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JOKER
There has never been a super hero or super villain movie quite like this -- one with a terrifying realism! The movie tracks the main character, Arthur Fleck's descent into the madness of the Joker, in all its beauty, depth and horror. It's a scary movie, alright, but one that makes you laugh like Joker at times, then feel like you shouldn't have, with a suspicion that it will have real consequences later.
It's amazing that such a movie came out of the arid cinematic wasteland that is contemporary Hollywood, especially as part of the surge of super hero nonsense, which Martin Scorsese correctly compared to a "theme park ride." Almost as a reaction to this, along comes this terrifying, stone cold masterpiece about the effects of societal collapse on an already damaged individual. The meta message is clear from this movie: some people are gonna get hurt.
The elite, such as Bruce Wayne's father, are portrayed correctly as vampires, called "super rats," and compared to a plague. Framing the elite like this was extremely brave. This adds to the prophetic There Will Be Blood-like vibe about the way things are heading in the West, something that has been borne out in recent months.
This movie is just reflecting the horrid Globalist reality we find ourselves in, something that is sending us all slowly going insane in one way or another. It's a warning. I had no idea contemporary Hollywood cinema could still be this bold. Ten out of ten. Must see. Go to it and "turn that frown upside down."
EL CAMINO
El Camino is here, the coda and a fitting elegy to Breaking Bad. Written and directed by Vince Gilligan, it shows us what happened to the Jesse Pinkman character, who suffered so terribly in the last season of Breaking Bad. It's a two-hour movie or a three-episode mini season of Breaking Bad, really. So this is all good. Some of the great characters are back -- including Mike Ehrmantraut and Walter White for historical scenes, looking back on two unseen episodes of Jesse's life.
Some old help is at hand, some old scores are settled, and some new foes are there to dodge. The breakneck speed of the last season of Breaking Bad does not let up here over a tight two hours. Robert Forster, who recently passed away, gives what appears to be his final performance, and he's great and rock solid as usual. For fans of the show, like me, this is just the elegy for Jesse we needed. Ride on Jesse?! “Yeah, Bitch!”
MIDSOMMAR
It's a bit long and a bit ponderous, but still pretty good. Made by the Jewish Luciferean Avi Aster, who made the equally Devilish Hereditary -- also good. He has a deep knowledge of the occult.
I couldn't help but see a globalist Satanic message in both films, as they revel in Devil worship and reveal a rather cruel view of humanity. All the same, it’s pretty good entertainment watching a bunch of Millennial SWPLs failing to comprehend what happens to them, as they are done in by a coven of crypto-Nazi. ancestor-worshipping pagan Swedes.
WILD WILD COUNTRY
I emphatically love this show, it has everything you'd want -- mad cult leaders, AK 47s, hot cult groupies, and rednecks fighting them. I am sympathetic to both sides -- the idealist utopian Orange People and their Rolls-Royce-driving leader Osho (the Bagwan) and the the local Oregon patriots, Christians, and rednecks who want rather less "cultural diversity" in their neck of the woods. It's a perfect recipe for an entertaining disaster! In fact, it's like a micro version of what is going on in the world right now, and as we all know: it's Apocalypse Soon!
THE HUNT
People got a little upset about this movie, as it's really a pro-Trump piece. The Deplorables are hunted by the 1% Liberal elite, with the former being the good guys and the latter the baddies. Recommended. Good fun and a nice twist.
TIGER KING
Just Brilliant! This is one of he greatest documentaries ever made. The cult of Joe Exotic and that no good bitch Carole "fucking" Baskin!
THE BLACKLIST
This show is about taking down the Globalist criminal cabal, so it clearly has a strong New Right message. The Spader character is an arch globalist operative who turns on the cabal and decides to work for the patriots. In the latest season he gets arrested and jailed for a time, invoking Epstein minus the underage sex crimes, which is odd as it was made well before Epstein did his magic rope trick. Uncanny! The truth is that there are many red-pilled Hollywood people and they make interesting shows like this.
THE FAVOURITE
This was excellent, rather like The Madness of King George was in the 90s. The full court of Queen Anne is recreated, along with the war against the French. This is mirrored by a power struggle between two female courtesans, which plays out "bitch fight" style, including some sexual mischief. From the talented director of The Lobster and Killing of a Sacred Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos.
VEEP (SEASONS 4 TO 7)
Been watching this recently from season 4 to 7 and it’s pretty damn good. All the characters are utterly revolting, with a few, rare exceptions, but I guess that’s the gag. I do like the idiot who carries the Vice President's bag, a classic doofus. It’s all pretty funny. Local Aussie comedian Tim Ferguson encouraged me to stick with it, and I’m glad I did. It’s a terrible indictment of hypocritical Washington DC globalist politics. From Armando Iannucci, the guy who did The Thick of It and The Death of Stalin.
MR ROBOT (SEASON 4)
Very strange show, but this is another one I stuck with. Full of Big Tech shenanigans. The chief villain is a transgender Chinese diplomat called White Rose, which I thought was fairly daring, and the show has all kinds of critiques of big business and the tech industry. The lead actor Rami Malek plays vigilante hacker Elliot Alderson. He is unlikable and even repellent, but, strangely enough, due to the ambivalence of his character being an antihero, it sort of works. Malek apparently “eats babies” according to Macaulay Culkin on Twitter, so he's clearly done his "prep."
DARK WATERS
I have followed the career of Todd Haynes since the start. This new film is a solid picture about the dangers of Big Chem, and if anyone thinks the elite in DC or big business worry about the health of the little guy, just take a look at this.
We need to be constantly on our guard, as the elite are not worthy of trust, and are capable of gross negligence and cynical cover ups regardless of how many lives are lost. Ever heard of Teflon? Well, there are "health issues" with it, but now 99% of humanity has traces of it within them. Not even a joke.
DOCTOR WHO (Season 12)
The show is riddled with PC casting decisions, often silly, but not all of them are bad, and they get away with some of them. But if you can ignore that, it's OK.
The new season is better than the last. The Daleks are back in a new twist. And a Black Master is here! Making the most evil character in the entire show Black could even be considered anti-PC! When he reveals himself to the Doctor, it had the hair standing up on the back of my neck: old foes back at it again! It was The Master alright and that worked. So I’m in.
Some stories have The PCness layered on a bit too thick, but one can look past that at the good things. Some episodes are very good. The creators seem to have watched Twin Peaks Season 3 and Stranger Things, and learned something from that. So carry on Doctor! And with the Master back, who can resist?
NARCOS
It's about a bunch of DEA agents and spooks in Columbia overseeing America Foreign Policy and repression in the region, and the all the people who get killed over the stupid and insane war on drugs. Literally 1000's and 1000's in Miami and Columbia.
The cop characters are mostly total assholes who get everyone they talk to killed. Pablo Escobar is portrayed in an interesting way -- though a ruthless killer and uber successful Narco King Pin, he has a Nationalist and Socialist side, giving some of his vast billion dollar empire to the poor of Columbia and paying homage to Simon Bolivar. He runs for office to further help the poor on a National level, but the US intervenes and fucks him up by getting some stooge to oppose him and expose him, who naturally get's killed.
The Americans are assholes in this show, and are not heroic at all, fighting a stupid war they can never win. But Pablo is presented as a kind of ultra-violent Robin Hood, and it's the first film to explore him as a political figure, of sorts, who without US meddling may have moved in to politics as a radical socialist and nationalist. The show overall, then, is pretty good, once you tune out the DEA characters as heroes and dial then back in as the villains. So it's worth a look. Narcos Mexico is also very good. Yes, it’s been a long year in lockdown.
Some Classics:
SHOWBOAT
Watched this recently, a real masterpiece like The Magnificent Ambersons. James Whale at the height of his powers. A very moving portrait of life in the old-time entertainment industry. "Old Man River" sung by Paul Robeson seemed to be an early Hollywood attempt to bring black people front stage as major characters. But don’t tell BLM, they would no doubt want to ban this film today. But really, if you haven’t seen this film, you are missing out on an important part of cinematic education. It’s amazing, and I must watch it again and show some friends. A masterpiece.
THE SET
This is a classic Aussie film from 1969 written by Roger Ward, who kindly enough sent me a new DVD himself. It’s an extraordinary independent film from the year of my birth, 1969, and was a harbinger of the coming Australian cinema Renaissance of the 1970s and 80s. It's also Australia's first sexploitation movie, all about the Sydney upper-class fast set, focusing on both the straight and gay scenes.
Ward, who wrote the novel the film is based on and the screenplay, and who has a cameo in film, creates an extraordinary portrait of bourgeois life and decadence in late sixties Australia. The film is a serious examination of its topic, but has a sense of humour, poetry, and a disarming innocence, all at the same time.
It's produced by legendary producer David Hannay and has a fine cast, including Rod Mullinar and Hazel Phillips. I think it's a masterpiece and deserves an important place in Australian cinema history. This new DVD of the film will reintroduce this work to contemporary audiences, with plenty of extras. Deleted scenes, commentaries, and a great non-PC interview with Roger himself on the making of the film are all included. Without this film, the sexual revolution in Australian cinema would never have happened, and you can see its influence on classic Aussie TV shows like Number 96 and many others that followed. Highly recommended to you all, available on Amazon and at discerning DVD stores.
On the upcoming Dune film (based on the trailer):
Look, I've got to be honest, I don't think this looks very good.
As for the rest of the casting, it's hit or miss.
Josh Brolin, meh...OK, whatever. Javier Bardem as Stilgar? That could work, I guess. Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Harkonnen? That will probably be the highlight. Dave Bautista as Rabban, could work too. But Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto? No way! Ruining the new Star Wars movies (along with the guy who played Finn) with his epic miscasting as Poe Dameron was not enough for him! His Mexican peasant looks are even more unsuited to Duke Leto. Plus he's too young. Like Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling as a Bene Gesserit witch will be a stand out, as she is always great. Creepy Jason Momoa plays a muscleheaded moron in league with Vin Diesel, but his part will be small.
The look of the film is interesting, and that might work. I'll hold off judging it till I've seen it, but I think it's going to be seriously handicapped by its miscasting. It might be semi decent if the director really does a good job holding it together. We will have to wait and see. But, alas, the films of Denis Villeneuve have never really blown me away. His Blade Runner sequel left me cold, and the rumours we hear from production and the post rush, again don't bode well. Jodorowski said it looked OK but was "cookie cutter." That sounds about right.
Richard Wolstencroft is the Director
of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival
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