.

The Crown S3 – Straight off the bat of bingeing S1 and S2, and hearing others didn’t rate this season that highly, I was concerned. I need not have been, I loved this as much as the other 2 seasons. It didn’t take long to get used to the acting changes, Olivia Coleman and Helena Bonham-Carter are a formidable pair as The Queen and Princess Margaret. Charles, Anne and Prince Phillip are also beautifully portrayed. I guess not a huge lot happens in this era and it is more the politics of the royal family and Britain, but it is still interesting and beautifully shot. Now the wait until S4!!

Upright – we don’t do a lot of good television in Australia these days, but when we get it right, we really get it right. Upright is a short but wonderful drama/comedy series from Tim Minchin and Chris Taylor (The Chaser). It is a road ‘movie’ of sorts. Tim plays Lucky who seems to be anything but, he is on a vague trip across Australia to WA to deliver an upright piano to someone. Not long into the show he has a car accident with Meg and writes his car off, they continue on the journey together, finding bits and pieces about each on the way. Both are running to/from trauma. It gets dark, it makes you cry, it is absolutely hilarious, and there is music. And it is completely unlike anything you will see which makes it so very fresh and appealing. Milly Alcock as young Meg is a star in the making, to hold her own (and then some) against Tim Minchin is pretty extraordinary. Tim Minchin is at the height of his appeal here, weirdly lovely, beautifully annoying. This is really something special.

Broad City S5 - this is sadly the final season of this great show. I have loved these gals since they bounded onto the screen in a show based on their popular Internet show. BFFs who love themselves and each other having adventures in New York. It is real and funny and fabulous. Abbi and Ilana are gifted physical comedians and write and act as 'themselves' in the show. it is glorious, feminist, hilarious (you will actually laugh out loud), inclusive, and fun. This final season is not only a love letter to their relationship but to New York City. I still think S4 is their best season, and has a great ending. Despite it being a comedy, I shed a little tear at no more shenanigans from these fabulous gals!

Miracle Worker - this is a cute little series starring Steve Buscemi as God and Daniel Radcliffe as an angel. It is like a weird cousin to The Good Place, things are a bit cray cray in heaven with Buscemi as a bumbling bum of a god who is fed up with the dodgy Earth he has created, maybe he will just blow it up and start again. But his workers, all angels working in various departments (Dirt, Earthquakes, Penises, Walruses etc), watch each of these areas closely and you will see so many superb sight gags, aren't so sure about the impending doom of the planet they oversee. Three angels decide to save Earth by challenging God that they can solve an impossible request, by placing two inept humans together who like each other but not likely to follow through with anything. This is clever and funny and a bit silly but ultimately great to watch. S2 is coming up sometime this month.

Mrs Fletcher - really enjoyed the comedy starring Kathryn Hahn in the lead role. Mrs Fletcher, from the book by Tom Perrotta, is about a divorced Mum, who's son has gone to college, and her sexual awakening. It is hilarious and glorious.

The X-Files – continuing my journey, I’m halfway through S7, and still enjoying them, but this is where things started to slip if memory serves me correct. It will be interesting to see how things hold up from here. 

Big Bang Theory Final Season – this is ok, it was never great but it was simply nerdy fun, nice to watch it to the end, but time for it to finish I think.

Documentary Now S1/2  - catching up with this comedy series about documentaries starring Fred Armisen and Bill Hader. Each documentary is a riff on an actual documentary and presented by Helen Mirren (as herself). They are presented seriously, but absolutely hilarious. Sandy Passage is a dark take on Grey Gardens, Gentle and Soft about a yacht rock type group from the west coast, The Bunker from The War Room, and my personal favourite, Final Transmission, a great send up of Stop Making Sense. Armisen’s ability to chameleon like channel just about anyone is to be seen. A lot of laughs here.

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman S1/2 – First up, I love Dave, I miss his late night show so very much. Yes he is flawed, and yes he is cantankerous, but he shaped the course of late night television, pushed boundaries, and when he is engaged he is a superb interviewer and brilliantly funny. Dave has handpicked the top of the top for this show and it shows. He is at the top of his game, interested, wonderful, funny, empathetic and caring. This is a man who has done a lot of self-reflection in his downtime and it shows. His guests are Barack Obama, George Clooney, Malala, Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen, Tina Fey, Lewis Hamilton, Melinda Gates and so on. And if you think you’ve seen it all when it comes to these people, think again, this is interviewing as you have never seen it in front of a live audience with some special add ins. Each episode Dave travels to meet family of his interviewer, or someone of interest, their family home, their school etc etc, little insights only someone with cred would be allowed. The Ellen one had me in tears, Hamilton had me almost liking him, Seinfeld was divine as Jerry – clearly a fan – tries to turn the tables on Dave and interview him! I hope there will be more.

Comedians in Cars getting Coffee S 10/11 - Up until S9 you could watch these short bursts of a show online, but after that Netflix took over. This means more episodes which is great. Season 10 and 11 have a great long list of comedians including Dave Chapelle, Ellen, Dana Carvey, Alec Baldwin, Eddie Murphy, Ricky Gervais, Matthew  Broderick, and do on. The premise is simply, Jerry – a car buff – picks a car he thinks suits a comedian, gives them a ring, and then picks them up and takes them for coffee. Simple! The 20 minutes or so are usually hilarious and fairly straight forward, not too deep but a different insight into the person you think you know and of course, Jerry himself. He is on remarkably good terms with everyone he interviews, but the better interviews are those where he interviews someone he knows especially well or for a long time. And you’d be surprised who he is buddies with. My favourite bits is when they are driving and they pull up next to someone at the lights and they did a double take to see Jerry with say Ferris Bueller, it is great.

The World According to Jeff Goldblum – this is a great half hour series where Jeff Goldblum explores certain themes, eg coffee, tattoos, Pools, Bikes and so on. With his own special bent on these things and eager to give all things a, this is pure entertainment and very amusing. My favourite one so far was Pool, this included Jeff joining an elderly ladies synchronised swimming team. He was so charming with these ladies, who you realise actually aren’t that much older than him!

Kusama Infinity: the life and art of Yayoi Kusama – I came across this documentary at work and the cover of an ageing Japanese artist in a bright red bob wig and a white dress with bright red dots was very striking and took my attention. I had not heard of Kusama, but in those weird ways of synchronicity, seem to be stumbling across her ever since! Kusama’s art, like her, is striking, modern, edgy and early on, a little controversial. She left Japan, after experiencing WWII, for the US to make her mark artistically. She was a Japanese woman in the art world, unheard of at the time. But she was strong and refused not to be listened too, and forged her way ahead. Her work was ground breaking, sexual, unusual; she worked in multiple mediums. Her work with dots and then mirrors are what she is well known for. This documentary tells her story, with plenty of interesting footage from over the years. I loved this, always nice to find new art, especially but a woman!

School Life – I loved this documentary so very much. Filmed in Ireland in a Primary School Aged Boarding School. It focuses around a married couple, John and Amanda Leyden, in their last year of teaching before retirement. They met as young teachers, fell in love, got married, and live on the property; teaching for 46 years. They are very laid back in their teaching style, beloved by fellow teacher and students, and often collaborate and can be described as ramshackled yet inspirational! Watching John put together a band and Amanda do Shakespeare with her group is the highlight. I cannot rave about this enough!!

Marriage Story - wow, I just loved this. it was absolutely devastating and yet so beautiful simultaneously. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver are absolutely brilliant as a couple heading into and through divorce. I have been such a fan of Noah Baumbach's writing and directing, since seeing the fabulous The Squid and The Whale years ago, which is really the precursor to this tale. The earlier based on his parents divorce and this his own. I love how it depicts the intimacy and beauty of a relationship, and also the mundane and the awful. Because you really cannot have one without the other. There were moments watching this where I felt like I held my breath, the rawness felt so real. Driver is - as always a tour de force. He can do loud and he can do subtle. I doubt he will win the Oscar, but geez he should, and I am certain it will be in his future. He had the showier role, the meltdowns and that 'arm' scene. Scarlett's role was more subtle and I think about it more than I do anything else. Those quiet subtle moments of being female and carrying the weight of decisions made, maybe not in your best interest but for the best and the regret and sadness that can incur. If you didn't think she was amazing, go and watch again, closely, you'll see it all. Fuck, she was good. The supporting cast, especially Laura Dern, were outstanding. There are a handful of actors I think make every movie fabulous, no matter how small their role, Merritt Weaver and Alan Alda are two of them. Dern will most certainly win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this tour de force and deservingly so, she is having a renaissance of late, but has always been a remarkable actress. Go and see one of her earlier roles, which I love, Ramblin' Rose. Marriage Story will stay with you and haunt you, in the best way. It tells you to remember the good even though it may have disappeared, it was there, it is worth celebrating or at least remembering. And in this strange old world, that is a great thing indeed!

The Irishman - I love Scorsese, he can do no wrong. I loved The Irishman, it is one of those amazing, rambling tales of the past he loves to tell. Set around the world of Jimmy Hoffa, it is brutal and rough and long. Clocking in at 3.5 hours, it probably needed an edit, I watched it over one day in 70 minute installments which kept it fresh. The cast is outstanding. I miss seeing Pesci and especially Keitel in film. Adding them to the Pacino/De Niro 1-2 was certainly fabulous casing. The set design, as always meticulous and to be seen. The cars, the street-scapes, the club sets, all quite transporting. I guess this seems like terrain he has traversed before, and he has, but that doesn't mean it is not worth seeing, it really is. I just don't think he is going to win anything for it. 

Ad Astra – I really enjoyed this film about travel in space starring Brad Pitt. I was never much of a  fan of Brad in his younger days, he seemed to rely on looks rather than talent. But as he has aged he has taken on some great character roles and whilst still good looking, he shows he really is a great actor. Brad is Roy an astronaut who is brought in for a mission when an explosive event threatens Earth. It is set somewhere in the future where travel to the moon is as simple as travelling to Europe and travelling further as simple as travelling to the moon. Years ago a team had been sent to the further reaches of the universe looking for life, his father was in charge. No one came back, but these explosive events seem connected to that voyage. And maybe they were still alive. Roy goes off in search of his father, with catastrophic findings as he progresses. Beautifully and realistically filmed, I found it a fascinating look at the possibilities of the future. It is a thriller and obviously sci-fi, Pitt gives an outstanding performance.

Yesterday – I initially didn’t mind this premise – imagine if The Beatles never were – until someone said then music really wouldn’t be as we know it at all. This movie isn’t that clever, but it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be too. It is full of lovely Beatles music, but sung by someone else – some of it good, some of it not so good. The story itself is a bit hallow. The acting ok. And there are a lot of things that no longer exist in this weird universe, eg Oasis…well played…and Coke. Though what the later has to do with The Beatles, who knows. About halfway through I had a thought – HUGE SPOILER ALERT – if the dude was such a Beatles fan and they didn’t actually exist, why doesn’t he go and find Paul McCartney. And he does…about 20 minutes after I had the thought…but he doesn’t go looking for Paul McCartney. And I wasn’t prepared for how sucker punched I felt when he finds who he was looking for. Thinking about it now just about brings me to my knees. For that scene alone, this film is worth 5 stars, but the rest a basic 3.

Rocketman – I didn’t mind this when I saw it at the movies, but didn’t love it. I thought it was a hodge podge of different styles of film and a bit messy in its execution. It played around with facts and left a lot of interesting bits out. The costumes and music were superb and the acting of Taron Egerton great. So I thought I would give it a re-watch, but felt much the same. It is a really really good movie, but it is no Bohemian Rhapsody.

American Animals - this is based on a true story of a failed rare book heist. It is shot like a documentary with actors in the roles showing the action and interviews about the action AND sometimes the real life people being interviewed. The style of the filming stops it from being just another heist film. A group of privileged young white men (natch) decide to rob rare books from a university library. The heist was ill planned and went horribly wrong. These are not spoilers, watching the film shows how stupid people can be, especially when motivated by money. Absolutely fascinating stuff.

What I've Been Listening To

Dummy by Portishead – This is a re-issue and sounds as great as it did 20 years ago. It will always remind me of Milly languishing in the tub, with Egg lurking outside the locked bathroom door on This life.

Lust For life by Iggy Pop – another re-issue, again fresh and jumpy. Aided by David Bowie, this is one of the great pop-punkish albums out there. Includes the jaunty and brilliant The Passenger, my personal fave from Iggy.

NFR! By Lana Del Ray – very laid back album of pop/ballads. Quiet relaxing and enjoyable.

Inferno by Robert Forster – Forster is surely a National Treasure by now. This is his latest, another beautiful pop album, with funky pop, laid back pop, and haunting pop. He sounds great and has a tight band. This was just perfect.

Hall and Oates - I'm such a fan. I didn't always realise this. Friends were seeing them in Sydney some time ago and invited me. I was not sure, but looked at their back catalogue and recognised enough tunes to say yes. Thank goodness, what a fab show and I knew soooo much more than I thought and realised I was actually a fan and have loved them ever since! Collected a few of their albums on vinyl lately and love spinning them. Great, upbeat blue eyes soul!!!

Conversations with Richard Fidler Podcast -  I always keep a stick loaded with this in the car and finally ran out and had to reload, so I have 2017 onwards! Nearly caught up. So many great conversations, he really is the best.

Dolly’s America Podcast – This started so fabulously. A podcast all about Dolly Parton, including lengthy interviews with her about anything and everything. The guy doing it met Dolly through his Dad and he asked is she would be interested and she said yes. The research is meticulous and the information fascinating. From her roots to starting out in the music business, the Porton Wagoner show, the stardom, Dollywood, feminism, politics, it had everything and was very popular. But about halfway through it is like they knew they were on to a good thing and started stretching the episodes with too much filler, it got a little tired. But in all, it is still pretty amazing. The episode about I Will Always Love You is exceptional.

Last Seen Podcast – This is a short series podcast about the Gardiner Art Heist from the Gardiner Gallery in Boston in the early 90s. This is a famous art heist and the biggest in history. The art stolen was irreplaceable and never found. There has been many suspects and suspicions but no one ever found for the theft. I have read a lot about this fascinating case, but not for a while, so I had hoped there was new information, but there was not. This is a great intro into the famous story, if you don’t know a lot about it.

Rumble with Michael Moore - I cannot believe he hasn't attempted this before. His politics are perfect for a podcast and the few I have listened to so far have been utterly brilliant. The thing about Moore is he really has a lovely, soft, thoughtful voice and that is perfect for audio. And whilst he seems like a bombastic type, he actually isn't really and comes across so sweet. His interview with Todd Phillips made me really mad I missed The Joker and super keen to see it. Got total insight into what the intent of the film was and why those that have actually seen it love it. This is worth checking out.

Series Regular - found another new podcast, oh vey! It is by the peeps at Hollywood Reporter, and has television critics following the genre series each week, so I went back at listened to the one on Watchmen, was fabulous to listen to their thoughts and theories, knowing full well how it ended myself, when they did not. But I also picked up some bits and pieces I didn't pick up on. I have been thinking I want to rewatch it all again and now I simply must. I have Game of Thrones final season loaded next.